Identity (Editing)

Chapter 19

"I'm so glad you're helping me." Ramæl giggles, gripping my hand tightly as she drags me around. It's almost strange how quickly she has opened up to me in the thirty minutes we've been walking. Her fiery hair is in loose curls that bob around her shoulders as she skips me forward. Huh, maybe she's more like Grace than I thought.

"Oh! I heard there's a training area! Can we go there?" And asks and I give her a curious look for a moment. Ramæl doesn't even seem close to the kind of girl who would be seen sparring with someone. Who am I to judge, though, considering that a dummy of all things put me in my place.

"Yep. It's behind the main building." I tell her and the smile on her face widens. We walk there slowly, talking about our pasts and how we got to the academy.

It turns out Ramæl is a Fae from a different section of the forest and she can control the element of fire. I gulp nervously as she says this. I've always had a thing against fire, but I decide not to mention it. It probably wouldn't have boded well if I did. She grew up in a loving family and was always the adventurer, getting out and going to the human towns just for the thrill of it. A small smile tugs at my lips. She seems a lot like Andalo. At the thought, the previous smile turns into a pang of remorse deep in my heart. She trails off, looking at me with a slightly worried expression.

"Are you alright?" She asks and I quickly nod.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I force a small smile that she cautiously accepts with a smile of her own. Her Amber eyes widen as we arrive at the training area.

"Woah! This is amazing!" She laughs and drags me forward. I stumble for a second, my toes catching on a small tree root. Thankfully, I catch my balance before I end up face planting into the vibrant green grass. She stops and tilts her head, causing some flaming hair to spill over her shoulder in fiery waves. Very slowly, she reaches out her left hand towards the wooden soldier.

"I wouldn't-" I'm cut off by a loud slap ringing through the air. The statue arm lurches out and connects sharply with her hand. She jerks back, a sizzling hiss passing from her lips. For a second, her composure cracks and the person I see is completely different than the girl I just befriended. In a second, though, the smile is on her face again and she glances over at me, but I see through it now.

"Feisty little thing, isn't it?" She giggles and a sense of uneasiness starts to settle in the pit of my stomach.

"Y-yeah..." I laugh a little and she bows her head, her shoulders lifting slightly as she lets out a loud sigh.

"Well that was short lived." She mutters, looking back up at me with a devious smile. "You, Kylee Ramirez, are an interesting girl indeed." I cautiously take a step back and she laughs, reaching out and wrapping her slender fingers around my wrist.

"W-what are y-" pain shoots up my arm as her hand bursts into brilliant flames. My words cut off with a loud cry and my knees buckle. The ground greets me with a bitter coolness and she releases my hand, scowling down at me.

"You're so innocent, it's disgusting." She growls, but her words barely register as I hold my singed wrist, gritting my teeth against the pain.

"W-why are you doing this..?" I demand shakily and she responds with a scoff, kneeling down beside me and placing her hand on my forehead. Agony envelopes me and my back arches from the ground, my nails digging into the dirt. Everything is screaming inside me, threatening to shut down. I need to move... Get away... Dots are swimming in my vision. I slowly manage to raise my arm, pressing it against her neck as I try to push her away.

"I'm growing tired of this." Her nails bite into my skin and the pain intensifies, burning even behind my eyes as they slowly close. Moments later, the cool relief of darkness overtakes me.