passiveplayersonly

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 9

If you had told me Cole Black was the more level-headed of the two would-be holy warriors I would have… Well first I probably would have asked you who would name their child Cole Black. Then I would probably apologize to anyone who was actually named that.

As it was, Cole was actually surprisingly understanding of the situation. He didn’t quite believe me at first, and that had involved quite a bit of him chasing me around with a sword, but in the end we had been able to come to an understanding. Though in all honesty I’m not sure if he completely understood what had happened.

 Either way, he was convinced enough once I informed him that Snow was going to be attempting to save the world with or without the Divine Light. Actually, the willingness in which he dismissed the need for the Divine Light to save the world was a bit disconcerting, considering how willing he was to horribly injure me for it only minute prior.

 Chosen Routes are bullshit for this exact reason. No one actually needs to be chosen to do something great. They just need to be willing to try.

 That, of course, is where I differed greatly from the pair.

 Cole also helpfully informed me that I would not need to bother trying to clean up the school, as his House would be sending a Cleaner. Apparently despite the use of Boundaries, sometimes mistakes were made.

 Mistakes like forgetting to put up a boundary in the first place, something that Cole apparently often did. Just now for example, when he further destroyed the classroom.

 Exhausted, I didn’t feel the need to question the validity of his statement and made my way home, enduring the rain. It was a Friday night and it was far past my bedtime.

 -

  Sleep came blissfully easy and I woke up Saturday morning feeling wonderfully…. Sore. Sore, I felt sore. The run to and around the school along being tossed around like a ragdoll by Snow had left a fair share of bruises on my body.

 Still, I was no longer on a route and that was enough to make the pain worth it.

 I decided to start the morning, well more specifically afternoon, with a full breakfast. I was halfway through the preparation when my phone went off. I glanced at the screen as I absentmindedly flipped the bacon over before it started to burn.

 I’ve always preferred my bacon a little chewy. Not much of a fan of cooking it crispy.

 The number displayed by the caller ID was not a number at all, just a single X. I frowned and reached over the counter to ignore the call.

 Probably a spam number or something.

 Continuing on cooking a frown formed on my face as the phone rang again.

 I ignored it again.

 It rang a third time. Again I reached over to pressed the red button, but before my finger could touch the screen a voice came through the speaker.

 “Asher, please pick up the phone.”

 Ah… Shit.

 Turning off the burners I took a moment to sigh to myself before picking up the phone and placing it to my ear.

 “Hello, Ms. Thorne.”

 “Hello Asher. It seems something is wrong with your phone. I had a terribly difficult time getting through to you. It’s almost like changed your phone number.”

 That would have been because I had. I didn’t need to tell her that though.

 “Must have been entered in wrong.”

 “I’m sure… And why did I have to call you three times to get an answer?”

 “I’m sorry. I was making breakfast.”

 “It’s lunch time. Don’t tell me you just woke up.”

 “Okay. I did not just wake up.”

 Soft laughter filled my ear.

 “You don’t have to be such a smartass. I am just calling to check in on you, nothing else.”

 I was not convinced.

 “Mmmmm.”

 “Cross my heart.”

 I smiled despite myself.

 “Swear to die?”

 “I’d really rather not, if it’s all the same to you.”

 “That’s fair.”

 “Wonderful. Then how are you doing Asher?”

 That was a loaded question and I thought about it for a moment. I had cleared all current routes, but there was still the matter of a certain Vampire that had yet to make her intentions entirely clear. Still…

 “Fine, I guess.”

 “Not a very encouraging answer. Well how is your school going?”

 I struggled to answer that question as well.

 “School is… school.”

 “That is not an answer.”

 “It’s different than what I was expecting.”

 “How so?”

 “The student council is more involved than I was expecting.”

 “Isn’t that a good thing?”

 In my opinion no, but I’m sure some people liked it.

 “Depends who you ask.”

 “Is that all?”

 “The clubs are kind of… Intense. Their recruiting efforts were interesting.”

 “I didn’t think you were the type to join a club.”

 “It wasn’t really a choice.”

 “Well, I did send you to a rather prodigious institution. I supposed it makes sense. Though it was the only one within walking distance from your home. You made it clear that time of travel to school and a grocery store were the two most important things.”

 That was true. I had no intention of relying on a bus to get to school. While they were an excellent source of transportation, they also served as their own little world. A world run by students and that was trouble that I had no interest in.

 “I know.”  

 She let out a thoughtful sound.

 Perhaps you would have been better off in a regular public school. The sudden switch may have been more jarring than I expected. If you’d like I could look into having you transferred. It’s not too far in the year, yet. If transportation is an issue I could always have something arranged.”

 I shook my head. While changing schools could possibly alleviate some of my current issues, it could also create something completely new and worse. Better to stay and work through the familiar than venture out into the unknown. Besides, I was already into a large enough debt to her as it were.

 “No, I’m okay.”

 “Are you sure?”

 “Very.”  

 “Well if you are sure. So, are you at least making friends alright?”

 Felicity, Snow, Harlow, Emi, Violet, and a whole host of other troublesome entities flashed through my mind.

 “You could say that.”

 “But you wouldn’t, isn’t that right?”

 “Mmmmm.”

 She sighed heavily.

 “Descriptive as always. It would do you well to be a little more expressive.”

 “I’ll keep that in mind.”

 “You’re a terrible liar.”

 I didn’t necessarily agree with that, but it was true to the extent that I had never successfully lied to her. She had an unnerving ability to see the truth, even if no one else could. I suppose that’s why she was so good at her job.

 There was a lull in the conversation and I found a question slipping over my lips before I could stop it.

 “How is he?”

 Ms. Thorn hesitated, if only for a moment.

 “He is doing quite well.”

 I did not press her for more information. She wouldn’t be able to give me anymore. She wasn’t even supposed to tell me what she already had. That was part of the agreement.

 “That’s… That’s good to know. Thank you.”

 The conversation lulled again, but there was really nothing more to say. Ms. Thorn knew it as well.

 “Well Asher, I will call again to check in on you in the future. Please consider answering next time.”

 “I will. Good bye, ma’am.”

 The line clicked silent and I put the phone back down on the counter. Silently I finished cooking breakfast, but somewhere along the way my appetite had died.

 I ended up throwing the food away and going back to sleep.

 I didn’t leave the house again until Monday.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 9

In what I would describe as a shocking turn of events, Cole Black turned out to be the more level headed of the two warriors I had met recently. After quick explanation, and slight bending of the truth, Cole had actually helped me clean up the classroom.

 Luckily the wall he had destroyed was actually inside of a Boundary he had created prior to attacking me. There was some damage that Snow had caused outside of her Boundary that I couldn’t clean up, but Cole had assured me that ‘his people’ would take care of it. Part of me had wanted to ask him to elaborate, mostly to make sure something would actually be done, but a much larger part of me simply wanted to go home.

 Even with Cole’s help, though it could be argued that it was despite his help, as he had spent much of the time declaring to not give up on his path to become the most famous hero in the long and storied history of the House of Black, it was late by the time we finished cleaning up. Upon exiting the school Cole had given me a very painful slap on the back before launching off into the night.

 Lacking the ability to do something similar I was forced to walk home.

 In the rain.

 While the walk itself was not particularly long, the nonstop rain made it feel considerably more arduous. I was soaked to the bone by the time I reached my home and there was nothing more I wanted to do than take a shower and go to sleep.

 Obviously things couldn't simply be that easy, but it’s still good to have hope.

 A feeling of Déjà vu washd across my brain as I approached my front door, pointedly ignoring the person waiting on the porch, her parasol held daintily on her shoulder.

 “Not going to invite me in?”

 Felcity turned with me as I brushed by her and rested my hand on the doorknob.

 “No.”

 “That’s not very hospitible of you.”

 I pushed the door open.

 “Nope.”

 “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to invite me in?”

 I stepped over the threshold of my home and turned to face her.

 “Very.”

 Felicity tilted her head.

 “Then you’re not worried at all?”

 I didn’t bother asking her to explain. I knew what she meant.

 As a general rule of thumb, many creatures of supernatural, or fey, origin require invitations into private residences. Why? Dunno. But it is extremely helpful in keeping yourself safe. Just don’t invite anyone into your home. Not even vaguely.

 Among some of the more hardcore conspiracy community, there is a theory that the ‘welcome mat’ was created by a vampire as a way to bypass the needed invitation. If there is truth to this is unknown, but if anyone was going to play a long game like that, it would be a vampire.

 As Felicity was notably immune to both holy symbols and sunlight, it wasn’t crazy to think she might be immune to this weakness as well.

 I took a deep breath and let it out through my nose.

 “If you didn’t need my permission then you would have just entered.”

 Felicity leaned forward.

 “Oh? I didn’t think you thought us so close to presume to know my habits. Perhaps you think about me more than you let on?”

 I felt my face began to heat up at her teasing tone. I was far too tired to deal with this right now.

 “Good night, Felicity.”

 “You’re just going to leave me out in the rain? That’s quite cold. And here I thought I was the monster.”

 “Look… I’ve had a long night. Can we just… Can we just not do this?”

 “Oh but that’s no fun. Besides, right now is exactly when I wish to be around you most.”

 “Is it now?”  

 Felicity moved closer, stopping just on the edge of the doorframe.

 “Very much so. So allow me enter your home, please. Of course, I will make it worth your while.”

 “And how do you plan to do that?”

 Felicity smiled. My eyes were drawn to her fangs and for a moment I wondered what they would feel like against my throat. Her warm breathe against my skin. A small stab of a pain. Pleasure….

 I threw myself backwards into my house and landed hard on my backside.  Clutching at my chest I sucked in a deep breath and looked up at Felicity. She was still smiling sweetly.

 “My, my, my you are an interesting one. I was so sure that was going to work. Oh well, I suppose it can’t be helped. Hmm, then how about a deal. You allow me come inside for… Let’s say thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of your time and I will give you something you desire very much.”

 I slowly got to my feet and put my hand on the door, fully prepared to slam it on her face. But even though every instinct told me to do so, I hesitated.

 “What do I desire?”

 She gestured at herself.

 “Me. Well, at the very least you desire information on me. I know it bothers you, eats away at you, not knowing what exactly I am or what I want. So if you allow me to come inside I will tell you.”  

 She stuck her hand out towards me, her fingers curling slightly as they met the barrier separating her from entering my home.

 My fingers gripped against the door. The obvious option was to simply slam the door on her face, but was it the smartest? Felicity had yet to do more than stalk me, which wasn’t exactly comforting, but it also wasn’t particularly dangerous, all things considered. Shutting her out would keep me safe for the night, but would it cause her to retaliate?

 I was also forced to consider the annoying fact that Felicity was right, I did want to know more about her. She was an enigma, and without more information any plans I made were basically shots in the dark.

 I grit my teeth and lifted my hand from the door, holding up three fingers.

 “Under three conditions.”

 “As expected.” “One. You leave in ten minutes.” “A rather short engagement, but very well.” “Two. You will leave if I ask you to.” “Of course. I would not wish to be a rude guest, after all.”

 “Three. If you hurt me in any way then our agreement is void and your invitation is rescinded.”

 Felicity’s hand retreated ever so slightly.

 “Oh. Well I’m not sure I can agree to that one.”

 I blinked. I actually had not expected that response.

 “Excuse me?”

 Felicity lifted her gloved hand up to her chin thoughtfully.

 “You specified I may not hurt you in any way. While I have no intention of causing you physical harm, I cannot be held accountable for any sting my words may bring. You could prove to be an extremely sensitive person. I’ve found human males tend to be, actually. If I were to accidentally hurt your feelings then my invitation would be rescinded and that would put me in a most uncomfortable position.”

 A sigh escaped my lips and I leaned against the doorframe

 “Fine. If you hurt me physically in any way then our agreement is void and your invitation is rescinded. Better?”

 “Almost.”

 “Almost?” “Yes, almost. I would like to add a term of my own. For every question you ask me, I would like to ask one in return.”

 “Fine.”

 Felicity’s hand came down.  

 “Yes, I find these terms to be more than acceptable.”

 With a hesitant movement I reached my hand over the threshold. Felicity took it with a soft, yet undeniably firm grip.

 I could reasonably add super strength to her abilities.

 Wonderful.

 Felicity entered the home without another word, leaving her parasol on the porch. I took a moment to secure the door before turning around to watch her. She glided from room to room silently, her eyes sweeping along the walls and a soft hum of appreciation escaping her lips from time to time.

 She paused in the kitchen, reaching over and running her finger across the windowsill. She brought her hand up to her mouth and licked her finger.  

 “Salt? Just what kind of visitors are you expecting, Asher Mara?”

 “Well I wasn’t expecting a vampire.”

 Felicity laughed. The sound was shockingly pleasant.

 “I suppose that is fair. So, why don't we begin? Ask away.”

 I took a seat at the kitchen table. Felicity took the seat across from me.

 “What are you?”

  Felicity laughed again.

 “But you already know I’m a Vampire. Though I suppose what you really want to ask is what kind of Vampire I am. Is that right? Of course it is. So let’s see… Vampires, as you know, suck blood in order to acquire a human’s life essence. In this way, they can remain immortal.

 “Yes.”

  “But I am not very interested in blood. While I wouldn’t say the taste is unpleasant, it’s not quite my cup of tea, you might say. I am much more interested in what you might call... Luck.”

 “Luck?”

 “Mmmm, yes. I feed off a being’s luck. Or more accurately their good luck. Which is why I find you so very intriguing. You’re Luck is very… Very special”

  I leaned forward.

 “What do you mean?”  

 Felicity waved her finger and tutted

 “Ah, ah, ah. It’s my turn to ask a question.”

 I fell back in my seat. The new information was difficult to process. I had known about physic vampires, able to suck energy and emotions, but Luck was something new.

 New and potentially dangerous.  

 “Fine. Go ahead.”

 “You have the skills necessary to attempt to kill me and be successful. That isn’t a question, I can tell. I’m more than sure that there are weapons hidden around this home, yet I haven’t felt even a touch of malicious aura from you. Even before, the holy symbols you intended to use against me were not meant to kill me, only subdue.”

 She was right. There were weapons hidden in the house. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but there were indeed things that were more than capable of taking down a Vampire.

 “You haven’t asked a question.”

 “If you’re so scared of me, so insistent on avoiding me, why not simply put and end to me?”

 It wasn’t like the idea had not crossed my mind. There are many people who probably would have tried just that. It’s a very dangerous approach to problem solving, however, and not even one that guarantees a positive outcome. Fail to complete the action and now they’re coming after you with everything they have. Succeed and possibly face repercussions from their associates. There were many things to consider, but to be completely honest there was a much simpler reason for me.

  “I don’t like violence.”

 Felicity’s eyes lit up.

 “That’s quite a simple answer.”

 I shrugged.

 “It’s the truth. I don’t like hurting other and I don’t like being hurt.”

 “Which makes it so interesting that you possess such a capacity for violence.”

 I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

 “I think you might be exaggerating.”

 “I don’t. It makes me wonder… Just how does someone end up like you?”

 Felicity had given me another complicated question that I could give and exceedingly simple answer.

 “A series of unfortunate choices. And that’s two questions.”

 “So it was. Very well, your turn. Feel free to ask two as well.”

 “What’s special about my Luck?”

 Felicity tilted her head one way then the other before she leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought. Finally she brought her eyes back down to me, leaning over the table and inhaling deeply before settling back in her chair.

 “How exactly shall I put this? Luck, good or bad, has its own unique scent and aura. Good luck always smells like good luck, and bad like bad. It’s not like blood, where it varies from person to person. Your Luck, however, hold a unique order that I find simply intoxicating.”

 I frowned as Felicity took in another deep breath and gave me what I would describe as a rather hungry look.

 “That doesn’t really answer my question.”

 “I suppose it does not. Hmm, well to put it very simply, you have a terrible cloud of bad luck about you. I can see it right now, so dark and dismal. Yet it smells…. Oh it smells so deliciously good. I can’t help but wonder what it will taste like.”

 I swallowed hard, very glad I had set conditions on this conversation, as Felicity’s crimson eyes began to glow ever so slightly. The tension in the room was uncomfortably thick.

 “Then what happens now?”

 Felicity stood up and I flinched, but Felicity made no movement towards me. Instead she made her way to the door.

 “That is very simple, Asher Mara. I am going to leave. Our time is up and I am a woman of my word. I would love to stay, but I’m sure I’ve given you more than enough to… Sink your teeth into. Have a wonderful evening.”

 With a satisfied smirk she reached for the door and abruptly jumped back. She stood at the door for a moment before clearing her throat and turning back around.

 “Ahem. Asher?”

 “Yes?”

 Felicity looked down and mumbled something I couldn’t quite catch.

 “Ican’topenthedoor.”

I stood up from my chair and walked over.

“What?”

 Felicity sighed.

 “Your lock is made of silver. I cannot open the door.”

 “Oh right.”

 I quickly crossed over to where she was waiting and unlocked the door. Pulling it open I turned to look at her. She tried to smirk at me again, but much of the effect was gone and we both knew it. Her eyes dropped to the floor and she quickly made her way by me and out the door. She swept her parasol from the ground.

 “Well, thank you for your time, Asher Mara. I shall be seeing you soon.”

 I scratched at the back of my head, unsure of what to say.

 “Yeah. Uh… Safe travels?”

 She gave me a rather stiff nod before walking away. In seconds she faded into the darkness and I closed my door, effectively ending what had been an exhaustingly terrible night. While I did have some new information to mull over, I decided to save it for the future.

 It was officially the weekend and I was going to do nothing but relax.

 At least… that was the plan.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 8 – Night 4

The Boundary had expanded faster than I could run, emptying the streets and leaving my footfalls as the only noise in the quickly darkening night. The rain soaked through my hoodie in a matter of seconds and the heavy fabric clung to my skin, slowing me down, but I couldn’t stop running. Allowing Snow to catch me before she had at least a little time to cool down was not an option.

 Anger is a natural emotion. It happens to everyone. Unfortunately, when you combine anger with supernatural levels of strength and training it can result in a somewhat explosive concoction.

 This is why teenagers should NOT be heroes. I stand by that statement and will argue it with anyone, anytime, anywhere. They can even specify if they would like my points in list or PowerPoint form.

