Here it is! Chapter 1 of my new story; Captured Flower, the sequel to Fatherly Love. Enjoy…
Chapter 1
I Miss You
Aster sat on a sofa in the living room. It's been two days since Daisy Portrait's abduction, but everything he does reminds him of her. Aster picked up the TV remote. Maybe a bit of television will get his mind off her. He clicked it on:
Nature Show
"The daisies are flowers that bloom in the spring time
Click.
Bargain Hunt
"This portrait of Elizabeth I is worth-"
Click
BBC News
"Professor Daisy Smith founded a new research lab on-"
Cbeebies
"Red and blue makes PURPLE! Can you spell purple?"
"Dammit," Aster muttered, turning the television off. It's like the whole world was against him. Even the TV was. Jaden walked into the room that very moment, talking into a phone.
"Yeah…that's right…Okay great. See you then. Bye" Jaden said and hung up.
"Who were you calling?" Aster asked.
"Our friends back at Duel Academy. They heard about Daisy and they were too eager to help out. They're coming tomorrow" Aster stood up after Jaden said this.
"Where are you going?" Jaden asked. Aster paused in the hallway.
"I need…some time alone." Aster said silently and walked into a room, closing the door behind him. Jaden blinked.
But that's Daisy's room. Why would he go there? Jaden thought.
…
"Oh hell" Aster muttered. He'd entered the wrong door and ended up in Daisy's room. He's trying to get his mind off Daisy, not on her constantly. He can't leave again, Jaden was still outside and he might think Aster was crazy, so he might as well stick around.
The room wasn't purple, just a pale cream colour, but the things left behind by Daisy were purple. Aster looked at the dressing table. It was littered with hair bands and hair products, including her GHD hair straighteners. Nothing much really. The bed lay made up neatly with a purple book sitting on top. Aster let curiosity take over and walked over to the bed. He picked up the purple book. It wasn't a dairy.
Daisy never liked them Aster remembered. It was a photo album. Aster had a look at one of the pages. There were a lot of pictures of the two of them. In one of them, Daisy was holding a camera with one hand, and had her arm around Aster with the other. They were both sitting by a tree at Dual Academy island laughing. Next to it, another photograph showed Daisy poking her tongue out at the camera. Aster smiled. Daisy had always been so care free. But that sometimes didn't stop her true emotions from being revealed. Aster sat down on the bed as he remembered a certain occasion.
Flashback
Aster walked towards the blue girl's dorm. He wasn't allowed in, pro or not, so the two of them would meet outside it at a certain time. That way neither of them would get into trouble. However, she wasn't by the docks as they arranged. That meant something was wrong.
"Leave me alone!"
Aster heard the voice. It was Daisy. He ran to where it was coming from. He came to a clearing in the woods. Daisy was standing there terrified, wearing a purple leather jacket, a white t-shirt showing her naval, blue jeans and purple and white sneakers. She was surrounded by various obelisk students. They were either throwing insults or calling her names. A few of them were shoving her around.
"Momma's girl!" One obelisk said, giving her a shove.
"Now I know why you wear purple. Your pappy can't afford a uniform!"
"You're just a runaway! I bet you can't even duel!"
"Humph! Surely you know that's not the correct way to treat a lady." Aster said.
The obelisks turned around and saw Aster standing there, his arms folded.
"Now, why don't you leave her alone eh?" Aster asked.
"Why should we?" One of the obelisks said.
"Yeah! This girl's nothing to do with you, Phoenix!" Aster walked up to Daisy and placed an arm around her.
"This "girl", is my girlfriend" Aster said. "And you should never mess with Aster Phoenix or any of his friends, so my advice to you guys would be to CLEAR OFF!!!" Aster yelled the last words, startling the obelisks and running off. Aster watched them go, and then turned to Daisy.
"You okay?" He asked. Daisy nodded. Her cheeks were slightly tear stained. Aster gently wiped them away. "Hey, let's go over here. Tell me all about what happened" He said soothingly. Daisy nodded again and sat in the shade of a tree. Aster sat next to her.
"So, what is it about being called a Mommas Girl that's so upsetting then?" Aster asked. Daisy sniffed.
"Well, they found out about my mom, and started teasing me about it. Pretty childish if you ask me." Daisy said.
"What is it about your mom that's so upsetting anyway? I never hear you talk about her at all. Is she embarrassing?" Asters questions came blurting out. Tears leaked from Daisy's violet eyes.
"She's dead" Daisy cried. Aster gasped. Daisy sniffed.
"A few years ago, my mom became infected with an unknown disease. The doctors tried everything they could to save her, but they'd never encountered anything like it, so they couldn't help her. Mom died when I was nine. About six years ago now. And it still hurts to think about her." Daisy wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hand. Aster looked down guiltily.
"Sorry I asked" He muttered. He remembered something else. "They called you a runaway as well. Why? You tell me there's nothing wrong with your family, other than your mother dying and all. Is there something else?" Daisy looked up at Aster.
"Well, there is one thing" Daisy said. "Daddy was just as torn as I was when mom died. He went out drinking heavily. Even in the daytime. He came home late, extremely drunk. Sometimes…" Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. Aster placed an arm around her.
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay. You don't have to." Aster said. Daisy shook her head.
"No. I started so I should finish. Besides…" Daisy looked up and smiled. "It feels good to get something this heavy off my chest." Daisy sighed and continued. "Sometimes my dad got mad for no particular reason when he was drunk. And he…he abused me!" Asters eyes narrowed angrily.
"That son of a-"
"Not sexually! Not sexually!" Daisy said quickly. Aster breathed a sigh of relief.
