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Raison D’etre
By: SakuraTeardrop and Synzunea
It was April of the year 1938. The sky grew dark as clouds started to enclose. It felt like an eternity to him. His legs wouldn’t take him any further than where he stood. He tried to run but to no avail. His legs wobbled and brought him to collapse on the ground.
With his arms he tried to push himself up to his feet with all the strength he could muster from his fatigued body, but his weary frame wouldn’t budge just as the rain started to pour.
“Perfect,” Laurence Schwartz laughed in sarcasm and he threw his head back, as if to mockingly welcome the rain.
“There you are,” A man with a huge smirk on his face appeared before him. “Any last words?”
“You’ll never triumph, Alex,” Laurence choked. “You’ll never get your filthy hands anywhere near her!”
“Really, now? Pity.” Alexander Winters raised a brow before his irises turned red. He lifted Lawrence of the ground with no difficulty; without any physical means.
“Laurence!” A hooded woman gasped as she ran from a short distance.
“Oh, now what?” The black haired Conjurer rolled his fiery eyes. His gaze remained still on the orange haired man called Lawrence who was still defying gravity.
“I’m the one you’re looking for! Leave Laurence alone!” The woman ordered.
A scoff escaped the red-eyed Conjurer as he dropped his enemy on the ground. He shut his eyes then opened them to reveal his usual brown orbs. He faced the woman behind him with a triumphant grin. “Ellora Irvington.”
“Don’t! You’re going to be killed!” Laurence managed to shout to his comrade, his hand around his neck as if he were choking. “You’re no match for him!”
Her eyes closed as she endured the words coming from her dear friend.
“…Ellora,” Alex's eyes lit with delight and he took steps toward her.
“Don’t you touch her!” The orange haired man angered as he finally rose to his feet and stood in the Conjurer’s way.
“What’re you going to do about it?” Alex scoffed again. “Create some illusions, hoping you’d distract me? Oh, please. With that ability of yours, sir, there’s no way you can stop me.”
“Leave!” She said bitterly. “…Leave before he harms you…”
He shook his head, stretching his arms to block Ellora. “I won’t leave you.”
Almost instantly, Laurence froze. His lips stopped moving, and it was as if he no longer breathed and he no longer blinked. It was Alex’s doing, it was the manipulator of time's work.
“Now,” The dark-haired man began, “We can have a little privacy, eh, Miss Irvington?”
“What do you want?” Ellora glanced at her guard, who was naught but a still statue.
“There is only one thing I want, Miss Irvington,” He chuckled rather calmly.
“Tell me where I can find the Orions.”
“It’s not my fault you’re quite slow, sis!” Saiph, a young lad of fourteen called out as his older sister of seventeen merely rolled her eyes at him.
Meissa glared at her younger sibling with her frozen red eyes. “I’m serious.”
The blonde boy stopped at his tracks and turned to face his sister who was four feet behind him. He sighed in defeat and raised his hands in the air in surrender. “Okay, you win.”
A faint smile appeared on her lips. She had been practically chasing her brother in the streets of London. He would be such a child sometimes, she grinned at the thought of it.
“So, are we looking for somebody like us?” Saiph remarked with sarcasm and he started to walk once again with his sister. The golden haired girl nodded.
“She goes by the name Cecilia Milton.”
“Doesn’t ring a bell.” Saiph replied nonchalantly.
“Of course it doesn’t, it’s a pseudonym.” Meissa rolled her ruby eyes. “I plan to see her. She may be a Conjurer.”
“How do know all this?”
“Dan told me.”
“Dan?” Saiph cringed a bit, he’s obviously not fond of that Conjurer. He went on walking for a while before speaking.
“What kind of power does she have, I wonder.” The auburn haired boy grinned. “Do you think she’s pretty?”
“…Why does that matter?”
“Never mind,” Saiph went a few steps ahead of his sister again. “Alex.”
Meissa’s eyes burned violently as soon as she heard those words uttered by her brother. She swiftly waved her hand and stretched it towards her brother as she raised him ten feet off the ground. The rocks around her on the other hand broke off into countless gravel, hung in the air around her. Her honeycomb hair floated as if she were submerged in waters.
