(Rytem's POV)
"Where were you all night? I was worried about you!" My mom nagged while dusting my shoulders and then wiping the dirt from my cheek. "Anything could have happened to you..." She mumbled then I slapped her hands off of me,
"I just had fun with the neighbors," She stared at me blankly then frowned and said,
"You have to tell me when you go out... and you should get home before it gets dark, You're only 2!" She reminded me, her voice bounced around in my head giving me a headache so I turned to her and yelled,
"Shut up already!!" Less than a second later her head exploded, splattering what was once inside her onto the wall behind her and then what was left of her crumbled onto the floor, a moment later her headless body fell back into the puddle of blood behind her. My heart raced. What's wrong with her? Can her head grow back?
"Gini what's wrong?" My father asked, coming into the room with Netelai gripping his leg. Then he saw her, lying lifeless on the floor. The wall where her head had splattered was starting to fall apart and my dad looked at me and asked, "Did you... do this?"
"Yes... it was an accident." I stated, averting my eyes from his. He pulled from Netelai and kneeled beside my mom's corpse, staring at it and saying nothing else for 10 hours. So I took Netalai to my room.
Netalai lost both his parents in the war, I found him one day and convinced my parents to lie and say he was our relative so he could live with us. Since he was abandoned and I found him, he belongs to me.
"What happened to Auntie?" Netalai asked in his soft timid voice. His golden curls fell across his face, camouflaging his gold eyes.
"I... think I killed her," I answered, there was a slight delay but after realizing what I meant Netalai started wailing loudly. He balled his fists and covered his eyes, I felt a pain in my chest hearing him cry so I hugged him and apologized over and over. I reassured him that it was an accident but since he couldn't see my face I smiled to myself, happy to discover the power I had and to be rid of a person who did nothing but annoy me. I held Netelai until he stopped crying and once my father got up he wordlessly dragged me to the Glass Palace. "What are you doing? Why are you taking me here?!" I screamed in protest. Netalai was trailing behind us, sobbing again when my father threw me down against the throne room floor.
"This is one of the monsters you're looking for!" My father announced. The King was playing with a Rubik's cube on his throne, and then he glanced in my direction.
"Prove it..." He said while sitting up. He stared at me and I stared back. "Use your powers, stupid." He commanded instead, and then he tossed the cube at me. It hit me in the head. I was shocked by how much it hurt so I shouted,
"Asshole!" Directly at him, I felt the same emotion I had when talking to my mother yesterday, and as soon as the words left my mouth the stone throne cracked and the King hung his head. Is he... dead too? Then his shoulders shook and he started laughing, leaving his throne and coming to me,
"Magnificent." He said while holding my chin and grinning at me. A drop of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and he flashed his blood-tinted teeth again as he added, "You're right, he's exactly what I was looking for. I'll send your reward later." My father turned to leave without a response, then he gently grabbed Netalai's hand so I snatched it from the king and said,
"You can't take him! He's mine!" When my father didn't listen I attempted to recreate the attack I had just used on the king, but somehow sensing my malice Netalai stood in the way. He's too tiny to block the full attack but now he'll get hurt too! How do I stop this?! But instead of getting hurt ripples moved through Netalai's body and he pointed, redirecting my attack to the opposite wall, bursting a hole through it. The King then laughed again and said,
"Wow! Two of them?! In the same family?! This is amazing! How lucky for you! Your brother is staying with you." In that same split second, the King yanked Netalai away from my father and delivered him to me.
"He's not my brother, he's my cousin." I corrected.
"Stop! Don't take him too, he's too timid for a life here, give me some time. I'll return when he's older!" My father pleaded. The King's eyes began to glow brightly as he looked back at my father.
"You have a choice, leave now and get a double reward or die today." After some debate, my father decided to leave and both Netalai and I were taken by maids and given a bath together. The strangers around made him uncomfortable so he clung to me and whispered,
"Maybe... this is good... You could learn to control your powers and I can help you. So... there won't be more accidents." Netalai offered. The attendants had tied his hair back with a ribbon so his sweet face was fully visible.
