Before the Ever Green (BTEG #1) ✔️

Chapter 44

When I was little, I would always imagine thing. One of those things-war. But I never actually thought I would have the chance to go into battle. The new rulers had everything so organized, at least through the eyes of a 10 year old with no friends. But, as I am looking at it now, they don't seem so organized. I mean, there is one real ruler-Forest Green. Below him, are the 5 rulers of each of nations. No one has ever even seen Mr. Green. I guess that's what make his existence so scary. He could be living among the civilians for all we know.
He could be living in any of the towns. He could be watching over us, waiting for us to make a mistake, and for him to fully come into control. How do we know he is even real? What if Forest Green is just a made up person?
"Addilyn! Focus, please." Everett is staring at me
"I can't focus. There is so much to be thinking about. My brain is a cloud, and each thought is a rain drop. It's filled." I say, knocking on my head.
"Well, hurry up and make your cloud rain. Addilyn," he is only inches away from me. He grabs both my arms, "You need to focus. How do you plan on winning a war if you can't focus?"
"How do you know about that? I thought only Allison and I knew."
"She told me. I don't know who or where, just that there will be a war. And, I will support you, and right know, that means I have to help you learn to control your powers."
"Okay." I say. I try and make my brain 'rain', but I can't stop thinking of all the things that could go wrong, in battle. What if everyone dies, and it's a tie battle? But, no one is left on this earth.
Focus.
I am staring at a bucket of water. I close my eyes, focus, open them, and start twirling my wrist in a circle. I can feel the energy, and I see the water swirling out of the bucket. Aim. Fire. With a swift movement of my hand, I knock down the "humans", which are just a bunch of buckets filled with sand stacked on top of each other. But, Everett told me that it weighs more than the average human. And, they come tumbling down.
"Not so hard, when you focus." Everett tells me, emphasizing on the focus.
"No, but it's hard to focus when I have so many other things to be thinking about." I tell him
"Well, you did it. Now, I think we should have you try and work with Jaeger and Brit. It will help you to focus specific parts of your gift, to help strengthen their gifts."
"Ok. Are you sure I'm ready?"
"Positive." Though he does sound sure, I am not sure how sure I am of my own strength. I feel that I will mess up big time. What if I end up hurting one of them? I don't want to hurt them. "You'll be fine."
I take a deep breathe. Nod, then start walking in the direction of Brit and Jaeger. Everett is beside me. He nods to Allison, and she tells Jaeger and Brit something I can not hear. They spread apart. Allison points for me to go in between the two of them. I do.
"Okay. Addilyn, we are going to try and create a windstorm. You two remember that one?"
They nod.
I am not ready for this. I take Brit and Jaegers closest hand. We are facing the opposite direction of Everett and Allison, now. I feel the power. Focus. Just focus. For once in your life, you are free. Don't mess this up. Control it. Focus it. Aim it. Fire it. I didn't even realize my eyes were closed, but I can't pull myself to open them. I can feel the hair bushing brushed away from my face,a nod flapping in the wind. I think we did it.
I release their hands.
Allison and Everett are both clapping, "That's the most power I have seen in a long time." Allison tells Everett
"Yeah. She's...there are no words."
I am breathing hard, when I turn around. They are still clapping. "Okay. Back to individual practice, for now. We'll try group work again, tomorrow."
Everett is already walking to our corner for practice. I jog over to him. He doesn't say anything.
"Everett?"
He looks at me
"You okay?"
He clears his throat, "Yeah. I am fine, why?"
"You just looked a little, I don't know."
He gives a half-smile, "I am just thinking about everything I have to teach you. And, I don't know how much time I have to teach you, so it's a little hard to plan."
"You have all the time you need. I don't have a plan in when we're marching into battle. Honestly, I am not even sure if there will be a battle."
He looks so confused, "What do you mean?"
"I don't want this. Allison does. She thinks it is my destiny, but my whole life I've never even thought about it. All my life all I've wanted was to be free of the burden of my Mothers name." I take a breathe, "That's really why I left. And you. You were really my only friend. Maybe I was too trusting, but I needed to get away from Sara, John, the town, my mom, everything. Then, she told me that I had powers, too. So, I convinced myself I was going to find out about it. But, the truth is the more you lie to yourself, the worse the sting is in the end. When the realization hits."
"Addilyn, I knew all along there had to be more then you just wanting to learn about your powers. But, that is what this trip accomplished for you...and now, you can harness it, and control it. You just have to believe in yourself."
"Okay." I don't know why his word seem to calm me, to make me believe, but they do. So, I listen, and I follow.
x x x
We spent another 5 hours practicing. I did most of them with no problem, but a few stumped me. Everett, Jaeger, and Brit are upstairs, asleep. I am sitting on the couch, waiting for Allison to come down. A few minutes later, I can hear the creakiness of the footsteps on the stairs. It almost reminds me of home. I look up to her, "What did you want to talk about?" She asks me.
I take a breathe, and gesture for her to sit with me. When she is, I begin, "The page of the book you showed me, was ripped in half. Do you know what was below the last word?"
"Addilyn why can't you drop it?"
"I need to know."
She gives an acknowledging smile, "When I was your age, I wished to get rid of my powers, too, but I Would have regretted it for the rest of my life."
"What's written on the torn out piece of paper? Please."
"When I turned 24, I met David. Both of us were very scared to tell each other about our gifts. I actually don't remember how it came out, but when it did, he gave me that book. He told me that some things in it may seem tempting, but that i should never use them. My gift was too special. He said that, 'even though you may have the same gift as some one else, it does not mean you use it the same way. This means, it's not the same gift, at all.' I looked through that book a million times. I looked at tat page more than any other, especially after he died. But, I never pulled myself to go looking for it." She gets up, and goes to a shelf, pulling out a box, and bringing it back, "After he was killed, I ripped out the bottom half of that page, because I knew if the new rulers ever found it, they would use it. Especially Forest Green. I used my gift to disintegrate it. I put the ashes in this box," she tells me
"Why keep the ashes?"
"Because...I can do this," she takes the box from my hand, opening the top of the polished oak. Inside, there is a pile of grey and white. She smiles a small size, before twirling her hand in the air, making the ashes swirl like a tornado, then she blows. The once ashes glow slightly, before falling back into the box a single sheet of paper. She picks it up, and hand it to me.
I read it.

The Glimmer has its power, like all, and will do the wishes of its holder, reversing the gifts given to an individual forever. But, if it is touched by an ungifted, they shall loose years off their life, in seconds. Be warned of the power. A single touch to the bare skin, and the stone is activated.

"The stone can be used as a weapon?" It shouldn't have come out a question.
She nods, "It's too powerful, never let in into the hands of an ungifted, the price they will pay, may kill them at the sight. Every person is born with a specific life span. Nothing can change that, to make it longer, but a lot of things can make it shorter." She touches the palm of my hand, running a finger across one of the many lines etched into my hand. "You, Addilyn, will live a long life, but don't think that it can't be changed. A life with magic is a much harder one."