Eye of The Wyvern

IV

"What the fuck was that?" Amanda heaved, they had run the whole way down to the lake. Lorelai, breathing heavily, shook her head, "That was very, very weird." Karissa didn't know what to say, she couldn't think straight. "What do you think they meant, Karissa?" Amanda leaned back on a rock, her feet in the water. Karissa sat in the shallow part of the lake, Lorelai stayed at the rocks out of the water. "I really don't know." Karissa said.

Amanda and Karissa looked at each other. "Do you think it's something to do with your parents?" Amanda shivered at the thought, "I think so, KK." She replied. Lorelai looked between the two, "What happened to your parents, Amanda?" she asked, "And who is Juniper?"

"Karissa swallowed to replenish her dry throat, "Juniper is my mother," she responded, "It'll be 5 years since she died on my birthday." Lorelai frowned. "And Amanda's parents both went missing almost 10 years ago," Karissa continued, "we woke up one day, and they were gone. No note, and all of their belongings were gone too. Except for some jewelry, but everything else was gone."

Tears welled in Amanda's eyes. "What if those people know where they are?" She asked, voice cracking. Karissa stood, "Amanda.." She reached her arms out to her crying friend. As soon as she closed her arms around Karissa, Amanda broke down, breath shaky. Lorelai scooted to her and reached to gently rub Amanda's back. Comfort, that was all her and Karissa needed in these times.

Usually when the girls needed to cry, they did so with each other. They would find time to be alone together to spill out their heartaches. Whether it was at the bath house, the lake, or alone in each other's homes, they only cried and comforted just the two of them. But now that Lorelai was there, it was different. A good different. Lorelai offered an extra amount of support, someone who may not have endured the same troubles, but was there for them anyways.

"I'm sure your parents are proud of you, Amanda," Lorelai smiled warmly, "if parents leave, it is for a good reason. They still love you, I'm sure of it." Amanda sniffled as Karissa wiped her tears off her freckled face. "You're right," she said, "they're parents, they have to love me." She looked at Lorelai, "What about you, L?" She asked, "What's your story?"

Lorelai chuckled, "I'm an orphan," she held up her book. "This is a book of historic landmarks in Khianne, including the orphanage I stayed in. No one wanted me because of the way I believe in God. They thought I was a Magic Folk due to me being Muslim. My caretaker in the orphanage told me I was left on the porch when I was a baby, so I never knew who my parents were. No one knows anything about them other than they left me there.

The thing with the orphanage, though, is they only let children under 17 stay there. They decided to send me to South Town where it was affordable living, so that I didn't suffer on the streets of Irkah like many others." Amanda and Karissa stared in awe, "You basically lived with yourself," Karissa said, "that is very brave, Lorelai." Amanda nodded in agreement, offering Lorelai a hug. She accepted, and the three girls held a hug for a long moment.

They broke the hug, and Karissa sat in front of the two, cool water seeping into her white dress. "Now here's the real question," Karissa started, "who the hell were those people?" Amanda looked between her friends, "Also," Amanda added, "why were they talking to our family about us? They mentioned our names and how our parents are 'powerful', but never said specifically what they wanted with us."

"Maybe it's some kind of arranged marriage program?" Lorelai asked, "They have those in Greghot and Justorne. Those people try to spread the culture by taking it to other towns. I saw one in Irkah before I left, but they wore dark purple veils." Karissa thought about it, "These people weren't wearing veils, though," she said, "the woman was wearing a dark green outfit, and the man was wearing black and blue. And their hair, her's was grey dreadlocks while his was dark blue and sticking straight up on his head. No curls or gel, just sticking up."