Trigger Warning: Domestic violence. Please take breaks if needed.
She dreamed of Yours and woke up in cold sweats. She sat straight up, breathing heavily. The dream of him chasing her down a dark hallway was fresh in her mind. His laugh echoed through her head, sending shivers down her spine. She hugged her knees and realized that a baby pink blanket was put over her. She blinked at the blanket as if it was just going to disappear. She heard the crackling of a fire and looked up. Yew was stocking a fire and its warm light lit up the dark. She looked at the dark tree line, where the stars would be, and zoned out. She stayed like that for a bit to calm down then took a big breath.
"It's time to get going." She said, still looking up.
Yew paused and looked at her.
"It's late and you are injured, so we can do it tomorrow." He responded calmly.
She got up slowly and winced.
"No, we need to go now. We wasted too much time."
She got light headed from standing and put her hand on her forehead. Yew swiftly went over to brace her.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked.
She waved away his concern.
"Just dizzy, I'm fine."
He silently and gently guided her back to sitting on the ground.
"It can wait. Your health comes first." He said gently.
She was exhausted from standing up so she just nodded. They sat in silence for a bit, and the only sound was the chittering of bats.
"Hey." She said, breaking the silence.
Yew was drinking water from his flask.
"Oh, did you want some?" He offered.
She realized that she was parched and took the flask. She gulped down the water ravenously, and handed it back.
"Thanks. I um, actually was gonna ask you why you are being so nice to me."
He was taken aback by that question.
"Am I supposed to be mean to you?"
She shrugged.
"Sorta? I mean, I thought I'd at least be uncomfortable by your presence."
He walked over to where his backpack was on the ground, and didn't answer. He rummaged through his backpack and brought out a sleeping bag and a blanket.
"Because of someone you knew?" He asked softly.
She looked away.
"He was the first person I met, and yet he made me feel like running away. He seemed to know me... If we were as close as he said then-" She stopped herself and held back the tears.
"I'm sorry." He said.
She looked at him.
"What are you sorry for?"
"I'm sorry that your first experience with another person felt so unsafe." He responded genuinely.
"I wonder if I had a family or friends before my gem was ripped out. I wonder if they are looking for me." She whispered.
"I'm sorry, I don't know the area that well. I moved here recently from the beach north of here."
She yawned, and he handed her the sleeping bag.
"Yeah?" She said while taking the sleeping bag, "What was that like?"
He paused, looking wistful.
"It was beautiful and peaceful"
"Then why did you move?"
He smiled sadly.
"I'll tell you another time, it's late" He said.
He sat down and put the blanket over himself. She stretched the sleeping bag out onto the ground and slipped inside. She heard him snoring and was astonished at how fast he fell asleep.
She stared up at the tree leaves of the tree she was nestled under.
"I need my memories back, no matter what." She whispered to herself. "No matter how scared I am to see him again, I will get my gem."
Yew snored in response. She smiled, and then turned over.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She opened her eyes slowly, expecting to be awoken by the sun. To her surprise, the sun was hidden under a thick mist that settled over the forest. She heard the sizzling of food and looked over. Yew was roasting some berries in a pan with some stripes of meat. He met her eyes and smiled.
"Good morning! It's a lovely day isn't it?" He greeted her.
She looked at the mist covering the trees and wondered if he was seeing the same dreary scene.
"Uh huh." She answered.
He looked at the mist too.
` "I know it doesn't look that good of a morning, but the mist is perfect for an ambush." He said with a twinkle in his eye.
That sentence shocked her. She thought that he was this goofball that didn't really have a brain, but it looked like he did.
"You woke up just in time! Breakfast is ready." He said as he took the pan off the fire.
She stared at the pan. The stripes of meat smelled amazing and her mouth watered. She reached for the pan and he blocked her hand.
"What are you doing? The pan is still hot!"
"Oh." She said, embarrassed.
A realization landed on him.
"Oh right, memory loss." He murmured. "The fire is hot, and the pan was in the hot fire which makes it hot."
Her eyes widened, then she looked away.
"I didn't know that, thank you."
He nodded and set down the pan on the grass. He then pulled his backpack towards himself and rummaged through it for a bit. He found what he was looking for and then took out 2 white plates that looked old and would fall apart if you put them down with a little force. He handed one to her and she took them gingerly.
"Where did you get these?" She asked. "These look ancient."
