The Monster They Created -Chapters 13-16

Chapter 13

I was a kid who spent plenty of time alone in her room. From either being sent up there for asking a question or just simply wanting to be alone after a harsh day, seventy percent of the time I could be found up there, laying on my bed looking up at the ceiling and it’s wooden beams.

The hours on end were spent listening to my parents spilling secrets and me pondering what truly was life. Hating Troprin and its traditions was a thing I often did too which led to more pondering and listening to secrets.

Azreil and their green boots would cross my mind. Their blue eyes haunting my life. I would wonder what life would be with them as my betrothed, marrying for love and not Troprin.

Ideally, we would leave town and move somewhere next to a beach, perhaps Growtin. Our home would be a simple cottage with stone walls and moss creeping up the sides. Straw roof, dark wooden frame, green grass. Iris and G as our neighbors.

The four of us would sit among the tall oak and drink tea and discuss how wonderful our lives are.

Azreil and I would have three children so they could have friends to play with even at home. If we had girls, there names would be Sage, Cora, or Evelyn. If we had boys, Elijah, Edward, or August. They would all have their beautiful blue eyes.

Azreil would write poetry, I could garden and study minerals. We would sit quietly in our home, knowing we loved each other and that love would never stop. Our children never are kept in the darkness or fearing our anger. We only show them love that they need to grow.

Life would be beautiful and pure, free from the stressors of life and traditions we must follow. We would sleep the night in eachother’ss arms, feeling the hearts that only beat the other.

I dreamed of this life in my bed in the conservative town that made Troprin. I knew it could never happen for two reason. The first being they were a trader, not a farmer. By Troprin law and tradition, I had to marry a man who had no farm passed down to him and was a Troprin citizen. Azreil was not a citizen of Troprin, making our marriage impossible.

The second reason being their gender, or lack there of it. Azreil is what we in Elira call a “mix” some one who is a mix biologically between genders. They are rare, but not impossible. I’m not aware of everything concerning their gender, but I do know they like to be a mix of both male and female. And yet I love them.

I cannot marry a mix or a woman for as much as I would want to, only a man. So Azreils gender of choice becomes a conflict.

I love Azreil, I truly do, but I know we can never be tighter, no matter how much we do care for the other.



Chapter 14













After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened. The light was blinding at first from hours of only seeing pure darkness but it brought me a bit of comfort. A guard came down and untied me and un-cuffed my wrist. My ankles were bleeding from the rope pushing against them all night. The skin around it was stained red.

I was once again cuffed and pulled to the deck, leaving the basement and all of its horrors behind.

I saw the General again,”Did you enjoy your night?” She smirked as the guard holding me threw me on a chair.

She must have seen my face, she must have but there was a chuckle that came out of her.

My arms were tied to my side and the chair, I was stuck again.

“Her hair is a mess.” One guard said to another.

“Yeah.”

I looked at the black hair in front of my face. It looked greasy. Maybe it was just black grease and it would come out. I’m not an “Arewed of Evil’’. I then heard the sound of scissors and felt a weight be lifted off my head. They were cutting my hair. A week ago I would have been outraged. I loved my hair. But me a week ago, not me now.. I sat there as I saw black hair fall to the ground. Maybe my long hair was still intact and that is not my hair.

After they were satisfied they untied my arms and adjusted all my chains

A guard handed me a small rotting apple. “Take this.”

If this trip taught me anything it was not to be picky so I ate the apple, rot and all.

A thought came to my mind, today would have been my wedding. Today everyone my age in Troprin was getting married and beginning the new harvest tomorrow. Funny how much I want to do that now. What is happening there now? What did people think of me, how were G and Charles? I pray that G is in a Good place right now. Please, let him be happy. I also hope Charles is doing fine and marrying a woman he is happy with. Then there’s Azreil, do they know what has happened to me? It’s for the better I was too scared to tell them my feelings. It avoided plenty of pain.

“Land Ho!” A soldier yelled.

I looked to the front of the boat and was in awe of what stood before us. On a massive island stood an ancient stone tower covered in lush green ivy. A hole was in the big top part of the tower, allowing onlookers a peer inside.. I swear there was a person roaming inside of it.

