So I got around to this chapter, the beginning of when 'canon' starts. Please enjoy.
A small girl, probably around the age of thirteen was sprawled across the ground with a giant, imposing shadow standing above her. If one looked hard enough, you could see the alabaster coloured skin on the smaller figure and an outline of a gnawer in the shadow.
"I… still couldn't control it." The smaller figure gasped out from in between ragged breaths. It was quite apparent now that the huge, looming shadow was not an immediate threat to her, seeing how calm she was.
"Well, when I was your age, I hadn't even known about the abilities. Sure I knew they existed but I thought they were long gone… turns out that I was a carrier!" The gnawer let out a sharp laugh at the thought.
"But still… we've been training for… what? Two years, three years now… we started soon after the attack. So, I'd think that I'd be able to control it by now, it's a lot harder than I thought." The smaller, definitely feminine, voice sounded out as a few torches were being lit around the small circular cave.
The girl had hair darker than the oblivion that was surrounding them a few seconds ago and her red eyes seemed to burn with a fire stronger than the torches around them. The gnawer, now sitting across from her, had a ragged brown coat and eyes of the same colour, sharp teeth seemed to jut out of his jaw.
"Do you know how old I am, girl?" The creature asked.
"Old." The girl responded, a dull answer but it seemed to satisfy her companion, even if he showed it with a scowl.
"Exactly," he began, "I've been dealing with this hellish ability for the past thirty or so years, around that. I have ages of experience on you and yet even I have trouble controlling it sometimes. It's a miracle you've gotten this far this quickly and learned echolocation within two years. You have a competent teacher and mentor, not tooting my own horn, but I had to do this all on my own…"
"I suppose…" the girl sighed out.
"You sure that royal blood isn't rolling off onto you? You seem very… challenging to deal with nowadays." It was sarcastic and it sent a smile onto both of their faces.
"Of course not! How could you even offend me like that… you wound me!" The girl dramatically rested her hand on her forehead while the gnawer rolled his eyes at her before he suddenly got serious.
"There is something I must tell you before I go for the week. There's something coming, I don't know what it is and it could be here tomorrow or in a few years, I can just… feel it," he shifted his position almost as if he was uncomfortable with the topic, "I'm sure you'll feel the pressure soon."
"The pressure? Is it that feeling you get when you know something is coming but you have no clue how quickly or from where?" Curiousness immediately entered the girl's voice at the prospect of learning another thing before the day's end.
"Precisely, but now I must be going. Take care, pup."
The girl let out a sharp laugh, "run like the river, Ripred." Before he left, a smirk made its way onto his features and a tinge of mirth flashed in his eyes.
The scene playing in my head shattered to a million pieces as a sharp whistle cut through the air, signaling the start of the game I had been waiting on. I shifted around in my seat and pulled at that god-forsaken cloak that was set around my shoulders, the hood was up and it was a deep black. If one were to stare long enough, they would feel like they were being consumed.
I tried to concentrate on Luxa, my sister, I really did. Aurora arcing through the arena was a beautiful sight that you only got to see once a year. But that pressure kept weighing down on my head and making adrenaline surge and pump through my blood, begging to be let out and meet the challenge head on.
It had been building up, that much I could tell. It had started soon after the meeting with Ripred where he had mentioned it, and it was an annoyance. The constant feeling of consciousness slipping through the 'fingers' of the rager abilities, it was like a burning fire: when something approaches it, it flares up to meet its challenger.
During the meetings with Ripred, I couldn't control it at all. It was a beast; just waiting to be let out and destroy everything that dare challenged it.
'So that's why ragers are exiled to the Dead Lands or just executed altogether. We're dangerous.' The thought floated around my head before the pressure suddenly spiked, shattered, and the raging crowd went silent. Adrenaline overflowed my veins and my vision splintered, honing in on the new player in the stadium. The room suddenly seemed much stuffier and the cloak felt constricting on top of my shoulders.
Blood turned into the lava of the Firelands and my anger surged, 'this… kid… was the source of all the pressure?!' I was screaming in my head like a lunatic and my hands tightened around the railing around the first row of seats.
I bolted up from my seat and stormed towards the exit as the fliers started to surround the brunette and a small smile made its way onto my face at the sight, 'no, I don't smile at other people's misfortune, that isn't me'. I stepped through the layer of white and entered the city, immediately making my way to the elevator to be brought up to the palace.
Before my mind even knew it, I was storming around my room, knocking over chairs and dragging my nails across the tables. Blood red was erratic and burning with a fire before they caught sight of a small book laying on a nightstand.
My mind calmed as I sauntered over to it, slowly running my smooth fingers across the black, rough binding material on the outside. It was an abnormality in the Underland, just like me. They didn't have a lot of, what Ripred called "books", in the Underland and that was a reason why I usually kept it near me at all times.
My thoughts calmed and slowed down and seemed to start walking, allowing me to get a better grip on myself. And with the calmness, I noticed something.
This isn't how I was; it isn't who I am... I hadn't been so… enraged in my whole life. Besides when I finally snapped out of my stupor and depression and swore vengeance against Gorger.
"I wonder… I wonder…" I began to contemplate before a servant rushed into the room, to which I raised a questioning brow at, silently asking the girl what she needed.
She finally composed herself and started to speak, "Princess Luna, an Overlander has arr-"
"I know, what about it?" My voice wasn't cold, but instead more… annoyed than anything. It sent another frown to my face and it must've broken the girl's composure again.
The girl stuttered for a minute before composing herself again, all the while a thought was floating around my head along the lines of "why I always got the new workers." 'Maybe Luxa sees it as a test for them? It does make sense… though I'm not as nearly as difficult to deal with as her…' The new thought made me chuckle and return to the present.
"Queen Luxa wanted you to dine with them, with the Overlander." The woman continued as she saw that I wasn't as lost in thought; they learned the hard way that that was one of my only problems with people, when they break me out of my thoughts.
"Alright, you may be dismissed," right after saying that, my eyes slid back down to the black book before smiling a little and walking out of the room and over to the dining hall, hopefully to meet someone from where one of my parents were from...
Alright, I hope you guys enjoyed. Reviews are appreciated and follow to keep up to date.
See y'all when I see y'all!
