Love & Greed

Chapter Two

"I've wasted this gift on the lot of you." I growled, taking a step towards her, and she flinches out of fear. Jasyn mindlessly pulls her behind him, not realizing what he was doing. His gaze softens and tried to come toward me, apologeticly but I wouldn't let him near me. He was just as scared of me as the rest of them. My mother tries to gab my arm but I shove her away.

"Rhiannon, that's enough. Apologize to Jasyn and his mother." My mother demands. I laugh, and look at the two of them. "Apologize first." His mother looks flabbergasted, "for what?! You trying to kill my child?"

"Mom, she didn't try-"

"You could have killed us all! Don't you care?!" She yells at me.

I began to laugh, "why should I care about your well being, when you can't even appreciate all that I have done for you all?"

"All you have done?! Im constantly worried about my child when he's with you, you are just a ticking time bomb, you'll end up killing us all, even after this village has kept you fed, clothed and warm, and you can't even do simple tasks!"

"You keep me fed, clothed and warm?" I snap, "where do you get the food to feed me? You don't grow it, none of you probably know how to grow food. Warm? Who grows and cuts down trees to fix holes, and leaks? Surely not any of you!" This village is an entitled joke. None of you have done everything for me. I'm the one that does everything for your survival." I take a deep breath. "What would happen if I weren't around, huh?" I specifically ask her, I'm already close enough to reach out and grab her. "Would you survive? Should we test out that theory?"

"Rhia, that's enough, they get it." Jasyn steps in between his mother and I." His shirt I do grab.

"Do not call me that." I let him go before his mother has an aneurysm. I turn to see my mothers reaction, it's not regret or sadness, but fear. My own mother. Tears began to fall and I run out of the barn shoving past the crowd of people, some squeal as I get close, but no one tried to stop me from leaving. Of course not, I don't expect them to even try.

I run until I'm far enough away from the village and I look around me, I was in a meadow that looked almost exactly like my dream, it I didn't care. I let out a loud blood curdling scream and the ground around me. I drop to me knees and sob until I fall asleep. I don't dream this time, luckily but I was shaken awake, I look up to see Jasyn surrounded my stars. I jump up, I slept until dark?! Surprisingly, that's one of the best sleeps I had.

"Do you know how creepy it looks to find you sleeping surrounded by the cracks in the ground?" I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood but I really didn't want to see his face much less go back into the village.

"They can work without me, I'm not going back." I mumble and sit up, I eye the cracks in the ground that literally circle where I was laying. I won't admit it but it did look creepy, he would never let it go if I did. He makes room beside me, practically sitting on me so that he didn't have to sit on the cracks, I sighed and placed my hand on the ground and closed the cracks and scooted away from him. He's eyeing the ground, awestruck. I roll my eyes but gave a tiny smile.

"Tonight or not ever?" He asks softly, serious once again. I look him in the eyes, his eyes pleading with mine, but instead of begging, he said something so unexpected, " we could run away together."

"Wait, what?" I thought about running away but never with someone. They would only slow me down. Though, I would need some extra strength, it didn't sound too bad. I shook my head, "if I was going to run, I wouldn't take you with me." His face fell. "You have a family who loves you, I couldn't live with myself if I stripped that from you or even them, no matter how much I hate your mother. Besides I don't need her hunting me down with a pitchfork trying to get you back." I shuddered at the image in my head. He laughs at my reaction and tries to lay his hand on my hand, I pull away quickly. "Please stop that." I mutter, I know he means well but I refused to accept it.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting and-" he was interrupted but not my me, another voice.

"Jasyn!" A fierce whisper, "it's not really wise to search for that retched curse," it was a girls voice, probably the one I despise more than Jasyn's mother. Viola.

"Viola? Did you follow me?! What the hell!" She came into view and freezes when she sees me glaring at her. She glares back but speaks to Jasyn, "why must you insist on following this curse around like a lost puppy?! You've got better things and better people to spend your time with." She openly insults me, but I giggle.

"What the fuck are you giggling at, curse?" She finally looks back at me.

"Oh nothing, you just talk about my curse when you should be worried about how you curse everyone around you with that screechy voice of yours." I hear try to hold back a snicker. She pouts to Jasyn, "you're not going to let her talk to me like that are you, Jassy?"

"Yeah, Jassy, don't let me talk to her like that." I mocked. He busted out laughing. "Stop Rhia," I glare at the name but I know it's just to piss her off. "Viola, go home, if your parents find out you're out this late, you won't see light of day for a week."

"Run back home to your mommy, Viola, the grown ups are talking. You look like you need your beauty sleep."

"At least I know what beauty is, freak." He snaps back. I pretend to be stabbed, "oh no, you've wounded me, you win, oh no, what ever shall I do now?" She huffed, and stomped her foot turning around, a random rock appears in front of her as she begins to leave and she trips and falls. "I know you did that, freak! And I'll make sure the village knows it."

"Viola, what are you going to say? That you followed us in the middle of the night when you weren't supposed to be out and she made you trip on a rock you failed to see?" Jasyn asked her, his words seemed to trigger her and I could see the crocodile tears begin to fall as she quickly gets up and runs back to the village.

"Thanks," I say sincerely, "and stop calling me Rhia." I punched his arm. He grabs it and began to message the spot I hit. "Ow, you know I did that cause Viola was here." I know but still, I thought quietly. I lay on my back and admire the stars. He does the same and we stay in peaceful silent for a moment.

"I want to leave, I really do, but I shouldn't feel guilty, but here I am. It's probably why I stay and endure as much as I do." I mutter to myself, losing my words to another round of sleep. Jasyn let's me fall asleep without disturbance and for once, my sleep was peaceful, I didn't have stress transforming into nightmares, no parents making noise in the kitchen just soundless sleep. Well for a short moment, until Jasyn woke me up, shaking me fiercely. I open my eyes to his full of fear.

"Rhiannon, we need to hurry back to the village. Come on!" I moaned, and shoved him off of me, I sat up and was trying to take a moment to wake up but he grabs my arm and tries to rush me on my feet. I jerk my hand back from him. "What is your problem!"

"I just saw the Capital's Phoenix circling over the field."