Ten
I slowly opened my eyes, having a massive headache. I groaned and sat up, my headache getting even worse.
"Hey, hey, hey," a voice said. "Easy there."
I looked over to see Nash sitting on a stool by my side.
"Lay down," he instructed, pointing to the pillow. I obliged happily, the fluffy pillow feeling better against my aching head.
"What happened?" I asked groggily, my memory of last night a bit foggy. "Why am I in the hospital?"
I was laying in one of those hospital beds, with a hospital gown. A thin curtain was pulled around my bed area.
"You hit your head hard on some steps," Nash said. "You were out for two days. We were getting worried."
Two days?! Wow, that's a long time.
"Why'd I hit my head?"
Nash bit his lip. "Um, Phoenix kinda-"
At Phoenix's name, memories flooded in. "Dorian!" I screeched, interrupting Nash. I sat up, and Nash firmly pushed me down.
"Calypso, you're supposed to lie down and rest," he ordered.
I nodded. "Fine. Is Dorain alright, at least? Did Lilac catch him?"
When Nash didn't answer right away, I knew she didn't.
"I have to go and rescue him," I protested, sitting back up again. Nash pressed his palm against my chest and slowly lowered me down to the bed again.
"You will had to eventually, yes," he agreed, "but right now, you're going to rest and wait until your head and arm heals."
"My arm?" I looked down at it in confusion to see my upper arm all bandaged up. "What happened?"
"Phoenix burned your arm," Nash said patiently. That's right. "I guess the hit to your head did more damage to your brain than I thought. Do you know my name?"
"Of course I know your name," I responded. "It's-" At that moment, Ashton pulled the curtain back, so I said, "Ashton."
Nash rolled his eyes. "No, Calypso, my name is not Ashton. It's Nash."
I pointed, and Nash turned around. "Oh. Yes, that's Ashton."
Ashton glared at me. "I told you not to go."
"And I said I was going whether you liked it or not," I retorted. Wow, I've changed a lot in three weeks-ish. Before, I would've never dared talk back to anyone who was more superior than I was.
"Yes, and look was happened." Ashton gestured to my burned arm. "Not to mention Phoenix got away with your brother, and he took Lilac too."
My eyes widened. He took Lilac?! Oh, he was so going to get it when I was well enough to actually stand up without a lot of pain rushing to my head.
"Yes, he took Lilac," Ashton hissed, examining my shocked expression. "And it's all your fault!"
"Hey," Nash said, trying to break off our argument, but I interrupted him again.
"Well, I'm sorry Mr. I'm-better-than-everyone-else, but I didn't sign up for this," I retorted.
"Yeah?" Ashton snarled. "I didn't sign up for this either."
"You can just quit anytime you feel like it," I countered. "I'm kind of the saviour for your school."
Ashton threw his hands up in the air. "And you bring up the saviour bit!"
"If you didn't want me to be the saviour, you shouldn't have come after me in the first place!" I yelled.
"If I hadn't, Phoenix would have gotten you and used you to destroy us all!" Ashton cried.
"Now I'm an object?" I shouted. "You don't own me, Ashton, and neither does Phoenix! Why don't you get that fact through that tiny brain of yours and leave me alone!"
"I would if I had a choice," Ashton replied angrily. "You're either the downfall or the rise of the Powers!"
"Guys, stop!" Nash screeched, and we both fell silent. "We aren't going to get Lilac and Calypso's little brother back by bickering."
"We aren't going to get them back," Ashton growled. "I am." With that, he turned on his heel and left the little space that was assigned to me.
I struggled to sit up, but Nash held me down firmly. "No," he ordered.
"But, Nash," I whined.
"No," he repeated determinedly. "You're going to rest, okay?"
"Don't you guys have a healer?" I asked.
"Yes," he said, "but I know that the minute you're healed, you're going to follow Ashton and save Lilac and your brother. Ashton's got control of this, okay? You don't need to interfere."
"But I do!" I protested. "It's my brother and my best friend that Phoenix has. This is my business, not Ashton's. He's the one who doesn't need to interfere."
"Calypso," Nash said. "Ashton is in charge of this whole place. He could kick you out in seconds."
"I hope he does," I spat. "I don't need him, or this place to survive."
"Yes you do," Nash argued. "The last thing we need is Phoenix to have possession of you."
"There you go again, talking about me like I'm some kind of object!" I exclaimed. "No one owns me, okay? I come and go where I please."
Nash sighed and put his face in his hands. "Calypso, can you please co-operate? The last thing we need is our saviour to rebel against us."
"The 'saviour' does what she wants," I fought back. "I'll rebel if I want."
Nash sighed again. "Calypso, please. Just get some rest."
"Fine." I pouted before rolling over onto my injured arm. I wince, and then rolled over on my good side and closed my eyes. I faked sleeping until I heard Nash leave, his footsteps fading away. I cracked my eyes open and, once confirming he was gone, I climbed out of bed.
I wasn't used to being a little sneaky rebel.
