But Still Hoping... (Hopeless, But It's Not)

Hi. If you’re squeamish, proceed with caution! There will be descriptions of blood and guts and like b̶u̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶l̶i̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶h̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶m̶e̶ and all that good stuff so be warned! Authors can be real psychopaths sometimes :) Especially me. 

⋙⌽⋘

“You broke the deal, Ross.” 

Streetlights flicker as the sounds of a bustling market fade. The rhythmic tapping of heels along the pavement leads down a dark alleyway, away from the public eye. Hands sweep across bare skin, relieving goosebumps drawn out by the nightly wind. The town sat still, ignorant of less-than deals beneath shadows. 

“What are you even on about, Zayne?” A light voice hisses from the entrance of the alley, a tone that only meant business hanging off of the owner's tongue. A purple suited silhouette emerges from the deeper shadows. “You broke your end of the deal first.”

Two old friends, acquaintances. Two beings with unimaginable power, one treated like dirt, the other her own goddess. The same world, different beginnings. Same journey, different outcome. All to meet tonight, in the shadows. Ms Madelyn Ross. A queen. One to look up to. And Zayne Hansen, a lowlife. One who was always looked down upon.

“I did nothing of the sort, Princess.” A sly smile tugs at the corner of his grin. “I’m… offended you’d even begin to think so low of me.”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you promised to stay away from them,” the voice is hushed, each word spat with its own poison. 

“I’m aware, Madelyn. Let’s not forget you promised-” The man’s argument is quickly interrupted.

“I know what I promised,” her presence falls, left with no composure. She bites her lip, a habit that only worsened after her highschool tragedy. “But I swear I’m trying. I haven’t told anyone anything. You didn’t even try not to-”

“What are you on about?” His eyes flicker in between her’s, searching for anything to grasp onto. 

“I know you were in the castle the other night. All of the girls saw you and the night-guards did too,” she says. “Don’t try and deny it. Even if it was just one of your illusions, you still broke your end of the deal.”

“Oh. That.”

“Yes, that.” She places clenched fists on her hips, taking a few steps toward the much shorter figure. “If you don’t hold up your end, I won’t hold up mine. It’s really not that difficult.”

“Yes, Maddie, that is how a deal works. I am aware of this,” he snarks, slinking back, inching toward the shadows. “So maybe I was in the castle. What of it?”

Something ticks in Madelyn’s mind, small flames sparking from her fingertips. Noting the small glow from the small gem sitting in the middle of her cloak, she makes sure to move her hands away from the skirt of her dress. “What of it? A deal is a deal, Zayne. You can’t just go around trying to find loopholes or push boundaries.”

“Is that not exactly what you’ve been doing for the weeks we haven’t talked?” He snaps back, matching the fury residing behind her eyes. Madelyn smirks as she notices him rise onto his toes to match her height. “Don't act like you're above me. You have as much of a role in this deal as I do. You’ve been stalling.”

“You wouldn’t know that unless you’d been around the castle. Which, in fact, is a direct breach of our agreements. You want it, you wait. Patiently. Away from the girls,” she says. Her eyebrow raises, waiting for a response. He falls back to his heels, huffing in defeat as he searches everywhere but her eyes for an answer. Green suede impatiently taps against the pavement. Unable to receive an answer, she slinks towards him. “Listen to me. And listen to me carefully.”

He gulps, her shadow engulfing the little light illuminating his features. Their significant height difference leaves Maddie’s silhouette towering over the young man. Sparks of tiny light speckle over her palms. With but a blink, her hands engulf in flames. Zayne’s eyes widen despite his attempt to keep cool. Now… he was no more than a lamb to the slaughter. 

“I will get you what you want but you have to understand why it’s a little difficult. I  got your money to you in the meantime and kept your immunity.” The flames slowly creep around her hand, spreading further up her arm, yet she seems to have no physical reaction. “You’re asking me to commit what is basically treason.”

“Treason- Treason is killing your own father. Treason is killing your own king,” Zayne spits up at her. “Or are you forgetting you did just that?”

“He committed treason the second he walked into our bedroom that night. As soon as Alice’s pulse stopped, he was no longer our king.” Her teeth clench as she remembers the smell of alcohol on her father’s breath all those years ago. The blade, the blood. The tears, the tantrum. She’d thought she had forgotten, but one never truly forgets their turning point. “And that night… That night at school was self-defence.”

≪⌽≫

Her friends watch in dismay as she makes her way back over to the chair. There sat her father's lifeless corpse. His face was pale behind the irritation and bruising, mouth bleeding and ajar. His beady-black eyes stare down at the floor, sending a shiver down the noble's back. Her eyes flicker to the gaping wound she tore through his stomach with pure magic. A large hole bleeds a deep red, exposing the back of the chair from the front. She takes in a shaky breath, preparing herself.

≪⌽≫

“It was an execution, not a murder.” 

≪⌽≫

Raising her left hand, she causes the girls behind her to take many steps back. Small flames flicker around her palm, sparking with each of her ragged breaths. With one final scream from the back of her throat, her entire hand is swallowed in flame. Closing her eyes, she holds it to his torn chest, waiting for the cloth to ignite.

≪⌽≫

“I did the right thing, out of-” It’s unclear to both parties who she was trying to convince. “Why am I trying to explain myself to you of all people. I know what I did. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“A queen with no morals? Seems as though it runs in the family.” Despite being cornered, Zayne continues to spit whatever gibberish comes to mind. His eyes flicker towards emoting hands, the burning light blinding him. With each of Maddie’s gestures, he winces. 

She looks down at her palms, the flames waver in strength as she hesitates. The feeling, familiar, resides in her. Pulling memories she’d never wanted to recover. “What are you trying to do here?”

“You may sit on that throne now but really that’s all that you have. I know you’d never actually hurt m-” Before he can even finish the sentence, she wraps her burning hands around his throat. The impact sends him toppling back into a nearby wall, the sound of bone hitting stone bricks one she’s all too familiar with.

“Wouldn’t I?” She holds her composure through screams of agony. Her grip isn’t too tight that it restricts his breathing but that may be the worst part. Each handprint burns into the skin around his neck, sinking deeper as Zayne cries out in pain. His chest moves in jagged breaths. Out of her mind, her grip begins to tighten, burning through each layer of skin it can. “I am not scared of you. I can create elements with my bare hands, Zayne. I have nothing to be afraid of. You, on the other hand, should be afraid. You and your little illusions.”

≪⌽≫

The smell of burning cotton and flesh wafted around the small room, bouncing off of each echoed sob. Ash swirls, embers fall. Silhouettes drawn by the light pull their friend away, scared by any of the outcomes swimming in their minds. Heat bakes them alive but the struggle keeps them still. Her throat is burning raw but she’s no longer aware. Alive, but no longer aware. All the pain she had once felt was now numb. The now white, blistering skin wrapped around her arms, torso, and legs was numb, completely numb. The flames had scorched through her sports uniform, parts hanging by a thread. With each movement they threaten to fall, clinging to hang on to any piece of flesh and fabric it can just to stay together. She doesn't care. She doesn't care one bit. So she stares.

