Ty Harper:
The Beginning
Ty Harper sat on the rough surface of the bluff that overlooked the river. The waves beat against the shore in rapid succession. The murky water invited her to jump in & take a break from the heat of the blaring sun.
She had been sitting there for a few hours now. Just thinking. That's one thing she had been doing a lot of lately. Her life was so screwed up. Everywhere she turned there was a new problem.
Her own existence seemed to her to be a problem. Her mother had given birth to her & her twin brother, Tyler, on the planet known as Naboo. Her full name was Tyuka Jade Harper. Her parents, Jessica & Eric Harper had noticed something odd about Ty and Tyler, a couple of days after they were brought home from the hospital. Instead of crying out loud they would use a form of mind reading (FORCE) to which their cries were only heard by their mother. Jessica would wake up in the middle of the night & ask Eric to go check on the infants. Eric would reply," Why they aren't crying?"
After about a week of this Eric had finally determined what was going on. His own sister, Emily, had done this also. His whole family had done this as babies, except him. So in jealously of his own children he sent them away to live with Emily.
Emily lived on the desolate planet of Tattoine. This planet was not a great place to live. The planet itself was ran by gangsters & smuggler lords. Emily & her husband, Tyrustwere farmers. They lived out in the desert & most plants had to be grown with water substututes. Ty & Tyler lived with them from the age of a week old to the age of four.
Ty smiled as she remembered her life on the farm. In the year after she & Tyler had arrived on the planet her cousin, Teg was born. The three of them being infants stayed in the small hovels that made-up the main house. Uncle Tyrust would come home sweaty and tired from a long day in the field. Aunt Emily would also be tired from watching the kids at the end of the day. Well, what Ty could remember of it was the perfect life. She could run outside & be a kid, all after she finished her chores. She had her own room in which Aunt Emily lovingly tucked her in at night.
One night she remembered most prominent in her mind. The family had come together for dinner. Uncle Tyrust had been working overtime outside & he was dog tired. Aunt Emily was so tired she almost fell asleep in her plate. Ty was three at the time & very smart for her age. Aunt Emily & Uncle Tyrust were mad at each other. They had an argument about something that morning & weren't talking to each other. So Ty thought she had a way of making them make up. With a look at Tyler & Teg she picked up her lemon squish (a type of fruit) and threw it at Tyler. He then proceeded to throw it at Teg. Uncle Tyrust & Aunt Emily tried to stop the fight. In the end however they were forced to choose sides. Ty had Aunt Emily on her side, being out numbered by the three boys they were splashed & spaluated with food. They surrendered in due time. Ty's small body was covered in the multi-color foods which at one time were neatly arranged on the table. Ty's brown hair was plastered with green cane cream, a diligent sweet. Aunt Emily's pale blonde hair was also plastered in the gooey component, her green eyes shone brightly as she laughed.
The girls finally surrendered. The youngster were cleaned & sent to their rooms up stairs. Ty stopped half-way up the stairs to listen to her aunt & uncle.
"Emily, I'm sorry. I should have thought about your feelings before contacting Marc about the job on Naboo."
"I'm sorry for being so upset. I mean, Ty & Tyler are like my own children. I would hate to see Eric take them back."
"He is their father, Emily."
"But he gave up his rights after he found out they were like me. A freak like me."
She bent down like she was about to cry. Tears were in her eyes on the verge of popping through. Eric hugged her close & she rested her head on his shoulder. Tyrust spoke.
"You are not a freak. Neither are any of those kids up stairs. Eric's the freak. He's the one that needs help. I love you, sweetheart. You do know that don't you. I will & have always loved you even in those dark times when the war was going on, I loved you."
Aunt Emily smiled as he bent down to kiss her. The kiss lasted only a few seconds but that was enough to lighten-up the mood. Ty smiled then scrambled up the stairs to her room. The boys stood in the doorway of the room they shared. Their bodies gald in clean, blue pajamesies, Tyler spoke.
"Did it work?"
