“So now what?” Dirik asked, continuing to watch Citera steadily shovel bite after bite into her mouth.
“When she finishes I want you to take her back to the tent and see that she gets some sleep.” Mikel, exhausted by the ordeal, ran his hand over the back of his neck in an attempt to relieve some tension. “On your way home, stop by Janil’s tent, and see if she would be willing to come by this afternoon and take over. I need to spend more time with you two, and I definitely don’t want either of you running around after dark alone, not until we know where K is anyway.”
With the plate of vegetables finished but her hunger unsatisfied, Citera used the bread to sop up what was left of the juices on the plate and ate it down just as quick. “I’m still hungry.” She smacked loudly.
“Slow down,” Mikel scolded. “You can’t eat for all five days at once, you’ll be sick. Go back with Dirik to the tent and rest. I’ll come retrieve you both a little later so we can all have dinner together at the dining tent.” Narrowing his eyes, Mikel’s tone became very serious. “Afterwards, we have a few things we need to discuss.”
They agreed, and once she had finished sopping the last particle clean of her plate, Citera and Dirik strolled down the trail toward the housing area. The sun had reached its peak, filling the sky with its warm golden rays, while birds flitted around above them, singing their happy tunes. They continued along the path, enjoying the scenery and one of the most beautiful days they had experienced since coming to live here. After a short walk they arrived on the outskirts of the housing area, and there they stopped at Janil and Gabriel’s tent to deliver Mikel’s message. Janil agreed to take over for him around late afternoon, once she had finished running a few other errands.
With their task complete, they resumed their journey up the trail through the housing district, but the closer they came to her tent the more awake and alive Citera began to feel. This sudden change in mood had Citera once again questioning whether or not the feelings she was experiencing were her own or those of K. It felt strange to question such a thing. Shouldn’t a person be content with being happy without feeling the need to question the source of that happiness? But then again, most people weren’t linked to an immortal with a history of emotional disorders.
“Dirik, I’m not sleepy. Actually, I haven’t felt this good in days. Let’s go kill a few hours by the stream before we meet up with my dad for dinner.”
“I don’t know …”
“Oh come on,” Citera teased. “Since when are you a rule follower? Besides, it was your idea. We won’t stay long, we’ll just go, get our feet wet, and come back. No one will ever know.”
But Dirik still looked hesitant. Tilting her head to the side, Citera poked out her lip, giving him the saddest pouty face she could muster. “Pleeeease.”
Dirik laughed. “Okay, but if we get caught I’m blaming you!”
“Fair enough,” she laughed knowing he would never allow her to take the fall. She had lost count of the number of times he had covered for her.
They continued to wind their way through the rows of tents and their inhabitants until they came to the edge of the community where one tent stood alone on the top of the hill. Citera paused and stared at the empty structure, her thoughts drifting back to K. She who was alone out there, in the woods, trying to protect her from the onslaught of emotions she was struggling to deal with herself.
“Are you going to be all right with all this?” Dirik asked quietly, watching her.
“I don’t have a choice.” Citera sighed. “But honestly, I feel kind of inspired.”
“Inspired? That’s a strange way of looking at it.” Dirik huffed, “You’re linked to an immortal and doomed to be seventeen forever. What exactly does that inspire you to do?”
“Help her.” Citera sighed when Dirik stared at her in confusion. “Think about it. I have you, Dad, Janil, Rigar, and all our other friends and family to fall back on and help me through the hard times. Besides Jaron, who admits their relationship is ‘complicated,’ who does K have?”
“Anyone in Oasis would be more than happy to help her, if she would let them,” Dirik huffed.
“Really? How many people do you see stop and talk to her?” Citera turned to face Dirik, staring straight into those big brown eyes. “Heck, how many times have you spoken with her for anything other than camp business?”
Dirik remained silent. Citera studied him for a moment then resumed walking down the trail past K’s tent toward the stream, Dirik following close behind. “She has no one, Dirik. People respect her, but they also fear her, and because of that they avoid her. I can only imagine what would happen if they saw what she really looks like.”
Together they walked into the woods in silence, as the weight of it all hung between them. They continued through the darkness of the forest, sticking close to each other so as not to get lost in the endless oblivion surrounding them. For the first few weeks after arriving at the camp, Citera had been too frightened to travel anywhere near the edge of the forest. Like most, she feared the darkness, believing it hid the monstrous creatures from the stories they were told as kids. The creatures she believed to be responsible for the sounds that emanated from the forest at all hours of the day and night.
It was K who finally eased her fears by walking her through the forest to reveal its hidden secrets. Together they had spent the day strolling through the darkness talking, while K pointed out the boxes hidden high within the trees. Some of them were made of metal, while others were made of wood, and each one was designed with a different pattern of holes cut into them so that when the wind blew through the groves, each one emitted a different sound ranging from low throaty growls to high-pitched shrieking. K explained that she and the others living during the time when the boundaries were erected, seeded the stories of the forest being haunted and used the boxes and their eerie noises to further fuel the rumors. The original purpose of it all was to keep the people of Vanteria from trying to cross the border into the savage lands on the other side. However, the rumors and the boxes now served as a level of protection from the Black guard and the patrols—who, like the Shadows, had grown up believing the stories and would not come within miles of the forest’s edge.
