Hello, sunshine. My mom says that to me all the time. :) NEW CHAPTER!!!!!!!!!!!! And all the people said "Amen!" I'm really hyper. I don't know why. I did have a lot of caffeine not too long ago...but I won't go into that. Enough of my blabbering. Here's my next chapter.
Ice-otter: I'm shortening Nenyethilen's name now. :)
***
Chapter 3: Confessions
***
*Oh gods. I cant' believe I'm doing this.*
"Call me Nen. Hearing you guys botch my name all the time is annoying."
My voice is squeaky and small, like it needs to be oiled, or something.
Tris looks surprised. Whatever she expected me to say, I don't think it was that.
I clear my throat again. This time, my voice isn't so squeaky. "Are *you* going to give *me* an answer, or do I have to stand here all day?"
Tris laughs. I smile. But she isn't about to be put off for long. She asks again, "What happened down there?"
I stop smiling. "Have you ever seen something that you thought was real, but when you look again, it's gone?"
"No...but I used to hear things."
I look at her sharply. "What kinds of things? Don't lie to me. I can't stand liars."
Tris makes an impatient face. "Why would I lie to you about this? I hear things on the wind. I used to think I was crazy, until Niko told me that lots of weather mages hear things."
My heart sinks about ten feet. "But I'm not a weather mage. The tester would have seen it."
"Didn't you know? They don't send anyone to Discipline unless they have magic. So you see things, huh? Niko is a seer. He could help."
I shake my head. She doesn't understand. "But that's not all I do."
Tris looks interested. "What do you mean?"
I hesitate. How do I know that it's not just me seeing things? She'll think I'm crazy. But a little voice in my head tells me, *She used to think she was crazy. She knows what it feels like. Show her.*
I look at the stack of books sitting next to my bed. I squint my eyes at them thinking, *Come on, come on...* They start shaking, then they slowly lift up, one by one, to hover three feet above my bed.
A loud gasp behind me startles me, and the books fall to the floor with a loud bang. I whirl around, prepared to snap at Tris for breaking my concentration, but the words die on my lips. Tris isn't the only one standing there.
Every other occupant of Discipline cottage, plus Honored Moonstream are standing there, mouths agape. Part of me is proud that I have astonished them so, but the other part is petrified with fear at what they might think. *Don't send me away,* I plead in my head. *Don't make me go back.*
Then Honored Moonstream snaps back to reality. "Where did you learn to do that?" She sounds angry, but worried. Exactly the way my father sounded when he saw me use my mind to sweep the floor.
"I-I don't kn-know." I try not to stutter, but my mind is numb with fear. "I just s-started doing it one d-day."
Moonstream must know how afraid I am, because when she speaks again, her voice is gentler. "How do you do it?"
The questioning isn't over. I can't relax yet. "I just c-concentrate really hard, and it m-moves." I don't stutter so much anymore.
"Cool," breathes Briar. Rosethorn glares at him.
I am slightly reassured by this though, and I don't stutter anymore. "You wouldn't think it was so cool if it got you into more trouble than you can imagine," I say dryly, addressing Briar.
"What kind of trouble?"
I close my mouth and stare at him until he looks away. I won't tell them everything. Not yet, anyway.
Lark butts in. "Nenyethilen--"
I shake my head. "It's Nen. Just Nen."
She tries it out. "Nen...can you tell us what happened down there?"
I shake my head and look down.
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
Rosethorn snorts. Lark silences her with a meaningful look, then turns back to me. "Nen, we are trying to help you. But we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on."
I look pleadingly at Tris. She rolls her eyes, but speaks for me. "She sees things. That's what happened downstairs."
Lark looks thoughtful. "What kinds of things do you see?"
I sigh enormously. This is getting really boring. Not to mention annoying. So instead of speaking, I decide to experiment with something that has been hanging around in my head for a while. I show her.
***
But how does Nen show her? Another cliffhanger!!!!! I love this!!!!! Who knew torture could be so fun?
I'll update soon. If I don't, I give you permission to hunt me down and strangle the rest of the story out of me. Oh, one thing before I forget: this takes place a little before the Circle Opens. Sandry, Tris, Briar, and Daja don't have their medallions yet, but they're going to soon. I don't know if I'm going to include that in this story or not, but we'll see.
