A/N: For some reason, I feel like this story is almost over ._.
Song above is 'Oxygen' by Bass Modulators in the Nightcore version :)
Image above is of Frost Fiend Aura :3
*~*
The light engulfed both mine and Aura's bodies briefly before it suddenly disappeared altogether, leaving a blackened spot of curling smoke where Headmaster Harold had previously been standing. I stared. He was really gone? Just like that? Suddenly someone screamed from within the crowd as everyone scattered for cover. I lifted my head just as a shadow fell over the three of us.
"Gwen, look out!" I heard Elliot shout over my shoulder before I was being pushed roughly to the ground, my hand releasing Aura's on instinct, my body colliding with the hard cement ground. I blinked my eyes open only to see a fiery shield surrounding mine and Elliot's bodies from any harm. I knew he would protect me. But what about Aura?
I moved my head to the side where I could see my sister lying on the ground as well, her eyes gazing upwards, so I followed their line of sight only for my body to go rigid with fear. Headmaster Harold was hovering in the air on inky black wings that looked like they were made out of tar. So this was the might of the forbidden Black Magic. "Eli!" I managed to hear Aura shout, and looked back over at her, only her eyes weren't focused on me but on Elliot instead. "Get her out of here!" I felt Elliot nod from beside me before he was grasping my hand in his own, and a bright white light consumed us as I heard him mutter an unfamiliar Spell under his breath, my whole body vibrating until the sounds of clacking bones and several students' screams could barely be heard from the distance we were now at from the Main Square.
I snatched my hand back from Elliot's and jumped to my feet, looking around us for any sign of my sister. I turned back to him with narrowed eyes and clenched fists as he pushed himself up from the ground. "Where's Aura?" I demanded through clenched teeth, and Elliot shook his head.
"I'm merely doing what she asked of me, Gwen. You can't go back there, it's not safe for you. Especially with that monster going after you," Elliot narrowed his bright blue eyes at me.
"I don't care!" I shouted, my legs shaking. I had to get back to her. She could be hurt for all I knew. "She's my sister, Elliot! I have to go back for her! You would do the same if it was Leesha back there!" I took off with those last words, following the screams of the students back to the Main Square.
"Gwen, stop! You can't go back there!" I heard Elliot cry out from behind me, but I kept running. I knew he would eventually catch up to me since he was taller than me and thus had longer legs, but still, I kept on running. I just had to get back to her. Looking around for any sign of Aura, I couldn't spot her among the crowd, and began to worry.
"Not you, young one, but your sister," the vaguely familiar voice sounded from above, and as I lifted my gaze upwards, I found someone who didn't look like my sister at all aside from the crystal blue eyes she looked down at me with. Her body had completely changed otherwise. Navy blue tendrils of what looked to be Ice covered her bare thighs, arms, and neck before framing her face. Her once dark brown hair had turned a stunningly midnight blue that resembled the starry night sky, and instead of wearing her school uniform, she was adorned with a mid-thigh length blue dress with a matching cloak that reached past her ankles. She held a crescent moon scepter that centered around a giant snowflake, and her eyes were a crystal shining blue that reminded me of gleaming sapphires. "You're not supposed to be here!" Aura--or whoever it was--floated down from the air towards me, and it was then I noticed Headmaster Harold was imprisoned in what looked to be a sphere made of Ice. Just hopefully that would hold him for a while yet. "How long can you hold him back?" Aura asked, and I blinked in confusion. "Not long. And I am sad to say I cannot stay in this world for much longer, either," that same weird voice that sounded like Aura but wasn't exactly Aura replied from Aura herself. Okay, now I'm lost. "Thank you for doing what you can," Aura's regular voice answered as she closed her eyes, before that strange voice answered once again from her own smiling lips, only her gaze was locked on me. "Tamer, you have the power to free your sister. You just need to find it is all. Look to the Light within, and it shall free you both." Aura's body jolted then as a small blizzard formed around us. For some reason, the cold didn't bother me this time around. Once the blizzard disappeared, Aura collapsed to the ground heavily, her breathing rapid and her limbs shaking. I immediately knelt down to inspect her for any injuries, her clothes having returned to their original state and her hair was brown once again.
