Good morning to you guys, or night depending on where you live. Time for another update. I personally like this chapter and the next one because they're connected. Please enjoy. :3
Chapter Seven: Scars of Destiny
Laurie sat down in a chair that she had pulled up beside Lloyd's bed. He was sound asleep, his back towards his sister as he slept on his good shoulder. The stark white bandages that wrapped around Lloyd's injury made Laurie feel sick. There was nothing she could have done to prevent the situation, she continued to remind herself that, but it was difficult. Her little brother was hurt and she felt like it was all her fault. The orange ninja gave a sigh and moved some of Lloyd's blonde hair away from his face. He stirred slightly, but did not awaken.
Sleep was probably an activity that she should have been engaging in, but Laurie did not feel tired. She stood up, careful not to let the chair move across the wooden floorboards, and headed towards the dining room table. Everyone was seated around it, their faces dimly lit by a single candle in the middle of the table. The flame burned steadily as the wax slowly melted and collected in the brass dish connected to the bottom of the candle. Fire was always comforting to Laurie, its warmth and light. She leaned against the counter top in the kitchenette nearest to the table. "So, Lloyd's going to be okay, right?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Her uncle gave a nod, his facial features and expression hidden by the long shadow cast across his face by his hat. "Zane and I examined the injury and there is no sign of infection. It will be sore and painful for a little while, but Lloyd will be fine." Laurie's breath of relief was audible throughout the room. Sensei Wu felt his heartbeat quicken slightly as he prepared what he was going to say next. "There is something that I need to tell you, Laurie." The elderly man cleared his throat lightly; picking up his head to gaze into each of his student's eyes. "Actually it's something that I must tell all of you."
The table's occupants fell absolutely silent. Jay raised his scarred eyebrow, his hazel eyes bounced around nervously, unable to focus on any one person or object for very long before locking eyes with Nya. Cole and Zane exchanged anxious glances before preparing themselves to hear the news. Kai rested his head in his hands. There was an ominous feeling that seemed to overwhelm him, but he did not know why. Something was telling him whatever it was that Sensei had to say, it was not going to be pleasant. Laurie hugged her arms and stared hard at her uncle. This was obviously of the utmost importance and very serious if it was being discussed without Lloyd. "Well" the teenager prompted, feeling jittery, "we're all listening."
"I sense a great evil that is getting stronger with each passing day. The time to fight is growing nearer; the Final Battle may upon us shortly." He let his gaze drift over to his niece, but she was not looking back at him. Laurie's eyes were trained on Lloyd, the fear in them obvious. Of course she was concerned to hear this news. "Lloyd's destiny is not the only one that is to be fulfilled." The teenager abruptly turned her attention back towards her Sensei, caught up in his latest sentence. "Your destiny is drawing to a close too, Laurie."
Drawing to a close? That sounded very unnerving and final. "Yeah" the orange ninja shrugged, feeling calm about the situation. "I'm supposed to protect my brother once I learn how to master Spinjitzu." Her ice blue eyes widened in horror as Sensei Wu averted his gaze down towards the table. That seemed like an ominous gesture. "I'm not missing something here, right?" Laurie snapped lightly, becoming frustrated. "You did tell me months ago that I was destined to protect the Green Ninja, correct?"
"Indeed, I did" the elderly man sighed, suddenly standing. "Let me just be the first to apologize for what I am about to say. You see, there was more to the prophecy than I initially led on. I did not find the timing to reveal the rest appropriate until now." The air seemed to become heavier and still. No one made a sound. "Your destiny holds more than you know, my niece. It is prophesized that you will sacrifice yourself in order for Lloyd to fulfill his own destiny."
Her body ran cold, every vein flowing with ice. "Sacrifice myself?" Laurie asked, her voice small. "You mean, like, death?" Sensei Wu did not speak, but his deep nod was the confirmation that the orange ninja did not want. Death? She was going to die in a fight, in front of her brother, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about. This was out of her hands; this was destiny. "I'm going to die?" she tried once more, still not entirely grasping the scenario. "I-I'm going to die in front of Lloyd? How's he going to handle that? I just…I don't…"
Laurie could not finish her sentence. Silent tears were slowly slipping down her pale cheeks. It was obvious to her that all of the color had drained away from her face. She was surprised she was still standing, her knees shaking rather violently. Death was frightening and she was not prepared for it. Who could ever be prepared to hear that they were going to die? Not only die, but destined to die. Laurie's mind was whirling, her breath catching. She had been born into this world, into this life, to die. That was her only purpose, to die.
"That can't be right, Sensei!" Cole frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back slightly in his chair. The two back legs wobbled precariously, but the Ninja of Earth did not notice. "It has to be some kind of mistake. There has to be some way out of it, a loophole or something. Can fate really just choose for someone to die?"
It was not fair. Kai's blank expression was beginning to unnerve his sister, but he did not care or seem to notice. He was too focused on everything that had just occurred. Laurie had to die for Lloyd to defeat the Dark Lord? That just was not fair. She had already been through so much in the past few months, more than she would have liked to experience in a lifetime. Thinking her brother had become a Serpentine, almost killing herself, being kidnapped by a Serpentine deity, and then losing some of her memories. Now on top of everything she had to die.
"I think I'm going to step outside for a second" Laurie sniffed, moving quickly towards the apartment door. She threw it open and stepped out into the darkness. The soft wind was chilled, making her shiver slightly, as she followed the walls of the building around to the back. An unstable looking fire escape greeted her, its dark rust even visible in the starless night. Laurie grabbed the railing and hoisted herself up onto the low lying platform before taking the stairs two at a time. The roof of the building was empty, perfect for just being alone and thinking. Laurie sighed, hearing the soles of her sneakers crunch along the old tar that coated the roof. She took a seat along the edge, her feet dangling. The bright lights of Ninjago City were glowing softly, seemingly promising a great future.
