Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

“Whatcha reading?” I hear someone say from across the room.

I look around, my heart going up to my throat, and find my door open. Did I leave it like that? I can’t remember… I’ve been reading for so long… I forgot about everything around me. I look to my side, and a mini heart attack explodes within me. Vex is leaning against my closet.

“What are you doing in my room?!” I angrily shout, immediately bolting from my bed.

“Chill, Flower. I was just looking,” he says nonchalantly.

A realization hits me, and the room suddenly feels colder. “How long have you been watching me?”

He shrugs, “Not that long,” he rolls his eyes, “It’s not like I was coming to murder you. Just wanted to say hi.”

I take a deep breath, trying to calm my snappiness, “Sorry, sorry…” I sigh, rubbing my face, “Um�" did you need something?”

“Oh uh…” he rubs the back of his head, “Not really. Just wanted to check how you were doing, I guess.”

Surprise fills me, “Oh, thanks,” I remember our last conversation, “Sorry, I was a little bit annoying, wasn’t I?”

He brushes it away, “Nah, it’s fine. I get it,” he turns around, “Well, I’ll leave you to your own thoughts, I guess.”

“Uh… Vex?” I say feebly, a thought coming to me.

He glances back, giving me a look telling me to hurry up.

“I was… wondering if you could tell me more about you and Maryn?” I cringe at my weird phrasing, trying to reword it, “I mean… I just want to know�" since we’re in this together now�" a little more about the people I’m working with?” I cringe even more, I’m so bad at talking to people�" “You don’t have to, I just… I don’t know�" Just wanted to know you guys a bit better.”

He smirks, “Tongue-twisted, are you, little Flower?”

I stuff down my embarrassment (and anger over his nickname) and stay silent. He must think I’m stupid, he’ll leave now just to spite me�"

It shocks me when he adds, “Well, okay. What do you want to know?”

It takes me a second to process his words. I realize I’ll just look stupid if I don’t respond soon, and try to push the feeling away for now. Thinking back to my conversation with Amelia, I ask, “Are you two really twins? You and Maryn?”

Twins were so rare in Cryptis. It was considered powerful, and the families that bore them were praised. A thought comes to me: Was President Cryptis wanting powers on his side, too? No… it couldn’t be. Otherwise, he’d be doing scans just like the Rebellion has been doing. I shake the thought away for now, saving it for later.

He nods confidently and says proudly, “Yeah. I’m the oldest by an hour, though.

I sigh away his comment; it’s not like I want to hear more about it.

He glances over, “What about you? I know Leon is younger, but how far’s the age gap?”

“Well,” I say, thinking, “Leon’s birthday is coming up in a month or two, so he’ll be 11,” a little surprise fills in me as I recite the fact, but I continue, “I’m 16, so about a 5-year age gap.”

Vex leans against the wall, “Really? I thought you might have been older. I’m personally 17.”

Well, that eliminates one question… I think to myself quietly. He sure likes to chat, though… I’ve only really wondered one more question, and I debate asking it. I don’t want to seem nosy, but at the same time, I distrust my information…

“You do realize how adorable you look biting your lip like that, right?” I hear him say.

I immediately take my teeth off, sucking them back into my mouth. Stupid habit… As if I haven’t made enough of a fool of myself already.

He rolls his eyes, “I haven’t even known you that long, and I can tell you’re keeping something from me. Spit it out, Flower.”

I sigh, “It’s Rose. And I’m not keeping something from you.”

He lifts his head up and narrows his eyes at me, seeing through my lie. Why do I suck so much at keeping secrets?

I frown, “Fine,” I pause, trying to put it as gently as I can, “What… really happened to make you guys come here? I know Larry says it’s because of your mom, but I can hardly trust anything he says with that grumpy attitude of his,” I look down, “Sorry, I know he’s your dad, I shouldn’t say that.”

He shakes his head, “Nah, it’s alright. I agree with you, actually. He sucks,” he pauses, “But he did tell you the truth.”

I nod for him to continue.

His eyes sadden a bit as he recalls, “It’s weird… but sometimes I feel like my mother is still with me,” he shrugs, trying to become nonchalant again, “It might just be because my dad pretty much hates me, but that’s just how it is. I don’t know, just… my mother was one of the only people who liked me I guess,” he snickers, “Other than Maryn, of course, but she likes everyone,” he pauses, “And she was also the only person to look at me normally after I got my powers. Most people got scared, but she didn’t see me that way. So when she died… I think it hit hard for all of us. We always knew people were getting killed by bombings, but I don’t think we truly understood the pain until she was gone,” he stares at the wall, “Maybe I feel her because of my power, but I don’t feel people around me usually,” he sighs, “Anyway, that’s my sob story.”

