Intro

Today was just like any other day in my life. Sweat. Loads and loads of it. Pouring out of my shaky body. Sticking to my dark clothing and matching dark hair. My breathing laboured as I continued my exercise for the afternoon. I stared out over the ocean and watched the sun slowly crawl back to the horizon, the sky a splatter of bright reds, purples and oranges. There were even streaks of gold and yellow. I smiled and huffed out a breath, tensing my stomach as I pulled myself up again. I remembered the gold and yellow in Papa's piercing eyes. The eyes that easily intimidated... Lesser people, the eyes that often watched over my training personally. I personally didn't find them that intimidating, but then again, I did have the exact same eyes as him. I puffed again, my breath making a hazy cloud in the crisp, salty, night breeze. My arms, back and core were starting to burn from my workout, not that I was surprised much, I had been doing my evening pull-ups on this branch without rest for quite some time now. I found myself distracted as one particularly large and particularly ticklish drop of sweat rolled down my bare stomach. I couldn't contain the small giggle that escaped, making me lose all concentration and patience for my training, and I abruptly let go of the branch and dropped to the ground. I sighed as my sweat covered feet touched down on soft grass. However, shortly after I let out an inhuman screech, as one of the weights I'd connected to my arms fell and crushed the tip of one of my big toes. I howled and hopped up and down my remaining foot as I made a grab for my poor, throbbing toe. This, of course, resulted in the cascade of the other deadly weights and more panicked screeching. After succeeding in dodging the falling death traps, I picked up the weights and attempted to balance a few on the top of my head as I made my way through the forest and back to the mansion that I happened to call home. I suspected that Papa would have returned by now, but I couldn't be sure; he didn't always return when he was due, once he was an entire month late, although normally he was only a week or two off. I wove my way in and out of trees, trying to lose a number of wild beasts and monkey things who'd manage to catch onto my scent and were in pursuit, wanting a good fight. 'Well, I just so happens that I'm not in the mood' I thought bitterly, removing the weights so I could increase my speed.

"Home." I called as I tore through the door.
"You're later than usual."
Hmm, Papa's voice hadn't changed much, just as deep and steady as it was a few months ago.
I smirked, dragging the weights over to the rack next to the door. "I could tell you were home, those monkey things gave up chasing me a while back." It's true, they could sense Papa's power so they stayed away from him when they could. Whenever he was away they would chase me as far as the front door, but today they stopped by the last couple of trees and just stared at me from a distance. They didn't dare come any closer to the mansion.
"You haven't answered the question. You were late to dinner. Why."
I sighed and turned to stare deep into Papa's trademark yellow piercing eyes, the ones that were previously drilling holes into the back of my head. "My apologies, I lost track of time while I was trying out my new training routine."
He bobbed his head, and turned his attention back to the paper in his hands. Once his eyes released mine I took in his appearance. He was seated at the dining table reading the daily newspaper. Papa was wearing his usual dark red and black cloak, his muscly front bare except for the silver cross necklace which hung from his neck. His long, tan pants tucked into his black boots which were propped on the table in front of him. And the matching dark hat I'd given him a few years back was placed on top of his head, his short, slick, dark hair peeking out the sides, the bright feather sticking fashionably out of the hat, like it was meant to. His moustache, sideburns and stubble were as well kept as always. The familiar face of my Papa was as emotionless as always, his eyes set on what was in front of him, analytical and focused. His sword was nowhere in sight.
"What is it?" Papa didn't even glance my way as he spoke.
"I haven't seen you in over three months," I whispered. "I've missed you."
His eyes lifted from the paper to meet mine and he spoke in a monotone voice. "I've missed you too, Jade."

I jolted awake and sat upright on my bed, snapping my eyes open. The bedroom a blur of dark colours, sweat and tears mixing painfully in my eyes. I attempted to slow my haggard breaths and untangle my sticky body from the mess of sheets. I blinked, trying to clear my vision and tumbled off the bed, moaning as my body hit the floor hard. It was the same nightmare that has been haunting me for months. You would've thought that I'd have gotten used to it by now, but it hits me hard every time. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled out the door, staggering down the hallway to Papa's room, using the wall as my guide in the dark hour of the night. Or was it early in the morning? I couldn't tell. My feet padded against the cool wooden panels and I stopped in front of Papa's door, light peeking out from under it. The door squealed as I pushed it open, and I saw Papa already sat up in bed, bedside lamp on, his back propped up against the pillows. He must've heard me in the hallway.
I didn't make a sound as I stumbled to the end of his bed, clambering on it. Papa sighed as I knelt on the edge of the bed and bowed my head a little.
"Jade, I thought you would've grown out of this by the time I got back." He said. I refused to look at him, but I could feel his eyes burning holes into me.
I shifted restlessly against his stare and whimpered a little.
He sighed again. "Well, go ahead then."
I bit my lip hard and stared hard at the blankets below me before opening my mouth and explaining to him the events in the nightmare. Roughly half way through my explanation I had to pause for a minute and focus on keeping my breathing steady before continuing on to the finale.
Papa remained silent and watchful, his eyes never faltering. When I had finished he seemed deep in thought for a few seconds, then dismissed me back to my room.
I nodded in thanks before clambering off the bed to return to my room to resume a dreamless sleep. I hesitated in the doorway, and glanced back to Papa who watched on, waiting.
"I-I have already lost someone once." I stuttered. "I don't want to lose you too."
Abruptly, I turned and left a shocked Papa alone in his room, closing the door firmly before trudging back to my room. I flicked the light switch on and watched silently as my room flickered to life. Hesitantly, I walked over to my mirror and stared critically at the girl gazing back at me. I almost didn't recognise her, her tear streaked face was deathly pale and glistened with a thin sheet of sweat. Her normally sharp, focused eyes were dull and unfocused, the skin surrounding them puffy and red. There were dark bags under her eyes, a clear indicator to her lack of sleep. Her long, dark hair, manky and dishevelled. The girl in the mirror wasn't in a good place. I knew that too well. But there was no way to help her. Right?