Fan Fiction ❯ Illusia ❯ Kyrrian - A Desperate Man 2 ( Chapter 55 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Serenitychan13 
Chapter 2: Painful Truths
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Action / Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.09.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 166 | Status: Completed
Chapter 2: Painful Truths
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Suspense / Supernatural / Romance / Fantasy / Action / Angst / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.09.2004 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 166 | Status: Completed
A Desperate Man 2
There was almost total silence among us until we came to the only thing I had seen so far that looked new and alive: a small, clear, fast-running creek. There were new plants starting to grow along its banks, starting to cover the scars of the fire. It was about three feet wide and stretched to the horizon in both directions. Some fair-sized rocks were embedded in the bank and Illusia was sitting on one of them, staring at the water. Terran looked worried, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Why does she look so sad?”
Koura gave me a disgusted look.
“You have no right to ask that,” he snarled. “You should know.”
That really hit home. I should have known. I was the cause of her pain once again. It looked like she and Terran and Koura had come all this way tracking me. It was all for that little gem. What was so special about it? I knew that the Planet Heart together as a whole had the power to bring Lily back to me. But what could this one gem do on its own? Illusia didn’t seem like one to do all that for power, so it had to be something else.
“I know I was wrong… But I just want to know why that one gem is so special that the lot of you would go to such lengths to find it.”
Koura helped me sit down and looked away sadly.
“You really don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“All I know is that the four Elemental gems, when put together with the Diamond Star, can do things that would otherwise be impossible. It is both a killer and a healer.”
Koura gave me a hard look.
“That gem has her grandfather’s spirit in it,” he said grimly. “Her family is slowly being taken away from her. To be completely honest, you were actually fairly lucky that you didn’t make it to the river.”
I shuddered. He was right. If I got hold of another piece, Terran would kill me, no questions asked - promise or no promise. I looked over at her, seeing how she no longer seemed to be the spirited, optimistic girl she had been when I met her. Her hair, that silky lavender hair, which before floated with her movements, hung limp. Even her eyes seemed to have lost their spark.
It seemed so wrong for her to suffer through something like this. Right now, it looked as if all I could do for her was explain my reason and hope she could forgive me. Using my katana to push myself up, I slowly made my way over to her. Terran glared daggers at me again, which I ignored as best I could. I tried to at least show him that I was truly sorry for causing my little sister so much pain.
“You’re Terran, right?”
He nodded curtly, obviously not trusting himself to speak.
“May I speak to my Princess for a moment? She asked for the truth, so I am here to give it to her.”
He looked slightly taken aback and gave Illusia an uncertain look. Illusia looked at me with questions and concern in her eyes. Then she turned back to Terran and nodded. He still didn’t seem to think she was safe alone with me, but he reluctantly turned and left. Illusia looked at me with questions in her eyes. Her eyes may have temporarily lost their spark, but they were still so expressive.
“Are you alright?” she asked quietly.
“No. I feel like dying.”
“Why?” she asked, her eyes growing wide.
“Because of how badly I hurt you.”
A tear escaped from her eye. Tentatively, I reached out to brush the little drop off her cheek. To my surprise, she let me.
“I know this is going to be hard for you to hear… Believe me, it’s taking all I’ve got to tell you.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes, though none escaped.
“Just tell me the truth,” she said softly.
I took a deep breath, forcing back my own tears.
“I will…”
She closed her eyes, ready to listen.
“You know what I am, right?”
Illusia nodded, trying to hide a small whimper.
“It’s because of that. I let myself go too far… I had got to the point where I was no longer aware of what I was doing…”
She shuddered.
“I didn’t tell you about Lily, did I?”
I heard a whispered ‘no’.
“I loved her more than life itself… And when I was in this trance, so to speak, I had no idea of what was going on or where I was. I no longer recognized her… She had offered to help me, told me she wasn’t afraid… Just like you did.”
“Oh no…” whispered Illusia. “ You didn’t…”
I bowed my head in grief and shame.
“It’s true. I regained my awareness too late.”
Illusia was staring at me, her eyes wide, torn between fear and disbelief.
“She had a very strong will to live though. Unfortunately, in this case, will to live meant nothing. But she fought for her life, tried to hang on… I tried everything I could.”
