Lauren’s dreams were clouded with pictures of a past she didn’t know she believed in and a world that didn’t seem real. Was she Arya or Lauren. She tossed and turned as images flashed through her mind. Her mother and father… Life at the orphanage, her younger brother…. growing up alone, good friends….a life filled with distrust and suspicion, the rebellion….school, Marissa… or Britt. It aggravated her that she couldn’t remember any whole part of either life… just fragments. “Who….am I…?” She mumbled in her sleep, the thin line between reality and dream completely disappearing. Which was which?’
“Ar-ya! Wake up!” Taki said cheerfully.
“My name’s Arya… yeah. What was I thinking! Of course it is.” she mumbled under her breath, “Go away.”
“Come on now, there’s work to be done. We’re coming up on an enemy ship and we don’t have much time till the sun comes up. Only a few hours.”
“Go die.”
“Oh, come on. Boarding an enemy ship is fun! If you work you get a split of the treasure!”
“Fine…” She scooted off of the bed and stood up, “Next time knock before you come in here.”
“Can do. Maybe…” He led her to the rail and gave her the spyglass so she could see the other ship that was headed towards them.
“Great… I’m supposed to care… aren’t I?”
“Well, yes. You are…” he motioned to the rest of the pirates who were looking out at the ship. Even Shinon seemed interested for his own reasons.
Arya sighed and wondered if he had noticed one of his belongings was missing yet, “It looks almost like a rebellion ship… we can’t attack it. For some reason I feel like we shouldn’t…”
“We can attack it and we will. The rebellion was fine but it’s over now and I’ll attack them now since I didn’t attack them during the rebellion.”
“I’m not going to let you guys attack that ship.” Arya growled, pictures of a fight against the Imperialists flashed through her mind, “We will not board that ship.” She sounded very serious. ‘Why do I care…?’
“I don’t know if you realize this, but if we don’t attack them, they’ll attack us first. We will be forced to fight and kill them no matter what, Arya.”
“No. And the rebellion isn’t over anyhow. They won’t attack us. Once they know we don’t want to fight they won’t try and make us.”
“I can see the Captain now and, knowing her, yes she will. She likes money and treasure…mostly to buy food…she really likes food…”
“I don’t believe that they will. If it’s a rebellion ship… even if it has been abandoned…. Won’t attack innocents….” She looked thoughtful for a minute, “On second thought, why in the world would anyone refer to you guys as ‘innocent’?!”
“Exactly. We’re attacking. You can help but if you don’t, at least don’t get in our way.”
Lauren shrugged, “Whatever you say, Taki.”
“That’s better. Arch will stay with you to make sure you don’t try and hinder us in any way or help them for that matter,” Taki said, motioning for Arch to come over, who in turn nodded is consent. Then Taki turned to his crew and started naming who would go onto the ship with him and Shinon and who would stay in case of a defensive maneuver.
Lauren looked annoyed, “I’m going too.” She said stubbornly.
“Fine. Arch, you’ll stay here and Shinon will watch Arya. Got it?”
Shinon glared at Taki but nodded once, “If you get in my way, I won’t be happy.”
“Sure. It’s not as if I really care, Shinon. Sheesh… and I thought you were the nice one….” she glared at him.
“I am. But I have business to take care of over there and Taki knows it even if doesn‘t know what the business is. Why he still put you with me I’m not really sure.”
“I have to talk to someone… about me. Maybe they…” She was going to say “…can tell me who in the world I really am!” but cut herself short. She wanted to seem confident around these guys.
“Maybe they what? If you really want to talk to someone, go to the Captain of the other ship while we‘re over there. I have a pretty good idea who it is…” As Shinon had finished they were close enough to board and he handed her one of the grappling ropes made specially for this purpose. He threw his with ease, hooking the end to the other ship’s railing. He swung over swiftly and climbed up the side, expecting Arya to follow. He was the only one who did it that way though, all the rest of the crew simply flew over or made great leaps to get to the other side.
‘Do I know how to work this thing?… I wonder. Maybe I should know. Did I forget?…’ She thought, but then -deciding that if it didn’t work it wasn’t a big deal- she threw hers over barely hooking it on the other side and swung over nervously. “Wasn’t too hard…” She commented climbing up to the top and hopping down to the deck. ‘Now to find this captain person!’
The two crews were already fighting, Taki’s crew stealing at the same time. Taki himself happened to be rifling through the other Captain’s quarters, looking for valuable maps and other things. Shinon looked at Arya, pointing to a petite girl with relatively short, curly black hair glaring down at them, Shinon especially.
“Mistryle!” Lauren gasped, “Mistryle… come… down here! Now!”
Mistryle screwed up her eyes, “Arya?! Is that really you?! You’re supposed to be dead! And what are you doing with them?!” She motioned to Shinon.
“No ‘Hello, nice to see you again’?” Shinon asked in a not so sarcastic tone. Lauren’s voice faltered for a moment, “You know me, right? I don’t know anymore! I can’t remember, Mistryle. Who in the world am I? I’m so confused… ever since I woke up….” She sighed, “I joined these pirates because they seemed okay guys… and… I don’t know… tell them to stop fighting at least…. So we can talk?”
Mistryle scoffed, “Like they’ll listen to me…”
“I could get them to stop,” Shinon said.
“And in return?”
“A little treasure…and a chance for me to look around. I’m sure you know what I’m looking for.”
“Still on that silly search I see?”
“It’s important to me, Mistryle. It should be important to you too.”
“I get over things quickly. Look, Shinon, you’ll live forever. Don’t waste it on a guy who won’t.”
