Tower (Johannes Eckerström)

12

~Don't be scared, you won't be hurt
I promise that I'll keep my word~

"So how long has the war been over?" I asked John as we sat in the boat.

"Uh, quite a while ma'am. You've missed a lot, I can tell. How long have you been up there?"

"I'm not sure, I left with Johannes the day the war first started. I'm not even sure what year it is. Do you by chance know my parents? The (L/N)s?"

"Oh... Yes... Yes, I knew them." His tone was nervous.

"Oh my goodness! Tell me, how are they!? Are they okay?"

John turned to look at me
"Well..." He gulped "Mr and Mrs (L/N) passed away last winter."

My heart sank and I just stared at him in disbelief.
"You're... You're joking... That's not true, that can't be true I- I never even got to say goodbye."

"I'm sorry, they were just so heartbroken that you ran away. They didn't understand why you left, Johannes told them he tried to get you back but you refused to go back with him."

"Jo- Johannes did what?" My tears stopped, my hurt now replaced with rage.

"He told your parents that you ran away during the war and that you took a boat to a secluded area. That he followed you on another boat and tried to get you to come back but you didn't want to." John explained.

"That clown is a filthy liar!" I screamed "I did NOT run away! He kidnapped me, held me hostage for who knows how long and then built a tower from the ground up just to lock me away in there. He did this. He's the reason I can't see my parent's again." I began to cry once more, the hurt coming back to me.

John seemed taken aback and had the look of realization on his face.

"That tower you were staying in, he had me and a few of my friends help him build that. Said he wanted it for when he needed to get away... My gosh, I had no idea what I was helping. I'm so sorry." He gave me a sympathetic look "I just can't believe it. The Johannes I know would never do something so malicious."

~~

It was night fall when the boat finally made it to the Avatar Country grounds again. I immediately hopped off the boat and took in all the scenery. I was over joyed to be back in my country, my home.

Then I was hit with the reminder that I had no where to go. No where to turn to, John informed me that my house had been sold after my parents passed.

"John?"

"Yes ma'am?" John looked up as he hopped off the boat.

"Do you know where Johannes is right now?"

"Uh, I imagine he is in the kings castle right now. Why would you want to see him after all that has happened?" He asked sounding confused.

"I don't, I just want to make sure I avoid where he is."

"Oh, well alright then, I'll walk you into town."

~~

Once we made it to the middle of town John and I parted ways, leaving me to wander the streets or more like explore the streets. Since I had been gone for so long I had to revisit everything to jog my memory.