Jinaro/a"The turmoil within, too great to withstand.
The pain she felt, so sharp, so real.
How she would ever be able to make it through this terrible time,
The small little faerre did not know if she possibly could."
~Characters Used In This Story~
"Chloe - Commoner, from the Kingdom of Otaktay
Robert - Chloe's Best Friend"
Total and utter silence engulfed the forrest, not a sound being made my a single creature. No mice scurrying aroung, no birds chirping, no wolves howling, nothing. The only sound that was being made was by an inantimate object, the river as it rushed forward, splashing against the shore. Sitting on the edge of the water, her barefeet dangling in a bit, was a somewhat young girl, looking anywhere from the age of seventeen to the age of twenty-one. She made not a sound as she sat there, waiting for one person to arrive, a person she had not seen in months, a person she missed oh-so dearly.
Her husband. He had been in military training since he was fifteen, and at the age of twenty, he had finally been put out to war. The young couple had married as soon as it was legal for the girl, who was younger by two years, so when she turned sixteen, they held a small wedding with just their families and a few friends. They had been deeply in love, and just a few months ago, before he was shipped out, they had shared a very intimate night together.
Now, the girl, who's name was Chloe, found her hands resting on the small bump in her stomach, eyes resting on the spot. She was pregnant, pregnant with a little girl the doctor told her. She couldn't wait to tell her husband Jonathon, he had always wanted to have kids and now they were having a precious baby girl. Chloe already knew what she would name it, too, for her and Jonathon had discussed baby names ever since they had gotten married. Hope Faith, after his sister who had previously past away from breast cancer, would be the baby's name.
"Chloe? Are you out here?" A deep, masculine voice suddenly called from nearby, breaking the quiet serenity of the place, not that Chloe really minded at the moment. The problem was, the voice did not belong to Jonathon, but instead belonged to her childhood best friend, Robert. Now, the girl had told Robert not to disturb her until she was reunited with her husband, just in case her friend might let the pregnancy slip before she had a chance to tell Jonathon herself.
"Robert! I told you not to come near me until I'm with Jonathon! Why didn't you listen, you know how important this is to me!" Chloe exclaimed, standing up and turning around to look at the black haired boy, now only a feet feet away. Chloe's emerald green eyes were blazing in annoyance and anger at her friend, her fiery red locks of hair, which normally fell calmly at her shoulders, blew around in the wind as if nature itself had been able to pick up her frustration.
"Chloe, listen to me, please. I-It's Jonathon." Robert said in a soft voice, taking anouther step closer to his friend. At his words, Chloe's face paled tremendously, now worried out of her mind. What about Jonathon? What happened to him? Had his trip back been delayed? Had he been injured so he couldn't come to meet her?
"Listen, okay? There was a bombing on the camp Jonathon was staying at yesterday. Only a few of the men survived, and even they have serious medical injuries. Chloe, Jonathon was killed in the explosion, he's not coming home." Robert said as calmly and softly as he could, knowing how fragile his best friend would become as soon as she understood the meaning of his words. It didnt take more then a moment for Chloe to grasp the words, though she scarely wanted to believe them. It was like she had no control over her body as her legs gave out under her and she fell to her knees, tears already begining to stream down her face.
This could not be happening to her.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Days had begun to blurr together for Chloe, as she stayed in that spot, sobbing day in and day out. Robert had tried to pick her up to carry her back to the village, but she had begun to thrash and scream out, so he set her back down, abandoning the idea quickly. He brought her blankets and pillows and things to stay warm, but there was still a major problem, besides Chloe refusing to move. The once-fiery red head refused to eat or drink anything, and there was a very good chance she could die anyday now. Every single person from her town had come by to try to help her, but none had success, and so most had begun to give up hope, including Robert. That is, until one day, he heard about a Faerre in Vinara in a state much like Chloe's and an idea struck him.
"Okay Chloe, I know you're heart broken and in alot of mental and emtional pain right now, but I think I know a way to help. Please, just promise me you'll listen and do as I say for once, okay?" Robert practically pleaded, wanting so desperately to help his friend and knowing how to, if she would just hear him out. Slowly, the red-headed girl raised her head and eyes to look up at him, wiping away a few tears, but gently, she gave an almost unnoticable nod, which was enough for him to tell her the part of his plan she'd need to know.
"I'm sure you have heard of the city of Vinara, the home to the creatures known as Faerres. And I know how you've dreampt of having a Faerre companion since you were a young child and your father first told you about them. I think you should know that there is currently a Faerre named Jinaro/a, who is seeking a companion to take her away from Vinara, possibly forever. She recently lost a loved one and is completely heart-broke, an emotional wreck, I've been told. She's just like you, Chloe, this Jinaro/a could help you fix your brokenness as you fix hers, please, at least give it a shot." Robert said softly, bending down so that they were eye-to-eye and reaching forwar, pushing a stray piece of red behind the girl's ear.
