I woke up feeling groggy. My eyes blurred for a few minutes, before coming to focus on a few figures sitting all around my bed, sleeping. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and pressed my hand against my head, trying to sit up. I froze, wait a minute, my bed? I looked around and saw that I was in my room, that I shared with Yuna. The others had their own rooms. That is initially how our friendship began. The room was quite spacious with two twin beds opposite each other. The small adjoining bathroom, consisting of a toilet, a shower and a sink, was through a door on the right side of the room.
The room had white walls with a few photos hanging above Yuna's bed.
"Snow! You're awake." A sudden voice erupted from the side making everyone jump awake. It was Cinthea.
"Snow, by the angel. We were so worried about you." Cinthea took my hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.
"What happened?" I managed to croak out. My voice felt raspy, like sandpaper and I felt a killing headache about to form.
"You fainted." Thea said in a matter of fact way. Then I remembered what Cid told me.
"My parents." I gasped. I wiped my hands over my face. They were murdered. How is that possible? It can't be true, but why would Cid say something like that. She isn't cruel, so she wouldn't just say something like that just for the fun of it.
"What about your parents? Are you alright?" Yuna asked. She was looking down at my hands and I saw that I was clenching the sheets so hard my knuckles turned white. I slowly relaxed my fingers and found that I was shaking. Yuna silently reached over and took one of my hands in both of hers.
"Yeah, of course. It feels like I've been hit by a truck, or maybe a train. Did I hit my head when I fell?" I tried to keep my tone light, but I realised I was rambling. I did not do that often, but when I did I was usually upset. When I caught Yuna's eye, I knew she knew and that she noticed I avoided the question about my parents.
"No, Cid caught you just before you hit the ground," Cinthea crossed her legs and studied her nails, "which makes you really lucky, because if your head had hit that pavement, it would have been a bloody mess." She winked. Thea giggled at the pun and Fay rolled her eyes.
"What our dear friend Cinthea was trying to say is that when you fainted, captain luckily caught you, and immediately called for a medic. The doctor said it wasn't serious, only a little low on blood sugar and that you should be fine. Guess with everything that happened it took quite a toll one you." Fay explained.
"Right." I looked out the window and saw it was past sunset. I must have been out for a couple of hours.
"Speaking about what happened. What did happen?" Thea asked, cocking her head to the side. Her black hair falling to the side.
I started to shake my head and cringed. This head ache will not let up.
"I don't know, it just happened."
Fay lifted her eyebrow, "It just happened? I don't think something like that 'just happens,' Snow. You are an exception to a thousand year old rule. A rule that says only the royals have powers. The only other person who was also an exception to that rule, was Arthur Kingston."
Arthur Kingston. Known as the Piercing Whiteblade. He was a feared man all over the nations. He was as fast as lightning and could wipe out an entire army on his own, his sword was also known to pierce through anything. Arthur Kingston was a legend not just for his skills on the battleground but also because he was the first exception to the royal rule. It is the rule that says only the royals are the ones with the powers. It's not exactly a rule, but we just call it that for the fun of things. He was the first person who didn't have royal blood, but had powers. Where the king could redirect lightning, Arthur could create lightning, he could also create fire and ice, which was highly unusual to have three kinds of power. He was a war hero for our nation, but a great enemy of the other nations. He died being despatched on a mission. The details isn't clear on exactly what happened. But then a year after that his wife, the leader of the Guardian Core, before Cid was also sent on a mission, but was attacked. She made it back but barely, but died a week later in the hospital. And if that wasn't enough, disaster struck again when their child died in a fire. It was a great loss for the kingdom, because they were the best of the best and the child had a big role to play in the kingdom, since she would've inherited his powers. He was my hero, and Rose Kingston was my role model. I strived to be as good a Guardian as she was.
"Snow, are you even listening?" A hand waved in front of my face. I batted it away and glared at Cinthea.
"I am now."
Cinthea sighed, "You're always so inside your head. I said that there can't be any connection between you two. It must be some coincidence. Maybe our ancestors finally decided we needed another Arthur because of the increasing demons in the world."
"The increasing of what?" I felt my eyes widen.
"Oh don't listen to her Snow, she's got this delusion in her head that there has been an increase in demon attacks in the kingdom."
"It's not a delusion it's real. Reality. I heard the boarder patrol troops talk about it the other day. They also said that our nation is the one with the most attacks."
"Alright, but why don't the rest of us know about it. Why keep it a secret?" Fay leveled look at Cinthea.
"How should I know?" She threw her hands up, "I'm only telling you what I heard."
Fay opened her mouth to argue, but Yuna interrupted her.
