A Collection Of Short Stories

Here is where I will post my stories for contests. Most of my stories will be fantasy, but there will be the few odd realistic fictions and historical fictions. Maybe a sci-fi. If you like the story, remember to comment down below! Also, I'd love reviews of my stories! Feel free to write some!! If you would like to continue the story, then you may ask down below and we'll work out the details! 
__TOC__
=== Waking The Stars ===
Dear Mother, 2:30 am, March
The stars are still tonight, mother. They don't move with the liveliness they usually do. I fear something is wrong. I cannot find Stellceta. And Morosa is fearful; I can tell by the way she looks around and up at the stars again. She hasn't awoken the stars, I think. I have long suspected she was The Keeper Of the Stars, but I could never find proof. Until now. She is ill, I suppose. Maybe I can come out tonight, just for a minute? I know I promised I would never leave at night, but how can I see such sorrow radiating from my friends? It would be cruel, cruel to leave them like that, cruel to let them suffer alone. I am sorry mother, but I must bring back the Star's song. Don't worry, I shall be careful. I suppose I should get going, or else the sun shall rise and the stars will have to hide. 
I am writing this now from outside. It is as I feared. My stars have become silent. Even Stellceta. I won't let her down. Or you. I'm worried that I already have, however. I am going to go search for Stellceta now, but I'll come back and write later...I'll tell you everything. I promise.
As I promised, I'm here to continue my letter. Its been nearly an hour since I left this letter. I wish I could put what happened then into words properly, but I'm not certain. I will try...
Morosa sits beside me, looking up at the stars, her head down. 
"I'm certain its here," I reassure Morosa, already starting to search on the gold-paper covered ground. Stacks of papers surround us. They are full of the dreams of young children. 
"What are you looking for?" Morosa asks, curiousity in her tone. I turn to her.
"You told me about the lullaby to wake up the stars. I'm going to find it, then sing it. I'll wake up the stars, since you aren't able to."
"Zerise, there's no going back after this," Morosa warned me, her gruff voice lathered with worry. "You'll become the Keeper of Stars, and nothing will ever be the same again." 
"I know, Rosa. But you'll die if you have to awaken the stars, and Stellceta, again." Tears prick at my eyes as I think about the fact that Morosa might not make it. Morosa nuzzles me. "But you're simply and 11-year-old girl. A human. It would be hard for you. And I wouldn't even mind dying if I knew you were fine." 
"No!" I shout, startling myself. "No, you are not dying." I say more quietly, turning back to the sheets of paper. I pick one up and read it. 
"Not this one." I mutter. It describes a child's wish to talk to a dolphin. Normally I would have thought it cute, but not today. Not when Morosa depended on the right paper. The search continued for nearly half an hour. Suddenly Morosa's ears went flat against her head and she growled. 
"Rosa, whats wrong?" I ask, my eyes scanning the area. Nothing seems amiss. 
"Stay back,Zerise. Someone is here." Morosa warns me. Silence follows. 
"Are you certain?" I ask. I don't exactly doubt Morosa, but sometimes even she is wrong. I start walking towards where she is growling. 
"See, no on-" I'm cut off by a arrow whizzing towards my head. Someone's here, just as Rosa said. 
"Who is it?" I mouth at Morosa. She shakes her head at me and pounces into the shadows. A strangled scream comes from it. When Morosa reappears, she is dragging a boy behind her. He has dirty blonde hair, and eyes of a color I can't describe. 
"Did you..kill him?" I ask Morosa. There isn't any blood anywhere.
"No. I don't kill humans. He's just unconcious. But he did have something." She gestures to his hand, which has a gold paper tight in its grasp. I walk over to him and gently open his hand, tugging the paper out of his hand. It's thicker than the other sheets, and its slightly heavy. But it's paper! I think. My eyes move over the paper and I gasp in surprise. I turn to Morosa, "Is this-" 
She cuts me off, "Just read it." 
I finish reading it and turn to her. "This boy- he wants to become the Keeper. And he knows how to. How can we take his wish from him?" 
She shakes her head and turns away, "He won't want to. I promise you, he will not want to. Besides, he's too young. You're too young. Goodness, you're only 11! He's probably 12." 
