... Please don't kill me...
I am so sorry, I lied! I swear, I meant for a story to come out within that week, but then... Well... A lot of things happened. One, I didn't like the story I was writing. It annoyed me how it was coming out, so I've decided I'm going to restart, though I haven't figured out how yet... And that was after a week of writing it. Then, life and homework bombarded me and gave me next to no free time. And during my free time, I was forced to do drivers ed (I know, I don't want to drive. I'm insane, get over it). Then my friend and I got back to writing a book that we sort of started to plan out years ago, but we're finally starting to seriously work on it. So that took quite a bit of my time. And now, I've FINALLY had the time and inspiration for this story.
Yes, that was long. No, I don't expect you to read it. Yes, I am making excuses.
I really am sorry, though. I just haven't found the time. Speaking of which, I don't know when the next story will be out. I haven't even thought about it. I'm put the majority of my time and focus into my book. It'll probably never get published, but I desperately want it to be.
Anyway, I won't hold you up too long. I've already held you up far too long... So on with the story!
Disclaimer: Nope, do NOT own ROTG. But you know what? I own all of my OCs. So HA!
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"Catch me if you can!" Violet calls out with a joyous laugh. She lands in a tree and glances behind her, grinning as she searches for her friend in the trees. When she doesn't find him, she frowns. "Aaron?" She calls out in confusion.
The next second, she yelps as she finds herself falling, a pair of arms pulling her down. She gasps as she hits the ground, but is thankful to find it covered in thick ivy. The arms let go of her, and she quickly pulls herself off the ground and away from her attacker. She turns around when she's a safe distance away, only to fine a wide grin and bright blue eyes watching her from the ground.
"I think I caught you." Aaron says simply, lying still in the ivy patch as it wraps around his body, holding him down.
For a moment, Violet just stares at him, eyes wide and mouth gaping. Then her face contorts into a pout and she crosses her arms, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "No fair! I couldn't even find you! I didn't see you coming..." She tries to defend herself, failing miserably.
Aaron just laughs from his spot on the ground, lips contorting into a smug grin. "Oh yeah, sure, you just keep telling yourself that." He gives a small laugh, then stops and lifts his arm slightly, careful not to break any of the vines as his smile dims to something closer to embarrassed. "Can I, um, get up now? I'm starting to lose circulation in my legs."
Violet glares at him, debating whether it'd be worth it to just leave him here for a while, but then decides on a better plan of action. "Well, if you want to play that way..." Aaron looks on in confusion as Violet walks over, wicked smile on her face, and kneels next to him. Then, in a sing-song voice, "Tag! You're it!" And her hand reaches out to lightly tap his arm.
Aaron watches in shock as she takes back to the trees, letting him free when she's a decent distance away. He sits up, shaking his head in the direction that she took off, grin spreading back across his face. "Oh, you are so dead..."
It doesn't take long for the chase to start up again. Violet makes sure to stay in the trees, seeing as flying is an unfair advantage. Aaron catches Violet quite a few times, and Violet catches him in return. It's hours before they decide to take a break. By then, they're somewhere deep in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
The two find a nice tree and sit shoulder-to-shoulder under it, leaning back against the rough bark. Violet grows a tiny apple tree and picks two apples from it, handing one to Aaron, and they eat in companionable silence.
The two aren't there long before Aaron perks up, the core of his finished apple falling to the ground as he slowly stands. Violet watches, one eyebrow raised in amusement as she takes one more bite of her apple and also drops it to the ground, making two more apple trees grow from the cores.
"What is it, Aaron?" Violet taunts, folding her arms behind her head and closing her eyes. "Did you hear an animal?"
Aaron narrows his eyes, but doesn't move them from where they watch the woods around them. Slowly, he turns his head to examine the entire area, listening carefully. He could have sworn he heard a twig snap, like someone was watching them... But no other noise can be heard. Maybe it was just an animal... He shouldn't get so worked up about nothing.
The boy scolds himself in his head, returning to his former spot and sliding down the tree to sit down. "I don't know, I guess I was just being-" but he doesn't finish his sentence, a yelp and thud cutting him off as everything goes black.
