The One Who Lived: Chapter 6

Lydia was back in time. A time almost a year and a half ago in fact. She was back in her old desert village, in town square where her parent's shop was. Her parent's were cooking lunch in the house above the shop.
Lucy was with her, bantering as usual. She shook Lydia's arm.
"Lydia! Are you even listening to me?!" Lydia shook her head slowly, dazed. Lucy sighed in frustration, her eyes glowering angryly. "I said," She recited slowly. "That I'll be leaving this afternoon for shylor training." Lydia stared at her companion in confusion, trying to comprehend what was happening.
Lucy and Lydia didn't see eye-to-eye, reganding most decisions with discord, but they always stuck together. And now Lucy was leaving, probably forever. There was a clawing ache in her heart.
I should be happy, Lydia though, but all I fear is despair. Despite her growing lonliness, she responded cheerfully.
"Lucy that's wonderful!  You'll be an amazing Skylord! You're already great at flying Alonso." Alonso was the pegasus they had found when they were 13, three years after they'd met.
The soon to be Skylord flung herself around her long time friend and said her goodbyes, before running off to her family home to pack her belongings. And once again, Lydia was alone. She wipped her moist eyes. The sun was still low in the sky, and instead of returning to her parents for Lunch, she ran to Mr, Perkins' ranch.
The birch tree that had been her childhood refuge stood tall and proud like it always had. Bernie has died years ago, nut her calf Bea, was laying under the tree, content and benign. Lydia laid next to Bea on the sandy soil. Small pinpoints of sunshine wove their was through the dense leaves that hung high above the ground.
"Oh Bea, what could I do?! I wanted to tell her to stay, but I had to be polite! Besides, it was clear her mind was made up." She sighed.
A few hours later, she heard crunching footsteps coming up the hill. The man walking up the path was wearing a long black dress coat, black slacks, a white button down shirt, and a black tie. The black of his clothes was shiny and fine, like he'd just come from a funeral. His once shiny black boots were dusty grey from walking through the dry landscape of the desert. He had waist-long platinum blond hair and lifeless white eyes. He stopped when he saw the red-head teen laying on under the tree.
"Lydia!?" He stared, in open surprise. "Why are you here? Is Lucy here?" Lydia sat up and crossed her arms defiently.
"I'll have you know, Herobrine, I'm here on my own accord" She paused. "Wait, how do you know Lucy?" Herobrine's eyes lite up mischeviously.
"As you got older, it became rather improper for you, a long lady, to be seen socializing with me, a much older gentleman." Lydia's cheeks flared in embarrasment. "So I preformed a little devine intervention and had Lucy's family move to the desert." Lydia spied a horse shoot into the sky, Lucy's hair waving wildly in the wind.
"Well she's gone now." Lydia muttered grimly. Herobrine shrugged.
"Couldn't be helped."
"What do you mean, 'couldn't be helped'!?" She said with venom. "You brought her here! You could've kept her here!"
"I prefer to let action take its course. Too much intervention and fate itself is questioned. I took a large risk bringing her to begin with..." He grinned. "Besides, being the malevolent spirit that I am, I enjoy seeing some suffering once in a while." Lydia turned, her eyes stinging from unshed tears.
She had known this man for ten years. She thought of him as her gaudian angel, always there to protect her. Maybe her hopes were too high. Maybe she enjoyed acting like a naive child. But despite how much she learned or how much her parents taught her, she could never shake the thought that Herobrine was an angel ment to protect her, and possibly, save her.
Lydia gazed down at the village, the streets buzzing with uncharacteristic excitment. The War if the Sands was over and the town was no longer in danger of the threatening infection spreading though the sandy plains. But there was still an air of tension settled over the town.
Suddenly, one of the buildings in town square burst into a column of flame and black smoke. Lydia gasped in horror, surging to her feet. Then, the shop across the street erupted in flames aswell. Within seconds, the whole village was being consumed by fire. Lydia stood rivited in place, gaping at the carnage unravaling before her. Screams of pain and death drifted across the ranch to the birch tree.
Lydia became untransfixed and began runnig to the destruction. The only thing she could think about was saving her parnets. Herobrine lunged for Lydia and grabbed her from around the waist. She pounded on his arm.
"Let me go! Let me go!!" She screamed. "My parents are down there!" Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Please try to stay calm." Herobrine said. She only thrashed harder.
"Calm? You want me to stay calm!? You must be crazy!!" She shouted.
"Not as crazy as the divine being who though humans needed to be more spirited." He muttered. "Oh wait that was me..." He pulled Lydia closer to the birch. "Listen to me! You can't do anything! If you go down there, you'll only get killed." Something else is controlling those murderous flames, Herobrine thought. He tried turning Lydia away, but not before she saw a ghastly white figure, it's eyes red and lustful for death. She burried her head in Herobrine's chest and cried until the sun hung low in the sky and the desert air began to chill.
Lydia woke with a start and quickly glanced around the room. The walls were faded purple and an orange and black cat sat at her feet staring at her. She must have been in Orion's room at his tower.
It was her, Lydia thought. That retched woman in purple who threw Orion against the wall. She had reached into Lydia's soul and pulled out her deepest and most painful memories, throwing them into her face like salt on a wound.
Lydia burried her face into Orion's soft cotton pillows and cried until her head swam and she fell into a dreamless slumber.