My Sister, The Chosen One

Nineteen

J. Cole Ft. Missy Elliot- Nobody's Perfect

Sasha:

There are a lot of aspects of my life that I haven't properly thought out and where I'm going is one of them. Out of the four of us that made it on to the Aldrich Royal select, only three of us are alive. When Sadie died, I promised I would take care of her parents. I haven't been keeping that promise as of late. My uncle and I have been at each other's throats for a couple of years now. I haven't gone to visit them. I haven't called or answered their texts. The more my wings grow, the more sentimental I get. I'm starting to realize that it's a losing fight trying to keep everyone at arm's length. I have to feel things now, allegedly. I understand them more clearly and a part of me feels like it's dying. Everything is catching up and the void just gets bigger and bigger.

"Sasha, it's good to see you again," Brucie greeted me when I finally arrived at Elder Tower six. Rey asked me to sit back for a bit before heading out to High Rise and then asked me to bring an Elder with me when I got there. Which is why I called my uncle. Rey must expect them to give us a hard time with Peabody. We did just steal their leading scientist.

"Uncle," I smiled at him as I signed my work puck into the system so I could be approved to Realm jump to High Rise.

"What are you up to?" he asked abruptly. He sounds like he's accusing me of something, but I think I'm just being paranoid.

"Signing in," I pointed at the kiosk. "You should too,"

"No, no. You know what I'm talking about. Why are you interested in Redwood?" he asked. So, he is accusing me of something. That's hilarious. He placed his puck into the empty slot next to my own. "You're not going to like what you find,"

"Like how you and my dad snuck him into our parliament to f**k with Emblem?" I whispered. His dumb little smile faded. "Oh, did you think that was a secret?"

"Did he tell you that?"

"Why are you being mindful of my actions as of late?" I asked. It's not like him to push into personal details. He's always just spectated from a distance. I pretend I don't see him and he pretends I don't do anything stupid. Our relationship works that way.

"As of late?" he glared at me. "All the times I pulled you out of the gutters when you were with Ace don't count?"

"They do, but you've been preoccupied as of late. Care to explain that?"

"Where is Rey?"

"He's already there. You and I are back up,"

"Oh," he nodded. "Why is this thing taking forever?" he tapped the screen. He's right. "You've been in a good position so far. I didn't have to intervene for a while, but Ace is back in your life and-"

"Oh, is that what this is about?" I smiled at him. "You're worried I'm going to pick that back up?"

"Whatever you choose, I will support you, from a distance, if it's a crime. But you know what I mean. I just want you alive. Both of you,"

"I like him," I admitted.

I'm not sure why but it's the truth. There's something about him that draws me to him. Maybe it's the idea of danger that comes with him. Maybe the need to conquer something that should never have had the opportunity to belong to me. A lightning royal should be an enemy. Nothing else. Even with knowing that, when I look at him the emptiness of the void inside of my flares. It feels like I can see through that thick fog of darkness for an instant and it's him who's standing in the middle of it. The light might be a flash but it's there and the idea of it is becoming an addiction.

"Still?"

"Not Ace. Redwood," I rolled my eyes. My puck finally flashed green.

"Really? If you know his background, you know that's going to become a problem later, then why?"

"Are you always this nervous around people?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "I take anxiety medication,"

"Get a different shrink. Try picking up a bad habit. Tabacco. Maybe weed,"

"I'm an elected official," he shook his head.

"You do know that the white stuff paid for my entire academic tuition and half of Bre's right?" I laughed.

"What? That's illegal."

"So is what we're doing in Emblem. Uncle, hang out with Redwood a little more. Tell him about me. Let him tell you about him and how he likes doing things. You'll learn a lot from him. Thank you for worrying about us. I actually wanted to invite you and Aunt Starstream to come to live with us. It's the four of us, but it's a big ass house and Breeze is alone most of the time. Her wings will be coming in soon and I'd like if there was someone there to guide her through it."

"You want me to live with you guys?" he asked, stunned.

"Yes, sir. You're-" I paused. "Uncle Bruce, you're all we have left. You're like a father to us. Not just Breeze and me. Elias and Rey as well. I don't know where we would be without you. I would like nothing more than to have you close. Both of you,"

"Wow," he nodded, looking away. "I'd have to talk to Star,"

"Of course. I'm not in a hurry," I smiled at him.

"Leaving so soon. Sage?" the gatekeeper finally came out to open the portal for us.

"You know it. How's your mom, Stephen?"

"Better. They let us bring her home last week. Thank you for-" he slumped his head. Falcon does that. He's submissive.