A smile is slowly growing across Violet's face at Aaron's antics, but it quickly disappears as she hears him yell, followed by a sharp thud. Her eyes fly open and she sits up quickly, just in time to see Aaron disappear into the foliage in front of her. In seconds, she's up on her feet, breaking through the foliage before she even has time to think. All she sees is the tips of the boy's hair as he disappears behind a new patch of trees.
"Aaron!" The name leaves her lips before she can stop it, and it sounds so incredibly desperate that she can't even believe the sound came from her own lips. But it did, and the thought is only there a second before it's gone, replaced by fear and desperation.
She doesn't stop to think about what to do. She just runs, her feet flying beneath her, toes barely touching the earth as they push her forward, urging her to go faster and faster. But no matter how fast she goes, she just can't catch up. She can only catch glimpses of her friend as he's dragged further and further into the woods.
Violet doesn't know how long she runs, but eventually she emerges into a clearing — and freezes. The breath catches in her throat and she almost falls over from the sudden tirade of emotions that burst through her vey soul. Something about this place... It feels... Different. She can sense a history in the earth here, something so strong that she can almost see it. A history of pain and terror, the earth screaming in agony, crying for help; the plants burning, dying, unable to defend themselves as fire fell from the sky and flooded around them like a raging river, as the ground shook and shook as it cried for release...
Her eyes fly open — when had they closed? — as she realizes the shaking isn't just in her head. Somebody is grasping her arms in both hands, calling her name in worry. Her eyes focus and when she sees who it is shaking her, she throws herself at him, flinging her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder.
"Woh, hey!" Aaron exclaims with surprised eyes, arms automatically returning the hug. "Calm down, you're alright, everything's fine."
A choked sob escapes Violet's throat and she hugs him tighter. "Oh my gosh, don't you ever do that again! I was scared to death, you could have been hurt!"
Aaron gently pulls Violet away and she meets his eyes, surprised at the amount of anger and annoyance held there. Is he mad at me? Why would he be mad at me? What did I do wrong?
But as he turns to look at what lays beyond him, Violet sees for the first time the clearing they're sitting — since when are they sitting? — in, and her breath leaves her lungs in a gasp. The clearing isn't small as Violet had first thought, but instead takes up miles upon miles of land, farther than the eye can see.
The area is completely covered in wildflowers, grasses, sedges and shrubs. There are purple iris and orange tiger lilies, bright red paintbrush and st. John's wort. Pearly everlasting and drops of twinflower, small patches of salal and huckleberry bushes. Thimbleberry, penstemon, lupine, and beargrass; Violet has to force herself to stop admiring the beauty and range of the plant life.
The land itself isn't completely flat like most clearings. In contrast, it's covered in hills, and in the very center of it all is a mountain, larger than anything Violet had ever seen or imagined. It reaches for the clouds, the top disappearing into them with a snow-capped peak.
Violet forces herself to get past the awesomeness of the scenery and instead turns her attention to what Aaron has focused his attention on.
Only to find a woman.
Another person.
They're not the only ones in the clearing.
Violet suddenly finds herself standing with a long, straight stick in her hands. She doesn't know how she got to such a position; her body must have reacted before her mind could catch up. Really, though, Violet isn't surprised in the least. Something about the woman puts Violet on edge.
She looks normal enough. Her hair is dirty blonde and slightly curly, glittering with golden strands in the sunlight. Her eyes are a medium brown, lighter around the pupils and darker around where the irises touch the sclera. Her features are relatively soft, if not a bit thin. She isn't too tall or too short, and she wears simple clothing; a pair of plain jeans, tennis shoes, and a short-sleeved black shirt that hangs loosely from her body. Nothing about her general appearance sticks out.
It's more of the blank look in her eyes, as if nothing can surprise her, nothing can make her truly feel. It's the way she stands, as if she owns the world but couldn't care less what happens to it. It's that hidden knowledge behind her eyes, as if she knows Violet's past, present, and future, yet doesn't care what happened or happens in it. It's that aura coming off of her, like she's something more powerful than anything they'd faced or will ever face in their entire lifes, and that feeling that she can't even control all that power.
