Burned By Ashes- Dream

Chapter 42-Whole

Cinder felt someone shaking her and she slowly opened her eyes. Teloki stood over her, a worried expression on his face. "Cinder, are you ok?" Cinder sat up and put her hand to her head and looked around, she was still leaning against the tree and it was dark. "Are we ready to move on?" she asked not answering the question. Teloki nodded and offered her his hand, taking it he helped her to her feet. Suddenly she could see perfectly, and she gasped softly. Teloki looked at her concerned. "You...OK?" he asked. Cinder looked at him her hair waving in the slight breeze that had come. "Yeah, I am fine. Just got answers that I needed." She said and concentrated on the darkness in front of her. Shadows started morphing and changing. "Hello, Rakol's daughter... if ever you are in need of us are here at your command." They hissed and Cinder looked at Teloki "Did you hear that?" she asked. He looked at her "Hear what?" he asked. Cinder shook her head "Nothing, lets get back to the others." She said and together they went back to the camp... but everyone was gone the tent was packed up and only their horses and packs where left. Cinder mounted without was word and sent her gift out, searching for their body heat. Teloki mounted as well and looked at her.

Suddenly she felt them and nudged her horse in that direction, Teloki tried to start a conversation with her but Cinder's brain was going a million miles a second. She was Rakol's daughter, she had a brother named Caleb and she had never known about it. Her mother had remarried to keep her status and so that the kingdom wouldn't know that she had broken the oath and married Rakol.

All of these thoughts swirled in her head as they rode to catch up with the others, they crested a hill and Cinder saw Kia in the distance, her dark blue hair shinning in the sunlight. "Kia...we are behind you, this is Cinder. Tell the others to stop and meet us at the nearest town." Cinder waited for a moment and she saw Kia turn to look at them and Cinder launched a ball of fire into the sky. Kia did the same and then sent a response. "I told them, we will wait for two hours then we are going to continue to the training field of Aborforth." Cinder nodded at Teloki and send a response back to Kia "That is fine. We will meet you there, I need to show Teloki something first then we will continue on our way to you, tell the others." Cinder let the connection die and then she turned to Teloki "We are going to meet them in Aborforth." Teloki nodded and they continued on their way. Cinder and Teloki kept at a steady pace and when they had gone a while, Cinder lead him off to the side and dismounted. "Come on, I need to show you something." She said. Teloki nodded and dismounted as well. Together Cinder lead him down a path and she found a bench and sat down. Teloki sat next to her and took her hand "What do you need to tell me?" he asked. Cinder looked at him, not sure how to proceed and so she smiled. "Teloki, I love you and wouldn't do anything to endanger you or any of the friends that I have made during this journey, but I have to tell you something.' Teloki looked at her and nodded at her to continue. 'Ok, so when I was in the grove of trees, I had a vision in the realm of Alther...Rakol came to me and told me something about my past... he told me that I was not the daughter of Grace and Ky, but my mother when she found out that she was pregnant with me she hid me and told my father to go away, because at that time it was not good to have a mixed magical family and my father didn't have the same powers as me and my mother did. So, he left and became bitter about not being able to see me, but he knew that it was for the best and he told me this all yesterday..." Cinder stopped and looked at Teloki, he was looking at her and frowning. "Cinder, you are saying that Rakol, our enemy the one that is dead, that Kelly killed before is alive again, that he is your father...?" he paused and then laughed "that is a good joke, you really had me there." He said. Cinder shook her head and looked at him in the eyes. "I am not joking, he came to me and said that, he showed me things from my past and that confirmed it, he has been there in my life, the shadows that I have seen in my childhood that was I was so afraid of, was his way of keeping an eye on me. And now, after a while he came to me, he is alive, being a shadow had its advantages, he never truly dies unless someone kills him in pure daylight or they have an Iron weapon, iron absorbs Shadows where they can never be reformed." After a while Teloki hugged her and Cinder looked at him. "Do you believe me?" she whispered, not sure what he was thinking. Teloki nodded. "I do, if that is true then that is what I know, I never thought that this would be a thing, but we are at the moment trying to find Aborforth... you are sure that he is alive?" He whispered, Cinder nodded, and they spoke no more on it and continued on their way until they found a sign that read Aborforth and they turned the way the sign said and kept going. After a while they saw the beginning of a town. "That is Aborforth.?" Cinder asked. Teloki nodded and they continued until they got to the edge of the town. People where moving about and didn't see the travelers as they made their way to the nearest inn and dismounted their horses. Cinder lifted her hood and Teloki nodded. They had no idea who was here and who was watching for them to come in and so that they could tell Rakol. Cinder and Teloki made their way into the inn and found that their friends where sitting at a table talking. Kia saw Cinder and jumped up. Nathan jumped when she moved so fast, but then he saw what she was looking at and soon they where surrounded by their friends. Tayrah looked at her friend, she seemed better since being with Teloki and Tayrah wondered why. Cinder caught her eye and Tayrah arched her eyebrow at her. "I told Teloki...." She said, "Told him what?" Tayrah asked. "I will tell you later, when everyone is asleep." Cinder replied and Tayrah nodded and dropped the subject, for which she was glad about and they sat next to each other, once they had all sat the Barmaid brought them food and nothing was said until after they had finished everything off. When everyone else had gone up to bed Cinder pulled Tayrah next to her by the fire and breathed a sigh.