Please..." He whispered to her, eyes sparkling with tears themselves, knowing there may be no other hope for his friend except for this Faerre Jinaro/
a.
Slowly, Chloe nodded her head, agreeing to her best friend's wishes. She'd do it, she'd go to Vinara and try to woo the Faerre Jinaro, and perhaps he was right. Perhaps they would be able to fix their brokenness together. At her agreement, Robert's face broke out into a wide smile, then seemed to remember something and reached into his pocket. In his hand then, were two silver lockets, both very intricate and detailed hearts. One had a long chain, for a human, and the other a short one, perhaps for an animal of somekind?
"I almost forgot, here, take these. Master Grimeldo made them special. One is for you, and one is for The Faerre Jinaro/a, but beware. Jinaro/a's locket is not for your eyes to see unless she wants you to, the Master was careful about the spells he put on it, saying that the pictures within are incredibly private. Now go, and return home soon with a new companion for you and your child." Robert told her, also quickly explaining what the Faerre necklace could do that was so special, and then gently placed the two lockets in Chloe's hands. He then turnied her around and pushed her lightly towards the edge of the clearing, mentally praying that the broken Jinaro/
a would choose his best friend to be blessed as a companion.
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Chloe had a two week journey from her home to the Faerre homeland of Vinara, but by this point she had only about six days left until she arrived at her destination. The bold, red haired girl would have been traveling twenty-four hours a day, without a single break, if she could, but was forced to stop regularly and get good night's rest because of her pregnancy, which wore her out quickly. She was also forced to stop and find food quite often along the way, picking berries hear, cracking nuts there.
Although her body was physically weak, and her heart emotionally shattered, her mental mindset had started the healing process on her journey to woo Jinaro/
a. She had grown determained that she could make it through this hard time, but only if she had the loyalty and love that only a Faerre Compantion could give to her.
Her keen, emerald green eyes were constantly darting around, making sure that she was always safe and out of harms way with every step she took. She was less able to protect herself now more then ever, for her pregnancy would be a hazard and slow her down if the need to fight ever arose, so she made sure to be extra careful as she traveled. Her slightly short red hair was still extremely tangled within itself, knots clearly visable, scattered throughout it. Chloe hadn't used a brush or comb on it since the day she found out her
husband, ex-husband, was dead. While passing through a neighboring village, though, a kind woman had taken pity on her and given her a gorgeous green dress, perfectly matching her eyes and causing them to pop beautifully. The girl hadn't yet put it on, deciding to change in the forrest right before she entered Vinara, not wanting to risk getting the pretty, and definately expensive, dress dirty.
Aside from her traveling plans, Chloe hadn't really thought much about what she was going to say to Jinaro/
a when they met, or how to bring up the locket, talk about her tragic past without bursting into tears, nothing. She did not have any clue what she was going to do, but since she had been good at making up well-executed speeches back home in a matter of moments, fiery-red Chloe decided that she was just going to trust her heart to pour out the words when the time came.
And at that, she let her mind travel away from the thoughts... ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time that Chloe reached the outskirts of the forrest near Vinara, the sun was near to its setting point, on the very last day that commoners had to meet with Jinaro/
a. Slipping behind a clump of tall bushes, the red-head abandoned her once white, but now muddy brown, dress, and instead slipped into her new green one. It was a long dress, falling all the way down to her ankles, with long sleeves that billowed out at the elbows. It had a v-shaped neck, showing a small bit of cleavage like most well-made dresses did, but not so much as to appear sexual.
Slowly, she walked into the city, her locked wrapped tightly around her neck, the spare for the Faerre clutched extremely tightly in her hand, but not tight enough to break it. It didnt take long to figure out where she was supposed to go, and she quickly noticed that the line leading up to the sad and depressed Jinaro/
a seemed short, mentally guessing that it was because the end of the final day was coming to a close.
Slipping in behind the young girl infront of her, who Chloe guessed was no older then nine and shaking in her shoes, she began to take several deep breaths to calm her nerves, which were finally begining to hit her stomach like a iron-fist punching her repeatedly, over and over and over again. And then, realizing how quickly the time would go by as she waited in the small line, the red-haired girl began to use her fingers as a comb, running them through her hair as she began to groom it.