 As I ran I forced my mind to settle. Easier said than done. However, with a handful of calming breaths I was able to get a decent hold of myself and begin to formulate a plan.

 Step One: Decide where I was headed.

 While running is an excellent strategy in the short term, it’s effectiveness is severely diminished if the person chasing you is faster than you.

 Snow was without a doubt faster than me.

 It had to be somewhere close enough for me to reach before she caught up with me. It also needed to be somewhere I knew relatively well, somewhere that I would have somewhat of a home field advantage to at least try and balance out the severe mismatch I was about to experience.

 I didn’t know how long it would take her to finish setting the Boundary, but I had to assume the worst.

 I grit my teeth as a destination formed in my mind.

 “Damn it.”

  xXx

 I normally do my best to avoid returning to school once I’ve left it. It actually doesn’t have much to do with avoiding routes, though I will admit it is a factor. Really, I just don't particularly like school buildings, or any buildings, after hours.

 They give me the creeps.  

 This school was no different. Even though it wasn’t that late yet under normal circumstances there would still have been at least a few faculty members milling around, finishing up grading tests or preparing for the next day. As I raced up the steps and into the entryway it was clear that this wasn’t going to be the case tonight.

 The Boundary had indeed reached this far. It had been a long shot but I had hoped the school would have been outside of Snow’s range.

 Well, at least I was safe from the rain. I ran a hand through my rain slicked hair to shake off some excess water and started to make my way down the hallway.

 Step One had been achieved and now it was time for Step Two: Hide. The school with its man rooms would provide ample places to bunker down and wait out the both literal and metaphorical, storm.

 Sadly, Step Two was almost instantly put on hold as a window just ahead of my shattered as Snow dove through the window. Shards of glass cascaded from her armor and clinked soft against the floor.

 She turned her eyes on and drew her sword.

 “Asher Mara.”

 I held my hands up.

 “Ah, you found me. Greeeat. Did you lock my door before you left? I’m pretty sure I turned the stove off.”

 Snow lowered her stance and brought her sword up high.

 “Don’t run.”

 “Yeah… About that…”

 I turned heel and took off in the other direction. Snow gave chase instantly, her heavy steps echoing loudly in the empty hallways. It was a sound I did my best to ignore. I need to create distance between us. Just ahead of me and to the left was a staircase to the second floor. Going up was not a preferable choice and I sped right past the stairs and down the hall. I began to hook a hard right when I heard the air behind me hiss.  

 I threw myself to the left and just barely managed to avoid getting impaled by Snow’s thrown sword. The lockers in front of me were not so lucky and the sword hung imbedded to the hilt in the metal door.

 I didn’t stop moving, taking my newly decided course, grimacing at the shrill sound of metal on metal as Snow pulled her sword free from the lockers before continuing after me. I slammed through a pair of double doors and found myself in the gymnasium. Turning around I quickly locked the doors behind me. I had no doubt Snow would get through, but it would at least provide me a few extra seconds to think.

 Think.

 I was in the gymnasium. The sports clubs used the gymnasium. They had equipment.

 The doors behind me rattled as Snow slammed against them. As large dents appeared in the metal I quickly made my way over to the storage room. The door was locked.

 “Of course.”

 The doors were shaking violently from Snow’s attacks, it would only be a few more seconds now.

 Sighing, I lifted up my foot and drove my heel into the door, close to the keyhole.

 My first kick sent a thick crack through the door. Most school doors are actually pretty well made for the safety of the students and faculty in event of an emergency. This door, however, was not on a classroom. As such it had not been worth the extra expense.

 My second kick managed to fully knock the door open, sending a handful of splinters to the floor. Normally I would have felt bad about destroying school property, but as Snow had set a Boundary anything that happened inside of it wasn’t permanent.

 Allegedly.

 The Storage room was quite large, but most of the things inside of it were useless. I picked up a basketball and dribbled it absentmindedly before tossing it away. Somehow I doubted that challenging Snow to a game of HORSE would provide a positive outcome.

 I sucked at basketball.

 Boxing equipment.

 Soccer equipment.

 I spied the Kendo and fencing club equipment to my left. I picked up one of the fencing foils. Wiggling it back and forth I watched the blade wibble and wobble back and forth. I put it back down and picked up one of the Kendo clubs, shinai. It seemed to be sturdier, but I still doubled it would stand up well to Snow’s sword. I returned the weapon to its place.

 “Coward!”

 Leaning back out of the storage room I watched as Snow finally pushed her way through the remains of the gymnasium doors. I really didn’t want to do this, but it seemed I had run out of time. Frowning I grabbed a baseball bat in each hand and stepped out into the gymnasium.

 Snow bared her teeth at me, her sword igniting into a brilliant white and filling the gymnasium with light.

 “Have you finally stepped running?”

 I brought one bat up in front of me and lifted the other high. It wasn’t the best choice against a sword, but the thickest part of the bat would hold up against Snow’s sword.

 At least it would in theory.

 “Seems that way.”

 “When you fall to my Blade the defender of this world will be clear. The Light of the Divine will-”

 I threw the bat in my right hand towards Snow. It wasn’t a very hard throw, but it was enough to surprise her. She abruptly ended her speech and swung her sword around. I was dismayed to see how the bat was turned into nothing more than an explosion of splinters almost as soon as her blade made contact with the wood.

 Still, it gave me a moment to rush around her. She turned with me but I flung the second bat towards her, this one with a little more force. With a dazzlingly display of hand-eye coordination Snow simply lifted up her hand and caught the bat mid spin. She spun it around one before whipping it back towards me.

 With decidedly less grace I ducked under the bat, rolling across the ground before scrambling back to my feet. I hopped through the remains off the door and took off down the hallway. Snow yelled something after me that I couldn't quite make out, but it sounded negative.

 As I came back up on the entryway of the school I found myself having to make a difficult decision.

 Go up the stairs or leave the school?

 “Damn it.”

 I chose the stairs. Despite what I said earlier, when the choice is go up or be killed, going up is the better choice. In the streets I would be completely exposed, at least in the school I had a semblance of a chance of survival.

 Reaching the second floor I took a moment to catch my breath. As I sucked in deep breaths of air I saw a fire extinguisher attached to the wall.

 In case of Fire Strike on Vertical Lines

 While this wasn’t a fire it was an emergency. I slammed my elbow against the casing, breaking the plastic, before pulling the red cylinder free. I turned around as I heard Snow begin to ascend the steps. She stopped at the top of the stairs, her eyes glancing down at the fire extinguisher.

 “Are you going to throw that at me too?”

 “I was considering it.”

 She spun her sowrd around.

 “Then come at me!”

 I held up the fire extinguisher, my hand loosely holding the nozzle.

 “Uh, this might be a strange time to ask this question, but how durable are you?”

 Snow blinked.

 “What?”

 “How… How durable are you?”

“This armor was crafted by the finest metal smiths from the House of White. My body has been tempered for battle since birth. I am-”

 I held up my hand.

 “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything. I just needed to know. Also, Sorry about this.”

 I pulled the pin on the fire extinguisher and squeezed the handle. Snow let out a shout of surprise as she was enveloped in a cloud of white. With a grimace I stepped forward, placed my hands against her shoulders, and pushed.

 Listening to Snow’s shriek of surprise as she suddenly fell backwards down the stairs is not what I would call one of the high points of my life, but I did feel better with the knowledge that she at least wouldn’t suffer any real injuries from it.

 I still flinched when I heard the final thump as she hit the bottom. Gingerly I peered down the stairs.

 That was a mistake.

 Snow’s sword came hurtling towards me. I threw myself back and narrowly avoided being skewered. The sword passed by my face with enough force to ruffle my hair before continuing on and out the window. I landed hard on my back, a good amount of air being forced from my lungs. I sat up with a cough but didn’t have the luxury of recovering fully. Forcing myself back to my feet I stumbled forward and up the next set of stairs.

 Reaching the third I started down the hallway when Snow’s voice reached me.

 “Stop you Coward! Turn and face me!”

 While I didn’t stop I did glance over my shoulder to see Snow make it to the third floor, but something was off.

 I came to an abrupt stop as a realization came over me.

 I was outside of the Boundary.

 Snow realized it as well, stopping inside of the Boundary and staring at me from down the hall, her eyes burning. Sighing in relief I leaned against the wall and ran my hand over my face. I was exhausted, but alive, and not munch worse for wear.

 My relief was short lived as Snow snarled and pushed through the barrier and out into the real world.

 “Shit.”

 She was on me just as I began to push off from the wall. Her foot connected with the center of my chest and sent me flying backwards. My hand dragged against the wall and my fingers managed to catch against a classroom door. My arm was jerked painfully, but it was sufficient to stop my momentum.

 Not that it helped all that much as Snow had already caught up with me, her hands wrapping around the front of my hoodie.

 “Hey, hey, hey, you know we’re not in the Boundary anymore, right?”

 Hey eyes narrowed.

 “I don’t care.”

 For such a small girl, Snow really did have incredible strength. This was made very clear to me as I was lifted off the ground with apparent ease and tossed into the classroom. Landing on my shoulder I was able to roll back to my feet and narrowly avoid being grabbed again, but in doing so ended up with my back firmly lodged against a corner.

 This really was not going at all how I would have liked.

 Snow advanced on me.

 Normally in a situation such as this, I would recommend a swift and immediate withdrawal. Screaming is an individual preference, though I normally go with terrified silence, it’s easier on the vocal chords. Stuck in my corner, I was not able to utilize this plan as effectively as normal.

 Snow was fast and her small hand deftly caught me by the throat. My feet kicked out uselessly as she lifted me from the ground, cold fingers curling into my skin.

 “Do you understand what you have done? Can you even comprehend the gravity of the situation?”

 There is a time when sarcasm is not welcome. In times of panic I have admittedly been known to not know when that time is

 “No. Enlighten me.”

 Snow did not seem amused as her grip tightened to the point where I could no longer speak clearly. I tried to pry myself free, but her grip was like a steel trap.

 “I have trained my entire life.”

 “Can’t. Breath.”  

 “I have mastered the ancient sword styles.”

 “Seriously. I’m dying.”

 “It was my destiny and you… You… You stole it!”

 She tossed me across the room with a hiss of disgust. The good news was I was able to take in a gulp of fresh air. The bad news was, she had just tossed me across the room.

 Again.

 Desks do not make the best of cushions, but they did slow my momentum quite effectively. I gave myself a few moments to groan before getting unsteadily back up to my feet. Snow was in front of me immediately.

 I threw up a hand.

 “Wait!”

 She had her fist back, ready to strike. I was quite surprised she stopped. She seemed just as surprised, a look of shock crossing over her face before quickly returning to the more familiar anger.

 “What?”

 I ran my hands over my face, trying to compose my thoughts. Not an easy thing to do when your head is still spinning and the person in front of you is quite intent in doing you bodily harm.

 I had tried to run. I knew I wasn’t going to fight her. It was time to try something a little more… unorthodox.

 “So…. So you have been training your whole life for this?”

 “Yes, you idiot. I was to be the one to restore balance. I was-”

 “So do it.”

 She faltered at that, her hand lowering a few inches.

 “What?”

 “You’ve got the training, right? So do it.”

 “What are you even saying?”

 She shook her head back and forth rapidly, her hand dropping down to her side. The confused look was actually pretty cute on her. Though, any look was better than blind fury.

 “Look, if you’ve got the skill and the training, just do it.”

 “But… But you were chosen in my place! The Light of the Divine marked you!”

 “So what?”

 She actually took a step back at that. I righted one of the desks my flying body had knocked over earlier and sat down, resting my face in my hand. She looked down at me and while I’m quite sure she still wanted to hit me a few more times, she was also waiting for me to continue talking.

 “If you’ve got the training, who cares if you’re chosen or not? Look, I have no training. I have no desire to do this. Hell, before that stupid ray of light hit me I didn’t even know any of this stuff was going on. I was just walking to school.”

 “But the Light did shine down upon you. It marked you. Your destiny… my destiny, has been sealed.”

 “Why?”

 I could almost see steam rising out of her ears.

 “Because… the Light…”

 “Look, do you want me to be the Hero of this story? Your story?”

 She bristled at that, slamming her fist down on my desk with enough for to crack the wood. We would have to work on the whole ‘breaking things’ thing in the future.

 The far future.

 “Of course I don’t!”

 “Do you want to see someone other than you bring balance or whatever?”

 “Never!”

 Her fist came down again, pulverizing what was left of my desk and nearly both of my legs in the process. I slipped from the mangled desk and dusted myself off.

 “Then screw it. Do what you want. Go be the Hero. Save the world. Bring balance.”

 “But the light!”

 Our conversation had calmed her down and she was beginning to waver. I needed to press the attack here and keep her from falling back into what the Route dictated, but I needed her to help me break it.

 I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick picture of Snow. She recoiled back as the flash illuminated the room and blinded her for a moment.

 “Look at that. Looks like some Divine Light just shined on you. Good work, Hero.”

 Snow shook her head back and forth vigorously.

 “No! It doesn't… I can’t… You have the mark?”

 I marched over to the teacher’s desk and grabbed a marker. Snow didn’t resist as I grabbed her hand and drew the symbol I had seen on my back.

 “There. A mark as well. Now tell me, do you feel any more powerful?”

 “No, but-”

 I didn’t let her finish, I couldn’t.

 “Well neither do I. Because I’m not supposed to be the Hero here, you are.”

 “But… But…”

 I placed my hands on her shoulders and forced her to meet my eye. It wasn’t exactly an easy task for me, either, but I had come this far. No going back now.

 “Look, Snow. We all get to decide our own destiny. Now you either want to be a Hero or you don’t. Now me, personally, I don’t want to be a Hero at all. I don’t want to be at my school, soaked in rain, trying not to die. I just want to go home and go to sleep. So you tell me, right here, and right now. What do You want to do, Snow? What do you want? Not what the elders tell you. Now what some Prophecy says. But you?

 Snow stared at me for a long time before finally giving her head a small shake.

 “You are a strange person.”

 I decided now was not the proper time to point out that she had stalked me, infiltrated my school, attacked me with a sword, and then finished by tossing me around a classroom a few times for good measure. I’m relatively sure that would make her the stranger of us.  

 “No, I’m just a coward.”

 That actually got me a smile. I finally was making some progress that didn’t involve me getting punched.

 “So, you gonna do it, then? Bring this balance stuff?”

 She lifted her head up and gave me a haughty look.  

 “Of course. I can see now I can’t leave the fate of the world to a pathetic fool like you. I’m glad you were able to see it as well.”

 The words had a harsh bite, but her eyes twinkled in amusement as I sighed.

 With her mind made up, and seemingly finished with me, Snow made her way to the window and gently lifted it open. She put one foot on the edge and readied herself to jump. I moved to the window beside her. It was a long way down.

 “Well then, I suppose this is goodbye. Sorry I didn’t give you such a great tour of the school.”

 She smiled down at me.

 “Oh don’t worry. I’m sure there will be another opportunity Asher Mara. Very soon.”

 With those parting words, she launched out the window and into the night. Leaving me alone. 0

 To clean up the mess.

 As always.

 Perhaps I should consider just being homeschooled.

 Still the Route was ended and that was all that mattered. With a slight smile I pulled out my phone and reset the timer. With that done I started to right the desks when the wall imploded and I was showered with a rain of splinters. An armored male walked into the room, a long red black swishing behind him. From beneath his helm Cole Black looked at me.

 “You there! I have come to challenge the one who has impudently stolen the Light of the Divine! Prepare yourself for mortal combat!”

 I fell back into a desk and sighed.

 “Well, shit.”

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 8- Day 4

I spent the next day on edge, fully expecting Snow to make a sudden and violent appearance, but she never showed up. Not on my way to school, which involved me taking the most awkward and convoluted route possible to avoid accidentally walking into one of her Boundaries. Not during the school day, where I spent most of the day glancing anxiously out the window, sure I would see her standing outside, waiting for me. Not directly after class when I shuffled out with the other students and into the courtyard.

 That meant she was probably waiting for me on the walk home, just like the day before.

 Maybe she had her own school day she had to get through before she could come and terrorize me. She seemed relatively well spoken, that normally indicated some kind of formal schooling.

 The skies were still grey and thick with the rain that had failed to fall yesterday. I had failed to see Harlow during the day and I still had her umbrella. Part of me thought about heading back into the school and returning it to her, but in the end I decided against it. A good choice, it turned out, as only a few minutes into my walk the rain finally began.

 It was slow at first, just large, fat drops that fell seemingly at random, splashing against the concrete, but the floodgates truly opened. Students scattered from the storm, some groaning at the hassle and others laughing, splashing in the puddles that were already beginning to form.

 A sudden poke in my back nearly sent me sprawling to the ground but I was able to catch myself, the umbrella moving out of place just long enough for the cold rain to splatter against my head and shoulders, sending a shiver down my spine. I turned around to see what had struck me, but there was nothing there.

 I didn’t suppress a sigh as I turned back forwards and found Felicity Fortunis looking up at me. Her parasol sat daintily on her shoulder, deflecting the rain away from her fine dress.

 “Hello Asher. Are you ever going to stop falling for that?

 “You could just stop doing that.”

 “Oh I’m sure I will, once you stop making that wonderful expression. Then I twill be boring. But for now, oh for now it’s so very fun!”

 “Glad I can be of service.”

 “Oh, you are very grumpy today. And you’re not even trying to run away? Is something wrong?”

 I was speaking to a Vampire that had expressed an interest in me for reasons that were still unknown. That itself was enough reason for me to feel that something was wrong. But I didn’t want to explain that to Felicity and I didn’t think it would be an answer she would want to hear.

 In stead I went with the simple truth.

 “Yes.”

 I started to walk again. Felicity walked beside me, spinning her parasol from time to time, sending drops of water cascading through the air. They often managed to strike the side of my face. I felt like she was doing it on purpose. I tried to increase the space between us but she only moved closer. I tried again, but with the limited amount of space the sidewalk allowed this plan quickly ended in failure.

 “So what is it that has disturbed you so?”

 I stopped, glancing at her. She was staring at me intently, but her eyes were narrowed, almost like it was difficult for her to do so.

 “Do you really want to know?”

 “I would not have asked if I was not interested, and believe me when I say I am interested. In fact, you have a positively dreadful aura around you right now.”