“Come here!”General Ramona Avery yelled at me.

Quickly I went to her and she attached a chain to my ankle cuff.

We ported at a dock and the ramp was set down. I was led down the ramp and onto the creaking dock. The captain walked behind me carrying my chains. I looked up at the tower, was this the final destination? It must be.

I was taken up a path attached to the dock that led to the door of the tower. There was another path that led to a door on a hill. When we got up to the door the captain knocked on three times and the door opened. Inside was a huge area with a desk, a couple rooms by the back wall, and a dozen guards illuminated by candles scattered around the place. This was clearly a prison. We walked to the front desk where a woman was sitting behind it.

She looked at me and the Captain

“Take her there” The woman pointed to a room.

The captain escorted me to the room. She opened the door and detached the chain from my ankle cuff. She unhooked my hands and shoved me in. Once the door was closed I heard a prison noise.

“Get changed,” she commanded.” When you are done, knock on the door three times in a row.”

In the room was a mirror, a hair bush, bowl of water, cloth, a bench and clothes. I tried to escape by opening the door but there was no way to do so from the inside. I was trapped here once more. I wet the cloth and looked in the mirror. My heart stopped its obsessive beating.

Not only was my hair unevenly cut to my chin but my eyes. My eyes were a hauntingly beautiful gray. It became hard to believe that this was fake. I looked different from how I did a week ago. My eyes were gray, my hair was short and black, and my arm was marked. Along with all that, my mind felt changed. I took the cloth and cleaned myself to get rid of any grime and blood from the past few days. Something caught my eye on my back in the mirror. I always had three darker patches on my black in a vertical row, but now those patches were in the shape of stars and were black like my hair. What that was about I did not know.

My pineapple necklace was still around my neck. I decided to wear it but hide it under the new dress they gave me so no one would know. A part of my life needs to stay with me to keep even an ounce of sanity.

I looked at the dress I was given to wear. It was either a big rag or a dress as old as the dark times. It was gray with uneven sleeves, more patches than the original dress that were all a different color, and a variety of holes and stains. I got undressed and put on the dress. Thank Goodness I was only wearing the ankle cuff, because if I was wearing the handcuffs I would be screwed. The dress felt like it was made from a potato sack.

I looked at the once beautiful pineapple dress which now was ripped and stained. What Elira does with the clothes the prisoners come in wearing is take them, patch them, and give them to other prisoners.Who will get this dress passed from generation to generation and whose dress I’m wearing now?

I started brushing the remains of my greasy hair. I cleaned off what I could with the cloth and water. The water for the cloth came out loo King brown and dirty when I ringed it. It made me still feel gross even after washing myself. What I would do for a bath now.

I knocked on the door three times and it opened. The captain once again hooked the leg chain to my ankle and re-hooked the hand cuffs. She did it so fast I couldn’t even have the thought of running.

We scaled a towering staircase that led up to the top of the tower. General Ramona Avery walked me up all one hundred thirty two stairs. I counted. My already sore body hated this. Up at the top was one door lit by two torches. This was the final destination. She opened it, unhooked my hands, hooked my ankle to a new chain and locked the door.

Inside was a big old stone room with a pile of hay and a hole in front of the door. This must have been the room I saw coming in. There was an uneasiness about this place. When I waked forward, the chain attached to my leg clicked against the stone. I hate that sound.

“Finally, after all these years, we meet.” Spoke a deep voice from the shadowed part of the room.

I looked in its direction,”Who are you?” I asked with a shaky voice.

A man emerged from the darkness. He wore yellow pants and a green shirt that were very similar to mine in the fact they were both destroyed. He had brown hair that went to his ears and looked like it had not seen soap in a long time. Gray strips of hair-badges for his time in the tower. The thing that stood out to me though was he had gray eyes, just like mine. Just like Evil Seians.

“I have many names,” he replied.” Some would call me an ally while some would call me a son of a bitch. But you already know that.”

I stuttered”Yo-you are the Evil Seian Tonad Demarken, then-no, no, no. It can’t be.”

He smiled, showing his rotting teeth to the setting sun,”Yes, I am your Father.”