And Violet is completely and absolutely terrified.
Aaron stands up beside her, not jolting to his feet as she had, but with the same uneasiness. Violet can tell that he's just as afraid as her, if not more so, but he's also holding back a great deal of anger. Oh, so this is who he's mad at. Why is he mad at this strange woman?
The woman, in turn, just watches them, a slight smirk on her face that makes Violet want to punch her. She looks like she expected Violet's reaction, knew what she would do. Her eyebrow rises, as if she's waiting for them to continue, waiting for the next part of a movie she's seen dozens of times before and knows by heart.
Aaron's the one to take the bribe. "Alright, who are you and what do you want? Oh, and while you're at it, explain why you kidnapped me."
Oh. That's why he's mad at her. Suddenly, everything makes sense. He hadn't just run off to freak her out, he was kidnapped... Probably dragged through the woods... That thud must have been him hitting his head on the rough bark of the tree... That would explain the dried blood on the back of his head... It's safe to say Violet is just as angry as Aaron.
The woman has the audacity to laugh. She shakes her head at them like they're two children who need to learn a lesson. A shiver runs up Violet's spine when she finally speaks, her voice like a whisper on the wind and nails on a chalkboard at the same time. "You have known who I am since the beginning, and you will know who I am in the end. Yet, you will never know me. I am unknowable. I'm not even here. And yet, here I am."
Aaron and Violet groan at the same time, their eyes rolling before turning to glare at the lady. "Seriously? Riddles? Oh my gosh... Just tell me why you kidnapped my friend!" Violet practically screams.
The woman's eyes turn stormy as they land on the girl, and she quickly shrinks away, a deep-set fear cutting into her very soul. "Watch what you say, Violet Blossom. I still can't believe that's the name you go by. It's so far from your real name! But I guess this is a different life time. You are not the same person as you once were."
Violet freezes, and for a second, she forgets how to breathe. The words the woman had just spoken swim through her heart. Your real name... Different life time... Same person as you once were...
She feels a hand touch her shoulder and breaks out of her daze to look at Aaron. He looks worried and very weary. "Alright, that's enough. Why did you bring us here, to tell us riddles and scare us? Because if that's all, then I think we can go now."
Violet wants to scream at the woman, ask her what she meant by what she said, but she knows it will be useless, and she doesn't have the chance before the woman speaks again.
"I simply helped you find this place. You would have found it at one point in time, but I decided it would be better to show you now rather than later." She says nonchalantly.
The next second, Violet finds the woman standing inches away from her, staring her dead in the eye. She yelps and tries to move away, but the woman grabs her arm, holding her in place. Aaron doesn't move, and Violet realizes he's frozen in place, only able to move his eyes, which are filled with fear.
Violet moves her eyes back to the woman as her eyes seem to pierce Violet's very soul. "I know you can feel it. I see it in your eyes: this place was hurt not too long ago. It burned; oh, how it burned! The earth screamed, pleaded for someone to save it, but no one could as the volcano erupted, as the mountain left no mercy..."
The more she talks, the more trouble Violet has breathing. He eyes turn to the mountain, but instead of the green beauty, all she sees is burning fire, black skies, billowing smoke... The pain returns, worse than ever, and she lets out a cry, eyes squeezing shut as she collapses to the ground, clutching her stomach as the fire burns her insides...
"The plants died, all of them!" The woman continues, her voice breaking through Violet's mind and feeding the flames. "By the time the volcano had done it's work, nothing was left. Everything was dead. The people saved themselves, but the plants had to fend for themselves, and they lost the battle. They lost, and they were left to turn into a barren wasteland."
Violet screams, a scream filled with pure pain and agony. She curls up into a ball on the ground and sobs, trying to push away the hurt that the earth felt, but the burning only grows, and she feels like one of the trees, fire burning straight through her until she can't stand any longer and falls, disappearing in a burning river...