"Aura, what was that thing?" I asked her curiously, before I remembered what she told Elliot to do and got angry all over again. "And why did you tell Elliot to take me away from here?" I glared down at her, my gray eyes narrowed. "I told you I wasn't leaving you, and that's final!"
"You have no idea what he's capable of," Aura growled up at me while pushing herself up into a sitting position.
I frowned just as a loud shatter sounded from above us and we both snapped our heads up only for my body to become airborne, my insides fluttering nervously as the inky black of his wings gripped me tightly. "Aura!" I cried out for my sister as she began to grow farther and farther away the higher up Headmaster Harold took me. Then his wings squeezed tight enough to cut off my oxygen.
"Gwen! Please, just leave her alone!" Aura shouted up at the Headmaster, practically begging, but he still didn't release his hold on me. I began to choke on lack of air, so tried raising my arms to pry off his wings, but he had bound them to my sides expertly. "GWEN!" Aura's voice was merely a background now as everything began to fade in and out of focus. Although I'm sure I wasn't imagining the raging blizzard surrounding us, despite the cold not affecting me in any way. Why was that? "Let her GO!" A whistle of air sounded past my ears until I heard a loud curse from in front of me, and the feeling of gravity pushing my body to the ground. I screamed with what air I had left. "Sonata!" The rush of paw prints let me know that my sister's White Tigress Familiar was intending to catch me in order to save my fall.
But I had just barely seen it. The inky black of his wings forming a dark arrow. I could've cast a Spell to at least shield or prolong the hit of the arrow, but I knew my Magic was of no use, so there was no point in trying.
And that was why I allowed the black arrow to pierce straight through my heart.
~+~
I was seven-years-old, and I had saved my first animal from some mean kids, so I wanted to show mother. "Mommy, mommy! Look what I found!" I held up the little white rabbit for my mother to see, and she glanced down from her work table then, her matching gray eyes like mine shining with humor.
"That's a lucky rabbit you have there, Gwendolyn," my mom said with a smile. She had always loved saying my full name compared to daddy just calling me 'Dolly' as a nickname that only he came up with. Arios had just settled on calling me Gwendyl for the last few years, so I was used to being called something different every now and then.
"Really, mommy?" I beamed happily. "Can I keep her?"
My mother knelt down in front of me. "Only if you can tell me what she says about living with us."
I looked down at the rabbit then who peered up at me with blood red eyes. "I'd like to stay," she voiced, only it wasn't his voice that answered. I looked up, and sitting across the room in daddy's favorite chair was my big sister. I blinked before grinning widely and running over to her.
"Look, big sister! I saved a rabbit!" I held the rabbit up for her to see.
Aura smiled softly down at me. "I can see that. Good work, Gwen." I simply smiled at the praise and nickname I received from her.
*
"Mom, dad, are you okay?" Aura frowned over at our parents who had been sitting in bed all day, not once getting up to even work.
Mom smiled and stroked Aura's cheek lovingly. "Of course, sweetheart. Mommy and daddy are just tired, is all." Aura didn't answer and merely grasped mother's hand tightly in her own. She squeezed it before turning to me.
"Why don't we give mom and dad some time to rest, don't you agree, Gwen?" Aura smiled softly down at me, but I knew something was wrong with that smile. It wasn't her usual happy smile. It looked. . .sad.
Nevertheless, I smiled up at her like nothing was wrong. "Okay."
What I didn't know then was that mommy and daddy wouldn't wake up the next morning.
*
"It's alright, Gwen. I'm here with you. You'll never be alone, I promise." Aura rocked me in her arms tightly, stroking my hair like she always did whenever I was upset. I sniffled.