“YOU. DO. NOT. SPEAK.” She roared with a rage so unfathomable that it shook the earth. “OF THAT MURDERER’S NAME, SAIPH!”
Their eyes met and the elder sibling glared at Saiph as if she were about to strike him like a lion would strike its prey. It seemed like an eternity before Meissa finally let him go. It was great that no one was around in that street; they’d be in serious trouble if there were. The boy slammed hard onto the ground. He groaned rather painfully, but other than that he was probably perfectly fine. The auburn haired boy looked up at his sister, who had her back turned to him.
“Saiph,” His sister said rather coldly, but there was a hint of remorse in her voice. “Stand up, we must go on.”
Meissa was prone to… violent mood swings every time Saiph would jokingly speak of Alex. Unfortunately, the Orion boy probably doesn’t learn from his past two experiences. No one can blame him, especially when he never believed that Alex was the murderer. After all, they were all inseparable friends once…
“…Why should I tell you?” Ellora still managed to show resistance despite her friend being frozen as a statue.
Alex Winters was already soaked wet in the rain and that alone exasperated him. Her words certainly caused his anger to rise.
“Cut the crap.” He angrily grabbed her collar. “WHERE ARE THEY!?”
“…Alex where are your manners?” the blonde woman smiled defiantly.
His grip tightened. “You don’t understand… Those Orions must be annihilated.”
“And you deserve to live?” she raised her brow and broke free from his grasp. “You killed their mother, left them as orphans and left Meissa’s heart as cold as stone.”
“Wonderful. You’ve been much of help, Miss Irvington, now I’ll freeze you like your darling guard.” Alex ignored her statement, his eyes red with rage.
“Go to hell.” Ellora’s clear blue eyes turned bright red, her hands up in the air. The thunder roared as the sky started to turn from the regular purple night sky to grey and the clouds were no longer visible.
“Love to, but you’ll have to go down with me!” He shot a bright blue beam at her but she evaded it.
“Never underestimate a woman who can control weather at her will.” the wind started to blow violently in Alex’s direction with several strikes of lightning, causing a circle of fire to build up around him.
“Darling, are you finished?” The blonde looked behind her to see Alex, perfectly unharmed.
Instead of her eyes widening or a gasp escaping her lips, Ellora smirked. “I like a little challenge.”
“It’s simple really, think of it this way, to kill or to be killed.” With one quick snap time froze. The rain stopped dead in the air, the lightning stopped striking and the wind stopped blowing. Alex grinned, his hands in his pockets.
“I’d kill you now, Ellora.” He leaned in as he stared at her frozen figure, he removed her hood to reveal Ellora’s beautiful face that she had always hidden. Her eyes still red due to the fact she was using her powers, her skin so fair and her lips red like blood. “But I believe I still have uses for you and your abilities.”
“'Til we meet again, Miss Irvington.” Alex took a bow and went on his way.
When Alex Winters disappeared from sight, Laurence was able to move again, he blinked and stared at his surroundings. He found his friend in the middle of the field; she made a few gestures that caused the clouds to part to reveal the sun.
“Laurence, you’re awake.” she took steps towards him and sighed in relief.
“I’m sorry if I wasn’t any help.”
“It’s fine.” Ellora laughed nervously.
“After all, who am I to pick a fight with Alexander Winters, when I knew from the start, I would never triumph.”
“Mad? …Just don’t mention that ever again.” The blonde teen glanced at him before focusing back on the narrow pathway.
Saiph nodded and straightened out his striped necked tie. ‘At least her temper cooled down.’ He thought. Meissa had changed a lot in six whole years after their mother’s death. It pained him to see his sister never laughed through those years. Saiph always knew that Meissa has been suffering ever since that day they lost their parent. Even if she didn’t show any emotion, he always felt it.
The younger sibling placed his hand on Meissa’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes shifted to the left as she looked over her shoulder. In turn, she just nodded.
Meissa stopped walking when they reached a small apartment. A golden plate was nailed to the wall just right beside the door. Engraved on it were the words ‘Alcott Family Apartment’.
