Midas excitedly raced to his room to begin studying his Earth Ability after helping his sister. Minx unpacked what little belongings she had. The last thing she pulled from her bag was a small velvet box.
She carefully opened it and glanced at the golden locket inside as if she had not done it a thousand times before. She had memorized every line. Every curve. The design on front was that of a climbing rose with sharp thorns wrapped around a human heart so tight the thorns almost punctured it.
Inside the locket were two pictures she could only assume were her parents. This was the only thing left with them along with their names.
She wondered for the thousandth time who her parents were. Where did they go? Are they dead? Did the dalki kill them? Did they love their twins? Why did they leave two innocent babies behind to live such a hard life? And… Now that they made it out of that wretched orphanage, did she dare wear such a valuable and personal trinket in a world of bullies and thieves?
She decided to test her time here before putting her most precious item around her finger. She just stashed it away when she heard a squawk then a beep at her door. Her roommate had returned.
"Oh, hi!" Raven Bree stated, entering the room. "We were pretty quiet at the assessment."
Knowing she was stronger than this other student helped Minx but she was still nervous. She had always shared a room with her brother. Now she was sharing with a stranger. "Is your family the Bree? How often do you feed your feathery guy? I'm not going to lie. I always wanted a pet. No was all I'd get."
Raven blinked, staring at her roommate. Did this girl just respond in rhyme?, "my family worked their way into the Bree Family's favor. We are in one of their factions and I got lucky enough to learn their ability. I'm not in line for any power or anything. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to grow."
Presenting the bird, "This is Knight. He's an intermediate level beast and is sort of a cross between a raven and a crow. I met him about 4 months ago and we were instant friends, but we are still learning about each other and growing closer. Did you hit those targets with vines at the assessment?"
Minx nodded, "Yes, they were vines. They can be used as bind, as a whip, or even a rope. We can be friends, I hope? I'm an orphan with my twin. Friends were considered a sin…" Minx looked dejected and cast her eyes toward the floor.
Raven looked a bit taken aback by this crazy rhyming girl then nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. I think we can be friends just fine and there is no one here saying we can't be. My name is Raven."
Minx nodded and smiled. She took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. "I appreciate that. My brother and I were forced to share a room and bed because we were rejected by everyone at the orphanage. My name is Minx and I rhyme when I'm uncomfortable." Her face showed clear happiness that she was able to get that out without rhyming showing she was feeling comforted by Raven, Knight or maybe both. But she thought it was more the bird than the human.
Raven nodded with a huge smile, "I was wondering about the rhyming! I look forward to us being friends!"
Minx lay on her bed with her school tablet. While she tried to familiarize herself with the device, her fingers kept grazing the unfamiliar fabric of her woolen, issued blanket. It felt rough to the touch, but it was also thicker than she was used to. Cold was a sensation she was used to during the winter months while in the warmer months, the air was suffocating. This room felt… comfortable; something she only experienced in her classrooms in her previous school. Should I allow myself to get used to this?
Minx would be lost without her brother's guidance and she knew it. He showed her how to access her course materials as well as the general function of the device that would be her lifeline to completing her classes. Why was this device different from her previously issued one?
After being bored to tears, she put the tablet down and went to the library. She noticed the blond-haired boy at a table talking to the curly haired boy, the one that rejected the ability book, but the room was quite crowded.
She perused the books, familiarizing herself with the layout. She noticed there were many books on the first floor, the section for first years. She stayed there pursuing topics and getting an idea of where everything was so she could study more efficiently. She decided to go check on her brother, look into dinner then return to the library until bed time.
Exhausted, she collapsed onto her bed. There was much to learn.
The sound of a fight was coming from the other end of the school hallway. Like many times before, Minx could see a muscle-bound boy with a high ability was beating on Midas. Her rage billowed up inside her.
