Everyone scatters. Dragons included.
Rhys stays on me, Segyl stays, Andarna, and Rhys... He can't really move at the moment anyways.
" You promise to stay calm...semi calm.." Xaden asks once again. For the first time I see the smallest sheen of sweat on him, I see blowing your cover really makes you on edge... Wait until I get ahold of a damn sword...
Rhys presses his claw firmer on me.
" I think it would benefit you Wingleader to re-shackle her. At least until your done explaining."
" She promised." Xaden answers within my head.
" Well seeing she tried killing you and melting me, I think safety is in out best intrests. I can feel her radiate power." Rhys responds.
Xaden sighs heavily " Hold on for a second." He mumbles standing walking to the small fire on the left of us... I watch him for serveral seconds before my eyes dart back to Liam and Hetta's who as soon as they saw me they refused to look at me.
Xaden comes back with two pairs of shackles...why do they have so many...
He comes to Rhy's claw gently gripping my arm, it locks. " Other one." He demands glancing at me.
I don't move just glaring at him, he sighs slowly reaching for my other hand, I don't fight, I don't resist.. I just stare.
Once the shackles were one me Rhys Finally gets off, though he has the end of my braid in his mouth so I can't run.... Xaden looks sullen as he stays bent down about to put the shackles on my ankles, I debated trying to knee him in the face.
But he must've thought of that already because he kept a firm grip on my knee so it doesn't come up and hit him. I looks up at me, his golden specked eyes beaming. He eyes my clothes, everything before looking up at me again.
Carefully, he pulls every single one of my daggers out of my sheathes, passing them to Hetta who was putting them in my pack, still refusing to look at me, though I could see her eyes were teary.
" Stand or sit?" Xaden asks.
" Sit." I reply.
He nods helping me to sit on the log with the three sitting across from me and our dragons around us as if blocking us out from any wandering eyes.
" Have you ever heard your mother talk about anything outside of Navarre?" Xaden asks.
" Wouldn't you marked traitors love to know." I snap.
He doesn't even flinch or look offended. " There is things they're not telling you. Many things that they keep hidden from all the people of Navarre, except for the select." Xaden continues. "Things your mother would kill for to keep it hidden."
" Don't talk about my mother." I snap.
" Freya, you remember the reports that we saw on her desk? During the other games, things that weren't talked about in Battle Brief?" Liam adds tilting his head, talking in such a calming voice it makes me shoot a look at him.
I don't respond, but they take it as one.
" Things are getting bad. Venin-"
" Venin?" I question, laughing a little. " Venin....Riorson... are made up, they're fables, stories..."
Xaden shakes his head. " No Freya.... Venin are real."
I shake my head, " People can't just..harness magic Xaden! Not without a dragon or a Gryphon! It's not possible...it's not... it's just..." I trail off, leaning my head forward raking my hands through my braid. " You can't take magic from the Land."
" But they did... That's why the Barrens is called the Barrens... I'm sure your adoptive dad told you the fable, he was a scribe right?"
Right.. The brother who had a dragon, the brother who had a gryphon and the one without. The evil envious brother who went without so he went right to the source corrupting himself from point no return.
I shake my head, " And what does... any of this have to do with Navarre? Or you or... Them?!"
" Because there's more to life then Navarre. It's... protecting more of Navarre. Because of our wards the Venin would be useless. And it's the fact that King Tairi knows... They all know but do nothing about it. And lately.... the Venin have been on the move, taking more and more, taking kids, people, animals, Any and everyone beyond Navarre is defenseless. And we're just trying to do the right thing..." Xaden tried to explain.
" And what is... Xaden...the right thing?" I question.
He seems to mull over my question, not breaking eye contact. " Supply."
My face drops. " You.. You've been giving..." I needed to take a breath. " You've been giving the enemy SUPPLIES?! The same supplies they use to kill us?!"
" Supplies to kill Venin." Xaden corrects. " Supplies used to make the power of our wards. All our weapons..."
He pulls out his swords, " Kill Venin.."
I've always noticed they were different... how did no one notice... No...they always used the schools during sparring.... They kept their own hidden...The knife I saw on my mom's desk....
It was designed very simular... Oh shit....
I look at him wide eyed. " They really are real..." I whisper.
He nods, " Yea. They are."
I couldn't focus in one spot for to long, " Why? Why wouldn't they help them..."
" Because they're trying to save their own asses, as long as we have the power for our wards, we're safe."
" So the raids along the boarders..."
" It was them. Most... Some were the gryphons but that's if they really needed something. Leadership wouldn't tell you that though."
I chuckle darkly " Right... But I'm just suppose to trust you? And you..." I point to Hetta. " Or You Mairi..."
I look back to Xaden.
He comes closer, on his knees " I've never lied to you Freya."
" No, but you bent it... Or didn't tell me at all.... Because that makes it so much better Xaden." I snap sarcastically.
" Because we could've easily been breeched, if someone finds out, tells, tells that we're supplying them we'd be all dead."
" I told you, you could trust me!" I say a little louder.
" I know! But your little friend Dain?" Xaden counters.
Again I pause. " Dain?"
" You know he can see memories Fury. And if I told you, or showed you..." He shakes his head. " Malek Freya... I wanted too... I wanted to tell you so bad. But I told you I'd keep you safe, I made a promise to everyone here to keep them safe. And how easy would it be for him to see that?"
I shake my head. " Dain is-"
" Your not seriously defending him Freya.. He's showed you multiple times that he would pick his positon over you, he'd pick your mother, his father, Navarre...over you. Hell, he picked Amber damn Mavis over you when she tried to kill you! He wanted to dive in your memories right then and there because he didn't believe you!" Xaden yells.