"It was nothing. She was my boss when I was a junior. She always took care of me. Take care of her. I'll see you when we get back,"

"Okay," he bowed. My uncle and I walked through the gate.

High Rise is my least favorite of all the realms. It smells like moss and moisture. The humidity always makes my hair frizz, which is why I braid it when I have to come here. Where Aldrich is open and sleek, High Rise is very compressed. There is thick vegetation everywhere. Almost everything is green. The sound of birds making crazy noises is all over the place freaks me out. Things moving through plants make me want to pull my gun out every five seconds. The guards aren't bad to look at though. Smaller than Aldrich fairies but cute, tanned, and ill worded. They have an insane attitude. They also know how to throw a party.

"Guardian Airstorm welcome to High Rise Temple," the guardian of the realm stepped out of the building looking me over, challengingly. I didn't stop until I was directly in front of him. We're about the same size except his body is thick with muscle. His thick bushy eyebrows annoy me.

"Where is he, Julian?" I sneered stepping into his space. His hazel eyes darkened.

"I expected the same courtesy I showed in Aldrich in return," he scoffed.

"That's your problem and when you came to Aldrich, we weren't holding anything that belonged to you hostage. Go get my king and get former Elder Peabody out here before I start dropping anyone who walks through these doors,"

"Okay," my uncle pulled me away from him. "Calm down," he laughed nervously. He now understands his role here. "Guardian Vineyards please take us to our King so we can sort everything out,"

His eyes stayed on me for a little longer before he motioned for someone to escort us inside. Once we were ahead of him he began to follow. One thing I picked up quickly after sprouting my wings is that they sometimes have a mind of their own. In situations like this, they feel the skepticism of my surroundings. They have a sort of defense of their own. The void expands lifting my wings slightly to make them look bigger. It releases a cold almost hostile aura. Even if I try to reel it in, which I am currently not, I can't stop it from happening.

"Tone it down," Elder Brucie ordered.

"Sorry, sir. I can't. It's the void," I fluttered my wings. "I don't speak for it. It can feel him reaching for his blade. He makes a single wrong move and he'll be stuck inside the void until it breaks him. Been there. Not pleasant at all,"

Julian Vineyards hesitated behind us leaving a larger gap between us. We were escorted into a throne room where the vines along the walls of the entire compound end. The room itself looks like a massive luxurious greenhouse. There's a massive eight foot tall green orchid in the middle of the room. I've read that it changes colors every year. The four royal seats are proudly presented right in front of orchid. They don't take anything from the grandeur of the flower but they are quite elegant for something made out of oak. Was it the vines and the excessive plants all around that bugged me? Nope, not today. Just before my parents were killed I went through a stupid floral phase. Each of my paintings was sold to the highest bidder. I didn't know who the bidder was but I know now and I know she's doing it to get under my skin. I can also easily say that it's working.

"You know what disappointed me the most about you, Guardian Airstorm?" the High Rise Queen stood up as her guardian walked past me to take his place on one of the four seats. "That you gave up real talent for some dumb sense of duty to your people and I couldn't even become their Queen,"

"Sage," Brucie held his hand out to keep me in place. Oh, you stupid b***h.

"It's hilarious that you think it was talent. I don't expect some bumpkin with a dress made out of recycled material to understand how a real hierarchy works. Had I wanted to be Queen I would be. I rather spend my time finding new artistic ways to cut someone open than sit in a dumb ass room like this one any day," I shot back. Her taunting expression faded as skin turned a soft shade of green like that stupid massive flower behind her.

"Bumpkin?" she sneered, standing up.

"Consuelo," the lord of Realm called out to her.

"Get them all the f**k out of here," she ordered.

Rey and Elder Peabody were brought out, escorted by several guards. I would have just walked away, I swear. But the bruise on Rey's face sent a cold flash through my body. The guard shoved him in my direction. Rey tried to hide the wince. My arm shot out gripping his wrist tightly. He gasped not knowing how I had reached him so fast.

"f**k," Elder Brucie whispered. He pulled Peabody and Rey to him. I tightened my hold on his wrist while he tried to get out of my grip. The void inside of me reached out towards his shadow, helping me make him submit.

"Let him go," Julian demanded without getting out of his seat. He seems more annoyed than threatened. We should fix that.

"You put your filthy f*****g hands on my King and you think I'm just going to walk out of here without saying a word?" I asked her. She smiled.

"Is that why you were voted out of the position? You don't know how to let things go," she laughed.

"No, I don't let a single thing go,"

I pulled her guard's arm towards me. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees. With his spare arm, he's trying to fight off his own shadow. I held his arm up and with my left hand, I didn't take my eyes off of her and I used my right to break his arm. She stood up meeting my challenge. The guard cried out in pain not knowing what he was more afraid of, me hurting him or the void calling out to him from his own shadow. He's not going to be able to look at it for a while.

