D’Lyoins · Chronicles

Here's a table of Contents for From the Ashes if anyone gets lost ^^;


Table of Contents – ~From the Ashes~
· Confessions
· Unwanted
· “Cheating Death”
· Others Like Me
· Tryouts
· Silvery Orb
· Kiss of Death
· Fools
· Trust
· Secret Santa
· Birthday Surprises
· Shall we Dance?
· “Not even a Chance?”
· Seeking Warmth
· Unease
· Letters
· No Chemistry
· Foolish Mistake
· Humming Birds
· Benefits (Heat)
· Pushing Further
· Filling In
· Forbidden
· “We Need to Talk”
· Reclaiming (Between Dancer’s Legs)
· Disappointment in the Dark
· Departure
· Returning thoughts
· Visitor
· Forgetting the clothes of Jesus
· “I’ll miss you”
· Spring Faire
· Finding the Truth
· Curing Sickness
· Tasting the Maiden of Roses (Showing signs of Black)
· Awakening (My Heart Burns)
· Fly away with me (Take me to your heights)
· Hide away
· A Real Dance
· Return (Ending the summer in Passion)
· Sharing History

Trust

Weeks slowly passed, and true to her word, Shina had not given up on Cherry. She whole heartily believed in the term, “The quickest way to a woman’s heart is through her stomach,” and it was easily seen by the fact that she had split her lunch with her every day. She hoped that if she filled the needs of Cherry’s stomach, one day Cherry would fill the needs of her heart.
“Do you trust me?” The words were so sudden, Shina’s brow rose.
“Of course I trust you.”
Cherry’s arms were held out. “Prove it to me that you do. Fall into me, and I will catch you.”
“I… What? I don’t understand why you ask these things…”
“I want to know if you really trust me as much as you say you do.”
“I am heavy, I don’t want to hurt you…”
“You are not. Just do it.”
Shina’s jaw clenched before she turned, her eyes closed as she did as she was told. The fall seemed to last an eternity, and she wondered if she really did trust her to catch her, but as soon as she felt Cherry’s arms wrap safely under her bust, all such thoughts were shattered. She exhaled as she slowly rose, holding Cherry’s arms so they remained where they were, “If only we could stay this way longer…” Shina muttered softly, her fingers gently caressing Cherry’s arms before they pulled away.
“Can I trust you?” She asked, now in front of Shina.
“I hope so.”
Cherry turned, and did the same as she told Shina to do, and was caught safely in Shina’s arms. A smile played on Cherry’s lips. “I thought so.” She climbed the ledges that graced the front of the school, and sat at the top of them, looking out into the distance. “I usually don’t trust people so easily,” she confessed. “It usually takes years before I’d let anyone even try that.”
Shina smiled, “Well, I’m glad you can trust me,” her voice was ebbed with unwanted sarcasm, but Cherry didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve never let anyone, not even my own sister, do that. I’m always afraid they’ll drop me…”

Ronna’s van pulled into the parking lot to pick Cherry up, and like everyday before this one, Shina remained on campus until she got there, never wanting to leave Cherry alone if she could help it.
“Thank you for staying with her, darlin’.” Ronna’s voice reached them easily, and they waved. “It’s no trouble at all, really. Someone’s got to keep her out of trouble.” Shina could almost feel Cherry’s rolling eyes as she opened the sliding door and threw her bag into the van. “I’ll see you tomorrow Shina.” She called before they drove off, Shina waving good-bye as she did everyday, wondering if she’d ever get that good-bye kiss she so longed for.

“Alright, I like it too, Shina.” Cherry said quietly as she began to dig through her backpack. Shina glanced into it, and her dark eyes widened. “How can you find anything in that!?” It was filled with random papers; a few of them were Shina’s poems that she had given her.
Cherry shrugged, pulling out a sketchpad. “I’m used to it. Though…” She glanced over at Shina’s open backpack, a black messenger bag. “I’m fascinated that yours is always so… clean.” Shina grinned. She had always prided herself on her organization.
“Speaking of clean, I have another story for you.”
“Why does your backpack being clean remind you of one of your stories?”
“Because it’s dirty.” She said with a grin as she pulled out her red folder, a black wolf drawn in the middle of it. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll find the story much more appealing then the color of the paper.” She pulled out a few sheets of pink paper from the rings, and handed it to her. “I despise it, but it was the only paper I could find.”
“What, no more pretty purple paper?” Cherry asked as she took the story and began to read it. “Nah, I used the last of it on “Perfect Her”, which… I think may just be in that…” She said, pointing at a crumpled purple sheet of paper in Cherry’s backpack.
“Oh, I see…” She said, absentmindedly as she read through the story, and handed it back to Shina.
“I hate you.” She said finally.
Shina’s eyes widened, “Why…?”
“Because I would never be able to write like that.”
“Oh.” Shina laughed, putting the story back in it’s rightful place. “And I think… I love you…”
Cherry sighed, “No you don’t.”
“How could you know? You cannot read my thoughts, you don’t know how fondly I feel of you…”
“Robert says the same thing to me, and I reply the same. Neither of you really love me. You just think you do.”
“Robert may never know love, but I am not Robert.” Shina took Cherry’s hands into her own. “Cherry, I honestly love you… I cannot explain it, but every time I think about you, something goes on in my mind, in my gut, and I really do think, that even though society hates the thought, that we were meant to be.”
“Meant to be friends, maybe. But not lovers.” Cherry said softly as she took her hand away from Shina’s grasp. “Shina, even if we were ‘meant to be’, I’m not even ready for anything of the sort. I’m not ready to be in love, let alone have a boyfriend or a girlfriend…”

Confessions
~From the Ashes~

“These voices… they sound so… real. I don’t think I’m crazy, at least… I hope not. It’s kind of like a conscious, but there are more than one… They tell me things, things that don’t always make sense. It’s almost as if they knew me, but a different… me. They call me Shina, even though my name is Anne.”
“You are crazy! This is all some new plot line for one of your stories, isn’t it?”
Anne looked like she was going to burst into tears. “You don’t believe me…” The one person she thought she could trust with her secret turned it down as easily as one drops a hat.
Cherry sighed, and pulled Anne into a reassuring hug, “No, I believe you… Just not completely. These voices you hear, they can’t just be ‘voices’. I think you made them up without even knowing it… Almost as if they were imaginary friends, ya know?”
Anne almost pulled away, furious that Cherry would think she had imaginary friends, but she caught the scent of Cherry’s golden hair, and stayed in her arms as long as she could, but when she pulled closer to her, Cherry eased her away, her hands on Anne’s arms.
“Characters…” Anne muttered, not liking the term imaginary friend.
Cherry smirked. “Fine then, Shina. Characters.”
“Shina…? You too!?” Anne looked horrified, hearing Cherry call her the name that these voices called her.
Cherry laughed. “Sorry, Anne. Just wanted to see what you’d do.”
Anne had calmed down, looking down at the floor. “Though… I do like the name… If you want, you can keep calling me Shina… Actually, I think I would prefer it.”