Falling to Pieces(Kit and Ty)

Chapter 13

     The Blackthorns, Emma, and Cristina were talking amongst themselves. Dru on the other hand, avoided her family, and ate a protein bar. It tasted oddly like burnt cinnamon toast. She could barely swallow the first bite, but knew it was the only food she'd have until dinner, maybe lunch. Yesterday, her family had skipped lunch, so she prepared for it to be the same today. Dru tore off another chunk of the protein bar, and chewed it. Fortunately, her taste buds were getting used to the awful flavor of the protein bar. She crumpled up the wrapper and tucked it into the side pocket of her backpack. Today would be another day of worrying about your older brother who was somewhere in the Seelie Courts.
After what happened with the sign, Dru felt surprisingly better about herself. Julian knew, and in a way, she was free of the burden she had borne for three years. It also made her want to hide from everyone. Now that Julian and Emma knew, they would see her differently, treat her in a different way. Dru didn't want that. She wanted them to think of her as exactly the same. She didn't want them to think anything was wrong with her. She was still Drusilla Blackthorn. Nothing was different, yet Julian and Emma would think she had changed. So, she avoided them. She had lost control the day Kit and Ty were taken, and Dru wanted to make sure no one would ever see it happen again. Her family would pity her, or try to help. She didn't want their pity, and her family wouldn't know how to help. Even Dru didn't know how to help herself.
Training helped, sometimes. It had been her only method of controlling the burning rage inside of her. Other than that, she didn't know what to do. If only Kit were here, she thought. He seemed to have his anger pretty much under control. So much had happened to him, yet he didn't lose control of his anger like Dru did. The only time he had was when he hurt Ty. She still didn't know exactly what had happened. She hadn't had the chance. Whenever Dru brought up the topic, Ty either ignored her, or told her it was nothing. It was far from nothing, but Dru knew when to leave things alone.
Dru could sense how stressed everyone was. It was like a dark veil that hung above the group. People tried to have conversations, but they always became awkward and ended soon after that. It was torture, walking in silence. Dru expected the usual chaos, but nothing happened. The group just kept walking; no laughter, no jokes, nothing. She hoped that someone would figure out how to end the awkward silence. Then, her family would return to normal. No they won't. Not until Kit and Ty are saved. Dru sighed to herself, and looked around at the scenery.
There was a lot of green. Everything blended together, and she couldn't see why Cristina was so fascinated by the forest. Sure, it was cool, but it wasn't anything extraordinary. Dru wished she could see more of Faerie than just this forest. Her family would pass through the Unseelie and Seelie Courts, but most of their journey so far had been forest and more forest. Dru almost gasped when she saw a massive tower in the distance. It shot up from the ground, and met at a sharp point. It was like something you would find in a vampire horror movie. Now that was cool, but also terrifying.
     "The Unseelie Tower," Mark breathed.
     Julian and Emma shared a glance; it was like they were having a conversation by just looking at each other. The group continued forward, moving faster than before, eager to reach the tower. Dru knew there was danger ahead of her, but didn't let that thought stick in her head for too long. She had to focus on what was going on in the moment, not what would happen in the future.

