The Legacy

Kain sat beside Sophia’s bed, watching the girl breathe in and out. She herself didn’t get much sleep with the images from yesterday still fresh in her mind. The early morning sun haven’t yet shed its awakening rays on the world, leaving Kain in solitary darkness. She hadn’t been sitting there very long either, but she felt herself going stiff. She made sure that she went to Sophia early in the morning because she didn’t know what Sophia did remember and how much she forgot. Kain wanted to be there when Sophia woke up.

With a sigh, Kain began to stand up but a groan from Sophia’s bed made her go still. She stared at Sophia for a moment, watching her face for any sign of consciousness. She was about to turn again when, Sophia croaked dryly, “where am I?”. Sophia fluttered her eyes open heavily, “at the Academy. You and Collins were attacked in the forest last night,” Kain responded with a breath as she settled back down in the chair, “how are you feeling?” she added gently. Kain rested her elbows on her knees and leaned forward, god she was feeling tired.

Sophia yawned widely and Kain had to keep herself from yawning too, “I’m still alive so I guess that’s saying a lot,” Sophia said hoarsely. Kain mirrored her weak smile. She looked down at her hands, her smile fading away again. “Sophia? Do you remember what happened?” she asked slowly before looking back up at Sophia.

Sophia stared at the ceiling of the infirmary for a moment then answered quietly, “I don’t really remember much but I do remember this. Collins and I were attacked and it wasn’t an accident!” Kain’s already creasing frown deepened, she scooted closer to the bed, “what do you mean?” she asked bewildered, careful not to push.

Sophia turned her head towards Kain now, her eyes wide and somewhere else, “it’s too much of a coincidence!” Sophia replied vaguely. Kain could tell that Sophia was re-living the incident. She could see the fear mirrored in her eyes, “what do you mean?” Kain asked again, “what are you talking about?” she probed, scooting even closer.

Sophia locked glassy eyes with Kain, “it’s just,” she hesitated, looking at Kain wearily before deciding to trust Kain. “Collins had found something. He didn’t tell me anything, but he went to Abbadon,” Sophia shook her head slowly, her eyes drifting away again as she swallowed loudly, “they had a row.” Kain remembered the shouting that came from Abbadon’s office the other day. She remembered Collins storming out with anger burning on his face.

“I asked Collins what it was all about, but he didn’t say anything yet, he kept muttering the same thing over and over again,” Sophia choked. Kain gave her a moment to recollect herself, “what did he say?” Kain asked, remembering how she and Gavin watched them argue from her chamber window, the night before they were attached.

“He kept saying, ‘she’s watching me’. I asked who but he didn’t answer. That night Collins asked me to go on watch with him, he needed to tell me something. Something he wasn’t supposed to know. He was about to tell me and then we were ambushed. Demon fae came out of nowhere but they didn’t attack us straight away. They just kept us from running away, almost as if they were following orders. I’d never seen anything like it. Collins and I attacked, killing a couple of them. There was this green fae girl, cowering near the tree, but I could have sworn she was just as bewildered as we were,” Sophia paused then began talking faster and faster, tears streaming down her face and onto her pillow. “Collins slashed at her, slicing open her stomach. He was about to end her when someone in a dark cloak came up from behind Collins, injecting him with something, as he held Collins against him. The fae girl grabbed my arm and pulled me away, just as the cloaked figure threw Collins down and made for me. We ran deeper into the woods. I was about to attack her when she pressed Collins’s dagger against my throat. She shushed me, muttering words in a strange language, then I heard him. He was walking around the forest looking for me. Or us I guess,” she was breathing heavily now.

Kain grabbed onto Sophia’s hand and squeezed it. Sophia turned her head back towards Kain and slowed down as she continued, “we were hiding in a hollow of a tree and stayed in the hollow of the tree through the rest of the night. She didn’t seem like she wanted to hurt me, but she kept the dagger against my throat anyway. I suppose she was as scared as I was. We heard you coming closer,” Sophia paused again, frowning as she tried to think, “she must have knocked me out before you found us because the next thing I remember, is you guys dragging me through the woods back to the Academy.”

Sophia let out a long breath before asking, “did you find her?” Kain didn’t know if she was imagining it but it almost looked like Sophia was worried. “No,” Kain said pressing her lips together, “she must have gotten away,” she added. Sophia nodded. Kain could have sworn she saw relief wash over Sophia’s face.

