To Again We Rise

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5:

“To die for in return?” I ask.

“Yes, I can train you and I can take you to a place where answers are found. But the journey is dangerous. You might die before you get your answer. Are you willing to go through all the torture and pain?” Daichi asks.

“If I say yes, what shall you do?” I ask Daichi.

“You are a sharp one, Yuina. I expect nothing less out of you but the very best. Yuina. I am going to ask you a few questions. I want you to answer them as true and as accurate as possible,” Daichi tells me.

“Then begin asking, Daihci,”

“What do you think of everything here? What do you think of the castle the people…and I am not talking about obvious things. Think Yuina. If you cannot do that much, I will have to explain everything, just like I had to explain everything to those boys over there,” Daichi told me as he pointed to the group of boys.

“Hmm…This castle somehow connects to now and then. This castle connects to the mystery of the Queen, it connects to the rise in heartless, it connects to us. Yes, it connects to everyone here in some way and the secrets of what happened those years ago are indented into this castle’s history,” I respond.

“Exactly! We will embark on a journey to Kingdom Illusion. Within the heart of Kingdom Illusion lies the answers to all…or so the rumors say. To end the suffering here and everywhere, we must go there,” Daichi explains.

“I like to see this as an experiment or a challenge. The catch is if I do not fulfill what I need to do, I die. But if I make it, I get what I want. I get answerers,” I reply.

‘The it is settled, you are now part of the team, Yuina.”

“And you are the only female on this team, the only female with enough power to be on this team,” Ant add.

“Power?” I ask.

“The light on that day was bright and eliminated the town, along with defeating countless heartless,” Axel explains.

“So what is this team about?” I asked.

“We defeat heartless. We are trying to find the mastermind behind all of this. We believe, since you are here, that your brother might be involved, somehow. Well…I believe so. We have to ensure the safety of the people and bring light back into this world before darkness takes over,” Ant explains.

“And only you can keep the light and start the light, Yuina. You are the queen’s daughter after all,” Daichi reminds me.

“I don’t understand, though. What does my brother have to do with this? Why was I raised/how was I raised up not knowing my real mother and father? How did I end up in that ‘forsaken world’?” I ask.  

“We do not have all the answers you need, Yuina. If we did, this would be much less interesting, right?” Daichi responds.

“Okay, fine,” I reply.

Daichi raises his hands and dismisses the meeting.

I walk back to my room and jump onto the bed. The softness of the bed hits against my chest.

What does he mean? I’m too tried to think.

Before I knew it, I dozed off into a deep sleep… 

I awoke to the rays of the sun hitting my eyes. “Good morning Sun.”

I get out of bed, still kind of dizzy.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!!” I scream as I fall to the floor. I look up. The other guys where observing my intensely, and when you’re dizzy, suddenly seeing boys in your room kind of surprises you.

“What are you guys doing here? Wait, how did you guys get into my room?” I asked, kind of angry at the fact that they would just waltz into a girl’s room.  

“Daichi told us to observe you and it’s your fault that you didn’t lock the door,” Axel answered.

“Besides, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a girl. Most kids eight years old and younger have never seen a girl before. Girls are kind of rare and almost extinct in this world. We don’t know why. We all have a feeling that everything’s connected, that’s the best we’re going on…” Jack answered.

“Yeah, it’s against the law to kill female. They’re like- endangered species,” Nee says.  

“Dude, I hear that they are like healers and medics and when they sing, I hear it’s like those tales of those nice things called Angels,” Dylan says.

I sigh, “It depends on the personality of the girl. You guys like different things and look different. It’s the same deal with girls.”

“Whoa, I actually understood that! I understood someone trying to describe their feelings to me!” Jake states.

“Amazing,” Michael says as his face comes close to mine. “Will you be my wife?” Michael asks as he hands me a rose.

“No….I’m too young, I barley know you….Are you a player or something?” I reject him.

“Well, I want a family in the future and you’re the only girl I know. You’re the only one that can help me make a family with children-”

“Okay, stop. Who said I have any intention of getting married, much less getting a child?” I ask.

“Well, no one, we sort of assumed it… Since all girls like kids and stuff,” Dylan replies.

“Yeah well--” my voice is cut off by this throbbing, stinging pain in my arm. It burns and the pain spreads.

I start to sweat and images form into my mind. Images of things I do not remember, images of things I do not know of. However, this pain in my arm is familiar from somewhere…I had it when I was around three years old…”

Images I see:

A large, dark cave in the middle of the desert filled with females of all ages. The girls are tied in chains and whipped and are being tortured. Some women are tied together and are burned together. The men force the other females to eat the remaining ashes and burnt flesh of the women. Then the men leave the females there, strapped in chains against the cave wall. The females die of hunger, of the heat, of disease.

I grip my arm tying to keep myself from screaming. The throbbing pain and the images are not comforting. Things start getting slightly hazy, only slightly.

“Are you alright?” Asks Michael.

“I’m fine,” I respond in a hushed voice. If I talk normal, the cracking in my voice would tell them that I’m hurt.

“You’re arm, can I see it?” Asks Axel.

“Why?”

“Because!” Without permission, Axel grabs my wrist gently, but not enough to let me escape his grip, and observed my arm.

“Stigma, Yuina, you have the stigma,” Axel whispers.

“What’s the stigma?” I ask.

“It’s a strange thing. Special people have the stigma. There is no cure, no known cause. It’s just there from birth or form of some sort of huge event in life,” Ant explains.

I feel myself falling back as everything goes black…

“I shall keep you chained until the end! Darkness will fall. Nothing will be reborn and everything will be reborn. Everything is in motion! Dream of nightmares and make them, dream of sweetness, then a fake happiness is built.”