“Why?” My withered voice was barely louder than the summer breeze. “I’m fine!” Anger bubbled inside me, begging to be released.
“No, you’re not!” Kristy said abruptly. She pulled hard on my arm and I had no other choice but to follow her, wondering where we were going. Everything was a blur and all I could see was their embrace. “Violet!” Kristy’s ringing voice filled my ears. “Snap out of it!”
“I said I’m fine!” I said, gritting my teeth.
Sighing, Kristy shook her head and clasped my hands. “No, you’re not.” Gently, she rubbed my hands and cast me a worried look. “I’m sorry I yelled at you, but you were in a daze that could have destroyed you.”
“I was fine,” I repeated. Kristy gestured to the path behind us where I noticed an ice trail. It couldn’t have been me, I thought, but when my eyes fell on my palms, drops of ice were dripping onto the ground.
“I’m sorry, Violet,” Kristy said, but I shook my head and ran. “Violet!” I heard her distant voice, but I ran even faster, needing everything to disappear. Especially my feelings that threatened to drown me into their squeezing embrace.
Arriving at the city’s square, I stopped to take a breath, putting my arms at my sides. Looking back, I was amazed at how I got here without stopping.
“Violet! You’re here, shall we?”
Turning, I saw Diane smiling at me and nodded. Cursing myself for being so careless, I followed her. I was in no way in position for a walk, but the good thing was that Diane talked a lot about her and other mundane things so she shouldn’t be able to detect my sadness. If, however, she caught something at the beginning, it would be one hell of a lunchtime.
“So, how are you? How’s Kristy?” She began her questionnaire, and I managed to retain a smile as I answered.
“Fine. She’s getting ready for her trip but impatient about finding out the results of the examination.”
“She’s so lucky that she’s going on a trip around the world. Why don’t you go with her?” Diane said with nostalgia in her voice.
“I prefer going to uni first and when I graduate, I can go on as many trips I wish,” I responded.
“Well, I’m going on a trip when I get my results and then on to the university,” she stated and a slight smile colored my pale face. “How’s Jacques?” A broad grin coated her face, and I schooled my face to retain my smile while my heart broke at the thought of him and the strikingly beautiful woman. Diane had liked him from the first moment and wished she would find someone like him one day.
“He’s fine, I guess,” I said and then chided myself for letting the last part slip from my tongue.
“You guess?”
“Well, I haven’t seen him for a while as he’s hanging out with his friends.” A lie easily breathed but I wished it was the truth.
“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. Don’t be so controlling. I’m going to get something cool to drink, it’s so hot today.” She patted my arm and headed for the coffee shop while I sat on a seat, frozen, battling my feelings like it was an evil monster. It was a hot day, but my heart felt like an Antarctica of my own making.
“Here. It was packed, but I managed to slip in. Cheers!” She raised her glass and drank a good portion of her lemonade.
Sipping from my glass, I noticed it was way colder than it should be and taking a look, my eyes momentarily widened but I managed to act natural. Placing my fingers on my capri pants, I took a short breath, calming myself. I had frozen the glass with my hands without even trying it. Just like before.
Diane continued to talk about the one and the other and I needed all the self-control I had not to cry. Watching people outside was even more painful because as it was summer, the couples were out walking hand in hand, kissing and reminding me of what I had lost. A fleeting dream. A teenager’s wish. A leaf in the wind, cruelly crushed by a red heel. On the way home, I looked down as I didn’t want to see any more couples or boys who reminded me of him. I hated that I was acting like that, but I was not going to let that beat me. I had powers, and I was stronger than that!
At night, when Diane’s breaths filled the peace of our bedroom, I looked at the dark ceiling without seeing it. Why wouldn’t he tell me? Tears gathered in my eyes, but I refused to succumb to them.
Chapter 16: The Letter
“Violet!” Kristy exclaimed when she saw me the next day in the Blessed Realm. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I said, shrugging.
“Good. Shall we walk?”
