The Way Back

Chapter 3: Kieran

When the girl opened the door, I wasn't prepared at all. Darius said she didn't look very welcoming, but I never expected her to be that creepy. Her hair was white, like a ghost. Her eyes were a stormy grey, and they seemed to be narrowed at me. I made a note not to make her angry at me while I was here. Her skin was pale. It looked even paler because of her hair. She looked very young.

She was wearing a black dress. It had long sleeves, but it didn't look like it would be uncomfortable. I could see a sheath on her hip, but I noticed there was nothing in it. From what Darius said, she could fight with her fists as easily as with her sword.

"Are you just going to stare? Or are you going to come in?" She sounded like she didn't care to have me there. After all, it was her  space. I definitely didn't want to upset her here. She knew where to hide, and also where the weapons were hidden.

I nodded and walked inside, making sure to shut the door behind me. I looked around what I assumed was her living room. She had a small navy couch set up next to a red chair. It didn't seem like she got many guests. There were picture frames all over the wall.

One picture was set out on a table. It had that girl and a boy with dark hair. They were both smiling. He had his arm around her as if protecting her from something. The picture on the wall nearest to it had the same boy. There was also another boy with him. This one had auburn hair and green eyes. He looked older than the black-haired boy. They seemed to be close to her.

I noticed her watching me. It seemed like she was always watching me. "You have a nice house," I noticed stuff laying around the tables and the chairs. "It is kind of messy, though."

"Thank you. I like my way of organizing," she gave a half-smile. She was on the other side of the couch from me. I had noticed that she didn't let me get close to her. Whenever I moved, she moved. Darius had told me that she was trained as a Warrior, whatever that meant.

She walked over to the table nearest to her. I watched her pull out a small pocket knife and start unwrapping her hand. There was blood on the inside of the wraps. When I saw what her hand looked like, I almost lost my lunch. She had apparently cut herself violently recently. There were scrapes and cuts all over her left palm.

"What happened to your hand? There's blood all over it!" I walked over next to her. I noticed her hand tightening around the pocket knife. I immediately remembered that Darius said she liked her space. It was too late now.

"I broke my mirror. Earlier this morning, before you showed up," she said. I could tell she was uncomfortable with me being this close. Her voice cracked, and she looked ready to pounce. She was like a cat stalking its prey. I wonder why she wouldn't like me being close. The pictures showed that she let people close to her.

"You do know that's considered bad luck? That's said to be the worst kind of luck."

"I know all about bad luck," she looked at the photo on the table across the room. I watched her cut into her own skin with the knife and had to turn away. I walked back to the picture table.

"I'm sorry to get personal, but what's your name? You're the second person to ask my name but not give your own."

"Who was the first?" I could see her still watching me if I looked in the mirror. I assumed she had boundary issues. Again, I reminded myself that this was indeed her  space.

"Alexa. She said something about everyone knows who she is around here," I figured she'd know more than I did.

Alexa was a hard person to read. Not as hard as this girl was. I tried to think of what Alexa had called her. I ran through all the names that were close before I remembered.

"You're called Chai by one of your sisters. Alexa called you the Daughter of Chaos," I told her.

"I am," she narrowed her eyes at me. I watched her tighten her grip further. It was almost like she didn't want me to know who she was. I would find out eventually.

"Darius said you would probably be the best to train me. Said you were the best hand-to-hand Warrior he had," I tried to change the subject. It seemed like she wasn't comfortable talking about her place here. Darius said that the Daughters were the rulers of the camp, they were meant to be protected. Why didn't this girl want the honor?

"I could teach you. Easily. You'd have to get a weapon though. There are certain things you have to learn before we start combat. You should've brought a weapon here with you," she, thankfully, accepted the subject change. I wondered what she would teach me.

"I'm sorry. I was raised with the mindset that weapons weren't allowed to be owned by me. Father had the only weapons in the house. Even Mother wasn't allowed to touch them," I remembered Father's stern glares when Mother started to cook. She wasn't allowed knives ever. My sister and I were punished if he was ever angry. I was glad to escape all of his anger and rage. I hadn't seen my sister for so long. I sent her away when I was eleven. I wondered if she made it to this very camp.

"I understand. I was raised the same way. Until I escaped my father's hold," I saw her gaze soften. "You still need to be armed. Especially around me." I saw her grin and knew I was in for a treat.

I nodded. "I'll go find a suitable weapon then." I walked out of her house. She was strange, that was for sure. She definitely had things that she hid, but I thought she was pretty cool.