I stare at my red curls as the words Karim said run over and over in my mind.

The still pond reflects me back.

My eyes are more vibrant, a liquid grey. The hair on my head almost looks like it's pulsating. Like a tiny heartbeat.

I feel powerful and scary enough to do exactly what Karim said I can. I feel destructive. And the weird thing is a part of me likes it.

Aren't angels supposed to be good? Aren't warrior angels supposed to be protectors? To fight evil?

Am not even one. Am a teenager. A sixteen year old orphan with a dark sister, dark brother, Fae aunt, even in my family am a weirdo. And all I know am light. But origin unknown.

My reflection frowns at me. I feel the sudden urge to punch something. I slap my hand on my reflection distorting it.

I voluntarily decided to lose my memories, hoping I'll run away from this, hoping I would get to have a normal life. I guess that's overrated for me.

I feel selfish. Selfish for wanting to abandon Temi and Jake, the family I have left. Because they are part of the difficult life am living. A constant reminder.

I feel selfish that I want to go back to the normal life I had six months. The peace and friends.

But it was never real. Those people are not my parents. My parents are gone. They were my parents best friends so they were the logical choice to take me.

Am I justified to want a life that is normal? No pain? No questions? No danger? Love?

I bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my hands around myself. I rock back and forth. I can't cry again. I just can't. So I keep rocking. It helps. I close my eyes.

I must have fallen asleep or I was so out of tune with my surroundings until a gentle hand falls on my shoulder and jolts me awake.

A blanket falls on my shoulders lightly as I look up meeting Karim's soft brown concerned eyes.

He just sits down next to me on the soft grass by the still pond and passes me a bowl full of an assortment of berries with no words.

Somehow he always knows how to take care of me and what I need.

My stomach rumbles in anticipation. A bird chirps near by and a small frog leaps into the pond creating ripples.

It's evening. Twilight is almost approaching. Signifying the end of another day.

We sit in comfortable silence me eating my berries. We don't talk about how he knows the things he said or the impending meeting to discuss him and what's wrong with him tomorrow night.

All berries I can name and others I can't are all there. A mixture of dark and bright colors.

They are lightly dusted with some sugary powder making them juicier.

They are so good. I finish them in record time even if the bowl was huge and watch the frogs and fish in the small pond as the sun starts to sink.

I burp loudly leaning my head against him as exhaustion sets in. He smiles more like chuckles loudly but he doesn't look at me.

He just leans lightly against my now red mane. A thought crosses me. I dragged him into this mess.

"Am sorry I dragged you into this mess. I shouldn't have called you that night."
He stays silent until I feel maybe he must have fallen asleep sitting there.

"It was the best choice you ever made. I regret nothing. Your problems, my problems."
It sounds like him but the same time it doesn't. I peek up at him.

His eyes are trained into the pond. Troubled and there's a hard set in his jaw. Something is wrong.
"Spill it."

"It's nothing really."
He denies. I take a deep breath and let it out.
I wait. One. Two. Three..

"Something is wrong with me but I haven't figured out what yet." 
I nearly smile except what he says next stops me.

"I feel weird. I have weird dreams. I feel like there's something inside me, wrong and right at the same time if that even makes sense. I get weird thoughts, like the nonsense I spewed earlier."
He finishes in a rush. He closes his eyes and lies back looking conflicted.

I still. That's how my troubles started. I feel for him. Weird is our new normal. Even I who was weird before.

I want to say we'll figure it out. That we'll be okay. That I will take him back to his normal life. That I'll protect him. That what he said was probably not nonsense even if he has no idea where he got it from.

But I don't. Am selfish like that. And I don't even realize when I started being selfish.

Instead I lightly caress his cheek and he sighs. I lie next to him and watch the fire flies light up the purple twilight.

The frogs croaking in the pond with an unshakable feeling that am being watched which I try to ignore.

I snuggle in next to Karim who wraps his hand around me but keeps his eyes closed his other hand slung over his face.

A few weeks ago I would have melted if he touched me like this but now it's just comforting and no more.

I count his heartbeats through my finger tips on his chest and with such a steady rhythm I drift off in the twilight calm reassured.
.....................................................

I wake up groggy. Am back in my room. The feeling of being watched is nagging me.

Someone is next to me. I feel it. Then I remember someone was insistently calling my name. A pair of dark eyes meet mine. Normally I would scream but I know him even in the dark.

"Hurry up let's go."
Thoren stands up abruptly. I pass a hand through my hair to untangle it and then quickly slip it into a pony tail or as much as the ponytail will allow the now red curls.

