{SHORTLIST OpenNovellaContest 2021}
{ONC 2021 Round One Ambassador Picks}
Aithne Pan, a Chinese-Irish girl living in the futuristic city of Venice has to decide between what her heart tells her is correct, and what she has always been taught is righ...
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Two weeks.
We've been meeting up at sunrise every other day, the girls who train me differing from day to day. By now I have met all six members of Lilac Royalty - including the missing Flamma Lorem - and I am finally starting to understand the dynamics between them.
Diamond is the leader, although she takes into consideration both Hemlock's and Eagle's thoughts. Based on what I've seen both girls do, my guess is that Eagle is extremely powerful and therefore Diamond wants to stay in her good books, and Hemlock is smart, really smart. The other three members are Gold, who has Metallum Flexuram, and Vulcan and Ember, both of which have Flamma Flexuram. Gold seems to be quite a generous person, staying late when she trains me and making sure I am okay when I can't figure out how to manipulate my powers as she asks me to. Vulcan, on the other hand, is wild, and instead of the calming ambience that surrounds Ember, she is as chaotic as the strong winds out at sea, bashing into anything and everything in her way.
"Ouch!" I yell, grabbing some water and placing it over my scalding skin as I glare at Vulcan who is sitting down on a wooden chair, smirking at me. Most of the girls - all except for Diamond and Hemlock - now wear half-covering masks, revealing the lower part of their face to me. I'm taking that as progress.
"I told you to be aware of your surroundings. The best way to learn is the hard way," I knew what she was doing, the same way I had seen her movements as she aimed a small spark towards my uncovered arm. But in their eyes I'm not good enough yet, I haven't gained enough knowledge to see her power flow out of her, so I have to endure the pain she inflicts, calling it teaching to make sure nobody gets suspicious.
I flick my wrist, a small ball around the size of a marble jumping out of the water, frozen by the time it hits Can's arm, making her yelp. "Same goes for you," I smirk, getting back into a fighting stance.
When we started training I thought more people would stop and watch, would recognize the vigilante group, but as the days go on I've realised that this is the perfect place to train. People down here are always in a hurry, meaning the small number of people who actually take notice of us don't stay for too long. Children are usually the ones who stare the most, but with our clothes and masks I don't think a child could ever recognize any of us.
"I told you not to mess with her..." Gold mutters, "Are you alright?" she asks in concern, walking towards me.
I nod, "Vulcan here is going soft. She acts all tough but the sparks she throws my way are like light flicks!". I can tell by the way Can's mouth turns into a grin that she is about to send another spark, probably hotter and bigger, towards me, so I quickly move my arms in a fluid motion. Water appears before me, freezing into a shield as the fireballs bang against it, sizzling and disappearing in an instant.
Gold gasps, "Vulcan! She is still in training!".
I laugh as Gold tells her off, her hand slapping Vulcan's arm lightly as she continues to pester her, "All right, all right! Geez, you train her then!".