Kain stared down at her hands again, she was squeezing them together now. “Sophia? When we found Collins, he had an imprint of some sort of symbol underneath his chin. Did your cloaked figure wear a ring?” she asked slowly, avoiding Sophia’s eyes for fear of exposing her thoughts. “Yeah. I remembered how it somehow looked so familiar,” Sophia said, somewhat distantly. Kain could pick up on the confusion in her voice.

“Do you know what it looked like?” Kain asked again, this time staring at Sophia’s face, focused on each detail of her following expressions. “No, sorry. It all happened so fast,” Sophia said, shaking her head slowly as she closed her eyes again.

Kain breathed, “thank you for talking to me,” she said as she stood up, “you should rest.”

“Kain?” Sophia called, her eyes staring up at Kain with something written in them, “do you think we are,” she paused then rephrased, “we have been, wrong all this time?” she asked hesitantly. Kain frowned but she knew what Sophia meant, often finding herself wondering the same thing as well these days. “About what?” Kain asked, pretending to be confused.

Sophia bit the inside of her cheek before answering, “about the fae? That green girl saved me. I’d have to be daft to ignore that as a fact,” she paused, “what if we have been killing innocent fae all this time, just because they were fae?” Sophia continued in a whisper. Kain looked down at her feet, “I don’t know,” she said then looked at Sophia again, “but I suggest you don’t mention this to anyone else. You know as well as I do that, they would kill you, if they thought you chose a fae’s side.” Sophia nodded sadly then closed her eyes again. Kain walked out the door with Sophia’s words echoing in her mind.

She turned and came face to face with Abbadon. He was smiling down at her with his hands behind his back and rocking on his heels. “Good morning Kain,” he purred. Kain stared up at him, dumbstruck and robbed of words. She blinked a few times then stammered a of key greeting. He looked towards the closed door of the infirmary, “so, I assume Sophia is awake?” he asked before looking sceptically back at her. Kain flicked her eyes towards the door then shook her head, “she’s still asleep,” she lied. She focused her attention on keeping her face straight. He nodded his head slowly, making her wonder if he detected the lie after all. Abbadon studied her for a minute then pin pointed his attention at her, “do you have anything to add to your report on your findings?” he asked with an arched eyebrow. Kain kept her face unphased, “no sir. Everything’s in the report. I have nothing to add. Gavin is still running tests on the substance we found on the victim’s body but other than that, there’s nothing more,” she said with a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.

Abbadon leaned forward, until Kain could feel his breath brushing across her cheek, “I sure hope you are telling the truth. I’d hate it if something bad happens to you,” he warned with a soft growl. Kain cocked her head to the side, “are you threatening me sir?” she asked with fake confusion. She knew his threats were always more than what they were.

Kain gave Abbadon a quick up and down study before focusing her gaze on his face again. There was nothing standing out about Abbadon. Nothing that grabbed her curious attention. There was only one place where Kain could look to find what she is looking for. Abbadon gave her a tight smile, “let’s hope I don’t have to Kain,” he snarled. With nothing else to say, Abbadon shoved past Kain and walked down the hall. Kain let out a deep breath and felt herself shivering slightly. She definitely wasn’t Abbadon’s favourite anymore. If she was right about the clues she had found, then she was glad about it too. She didn’t feel safe around him. Never have. She couldn’t explain the feeling yet, but she knew she can’t trust him.

The rising sun cast shimmering glitters upon the surface of the lake, the quiet breeze barely rustling the loose strands of hair around Kain’s face. She found herself returning to the lake often. Kain breathed in deeply and let the breath out slowly, she always loved the smell of pure nature that hung in the air of an undisturbed morning. It was a smell that announced a brand-new day. Usually it would renew Kain, washing away the previous day’s worries. This time however Kain felt that her worries were too much for the morning to wash away. she felt hollow and lost, and on top of that she felt confused about everything she knew. Or thought she knew.

Kain heard footsteps coming up from behind her and only for a moment she felt disappointed. “I was looking for you,” Gavin said from behind her, “didn’t find you in your room,” he added as he sat on the pillar that was holding the doc above water. “I didn’t really sleep much, so I’ve been wandering the Academy,” Kain explained, turning her head so that she rested her ear on her knee and stared up at Gavin.

