Note: Edited by Zia Westerman 3/4/2017  

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Chapter 5: Underestimated

Ten Earth years earlier...

Planet: Everotorn

Location: Healing Academy

"Your Highness, you must focus," High Priest Mador instructed. He stood before the altar where a young hatchling that had died in the egg-birth laid. "You must focus, use your power to bring her back."

One of my hands was on the child's head and my other was on her chest. "I try Mador, but I cannot do it. These powers, they are cursed. They cannot heal, they only kill."

"You know this is false, milady. How will you lead your people if you cannot do a simple task?"

"How is this relevant? I cannot heal. I cannot simply just pluck this shell back to life. I have told you before my power is cursed, Mador! I am cursed!" I could feel the fire spread through my veins, emitting the ugly shine over my body. "I am cursed!" I repeated louder.

"No, you have done it before, you saved our Queen, your mother's life. Do you not remember, child? Do you not remember her death?"

Tears spilled from my eyes rolling over my brims then down my cheeks and dripped on the hatchling's forehead. "I do not know how I did that, Mador. I-I just—I could not lose her, not Mother."

"You can bring this girl back the same way, Jewels. I do not believe your abilities are cursed. You can use them for good. I know this because I can feel it, your power has good in it." He placed his warm hand on my shoulder then whispered gently into my ear, "Focus, Your Highness."

And I do, I looked to the small child before me. My hands were firmly pressed against her flesh, and I focussed on my energy sending it from my hands and into her. It spreads throughout her body, giving her the life back that was taken away from her so suddenly.

With a cough and a groan, the girl's eyelids opened.

But my power kept flowing into her. "I cannot stop it!" I yelled out, warning Mador. "I-I cannot—oh, no!"

The hatchling opened her mouth and released a loud scream I would never forget. The scream was of pain and agony, her body glowed brightly to the point it blinded me.

"Jewels!" Pain, pain hits my neck and my eyes fluttered closed.

******

Present Earth day ...

Planet: Earth

Location: River of Sorrows

I could only watch as this creature lunged towards me. I stretched my hand out and as the Borum's snout came in contact with my hand it freezes.

The veins on my hand that was touching the Borum glowed like the Earth's big light in the sky. I grunt pressing my hand harder against it then in a matter of earth seconds the Borum falls to my feet. Dead and turned to nothing but ashes.

"Jewels ..." James said from behind me. "What ... are you?"

"Now is not the time for questions," I responded as I turned to face him. His face showed fear. "Do not be afraid of me."

"I can't help it, what you just did ... it's impossible."

My eyes caught the attention of more Borum's charging straight for us. "James, please, we must jump."

He nodded but kept a safe distance from me. "I warn you, I can't swim," he reminded me.

We both ran to the cliff's edge with the ground shaking beneath us, signalling the Borums closing in.

I watched James as he shut his eyes and jumped before me, I take a step backwards and followed him with a leap into the air.

My body bursts through the air, cutting through the wind as I freefall behind James. It is a beautiful feeling, a feeling of being free.

James hits the water first causing the liquid to splash upwards creating a series of small waves and then he vanishes below the surface.

I soon hit the water after him, and it pulls me under holding me there. For a while, I had forgotten how to swim, but I began to move my legs, kicking them, and slowly I moved towards the surface. Just before I broke through a figure caught my attention. It was not moving, allowing the water to pull it down further.

James.

I remember him saying he could not swim. I swam down to him wrapping my arms around his torso, and a few minutes later I emerged from the depths of the water, pulling James out and placing him on the sandy riverbank.

"James, are you okay?" I breathed heavily, my lungs struggled to fill with oxygen.

That was when I noticed James's chest was not rising, nor was it falling. I crawled over him and placed my ear against his mouth, no oxygen was being inhaled. He was not breathing.

James was dead.

I remembered back when our High Priest Mador tried to train me to heal, he believed my ability had good in it. I have only returned life to one person before, my mother. But I could not let her go, I loved her.

Perhaps, I could bring James back. It was worth a try.

I placed one hand on his chest then the other on his forehead. But then I remembered something, a lesson my father had taught me if someone gets taken by the water you can bring them back.

So with my hand still on James's chest, I used my other one and pinched his nose shut so that no air could escape it. I inhaled a large amount of oxygen, lowered my lips to his and breathed my oxygen into him. My other hand remained on his chest and I gently pushed down right above his heart and breathed into him again with my mouth fully over his.

I repeated this for a few minutes, soon James's eyes shot open and I pulled away wiping my mouth.

His eyes stared widely into mine while he coughed up the water from his lungs. "J-Jewels?"

I could not help the laugh which left my mouth. "I brought your spirit back to your body by breathing life into you."

"You mean you did CPR on me?" he asked, bringing his body to a sitting position. Water covered his marked skin and dripped from his soaked hair.

"I do not know what CPR is, but I guess I did," I replied, running my own hand through my blonde hair and stood up. "Are you well, though?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, told you I can't swim." James slowly got to his feet and slings his backpack over his shoulder. "Come on, we still have to find some food."

I found it rude how he did not thank me for saving his life, twice now, instead, we continued our journey in silence. He would occasionally glance at me over his shoulder but then he would walk faster.

"Sun will be setting soon." James broke the silence which had engulfed us. "Since this water is fresh, we'll camp next to the river. With any luck, an animal might come for a drink in the morning and we can kill it. I haven't had meat for so long."

"What do you mean? You have not had meat?"

James walked over to a fallen log and sat down. "I mean, I haven't eaten meat for a while now."

"You eat meat?" I tilted my head in confusion, I have never heard of meat before.

"Yes, meat from the animals we kill," he explained, pulling out a bottle which contained water from his backpack. "Are you a vegetarian?"

"Pardon?"

A loud sigh leaves his throat and with a shake of his head, he said, "Forget it, we can camp here for the night."

I nodded, still not understanding what meat was. And how did they get it from animals? Back home on my planet, we do not have this meat.

That night James slept soundly on the ground with a blanket under him and one covering him. I lay on the other side of a small fire he had made just before we both laid down.

I watched him sleep, there was something I did not trust about him. This man was a stranger to me, everyone in his camp was. They could be allied with the people I know as ROGS, the people who kept me prisoner for all those years.

Who do you trust if you do not belong on this planet? Who do you turn to when you are alone? When you do not fit in and are different from the planet's inhabitants?

There was one place I would always look.

The place I came from, the place I called home.

I looked to the stars for my answer.