Chapter 2
Kendra somehow managed to maintain her composure until after she was left alone in her cell, at which point she finally fell apart into a mess of unfettered sobs.
She cried for her family. For Dougan and Mara. For Warren. The fallen astrids. Her parents. Her fear. Her gullibility. For Gavin. She cried until her eyes were puffy and swollen and she felt somewhat hungover. Pressure built up in her forehead and her body physically shuddered with every inhale and exhale.
It was a good, ugly cry. Kendra hadn't had one of those in quite a while; it left her feeling lethargic and craving sleep. She laid down on the ridiculously firm cot in her cell and closed her eyes with the intention to take a nap, managing to fall into a fitful slumber after only a few minutes of laying still.
She felt like she was being watched.
The feeling was extremely unnerving and once Kendra registered her own senses, she snapped right out of her light sleep and sat up straight, casting nervous and frantic glances all around her. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was and how she came to be there, and the distinct feeling that someone was watching her only intensified as her awareness increased. Paying closer attention as her eyes darted around, she noticed a crack in one of the walls of her cell. Had that been there earlier? It's not like she'd thoroughly vetted out the place before she'd collapsed into an emotional mess.
She looked closer at the crack in the wall.
There.
An eye was peering through the crack at her.
Kendra shouted out in surprise and fear, backing herself as far away from the offending wall as possible. "Who are you?!" she demanded.
The eye widened and the crack in the wall expanded to reveal the most attractive boy she had ever seen. So, naturally…
She screamed.
Given her frayed nerves from the events of the past couple of days, that was perhaps an understandable reaction.
The boy rushed forward, eyes wide, frantically waving his hands in front of him and making shushing noises in an effort to calm her down.
Unfortunately, his motions had the exact opposite effect on Kendra, who stood up and continuously ran as far away from him as she could – which, given the size of her cell, really wasn't all that far. The boy seemed to realize she was uncomfortable with his proximity to her and stopped walking toward her. "Shhh," he urgently emphasized. "Please calm down. I promise I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why were you watching me sleep like a total creeper?!" Kendra shouted. Frantically searching her cell for anything she could possibly weaponize and realizing quickly that she didn't even have any loose rocks to grab and use as projectiles, her gaze alighted upon the door to her cell.
The boy seemed to figure out that she was planning to call for help through the door, and he quickly moved to place himself between her and it.
"Please," he said, his hands still splayed in front of him, "Let me explain."
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?!" Kendra demanded, deciding to trade some of her fear for anger.
"I'm a friend!" the boy cried out. "My name is Bracken, and I'm a prisoner here just like you!"
Kendra furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "But what – how…?" Steeling her resolve, she opted for anger again. Useful emotion. "That doesn't make any sense!"
Bracken paused. "Um… which part of that didn't make sense?"
"All of it!"
"Oh. Well, I suppose a lengthy explanation would be in order then." He seemed eerily calm about the whole situation.
"You think?!" Kendra again shouted.
"Shhh, please!" Bracken again tried to quiet her. "I promise I'll tell you anything you want to know, just… keep the volume down!"
"Why should I trust you?!" Kendra demanded, although she did lower her voice a couple of notches. "You were spying on me!"
"My intentions were friendly, I promise," Bracken said, making a crossing motion over his heart with one of his fingers. "I heard there was a new prisoner and I just wanted to meet you and introduce myself. Honest."
"So you decided to watch me sleep?!"
A nervous look overcame Bracken's face and he said, "When I opened the wall, I was blinded by light. It took me by surprise, and a minute to adjust, and then I just… couldn't look away."
"You can see my light?" Kendra asked, this time at a normal volume level, although she was breathing heavily from her temporary panic attack.
"You're beautiful," the boy blurted out, his expression shifting from nervous to awestruck.
Confusion once again overcame Kendra. "Who are you?" Her tone of voice was still demanding.
Bracken blinked and stated simply, "I'm Bracken."
