Author's Note:
Posting an extra chapter hope you guys enjoy. Please sends me some powerstones if you can to help me rise the rankings for the competition <3
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Knock Knock Knock
Adren woke up to the knocking on the door. For the past couple days, he had been staying inside the cabin only coming out to grab some food before slipping back into the cabin. He hadn't slept as much as he can since he was on the run.
"Are you awake yet?" Rebecca asked
"Yes, I'm awake."
The door opened and she walked in.
"I still haven't gotten your name yet."
"Haven't I mentioned it yet?" She seemed surprised by the fact, "My name is Rebecca Fyre."
"So Rebecca, I was wondering why you are always the one to check up on me. Why not just send one of your crew members?"
"The Kylmia have a tradition of new blood. Since you saved Lilya, I am vouching for you to join us. That is if you wish to. Because of this, you are my problem and mine alone."
Adren was surprised for he had never heard of these traditions before, but to be fair, he was never one that enjoyed world history.
"I'm here to check up on your wound. Usually Darren the doctor would do so, but unfortunately, he had to take care of some people who got wounded dealing with some Balki that attacked last night."
Balki, cloud sharks, nasty creatures that have a nasty bite. They typically stay in groups and attacked merchant ships.
"How is it healing up?" reaching to see for herself.
He step out of her way, "It's fine."
"Let me see."
"I'd rather you not."
"Why?"
Adren growled and turned to face her. "I have enough reminders of things I can't have. The last thing I need or want is to feel the hands of a beautiful female touching me when I know how repugnant I am to you. I'd rather bleed to death." He glanced at her hair with a bitter longing before stepping back and looking away.
"You're not repugnant."
Adren snort a rude contradiction.
"What does that mean?"
"It means that I don't believe you, Muta. I have as much evidence to prove so, including the way you involuntarily curl your lips every time you glance in my direction, as if I'm a pile of excrement someone has lit on fire and placed at your doorsteps."
A long silence followed his statement. He had originally thought she would leave after his comment but surprisingly, she didn't.
"I'm sorry." Adren was surprised that she would apologize, but what surprised him more was what she asked afterwards. "How long has it been since you slept in an actual bed?"
"A couple of months. Why?"
"Then instead of going back on the run, come back with us."
"Back where?"
"to our base. You can find work there. Safe housing where no one will hunt you. You got any skills?"
"Quite exceptional at pissing people off," he comment with a cheeky grin. She laughed, "Anything marketable?"
"I can do all sorts of tech work, from crystal encrypting, to ship design and repair. Also mercenary work."
"We can use those skills at our base. Once we make it back to base, I will get you registered to work. If you would prefer to come with us."
The Kylmia pirates, free people who come together for one common goal to survive. Maybe there he will be able to start with a new identity. Work his way up, and save enough money for his own ship. Though it was all but a far fetched plan but it did gave him hope for a better future.
"Ok, I'll try."
"Good. Let me tell Barson to change course." She turned around and spoke to someone outside the door. "Lilya, you can come in now."
Lilya's small figure slipped through the door and past her big sister. A big smile could be seen on her face. "You're going to love it at the base! By the way, do you like cookies?"
"Cookies, who doesn't, you're going to share them with me though, right?"
Rebecca looked at the two of them, "Stay out of trouble, you two."
Adren nodded to Rebecca.
"Axel, can you teach me how to fight like you do?"
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Lilya," he said softly to the girl. She was so nervous when she asked him that she was practically shaking in her seat. "You know I would never hurt you, right?"
Grimacing, Lilya scratched her nose, "You're really big, like a titan. Are all Silverguards as big as you?"
Silverguards was a name they got because Ybowen was known as a silver trove. His family had mined and sold the resource for generation, thus they were known as the Silverguards.
Once they got wealthy, greed overtook them like it does to anyone, and they started expanding and taking over other smaller empires. Thore, the empire Rebecca had once been a princess to was one of the invaded empires.
"I'm larger than a lot of others, but there are still some that are bigger than me. Yer that being said the people of Throne have much stronger and robust bodies."
Lilya gasped, "You know we are from Thore?"
"Your facial features gave it away."
"If you knew I was from Thore then why did you save me. I thought the Silverguards hated the Thores, since they invaded them."
He handed her the last cookie, "i will let you in on a little secret."
"Sure."
"One of my closest friend was from Thore."
"His name was Chris Blak. His family had died and he was sold as an attendant to my family. He was my attendant and closest friend. He would always talk about his family and how much he missed them."
"That's why you gave me your wallet to get home?"
Adren smiled, "Family is the most important thing. Never forget that."
Funny thing how he should say that given how much the Silverguards backstab each other and that he wanted his cousin's head on a spike.
"Thank you, Axel."
He brush his hand through the girl's hair, "About wanting to learn how to fight, you will have to wait till you're a little older. Focus on your studies first."
"Aw. But I'm smart enough and I'm very strong." She flexed her muscles.
"For now, let me and your brothers and sisters fight the battles for you. It's the least I could do for you given that you saved my life."
"Okay… so, Axel, you want to play a game while we wait till we get to the base? I have a bunch."
Adren smiled at the girl and her innocent enthusiasm. he couldn't remember a time when he had been so open with a stranger. Royal treachery and politics would never allow for such. As long as he could remember everyone had always wanted something from him. Even Chris.
No one in his past had ever had as pure of a heart as the girl beside him.
This was completely new terrain for him, "Sure, Lilya, What're your pleasure?"
She pulled out some cards from the cupboards. "WAR!"