Thursday, January 4th, 2018, 11:00am
Paper Crown - Alec Benjamin
Rei's POV
I keep my mind open, letting them see what happened as I remember that day two years ago.
"A paper crown, and a heart made of glass
A tattered gown, and her kingdom of ash
She walks alone, can never look back
The story of a queen whose castle has fallen to the sea
She'll make it out, but she's never the same
She's lookin' down, at the scars that remain
But you hold your ground, though your kingdoms in flames
Cause it's the story of a queen who's castle has fallen to the sea
Knowing there's no one who will be a king that will come and save his queen."
My voice was soft as I sang. My body felt exhausted, pained from sleeping on the ground, or in the trees. I was hungry, nothing I wasn't used to. Raven managed to catch a deer two days ago. We haven't caught or ate anything since.
I walked slowly, my eyes scanning the forest around me. I was lucky there hadn't been any snow, just cold air.
"When all she needs, and all she wants, and all she finds
When all she is, and ever was, is compromised
Cause there's no one to love her
You built your walls too high
And there's no one to love you when you build your walls too high
There is no one, who is strong enough, to save your love
There's no fairytale, There's no fairytale."
There's no fairytale. No happy ending. No love. Not for me.
I felt tears start to build in my eyes. I tried to keep the cries in, keep everything bottled up like I'd always done.
"When all she needs, and all she wants, and all she finds
When all she is, and ever was, is compromised
Cause there's no one to love her
You built your walls too high
And there's no one to love you when you trap yourself inside."
Finally, I couldn't hold back the sobs anymore. The first cry escaped past my lips, quickly followed by another, and another. I crouched down, kneeling in the frosty grass.
I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't hold it back. Couldn't hold everything inside anymore. All my suppressed cries came bursting through the dam. I didn't care about being quiet. If rogues hear me, let them come. Let them come and kill me.
I coughed, my cries stealing all my breath, causing me to gasp for air.
I don't know how long I kneeled there before I heard her voice.
"Hello?" It was gentle, warm. Somehow, I knew I could trust the owner of the voice. "I want to help."
Whoever it was, they were nearby. I heard footsteps, and tried to quiet my cries. I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, and looked up slowly to be met with kind, hazel eyes.
The woman gave me a warm smile. "It'll be alright," she said softly. "The pain won't last forever. Every storm runs out of rain eventually. Come, you look like you could use a roof to sleep, or at least rest, under."
Slowly, I nodded, and accepted the hand offered to help me up.
"Thank you," I said quietly, wiping my tears away with my sleeve.
The woman nodded once, "of course. My name's Lyria, Lyria Ranger. I'm a witch. And you?"
"Rei Rys," I replied. "Werewolf."
"If I may ask," Lyria said, "why are you out here alone?"
My body tensed, but I forced myself to answer. "I was rejected by my mate a few days ago, and banished from my pack."
"Well, you're welcome to stay with my siblings and I," Lyria said without hesitation. "Just be warned, it can get a little chaotic."
I smiled softly. "I'm used to it."
Lyria lead me to a house nestled in the forest, in a small clearing. It looked small, but cozy. Lyria opened the door, and we stepped inside, out of the cool winter air. To the right was a dining room, and a kitchen beyond that. To the left was a living room, with stairs against the back wall, and a fireplace. Resting on the mantle, I noticed a small jade dragon.
Two young kids, a boy and a girl, kneeled at the coffee table, coloring. They both looked up when the door opened, then came running over.
"Lia!" The girl said happily.
"Rhea," Lyria replied, "Chase. Were you two good?"
"We no move!" Chase said proudly.
"I asked them to stay at the coffee table coloring while I went to find you," Lyria explained, seeing my confused expression.
"Was I that loud?" I asked, embarrassed.
"I stepped outside and heard faint crying," she replied. "So not too loud. These are my youngest, three year-old siblings, twins Rhea and Chase."
"Nice to meet you," I said, smiling genuinely for the first time in a long time.
"You too!" Chase cried happily.
"Lia," Rhea said, "when Killie and Clo come back?"
"Soon," Lyria replied. She looked at me, "my other brother and sister, Killian and Clove, they're sixteen and fifteen, they decided to take a walk and get some fresh air." She looks at the clock, and mutters, "though I thought they would be back by now."
Her eyes glowed and fogged over, like she's mind-linking. A few seconds later, her eyes cleared and she shook her head, smiling softly.
"Why don't you go sit in the living room while I make you something to eat?" Lyria said to me.
"Oh, I'm alright," I replied, not wanting to be a bother.
Of course, at that moment my stomach decided to growl loudly.
