chapter two
tracking a burned one
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RAIN SLIPS FROM THE CLOUDS.
The soft pitter patter on the panes of glass is what wakes Annabelle, or it was what would've woken her. The girl barely got two hours of sleep last night, awoken by the same familiar nightmare. The same thing on repeat that never fails to wake her with a start, sitting in a pool of her own sweat, what made it worse this year is that she has roommates, no screaming. Last year, Anna didn't have roommates, she stayed in her old bedroom near Farah's office, this year Farah insisted she have roommates.
The girls lays on her bed, dark eyes staring up at the same poster she's been staring at for hours. Her arms crossed over her stomach and fingers tapping a soft rhythm against her skin. She could hear the talking going on outside, the girls already awake and chatting to one another. Annabelle is not a morning person, she hates getting out of bed, the comfy mattress accepting her sleepless nights. But today she doesn't find it difficult, she simply gets out of bed and picks out her clothes.
It's first day of training, Annabelle wears a long sleeved black shirt with black army pants and just a simple hoodie over the top, she decided to straighten her hair today, putting the curls to rest and leaving the straight strands cascading down her back, sitting softly in a point just before the back pockets. Her army pants are high rise, coming softly into the dip of her waist.
Annabelle picks up her combat boots, slipping her feet into them. The thick soled boots hit the wooden flooring with a ruff thump as the Alexander girl steps out of her bedroom, met with Stella stood in the same clothes as yesterday and the rest of the suite fairies. "Fun night, Barbie?" Annabelle smirks a little, eyeing the missing makeup and slightly astray hair, "Let me guess... with Ken was it?"
"Shut up, Smalls." Stella rolls her eyes. Annabelle chuckles, heading towards the coffee machine, moving past Musa and Bloom. "Can't believe you wear this shit." The blonde reaches forward and plucks on the tightly fitting shirt, slapping it against her skin. Annabelle jumps, spinning around and glaring at the Light fairy, "Sorry, don't murder me."
"Piss away, Stel. I'll be sure to let Ken know that you loved the night together and you can't wait for another one of his special hugs." Anna makes kissing faces, Stella gives her a shove and stalks off into her room, slamming the door behind her. She sighs, chuckling a little and plops onto the couch, drawing her legs up to her chest and slurping her coffee.
"So are you and Stella friends or something?" Musa asks, sitting down beside Anna. Aisha goes back to her room and Bloom sits down opposite them.
"Yeah, we're the same year and she used to go out with my bestfriend." Annabelle clarifies, setting her coffee down onto the table.
"Why does everyone call you Smalls?" Bloom asks, tilting her head to the side with a confused expression etched onto her face.
Anna shrugs a little, "It's a nickname that's always stuck, it's sort of like in the military where you get a call name but it's just a nickname, you won't hear first years calling me it as much but older years, teachers, my year, some first years will, like Terra and people who know me. My actual name is Annabelle, but no one calls me that, Anna or Smalls."
"Oh, cool." The red head nods her head, pursing her lips. Anna bites down on her bottom lip, sitting uncomfortably in the awkward silence.
"Shouldn't you lot be getting ready or something? First day and all?" Musa smacks her lips together and gets up, Terra disappears into the bathroom and it's just Bloom and Anna, "How are you doing after last night?"
"I'm okay." Bloom nods, looking around awkwardly. Annabelle nods her head, quickly downs her coffee and gets up, swiping her sword from the table and then leaving the suite. The red head watches her leave, something strange stirring up in her chest, but she quickly pushes past it and goes to finish getting ready.
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ANNABELLE STANDS ON THE PLATFORM.
She stand's opposite Sky, a playful smirk on her face, she bounces on the balls of her feet, fists raised. "Fun night with Barbie last night?" Sky swipes his fist at her but the Alexander girl quickly ducks, popping back up when he retracts his arm after hitting thin air. "She came back in all frustrated but that's just Stella right?" The blonde boy chuckles, blocking Annabelle's swing. They move in a circle, Sky swings away and Annabelle grabs his wrist with her hands, twisting his arm and swinging it behind his back, forcing his body around.
The girl knees him in the back and forces him to the floor, pressing his face roughly to the floor and holding both arms in place as she straddles his back. "Always been better then you, Sky." Sky rolls his eyes, tapping her hand three times with his pinky. She stands up, holding her hand out for him, the blonde takes it and Anna pulls him onto his feet. "Where's Riv?"