“No,” I tried to reason with myself,”My dad is Thomas Neara, he lives in Troprin on a pineapple farm. He is married to Elanor Neara.”

I was trying and failing to hold myself together, this was all a joke. And not a very funny one.

“By all that is dark no!” He yelled,”Those two old people really had a grip over you didn’t they.”

“They’re not old, they are thirty five!” I argued

“They must be in their sixties now,” he paused,”Oh yeah, I forgot”

“What?”I asked

“They changed their age to fit in better.”

I grasped what remained of my hair”You’re crazy! All these years you’ve spent here made you so.”

He sighed, “Fifteen.”

“What?”

He crossed his arms and looked to the stone ground, “I have spent fifteen years up here in this crumbling remains of a structure. But my time in prison does not make my words wrong.”

“You are the Seian of Evil, Tanod Demarken. The one who kidnapped and subdued the Princess. You made her have your child and then killed her. You started the war of gold and silver! Why would I trust you? "

Now I lost it, anything holding me together flew out the window. What was left of my mind repeated one word, No.

He looked up, “The only things you said that are right are my name, Gana’s death, and how we had a child. The King killed her and we were truly in love.” He replied “Also, you pronounced Evil the wrong way. It is actually Evle,” He huffed,” I really wish I could have taught you better.”

“You-you’re crazy, by the official Eliran dictionary, it-it is pronounced Evil. Evle is the Ancient El-Eliran spelling.”

“No, the government changed our name. We had no say in this name change and chose to use the original name like the Goods did. Also Evil was an ancient Eliran word with some negative connotations so by giving the name to us we were associated with more sinister things. I don’t see why that was needed though, seems like overkill. It’s not like people began to worship Evle at that point, we were still despised.”

I could feel my breath shorting like how it did the night of the party. My gaze turned to the big hole in the wall. The bricks were sinister out in some spots and the ivy looked strong.

“I am going to escape.”

“Oh.” He smiled and laughed.

“Th-this has been something but I-I’m not spending any more time i-in this cell with a m-murder.”

I ran forward, praying to whatever higher being that this would work and that they had a plan for me because I had no clue what I was doing. At this point I didn’t care if I died. It might have been better if I did. When I hit the hole I didn’t go through it. It was like a wall. It threw me back, and for a moment I was weightless in the air. Well, before hitting the wall with my head.

I woke up to my back and head aching. Dang it, why was I not dead?

“There is a force field all around this room.” The Seian explained, sitting in his half of the room. “They took a bit of our DNA and put it in a potion. The guard holds a special key that when they hold our chains and the key, we can go though. We can not touch the barrier or it will come back at us with that much force. The chains protect us from illness, magic, and stop any reproduction process. It makes the force field effects not kill us, but knock us out just to make us feel as much pain as we can. By knocking us out they think they are teaching us a lesson. There are many things they want us to learn in this place, Carlanna. Too many to be honest.”

“Who is ‘Carlanna?’” I asked, rubbing my head.

“That is your name, it’s ancient Elirian. Your full name is Carlanna Demarken”

With every ounce of my aching head I attempted to translate. Car means dark, l meant ness , anna meant Queen. Titles go first in the word with “of ‘' in between because it is one word, not a name and a title. Demar means lost and ken means one. Lost describes the one so it stays first. Put that together and you got, “Queen of Darkness” as the first name and “Lost one” as the last

No one knew the name or location of the daughter of the Arewed of Good Princess Gana Plade and Seian of Evil Tanod Demarken. Maybe I am her? No I am not, I’m the daughter of Elanor and Thomas Neara. My name wa-is Olive Neara, not Carlanna Demarken

“I can tell you still don’t believe me, but tomorrow when everyone comes to meet. You can ask them.”

I mentally noted how calm this murder sounded compared to before.

The door slammed open and an older man with a big bowl, a wooden cup, and a pitcher of water came in. He walked over to us with a limp in his right leg.

“Oh Yomata! What do you have for us today?” The crazy man across from me asked.

“Well,” the man replied,”we have water,” putting a cup in front of me and pouring water into it as well as an identical one the Seian had.”and we have a mush with bass, pineapple, egg,and milk.” He plopped a pile of this concoction In front of me on the ground.