Lyria smiled understandingly. "Go sit, you're hungry and need to eat."
"At least let me help," I said.
"Oh fine, you stubborn wolf," she chuckled. "But you rest after."
I nodded and followed her into the kitchen. Together, we made sandwiches, deciding on something quick and easy to make. Lyria debated on making some for her other siblings, the two out walking, but decided against it.
"Ah, they can make their own," she muttered. "That's what they get for 'getting carried away racing and running too far.' I swear, one day I'll strangle the two idiots."
I couldn't hold back a small smile. They all seemed to have a strong bond, closely-knit together. I wished I'd had that kind of relationship with my family.
"Anyway," Lyria said, "now it's time for you to rest."
We sat at the dining table, along with Chase and Rhea. We talked about what happened to me, and I didn't mind telling them. I trusted them, and felt safe with them. Lyria explained her abilities to me, how she could talk to dead souls, and how she learned telepathy, because that was pretty much the same thing, only it was talking with living souls.
She also told me about her other siblings, Chase, Rhea, Killian and Clove, with the twins adding in their own opinions. About how Killian could enhance his abilities, and Clove's telekinesis. And how the two often play fight, joke and argue.
When I hesitantly asked where her parents were, Lyria also told me how they had been killed by rogue werewolves, along with their coven.
But being there, it felt nice, like I belonged.
Of course, it couldn't last.
Suddenly, the sound of a loud, blaring alarm filled the air. Both of the twins jumped, and tears filled their scared eyes.
"The fire alarm," Lyria said, confused, fear starting to appear in her eyes.
I smelled the air, my body tensing. "I smell smoke."
Just as I finished the sentence, as if confirming our fear, a beam suddenly falls in the kitchen with a loud crash, the wood engulfed in flames.
We all jumped, scared.
"Rei, take the twins and get out," Lyria said, as we got up. "I just have to grab something, I'll be right behind you."
I nodded and grabbed the twins, running towards the door. I noticed a Lyria running onto the living room, to the fireplace mantle.
I took the twins to the edge of the clearing, far enough away from the house that we'd be safe. I heard a crash from the house, and Lyria still hadn't come out.
"Stay here, alright?" I whispered urgently.
Chase and Rhea nodded, tears running down their faces.
I ran back into the house and found that another beam had fallen, this one in the living room, and landing on Lyria's ankle, trapping her.
"Lyria!" I shouted, panicked.
I can't lose one of my new friends.
Raven, help me, I whispered, stupidly trying to move the burning beam out of the way, which only resulted in me burning my hands.
Already am, Raven whimpered. But this won't work.
"Rei," Lyria's voice replied, surprisingly calm as the flames licked at her legs. "Take this and get out. You'll have to leave me."
"I can't just let you die!" I said as she handed me the jade dragon that had been on the mantle.
"We both know there's no way to save me," she said, like she was accepting what we both knew would happen to her.
"No," I whispered. "There has to be a way."
The flames were burning at her stomach now. Lyria shook her head sadly, her eyes glowing. I could only guess that she was mind-linking her other two siblings for the last time. Then her eyes glowed brighter, the glow turning white. As I gazed at her, my eyes meeting hers, a felt a weird twinge in my mind.
A white beam of light escaped her eyes, floating towards me. When the beam passed through the flames, which had gotten much closer, it took on a pale red hue.
"Keep them safe," Lyria whispered, her voice just loud enough to be heard over the crackling fire.
As the glowing light came towards my eyes, I knew not to look away. The glow didn't hurt my eyes at all, and it didn't hurt when it entered my eyes either. Suddenly, I didn't feel the heat from the from the flames anymore, and I didn't feel any smoke entering ,y lungs. I felt something in my mind, but I didn't know exactly what it was.
"Lyria," I said softly as the light fades.
Lyria's eyes met mine as the flames surrounded her face. I grasped her hand as the light left her eyes. Tears escaped my eyes, and fell down my face, somehow not evaporating from the flames surrounding me. I still didn't feel them, even as they licked at my body. I should be burning, dying, but I'm not.
Rei, get out! Raven said, startling me out of my trance.
Grasping the jade dragon in my painfully burnt fingers, I ran to the door, diving through as a the house finally collapsed, sending hundreds of sparks into the air.
Struggling, I forced myself up, and walked towards the twins waiting by the trees. I looked at my body, and found that the only burns were from before that light entered my body. Somehow, it had given me an immunity to fire.
I fell to my knees in front of the twins, all three of us crying.
"I'm sorry," I whispered as Chase tentatively took the jade dragon, looking at it.