"There." He points to the familiar moody brunette, Anna chuckles, watching as Riven's face lights up at seeing her. The girl sits on the edge, waiting for him to approach her. Riven grins brightly, standing in front of the girl. Sky smiles a little from above, Riven has always had a crush on Annabelle but he never plucked up the courage to ask her out. He would call it a crush but Sky calls it a full blown obsession, he fully insta stalks her in the night. It's so odd but kind of nice.
"Good morning, Smalls." Riven greets, Anna smiles down at him. "How are you this fine morning?"
"I am perfect, how about you? Didn't get an earful of Sky's obnoxiously loud moaning?" Sky nudges her shoulder as he jumps off the platform, shaking his head. "Just speaking facts, Ken!" He holds up his middle finger as he walks away, obviously rolling his eyes.
Riven jumps up to sit beside her and shakes his head, "No, they were done when I got there. Met this strange girl, Beatrix I think her name was, I don't know. She's a nerdy hot first year." Annabelle makes a face, tilting her head to the side a little. "I mean, she probably takes in your footsteps. Nerdy hot first year."
"I am not nerdy!" Annabelle shoves him, scoffing in disbelief. "I'm the perfect amount of smart. Can't believe you." Riven shoves her back, shaking his head, "You thought I was hot?"
"Prettiest girl in the year." He smiles brightly, it's obnoxiously big. The girl rolls her eyes, looking down at the floor. "Every guy had or has a crush on you, Anna. Your pretty and hot and one of the best specialists and not to mention your Annabelle Alexander, like one of the most famous people in all the realms. Anyone who gets with you is lucky as fuck."
"More like screwed as fuck." Anna sighs a little, Riven frowns, "Like, the Dark Fairy and all. If I loose control, well... their fucked basically." She lifts her hands, staring down at her fingers. Annabelle can feel the energy crackling between her fingers, begging to be let out, it's always there and when she lets it out, it's never enough to satisfy the burning desire on using her powers.
"What is it like?" Riven asks, curiously wondering what she's looking out. Annabelle hums in response, "To have powers like yours?"
"Strange." Annabelle admits, chuckling a little, "Even when I'm not using my powers, theres still that darkness that I spend every waking second fighting against. I can feel it, the power coursing through my bones and when I draw on it, it get's so much stronger. The older I get, the more I want to use my powers and the more I wonder what would happen if I did, would I actually get corrupt or not? It's a burning desire, to use my powers but when I do, it is never enough, so I fight, I fight and I fight and I keep going. Other days are harder then some but when I'm sparring, it's so much easier because my mind is on what I'm doing not that pain in my chest which grows every second of every day."
Riven's expression shows sympathy, he reaches forward and takes her hand, turning her palm upwards and then running his index finger along the creases of her palm. Annabelle feels her nerves soothe slightly and the pain in her chest shrinking at his simple touch, Riven was a little like Farah, he could always touch her nerves. Sky was similar as well, he was like a brother to her and just being in his presence made Anna feel safe. All three of them made her feel safe, it was such a strange feeling but it came so naturally.
"I'm always here for you, Smalls." Riven looks up at her, nodding his head sternly. "You can talk to me whenever. At 4am or in the middle of class, whenever you need. Sky is the same, you can come to us whenever. If anything ever gets too much in the suite, you come to us, yeah? I'll always be here for you, Anna." Annabelle nods her head, laying her head against Riven's shoulder and letting out a soft sigh, closing her eyes shut.
"Right, I'm gonna go to target practise. Silva wants me to train some first year." Anna rolls her eyes, jumping onto the ground and grabbing her bag. She waves to Riven as he watches her leave, Sky comes up beside him and just pats his leg, chuckling lightly. Riven slaps him across the head, shaking his head softly.
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ANNABELLE SITS AT THE TABLE.
Opposite Bloom and beside Terra, she fishes around in her plate for something to shovel in her mouth before just giving in and getting everything on the plate onto the plastic fork. Aisha and Musa come up and sit down on the other side of them, "So here's what we should do. Maybe we can make a list of emotional triggers --" Aisha starts, a hopeful smile on her face.
"Aisha, um, I appreciate what you're doing but I can figure this out on my own." Bloom gives her a tight smile, running her finger along the pattern on her coffee cup. Anna looks around, a little confused.
"I'm sure. I just think you might be in your head about the whole changeling stuff and overthinking." Annabelle almost spits out her food, looking at Aisha with wide eyes.
"What!" She gasps in, coughing in the process. The girl looks at Bloom, "You're a changeling?" The red head shrugs, "No not just shrug material, are you a changeling or are you not? Simple fucking question."