The sandals are already on. Whoever carried me to bed just put me there whole. Didn't bother taking them off. I grab my sheathed sword from it's leaning position on the wall and find Thoren pacing outside the door.

He starts down the hallway without even sparing me a glance. I run to catch up as I push strands of loose hair out of eyes.

"Atleast can you tell me what is going on before you give me attitude?" My voice is thick still laced with sleep. Incoherent. I clear my throat.

"They took them all. We need to see where they took them and why." He whispers pausing momentarily to peek around the corner. He's acting strange but that's not farfetched for him.

"What are you talking about?"
Am confused.

"Your sister, Jake, Emmeline, Maeve and Karim. The Fae council guards took them. They just showed up. Barged in. I think they took them to the court we were in last time."
I freeze.

My heart and thoughts start racing. Thoren checks the hallways carefully, calculatingly before whispering to me to follow. I don't barge.

I hear somebody barge into the room we were just in. They shout something I can't make out. Blood is rushing into my head making it hard for me to hear. I can't panic right now.

Thoren grabs my hand. My small palm fitting well into his even though my pale skin is a contrast to his tanned dark one as he pulls me along.

I stumble along in my trance and somehow we make it outside undetected.

Thoren takes off his black shirt and drapes it over my head. He then puts his sheathed sword back on his shirtless back working the strap quickly.

He hands me the shirt. I just gape at him.

Up close he is mouth watering but my throat is clenched up so tightly and my mouth is dry. His skin is tanned, his muscles are toned. He doesn't have abs but he's lean and muscular as they come.

My fingers twitch. I itch to run my hands along his belly and chest see if the muscles would yield under my touch.

"Athena. Focus."
I jolt out of my trance and feel a steady blush creep from my neck into my cheeks.

Could I be anymore idiotic and ridiculous at a time like this? Nobody calls me that name. Only my family and parents used to. And I hate it.

I grab the shirt and wear it without question. I use anger and embarrassment to fuel my actions.

Of course am too striking and obvious even in the dim lighting outside what with the red hair, pale skin and white clothes.

I button it up over my top dress and lower my hair from the ponytail hoping the shirt covers it then strap the sword to my back like him so that I get better use of my hands.

We creep along the shadows of the mansion walls avoiding the sweeping guards supposedly looking for me and Thoren.

We creep silently in the shadows moving as one past the apple tree where we made out. My cheeks burn but I look ahead with determination. I have to find them. This is not the time.

Thoren moves silently. Assessing carefully before he pulls me along. His back is tense, alert like he's ready to spring into action any moment. 

He is agile. His moves are sleek it's hard to detect him. When we reach the forest opening we sprint inside silently jumping roots and dodging branches till we reach the court bathed in moonlight.

I am panting. I put my palms over my mouth to breathe more silently as I peek around the tree am hiding behind.

There in the center is Temi, Jake, Emmeline, Maeve and Karim. He looks pained like he's been hit.

Temi looks like she's about to beat someone but two guards are holding her down on her knees forcefully arms tied behind her back.

Thoren was right. This is the Council's doing but as far as I can tell there are two Councils.

One for the Fae which is looking disapprovingly at Aunt Maeve as she hurriedly explains something I can't here her gaze pleading and the Council I was first presented to. The Protectors Elder council because Petrous is standing before Temi.

His dark eyes a contrast to his white hair harbouring murderous intent. The one with blue hair she called commander is a few feet away not even flinching. He almost looks bored.

"Traitors and Thieves. You thought you could hide here? You thought you could escape?"
Petrous smirked. I feel sick.

"She wasn't hiding. I was going to hand her over but she helped us. We Fae take in debts of gratitude."
Aunt Maeve pleades. They must not know we are related despite the somehow quite obvious semblance between us.

Petrous backhands Temi. I take in a sharp breath. I feel nauseated. She falls to the side her raven hair in tangles. She spits out blood. They must have wrestled her out of bed.

The guards let her go. Petrous is looming over her. She looks so pale and small against him. She smirks at him giving him a bloody grin.

I feel something uncoil deep with in me while I kneel there watching. Something dark. Petrous. I'll kill him. And pride. For her.

"I'll ask you one more time little girl. Where are they hiding?"
His nasty voice booms slowly revealing hints of barely suppressed anger. She wipes her blood with the back of her hand after spitting out some.

"Check under your exceptionally large ego and stupidity. Maybe that's where they are."
She looks steadily back into the black pits of his eyes. Unflinching.

Karim is there kneeling next to Emmeline. He looks like he is calculating something evident in the way his eyes are flitting about. It's so unlike him.

A movement catches my eye. Meilin and the girl who's name I don't remember were there in the shadows watching like me and Thoren.

