May 4th, 2054
Dear Hailey,
Another day has passed on the bus. We're still not sure where they are taking us. I didn't really get a chance to describe the buses but because basically nothing exciting happened on the bus I'll tell you what they look like.
The buses have only about 3 windows. There is one in the front - the windshield- one in the back on the doors, and one on the ceiling. The one on the ceiling is pretty tiny. The seats are only wooden benches. There are no seatbelts or backs to the benches. It seems as though this truck was for carrying objects and not humans before someone added the benches. We all have barely enough room in front of us to put our stuff.
We finally stopped yesterday to use a rest stop when the truck was almost out of gas. When I had looked at the high way I could at least see another ten black trucks just like ours driving past the rest stop.
It's scary Hailey to be so far away from home. I'm still not sure that if they let you go you could find us. Mom has been crying all day because of that.
Andrew just sits on the side playing with his toys. Dad is trying to support mom as best as he can but its hard.
I know I always say this Hailey but I wish you were here.
Hope Fonial
By Marizo Bheh
Sunday, January 28, 2018
Queen of Light
I softly landed on the deck -- which was completely empty -- Rayen right behind me. She flew down to the floor, and shifted into the most beautiful lioness I had ever seen. She still had the crystal blue eyes and the blossom on her forehead, but she had intricate light-blue swirls climbing up each of her four legs. I stared at them.
“What?” she asked, her tail swiftly moving side to side.
“What are those swirls for?”
“The ocean. They show that I came from the ocean -- that I was born there. It was -- and still is -- my home. It is still a part of me.”
“They are beautiful. If you ever want to return to the sea, you may.”
“I want to stay with you,” Rayen said. “I didn’t have any friends, nor family in the sea. Now I have you.”
I knelt on the deck of the ship, right in front of her. I put a hand beneath her chin, and the other I used to pet her head. I bent down and kissed the blossom on her forehead. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome, Aiyana. You gave me a new life -- a better one. You gave me a family. I will always thank you for that.”
Pounding steps sounded from the stairs that led below deck. Aelin appeared, dressed in a pair of fighting leather pants and a loose shirt. When she saw me, she let out a cry of relief. She ran towards me and embraced me. “I thought something happened to you,” she said in a trembling voice. “Where were you?” She pulled away from me, far enough so she could look me in the eyes. Her lips were set into a hard line.
“I didn’t go anywhere special. I just flew towards the horizon. I needed some fresh air.”
Just then, she realized that a lioness was standing by my side, watching her with a close eye. “Rayen, this Aelin. Aelin, meet Rayen.”
Rayen smiled.
“How?” Aelin stammered, her face paling.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “I will explain it to you another time. Where is everyone?”
“I have no clue,” Aelin replied, looking around the deck. “This morning, I knocked on every single one of our guests’ doors -- no one answered. They were all gone.” Worry covered her features.
“Where could they have gone?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she murmured, shaking her head.
Rowan walked up from the steps that led below deck, wearing fighting leather pants -- like the ones Aelin wore -- and a loose, white shirt. He looked at me, then Aelin, confusion masking his features. “What’s wrong?” he said as he stopped beside Aelin.
“All of our guests are gone.”
“What?” he demanded.
“They. Are. Gone.” I said, enunciating each word.
He looked at me with the expression, I heard.
Well, I repeated it for you. I smiled at him.
He rolled his eyes. “They must have gone out to fly for a while. Don’t worry Aelin,” he said, taking her hand. “They will probably be back soon.”
“What do you guys think of them?” I asked.
They both turned their heads to look at me. Aelin spoke first. “They seem like nice people. I think I will accept their alliance, but will wait until we get to know them better. Amren is the only one that bothers me; she seems a bit . . . off.”
“I don’t like them very much,” Rowan said. “They seem too sophisticated -- like they know everything. Can you believe they went around asking people on their continent about us?” He shook his head in disapproval and frustration.
“They need someone to help them, Rowan,” I said, looking at him. “Apparently, there wasn’t anyone on their continent to do so, so they did some of their own research.”
Rowan looked out at the sea, his mouth set into a hard line. “That’s the thing I don’t like. He came here knowing every single little detail about us, while we know nothing about him. It’s absurd.”
“It is not absurd, Rowan. You’re just being dramatic. Is he always this dramatic, Aelin?” I looked at her.
She rolled her eyes. She faced him, still looking out at the sea, and crossed her arms. “Rowan, they seem like nice people. I would agree to their alliance right now, if I wanted to, even though I don’t know them.”
“What if we needed help to defeat someone who harmed us? Would we have done the same?” I added.
At this, he turned. “Yes,” he murmured.
“See? They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Who -- what -- is that?” Rowan blurted, pointing at Rayen.
“I am a who, not a what. In addition, it is not nice to point,” Rayen said to him as a way of greeting.
“Excuse me?” he blurted again, his eyebrows raising. This will be fun.
“I would watch your mouth, Rowan. Rayen is very, very sensitive.” I looked down at her, and winked. She grinned. I returned the smile.
Instantly, Rowan’s face paled. “How?” he whispered, looking at me in complete shock and surprise.
“It’s a long story.” I looked out at the sea, the sun low in the sky. It must be early morning. “Is everyone still sleep --” I abruptly stopped as I saw winged creatures flying towards our ship. They were not our guests. They had webbed feet, were tall, and were a mix between human and creature. “Aelin,” I said, slowly facing her, “what are those creatures flying towards us?”
She stalked to the very edge of the deck, her face paling with each step she took. Rowan walked right beside her, his face pale, too. “Ilken,” he breathed.
Aelin jolted to a bell that was mounted on one of the hulls of the ship, and started ringing it. “Ilken!” she yelled. “Ilken! Ilken!”
At that moment, Aedion, Lysandra -- in snow leopard form -- Elide, Manon, Dorian, Fenrys, Gavriel, and Lorcan came running up the stairs that led below deck, all of them dressed, blades out.
I balked at them. “What are Ilken?” I asked Aelin as I turned to her.
“They are terrible creatures that can rip your throat out in the blink of an eye,” she said as she gathered her weapons.
My gut started to twist. “How do I fight them?”
“With weapons, your bare hands, or your powers,” Rowan answered from behind me. “Where is freaking Rhysand and his crew?” he demanded, looking around. “Are you sure you want to make an alliance with them, Aelin, if they leave on the first morning?” He glared at her.
“That is not the question you should be asking me right now, Rowan,” she angrily said as she stared him down.
The ilken were getting closer. I looked down at Rayen. “Are you ready?” She nodded once in answer. “What animal will you turn into?”
“It’s a surprise,” she whispered. She grinned. Her eyes sparkled with joy and delight.
“Great,” I mumbled. “Just be careful, okay?” She nodded.
I looked at Aelin, and the rest of my friends, who were preparing themselves. “Why are we all getting ready if there are only two of them?” I asked to no one in particular. Nobody answered. Well, then. I will just prepare myself for more to come. My wings flared from behind me, and I rallied my powers together. They thrummed, excited for battle. I pulled them all into my core, and forced them to spread throughout my body and to my fingertips. I was ready.
I looked out at the sky. The ilken were close enough for me to see every single detail of them. They grinned when they saw me, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. Chills ran down my spine. Rayen, who was beside me, still had not changed. She was waiting. For what, I did not know. All of my friends surrounded me, leaving me at the front of the group. We all glared at the ilken as they landed on the very edge of the wall, their claws digging into the wood.
“I see there is a new member of your little group,” the taller one said in a smooth -- but deadly -- voice. It looked at me, and grinned. I watched its every move; so did Rayen.
“What do you want?” Rowan demanded.
The smaller one -- a female -- pinned her stare on him. “Erawan sends a message,” she said.
“What’s the message?” Aedion asked, his face a hard mask of stone.
Both ilken looked at each other, grinned, and faced Rowan and Aelin, both tense and standing side by side. “You will see for yourself very, very, soon,” the female said. In a blink, they flew up into the sky, and vanished.
By Alexa Gantt
“What?” she asked, her tail swiftly moving side to side.
“What are those swirls for?”
“The ocean. They show that I came from the ocean -- that I was born there. It was -- and still is -- my home. It is still a part of me.”
“They are beautiful. If you ever want to return to the sea, you may.”
“I want to stay with you,” Rayen said. “I didn’t have any friends, nor family in the sea. Now I have you.”
I knelt on the deck of the ship, right in front of her. I put a hand beneath her chin, and the other I used to pet her head. I bent down and kissed the blossom on her forehead. “Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome, Aiyana. You gave me a new life -- a better one. You gave me a family. I will always thank you for that.”
Pounding steps sounded from the stairs that led below deck. Aelin appeared, dressed in a pair of fighting leather pants and a loose shirt. When she saw me, she let out a cry of relief. She ran towards me and embraced me. “I thought something happened to you,” she said in a trembling voice. “Where were you?” She pulled away from me, far enough so she could look me in the eyes. Her lips were set into a hard line.
“I didn’t go anywhere special. I just flew towards the horizon. I needed some fresh air.”
Just then, she realized that a lioness was standing by my side, watching her with a close eye. “Rayen, this Aelin. Aelin, meet Rayen.”
Rayen smiled.
“How?” Aelin stammered, her face paling.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “I will explain it to you another time. Where is everyone?”
“I have no clue,” Aelin replied, looking around the deck. “This morning, I knocked on every single one of our guests’ doors -- no one answered. They were all gone.” Worry covered her features.
“Where could they have gone?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she murmured, shaking her head.
Rowan walked up from the steps that led below deck, wearing fighting leather pants -- like the ones Aelin wore -- and a loose, white shirt. He looked at me, then Aelin, confusion masking his features. “What’s wrong?” he said as he stopped beside Aelin.
“All of our guests are gone.”
“What?” he demanded.
“They. Are. Gone.” I said, enunciating each word.
He looked at me with the expression, I heard.
Well, I repeated it for you. I smiled at him.
He rolled his eyes. “They must have gone out to fly for a while. Don’t worry Aelin,” he said, taking her hand. “They will probably be back soon.”
“What do you guys think of them?” I asked.
They both turned their heads to look at me. Aelin spoke first. “They seem like nice people. I think I will accept their alliance, but will wait until we get to know them better. Amren is the only one that bothers me; she seems a bit . . . off.”
“I don’t like them very much,” Rowan said. “They seem too sophisticated -- like they know everything. Can you believe they went around asking people on their continent about us?” He shook his head in disapproval and frustration.
“They need someone to help them, Rowan,” I said, looking at him. “Apparently, there wasn’t anyone on their continent to do so, so they did some of their own research.”
Rowan looked out at the sea, his mouth set into a hard line. “That’s the thing I don’t like. He came here knowing every single little detail about us, while we know nothing about him. It’s absurd.”
“It is not absurd, Rowan. You’re just being dramatic. Is he always this dramatic, Aelin?” I looked at her.
She rolled her eyes. She faced him, still looking out at the sea, and crossed her arms. “Rowan, they seem like nice people. I would agree to their alliance right now, if I wanted to, even though I don’t know them.”
“What if we needed help to defeat someone who harmed us? Would we have done the same?” I added.