 I mulled over continuing this conversation, but there wasn’t really much to think about. Felicity was being cordial and to actively try to anger her would just put myself in danger.

 I started walking again, trying to find the best way to word what had happened recently.

 “There is someone who wants to hurt me. They think I’m the reason something they want is missing.”

 “And is it your fault?”

 “No.”

 Felicity hand came up to cover her face as she let out a soft giggle.

 “I see. Well, that is quite an issue. Do you have a strategy to resolve it?”

 I shook my head.

 “Not yet.”

 “Well then, would you like my help?”

 My answer was immediate.

 “No.”

 Vampires are creatures of Night. You will find that they, along with other creatures of mythical origin, do not simply do things out of the kindness of their own heart. Actually, many of them don’t even have hearts. Or heads. Sorry, I’m getting off topic.

 To make a deal with a mythical creature is to invite more trouble than you even know. Here is an example. Perhaps you make a deal with a demon. Doesn’t matter what you want, but let’s go with a new car. So you say you want the new car and the Demon offers to grant this wish to you, but all you need to do is give the demon your soul. So of course you say no. So the demon asks instead for you hands. Again, you say no. Then the demon says ‘what about one hand?’ and while this is still stupid, you’ve already proven you’re dumb enough to make a deal with a demon, so you say deal.

 Now the demon owns your hand. But wait, that could mean multiple things. Maybe you’ve got a literal demon and he just lops your hand off then and there. Or maybe the demon lets you keep your hand and then one day, you’re driving along and suddenly your hand jerks the steering wheel to the side because the demon’s decided to take control of it and you’re now careening off a cliff. Then again, maybe it’s not even that simple. Maybe you’ve promised the demon your hand and because you were not specific enough the demon actually was asking for your hand in marriage. Now you’re married to a demon, or the demon can use your hand in marriage as collateral in another trade.

 And those are what I would consider ‘good’ endings in that scenario. We won’t even get into the bad ones.

 The point is do not make deals, even small ones. It’s not worth it in the end.

 Felicity caught my by the sleeve of my jacket. Reluctantly I turned to look at her, but she did not look upset, quite the opposite, actually. Her large, red eyes almost seemed to glow with amusement.

 “Are you absolutely sure.

 “Yes.”

 Felicity took a step closer, her gloved hand moving up towards my face, but she stopped before actually making contact.  

 “Such a shame. I think you would make an excellent servant. At the very least, you

 I’ve found those who desire servants usually fall into two categories. One. They are extremely weak and need a powerful servant to do all the tasks they are unable to do.

 Two. They are extremely powerful and need a weak servant to do the tasks they are unwilling to do.

 Felicity seemed like she would fall into the second one.

 “Don’t you mean Familiar?”

 “Oh, that’s only if I were to bite you! I don’t think we’re quite at that stage in our relationship. At least, not yet.”

 Felicity leaned up towards me and exposed her fangs before clinking her teeth together into a cheeky green. I felt my stomach flutter before I turned away and began walking again. Felicity followed after me.

 “Well… Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to have to refuse.”

 “I knew you would. Still, it doesn’t hurt to offer. Oh, we’ve arrived so soon. I suppose this is where I leave you! Until next time, Asher Mara!”

 Before I even had time to finish turning around, Felicity was gone. I didn’t particularly mind that, but it was unnerving to so suddenly be alone. Giving myself a mental shake I started walking again, pulling my umbrella further down as the rainfall began to come down harder.

 I arrived at my house to find an unfortunate guest waiting on my porch.

Standing in the rain, still as a statue, with her clothes completely soaked through, was Snow, unarmed and unarmored. She stared ahead blankly, not even acknowledging my presence as I stopped in front of her.

 Though I really didn’t want to do so, I couldn’t help but speak up.

 “Uh… Hi, Snow.”

 She responded, her voice a soft, monotone.

 “Asher Mara.”

 “You know it’s raining, right?”

 Snow glanced upwards.

 “Oh. So it is.”

 Gritting my teeth a bit I moved up closer to her so Harlow’s umbrella would cover both of us. With my other hand I fumbled around awkwardly in my pocket to pull out my keys and unlock the front door.

 My hand rested on the doorknob and I closed my eyes.

 I was about to do something so incredibly stupid.

 “Why don’t you come inside?”

 Snow said nothing, but after a moment she did turn around and step into my house. Water pooled at her feet and I quickly ducked into the next room to grab her a towel. She took it silently, but made no motion to use it, simply holding it in her loose grasp.

 Her silence was making me uncomfortable.

 “Do you want something to drink?”

 Snow slowly lifted her eyes to look at me.

 “What would be the point in that?”

 “Uh… I would be refreshing? I guess?”

 Snow shook her head.

 “There is no point. No point in anything anymore. It’s all over.”

 Well, that answer was a bit of a downer.

 “What happened to you? Not that I preferred it, but you were a bit more lively yesterday”

 “I was admonished for my actions against you.”

 That was actually nice to hear. At least someone was thinking clearly. However I did feel somewhat sorry for Snow. The fact that she tried to grievously injure me yesterday did keep that feeling somewhat tempered.

 “Oh. Well. I’m sorry that happened to you.”

 Snow’s knees buckled and she slowly slid down to the floor.

 “This was the first time.”

 “The first time? The first time you’ve been in trouble?”

 She nodded her head slowly.

 “The first time I have been reprimanded. I cannot bear the shame.”

 I sighed and lowered myself down to her level.

 “You know, most people get into trouble at least once before this point in their life.”  

 “But I must be better than other people. I am the heir of the House of White… And I failed. Not only did I fail to obtain the Light of the Divine, I brought shame upon my house by seeking combat against a smaller house. One that isn’t even in our recorded history.”

 “…Yeah. Look, people make mistakes. I’m sure you can fix whatever you’ve done wrong.”

 Snow finally looked up at me, her eyes had regained some life.

 “Despite our houses being in direct competition you are kind.”

 “Well, again, I’m not in competition with any of you. I have no interest in the Light of the Divine.”

 Snow shook her head.

 “Then why were you in the park that day.”

 “I was walking to school.”

 Snow stared at me for a long.

 “You… You are not lying?”

 “Nope.”

 “You really were just a bystander?”

 “Seems that way.”

 “But… But then how did you enter the boundary? It shouldn’t have been possible without Blood of the Ancients.”

 I shrugged.

 “Believe me, stranger things have happened. Maybe I really do have some ancestor with a tie to the Ancients, but I really doubt it. And even if I did, I’m not part of any House. This is my only house and while I do like it a lot, I wouldn’t call it a great and ancient house.”

 I was not prepared for Snow’s sudden burst of laughter, and to be completely honest I actually flinched quite a bit. Her hands came up to cover her face and droplets of water shook free from her shaking shoulders before she regained her composure.

 “If you don’t mind, I believe I would like that drink now. Perhaps something warm?”

 I stood up and Snow returned to her feet with me, finally using the towel for its intended purpose.

 “I’ve got tea?”

 “Tea would be wonderful.”

 She followed me into the kitchen where I busied myself with preparing the tea. Snow seemed somewhat fascinated with my home in general. With a curious expression she pointed at something to the right of me.  

 “What is that?”

 I followed her gesture

 “A microwave?”

 “A what?”

 “A microwave? You know… It cooks things quickly?”

 “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Where is your hearth? I do not smell smoke. How will you warm the water? You do not seem like one to know magic?”

 I ignited the stovetop and put the teapot on.

 “I just use this. Most people do. This one is gas powered, but there are also electric ones.”

 Snow moved beside me to investigate closer.

 “Fascinating. I must ask mother if she has heard of this.”

 I wanted to ask Snow where she lived, but I also didn’t want to get too much more involved with her. While somewhat unexpected and unorthodox, this route seemed to have done a good job at breaking itself. Still, I had to be wary. Getting too comfortable is a sure-fire way to get yourself caught. It was also worth remembering that while Snow seemed like a friendly and inquisitive young woman, she was also prone to sudden and intense violence.

 Snow turned and her eyes spotted the refrigerator.

 “And Asher, what of this? Is this a safe?”

 “Uh, kinda. It keeps food safe? You can open it if you want.”

 “Thank you.”

 She grabbed the handle and pulled open the door with what I could only describe as unchecked vigor. I think I actually heard the doorframe groan in protest from the treatment.

 Instantly she found something she was interested in. Rurning around she held up a bottle of mustard.

 “What is this?”

 I would almost describe her fascination as cute. Almost.

 “That’s mustard.”  

 She gave me a look that made me feel very small.

 “I am aware of what mustard is. However what is this container.”

 “Oh, that’s a squeeze bottle. You just squeeze it and-”

 It was at this moment in the conversation that I realized my mistake as Snow’s head tilted ever so slightly and she squeezed the bottom of the bottle. Under normal circumstances I’m sure nothing would have happened. However, nothing about this was normal. As such, the bottle promptly exploded from the extreme force of Snow’s grip and a large glob of mustard was sent flying across the kitchen where it landed, with a loud plop, against my shirt.

 Of course.

 I shut the burner off and reached for a towel, but quickly gave on the idea.

 “Ah, I’m going to go clean up.”  

 Snow was still holding the dripping bottle in her hands, a sheepish look on her face.

 “Asher, I apologize deeply .”

 I waved her off.

 “It’s fine. It was an accident. I’ll be right back.”

 Leaving Snow in the kitchen I retreated back to the laundry room, shutting the door behind me before taking off my jacket and unbuttoning my mustard stained shirt. It was a somewhat messy job, but I was able to do it without managing to spread the condiment much more.

 The stain wasn’t overly large, but I was still going to have to soak the shirt or it was going to stain. I tossed the shirt in the sink and began to turn on the water when the door behind me abruptly opened. I spun around just to see Snow’s head peep through the opening.  

 “Asher I….”

 I am not proud of the sound I made as I rushed to cover myself up as Snow stared at me, her eyes going in and out of focus for a moment before her brow furrowed.

 Still shirtless with out my arms as coverage I felt somewhat exposed.

 “Uh, Snow?”

 Snow stepped into the room.

 “Asher…”  

 “Y-yeah?”

 “Turn around.”

 “I’d really rather not.”

 “Turn. Around.”

 “Snow, I-”

 Snow’s hand caught me by the shoulder and she spun my around. Almost as quickly she released me, backing away with a gasp.

 “Your back…”

 My self-conscious feelings began to fade as my self-preservation instinct began to kick in. I craned my neck but couldn’t see what Snow was talking about. Reaching up I felt my back, but only smooth skin met my fingertips.

 “What about my back.”

 “The Mark. You have the mark. Why do you have the mark. But you said…”

 As Snow continued to babble to herself my concern over whatever was on my back grew. As Snow was currently blocking the only exit I was left with very few options. I dragged my eyes over the small room but came up with nothing.

 My phone!

 Of course, I could use my phone.

 I pulled the device out of my pocket and angled it over my shoulder. The stance was awkward, but it was easy enough to snap a quick picture of my back.

 I immediately wished I hadn’t.

 There, between my shoulder blades was a single dot with a circle around it. It wasn’t overly large, maybe a touch smaller than a quarter. If I didn’t know better I would almost be willing to believe it was some kind of birthmark.

 But it wasn’t.

 And Snow was just as aware of that fact as I was.

 Her lips were moving so fast I could barely understand her.

 “He stole it. He took it. He has the mark. The Light of the Divine shone upon him, but he has have no house. No claim.”

 “Snow… Hey, Snow.”

 She continued to babble, her eyes glazing over.

 “He is an agent of the darkness. The Unholy blight upon this land. The Elders did not make a mistake. We were deceived.”

 I grabbed a hoodie from atop the dryer and quickly pulled it on.

 “Snow….”

 “No… No… He couldn’t be. The Light would not shine upon the Unholy. It would destroy it. Then that means… He lied. He lied. He knew he had the mark. He was trying to hide it. He lied. He took the Mark. He took my birthright.”

 “Snow, I didn’t take anything. Just… Just take a breath.”

 She didn’t hear me or didn’t care as she dropped down to her knees.

 “He is not worthy. He is not worth of the Light. I must defeat him!”  

 Snow’s eyes snapped to me before her hand smashed against the floor. The air began to swirl.

 “Set Boundary! Ten-Fold Expansion!”

 I did not fully know what that meant, but I knew well enough what to do. Cursing under my breath I ran by Snow, through my house, and out the front door. I didn’t stop when I hit the street, mustering my legs to move even faster.

 It was going to be a rough night.  

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 8

The next two days had passed by without further incident and I would have considered myself all but safe, but there was a nagging suspicion in the back of my mind that the route would not allow itself to be resolved so easily. This consideration was further cemented by the fact that since Tuesday I had gotten the uneasy feeling that I was being watched.

 Unfortunately with Felicity now in my life it was a feeling that was becoming all too common.

 The Vampire hadn’t shown herself for some time, however, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that it was her. Though I couldn’t say I knew her particularly well, she did not seem like one to simply observe. She liked to be in the middle of things.

 What an annoying trait.

 My paranoia made it near impossible to pay attention at school. This wasn’t aided at all by Ms. Enni. She had been on edge all week. Her normally cheerful temperament had been replaced by a rather jumpy and agitated personality. Though, to be entirely fair, that might have been because of Emi.

 Emi.

 My eyes drifted towards Emi’s empty seat. True to her texts Emi had indeed been late to school. So late she had actually not shown up. Nor had she shown up the next day. It wasn’t until earlier this morning that she had finally bothered to stop by the school with nothing but a hand written note signed by her mom, with handwriting that looked suspiciously like her own, along with a fair amount of band-aids and bandages covering her body. She had been quickly dragged to the administration’s office despite her protests. Her loud protests.

 I sighed and turned my attention out the window. The skies were growing dark already, a storm front moving in from the west. The clouds were heavy with rain but had yet to open. A frown tugged at the corner of my mouth. I hadn’t bothered to bring my umbrella today.

 The weatherman had assured that the chance of rain was almost nonexistent.

 The weathermen are never right. I don’t know why I continue to believe what they say.

 “Asher, are you alright?”  

 I looked up to find Ms. Enni standing over my desk, staring down at me through her thick-glasses. I hadn’t noticed until today but her eyes were a dazzling shade of green. For a moment I had the strangest feeling in the back of my mind before I realized I had been silent for too long.

 “Huh? Oh, Yes, Sorry. I was just thinking it might rain.”

 I turned my eye back to the window. Ms. Enni followed my gaze.

 “It has gotten dark. You should hurry home before it starts to come down.”

 Hurry home? My eyes glanced to the clock. The school day was indeed over. Not only that, but I was the only person still in the room. How had that happened?

 “Yeah… Sorry.”

 Ms. Enni looked down at me with a soft smile. The feeling returned, again only for the briefest of moments.

 “Are you worried about something?”

  Was I worried about something? To be quite honest I was worried about just about everything and more, but that wasn’t something I was going to burden Ms. Enni with. Actually, even this interaction was unfortunate. As considerate as I’m sure Ms. Enni was being as an instructor, getting the attention of a teacher was not something I wanted. Attention, positive or negative, is still a dangerous thing. It leads to that teacher taking a ‘special interest’ in your life. I would prefer it if no one took a special interest in anything about me.

 I shook my head.

 “Not really.”

 “Are you sure? I’m sure you’ve heard about Emi.”

 “I think the entire school heard that scream.”

 “Well I don’t want you to worry, she’s not actually injured… well that injured. She just has some scrapes and bruises. The school sent her home with her mother. I’m sure everything is okay.”

 I nodded, though personally I was sure Emi had just done something extremely stupid. No doubt I would get to enjoy a good part of my night hearing all about it when Emi inevitably called me. Or showed up at my house.

 “Well, I’ll be going, then.”

 I stood up, grabbing my pack and slinging it over my shoulder. I was just to the door when I heard Ms. Enni call out to me.

 “Asher.”

 I turned around.

 “Yes?”

 Ms. Enni stared at me for a long moment before smiling and shaking her head.

 “Stay dry! Don’t want you to catch a cold!”

 The smile she gave me was forced, like every one I had seen on her face this week. The smile I gave her back was just as fake, but it seemed to be enough as she gave me a wave and I left the room.

 The school hadn’t yet cleared out completely, with some people hanging back to talk with friends and others scurrying to their clubrooms.

 It was here when I again felt like someone was watching me.

 Despite the feeling I did my best to keep my walk natural, heading straight to the exit of the school and stepping out into the thick, humid midday air. Taking a moment to look around, and seeing nothing, I let out a soft breath and began on my way home.

 There were quite a few ways to get to my home, but with whatever was quite possibly following me I decided to take the shortest route.

 “Asher!”

 I clenched my teeth as the familiar voice of Harlow Loques reached my ears. My shoulders involuntarily hunched for a moment before I was able to catch myself. Turning around to cover for the action I was met by the unimpressed glower of the student council president, staring down at me from the entry way of the school.

 “Hello, Harlow.”

 She marched down the steps towards me, her arms clasps behind her back.

 “Are you heading home?”

 “Trying to.”

 Harlow looked up at the sky.

 “I see. Well, it appears it is going to rain.”

 I nodded.

 “Looks that way.”

 “Well then… Here. If you are going to walk you will be needing this.”

 Harlow brought her arms around and shoved something into my chest. I barely caught it as she quickly pulled back, returning her hands behind her back.

 It was an umbrella. A rather fancy one at that. Long and with a hook made out of dark wood. Her initials were embossed in gold against the wood. I vaguely wondered what her middle name was, considering I didn’t know many names that started with Q.

 I looked up at her.

 “Oh, thanks but I don’t live that fa-”

 Harlow cut me off. She was very good at doing that. I felt a pang of sympathy for anyone who ever had to deal with her in an official capacity. I imagined it was much worse.

 “Nonsense. If you are walking in the rain you could easily catch a cold. That is unacceptable.”

 “But if I have this then you will get wet.”

 “I have other methods of transportation to return home. Remember, as President it is my duty to watch out for my constituents. Furthermore you are my junior. As your elder I cannot allow you to leave unprepared.”

 That was a lot of reasons. More than I cared to debate, not that I thought I could actually win the debate.

 “Oh… Alright. Thank you?”

 Harlow nodded and turned around, making her way back up the steps.

