Note: Edited by Zia Westerman 5/4/2017

--

Chapter 11: Blameless

A few years earlier ...

Planet: Everotorn

Location: Craven Cove Moon (one of the four moons)

"This is your first battle, daughter," my father said excitedly and threw me a Vact. "Remember you can use your ability at will, your mother isn't here so you can show the Bartonic's our secret weapon."

"I refuse to be treated merely as a weapon!" I allowed the Vact to fall from my hand, causing my father to turn swiftly around and face me.

He takes a step forward, I take one back, we repeated this until I was trapped between my father and the tall cliff behind me. With our planet in the sky behind us, he said, "You mean to tell me, I took you here for nothing? All your training was for this very battle! You cannot run from that which you are."

"Farrick, Your Highness, perhaps it was a bad idea to bring her," Lord Najerton said, placing his hand on my father's shoulder. "She is useless, sir, she does not know how to control her power."

"It is true, she is not at full control yet. But Najerton, my daughter is not useless, I warn you to hold that tongue of yours before I remove it from your throat," my father threatened, stepping away from me only to turn on his heels to face Najerton.

While they argued about me, the battle began as the Bartonic's ships landed on the battlefield in front of us. My father noticed, disregarded Najerton, and ordered our army to attack.

Sometime later we were near victory, all my father had to do was kill King Bartonic. However as I stood with the remaining army, Najerton caught my attention.

Najerton stepped backwards holding a Vact in his hand. He lifted his arm up behind him and launched the Vact, it slices through the air straight for my father.

"Father!"

My hands balled into fists, the energy races through my veins, and I channelled it to my hands and feet. Crouching down, I released that energy in an almighty explosion hitting the ground beneath me. I was launched into the sky at super-speed. I see the Vact racing me, we battle to reach my father first. I, of course, reached my father before the Vact does, landing in front of him with a loud thud, hard enough to cause two holes where my feet hit. I used my Vact to deflect Najerton's, which is sent right back to him.

Najerton did not get enough time to move out of the way, his Vact sliced straight through his body leaving a massive tunnel in his flesh. His lifeless body collapses to the ground where it once stood.

I fall to my knees, realising I had just killed one of our people. Did that not make me a traitor?

******

Planet: Earth

Location: Camp Jameson

The memory of my first battle faded as I was overcome by the darkness again, only this time I was aware of my surroundings. I could not open my eyes, they felt as though they were being held shut.

"Jewels," came a voice, along with arms lifting up my body. After a few more attempts my eyes slowly opened but it took a few seconds for my vision to adjust, when it did, my eyes were met with Jeremy's, who said, "Thank god, I thought we lost you."

"Why would you care?"

He stiffened with a sigh and helped me to my feet by wrapping an arm around my waist, which allowed me to lean on him for support. "Listen, Jewels, we shouldn't have made a conclusion about you."

"Yeah, but holding James at gunpoint was pretty convincing," Mick added. I turned my head to find him staring at me.

"You would have me killed because you believe me to be a spy, I see no reason for any of you to care about my life." I pushed Jeremy away from me, but that was a mistake because I was weak and almost fell over. Jeremy was quick to wrap his arm around my waist, preventing me from falling.

"You just saved us a raid," Jeremy told me as we slowly walked towards the doors leading to outside. "We are in your debt, so thank you," he said, ignoring my previous statement.

I sighed, leaning my weight on him, and asked, "Where are we going?"

"You need to be looked at by Doc," Jeremy responded. It was not until we were outside that I noticed James was not here. I looked around for him but only a few people were on the street. "James had something important to do," he said, as though he was reading my mind.

"Something important, yeah, right," Mick remarked behind us, causing Brett to laugh.

Brett then said, "Yeah, James usually says he's busy when he wants to bang someone."

"Bang? What is bang?" Earth slang was very confusing.

"Um ... you don't know what that means?" When I shake my head I felt Jeremy chuckle beside me. "Well, it's ... when ... two people ..." He holds both of his hands up and places his pointer finger and thumb together creating an O shape and then using his other pointer finger he slides it through the circle. "Like that."

