A Choice

Chapter Twelve

Nia's tribe lived in little huts made of the trees that surrounded the area. There were babies and little kids everywhere running around and women cleaning and cooking. Men where sharpening weapons and making them. There were some people in cat form running around with kittens. Nia stopped at one hut that was bigger than much of the rest.
​"It's the hospital," she explained, "Your friends are in there. They also are going to treat you. Just do everything they ask you to and you should be fine." With that she gave me a smile and opened the flap of the hut. Inside were cots lined up against one wall and shelves of medical supplies against the other. The room smelled horrible from the constant use of the medicine they had.
​"Ah, you must be the famous Evangeline," said a woman who was putting away a bottle of some sort of liquid, "Please rest on one of the cots, your friends have been worried all morning, but now I can tell them you are okay and we can fix you up as well," The woman put a warm hand on my back and led me to a cot. I sat down and put my head on a pillow they had put on the cot.
​"There we go," said the woman, smiling down at me, "Now we are going to put you to sleep while we look at your wounds."
​The woman gave me a drink of some clear liquid that I drank. After I finished the last drop, I felt woozy and fell asleep almost instantly.
​When I awoke, a bunch of people were looking over me. As my vision cleared, I could see that Jasper, who was being carried by the woman, and Fiona were there. Next to them was Nia, who might not have known my name, but still looked delighted to see I was awake.
​"She's up!" Nia squealed as I opened my eyes more.
​"Evangeline, my dear, can you tell me about the mark on your back," asked the woman, looking concerned.
​"Huh?" I asked confused. I never knew of a mark on my back, unless Vladmire put something on me. The woman gave me a mirror. My hair was a mess and was stuck up in weird ways with blood in some places. In others it was missing. I had a black eye and my lip was swollen in a place. I could hardly recognize myself from the girl who I saw in the fairy palace. The woman then took another mirror and showed my back. I could see the mirror reflecting through mine and saw this mark. It was two circles that crossed each other and a line in the middle of both.
​"What is that?" I said, putting my hand where the mark was.
​"You don't know?" Nia asked, sounding a little snotty.
The woman gave Nia a look and then looked back down at me again.
​"It's the sign of The Ender," the woman said, "A long time ago, there was a man who brought peace to all the magic and kept everything in balance. He brought down anyone who would use magic in bad ways and helped people who needed it most. Kings would call him to help their land and he was the greatest savior of all.
​He disappeared soon after defeating a mighty wizard. People say it was to wed and have a family of his own. So that he could have an heir. An evil wizard came down and burned him and his family so that there could never be another Ender again. The legend states that his heir did survive and was roaming the Earth waiting for the right moment to reclaim peace to the land, but how could you be The Ender if you have no idea what the legend says?"
​I looked at everyone in the room and they all seem serious about this.
​"You think I'm The Ender? Very funny, but I'm through with jokes." I said. I stood up, wanting to get out of the room, but my headache hurt so badly I went back down on the cot.
​"It does make sense," Fiona said softly, "The Ender would have the purest of heart. Wasn't that why you were sent on this mission? Think about it Evangeline." With that they all left the hut and I was left alone with my thoughts. Soon all this thinking made me tired and despite what was going on I fell asleep.
​In my dream I was at home. Our house was two stories and was very grand and elegant. My sibling and me were at the little table in the corner of the living area playing cards. I was about to win again when Papa came home. He wasn't home often but when he was, it was all fun and games. We all forgot about our card game and ran to hug him. He lifted me up in the air and spun me around.
​"How is my little princess?" he asked me as he sat me down on the couch.
​"Good now that your home," I said grinning. We then all took turns talking about what had happened since he last saw us. I told him of my many fun times with Fiona. After he put us all in bed, I wasn't tired. I heard him and Mama talking in hushed voices downstairs. I quietly slipped out of bed, careful not to wake my sister, Mary, up and crept down the stairs. Papa and Mama's back were turned. I could only pick up some words but I heard something about a symbol not appearing on any of the children. My father leaned in to give my mother a kiss and I saw something on his neck, something I somehow didn't notice before. When they were moving around I rushed upstairs to my bed chambers. Just as I got the sheets over me, my parents walked in the room.
​"See, nothing to worry about no one was listening," said my mother and pulled father out of the room. From my bed I still wondered what they meant by a symbol and what was on my father's neck.