"I don't know, maybe." Bloom shrugs a little, again, before looking at Aisha, "So everyone knows then?"
"Is that why you freaked out at the Vessel? That makes so much more sense. Because that's gonna be the easiest assignment we'll have and... I'm making it worse." Terra trails off, cursing herself beneath her breath. Annabelle gives her a reassuring smile, nodding her head. Bloom purses her lips, the awkwardness of the silence lingering.
"Don't worry about it, Red. If you get in your head about it then you'll never figure it out. Took me a full month to figure out how to control it but then again..." Anna trails off, looking at her plate of food suddenly loosing her appetite. Musa frowns a little, feeling the sadness radiating off her but it's gone in a second, like she sucked back in her own emotions. Anna's dark eyes trail up to her and she breathes in sharply, "Stay out of my head, please."
"I-i didn't mean too." Musa stutters, looking at Aisha, "I can't really help it."
"Fucking mind fairies." Annabelle mutters under her breath, shaking her head slightly.
"So we have a plan to get my ring back." Stella announces, placing a map of Alfea onto the table and rolling it out. Sky follows in tow, like always. Bloom notices Anna's face light up at his presence, he smiles at her before mouthing 'she's gone insane'. Anna lets out a small chuckle, looking down and pressing her lips into a tight line, the blonde girl's head shoots up and she narrows her eyes at Anna, "If you think this is funny you can happily leave, Smalls."
"No, no, no..." She breathes in heavily, sitting up, "Right, right, right, let's hear your amazing plan to retrieve your ring, Barbie." The four first years expect Stella to roll her eyes but she doesn't say anything to the nickname and looks at her map. Annabelle glances at Sky, he's trying hard not to laugh at her, he turns around pushing his lips together and clasping his hands behind his back.
"Both of you shut up, honestly." Stella looks between them, unamused.
"What's this?" Musa asks, chewing on her food nonchalantly.
"A map of Alfea." Terra gushes, a smile of excitement forming on her face, she lifts her hand and points to a dotted line. "The dotted line is the Barrier, and that's Grag Creek." She moves her finger around, pointing at different landmarks on the map, "Wind Meadow! When I was a kid, I would spend --"
"Great story, Ter." The Princess places her hands onto her hips, speaking with slight sarcasm in her tone.
"No, no. It's a really great story, listen." Terra ignores Stella's looks and continues with her story, Anna glances at Sky as he sits down beside Bloom, "So I used to go and practise my magic by trying to swirl leaves into this little fab cyclone thing..." Anna drowns out Terra's words, looking at Sky and Bloom, she runs her hand up the back of her neck and brushes her fingers against the soft patch of hair, pursing her lips. "And the ladybird wasn't there, it was on my face! How funny is that?"
Stella does not look amused. "Hilarious. Um, Sky?" She grins charmingly at him, "Where do you think they're keeping it again?"
"Uh..." He trails off, feeling Stella's fingers brushing softly against his arm. He glances at Bloom before at Anna, she bites down on her bottom lip and looks away. "Well, there's only so many buildings outside of the Barrier they can secure a creature like that. There's the barn and the mill."
"The barn." Anna says sternly, looking at Sky, "Terra's dad reenforced the walls for when I was practising my magic after that month with the torture bracelets, Farah -- Dowling didn't trust me, she tried to keep it a secret but I found out."
"Right, yeah, you nearly stabbed me during training when you found out." Sky laughs, nodding his head. Anna makes a face, rolling her eyes, "Smalls, come on! You were fuming, you put Riv in bed for two weeks after you beat the shit out of him and broke his leg in three different spaces."
"That's not funny." She shakes her head, placing her chin in her palm. "Really not funny." Sky holds up his middle finger, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So, we just have to sneak in there and get my ring." Stella smiles, satisfied with her plan. Annabelle lets out a small sigh, looking at her plate of food.
"Strange how casually you're tossing around the word 'we'." Aisha comments, looking at the blonde girl.
"Yeah, sounds more like a 'you' kind of job." Musa adds on, smirking slightly.
"Except I didn't loose it." Stella gives a look to Bloom, the red haired girl looks down, pursing her lips.
"When do we go?" She announces, not looking up but biting on the inside of her lip. Everyone turns to her, even Annabelle. Bloom glances to the darkly haired girl once before looking at the map.
"Gonna be blunt. Sorry. Bloom, you have zero control over your magic. That is, if you can manage to channel it. Bad idea." Anna nods in agreement, looking at Bloom.