"I will f*****g end you," she growled.

She pushed off the roots in front of her chair, coming at me full speed. Her pretty wings released red rose petals behind her as she came at me. I let go of the guard and sidestepped her attack. My uppercut connected with her face in the same spot where they had hit Rey. She cried out as the shock of the impact made her wings tense up. She hit the floor shoulder first. Before anyone else could get up I grabbed her by her hair and put her on her knees she fell on her side trying to stay modest. Her skirt is rolled up half way up her thighs.

"Sage," Rey tried to keep himself from laughing.

"Let her go," Julian raised his spear to me. A stone fairy. That's interesting. I could have sworn his abilities were vine based. Maybe both?

"The next time my King comes for a visit, you're going to treat him with the utmost respect. Do you understand? Now, you're going to get on your knees and apologize or you're going to need to find a new Guardian and I'm going to take his little spear with me as a trophy. I'm going to hang it up in our throne room. Kind of like you've done with all these shitty paintings. Got it?"

"Yes," she nodded. I tugged on her hair a little encouraging her to do as I asked.

"Are you content with my decisions, my King?" I asked him. He smiled.

"Yes, Sage. I am," Rey nodded. I shoved her forward and let go of her hair. She fell on all fours.

"My sincerest apologies, King Rey. My guardian was out of line. It will never happen again," she bit out angrily.

"Now offer him a gift," I placed my foot on her back. She held her hand up and snapped her fingers. A woman walked out with a pretty wooden box. She got down on one knee next to Rey and opened it for him to take a look inside. I know exactly what's in there, but we can't exactly let anyone else know that she willingly handed it over. He leaned forward to look inside and smiled.

"You're giving me that?" he asked.

"A gift from High Rise," she cleared her throat, trying to keep her tone even.

"I graciously accept. Sage, grab the box," he motioned me to get it. I let go of their Queen and did as he asked. I inspected the box to make sure nothing was wrong with it. "We should get going. We still have to help Former High Rise Elder Peabody into his new position and show him where he will be living for the time being. Let's go,"

"My King," I bowed tucking the pretty box under my arm. I looked down at her. "They didn't let me take the throne because they knew exactly what I would do with all of that power. You should be grateful to them,"

"This isn't over, Sage," she sneered.

"I hope not. I kind of like you on your knees Consuelo. I'll see you around. Get rid of the paintings. If you really like them, put them in your private quarters,"

Elder Brucie and Elder Peabody walked up ahead of us. My uncle is distracting him with work gibberish. When we got back to the portal, two little girls and a woman joined us. The rest of his family. I let everyone pass through before me. I looked back to see the Guardian glaring at me. I smiled and winked at him before going through. Elder Redwood and Lilly were waiting on us with a few other guards. He looks mad. Elder Peabody stepped forward catching my attention. I didn't expect him to wrap his arms around me.

"Thank you," he choked out. His wife and the little girls all did the same. Guilt washed over me a little. Would they still be welcoming me into their lives this way if they knew the truth? Probably not. They'd all hate me for what I just did.

"Welcome to Aldrich," I bowed. "I hope you like it here,"

"Let's get them settled, Captain," Elder Redwood ordered. She motioned them to follow. The guards all followed behind her as she began to explain what was going to happen. Peabody briefly glanced back at me and I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Are you okay?" I asked Rey before he could excuse himself.

"Yeah," he nodded taking the box. "Not the first time,"

"No, it's not. This has got to stop. Promise?"

"No," he turned away. "This is the only part I actually like, Sage. Being friends with everyone without anyone knowing is what makes us work,"

"You're killing me, Rey," I scolded him.

"Probably the only one who can," he laughed. "Come on, Bruce. I know she asked you already. Let me sell you on it,"

"d**k," I sighed.

"What you did today was reckless. You put their Queen on her knees and made her give him whatever the f**k is in that box, are you kidding me?" Elder Redwood shouted. I can't even look up at him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"She had her Guardian beat the s**t out of our King. Did you see his face? His shoulder is dislocated. You expect me to overlook that?" I asked as calmly as I could. Odds are Rey isn't going to tell him why we did what we did today, so, it's not his fault.

"I don't care what the f**k she had that tiny imbecile do to him, Sage. You are the Guardian of this Realm. You are a representative of our nation. You need to start acting like it. You are not a f*****g street rat anymore. You are an esteemed member of our Royal Select. You are grounded for the next two months without pay. You step foot in the Elder Towers once and I will f*****g ban you from the army. Do you understand?" he is really pissed. I really messed up in his eyes.