"Why did they leave us? Didn't they love us anymore?" I managed to say through my sobs.
Aura sighed through her nose, her hand pausing mid-stroke. "They do love us. Just because someone's not physically here with us, doesn't mean they're gone forever, Gwen. Mom and Dad will always be with us. Just like how I'll always be with you."
I sniffled and peered up at her. Her mismatched eyes stared back down at me. "Promise?" I whispered, and she smiled gently.
"Promise."
*
"It's dark, and I'm all alone. You promised. You promised to stay with me. Why aren't you here? Where are you? Big sister! It's dark and I'm scared! Help me, big sister! Help me! I'm scared! I'm scared!" I was a little girl again, sitting on the floor covering my head with my hands, screaming my words over and over again for her to save me.
"She was never here to begin with."
I glanced up through my blurred gaze only to see a dark scary man standing before me. "W-who are you?" I sniffled and wiped at my eyes with my chubby little hands.
The scary man smiled and held his hand out to me. "I'm taking you back to your mother and father. Don't you miss them?"
I stared up at the scary man. "Mommy and daddy are here?"
"Of course they are. And they've been waiting for you. Come now, just take my hand and we can leave with them," the scary man still held his hand out towards me, and so I reached up for it.
". . .en. . .lyn. . .Gw. . .dol. . .!"
I snapped my hand back. That voice. I knew that voice. "Big sister?" I breathed, looking around for her, but it was too dark in here. It felt like the walls were closing in on me.
"There's no one else here. Come now, don't you want to go? Your parents are waiting," the scary man coaxed, and I looked back over at him, blinking rapidly in confusion.
"Don't listen. . .him! I. . .a promise!"
I slowly stood up on my wobbly chubby legs, my gaze still searching the darkness for my big sister. "Aura?" I called, but only silence replied.
"There was never anyone named Aura. Forget about her. Just come with me," the scary man sounded a bit angry, and it scared me. I took a slight step back. His face contorted. "Stubborn child," he muttered, and reached out to grab me when something suddenly roared from behind me, racing past to grab hold of the scary man's hand as he cried out in pain. I blinked at the White Tigress that stood protectively in front of me.
"I made a promise, and I intend to keep it."
I glanced up from my short height to see Aura standing tall against the scary man, her mismatched eyes glaring harshly at him. I slowly felt myself smile. "Big sister!" I cried, and clung to her leg lovingly. She placed a reassuring hand on the top of my head, pulling me closer into her side.
"You ungrateful little-," the scary man spewed, and tossed the White Tigress aside easily, his hand bleeding profusely as he held it to his chest. I watched as a black slug walked across his hand, the bloody bite mark disappearing instantly. I shivered with fear. This was a bad man.
"Gwen, take my hand," I peered up at Aura, her hand held out for me as she smiled lovingly down at me. I felt tears well up in my eyes, and sniffled.
"I missed you, big sister," I sobbed, and wiped at my eyes.
"Shh. It's alright. It's time to make the scary man go away now, okay? Just take my hand." I nodded and reached my hand up to grasp my older sister's, my small chubby hand immediately changing to a long and slender one as I felt my body grow until I was nearly the same height as Aura. I sniffled. I was myself again.
"Okay," I whispered, and she intertwined our fingers together. A small light began to emit between our palms, growing brighter and brighter around us.
Aura and I both turned to face the scary man. The Headmaster of Rich Dragon Academy. I remembered now. "We are the Sisters of the Light, and by the bond of our love and care for one another, we banish you from the Darkness," our voices were in sync and held power behind them as we raised our hands high up in the air, the White Tigress I now recognized as Sonata standing protectively beside her Wizardess.
Headmaster Harold cried out from the brightness of our light as it shone down on him like sunshine rays, the inky black darkness around him fading away until there was nothing left but a powerless old man. Aura turned to me then while giving my hand a light squeeze. "Please come back, Gwen. I need you."