 “Think nothing of it. You may return it to me at your earliest convenience.”

 I watched her go, slightly bemused for a moment before I pulled myself together and again made my way towards my home. This time I actually managed to leave the school grounds proper.

 The shorter route home was actually somewhat off putting, as it required me to pass by a graveyard. Now I have nothing against graveyards, personally. But due to circumstances outside of my control when I pass one I become quite nervous. To most people a graveyard is nothing more than just that, a yard full of graves. To me, it represents more routes that I even want to think of listing.

 Let’s not even get started on what a necromancer can do with one either.

 Today did not cause any issue, though, and I was able to make my way right on by. This actually lifted my spirits somewhat.

 Unfortunately it was only moments later that my hopes of a quiet day were dashed quite expertly. I was only three blocks away from the safety of my home when someone stepped onto the sidewalk in front of me, blocking my path. Her red eyes focused on me with an intensity that I was fully incapable of matching.

 “Asher Mara of House 1308 Bitter Ave. I have come to challenge you!”

 My shoulders slumped as Snow stomped towards me. She almost looked like any other high school girl, with her black pants and long white jacket. I say almost because the illusion was shattered by the pieces of armour she had strapped over her clothing.

 I held up my hand and gave a small wave.

 “Hello.”

 Snow stopped in front of me.

 “I have come to challenge you!”

 “Yeah, you said that already.”

  “Prepare yourself.”

 I rested the tip of Harlow’s umbrella on the ground and leaned on it for support. Might as well start by trying to talk my way out of this. I had absolutely no doubt that if I ran that Snow would be able to catch me.

 “We can’t just fight in the middle of a neighborhood.”

 “I have already set a Boundary here. No one shall disturb our battle.”

 “A what?”

 Snow’s face grew incredulous.

 “How small is your house if you don’t even know what a Boundary is? Is this some kind of ploy? Do you take me a fool?”

 “No, I really have no idea what you are talking about.”

 “A Boundary keeps those who do not share the blood of the ancients from entering the battlefield. A liminal space where the damage we do to this world will not be felt by those who exist in it. It is small, unlike those cast by the Elders, but it is more than enough for single combat.”

 While I couldn’t be sure, having never taken the time to trace my family tree back all the way to the source, I was confident I did not have any ‘blood of the ancients’ running through my veins. Somehow, I felt information like that would have come up during a family gathering at least once.

 Still, it wasn’t like I didn’t believe her. It seemed like something the universe would allow to keep everything balanced.

 The Universe is a dick.  

 “Well… That’s convenient.”

 “Now, prepare yourself!”

 “I am not prepared.”

 Snow smiled. A cold smile. Reaching into her pocket she drew out a small crystal and tossed it to me. I caught it more on reaction than actual thought. If I had been thinking I would have let it pass right on by.

  “With that you may summon any weapon you wish. Simply think whatever weapon you wish and it shall be summoned. Consider it a gift from the House of White to the House of 1301 Bitter Ave.”

 I continued to stare at the crystal as Snow drew her sword and leveled it in front of her. Her stance was strong and confident. After seeing her abilities in the park the other day I wouldn’t say it was a false confidence.  

 “Oh… Wow… Thanks. So uh, I’m guessing there is no way you’re going to just let me walk out of here, right? Can I just surrender?”  

 “No! I have defeated the Champion from the House of Black and yet the Light of the Divine did not shine upon me. As you are the only other candidate in the park that day, clearly the Light of the Divine is waiting for a true victor to emerge. To prove myself I must defeat you in true combat!”

 At no point during her rambling explanation was there anything that I would have I have personally described as “clearly” defined, but again as she had a sword I wasn’t particularly incentivized to vocalize that to her. Even less so as she leapt forward and brought her sword down towards me.

 I took a quick step back and avoided the blade. Snow was not deterred as she stepped forward and swept upwards. I dodged to the side, again avoiding the blade before I hopped back a few more feet.

 Snow bared her teeth at me, taking her sword in both hands and raising it high above her head.

 “Coward!”

 She surged forward, the sword coming down in a graceful arc towards me head. A quick sidestep allowed me to keep myself in a single piece. Snow growled and swung her arm towards me, her armored fingers curled like a claw. I was not fully prepared for that and winced as sharpened tips of her gauntlets sliced through my jacket, just barely missing my skin.

 A deep frown set on my face as I looked at the damaged fabric. That would pretty much mean a full replacement. I would have to adjust my clothing budget later.

 Snow’s sword came back around and my fingers tightened around the crystal in my fist. Dealing with this with nothing more than an umbrella wasn’t going to work.

 ‘CLANG’

 Snow bounced back a step as her sword slammed against the heater shield that had formed around my left arm. It was actually smaller than I had been hoping for, but something is better than nothing.

 “A shield? Do you mock me? Are you so confident?”

 I knocked her next thrust away with the shield, angling myself to the side to keep as much of my precious body protected by the shield as I could.

 “I actually just really don’t want to fight. I want to go home.”

 “You have no choice in the matter! Now, I shall end this!”

 I wanted to disagree but Snow did not allow the conversation to continue as she abruptly swung her sword towards me. I blocked, but the blow had more power than I had expected. My bones ached as I was sent skidding to the side before catching myself.

Snow gave chase. Her sword had ignited into a brilliant white that was almost painful to look at. Unfortunately, look at it I had to. As I braced myself against an onslaught of attacks I watched as her sword came up again and again to rain down increasingly powerful swings.

 With every strike against my shield Snow yelled.  

 “This is my right! This is my Path! I shall not fail!”

 I really didn’t want her to fail. You never want the ‘good guy’ to fail. Honestly, she seemed like a very committed, maybe a touch overly so, young woman. I’m sure she was only doing this because she believed it was the best course of action. With that said, I also really, really, really didn’t want her to stab me with a sword.

 As she brought her shimmering blade up for another attack I glanced tot eh left, then the right, before letting out a deep breath.  

 I was ready to go home.

 I flung my shield arm up just before Snow’s blade began to come down. With no power behind the strike she was sent stumbling off balance. As she slid her right foot back to catch herself I dropped low and hooked her right ankle with the handle of Harlow’s umbrella.

 Already in an awkward position, a quick tug was more than enough to topple Snow over. As she hit the ground I dropped the shield and began to back up. Snow was back on her feet in an instant, her sword held high over her head as she charged at me, mouth opening in a war shout…

 And she stopped.

 “You coward!”

 I shrugged as I stared back at her through the veil of the Boundary. The colors inside were muted, but it was easy enough to see through. Snow paced back and forth like a caged tiger, her eyes narrowed, but she made no attempts to chase after me.

 I didn’t think she would. If she had been restrained enough to create a Boundary in the first place I had been then she wasn’t the type of person who would attack me outside of one. I gave her a slight nod of my head and continued, at a slightly faster pace, towards my home.

 Behind me I heard a scream of anger.  

 “This isn’t over!”

 My hand reached down into my pocket and I drew my phone. Snow was right about that.

 I was already in day 3.

[passiveplayersonly]

There is never enough Felicity

Felicity from I Am Not The Hero

Fun, entertaining story, you should read it!

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 7

I haven’t always been like this, you know? I used to actually want to be a hero, like everyone does. I wanted to be the center of attention. The one people looked to when they needed help. I wanted to be the knight in shining armour, riding in on my white horse to save the day.

 Funny how things can change in just a few years, isn’t it?”

 Tuesday morning started off as most schooldays start: With my painfully annoying alarm clock blaring at me until I repeatedly slammed my hand against the off button.

 A shining light on my phone also alerted me to the fact that I had a text message waiting. A text message that was from almost two hours earlier. Unsurprisingly it was from Emi. Also unsurprisingly it was her asking me to inform the teacher that she would be coming in late today or possibly not at all. There was no reason specified for her tardiness and with Emi, honestly, it could be anything ranging from she didn’t feel like coming on that day, to she was in the hospital from some stupid injury like trying to parkour across bike racks or doing pull-ups on the side of a building.

 I really wouldn’t put anything past her.

 I replied with a simple ‘K’ and got ready for the day. I was just out the door when I felt my phone buzz with an incoming text.

 E: Not going to ask why?

 I stared at my phone as I walked and tried to decide if I felt like getting into a conversation with Emi this early in the morning. When my phone buzzed again with a ‘?’ followed by another and another and another I quickly gave in and promptly set my phone to silent.

 It was simply too early to deal with Emi.

 Putting my phone back into my pocket I came to a stop at the crosswalk. Admittedly, I was still wary from the whole getting hit by a car incident so I waited an extra few moments to cross the street even when the signal finally turned green. Having managed to survive the previously insurmountable task of crossing the street, I decided to do something I had been meaning to do ever since being struck by that car.

 I took the long way to school through the park.

  The park was actually much nicer than I remembered it. In the four years since I had moved away it seemed like someone had gone ahead and poured quite a bit of money into the area.

 The landscaping was pristine, with thick, lush grass, perfectly manicured trees, new pond complete with a fountain water feature, even a new gazebo that overlooked the pond.  

 It was about as perfect as it could be.

 It was also empty.

 To be completely honest that should have clued me in to the fact that something was amiss, but it was still early and I was still rather in awe of the drastic changes.

 I guess four years really is a long time.

 Checking my phone, and ignoring Emi’s spree of messages, I realized I still had a bit of time before I actually needed to make my way to the school. In no rush I made my way over to the gazebo and took a seat at the bench. Glancing down I noticed a bronze plaque set into the ground.

 Generously donated by the Loques Family.

 Ah. That wasn’t actually all that surprising. Harlow did seem like she came from a rather well off family. Though I hadn’t expected her to be ‘donate enough money to rebuild a park’ well off.

I leaned my head back and listened to the gentle sound of the fountain. The steady sound of softly splashing was relaxing. I soon found myself closing my eyes and finding a more comfortable position as a stray ray of warm sunshine washed across my face.

 Really warm.

 Uncomfortably so, actually.

 I opened my eyes and instantly closed them again as all but blinded by the single, brightest light I had ever had the displeasure of encountering. My hand came up to cover my eyes and I slid off the bench to escape the light source. Landing on the ground I opened my eye, hand still up to guard my face, but the light had already subsided.

 I sat on the ground for a few more moments, waiting to see if anything else strange would happen, but when nothing did I slowly got back on my feet.

 Frowning, I dusted my pants free of dirt and began to make my way out of the park, all sense of relaxation gone. More annoyed than concerned at the moment I did once again notice that despite the fact that it was a very nice day there was no one else in the park. It was actually quite surprising.

 Not the good kind of surprise.

 I was just beginning to realize my mistake when one of the trees near me exploded in a shower of splinters and dust.

 “Get down!”

 A hand grabbed me by the collar and tugged me backwards to the ground just as something hissed through the air above me. I landed on my back and felt the air whoosh out of my lungs. Wheezing, I sat up and dropped back down immediately as a sword swung towards my face. I scrambled backwards, my fingers slipping against the dew-slicked grass.  Above me a young, armour clad man with shoulder length black hair wielded the sword that had nearly removed my head. He stared down at me with contempt and brought down his blade.  

 Clank

 Another sword appeared to block his attack. This one wielded by a young woman. Her sharp red eyes glanced down towards me for a fraction of a second before she broke the deadlock and pushed her opponent back a step.

 Despite the fact that he stood at least two heads taller than her, she stared him down without even a trace of fear.

 “Are you a complete imbecile, Cole? That would have killed him!”

 Not that it matters too much, but in situations like these, word choice is very important. If she were to say “could have killed him.’ I would have felt somewhat better. Could implies there is a chance of survival. ‘Would have kill him’ implies the action’s competition.

 It also implied I was in a situation I very much did not want to be in.

 Cole rested his sword on his shoulder.

 “It wouldn’t have killed him, Snow.”

  I disagreed with that, but declined to do so vocally.

 “He is clearly not one of us. A normal human would have died.”

 Cole snorted.

 “That’s not possible. A containment circle has been set around this entire area. No human can enter it until the circle has been dismissed. The elders wouldn’t be so foolish as to leave a gap in the spell. He must be from one of the small houses. And if he’s here he is an enemy. Just like you!”

 I disagreed here as well. Again I decided against voicing it.

 Snow gripped her sword tighter and took a step towards him.

 “Leave! As heir to the White family I will be the one to claim the Light of the Divine.” Cole laughed.

 “Come on Snow, don’t be an idiot. We both know I will be the one to claim the Light.”   “I will be the one to bring balance back to the this world. I swear it upon my blade.”

 Cole reached out with his sword and let it lightly rest against Snow’s.

 “Don’t make me hurt you, Snow.”

 It was Snow that struck first, pushing Cole’s sword up and away before bringing her sword down towards his chest. Cole smiled as he took a step back and let the sword pass harmlessly in front of him before thrusting forward. Snow swung her sword back up to block the attack.

 Cole took a step back and nodded, the smug still on his face.  

 “Not bad, you’ve been training hard.”

 Snow did not return the smile.

 “It is my right. I will claim it, even if it means killing you!”

The sound of steel against steel echoed through the park at Snow launched herself at Cole and the battle began again.  It was an impressive display of swordsmanship and I’m sure I would have appreciated it more if one of the combatants hadn’t previously tried to kill me. As it was, he had, and I had no intention of sticking around to see if he would try to do it again.

 As neither of them seemed to be paying any attention to me anymore, I used the opportunity to push myself up and back onto my feet. Trying to be as small and unthreatening as possible I began to slink away just as Cole went flying by me.  His body bounced like a ragdoll across the ground before he flipped back to his feet.

 Our eyes met.

 Mistake on my part.

 He leveled his sword at my chest.

 “Where do you think you’re going?”

 Of course, this meant that he had taken his eyes of off Snow. That was a mistake on his part. This became quite clear as a high-pitched battle cry pierced through the air. Coming in foot first, Snow sent Cole stumbling back with a very painful looking kick to the chest.  

 Landing gracefully she turned and looked at me, her sword coming up to point at my chest.  

 “Where do you think you’re going?”

 I stared at the sword warily. Even though she had protested labeling me as a combatant earlier That still didn’t instill much confidence that she wouldn’t cause me trouble.

 “School?”

 Cole managed to find his way back to his feet and stumbled back into the conversation.

 “You can’t leave! This is a battle!”

 “I’m not part of this.”

 Cole’s sword was pointing at me now as well.

 “Yes it is! You have to fight for the right to fight on behalf of the Light of the Divine against the rising Darkness of the Unholy.”

I had my suspicions but this confirmed that this was most definitely another ‘Chosen One’ route.

 This route is pretty standard. You’ll see it more often than not. You could consider it a ‘classic’ if you’d like, but personally I just consider it overused and lazy, but that’s a personal opinion and I won’t expect you to hold it in the same regard.

 I ran a hand through my hair as I stared at the pair.

 I had already moved past the point of early avoidance, but the perfect opportunity for a give-and-go seemed to have already developed. Clearly both Cole and Snow wanted to become the chosen one, so really there was no need for me to be in the situation at all.  

 Now, when faced with rather zealous people the use of misdirection, though not my favorite, is extremely effective and excellent choice. Zealous people tend to suffer from tunnel vision and because of this… Well to put it nicely they are easily tricked. However, honestly, sometimes it’s just good to be direct.

 And if that doesn’t work misdirection is always there as a backup.

 “I don’t want to fight.”

 Cole moved faster than I expected. His hand was wrapped around the front of my shirt in an instant. He didn’t look particularly angry, but he didn’t look particularly pleased either.

 “What did you say?”

 “I don’t want to fight.”

 “What kind of man doesn’t want to fight?”

 “Me?”

 Cole’s grip on my shirt tightened. I would have preferred if he had used a lighter grip, he was going to wrinkle the fabric. As it was he had already mused my tie to the point I would have to redo it. Something I am admittedly not very good at.

 “What do you mean you don’t want to fight? This is how the houses have solved our problems for…. Forever. We fight and the stronger combatant is right!”

 Now he was starting to sound angry. He looked back to Snow who shook her head, just as confused. They both returned their eyes to me. They both had the same eyes. Wine red and almond shaped.  

 I tilted my head, staring at the pair.

 “Are you two related?”

 It was Snow who answered, her lip curling.

 “He is no family of mine. The Black decedents lack all honor.”

 Cole’s head jerked back towards her.

 “It is the White family that lacks honor. It was your family that attempted to cast us out! You feared out power!”

 Snow’s sword was back up, pointing at Cole, which also meant it was pointing somewhat in my general vicinity.

 “The House of White fears no one!”

 Cole turned to face her, dragging me along with.

 “We shall see if you’re so proud of your pathetic house when the Light of the Divine shines once again on the House of Black and just who God favors is made clear!”

 As the two came closer to once again trading blows, with me between them, I tapped Cole repeatedly on the wrist.

 “Excuse me?”

 Cole blinked and looked down at me.

 “What?

 “Could you please let me go?”

 “No! This is a battle.”

 “It’s not my battle.”

 His brow furrowed like he was solving a particularly hard math problem before his grip loosened. He looked up at Snow, then back at me.

 “You aren’t going to fight?”

 I shook my head and pulled my phone out of my pocket, checking the time.

 “Sorry, but if I don’t get going soon I’m going to be late for school.”

 “But… You can’t just leave. He can’t just leave, can he?”

 Snow’s mouth twisted back and forth as she stared at me. She moved closer.

 “From what house do you hail?”

 I lifted my hand and pointed back.

 “From House 1308 Bitter Ave.”

 Snow was suddenly very close.

 “That is not a House I am familiar with.”

 “Well, to be fair I haven’t heard of your Houses either.”

 Snow and Cole exchanged looks before speaking in in unision.

 “That’s impossible.”

 Snow glared at Cole and continued.

 “That is not possible. The House of White is the most prestigious House in the entire…”

 Cole began to speak over her.

 “The House of Black has far more history than the House of White. You must have heard of Kilron the Dark? Slayer of the Silver Fang?”

 They were both staring at me expectantly. I shrugged my shoulder.

 “Sorry. No.”

 Snow and Cole exchanged looks before Snow nodded and Cole finally released me. I stumbled slightly before catching myself. As they continued to stare I slowly adjusted my tie back into place as best I could, trying to process the situation while ignoring the fact that one of them had quite recently tried to remove my head.

