Chapter 4 – An Old Friend Returns
Kaolin was about to pass out in the middle of the well-travelled dirt road. He hadn’t gotten any sleep since Amorite had freed him. Kaolin felt that happened days ago rather than last night.
Tanis was dozing in Kaolin’s arms. Ileana was dragging her feet and trying her hardest to keep up with Kaolin’s strides. Kaolin had spent the journey taking turns carrying the children. They were weak and hungry. There was no way they could make the five mile trek on their own.
“How much longer, Kaolin?” Ileana clutched Kaolin’s brown tunic with her small grimy hand.
“Soon,” Kaolin tried to make light of things. “Around the bend and over the hill and we will be there.”
Ileana smiled a small smile with her front teeth missing. She sighed, “Good.”
“Can we play another game?” Ileana pleaded. They had played two other games, and it helped the time pass.
“Sure,” Kaolin shifted Tanis to his other arm. “What do you want to play?”
“Umm… how ‘bout the ‘Know Me’ game?”
Kaolin crinkled his eyebrows. “How do you play that?”
“I tell you a lie and a truth and you have to figure out which one is the truth,” Ileana explained.
“Alright. Tanis, do you want to play?”
“No,” Tanis buried his head into Kaolin’s shoulder.
“Ok. Ileana, you go first.” Kaolin said.
“I have never been to Fair Days at the castle, and I’ve only had quail once in my life,” Ileana’s expressions were serious and that made Kaolin a little uneasy. She could lie easily. But she was only seven and Kaolin remembered his little sister Cesena could tell lies like that sometimes. He supposed every child had that quality, and they grew out of it.
“Hmm…” They were both tough. Looking at this wiry, small girl, he believed neither was true. But maybe when her parents were around, she had these things. “I believe you have never been to Fair Days.”
Ileana smiled. “Wrong. I went to Fair Days every year. My mother and father and Aunt Lucia took me and Tanis. But I’ve never had quail. Mother said it tasted like the cheap cloth Granny Carmine made dresses out of.” Ileana laughed, but a tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away before Kaolin could see.
Kaolin laughed. “I have to disagree. Quail tastes rather good.”
Ileana smiled. “I will have to try it sometime.”
Kaolin felt like he was talking to Amorite or someone his age. Not a little girl. She was so mature and it was probably from all the hardships she had faced. “My turn?”
“Yes.”
Kaolin thought for a long time. “When I was younger, I would open the gate and let the sheep go, and I am in love with the princess.”
“You’re in love with the princess!” Ileana squealed. “That’s your truth. Everyone is in love with Princess Amorite.” Ileana lowered her eyes and whispered, “I want to be just like her when I grow up.”
The tall boy stopped in his tracks. He looked at the little girl. “Being a princess isn’t as easy as it seems. I bet the princess has to do a lot of work, and has to be cautious about what she does. She has rules to follow just like us.”
“How do you know?” Ileana asked as they started walking again.
“It’s a guess,” Kaolin lied. “And, yes, I am in love with the princess.”
Except Kaolin loved her differently than Ileana thought he loved her. He loved her differently than the other boys loved her, but he didn’t tell Ileana that. He didn’t even want to admit to himself that he was in love with his best friend.
They played the ‘Know Me’ game until they saw a little farm house at the bottom of a hill. It was made of stone and had a straw roof. Smoke was coming from the chimney. There was a picket fence around the yard with a gate, and a small barn in the back. A flower garden grew in front of the house, from the fence to the walls. Someone was bent down over the array of flowers.
“Is this it, Kaolin?” Ileana asked as she looked at the cottage.
“Yes,” Kaolin whispered. It had been forever since he had seen this house. Nothing about it had changed, but something stood out. Something different.
“Tanis, wake up. We’re here!” Ileana tugged on Tanis’s pant leg.
Tanis looked around and slide out of Kaolin’s arms. “Finally.”
Kaolin softly laughed as he stared at the girl in the garden. It couldn’t be. She had been gone for almost a year.
Tanis’s face lit up. “Hurry, Kaolin!” He shouted as he ran ahead.
Ileana lagged behind. “Are you sure your family won’t mind if we are here?”
“Of course not.” Kaolin swallowed and patted Ileana on the shoulder. “They will love you.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Alright.”
The group had reached the gate and Kaolin opened it. There was a little creak and the woman in the garden looked up.
She had a hard face with high cheek bones and arched eyebrows. Her lips were a soft pink and her tanned face was beaded with sweat. Her long blonde hair fell onto her forehead. She pushed it out of her piercing blue eyes.
“Kaolin?” She whispered thinking if she spoke too loud, the scene would break into a million pieces.