≪⌽≫

With her jewel glowing green, Maddie quickly snaps out of her trance. Her hands return to normal and drop to her sides. Now filled with remorse and regret, she pulls herself away. Her eyes flicker over all of the damage she had done. Her own breathing picks up pace as she stumbles backward. “I- I… I’ll get you the necklace… I-”

Mouth wide, she retreats, quickly hurrying down the alley and back to the safety of her castle. Small, rapid steps barely further her journey but she’s too caught in her mind to realise. Has she become the monster she had killed seven years ago? With a light touch, she drags her fingertips over the fragile, broken skin wrapping around her arms.

≪⌽≫

"Screw you and your stupid nicknames." Maddie croaks, backing away. She extends her arms, two vines following suit. This time, her father catches them with his own magic before they wrap around anything. Her heart skips a beat. They race back towards her, snaking around her limbs before she gets the chance to fight. She attempts to free herself but he holds them tight and still. 

Her eyes widen with panic as a line of fire shoots towards her from a nearby candle. She can feel the heat as the flames dance dangerously close to her skin. She begins to struggle as the cord wraps around her body, scorching into her flesh. Her cries no longer sound like her anymore, the overwhelming pain taking over. Flesh burns as the vines holding her captive grow tighter and tighter.

≪⌽≫

Left alone in the alleyway, Zayne struggles to hold himself up. His head spins, knees weak. He gasps for air between each breath, hands hovering over simmering skin. He's too afraid to tell anyone of the affairs, who would believe he was attacked by the current queen? Dragging himself to the closest infirmary, he attempts to draw out a story. He scraps each one, each less believable than the last.

At least he made it out alive. He has gotten his clarity. He’s getting exactly what he wants. Each part of his scheme is going exactly as planned. Except for the third-degree burns in the shape of hands wrapped around his neck. Those aren’t the most ideal things.

⋙⌽⋘

“Where in Heaven’s Saiton have you been?!” Maddie cringes at the familiar voice as she slowly closes the hall’s door. She’s greeted by black curls contrasting pale skin. 

“O-Oh, Nicola! What are you doing up? Is that a new maid uniform or-” Nicola holds a finger up to silence her friend.

“Don’t. Where have you been?” She cuts straight to the point, an expression on her face that screams ‘I’m not taking any of your bs tonight.’

“Well, it would please you to know that I’ve been in Saiton,” Maddie says, softening Nicola’s expression. “I was dealing with some business in town. That’s all.”

“At midnight? Alone?” 

“I wasn’t alone,” she admits. Nicola stares her down, not believing a word she says. “I promise. I wasn’t alone. I- I took one of the guards with me! Yeah, yeah. One of the younger guards. Some of them need more experience.”

“And what? You’re going to pay them overtime?” Maddie nods. “You can’t afford that-”

“Actually, I think I can. Because Saiton’s got more money now, under my rule, than they ever did under my dad’s. I think it’s because more people are moving in, we’re expanding by the minute,” she begins to ramble. “And the taxes aren’t even going up so no one is complaining. I can almost afford-”

“Whatever. I’m not into the politics of this, I’m a caretaker so I care.” Nicola sighs, “Avery’s been asking after you. She was the one who informed me you were gone. I believe she’s still awake, so I’d go see her if I were you.”

Maddie nods, confused on why she’d care so much. A part of her and Zayne’s agreement is that it was all under the table. No one but the two of them were to know. But Maddie’s struggling, she has no idea if she can pull this off, not alone. She can stop production and sales. She can steal literally anything else. But this one necklace… That may be too much.

“Avery?” Pale light creeps from underneath one of the assigned bedrooms. A small crimson tinge leaves Maddie believing it must be Avery’s. With enough room to hold an army, customising a few rooms to hold her friends was nothing to Maddie and her staff. “You awake?”

“Hmm? Oh, hey, Maddie.” Tired eyes rise to greet her, lingering without eye contact for a second too long. “What’s up?”

“You were asking after me?” 

“Oh. Nicola told you about that?” Avery guesses. To which, Maddie smiles. “She… tells you everything, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah. She was my best and only friend for about 11 years. And then I met you guys.” Her eye’s fall to her feet as she reminisces about the past. About her friends. How they met. “One of the best things to ever happen to me…”

≪⌽≫

“It’s pretty cool, huh?” In shock, Maddie hesitantly stands up, turning on her heel to face the voice. Her gaze travels up a light pink strapless dress and lands on a small face framed by blonde hair. “Sorry-” The voice giggles “-I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“That’s- That’s alright…” She flashes a hesitant smile. 

“I’m Sam, by the way. I’m one of your new roommates,” Sam explains, heading for her own bed. “There are four others, I’ve never met them before. Not entirely sure whether or not they’re all new… I tended to isolate myself for most of my time here. We just met and you don’t need to know that… Anyway.”

≪⌽≫

“Sounds like Chloe. I can take you around if you wante-” Sam’s interrupted as the door swings open, revealing a girl with short dark-ish red hair. She’s kinda tall, not much taller than Maddie, and wears a pale yellow sheath dress.

“Oh, lovely. People.” As she notices the two other girls in the room, she pulls the wireless headphones down around her neck. They watch her shove the bags she dragged in carelessly under her bed.

“Nice to meet you too,” Maddie sasses, noticing the yellow gemstone that hangs around her neck as she goes to pull the headphones back on. 

“That’s Jay. I believe she’s one of the newbies, like you,” Sam explains.

≪⌽≫

Maddie’s quickly cut off by a small girl with dark hair running up to them, red-faced and panting. She can’t help but stare at the deep blue pendant swinging around her neck. She’s the fourth person to have one so far. “Tremolite… dorm... Can you… show me-”

“Left side, second floor, third door," Sam points, a smile on her face. The girl pats down her pale blue, sleeveless, princess style dress, appreciation behind her eyes.

“Thank you so much,” she picks up her dress before running off again, in the same direction she came from. Sam looks like she wants to say something, but keeps quiet anyway.

≪⌽≫

“Is she always like this?” A smaller voice squeaks from underneath the blue chandelier. The girl who ran up to them earlier sits in the middle of the bed, legs crossed. 

Sam nods, sighing. “Oh! Right, Maddie… This is Molly.” She turns to the girl, “She’s a cosmic manipulator, aye?” 

“Cosmic... manipulator? Like… space?”

