Twinkle's Story: Chapter 19

TWINKLE

Duke and I are walking in one of the hospital's many hallways. We are walking towards the hospital's exit, and to my parents who are just outside the hospital's main doors. They're probably wondering what's taking us so long. We turn a corner. Now, I can see the exit doors at the other end of the hallway we're in. I hear Duke sigh as he suddenly squeezes my paw a little tighter. I turn my head to the right, towards him. I look at my right paw that's holding Duke's left paw, our fingers interlocked.

Then, I look at him. He's staring peculiarly at the white tiled floor. I then feel his paw tremble. A second later, he loosens his grip on my paw that has now stopped trembling. I sigh as I say, "What is it? You're scared of holding my paw, all of a sudden? Weird, since you brought the idea up." I roll my eyes. Now, he's no longer staring at the floor, but as his claws. "Ugh! What's gotten you so worked up?" Duke then suddenly stops walking, which causes me to almost stumble. I sigh, annoyed, as I let go of Duke's paw, so we're not holding paws anymore. He finally stops, and turns towards me. I watch him glance at the floor again, and hear him sigh uncomfortably. "Twinkle, there's something I have to tell you." Duke looks up again, looking into my eyes. "Now."

I let out another annoyed sigh. "Now, Duke? Really!? Come on, you can tell me whatever, when we leave this gosh darn hospital. Now.. let's go!" He now has a grim expression on his face as he grabs my paw, stopping me from walking on without him. I try to release my paw from his grasp, which only results in him holding it even tighter. I sigh, giving up.

 "No. I have to tell you it now. Before we go outside, and see your parents. Look, Twinkle, it's very important. You have to know the truth."

 I say, "We haven't been outside of this hospital in weeks, Duke. Don't you want to be outside again? We're just a few steps away from that..."

"It involves your parents and Fauna." I perk my ears up. He lets go of my paw. Duke then explains what my parents said when I was off in heaven. I widen my eyes as I hear Duke conclude, "They locked you in your room for over a year, blaming everything on you. They blame you for Fauna's death- every, single day. They didn't shed a single tear when that heart monitor beeped, which I think happened when you crossed into heaven. They didn't even care, Twinkle! They didn't care a gosh darn poop when you died. Want to know what I think? I think that they wanted you, or Fauna, dead. Hey, they didn't protect you at the battle. Like what parents are supposed to do, darn it!" He stomps his foot, feeling even more angry. "I was protected at the battle. Me, for goodness sake. Of all foxes. The one with all the 'bad family' poop. And you weren't protected? What the heck!"

 Duke suddenly pauses, takes a deep breath, and continues. His voice suddenly becomes calm. "Is it really worth it to go back home again, Twinkle? To be trapped again? Instead of having a life? Come on, tell me. Is it really worth it? To constantly be hated by your parents all the time? To be blamed by your parents for something that wasn't your fault? Well, is it?"

I sigh as I look down towards the floor. "No," I say. "It isn't worth it. It's about time I stop being their little puppet. And I'm definitely not letting myself me a prisoner again. Because I don't care about them, either!" I hold up the heart locket on my necklace, staring into the heart locket's mysterious keyhole. "I don't care that they concealed my so called 'powers' in this! I don't care about them at all! And I'm definitely not 'daddy's little girl' anymore! Those traitors!" I put a claw in the keyhole. I close my eyes. I look in the keyhole of the heart locket again. This time, however, silvery blue ice fills the once empty hole in the heart locket. Then, the ice overflows out of the keyhole. A thin line of ice covers up one of the heart locket edges. Then, the ice stops, leaving a covering of ice on the heart locket. I look satisfied at it, as I then let go of holding the heart locket.

We still exit the hospital, though. However, Duke and I don't stop walking to talk to my parents. We just ignore them, and keep on walking forward. Determination in both our eyes. One pair glowing orange-red; the other glowing a bright aqua color. Burning or freezing whatever meets our fiery or icy gazes.


DUKE

Ever since I've learned that Twinkle has problems with her parents too, a link has appeared in my mind even more clearer than before. Because now, we're even more connected to each other. But something else bothers me. It's a bright, emerald green color. And the thought that the link is that color bothers me. It's like there's something more that neither of us know about. And for some reason, it makes me uneasy. Like something about it could drastically change Twinkle and my life- forever.

As I'm thinking about how bad Twinkle's parents truly are, I think about my own parents. Always constantly fighting. And who has started all the useless fights and arguments? My mother did. I can almost feel the bright orange flames glowing in my eyes. I close my eyes, so only the bright color shows. "They're all gonna pay for ruining our lives. Oh, they'll be sorry for messing with us. They will pay..." I blink open my eyes again as I hear Twinkle interrupt me from being lost in my own chaotic thoughts. "Oh yes they will. We'll make them pay the price. No matter the cost. Because nothing can stop the forces of fire and ice. Ever." I shrug. I don't have to finish my thought that I was saying out loud. I grin. Twinkle finished the thought for me. And I told her the horrible truth about her parents.

We hold paws again. "Hey, Twinkle..." I start.

 She asks, "Yeah. What?"

 I take a deep breath and sigh. "We're gonna go to the Tall Tower. You see, Twinkle, there's still some more things I need to explain to you." Twinkle gives me a puzzled look.

"Like what?" She asks.

 I giggle. "You'll see. Oh, you will see." I let out a satisfied sigh. We then watch the sun set below the horizon. I then look up at the sky, seeing the first few stars shining brightly in a sea of darkness. Illuminating the dark. Little did we know that this would be a night we would never forget. We walk forward, into the sunset, and into the clear-skied night. Fire and ice as one.