The Enchanters

Ava

Ava gasped, sitting straight up in her bed. The full moon shines brightly through her French balcony doors. The white comforter appears to be lavender from the shadows. Ava couldn’t breathe. Clutching her chest, she grabbed her phone to check the time. 

3:14 am

Something was not right. Just as the thought crossed her mind, her bedroom door flew open. 

Stephanie’s face popped in, “good you’re up.” She took a step in. Stephanie's dark hair was pulled up in a top knot and she was in her typical training attire, a black racer back tank and black leggings with black sneakers. “Daniel is on his way. We need to meet downstairs. You have 15 minutes to meet us in the meeting room.”

Ava quickly got out of bed and moved across the large bedroom to her walk-in closet. With a wave of her hand, the lights turned on. The spacious walk-in was what everyone dreamed of, really two closets. One for her clothes, one for her shoes. A massive vanity at the end of the closet, next to it were her practice clothes. Ava stripped her pajamas off and pulled on her Nike pros, a sports b*a and a loose black tank. She grabbed a pair of black Nike sneakers and pulled her hair up.

She couldn't shake the feeling that something was not right. Her heart hurt. Oddly, her ear hurt and there was a dull ache in her core. She felt as if she couldn't breathe anymore. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to focus on something else. Or someone else.

Daniel was on his way. Should she get ready for him? They had been dating for too long for her to care. Plus, she's a princess, even if she wasn't excited about it. As she began to finish getting ready her mind wandered.

She loved being an Enchanter, but she really loved living among humans. With the Enchantian power to feel emotions, it definitely got to be a lot for Ava, but it was so amazing. She had been living with humans for the last 50 years, but the last four years in this small farming community have been amazing.

Daniel and Ava were in an arranged relationship, sort of. She was very attracted to him, and as a Guardian, he had devoted his life to her. He was a perfect gentleman, tall, golden blonde hair, tanned skin and the bluest eyes.

Unfortunately, part of Guardian training is to learn how to not feel. Enchantians get their power from energy. Being able to feel one's emotions is a powerful thing. Guardians learn to become unemotional.

No matter how hard Daniel tried, Ava never felt too much from him. She couldn't blame him for almost 3 centuries of training. But after living among humans, she wanted more. She didn't dare tell anyone, not her caretakers, Stephanie and Nate, and certainly not her parents.

One person she did tell, her best friend and closest friend, confidant and fellow Enchanter, Vangly. He quickly told her to bottle that up and keep it to herself.

Ava made her way down the grand staircase. The dark metal railings, the white marble staircase and floors all seemed to be purple in the night. As Ava hit the last step she heard the familiar rumble outside of the ford truck. Ava smiled in anticipation, she really did love Daniel.

As his shadow made its way up to the massive front door, she flung it open and jumped up into his arms. Ava wrapped her legs around his body and he embraced her tightly. He was a tree of a man. e

"Good morning, princess." he chuckled. They each buried their faces in each other's necks. Holding tightly, Ava searched for his emotions. She could feel the love, but it was faint. That was all she ever got.

"Good morning Daniel," she sighed and pulled her head back to see his face. His crystal blue eyes shimmered in the moonlight. His golden hair glittered and his tanned skin seemed darker than usual. He was beautiful.

Daniel leaned in with his plump lips and gave Ava a quick kiss. It was warm, pleasant and fast. She never had passion with him and she yearned for it. Her feet found the ground and they separated their bodies. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Come," Ava grabbed his massive hand, "They are waiting for us in the meeting room." and they turned back into the larger foyer. To the right of the stairs were two French doors that led to the meeting room.

"Ah, Daniel," Nate greeted them, "good to see you again," he smiled. Nate was an older enchanter but didn't look a day over 40. He played the part of Ava's father well. 

"Hello sir," Daniel shook his hand.

The meeting room was a handsome setup. Navy blue walls with wood trim, a sharp oval table that sat 20 was right in the middle. Expensive art hung and a buffet table against one wall.

Stephanie politely bowed her head to Daniel, "good evening," she spoke formally. Stephanie never forgot that Ava was the Enchantian princess and that one day, Daniel would stand next to her.

"Good evening," Daniel bowed his head in return.

"So," Ava exaggerated, "why am I out of bed at 3:30?" but she knew.

Nate reached under the table and pressed a button. Instantly, the panels on the french doors turned dark and three screens came down from the ceiling above the buffet table. The monitors turned on and the four enchanters took a seat, Ava in the middle, to her left, Nate sat.

The center monitor turned on and a familiar face appeared. Xinhai, second in command, had a concerned look on his face.

"Good evening, Enchantress Ava," he began with his deep voice, "Daniel, Nate, Stephanie," he nodded towards them in respect. Ava hated having to be addressed first. The only time she wasn't greeted first was when her parents were with her.

"Hi Xinhai," I pushed to be less formal. "What's the update?"

