|| 3 Years before the First Gate was Breached •
||
"Ayra." A weak, reluctant voice called out.
No response.
"Ayra."
No response, again.
"Ayra, hear me out, please." The delicate voice begged now.
Still, no response at all. Not so much as a breath was delivered as an answer.
"Ayra, let's just go."
"Shut up, Caelan."
The sun was beginning to set, painting the sky with a splendid mishmash of bright oranges, pretty pinks and cool blues in its wake. The evening was quiet and calm, but Ayra felt anything but that.
Ayra narrowed her eyes at the kids playing in the heart of the meadow, laughing and poking fun at each other.
"Look at them," she quietly sneered, "having a good time after doing something so awful."
For a fleeting moment, Ayra wondered why those little devils looked so innocent from this distance.
She shook her head. Innocent? She wanted to roar with laughter. They were not innocent by any means. Instead, they were dangerous to the innocent!
A solid wind blew and Ayra slightly flinched when its raw power whispered to her. She was still not used to hearing the wind address her. It induced an intoxicating feeling and Ayra would be lying if she claimed to detest it.
She mentally sighed before slightly stepping out of the lone wooden cart reposing directly past the outskirts of the wooden fence.
"Let's go."
A pinky finger delicately folded over her own.
Ayra looked back at Caelan's arguing eyes. Eyes that were attempting to prevent her from doing whatever she was going to do next.
But she paid no regard to it.
Since all Ayra could see was the big, bad, agonizingly nasty wound marring the side of his cheek.
She slanted her head to the side and set her hands on her hips, observing her best friend with a cooling calmness.
"You want to get hit on the other side of your cheek too?"
Caelan grew quiet. His head was dipped towards his chest, his soft ashy brown hair veiling his hazel eyes and impeding her from seeing his expression.
Ayra didn't need to look at his face to know what he was thinking.
Caelan crystal clearly didn't want to do this.
But Ayra crystal clearly did.
She stared down at the tip of his pinky finger wrapping around her own one.
With a sigh, she lifted twined fingers high up in the air and between them.
"You can stay here if you want."
And with that, she pulled away, pivoted around and stomped her way towards those kids.
"Ayra! Wait!"
Caelan still chose to tail after her. Ayra smiled knowingly.
The wind danced around her but Ayra didn't respond to it.
Because with every step she took towards their way, a tiny tremor ripped through her fingers.
Caelan leaned towards her.
"Your hands are shaking." He whispered in her ear.
Ayra slowed down her steps.
"Caelan?" She called out.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
When Ayra got close enough, she paused, raised her head high and shouted a loud and bold,
"Hey!"
The kids stopped playing. Three heads turned to look at her and Ayra crossed her arms.
"Ah, " a tall, lanky boy croaked out, imparting a mocking glance to his friends.
"The other vagrant is here."
Ayra clenched her fists but said nothing. Instead, she placed her hands on her hips, her eyes brazenly sweeping over every face to find her target.
And when it did, she narrowed her eyes.
"You." Ayra pointed a finger at a short, light-haired kid at the back.
"I need to talk to you."
The wind ruffled.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Parading here and talking so bravely." The tall boy glowered.
Another girl with short, copper-stained hair butted in.
"What a fool. We should put her in her place," she smirked, "as we did to that street rat behind her."
Ayra saw Caelan flinch from the corner of her eye.
The power within her huffed out, paralleling with her ever so slightly seething emotions.
Ayra exhaled deeply, forcing herself to calm down.
And then, she grinned.
"Put me in my place? Ha! You will not be able to even budge from the place I'll put you in! So, forget about doing the same to me!" Her icy blue eyes flickered towards the smirking blonde-haired boy.
"You. Come here! I need to talk!"
"Talk?" The short boy grunted. "Talk about what?"
He stepped forward, plunging his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
"What are you going to do, little rat?"
When Ayra didn't respond, his eyes zeroed on her tight fists.
"What? Do you want to hit me?"
She raised her eyebrows.
"Yes."
The wind embraced her, seemingly wrapping around her protectively.
Caelan softly touched her arm.
"Ayra, let's just go." He whispered.
She silently shook him off before pointing a finger at the short boy.
"I want to punch you the same way you punched Caelan. I also want you to stop insulting the kids from the orphanage whenever you see them. We have done nothing wrong to deserve that!"
She glared at them.
"If you don't stop then I'll squash you like the little pests you all are!"
They gaped at her.
The blonde boy stepped forward.
"D-Did you just call us a pest!?"
Ayra raised her head in defiance. "Yes. What about it?"
The short boy's eyes widened.
"You!"
He grabbed her by the front of her tunic and got into her face.
"Take that back!"
Ayra shook her head, struggling to get away from his hold. "Never!"
The boy clenched his teeth and raised a fist at her.
"Oh, you want to fight?"
