Immortali

Chapter 25: The First Test

Hello all my lovely readers! 

I know lots of you are probably very annoyed with, so as to get into the Christmas spirit, I'm doing MULTIPLE updates. Yeah, that's right, you heard me. MULTIPLE UPDATES. 

Merry Christmas everyone! And for those who do not celebrate Christmas, I hope you are having an equally merry time. :-) 

Love, Scarlet. 

Raina stood out in one of the many open fields of the forest. Before her stood a maze, an ongoing mixture of concrete walls, hedges and... shadowy places that she couldn't quite see into. A dozen other teenagers that looked to be the same age as her stood gathered around the main entrance.

One in particular was surrounded by a large group of people. Raina looked this girl up and down. She had dirty blonde hair, nice olive skin, and eyes like dark seeds. She wore a simple white robe that reached her feet, an accompanying hood at the back, swaying occasionally as its owner moved to and fro.

Arriana had told her that these pale robes were the norm in Avalon, the Immortal Realm. It was a dimension where only Immortali lived. No mortal was allowed to go there. It was strictly forbidden.

Something about that had irked Raina when Arriana had told her the night before.

"But what about humans who are born to Immortali parents?" she'd asked.

Her mentor had looked grave. A sad, almost remorseful, look flashed across her eyes. "They are separated from their parents and left somewhere here on Earth. Usually in foster homes, or orphanages."

"What? That's terrible!"

Arriana sighed. "I know. That's why I refuse to live in Avalon. Especially after a very dear friend of mine, a talented Pyrokinetic, fell in love with a Shapeshifter. She gave birth to twins, but there was a problem; one of the twins was Immortali, and the other wasn't. They took the human twin away from her and left her on Earth. They had to fight Isa, Kavma and myself, but, in the end they won. Kavma was... never the same."

Standing here now and watching all the other Avalonian Immortali, Raina felt a pang of pity for Kavma. She thought of what it would be like to wonder for eternity what had become of your baby, all alone somewhere in a completely different dimension, while watching other parents cherish and love their children.

She couldn't stand to look at them anymore. They disgusted her.

Footsteps approached, and she was forced to look up again as the girl in white robes approached her, a sneer on her face.

"So, you're the human born," she looked Raina up and down. "You don't look like much. I bet you couldn't even wield those swords on your back. This year's Challenges should be a breeze."

Raina gritted her teeth and said nothing, but under her calm mask, a stormy sea sizzled within her, demanding to be let out. She did her best to ignore it.

The girl kept talking. "Perhaps, if you mess up enough, they might send you home. That would be rather amusing. I know my Mistress would like to see the Yellow-Eyed Witch humiliated. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave you to a different mentor afterwards. Then, you can be someone else's problem."

Another girl appeared by her side, and whispered in White Robe's ear, but it was a loud whisper, one that wasn't meant to be a secret, but a taunt.

"I heard she'd only Initiated three months ago. She doesn't even stand a chance."

White Robes smiled. "Now, now, Lara. Don't be rude, I'm sure she'd stand a chance... after another hundred years of training."

Raina rolled her eyes. It apparently didn't matter what species you were dealing with; there'd always be people who thought they were better than everyone else. And, though her anger was simmering like a soup, and her pride was slightly wounded, she made what she thought was the mature choice and started to walk away. Apparently, White Robes didn't like that.