The fight was at least a hundred feet away from Minx, with other students as an obstacle course between her and her target. She needed to rescue him and punish her abuser as she always did. She flipped, somersaulted, cartwheeled and vaulted off the walls to get around all the students, dodging here and there, kicking where needed. The other students tried to stop her from protecting her twin, but Minx wasn't an ordinary person. She came out of a flip and brought her foot right up under the chin of her brother's assailant sending him flying backward. Midas dropped to the floor.
Hose, the assailant, struggled, trying to get up, disoriented after his head impacted with the brick wall. She was too quick for him and stomped on his knee cap shattering it beyond repair by normal medical means. He screamed in pain, twisting his body trying to protect the appendage and Minx looked over her shoulder to see if Midas was okay. He was bloody and not moving. Her anger welled up, almost boiling inside her. She returned her burning gaze to Hose and noticed he had moved to an almost kneeling position, protecting the injured knee. Blood oozed from his head and flowed from his knee. It was obvious his jaw was shattered and a few teeth were on the floor, but she didn't care.
Rage consumed her. A banshee scream escaped her throat, unknown to her, as violently swung her leg with all the strength she had toward his head. Her mind warped in her desire for blood. Hose's blood. Hose's death. Inches before she was to shatter his skull, Hose was pulled out of the way by a telekinesis ability. Stella rescued him. Minx narrowly impacted with bricks and didn't even feel the pain. She screamed again, consumed with rage.
Minx vaulted into a sitting position in bed, gasping for air having just finished her scream. Her blanket was torn. Tears streamed down her face. She grabbed her pillow and shoved her face into it, crying. Hugging it so tight she would have called it George if she were an old cartoon character.
When the river from Minx' eyes finally dried up, she realized their room was bathed in daylight. Sitting on the only other bed in the room sat Raven Bree with Knight sitting on her shoulder, concern clearly in her eyes.
Minx dried her eyes on the remnant of the corner of her blanket, "I woke you, didn't I?"
Raven nodded with concern still radiating from her, "It's okay. Are you okay? That sounded dreadful."
Minx took several slow, deep breaths, eradicating the memory that often resurfaces in her sleep, tormenting her. "I was exhausted last night. I failed to meditate but that doesn't always help. I do morning meditations as well."
Fidgeting uncomfortably, "emotions, hard to master. I'm a walking disaster… Attacks against my brother make me see red." Her voice grew cold and deadly, "I want them all dead. Strong adults terrify me. They make me want to flee. We always ran for the trees. So, the next day, we would see. The abuse was everywhere." A tear leaked from her eye once more. "Happiness was rare…" She trailed off, angry with herself once more.
Her voice trailed off. She released her pillow from her strangle-hold and placed it back on her bed, smoothing it out as though she wasn't trying to murder it just moments before.
Minx slid off the bed to sit cross-legged on the floor. She exhaled deeply, letting the bad memory escape her mind as she focused her energy on nothing but grounding. She ensured the white light entered through the arche of her feet. She guided the light to every part of her body, slowly moving it to energize and invigorate herself then sent the excess energy back into the ground, before opening her eyes once more.
Raven stepped from the shower, put on her uniform and emerged into the room using a towel to dry her hair. Minx opened her eyes, blinking a few times. She realize her roommate had already showered and decided it was a good idea and did the same.
Midas returned toward his room using the quickest and most direct route possible after leaving Minx 's room. His watch displayed the dreadful number 1. He knew as long as it glaringly shared his lack of strength with the world, he wasn't safe. Worse was what it meant for his sister. This needed to change. He was tired of her risking her own safety every day to save him from the monsters. Change started today
Midas agreed with Minx that the military was one of the least noble factions out there. The problem was, he needed an ability, and the military attached conditions to the one they issued. Lost in thought, focused on getting to his destination, Midas found himself slammed into the wall. Just a heartbeat later, a blond boy just 2 inches taller than him, slammed his assailant into the opposite wall even harder. Grateful, Midas nodded and rushed off at top speed for the safety of his room as the taller boy nodded back.
After slowing down his breathing after the hasty retreat, Midas began studying his level 1 earth ability book. One day soon, he would return the protection his sister offered for the past 16 ears.