She snatched his collar and brought her own clenched hand up in his face, ready to hit.
"Let's fight then!"
"Ayra, no! You can't fight him!" Caelan grabbed her shoulders.
"Don't worry, Caelan. I can get in a really good punch for you!
"That's not what I meant!" He cried.
But Ayra didn't listen. The other two kids started cheering for the short guy to defeat her.
Eyes were lowered, shoulders were squared and fists were clenched. But before anything could happen, a smooth voice cut in.
"What's happening here?"
Everyone paused.
Ayra's eyes viciously narrowed at the girl who was walking towards them. Her dark, burnished hair cascaded down her shoulders in solid waves and her tanned skin gleamed happily under the kiss of the evening sun.
The girl stopped in front of Ayra.
"Ah, " she smiled a kind, fake one. "It's you."
The granddaughter of the Lord was undoubtedly pretty, however, her beauty on the outside was simply a facade.
Cecilia Raganes was horrible from the inside.
"What are you street rats doing here?"
Ayra smirked, pushing the short boy away from her and facing Cecilia.
"I just came to return something this bastard oh so generously gave my best friend."
Cecilia looked at Caelan's swollen cheeks and back at her.
She grinned like the devil she was. Ayra scowled.
"Eh, you can take Alex and talk all you want," Cecilia stated, gesturing at the short, blonde-haired boy.
"But Cecilia-" Alex started but one look from her shut him up.
"But, " she snickered evilly, continuing,
"You must step into this town again."
Ayra and Caelan stilled.
She raised her eyebrows at the absurdity.
"What?"
Cecilia shrugged. "You heard me, rat."
"That's not fair! You can't do that."
She scoffed.
"Fair? An orphan doesn't need fair. Vagrants like you shouldn't be allowed inside the town."
Ayra clenched her fists.
"You're a bitch."
Silence. Heavy, harsh silence kicked in.
"What did u just call me?"
Ayra hmphed. "Are you pretending not to hear me or are you suddenly deaf now? I said you're a bitch."
She glared at a gaping Cecilia.
"And what makes you think we will even listen to you?"
"You little--" Cecilia spluttered.
She wildly flailed her arms, gesturing to her companions.
"Get her!"
Nothing happened.
She smacked the guy next to her and glared at the others.
"I said get her you, buffoons!"
The tall guy pounced on her first and Ayra swiftly dodged and glided towards his side. She immediately got behind him, raised her leg and kicked him on the back, the force of it sending him flying towards the grassy ground.
She groaned when he immediately staggered back to his feet. With a cry, he ran for her. Ayra silently stood there till he reached her and when he finally did, she swiftly stepped towards the side and delicately raised her leg. He widened his eyes but the momentum pushed his body forward and he stumbled over her leg.
"Oh, that must've hurt." She winced mockingly.
Out of nowhere, her wind cautioned her of a presence behind her. Alex ran for her and Ayra just like the wind, raised her fists and punched him square on the face.
"That's for Caelan, you bastard."
Her eyes zeroed on the tall guy on the ground, who was struggling to stand on his feet again. She promptly stepped forward but Alex's hands grabbed her by the ankles and she was forcefully pulled down to the ground.
She sharply winced when her knees scraped against the sharp planes of the rocks below.
The tall guy grinned insidiously, his enormous hands reaching for her. She scowled and shut her eyes, turning her face away from his grubby hands all the while battling against Alex's evilly persistent hold.
But before the tall guy could even lay a finger on her, Caelan stepped in and harshly shoved him away from her. The boy stumbled on his feet and immediately turned to glare at Caelan.
Caelan grew slightly pale.
Ayra's eyes widened when the tall guy went for Caelan.
No.
When he punched Caelan right in front of her eyes,
Ayra lost everything.
"Stay away from him!"
She raised her hand, fingers splayed at the tall guy. Something brutal snapped within her and a second later, a blast of wind shot through the centre of her palm.
And straight towards guy's torso. The crude power of it discarded him a couple of feet away and onto the ground once more.
Her hands retracted harshly against the sheer intensity of her power and Ayra winced when her arms pulsed with a sharp pain.
And then, silence greeted them.
Alec immediately released her legs.
"S-She uses magic!" He stuttered before getting on his feet and running the hell away from there.
"Cecilia, let's run!" The copper-haired girl lady yelled before vanishing as well.
"Hey! Wait!" Cecilia called after them but after she witnessed the tall guy flee with his tail tucked between his legs, she groaned.
She looked down at Ayra, slightly stunned and breathless.
"This won't be the last time." She huffed before leaving.
Ayra struggled to her feet. Her legs wobbled and almost surrendered but Caelan was quickly there to hold her up.
She sighed against shoulders, "I punched him Caelan. I did it."
He didn't reply for a long time.
"Caelan?" She raised her head from his shoulder to look at his face.
