Statera *Chosen At Birth*

Chapter Sixteen

Away from the lights of the city, the ground was almost pitch black. Only the slow roll of the waves told Daniel where the land ended. On the horizon, millions of stars danced without care. The longer he flew, the air got cooler. He was beginning to think he went the wrong way, until a green flash caught his attention. He got closer and could see flickering on a tall cliff that overlooked the ocean.

Daniel landed in a small forest that dominated the end of the cliff before it turned into bare rock. He didn't mean to make the ground shake, but it didn't really matter at the same time. He saw Isabel sitting on the ledge as he walked past the small campfire.

"Hey Daniel." She didn't even look at him as he nervously sat down on the edge.

"Hey." He replied while fighting the temptation to look down.

"Did Santiago tell you to come find me?" Her gaze stayed on the stars in the sky across from them like a still movie screen.

"No, I figured that you shouldn't be alone. When you storm off emotionally, it can get you into some weird situations." She finally looked at him with a curious look.

"Speaking from personal experience?" Her brow was raised when he looked at her with a nod.

"Pretty much. When I got told that I was stuck here and would never go home, I stormed off and ran into the Tonali sisters." She sighed and looked back, but this time down at the water.

"Coming here from Earth is never easy. Especially for orphans. A lot of the time the children make it, but the parents don't." She backed away from the ledge so that she could hug her knees into her chest, "I, Santiago, and our cousin made. Our mother didn't." She sniffled a little bit, "We were sent to different countries when we got here. We never saw each other until just a few years ago." She sighed with her shoulders moving.

"Why does Santiago blame your father?" Isabel shrugged with silence.

"He resents him. Even though he knows the reason why we were sent away, his mind gets colorful when he's upset. He says stupid stuff when he's annoyed or angry." She didn't move as another breeze blew over them.

"If I may ask, why were you sent away?" She didn't respond at first making Daniel regret that he asked.

"It was the beginning of the witch trials in England and heat of the plague. My family was accused of being full of witches and warlocks because we never got sick. Our cousin, Eric, and my family were all that was left before we had to leave." A tear fell down her cheek, "we were going extinct. I remember looking back to a burning house as we ran away in the middle of the night. They had pitchforks, axes, and torches. Our father told us to keep going and eventually had to carry me on his shoulder because I couldn't keep going. When we got to the boat, he made sure we were all in. We all said out goodbyes," She had to pause before going on, "I watch them set him on fire like it was nothing, like he wasn't a human. Then we got caught in a storm in the middle of the sea and now, we're here." Daniel didn't realize that he was holding her hand. Neither did she, until she looked down and smiled a little bit.

Both didn't say anything, only looked out into the calm scenery. She eventually got up and walked towards the warmth of the fire, "Thank you for following me. It's nice to have someone to talk to when I need it." Daniel sat next to her and then laid on the ground.

"Don't mention it." Daniel turned his head to watch Isabel warm her hands, "Aren't you tired?" He asked before she laid on top of him with a loud yawn.

"Only a little bit." She yawned again as her head rested on his chest, "But I don't want to go back." She said as thick branches rose from the ground and made a small cave. Vines and green ivy grew on top, which blocked the wind from chilling them.

Before Daniel could argue, soft grass tickled his body and could feel the body heat radiate off the plants. He closed his eyes and let the sounds of the ocean and the campfire lull him to sleep.