Different Worlds

Trying To Say Three Little Words

DEVON'S POV

I lay on my back silently looking up at the blanket of stars shining brightly on all of us below. Most people were asleep, and I could hear a number of snores coming from various directions. I couldn't sleep - it had been a long couple of days, with only harder ones to follow. Looking up at the stars seemed to relax me. It was said that if you were a true hero of Nardema, when you died you would earn yourself a place among the stars, allowed to watch over the world long after your physical body was dead. It was an old legend that I had never really believed, but now I found myself wondering about it. A lot of people viewed my own parents as heroes, because they had had the guts to stand up against Netiri. It had cost them their lives, but it was a comforting thought to think that their souls could still be alive.

I turned my head to the side to look at Sienna who was lying a few feet away from me. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady. It was good that she was getting some sleep. The things that she'd had to face these last few days were things that no ordinary human would have been able to stand. Sienna was far from ordinary. I still couldn't believe that she'd been able to bring Daniel back - none of us could! Bronson was absolutely astounded that she'd had so much power manifest inside of her so early. She'd been able to accomplish something that the whole of Nardema had been trying to accomplish for centuries. it was amazing! She was amazing!

I still hadn't been able to find the time to confront her with how I now felt. It seemed that she'd had enough to deal with, without me unloading my feelings onto her. But time was so short. I wanted her to know before we had to face the final battle. If I should perish in the upcoming fight, I wanted to be able to die with no regrets.

"Devon? Are you awake?"

I looked back to Sienna. She was laying on her side facing me, her eyes wide open.

"I thought you were asleep," I spoke softly.

"I was trying. I just can't seem to switch my brain off. There just seem to be so many things to think about."

I gave a small chuckle. "I know what you mean. I haven't been able to sleep yet either." As I looked at her, I knew that my face held a curious expression that she would be able to see in the starlight.

"What is it?"

"Just wondering. What does it feel like? To have so much power? None of us could believe it when you were able to release Daniel so early. Bronson didn't think that the magic you possess had gotten tot he point where you would have been capable of doing it."

Sienna shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't know myself that I had enough power until I tried."

I frowned. "You're serious?"

She nodded.

I sat up as I realized what the consequences could have been if she hadn't been ready. I opened my mouth to say something more, but then shut it again. All of a sudden, I was feeling really angry. I quickly got up and walked out of the ruined castle, trying to keep a hold of my temper. Walking away at the moment seemed to be the best solution, if Ididn't want to say something that I'd regret. I was standing with my back to the castle looking up at the moon and trying to will myself into a calm state when I heard footsteps behind me, so I stiffly made myself turn around. Sienna's face was pale in the moonlight, and she was looking at me with a worried expression.

"Did I say something wrong?"

I took a deep breath, hoping I was going to be able to stay calm. "No. It's what you did."

She looked truly confused. "What do you mean?"

"You used powerful magic before you knew if you were ready. Do you have anyidea how dangerous that was?"

Sienna frowned. "We needed to release Daniel if our plan to overthrow Netiri was to succeed. I had to try."

"But if you hadn't been ready ..." I trailed off and took another deep breath before I continued. "You could have gotten yourself killed. Using such powerful magic like that before you're ready is incredibly dangerous. You're lucky the mgaic didn't tear you apart."

"But it didn't." She spoke casually, and it began to make my blood boil. "I'm still here, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Are you insane?!" I couldn't hold onto my temper any longer. I nearly shouted the words, and I worked to bring my voice back down before I woke everybody up. "If you'd been killed, it would have spelt the end of everything! We don't have a prayer of bringing down Netiri without you! You can't endanger your life like that. There are so many people looking up to you. You can't be so reckless!"

I saw something spark in Sienna's eyes, and I knew that she was getting mad too. Good!

"That's all you care about, isn't it?" She spat back. "You don't really care about me at all, do you? All you care about is keeping me alive just so that I can go up against Netiri! I bet you wouldn't care if I got myself killed after Netiri's gone! Just so long as I live long enough to get rid of her. Well, you can forget it! Stuff you, stuff Nardema - stuff everything! I'll find my own way home, and you can deal with Netiri all on your own!" She turned her back on me and began walking away. Not back to the castle, but in any random direction just to get away.

I found my legs walking after her. She really didn't know what was behind my reaction. I had thought that maybe she would have figured it out on her own, but obviously I was wrong. I caught up with her and grabbed her arm, swinging her back around to face me. She looked into my face angrily.

"Let me go!" She struggled to get her arm out of my grip, but had little success. Physically, I was ten times as strong as she was.

"Just listen!" I ordered

"No!"

She wasn't going to give me a chance to explain, that much I could see. She had well and truly lost her temper with me, and in truth, I couldn't really blame her for it. What I had said was inexcusable. Nothing had come out the way I wanted, and now I had made it seem like she meant nothing to me, when nothing could be further from the truth. She thought that the only reason I wanted her around was to face Netiri. I knew that if I let her go now, she would make a run for it. Not that I wouldn't be able to catch up with her in two seconds flat, but it would be annoying. I couldn't think of any words at the moment that would take back all that I had said - not with her struggling so hard to get away. Without letting myself think too much about it, I did the only thing that I could think of that would make her forget everything I had just said. I put my hands on either side of her face and kissed her. I felt her body freeze in surprise, and her arms dropped to her sides. I slowly pulled my face away and looked her in her eyes, waiting for her reaction. She just stared at me in shock, but at least she seemed to have lost the will to get away.

"Uh, Sienna?"

She continued to stare at me, speechless, and all I wanted to do was run away. But I made myself hold my ground. This was it. Either she would accept me as something more than a friend - which was what I had been longing for - or I had just destroyed what was left of my already damaged ego.