At this, he turned. “Yes,” he murmured.
“See? They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Who -- what -- is that?” Rowan blurted, pointing at Rayen.
“I am a who, not a what. In addition, it is not nice to point,” Rayen said to him as a way of greeting.
“Excuse me?” he blurted again, his eyebrows raising. This will be fun.
“I would watch your mouth, Rowan. Rayen is very, very sensitive.” I looked down at her, and winked. She grinned. I returned the smile.
Instantly, Rowan’s face paled. “How?” he whispered, looking at me in complete shock and surprise.
“It’s a long story.” I looked out at the sea, the sun low in the sky. It must be early morning. “Is everyone still sleep --” I abruptly stopped as I saw winged creatures flying towards our ship. They were not our guests. They had webbed feet, were tall, and were a mix between human and creature. “Aelin,” I said, slowly facing her, “what are those creatures flying towards us?”
She stalked to the very edge of the deck, her face paling with each step she took. Rowan walked right beside her, his face pale, too. “Ilken,” he breathed.
Aelin jolted to a bell that was mounted on one of the hulls of the ship, and started ringing it. “Ilken!” she yelled. “Ilken! Ilken!”
At that moment, Aedion, Lysandra -- in snow leopard form -- Elide, Manon, Dorian, Fenrys, Gavriel, and Lorcan came running up the stairs that led below deck, all of them dressed, blades out.
I balked at them. “What are Ilken?” I asked Aelin as I turned to her.
“They are terrible creatures that can rip your throat out in the blink of an eye,” she said as she gathered her weapons.
My gut started to twist. “How do I fight them?”
“With weapons, your bare hands, or your powers,” Rowan answered from behind me. “Where is freaking Rhysand and his crew?” he demanded, looking around. “Are you sure you want to make an alliance with them, Aelin, if they leave on the first morning?” He glared at her.
“That is not the question you should be asking me right now, Rowan,” she angrily said as she stared him down.
The ilken were getting closer. I looked down at Rayen. “Are you ready?” She nodded once in answer. “What animal will you turn into?”
“It’s a surprise,” she whispered. She grinned. Her eyes sparkled with joy and delight.
“Great,” I mumbled. “Just be careful, okay?” She nodded.
I looked at Aelin, and the rest of my friends, who were preparing themselves. “Why are we all getting ready if there are only two of them?” I asked to no one in particular. Nobody answered. Well, then. I will just prepare myself for more to come. My wings flared from behind me, and I rallied my powers together. They thrummed, excited for battle. I pulled them all into my core, and forced them to spread throughout my body and to my fingertips. I was ready.
I looked out at the sky. The ilken were close enough for me to see every single detail of them. They grinned when they saw me, revealing sharp, jagged teeth. Chills ran down my spine. Rayen, who was beside me, still had not changed. She was waiting. For what, I did not know. All of my friends surrounded me, leaving me at the front of the group. We all glared at the ilken as they landed on the very edge of the wall, their claws digging into the wood.
“I see there is a new member of your little group,” the taller one said in a smooth -- but deadly -- voice. It looked at me, and grinned. I watched its every move; so did Rayen.
“What do you want?” Rowan demanded.
The smaller one -- a female -- pinned her stare on him. “Erawan sends a message,” she said.
“What’s the message?” Aedion asked, his face a hard mask of stone.
Both ilken looked at each other, grinned, and faced Rowan and Aelin, both tense and standing side by side. “You will see for yourself very, very, soon,” the female said. In a blink, they flew up into the sky, and vanished.
By Alexa Gantt
Monday, January 22, 2018
Entry 3 - Dear Hailey
May 3rd, 2054
Dear Hailey,
So far Hailey, this just seems like a big vacation from school. Except for the day they took you. That day still seems like a nightmare to me.
But today was like a nightmare too. They forced us to evacuate. Anybody that doesn't have the virus and that isn't sick has to leave the city. It'll be strange to leave New York. Right now I'm writing in the truck now.
The soldiers appeared at the door at about 11 AM. I went to go get it. Dad was right behind me. Standing at the door had been two soldiers dressed in the camouflage type green uniforms that soldiers wear. They told us that we had 20 minutes to get our stuff and then we had to report to the lobby of the building. Then they left. Didn't even let us ask any questions.
Mom was devastated but Dad made her pack her bags.
I got out my bookbag for school and the suitcase that I had bought in 6th grade when we were going to go visit Aunt Margaret. I packed clothes mostly. I also brought my computer, a couple of good books, my sketchbook, pencils, and some of your clothes. Who knows Hailey we might meet you where ever they are taking us.
Andrew is treating this like an adventure. He wanted to bring all of his action figures and no clothes. I gave him my bookbag to fill with his toys and made him promise me that he would fill his suitcase with as many clothes as he can.
The four of us got downstairs pretty fast considering we just packed away our lives inside only a couple of suitcases. All of our neighbors were downstairs too. Big military trucks were waiting for us outside. The soldiers ushered us on them, telling us that we could only take what we could carry. And that brings me up to now. We have been driving for hours and my back aches. I also need to pee and I'm pretty sure that both Dad and Andrew did their business in a bottle. It's dark now.
I never had thought that we were going to be evacuated though.
Hope Fonial
By Marizo Bheh
Dear Hailey,
So far Hailey, this just seems like a big vacation from school. Except for the day they took you. That day still seems like a nightmare to me.
But today was like a nightmare too. They forced us to evacuate. Anybody that doesn't have the virus and that isn't sick has to leave the city. It'll be strange to leave New York. Right now I'm writing in the truck now.
The soldiers appeared at the door at about 11 AM. I went to go get it. Dad was right behind me. Standing at the door had been two soldiers dressed in the camouflage type green uniforms that soldiers wear. They told us that we had 20 minutes to get our stuff and then we had to report to the lobby of the building. Then they left. Didn't even let us ask any questions.
Mom was devastated but Dad made her pack her bags.
I got out my bookbag for school and the suitcase that I had bought in 6th grade when we were going to go visit Aunt Margaret. I packed clothes mostly. I also brought my computer, a couple of good books, my sketchbook, pencils, and some of your clothes. Who knows Hailey we might meet you where ever they are taking us.
Andrew is treating this like an adventure. He wanted to bring all of his action figures and no clothes. I gave him my bookbag to fill with his toys and made him promise me that he would fill his suitcase with as many clothes as he can.
The four of us got downstairs pretty fast considering we just packed away our lives inside only a couple of suitcases. All of our neighbors were downstairs too. Big military trucks were waiting for us outside. The soldiers ushered us on them, telling us that we could only take what we could carry. And that brings me up to now. We have been driving for hours and my back aches. I also need to pee and I'm pretty sure that both Dad and Andrew did their business in a bottle. It's dark now.
I never had thought that we were going to be evacuated though.
Hope Fonial
By Marizo Bheh
Saturday, January 20, 2018
Queen of Light
I don’t know how long it took Rhysand to explain everything to us. Our conversation started around mid-day, and ended when the sun set. Aelin, Rowan, and I gave Rhysand and his court rooms to stay in below deck. When everyone was accommodated, I went onto the deck of the ship, and looked out at the sunset.
The sky was a mix of colors: pinkish-red, light purple, yellow, gold, and orange. The clouds streaked across the sky, looking like colorful strips of cotton candy. The water was beautiful; its surface was gold, causing the water beneath to seem black. It was gorgeous.
I looked up at the sky, and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I brought my head back down, and looked out at the horizon. The water, and the wind -- flowing gracefully past me -- seemed to call me to them.
Without no one able to reprimand me, I shot up into the sky and flew straight towards the setting sun. The roaring of the waves and the howling of the wind were moving with me as I flew. And flew. And flew. Flew until the ship was gone, and all I could see was the stretching, vast sea.
I dove down towards the water; it twinkled as I flew over it, close enough to see my reflection. I dipped my hand into the water, creating a long ripple on the surface of it. The water was cool, soothing me. Out of nowhere, a dolphin jumped up from the water beneath me, splashing me with water. I shrieked in surprise. The dolphin jumped up from the water again, and this time, it spoke to me. Hi Aiyana! It went back underwater. I could see it swimming beneath me.
Hi sweety. How are you? I spoke to it.
I am fine, thanks. And you?
I am fine, thank you for asking, I answered. When the dolphin jumped up again, I pet its head, and it almost seemed as if it purred in response. Goodbye, darling. What is your name?
I don’t have one, it sadly told me. It went back underwater.
I am going to name you Rayen, which means blossom. I am going to give you the power to shift into any animal you would like. You will also be able to speak to me and other people, and will be able to understand what people are saying, even if they aren’t speaking to you. I am going to put a little blossom on your forehead, so I will know who you are. Do you have a family?
I do not. I just swim wherever the waves of the sea bring me. Rayen was still swimming underwater, beneath me.
Would it be okay with you if I were to make you my pet? I will bind you to me, and you will be invincible. I will treat you with loving care, and will be kind to you. I would never harm you, and I would never tell you to not do something, unless that something is dangerous. I will treat you right. I promise.
I would love that! she exclaimed. I smiled. I closed my eyes, and formed a bond between us. I repeated the words I had just told her; after I promise, I felt something in my chest tighten. There was a type of weight there. I unbuttoned the first two buttons of my shirt, and saw that on my chest was a blossom, like the one Rayen had.
It’s done, I said. Try and shapeshift; try and change into another animal.
Okay, Rayen worriedly sad.
It will be fine, trust me. There was a flash of light from the water beneath me. A beautiful hawk -- as white as snow -- with crystal blue eyes appeared at my side. On its forehead, a small blossom shimmered in the light. Rayen.
“Rayen?” She was beautiful.
She cawed. “It’s me! It’s me!” She started twirling in the air, full of joy. When she was done, she flew up near my face, and touched her cheek against mine. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome, Rayen -- beautiful blossom.” I grinned. She smiled at me too.
“I’m free!” she yelled, and swooped up into the sky. I followed her. I stopped in the air, my wings beating behind me. I looked out at the sea. Rayen came up from behind me, and perched on my shoulder. “What is it?” She cocked her head in my direction.
“It’s so beautiful,” I breathed.
She turned her head, and looked out at the sea. She did not speak.
I stayed there -- in the air, looking at the horizon -- for hours, until the sun set, and the sky became dark. Until it was filled with shimmering and twinkling stars, Rayen quietly perched on my shoulder. Until the sun started to rise.
The sky was a mix of colors: pinkish-red, light purple, yellow, gold, and orange. The clouds streaked across the sky, looking like colorful strips of cotton candy. The water was beautiful; its surface was gold, causing the water beneath to seem black. It was gorgeous.
I looked up at the sky, and closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I brought my head back down, and looked out at the horizon. The water, and the wind -- flowing gracefully past me -- seemed to call me to them.
Without no one able to reprimand me, I shot up into the sky and flew straight towards the setting sun. The roaring of the waves and the howling of the wind were moving with me as I flew. And flew. And flew. Flew until the ship was gone, and all I could see was the stretching, vast sea.
