by Kira Stüssy
The door opened to reveal a large room of class and luxury. The walls had been painted a deep purple with everything else in the room accenting the color in shimmering whites. Lamps, rugs, desks, everything white. A plush king sized bed pressed against a large four paned window with a gorgeous view of the flowered meadow beyond the castle grounds. I could see the glistening waterfall in the near distance rushing magnificently.
A young woman with black hair and eyes like the sea sat on my bed.
“Mom?”
“Mira!” she exclaimed and rushed to where I stood. Her arms wrapped around me like a security blanket, “I’ve been so worried! Are you alright? This is probably so much to take in!”
“You could say that.”
She loosened her grip on me and stepped back, observing my face, “You’re upset.”
I was. I couldn’t explain it really, but a simmering confused anger boiled inside me, a feeling so foreign that I couldn’t even identify specifically what it was, “You knew?”
“Yes,” she said, “but you have to understand the circumstances…”
“I don’t care about the freaking ‘circumstances’. You should have told me. How could you keep something like this from me? Do you realize that everything you have ever told me is a lie?”
She opened her mouth but no words came out. My heart raced in my chest, threatening to burst out and run away. I did not want to be angry with my mom. Deep down I knew there had to be an explanation for the lifetime of secrecy. But at that moment, it did not matter. I glared at her, sure that I was close to shooting deadly laser beams from my eyes. I had always regarded my mother as a gentle and kind person, and above all, a trustworthy confidant. But the events of that night crumbled the entire foundation of my world, including my view of my own mother.
Ash cleared his throat. He still stood at the doorway, “Pardon me, but it is 11:50…”
My mother’s eyes widened, “Oh dear,” she turned to me frantically, “You’ll be receiving your Knowledge any minute now. I’m going to stay here and tell you what is going on while it’s happening alright?”
I just stared.
“Sweetheart, I know you’re angry. You have every right to be. But I need you to listen to me and try to understand what I tell you, okay? I’m trying to help.”
I paused, and then slowly nodded, refusing to drop my unrelenting glare.
I waited for Ash to leave and close the door. The way that everyone spoke, it sounded like receiving your Knowledge was a somewhat personal matter, so I expected him to give us some privacy. But instead, he stepped further inside and shut the door behind him.
My mom seemed just as baffled as I was, “Um, soldier?”
“Sorry, ma’am,” he casually slumped into the huge white armchair in the corner of the room “King’s orders that a soldier be present.”
“Why?”
He shrugged, “I just do the dirty work. I don’t get to ask questions.” I detected bitterness in his tone. He started examining his fingernails as if they were the most interesting things in the room. But my focus couldn’t stay on Ash for long. A strange tingling began tickling up my spine like a dozen squirming insects. Without thinking I pressed my hand to my back and felt a strange warmth emanate from between my shoulder blades. The prickling sensation intensified. It was neither unpleasant nor pleasant, just something my body was experiencing. Although I had never felt anything like it, I could sense that this was natural, that it was supposed to happen. Similar to losing a tooth; it was simply another phase in my life. But that did not stop me from being surprised.
“What the…”
“Right now, you’re body is accepting the Knowledge.” My mother narrated, “Most Elementals experience discomfort in the back and some overheating. This is because your body is working overtime to prepare for your power. Your Knowledge is focused from the part of your spine between your shoulder blades, which is probably where you are feeling a tingling sensation as I’m talking. Your dress is actually perfect for this since it exposes that part of your back. In a moment, your body will feel very hot…” I actually started to feel feverish. “…this is the way the Knowledge works to indicate that it has been successfully received. Any moment now, you will see your Knowledge in its physical form, the source of your power…” As she spoke, a stabbing pain shot from the tingling spot on my back. Short lived but accompanied by a new feeling I could not place, a sense that there was something extremely different about me. The overwhelming heat faded from my skin, though the sheen of sweat remained. I felt exhausted, as if I had just run a half marathon. All over my body, muscles ached. My skin prickled as the cold air in the room rushed against the perspiration. All I wanted was to sleep. But, of course, curiosity got the better of me and forced me into continued consciousness.
