dnd collection

You're Safe Now

  "Etoile. Please, you have to speak to us. Dad won't tell us and Mom has been off for months. What did MinJoon do to you? Monty and I have been worried sick."

  Before the eldest son stood the only daughter. She stared down at the floor, head slumped over, bangs hiding the violet eyes that lost their gleam. She was fifteen now. Her hair had grown longer than it ever had been before, reaching her hips. Tied back in a braid so as to keep it all in one place. MinJoon, her personal teacher in the art of combat and sorcery, threatened to cut it off frequently, saying its length was a weakness and easy target in close combat.

  It had been about a month since William last saw his dear little sister. Etoile was thinner than she ever had been before. She already was tall and lanky as is but she looked horrid. She looked famished. What...happened?

  What happened was MinJoon said if she could not escape the wooden box he would repeatedly put her in, within twenty four hours, she did not get to eat that day. The young teen went hungry many nights. The worst was when she was once told until she could escape she would be served a small slice of bread once every three days, and would receive no bathroom breaks. It took her a week and a half. What pushed Etoile was the pure pain and discomfort of being stuck in the cube. She was disgusted by having to throw up, urinate, and whathaveyou in the box, and all she wanted was to leave. But it wasn't easy always to cast a spell strong enough.

  What finally freed her was the sheer rage. She snapped in one moment, casting her most powerful bout of thunderwave she had ever, immediately broke the box. It broke trees in half. The ground shook and even MinJoon, watching it all unfold, had to steady himself. Once Etoile finally began to stand and take a step towards her teacher, her body collapsed and she blacked out. She was rewarded with a warm bath and a meal the following day once she awoke.

  "I..."

  Where could she begin to explain what happened, though? Everyday with MinJoon was life or death, or so it felt. And her brothers had no idea where she went for days on end. A forest just outside the port city. Sometimes it was an abandoned church that resided, crumbling and barely holding up, within that first. Well, used to. Etoile destroyed it. Another of MinJoon's trials, as he called them.

  "I don't..."

  Today. Today was the worst of it all. It was what would come to be known by MinJoon as Etoile's awakening.

  "Etoile. You know you can tell me anything." William reached out, placing a hand on his little sister's shoulder.

  Almost like lightning, Etoile smacked her brother's hand away. Her sharp gaze met William's concerned one as she snapped. "Don't touch me!"

  "Etty.."

  Immediately, her gaze softened. Her head felt light and she reached out for her eldest brother. The thick air weighed her down, feeling like it could crush her. But 'Etty' made it all feel lighter. It was as if the nickname was a trigger that silenced all cries and relaxed each muscle. It pulled her back to reality. It washed away all of the stress and feral survival instincts that flooded her senses. Her tense shoulders slumped again and her eyes that dulled now gave a bit of a desperate shine to them.

  "William. I'm- I'm so sorry."

  She steadied herself with a weak hand on William's arm but her grip gave out soon enough. He was quick to grab his dear younger sister, pressing her to his chest.

  "It's okay, Etty. You're safe now."