"My final decision has been made. You've been cast out! You have tapped into magic that more than half of us never knew existed!" The Queen spat in my face as she casted me out of my home.
"But, you can't do this! I only tried to prove to you that I can be of use!" I cried, the tears spilling uncontrollably. That was not my intention, but they didn't get it. They never understood. From the day I was born to now. They hated every part of me.
My lips were trembling, I couldn't hold myself in front of all these people. They shook their heads as they watched me. A disappointment to the kingdom for what I had done. These mermaids couldn't wait to rid of me.
"Mom, please," I cried. She stood up from her seat, her white hair flowing all the way down to her waist. My mother stared at me for a moment then sighed. Her white eyes showed how tired she was.
"I'm not your mother," she said, coldly. "Throw her out."
A few Guardians took my arms and another two put their swords together, making a X shape. It opened a ripple and I knew what came next.
"Stop, please! We don't know what's out there! I could die, please, stop!" I pleaded for my mother to let me be. To help me, somehow. I only wanted to be accepted among my kind! She did nothing to guide or prevent the choices in my life. "You wanted this, didn't you?!" I screamed louder, my inner demon taking over. "You waited until I screwed up so you could kick me out!"
They didn't let me continue, the Guardians' pushed me through the ripple.
I felt myself fall and land on something soft.
And I stayed there, hoping this world would kill me.
Amara's memories continued to play in my mind as if they were my own. Her memories were all over the place. I couldn't figure out the order. But being lost in my own body and having to relive her life was tiring out my soul.
Some moments made me tear up inside, but had no affect on my body. I finally knew what was happening and there was no way to reverse it. Not that I knew of anyway.
Luka casted a spell and locked me inside my own body to bring back Amara. But the spell he used didn't sound like actual words, they sounded like complete gibberish from what I remembered. There wasn't a single spell like that within my journal. But after seeing several of Amara's memories, I knew that Luka was her best friend.
Having come to the conclusion that I've been trapped inside my own body, Asher must be dealing with the same situation. Being able to see and hear what was going on in the real world, but having no way of accessing it. I was stuck watching my own body do as it pleased under Amara's control.
I wondered how Asher was holding up. He had Luka controlling him much longer. Although, this felt like an eternity. I couldn't imagine how much worse it was for him. What would happen to us if we stayed this way for too long?
Asher's situation was much different than mine also. After I read the news article, I learned of what really happened between Clara and Asher. Part of what Asher or Luka told me at the time was true, but the end was completely different.
He told me that he came to find other mermaids to protect, because he saw their system wasn't working. But at the time, that wasn't even Asher. There was no way.
The day Clara had her test, her whole house burst into flames, and Asher was already inside. He was by her side, because how else would Asher be reported deceased in the newspaper. Two teenagers had burned in that fire. The cause of the fire; unknown.
Asher died.
Which made me wonder, how did Luka get his body? How could he take over a body that should've turned to ash.
"...he should be thanking me. He owes me."
Luka admitted to not owning his own body. How did he save Asher?
"Let's do introductions," Luka said. "That lady over there is Mira, she works with the mermaid leaders. They changed their group over the years. It's not like it used to be, but we can get to that later." He looked at the Guardians surrounding them. "Those are the Guardians and they are working under Mira. They are working together again."
"What the heck," Noah mumbled from beside me.
"Oh, yeah! That boy is a Guardian, but he used to be a Protector. Even I didn't know it was possible for Protectors to change magic, but dark magic can be an interesting thing. You should know that well."
"Yeah," I said, the words coming out of my mouth as Amara spoke. "It's limitless."
"That's why it shouldn't exist," Mira said. "It's the biggest threat." She sighed, "I never thought I would be standing in front of the real Amara. Well, the soul of you. Your real appearance differs from this girl's."
I grabbed my hair and looked at the light golden blonde color. Soft and silky, like how my old hair had been before the change.
"You seem harmless to me," one Guardian said, placing his sword at his side.
"Why? What have you heard?" I asked, trying to see how much they knew of me. None of these faces resembled anyone from when I was taken away. Did they still follow the family line?
"That you're very strong and a huge threat to our kind. Your choices and your powers are something to be feared, but in that form, you look cute." His face shown disbelief and it was funny to me. These people knew what I was capable of and yet, they still didn't believe it.
"Yeah, I'll admit, this wasn't what I had in mind when Luka promised our return. Don't worry, it's only temporary. But this girl is my copy and I can use my powers through her." I brought my hand out in front of me, smiling. The Guardian before me started coughing, choking on the dark magic I was sending to his body. He held on his neck as he fell to his knees.