Blue haired commander holds Jake by the scruffs of his silk shirt and presses a knife on to his throat. A small whimper escapes me. Aunt Maeve squeals in rage written all over her whole face.

"You can't do that Laden. Let him go." Aunt Maeve makes her way to blue haired commander but the guards from the Fae grab her stabbing her in thigh with a small knife with only a nod from Laden.

The other three watching. One is a woman in black clothing entirely and a veil covering half her face. She looks at where I am like she can see me. I can feel her smile.

The other two are identical males, or atleast they both have severe accurate looks that make them look the same. They are fair like porcelain dressed in silk dark red with swept back blonde hair with purple circlets. Something about them looks regal. I boil with hatred. My hands are shaking.

They stand by and watch as my family gets hurt as if it's a private show. I'll kill them too. Infact I'll just kill everyone.

"I'll release him when he tells us where the rest are. We need the other girl." He sounds almost bored.

I look back at Thoren and he nods as he runs a hand through his dark curls making them look tousled and sexy.

We burst into the moonlit court together hand in hand. Calculating. Ready to attack. Waiting.

"There's no need for violence now. Here we are. I didn't know a little night make out session would get us into trouble with the Elder and Fae council."
Thoren's carefree voice is laced with arrogance that is equally portrayed in the proud smirk he is wearing.

He's so good at acting. Scary good.

My blushing doesnt make it any better much less his shirtless body and his shirt on me. I must look fresh from a make out given my equally messed up hair.

A perfect distraction. I take in deep breaths as I count. One, two, three.............

The ground beneath us suddenly comes to life. The grass starts grabbing at anybody but us, like it has a mind of its own. I hear squeals as I spot Meilin and the girl crunching on the ground out of sight lightly sweating and focusing. Perfect timing.

Everyone freezes and that's the only time we need in the confusion. We spring apart while he runs for Laden I run for Petrous equally murderous intent portrayed on my face.

He unfreezes slamming me a few feet back with his telekinesis. I had forgotten that small detail. I hit the ground hard forcing the breath out of me.

Direct attacks won't work. I sit up and ball my hands into fists. I hope I can manage shields this time. I focus on Temi, blood trickling down her chin.

This isn't the first time am going to do it with someone but I haven't in a long time and am out of practice but I have to try.

I teleport to her and the moment my hands curve around her waist I picture myself back in her room. We land softly on the floor.

I pant and take in huge breaths. That took alot out of me. I teleport back to kick the crap out of Petrous only to be met with a ghastly site. Guards are filling in and we are out numbered.

Even though Thoren is engaged furiously with the commander nursing a few deep cuts, Jake is slumped on the ground a huge gash on the side of his neck guzzling out blood.

Unmoving as far as I can tell. I involuntarily let out a small scream kneeling next to him in seconds. I don't remember how but it doesnt matter now.

I turn his head and feel a pulse. It's a deep cut but not severe as I examine it. He'll live, he has to. I put my hand over the wound to stop the blood and in the haze and panic I almost forget I can heal him.

I took a few calming breaths. He has to live. A blanket of calm descends over me as I blank my mind.
"To love and to heal
From the power within."

I repeat the words in my mind as I calm down like mother taught me. My hands blaze. I place them more against the gash and it starts healing over. Skin knitting together blood stops flowing.

I feel his pulse getting stronger. I will him to open his eyes. Do anything damn it. I push more till he moans and opens his eyes. They look dazed and confused.

I let go and cradle him in my blood covered palms. His blood.

I choke back a sob and let out a breath I didn't realize I have been holding as I help him stand up blocking out the metallic clang of weapons around us.

Before I say anything something solid slams into us sending us flying landing hard on the grass. I  stand up and watch  Petrous coming towards us.

"Go. Leave him to me. Find Karim and Aunt Maeve."
My eyes trained on Petrous but I notice him out of my peripheral vision looking worried as his gaze travels between Petrous and me but he nods and runs left where Karim has his arm around a guard.

When did he get good at fighting? This isn't the time. I focus on Petrous. I unsheath my sword from my back anticipating his next attack. He is going to take the brunt of everything raging inside me. I let it all flow.

His telekinesis is for a limited range and only if he focuses so that leaves him vulnerable if he has multiple targets. That's what I know so far from observing him.

The sword feels like home in my hands. Familiar and alive. I can take him. Legs planted apart and sword infront of me I create a shield infront of me. I summon my will.

I will it to become strong and I can feel it like a brick wall around me. Elastic and pulsing infront of me a few inches from my face..

