Nameless Woman
New York City, New York; 19 September 2091; A
Time Before
Disgusted faces… Step—. Step—. Ears that
ignore your pleas… Step—. Step—. I am not welcomed in this world, it seems… Creeeeeeeek—! I pushed the door leading to the top of the
skyscraper I was in, the light from the sun was harsh and as beautiful as the
day looked, I couldn't find any silver linings.
I've lived my entire life being ignored. No one
to listen to me. No one to acknowledge me, hear what I have to say. And because
of that, I have nothing, no one to come home to, no friends. I want more, it's
not fair, I thought to myself; I looked over the edge of the building and
hadn't realized just how high up I was.
As I backed away from the edge of the building, I
noticed I'd bumped into someone, and when I turned around, I was in awe. It was
a man, a very handsome man with reddish brown skin, scarlet red eyes, wearing a
pin striped suit. He wore his hair in dreadlocks that were fashioned in barrels
that looked like ram horns.
"This is quite the height," the man said, "if
you're not careful, you could end up falling off." The man guided me
away from the edge and sat me down next to the stair well door. "What were you
doing over there," questioned the man, "one wrong step could've ended you."
I was at a loss for words; this random man was
actually engaging in a conversation with me. "Well, as juvenile as it may seem,
that was my goal. I don't feel like I belong in this world," I began, "I'm
constantly overlooked and outspoken; ignored and disrespected. I don't even have
a friend; never had one, actually." What am I doing, I thought to myself, I don't even know this man and
I'm just spilling my heart out like I'm on some tv talk show? But as weird as this whole situation was, I
welcomed it. Why, because he listened, he didn't judge me, and for once in my
life, I felt seen. We talked about me, I told him about my life, the things I
wished I could've accomplished. We talked about how
much I despise this world and how I wish I were back to the nothingness that I
knew before.
"Your story is beautiful," the man said with a
gentle smile, "if you still wish to leave this world, I won't stop you;
however, I'd like to offer you a place to go once you do depart."
I was confused, I had been under the impression
that once you die, that was it, "what do you mean," I asked.
"A realm separate from this one," he began, "one
M'Lady crafted, guarded by her divine protection."
I took a moment to think, could he possibly be
offering me another chance at life? I was always told that reincarnation was
impossible, and this stranger expected me to believe him; truth was, I did
believe him, every word. I wanted another chance, I needed it, and this man, whoever
he was, was offering it to me. "I'll do it," I said with tears in my eyes,
"wherever you want me to go, I'll go." The man's face softened into a smile as
he pulled me into his embrace, he's warm, I thought.
"My name is Astaroth," the man said, "and you may
think of me as a guardian angel." Astaroth smiled, and with him being this
close to me, I caught a whiff of what smelt like sulfur. It was strong, so
strong in fact that I was fading in and out of consciousness while he was
talking. His words started to muffle, however before I let the wave of sleep
take over, I was able to catch his final words, "you will be loved, Autumn
Winters."
Rejuvia Winters
Winters Village, Faewelt Kingdom, West Sidhe; 19 Quirasara 1R7X
"That's it Juvia," Blaze coaxed, "you're almost
there, I can see her head peeking through!"
Out of all five of my pregnancies, Blaze chose
this one to attend, I thought to myself. When our first son, Channing was born,
Blaze needed to conduct research for his dissertation on Mana Conservation.
Then when Francesca was born, he needed to attend Demon Lord Eros' coronation, and when Tempest and Cain were born,
he had the nerve to use training as an excuse. And now, he thinks he can just
waltz in here and act as though he's an expert in baby delivery.
"Blaze dear," I whispered through gritted teeth,
"why don't you go get some warm towels, the wet nurses should be able to take
it from here." It took every ounce of strength I had to keep me from lashing
out at him the way I wanted to, but in the end, I can't ever stay angry at my
sweet knight.
"Warm towels," Blaze asked, "I'll be back in a
flash, or my name isn't Blaze Winters, The Sub-Zero Knight!" My oaf of a
husband struck a pose before bolting out of the room, finally, I confessed.
The nurses quickly locked the door and continued
with the delivery. Overall, I had been in labor for fifteen hours, the longest
I've ever experienced when I thought about it. Perhaps it was due to the pain
of pregnancy that held my attention, but at the time the weather outside seemed
rather odd. Quirasara is an Autumn month, and blizzards aren't common this time
of year. However, our estate's meteorologist reported that this is the most
severe storm that the continent has ever experienced.
"M'Lady, excuse my interruption," a nurse named
Vanessa whispered in my ear, "but with this weather, and you currently being in
labor, I do believe this child will be—."
"GAAAAAAAH—!" I winced as I continued to push; I
wasn't worried about whatever it was Vanessa had to say, in this moment, I
wanted nothing more than to put an end to this insufferable pain.
"Almost there, M'Lady," another nurse gently
coaxed, "and would you look at that, a beautiful baby girl—." The nurse's eyes
began to widen, and the others gathered around her, and much like their
colleague their jaws dropped.
"What is it," I asked frantically, "let me see my
baby, what's wrong with her?!"