I dove down towards the water; it twinkled as I flew over it, close enough to see my reflection. I dipped my hand into the water, creating a long ripple on the surface of it. The water was cool, soothing me. Out of nowhere, a dolphin jumped up from the water beneath me, splashing me with water. I shrieked in surprise. The dolphin jumped up from the water again, and this time, it spoke to me. Hi Aiyana! It went back underwater. I could see it swimming beneath me.
Hi sweety. How are you? I spoke to it.
I am fine, thanks. And you?
I am fine, thank you for asking, I answered. When the dolphin jumped up again, I pet its head, and it almost seemed as if it purred in response. Goodbye, darling. What is your name?
I don’t have one, it sadly told me. It went back underwater.
I am going to name you Rayen, which means blossom. I am going to give you the power to shift into any animal you would like. You will also be able to speak to me and other people, and will be able to understand what people are saying, even if they aren’t speaking to you. I am going to put a little blossom on your forehead, so I will know who you are. Do you have a family?
I do not. I just swim wherever the waves of the sea bring me. Rayen was still swimming underwater, beneath me.
Would it be okay with you if I were to make you my pet? I will bind you to me, and you will be invincible. I will treat you with loving care, and will be kind to you. I would never harm you, and I would never tell you to not do something, unless that something is dangerous. I will treat you right. I promise.
I would love that! she exclaimed. I smiled. I closed my eyes, and formed a bond between us. I repeated the words I had just told her; after I promise, I felt something in my chest tighten. There was a type of weight there. I unbuttoned the first two buttons of my shirt, and saw that on my chest was a blossom, like the one Rayen had.
It’s done, I said. Try and shapeshift; try and change into another animal.
Okay, Rayen worriedly sad.
It will be fine, trust me. There was a flash of light from the water beneath me. A beautiful hawk -- as white as snow -- with crystal blue eyes appeared at my side. On its forehead, a small blossom shimmered in the light. Rayen.
“Rayen?” She was beautiful.
She cawed. “It’s me! It’s me!” She started twirling in the air, full of joy. When she was done, she flew up near my face, and touched her cheek against mine. “Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome, Rayen -- beautiful blossom.” I grinned. She smiled at me too.
“I’m free!” she yelled, and swooped up into the sky. I followed her. I stopped in the air, my wings beating behind me. I looked out at the sea. Rayen came up from behind me, and perched on my shoulder. “What is it?” She cocked her head in my direction.
“It’s so beautiful,” I breathed.
She turned her head, and looked out at the sea. She did not speak.
I stayed there -- in the air, looking at the horizon -- for hours, until the sun set, and the sky became dark. Until it was filled with shimmering and twinkling stars, Rayen quietly perched on my shoulder. Until the sun started to rise.
By Alexa Gantt
Entry 2 - Dear Hailey
May 2nd
Dear Hailey,
Mom doesn't have the virus. She just has the flu. It was a bit of a relief when we realized that. She's been sneezing all day which is, of course, driving us all crazy. Dad took me and Andrew to the park today. It's a short walk from our apartment. Had it been last year I would have gone alone. But there are new rules now. If you are under the age of 18, unless it's an emergency, you cannot be walking alone in New York. I think the police are just worried that some rebellious teens might rob some of the shops that are closed.
The streets are pretty empty. The homeless were the first to get the virus so there aren't a lot of them left. The government took them.
We stopped by Natalie's apartment on the way back. There were police officers inside and paramedics. The scene looked exactly like when you got the virus Hailey. Natalie was crying hysterically on the couch as the paramedics were carrying her dad out of the door. The police officer was sitting across from Natalie. I had gone up to Natalie and asked her what was happening. Dad and Andrew stayed by the door.
Natalie told me that her dad got the virus, which I had already kind of figured out. She then told me that since her dad was her only legal guardian she was going to have to go to foster care. She was practically begging me to have my parents take her in but when I looked at Dad he shook his head. I was mad at dad. My best friend is probably going to get thrown around the city from home to home and I can't do anything.
Oh, Hailey, I wish you were here. You always know how to make a situation seem brighter.
Hope Fonial
Dear Hailey,
Mom doesn't have the virus. She just has the flu. It was a bit of a relief when we realized that. She's been sneezing all day which is, of course, driving us all crazy. Dad took me and Andrew to the park today. It's a short walk from our apartment. Had it been last year I would have gone alone. But there are new rules now. If you are under the age of 18, unless it's an emergency, you cannot be walking alone in New York. I think the police are just worried that some rebellious teens might rob some of the shops that are closed.
The streets are pretty empty. The homeless were the first to get the virus so there aren't a lot of them left. The government took them.
We stopped by Natalie's apartment on the way back. There were police officers inside and paramedics. The scene looked exactly like when you got the virus Hailey. Natalie was crying hysterically on the couch as the paramedics were carrying her dad out of the door. The police officer was sitting across from Natalie. I had gone up to Natalie and asked her what was happening. Dad and Andrew stayed by the door.
Natalie told me that her dad got the virus, which I had already kind of figured out. She then told me that since her dad was her only legal guardian she was going to have to go to foster care. She was practically begging me to have my parents take her in but when I looked at Dad he shook his head. I was mad at dad. My best friend is probably going to get thrown around the city from home to home and I can't do anything.
Oh, Hailey, I wish you were here. You always know how to make a situation seem brighter.
Hope Fonial
Monday, January 15, 2018
Entry 1 - Dear Hailey
May 1st, 2054
Dear Diary,
I feel really stupid writing in here. Dad said if I wrote down what happened each day maybe then I would feel better. I'm not sure if that will work but I might as well try it. That doesn't mean that I still don't feel stupid doing this. Oh well.
Mom started coughing today. She kept on saying that she was fine but then she collapsed. Dad is really worried. He thinks Mom has the virus. I'm scared for Mom. I don't know what we would do without her. It's already bad enough that Hailey got the virus. I don't want Mom to have to leave too.
Mom keeps on telling me that Hailey is going to come back but I don't think so. A lot of people's family members have been taken away by the government because they have the virus. And none of them have come back home. I won't let Mom be taken away though. I might only be 14 and maybe I'm a bit short but I won't let her be taken away.
School was canceled. They called us yesterday. Too many kids were sick. Some of my friends have gotten sick. My friends (that have not gotten sick yet) text me day and night and I think it's mostly because we are all so bored. The only channels available are the news channels with it being a state of emergency all over the country.
Well, I guess that's it for today diary. I feel so stupid writing this. No offense to was meant diary. Maybe next time instead of saying 'dear diary' I'll say 'dear Hailey' so I can pretend I'm writing letters to her. Maybe then I'll feel less stupid writing this.
Hope Fonial
By Marizo Bheh
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Queen of Light
The blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips screamed, “Amren!” She vanished in a flash, and appeared beside Amren, on her knees. Stop, my power told me. Don’t hurt her anymore. I stopped, dropped my shield, and turned off the flames. Amren was still choking, lying soaked on the ground. My wings wrapped around me, shielding me from her and the other strangers. I walked towards Amren and the blond-haired woman, and Amren growled and bared her teeth at me. In a flash, an invisible wall hit me, causing me to fly backwards and crash onto the deck. I spear of pain shot through my wings as they cushioned my fall. I pulled myself onto my elbows, grunting.
Aelin was already by my side. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I breathed as I stood up, “I’m fine.”
My head started to spin -- I was getting weak. Something in my body was changing, though I couldn’t tell. My face started to twist, and my body started to give out. My powers flickered, then died out. My wings vanished.
“What’s going on?” Aelin demanded as she lightly put her hand on my shoulder. She looked down at my face and paled. Rowan came up beside her, having stopped the fight with the man with the purple eyes and dark hair.
I fell to the floor, and cried out. The most terrible pain I have ever felt seared through my face; I screeched in pain. I started scratching at my face, trying to stop the twisting. I started to cry. I couldn’t feel my face. My hands became wet and gooey. I pulled them down from my face; they were stained with blood. What was happening?
“Aiyana,” Aelin whispered. “Stop pulling at your face. Stop.” Tears of pain silently fell as she beheld what was happening to me.
“What’s happening?” I croaked, my throat already scorched from screaming. Aelin just looked at me, her face as white as bone. “What is happening, Aelin.”
“Aiyana,” she softly replied, trying to keep me calm, “your face is changing. You don’t have blond hair and brown eyes anymore. I have no clue what is going on.” Her tears resumed their falling as I screeched in pain again and thrashed. Aelin put her hands on my arms, gently holding me down to the floor of the deck. “Aiyana,” she quietly cried, “please, Aiyana. Don’t scream.” Everybody on deck surrounded me.
At that moment, images flashed through my mind: my parents; a little boy with silver-white hair and green eyes; a queen with vibrant red hair and obsidian-colored eyes; a ship; a baby girl with short, silver hair and green eyes with a mark on her chest; the mark. My chest. The mark.
I fumbled for the zipper of my fighting suit, trying to see the mark on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Aiyana, what is it?” Aelin asked, her voice a distant echo. I was losing it. I was going to die. I tried to speak, but couldn’t. All I could do was point at my chest.
“Her chest. Where Amren cut her,” I heard someone say in the background. Elide. A small, dark figure appeared at the corner of my vision, and it pulled on the zipper of my fighting suit. I tried to touch the spot where the dark-haired woman cut me, but I couldn’t. My vision was blacking out. I was going to die. The force of whatever was happening to me was too strong; it hit me like a wave, strong and enormous, and knocked me unconscious.
There was silence, and darkness. I started to scream and thrash. Not this. Not again. I heard someone sobbing. In the distance, I could hear voices; I could see a light shining. I reached for it, and held on. I was not going to let this kill me. I pulled, and something on the other side of that light pulled with me. I felt like I was underwater; I started to choke, air gradually filling my lungs. I gasped, and this time, I opened my eyes. I was still on the deck of the ship, and Elide was bending over me, face stained with tears.
“Aiyana?” she whispered, pulling back a strand of my hair. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
I slowly nodded. Someone behind me loosed a shuddering breath. I looked down at my chest. There was no mark; just a scar where Amren had cut me. I looked back at Elide. “What happened?” I croaked. I slowly sat up from where I was lying, getting dizzy. Elide grabbed my arm to steady me. “What happened?” I asked again. I slowly rolled up onto my feet, Elide holding my arm the whole time to help me.
I felt strange -- different. I felt stronger, and leaner. I lifted my hands to look at them, and quietly gasped. My fingers were extremely thin and bony, but were long. My skin was white, and there were scars covering every square inch of my hands. I reached for my hair -- it was thin and limp in my hands, and was as short as it was earlier.
I turned around in place, meeting the shocked stares of all the people on board -- strangers, and my friends and family. My senses had heightened: I could see clearer, hear much better, and I could smell everything. “What is that horrible smell?” I asked. My voice; that had changed, too. It was softer, but seemed older -- far from this world. As I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, I spotted a snow leopard sitting behind me, its face tilted to the side as if to say, sorry. Lysandra. I knelt down so I was face-to-face with Lysandra, and rubbed behind her ears. She purred. Sorry Lysandra, I said into her mind as I smiled. I didn’t mean to. She purred, and replied, It’s okay, and I rose from my crouching position. All the people on the deck were looking quizzically at me.
“What?” I asked them.
