she had expected from her friend that she knew so well. “Mira…” she began warily, but she was interrupted.
“No, you’re obviously not coming to me for my opinion; you’ve already made up your mind, right?” She nodded. “Then I’m going with you. We fight together; we’ve always fought together.” She paused, letting the words sink in. “You know, I’m not ticked because you got the mark; I’m ticked because you didn’t take me with you, that you didn’t even tell me.”
Nameh was taken aback, she knew Mira better than she knew anyone; they were always extensions of each other. Even in battle, they knew each other’s next move before they made it. Mira was very open, telling her just about everything; Nameh was always the one who had kept secrets. No one, not even her best friend, knew about Daniel and her past life. Despite this openness, she hadn’t been expecting her to demand to come along.
“Mira, you’re not a fighter. You don’t even like to fight, you’re only here because of your parents. You don’t have to follow in their footsteps.”
“That’s not what this is about; this is about a blood oath that we took on the first day of second year here. We swore to fight together, always. You already leave me behind while you’re here. You’re not going without me.” She knew that there was going to be no convincing Mira once she had her mind made up. She tried anyway.
“You don’t even know if you can bear the Shask, if you can’t, the Vine won’t have you.” She meant this to be said gently, but offended her friend a little.
“You mean that you don’t think I’m strong enough. I’ll be able to, I’m stronger than you think.” she said with a twinge of bitterness.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Of course I know you’re strong, we’ve been battling together for two years.” she said with sincerity. Her friend searched her face to find the sincerity that she heard. She seemed to find it, and shrugged off the issue.
“When are we leaving?” Mira asked, with that same intensity.
Chapter Three: An Awaited Discovery
Within another white walled room of the academy, a figure shrouded in shadows crouched over a bed. Between its hands floated a small ball of light, blazing white like a distant star. By the light it produced, the boy’s blue eyes shone with anticipation. He whispered a few words into the light, as if to keep them a secret. The light grew, and formed a glowing square, resembling an illuminated mirror.
Cautiously, he peered into its silvery depths. He watched the girl, looking at herself in the mirror, clearly not pleased at what she saw. Suddenly, he saw the girl cross the room to answer the door; a knock, he assumed, though he could hear no sound. A girl, much shorter than she, entered the room and flopped on the bed. They talked for a few moments, and the shorter girl seemed to feign her own death, falling backward on the bed as if she had been stabbed in the heart. Peculiar… he thought, but he had seen much stranger things than teenage girls.
He tired of watching them, especially without hearing what they were saying, but he could not bring himself to recite that part of the spell, and he hadn’t seen what he was waiting for yet. He already felt as though he was intruding by watching them, but listening to them would just be rude. The conversation seemed to increase in tension by the looks on their faces. Finally, the girl sat slowly down on the bed, and lifted her foot to rest on her other leg. Yes , he thought, and his pulse picked up.
As she turned her foot, he nearly jumped off the bed with surprise and
“No, you’re obviously not coming to me for my opinion; you’ve already made up your mind, right?” She nodded. “Then I’m going with you. We fight together; we’ve always fought together.” She paused, letting the words sink in. “You know, I’m not ticked because you got the mark; I’m ticked because you didn’t take me with you, that you didn’t even tell me.”
Nameh was taken aback, she knew Mira better than she knew anyone; they were always extensions of each other. Even in battle, they knew each other’s next move before they made it. Mira was very open, telling her just about everything; Nameh was always the one who had kept secrets. No one, not even her best friend, knew about Daniel and her past life. Despite this openness, she hadn’t been expecting her to demand to come along.
“Mira, you’re not a fighter. You don’t even like to fight, you’re only here because of your parents. You don’t have to follow in their footsteps.”
“That’s not what this is about; this is about a blood oath that we took on the first day of second year here. We swore to fight together, always. You already leave me behind while you’re here. You’re not going without me.” She knew that there was going to be no convincing Mira once she had her mind made up. She tried anyway.
“You don’t even know if you can bear the Shask, if you can’t, the Vine won’t have you.” She meant this to be said gently, but offended her friend a little.
“You mean that you don’t think I’m strong enough. I’ll be able to, I’m stronger than you think.” she said with a twinge of bitterness.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Of course I know you’re strong, we’ve been battling together for two years.” she said with sincerity. Her friend searched her face to find the sincerity that she heard. She seemed to find it, and shrugged off the issue.
“When are we leaving?” Mira asked, with that same intensity.
Chapter Three: An Awaited Discovery
Within another white walled room of the academy, a figure shrouded in shadows crouched over a bed. Between its hands floated a small ball of light, blazing white like a distant star. By the light it produced, the boy’s blue eyes shone with anticipation. He whispered a few words into the light, as if to keep them a secret. The light grew, and formed a glowing square, resembling an illuminated mirror.
Cautiously, he peered into its silvery depths. He watched the girl, looking at herself in the mirror, clearly not pleased at what she saw. Suddenly, he saw the girl cross the room to answer the door; a knock, he assumed, though he could hear no sound. A girl, much shorter than she, entered the room and flopped on the bed. They talked for a few moments, and the shorter girl seemed to feign her own death, falling backward on the bed as if she had been stabbed in the heart. Peculiar… he thought, but he had seen much stranger things than teenage girls.
He tired of watching them, especially without hearing what they were saying, but he could not bring himself to recite that part of the spell, and he hadn’t seen what he was waiting for yet. He already felt as though he was intruding by watching them, but listening to them would just be rude. The conversation seemed to increase in tension by the looks on their faces. Finally, the girl sat slowly down on the bed, and lifted her foot to rest on her other leg. Yes , he thought, and his pulse picked up.
As she turned her foot, he nearly jumped off the bed with surprise and