Again I pause, again Xaden is painfully right. He continues, " I refuse to lose you Freya. I refuse.... I lost my dad because he wanted to help these people, they.." He references to Liam, Hetta, beyond where I know everyone else was, " They all lost their parents, we don't want anymore killing."
I shake my head. " Don't... Don't say that to me..."
" It's true Freya."
I shake my head a little more vigorously. " Your not going to say you care about me after you just lied about FUELING part of these wars!" I yell. " Dain..."
I feel myself get choked up. " Dain was right...."
" About what?" Xaden asks softly. Kneeling right infront of me. I refuse to look at him, " You- no- you all... The apple doesn't fall far from the tree huh? Your all traitors.. Your all liars... and I fell.."
I cut myself off, wiping away a frustrated tear. Xaden immediately softens " Fury.."
" Don't! Don't call me that!" I yell. Xaden comes closer his hands brush both my arms. I quickly pull away " Don't touch me! I'll kill you, I'll kill all of you without a second thought!"
" We're loyal to Navarre Freya. We just want to help the people outside of it. We're loyal to the lands, not the people who don't want to help... Can you at least see where we're coming from?"
I hate that I can.
I know it's not them directly wanting to hurt Navarre, to help people from the outside from....Venin...
That sounds so damn foreign in my tongue...
I hate I feel bad for their parents, if that's really why they died, if that's really why my mother killed them? Because they wanted to help these others? I hate that I can see it.....
And I hate that I understand. And in that way I don't blame them for doing what they are, I hate that theres this spark, just this little, tiny, speck in me that wants to help.
" I do..." I sniffle shakily.
That seems to ease so much of the tension right then and there, I visibly see Xaden, Hetta, and Liam alike visibly slacken their shoulders.
But I shake my head. " I understand... But don't think for one second I'll come to your aide, defend, protect of even acknowledge you after this. After we get to our outpost, get our assignment, finish it... All of you... are dead to me."
I see the tension rise back up, all their eyes snap to mine. " Freya..." Hetta begins but cries.
" What the hell do you have to cry for Hetta huh?!" I snap. " You weren't just lied to! You have your little group!"
I look at Xaden, " Shadows...secrets... It doesn't surprise me one damn bit about you. Was any of this even real?"
" Yes... all of it..." He says quickly wanting to reach out but stops himself settling for still being close to me.
I shake my head. " Bullshit."
" Freya..."
" Don't Freya... or Fury me..." I snap back. " Just... go. Go.. I don't even want to look at you. Go to your little friends and discuss what you need to steal next. Make you dad proud...go damn nuts..."
He looks taken back, but sets his jaw nodding. " I'll discuss and figure out why they're early, expect to leave then." He says, though it was more to Hetta and Liam then myself.
He gives me one more look before walking in the direction of everyone else, Segyl following..Mine stay.
Hetta stands as well.. " I'll be back.."
Leaving just Liam and I.
We stay in silence for just a few minutes before he speaks. " Freya, it killed me-"
" You can stop with the 'golden boy' act." I snap looking at him.
He shuts his mouth looking at me like a wounded puppy. I smile, " How about you? How much did you need to act? Bet in all reality you couldn't stand even being near me, having to protect me... I bet it just really ate you up inside Liam."
" I never thought that Freya.." He says quietly. " I discovered that at Threshing. You could've killed me when we ran into eachother. But you didn't. I knew you were different as soon as I saw you, I knew... as soon as Hetta defended you.As soon as I saw you being friends with her... I..we always knew you were different."
" I've always been."
" And I'm glad you are Freya..."
" Don't try to sweet talk me Liam, or somehow charm your way..." I trail off again looking at him. those bright sapphire eyes, his tousled blonde hair, that smile I loved now a frown, he was like my walking sunshine.
" You know how much it hurts Mairi?" I ask. " I could expect this from Xaden... I'm surprised I didn't see it sooner...with his absences, all the 'things' he needed to do. Not from you...Never did I think you'd hurt me...not like this."
" Freya I never meant to hurt you.." He now pleads.
" I thought Liam you were maybe the one person in this Malek-forsaken world that actually honestly cared about me." My voice cracks.
" Freya.."
" No.." I wipe my eyes, " You know what... I wished I never talked to Hetta going up the Turret, I wish I never bumped into you during threshing, or saw Andarna fall.. I wish Xaden didn't make Segyl call on Rhys.."
I stand " I wish I didn't bond either of you!" I yell at my dragons. " I wish Jack killed me, right then and there so I'd be forgotten by now and not pretend to be cared for! I wish... I wish that I never met you! So I wouldn't have fallen for your stupid smile, or grasp onto your words sayng how extraordinary I am! I wish I could take everything we said or did back! I hate you!"
I take a breath. " I wish that sickness would've worked a little better, and you'd be dead."
Liam looks at me like I just killed him myself. But... he doesn't do anything...other then his own damn eyes watering and right like that I wished I could've taken it back... but I hold firm looking at him like everyone else looked at them.
Like marked ones, ones who cannot be trusted.
He swallows nodding slightly looking down.
I slowly slump back down facing away from him. " All you guys leave me alone..."
And they do. Rhys, Andarna, and Liam get up and leave.
( I promised I'd push out another....)
Just an FYI..... I'll be out of town for about a week... I'll see if I can bring my things otherwise there might not be another update for about a week... I know... I know... But just a warning.
I love you all SOOOO much and been taking requests into consideration...