"Pajama party!" Terus exclaimed as he entered making his bags materialize. They dropped to the closest bed and my jaw dropped.
"Terus, did you pack your whole closet?" I asked looking very shocked I am sure.
"Well, how did you know?" He asked with a grin and I felt like smacking my forehead.
"Oh, I am just bluffing! Some of these bags are Jane's." He said and I sighed.
The guy was one who loved to dress up more than going to his favorite concerts in the human realm. I really wake up every day and wonder how we became friends.
"Wow! These rooms are huge!" Jane exclaimed belatedly and I couldn't agree more.
The room was very spacious and could house at least eight people. There were closets as well as a bathroom! This must be one of the best rooms.
"Now I see why this academy is better than ours. I wonder why you roommates left though." Jane said as she picked out her bags.
"Well, it was Elena and her goons. I might have scared her a little though." I said as I went through my luggage. Unlike Terus, I didn't have much and I had brought it all but it didn't look like a burden.
"Whatever you did, they deserved it. I really hate it when you just gloss over their evil deeds against you." Terus said as he sighed frustrated. He knew how strong I was and he never liked how I would always let my bullies go.
"With great power comes great responsibility." Me and Jane said at the same time and we all burst into a fit of laughs. After our little banter, we decided to have our baths and rest up for the might.
*
"Open up your plebeians!" someone shouted from outside. It came out as muffled since I was still in the shower but I was sure that Jane and Terus could handle.
Washing off the soap, I hurriedly dressed up when I had a shout from outside.
I walked out to find Terus holding Jane back from hitting someone. The person in question just looked at her while picking at their nails. The figure looked familiar but I decided not to jump into conclusions.
"What's going on?" I asked and Terus looked happy to see me. Jane on the other hand was very, very angry which was a rare sight.
"Oh good, you're done. We were just getting our meals when this person start…."
"If it isn't Ravenna." Said the person cutting Terus off. It was Vivienne!
"Hello, witch. It seems that you haven't aged since we last met." I said with a smirk. Her face turned red as she was angry only for a guy to tap her shoulder. I looked at him and realized that he looked like a certain fatso.
"Ah, I see. The fatso finally took my advice and lost some weight." I taunted as Rupert also turned red. It was so easy to piss the two off.
Yes, it was my two elder siblings, Vivienne and Rupert. They looked like they hadn't lived through any hardships throughout their lives, which was the truth.
Ignoring the sputtering idiots, I walked towards Jane and Terus and gave them a once over.
"What? Think they can harm us when I am here? Impossible!" Terus declared confidently and Jane just shook her head.
"What is going on here?" A voice thundered and I almost looked to the sky and sighed. Why are they all convening at this room?
"Sir Pecku, we were just trying to serve them food when they started throwing words our way. Miss Vivienne and Sir Rupert were just trying to protect us from these black witches." Said one and it looked like Derek from the forest.
"That's not true! You were trash talking Raven!" Jane shouted and almost pounced on the guy only that Terus was holding her.
Pecku turned to me and smirked. I knew that something was up. These fools were just trying to set me and the guys up but I wouldn't allow it. A small crowd had now formed outside the door and most of them were students from Adera academy.
"Look at them! Just trying to cause us problems when we have just gotten here!" shouted one and the rest joined in.
The voices were growing louder, so much so that I couldn't even here Terus and Jane over the cacophony. I realized what the Heras were trying to do and I sighed.
Summoning my mana, I manipulated it to be like lightning that shimmered in my raised hand, making them all to keep quiet.
"Since I have all your attention now, how about we look at some evidence." I said and I could see how shaken they were. I turned to Terus and he looked at me quizzically. It seems that he didn't know.
I walked to a little ornament I had randomly placed in the room and picked it up.
"What are you going to do with that? Beat us? Sir Pecku, you have to bear witness to how barbaric these people are." Cried Derek and I felt like laughing at their stupidity. Walking to Rupert, I smirked and he shivered.
"Rupert, insert your mana into this little penguin." I told him and I saw Pecku's features morph.
Rupert did so and a miniature recording started to play. In it, it showed how these guys were gazing at Jane lecherously and how they started to trash talk not only me but the whole Adera academy. The others from our academy all had nasty faces on when they heard the recording. When it ended, most had left leaving only the original cause of the whole problem.
"This isn't my first rodeo!" I told them as I took the penguin back from Rupert.
They all just gazed at me like I was someone new and I was.
"So, Sir Pecku, you and your minions had better leave our quarters. Make sure you don't make the same mistake. There's no telling to whom this recording can reach." I said as I threatened them. They had always bullied me and thrown me into such situations so I had to be sure that me and the guys wouldn't be implicated and set up.
"This isn't the last you have seen of us." Pecku said as he turned to leave.
"Wait, wait. This is my final warning, Pecku. Don't try to set me or anyone from our academy up. Otherwise, there will be hell to pay." I told him as I sat on a chair and crossed my legs.
"Are you threatening me?" Pecku asked in a dark manner as his mana seeped out into the room and it immediately turned dark. Jane whimpered from somewhere in the room and I remembered that she was afraid of the dark to the point of it being a phobia.
"It's no threat, Pecku. It's a warning and a statement that I will do what I say I will so you had better take your minions with you and never cross my path ever again!" I said with deep anger.
Aether seeped out of my body and there was a physical battle between the to. Of course, aether won the battle and soon enough, light returned to the room though it was being emitted by my aether.
"She is an aether elemental!" Rupert cried and I couldn't help the smug smirk that adorned my face.
"This isn't over!" Vivienne spat and I grinned.
"Oh, but it is!"
I twirled my finger in a circular motion and the aether carried all of them out before shutting the door. Like a living thing, the aether dusted its hands and walked to me while wagging what seemed to be a tail like a puppy. I patted its head and it disintegrated into thin air.
