The Unforgotten Shadows of My Life

14. An Unexpected Truce

~Matt

"Erik stop twiddling your thumbs. It's irritating me," I say. The man's been walking back and forth, bouncing from one leg to the next, and noisily grinding his teeth. You'd think he was meeting his mother-in-law after eloping with her daughter or something.

"She's going to be here today. She's gonna be here for the first time today. What 'm I gonna do?" Erik places his trembling hand on my shoulder.

"Dude," I say annoyed, "You're the one who brought her. If she's acting out, deal with it. Don't look to me for comfort. I can't give you any. Now get your jittery fingers off of me."

"It's not that...It's just..."

"What? It's not as if what she said could have possibly hurt you," Erik tenses behind me, "Unless you're scared you made a mistake and..."

"I'm not!" he shouts at me, "I just...I don't know. Tell me what to do, please."

"Man, we are not friends. Don't you remember telling me that yourself? Why should I even begin to help you?"

"Just, I don't know, sit with her or something. If you can't tell me what to do with her then you deal with her," Erik sighs before sitting down next to me with his head in his hands, "Please. She doesn't remember me. She doesn't know who I am anymore. I'm done with trying to deal with the empty shell that's left of her."

I shoot my eyes toward him in shock, "That's what you think? That she's an empty shell? Are you kidding me?"

"She's just not who she was anymore," Erik draws out each word dramatically while sprawling his torso and arms across the desk that curves across the entire room.

"So youve known her for a while? Because if I recall right, Katie seems to think you guys just met and..."

Erik suddenly sits up straight, "She's here. Gotta run," he says as he bolts for the door on the opposite side of the room. Following his leave, Katie's scent begins to suffocate me, indicating her nearing presence.

I watch the door and wait for her to walk in. She has a sweet smell, but it's so strong that it gives me a headache. The temperature in the room drops a couple degrees as she gets closer. I can almost smell the ice in her blood, yet there is something warm about her. The wall frosts and then melts, as she walks along the other side of the door, so fast that probably most of the people in the room don't even notice. Who is this woman that is able to radiate two different temperatures that are no where near alike? And why has nobody else noticed this about her?

Slowly, other people begin to notice her presence. Their chairs scrape loudly across the hard floor as they get up to greet her. People who speak horribly about her every chance they get flock to the door to great Katie. They wear fake smiles and speak in sing song voices as they try speaking to her. Their hypocritical attempts at being cordial make me sick. If you think you have a right to talk about someone behind their back, be willing to say the same things to their face.

Katie looks uncomfortable as she moves through the crowd of people, but not just uncomfortable, she seems  to be angered by their antics. Obviously, she has heard every word spoken about her. Most believe her to be a magic user, but Erik would never have been so cautious bringing her here unless she was a creature. Her senses are probably almost as good as mine.

Seeing that her agitation might cause problems, I decide to call out to her, "Katie," I shout out to her despite my dislike for the girl, "Get your butt over here," she turns at the sound of my voice and her eyes ignite with recognition.

"You? Do I really have to sit by you?" she asks in disgust.

"Sit anywhere else and a fight might break out," I call out to her. Her eyes fill with anger. I expect her to lash out  at me. But then something surprising happens. Katie allows her eyes to soften, and then she smiles at me. I don't even think Katie is aware of her smile, but it's there and it's real. Maybe there really is a kind person underneath.

She walks over to me slowly, never taking her eyes off of me, beautiful deep blue eyes that could tell endless stories about the life she's lived. Once she is next to me she sits down and directs her body to the front, where the speaker is walking up to introduce Erik before we begin the meeting. She doesn't look at me again, but I stare at her out of the corner of my eye until the speaker begins the introductions.

"Good morning everyone," a young centaur, Annabelle, calls out at the front of the room while stamping her hoof, "Today is September fourth, towards the end of the twentieth year of King Henry's reign of terror," she smiles as people and creatures alike snicker at her comment, "In this meeting," Annabelle begins, pacing back and forth at the front of the room, "we will discuss our lovely leaders genius idea to bring our horrible king's devil spawn, who has been with us for the past two weeks, to end his horrible rule and allow everyone to live in harmony and prance around like the wonderful friends we truly are," she says sarcastically, her words slowly making sense in my brain as people begin to whisper to themselves, "Now without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to the man who has just solidified our imminent doom," she says before prancing away with a smirk on her face.

The room begins to get louder as whispers turn into shouts and accusations directed at Erik. Nobody stares at the front anymore. Instead, everyone stares at either Erik or Katie in obvious disgust. The shouts get louder as people begin to throw things at Erik, some of them getting out of their seats to tell them just what they think. Erik does nothing, he simply stays frozen, his expression unreadable.

I begin to hear quiet sniffles as I watch the chaos. The crying is barely audible to even my own ears. I look to the chair beside me, to where Katie sits. She is shaking, her eyes bloodshot and her head still facing the front, despite nobody being there any longer. I go to set a hand on her shoulder, mesmerized and in shock from her silent tears, but then I stop when she suddenly moves. Katie pulls her shoulders back, closes her eyes, takes two deep breaths, and then opens her eyes again. A look of confidence replaces her previous sorrow filled eyes.

"Matt, that girl you are taking care of is crying," she says, and I'm shocked her ears are better than even mine.

"I...I..." I stammer.

"Go to her," she states simply, her bloodshot eyes still fixed on the front.

"But..."

She looks at me. "No buts," she exclaims, a look of calm seriousness evident in her red eyes, "You took on her care when you found her. You are responsible for her now. Go to her. Don't worry, I won't cause any fights while you're gone," she stands up from her seat and walks herself to the front, looking at me after turning herself around.

I am in a trance. I can't stop staring into her blue, hurt filled eyes that sparkle with a dash of confidence I didn't know she had. Who is this girl? Why is she here if she is the daughter of the king? Why can't I look away from her? I have a million questions for her, but I don't know which one to ask first. I'm sacred to ask so many of them because I know she grew up with all these prejudices about people like me, non-human, non-white men who don't have a place in the society she's been exposed to.

I notice her mouth twitch from my peripheral vision and look down at it, "I don't hate you," she mouths, and I am finally free from my trance. We both turn around at the same time, Katie looks towards the audience as I look towards the door. I have a name for the girl who doesn't speak now,  Hope.

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Discussion Questions: Why do you think Katie changed how she acted towards Matt so quickly? Why do you think Katie decides to step up when Erik cannot?