A/N:
And so we're back again for another chapter! Things are gonna speed up from here, so if you thought that chapter one was boring... be glad, because this one has some great action on it. Revelations and stuff like that y'know? Get ready readers.
Notice: I changed Amy's name to Casey Selene. Kinda forgot to edit it in the last chapter.
Chapter 2: Bracelets
And so, things went normally for the Firegaze family. As much as possible, Trevor and Jacqueline gave Ethan Luke as much freedom as he can have even with his gift. Be that as it may, Luke was always being watched by his father. When he gets into a fight, his father was suddenly there to break it off. A little scuffle and in the blink of an eye, his father appears.
Luke had every right to call his father over-protective.
His father's over-protectiveness is justified, really. The Esteinn's gift is hidden within his body. Not exactly hidden, but more like sealed. Luke is a walking bomb. Should he accidentally set off his power, he will become a danger to himself and anyone around him. Even as his parents did everything so he'd have a normal childhood, there were restrictions. Jacqueline always told Luke that he should always be patient - never to lose his temper, keep his cool and stuff like that. Needless to say, Luke respected her wishes and followed her advice.
However, there are times when Luke would notice Trevor's presence, and it annoyed him. Every time he did, Luke would pretend that he didn't notice, and of course there are times when he'd tell his father when he comes home that he saw him, and would often ask why he did it.
Trevor always responded that it was just a mere coincidence, or he was just watching him - saying that he didn't want to miss his son's childhood.
Basically, he would give half-assed reasons and explanations to Luke.
As years passed, Luke became close friends with the kids he played with, especially with Casey. So much so that their parents themselves became close to each other, and before long, Trevor and Jacqueline were close friends with Philippe and Judy Cliffinson. Philippe is a Marshall of Stormwind, and Judy is a retired wizard. Philippe's appearance is almost your typical knight, except that he has a full beard instead of a moustache, short and messy hair, tall, muscular, a scar on his cheek. He's that kind of guy. Judy has black long hair, usually kept in a ponytail, dark brown eyes, a beautiful face and she was pretty thin.
For almost fifteen years, everything was normal for Luke. Everything went as they did. But everything changed on Luke's fifteenth birthday.
22nd of August...
"Happy Birthday Ethan." Casey greeted, a bright smile on her face. She wore a plain navy-blue dress which ran down to her knees. She also wore a silver necklace with a diamond-shaped pendant which had a silver outline and was blue in the middle, a small sling-bag and stilletos, all of which which was the same color as her dress. Her beautiful blonde hair flowed down her back, and her pale blue eyes and her fair skin almost gave off a glow.
She clearly dressed up for the day.
"Thanks Casey!" He replied, giving her a hug. Casey recoiled a bit, but quickly recovered and hugged him back. As he pulled away, Casey was blushing a little and was looking down.
"Luke?" Jac called from the kitchen.
"Coming mom." He called back. "I'll be right back Casey." He told her with a smile. Casey let out a breath. Ethan had her flustered after all.
He went out of the living room and into the kitchen.
Casey sat on one of the several seats available along with a few more of Ethan's visitors for the day. Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, they clearly did not go alone. Unlike her. Marcus and the others probably went earlier today. To busy herself, she took out a small red box from her bag and opened it. It contained a silver chain bracelet with a "Ethan" engraved into the silver plate on the middle of the chain. She smiled to herself and put it back on her bag. This particular gift was one she saved for months. She took some part time jobs as assistants in random stores, assistant librarians or whatever she could find. It wasn't close to cheap after all, it's a silver necklace, and add the engraving part. She looked around and sighed a contented sigh. The Firegaze's house always seemed inviting. The fireplace that gave off a comforting heat and provided necessary ambiance for any occasion. Several pictures were on top of the fireplace, mostly of Ethan and some of his parents. The torches which were precisely where they're supposed to be, a family portrait which occupied a space in the wall, showing a very satisfied and happy family. A very young Ethan was carried by his father, who had a big smile. Ethan was pinching his father's cheek as he grinned, while Jac made a "peace" sign with her hand.
Casey got so lost in her thoughts that when Ethan came back and called her, she almost jumped.
Ethan had a big smile on his face and was holding up his arm. "Look what my mom gave me Casey!"