Then the two twins held their arms out, and I wrapped one arm gently around both of them. We stayed like that for a while, just crying outside in the cool winter air, the only warmth being from each other and the burning house.
Before long, I heard running footsteps. I looked and saw a girl and a boy, about my age. They must be Clove and Killian.
"Oh god," Clove said, her hand going to cover her mouth, horrified.
"Clo!" Rhea cried, catching the attention of her sister and brother.
Both of them came running over. I let the twins out of my arms, and they ran to their older siblings. After quickly checking to make sure they were OK, Killian turned to me, his expression cold.
I stood up slowly, and before I could speak, I was pinned against a tree, Killian's hand around my throat, his eyes glowing.
"You did this, didn't you?" he hissed.
Frantically, I shook my head as much as I could. "No. I could never do something like this."
Killian squeezed my throat tighter, starting to cut off my breathing. "I don't believe you, mutt. Rogues like you never travel alone. And besides, I can smell them, the ones you came with. Their scents followed yours, and go right up to the house, yet she only told us about you. So tell me, where are they?"
"I... I don't know who you're talking about," I choked out, clawing at his hand.
"Don't lie," Killian said, pressing me harder against the tree. "Because of you, and your kind, we've lost everything... We lost her." I heard his voice crack slightly, and I could see the pain in his eyes, which he quickly hid. "So now it's your turn to die."
"Killian," I heard Clove say tentatively.
Killian's hand squeezed tighter around the throat. I couldn't breathe. My fingers clawed at his hand. I didn't want to shift my claws and possibly seem like a bigger threat than he already saw me as.
I didn't do it, I thought, wishing I could mind-link him, show him I'm not a threat.
I watched Killian's eyes fog over for a second, then he dropped me, the glow from his eyes fading as he backed away to stand beside Clove, who was still crouching with her arms around the twins. I fell to the ground, gasping for air as my burnt hands sang with pain from me trying to catch myself as I fell.
"How did you do that?" Killian said, his eyes narrowed.
"Do what?" I rasped, gently feeling at my throat.
"Mind-link me," he replied, studying me.
"You know how," Clove said softly, looking up at him.
Killian glanced at her, then back to me, and I could see his walls starting to crumble.
"Killie," Chase mumbled, reaching for his older brother, the jade dragon still in his small hand. Killian picked him up, holding Chase tightly. Hiding his face in Killian's shoulder, Chase mumbled, "you no hurt her."
Clove looked at me, "what happened."
"I... I don't know," I replied softly. "The fire alarm suddenly went off, and a beam fell in the kitchen. The fire must've started upstairs."
I recounted what happened to them. How I got the twins out, how Lyria got trapped, how she gave me the dragon, the white light. Everything. I could tell Clove was starting to trust me, and so was Killian, though he remained apprehensive.
"She gave you her power," Clove whispered as I finished.
"What?" I asked, stunned.
"That white light," Killian said. "That was Lyria giving her power to you."
"But... Why?" I whispered.
"Don't know. She must've trusted you," Clove replied, shrugging. "But thank you, for saving Rhea and Chase."
I nodded, "of course."
"The jade dragon," Clove continued, "our dad gave it to our mum at their wedding. It's special to all of us, something to remember them by... But it wasn't worth her life. She should've just ran out with you."
Killian's eyes studied me again, then his guard slowly came down. "I don't fully trust you, Wolf, but if she did, then I'll try to. Just know, if you really did play a part in this, I'll make sure you don't live another day."
I nodded again. "Got it."
"Christ, Flash," Zaine says, looking at Killian, who winces and shoots me a guilty, sheepish look.
I gave him a small smile. He knows I forgave him, and I don't blame him for assuming.
"You didn't know?" Raiden asks.
Zaine shakes his head. "They've told me, but not in that much detail. All I got was 'Killian didn't really trust Rei at first.'" He elbows Killian in the ribs, "that was an understatement."
"So who followed you?" Dean asks.
"We still don't know," I say lowly.
"I couldn't find the rogues' scents again," Killian adds darkly. "Our best guess on what happened is that the rogues followed her, then found an open window, or broke one to start the fire upstairs, where they didn't notice right away."
"Flash, would you have really killed her?" Asher asks.
Killian shakes his head. "No. I didn't have it in me back then to end someone's life. I wanted to, but the most I would've done was bruise and beat her."
Asher growls softly, his arm wrapping tighter around my shoulders.
"Oh stop it," I say, hitting his chest. "That was two years ago, not yesterday."
Asher looks at me and sighs. "Sorry. Jayden and I don't like the thought of someone hurting you."
I roll my eyes, muttering, "overprotective."
Asher growls playfully. "You know it."