6 Empty Promises

A week had passed since the incident. No one spoke anything of it. Its was like it never happened at least that's what it seemed like to her. Her father would awkwardly stumble around her trying to act all stiff and cool, but failed miserably. Iris would have thought her father's behavior was cute if had been in any other circumstance. Even so, that was not what was stressing her out the most. She had to miss school due to the injuries she suffered. Unlike the others because she was only a halfling, her wounds healed at a slower pace, but that wasn't what was bothering her. Ever since that day not once had her friends come over to visit. She would see once or twice out the window awkwardly walking back and forth but never took the initiative to knock on her door. Kyria was nowhere to be seen. Although, not that he could have since his injuries were severe, so Iris didn't take it to heart. Ned had the lesser affect to all of it, it seem that he had passed from the all the blood rushing to his head from the fear. Kyria, on the other hand, took the entirety of the whole fight. She really couldnt rememeber much since all the adrenaline was used to stop her father from going into another rampage. Whatever was happening, it caused her heart to sink into an abyss but she held it in since she knew the extent of all the damage.

"Maybe they'll come greet me at school." She thought smiling to herself. Even though they're injuries were quite severe, Iris was not worried since they healed quickly because of their powers. Suddenly her mind drifted to the woman who had appeared in her dreams. Iris wondered what all that was about, but the more she thought about it the more uneasy she had become. Her thoughts wondered back to the shocking incident. What if word has spread about the entire thing, her thoughts wander into multiple directions but came to a complete stop as she reached the school gates. For some reason she couldn't move. She looked down to her legs and could see herself physically tremble. However, why was she feeling scared? She did nothing wrong so why wouldn't she stop trembling? Was it because her fellow classmates would label her as a monster or because she was afraid of being rejected by her best friends. Or was it because she was attacked and she didnt know how to handle it if it were to happen again. It didn't help knowing that her father was acting weird at home. Maybe it was still too soon to come back after leaving her father in an awkward state. Whatever the problem was her heart sped unnaturally with each second. She took a heavy breath, but before she could take a step forward, she was pulled into a strong gentle hug. Iris opened her eyes to see a familiar face and all the tension in her heart melted away. Looking at Ned's face gaving her confidence.

"Good morning Ned where's Kyria?" Iris asked with an innocent look. Ned stayed quiet for a moment until he finally spoke, "He's in class already, but we should hurry the first bell will be ringing soon." Ned's eyes reflected a bit of hurt but Iris didnt want to poke it further. On the way to class, Iris was still receiving cold side glances from the previous week. She expected worse after the incident but none came. As soon as she stepped into the classroom whispers echoed into the hall ways. She sat down on her desk next to Ned, and scanned the classroom to see no sign of the boys who hurt her. What was even more puzzling was that Kyria no longer sat in front of her. She scanned the room with her eyes to see him sitting in the front closer to the board. Confusion was evidently plastered on her face, she looked at Ned for answers but earned nothing in return. There was no way ned could face her now, how was he supposed to explained to her that Kyria no longer desires to be her friend. The thought of it all made Ned sick to his stomach.

Time went by rather quickly, hearing the a bell which signaled it was lunchtime Iris swiftly took Ned's hand and told him, "Im finally going to do it Ned. Im going to talk to Kyria. Im not exactly sure why he is ignoring me but I need to figure all of this out, wish me a luck." Ned wanted to stop her but he couldnt bring himself to crush her determination. The bad feeling in his gut grew only stronger. He sighed feeling the pit of his frustrations, but decided to let it all go since the only thing he could do now was give the support his precious princess needed when push became to shove.

As soon as Iris informed Ned of her simple plan, she whipped her self around looking for looking for kyria. She wasnt surprised that kyria had already disappeared from the classroom since it was obvious that he was avoiding her. Surprisingly, she didnt care because she needed to solve this quickly before she could confront things with her father or anyone else. She heard snickering and whispers, but ignored them because she knew what she had to get done. Listening to them would only make her more depressed anyways which kinds of shocked the class at her sundden behavior. Iris paused for a moment before leaving the class room. The confidence she held shocked even her. Maybe it was because even after a week Ned was still talking to her, which made her believe kyria would too since he was such a mother hen. However, the darkness in her heart told her otherwise. Iris decided to push the feeling aside as she rushed out of the classroom disregarding the time.

