As Aiko and I jumped through the portal, the aura around her changed. She turned and looked at me as if she was internally debating something.
“Follow me.” She grabbed my hand and led me outside to the garden of Vaelir’s estate. This garden was more like a forest, it had tons of trees and small wildlife. Nothing here could truly harm you so it was a spot that I knew Aiko had frequented since we moved here, she said it helped her attune herself with the spirits.
After a few minutes of running through the woods we came upon a wall of vines that she pushed away to show a secret cove. There was a small lake that glistened from the small patch of sunlight that could reach this area from above, inside it was a giant array of fish. It felt tranquil, I felt as if all the stress I’ve been having since I came to this world started melting away. In the distance were deer who were grazing, everything seemed to be in perfect harmony here.
Suddenly I was jerked out of this feeling by Aiko saying something to me.
“My mother was a very kind and loving person.” She sat down on the grass by the lakeside and dangled her toes in the water. I walked forward and did the exact same thing, the water was a perfect temperature.
“I know a lot of people would say the same but she was, to this day, the most tender loving woman I’ve ever seen. Because of that she died.” She abruptly stopped for a second and gazed at the butterflies flying through the air, seemingly reminiscing of her past memories.
“I don’t have a lot of memories of her but the ones I do have are pure bliss, she wasn’t able to stay home often with us. She would always get dragged away by Faren and Amber to battlefields, it hurt knowing each time could be your last seeing her. But that never stopped her from spending every second with my father and I.” Aiko stopped once again and locked eyes with me.
“Suddenly my fear came true when I turned seven, she was supposed to make it to my birthday but she never came. The only thing that came was a messenger, she had passed away on the battlefield.” My heart hurt for her, I could only imagine how painful it must’ve been.
“Nobody came to offer their condolences, not even Amber who was her “friend”.” Aiko clenched her fist together for a few seconds before seemingly letting go.
“My mother gave her all for Amber and the Beastkin species, but nobody cared. Nobody gave a shit about how much she suffered and was kept away from her real family, the only ones who cared about her. The only thing they gave a damn about was her bloodline, she was exploited her entire life.” Suddenly I remembered when we were younger, when we were attacked and somehow I managed to hold my ground and kill the corrupted Star Wolf. Aiko seemed to have read the expression on my face.
“My bloodline is a very special one, it allows us to double your strength for a short period of time. As you can tell it’s a very sought out power, enough that they kept my family on an incredibly tight leash. Pathetic right? How could my mom not see it…” Aiko got silent, I refused to say anything until she got it all out.
Tears began streaming down her face, it took all I had to not hug her or do anything to help. I felt that this was a crucial time for her, she had to come to terms with it all herself.
“For the longest time I resented my mom, how dare she leave my father and I alone…”
“How dare she put our species above her family?”
“Did she even care about us? Did she really want to spend time with us?”
Between every sentence more and more tears began to flow, her kimono she was wearing had started to get stained with tears.
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“Why would you have a daughter if you didn’t care about her! Why should I be brought into this world without an ounce of love from her?”
Aiko’s emotions were flaring up, the insects and fish began to sense it and move away.
“IT'S NOT FAIR, WHY MUST I LIVE A SAD LIFE LIKE THIS?” Suddenly from under her kimono a tail appeared, then another and another, until nine had materialized. I had known Aiko for many years now but only now did I just see them.
Foxkin are born with a predetermined amount of tails, they signify their potential. The more tails you have the quicker you grow in power and the higher your ceiling is for power. The only time they show their tails is when they’re in a state of heightened emotions, so very rarely do people chance upon seeing it.
Her hair slowly started to change to white, it cascaded down to her waist and looked ethereal. Suddenly she stopped crying and looked me in the eyes once again.
“But then I realized something, she did it because she loved us. If she didn’t do it then I would’ve been forced to take her place, how unfair is that?” She started to smile after it, as if it was a cruel joke.
“We didn’t choose to have this power, nor did we want it.”
“After I started getting older I started to piece more and more together, then finally I realized that my father must be hurting much more than I am.” She looked down, seemingly disgusted with herself.
“I was selfish in thinking I was the only one hurt, I never bothered to check on my father. Imagine having someone you loved with all your being, forced away from you only to die all alone on a battlefield. The person you had a child with, the person who gave you her all just be forcefully killed just like that.”
“But because he’s my father, he put on that facade of him not hurting. I can only imagine how bad it feels to have your soulmate ripped away from you, unable to do anything to stop it. Before we leave for the academy I’m going to talk with him and get this sorted out.”
Aiko just stared at the water in thought, minutes passed before she started talking again.
“I’m really glad I got to meet you and Yuna, it helped me out of my dark place. Yuna showed me all these girly things, always dropping hints that she wanted us together.” Aiko giggled finally when she thought about how passive aggressive my mother was.
“She became a role model for me before I even knew it, if it wasn’t for her I think I’d be in an even darker place. I’d be stuck wallowing in my own self pity, always looking at everything in a negative way.”
“Then there’s you.” She said with a bright smile.
“You seemed so indifferent when we first met, granted I was a bit straightforward too. Something about you was completely different from other people our age, you were much more mature and dependable. You may have been awkward as hell but you would hear me out, even if you didn’t really care.”
I just stared at her, I really had no idea what the hell to say. I still sucked at everything that involved being social.
“Hahaha, you still have no idea what to say. That’s one of my favorite parts about you. You genuinely care about me, but you just don’t know what to say, like ever.” Aiko broke into a fit of laughter.
“Over the last few years I’ve had a lot of time to come to terms with my mothers passing, I’ll never forget her or the sacrifice she made for my father and I.”
Then her facial expression darkened.
“I’ll make Faren and Amber pay, I’ll avenge the centuries of abuse my family has suffered at the hands of others.”
She gazed upon me and grabbed my hand, caressing it.
“If I asked you to help me, would you?” She asked curiously.
I stood there stunned, I’ve never seen Aiko have such a dark expression on her face. Her eyes looked like voids, ready to swallow me up.
It made me feel weird, I felt exhilarated!
“Of course.”
She smiled at me before motioning me to lean towards her.
Then out of nowhere she grabbed my cheeks and locked her lips with mine, refusing to let go.
Seconds passed, then minutes passed. Our kiss only intensified before she finally separated from me, both of us were out of breath from the intensity.
As I sat there dazed she whispered in my ear, my spine chilled hearing her words.
“You’re mine.”