Kaolin caught his breath. It must have sounded like she took his breath away; standing in the middle of a flower garden wearing a purple dress that was low cut on the top and showed off her thin waist. But it was just the opposite. He was surprised to see her there. Kaolin thought she was gone forever. “Juliette?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
Before Kaolin knew what was happening, Juliette was running toward him. He stepped into the yard. She slammed into him and he stumbled back, but Juliette held him tight.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered into his ear. They stood in the garden rocking back and forth.
When they finally pulled apart, Kaolin asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I came back. I realized I was wrong to leave and I…I,” her voice trailed off.
“You what?”
“I want you back.”
Kaolin stepped away. It was his turn to stutter. “Juliette, I-”
She looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes Kaolin had fell in love with once before. Those eyes he had looked into the first time he had kissed her in the loft of the barn when they were looking at the stars. The eyes…
“Kaolin?”
Ileana’s voice made Kaolin snap out of his daze. He turned to look at her.
Ileana was standing on the dirt road with her arm around Tanis’s shoulders. She had a questioning look in her eyes.
Kaolin swallowed and stepped farther back from Juliette. “Ileana, Tanis, this is my old girlfriend, Juliette.”
Kaolin was about to pass out in the middle of the well-travelled dirt road. He hadn’t gotten any sleep since Amorite had freed him. Kaolin felt that happened days ago rather than last night.
Tanis was dozing in Kaolin’s arms. Ileana was dragging her feet and trying her hardest to keep up with Kaolin’s strides. Kaolin had spent the journey taking turns carrying the children. They were weak and hungry. There was no way they could make the five mile trek on their own.
“How much longer, Kaolin?” Ileana clutched Kaolin’s brown tunic with her small grimy hand.
“Soon,” Kaolin tried to make light of things. “Around the bend and over the hill and we will be there.”
Ileana smiled a small smile with her front teeth missing. She sighed, “Good.”
“Can we play another game?” Ileana pleaded. They had played two other games, and it helped the time pass.
“Sure,” Kaolin shifted Tanis to his other arm. “What do you want to play?”
“Umm… how ‘bout the ‘Know Me’ game?”
Kaolin crinkled his eyebrows. “How do you play that?”
“I tell you a lie and a truth and you have to figure out which one is the truth,” Ileana explained.
“Alright. Tanis, do you want to play?”
“No,” Tanis buried his head into Kaolin’s shoulder.
“Ok. Ileana, you go first.” Kaolin said.
“I have never been to Fair Days at the castle, and I’ve only had quail once in my life,” Ileana’s expressions were serious and that made Kaolin a little uneasy. She could lie easily. But she was only seven and Kaolin remembered his little sister Cesena could tell lies like that sometimes. He supposed every child had that quality, and they grew out of it.
“Hmm…” They were both tough. Looking at this wiry, small girl, he believed neither was true. But maybe when her parents were around, she had these things. “I believe you have never been to Fair Days.”
Ileana smiled. “Wrong. I went to Fair Days every year. My mother and father and Aunt Lucia took me and Tanis. But I’ve never had quail. Mother said it tasted like the cheap cloth Granny Carmine made dresses out of.” Ileana laughed, but a tear ran down her cheek. She wiped it away before Kaolin could see.
Kaolin laughed. “I have to disagree. Quail tastes rather good.”
Ileana smiled. “I will have to try it sometime.”
Kaolin felt like he was talking to Amorite or someone his age. Not a little girl. She was so mature and it was probably from all the hardships she had faced. “My turn?”
“Yes.”
Kaolin thought for a long time. “When I was younger, I would open the gate and let the sheep go, and I am in love with the princess.”
“You’re in love with the princess!” Ileana squealed. “That’s your truth. Everyone is in love with Princess Amorite.” Ileana lowered her eyes and whispered, “I want to be just like her when I grow up.”
The tall boy stopped in his tracks. He looked at the little girl. “Being a princess isn’t as easy as it seems. I bet the princess has to do a lot of work, and has to be cautious about what she does. She has rules to follow just like us.”
“How do you know?” Ileana asked as they started walking again.
“It’s a guess,” Kaolin lied. “And, yes, I am in love with the princess.”
Except Kaolin loved her differently than Ileana thought he loved her. He loved her differently than the other boys loved her, but he didn’t tell Ileana that. He didn’t even want to admit to himself that he was in love with his best friend.
They played the ‘Know Me’ game until they saw a little farm house at the bottom of a hill. It was made of stone and had a straw roof. Smoke was coming from the chimney. There was a picket fence around the yard with a gate, and a small barn in the back. A flower garden grew in front of the house, from the fence to the walls. Someone was bent down over the array of flowers.
“Is this it, Kaolin?” Ileana asked as she looked at the cottage.
