Chapter Three

Chapter Three

 

 

                When Risten woke, the sun was shining brightly through the trees.  It must have been nearing noon.  Risten sighed and nuzzled her cheek into...the soft moss?  Not Derek's sweater?  Risten sprung up and looked around.  Gone.  Gone, gone, gone.  Derek was gone.  Risten felt her heart sink and her stomach churn with a sickening combination of hunger and longing.  She felt tears start in her eyes.  She had him...even if for only a moment, she had touched him.  Where was he now?  Didn't he know that she needed him?

 

                She sat there, hugging her knees, leaning moodily against the tree.  She began to rock back and forth, breathing heavily.  Maybe it was better this way.  Maybe she needed to stop needing him.  Stop wanting him.  If she got too close to him, the nightmare...and she wouldn't be able to stop it.  She clutched her hair and shook her head violently.

 

                "Why?  Why is this happening to me?!"  she screamed into the forest clearing.  She kicked the tree with that, so hard that it actually hurt.  She fell to the ground with a single sob, and rubbed her boot.  How could he.  How could he kiss her, mesmerize her completely, make her feel like there was finally someone who cared about her, and then just disappear?  Vanish into thin air?  What kind of sick game was that?  Now she was sitting on the forest floor, all alone, with a throbbing toe.  Some romantic love story.

 

                Then the rustling of bushes behind her, again. 

 

Damn it.  Now what?  Thought Risten.  She turned, and a young man with fierce yellow eyes and a black cloak that covered his entire body stood only a few yards away.  His fair-skinned face was blank and emotionless, his eyes passive and unfocused.  He looked unrealistically handsome, like an android.

 

                "Are you Risten?"  he asked, stumbling over the pronunciation of her name.  His voice was gentle but as emotionless as his expression.  Risten didn't know if she should answer.  She nodded cautiously.  The young man blinked and removed his hood.  The sun brilliantly reflected off of his well constructed hair, which alternated in shades of black, gold and silver.  He pushed his feathery bangs aside.  Risten felt slightly envious of his thin brows, which hung in a high curve above his almond-shaped eyes.

 

                "Forgive me for startling you.  My name is Arias."  he continued, with a joyless smile.  "I represent my lord, Brennan of the White Forest.  We have made it our personal responsibility to ensure the safety of all of the Otherkind.  After all, they are a rare sort, with no knowledge of the great dangers that reside in Ancantha.

 

                "Ensure the safety of.”  said Risten sarcastically, crossing her arms.  Arias nodded.

 

                "Yes.”

 

                "Feh."  snorted Risten, "Well, forgive me for being weak and looking like I needed help.”  Arias frowned blankly.

 

                "I'm sorry.  That’s not really what I meant.”  He absentmindedly dragged the toe of his knee boot in the sandy dirt, drawing a triangle shape.  He seemed so odd to Risten.

 

                "Anyway...what do you want from me?"  she continued, sighing out a portion of her frustration.

 

                "Nothing in particular, Risten.  I only came to ask you if you desired our assistance in any manner, that's all.  You must be lonely, and it's dangerous for a girl to wander about Ancantha without any…acquaintances."

 

                "Who said I was alone?"  Risten snapped, losing her patience again.

 

                "I understand that the Otherkind are not particularly favored by the Ancanthians..."

 

                "I don't need protection, thank you."  she said defiantly.  Arias stared at her, blank as a canvas.

 

                "Very well, it is my obligation to offer.  Good day."  and he was gone. 

 

Risten blinked at the bright sunlight.  Maybe that was just an illusion.  What on earth was that all about?  So Risten was some sort of celebrity now?  But Arias had said one thing that remained heavy in her thoughts.  She needed to protect herself.  Who knows what dangers were in this fantasy world?  She needed to find Derek.

 

~*~

 

This must be Derek’s house.  Nestled in the corner of a forest clearing; a small, square-shaped building.  Derek said he loved simple, yet beautiful things, and his little piece of heaven here was every bit so.  Everything seemed so peaceful and pleasant.  In Risten’s eyes (and the current state of affairs), it didn't belong in Ancantha.

 

                She approached the front floor slowly, her boots smashing the moist grass.  The rain seemed to wash away all evil from the world; the air smelt clean and fresh, the villagers were at unusual peace, and...Risten didn't have a nightmare the previous night.  No dream at all.  Was it because she had been in Derek's arms?

 

                She knocked once, twice.  No answer.  She hoped that he wasn't sleeping.  Or worse, he wasn't there.  Then the door opened to Derek's sour face, which quickly melted into his warm smile.

 

                "Good afternoon, Risten.  Sorry about that, I thought you might be one of the townspeople."  he said cheerfully, though his voice sounded tired.  Risten stared at him.  He was wearing a button-up shirt rolled up to his elbows, slim destroyed jeans, sneakers, and a rubber bracelet.  Derek didn't dress too different than other teenage guys in the United States.  This made Risten wonder why the dress in Koto was so outdated.

 

She also wondered why Derek’s hair was wet again.  Why did he shower so often? 

 

Risten shook herself from her silly, random thoughts.

 

                "Sorry I just left you there, asleep on the ground."  continued Derek with a slight laugh.  Risten waited for him to explain why he had left her, but she decided not to get her hopes up.  Things were far too complicated for her to care at the moment anyway.