I could tell he was from Yemmion by his accent and appearance. He pronounced his vowels with more emphasis and his eyes were purple like many Yemis

“Okay, thanks Yomata. Have a Good night.” The Seian of Evil said as the person who delivered this left. I wouldn’t call it food.

The prisoner started to slowly eat this mush.

I knew this trip taught me nothing to be picky, but this is gross. I picked an eyeball from the mush and watched it bounce when I tried to set it down.

I was also appalled by the use of my crop, “This is just disrespectful to the fruit.”

“Wow, pineapple farmer of the year over there. Anyway, are you gonna eat that? You won’t get sick, well at least I think.” The man added.

I poked this mass of glop and it jiggled. My apologies went to this fruit that I labored to grow. I shoved the mass of prison food down my gullet and swallowed hard.

Then I proceeded to throw up in the bucket in the corner.

The sun was setting as I layed down on the hay. The hay was far more comfortable than my sleeping arrangements over the last few nights, especially last night. With that being said it was still itchy. I closed my eyes trying to sleep. The chain on my leg was wrapped around my other ankle and was uncomfortable. Once again the weight of my situation set it. I did not want to cry or have a panic attack in front of this man, I did not want to see me weak. I wanted to break down though.

It was darker now and you could see by the light of the stars and moon. The man glanced at me. Seeing that I was asleep he sat down in front of the hole in the wall with his cup of water and a straw of hay. I turned my head to watch him. He dipped the tip of the hay In the water. He put the tip on his forehead then lips then right between his ribs before holding the hay in his right hand and s Peaking

“Hey Gana, today was rough if you saw.” He looked up into the star dotted sky,”I am so happy to have finally met our daughter. She is smart, she must get that from you. She also speaks her mind, that’s unfortunately and un-apologetically from me. She won’t believe me though. But that is normal, I am the weird one for not breaking down meeting my real parents and finding my true name.

“She is in for a rude awakening. Tomorrow is the day when everyone comes to meet. That will be the worst day for her. I have done it countless times as you know and by far, the first day was one of the worst. I remember fifteen years ago when I went on that damn tour. Everyone was throwing things at me. I still have the scar from the person who threw a brick at me. They thought I killed you, Ha! People are so easy to trick.

His voice went quiet,”I only hope that I can help her so she can be okay. I could handle this my first time enough, but I was also trained for this and twenty. Another hope of mine is this doesn’t mess her up beyond repair. She is my daughter and the future of the Evle population after-all. I have imagined her coming here for years. I guess I scared her though. I do come off like that sometimes you know. Tomorrow I will try a more calm approach. Farewell my dear, I’ll talk with you tomorrow.”

He put the tip of the hay on his lips once more. He got up and then put out his hand, slowly moving the hay out of the force field. It slowly fell to the ground as he sighed, chugged his water and walked to his hay. The man laid down and closed his eyes.

I looked up at the ceiling wondering if what he said was true or if he just made it up to fool me. He seemed genuine but so did many people when I befriended them. Whatever it was, I was going to find out tomorrow.



Chapter 15















I am standing in a black room. I don’t see any walls or floor, but I feel caged.

“Olive!” I hear my parents scream

“Mom, dad?”I yelled back

“Olive!” They wailed again. It seemed like they were loo King for me.

“Mom dad, where are you?” I asked, loo King around the room.

The screams got progressively louder,”Olive!”

“Olive!”

“Olive!”

I turned away and saw them, Mom with her messy bun and dad with his smooth hair. Azriel, Charles and G are with them. I run, coming towards them. Tears gushed off my face, and then I felt a great weight placed upon me. Upon my body are pounds of chains. When I look up, my loved ones are gone. Hands hold my arms. I look at these people, but they have no faces. They lead me through a line of people. As I walk people are yelling and throwing things at me. I am led to the prison carriage where the King is yelling at me. I can’t hear him over the noise though. They shove me in the cage on wheels but instead of entering the cell on the wheel I walk into the tower cell. I see my loved ones once again in the place the man stood yesterday. I run to them but an invisible wall bounces me back. Everything slows down, I feel the wall against my back as the man is in front of my face, his gray eyes haunting me like a ghost of some forgotten soul.