“Yes,” Kaolin whispered. It had been forever since he had seen this house. Nothing about it had changed, but something stood out. Something different.
“Tanis, wake up. We’re here!” Ileana tugged on Tanis’s pant leg.
Tanis looked around and slide out of Kaolin’s arms. “Finally.”
Kaolin softly laughed as he stared at the girl in the garden. It couldn’t be. She had been gone for almost a year.
Tanis’s face lit up. “Hurry, Kaolin!” He shouted as he ran ahead.
Ileana lagged behind. “Are you sure your family won’t mind if we are here?”
“Of course not.” Kaolin swallowed and patted Ileana on the shoulder. “They will love you.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Alright.”
The group had reached the gate and Kaolin opened it. There was a little creak and the woman in the garden looked up.
She had a hard face with high cheek bones and arched eyebrows. Her lips were a soft pink and her tanned face was beaded with sweat. Her long blonde hair fell onto her forehead. She pushed it out of her piercing blue eyes.
“Kaolin?” She whispered thinking if she spoke too loud, the scene would break into a million pieces.
Kaolin caught his breath. It must have sounded like she took his breath away; standing in the middle of a flower garden wearing a purple dress that was low cut on the top and showed off her thin waist. But it was just the opposite. He was surprised to see her there. Kaolin thought she was gone forever. “Juliette?”
She bit her lip and nodded.
Before Kaolin knew what was happening, Juliette was running toward him. He stepped into the yard. She slammed into him and he stumbled back, but Juliette held him tight.
“I’ve missed you,” she whispered into his ear. They stood in the garden rocking back and forth.
When they finally pulled apart, Kaolin asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I came back. I realized I was wrong to leave and I…I,” her voice trailed off.
“You what?”
“I want you back.”
Kaolin stepped away. It was his turn to stutter. “Juliette, I-”
She looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes Kaolin had fell in love with once before. Those eyes he had looked into the first time he had kissed her in the loft of the barn when they were looking at the stars. The eyes…
“Kaolin?”
Ileana’s voice made Kaolin snap out of his daze. He turned to look at her.
Ileana was standing on the dirt road with her arm around Tanis’s shoulders. She had a questioning look in her eyes.
Kaolin swallowed and stepped farther back from Juliette. “Ileana, Tanis, this is my old girlfriend, Juliette.”
I lied
I lied to them and got caught
I confessed up and told them the truth
but they get more upset
I walk down the dark hallway
into my lonely empty room
I lie on my bed, thinking
I go to move and I can't
I fall down
pain shooting threw me
they walk in
saying I'm faking to make them feel bad
they walk out
leaving me on the ground
crying out in pain
I finally give up
crawl over to the closet
get the gun and cocked it
put it to my temple and pulled the trigger
life...filled with hate
I've chased down all my demons
but it wasn't enough
mistreated,misplaced,misunderstood.
I lied to them and got caught
I confessed up and told them the truth
but they get more upset
I walk down the dark hallway
into my lonely empty room
I lie on my bed, thinking
I go to move and I can't
I fall down
pain shooting threw me
they walk in
saying I'm faking to make them feel bad
they walk out
leaving me on the ground
crying out in pain
I finally give up
crawl over to the closet
get the gun and cocked it
put it to my temple and pulled the trigger
life...filled with hate
I've chased down all my demons
but it wasn't enough
mistreated,misplaced,misunderstood.
I keep my rhythm
I tap in time,
My music is my world
An angry beat inside.
It can crash like a waterfall
Or gradually trickle down,
It can make you laugh and cry
That powerful sound.
My headphones on my head
The lyrics flowing though,
Filling up my brain
Music is the food I chew.
It can be beautiful, strange
Crazy and cool,
I couldn't live without music
There's a style to suit all.
Music is like a brand new life
Jumping around your mind,
Each instrument that is played
Is an ingredient to find.
There's nothing quite like music
There's nothing quite like me,
You can always find a friend in music
Music will always be.
I tap in time,
My music is my world
An angry beat inside.
It can crash like a waterfall
Or gradually trickle down,
It can make you laugh and cry
That powerful sound.
My headphones on my head
The lyrics flowing though,
Filling up my brain
Music is the food I chew.
It can be beautiful, strange
Crazy and cool,
I couldn't live without music
There's a style to suit all.
Music is like a brand new life
Jumping around your mind,
Each instrument that is played
Is an ingredient to find.
There's nothing quite like music
There's nothing quite like me,
You can always find a friend in music
Music will always be.
The city of light was full of marchants and villagers. Elyon stood and gazed at them from the huge silver gate. And gurding the gate was two broad shouldered men, wearing bright white robes, that glowed from every angle.