 

Derek was leaning against the door frame now.  He shook his bangs from his eyes.  His usually clear, bright eyes were dank and un-amused as he went on, "Do you...want to come in?  You look like you have something to say."  That irritated Risten, for some reason.  Couldn’t she just come in because she was his girlfriend?

 

God.  Thought Risten.  She just remembered that she never had a boyfriend.  She looked up at Derek, who was wearing a funny sort of grin.

 

                Risten nodded.  "Thanks, Derek.  I do, actually--have something to say."  She followed him into the house.  The interior was small and cozy, and glowed in candlelight.  Risten sat on the sofa as Derek took the armchair opposite to her.

 

                "So...what did you want to talk about?"  he said, somewhat cautiously.  Risten took a deep breath, unsure of what she was thinking.  "Did you have another bad dream?

 

                "No, I was just wondering...if you could teach me how to use magic.  I mean, I can, right?"  She didn't take her eyes off of Derek, who was sprawled lazily in his chair.  The question fell off her tongue and trailed off, sounding horribly wrong.

 

                "Sure.”  said Derek after a moment,  “Anybody can use magic.  It's just a matter of--er, knowing how.  But yeah, I guess I can ‘teach’ you...starting tomorrow, though, I'm kind of tired today."  He yawned and stretched his arms with a grimace.  Risten eyed him curiously.

 

                "Thanks, Derek."

 

                "No prob."

 

                "Derek, excuse me for asking, but, is something wrong?  Are you all right?"  she asked.  He hesitated for a moment, and then smiled pleasantly.

 

                "I'm fine, Risten.  Just a little tired, like I said.  Oh, I almost forgot to ask.  Why do you want to learn magic all of a sudden?"  he said, apparently trying to change the subject.

 

                "Well, if I do have special powers, some bad guy is bound to pursue me.  That's the way all the stories go.  Shouldn't I be able to defend myself?"

 

                "Can you use any weapons?”

 

                "A blade, but nothing special.  I took fencing lessons a few years ago, and I experimented a bit on my own with a pocket knife.”  She smirked when Derek’s eyebrows raised a little.  “But my point is, being able to use magic would make my skills better-rounded.  You know what I mean?”

 

                "Yes.  Hmm, good point.  Okay."  Derek's voice sounded exasperated.  After a moment Risten stood and walked over to him, putting the back of her hand to his forehead.

                "Hey, Derek...why are you so tired?"  she asked quietly, but he was silent.  He shifted in his chair and sighed.

 

                "It's nothing; I haven’t been sleeping well, that's all."  He didn't look at her as he spoke.

 

                "Insomnia?  Do...you have nightmares too?"

 

                "No, it's not that...I..."  He sighed again.  Risten pushed his shoulders back into the chair's cushions and leaned against his chest.  Without another word, she kissed him tenderly, setting all thoughts of her nightmares aside.  Her hands went to the buttons of his shirt.  She unfastened two of them, but Derek made a disapproving sound in his throat and gently pushed her away, rudely breaking their kiss.  Risten stared at him with a concerned expression.

 

                "I'm sorry, Risten..."  Derek said in a broken voice.  He sniffed and wiped his eyes.

 

                "What's wrong, Derek?"  Risten demanded, "What are you hiding from me?"  Derek got up, pushing her aside.  He started for the door, but stopped.

 

                "Look, I don't owe you any answers.  I barely know you."  he said with his back towards her.  Risten knew that he was crying.  Tears rolled down her own cheeks, for so many reasons that she couldn't name them all in her head.

 

                "I don't understand.  I don't understand at all."  she sobbed, hugging her arms.  "This world...my nightmares...me, you...I don't understand any of this.  Please, Derek!  Look at me when I'm talking to you!  You’re all that I have!"  But he didn't turn around.

 

                Risten bit her lip as her eyes clouded with tears.  "I thought...I thought you..."  she began, but couldn't finish.  Derek made a gesture of despair.

 

                "Oh God."  he sobbed into his hands.  He banged his forehead against the door and slammed his fist into the wood.  He was crying.  Despairing.  Risten watched in horror as he sobbed into the door.  “This is wrong, so wrong…”

 

                "Derek!  Stop it!"  she cried, flinging her arms around him.  "Please!" 

 

He stopped, his body going limp against the door.

 

“What’s wrong with you?”  she cried, backing up.  Derek took a deep breath, and after a moment, he turned to her.  His eyes were red and swollen, his face full of sincere sadness.  But he put his arms around her and leaned his head against her shoulder, and surrendered himself.  Risten could feel the pain, fear, agony...flowing into her through his trembling body.  For what, she didn't know.  Part of her didn't want to know.  He seemed to strong.  What could possibly make him like this? 

 

For right now, she wouldn't ask.  She slipped her hands under Derek's shirt.  She felt him shiver as her fingers scaled his spine.

 

                "It's all right, Derek."  she whispered into his ear.  "I won't let anyone hurt you."  She felt her heart sink.  Could she really be lying to him?  Derek kissed the side of her neck three times, slow and ever so gentle.

 

                "No, Risten...I won't let anyone hurt you.  Not even me."

 

 

Author's Note

Good heavens this chapter is terrible...and it's far too short. EPIC FAIL. XD lol

Reviews

[Bridget Murphy]

I didn;t like that much, mainly because Derek became a little mean in this chapter:(

[ravenjess]

stupid thing cut off my comment i also said

[ravenjess]

i love arias