Page 72 of A Simple Truth (the Freckled Fate #2)

71

FINNLEAH

V iyak and I sat in the overgrown grass, resting our backs against a curved apple tree. Rays of sunshine snuck past the out-spread branches, sweetly caressing our faces amidst the shade. It could’ve been the warm, delicious soup, or the multiple rolls that I just ate, but my mind settled, thoughts and feelings being tranquil, like a peaceful lake at dawn.

“You look different, Finn,” Viyak said, as he studied me.

“You’re one to talk.” I gave him a half smile, squinting my eyes from the sun as I turned to look at him. “I can barely recognize you without your beard.”

“I thought it would help me transition better. I didn’t have a beard before the Rock Quarries. The De Villiars offered me a mirror, but I still can’t bring myself to look. Somehow scared, that it would be a stranger staring back at me.” He ran his hand against his smooth chin, scratching it. “I thought maybe if I didn’t have a beard, I’d brave it, but now…I don’t know…” he confessed.

“I never knew you had dimples,” I stated, as I stretched out my legs in the grass. He followed suit, his eyes noticing my muscled thighs, easily doubled the size of his, and the neatly pinned daggers around them.

“Aurelia said you are some rare type of Destroyer. I would’ve never guessed.”

“Well, that would make two of us,” I scoffed, pulling on a blade of grass near me. “I only found out half a year ago or so.”

“Finn the Destroyer… Destroyer …” His voice lingering on that word as he turned his eyes to me, giving me another look, as if searching for something out of place. “I’ve always wondered how you survived after that lashing. Your flesh was literally falling off your bones after they whipped you helping that dying slave, and I always thought it was a godsgiven miracle that you lived. No regular human could survive those wounds… but a Destroyer could. I should’ve known.” Viyak followed my gaze towards Aurelia as she beautifully danced in front of the freed slaves, encouraging them to repeat the moves as her dad played the viola.

“I was terrified of Destroyers all my life. I hated them, despised them so much that somehow, I failed to notice I was one of them.” I scratched the thick scars on my back.

“You have changed, Finn.” Viyak’s voice became somber.

“Truth be told, I don’t think I am the same person I used to be, Vi. Not even the same person I was seven months ago. I’ve killed people in cold blood, and I’ve made some questionable choices, did things I am not proud of, but I don’t regret any of it. My one and only regret through it all is that I wish I could’ve come for you sooner, that I could’ve saved you earlier.”

“You know, I still remember very well the first day you were brought and chained to me. I looked at you then and saw you were so broken deep inside that I…even as a slave myself, I felt broken for you.” His words interrupted by a thrilling sequel from Aurelia afar from us as the handful of people finally braved enough to repeat the dance moves, she’d been teaching them.

“I never told you this, but that day I told myself that I should not get attached, because you would not survive,” Viyak confessed. “I had seen that broken look on so many people there before, the look of pure despair, of betrayal, of utter defeat. I could recognize Death staring back from within your soul that I didn’t think you’d last more than a few weeks. And yet, you continued each day, you kept your head down, you lowered your eyes, you obeyed, and you heeded; despite the brokenness, despite the shattered heart, you carried on each day. You survived, and you helped me survive.”

I took a long breath, still feeling lingering echoes of the suffocating darkness that had gripped my mind then.

“You have changed, Finn, but for the better. When I look at you now, I see nothing but great power and strength.” Viyak’s tender voice trembled as he continued, “Strength to do what’s right, even when the world doesn’t agree. Strength to persevere, even when the walls of your own mind collapse. Strength to be the voice for those who don’t have one. Strength to make a hard choice, even when you know it’s going to be a painful one. Strength to stand up for what is right, even if it means to stand alone. You are not the same person anymore because you are no longer broken.” His blue eyes wrinkled with a caring smile as our eyes met. “You’ve pieced yourself together—piece by piece, little by little—you’ve built yourself up and you’ve put yourself back together and look at you now…I look at you and I feel so proud . Proud of what you have become, of how much you’ve grown.” Silver streaks ran past his sunken cheeks. “I am just so, so glad that I lived long enough to see it.”

“I missed you, Vi,” I replied, patting him on his leg as I blinked my own tears away.

The sudden summer breeze rustled the leaves above us, sending a refreshing draft against our warmed skin.

“If someone told me a year ago that we’d be here, free, alive, sitting on the soft grass and chatting on a nice sunny day” —he looked up at a blossoming apple tree above— “I’d say they were insane. And yet, here we are.”

“Nah, you’d believe them. You were always a big dreamer, Vi. I was the skeptic.” I chuckled.

“I was a dreamer once, wasn’t I?” Viyak wiped away his tears, his face lighting up with a big smile as Aurelia enthusiastically twirled with a poor guest.

“What are you going to do now?” I asked, aware of the heavy question.