“So, did it work?” I looked up and met first my mother’s eyes and then Ash’s. Both of them stared at me like I was some exotic zoo animal. I reached behind me, expecting to feel the bare skin of my back. But instead, my hand met something silky and thin, something that was most definitely not my back. My stomach clenched as I whipped around in search of a mirror. Across the room stood a large vanity and I strode towards it, panic beginning to set in. I thrust myself in front of the mirror and stared, my emotions a confusing mixture of horror and astonishment.
Floating behind me, about two feet above my head, was a pair of silvery wings. I gaped at the delicate beauty of them, sure I was imagining them. They reminded me of Tinker Bell’s wings from the old Peter Pan cartoon but of course bigger, glitzier, and far lovelier. They sparkled and shimmered, catching all the colors of the rainbow in the dim lighting of the room as if made of diamonds. I slowly pivoted to get a closer look at the spot where the new limbs attached to my skin. It was no surprise that no seam could be found. My skin connected to the glimmering objects flawlessly. They were, without a doubt, a part of me. With a gulp, I concentrated on contracting the muscles between my shoulders blades and watched as the wings flapped once. I distinctly felt the air against them as they sliced through the slight breeze that wafted through the room thanks to the window ajar on the far wall. It was then that I noticed my breathing had transformed into hyperventilation. My breath intakes rapid and short, practically no air actually reaching my lungs.
I whirled around to face Ash and my mother. I knew my expression was pleading and, more than likely, pathetic beyond all reason. But they were supposed to know what was going on. They were supposed to be telling me what was happening and what it all meant. So why weren’t they?
The two of them were made of stone, their eyes wide and shock clearly displayed upon their faces. They gawked at the objects hovering behind me as if they had never seen anything like them. A few hours prior, and I would have understood their bafflement. But I knew for a fact that the two of them were well-informed about this world. So their appalled looks did not help my already over-the-top nerves.
“Why are you guys looking at me like that?” I squeaked.
“Uhh…” Ash grunted. He had not blinked once.
“Oh gosh, I think I’m going to pass out.”
“Could she…is she a Moon?” my mom whispered in Ash’s direction.
He shook his head, “No, no. The Queen is a Moon and hers are silver but they don’t reflect colors like that, and they aren’t translucent. The Queen’s glow like the moon, hers…” he looked at me now, wonder shining in his eyes, “hers are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
“Will someone please explain to me what’s going on?” A whimper escapes.
I witnessed Ash wipe his expression of shock and replace it with a look of relaxed disconnectedness, “We can’t explain because we don’t know ourselves.” I waited for him to continue, there had to be more, something he left out. As if to answer my questioning look he said, “Look, I know every Knowledge by heart. But this,” he gestured to the glistening wings behind me, “is nothing I’ve seen. Your Knowledge does not match any known description.”<
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“Description?”
“Would you care to demonstrate?” Ash looked to my mother who nodded. She peeled off the wool jacket she wore to reveal the tank top she wore underneath. To my great surprise, two aquamarine colored wings sprang up to waft behind her. They were slightly smaller than mine and less defined in shape. They seemed to ripple and roll slightly, like water wading on a sunny day.
“I’m a Water Knowledge.” my mother whispered, watching me intently as she spoke, as if I might explode from shock at any given moment, “See how my Knowledge represents that power?” She shimmied back into her coat, forcing her Knowledge to once again be concealed.
“How have I never noticed those before?”
“Sweetie, can you actually remember a time when you have seen me in anything with an open back?”
Now that I thought about it, I couldn’t. I could only recall images of my mom in thick tee-shirts, bulky jackets, or her loose hospital attire. Even when she life guarded, she wore a loose sweatshirt over her swimsuit. I always just assumed she was modest. More bits of the old trust I used to bestow in my mother fell away.
