"No way are we twins. We look nothing alike!" Lloyd protested
"Yeah, anyway twins are extremely rare. And that's when they're both the same gender. Never mind like us!"
"You say you can't be twins, yet have neither of you noticed how open you are around each other. Ember, you were instantly laughing once we got Lloyd out the first time. I've never seen you do that before." Jade pointed out
"Yeah. And what happened to all that 'a girl must be able to survive on her own' stuff. I'm pretty sure that you got caught in order to help Lloyd." Nya continued
"You can argue that all you want!" Lloyd shouted "Doesn't change the fact that Ember is everything I'm not."
"What do you mean by that?" Ember asked
"You're brave, strong, daring, loyal. You know everything about surviving. What do I know? Nothing!" He turned and walked out of the door.
"Lloyd! Wait!" Ember raced after her brother. Jade watched her go.
"Definitely twins" She stated
Lloyd raced towards the river. Ember chasing after him.
"Lloyd!" She yelled "Wait up!"
"Go away Ember!"
"What's wrong?" Lloyd sat down on the grass
"Everything! I was telling the truth! You're brave, strong, loyal. All that stuff. And I'm not. I'm nothing!"
"Who told you that?" Ember replied sitting down beside him. "Because I am most certainly not brave!"
"You've face Pythor and you're telling me you're not brave?"
"I was scared half to death Lloyd. I could hardly call myself brave"
"You still stood up to him though! I did nothing but sit quietly in the corner!" Ember thought about it for a minute, before speaking.
"Wu once told me that courage comes in many forms. Yes, courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, but courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
"You clearly have the first type of courage Ember."
"That might be so, but you have the second type." Ember sighed "People say that I am strong, that I am brave purely because I survived ten years. And they're right, yet they're wrong at the same time. My survival has made me strong. Not brave. You are the brave one Lloyd. You escaped from Pythor and when we got caught you didn't break. No one expected me to break. Everyone expected me to walk out intact, body and mind. What people didn't expect was for you to do the same thing. You came out as you went in. Defiant." She smiled "There is no secret to how I survived. Yet how you managed is a mystery" Lloyd looked at her
"I only made it out because for some reason Pythor kept me alive. I'm no hero. I'm a coward"
"Yeah right" Ember scoffed "And I'm a damsel in distress!"
"No you're not"
"Exactly. You're as much of a coward as I am."
"No I'm not. You're a hero. You're strong and I'm not"
"Who told you that?" Ember asked "Because you are not weak. Besides, you never know how strong you are until being strong is the only option you have left"
"That might be true, but you're still the braver of the two of us"
"No, Lloyd. I'm not. You are." Ember stood up
"What do you mean by that?"
"I never suffered at the hands of Pythor, not really. People say I'm brave for facing him, but I'm just doing what's right. You on the other hand, suffered for ten years. No one would blame you for walking away, no one would blame you if you turned your back on us. You have a right to be afraid, you have a right to run. But you chose to stay. You can't be brave without being scared, and the more frightened you are, the braver you are. Pythor never really scared me, but he scares you." She turned to go before looking back "Which of us is braver?" with that Ember went, leaving Lloyd alone with his thoughts.
Once she got back to the tree, Ember didn't stop at the little house nestled in the branches. She continued higher, up towards the top. Only stopping once she reached the top. Sighing she leaned back on a branch and looked out over the woods.
"What's up Ember?" Ember looked down to see Jade
"Oh, it's you" Jade climbed up next to Ember.
"Is that all you have to say?" Jade laughed "What happened to the brave girl I followed out here?"
"Some people have been thought brave because they were too scared to run away!"
"Ember, what's wrong?"
"I don't know!" She shouted, tossing a conker out of the tree. "One minute my life is easy. No responsibilities, no one I have to look out for. It's me and me alone. Then I find out I'm a flippin princess, that I have a brother and I have to save the kingdom from someone who tried to kill me when I was five. I'm supposed to lead the group but I don't know how to look after other people. I don't know how to deal with someone other than myself!"
"Ember, you can't shoulder the weight of the mission alone. There's a reason why we're a team. So no one person has to do it alone."
"You can survive without me though"
"No. We can't Ember. You lead the raid that got Jay out of jail. You convinced Cole to join our side. You fought half the palace guards to get Lloyd out. You found Zane. Not us, you"
"You and Nya got Jay out though. All I did was fight Cole. Same thing happened in the palace. You got Lloyd out. All I did was fight. You don't need me"
"Yes we do. Who got the golden weapons out of the palace"
"I did"
"Right. And who survived ten years with someone trying to kill them?"
"I did"
"And who remained defiant when she got caught, laughing in her captor's face?"
"I did" Emer grinned
"Yes. You did. Not me, not Nya, not Lloyd. You. We need you Ember. This team would fall apart otherwise."
"You always know how to make me feel better Jade. But I still don't know who I am. Am I a princess or a wild child? Should I be rich or poor? Am I the leader of a follower? I just don't know"
"You're both princess and wild child Ember. You're both rich and poor. You're both leader and follower"
"What do you mean by that?"
"You're the princess of the wild. You might not have much money but you're rich in things that matter, such as friends and family. You're a member of the group but you're not afraid to step up and take charge. You are you Ember. And that is all you have ever been, all you will ever be." Ember smiled
"Thanks Jade. You are one of a kind"