"Well, it says there's a key, but there is only a picture of a key. and that doesn't really help." I say. She nudges the paper with her nose. 
"That key isn't as fake as you'd think." She says. I look at her, puzzled. She places a paw on the picture. 
"Try touching it." She suggests. I a still confused, but I do as she says, and touch my hand to the paper. To my surprise, I feel smooth metal, instead of paper, but only where the key is. "The key..Its inside the paper! How can I get it out?" 
"I'm not certain. Maybe try..." Morosa's ears perk up. "Shove your hand in. It'll work, I promise." 
I nod uncertainly and roll up the sleeve of my red dress. I tap the paper once, then shove my hand in. It feels weird, almost tickly, I feel around for a bit before grasping onto the key. I pull my hand back and stare in awe. The key is in my hand, shining a bright gold. I turn to Morosa. "Come on. I must go awaken the stars." 
Finding the chest, however, was much harder. "Base of the sun and moon? Where is that supposed to be?" I mutter to myself. I look up in the sky,and see the light of dawn is tinting the sky a light purple. Dawn. 
"Thats it!" I exclaim. "Dawn, Morosa! Sun and Moon. Its the base of both!" 
"And I see the chest!" She calls back. I hurry over to her. And true to her word, a silver chest is sitting in front of her. 
"So Its only visible at dawn." I note, coming to stand beside her. 
"Yes, Zerise." Morosa says, looking down. I think we both know what is going to happen next. What I need to do. 
"Guess this is it, isn't it?" Morosa whispers, her rough voice breaking. 
"I'm not dying, Rosa. I'm just..fufilling my destiny." I smile at her weakly. I reach towards it, but then draw my hand back. You can do this, Zerise, I think to myself. I shove the key in the keyhole and turn it. Click. Sitting in the chest is a folded silver paper. The Song. With a shaking hand I pick it up. It quivers in my hand, as though its song just needs to escape. 
"You're ready." Morosa urges me. I unfold the paper and open my heart to the words. 
As I sing, the stars above brighten. They start dancing to the song, twinkling and beautiful. I stop to take a breath, and they stop as well. 
"Awaken your lovely song, free those lyrics in your head, dance and fly across the night, know that you are brilliant and strong.." I continue singing. As I reach the final verse, a bright animal made out of geometirc shapes swims through the stars. 
"Welcome home, Stellceta." I whisper, after I finish the song. 
"And welcome home Zerise, Keeper Of The Stars." She returns, her starry eyes sparkling. 
And so I was, mother. I'll miss you, but remember, me and Morosa are still here, we are simply unseen. 
Love, 
Zerise 
=== Little Lies ===
Memories were never really a part of my life ever since the day I met 'them'. I recall my past, of course. But I never really thought about it. Because why would I? My family is dead. There is nothing else to it. I hear a shout from upstairs and startle.
"Icelle!" someone shouts my name, probably Leona, the youngest of us at Arcenix. I glance out a window to see if Mistress Layanna has arrived yet and then hurry upstairs. A girl of around 6 with golden hair and greenish eyes sits in the upstairs room, the one where the young girls sleep.
"Leona, what did you need?" I ask, trying to keep any irritation from my voice.
"Shea stole my book!" she says, her eyes worried. I instantly know which book she is talking about. Everyone in Arcenix has a small book, pocket sized, that keeps track of us. And all of us know how we'll be punished if we lose it. I know she is seeing the same thing in her mind as I am right now. Tears dripping down the side of a girls face,snow drifting over her. Gone. We never did see that girl again. And it was all because she had lost her book.
"Ill get it back. You dont have to worry." I say, not sure how ill get it back. Shea is Mistress Layanna's daughter, and she could easily tell her and have the same thing done to me as Mistress Layanna had done to that girl in the snow.
"I dont want to die" Leona said, tears filling her eyes. I struggle to find a response. Because she very well might die. "You wont."I finally choose to say. She hugs me tightly and I hesitate before hugging her back.
"Thank You Icelle." she whispers. Suddenly the door rings and I know it is Mistress Layanna. How am I going to save this girl? I find myself wondering. I give Leona one last hug before rushing down the stairs, hoping I won't run into Mistress Layanna. I barely make it into my room when the Mistress passes. As soon as shes gnone I dart out of my room and head for Shea's. It was the second largest room at Arcenix. Her mother's is the largest. I hope that she isn't in there. It will make this process much easier..
