Lastland's Last Stand: The Prince's Ascension

Giftless Gifted

"You're sure I'm one of the Gifted?" Princeton ran tired fingers through short, dark hair. He was over halfway through his apprenticeship with Iris, and he still didn't have the slightest clue what his Gift was.

"Deep breaths, Princeton, deep breaths," Iris sighed.

"It's easy for you to say!" Princeton shot back, meeting her purple gaze enviously. His was only a few shades paler, testament to his Gift's existence, but still no indication of what the Gift actually was.

And that's the only reason I came here! Princeton thought bitterly. Anyone who knew him knew that he was not cut out for army life, but as per the new law surrounding Gifted training, they all had to serve a mandatory apprenticeship under one of the established Gifted. Ideally, that Gifted would be able to guide the younger into discovering what their Gift was, but as Princeton was experiencing with Iris...

A moment later, his scowl faded. As irritated as he was by his helplessness in deducing his Gift, he didn't want to take it out on Iris. It's not HER fault my Gift is being so stupidly stubborn, but... I DID want a cool, special power of my own... Isn't that the whole point of being a Gifted?

Even though he would've rather died than admit it, one of his deepest, darkest fears was that he simply did not have a Gift. It wasn't unheard of.

There was a single case back in Lastland of a Gifted who was only 25% Corruptor. Mirroring that, one of their eyes was an unnatural shade of blue, but the other was a normal hazel, and they didn't seem to have any other Gifted traits aside from that. Because the cause of their genetic mutation was unknown, Princeton feared the possibility that he might be afflicted with it as well, or something similar.

"Nope!" Iris shook her head. "Your DNA test said that you're 50% Corruptor, so you're 100% Hybrid!" With the existence of the Gifted now known across the country, the term "Hybrid" was adopted as a more formal moniker, but of course, the term "Gifted" wasn't going anywhere. And neither was Princeton. "You're one of us, like it or not!" Iris added, trying to lighten the mood.

Princeton smiled dryly, not because her words comforted him—although he appreciated the sentiment—but because they were exactly what the other Southwood Gifted had already said to him time and again. Their name was Avalon Maddox, Gifted of Ice, and they were the second Southwood Gifted after Iris, just a few years older than Princeton. In Avalon's words, they were as chill, laidback, and fun as their Gift, a snow day in human/Hybrid form, and they were the first person Princeton opened up to about his fears surrounding his Gift (or apparent lack thereof).

"You don't think... it's because I'm trans... do you?" he asked nervously, having received top surgery only about a year pre-deployment.

"Nah, shouldn't be," Avalon shook their head, dyed dark red hair flashing in the sun as they closed their turquoise eyes. "Scarlet and Rexus are both trans, post-op, and their Gifts work perfectly fine. Plus, you got people like me and Rowan who are also trans, but we've never had any surgeries and our Gifts work perfectly fine as well." Avalon was agender while Rowan, a Westcliff Gifted of Fire immediately succeeding Rexus, was genderfluid, wearing wristbands to indicate what gender they were as it changed from day to day.

Avalon's words reassured Princeton back then, but as the months flew on, he started losing hope. "Any estimates on how much longer it's going to take?" he asked Iris tiredly. He already knew the answer. It was as if life were dangling a carrot right before his purple eyes, but he couldn't see where exactly it was. All he could do was reach blindly and hope for the best, and yet it never panned out for poor Princeton Cross.

"It's different for everyone," Iris sighed regretfully. She didn't enjoy the suspense any more than he did. I feel like a failure. I wonder, is it my fault? Is there something I could be doing differently?