Unpredictable

Chapter 11-- Ensorcell

(Edited)

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Ensorcell (verb)

Meaning: to enchant or fascinate someone

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<Lloyd's point of view>

"OW!" The first word that comes out of my mouth is super heroic, isn't it?

I rub my stinging cheek. I don't think it'll leave a mark--- she must have pulled back some.  

"Well, she certainly weaseled her way out of that one." Zane mutters.

Which reminds me. 

"What the heck was that?!" I cross my arms.

Jay snorts. I respond by glaring at him in particular. They don't answer my question. 

"That was beyond embarrassing!"

Jay bursts out laughing.

"What? Nothing is funny about this situation," I snap. Great, now I sound like Kai. 

They all start laughing, and I tromp out of the training room.

I find myself near the girl's room. I hear snoring inside, which is very obviously Kit's. I kinda want to go in there, make sure she's tucked in, but instead I go out onto the deck.

To my embarrassment, Rose is there. Her black cloak flows behind her in the wind, and her hood is down, so her light brown hair shows. It's been put up into a braid-bun-thing.

She's not facing me, but instead she's leaning against the railing, looking at the stars.

I start blushing uncontrollably at the sight of her--which is all my stupid brothers' fault-- so I pull up my green hood. For a moment I just stand there, frozen.

She doesn't seem to notice me, so she must be deep in thought. I sneak up to her, relying on my ninja training.

I'm right behind her at this point, so I decide to do the honorable thing: teach her that when you're hanging out with Ninjas, be prepared to be pranked.

"Boo!" 

Her reaction is almost as funny as it is dangerous.

Rose spins around, whipping her sword out and nearly killing me in the process. I don't have enough time to jump backward and dodge, so instead I grab her arm and twist the sword out of her grasp, becoming awkwardly close to her in the process. Her expression is slightly shocked, which is probably the best that I'm going to get out of her, but that's not what I'm focusing on.

I'm still holding her arm. It's the part of her arm that's just below her elbow, and I'm gripping it pretty tight. It's her skin.

Her eyes--- her very being, which looks to be in true potential form due to her stark white hair and all the sudden honey-colored skin, but especially her eyes--- captivate me. They're normally dark brown, but now they're sparkling like grey diamonds in the night sky. It's not just that, though: for just these moments, she's see-through.

I swear, I'm seeing a star. It's like a million different pieces are flying by me, and I can recognize them, but it's going too fast to connect-- much less decipher-- any of them. There's raw vulnerability and insidious fear there; there's overwhelming love and an all-encompassing iron fealty. A passion, long forgotten but never gone, flickers by. The burden of a responsibility too big for just one set of shoulders to carry weighs her down, and the grief of eyes that have seen too much stare back at me.