Chapter Three
That innocent voice. Music to my ears I could even go so far to call it. At the same time it's a sound that makes my stomach sink and tears build up in my eyes. It's amazing that something so joyous could be so heart-wrenching. Only a select few know why I have the mixed reactions.
"Hola, Adoncia," I smiled softly.
The small child giggled and ran over to me, throwing her arms around my legs and hugging them tight. Her black hair was pulled into a bun, bangs and pieces of hair falling precariously into her face. Flowers were placed in her hair, probably picked from the fields. She was donned in a ruby kimono that bore flower patterns around the cuffs. A shimmering ribbon held the kimono closed, coming together in a bow at her back. I placed a hand on her head and smiled again as her black eyes gazed up at me.
"I missed you, Mommy," she said in Spanish, grinning up at me.
She knew only Spanish; I had raised her that way. I vowed that she would never speak Japanese – her father's language. Her father. Just the memory of him made me want to break down and cry. After I met him, whenever I was forced to speak Japanese, the words came out bitterly as if there was a bad taste in my mouth. He had left me right after he had had his way with me. That's how Adoncia, fondly known as Addie around the town, came into being when I was sixteen. A foolish teenager.
That must've meant she was eight.
Eight years I spent caring for that child. My child. She had inherited her father's black hair and eyes, but she had my tiny nose and little ears. A rosy tint always spilt over her cheeks, giving her the look of someone who's just run through the woods on a cold winter day. It's amazing how something so horrible created something so beautiful.
"I missed you, too," I whispered, also in Spanish.
She relinquished her death grip on my legs and backed away a few steps, eyes shining, and began bouncing on the balls of her feet. I smirked and crossed my arms playfully. I realized for the first time the bow clasped in her hand and the arrow bag filled with gleaming arrows slung over her shoulder. I quirked an eyebrow and Adoncia followed my gaze to the items.
"I've been practicing like you told me to!" she exclaimed happily. I could practically feel myself swell in pride at her words. I felt like shouting to anyone who would listen that this was my daughter, that she was a learned fighter and becoming better every day.
"I don't understand a word-"
"-they're saying."
"I want to be able-"
"-to speak Spanish."
December and Destiny sighed dramatically simultaneously, and then smiled when my daughter practically bulldozed them in a hug. A squeal escaped her lips and the twins bent down together to wrap her in their arms. The three were amazing friends, though they could never understand each other. Usually I acted as their own personal interpreter.
"You're going to become a better fighter than we are pretty soon, you know," noted Destiny happily, wagging a finger playfully in Adoncia's face. My child nodded enthusiastically, not having a clue what they were saying, and threw her arms around them once more.
"You should learn to speak Spanish," scolded Adoncia, this time pointing her finger accusingly in Destiny's face, who had to go cross-eyed to see it.
"You're a beautiful one, you are," grinned December, not having any clue what Adoncia had just said to her.
"So is this one," said a voice not far behind me.
Before I had a chance to turn around, I was lifted by my waist and spun playfully around. I let out a surprised shriek then leaped away from the person after they vanquished their grip on me. I lifted my hand, prepared to strike the stranger, and then lowered my fist again when I realized who it was.
"You wouldn't hurt me now, would you? Did you forget who I am already? Does the name Ethan ring any bells?" joked the stranger, hands shoved into their pant's pockets and a mischievous glint in his pale blue eyes. His strikingly blue hair fell lazily into his eyes, giving him a rather mysterious look.
"I'm sorry sir, but do I know you?" I asked casually. I forfeited the defense stance and pretended to brush dirt off my kimono. Ethan's scowled.
"She got you good there," chuckled another man, coming up beside Ethan and laying a hand on his shoulder. The man turned his amber eyes to me and smiled. His skin was tanned naturally from his cultural background, as was mine, and he had wine-colored hair that came to his shoulders. It got shorter as it got closer to the front, which most ladies found appealing. He too had bangs, though they were swept to either side of his face.
"Hola, Sonjay."
"Oh, but you remember him?" teased Ethan.
"Ford is around here somewhere. We saw him with Flo practicing fighting techniques earlier. That last battle was hard on them. It was hard on all of us," ended Sonjay sadly. He shoved his hands on his pant's pockets like Ethan and turned his gaze to the ground.
