Where Two Worlds Come To Meet

Chapter 1

"What do you mean you're going to Sensiya?" I nearly dropped the jar of evening primrose oil. I gripped it tight to my chest and turned to face my sister.

"I mean exactly that." She said while pushing a four-foot crate of freshly delivered mushrooms with visible effort. Unsuccessful to move it an inch farther to its designated location, Cassia turned around and laid her palm flat against its side. Closing her eyes, I could feel the energy pulsing from her as she channeled her power.

Suddenly, I realized what she was about to do. But before I could stop her, Cassia's eyes opened and a wave of energy stemmed from her palm, pushing the crate at a speed much faster and a force much stronger than 5 people can and to the place it was supposed to be in. It hit the wall from the far end of the room, splinters and small pieces of wood flying around.

Stepping out of the apothecary to the storage room, I walked over to her side. With a glance at the crate's state, my eyes went wide. "Mother is going to murder you." The entire side of the crate was cracked, pieces of wood exposed at different angles. And in the middle where Cassia's hand had just been, there was a clear hole through the wood. "You know how she feels about damaging the products."

"And her wrath will triple after knowing it was my fault." Cassia groaned. There was no lie there. We both knew of our mother's unexplainable hate for her. "I thought I could control it this time." She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, resting her head against the stone behind her.

I sighed and took in how my sister looked today. Cassia wore those familiar black pants and boots, with brown leather training gear that I always thought resembled a corset in some way, a belt at the waist, and a hooded cloak. She looked like the rest of us Gridowans. Fair tan skin, long brown wavy hair. A warrior of Mahiya, guardian of nature. What made the difference was her eyes: both brown as the bark of a tree.

No Mahiyan of pure blood has eyes of the same color.

"Give it some time, Cass. You've only had them for 2 weeks."

"While the rest of you had all of yours since birth."

For years, my sister took every insult from Mahiyans who saw Sensiyans in a negative light. And although the majority of the people are kind-hearted, there will always be those who will either feel superior or see different as a crime that the world must be cleansed and rid of.

Cassia was called an impostor by some but welcomed by others because she was found as a baby beside the border that divides the world into two. I belonged to the land of Mahiya, the Southern half that practiced magic until this day. The ones from the North – from Sensiya – possessed no magic like us. History claimed that their ancestors abandoned the responsibility of protecting the earth and its nature, the source of all our power. And that is why Sensiyans have no magical gifts.

People may cross the border from one side of the world to the other on only rare occasions, which even I am not completely sure of. Import and export, of very specific and certain products approved by both sides, are definitely allowed. Visitation privileges are not often permitted let alone travel for the purpose of exploring.

I did hear of a group of researchers from a Sensiyan city, a few weeks ago, that visited our kingdom in search of a cure for an illness of theirs. It was a momentary shock from the people that the Royal Family approved of their quest, but then again it was not the only time Sensiyans were allowed to do medical research in our lands. The only condition was that only 5 would be welcomed at a time, with no weapons as a sign of trust on both sides. It was non-negotiable, and yet the Sensiyans agreed.

But with the incredibly strict rules with approved passage across borders, everyone wondered about Cassia's story. Our kingdom, Gridowa, is the closest to the border and my mother said that Cassia was found a few yards away from the wall on our territory wrapped in cloth with Mahiyan patterns 18 years ago.