Heaven Door | The Finale of the Dragon Children Trilogy.

18 | Portal To Remembrance

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Artemis sat in front of his window, talking to the little bird who sat on his window sill. He held a pile of leaves in his hand, flipping them over and over, curing his boredom. "Hey, lil birdy.." He blew the leaves out of his hand with a soft blow from his mouth. "Can I tell you something I've never told anyone before?" The view from his window looked over a park, underneath a beautiful blue sky. Artemis was dressed in his school uniform, ready for a hard Monday morning. "2 years ago.. it feels like something changed." The little bird turned his head to his side. "I dunno what it was. I woke up in bed like any other day.. but it felt like I had lost something." He looked at the bird. "Is that strange?" His head rested in his arms, leaning over the window. "And for some reason, there's these people's faces that keep coming up in my head.. I don't know them, though." Artemis looked into the blue sky. "And that day.. Lucy came over. She reminded me of something. It gave me a shock. But, I don't know what it was. And due to that, I lost all of my friends in school. All, except for one." He chuckled. "That's why I'm talkin' to a bird right now. Pretty sad, wouldn't you say?" The bird let out a little tweet, before turning around. "Alright, I gotta get goin' now. Get outta here." He flicked the bird off the window sill, as it flew off into the air. Artemis sighed, as he turned around, and picked up his bag on the way to the door of his bedroom. He walked down the stairs, and saw his mother and father in the kitchen. "Hey, lil buddy!" Olio, his father, smiled. Artemis waved. "Hi." His mother turned around to him. "Artemis! Breakfast is ready!" Lila smiled. Artemis shook his head. "Oh, I'm good, thanks." He cracked a smile. Lila shook her head. "What?! You can't skip breakfast! You haven't eaten since 2 days ago!" He sighed. "I told you, I have. I've just been.. ordering in a lot." Olio looked at him. "Where did all the takeaway boxes go?" Artemis turned his head. ".. Dunno." Lila sighed. "Right, well, you better get goin'. Don't wanna be late on the day of your graduation, do we?" His eyes widened. "Ah, shit.." Olio stopped him. "Language." Artemis replied. "Sorry.. oh, sugar. Is that today?" Lila turned around. "You forgot? Seriously, what's gotten into you?" Artemis stayed silent, as he walked outside of his house. He took his 10-minute walk to school, with nothing but his own thoughts. These past few years have been rough for him. He doesn't eat as often as he should, and he doesn't have anyone in his life, other than one friend. Speaking of who.. Artemis looked to his side. "Heeey!" His friend ran up to him, waving their hands. "Oh.. It's you, Ranny." Ranny smiled. "Yup! How's my best friend ever feelin' today?!" Artemis sighed. "Take a guess, Ran." They stepped inside their school hall. "Well, you better flip that frown upside down! It's graduation daaay! WOOO!" Ranny jumped up in the air, as they found their seats to prepare for their day.

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"Steady aim, Lucina." Ethan, Lucina's father, was teaching her how to fire a bow properly. She scoffed at him in response. "I know what I'm doing, dad." He chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't say that. You've never fired a bow properly." A deer ran ahead of them, biting the grass in the snowy mountains. "There!" Before Ethan even got to finish the sentence, Lucina had already let go of the string. It hit the deer point-blank, leaving it bleeding on the ground. Lucina pulled the scarf up over her lips, as she let out a huff. "Told you." Sophia, Lucina's mother, walked up behind them. "Seriously, where did you learn that? We never taught you how to fire a bow." She looked down at her hand, which wielded the bow. "I.. I don't know. I just know how to do it." Ethan stayed silent for a moment. "Right.. well, your mother and I are going to set up camp for the night. Go play with your brother a little bit." Lucina nodded. "Yeah." As her footsteps walked through the thick snow, which reached up to her knees, atop the mountains, her mind travelled. Every day has been the same for her for the past 2 years. Wake up in the snow, walk a bit, and set up camp. She couldn't help but wish for something more.. something farther beyond they've ever been. She wished she had more friends.. or even a love. Leon, her little brother, was holding a ball in his hand. "Hey, Lucina! You wanna play again?" She really, really didn't. "Sure." Damn it. Why did she always do this? Leon chuckled. "Alright! That's my sis! You remember the rules of the game, dontcha?! You close your eyes, and I throw this ball, and you go find it based on the sound of where it lands!" Lucina shook her head. "Yeah, I know. It's been the same game for the past 2 years." She closed her eyes and turned around. "Alright! Here we.." Leon swung his arm forwards, letting the ball go. "GO!" The ball flew in the air, but due to his bad aim, it hit Lucina directly into her back. "A.." For some reason, this ball felt sharper. It felt like a sword going through her chest. "Artemis.." Her surroundings changed to what looked like a colosseum for a split second. And then, she fell into the snow. Leon ran up to her. "Lucina, you okay?!" She lifted herself up. "Whuh? Oh, yeah.. I'm fine. Just.. feeling a lil bit lightheaded." Leon sighed. "C'mon, let's get you to bed. It's getting late anyways." He helped her stand up, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "Hey, why'd you say that boy's name anyway? The one from the story?" She looked over at him. "Huh? Oh.. I.. don't know." She zipped her tent up, and said goodnight to everybody. She couldn't fall asleep. Something was bothering her..