“Do you want me to stop the fighting or not?”
“Fine…I agree…they can take what they have and get off my ship. You and Arya will stay till your business is finished.”
“Deal.” He started to relay the message through his mind but Taki came and interrupted him.
“Shinon! What are you doing?!”
“Our men have their coats full. Leave with them and we’ll get back later.”
“How do I know Arya will come back?”
“Just trust me. I’m your first mate, aren’t I?”
“What if I don’t want to??” Arya asked, “What if I want to stay with someone who knows who I actually am?! I can’t stand not knowing… I need to remember.”
Taki looked at Mistryle, “…well…if Mistryle comes with us…”
“What?! And leave my crew?? Have you lost it, Taki? Or is it already long gone?”
“I’m serious! Just till I find Konohoe and beat him to a pulp slash rub it in his face…I’m sure your first mate can handle it…”
“I have no first mate and you know it.”
“Surely there’s someone you can trust enough to watch the crew and your ship!”
Mistryle rolled her eyes before saying, “Call off your men first please.”
Taki did and his crew started to leave, the blood of Mistryle’s crew on their coats along with the valuables in their pockets.
“Mistryle. I would like it very much if you’d tell me who in this stupid world I am…. I’ve got two different sets of memories and I can’t figure out which is real and which isn’t.” Lauren almost growled.
“I think I can explain…it seems Zariel told me about this happening…her mom told her. Come walk with me and we’ll talk. Kaname!” The same Kaname that Konohoe was talking of earlier came over. He was the only full vampire on Mistryle’s ship and he had the same black hair as Ashe but it was longer and his eyes were a full red.
“Yes?” he asked, showing the minimal respect for his Captain.
“Go tell Doc to tend to any wounds, humans first of course. Oh, and I’ll be leaving soon so I promote you to first mate. Take good care of ship and crew. Turn them against me and I have ways of making your eternity a living nightmare pushing you to suicide.”
“Sounds fair.” Kaname went off to follow orders and spread the word, leaving the three alone once again.
“Well with that settled I’m off to business,” Shinon said as he went to the bow of the ship and started to search for only he knew what.
“So who am I again? Really. I keep seeing a whole bunch of different stuff that doesn’t seem to come from this world… but I’m starting to forget… I think I knew perfectly well who I was when I first woke up… but now those memories are fading… I’m confused.” Lauren sighed.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this, but…the world you keep on seeing and this one are connected. I’m not sure who you were in that world but it may be better that you forget because no one has ever gone back…if it helps, in this world you and another girl, Marissa, were basically the leaders of the rebellion against the Imperialists who tried to control the spirits and dhampirs. You know what those are at least, don’t you?”
“I remember a little of… Arya’s life.” Lauren looked wistful for a moment, “In my own world I looked completely different… I have a little brother who needs me there!… Maybe I’m not even really truly gone… Oh, I just don’t know anymore! I do know what the rebellion and all that is… I see glimpses of Arya’s past… I might even be starting to remember more about her pain than I do about my own world…. I’m even starting to act like her for Christ’s sake!”
“Who’s Christ?”
“He’s God’s one and only son… whom he sent to die for all the sins of the people of our world… If I know God than he created yours too. Have you heard nothing of him?” Arya looked astounded for a moment that the people of this world had never heard of God.
“Well…there were stories before…I think the Imperialists have the last book of them though…it had a name…Bible?”
“Yes! That’s it from my world! So God is here also… Tell me, has the Rebellion really disbanded… Did they lose hope just because of… my death? Marissa would have never let that happen! What has become of… her?” Arya questioned almost angrily.
“I…I was just getting to that…Arya…Marissa died when you did…”
“Yes, but I am alive, am I not? Is there not a chance that she could still be alive too? I can’t believe that the Rebellion wasn’t strong enough to pull through their belief in our death! What in the world were they thinking?! I’ll have to fix that.”
“Not everyone quit. I still have my ship as you can see. And everyone here is loyal to the cause. Mostly because they want to honor yours and Marissa’s memories. We’ve been trying to steal from local pirates to get enough money to buy more ships so we can better fight the cause.”
“I’d like to talk to them. They should never have kept on going just to honor our memories! They should fight for themselves and stop being cowards.” Arya exclaimed with a sad look. Had all these people really depended on Marissa and herself so much…? If that was so than…maybe her not dying was a good thing.
“They’re not cowards. They’re good fighters who’ve been going against the odds despite their lack of hope. You’d do well to remember that if you speak to them, Arya.”
“I’m sorry… I was not trying to say that they are not extremely brave for what they have done despite the fact that two of their most depended upon and trusted leaders were thought to be dead… It just scares me that people would leave if… they thought we were dead!” Arya replied, then grinned, “I don’t know why they’d ever do that… what, with such other trustworthy, not to mention capable leaders -like you, my good friend- still living.”
“Flattery, Arya? You’re still smart then. Besides, they didn’t just think you were dead. Many of us, including myself and Zariel, saw your cold, lifeless bodies for ourselves. I buried Marissa on the shore…Zariel buried you next to a road so you could watch over a town.”
“It’s nice to know you guys thought so highly of me… It’s good to be back… If you can call two personalities in one ‘being back’. It’s like I’m two different people…yet one at the same time… If I start going all weird on you don’t worry, okay? Just smack me over the head or something and I’ll most likely be fine.” She looked up into the beautiful night sky, “Do you think it’s a good idea to let people know that I’m back… Do you think that would scare them? Or would they just start believing that I’m some kind of God or something…? -insert snicker here- I wouldn’t want them to go around thinking that, you know!”