I was certain she could sense my mood but didn’t bring it up and I appreciated it. I caught a sudden movement and seeing my eyes widen, Kristy turned. A leopard of an enormous size, sat on a branch, licking its paws.
“Someone’s pet?” I whispered and Kristy gripping my hand, shook her head.
“I hope not. It’s a little big to be a pet.” Her low voice trembled at the sight of the beast.
The leopard leaped from the tree and standing before us, it cast a predatory look. As scared as I was, I could not help but notice its silver eyes. In a flash, the leopard disappeared and Hannah took its place.
“A pet? Really?” She twisted her ruby lips and crossed her arms. “Have you not seen a shapeshifter before?
“There aren’t many predator shapeshifters here, and if they do turn, they do it away from the mainland,” Kristy said in a clear voice, having found her composure.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “What are you up to?” Placing her hand on her hip, she looked us up and down and it reminded me of a scanning machine. She wore the same red dress that showed a great amount of leg, but she had changed her makeup to a purple shade today and I wondered how she could dress in such an odd manner and still look attractive. Summer was for bright colors, not dark.
“We’re going to have some tea.” Kristy jumped to answer and Hannah waved her hand dismissively.
“Tea? In summer?” She laughed. “How dull!” We observed her walking with her stilettos poking into the grass without missing a step.
“Come this way.” Kristy pulled me and we walked to her house and ushered me inside. “Predator all right,” she said when she sealed the door behind us. “How are you?” She sat on the couch next to me and her eyes searched my face in worry.
“I’m fine,” I said and looked on in amazement as drinks and treats traveled from the kitchen to the living room table on their own. Kristy took a biscuit and sipped from her iced tea without commenting. Touching my glass resulted in covering it in ice so I pulled my hand back. “My powers are acting strangely,” I complained.
“Your powers are responding to your emotions and if you’re as angry as I sense, then we’re going to have winter in the middle of summer.”
“That’s not funny.” I scowled and her somber look made me realize she wasn’t joking. “What do I do? Yesterday, I went out with Diane and my glass froze.”
“I don’t know.” She placed her hand under her chin, deep in thought. “The only way to stop it is to feel happy again. Do you want to talk about it?”
Shaking my head, I shrugged. I tried to smile, but it turned into a twisted laugh. “What’s to talk about? That a leopard is now walking among us, wearing an odd combination that makes her beautiful or the fact that he didn’t tell me?”
“I tried to find something out about her, but I came up with a blank. No one seems to know where she came from but they are afraid of her. Predator shapeshifters are dangerous and uncontrollable, not only for the obvious reason but also because the animal can take over of the human body completely.”
My mouth fell open. “The animal? You mean she—”
“—she can walk in her human body, but she can be controlled by the leopard skin. Very dangerous stuff and that’s why shapeshifters are placed out of the city.” Munching on another cookie, she added, “It’s not like we can’t stop them but some shapeshifters are immune to magical powers. I don’t know if she’s one of them, but it would be ugly if this got out of control.” Shaking her he
ad, she bit her lip. “This is bad. How did she even enter the realm? The borders were supposed to forbid her entry.”
“There’s your proof,” I said and startled, she turned with wide eyes.
“The borders are magical and if she slipped through them…Shoot! We didn’t think of that!”
“We can’t think of everything,” I said passively.
“Sorry. Do you want me to talk to him?”
I shook my head violently. Even the thought of him brought pain to my heart. “I’ll be fine.” Eventually. Someday. “Thank you for the tea.” I placed my glass down. “I have to get going.”
“Okay, I’ll walk you to the gate,” Kristy said, snapping her fingers, and I looked amazed as the dishes paraded out of the living room.
“You are training them for the 4th of July?”
Laughing, she opened the door. “Something like that.”