I reached towards the nurses, but Vanessa gently
pulled me back, "M'Lady, as I was saying, your child is the next Aquarian Ice
Guardian." As she spoke those words, the nurse holding my baby approached
me and I saw her. She was beautiful, with porcelain skin and dark auburn hair
like her father; and when she opened her eyes, those breathtaking emerald eyes
and looked at me for the first time, I knew; I'd just given birth to our
family's strongest mage, The Aquarian.
"Although the weather suggests differently," I
gently smiled as I caressed her soft hair, "I believe the perfect name for you
would be Autumn, Autumn Winters."
Autumn Winters
Winters' Manor, Winters Village, Faewelt Kingdom,
West Sidhe; 12 Levidarth 4R7X
I've been living in this new life of mine for
about three years now, and from what I can tell, I was born to a European noble
family. Although, where in Europe exactly do we live, maybe Western Europe?
I'm the youngest child of the noble Winters
family, a royal knight family that also governs the village nearby. In my old
life, I didn't exactly have a large family, in fact they had all passed before
I was a teenager, so believe me when I say the switch took more than some
getting used to. In total I have four older siblings; there's my eldest brother
Channing, he's currently enrolled in university to be a royal advisor. Then
there's my oldest sister Francesca, she usually keeps to herself; however, I have
noticed that she's taken a liking to me. Lastly, I have two twin siblings,
Tempest and Cain, they're a rambunctious pair, always getting into trouble with
our parents.
"Alright Autumn, remember what we taught you,"
Cain corrected my posture, he insisted on teaching me swordsmanship, which I
found to be rather odd. "You want to keep your back straight, and make sure
your strikes are confident; like this!" My brother stood tall, holding his
double edged blade close to his chest; he took a deep breath in and lunged
forward with a grace I never knew he had. Cain's technique to the untrained eye
was nothing more than spectacular, and he captivated me with every motion.
"Wow," my eyes widened with amazement, "Brother,
your form is perfect! You must teach me everything you know!"
"He's not all that," Tempest's voice echoed
through the courtyard, "if you want to see perfection, I can show you why I'm
the better twin—."
"You're older than me by two minutes," Cain
smiled, but it was clear that he was holding back his anger. "But hey, since
we're both here, might as well give our dear baby sister a little show. After
that, she can decide who she'd rather be mentored by, what do you say, Auto; does that seem fair?" I viciously nodded my head
to agree to the terms; both my siblings were strong fighters however, this
would be my first time getting to see the two of them go all out.
"Oh, so they're at it again," a voice murmured
next to me, it was Francesca, "well it does make sense. It's been about three
years since the last time they went all out."
"Three years?" I asked, "wait, that was around
the time I was born; what were they fighting about?"
My sister slowly turned her head, sporting a
smile reminiscent of a kitten and pounced on me, "to see who would get to hold
you first! Oh Auto, when you were born, you were the most precious little
thing!" The hug was suffocating and the harder I tried to pull away, the
tighter her grip got.
"Alright, Auto," Tempest smirked, pointing her
sword at Cain, "let me show you why I'm named Tempest Winters!"
"Let the match, begin!" Francesca yelled and, in
a blink, both Tempest and Cain vanished.
Am I dreaming, I thought, they were just
there a second ago. I looked to
Francesca however, her gaze was transfixed on the courtyard, can she—, can she see them?
For a brief moment, my siblings were visible, and
it was then I began to question everything I knew. "Forecast Signature: Cumulonimbus: Category 3!" Cain pulled out a dagger and began to carve the
air however, I could see a trail of light at the blade's tip. Once Cain was
done carving the air, the trail of light started to swell and form into clouds.
The clouds darkened in color, and I could see
lightning starting to form, "is he making clouds," I looked to Francesca for
answers. "How are they moving so fast? How is he making clouds?"
"Nimbus Signature: Nimbostratus: Hail," Tempest etched the air, and much like Cain's attack, the light from
her blade turned into dark, almost wispy clouds. The cloud roared with thunder
as shards of ice came hurling down at the courtyard.
"Tempest and Cain have similar signatures,"
Francesca began, "however, you might be asking, 'Fran, what's a signature?'
Well, it's an ability everyone is born with, a direct reflection of your soul;
and in order to use that signature, you need mana."
"Mana? Signature?" I didn't understand what she
was saying, magic, abilities, signatures, none of it was making sense; but I
couldn't deny what was in front of me. I was witnessing
my own flesh and blood, pull off feats you'd see in an action movie.
"That's right, Auto," Francesca looked at me and
gave the warmest of smiles, "and you have one too." At that moment, it had
dawned on me, I wasn't in Europe, I didn't know where I was, but it wasn't
earth.
KA-CRASH—! Lightning struck one of the trees near
where Francesca and I were spectating and it started to topple over. The
experience all happened so fast that I wasn't sure of what happened, but when I
opened my eyes, I was speechless.
"Oh Auto," Father came running outside towards
me. He took me into his embrace before asking, "what happened here? ANSWER
ME?!"
"Tempest and Cain were having a match to
determine who would be mentoring Autumn," Francesca informed, "one of Cain's
spells misfired and struck that tree—." My sister pointed towards the direction
of the tree, and I couldn't believe my eyes, the tree had been completely
encased in ice.
