https://youtu.be/d--DyK0wtYo

A/N: Not edited. Also if you enjoy the chapter please take a second to hit that lovely star/vote <3 seriously it means so much to me. 

Adelina watched Folke walk away as feelings of guilt and anger began to well up inside her chest. How could she already be feeling for someone after all that had happened?

"I'm a horrible person," Adelina murmured to herself. "My sister is dead, my family is god knows where, Daniel is gone and not to mention Asmund and here I am letting myself get swept up in my feelings."

Picking her body up from where she sat she made her way back to the house. The house was quiet as she entered. Adelina made her way to the kitchen grabbing some fruit and making her way to a seat next to the window. Resting her head there she let the thoughts settle into her head once more.

"I can't let guilt eat away at me. I have to remain strong." She settled.

"I agree," Madeline's voice drifted into the kitchen, startling Adelina. "Sorry I didn't mean to easedrop. I just got home and heard you in here." Madelina stated walking up to where Adelina rested. She pulled up a seat beside Adelina.

"No it's okay. I'm still just a bit jumpy. Folke startled me earlier too."

"You talked to Folke?" Madeline's eyebrows raised.

"Oh yeah, I guess I should have mentioned that. Yesterday I met him by the waterfall. Seems he keeps popping up randomly."

"He usually isn't very talkative so I am shocked. He likes to keep to himself unless it comes to Aaron. Him and Aaron are pretty close."

"Oh..Well he offered to train me a bit. I was going to ask Aaron about it tonight. I thought maybe it would be good for me to learn to defend myself a bit. Plus, he said maybe he'd try to help me understand a bit more about this power I can feel building inside of me. I need some answers."

"I don't see why Aaron would disagree and personally I think it is a great idea." Madeline stated.
"Why don't we get dinner ready and we can both discuss this with Aaron when he gets home.

Adelina nodded as they made their way to the fridge and began pulling things out. Moments later the door opened and was slammed shut. Aaron fist were clenched as he came storming into the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Madeline questioned.

Aaron's face relaxed as he saw Madeline and Adelina.

"Now is not the time," His eyes shifted to Adelina.

"Is it about my parents? Please don't leave me in the dark." Adelina protested.

"I don't know that now is the time Adelina, but yes it is."

"Yes it is the time." Adelina stared directly into Aarons eyes, not backing down.

Aaron sighed. "I know you deserve to know, but I just didn't want to trouble you with this. You've been through so much.

"I'll be okay, Aaron. I just want to know."

Aaron ran a hand through his shaggy blonde hair. "It's the compound. The vampires and demons have moved and taken your family with them. I guess the compound was unsalvageable after the damage. We are trying to find them but the trail has been impossible to pick up. We won't stop looking, though. I promise you that Adelina. I have my best men on it right now and we are also trying to recruit some humans and witches to help us look. We will get the word out and we will do our best to find them."

"Oh.." Adelina's thoughts trailed off. "Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?"

"Not right now Adelina, but I'll let you know. I promise you I'll do my best I can."

"I know you will."

"Well guess who Adelina ran into yesterday and today?" Madeline said trying to change the subject. "Folke. He even offered to train her!"

"Odd. He usually keeps to himself. "

"I know! I told her the same thing." Madeline exclaimed overly excited.

"So he has offered to train you? You think you are ready for that? Are you feeling back to normal? I mean I think it is a great idea that you learn to protect yourself but I want to make sure you are up for it."

"Yeah, I am feeling back to normal and besides I'd like to learn a thing or two. He also talked about helping me figure out this power inside of me and maybe I can learn to control it. That could be really beneficial in a fight right?" Adelina asked.

"I think so but you also have to be very careful. Don't want you hurting yourself or anything."

"He wants to start first thing tomorrow."

"Okay, well you'll have to let us know how it goes" Malora blurted with a sly smile on her face.

They finished making dinner and Adelina ate extra, making sure to get the needed nutrition. She excused herself from the table shortly after, heading up to her room. Walking over to the window and taking a seat, she cracked the window and let the cold air hit her face.

"I have to try and be strong, for myself, for my family and for those who I care about." She spoke softly. She sat there starring at the night's sky, remembering the night not long ago when her Dad used to sit outside with her and stargaze. A tug at her heart made her realize how much she missed all of them, Daniel included. "I can do this, to save my family." She repeated to herself a few times, determined to find a way to get them back. Adelina picked herself and laid herself down in the soft plush bed. She quickly drifted off into quiet night's sleep.

