[Melody]-
Soft mummers whisper within my mind. A soft, relaxed smile rests on my expression. A small burst of adrenaline runs through me at his touch, and my eyes flutter open.
"Hey," he smiles down at me.
"Hey you," I smile sweetly.
He kisses me gently, but pulls away to add, "Look, I'm sorry."
I don't say anything at first, just stare into his magnificent eyes. They shine with guilt, dancing in silent sorrow. I sigh. "For what?"
"I almost completely went under and I-"
I press myself into hi, pulling away quickly. "Almost, and besides, even if you went completely under, I would have been fine."
"You sure?"
"Yes," I smile. "I have no regrets.
He smiles in response.
We're silent for a while. "We should probably get dressed."
"Yeah, that's be -- yeah," I crawl out from under the covers, keeping a sheet held around me like a towel.
~
Chris and I walk hand in hand through the trees.
We're silent at first, but as we approach the clearing, I remember something.
"Remember how you said non of the Guardians know what happened to the pod?"
He sighs as we enter the clearing. "Do you really want to know?"
"Yes! Tell me!"
He smiles, kicking off his shoes. I do the same, joining him at the edge of the water.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes! Tell me!" I whine
He smiles, kicking his feet in the water. "Fine," his smile drops, sighing. "Someone broke into your pod."
"Yeah, I know that part."
He nods. "Sorry,"
"It's fine," I take his hand. "Go on,"
He stops kicking his feet. "The first thing they did was climb underneath your pod and used some sort of magic to destroy the power gem from the inside out."
"That's -- odd," I muse.
"It gets worse. The power gem not only is the pods engine, it also-"
"Provides the pod electricity. I know. I remember the black out."
"It does more than just that Melody." I look up at him. His gaze remains on the still water. He's silent for a while, but when he speaks, his voice his quiet, soft, like a whisper. "The power gem supplies us air." my eyes widen in alarm, still he does not look up. "Without the power gem, us humans suffocate."
"Don't the Kurmanians need oxygen to breathe too?"
"No, but without the power gem, their power becomes ultimately weakened and they can no longer switch between forms."
"Oh right! Human, animal, meld, shift!"
He nods. "So Stealth was stuck in her human form. Normally, she's go into shift, but she couldn't. Her first thought was to repair the gem, leaving you alone."
"Wait, how do you know all of this?"
It's then he looked up at me. "Stealth told me what she did, Renee filled me in on the rest."
"How?"
"It was during the Hoo-Too," A shiver runs through me at the name. "Renee was the one to perform it."
"Wait, why not Wisdom?"
He pauses for a moment. "Because, the ingredients."
"What?"
He sighs. "You remember the Dark Jade?"
"Yeah, it's the most lethal plant, why?"
He turns to face me. "Something that could have been useful to know is that it is especially dangerous to Kurmanians."
"But doesn't it only grow on Kurma?"
He nods. "The irony, but it's true."
"But how is it worse for them?"
"Well, you know how it can kill us?"
"Yeah,"
"Well just think of it this way. All of the same things happen, but stop before killing them."
"Oh, so they live, but in consistent agony."
"Exactly, so it was just us. After reciting the spell, she is supposed to use the pollen to make a mixture. After she had injected the potion into you, she said she got a vision."
"What?"
He nods. "Yeah, she said it was a memory."
"She stole my memory?" That would explain the fuzzy portion.
"No," --great, and I return to being clueless-- "It wasn't your memory."
I gasp when I remember the term. "Roke,"
"Yup, and it was from the intruder."
"Well what happened?"
"They broke the window by throwing six rocks on it. Somehow, they managed to melt through the hole it left after it shattered, which is odd since the body was much bigger than the hole allowed space for."
"Melt?"
"Something like that. But then there's an immensely long pause, and then a scream. At that point, we believe the power gem had been replaced by a temporary gem." I become confused at that point. "Think of it like a tire. When you get a flat tire, you replace it with a spare."
"Ah, got it."
"Anyways, we believe that because at that point, there was a bright white light and soon-" he stops.
I look at him. "What happened?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"What would make you think that?"
"Well, because you haven't trained privately with your Guardian,"
"And how does that relate?"
He sighs heavily. "Private training focuses on the third form, meld."
"Yeah, and...?"
He groans. "Stealth activated the meld form."
"Which is..."
"When the Guardian makes one with you!"
I pause. "I'll talk to Stealth about it,"
"Yeah,"
We're silent for a while as we return to kicking our feet in the water.