"As you know, 13 hours ago, we know the southern part of Thailand was hit with a devastating earthquake. We had suspected Synd involvement."  Yesterday, Ava had sat in this very same room, but the monitors had multiple screens each of  images of news clips from all over the world covering the damage. No matter which language, the broadcast was the same. 'Catastrophic earthquake kills thousands.'

Xinhai took a deep breath, his dark eyebrows pressed harder together making deeper folds between them, "We sent Richard, Guardian General."

"And what did he find?" Ava pressed.

"About 40 minutes ago, he sent his distress signal," Xinhai couldn't look directly at the group. All at once, Stephanie gasped, Nate's head turned to the side and Daniel grabbed Ava's hand and squeezed under the table. The sadness was almost too heavy for Ava to handle.

The only time an Enchanter used the signal was when they knew their fate, death. The weight of the emotions made it impossible to breathe. Feeling emotions in a form of energy was a gift, but to Ava, it was a curse. She felt it too much. A lot of her training the last century around humans had been to try to control herself around their emotions as well as any Enchanter. The Seer said it was a gift to be so connected to everyone, Ava disagreed.

This was one of the many times why she disagreed with the Ancient Woman. Ava felt the warm tears flow down her cheeks. Richard was an amazing Guardian. Four centuries older than her, she remembered watching him train younger guards and thought he was immortal.

She felt the weight from Daniel. A Guardian Brother. Surely Richard trained Daniel. He was a mentor. Ava felt the breath from her lungs escape.

Any time an Enchantian is lost, all the Enchantians feel it at some level.

Ava felt it all. So badly did she wish to head to the injured and heal them all, but that was f*******n. It was all f*******n. Enchanters could live with humans, but no relationships, no healing, no interference.

"We have sent out a couple of Guardians to retrieve his stone, hopefully we get to it in time," Xinhai sighed deeply, "After speaking with your parents, they are deciding whether to bring you back to Utopia now."

"But graduation is in two months, the plan was-" Ava began but was cut off.

"I'm sorry Ava, but between the earthquake in California a couple months ago, and the tsunami in Malaysia and now this. They Synd attacks are more frequent and becoming stronger." Xinhai explained.

Ava had been living with her human identity in this farm town for almost 5 years. Since Enchanters take forever to age, a good portion of the last century was spent moving around the states, blending in and moving before anyone is suspicious.

"Please," Ava spoke sadly, "This is the last time I will be living among the humans." she spoke honestly, "These are my favorite humans and I'd really like to follow the plan." The plan being she will do a year of college and lose touch, in reality she will be returning to Utopia next summer and taking on more responsibilities.

Ava felt the confusion from everyone. They didn't understand why she was so attached to humans.

"I will speak to your parents, but they haven't made the decision yet," Xinhai replied.

"Thank you," Ava replied, Daniel still holding her hand, "Any other updates?"

"That is all for now," Xinhai sighed, "hopefully we get the gem, and once Ahma sees it, maybe we will get more answers. Good night." and the screen went blank.

An Enchanter died. A Guardian at that. Enchantian deaths were rare. Synd typically don't stand a chance. Enchanters believe they were created to protect the humans from the Synd. Synd are not natural. They are created by Zloga, and although no one has seen her in over a thousand years, she is still creating them. But because they are created and not born that way, like Enchanters, their powers are not nearly as strong. How could any of this be happening? How does a Synd kill an Enchantian Guard?

"Hey," Daniel brought her back from her thoughts, "take a deep breath," Ava could feel his slight worry. Was he worried about the Synd or her? That was the downfall of the gift.

"I am fine," she replied. "Let's train."

Ten minutes later the four Enchanters were standing in a field.

Nate had a big smile, "Where would you like to train today?" he chuckled as he rubbed his hands together.

"Surprise us," Ava yelled as she rescued her hair.

Stephanie rubbed her hands together, creating an energy field between them, as she opened her arms wide a sphere began to form around the four of them, Nate followed her motions. After another minute, the four of them stood in what appeared to be a giant dome. Outside the dome was quite nightime on a farm, but in the dome, miles of jungle.

Ava chucked as rain began to fall. Another gift Enchanters have, they are able to create environments. They were also able to create invisible biospheres, which of course is how Utopia is able to exist.

"Daniel, go take position," Nate turned and nodded at Daniel.

Daniel turned to me with his mischievous grin, "Good luck," he winked. He turned and took off, his body a blur with how fast he was moving.

Stephanie spoke up, "Today, Ava, your training will be a little different," she looked at Nate, "We don't want you to attack," Ava watched them, both Nate and Stephanie were trying to hide something from them, "we want you to escape."

"Escape?" Ava questioned, "Like hide?" Her hands went to her hips. "Why would I ever need to hide?"

"Because Richard was killed," Nate retorted bluntly, "and if you need to escape, you need to escape. No shame."

