Chapter 4

The cuts on my hands weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be.

I washed off the blood and tried to mitigate the pain, I took pain-killers and Raeylnn cleaned the cuts as much as she could but they were stinging for hours.

“So, it didn’t go well?” Raelynn guessed.

“Well,” I hesitated. “It wasn’t as bad as it looks.”

She snorted. “I’m surprised you two didn’t try to kill each other.” she confessed.

“Why would we do that?” I asked, “We only just met.”

“Yeah, but me and Nathan thought it was best for you two to keep your distance. You’re stubborn and harsh and she’s not much different. I wasn’t seeing any friendship there.” she admitted. “But, can’t blame you though. She’s like that with everyone.”

“You should get some rest.” she told as she packed up the remaining bandages. I stayed up a little longer than the others despite my tiredness.

When I met Phoenix in the cafeteria she didn’t tell me her Constellation and the first thing that I wanted to know about anyone was their Constellation. Her name was Phoenix, so my first assumption had been that her Constellation was Phoenix. But, then, what’s her first name?

I didn’t let that bother me for long. I decided that she was one of those people who let everyone call her by her last name, leaving her real name as a mystery.

I don’t know when or where the dream began but it ended with me slipping, falling and then waking up with a shock. I hate when that happens.

Thankfully, no one noticed how scared I looked and then I realized they were still asleep. Even worse it was still a bit dark out. I walked over to the window at the end of the room, the sky was a mixture of blue and orange with pinkish streaks.

I didn’t bother going back to sleep, I couldn’t. I was fatigued but I didn’t sleep because it wasn’t doing much good for me, I was always tired even after a long rest. Thinking about why that was happening gave me a headache. I’ve been getting those a lot lately.

I Stargazed outside in the freezing cold while I waited for everyone to wake up. I took a walk to open my eyes a bit , but I gave up because my body was about to turn into a popsicle.

I sat outside the room, on the concrete floor which I preferred way more than the muddy ground a few feet away. I rested my head against the wall, that’s when I felt a disturbing itch in my throat,I coughed it out. And I couldn’t stop.

After a few minutes of having a mild asthma attack, I sat there suffocating because my coughing had already made too much noise. I just hoped I hadn’t woken anyone.

Sure I want them awake but my intention wasn’t to disturb anyone. Intention or not, I had interrupted their slumber.

Just then the door swung open and a group of girls dressed in black and grey clothes walked past me without saying a word. A few of them glanced at me but their expressions were like, What are you doing here, weirdo?

I felt like I was in high school again. I got to my feet and immediately regretted doing it. My head spun and pain shot through my whole body. To make things worse, Raelynn rushed out of the room and bumped into me.

“Oww!” Raelynn complained rubbing her forehead.

“Sorry,” I apologized, massaging my own head. Now the pain was worse.

“You should really watch where you’re going,” she demanded, her nostrils flared.

“I should watch where I’m going? You bumped into me!” I pointed out.

“Whatever.” she pushed past me and stomped away.

And I really don’t want a similar bruise on my forehead as Raelynn. I’m pretty sure that the feeling is mutual.

I washed my face and as I walked to the cafeteria to see what was on the menu, I bumped into Alfred.

“Sorry,” I said.

“It’s alright,” he said, adjusting his jacket. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Raelynn said you were outside.”

“Yeah,” I confirmed. “I’m not feeling too good today.”

There was a moment of silence and I could tell he really wanted to tell me something, something important.

I locked eyes with him and it was almost as if I was staring at my father. It got weird after a while, unnatural even. I broke off as discreetly as I could.

I cleared my throat, “So, what did you want to tell me?”

My voice was strained, I had a sore throat which made talking painful. Another reason to stay quiet.

“You should get something warm to drink,” Alfred told. “Then we’ll talk after you’ve had a proper breakfast.”

He smiled at me, it was almost as if he cared about my health. How ironic, everyone cares about me except me!

“I’m really not in the mood...”

He stopped me before I could protest. “I’m not taking any of you excuses.”

