The Lost World Of Victa

Before: The Taken

"Hey Lily, do you mind if Morris and I come over tonight to hang out? We have some studying to do and we could really use your help," Brenden asked.

I looked over at him and Morris. They were my inseparable best friends. Morris was quiet and shy, but he always had art waiting to be brought to life through his hands. Morris had a creative eye and an analytical mind that always wandered and broke down the world into something beautiful. I glanced over at Brenden, who was staring at me, eager to hear my response. He was smart too, always waiting to lead us into a world where everything was better. Brenden was the jokester of our group, who could always make us laugh, but he was smart too, as if he had the answer to the puzzle of the universe on the tip of his tongue.

"Guys, do you really need help? Or do you just wanna hang out? Cause either is fine, I just want you to be honest," I poked. I knew that neither of them actually needed my help with school, and they were just making up an excuse to hang out. I didn't mind though.

Morris was quick to answer, "You're right, we just want to hang out. Please?"

I nodded. "Okay, come on guys, let's go to my house. Wait, did you get permission from your parents?"

"Yeah, we asked them this morning before we left," Brenden supplied.

"So how long have you guys been planning this?"

"Not long..."

"Three months."

I laughed, looking between my two friends. They were always like that—Brenden trying to hide just how much effort he'd put into something to seem naturally talented at it, and Morris brutally honest and blunt about just how invested he was in something.

It felt like every Blissfest we lost another kid, so of course we were looking for more excuses to hang out. Even though I hadn't spent long with anyone who had a high MMP, I could feel the magic in the air.

The sun was shining, filtering through the trees, and making the woods surrounding our town glow. It was bright and hot, and only us locals knew that we were on the edge of fall, despite the heat. One could tell that the queens had ordered trees planted here, to connect us to them, because a lot of our foliage turned brown and brittle around this time of year, like it wasn't meant to thrive in this weather. It always kind of struck me as odd, that the weather of our town so directly contrasted how living in Warcaster felt. Everything about my home felt grey and empty, like I was living in a bland and cold world, but my town was always sunny, hot, and sweltering. I'd read about snow, but had only seen it once or twice in my life, in a rare winter where we'd all nearly freeze. The only time it wasn't blistering with heat, it was raining, but even with that cloudy cover, the heat never left.

I heard a crunching of boots on the dying grass, and turned my head, seeing the guards out and about. There were more out and about today than normal, and I blinked, trying to rack my brain. Why would there be more guards out today...

"...Dammit. Today's Blissfest," I muttered, startling Brenden and Morris and earning me dirty looks from some of the guards.

"Yeah, today's Blissfest. That's why we wanted to come over. It always reminds you of your dad. We wanted to be there for our friend," Morris chimed in. Brenden nodded.

As we walked down the sidewalk, I sighed, looking at the house of our neighborhood—which housed all the families with 1-4 children. Every house was perfect white, with matching grey roofs, and looked like we were all one group of people—though not in a good way. Every time I took in our homes, all I could think about was the fact that we weren't allowed to have any individuality. However, after living in Warcaster for ten years, I could pick out everybody's house.