“So these…wings are called my Knowledge?”
“We don’t ever refer to them as wings, but yes. They are the physical representation of your power or Knowledge so it is just easy to call them your Knowledge. Your mother’s Knowledge is easy to identify based on color and style, as many Elemental Knowledge’s are. But yours…” Ash broke off wonderingly, as if losing his train of thought. I turned my head to catch another glance in the mirror and once again was caught off guard by the striking appearance of the Knowledge attached to my back, enthralled by the brilliant way they reflected the light into an array of dazzling colors.
“I think some sleep would do you good.” My mom suggested and I couldn’t disagree. A wall of fatigue suddenly hit me as I realized how much had transpired in the last few hours. The two of them stood up to exit the room. Ash strode out of the door with one last squint of the eyes, seeming to mutter something under his breath. My mother stopped at the doorway, bid me sweet dreams, and gently clicked the door shut behind her.
And I was utterly alone to face my thoughts.
*
“TWELVE!” the correction officer shouted as he brought the whip down onto Ash’s back.
Ash clenched his teeth and withheld the scream of agony that threatened to burst from his lips. Erion did the same as his own correction officer struck him with his twelfth lash. Ash could not help but feel terrible resentment boil within him as his personal Fury from Hell lifted his arm for another blow. He could feel the open gashes that licked his back, displaying where the whip had contacted skin. The wounds burned and rippled white hot pain throughout his entire body. So much pain for such a small offense. He internally scoffed at the justice of the Courts.
The whip struck him again.
And again.
He fought to contain his hatred for the Council and, more specifically, the Elemental royals. This was their fault. He struggled with the flaming energy that threatened to come forth. All he wanted was to destroy them, for everything they put him through.
But instead, he bit his tongue and tried not to yell as the whip continued to shred his flesh.
*
Caspian could hardly believe his eyes.
The blue tinged “Knowledge”, as Bram called it, hovered high above his head like two powerful angel wings that just begged to stretch out and fly. He could feel the strength in the muscles there beneath the tough feathers. But, of course, the idea of exerting more energy was the last thing he wanted to do right now. His eyes drooped as he stared into the mirror and his brain started shutting down even as he stood there. Falling asleep on his feet, he shuffled over to bed and slumped into the soft blankets and pillows gratefully, mentally thanking the kind soul that made his bed.
What a night.
Receiving his Knowledge had not been as strange as Caspian would have thought. Bram talked him through the whole way while Erion lurked in the corner as supervisor. Bram seemed to think it odd to have someone observing his stepson receive his supernatural powers but to Caspian everything seemed strange and Erion’s presence really made no difference.
Once Erion identified Caspian as being a Water Knowledge and nodded in a satisfied fashion, Caspian could not help but feel a little relieved. He wondered distantly what Knowledge Mira was but knew there would be time tomorrow to ask and find out. Right now, sleep took precedence.
He massaged his aching temples as his eyes slowly shut. The headache, rather than letting up as night fell, had grown far worse over the past couple of hours. Caspian prayed that it escalated only due to stress and sleep deprivation, both of which would hopefully have easy fixes.
Wanting to rid the pain as soon as possible, he allowed the drowsiness to carry him away, his last conscious thought being a pair of beaming, golden eyes.
*
Ash had been sound asleep when two firm hands shook him fiercely.
“ARGH!”
Spluttering awake, he swung wildly with his fist closed, hoping to hit his attacker. He flailed around in the dark like a madman until his hand contacted muscled flesh of what Ash assumed to be a stomach.
“OUCH!” Erion yelped, leaping away from Ash, “You bloody idiot!”
“Sorry, mate. You startled me.”
“Startled? That’s the understatement of the millennium. You practically punched a hole through my gut.”
Ash sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, “It’s your own fault. People who disturb my precious slumber must pay.”