“I’m not sure. Some one, some the other. I’m not a mind reader like those vamps…”
“Hey! I can read minds too, remember?!” Arya pretended to be outraged then sobered up again, “Do you think we could use ‘me’ being alive as some sort of weapon against the imperialists? Would it give the rebellion hope if I showed myself to them? I’ll do whatever is necessary to help them… only… If I do show myself… I want to keep it… a secret for now. I don’t want anyone not known to be involved in the rebellion to know about me. It would put the imperialists on their guard and we defiantly don’t want that to happen.”
“I think it’s a good idea. If only Marissa were around too…then they’d be doubly scared.”
“For some strange reason… I have a feeling she’s out there somewhere. I know she is in fact. I would know if she wasn’t…” Arya tried to explain herself without seeming silly, “I think we could win this war.”
“You two were pretty close, huh? Though it didn’t seem she shared much with anyone…”
“So I guess we can tell the crew that when they’re in port they should get a hold of some of their old comrades who went into hiding and tell them the good news, huh?”
“Yes, but we also need to remind them to keep quiet about it…I don’t want to see anymore obvious rebellion ships out here until the right time…”
“Exactly. So I’m guessing we should… probably tell them… about now…”
“Yup. And you get to give the good news,” Mistryle said as she pushed Arya to the steering wheel, the perfect place to give a speech. And the place Shinon had moved his search to by now…
“Hey! Listen up!” Arya said in a commanding, confident voice that caused the crew to look up in awareness. They hadn’t heard that voice in awhile now.
“I know some of you thought I was dead. Well, the thing is, is that I was dead but we’re not going to dwell on that fact because I’m obviously back now.” As she looked into the crowd she was surprised to see some familiar faces, “I don’t know exactly how or why, but I am and that’s that. I’m proud of you guys for sticking together when most of the rebellion obviously lost heart. I’ll have a few words for them when I see them next. A lot more words than you guys are going to want to hear. The empire has no inkling that I’m alive and I want you guys to keep it that way. You can tell the people who left that I’m back and if they know what’s good for them then they’ll come back too. I want you guys to keep this under wraps though, alright?” She waited a few moments for a spoken reply to tell her that they understood.
For a moment they were all silent, disbelieving. A few of them literally pinched themselves to see if they were dreaming. They obviously weren’t and when they figured this out, cheers erupted.
When Shinon looked up (because of the cheering) he was shocked because he hadn’t heard a word, too worked up in his own business to be listening. He shook his head and looked back down…and saw the glint of metal he’d been looking for. He had to bite his own tongue to keep from cheering himself. He reached into one of his pockets and felt for what wasn’t there. The silver key was gone and he knew he hadn’t hidden it on the ship or in any other place. Then he remembered who was in his room… “I’ll have to see to that later…at least I have the last box. Dumb Mistryle just now letting me search her ship…” he thought out loud.
“Excuse me?” Mistryle asked. She’d come to stand over him as Arya was speaking, “I swear, you get so wrapped up in things that you don’t even notice someone coming up behind you. Obsession can be a bad thing, Shinon.”
“That’s nice. I’ll remember to forget those words, Mist.”
“I’m sure you will…so is that the last one?”
“Yep.”
“Are you going to open it?”
“You’re hero stole the key…”
“Oh…well, you found what you were looking for. Listen to the speech why don’t you?”
“Since we have time. Taki can wait.” They both stood next to Arya and looked out over the crowd. “It’s great to be back… ‘-well sorta back anyways-’ and don’t you dare let anyone else in on this little piece of info that I’m about to let you in on… I’ll give you a clue… I don’t think I’m the only one who’s miraculously come back to life recently. Just so you guys know. Oh, and I’m going back on the Pirate ship with Mistryle. So be strong ‘-or at least pretend to be strong-’… and don’t worry, the imperialists will never know what hit them when we finally do make a move. Until then stick up for each other and for Christ’s sake, don‘t ignore someone who thinks they have a good idea!” She finished glaring at a few faces in the crowd that she somehow knew thought themselves better than others.
“Nice speech. Back from where?” Shinon asked.
“I was dead you idiot! At least Mistryle says I was dead… and she happens to be someone I trust. So I think I’ll believe her when she says they buried me.” She rolled her eyes.
“And I’m supposed to know this, how?”
“Well you would if you kept in touch…”
“I would’ve kept in touch if you would’ve let me on your ship to search. Besides, keeping in touch goes both ways.”
“It’s not like I can fly to you!”
“True, but all you had to do was get one of your crew to send me a message through thought.”
“You know I’m too proud!”
“Wow… I just went through that whole stinkin’ speech and Shinon blocks me out… I should have known…”
He looked at her, “Please don’t pretend you know me.”
“I do know you, you little punk! I don’t come from this world! I know everything about your personality! Why do you think I knew your name before you told me, huh? Sheesh, you’re dumb… and I had always thought you were the nice one out of…. People.”
“Uh-huh…Mistryle, you pick your heroes from the asylum?”
“No! She’s telling the truth! If you ever meet Zariel, she can explain it to you in a way you’d comprehend.”
“You just don’t know how to explain it, do you?”
Mistryle glared at him.
