Keeper of the Lost Cities: Rebuild [COMPLETED]

Chapter Three - MARELLA

Marella didn't care that much for people—or living beings even faintly reminiscent of people, for that matter—and yet she always seemed to find herself in places with a lot of them.

This time it was Atlantis. She hadn't really meant to come here—she'd been ready to leap home—but all of a sudden she'd made a decision, and here she was. Might as well make the best of it, she thought.

As she strolled alongside the canals, she found herself strangely humbled by the domed city. Linh found Atlantis to be entrancing—the water called to her, after all—but Marella felt the opposite. Atlantis was oppressive. It was claustrophobic. The water outside the force fields constantly pressed against it, taunted it, threatened to break it.

Marella had been drawn to heat since she'd first manifested as a Pyrokinetic. To be under the ocean was more than a little awe-inspiring.

Not that she believed in that mumbo-jumbo the Councillors rambled about. All that talk about light and hope and perspective gave her a headache. But for a moment she let herself be properly in wonder.

Then came the glares. The whispers. The not-so-subtle yank on a child's arm as their parents pulled them back.

Aaaaaand the moment was ruined.

"Hurry—get away," someone told their kid.

"Why, Mommy?" they replied, not even bothering to whisper.

"Because she's the scary girl. Remember when I told you about her? She plays with fire."

The kid gasped, turning to look at Marella with wide, frightened eyes.

Playing with fire is fun! she thought—what she should have said. But that would only get her even more glares and, in some cases, jeers. So she pressed her lips shut and hurried past.

It was all so petty. Sure, Eternalia burned down because Fintan was a little fire-happy. Yes, Councillor Kenric died because of that fire. And of course there was Brant, who also started fires that killed people.

But fire wasn't all bad. People just couldn't see that—couldn't see that Marella was on the good side. All they saw was the "scary girl"—but she was more than that.

Not that she could convince anyone—not now anyway. People saw the emergence of the Purities and assumed there was another Neverseen. Another pyromaniac. And since they had no proof, they turned to Marella and accused her of being the hidden mastermind behind the new rebel group.

It was ironic, really. The Black Swan had done their research—the Purities weren't led by Pyrokinetics, they marched against them. They wanted life before the Neverseen, when humans and Pyrokinetics alike were banned. Apparently Pyrokinetics "ruined the genetic pool." They weren't "pure." It wasn't just about the humans; Marella was a target too.

But she couldn't blame Sophie for focusing so much on the former. She may have been biased, but even so, it was more logical to work to protect a whole species versus one lone Pyrokinetic.

Still. It burned a little—and it wasn't supposed to be easy for Marella to get burned.

The whispers turned to statements—not yet shouts—and Marella found herself ducking into the nearest building. She leaned against the wall, trying to banish the choked-up feeling she had. It was like the water outside was crushing her chest, refusing her breath.

"Leave right now, young lady, or I will find a goblin to escort you out!"

The words prompted Marella's eyes to focus on the scene before her. She was in a sparkling white foyer, with a silver M embossed on the floor. Marella's brain must not have been working, because she didn't process what exactly that meant until the young girl standing on the opposite side of the room stomped her foot and shoved a finger at the glossy-haired woman with a cheap smile and crystal clipboard.