The Five [COMPLETED]

Part Twenty-Two

"Just when were you planning to tell us this?" Mark asked, a hostile look in his eyes. 

Violet held her hands up. "Mark, just, calm down -"

"I'm not going to calm down!" Mark got to his feet and glared at Violet. "How could you agree to this?"

"Mira knows a lot about healing," Violet watched Mark calmly. "I want to learn from her."

"Jowmo taught you everything you would need to know," Mark said. "Besides, what makes this Mira so special? She's just the tribe's healer."

Violet's expression changed from calm to hostile. "Mira is much more skilled than Jowmo. If I learned from her, I could heal you guys better."

It wasn't long until they were bickering, shooting insults back and forth. I looked to Matthew and Lawrence, who were watching with wide eyes. Lawrence's gaze met mine. What do I do?  I mouthed to him.

Lawrence gave me a look and mouthed back, You're the leader. 

I sighed. It was clear that neither of them were going to help me break this fight up, so, I stepped between them and yelled, "Shut up!" Turning to Violet, I jabbed a finger towards Mira's cave. "If you want to learn from Mira, then fine. Go there and learn, right now." Violet seemed startled by my sudden outburst. I glared at her. "Well?" Go!" Violet gave a short bow to me before she turned and scuttled away. I turned to Mark, whose chest was heaving. I made sure to sound calmer as I spoke to him. "Mark, I'd suggest you go and train for a while. Help to calm you down."

Mark lowered his head and nodded in agreement. "Okay," he said, turning and leaving the camp.

Looking to the two other boys, I added, "Maybe you guys could talk to him." 

Lawrence hesitated. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. 

Lawrence looked to Matthew, who shrugged. "Alright then. If that's what you want," Lawrence said, looking up at me.

"It is," I said, feeling slightly impatient. "I'd like it if you left."

Taking the hint, Lawrence nodded and got to his feet. "Come on, Matt," he said, pulling our friend to his feet. I watched as they left, and then returned to the sleeping quarters we'd been given, ignoring Violet as I passed. Laying on the moss, I stared up at the cave roof above me. What just happened?

None of us had ever fought like this before. Not since the betrayal. Tears filled my eyes as I realised that fighting was all we had ever done since we'd started our journey back to the Jade Valley. First with Matthew, then the whole break-up with Lawrence, then the confrontation with Kai, and now this. It was all too much. How did we come to this?  I remembered the festival the night before we left; the lights, the dancing, the laughter. We were so happy. So full of hope and determination. We were going to destroy him. And we failed. Then another thought filled my mind: If I had known all this was going to happen, would I still have led them here?  I didn't know the answer. I didn't think I ever would. Rolling on to my side, I was surprised at how fast sleep came. 

I opened my eyes to see the lights of the village far below the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. Was it all a dream?  I looked around. How am I conscious?

"Skylar."

I turned around, and was shocked at who I saw. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

It was Sifu.

I could hardly hold back a sob as I raced into his arms, clutching to his limbs as if he was my last thread of hope. "Sifu," I whispered.

"Hello, Skylar," my Master replied, his voice soft. He held on for a few more moments before he pulled back, sadness in his gaze.