“You mean…?” whispered Illusia, no longer hiding her tears.
“She stayed long enough to give me one last kiss… and to tell me that no matter what, she still loved me. She died in my arms just seconds later.”
“Oh…” was Illusia’s shocked whisper.
“I’ll never forget her smile… Even though her gaze was numbed by pain, she smiled so sweetly at me… I swore right then that I would do anything to bring her back…”
I guess I was mostly talking to myself at this point…
“Why didn’t you just ask me, then?” Illusia asked, pleading in her voice.
I couldn’t look at her.
“I thought you would hate me if you knew…”
“If you had no control over it, then it was just some sick twist of fate,” she said softly, reaching over to touch my hand. “Of course I would help you.”
She got up, shaking a little, and took my scarred hand in both of hers. Tears streamed down her face and she shuddered with every breath. I wanted so badly to hold her and comfort her, as I did when we first met, but Terran would kill me. Instead I curled my fingers under her chin and tilted her face up so that her gaze met mine.
“My little sister… you really are an angel.”
“I’ll do what I can to help you now…” she whispered.
A silver glow formed around her body. I quickly averted my eyes as her short lavender dress faded away and was replaced by the silver one she had on when I found her. When the colored glow faded and I could look at her again, my eyes widened. After a few seconds, she sank to the ground in a dead faint.
'Oh no… I’m as good as dead…'
“You bastard,” growled Terran’s voice behind me. “I knew I should never have left her alone with you.”
I stiffened, chills running down my back. Slowly, holding my hands up to show that I wasn’t going to do anything, I turned to face him. I recognized the knife he pulled from one of his coat pockets. Illusia had it when I met her.
Terran held the blade at my throat, just close enough so that I could feel cold metal against my skin. I stayed perfectly still and tried to remain calm. My voice was steady and quiet as I tried to reason with him.
“Will you at least listen to me for a moment?”
“I may as well let you have your last words,” he said, his eyes dark. “So go ahead.”
I took a deep breath.
“She just fainted. I gave her the truth she wanted and I think it may have been too much for her. She should be alright in a few minutes… See for yourself! There isn’t a mark on her!”
Well, it was no use trying to stop shuddering anymore…
Terran moved the knife to the side of my throat. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the inevitable. To my surprise, and obvious relief, he only nicked my skin, showing me the blood on the silver blade. A warning. It was definitely unnerving to see my own blood staining a knife that had been seconds away from slashing my throat.
He sheathed the knife and roughly pushed past me. I tried not to wince as he hit the cut on my arm that was still opening every once in a while. With a shuddering sigh, I let myself relax. Terran knelt beside Illusia’s motionless form and took her in his arms, forgetting about me momentarily.
“Illusia,” he whispered, holding her close. “What happened to you…?”
She whimpered a little. Terran looked as if he had an idea and shifted to cradle her in his arms. My heart clenched painfully. That was how I held Lily as she was dying. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head over hers. He held her hand as he slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her tenderly.
I averted my eyes, feeling like an intruder.
“Illusia?” I heard Terran ask Illusia. “Are you alright?”
“I think so…” I heard her say softly. “Just tired I guess…”
I bit my lip, hoping Terran would take her word for it and leave me alone. But of course I’m not that lucky. He turned to me, a hard look on his face. Illusia must have told him not to do anything to me. If she hadn’t, he would have killed me when he first saw me beside her.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” was all he said, his voice low so that Illusia couldn’t hear him.
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Sawyer, you don’t need to be up right now,” Illusia said softly, wrapping one arm around me to help me get back to where Koura was.
Carefully, she helped me sit down, leaning against one of the smooth boulders along the creek’s bank. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I really was until now. It seemed like any movement was becoming painful. Illusia had sealed my open wounds, but there were still bruises all over me, throbbing.
Illusia sat on her knees beside me, taking my hand and smiling at me. Even after I had hurt her so badly, she still cared for me. My little sister… Gently, she brushed a few errant strands of hair out of my face. I smiled back, letting my eyes fall half-closed. Giving her hand a little squeeze, I opened my mouth to say something, but she shook her head.