We walked back to the gate in silence and I tried hard to keep my tears from raining down. The Blessed Realm was drowned in silence as nothing moved and I felt like it grieved, too, with me for the loss of a dream. When the clearing came into view, Kristy froze midway and peering from her shoulder, my eyes narrowed. My brain refused to believe what I saw in front of me, thinking it was a trick of the light. The leopard woman stood in all of her glory and beside her, him, the shapeshifter. Flickering my eyelids, I tried to order my body to move before…
“Violet,” he said as he saw me and I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my skin. He smiled, breaking the remaining pieces I still possessed of a frozen heart.
A lump formed in my throat and I felt like I was suffocating. His radiant smile cut like a knife and his eyes blue like the sea gazed at me with the same caring expression he always had for me. Deciding to end my suffering, I nodded and walked away with Kristy by my side.
“I can—” he started, but turning, I cut him off.
“I’m late,” I ended the conversation sharply before it started and Hannah’s laugh echoing in my ears.
“We can go for a run, then,” she said like I didn’t exist.
Kristy’s aura started shining, but I shook my head and biting her lip, she quickly got it under control. The shapeshifters didn’t understand a thing since this was not among their abilities.
“Are you sure?” Jacques persisted, but I faked a smile and nodded.
“I can’t wait to get settled in,” Hannah said, and I thought I saw a shadow cross Jacques’ face but the next moment it was gone. When I saw he didn’t respond, I turned my back and left with Hannah’s laugh echoing in the atmosphere until I crossed over.
In a daze, I walked, but my foot slipped and hit the ground. I carefully rose and stared at what made me fall. Ice. I pointed to the ice in order to remove it from existence when I noticed my hands were frosted like I had placed my hands deep in the snow. Afraid of what that meant, I tried to unfreeze my hands and when I failed, I murmured a spell to mask the frost from human eyes.
When I arrived at home, I found it deserted and I sighed in relief and went to grab some food and a drink. When I was holding the pitcher with the iced tea, in a moment’s notice, ice covered it.
“Violet!” I heard Diane’s voice from the door and I jumped startled, letting it fall from my hands. “What happened here?” Looking at the pieces of ice and glass spread on our floor, confusion grew on her face.
“The fridge froze the pitcher, and I accidentally dropped it,” I said, hoping she would buy the story without asking a ton of questions.
“Oh, yeah, it happens. It sucks.” Without another word, she took the broom to sweep up the shards of glass. “Yesterday, it froze the cheese. As in ice-cream cheese! It was not funny. We need to have it checked out.”
Hearing her words, I maintained a concerned expression, but I knew the fridge had nothing to do with the ice situation. It was me. We sat and ate with Diane sharing what she did during the day and I was so focused on her stories that it wasn’t until the last bite that I realized my food was completely frozen. My hands were frozen beyond recognition, but since Diane didn’t comment on that, it was safe to assume my masking spell was still working.
“Oh, there are some letters for you,” she said, munching her food, and I shot her an angry look.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The pitcher—”
Running to the hall, I found three letters and opened them in a hurry. I stalled as the ice was making things difficult but I managed to rip the paper in the end.
“So? What do they say?” Diane said, peering from my shoulder. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “You were accepted in all three of them! That’s so wonderful! Mom and Dad will be so excited. We must celebrate!” Then she started making plans while I went upstairs to study the letters on my own. After reading them several times, a light smile lit my face, but now the question was where to go? Putting them aside, I lay on my bed and I wished I still had the Evilship’s dreams to distract me.
◆◆◆
My parents were thrilled with the news when they came home from work and even if my father said he preferred I chose the closest university, my mom emphasized that I was an adult and I could make choices of my own now. “We will celebrate tonight and you can go out with your friends tomorrow,” she decided, getting in the kitchen. Pulling ingredients from the cupboards, I recognized she was preparing to make cheese and mushroom pie which was my favorite.
“There’s no need to go to any extra trouble. I am happy that you’re happy,” I said, as I didn’t want her to tire herself out for my sake.
