Hatred

Tess didn't know love, not truly. She had memories of another life that was filled with it, she saw it when she quietly observed the humans around her, and dreamed of it with a frequency and intensity that sometimes unsettled her. But she didn't really understand it, didn't know it, couldn't feel it deep down.

Hatred on the other hand, was something she was very familiar with, something she identified with, something she could not remember not feeling, and could describe with intimate detail.

She hated those who had caused her death in her first life, those who had torn away her last true glimpse of happiness. She hated the others for leaving her in that cave, for not trying to waken her, for not staying to make sure she was safe.

She hated Nasedo for separating her from them, for deciding to raise her instead of placing her in a normal human family. She hated him for hurting her, for controlling her, for assuming that she would always do as he bid even though that meant betraying the only family she had ever known and ever wanted.

But most of all she hated herself for letting him hurt her, letting him control her, and not being strong enough to say no until it was far too late.