I Followed

I Flew

~~Rythian’s POV~~

FIREBALL

Conjuring fire from magicians hands via magic.

Difficulty: 892/1000

I could do that, easily. It doesn’t take much effort. Oh, Christ on a bike, what’s the time? Judging by the moon, it’s about midnight. I better get some sleep, it’s the duel tomorrow and I can’t get tired. I won’t teleport, I’ll ride Chris back. It’s not too far, from the stables to the castle. A five minute walk, at most.

I arrive at my room, to see Zoey sleeping sweetly and peacefully. Despite her energy when awake, she sleeps well, quietly. I’ll just slip in, don’t want to wake her. This could be my last night with her. I’ll miss her. Definitely. Slowly, but surely, I drift off into an endless sleep.

“You won’t beat me, Rythian. I will win, and when the night time comes, I will laugh as I defeat you, you little magic boy.” Sjin repeats in my head. Again, again, again, again, again. Not shutting up, getting louder, shouting, unsheathing his weapon, walking towards me, stabbing me ferociously. I won’t let this happen to me.

The morning emerges, thankfully, and I wake when the burning, red star arrives at the horizon. I can’t just leave, Zoey will be distraught. I’ll leave her a note. Tell her I love her, tell her I’ll miss her, and tell her that if I die, Anna should know I fought this duel for her. I need paper; there should be some in the drawer. Yes, post-it notes. I’ll stick it on the mirror for her to see. Just write your emotions.

Dear Zoey,

Remember me. I have gone to Sjin’s Kingdom to fight the duel. And I’m fighting it for you. I love you, don’t forget that. Tell Anna that I fought this duel for her too, that I did it for my girls. Don’t get your hopes up, don’t expect me back. Sjin is more powerful then I first thought, and he has a good chance of winning. Expect bad news. I love you.

Rythian

I’ll miss her.

~~Zoey’s POV~~

I hear Rythian wake, but don’t move. I don’t want him to know I’m awake, I don’t want to get in his way. Is he writing something? He’s writing a note, on my post-it notepad. He walks over to me and kisses me on the forehead.

“I love you, Zoey. Goodbye.” He whispers, and walks out the door.

He’s gone. He’s gone, what did he write on the note? I get out of bed quietly, and sneak over to the mirror.

Dear Zoey,

Remember me. How can I forget you? I have gone to Sjin’s Kingdom to fight this duel. And I’m fighting for you. I love you, don’t forget that. I could never forget. How could I forget you? Tell Anna that I fought this duel for her too, that I did it for my girls. I will tell her that you loved her more than you loved me. I will tell her that you were a hero. Don’t get your hopes up, don’t expect me back. Don’t say that, don’t die. Sjin is more powerful than I first thought, and he has a good chance of winning. Don’t die, Rythian. Please don’t die. Expect bad news. I love you. I love you too, Rythian. I’ll always love you.

Rythian.

He can’t die. Am I crying? I’m crying… he can’t die. He can’t die.

I drop the post-it note, walking backwards to my bed. I can’t look anywhere, but ahead. Straight ahead, to my crying reflection. Goodbye, Rythian. I love you. Just get back in bed, go to sleep, it’s all a bad dream. Is it? What’s a dream and what’s reality? Is Rythian going to die? Surely not. He’s too powerful. I hear Rythian going downstairs. Just go back to sleep, Zoey. Go back to sleep. Fade back into sleep…