"Excuse me?" the man with blonde hair asked. When Elyon took a shaky step forward, the men stared shocked at her.
"Elyon? What are you doing outside the city?" The man asked. Elyon took in a deep sharp breath and took another shaky step forward. She still hadnt noticed that the vilagers were watching silently.
"Elyon...my name is..?she smiled and fell into the darknes, fainted. The two gaurds rushed to her aid, and the vilagers erupted into a panicky uproar
"Quick take her to Lady Alexsis!" the man with darker ahir nodded, picked up Elyon and disapered.
"Leo? What the hell is going on? This is a bad sign," an old man closest to the alone guard asked.
"I dont know," he muttered looking up at the castle of light, "i really dont know,".
COMMENTS PLZ
"Excuse me?" the man with blonde hair asked. When Elyon took a shaky step forward, the men stared shocked at her.
"Elyon? What are you doing outside the city?" The man asked. Elyon took in a deep sharp breath and took another shaky step forward. She still hadnt noticed that the vilagers were watching silently.
"Elyon...my name is..?she smiled and fell into the darknes, fainted. The two gaurds rushed to her aid, and the vilagers erupted into a panicky uproar
"Quick take her to Lady Alexsis!" the man with darker ahir nodded, picked up Elyon and disapered.
"Leo? What the hell is going on? This is a bad sign," an old man closest to the alone guard asked.
"I dont know," he muttered looking up at the castle of light, "i really dont know,".
COMMENTS PLZ
The pain you caused isn't what scarred me
The burning tears you left me to shed isn't what burned me
Your last words aren't what hindered me
It was the Legend.
That endless struggle to win
To fight back
To not toss and turn in my bed
That secure feeling I had before you
To feel as a sharp as a pencil lead
Now that loneliness I feel without you
A constant reminder
Feeling my heart beat again
Done with the breathtaking moments
And the heart-skipping kisses
To breathe again
Over and Done with
It wasn't those tears
It wasn't those words
It wasn't all that pain you left me to bare.
It wasn't the legend you were when you were here
But the legacy in my heart that you left!
The burning tears you left me to shed isn't what burned me
Your last words aren't what hindered me
It was the Legend.
That endless struggle to win
To fight back
To not toss and turn in my bed
That secure feeling I had before you
To feel as a sharp as a pencil lead
Now that loneliness I feel without you
A constant reminder
Feeling my heart beat again
Done with the breathtaking moments
And the heart-skipping kisses
To breathe again
Over and Done with
It wasn't those tears
It wasn't those words
It wasn't all that pain you left me to bare.
It wasn't the legend you were when you were here
But the legacy in my heart that you left!
There I was. *sigh* Just sitting there, waiting for him. Who? You ask? My crush, Patrick Wellsiben, he was the one for me. Let alone, him being THE most popular boy in school, I was known as a loser. I was the omega of the wolf pack. What am I talking about? Nevermind. My conscience says "Ask him out!", but my guts say "Don't do it you! He's gonna say no!" I don't know what to do! He comes near me and says "Hey." I stand there like a scarecrow smiling. "I feel stupid." "So stupid." Why shouldn't I get the attention from populars? I have short, thick black hair, I wear tank tops all the time, regular jeans and converse. So much for fitting in.
It's Funny, I Use To Be Popular. At First Some People Loved Me And Others Hated Me. Now Everyone Hates Me. Even My Old Best Friends. You See, I Always Found A Flaw In Everyone And Used It To Hurt Them. Not Physicly Hurt. I Made Them Feel Horrible About Them Selves. I Was The Reason You Cried On The Way Home. The Reason You Fake Sicked. Of Course Karma Came And Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks. I Try Hard To Be Nice, But No One At School Pays Attention To Me. Except Teachers. I Even Tried Sitting With My Old Friends.
"Hey, Guys!" I Said
"What Are You Doing Here?" Said Lexi Illing
"I Just Wanted To Sit With You."
"Well, Their's No Room"
"Yeah, Right There." I Said Pointing To The Empty Chair At The End.
"Well," Said Victoria Khan Placing Her Books On The Seat. "Now It's Taken."
Everyone Laughed. Except Me Of Course. I Just Walked Away. Wishing, I Had Never Been So Cruel.
"Hey, Guys!" I Said
"What Are You Doing Here?" Said Lexi Illing
"I Just Wanted To Sit With You."
"Well, Their's No Room"
"Yeah, Right There." I Said Pointing To The Empty Chair At The End.
"Well," Said Victoria Khan Placing Her Books On The Seat. "Now It's Taken."
Everyone Laughed. Except Me Of Course. I Just Walked Away. Wishing, I Had Never Been So Cruel.