"Yes", was all she said before entering her room & hopping in bed. Aunt Emily came up to tuck her in. As she sat down on the side of the bed she pulled a little piece of cane crème from Ty's hair. She pulled the cover up to Ty's neck and bent down & put a kiss on her cheek. She spoke.
"Ty, thanks for the laugh. We needed it. Next, time I tell you to go to your room please do so. Your Uncle's & my private lives are just that private."
Emily got off the bed & made her way for the door. When she reached the door she turned to look at Ty. They both smiled at each other. Then telepathically Aunt Emily sent.
"I love you, Tyuka Jade Harper."
Life had progressed normally since then. It would be three months before the whole family experienced another episode of total joy, but also of utter fear. Aunt Emily was starting to act fatigued in the morning & it wasn't uncommon for Ty to walk in the bathroom to see her vomit. Uncle Tyrust was worried; Aunt Emily was never sick & almost never tired in the mornings. She was usually the first one up. However, Aunt Emily said she was fine. So Tyrust believed her until one morning at breakfast the walls came tumbling down.
Uncle Tyrust & the kids were sitting at the table. Tyrust picked on Emily as she cooked in the adjacent kitchen. Ty remembered the sound of a pot & a few plates falling to the ground. Everyone in the room jumped. Tyrust immediately ran into the kitchen. Ty was right behind him with the boys following her.
Aunt Emily was on the floor. Her eyes were closed and she looked as though she was asleep. It wasn't a millisecond before Tyrust checked all her vitals & called the hospital in town to send someone out to check her. The kids were supposed to go to their rooms, but as usual Ty & the boys stood looking out the doorway as Tyrust brought Emily up to their room, which was beside Tyler's and Teg's room. He layed her on the bed & waited. Ty had moved from her door to their bedroom door. She spoke.
"What's wrong with Aunt Emily? Is she going to be otay?"
Tyrust smiled.
"I don't know, Ty. I wish I did. She'll live I'm sure of that. As for what's wrong I have no idea."
He motioned for her to come in & sit on his lap. (He had pulled a chair up next to the bed.) As Ty climbed up on his lap Tyler & Teg entered the room & did the same. For about another ten minutes they stared helplessly at Emily. The dull brown of the sheets she laid on made her tan skin shine & for a moment she was the prettiest woman Ty had ever seen. Tyrust had his hand holding her's until the medical team arrived. At this point he sadly let go of her hand & picking up the children took them to the playroom across the hall.
"You three stay here. I'm going to talk to the doctor about your aunt... your mother. I'll be back soon."
He left but came back almost instantly. His face was drawn with shock & his mouth was slightly ajar. In almost a daze he kneeled down by them. Ty's heart stopped. 'Hopefully nothing was wrong with Aunt Emily.' Her Uncle's voice broke through her thoughts.
"She's going to be fine. Her blood sugar & iron were low causing her to faint."
"What's that, Daddy?" Teg's scared voice asked.
"Iron is in your blood & it helps you to get good things to your other body parts. Blood sugar is what we say you have too much of when your bouncing off the walls."
"Whay'd it happen?" Ty remembered her trembling voice. Uncle Tyrust smiled nervously.
"Well, Aunt Emily.... is going to have a baby. You're going to have a new cousin. Teg, you're going to be a big brother."
After that they all had a little 'where do babies come from' talk. Things went back to normal soon or as normal as they could. Aunt Emily would have mood swings & had to take vitamins for six months. In those few months Tyrust & Emily would have an argument a day but by the end of the day they would be acting like nothing had changed.
Finally, the day for the baby to be born arrived. Emily was in the speed-car (an auto-pilot controlled car that floats over land) waiting when Tyrust came in from the field. Tyrust drove her to the doctor. The only problem was they had left Tyler, Teg, and young Ty at the farm, by themselves. Thus allowing them the opportunity to be kidnapped.