"Stop it! You're hurting her, stop!" Aaron yells. In the back of Violet's mind, she realizes that he must be unfrozen, but the pain takes such control of her that the thought doesn't last. Then it's gone, and she finds herself again being pulled into Aaron's strong arms, clutching his shirt and trying to stop the tears.
"But that's all you feel, isn't it?" The woman's voice breaks through Violet's mind, and She opens her eyes to watch her fearfully.
"Please... Please no more. It hurts... The earth was in too much pain. Please, I don't want to feel it anymore..." Violet whispers, her voice begging, pleading. Even she can here the broken weakness in her voice, the fear of such pain. Aaron looks at her fearfully, holding her closer. She doesn't complain, not in the slightest.
The woman shakes her head, watching Violet carefully, but the pain doesn't return. Instead, the woman continues on as if Violet had never spoken. "Yes, it obviously is. You can only see the pain... But does it look like there's pain now?" The woman gives Violet a moment to look around, and continues when she sees the crinkle in the younger girl's brow. "This place is healing. It suffered, yes, but pain is never the end. It's only a new beginning."
And suddenly, Violet can feel it. There is still a tinge of leftover pain in the earth, but that pain is slowly being buried, becoming just a memory. The plants are beginning to grow again, and have already become a larger than life field of beauty. The ugliness of the ash fertilized the ground and brought the foliage to life. The earth lives in a way it never did before the burning. The pain has been replaced by a new beginning, a new start, and the growth is taking its chance to start off even better.
Violet gasps at the sudden feeling of happiness, renewal, and life. She sits up in a sudden burst of energy, but instead of her eyes losing focus, the look around at the world in a new way.
"It's the calm after the storm." The woman whispers, and Violet looks up to see a gentleness in her eyes that she had previously thought impossible. But now she knows that nothing is impossible.
"Who are you?" Violet asks, bewildered by everything that has happened in such a short time. "And don't give us another riddle. Who are you really?"
The woman gives a soft smile and sighs, a tiny bit of emotion appearing on her face, though her eyes are still vacant. "I am known as many things. The harbinger of death, and the promise of life. The bane of heroes and a force not to be trifled with. I am the path to your fate, the representation of your greatness and faults. But most commonly, I am known as Destiny."
"You're Destiny?" Violet looks at Aaron, but his eyes are focused on the woman, shock and anger filling them. "The heck... How can you live with yourself?! You're the one who killed Arthur and left Merlin to wonder alone, who sent Percy Jackson and his friends on a quest that will end with at least one person dead, who killed James and Lily Potter, and Cedric Diggery, and Sirius, and Dumbledore, and Snape, and Hedwig, and Moody, and Tonks, and Dobby, and Remus, and Fred-"
"Oh, stop." Destiny says with a sigh of what must be annoyance. "How many times do I have to go through this with people? It's my job. I bring their destiny. It's who I am. I can't control what their destiny is, I only guide them to it and make sure it occurs." She pauses for a moment, debating her next words. She must decide that they're worth speaking because she continues. "By the way, you missed how I have watched the Doctor through each regeneration and brought the end to all of his companions, and how I pushed Sherlock off the roof and kept him from telling John through those two years. And quite a few other things..."
The two youngers just stare at her with wide eyes. She just shrugs nonchalantly and crosses her arms. Then Aaron tries to lunge at her, probably to strangle her, but Violet holds him back.
Destiny smirks — she has the nerve to smirk! — and gives the two a curt nod. "Well, I must be off. It is not the boy's destiny to kill me. That destiny belongs to another, and I still have time before that happens... Anyway, goodbye. Remember what has happened today, Violet. This place is important to your future." She turns away as if to disappear, but stops and turns back to look at Violet. "Oh, and you might want to take that stick with you. Maybe put your ring on the top... It is your conduit of power, after all." And then she's gone, just like that. She just... Disappears into thin air.
Violet gapes at the place she was for a second before looking back at the mountain. "What volcano is that, anyway?" Violet asks curiously.
"Mt. St. Helens, duh." Aaron murmurs angrily. Violet can tell he's still mad about that episode he had with Destiny, but she's too distracted to care, looking over at the stick that she had forgotten about throughout the conversation. She must have dropped when she fell over in pain.
