Chapter 1: CHAPTER 1
I adjust my ponytail, sweat dripping from my bow. I dodged the first hit, but not the second and third, both making my body ache. He is so unpredictable, I try to read his movements, but I fail once more.
"Focus, Atlas." my father scolds me.
Trying to counterattack, my fist is blocked and because of the impulse, my right foot hits him on the ribs, although I lose my balance. Shit.
Indeed, he kicks my left foot, making me fall onto my back.
"I won, again." he mocks me.
"Do you think so?" I smiled. "I always have a trick under my sleeve."
From my hand, fireball bolts towards him. My father tries to block it, but I jump to my feet and place my hands on the earth.
I run to him, yet before I can hit him, my father shoots me a waterball, right into my face. Seeing red, I raise my hand, making a circle of fire surround him.
"Stay still," I order when he was about to extinguish it. He can't help but obey.
I tilt my head and his leg breaks, and as I raise more my hand, he starts to levitate. He screams at me to stop.
Don't stop. He wants you to be powerful, and heartless. Do it.
"Atlas!" someone yelled but I didn't care.
My mother arrives at the place, sending a wave of air towards me. It hits me and sends me flying to a tree. Quickly, she kneels beside my father, healing his broken leg. When she finishes, she turns to me with real fear in her eyes.
It was the first time she looked at me like that.
My heart aches as I realize what I was about to do. I could have killed him. I wanted to kill him, my own father!
I'm a monster, I'm the worst person in the world, I'm a monster. My heart burns with pain as if it was in hell.
I can't look at him, I can't even raise my head.
I almost killed him. I run.
"Atlas!" screams my father, but I don't listen to him, I run as fast as I can until I reach my room.
I'm a horrible daughter, I'm evil, why didn't I stop, why couldn't I stop? I hurt the person I love most in the world.
I'm a monster, I'm a monster, I'm a monster...
My thoughts stab my heart, and I get mad again, this time at myself. I hit the wall, my knuckles splitting open.
I'm cursed. Why? Because I almost killed him.
The second hit to the wall makes the house tremble.
I want to be a normal druid, not one that enjoys seeing her father in pain.
The third hit makes my hand break, but I couldn't care less. The lights are flicking as I lose control. I'm tired of being afraid of myself, I need to accept who I am.
"Atlas!" my father is in the hall, walking towards my room. "Darling…" I close the door before he gets in.
Pain fills my entire body. I feel sick, I'm tired of myself.
"Darling, I'm okay!" don't listen to him, he's lying.
How could I be so stupid? He will never be okay if I'm nearby.
"I'm a demon, you need to accept it" I answer through the door.
"Don't ever say that again, Atlas. You're…"
I scream in frustration. What would he say? I'm a good person? False, I'm not even a person, I'm a druid.
"I hurt you, dad! I can't forgive myself, ever," I sob.
The room darkens noticeably. The sun is getting blocked by an enormous black cloud. A storm is coming.
It's me.
"Darling," he called, distracting me. "Focus on my voice. Come back to me, please" he begs.
I look out of the window as thunder booms. I know I'm doing this, my emotions are making this.
"Honey, open the door, please," my mother said.
"No. I want to be alone."
My heart still beats rapidly, my crisis goes on, and I'm pretty sure I'll destroy anything that comes into my path.
"Baby…"
"No!"
Don't lose control, I tell myself.
I close my hand in fists, my nails digging into my skin and drawing blood. I'm hurting myself, and it feels good.
The pain makes you human, and it helps you.
"I'm okay," I said, opening the door a little bit. "Can I be left alone?" I smiled.
🌑🌑🌑
My story begins long before I was born when druids were chased and killed. Few managed to hide, building different villages around the world, the biggest one being mine, in New Orleans.
My village is divided into four clans, fire, water, air, and earth. It's forbidden for the clans to mix and have offsprings, that was the rule, my father, from the water clan, and my mother, from the air one, broke.
The only law given by the gods was broken by them, and their punishment was to have a cursed child. They allowed my parents to keep their relationship, but forbid them to have children. And yet, here I am. Cursed to wanting to kill whoever defies me. Still, they had another daughter, Tatia, but she's normal, she has no powers.
I wish I was her.
Instead, I'm cursed to control all the powers, and fire is my favorite. I like to burn and break stuff. I also have other gifts, like breaking bones with a thought or controlling the weather.
Because of my parents' sins, I was born unstable and cursed. I can't blame them, they love each other and the rule shouldn't exist. The gods shouldn't forbid who to love.
My childhood was hard because of that. Everyone was afraid of me, no one wanted to play with me until I met him. Luka. He controls the earth, and he has become my best friend and brother.
Honestly, he has been the reason I haven't killed anyone yet. He's my rock.
🌑🌑🌑
It's my time to meditate.
My parents have left the home, so I walk with ease. I sit on the grass, stretching my arms into position, closing my eyes.
My fury ruined the sunny day, which I love. I must fix that.
My skin warms as the sun comes out, the clouds dissipating and the heat coming back. I touch the grass, making sunflowers grow until they stand proud before me.
Everything is alright, but then two girls approach me.
"My grandma wants to see you." says the brunette, Ágata.
"Why does she need me?" I ask annoyed.
I don't have a good reputation, and Mary, the leader, said that as soon as I turn 18, I got to leave.
"She has heard about your… How can we say it?" She looks at her sister, Debby.
"Incident." she mockingly murmurs.
I bit my cheek. They were trying to rile me up, and they are achieving it. Mary, the leader, would never be alone in a room with me.
"Are you sure?" I frown.
"Yeah, she found out about you almost killing your father." She carelessly looked at her nails.
Mary is looking for an excuse to kick me, and I just gave her the perfect one. She will say that I'm unstable and dangerous, and she's right.
"Will you go?" Ágata steps closer. "We all know what will happen, Atlas." She takes my hand, faking worry.
I withdraw my hand, getting more annoyed. She's faking it.
"I'm not a coward. I know I fucked up, and I will face the consequences."
🌑🌑🌑
I reach Mary's office, and I hesitated. I'm not sure what will happen, nor if I will be forgiven. I must not be a coward. I opened the door, stepping in, and I see her smile at me.
"Atlas." she stands "It's so good to see you."
"Let's be real, Mary." I say as I sit down. "We both fucking hate seeing each other."
She bits her lip, walking in the room until she finally faces me.
"And why would I dislike seeing my granddaughter?" she asked, her voice dripping with hypocrisy.
"Because we both know you don't love me as such." I lean back in the seat "Why did you want to see me?"
She grabs a paper sheet and gives it to me.
It has a name written on it:
Raziel Vanderwall.
"What's this?" I give it back, not wanting to believe what I saw. Vanderwall, like me. Like my parents.
"Didn't your parents tell you?" I shake my head. "I guessed so. You aren't your parents firstborn. You have an older brother, Raziel."
My heart stopped. The world spins around me.
It can't be true.
They wouldn't hide that from me. They wouldn't lie to me about my brother, wouldn't they?
"How do you know?" I asked, getting up. "Where did you get that?"
"I spoke to a médium." She shrugged. "She knows a lot more, but she will only speak to you. She has answers and truths about you that we don't know."
Truths?
Answers?
This sounds like a really bad plan, but I'm willing to go through it. I need to know what other lies did my parents tell me.
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