“Hey.”

Freya’s eyes fluttered opened and she got on her feet, instantly regretting the decision. Barry looked at her stumbling to stay on her feet,

“What? Did they cut you open too?” he asked sarcastically and Freya shot him a look,

“No, I was here up all night, waiting for you to get rid of the poison you ate because you can’t keep your hands to yourself.” Freya shot back while trying to maintain her balance.

Barry sighed, “Go easy. I just got cut open from my chest till waist.” He said and leaned against the huge rock behind him while placing his hand on his chest. Freya’s eyes widened, as if she came back to real life and took a step forward,

“How was it? Is it hurting?” She asked, trying not to sound ‘too’ concerned.

“I mean…it was dramatic.”

“What do you mean?” she asked looking at him. His dark hair were all over the place but not the bad kind. He wasn’t wearing a shirt but his chest was covered with a huge leaf and tied with strings. It looked like a bandage.

“I mean they rubbed something on my chest and five seconds later, they bring in this huge, sharp, metal looking object and start to cut my chest open,” the disbelief was clear in his voice, “Lord knows I was about to lose my shit. I started struggling but these minions, I swear to god, they look so innocent with their short height and all that ‘ancient’ crap but fuck they are strong,” he whispered to ensure no one listens.

Judging by the unnoticeable humor in his voice, Freya was sure nothing bad had happened. She rolled her eyes at his disrespect towards the Banshees and picked her backpack from the ground but she was glad he was okay.

“Well, these short heighted and ancient crap minions stopped you from dying so naturally, I think a little respect is due.” She smirked,

“Yeah but they cut me open!” He argued

“And they stitched you back together, didn’t you?” She pointed out causing Barry to roll his eyes.

“Alright but do you wanna know what I saw?” He sounded intrigued and Freya nodded while picking up Barry’s backpack too.

“As soon as they cut me up, a strange, black and ashy smoke rose from my chest…” His eyes sparkled, “It was weird but so unbelievable!”

“Yeah, that’s how the poison leaves.” Freya said and started walking out of the village.

“Anyway,” Barry followed her footsteps and continued talking looking at his chest, which was covered by a huge leaf, “As soon as the thing stopped, the eldest Banshee brought a wooden bowl of something. It smelled like feet. Anyway, that’s not the point,” He kept talking and following her, “It was like a thick paste and the Banshee placed it all over the wound and I kid you not, the pain just vanished! Oh and so did the-”

Barry’s sentence was cut in half as he bumped into Freya’s back. His chest hit against her and he groaned in pain.

“Ouch!” he yelped in pain and took a step back, “Really? Stop acting like your chest was cut ope-”

“I hope your friend won’t make the same mistake again.”

Barry’s sentence was cut yet again but this time, he wasn’t annoyed as the Banshee stood right in front of Freya with his hands behind his back and a stern look on his face.

“Yes.” Freya answered, looking into this eyes.

“We won’t be able to save him again.” He continued and Freya sighed,

“Is there anything else you want to say?” She asked,

The Banshee’s expressions softened, “You can still get it back, Kira.”

Freya’s expressions changed as if she saw a ghost. Tears filled her eyes before falling down to the ground.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

She looked… shocked and betrayed, as if, remembering something she doesn’t want to – touching a memory she locked deep, deep down.

“Don’t call me that.” She said clenching her teeth, “Don’t ever call me that, ever again.” She stormed past the Banshee.

Dumbfounded, Barry followed.

Anger boiled inside Freya. She could feel the hurricane taking hold of her – lost in that moment, the torment her brain was in, tension of her muscles and the inability to think clearly soon followed as she moved away from the village taking big steps and fast.

“Hey, what happened?” Barry suddenly came in front of her and she came to a halt.

“Get away from me.” She said in a low voice.

Her fists were firmly by her sides, yet she knew her words could do more damage than they ever could so she opened her mouth only when necessary.

“But what happened?” Barry insisted and before he could say anything further, he met Freya’s fist.