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Knowing Kyria's routine, she was able to determine that he was either at the teachers office or the library during his free time. Even thought he did not look the part, Kyria was quite dedicated to his studies. She admired him most for this fact. After reaching her destination, she peeked into the the teachers lounge to see if kyria was there. Before she could get a closer look a whiff of cinnamon and vanilla passed her nose. She recognized this scent so she quietly followed it to the balcony and found Kyria there sipping on some cinnamon vanilla tea. Suddenly seeing him made her stop herself from taking a step forward. What should she do now? She was nervous, but for what? It was her friend standing in front of her not an enemy. Kyria had already noticed her the moment she stood in front of the teacher's room. He knew he had to confront her soon about his feelings but was he able to go through with it? Seeing her face alone was enough to melt his heart so he wasn't sure he could handle the poor girl crying. If he could he would crush her small body in his arms and never let go to protect her from all the evil. To him she was the small glimpse of light in his small world. However, even with all these sentimental feelings he no longer had the right to stand beside her. He had been watching her since they were kids and protected her from everything that came her way but for the first time in his life he felt like a failure. He sipped his tea and let out a heavy sighed, "Let's get this over with."

Kyria's sudden movement gave Iris a small fright. The visible scare Kyria witness made him clench his fist tightly.

"What are you doing here? he spoke dryly. He knew that his words were a little harsh but he couldn't help it since he felt like his resolve would break. Hearing his words Iris became a little bothered. What exactly was that supposed to mean? With the courage she had gathered she mumbled, "O-of course to talk to talk to you. I just.. you know, wanted to ask why you have been avoiding me?" Her voice was really soft but Kyria was able to hear her voice tremble. He stayed silent looking down at her figure. Iris could not tell what was going through his head. His eye looked empty reviling nothing to her. She felt the confident that she held was slowly depleting. She clenched the hem of her skirt and spoke again.

"I-i know what had happened might be the reason why you are avoiding me. I know you might not want talk to me now after what my father has done to you. To be honest I can't really remember what had happened that day. All I can remember was passing out and then waking up to your screams. Please I need to know what's going though your head. Please talk to me! Ned and you are all I have." Iris felt her entire being crumble.

"And if I don't wish to talk to you? I-.. look Iris I can't talk to you right now. Just please leave me alone." His voice was loud and clear. his words echoed into her heart. She just couldn't hold it in anymore. She wasn't a strong person to begin with so seeing her best friend treat her like this crushed her. She disregarded his words and ran into Kyria's arms with tears running down her face.

Kyria heard her soft sobs and clenched his teeth. She wanted to return the hug to her but didn't. His sweaty palms hung beside him unmoved. He hadn't realized the cold look he held. She had it all wrong! Kyria wasn't like this because of what her father did to him. He wasn't trying to blame him or Iris in anyway. Any father would have done the same if their daughter suffered through such injures. He felt terrible for making it seem like he was blaming her. If this went on any longer the emotions that were suppressed for so long would eventually burst. Kyria subconciously pushed Iris off of him with a little too much strength due to his unstable emotions. Iris's tears froze from the shock she had felt. She didn't expect for herself to be shoved aggressively by her friend.

"I can't do this anymore Iris!. I can't be friends with you anymore. The feelings I hold or think you will never understand! I don't care what your father did nor do I care for what more you have to say. Nothing you say will matter anymore. You mean nothing to me right now. Just please go." He never meant any of this to happen. Through out this whole week he blamed himself for what had happened to Iris. If he had stayed with her or if her gotten there sooner would things have been different? He held Iris so dear to his heart so it was too much for him to stand by her side knowing that she was hurt even though he was there. His pride wouldn't let him settle with the failure of protecting the one he loved. The guilt was too strong for him to bare. He wasn't care free or kind like Ned nor was he uncaring like Wolfram. He just can't be with her anymore, he couldn't stand the pain. After venting his anger a bit he suddenly realized how hurtful his words sounded. He originally wanted to step away for a bit and sort his feelings a bit more. He didn't want to sound heartless. From the lack of noise, he looked up. She was no longer there. He started to panic and was ready to chase her. He wanted to clear up the words he said. He didn't mean any of it. But before he could make his next move he was already aggressively stopped by someone.