"Yes, sir," I sighed.

"I can't hear you, Sage. Do you understand?" he shouted.

"Sir, yes, sir," I stood up straight and saluted him.

"Go home. Get some rest, Sage. Clear your head. Once Peabody and his family are settled, we have a lot of work to do. Get the hell out of here," he turned away and walked inside. My heart is racing.

"That was harsh," Stephen broke the awkward silence. I looked back at him and laughed. I had been holding that in from the moment I walked out of the portal. I didn't expect him to be here so soon and I definitely did not expect for him to be overseeing this assignment personally with everything going on.

"Were you there the entire time?" I asked. He nodded, trying not to laugh. "Guess I'll see you in two months, Stephen,"

"My lady," he bowed formally. We both laughed.

I checked out of the kiosk. It printed my suspension. Eight violations usually merit a longer suspension but with everything going on, there's no way they're going to give me more time. I had to leave my uniform and goggles at the front desk. They gave me an ugly green tracksuit. I remember these from BootCamp. No one dared look me in the eyes. I'm sure they all heard him yell at me. His voice is not exactly low nor did he intend it to be. I can't help the smile on my face though. No one has ever spoken to me like that. There was genuine anger in his eyes. His entire body was tensed up as he looked down at me the way he did. The sick part of that is that I can't wait to instill that reaction in him again. It was beautiful. For a moment, I was terrified. I thought he was going to slap me into next week. It was oddly thrilling.

"Why are you smiling? You just got the scolding of your life," Captain Airstirke caught up to me.

"I don't know. I feel guilty. I genuinely feel bad about the way I acted. No one has ever made me feel that. Not even my parents," I shrugged. "How was your thing with Airrington?"

"Uh," she cleared her throat. I nodded, completely understanding.

"I know. You okay?"

"Yes, I have to admit that I had a lot of fun though,"

"Yeah, he's a lot of fun," I agreed. "You should be careful, Lilly. Sess is dangerous. Like really dangerous. I don't mean he's going to hurt you or anything. He just brings out something ugly in people. You've got a bright future ahead of you. Don't let anyone stand in the way of that,"

"He told me you would say that," her face turned almost as pink as her hair. Did he talk to her about me? That ass hole doesn't talk to anyone. Not even Knuckles who is essentially his best friend.

"Yeah? You guys talked about me?"

"It sounds crazy but I think he's still in love with you," she shrugged. What? Is she putting in a good word for him?

"He was never in love with me, Captain. He owned me. I was property to him. Nothing more. Nothing less. He misses what I brought to the table. To this day, I don't know a single thing about him. I know exactly what he is but I don't know who he is. Just be careful. Promise?"

"Why would you care about me?" she asked, her usual cheerful demeanor faded as she looked down at her feet. Wow, this is new. I didn't think Sesshomaru would have a type. This both tells me a little more about him and is alarmingly toxic on his behalf. It also says a lot about me. More than I care to admit.

"I think you sell yourself short at times, kid. You're important to all of us. Unfortunately, that probably now includes the Ace," I turned her head a little to reveal the bruising along her jaw and neck. "Did my target survive?"

"Yes, ma'am," she cleared her throat and composed herself.

"Then good job. Keep up the good work," I praised her.

"I was benched too," she whispered.

"What?" I laughed.

"I was benched. I killed one of our guards to help Knuckles get away," her tone is low but I don't sense remorse in her tone. She had a lot more fun than she cares to admit out loud.

"s**t. For how long?"

"Until further notice. Lord of the Realm is covering for me,"

"Well, we have nowhere to be for a while. Want to go get a drink?" I asked. Her eyes lit up excitedly.

"Sure," she nodded. "Can I ask for a favor?"

"Depends. What's the favor?"

"I've recently acquired a really big cat and I don't have anywhere to put her right now. I was wondering if maybe you did?"

"A cat? How big are we talking?"

"It's a leopard. I'm not sure what kind yet. She's still a baby but her fur is white so I'm guessing snow,"

"And how did you acquire this big kitten?"

"Oh, the guy we got. He had a bunch of weird s**t in his house. After we killed his buddies we all kind of just picked out what we wanted,"

"And you landed on the cat?"

"Yes, she's with the Ace right now. He's having her vaccinated and groomed for me. I can pay all her expenses until I get a place with a yard big enough for her and I'll visit all the time. I swear. I'll even clean up after her,"

"It's fine. Sure, I'll watch her. Or rather, my sister and my aunt will watch her while we work,"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she rushed out in one breath. I laughed watching her light up again. f**k, he's good. I'm going to have to go over there and set some ground rules.