"I do not understand?"

Jeremy begins to laugh as does Mick, I turned my head to Jeremy. "What is funny? Is it because I do not know what this bang means? Or is it a finger game?"

"Oh, my god." Mick bursts into a fit of laughter. "Finger game, that's a good one."

"Hey, you can use fingers," Brett said, also laughing.

Jeremy stops laughing and cleared his throat. "Don't you two have guard duty?"

"Nah, we might go find some girls to play the finger bang game with." Brett's laughter becomes louder. "Might ask them if they want double."

"Mate, no, you mean triple."

"Enough!" Jeremy suddenly stopped walking, still keeping his arm around me. "You two, guard duty. Now!"

"You're no fun," Mick muttered. He walked up to us, and said to me, "Sorry if we treated you wrong, you're not a bad girl."

"Yeah, just don't make us regret trusting you," Brett said before he and Mick walked down a narrow street away from us.

I looked up to the sky and noticed it would be dark soon, the large light in the sky was dropping down behind the trees. "Jeremy?" He replied with an mhm, so I continued, "Where is the place I will lay?"

"You mean sleep?" When I nodded my head we began walking towards the place of healing. "Oh, um, I hadn't really thought about that, I mean you could sleep in my hut but there's no room. After we get you checked by Doc, I'll drop by James's hut and see if he has room."

"I do not wish to stay with James." I did not want to stay with any man, back at home we females always had privacy.

My eyes scanned the street ahead, I could see a woman and a man standing near a tree. The man's hands were on her waist while his mouth ate her mouth. It was so strange the way their lips moved together.

"Thomas! Get to your post." The man and woman separated upon hearing Jeremy's voice. The man opens his mouth to speak but Jeremy cuts him off, "You can save that for when you finish your rounds."

"Sir, I'm on night duty."

"I don't care if you're on night duty, Thomas, get to your post. I'm not asking, it's an order," Jeremy clearly stated then turned his attention to the woman. "Debbie, nice to see you."

"Yeah, you too." Debbie kisses the man, Thomas's cheek, and said, "I'll catch you later, babe," then excuses herself and enters a nearby hut while Thomas walked away.

"What is it called?" I asked but received raised brows from Jeremy. "The man and woman, they were eating each other."

"Oh, um, it's called kissing." Jeremy stopped walking and turned to face me. "Have you been kissed before, Jewels?"

His face moves closer to mine and his hands fall to my hips, I stare into his blue eyes and answered, "No."

"Do you want to see what it's like?"

I have always been curious, ever since I was a hatchling. I found myself nodding and when Jeremy leaned in so that his lips were almost touching mine, I retreated by taking a step back but because I was still weak my legs gave out on me and I fell backwards.

Two marked arms wrapped around me and held me up, refraining me from falling. "Is she okay?" I knew this voice to belonged to James.

Jeremy ran a hand through his hair, then faced us. "I was about to take her to Doc's."

"Really? Looked more like you were about to kiss her." James pulled me to his side, I noticed his eyes narrowing at his cousin. "Jewels, I'll take you to see the doc."

"Um—"

"Yeah, you better. I just realised I have to go check—the—raiding party," Jeremy said, then looked at me. "Sorry if you felt a bit awkward back then, yeah, I shouldn't have asked to do that with you." Then he was gone.

James aided me in walking, then asked, "What was he talking about?"

"It is nothing. Did you have fun? They said you went to bang a woman, was it exciting?"

"What?"

"You banged a woman, did you not?" I felt him stiffen beside me but he did not answer. "I also saw two people eating each other's mouths, Jeremy says it is called kissing."

"Did he now?"

"Yes, he was going to show m—" I was cut off by a loud explosion to our right, followed by a black column of smoke rising high into the air.

A word that haunts me was yelled by someone not too far away from us, a word that caused my whole body to freeze.

"ROGS!"