Alainia's Secret Garden (part 1)

My fist makes contact with Christophers jaw; there's so much force I send him flying into the wall leaving a massive crater, his limp body crumpling to the floor. He wasn't expecting me to put so much force behind it I'm sure. I walk over to him staring down at his face.

Yuriyuki we have to go.

I hear him but my body won't respond. My mind repeats our conversation that took place just only a few moments ago.

…

"Was any of it ever real?" I ask him.

"What are you talking about?" despite my best effort to not feel the pain I can't help but smile as I remember,

"You were the nicest out of the bunch…you always listened to what I had to say. Heehee even when I was so closed off you showed me that smile and my walls would just fall." My smile fades as I move on, "But back in the bloody triangle and beyond that….i saw a side of you I was never aware of. A person who could so easily turn on a friend…someone who accused people- who hunted like a wild animal…I can't help but wonder who the real Christopher is under it all…" he listens looking at me with a rather confused look on his face, even his stance slackens slightly. For some reason as we gaze at each other he seems to remember and his expression somewhat takes on a guilty look.

"If this is some sort of trick to get me to let my guard down or something Airi it's not going to work." I snort slightly,

"Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"It's not?"

"…No…I just feel like being honest for some reason…" he nearly drops his guard all together at that but manages to hold on.

"Airi…you-"

"You know there was a time I actually loved you…" as I smile at him his eyes grow wide, "I'm not sure when I did fall for you but I did…I had to come to terms with many things before I could move on back then…realizing my feelings for you was one of them…and if I'm being honest you all were like family to me…you all were the first people whom I truly trusted without a doubt….but now…" my smile fades again, "Now…I don't know if I'm even capable of love or even trust any more…I'm broken…my heart has been damaged beyond repair… my soul irreversibly changed from what it was before… but even so…" I look at him with a determined look, "I will still continue to fight even after all this is over. It doesn't matter to me anymore what everyone thinks of me: Not Alainia, not the world and certainly not you. However…!" I point an accusing finger at him, "You at least owe me one answer Christopher. So I will ask you one last time: was any of it ever real? Was the smile, the kindness everything you ever showed me real?" he seems to still be stunned at my whole speech but after blinking a couple of times he seems to come back to his senses,

"you…why are you even telling me this…?" I sigh before giving another pained smile,

"perhaps old habits die hard…hm?" he stays quiet for a moment looking at the floor,

"I suppose…it was real…"

"…I see…then I guess that just makes it all the more painful for me…and makes this fight much easier now…" I take a stance. He's the first to attack throwing a punch at me and starting our whole fight.

…

"So…you're smile and everything was real. I guess that just made your betrayal all the more painful huh…"

Yuri…we need to go.

I close my eyes for a moment something snapping within me and when I look down a tear, my tear, rolls down Christopher's cheek almost as he was the one crying.

"These are the last tears I will ever shed for you…" I say before turning to leave heading for the ship to carry me.

even though we've set sail on the ship my tears don't show any sign of stopping; but it's weird…I'm crying but I'm not making any noise. I'm quiet; even my body isn't heaving or convulsing from sobs. It's just my tears steadily flowing down my face. I close my eyes,

these aren't tears of sadness…it's as if instead the tears are a sign. I've severed all ties with them…I don't have to worry about them anymore. I can finally begin to forget completely about them.

…

The Unity Islands are quite majestic to say the least. The three islands off in the distance seem to form a crown with the help of their mountains and as we get closer each island is similar but unique at the same time. I've heard that each of the islands stands for it's own creed or oath but they all stand for unity and peace hence how they got their name. the islands gleam in the sunlight as the towering buildings reflect the sun. one islands the building are white with blue roves symbolizing Wisdom to be the creed for that island. The next island has the same white buildings but the roofing is red symbolizing Valor to be the creed. The center island between the two seems to be the largest out of all of them and the buildings are accented with yellow symbolizing Loyalty. In a moment of admiration I let out an awe stricken sigh.

Alright…even I have to admit it…Alainia knows how to pick a ritzy place to hide out at…

"Yeah…no kidding…I wish we could do some sight seeing here…"

Speaking of sights…you'll never guess who managed to miraculously catch up to us… Soul says annoyed to no end. When I look around my eyes manage to spot the Sirius somehow off to our right. Like I said…the tenacity of a cockroach…

"no…that's impossible! There's no WAY they could have picked up our track so quickly! Unless…! Soul you don't think they…"

I wouldn't put it passed them…

No…would Morgan and the others really force them…would they have actually threatened them…? or did something else happen…?

What's done is done…we don't have time to worry about them. now it's just a race against time. We need to catch Alainia.

"Right…" it had been quite a few months since I had left them behind I was sure they wouldn't have been able to follow me but somehow they managed to do it. leaving that thought aside I decide to concentrate on the task at hand and wait to reach the port.

My top priority is of course to find Alainia but I can't do that with the nagging feeling of the Sirius following behind me so I start off by following them. waiting in the shadows I wait for them to dock once they do they immediately start to discuss what to do first. I'm too far away to hear though.

"Soul…can you get in there?" I ask closing my eyes connecting with him, soon I find myself in the middle of the circle of men.

"So…what do we do first?"

