RYLIE
My breath caught in my chest, my hands trembling uncontrollably. I was no ordinary girl.
If their stories were true, and Dad was a god, then they were wrong about me. I was no savior; I was more like Elena and Seraya, and I would only cause chaos as well; anything that came from Dad was evil; I was right about that.
This changed everything.
The knowledge that I could have seriously harmed Rayah more than I did shattered my heart. Could she ever forgive me? Would these people help me take my family from Dad anymore now that I had harmed one of theirs? Each breath felt like a struggle against the crushing guilt.
There was no way they would allow me to stay when I was a danger to them. Bringing my family over here was out of the question, I had to leave. I had gone ahead to ruin everything, and I could not help but blame Dad; if I hadn't been born to him, then life would have been different.
Sounds of life were carried to me from the outside, the world unaware of my inner turmoil. The rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds all felt like a mockery in the face of my despair. I dropped to the floor, unmoving while the hopeless thoughts used the last of my energy, furiously jumping around in my head, each one vying to be heard above the others.
The sun rose and set each day and I never left my spot on the wooded floor, drifting in and out of consciousness, not knowing what the future now held for me. Tiredness tied me to the floor like lead and movement felt like even more sin.
I mustered the strength to move, though, when Silas came knocking on the third day.
His insistent knocks forced me into consciousness. "Rylie?" His voice accompanied the loud knocks. "Ry? Please open the door."
Summoning all my strength, I moved my body from the floor, doing all I could to push my tall wardrobe across and bar the door, only then did I crawl to my position, the hard floor welcoming me back. I could barely hear him curse above the noise of the crash, and the creaking of my weak bones.
"Rylie? Are you ok? Please open the door." Silas's voice carried a mix of concern and urgency, but underneath it, I could hear his frustration. I wanted to answer, to tell him everything, but the words stuck in my throat.."
Beneath my feelings of sadness, were more feelings of sadness and pain. I had wanted Silas to come after me that day or perhaps the day after but he had not, and it hurt more than I thought it would.
I wanted him to come to me and tell me it would all be fine, that Rayah was ok. I felt wetness slide down my face, and I chuckled sadly; I thought I had run out of those. The lack of water would surely do me in at this pace.
Silas left after a while when he realized that I would not open up, but he was back not too long after, and this time, he stayed. His presence did not change my mind. I didn't know how long I could keep up with this, but I didn't want to see anyone right now.
I awoke to a slight commotion later, my head jerking off the floor. I ignored the noise, hoping that sleep would be merciful enough to steal my consciousness again until I heard Rayah's voice.
"Move, I would like to see her." Came her voice from the other side of my door.
My heart skipped a beat, why was she here? How was she? I wanted to rush to the door to beg her forgiveness, but the bloodied images of her lying in the ring assaulted me, and a mixture of fear and something else held me back. I wasn't ready to face her just yet.
I could hear them argue behind my door, and no matter how hard I tried, sleep wasn't merciful to me, withholding its embrace of dark comfort.
I was almost in that embrace when the loud thud of something striking my door brought me back. Startled, I pushed my body off the floor. The thuds continued, louder and faster, and soon, a little hole appeared in my door.
I shrank back from my position and the pieces of wood that flew through the air covered everywhere soon enough. Retribution had come, and I had nowhere to hide anymore.
I buried my head in my hands, my weak body shaking, only looking up when the thuds stopped. A gaping hole had been created on my door, and I could finally see.
Rayah stood on the other side of the hole, holding onto a large axe. The sun was going down already and she looked like an executioner, axe in hand and the backdrop of the falling sun behind her.
She pushed through the broken door, her boots loudly crunching pieces of wood as she dragged her huge axe towards me. Silas was nowhere behind her, I had been left to my fate.
My eyes roamed the length of her body; she was in a thick leather outfit I had never seen, her hands wrapped up in gloves, and her hair, her lovely hair, was now closer to a buzz cut as she had chopped off more of it.
Her face had cuts that had not healed and despite the show of bravado, I could tell that her body had not healed as well. Guilt and shame assuaged me but underneath all that was a terrible amount of fear; now that it had come to it, I did not want to die.
I watched my judgment approach me, her axe loudly dragging across the floor till she reached me. She paused above my trembling body, staring down at me as I looked up at her as well. The cuts and the new hair had nothing on her, Rayah was lovely still.
That maniacal smile that had haunted my consciousness spread over her face, and goosebumps broke out on my skin at the sight of it.
"Well well, Rylie, you didn't think I was going to let you off the easy way, did you?"