She walks over to it and picks it up, examining it. It's around six or so feet long, taller than her when held straight up and down. It's almost perfectly straight with just a few bends in it, which is a bit odd in nature. It looks simple enough, a branch from a cottonwood tree. She turns it carefully, worried that it will break. Cottonwood isn't exactly known for its sturdiness.
"Violet, what are you doing?" Violet looks over at Aaron, who seems to have gotten over his anger for the time being as he watches her. She gives him a small smile before going back to examining the stick.
Destiny's words run through her head. Maybe put your ring on the top... It is your conduit of power, after all. Violet looks at the ring on her right hand, the one she'd been born with. She had never realized it was her conduit of power... But according to Destiny, that's exactly what it is. Gently, She pulls it off her hand. Really, it doesn't look that special, except for the fact that it's made from sapphires, gold, and a diamond.
Violet looks at the stick, then at the ring, then back at the stick. She moves her grip on the stick so that the tip is in front of her where she can reach it. Glancing one last time between the two, she places the ring on the top of the stick.
Violet looks away as the staff gives off a blinding light. Aaron cries out and falls backward, covering his eyes and looking away. As the light dies down, Violet looks at the stick, squinting through the brightness still radiating from it. The wood seems to be glowing a beautiful golden color, sparkling and dancing in the sun. The few bends are still there, but somehow, they just make it all the more beautiful. The top of the stick, where she had placed her ring, has grown into a myriad of twisted twigs, endlessly moving into odd shapes and designs. And, woven into the wood of the staff, is her ring.
Violet gasps and drops the wood, which loses its enchanting glow. The twigs stop twisting, but it doesn't return to being a regular stick. It remains as an amazing staff.
"How did you do that?" Aaron asks from his spot on the ground. Violet glances at him, only to find an awestruck look on his face. She laughs and leans down to pick up the staff. The twigs begin twisting again, and the glow returns, but softer this time, barely there.
"I don't know." Violet responds truthfully. She flips the staff around in her grip, surprised at how light it is. It's absolutely amazing, but she has no idea how she made it. She'd just done what Destiny had told her. Ha... Having this staff must be her destiny.
Speaking of destiny...
"Why were you so worked up about all that stuff Destiny did? I mean, I know death is bad, but that anger seems to go deeper than just any death."
Aaron gapes at me. "You've... You've never heard of Merlin? Or Percy Jackson? Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Sherlock... Nothing rings a bell?"
Violet shakes her head, and suddenly she's being pulled through the woods at a fast pace, Aaron dragging her along. "You have not lived yet! It is time that you learned the true meaning of pain."
"What? I don't understand! I want to test out my staff! And... And the clearing!" Violet yells, trying to pull free of the arm pulling her and go back, but Aaron holds on tight.
"No! You can play with your staff later. And I'm sure she didn't mean the place is important, it's whatever you got out of it. Which, by the way, I don't understand, but whatever." Aaron says, rolling his eyes.
Violet sighs, glancing back once more before letting Aaron drag her to wherever. He wouldn't understand; he didn't see it. The clearing had taught her that the end is never the end. The end is a new beginning, and a better beginning at that. It's your chance to start new with everything you have learned from the time before, make everything better than it was, learn from your mistakes. Life always comes after death.
Violet smiles slightly, then her mind rolls back to the present and she frowns. Aaron had said she was about to learn the "true meaning of pain". He was probably just over-exaggerating... Right?
Right?
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Woh... Longest story yet. So, how did you like it? Too soon? I know, I'm so mean. I'm working on being heartless. It's a trait that every great author seems to have... I mean, I just listed a bunch of examples in the story, so... Yeah...
Anyway! On another very sad note, I will most likely NOT update for a long time, unless I have a sudden burst of inspiration. So, so sorry, but I have a lot of things I need to focus on.
Please review and give me ideas on what you'd like to happen, or tell me what you think of the story, or just say hi! I will reply with hello, and the world will go on its merry way, and I will feel appreciated...
Ta for now!
~FantasyForger~