I looked down row of white beds, most unoccupied. Down at the far end was a door that I was assuming was an office type thing. On the other side of the room was the exit.
I left my little closed in space and pattered across the room. Once I reached the door, my head was killing me, but if this was where the healer was, it was worth it.
I lifted my good arm up and knocked, firmly but quietly, upon the wooden door. I heard footsteps inside, and then it opened, revealing a girl with brown hair up in a bun.
"What?" she asked quietly, rubbing at her eyes.
"Hi," I said cheerfully. "I was wondering if you could heal me."
The girl scrutinized me. "You're Calypso, aren't you?"
"I prefer Callie, but yes, I am."
The girl crossed her arms over her chest. "Nash told me not to heal you."
"Did Nash mention that I'm the saviour for the Powers, and if I'm not healed, you guys might be destroyed?" I inquired innocently.
The girl bit her lip. "Uh, no..."
"Can you please heal me?" I begged. "I need to rescue my brother from Phoenix."
Something in the girl's eyes changed, and she nodded. "Phoenix? He took my younger sister from me."
I was a bit surprised to hear that Phoenix had taken other people's siblings, but that seemed like the kind of thing he would do.
"What's your name?" I questioned gently.
"Lillie," she said.
"What's your little sister's name?"
"Angela." Lillie looked up at me with big eyes. "I'll heal you only if you promise to rescue my sister."
I nodded. "I will definitely try my best. What does she look like?"
"She's like a mini version of me," Lillie said, laying her hand on my head. It immediately started to feel a hundred times better. Once my head was done healing, she rested her hand on my arm. I could feel my arm healing, too. Lillie removed her hand, and I quickly took the bandage off. There was not even a mark that Phoenix had burned me.
"Whoa," I whispered, poking where the burn had been. I looked back up at Lillie. "Thank you."
Lillie smiled. "No problem. Now, go save your brother and my sister."
I smiled back. "I'll try my best." I turned around and started walking out of the hospital place. When I turned the corner, I accidentally bumped into someone. I looked up into Nash's very green eyes.
"Where are you going?" he asked as I stepped back.
I stared defiantly at him. "I'm going to rescue my brother."
"And how do you expect to do that without transportation?" Nash inquired, crossing his arms over his chest and raising his eyebrow
I gritted my teeth. "I'll find a way."
Nash gripped my shoulders and turned me around, steering me back to the bed. "Calypso, you need rest."
"No I don't." I wrenched myself from Nash's' grasp and thrust my arm in front of his face. "See?"
Nash eyed where the burn was supposed to be and then muttered, "Lillie," under his breath.
"Don't get her in trouble," I said. "She was only looking out for her sister."
Nash's eyes widened. "Lillie is your sister?"
"What? Oh, no!" I shook my head. "I told her where I was going, and she asked me to rescue her sister for her."
"You're not doing that," Nash said. "I told you, Ashton's got this all under control."
"Does he?" I asked. "I've seen him fight twice, but both of those times, he was either injured or he needed help." I shook my head. "No, I don't think Ashton has control of this." I stepped forward, but Nash stuck his arm out.
"Calypso," he said. "I already said no."
I looked at him. "Nash. He has Lilac, and my brother. What if Phoenix took your best friend and your little brother? Would you go after them?"
"Yes, unless the person in charge said no." Nash sent a look at me.
I scoffed. "No you wouldn't. You'd go even if the person in charge said no."
"Maybe," he said, "but you're not me. We need to keep you safe."
"Nash, I can take care of myself!" I exclaimed. I summoned a knife and brandished it at him. "See this? I know how to use this."
"Really?" Nash crossed his arms and leant up against the wall. "Let's see it then."
I sighed, exasperated. "Nash, you're being a jerk," I muttered before throwing the knife. It landed right beside his ear.
"You missed," Nash said cockily.
I summoned another knife. "You wanna bet?"
Nash swallowed. "Okay, I know you can throw knives and you have great aim," he said. "But does that mean you'll be brave enough to actually throw it at someone if the time comes?"
I thought about it. I usually got nauseous whenever I saw something really gruesome. I didn't think I could just throw a knife a someone's neck or other body part that they needed to survive. I was capable of it physically, just not mentally.
"See?" Nash said. "You can't even answer the question."
"That doesn't mean I can't take care of myself," I shot back. I pushed past his outstretched hand and strode into the hallway outside, but Nash just grabbed my wrist.
"Nash!" I yelled, whirling around. "What don't you get when I say 'I can take care of myself'?"
"The fact that you aren't able to put a knife through someone's heart if necessary."
"And you are?"
"Only if it's absolutely necessary," Nash responded.
"I don't care if it's 'necessary' to stab someone in the heart," I spat.
"In my books, it's the only way to survive," he said in defense.
"Really?" I raised an eyebrow. "Well, in my books, it's only defined as one thing."
"And what's that?"
"Murder," I spat, turning on my heel and walking away quickly.
That time, Nash didn't try and stop me.