“Oh, Violet.” She hugged me and touched my cheeks. “I love cooking and doing it for my family brings me more joy. We will support you with whatever choice you make, even if your father wants you close.” She winked. “The important thing is that you are here.” She touched the place on my heart and smiling, she turned to cook.
The celebratory dinner went off without a hitch and without many accidents on my part, even though my mom complained half the things in the fridge were frozen. My powers were spiraling out of control and if this continued, it would be even more difficult to hide it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wash the dishes,” I offered when we were finished.
“And I’ll dry them,” Diane added and my parents looked at us lovingly.
“Thank you, girls. Goodnight!” my mother chirped and my father patted me on the shoulder before following my mom upstairs.
“I can do them if you want to go to sleep,” I said quickly, as I wanted to escape her incessant stream of chatter tonight.
“You can’t do it on your own, they’re too many. Come on! Chop chop!” Holding the towel in hand, she snapped her fingers, and I got the water running.
“Wow! There were so many plates. Fortunately, we’re done!” Diane hung the towel back over the oven handle and said, “Don’t stay up too late, daydreamer.” I smiled nodding, and she left the kitchen.
Letting my lips turn downwards, I drowned the house in darkness, but instead of going up, I went outside near the treehouse. Hearing the crickets filled me with peace, but when I caught sight of a glow fairy, my peace dissipated. That single glow fairy flew my mind into the Blessed Realm and the pain returned with vengeance.
“Need company?” I shrugged and Kristy sat next to me. “I feel some happiness and it was recent. What is it?”
Focusing on the happy event, I said, “I got three letters from universities.”
“And?” Her wings fluttered in anticipation and looked at me with wondering eyes. “Come on, spill it. Don’t keep me waiting!”
“I got accepted to all three.”
“That’s amazing!” She clapped, but her features quickly melted into a scowl. “You should be happy. It’s a great achievement all things considered.”
“I know.” I bit my lip and then said, “Do you know the Oklealia Academy?”
“Never heard of it, but I am not an expert in universities. Why?”
“It’s that I never applied for that
one and yet I got their letter and they’re the only ones who require the answer in two days. It’s odd,” I said, thoughtful.
Kristy shrugged. “Luck maybe?”
“I guess.”
In the silence of the night, I wondered what my decision would be, where would I go…The Blessed Realm kept me tied here, but with the current situation, I didn’t really want to be here.
“You should go wherever you want,” Kristy said, breaking in my thoughts. “It’s not that hard to know what you are thinking. The darkness is gone and even if you are miles away and something does happen, we’ll figure it out on our own or I’ll fly you back. Simple!”
“I hate your flying.”
She laughed and patted my leg. “Then, let’s hope nothing happens and I can just show up and visit you anytime. Don’t worry about us. It’s your choice, Violet and no one else’s.”
I smiled. “That’s what my mom said.”
“Wise woman.” Pointing up, she said, “Why do you have a house up in the tree? Don’t tell me you live there.”
I laughed at her mystified look. “Of course not. It’s for kids. I used to play with Diane here when we were younger. That’s where I discovered the Sword of Light and…” my mind blanked. That’s where Jacques… Refusing to let my mind wander, I fought back my morose thoughts with knives and magic but it was all in vain.
“Violet?” Kristy shook my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“He spent the night there,” I said, rocking back and forth. “I found him lying on the ground after the surprise party and he was so weak. He shifted from form to form in the space of a minute,” I continued as hot tears ran down my face. “He apologized, he apologized,” I whispered.
“Violet,” Kristy said, holding her hand out.
The flood broke the dam and tears ran free on my face as my mind flashed back into every single moment I had with him. Like I needed more pain. Kristy pulled me toward her and made soothing sounds as my body trembled.
“Why me?” I mumbled. “The universe could have picked someone else,” I wailed and Kristy caressed my hair. “I wish I never met him, I hate him!” I wept, but the hate didn’t come, only more pain and tears. “Why did I like him?”
Beware the Violet Page 23