I woke up breathing heavily. The Seian was keeled next to me with his arms almost around me. There was a frightened look in his eyes. I backed away.

“Sorry, from the sound of it you had a nightmare,” He apologized, “Yomata came and gave us each a baked version of what we had yesterday. In about thirty minutes they will take you to a meeting.” He walked back to his hay.

After a moment of sitting there absorbing my dream I started eating that harder blob. It was both chewy and crunchy, burnt yet raw. A texture combination few have ever had the displeasure of feeling.

This meeting better get these events sorted out. I need Good food, a bath, to talk with reasonable people, and to change clothes. I fiddle with the pineapple necklace. I felt the familiar brown and green parts that pop out against my fingers. It pains me to say this but there was also a fear that brewed inside of me for what they may do to me.

“When they come you need to not look vulnerable. That is the key. Keep your head up and don’t cry.” the man told me.

I chose to ignore him, I will be taken home anyway and he will no longer matter. For a little while we sat in silence. He would occasionally look over at me but not before quickly loo King away. The door opened and two guards in their gold armor filled in.

“Come here, woman,” One guard demanded.

I walked over to them, a little scared. The first guard binded my hands while the second guard unhooked my leg chain from the wall. They put a cuff on my other ankle and then hooked my wrist and ankles together with another chain. They covered my eyes and ears.They poured something on me that made me levitate. It felt similar to liquid poured onto me the night where Azriel might have tried to take me.

I couldn’t tell where I was going. It was truly scary. There were bumps that made my heart stop and temperature changes that shook me to the core. That was the point of these bindings.

After fifteen minutes I felt new chains put on my ankles and wrists. Everything extra was taken off so I stretched out with my arms in the air and my legs floating but still attached to the floor. There were open curtains in front of me, I was on a stage. This position was humiliating and dehumanizing much like much of this journey.

The Queen and King walked onto this stage.

“Hello demon of darkness, enjoying your stay.” The King said in his snotty voice.

I tried to speak to him but couldn’t. The sight of him brought me back to the party. As he chuckled to himself, a door opened on the side of the room. Two people walked in. The man with smooth gray hair. Medals adorned his gold coat. He wore white pants and gold shoes with the highest captain’s cape on his shoulders. The woman had a mixture of brown and gray hair in a tight bun. Her clothes, though not as fancy as her husband’s, were still garments that would be worn by someone of a high part of the social structure. The King addressed them as Thomas and Elanor, but I knew them by another name.

“Mom! Dad!” I yelled

I needed to speak to them no matter the cost. They can help me. My parents sighed. They started talking to the King and Queen in hushed voices with their backs to me. After their conversation was done they walked over to the stage.

“Mom, Dad, I’m so glad to see you! What’s going on?”

They looked at each other with sad eyes.

“We have something to tell you.”Mom replied

“We are not sure what that son of a sword told you, but you aren’t are daughter. We took you in after the War of Gold and Silver. Your real parents are Princess Gana and that Evil man in the dark tower. Your real hair color is black your eyes are gray. Your real name is Carlanna Plade. I don’t know what other twisted lies that man told you but those are true.” Dad explained

“No no.” I mumbled

No, it wasn’t true. No, it couldn’t be. This is just another lie. No, I’m Olive Neara. No, I’m a normal person. But after everything that has happened it must be true. There is no other explanation.

“But you loved me. You trusted me to take over your farm,” My eyes become teary”Was I even a daughter to you?”

Moms eyes darted to the side,”It was complicated, we wanted you to be our daughter but you were the one thing we set out to destroy. Sometimes we could pretend you were our daughter but as you got older it became more apparent.”

“But you-”

Dad cut me off, “For Goodness sake child, do you still not trust that you are Evil after everything that has happened? You may have been book smart but in any way social you are an idiot, just like your blasted father.”

My life was a lie, I am not Olive Neara the pineapple farmer but Carlanna Plade the Arewed of Evil. I lived for fifth teen years without knowing this with people who hated me. I have not been the most sane person in the past, I’ve gone through rough times but this put them all in the dust. I Couldn’t talk as I looked at these imposers. These people lied about everything. My old parents began to walk away satisfied with the state they left me in.

