Isla's POV
"Why doesn't she conform?"
"It's because she is insolent! She hates us with a burning passion!"
"Now that you bring it to light… I agree! She hates us! We'll send her off to an orphanage! We were never meant to be parents, Alison…" They kissed without a care in the world.
The dream flashed forward to what seemed like the current day.
"Look at life without her…" Fraser sighed.
"It's so bright, cleansed, beautiful, dutiless…"
"Amazing!"
"What do you want to do now?"
"I've always wanted to go jet skiing. Be a thrill seeker of sorts."
"Let's go then! No time to waste!" They raced out of their reinvented house that appeared better than it had ever been, holding hands and fading into nothingness.
My eyes fluttered open, my body shuddering in cold sweats. I felt a shadow perched over me, watching my every move. A recognisable one at that. My eyes darted around the space. There was a ray of sunlight bursting through the window above me, but I was surrounded by darkness. The air was frigid cool, whipping its way through. I wasn't in my bed, that's for sure.
"Isla! You're awake, thank goodness! Oh..." I couldn't feel my face, only that the colour of it had been drained. My mouth was dry and lips cracked, bleeding. I don't know how, but everything about me was a mess.
"What's happening, Abbey?" I was just able to croak.
"You're being monitored. You're not going to enjoy it, but it's for the best." She said.
"I feel horrible…" The world around me was growing darker and darker by the minute, head pounding and dizzy. "Wait… for what?!" My friend jumped at the question.
She was the perfect deflector, "You had a vision, right? Tell me about it!"
"M…" My throat was parched. It felt like I was in a dungeon, or a prison, being held captive. "W-water…" She pushed over a rationed glass. Is she the person I thought she'd be? Is this what lies in the deepest parts of her? I drank willingly, but that relief was gone. I slowly sank back against the wall, which was a balance of the two extremes. The outside was sweltering, the inside was bitter.
"You had your water. Tell me." Her voice turned cold and stern.
"Now, tell me, Abbey, how old are you?"
"12. You?"
"10. Why?"
"I think it's something important. I need to know!"
"Ok, but you better release me. Show me that you're a friend like you were yesterday, not an enemy."
"I'm not an enemy!" She spat, realising that that was the wrong move. I sensed that. Her face scrunched up and she gritted her terribly clean teeth, "Sure."
"My parents. I left them. It was a strange vision, like a before and after. They were thinking about ridding themselves of me, and sure, I did it for them. Now they seem…"
"Different?"
"Oh, yeah! They seem renewed. Now let me go."
"Ok." The door that she locked herself was opened. I stumbled out, and she strutted like the queen she is. We weren't in the school grounds… Or so I thought. The massive amount of flowers blooming struck a chord with me. We are in school grounds, except that I was locked away in a shed without anyone's permission, and she had the keys to my fate.
"Now tell me about yourself. Are you… magical?"
"No." We sat down by a bush of white and pink azaleas, "Highly persuasive. My family was born and bred that way. All the same, you know?" She chuckled, but it reeked of gloom. That was a laugh that tempted itself away from understanding its own worth, unleashing the sadness from within. I guess my theory was right. She was made to conceal. "Until…"
"What?"
She brushed what was a perfect multitude of strands behind her ears, "Until he died. My father. If you are wondering, tuberculosis. Horrible thing, that bacteria!" She exclaimed with a backstabbing composure that I couldn't comprehend. Perhaps it's my age, stopping me from discovering, but then again, I've come this far? What's going to stop me?
"I'm so sorry…" I say with full solemn thoughts.
"It's alright…" She replies, breathing in the air shakily. Something seems to click in her mind and she gets up as if nothing happened. "I have a plan." She looked at me dead in the eye, "Return to the shed, but don't lock yourself in. I'll grab some things to keep us going, food, water and such. We might be here a while. Don't go looking for me, 'cause I'll be busy. My mind works like a computer, and those processes are fragile." She winked at me, and I paused. Why was I trusting her? She just kidnapped me.
"How do I know you aren't an enemy?" I repeated the question from earlier, my face showing full appearance of sceptical doubt. She looked at me like I was stupid. I'm not stupid.
"I just showed you. I let you out of the shed. I could be starving you, but I'm heading to the kitchens for supplies. What I'm doing is for your good, Isla, not mine. I've already achieved such a state." And then she was gone.
