*Jayce (flashback) backstory from his life on the Tradelands until his current life on the Islands. I did a quick overview of his past in the main novel, but this is a "in depth" look at his past, without deviating from my plan in the main novel.*
*On a rainy day in the Tradelands, a young boy with mint green hair was sitting in his highchair while a teenage girl with canary yellow hair was feeding him his lunch. The boy babbled happily, watching the teenage girl laugh and make faces to get him to eat his green colored food. "Eat up JJ, we need you to be big and strong like dad okay?" The teenagers tan colored eyes sparkled with excitement when she mentioned their father and the boy smiled. As she was putting more food on the spoon, she heard the sound of keys jingling at the door and shortly after, a tired looking man and woman walked through the door. "Mom, Dad!" The teenager jumped up excitedly and hugged her parents, who hardly acknowledged her presence. "How's your brother Zara? Is our little miracle doing okay?" The mother said with a warm tone, as she dropped her briefcase on the floor and walked towards the infant.
"Don't take it so hard Zara. You know your mother loves you. She just..." the exhausted looking man trailed off as he looked at his wife who was now burping the infant. Zara shrugged, "It's okay Dad. I know she will never love me like she loves him." The father was shocked as he looked down at his daughter who wore a bright smile, but hid behind sad eyes. The father sighed and put an arm around the teens shoulders, before steering them into the small dining room area of the apartment. "How's my Jaycey? Were you being a good baby? Oh of course you were," The mother who all but ignored Zara, was now looking at her son with loving eyes.
"Lara, at least acknowledge Zara. She is the one who spends her time taking care of our son all day. She should be studying at school-" "Shut your mouth Chase. You do the same thing when she's not around. How can you not be head over heels with our little miracle." Lara said as she nuzzled the infants neck, eliciting a giggle from him. "It's okay Dad. How was work?" Zara asked as they sat around the table. Chase sighed loudly, "Your mom was let go today. I had to leave my job to pick her up again. I don't know how much longer they will let me stay at the new office. I have already been written up for leaving twice. *sigh* If only we had the money for a second car, or even-" *BANG BANG BANG!* The family was startled by a loud banging on their door. "Lara, take the kids to the back room, I'll see who it is," Chase said as he moved to the kitchen cupboard and pull out a small handgun.
Lara nodded and ushered both of them in the closet in the back room. "Keep our baby quiet...Your life depends on it." Lara said in an angry tone just before walking out and locking the two of them in the small room. Zara was nervous and looked down at the infant, Jayce, his innocent chestnut brown eyes looking at his sister in confusion. *POP! CRASH! POP!* Zara jumped when she heard the sounds. She hadn't been around guns much in her young life, but she knew how it sounded when fired.
After what felt like hours, Zara got out of the small closet, leaving Jayce on the carpeted floor, as she quietly made her way to the door. Believing it to be clear, she went back to the closet, picked up Jayce, and walked out into the main area of the apartment. She was nervous and her stomach became uneasy as she could smell the metallic smell getting stronger as she made her way to the front door. "Shit, we missed the kids!" Zara was startled when she heard a mans loud voice echo through the apartment. Panicked, she grabbed her mothers work bag that was on the table and ran towards the door as quick as she could.
She struggled to hold Jayce and open the door as two loud sets of footsteps quickly approached. She calmed herself as much as possible, and managed to unlock the door and ran out into the hall, down the stairs, and across the small yard at the apartment complex. "Help! Someone help!" Zara desperately yelled out as she passed cars and people, just trying to put as much distance between her and the men as she could. "Honey, here, come quick!" A middle aged woman called out to Zara who was now crying. "Baby, what happened? What's the-" "My parents! They were shot and killed by some, some..." Zara was struggling to breath as she now felt safe enough to tell the lady what happened.
"I called the authorities baby. Someone will be here soon okay? Do you...do you want a blanket or a change of clothes while you wait?" It was only sprinkling now, but Zara and Jayce were damp and only had on thin clothes. Zara nodded and the woman briefly left the two on the couch and got them a change of clothes and blanket. Zara was calm enough, and everything she had previously pushed aside, came into her mind and she began crying uncontrollably.