A group of activists against Tatooine's freedom from the Coruscant government had been traveling the desert & decided to ran-sack the house. You can imagine their surprise when they opened a cabinet to find three kids. The Coruscant government didn't like people with telepathic abilities. They believed that people with telepathic abilities were a danger to 'common' people's privacy. So they brought the kids in front of the ruler of Tatooine, Ken Marley (a smuggler) who had the kids sold to a slave owner on. The slave owner had them locked in separate rooms for over a week. Then sold them to the Empire Reborn. Where they were also locked in separate rooms. During this week Ty planned her escape by emitting a different imagine of what was going on in her cell. She unlocked the door with her mind while the camera in her cell showed she was drawing on the wall with a rock. Then doing the same she unlocked Teg's & Tyler's cell. By the time the guards caught on to what happened; the kids were far gone.
For eleven years the three of them lived on the streets and traveled planet to planet. They would do odd jobs for people for a place to stay or for money to with which to eat. Ty made friends on the way. Several of which she had to leave behind when her & the boys were found without parents. They had been caught once & were forced to live in an orphanage. That didn't last long. The only friend to come with them on their adventure was Cookie. Ty had saved Cookie's live when thugs were going to kill him because he didn't have 7 credits to give the thugs to pay for their drugs. He was a Wookie& it was their custom to pay off this debt by protecting that person & those they love. So Cookie stayed with her.
At the age of fifteen Teg, Tyler, Cookie, & Ty finally made enough money to fly them across the galaxy to Tatooine. They rented a speed-car & went straight to the farm. They rushed into the house only to find it abandoned. The walls had no pictures on them, there was no food in the cabinets, & the house had cobwebs everywhere.
"They must have gone to Naboo."
Teg & Tyler ran up the stairs to their room to find that nothing had been moved. The toys were in the same place they remembered leaving them eleven years before hand. Ty went to her room to find that it also hadn't changed. She picked up her pillow & fluffed it. 'I'm home,' she thought,' I'm home.' They all ran to the playroom to find that it had changed. There was a small crib in the room & the walls were pink.
"It was a girl." Ty had said.
This must have been the baby's room. But why would they have left the baby's stuff here? What had happened to her? Ty swore she was going go find out.
Ty & the rest of the group had decided to stay there tonight. They had outgrown their old bed to the point theirfeet hung off the side. So they used cover they had brought on the trip there and slept on the floor until the sound of Tucken Raiders outside woke them. Raiders were natives that lived deep in the desert and some time were known to be violent. Ty stood careful not to wake the others & then walked outside. She was ready to face the Raiders.
Only one Raider was outside. Ty learned that he knew basic by the fact that he spoke it he was sitting in the low window of the house talking to the moon.
"She came to visit last year. She looked so much like the two of you it was uncanny. I miss you a lot."
Ty startled him when she spoke.
''Who are you talking to?"
"The people that use to live here. They died in a raid my herd started. I took care of their daughter until about two years ago & she went to study at that school for telepaths. She loves it there."
The Raider left without saying another word. Ty had a million questions to ask him but only one reached him.
"Why didn't they go to Naboo?"
"After the older kids were taken they decided to stay in the hope that they would some how find their way home. They never did though."
Ty stood there stunned. They only had three family members left her mom, dad, & girl cousin. They had to go to Nabooto find her parents.
They hitched a ride on a ship the next morning. She hadn't & never did tell Teg & Tyler what the Raider had said. When they reached Naboo they found that Tyler's & Teg's parents were the King & Queen. They immediately went to the palace where they demanded to see the King. It would be 3 days & a whole lot of paperwork before they saw him. Now looking back Ty wished she hadn't done all that work.
Eric was cruel to all of them when he found out who they were. He did give them a place in the palace to sleep but they had to work off the rent. Ty finally had met her father a dream that in her toddler years had held a special place in her heart & she hated it.
She met her mother & 4 brothers next. All her brothers hated her & said that she, Tyler, & Teg were bad for the family. Her mother loved her. It had taken all the strength she had to push her off long enough to say,'Hi.'
Her mother's gestures of happiness at seeing them had confused her. If she loved them why did she give them up? The answer presented itself that night at dinner. Ty's brothers (other than Tyler) had gone up stairs & the servants were putting the dirty dishes away. Teg & the others helped the servants & left Ty alone with Jessica & Eric. Eric & Jessica started arguing & it wasn't long before Eric started hitting Jessica. Ty stared in stunned amazement. Her father was hitting her mother. Eric jumped at Ty when he noticed she was in the room. He pushed her into the wall and said.