But she was. Shea sat on the edge of her bed, with Leona's golden book clasped in her hands. She smirked evilly when she saw my face.
"You won't be getting this back Icelle. Leona doesn't deserve to live after what she did to me."
"What could a 7 year old do to you?" I ask, my eyes focused on the book.
"You weren't there, I suppose. We were skating out on the pond yesterday and the little demon tried pushing me out onto the thin ice." Shea said.
I startle at that. Could Leona have truly done that?
"I'm sure that it's not worth killing a child for." I say crisply. She glowers at me.
"That's not the only reason. Didn't you see her eyes?" Shea says.
I nod, "Yeah. They're..Greenish."
Shea rolls her eyes "So you haven't. They are silver. The green is a mask."
"Okay, Shea, if this is a joke, it's not funny." I say warily.
She stops, "It's not a joke. Leona is dangerous. She'll kill all of us. So I have to do this."
"She'll kill all of us?" I laugh.
"Yes, she's evil."
"No, you're crazy." I say, leaving the room. I had completely forgot about the book...
Leona looked at me and I said "It'll go quickly, I'm certain."
She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again,"What happened? How come you couldn't get my book?" she asked.
"I'm sorry..Shea.." I trail off. No amount of excuses can make up for the fact I forgot,and this child will be killed for it. She blinked her green eyes and turned away. Mistress Layanna entered the room and glare at her,
"What are you going to do to her?"
Mistress Layanna simply smiles "It will be perfectly painless. Come along dear." she held out her hand to Leona. Leona gives me one last longing glance before taking Mistress Layanna's hand...and, as she leaves, I see a flash of silver in her eyes.
=== Girl Of Ice ===
So much coldness.
That was all I could feel. A frosty, terrible chill.
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
I was scared, too, but it was like a distant dream, one that I couldn't wake up from.
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
I couldn't hide it. They saw what was wrong. They saw I couldn't remember me. 
They promised me, but they broke their promise. 
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
I'm so alone.
Dragging myself back to the present, I shiver. It's harder in the present.
"How are you, Elcie?" The Doctor was kind, but she never understood.
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
"I'm fine," I lied. The lie was like a shard of ice, sharp and ready to protect me. If only they couldn't see through it...
"Do you remember anything today, Elcie?" Doctor asked, like she always did. 
Every day.
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
"No, Doctor," I whisper, not bothering to lie. 
Doctor's eyes are full of sympathy. Sympathy I don't need. I know Doctors name, but I never use it. 
Doctor. Doctor. Doctor. 
"That's okay," Doctor says. 
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
"Sorry," 
"You don't need to be sorry," Doctor places a hand on my shoulder.
It feels like fire, against my icy coldness. Then it's gone, and so is Doctor. Doctor is young, nearly my age. But we're so different. 
I go back to the storm inside my head.
Wind and ice and snow and cold.
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
No one ever told me what would happen when I broke.
ˋˏ ༻ ❅ ༺ ˎˊ
The next day when Doctor comes, I'm already in reality. My storm has been calmer than ever today. 
But it's still there.
I'm still going to break, I'm still going to break, I'm still going to break.
Doctor surprises me today. She doesn't ask me anything. Insead, she says, "Someone is here to see you,"
"Who?" I start, but someone has walked in.
She is a mirror. 
The same black hair. The same brown eyes. The same dark skin. 
"Hello Klara," The mirror says, but I don't know who she is talking about. 
"My name is Elcie," 
The mirror turns to Doctor, and I see tears welling up in her eyes. "She really doesn't remember me."
Doctor comforts the mirror, and I glance at her.
Mirror. Mirror. Mirror. 
When the mirror leaves, Doctor looks me in the eye, and says, "Elcie, that was your sister." 
"I know. She's a mirror," I say slowly, "Why did she call me Klara?"
"I want to explain so many things to you, Elcie," Doctor's gaze softens, "But that's for another day," 
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
I nod, knowing that when she leaves the storm will come back.
But It doesn't.
