Fire Meets Water - A Kotlc Marellinh Fan Fiction

Chapter 17 - Linh (Part 1)

Screams echoed through Linh's ears. She saw Elwin leap from the podium, with a look of sheer determination as he shot light beam after light beam from his hands. She saw Marella drag someone injured away from the scene. She saw Grady take control of a few Neverseen members and force them to knock themselves out.

Everything Linh saw, she saw in a haze. Her mind was only thinking one thing:

Not again.

Vaguely, she heard her name being called - no, yelled - then someone was shaking her shoulders.
"Linh!"

It wasn't until she peered into the person's ice blue eyes, the same ice blue eyes that she had gotten lost in so many times before, that she finally snapped out of it.

"Wha-what?" Linh mumbled.

"Oh, thank god, Linh. You were just standing there! Come on, you're the only Hydrokinetic here!"

"Yeah, okay." Linh agreed, the mental fog finally starting to clear. She saw a large fire spreading quickly through the dry grass. Closing her eyes, Linh felt the pull of all the sea water in the air. She called for a quick, hard rain, turning the flaming brush into wet soil in an instant.

She repeated this with as many blazes as she could, while keeping an eye out for any other trouble Fintan and his goons could be causing.

Suddenly, a scream cut through all the sound and Linh whirled around, expecting the worst. Had Fintan gotten hold of Marella or any of her friends? He had started to burn the entire place down? Instead Linh saw Elwin, with his dress on fire and Abner frantically trying to douse without getting himself burned. Linh shot a waterball as fast as she could.

Good news, she put out the fire. Bad news, she got both Elwin and Abner completely drenched.

"Sorry!" She called, and quickly sucked the mositure from their clothes. Abner said something back, but Linh couldn't hear it over all the sounds of the surrounding fights. Plus, she was busy locating all of her friends to make sure they were all right.

Sophie was fighting off three Neverseen members with her parents right beside her. Biana blinked in and out of sight as she made her way toward Fitz, who was battling two Neverseen members - a Guster and a Phaser by the looks of it - with only a small knife he must have picked up from the cake. Dex was huddled in the corner, tinkering with who knows what. Marella...wait - where was Marella?

Linh spun in a full circle trying to locate her. Her heart hammered faster with every second she couldn't see her. Finally, with a rush of relief, Linh spotted Marella locked in combat with someone. His hood had been knocked off, revealing short blonde hair that swept across his head. He was a Vanisher, disappearing and reappearing trying to land a blow on Marella but she dodged and blocked every one. Her braids shone in the sunlight as she blocked the Vanisher's blows with fire. Part of Marella's orange skirt was ripped, and part of the bottom appeared to be singed, but she didn't seem to mind.

So caught up watching Marella, Linh wasn't paying attention to what was around her. Suddenly, a cloth was shoved in front of Linh's face and big hands pinned her arms, preventing her from using her ability.

Linh tried to scream, tried riggling from the vise-like grip but it held strong. Her sight was blocked from the cloth and she felt herself being dragged across the grass. She dug her heels into the earth but whoever was holding her just grunted and kept going.

After a few minutes of pointless screaming and kicking, Linh was dumped onto hard grass. Eyes adjusting to the sudden light, she squinted up at her captor.

Fintan snarled down at her.

Linh's gut twisted with fear. What was he going to do to her? She had caused him so much trouble, he was probably thirsting for revenge.

Linh snuck a glance over her shoulder, to see if Marella could see what was happening.

"You think she's going to come save you?" Fintan questioned.

"Um-"

"You think you are some damsel in distress that needs saving by your one true lover?"

"Well, no-" Am I? Linh wondered, is that all I'm good for in life? Pulling other people down with my problems? Linh looked at Marella, twirling and shooting fireballs.

She doesn't need me.

None of them do.

Time seemed to spin backwards, bringing Linh back to the worst moment of her life. The crowds of people stared up at her, and her heart started to beat painfully fast. This was the moment that would change her life forever.

Words melted together into a slush that her ringing ears couldn't translate. Linh clasped her sweaty hands together behind her back, hoping that the people wouldn't see them shaking.

Frantic sirens began to go off in Linh's brain. No, no, no! This can't be happening! Her eyes locked with Tam's. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but that somehow made it a million times worse. What would happen to her twin if she left? They promised they would never leave each other. Questions poked like needles into her brain. How would her parents treat Tam? What if he turned hard and brittle like their parents, and there was nothing she could do to stop it?

Then, the words that had only haunted her worst dreams were spoken.

"Linh Song, because of the crimes you committed in Atlantis yesterday, we have decided that, for the good of everyone, to banish you to the neutral territories."

Tears blurred Linh's vision as she walked out of the tribunal hall. 

A/N: Heh, I left you on that cliffhanger for a while didn't I? I had a lot of writer's block on this chapter but finally got it out! If you're a bit confused about the end of this chapter, I'll tell you whats happening: So Linh is having a bit of a panic attack and that brings her back to her worst memory, her banishment. I wanted to get something out so I made a parts 1 and 2 for this chapter :)>

Word count: 956

Art Credits: shadymcsilverbangs