"I lost the ring, I'm gonna get it back." Bloom nods her head sternly, looking at Annabelle.
"Guys I think we should take a second --" Sky starts but is cut off by Stella.
"I think everyone is making a bigger deal of this then it needs to be. You said the Burned One is locked up right?" Stella turns to Terra, raising a brow.
"Oh, and subdued. Um, I'm pretty sure my dad is distilling this oil that'll subdue it. It's...It's called Zanbaq." She turns to Stella, "I could probably make some more."
"Thank you, Terra, for being helpful." The Princess grins, looking over at Bloom, "And thank you, Bloom, for taking responsibility. And thank you, everyone else, for... well, nothing, I guess!" Annabelle rolls her eyes, shoving a mouthful of food into her mouth. "Thanks for nothing."
"Let me know when you wanna do it." Bloom nods her head sternly, grabbing her leather jacket and backpack before getting up and leaving. Annabelle gets up as well, pushing her tray of food into the middle of the table, half eaten and grabs her bag, leaving in the opposite direction. Sky looks at the plate of food before after Annabelle and then looking to Bloom, he sighs and follows Bloom, leaving the table.
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IT'S DARK WHEN ANNA SETS OFF.
She knew another restless night was ahead of her, a night staring at the ceiling, listening to the snores of her roommates and the silence that echoes around her. The moon shines in the sky, with the stars dotted around perfectly, creating constellations she can see. Annabelle learnt constellations with Sky and Silva when she was a little girl, they laid in the field near Sky's house and Silva taught them about different ones. She pulls her hood up, heeled boots carrying her across the courtyard and down the stone path.
Annabelle disappears off into the trees but not without a look around at her surroundings, checking to see if anyone follows her. She emerges on a grass path, following down the steep hill and towards the stone circle. The Vessel is still placed on the middle platform, she smiles brightly, setting her bag down and pulling her hood down again, checking her surroundings again. No one in sight.
The Alexander girl closes her eyes, placing her hands onto the Vessel. She sucks in a sharp breath, inhaling the fresh air. She's not past the barrier, it's going to be a first she's done magic inside the barrier. But as expected, the Vessel lights up, a dark cloud of smoke forming just above the crystals. Annabelle opens her eyes, her eyes glow dark but the glint is so beautiful, a soft glow in the middle of the orb.
Anna feels the darkness spreading from her chest and she welcomes it, unintentionally, her eyes darken and her chin tilts forward, a soft smirk forming on her lips. She watches the ball grow and grow, swirls of energy becoming lighter and lighter. She draws on happy memories, not dark ones, like she always thought. Slowly, Anna lifts her hands off the vessel, cupping them around the orb of dark shadows, pulling it away from the vessel and standing a little away.
She splits it into two hands, waving her fingers and tendrils begin to pour from the orbs of energy. Anna draws in a sharp breath, curling her toes inside her shoes and focusing all of her energy onto her magic, the arms of shadows curling around on each side to form two semicircles. She brings her hands together, clasping her fingers and the two semicircles collide, creating a large shield. Annabelle laughs, excitement coursing through her veins, she pulls one of her hands back, using the other one to hold the shield still and then, clenching her jaw, she pushes the other one forward, through the air and sends the shield flying.
It flies through the vessel, the shadows adapting to the shapes and disperses in the air, the ground shakes around her and a large gust of wind brushes Annabelle's hair off her shoulders. She laughs, letting go of her magic and the energy dies out. The girl runs her hands through her hair, grinning to herself. She has control on her magic. Drawing in a sharp breath, Annabelle picks up her bag and heads back to the grounds before going to the Bastian.
The next morning rolls around quickly, training for Anna is off today. Silva is out on a mission with the Solarian army to transfer the Burned One. She sits in her bedroom, finish the sketch from the other night, humming the tune to a song that plays softly on her speaker, her door is ajar and she can hear the soft tapping of Bloom on her laptop.
She glances up at her sword hung on the mirror, Anna wishes she could be sparring right now, fighting with Riven or Sky, hearing the clink of their swords when they collide. Annabelle sets her pencil down, getting out of her seat and walking towards her sword, picking it up and then removing the scabbard and tightening her grip on the handle, she pulls the sword free. The blade was longer then most swords, she only fought with one as other fought with two.
It was perfect balanced though with a good grip. Annabelle set the scabbard onto her desk and lifted the sword up, laying the blade in her other hand, she tilts it a little and looks at her reflection in the shiny metal. She stares at her own reflection, the Specialist swallowing thickly. Her eyes turn black for a split second before the door to her bedroom slams open and Stella stands in the doorway, "Gear up, their moving the Burned One now."