Instead, I'm stuck in reality. 
Klara. Klara. Klara. 
"Who is Klara?" I ask out loud. 
No one answers. No one ever does. 
I'm going to break, I'm going to break, I'm going to break. 
"I wish I knew her,"
"Did she have a storm inside her head too?"
Doctor returns, interrupting me from all the questions I've been asking myself.
I want to stay in reality for a little bit longer, so she can tell me everything I need to know.
Who is Klara?
But my storm pulls me under. 
ˋˏ ༻ ❅ ༺ ˎˊ
The mirror, who's name is Stefanie, comes back every day. She brings pictures, old toys, games. I still don't remember.
I asked her to call me Elcie, and she said that she would, but I can tell it hurts her. 
I don't like hurting her. 
I'm breaking, I'm breaking, I'm breaking. 
I hear whispering voices. The mirror and Doctor. 
"How bad is it?"
"Severe amnesia." 
"What happened? I was in London at the time of the accident," the Mirrors voice breaks a bit. 
"She hit her head; was in a coma for a few months. When she woke up, she didn't remember anything. Except a name, which she claimed was hers. Elcie,"
"Elcie was our little sister. The one who died,"
"During the accident?" Doctor inquires.
"Yes,"
There is a long pause of silence before Doctor says, "Oh. I'm sorry,"
I'm breaking, I'm breaking, I'm breaking. 
My head hurts. 
Amnesia.
Elcie.
Died.
Accident.
I hear the thud of footsteps, and the mirror says something, but I can't hear it over the beating of my heart.
Accident.
Elcie.
Died.
Amnesia. 
Nothing makes sense.
I'm breaking, I'm breaking, I'm breaking.
"My name is Elcie," I breathe; Doctor and the mirror share concerned glances. 
"Elcie was our sisters name, before she died. Died in the same accident that made you...forget you," the mirror says gently. 
"I know," I whisper. 
"You know?"
"I heard you. It's my fault, isn't it? She died because of me,"
Doctor looks away, "Elcie died because you lost control of the car, yes, but it's not your fault,"
"It is!" I burst out. 
I'm broken, I'm broken, I'm broken.
I hide in my storm, don't reply to their attempts and comforting me. I hear them leaving, but I don't do anything. 
A frosty, terrible chill. 
I'm broken, I'm broken, I'm broken. 
Mirror. Mirror. Mirror.
Klara. Klara. 
Elcie.
I'm a girl of ice, and I am so alone.
=== The Difference Between Love & Friends [Love & Friends Part One] ===
How did I get in this mess? I have no idea.
'This mess' being a date with my best friend. Me and Max go way back- he was the first person that I met on the first day of kindergarten and now we're in college. I think you get why I'm concerned about this. If I break his heart, I'll also ruin our friendship.
Fun times.
"Danny, you're taking foreevvverrr-" I hear the shout from outside my bedroom door, and know instantly that it's Clementine.
"Sorry," I call back, looking back into the mirror. I look like a mess, but to be fair, I only woke up an hour ago.
Reminder to self: Ask Max why he decided to ask me out on a 10 am date.
I hastily pull back my black locks into a ponytail, and apply a bit of lip gloss.
"Daniella Fane." Clem says when she sees me,"If I didn't know you so well, I would think you were trying to impress Max,"
"Shut up Clem," I grumble, pushing past her.
"Have fun!" Clem smirks, "And I want to hear about everything that happens,"
Rolling my eyes, I leave our shared dorm.
It's a cool autumn morning,and the breeze wips a few strands free from my ponytail.
I pull out my phone, rereading my text conversation with Max last night.
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻;)| 𝟵:𝟯𝟲 𝗮𝗺
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗛𝗲𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆...
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗵?
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴...
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗠𝗮𝗮𝗮𝗮𝘅𝘅𝘅 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲.
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?
𝗬𝗼𝘂: '𝗚𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝘁' 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲...𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲?
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗵.
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗢𝗵.
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻...𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀?
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗜 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘁...𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀.
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆.
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗢𝗸𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗸𝗸𝗸𝗲 '𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆' 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆?
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗵 :)
𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 ;): 𝗛𝗼𝘄 '𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄? 𝟭𝟬 𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝗹𝗮'𝘀?