 Cole pressed his fist against his chest.

 “Then allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Cole Black. The heir the Family Black.”

 “Oh. Okay. Nice to meet you.

 It was not actually nice to meet him, or Snow, for that matter, but manners do matter.  

 “You may refer to me as Cole.”

 I nodded before a thought struck me.

 “Wait is it Cole or Coal?”  

 His head tilted.

 “What?”

  “Your name is Coal? Or Cole?

 “I don’t understand.”

 “It is Cole or Coal like… C-O-A-L.”

 He stared at me for a long time.

 “Who in the hells would ever be named Coal?”

 “You, maybe.”

 “My name is not Coal. It’s Cole. Cole! C-O-L-E.”

 Behind him Snow snickered.

 “He thought you were named after a fuel source. The mighty Coal Black. Bringer of smog.”

 “Your name is Snow. You were named after precipitation, and not even a useful one!”

 Snow scowled before glancing at me.

 “Snow is a very common name, don’t you agree?”

 This conversation was not going the way I had expected it to go in the least, but at least this discussion was considerably less violent now.

 I shrugged.

 “I mean yeah, if you happen to live with seven dwarfs.”

 Snow’s eyes narrowed as Cole continued to snicker.  

 “What is your name, then?”  

 “Asher.”

 “Your full name?”

 “Asher Mara.”

 “Asher Mara from House 1308 Bitter Ave.”

 “I guess.”

 Snow dragged her eyes up and down my body. I struggled, and failed, not to fidget under her gaze.

 “Where is your armour?”

 “I don’t have any?”

 Cole stepped forward.

 “What about your weapon?”

 “I don’t have a weapon.”

 Cole looked like someone had slapped him.

 “You don’t have a weapon?”

 “No.”

 “No sword?”

 “No.”

 “Not even like… a knife?”

 “Why would I have a knife?”

 “For the battle!”

 “I’m not here for a battle.”

 Cole slammed his sword into the ground.

 “Then why are you here?!”

 I repressed a heavy sigh.

 “I have been trying to leave.”

 That seemed to give them both pause and I used that moment to adjust my pack into a more comfortable position.

 “Well since I’m clearly in the way I’ll just be taking my leave now… If you two want to continue your battle I won’t keep you. Good luck with the Divine…. Yeah.”

 Cole slid in front of me, sword back in hand.

 “Wait!”

 “Damnit! What?”

 For a moment I admittedly lost my temper. I was tired, paranoid, and with every passing second closer to being late to school. The situation should have been easy enough to resolve as clearly both Snow and Cole wanted to become the Hero of this route, but no.

 Cole raised his sword above his head. My anger was quickly replaced with good old-fashioned fear.

 “Once you enter the battlefield you cannot leave until the battle is over. Even if you do not wish to fight the rules are clear.”

 Having never read the rules I was not sure if they were actually as clear as Cole believed, but the important part was that he believed. Mostly because he was the one with the sword. I glanced back at Snow, but received no help as her mouth set into a grim line and she gave a single nod.

 “Cole is correct.”  

 “I’m not going to fight either of you.”

 “Then you will be the first to fall to my blade!”  

 I held up my hand.

 “Wait!”

 Cole hesitated, his sword still held up and ready.

 “What?”

 “I will fight.”

 “You will?”

 I glanced between the pair.

 “Yes. I will fight. But I will only fight against the strongest House.”

 Being direct hadn’t gotten me out of this so it was time for misdirection. In essence I wasn’t lying. I was fighting. Just not in the way they were thinking.

 They both stepped towards me.

 “Then you will be fighting against the House of White.”

 “Then you will be fighting against the House of Black.”

 They turned on each other.

 “No. The House of White.”

 “Black.”

 “White!”

 “Black!”

 “WHITE!”

 “BLACK!”

 With the argument set I didn’t stay to watch as the two once again came to blows, but from the sound of steel against steel I knew they had. The noise followed me all the way out of the park and back onto the street, but eventually faded away.

 It had taken longer than I would have liked, but the Route had been successfully bypassed and I finally made my way to school.

 I decided I would not be returning to the park any time soon.

[passiveplayersonly]

Inktober No. 10

Asher has to read The Princess Bride for his film club, it makes him laugh.

[passiveplayersonly]

Inktober No. 8

Asher from @songs-and-noms I Am Not The Hero

Sometimes he doesn’t want Emi to drag him into some dramatic thing.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 6

There was one other person in the film and literature club when I walked in behind Violet. The blonde haired girl stood as we entered, flashing me a sweet smile and holding out her hand.

 “Hi! I’m Tessa Barns. Third Year. It’s great to meet you!”

 I took her hand. Her grip was soft and her hand was softer.

 “I’m Asher. Asher Mara. First year.”

 Tessa’s blue eyes sparkled and her smile grew. She seemed to be very excitable. Almost like a puppy.

 “I’m so glad you were able to join the club on such short notice. It will be great to have some new blood. I was sure it was going to just be me and Violet this year.”

 Violet’s head bobbed up and down in agreement but she remained silent. I scratched at the back of my head.

 “Oh, well. Thanks for having me.”

 With nothing else to say a silence fell over our small group and I began to feel an anxious itch to break the silence. Luckily Violet solved the problem for me when she let out a squeak and slapped her hand to her mouth.

 “I left the movie in my locker! I’m so sorry! I’ll be right back!”

 She was gone out the door in a blur. I watched her go, wishing she hadn’t as the silence returned and I felt Tessa’s eyes fall on me. I cleared my throat and slowly found my seat, taking the one furthest from Tessa.

 I have nothing against sitting next to others, I simply prefer to avoid it whenever possible.

 Tessa clicked her tongue as she sat down as well. The sweet, friendly smile she had shown me earlier was nowhere to be found as she cracked her neck and let out a long sigh. I got a rapidly sinking feeling in my stomach as she leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on the desk before giving me a long once over.

 “I don’t believe it.”

 Her voice was much lower than before. I tilted my head.

 “Excuse me?”

 “You. You’re the famous Asher?”

 Famous? I wouldn’t ever use that word in conjunction with my name, but I was Asher so I nodded all the same.

 “I am Asher.”

 “Bit short, ain’t ya?”

 I frowned, but seeing as I wasn’t any taller than her I didn’t have much room for argument.

 “I believe I am of average height for my age.”

 Tessa snorted.

 “That’s what short people say.”

 I didn’t really have a good response to that so I elected to remain silent. Tessa continued to stare at me, her left eyebrow rising.

 I remained silent.

 She stared.

 My foot began to tap.

 She continued to stare.

 I tried to stop my foot from tapping, but only succeeded changing from my foot to my hand. As my eyes looked down at my traitorous limbs I heard the screech of a chair being pushed back. I only had just enough time to look up before Tessa was in front of me, her hands wrapping around the collar of my shirt. With a grunt she lifted me out of my chair.

 I swallowed hard and tried to smile. It wasn’t a very good smile. More like grimace.

 “Uh... is there something wrong?”

 Tessa smiled. It wasn’t a very good smile either. More like a snarl.

 “Yeah, there’s something wrong. I don’t like it when little brats like you come sniffing around Vi.”

 I blinked.

 “What?”

 Tessa brought out faces closer and pressed her forehead against mine, forcing me to meet her eye. She had blue eyes. Like ice. As I stared into them I realized just how wrong I had been.

 This girl was no puppy. She was a damn wolf.

“Keep. Your. Hands. Off. Violet. Understand?”

 Considering I had no intentions of putting my hands on Violet in the first place it was very easy for me to quickly nod my head in understanding.

 She released me and I feel back into my chair.

 “Great! Then I think we’ll get along just fine. You don’t seem like a complete idiot!”

 I was particularly pleased at that comment, even less so as Tessa’s voice returned to its higher, cheery pitch and the smile returned to her face just as Violet walked into the room. The poor girl clutched at her chest as she tried to regain her breath.

 “I got it. I’m so sorry.”

 Tessa waved her off.

 “It’s alright. Right, Asher?”

 The two girls turned to look at me. Tessa’s eyes narrowed slightly and I nodded more enthusiastically than I would have liked. The action had the desired effect, and Tessa broke her eye contact with me as Violet let out a relieved sigh.

 “Alright then! Let’s have a great year!”

 As she took her seat between Tessa and myself I again felt Tessa’s eyes land on me. Still, I managed to survive the duration of the movie without any issues. Also, if you ever plan on seeing that movie, be sure to chunk off a good amount of time beforehand because it is one hell of a long watch. This appeared to be a fact that Violet had not taken into account as she spent almost another ten minutes after the credits apologizing.

 As it was, we didn’t get to do anything more than watch the movie before we had to call the club quits for the day. With another round of apologies Violet told me she would plan out next weeks book and film before bounding off with Tessa to walk home. Apparently they lived next door to each other.

 That did help explain Tessa’s overprotective nature. Not that it made me feel much better.

 As I reached the front of empty school I was just beginning to question the prudence of my club choice when something very fast and very solid slammed into my side and sent me sprawling into one of the entryway support pillars.

 I am not proud to say I immediately recognized what had struck me without even seeing them. I pushed myself off the pillar and adjusted my uniform back into place.

 “Hello Emi.”

 Emi hopped from one foot to the other, her ponytail bouncing in time with her steps.

 “You’re here late.”

 Her skin glistened with sweat and her soaked running shorts and tank top clung to her skin. She must have just finished up with the track team. Or just as likely she had stayed late for extra practice. Just looking at her was exhausting.

 “Club ran long. You?”

 “Decided to see how fast I could run a mile.”

 The way she leaned towards me I could tell she wanted me to ask. I indulged her.

 “How fast?”

 “My best time was four minutes and thirty-two seconds, but I think I can get it even lower! I want to get sub four.”

 Now I was exhausted.

 “Yeah well… make sure you stretch.”

 Emi made a face.

 “That’s boring. You should have joined the boy’s team. Then we could have raced.”

 “You would win.”

 I began to walk. Emi followed along beside me, skipping with each step.

 “Probably. But it would still be fun. Better than sitting in the dark watching some boring movie.”

 “Sitting in the dark is underappreciated.”

 “Urgh, you’re such a hermit.”

 I decided to change the subject.

 “How does the track team look?”

 Emi did a full rotation as she walked, her eyes looking towards the sky as if she were deep in thought.

 “Okay, I guess.... Some of the senior girls are really fast but…”

 “But you’re getting bored already?”

 Emi smiled.

 “A bit. Racing is fun is fun, but it’s kind of…. Repetitive. I mean we just run in a big circle over and over again. Maybe if we did like parkour or something?”

 I would have made a joke about how Emi should start a parkour club, but I knew she wouldn't take it as a joke. I also knew she would try to include me in her club activities.

 “You should try to stick with it. At least until the first track meet.”

 Emi mulled that over.

 “Will you come cheer me on?”

 I shrugged.

 “Sure.”

 Emil beamed.

 “Alright. Then I’ll win at least one of the meets.”

 You had to admire Emi’s confidence. I was actually about to compliment her on that when she suddenly let out a groan and slapped her hand to her forehead.

 “What?”

 Emi sighed.

 “I forgot my bag. And my clothes.”

 We came to a gradual stop and Emi looked back towards the school. I felt my mouth start to stretch into a frown. I was at just about the halfway point between my home and the school. I didn’t really want to go back but…

 “Want me to walk you back?”

 Emi looked up at me. For a moment her head started to nod before she shook her head quickly and waved her hands to add emphasis.

 “Nah, that’s alright. I can get their faster alone. Besides, I can just use this for some extra practice! Alright, see you tomorrow Asher!”

 She bounced up into the air once before landing in a crouch and taking off down the street. I watched her fade from view before continuing on my way.

 All things considered it hadn’t been a terrible Monday and I was hopeful for the rest of the week.

 I was mistaken.

[passiveplayersonly]

I’m not sure if this was meant for this blog or not...

Have you ever made character profiles for your characters? As in appearance, personality, etc.

Uh, that really depends on which story you are asking about. I’m also not sure which blog this was directed at, so I’ll go ahead and reblog it on the others. So to answer… yes and no. If you have a particular story in mind, I could be more detailed.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter Five

Do you know how long Dracula by Bram Stoker is? It’s over four hundred pages. On a good day I am maybe capable of reading about two to three hundred pages and Sunday was a decidedly bad day. As it turned out I was only able to manage about half the book, which I thought was a pretty impressive feat given the day I had.

 Vampires have grown much different since Bram wrote about them back in 1897. I don’t think he would really approve of the direction they have taken. Then again, maybe they didn’t approve of the way he portrayed them.

 Considering I only knew one vampire at the moment, and I had no intention of talking to that particular individual if I could help it, that question was one that would remain unanswered.

 Regardless of the reason, I had failed to complete the book. I had a feeling that Violet would understand if I told her I had been unable to finish the book. Actually, I was pretty sure that she would blame herself for not giving me enough time to finish reading it. While that was technically correct, I didn’t really feel like upsetting her.

 That is how I found myself reading through my lunch period, sitting at my desk after declining Emi’s invitation to eat with her and her friends. Emi had given me a pretty good knock to the shoulder for declining her request. She was still a little annoyed about me forgetting about her at the mall, though once she learned her alarm plan had in fact worked, she seemed in a far better mood. She liked it even more when I reluctantly told her that I hadn’t gone through my phone to check for other traps that she might have set up.

 As it was, she had actually set up an alarm to go off about two hours before I usually woke up, again with a horrible screeching noise that Emi considered music.

 My phone had barely survived being thrown against the wall. Luckily I learned long ago that having a strong phone case is a must.  

 “Hey, new kid.”

 Someone took the seat in front of me and placed their arm on my desk. I lifted my eyes from my book and, with effort, managed to keep the scowl off my face. Reading a book instead of eating lunch was already bad enough, having to socialize as well was not part of the deal.

 The boy who interrupted me was staring at me with a large grin on his face and his hand outstretched. His skin was tan, the kind of tan that comes from being outside in the sun far too much. He had a mop of messy blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. In essence he was extremely attractive. This fact did not dismiss my annoyance that he was interrupting me.

 “…Hello.”

 Though I didn’t really want to I reached out and shook his hand. His grip was shockingly strong and he gave my arm a rough shake.

 “You’re Asher, right?”

 I nodded, slowly.

 “Yes.”

 “My names David. David Jones. President and Captain of the sailing club.”

 Ah. That would explain the tan. Along with the strong grip and rough hands. It did not explain why he was talking to me though.

 David glanced around furtively and leaned in closer.

 “So…”

 I blinked.

 “So…?”

 “Sooooooooo… What’s the deal with you and Ballad?”

 I pulled back slightly.

 “What?”

 David grinned.

 “You and Ballad man. What’s the deal with that?”

 I still didn’t understand the question.

 “With Emi? What you do you mean?”

 David winked.

 “Ah, keeping your cards close to your chest. Alright man, I respect that.”

 I sighed and closed my book after marking my page. I could already see this becoming a problem somehow. Best to nip it in the bud right now.

 “David, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

 David stared at me for a long time before narrowing his eyes.

 “Really?”

 “Really.”

 David frowned as I picked up my water bottle and took a long drink. If I was going to be hungry I didn’t want to be thirsty too.  

 “Then you’re not hooking up with Emi?

 The water shot out of my mouth before I could even fully register what David had said, but I very clearly understood the words ‘hooking up’, especially combined with the word ‘Emi’.

 I took another drink of water, this one actually managing to make it down my throat. I didn’t really need to take another drink, but I needed a moment to collect my thoughts.

 “No. No I am not hooking up with anyone.”

 David looked skeptical.

 “Are you sure?”

 “I think I would know.”

 David stared at me for a while before letting out a sigh and running a hand through his hair.

 “Damn. That would have been the story of the year. I thought for sure Emi was finally dating someone.”

 “Finally?”

 David nodded.

 “I think Emi has turned down almost every guy in our grade at least once. Or at least, she had made it very clear that asking her out would be a bad idea. I had to call in a replacement for our last race because one of my guys ended up with a dislocated shoulder after tapping her on the back one day to get her attention. Guess he surprised her.”

 That sounded like Emi. She was an attractive girl with a personality to match. She was the kind of girl that you could fall for without even realizing it. You know, until she punched you so hard your ribs cracked. That usually is enough to break any sort of romantic interest.

 I took another sip of water and began to open my book back up.  

 “Ah, well, sorry I couldn’t help.”

 “No problem. You can probably help me with something else!”

 I didn’t particularly want to help David with something else, but it felt rude to read and talk. Mostly because I would choose reading over talking. I slowly closed my book again and looked at David.

 “Yes?”

 “Tell me about yourself.”

 I blinked.

 “What?”

 David flashed me a dazzling smile. He had impossibly straight and perfect teeth. I suddenly found myself self-consciously running my tongue long the back of my teeth. There was no way my teeth were that straight, even after four years of braces. I knew it was a scam.

  “Tell me about yourself man. I know just about everyone in the school, but I don’t know anything about you.”

I shrugged.

 “There isn’t much to know.”

 “Ah don’t give me that. You’re like, best friends with the flame princess. That’s worth quite a few points.”

 I tilted my head. I was sure what David had just said to me was in English, but it didn’t make sense.

 “Points? Flame Princess?”

 David snapped his fingers.

 “Ah right. New kid. Forgot, you probably don’t know. Okay, so pretty much everyone at the school has a rating. It’s a student thing. I don’t know who started it, but everyone has one. I’m not even sure who gives the rating, but if you ask around you can always find yours.”

 “Rating… system…”

 “Yeah, cool right? So I’m ranked fourth in your class and tenth in our overall grade. That’s worth Sixty points. Being on the sailing team is ten, being captain is twenty, and being president is another thirty.”

 I added that up in my head.

 “So you’re worth one hundred and twenty points?”

 David nodded.

 “Roughly. There are other factors that can add or detract points, but I don’t know all of them. No one does.”

 “I see.”

 “Anyway, you’re best friends with the Flame Princess. That’s probably like twenty points right there.”

 Again with the Flame Princess. Considering I only had one friend... well two if I counted Harlow, which I might as well count, the Flame Princess must be Emi. I didn’t know exactly what to make of the information that David was giving me, but I filed it away mentally anyway. You never know what might be important.

 David was still talking.