A question itches in my throat, “Then why couldn’t you bring her back? Isn’t that, like, exactly your power?”

“Nah, I don’t think you understand…” he says with a frown, “Sure, I can bring people back to life, but…” he looks at me, “Did they teach you about zombies in school?”

I furrow my brows, “Huh?”

He sighs, annoyed, “Of course not�" A zombie is kind of a mindless creature. That’s what my power does: It brings back people, but they aren’t them anymore. They’re only pawns for me to control. I would never do that to anyone I knew.”

“Oh,” I say, looking down and avoiding his eyes, “So… your power has limitations.”

He scowls and rolls his eyes, “Of course there is. That’s how nature works. Otherwise, people with magic would all be ruling the world by now. Even the elementals have limits.”

“So… what are mine?” I ask curiously.

He shrugs, “How should I know? You’re the first one, Flower.”

I sigh. Well, that’s frustrating. I sit on my bed and rest my chin on my hand. I wonder what my limits are…

I look up, “Wait, while we’re talking about powers… What’s Maryn’s power?”

He grins, “Guess you’ll just have to find out, huh?”

He looks back and forth, then exaggeratingly whispers, “I’m sure you’ll like it, though.”

A chill rushes down my spine as he gets close. I lean back, a little fear coursing through my bones. Why won’t he tell me? What power could Maryn possibly have?

He takes a step back, “Anyway, I gotta get to bed. Dad doesn’t like me going out past curfew,” he takes a look at a watch I hadn’t noticed on his wrist and smirks, “Though it does seem I am accidentally 10 minutes late.”

He does a hideously fake salute, “Good night, fellow soldier. May your dreams be…” he thinks for a bit, “dreamy.”

He walks out the door and closes it behind him gently. I relax my stance a bit. At least I got a bit of information out of him… but that was… weird. I make my way to the closet in my room, opening it to see my options for nightwear.

Inside the barren closet is one nightgown and a few uniforms. I frown, were these all my clothes? We had uniforms in Cryptis, but I wasn’t expecting to see them here. I sigh with resignation. I’ll just have to make do. I take the nightgown down, a light, white little thing with billowy sleeves, but otherwise plain, and start shifting it on. The material feels heavenly soft against my skin, and I smile warmly. At least they knew how to pick out nice gowns, if anything else.

I snuggle into bed, taking one last look at the book beside me. Maybe I’ll ask Maryn for another in the morning… I yawn, my eyes growing weary. It had felt like such a long day… I turn to my side, falling asleep almost immediately.

~ • • • ~

In the morning, I wake up without rushing. I feel slow, peaceful even. I flutter my eyes open, taking in the soft grey walls surrounding me. It’s almost a comfort now, and I surprise myself by staying in bed for a few more minutes. It’s a strange feeling, waking up and not having school. The only day I ever had that growing up was a day I got sick, and that day definitely wasn’t as relaxing as this.

It was a Tuesday morning I remember well. I was sweating like hell, and I felt terrible. I had groaned and turned over to the other side of my pillow. It felt humid and warm, and every fiber in my being hated it. My mother had come in because I never woke up late, and was immediately fussing with me. Her being a nurse, she definitely knew how to take care of me. She took my temperature at first, which was some degrees Celsius above the standard temperature, and immediately knew I had a high fever. She gave me a wet towel to put on my head and some pain medicine for the enormous headache I was having. She made me stay in bed, even as I complained that I was missing the commander’s presentation that day. I had been so excited to hear about the war stories and bloodshed he had experienced. She stayed at home the whole day, just to take care of me. 

I feel my eyes water as I think of her. She was always so caring to me and Leon… How could she never tell us? How could she take care of us, knowing she was teaching us a lie? It doesn’t make sense. My throat clogs up. Why did she leave us? Why didn’t she come with us that day? Now she’s gone forever… And I don’t even know where she’s buried. If she’s buried, I realize with a start, they could have just thrown her into a ditch, never marked or buried.

A bitter cry comes out as I think more about it. Dad died the same way, too. I’ll never see them again… I allow a few tears to brush down my face before I shake them away numbly. Can’t let Leon see I’m struggling… I have to be Mum and Dad for him now. I can’t let him see through the shield.

I take a deep breath, bracing myself. I can do this, I think to myself, I’ve done it before. Just… smile like nothing’s wrong. I smile to myself, practicing. It feels too weak. I take another breath, then put on my cool-and-collected look. Hopefully it’ll be enough.

~ • • • ~

I close my door, breathing a breath I had needed to since this morning. The hurt had carried throughout the day, frustrating me. I had never held onto something like this for so long. I shouldn’t have to…

My lesson today had been… “normal,” I surmised. We had really only kept looking at the water and feeling it, but Amelia did say it takes time and patience, especially with elemental powers. I think she could tell I wasn’t focused, but she didn’t say anything about it. I smile as I think back. I’m glad she didn’t.