A pained expression greeted her.
"You're hurt, Ayra." He said quietly.
She pressed her shaking arm towards her body and shot back, "You're hurt too."
Caelan frowned.
"You're more hurt."
Ayra raised her eyebrows.
"We're both hurt."
He looked down at her smiling face for a long time. A small, treacherous smile involuntarily bloomed on his own face.
"You're stupid."
Ayra just grinned through the pain.
Caelan softly sighed in defeat. He grabbed her hand and put it over his shoulder.
"Let's just go home."
ווו×
"And then boom! The wind just exploded out of me!"
Caelan chuckled. "Is that so?"
Ayra fiercely nodded her head. "Yes. I can also listen to the wind now. It's like the wind is speaking to me."
"Woah." He smiled at her. "You'll soon start learning magic with the other kids now!"
Ayra nodded her head enthusiastically.
"Yes! And I'll become really strong. That way I can protect you easily without us getting hurt."
His eyes dimmed.
I wish I could protect you too, Ayra.
Caelan didn't say that but only smiled happily at his adoring best friend.
The night grew darker and darker, the wind growing quieter and cooler along with it.
They almost reached the orphanage when Caelan abruptly stopped in his tracks.
"Holy crap." He exclaimed.
Ayra gasped in surprise, turning to face him.
"Caelan! You just cursed!" She slapped his back, prideful. "I always knew you had it in you!"
"Shut up and look there!" Caelan hissed and nodded at something in front of him.
Ayra looked towards the direction he was nodding at.
The wind halted.
Leorah was pacing back and forth in front of the gate.
Ayra felt like she had seen this scene before.
She swallowed loudly.
"Holy crap, indeed."
Leorah saw them approaching and immediately ran towards them.
"Ayra, we look bad." Caelan pointed out.
Ayra nodded. "We look really bad."
"Ayra! Caelan!" Leorah yelled when she neared them.
"Where have you guys been?! I was waiting for you both to return. I have pleasant news for you-" She stopped abruptly, her smile freezing.
Leorah's eyes widened at their appearance.
"What.." She gasped, "have you both done now?"
Ayra grinned.
"We were just playing around. It's not like we got into a fight or anything!" She laughed nervously.
Caelan hung his head low, sighing in defeat.
Leorah just stared at them for a long time.
And without a word, grabbed them by their ears and hauled them inside.
"O-Ow!" Ayra winced but went along nevertheless.
They entered the orphanage doors and walked through the dimly lit hallways.
"Leorah l-listen to us!" Ayra let out, wincing with pain.
"Y-Yes." Caelan stammered.
"Shut it, both of you! I'll only listen to you after I get you two patched up!"
They were about to make a turn up the stairs and towards the infirmary when another figure approached them.
Lady Antoinette greeted them, carrying a tray of untouched food in her hands.
They stopped in front of her.
"He didn't eat?" Lady Leorah questioned softly, growing solemn.
Lady Antoinette just shook her head at her.
Ayra looked up at Leorah. "He? Who are you talking about?"
Leorah sighed.
"I wanted to tell this news to you both when you returned but I couldn't."
Ayra and Caelan glanced at each other before raising their heads at Leorah, silently coaxing her to continue.
She gently smiled.
"We have a new member in our family."
The wind grew stronger, a little gentler and a little merrier.
Ayra and Caelan shared a look among each other.
A larger than the sun smile blossomed on their faces.
Ayra looked up at Lady Antoinette.
"Lady Antoinette, where is he?!"
"At the dining hall."
And without a word, they left.
"W-wait!'' Leorah called out but they didn't listen.
Ayra was over the moon. A new family member had just joined and she couldn't wait to welcome him. Caelan's expression was as priceless as hers, matching her exact thoughts that poured from her heart.
They finally reached the entrance of the dining hall and looked at each other, smiling and huffing and smiling.
"Caelan." She said.
Caelan nodded his head, his hazel eyes glittering.
"Let's go."
They slowly peeped inside the large dining room.
Raw, cold darkness met them. The large room was quiet, eerily akin to the starless night outside. There was no moonlight to illuminate this room but Ayra supposed there was no need for the moon to grace them tonight.
Because, at the far corner of the room, upon a lone wooden table, a lamp burned.
And behind that table, sat a boy.
The wind blew, embracing her gently.
"Is that him?" Caelan whispered above her.
"Yes." She whispered back.
And just then, the wind rippled all around her. As if something snapped within the air.
She slowly directed her gaze back to the silent boy.
Their eyes met.
And the entire world seemed to stop.
Soft, raven black hair and magnificently electrifying silver eyes stunned her to silence.
That moment, that very moment, as those deep, indifferent silver eyes stared deep into her icy blue ones, her heart sang.
And that night, that fateful night, Ayra didn't realise how important this boy would become to her.