“Uh, yeah, kinda,” Molly speaks up, swinging her legs over the end of her bed. “I can mess with, like, the stars and planets and dark matter and crap. It’s really cool! It can also cause me to… disconnect from my soul in a way… Astral project! That’s the word! ...Words rather. I’m currently trying to figure out how to zoom around like a shooting star! But… uh. Yeah.” 

≪⌽≫

“So, Jay, what can you-”

Sam’s cut off by a loud thud against the door. The four girls jump in unison as a loud “CRAP” can be heard, muffled through the wooden door. Sitting up, Maddie tenses as the door creaks open. Stood in the doorway is a taller redhead, with hair down to her shoulders and an orange floor-length shirt dress to match. “Uh… hi? I’m Jaime..”

 ≪⌽≫

“And this… Is Avery.” Sam shoves the door open, revealing a much smaller room than ours. Maddie is left gaping at a magnificent crimson castle-like bed in the middle of the room. In the middle of the bed sat a slightly older girl in a crimson puffed out fifties dress. She pushes her similarly crimson coloured hair out of her face as she analyses the situation.

“Samantha,” she states, peering over the book in her hands at Sam, before scanning Maddie up and down. “New girl… What is it?”

≪⌽≫

“Avery… I think I’ve royally messed up,” she admits. Remembering everything she and her friends had been through, guilt bubbling in her stomach. Hurting them after everything they’d done for her seemed like such a huge feat, something she should never even consider. But here she was, resorting to theft and betrayal. “I made a really stupid deal with Zayne and now I can’t back out of it, I’m in too deep.”

“A deal? What kind of deal?” Avery looks up at her distraught friend, seeing the true torment going on in her mind. “You’re not… selling... Yours-”

“No! Ew, no, gross! The thought of that makes me ill.” They both giggle to themselves, adults acting like the same teenagers they once were. “No… It was for protection. Back when we first met up again, I didn’t think he was serious. Holding Sam against her will, in her own office, with a knife to her throat. Forcing her to call me in to the school, threatening all of us at once. I guess I wanted to look past it because of our history. However, just in case, I wanted you to stay here, in Saiton, in the castle, because I thought it’d give you an advantage against him. I- I mean, I have an army of guards willing to do anything for me. But it didn’t work.”

“What do you mean? ‘It didn’t work,’ we’re all alive, none of us are hurt?” 

“Because a week after you had moved in, Zayne- he got into the castle, he showed up in my office, with the same blade he had back in that office. He had me cornered with the blade to my throat and threatened me again.” She swallows hard, regretting to bring this all back up. “He disappeared after admitting he was only trying to scare me. It worked. I was so in shock, I realised how serious he was about this. And then he did it again. And again. Everywhere I felt safe, he was there.”

“Maddie, we don’t need a sob story… Where is this going?”

“There’s the Avery I first met.” She forces herself to smirk. “He had us hanging on a string, he was my puppeteer. I didn’t want him to have that control over me so I went around town, trying to find him because I know he would never leave home. He’s loyal. He was loyal to my father, why not the town that raised him?”

“He worked with your father?”

“It’s a long story. One I really didn’t want to hear. But I found him. And I offered a deal. Our protection, him to leave us alone, for anything he wanted. He could’ve chosen anything. Money, fame. Anything. But he chose power. Literal power. I was so stupid to not see it coming. He’s an illusionist, he creates illusions. Why wouldn’t he want the very power source of the most powerful illusionist in existence.”

With widened eyes, Avery rapidly stands as soon as it clicks. Her jaw drops. “You sold out Sam’s power for our protection?!”

“I told you, I messed up!” Maddie looks around herself with paranoid eyes. “Shh.. We don’t know who’s awake…”

“Who cares?! Maybe Sam should know you’re trading her power for protection?!” No quieter than before, Avery exclaims every single thought running through her mind. In retaliation and fear of judgement, Maddie lunges at her, covering her mouth before she can scream anything else.

“I care… I’m not actually meant to tell anyone about this. That’s the problem,” she says. Slowly, she removes her hand from Avery’s mouth, tensing to relieve whatever shock. 

“That’s the problem?” Avery speaks in a lower hush, fortunately for Maddie. “Whatever. You need help and we’re friends so I’ll help you. I mean, she can just get a new necklace, right?” 

“About that… He’s so power-hungry. He wants the most power anyone can have and even half of Sam’s is more magic than most. Just like us, and the other three girls. As you told us, whenever you use someone else's gem as a source of magic, you get half of their strength. And he knows that you can source your magic from any cut as long as it’s your birth-assigned gem.” She pauses. “...So he made me cut production of any and all rose quartz. Plus that necklace means a lot to her. It was cut, made, and given to her all the year she met us. It’s important and has real significant value, even if she rarely uses magic.”

“So we’ll steal it and replace it with a fake,” Avery suggests, her eyebrows knitting together as she thinks. “She’ll eventually realise it’s not real but it would be a good place holder until Zayne gets bored.”

“...You’re going to help me… steal it?”

“There’s no other option if you’ve stopped production. All the sellers in the market would’ve sold their supply off to other districts,” she says. “This is probably the only necklace left in Saiton.”

“Do you have a plan?”

“I’ll sleep on it. We can talk over breakfast.” She pauses to think over her words. “...But the others can’t find out.”

“We can have a late breakfast? I can talk to the maids tonight on my way back, get them to pass on a message.” 

“Oh. They’re still here.”

“Nightshift.”

⋙⌽⋘

“Ya know, I’ve always been skeptical of the whole ancestor theory.” Later in the morning, Avery and Maddie continue the late-night scheming session they had started around 3 am. Small talk got the better of them as they ate. “Like if you break it down to its bare basics, it seems kinda crazy.”

“What ever could you mean?!” Maddie exclaims, the seriousness of the question overcast by her sarcastic tone. “Six teenagers, destined to fight evil after being born with the most magical power one human can have due to said power being passed down from one student who died because she had all 6 kinds of magic to exist and people didn’t like that so they executed her? It’s totally reasonable.”

“How the hell did you say that in one breath?” The two fall into contagious laughter, struggling to breathe through the joy. “But seriously. You can see why I’m skeptical, right?”

“Yeah. But I’m not the best person to relate to. Even when I was younger, I thought that the stories Nicola told me were just stories. I didn’t even believe magic was real until I poured water all over myself… Ultimate skeptic right here.” She shakes her head, smiling at her past incompetence. “But there’s not really any other explanation. You shouldn’t be able to replicate other people’s powers but you can. I shouldn’t be able to create elements from thin air. Sam shouldn’t be able to make people physically feel things, Molly shouldn’t be able to manipulate dark matter itself, Jaime pushes the limits of telekinesis, Jay’s strong, like really strong. We shouldn’t be this way, but we are.”

“I guess… And that’s exactly why Zayne wants the necklace,” Avery pushes away her empty plate, hoping her thoughts weren’t echoing through the castle walls. “Obviously, we don’t want anyone to get hurt. It’s enough to commit theft, assault is a little too much.”