“Your face,” Lysandra said as she walked towards me, having changed out of her snow leopard form. She cupped my cheeks. “Beautiful,” she murmured. “You are so beautiful.”
Heat rose in my cheeks.
“You have wings.” Lysandra stepped away from me and turned to my right, facing one of my wings. “May I?”
I nodded once.
At her touch, my wings bristled. “Magnificent -- I have never seen anything like them,” she breathed. She then walked out from behind me, and faced me, looking at me straight in the eyes. They twinkled with something I couldn’t detect. She turned her back to me, and walked to Aedion. He took her hand.
I walked towards Aelin, the clanking of my tall, black boots on the floor of the deck the only sound. “Who are these people?” I whispered in her ear.
She shrugged. “I don’t know,” she whispered back.
“What are we --” I was going to reply as someone cleared their throat from behind me.
I slowly turned around, my brows raised. The man with the dark hair and purple eyes was standing there, arms crossed, his wings held in tight behind him. “It is not polite to whisper,” he said.
I stared at him. “Who are you.” I stalked towards him, stopping a good ten feet away.
“I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court.” He didn’t smile. Instead, he dropped his arms, darkness rippling from his shoulders.
“From where?” I asked.
“The Night Court,” Amren angrily told me. “Get it right, girl.”
My wings flared as I glared at her. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
She laughed wickedly under her breath. “Be careful what you say around me, girl, or you might --”
“Don’t finish that sentence, Amren,” Rhysand interrupted, not even looking at her.
“What do you guys want?” I asked. “Why are you here in the first place?”
“It is a long story. To cut it short, we are here for your help,” Rhysand said.
“Our what?” I demanded.
“To start off,” Amren aggressively said before Rhysand could even open his mouth to answer, “you should stop using the word ‘what’. It is impolite, you winged fool. You are talking to a lord.”
All I did was glare at her. I turned my gaze back to Rhysand, whose focus was on me. “We need your . . . aid for something,” he said, trying to use the words that won’t have me fighting Amren again.
“What something?”
“A war.”
“With who?”
“With one of the courts on our continent -- Prythian.”
“Why?”
“One of its leaders is a very cruel man, who has hurt us in many ways.” His gaze was focused, unflinching.
I considered this. “Why do you need our help?”
“We have heard of you -- of what you,” he looked at my friends behind me, “have been doing on the continent you live on -- Erilea.”
I looked back at Aelin, her face tight with shock. “How?” she asked, walking up beside me.
“People talk,” Rhysand said, his gaze focused on Aelin. “We have heard about what you -- Aelin -- and your mate, Rowan, and crew have done. You, with your fire powers, the ‘Fire-breathing queen’, and Rowan with his ice. We have heard about the battle with Maeve, and many other things.”
Aelin’s face started to pale. “Do you know who we all are?” she softly said.
“Yes,” Rhysand answered. “You have not heard about us, I presume.”
“We have not,” Aelin said.
“If you knew who we were, why did you fight against us earlier?” I asked, curious.
“We did not attack you -- you attacked us.” He looked at Aelin, her face a hard mask of stone. “We heard that you were on a ship in the middle of the sea, returning to your homeland. We all decided to fly out here and find you, which we did. We flew onto the deck of the ship, and you guys attacked.”
Silence fell. “Do you already know what powers we have?” Aelin asked.
“Yes. That is how we came to the agreement that we needed you to fight alongside our armies -- with us,” Rhysand stated.
“Who is us?” I asked him.
He faced the people standing behind him. “Feyre, High Lady of the Night Court, Morrigan, Amren, Azriel, Cassian, me, and others living at my home.” His eyes moved to every single person as he said their names. They all stared at us, unblinking.
“You expect us to help you if we haven’t even gotten to know you?” Rowan demanded from beside Aelin. At some point, while we were talking, he must have moved beside her.
Rhysand quickly looked at the golden-haired woman standing on his right -- Feyre, High Lady of the Night Court -- and looked back at us. “Yes,” was all he said.
“Are you --” Rowan demanded as I interrupted him.
“Stop, Rowan.” He glared at me. I looked at Rhysand. “We will think about what you have asked us. First, we will get to know you better. We will take you to our continent, and you will all stay there until we become friends. Once we have told you our choice in helping you or not, you may return to your home. We can then proceed from there. Do you understand?” I looked at each of Rhysand’s court members in the eyes.
“Yes,” Rhysand answered.
“Very well, then,” I said.
“Would you please explain to us how you heard of us in the first place?” Rowan asked. My friends and I all looked at Rhysand, waiting.
Then, he started to explain.
By Alexa Gantt
Aelin was already by my side. “Are you okay?”
“Yes,” I breathed as I stood up, “I’m fine.”
My head started to spin -- I was getting weak. Something in my body was changing, though I couldn’t tell. My face started to twist, and my body started to give out. My powers flickered, then died out. My wings vanished.
“What’s going on?” Aelin demanded as she lightly put her hand on my shoulder. She looked down at my face and paled. Rowan came up beside her, having stopped the fight with the man with the purple eyes and dark hair.
I fell to the floor, and cried out. The most terrible pain I have ever felt seared through my face; I screeched in pain. I started scratching at my face, trying to stop the twisting. I started to cry. I couldn’t feel my face. My hands became wet and gooey. I pulled them down from my face; they were stained with blood. What was happening?
“Aiyana,” Aelin whispered. “Stop pulling at your face. Stop.” Tears of pain silently fell as she beheld what was happening to me.
“What’s happening?” I croaked, my throat already scorched from screaming. Aelin just looked at me, her face as white as bone. “What is happening, Aelin.”
“Aiyana,” she softly replied, trying to keep me calm, “your face is changing. You don’t have blond hair and brown eyes anymore. I have no clue what is going on.” Her tears resumed their falling as I screeched in pain again and thrashed. Aelin put her hands on my arms, gently holding me down to the floor of the deck. “Aiyana,” she quietly cried, “please, Aiyana. Don’t scream.” Everybody on deck surrounded me.
At that moment, images flashed through my mind: my parents; a little boy with silver-white hair and green eyes; a queen with vibrant red hair and obsidian-colored eyes; a ship; a baby girl with short, silver hair and green eyes with a mark on her chest; the mark. My chest. The mark.
I fumbled for the zipper of my fighting suit, trying to see the mark on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Aiyana, what is it?” Aelin asked, her voice a distant echo. I was losing it. I was going to die. I tried to speak, but couldn’t. All I could do was point at my chest.
“Her chest. Where Amren cut her,” I heard someone say in the background. Elide. A small, dark figure appeared at the corner of my vision, and it pulled on the zipper of my fighting suit. I tried to touch the spot where the dark-haired woman cut me, but I couldn’t. My vision was blacking out. I was going to die. The force of whatever was happening to me was too strong; it hit me like a wave, strong and enormous, and knocked me unconscious.
There was silence, and darkness. I started to scream and thrash. Not this. Not again. I heard someone sobbing. In the distance, I could hear voices; I could see a light shining. I reached for it, and held on. I was not going to let this kill me. I pulled, and something on the other side of that light pulled with me. I felt like I was underwater; I started to choke, air gradually filling my lungs. I gasped, and this time, I opened my eyes. I was still on the deck of the ship, and Elide was bending over me, face stained with tears.
“Aiyana?” she whispered, pulling back a strand of my hair. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
I slowly nodded. Someone behind me loosed a shuddering breath. I looked down at my chest. There was no mark; just a scar where Amren had cut me. I looked back at Elide. “What happened?” I croaked. I slowly sat up from where I was lying, getting dizzy. Elide grabbed my arm to steady me. “What happened?” I asked again. I slowly rolled up onto my feet, Elide holding my arm the whole time to help me.
I felt strange -- different. I felt stronger, and leaner. I lifted my hands to look at them, and quietly gasped. My fingers were extremely thin and bony, but were long. My skin was white, and there were scars covering every square inch of my hands. I reached for my hair -- it was thin and limp in my hands, and was as short as it was earlier.
I turned around in place, meeting the shocked stares of all the people on board -- strangers, and my friends and family. My senses had heightened: I could see clearer, hear much better, and I could smell everything. “What is that horrible smell?” I asked. My voice; that had changed, too. It was softer, but seemed older -- far from this world. As I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, I spotted a snow leopard sitting behind me, its face tilted to the side as if to say, sorry. Lysandra. I knelt down so I was face-to-face with Lysandra, and rubbed behind her ears. She purred. Sorry Lysandra, I said into her mind as I smiled. I didn’t mean to. She purred, and replied, It’s okay, and I rose from my crouching position. All the people on the deck were looking quizzically at me.
“What?” I asked them.
“Your face,” Lysandra said as she walked towards me, having changed out of her snow leopard form. She cupped my cheeks. “Beautiful,” she murmured. “You are so beautiful.”
Heat rose in my cheeks.
“You have wings.” Lysandra stepped away from me and turned to my right, facing one of my wings. “May I?”
I nodded once.
At her touch, my wings bristled. “Magnificent -- I have never seen anything like them,” she breathed. She then walked out from behind me, and faced me, looking at me straight in the eyes. They twinkled with something I couldn’t detect. She turned her back to me, and walked to Aedion. He took her hand.
I walked towards Aelin, the clanking of my tall, black boots on the floor of the deck the only sound. “Who are these people?” I whispered in her ear.
She shrugged. “I don’t know,” she whispered back.
“What are we --” I was going to reply as someone cleared their throat from behind me.
I slowly turned around, my brows raised. The man with the dark hair and purple eyes was standing there, arms crossed, his wings held in tight behind him. “It is not polite to whisper,” he said.
I stared at him. “Who are you.” I stalked towards him, stopping a good ten feet away.
“I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court.” He didn’t smile. Instead, he dropped his arms, darkness rippling from his shoulders.
“From where?” I asked.
“The Night Court,” Amren angrily told me. “Get it right, girl.”
My wings flared as I glared at her. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
She laughed wickedly under her breath. “Be careful what you say around me, girl, or you might --”
“Don’t finish that sentence, Amren,” Rhysand interrupted, not even looking at her.
“What do you guys want?” I asked. “Why are you here in the first place?”
“It is a long story. To cut it short, we are here for your help,” Rhysand said.
“Our what?” I demanded.
“To start off,” Amren aggressively said before Rhysand could even open his mouth to answer, “you should stop using the word ‘what’. It is impolite, you winged fool. You are talking to a lord.”
All I did was glare at her. I turned my gaze back to Rhysand, whose focus was on me. “We need your . . . aid for something,” he said, trying to use the words that won’t have me fighting Amren again.
“What something?”
“A war.”
“With who?”
“With one of the courts on our continent -- Prythian.”
“Why?”
“One of its leaders is a very cruel man, who has hurt us in many ways.” His gaze was focused, unflinching.
I considered this. “Why do you need our help?”
“We have heard of you -- of what you,” he looked at my friends behind me, “have been doing on the continent you live on -- Erilea.”
I looked back at Aelin, her face tight with shock. “How?” she asked, walking up beside me.