“I know about you because me and a dear friend of mine used to spend almost every waking moment of our boring lives thinking of crazy situations to put you in… Most of you I’d know by heart even without Arya’s personality and memories going through my head! I’d know you, Mistryle, Jinko, Zariel, Taki, Konohoe, Kaname, Ari, Rei, Aradia, Yukio! Why do you think this is so… strange to me?! For Christ’s sake! I practically live my life through you guys… just to find out that you’re… real? And to add to that… I’m losing… myself and my thoughts to Arya… soon I don’t know if there’ll be any of Lauren left… maybe it is better if I just forget. Let go… but I had a family in my other world… I don’t even remember their faces anymore but I know they were there…” She looked as if she was about to burst into tears for a moment, “I had always wanted an adventure… a life of danger… and now that I have it… I’m pitiful… aren’t I?” ‘These people… believe in Arya… I can’t just let them… down… Can I?’
“Pitiful? No. I don’t think so. You’ll only be pitiful if you let self-pity rule you,” Shinon said, crossing his arms and not letting his own pity for her get into his mind.
“And there you go, Arya. Words of wisdom from Shinon. Treasure them since you won’t get many. Of course, you can devise your own reason as to why.”
“Thanks…you sure know how to lift someone up, Mist…”
Arya straitened up, “I almost broke down there, didn’t I? Sorry. I won’t do it again…. I just miss Matt… But he’ll be okay without me. That world doesn’t need me as much as this one does… I actually feel as if I might belong here…. But I want to ask a favor from the two of you. I have a Mother named Misty, a father named Mike, a little Bro named Matt… and an amazing group of friends who truly cared for me in that world. Don’t let me forget. Please?”
“Don’t worry, we won’t let you forget. Right, Shinon?”
“Already committed to memory, dearest Mist.”
Arya smiled already seeming as if she was back to ‘normal’, “Great, now that that’s settled…. I wanna thank you guys ahead of time. I know I can count on you two, and maybe several other people just from knowing them in America…. (it’s a country in the other world). So are we going to leave now? Oh! Hey, Shinon? I noticed you found a box over there! So…. What does the key look like? What’s in the box anyways?? I wanna know! Pretty please?! If not I’m going to ransom the key.” She stuck her tongue out at him, “So, there!”
“You really wanna know? Papers. Now give me the key!”
“Aww… that wasn’t very fun. It was almost cruel in fact.” She scowled, “I don’t want to.”
“Fine. But since I told Taki I’d get you back to the ship through flight, they left. Now I can be gentle with carrying you two, or not. Get the hint?”
“I’ll… find my own way back.” She insisted stubbornly… then smiled, “I might think of giving you the key if I can read the papers inside your pretty little box. If not than I really couldn’t care less. I don’t think Mistryle would put up with you being rough though… and neither would I.” “If you didn’t put up with it you’d fall and eventually drown. If not you, Mistryle would.” “I could probably fly myself there!” Arya scowled and hovered slightly off the ground by drawing a gust of wind around her.
“Well, Taki would be very happy to see that you were starting to use your powers…might even hug you with joy.”
‘I was trying not to let them discover that little fear too… Hey! How does he know about my slight… ok.. Someone might call it a fear… of guys?! I’ll kill him if he tells anyone… wait…OH GREAT! Mind reading idiot!!!!!!’
He smiled at her, letting her know how right she was, “I’m not an idiot.”
“You, Shinn-y, are down right cruel.”
“So are you going to give me the key?”
“No. Simply because I don’t think you could make me…” ‘Not to mention it’s pretty… and shiny… and looks good on this chain.’
“I gave you that chain! Be respectful!”
“Make me!”
“Let me illustrate a conversation I’ll be having with Taki when we get back aboard,” Shinon replied as he started doing different voices for Taki and going back and forth, living out a conversation that went along the lines of:
Shinon: Guess what I have to tell you, Taki?
Taki: What, Shinon?
Shinon: Arya just proved to me and a whole crew of witnesses that she really is a spirit.
Taki: Really?! That’s great!
Shinon: Oh, and guess what else?
Taki: What could possibly be better than what you already told me?
Shinon: She’s grown to adore you and wants as many hugs and kisses as you can give her!
Taki: Yay!
“Taki would then gluggle you.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“Actually…he would…I know…” Mistryle said, shaking her head as she relived childhood memories.
“Fine you know what? If you want a dead captain instead of a live one then you just go ahead and tell him that!” Arya hissed.
“You wouldn’t be able to. It’d be you versus the whole crew if it came to that.”
“No. I’m not letting you get your way with this. I’m keeping the blasted key and that’s that!” ‘stupid… jerk… Oh, that makes me mad!… Hugs? Bleh! Idiots! All guys are complete and utter idiots… this simply proves my point.’
“I resent that. You keep on underestimating me. Hmm…now I have to do what I didn’t want to do…Mi-ist! Tell her to give it to me! Please? You know how much I need it…”
“Oh, not that old act…she’s not one of the village richies you know…”
“Uh… yeah… about this whole act thing… I don’t think I’m going to like it… so umm…. Maybe… umm… we… umm… make… umm… a deal! Yes, that’s it! I’ll let you have the key if you give it back after you’re done with it! Hah!” ‘Goodness, you’re stubborn! Oh… and don’t think this is over either! The stubborn Arya part of me is going to want to get you back for this, you know.’ She sighed, ‘Not that I would want to get you back for it… nope. Not me. Hmm… What else could I steal from him? Sheesh, I need to think of some better hiding places! Hanging on a necklace on my person just isn’t going to do it….’
“You do know I was listening, right? Now give me the key.”
“You know what? Bye!” She panicked while trying to use Arya’s powers and was practically thrown off the ground by a violent gust of wind until she was hovering over the ocean.
