8 Independence

"And where does a devil travel to in the middle of the day."

The room along with myself freezes as I stand in place, too scared to respond.

"Two weeks ago, you went missing, so I had some friends of mine look for you, the next day they are found to be in a comatose state with no way of waking up. There are also signs of magical interference inside their bodies when the doctor checked on them. I just know you used your devil powers to curse them. You will tell me what you did and then you will be punished for committing such an act."

I try to get words out of my mouth but my fear brings me to a stutter.

"T-They, They attacked me and Lynn, they b-beat on us until we couldn't stand, and then threatened to cut our throats. They deserved what they got, all that happened was in self defense!"

I ended up taking credit for the cloaked man's actions since I don't think he'd end up believing me anyway. He looks at me with a face that shows fear and anger at the same time.

"You damn devil, I wish you and Lynn had never been born, I am embarrassed to have two children who stain my reputation; ever since that day you've turned my life into a living hell. I lost all of my job privileges, my pay, my friends, my status, All gone because of you. You will pay for what you took from me you filth!"

He begins to walk over to me quickly, I can't manage to move as I am filled with fear. He knocks a punch at my face as I immediately get knocked down onto my back. I try to get up as he begins to throw more punches towards my face. My vision begins to fade as I hear him grunting and can feel his punches less and less. Eventually my vision goes completely black and I lose consciousness.

I am surrounded by darkness. Nearby, I hear a distorted voice somewhere around me but I can't pinpoint where. All I can remember is my father began beating onto me, for what happened to his friends who attacked me and Lynn. I see a figure in the distance, it's the cloaked man. He points to his left and what happens to be there is my father before I had turned into what I am now. He looks so happy. He used to be so uplifting and gave me and Lynn so much love and appreciation. Ever since that day his love towards us dwindled into nothing and became who he currently is today. I wish that I had never turned out this way, I'm a mistake. I ruined such an amazing person. The negative thoughts flood through my head as I fall deeper into despair, I begin to give up until I hear in the distance from where the cloaked man was standing.

"Fight, Your freedom is your own, do not let others trample on your freedom."

The word "fight" courses through my head as I feel a fire in my heart. I can't give up here, not when I have so much more to do, I am a living being and I will not let anyone trample on my freedom. Fight! FIGHT! I will fight for my freedom and become someone people look up to! Fire begins to surround me as I am filled with anger. I will fight and continue to until the day comes that I and those like me will be completely free from this hell.

I regain consciousness as my father tries to throw another punch at me, as I throw my hand at him and yell

"STOP!"

Immediately, fire is thrown out of my hand towards him, throwing him into a panic as he shouts in pain. He jumps back and falls onto the ground as I get up and raise my hand towards him again, this time wind pushes him to the wall and keeps him there in place as wind is constantly thrown at him to keep him constrained in the wall.

"You will no longer hold me down, my freedom is my own, I won't let anyone take it away from me. I was born into this world, meaning I deserve it, and if you ever try to push me back into the ground I will make sure you never take a step from those legs of yours ever again."

His face turned from anger to complete fear in a matter of seconds as he stared at me.

"Y-y-you really are a devil, I was right all along. But fine, if I can live by letting you free then so be it, both you devils are free to leave if it means I can be safe."

I let go of the wind pushing onto him as he fell onto his hands and knees. I walk past him and look at him with sadness,

"you could have avoided this if you had just seen me as your own daughter instead of a devil."

I walk away as he just stares at the ground not responding. I rush over to my room as Lynn is covered in her blankets scared. I head over to her and grab her hand.

"Namea, what is going on? I'm scared."

I take a deep breath as I try to calm down.

"We have to leave, It's no longer safe for us here. Come with me I'm going to take us to a safe place."

Lynn's face changes to a worry as she grabs my hand, I try to grab her up so she can get on her feet. I dress her up as it looks to be raining outside.

"We need to hurry, I don't know how long until dad will let us leave."

Lynn nods at me as we make our way to the front door. Our dad is just by the wall still, sitting, thinking. I rush past him as I reach to the front door. I look back at dad, thinking about the times before whatever happened to us. Memories of dad being kind to us. A tear manages to come out of my eye but right after I look back at the door; taking a deep breath as Lynn and I prepare leave the house we grew up in, the thought in my mind crossed that we might never come back. As I open the door and we take a step outside, the rain pouring down on us really sets in the severity of our situation. After hesitating for 5 seconds I continue to move forward at a sprinting pace with Lynn lead by her hand. The setting sun covered by the dense clouds that shower us with rain making the area look darker than it should be at this time. Lynn and I keep going and going, after awhile we manage to make it to the forest. Luelle's house should be another few hours away from here.