“People talk,” Rhysand said, his gaze focused on Aelin. “We have heard about what you -- Aelin -- and your mate, Rowan, and crew have done. You, with your fire powers, the ‘Fire-breathing queen’, and Rowan with his ice. We have heard about the battle with Maeve, and many other things.”
Aelin’s face started to pale. “Do you know who we all are?” she softly said.
“Yes,” Rhysand answered. “You have not heard about us, I presume.”
“We have not,” Aelin said.
“If you knew who we were, why did you fight against us earlier?” I asked, curious.
“We did not attack you -- you attacked us.” He looked at Aelin, her face a hard mask of stone. “We heard that you were on a ship in the middle of the sea, returning to your homeland. We all decided to fly out here and find you, which we did. We flew onto the deck of the ship, and you guys attacked.”
Silence fell. “Do you already know what powers we have?” Aelin asked.
“Yes. That is how we came to the agreement that we needed you to fight alongside our armies -- with us,” Rhysand stated.
“Who is us?” I asked him.
He faced the people standing behind him. “Feyre, High Lady of the Night Court, Morrigan, Amren, Azriel, Cassian, me, and others living at my home.” His eyes moved to every single person as he said their names. They all stared at us, unblinking.
“You expect us to help you if we haven’t even gotten to know you?” Rowan demanded from beside Aelin. At some point, while we were talking, he must have moved beside her.
Rhysand quickly looked at the golden-haired woman standing on his right -- Feyre, High Lady of the Night Court -- and looked back at us. “Yes,” was all he said.
“Are you --” Rowan demanded as I interrupted him.
“Stop, Rowan.” He glared at me. I looked at Rhysand. “We will think about what you have asked us. First, we will get to know you better. We will take you to our continent, and you will all stay there until we become friends. Once we have told you our choice in helping you or not, you may return to your home. We can then proceed from there. Do you understand?” I looked at each of Rhysand’s court members in the eyes.
“Yes,” Rhysand answered.
“Very well, then,” I said.
“Would you please explain to us how you heard of us in the first place?” Rowan asked. My friends and I all looked at Rhysand, waiting.
Then, he started to explain.
By Alexa Gantt
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Secret of the White Eye - Ch. 1
Hey, peeps! This is a bit of my old writing! I have writer's block... hopefully it will go away, but until it does you will be reading a lot of my old writing.
Chapter 1
“White Room citizen's, report to the White Room” the speaker crackled. I got up from my desk, the chair scraping the floor. All of the class stared at me. 38 eyes coming from 19 separate desks. The teacher didn’t even look at me. I walked out of the classroom into the hallway as white as snow. Not that I had ever seen any. After a couple of what seemed of thousands of hours later, I finally got to the door.
I dreaded this. I had thousands of nightmares about this. Walking through this door again. I lowered my dark glasses and looked at the sensor that was positioned next to the door. The door unlocked and I walked in.
“ There’s my star!” a man exclaimed.
I closed the door and then sat at one of the chairs set against the wall.
“ Get a life mad scientist,” I shot at him.
“How many times have I told you, my name is Bruno,” Bruno said. Just then the door opened, saving Bruno, not me. A girl strode in. Lily. She immediately stuck her tongue at Bruno and then sat next to me.
“ You ready?” Lily asked.
“ No. But I guess we have to do it,¨ I answered. Once a month the government took blood from us. Because we had white eyes.
The door opened again. Two boys came in. They both punched Bruno and said some colorful words about him. I snickered. One of the boys, Albert, came and sat next to Lily. Their skin was the color of chocolate. With one look you could tell that they were twins. The other boy, Marco, continued taunting Bruno. Finally, Bruno told him to sit down. Marco looked disappointed that his taunting couldn't have gone on longer.
His pale skin matched mine. We were twins. We both had a curved nose. Our smile made teachers want to put us in the corner because it was so mischievous. And we had white eyes. His dark hair was cropped short while mine was long. Yup, we were definitely twins.
Bruno started walking around the room. He disappeared to the back of the room for a couple minutes. We all tensed knowing what was going to happen. Our dreams told us so. Marco grabbed my hand.
¨ It´s going to be different this time you know right?¨ Marco warned. He always looked out for me. Even if I was born 5 seconds before him.
Chapter 1
“White Room citizen's, report to the White Room” the speaker crackled. I got up from my desk, the chair scraping the floor. All of the class stared at me. 38 eyes coming from 19 separate desks. The teacher didn’t even look at me. I walked out of the classroom into the hallway as white as snow. Not that I had ever seen any. After a couple of what seemed of thousands of hours later, I finally got to the door.
I dreaded this. I had thousands of nightmares about this. Walking through this door again. I lowered my dark glasses and looked at the sensor that was positioned next to the door. The door unlocked and I walked in.
“ There’s my star!” a man exclaimed.
I closed the door and then sat at one of the chairs set against the wall.
“ Get a life mad scientist,” I shot at him.
“How many times have I told you, my name is Bruno,” Bruno said. Just then the door opened, saving Bruno, not me. A girl strode in. Lily. She immediately stuck her tongue at Bruno and then sat next to me.
“ You ready?” Lily asked.
“ No. But I guess we have to do it,¨ I answered. Once a month the government took blood from us. Because we had white eyes.
The door opened again. Two boys came in. They both punched Bruno and said some colorful words about him. I snickered. One of the boys, Albert, came and sat next to Lily. Their skin was the color of chocolate. With one look you could tell that they were twins. The other boy, Marco, continued taunting Bruno. Finally, Bruno told him to sit down. Marco looked disappointed that his taunting couldn't have gone on longer.
His pale skin matched mine. We were twins. We both had a curved nose. Our smile made teachers want to put us in the corner because it was so mischievous. And we had white eyes. His dark hair was cropped short while mine was long. Yup, we were definitely twins.
Bruno started walking around the room. He disappeared to the back of the room for a couple minutes. We all tensed knowing what was going to happen. Our dreams told us so. Marco grabbed my hand.
¨ It´s going to be different this time you know right?¨ Marco warned. He always looked out for me. Even if I was born 5 seconds before him.
“ Yeah,¨ I answered. Bruno came back. He was holding a tray with 4 syringes. I closed my eyes, I didn't want to see this. Marco grunted and squeezed my hand really hard. A tear ran down my cheek. I could feel his pain and discomfort, all at once, I squeezed his hand and took all the pain away. Just when I thought I would collapse it stopped. Though the pain was still inside me. I needed another person to take it. I shook Marco’s hand off. When Bronco was cleaning the place on my skin where the needle would go he touched me. I willed all of the pain to go inside of him. He deserved it. I opened my eyes and saw that his face had paled. Marco was grinning.
“ Rosaline,” Bruno said,” Was that you?”
“ Can’t we just get on with this?” I said, with a sarcastic note in my voice. I knew that I was treading on thin ice but I wanted to see what was going to happen.
Bruno is thinking about taking double the blood from you, Marco said in my mind. He could hear what people thought and talk to them through their minds. Also, manipulate them.
Why don’t you give him the idea to get on with it, I thought.
Fine, came the answer. Immediately Bruno continued cleaning the spot on my skin and he picked up one of the empty syringes. I braced myself for the pain that was going to come. I closed my eyes. Marco knew better than to hold my hand. Then all the pain would go to him. I closed my eyes. Bruno put the needle in my arm. The pain was 100 times worse than what anybody else would have felt. Because of my white eyes.
Tears started streaming down my face. I heard Bruno chuckle. He was the only one enjoying this. I started thinking of every bad word I knew and called Bruno that in my head. He was purely evil. Finally, the needle was pulled out of my arm. I didn’t dare open my eyes because then I would see Bruno’s face.
He stopped looking at you, Marco told me. I opened my eyes and Lily immediately turned to me. She took my arm and put her hand over it. My arm stopped hurting. Her powers of healing were extraordinary. Albert was sitting next to Lily making water float to him. He through the water in the air making it freeze. He threw the ice at Bruno, making Bruno jump. Bruno scowled and came over with a fake smile on his face.
“ Your turn Lily,” Bruno said coldly. Fear washed over Lily’s face. I touched Marco on his hand.
Yeah, Marco said in my head.
I need you to get Bruno to point to where he is going to put the needle. Then tell Lily I’m going to numb that part of her skin. Got it? I commanded, Oh. Don’t forget to make Bruno turn around after he points out where he is going to put the needle.
Yes, ma'am Marco teased.
“ Lily I’m going to put the needle right here,” Bruno said. Then, he turned around. Lily quickly gave me her arm. I took her arm and willed all of her feelings into me. Then I gave her some strength because not having feeling makes you get tired easier. I was done just as Bruno turned around. I closed my eyes not wanting to see the process with my own eyes. I gripped one of her shoulders. Immediately the pain started. But not as much as my pain was when Bruno took blood from me. I took all of Lily’s pain. When Bruno was done I tapped the floor sending waves of pain to the rest of the building underneath us.
Next, it was Albert’s turn but I wouldn’t be worried about him. He was icing the spot on his arm the whole time we were here.
⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲⇱⇲
After Albert was done, they took us to a room. The room had 4 chairs and that was it. The walls were white and the floor was white tile. I felt mad that first, they take blood from us and then they lock us in a room. Frustrated I sat down in a chair.
My vision started going white. I was going to have a future-flash. I braced myself and sat back in the chair. It might be something good. My vision went completely white. It matched the color of my eyes. Then black.
“Bruno bring me the vials,” a lady said. Her black hair was pulled into a black ponytail. Her gray eyes were intense.
“You got it Aislyn,” Bruno answered bringing 4 vials over. Aislyn took the vials and set them on a table.
“I wonder if we'll figure out what makes this trait this time,” Aislyn pondered.
“We might but isn’t it time to go and get more?” Bruno asked.
“Yes, and this time get double,” Aislyn had just decided our fate.
I opened my eyes to find Lily’s hand over my face.
“Lily, I’m alive!” I stated.
“Whew,” Lily said, relief spreading across her face. She sat down on the chair next to me.
“Lily, I have something to tell you. Marco, Albert, come here and sit down on a chair. Marco and Albert sat down on the floor in front of me. I scowled but didn't say anything.
¨Guys, I just had a future flash,¨ Lily gasped. Marco looked concerned. Albert took some ice out of his pocket and started playing with it.
¨Bruno is coming back for double, the blood. Do you-¨ Marco cut me off.
Why don't we talk to each other through our heads? They might have cameras, Marco suggested.
Well, that works for you but not for me or Lily or Albert, I pointed out.
Actually, we can use any power we want, though it will be harder if we didn't start out with that power, Marco explained. I quickly went into Lily´s and Albert´s mind and told them what Marco had said.
If they figure out what makes us how we are, they could destroy us and make new people exactly like us, Lily summarized.
That means that we have to stop them, I said, Or we will be dead.
By Marizo Bheh
Queen of Darkness
“What’s going on?” Amren asked. Everyone looked at me, their faces paling. Even Amren’s.
I fell to the floor, and cried out. Aelin sprinted right to my side. The most terrible pain I have ever felt seared through my face; I screeched in pain. Everyone was watching me, their faces bone white with shock and worry. I started scratching at my face, trying to stop the twisting. I started to cry. I couldn’t feel my face. My hands became wet and gooey. I pulled them down from my face; they were stained with blood. What was happening?