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲.
"Daniella Fane?"
I look up, putting my phone back in my pocket. A tall brunette girl with bright green eyes stands a few feet away, grinning like she just won the lottery.
"Yes..." I say slowly. It's never a good sign when a random hot girl knows your name.
She raises an eyebrow, "You really don't remember me?"
I frown, looking her over, "No, not really,"
"Emilie Farrow."
Recognition hits me when she says her name.
"Em!" I gasp."Where the heck did you run off to?"
"I'd tell you all about it, but your roommate says that you have a date,"
"Oh, [redacted]. I do have a date. That I'm going to be late for,"
She laughs and waves as I leave.
"I'm so sorry I was late," I say as soon as I arrive at the cafe, gasping and out of breath.
"It's fine, Daniella," Max is the only one who ever calls me 'Daniella' instead of 'Danny'.
"What can I get for you this morning?" A chipper voice asks.
Max speaks first,"A cup of coffee, black, for me. And Daniella would like a..."
"Mocha," I finish.
"Coming right up," Orena says. She winks at me, and I find myself blushing.
"So...what do you want to do? Talk?" Max says, attempting to start a conversation.
I laugh a little, "Max, we're still best friends. We'll just do what we usually do when we're on an unromantic coffee date,"
I can see the word 'unromantic' hurts him, and suddenly wish I could take my words back.
"How's school been going?" I ask him.
He brightens up a bit, "It's been great!"
I try to listen to him as he rambles on about math and divisions and calculations, but I find myself looking away, think about Emilie. We dated for a brief time in tenth grade before she started going to a fancy private school. I loved her, and I sometimes wondered where the heck she went...
"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Max says.
"I-no."
"You never really were interested in math. Even when we were kids," Max grins.
"Yeah,"
"How's your blog been doing?" Max asks as Orena returns and hands us our coffee.
"Actually really good," I say, but it's a lie. I haven't updated that blog in months.
The rest of the date is average. Like we're just friends.
Until Max tries to kiss me, and I push him away.
"How was it?" Clem asks as soon as she sees me.
"Umm...kind of terrible, actually," I admit. Me and Clem have a pact: We never lie to each other.
"What happened?" Clem comes to sit next to me on my bed.
"It was fine until he tried to kiss me,"
"He tried to kiss you?"
"Yeah. And I pushed him away,"
"But why? I thought you liked him," Clem inquires.
"I do...as a friend. As my best friend,"
"Oh," She says as my phone buzzes. I pull it out and nearly smile when I see who it is.
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹|𝟭𝟮:𝟬𝟮 𝗮𝗺
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹: 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆!! 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲?
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱.
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹: ****, 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗠𝗮𝘅?
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗘𝗺!
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹: 𝗵𝗲𝘆, 𝗶'𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝘂𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆.
The words 'my Danny' make me happier than I probably should be feeling.
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲?
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹: 𝗢𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗜 𝗱𝗼. 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.
𝗘𝗺-𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹: 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂!
Love. You.
It was probably just an accident, like she went back into the time we texted that to each other every night, said that to each other every day.
Emotions swirl in my head, and I finally respond with:
𝗬𝗼𝘂: 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗼 <𝟯
=== Endless Waters; 4001 ===
Alaya
Alaya carefully measured out the sugar into the old tin cup. She planned to make Mara a birthday cake if nothing else could happen this year. "Laya! Guess what! I'm ten now!" A girl flounced into the room, wearing a simple blue dress that was fraying at the edges.
Alaya smiled "Yeah. Now, stop bouncing before I spill this sugar everywhere!"
Mara nodded "Okay. I don't want a grain of sugar wasted."
Alaya smiled weakly at her.
"You can go play outside until the cake is ready."
Alaya poured the cake into an old tin cake pan and placed it into the oven. She checked to see that Mara was gone and pulled out a book bag. She put in her remaining rations, food, water, extra clothes and a map. She pulled the cake out and wrote a hasty note to Mara.
Mara,
I know you probably won't understand why I'm leaving, but I have to. Once I find the haven I'll come back for you. I promise.
-Alaya.
She left the note and the cake on the table, grabbed her bag, and headed towards the sea. Alaya stood at the docks, scanning each boat. Her eyes finally settled on a small houseboat. It wouldn't be too much to rent. She carefully counted her rations in her head.
