"Behind the Glass" - A Vael Short Story

> Download this short story here.
"Behind the Glass"

By Alyssa Huber

"Fear" by akirakirai on deviantART

          She felt it coming again, and she couldn't hide from it.

          Lushia's vision blurred. The Shadow Mark was taking her over, crawling across her skin. Her head was throbbing. Her heart was pounding. She felt desperately afraid. The burning, constricting, spreading pain was intense, but she would endure three times that pain if she didn't have to succumb to the sinking feeling inside her.

          It felt as if she was looking at Mikio from behind a glass wall, unable to speak or be heard, gradually drifting farther away. A blurry image of Mikio glitched in front of her, his concerned eyes looking malicious in flashes.

          It's not real... she thought to herself. It's just an illusion...

          It was hard to convince herself of that when it looked like her friend wanted to kill her, or worse. Whatever was worse than death, that's what his face looked like. Brown eyes flashing to red. They became bloodshot. Then they disappeared into white nothingness. He grinned a grin too wide for a human face, revealing layers upon layers of sharp teeth. Blood dripped from his hairline, his eyes, and even the walls behind him.

          The moment Mikio's eyes disappeared, Lushia couldn't tolerate it any longer. She held out her arms in front of her protectively, wishing it would go away. Her efforts to resist only made it worse, evoking a feeling of being smothered on all sides. Too much pressure. Too much nausea. She shrieked and fell backwards at the sensation of a thousand tiny insects crawling on her arms. It didn't help that she couldn't ignore the luring susurrus of secretive voices.

          A warped voice spoke to her.

          "Lushia..." it came from what was left of Mikio, and sounded like three voices at once. "Die" said one, "here" said another, and the third whispered "useless."

          Frantically, Lushia rubbed her arms to be rid of the insects. But there was nothing there, even though she still felt it. Trying to block out the sensations were futile. She looked at her arm carefully. Something wasn't right: the Mark wasn't there. Did she get better? No, that couldn't be... not if she still felt what she did, and if the twisted creature in front of her was still there.

          Focusing on her nightmarishly warped, labored breathing, Lushia looked closer at her arm. The crawly feeling was still there, but no insects. No insects meant this wasn't real. The creature in front of her meant this wasn't real. It only felt real. Lushia took a deep, shaky breath, and looked up to face the monster.

          "Lushia..." the monster uttered through its layered teeth, with only two voices this time. It sounded more human...

          The gruesome features of the creature were starting to melt away. When she saw a glimpse of brown eyes beneath the monster, she felt like she could breathe again.

          "--here." said Mikio. "I'm here."

          Lushia glanced down to see his hand held out before her, noticing the worn threads of his leather gloves sticking out from the seams. He was offering his hand.

          Cautiously--as she still felt sick and uneasy--she weakly placed her hand in his. She focused again on his gloves. The smooth-but-rough feeling, the smell of the earth, the tickling of the threads. Mikio was here, and he wasn't a monster. Lushia felt safe. And yet, she felt a twinge of guilt rising in her; she could barely speak as she swallowed it back down, trying to focus on her gratitude. Mikio was here.

> Download this short story here.          

"Like a Child" - A Vael Short Story

> Download this short story here.
"Like a Child"

By Alyssa Huber

  
          Lushia's hand sparked as her heart beat desperately in her chest. She might have magic, but she couldn't magically whisk away the anxiety.

          "Focus, Lushia." Seamus said to her gently.

          Lushia choked on her words before she could speak.

          "How can I control my magic if I can't even control what's going on in my head?" Lushia asked, more of herself than Seamus.

          "You can." Seamus replied. "It just takes practice, and patience. I need you to be patient."

          "I can't..." Lushia said hopelessly, dropping to her knees.

          All this drama over trying to zap a target dummy. She felt so stupid.

          "You say that, but it's not true." Seamus said, leaning down to her level. "I know you can. Thinking that you can't is a self-fulfilling prophecy--"

          "I know." Lushia responded firmly, annoyed.