"Don't worry Lynn, we're almost there, just hold on please."

Lynn hasn't spoke a word since we left. Lynn then stops in place letting go of my hand, I stop and look back at her. She drops to her knees,

"I hate this, where is mom? Why can't she just protect us like she always does?"

I move towards Lynn and kneel down to her level trying to hold back tears.

"She can't protect us from him anymore, I did something terrible that I shouldn't have done, I attacked father with my magic. He had told me to leave and never come back, I don't think you or me would be safe under that house anymore, as long as he doesn't see us again. But..."

I look down at the muddy ground as the rain on my back pelts down at me. I almost collapse to the ground, catching myself with my hands unable to hold back any more tears.

"I don't want to leave, I don't want to be alone! I want to be with mom. Why do we have to be like this. Why do we have to be treated like demons for something that was out of our control! I just want to live normally, and have a happy life with my family."

Lynn and I cry until we wore ourselves out, Lynn fell asleep on the ground, and with the remaining strength I had left, I took Lynn under a tree and I laid right next to her as I fell deeper and deeper into sleep.

The dream of the beach from a week ago comes back to me, I see the child figure that looks like me standing in the water looking at me with a giant smile on their face. They begin to clap their hands while laughing.

"Beautiful, absolutely beautiful! You finally started to give a show we we're just dying to see! If you keep going we might just see something we've never seen before yet, keep on it Namea. You aren't free just yet, There are many out there who wish to destroy you before you can establish your mark on this world."

I reach my hand out to her and say,

"Are, Are you me? What is this place and why do I always end up here? Also, We?"

The expression on her face turns more serious as she hears me speak.

"This place is one but many of the realms between life and death, your people would call it Purgatory; In reality it is called Exodus."

In confusion I respond

"Exodus?"

The child copy of me sighs,

"It's where souls who have been forsaken by both the gods and the devils go, to live out their lives in an area that they treasure most in their heart. Like you for example, yours is this beach."

In confusion I think for a second before responding,

"Wait, but I've never even been to a beach before."

"Then in your future, you will visit this beach and either then or some time after, it will become a place you treasure the most in your heart."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because I can travel through the hearts in certain souls, especially you."

"Why me especially?"

"It is because we are you but we are also not you. We hold power that you can only dream of; only because we have attained our own freedom."

"You're me? Also we? I'm so confused, You also mentioned that you may see something you have never seen before yet? Does that mean that you know my future and why this beach is so special to me?"

The child copy of me chuckles,

"I have no clue why this beach is special no, but I do know certain aspects of your future and don't even try asking for every aspect of your life or help from us. Once you have gained a good grasp of the power within, you will understand more clearly who we are."

She then begins to walk off into the ocean as my body begins to feel weak, as I try to walk towards her, I fall straight onto my face. I wake up with Lynn still asleep next to me, remembering last night I let out a deep sigh and try to wake Lynn up. She slowly wakes up after a few attempts at trying to wake her.

"Wake up Lynn, We have to keep moving. I'll carry you on my back while you wake up."

Lynn nods her head as she gets up. I get up and stretch my body before carrying Lynn to prop her up on my back as we continue to head to Luelle's family house. The walk feels like forever but It had only been a few hours, in the distance I can see a mansion. Guards stand tall at the gate and as we get closer one of them speaks out,

"Halt right there, What is your business here?"

I stop in place and I feel fear as I didn't exactly plan out this far in. I stutter my words as I speak out,

"I-I need help, I need a place to stay, I am a friend of Luelle, you can ask her."

Immediately one of the guards subtly gasps as he reaches his hand towards my neck. I flinch in fear as he grabs the necklace Luelle gave me and rips it off my neck. The guard looks to the other behind him,

"Keep watch of these two I must grab the master at once before he leaves."

The other guard nodded at him as the guard with my necklace takes off past the gate and leaves into the mansion. A few minutes pass as the door to the mansion opens back up the guard and a familiar man in a suit right behind the guard follows. As they walk up to us, I can feel my chest pounding. The thought just came to me, the man in the suit is Luelle's father; Willem Vavillion. He walks up to me and kneels with his hand out, in his hand is the necklace Luelle gave me.

"Tell me child, where did you get this, and who did you get this from?"