“Aiyana,” Aelin whispered. “Stop pulling at your face. Stop.” Her face became as white as bone.
“What’s happening,” I gritted through clenched teeth. Nobody answered. “What is happening.”
“Aiyana,” Aelin softly said in complete shock, “your face is changing. You don’t have blond hair and brown eyes anymore. I have no clue what is going on.” Tears started running down her face as I screeched in pain again and thrashed. Aelin put her hands on my arms, gently holding me down to the floor of the deck. “Aiyana,” she quietly cried, “please, Aiyana. Don’t scream.” The strangers started surrounding me, pain flashing across their faces.
At that moment, images flashed through my mind: my parents; a little boy with silver-white hair and green eyes; a queen with vibrant red hair and obsidian-colored eyes; a ship; a baby girl with short, silver hair and green eyes with a mark on her chest; the mark. My chest. The mark.
I fumbled for the zipper of my fighting suit, trying to see the mark on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Aiyana, what is it?” Aelin asked, her voice a distant echo. I was losing it. I was going to die. I tried to speak, but couldn’t. All I could do was point at my chest.
“Her chest. Where Amren cut her,” I heard someone say in the background. Elide. A small, dark figure appeared at the corner of my vision, and it pulled on the zipper of my fighting suit. I tried to touch the spot where the dark-haired woman cut me, but I couldn’t. My vision was blacking out. I was going to die. The force of whatever was happening to me was too strong; it hit me like a wave, strong and enormous, and knocked me unconscious.
There was silence, and darkness. I started to scream and thrash. Not this. Not again. I heard someone sobbing. In the distance, I could hear voices; I could see a light shining. I reached for it, and held on. I was not going to let this kill me. I pulled, and something on the other side of that light pulled with me. I felt like I was underwater; I started to choke, air gradually filling my lungs. I gasped, and this time, I opened my eyes. I was still on the deck of the ship, and Elide was bending over me, face stained with tears.
“Aiyana?” she whispered, pulling back a strand of my hair. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
I slowly nodded. Someone behind me loosed a shuddering breath. I looked down at my chest. There was no mark; just a scar where Amren had cut me. I looked back at Elide. “What happened?” I croaked. I slowly sat up from where I was lying, getting dizzy. Elide grabbed my arm to steady me. “What happened?” I asked again. I slowly rolled up onto my feet, Elide holding my arm the whole time to help me.
I felt strange -- different. I felt stronger, and leaner. I lifted my hands to look at them, and quietly gasped. My fingers were extremely thin and bony, but were long. My skin was white, and there were scars covering every square inch of my hands. I reached for my hair -- it was thin and limp in my hands, and was as short as it was earlier.
I turned around in place, meeting the shocked stares of all the people on board -- strangers, and my friends and family. My senses had heightened: I could see clearer, hear much better, and I could smell everything. “What is that horrible smell?” I asked. My voice; that had changed, too. It was softer, but seemed older -- far from this world. As I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, I spotted a snow leopard sitting behind me, its face tilted to the side as if to say, sorry. Lysandra. I knelt down so I was face-to-face with Lysandra, and rubbed behind her ears. She purred. Sorry Lysandra, I said into her mind as I smiled. I didn’t mean to. She purred, and replied, It’s okay, and I rose from my crouching position. All the people on the deck were looking quizzically at me.
I quickly shut my eyes, envisioning a hand mirror, and it suddenly appeared in my hand. I opened my eyes and brought the mirror up to my face. I jumped back in pure shock and surprise. My face had completely changed: my hair was silver and reached my chin, I had sharper cheekbones, my skin was as white as snow, my eyes were of the deepest green, and my lips were thin and rosy pink. I looked young -- maybe twenty -- but I seemed old. Different. I was beautiful. My wings appeared again. I smiled.
Realizing there were guests, I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked at the strangers standing there, watching me, and snapped my fingers. The mirror disappeared. I bent down next to Amren, and gently took her arm. “Are you alright?” I asked her.
“I’m fine,” she said as I helped her rise to her feet. I let her arm go, and looked at the people on deck. They looked at me, their lips parted.
“I am so sorry for hurting her. She is fine -- I healed her,” I said, facing the strangers.
“Thank you,” Amren said as she walked towards me. She smiled; it was genuine, and kind. Thankful.
I smiled back. “You’re welcome.”
The tall man with the short, dark hair was smiling at me. He stepped out, towards me, and looked at me right in the eyes. “I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. It’s very nice to meet you. You have some great fighting skills,” he said, and winked at me.
I laughed. “Thank you very much, Rhysand. I am Aiyana, the Princess of Doranelle. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“What?” Rowan blurted from behind me. I turned around, and the smile faltered from my face. There was something between us -- a type of bond. My powers rustled as if in answer. Rowan walked towards me, and abruptly froze. His face became white.
“Rowan, what is it?” Aelin asked, worry coating her voice. She walked towards him and took his hand.
“You are my sister,” he breathed. Everyone looked at me. I don’t think anyone was breathing. “How?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “We should talk about this later. In a place that is more -- private.” I quickly looked over my shoulder at Rhysand and the rest of our guests. “We have guests. Let's get to know them better, accommodate them, and then we can talk.” Rowan loosed a shuddering breath, his face and shoulders relaxing.
“Okay,” he said. Aelin squeezed his hand, and looked up at him. She smiled, and lifted her hand to caress the tattooed portion of his face.
I turned around, just as the golden-haired woman that was standing beside Rhysand walked towards me, smiling. “Hi. I am Feyre, the High Lady of the Night Court. It is nice to meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Feyre,” I said. I walked over to the blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips, and smiled at her. She smiled at me. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“Hello. I am Mor, Rhysand’s first in-command and cousin. Thank you for helping Amren -- Rhys’ second-in-command -- and using your magic on her. She needed the practice.” She winked.
Amren, standing next to Rhysand, smiled. “I most certainly did.”
I laughed. Next, the most beautiful man I had ever seen came up to greet me. He did not smile, and shadows enveloped him and his wings as he moved. His suit was replaced with beautiful fighting leathers -- the same that everyone else wore. He looked me straight in the eyes, and sternly said, “I’m Azriel.” He glared at me, silently promising that he would slowly kill me if I ever so much as touched one of his family members. In the corner of my eye, I could see Mor rolling her eyes.
“I’m Aiyana,” I said as my way of greeting, my face serious. Someone from beside Mor -- the last person of the group with the shoulder-length, dark hair and enormous wings -- walked up behind Azriel.
The man smiled, as if seeming to say, he’s a bit overprotective. “Sorry about Azriel,” he apologized. Azriel quickly glared at him, turned on his heel, and walked back to his family. “I am Cassian, the hottest of all the people of my family-”
Rhysand snorted. “I think we all know who that is,” he purred at Cassian, a challenge shining in his eyes. “Me.” Feyre laughed, and Mor smiled a Rhysand as if to say, sure you are.
Cassian smirked, and gave Rhysand a vulgar gesture.
Rhysand laughed under his breath. “I will get you back for that.”
Cassian smiled, silently promising Rhysand that he will kick his butt. He faced me. “Anyways,” he said, enunciating the word, “I am the leader of all of Rhysand’s armies, and one of the strongest Illyrian warriors. Az is the other.” Cassian looked at Azriel, who was paying close attention to me.
“It is very nice to meet all of you guys. You all seem like very great people.” I looked at each of them and smiled. I turned halfway, facing my family and Rhysand’s. I pointed to each of my friends and family members as I said their names. “This is Aelin, my best and closest friend. She is the Queen of Terrassen, a country in the continent of Erilea, where we live.” Aelin smiled, still holding Rowan’s hand. “This is Rowan; my brother, Aelin’s mate, and the rightful heir to Terrassen’s throne. He use to be the Prince of Doranelle, but then he married Aelin.” I then faced where Aedion was standing, next to Aelin. “This is Aedion, Aelin’s cousin. Next to him is Lysandra, his mate, who is a shapeshifter and Fae.” At that moment, the snow leopard sitting beside Aedion’s feet shifted into Lysandra’s human form.
“Hello,” she softly said.
“Then, there are Lorcan and Elide,” they both waved, “and Manon and Dorian. Elide is a blueblood witch, Manon is the last Crochan Queen, and Dorian is the King of Adarlan. There are also Fenrys and Gavriel, who are both very strong and talented Fae.”
“It is very nice to meet you,” Rhysand gently said.
“So,” I asked, facing Rhysand and his family, “is there a reason why you guys are here?”
“Yes, there is,” Feyre said.
“Why won’t we talk about it over dinner?” I asked, and faced the empty space on the deck to my right. Out of nowhere, a nice table appeared -- already set with fine china -- and food platters appeared on it as well. I walked towards the far right end of the table, and sat down.
The sun was almost down, the stars twinkling in the dark sky. The moon was full, and was high up in the sky, right above our ship. Candles -- already lit -- appeared on the table as everyone sat down, and little lights appeared on the walls of the deck of the ship and on the hulls of the ship as well. I snapped, and everyone’s glasses filled halfway with wine. As everyone got situated, I looked down the table at Rhysand and Feyre. “What is it you guys are here for?” I asked.
“Your help,” Feyre said as she looked straight at me.
I fell to the floor, and cried out. Aelin sprinted right to my side. The most terrible pain I have ever felt seared through my face; I screeched in pain. Everyone was watching me, their faces bone white with shock and worry. I started scratching at my face, trying to stop the twisting. I started to cry. I couldn’t feel my face. My hands became wet and gooey. I pulled them down from my face; they were stained with blood. What was happening?
“Aiyana,” Aelin whispered. “Stop pulling at your face. Stop.” Her face became as white as bone.
“What’s happening,” I gritted through clenched teeth. Nobody answered. “What is happening.”
“Aiyana,” Aelin softly said in complete shock, “your face is changing. You don’t have blond hair and brown eyes anymore. I have no clue what is going on.” Tears started running down her face as I screeched in pain again and thrashed. Aelin put her hands on my arms, gently holding me down to the floor of the deck. “Aiyana,” she quietly cried, “please, Aiyana. Don’t scream.” The strangers started surrounding me, pain flashing across their faces.
At that moment, images flashed through my mind: my parents; a little boy with silver-white hair and green eyes; a queen with vibrant red hair and obsidian-colored eyes; a ship; a baby girl with short, silver hair and green eyes with a mark on her chest; the mark. My chest. The mark.
I fumbled for the zipper of my fighting suit, trying to see the mark on my chest. I couldn’t breathe.
“Aiyana, what is it?” Aelin asked, her voice a distant echo. I was losing it. I was going to die. I tried to speak, but couldn’t. All I could do was point at my chest.
“Her chest. Where Amren cut her,” I heard someone say in the background. Elide. A small, dark figure appeared at the corner of my vision, and it pulled on the zipper of my fighting suit. I tried to touch the spot where the dark-haired woman cut me, but I couldn’t. My vision was blacking out. I was going to die. The force of whatever was happening to me was too strong; it hit me like a wave, strong and enormous, and knocked me unconscious.