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It seemed like only a matter of minutes had gone by when the young girl infront of Chloe, now shaking extremely badly, walked up to Jinaro/
a and began to speak with her. Chloe's breathing had begun to turn ragged and quick, the adreniline from her nerves now hitting her full tilt, like a galloping horse running her over and not bothering to turn around to see if she was okay. The sun had set in the sky, and now the chamber that they were in was lit only by the glowing light of many torches lining the walls.
The red-haired commoner had finally been able to tame her fiery locks of hair, which now fell in waves to her shoulders. Her bright green eyes scanned the crowd, which consisted of the Faerre Queen, some of Jinaro/
a's friends, or so Chloe assumed, and a small amount of other people waiting to see who the Faerre Jinaro picked to travel with. With every passing moment, the mentally and emotionally unstable Faerre seemed to be getting closer and closer to anouther breakdown, something which would not help Chloe's case if it happened right in the middle of her 'woo' to the young female.
And then, the young girl bowed to Jinaro/
a several times, murmering her goodbyes and goodlucks, then scurried nervously into the crowd of unlookers, instantly hiding her face in the skirts of an older woman, who looked to be her mother. Taking a deep, calming breath,all of Chloe's nerves seemed to just dissapear in one moment, and she stepped forward, stopping about a foot infront of the black, white, and red Faerre female and going down onto her knees, bowing a tiny bow in respect.
"Oh my dearest Jinaro/a, I have traveled from a place quite far away from here to be able to come and meet with you. I have heard many things about you, Sweet one, and to be very honest, I believe we have quite a lot of things in common, believe it or not. I know the memory may be painful for you, whatever has happened in your past to hurt you the way you are, but you should know something, Jinaro/a. Keeping your emotions and your feelings bottled up inside is never good. Even if you don't want to tell your new companion, whoever that may end up being, exactly what happened, do not be afraid of your tears. Many say that crying is a sign of weakness, but no, I am here to tell you differently. Crying is a sign of strength, it proves that, no matter how many tears you shed, one day, your eyes will dry up and all will finally be okay." Chloe spoke her words in a calm, even-toned voice, making sure to pick and choose her words very carefully. On the other hand, she didn't think too much about what she said as she was saying it, just letting the words flow out of her as she felt right.
"Now, please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chloe Alexis HoldTower, and I am a mere eighteen years old. I am from a rural village in the kingdom of Otakay. That is a good two week journey from this city, something I believe you would like. If you want to get away from Vinara, would traveling to live in a place far from here not be a good idea? Besides, you could always come back if the need arose, or if you missed your friends, or somthing else along those lines." Chloe continued to explain, giving the small Faerre a soft smile before she continued.
"I have recently been through a great deal of pain myself, a hurt, a pain most could not even imagine going through in their entire lifetime. I was married, deeply in love with my husband you see, but he was sent off to fight in a war for our Country. He did not yet know that I was pregnant with his child, a baby girl we had before decided to name Hope Faith. The day that he was supposed to arrive home from his duty, I was met with grave news. My husband had been killed, a bomb dropped right on top of him. I was completely devestated, heartbroken, torn to pieces. But I knew that if I wanted my child to live a good life, I had to get over it, I had to instead of mourning, let her know just how great of a man her father was. And that is exactly what I plan on doing. But I hope to have someone with me to help me raise my baby, to help show her the love that I myself will not be able to give her alone." By the time Chloe finished talking, there were tears in her eyes that she was struggling to hold back, and a few stray ones fell out of her eyes, dripping down her cheeks. But Chloe stayed strong, forcing herself to finish her speech.
"I have one final thing to say to you, dear Jinaro/a, well, you could say give to you. It is a gift, forged by the Wizarding Master Grimeldo himself. I hope that you will keep it, even if I am not your chosen companion. A necklace, well, a locket actually, in the shape of a heart. You easily can see how intricate and complex the swirling designs of the locket are, as well as the the thin yet strong material used at a chain. The locket will open to none but you, period. Inside this locket, which is encased with magic, are ever changing pictures, able to change by just a thought. If there as a certain person or faerre you wanted to look at, a picture of them would appear in the locket within a matter of seconds." Chloe explained, leaning forward and placing the locket a mere inch infront of Jinaro/
a, still closed of course. And then the girl stood, bowing her head once more in respect as she said her goodbyes.
"Goodluck, Precious Jinaro/a, I hope you find everything you are looking for with your new companion. Now, I really must be going. I have traveled such a long way and my unborn baby has made me extremely weary, in need of a good rest. And so, I bid you Adieu, and I pray that your life to come will be better then you could ever have hoped for." And with that, Chloe turned around and slowly walked back into the crowd, needing to find a nice place to spend the night.