I take a deep breath before I respond to him.

"I got it from Luelle, it was a gift to me."

His face grows more and more confused and sighs.

"Tell me why again are you here at my gates?

I look up at him,

"I no longer have a home to live in; I didn't know where else to go but here."

Willem stands up and whispers to the two guards, they nod and leave inside the mansion. Willem then crosses his arms and looks at me,

"So then tell me about you two, who are you exactly."

I perk myself up and try to be polite,

"My name is Namea Raylef sir, and my sister's name is Lynn Raylef. I am Thirteen years old and she is ten years old, I was born and raised in Cyphrun."

I shouldn't tell him about my affinity for magic especially since Luelle says her parents hate it. Willem then reaches his hand to me with the necklace.

"here, this is yours, It was originally a gift for Luelle from me, but it seems she felt that you deserved it more. Come with me, you both must be uncomfortable in those dirty clothes, We'll get a bath prepared and everything."

I am taken aback by how nice Luelle's father is treating me. He begins to lead me and Lynn inside, after walking past the gates I can fully grasp the front garden of their mansion. The shrubs and plants assorted in a very organized fashion almost seems hard for me to comprehend, something so nice looking. The fact that I had been living in the poor side of the town really shines perfectly as I look around in awe of this household. As we stand at the front doors of the house, Willem opens the door; Inside a brightly lit room with a few servants standing ahead of us in the middle of the main room. Next to one of them seems to be Luelle; I look to her and my anxieties begin to ease up. She rushes towards me immediately screaming out my name.

"NAMEA!"

She doesn't hesitate to aggressively hug me. Trying not to cry but failing immediately I hug her back tightly. The warmth of her hug makes me feel comfortable, at peace. Luelle hesitates for a second but she also joins in on the hug after seeing me hug back. Willem coughs to get my attention and Luelle breaks out of the hug as her father speaks.

"I will not question or pry as to why you no longer have a home or why you two know each other so closely. But just know that you are welcome here as this will be your new home. Welcome Namea, Lynn."

Any tears I had attempted to hold back force their way through me as I begin crying. Lynn looks at me trying to hold me to calm me down.

"Thank you so much sir, I owe you so much, thanks for having me!"

He nods to me and then to the servants ahead of me as they move in front of me and Lynn.

"If you would both please follow us to the bathrooms where you would get yourselves cleaned. We will also provide you both with an extra set of clothes for you to sleep in for the night."

I wipe my tears and calm myself, I look towards Luelle and she nods at me.

"I guess this is goodnight then? I'll see you tomorrow?"

She smiles at me.

"It's weird to say but yes, goodnight Namea."

She kneels down to Lynn and pats her head.

"And goodnight to you Lynn."

We both then separate as she goes towards her room and I am led by the house servants to the room where we will take a bath. We then are led to the room and me and Lynn take our baths getting as clean as possible, never have we been so clean for a very long time. We both after finishing get out and notice two sets of clothes on a shelf in the room with names on top of each set. We both put on our respective clothing, the clothes may be a bit big for us but we deal with it and leave the room. A servant waiting out side the room nods to us and tells us to follow him to our rooms. On our way I begin to actually take in the sights of this house. The highly soft and designed carpets we are currently stepping on, The finely crafted wood the walls are made out of with precise engravings in the wood. Never in my life have I seen something so out of my league; but I am now living here! I wish mother could be here with us, I never got to say goodbye. I feel sad for a moment until that is broken when the servant stops moving.

"Lady Namea, this is your room. You will be sleeping here from this point on, please make yourself comfortable."

I look up at the man,

"Thank you, so much."

He bows to me as I open the door, immediately I notice the bed in the corner that isn't just a mattress. Across the room from the bed is a desk with some paper, a quill and ink. Being in this room feels so comfortable as I realize I am far from the reaches of my father. For once I feel that I am going to sleep without fearing for me or Lynn's life. I head over to the bed and cover myself up. I am met with a urgent sense of comfort that I've never felt in my life. Then, the exhaustion starts to kick in. Regardless of choice my body begins to put itself to sleep, as I begin to have the best rest I've had ever since I became what I am now. I dream of the beach once again, but this time it doesn't feel as cold. It feels warm, comforting, I wander around the beach searching if there is the child copy of me but they don't seem to show up in the dream as I give up and just rest on this beach.

"I have to make it to Aeros with Luelle. No, I will make it to Aeros with Luelle, it's my destiny."

Right there the dream ends and I begin to wake up for a new day.