"What is it you wanted to tell me?" Tayrah asked. Cinder looked at her friend and smiled. "Ok, I don't know what you will think if this, or what is the best way to go about this. But I am just going to say it. I am Rakol's daughter." Tayrah looked at her. "Whoa...how?" she asked. Cinder shook her head "My mother was married to Rakol, but since he had the powers of the shadows, everyone was afraid of him, so he left and we never saw him since, I was but a baby then. I don't even remember him in my life, but he was there and when he left, my mother married Ky so that she wouldn't be taken off the throne and that is the father that I have known my whole life, he is not my real father after all."

Tayrah looked at Cinder and shook her head "When did you find this out?" she asked. Cinder sighed "Yesterday. He came to me in a dream and told me and..." Tayrah held up her hand. "Wait, Cinder...Kelly killed Rakol months ago, how is it that he came to the hill and all of that?" "He was revived, Shadows never truly die the only way that they can is by..." she stopped and shook her head. "I can't tell you." Cinder stood and went quickly to the stairs and went to the room that she had gotten and cursed herself, she couldn't tell anyone how to kill her father, that was for her to do if she wanted but she wondered if he had changed from what he was a few months ago? What about Ember, did she know that he was their father, what about Ash, he was her brother, was he Rakol's son? All of these thoughts swirled around her head and she felt suddenly if the room was closing in on her and she stood and almost ran out of the room, quickly she grabbed her cloak and her boots and went out and past the others who where still at the table talking, she heard Teloki call to her, but she shook her head, she had to be alone.

Flinging open the door she stepped out into the street, it was getting colder by the day and winter would soon be fully here in the valley. Cinder didn't care, she had to get somewhere where she could think, it was too loud in there and everyone thought that she had the answers when she didn't, she was sick of it.

Walking away from the building she let all of her anger and sorrow come to the surface, fury and pain washed over her and she felt her power ready to be unleashed and so she closed her eyes and felt as though she was back home during a Redleaf celebration, and the drums beat in time to the singing of those around her, it was like she was back in the camp square and it was time to dance. Envisioning the drums, she lifted her head and stomped her feet in time to the music in her head and started going through the dance moves that she had known and watched others dance for years when she was a child. Opening her palms she felt her fire erupt from her and small balls of fire circled her body, bouncing and swaying in time to the music the balls stayed with her as she went through then her battle training session, weaving and ducking she let the fire guide her movement, suddenly she heard clapping and she opened her eyes with a snap and the fire disappeared in a hiss of smoke as she lost focus.

Ash and the others stood in front of her looking at her like she had grown wings, looking behind her, she saw her wings, but this time they were metal, but patterns of fire, in red, orange, and yellow hues swirled around and across the silver metal.

"Ash, what are you guys doing out here?" she asked, embarrassed that they had caught her doing something that was a secret. "What is that called?" Ash whispered. "It is the dance that we do in my camp every Redleaf." She explained. Ash nodded and then his eyes widened, and he grabbed her hand and the others turned and walked quickly into the inn and bolted the door. Ash pulled her along and Cinder yanked her hand out of his grasp. "Ow...What was that for!?" she asked. Ash glared at her and put his finger to his lips and pointed to the window.

Looking out she gasped, Ember and Kelly walked past the window. "Looking for us?" she thought to Ash, he nodded. "They are searching for you." He said. Cinder's eyes widened and she shrunk back from the others. "I have to get out of here, I am the one that they are looking for, not you, if I go, they will leave and try to find me." She whispered. Nathan glanced at her. "We are in this together...we are not just going to give you up." Cinder smiled at him, he had always been the quiet type but seeing the fire in his eyes she smiled. "I. will. Not. Let. You. Guys. Die. For. Me." She said, and before anyone could do or say anything she dashed from where they where and to the door. Looking back once more she caught Teloki's eye and he came to her and wrapped her in his arms, he kissed her. "Come back to me." He said and slowly let her go, she opened the door.