Golden Child [Rewriting]

*Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

She looked away. "No. You're insane." She said.

Nuri sighed, determined to get her to agree. She had to, she was his only hope at retribution. He noticed Avani next to him, scoffing.

"You can't deny destiny." He said lamely, knowing he won't be able to convince her. It had taken him two weeks to convince her to meet with him, never mind accompany him on a journey across the country.

"But I can deny you." She said, and started walking again.

"I was sent here by your father." He said quickly, and without regard. At this, Avani gave him a sceptical glance from the side. He hadn't planned on telling her until later, but found it was necessary to tell her that his mentor was Milo Aro. He had sent both Nuri and Avani out two weeks ago, and told him to find his daughter Meri, and to bring her to him so that she could be trained like he had done with Nuri and the other inhabitants of the Manor back in the City of Gold.

"What?" She asked, and spun around on her heels, facing him directly. Her previously ethereal blue eyes were now icy and cold like the stream, and her aura a bright, pulsating gold, "my father was a priest."

"As a day job, but he's also my mentor, and he sent me here to retrieve you, and unfortunately, I cannot leave without you." Nuri said firmly, if he were going to get anywhere with this girl, he was going to have to have to be firm with her, and demand answers.

"My mother would never let me go." She said quietly, "she would have no one to help her with the dishes, or Aku's washing."

"You weren't born to wash your brother's clothes." He replied.

"I know," she reasoned, "but I can't go with you, and I'm sorry. I barely know you." He sighed, and pulled out the letter Milo had provided. He handed it to her. On the front, in neat handwriting, stood My daughter, Meri. She opened it carefully, like she was afraid she might break it if she opened it too quickly, and then handed it back.

"I can't read." She admitted shamefully with the letter extended toward him.

He couldn't help but smile as he began reciting Milo's words to her. He watched her expression change, with one eye on the letter and the other on her face.

Finally, as he finished, she said, "I'll go with you, but on one condition. You teach me how to read."

He almost laughed at this, of all the things she could've asked him, she chose reading over harnessing the power of the ocean.

"Fine," he agreed, putting the letter back into his messenger bag, and walking toward her, "we leave tomorrow then." He stated, walking past her.

"Wait, I can't just leave tomorrow." She said quickly, "I need time to say goodbye."

"You'll have the whole day tomorrow," he replied, "I promise we'll only leave at sunset."

"Isn't it more dangerous that way?" She asked, and watched as the bright orange flames returned to his palm, dancing around dangerously.

"I can handle myself." He said with a smile, turned around, waited for a second for Avani to follow, and walked toward the inn again, exhaling. He'd done it, at least.

She couldn't sleep that night, she was too busy panicking about how to tell her mother the news. She could've just come out with it and said she was going to find her father in the City of Gold, but leave Nuri out of it, however that wouldn't make sense. She figured her best option would be to simply disappear and have Nuri write a note that her mother would find on her bedside at sunset. The day went too quick for her to process, and before she knew it she was waiting for Nuri to sneak into the hut, so that they could write the letter to Kaija and get on with their journey. Aku was training with the hunters in the forest, and Kaija was doing the washing down by the river, Nuri came in quietly and sat down next to her on the floor, where she had once slept on heaps of blankets, and soft pillows. She could see Avani's shadow looming outside her window. Now everything she owned was packed tightly into a satchel, and her bedding folded up, and tied to the satchel. Nuri arrived with a similar setup on his back, and then he began writing the note. First she apologized, and second she told her why, and lastly she thanked Kaija, for all the things she'd done for Meri, for keeping her safe, for raising her, feeding her, cleaning her, loving her. She apologized again at the end of the note, and folded it up, placing in on Kaija's pillow, where she knew she'd find it. Then they both stood up, and took the back way out of the village, following the snowy path down the mountain. The wind had started picking up as Nuri gazed up into the star-studded sky, it was starting to cloud up, and he hoped there wouldn't be a storm while they were descending down the mountain. They had to reach the closest village, so that they could seek refuge there. Meri wrapped her royal blue scarf around her head so that it wouldn't be that cold, and because Nuri had said the village was close she wrapped it around her head so that no one would recognise her. She'd only been to the village at the foot of the mountain once, when her father had business with the church down there, he spent days meditating with the high priests, while she idly explored the village, she still remembered the bustling market, twice as big as the one in her village. The village hinged on the frozen sea, which they would use to cross over to the mainland, and travel through the mountains toward the City of Gold. They descended faster now, trying desperately to reach a waypoint in the flurry of snow that had started to stir up now. Suddenly, Nuri stopped, and Meri almost bumped into him due to the low light, he stood in front of a small snow igloo that had probably been built by the hunters of Verglas, and placed his things in it.