"I seriously hate that family." I said while clutching my head and sighing.
"That was epic! Did you see her, Jane? She was like leave and don't return or else. And those guys were cowering like pathetic idiots and she was like a queen. Amazing!" said the excited Terus making me blush in embarrassment.
Jane whimpered and I realized that she was still scared of the dark as she was crouched low with her eyes shut. Running to her place, I gave her a hug which Terus later joined.
"It's alright, Jane. The lights are back on. Don't worry. They aren't here. No one is going to hurt you." I whispered to her and slowly by slowly, she calmed down.
It took a while for her to come to and by the time we realized, it was already two in the morning.
"How do you know the Heras?" Terus asked in the darkness.
We had pushed three bunk beds together and we were currently supposed to be sleeping with my aether providing a night light for Jane. Of course, Terus picked this as the right time to feed his curiosity.
"Well, they are my siblings." I answered carelessly like I couldn't be bothered. Silence reigned for a while until Jane asked the next question.
"Why do they hate you?"
Yes, why do they hate me? This was a question I hadn't gotten an answer for yet so I usually just left it as a blank in my mind.
"Well, I want to know that answer as well. They have always treated me this way since we were kids so I think I got used to it." I told them and Terus sucked in a deep breath.
"Well, why didn't you tell us that you can use aether? Why do you always let those witches bully you?" He asked and I sometimes find myself wondering why as well.
"Well, for starters, I have always wanted to tell you that I can control aether. I was just afraid that you guys would hate me for it."
After all, I was still an insecure teen. Most aether users that I had read of were considered monsters and most times became outcasts. I feel this why the get aether madness as no one wants to be alone. Just thinking of Jane and Terus hating me makes me feel so lost and alone.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. We were not berating you." Terus said as he reached over to wipe tears that I didn't know were there. Jane gives me a silent hug and I feel blessed to have such nice friends.
"No matter what happens, we will always have your back. Regardless of the time." Terus said and I felt his sincerity. Yes, I was not alone.
*
We had kept on talking until somehow we had drifted off into sleep. Now, it was early morning and we looked like crap.
"Look at Jane's panda eyes." Terus exclaimed as we brushed our teeth and I sputtered as my mouth was filled with toothpaste.
We all had dark circles but we didn't regret it as we became closer than ever last night.
"Don't make fun of me, Terus! Yours are worse!" Jane scolded as she washed her face and I laughed when I realized that she wasn't lying. Out of the three of us, Terus had the biggest dark circles and they made him look funny.
"Ha-ha, how come Raven doesn't have visible dark circles? She looks mostly fine while I look like I haven't sleep in forever." Terus said and Jane laughed.
"Well, I am used to not getting enough sleep so this is fine." I said as I rinsed out my mouth. I immediately froze as I realized what I had just done. I didn't want Jane and Terus to feel sorry for me so I refrained from telling them too much of my childhood but now, they were going to ask for details.
"Used to it? Did those monsters force you into anything? I am going to go and give them a piece of my mind." Terus said as he folded his sleeves up getting ready for a fight. This guy and fighting!
"Wait, wait. It's alright."
"No, it's not alright! It's not alright, Raven. You were only a child. No wonder you act so mature. Look, you were deprived of even sleep!" Jane said as she held Terus and some tears back. Is it that big of a deal.
"I don't mind, Jane. Because if not for their abuse ways, I would never have known that I can control three elements." I said as I feel that I held this secret for far too long.
Terus and Jane were shocked, so shocked that it took them a while to say anything sensible. They only kept on stuttering for a while and it was a bit funny.
"All three!?" Terus asked with a shout.
"Yeah." I answered back and Terus started to pace.
Jane just stared off into space and I was worried I had broken my friends.
"Ok, we are going to have a Q&A where you will answer all the questions we have, alright?" Terus said and I felt like he had a point.
"Ok, question one. What happened in the forest when we had just come here?"
"The purge. It's when students at this academy fight tooth and neck when they have disagreements. The fight to the death usually and no one questions it."
"Is that why you warned us before we came here?" Jane asked and I nodded.
"Ok, second question, three elements? All the three elements?" Terus asked almost hysterical.
I stretched out my hand and formed three little puppies with aether, chi and mana. The chi and mana puppies jumped to Jane and Terus and saw Jane jolt like something had shocked her.
"Wow! Just wow! I have a really cool sister!" Terus said as his mana played with the puppy that I had made.
Jane on the other hand stared at the puppy curiously and moved her hand around, creating a stream of golden little specs.
A chi trail!
"Jane, you awakened!" I said with a squeal and she looked to me and smiled. Unlike mana, chi and aether have to be inserted into a person who be close to a person for them to be awakened. Mana is more about feeling while chi and aether are more about influence.
"Wow, we have all the elements on our team. If anyone were to find out, they would be freaking jealous!" Terus exclaimed and I couldn't agree more.
All of a sudden, Terus' face became grave as he looked at me.
"Who else know of this?" he asked and I shook my head in the negative.
"Oh, good. I didn't want my best friends to be in trouble." He said as he sighed in relief. I smiled. I have strange friends.
"I guess I am going to have to teach you all about chi now, Jane." I said to her and she paled.
"The awakening! If they find out I have chi, they will send me to a weird monastery!" she yelled and I couldn't agree more. Even Terus was scared, I could tell.
As we thought of what to do, a horn sounded in the distance before someone shouted outside our door in the hallway.
"Get ready. The awakening ceremony will start in a short while."
Jane got even paler and Terus was starting to mutter. Remembering a book, I had picked at random as a kid when I went to my grandparents, I rummaged through one of my bags to get it and I realized that I had the answer that were looking for.
"I have an idea."