It was then that Casey noticed a very expensive looking bracelet. It was a chain bracelet with sapphire gems engraved on some parts of it. A particularly larger one was on the middle of it. Her face fell upon seeing the bracelet. Several thoughts ran through her mind, but the most dominant one just happened to be the worst one.
She ran out of the house much to everyone's surprise. The room fell silent, everyone's eyes were glued to the door where she ran out of.
Ethan quickly ran after her and found her running towards the forest. "No! Casey!" He shouted. She didn't listen and kept running. He ran faster, as fast as his feet could take him, and continued to chase after her, but she soon disappeared from sight.
He was deep inside the forest now. Sunlight shone through the spaces between the leaves. A cool breeze blew, making him shudder. He leaned on a tree, pausing to catch his breath. He looked up at the sky, or what was visible through the thick tree branches and leaves. It was turning orange.
Nightfall is coming.
'I gotta speed up my search before it gets dark! For all I know, she might be already be lost, alone, in the dark.' He thought to himself.
He shook the thoughts out of his mind and started walking, every once in a while calling Casey's name over and over, his eyes darting at whatever noise he heard, at whatever thing that looked out of place and might hold a clue to his friend's whereabouts.
He then saw something which gleamed on the ground. Rushing to see what it was, he ran and picked it up.
It was a necklace. A silver one with a diamond-shaped pendant which is blue in the middle.
Casey's necklace.
But something was out of place on the necklace. It had red splotches on the pendant along with the chain.
Blood.
He frantically looked around for any sign of her and strained his ears for any noise that might indicate her location.
'There! More blood!' He exclaimed in his mind. On the ground was a more drops of blood, along with snapped twigs, crushed leaves and boot prints.
He followed the blood until he came upon a camp. He let out a quite unmanly whimper when he caught site of the camp.
The camp was full of bandits. Which can only mean one thing.
Casey was kidnapped.
Shaking off the fear and panic building up inside of him, he cursed to himself. There was no way he can just sneak in and get her out, he needed to get help. But that was not an option. Who knows what those bandits would do to her? He might not arrive in time to save her from whatever terrible things those outlaws had in mind. And not to mention he was completely lost. He had no idea how to get back on town. He observed the camp for a while as he formulated the best plan he could. By observation, he saw that there are at least three tents which can probably house four to six people. These tents surrounded the campfire which was being poked by one of the bandits with a long twig.
He could set one of the tents on fire then take Casey from them as they are distracted, but surely, it could go wrong, and he'd have a fight in his hands. A fight which he had no chance of winning because he had absolutely no combat experience and that he was completely outnumbered.
He cursed to himself as he could only look at the camp in despair.
He suddenly felt a vibration on his right arm. The large blue sapphire was giving off a faint glow. He stroked the gem in wonder, momentarily distracting him from what was happening. He shook his head. 'I can't be distracted by something when someone's life is at stake!'
Rage overtook his senses as he saw Casey being dragged out of one of the tents by hair, and was kicking and screaming. One of the bandits started tearing at her dress, which only made her scream more.
And without second thought and better judgement, he did the first thing that came in his mind.
"Stop!" He shouted. The bandits all looked at him, surprised. He was surprised as they were, but now that he did what he did, there was no way he could back down now. In whatever way possible, he was gonna get her out of the camp. Mustering up the courage, he shouted as intimidatingly as he could. "Let her go if you don't want to get hurt!"
The bandits simply laughed at him and approached him imposingly.
"What're ya gonna do kid? Throw pebbles at us?" One of them said. The bandits all laughed.
More anger. "Let. Her. Go." Ethan repeated, rage clear in his voice. His hand began to glow, faintly at first, until it was like a light bulb, his eyes also emitted the same glow.
The bandits all were surprised, the bandits closer to him took a step back and Casey could only stare at Ethan. One of the bandits looked at his cowering allies and yelled, "What are you cowering for you fools!? Kill the kid!"
The one closest to him drew his axe and brought it down on Ethan. Amy gasped in horror, but her expression changed to disbelief.
The axe was stopped in mid-arc, a faint glow stopped it in mid-air. Rocks, leaves and dirt floated around them at the same time.
