Electric Blue Rose - Book One. [COMPLETED] Undergoing Edits

Chapter Twenty-Five - Friendly

After class, Jade returned to Amelia's room and immediately started meditating. Jade focused on her breathing, feeling the energy in the pit of her stomach as Jade's pressed her hands together. She made mental notes of where she could feel the surges of energy. Pulling her hands apart, she moved one hand at a time, feeling the power draw from her gem to the tips of her fingers. Jade opened her eyes, seeing the pure green aura in front of her. Maybe she imagined the second aura. Amelia's thoughts likely got to her head, but It was too out of the ordinary to be a fluke. Auras don't just falter and introduce secondary colors. At least, according to Amelia, they don't.

Frustrated, Jade stood up off the ground of her room and paced. Then again, was this even something she should ponder? Could this have something to do with her birth father? Jade frowned, she knew nothing about him, and now she wouldn't have that chance with her mother gone. Amelia thought it possible that trauma caused it, and maybe she was right. It always seemed to hurt her stomach when the power came forward, and she was repeatedly attacked by the Ivory Phase in her stomach back home. Each burn broke the skin of a healed one, a non-stop pattern that reminded her of her place compared to them. She took another breath, not wanting to remember the details anymore.

Certain things pieced together, her perfect skin, something her healing aura automatically influenced her, too pretty for a Serf concept, resulting from her not being born from two Serfs. All of it was explained by the fact that she was not a Serf. However, even as an Arc, this flicker of aura made no sense. Amelia explained that there were dual-wielders and multi-wielders in early times, but there hasn't been another report since Asai cast him down in the Enlightened times. There would be no way that Jade would be the first among them. Even as Amelia checked out book after book on the subject, none of them explained the pain that came with a new aura. Aura's brought strength and balance and kept energies in focus, but this threatened all of those things in one appearance.

Jade took another large breath, grabbed one of the books Amelia checked out for her, and took it to the couch. Something had to make sense. None of it added up. At this point, if Jade and her mother hadn't looked so much alike, she'd question if she had even been her mother. Jade wondered how much Amorio might know. Though she knew she couldn't ask the man who took her in and raised her if he knew anything about her biological father. Jade refused to put Amorio through any further pain this year. Jade reached out and grabbed the stack of letters on the coffee table from Amorio. He wrote to her nearly every day, and she could barely manage a response once a week. She blamed it on the curriculum, but the truth was, she was afraid of saying the wrong thing. Amorio came apart after telling him she wished they left her dead, and she wasn't sure he ever truly recovered from it. Out of all of this, that was her biggest regret. The mood stabilizers they put her on seemed to help with that balance. No longer did that darkness loom over her, but its past still haunted her, especially when thinking of the harm it did to Amorio.

Dismissing the thoughts, Jade returned to the ground, crossing her legs and focusing on her breathing. If there was a second aura, then something had to trigger it. Jade wanted to be ahead of the discovery for once instead of behind. She focused on her breaths. Deeper and deeper, she let herself fade. One green, one blue eye stared back at her. She was ready to dismiss it, but she realized the eyes didn't belong to her. At that exact moment, those same eyes seem to realize the same regarding her. Her energy swelled as she approached them, looking for anything more. Who's eyes were these?

"Gem?"

The voice brought her out of the trance. It was not the same voice she had heard before. Her heart raced as she looked around. It was so real, was it? Jade stood up and checked every crevice of the room to confirm she was alone. She returned to her position. Her body was shaking. Jade needed to figure out whether this was her unlocking some part of her past or not. Closing her eyes, she returned to breathing, the eyes returning.

"Is it really you?"

"Who are you?" Jade whispered in return.

"She took you from me. I thought you were long lost, I thought."

The voice faded. Jade took more breaths, trying to restabilize, but the connection between her and the voice was gone. Rubbing her face, Jade sighed. Maybe it was exhaustion. It had to be. "Gem?" Something seemed familiar about hearing it. Jade ran her finger over the jade on her bracelet. Maybe something was wrong with her connection to the gemstone. Was that a possibility? She tossed the book onto the pile. None of it made sense. Nothing made sense anymore. Jade stood with her feet apart. She centered herself, bringing her aura out. Jade watched as the bright green light shone around her. She then noticed it draw itself closer to her flower. The small flower she had swirled around it in a small cup of dirt, drawing energy from the bud. Jade followed the dew of power her aura pulled from it and watched as it circled itself into her aura. Jade reached for it. The impact of her touch on the dew caused it to dissolve in her. She breathed in the rush of energy it brought her. Her green aura flickered, just as it had in class, but this time not with black but with shades of green that differed from her own. Turning her palm upwards, Jade focused on it, bringing forth the new aura and letting it focus on her palm. She watched as a small flower budded from her palm. Her breath staggered, and she ran her fingers over the petals with her opposite hand. A knock at the door caused her to jump and lose her focus on the ability. Her aura seeped back into her, and the flower in her palm faded.

"Jade?" Joe's voice called from the door. She caught her breath, unsure if any of that happened or if it was more of her imagination. Recomposing herself, she crossed to the door and opened it with caution. She knew if she didn't, Joe would lecture her about the dangers of trusting just a voice. "Hey, do you think we could talk?"

Jade noticed he seemed unraveled. "What's going on?"

"There is something I have to tell you, and I'm not quite sure how to." Joe sat down at the kitchen counter and shifted, plastered with concern.

"What is it?" Jade asked, sitting next to him. His expression sent panic through her. Was this when he confessed it was all a cruel joke, that everyone was toying with her emotions. That none of it had been real?

"I was talking to Alex, and he brought up the fact of when I told him I had feelings for him. I said it didn't matter because I wasn't his type, but he told me that wasn't true." Jade chewed her lip, unsure of how to respond. "I was so angry at him, but seeing what William did to him."

"Wait, what did William do to him?"

"Shit, I wasn't supposed to say." Joe sighed, "he gave him a black eye." Jade's gaze averted.

Um, well. I felt guilty because, well. I enjoyed hearing Alex confessing that." Joe frowned. "You must hate me. I'm sorry, I don't want to upset you."

"I'm not upset," Jade reached her hand to his and grabbed it. "Joe, just because Alex isn't right for me doesn't mean he isn't for you. Don't let me interfere with what you need to explore, okay?"

Joe embraced her, sighing, "I am so relieved."

"I had no idea that Alex-," she turned and shook her head, "what does it matter?" Jade smiled, "I'm sorry you felt the need to hide it from me."

"You're the first real friend I've had. Sure, Alex and I hit it off, but it's different when you're in love with them."

"Yeah, trust me, I get that," Jade laughed. "You're my first real friend, too, in that same aspect."

Joe sighed. "I don't even know if anything will come of it. I just felt guilty and couldn't keep it from you." Jade smiled, but part of her ached. After her lifetime of dedication, Alex seemed to let go with much ease. Edge brought himself back to her dreams, and now Alex seemed interested in exploring things with Joe. Jealousy wasn't the word, but maybe it had more to deal with why she had to suffer as his commands when no one else seemed to. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jade smiled. "I just realized I didn't invite Edge yet, so I'm going to go do that. I'll see you tomorrow?" Joe smiled, nodding. Jade walked him to the door and shut it behind him. She sighed and looked away. Jade stared at the black aura mixing with hers, flickering from her hands. "What's wrong with me," she whispered.