“Huh?” I blinked.

“Elget Utni!”

“Wha -” I suddenly remembered where I was. “Here!” I frantically called.

I heard a few laughs from the spectators. Way to blow a great day, I scolded myself. You might as well have stood in front of the Leiber and stared at him. Staring at the Grand Leiber was considered an act of revolution - one punishable by death.

The same computerized voice that had roused me from a deep sleep screeched from the telespeakers, “Elget Utni, come to the SkrinDisk. You are about to be Chosen.” The noise echoed around the Chepitaal, like a chorus in a church. 

I quickly banished that thought from my mind. Why was I thinking about churches? They were from the old days - a past I didn’t want to remember.

I ascended the steps up to the SkrinDisk, passing rows of creatures of all shapes and sizes. They stood smartly to attention, saluting to the Grand Lieber, who perched upon the pedestal above the SkrinDisk. This was just the First Faction - behind them were the Junopolis Senate Members and some Clerics. 

I reached the last step of the SkrinDisk and crossed the Mark. It was a large circle with three different symbols in it - a blood-red sword for the First Faction, a golden seal for the Junopolis Senate, and a large pouch of silver for the Clerics.

I stopped in front of the pedestal, bowing and lowering my eyes. “Elget Utni,” boomed the Grand Leiber, “Choose a Faction.”

I chose to do it in a journal entry in case you couldn't tell

 “Yeah yeah yeah.” Driart responded. 

Then all of a sudden my friend Jad came over and asked to play soccer with us.

“Hey, can I play soccer with you guys?” Jad asked. 

 I said sure even though I knew Driart and Jad were enemies. I thought they could work it out. But little did I know I was very wrong to let him play with us.

The game started off simple. We were all having fun, we were scoring, megging each other and more. “He shoots..” And he misses” Driart and I said together. But then something was about to happen. I had shot the ball and won our mini soccer game, Jad was fummed  it looked as if somebody just took the lid of a boiling kettle with hot water. 

“YOU’RE SO BAD KYRONE!!” Jad said “I'VE BEEN GOING EASY ON YOU THE ENTIRE TIME I’LL SHOW YOU SOME REAL SOCCER DEFENSE!!” Jad said in the most meanest way possible. I laughed inside my head “Why does Jad have to be so competitive all the time?” But I didn't let it get to me. We started up our new round and Jad was serious about what he said. I dribbled with the ball and Jad came out of nowhere and started stepping on my foot. 

“WHAT THE HECK JAD!!” I yelled, THAT”S NOT HOW YOU PLAY SOCCER NOR DEFEND!!!” 

“Deal with it!” Jad said in a rude voice.This went on for a while, the way he was stepping on my foot felt as if somebody was dropping heavy rocks on my foot, and it didn’t feel good. If Jad was planning to do something even worse I would reach my breaking point. I dribbled down the line saying to myself “I can do this, I can do this, I CAN DO THIS I can prove Jad wrong. I AM A GOOD SOCCER PLAYER!!!!!!” 

I was about to shoot but then Jad put his foot in front of me, I hit the ground with a THUMP!! I was about to be the one that was fummed “JAD WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!!!” ARE YOU THAT MUCH OF A SORE LOSER!?!” I yelled. 

“Yeah Jad we should've never let you play with us in the first place go away Jad!” Driart said. 

“Whatever you guys suck!” Jad replied  I was about to pounce like a tiger going for the deer but Driart said it wasn’t worth it, and with that I vowed to never let Jad play with us again.

“Mhm?” I cheerfully respond.

“Do me a favor, and… go and get the extra plates from the attic. Jul broke the other ones.” 

I notice he falters. I did hear some crashes before I ran into the house, but surely we have another set of plates down here… and I’ve never gone up to the attic before.

I run up the stairs to the very top of Gramps’ old house. Each board creaks in a different way, like they have their own personalities. 

