Blood Ties

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

            We sat along the edge of our usual place, in the woods, as though nothing had happened at all. We knew it was inevitable that someone would soon come and fetch us, as it was dangerous for us to be out here on our own directly after such an attack.

            I didn't even realize I was crying until the boy brushed the tears away tenderly, his watery eyes reflecting my pain. He managed a smile for me, though, just as he always did.

            I stared at him numbly, my shaking hands and streaming tears practically unnoticed. I did not expect this to hurt so much, but it did.

            “Do you think we’ll ever come back?” I whispered, my eyes straying downwards to our intertwined fingers.

            The boy smiled, and he murmured comfortingly, “Of course, Star. We’ll return, together. And by then, the war will be won, and we won’t have to worry any longer.”

            His thumb brushed in soothing little circles on the back of my hand, and his voice was nothing but sincere.

            “I miss…I miss her,” I choked out after a few moments of silence. I couldn’t stand the silence, silence allowed me to think, to grieve.

            “I miss her too, Star. So much. It was all my fault, my fault, I practically killed her myself for being so foolish-"

            And then the tables turned and the roles reversed and now I found myself comforting the boy.

            “The assassin was swift and deceitful, and you did what you could.”

            With my free hand, I stroked his soft blond tresses, and with the hand he held, I squeezed gently.

            “I-"

            Whatever he had been planning to say was interrupted by a piercing shriek coming from somewhere nearby.

            Then, once again, the world was engulfed in flames, and amid those flames were a pair of green-gray eyes.

                                                                   ***

With an unsightly thrash and a horrified scream, Star jolted awake from her nightmare, terrified beyond comprehension. Her incoherent, sleep-muddled brain continued to sound the alarm in her mind, telling her there was something wrong, wrong, wrong.

Those eyes…THOSE EYES.

Star curled into a tight ball, ducking under the covers in an attempt to hide from her confusion and horror. There she found the darkness was worse underneath the covers, so she fought with the sheets until her head finally popped out from under the sheets. Gasping for air, she threw the remaining sheets off of her body and stumbled out of her room. She practically ran towards the backdoor, shoving it open and letting the moonlight and heavy, damp air calm her. She leaned heavily against the open door, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. Slowly, the memory of the startling dream began to fade along with her consciousness, and she soon fell into a light sleep leaning against the door.

            Where are you? Where are you?

                                                                      ***