“I really don’t want to do this,” Maddie drones, fiddling with the hem of her nightshirt.

“Well, you have to.” She rises with a violent determination in her eyes. “You got yourself into this mess, you’re the one who needs to get yourself out. So let's go find ourselves some ‘rose quartz’.”

⋙⌽⋘

The distant noise of the marketspace drew closer. Deep grey bricks grow smaller and smaller with each step, small gusts of air blow through the small decor flags hanging above a few of the stalls. Scattered tree’s whistle as the sun shines above. People from all backgrounds, of all shapes and sizes bustle around the streets, smiles drawn across each of their faces. Chatter overlaps, unintelligible conversations merging to onlookers. 

“Are the sunglasses and giant ass hat really necessary?” The two girls walk in unison, each step and swing of their arm in sync. Before leaving the castle, Maddie donned a large, green, wide-brimmed, floppy hat and dark green sunglasses. More so, she’d forced Avery to wear her own dark crimson glasses and floppy hat, matching her 50s style lighter crimson dress. 

“Sounds to me like you want skin cancer,” Maddie’s serious expression seems to cancel out her joke. Avery’s face contorts, giving off an obvious confusion. “Kidding. I’d really rather not have people running up to me when I have a job to do. Children are lovely and all but we’re kinda trying to break the law right now and they’d all be accomplices.”

“Do it for the children accomplices… Okay, I’m not gonna question your logic.” 

“Thank you.” Maddie tips her hat, as one would with a fedora. A small grin tugs at the corner of Avery’s mouth as she tries to hide her amusement. They continue walking, “So I know which stall to go to… We need pink fluorite. It’s quite similar in colour and is about as opaque as quartz. We just need the right cut.”

“It’s a heart. Her pendant is in the shape of a heart. The actual necklace that it’s attached to is silver and connects to silver vines that wrap around the bottom of the heart-cut quartz… Don’t look at me like that, I know what everyone’s crystal looks like. ...And what they mean.” She fiddles with the ring around her middle finger. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Mine is Red Jasper. A deep crimson oval-cut crystal sitting in the middle of a typical gold ring. Jaime’s is tiger’s eye. A typical elongated triangular orange-black striped gem attached to a smaller silver triangle which is what is hanging from the silver chain. Jay’s is a yellow citrine. She has a beaded bracelet, of a bunch of citrine. Molly’s is a pendulum-like pedant of lapis lazuli. And you have your three, each green beryl. One’s a small gold tiara with the sparkling pale-green stone embellishments stuck carefully around the floral designs. There is your earrings, the first of your gems. They’re just normal stud earrings. And the last is your coat, you wear it everywhere. It’s the coat that’s kind of like a poncho but a long, wrap-around poncho that buttons at the top. And the button in the middle of the top is green beryl and has a gold outline around it,” Avery explains. They continue to walk through the numerous stalls, Avery slowing every time she sees something of interest.

“I’m scared that you know all of that…”

“Plot convenience.”

“What?” Avery shakes her head in answer, smiling. “And what do they mean…?”

“What?”

“You said you know what they mean.” 

“Oh, right. Well…” Avery pauses, slightly distracted by a group of children pushing through the crowd. “Um. I was assigned to Jasper because I’m confident, outspoken, and pretty independent.”

“Well, that’s not wrong…” Maddie mutters, remembering old stories. 

“Um. I’m right here.” She scoffs, “Can’t believe you’re meant to promote happiness... “

“Hold on-”

“Green beryl. Happiness, you’re youthful and kind.  Jay’s also happy, ironic considering her less than happy demeanour. Jaime’s courageous, strong. She has a good sense of personal power. Molly’s self-aware and understanding. She’s honest and can find the truth easily. And Sam is feminine, as we all know… too well. But we also know she’s compassionate and peaceful.”

“Even in the worst of situations.”

≪⌽≫

"It doesn't matter, you need to fight." Maddie grabs her wrist, pulling her into the next room. She pulls back against the hand. "What? What's wrong?"

"I can't-"

"You can't what, Sam? We don't have time for this."

"I can't fight!" She exclaims, wrestling out of her grip. Her eyes widen even more. Panic resides behind her eyes. "I can't do it. I can't- I can't fight him! I- I-"

"What are you talking about? You have to-"

"But I can't!"

"Sam, you're being irrational. Heavens, you can and will fight. You did before!" She hisses. 

≪⌽≫

“Even in the worst of situations,” Avery repeats, know exactly what Maddie was referencing. “Is that the stall?”

She points towards an appropriately decorated stall, complete with garlands of small clear crystals. They each create their own reflection from the sun, blinding any innocent bystander if they so happen to look the wrong way. It was the odd one out, in a good way to the girls. While others were composed of gazebos on metal poles, plastic tables and chairs, this one was far prettier to the eye.

The frame was made up of sticks of polished driftwood from the nearby bay. Rows of the crystal garlands hung from two smaller sticks reaching diagonally from each of the larger, vertical stick up to the top bar. Leaves, whether real or fake, covered the top of the stall in their own form of roof. The table was a rather large natural wood table, embedded with a row of crystal, forming some sort of river that stretches along the length of the table. Even the younger boy behind said table was very welcoming.

“You guessed it.” Enlightened by Avery’s discovery, Maddie pushes through the crowd, eagerly approaching the table. The boy doesn't seem to notice pair shove people out of the way to get to his stall, he's more interested in the girl behind the glasses. “Hey! Flint! How ya holding up?”

The boy’s light blue eyes light up at the sight of Maddie’s large hat and loud sunglasses. His brown hair bounces with delight as he stands to greet her, freckled cheeks rising as he smiles. “Maddie! You’re back! Oh- Sorry, you’re probably trying to avoid attention…”

“You’re not wrong… Oh! This is Avery,” she gestures towards her friend, who had so graciously removed her own sunglasses. “She’s a friend of mine, has been for a while now. We went to school together, at Crystal Prep. And now she’s the principal there. Avery, this is Flint. His granddad was actually the one who made my tiara. And my original beryl earrings I used to power my fight against my dad.”

“Hi, Flint. It’s nice to meet you.” Avery extends a hand to the boy, receiving a strange glance in return.

“We’re not all that formal anymore,” Maddie whispers. “Anyway, Flint. Do you know if your grandad has any, um, pink fluorite in stock? We need a special cut, asap.”

“Of course, we do! Unless you want us to cut the production of that too,” Flint jokes, nudging the air with his elbow. The two girls chuckle hesitantly, unsure whether they were able to hide their guilt very well. “We just need a description of the cut. And for you, we could even add it to whatever jewellery you’d like.”

