Freedom Bound

Chapter 5

A/N

Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I feel horrible that I've neglected this story for so long! I've just been really busy and I'll try to update it more regularly!

~SJ

Comment/Vote! :)

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I felt a hand gently brush the hair out of my face. A comforting voice said "She seems pretty young to be out there alone. Did she tell you anything?"

I heard someone walking closer, "Not really, just normal stuff." It was Nix, "We didn't exactly talk that much. But she's fifteen."

I could hear Ki groan, "You know nothing about her, yet you brought her here? Makes sense."

The gentle voice scolded him, "That's enough, Ki. We might not know her all that well, but we all have a common enemy. And from what Nix told me, she's a fighter. Now go make sure Arya isn't getting into trouble."

Releasing another groan, he stormed out of the room. Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw a woman kneeling next to me. Her hair was a similar shade to Arya's and her eyes were like Nix's. Her face was defined by a few wrinkles, but she still looked beautiful. I assumed by her age and resemblance to Ki, Arya, and Nix that she was their mother. She smiled at me and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Gratalia. How are you feeling?"

I sat up and politely replied, "I'm fine, thank you."

She sat up on the couch next to me and asked, "Lusa, why were you all by yourself?"

I looked over at Nix and noticed Arya peeking her head into the door way. I smiled at her then looked back to Gratalia. "My dad had me run into the woods one night, since the patrols had started coming closer and closer to town. Him and my mom were supposed to meet me, but they never came."

Nix asked, "Do you know what happened?"

I sighed "I only saw a part of what happened, but I don't like to talk about it."

Nix nodded and Gratalia rested her hand on my arm. Arya bounced into the room and sat on her mother's lap. She whispered to Gratalia, "Momma, how old is she?"

Gratalia smiled, "She's fifteen. That's ten years old than you."

Ki leaned up against the doorway. I hadn't even heard him walk down the hall. He cleared his throat and added with a rude tone, "I never actually introduced myself. I'm Ki. I'm sixteen."

As I sat with the family in the living room, the thought occured to me that there wasn't a father in the picture. I didn't say anything, but I thought maybe it was a situation similar to what happened to my parents. Gratalia interrupted my thoughts, "Nix, why don't you show Lusa around and give her some dry clothes to put on."

Nix smiled and motioned for me to follow him. I got up from the couch and followed him down the long hallway. Once we passed the kitchen he pointed out "The rooms on the left go mine then Ki's. On the right is my mom's and Arya's." He opened the door that came after Arya's. "This is where you can sleep. In the closet there are some dry clothes you can put on."

I stepped inside and looked around. It was a pretty plain room. The walls remained unpainted and all that was in the room was a small lamp and a bed. He stated, "I know its not much, but it's all we have."

"Its totally fine!" I couldn't stop smiling, "Its great actually!" I hadn't slept in an actual bed since that night I ran. I turned and looked at Nix. He was just looking around the room, almost like he was remembering something. I asked "Was this someone else's room before?"

He nodded. He scratched the back of his neck and replied "It was my other sister's room."

All I could manage to say was a quiet "Oh." I felt bad that I'd be in his sister's old room. I also wanted to know why she wasn't here, but it might've been a sore subject.

Nix stepped out into the hall and said "I'm gonna head back out to the living room. Once you have some dry clothes on, you're welcome to join."

I shrugged, "I think I'm just gonna call it a day. I haven't really gotten more than a few hours of sleep in a long time."

He smiled and started closing the door, "Understandable. In that case, goodnight and if you need anything, we're right down the hall."