"Maybe not to cause panic, because if it were to get out, that's exactly what the people will do. That's why this peace treaty with the Empire Nation is so crucial. If only all the Nations would come together, we can eliminate the demon threat for good."
"Can we really? I mean the demons are endless aren't they?" I asked.
"I don't know, we never learned where they came from, just that they appeared." Yuna took a deep breath, "Well, I think it's getting late, we should probably get to sleep." She stood up and closed the curtains, then she went to the bathroom.
"Is she okay? She suddenly looked so down." Cinthea asked, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"You know its her dream to unite the five nations. She wants to prevent what happened to her from happening to anyone else." Yuna's mother was killed in front of her during a demon attack almost fourteen years ago. It doesn't haunt her anymore, but she doesn't want it happening to anybody else. Though I'm not sure if that dream is going to become a reality. Everybody knows there is no peace between the five nations. We are always at war with each other. When the one war ends, the next one begins.
"Well, we all know what's going to happen to that dream." Cinthea stood and gave me a pointed look. She moved toward the door without a backward glance.
"Shut up!" I hissed, glancing toward the bathroom door. The girls are also doubtful, though they don't voice their thoughts in front of her, none of us wants to hurt her feelings, but we just can't see the five nations allying. Fay and Thea shared a look before following Cinthea's lead, bidding me goodnight and closing the door behind them.
My eyelids began to feel heavy and the headache finally subdued. I layed back against the pillows, wincing as I moved my body into a comfortable position. I could hear the water running in the shower and felt a sudden pang of guilt for my friend. I shouldn't doubt her. If her dream is to unite the nations, I should support her.
My mind went back to this morning and I was surprised at the first thing that came to mind. The prince. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. His arrogance is so big I'm sure there's not much space for anything else, and that includes his brains. I sighed and pushed him from my mind. The next thing that entered my mind was the main event of my day. My unexpected, unwelcome power. I could still feel the tingling sensation flowing through my body. I held up my hand in the light and flexed my fingers. I wonder if I could do it again? I held out my hand toward the nearest vase and concentrated hard on the power that flows through my veins. Instead a blinding pain shot through my head. I yelped out in pain and clutched my head. Damn it, damn it, damn it. I'm so stupid! I gritted my teeth till the pain subsided.
Yuna suddenly burst through the door, only wearing a towel and was clearly in distress.
"Snow, are you alright? I heard you yell in pain, what happened?"
"Nothing, I tried to lift the vase, but it didn't work." I pointed to the vase next to my bed. Yuna looked a little relieved and sympathetic at once. She moved toward her dresser next to her bed, which was apposite mine.
"You'll get the hang of it. Maybe you're just tired." I looked away while she pulled on her nightclothes. Sure we all got the same goods, but that didn't mean I wasn't shy about being naked in front of other people.
"Maybe, but what if it was a one time thing?"
Yuna turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow, "what do you mean 'one time thing'?"
"Like, what if it was like an adrenaline rush, or something..." I trailed of when I saw the look on Yuna's face. Her face looked very serious, but her eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Right. Snow, what you did, wasn't just a one time thing. That was very real and is very permanent. Think of it as an upgrade. Now maybe you can even surpass your mother." She said studying me closely. I felt myself stiffen and that little movement didn't go unnoticed by my best friend.
She narrowed her eyes, "Snow, what is going on? Every time somebody mentions your parents, you get all edgy. I'm willing to bet, it's got something to do with what made you faint."
I eyed her, "I had low blood sugar." She laughed.
"I'm not stupid. Yes, maybe you had, but it wasn't the only reason you fainted." She fixed me a look that said, 'are you really going to argue with that?'
I sighed, and told her what Cid told me. When I was done, she gaped at me. Her brown eyes big and round.
"She really told you that? But how? Why would she lie to you? And not just her, everybody."
"I don't know, Cid said I had to ask my grandmother for the whole story, as it was hers to tell." I pulled a hand through my hair.
"Are you going to talk to her?" Yuna tilted her head to the side, gauging my reaction. I sighed and nodded.
"I have to, if I want to know what really happened and who my father really is, I have to talk to her as soon as possible."
"Alright, do you want me to come with you?" Yuna asked. I smiled a small smile. She is always so supportive. When I need her, she is always there and asks nothing in return, but this time I have to do this on my own.
I told her just that. I sighed again, "but thank you for offering."
Yuna nodded before turning of the light and settling herself in her bed.
"Goodnight, Snow."
"Goodnight, Yuna." I drifted quickly to sleep, thinking, tomorrow I'm going to find out the truth.