As I get to the last step, I see a messy jumble of notebooks, typewriters, pencils, and vintage record-players. I know that Gramps was a writer before he retired, but wow. 

I sift through the piles, upturning lamp shades, bathtub plugs, and lots of dust. Finally, I find a stack of plates with bubble wrapping tightly wound around them. I’m about to pick them up when I notice something out of the corner of my eye.

It’s an old journal, the pages partly ripped, that smells quite musty. But the real reason it caught my attention was the word on the cover. In glittering letters engraved with gemstones it says Amethyst. 

That’s my real name, you know. Amy is just what Gramps calls me. Julian, my fourteen-year old brother, is three years older than me, but, as Gramps says, “Sometimes he acts like a two-year-old.” His special name for Julian is Jul.

“OH MY GOD!!” Says my sister, Elena, entering my room.

“God, Elena!” I say

“I told you to knock! Get out of my room.” I say, closing the door on her.

“Wait!” She exclaims, catching it.

“You…. died your HAIR??!! Damn… mom’s gonna kill you.”

“Yeah, k, thanks for all the love and support. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” I say attempting once more to shut the door. 

“Wait,” she says again.

“What do you waaaant?!” I’m practically shouting now.

“Mommy says we’re going to Nona and Pops’ house.”

“What?!” I ask.

“Plus, your such a baby. Stop calling them that.” The next second, my mom calls from downstairs “Get ready, Jenna, we’re going to Nona and Pops’ house!” Speak of the devil, I think to myself, but then I also think why the hell is everyone still calling them Nona and Pops? Including a Full-Grown adult? I slammed the door shut, finally, successfully. 

“Oh, and get in the nice plaid dress I got you the other day!” I hear my mom shout from downstairs. Ugh. I think to myself. I start to undress to put on the stupid dress, but then stop myself, look in the mirror, and say “Nah.” I put my sleeve back on, straighten my shirt, and breathe, preparing myself for when she scolds me about my dress and my hair. Surprisingly, I’m actually not so scared. I can’t wait ‘till I’m 18 and can finally get a tattoo. I think to myself. To be honest, I don’t understand why my mom could possibly be so upset with me. Ok, I hated my stupid hair so I dyed it! Black. Her least favorite color. Without permission. Since I didn’t have permission, I snuck out. In the middle of the night. Ok, so maybe I understand a liiiiitle bit why my mom might be mad.

“You. Dyed. Your. Hair?” Is the first thing she says when I’m downstairs. She starts off stern and ends sounding small. I bet she feels small. I mean, sure, I’ve disobeyed her a couple times, but this? This is not an ‘I’m sorry’ kinda thing. This is… permanent. And for the first time since I dyed it, maybe it was mom’s small voice, or her desperate look, or her hunched you-hurt-me posture, but I felt bad. Like, really bad. And I almost NEVER feel bad. I shake it off. “Yeah, whatever,” I say, like it’s no big deal, although I know it is. 

 Mr. Credge was a perfectionist. He loved to critique other people’s belongings, hair styles, choice of wallpaper, and so much more, although (of course) not while they were nearby. That would be thought of as rude. 

What did rude mean? he pondered as he walked past Mrs. Mitchell, in a horrid-looking yellow dress. Did it mean speaking the truth? For that was what he did, all day, every day.

 He was distracted from his musings by Baxter Morissy, who was walking down the road beside him. “‘Ello,” he said, “Pretty noice day, ain’t it?”

 Mr. Credge nodded and smiled, thinking to himself, What a shabby vest he has on!

Once Morissy had gone on his way, he continued walking.

 He rounded the corner and suddenly found himself in the middle of a jumble of walking sticks, bowler hats, and trim suits. Two lads, unmistakably butlers as they were dressed in fine clothing, were fistfighting in the middle of the street?! How undignified!

Without turning around to face him, I growl, “I’m lookin’, elf. Don’t rush me.”

The attendant retreats cautiously. “Yes, of course.”

