Avery's Pov
The smile he gave as he walked away left a chill in my bones. I saw it, the look in his eyes, the look of a predator.
A small sigh escaped my lips when he finally left. Alas, my plan hadn't worked. It was working at some point since I was able to ruffle him up.
"Well, that didn't work." Myra announced, walking back in.
She was sweaty and panting. She must have played that ball she was so eager about.
"Why did you act like that?" My mother questioned, hands on her hips, like any typical Riverine mother.
"Well, someone had to make him feel pressure. You weren't doing a good job of that, mother."
"I was doing just fine." My mother argued in her defence.
"Well, your description of doing fine is obviously mediocre."
"Myra!" I called.
"And you think you did anything. The best you did was to look like a spoilt brat."
"At least I'm the only one who's worried! I don't think you realise the severity of the situation we're in. He's your son!"
"What are you implying?" There was a cold sting in my mother's voice.
Oh no!
"In case you didn't realize, our plan didn't work, and he's going in three days. There isn't even enough time for him to run away because they'll be watching him closely."
"Myra!" My father called. "Watch your tone! She's your mother!"
"And so what? He's my brother! You all seem to be forgetting something crucial."
"Myra, stop it!" I yelled.
"Avery will die if he's discovered. Your son, my brother, will die if they find out who, what he truly is! Why can't you see what I'm saying?"
"So you think I want my own child to die?" Rivetti beat her chest. "I carried him, bleeding, in pains, in the snow on that night." Her voice broke. "I stayed inside the river. I was ready to die if it meant he would live, and you say I don't care enough!" Tears began streaming down her cheeks. "I love him too much for all your accusations."
"You guys should please stop.." I begged, feeling the same way I felt on the night of the ritual. It was becoming hard to breathe.
"If you actually loved him, if you loved my brother, if you loved Avery, you wouldn't send him to the temple. You wouldn't ask him to become what he's not." She chuckled dryly. "A man acting as a woman and marrying a man. What a joke."
My heart was thumping hard against my ribcage, my throat was suddenly dry, and I began to feel dizzy. The air became more thin.
"You've sent him to his death!" She yelled, a cackle erupting from her. "You've sent him to die, mother!" Her voice settled into a whisper. "His blood is on your hands." Myra's broke down.
I couldn't take it anymore. I had been aware of the fact ever since the king had left. No, it was way longer than that. I would die eventually if I was found out.
I clutched my chest, eventually beating it just to get air to flow into my lungs, but no matter how I tried, it wasn't working. None of it was working.
I looked around, my family was a mess, and I was the cause of it. They would better off without me.
A triangle was always the perfect shape. It was unshakable and sturdy. I was the one who turned their triangle into something imperfect.
I chuckled. It would be better for me to just die. That was the safest option, but I couldn't accept it. I loved my family, and I didn't want to lose them, but....
I did what was the most comfortable for me.
I ran.
.....
The woods, the forest with animals, had always comforted me. It was a calming potion for me. The animals were always so free and happy. Their scurry and chittering was enough proof of it.
They had what I didn't have.
"I have never wanted to be a squirrel all my life." I said aloud, chuckling to myself.
The trees still loomed tall, blocking out most of the sunlight, only leaving the fragments of sunlight left to seep in.
My favourite tree was just a few steps ahead of me. I did something I usually did when I was bothered, I spoke to it.
"I have so many memories with you, Mr Tree, or Mrs. I don't quite know how to label you. I guess you're in the same situation as me. People don't know who you really are, do they?"
My hands brushed past the trunk as I sat under it.
"You know, I have no trouble with whatever I'm called. In the end, I'm just a tree, and you're still human, no matter what you're known as."
"That is actually true, I don't care what people call me, but it's hard, you know.." I replied.
"Yeah.."
"What! Who's there!"
Was I hallucinating? I looked around to check if there was anyone with me, but no, I was alone.
"I'm so desperate I've started imagining things."
"Look up here, Avery. "
I raised my head up, and directly above me was a wooden head.
"Ahhhhhh!" I could swear I died.
"Calm down, Avery, it's me."
"Who are you?" My voice was shaky, and when I realized I was still sitting on the human tree, I jumped up.
The tree moved one of it's branches and slapped it's forehead like it was frustrated. I was definitely going crazy.
"No, you're not crazy." It assured.
Crazier things were already happening to me. What's a talking tree in the midst of them all.
"Wicked!" I gasped.
The tree chuckled to itself.
"Just because no one knows who you really are doesn't mean you don't. You are who you say you are."
"Eh?" I asked, extremely confused.
The tree groaned. "I might not be able to explain to you as well as I should, but what I know is that you'll overcome this phase in your life."
"I don't think I can. There's no way for me to survive this ordeal." My voice became melancholic, just the same way I felt. "I'll die, I just know this."
"You will not die, my child." A soft feminine voice whispered into my ears .
I turned around to find a woman dressed in a white silky gown. Her hair was white, and her eyes were silver, just like mine. That was the first thing I noticed. She looked and felt ethereal, like a divine being.
"You know, on that night your mother prayed to me, I placed you under this particular tree after hearing her prayers." Her laugh was soft and refreshing. "That must be why you like this tree so much."
"Who are you?" I questioned, shakily.
"I am your mother, the mother of your entire clan."
"What do you mean?"
"The time left is limited, but I shall leave you with this." She took my hands in hers. "You will escape, and you will survive. Remember that, Avery."
Those words echoed in my head till they faded out completely.
My eyes fluttered open to meet my family, staring at me.
It was a dream, but it was more than a dream.
"Avery.." Myra called. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Shut up and hug me!"
First, it was Myra and them my mother before my father.
I shed tears of relief. I had met the goddess in my dream, and she had told me what I needed to do.
I wasn't dying.