I didn't comprehend that girl, but again, she had helped me make it this far. We share the same interests. Our minds complement each other. It was as if the universe brought us together for a purpose. The thought weighed like a heavy rock inside as I darted off into the now lightened but still desolate space of the shed.
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Abbey's POV
I was as swift as a dragonfly in the morning air, which was twirling fast and strong around me. The kitchen was only a stone's throw away, and for that, I was grateful. It was an advanced room, glass panes glowing like luxury, everything crystal clear from the inside and out. The bench tops were sheeted in a mysterious gift of white marble, which made them look delicate but obviously hardened. All the appliances were top notch, and the cleaners spent so much of their time keeping them that way, for some of my fellow friends who loved the kitchen were also capable of making great meals. Same thing goes for experimentation and messes. I grabbed a tray and pinched what I liked, for Isla never had the chance to give me her opinion, and what was necessary. Me and her were a double edged sword. Fantastic friends in our own right, but my charismatic way of keeping my secrets also spared no room for error. That is the other side in a nutshell. Contention. I was ready to go back to her, but was forcefully frozen to the spot by a clamoured shout.
"Stop right there, Abbey. Come to me." I flicked my head towards the sound. It was the poisonous Headmistress. "You can bring your food."
"Of course, Headmistress!" I said with deceitful duty, and followed her to her quarters like a faithful maid. It was only her in the noble throne room, which meant that I could do whatever I pleased. Of course, the light was scorching, but being shot with a mysterious glance I held out my hand, and the illumination of the chairs vanished.
"You're one of those people!" She screamed, leaping up from the seat, "Your kind are a bunch of disgusting, wicked—" I raced up to her and tapped her left thumb with my left index finger. "Don't you dare touch me!" And I greeted her with silence. It was working.
A shimmering flow coursed through my veins and up to my head. The flow in myself duplicated, and extended itself onto her. Her thumb went numb. And so I anticipated, one by one her fingers dropped in a mesmerising domino effect, drained of energy and weakened to a powerless state. Her mouth attempted to move, call for help, but as the procedure was being carried out, she had grown mute. The Headmistress' posture was stick figure straight, and she let out a sigh. I led her to one of the precious windows. I held my right hand with her left. They interlocked with precision. I had full control.
"Now look at the sky, Headmistress. What do you see?" My voice had grown not entirely natural, not forceful, but soothing beyond measure.
"Clouds. Big, white, fluffy clouds. And a dazzling horizon. Oh, it's pure!" She swooned.
"And how is your body feeling?"
"Overcome with something unnatural. Perhaps supernatural! Are you doing something?"
I shut her down, "Why don't you talk about Rebecca?"
"Oh, Abbey…" I had invoked a wise, almost caring tone from the lady. I had so much power, and I was using it for Isla's sake. "She was the first of those people. The Headmaster has talked about the goodness of Rebecca ever since she left and passed on, but I suspect that he was transformed by her. Every time I mention her to him, private or public, he will only speak of beauty, charm, intellect…"
"What kind of people, though?" She turned away from the sky and to me. She gave me a death glare.
"Dreamers."
I was shocked to the core. Shocked at the conclusion. Shocked at myself.
I kept up a steely gaze, "I didn't come here. Forget this conversation. Do whatever you do these days." I released my grip and panted. She didn't care. I had taken it out on myself for all the right reasons. Picking up the provisions, I rushed out to Isla, mind boggling with wisdom.
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3rd Person POV
She was tired of sitting there. Waiting in the gloom. She had remembered Abbey's words that went something along the lines of: We are doing things. Wait there. I have food, but save it. We've got a big storm coming! Then again, the weariness was leading to major exaggeration. On the plus side, Isla had cleaned herself up a bit. Her lips were no longer bleeding, but still cracked, her hair was neater, and most importantly, she had rid of some of those nasty zits! That gave her the greatest satisfaction. Luckily, she sensed Abbey's return, and made a decision to put a smile on her dial.
"Isla! Hi! Hope you weren't bored. I got caught up in things…" She smirked at the mere recalling of it. The cunning manipulation of the adult mind, as well as the glorious information which she was preparing to drip feed. "I did some research while I was gone, and found out about your grandmother…"
"Rebecca?! What about her?" Family was near and dear to her heart. She couldn't say the same for her parents.
