Realities Vengeance

Chapter 11: Explore

"What are you thinking!" she said to me with a dangerous look in her eyes. "She is a lost and traumatized little girl! I wasn't going to be rude to her" I said with a just as dangerous look in my eye. She started pacing back and forth, "You can't be so trusting, Esmeray! I don't know how it is where you come from, but a little girl like her is very capable of killing us, taking all of our stuff, and moving on like nothing ever happened. You can't trust anyone, especially when they think your royalty." she said. I felt like I was begin scolded by my mother. "She is a harmless little girl, stop being so paranoid. Her parents killed her best friend in front of her" I said, and she stopped suddenly. "Is that little girl elfish?" she asked me. I looked away for a split second. "She is Styx, isn't she?" she asked, and I nodded. "She was kicked out of her clan because she thought murder was wrong" I said. She was shaking her head throughout my whole sentence. "She was raised to think murder is normal, there is no way she could have gotten the idea that murder is wrong" she said starting getting genuinely mad. "Her best friend was elfish, and they murdered her because they thought she was making their daughter weak. I'm sure her elfish friend gave her those ideas" I said. Reael rubbed her temples and started pacing again. "She can't stay." she said it like it was final. "What! Why not?" I asked, and she got up close to me. "Are you stupid? She. Is. a. Styx. You know? The people who tried to kill you a couple of nights ago... they raised her!" she was almost yelling at this point. "Just because her elders are like that doesn't mean this girl is! She has spent the last year fending for herself, and she is ten." I yelled back at her, and she crossed her arms and started at me. "We don't have the food, patience, or time to deal with a child." she said, and I rolled my eyes. "She has lived on her own for the past year, if anything she will help us. I will take care of her, and if she doesn't want to come with us she doesn't have to" I said. "She is going to slow us down and she could very easily be a thief" she said, trying to think of any way to not keep her. "She is a scared and traumatized ten year old who has lived on her own for the past year! She cried just telling me about her past, and if she wanted to kill me she could easily have already! She just needs someone to keep her safe and help her! What if you were that little girl? How would you feel after a year alone? How would it change when someone took you under their wing and helped you out? We could save this little girl's future. She comes from a bad family, yes, but she has potential. She is brave, and she knows how to survive. She knows murder is wrong and hates the Styx for it. She is staying with us." I said, and Reael was stunned, and speechless. I had gotten very worked up about this, and I had fought for the Aditi like she was my sister. I saw something in Aditi that Reael very obliviously didn't. I wasn't going to let Aditi struggle to survive anymore. I had my own moral compass, and letting her walk back into the forest alone, was very much against it. I needed to know that someone who everyone thought was wrong and dangerous, actually wasn't... because that was exactly who I was too.

When we walked back over to Aditi she was eating one of the fruits Reael collected like it was the first food she had eaten in a long time. Reael shot me a glare and sat down floppily. I sat down next to Aditi. "Hey, Aditi, would you like to come with us?" I asked, and she looked up stunned by my words. "You mean, like travel to the castle with you?" she asked. I nodded, and she jumped up. "Yes, oh, yes, thank you!" she said, and gave me a tight hug and spun in a circle. We finished the rest of the fruit and I was still very hungry, but I didn't complain for Aditi's sake. I told Aditi we were going to have a lot of traveling ahead of us, and she was completely up for it. I didn't know why, but having Aditi around made me happier and gave me something to think about other than my friends, who could be hurt. We went to sleep under the big tree, and Aditi snuggled up close to me. I was happy that I met her. I had a feeling that we would like having her around.

That night, I dreamt about the kiss Kase and I had shared before I had been dragged away. I remembered how tender he had been, and how sweet the whole thing was. My heart ached to be able to see him again... to be able to see everyone again. What if the Styx didn't leave and they hurt someone. They were there for me, and I don't know how I could live with the thought that someone was hurt because of me... because of my existence.