As they continued to push their way down the trail, Citera gripped tightly to Dirik’s shirt, peering into the darkness surrounding them. Just because the sounds weren’t real, didn’t mean the darkness was any less frightening. There were still creatures that lived out there; ones she was sure wouldn’t hesitate to eat a foolish boy or girl who wandered off the path into an area they didn’t belong. Each little random twig snapping and shuffling of the leaves only worsened her anxiety, and it wasn’t until she spotted a light in the distance ahead, that Citera was able to finally relax. Within moments they stepped foot into a clearing full of knee-high green grass with a crystal clear stream cutting its way through the middle. Taking a deep breath and filling her lungs full of the fresh damp air, the pair continued toward the water’s edge. There Citera paused, turning her face up toward the sky, wanting to absorb as much of the sun’s warmth as she possibly could.
“Come on, let’s get in,” Dirik coaxed.
Following his lead, she sat down on the bank, and together they quickly removed their shoes, before rolling up their pant legs and wading in. Citera gasped and sucked in a deep breath when her feet first entered the frigid water, but it only took a moment for her body to adjust, allowing her to wade the rest of the way in up to her knees. She laughed at Dirik as he followed her in, letting out a small yelp when he too first entered the water. Deciding to give him a hand in adjusting to the temperature, Citera bent down, cupped her hands, and sent a large splash of water Dirik’s direction. Her aim found its mark, drenching his hair and clothing with a chilly cascade.
“Oh, that’s how it’s going to be?” Dirik smirked.
He shook his hair out like a wet dog, drenching her in the process. Citera shrieked and ran sloshing down the stream away fro
m him. He chased behind her continuing to splash wave after wave of icy water in her direction. The two of them continued to play in the stream, taking turns splashing and running, until their clothes were drenched and their feet had gone numb.
Deciding they had better start drying off before heading back to camp, they climbed out of the stream and lay down in the grass next to one another. There they stayed, facing the clear summer sky, while silently contemplating the day’s events.
“I’m glad we did this,” Citera quietly commented, feeling the silence had stretched on long enough.
“Yeah, me too,” he said with a sarcastic edge. “I always have the best ideas.”
“Your idea? I believe this was my idea. You wanted to back out, remember?”
“Me? Back out? Never.” He smiled. “I have a reputation to uphold.”
“What reputation would that be?” Citera laughed. “The creepy stalker in the trees reputation, or the run and hide when a girl tries to get to close reputation?”
“I’ve never tried to run and hide from you.”
The seriousness in his tone made Citera whip her head around in his direction. However, Dirik’s gaze remained locked on the sky above, as if purposefully trying to avoid addressing what he had just said. Was he serious or was he joking? With Dirik, it was so hard to tell. However, laying there watching him as he continued to avoid her gaze, Citera got a really good look at the homeless boy her mother had been so desperate to save all those years ago.
A free spirit, that’s what her mother had called him. Never one to be tamed or settled, he was full of reckless ambition, but fiercely loyal to her father and their family. And that was how she thought of him, as family … didn’t she?
But seeing him now, as they lay there basking in the sunlight, Citera became shockingly aware of just how strikingly handsome the once scraggly kid had become. Water droplets glistened in his dark hair, highlighting hints of red mixed in amongst the locks of wild, unkempt hair. Wet clothes clung tightly to his frame revealing the lean, well-defined chest and abdomen underneath. But it was his boyish dark brown eyes, those never malicious windows to his soul, which turned to face her and caused her heart to skip a beat. Smiling his crooked impish smile, he spoke, “I think we should go.”
“What?” she asked, trying to remember what they had been talking about.
“Home,” he repeated, sitting up and pushing himself into a standing position. “We need to get back before your father sends a search party after us.” Leaning to one side, then the other he arched his back and stretched the muscles tighter, distracting Citera once again. “But first,” he continued, seemingly unaware of what he was doing to her, “I need to go to the boy’s room. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”
Citera nodded blankly, still trying to focus on what he had said. She watched as he strolled toward the tree line until he disappeared into the edge. What was that? she thought to herself, allowing her body to collapse back into the grass. Dirik is like family, I can’t think of him like that. Can I? She lay there pondering the rights and wrongs of finding Dirik attractive, when she heard his footsteps rustling through the grass behind her.
Sitting up she pulled on her shoes, addressing him with her back still turned, “Man, I am starving. I hope the ladies at the tent aren’t withholding seconds today or I might have to eat your dinner too.”
She laughed, awaiting one of his witty responses. But none came. Suddenly she was hit with a wave of gut wrenching emotions ranging from unbridled anger to heart crushing despair. Citera froze as the knot in her stomach tightened. Jaron’s block was still in place, this she was certain of because she was still hungry, which only left one reason why she would be feeling all these emotions. Pleadingly, she called to him with her back turned, “Dirik?”
“No.”