The sun peaked through the curtains. Adelina stretched as she opened her eyes. She got up, throwing on some comfortable clothes for her busy day ahead. Adelina had been borrowing clothes from Madeline and was thankful they were the same size. The shoes that she had borrowed, though, had been too big and she knew she'd have to find some better shoes for training. Throwing on the tennis shoes she had and tying them tight, she ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. The house was quiet still as Adelina tiptoed around the kitchen, grabbing some fruit and a slice of bread. She scarfed the bread down and stuck the orange into her hoodie pocket. She made her way to the front door and out into the breaking daylight. Adelina let the morning air hit her face, cooling her to the core. She took a deep breath, smelling the first scent of spring in the air. The bird sung their symphony of music to each other as Adelina made her way off the porch and out into the woods.

The woods around her became alive with every step she took, wind throwing leaves around as they twirled in circles around her. She let her eyes wander and saw a deer's curious gaze in her direction. Ready to run at the first sign of danger, it's ears flicked back and forth. As she took in her surroundings, she realized how beautiful this forest was and would be even more come spring.

"Taking in all the beauty?" Folke said as he leaned on a large tree.

Adelina jumped, startled by him "You seem to be good at scaring me!"

"It is a gift, I guess." Folke winked, teasing her. "I know I said I'd meet you at the waterfall but wanted to make sure you would remember how to get there. Thought it might be easier on you if I walked you."

"I was kind of worried I'd be wandering around aimlessly. I wasn't even sure I was heading in the right direction right now."

They begin to walk side by side deeper into the forest, the leaves and brush crunched under their feet. Folke was moving fast and Adelina found herself struggling to keep up, with her small legs. As she took a step, the front of her shoe got caught on a large branch that protruded out of the ground. She felt herself falling forward just as two warm arms grabbed her from behind.

"Are you okay?" Folke asked, his brow creased with worry.

"Yes, these shoes are just a bit too big and hard to walk in. I didn't have my own, so I had to borrow some from Madeline." Adelina said grasping on to Folkes arm, letting his warmth travel into her hands. "Thanks, I thought for sure I was going to face plant."

"Can't get hurt so soon in your training. I don't think Aaron would let that go." Laughed Folke as they began to walk again.

Water rushed in the distance, getting louder with every step they took until the large pine trees parted and the rushing waterfall came into view.

"It still takes my breath away." Folkes eyes sparkled in the sun as she spoke.

"It is beautiful."

They sat there watching the water drift over the rocks and down further.

"So what exactly will we be doing?" Adelina said breaking the silence.

"I was going to start with a nice jog to help you build some muscles, but we will have to wait on that. I think today we can try out some moves and maybe work on getting you to hone in on your power, if you're up for that?"

"Do you think I'll be ready when we go in and rescue my family?"

"I can't say for sure, Adelina. I can do my best to get you ready but it won't be easy. You're going to really have to push yourself and there will probably be days when you won't want to get out of bed. But if you're serious about this, and you really want to learn how to fight, you'll have to push through it all."

"I am serious. I'm tired of being the damsel in distress. A weak person who cries at the drop of a hat. I need to be strong so I'm not the victim anywhere."

"Okay, I won't go easy on you then. Let's start by just showing you some basic kicking stances and punches. I know it sounds silly, but you must use proper form on either of these or you could hurt yourself worse than your enemy." He said as he showed her his hand. He folded them into a fist as Adelina mimicked his moves. "Make sure your thumb is on the outside of your fist. Tuck your thumb below your curled fingers. Watch your wrist too as well as where you hit. You could end up breaking your hand if you curl your wrist the wrong way. " Folke threw a few punches into the air, showing Adelina. She copied his form and threw a few punches into the air.

"Good. Right now I want to get the proper form and we will bring in something soon for you to actually get some practice in. Now for kicking, same goes. Form is very important as you could injure yourself. Try not to actually use your feet as much as your legs. We will go over a few types of kicks, but that will also require better footwear too. For now I'll show you just a regular standing kick, follow what I do." He threw his legs towards a tree, hitting it softly.

Adelina copied every move Folke showed her. The two spent hours in the woods throwing punches and kicks into the wind. The day was turning dusky, as the sun began to disappear into the winter sky.