“I don’t know. I think I’ll stay around here for a while, helping other people recover too. The De Villiars are helping us adjust to the new world, but with the war it’s not safe for us to return home.” Viyak scratched his short-haired head. “To be honest, some days I just want to rest. I never realized how tired I was. Day in and day out I survived in the Rock Quarries, and now that I have a moment to breathe, I am so exhausted. I sleep for half a day, I eat. Sometimes, I just spend what’s left of my day walking down to the ocean and listening to the waves.” He let out an uneven breath. “Lady De Villiar started painting lessons for us. Turns out, I rather like painting. I am not good at it by any means, but the paint is so much more vivid and vibrant than the grays of the Quarries, and I have so many things in my mind that are shaped in color, eager to get out, that I find myself painting for hours at a time.” He pulled a few petals off the dandelions buried in the grass. “Perhaps, when the war is over, I’ll try to find my brother. I haven’t seen him or his family in years. And a part of me wonders if there is even anyone left to return to. If they even remember me...” He nervously scratched his forearm, the loose, wrinkled skin moving like fabric with the motion. “You know, after all this time, I’ve learned that I am not afraid of darkness, I am just afraid to be alone. And I haven’t been alone in over four years. At first, I thought constantly being chained with someone was designed to make me go insane, but over the years, I’ve grown to find comfort in the knowledge that even on my darkest days, I wasn’t alone.” He pointed with his chin to the bundle of refugees hiding under the shade from a large tree. “Most of us still find ourselves each night cuddled up against each other on the floor, unable to sleep in a bed, or to sleep alone. But I know that one day, it won’t be like this. We will grow and we will recover. I just hope that by then, when I am alone, I can, for once, not be afraid.”

“You will always have me, Vi,” I said and meant it. “Don’t think that I had gone back to the Rock Quarries just to ditch you the next day.” I winked at him. Xentar shouted my name from afar, signaling it was time for me to go. I rose up, shaking off my pants, then extending my hand to Viyak, helping him up, “As long as I live, you’ll always have me. You won’t be alone,” I reassured him.

“You’ve grown into a beautiful woman, Finn. Not just outside, but inside,” Viyak said as we strolled back, pausing at the garden’s threshold as I gave him a hug.

“It’s not a goodbye hug, by the way,” I mumbled to him as I held onto him a little bit longer. “I will come back and visit you each day.”

“I will look forward to it.” Viyak smiled and before I walked away, he added, “I am not sure if you’ll see the Destroyer General but tell him thanks from us. From me.”

“Thanks?” My brows furrowed with confusion and my heart skipped a beat at the mention of Gideon.

“Yes, he came to visit us all after we got transported. After you got wounded, he stopped by to let me know you were okay since he found out we were close.”

“Oh, that’s nice of him.” I tried to hide a bit of surprise in my voice.

“Yes, he said that he knew you cared a lot about my well-being and that, although you were not able to come visit me, he wanted to extend the same courtesy to make sure I was well taken care of. He was very nice, but I have to say, that man is absolutely terrifying.”

“He really is, isn’t he?” The corner of my mouth tugged upward at the warm memories of the Lord of Death.

“He cares deeply for you, Finn,” Viyak prompted, as his eyes landed on me.

“It’s not like that…” I objected, unsure what to say.

“I might have been enslaved for the past four years, but Fate didn’t leave me blind.” Viyak cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

“It’s more complicated than that,” I countered, rubbing the bridge of my nose.

“I only survived in the Quarries for as long as I have, because I learned to read what other people can’t see.” Vi held my gaze and I listened to him. “Remember after you got whipped and I put your ribbon-like flesh together, with all those bits of rags the slaves donated? You told me then that if I could heal you, I could heal anything after that. That I had a Healer’s touch.”

“You really do.” I nodded, clearly recalling the feverish days of what I thought were my last.

“Some of your wounds run so deep, Finn, that even if I tried, I couldn’t heal them. But I think he could…”

“Vi…” I shook my head, pulling my eyes away from him.

“You told me that if you survived the whipping, you’d listen to all of my advice. So let me give you one last piece.” I reluctantly returned my eyes to him, as he said, “Sometimes we hold on to our hurt for so long, that it becomes somewhat of a comfort to us. I know that you’ve been hurt before. I know that it was done by Destroyers too. But don’t let your past dictate your future.” His lanky arms wrapped around my shoulders, giving me a quick squeeze. “Look around us, Finn.” Viyak motioned to a few slaves now excitedly dancing together with Aurelia. “For whatever reason, Fate granted us a second chance at life. Don’t let fear rob you of your happiness. Just as Aurelia said, sometimes you have to jump before you learn how to fly,” he shared, his words settling deep within me. “Just promise to think about it.”

“I’ll try,” I answered, already following Xentar down the narrow path leading back to the shore.