‘Oh, great. I don’t like this… Shinon! I’ll give you the key if you help me! Okay?? Pretty please?? I really don’t like dark water… I like clear water…If I’m going to lose my memories of my other world then why in this world would I keep my fears??!!!!’ She scowled again, ‘It doesn’t make sense I tell ya!’
Shinon flew up quickly and held onto her. “It’s because you still have both personalities. Now give me the key before I drop you.”
“Uh… Yeah. I’ll give you the key… of course.” She gave a little laugh, all the while holding on tightly to Shinon because of her fear of being dropped, ‘You wouldn’t seriously drop me would you?!’
“I’d drop you and tell Taki you fell. Now give me the key. Please?”
“Can I give you the key on solid ground?? Please?”
“No. If I trusted you more, maybe. But since I don’t, no. You don’t want me personally messing with your memories, do you?”
“NO! DON’T YOU DARE! MISTRYLE! TELL SHINON TO PUT ME ON SOLID GROUND!!!!! EEK!!!” She yelled hysterically. She didn’t want her memories messed up any more than they already were, ‘I’ve got to let go of him to get the necklace off though…. And that’s going to be sorta scary… what if he accidentally drops me or something…. Oh… this isn’t very fun…… I’d give the jerk the stupid necklace if I was on solid ground!!!!!’
“I don’t totally believe you. Just trust that I’d never ‘accidentally’ do anything and I always keep my word.”
“So.. You’re not going to let go? Promise? I really don’t like… being so high up… even if I probably could…fly or whatever… It’s scary.”
“I promise that if you let go to get the necklace and give me the key I won’t let go of you till I drop you off on the ship and go back for Mistryle.”
‘You know on one hand… this guy… is way too close. On the other hand if he wasn’t I would be falling and a blob of hysterical crying-ness by now…… I… Oh, fine!’ She thought angrily reaching back to unclasp the necklace. When she finally had it unhooked (she had been doing this with her eyes tightly shut) she practically shoved it in Shinon’s face.
He bit the key and the necklace both so that they were firmly in his grip…mouth… ‘Thank you.’ He had to send the message through thought instead of speech. If he could’ve put the necklace and key in his hands without dropping her even for a quick second, he would have. Then he quickly flew to Taki’s ship, set her down, and flew back to Mistryle.
“Took you long enough…why must you be so stubborn?” Mistryle asked.
“Because,” he started to answer as he picked her up, “It was important and you know it. You could’ve helped you know…’
“But that would’ve been boring…”
“I should drop you, Mist.”
“One problem that you and I both know: I like the cold, dark, deep water more than anything.”
“I’m proud, you really did help. You didn’t tell her that.”
“Yep!” Mistryle smiled and they flew to Taki’s ship. He set her down carefully and looked at Taki.
“What took you three so long?! It’s almost sun-up!” Taki exclaimed once he noticed Shinon wasn’t going to run off just yet, “Did you at least find what you were looking for?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Yeah… He also threatened my well being… or more like mental well being… discovered three of my worst fears… and then the jerk had to go and save me from becoming a blob of hysterical crying-ness! So I can’t be mad at him anymore and it bugs me!” Arya mumbled under her breath, thinking no one would hear her.
“Okay then, so you’re all good then?” Taki said, not caring that she was mad about not being able to be mad.
“So…where am I sleeping?” Mistryle asked relatively selfishly.
“Umm…not many places left…except my quarters…” Taki said, looking at her in challenge.
“Don’t worry, Taki. I don’t want to sleep where you’ve been…”
“Aww…how mean…” Taki answered sadly.
“Uh-huh…I’ll just sleep on deck somewhere…”
“You could always hang out in my -used to be Shinon’s- cabin. It would be nice to have someone to talk to after all.” Arya offered, sounding more Arya-ish than Lauren-ish.
“Shinon’s old room, huh? That’ll work!” Mistryle said happily, giving Shinon a dementedly happy look of joy.
“Just don’t open the package I told you about unless I die before you. You can’t even read the letter or let someone else read the letter or open the package. Got it?” Shinon told her forcefully.
“Oh fine…Hmph. Spoil sport…” Mistryle said dejectedly, “But do you realize how much that makes me want it more?”
“Yes, and that’s what makes it all the more fun for me, dear Mist.”
“Did I miss something?” Taki asked, looking from Mistryle to his first mate.
“I think I’ve got it down perfectly! Wha-ha-ha!” Lauren laughed maniacally… ‘So Shinon… are you going to invite me?’
“Invite you to what??” Shinon asked out loud instead of just keeping to thoughts.
Lauren kept laughing, ‘The wedding of course!!!’
“What wedding?!”
“Yours and Mistryle’s you idiot!” Arya rolled her eyes. Was he clueless or what! ‘I asked if you were going to invite me to your guys’ wedding… you are, right?’
Both Mistryle and Shinon slapped Arya and glared at her.
“Like I’d ever get married to him.”
“I wouldn’t want you to, Mistryle.”
“So you guys wouldn’t invite me?” Arya asked half joking and half seriously depressed about the whole ordeal.
“There’s nothing to invite you to!” Shinon almost yelled but managed to keep his voice down, “Listen, the sun is about to peek over the horizon and I need to get out of its way if you’ll remember. Good day.” He waved them off and want to the bow of the ship where he’d made himself a safe little hole to sleep in. With all the cavities and holes he’d made in that sip it was amazing that it hadn’t sunk.
“I’ll be going too. But, Arya, I do see where you’re coming from on that whole marriage angle,” Taki said as he went to his cabin. A banging was heard from the bow, Shinon trying to voice his complaint and threats. Taki shut up fast.