“Fuck!” He yelped in pain and fell on the ground. His left cheek grew red in seconds. He hit the ground and the pain travelled to his chest, “Fuck fuck!” He groaned in pain. Bringing his knees to his chest, he kept laying on the dirty ground.

“Shit,” Freya mumbled, “Shit shit shit! I told you to stay away! I told you!” She yelled at Barry’s back but he didn’t reply. He was in too much pain.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Freya whispered. Turning away, she started mumbling something.

“It’s – it’s okay,” Barry mumbled, taking in deep breaths, “it’s okay, the pain is going away…” he added as he sat up but Freya was not looking at him. Her back was turned towards him as she placed her hand on the tree and looking down she was mumbling something.

“Freya, it’s okay.” He repeated but didn’t get any response.

Struggling, he got on his knees before standing straight. Keeping a firm hand on his chest, he dragged himself near her. She was looking down and because of her hair, Barry couldn’t look at her face.

“Hey, it’s alright.” He whispered but Freya didn’t respond; again.

Freya sniffed. Barry tucked her hair behind her ears. He could see the tears rushing down her face as she mumbled something. He held Freya by her shoulder and turned her towards himself – and she let him. Her eyes were filled with sadness but it wasn’t just that – there were so many emotions in her eyes. She sniffed as hot tears rolled down her face.

She blinked her eyes, looking at him as she continued mumbling,

“Let love in.”

Barry looked at her confused as she chanted the same dialogue again in a low voice. Her eyes were concentrated on him as she mumbled again, “Let love in.”

His confusion changed into a small smile and he nodded a little, “Let love in.” He repeated after her as he gently wiped a tear away from her cheek.

“It’s okay,” He assured her, “The thick ass paste they rubbed on my chest is pretty good.” He winked Freya sniffed and smiled.

Both of them fell silent. Freya’s face was still in Barry’s hand.

“Uh,” Freya looked away.

His eyes widened as he realized his hands were still on her face. He instantly dropped his hands and scratched the back of his head.

“So uh, yeah. That – that was… uh intense,” he chose his words carefully.

Freya looked at him and laughed out loud,

“What?” he frowned, but the blush was prominent on his face.

“You’re red.” She pointed out, folding her hands on her chest and looking at him with a smirk. Barry flushed even more.

“Whatever,” He rolled his eyes and changed the topic, “What does ‘let love in’ mean?”

She sighed, “When anxiety and fear grabs me by the tongue and dry my mouth, I don’t panic anymore,” She stopped and corrected herself, “I try to not panic anymore because I’ve been there before, I know the feeling, and knowing it makes it less scary,” She looked away, “I am all the stronger for my battle scars. So instead of letting it take me down, I tell myself everything will be alright. I remind myself that I am a good person, I do good things, I have a heart full of love and there is world is full of good people out there. Fear can only hold me back, stop me from reaching my dreams. I can't say it never comes again, but each victory gets a little easier,” She looked at him and smiled, “So, ‘let love in’ is a verse I used to repeat when I was young. That’s pretty much the only thing left of my childhood and my memory.”

Barry looked at her in awe. For the first time, he saw how broken and shattered she was. Beneath all that warrior skin, she was still…a human.

“What did the Banshee say? That you can take it back?” Barry asked,

“My memory.” She replied blandly.

Barry’s eyes widened as he looked at her in shock, “Your – your memory? The thing you’re running after?”

Freya shook her head, “No, I’m not running after it,” She rephrased, “Yes, I want to know but only some parts of it.”

“Why?” Barry expressed his frustration, “You can finally know what happened! You can find out who you are, how you got here and maybe – maybe, we can get out of here; together.” He said, causing Freya to look into his direction,

“What do you mean ‘get out of here together?’”

“What do you mean you want the half of the memory?” Barry countered back.

Both of them fell in silence but Barry was persistent.

“Because…” She begun, “Because I think I did something bad to my parents.”