I frowned. "Did I leave?"
Aura smiled sadly. "Just please come back. We're family, aren't we?"
I smiled back and pulled her in for a hug. "Of course we are. And never forget that." My little white rabbit. . .
~+~
I blinked my eyes open, my chest aching like something heavy was weighing down on it. I groaned, the light around me blinding and I slowly tried to sit up, only to be pushed back down. "Don't try to sit up just yet. You're still healing," a familiar voice spoke from above me.
I swallowed. "Ell-," my voice was dry when I tried to speak, and was grateful when I felt a straw between my lips. I drank the water greedily as it drenched my parched throat. I sighed in relief. I blinked open my eyes again and found Elliot sitting beside my bed. Or not my bed. It looked like I was in the Infirmary. Were we back at Brickstone? Or still at Rich Dragon? "Elliot," I whispered, "where are we?"
Elliot sighed and grasped my hand in his, bringing it up to his lips as he kissed the back of my palm gently. "I'm so glad you're alright," he whispered, although his voice sounded broken.
I frowned. "What's wrong? What happened, Elliot?"
Elliot merely shook his head, and it was then I noticed that he wasn't wearing his uniform. He was in casual clothes consisting of a deep green button up and black slacks with his dark shoes. When did he have the time to change? "I promised I'd let Aura tell you." He looked at me then with sad blue eyes, and it broke my heart to see him like that. "Just try not to leave me again, alright?"
I didn't know what he meant by that, but I smiled softly nonetheless. "Okay."
Shuffling of feet sounded on the other side of the curtain that surrounded the bed I was in, and then the curtain was suddenly pulled back as Ashlynn, Arios, Rian, Loki, Hunter, and Aura stood before me. I gaped. "What are you all doing here?" I breathed in surprise. Were we really back at Brickstone after all?
Ash burst out in tears at the sight of me and threw herself on the bed, crying beside my waist on the sheets as I blinked down at her in shock. I stroked her long dark hair in comfort even though I had no idea what happened. "I-I'm so glad y-you're alive, G-Gwen!" Ash sobbed out, and I frowned.
"Why? What happened?" They all blinked in surprise at me. "What? What did I do?"
Ari scratched the back of his neck, ruffling his long blonde hair and came to stand behind Ash. "Um, Gwendyl, do you remember anything at all? Like anything specific?"
I frowned in thought, before shrugging. "Not really, just that I decided to come pay a visit to Aura at Rich Dragon after not hearing from her for a while. I'm thinking mom and dad's death took a toll on her, too, so I wanted to come check on her. Oh, and that I'm dating Elliot?" I asked, slightly unsure about my avid memory, and Loki chuckled at the last bit.
"Of course she would remember that," he mumbled, and Elliot punched him in the arm in response. Everyone fell silent.
I frowned at everyone avoiding my gaze before I finally locked eyes with my sister. I smiled. "Hey, Aura." Aura merely blinked her mismatched eyes at me before she began crying as well. I stared as she sobbed in front of everyone, Rian walking over to hold her in his arms as she cried. I blinked rapidly. "Aura?" I asked worriedly, and forced myself to sit up when I felt a stinging pain throughout my chest and back. I winced as Loki and Hunter came up on either side of me, placing one hand each on my upper and lower back, before they muttered an incantation I recognized, "Aqua Clero." A surge of cooling water flowed throughout my body, and I sighed from the relief it brought. "Thank you, guys," I smiled gratefully up at them.
Hunter smiled and rubbed my back. "It was no problem. Any sister of Aura's is a sister of mine." I blinked in confusion at his words.
Elliot cleared his throat then as Loki and Hunter took a step back. "We should let Aura and Gwen have some privacy together," he spoke formally, and everyone nodded as Ari led a still slightly tearful Ash out of the room, Rian releasing my sister and leaving the room as well, only after he placed a soft kiss to her temple. I was practically jumping up and down in my mind at the thought of them as a couple. Loki and Hunter soon followed after, only I caught a glimpse of Loki giving Elliot a certain look that I couldn't identify. I decided to leave the thought alone and let my Prefect boyfriend deal with it.
