The Visitor

Ch. 8 - The Past

He shook those concerns away and relaxed his shoulders.

No, those are her problems now. She must face the consequences for leaving. She must- she must pay. She couldn't leave like that - we needed her and where was she?

He scoffed to himself. Off prancing in the forest no doubt, I'm surprised she found her way to Zil at all, let alone the only reasonable family there.

His thoughts strayed to Jared. And the lost look in her eyes, but how she had glanced longingly at him. At Jared, not himself.

It hadn't been until he raised his voice that he had felt her cold eyes glaring into him.

He didn't understand her emotions. How could she blame him? She couldn't - after all this was all her fault wasn't it? If she would've just stayed, shut up, and dealt with it like the rest of them.

But no, she just had to go and pick magic over us didn't she?

He thought to himself as he kicked stray pebbles into the bushes along the side of the road.

When I bring her back everything will be right again. We can go back to the way things were. We - we can just pick up where we left off.

He smiled in a childlike manner happily walking along the stone paved path now.

I bet they'll all be so happy! When I bring Al home. Her family, the elders, my -

He gulped, momentarily freezing in his steps. His father had never approved of him and Al. His family had been thrilled when she chose to leave. His family had celebrated, but not him.

Not only had they kept him from joining her in exile from the village. They had taken away his hope, the one person who understood what he was going through. Al wasn't the only person with magic, most people in the community had it. But no one used it. And if they did they didn't use it in daily practice. Al had wanted to, they had planned to change the village and the world together.

But everything changed that day.

 He shut his eyes tight, he didn't want to remember.

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*** Skip here if you are triggered my mentions of domestic violence ***

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"Why? Al?"

"Why can't you just wait?!" 

He remembers questioning her.