     The tower was even larger up close. It was a dark gray, and unfortunately, surrounded by a wall of bronze-colored thorns. Dru was awed by the tower. It was beautiful in a strange way. Not in color, obviously, but the structure was amazing. She looked around at her family. Julian and Emma stared at the thorns, eyes wide. Mark held Cristina's hand, and they whispered to each other. Dru didn't like how threatening the thorns looked. Everything about the tower was threatening. The tower seemed to say, 'Go away, or face my wrath!' Or, something along those lines.
     "So, where are we going?" Dru asked. Her family had been talking about a plan while she had been busy staring at the tower.
     "I still think passing through the gate is the best way," Cristina argued.
     Emma shook her head. "Tina, we can't let the fey see us. Not until we reach Kieran."
     "You barely made it out of the thorns last time!"
     Cortana gleamed in the little light there was as Emma unsheathed the sword. She swung it once in a cutting motion before sheathing it again. "I'll cut a path through the thorns," she said, simply. Something in Emma's voice told Dru that it would be much more difficult than cutting through the thorns with Cortana.
"You can't be serious!"
"It's the best way," Julian said. "No one will notice us until we reach Kieran."
Cristina huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "By the Angel, fine!"
     Dru looked at the thorns and calculated her chances of making it out alive. Ty was better than her at that sort of thing, but he wasn't there. She imagined her brother in a Faerie prison, alone. He was strong. He would make sure he and Kit survived. But, what would he have to go through? That was what scared Dru. She knew her brother didn't like fighting, and without his headphones—she assumed he didn't have them—he enjoyed it even less. Her family meant everything to her, even if they ignored her, or pretended she didn't exist. Maybe Ty would give her more attention after she saved him. Maybe he would realize how much she loved him.
     Emma stepped closer to the vines and slashed some of them with Cortana. They dropped to the ground, and Emma smiled. She began cutting a path through the wall of thorns. Dru went next, followed by Julian. She assumed they had gone in this order so that Dru could be protected by both Julian and Emma. She would complain, but knew it wasn't the time for that. The thorns were dreadfully close to her skin, causing Dru to make herself as small as she could be. In tight spaces, it was an effective method. She saw Emma do the same.
     Dru felt as if she were in a horror movie. Anything could happen at any second, and it scared her. The thorns prevented her from seeing the dim light of day. Even a small amount of light would be fine, but it might as well have been midnight. Midnight is the death hour, Dru thought, remembering how most horror movies took place late at night. Dru winced, and looked down at her arm. A small cut had appeared, probably from the thorns. She glared at the vines as her feet made no sound on the damp ground.
     Dru could still feel the pain from the cut, but she couldn't draw an iratze. It wouldn't work in the first place. Angelic power was dampened in Faerie, making seraph blades, steles, etc. completely useless. The sound of Cortana slicing through the vines reminded Dru of a clock. Clocks were often used in horror movies to add tension. It was a constant reminder of how much time a person had left. Dru shook her head, pushing away the frightening thoughts.
Dru didn't know why, but she felt like the space around her was becoming smaller, and smaller. But, that wasn't likely. Dru blamed that feeling on her horror movie knowledge. She continued moving forward, following Emma. Cortana glowed dully, unlike the sword usually did. Usually, it shined as bright as the sun. There was a sudden pressure on her arm, and Dru whipped around to look at it. A vine had coiled around her forearm, the thorns touching her skin. Dru tried to pull her arm away from the vine, but its grip wouldn't loosen. She hissed when it tightened. She felt pain in her leg, and jumped in surprise. Another vine wrapped around her arm, and she winced. Julian had caught up to her by now, and had a worried expression on his face. Dru felt stupid; she had been caught by the vines, and no one else had. She hadn't been able to defend herself. She struggled against the vines, only making the pain worse. Dru began to panic. What if she couldn't get out of the vines? What if she were stuck in the wall of vines forever? She pulled at her arm, desperately, and cried out in pain. Tears pricked her eyes, blurring her vision.
"Dru, stop," Julian's voice said. His eyes met hers, showing how much he cared. It was nice to know that Julian loved her, even if she'd already known it. It was better than not being sure if someone loved you. Dru felt her panic start to slip away. "You're going to be okay. Just take a deep breath." Dru breathed in and closed her eyes, then breathed out. When she opened her eyes, Julian had already taken out a dagger. "I'm going to get you out," he said. His voice was level and calm. It was reassuring.
Julian called for Emma, who ran over immediately. She started working on the vine around Dru's foot, while Julian cut the one around her arm. The vines were thick, which made them difficult to slice. Dru watched everyone's worried faces, and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Of course this would happen to her. Of course she was the one who couldn't defend herself.
     Once one of her arms was free, Dru grabbed a dagger and started cutting the other one free with Julian. Soon enough, she was free, and she sighed in relief. She tucked her dagger back into her weapons belt, and thanked Emma and Julian. Julian embraced her quickly, then let go, so as not to embarrass her more. Dru didn't mind hugs, but she didn't like the reminder that she had been caught in the vines. Her brother knew that, and made it short, telling her that he was glad she was okay. Dru examined her arms and legs, finding small cuts where the thorns had been. She hadn't been severely hurt, and she was glad. Her stele didn't work in Faerie, so the smaller the wound, the better.
After making sure Dru was okay, Emma continued forward, and Dru followed. Julian was close behind, unwilling to let something happen to Dru again. She would complain about his hovering, but it was the way Julian made himself feel better about his family being in danger. If watching Dru's every move was something that would help him, she would allow it.
Dru watched the vines more closely as she continued walking. She wasn't going to let them catch her off guard again. She stepped over a bunch of vines on the ground, carefully avoiding the thorns hanging above her. The wall seemed to be only getting harder and harder to pass through. Dru began to wonder how large the wall really was. It felt like it was taking forever to cut through it. The vines moved sometimes, but Dru had gotten used to the sound of it. She knew when they were getting close to her, and when they did, she moved faster.
     The darkness of the wall was beginning to get tiring. Dru missed the daylight, even though there wasn't much of it in the Unseelie Lands. Barely any sunlight was better than none. She wondered if Kit and Ty could see the sun. More importantly, she wondered if they were alright. What if they became like Uncle Arthur had been? The thought plagued her mind, unable to be chased away. She knew they were strong, but would they eventually break? Would they be who they used to be? What if she finally got them back, but part of them was still gone? The thought frightened her.