Mighty Jewel | LO'AK + NETEYAM

chapter sixteen

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
Evelyn grabbed her mate by the wrist and ran to the closest exit. She unlocked the door with her badge. She could hear the footfalls of guards getting closer, they were coming for them. She did what every mother would, she sacrificed herself. Evelyn pushed Marrek outside, the baby still asleep in his arms. He turned back to Evelyn and nodded to the side, Marrek thought she'd follow. Instead, she said, "Give her the best life." As soon as the woman closed the door, men in suits surreounded her with guns pointing at her direction. She lifted her hands up and surrendered herself to the guards but they still started shooting at her, causing her to close her eyes. When she opened them, she was surprised to see she hadn't been hit and when she looked around, that's when she saw the several bullet holes circling her. Her heartbeat picked up faster when Quaritch appeared from behind his men, his hands locked behind his back as he confidently walked up to Evelyn, an evil smirk creeping on his lips.

"Next time, they won't miss." Quaritch spat as he pressed his chest against the woman's. "Now, move." The man pushed Evelyn on the ground as she tried her hardest to fight back, to prevent him from opening the door but he was much stronger. Evelyn let out a high shriek as the forest appeared in front of her eyes but was relieved when Marrek had already disappeared into it. "I want a team searching the forest and you two, cuff her and get her into a cell." Quaritch turned to Evelyn. "I'll deal with you later, traitor."

In an instant, Evelyn was thrown into the same cell Marrek had been locked in for a year. In the same cell she had previously healed his wounds and first connected with the father of her child. Evelyn wasn't scared of her fellow coworkers, she understood her value and they would never risk loosing her. She was too important for the mission. The woman stood still, confident in the middle of the room but she couldn't stop her gaze  from wondering onto the walls where Marrek's fingernails had marked, scratched into it. How horrible and disgusted she felt, ashamed of everything she had done to the Na'vi and wishing she could take it all back. After what felt like days, Quaritch unlocked the door and entered the neon bright cell. Evelyn crossed her arms and showed no weakness to the gruesome man in front of her.

"Tell me one good reason to not kill you right now, Evelyn." Quaritch rather stated than asked the woman. Her eyebrows rose to his comment.

"I can give you one."

Quaritch scoffed, stunned of Evelyn's cocky attitude when she was the one locked in a cell, when she was the one who had betrayed her people. "Go on." The man said as he cocked the gun he had gotten out of his case, threatening the woman to reveal her secret.

"On condition that no one ever mention or search for Marrek and his daughter again."

Kyalayi stayed close behind her father's tall figure as they entered the hut. To say she was scared was the least, the girl was terrified of meeting her mother. Someone who she had wished to meet upon every shooting star and yet never thought she actually existed. Lo'ak followed as he wanted to check up on Kiri but was also intrigued by Kya's mother. He wanted to support the young girl too without it being too obvious. Yet there wasn't a single thing not obvious about where Lo'ak stood toward Kyalayi.

"Kya, Kiri is awake! She's healed!" Tuk shouted as soon as she spotted the girl entered the hut. The youngest Sully ran toward Kyalayi and jumped into her arms, giving her a tight hug.

"Tuk. Tuk." Neytiri softly chanted the name of her child. "Come." She instructed in a whisper as the woman understood that now wasn't the moment for Tuk's childishness. But Kyalayi didn't mind. She sensed her shoulders relaxed as she scrutinized the hut to see Kiri, standing up and seeming strong. The girl timidly grinned at the Sully as she spotted the oldest, their gaze magnetically locking.

"You're going to be okay." Neteyam signed to the girl, the same words she had previously told him which made her smile grew slightly wider as she gave a single nod to the boy.

"Evelyn, my love." Marrek said in a language that the girl didn't understood but that made Jake's ears perked as he had recognized it. English. The healer had stayed up all night, healing the woman of his life.

Marrek moved out of the way and Kyalayi's gaze dropped to the white haired woman, standing up who's face was still masked as she couldn't breath Pandora's air on her own. Her clothes were torn up and burned in some places, the woman had bruises and cuts all over her face and yet the girl spotted the similarities her father had talked about. As they stood face to face, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Kyalayi and Evelyn were mother and daughter. Evelyn, tears in her eyes, softly reached for her daughter's cheek with her hand, causing Kya to at first jerk back. She wasn't scared of the woman, she was terrified of what could come along if she let Evelyn became a part of her life. She was raised to hate Sky People and now, her mother had been revealed to be one of them. But Kya believed that Evelyn was an exception just like Jake once was so she let her mother touch her cheek and for the first time, Kya sensed what a child usually felt when their mother comforted them. It wasn't the same feeling as when one of the Sully boy touched her, it was motherly and instantly reassuring. It was everything Kyalayi had hoped for.

"My little girl." Evelyn finally spoke in Na'vi language, her voice shaking with tears. Both Marrek and his daughter were stunned by the sudden change of language. The last time the healer had seen Evelyn, she was clueless about the culture and didn't know a single word of Na'vi. Now fifteen years later, she almost spoke it fluently. "She's beautiful." Evelyn continued, now turning her head to Marrek in disbelief of finally reuniting with her family.

"Come on. Let's go." Jake whispered to his family as he understood the importance of the moment. It was personal, the man didn't want intrude and it was the least he could do for Marrek after he had saved both Kiri and Tuk. Lo'ak protested but was stopped by Neytiri's faint groan as the Sully's all exited the hut. Marrek gave a single firm nod to Jake, showing him his appreciation and refocused on the two most important women of his life, now both sitting on the ground.

"How is this possible?" Marrek asked, his voice trembling with sobs as he crouched to Evelyn's side, grabbing her tiny hands in his. "I thought you were dead."

"No. I couldn't leave this world without making sure you were safe." Evelyn responded and turned her head to face her daughter. "Both of you." She paused as she closed her eyes slowly remembering what had happened fifteen years ago, a familiar guilty feeling resurfacing. "I helped them in exchange of your safety. I destroyed villages, families and forests and hated every bit of it. The only thing that kept me going was the possibility of seeing both of you again. For the past months, I've been trying to get your attention. Subtly."

"The trap." Marrek whispered under his breath. "That was you?"

"It wasn't deadly." She answered like it was nothing, like that specific trap I hadn't almost gotten Lo'ak killed.

After her mother's words, Kyalayi got up on her feet and walked out of the hut. She could hear the protest shouts from her father but she tuned them out as she headed straight into the forest.