“That would be perfect. Heavens, you’re the best.” She quickly grabs her phone out of her small green purse, pulling up a photo of Sam and zooming in on her pendant. “It’s only a simple heart cut. But I need a necklace exactly like this one. It’s important to me.”

“Oh, is that all? That’s easy.” 

“When can you have it done by?” Avery butts in.

“Hmm… ‘Bout a day? Yeah, it’s all done by hand here, but Maddie will always be our top priority. No matter what.” Flint smiles a proud smile, standing tall in his dirty overalls and white button-up.

“I owe you one, Flint. We’ll pay whatever. Full price, double? Name it.” He goes to speak, only to be cut off. “And don’t say it’s on the house because I will pay triple.”

“Regular price is fine. 15 for the necklace and 12 for the cut.” She pulls out a small pouch, replacing its place in her purse with her phone. A few gold coins roll onto the table for Flint’s taking. “Pleasure doing business with ya!” 

With a small wave, the girls are off and headed back to the castle. Avery’s face contorts, once again with confusion. “That’s it? No notice, no due date, no nothing?”

“Flint and his family are chill, they’ll just text me when it’s done.” She shrugs off the question. “Just put the sunglasses back on, I’m already running out of social energy.”

“You’re pathetic. But what if he-”

“They’re completely trustworthy, Avery. They’re the best in the business, I’ve had ties with them for years and nothing bad has ever happened.”  Avery’s eyebrows furrow. “And don’t give me that scamming crap. That 12-year-old has not a single bad bone in his body, he isn’t even capable of something like that. Plus it’s highly illegal under stuff like welfare or whatever. It would be stupid to scam the queen herself.”

Avery sighs in defeat, continuing on their dreaded walk. Now that they had a steady replacement, they had under 48 hours to come up with a plan. Less than a week before Zayne would be looking for answers. They could be sure that he’d be out of their hair for a little while longer. Maddie’s power at half blast could scar with third-degree burns, as Maddie had experienced first hand. 

But they still needed to hold up their end of the deal, with Zayne in the picture or not. If Zayne had ties with the former king of Saiton, who knows who else is in his corner.

⋙⌽⋘

“Hey! Guys! Where’ve you been?” Molly bounds up to the pair, her pendant swaying around her neck as she moves. “You weren’t at breakfast this morning.”

They share a concerned glance. Stuck in an unavoidable situation, the two try to telepathically come up with their cover story. It’s a good moment before Maddie speaks, “We had a late night… Together. So we slept in and had a late breakfast.”

“Oh, alright!” She bounces off to find the others, leaving the girls with breath caught in their chests. Nervous laughter follows them all the way to the study, reminding them of the ignorant smile plastered on their friend’s face.

“God!” Avery slams the door closed behind her as they collapse into the office. They fall into unbreakable laughter. Their hysterics are unmatched. Completely out of their mind, they struggle to even breathe. “Holy hell! This is so messed up.”

“What have I done?” It’s hard to decipher the tone of her voice through her laughter. Her breaths fall to giggles, slowly falling into exasperated sobs. Her hands run through her hair, gripping at her roots.

≪⌽≫

All other sounds and movements were gone. It was just her and her thoughts. Everything from her father's voice to Alice's dead behind the eyes look. It only worsened the pain. She runs her hands through her hair, grabbing at the roots obsessively. The other girls surround them, not knowing what to do.

≪⌽≫

Hunched over in her own office chair, she rocks back and forth. Muffled sobs are slowly replaced with hiccuped whimpers. Her words begin to slur, “And you can’t even tell me ‘ooooh, Madelyn, it’s just a necklace, what’s the big deal?’ ‘Coz, like it’s more than a necklace, ya know. It’s this power source. Like a literal power source. It’s literally something we rely on. We rely on bloody inanananimate objects. How stupid is that?”

“Inanimate, inanimate objects.”

“Whatever! Pronunciation doesn’t matter when we’re about to commit fricken tHEFT.” As soon as the words leave her lips, Avery jumps over the desk, clamping a hand over her mouth.

“Shut up!” She pounds her free hand against the desk. “Get a hold of yourself. If you go around screaming our plan, we’re very easily going to get caught. And it’s not a matter of what’s legal and what’s illegal, moral or immoral, this is about sacrificing one thing for another. You’re literally at the top of the hierarchy, this is so minimal, Maddie. Murder’s okay but theft isn’t?”

“It wasn’t murder!” She rips Avery’s hand away from her mouth, defending herself. The small statement seemed to send her further into hysterics. “It wasn’t murder! It wasn’t murder, it wasn’t murder, it wasn’t murder!”

≪⌽≫

"Are you- Are you trying to blame me for my sister's death?!" The noble shrieks, her red cheeks soaked. The words sat familiarly on her tongue.

"No. No, not at all." His tone is sarcastic. "I'm just saying you could've done something."

"Shut up."

"I'm just answering your quest-"

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Her eyes glow with anger and tears as she jerks her hand forward. A strong vine exits her palm, driving right through her father's stomach. He screams in pain, crimson blood quickly rushing from the wound and his mouth. As she flicks her arm up, the vine rips upwards. She cries out as her fists clench. 

"Shut up!" Over and over again, she strikes through her sobs. She punches barbarically, flooded by a state of madness. The cries of pain stop but her wrath has only just begun. Her strength was no match for her pure determination.

"Mads, I'm sorry, I- Maddie!" Sam struggles to rip her from her father. She fights back, pulling away from Sam's hold. "Maddie! I think that's enough! He's already dead!"

She kicks and screams as she's pulled away by the waist. Her hysterics are nothing more than a toddler ripped from their toys. She flails, squirming in Sam's grip. "Maddie, please calm down!"

Her sobs echo throughout the small area as her legs give way. She tumbles to her knees, taking Sam with her. She doubles over herself, a storm unwilling to break as her elbows lean on her upper thighs. Her pained wails catch the attention of the other girls, sending waves of empathy through their systems. Sam's arms wrap around her frail, shaking figure, some sort of attempt at comfort. Her body, tired and weak, melts into the embrace, ready to give up.

≪⌽≫

“I swear…” She falls back into her sobs, red marks sitting where old tears had fallen. The green of her irises are only highlighted by the bloodshot effect crying had caused. 

Something seems to click in Avery as she watches no less than a queen’s temper tantrum. 

“Hopeless... Whatever, I believe you.” Avery raises her hands in innocence, startled by the violent sobbing. “I just want to get this over with. As soon we get that necklace, I’m swapping them out and we are pulling your head out of your ass. You got yourself into this mess, I’m helping you out.”

⋙⌽⋘

“So, now what? We’ve got the fluorite, it looks close enough, what do we do now?” Avery hands the leadership over to Maddie, knowing she’ll somehow figure something out. 