Into my mind came the image of the brother and sister. Ford, the older brother who was no older than me, was a vivacious character who never took 'no' as an answer. His goal in life seemed to be to bring laughter in people's lives even when there was none. His hair, a crimson color as lively as his personality, always seemed to be falling into his darker red eyes. Flo, a young child two years older than Adoncia, was Ford's half-sister, to be correct. His mother had died when he was young and his father had remarried. Flo had the same strikingly bright cherry eyes, though her hair was paler than her brother's and was always in a high ponytail, scattered bangs falling into her eyes. Her attitude was fiery, completely opposite of her brother. I wasn't sure if there were a closer pair of siblings than them.
"What have you been doing while I've been gone?" I questioned, trying to force the thoughts of our last battle out of my mind. I felt that the single casualty we had was my fault, though everyone told me different. Liars.
"The usual," shrugged Ethan. "Nothing ever happens when you're not here."
"How would you know? You're always asleep!" retorted Sonjay, rolling his eyes. Ethan took his hands out of his pockets and punched his friend in the shoulder.
"How is Nixie, Sonjay?" I smirked.
A blush crept onto Sonjay's face as he mumbled, "Good."
"More than good," grinned Ethan. It was Sonjay's turn to punch his friend, though this time it was a little harder. Ethan broke out into laughter and crossed his arms across his broad chest. He winked and said to me, "So are you, Gen'ral."
"Aha! See! He says "Gen'ral", too!" exclaimed December.
Destiny rolled her eyes and said to Adoncia, "December is an odd one, she is."
"Like I know what you're saying," replied Adoncia, mimicking Destiny and rolling her eyes. I couldn't help but break a grin at my daughter's sarcastic humor. She was smarter than some of my best soldiers at times.
"Lady Theda!" squealed a voice not far to my left. All of us turned simultaneously to see who had called out to me. I smirked and felt my eyes widen as the female made no attempt to slow down her sprint towards me. Her body slammed into mine in an excited hug and we both toppled over onto the ground.
"Ah, uh, hola Nixie…" I greeted hesitantly.
The exuberant water pixie leapt off me and then held a hand out to me. I took it and then proceeded to brush my kimono off for probably the third time today. The woman who stood before me began bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly, reminding me of my daughter. She was short, only about 4'11", but she could be ferocious when she wanted to be. Her light blue hair went to her shoulders and bangs fell over her equally amazing blue eyes. Her pointy elf-like ears stuck out of her hair, ears she was very sensitive about.
"I'm so glad you're back!"
"I am, too."
And I meant it. This town was the second best thing that had ever happened to me, the inhabitants of the town being the first. Unfortunately, there were some things that the safe life of the town couldn't protect me from. Adoncia's father being one of them.
"Don't maul her yet, honey. She just got back," scolded Sonjay lovingly.
"Now you listen to me," retorted Nixie, walking up to her husband, who practically towered over her. She poked his chest with a slender finger and continued, "You listen to me. I'll break her of that serious mood if it's the last thing I do. You hear?"
Sonjay backed off nervously with his hands raised. The fact that he was scared of his petite wife was quite amusing. I smirked at her words because I knew that whatever she set her mind to, she got. The water pixie had even playfully blackmailed Sonjay into marrying her when they were dating, sending him a ransom note saying that if he ever wanted his twin crescent blades back then he was going to buy her a nice ring and propose. Thing was, Sonjay didn't need to buy a ring for he had already bought one weeks before, planning on proposing to her for the longest time, just not knowing how to go about it. He saw it as the perfect opportunity. The wedding was amazing and they've been happily married for six months.
"Mommy, why is Uncle Sonjay afraid of Aunt Nixie?" shouted Adoncia, trying to be heard over everyone else's voices. The laughter swelled in my throat, but I forced it back down. I haven't laughed in the longest time and I wasn't planning on starting either. I did let a smirk appear, however. My daughter had begun calling close friends of mine Aunt and Uncle since as long as I can remember.
"It is one of the many mysteries of life," I replied.She giggled in response and covered her mouth with her hand to try and stifle it. Everyone blinked in confusion, not knowing what we were saying.
"Hey, I heard my name in there. Are you making fun of me?" asked Sonjay warily. He looked back and forth between the two of us and crossed his arms, trying to look intimidating.
"He's funny," grinned Adoncia, pointing a finger at Sonjay.