“I’m… not really sleepy. I think I need some time to think anyways…” She smiled at Mistryle, “You should go on and get some sleep, I’ll be there in a minute. Promise.” Then she turned to watch the rising sun, not even bothering to check and see if Mistryle had actually left. ‘Pretty… The sunrise here is even more beautiful than on Earth. Living here won’t be so bad at least… You know… I remember when I was a kid… I used to dream of having adventures like this… Ralei and her little group of followers… or maybe it would be considered as Diadra and her little group of followers… Then there… was that one guy…’ She had often wondered if maybe all those adventures she had under Ralei’s personality might have been somehow real in a way. She laughed, ‘It’s a wonder I can remember that from when I lived on Earth as if I wasn’t losing my memory at all…. Wow… I wonder when I’ll get of this blasted ship…. Not that it’s a dumb ship or anything… It’s very pretty actually…’ She leaned up against the ships rail and sighed, she hated being alone with her thoughts. She thought to much when that happened!
Mistryle stayed for a moment before turning and leaving to go to the cabin, hoping to find Shinon’s package and poke it till it miraculously opened. She went to the closet he’d told her about and tapped around till she found a hollow place.
‘Solid…solid…hollow! Yay!’ She squealed with delight at the thought of finally knowing what was inside. Though she did have a few good guesses…. -cough- quest -cough- . She hit the spot in a random sequence and it popped open, revealing a package wrapped in brown paper and tied with a red, bowed ribbon- just to bug her. She grabbed it and sat down on the bed, cackling and poking the box, hoping it would just rip open or pop like a jack-in-the-box. She then started tossing it up in the air until letter attached to the bottom fell down, the cream-colored envelope drifting down in front of her…
‘To open or not to open…’ Mistryle thought, tilting her head to the side and wondering about the consequences. The envelope clearly read ‘No One Must Ever Open This But Mistryle…And Then Only After I’m Dead.’
‘Guess he’s serious then…sheesh…it’s not like he’s going to die before me anyways…he’s not going to make me a vampire, is he?! Oh I’d kill him…yep. The first thing I’d do would be to kill him…’
“You know, Lauren… or Arya… or whoever I am? You might enjoy this place if you stop throwing yourself a pity party.” Arya straightened up, “Maybe Mistryle’s still up! I’ll go see.” She turned around and started to head back to the cabin.
Mistryle sat up quickly when she heard Arya’s footsteps. She grabbed the stuff and rolled off the bed, putting it all under the bed and looking around sneakily.
“Umm… Mistryle? Are you alright?” Arya asked quietly as she stepped into the room, “I can always leave if you’re busy.” She suggested.
“Huh? I’m fine! Did you get all your thoughts sorted out?”
“Yeah, I did actually.” Arya grinned, “You know… when I was about nine or ten I had these weird dreams about this girl with silver hair and violet eyes that sorta looks like I do now… She was like an alter-ego of myself… I don’t know why I’m telling you this but it feels like I should warn someone from this world about her…. Just in case. It was strange. Oh, well. So how are you doing? And what’s the rebellions next step. We should probably discuss that….”
“…you’re the leader person. Not me. Sheesh, do you realize that’s a miracle that I even got caught up in this? I could’ve been sitting on a beach somewhere eating and sleeping.”
“Ok, so I’m the leader person.” Arya repeated, then felt the need to point out, “I’m also the clumsy… slightly a bit of an idiot girl from Earth. Tell me how this is going to work again?”
“You’re right…we can only hope that Marissa is alive somehow too. Then there’ll be a balance at least. Hopefully…unless her other personality is anything like Lauren…”
“Ok, first off Lauren’s stupid idiot personality was just another act in the first place. So…” She questioned, “If I could somehow remember some stuff about the real Lauren then maybe this wouldn’t be so hopeless. Although, Lauren does seem to think that that Ralei girl was her ‘alter-ego’… maybe that was the real her… if so… I feel sorry for the poor souls who’d try to get in her way.”
“Interesting…very…interesting…if I was a saner person I’d have a headache by now…”
“Oh, shut it!” Arya snapped, “I’m serious!”
“So am I.”
“Lauren’s somehow… she’s locked the decent, smart, better part of her up somewhere and I’m thinking it’s going to take a very large miracle to unlock her.” She scowled, “Why me?”
“Hmm…well I’m not an expert on miracles. Or on psychology for that matter.” Mistryle yawned, “All I know is that I’m tired. This is going to be the first time that I won’t have to worry about the ship or being Captain or the crew being safe. And…not having to wake up early is a big bonus.”
“I’m not sleepy.” Arya commented slowly and started to get up, “I think I might go back outside some until I do feel like going to bed.”
“That’s fine. Just don’t try and wake me up. It’s for your own good.”
“Oh, why, of course not!” Arya looked offended that Mistryle would even think someone would try and wake her up, “I’d never do something that stupid. It’s Lauren you have to watch out for.”
“Well, if you must know, Shinon still has a scar from trying when we were younger. And I know Lauren can hear me so the warning goes for her too.”
“Yeah, yeah! I get it.” She called back as she walked onto the deck. ‘Now, what to do? I could go wake Shinon up!’ She looked over to the bow, ‘Nah… he’d kill me. Humph! Why do these idiots have to sleep during the day… I’m bored.’
“Whatever…tell me more about the rebellion and Arya. Maybe it’ll jog my memories of here…” Marissa told Zariel as she walked to the rail to look out at the dark sea. The sun would be up in a few hours and she wasn’t sure she’d want sleep. She turned back to the rest of them, “And unless the rest of you have something constructive to say I wouldn’t mind if you left or something.”