“—Alcott family?” The brunette boy questioned with his ruby orbs glinting. “I thought we were looking for Cecilia Milton.”
She sighed as she clenched her fist to knock on the door.
“You’re not paying attention. I said it was a pseudonym she just uses.”
“Right.”
“Her real name is Iris.” Meissa drew a pair of sunglasses from her pocket and wore them. Saiph did the same.
It was inevitable that they had to perform this silly routine every time they had to interact with the normal folk. Red eyes were a dead giveaway if you wanted people to guess whether you are a Conjurer or not. Not a good thing, especially since Conjurers aren’t exactly well-loved celebrities.
“…Why didn’t you just say so?” Saiph groaned. He hated it when he feels a little behind his sister’s plans.
The door finally creaked open and an elderly woman came out. “May I help you?”
“Is Iris home?” Meissa politely asked.
“Iris? Don’t you mean Cecilia? I think so. Are you a friend of hers?” The old women led them inside before closing the door behind them. She was quite fidgety as far as the eye can see. Her actions brought Meissa to conclude that Iris is a Conjurer.
“Friend? Madam, I’m her boyfriend.” Saiph replied coolly.
Meissa slapped her brother’s back without hesitation. “He’s joking, of course. Yes, yes. We’re her friends.”
“Please make yourselves at home.” She gestured toward the living room.
The brunette sat on the couch and lifted his feet on the coffee table while his older sister walked quietly to the couch and sat down without a word.
“I’m Phyllis Alcott by the way, her aunt.” The old woman extended her hand to the children.
“I’m Meissa Orion.” The blonde introduced herself as she shook the lady’s hand. Phyllis turned to the lad beside Meissa.
“Saiph,” He quickly shook her hand as he looked away.
The elderly woman cupped her mouth and called for the said Conjurer. After a few minutes heavy steps would be heard on the stairs, causing the Orions to look up. As the person noisily descended down the steps, Phyllis grinned at the two siblings.
“Sorry, Aunt Phyllis!” a girl with long braided blonde hair bowed her head in embarrassment and her face was covered by the long pigtailed braids. She frowned as soon as she caught glimpse of the two unfamiliar people.
“Cecilia, your friends are here.” Phyllis eyed the two guests.
“Hello,” Meissa muttered, her face still held an unfathomable expression. She elbowed her brother who was speechless. He seemed to be at awe and mesmerized by Iris.
Saiph quickly stood, “Cecilia, please step outside with us. We have to talk to you about some thing… Y’know. School stuff. ”
Meissa and Saiph stood up, thanking Phyllis and pulling Iris along as they left the room.
“All right, who are you? What do you want with me?”
“Iris,” Meissa held the younger girl’s wrist. “Did a black-haired gentleman come by here? Did he speak with you?”
“H-how do you know my--”
“Just answer her, Iris” Saiph cut her off, taking off his sunglasses, revealing red eyes; revealing his identity.
“Saiph! What are you…”
“His name is Alexander Winters.” Saiph said rather smoothly after interrupting his sister. “Have you met him, Iris?”
Iris flinched. They were Conjurers. Cursed people. What would a couple of Conjurers want from her? And who exactly is this Alexander?
Yes, this will be continued. We will try to be quick in updating, please review our story. We’d want to know what you think. Whether you hated it or loved it. Feedbacks are very important and also with your review, you might be able to help improve our story. So please…review. This has been proofread, so we aren’t expecting any mistakes. If there is though, don’t hesitate to tell us. We’d be happy to hear you insights.
Thank you.
Glossary
of terms:
1.) Conjurer:
con·jur·er or con·jur·or (noun)
A)Somebody who performs tricks involving manual agility and the illusion of magic, as an entertainment
B).Somebody who is believed to practice magic or conjure supposed supernatural forces or beings
…But here it refers to anyone whose eyes goes red and has special abilities.
Acknowledgements:
We would like to acknowledge our friend, you know who you are for drawing those pretty fan arts of Saiph and Fiona.
The readers who have read this thoroughly and by heart.
Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to review! Oh and happy New Year!
Sincerely Yours,
Synzunea & SakuraTeardrop