Macha's Journey

Taylen saw the two come out of the music hall together. She had been at the concert as well and had a view of them the whole time. It was torture for her to watch Tyr stare at Macha throughout the performance. Taylen knew hatred and jealousy were consuming her, but she couldn"t stop it. The feelings were so powerful.

Macha stood at the edge of the sidewalk, admiring the flowers Tyr gave her. She played with the red ribbon and giggled. When she touched the ribbon the words, "Thank you for a lovely evening," lit up. Macha played with the ribbon and thought how she would have expected Tyr to pick a black one. She smelled the flowers and thought about how odd Tyr acted tonight. Macha questioned whether it was her imagination or if he really acted differently.

Taylen grabbed her chest. Seeing Macha smell those flowers felt like cold needles stabbing her heart. She hated seeing that small woman standing there with a smile on her face. Taylen thought it should have been her receiving those flowers.

Taylen walked behind a wagon parked on the street. The driver was somewhere else, and the wagon lay unattended with a bull hitched to it. Taylen looked at the flowers in Macha"s hands. The white flowers stood out against Tyr"s black coat in the night.

Taylen"s face tightened and her hands shook as they rose to touch the brown bull. For a moment her hands stopped in the air, but then the image of Tyr wiping the tears from Macha"s cheeks flashed into her mind. He gave her such a tender look, unlike anything Taylen had ever received from him in her life.

Tyr had explained to the hall"s attendant that he forgot something in the music hall, but when the attendant asked for his ticket, Tyr remembered that he left it in his coat pocket. He headed back to Matcha to grab his ticket.

When Tyr got outside he noticed a familiar figure in the corner of his eye. Taylen stood next to a bull. She looked upset. Tyr remembered that he should make up with her as he made his way down the steps. They were friends and despite her feelings for him; he had known her since childhood.

Taylen was. .h.i.t with a wave of helplessness when she thought of how Tyr acted tonight. She thought there was nothing else she could do to obtain Tyr"s love. Unable to see anything else but Macha, Taylen pressed her hands decisively on the bull"s hind and sent electrical bolts out of her hand.

The bull bellowed out in pain. The whites of its eyes were exposed as it charged forward, jerking its head from side to side.

Tyr was halfway down the steps when he saw sparks fly from Taylen"s hands onto the bull. The beast let out a loud bellow and charged forward.

Tyr stopped on the steps for a second. He did not understand why Taylen would do something dangerous like that. His head turned to look at the bull"s path, Tyr wanted to ensure no one would get hurt. His eyes traveled to the side, and he spied Macha.

Macha was playing with her breath in the cold night air. She remembered that people could make circles with their cigarette smoke, so she wanted to do that with her breath. Macha loved the new experiences found in the cold weather. She was so engrossed in her goal she did not hear the loud noise behind her.

All the happiness Tyr had from earlier, came crashing down. Without thinking, Tyr"s body dashed down the stairs to intercept the bull. He knew Macha had her back turned and was not aware she was in danger.

Tyr reached the ma.s.sive brown bull and grabbed it by its long horns. He lunged against the animal, trying to slow it down, pushing against it with all his strength. The bull pushed Tyr backward and his feet skid across the freshly fallen snow.

Tyr strained to slow it down, pushing against the large creature. The veins in his arms bulged and the seams of his tight black dress shirt ripped. The bull shook its head to throw Tyr off, but he hung on.

The moist air that the bull expelled blew on his face. Tyr"s muscles strained as he fought with the bull. He lost track of how far away Macha was.

Time seemed to slow down, and he saw people looking at the scene unfold with fear in their eyes. The lights and sounds died out and Tyr drew on his inner power to aid him. The wind swept around him, whipping up the snow on the ground. A new surge of strength empowered his body.

Tyr gave out a decisive shout and raised his arms. He lifted the bull"s front legs off of the ground and flipped the animal and wagon onto its side. The bull moaned and shook its head in confusion.

When Tyr shouted Macha spun around. She heard a loud crash behind her and a large bull lay on the ground behind Tyr. Tyr was an arms reach away from her. His shirt was ripped, and he breathed heavily. Macha realized that Tyr had saved her.

Tyr grabbed Macha"s face and cried out in anguish, "Pay attention! Why are you so close to the d.a.m.n road?" His muscles were still tense from the exertion as his veins protruded from the blood that pumped through them. Tyr pulled Macha into a tight hug, crushing the flowers between them. His body trembled as he hugged her. The thought of almost losing her frightened him.

Macha did not think something like that would happen. She soothed his back to calm him. "Sorry Tyr," was all she could say. Macha knew she had been playing around, but she had felt safe because everyone rode at a casual pace around her.