I turn my attention back to the row of swords in front of me. I see a shortsword, with a slightly dented blade, that looks too small for my hands. There’s also a rusted greatsword that’s in bad condition, but would fit me perfectly. I take it off the rack.

The elf tries to stop me. “Sir, that sword is not for sale.”

I glare at him. “Yeah, well I want it.”

He clears his throat. “Sir. That sword is not for sale.”

“I’ll give ya 50 curns.”

The attendant looks reluctant, but when he sees the abundance of money in my knapsack he caves in.

That’s how I ended up with a cursed sword.

That night, with my sword at my side, I fell asleep in a musty tavern-room. To be fair, I didn’t actually go to sleep, but instead I fell in and out of consciousness.

Prologue:

At the bottom of a tall mountain, a small dragon, black as night, slinks out of a dark cave. His nose twitches as he smells something. Something peculiar. Something he has never smelled before, and yet, it seems familiar. Like a faint memory that he couldn’t quite reach, something far away… Suddenly a loud rustle snaps the dragon back from his thoughts. He frantically looks around for a hiding place, his gaze stopping on a wide oak tree. But before he can dart behind the trunk a figure appears from behind the bush. The creature is small, about half the height of himself, and it has a long, braided mound of… 

Oh!  Thought the dragon. This must be a human! So the stuff on its head must be… what was it? Oh, right, hair! 

A gasp from the human shook the dragon from his shock.

“... Night?” It said.

Chapter one:

Krolia

Everything changed when her dragon roared.

Krolia woke up with a start. Her dragon roared again.

“What is going on?” She shouted, jumping up. The embers from last night's fire were still burning, the basket of apples were still there. There was no sign of any intruders.

So what in the four moons of Quintess is he roaring about? She thought to herself. She didn’t see anything, or anybody, but she clipped her magic belt to her waist, and strapped her dagger to it. Suddenly a rustle and a crack of a twig sounded from behind her. She whirled around, and grabbing the blue hilt of her dagger, she faced her opponent. 

She saw in front of her a beautiful girl, with flowing white hair. She looked about 17, 

So she’s the same age as me… but she definitely grew up much more pampered, Krolia thought indignantly. As she gazed at the girl’s pale complexion and beautiful, white cotton dress. “What are you doing here?” Krolia demanded, gripping her dagger.

The girl smiled, rather cunning Krolia thought. 

“Why,” said the girl, “I could ask you the same thing. Nobody has ventured into the forest of hardship in almost a millenia,” 

“I-” Krolia started, then stopped, her face flushing. 

“Oh, of course!” the girl exclaimed in mock admiration. “You must be searching for the lost treasure of Queen Katia. She smirked, “I suppose you are searching for it, to bring wealth to yourself. After all, with that fortune, you could replace your...ahem” She coughed. “Wardrobe,” she smirked again. Krolia flushed an even deeper shade of red. 

“It's not like that,” she mumbled. “I got a quest from my-” she stopped as the girl raised her hands, and prickly vines exploded out of the earth, attempting to wrap themselves around her. She yelped, sheathing her dagger, and quickly ducking out of the way. “NIGHT!” Krolia cried, and her dragon, alas, Night thundered over to her. “Not today, miss magic!” shouted Krolia as she and her dragon hovered just above the tops of the trees. And raising her hands, the ground around the girl crumbled. 

“No!” the girl screamed, flicked her hands, and long vines reached down to her, and supported her, bringing her up and onto the ground. She narrowed her eyes. “You want to play dirty?” she snarled, “Then let’s play dirty,”  Krolia snorted.