 “And with being the new kid… you’re probably worth about eighty points. Yeah, that sounds about right.”

 Eighty points. I had no idea what kind of scale that was on. I needed more information.

 “What’s the highest score?”

 David tilted his head towards the ceiling and tugged at his hair in thought.  

 “Well I don’t know her actual score, but the Prez, Harlow, she has the highest rating of all. It goes here, then Ballad is tied for second place.”

 A tie. A tie was just about the worst thing Emi could imagine. She would rather outright lose than be stuck in some kind of awkward limbo with no clear winner or loser. When we were younger, Emi and me had played on the same little league soccer team. When we tied our second game, Emi had angrily kicked a soccer ball so hard it exploded.

 Our team went undefeated after that. I had tried to quit multiple times but Emi had proven extremely persuasive. Part of that persuasion had been threating to practice and use my head as a soccer ball.

 I shook away the memory and returned to the conversation.

 “So if Emi is the Flame Princess, is there an Ice Princess?”

 David snapped his finger and pointed at me.

 “Hey, you’re a sharp one. Yup, there is an Ice Princess. Ursa Silver. Second year student. She’s in Raker’s homeroom.”

 “Ursa Silver.”

 David nodded and leaned in closer, throwing a glance in either direction.

 “Be careful of that one.”

 I didn’t lean in.

 “Why?”

 “Well, thing about those girls is… oh hey Emi!”

 I looked up just in time to receive catch a small plastic bag to the face. Sputtering I sat back and the back landed in my lap. Gingerly I picked it up.

 “Cookies?”

 Emi took her seat and David quietly excused himself, throwing me another perfect smile as he left.

 “Yes, cookies. You didn’t eat lunch, did ya?”

 I looked down at my unfinished book.

 “Oh.”

 Emi rolled her eyes.

 “Thought so. If you get too thin girls aren’t going to like you.”

 Girls already didn’t seem particularly fond of me, but I wasn’t going to argue with Emi. I quickly began to eat the cookies. They were surpassingly good. Chocolate with peanut butter and lots of vanilla. When I had polished off the final one I realized Emi was staring at me. I faltered for a second before realizing  my mistake.

 “Oh, thanks Emi.”

 She stared at me a moment longer.

 “Did you like them?”

 I nodded.

 “Yeah. They were perfect.”

 Emi grinned.

 “Great!”

 She turned back towards the front of the classroom and Ms. Enni walked in. I felt something hit my shoulder and turned to look back at David. He beamed at me and gave me a thumbs up. I had no idea why and returned the gesture, though with far less enthusiasm.

 The rest of the day flashed by without any incidents, which I was grateful for. I didn’t manage to fully finish Dracula, but I was able to skim over the last few pages as Ms. Enni ended the day early.

 I don’t know if you have ever read Dracula, but it is one dark book. Very few things in it made me feel better about the situation I had brewing with Felicity.

 Emi had left almost immediately for track. David had stopped by my desk to get my contact info before racing off to sailing club. I guess by Harlow’s strange rules, I now had three friends.  

 I took my time packing up my own stuff before heading off to my own club. It took me longer than I would have liked to find it. Apparently the only room that Violet was able to find that had a TV that we could use was on the far end of the school in a wing that was used primarily for storage. As such, it was completely deserted by the time I arrived there.

 I counted off the room numbers silently to myself as I walked down the empty hallway.

 “Lost?”

 I came to an abrupt stop as Felicity’s voice echoed down the hallway from behind me. Slowly I turned around, but she wasn’t there. Grimacing I turned back forwards and was only slightly surprised to find her standing directly in front of me. Still, I took a hasty step back. The move only served to make her smile, exposing her sharp fangs.

 “I said, are you lost, Asher?”

 I shook my head.

 “Oh good. Then are you going to run?”

 I shook my head again.

 “I can’t. I’ve got club.”

 Felicity laughed.

 “Do you now? That’s interesting. What kind of club?”

 “The Film and Literature club.”

 “Hmm, that’s less interesting. I was hoping for something more fun.”

 I shrugged.

 “Sorry.”

 She stepped forward, her eyes daring me to move away. I managed to remain still.

 “Oh, that’s quite alright. I’m sure I can find fun some other way. Now, give me your hand.”

 I did take a step back.

 “My hand?”

 She held out her own hand impatiently.

 “Yes, your hand, now please.”

 Slowly I lifted up my left hand and held it out towards her. She took it delicately and lifted it eye level, her eyes focusing on the silver band wrapped around my ring finger.

 She looked back up and me with a raised eyebrow.

 “Real silver?”

 “Yes.”

 “Planning on using it on me?”

 I swallowed. The thought had occurred to me, if we are being completely honest. Though I didn’t even know if it would work. She had already proven immune to holy water and sunlight. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw her eating garlic bread.

 I decided lying to her was pointless.

 “Debating it.”

 “Well then, allow me to quell your fears.”

 Felicity smiled at me again before tugging off one of her gloves and pressing the tip of her finger against ring. There was a hiss as her skin began to sear and she quickly removed her finger. I caught her eye twitch ever so slightly in pain, but her smile didn’t waver.

 “There. Now you know that you can hurt me. If you ever wished to.”

 I nodded, thought I wasn’t really sure why.

 “Well then, this has been fun, but I’ll let you go now. I’d hate for you to be late!”

 She laughed and walked by me, her shoulder brushing against mine. I turned to watch her go, but by the time I had she was already gone. Sighing I lifted my hand up and pressed my hand over my eyes. I felt the weight of my phone in my pocket but I ignored it. I still didn’t know what Felicity wanted, but I wasn’t on a route. Not yet at least.

 “Asher?”

 I nearly jumped out of my skin as someone put their hand on my arm. Stumbling back I just managed to catch myself before I crashed into the wall. Taking in a deep breath I glanced over at Violet who was looking at me with wide eyes.

 “Oh. I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to… I just thought…. If you were lost. I’m sorry.”

 As I regained my composure I quickly waved my hand.

 “No, I’m sorry, Violet. You just surprised me. Really.”

 She nodded but still looked concerned. She pointed down the hall.

 “Okay. Well, we’re in that room right there… if you’re ready?”

 I threw one final glance over my shoulder to where felicity had disappeared to before nodding.

 “Yeah, let’s go.”

[passiveplayersonly]

Amazing art! Thank you so much!

Felicity from I Am Not The Hero

Fun, entertaining story, you should read it!

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 4 Part 3

Sunday is the day that I usually leave free to run errands. These are pretty mundane tasks. Mostly it’s just going to the store to grab everything I need to survive the week. Bread. Milk. Eggs. The usual things.

 This Sunday in particular though I needed to go a little out of my way to stop at the bookstore.

 I had forgotten how much I had loved the bookstore in town. It is a large building with four stories and a basement. The first story is basically just a giant coffee shop with books lining the wall that can be taken for free so long as you bring it back or exchange it with another one. Above that is the actual bookstore and they have just about everything you could want and if they don’t have it up there, they might have it in the basement.

 The basement is probably the best part of the bookstore. It actually is wider than the store above it and is filled with row after row of books.

 It’s easy to get lost in the musty labyrinth, which I found myself quickly doing.

 As to why I was at the library? Well to explain that I must step back a moment to the morning.

 Even though I do run errands on Sunday, I still take advantage of the fact that it is not a school day and sleep in rather late. At least, that was my plan.

 A plan was ruined just around eight in the morning when my phone rang.

 Normally I can sleep through my phone ringing. It’s just a gentle series of chimes. Actually, it’s a very relaxing series of tones and I’ve used it to fall asleep more than once.

 The ringtone that woke me up was some sort of demonic screaming that sent me out of my bed and onto the floor as I yelled for help. The sleep was forcibly pushed from my mind and I realized where I was. Reaching out I blindly found my phone and silenced it with a sigh.

 “Emi…”

 She must have changed my ringtone yesterday. It was a petty, yet extremely effective, form of revenge.

 I gripped my phone tightly as it continued to vibrate. I let out a sigh and let my anger go and answered the phone.

 “Hello?”

 “A-Asher?”

 That was definitely not Emi’s voice.

 I pulled the phone away from my head and checked the caller ID.  It was a string of numbers that I didn’t recognize. Not that I recognize many strings of numbers. It did tell me that it wasn’t someone that was already programmed into my phone. That really wasn’t too much of a shock though, if you consider the fact that I only had three contacts in my phone and Emi was one of them.

 Wait, sorry, four contacts now. Harlow had added her number in my phone, along with a photo of herself. She had even managed to put a crack in her glare long enough to give a small smile.

 I put the phone back to my ear.

 “Uh, who is this?”

 I heard a sharp intake of breath.

 “Oh. Uh. It’s Violet. Violet Noble. We’re in the same club…”

 I rubbed my hand over my face and rested my head against the side of my bed and allowed violet to explain, with many apologies for calling so early, that club was actually starting on Monday and that the book for the week had already been chosen.

 She had apparently tried to tell me on Friday, but hadn’t been able to catch me before I had gone home and didn’t remember that she had my number already until late last night. She was polite enough to wait until the morning to try and call me.

 That would make her the second person to get my number without me actively realizing it, though her aims seemed far less devious.

 Alternatively I could say her aims seemed far less dangerous.

 Either way works.

 I assured Violet that calling me so early was not a problem, which I decided it was not considering I had all but run from school on Friday. With no chance of falling back asleep, I walked to the bookstore and found myself in a decidedly better mood almost as soon as I entered.

 This feeling of euphoria was short lived.

 It’s a rather unpleasant feeling when you think someone is watching you. It’s that strange mix of paranoia and uncertainty that almost makes you sick to your stomach with anxiety.

 It’s a lot worse when you know without a doubt someone is watching you.

 I didn’t notice I was being watched until I was already well into the bookstore. I turned back towards the door to head out but she was there, standing between me and the exit, with tip of her parasol resting lightly against the ground and her head cocked to the side, an amused smirk on her face.

 I had two choices.

 Go up or go down.

 I chose down and quickly shuffled off towards the basement, keeping my eye on Felicity for as long as I could. She seemed completely content to watch me, her smile only growing.

 The hunt was on.

 The basement was exactly as I remembered it. I had spent many days playing hide and seek with Emi in the rows and rows of books and papers. I was able to quickly slip into the stacks and find my favorite hiding spot.

 It was actually a small nook that was carved into one of the walls. It was near impossible to see unless you knew where it was, hidden by a very tall and very overloaded shelf. It was a tight fit, but I was able to just squeeze myself through the shelving and into the hiding place. I felt a slight sense of nostalgic peace settle over me.

 It left me as soon as I heard extremely light footsteps whisper across the floor.

 She was close.

 Small rays of light filtered though the haphazardly stacked books and I peered through a crack between two, century-old novels. I looked left, then right, but I saw nothing but books.

 “What are we looking for?”

 I spun around by no one was there. I heard a small giggle and slowly turned back around.

 Felicity was standing in front of me. Far to close for my comfort. I tried to back away by there was really nowhere to go in my cramped hiding space.

Felicity sighed dramatically

 “I’m slightly disappointed. You were much more fun to chase yesterday.”

 I shrugged.

 “You could give me another chance. I’m sure I could come up with something better.”

 Felicity lifted a lace-gloved hand to her chin and pondered my offer for a moment.

 “No, I think I rather like you still. Though, it is a little cramped here. Would you care to join me upstairs? I think a cup of tea sounds excellent right about now. And perhaps a slice of cake to go with it? My treat, of course.”

 With no real choice I gave a single nod and allowed Felicity to lead us up to the coffee shop. I declined tea and stuck with a simple glass of water. Felicity seemed put off by the plainness, but did not make too much of a fuss.

 Felicity picked a corner table, near a window. Despite the signs of her being a vampire, she seemed to lack any aversion to the sun. That wasn’t particularly good news for me.

 I started to sit down but Felicity let out a soft ‘ahem.’ Stuck in an awkward place between standing and sitting I looked up at her.

 “Yes?”

 Felicity cleared her throat.

 “I am a lady, you realize?”

 I blinked.

 “Uh, yeah?”

 Felicity gave me a pointed look.

 I gave her a blank look. I wasn’t exactly sure what point she was trying to make.

 When I took to long to decipher what she wanted, she snapped at me and stomped her foot.

 “My chair! You are supposed to pull out my chair for me. Do manner simply not exist anymore?”

 “Oh…”

 I stood up and moved around to her side of the table. I pulled her chair out for her and she gracefully sat down. I waited a moment before taking my own seat.

 Felicity let out a sigh.

 “I suppose there is much I am going to have to teach you. That is not a problem though, there will be more than enough time for that.”

 I did not like the sounds of that.

 Allow me to give you a quick little lesson on Vampires.

 Vampires drink human blood. They’re usually unable to stand sunlight, though Felicity seemed to lack this weakness. Like all demonic beings, Holy Water is pretty effective against them, as is garlic. If you want to spend the money, you can almost never go wrong with silver.

 To ward them off you can use a cross. Most holy symbols work as well. For a more permanent solution a stake through the heart will put one out of commission, but that’s a pretty gruesome thing to do to someone, vampire or not.

 That is all pretty common knowledge. Now what isn’t so common is the fact that Vampire’s often don’t just bite any random person.

 Maybe they did back in the day, but they’ve gotten smart over the years. Just like humanity harvests crops and raise cattle for food, Vampires have created a similar system. Instead of going hunting, they simply find a person and feed off of them, for a time at least.

 These people are often called Thralls, or Familiars, but really they are just dinner.

 I’m sure some people would love to be in such a relationship. I’m sure there are even perks to being in one.

 I still did not want to be in one.

 I took a sip of my water and cleared my throat.

 “Well, I have a lot of errands to run today after I get my book… so I don’t really have all that much time.”

 Felicity smiled.

 “I disagree, Asher. I think we have all the time in the world.”

  I started to trace my hand against the glass, the tip of my finger leaving a trail against he condensation.

 “Unfortunately my club is meeting tomorrow and I really have to get that book finished tonight, so my time is limited.”

 Felicity’s eyes flicked down to my glass before lifting up to mine. Her eyes were a dark red. So red they almost seemed black.

 “Asher?”

 I tried and failed not to break eye contact.

 “Yes?”

 “Do you know what I am?”

 I chanced looked back up at her.

 “Mildly sure.”

 “Oh? Would you tell me?”

 “What if I’m right?”

 She leaned forward.

 “If you’re right, I’ll let you leave.”

 I frowned.

 “Just like that?”

 “Just like that. Of course, that doesn’t mean we won’t run into each other again.”

 She held out her hand.

 “I promise, Asher. You can trust me.”

 I didn’t believe her in the least, but I had no real choice. It was clear she was playing a game with me and I had no choice but to play along with it. In all honesty, this situation wasn’t terrible yet. While having tea with a vampire isn’t really a normal day for most people, it also doesn’t necessarily create an Active Player Route. I just had to be very careful.

 I took my hand away from my water and accepted hers. She felt so very frail, but I knew that was nothing more than a façade.

 “So I just have to guess what you are and I can go?”

 Felicity nodded.

 “For now.”

 I took a deep breath. It hadn’t escaped my attention that Felicity hadn’t mentioned what would happen to me if I were wrong. I ran through every creature I knew of in my mind.

 Her speed.

 Her eyes.

 Her fangs.

 I couldn’t be completely sure, but it was my best option.

 “You’re a vampire.”

 Felicity clapped her hands together and laughed.

 “Very good, Asher! But you should know, I am very special.”

 She reached out and took my glass. Lifting it to her lips she gave me a wink before taking a long drink. I felt my stomach drop as she put the glass back down and let out a soft ‘ah’.

 “That was a clever trick, Asher. I almost didn’t realize what you were doing. Writing holy symbols on the condensation?  That’s an ingenious level of deceit. Had I been a normal vampire, I would have been in a lot of trouble.”

 I stared down at the glass, then back up at her.

 “So… I can go?”  

 “Of course. I did promise. But don’t forget about me. I will be seeing you very, very soon, Asher Mara.”

 I nodded and hastily stood up. Felicity never stopped staring at me as I retreated from the room. My hand slid into my pocket and rested against my phone. For a moment it remained there, my fingers lightly tapping against the button that would signal the start new route.

 I debated back and forth before finally letting out a sigh and pulling my hand free.

 Felicity was a problem; there was no doubt about that. It was clear she had some sort of plan for me and while I had my suspicions, I still didn’t know for sure what she wanted. Until I did, the route would not activate and I was safe.

 Well… as safe as one can be with a vampire stalking them.

 With a shake of my head I went and found the book I would have to read for book club.

 The book in question?

 Dracula.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 4 Part 2

Chapter 4 Part 2

If Emi had one fault, it was that she was terrible at reading social cues. Also, Emi arguably had more than one fault.

Many more.

As I stood in an extremely long, and extremely loud, line outside of the store, I probably could have listed every single one of them. I certainty had more than enough time.

Somehow, my displeasure was lost on Emi who gave me a cheery slap on the back and a dazzling smile.

“See? Isn’t this better than staying at home and sleeping the weekend away?”

I had no response that wouldn’t require a healthy amount of rather vulgar words, so I chose to remain silent. I did this both out of respect for those around us, and to avoid having to add ‘Getting punched’ to the list of growing issues with my day.

As Emi pulled out her phone and began to type out a message with rapid precision, I took a moment to actually look around the mall. For how early it was, it seemed far too crowded just for the opening of a single story.

“Emi, is there something else happening today?”

Emi didn’t look up from her phone.

“Hmmm?”

“There are a lot of people here.”

Emi glanced around for maybe half a second before returning to her phone.

“Yeah, there’s actually like five stores opening today, plus there is going to be a concert later. Some new teen idol or something.”

I smiled. Emi had never been a fan of pop music. They weren’t nearly loud or angry enough for her musical tastes.

“So you won’t be going to the concert, then?”

Emi made a face and shot out her hand to punch me hard in the arm. I rubbed the sore spot and decided to remain silent as the line finally started to move.

Emi slid her phone into her pocket and clapped her hands together.

“Finally! It feels like we’ve been here forever!”

I nodded in agreement. We continued to shuffle forward, bit by bit, and after almost another hour of waiting I was able to make out the name of the store.

I blinked and read it again, reading out loud to myself.

“Tori’s Mystery?”

Emi turned to look at me, her eyebrows going up.