“Good thing I at least have something to say!!!” Ashe commented and sat down on the floor by Marissa’s feet.
“What would you know?” Jinko questioned.
“That’s for me to know and Marissa to find out.”
“Oh.”
“Be nice, Jinks. The little kid might actually have something to say.” Zariel pretend scolded.
Marissa scowled at the guys who were still standing there, “Did none of you hear me or do all -God help me- have something to say?”
“I actually find this interesting. And I do happen to know that…okay, so maybe I didn’t really care about the Rebellion,” Konohoe said before deciding he’d save himself the trouble of being hit by leaving to his cabin.
“Umm…I’m just gonna go now…” Ari said, walking down the steps and stopping so that he could better listen in…little eavesdropper…
“I just don’t have anything better to do,” Rei said seriously.
“So you’re going to get your jollies by listening in on us?” Marissa asked coldly.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am. Is it so bad that I want to learn and possibly pitch in my two cents every now and again?”
“Ok. Fine.” Zariel sighed, “Every body here better keep their mouths shut about what I’m about to tell you though. If the imperialists got a hold of this stuff then we’d be in trouble. First off, the rebellion was started by a couple of acquaintances who met in the capital city the day they tried to gather all the spirits and Dhampirs to the city. I was there with Jinko when we ran into you and Arya, an orphan you had helped out of a jam or something like that. She was like your shadow or something. She was a spirit also. She was silent most of our first few days together, but warmed up to the two of us after a while. The four of us had decided to escape the city before it became even more violent than it already was. If you don’t remember, I might add that the imperialists are a bunch of sick jerks who oppressed the people and would kill someone without thought. The four of us started the rebellion… and soon people were flocking to us. You wanted to handle it on your own… and well… Arya seemed to be along for the ride. When the Rebellion got serious I was seriously shocked to find that she was a brilliant tactical leader and she had the trust of the people. She was brave, but not stupid. You two sort of balanced each other out… soon after we picked up Mistryle from somewhere or another… It just happened. She added a little bit of humor to our missions… we weren’t so uptight with her around… Well.. That’s how it started… I guess I’ll skip forward to the end and you can ask me anything you want to about in between later. Basically we were attacking the imperial ships that went in and out of port -Arya’s idea- when they… well… they surprised at least. You went down with your ship… along with Arya. You two died together! She probably could have saved herself, but no. You wanted to stay and fight while your ship was sinking and she decided to stay too! I buried her near a port town to keep watch over the people there… you were on the beach… umm… to watch over… sailors! Yes, that’s it! And now you’re back. And if you’re right and she’s still alive somewhere out there than I can bet you she’s not sitting around doing nothing. She’ll be planning something…. She couldn’t stand waiting, that’s for sure.”
“Are you trying to insinuate that I’m doing nothing? What do you want me to do, Zariel!? Say, ‘Poof!’ so that I’ll automatically have all my memories of here back and to dismiss the others?! I can’t just kill my other personality, Brittany. It won’t work that way! And I am right because she is alive.” She paused as a thought dawned on her, “And I bet you I know who had to come from Earth to revive her…geez, God has had some crazy plans before but this is almost homicidal/suicidal for me and her!”
“What are you talking about? If it came to Arya’s personality versus some other person’s than Arya’s would win.” Zariel told her, “Who is it anyways?”
Brittany had to keep herself from laughing, “You don’t know Lauren. Well, at least not like she knows you. Stubborn as can be sometimes. Does a lot of natural acting…”
“What do you mean by ‘acting’?” Zariel questioned, “And how in the world could she know me if we’ve never met??”
“She tries to scare people away with an act so that she won’t get hurt if they know the real her and still leave her or stab her in the back. At least that’s how I understand it. Anyways, I only know her so well because I wouldn’t let up when she tried to scare me away. Sure I practically hated her at first, but my boredom overcame that quickly enough. We’ve known each other since we were around…nine. Oh…and you know those stories I told you about? We used you guys as characters. You, Jinko, Diadra, Mistryle, Ari, Rei, Yukio, Kaname, Taki, Konohoe, Aradia, and then there was this guy named Kaden she talked about when I caught her off guard.”
“Did I hear my name?” Kaden asked, coming from the shadows to stand over them.
“Huh? You look familiar…” Brittany said as she turned to scrutinize his messy brown-black hair and deep brown eyes.
“I’ll give you a hint, you just said my name.” He looked at her as if she was stupid.
“Don’t look at me like that, Kaden! You jerk. You’re so mean.” The words came from Brittany but the confidence was all Marissa.
“So… I’m guessing this is the guy… that Lauren person talked about?” She asked ignoring Kaden and focusing on Marissa.
“Yes. She described him as a stubborn jerk who liked to make Ralei mad to get a laugh and then protected her. He was also very violent and you should never trust him.”
“I’m still here…and why wouldn’t you trust me?”
“Oh don’t play that act because I’m not a fiddle! It made since in my head…”
“You don’t think I’d stab you in the back for my own gain, do you, Zariel?”
“Umm… I guess…” She looked thoughtful for a moment, “Oh! I know. Aren’t you curious about the otherworldly little girl who seems to know so much about you? Because if you are then… We’d like to find her. Do you know where she might be?… She’s… Arya now… except if you’ve heard anything that we’ve been saying then you’d know that she isn’t just Arya… She’s someone else too…”
“Arya, huh? I happen to know her…and since I was just about to make a small trip to talk to someone, I’d be happy, seeing as I’m not a backstabbing jerk, to see if I spot her.”
