Flying Free

Chapter 11

A loud crash brings me out of my stupor. Jesse and the other boys crash through the door, clearly out of breath.

," We have an emergency, its (insert rebel group name here). They attacked us in the street, we managed to get away but they'll be here soon," Jesse says, stressing out.

," What, a rival rebel group. Is everything going to be okay?" I worry.

," Of course, we can handle them, we just need to prepare a bit first," Blayze says.

," Can I help out, I know I haven't been here long. And if I'll just get in the way I'll forget about it but," I trail off.

," Sure, it is dangerous but I won't stop you from helping us out if you want to," Jesse says.

," Thank you so much, I won't let you down," I nod.

," I hope not," Lilith gets up and heads down the hall.

We follow her to the storage room and they all grab massive swords and protective body armour. I audibly gulp and Raven turns to me.

," You sure you want to be a part of this,"

I take a strong step forward and smaller katana," Yes I need to do this, I can't stay on the side-lines forever, so I might as well learn to be part of the action,"

We suit up quickly and head outside, to a herd of people in similar gear to us flying towards our building.

," So, you ready to give up your new spy. I hear she's the famous princess of Aligen,"

I'm shocked, they're here for me. I know I'm from Aligen, I guess I could be valuable but I never even knew there were other rebel groups in Vimeravi so I didn't think it would be a problem.

," She's not ours. She belongs to herself," Blayze argues.

," And I decided to come here and to join this group so I have no plans to join your second-rate gang," I shout.

," Feisty, I like it and pretty too. like a sweet spring flower,"

," Well if you don't get out of here, this spring flower's going to slice you up," I smile smugly.

," I know it wouldn't be easy, go get her, and if you feel like it beat them up a bit, but don't hurt her, she should be in perfect condition,"

I see everyone position themselves in a fighting stance and I replicate it as best I can. We take to the skies as a unit and I flinch when I see Jesse make the first strike, I take a deep breath and unsheath my katana. There were swords in Aligen, mainly used by the police officers but I'd never used one. Though Jesse did give me a comprehensive crash course on basic sword usage and safety about 20 seconds ago, so I should be fine, right?

I really don't want to hurt anyone, so I hover near the back and trust that the others know what they're doing, which they seem to. They're holding the front well until one slips past and gets near to me. I panic and slash him in the wing, he drops to the ground and some of his teammates catch him and lay him carefully on the floor.

I flutter back and drop slightly, I hurt him. I want to go down and help, but I know I'll only make it worse for my group. They don't want me down there, maybe I should leave them alone, I'm only going to cause more problems. Maybe I shouldn't have ever come to Vimeravi, it was a stupid pipe dream that should have died with my Mother. I start to hyperventilate at the thought of her, but a warm hand clasp my shoulder and brings me back to the present. Jesse spins me round to face him and I feel a little better straight away.

," It's not your fault, you were only defending yourself, that what happens in a fight like this, he knew the risks and he was willing to get injured,"

," But I cut him, is he going to die,"

," No, he'll be back causing us trouble in a couple of weeks or so, he's had worse,"

," How do you know?"

," I've given him many more scars than you ever will, I'll make sure of that. Now, come on, we're needed,"

," Are you sure, I feel like I'll only be an inconvenience,"

," You may not feel it yet, but you are a vital part of this team and to me,"

I try to protest further, but am cut off by an explosion of happy surprise, Jesse pulls me in close and presses his lips to mine, the world, the fight around us disappears and all I feel is him against me; an eternal embrace. He expresses such passion yet he isn't rough or aggressive, if I wanted to, I could easily move away but I would never say no to this, this perfection.

After what feels like forever, but still, not long enough he lets go, winks and flies back into the fray. My head is spinning but I follow him, quickly righting myself and getting into an appropriate mindset for a battle. Soon a young woman comes within my range, this time I refrain from using the death warrant in my hands and instead kick her hard in the shins so she stumbles in the air. She goes away quickly and after a couple of hours, I guess, we're pushing them firmly out of our territory. Once we cross a border of two flags separated by a barbed-wire fence, they turn away sulkily and fly off. I let out a deep breath of relief and the others follow suit.

," That was amazing, Eli you were great," Raven claps me on the back.

," Really," I say.

," Yes, you made all the difference," Jesse said with a knowing smile.

I blush slightly and am caught off guard when Raven asks me to talk to her alone, I look questioningly at the others but they just shrug.

," What did you want to talk about," I say brightly.

," Uh, well. I haven't told anyone this yet, but you seem trustworthy and well I'll get straight to the point. I think I am attracted to girls," she says, embarrassed.

," Oh, that's really great Raven. I'm so thankful you felt you could come to me about it. You know I'll support you, whoever you choose to date," I smile.

," That's the thing, I didn't tell anyone because I wasn't really sure, I mean I've felt things towards women in media and I've never been really into guys but since I never had a real-life crush, I didn't want to go shouting about something that might not end up being true,"

," So, you have a real-life crush now?"

," Yeah, but it's that girl, from the other rebels,"

," Oh, the one I kicked in the shins,"

," Yeah,"

," Um, well sorry about hurting the person you like and I won't judge you on liking someone who is on the other team, you can't control who you like,"

," Thanks, but it's not just that, she has a boyfriend,"

," Well then, you just wait it out until she doesn't, she might be bisexual,"

," I don't think so, she seems straight as a ruler to me,"

," You can't always tell, she might not even know she likes you yet, but things can always change,"

," Ok, thank you for being a great friend,"

," Are you going to tell the others,"

," Maybe, but please don't tell anyone until I'm ready, not even Jesse,"

," Of course, it's your decision and whenever you are ready, I would be happy to help in any way I can, even if it's just standing next to you while you talk,"

," Thanks again, we should probably head back,"

," Ok,"

We go back to the group and we head home, while I'm still mulling over the events that have happened in the past couple of hours. My first kiss, first confession, first fight. I knew Vimeravi would be a whole new world, but this is really crazy and I get the feeling it's only going to get worse as we try to oppose my father and all the power he now possesses. But I have to keep going, as when the problems start to build up, I know I'll always have my friends and now my boyfriend I suppose.