Aura

This is only a story. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it.
I hope you enjoy this original story!
==One==
"Stop!"
The girl pressed herself against the wall, her hands clapped tightly to her ears. Swirls of magic in colorful strips whirled around her, begging for her attention, but she ignored them.
"Aura, what are you doing?" a voice asked. Her mother, Lena Harris.
Aura looked up and slowly unclasped her hands. "Nothing," she said innocently.
Lena frowned down at her. "Well, if you see anything wrong, then you know where to find me."
She left, yelling at their father about the coffee being too cold again.
Aura stood up, her dark hair spilling out on her shoulders. She watched her mother go, then quickly picked up her phone, stuck her earbuds in the slit, and opened Spotify to her playlist.
She instantly relaxed.
On the outside, Aura Harris seemed like a normal fourteen-year-old. She had her braided black hair threaded with beads, lots of friends, good grades, and annoying siblings. But on the inside, she was very, very different.
Aura could see magic. She could see it through the air, whenever it was used, and every single piece that wasn't used. And she could hear it - soft and light, like a piano or a flute, but it nearly drowned out her other senses. She had to use some sort of noise-canceling object to block out the magic.
Every day, Aura wished she could be normal.
She tied her hair back in her braids, and immediately regretted it when the magic's voices immediately flooded back. Her phone's volume turned up, but it didn't help.
Aura exhaled out a breath and pressed her earbuds tighter against her ears, not caring if it was bad for her like her mother always said.
"Aura!" Her mother's voice yelled from the direction of the kitchen. "Your little brother has found the refrigerator and decided to spill out every object in his reach! Can you get Henry before he ruins anything else?"
"Sure, okay," Aura muttered, removing her earbuds, setting down her phone, and trudging towards her younger brother.
Henry was two years old and two times feistier. He regularly caused mischief every day, and it was normally up to Aura to take care of him.
"Henry," she called. "Henry! Come here!"
"Aura!" Her little brother immediately left the kitchen and toddled into her arms. "I found food."
"Yes, you certainly did." She set him down gently. "Let's go to your room."
She read him stories and tried her best to please his various needs, until her mother finally announced, "Aura, get your brother over here!"
"Let's go to Mommy," Aura whispered to Henry. He nodded brightly, grabbed her hand, and they started towards the kitchen.
Lena shouted more obscenities about the coffee as Henry waddled over to his mother. Aura slid down to the floor, pressed her earbuds in, and open her phone again. 
When would this cycle end?
== Two ==
Aura was taking the shortcut. 
She wound her way through forest paths, stepping carefully over dead logs and fallen leaves. Her school wasn't far from her house, so she walked home every day. 
She was only about halfway home when she found the crystal. It had clear swirls of magic around it, and at first she didn't want to pick it up. But the voices in her head urged her to. 
Aura normally didn't like taking the forest path. The lull of magic was stronger here, crowding her head with unseen voices and unknown magics. But her regular way had been inhabited by a dead squirrel, so here she was. 
She picked her way through a patch of rotten bark, and that was when she saw the crystal. It was a cloudy white, with dark red swirls of magic clear as day embroidered throughout it. 
It hung from a delicate golden chain. She ignored it - she didn't need more magic in her head - but she felt a strong urge to pick it up. 
So she did. 
Every fiber in her body warned her not to, but she couldn't help it. She let the golden chain rest in the space between her index finger and thumb, and couldn't help but smile when a scarlet light started to radiate from the crystal. 
She tied the chain around her neck and tucked it under her shirt. No one had to know. 
== Three ==
A hand grabbed her arm and yanked her behind a tree. 
Aura instinctively clapped her hands over her ears. Harsh red swirls of magic burned the air above her, and she tightened her grip. 
"You fool!" A voice whispered in her ear, forcing her to lower her hands. "You've taken one of the Lightbringers. There's no going back!"
Aura blinked. "What's a Lightbringer? And who are you?" 
She felt as if she should be more panicked and cautious, but there was something comforting about the dreamy lull of the new person's voice. Almost familiar...
