Where All My Hope Is

My Pale Green Eyes

I took a step back as the men spread out in a circle around us. I raised my arm in a protective gesture. I was about to say something but before I could, I felt Asher's cold hand on my bare arm. I turned around and our eyes locked together.

Instead of eyes, however, I seemed to be staring into amber pools of pure terror. He shook his head, silently pleading with me to not say anything.

For a moment I considered his plea and his fearful eyes. I eventually decided to ignore all the red flags and proceeded to speak my mind. "What do you want with us?" I snarled, not afraid to make direct eye contact with the giant standing in front of me.

The monstrously large man laughed, it was a cruel bitter laugh. "I have no use for a stupid little girl like you. No, someone else wants to see you." His voice was lathered in a thick Zyanyan accent, which only made my hate towards him boil hotter.

There was a sharp knock at the door and the giant smirked. "There he is now."

He shouted something in what must have been Zyanyan. I heard a click and the door opened. The second I saw the man's face, I gasped and stumbled backwards.

That pale green eyes... They were the same eyes I stared at in the mirror every single day. Those were my pale green eyes.

In that moment hundreds of memories seemed to flash through my mind, memories of the same man who now stood before me. Memories of my father...

Tears were suddenly falling from my eyes. I raised my head and met my father's gaze. The words seemed strange in my mind, but something about his face, his smile... It was so familiar, so welcoming.

I was torn between running into his arms and punching him in the face.

I finally came to a decision. Why not both?

I ran forward and punched him square in the jaw, causing him to take a startled step backwards. A few of the men rushed forwards but he raised a hand, signaling them to stop.

Ignoring them I yelled at him, "I thought you were dead!"

I then ran into his arms, crushing him in a hug. "But you aren't... you're here now"

He hugged me back, " I know my fairy, My heart has broken a little more every day since I lost you." The nickname brought back another flood of memories, and I sobbed even harder.

My father leaned into me and whispered, "They kept telling me all these lies, they were saying you were preaching of the false God Adonai. But I knew it wasn't true."

In that moment, my heart shattered. I backed away from him, unwilling to accept the obvious truth.

Just then I heard a faint cough from behind me. I spun around and ran to Ezra. He looked up and when he saw me his eyes became alert. "Fae? What are you doing here? You have to leave, they'll catch you!" Then he saw the men surrounding us and went frantic.

I turned to my father. " I am a follower of the true God Adonai. I am a member of the Adrielan's Guard, and these are my friends. If you care for me at all, let us go."

The smile fell from his face and he stared at me stone faced, but I could clearly see the sadness swimming in his eyes, "What a pity, no daughter of mine would ever believe in such ludicrousy."

He waved his hand and the armed men moved forward grabbing our wrists and pinning them behind our backs.

My thoughts raced like bullets through my head. I tried to think of a way out, but I could see none, so I instead thought of Mom, and Kaya. Kaya... I hadn't thought about Kaya in years. Not since the attack. I shook my head fiercely. No, I couldn't think about it, but the memories came rushing into my mind anyway. Blood, so much blood, the men dressed in black with swords. Kaya lying on the floor, still.

I was jerked back to the present as I was pushed to my knees and a girl stepped beside my father. She was a mirror of me. Identical in everything except for the eyes. Her eyes were the same in color but not in feeling, they reflected pure hatred.

"Kaya," I whispered.

"Fae," she hissed. "Do you really think your so-called God can save you now?"

"Yes," I said defiantly. "He will save us no matter what happens. He is our helper in times of need. Our strength in times of trouble. He will save all who believe in him." Kaya scoffed.

"Take them away," my father ordered, looking down at me with disdain.

"You will never win," Ezra said. Asher, who was kneeling beside him, didn't look so sure. We were gagged and marched into the building. Ezra looked at me, his eyes sad. He seemed to be saying "I'm sorry" with his eyes and expression.

Between us, I noticed that Asherhad a gash on his left arm. I glanced at Ezra, worried, and indicated the wound with my head. Ezra shook his head. He obviously couldn't tell how bad it was without taking a closer look. We finally arrived at a cell and the guards unlocked it and released us from our handcuffs and our gags. Once they had left us alone in our cell, Ezra spoke.

"Fae..." he began.

"It's not your fault," I interrupted.

"It is my fault, Fae. I should have told you your dad was the second in command of The Fallen Stars. I knew the whole time and I didn't tell you. If I had told you, you wouldn't have come to get me, and we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I would've come," I said, "No matter what I would've come." Ezra gazed at me and smiled.

"Well, you shouldn't have. I'm not worth it."

"You are to me," I said. Asher groaned.

"Can you two lovers save this conversation for later? We're kind of in a situation."

"There's not much we can do, Ash," Ezra said. "At least not until they come back to question us or something."

"Could you at least look at my arm?" Asher asked.

"Oh, sorry Ash, I forgot about that. Let me see it." Ezra examined Asher's arm. After a few minutes he tore a piece of cloth off of his cloak and tied it around Asher's injury. He nodded in satisfaction after he had finished.

"It's not too bad. It'll heal in a couple weeks. The piece of cloth will help stunt the bleeding. Let me know if it starts bleeding through the cloth. How did you get it anyway?" Ezra asked.

"I tried to get away when they tried to bind my hands and my arm accidentally hit one of their swords." Asher explained.

"Ahh," Ezra said. "Well, we might as well try to sleep. Not much else we can do to help our situation." I nodded and we were soon lying side by side. I hadn't realized until then how exhausted I was. It wasn't long before I drifted off to sleep.