Rough Seas

9 - Family

(Kinda short chapter! sorry :( )

Katherine watched as the waves crashed onto the rocks, a peaceful silence settling over her and Rupert. The two of them were sitting on a bench overlooking the large cliffs that the town bordered on. The cliffs allowed for Ianarea to have some protection from the sea.

"Kathy?" Rupert asked, breaking the silence. Katherine hummed and glanced over at him. "Do... Do you know what day it is?" Rupert bit his lip, green eyes full of worry. Katherine thought for a moment, before it dawned on her what day it was. The anniversary of their parent's death. Twelve years had gone by so fast.

"It's been so long." Katherine whispered, looking back at the cliffs. "Do you think they're watching us right now?"

"Of course they are, Kathy." Rupert replied. The two sat in silence for a few more moments, before Rupert spoke again. "Kathy, do... do you get the feeling as if history has repeated itself? With the new Dianite attack, that is. It... Just to me, it feels like what happened to our village happened over there, too." Katherine frowned, thinking. Their village had been attacked by Dianitee soldiers when she was twelve, and Rupert was fifteen. Their parents had been killed before them, and to this day Katherine could sometimes hear her mother screaming for Rupert to grab her and run.

"I... Yes, the attack does remind me about it. But... it's different. One, our attack was a planned one. How else could all of those soldiers have gotten there? Two, Dianite went alone, and Ianite told me he was under the influence of his emotions." Katherine said, listing her points on her fingers. "It's horrible how he's fine to go off and just destroy one of our villages and not say anything about it!" Katherine said, her voice rising slightly. Her hands formed into fists. Rupert places a hand on her shoulder, giving her shoulder a slight squeeze.

"We can't change what he's done, Kathy. But we might be able to get him to stop attacking, if this thing with Tom works out." Rupert said gently, shuffling closer to his sister so he could properly comfort her. Letting herself be pulled closer to Rupert, Katherine rested her head on his shoulder. "They'd be proud of us, you know? They always wanted us to be happy." Rupert murmured, feeling Katherine let out a small sob. He held her tightly, letting her cry into his shoulder. Out of the two of them, Katherine had been hit the hardest by their parents' death. Rupert theorized that it was because she actually saw them die, whereas he was focused on getting his sister to safety. After a few moments, Katherine pulled away from him, wiping her eyes with her hands.

"Thank you, Rupert." She said, smiling at him tiredly. He just grinned and squeezed her shoulder, trying to assure her that he was here for her. The siblings sat in silence for a few minutes, Katherine calming down significantly and Rupert watching as a tremendous wave crashed against the charcoal black rocks that littered the bottom of the cliffs. There was the sound of someone shuffling through grass, and Rupert glanced behind them to see Jordan approaching. He gave the younger man a wave and a smile, which Jordan returned.

"Hey." Jordan sat on the railing closest to Katherine, slipping his hand into hers. Katherine leaned against him, giving his hand a small squeeze. "I've got some news from Ianite that she wanted for me to tell you." Katherine glanced up at him, while Rupert gestured for him to continue. "Ianite wanted me to tell you that she, uh, talked to Dianite today and he's gonna be here in..." Jordan stopped, cocking his head to the side, thinking. "In about five days, starting today." Katherine frowned slightly.

"To negotiate for Tom?" Katherine asked, watching as Jordan nodded. She was a little disappointed, as she had been hoping that Tom would start acting nicer, and maybe, just maybe, she could talk to him about how she felt. Apparently not. She sighed and turned her attention back to the ocean. Maybe it wasn't meant to be. After all, what good did pining after someone who you barely knew do?