"We'll wait for the storm to blow over here." He said quickly, disappearing into the hut. She stepped in as well, uneasy because she knew Aku would find them if they didn't keep moving, because they were only about halfway down the mountain, and the people of her village had methods of travelling down the mountains that were much faster than scaling down it by foot. She could hear their hooks in the distance, their spears in hand, scaling down the mountain with stone cold, dead-set faces, looking for her and Nuri, and she saw the golden blood spilled all over the floor of the hut, and Aku's hair dripping with brilliant gold. She slept with one eye open that night, and for good reason, because about halfway through the night, a shadow appeared in the doorway with Aku's shoes. He peered into the hut and gasped as he saw his sister and Nuri sleeping together. She woke up, and noticed that Avani had already woken up, clutching something in her left hand. She saw his spear at his side, stopping him immediately.

"You need to come home, Meri." He said sternly, his voice as deep and authoritative as it had always been, reminding her too much of her father.

"Aku." She said softly, eyes matching his, blue and dark like the skies above, "don't make me."

"You have to." He said, or rather commanded once again, "I'm prepared to take you there myself, and I won't tell the hunters about these two."

"I need to do this Aku." She argued, a tone of urgency to her voice, "I'm going to find father."

"Our father left us, Meri. He doesn't want to be found." Aku said, pain evident in his previously unwavering voice.

"On the contrary," Nuri spoke, his voice as calm and collected as usual, "he wants to be found, and he wants to see his children again."

"Then he can come see us up here, after all it was him who dragged us up here." Aku said with blatant resentment ever-present in his voice.

"It's too dangerous." Meri blurted out, without considering whether Aku knew about her father's real abilities.

"Why?" Aku asked.

"Because, it's just like he used to say in his stories, Aku, it's all—" She argued, excitement sparking in her once again ethereal blue eyes.

"Nonsense, folklore, children's tales." He interjected.

"It's not, though, Aku." She said, and looked to Nuri, who sat timidly behind her, "he can control fire."

"That's nonsense." Aku was about to say something else as well, but Nuri's hand lit up, the fire creating a graceful orange glow around the hut, and in the low light, Meri saw Aku's eyes sparkle with a childlike wonder she had never seen there before.

Suddenly, it was as if something had changed in Aku, his eyes shone with a certain gold light to them, and he smiled.

"I promise I won't tell mother, if you promise to find father." He said, with a fond smile on his face. Meri nodded timidly.

"I'll lend you my mount," he said, "take it down the mountain, and get over the frozen sea, the hunters won't be able to track you there. But word will spread quickly of your disappearance, and hopefully it won't reach the capital too soon."

She smiled, and embraced him in a hug, then he led them to his mount, standing elegantly, drowning in the moonlight, and he hoisted her and Avani, who looked at him with a certain amount of scepticism, onto the beast, and they fled against the winds, right into the bright yellow bustle of the village at the foot of the mountain. The innkeeper looked at them as if they were crazy when they arrived there, dripping wet with snow and slush on their boots, smelling like a wet animal and burnt wood. She reluctantly offered them a room for the night, and Meri didn't hear another word from Nuri or Avani until they woke up the next morning.