My smile weakens. I’d been keeping it up all day, and, excluding Amelia, no one noticed. I allow my face to slowly relax into a neutral expression. It felt so truthful after all the lies I held up today.

I stare off at my room, sinking to the ground as I lean against the door. It all still felt so new, so numb.

I sniff, closing my eyes. While Amelia didn’t say anything directly, she did mildly suggest that a shower might help with “anything I might be dealing with.” Breathing in, I realize with a start that I haven’t had an actual shower in at least a month. And it did sound relaxing…

I stand up, my steps feeling heavy as I walk into the bathroom attached to my room. I turn the shower on, peeling off my sweaty clothes. Gosh, it felt nice to get out of them. I step into the slick shower, my body immediately relaxing as it hits the scalding water. I find soap and shampoo in the shower, but I don’t use them just yet. After all… It’s just nice being in there. I bring my face into the stream of water coming from the shower head.

The droplets pepper my eyelids soothingly as my breath slowly relaxes. It’s been a long time since I felt them drop softly on me like that. I start humming a random tune, enjoying the brief warmth of every droplet on my bare skin.

I hold my hand out, cupping a bit of it like a shallow well. I smile softly; water can be so alive and comforting. With my free hand, I lift it up, swirling it in the air. As I control it, it cuts through the air like a ribbon. I’m suddenly a carefree dancer, choreographing this single stream of water into a beautiful display for myself. The peace only lasts so long. I let go of my control, the water turning back into a puddle on the shower floor.

I stare at it as it seeps into the drain, the magic gone. I think about what Vex said earlier. Powers have limits… What are my limits? He says I have to have them… but what could they be? I look down at my hands, getting wrinkly from being in the shower so long. How much power do these hands hold? And how can I test to see what my limits are? I close my eyes, reimagining all the moments I controlled water.

There was that first time, by the river, where it was a bubble. I deepen my brows as I try to look into the details. I had been so stressed that day… I just wanted to be left alone. And that’s when the bubble formed. I frown; maybe another time would give me some clues.

I revisit the second time I controlled water… when Larry commanded me to do it. It didn’t happen because I was scared… My eyes widen as I think, but I check on one other time to be sure.

When I was in bed that night, I also lifted the water. But it was relaxed, calm. Just like me. I gasp as the truth flows out of my thoughts.

“Magic follows emotion…” I whisper to myself.

That’s how I’ll test it. I pay attention to my shower again, starting to grow chilly from how long the shower had been running. I shiver from the unexpected cold, but try to ignore the feeling. Perhaps it’ll even help.

So, if magic is created by emotion, it means I should test every emotion I have. Which one first, though? Which one would really test the limits?

Anger.

I hone in on the emotion, thinking of everything that angers me. Larry comes to mind. I think of how annoying he is; how I can’t bear him. I focus on the water, thrusting my hands out.

Nothing.

I need more emotion.

I close my eyes. What makes me furious? What makes me want to thrash out and kill everything in sight? The people who murdered my parents. My eyes narrow, and immediately, true anger comes. My breath shudders with fury as I think of the revenge I’ll have. Oh… it’ll be so sweet. Those people will wish they had never even glanced at Mom and Dad.

I open my eyes, ready. My hands lurch out as I connect to my powers easily. Suddenly, the cold droplets stop. They instantly turn into razor-sharp icicles, piercing the now slippery and icy floor. I cry out in pain as a few strike my feet. I look down in shock at the knife-like needles now sticking almost through my feet. Immense pain fills my feet, setting them on fire as I lose my grip on the water. I let go of my anger, turning the ice back into the calm water it was.

Tears stream down my face as I look at my wrecked feet. I crawl out of the shower, reaching for any cabinets I could find.

Bandages, bandages… I need bandages… Anything else can wait…

I reach one by the toilet, thankfully containing a first aid kit, and open the container, my hands shaking. I rapidly apply the bandages, squeezing them tight to get the bleeding to hopefully stop.

I look down at my work. A bloody mess of bandages, but at least the pain has slightly died down. I wipe off my tears the best I can as I survey the room. The floor is streaked with dark blood everywhere that my feet had touched.

I painfully get to my feet, shaking my head back and forth. What have I done? I stare at my mess of feet, my eyes still watering. I didn’t know anger would create ice… Is that really something I did?

If just that little amount of water caused this much damage… how would it affect other people? Will I have to control my anger now? What if I get angry at Amelia, Leon, Maryn, or Vex? Would it kill them? I numbly dry myself off and put my nightgown on, crawling into bed.

I’m never using this power again.

Author's Note

Sorry ik it’s short lol-

Feel free to critique :3