They all crumpled. My eyesight was a little foggy. I saw Greg leaning over me with concern in his eyes. I immediately backed up against the wall, holding my skirt down. He held out his hands calmly and smiled apologetically. I took a few deep breaths, and took one of his hands. As soon as I stood up I immediately blacked out.
Who am I? Why do I exist? What is this dark world around me? Am I alive?
I woke up to the sound of beeping and a familiar scent of antiseptics. I realized that I must have been taken to the hospital. I opened my eyes and saw Greg sitting on the chair next to my bed. He was reading a magazine and as if he could feel my eyes on him, he looked up. Our eyes met and we gazed at each other for what felt like an eternity.
My throat felt really thick, but I had to ask him, "What-"
"-Don't worry, it's still Friday. 9pm to be exact. The doctors said you were suffering from a mild concussion, and that you could be discharged tomorrow if you wanted."
"Can I go today? I was supposed to meet my older brother Oscar to go camping this weekend."
"Your family is all here. The hospital called them. They just went to your house to fetch your change of clothes for tomorrow. The guys in the alley were taken into the police station. The cops were just waiting for you to wake up so they could take your statement." I really did not feel like talking about it, but I knew I couldn't hold it off.
"I'm ready to speak to them if they're here." Greg got up and went out. A few minutes later he came in with two heavy, buff looking police guys. I told them what had happened, but left the light-part out.
"If you remember anything else, don't hesitate to contact us." The shorter of the two said. He seemed like a really nice person. As soon as they walked out I turned to Greg.
"How did you know where I was? Were you following me? And how did you take all of those guys out like that? I know for a fact that you didn't have a weapon with you."
He sighed, "I know what I'm about to say might sound crazy, but I am what you might call an alien entity. Not in the, "Oh, an alien invasion!" scenario, but more like from a different dimension."
What was this gut saying? Was he crazy? I suddenly felt very afraid about being alone with him. He sighed, "I realize that it really is hard to believe, but I can prove it. I can levitate that chair on the other side." All of a sudden the second chair lifted and flew around the room at rapid speeds. I tried to scream, but no sound came out when my lips parted.
I tried to calm down. The chair settled back on the ground.
"Why are you showing me? It's not like I can do anything about it."
"I felt it appropriate to show you because you are one of us. Where I come from we still follow the autocratic system. You were born into the royal family therefore you are one of the most powerful Manipulators. The royal family passes their power and abilities onto the next generation. Therefore your power is substantial."
"I'm sorry to say this but you are crazy."
"Are you sure you haven't felt sudden surges of power when confronted with difficult situations? I know you have so there's no point in denying it." I stared at him and looked back on my life. In times I should've gotten badly hurt, I'd gotten back up as if nothing had happened. It led me to the most recent event between Tony and me. He had let go of me as if in pain. Then an idea came to mind.
"How come nothing happened with those guys in the alley? Huh?"
"I'm guessing your mind had already accepted what was about to happen."
"Interesting, can you teach me how to do stuff like you?"
"I can, but you are more powerful than I am. So once you are as capable as I am, your strength in the Art will be far greater than mine. With your unlimited ability, you are immortal. I will probably live for over two thousand years looking young, before I wither away and turn to dust. Your mother was the queen before she was killed by an invading clan. You are of the White Stallion clan, but Lord Trikor, yes the r is pronounced like the French say it, was of the Eagle clan. Your Father was a noble who was also of the White Stallion clan. Before they died your mother, I wish you knew how much she loved you, took your essence and all the power that had been passed down to her from generations before her, and put it in a woman in this dimension which would have been impossible without the power of your ancestors." We sat in silence for a long time. I thought about my mother and how I would never know her, but I felt I would have loved her. If she was willing to leave herself defenseless for my sake, I couldn't imagine love of that magnitude. I loved the woman who had given birth to me; she had loved me and raised me.
"I think I should give you your first lesson. You look well enough and in the training rink time moves by very slowly, it will be like you never left. It would really be a great experience."
"As long as no one will notice I'm gone it should be okay."
"Great let's get started." I had a feeling of falling, and all of a sudden I was in a sort of arena, but it was huge! Greg came towards me and gripped my head and threw me towards a wall. He was extremely strong. I felt a tug in my gut and I slowed down, basically coming to a standstill in mid-air. I turned around slowly.
"What was that for? You could've killed me!"
"No I wouldn't have. I knew that was going to happen. It was the only way to finally destroy those blocks around your abilities. Now you just need to control it." I concentrated and tried as hard as I could but nothing happened.
"Imagine it like a rising tide. Let it fill you up until you feel like you're going to explode."
"That's easy for you to say, you have been doing this for as long as you can remember."
I tried to do as he said, and then as if it was always a part of me I lifted a strand of grains of sand off the arena floor. Greg was oblivious; I pushed it into his ear. He yelped and the sand fell out. He looked at me with a mischievous grin. I felt myself rising into the air. I then realized that the feeling I had earlier was still there. I briefly got a warm feeling of love, and I realized my mother had given me more than just my abilities. I cut his hold on me and pushed at the ground underneath him. As we continued to struggle in this manner new abilities began to surface. I heated the ground causing it to slowly transform into glass. I kept it in a liquid form even when it cooled. I started pulling him into it. He tried to cut into the bonds but my hold was too strong. Soon he was covered up until his throat. I immediately made it dry. I lowered myself to the ground. He gazed at me, astonished.
"I guess you're ready to learn how to fight shadows. They are extremely powerful, but with the right intensity of light you can kill them. I will release one of them. We capture a few so that children can learn how to fight them." He went to a little storeroom that I hadn't noticed. He took out a smooth silver sphere.
"This is where we keep them. Your ancestors developed this so we could trap as many as we could find. Over time the seal weakened and a few escaped. Now there are many more than have been seen since the Middle Ages." He turned the top and it seamlessly came apart. I felt him channel his energy into only allowing one to get through. Once one had slipped out he closed it. What he hadn't anticipated was that it would rush at me. I screamed and felt nearly all of my energy abandon me. I saw it coalesce into a protective sphere around me. I had a sense of vertigo, and everything went dark.