Number 100 Red Nova Sorcerer

Chapter 5: Taking Off

Once in the safety of our room, I breathe a sigh, walk over to the balcony doors, and pull them open. A breeze flows inside, making my brother's cape billow slightly. Placing my hands on the railing once I get to the end, I look down at the town.

"You know them better than I do, Nova," Blackie states. "Do you think they would be a burden to us?"

"Bura has skills of paralysis and Amber can scream at such a frequency that even the least sensitive ears explode," I sigh. "On that alone, they have no problem coming with us; however, there is still the obvious matter that all of their words just end with me about to blow my fuse."

Blackie nods. "Indeed. That could pose a major problem, but their abilities are admirable."

I take this into consideration. In the case that they do come, I need to make sure that none of their words get to me in any way, shape, or form, which is very hard to do considering the fact that I have pent-up rage against them. Even so, I need to make the effort to not let their words get to me.

Looking down at the bustling town, I make my decision. "Provided that I get enough time to master control over my emotions, they can come."

~.A Few Days Later.~

Blackie and I wait outside for the guards to collect Amber and Bura from their place. On this occasion, neither my brother nor I wear the royal garments, for they would slow us down even if they are weightless! They could get tangled up in something, and then where would we be?

For the past weeks, Blackie has trained me emotionally, which is much more painful than physical and magical training put together. Just hearing the awful, childish, teasing comments made me want to just hide in an eggshell of thorns, but I survived. If I were permitted to have a few more weeks, I could fine tune it, but I suppose I will have to do that while we travel.

The guards finally arrive with Amber and Bura, and to my utter surprise and delight, Crimson follows, fully suited in his ninja garments and weapons, almost as if he plans to come along!

"Crimson, are you coming with us?" I ask tentatively to make sure that I am not mistaken.

Crimson chuckles and pats my head. "Now, why would I go through all the trouble of taking my gear out and getting fully prepared if I just wanted to see you off, hmm?" He winks playfully at me. "There is also the matter of the borders. Also, someone else other than your brother needs to be looking out for you!" he laughs.

I laugh along with him. "Crimson, you worry too much!"

"And you worry too little!"

"Can we just get going already?" Bura complains while adjusting his cloak. "I just want to hurry up and save mom! Let's go!"

I barely manage to ignore that comment as the guards leave. I turn to Blackie. "Who have you left in charge?"

"Number 34 Tera Byte," he responds. "She is capable of handling things here while we are away."

I nod, and Crimson leads the way in a direction, which I think is the way to one border.

While we walk, Amber puts a hand on my shoulder to hold me back. I start to protest, but something in her eyes convinces me that she wants to talk. Blackie notices this and shoots Amber a glare, but I write to him in the air:

"She merely wants to talk. Do not worry. I will come back when our conversation is finished."

Since both Amber and Bura can understand the Number language in terms of writing, I make sure to include some of our code words that we have created in the case that someone intercepts one of our messages.

Blackie nods and goes ahead with Crimson and Bura. Amber and I follow some distance behind them so that we will not be heard.

"What do you want?" I demand, crossing my arms to avoid attacking her blindly.

"Look, I know you haven't forgiven us for what we did all those years ago-"

I cut her off midsentence. "Inflicting that much grief on a child would crush their spirit," I spit. "Of course I haven't forgiven you!"

"Anyways," Amber mumbles, "I'm very sorry. Unlike Bura and Mom, I've actually been thinking of you when you left for good. The house was really quiet without your constant sobbing." She sighs. "I've been thinking of how we've been treating you. We were kids; we didn't know it was bad. If Mom was happy that you were crying, so were we. That's all we learned from her about how to treat you. I didn't realize how you felt until I thought about and even stimulated in my mind of how it would be if I were in your place. The moment I did, I regretted everything I every said and did to you, but I could never apologize because you were never there to accept or decline the apology. I know that we were wrong for ever doing that to you. Maybe if we just put aside the fact that you were dangerous if you got out of hand, things would have turned out differently. Those times are long gone, though, and you can't reverse what you've done." She chuckles slightly, but not out of spite. "Funny how some silence in the house can make you think."

I take what she said, even her apology, into consideration, trying not to show how touched I am that she took the time to see what it was like being the hated one for no reason. I keep my arms crossed tightly over my chest, as if that is going to help me keep myself together.

"You don't have to forgive me yet," my former sister continues. "After all, it's not like what we did was forgivable. I'll give you some time." With that, she walks off to join the others.

That is when I silently break down. Keeping a safe distance from everyone else, I cover my mouth to keep everyone else from hearing. I don't know why I am sobbing like a child again, nor can I determine whether it is from relief that Amber realized her mistake or if it is from grief caused by the painful memories that her words brought up.

Either way, the tears won't stop.