A young man of about 20 stood in front of it "How much to rent this?" Alaya asked.
"I.I am quite poor, ma'am..I don't think I can.."
Alaya immediately felt sympathy for the man and said "I'll give you all my rations. And..you can come with me."
"Well..that..yes, of course. I'm Jordain, by the way."
"Isn't that a Francian name?" Alaya asked. She didn't know much about the old countries and colonies.
"French, ma'am." Jordain said.
Alaya smiled and boarded the boat.
1 Hour Later
Alaya looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering.
"Looks like a storm is coming" she commented.
"Yeah. That's not really what I'm concerned about. I'm more worried about the animals that come out in storms." Jordain said.
Alaya nodded. She had read about Cetefulgur's, or lightning whales. They could be deadly.
She scanned the distance for the light purple shimmer of a Cetefulgur, but couldn't see any. Jordain started pulling in some barrels of supplies that had been on the deck.
"Do you need help?" Alaya asked.
"Yes, that would be fine." Jordain smiled. She picked up a barrel and, while in the process of dragging it, she tripped and nearly fell off the boat. Luckily Jordain caught her. She blushed hotly.
"Thanks."
"No problem," he said back, taking the barrel from her.
Alaya gave another shy smile and opened the door. The houseboat was small but big enough to fit 2 cots, a small kitchen and a few barrels of food. Jordain came in a moment after her.
Lighting flashed through the sky and Alaya turned to Jordain.
"It's getting worse..."
"Yeah." He said, looking concerned.
Suddenly a loud crash of lightning hit the water by the ship. It caught on fire... Why  aren't the waves putting the fire out? What is happening?
Finally a wave crashed over the deck, putting the flames to sleep.
"Jordain?" she shouted.
"Alaya! We have to get into the water!"
"What? Are you crazy? We'll be electrocuted!"
He stared at her "Do you trust me? With your life?"
Alaya hesitated before answering "Yes."
And Jordain pulled her into the sea.
The waves were rough and they pushed against Alaya.  She clung to a piece of driftwood with all her might.
She realized Jordain was no longer holding her hand.
"Jordain? Where are you?" She coughed and inhaled a mouthful of water.
When no answer came, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before plunging underwater.
She swam for several minutes before realizing he was gone. "No." she whimpered quietly.  A wave crashed over her head, and she fell unconscious.
Mara
Mara stared at the note and nearly cried. How could Alaya leave her? Looking at the note she suddenly felt a burst of confidence. She was going to find her sister. Mara packed enough food to last her a week and walked down to the docks.
"Tickets! Get tickets to board the one and only Starglide! She's a beauty! 3 meals a day! Only half of your rations!"
Mara smiled. Perfect. She reached into her pocket for rations, then remembered she had none. Her heart sank in her stomach. She would have to sneak onto Starglide. Mara neared the ship, which was painted a bright white, and saw hundreds of people hustling to get out of the city.  Of course, the UKU officers stood at every corner, prepared to arrest anyone. Mara stared at them nervously. What if she was caught? When the officers weren't looking, she slipped behind a young couple. Hopefully the UKU would think that she was their daughter. Mara shuffled behind the couple, glancing back every few seconds. Finally, she reached the bridge that led onto Starglide. She started up the ramp, but was stopped at the top."Are you the daughter of those two?" The Officer asked. Unable to reply, Mara just nodded. The couple looked at her, shocked. "This is your daughter?" he asked.
Mara silently pleaded with them to agree. Noticing her look, the couple nodded. When they were out of the earshot of the officer she gave them a small smile.
"Thank you."
The couple smiled and introduced themselves. The lady was 20 and named Arenbella Gray and the man was her husband, 32 years old, named Geodan Gray.  Mara introduced herself as Mary, because she wasn’t sure if she could trust Mr and Mrs Gray yet. She bade them goodbye and slipped into the crowd. About a hundred people had bought a ticket, and most of them were headed to the large sleeping chambers below deck. Mara followed a little girl and her parents down the stairs. The girl started crying uncontrollably. Her parents looked about worriedly, knowing they could get kicked off. The girls cries grow louder. Suddenly 2 UKU officers push through the crowd and slap a hand over the girls mouth.