"Well…" She began, figuring out how to manipulate the truth. She did this often when she was enlightened. Awakened. Empowered. Even if she bends it slightly, no one would observe the tweaked version. She sat down at the other wall opposite her friend, legs outstretched, "Rebecca attended the school, and according to the Headmistress, she was horrible. To the Headmaster, she was an absolute delight! Two obscure people, two controversial opinions, I'll say!"
"Oh, so nothing out of the ordinary, then?" The girl mused, sulking.
Abbey was tentative. She wanted to give Isla the truth now, but she was putting herself at risk. Actually, she was putting her whole kind at risk. It was one of the worst endeavours in any kind of secret society, magical group or coven. Exposure. So, she lied. Then again, she was used to it. As long as there was no consequence or backlash, anything was possible. "The Headmaster told me that Rebecca enrolled in debating at a young age… but the Headmistress despises it so badly, because she tried at school…" Abbey put on a deeper, mysterious accent, and began making little gestures with her hands now, light bouncing from them to and fro. It looked like pure gold, sparkling like a gem. The girl was enraptured. So much so that she couldn't decipher the fast paced movements in their full beauty, but was tangled in the limited story all the same. "And failed!" She clapped for dramatic effect, and the dust collided in a puff of smoke, before swirling at the top of the ceiling and reaching out through gaps in the crooked vents and dusty windowsills, ready to tantalise other children. Isla watched the spectacle in awe for a few minutes longer than the storyteller would have liked, so she snapped her fingers, and Isla drew her attention back. "She wanted to ban this practice from the premises, but too many children had seen the dear Rebecca as a role model, watching her in fascination, then taking up her mantle… That's that." Abbey sighed, slouching down against the wall. "I'm hungry," She muttered aloud, and took as much food that she thought would satisfy her. Isla took much less, for her stomach had been playing up since she adopted herself into Cromwell, and decided against big feasting until the nerves had settled.
"Thanks for that, Abbey." Isla spoke up after a while, peeling the sticker off an apple before taking a bite.
"You're welcome!" She smirked, munching heartily on a muffin. "But I have other stuff to do!" She placed the muffin down on the tray with great care and zoomed over to Isla. A speed that nimble was unprecedented to the ten year old, and soon enough, she was cornered.
"What's going on now?" She trembled, for she could sense the almost evil side of Abbey taking control.
"Take off your shirt!" She barked, raising her hands up to Isla's face, then pulling back her hair. "Take it off!"
"But, Abbey—"
"But, Isla!" She mocked, "Come on. I'm just worried about you. You probably injured yourself on a stick in that dense land or something. I'm here for you." She was keen to ask about the mystery of the dust, along with her grandmother, Rebecca, who she barely knew anything about, but she complied.
"Just look away." She begged, and Abbey followed.
Once the girl was prepped, she turned back around, face full of excitement, but also a stinging worry. She couldn't control the flooding of these sensations, for Abbey placed a hand at her stomach, and they were being unleashed on her command.
"Stay still." Was all that the older girl said. That was hard in itself. Her breathing quickened and her skin was tingling at an alarming rate.
"Stop!" She ended up writhing after several banging minutes, "Stop!" But she kept going. She was searching for memories that Isla couldn't even remember, things that were locked because they were a part of her future, and trapped in the dreaded wasteland of her past. Both her hands were on her body now, one was at her creased forehead and the other still in line with her stomach. A simple flick of the wrist, and Abbey had realised everything. She was ready. Well, she always was. It was only Isla that had to do a few more things. Sad thing was it had to be done in ignorance, in blindness, for anything that was discovered by her would cause a world of destruction, and everything she ever wanted would come crashing down into oblivion.
"I'm done…" Abbey panted, for she hadn't mastered the art, nor contacted the spirits for guidance. That's what she was going to do next, whilst Isla travelled down the unknown winding path, that would eventually lead to her salvation. "I suggest you find yourself a friend. I can't be here forever!" She winked at the exhausted little girl, who rose with caution, nodded, and dashed out into the sunlight, embracing the warmth as much as possible, before walking into the beautiful glass domed greenhouse on the other side of the school where, unexpected to her, many faces lit up at her arrival.