I looked over at Aura and waited. It was then I noticed something. "Hey, you were just crying," I lifted a finger over at her and she silently nodded. I grinned. "There was no blizzard!" I said excitedly, and Aura smiled softly.
"Yeah. I can control it now. Do you remember what happened?" Aura asked while coming over to sit down beside my bed.
I shook my head. "Not really." I grinned then. "But hey, when did my friends get here and what happened between you and Rian?" I wiggled my eyebrows in a suggestive manner as Aura chuckled lightly before her face grew grim.
"They arrived here almost five days ago," she stayed quiet after this, and I blinked curiously at her, not understanding what she was getting at, "You've been unconscious for the past week, Gwen."
I blinked rapidly, staring at my sister in shock, before I frowned. "What? Why? How? What happened to me?"
Aura looked down at her lap and reached out to grasp my hand tightly in hers. "There's no easy way to put this, but," Aura inhaled deeply before continuing, "you died, Gwen." She looked up at me with her blue and hazel eye sadly, and I stared at her.
"But, I'm right here?" I questioned with a frown, and Aura nodded.
"You're alive because of me." She looked down and squeezed my hand. "And because of mom and dad."
I sat up straighter, my body protesting at the action, but I ignored it at the mention of our parents. "What do mom and dad have to do with me being alive?"
Aura sighed. "You remember their Familiars, right? The Arctic Fox and Stag?" I nodded. "Right after you. . .died, they showed up claiming that they were mom and dad." She shook her head. "I didn't believe them at first, but after they explained that their Familiars allowed their Spirits to take over their bodies in order to watch over you, it all made sense. And the only way they could save you was if I-," Aura broke off and swallowed roughly. I squeezed her hand in comfort. Her eyes became glassy and her shoulders began shaking. "I just feel like you'll hate me if I tell you," she choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks.
I lifted my free hand to comfort her, stroking her hair like she had once done with me as a child. "Aura, you're scaring me. What did you have to do?"
Aura sniffled and locked eyes with me. "I-I had to-to kill m-mom and dad's F-Familiars to release their Sp-Spirits to s-save you," she stuttered through her tears, and I dropped my hand from her hair in shock. "I'm s-so sorry, G-Gwen. I understand i-if you h-hate me. I-I would to," Aura collapsed onto my lap, her heavy cries and tears staining the bed sheets as her shoulders shook. I merely stared down at her, my mind having gone numb along with my body.
Now I know what Elliot meant about letting Aura tell me. He knew what she had to do and didn't try to stop her. Aura may not have killed our parents physically, but it still hurt just as much. The real question is, though: Could I forgive her? She told me she had to kill them to release their Spirits from their Familiars in order to save me. If I knew mom and dad as well as I did, then they must have told her to, and Aura would've said no because of me. She would be afraid of hurting me. They must not have left her any choice. I was either dead, or revived by their life force. They wanted me to live, and they knew Aura was the only one that could do it because she was family. She's my sister. There's no way I could ever hate her.
I slowly lifted my arms to cradle Aura in my lap, and I felt her body stiffen at the action, her tears halting in their path. "I forgive you, Aura. You're my sister. I could never hate you," I spoke softly, and she broke down again, her body growing limp, and so I tried puling her into bed with me as she continued to cry. She eventually realized I was still too injured to pull her on my own, so she moved herself under the sheets beside me as I held her hand tightly, her sobs still echoing around the empty room. I shushed her and stroked her hair comfortingly until we began to fall asleep to each other's steady breathing.
I will always love my little white rabbit.
*~*
A/N: That seemed pretty long to me, although it may be otherwise ._. In other words: I think only a few chapters left and this story is over? :3
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