Esveldza: 'The Lonely Child of Fire'

Chapter XIV- Support of a best friend

 Chapter XIV

Support of a best friend

I screamed and woke up. I slapped my hands to my mouth, looking around cautiously. The previous night on my birthday I had managed to sleep peacefully without any nightmares but a night later I had just awoken from my second one. I cursed silently, punching the mattress beneath me. Why did these horrors of the night plague me so?

Of course, because I am a murderer.

I laid back down, pulling the covers up. I turned my body to my bedside table where I stared at the photo frame. Surely my friend's face would stop these nightmares?

I was wrong and it wasn't long until my next nightmare started.

The room was pitch black, I could not see anything but I could hear someone screaming. I followed the narrow room until suddenly lights exploded alight, a body lay on the floor in the centre of flowers. I was outside in the middle of a forest of some sort.

I stepped slowly to the body and turned it over. The pale, bloody face of Samre looked back up at me. His eyes were open but the green eyes staring up at me could see nothing. He was dead.

I sobbed, pushing myself away from the body and clutching my hair. Wake up, please wake up. I said over and over to myself.

Suddenly the ground shook, the trees fell down before me. I cried out, jumping forward as a tree crushed Samre under its strength. I ran over to the tree, trying to push it over but it might as well have been a whole house because I could not lift it with all my might.

I moved away from the tree, I could feel hot tears running down my face. The ground shook again and I waited for a tree to crush me under it's own strength. No trees fell however and instead the ground cracked open to reveal the faces of those that I had killed.

They walked slowly to me; by each growing second another three would form out of the hole where the first had crawled out of.

"Murderer." They all chanted.

 A man who's jaw was broken couldn't make the words out and blood just spewed out of his mouth with each sound. A woman's head fell off and rolled to me, hitting my leg and a man's arm fell off as he reached for me too.

They moved closer and closer and began chanting the names of my friends: Staarla, Lukarian, Samre. Their filthy rotting fingers grabbed at me, tearing at my clothes and my skin.

I screamed as they suffocated me.

"Shh." Someone whispered as they ran their fingers gently through my hair and held me safely in their arms.

I was back in my bed, crying and shaking like a baby. I opened my eyes to see Daarken in his pyjamas hugging me.

I put my arms around him, hugging him back, grateful for the protection his arms gave me. "He was there on the floor, his wounds festering and his body cold." I murmured, failing to hold back the tears.

"Who?" Daarken whispered, his voice calming me a bit.

"Samre, my old Master." I muttered. The crying was useless; the dream had woken up Daarken and made me look like a helpless child. I let go of him and gently pushed him away from me. I had almost told him what I did.

"Akaiya, you can tell me, we're best friends, remember?" He said softly, his grey and red eyes watched me with concern.

"You hardly know me, Daarken. You do not know what I have done." I muttered, feeling sick to my stomach.

"It is my fault you went through whatever you did, Akaiya. Had we not have become friends you would be sleeping soundly with no hint of nightmares to come." Daarken muttered angrily.

I looked at him with surprise. "I... so I did know you! I cannot remember how or when I was your friend but you stand out with a familiarity that torments me every time I try and remember who you are."

"I am the son of King Frajher."

We both fell silent. Daarken watched me, waiting for a reaction of any sort.

I swallowed uneasily, the sadness that Daarken hid under his clouded grey eye kept the mysteries of his father and all of Marasob. He was royalty- well technically not really but he was the prince of Marasob. People all across Arveltri would want to take this boy and to torture him, not only for information but for the anger and revenge against his mad father.

Was his father nice to him? Was Daarken bullied like I was? Shunned by everyone around him, how hard it must have been for him to make friends. Lonely child of Darkness... we were both so alike in so many ways. Suddenly the pain and tears I suffered for that time didn't seem so terrifyingly horrible because Daarken would have gone through that too.

We were both innocent children who became friends and both of us were torn apart from each other to experience loneliness. Why were we doomed like this?

I sighed, shaking my head and working up what little courage I had. Daarken deserved to know, I just hoped after he heard my story he would still stay my friend. "I was happy for a while until my foster family had a child and suddenly I was nothing. I went to school and lost my only friend at the time because I had become two bullies' new victim. They called me freak and did everything in their power to make my life horrible. When we were finally getting put into groups I believed I would finally be free but instead I was put into the bullies' group. I hated them and my Master, Samre was the only person who could keep me from going insane. His girlfriend, Staarla and his best friend Lukarian looked after me better than my foster family had. Samre said I was just like his little sister who had passed away and loved me all the more for it.

I have an inner dragon, Daarken. Kirrahh made a Staract with me and she was my hidden support. Staarla died on a mission and Lukarian and Samre left. I worked as a helper for the merchants for several weeks until their group returned, only Lukarian and Samre had both died too. Their funeral felt like the final straw for me, Johnro and Jemro did not care, they hated me unconditionally and wanted me to die as he did. I loathed them; I let Kirrahh take over me because I knew she could make them suffer. I murdered both of them and then my foster family and then hundreds of soldiers from Geigan as the war began and as my own citizens of Forban attacked me I killed everyone who even laid eyes on me... I am a monster."

I finished and pulled my knees to my chest. The tears were falling again. Daarken was silent and for a moment, I expected him to call me a freak and leave me, such things had happened to me so often but I loved that house, the thought of having to leave again torn at my heart.

Instead he put his hand on my back, "You were my support when I met you all those years ago. You were my best friend then and you are my best friend now, except it is my turn to be here for you. I do not believe for a second that you are a freak, beast, monster or any of the cruel name of the kind. You are just Akaiya."

I stared at him, lost for words. Luckily Daarken spoke instead, "It was so annoying to remember exactly who you are and all the fun we had but to have you not remember me at all."

"I am sorry." I apologised.

He smiled at me, "It is not your fault. And for the record," He smoothed my hair out so my horns stuck out more obviously, "I always thought they were cute."

My face flushed madly at this and I grabbed them with my hands, "Really, you do? I do too but I did not want to admit it to myself."

We both laughed. I felt as if a major weight had finally been lifted off my shoulders, the guilt that had plagued me finally didn't seem so bad anymore. I didn't feel like the monster I had been thinking I was and rather an actual person.

Daarken left after that, I wasn't worried about the nightmares anymore. I knew that if I had another one, my best friend would come back and bring me back to reality. Instead, I wished I could dream about my past. So I could remember Daarken from all those years ago.