Ash reached his arms above his head and groaned from the relief the stretch brought. When he finally opened his eyes to look at his friend, he saw the look of genuine concern alight on Erion’s face. Ash knew that Erion was a worrier, it was simply his personality. But there is a vast difference between trepidation and fear; and the look on Erion’s face certainly fell under the fear category.
Throwing the blankets from his body, Ash stood up in a flash. He moved toward the drawer in the corner where he kept all of his lignum knives. But before he could reach it, Erion grabbed his shoulder and pulled back to stop him.
“Not tonight.”
Ash blinked in confusion, “Then why…?”
“The Queen told me it was urgent that you know to be ready, that the whole Legion knows. So we are prepared when it happens.”
“When what happens?”
Erion sighed and looked at Ash with wary blue eyes, “When the Dividing Day comes.”
Ash blinked, masking the acceleration of his heart, and nodded. He had heard that term here and there but none of the soldiers seemed to know what it meant: Dividing Day.
“Side note,” Erion continued, “didn’t you find that Retrieval mission to be rather…”
“Easy?”
“Precisely.”
Ash snuggled back into his blankets, the fresh wounds stinging the flesh near his Knowledge painfully, “I think you worry too much my friend.” But even when Erion grunted in annoyance and left, the haunted feeling seated deep into Ash’s chest remained.
Chapter 5
A sudden pounding at the door startled me out of my dreams.
For one blissful moment, I stayed frozen in place, dazed and unsure of where I now lay. But the sight of the high-class room painted with dark purple hues hurtled me right back to reality and the craziness it had become. I yawned as I sat up and stretched my arms over my head. When I reached up, my fingers skirted against my Knowledge and my heart jolted with remembrance. I allowed my hands to slowly brush along the silky texture. I could feel the tickle of my skin against them. I shivered.
The knocking persisted, allowing me no time to truly wake up or do anything besides slouch over to the door. I twisted the unique looking locks, which took an embarrassingly long time to decipher, and pulled on the handle, letting the large door swing towards me.
“Mornin’.” Waiting at the threshold, with a silver food tray in hand
and a beaming smirk upon his face, stood Ash. His dark brown hair messed in the same perfect windswept style as yesterday and he wore a navy blue shirt with brown khakis. Somehow, he still managed to be gorgeous without even seeming to try. “I’m loving the hair.”
Immediately, I lifted my hand to pat the massive nest of curls. I knew better than anyone that my hair could not be tamed. The beautiful hairdo Kelsey managed the night before had fallen apart during the night due to my fitful sleep. Left in its wake, my usual glorious volume and length that Medusa would be jealous of thrived. I twirled one of the curls around my finger and twisted. I had grown accustomed to the crazy hair comments, so why could I feel my face heating up?
I shrugged at him, “You just wish yours looked this fabulous when you woke up.”
“Oh yes. As you can see, I often go for the ‘bonfire for hair’ look and fail miserably every day.”
I grinned, “That’s a shame.”
“Tis a pity. Might I be invited in?” I nodded and scooted out of the way so that he could enter. He strode in and placed the metal tray on the coffee table in the center of the room. He then sank into one of the white couches placed by the table and patted the spot next to him, urging me to come join him. I walked over and plopped down beside him, making sure to keep about a foot of space between us. I eyed the metal tray, noticing that it carried a heaping plate of eggs, pancakes, and bacon. My mouth watered and stomach growled.
He must have heard my stomach’s hungry roar because he offered me a grin and said, “I come bearing breakfast. I figured after last night you would be too tired to join us at the table. I thought you would rather have personal room service.”
I already had the plate on my lap and a fork stabbed it into the fluffy stack of pancakes, “This was your idea?”
“Why so surprised?”
“This just doesn’t seem like your style, I guess.”
I snuck a peek at his face and saw his dark eyes flash with amusement, “I can be charming when I want to be.”