Kaze: Guardians

Deadly Secrets

     I woke up to Priestess Yara asking if she could borrow me for a day. She said something about making a huge choice today. I merely nodded and followed her, leaving a note telling the others of my whereabouts. As we walked down the road, mist swirled about us. I squinted through it, but could barely see a thing. "So, Yara? Where are you taking me?"
     "To the temple." She paused. "Kaze? Where do you come from?"
     The question startled me. Did she know? "Um... Just from out of town."
     "Yes, but what town?"
     "I'm from-"
"Don't lie. I'll know if you lie."
"Why do you even care where I come from?" I asked.
     "Oh, it's nothing. Do you know what priests and priestesses do?" She tilted her head at me.
     "I know that they are the gods' helpers. Kinda like a teacher's pet, right?"
She laughed. "Kinda. My job entails talking to and running errands for the gods. In return, they protect the town."
"I see. And we're going to the temple because...?"
"Because regardless of your origin, you haven't chosen a patron god, have you?"
"I've never really had a reason to." Maybe I could pull this off. Maybe she didn't have a clue!
"It's just a rite of passage here. I think you'd do well with Jet, however, he isn't the happiest of campers at this time."
I ventured a bit, against my better judgement. "What's wrong?"
"See, that's why I asked where you were from. The day we met... Well, I'll back up. It was early yesterday morning...." She began.
"I had been praying to the gods and getting my assignments for the day from each one. Terro wanted me to chill and take the day off, Coral wasn't in the mood to chat; it sounded like an easy day. Until I got to Kimura and Jet. The other day, Kimura had asked how to free a bird from its cage, so I had given her advice. Well, yesterday, Jet had an odd request."
"He told me to find his servant, Kaze. He even showed me what he looked like. Imagine my surprise when I later found a boy who looked very similar to him getting spat on in the streets. I stopped the fight to get a closer look. The boy seemed new to the area, though he appeared decently brave. And the way he talked to his friend! With a friend like that, you'd think he'd spent his whole life helping someone, don't you think, Kaze?"
I didn't know what to say. Jet had told his followers to search for me. Who could I trust anymore? "Yeah, maybe he just had good parents?" I shoved my hands in my pockets to hide their shaking.
"You know exactly where this is going, Kaze." She said.
I dragged her into an alley and grabbed her by the arms. "You've got to promise not to tell!" I whispered.
"But you basically lived in Heaven! Why wouldn't you want to go back?"
"Only I know: Jet put me through torment! My mom disappeared seven years ago, and I have been his slave ever since. I can't go back!"
"You are his biological son! Surely it wasn't too bad."
I took off my jacket and pointed to my bruised arm. "I only ever disobeyed him once. That happened. My father hates me." I quickly slid my jacket back on.
Priestess Yara stared down at the ground. "At least you had one. Mine left. He hasn't come back. It's been five months since left to fight in the war against our enemies. I celebrated Christmas without him."
"Have you told anyone?"
"No. It would send people into a panic. It would be chaos."
I was shocked. No wonder she had bags under her eyes. She was ruling a kingdom. Alone. "I guess we can negotiate. Don't tell my dad about me, and I won't spread the word about your father."
"This is blackmail!" She gasped.
"No..." I held out my pinkie. "It's a promise."
"Pinkie promise. What a childish thing to do. I've...missed that. But I'm not a child anymore. For the sake of Hima, I must-"
I grabbed her by the pinkie and crossed it in front of mine. "Do what you desire. Stop worrying about the kingdom for five seconds. If all you ever think about is Hima, you'll drive yourself mad. So promise me that, whatever happens, you'll take control of your destiny. And that you won't tell my dad on me."
She rolled her eyes. "I promise, Kaze."
I led her out of the alley and offered her my arm. "Shall we?"
"To the temple!" She smiled.