I snorted, trying to contain my laughter, and watched as Sonjay regarded my child with suspicion. He uncrossed his arms and crept silently behind Adoncia, who had long since doubled over in laughter with tears pouring out of her eyes. Sonjay put a finger to his lips to signal everyone to be quiet and then picked up Adoncia by her waist. She squealed in surprise as he put her on his shoulders and ran away from the group.
"Funny! Funny!" came the hysterical giggles of my child. They eventually faded away and I could only hope that Sonjay would take care of her.
I was protective of Adoncia in a way most people would call obsessive. I don't know what possessed me to become like this. The only people I trusted to be alone with her were Sonjay, December and Destiny (a.k.a. the two Dess's), Nixie, Ethan, and Ford. If anyone else dared to touch her my motherly instincts shone through and I made sure they wouldn't ever do it again.
One time I even killed someone.
Adoncia lay beside me in my bed, scared to be alone in her own. Her tiny five-year-old body barely took up any space, so I was perfectly comfortable. I hummed a tune softly to soothe her, stroking her hair, and watched as her breathing slowed sleepily. The moonlight failed to shine into the bedroom through a window for I had covered them with a black cloth.
I had never seen the moon before, and I couldn't help wonder what it looked like. I had heard so many things about this massive wonder. My people were unable to walk about at night. Maybe I could, though. Maybe I could suffer its rage.
Quietly, I lifted the bed sheets off of my evening clothed body and touched one foot to the stone floor, then the other. At first I recoiled at the cool feel, silently cursing the fire that had long since burned out in the center of the room. I lay my feet on the stone so they could familiarize themselves with the temperature. After a few tedious seconds they adjusted and I was able to support my weight on them.
I sighed in content then slowly made my way over to the covered window. Standing before it, I nervously wrung my hands – something I hadn't done in the longest time. A white ray shone through the edge of the window, a place I wasn't able to cover. Instead of opening the curtain all the way, it would be safer for me to just put my hand in front of the ray. That way I would know if it might be harmless or not. Yes, I would do that.
Cautiously, I reached a single hand out to wave it before the ray. I passed it over the light as quickly as possible and then clutched my hand to myself. Save for an unpleasant tingling beneath the surface of my skin, feeling as though millions of tiny spiders were crawling underneath, there was no physical injury. Had I done it too quick? Did the moon's glow not have enough time to react with my skin?
Again I stretched my hand out to place it before the ray. This time, instead of passing it over, I held it there. There my flesh was, exposed to the moonlight, and nothing was happening! I grinned in childish glee then screamed when burns began to appear on my hand, stinging worse than a third degree burn ever could. I withdrew my hand and fell to my knees, clutching my injury close to myself. A whimper passed over my lips at the pain I was feeling. Such pain.
Adoncia stirred, but didn't wake. I was glad she was a heavy sleeper.
I lifted my hand up so I could evaluate the extent of the burns, then sighed in relief when I noticed it was already starting to heal. Before my eyes the burns were being covered in new flesh, faint traces of scars apparent if you strained to see them. Slowly I gained my footing and crawled into my bed, trying to warm myself. I would never try that again. Not ever.
The next morning I awoke sleepily and rolled over. I froze. Adoncia's body was small, sure, but not small enough for me not to make contact with her when my limbs were all over the place. My eyes opened wide in panic and I bolted out of my bed, running through the house for any sign of my child.
"Adoncia? Adoncia! Dónde está usted, el Niño?" I screamed hysterically. Where are you, Child? The thought that someone had taken her from me coursed through my mind and I became filled with rage.
A growl escaped my throat, echoing through my house eerily. Not any kind of growl, either - my kind's growl. If you have never heard one of my kind emit that noise, then I will explain it to you in simple terms. It sounds much like a female lion when she's trying to defend her cubs from the new alpha male. It's a frightening noise, to say the least.
I stripped off my nightwear and threw on my simple brown tunic. My eyes wandered angrily yet calmly around the room until they landed on my father's katana. I snatched it up and then stormed through the front door to my house, the door hitting the side of my house loudly in the process.
The villagers watched in fear as I walked up to a random person, not remembering their name in my moment of rage, and lifted him by the throat. His scared eyes gazed fearfully into my own frighteningly calm ones. His fox ears were drooping and his tail flicked behind him nervously. The hand I had around his neck tightened and his own hands flew to my hand, trying to get me to relinquish my grasp.
"Where is my daughter?"