“Go fuck off.” I muttered

Their heads snapped back to me.

I knew it was wrong. I was still scared of them but at that point, I didn’t care.

“What did you say?

“You know what I said.”

“You Evil child! Do you know who I am?” Thomas sternly asked.

“A liar!” I hissed at him

“The correct answer is the one who controls your fate!” He yelled back.

A hard slap whipped against my face. As the slap stung me I remembered all those times he hit me. Was that just them taking out their anger for Evils? But now, after these past few days, did they think a simple slap would hurt me? Eleanor and Thomas signaled to the guards and walked away. They pulled the red curtain on the stage, closing off my sight. Soon after a mouth cover was placed on my face so I wouldn’t spit out anymore curses.

I heard people walking, talking, and taking seats behind the curtain. It felt like the performance. Only more cold metal and my life may be on the line. Nothing piqued my interest until King Adigast started talking.

“My friends and loyal advisers. We meet again under this tower to discuss matters concerning the Kingdom. Today’s meeting is full of importance. I will let my friend and closest ally take over, Lord Thomas Neara, Head of Evil Affairs.”

Lord Thomas Neara, Head of Evil affairs? So he wasn’t kidding when he said my life was up to him.

“Hello everyone. As many of you are aware, me and my wife have been fostering the biggest foe of our time. The first Arewed of Evil in the past seven hundred years, Carlanna Plade. The time has come for her to come to this tower and wait out her final months before her birthday. She was retrieved from her home five days ago and is now here.” Thomas announced

The curtains opened and I met the group of people at this meeting. They all wore fancy attire, assuming they were part of the royal court. The room also began to stink of alcohol. Dr Inking at eleven in the morning seemed a bit obsessive. I could pick out the royal family quickly. The King and the Queen stood elegantly and seats next to them held their youngest daughter and her husband. There was a young girl and boy with them too. The grandchildren of the King. They were about eleven. The girl had yellow eyes. A Seian of Good. The Good version of Tanod Demarken. While I was at-least these observations I heard the chatter of the group about me.

“That’s the biggest threat?”

“She is so young.”

Thomas started talking again,”On February nineteenth we will get rid of one dark soul and make room for a Good one. King Adigast, I think you should take this over now.”

The King switched places on the stage with Thomas.

“Since the death of Gana, the Kingdom has been missing an heir. I passed my only gene for an Arewed of Good and since Gana was not able to produce a suitable heir I believed the Kingdom doomed. But a light shone upon us and blessed us with an unimaginable gift, fulfilling my successor’s prophecy. Amara, my grandchild, daughter of Princess Sadie and Prince Waric. Please come up here.”

The granddaughter stood up. She wore a gold tiara with an opal sun at the top. Her dress was a stunning white with gold accents at the bottom, the cuffs on the sleeves and around the collar. Her hair was dark brown and braided into pigtails.

“What’s going on Grandpa? I am only a Seian of Good, I am not like Aunt Gana.” Princess Amara questioned.

The King and Queen hugged her. The King bent down so they were eye level.

“You may only be eleven and just a Seian of Good but now you shall be so much more.”The King reached to his side and pulled his sword. He presented it to the girl.

“That is your sword, the Sword of Good!” She exclaimed.

“Yes it was. Do you know how a Seian gets the powers of an Arewed?” The King asked

“You slay the Arewed with one of the Great Vlode Swords.”

“Yes, but you can only do that when they have reached full Arewedship. And thankfully that is in six months for that demon. And her Arewed powers aren’t going to do any Good for us sitting in her Evil body, so we want you to slay her the second she is an Arewed. It will take practice, but you can do it. And once you reach your sixteen birthday, you shall become the Arewed of Good and the Queen of Elira.” The King explained as he handed her the sword.

The princess’ eyes and mouth widened. She looked into the audience at her parents. Her mom nodded back. The girl closed her eyes and mouth again before bowing down to the King putting the sword above her head.

“I shall not betray you.” She promised

“No my child,” the King stood her up,” we shall not betray you.”