Ciao!
-littlehorse :)
Ice-otter: I'm shortening Nenyethilen's name now. :)
***
Chapter 3: Confessions
***
*Oh gods. I cant' believe I'm doing this.*
"Call me Nen. Hearing you guys botch my name all the time is annoying."
My voice is squeaky and small, like it needs to be oiled, or something.
Tris looks surprised. Whatever she expected me to say, I don't think it was that.
I clear my throat again. This time, my voice isn't so squeaky. "Are *you* going to give *me* an answer, or do I have to stand here all day?"
Tris laughs. I smile. But she isn't about to be put off for long. She asks again, "What happened down there?"
I stop smiling. "Have you ever seen something that you thought was real, but when you look again, it's gone?"
"No...but I used to hear things."
I look at her sharply. "What kinds of things? Don't lie to me. I can't stand liars."
Tris makes an impatient face. "Why would I lie to you about this? I hear things on the wind. I used to think I was crazy, until Niko told me that lots of weather mages hear things."
My heart sinks about ten feet. "But I'm not a weather mage. The tester would have seen it."
"Didn't you know? They don't send anyone to Discipline unless they have magic. So you see things, huh? Niko is a seer. He could help."
I shake my head. She doesn't understand. "But that's not all I do."
Tris looks interested. "What do you mean?"
I hesitate. How do I know that it's not just me seeing things? She'll think I'm crazy. But a little voice in my head tells me, *She used to think she was crazy. She knows what it feels like. Show her.*
I look at the stack of books sitting next to my bed. I squint my eyes at them thinking, *Come on, come on...* They start shaking, then they slowly lift up, one by one, to hover three feet above my bed.
A loud gasp behind me startles me, and the books fall to the floor with a loud bang. I whirl around, prepared to snap at Tris for breaking my concentration, but the words die on my lips. Tris isn't the only one standing there.
Every other occupant of Discipline cottage, plus Honored Moonstream are standing there, mouths agape. Part of me is proud that I have astonished them so, but the other part is petrified with fear at what they might think. *Don't send me away,* I plead in my head. *Don't make me go back.*
Then Honored Moonstream snaps back to reality. "Where did you learn to do that?" She sounds angry, but worried. Exactly the way my father sounded when he saw me use my mind to sweep the floor.
"I-I don't kn-know." I try not to stutter, but my mind is numb with fear. "I just s-started doing it one d-day."
Moonstream must know how afraid I am, because when she speaks again, her voice is gentler. "How do you do it?"
The questioning isn't over. I can't relax yet. "I just c-concentrate really hard, and it m-moves." I don't stutter so much anymore.
"Cool," breathes Briar. Rosethorn glares at him.
I am slightly reassured by this though, and I don't stutter anymore. "You wouldn't think it was so cool if it got you into more trouble than you can imagine," I say dryly, addressing Briar.
"What kind of trouble?"
I close my mouth and stare at him until he looks away. I won't tell them everything. Not yet, anyway.
Lark butts in. "Nenyethilen--"
I shake my head. "It's Nen. Just Nen."
She tries it out. "Nen...can you tell us what happened down there?"
I shake my head and look down.
"Can't or won't?"
"Both."
Rosethorn snorts. Lark silences her with a meaningful look, then turns back to me. "Nen, we are trying to help you. But we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on."
I look pleadingly at Tris. She rolls her eyes, but speaks for me. "She sees things. That's what happened downstairs."
Lark looks thoughtful. "What kinds of things do you see?"
I sigh enormously. This is getting really boring. Not to mention annoying. So instead of speaking, I decide to experiment with something that has been hanging around in my head for a while. I show her.
***
But how does Nen show her? Another cliffhanger!!!!! I love this!!!!! Who knew torture could be so fun?
I'll update soon. If I don't, I give you permission to hunt me down and strangle the rest of the story out of me. Oh, one thing before I forget: this takes place a little before the Circle Opens. Sandry, Tris, Briar, and Daja don't have their medallions yet, but they're going to soon. I don't know if I'm going to include that in this story or not, but we'll see.
Ciao!
-littlehorse :)