"Who do you think it was?" I finally ask.
He sighs. "Six taps on a window and it breaks, huh?" he muses.
"Yeah, that's my guess."
We look at each other, half smiling. "Only question is, how did he destroy the power gem from outside the pod?"
"Better yet, how was he able to get under the pod? Or breathe without the power gem?"
He sighs, looking back down at the water. "No clue, but I just hope he stays dead."
"Wait, he died again?"
He smiles. "The last thing Stealth told me, while in the meld form, she killed him."
I smile widely. "Well thank god he's dead!"
He laughs, looking up at me. "You really think he'll stay dead this time?"
I take his hand in mine. "In all honesty, no, but even if he does come back, we'll just kill him again. And if he's still not dead, we'll just have to keep killing him."
His gaze slowly falls as does his expression.
"What?"
He sighs, closing his eyes. "What if the reason he keeps coming back is the Tumb-Gee?"
I stare, eyes wide in disbeif. "Are you actually telling me that he's coming back because he's my so called soul mate? I thought we solved this problem before."
"I'm just saying that maybe-" he stops, then slowly looks up at me. "Maybe God's plan for you is him, and that's why he keeps coming back."
I don't respond for a while, just stare at him. It scares me when I think of it, but maybe he's right, maybe God keeps bringing him back because he's determined to put me-
No. No, I can't think this!
I soon become so full of emotion that my eyes begin to tear up.
"No, don't please," Chris begs me. But simple words won't help. Tears begin to stream down the side of my face. Chris' arms are immediately around me, holding me close to him. I don't move, even as he continues to whisper in my ear. But it's a while before he says something that stops my tears. "Okay, it may be true, but even if it is, I will wait." It's silent for a while. "I've waited four years to be with you. I'm not going to let you go that easily."
I'm still at first, but then my arm curl his back. My expression softens, eyes closed.
We stay like this for a long while. His warmth seems to swallow me, but it calms me. His hands trail up and down my back soothingly.
I pulll away slowly. "Love you,"
He smiles sweetly. "Love you too." he responds before giving me a quick peck.
I pull my knees up, setting them on his legs. My arms curl around his neck, my fingers playing with his hair. "I mean that."
He smiles softly, his hands resting on my hips. "And I mean that." he whispers, pressing his forehead on mine.
My arms slide tighter around him, my eyes closing. I can feel his hands shift, resting on the small of my back. Gradually, he pulls me closer to him. I start to feel his pulse, which seems to quicken with every passing moment.
Then comes the rush, and within seconds, I fall under.
* * *
The golden light dances against my bare skin. I stir, moaning. I hear a rustle and my eyes flutter open.
"Chris," I whisper, reaching behind me.
He moans. "What?"
"Someone's coming." I sit up.
"What, who?"
"Don't know, but they're close." I reach back to grab my shirt.
"No time," and he jumps in the water.
I'm hesitant at first, but jump in when I see a blur of a person in the trees.
It's quiet at first. We poke our heads above the water, but only slightly enough so that we can see and breathe but remain hidden.
Tyler enters the clearing next to a figure I don't recognize, past the common knowledge of them being a female. She wears a black, skin tight, full body suit, her face concealed behind her long, straight blond hair and black hood.
"So that just leaves the dark blood." Tyler comments, making his way to the edge of the lake. Chris and I carefully maneuver out of their view.
"Yup," a pause. "My god, what the hell happened here? Did a dresser explode?" her voice sounds familiar, yet seductive with a hint of humor.
Tyler laughs, sitting at the edge of the lake. "Two sets, do the math."
She laughs. "Two sets mean boom,"
"Exactly.,"
I silently gag myself at their dirty sense of humor.
"But still, how do we get a hold of him?"
"Well, I could always-"
"No," booms a new voice. A pause, Tyler standing.
"Daughter Nocturnal, you're awake." he says, caught off guard.
"Of course she is you dimwit, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for her," she slaps Tyler behind his head and he groans.
"So you're aware," comments the voice I have labeled Nocturnal. I cannot see her, though I don't dare being detected.
"Well of course, who else would be able to raise me?"
I hear the rustling of feet as they walk further away from where we hide.
"More will come, with my talent, my dear, sooner then you know. Now my children, what are we discussing?"
"The final segment." Tyler's voice responds, his tone wry.
"So I assume you have dealt with the issue with the psychic's shade, Ria?"
"Not yet, but we have a plan to turn her to flesh."
"Good,"
"However, we are not sure if it will work."
"Not here, it's not safe."
