Peace In Desperation's Hour

Chapter 2

I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't see for miles. I couldn't even see my hands. I tried to speak, but my voice drifted into a silent echo.

Suddenly, I started to hear unknown voices. They were mumbles, so I couldn't understand what they were saying. Slowly, and little by little, the voices became more clear. "Is she gonna be okay?..." "When will she wake up?..." "I hope she will wake up soon..."

Suddenly, the darkness soon was being cast away with streams of light. I shielded my eyes, until the light had dimmed down a little. I slowly opened my eyes and my vision is a little bit blurry. I saw a blur of pink hair and dark dots. "Big Brother! She's waking up!"

Slowly, my vision started to come together. I saw a young girl with dark eyes looking down at me. She had her pink hair pulled into a side braid. She looked as if she was a year or two younger than me. "Are you okay miss?" she asked me.

I looked at her and tried to sit up, but I was slowly pushed back down on the bed, by two strong hands. "No, not yet." A baritone voice told me. "You need to rest some more." I looked at who told me that, and I saw a boy with dark green hair with deep sea blue eyes. He had a deep tan skin, with a few hidden tan lines.

"I'm glad she is okay, big brother." The young girl spoke.

"So am I. Thank you for watching over her Lora." The young man said.

"Oh yeah. Is Aaron back yet, Zack?" the girl, Lora, had asked.

"No, not yet. Remember, he is hunting to feed all of us. Also to pick some herbs for medicine." Zack had replied to Lora.

Who is Aaron? And who is everybody? I had to think about what he meant. Then it struck me. Pencalia burning, the Hakai guards, Tamiko escaping, and me almost dying in the ashes. But, the boy who saved me, did he...bring me here?

Without another word, a door opened and a girl with silvery white locks and a boy with black, shaggy hair walked in. The girl had pale, icy green wide eyes, and her hair was neatly pulled into a braid just like Lora's. She had fair skin, and wore a tan vest over her evergreen shirt and navy blue capris.

The boy wore a ragged jacket, as well as a pair of nearly burnt grey pants. They were covered in ashes. He had a dark T-shirt under the jack, and had olive skin. His eyes were a mesmerizing shade of violet, with darkened pupils.

"Zack, I need your help with the wood outside. Rostella will watch over Lora and the girl." The boy said.

"Okay, Rikuto." Zack said, standing up. He then looked at Lora. "Make sure the girl is okay."

Lora simply smiled at Zack. "Of course I will. I can't let her possibly not feel worse."

Zack ruffled Lora's loose hair, and chuckled. He then walked out of the room with that boy...Was his name, Rikuto? Or something like that.

Suddenly, I started coughing. It hurt my throat like crazy, so it was more painful. I was quickly sat up, and I held the bend of my elbow to my mouth, to avoid any bacteria and germs to fly around. "Hey, it's gonna be okay." Lora said.

I looked at her confused. Then I felt something wet fall down from my cheeks. Was I...crying? "I bet your throat hurts. You were lucky that you were pulled from that fire. Luckily, none of those soldiers will find us. We have a good hiding spot."

"Lora, calm down. She probably doesn't know what is happening right now." The silvery haired girl said, walking towards us. She handed me a cup full of water. "Drink this, and we will explain everything."

I looked at her and nodded. "Thank you..." my cracked voice spoke. I quickly drank all of the cool water. The soothing feeling down my throat made me feel refreshed.

"Before we start, should we wait for everybody to come back?" Lora asked.

"That's probably the best." The girl said. She then looks at me. Her green were filled with confusion. She then smiles at me. "My name is Rostella Denmile, and I believe you have already met Lora and her brother Zack. We'll wait for everybody to come back and then we will tell you everything."

Afraid to speak because of my throat hurting, I nodded.

"Don't worry, we aren't gonna leave you alone." Lora said. I looked at her, and she smiled at me. She sure had a bubbly attitude. "Besides, I like making new friends."

"Lora, you aren't pestering the girl, are you?" I heard someone say. A familiar voice. But where did I hear it from? Rostella, Lora and I look over towards the door, to find a boy with blue hair, whose bangs had slightly covered his silvery grey eyes. He wore a faded pale green jacket, with black pants and a red shirt. Wait...his hair and eyes.

"Oh, you're back Aaron. Did you find the herbs as well?" Rostella asked.

"Yes I did." He said, pulling out an old burlap sack, and handing it to Rostella. "Can you help mix the medicine for her?"

"Yes, I will. But it will take me a few minutes." Rostella said, taking the herbs and leaving the room. The boy walks over to me. I look at him. He sits down on the edge of the bed I was in. "I'm glad you have finally woken up." He said. "I was lucky to get both of us out of the burning city safely."

My eyes widened at his comment. So, he was the one who saved me from Pencalia when it was in flames. "You lost consciousness after I found you. So I knew that I had to get you out of the city as quickly as I could. Luckily, I did it without running into any Hakai guards. You'll be safe here."

I looked at him confused. "Ummm...Aaron, maybe we should tell her the story when everybody is back." Lora said.

"Yeah maybe you're right." He said, standing up. "Where are the others?"

"Well, Big brother and Rikuto are working on getting some wood, and Mr. Sage is keeping watch." Lora said.

"Okay, how about our other special guest?" Aaron asked.

"I thought she said something about cleaning the kitchen." Lora said.

"As long as she didn't go outside unattended." Aaron sighed in relief.

"As long as who didn't go outside unattended?" a soft and genuine voice asked. I looked over and saw the last person I thought I would meet: Saphra H. Ophania, princess of Ophania.