“You call that playing dirty? Bring it on leaf lady,” exhilaration burst through her, giving her the shivers. She threw her hands forward shouting, “Velac Anik!” The water from the bubbling stream nearby rose, forming a giant fist and diving at the girl.  The fist reached for the girl, but with a single flick of her hand, the water disappeared. She laughed. A mirthless laugh, like the cackle of one who was truly evil. As she was distracted though, Krolia took her chance, and a column of rock shot out of the ground, throwing the girl backwards. Krolia let out a breath. She had never met anyone else with such powerful magic. Suddenly the girl shuddered, and rising, Krolia saw a murderous glint in her eyes. She limped forward and managed a crooked smile.

“Is that all you’ve got, young one?”

“Young one? I’m literally the same age as you!” Retorted Krolia. “But don’t worry, I was only getting started,” she was about to raise her hands and crush her opponent, when a hard wind blew in her face. She blinked, and saw in front of her, the girl was hovering in front of her. 

“How dare you,” she hissed, just louder than the wind that was supporting her. “Do you even know who I am?”

“I-” Krolia began.

“I ruled this land for ten thousand years!” She continued without waiting for an answer, “Ten thousand I say!” she practically screamed. “I ruled here besides my father, for ten thousand years! I am the slayer of queen Katia! I-” before she could continue, Krolia inhaled sharply. 

“You’re the reason she died?” she cried. “You’re the reason the King of Nightmares took over the whole of Quintess? You-” but before she could finish her accusations, the girl let out another shriek of joyless laughter.

“At last you, with the brain of an earthworm, have come to your senses,” she sneered. “You meet a random stranger in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t suspect a thing. You don’t suspect at all that I am Crystal, the Princess of the Kingdom of Nightmares!” She laughed again, at the sight of Krolia’s dumbfounded expression. 

“But- but, the Princess of the Nightmare Kingdom  died,” Stammered Krolia. “She died….”  Suddenly, Princess Crystal’s laughter stopped. 

“My sister,” hissed the princess. “My sister was a traitor,” her eyes began to blaze once more. “A cowardly traitor!” The winds began to swirl again. “Which is why she was imprison-” The winds, and Crystal stopped suddenly.  Krolia realized why. She heard the  Crack. And the Snap. Of a twig. Someone was coming. 

           We reached the abandoned grocery store and I walked inside. I walked down to the back of the store where I found the fold out table. I removed the closed up stable that revealed the hole to my home. The cat jumped out of my arms and immediately made itself at home. I crawled in and dumped my findings out of my bag. 10 cans of cat food, marshmallows, headphones, a flashlight and batteries. “Not much, but it will have to do” I said. 

           The kitten curled up on my lap and started purring as I stroked it’s soft fur. “ I do need to name you, don’t I, little one.” I said. “Hmm” I thought “ Luna? No to basic, maybe… Jasmine? Eh. What about Nova?” “Yes Nova! I said. I looked down at the kitten on my lap. The name suited her. “Your name shall be Nova,'' I announced. I set Nova down on a pillow and pulled out my phone. I had saved it when the zombies took over. The year was 2048 and scientists were doing tests on an unknown parasite that they had found at a crash site. They had been doing tests on animals for months on end and thought they were finally ready to start on humans. 

I will never forget the day that my dad walked out the door, he was a subject in the experiment and he was so happy and took so much pride in being one. Only hours after they were injected the virus started spreading through their bodies. They were turning into zombies. Eventually they became so strong that they broke out of their containment and started infecting everyone in their path, and that’s how the world fell apart.

    “Dext-” Sylvester tries to interject.

    “Oh wait… I don’t.” I’m sneering at him, a rich boy all dressed up in his Brockwood coat, still somehow managing to balance his large glasses on his nose.

    “Dex, stop.”

    “So I’m Dex now, huh? Don’t you dare call me by that name. You are not my friend.”

    “Okay.” He sighs. “Are you always like this?”

    I smugly turn my back to him. “Maybe.”

    “Well that’s great. Now I’m stuck in a war zone with a snobby commoner.”

    I laugh. Snobby? Look at him.

    “Anyway, let’s stop arguing and find some food. I’m hungry,” Sylvester whines. 

