Prologue 2: Meet the Flame
I am a living star with unbridled power yet I have little control over it. I'm half Phoenix and half Celestial. I've been traveling from foster home to foster home because fire seeks me out like a living being and hunts down all who dare hurt me. I am the fallen star Albina and I'm afraid I've made bad decisions that could have hurt the one person who seems unnerved by my flames. "I'm sorry Tyler" she cried "but it's not yours and when you find that out you will hate me"
Chapter 2- Albina, the star that burns late
(Friday Morning)
Albina woke up after she heard the door close but decided to stay sleeping a while longer. She rolled around tossing and turning, unable to sleep. She finally decided to get up and got dressed in a tight fitting red polo shirt and a pair of blue jeans with a flame design on the bottom.
She headed out of her room to go to her guild meeting she hoped she wasn't too late for, it had been 8:35 when she left. The meeting started at 8:00 which she thought was stupid that it would be so early. As she walked down the halls she swayed her hips gracefully, each step received another sway to the opposite direction.
Albina's walk was so unique it garnered her many hungry looks from the other students most male but even the females noticed her beauty and pure attractiveness. Albina took a right and then headed up a large set of marble stairs. The climb was tiresome but she had done it hundreds of times so much so she found it easier every time. Once at the top of the stairs she headed straight to a massive set of double doors. The doors were decorated in a rose garden design, roses for handles the frame made of thorn vines and it was colored in red and green to fit the theme.
Albina stepped thru the doors and was given looks by everyone in the room. Some looks we're of surprise and others of contempt probably for being late.
"glad you could join us Ms.Minkin" smiled a raven haired girl with purple highlights. The girl's clothes were all purple which for some strange reason purple seemed to accentuate her beautiful looks. "how about you take a seat" she said with her hand waving toward a empty chair.
Albina headed to the empty seat her hips still making their graceful sway just in a smaller movement. She sat down in the empty seat which had a red haired girl on her left and a blonde one on her right.
"now as I was saying before the beautiful interruption" the girl in purple glanced at Albina and gave a small wink "we have to decide who is going to do the job in The Garden" she glanced around the room only to see many people look away.
Albina noticed many seemed afraid of this job. She had been on atleast three jobs in her two years at the academy and they were all dangerous. She wondered why the school had them do these dangerous jobs but then she remembered that If they didn't it would mean that their entire species would be discovered.
"the job is fairly dangerous and requires some finesse and skill" the purple clothed girl named Tahila glanced around the room and noticed only three faces showed what she considered interest "so well I guess I'll pick who goes to do the job then" she pointed at Albina and two other girls "you three will head out and destroy those damn Dread Vines".
Albina froze and glanced at the two she was supposed to work with, a girl with thin long braids, dark brown colored skin and glasses, and a girl with small cute features and long black hair which revealed her Japanese heritage.
"wait I've never seen them around here before" Albina tried to get out of this job due to what she knew about Dread Vines. They possessed dangerously poisonous abilities.
"they are 'first years' I'm not a baby sitter" Albina was furious her rage was building because not only did she doubt her own abilities but to have to play baby-sitter to some newbies "how about you give me some actual back up...or are you just trying to screw with me because..."
"baby sit you will, young lady as this is their initiation into our guild" Thalia interrupted her to prevent her from saying what ever it was she intended to, and to add insult to injury she was making her baby sit the younglings "of course I could past them off to another member if you feel your not strong enough to protect them"
Albina was growing more enraged and she saw that the two girls were obviously insulted. "you know what? I am strong enough to protect them..." she glanced at them and smiled with a very subtle wink "but then again I'm pretty sure they don't need my protection" Albina felt accomplished she had flipped the script on Tahila and had managed to raise the two girls hope and even kept her image up.
Albina stood up and grabbed the two girls hands with a gentle but firm grip and took them outside the room.
The girl with the glasses and braids asked "where are we going...i think the meeting wasn't finished... name is Chelsea Clarion by the way" she fumbled over her words with nervousness. Albina smiled and took them up a pair of carpeted stairways. The Academy was always changing, it was as if the building were alive. Most students found it hard to navigate at first but once you realize the school is trying to get you where you want to go it becomes easier. The Japanese girl began to question their whereabouts "um where are we going...really. Cause Chelsea asked and you've made no attempt to answer her ".