The King and everyone else in the room bowed. The girl looked as if she was going to cry. Honestly I found this stupid. But what I was mainly thin King about was how I was going to be killed on February nineteenth. I stayed strong but simply wanted to cry. The rest of the meeting was them talking about the alliance of four and trade routes. I blurred out most of it. I was trying to stay calm like what Tanod said. I could not let them know I’m weak.

“My allies, as this meeting comes to a close, I must acknowledge something,”The King began,” This country has been going through trying times since the War of Gold and Silver. But those who follow the beliefs of the Good have stayed together. I am thankful for all of you. Especially my friends Lord Thomas and Elanor Neara. You two have been such a help.” The audience gave them applause. Thomas and Elanor bowed in response.

As the audience cleared out, the King handed Thomas a knife. The man I once knew as my father came up to me. Someone unhooked my right arm. It hurt even more to be hanging by one. Then the mouth cover was removed,

“You may ask one more question.” Thomas said.

My heart was beating fast, “Aren’t I still even a tiny bit your daughter ?”

I searched every spec of his eyes for a glimpse of the love he once had for me.

Thomas grabbed my arm and dug the knife into my flesh. I wailed as the blood flowed.

“I have no daughter,” he responded.

He squeezed the open wound and let the blood drip into a vial.

“Why do you hurt me?” I muttered.

The King came up to me again, “Do you remember being young, with those stories of Evil people keeping you up at night?”

“Yes,” I whispered

“Do you believe that those monsters that haunt your dreams deserve comfort?”

I hesitated but said the truth,”No.”

“Well then, you just answered your own question.”



Chapter 16









My body hit the stone floor of the tower hard. I was chained to the wall again. Although I wasn’t as chained before, I still couldn’t move. I sat there, blood spewing from my cut.

I was going to be killed. I am the daughter of the man I was taught to fear. I am the Arewed of Evil. My breath shortened again and soon I was gasping for air. Tanod came out of the shadows again. As he sat next to me I backed off

“Kid, you have to breathe.” He said

I looked into his eyes for hatred but all I found was empathy. He seemed to actually care about me.

He grabbed my left hand,”Breath with me. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.”

I squeezed his hand. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. After a minute I could breathe again. I let go of his hand and he got his water. He ripped off a piece of my sleeve and poured some water on my arm to clean up the blood. I flinched a little bit when he put the cloth around my arm.

“Is that too tight?” He asked

“No, it’s fine.” I replied. It did hurt though because I was just cut with a knife.

“I understand you don’t trust me which is understandable and talking to me is weird, but what happened to upset you? I might be able to help you get through this.”

I took a deep uneasy breath. This is my life. This is my father. I decided to talk.

“My whole life’s been a lie. I was raised by people who hated me like a pig for slaughter. I’m an Arewed of Evil, a person I was taught to despise. I was just taken from the only place I ever know and sent here.” I began to cry again,” I was lied to so much. I don’t know if I deserve to live or die. Everyone says I’m not human and maybe they are right. I’m a monster, a demon. I’m the thing that I stayed up late at night fearing.”

I looked at Tanod, there were tears in his eyes. The Seian of Evil cried? I didn’t think Evils could feel emotions. He looked down at the stone and smiled.

“You’re right, you’re not human, you are an Arewed. You are my daughter and the savior of the Evles. I know the King and his advisors can make one feel worthless but don’t let those idiots get into your head. I never wanted you to be taken away from me and put with those wretched people. I will try my best to get rid of all that garbage they put in your head and find a way to save you. Sixteen is too early for anyone to die, especially an almost immortal.” Tanod whispered to me.

I was in shock. This man was kind. He didn’t seem like a monster. My other parents would never do this. They always seemed cold and standoffish. Tanod Demarken was my dad. He wanted to be my dad. And part of me wanted to be his daughter. I always wanted this support. I felt on my neck the pineapple necklace I was still wearing. I took it off.

Tanod looked at it, “Is that a family necklace?”

“It was. I once looked at this necklace with pride because I knew my parents trusted me to look after their farm. Now it is a reminder of them.”