“What?”

I lifted up my hand and pointed to the store’s sign. I felt my face begin to burn.

“That uh, that sign says Tori’s Mystery: Bras… lingerie… and woman’s apparel.”

Emi’s mouth opened but the only sound that came out was a small squeak. She shook her head back and forth violently as her face went completely red. I hoped I didn’t look as embarrassed as her.

I knew I did.  

I swallowed hard.

“So… so this isn’t my kind of story, Emi.”

Emi punched me hard in the chest. The force knocked the breath from my lungs.

“I-idiot! Of course I didn’t want to go to this s-store with you! We’re in the wrong line. We were supposed to go to the music store that opening! They’re having big doorbuster sales!”

Our conversation was interrupted as a well-dressed young lady suddenly appeared beside us and thrust a card into Emi’s hand. It took me a moment to realize she worked for the store.

Emi held it up.

“What’s this?”

The saleswoman sighed.

“It’s for your free custom fit bra and matching pair of underwear, good for today only, no minimum purchase.”

Emi blinked.

“Oh.”

The woman continued her way down the line. I fidgeted as Emi stared down at the card, her feet idling moving her forward with the line and closer to the door.

“Uh, Emi?”

“That’s actually a really good deal.”

Emi chewed her lip and looked up at me.

“Asher….”

I had already stepped out of the line. I did not need any more thoughts of lingerie or… I just wanted to leave.

“I’m… gonna go take a walk.”

Emi nodded. Her cheeks were still a vibrant shade of pink.

“Alright…. But don’t leave! You still have to go with me to the music store, okay?”

I gave Emi a noncommittal wave and quickly escaped the area.

The food court seemed like the best place to go. Not that I was really all that hungry, even though Emi did eat most of the food I had ended up making for breakfast.

The mall wasn’t all that different from what I remembered, just a few new stores here and there. I guess four years isn’t really that much time to be away.

I was about half way to the food court when I got a strange and unpleasant feeling. You’ve probably experienced it. It’s that weird, almost pressure, in the back of your mind when someone is staring at you.

The instinctual part of my brain screamed at me to stop walking and look around for whoever was staring at me, but the logical part of my brain kept my feet moving one after another. At first I hoped the feeling would simply go away. Perhaps someone was simply engaging in some people watching. I have to admit I myself had done that before.

When you’re stuck in a public place and bored sometimes there isn’t much else to do.

My hopes died quickly as I ducked into a random store and took the escalator up to the second story of the mall only to have the feeling persist. As I exited the store I finally gave in and chanced a quick glance over my shoulder.

There was no one there. Well, there were a lot of people there, but no one was openly staring at me.

Yet the feeling of being watched did not go away.

I slowed my pace and slowly scanned around the mall. It seemed to be nothing more than the usual mall crowd. Groups of students running about, parents trying to reign in their excited children, underpaid and overworked salespeople with plastic smiles. Nothing too out of the…

I came to a full stop as a spotted someone out of place.

She was standing off alone, completely ignored by the crowd.

She was wearing an extremely frilly gothic Lolita outfit, complete with a large black bow and a delicate lace parasol propped over her shoulder.

She was staring directly at me

“Damn.”

I instantly nixed the food court idea and turned on my heel and began to heard the other direction. The nearest exit wasn’t far away and I could be back in the safety of my home in less than ten minutes if I went as fast as possible.

At least, that was my plan, until I looked up and realized that the girl was no longer behind me. I swallowed as she locked eye with me from a few feet away. She spun the parasol around idly and tilted her head, daring me to run.

I felt no need to disappoint her and did just that.

There is an art to running though a crowd.

At its most fundamental level, the key to succeeding is to keep your shoulders from bumping into anyone. A good shoulder check will often send you off balance and tumbling down to the ground. You may also inadvertently start a fight with whomever you just rammed into, then you have to deal with that, as well as whatever is chasing you.

Shoulder movement is key. You may feel silly twisting back and forth as you run, but trust me it is a lot better than getting caught.

You can also combine this with gentle guidance movements with your hands and arms. Just a small touch to elbow or back will often get people to shift a few inches to make room for you. Most people will do it without thinking. It’s a natural reaction to move away when you’re touched.

I took advantage of this technique, along with a few others, as I raced through the mall. Unfortunately the girl seemed to have a much more effective strategy as no matter how fast I ran, she continued to follow after me. Well, to be more accurate, she was appearing in front of me so I’m not sure if that counts as following, but she was still there.

I already had a sinking suspicion that she wasn’t human and her ability to move at seemingly superhuman speed wasn’t helping. The fact that no one was reacting to her presence, despite her strange attire, was also a pretty good sign.

While I ran I ruled out a few possibilities. She definitely wasn’t a ghost. No one was walking through her, even when she stood right in the center of a group of people. Probably not a demon either, no horns. Alien was a possibility, but from the Lolita outfit I was going to guess no. Aliens normally have a terrible sense of fashion.

That actually might be rude of me to say. Earth fashion is probably really different than alien fashion.

I came to a skidding stop as my well-dressed pursuer stepped out in front of me, holding up her parasol. I managed to stop my momentum just as my chest touched the parasol’s tip.

She smirked at me, tittering her head.

“You’re rather fast for a human.”

Well, that pretty much confirmed my theory that she wasn’t human. I still wasn’t exactly sure what she was, but I also didn’t plan to hang around to find out. I glanced around, looking for an escape.

My prospects weren’t very comforting.

To my right was a store. I could duck into it, but she could probably follow me. Actually, I knew she could follow me. To my left was nothing but a railing overlooking the first floor of the mall.

I took a step back.

“Not as fast as you, apparently.”

“Are you trying to flatter me?”  

I glanced to the left again. A plan began to formulate in my mind.

It wasn’t a good one.

“That depends…”

She took a step towards me.

“On what?”

“On if flattery will get me anywhere.”

She reached up and flicked a lock of her dirty blonde hair over her shoulder.

“Don’t you know? Flattery will get you everywhere. Now, are you done running from me?”

“That also depends.”

She laughed at that. The sound was pleasant, but still set my hairs on end.

“On what?”

I swallowed.

“On what you’re going to do to me.”

She smiled and for the first time I noticed her teeth. More specifically, her fangs.

Vampire.

That would explain the clothes, and the parasol. Though still, normally vampires don’t go out in the daytime.

“Don’t worry. Nothing bad.”

“Ah… Somehow, I doubt that.”

It wasn’t the best parting line, but it was the best I could come up with before I gave a small nod and launched myself over the railing and onto the concert stage below.

Even though the concert stage was raised up at least five feet, it was still a considerable drop from the second floor. I landed in a tight roll and bounced onto my feet, already breaking into a sprint. Unfortunately, I did bump into the singer. She screeched as we connected and while I would have liked to stop and apologize, I really didn’t have the time. It was ungentlemanly, but even as she fell to the floor I kept running, launching off the stage and into the crowd. For a moment they parted before closing back around me as I escaped from the concert area and back into the mall proper.

I didn’t stop running until I was safely outside the mall and a few blocks away. I was sure that security would be looking for me, and getting caught by them or anyone, was not on me weekend agenda.

When I felt like I was moderately safe I took a moment to catch my breath, resting against a wall and resting my hands on my knees. Staring down at the ground I gasped for air when a pair of shiny black shoes appeared on the edge of my vision.

I sighed and slid down to the ground before looking up. The Vampire stared down at me with an amused expression, her parasol resting lightly on her shoulder. She was nice enough to angle it so I would be eclipsed in the shade it provided.  

She bent down and held out a gloved hand.

“I’m sorry. It seems you left before we could be properly introduced. My name is Felicity. Felicity Fortunis.”

I hesitated before reaching out and taking her hand.

“Asher. Asher Mara.”

She smiled, exposing her fangs.

“So very nice to meet you. Well, I believe I’ve seen enough for today, Asher Mara. Until next time!”

She spun her parasol around and walked away, leaving me on the ground and still breathing hard. Unsure of what to do I stayed where I was until I felt my phone begin to vibrate. With nothing else to do I answered it.

I shouldn’t have answered it.

“Asher Mara! Where are you?!”

I sighed.

I had forgotten about Emi.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 You know what I hate more than the sound of my alarm clock? Literally any sound that is loud enough to wake me up before at least noon on the weekends. Yes, I am aware that sleeping until noon on a weekend sounds extremely lazy, but Saturday and Sunday are two days that I completely devote to doing absolutely nothing but relax.

 That’s why my weekend was already off to a bad start as I woke up to the sound of someone loudly banging on my front door. I glanced at the alarm clock and saw an ungodly hour. Without hesitation I slammed my eyes back shut as whoever it was knocked three more times.

 I ignored it.

 They knocked again.

 I ignored it again.

 I would have actually continued ignoring it, but it became increasingly harder as the knocking grew louder, and with more intensity. With a grunt I pushed myself from bed and stumbled down the stairs to the front door to begin the process of unlocking it.

 My front door has four locks. One is actually made of silver and cost me almost a month of allowance. For those of you that don’t know, silver has certain magical properties. It’s pretty good at fending off werewolves, Vampires, and a bunch of other things that I don’t want in my house.

 That may seem like overkill to some people, but when you live alone and have the kind of luck that I do, you quickly learn that there is nothing wrong with overkill.

 I will admit again that I am an extremely paranoid person, but I like to think that I have pretty good reasons for that.

 I would also like to point out that I am still alive.

 With the final lock disengaged I opened the door a crack. Almost immediately whoever was on the other side pushed it open fully and I had to jump back to avoid being knocked in the face. Considering how much damage my head had taken over the last week it seemed like the safest course of action.

 “Do you often make your guests wait for almost ten minutes before you open the door, Mara?”

 Harlow stared down at me with one hand on her hip and the other on the door, keeping it open.

 “President?”

  “I told you to call me Harlow.”

 “You’re still calling me Mara.”

 She thought about that for a moment.

 “So I am. Forgive me. I refer to most people by their last name out of respect. It is a rather hard habit to break.”

 “Ah, I see. So….”

 I was unsure of what to say. Harlow did not seem to have this problem as she narrowed her eyes.

 “Aren’t you going to invite me in, Asher?”

 “Oh, right. Uh. Please come in?”

 “Thank you.”

 Harlow stepped through the threshold of the door. I was actually slightly hesitant about that, but she passed through without issue and I let out a small sigh of relief. Harlow glanced at me and I quickly shook my head.

 It would take far too much effort to explain all the charms and wards I had placed around the house to keep uninvited visitors from entering.

 I led Harlow to the kitchen and offered her a chair. She took it with her usual rigidity.

 I uneasily ran my hand through my hair. It felt messy. If it felt messy, it probably looked worse. Actually, in general I probably looked bad with my sleep-wrinkled clothes and unwashed face.

 Harlow, on the other hand, looked pristine. Her long, dark hair, usually kept in place by a bow, cascaded down her shoulders. The school uniform had been replaced by a simple white dress capped off with a large hat to ward off the sun.

 Getting dressed seemed like the appropriate action to take, even though that meant I was fully giving up on the idea of going back to sleep. Though, the moment Harlow stepped in my house, the thought of going back to sleep became nothing more than a fantasy.

 “I’ll uh, be right back.”

 Harlow nodded.

 “Take your time.”

 I did not trust that statement in the least. Harlow was not the type of person who was used to being left waiting.

 Less than five minutes later I was back downstairs, fully dressed and slightly more awake. Harlow was not where I left her. After a moment of searching I found her in the living room, slowly walking around the bare room before she stopped by the window, the gentle light from the morning sun cascading over her.

 I stared at her for far too long and glanced away when she suddenly turned to look at me. Even though I was dressed for the day, the differences in our appearance was still staggering.

 I coughed and did my best to compose myself.

 “Uh, sorry that took so long.”

 “Think nothing of it.”

 With the fog of sleep fading from my mind a question popped into my mind.

 “Uh, Harlow?”

 “Yes?”

 “How did you know where I lived?”

 Harlow resumed looking out the window.

 “As Student Body President I am able to look up information on any of the students enrolled in the school. That includes your home address.”

 That seemed like an abuse of power to me, but I decided that informing Harlow of that would do me little good.

 Harlow turned away from the window and gave the house another once over with her sharp eyes.

 “Tell me something, Asher.”

 “Yeah?”  

 “Where is your family?”

 I hesitated.

 “They… aren’t here.”

 “Did they go somewhere?”

 “Ah… yeah. They went somewhere.”

 That wasn’t technically a lie. They were somewhere. Where that was… well that was a pretty good question.

 Harlow crossed the distance between us. I backed away, more secure in the fact that I knew my own home well enough not to fall down a staircase. That security failed me as my back hit the wall. Harlow leaned down to look me in the eye. I did not really want to look her in the eye, but I was given little choice in the matter as her hand came up and slammed against the wall next to my head, trapping me.

 I swallowed.

 “Harlow?”

 “Do you live alone, Asher?”

 I paled.

 I did, in fact, live alone. Yet another reason I am so way of being pulled onto an APR.

 Incase you don't know, protags often live alone. It makes their escapes a lot easier to deal with if there are no parents around to cause trouble. A lot of times the parents are dead. If that’s the case, they usually have a younger sibling they have to take care of. That sibling will usually end up as a point on their APR. Often a devastating one.

 Luckily I don’t have a younger sibling. My parents are also both still alive. Well, I can’t be completely sure about that, but I’m mostly sure.

 Still, none of this was information Harlow needed to know. I also did not want her to know. The less information Harlow knew about me the better. Unfortunately, with her connections there was already very little she didn’t know.

 “A-alone? Of course I don’t live alone.”

 Harlow threw her other arm out towards the living room.

 “Really? Because I find it rather odd that your living room lacks furniture.”

 I was ready for that question.

 “The moving company hasn’t delivered it yet.”

 Harlow didn’t relent.

 “And I suppose they haven’t delivered any of your photographs as well? Strange. I’ve never seen a house where there isn’t at least one family photograph up somewhere, even when the family has just moved in.”

 She was right, of course. It was strange, the lack of personal effects in the house. That wasn’t my fault though. It’s very hard to put up photos that no longer exist.

 I frowned.

 “They…”

 Harlow leaned closer.

 “Yes?”

  I took in a breath. My nervous brain supplied to me that Harlow was wearing the same perfume as before. It smelled like oranges. I wasn’t really fond of oranges, but in that moment I found myself really craving one. I made a mental note to pick up some when I went to the store later. It was at the moment I realized that my brain was stalling because it was failing to come up with a competent excuse.

 With nothing else to say I told the truth.

 “There are none.”

 “What do you mean?”

 I shrugged and looked down.

 “They… most of them burned up in the fire. We lost the house. That’s one of the reasons we moved here.”

 The sadness in my voice was not an act. Harlow hesitated for a moment before she pulled back. She cleared her throat.

 “Oh. I am… I am very sorry to hear that.”

 I shook my head. I needed to change the subject before Harlow tried to dig any deeper. I scooted around her and headed towards the relative safety of the kitchen.

 “It’s alright. So… did you need something?”

 Harlow hesitated and her scowl faded.

 “Y-yes. I wanted to… You see… What I mean is… after what happened yesterday... I tried to find you after school, but the nurse told me you left. When I went to your classroom, you had already gone home.”

 Harlow looked down and a faint pink burned on her cheeks.

 “I… I am sorry, Asher Mara.”

  Her voice was almost shaking. It was so uncharacteristic it almost made me smile. I was smart enough not to smile.

 “Oh, uh, it’s cool. You know.”

 Harlow nodded, her usual composure quickly returning.

 “Then you are not hurt?”

 Well, to say I wasn’t hurt would be a bit of a stretch. After the week I had I was actually far from hurt. But I didn’t really see how lumping guilt on a girl who already felt guilty would help me.

 “Not hurt.”

 “I see. That is very good to hear. I would hate to hear that one of my friends was injured.”

 “Friends?”  

 The word escaped my mouth before I could stop it. Harlow didn’t seem overly concerned as she gave a curt nod.

 “Yes. I believe we can be considered friends, all things considered. For one, I have already visited your house.”

 “Yeah… I guess that’s true.”

 “And we have each others cellphone numbers.”

 I blinked. The fact that Harlow had my cellphone number wasn’t surprising since she already have my address, but…

 “I don’t have your number in my phone.”

 “Yes, you do.”

 Did I get amnesia from one of my hits to the head? I reached up and touched a tender spot on the side of my head. Seeing my confusion, Harlow produced my phone and placed it on the counter. Gingerly I picked it up and scrolled through the few contacts I had. Indeed her name was programmed into the phone.

 “How?”

 “I took the liberty of programming it in your phone while you were getting dressed. It seemed only fair as I already had yours.”

  “Oh. Well… thanks.”

 My phone suddenly rang and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I glanced down at the caller ID.

 ‘Emi Ballad’

 The name was accompanied by a grinning picture of Emi, her head tilted to one side and the wind sweeping her hair out behind her. Emi was an extremely photogenic girl, much to her own chagrin, as she normally hated taking photos. I think it’s because they require her to sit still for more than a few seconds. Harlow saw the picture as well and gave a small sniff before I silenced the ringer with the flick of my finger.

 “Is it completely appropriate for that girl to be calling you this early?”

  I did not point out the fact that Harlow was currently in my house at an early hour. Nor did I point out that Emi probably didn’t even know it was early. She was one of the few people I knew who could function as both a night owl and a morning person yet still fall asleep in class.

 “What is her name again? Amy, was it?”

 “Emi. Emi Ballad.”

 “Oh yes. She is a member of the track team.”

 “Yeah.”

 At least, she was for now. Who knew how long it would be before Emi got bored and ended up trading in her running shoes for… I didn’t even want to think what Emi would get into next.  Whatever it was I’m sure it would end up being bad for me.

 A horn sounding drew Harlow’s attention and she gave a curt nod.

 “It seems I must be on my way.”

 “Oh, alright.”

 I walked her to the door. This whole situation was suddenly feeling too convenient and I braced myself for the inevitable route development that would lead me back towards life on the student council.

 As predicted, Harlow paused at the door and looked at me.

 “Asher, one last thing?”

 I briefly wondered if I could push Harlow out the door before she could speak and if that would just create a bigger problem.

 Probably.

 “Yes?”

