Fury, Emerald and Stella

Chapter 18

Part 1 - Fury

A slash of wind, shrouded in murky green, pushes towards us. One of the Mir’s hands moves horizontally, shaping a cutting motion. Now that I know that it’s too late to avoid conflict, my emotions rush through me. The hate towards that disgusting man standing behind the Mir, Finn, runs wild. His smirk infuriates me. I thought that my perspective had changed since meeting Heins, Björn, and Rayon—people of other races who treat us Avi with kindness. But here we are again, facing Mir and Baiin who show only malice.
The fury ignites my body, scorching my markings with light. Everything is vivid; the opponents’ movements are so slow it feels like a dream. Elda lunges at the clueless Heins, whose face still hasn't registered the danger. Dima looks sad, knowing what we must do.

I will not let the others fight. I will be the one. I’ve had enough. The rage inside me has been boiling my blood with every disappointment and every hateful glance that we’ve received. This time, they will pay.

Instantly I shoot forward and slide under the wind slash. Standing before the man in the middle, I grab the attacking Mir's arm. I crush down; his arm snaps.

“Ahh!” he screams in agony.

I sense his pain, but I feel no remorse. My own pain is worse as my markings burn like never before.

The other two turn to me in surprise. I hurl the first Mir by his arm into the one on my right. Their bodies collide and fall. I turn to the one on my left. He is already lifting his palm up; I think he is trying to launch an attack upwards. He is too slow…

I front-kick him with my fiery leg, right in the gut, sending him flying into the stone wall. Blood paints behind him, making a nasty sound. I turn to the Mir on the ground. He struggles to push his comrade off of him. The other is just grunting while holding his broken arm. I walk toward them and look down in rage. I see fear in the Mir's green eyes as they meet mine. He panics and tries to get up to attack.

“No!” he pleads.

I kick his head like a ball, wrenching his neck sideways. Only one remains, still lying on the ground in pain. I stand and stare down at the pitiful sight. I bite down in anger. I stomp down on his head.

Everyone is quiet. The only thing you can hear is the wet sound of my feet. I stomp, again, again, again and again… Until there is nothing left of the man who once was.

Finn stands motionless at the back of the room. His eyes are wide; his grey skin is paler than ever. I stare him down, locking him in the eyes, and start to walk towards him. His lips tremble and his eyes water as he backs into the wall behind him. A wet stain runs down his pants leg as he begins to cry.
Standing right in front of me, he speaks:
“What are you?”

I look him in the eyes and grab his neck.

Heins and Elda sit on the ground. She still holds on to him, his palm on her arm. Heins is in shock, his face twisted in disgust at the brutal sight. Tears run slowly down Elda’s cheeks. Dima has an almost mad expression as he looks at me, his eyes filled with sadness. I look back at him, with my rage still ravaging in my heart, breathing heavily. He turns toward the staircase and walks out.

“Dima, where are you going?” Elda sniffles.

“To get the last one,” he says and heads up the stairs.

I watch my friend walk away, sensing his disappointment, as Heins vomits on the cold ground.

Leaning against the stone wall beside the man I've killed, I watch Dima throw Lucas to the ground in front of me. Anxiety hits me as the reality of what I did and how the rage consumed me settles in. I don't have it in me to deal with this man too.

“You bastards! What have you done?!” Lucas cries in desperation, crawling toward his dead young master.

“Iris, help me tie him up,” Dima says, tossing me a rope.

Lucas lies tied up next to Finn's corpse, his mouth muffled by a piece of cloth as he glares at us in hatred.

“You and Elda take the cell at the back. I’ll go help the man and the woman,” Dima tells us.

I stand and watch the bodies around me without a single thought in my brain. I’m empty, I can’t comprehend what’s going on. Elda grabs my wrist and pulls me toward the cells. There are six cells in total, all dark and mostly empty. At the last cell we find three Avi children with chains around their limbs, huddled in the corner. They tremble and cling to one another, looking at us in fear.
On the other side of the cell, there is a woman. Her arms are chained to the wall, but unlike the children—she’s not an Avi…

Elda opens the cell with a key taken from one of the Mir. She crouches to talk to the children. I can't hear what she says; everything is quiet. I can only see the woman on the wall. I walk up to her while everything else goes grey. Her head hangs down, her long white hair draping over her face. She is small and thin, her arms chained above her.
As I reach for her face, she slowly raises her head. Her green eyes and pale, beautiful face look at me, half-awake. She stares into my eyes, an emerald-green shine in the darkness. My surroundings clear and every color comes back to life; I feel my heartbeat and my rage shift to sorrow. I’ve never seen anyone like her.