“We… wait until nightfall, Sam sleeps later than the others so we should be fine. While she’s sleeping, we can sneak in, swap them out and hopefully get out undetected.” Maddie realises her plan was flawed, really flawed. A low success rate leaves her disappointed. She shakes her head, “This is hopeless.”

“Roll credits,” Avery mutters.

“What?”

“Nothing…”

“Whatever… Just. When we do it, I’ll need you to replicate illusion magic so no one can see us. In the room or otherwise.”

“I can do that. Simple.” She looks down at the ring on her finger before ‘disappearing.’ The ring glows, flickering out as she flickers back into sight. “But first, we have dinner and I need to get as much energy as I can. You of all people should know how draining it is to use our kind of magic.”

“Oh, shut up,” Maddie smiles, elbowing Avery in the arm. A warm feeling overcomes her as she begins remembering her early months at Crystal Prep. 

≪⌽≫

“Stop! This isn't supposed to happen!” She throws her palm forward, not noticing the small fireball hit a stack of papers, tests. Her hands are thrown up in surrender, not sure what to do, only for the flames to take over her palms again. Though it doesn’t hurt, the shock sends her tumbling backwards and off of the seat. As she falls back, her arm jerks towards the ceiling. A loud beeping goes off, echoing around the room. Almost immediately afterwards, the sprinklers are set off. Rays of water stream through the room, soaking everything they touch, including Maddie. Maybe she should get some help…

She lies on the ground, the power sucking the last of the energy out of her. Now unable to fully pick herself up, she struggles to sit up, pushing herself up against cabinet as the door squeaks open. “Madelyn? You in here? Madelyn!”

≪⌽≫

“Let’s go.” Avery links her arm into Madelyn’s and guides her toward the dining room where the others were waiting for them.

“Ooh! Hey, guys!” Molly greets them as soon as they enter the room, causing the other three to look up.

“Finally. What took you so long?” Sam kicks Jay from underneath the table, rolling her eyes at her comment. “Ow…”

“Hey guys,” she fiddles with the pink pendant around her neck, not at all helping the uneasy feeling residing in Maddie’s stomach. “Haven’t seen you around in a while.”

“Yeah, where have you been?” Jaime swirls the food on her plate around with her fork as questions them. Once again they’re stuck trying to find a cover story.

“We- We- were training,” Maddie says, stuttering over her words.

“But we were on the training field?”

“We were training together in the city. We went to see Flint and since it was such a nice day, both days, we decided to train out in a clearing in the forest,” Avery saves the fall. A small grin crawls onto her face as she silent gloats towards Maddie. “Anyway, Maddie, let’s eat?”

The dinner goes by without so much as a word out of our culprits. The guilt swimming in their minds keeps them more than silent, listening to outside gossip collected by their friends. Once all had scattered, the sun disappearing behind far hills, Avery and Maddie’s plan is set in motion.

“I really hate doing this.”

“Tell me about it. It’s just another thing on the list of things I’ve done to Sam to make her hate me,” Avery raises an eyebrow at her, expecting her to remember even more about their past. 

≪⌽≫

“It started with my year, with Avery. Then gradually, the year 8’s joined in on the tormenting. I was called anything from crazy to mentally ill to a psychopath, it was so intense. Until one day, it was too much to handle, I couldn’t deal with it. Avery and her pack of wolves approached me, unprovoked, and was screaming insults at me. Jess just disappeared… Anger bubbled inside of me to the point of overflow. I freaked, taking my anger out through violence. Avery started it and I finished it. I- I wanted to beat her into a pulp. I didn’t even know Jess wasn’t real until I entered therapy a few months later…” She can’t help but watch tears roll down her cheeks, clouding her eyes and hanging on her lashes by a thread.

≪⌽≫

“She doesn’t hate you.” Maddie damn hoped she didn’t hate her. Avery was so stubborn and Sam was so quick to judge. Neither one of them trusted the other for such a long time. That and they didn't trust themselves. The other girls would strategically force them into situations together, wanting the feud to finally be over. It only took a year and a half, but they made it. She hoped the hard work paid off.

“I know but-”

“She doesn’t hate you, none of us do, and she won’t. Ever. Not even after this.” Maddie shakes her head, taking her by the hand and leading her down the hall. “Those girls are some of the most understanding girls I have ever met. Even if they somehow found out, each of them would figure out a way to forgive us.” 

Avery nods, smiling as they reach her room. “Goodnight… See you in a few hours?”

“See you in a few hours.” Maddie gives an affirming nod and waltzes off to her own room. 

After a while of staring at the roof, the ceiling starts to swirl in front of Maddie’s eyes. Stuff you’d see an illusionist create…  She sighs, her chest heavy. For the last hour, her mind had been going through every single possible outcome to the heist. If she wakes up, if she doesn’t. If she turns into a giant pink and yellow dragon. ...Though the last one is highly unlikely.

“Knock knock,” Avery’s voice causes Maddie to abruptly sit straight up. She swings a small pendant in her hand. “Hey, are you ready?”

Maddie nods, swinging her legs over the side of her bed. As her feet hit the ground, the reality of the situation hits her too. Sneaking around the castle she owned? Stealing from a friend, stealing magic from the one person who introduced her to magic? “Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Silent stirring is interrupted by heavy footsteps. The fading light gives it this strange movie-like feeling. The halls are silent, deadly quiet. Stagnating air floats around their heads, forcing them to remember each prolonged memory. Doors pass, one by one, reminding them of the high school life they once lived. All of that is gone now. They’ve all grown up. Moved on. Once sixteen-year-olds facing exams and bullying. Now twenty-five and facing whatever else life throws at them. Screwed up deals or screwed up monarchies. 

“This is it,” Maddie whispers, placing a hand on a single doorknob not too far from Avery’s room. “It’s Sam’s, then Molly’s, Jaime’s, Jay’s, and your’s. Like how the beds were in our dorm at school. Mine would be in the middle, but ya know… Guest rooms…”

“But that’s not important right now. C’mon…” Avery snarks. Maddie pushes open the door as slowly as she humanly can. Funny because she’s human but, like, more than human so kinda not human. So. Anyway. The door opens with a creak, causing Sam to stir. The two cringe, hoping she doesn’t wake. 

Both can only hear their heartbeat in their ears as they sneak into the room. Minimal light seeps in, leaving the girls practically blind to their surroundings. A small wind wraps around Maddie’s hand, causing the earrings in her ears to lightly glow, allowing just enough light for them to see around them but not enough to wake their friend. 

“If it’s not around her neck,” Maddie whispers. “It should be in the drawer. Because it’s not currently in sight.”

“Wow. Thank you, Ms Captain Obvious.” She rolls her eyes, continuing towards the drawer. Avery taps her foot impatiently as she opens it. “Is it in there?”

She nods, turning with the necklace wrapped around her hand. Avery tosses the replacement toward her. She catches it, pocketing the real pendant and placing the new one in the drawer. “Let’s go.”