Annabelle picks up the scabbard, sliding the sword back into it and holding a tight grip around the middle. She is dressed in cargo pants with heeled black boots and a black vest top with noodle straps. Anna grabs her jacket before walking into the common area, Bloom looks at Anna as she pulls her jacket on and then sets her sword in place, the leather strap sitting perfectly in a slant across her chest. "Let's go." Stella ushers them.
The four make their way out of the school and towards the edge of the barrier, Anna leads them in the right direction, keeping her eyes peeled for any lurkers. There wouldn't be any Burned Ones inside the barrier but if there were any threats, she could take them down. It helped that Annabelle was feeling extremely powerful, her experiment last night was helpful and it left the girl feeling less vulnerable then usual. But with her mother sword pressed tightly to her back, she felt even less vulnerable.
They stand just before the edge of the barrier, Anna stands beside Stella, hands dug into jacket pockets as she squints out at their surroundings. "You don't have to be here, Aisha." The blonde insists, looking the Water Fairy up and down, "Neither do you, Smalls."
"We both know that you're wrong. I'm your best bet of making it out of this place alive, Stella." Annabelle squints at Stella, tilting her head to the side, "Or are you forgetting who I am?"
"Not for a second." Stella gives her a tight smile, rolling her eyes when she looks away. Anna scoffs quietly, shaking her head in annoyance.
"This is idiotic. You need me and Anna." Aisha nods between the two, "What are you gonna do, Stella? Dazzle it with light whilst Bloom struggles to light a fire?"
"I'm right here!" Bloom defends, looking over her shoulder.
"I fixed her." The Light Fairy insists.
"Negative emotions are unreliable. They have limits. Your methods won't help her in the long run." Aisha continues, Annabelle nods in agreement.
"Neither of you are helping right now. Can we please just do this?" Bloom places her hands on her waist, looking back at the trio.
Annabelle crosses her arms over her chest, scoffing and looking out at the field. "What are you scoffing about now?" Stella raises an eyebrow, "You don't know everything either, Anna. Just because you're the last of your kind and you're, like, the best specialist the school has seen in a long time, doesn't mean you're better then us. Are you forgetting what happened last year?"
"Are you forgetting what happened last year?" Annabelle challenges, raising an eyebrow. Stella looks away.
"Oh good, everyone's calm and collected." Musa announces, holding the strap of her bag as she walks beside Terra.
"Finally!" Stella announces, meeting Anna's gaze for a second before pursing her lips and tilting her chin up.
"Sorry." Terra chuckles, holding up the small vile of Zanbaq, "I needed help with the Zanbaq, but we're all good now." Annabelle walks through the barrier first, stepping through it as if it's nothing, she tightens her grip on the strap of her sword, fear swarming her mind. Musa gives her a look from behind but doesn't say anything, her purple eyes fading away.
"Do we know where the barn is?"
"Um, yes. North." Terra nods. "There's this little stump that looks like an old --"
She gets cut off by Stella, "Show, not tell." Annabelle rolls her eyes from the front, pushing her shoulders back and holding an emotionless expression. In truth, the girl fears these woods, the Burned One, she fears it all but only Musa could tell, the strong facade was something that the other's couldn't see through.
"I thought I told you to stay out of my head." The curly haired girl looks at Musa, the Mind Fairy following in tow. Musa purses her lips, "I know you can't help it. Sorry."
"No, it's okay." They stay silent for a moment before she breaks the silence, "How can you tell when I'm in your head?"
"I can feel you." Annabelle states, looking out at the sea of tree squinting her eyes slightly, "Your presence in my head, it's something I've always been able to do. Mind Fairies like getting into my head, they like feeling my emotions because I have strong emotions."
"I know, I can feel them." Musa chuckles. "How do you control your powers so well?"
"Uh, I fight." She squints at Musa, laughing softly, "It's one of the reasons why I became a specialist. When I'm fighting, with my sword, I don't think. I don't think about my magic, or my emotions, I just do and nothing ever happens. I can always feel the darkness of my powers inside of me and I fight it but when I'm actually, physically fighting, it's like it's gone. Plus, I have good self control."
Musa laughs, nodding her head. "Sounds fun." They step out in front of the barn, Annabelle swallows thickly, standing beside Bloom. She tights her grip on the strap of her sword, glancing at Musa who gives her a reassuring smile. Anna is the first one to walk towards the barn, Bloom, Stella and Aisha in tow. Her boots hits the ground with a ruff thump, the heavy soles leaving no imprint in the solid ground.
