ꜱᴄᴀʀ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴋᴇʏꜱ

Chapter 14: Cazzlyn

 The only thing Cazzlyn had the guts to ask Ethan was about his sister. Not about his dancy daggers across his belt. Not about his eyes. Not even where she was at. Not even Cedar.

"What do you mean you wish your sister was here with you?" she started. "Did she-." she stopped herself.

"I don't think she died," he scratched his chin. "I hope she didn't die,"

She regarded him again. He seemed to have empathy when it came to his sister.

"Younger or older?"

"Younger by two and a half years." Ethan turned to look at her. "Do you have any family besides that boy?"

"No," her voice cracked, and she tapped her leg on the stone floor. "I had a sister,"

That must have caught his attention. "There's more versions of you?" he smirked.

"No, I said I had," she replied a little too harshly. "She died protecting me,"

"Ha! You couldn't protect yourself?" he chuckled. "How weak are you?"

"I was twelve," she scowled, and reached for her bow on the side of her thigh, she was one lucky duck that it was enchanted to shrink when it wasn't in use.

"Reylyn attacked wolves half her size at that age," he scowled.

"I'm not Reylyn, I'm Cazzlyn." She grabbed the bow and put it behind her back.

"You said your name was Cazz," he spoke with an annoyed tone of voice. "Not Cazzlyn,"

"Cazz is for when I'm not comfortable enough to threaten you yet," Cazzlyn waited for him to do anything that was a threat.

"So you're comfortable to threaten me now.." he leaned back on her cell and grinned wickedly as he pulled out a sharp dagger.

"So you do have useful weapons?" her expression changed to worry. "I shouldn't have threatened you! I don't even have any weapons!"

"Aww, I'm so sorry!" he threw the knife through her cell and almost knicked her ear.

"You want to play that game?" Cazzlyn took the bow off of her back. "Your in for a treat,"

Ethan looked at her in bewilderment as her bow grew to its usual size, and arrows appeared behind her back.

"How did you-," he began.

"My sister enchanted it," she admitted. "Before she died,"

Ethan eyed the bow again. "That looks dull,"

"It's dull to most people," she stated. "Only me and Castilla see it at its finest shape,"

"Did your sister have a way with magic?"

Cazzlyn smiled a bit. She had always loved her sister's way with magic. "Yeah. She used to give me enchanted stuff all the time,"

"Then where is it?" Ethan asked bluntly. "Can you do stuff like she did?"

"Depends on if she enchanted it to always come back to me, or just one use," she decided to explain to Ethan about her bow.

"This bow, she called it Awen," she started. "She enchanted this bow for my eleventh birthday, and she enchanted it to always come back to me when I lost it."

Ethan looked like he was going to say something, but didn't.

She hid the bow behind her back again and the memories flooded her brain.

"Come on, I want to show you your birthday present!" Castilla called from a tall tree. Today her long brown hair was pulled into two french braids, and her eyes were full of excitement.

Ten year old Cazzlyn looked up at her sister and pouted. "I don't want to climb up the tree! It's my birthday, so I get to decide what we do for the day!" she let out a groan of annoyance.

"I know. But what if it's a scavenger hunt to find it?" her sister smirked from up on the tree.

Cazzlyn's face lit up. "A scavenger hunt? Yay!" she climbed up the tree her older sister was in and swung across the trees until her sister gave her hints.

"First hint: where do we like to swim?"

"The River!" Cazzlyn cried happily as she jumped down the tree and ran for the river, her sister close behind.

Cazzlyn felt herself smile. She always loved that memory.

Ethan noticed her smile. "You smile a lot when you talk about your sister," his voice faltered.

She knew how to comfort him, or at least she thought she did. "You can tell me about your sister,"

Ethan grinned. "You're letting me talk about Reylyn? Your in for a treat,"

She smiled at him.