He’s fourteen. I would think he’d be a little more proper than that.

    But he has a point. If we don’t find food before dark, well… battlefields aren’t friendly places for hungry, tired war criminals.

Prompt: It’s your 13th birthday. As the clock strikes midnight you feel something shift inside you, a power has been unlocked.

_______________________________________________

I lay in bed, I should be asleep by now but I cannot fall asleep. I will turn thirteen when that big wooden clock rings 12 long times. Ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong, ding, dong.

“Midnight!” I whisper to myself with excitement in my voice. Suddenly, I feel something shift and a colorful flame dances in one hand and a flowing sphere of water popped into the next. My parents had told me that I was probably going to get a power. They were the leaders of the magical community. I knew that 1 power was usual but 2??? Practically unheard of. But you gotta admit, fire and water! Pretty cool.. I decided to go to bed and confront my parents later, they probably won’t be thrilled as they want to be the epitome of a normal magical family, but me, I was different.

I had just fallen asleep when my mom came in.

“Up, up, up!” My mom yells cheerfully while throwing the curtains back, showering the room in light. She has a giant smile plastered on her face.

“So Tris, What power do you have?”

“Moooommmm.” I groan sleepily “It’s literally 5:30, no normal human being should be up this early!”

“Alright, alright, stop your groaning, you are already up, so tell me!”

“ I have the power of fire!”

“ Woah! Cool!” She interrupts me before I could say anything else.

“ Wait mom, I wasn’t done, I have the power of fire.” I pause take a deep breath and blurt out

 “And water.” Then I dive under my covers, not wanting to see that giddy smile and attitude disappear and turn into that regular look, disappointment. 

“ I’m sorry mom.” I mutter, but all I hear in response is the door slam shut and my mom’s footsteps quickly fading as she walks into my dad’s room and complains, I know the drill.

I poke my head out of my room and slowly creep down the hallway and squeeze between the boxes outside their room where I can eavesdrop on my parents. I am almost too big for this spot, I’ll have to find a new one. But right now I concentrate on the task at hand, eavesdropping. I start to hear voices, hushed but I can still make them out.

“Two powers!” A deep voice says, sounding crackly, as if through a computer. No! They can’t be, they were talking to the council. My parents were in charge of magical life. But the council is in charge of them, so even higher up then mom and dad. It is made up of 3 people. They can make punishments as severe as death. I bolted out of the house wiping away tears, the wind stung my face but I didn’t care I didn’t know where I was going, I was just running. I turned on to a old alley expecting to find piles of garbage but I ended up finding a beautiful stretch of long grass, some golden like the sun, others a bright green and in the middle of the field there was a pond, it was crystal clear, a bench was by the side of it and there were turtles, fish and lots of other creatures in the water. I slowed down to a jog, taking it all in, I ran over to the bench and sat down, and the water works started. I was sobbing and sobbing, I couldn’t stop. I hear a “pop” and suddenly my best friend appeared. 

“Hey Clarrisa” I said trying not to let her know I had been crying, but my voice was muffled and as I knew she would, she figured it out.

“Hey Tris” She says cheerfully “You okay? I got my power, if I think of a person, place, or thing I appear next to them. Did you get anything?” She said this all at super speed without a breath.

“I’m fine” I lied “Cool power, great for sneaking up on people.” I say, trying to be happy for her

“I got fire… And water.” And I show her, letting the ball of fire, then water appear.

“Oh, that’s what you are upset about, look you have two really cool powers, some people don’t even get one so instead of being bummed that you got two, think of the positive side, if someone upsets you you can roast them a little until you get what you want, then put them out. You can also set stuff on fire, flood things.” 

“I guess.” I mutter, trying to convince myself. I walk down to the water and dip wy toes in, cold shoots through me and I feel the water, dripping of of the tips of my toes, controlling me, I feel my hands moving and words coming out, I do not know what I’m saying or doing, I see water shoot out of the lake and crash down, engulfing everything with water. Clarrisa The thought jolts me out of my trance and I collapse on the ground. 

