Pyrus: Rise Of Darkness

Ambush

Morning comes swiftly. I go to the mess hall to eat. I nab a couple pancakes, and poke them with my fork, head in my arm. Sky comes over.
"I heard about what happened," she says. "I'm sorry." As a response, I just shrug.
"She does still want to be friends. She is really upset about what she did."
"Is that why she was avoiding me? Why you were, too?" I ask.
Sky bites her lip. "Yes, that is why Lilly was avoiding you, and part of why I was," she responds slowly. Then she quickly adds, "Sorry."
"Eh. S'okay."
Just then, Lilly and Gale walk in. They order breakfast, then find me. They sit down with me and Sky, and Lilly asks me how I feel.
"I'm fine," I respond in monotone. In all honesty, I'm not, but she doesn't need to know that. We all chat a bit, then head to our classes.
Elemental classes are interesting today. We are practicing conjuring and using tools made of our element. For example, you would have to create a sword then wield it against a dummy. Richard claimed it was to enhance our precision and concentration, but I feel there is something else he isn't telling us. As the day progresses, my mood improves, and our special class with Richard is fun. We model animals, like a squirrel, and use magic to control and bring it to "life". It is extremely fun, and my squirrel is able to hop here and there and everywhere. I am definitely going to practice this. I exit the tower laughing and talking with Gale, Sky, and Rocky. We chat about everything that's going on and stuff, and Rocky invited me over for dinner. Sky seems ok with it, so I agree and tell him I'll be over at 6. He seems pretty satisfied with that.
I return home. Firebolt is there waiting for me. I give him a hug and decide how to kill time. I decide on reading. Grabbing a nice-looking book, titled "Arthur", I begin pouring over it. The book is fascinating, all about a famous king named King Arthur, and Merlin, his personal wizard. Taking a quick glance at the cover I can see it was written by Merlin. Interesting. I set the book down and run Arthur's story over in my head. But then memories intrude, memories of me and my past. An icy hand grips my heart, crushing it as I curl into a protective ball. Tears leak from my eyes. The pain I feel is unbearable. And it worsens the more I try to shove it out. The fact that Lilly did that is hard to take in. The gong finally chimes 6 times, releasing me from my tortured state. I quickly dry my tears up and head to Rocky's.
Walking along the path, I can see a bunch of youngsters, no more than 7 years, playing about in the garden whilst the setting sun sets fire to the sky. They run about, laughing and screaming.
I am greeted by Ricky upon my arrival, who immediately bounces up on me.
"Ricky! Ricky, we talked about this!" Rocky scolds, walking around the corner. "No jumping up on guests unless you are invited. Hey, Pyrus." I have never seen Rocky so adult-like.
I smile at him. "'Sup, little man?" I reply. I ruffle Rocky's hair and take a peek in Rocky's home. It looks almost identical to mine, just bigger. The bedroom has two beds with two desks and a bookshelf double the size of mine. Fluffy sits on a perch beside one bed, Sky's probably, and looks over at me. She gives a quick chirp and I stroke her back.
Suddenly, a voice calls out from the other end of the hall. "Rocky? Is that Pyrus?" It's Sky. She must be preparing supper, which explains the sudden waft of deliciousness from the kitchen. Yum.
I put my finger on my lips to tell Rocky to be quiet, then sneak over to the kitchen, just as Sky yells, "Rocky? I asked you a question!"
Quickly darting behind her, I say in a loud voice, "Yeah, I'm here." Sky nearly goes through the roof from the scare. I start laughing and she kicks me, not too hard.
"Good to see you," she says coldly, but then bursts out laughing. "How does some soup sound?"
"As long as there's no secret ingredient, I'd say great!" I kid. She chuckles. Rocky strolls in and we both take a seat. Moments later, Sky sets down steaming bowls of soup in front of us. I breathe deeply and contentedly.
"Yep, definitely no secret ingredient in here," I say, making Sky laugh again.
"Don't get your hopes up, mister Chef. Ricky caught a couple rats a few days ago..." she jokes mysteriously. It's my turn to chuckle. The evening is great, the soup is amazing, and dessert is spectacular: Sky's homemade Icewine. I have no idea if the actual wine part is homemade, but I don't care. This stuff is better then what you get at the orb!
"Ok, I'll admit it. You aren't that bad at cooking," I kid to Sky. "You're still a ways behind me, but you're getting there." I flash her a grin. She scrunches up her face, then chuckles.
"Well, on the bright side, I've managed to make a half-decent Icewine. Beat that, hotshot," she jokes back. I roll my eyes and shake my head, smiling.
"Okay, okay, I'll admit, it was pretty good," I say, starting off a wicked burn. "But I've seen more impressive things. Are there any Gingersnaps baking in your wood stove?" Sky sticks her tongue out at me, but laughs. Rocky just looks between us, confused.
I glance at the clock on the tower. "Well, that was lovely, and I did enjoy dinner, but I am afraid I have to go. Thank you again for the invite."
Rocky gives me a hug, and I hug him back. "Bye, Pyrus! See you tomorrow!" he says.
I smile at him. "See you later, little buddy. Bye, Sky."
Sky waves. "Have a good sleep!" she calls as I exit the building.
"You too!" I call back. I stroll back home through the dark, a smile on my face. I push open my door, and find Firebolt waiting anxiously.
"Look who's home. You gonna feed me sometime soon?"
I roll my eyes and sigh. I scoop him an extra big helping, say goodnight, and head to bed. I settle down for a nice sleep, when my thoughts unintentionally drift to my father. What he did. My longing for him. A sharp pain occurs in my chest, like my ribcage is imploding, crushing my heart. Memories come flooding back faster than I can shut them out. I toss and turn and grit my teeth, trying to stop the pain I feel. While I know it is not an actual injury, it hurts more than anything I have ever experienced. After a period of time I know not, I am able to drift off into a deep sleep.
----------------------------------------------------
I awake to beams of sun pouring into my window, the rats warming me up. I smile and yawn, feeling refreshed. I suddenly think of my family and my heart aches again. I shove it out. I glance out my window, and see a note protruding from my mailbox. I nip outside and grab it. It is sealed with wax, with a mark looking much like the mark I have seen on Richard's arm, a combination of fire, water, earth, and air. It must be from him.