Jewels of Nature

CHAPTER 11

Adria exclaims, with shock written all over her face.

Felix tightens his arms around Adria, and starts shouting at Carl."What the heck are you doing Carl!?"

Carl closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, his eyes are their original color again.

The flame died the exact moment he opened his eyes.

Felix shouted at Carl again, louder. Adria stared at Carl, uncomprehendingly, from her position in her brother's protective grip.

Carl replied calmly, "You can do it too, you have the same powers as me... Trust me." He appealed to Adria and saw her wavering.

Adria held his earnest gaze and exhaled.

She slowly stepped out of her brother's arms and stopped Felix's protests.

"It's fine Fe, I'm alright..." She smiled reassuringly at him.

Felix, still suspicious, glared at Carl and started shouting at him.

Adria, behind her brother, held out her hands. She started focussing. She saw her mother in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to dissipate the image. Now's not the time for those useless flashbacks. She heard someone's voice, a lot like her mother's soft, firm voice, telling her to stop. Adria opened her eyes quickly, startled.

Close your eyes, it's okay. Trust Me, sweetheart.

Adria felt like she was near tears, but stubbornly blinked away tears, and concentrated on that voice, so like her mother's...

She felt something open inside her, and all of a sudden, light flooded out of her in a rush.

Felix heard a soft gasp behind him and turned around in a flash. He steps back, with shock and fear written on his face.

Carl smiles, relieved.

Adria grins, her eyes scarlet, with fire dancing in her hands. 

Felix starts to panic, "Ade- WHAT IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW, Why-" 

"Fe, calm down, listen to me, kay?" Adria blinks, and the fire is gone, her eyes back to normal. "It's okay, you can do it too Fe. Just trust me, like always." She speaks calmly to him, walking towards him and holding his hands.

"It's easy, just concentrate on your hands, close your eyes, and open yourself to what's inside." Felix opens his mouth to protest. "I know, our whole lives, I told you to put a barrier, to build it up high. But this time, believe me, that will not help... Just open yourself to what's inside, and trust that you are safe, kay?" Felix stared at Adria and slowly nodded.

He closed his eyes.

In a few seconds, when he opened them, his eyes were a deep scarlet, and a flame was dancing in his hand. Felix stared at it and grinned.

"Wow." He whispered.

Carl came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. The abruptness of it distracted Feliz, and the flame blinked out. "Told ya, you could do it, you big wimp," Carl teased Felix.

Felix grunts, "Whatever."

Carl grins.

Adria rolls her eyes, and looks at Carl, "So, what does this mean Carl-?" She asks, hesitantly.

Carl smiles, reassuringly, and then remembering something unpleasant, grimaces.

"It means responsibility," Carl said with a resigned smile.

"What do you mean-" Felix asks, curious.

"I'll leave that to my father to explain," Carl replied, unhelpingly. 

Adria tilted her head, a question on her lips, that had just occurred to her, "Carl-, when our parents died, shouldn't we have been given to the Habilite to be looked after? What happened to the others?" 

Carl looked uncomfortable.

He answered.

"Dead."