"I—I did that?" I struggled to push the words out
from my mouth, "Father, what's going on?" My father looked at me and I couldn't
tell if he were upset, or excited, frustrated, or felt despair.
"Auto—, I mean, Lady Autumn," Father knelt before
me and bowed his head, "the time has come sooner than expected. With your
signature now awakened, I, Sir Blaze Winters, do hereby pledge my life to The
Aquarian." When I looked around, I saw that everyone in the manor was in
attendance, and much like Father, they all bowed.
"Lady?" I questioned.
Mother approached me holding both a rapier and a
crown, "yes, Lady Autumn. We've all waited a great deal for this day. The day
The Aquarian would awaken and lead this noble family." At just two and a half
years old, I had awakened my signature, and it was at that point I was seen as
a prodigy; and at just two and a half years old, I was given a new name, The
Aquarian Guardian: Lady Autumn Winters.
•••
Winters' Manor, Winters Village, Faewelt Kingdom;
12 Samadan 8R7X
Deep breath now, I closed my eyes and channeled
the mana into my cache; as I did so, I guided my wand in the air and scribed my
name, "Ice Signature: Ymir's Hammer." The mana from my spell started to
crystallize and the ice began to clump together to form a pair of ice gauntlets
around my hands. I felt no sense of cold from them, in fact, it was rather
cozy.
"Very good," Francesca closed her book and gave
me a studious expression, "but is it just another glass cannon?"
A bead of sweat raced down my spine, geez Fran, this is a lot of pressure to put on a
six-year-old. I assumed an
offensive position and extended my right arm towards my target. Again, I closed
my eyes and took a deep inhale, pouring every ounce of mana into this spell, "Jötunn Fist!" The gauntlet shot out an almost
spherical chunk of ice that completely obliterated the target; however, my
right gauntlet had shattered immediately after.
Francesca shook her head in disappointment, "I
hate to say it, Auto, but I can't teach you anymore."
My heart had skipped a beat, what, what does she mean? I chose Fran to teach
me because her signature is the closest to mine. Not only that but, it was you
Fran, it was you that told me that no one else can teach me, so why? Why go
back on your word?
"Oh Auto, I know you can't help it, but you look
so darn cute when you're upset," Francesca pulled me into another one of her
suffocating hugs. "But in all honesty, it's not that I don't want to teach you.
Believe me, I want nothing more than to be your only teacher. But you are The
Aquarian, and you deserve to be taught by a more refined magic instructor." Her
grip on me had loosened, and it was at that moment I heard Francesca holding
back her tears, "You don't know just how honored and proud I am to be your big
sister, and to be your first mentor. And it's the duty of every good teacher to
make sure their student is set up for success." My sister reached into her
satchel and pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.
"What's this," I asked as I accepted the letter.
"It's a letter of acceptance to The Caliburn Institute for Young and Gifted Mages,"
Francesca smiled, wiping the tears from her face; "it's the top magic school
for children, much like you. The enrollment window has already closed and
move-in is in a week. Thanks to Channing though, we were able to enroll you
early."
"Wait I only have a week left? How long will I be
away for school?" I was being bombarded with all this new information at once
and it was making it hard to process it all.
"You'll be away for thirty years," no longer
sobbing, Francesca took my head and placed it on her chest, "you'll be okay, Auto. It seems like a long time, but in this world,
this realm's denizens, we are blessed with longevity. We are Hyuman, and our
ancestors were both fairies and humans; because of this, we have the ability to
tap into and harness mana. Along with that, we have the gift of living long
lives, I believe the eldest hyuman lived to be nine thousand years old."
The tears began pouring down my face, "I'm gonna
be an old lady by the time I see you again!?"
My outburst was met with a jovial smile and laugh
from Francesca, "you'll still be a little girl, don't worry. Besides, you're
going to lose your marbles when you find out how old I am." The thought never
occurred to me, I didn't know any of my siblings ages. I'd gone most of my life
keeping to my magic lessons and we hardly ever celebrated birthdays, unless it
was mine, of course.
"I'm too scared to guess," I was able to keep
from crying completely by her prompting me.
"Well lucky for you, Winters Women never kiss and
tell," Francesca winked and stuck her pinky out, gesturing me to grab it with
mine. "If by the time you come back and you've managed to become an old crone,
I'll tell you my age, deal?"
I hooked my finger onto my sisters and instantly
my eyes began pooling with tears, "d—deal, big-Big Sister fra—Franny!"
Francesca gave me a calming smile while admiring
the tree I'd frozen over four years ago, "and by that time, I just know you'll
be able to effortlessly achieve that feat again." The tree stood completely
covered in ice; although we live in the north, we do still experience changes
in season. For the past four years, that tree had remained
exactly the same as when my signature awakened, since then I found it difficult
to replicate it.
Perhaps it'll be for the best, I thought as I
studied the tree. The ice of an average Winters mage takes on the standard blue
color; The Aquarian's ice on the other hand, takes on gem-like emerald. If I
want my ice to be that strong again, I'll have no choice but to go through with
this.
•••