He laughed. "Because they are, I got them from exploring the old world before I moved here."
"The what." She said shocked.
"The Old World." He said, she took a bite of her food. "Is the civilization that came before us. Imagine steel boxes with wheels, tall houses that touch the sky, and shiny little boxes that have all the knowledge in the world."
She opened her mouth with amazement, and some food dribbled out.
"Wow, really? What happened to it?" She asked while shoving more food into her mouth.
He sighed then studied the mist.
"We should get going."
She regained her composure, and her expression turned neutral.
` "Yes. Let's get my gem from that dirtbag."
"Alrighty then, let's get going."
He quickly shoved everything that came from his bag back in it, and off they went. They went through the mist filled forest mostly in silence. Yew's usual sunny disposition was replaced by a somber one. She glanced at him every now and again until she broke the silence.
"Um, what did happen to the Old World?" She asked. "If you don't mind me asking."
He looked wistfully into the distance.
"Greed. Or so they say. The history that's been past down is this:
A long time ago. Shiny steel was as common as grass and the people were happy, well, as happy as they could be. They buried themselves into distractions as corporations ruled the world. Making the people pay to eat, get clothed and even to get water."
"They paid for food? Why? How?" She asked bewildered.
"They paid small round circles called coins or with plastic cards. They did what they had to." He said, paused, then continued. "Money, as they called it, dictated everything in their everyday lives. But one day, the corporations run the world dry of their resources, causing everyone to become homeless and fend for themselves. Civilizations collapsed on themselves and then the infighting started."
"The infighting?" She asked nervously.
"Yes, but we don't have time for the rest."
She looked ahead of herself longer than a glance for the first time since he started talking. There Yours was, shrouded by mist.
"Okay here's the plan." She whispered. "I distract him and you take the gem. We'll meet up at the place we set up camp last night."
He nodded.
"Stay safe please."
"Thanks."
He hid at the edge of the forest in a bush patch. She set her sights on her victim of her revenge. As she walked closer to him, his figure and surroundings became clearer. It was a strange sight for him to be in. He was sitting in the field in the same spot that she ran away from. He sat on a tattered blue checkered blanket, having tea. The white cracked porcelain teapot had faded black roses on them. He poured tea into a stone cup and sipped in slowly.
This sight made her blood boil, but then she saw something that made her heart drop. A pearl white gem sat on a stained cotton pillow, and had a stone cup in front of it. That madman was drinking tea with her fucking gem. Her hands started to shake and she clenched them and repeated why he deserves to go down in her mind.
Every step towards him was hell. Her legs started to feel unsteady, and she felt sick. However, she kept walking as steadily as she could with her head held high. When she got close, he looked up from his tea and smiled.
"Hey you." He said. "Back already?"
She didn't answer and stopped just before the blanket.
"You came for this right?" He said as he slid the gem pillow towards himself.
"No." She said.
His eyebrows quirked.
"Oh? Then what are you here for?"
She swallowed her fear and smiled.
"I'm here for you, silly. I realized that I was overeating the other day, and I'm sorry."
He smiled back.
"Apology accepted! Sit down sweetie, have some tea with me."
"Of course love."
Those words felt like poison on her tongue. She repressed a shiver and stepped onto the blanket knowing that she was stuck and there's no going back from this.
"That's more like it." He said.
She just smiled as she sat down. He offered the cup near her gem, and it took all of her willpower to not scoop it up and run. She made sure that her gaze didn't linger on it, but Yours must've picked it up.
"You know," he said as he passed her the cup, "I was so sure that you would just come back for that. He said as he nodded towards it.
She shook her head, gritting her teeth in a smile.
"Nope! Just you. Whoever I was before doesn't matter because I belong to you."
He looked at her suspiciously, her heart dropped but she still kept her sweet smile.
"Really? Because if I did this-" He picked up the gem and threw it somewhere into the mist.
Her face fell and she couldn't hold in her emotions anymore. She screamed and lunged at him. He smiled as if it was nothing. She pressed him into the grass and riled up a punch. His eyes darkened and his expression turned dangerous.
"Do you really want to start a fight?" He threatened.
She shrank back and jumped off him.
"N-no, I'm sorry." She apologized, breathing a little too fast.
He smiled, sat up, and dusted himself off.
"Good."