“Is there something on your mind?” Gavin asked, moving down to sit next to her on the edge of the doc. Kain watched how the early sun rays caught in his brown hair making it almost look golden, she watched it light up those ridiculously long eye lashes she has always been jealous off. The sun rays even seemed to be seeping into his grey eyes making them turn into an unnatural beauty. He turned his head towards her, his soft looking lips slipping into a small smile. Kain realized then that she was staring. She quickly looked towards the horizon, shaking her head as if that would clear her mind.

“Are you doing okay?” he asked gently, and she remembered that she didn’t answer his previous question yet. Kain gave him a quick smile, “yeah, there’s just a lot on my mind and I can’t seem to focus my thoughts,” she said, shrugging her shoulders lazily.

“Anything you want to talk about?” he asked, taking her hand into his. She rolled her eyes towards him, biting down on her cheek. She really did want to talk to him, but she didn’t know how he would react to her thoughts. He breathed out heavily but not impatiently. It added to the guilty feeling Kain already buried in her gut. “Sophia’s awake,” Gavin said changing the subject. Kain nodded, thankful that Gavin didn’t push her, she made a mental note to thank him for that later on.

“Yeah, I already talked to her this morning,” she said, dipping her toes hesitantly into the cool water. “What did she say?” Gavin asked interested, his eyebrows were raised with semi-surprise.

Kain sighed deeply, “she doesn’t really remember much but she was able to tell me that it was an ambush and that she thinks it wasn’t a coincidence. She claims that it was planned,” Kain explained. Gavin frowned, looking down at the water, “what? Like it might have been a set-up?” he asked confused.

Kain just shrugged her shoulders, “maybe she’ll remember more if she is well rested and well awake,” Kain suggested, “yeah maybe,” Gavin mumbled.

They were quiet for a while then Gavin stood up, “I think I’m going to check in with the others and see if they saw anything unusual during the search,” he held his hands out to help Kain to her feet. He bended his head down slightly to look Kain in her eyes, “are you sure you don’t need to talk?” he asked again.

Giving him a weak smile, Kain said, “no,” and sighed. “I think I’m going to go for a walk, maybe clear my mind,” she added, looking towards the woods. Towards her secret hide-out now housing a fae named Breezes. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I mean after what happened to Collins and Sophia?” he asked with his eyebrows creasing together with worry.

Kain gave a little laugh, moving her eyes towards him, “you insult me. I can pretty much handle an ambush and you know it! Besides demon fae don’t come out during the day and you know that too,” she added, rolling her eyes at him. He stared at her long and hard. “I’ll be fine!” she said assuring him with an added smile for good measure.

Gavin took the back of Kain’s head and pulled her into a hard kiss. She hadn’t expected it, but she couldn’t help melting into him as the kiss started to make her head spin. She had just put her hands around his neck when he pulled away. She hadn’t wanted him to pull away so soon. “I really am there for you,” he whispered in uneven breaths. “I know!” she whispered as her breaths came equally uneven. She placed a quick soft breath on his open lips then moved past him, towards the woods with a fluttering smile and a tickling in her stomach. She loved him with every bit of her soul. That much is clear. The way he made her feel, felt indescribable.

The feeling Gavin had left inside of her faded as she walked deeper and deeper into the woods. Her smile fading away along with it. She didn’t need to clear her mind, but she did have a lot to think about and the only person who might be able to help her is currently hiding in an abandoned, flora covered building. Kain walked past the trees, her fingers sliding over the bark as she walked. She didn’t know what she was doing but she did know that her life is starting to take turns she never expected. Where those turns led, remains a mystery.

After a while of walking, Kain could start to make out the building’s features within the thickness of the ferns and vines. Her mind had wandered a little as she watched the birds in the trees and listened to the water babble. Kain stood still, a frown starting to crease over her face. The sound of the water babbling triggered something in her mind. A thought. She couldn’t grasp exactly what it was. It was like a concealed memory in her mind, just out of reach, but ever so close at the same time.

Next thing she knew, she was starting to scream. She clutched the sides of her head as she fell to the mossy, leaf covered ground. Her vision blacked out and all she could think about was the pain she felt squeezing her head. A pain that she felt before just the other day on the docs. But worse. She could feel her body pulsing with heat. Someone was calling her name, but she couldn’t respond. She clenched her teeth and tried to squeeze her head tighter. After a moment Kain could slowly make out images flashing faster and faster through her mind. It was making her dizzy and sick in her stomach.