There was silence, and darkness. I started to scream and thrash. Not this. Not again. I heard someone sobbing. In the distance, I could hear voices; I could see a light shining. I reached for it, and held on. I was not going to let this kill me. I pulled, and something on the other side of that light pulled with me. I felt like I was underwater; I started to choke, air gradually filling my lungs. I gasped, and this time, I opened my eyes. I was still on the deck of the ship, and Elide was bending over me, face stained with tears.
“Aiyana?” she whispered, pulling back a strand of my hair. “Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
I slowly nodded. Someone behind me loosed a shuddering breath. I looked down at my chest. There was no mark; just a scar where Amren had cut me. I looked back at Elide. “What happened?” I croaked. I slowly sat up from where I was lying, getting dizzy. Elide grabbed my arm to steady me. “What happened?” I asked again. I slowly rolled up onto my feet, Elide holding my arm the whole time to help me.
I felt strange -- different. I felt stronger, and leaner. I lifted my hands to look at them, and quietly gasped. My fingers were extremely thin and bony, but were long. My skin was white, and there were scars covering every square inch of my hands. I reached for my hair -- it was thin and limp in my hands, and was as short as it was earlier.
I turned around in place, meeting the shocked stares of all the people on board -- strangers, and my friends and family. My senses had heightened: I could see clearer, hear much better, and I could smell everything. “What is that horrible smell?” I asked. My voice; that had changed, too. It was softer, but seemed older -- far from this world. As I turned around to see where the smell was coming from, I spotted a snow leopard sitting behind me, its face tilted to the side as if to say, sorry. Lysandra. I knelt down so I was face-to-face with Lysandra, and rubbed behind her ears. She purred. Sorry Lysandra, I said into her mind as I smiled. I didn’t mean to. She purred, and replied, It’s okay, and I rose from my crouching position. All the people on the deck were looking quizzically at me.
I quickly shut my eyes, envisioning a hand mirror, and it suddenly appeared in my hand. I opened my eyes and brought the mirror up to my face. I jumped back in pure shock and surprise. My face had completely changed: my hair was silver and reached my chin, I had sharper cheekbones, my skin was as white as snow, my eyes were of the deepest green, and my lips were thin and rosy pink. I looked young -- maybe twenty -- but I seemed old. Different. I was beautiful. My wings appeared again. I smiled.
Realizing there were guests, I tore my gaze from the mirror and looked at the strangers standing there, watching me, and snapped my fingers. The mirror disappeared. I bent down next to Amren, and gently took her arm. “Are you alright?” I asked her.
“I’m fine,” she said as I helped her rise to her feet. I let her arm go, and looked at the people on deck. They looked at me, their lips parted.
“I am so sorry for hurting her. She is fine -- I healed her,” I said, facing the strangers.
“Thank you,” Amren said as she walked towards me. She smiled; it was genuine, and kind. Thankful.
I smiled back. “You’re welcome.”
The tall man with the short, dark hair was smiling at me. He stepped out, towards me, and looked at me right in the eyes. “I’m Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. It’s very nice to meet you. You have some great fighting skills,” he said, and winked at me.
I laughed. “Thank you very much, Rhysand. I am Aiyana, the Princess of Doranelle. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
“What?” Rowan blurted from behind me. I turned around, and the smile faltered from my face. There was something between us -- a type of bond. My powers rustled as if in answer. Rowan walked towards me, and abruptly froze. His face became white.
“Rowan, what is it?” Aelin asked, worry coating her voice. She walked towards him and took his hand.
“You are my sister,” he breathed. Everyone looked at me. I don’t think anyone was breathing. “How?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “We should talk about this later. In a place that is more -- private.” I quickly looked over my shoulder at Rhysand and the rest of our guests. “We have guests. Let's get to know them better, accommodate them, and then we can talk.” Rowan loosed a shuddering breath, his face and shoulders relaxing.
“Okay,” he said. Aelin squeezed his hand, and looked up at him. She smiled, and lifted her hand to caress the tattooed portion of his face.
I turned around, just as the golden-haired woman that was standing beside Rhysand walked towards me, smiling. “Hi. I am Feyre, the High Lady of the Night Court. It is nice to meet you.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, too, Feyre,” I said. I walked over to the blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips, and smiled at her. She smiled at me. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.
“Hello. I am Mor, Rhysand’s first in-command and cousin. Thank you for helping Amren -- Rhys’ second-in-command -- and using your magic on her. She needed the practice.” She winked.
Amren, standing next to Rhysand, smiled. “I most certainly did.”
I laughed. Next, the most beautiful man I had ever seen came up to greet me. He did not smile, and shadows enveloped him and his wings as he moved. His suit was replaced with beautiful fighting leathers -- the same that everyone else wore. He looked me straight in the eyes, and sternly said, “I’m Azriel.” He glared at me, silently promising that he would slowly kill me if I ever so much as touched one of his family members. In the corner of my eye, I could see Mor rolling her eyes.
“I’m Aiyana,” I said as my way of greeting, my face serious. Someone from beside Mor -- the last person of the group with the shoulder-length, dark hair and enormous wings -- walked up behind Azriel.
The man smiled, as if seeming to say, he’s a bit overprotective. “Sorry about Azriel,” he apologized. Azriel quickly glared at him, turned on his heel, and walked back to his family. “I am Cassian, the hottest of all the people of my family-”
Rhysand snorted. “I think we all know who that is,” he purred at Cassian, a challenge shining in his eyes. “Me.” Feyre laughed, and Mor smiled a Rhysand as if to say, sure you are.
Cassian smirked, and gave Rhysand a vulgar gesture.
Rhysand laughed under his breath. “I will get you back for that.”
Cassian smiled, silently promising Rhysand that he will kick his butt. He faced me. “Anyways,” he said, enunciating the word, “I am the leader of all of Rhysand’s armies, and one of the strongest Illyrian warriors. Az is the other.” Cassian looked at Azriel, who was paying close attention to me.
“It is very nice to meet all of you guys. You all seem like very great people.” I looked at each of them and smiled. I turned halfway, facing my family and Rhysand’s. I pointed to each of my friends and family members as I said their names. “This is Aelin, my best and closest friend. She is the Queen of Terrassen, a country in the continent of Erilea, where we live.” Aelin smiled, still holding Rowan’s hand. “This is Rowan; my brother, Aelin’s mate, and the rightful heir to Terrassen’s throne. He use to be the Prince of Doranelle, but then he married Aelin.” I then faced where Aedion was standing, next to Aelin. “This is Aedion, Aelin’s cousin. Next to him is Lysandra, his mate, who is a shapeshifter and Fae.” At that moment, the snow leopard sitting beside Aedion’s feet shifted into Lysandra’s human form.
“Hello,” she softly said.
“Then, there are Lorcan and Elide,” they both waved, “and Manon and Dorian. Elide is a blueblood witch, Manon is the last Crochan Queen, and Dorian is the King of Adarlan. There are also Fenrys and Gavriel, who are both very strong and talented Fae.”
“It is very nice to meet you,” Rhysand gently said.
“So,” I asked, facing Rhysand and his family, “is there a reason why you guys are here?”
“Yes, there is,” Feyre said.
“Why won’t we talk about it over dinner?” I asked, and faced the empty space on the deck to my right. Out of nowhere, a nice table appeared -- already set with fine china -- and food platters appeared on it as well. I walked towards the far right end of the table, and sat down.
The sun was almost down, the stars twinkling in the dark sky. The moon was full, and was high up in the sky, right above our ship. Candles -- already lit -- appeared on the table as everyone sat down, and little lights appeared on the walls of the deck of the ship and on the hulls of the ship as well. I snapped, and everyone’s glasses filled halfway with wine. As everyone got situated, I looked down the table at Rhysand and Feyre. “What is it you guys are here for?” I asked.
“Your help,” Feyre said as she looked straight at me.
By Alexa Gantt
Queen of Darkness
I awoke when the sun was low in the sky, setting over the horizon. The sky was a mix of colors: pinkish-red, light purple, yellow, gold, and orange. The clouds streaked across the sky, looking like colorful strips of cotton candy. The water was beautiful; its surface was gold, causing the water beneath to seem black.
I groaned, pulling myself up into a sitting position onto my bed. The ceiling creaked, and the sound of rushing footsteps sounded from above. There were shouts, and the sound of blades crashing together clanged through the hallway and into my bedroom. I jolted up from bed, grabbed a couple of fighting knives from my dresser, and ran through the hallway and up the steps that led to the deck of the ship.
I abruptly stopped once I reached the deck; shock and fear paralyzed me. On the deck, there were people fighting; some I recognised, others I did not. I felt my power thrum and pulse within me; it told me that the guests were from a different world. It pulsed again, but harder this time. It seemed to say, aha! I have found you. Let’s fight. Let’s fight. Let’s fight. Something from the strangers was aggravating my powers. What could it be?
The strangers wore dark fighting gear that seemed to absorb the light from the setting sun. The first people I saw were Rowan and an extremely tall, handsome man with purple eyes, short, dark hair, and enormous wings that protruded from his back, fighting against each other. They were both smiling at one another. Rowan, knife in hand, lunged towards the dark-haired man, cutting his arm. The dark-haired man silently swore, quietly twisting to see the cut on his arm. The dark-haired man turned back towards Rowan, and lept. I quickly turned my head, so I would not have to see the outcome of that fight.
Beside Rowan and the dark-haired man, Aelin was going against a beautiful blond-haired woman with blood-red lips and brown eyes. They each lept towards each other, their faces each a mask of concentration.
Then, there was Lorcan and the most beautiful man I had ever seen fighting. The man had dark, layered hair that covered his ears, hazel eyes, and beautiful wings, similar to the ones the dark-haired man had. His face was a hard mask of stone, he wore a beautiful metal fighting suit that hugged his each and every curve, and had red diamonds on his palms and on his chest -- a total of seven.
Next to them were Aedion and another dark-haired winged man fighting, except this man’s hair reached his shoulders. He also had hazel eyes, beautiful wings, and those red diamonds on his chest and palms -- a total of seven as well.
Elide and Manon were both going against a woman with freckles, crystal-blue eyes, and gold hair. She did not have wings like the others; instead, she had gorgeous black tattoos on her forearms that continued underneath her black fighting leathers.
As I stepped out onto the deck, a tall woman with short, black hair that reached her chin with alert, silver eyes walked towards me. She stared me down the whole way, as if she were the lion and I was her prey. I lifted my chin up higher, and slowly took one of my fighting knives out of my suit pocket, watching the woman the whole time. She slowly stopped a couple of feet away from me, and lunged. I stepped out of the way, her fighting knife whizzing past my face. She stumbled forward, straightened up, and turned back to me, her face a mask of feral rage. I lept out towards her, a growl escaping from my lips. She dodged the swing, but was too slow. I cut her arm with my knife, but she didn’t even pay any attention to the wound. She bared her teeth, and growled at me. She lunged at me again, but this time, I was too slow. Her knife cut across my upper chest, creating a deep wound. I screamed. I fell to my knees, dropped my knife, and looked up at her, baring my teeth. Blood dripped from the wound and fell onto my legs.