"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you. Well, it's not like anyone is going to listen to you. I am the King."
After he left her room Ty went to her mother's side. She was bleeding profusely from the chin and lip. Ty cleaned her up and asked ,"What was that about?"
"I asked if you three could stay here permanently. Eric was upset. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Does he hit you often?" "Only about once a month, but I deserve it."
Ty tried to explain to her mother that nobody deserved to be treated that way. Jessica wouldn't listen. So for the two months that followed Ty had told everyone she could about Eric's abusive native; no one would listen. Eric did try to kill her with a bullet to the chest. She survived the blamed her saying she tried to commit suicide.
Now Ty sat alone trying to think what she could do to save her mother from this abusive relationship. Behind her she heard Tyler speak. "Let's geta move on, Ty. We can't stay here all day.
Reluctantly, she stood up continuing to look at the water. She saw a fish in the water swimming without a fear in world. For a moment she envied the fish. Then realization hit. Even the care free fish could be caught in a fisher net or ate by a bigger fish. An old saying of the Aunt's came to her mind.
"Always remember where you came from because it will help you to get where your going. Always put one foot in front of the other it will help you to get through the hard times. Stand up for what you believe in because some people will fall for anything. Know your enemy and keep him close and your friend further away. And last be sure to do your best in all you do because we all die and it isn't what we do that effects the future but the ideas and our strength that brightens tomorrow."
"Ty, come on we have to get back to the palace." Tyler spoke behind her. She turned away from the water and started to climb down the bluff behind Tyler. "One foot in front of the the other, Aunt Emily. I'll always remember you." Ty said to the wind. Tomorrow would be her sixteenth birthday and she was leaving the planet there behind. She had to find her place in this screwed up universe even if it killed her. There had to be a place out there where she belonged. A place where someone would listen to her and she know that someone out there needed her and that would keep her going. Going to the end of the universe to find herself.
The Beginning
Ty Harper sat on the rough surface of the bluff that overlooked the river. The waves beat against the shore in rapid succession. The murky water invited her to jump in & take a break from the heat of the blaring sun.
She had been sitting there for a few hours now. Just thinking. That's one thing she had been doing a lot of lately. Her life was so screwed up. Everywhere she turned there was a new problem.
Her own existence seemed to her to be a problem. Her mother had given birth to her & her twin brother, Tyler, on the planet known as Naboo. Her full name was Tyuka Jade Harper. Her parents, Jessica & Eric Harper had noticed something odd about Ty and Tyler, a couple of days after they were brought home from the hospital. Instead of crying out loud they would use a form of mind reading (FORCE) to which their cries were only heard by their mother. Jessica would wake up in the middle of the night & ask Eric to go check on the infants. Eric would reply," Why they aren't crying?"
After about a week of this Eric had finally determined what was going on. His own sister, Emily, had done this also. His whole family had done this as babies, except him. So in jealously of his own children he sent them away to live with Emily.
Emily lived on the desolate planet of Tattoine. This planet was not a great place to live. The planet itself was ran by gangsters & smuggler lords. Emily & her husband, Tyrustwere farmers. They lived out in the desert & most plants had to be grown with water substututes. Ty & Tyler lived with them from the age of a week old to the age of four.
Ty smiled as she remembered her life on the farm. In the year after she & Tyler had arrived on the planet her cousin, Teg was born. The three of them being infants stayed in the small hovels that made-up the main house. Uncle Tyrust would come home sweaty and tired from a long day in the field. Aunt Emily would also be tired from watching the kids at the end of the day. Well, what Ty could remember of it was the perfect life. She could run outside & be a kid, all after she finished her chores. She had her own room in which Aunt Emily lovingly tucked her in at night.