"Yeah... I agree." I said while rustling his hair, making it a bit messy again then he smiled for the first time in two days.
"It's time to go to your rooms," A new woman said, after the people who helped us dress left. We followed her down a long hall and were shown rooms with all red furniture and a queen-sized bed with a red canopy. I ran to the bed and bounced on it, it was so much softer than the one I had just days ago. That's when the maid attempted to drag Netalai away. He was reluctant to leave with a stranger and I... was hit with several intense emotions.
"Why do we have separate rooms?" I asked testily,
"Well, all the Chosen have their own space." She answered, continuing to wrestle with him so he'd leave with her.
"He belongs to me, so this is his room." I corrected. She looked from me to him and back again.
"Is that so?" She looked to Netalai who continued to struggle but didn't reply. "... Very well." Then she let him go, bowed, and closed the door behind her.
"Check out this bed!" I offered, failing to hide the glee in my voice. Oh yeah, Netalai is still grieving. "It's been a long day, we should sleep," I added while correcting my tone. He smiled slightly then got into bed beside me and wiggled under the covers. I tucked him in as I lay next to him on top of the comforter, smiling. I won't be able to see my old friends anymore but this place is full of new people and possibilities, I'll make due.
"I miss Aunti Gini." Netalai whimpered out, throwing me off from my excitement.
"I miss her too... I was so shocked when I used my powers on her. I don't know how I'm going to live with myself." I replied, forcing out some tears. "I was trying to focus on the positives to keep my mind off of her but... My mom is gone, Nelly..." I put my knees up and hung my head, then I heard him sit up and pat my back to soothe me.
"You're right... At least we're still together." What a relief, he's falling for it. So naive and kind.
The next day we toured the palace. I held Netalai's hand so we wouldn't get separated and at the end of the tour, we were introduced to the King's blood son. He was the same age as us with piercing emerald green eyes which seemed to have a blue flame flickering inside them.
"He is a Chosen just like you, the Chosen of Fire. Raijian, these are your new brothers." The servant stated, then he stepped back to allow us to interact.
"Hey, my name is Rytem!" I greeted. Raijian stared at me expressionly then he turned and walked away, the train of his long golden robes trailed behind him... What the hell is his problem?
"We're brothers?" Netalai asked. His question was off-putting so I said,
"Of course not. He's a stranger to us and me and you are closer than brothers could ever be." His big gold eyes looked up into mine, waiting for me to elaborate so I added, "We're the missing part of each other. Only complete when we're together." That explanation seemed to please him, so he grinned.
"I'll take you to get your meals." The servant in the room said, interrupting our touching moment. So we followed him into the dining room, to my dismay, Rai was there too, already eating ahead of us. Netalai hung his head shyly while he ate so I broke the silence and said,
"So how did you discover your powers?" Maybe his story will be interesting. Raijian flashed me his arm covered in an intricate flame pattern that spread out from his wrist to below his shoulder.
"This." He answered simply then he put his arm down and started back eating.
"What do you do for fun here?" I asked, not giving up on our conversation yet.
"I... make movies with paper cutouts and flames." His face looked embarrassed when he admitted this disappointing and boring new information.
"I see..." Looks like I'll have to find a way to have fun on my own.
Later that night in our room, I stroked Nelly's head, trying to help him sleep but then he said something unexpected,
"I was thinking of watching Raijian's movie. I wonder what kind of stories he can come up with. It could be interesting. Will you come with me?" My hand tensed up and a vile feeling overcame me.
"No... It would help if you didn't talk to him... You don't even like meeting new people. Don't try to force yourself to do anything dumb. Just stay with me and I'll make sure to keep you entertained." I then kissed his forehead and he smiled, in a way that somehow looked sad. "He doesn't want anything to do with us anyway." I assured him, "But don't worry, I'm all you need."
"Okay..." He mumbled in response. I'm glad he listened to my advice. We continued to be inseparable from then on and for years Netalai only spoke to me. ♥