As she freezes me with her stare, she whispers:
“What beautiful purple.”

Part 2 - Emerald

After reuniting the children with the two adults, we learn they are a family. They embrace on the cold stone floor while we watch. Their happy cries bring a tired smile to my face, though I am too exhausted to feel much. The Mir woman watches, her arm over Elda's shoulders. She keeps looking at me, but I avert my eyes; I can't meet her gaze. After breaking their chains, we leave Lucas tied up in one of the cells. Sneaking out, we herd everyone into our carriage outside.
Heins looks half-dead, shattered by the shocking turn of events.

“Let’s go straight to the gate. If they ask, tell them we are all workers for your mine,” Dima says from inside the carriage as Heins climbs up to grab the reins.

“Yeah, I got it,” Heins answers, clearing his voice nervously.



The Avi couple sit in the middle. Elda, Dima, and the children sit up front. I sit at the back with the Mir woman in front of me. She looks at me with a kind smile and her delicate features; I look down. We start moving through the city.

“What’s your name, miss?” one of the Avi girls asks Elda.

“Elda, and this is my brother Dima. What’s yours?” she responds, trying to smile.

The children’s mother answers in a soft voice:
“She’s Lea; the two boys are Zeek and Liam. I’m Astrid.

“My name is Callum,” the father says.

Elda and Dima smile. Dima looks back at the Mir woman.

“How about you?” he asks.

“Stella,” she replies.

I glance up, catch her tired, cute smile. As she looks back at me, I avert my eyes down again.

At the gate a guard approaches Heins and peers into the carriage, taking a quick look at all of us inside. I notice blood on my feet; I curl my toes and swallow nervously.

“Are all of these your slaves?” the guard asks Heins.

“Yes indeed. They are workers for my mine,” Heins answers, repeating Dima.

“What about the Mir woman?” the guard asks, taking another look inside.

Heins doesn't answer immediately; he seems too overwhelmed for his usual quick wit.

“I'm their trainer,” Stella answers quickly.

The guard stares at us for a short moment, then nods.

“You can move on,” he says.

Heins whips the Vorix and it pulls us out of the city. Elda and Dima look at Stella in relief. She gives a sly, happy smile back. I take another glance at her, slightly smiling at her cute devious face. Tension leaves my body and exhaustion takes hold. My eyelids grow heavy until they close.

Part 3 - Stella

I cry in my dream, sitting on the stone steps in front of our house. I have a bruise on my knee and my elbow hurts. Tears stream down my face and I moan. My Ara walks out of the house and crouches beside me.

“What's wrong, my sweet boy?” she asks with a warm smile, caressing my head.

I sniffle and swallow to answer:
“The other kids. They—they were really mean. They pushed me, and I fell.”

I cry out again, embarrassed.

“Oh, Iris. Where is Siri?” my mother asks.

“She ran after them. I don’t know where they went,” I answer.

Just then Siri walks up, shy, her clothes muddy and her face reddened. I look away, trying to wipe away the tears. I don’t want her to see me cry.

She stands next to me and sniffles:
“I couldn’t catch them…”

“Siri, did you fall in the mud?” my mother asks her.

She nods and we both fall silent. I look down in embarrassment until my mother lifts my chin.

“Look at her,” she says.

Tilting my head to Siri, I see that her eyes are tearing up; she is embarrassed too.

My mother nods at me, prompting me.

“Thank you, Siri. I’m sorry…” I mutter quietly.

“Mm,” she murmurs.

My Ara crouches before us and takes our hands.

“You two have each other, never forget that,” she tells us.

We smile and chuckle.

Pebbles crunch under the carriage wheels, sometimes bumping over larger stones. I slowly wake, shaken by the ride and the sun peeking through the canopy. I still smile from my dream, as I slowly lift my eyelids. I’m met with bright-green eyes, red lips and a small nose, right in front of my face. It takes me a second to realize what’s going on, when I suddenly sit up in surprise by the Mir woman watching me sleep.

“Wha? What are you doing?” I ask in confusion and surprise.

My face blooms red from being so close to her; I can hardly look at her.

“What were you smiling about?” she whispers, completely ignoring what I said.

hear Elda chuckle and look at her. She sits near the sleeping Avi and Heins. Dima holds the reins. When she meets my gaze she pretends to go back to sleep.

Stella keeps her eyes on me, eagerly awaiting my response. My heart pounds and I swallow before answering:

“I was having a dream.”

Stella puts her arms around her legs and rests her head on her knees.