They make a beeline for the exit, reliving the pent up breath caught in their chest through their sighs of relief. They had done it. None of the paranoid thoughts in Maddie’s mind had come true and they had done it. And now all that was left to do was- 

⋙⌽⋘

“What do you want this time, princess?” Zayne fiddles with the violet scarf wrapped around his neck. The dim street light flickers as heels click down the deep alley. “Did you want to meet so you can further deform me? What’s next on your to-mutilate list? My face?”

“Jesus Christ, Zayne…” Maddie pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’m here to hold up my end of the deal.”

His eyes instantly light up as she holds the pendant in her hand. She extends it towards him and he quickly snatches it. He looks around as he pockets it, “Did you come alone?”

“Does it matter? Are you planning to kill me?”

“‘Does it matter?’ Of course, it matters! Why? Did you not?” He looks her up and down, the snark grin on his face only growing. Maddie, growing wary, looks behind her. “Oh? So you’re not alone?”

He extends an arm, causing Avery to flicker into sight, her ring’s glow flickering out too. Her eyes begin to bulge, her hands travelling to her throat. She coughs, gasping for air. “Avery!”

“Oh, hi Avery!” Zayne waves towards the spluttering girl. Maddie looks between the pair, concern drawn all over her face. She watches as Avery falls to her knees, her throat seemingly closing up. “Aw, what a shame. Suffocation is the worse thing. Especially when it’s never-ending.” 

She backs herself into the wall, choking on what seems only to be air. Her heart, once racing, now slows in her chest. Sharp painted nails dig into the exposed skin of her upper arms, digging some kind of safety net for herself. It was but a notion, an idea of a way to minimize the pain. “Zayne, what are you doing?! You’re going to kill her!”

“Oh, so you can steal and cheat and murder, but as soon as I do it, it’s immoral?” He spins the necklace around on his pointer finger, refusing to look Maddie in the eye. “Plus she’s not going to die. I’m not that cruel. The whole point of illusion manipulation is that none of it is real. She’s merely under the illusion that she’s suffocating.”

“Why must you insist on-” She stomps toward him, only to be stopped by both Zayne’s hand and a literal burning feeling. It sweeps across old scars, feeling as though the candle flame is once again seeping into her skin.

“I wouldn’t get too close, sweets.” His sick grin falls, “I could make this so much worse…” 

Her head begins to spin, the supposed flames burning hotter and hotter. They follow each old burn around her body, the heat forcing her to drop her coat. The pain, so intense, causes her vision to slowly fade. Her knees begin to buckle under her. As everything fades to black, she can hear the sound of bone hitting concrete, footsteps leaving the alley. 

“Zayne…” She croaks, speaking to the shadow who’s no longer there.

⋙⌽⋘

“Gah-!” White walls welcome Maddie back to the land of the living. Four familiar faces surround her, each their own look of concern as she sits up, pulling her knees to her chest. “Where am- Is this the infirmary? What happened?”

“Zayne happened…” Avery sits up in the bed next to her, white sheets covering her legs. “You passed out from the pain pretty quickly, I endured it. I still feel like I can’t breathe…” 

The evening sun shines through the nearest window, alerting Maddie that she hadn’t been asleep for mere hours. “How long have I been out?”

Jaime bites her lip, “you’ve been in and out of consciousness since we found you yesterday. So technically… about 15 hours. You were just asleep for most of it, you hit your head pretty hard.”

Her hand rises to the bandage wrapped around her head. Confusion only fills her brain as she attempts to piece together the night. After she fainted, Zayne must’ve left. Avery would’ve helped her back to the castle once the pain finally faded, or that’s the most likely option. “Yeah… the burning was quite draining…”

“The burning? There’s no sign of any heat damage on your body?”

“I-”

“What happened? How was it even possible for you two to feel such intense things without suffering any external damage?” Sam asks, a curious glint in her eye. Knowing the truth, Maddie’s stomach turns with guilt. “It’s not even theoretically possible that Zayne did it. The only illusionist able to make people feel anything, let alone excruciating pain, is me.”

“There’s actually been a lot of reports in the last day of pain without any sign of damage,” Jay adds. The guilt and regret swimming in Maddie’s mind begins to spiral out of control. Rage begins to boil inside of her, replacing whatever acceptance she had left. Zayne had gone on a rampage and it was all her fault. The people capable of stopping him are at the risk of pain and unnecessary violence, one completely without working magic. She had to fix this. Alone or otherwise. It was her problem to solve.

Throwing her legs off the side of the bed, Maddie shoves through the ring of girls. She recoils as her bare feet touch the cold, tiled floor. Pushing it aside, she practically runs out of the room, leaving her friends alone and confused. “Maddie!?”

“I made a mistake!” 

Now on a mission, she racing through the halls of the castle, screaming endless apologies as she runs into numerous staff members. Untidy hair streams behind her, the wind whistling in her ears. 

≪⌽≫

“Coming!” Maddie races down the halls, attempting to avoid falling flat on her face, her heels not making it the easiest feat. She dodges maid after maid and butler after butler, getting too close to knocking around plates and glasses alike. 

“Miss Madelyn!”

“Sorry!” She cries repeating apologies, no time to slow down. When her mother would wait, you’d hear about it none stop. Once she reaches the dining room, she’s a panting mess. 

≪⌽≫

She runs down the hall. She runs. She runs as fast as she can. Her legs scream for rest but she keeps going. She dodges people left and right. Cries of anger and frustration echo through her head. She doesn’t care, someone is dying. She replies with short apologies. If they knew why she was running, that wouldn't be necessary. 

“No running in the halls, Madelyn!”

“Shut up!” She ignores the warning. If they knew. If only they knew. She manages to reach the steps with no injuries. To herself nor otherwise. After countless flights of stairs, she reaches the ground floor. As she realises, she hits the ground running. Her fast-ish run turns to a sprint. Thank the heavens she’s in a sports uniform. Heels would only make this worse.

≪⌽≫

She no longer wore her precious coat, it had been replaced with the infirmary’s spare frocks. Her only protection is the earrings in her ears, though she knew she barely had enough energy to last a whole fight. But she continues to run. Out through the main entrance, down the driveway, into the town. She no longer cares what looks she’ll get nor who’s judging. It’s time for her to end things once and for all.

“Zayne!? Zayne!” She cries, hoping for a reply. Onlookers point in all the right directions after the sloppy description she makes out. She bites her lip each time she turns a corner, unsure of what’s lurking, waiting for her. “Zayne, please!”

A flash of rich purple runs through the crowd. Quick enough to catch Maddie’s eye, not quick enough for Maddie to lose her track. A smirk crawls onto her face as she hits the ground running. Through twists and turns, she stays on his tail. Once close enough, she feels the smallest amount of pain hit her right in the stomach. She shakes it off, following him down the nearest backstreet. She finally has him cornered.