A solid force smackes into it. Petrous halts. Random forces smack into my invisible wall but it doesn't give away. I smile at him but it isn't quite reaching my eyes.

His dark eyes are trained on the sword in my hands infront of me.

I envision everything around him and launch myself at him. I feel light as air landing next to him I hit him square in jaw. I get a satisfactory crack and grunt from him.

How could he backhand my sister? All the fury I am holding back breaks through. I give him an upper cut that sends him stumbling back and I feel the sting of my fist as it makes contact with his chin.

I continue teleporting around him hitting him in different weak points satisfying myself as he grunts in pain.

He anticipates my next move and grabs a handful of my hair. Tears prickle my eyes as he punches me in the ribs twice making me double over and I grit my teeth not to scream.

At this point my sword is a few feet away lying on the ground gleaming. Where I had discarded it in favor of making Petrous a punching bag. Now I realize that was a very bad idea.

"Your an idiot if you thought you could beat me in a combat girl."
He snarles at me like a rabid dog.

I snort as I send my elbow hard into his ribs earning a grunt and the grip on my hair loosens abit. I didn't train hard twelve years of my life to be beaten by such a brute even if he is a grown ass man stronger than me.

Only weak men backhand young restrained girls and he's one. I plant my feet apart and push my head back hard slamming it into his jaw with momentum.

He shrieks releasing me his hands automatically covering his mouth that's now dripping with blood. My head rings with pain but I give him no time to recover.

I punch him hard in the throat, kick him hard in the ribs and a sharp pain races up my leg. I think I sprained a toe and when he doubles over I bring both elbows hard on his back.

He crumples down groaning blood trickling down his face. The dark feeling inside me isn't sated but it grows more. I kick him in the face and next in the ribs.

The third kick was for his groin but he tackles my foot and yankes hard making me crash to the ground earning myself a split lower lip.

I bring my other foot hard into his stomach and he lets me go. I crawl away with a pounding headache and pick up my sword. I use it as a support to stand up. Am panting and in pain.

Something whizzes past me and embeddes itself behind me. I turn around to look at an arrow sticking into Petrous's left thigh who was three feet from me advancing. He crumples howling in pain clutching at the protruding arrow.

"Always watch your back sis."
Temi is standing in front of a closing portal looking better her hair in a hasty pony tail but beaten up.

She cleaned off the blood but she has a nasty purple bruise on her face where the brute backhanded her. I sigh in relief. She runs to me. I brush off her assessment for later.

"We need to go. We need to leave here."
I manage to say through my split lip. I wince.
She shakes her head in agreement.

Thoren is advancing towards us. He has deep cuts but otherwise okay and the remaining guards are fleeing from Emmeline and Karim's back to back combat assault. They work like a well oiled machine, a synchronized pair. I feel a pang of jealousy.

Jake is supporting Aunt Maeve who is sporting a stabbed leg and a few cuts too. He has blood all over him but my guess it's not his judging from his murderous glare and the knife in his hand.

I think the guards that held Aunt Maeve are dead or if, barely alive. She is limping.

Meilin and the girl had disappeared sometime during the fight. Very wise.

"All of you need to go. The council is compromised. Athena, take them with you, to Eric and Martha. It's the last safe house. I'll get in touch once I figure out what's going on. Hurry it won't be long before they send reinforcements."
She gasps in pain. A sheen of pespiration coates her forehead making it shiny. She is exerting herself so much.

"Let me heal that for you."
I make for the stab area but she brushes me off.

"There's no time. Go now."
I hear voices in the distance. I hold Temi's hand as she opens a portal that I am guide to our next destination. I picture the other side in my head.

Jake goes first somber after Aunt Meave urges him. Then Karim and Emmeline hand in hand, Thoren next. He briefly looks at me before he jumps in. I couldn't read what he felt.

Temi and I look at our mother's sister. Our last remaining loving parent. She envelopes us in a hug. She smells like cinnamon, warm fire and spring breeze. The scent I always find comforting.

I breath it in deeply one last time. I choke. I should have spent more time with her.

"I love you both. Be safe until I come find you again."
With that she stands a few feet back and wears  her camouflage. The image of a young green haired girl I will always remember.

A lump forms in my throat. Why does it feel like the last time I'll see her? Am tired of unsaid good byes. But does it make it any better?

I sheath my sword and let Temi pull me after her as the word Be safe echoes behind us and nothingness swallowes us as more guards burst into the moon lit court.

In a twisted way. I was going back to the home and life I was badly longing for today afternoon. But the cost of it is unbearable. I almost lost everyone today.

I smile at the cruelity and irony as I land in the familiar compound in the sweltering hot African afternoon.