“Oh, well aren’t you sweet… -mumble- liar -mumble-…” Marissa commented…she didn’t like liars unless it was her doing the lying…
“You do realize that the Arya you say you knew… died. Now someone else’s personality is mixed up with hers, you get that right?”
“Did you think I listened in on you people for nothing? If I didn’t think you had something of use to say I would never even spoken to people of obvious idiocy.” And he said it so calmly too…as if there was nothing wrong with the statements.
“Umm… yeah… Well… if you find her then tell her that we’re looking for her… okay?” Zariel told him, making sure he understood the gravity of their situation.
“Uh-huh. Sure.” ‘If I remember…’ He took off as quickly as he’d appeared, flying upon a cloud of darkness.
“Told you he was a jerk…” Marissa commented as she went to climb up a mast to sleep, not wanting to think anymore than she had to.
“Up when everyone else is asleep, Arya? Not safe, not safe at all,” Kaden said as he came up behind her.
She spun around, preparing to tell this new person to lose the rude attitude when she literally froze, “Kaden?” ‘God, I promise if you’d just kill him then I’d be a good girl for all eternity… really!’
“Now why would you want to kill me? Besides, you wouldn’t be able to take being good forever.”
“Wanna bet?!” Arya asked crossing her arms. ‘Wow… This is something I never thought I’d see… Dream guys actually real… cool… he’s just as cute as I’d always pictured him… Wait! Bad! Bad Lauren or Arya or whoever I am! BAD. B. A. D. BAD!’
“I always knew you liked me, Arya, but dream guy? That takes the torture I have planned for you to a whole new level.”
“Look, I’m not exactly.. ‘Arya’.. I mean I sorta got stuck with her personality.. But I’m not her. So don’t take me for her.” She informed him annoyed. ‘Ahh! Sheesh! How in the world am I supposed to tell the guy that I’m from another world…. And that I ‘dreamed’ about him…. Wow!… This is awkward…. Wait! What did he mean by ’torture’. That’s just like him… but I’m not Arya and I’m definitely not Ralei… right?!’
“It’s a good thing I’m not dumb seeing as your thoughts are so scrambled. And I already knew about the ’other world’ thing for your information. All I had to do was listen in on those two girls Zariel and Marissa. One of which has your same problem.” He didn’t feel like mentioning he knew who else was inhabiting Marissa.
“I knew Marissa was still alive out there somewhere!” She sounded slightly happy. ’Hmm… I wonder which groups he’s backstabbing this time?’
“Backstab? Me? I’ve changed Arya…” -insert maniacal laughter in his head here-.
“Kaden.. One thing I know from all the dreams I’ve had about… I mean… Not that I’ve dreamt about you or anything… because I most definitely haven’t, but you don’t ’change’. You’re forever going to be the same guy who drove Ralei out of her mind and double crossed every person who came to trust him.” She glared at him. ‘The ‘Bloody Angel’ was a good title for him… He certainly is sort of angelic, isn’t he? No, he isn’t. He’s a jerk and he’s dangerous… very dangerous. Just remember about Ralei and you’ll be fine. Are you going to let someone like that jerk push you around again… like he did with Ralei…’ She shook her head quickly and took a step backwards toward the rail, ‘Ralei was just a dream! She wasn’t real. Period. She wasn’t you either… she wasn’t a coward… like you are… Of course Arya seems just as brave as Ralei anyways… and she’s real enough!’ It was no longer Arya talking or thinking, but Lauren. Seeing Kaden seemed to shock her and scare her at the same time.
“It’s okay, many people dream about me. I like that name though…’Bloody Angel’…I consider myself angelic. And if you really are the coward you say you are then my job of torture will be even more fun.”
“I should scream or something. And stay out of my thoughts!”
“Well, to your credit of limited intelligence, you finally understand that I’ve been in your mind. Oh, and I don’t really care if you scream. Everyone but that Mistryle girl will keep on sleeping in their vampiric state. And the girl won’t be thrilled you woke her up.”
“Are you implying that I’m stupid?”
“I don’t have to imply to something so obvious.”
Lauren looked angry, “Go away. I don’t want to deal with your antics right now.”
“And how exactly would someone with such limited grasp of her powers right now like you be able to make me go away?”
That was it. That was the line.. And he had just taken a big leap over it. “Look, you jerk…” She looked surprised for a moment at the venom in her voice and shook her head again, “Umm… Would you leave if I asked nicely?” ‘What was that all about!? I didn’t mean to say that…’
“Getting aggressive on accident? Temper, temper. Don’t you know you sound rude when you call someone a jerk? Especially a childhood friend such as myself.”
“So Arya knew you…? So what?” She leaned up against the rail, “I really don’t care whether I am rude or not right now. You’re a demented, idiotic, jerk who tries to control people from the shadows. Who’s side are you on anyways?” ‘Good grief! Provoking someone like Kaden isn’t a very good idea… Oh well.’ “I’m leaving and going back to my Cabin now.” She dismissed him offhandedly and gestured for him to get out of her way.
“I’m on everyone’s side who needs my help, I told you I’d changed, Arya. But you’re right, provoking me isn’t a good idea…” he said, not moving from out of her way only because he liked to make her mad.
woo hoo! second part! comment and/or critique this too! that is...if you read the first part...which so far...no one has...of course, it hasn't been up for too long. anyways, please read it!
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Godrules272's Going Ons
This will be a journal about what's happening in my life. I also might post some of the stories I've written or am writing. Maybe even the one I'm doing with angelbread22! I hope you enjoy my journal!
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