Thank you to everyone who is viewing and reviewing my story! The positive support and feedback has really motivated me to keep writing. I just wanted to mention that I had to take some liberties when it came to the pajamas that elves wear. It mentions those fuzzy pajamas they wear in during Neverseen, but it didn't seem like those were the standard. So I had to come up with something on my own. Along with that, in case you haven't seen my profile page, my updating schedule is 1 to 3 times every weekend. I won't post as much this week, since I have prior commitments. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
On Friday after school, Zarina pulled out her home crystal, holding it up to the sun until it produced a beam of light. She linked hands with Lyrei, making sure her friend was ready before being swept away by the light. Both Rei and Rina had already gotten their nexuses off.
When they materialized again, it was in front of a three-story house complete with looming arches and twisting vines. An immensely wide river ran along the back of the house, disappearing back into the woods where it came from. An ever-present shroud of mist loomed over the entire property, cooling the air. Zarina and Lyrei's favorite place to hang out was a collection of large rocks in the middle of the river, which they immediately swam to after depositing their school stuff in Zarina's bedroom.
As soon as they reached the rocks, Rei and Rina stood facing each other and began practicing their skills. Although they knew that skills weren't very important in the elvin society, Lyrei had insisted on it. Her reasoning was that if they did skills during physical education, they could dominate over everyone else, and it would be useful to win the splotching matches. But Zarina knew that it was a pretty flimsy reason. She could tell there was more to it.
Today, since they were near water, they decided to work on breath control. This was the only skill that Zarina was better at, since the river was right by her house, so she got in a lot of extra practice. Lyrei was determined to beat Zarina's record of 24 minutes, but so far had only managed 22.
After about an hour of practicing their breath control, they switched over to blinking. This was the one skill that would probably never come in handy other than being able to brag to their classmates about it. However, both Zarina and Lyrei agreed that in order to prove themselves, they needed to master every skill out there, and that included blinking.
Zarina glanced up at the sky. "I think it's past dinner time. We should probably head back." Grudgingly, the two girls swam back to the river bank, making sure to dry themselves off with the towels they had already prepared before going inside. Rei grabbed her school bag and hugged Zarina goodbye before leaping away with her own home crystal.
"Zarina! Where have you been? You missed dinner!" Her mom appeared, placing her hands on her daughter's shoulders and narrowing her eyes. "Have you been hanging out with that Torven girl again?"
"Well, um, yes, but–"
"I told you, don't associate with people who will end up in Exillium! She's trouble, that girl, and doesn't even have an ability!"
"Mom, I–" Zarina tried to intervene, but her mom ignored her and kept talking.
"Her parents are perfectly sensible people, both in the nobility, so how did they produce such a disgrace to the family? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she gets herself banished one of these days. Zarina, how did you even become friends with her?"
"You were the one who wanted us to be friends, Mom, remember? The day I met Lyrei, she said that you asked her to introduce herself to me. So if you think that I shouldn't be friends with her, it's your own fault."
"Nevermind. I don't care how you became friends, but I do care that you end the friendship before it's too late. She's a troublemaker, a Talentless, and if you keep hanging out with her you might get the idea in your head that all elves are equal. I would rather you hang out with that Pemberley girl; she's a Telepath and would be a much more suitable fit for you."
Zarina grumbled, not caring about this random stranger she'd never heard of. What kind of a last name was Pemberley, anyways?
"Zarina! Look me in the eye. Promise me you'll try to distance yourself from Lyra or Lyric or whatever that girl's name is." Her mom shook her head. "The point is, she could be dangerous. She might get you into trouble, or lower your social status, and I want to make sure that you live the best life that you can. But it will require some work on your part, and that includes making sure you surround yourself with friends who have powerful abilities, especially boys who could end up being matched with you."
She glared at her mom and turned away. Ignoring her mom's protests, Zarina grabbed her school bag full of assignments and ran up the stairs. The bang of the door closing echoed through her ears. She groaned as she trudged over to her desk and dumped the pile of homework onto it.
Surveying the papers, Zarina took inventory of everything she needed to complete before Monday came around. There was an Elvin History essay, an assignment for Multispeciesial Studies centering around the Gnomes, and another essay for The Universe about bottling starlight. Great. I can't wait. Zarina sat down at her desk, clearing everything on her desk save for the textbook about Elvin history, a few pieces of paper, and a pen.
