Update already? Score! This chapter oughta be interesting.
Chapter Eleven: It's Not Fair
There was a silence between the three Nightmarens and the air seemed thick with tension.
Finally, Hope had the courage to break the silence. "M-Mom?" But her voice was shaky and timid.
NiGHTS was staring back and forth at Hope and Jackle, wide-eyed and in complete shock. "Hope...you lied to us."
There was a tone in her mother's voice that Hope didn't hear from her before. Sadness? Confusion? Disappointment? Maybe a combination of them. Whatever it was, Hope felt a large weight in the pit of her stomach and her heart twisted in guilt. "I'm...I'm sorry..."
"Hiya, NiGHTS!" Jackle spoke up, and Hope guessed he was trying to make the situation lighter. "Long time no see! You probably don't recognize me 'cause I shrunk a bit after our last battle, but--"
"I'll get to you, Jackle." NiGHTS cut him off rather sharply. Turning her attention back to her daughter, "When your father hears about this..." She sighed, but continued firmly, "I'd hate to think what he'll think."
Hope gulped. She hated to think what her father would think as well. If seeing her mother's distraught gaze was bad enough, she didn't want to wonder what Reala's icy glare would be like.
"And you..." the purple jester took a step towards Jackle. "Stay away from my daughter, you lunatic!"
Hope was shocked at the fiercity in NiGHTS' voice. She had always known her mother to be gentle and loving, but never savage. She was also surprised to see NiGHTS baring her teeth threateningly, and her eyes blazing in the moonlight. For a split second, it was as if Hope didn't recognize her. "Mom..."
"Let's go, Hope." NiGHTS glared at Jackle a second longer before taking her daughter's hand firmly and flying off with her.
Tears formed in the corners of Hope's large, blue eyes, but she refused to cry. Why was she afraid of her mother all of a sudden? She turned her head to look back at Jackle, who was looking back at her with a trace of sadness in his eyes. "Bye," she whispered.
Jackle's voice was barely audible. "Bye."
--
It was only when she got in her room that Hope finally let the tears spill down her face. She sank helplessly in her bed and put her face on her pillow and continued to sob. It's not fair! she wailed inwardly. It's just not fair! How could they do this to me?
She had just had a severe talk with her parents- none too short, mind you. Reala did most of the talking, or rather, shouting. When Hope had tried to explain something, NiGHTS had interrupted, adding on to Reala's argument. NiGHTS didn't talk very much, though, as much as she did frown with tears in her eyes. What Hope thought was most frightening, however, was the way her father reacted. Reala's words snapped out like whips, occasionally making Hope wince. All the while, he kept his burning glare on his daughter. It was so terrifying, yet Hope could not look away. For a moment, she didn't know who he was. It was that unnatural.
And now here she was, crying in her bed. Alone. Her father had confined her to her room for disobeying him. She was not allowed to come out until she was told, and she most certainly was not allowed to hang around with Jackle anymore. She sniffed. It's not fair...
Hope sniffed one final time and bitterly wiped the tears from her eyes. She got off her bed and gazed around her room, as if seeing it for the first time. It had always looked warm and cozy, but now it just looked like a comfortable prison cell. All of a sudden she got a strong urge to escape. She went over to her door and turned the knob. Locked. She was surprised, for this was the only time her door had ever been locked. But it made sense, she realized, that even if it wasn't locked, she'd still get caught getting out that way. She turned to her windows. Unfortunately, they did not open, providing her no escape unless she broke them, and she didn't want to do that because the noise would be heard by her parents and she might even hurt herself. There seemed no other way, and Hope became impatient. She felt that if she didn't get out of her room soon, she would blow up.
"There must be some other way!" Hope insisted. She stopped flying in circles and sat down to think. A few seconds later, she remembered something and got an idea. "Dad always said he had teleportation abilities, so maybe I have them too!"
She got up and stared at the space in front of her. She struck the space with her hand, but nothing happened. She tried a different approach, this time imagining power flow through her hand as she thought of a portal magically appearing. Still no luck. She tried many other techniques, but none seemed to work. Hope was becoming more and more frustrated. "I've got to get out of here!" she said indignantly. She flew around in more circles with her hands firmly pressing against her temples. She was suddenly afraid she was losing her mind. Hope forced herself to stop moving and calm down. After some deep breathing, she closed her eyes to concentrate. She focused all her energy in one particular spot and...
--
NiGHTS and Reala were now alone in their room, though they weren't speaking to each other.
Finally, Reala sighed and asked his mate, "Do you think...I was too hard on her?"
NiGHTS didn't look like she wanted to answer that question. Instead, she replied, "She's still young. It's natural for her to be sensitive." She paused before adding, "But if she's anything like me, she'll go crazy being shut in a small enough space for a period of time."
Reala frowned, but saw sense in what NiGHTS said. "Yes, you're right. I shouldn't have confined her to her room. And I shouldn't have been so tough on her."
"I never said you were..."
"You didn't have to."
NiGHTS gave a sympathetic smile. "You were just scared, that's all." She tapped his arm. "We better apologize to Hope now."
Reala nodded. He and NiGHTS flew through the halls to Hope's room. Reala took out the key to unlock it.
NiGHTS stared at him with wide eyes in complete disbelief. "You locked her in?? Reala!"
"I thought she might try to escape!" Reala suddenly felt ashamed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I was just angry and disappointed."
NiGHTS sighed and gazed at her mate sadly. "Never mind, let's just let her out now."
Reala sighed too, not believing he had actually locked up his own daughter. He quickly unlocked the door and opened it.
But Hope wasn't there.
Mwahaha! Take that! Whoo! ...Ok, I calmed down. Please review before I have more chocolate.