Diamondlot

Fight or Flight

It had been two days since they had escaped the wastelands. Amisha had regained consciousness during this time, which was a huge relief for Nadya and Jiyah. However, Reina was still in a coma and there was nothing they could do to wake her up.

Everyone did their best to help out on the ship and keep their spirit up. But with each passing moment, hope seemed to slip further and further away. What would happen now that Dragkonis was free to take over the world? The thought was lingering in everyone’s mind as their lives were filled with uncertainty.

After Sediya was done checking up on Reina, Nadya entered the room to check on her. She asked Sediya if there was any status update but there was none. After receiving the news, she asked if she could have a moment alone. Sediya happily stepped out to give her some space.

Nadya looks at her friend, who seemed so peaceful in her rest. She bent down on one knee and began speaking, hoping her words would reach her. “Please Reina, wake up. Everyone needs you here. Jiyah needs you. I need you.” She found it harder to speak and a tear was beginning to row down her eyes. It would have continued but there was a knock on the door and she quickly wiped it away with her sleeves, straightened herself up as she answered the door.

“Nadya! This is bad! A fight is breaking out on the deck you need to get up there and...” She stops herself before continuing to speak again. “Hey what wrong?” Jiyah asked. Nadya wanted to remain tough but she could no longer keep all her emotions bottled up. She felt responsible for the loss of Leyyah and now she feared losing Reina. Somehow she felt that this was all her fault.

Before she could continue, out of nowhere, Jiyah throws a right hook at Nadya’s gut. Nadya clutched her stomach after the surprise attack and wondered why she just did that. “Get a hold of yourself! None of this is your fault! Leyyah made her choice! She believed you and Reina would be able to stop Dragkonis, that’s why she risked her life. Are you going to let her sacrifice be in vain?”

Those words reached not only her ears but her heart and soul. Nadya came to her senses and picked herself up. “You are right, I don’t know what I was thinking. Okay what do you need from me?” She asked for clarification. “Some of our allies aren’t getting along, I need your help to break them up before this escalates any further!” Jiyah responded. Nadya nodded and told Jiyah to lead the way.

As Jiyah turned around towards the door, Nadya wanted to say one more thing, “Oh Jiyah. Thanks for earlier.” Jiyah stopped to respond, “Can’t have you beating yourself up because that is my job!” Nadya laughed and they left the room together and towards the deck.

When they reached the deck, they saw people gathered around in a circle. The two fighters that were locked in a tussle were Kabir and Ishaan. They were drawing quite the scene, as Jawad, Cole, Eshaan, Aaryav, Ranak and the rest of the villagers were gathering around watching the brawl that was about to happen.

As the ice mage and the mercenary were about to clash, Nadya jumped in between them to halt their fight. Kabir was not happy, he demanded for Nadya to move out of the way and that she was not the boss of him. Ishaan was much more polite, as he insisted that Nadya moved aside and didn’t want her to be caught in the crossfire.

Nadya had no idea what else she could do. It seemed neither one of the fighters would listen to her. She was about to turn around and let the two combatants hash it out, but Jiyah came out of nowhere and knocked down both of them with her kicks. Kabir and Ishaan were struggling to pick themselves up.

As they slowly got up, Jiyah began to rant at the two, “Listen you two, Nadya has had a hand in saving both your sorry lives so you better show her some respect!” Realizing that was the truth, Kabir and Ishaan quickly got to their knees and asked for her forgiveness. Nadya accepted their apologies and told them to stand up immediately as she had more important matters to speak about to everyone on the ship.

“I know you are all feeling the burden of uncertainty and things aren’t looking great right now. However, fighting and arguing amongst one another won’t solve anything. I learned from a friend that if you want things to change, we have to work together and embrace the unknown. Because of her (Reina) actions, we were all brought together here today. She isn’t with us right now but I intend to finish what she started. I have made up my mind, I’m going to fight against Dragkonis whether you are all with me or not.” She announced to everyone on the ship.

There was silence in the air, everyone was still processing what Nadya had said in her morale boosting speech. Suddenly within the group of villagers, someone’s voice began to holler, “You can do it! Go kick that dragon’s butt out of this realm!” It was Remy the jester, yelling in an accent that only he could conjure up.

Once everyone heard Remy’s words, they were somehow encouraged:

Aaryav: We swore an oath to protect the princess at all cost.

Ranak: Guess that means we got to get rid of the dragon.

Eshaan: I’m just imagining the big feast we are going to have after we win.

Ishaan: Seriously? Still thinking about food at a time like this?

Jawad: That dragon is going to get what’s coming to him for making a fool out of me!

Kabir: Hey speak for yourself! At least you didn’t have his gross spirit inside you!

Cole: Guess that means we are taking him out together then.

Amisha: Reina put all her effort to save me so it's only fair that I return the favour.

After hearing everyone’s resolve and determination, Nadya turned to Jiyah. She thanked Jiyah for giving her the confidence to speak up to everyone. With a punch to shoulder, Jiyah affirmed, “You know I got your back. Now, let’s turn this ship around!” Nadya acknowledges her response and she turns to face Maggie, “Captain! Set a course for Grasix Arena!” With a smile on her face, she gladly compiled, “Finally! Been waiting for you all to get your act together!” She spun the helm and with the help of her companion Riya, they began to sail towards the Grasix Arena.