Zarina's history Mentor had said she needed to write about the human betrayal and why the elvin Council made the decision to sink Atlantis. The lecture that week had been on that very subject. Rina had almost considered just sleeping through it, but ultimately decided against it. She'd remembered her mom's words about making a good impression, so she was able to get through the entire essay without stopping to read the textbook once.
"Ugh," Zarina sighed, leaning back in her chair. She glanced out the window above her desk. The sky was completely pitch-black, speckled with tiny pinpricks of starlight. Did one essay seriously take that long? Zarina thought to herself as she stacked the papers together. I'll have to do the rest tomorrow.
Stretching as she stood up, Zarina clapped her hands to close the windows. She quickly changed into a plain sleeping tunic, similar to the ones used for P.E., and a pair of leggings. Before going to sleep she pulled out an empty notebook and pen along with her textbook about the Gnomes, tucking herself under her blankets to take some notes for the project that she'd complete later.
Zarina woke to find her notebook splayed across her lap. The first page was completely filled with notes, and the second was about halfway full. The last bullet point only said very similar to. Based on the nature of the gnomes, she guessed she was trying to say very similar to plants, or something along those lines.
After clapping her hands to open her curtains, Zarina glanced outside. The sun was almost halfway across the sky. How did I sleep that long?
Zarina walked into the bathroom, quickly changing into a simple embroidered tunic, the standard pants with pockets at the ankles, and a slim pair of boots. Her hair she left down for the moment, since she had nowhere to go that day besides possibly to Lyrei's house.
Racing downstairs, she found her mom sitting at the dining room table, scrawling something down on a piece of paper. "Finally," her mom said, looking up at Zarina before going back to whatever she was doing. Zarina assumed she was doing some assignment for the Council. "There's breakfast on the counter," she added, not looking back at her daughter. Zarina nodded and headed back up to her room to eat it. Today, her mom had made her blitzenberry muffins. As soon as Zarina bit into the first muffin, the fizzing of the tart berries sent happy shivers down her spine.
When she was finished with her breakfast, Zarina went back downstairs and slipped into the seat across from her mother. "I'm thinking of going out today," she said lightly, clenching her fists. Please don't ask where, please don't ask where!
"Where?"
She let out a sigh before replying, "Lyrei's house." Her mom frowned.
"Zarina, I already told you last night that I don't want you hanging out with that girl anymore. She could be a potential threat to your chance at becoming part of the nobility. I hope you know that your father and I think you have a good chance at becoming an Emissary, or even a Councillor if you work hard enough." Zarina rolled her eyes. She'd heard this rant many times, but the thing about being a Councillor was new.
"I've said many times that I will not stop being friends with her! She's my best friend and we've known each other for four years. I don't even know who Pemberley is! What if she's a bad person and I end up being miserable with her?"
"Why would that matter? The only thing you need to have a good friendship is someone who has a powerful ability and a high chance of holding influence when they get older. There's no reason to get attached to them; the only person you should actually like is the person you marry. Even then, it matters less about love and more about power."
Gaping at her mom, Zarina clenched her fists. This part of the lecture had never come up before now. She thought it was time for her to leave, but her mom just kept droning on and on. Finally, she'd had enough.
"I don't care!" Zarina practically screamed, jumping up from her seat and glaring. Electricity crackled as she subconsciously used her Charger ability.
"Zarina, be careful–"
"No. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of you trying to regulate my friendships, just so I have 'influence' or whatever crap you come up with. I don't care about that. What I care about is that I have friends who understand me and who make me happy to hang out with them. The only reason I would ever willingly become friends with Pemberley, or anyone else, is based on their personality and how well they interact with me.
"I'm tired of you making me have perfect scores in school. Who cares if I get a ninety-nine percent on my test? Nobody. Because even if I don't get a hundred percent, I'm still going to pass. I have an ability, I have pretty good grades. There's no way I won't be allowed to move on at Foxfire." She exhaled loudly as the electricity built up.
"Zarina! Your ability!" Her mom backed away, holding up her hands like she was trying to tame a wild animal. Zarina ignored her mom, needing to let out her anger. "If you don't break your friendship with Lyrei, I guarantee that you will lose influence, power, and social status. Talentless elves are–"
"STOP!" Zarina shouted, instinctively holding out her hands as the buildup of electricity moved towards her finger tips.
"ZARINA!" Her mother backed up even more.
But it was too late. Zarina's electricity had already shot out from her and landed its mark.
Right over her mom's heart.