Gold Blood

Chapter 10

"Welcome here," a booming voice spoke. The sound carried across the room and echoed off the walls. Acelynn's eyes found where the sound came from and was shocked to see a older silver haired man. He had a red tinged face and a large belly. Acelynn glanced towards Phoenix who glared at the man in front of him. At the man's side was a older woman. Her face was wrinkled but she was beautiful. Down the left side of her face was a long scar that went across her bright green eyes. Her hair was grey and it hung on her right side in a long braid. She had a soft smile on her face and her left hand rested on the sword on her hip. She wore a pair of black pants and a white shirt.

    "Hi," Acelynn whispered her nerves getting the better of her. She glanced down nervously at the floor.

    "I'm General Scott and this is my wife Jule, she will be working with you while I work with Phoenix," the silver haired man said in reply. Jule smiled at Acelynn and Acelynn could feel the nerves leave her body. That had to be her gift. Acelynn looked warily at Jule and her nerves returned as Jule's smile faded. Acelynn nodded her hair and walked towards Jule. Acelynn glanced back at Phoenix and he nodded his head at her in encouragement.

    "Nice to meet you Acelynn," Jule greeted her sticking her hand out for her to shake. Acelynn quickly placed her hand in hers and shook her hand strongly. Acelynn gave a soft smile and Jule released her hand.

    "Nice to meet you too," Acelynn replied taking a step away from her.

    "Today we're just going to see what you can do, that's it," Jule told her with a reassuring smile. Again Acelynn's nerves left her and she accepted it this time with open hands. She needed all the help she could get.

    "Sounds good," Acelynn nodded her head.

    "What is your gift?" Jule asked looking intently at her.

    "I'm able to slow down time enough that I can do whatever I want and the other person won't be able to tell a time difference. I can also change my looks, my hair, my eyes, skin colour, and my size. I can get smaller but I can't get any taller," Acelynn replied shrugging her shoulders. To her it wasn't a big deal. Her abilities didn't seem that cool to her.

    "Those both could come in handy," Jule told her looking thoughtful. "Change of plans, I need Scott to see this as well." Jule walked away from Acelynn and over to General Scott and Phoenix. Phoenix glanced over and gave her a questioning look, Acelynn shrugged in response and he chuckled looking down at the ground.

    "Can you show us a change in appearance?" General Scott asked walking over with Jule and Phoenix following behind him. Acelynn nodded her head and thought about it for a moment. She closed her eyes and focused on her hair. She felt a prickling in her scalp and she opened her eyes to see her hair was bright red. Next she thought about her eyes changing them to a dark brown colour that matched Phoenix's. She gave him a soft smile and atched her with wide eyes. Acelynn thought next about her face, making it seem like she was much younger than she actually was, her height followed and she must have looked like a small child.

    "Wow," Jule whispered to herself. "I don't even recognize you." Acelynn laughed softly and focused on getting back to normal. Her hair returned to its natural white blonde and her eyes to their green and gold. She grew in height and her face returned to normal.

    "That is incredible," General Scott muttered. He looked to his wife and she smiled back at him. "What else can you do?" He asked turning back to her. She glanced towards Phoenix and he gave her a reassuring nod. She could do this!

    "Give me something to get, that I would know where it was," Acelynn said with a small laugh. Both Jule and General Scott looked thoughtful for a moment.

    "Go to my room and get the sword that's lying at the foot of my bed," Phoenix spoke up. The General glanced back and then looked back at Acelynn nodded his head.

    "Do you have some way to tell time? Like a timer?" Acelynn asked looking around the room.

    "We just have that clock," Jule replied pointing towards the clock on the wall.

    "Okay, watch that. I'll be back in 5 or less seconds, if I don't get lost," Acelynn told them. They nodded their heads and all three of them glued their eyes to the clock. She took a deep breath and as she let it out time slowed down. Turning on her heel Acelynn ran for the door. She did her best to retrace her steps back towards her room. Turning left and right and going up the stairs she finally found a familiar hallway. Acelynn sprinted down the hallway and passed by a few servants who were in the hallway. She flung herself into his room and grabbed the sword sitting at the end of his bed. His room was messy and there was clothing all over the floor. Giggling to herself she checked the clock in his room. She had three seconds to get back to the training area. Taking a deep breath she ran out of the room and back down the stairs taking a left and then a right she found herself at the door. She threw it open and walked towards Phoenix, General Scott, and Jule. Focusing for a moment she let time resume as it should.

    "You have got to be kidding me," Phoenix uttered. He reached for the sword in her hand and she gladly handed it over to him. Acelynn blushed and looked away from him.

    "That is very impressive, do you know how it works?" General Scott asked intently. Acelynn shrugged and shook her head. He made her nervous, he was looking at her like she was a weapon instead of a person.

    "Love, I think that is enough for one day," Jule whispered to the General. He nodded his head and waved his hand dismissing them. Phoenix grabbed Acelynn's arm and hauled her out of there.