I stood up and walked to the hole in the wall. The cold breeze brushed back my hair. I closed my eyes, remembering the times I spent with those people. With G and Azriel. With the bullies. With the farm. Then Tanod came up and gently touched my right shoulder. He did not startle me, I just opened my eyes and looked at him. He gave me a small nod. I looked back at the hole in the wall. I sent the necklace flying through the air and through the hole. That necklace was an anchor weighing me to my past life.

It was time to begin a new one. Although it may not be long, I want to live it.

I felt a bit freer with that chain gone, but the one around my ankle still tied me to this place. Tanod smiled at me. Although my body ached, my heart felt a little healed.We walked back to my hay and sat down. We sat there for a little while.

“If there are any questions that you may have I am willing to answer them.” Tanod explained after a moment

“You said my last name is Demarken while the royal said my name was Plade. Why is that?”

“As you are aware couples use the higher ranking partners last name so that’s why the royals say Plade. But when your mother left the castle she wanted to leave her family behind so she demanded we use Demarken. I didn’t mind. She changed her name and we used that name for you.”

“There is another question I have, what exactly is the difference between Areweds, Seians, and Grestas? I know that Areweds are the highest and Grestas are the lowest but what is the exact difference between these groups?” I questioned, “No one has really told anything. Topics this are usually taboo in Troprin.”

“That town is horrible. So close minded and un-accepting. When I heard that’s where you were sent I was furious. Well more than I was before. Every Eliran can become a Gresta although it can be difficult. They can start doing magic from any age, Seian are only born once the old one dies. Their magic goes to the baby born closest to their death. There is only one Seian for each magic type at a time. Only people with Eliran blood can become a Seian. Areweds powers are passed through DNA usually to the first born. Seians and Areweds have to wait until their sixteenth birthday to get their magic.

“Every person has a certain amount of energy. Casting spells as well as doing normal day activities drains that energy. Eating, sleeping, waiting, and some potions can give back energy although the potions that help give energy are hard to make so it is better just to eat something. Things like stress and illness can put limits on that energy at-least it harder to do magic. Grestas have the lowest amount of energy, it can be increased but never to the amount of a Seian. Seians can increase their energy too but never to the height of an Arewed. Areweds have the most energy which like the others can be increased. Since Seians and Areweds have the most energy we can do higher level magic. Magic also comes more naturally to us. And as I assume you figured out, Seians have either gold or silver eyes based on their magic. Areweds have black hair and silver eyes or white hair and gold eyes. Areweds also have either three back stairs or white suns on their back. Every other feature can be covered by magic all your life. Those birthmarks can only be covered until your sixteen.”

Yomata intruded into the tower.

“Hello folks, today we have, well to be honest I have no idea what’s in this. I guess it is a surprise.”He scooped this green glop onto the ground in front of us and put one cup next to each.

“Goodnight.” He said as he walked out of the room.

I glanced at Tanod with an unpleasant look on my face.”We can’t eat that. Right?”

I was hungry and knew I shouldn’t be picky, but it looked horrendous.

He shrugged and started to eat. I summoned all of my courage and started to pick up what looked like a grape. I chewed and swallowed hard. Some sort of liquid on the grape coated my mouth and left an unpleasant taste. I figured I would eat all the other things in one bite. Once everything was down my throat I chugged the water.

Tonad was still eating. He must have been used to this from the past fifteen years. It was impossible not to feel sympathy for him. Sleeping on hay, eating what could barely be called food, and not leaving the island. It was inhuman and gut wrenching to see.

The tower was dark and the stars started showing by the time Tanod finished eating.

“It looks like it’s time for bed.” He said and began to move to his hay.

I yawned.” You’re most likely right. Good night.” I replied.

I layed down on the hay and waited to see what he said tonight to Gana. Or technically my mom. After a little while he checked me to see if I was asleep. I must have fooled him again because he took his water, a piece of hay and himself to the gap in the wall. He sat down and did the same procedure now but the message was different,

“Hi my love. Today, today was a mess. It is hard to see her go through this. I want to get her out of here and away from those people. I want to teach her about my religion and about our life. And please my dear, I know it is against your beliefs but please allow us to escape. I just want her to have the life she deserves. Please my sun. I love you, speak to you tomorrow.”

My eyelids began to feel heavy. I drifted into a real sleep before Tanod went to his hay.