"Yeah, okay. I get that that's your name, but seriously – who are you? I've only ever met maybe two humans who could see my light."
"Oh… right. Well, I'm not human," he responded simply, wearing a somewhat sheepish smile.
A moment of silence lapsed until Kendra could wait no longer and finally asked, "Care to elaborate?"
Bracken went back to looking nervous again. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"What, are you going to tell me you're a giant fairy who lost his wings or something?" She couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
"No, not exactly…"
Hesitancy seized her. "You're not a dragon, are you?" she asked.
Bracken furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Why would you think that?"
"Oh, I don't know… it wouldn't be the first time a cute, friendly boy turned out to be an evil dragon."
That statement only seemed to confuse Bracken further. "You befriended an evil dragon? Really? But you're fairykind."
Kendra frowned and became somewhat defensive. "I didn't know he was evil. I also didn't know he was a dragon." She paused. "You still have a lot of explaining to do."
"Where should I start?"
"Oh, I don't know… how about you tell me who you are, and how you know what I am?"
"I'd have to be blind to not see that you are clearly fairykind," he answered. "You're way too… amazingly brilliant to be anything else." Again, the awestruck look started to overcome his face and he appeared to slip into a daydream or something.
"Earth to Bracken," Kendra said, waving a hand in front of his eyes. "Explanations."
He seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been falling into. "Right. Well, like I said, I'm Bracken and I'm another prisoner here."
"So you've said before." Kendra let out a frustrated sigh. "This conversation is going in circles. How about you leave?"
"But I just got here—"
"Yes, and you've managed to both terrify and confuse me ever since I caught you spying on me. I think it's time for you to go," she insisted, pointing at the open wall he came in through.
"I'm a unicorn," Bracken blurted out. "My horns are gone and I'm stuck in human form. I've been a prisoner here for so many years, I don't even know how many, and I haven't seen the light of day since I was captured. You are the closest thing to the sun that I have seen in decades. Please talk to me. I'm lonely and I miss the light."
Kendra blinked, absorbing what he'd just said. "That's… a lot to take in," she said. Then, skeptically, she added, "A unicorn? Really?"
Bracken nodded and repeated, "Stuck in human form."
"A unicorn."
"Mm-hmm."
"A unicorn."
"I told you it'd sound crazy."
Kendra exhaled in frustration and, clenching her eyes shut, she pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger.
"Are you okay?" Bracken asked. The question caused Kendra to scoff and look back at him.
"Everything is so messed up right now, I don't even know how to be okay," she responded quietly, feeling the prick of tears at her eyes again and forcing them back.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Making eye contact with Bracken, Kendra was somewhat surprised to find that he actually appeared to be concerned. Liar, she thought. You can't trust him. You can't trust anyone. Not anymore.
"I appreciate the offer," Kendra began. "But no."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No."
"Would it help if I told you more about me?"
Kendra pondered that for a moment, then said, "Probably not."
"Oh." Bracken looked down at his feet, then back up at her. "Do you really want me to leave?"
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded her head, wondering if he would actually adhere to her request for solitude. Her head was still throbbing from earlier, the ache temporarily relieved due to the onslaught of adrenaline which had coursed through her from Bracken's shocking appearance earlier, but it was starting to come back again full force. She just wanted to continue sleeping and try to forget everything that had happened over the course of the past several weeks.
"I see," he said, obvious disappointment lacing his tone of voice. He perked up a little and asked, "Before I go – do you have a coin on you by chance?"
Furrowing her brow, Kendra said, "No. They took everything except my clothes from me before putting me in here. Why?"
Bracken pursed his lips and said, "I can create communication devices out of objects. I prefer coins to other items, because they're flat and can be discreetly hidden in pockets and such. Plus the metal is a little easier to enchant. I was hoping to leave one with you, that way… you can call on me if, well… if you'd like."
