Thanks for all reviews

Thanks for all reviews! And how I came up with the names? I just randomly typed some letters then mixed them around. xP

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10 years later...

“... And so the Siv’be were sent to the far northern regions of Rygsauf, to the empty plains of the Wastelands.” An elderly man stood before his class, his creaseless gray trench coat brushing the blades of grass. He tapped the top of what seemed to be a detailed map, glancing at the class to make sure they knew exactly where the Wastelands were.

For once, everyone was listening intently, and following their teacher’s the gesture to the map. This classroom was situated in the outdoors, where between gaps in cobbled stone sprouted greenery. Rickety chairs had been set up into neat rows at wooden desks, where the students were seated. Mister Mack, trench coat and all, was standing in front, pointing fervently at the map which was hanging from the tree by a feeble length of wool.

“So how did they capture the Siv’be?” a wide-eyed boy asked. “I thought they were really strong!”

The teacher beamed at the question, eager to show his knowledge of magic. “Well, a said Freiser Islington created what he called Amulets. They were like magnets for energy, and they sapped all magic around them from chosen targets. The targets were, of course, the Siv’be. As soon as one of these Amulets got caught around their neck, the powers were sapped out of them. The amulet was, generally, storage for magic.”

“But Mister Maik, how did they get caught around their necks?” the same boy queried.

This time, it wasn’t the teacher were answered. It was a fair-skinned girl, sitting in the front row. She flicked her brunette curls and piped up, “That’s because they weren’t strong at all! They were weak. All Siv’be are weak.”

There was a moment of silence after this remark and the girl gave a sly grin back to the two brothers sitting, unnoticed, at the back of the outdoors classroom. The younger of the two looked deeply insulted by the comment, as he was flushed bright crimson.

“You take that back!” he yelled, jumping off his chair and putting an end to the hush. “The Siv’be were good people!”

The girl also stood, but carefully and slowly, so as to not ruffle her skirt. She glared back at him with a serpentine gaze and said slickly, “You’re only protecting them ‘coz you’re half-Siv’be. Which explains why you’re so ugly.”

An uproar rose with gasps and the boy leapt up as if to strike her. His older brother launched forward to grab hold of his sleeve before he could do any harm.

“Get a grip, Orlin!” the older brother yelled over the noise.

“Reena... said... we were ugly! That – mother was ugly!” Orlin struggled to escape from his brother’s grip.

“Well, they are!” Reena was clearly enjoying the havoc. “Ugly and blue. They’re MUTANTS. Every last one of them!”

And with that, she flounced off, leaving her classmates who were beginning to resemble a pack of wild dogs.

“WE’RE NOT BLUE!” Orlin hollered, kicking at his brother’s steadfast grasp on him. “REID, LET ME GO!”

Mister Maik, in the midst of all this, was trying to calm his class down, but to no avail. “Reena, where are you going? It’s not home time yet! Class! Settle down!”

He was a weak, pompous man, unready to handle such savagery. He gave up almost instantly. “Okay, okay, CLASS DISMISSED.”

Leaving his students in a brawl, the teacher whipped the maps and charts off the tree and into his suitcase and hurried off before anyone could blame him for any damage inflicted by the students.

“Forget about Reena, you know how she is.” A calming voice came from within the crowd, some kids encouraging a fight, others backing slowly away.

It was Wren who had spoken. Her adamant stance and determined expression meant business.

“Let’s go,” she said, tugging Orlin and Reid away from the commotion. “Didn’t you hear? Class is dismissed!”

Nobody was intimidated by this young girl. She was not a very impressive figure, with her harmless appearance. Scrawny, with mousy brown, straight hair just past her shoulders. Even her eyes were just dull gray, like the colour of the ocean on a bleak day. The children just kept howling and chanting, “Fight, fight, fight!” as if they were unaware that Reena, the root of all this trouble, had already left.

“EVERYONE! SHUT UP!” Wren’s rose had risen to what seemed impossibly for her usually soft manner.

Now everyone had quietened to a murmur, all staring at Wren in a bewildered way. Reid chuckled. That was one thing he found so strange about his childhood friend. Wren always had the ability to surprise with her ever-changing personality.

Wren’s voice dropped to a hiss. “Now go home.”

She was enjoying the alarmed looks on the children’s faces and cackled like a witch as she watched them run off.

Reid laughed along with her but Orlin eyed Wren suspiciously.

“You’re scary,” he stated, then rushed off in the direction of his home.

“Oi, get back here!” Reid yelled at his brother, but Orlin soon disappeared behind the giant lavender bush that hid the house from view.

