Author: let Asianna escape? NEVER! Read on…

24. The Confrontation

"No." Thorn found herself pushing herself away from Evin and stepping exhaustedly away from the ring of saplings that had continued to grow around her.

"Thorn?" Evin slipped his arm around her waist when he realized that she was staggering around like a drunk. "Where are you going?"

She leaned against Evin, still fighting to keep her eyes from closing. "Look." she pointed with her staff to the edge of the forest.

Evin glanced at where she was pointing. She knew the exact moment he spotted the figure, because his whole body went tense. "Your sister." He glanced at Thorn. "She isn't going to escape us again. You stay here and--"

"Evin." She gave him a look that told him how pointless it was to try to convince her to stay behind again.

He sighed, but didn't protest again. "Come on."

It was a good thing that Asianna was pregnant. Elsewise, they would have never caught up with her. Thorn's limbs just refused to move as fast as she wanted them to.

Asianna heard them coming and turned around. When she saw the exhausted Thorn who was barely able to stay on her feet, she laughed.

"How pathetic." Asianna smiled. "And to think. I actually expected you to rescue me from the bandits."

"Asianna…" Thorn just shook her head. She used her staff to help keep her balance and then pushed Evin away. "I'll be fine." she murmured to him.

He glanced down at her anxiously, clearly wanting to disagree, but stayed his protests. Instead, he pulled his sword and stepped closer to Asianna, so although he was not right in front of Thorn, he was still in a position where he could protect her if necessary.

Asianna raised an eyebrow. "You would dare to attack a pregnant woman?"

"At the moment," Evin said in a low, angry growl, "anything is possible."

Asianna's eyes widened slightly as she realized what he said was true. She then reached for her belt and pulled out her own sword. But she did not raise it in attack. She instead turned to glance at Thorn, and then back at Evin.

"She means that much to you?" Asianna asked in a curious tone.

"I will not let you hurt her. Verbally or otherwise." Evin answered.

"Asianna please." Thorn stumbled away from behind Evin. "Please, just give in. You can still live a better--"

Asianna interrupted Thorn with bitter laughter. "What do you think I am, sister? A fool? I can't live a better life now! It's over!." Asianna declared angrily. "I knew you were going to try to stop me from escaping." Her eyes suddenly grew sly. "And that's why I brought this."

Asianna suddenly raised her free hand, but Thorn had expected that something like this was coming. "Evin! Watch out for her arrows!"

Her warning was just in time. Evin ducked away from the flying arrow, and as soon as the arrow had embedded itself in a tree trunk, Thorn commanded it to grow. The arrow was rendered useless as it suddenly grew with life.

Asianna turned on Thorn, absolutely furious. "You ruined my surprise." she said flatly.

Thorn gazed at Asianna in surprise. She had never seen such a hateful look on her face before, not even when Asianna had been explaining why she hated Thorn.

"How did you know?"

Thorn's throat was dry; she had to swallow before she could speak. "Taj never had enough powers to do what was back at the clearing. And I realized that the only thing that hovered in the air was wooden arrows. No metal swords, not metal knives. Only wooden arrows."

"That doesn't automatically make me the source of the power." Asianna said.

Thorn gave Asianna a sad smile. "Did you ever wonder why our father called our mother a witch?"

Asianna didn't reply.

"Mother loved us very much. And whenever father wasn't home, she tried to make our lives as wonderful and fun as possible."

"Does this story have a point?" Asianna asked pointedly.

"Do you remember the cart rides, Asianna?"

"Cart rides?" she frowned.

"When father wasn't home, mother would lift us up and put us on the wooden cart we had, the wooden cart we used to carry fruits and vegetables into the village…"

Asianna's eyes flashed with recognition.

"And then she would command the cart to fly through the air. It was the greatest of fun, riding on a floating cart. And she made us promise to never tell anyone of what we did when we were alone. We, of course, obeyed, because we loved our cart rides." Thorn said softly. "Mother had the power to command movement into wooden objects. Or actually, any object that descended from a plant. And she also had the power to grow and talk to them…"

"Of course it had to be you." Thorn finished in a quiet tone.

Asianna's eyes narrowed. Then she let out a furious, animal-like roar and jumped at Thorn, her sword raised.

"Thorn!" Evin cried out.

Thorn quickly raised her staff into a block. She felt the air swish as the sword came dangerously close.

The top half of the staff fell off and rolled on the floor toward Asianna.

Thorn stared, mouth open, at the broken half of her staff.

Asianna suddenly laughed. "You are such a fool, Thorn. The look on your face is priceless. One would have thought that I had cut your own arm off."

"Mother gave me that staff…" Thorn said.

Asianna's laugh turned bitter. "You always were everyone's favorite."

Evin came toward her. "Thorn, let go of the other half of the staff. Thorn, let go."

Thorn glanced at Evin in surprise. "What?"

"Thorn, please." He whispered worriedly. "Look."

Thorn glanced down at her hands. And saw that where her hands were still gripping her staff, there was blood. With a cry of surprise, she suddenly released the remaining half of the staff and glanced at her open hands.

"It pierced me?" She said aloud in disbelief. But she had to believe, because she was now able to feel the pain the thorns had caused her. "But…"

Evin ripped two pieces of cloth off his shirt and proceeded to wrap them around her injured palms. She winced.

::Staff?:: she called. ::Staff?::

But there was no answer.

She glanced up at Asianna. "You killed my staff."

Asianna looked at Thorn as if she were a lunatic. "Your staff was never alive in the first place." She started to step away from Thorn. "Well, I'm going to go now, if you don't mind."

"No." Thorn said in reply. "You can't. Because I do mind." she said angrily.

Asianna's eyes flashed angrily. "You're right. You've ruined my life. And I can't leave until I ruin yours." She suddenly produced a small knife from somewhere. It hovered above her hand expectantly. "Here's one for your lover."

"No!" The wooden handle. Asianna was still able to control the knife through the wooden handle.

Thorn immediately reached into herself, trying to scramble the energy to somehow stop it. She threw out the last handful of energy she was able to find…and then blacked out.

A.N. a little short, yes? But don't worry, the next chapter will be longer.

~Krizsta