          She didn't want to hear it again. Seamus had already explained the "self-fulfilling prophecy" concept on more than one occasion, and it echoed it a thousand times more in Lushia's head. If she could think differently, she would have by now.

          Seamus sighed.

          "I'll leave you alone for a while then." said Seamus. Lushia could tell he was trying to hide his own impatience. She wished he wouldn't; then perhaps they could relate better, and she wouldn’t feel like a freak with her heart on her sleeve. Seamus was always so controlled, so elegant, so... perfect. More perfect than her...

          As soon as Seamus was out of sight, she buried her face in her hands. She couldn't even do simple magic right. How could she possibly think she could be a contributing member of the Celestial Emissaries? She felt silly for starting this futile pursuit.

          "Why you hiding your face, Lushy?" said the charmingly baby-like voice of a young girl.

          Oh... oops. Lushia thought, and she looked up to see little Shira, the moon fairy. standing in front of her with her hands behind her back. She was leaning towards Lushia curiously, her small frame not much taller than Lushia when she was hunched over.

          "Uh..." Lushia stuttered, not sure if Shira would understand. "No reason. Whatcha doing, Shira?"

          "Flower hunting!" said Shira. "Just like Daddy, 'cept he hunts aminals. I got these for you!"

          Shira held out a handful of flowers of various colors, some stems bent and others upright. It was the cutest smushed bouquet Lushia had ever seen.

          "Aww, thank you, Shira!" Lushia said, accepting the flowers.

          After Shira skipped away, Lushia carefully set the flowers down on a stone brick of the ruined wall that lined the training area. Lost in thought, she resumed her position a few yards away from the dummy. She took a deep breath and focused again.

          Lushia noticed the tension in her shoulders, so she stopped to relax and think for a moment. The tension swiftly left her as she gazed at the trees. Moon fairies like Shira live hundreds of years, and Lushia wondered how old she was. Hiro was her adoptive father, on top of being the king's son and captain of the Celestial Guard. He explained to Lushia that moon fairies never "grow up" like we do--that is, they always retain a childlike body and nature. Shira's age was unknown even to her, and there was no way Hiro could figure it out.

          However long Shira had lived, she was like a child, unburdened by the world and its expectations. Why couldn't Lushia be like that?

          Maybe it's because Shira didn't have any responsibilities, at least none Lushia knew of. As for Lushia, it felt as if the entire world was depending on her. But when she dug deeper, she realized that was not the case. No one cared what she did, and perhaps her intentions were selfish. If she didn't have the Shadow Mark herself, would she even bother to look for a cure for others?

          A feeling of dread clouded her vision. Out of the corner of her eye, Lushia noticed her Mark spreading down her arms again. Letting out her breath, she gazed at the trees again, trying to clear her mind with the luscious branches dressed in green, swaying in the wind. She forgot how easy it was to unknowingly spiral into her rabbit-hole of desparate thoughts.

          Be like Shira. Lushia thought to herself. Carefree; natural. I don't have to be perfect.

          Instead of thinking first, she lifted her hand in an elegant, relaxed motion. Looking at the dummy--and not expecting anything--she allowed herself to feel whatever came to her. A mix of fear, desperation, and self-loathing passed her by as the Mark slowly reversed direction and disappeared from her arms. A sort of calm euphoria followed, tingling up her spine and ballooning in her head. Her heart fluttered in controlled excitement as a dull blue glow began to halo her hand.

Her gaze shifted from her hand to the dummy, and she flicked her wrist swiftly, palm facing forward, willing her energy towards the target. A luminous blast was forced from her hand and knocked the dummy over, snapping the wooden pole that held it in place.

          Lushia smirked and pumped her fist victoriously, and it sizzled.

          "Ow!" she flinched as she loosened her hand, shaking it around until it stopped burning.

          A few moments passed, and she suddenly burst out laughing. Now that she finally got her magic to do what she wanted, not even a sizzling fist could put a damper on her excitement.

> Download this short story here.