AUTHORS NOTE:
Hey guys! This is our first fan-fiction on this website, so PLEASE REVIEW! We enjoy feedback: positive OR negative! We are open to any suggestions about how the storyline should go or what characters you guys want to see come in.
xoxo fam - Nat and Clarisse
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End
Eadlyn POV:
3 days after America's heart attack:
I suddenly awoke to a delicate hand being hesitantly placed on my shoulder: General Ledger. I was immediately alert, thinking that there might have been news about mom, but he quickly explained that he simply needed me to move to a different chair so that the doctors could have access to Mom's right arm, which I had previously been sleeping on. I could hear his voice drip with guilt for getting my hopes up, but I was too tired to reassure or even acknowledge him. I tried to stand up to no avail, my leg having fallen asleep, when suddenly strong arms cradled me and brought me out of the hospital wing to my room. Without even looking up I know who it is: Ahren. His familiar scent overwhelms me as I struggle to climb out of his arms, but his grasp is too tight and my will was too weak. As he put me down in my bed I find a familiar strength within myself, and I scream with everything I can muster, "GET OUT! YOU BETRAYED OUR, NO, MY FAMILY AND YOU DON'T BELONG HERE! IT'S YOUR FAULT SHE'S IN THIS MESS! IT'S YOUR FAULT WE ALL ARE!" I heard him mumble a weak reply before I start to shout for my guards and I close my eyes as I hear him protest to leaving. He's not a member of this family anymore, and he has no right to disobey my order. As I am drifting into subconsciousness, I think to myself, "You have nothing to feel guilty about. You had every right to say what you did." After all, I am Eadlyn Schreave and I am the most powerful woman in the world.
Several Hours Later
I am running. I don't know why, but I feel an urgency in my steps that is usually not there. Where am I? I look to my right and see Kile, breathing a sigh in relief. I call out to him, and I am certain he hears from the turn of his head, but he looks right past me. I run up to his, reaching out to grab on to him, when I find myself on his other side. I call out again, but he starts to walk away to where I now see my father, brothers, and the rest of the Selected area. Each and everyone of them seems to not see me, and they begin to discuss plans for... Kaden's coronation? I stand still and look down at myself, only to find that I can see through myself, and I begin to scream.
Kile turns around, and I can see in his eyes that he sees me. I start bombarding him with questions when he suddenly latches onto my arm and begins dragging me towards the group. I hear him say, "How did she get here? I thought we already took care of her. No girl is fit to run a kingdom." I look up to him, shocked that those words just came out of his mouth, only to find that it is no longer Kile dragging me, but a disheveled man who can only be a Southern rebel. I quickly turn towards my father, only to find that he too has been replaced with a band of rebels. "Well, now that you're here, we can have some fun with the girl," the man dragging me sneered. I felt the tears begin to pour out when I heard Kile's voice taunting me, "Are you ok Eady? If only I could do something..." with sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"Eady, are you ok? Eadlyn, wake up!" I felt my eyes flutter open and then realized that Kile was standing above me and that I was back in bed, my interaction with the rebels being a dream. I took deep breathes to gain control of my emotions as Kile sat down on the edge of my bed, clearly not caring what people saw since my door was wide open. "God Eady, you had me scared. I ran out of drawing paper again and I was going to my old room to get more when I heard screams coming from your room. The guards had already gone in to check on you so they knew it was just a dream, but I couldn't just walk by and not do anything. You sounded pretty freaky Eady!" he chuckled to himself. He thought for a moment and then said, "Hey, I kinda like that: Freaky Eady," his teasing voice bringing goosebumps to my arms and heat to my cheeks. I looked at the clock to my right, and seeing that it said 9:37 AM, I tried to jump out of bed only to find myself caught in Kile's strong arms.
"How did I sleep in so late? Dad's gonna kill me! I'm gonna have so much work to catch up on, let me go Kile!" I shrieked in desperation as I tried to wrestle out of his grasp. Seeing Kile's fallen face, I took a moment to think and the past week came flooding back to me, my sleepy brain clouding it before: Ahren eloping, my mother's heart attack, Dad's breakdown, my fit after Ahren showed up, and now this. Ugh. Must my life always be so difficult?
I lie back in bed to my dismay, but Kile's strength was too great, and I was too tired to fight with him. "Eady, you crawled in around 4 am last night... you need rest," he said tiredly. I gave him a puzzled look at how he knew when I went from my mother's bedside to my room, and realized his mistake he quickly stammered out, "I wasn't stalking you I promise! I was checking in on my Mom, she hasn't yet left your mom's side, and I saw what happened with you, General Ledger, and Ahren. I was gonna talk to you then, but Ahren beat me to it."
At the sound of Ahren's name, I willingly fell back in bed and buried my face in the pillows. It sounds farfetched, but I was kinda hoping that us getting in our fight was part of my dream. I didn't want to face the repercussions of my miniature tantrum, and even if I secretly believed that he deserved that and worse, Dad didn't need any more stress on his plate. The least of his concerns should be his two children childlishly fighting with each other. I voiced my thoughts to Kile in an attempt to get him to release me, and I felt his arms slowly put me down on my bed. I got out of my bed and tried to discreetly hint for him to leave so I could change, but he seemed to be loitering even though I think that he noticed my subtle signals.
"Hey Eadlyn, I need to talk to you about something…"