"What!?" The bandit asked in disbelief. Everyone could only watch as the axe started to lift itself high up in the air. The bandit let go of it quickly when he realized he couldn't stop it from floating.
In one stroke of his hand, the axe fell on the bandit's face, killing him.
Now, the bandits were beyond happy. "Kill the kid!" One shouted. They all charged at the the kid. An arrow was fired, hitting his shoulder.
The attack snapped him out of his trance.
Confused, he could only stare in horror at the bandits.
'Crap. Looks like this is it.' He thought to himself as the bandits ran towards him, weapons raised. Everything went in slow motion. He heard the muffled shouts of Casey. One of the bandits got in range and was swinging his axe, he closed his eyes and braced himself for the attack.
But it never came.
Instead, there was the sound of something like a spear piercing armor and the gurgling sound of someone drowning.
Slowly, Luke opened his eyes and saw the bandit attacking him had a large ice spike lodged on his throat, piercing all the way through. He coughed up blood and fell back, dead.
The bandits stopped in their tracks as more ice spikes as large as Ethan pierced the ground in front of him.
A man in a hooded cloak blinked in front of Ethan as the spikes shattered in a brilliant shower of glittering ice crystals. He put his hand up and released a stream of flame. The bandits scattered and retreated.
A woman in a cloak soon arrived. "You always know how to make an entrance." She smirked.
Ethan was frozen in his place. He suddenly started breathing heavily, and lost consciousness. The woman quickly caught him before he fell on the ground.
"Take care of Ethan. I'll raze this encampment to the ground." He commanded, a chilling fury in his tone as bright flames burst forth from his hands, aimed at the bandits. His hood fell from his face, revealing a familiar bearded man with brown hair. It was Trevor.
The flames released gusts of wind which blew back the woman's hood. A long blonde hair, brown eyes, pale skin, a beautiful face. Jacqueline.
Jac nodded and without a word, blinked out of sight, taking their son with her.
Trevor quickly gathered details of the enemies. 'Let's see, twelve bandits, Casey's there with one of the bandits. Three tents, surrounding the campfire, four of them have axes, probably has daggers somewhere hidden in their armor, two had crossbows, two with swords and shields, two with two-handed swords, one with a spear and a shield and finally, one with a dagger. The one holding Casey wielded a two handed sword. I'd wager those weapons are poisoned, especially the daggers. All of them are right in front of me.'
"Attack!" The bandit with a dagger shouted.
'And that's most likely their leader.' He deduced. He dodged a arrow aimed for his head and quickly engaged the nearest bandit. He crouched as the bandit swung his axe horizontally, then delivered a powerful uppercut, which gave off a crack, and sent the guy off his feet. He then jumped back then launched himself towards the next one, hitting him in the face with a straight, which let off an explosion of flame right in his fist, sending the man flying towards the tents, tearing through it and lighting it on fire. He shot an arcane bolt at an arrow with fearsome precision. And then reappeared behind the archer, killing him by twisting his neck. More arcane bolts were fired from his palm, hitting three on the chest, knocking them back and one in the head, instantly killing him.
"Die!" One of the guys with the axe shouted defiantly, but he was quickly killed with a firebolt in close-quarters.
In short, the bandits were clearly unprepared for an attack. Especially one from a powerful mage.
Trevor summoned his magic, wreaked havoc. Some engaged him in close-quarters but were defeated quickly. The man's hand-to-hand combat skills were something else and combined with magic? The bandits stood no chance.
But of course, the bandits never fight fairly. One of them took Casey by hair and pointed a knife to her throat.
Trevor sighed to himself and stopped his assault. The remaining bandits surrounded him, poised to attack on command. Trev looked around. 'Five bandits around me, not counting the hostage taker.' He thought to himself.
"Get down on the ground or i'll cut her throat out!" The bandit yelled, pressing the knife harder on Casey's throat.
"Fine fine." Trevor said complyingly, surprising the bandits. He got down on both knees. Just as the bandits took took a step forward to capture him, he disappeared, reappeared behind the hostage-taker with a thin but long, sharp ice spike on his right hand, which he used to stab the man at the back of his neck. The man let off a gasp of surprise and let go of Casey, who quickly took the opportunity to get out of the man's grasp. She quickly got behind Trevor, who put an arm protectively over her, while the bandits regrouped and started retreating farther into the woods.