“We’re going to have to arrest you for disturbing the ship. Follow us.” One officer says roughly. Mara watches in surprise.
“Sir, what are you talking about? The child is simply hungry!” Mara blurted out. The officer turned to her, and she saw his name tag read Moron. Suddenly an unfamiliar voice called out "Leave her alone!" the girl shouted. Mara stared at the newcomer. She recognized her as Ember Snow, a wanted fugitive. The officers looked annoyed "This child is a disturbance. And so are you." The second guard rushed towards Ember, obviously intending to handcuff her. Mara slipped away. As much as she wanted to help the people, she was only 10. Mara reached the sleeping chambers for younger children.  About 50 children were sitting or lying on the beds that were all lined up in a row.  The adult sleeping chamber was across the short hallway. She claimed a bed close to the wall, and placed her bag on it. She dumped it out, checking to make sure she had everything. Mara sighed and stared at the only picture of her family she had. There was her father, with his dark brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Her mother, with her ash brown hair and eyes the same color as Mara and Alaya's. Her sister was young in the picture, and she herself was only a baby. How many times had she wished that she had remembered her mother and father? She put the picture down and pulled out a ripped map. The map had been at the bottom of Alaya's papers. She wondered where Alaya was right now.
Alaya
Sand washed over Alaya's body. She sat up and coughed. "Jordain, where are we?" she asked, before remembering what had happened. Jordain was dead. She glanced around. It looked like she was on an island, but she wasn't certain.
"Hello? Anyone?" she called out. When no response came, Alaya came to a conclusion. She was alone.  Alaya sat there for a few minutes before finally standing up. She pushed a strand of sandy hair out of her face and saw that she was close to a jungle-like forest. She spotted some plants and decided to check and see if they were edible. They had silverish leaves and bright purple berries. She squeezed one and exotic orange juice squirted out, burning her hand.
“Ouch!” she shouted, waving her hand in the air. When it finally cooled off a small purple burn remained. She tossed the berry skin onto the ground and headed towards the sea. She stuck her hand in the water to soothe the burn.  
“Kill her.”
Alaya whirled around quickly at the sound of someone's voice.
“Who’s there?” She asked cautiously. To her surprise, a Lady stepped out of the shadows. But what was more surprising was the lady's hand. Or, what was left of it anyway.
“I am Queen Manna of the Ena Tribe. You are trespassing on our island.” she said. 
“It's a very nice island?” Alaya tried.
“Hmm.  Well, I do regret killing people, but I have no other choice.” Queen Manna said.
2 soldiers came behind Alaya and grabbed her wrists. She struggled against them, but it was useless.
“Take her to the Cave. She’ll have her trial at noon tomorrow.” The Queen commanded.
The soldiers pulled her along a short path and stopped at a large grey rock. They pushed her through the entrance into the cave.
“Your food will be served in a bit.” One said gruffly, then left, locking the door behind him.  Alaya looked around the cell. Things were getting hopeless. Alaya sat on the cold dirt ground and stared up at the roof that was dripping dirty water. Yeah, she was right. Hopeless. She pulls the ragged blanket that had been lying in the corner over her body and tries to fall asleep, to no avail.
Alaya looked up. A soldier had arrived at the door.
"Your supper." He said, shoving a half dead man into the cell. Alaya looked around, confused. As far as she could see, there was no supper in the cell. Funny, she thought to herself. A salty sea breeze flew in through the door and she sighed. Death was not the optimum choice, but how was she supposed to escape this dreadful island?
"Miss Nayme?" Alaya looked up once more, expecting a guard. Instead it was a smallish girl of about 14.
"Who are you?" Alaya whispered.
"Someone who is getting you off this island of cannibals! Now hurry up!"
"Cannibals.." she glanced at her cellmate, who was half dead and crouched in the corner. She had noted him or her, but thought he-or she- was dead. She suddenly knew what the guard meant by supper.
"Are you coming or not?" the girl rolled her eyes at Alaya.