“You need to rest,” she said softly, smoothing my hair one more time. “I’ll take care of you, brother, just as you took care of me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
“My little sister…”
Those were my last coherent words before exhaustion overwhelmed me and everything went dark.
There was almost total silence among us until we came to the only thing I had seen so far that looked new and alive: a small, clear, fast-running creek. There were new plants starting to grow along its banks, starting to cover the scars of the fire. It was about three feet wide and stretched to the horizon in both directions. Some fair-sized rocks were embedded in the bank and Illusia was sitting on one of them, staring at the water. Terran looked worried, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Why does she look so sad?”
Koura gave me a disgusted look.
“You have no right to ask that,” he snarled. “You should know.”
That really hit home. I should have known. I was the cause of her pain once again. It looked like she and Terran and Koura had come all this way tracking me. It was all for that little gem. What was so special about it? I knew that the Planet Heart together as a whole had the power to bring Lily back to me. But what could this one gem do on its own? Illusia didn’t seem like one to do all that for power, so it had to be something else.
“I know I was wrong… But I just want to know why that one gem is so special that the lot of you would go to such lengths to find it.”
Koura helped me sit down and looked away sadly.
“You really don’t know?”
I shook my head.
“All I know is that the four Elemental gems, when put together with the Diamond Star, can do things that would otherwise be impossible. It is both a killer and a healer.”
Koura gave me a hard look.
“That gem has her grandfather’s spirit in it,” he said grimly. “Her family is slowly being taken away from her. To be completely honest, you were actually fairly lucky that you didn’t make it to the river.”
I shuddered. He was right. If I got hold of another piece, Terran would kill me, no questions asked - promise or no promise. I looked over at her, seeing how she no longer seemed to be the spirited, optimistic girl she had been when I met her. Her hair, that silky lavender hair, which before floated with her movements, hung limp. Even her eyes seemed to have lost their spark.
It seemed so wrong for her to suffer through something like this. Right now, it looked as if all I could do for her was explain my reason and hope she could forgive me. Using my katana to push myself up, I slowly made my way over to her. Terran glared daggers at me again, which I ignored as best I could. I tried to at least show him that I was truly sorry for causing my little sister so much pain.
“You’re Terran, right?”
He nodded curtly, obviously not trusting himself to speak.
“May I speak to my Princess for a moment? She asked for the truth, so I am here to give it to her.”
He looked slightly taken aback and gave Illusia an uncertain look. Illusia looked at me with questions and concern in her eyes. Then she turned back to Terran and nodded. He still didn’t seem to think she was safe alone with me, but he reluctantly turned and left. Illusia looked at me with questions in her eyes. Her eyes may have temporarily lost their spark, but they were still so expressive.
“Are you alright?” she asked quietly.
“No. I feel like dying.”
“Why?” she asked, her eyes growing wide.
“Because of how badly I hurt you.”
A tear escaped from her eye. Tentatively, I reached out to brush the little drop off her cheek. To my surprise, she let me.
“I know this is going to be hard for you to hear… Believe me, it’s taking all I’ve got to tell you.”
Tears sparkled in her eyes, though none escaped.
“Just tell me the truth,” she said softly.
I took a deep breath, forcing back my own tears.
“I will…”
She closed her eyes, ready to listen.
“You know what I am, right?”
Illusia nodded, trying to hide a small whimper.
“It’s because of that. I let myself go too far… I had got to the point where I was no longer aware of what I was doing…”
She shuddered.
“I didn’t tell you about Lily, did I?”
I heard a whispered ‘no’.
“I loved her more than life itself… And when I was in this trance, so to speak, I had no idea of what was going on or where I was. I no longer recognized her… She had offered to help me, told me she wasn’t afraid… Just like you did.”
“Oh no…” whispered Illusia. “ You didn’t…”
I bowed my head in grief and shame.
“It’s true. I regained my awareness too late.”
Illusia was staring at me, her eyes wide, torn between fear and disbelief.
“She had a very strong will to live though. Unfortunately, in this case, will to live meant nothing. But she fought for her life, tried to hang on… I tried everything I could.”
“You mean…?” whispered Illusia, no longer hiding her tears.
“She stayed long enough to give me one last kiss… and to tell me that no matter what, she still loved me. She died in my arms just seconds later.”