“Don’t bother hiding from me. I’ve bet you once, I can and will do it again,” She spits, referencing their less-than-friendly school competition. “The Challenge was really a blast, wasn’t it? I loved the part where you further traumatised me.”

“P-Princess… I didn’t expect to meet so soon.” She quickly became confused as to why Zayne was so scared to be in her shadow. Last night’s affairs played out much differently. “Did you want to go back over the means of our deal?”

“I think we both know the deal is over, Zayne.” Fury burned brightly in her eyes, causing him to cower under her glare alone. “You hurt my friends, so you better hand the gem over.” 

“Oh, you want this back?” He swings the chain around his pointer and middle fingers, watching the pendant go around and around and around. “Over my dead body.”

“If that’s how you want to play it, Zayne…” She cracks her knuckles in an attempt at intimidation. Immediately, she goes to swing at him, only for her fist to be caught in the same hand he swung the pendant around with. She growls, ready for a much fiercer fight than she thought.

With each blow, Maddie is caught off guard. Blocked, dodged, Zayne is way more agile than she thought. He even manages to get in a few hits himself before pocketing the pendant. She curses under her breath. She has the most elemental magic one could wish for, why is she not using it?

With one small blow, a large gust of wind sends Zayne tumbling backward. He quickly stabilizes himself, but not enough to prepare for the vine Maddie sends crawling up his leg. It pulls him to the ground, swinging him back and forth between the walls.

≪⌽≫

The blaring noise of the horn goes off, the walls risen. Maddie swallows the lump in her throat, watching Zayne disappear. She prepares for the surprise, ready for him to appear anywhere. Even when he does reappear, it might not actually be him. She pulls a vine from the ground, swinging it around the arena. She can hear a grunt coming from the corner, gasps from around the room.

She had totally forgotten that wasn’t a normal thing. She swings it around again until she can place exactly where he is. Another grunt leads her right to him. Rolling her eyes, she pushes him back with a sharp gust of wind as he reappears. She knows it’s him this time, if it wasn’t the wind would phase right through the illusion, no matter how realistic it was.

He fights back against the gust, pushing through and making a run for her. She quickly dodges each, throwing balls of water his way. The majority are missed, but the hits were worth it. “I’m surprised you got this good, Madelyn. Heard you almost burnt down the building just a few weeks ago.” 

≪⌽≫

Stuck in his vulnerable position, Zayne squirms as three more vines wrap around his limbs, holding him to the ground. Maddie throws up countless balls of ice and water, sending them crashing down on the hopeless Zayne. He continues to try and fight, sending a piercing pain through Maddie’s entire body. She cries out in pain but continues to hold on.

He attempts to struggle through the capture but they both realise it's no use. The vines continue to tighten, pulling each limb in a new direction. The sounds of bones cracking are masked by unanimous cries of agony. Zayne tries to disappear, flickering to the eye. Two small glows, one pink and one purple, shine through the thin material of his pocket.

≪⌽≫

“Shut up.” One Zayne appears next to her, another on the other side of the arena. They all speak at once, saying numerous things to get inside of her head. More and more appear, she can’t tell which one’s the real one anymore. “Shut up!”

She swings another, thicker vine around the room, all of the illusions flickering in and out of existence. Only one falls. That’s the Zayne she wants to- She wraps the vine around one of his legs, pulling him closer to her. He disappears to her eyes. “I’m not an idiot, Zayne!”

The vine wraps around where his body should be, squeezing tightly as it flings him around left and right. There are more gasps from the silence outside of their walls. As he reappears inside of the curled vine, a small grin appears too. “What?! What are you smiling about?!”

≪⌽≫

Maddie’s hands are quickly set alight as she remembers every little last detail of what Zayne has ever done to her and her friends. Finding out her location so her own father can murder her. Turning to who seemed to be her mortal enemy when she rejected him at the back to school dance. Using her own trauma to win a damn school competition. Calling her father his dad out of spite. And now threatening their very existence because they killed someone he barely knew?

She has had enough. She needs to put an end to this the only way how. Stepping cautiously to hover over the struggling boy, she smiles. Her hands burned with rage-fuelled flames, “Goodbye, Zayne. Such a shame too. We could’ve been friends…”

Deciding to end it all, she places a burning hand on the cheap material of Zayne’s shirt, watching the panic burn brighter in his eyes when it sets fire. In her own, crazed happiness shone. As he burned, she slowly becomes numb to the screaming, stepping back to watch the now still body engulf in flames. “Like father, like son…”

A minuscular object glistens amongst the fire. As Maddie reaches for it, she hears a group of footsteps running towards the alley. But with a second glance, she notices what she’s found. The small pink heart prevails through the ash. A small smile forces its way onto her cheeks and her eyes tear up as she grips it to her chest. Only now does she realise was she’s done. 

The footsteps become even closer and soon enough Avery, Sam, Molly, Jaime, and Jay all stand at the end of the backstreet. Their gaze soon falls upon whatever’s left of Zayne. Sam’s eyes, in particular, fall to the chain Maddie clutches in her hands as they fall to her sides. She clutches the one sitting on her chest, trying to grasp a sense of what was happening.

“Maddie?! What did you do?!” The pendant in her hand falls to the ground with little noise, tears now streaking down Maddie’s cheeks. She looks to her friends for guidance, realising they expect an answer out of her. Everything comes rushing back to her. She really has become the monster she had set to destroy. She musters whatever strength she has left and stutters,

“I- I made a deal.”


Hello. You're either reading this because you actually made it through the entire story or you were forced to scroll through 25 google doc pages (roughly 10,000 words) to either read the ending or leave a comment.

If you are the person who did read through the entire story, congrats. Not even I, the author of the story, have been able to read through the whole thing without skimming. Not because it's bad nor boring but I just suck at reading. Also, please feel free to comment some suggestions because I'm completely open for feedback!

Anyway. I'm going to use this as an opportunity to forward you to more of my writing. (Hehe, we all love a self plug.) Well, my writing that this was branched off of. This story is actually an alternate sequel to my story "Hopeless." Hence the title "Hopeless but it's not" That story follows the adventures of 6 high school girls who were all born capable of magic and what happens when that magic is misused and thrown into a school scene. Maddie is the main character in that one as well, and the story follows a lot of how she learns to use the magic that's been dormant in her for 16 years. So if you liked this story, an alternate timeline of Hopeless, I believe you will like Hopeless too. The only downside is that it's 107 pages/30 odd chapters long Interested? You can read that here or here(even though it's not completely public in the second link at the moment). All but one of the 'flashbacks' are actually taken directly from Hopeless as to make it easier for the reader to understand the history of the story without having to read the entirety of Hopeless.

Sorry for the super long self-plug and awkward explanation

That's all. Bye.