Just like how she did on the day of the annual hunting. Xena ran as fast as she could away from the chaos. Her feet pounded heavily against the ground as adrenaline coursed through her veins. Xena was short of air. The trees that lined up against her path were of no help, and even though they were many, she still felt the lack of oxygen in her body.
Even with her eyes shut, Xena couldn't let go of the image she had seen earlier: the warm blood on the warehouse's concrete floors, the sharp spikes of red liquid impaled inside his skull, and his loud screams of agony. She couldn't help but laugh. 'He deserved it,' she convinced herself. The thought caressed her mind like a devil, while the feeling of causing the death of a pedophile felt satisfying to Xena.
A sudden burst of energy emerged in her as if it had been longing to come out. As she raced across the empty forest path, she felt a sensation on her palm.
A sizzling sound overpowered the sound of her feet pounding against the ground.
As if something had sewn her open wound, Xena looked at it in shock. It had already regenerated back to its original form. The wound on her right palm was no more than an empty blank space. Her hand turned pale once again. The missing image of her wound put Xena into a halt. Her eyes blinked multiple times the longer she stared at it.
She couldn't understand—no, she couldn't believe that her wound could heal itself like that. Slowly but surely, Xena believed there was something with her. Something her parents refused to tell her about.
Stomp stomp
Xena's head jolted to where the sounds of running feet came from. On her left was an opening path she had not seen earlier. A tanned woman with long black hair came jolting towards Xena's way; she had an excited yet mischievous smile on her face as she dashed forward.
"Catch her!" one man with a few groups of young boys behind him yelled across the nearly dense forest. He was close to entering her and Xena's path, but the tanned woman stood bravely in front of them. As if she was summoning something, she raised her arms up with the same smile on her face. Droplets upon droplets of water spurted out of the surrounding trees on cue. A hastily built wall made of liquid divided the woman and the boys, the wall separated them into desperation. A gasp escaped Xena's mouth. She had never seen such a thing before, and it happened right before her eyes.
The boys had an angered and desperate look on their faces as they tried their hardest to break through the wall. The barrier looked solid yet breakable; the material flowed like a waterfall and the look of frustration was visible on their faces.
"We'll get you next time, Aqua!" the man, who seemed to be their leader, screamed out loud though his words were nothing but inaudible jabber. The water wall seemed to have caused a distortion in his voice as if he was underwater. He punched the powerful barrier and flipped off the woman with his middle finger. The woman, named Aqua, guffawed and stuck her tongue out to provoke the boys even further.
"Maybe in fifty years you ugly piece of shit!" she teased and returned the middle finger back to him.
Xena watched as they exchanged useless and childish banters, which she considered stupid since both can't hear each other because of the powerful barrier. The quarrel finally ended when both parties shut their mouths and let things slide. The boys slipped into the dense forest and retreated to where they came from. Aqua, however, remained amused and still. Her black eyes were as deep as hers and they turned to Xena, "Oh? W-who are you?" Aqua stood still. The height difference between Aqua and her differed by a lot. A black jacket and jeans covered her figure. It was obvious she was much older than Xena.
Xena pointed at herself as she was unsure if the lady was referring to her. "I-I'm Xena," she replied nervously. Xena's odd white hair caught the lady's attention. Aqua gradually walked forward. Her face had calmed down and her expression softened. With only a few inches apart, the black-haired lady grabbed a few strands of Xena's white hair. Aqua had a confused yet amused look on her face.
"White hair…" she murmured to herself. Xena had forgotten about her white hair. When her life was still normal and peaceful, many neighbours fell interested in her hair's amusing colour. After she was born, news in division three spread like wildfire about how Dianne gave birth to an odd child. Her hair was something her father took great care of, but it was also something her mother hated. Xena easily grabbed everyone's attention with only her hair, which explained why they refused to let her play outside. "Are you an Arken?"
"By the way, I'm Aqua," she introduced herself as if Xena hadn't known already.
Xena furrowed her brows and took back the strands that Aqua held, "No. I'm not an Arken," she corrected. Although, even she doubted her own response.