“I guess I must’ve really spooked him!” Wren was highly amused. “Now we’ve gotten rid of Orlin, let’s go to the Spot!”

Reid broke into a huge grin. “Good thinking!”

The Spot was their favourite place. Wren and Reid had stumbled upon it when they were younger. In fact, it was how they met...

“Don’t wander too far!” Wren’s mother, Sharley, warned, worrying already for her only daughter.

“I won’t!” Wren had no intention of keeping this promise. The whole world was out there – she had to see it all.

She had big dreams at this young age. Four years old, she was, and eager to face the world. Wren loved freedom. Just like the bird she was named after.

“Oh, pretty flowers,” she murmured to herself, sitting herself down awkwardly to pluck the buds from the ground. Her long skirt billowed out around her and the playful wind tussled her hair, pulling out the ribbon that her mother had so carefully tied.

“Oh!” Wren plunged forward to grab the bright red ribbon, but it kept floating on higher and further away.

She got to her feet and was pushed along a narrow path by the suddenly strong gust, and soon she was chasing the ribbon in an area she was unfamiliar with. Never had Wren strayed so far from home. Frightened by this realization, she forgot about the ribbon and let it glide away, into the sunset.

“Hello?” she called out timidly, taking in her new surroundings.

A weeping willow stood at her right, surrounded by sinister thorns rising from the soil. The grass here was lush and green, with a hint of weeds sneaking in between. It was a field, spotted with plants and puddles from last rainfall.

“Hello?” Wren yelled, a little louder.

Still no reply.

Wren fretted, and ran in an aimless direction. She was darting towards a short, stout tree when she heard soft laughter.

“Who are you?” she cried out, tentatively ducking under the low braches of the tree to reach the sound.

There, on the other side, she found an unusual sight. A boy her age was sitting casually on the grass laughing in amusement as he held up an almost opaque ball of light. Wren turned away, temporarily blinded by the dazzling light. The boy was twirling it on his fingertips, playfully, but his unwavering stare was so intense that it looked like he was laughing forcefully. He was oblivious to Wren’s arrival.

More bubbles of radiance popped into being, swirling and spinning rapidly skyward. The colours of the rainbow bounced off their surfaces. The boy’s silvery eyes danced as he watched his creations float up and up.

Wren went to kneel beside the boy, mesmerized. “What are you doing?”

The boy gave a start and gave Wren a wild-eyed stare and leapt up, causing the spheres of light to dissolve into nothingness. “What – who are you?”

All bright eagerness was gone from his eyes and he was in a most defensive stance, with a cold frown. “Were you spying on me?”

Wren returned his scowl with a puzzled look. Never had she heard anyone her age speak with such fierceness, nor such maturity in their voice.

“I – I wasn’t...” Wren stammered, scurrying back and nearly crashing into the tree behind her.

Earlier, she had been preoccupied with the floating bubbles, but now, she could see the boy clearly with no distractions and there was something not quite right about him.

A curly mass of red hair fell over his face. His eyes had a metallic sheen to them, as if they were made from iron. His skin had a blue tinge to them, which was both unnatural and, Wren thought silently, a bit freakish. Fear chilled her to the bone. Was this one of the demons that she was always told of by her father in his thrilling tales? Wren’s mother greatly disapproved of them and had discouraged her husband from telling them so frequently. Wren thought he had been exaggerating in his stories, embellishing every sentence for his own amusement. But what if he was telling the truth? That demons could rip and devour and steal your soul?

“Are you afraid?” The boy murmured, before unexpectedly lunging forward and tackling her to the ground.

Wren screamed. She squeezed her eyes shut and thudded to the ground. The lush grass cushioned her fall. Emitting an unrelenting wail, Wren waited to be engulfed by demon powers. But it never happened.

Instead, Wren heard a soft chuckling and felt herself being pulled up back onto her feet. Opening her gray eyes cautiously, Wren was shocked to see the fierce boy shaking uncontrollably with laughter.

“Did I scare you?” The boy was bouncing on his heels and looking quite pleased with himself. The delight had returned to his strange eyes.

Wren folded her arms and fixed her lips in an angry pout, trying to hide her confusion. “What did you do that for?”

“For fun,” the boy replied, smiling serenely. “What’s your name?”

“Wren. Who are you?” she was unable to get her mind off the blue skin.

“I’m Reid,” he introduced himself.

“Your skin’s blue,” Wren stated, suddenly bold.

Reid laughed again and sat heavily down on the grass again, ignoring the remark and looking at the sky, eyelids half-closed. “Sit. Let’s watch the clouds.”

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Took me long enough to write it, huh? :P

Please review!