"You alright?" Trevor asked, kneeling down on Casey, who was on the ground. She silently nodded. Trevor smiled then stood up and faced the bandits. He raised his hand, palm open and as soon as he did, a barrage of sharp ice spikes came out of his hand, and impaled all before him, killing all five. "And that makes it twelve." He concluded. He nodded to himself, satisfied and removed the ropes that tied Casey's arms and legs. Once they were off, Trevor helped her up and they made their way back to town.
"Mr. Firegaze?" Casey asked as they made their way back. Nightfall was fast approaching, and it was dark enough that Trevor had to make a flame for them to be able to see clearly.
"Please call me Trevor. Or Trev." He told her, keeping his gaze at the path in front of them.
"Mr. Trevor." She cleared her throat. "Thanks for saving me - us."
"Don't mention it." Trev answered simply, his gaze still looking ahead.
"And..." Casey started, looking up at Trev. "What was that... magic that Ethan used? Was he even able to use magic in the first place?"
Trev stopped in his tracks and finally, looked at Casey. He looked down at her and put a hand on her shoulder, all the while maintaining the flame on his right hand. "Magic huh? What do you say we discuss the matter when Ethan comes to?" He asked with a smile. Casey nodded slowly. Trevor patted her shoulder and continued walking back to town.
When they arrived, there was basically a gathering in front of their house. Jac stood in front of the door and was explaining what happened to their neighbors. Ethan was probably still asleep inside the house.
As they approached, the people quickly took notice of them, and spread out, allowing them a clear passage to their home. Two people followed them inside, which Trevor recognized as Casey's parents.
"Sit over there Casey. Jac will tend to your wounds in a moment." Trev said, motioning for her to get in. He then turned to Amy's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Cliffinson, please make yourselves comfortable. Rest assured that me and my wife will take care of your child's injuries." He told them.
Casey propped herself up on the chair and patiently waited. 'Everything's my fault.' She thought to herself. 'I was so stupid.' She opened her hand, revealing the red box which contained her gift to Ethan. Even through all that chaos, she was able to keep the box safe and in one piece.
"Hey Casey." Jac greeted. Her soothing voice calmed her down, if only for a bit. "What is that you're holding?" She asked, cocking her head.
"Umm. Nothing!" Casey quickly replied, putting her hand behind her in an attempt to hide the box.
"Let me see it." Jac approached her and held out her hand. Casey sighed in defeat and gave her the box. Jac opened it gingerly and gasped in amazement. "It's beautiful."
"Umm..." Casey tried to form words, but all that came out was, "thank you."
"This was your gift to Ethan huh." Jac stated. She put the box on a nearby table and looked at her again. "Now, let me see those wounds." She asked. Casey complied, showing her the injuries she got from the bandits.
As Jac did her work, Trevor in the meantime started checking Ethan's seal. 'It was disappearing little by little as Seb said. It's been fifteen years after all. More than a fraction of it was gone. In five years, half of it would be gone. And before the year that the half is gone, Ethan's gotta know how to control his powers.'
Ethan suddenly stirred, then awoke slowly.
Dazed, confused and maybe a bit panicky, he started yelling Casey's name.
"Calm down Ethan. She's okay." Trevor said calmly. This was a side of Trevor that was very rarely seen - a calm face, a soothing voice, and combined with a reassuring voice. The usual Trevor is playful, laid-back and funny, even with that intimidating look he always has going, when he goes to his "comforting mode", he's just... comforting. "Now... Take deep breaths. Go on." He himself took deep breaths, and motioned for him to follow suit.
After taking a few breaths, Ethan finally asked his father, "where is she?"
"Ah. She is in the living room, and is being tended by your mother. We arrived just a few moments after you two did. I think." He paused and scratched his beard. "Well. Not that you'll know." He stood up and offered him a hand.
"I think I can manage by myself." He replied. Trev gave him a smile and took a step back, allowing him some room. Ethan shakily stood up and took a few shaky steps.
'The sudden use of his power caused his body to undergo a bit of stress. His body is most likely still in shock from the the sudden release of the gift and what's happened. That much is obvious from the difficulty he's having in doing basic motor movements...' Trevor noted.
