Ophella High Academy

Ara Chronicles: Ophella High

Enjoy~

Prologue

Flames flickered angrily at the soles of her bare feet as she ran down the deserted corridor. Her grey summer dress stuck to her skin and her lungs ached for her to rest but her body refused to stop moving. It felt as if it had a mind of its own, set to take her to an unknown destination. But as she neared the end of the corridor her surroundings became more and more familiar, a cold fear encased her heart. She remembered.

'Stop…' she told herself but her feet kept going; drawn to the only room untouched by the flames, barricaded by an invisible force that left the air surrounding it clear of the ash and smoke that continued to choke her and water her dark blue eyes. Each footstep seemed to land in rhythm with the violent drumming of her heart. She could only watch in horror as her small pale hand rose to the door knob and twisted it to the side. She wanted to close her eyes, turn back and run the other way for she knew all too well what awaited her on the other side. But it was too late now; she stood frozen in the open doorway, forced to witness as they fell almost gracefully to the ground, the shadowy figure of their killer appearing like a grim reaper behind them only to fade away into the smoke like a phantom. And then suddenly, she wasn't in the doorway anymore, but standing next to their prone, lifeless bodies. She looked down at herself,  at her long lean fingers and the green frog pyjammas she had worn to sleep the night before. Then she looked about the room for her younger  self, finding her croched pififully next to her parents; her grey summer dress darkened and dirted by ash, her midnight locks draped over their faces like a funeral veil, tears mixing with blood as she cried over them, calling for them to wake up… but she knew they wouldn't.

Standing there she almost felt like an outsider but the dull ache that pierced at her chest reminded her otherwise. Yes, it was a dream but also much more than that…a memory. The familiar feelings of anger and confusion begun to fill her as she looked on, mouth unable to form words,  eyes unable to move from her parent's hands, still clenched together in the seal to mould fire…

"Ara wake up!"

The voice from downstairs flooded through her nightmare like a wave of cold water and she awoke with a gasp, sitting up with the sound of her heart drumming violently in her chest. Her eyes flickered about the room unfocused, a haze of the haunting visions of her nightmare still gripping at the edges of her sight, licking the room with faint flames. She exhaled sharply and blinked, trying to remove the light from her eyes but soon realised it was coming from the gap in her baby blue bedroom curtains, partially illuminating the room in daylight.

"Ara, are you up?"

She didn't answer yet, transfixed by the dust floating in the light, gracing her with a peek into the world hidden from normal sight as it pierced the darkness of her small, narrow bedroom. She remained motionless, waiting for her heart to calm down and the pulsing in her ears to disappear.

It was like this every morning. She was used to the dreams that flooded her with unwanted memories, but this time it was different, they had never had such a strong effect on her before, never left her feeling so shaken and detattached.

"Ara!"

She jumped at hearing the slightly worried tone entering the feminine voice calling for her downstairs, and her head snapped towards the door. It was then that she felt her long black hair slap, wet against her face and stay there, and grimaced as the movement made her awfully aware of the damp frog themed pyjamas sticking uncomfortably to her pale skin. Rubbing a hand across her forehead, she realised she had been sweating. Sliding the wet hand down the forest green bottoms of her pyjamas distatstefully, she kicked the covers off the rest of her body. Opening her window she winced as her eyes faced the full glare of the sun. Closing her eyes she leaned her cheek against the window pane, she took in the fresh air, sighing in relief as it began to cool her body. those few moments after she had woken up, she had felt as if she was burning, 'as if the fire was real' she finished mentally, but that was impossible. Wasn't it?

She heard the door open behind her and winced knowing her time was up. "Oh" her Grandma exclaimed as she leant against the door frame, folding her arms across her lavender silk housecoat. Even though she was well into her sixties her hair remained silky and black, mirroring her grand-daughter's own.

Ara slowly turned to face her, having the decency to look sheepish. "So you're up?" the woman stated with a raised black brow, her long black hair falling off her shoulders as she tilted her head at the teen.

The girl bit her bottom lip habitually,"Yeah sorry, I'll be dressed in a minute" she apologised as she jumped out of bed and raced to her wardrobe, gracing her Grandma with a slight apologetic smile as she passed. The old woman smiled back as she watched her lay out her new uniform, her wrinkles becoming more apparent as the smile grew to a tense grin.

"Ahh, today is the day" She muttered softly. Ara's hands paused for a moment over her shirt before they slowly brushed down the creases in the sleeves.

"Yeah, I guess it is" she replied absently as she stood up straight and stretched out her back, wincing as her spine cracked in protest. She would be starting her first day at the Ophella high academy today. The academy all teens were obligated to apply for upon turning 16. It was seen as a privilege, a step forward in life and a means for joining the 'Guardians,' the law enforcers and protectors of their City. But that's if you managed to get in, those that failed to meet the requirements were sent home and made to continue their normal academic courses. Today teens all over the City would be getting ready to face the biggest test of the life, praying that their flame would ignite.

She sniffed as her mind began to replay all the things she had heard about that school. It was a school for the the special cases, those rare few blessed with unnatural abilities, they were called, 'the Le'crone,' it meant 'the gifted'. No one knew how these 'gift's were acquired but what was a known was that it had to be controlled, for the safety of Ukaya. Everyone was taught at a very young age what happened to those that did not learn to master their abilities. They loose control and sooner or later loose their mind; 'the Lu'kaya' was what they were labelled distastefully by the community. It meant 'the lost,' and once 'the lost' were found by the Guardians, they were eliminated. 'It's for the best' her middle school teacher would tell them, hands tightening into fists.

She couldn't help but inwardly groan as she thought about the test that awaited her in her nearby future, the test that decided whether she had be born a 'Le'crone.' To think that after today her life would never be the same made goosebumps breakout over her arms. She rubbed at them rebelliously, blowing her hair out of her eyes. She didn't care for 'Le'crone' or the uptight academy, she had her own agenda for going to the Ophella campus and as far as she was concerned, i didnt matter what power she got, as long as she got one and was able to stay on the grounds.

Feeling her resolve grow, the teen hummed and moved towards the door, "i'm going to take a shower" she said brushing past her Grandmother. The woman closed her eyes as she heard the bathroom door slam and sighed. Walking up to the bed she sat next to the laid out uniform slowly, as if in caution. A lean,trembling hand reached to touch the lion insignia embedded into the dark navy blue blazer only to falter half way and return to her lap in defeat. "Please..." she whispered almost subconsciously, eyes trailing the elegant embroidery "please...don't let the flame ignite..."

Author's Note: New story out!(unbeta'd) Please give your feedback on whether to continue this or not.

T&S