Ever been in a room with near a thousand people in it and not one of them making any kind of sound and all of them looking at you? It gets pretty uncomfortable, I don’t recommend it.
"Well...this was unexpected." My brother’s voice came into my head.
"Shut up Cam."
I sigh as I stand up feeling myself change. My skin becoming tighter and hugging the shape of my newly revealed muscled arms and legs. Showing the hidden scars I had accumulated over the years, the tips of my fingers brushing the long scar that spiralled down from my hip to my knee. The frizz of my hair calming itself into soft, dark waves. The tops of my ears shaping up into their natural point. Not all Vellocets had this; I’m just part elf. It felt good to be back in my body. I could feel the power pumping in my veins and the strength Substance gave me flowing in my limbs and realized how much I loved it. My eyes becoming sharper. The grain of the wood floorboards now vividly clearer, I heard heartbeats from around the room as loudly as my own.
"Alexis!?" Ruby whispered outraged, "You can’t be a Vellocet! You would have told me, I’m your best friend." she finished sadly. I looked her in the eye knowing I couldn’t say anything that the Litheites could use against me but still hoping that she would understand that I loved her, that she was still my best friend and that I was sorry. One of the Litheites prodded me with his gun to get my attention.
"Commander!” the Litheite in charge bellowed at me with a stupid smirk on his face, "you are to come with us! If you do not surrender then every human here will be obliterated!"
There was nothing I could do without endangering or killing anyone. I had to get them out side, not the most difficult task. "Alright. I’ll go with you. For a little while." I told them, having no intention of leaving this school in their hands. For a generally smart race, these Litheites were not the brightest crayons in the box. How could they expect to bring down the next in line for commander with just 20 of them and few guns? The thought almost made me laugh. Before I could take a step, two of them had both my arms and a gun between my shoulder blades and were guiding me towards the door and my team.
"So Alexis, how's it going?" Capricorn said
"Oh you know. Same old, same old.” I replied with a smile
"Would you two get serious?" Jace hissed at us. Gorgeous as he was with his shaggy, dark golden hair and golden skin, and those brown eyes that went on forever but in the right light, flashed with little gold flecks. He was my golden boy, but my God he could be so uptight sometimes!
"Lighten up Jace. You’re going to ruin that pretty face with worry lines." Grace shot back at him.
Grace was the Vellocet princess and under the protection of Scarlet and I. If she was hurt the king would end us. If she died with us around he wouldn't kill us, oh no. He would torture us for weeks on end letting us die slowly. She was the inspiration for all our people. The embodiment of happiness, kindness, wisdom, strength and hope. There were statues of her all over Vellos but none of them ever truly did her justice. Her wide, sapphire blue eyes, her soft auburn hair falling down her back and her pale skin that almost glowed. Not even a photo could capture it right. It was something you had to see in person but very few ever got to.
~*~
The doors banged shut and the gymnasium remained silent. The look on Ruby’s face would tell anyone who saw it that she was outraged, hurt, betrayed. There were many memories she had shared with Alexis, secrets too. She had trusted her, plain and simple. A single question kept bouncing around in her head. Why didn’t she tell me? She was aware of friends trying to console her, but she ignored them. If her most trusted friend in the world had so epically lied to her, how could she trust that everyone one else was telling her truth? With mind and heart racing there was a loud crack against the brick wall, causing dust to fall and the gathering of people to jump. The grunts and shouts of pain growing louder and closer to the door. The anxiety level of the room almost through the roof.