Kendra's brain told her to shut him down, to send him away and never see him again. Throw up shields and never let him through. Do not trust in any way, shape or form. Her heart was cut open and bleeding and needed to be protected at all costs. It reminded her that she couldn't afford another Gavin.
Her subconscious, however, told her that she shouldn't completely cut Bracken off. Not yet, at least. Be wary, be careful, don't trust him right now, but don't seal the possibility of a potential alliance away either. Be smart about it.
She hesitated. Bracken continued to look at her curiously, waiting patiently for her to respond as she continued to second-guess herself. Ultimately, she decided to allow him this one concession. Just this one.
"Will a button work?" she asked quietly.
The relief that flooded Bracken's expression was almost palpable. A tremendous smile burst across his face and happiness seemed to flood his entire being. Kendra was taken aback at the shift in his demeanor and found herself almost wanting to return his smile, but she just couldn't. Not at this point; not yet.
"I haven't tried using one before," he began. "But I'd be glad to give it a shot."
Kendra looked down at her shirt. She had a pocket on the left side, over her heart, which was held closed by a small, red button. It was a superficial pocket, not really intended for any practical use, so it's not like she needed it for anything anyway. She tugged at the button for a minute, eventually pulling it free from the thread which had held it in place, then walked over to Bracken and handed it to him. He smiled at her, hid the button between both palms of his hands, and concentrated. A soft blue glow appeared around his hands for a few seconds, then he opened them back up to pass the button back to her.
"Mission successful," he stated. "If you want to talk to me, all you have to do is hold the button in your hand and think about what you want to say. I'll hear you."
Kendra accepted it and deposited it into the pocket on her shirt. "Look," she started, "Don't take this as a sign that I trust you. Because I don't."
Bracken nodded his head and opened his mouth to say something in return, but Kendra held up her hand in a gesture to prevent him from speaking.
"Your timing is terrible. The worst, actually. A lot of bad things are happening. A lot of bad things have happened. I can't undo them, I can't unsee them…" she trailed off, tears pricking at her eyes once again as she could see Warren's injured body lying in the hidden compartment of her burning knapsack in her mind's eye. "I need some time and space."
"Understood," Bracken replied, again holding his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "I'll leave you alone for a while." His cheerful smile faltered a bit, in favor of a more serious expression. "I know you can't tell that I'm being truthful, but I really do mean you no harm. I don't know what circumstances led you here, but I don't believe in coincidence. I hope you will eventually be able to trust me, even if just a little."
He moved toward the opening in the wall and walked through it. Before closing the gap, however, he turned around to face her again and said, "If you need something, please ask. I can't offer much, but I'm pretty resourceful."
"Okay," Kendra nodded. Bracken then smiled and waved at her and closed the wall.
She put a hand over her shirt pocket and briefly wondered whether she would actually ever use the button or not. Bracken was pretty odd. He had respected her boundaries, though. Maybe he wasn't a traitor in disguise after all, she mused. Maybe he really was a friend.
Her head throbbed again and she opted to silence her thoughts in favor of continued sleep as she made her way back to her cot and laid down.
I've said this before and I'll say it again – Bracken was very awkward with Kendra when they first met in the books, and I absolutely loved that. His awkwardness will fade with time but may occasionally pop back up every once in a while.
Also, I apparently can't stick to strictly angst like I mostly wanted to. It doesn't move the plot along very well, haha. We'll see what happens next. The muses keep pulling me in different directions with this one. To be clear once again, however, this story will remain clean. I have the T rating in place to allow me a little more freedom in the future than a K would, should I choose to exercise it. Gavin will be back and he will be creepy, but the story will remain clean.
Sorry for the slow update. My life has been a very odd mixture of heaven and hell as of late. Rollercoaster would be an appropriate term to use. I don't foresee future chapters taking quite this long, but I ask for your patience as I continue to work through the most difficult trial of my personal life thus far. There is a light at the end of the tunnel; I can see it, I can taste it, and I crave it. :) There is hope.