We are all broken,that's how the light gets in.
Eterius Ocean, Northern Ardeneon.
April 13
Overlooking the ocean in the direction they were sailing to, Skai holds back her tears waiting for River and Dexter to fall asleep, she could see River falling asleep any moment even though he had told her he would stay up with her, but it was clear that wouldn't happen, River was exhausted. Dexter seemed tired too, he was trying to sleep but having no luck.
She looks over at them again, they both seemed to be asleep, staring back at the water she lets the tears fall. For sixteen years her dad had been a big part of her life, she told him everything and she thought he told her everything too, but she was wrong.
He was there, he knew it all, he would have known this would affect her and her brother in one way or another, but he chose not to tell them.
They were lied to, that really hurt her.
A soft sob escapes her lips.
"Skai?" A concerned Dexter opens his eyes at the sound of her crying, she quickly turns her face away from him, wiping the tears off her face.
"Hm?" She faces him smiling.
"Don't do that" his gaze burns into her.
"Do what?" She laughs holding back the tears.
"Don't act like you're fine when you're not" he moves closer to her, placing his right hand on her cheek. "You're allowed to feel Skai"
At that she burst into quiet sobs, and he pulls her closer in a hug whispering 'it's okay' in her ear repeatedly comfortingly.
She wanted to scoff, he didn't even know what was going on in her head, how could it possibly be okay.
"He lied to us" she pulls away and Dexter instantly knew who she was talking about.
"I'm sure he had his reasons Skai" he wipes her tears "We'll find out"
"He raised me to be honest D" the tears don't stop flowing "But he was a liar all this time"
He wraps his arms around her yet again pulling her closer to his chest, this time he doesn't say a thing, in the silent noise of the waves he just lets her cry.
He let her cry it all out the night sky begins to share her pain, opening up with tears of its own.
"I'm here for you" Dexter whispers into her ear.
She tried to stop the tears, she really did, but it was really hard for her to when someone is literally helping her feel her every emotion.
The rain got heavier, and the boat began to shake.
Dexter curses holding her tight, her face buried in his chest. The others begin to stir awake due to the turbulence.
"River, can you control it?" Dexter asks River holding on to Skai tight.
"I can try" River's voice shakes, he was scared, that made Skai even more afraid than she already is. She held Dexter tighter as the boat began to shake even more.
"Guys I'm about to turn this into a speed boat so hold on tight" River warns.
"Hold on tight, okay?" Dexter whispers in my Skai's ear taking one hand off her and onto the railing.
She knew she could probably just let go of him and hold the boat, but she felt safer in his arms.
I felt the boat move faster but it wasn't stable. The boat begins to move faster lacking stability the faster it went, the waves crashing against each other, the rain hitting the waters harshly. The weather was angry, sad and angry.
"I don't think this is a good idea" Skai mumbles into Dexter's chest and he rubs her back in response.
'Wouldn't a smarter idea be to slow the current down.'
'We're so gonna die.'
'We're actually done for this time, there's no denying that.' Skai's brain jumbled with thoughts, they were all too caught up in their fear that they didn't notice a portal opening and pulling them through to the shores of Aelius.
"We're here?" Emily asks opening her eyes confused.
"Woah good job River" Dexter congratulates River before whispering in Skai's ear "You okay? We're here"
"Take your time" he whispers as she uses his shirt to clean her face.
"My eyes are probably red" she whines.
"It's okay, no one's going to judge you" he assures her.
"I don't want Riv to worry" she voices her concerns.
"He won't, I promise" he keeps assuring her. "But if you stay here, cuddled up to me, that will probably raise some eyebrows" he says rubbing circles on her back.
She knew he was right, and she hated it because secretly, something deep inside her wanted to stay there cuddled up to him. She fights the temptation, taking a deep breath letting go of him.
She looks around, taking in their surroundings. The boat ended up on a beach, her brother is sprawled on the sand catching his breath and Elijah alongside Emily were walking around the beach with a map in Elijah's hands.
"Come on, you can use the water from the ocean to wash your face" Dexter suggests, and she nods.
The sky still cloudy but the rain completely gone. Dexter escorts her off the boat to the ocean side, she washes her face, and they make their way to where Emily and Elijah are, River still sprawled on the sand.
River knew he didn't do that, he would have known if it was him, the others didn't notice the portal, but he did, "Could it have been dad?" he thinks out loud.
Elijah and Emily look at Skai and Dexter cautiously when they join them, but the former decide to keep their thoughts to themselves.
"So where are we?" Dexter asks looking around spotting a gracious golden castle in the distance, the beautiful work of architecture literally basking in the sunlight reaching the sky. Trees with golden leaves decorate the path to the kingdom.
It was pretty obvious where they were, but something was wrong, something that was going through all five of their minds 'why would it be raining in Aelius?'
"We're definitely in Aelius" River says approaching them "But, the thing is it doesn't rain in Aelius, in fact it's never even cloudy, Aelius is sunny all the time"
"Something is wrong here" Emily looks up at the sky.
They stroll into Aelius casually, Aelius was one of the few Kingdoms in Ardeneon that don't have security, the first thing they come in contact with when they walk into the kingdom is the village market. Four out of the five of them were starting to feel out of place because nearly everyone in Aelius was some type of blonde with different variants of light brown to golden eyes.
"So how exactly do we find him?" Emily asks but they all knew her mind was on something completely different. She wanted to know who she came from, she hoped for a different life, a better life.
"Skai you good?" River asks his sister noticing her unusual silence and she hums in response as they walk deeper into the market.
They're scoping the place for anything or anyone unusual such as Kaito Ladiston, getting to the gates which leads to the palace they are about to turn left which leads down down the other route when Emily stops dead in her tracks, every drop of emotion washing from her face, she stays unblinking as if she'd seen a ghost.
This makes the others look in the direction she was staring in, and they see what she is hooked on. The blonde haired, golden eyed teenage boy, who looked just like Emily's brother. Emily's dead brother; Callum.