Realities Vengeance

Chapter 14: Family?

I walked to the room that the guards told me was Aditi's. It looked like a room for a younger girl, and when I walked in, she had a huge grin on her face. "Esmeray!" she said and she ran over to give me a hug. "Look at this amazing room! Isn't it the coolest thing you have ever seen!" she said, and I gave her a big smile and nodded. She suddenly got serious and looked at me, "You know this is all because of you, right? You rescued me from the horrible forest, and you gave me a chance at a normal life. I will never be able to thank you enough! You had faith in someone you should have never had faith in", she said and tears sprang to my eyes. I bent down and gave her a big hug, "You deserve it" I said, and she grinned at me. After I said goodbye to Aditi I headed over to Allister room. When I walked in, I noticed that it was a lot more like mine, but more male. Allister was lying on his bed when I walked in, and he looked over when I shut the door. "Hey", he said as he sat up. "Hey" I said back and walked over to him. "Um, how are you?" I asked, and he looked down. "About as good as I can be." he said. I looked at him with a sad feeling in my eyes. "It wasn't your fault, you know." he said, and I tilted my head. He looked up, "My grandmother wanted to stay behind, and I let her, it's my fault" he said, and I shook my head as I sat down next to him. I put a hand on his shoulder, "Allister, It is not your fault your grandmother died. She made the decision to stay behind. She is a smart lady, and I think she knew what she was doing. Stop blaming yourself." I said, and he shook his head. "I let her stay behind though! I should have told her to come with us!" he said in the angriest voice I had ever heard him talk in. I suddenly realized that I really didn't know Allister that well. "You and your grandmother saved all of our lives. If she hadn't done what she had, we would all be dead" I said, and he looked up at me angrily. "You don't know that! We all could have been able to escape!" He was almost yelling, and I was taken aback, but didn't back down. "She was one of the sweetest and most generous ladies I have ever met. You honored her memory, and I think she would be proud of you. You can't change what happened, so stop beating yourself up over it", I said. He still gave me an angry look, but it faded a bit. "What am I supposed to do now, Esmeray?" he asked, and I took a deep breath. What was he supposed to do without his grandmother and his farm? That was all he had ever known, and now it had been ripped from his grasp. I looked out the window in hopes of seeing an answer, but nothing came to me. "I think now you take life one step at a time. You are starting a new chapter in your life" I said, and he looked up at me with an emotion in his eyes that I couldn't read. "I have nothing ahead of me, Esme. I'm nothing special. I lost the one person in my life that I loved" he said. I finally understood what was in his eyes. He felt hopelessness. He didn't see any good outcomes, and he thought nothing was left for him. "Look, I don't know what you are meant to do with your life, but you have so much inside of you, I know you aren't done. You are on a mountain you have to climb. You might not see the top of it, but it's there. There is good that will come out of this, I know." I said, and he shook his head. "I don't think anything good will come from this" he said, and I put my hands on his shoulder. "You have so much ahead of you, Allister! You need to prove to the universe that you can overcome this! You have to move on, and honor you grandmother's life by living a life she would be proud of", I said. His eyes finally softened. I saw tears forming, and gave him a hug. I felt him shaking, and we sat there a long time. When he pulled back, I gave him a small smiled and quietly walked out of his room. I hoped he would take my advice to heart and become the Allister I met in the cute little town house, with the goofy grin, and mischievous eyes.

When I finally limped back to my room I found Reael waiting for me, sitting on my bed. I eyed her as I closed the door and entered the room. "Reael" I said, and she looked down at the ground, "I wanted to talk to you." she said, and I waited for her to talk, "Okay, look, I was wrong to explode like that. It wasn't right of me to judge the way you handle your emotions. I was short tempered and I was frustrated that I could do anything to save Allister's grandmother, or be any help at all. Please forgive me for the way I handled everything, and the way I treated you." she said, and I was surprised the earnestly in her voice, and the humble look in her eyes. "I didn't handle everything right either. I think we both had had a very long day, and we both didn't have the patience for each other. I'll forgive you if you forgive me." I said, and she gave me a tiny hint at a smile, and nodded. "I also wanted to talk to you about something else." she said, and I gave her a curious look, "They train you at the Academy, right?" she asked, and I studied her, "Yeah" I said trying to figure out where she was going with this, "How would you feel about learning the elfish art of combat?" she asked, and my eye brows shot up, "You mean you would train me?" I asked, and she nodded, "I just thought it might be a good way to pass the time while you have to stay here. I don't know how long you'll have to stay until your home is safe, so it might be a good distraction." she said with a shrug. I grinned, "Yeah! I would love that!" I said, and I could hear the excitement in my voice. "Good" she said as she nodded and headed towards the door, and she looked back right before she left, "We start tomorrow morning. Be prepared to get your butt kicked." she said and gave me a genuine smile before shutting the door. I smiled to myself. I was very glad to have a friend like Reael. She is tough and sometimes hard to deal with, but I was glad to have her around. I glanced at the bed and there was a very fancy elfish dress with a note on it. I picked up the note and it said, Dear Esmeray, I hope that Zacael informed you of your family dinner tonight. I had my maids prepare this dress for you. The guards will escort you to your dining room at nightfall. I hope that you enjoy meeting your family, and I hope that you enjoy a classic elfish dinner. –Sincerely the King. I looked over at the dress and decided that I had no choice in going to this dinner. I opened up the box. It was beautiful green dress with gold lace around the edges. It was absolutely gorgeous. I put on the dress and I actually liked the way it looked on me. I looked over at the window and I saw that the sun was dropping below the sea, and it was beautiful. Magical colors lit up sky and I thought it looked like an oil painting. I admired the sun on its entire trip into the sea, and when it was completely engulfed I heard a knock on my door.