Her Rising Dawn

Part 11- Burning Emotions

When I came back to reality, I found Alec grabbing my shoulders and staring at me with worried eyes. "Funneh are you okay?" he asked. I wanted to say yes, I really did, but I couldn't. Tears flowed down my cheeks and I crumpled into Alec's shoulder, sobbing loudly. He grimaced a little. "Not much of a hugger Funneh," he mumbled. But he did return the hug. 

Ahhhh Romance :)

"Funneh, is there a reason why you look so...afraid?" asked Alec. I coughed for air and explained everything, down to the fact about Draco wanting me to kill him. However, it made me even worse. The tears began to crash like waterfalls, and I swore that if I cried any longer, I would flood the healing center.

Sadly, my body never cooperated with my brain.

Sometime later, I pulled away and dried my tears. I can't just stay there and cry like there was nothing I could do. I had to burn my emotions off another way. I looked up. Rainbow and Kyran were gone, so was Yandere. "Where are the rest?" I asked. "They went to meet with Emerelda," said Alec." He dried away a loose tear that escaped from my eyelids, again. "Why don't you go take a stroll?" he suggested. "I'm sure that'll help you."

Actually, maybe it did. I nodded and got up, pushing the doors open. I stole a glance from Alec again and he nodded, smiling a little. Then off I went. My boots clacked against the marble floor as I walked through the endless halls. Yes the splendor was nice, but still I didn't feel any better. I bumped into one of the Crystalian maids and asked her where the training room was. She was surprised by my request but told me to head to the end of the hall and take a right.

When I flung open the doors to the training room, it was pitch black and quiet. No one seemed to be here. But it was good. I didn't feel like having company now. I took off my sweater to the blue shirt I always wore, and rolled up my pants to shorts. Flinging my sweater aside, I felt around the walls for the light switch and pressed it. The room that illuminated before me wasn't very big. I wasn't surprised, Crystalia was never a violent kingdom and they didn't believe in taking things by force. 

I tied my hair up into a bun and accidently got a whiff of a gross smell coming from me. I cringed, it was days since I had bathed. Maybe it was before the ball, and that was at least a week ago. The soot and ash from the fire was probably gone from the bouncing in the the carriage, but the wound on my calf was still sore, though it wasn't bleeding anymore. The healing fire must have done it.  There was blood caked in my finely polished nails. Well, there goes the work of Rainbow.

I made a mental list in my head. Train, shower, maybe train some more, and then meet up with the rest of the family for breakfast. I checked the small jeweled clock ticking at the corner. 2 am. Normally breakfast was served at 7 am in Krewdom. I wasn't so sure about Crystalia, but hopefully it was similar.

I turned on one of the treadmills in the room and cranked it to the max. Then I got on and started running. Beads of sweat flew off my forehead as I kept running, running, running and running. It was literally therapeutic for me, all the negativity just dissipated. Running and sweating always calmed me down.

I must have been running for ages, cause my calf began to bleed again. I reached for a nearby roll of gauze from a shelf and wrapped it around my calf tightly for compression, but not tight enough to stop the circulation. 

After debating, I decided to do something that didn't require my legs so that my calf could actually heal. I grabbed a pair of boxing gloves that was abandoned in the corner and headed to the room's only punching bag. Imagining the purple fire blazing through krewdom, I punched away. The rage I kept just flowed out with each punch I did.

Honestly, I never knew how long he stood there, but when I turned- all tired, sweaty and exhausted- he was there in a simple black tunic and brown pants. I paused in shock, the boxing gloves nearly falling off. 

"Burning off steam?" asked Alec, doing a little circle around me. I shrugged. He grinned. "Seems like you had the same idea as me." His smile faltered after that. "What's on your mind?" I sighed and tossed the boxing gloves aside, flopping onto the padded floor. Alec took a seat beside me, leaning against his hands on the ground behind his back. "It's not what's on my mind," I mumbled. "It's what's not on my mind." Alec stared at me confused. "Are you saying a tongue twister?" he joked. However, I was in no mood to joke now.

"I'm serious Alec. It's just that, after all this drama, I just want to forget everything," I said. "Draco, krewdom and millions of stuff. It's too hard for me. I just keep blaming myself for letting this happen. It's...all my fault." I screeched to a halt when I realized I was sharing something I had never told anyone before. Alec was quiet at first, then he said," How actually, is Draco turning evil and getting red eyes which is my current eye color, your fault?"

I was surprised, to shorten the long story. I'd thought he, of all people, should know why I am blaming myself. "Isn't it obvious? I wasn't with him that night! I should have been with him, but instead, I made a mess of myself by eating and embarrassing myself," I said in disgust. "Who knows? Maybe all this will scar me for life!" Tears welled in my eyes and I blinked them away. You cried earlier, don't cry again, I thought.

Alec smiled warmly at me and patted my back. "The first cut is always the deepest, but not every cut leaves a scar," he said. "Yes you may think it's your fault, but it doesn't have to be. People make mistakes, and they learn from them. Maybe you should learn that too." I nodded. What wisdom he had, my goodness. "Thanks Alec," I said. He smiled and stood up, helping me up to my feet. "Now that it's over, why don't you go take a bath?" he asked. I playfully glared at him. "To the shower hints, are you saying that I'm smelly?" Alec shrugged. "Maybe," he teased. 

But actually I was. So I headed back to the room- without the help of the maid, yay!- and prepared for a long, steamy and soapy shower. In the large bathroom, I kicked off my clothes and got ready to step into the shower. But I took a look at myself in the floor-length mirror. I was a little haggard, a little pale, and a little scrawnier than I should have been. My calf also showed a sign of healing, a crimson scab lining from the base of my foot to my thigh. There were also a few thin white lines covering my left arm that I was a hundred percent sure it would scar.

"But it didn't break me," I said, stepping into the shower and allowing the colored streams of water to wash away the grime and tangles. How I missed the familiar sensation of water. "It didn't break me, and it'll never break me," I repeated. 

Draco may be evil, and I wasn't sure when he would strike. But for now, I had to stay strong.