The Youngest Ro'meave/Minecraft Diaries Fanfiction/

Chapter Seven

Annie's POV

"Annie are you serious?!" Chelsea asked as we stood in the empty alleyway her voice echoing throughout the area.

Dusk was falling quickly upon the city of O'khasis. The beautiful pinks, purples, and oranges of the Sun's fading light melt together into a puddle of color. It stuck out from the dull browns and greys of the city and made the different shades of green present in the surrounding nature, fade into shadows. The moon slowly peaked over the horizon, fighting the sun to gain the attention of all the people residing in the area. The sun finally sets, leaving only the faint hints of the bright colors that were there only moments earlier, the sun moving to its next destination. The now almost dark city was only lit by the few street lamps and lamps lit in the windows of houses. Some were dark, the residents already fast asleep. While others still were awake, enjoying the time they had with their family.

"Yes, I am serious, but don't worry. As long as I do what Zane says, you and I will be safe," I replied, trying to ease her nerves.

I had told Chelsea everything about the confrontation with Zane I had a couple of days ago. I had waited this long to tell her because I didn't know how to tell her. I knew she would fight my decision, she didn't want me sticking up for her. But, I knew that if I didn't, I might as well be killing her. It was too late to change my mind anyway. Everything was already set up for the induction ceremony that was to come in the following week. There was no backing out now since everyone already knew about it.

"Annie, you don't have to protect me. I can fend for myself you know," Chelsea said as pushed a strand of her long hair that had fallen out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"I know you can, but this is Zane we're talking about. It wouldn't just be one attempt to get his hands on you. He will try until he succeeds. Even if that means having every guard in O'khasis on the hunt for you," I said.

She sighs, staying silent for a moment.

"F-fine, but promise me, that if anything, anything at all, goes wrong, you will get out of there. No matter the consequences," she asked, her face expressing worry.

"I promise. In the meantime, just keep your head down and keep in touch. Let me know if anything goes wrong on your end. I'll try my best to keep you updated but we are required to travel a lot," I replied, running a hand through my hair.

"Got it, just, please please be careful Annie, I don't know what I would do if I lost you," she said, her voice sounding as if she was about to cry.

I frowned before pulling her into a hug.

"I'll be okay Chels. Don't worry, Zane knows he doesn't scare me."

That was a lie. He did scare me a bit.

She nodded, pulling away and wiping away the tears that brimmed the edges of her eyes.

Smiling, she started to go back to the other end of the alleyway, "See you later, okay?"

I grinned, "See you later."

I turned away from her and decided to take a walk to the tree that Vylad and I used to climb all the time. It was towards the end of summer at this point in the year, so the tree had bright green leaves covering every branch. I started to climb the tree, placing the toe of my boot first on the tree.

Well, technically the boots weren't mine. They were Vylad's old ones. After he died, I was given them. I wore, and still wear, them everywhere. It was like another coping mechanism. It was like I still had a piece of him with me. After climbing past the first few branches, I gain speed and soon I was sitting on the top branch, leaning my back against the trunk. I thought about all the decisions I had made over the past few days. The good and bad.

I still couldn't tell if joining the jury was a good or bad decision. At that time, I saw it as both. I knew that as long as I did whatever Zane said, I could keep Chelsea safe, but it could also bring harm to myself or others. Which is something I didn't want. In the end, we all have to make sacrifices for those whom we care about. I guess this was just one of those sacrifices.

I looked up at the stars which were burning brightly in the now pitch black sky. The sun had finally gone to rest completely and the moon was now keeping watch over the sleeping city.

I started to think about what would be happening when Vylad was still alive.

Garroth, Vylad and I would be in the living room, laughing and talking about our day. Zane would come downstairs and yell at us to be quieter. Mother and Father would be just going to bed. I missed those days. The days where everything was so much simpler.

Looking at the stars reminded me of something. After Vylad died, I would climb that tree and talk to him. I hadn't done it in a while. So I decided to.

"Hey," I said sighing, "I'm guessing you know what's going on."

I paused as tears welled up in my eyes.

"I really really miss you, I just want you to be here so frickin' bad," I said, starting to cry.

I cried as I sat in the tree, face buried in my knees. Eventually, I started to stop crying. I sniffed and wiped the tears from my eyes, looking back up to the stars,

"I wish I could see you again, but I guess I can't. I hope you understand why I'm doing this. Afterall, I think you would do the same thing, anyway, goodnight."

With that, I closed my eyes and fell asleep, the quiet hum of crickets sending me to sleep.