𝕀𝕟𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 || 𝕊𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕤/𝕍𝕠𝕚𝕕 𝕩 ℝ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

Chapter 15

My parents shared another look.

"No, not yet," my mother answered.

. . .

Stiles had officially been missing for two days. Apparently, the last time anyone saw him was when he went to get his MRI scan. I often found myself thinking of when I found him talking to Noshiko in the hospital. I'd asked my mother if I should tell the police about it and if Noshiko might have kidnapped him, but my mother firmly told me to keep what I saw to myself, so I did.

Stiles had been so strange then, though. So different. He looked the same, and yet it was so clear that he wasn't.

I hadn't told anyone about it though, just like how I hadn't told anyone about me being a Fire Nymph. Not even Kira, which made me feel a little bad.

In the two days that Stiles had been missing, I had my very first Fire Nymph lesson with my mother. She had taken me to a clearing in the middle of the woods, far away from any prying eyes.

"While you may have had a few accidents with your abilities, they haven't been anything big, correct?" my mother had asked me.

"Yes," I answered.

"That's because your abilities haven't fully manifested," my mother explained. "When you purposely use your powers to an extent, you will unlock your full potential, and they will be immensely difficult to control."

I hadn't liked how she had emphasised immensely.

"A Fire Nymphs powers are connected to her emotions," my mother continued. "Most older Nymphs can control their powers easily and have their emotions under check. Young, new nymphs like yourself have a harder time controlling their powers. Negative emotions like anger or sadness are usually the emotions that make it hardest to control their powers, but feelings like overexcitement and joy can also take away control."

I groaned. I wasn't the best at controlling my emotions as it is, and I was scared that I might accidently set the school on fire if I got a bad grade. My mother seemed to notice my train of thought and smiled.

"Don't worry Sweetheart," my mother said. "There are ways to control your emotions that we will also practise. Like meditation."

I groaned again. Was it possible for me to just quit being a Fire Nymph?

"I think it's time to start training," my mother said. That perked my interest. "What I want you to do is hold out your hand-" she held her hand and motioned for me to do the same. "-and imagine a flame there."

My mother suddenly stopped talking, her face going deadly serious.

"Before you do this though, you need to know that after this you'll never be able to go back. You'll be unlocking your full potential, and from then on you will be a Fire Nymph. Nothing will be able to change that," my mother warned. "Are you ready for that?"

My throat was dry as I nodded my head. It all seemed so scary, but I felt comforted having my mother there.

I held out my hand and closed my eyes, imagining a fire flickering my hand. When I opened my eyes, I was disappointed to find nothing was there. I tried again, this time putting a little pizzazz in my hand movements, but nothing happened.

I felt stupid and embarrassed doing this. I had no idea what I was doing and I was sure I looked like an idiot.

"Try to think of a memory with a strong emotion attached to it," my mother suggested. "It's easier to think of negative emotions and use that to form power, but as I said before it is harder to control than positive emotions."