Citera’s back straightened and her body tensed. K’s voice sounded eerily calm despite the emotions Citera could feel raging inside of her. Taking a deep breath, she began to slowly turn around, unsure and fearful of K’s mental state. Behind her, only a few steps away, K stood watching her. She was still dressed in the same black sparring gear she had worn in the exhibition, but despite the fact she had been living the last week in the forest exposed to the elements, K looked pristine. Both her and her clothes were clean and well kempt, and not one hair on her head was out of place. Even her expression, at first glance, appeared to be the normal unreadable expression Citera had grown accustomed to. But as the two of them continued to stare at each other silently, Citera began to pick up on subtle signals from her body language that made her certain K was anything but all right.
Carefully, Citera rose to her feet and faced K, whose body immediately went rigid and tense. As if trying to calm herself, K pumped her clenched fists open and closed at her side; her knuckles turning white as she dug her nails into her palms. Even her breathing appeared to be deep and purposeful. It was clear to Citera that it was taking everything K had within her to remain calm as she stood there silently watching her every move. Nervous and afraid, Citera took a step back in a conscious attempt to increase the space between them. K smirked.
“Are you afraid of me, Citera?”
“No,” she answered, unable to disguise the trembling in her voice. “Just nervous. You’ve been gone for a while and the last time I saw you … you were angry.”
The smirk still plastered on her face, K took a step forward. “You mean the night you were eavesdropping on my conversation?”
Citera swallowed hard, but remained where she was, ignoring everything inside of her that was telling her to run. “K, I am so sorry. I was coming to apologize to Jaron—”
In the blink of an eye K was standing in front of her. She placed one hand gently on the side of her face, effectively cutting her off. “Shhhhh, that’s not why I’m here. I need your help,” she continued as she brushed a tear from Citera’s eye, “but first, I need you to get control of your fear.”
Standing eye to eye with her, Citera could make out a red ring surrounding the midnight blue of her irises. In all her time around her, Citera had never seen her eyes this dark, and the more she looked into their depths, the more frightened she became. A wave of sheer terror swept through her body causing K to grimace and pull her hand away from Citera’s face. It was the opening Citera wanted and she didn’t waste a second. Taking off in a full run toward the trail, she screamed as loud as she could for Dirik.
“Dirik, where are you?” she cried, running as fast as her feet could carry her. But she only made it halfway across the grassy field before K appeared several feet in front of her, stopping her dead in her tracks.
“Don’t run!” K demanded between gritted teeth. “I need you to fight the fear.” K took several deep breaths and forced the redness back out of her eyes before continuing, “Don’t worry about Dirik, he is fine.”
Frozen in her tracks, Citera’s stomach knotted. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s fine,” K repeated more calmly, though her body was still tense. Little by little she regained some control and walked casually toward Citera. “He’s asleep in the woods and will wake up in an hour or so feeling quite refreshed.”
“You put him to sleep? Why?” Citera asked, willing herself to be calm. In the back of her mind she remembered what Jaron had said about her emotions feeding into K infinitely worse than what she herself was experiencing. Hoping it worked the same for the good feelings as it did for the bad, she focused all her energy on remembering all the happy and cheerful times that she and K had spent together. Citera prayed that if she could calm down and relax, that the positive feelings would work to diffuse the tension radiating off K.
“I needed to be alone with you for a moment.” K paused and closed her eyes while Citera watched, hopeful that what she was doing was working. Taking a deep breath, K reopened her eyes and smiled. But this time it wasn’t the evil smirk she had on before, instead this was the one Citera was used to, the one she wore most often when she was arou
nd Jaron. “I see you have been talking to Jaron. What has he told you?”
Citera relaxed a little more, seeing the change in K’s demeanor. Taking a deep breath she narrated the story of the last few days to K, including her nightmares, passing out on the trail, and waking up in the clinic. She went into detail, describing what Jaron had told her about her being the Link, how it affected them both, and ending with Jaron putting a block on her. K listened to her whole story, not once moving or changing expression, and little by little the red faded completely from her eyes.
When she was finished, K took a deep breath and sighed. “I’m sorry you had to find these things out this way. I had hoped to be the one to tell you, but things don’t always work out the way we plan them.” K strolled calmly by Citera, motioning for her to follow. “Come sit with me for a moment.” Citera glanced ahead of her at the forest still concerned about Dirik and what K had done with him. “He is fine, I promise,” K said, walking away from her. “You might as well come have a seat while you wait for him to wake up.”
Reluctantly Citera followed. Together they walked back to the water’s edge and sat down side by side. Citera pulled her knees into her chest, letting the sounds of the river soothe her mind and body. Beside her, K sat in silence, staring into the distance, her eyes focused on nothing in particular. Finally, when she could take the silence no longer, Citera asked, “What are we doing, K?”
“Relaxing of course,” K answered calmly.
“You said you needed my help. Is this what you meant?” Citera felt silly asking such a thing, but surely if her control issues could have been fixed simply by sitting beside the river, then K would have done it several days ago.
“No, I wish it were that simple.” K sighed. “I need take the block Jaron gave you into myself.”
“Why not go to Jaron and let him give you your own? You know, he’s been searching everywhere trying to find you.” Citera turned, looking over her shoulder at K, but she refused to meet her gaze.
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