"We need a place to rest first idiot." Eduardo responds to Russell's question. However I can tell right off that something is off they seem more…off key than what I would expect for travelers who just got a long ship ride.

"Do you think Miss Airi…I mean she's around here?"

"Well Thomas, if she is, she's going to make Damn sure not to let us know…" Nathan responds. what's with the sudden attitude change…it can't just be the trip that's got them so…unfocused.

My sight falls on Christopher he seems to be the worst out of them all not saying a word. In all actuality he seems to be in another world right now. I'm curious as to what it is but if I have Soul peek in his head right now he'll know I'm around. He rubs his eyes as if thinking in frustration before rubbing the back of his neck.

"First off, we'll find an inn." Morgan speaks, "We'll see if we can find places to gather information; if she has been here someone's bound to have seen her." no one responds to his words, "About what that boy said…" he start up again, "don't think too much about it." he says it more so as an order rather than a suggestion and more so to convince himself than the others. "Let's go." With that I begin to follow them,

"What do you suppose that was all about?"

more than likely I would guess Theon said something to them.

"I wonder what it was."

I'm guessing it was along the lines of: you bastards have no idea what you've done! Got to hell!...or something like that.

"…I highly doubt his mom would allow him to use such fowl language."

I follow them as far as the inn they choose before continuing on with my own affairs. Sticking to the shadows though I find no sign of Alainia what so ever. I know I haven't missed her but for some reason I have no idea where to find her. thinking it might be better to wait for her at night I find a tree close to the Sirius's inn for the time being, hoping to keep them in sight for the time being. With nothing better to do I let curiosity win out and have Soul help me to find Christopher. I can't really place why I'm worried but I can't seem to ignore my feelings at the same time. It doesn't take us long to find a very forlorn looking Christopher sitting on his bed his head in his hands.

What are you thinking about? what could possibly have rattled you so much that you're such a mess?

"Why…?" he speaks to the empty room, "Why tell me all that now? was it just a ploy? …No…even you wouldn't be that cruel. But what Theon said…Damn it…! I don't know what to believe anymore! Which one is the real you?!" what did Theon say to you? Suddenly the image goes dark and I find myself back in my own body,

"What?"

You shouldn't watch him you know. I thought you were passed all that anyway?

"I am…"

then why watch?

"…" I can't seem to come up with an answer. "I'm going to sleep for a bit…let me know if anything happens?"

right.

Wanting to escape for a bit I close my eyes.

…

nightfall finally comes and I spend it traveling the connecting bridges to the other islands hoping to find some sort of clue. The only thing we can find however is an already placed Summoning ring. I'm starting to get frustrated now as I sit on a stone looking own at the mark on the ground. after seeing the memories attached to it I know it's fairly recent. Alaina had been here three days earlier along with her pets. But nothing significant other than that seems to pop out.

"Haaa…." I let out another sigh.

We may need to rethink our strategy a bit.

"And how do you suggest we do that? Wait for Alan to show up here?"

hmpf…didn't think you had the guts to actually talk back let alone snap at someone like that…

"I'm sorry Soul…I'm just frustrated." Looking at the half moon up in the sky, it's position tells me it's somewhere close to being three in the morning.

It's fine…look at least we know she's here. that's a start. Now we just need to pinpoint her exact location now. let's head back for now; there's no sense in running yourself ragged.

"Since when do you actually make sense?" I mutter under my breath before turning and heading back to the inn.

…

I don't even bother too much with taking the high road as I tale the back ally ways to keep out of sight. making a right I'm half asleep when I hear some very distinct and very disturbing sounds. The first sound is a person, a man judging from the voice calls out in horror before something else, some sort of creature. The next sound can only be described as the sound of a creature devouring its prey and enjoying it at the same time. Instantly I'm on guard as well as curious; with my hand on the crimson dagger I make my way to the source of the noise. If not for the moon out tonight I would have no light around but even that dim light is enough to give me insight as to what is around the corner. A single tree stands in what looks like a closed off resting place for travelers to take a break from walking but at the moment it's painted with blood. The dripping liquid indicates that the kill is fresh bat as of right now I have no idea who was killed or what did the killing. Approaching the tree I make sure to stay as quiet as possible. My heart pounds as I inspect the surroundings. I swallow hard as the smell of death fills my nose and I have to cover my nose to keep from throwing up. the tree branches suddenly rustle above me and I instantly jump back, unsheathing the dagger. Sweat drips down my face as my heartbeat triples what it was before. I can tell just by looking at the aftermath that no human was capable of the murder that took place here. I follow the path of whatever it is that descends the tree until it lands on the ground with a squishy thud. As it rolls it leaves behind a trail of something along with blood. Finally it comes to rest in front of me my eyes widen at what I see. The half eaten human head stares up at me with a terrible look on its face as if frozen in time the moment what ever attacked it killed it. just pure horror is painted there as I realize that what was falling out of the head was the persons brain or what was left of it. I heave unable to breathe before turning away from the half eaten head. I cover my mouth in an attempt to not throw up but even when I'm not facing it I still have the image burned into my mind. I freeze though hearing a rumble behind me, no not a rumble a growl?

Yuri! Plastered on the building leading out of this place a familiar shadow stands on the wall, it's huge too. It takes off, that was one of Alainia's lap dogs!

"on it!" wasting no time I chase after it.