She was drawn out of her thoughts when she saw the person's face. It was a young woman about fifteen or sixteen. She had white-blond hair with golden highlights, and her eyes were a deep blue. 
She studied Aura's face, ignoring her questions, and sighed. The girl dropped Aura's arm, grabbed her wrist instead, and started to drag her along the forest path. 
"What's going on?" Aura yelped as the girl marched on. 
The girl turned and gave her a fierce scowl. "None of your business."
I guess I'm on my own now, Aura thought, then was struck with a sudden thought. 
She whirled around and stared accusingly at the girl. "What about my family? They'll call the police if they find out I'm missing!"
The girl tilted her head up the sky and let out a long-suffering sigh. "Neria, help me," she muttered, then turned back to Aura. "Why must you be so insufferable? Time won't even pass while you're with us. If you have reason to stay long enough, they'll forget you. Human minds are unsurprisingly weak." She turned around again, muttering something about annoying little girls. 
Aura clapped her hands over her mouth to cover a gasp. Forget me? Permanently? 
She drew back from the girl's grip and stood stick-straight in the middle of the road, not moving. "I'm not going anywhere until you give me some answers."
The girl arched an eyebrow. "We have a rebel, do we? Well, Aura, you don't know enough yet. You're new, too new to know anything yet. Otherwise you would have some sense." She started down the path, but her mouth moved of her own accord and added, "I'm Wynter, by the way."
Wynter grabbed Aura's hand again and trudged farther. 
Aura let her drag her along. She'd been down this road before: being rebellious led to vague responses. If she was obedient, she would get some real answers. 
And she would. Soon. 
She hoped.
== Four ==
"Whaddya got there?" A voice asked Wynter as she entered a large complex with Aura straight at her heels. "Is that the magic listener? No - " Wynter shushed him. 
"Right now, she's a fool," Wynter muttered. "None of your business. Carry on." 
Aura felt entirely numb. So this was it - no one to save her, nowhere to go. She gazed around at the huge walls all around her, feeling like she was suffocating.
"So this is where you...erm, work?" She asked Wynter. 
The older girl scowled. "I don't work for anyone." She stomped off, her hand clamped firmly on Aura's wrist, which of course meant that Aura was dragged along with Wynter. 
She wondered what it was like in the other girl's shoes. Sullen and annoyed the entire day? Sounded exhausting. Aura pondered, trying to ignore the visible swirls of magic around her face. 
Why couldn't there ever be an easy answer in the world?
She frowned at the lint flicked onto the ground and let Wynter drag her around. They'd soon reached massive glass doors, and Wynter barged in without knocking. 
Aura shook herself free from the other girl and looked around the new room they were in. There was a wooden desk, and a small glass vial sat nonchalantly on it. Behind the desk was an older man, and his face lit up when he saw Wynter and Aura. 
"Wynter!" he exclaimed. "You found her!"
"Yippee," Wynter said, not sounding very enthusiastic.
"Um," Aura interrupted, "will someone explain what I'm doing here? And why? And how I can get back?"
"'Why'...a question asked by so many," the man mused. He heaved a sigh and beckoned Aura closer. "Come. I'll tell you, for now, curious child. But that is the only answer you'll ever get." 
He leaned closer, his eyes alight with a strange energy that Aura didn't recognize. "It all started a long time ago..."
== Five (the story) ==
A long time ago, there lived a king.
He had everything he could have possibly wanted, but he wasn’t satisfied. The only thing he desired was a maiden, true and fair, who would rule at his side. 
So he summoned the most accurate seers in all of the kingdom and asked them, “How will I acquire a wife?”
The seers took some time to respond to this. Some said, “Pray to the gods.” Others gave him lists of things he could do. Some told him to hard-boil eggs and eat them with saltwater. But it was a poor young girl who gave him the best advice. 
It was summer, the clouds high in the sky. The king looked upon his kingdom and wondered, "How would it feel as if to have a queen by my side?"
(more coming soon)
Category:Original Stories (Unfinished)
Category:Fantasy
Category:Literature
Category:Original Stories