As Tyr hugged Macha, he sent a piercing gaze to Taylen. He felt betrayed that Taylen would do something so despicable. She shook her head and her tears reflected the city lights.

Taylen stared into Tyr"s eyes and knew that he had seen everything. His eyes looked at her full of disgust and disappointment. Taylen ran away into the crowd, unable to face him.

****

That night, when they returned to the apartment, Tyr told Macha he wanted to cancel training for tonight. He explained that there was an issue he wanted to take care of. The day had been busy and Macha did not mind, she initially offered him a rest today, so she made no complaints at his request.

When Macha finished getting ready for bed, Tyr left the apartment and went to Taylen"s room. The walk down seemed longer than usual. He felt hurt that Taylen claimed to love him, but tried to murder someone he cared for.

Tyr gave a heavy sigh as he approached her door. His emotions were under control, and he wanted to take care of this matter silently. He knocked on the door and waited for her to open it.

Taylen opened the door and tears fell from her face. Her eyes were swollen and her hair was a mess. Taylen let Tyr in, and fear clung to her body. She racked her brain for excuses she could use to explain her actions, but nothing seemed justified. "Tyr, I didn"t mean to. I just wanted a chance to be with you. I..."

Tyr cut her off. He wanted to keep calm, but Taylen started the conversation with a lie. She knew what she did. Tyr could not believe she looked at him and said she did not mean to.

Those words snapped his calm demeanor. Tyr"s voice seethed with pain, "What the f.u.c.k is wrong with you? You"re so crazy, you"d kill someone to be with me? How can you not mean to?" Tyr was furious. He felt as if Taylen had worn a mask this whole time, hiding her real self.

Despite their fallout after her confession, he had still considered Taylen a friend. Her actions tonight deeply disturbed him. On the ride back to the apartment he tried to rationalize what Taylen did. There was no reasonable explanation. Now, he realized that she was a danger to those around him.

"No! Tyr, please," Taylen cried out. She could not explain what came over her. Taylen knew her jealousy caused her to do it. At that moment, she was blinded by her emotions. If she saw Tyr standing on the steps, she would never have tried what she did.

By this time, Tyr"s shouting attracted the other members who lived on this floor. Mathis, Aila, and Krystof came out of their rooms and stood in front of Taylen"s door. The walls weren"t thin, but Taylen had not closed the door completely, so Tyr"s voice echoed throughout the hall.

Tyr"s anger caused the vein in his forehead to become visible. He looked at Taylen with cold eyes and snarled, "Get out. There"s never been a chance for you and me." Tyr opened the door and made his way back up the stairs.

"Noo!" Taylen screamed and grabbed his shirt, pulling on it with desperation. Tyr looked down and whacked her hands away as if she were a fly. Taylen followed him up the stairs, crying out in anguish she said, "Tyr, I"m sorry!" She knew the others watched them, but she did not care.

Tyr spun on his heels to face her. "It"s too late to apologize! You"re only sorry you got caught. Get out."

Taylen groveled on the stairs, "Please, let me stay. I promise I won"t do anything like that again. I"ll give up on you, just let me stay by your side." Her words barely came out between her sobs. She hyperventilated from her crying.

Tyr was her world. Everything she did was because of him. Taylen became an adventurer because he wanted to be one. She turned down dates throughout her life because she wanted Tyr to be her first in everything. Telling her to get out was the same as telling her to die, her life would have no purpose.

Tyr did not want to spend any more of his time on Taylen. Her actions severed their friendship and trust. Tyr would never trust her with his life anymore, and her actions went against the guild rules. He had nothing left to say to her, so he ended their argument with a decisive, "No."

After the scene, Krystof followed Tyr. He rustled his blonde hair unsure what to say. Krystof knew Tyr had a temper, but he had always been fair.

Tyr stormed into his office and filled out the forms to remove Taylen from the guild. He wished he could forgive her and let her stay, but she crossed the line.

Krystof knew Tyr was furious at Taylen. He did not understand what happened, but Taylen had been their friend since childhood, so he had to say something. "Tyr, why?" They were all friends, so he hoped it was a misunderstanding and could be resolved.

Try didn"t look up or stop. He wrote with fluid motions and focused on the papers. He replied in a hoa.r.s.e voice, "She tried to kill Macha."

Krystof sat down. His face lost all its color. Krystof believed Tyr, Tyr would never lie about something like this. He shook his head, "But you dated Fenrir and she did nothing then." Krystof did not understand why Taylen would do something so stupid.

"I know. It doesn"t matter either way. Taylen can"t be in this guild anymore. I can"t trust her." Tyr stated as he finished signing the paperwork.