...After a few months, Zara and Jayce were beginning to return to their new normal in the middle aged woman's home. "Aunt Annie, did you get a cake for Jayce's 3rd birthday yet?" The woman, Aunt Annie, nodded and smiled at Zara, "Yes baby. Once you get home from school, all three of us can celebrate both you and your brother, being able to live another year." Zara smiles, grabbed her school bag, and left out the door, leaving Aunt Annie to care for Jayce. Once Zara returned from school, she helped Aunt Annie cook dinner and the three of them celebrated Zara's 14th and Jayce's 3rd birthday, trying to keep the memories of their parent's brutal death out of their minds.
...As the years passed, both Jayce and Zara got along well with Aunt Annie. Making many friends at school, doing well with their grades, even joining a sports team. After Zara turned 18 and had graduated, she asked Aunt Annie if she could leave to the Islands to pursue her education further, and Aunt Annie readily accepted. Even though it meant leaving her 7 year old brother on the Tradelands, she knew it was the best option for her. Jayce was old enough to understand that his sister was leaving to make a better life and happily sent her on her way.
Jayce would do small odd jobs for his neighbors, such as walking or bathing their pets, raking leaves, or anything else his 7 year old body would allow. He made up his mind that when he reached 16 he would leave for the Islands and meet with Zara again and was saving the money he earned to go towards his plan. However, after just a few years, Aunt Annie got deathly ill and passed away. Zara and her husband Mirko brought their infant son, and were able to attend the funeral and offered for Jayce to come with them. Jayce who was about to turn 11, declined their offer as he was in the middle of school and wanted to finish the year before going to live with them.
As he turned 11 years old and as the school year came to an end, he used the little bit of money he earned over the past years, and managed just enough to make it to the Islands and buy a snack for the journey. Once he arrived, he couldn't believe his eyes; the Military had already staked their claim on the Island and were constantly on patrol. He was scared when he saw the haggard appearance of a few men and woman on the streets who looked to be suffering and starving. "Miss, could you please help me? I-I am trying to find my sister. She is married with Mirko?" He carefully asked the lady at the ferry station as he was instructed too, and almost immediately, someone in all black came forward and escorted Jayce to a small motorized vehicle.
As they approached a small village near the center of the Island, the man in black informed Jayce that Mirko, Zara, and his infant nephew, had all been killed in an explosion. "B-but I just saw them a few month...*sniff sniff* ago..." Jayce began crying and the man did his best to console him. "I am terribly sorry for your loss. It will not replace what you have lost, but this is the small house Madame Zara lived in before meeting Mirko of the North. You are allowed to stay here for the time being. Food will be provided twice a day and is first come first serve..." The man went on to explain that they were in the middle of a war and there was death and devastation everywhere. He warned Jayce to stay within the perimeter of the small village and do his best to lie low.
Overwhelmed by the information about his sister and everything else that was going on, he absent mindedly nodded and took his small bag of belongings and went into the small house, that resembled more of a one room hut. The first few nights were the hardest, as he dealt with the loss of everyone from his life, and tried to get adjusted to live in the Islands. After a few weeks, he found a job, that paid only one additional food ration a month, tending to the military's horses. He met a few others a few years older than him who had similar jobs; most of which had lost 1 if not both parents. He would often hear the other community members mention an important girl at the temple but paid it little mind.
...As the years passed, Jayce did his best to become stronger and save as much money as he could to pay for things he needed. Shortly after his 16th birthday, the war was all but over, and the people of the Island were trying to rebuild their lives. Since moving to the Island, he moved from his sisters hut to a communal housing area for teens and young adults. He noticed less people were talking about the young girl and assumed she died during the war. After his job of tending to the horses, he eventually worked cleaning debris from the weapons and damage from the war, then moved to child sitting in the surrounding communal housing areas.
