Tales of Aridia

Poison

It was dawn and the sun broke through the small windows of the van. Cradling my wounded arm I crouched in the corner, surrounded by musty old boxes and a patched throw that kept me warm. My right arm was bandaged up and Max was sitting next to me.  "Are you feeling any better?" He asked. I tried to sit up but the pain was too great. "Not really," I replied. "Let me look at it," Max said. He gently pulled my arm straight and unraveled the bandage.  The wound was sore and tender to the touch. It was pink with a ring of red circling where the bullet had hit me. Max's face dropped into a frown. He pulled my arm closer and prodded at it. I squealed slightly, holding in the pain. "What is it?" I asked shakily. "Poison...who could have done this to you?" He asked. All the while this had been happening Jayden was listening in worriedly. 

"Lucy." I said, dropping my gaze. "I recognize that name, who is she?" Max asked. "She's my not so friendly friend." I replied. Max was cast over with confusion, his mind was calculating and he sat in thought. "No...that name, I've heard it from Aridia," He finally said. "This poison, it's magical, only someone from Aridia could have done this," Max explained. Jayden had parked up on the side of the road and jumped into the back of the van to examine my arm like Max. "Jayden, do you remember anyone called Lucy back in Aridia?" Max enquired. Jayden looked up at the sky, he stroked his chin and said, "Lucy, yes I think I remember. She trained people for the King and Queen. She was an unusual girl. Never spoke to anyone, she was always on her own reading books or walking around the palace grounds." Jayden explained. I thought about everything for a moment, piecing together the information. "That explains where she got the poison...she's an Aridian." I said. Jayden and Max looked at me proudly, I was starting to think like them.  Lucy must have spoken with Hope's father, and told him that I was the reason she died. She laced the bullet with poison before convincing him to shoot me. I let out a squeal of excitement, I had finally cracked something. The sudden movement however sent a deep pain down my arm and I had to calm myself down. 

"But why would she want to hurt you?" Jayden asked. I looked up guiltily, worried they would agree and think that I really was the cause of Hope's death. "I shared my pyewacket with Hope and Lucy, I gave them magic. Hope got cancer and Lucy thought that if I hadn't given her the pyewacket she would've been fine...she blames me for her death." My eyes sunk to the floor, reminded of the passing of my friend. I still wore the ring she gave on my tenth birthday on my finger, it felt like she was always there. "That's absurd!" Jayden blurted out. My body relaxed and I let out a sigh of relief. "Magic has nothing to do with death of another disease," Max said. I smiled, thanking them for putting my mind at ease.  "You say you gave Lucy a pyewacket?" Max asked. Jayden and Max looked at eachother, something had dawned on them. "She was an aridian, she already had a pyewacket. You've given her twice the amount of power she already has!" Max shouted. Jayden looked at him, ushering Max to quieten down. I was flooded with guilt, but however was I to know?

Max leaped out of the van and stood in the doorway. Jayden looked at him stupidly, "The hell are you doing?" He said. Max laughed, "I'm putting an invisibility shield on the van." Jayden rolled his eyes and jumped out too, "There's no point, Lucy will find us, all we need to worry about is finding a cure for Robyn." Jayden said, climbing into the drivers seat. The engine rattled and the doors slammed shut. From my back pocket I pulled out my phone. "Hey mum, I'm okay, I'm staying with some friends for a while don't worry I'll be fine," I texted my mum, briefly sending some love before her worries grew too large.