The Girl with the Glowing Eyes (Blessed Book 1) Draft Book

1

In a clearing in the woods, there was a tent. This shabby little tent was surrounded by a little fire pit, where the softly glowing embers were flickering sadly. A pail was set upside-down, and upon this pail sat a boy.

The boy, who's name was Shane, sat poking at the ashes of his fire half-heartedly with a stick. In the tent behind him was his sister, who lay upon a cot, sleeping. Her vibrant hair shifted from pale green to midnight blue as she snuffled in her sleep. This was Zhimilda.

The night was quiet. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled, and a flock of birds rose as one from the trees. Shane whipped his head around at the noise, saw the black cloud of birds against the moon, and relaxed.

He threw down his stick as the first rays of dawn peeked through the trees, shuffling around to the discarded bellows. Shane huffed as he dragged it over, pointing it straight into the fire and pumping it once, twice, three times until the fire leaped up around the little pile of ashes.

Soon, Shane was busy pulling out two meager portions of sausage and bread, throwing a pan on top of the fire as he nervously checked the woods for any sign of someone coming.

"Shane?"

Zhimilda emerged from the tent, pulling her blue hair around her face. She yawned, stretching sleepily into the morning sun, and her hair mirrored her, turning a flaming shade of red.

"Morning, Zhi," Shane called as he handed her her breakfast. "Sleep well?"

"Sort of," she said, giving him a wan smile as she munched on her bread. "What are we going to do today?"

"Should we move?" he asked her, pulling his own plate towards him. "We've stayed here for far too long."

"I don't- wait," she said apprehensively. "There's someone there. Over in the bushes."

Shane was immediately on his feet, scanning the foliage for any sign of life when two wide, pale green, glowing orbs caught his attention.

Eyes.

He charged into the bushes, feeling the thrill of the chase as the eyes blinked once, and then vanished.

"Shane, wait!" Zhi called, running to him and putting a hand on his arm before he could go further. "She's scared. She only came because we had food. Don't chase her and give her a chance to show herself."

"Alright," Shane said begrudgingly. "I trust you."

Zhimilda was a Blessed One, with magical abilities. It was the reason for her eccentric hair. She could detect traces of life, traces of emotions, thoughts, and could even influence dreams. Every Blessed One was different, and they were all marked.

"We won't hurt you!" she called to the bushes. "I know what it's like to be hunted. You don't have to hide."

Shane sucked in a breath. Like her...

"Alright," said a small voice, right in front of them.

The air shimmered and Shane jumped back as a girl appeared, right in front of them. Her black hair was long, ending at her waist, and her skin was dirty. But her eyes...

Great, glowing, almond-shaped eyes deep-set in a heart-shaped face. There was no pupil, and even as Shane watched, they shifted to a solid light gray.

"You're a Blessed One," Shane realized, fascinated by the girl in front of him. "What's your name?"

"A-amiya," she stuttered. "You?"

"Zhimilda," Zhi told her. "Or Zhi." She flashed a kind smile. "And my brother is Shane."

"What kind of ability do you have?" Shane asked, examining her eyes. "Is it something to do with invisibility?"

"Illusion magic," Amiya said, flicking her hand. She disappeared, and Shane let out a yelp of surprise. Another Amiya crawled out of a bush a little ways away. The figure she'd used had been a projection, Shane realized.

Zhi looked wonderstruck as she told Amiya, "I have... I don't know the official term. Thought and Emotion Sensory, if you like. It's how I knew you were there. And wait... are you an elf?" She pointed to Amiya's slender, pointed ears.

"No," Amiya said. "Only half."

Shane wasn't listening to this exchange. He had walked back to the fire, deep in thought. He didn't want to admit it, but he was bitterly jealous. Jealous of Zhi and Amiya with their fancy powers. Jealous of Zhi for making a friend. He was angry, too; they got to play "Hey, I have the cool powers and the fancy hair and eyes" while Shane got to be the plain old bodyguard with the plain shoulder-length blond hair and the normal brown eyes.

No, he wasn't angry.

He was lonely.

"Come on, Shane!" Zhi called where she was talking with Amiya. "Do we have something she can wear?"

Sure enough, Amiya's clothes were in tatters, especially the back. Thin, red scars lined the places where it was torn as if she had run through a thornbush.

He sighed. "I'm sure we do, but if we don't, I can probably make something. For now, you can wear one of my extra shirts. I'm sure Zhi would offer, but she only has undergarments. Her last tunic got shredded."

Amiya took the bundle of cloth he handed her and blushed. "You can make clothes?"

"Er... yeah." Shane scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, I made a needle out of a fishbone when we first left our home and I taught myself. It's not hard."

"Still," Amiya insisted. "Thank you."

Zhi was looking back and forth between them the entire conversation, and when Shane looked at her she offered a teasing smile, then winced as Shane smacked her on the arm, hair shifting to a bright electric purple. Amiya breathed, "Whoa," and her eyes turned pale yellow. Zhi smirked.

Amiya stepped inside the tent, and Zhi smirked again. She stood on her toes to whisper into Shane's ear, "I think she likes you."

"Oh shut up," Shane grumbled, but Zhi's teasing had worked. His bitter mood had lifted, and he offered a small smile as Amiya pushed open the flap of the tent, now wearing his shirt, which came past her knees. She blushed and looked away.

"Well, Amiya," Shane said as he handed her some bread. "Welcome to our little group, I guess."

She smiled gratefully and nibbled on her bread. "How are you guys here? You said something about leaving home?"

Shane tensed, and Zhi looked strained as she said, "Just a little family spat. Nothing much," and promptly changed the subject.

"We should move," Zhi said. "And we should probably fix your back, Amiya. I have some bandages and some alcohol to disinfect it." She ran into the tent, leaving Amiya alone with Shane.

"How did you get those wounds?" Shane asked after an uncomfortable silence.

"Oh!" Amiya blushed again. "Ran straight into a bush to put a more convincing illusion on myself to hide from the Cloaked Hunters. They ran in a complete opposite direction."

"Alright, show me your back," Zhi called, coming out of the tent. "Uh, Shane, turn around."

He spun on his upside-down bucket, pulling the pan out of the embers and scraping the grease from the sausage into a little container already filled with the oil. Amiya gave a little gasp of pain, and Zhi said, "Done! Shane, you can turn around now."

He stood up and turned to face Amiya and Zhi. "I'm going to go hopefully catch a deer and get some water." Shane slung a bow and quiver over his shoulder and grabbed two waterskins and a canteen, and set out into the forest.