His words took Ava back and her face hardened. "Then let me go hide"

Thirty minutes later, Ava had found a cave, deep in the jungle. She was wet and muddy. She debated on trying to start a fire but didn't want to attract attention to her. She sat at the edge of the cave against the wall, and waited, her knees pulled to her chest. The cool shadow covering her visibly from anyone.

She sat thinking about Daniel. What would it feel like for him to love her? Ava imagined the warmth course through her body, the way she knew Nate loved Stephanie. She could feel their love and knew she would never get that from Daniel. It wasn't his fault, but the way he was trained. Guardians actually never find someone, they dedicate their lives to protecting Humans and Enchanters.

A twig snapped and Ava knew she had been found. She pressed her body close to the cave wall and slid to stand up.

"You know Ava," Daniel teased her, his voice was echoing through the jungle, "You're too emotional," he chuckled.

Ava was angry. After that comment, how could she not attack? She took a steady breath. She needed to locate him so she could escape.

"You need to work on that," he commented again, "I can feel your aggravation," Ava saw Daniel spin around between massive green leaves, his back to her. She slid around the wall of the cave, quietly backing into the jungle, away from Daniel. Suddenly, he turned to face her. She then turned, and ran.

Running at the speed Enchanters can run at is exhilarating. She pushed her body to speeds that made the jungle seem like a blur. She could feel Daniel on her tail, she could never outrun him.

To hell with escaping.

She stopped in her tracks, turned and braced herself for impact. She could never outrun him, but she could fight him.

Daniel's body slammed into her, both tumbling to the ground. Ava quickly recovered and got to her feet just as he did. She didn't hesitate and leapt at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist from behind. Ava tried to position herself for a better hold, but Daniel grabbed onto her forearms, and flipped her over his shoulder, she came crashing down onto her back.

With Daniel on top of her, trying to pin her, Ava positioned her body and with a quick move, had her feet under his abdomen and catapulted him into the air. Landing 30 feet away from Ava, she stood up, allowing the energy in her burn through her body and created two spheres, one in each hand . The air around her grew prickly with electricity and moved fast.

Ava wanted the change to happen. She wanted to lose herself to her powers, the way she was supposed to. Another step to finish her training, but she had been unable to complete the process.

She felt the change begin but then fade away. Ava couldn't feel it and in that moment of doubt, she lost it. Defeat flooded her. Disappointment made it hard to breathe and just as she was about to give up, Daniel yelled, "That's all you got?"

That was what she needed. Ava let out a deafening scream and all the pent up energy in her body exploded from her, sending Daniel flying another 50 feet.

Ava dropped to her knees and in seconds Daniel was by her side helping her up. "I'm fine," she spat.

"Don't be like that Ava," Daniel's tone was softer, "we know how drained you get after you use your powers," he reminded her. Ava's body was exhausted.

Suddenly the earth shifted, and the dome dropped. Stephanie and Nate were at their sides.

"You need to control your emotions, Ava." Stephanie reminded her.

"I know." She replied.

"You need to work hard to control your energy too," Nate chimed in.

"I know!" Ava snapped back. "I know all the ways I need to improve, I was there."

"We are just trying to help," Daniel spoke up. She felt their concern.

"I know," she spoke more softly. She looked down at her watch, "it's almost 5am. I'm going to bed. No school for me today." It was Monday, and there was no way she was functioning after training today.

"got it" Nate replied and they were back at the house.

Standing outside, Nate and Stephanie went in, Daniel pulled Ava into his arms, "You'll get there," he smiled down at her but Ava had an unsure look.

"mmhmm" she replied.

Daniel brough his head down to the crook of Ava's neck and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I believe in you, princess." He placed a quick kiss on her neck and she felt her knees get weak.

"Will you carry me to bed?" She asked with doe eyes batting her lashes.

Without any hesitation he swooped Ava up bridal style, carrying her into the mansion, threw the foyer up the grand staircase. He found her bedroom door and opened it up to the wide white and light blue bedroom.

"You can put me down," she chuckled, "I need to shower and all that jazz," she joked, but Daniel was very serious.

Ava stood in her room, Daniel not even a foot away, staring into her eyes. His blue yes glistened in the morning sun. "You are everything to me," he began.

"I know," Ava smiled, "I mean you did devote your life to me ." she joked. It was his job.

"More than that," he quickly replied, taking a step toward her, now mere inches from each other. He reached up with one hand, cupping her face. "If anything ever happened to you.." he sighed. She could feel his faint emotions. He did love her, cared for her deeply, but was it enough. "Please consider coming to Utopia sooner, we can be together there."

Ava reached up to his hand, "I will think about it." she assured him even though she wouldn't.

"You won't," he chuckled. Daniel leaned in for a quick kiss, "take a shower, you stink," he kissed her lips one more time and left her alone in her bedroom.

Within 15 minutes, she was showered, changed and crawling into her bed.

That feeling crept back. Something was wrong. Something big was going to happen. She needed to rest and gain her energy back, and being too tired to worry, she let the slumber consume her.