Of course, Laurie no longer had a future.
A chill ran down Laurie's spine and she whipped her head around to see Rhea standing behind her. She had not heard the young girl approach. Rhea was too silent. The orange ninja felt cold again. Here she was up on a roof alone with the one person who had tried to kill her only earlier that day. Of course, what was death now? She was going to die anyways so what was the point in just sticking around, loathing both herself and fate? "Are you here to kill me?" she asked plainly, tears still sliding down her face. "Well you can go ahead and do it if you want to. I won't stop you."
Rhea's eyes widened and her right hand twitched slightly, moving towards the weapons hidden in her hair. Laurie was just giving her permission to kill her, but why? With a plethora of self control, the young girl took in a deep breath and took a seat next to Lloyd's sister. She raised an eyebrow, noticing the glistening streams of tears rolling down Laurie's cheeks. Was she crying? Her heart leapt slightly and she opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it just as quickly. Instead, she produced the pen and paper from her jacket and wrote a quick message, placing the pad in Laurie's lap when she was finished.
Feeling bored, Laurie lazily procured the paper. She was barely able to discern the writing in the darkness. Why do you want me to kill you now? You wouldn't let me do it before. Laurie tossed the note away from her, back over to Rhea. "That was because I thought I had something to live for, but now I know that I really don't." Hearing her own words hang in the still, night air was scary. She had never felt like this before, so defeated and vulnerable. "If you're going to do it all I ask is that you make it quick, alright?"
She was being completely open and serious. Rhea felt a wave of anticipation crash over her. This was the perfect opportunity, the chance she had been waiting for, but something about killing someone who wanted to die was just too easy. There would be no enjoyment or sense of accomplishment working that way. No, Rhea was not going to kill Laurie tonight, not when she wanted to just end it all. The young girl scribbled something else on the paper before handing it over.
Why?
"Why?" Laurie inquired, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "I don't want to be in pain for too long, that's why." Was Rhea being serious? Who wanted to suffer when they were leaving the world? "I've been in enough pain lately. I don't want to go through anything like it again." Her right hand rested on her abdomen as she turned to look at the girl in her company. Rhea shook her head back and forth before while sliding her right index finger along the width of her throat. "Oh, you want to know why I want to die?" Rhea's shrugging seemed to indicate that she did. "I don't want to talk about it" Laurie sighed, pulling her knees up to her chin.
Rhea bit her lip, an odd sensation building up inside of her. It almost felt like guilt, but it was not quite that intense. Perhaps this was something else, a kinder emotion that was beginning to make its presence known. Laurie did not notice Rhea taking the paper and returning it shortly after, but the pad lay down in front of her, the stark white pages obvious against the dark tar. There are some things that I don't like to talk about either she read. If you wanted to, we could talk about those things together.
Laurie's eyes widened. Who was this girl? This could not have been the same person who had attacked her in the alley; the same girl who held a knife to her throat in the kitchen. "You want to talk with me?" Laurie questioned, extremely confused by the sudden change in Rhea's attitude. She had seemed a little different ever since they arrived back at the house, but this took the cake. Rhea nodded her head slightly and crossed her legs, preparing herself for what could be a long night. The orange ninja laughed a little, the sound garbled due to the light sobs that were just now beginning to rack her chest. "I don't know where you want me to start." Rhea leaned forward slightly, taking Laurie's right hand in between hers. "Oh, I have a scar under my shirt" Laurie sniffed, moving the thin material of her tank top upwards.
The thin line of scar tissue seemed to glow in the sudden moonlight. Jagged and ugly, it raced horizontally across Laurie's abdomen. "I was attacked a little more than a month ago by this…woman. She used Cole's scythe." There was the stinging of fresh tears behind her eyes and Laurie blinked rapidly, trying to block the memories from her mind; the memories of pain and sorrow. She never wanted to experience anything like it ever again for as long as she lived. That would not be very long though. Rhea brought her back to the present, taking Laurie's left hand and placing it on her right cheek. Laurie could feel the raised surface of Rhea's skin underneath her index finger. "Is that a birthmark?" she asked, curious. The orange ninja had wondered about the odd star shaped mark near Rhea's eye, but it had slipped her mind rather quickly.
With melancholy eyes, Rhea dropped Laurie's hand and reached for her pen and paper. Seconds later she turned it towards the teenager, her mouth set in a small frown. It's not a birthmark, it's a scar just like yours.
"Well it's a pretty scar" Laurie smiled, pushing the paper back to Rhea. "You should feel happy that you have a scar like that and not one like mine." Rhea's dark brown eyes glistened in the moonlight, wrought with tears. "Don't cry about it, please. It was a compliment, honestly." The pad was back in her hands again and Laurie sighed. Communicating like this was very tiring and tedious. I never asked for it, so how does it make it any better than yours? Laurie read. "Why don't you just talk to me, Rhea?" the teenager breathed. "Are you mute, is that why you don't talk? Is it because you can't talk?"
She watched as the young girl grew extremely pale and took her time, writing something else down. Here we go again. I can talk, but I can't talk. It sounds like you received your scar with honor, through a fight. I didn't get my scar that way. You think it's pretty, but you don't know all of the pain it has caused me. I'm cursed, Laurie. If I talk then I will die.
Okay, so I hope it was an enjoyable chapter. Thanks for reading, reviewing, and sticking with me. Have a great day and I'll see you Friday. :3