"Let's go to the living room then." The father said.
When they arrived, relief washed over the two females when they saw Ethan up and walking, albeit shakily. Jacqueline stood up to greet his son, but not before giving Casey a wink and a reassuring smile. This earned a raise of an eyebrow from Trevor, but was mostly unnoticed by Ethan as he was mostly focused on standing straight. He was grabbing whatever hold he can to support himself.
"Let's clear things up, shall we?" Trevor announced. Awkward silence followed his statement as Casey shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Nobody, as it may seem, wanted to be the first to say anything.
Sighing in frustration, Jac went and stood next to Casey, and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "First things first. I think someone here wanted to give you something before all this happened."
Casey looked uncertain for a moment before she mustered up the courage to actually say it. "Umm... This might just be the worst time to give you this... Buthereitisanyway." Amy blurted out quickly, the last part becoming almost like a single word in her rush to say them. She took the box from the table near her, which both Trevor and Ethan didn't notice up until now and handed it to Ethan
He looked uncertain and pointed a finger to himself then to Casey, as if to say, 'for me, from you?'
Casey simply nodded, her cheeks heating up.
Ethan smiled. "Thanks." He slowly opened the box, which revealed the bracelet with his name engraved on it.
Silence.
"Umm... Say something." Casey suddenly said, her eyes watering. "Please."
"I..." Ethan looked at Casey in the eyes. "I love it." He said. He walked towards her and threw his arms around her.
At this point, Casey couldn't contain herself and started crying as she held Ethan in her hands tightly.
"I-I thought that... you wouldn't like it." She said between her sobs.
"It's beautiful." Ethan replied, pulling away. But even as he did, he kept both of his hands on her shoulders.
"I-I mean... c-compared to the one your mother... gave you... Th-this-"
"Shh..." Ethan said, wiping away her tears. Someone cleared his throat loudly, causing Ethan to pause and look at who did it.
Casey's father.
'I didn't see them there.' Ethan said to himself, startled. He was unsure of what to say, so he just stood there in silence.
"So, let us clear things up. Start from the start." Casey's father started.
Dead silence.
"It was because of me." Casey said suddenly. Everyone's attention turned to her.
"Casey what-"
"It's okay father." Casey assured. "That box is a present for Ethan from me." She paused and took a pretty shaky breath. "I was gonna give it to him, and-" she suddenly stopped. A look of uncertainty flashed in her eyes for a second before disappearing almost as quick as it appeared. "But I had second thoughts of giving it because his mother already gave him an expensive bracelet. I wasn't thinking rationally, and I just... ran." She explained. She accidentally made eye-contact with Luke, and suddenly, she couldn't look at him straight in the eye.
'Oh Casey...' Ethan thought.
"After that?" Her mother asked.
"I ran into the woods. I didn't care. I just ran." She replied. She paused for a second, as if trying to recall what just happened. Although it was more of a trying not to recall the memory. "It was too late when I realized that I was lost. And before I knew it, a bandit found me, took me to their camp, and tried to..." Her hands formed fists, and they shook in her anger and fear.
"I see." Philippe said simply. A look of rage was evident in his eyes, but he remained calm. Everything about the man at the moment shouted "I'm gonna kill you if you even hurt my daughter in the slightest."
"I followed her into the woods. But I lost her." Ethan continued. He glanced at Casey. "But then I saw her necklace, and a blood trail which led to the bandit camp." He looked at the bracelet his mother gave him then held it up for everyone to see. "This bracelet started glowing as I watched the camp from afar. After moments of deciding whether to get help or try to sneak and get Amy out, I decided for the latter. I was lost too after all." He paused, and looked at everyone's expressions before continuing. "Then I saw Casey get dragged out of one of the tents by hair. She was kicking and screaming. I was overcome with rage. And..." Ethan suddenly stopped talking.
"And... what?" Casey's father asked.
"I can't remember." Luke replied, a confused look on his face.
A/N:
Ah shit dawg. Hahahaha. That was a long one man. That right there was great stuff. I enjoyed writing it a lot. Crazy.
Anyways, please leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter. Thanks for reading and have a great day.