One night she remembered most prominent in her mind. The family had come together for dinner. Uncle Tyrust had been working overtime outside & he was dog tired. Aunt Emily was so tired she almost fell asleep in her plate. Ty was three at the time & very smart for her age. Aunt Emily & Uncle Tyrust were mad at each other. They had an argument about something that morning & weren't talking to each other. So Ty thought she had a way of making them make up. With a look at Tyler & Teg she picked up her lemon squish (a type of fruit) and threw it at Tyler. He then proceeded to throw it at Teg. Uncle Tyrust & Aunt Emily tried to stop the fight. In the end however they were forced to choose sides. Ty had Aunt Emily on her side, being out numbered by the three boys they were splashed & spaluated with food. They surrendered in due time. Ty's small body was covered in the multi-color foods which at one time were neatly arranged on the table. Ty's brown hair was plastered with green cane cream, a diligent sweet. Aunt Emily's pale blonde hair was also plastered in the gooey component, her green eyes shone brightly as she laughed.
The girls finally surrendered. The youngster were cleaned & sent to their rooms up stairs. Ty stopped half-way up the stairs to listen to her aunt & uncle.
"Emily, I'm sorry. I should have thought about your feelings before contacting Marc about the job on Naboo."
"I'm sorry for being so upset. I mean, Ty & Tyler are like my own children. I would hate to see Eric take them back."
"He is their father, Emily."
"But he gave up his rights after he found out they were like me. A freak like me."
She bent down like she was about to cry. Tears were in her eyes on the verge of popping through. Eric hugged her close & she rested her head on his shoulder. Tyrust spoke.
"You are not a freak. Neither are any of those kids up stairs. Eric's the freak. He's the one that needs help. I love you, sweetheart. You do know that don't you. I will & have always loved you even in those dark times when the war was going on, I loved you."
Aunt Emily smiled as he bent down to kiss her. The kiss lasted only a few seconds but that was enough to lighten-up the mood. Ty smiled then scrambled up the stairs to her room. The boys stood in the doorway of the room they shared. Their bodies gald in clean, blue pajamesies, Tyler spoke.
"Did it work?"
"Yes", was all she said before entering her room & hopping in bed. Aunt Emily came up to tuck her in. As she sat down on the side of the bed she pulled a little piece of cane crème from Ty's hair. She pulled the cover up to Ty's neck and bent down & put a kiss on her cheek. She spoke.
"Ty, thanks for the laugh. We needed it. Next, time I tell you to go to your room please do so. Your Uncle's & my private lives are just that private."
Emily got off the bed & made her way for the door. When she reached the door she turned to look at Ty. They both smiled at each other. Then telepathically Aunt Emily sent.
"I love you, Tyuka Jade Harper."
Life had progressed normally since then. It would be three months before the whole family experienced another episode of total joy, but also of utter fear. Aunt Emily was starting to act fatigued in the morning & it wasn't uncommon for Ty to walk in the bathroom to see her vomit. Uncle Tyrust was worried; Aunt Emily was never sick & almost never tired in the mornings. She was usually the first one up. However, Aunt Emily said she was fine. So Tyrust believed her until one morning at breakfast the walls came tumbling down.
Uncle Tyrust & the kids were sitting at the table. Tyrust picked on Emily as she cooked in the adjacent kitchen. Ty remembered the sound of a pot & a few plates falling to the ground. Everyone in the room jumped. Tyrust immediately ran into the kitchen. Ty was right behind him with the boys following her.
Aunt Emily was on the floor. Her eyes were closed and she looked as though she was asleep. It wasn't a millisecond before Tyrust checked all her vitals & called the hospital in town to send someone out to check her. The kids were supposed to go to their rooms, but as usual Ty & the boys stood looking out the doorway as Tyrust brought Emily up to their room, which was beside Tyler's and Teg's room. He layed her on the bed & waited. Ty had moved from her door to their bedroom door. She spoke.
"What's wrong with Aunt Emily? Is she going to be otay?"
Tyrust smiled.
"I don't know, Ty. I wish I did. She'll live I'm sure of that. As for what's wrong I have no idea."