"Why don't we stretch and I want you to tell me a bit more about how this power you had come in to play."

"I don't know to be quite honest. It just felt like something growing under my skin, until it begged to be released. I had never felt anything like that before. When it came out, it was the most vibrant white light I had ever seen and it seemed to seep out of my body. It was almost like my body became light for a second. I felt weightless in that moment and it was this blissful feeling."

"And you were angry at the time?"

"Not angry, but determined. I knew that was my chance to escape and I knew I had to take it. Falentine grabbed me and I just felt something deep within me stir."

"We will have to see if we can get that force out without the extreme circumstances. I'd like you to take some quiet time each night and focus on finding that light. I know it runs through your veins, Adelina. I can tell just by looking at you how strong you are. Try and dig deep and find that strength. " Folke pushed himself off the tree and began to walk towards her, arms outstretched. He grasped on to her arms and looked straight in her eyes. "I know it sounds cheesy but you have to believe in yourself first. Everything else will follow from there. "

"Thank you so much for this Folke. It means a lot to me that you are taking time out of your life to do this for me."

Folke smiled at her, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. In that moment, he grabbed her and pulled her into a deep embrace. "I mean it. I don't know a lot about you yet but you are strong. You will make it through this and we will figure out a way to win. We will get your family back. "

Tears flowed down Adelina's cheeks as he spoke the words. "I told you I didn't want to cry anymore" She said teasingly. "Sorry, just no one has ever told me that they believed I was strong. I mean I loved my parents, but I guess they always sheltered me. I'm going to do whatever I can to train and be this person you seem to think I am."

"Let's walk you back to Aarons." He said letting go of her. "We will begin to jog back, but today let's just walk."

The walk back was quiet, both lost in their own thoughts. Adelina snuck a few glances to where Folke walked next to her, his deep eyes seemed to be lost in their own world. As they came upon the house, Folke stopped Adelina.

"I mean what I said. Try tonight to really hone in on that inner strength and power. "

Adelina nodded as she waved goodbye to Folke who took off into a run, disappearing into the trees. Adelina starred after him, finding herself confused to him running off without much of a goodbye, but she made her way back into the house.

Madeline was sitting on the sofa, reading as Adelina entered.

"Anything good?" Adelina questioned.

"If you like sappy romance, sure! How did training go?"

"We didn't do much today. I need to try to find some shoes that fit me. I don't know exactly how to even find any, but I kept tripping in these. "

"I'm sure we can think of something. You want to help me make dinner?"

Adelina nodded and the two made their way into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Dinner went relatively fast once it was prepared. Each of them was silent, seeming to be lost in their own world. Adelina had begun to really think about what had made her call upon the light the first time.

"I'm going to go outside for a bit." Adelina announced, once she finished helping Madeline with the dishes.

"Bring a coat." Aaron and Madeline yelled in unison as she ran out the door and onto the forest that lay in front of her.

Adelina found a quiet spot and lowered her body to the ground. She leaned her back up against a trunk and closer her eyes. Clearing her mind she began to focus on the light behind her eyes. She pictures the light surrounding her body and trying to draw it closer to her.  As she focused, she began to feel a crackling under her skin and in her core, but it wouldn't push forward. A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she tried and tried again. She sat there for hours trying, until her body grew weary.

She stood up heading back to the house, letting her feet drag underneath her.

"Adelina..." a voice traveled on the wind.

Adelina swirled around, heart racing. She began to turn every which way searching....

"Adelina..come back to me.." The voice sounded again.

"Asmund?" Adelina yelled into the dark, a chill ran through her body. Fear began to set in as she took off towards the light on the porch. Adelina stood there looking into the dark, prepared to fight if she had to, but the dark stayed still and nothing more came of the voice.

"I must have been imagining it." Adelina said as she opened the door and crept inside the dark house and into her room.

She laid her body down on the bed, her body quickly giving in to sleep.

"How could you leave me," Asmund appeared from in the dark. He was dressed in a black suit, with a blood red tie.

"I had to go." Adelina stated, her voice distorted. She felt like she was drifting, weightless and free.

"You left me."

"I had no choice." Adelina pleaded, trying to grab onto him.

"Come back to me, Adelina. I need you." He reached for her, but Adelina felt her body begin to drift away into the haze. She watched as Asmund disappeared below her.

"I had to leave." Her voice echoed through the dream. "I had no choice."