"to the coliseum you two need some training" Albina smirked at her with a sly look "so what is your name anyway"
"it's Mikota Fulgur" she brushed a lock of her raven hair out of her face with a slight attitude "so how do you intend to train us anyway" she seemed almost a tad bit rude and unreserved in her speech.
Albina guided them down another set of hallways and pushed open a metal door, it was heavy and creaked very loudly. Mikota just assumed that Albina didn't hear her question.
The two girls froze with amazement as the door opened it revealed a huge circular arena. The arena was made entirely of a golden metal that hummed with the sense of early roman coliseums. The floors were decorated in a soft plush red carpet and the seats almost as small thrones. The girls headed down the stairs of the massive arena. Surrounding the outside of the arena was massive stadium lights, Mikota also noticed that some of the chairs actually had students in them, she followed their gazes to the center of the arena and there she saw two massive tigers fighting one and other.
One tiger white fur with red stripes that flowed in a intricate pattern, a set of savage golden fangs which had blood dripping from them. The tiger let out a large ground shaking roar to scare it's opponent.
"wow that is so awesome" squealed Chelsea as she watched with a level excitement only children really had "this is so cool who do you think will win"
Albina guided them to a row of seats that were so close to the arena it had them jumping ever time the beasts clashed. The white tiger pushed back the blue one with a display of ferocious strength.
The blue tiger had purple stripes that complimented its blue fur very nicely. The beast had no fangs protruding from its mouth like the white tiger but it seemed to be a entire foot taller, which was saying a lot as the white tiger on all fours stood a massive ten feet.
The blue tiger dashed forward with a blinding speed and slashed downward with its enormous golden claws. The white tiger swiveled to the left to dodge the attack but was still given a bloody wound, it staggered off and collapsed to the floor with a colossal thud. As it hit the floor the few students in the arena stood up and cheered.
The white tiger breathed heavily as it began to shrink down and morph into what resembled a human being. Chelsea was astonished at this fact, she stared intently on the young man that laid on the floor bleeding where a giant tiger once stood before. The blue tiger began to shrink as well but it was a young woman instead and she had sparkling blue eyes and a blue tank top with purple jean pants on. She reached her hand out towards the white haired young man, who seemed quite angry at her. He had a heavy set scowl on his face which quickly bursted into a genuine smile and a fit of laughter. The girl quickly joined in on his hysterical fit of laughter and seemed to completely forgotten they had just had a intense fight.
"come on you can't lay there all day Vince" the girl spoke to the boy who finally took her outstretched hand using it to pull himself up off the dirt floor of the arena. "wow that is a serious gash...maybe we should take you to see the nurse" she gazed at his wound with pure apprehension, and a slight pang of guilt filled her throat.
"hey come on Clara don't worry I'm alright...okay" the boy smiled at her and tugged her close against his shirtless frame "I'll be alright as long as I've got you"
A loud audible cough was heard from across the field.
" hey hey you two don't go sexing in a place like this" Albina laughed at their simultaneous blushes "I do believe you two might actually have grown stronger since last time"
Clara smiled at Albina's observation "so you've been watching our fights huh?".
"maybe I have maybe I haven't" Albina answered quickly. "anyway what are you doing here" Clara glanced at the two girls with Albina and pointed at them as she asked "and who might they be".
"who these two" Albina grinned while waving her hand as if they were prizes in a display case "they are your new apprentices of course".
Both Chelsea and Mikota gasped at this sudden declaration. "umm what" they questioned in unison "we have to train with them".
Albina simply nodded at their question. She smiled and turned on her heel with a quiet farewell wave. "be sure to get a whole lot stronger...cause we hunt the Dread Vine in two weeks".
Chelsea and Mikota clenched their fists at her remark, each making their own declaration to get stronger.
"shall we begin" asked Vince as he dusted himself off "cause two weeks ain't a lot but we can make you strong enough....". Clara smiled and finished his sentence "only if we start now of course".