“About what?” she continues to ask while smiling at me.

“My mother and a friend,” I tell her.

“What are they like?” she asks.

“They... were... very kind,” I say hesitantly.

“I see,” Stella says, not questioning.

A moment of silence passes. Stella looks out on the road behind us. Haoul is long gone; only rocky plains and mountains remain. The sun is blazing in the middle of the sky. The scenery is beautiful, the sky is crystal clear. But I can't help myself; I can only look at her. With the sun shining up her face, her profile is gorgeous. Her skin is clear as snow. Her large eyes shine on her small face, framed by a tiny nose and thin eyebrows. I stare at the rosy, bow-shaped lips that had been so close to mine.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask her.

“Hm? Yes, of course,” she replies, turning her head.

“What did you mean? I mean, back in the cell. You said something about beautiful purple,” I ask her, curious.

“Oh, I meant your eyes. They're very pretty,” she says, smiling cutely at me.

“Ah. Well, thank you. You—you too,” I choke on my words, feeling embarrassed.

I hear Elda chuckle again; she pretends to clear her throat and go back to sleep.

Stella chuckles too, and smiles at me. I smile back, shy, and try to meet her gaze.

The fire burns as we sit around it. The trees light up in the small forest beneath the mountain. The Avi children eat grilled meat sticks from a small furry creature Elda hunted for us. Astrid and Liam watch their children with happiness. It warms my heart, but still… I can’t shake off what had happened; the way I felt as I fought and ended those slaver’s lives. My appetite is gone. Holding a stick of meat, I give it to the hungry children.

“Thank you!” Lea says, smiling at me.

“Mm,” I respond, forcing a smile.

Dima watches me from my side; I sense his worry. He stands, stretches, and walks to Elda to grab her spear.

“Hey!” Elda muffles out, with a full mouth.

ima gently tosses the spear to me and I catch it with both hands.

“Let’s go get some more,” he tells me.

We walk through a forest of skinny trees; the vegetation is thin and visibility is good. ut Dima does not sneak; he simply walks toward the forest edge.

“Where are you going?” I ask him, thinking we were supposed to hunt.

“Just a little detour, come on,” he tells me, and I follow along.

A full moon hangs above, its strong light filling the plains as we watch from the forest edge. Out here it truly feels like we are the only ones left in the world. Sand drifts across the rocky terrain. I look at Dima; his face is lit by moonlight.

“I’m sorry,” he says to me, without turning his head, and with a sad smile.

“Why? You haven't done anything,” I tell him.

“I know. That's the thing. I didn't see, didn't notice... I didn't know you were hurting,” he says, turning to me with compassion.

My nose stings as I breathe out, watering my eyes. Pressure fills my chest as I look at my friend.

“Please... I'm the one who should apologize. It's just... I can't stand the way they treat us. I feel this immense anger; I couldn't take it anymore,” I say.

It's odd. The thing that keeps coming back to my mind isn't what I did in the cells; it's my dream of Ziak. I feel his anger; it has become part of my own. Those slavers felt the same as the people who attacked me in the dream — the same as that king.

“I’m not sure how to explain it,” I tell Dima, looking down, disappointed in myself.

“You don't have to. I just want you to share the burden, like we promised,” Dima says.

I look at him again; his smile shows he's worried and wants me to trust him.

“You’re not alone. We will find a place where we can be free, where we can bring the people that we save. Think about Astrid, Liam, the children and Stella. You saved them. I only ask — and I know it may be selfish — don't lose yourself along the way,” Dima says, his eyes watering.

“Dima…” I say, not finding the words with a lump in my throat.

“I owe you my life and my sisters. So... let us share the pain, please,” he says, wiping his tears.

I walk up to him, giving him a hug.

“I will,” I tell him, hugging him tightly.

Dima and I sit in a bush watching a small waterhole. We wait patiently for a creature; I hold the spear.

“So... Stella's cute,” Dima suddenly whispers with a smirk.

“Wha? What do you mean?” whisper, surprised and flustered.

“Come on, you were pretty chummy back there,” Dima says and chuckles.

I sigh. He's right. She is gorgeous; I can't stop seeing her face in my head. Still, I don't understand my feelings. For some reason, when I think of her I also think of Ziak's mother. They look alike and share the same warmth.

“But… she’s a Mir,” I whisper.

“She is... I wonder what her story is. At least she didn't seem on good terms with the slavers,” Dima whispers back.

Just before I can say more, a little white, furry creature with long legs and short arms approaches the waterhole.
I ready my spear.