He was content and did his best to get by with the low income from his odd jobs, and did what he could to help the community rebuild and/or clear debris as well. "Hey Jay, I heard of a janitor job at the hospital near the port. I gotta friend in the area that could give you a ride every day until you get your bike fixed. Another perk is that supposedly there are some perky employees if you get my drift." A young man that was Jayce's bunkmate told him as they were washing their clothes in the water near by. When Jayce heard what his friend had to say, he immediately perked up, "Hell yeah Dobby, I am down for that. You sure your friend is cool with me bumming a ride from him though? It will probably be a couple weeks until my bicycle is repaired." The young man who goes by Dobby nodded and they both continue to wash.
By the time he was a janitor at the hospital, Jayce was already 20 years old. His body was covered in scars from his various jobs and training over the years. His once, shoulder length mint green hair, was now cut short to stay out of his way. He had a simple tattoo on his chest and one on the back, upper area, of his elbow. He wore a simple navy track suit with a white t-shirt anytime he wasn't wearing his work uniform or in less clothing because he was at home by himself. He had an athletic build due to his exercising and running every day. Many of the nurses who worked at the hospital would often find themselves distracted by the hard working young man with his ears pierced and tattoos. Jayce paid them no mind and kept his chestnut brown eyes to the floor as much as possible.
After he celebrated his 25th birthday with his friend Dobby, he drifted off to sleep and had his most peculiar and realistic dream yet. When he awoke he was troubled, then noticed he was going to be late for work if he didn't hurry. As he quickly combed his hair to the side, got dressed, and grabbed a snack, he ran out of his small apartment and headed to the hospital, which was only a couple blocks away. "Jayce, make sure you come in early tomorrow. We had a very...bloody one come in and after her surgery, we will need you to clean up since we...lost Matt." The head janitor said as Jayce was preparing his tools for the day, "Yessir. I'll do it," Jayce was one of the few janitors they had, and since his arrival, he was normally assigned to the more gory clean ups, as the others were squeamish or quit.
"Wow, I don't know who that is, but look at her body man," one of the other male janitors pulled Jayce aside to look at the lady who was bandaged from almost head to toe. He felt sorry for whatever happened to her, and for some reason felt she looked familiar to him. He shook off the feeling and continued to clean his area, then left for the night. After turning in, he was in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. "...Where have I seen her before? She was just so...stunning. I-" before he finished his sentence, he sat up quickly in shock. "That's it! She was in my dream from the other night! Damn, with those bandages it was hard to tell that she was the same person." Jayce felt content having recognized how she was familiar to him.
'I wonder why she was in my dream though? She was in trouble and I rushed in to protect her...I wonder who she is...' he thought to himself before finally falling asleep for the night. The next day he was assigned to clean the surgery room and her room once again. He saw a brown haired man walking around the area, talking with nurses, and all with a worried look on her face. 'Boyfriend maybe?' he thoughts as he rung out the mop, before returning it to the bucket. Even though she caught his eye, he decided to keep his distance because of the man in the room with her.
One day when he walked in, he noticed the man was more frantic than ever and his clothes were tattered, almost as if he escaped from somewhere. "...My Lady!" Jayce couldn't hear everything but he made out the mans voice, then heard a slap follow. He tried to stifle his laughter and quickly walked away from the room. "Ha ha, quite the spunky one," he said as he went to return the cleaning solution he borrowed from a fellow janitor. When he returned he noticed the lady was gone and the man was pacing, then suddenly fell to the floor. Jayce quickly called for a nurse to help the man.
"What a strange day," Jayce plopped himself on the small chair he had set up in the living room and tried to relax from the busy day. "I'll just close my eyes for a bit..." with that, he fell asleep and began to dream once more. "...Jayce? Hey can you hear me?" He heard a woman's voice, that sounded far in the distance. The tone of her voice felt warm and wasn't as high pitched as some other woman he has known. "Jayce, it's me...come to me...my name is-" His eyes opened wide after the last statement, "Her, her name is...Wren?" Jayce didn't know at the time, just how much his life was going to chance after a chance meeting in a hospital.