Before I could kill the Guardian, the mermaid leader, Mira used her magic on me. My magic cut out half way and the Guardian was breathing normally again. I tried to fight against her powers and could feel mine overpowering hers.
"Looks like you aren't the highest member within the group," I heard myself say. "You'll be easy to kill if you choose to get in my way."
"Your magic is returning sooner than I thought," Luka sang. "But you're no match for the both of us. It's best to let us get on our way and I'll let you live." Luka didn't care whether Mira died or not, he was eager for us to move on.
I could feel Amara's impatience running through me and her powers flowing in my body. It was making the flame in my chest rage.
I reacted to it, whether it was really me or not, I couldn't tell, but my hand was over the deformed star on my chest. I dug my hand between the ice and my skin, pulling the ice off. The ice's magic was going crazy, clawing at my insides.
"Was Guardian magic always this...clingy?" I had a difficult time removing it. My eyes landed on the Guardian lying dead on the ground. "This is the Guardian who did this to me. I feel her energy. That means this should lose its grip." I could feel a smile form on my lips as I used all my strength to rip the star off me. It flew off my body and melted in mid-air.
In the place of the star, my chest healed itself by creating ice instead of skin. I ran my hand over it, feeling the coolness on my fingers. And the flame inside me was visible. There were two of them; one that burned pitch black and the other had different shades of gray.
"Is this how your body feels like, Luka?" I asked, concerned of the double flames that burned in this body.
"At first, yes. But his flame burns out the longer I reside in his body."
"Okay, what is going on?" The boy beside me asked. "I never got an explanation. All I know is you're not Lara." He took a couple steps back, watching me. Then he placed his feet on the ground as if he was having an inner conflict.
"I'm Amara, you may know me a mistake since your magic energy is of a Guardians," I said, getting the feel of his weak energy that his body was emitting. He was a newbie. "Or maybe not."
"No, I don't. I just want to know where Lara is." He kept his eyes on me, searching me.
"In here." I pointed to the clear spot on my chest. "Her flame burns in the body that we share, our thoughts are the same, our words are the same, and so are our movements. We are one, yet, I can feel her energy waver a bit, so we're not nearly there."
He placed his hand in front of him and between his hands water began to form, but not enough to complete what he had in mind. Since he was new, he couldn't bring forth his sword.
"I wouldn't if I were you. You could end up like her," I pointed to the girl lying on the floor.
"Lara wouldn't let you. She's not like you," he said, stopping the sword.
"There's so much you don't know. Before I was taken by the Guardians-" I felt Luka grab my arm, stopping me from continuing.
"We don't have time for history. It's time to go. Bye, Noah, I guess this is where I don't need you anymore, and don't worry, I'll let you live." Luka started to walk away and I walked beside him, leaving everyone there.
I could hear Mira shouting and trying to use her magic on us, but together, Luka and I, were almost unstoppable. Her magic wasn't strong enough to penetrate the magic we built. The Guardians were dropping their swords one by one, knowing they were incapable of piercing us.
Somewhere behind the commotion, I could hear him calling my name. His voice reaching my soul. I wanted to break free from Amara's control over my body, but I didn't have the strength. My magic seemed weak compared to hers.
My feet met with the ocean water below. Luka and I both dove into the water and were on our way.
I wanted to stop myself.
I wanted to go back and run with Noah.
There was no escape, there was no way out.
What was I supposed to do?
"What's wrong, Amara?" Luka said, walking into our room. He stood right beside me as I stared into the mirror. I was running my hand over the black strip of hair that appeared just moments ago.
"Is this normal?" I asked, trying to make sense of what was happening to my appearance. Would I lose all of my blonde hair to the darkness? Not only were my insides changing, but it was affecting my appearance. How far would it go?
"I guess. The magic that flows through our every being is darker than night. It has begun to overpower who we are. We will be what it commands." Luka moved the hair away from his eye that he always kept covered and revealed to me the mark that appeared on his face. There was a long black mark underneath his eye. The line started thick and ended thin right above his neck.
"What is happening to us? Will our appearance change to one of a demon's?" I asked, worried I would look nothing like myself when the magic has run its course.
"Demons aren't real." He dropped his golden blonde hair back over his eye.
"Neither was the magic we discovered, but here it is. The living proof that we have what no one even knew existed." I turned to Luka and placed my hand underneath his hair, running my fingers over the black line. His magic energy was releasing from the mark on his face. "Have you tried?"
"Not yet," he replied.
He ran his hand through my long hair and felt the ends of it between his fingers. We both stared at the color of my hair.
I faced the mirror once again, running my hand over my new black hair.
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This was really difficult to write. I hope it makes sense haha...
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.