 Harlow thought for a moment before shaking her head.

 “I am glad you were not injured. I would feel terrible if anything were to happen to you because of me.”

 She was out the door before I could respond. Not that I had a response anyway. I really had not been expecting that. As I closed the door I let out a sigh of relief and slid down to the floor.

 That all but confirmed it. I had completely broken Harlow’s student council route.

 Though a bigger problem suddenly loomed over me. One that came with an annoying ringtone and most likely an angry girl on the other side ready to yell at me for ignoring her call.

 With a sigh that held no relief I answered the phone, careful to hold it a few inches away from my ear.

 “Did you screen my freaking call?!”

 She sounded out of breath.

 “Good morning, Emi. You’re up early.”

 Breath or not, Emi wasn’t going to be kept from talking.

 “Don’t good morning me, Asher Mara! Do you have any idea how rude it is to screen someone’s call? You might as well just answer and hang up on me!”

 As Emi began her rant I pushed myself off the floor and locked the door. Yawning, I headed back up to my bedroom but only made it halfway up before I heard a loud bang and my front door rattled as though someone had kicked it.

 I could hear Emi’s voice from outside the house now.

 She had kicked my door.

 Actually, she was kicking my door as it continued to rattle.

 I ran my hand down my face and headed back down stairs. As soon as the door unlocked Emi pushed her way in, knocking me to the side with her elbow with enough force to knock me to the ground.

  She stopped a few paces into the hallway and rested her hands on her knees, her chest heaving up and down. A sheen of perspiration shined on her face and her clothes were stuck to her with sweat.

 “Urgh. It’s so hot right now.”

 I blinked from the floor. Though different, this situation seemed shockingly similar to the one I had just experienced. Emi looked at me and frowned.

 “Why are you up so early and dressed? I thought you would be asleep.”

 “I couldn't sleep.”

 That was true. I had tried to sleep, but Harlow had made it almost impossible.

 “Hmmmmm. Whatever, where is your shower?”

 I picked myself up and straightened my clothes.

 “Why?”

 Emi rolled her shirt up a bit, exposing her stomach as she tried to cool down.

 “I’m covered in sweat. I need to take a shower before we go.”

 I looked up at the ceiling.

 “Go where?”

 “To the mall.”

 I had zero recollection of agreeing to go to the mall.

 “I thought you were going with your friends?”

 “I’m meeting them later, but they didn’t want to get up early to get there for the opening.”

 “I don’t want to get up early for the opening.”

 “You’re already up.”

 Damn. That was true. But malls are crowded and the opposite of relaxing.

 “You’re clothes are all sweaty.”

 Emi tugged on the edge of her shorts.

 “These are my running clothes. I’ve got extra clothes in my pack.”

 She spun around to show off the small bag that was on her back. I tried to come up with another excuse as Emi fanned herself with her hand.

 I failed.

 I’m really not a morning person.

 I shook my head in defeat and pointed up the stairs.

 “First door on your left. There are towels in the cabinet under the sink.”

 “Awesome! Oh… you uh…haven’t eaten yet have you?”

 “No, why?”

 Emi’s stomach growled and she reached up to rub the back of her head, laughing softly.

 I sighed and nodded.

 “I’ll make breakfast.”

 Emi beamed.

 “Thanks Asher!”

 Emi thundered up the stairs and I began to collect everything I would need to cook a halfway decent breakfast.

 So far, this weekend was NOT going as I would have liked.

 Still, I thought as I began to cook a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, nothing bad had happened.

 Not yet at least.

[passiveplayersonly]

Chapter 3

Like most students, and I guess really most people in general, I am always thankful when Friday comes around. The end of the week and the beginning of the weekend. Being the first weekend of the school year everyone seemed excited. By lunch the building practically buzzing with excitement. Everyone around me was making plans to go out or meet up. Even Miss. Enni seemed anxious for the day to come to an end.

 I tuned most of the conversation out and focused on enjoying my lunch. I hadn’t been able to find a safe place to enjoy my lunch, so I had been sticking to the classroom. My leg was still bothering me as well. I guess being hit by a car then beat up by the sports teams takes a toll on a person.

 Still, there was one person in particular I could hear loudly talking about her weekend plans was Emi. I don’t think she was trying to talk loud, that is just how she is. Apparently a new store was opening up in the mall over the weekend and Emi really wanted to go.

 “Asher, what about you?”

 I tilted my head to look at Emi and her group of friends. She was staring at me expectantly. As were all of her friends. Have I mentioned I don’t like being the center of attention?

 I don’t.

 “Ah. What?”

 Emi rolled her eyes and walked over to my desk. I knew my face was growing red as one of her Emi’s friends giggled and whispered something to the others. I shook my head.

 “I was asking if you had any plans this weekend?”

 “Oh.”

 Weekend plans. I normally didn’t make plans. I prefer to stay home. It’s easier that way. My weekends are normally just two days of blissful peace. Maybe ordering takeout or going to the store to stock up for the week to a change up in pace.

 I shrugged

 “Not really.”

 “You should come with us to the grand opening then. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

 I nibbled on a pretzel stick.

 “I dunno. Malls are kind of… mall-y.”

 Emi sighed and gave me a weak punch on the shoulder.

 It still hurt.

 “Come on Asher. Don’t be a hermit.”

 I finished up my last cracker and picked up my paper lunch bag. I made a mental note to get something reusable when I was at the store this weekend.

 “I’m not a hermit.”

 Emi followed me as I made my way out into the hallway and towards the trashcan near the stairs.

 “Yes you are.”

 “No, I’m not.”

 “Then why do you eat alone?”

 I shrugged.

 “I don’t really have anyone to eat with.”

 “You could eat with me.”

 “You are already eating with your friends.”

 “So?”

 “It would be awkward.”

 “No it wouldn’t.”

 “Yes. It would.”

 I balled up my paper bag and tossed it into the garbage. When I turned back around, Emi was staring at me with her hands on her hips, blocking my way back to the classroom.

 “You need to be more social.”

 I know Emi was trying to be helpful. She was like this when we were younger too. She often would drag me out to play with her. I’m using drag in the most literal sense. She has always been shockingly strong for her size.

 “I joined a club.”

 Emi made a face.

 “Yeah, a book club.”

 “The Film and Literature Club.”

 “That’s still a book club. That doesn’t even meet. What’s that about?”

 “We’re still finalizing what room we’re using. We need somewhere that we can use a TV or something, so we can watch the movie together.”

 Emi narrowed her eyes.

 “You didn’t join this club just so you can sit in dark rooms and watch movies with girls, did you?”

 “Really, Emi?”

 She stared at me for a moment longer before grinning. She spun on her heel and headed back to the classroom.

 “Yeah, you’re not smooth enough to try anything like that.”

 I wasn’t sure if that was a compliment or an insult. While I pondered that I failed to notice someone else approaching until they were directly in front of me.

 “Mara.”

 Uh-Oh.

 Harlow’s scowl was particularly pronounced. I had a pretty good idea as to why. As I found out after a short discussion with Violet, all club activities had to go through the student council.

 That would include new membership.

 This was fine.

 I had already broken Harlow’s Route that led to a life on the student council. A life that would at worst lead me down paths I didn’t even want to begin to fathom and at work would involve handling of other student’s problems.

 Avoid situations where you are handling others problems and coming up with solution. If you take a position like this, you are immediately pushed into a position of authority, without the benefits of power or wealth, and forced to make decisions that may or may not dramatically affect the lives of others.

 I took a deep breath.

 “Hello, Harlow.”

 I gave her a weak smile that she did not return. Actually, I think her scowl got a little darker as her brow furrowed.

 “Mara. Did I not specifically tell you not to join a club?”

 I swallowed.

 “I’m not sure if you specifically told me not to. You more… advised that I not.”

 She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

 “Yet here I have a membership form for The Film and Literature Club with your name on it.”

 I laughed nervously.

 “Well. I guess that means I can’t join the Student Council now. You know. Want to keep everything fair.”

 Harlow’s scowl lessened and an expression that could almost be considered a smile crossed her face. Somehow it was more terrifying than her scowl.

 “Oh no. It just means that if you wish to join the Student Council you must quit The Film and Literature Club.”

 She took a step towards me.

 I took a step back.

 Seeing as the stairs were directly behind me, that was a mistake.

 I sighed as I started to fall. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was a momentary look of panic on Harlow’s face. It was the first time I had seen an expression that wasn’t at least mildly intimidating.

 She really was beautiful.  

 I didn't have time to dwell on that though as I reached the final moments of my fall.

 This was really going to hurt.

 xXx

 It really did hurt. At least, the back of my head and my shoulders did. Hissing in pain I sat up, or tried too. My body refused to cooperate and I instead opted to simply focus on opening my eyes. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the light which meant I had been unconscious for a considerably amount of time.

 Tilting my head gingerly, I glanced around the room. A tall girl was puttering about, muttering lowly to herself. The stark white lab coat that she was wearing was at least two sizes too large. The fabric hung loosely off her shoulders and her hands were completely hidden by the length of her sleeves. As I managed to sit up she glanced towards me.

 “Oh. You’re awake.”

 Her voice was lethargic, like she hadn’t slept in days. The dark shadows that hung heavily beneath her eyes didn’t help much either. She picked up a penlight.

 “I’m going to check if you have a concussion. Try to follow the light.”  

 The bright light hurt my eyes but I did my best, trying not to blink too much.

 She put down the light and produced a tongue depressor.

“Now say ‘ah’”

 “Why?”

 “Because that’s what doctors do.”

 I didn’t really have an argument for that so I did as I was told. She peered into my mouth for a moment before shrugging and stepping back.

 “I really don’t know what I’m looking for.”

 I blinked.

 “What?”

 She brushed a lock of messy lavender hair out of her eyes.

 “This is what the nurse usually does and she used to be a doctor. Seemed appropriate given the situation.”

 I sighed as my head began to clear. The girl couldn’t have been that much older than me. I should have realized she wasn’t the nurse right away.

 “So who are you?”

 “Cassandra.”

 She didn’t offer her hand and I felt like offering mine wouldn’t get me very far.

 “Ah. Hi. I’m Ash-”

 She held up a hand far too close to my face. Her eyes screwed shut and her forehead creased in concentration.

 “Asher Mara. You're a new student. You recently joined a club.”

 “Uh, yeah. Do I know you?”

 I asked, but I was almost completely sure we had never met before.

 Cassandra’s head tilted and she reached out to touch my face, her fingers gliding across my skin.

 “Your hair is brown. Your eyes are grey.”

 I pulled back slightly.

 “Yes?”

 She opened her eyes. I realized for the first time they were a milky white. She was blind.

 I swallowed hard.

 “Oh.”

 The corner of her lips turned up into what could almost have constituted a smile and she stepped back.

 “No, you do not know me, but I know you. I know many things, Asher Mara.”

 I wasn’t fully convinced that she did. Logically, she could have learned my name from Emi when she brought me into the infirmary. That’s also where she could have learned my hair and eye color. It wasn’t like Emi would keep that information secret for any reason. I wouldn’t keep that secret for any reason. Well, you know, except a few days ago when I avoided showing that girl my eye colors.

 Still, I was curious and I let Cassandra bait me against my better judgment.

 “Like what?”

 “You have a brother.”

 Okay, that was true. Still, not exactly miraculous.

 “That wouldn’t really be hard for you to find out.”

 “He is very far away.”

 Also true.

 “Yeah. He stayed with my parents when I moved here.”

 Cassandra’s head tilted to the side.

 “No. That’s not true. He’s much further than that. Far away as the stars.”

 Ah.

 Shit.

 “You shouldn’t curse, Asher Mara.”

 I covered my head with my hands.

 “Did you just read my mind?”

 “No.”

 “Really?”

 She glanced off to the side. She looked embarrassed.

 “Well… only a little.”

 I frowned. I couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. I focused on her face, looking for some kind of tell. Instead, I found myself unhelpfully thinking that she was rather cute.

 “Really?”

 I flinched at her voice. I hadn’t realized I’d been staring at her that long. I shook my head.

 “What?”

 Cassandra cleared her throat and took a few steps away.

 “Nothing. Now. I’m sure you believe me by now?”

 I nodded. Then realized how stupid it was to nod to someone who couldn't see what I was doing.  

 “Yes.”

 She made her way to a small table that was set up in the corner of the infirmary, taking one of the two chairs.

 “Good. Then, shall I read your fortune for you?”

 I popped off the examination table.

 “Nope.”

 Cassandra almost fell out of her chair.

 “What?”

 “I don’t want my future told.”

 “Yes, you do.”

 “No, I don’t.”

 She reached up and tapped her head.

 “I can hear your curiosity.”

 I faltered. She was right. I was curious. Anyone would be curious. But this was a dangerous game.

 Cassandra knew I was wavering.

 “I can help you. I know your running from something. I don’t know what, but you are running. Wouldn’t it be better to know?”

 I hesitated for another moment before taking the seat across from her.

 “I guess so.”

 She nodded in victory.

 “Good. As you know, Knowledge is half the battle.”

 I blinked.

 “Did you just quote a children cartoon?”

 Cassandra’s eyes widened for a moment before she coughed and thrust out her hands.

 “Enough talk. Give me your hands.”  

 I did as I was told and placed my hands in hers. She closed her eyes and concentrated intently. As she did, I did my best to ignore the nerves that one often finds come with holding hands with a girl.

 At least, I assume that is not a problem only I have.

 Cassandra was silent for almost a full minute and when she spoke I jumped a little.

 “Yes. It is becoming clear to me now.”  

 “What do you see?”

 She opened her eyes lifted her head to look at me.  

 “Very little.”

 It took me a moment to realize that was a joke as the only indication was a slight tilting at the corner of her lips. I was glad she couldn’t see the embarrassed blush that formed on my face.

 “Sorry.”

 She shrugged.

 “I am used to it. Now, would you like to know your future?”

 I paused. Did I want to know my future? Would doing so set me down a route? Or would it allow me to break future routes? Was this entire conversation and meeting just another APR that I was rapidly getting caught on?

 “Yeah. I guess so.”

 She released me hands and sat back in her chair.

 “Very well, Asher Mara. But know this, what the future holds may not be for the faint of heart. What you hear could change you. Forever.”

 That sounded bad.

 “Okay. Then I don’t want to hear my future.”

 I stared to rise from my chair. Cassandra lunged across the table and groped around until she found my hands again.

 “Wait! You can’t leave!”

 I plopped back down into my chair and gingerly pulled my hands free from her grasp.

 “You are really giving me mixed signals, you know.”

 Cassandra reached up and toyed with her bangs.

 “Well… there are a lot of psychics and fortunes tellers and everyone does it differently.”

 That realy

 “So you know lots of psychics and fortunes tellers?”

 “Not… in person.”

 “Do you mean on TV?”

 “And in books!”

 I stared at her for a long time before giving up.

 “Alright. Just tell me.”

 Cassandra rested her arms on the table and picked up a deck of cards.

 “For this, I will need the aid of the cards.”

 I glanced down at the deck.

 “Those aren’t tarot cards. They’re playing cards.”

 “They both work.”

 I was skeptical.

 “Do they?”

  She drew the first card and placed it on the table, face up.

 The Jack of Diamonds.

 “Someone will to bring a bad fortune upon you. At least, you shall view it as such. A being from high above.”

 I thought back a few days to the first day of school.

 “That… might have already happened.

 Cassandra quickly whisked the card away.

 “Well… that can happen sometimes. There are many… many cards, you see.”

 She drew another card. The Joker.

 “A monster! One that you must slay or an innocent may die!”

 That would be the demon. I’m not sure if I would have counted pouring soup on it as slaying.

 “Also happened.”

 Cassandra’s cheek lit up red and she drew out a flurry of cards.

 “The Jack of Hearts. A good friend! One that you haven’t seen for a long time will come back to your life. The Four of Spades. You will receive in injury. It is beset by the Queen of Spades! A powerful woman will attempt to lure you into her service!”

 Emi.

 Getting hit by that car.

 Harlow.

 “Uh… yeah. All that happened too.”

 Cassandra’s blush deepened and she pulled another card.

 “The Three of Hearts. You will make a decision hastily.”

 The Literature and Film club.

 “Yeah. I already did that too. Yesterday.”

 Well. If she didn’t give up then maybe we would actually get to something in my future. It seemed that Cassandra had the same idea as she drew one final card and placed it on the table before putting the deck aside.

 I leaned forward. By this point I more than believed in her abilities and I was interested.  

 “The Queen of Clubs. You will meet a woman you trust more than all else. One in whose hands you will place your life in. I cannot tell you if that trust is well placed.”

 Well. That was partially comforting.

 “Anything else?”

 “No. The cards have gone silent. They will never speak for you again.”

 “Oh.”

 I sat back. The entire ordeal, while dramatic, felt rather anticlimactic and I was left with very little knowledge of my future.

 Cassandra rapped her fingers on the table.

 “Though, I can see your future without them.”

 “You can?”

 “Somewhat. Soon you will be plagued by light and snow.”

 “Light and snow?”

 She nodded.

 Cassandra nodded.

 “You shall endue the storm and deception.”

 I tried and failed to make sense of that.

 “What?”

 Cassandra shrugged.

 “I never said it would make sense. That is simply what I see. In the least literal sense of the word.”

 “Well. Anything else then?”

 “Your luck will bring about more than you know.”

 “That is really… just not helpful at all.”

 Emi cocked her head and stared at me though unseeing eyes for a long time.  

 “In time, it will. You may leave now.”

 She began to shuffle her cards and it was clear our meeting was over. I stood up and glanced at the clock.

 “I’m going to need a note to go back to class.”

 “Oh. The nurse wrote you one before she left. It’s on the counter.”

 I picked up the note and had just made it outside of the door when I heard Cassandra’s chair scrape against the ground. When I turned around she was standing behind me and holding out one of the cards.

 I accepted the card and looked at her.

 “Keep this. It will aid you.”

 “Thanks.”

 “I will call for you again when the time is right. Until then, Asher Mara.”

 She slid the door shut without another word.

 I looked down at the card.

 The Ace of Hearts.

 Carefully I slipped the card into my pocket and made my way back to class.

 I wasn’t really sure of what to make about anything that Cassandra had told me, but I was sure of one thing.

 It was going to be a busy school year.