Filed to story: The Chosen Saga Novel PDF Free
“Of course, you’re Chosen.”
“Then let me help you. Let me in so I can save you,” Tal pleaded. Araiya was confused. Let him in where? She was going to ask, but it didn’t matter. Her lungs stopped working. She couldn’t breathe. This is how Araiya Hill was going to die. Pathetic really. She wished she could have had a chance to be happy at the very least.
Suddenly, Araiya felt warm, and a weight lifted from her chest. She opened her mouth and felt so much vomit come out and she could breathe again, but her mouth didn’t taste like vomit. It tasted of blood, lots of blood. “I got you. Just stay with me. I will get you somewhere safe. The others will just have to make it on their own,” Tal muttered to himself.
She was being carried, but it didn’t feel right. It didn’t matter because once she was moved, the pain came back full force, and she passed out again.
Araiya came to, confused. She didn’t know how much time had passed. She was still being held gently by what she had no idea. She tried to open her swollen eyes, but all she could make out were yellow scales…scales? That couldn’t be right. The wind shifted, and Araiya tilted her head back. She saw the trees, but they were below her. She looked back up and saw a face looking at her, a lizard’s face, and she swore she saw concern. She started laughing. This pain-induced dream was crazy! She was crazy, or maybe she was dead. Araiya didn’t seem to care one way or the other anymore. All she cared about was the pain. As she shifted to look down again, the claws tightened around her, she screamed, and the world fell away.
“Araiya, you need to wake up,” someone whispered. “Araiya, my Chosen, you need to wake up. There is so much to do and so little time, young one.” She was floating again. She didn’t want to wake up. When she was awake, there was so much pain. “Araiya, the pain will come and go, but you survived. You have dealt with more pain than most, but you survived. Now wake up.” She opened her eyes, and she was standing next to a tree. That isn’t right, she thought. I was dying on the side of the road. I must have died. She looked around and jumped when she realized someone was standing next to her.
Araiya looked over at the figure. She, for the figure was female, was covered entirely by a robe and hood. The robe was a deep purple, with what seemed to be gems sewn in to look like the stars. The only thing Araiya could see was the bottom half of her face. “Oh, my Goddess, you scared me. Where am I? Am I dead?”
The figure turned toward her and smiled. “Funny you should say that, Araiya. You are in the in-between, not dead, but also not quite alive. I have kept you here because I feel like we needed to have a chat.” As Araiya continued to look at her, a streak went by on her robe, like a shooting star.
“Who are you?”
“Come now, Araiya, I believe you know. Who else turns up in robes made from the night sky?” Araiya gasped. There was no way she was standing next to and speaking with a Goddess. Not just any Goddess but like THE Goddess, The Creator. The Goddess smiled. “See, I knew you knew, and yes, THE Goddess.” She chuckled.
“But how, why? What in the world? Oh my god. I am dead.”
“Slow down, little one. I have already said you are not dead. Although you could die if you wanted to, that is. It seemed like you gave up at the end there. Will that be your choice? How? Since I created it, it is easy to sneak in here, and lastly, why? Well child, I feel like you need this little chat.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know, but I have waited a very long time to meet you. So, I figured I would squeeze in some time before you made your decision.”
“My decision?” Araiya was stunned.
“Yes, you see, you are in the in-between. You have a choice, so few get to have it. You can choose to fight to live or fade and die. I understand that you have had a tough life so far, and I am very sorry for that, but there is still hope for a better future. If that is your choice.” The Goddess looked out over the land. “I cannot make the decision for you, but I would like to talk about it before you make it.”
Araiya looked over the land. Most of the lands lay in mist. A forest could be seen, but just barely. Strange animal calls could be heard, unlike in the ordinary woods back home, where Araiya felt safe. Here, she felt unwelcome. “There isn’t a life to return to, not much of one anyway. The only people who have ever loved me were my mother and brother, but I think they could move on from my death. I have never been in love, not truly. I am but an outcast. I am no great loss but to those two.” She paused and glanced at the Goddess. “The only real reasons I have to live are for them and being a Chosen. It was all I wanted, but I didn’t get very far.”
“Well, being Chosen is important. I do not pick lightly, but that is irrelevant. Your mother and brother love you, but do you not love yourself. Do you not value your own life for yourself?”
“No.” Araiya looked away after her simple response.
“Why do you not?”