"Why not?" the female's voice vibrates with the sound of an uncertain laugh.
"I can hear two heart beats, we need to leave."
A pause, then the sound of feet rustling through the leaves and clothes rubbing against the side of trees and snapping of the branches.
We wait a minute before we decide it's safe to climb out of the lake.
"Ria, where have I heard that name before?" I think aloud as I grab all of my clothes.
"I think it was mentioned in one of the letters."
"Oh yeah," the memory flashes in my mind. "Ria- you know what to do. What do you think that meant?"
"Don't know," he sighs. "You ready?"
I nod.
* * *
10th of Willow, 2049, Journal Entry #5, Kurma,
Took the day off from training today, which I have Torra's severed arm to thank. So Chris and I went down to the clearing.
Apparently, my pod was attached by one person. Broke the window, it shattered. Is this news? Not really. Odd part was, he seemed to melt through it, and then there was something about the meld form. I'm going to talk to Stealth about it tomorrow at training.
After that, I lost it. Looks like number 10 on my wish list will never happen now. Thing is, I don't care. I have no regrets.
It was after that that was odd. Tyler and some chick in a full body, skin tight, black suit came out and started talking about getting a hold of a dark blood. Then comes this one person who I didn't see but instead heard. My only hint of who they were was that Tyler said Daughter Nocturnal. Nocturnal mentioned something about a pyschic's shade, Ria, and then they left. Ria, I remember that name from one of the letters.
What's going on?
Besides that, Chris is just sitting in the bed with this look of nervousness. He keeps looking around the room and it's making me uneasy. I better go over and talk to him.
-The Lost Heroine
I close the journal, hiding it away within the desk. I stand and climb in the bed beside Chris. "You alright?" I ask calmly, taking his hand.
"What? Sure," he replies, voice vibrating. He doesn't look at me, eyes still shifting rapidly.
"Of course you are," I sigh.
"What would make you think otherwise?" his hands begin to shiver.
"Chris?"
"Yeah,"
"You're shaking, physically shaking."
He's still, hands still vibrating. "I am?"
"Yeah, you are."
He pauses, slowly turning to look at me. "Sorry,"
I sigh. "What's going on with you?"
His gaze travels to the ceiling, not wanting to tell me what's on his mind.
"Come on, are you mad at me or something?"
His eyes return to me immediately. "No, where -- what -- I could never -- no!" he stutters, expression hurt. "Why would you think that?"
"Because, you won't tell me what's bothering you?"
"Who says anything is bothering me?"
"Chris, you're about as unstable as a two legged elephant." I inform bluntly.
He's still for a moment, then sighs heavily. "You want me to tell you?"
"Yes,"
He takes my hands in his, expression low. "In all honesty, I'm more so mad at myself."
"Well, why?"
He sighs. "I kind of ruined your life."
"What?"
"Number ten,"
I smile softly, resting my head on his shoulder. "Look, don't think that I didn't think it through before hand, I did, and in all honesty, I'm perfectly happy with how things turned out."
"Yeah, sure."
"No, I'm serious. I more so had that because--" I lift up my head. "You know, screw that. Bottom line is, I lost it to someone I love, I trust, and I know. It happened, it's not like I can just get it back, okay?"
"Yeah but--"
"Let me finish. If I didn't want to, I would have never done it in the first place." I sigh, smiling softly. "Remember what I told you this morning? I have absolutely no regrets. Understand?"
He don't react at first, so I just close my eyes, resting my head against him.
"Okay,"
I look up at him. "So you're okay now?"
He nods. "Or at least somewhat."
I groan. "Still not convinced?"
He smiles. "No, I am, it's just something else."
"Well what is it?"
"Remember that girl who was with Tyler?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"I know her."
"Two things, one, you couldn't even see her face, how could you know her if you can't see her face? Two -- okay, there's only one. But still."
He smiles, but it fades. "I could tell by her voice."
"It could have been someone else. You know, people can imitate different voices. You never know."
He laughs a little. "True, but it had the this seductive feel to it."
"It did have that. But how does that relate?"
"You'll see. But first, I want you to tell me honestly that nothing about her felt familiar."
I open my mouth to speak, but stop. "Okay, so it did sound familiar, but can you just get to the point?" I whine.
He laughs. "Fine," his expression falls. "I'm almost 100% --"
"Almost?"
"You're right. I'm 100% certain that--" he stops
"Will you tell me already!" I groan impatiently.
He's silent at first, but then whispers the name in my ear. "Lilly Hamock."