“Look, I appreciate it. I really do. You guys are nice and generous, but you have to be a little empathetic.” I said.

Alfred looked offended. He opened his mouth to say something but he couldn’t find the right words, he did that a couple of times before he gave up.

“I just lost everything.” I pointed out, tears stung my eyes but I held it together.

I am not gonna break down here, I told myself. Don’t cry.

“And now I’m living with a bunch of strangers, who are absurdly overprotective of me despite me not having a clue about them,”

I continued as soon as I found my voice again, “To top it all of, one of those people is my own grandfather who all of a sudden, after years and years, concerned about my safety!”

I saw pain in his eyes as my words dissolved in the atmosphere. Tears hung on my eyelashes but I didn’t let them spill.

“So, I’m sorry if I’ve been insensible to you guys but try to understand my position.” I squeaked.

I stared at the ground, trying not to cry but I failed. In a matter of seconds my cheeks were wet.

I glanced at Alfred, he was blurry but I could tell he felt bad for me. There was something odd about his expression, he was mad at me but he tried to mask his anger as much as he could.

“Do what you have to.” he said and he left as fast as he had come.

I wiped my face and walked towards the cafeteria and acted as if nothing had happened. No one noticed me and I was thankful for that.

I ate in silence and avoiding Phoenix but every once in a while she would glance at me and give me stern looks. She almost reminded me of Granny but I shook the thought away in disgust.

I kept my head down and just then I felt someone standing in front of me.

“Come on,” she said.

“Phoenix,” I greeted.

“Time for your first archery lesson.” she informed.

“Can we skip a day?” I asked. Her eyes almost popped out, she clenched her fists and tried not to snap. I’m glad we had an audience otherwise she would have dragged me onto the field by my hair.

“Why?” she questioned.

“I’m not really feeling it today.”

“You’ll get used to it,” she promised. “And you certainly won’t develop the habit if we skip a day.”

I groaned. I was too fatigued to protest and Phoenix’s stern expression reminded me too much of my grandmother which wasn’t helping my condition.

Reluctantly I got to my feet and forced myself to be active and energetic for Phoenix.

First, she had me run a mile or two. Then she made me throw knives at a target. She didn’t even care that my hands were bleeding, she only gave me pointers and apparently the rest I had to figure out on my own.

When I finally hit the target her only comment was, “Took you all day but you did it.”

“Thanks for the appreciation.” I shot back.

“How did you manage to torture yourself?” she asked, eyeing my hands. “I thought I told you to hit the target, not yourself.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I started. “Does my clumsiness bother you?”

“Annabelle,” she warned.

“I don’t even know why you’re making me do this.”

Phoenix looked at me as if my presence irritated her. “You really don’t know, do you?” she said, this time she seemed surprised.

“No, I don’t.” I confessed. I clenched my fists. Trying to control my rage but I wasn’t very good at it.

“So, you weren’t kidding...” she said to herself.

“Yeah, I’m actually this clueless to why I’m here all of a sudden.” I motioned around me.

“Maybe you should go talk to Alfred.” she told softly. “You can’t train if you’re not interested.”

“Can’t you tell me why everyone needs me so badly?” I gritted my teeth.

I got so mad that I started shivering. I can’t hold it together anymore.

“Annabelle,” she started but she froze.

My breathing fastened, my heart was racing and I could feel Virgo light up. Something burned through my left wrist, and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because I cut myself multiple times.

The sky was illuminated by Virgo’s light, but that wasn’t the only Constellation shining. I glanced at the Stars and gasped. Virgo had dimmed but I thought Ophiuchus might explode in a ball of light. I looked away and Phoenix covered her eyes.

“Annabelle, stop it!” Phoenix demanded. But I couldn’t stop...I didn’t want to. For some reason I felt like I could manipulate all the Stars.

The more bright Ophiuchus got the more powerful I felt. I could hear my heart beating faster.

The last thing I heard was Phoenix yelling for help before everything dissolved into dust and my whole body went numb.