“What is there to love? I am not beautiful. I am not thin. I am worthless.”
“Who says that you are worthless? Who says you are not beautiful, just as you are?”
“Everyone I have ever known, other than my true family. Your family has to love you, but they do not see you as you truly are.”
“Araiya, I think you have that wrong. Your family does not have to love you, as you have learned from your stepfather and stepsister. Kindness is not guaranteed, not anymore. More importantly, why do you base your worth on what others think of you? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What one finds beautiful, another will not. Does it make it any less beautiful to the other? No. Self-worth should not be based on how others see us but on how we see ourselves. My sweet Araiya, you are perfect in every way. You were made to look like yourself, not anyone else. You were made to feel for yourself, make decisions, and build your own life. Your life has been filled with darkness, sadness, and hopelessness. You are so young, yet already so broken inside. I can only hope you will choose with these parting words in mind. Is that what you want for your life, or do you want the possibility of making something better for yourself and the ones you love?” The Goddess turned and started to walk away.
“Wait!” she called after her. “How do I choose?”
“To fade, you walk down to the forest, and you will move on to the next. To fight, you have to learn to trust yourself and fly.” The Goddess took another step and was just gone.
To fade, she would have to go into that forest, the creepy-ass forest. Araiya thought to herself. Well, isn’t that great? Her life sucked, that was true. Just when she thought she could turn it around, she landed her ass here. Araiya took a deep breath, but did she want it to end like this? She had never done anything worthwhile in her life, been anywhere, or met anyone. Did she want this to end when she had never once achieved anything? Did she want her family to lose out on her? Did she want Korine and Jon to win? Fuck no. Just thinking that made her turn away from the forest. How in the hell was she going to fly? She kept turning, looking for any clue, and realizing she was standing on a cliff. A fucking high as fuck cliff. She went to the edge to stare down and realized she was so high up that the clouds were below her.
“Okay, Araiya, you got this. Either the creepy-ass forest or jumping off the cliff. Either Jon, the asshole, wins, or you jump off the goddamn cliff. Not like you can die twice, right.” Araiya’s pep talk wasn’t working. She took a few steps back. The pep talk wasn’t working, but one thing she knew for sure, she wouldn’t let that asshole win. Living her life as best she could, just on the off chance she would be able to shove it down his throat, gave her the strength needed to leap. Not the most honorable motivation, but that wasn’t something she worried about. She took a deep breath and took a running start, jumped from the cliff, and fell.
“She is fading, do something River!” Araiya awoke to screaming. She hadn’t opened her eyes yet; afraid the pain would come back as soon as she did.
“What exactly would you like me to do, Tal? You know I have done all I can. She has to be willing to fight!”
“Do something, anything, please. I do not know why, but she is important. I hear it in the whispers on the wind. We need her.” Tal almost sounded desperate. She heard someone move closer to her. “Please fight, Araiya. I know we have just met, but please fight. Come back and live.”
“Tal, take a step back,” the second voice growled. Literally growled. What the actual fuck. Was she still dead? This was so weird. She heard someone take a step closer, and Tal took a breath and stepped away. Araiya slowly opened her eyes and saw Tal was facing away from her. She was in a bed, and she wasn’t in any pain. The second voice belonged to a very tall man. She thought Tal was tall, but this man stood over him by an entire foot. His hair was a blue so dark that it looked black in the low light. His eyes were light blue, like the sky on a bright sunny day. Dark eyebrows arched perfectly, with a straight narrow nose and cupid bow lips. He was gorgeous. Well, he probably would be when he smiled. Right then, he looked more ready to commit a murder, making her shiver. He was scowling at Tal and took a step closer. Tal looked prepared for an attack. His back bunched, and his legs were braced apart. The second man, who Araiya had to assume was named River, took another step towards Tal. She gasped, and both men turned to look at her.
“Araiya, are you okay? Are you in any pain? Do you need anything?” Tal rushed over and started fussing like her mother.
She smiled. “Water?” Her throat burned; she needed to ask so many questions, but she could barely get that one word out. Tal reached a hand out and grabbed a glass that was beside the bed. Araiya pushed herself into a sitting position against the wall and took the water. She drank until it was empty, and her throat stopped burning. “Thank you. I needed that. Yes, I am okay. No, I am not in any pain, but where the heck are we? Where are the others? How did you find me? How did you save me? Why are you two about to fight? Who is that? How long have I been unconscious?”