Yours picked up his cup and resumed drinking tea like nothing happened. With her fake smile plastered on her face, she sat down and picked up her cup. She took a sip and it was a stimulating earthy taste. If she ever had it before, it would definitely be her favorite. He smiled at her happy expression.
"It's good huh? This is black tea from the Old World." He explained.
Her eyes lit up.
"The Old World? Where did you get it?"
"I got it from the ruins just south from here," He pointed in the direction of south, "Wanna go?"
Her eyes dimmed and crashed. Her curiosity was squashed and anxiety made its way into her lungs.
"No thanks." She said.
"Why not? It's not far from here."
She shrugged but it felt more of a jerk of her shoulder.
"I just don't feel like it."
He sqinted his eyes at her.
"Hm, okay." He said, accepting her answer. "How about we go back home?"
She blinked at him, not expecting that.
"Home?" She asked.
"Yes, home." He smiled. "Our home."
"Our home? Where is it?"
"It's by the ruins. Anyways." He stood up and dusted off his pants. "Are you coming?"
She looked away.
"No." She mumbled.
"What was that?" He said through gritted teeth.
She met his eyes, cool and certain.
"I said no. I'm not going anywhere with you."
His eyes got dangerous again and he kicked her stomach and she fell onto her back. He dug his foot into her abdomen. She let out a cry and tried to get his foot off of her but he was too strong.
"How dare you say no to me. I own you!" He snarled.
She spotted the teapot at the corner of her eye and started to reach for it.
"You don't own me! I'm my own person." She spat back.
"What makes you think that?" He growled as he increased pressure.
She wheezed and then her fingers grazed the teapot. Hope fluttered its way back into her as she tried again. Her fingers grasped the handle and she smiled triumpently.
"The fact that I can fight against your hold." She announced.
Before he could react, she smashed the teapot as hard as she could into the back of his kneecap. He screamed and his knees buckled. He cursed and spat wordlessly as she got to her feet.
"God dammit it bitch, you're gonna pay for that! That was an Old World teapot! It better not be broken." He yelled.
She stood shakily as the air rushed back into her lungs.
"You took my memories, so I'm taking something of yours too." She said while breathing hard.
He smirked while clutching his knee.
"How? You are so out of breath that you should just give up." He mocked.
She snarled at him but he was right. She couldn't stand for much longer. She was dizzy and her chest hurt. Her knees ran out of adrenaline and shook beneath her. Despite all that, she gazed at him definitely and walked over.
"You don't have the guts." He hissed.
She picked up the teapot that survived the impact and met his eyes. For the first time, she saw fear in his eyes. She bent down slowly and whispered in his ear.
"Death doesn't deserve you."
She rose back up, and briskly walked away as he hurled curses at her back. She kept going where she thought the forest was, but the mist was too thick to tell. She wandered the mist for a bit then she heard Yew's voice over the fading cursing of Yours.
"Where are you? Person?" He called out.
She walked briskly to where his voice was coming from until she saw Yew in the mist. She grabbed his wrist and he looked at her shocked.
"Shh. He'll find us." She whispered.
He nodded. The cursing in the background got louder and she panicked. She tugged his wrist in a direction and bolted. He let out a startled gasp and followed. He followed her through the mist as she stumbled and shook. The wind howled in her ears and she couldn't tell if Yours was close or not. She couldn't hear him. Her breathing became rapid.
"Hey, maybe we should slow down?" Yew asked over the wind.
She didn't answer. He yanked his hand free and she stopped moving but didn't look at him.
"Hey." He said softly. "We are safe now."
His voice was swallowed by the wind. He cautiously touched her shoulder and her head snapped to him. Her eyes were silts that were full of fear. His eyes softened and he slowly pulled her into a hug. She gasped and tears flowed freely. She returned the embrace, and grasped himm tightly. He left his grip soft so that she could break the hug at any point she wanted. Her whole body shook as her sobs deepened. He slowly started to rub her back and whisper encouragements. She found his hold was soft and gentle and it was nothing like the chains of Yours' arms. The wind died down and a calm breeze swirled around them. She took a deep breath and her sobs became quieter as she breathed. She sighed and gently stepped away from him.
"Thank you." She said earnestly.
He smiled.
"You're welcome."
His smile was warm and didn't make her feel scared, and that confused her. She looked around and realized that the mist had lifted.
"Where are we?" She whispered, mystified