She pulls the door open, but stops, seeing no Burned One. Annabelle bites on her bottom lip, scanning the room for the creature, but her eyes never find it. "It's not here." Bloom voices everyone's thoughts, cautiously stepping into the barn.
"They've taken it already. Look." Aisha points to the chains. Stella stalks towards the chains, gasping in in shock.
"No." She picks them up, "No! No! My mum's going to kill me."
"Guys!" Terra's voice shouts, echoing in the large room. "We've got a problem." Anna doesn't even waste a second, reaching up her sword as she runs towards Musa and Terra. Her boots skid to a stop and she gasps in shock.
"No. No. No." Annabelle whispers, a trembling hand hovering over her mouth. Her dark eyes scan the soldiers ripped apart, blood staining the usually bright green ground, some of the soldiers limbs in four different pieces. Tears sting at her eyes, the girl completely forgetting about the Burned One and she walks forward, "Silva!"
She spots him, propped up against a try and writhing in pain. "Saul, oh my, god." Annabelle comes to a stop when he raises his sword at her, "No! No! It's me, Silva, it's me, Smalls. It's okay."
"Get back." He chokes out, his black eyes turning to her. "Stay back, Anna."
Anna desperately turns around to Terra, looking back to Silva and then Terra again, "Please, help him. I can't -- I can't loose him, Terra." The blonde girl slowly walks towards Anna, Musa in tow.
"It's okay, I'm gonna help him." She nods firmly, placing a hand onto Annabelle's shoulder, "I'm gonna help him, me and Musa are. Bloom is missing and we really need you and your specialist abilities to go track her, okay? The Burned One is still out there, your the only one of us who knows how to kill it. You go and me and Musa will keep him alive, I promise."
Anna bites down on her bottom lip and looks up at Aisha and Stella, "It's okay, Anna." Musa places a hand onto Annabelle's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile, "We'll keep him safe." Reluctantly, Annabelle follows Aisha and Stella back to the barn. Just as she had thought, Bloom wasn't in there, she was gone. The trio head out into the woods, Annabelle picks at the skin around her thumb, nerves going mental in her chest.
She is past the barrier, way past the barrier and Terra and Musa where in the open with a wounded Silva, Bloom is missing and the realisation that she couldn't protect everyone hadn't hit her yet. Anna hadn't been hit with the memory of her mother yet, the one with her being ripped apart by a Burned One, but it was waiting, sat in the back of her head like always. Annabelle wished for Sky, Riven or Farah to be here with her, keep her calm and her head in the mission.
"Stella, hurry up." Aisha hisses, walking in a fast pace.
"It's gonna get dark soon." Stella informs, eyes scanning the sea of trees.
"So your magic is useful after all." The Water Fairy looks at the blonde, "Come on. Turn it on." Stella clicks her fingers but nothing happens, this brings Anna to a stop, she turns back to Stella, spotting the fear in her eyes. "Seriously?"
"Just hang on."
"I -- we don't have time for this, just go back to the school and get help." Aisha grabs onto Anna's forearm and pulls her away, the darkly haired girl looks back at Stella, the Princess still struggling with lighting her magic. "I think we should split up, cover more ground, these woods stretch for miles and you know them better then me."
"Okay, just be alert, okay? Scream if you need me and I'll come running." Annabelle gives a reassuring nod before turning to her right and setting off into the forest, mist consuming her body the further she gets. Almost 15 minutes after she's walked off from Aisha, Anna hears a deep growl, snarling almost. Her feet doesn't waste another second and she breaks into a sprint, dashing through the woods towards the sound.
Fire explodes in the distance, but the Burned One doesn't stop, its body aflame but it still flies for the familiar red head. Annabelle's boots skid to a stop and she doesn't even think, her mind moving a thousand miles an hour as her right hand fly out and a dark cloud forms, just like last night, quickly forming a shield. She throws her left hand out, the earth shaking violently and Annabelle's hair flying off her shoulders.
The fire dies out quickly and so does Annabelle's magic. Bloom slowly uncovers her face, standing up to see the Burned One impaled by a stake of wood. The red head looks too Annabelle, she stands tall, her hands slowly lowering and the black glowing eyes turning back to the deep brown they usually were. The two girls meet gaze and it's the last thing Anna sees before her vision goes black, her body consumed and she collapses.
VI'S NOTES:
how do we like chapter two? idk about it but whatever lol.