When I wake up I am being poked and prodded at. 

“Stop” I moan. I open my eyes and I see a young woman standing over me.

“Hi,” she says, her voice beautiful, soft and soothing. “You took quite a fall. We rescued you though.”

“Okay like five things, one who the hell are you, two who is “we”, three, where the heck am I, four where is Clarrisa, and five, what am I?

“One, I’m Lilly, and hell is a no-no word, two we are the OTP, organization of two powers, three you are at a secret location, that I cannot divulge to you just know that you are safe, four Clarrisa is at home, her memory of the events has been erased, and as for five, I am not the right person to tell you that.” Sne says this all without a breath and not a second after I am done asking the questions.

“Damn, you are good at that.”

“Ah-ah-ah” She says and clucks her tongue “Damn is a no-no word.”

“What am I, 5? Suck it up”

“Language, missy.”

“Whatever” I mutter, I roll my eyes.

“Okay, it’s time for bed.”

“I am not 2 , I’m thirteen, don’t act like I’m a toddler.” I say angrily “With all your It’s time for bed, and your that is a no-no word.” I imitate her

“I’m talking to you based on how mature you are and you imitating me, proves that.”

“Whatever” I mutter but I know the battle is won. “What time is it anyways”

“11:15"

“Are there some pajamas I could wear?”

“Yes, there are some pajamas and a toothbrush, and all of your allergie and other medicine that you are supposed to have, it’s all in the bathroom.”

“How do you know all of this about me?”

“If we suspect that someone is going to develop two powers we monitor them from birth, now go get ready”

“ I walk into the bathroom, brush my teeth, take my medicine and all that boring stuff, then I look at the pajamas that I am supposed to wear. They are pink, frilly and unicorn themed. I pick it up and walk outside to where Lilly is waiting. 

“You like the pajamas?” She asks excitedly and I can tell that she is hopeful.

“Hell no” I say angrily

“Okay, there are others in the closet.” She says with defeat.

“It is not like I don’t like it.” I walk over and put my hand on her shoulder to reassure her. ”It is just extremely ugly and looks like they are for a 2 year old, tomorrow can I practice my fire power by burning them?” I say the harsh words with a comforting voice, trying to soften the blow.

“Of course!” she says this happily, she probably just heard the nice tone and got excited, ignoring what the words actually meant.

 I walk over to the closet and look inside. It isn’t that bad, most of the clothes are blue, my favorite color. I look inside one drawer and find pajamas that aren’t horrid. I walk into the bathroom and change. I come out and show her.

“Did you pick the closet? It isn’t that bad, I kinda like it.”

“Yeah!” she says enthusiastically. I get into bed and pull the blankets over me. Lilly turns off the lights and walks out

“Night” I yell before the door closed, engulfing the room into total darkness.

I am able to fall asleep pretty quickly as it has been a long day, but wake up to a beautiful day! Just kidding, I wake up to a gray, stormy sky, the pouring rain, loud on the roof, the only thing louder is the occasional claps of thunder and following is lightning, illuminating the whole room in a bright yellow glow. I let out a big yawn, stretch and stumble out of bed. I put some clothes on and walk outside my room, there is a door across the hall, I knock and the door creaks open and a face greets me. She is a girl, seems about my age, has long wavy blonde hair that is all over the place, and she is in bright yellow pajamas.

“What!” She says, clearly annoyed that I woke her

“Hey.” I respond “Where the hell are we??”

“I don’t know, I just got here yesterday and an annoying girl was bossing me around since then.”

“Same”

“Oh fudge, Lily’s coming, get in my room and hide in the closet, I’ll pretend to be asleep, I do not want to talk to her.” She spits out the last word like it is a bitter taste in her mouth. But I agree with her so I stuff myself inside the closet.