Thorns On A Vine ~DISCONTINUED~

How A Monster Was Created

I sit still on the academy with Ghi wrapped around my body as he sleeps. I sit in a meditation pose as I work on my breathing so that I can restore my lost mana.

'Monster'? I haven't been called that in a long time. The memories it bares...

                 •____• Flashback•____•

"You guys are such monsters! Look at her poor state." Windy says as she examines my body.

"Eight is the real monster!" One of them yells as they laugh.

"Zero has taken a fancy towards her and he makes her fight the others until the stop breathing. I wonder what she'll be like on the battlefield?" Zeros right hand man, N, says.

"Monster? She's no monster, you all just made her out to seem like it..." Windy says as she gently grabs my face with a sad look on her.

"Don't blame us, that's all zeros doing." N says as he raises his hands up in defense.

'Monster'? Will Dahlia think that about me if she sees me again?- ack! I can think like that! I will definitely see Dahlia again and we will go horse riding together!

Dahlia will never see me as a monster no matter what!

We are sisters and we love each other. She gives me hope like the sun after a rainy day so I have to be her shield so she doesn't get hurt.

"Let's go N! The boys are waiting for you so we can go out!" Someone yells from outside.

"Alright! I'm coming!" N yells before he looks back at us "You haven't seen her yet, Windy, she's a monster. And if she's not a monster now, then she'll be one soon, zero will make sure of that." N says before he runs out of my cell.

Everyone's going out tonight so Windy came to see me.

She's the only person who's actually nice to me, here. Zero doesn't like when she's nice to me but he stopped trying with her a while ago.

"You're no monster so ignore them. And even if you somehow became a 'monster', it'll be for a damned good reason, plus monsters aren't born, they're made." She says gently.

When I get out of this place and destroy it, I pray that you aren't here.

"Why don't you talk?" She suddenly asks me and I look away.

If I talk, they'll tell zero and zero likes it when I'm quiet. I'm a tamed dog for them, I do as I'm told as I wait for my time to come.

"It's okay, you can talk when it's just the two of us. A girl needs a friend here, and we are the only girls in this silly group." She says with a short laugh.

Should I talk? I trust her and she's nice to me...I guess I owe her this much.

"I'm a monster." I tell her as I look into her eyes.

Her eyes go wide in surprise before they go back to normal and she gives me a wide grin.

"Aren't we all, dear...but at least you'll be a pretty monster. Does zero really take a liking to you? He doesn't like anybody and I've known him since this all started." She asks me as we sit down.

I don't know if you could say that he 'liked' me, more like he likes the fact that I'm tamed in his eyes.

"You could say that...but I wouldn't." I say and she starts laughing again.

"I see why everyone's talking about you now...but let me tell you something that you've probably heard already. Zero doesn't like people unless he can break them and make them do his bidding. He keeps all these guys around because they only listen to him, but girls are more- how should I put this?- 'daring'? They revel more then boys do even if they don't show it." She tells me.

"So?" I ask her as I slightly tilt my head.

What's her point?

"I'm the only girl in this silly group because zero is my brother and we've been through the same things. If he kept you around, a girl, he must like you." She tells me with a frustrated look.

"That's because I'm a tamed dog." I tell her.

It's true, they tend to joke about how tamed I am in such a short amount of time after I put up a fight.

"That's not true, dear. I know zero the best out of anyone else in this group. If he likes you, it's because he couldn't break you or tame you. Even the most loyal dogs rebel in due time." She tells me.

I really can't understand her sometimes, but I understand some of what she's telling me.

"Zero likes you because he can't break you and I know what he does to people whom he can't break. So one day, I'll take you with me when I go but I can't right now." She says with a small smile as she turns me around.

"What are you doing?" I ask her in a monotone voice.

"Checking." She just says as she lifts up the back of my rags "A word of advice, let him break you before you break yourself." She tells me as she lightly touches my scars and scabs.

I wish I could tell her that I've had the rug pulled beneath my feet before. I wish I could tell her that I've broken down and put myself back together many times.

"I already have, but I have someone who's waiting for me back at home, so every time I break, I tape myself back together again." I tell her and she lets out a dry and short laugh.

"We only take people who need us. We only take people who have people who aren't waiting for them at home, if they even have a home." She says as she turns me to face her with a sad look.

"You don't need to worry about me because I know that I have someone waiting for me." I tell her seriously.

"Why shouldn't I worry about you? You're a young girl whom people are calling a 'monster', I wasn't given the choice to worry about you or not." She says with a small smile.

"Let them call me a monster, because I've never tried to be a saint before. And you shouldn't worry about me, you should worry about the other people here." I tell her.

"Why?" She asks in genuine confusion as she slightly tilts her head.

"Because I'll kill every person her and destroy this place before I go home. So, a word of advice, after you leave here, don't come back and tell your brother goodbye." I say to her and a look of shock flashes through her face.

"I'll owe you dinner if you can do that, dear. But, I'll be going on a mission so I won't be coming back for a while anyways." She says as she stands up.

"Good luck." I tell her as she starts walking out of my cell.

"You too, dear." She says as she walks away, vanishing down the dark hallways.

             •____• End Of Flashback •____•

Windy, you owe me dinner the next time we meet. And, I hope you came back from that mission to see that I kept my word.

And, you were right, I was a tamed dog that ended up rebelling and then I decided to tame myself. But, you might've been right about the person who was waiting for me.

I don't know if she was happy to see me or if she was surprised to see me.

I stand up after I finish restoring all of my mana plus more. I might even take some mana from Ghi so that I can summon at least three before I have to go back to breathing.

Now that me and the king have talked, I've made the first move and now it's his turn and I bet he'll go after my family or friends.

I need to be stronger by the time he makes his next move...