“Oh…” was Illusia’s shocked whisper.
“I’ll never forget her smile… Even though her gaze was numbed by pain, she smiled so sweetly at me… I swore right then that I would do anything to bring her back…”
I guess I was mostly talking to myself at this point…
“Why didn’t you just ask me, then?” Illusia asked, pleading in her voice.
I couldn’t look at her.
“I thought you would hate me if you knew…”
“If you had no control over it, then it was just some sick twist of fate,” she said softly, reaching over to touch my hand. “Of course I would help you.”
She got up, shaking a little, and took my scarred hand in both of hers. Tears streamed down her face and she shuddered with every breath. I wanted so badly to hold her and comfort her, as I did when we first met, but Terran would kill me. Instead I curled my fingers under her chin and tilted her face up so that her gaze met mine.
“My little sister… you really are an angel.”
“I’ll do what I can to help you now…” she whispered.
A silver glow formed around her body. I quickly averted my eyes as her short lavender dress faded away and was replaced by the silver one she had on when I found her. When the colored glow faded and I could look at her again, my eyes widened. After a few seconds, she sank to the ground in a dead faint.
'Oh no… I’m as good as dead…'
“You bastard,” growled Terran’s voice behind me. “I knew I should never have left her alone with you.”
I stiffened, chills running down my back. Slowly, holding my hands up to show that I wasn’t going to do anything, I turned to face him. I recognized the knife he pulled from one of his coat pockets. Illusia had it when I met her.
Terran held the blade at my throat, just close enough so that I could feel cold metal against my skin. I stayed perfectly still and tried to remain calm. My voice was steady and quiet as I tried to reason with him.
“Will you at least listen to me for a moment?”
“I may as well let you have your last words,” he said, his eyes dark. “So go ahead.”
I took a deep breath.
“She just fainted. I gave her the truth she wanted and I think it may have been too much for her. She should be alright in a few minutes… See for yourself! There isn’t a mark on her!”
Well, it was no use trying to stop shuddering anymore…
Terran moved the knife to the side of my throat. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the inevitable. To my surprise, and obvious relief, he only nicked my skin, showing me the blood on the silver blade. A warning. It was definitely unnerving to see my own blood staining a knife that had been seconds away from slashing my throat.
He sheathed the knife and roughly pushed past me. I tried not to wince as he hit the cut on my arm that was still opening every once in a while. With a shuddering sigh, I let myself relax. Terran knelt beside Illusia’s motionless form and took her in his arms, forgetting about me momentarily.
“Illusia,” he whispered, holding her close. “What happened to you…?”
She whimpered a little. Terran looked as if he had an idea and shifted to cradle her in his arms. My heart clenched painfully. That was how I held Lily as she was dying. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head over hers. He held her hand as he slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her tenderly.
I averted my eyes, feeling like an intruder.
“Illusia?” I heard Terran ask Illusia. “Are you alright?”
“I think so…” I heard her say softly. “Just tired I guess…”
I bit my lip, hoping Terran would take her word for it and leave me alone. But of course I’m not that lucky. He turned to me, a hard look on his face. Illusia must have told him not to do anything to me. If she hadn’t, he would have killed me when he first saw me beside her.
“If you hurt her, I’ll kill you,” was all he said, his voice low so that Illusia couldn’t hear him.
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Sawyer, you don’t need to be up right now,” Illusia said softly, wrapping one arm around me to help me get back to where Koura was.
Carefully, she helped me sit down, leaning against one of the smooth boulders along the creek’s bank. I hadn’t realized how exhausted I really was until now. It seemed like any movement was becoming painful. Illusia had sealed my open wounds, but there were still bruises all over me, throbbing.
Illusia sat on her knees beside me, taking my hand and smiling at me. Even after I had hurt her so badly, she still cared for me. My little sister… Gently, she brushed a few errant strands of hair out of my face. I smiled back, letting my eyes fall half-closed. Giving her hand a little squeeze, I opened my mouth to say something, but she shook her head.
“You need to rest,” she said softly, smoothing my hair one more time. “I’ll take care of you, brother, just as you took care of me. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.”
“My little sister…”
Those were my last coherent words before exhaustion overwhelmed me and everything went dark.