The Caravan of Hope

Chapter 7: I Can't Do It, but my friendship helps me

Bella's fingers twitched, but she remembered that she didn't have her sword.

Jarred smiled. "Can't fight me without your sword, can you? I guess that I'll be nice today."

He grabs Bella's sword from behind him and tosses it to her. When she catches it, he holds out his arms. "And this time, I'll let you fight me. Go ahead, kill me if you can."

Bella looks at him, hesitant and wary of him. She takes her sword and thrusts the blade to his neck and stops at the last minute. He never flinched.

She raised her sword over her head as if to strike him on the head. She swings, but stops at the last second. "I ca- can't do it," she says with tears streaming down her face. She lowers her sword without hitting Jarred.

He smiles. "I knew you couldn't." He takes the sword from her hand and with one hand raises it to strike her.

"Tú no vas a pegar mi amiga!" A voice came out of nowhere, singing.

Before the sword could hit Bella, it hit an invisible barrier and bounced up and hit Jarred in the face with its blunt side so that he didn't open a wound.

Jarred, upset, looked at where the voice came from. Mary, confused, did too.

Daiko was standing there with Alex close behind her. She didn't look happy, unlike what she usually looked like.

"That's it! I'm not going to stand around while one of my friends gets hurt!" she said.

She started to sing.

Fuego, el fuego va arriba.

Alredador de persona mala.

Arriba y arriba.

Soló para cuando él no hay.

Flames started to rise around Jarred. Cursing softly, he jumps out of the ring of fire, which cools down as soon as he leaves.

Daiko launches another round of magic at him, but Mary doesn't pay attention as she runs over to Bella.

"Are you all right?"

Bella shakes head, still tearing up a little. "I-I-I couldn't do it. I-Is it wrong? I had a feeling that he was going to let me. I had the perfect chance and I let it go!"

Mary looked at Daiko. Snow was swirling all around Jarred as she was singing,        "Deje que se vaya! Deje que se vaya! No puedo pararme!"

"Bell-" Mary started to say, but she was interrupted by one voice that said, "You are still a sister loving freak!" and by another that said, "Oi! Crazed evil dude! Why are you using humans are trolls?"

George and Hearthfell then walked in. George saw Mary comforting Bella and could only think of one possible reason: "Hey blue haired! You hurt Bella, right? Pay up, 'cause no one hurts one of my comrades with me around, 'specially a girl!"

"Yeah! Same here!" Hearthfell shouted as he and George both started to fight Jarred.

Mary looked at Bella. "I think it's because somewhere deep inside, Jarred is still your friend, and you don't want to hurt him. Besides, you're over thinking this! If you can't do it, you can always ask someone to help you if you really need it."

"H-h-help?"

Mary nodded. "You're trying to burden everything by yourself. That's why you haven't told anyone about Jarred the past three years. But that's what friends are for; to help you in times of need." She points to the people fighting Jarred. "Look at them, They're all fighting for you because they're your friends! Have you ever seen Daiko or Hearthfell ever care about anything? Yet they are fighting for the first time in a while. They're doing that for you because they're your friends!"

Bella still had tears down her face. Then, she slowly got up and went over to Jarred. Then, in a fluid movement, she went behind him and put her blade up to his throat.

He smiled. "Bella, I think that we've already proved that you are not strong enough to hurt me."

She pushed her sword. A drop of blood rolled down her blade and onto his shirt. Jarred's grin was wiped off his face.

And he mumbled, "Shut up," which only made Bella a little confused.

----------Meanwhile-----------

"Yes!" Jarred said, tears streaming down his face and mini Jarred freeing him. "That's the girl I remember and love."

"I said, SHUT UP!" "Jarred" walked in just then. He saw mini Jarred and immediately knew what was happening. "Oh! You're trying to escape huh? I'll teach you to disobey me!" He punched Jarred in the chest, who slumps. "Jarred" tries to punch him again, but Jarred catches it before he does. "I hear Bella. She's right."

-------------Meanwhile-----------

"Mary's talk of friendship made me realize something," Bella said. "We know our friends, and all their secrets. And if there is one thing I know, it's that you're not Jarred. The real Jarred would not use one hand on his sword; he'd use both."

As "Jarred" slumped, Bella smiled. "And to let you know, I'm not strong, at least not by myself."

--------Meanwhile-------

"The only things that have helped me keep my sanity are Bella and Mini me." Jarred smiled painfully at his seven year old self."

---------Meanwhile-------

"As Mary said, my friends help me, and I'm indebted to them, since..."

----------Meanwhile-------

"They are my friends, and as Bella just said, I could not fight on without them, for..."

------Both views at the same time-----

"I can't do it, but my friendship helps me."

-------------Jarred's side--------

"Jarred" stopped, and laughed. "Friendship? Friendship? Wow, you have come up with some weird things in the past few years, but this is the most terrible of them all."

Jarred just smiled. He hasn't noticed that three of my four chains are almost freed.

Then all that could be heard was a snap as mini Jarred freed a third chain, leaving only the left hand chain. And "Jarred" didn't have time to be surprised as Jarred stared choking him with one hand. Then everything suddenly got brighter.

------------Meanwhile---------

"Jarred" laughed. "How can friendship save you? Can it stop bullets? Or put out fires? If not, then it's usele-"

He stopped, then put his hands to his throat, as if he were choking. Then he went limp. When he came up, he said, "Bella...Is that you? It's me, Jarred."