THE GIFTED

CHAPTER 12

THE PHYSICIAN

Phoebe

It'd been three days since Zalen left. But it felt like a lifetime to Phoebe. Her parents repeatedly asked her to move to Terradin. She was in favour of the idea. In truth, she had been planning to go for a while but never got around to telling Zalen. 

She would love to leave the country. Terradin was much more stable than Oridian. A haven, with better facilities and opportunities for her as an ambitious student of medicine.

She wanted to get away from everything: the missing cases, the murders and the increasing number of wounded soldiers. These thoughts were weighing her down, but she needed to wait for Zalen.

'How long is his trip to the capital going to take?'

'How serious is the issue if the prince and princess themselves had to come to Nexus?'

'Who was the red-haired girl Zalen knew?'

Phoebe folded all her clothes and packed her entire life into the tiny suitcase. She loved Zalen. She knew that since they were kids; first as a brother, then as a friend, then something more. She could openly talk to him. Be herself. But Phoebe wasn't sure if Zalen felt the same way about her. She knew that he felt something for her, but what.

She opened the door of her cabin and looked around at the place she called home for the past nineteen years, her entire life. She hated to leave but it felt right. She tied her long brown hair into a ponytail and closed the door.

In her jacket, she held a child-hood picture of her, Zalen and their friend Claire. They were dancing in the rain. Zalen's white hair flattened to one side as Phoebe piggy-back rode him. Claire laughing, her eyes closed in pure childish fun and her pixie cut sticking up everywhere.

All of them enjoyed the rain, especially Zalen. But attached to the photo were bitter memories. Their friend Claire had died the same day the photograph was taken. She had accidentally fallen into a nearby river when they were playing. Zalen tried to save her, he jumped in bravely but the current was too fast and he hit his head against a rock and passed out. 

Pheobe had run to the house and screamed for help. By the time help came Claire's body was nowhere to be found. They rushed Zalen to the infirmary all while Phoebe watched. Zalen and Phoebe's parents had come as soon as they got to know. But no one cared for Claire; she was an orphan. After that Zalen was never the same.

He trained himself for search and rescue, focused mainly on water-related operations. Phoebe would watch as Zalen swam fifteen laps in a row at the age of twelve. He learned to hold his breath for more than seven minutes, he trained hard and pushed himself to be the best so that nobody would have to suffer Claire's fate.

Zalen was the strongest person Phoebe knew. He never complained, never fought unnecessarily and never failed. But when it came to his parents Zalen was always going to be a failure that's what he told her. Her heart broke hearing him say that. 

Being the only child wasn't easy on him, especially when born into a family full of achievers. He followed his parent's footsteps and trained to become the General of Navy after the passing of the former General, becoming the youngest General at the age of sixteen.

Not everyone was psyched about it, but taking into consideration the influence of the Malekite family, they finally agreed.

Zalen never slacked off. He put his blood, sweat and tears into his job. Phoebe had never met someone that committed. All of these qualities about Zalen made her like him even more. As she walked down the hallways of the base she smiled thinking of all their memories.

She would never forget Zalen: her hero, her defender, her secret keeper, her protector and most importantly her friend.

She got into the carriage and closed this chapter of her life.

~