"Yeah..I'm coming." Alaya said, standing up. She knew it might be too blind to just trust a random stranger, but it was her only hope of escaping. The girl grabbed a key from her pocket and shoved it into the door. It clicked and turned. She swung the door open and Alaya glanced back at the cell.
"If they catch me, I'm dead." Alaya informed the girl.
The girl smirked, "Then don't get caught."
The girl led Alaya through the jungle, past many exotic creatures. Alaya kept hoping all the while that she wouldn't get caught. She had no intention of being eaten, by a human or an animal. Alaya followed the girl until she suddenly stopped and put her finger to her lips.
"What is it?" Alaya mouthed. The girl just shook her head and pointed. Alaya looked and saw a camp surrounded by huts and tents. They had arrived at the Ena Camp.
Mara
Mara laid down on the bed, the waves gently rocking her. Yet she couldn't sleep. All she could think about was home, and Alaya, and the long forgotten chocolate cake. She had forgotten all about the fact her tenth birthday was today. A loud ringing bell pulled her away from her thoughts. It must be supper. She pushed her blankets off and stood up. She wobbled a bit before regaining her balance. She had never been on a ship before.Mara walked down the hallway towards the dining room. She soon arrived at the dining area. About 50 families had already made it to the room and had sat down at the wooden tables, which were covered in the most food Mara had ever seen. UKU guards stood at every exit. Mara spotted a girl who was sitting at an empty table. Maybe I could pretend she is my older sister or something, she thought. Mara, without giving it a second thought, sat down next to the girl.
"Hi..I'm Marannye," Mara said, giving her full name.
"I'm Zaye, whats your last name?" The girl, Zaye, said.
"Nayme. " Mara told Zaye. She trusted this girl, though she didn't know why.
"Then mine's Nayme too now." Zaye smiled,"I know how hard is it to survive on here alone.Why are you here anyways? You look a bit young to be on your own."
Mara's smile faded "I can't tell you that."
"That's too bad." Zaye grabbed an apple, and crunched it loudly. Mara looked down at the food. It seemed suspicious, so much food in one place, what with the supposed 'shortage' of everything, for as long as she could remember.
Mara pushed her food away. "I'm not hungry anymore." she declared, standing up.
"Good night, Zaye." she said.
Mara passed the Officers at the door quickly, feeling their burning gaze on her back.
"Keep an eye on her. I should think its strange she has two names." one said to the other. Mara's eyes lowered to the ground. How was she supposed to save Alaya, if she was in danger herself? When she finally reached the sleeping quarters, most of the children were fast asleep. She sat down on the bed she had claimed earlier, thinking through the evenings events. She had met a friend, a ally. But now she knew there were spys, everywhere. She suddenly felt very, very alone. For who was she, but a mouse, in a world full of lions?
Mara longed for someone to talk to, someone who wasn't a stranger. Someone who wasn't trying to get her thrown off a ship. Someone who wasn't lying to her. She longed to talk to Alaya. She settled down in her bed, pulling her covers overher body.. Mara had just about fallen asleep when a loud banging vibrated through the ship. Mara pushed off her covers, as the others were doing. Mara rushed to the door. She saw Zaye, but couldn't get through the crowd to her.
"Whats happening?" she asked, echoing the frightened people arround her. A man pushed towards the front of the room. He had wild red hair and smart clothing, as well as a silver star on his jacket, showing he likely was one of the co-owners of the ship.
"I am so sorry for the inconvenience, we just ran into a little tro-" he was cut off by another bang.
Sounded like it was a lot more than a little trouble.
"What is it?" Zaye called out. She had now arrived behind Mara, and Mara relaxed slightly. The girl reminded her so much of Alaya.
"It's a Lightning Whale. A rather large one. In fact, several large ones." He said nervously.
Mara's stomach lurched. Were they smashing into the whale? Were they hurting it?
"Did we hurt it?" Zaye asked, her eyes worried.
"Um..sort of. One is nearly dead." The man looked very uncomfortable.
"How could you?" Mara burst out, the anger inside her coming out in a rush. The officers at the door shared a look; Would they let this girl get away with yelling at the co-owner of the ship?
"We really didn't have much of a choice..Well..thats all I needed to say. Back to your cabins. All of you." He eyed Mara. "Except you."
Category:Short Story
Category:Fantasy