I was not going to let her defeat me. My magic burst from my fingertips, and I tipped my head up to the sky. I rose onto my feet, my eyes closed. I smiled, dropped my head, and opened my eyes. I summoned water from the ocean, and had it brought up to the deck. The enormous water droplets twisted and moved, forming into water lions. Two of them appeared by my side, guarding me. The dark-haired woman just smiled. I summoned more water, but this time, turned it into wolves, jaguars, and snow leopards. They all formed a circle around me, and growled. The dark-haired woman just kept on smiling.
My water animals started grabbing the attention of others. The people on the deck paused their fighting and watched.
I brought up more water from the ocean, and this time, I turned it into a wyvern. The wyvern roared, and my smile grew. I ordered the animals to attack her one by one. The lion on my right attacked first, and the dark-haired woman swiftly bent onto her knees to dodge the attack. The lion -- now behind her -- growled, and the dark-haired woman smiled. I sent the lion on my left to attack her, and she faced it, fighting knife in hand. It lept towards her, but she forgot about the lion behind her. The lion from the back attacked at the same time, and this time, it drowned her with water. Water entered her lungs, and she fell onto her knees, choking. The choke turned to a laugh, and when she looked up at me, she was smiling with delight.
She rose to her feet, drenched in water, and her hands started moving in a circular motion in the air. My heart started beating faster. In a flash, both of my lions vanished with a cry of pain. “What did you do to them?” I growled. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“Magic,” she purred. At that same moment, she snapped her fingers, and my jaguars, wolves, snow leopards, and wyvern vanished into thin air. In the corner of my eye, the man with the shoulder-length hair stopped fighting, and stared worriedly at the dark-haired woman fighting me.
“Amren,” he growled, “watch it.”
All she -- Amren -- did was smile. Her silver eyes twinkled. She was turning into a beast. I quickly put up an invisible shield around me to protect myself from whatever she was trying to do to me. Amren brought up her hands in front of her, and an invisible wave slammed against my shield. Her smile grew. A small bark of pain went through my back as my wings appeared. I heard someone gasp. I smiled. Flame appeared at the base of my shield, surrounding me. The flames grew taller and taller, until they reached my face. I summoned water as I raised my arms from my sides, and a falcon appeared out of nowhere. It soared through the sky, and dumped water on Amren. This cut her off-guard, just enough for me to send an invisible wave towards her. It hit her, and she fell to the ground. She swore under her breath.
Amren rose to her feet, and bared her teeth. I sent another falcon above her, and it landed on her, soaking her with water. She choked as water entered her lungs. I sent another invisible wave towards her, and she fell onto her back on the deck, screaming in pain.
The blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips screamed, “Amren!” She vanished in a flash, and appeared beside Amren, on her knees. Stop, my power told me. Don’t hurt her anymore. I stopped, dropped my shield, and turned off the flames. Amren was still choking, lying soaked on the ground. My wings wrapped around me, shielding me from her and the other strangers. I walked towards Amren and the blond-haired woman, and stopped when I was right above them. The blond-haired woman looked up at me, worry coating her face. My stomach twisted. I knelt down, and stretched my arms out, so that they were right on top of Amren’s torso.
“This won’t hurt,” I softly said. “I am going to heal you.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and willed my power to go through my fingertips and into Amren’s body. Heal, I told it. Heal. When I opened my eyes, Amren and Mor were both looking at me, wide-eyed, shock masking their faces. Everything was silent. No one was breathing. I quickly looked up from Amren, and saw that everyone was staring at me, their faces tight.
When I looked back down at Amren, something in my powers gave out. I was getting weak. Something in my body was changing, though I couldn’t tell. My face started to twist, and my body started to give out. My powers flickered, then died out. My wings vanished.
By Alexa Gantt
I groaned, pulling myself up into a sitting position onto my bed. The ceiling creaked, and the sound of rushing footsteps sounded from above. There were shouts, and the sound of blades crashing together clanged through the hallway and into my bedroom. I jolted up from bed, grabbed a couple of fighting knives from my dresser, and ran through the hallway and up the steps that led to the deck of the ship.
I abruptly stopped once I reached the deck; shock and fear paralyzed me. On the deck, there were people fighting; some I recognised, others I did not. I felt my power thrum and pulse within me; it told me that the guests were from a different world. It pulsed again, but harder this time. It seemed to say, aha! I have found you. Let’s fight. Let’s fight. Let’s fight. Something from the strangers was aggravating my powers. What could it be?
The strangers wore dark fighting gear that seemed to absorb the light from the setting sun. The first people I saw were Rowan and an extremely tall, handsome man with purple eyes, short, dark hair, and enormous wings that protruded from his back, fighting against each other. They were both smiling at one another. Rowan, knife in hand, lunged towards the dark-haired man, cutting his arm. The dark-haired man silently swore, quietly twisting to see the cut on his arm. The dark-haired man turned back towards Rowan, and lept. I quickly turned my head, so I would not have to see the outcome of that fight.
Beside Rowan and the dark-haired man, Aelin was going against a beautiful blond-haired woman with blood-red lips and brown eyes. They each lept towards each other, their faces each a mask of concentration.
Then, there was Lorcan and the most beautiful man I had ever seen fighting. The man had dark, layered hair that covered his ears, hazel eyes, and beautiful wings, similar to the ones the dark-haired man had. His face was a hard mask of stone, he wore a beautiful metal fighting suit that hugged his each and every curve, and had red diamonds on his palms and on his chest -- a total of seven.
Next to them were Aedion and another dark-haired winged man fighting, except this man’s hair reached his shoulders. He also had hazel eyes, beautiful wings, and those red diamonds on his chest and palms -- a total of seven as well.
Elide and Manon were both going against a woman with freckles, crystal-blue eyes, and gold hair. She did not have wings like the others; instead, she had gorgeous black tattoos on her forearms that continued underneath her black fighting leathers.
As I stepped out onto the deck, a tall woman with short, black hair that reached her chin with alert, silver eyes walked towards me. She stared me down the whole way, as if she were the lion and I was her prey. I lifted my chin up higher, and slowly took one of my fighting knives out of my suit pocket, watching the woman the whole time. She slowly stopped a couple of feet away from me, and lunged. I stepped out of the way, her fighting knife whizzing past my face. She stumbled forward, straightened up, and turned back to me, her face a mask of feral rage. I lept out towards her, a growl escaping from my lips. She dodged the swing, but was too slow. I cut her arm with my knife, but she didn’t even pay any attention to the wound. She bared her teeth, and growled at me. She lunged at me again, but this time, I was too slow. Her knife cut across my upper chest, creating a deep wound. I screamed. I fell to my knees, dropped my knife, and looked up at her, baring my teeth. Blood dripped from the wound and fell onto my legs.
I was not going to let her defeat me. My magic burst from my fingertips, and I tipped my head up to the sky. I rose onto my feet, my eyes closed. I smiled, dropped my head, and opened my eyes. I summoned water from the ocean, and had it brought up to the deck. The enormous water droplets twisted and moved, forming into water lions. Two of them appeared by my side, guarding me. The dark-haired woman just smiled. I summoned more water, but this time, turned it into wolves, jaguars, and snow leopards. They all formed a circle around me, and growled. The dark-haired woman just kept on smiling.
My water animals started grabbing the attention of others. The people on the deck paused their fighting and watched.
I brought up more water from the ocean, and this time, I turned it into a wyvern. The wyvern roared, and my smile grew. I ordered the animals to attack her one by one. The lion on my right attacked first, and the dark-haired woman swiftly bent onto her knees to dodge the attack. The lion -- now behind her -- growled, and the dark-haired woman smiled. I sent the lion on my left to attack her, and she faced it, fighting knife in hand. It lept towards her, but she forgot about the lion behind her. The lion from the back attacked at the same time, and this time, it drowned her with water. Water entered her lungs, and she fell onto her knees, choking. The choke turned to a laugh, and when she looked up at me, she was smiling with delight.
She rose to her feet, drenched in water, and her hands started moving in a circular motion in the air. My heart started beating faster. In a flash, both of my lions vanished with a cry of pain. “What did you do to them?” I growled. “WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“Magic,” she purred. At that same moment, she snapped her fingers, and my jaguars, wolves, snow leopards, and wyvern vanished into thin air. In the corner of my eye, the man with the shoulder-length hair stopped fighting, and stared worriedly at the dark-haired woman fighting me.
“Amren,” he growled, “watch it.”
All she -- Amren -- did was smile. Her silver eyes twinkled. She was turning into a beast. I quickly put up an invisible shield around me to protect myself from whatever she was trying to do to me. Amren brought up her hands in front of her, and an invisible wave slammed against my shield. Her smile grew. A small bark of pain went through my back as my wings appeared. I heard someone gasp. I smiled. Flame appeared at the base of my shield, surrounding me. The flames grew taller and taller, until they reached my face. I summoned water as I raised my arms from my sides, and a falcon appeared out of nowhere. It soared through the sky, and dumped water on Amren. This cut her off-guard, just enough for me to send an invisible wave towards her. It hit her, and she fell to the ground. She swore under her breath.
Amren rose to her feet, and bared her teeth. I sent another falcon above her, and it landed on her, soaking her with water. She choked as water entered her lungs. I sent another invisible wave towards her, and she fell onto her back on the deck, screaming in pain.
The blond-haired woman with the blood-red lips screamed, “Amren!” She vanished in a flash, and appeared beside Amren, on her knees. Stop, my power told me. Don’t hurt her anymore. I stopped, dropped my shield, and turned off the flames. Amren was still choking, lying soaked on the ground. My wings wrapped around me, shielding me from her and the other strangers. I walked towards Amren and the blond-haired woman, and stopped when I was right above them. The blond-haired woman looked up at me, worry coating her face. My stomach twisted. I knelt down, and stretched my arms out, so that they were right on top of Amren’s torso.
“This won’t hurt,” I softly said. “I am going to heal you.” I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and willed my power to go through my fingertips and into Amren’s body. Heal, I told it. Heal. When I opened my eyes, Amren and Mor were both looking at me, wide-eyed, shock masking their faces. Everything was silent. No one was breathing. I quickly looked up from Amren, and saw that everyone was staring at me, their faces tight.
When I looked back down at Amren, something in my powers gave out. I was getting weak. Something in my body was changing, though I couldn’t tell. My face started to twist, and my body started to give out. My powers flickered, then died out. My wings vanished.
By Alexa Gantt
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Hi guys!
I forgot to tell you guys before I started posting "Queen of Darkness" that it is a fan fiction of ACOTAR, ACOMAF, ACOWAR, and TOG (Throne of Glass) Series. All of the characters, except Aiyana, all come from both of these series written by Sarah J. Maas.
By the way, both of those series are the best books I have ever read! Sarah J. Maas is an amazing writer, and I recommend for you to read her books!
I forgot to tell you guys before I started posting "Queen of Darkness" that it is a fan fiction of ACOTAR, ACOMAF, ACOWAR, and TOG (Throne of Glass) Series. All of the characters, except Aiyana, all come from both of these series written by Sarah J. Maas.
By the way, both of those series are the best books I have ever read! Sarah J. Maas is an amazing writer, and I recommend for you to read her books!
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