"Sh-she's in the field wi-with Jeai, Lady Theda," he gasped.
I growled, this time a human one, and dropped him unceremoniously in a heap onto the ground. He clutched his throat and gasped for breath, his lungs grasping for the oxygen he so desperately needed.
I turned on my heel and walked briskly throughout the town, knowing exactly where I was going. I stopped suddenly and looked up at the building I had paused next to. Without a second thought I bent my knees and jumped the thirty feet easy, landing delicately on the roof. Turning in a circle to gather my surroundings, I grabbed the handle of the katana that was strapped around my waist. I held the handle firm as I bent my knees once more and jumped over a building and landed on the one after it. I repeated this a few times until I came to the last building, which overlooked a stretch of land covered in grass and various varieties of wild flowers.
My cold eyes landed on two figures, one being my daughter and the other apparently being Jeai. I narrowed my eyes and then jumped to the ground as light as a cat approximately twenty yards from them. Jeai looked up from my giggling daughter, and I watched in satisfaction as his laughing face changed to a horrified one in .02 seconds flat.
"I thought you knew the rules."
"I forgot, Lady Theda, I forgot," pleaded Jeai.
"You forgot?" I snarled. "You forgot?"
"Please-"
"Leave here, Adoncia," I interrupted, not removing my gaze from the pitiful excuse of a demon before me.She froze in fear, not knowing this side of me. "Leave here, Adoncia!"
I let loose a true growl and she backed up a few steps in surprise before sprinting past me with tears streaming down her face. I would apologize more times than she could count later, but right now I was executing business and intent on continuing it.
"Please, My Lady," begged Jeai, falling to his knees as I slowly began to move forward.
"I told you the rules. You disobeyed them. You will be punished."
Tears streamed down his cheeks, his misery feeding the beast within me. Something inside me pleaded with my angry side that this was wrong, but my fury was increasing in size and wouldn't listen to any reason at this moment. I don't think, at this point, I would spare him even if he had a family waiting for him within the village. I was so intent to show this man that if you disobey the rules, you pay, that I blocked out any rational thoughts I might have had.
I unsheathed my katana slowly, the sun glimmering off the pure blade. I took another step and felt a pang of sympathy at the distress of this man. It was gone as soon as it had come when I thought about what might have happened if he let my child out of his sight for more than a few moments. She might have wandered off and died of hunger for all I knew. I would make sure that would never happen again.
"Please..."
"No."
And with one swift movement my blade met his chest.
I crossed my arms and turned my gaze to the ground at the thought of the memory, my normally impassive face scowling. That memory wasn't a happy one for me. I vowed, after killing Jeai, that I would never let my anger get the better of me again. I have become angry since then, sure, but I have never let it control me like it had then. It's a horrible thing to live with.
"You okay, Emerald?" whispered Ethan in my ear, bringing me out of my day dreams. It was an unusual thing to catch me off guard and he just had. I could see the worry in his eyes.
"Fine," I mumbled.
"Aye, sure, Gen'ral. The others have left to find Sonjay and Addie already. They think they're at the bar."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
I broke my staring contest with him and turned down the street. The bar was no more than a few blocks away. I knew Ethan had seen the pain in my eyes. I had shown weakness in front of him and he knew it. I hated showing my internal turmoil so clearly. I hated emotions in general. I personally didn't see the purpose of them. I might have once, but not anymore.
But didn't I love my daughter? That was an emotion, wasn't it? No, I didn't love her. I've never loved her. I just felt it was my duty to protect her since I was the one who brought her into this world, however unwilling I was to do it. I rubbed my temples as my heart scoffed at my brain's harsh words. Deep down inside I knew my words were empty of truth.
Damn, I was going soft.
A hand lightly touched my shoulder and I spun around, grasping for the katana that should be around my waist. It was a few seconds before I realized that, one, my katana was leaning against the wall of the temple back in the Ningenkai and, two, the person who had come up behind me was not an enemy, but Ethan. I swore loudly when the reality of reason number one came back with a biting sting.
"Mierda," I growled.
"Mi...what?" asked Ethan, scratching his head in confusion.
"I left my katana back in the Ningenkai! I'm lucky that at least I still have my dagger," I snarled, turning on my heel angrily and heading towards the bar to catch a bite to eat and find my daughter. Ethan caught up to me and walked silently beside me with his hands buried in his pockets, listening to me mutter every Spanish curse that came to mind.