He motioned for her to come in & sit on his lap. (He had pulled a chair up next to the bed.) As Ty climbed up on his lap Tyler & Teg entered the room & did the same. For about another ten minutes they stared helplessly at Emily. The dull brown of the sheets she laid on made her tan skin shine & for a moment she was the prettiest woman Ty had ever seen. Tyrust had his hand holding her's until the medical team arrived. At this point he sadly let go of her hand & picking up the children took them to the playroom across the hall.
"You three stay here. I'm going to talk to the doctor about your aunt... your mother. I'll be back soon."
He left but came back almost instantly. His face was drawn with shock & his mouth was slightly ajar. In almost a daze he kneeled down by them. Ty's heart stopped. 'Hopefully nothing was wrong with Aunt Emily.' Her Uncle's voice broke through her thoughts.
"She's going to be fine. Her blood sugar & iron were low causing her to faint."
"What's that, Daddy?" Teg's scared voice asked.
"Iron is in your blood & it helps you to get good things to your other body parts. Blood sugar is what we say you have too much of when your bouncing off the walls."
"Whay'd it happen?" Ty remembered her trembling voice. Uncle Tyrust smiled nervously.
"Well, Aunt Emily.... is going to have a baby. You're going to have a new cousin. Teg, you're going to be a big brother."
After that they all had a little 'where do babies come from' talk. Things went back to normal soon or as normal as they could. Aunt Emily would have mood swings & had to take vitamins for six months. In those few months Tyrust & Emily would have an argument a day but by the end of the day they would be acting like nothing had changed.
Finally, the day for the baby to be born arrived. Emily was in the speed-car (an auto-pilot controlled car that floats over land) waiting when Tyrust came in from the field. Tyrust drove her to the doctor. The only problem was they had left Tyler, Teg, and young Ty at the farm, by themselves. Thus allowing them the opportunity to be kidnapped.
A group of activists against Tatooine's freedom from the Coruscant government had been traveling the desert & decided to ran-sack the house. You can imagine their surprise when they opened a cabinet to find three kids. The Coruscant government didn't like people with telepathic abilities. They believed that people with telepathic abilities were a danger to 'common' people's privacy. So they brought the kids in front of the ruler of Tatooine, Ken Marley (a smuggler) who had the kids sold to a slave owner on. The slave owner had them locked in separate rooms for over a week. Then sold them to the Empire Reborn. Where they were also locked in separate rooms. During this week Ty planned her escape by emitting a different imagine of what was going on in her cell. She unlocked the door with her mind while the camera in her cell showed she was drawing on the wall with a rock. Then doing the same she unlocked Teg's & Tyler's cell. By the time the guards caught on to what happened; the kids were far gone.
For eleven years the three of them lived on the streets and traveled planet to planet. They would do odd jobs for people for a place to stay or for money to with which to eat. Ty made friends on the way. Several of which she had to leave behind when her & the boys were found without parents. They had been caught once & were forced to live in an orphanage. That didn't last long. The only friend to come with them on their adventure was Cookie. Ty had saved Cookie's live when thugs were going to kill him because he didn't have 7 credits to give the thugs to pay for their drugs. He was a Wookie& it was their custom to pay off this debt by protecting that person & those they love. So Cookie stayed with her.
At the age of fifteen Teg, Tyler, Cookie, & Ty finally made enough money to fly them across the galaxy to Tatooine. They rented a speed-car & went straight to the farm. They rushed into the house only to find it abandoned. The walls had no pictures on them, there was no food in the cabinets, & the house had cobwebs everywhere.
"They must have gone to Naboo."
Teg & Tyler ran up the stairs to their room to find that nothing had been moved. The toys were in the same place they remembered leaving them eleven years before hand. Ty went to her room to find that it also hadn't changed. She picked up her pillow & fluffed it. 'I'm home,' she thought,' I'm home.' They all ran to the playroom to find that it had changed. There was a small crib in the room & the walls were pink.
"It was a girl." Ty had said.
This must have been the baby's room. But why would they have left the baby's stuff here? What had happened to her? Ty swore she was going go find out.
Ty & the rest of the group had decided to stay there tonight. They had outgrown their old bed to the point theirfeet hung off the side. So they used cover they had brought on the trip there and slept on the floor until the sound of Tucken Raiders outside woke them. Raiders were natives that lived deep in the desert and some time were known to be violent. Ty stood careful not to wake the others & then walked outside. She was ready to face the Raiders.
