CHAPTER 6
Ilyana:
It feels like the moment I shut my eyes to finally fall asleep last night the sun decided to make its appearance, I am laying down in the same position I fell asleep but can feel my hair is now a tangled mess and unless I am mistaken, there is a disproportionate amount of drool on the side of my face, I can’t remember the last time I slept so hard. I try to force myself to sleep some more, but in no time at all I realize it is a lost cause, the sun is pounding down through the window and onto my face. I quickly make my way to the bathroom and find that a new toothbrush and some personal items were left there for me. I waste no time opening the toothbrush and toothpaste and pulling my hair up into a pony tail. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I feel like a new person. I take a look at myself in the mirror and realize that though it has been less than a week since my life has completely changed, I look like an entirely different person, my skin is paler and my eyes are swollen and carrying the weight of all I have seen over the last few days. I realize that probably won’t be changing any time soon. So I decide to make the best of my situation, I lather some lotion onto my face and walk outside my door to face the day and I am absolutely shocked at all that I find.
My bedroom door faces the living-area, it is loaded with boxes and there is a full crew bringing more in even as I sit back and watch. I look around and don’t see any sign of Ephraim.
I walk out the door only to find Levi arguing with Alya “Damned you woman! I don’t even have room for this mess in my house, why should I help the counsel out? I have spent years - nearly decades, practically in exile and not once have they done anything for me!” He is absolutely outraged, his face that was so warm and friendly last night is contorted into an array of darker emotions, sadness, stress and anger. Alya grabs her forehead and looks to her feet “Listen, Levi. I know it isn’t ideal for you, but the elders are willing to put the bad blood behind you all and welcome you back as much as you would like or need, if you just help them with this. In the meantime, I will ensure the boxes are unpacked and put away in places you won’t have to look at them by the time you get back from training tonight, and when it is time to move her, I will ensure that every trace of her presence here is removed. Will you please help?” she looks into his eyes pleadingly, I don’t know whether to cry or scream, I certainly didn’t ask to be brought here. I decide waiting for his response is the best course of action “Fine, Alya. She can stay and the stuff can stay as long as she does. It isn’t about removing every trace of her, I want to help and I have spent years wishing I could train more. But when everyone turned their back on me, this became my safe place and now. Well, now they are using me, again.”
I clear my throat and step forward, I have no clue what to say so I fall back to the basics “Good Morning, what exactly is going on here?” Levi’s smile has returned and he takes me in a bear hug “Looks like Alya is moving you in here roomie!” I look around and recognize the boxes all have different familiar labels, I see boxes with Apples, boxes with horseshoes and even little blue boxes, I suddenly realize EXACTLY what is happening. “Alya, you didn’t need to… I mean, I don’t need all this, just a few pairs of clean pants and some t-shirts is more than enough to keep me going.” She laughs and grabs me by the elbow to pull me into the bedroom. I am amazed as we walk through the house how many boxes have already been emptied, she walks over to the dresser and pulls out a sports bra, some socks and some jogging shorts and throws it into my arms “Ilyana, you are going to need a lot more than that to feel at home here, we want you to feel better than at home. When you live for thousands of years you learn quality is more important than cost. You will hopefully choose to remain with us for a very long time and I want to make sure you have the best quality.” She pushes me into the bathroom and informs me I need to dress myself immediately for training with Levi. She mutters something about her missing brother and I hear the bedroom door shut behind her as she exits and just like that, hurricane Alya has left the building.
After dressing myself in my new, designer workout clothes I step out and put on my new shoes – how she knew my exact sizes, I have no idea. But everything fits as though it was custom made for me. I never thought a neon sports bra and some black shorts could make me look good, but they really did. I head out into the living room and find Levi waiting for me, he is dressed in very well worn workout clothes and I can’t help but notice his tennis shoes that were probably once white are grey and worn, he is still beautiful in his own way though and it suits his comfortable attitude. He smiles and hands me a phone “All the numbers you need have already been programmed in, Alya informed me. Should you need anyone, they are just a call away.” I take the phone and leave it on the table without looking at it, I am too overwhelmed to actually even look at anything more right now. He notices my lack of enthusiasm and lets out a small laugh “You may be good for this place yet. Are you ready for the best run of your life?” he catches my eyes and before he knows it I dart out the door, a nice long run is exactly what I need.
We run for far longer than I believe I ever have, I like to run regularly but usually I don’t go for very long distances like this, I am surprised at how good it feels and how little it fatigues me, this island is beautiful and the air is so clean. Plus the last few days of running for my life have given me a new appreciation for running for sport. We reach what appears to be some old ruins and abandoned buildings and as much as I want to keep running, I can’t help but slow to a walk and head towards them. It takes me a moment to realize that Levi is no longer with me, I walk through a large mound of old stone and see the remnants of what appears to be an old dining hall, it is grand and beautiful and sad all at the same time.
A moment later Levi is behind me and I notice for the first time that he is drawing long breaths and winded. “Are you okay, Levi? I didn’t mean to leave you alone back there, I just was enjoying the run so much, and couldn’t help but to come here.” He looks at me as though I just insulted him and forces himself to stop wheezing “I’m okay, I run all the time, just not quite so quickly, but we were coming here anyways. Well, not here exactly, but there is an old field through there where we will have more space to concentrate and practice.” I look at him and feel a huge sense of concern that he is my trainer if running for a while at a quick pace is all it takes to make him react like that. We walk over to the training area though and I begin to stretch some more in preparation for training and when I turn around I find that he is laying on the ground, staring up into the clouds, it looks like his idea of training and my idea of training are going to be quite different.
The Fallen Ones Page 7