Aqua chuckled while she shook her head, "I can smell an Arken from a mile away. Plus, with that white hair of yours? Who would believe you're a normal human?"
"Th-that's…" Xena found herself dumbfounded amid finding an answer. A loud splashing sound broke the silence between the two of them; the wall that Aqua hastily built finally came down. It spilled onto the ground and caused both to panic.
"Crap. I can't let people find out about this," she blurted out while moving her arms up, left and right. Aqua was controlling the water once again. The transparent liquid lifted and slowly made its way back to where they came from. Unluckily, the large water stain remained on the surface. Xena watched her clap her hands in satisfaction, "well, that should do it." A satisfied smile resurfaced on her face.
Aqua looked at Xena one last time and waved goodbye, "Er… I have to go now, Xena. Don't tell 'anybody' what you saw." The word 'anybody' was concise and aggressive. Xena already knew that she should keep her mouth shut about it, but the extra warning reminded her that Arkens really hid amongst the normal and feared being found out.
"Wait!" shouted Xena. Aqua stopped to turn around and look at her.
"Can I come with you?" the request slipped under Xena's tongue. She did not understand why she said it, but there was something pulling her towards that suggestion. Aqua looked at Xena and placed her hands on her waist.
"No. I'm sorry, but a kid can't come with me," Aqua replied nonchalantly.
"B-but I promise I won't do anything that'll hinder you…" protested Xena. Aqua raised her brows. She doubted every word of what she had said. It was important that she does not bring anyone along with her, especially since her job required… running and escaping.
Xena noticed the unconvinced expression on Aqua's face. "Look, Xena, you can't just tag along. It's dangerous. Why don't you go back home, where your parents are waiting for you."
Xena clenched her fists tightly. She refused to listen. "You're an Arken, right? Please… let me come along so I could find my mother…
"Th- the soldiers took her—and they killed my dad as well! Please take me with you," Xena pleaded as tears fell down from her tear ducts. The lady looked at Xena in awe and in sadness and looked to the side while she thought things through. Aqua let out a grave sigh.
"Okay…" She crossed her arms and firmly looked at the young girl in front of her, "but in one condition—you have to tell me what you can do."
Xena's forehead creased. Her question was vague yet, somehow, she knew what Aqua was asking about. She suddenly remembered what had transpired earlier: that man, her blood, and those sharp fragments impaled inside his eyeballs. Were those really her doing? If it was... The answer was already apparent right from the start.
"I—I can control blood," said Xena. Although she wasn't sure herself. Aqua's eyes widened in surprise.
"No way," she mumbled. Aqua had never heard of such power before, nor has she seen someone with that power. She felt amused and too convinced. Aqua wrapped her arm around Xena's and followed the path. Her sudden change of attitude concerning the matter amused Xena
"You will be super helpful for my next missions," Aqua said excitedly and giggled. She hummed a familiar tune as they strode across the long path through the forest.
"Aqua, can I ask you something?" Xena looked up. In response, Aqua nodded her head and smiled.
"These Arkens… How did they even exist?" the question had been on Xena's mind for a long time now, yet she still found no answers. With Aqua, an Arken, by her side she could finally receive the answers she had been longing to ask.
"I don't really know, honestly. Some say the world consisted only of humans just about twenty years ago, others say it started from a cult, some said a mad scientist was the reason for our existence. The story has gone around for so many years we know nothing about what really happened anymore," answered Aqua. "I'm sure that stupid president and his idiotic father had something to do with it too."
Xena thought about it, and the more she did, the better she slowly pieced things together. Steven's daughter probably knew about these things before she passed. He told her she used to have these dreams—dreams that would then happen in real-life. Maybe she was an Arken and her powers were of premonitions.
Because if Sasha did—she probably knew about the death of millions of Arkens, Xena's father included.
"But I know one thing though," Aqua added and Xena stopped her train of thoughts. She listened intently, but Aqua took a brief pause as if she was deep in thought.
"I know that the world hates us. And so they killed everyone we loved," she chuckled, not because it was amusing, but because of how bitter it felt. "And they say we're the ones who are evil."
Aqua shook her head in disapproval, "humans make me laugh."