Only one Raider was outside. Ty learned that he knew basic by the fact that he spoke it he was sitting in the low window of the house talking to the moon.
"She came to visit last year. She looked so much like the two of you it was uncanny. I miss you a lot."
Ty startled him when she spoke.
''Who are you talking to?"
"The people that use to live here. They died in a raid my herd started. I took care of their daughter until about two years ago & she went to study at that school for telepaths. She loves it there."
The Raider left without saying another word. Ty had a million questions to ask him but only one reached him.
"Why didn't they go to Naboo?"
"After the older kids were taken they decided to stay in the hope that they would some how find their way home. They never did though."
Ty stood there stunned. They only had three family members left her mom, dad, & girl cousin. They had to go to Nabooto find her parents.
They hitched a ride on a ship the next morning. She hadn't & never did tell Teg & Tyler what the Raider had said. When they reached Naboo they found that Tyler's & Teg's parents were the King & Queen. They immediately went to the palace where they demanded to see the King. It would be 3 days & a whole lot of paperwork before they saw him. Now looking back Ty wished she hadn't done all that work.
Eric was cruel to all of them when he found out who they were. He did give them a place in the palace to sleep but they had to work off the rent. Ty finally had met her father a dream that in her toddler years had held a special place in her heart & she hated it.
She met her mother & 4 brothers next. All her brothers hated her & said that she, Tyler, & Teg were bad for the family. Her mother loved her. It had taken all the strength she had to push her off long enough to say,'Hi.'
Her mother's gestures of happiness at seeing them had confused her. If she loved them why did she give them up? The answer presented itself that night at dinner. Ty's brothers (other than Tyler) had gone up stairs & the servants were putting the dirty dishes away. Teg & the others helped the servants & left Ty alone with Jessica & Eric. Eric & Jessica started arguing & it wasn't long before Eric started hitting Jessica. Ty stared in stunned amazement. Her father was hitting her mother. Eric jumped at Ty when he noticed she was in the room. He pushed her into the wall and said.
"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you. Well, it's not like anyone is going to listen to you. I am the King."
After he left her room Ty went to her mother's side. She was bleeding profusely from the chin and lip. Ty cleaned her up and asked ,"What was that about?"
"I asked if you three could stay here permanently. Eric was upset. I shouldn't have brought it up."
"Does he hit you often?" "Only about once a month, but I deserve it."
Ty tried to explain to her mother that nobody deserved to be treated that way. Jessica wouldn't listen. So for the two months that followed Ty had told everyone she could about Eric's abusive native; no one would listen. Eric did try to kill her with a bullet to the chest. She survived the blamed her saying she tried to commit suicide.
Now Ty sat alone trying to think what she could do to save her mother from this abusive relationship. Behind her she heard Tyler speak. "Let's geta move on, Ty. We can't stay here all day.
Reluctantly, she stood up continuing to look at the water. She saw a fish in the water swimming without a fear in world. For a moment she envied the fish. Then realization hit. Even the care free fish could be caught in a fisher net or ate by a bigger fish. An old saying of the Aunt's came to her mind.
"Always remember where you came from because it will help you to get where your going. Always put one foot in front of the other it will help you to get through the hard times. Stand up for what you believe in because some people will fall for anything. Know your enemy and keep him close and your friend further away. And last be sure to do your best in all you do because we all die and it isn't what we do that effects the future but the ideas and our strength that brightens tomorrow."
"Ty, come on we have to get back to the palace." Tyler spoke behind her. She turned away from the water and started to climb down the bluff behind Tyler. "One foot in front of the the other, Aunt Emily. I'll always remember you." Ty said to the wind. Tomorrow would be her sixteenth birthday and she was leaving the planet there behind. She had to find her place in this screwed up universe even if it killed her. There had to be a place out there where she belonged. A place where someone would listen to her and she know that someone out there needed her and that would keep her going. Going to the end of the universe to find herself.