The Daughter of Irene and Shad

Awaken

 The High Priest examined the crystalized chamber closely–pondering on how to release the young girl. Unlike the entrance to the cave, no special seal was placed upon the chamber.

Esmund must have been in a rush to hide her. Zane concluded, Was Irene even present?

Zane crouched down to pick up a stone, but he never took his eyes off the chamber. As he straightens up, he begins to chip away at the crystal until it shatters and releases the child. Zane crouches down again to check if she had somehow survived after Irene knows how many years. As he attempts to for a heart beat, her eyes shoot wide open. Quickly she scoots away from the stranger as she tries to recall what she can.

"Who are you? Where are Esmund and my mother?" The child asks rapidly as she continues to move away from the strange man before her back hits the wall of the cave.

Zane slowly tries to inch towards her while staying at a distance. "It's okay, calm down." Trying his best to comfort her (a skill which he does not excel in). "My name is Zane Ro' Meave, and I'm a descendant of Esmund. I'm here from O'Khasis."

He notices as the child squints her eyes, "What do you mean by descendant? Esmund doesn't have children."

"You are very curious–reasonably so, but may I ask some questions of my own?" The last thing Zane wanted was his already little patience to be tested. Luckily, and with some hesitation, the child nodded. "How about you tell me who you are, and why you were sealed into this cave?"

"My name is Y/N. My mother and Esmund hid me here to protect me." Y/N answered as she tried to remember.

"Protect you? What would you need protection from?"

"I answered your questions. It's only fair if you answered mine."

Zane sighed, but respected her wishes. "The era of the Divine Warriors ended almost 900 years ago. Esmund, Enki, Irene, all of the Divine no longer roam the lands. My family, the Ro'Meave's, are descendants of Esmund, as I have told you already."

Y/N sat there on the cold cave floor, processing what she had heard. "900 years?" she asked herself as tears welled in her eyes. "No, it can't be. Why would mother seal me away for so long?"

Zane moved closer to the confused girl, "If you don't mind me asking, who was your mother?"

Y/N looked back at him. "She was Irene."

Physically, Zane pretended to be shocked. Mentally, he cheered. The power he sought after still existed. Not in the way he expected, but in the form of a child who has no one left from before being sealed away. A young child who needed to rely on someone to know more about the new world she found herself in. Shelter, food, guidance. If Zane couldn't get his hands on the relic, he could use Y/N as a weapon of his own. Still, questions lingered in his head: If Irene is her mother, who is her father? How much does she remember from her past? What major event occurred for Irene and Esmund to decide they needed to hide Y/N?

Zane glanced at the cave opening and remembered the time. "The sun will set soon. If you are comfortable with it, I invite you to my home in O'Khasis. My father, Garte, is the lord." He stood and extended his hand towards Y/N.

Y/N is left without another option. It's been 900 years since she's seen the sun, or felt the breeze, or gazed at the stars. Although she had been asleep for all that time, she's terrified at the thought of seeing how much the world she traveled through so many times has changed. All she wants is to go back home to Scaleswind. She yearns for the warmth of the fire during the winter, the endless laughter shared between the Divine, the games she would play with her parents. When she closed her eyes, she could recall the smiles on their faces when they spent time together. If only what happened between the other Divine and Shad hadn't occurred. If only Shad had listened to Irene. If only she wasn't locked away in a cave.

Realizing she had no other choice, she took Zane's hand and got off the floor. "Thank you," she paused. "How much has O'Khasis changed?"

"From what I have read, I don't believe it has changed drastically from what you remember." He leads her out of the cave, and helps her onto his horse before pulling himself up. "Of course the city has expanded and rebuilt with modern technology, but I think you will recognize some aspects."

"Alright," Y/N replied as they started their journey to the grand city.

Author's Note: Welp. It's been a second. I'm happy to be writing again after so long! The last chapter's note mentioned me starting high school, and now I'm starting college. Whoops. Two years ago, I tried to come back and had all the chapters planned for this book. That plan is still the same for the most part. I have so much more free time now, and so many ideas for future reader inserts! Stay tuned for a My Hero Reader Insert in between the end of this book and book two for this series ;) In any case, so happy to be writing again!