"Though he was violent to me. He hit me. He broke my arm once. He even cut me." Daisy rolled up the sleeve of her purple leather jacket. Asters eyes widened at what he saw. There were cuts all over her arm.
"He gave these to me before I came here. About a few weeks ago. The pain I faced was too much, so when I took up duelling, I sneaked out at night to duel. It helped me get my mind off dad. But I still faced him when I came back home, and he'd abuse me twice as much. I couldn't escape. But, I found hope one night. There was a brochure about tryouts for duel academy. So, I tried out in the exams and passed with flying colours. I was going to duel academy as an obelisk blue. I ran away from home." Daisy looked up at Aster. Aster didn't know how he should react.
"What happened to your dad?" Aster asked, curious. Daisy smiled.
"A neighbour heard screams coming from my house, i.e. me. They got the police on him and arrested my dad. Good riddance. Justice shall finally come to him."
"Good for you Daisy" Aster said. Daisy cocked her head to the side as she looked at Aster.
"Y'know, I wish I was more like you Aster" Daisy said. Aster raised an eyebrow.
"How?"
"Well, you're always so strong and confident. You've got everything that can ever make you happy. At least you never had family problems." Daisy twirled a strand of her hair around her finger as she spoke. Aster looked down sadly, the shade hiding most of his face.
"What's wrong?" Daisy asked. Aster said nothing.
"Did I upset you, Aster?" Daisy wondered. Aster looked up and shook his head.
"No. It's just that…I've had family problems too." Aster closed his eyes. Daisy looked at him.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine. It's just that…I lost my father when I was about six. I recently found out the d, my guardian, was the one behind it all, even stealing the ultimate destiny card. I didn't have anyone else to look after me back then, since my mom died when I was little. I had nobody." Aster clutched the grass in his right hand. "I felt so lonely. Throughout my life, I was manipulated by mere words for their own personal gain. The D. Sartorius. Everybody seemed to be against me!" Tears welled up in Asters closed eyes. "After Jaden destroyed the light of destruction, I then realised I had been used my whole life, and I started feeling scared. I was scared that I hadn't advanced as a person, and I'm still scared about it now." Aster wiped his eyes, opened them and looked at Daisy.
She looks so innocent. Aster thought. It's hard to believe that she was abused.
I thought I had it rough. Daisy thought. I've only lost one parent, but Asters an orphan.
"Wow. Looks like we've had a little heart to heart about our past!" Daisy realised. Aster pulled Daisy closer to him gently.
"You forgot one character trait about me" Aster said. Daisy blinked.
"What is it?" She asked. Aster held her chin gently and planted a kiss on her lips.
"I'm absolutely crazy for you, Daisy" Aster whispered. Daisy suddenly linked her little finger round Asters. Daisy giggled.
"Now our private lives are kept between us. We have officially bonded with each other. We'll always be there for each other and protect each other, y'know like kindred spirits. Or in your case, destiny." Daisy announced. Aster laughed at the little joke Daisy gave. Daisy snuggled closer to Aster.
"I'll always be there for you, and I know you'll be there for me too." Daisy said. Aster smiled and nodded.
"Always" Aster promised. Daisy wrapped her arms around Aster, surprising him a little bit.
"Thanks for listening to me, Aster. You're such a good listener." Aster wrapped his arms around Daisy in a hug.
"Heck, that's what soul mates do, right?"
"Right" Daisy agreed. The two of them parted from their hug, stood up and walked off hand in hand.
Aster returned to the present after having that flashback. That was the day they had their official heart to heart about their pasts. They were officially closer after that day. Now, she was far away to who knows where. Aster looked at the rest of the photographs in the photo album. There were a few photos of Aster duelling, but the rest were of the two of them. Some of them where when they were messing around, others were of them just being together, including a few strips from photo booths. They were always there for each other. Until now that is…
"I'll always be there for you, and I know you'll be there for me too" Daisy's voice echoed through his mind. The promise they made to each other. Aster kept the promise, and so did Daisy, but now, the promise was broken. Aster didn't stop Kagehoshi from kidnapping Daisy.
"It's all my fault!" Aster said. Aster punched the wall behind him in frustration. Unfortunately, the anger activated his powers over earth, and a massive hole halfway through the wall appeared. Aster held his fist in surprise.
"Whoops. Gotta be more careful." Aster noted. He didn't even know his own strength anymore. Both him and Daisy were strong personality wise and they always stood up for each other. They both loved duelling, especially each other. Daisy even managed to beat Aster once!
Aster found a picture of Daisy duelling. Aster took the photograph for her. She was beating one of the top ranking obelisks. It was obvious she was going to be successful in the pro leagues. She was always a good fighter, with her feisty personality and her cheerful attitude. She always brightened Asters day. Now, nothing could ever cheer him up unless he found and rescued Daisy, but with no idea where Kagehoshi is, it wasn't even possible.
Asters eyes fell on a picture of Daisy. She was smiling happily, the sun reflecting her face and the sea breeze blowing at her black hair. It still hurt to see her face, and to hear her cheerful laughter in Asters head. Aster could almost hear it now!
"We'll always be there for each other and protect each other…"
Something wet dropped onto Daisy's photograph. Aster covered his eyes with his hand and chocked back a sob. Tears were leaking through his fingers.
"I miss you Daisy" Aster said quietly, and just sat in Daisy's room, crying over his lost love. He was going to make sure she was okay, no matter what it took.
Well, er, that's the first chapter, stay tuned for chapter two. Sorry if this chapter wasn't much, it all came rapid fire, but chapter two might make up for it, hint hint!
