[DISCONTINUED] -The Elements of Disharmony Book One- §Shadows and Flame§

Chapter 6

Dear Journal,
    It's been two months since school started. We're going to be leaving for a school trip soon. Personally, I don't see the rush as necessary. Maybe they don't want Ash burning down another school during one of her meltdowns. Anyways, I've been planning on how to harness her spunky persona. She's powerful, I've seen it from the way she whipped Cedar Green on the first day of school. She seems to respect me, and I keep my distance. I'm looking for an opportunity to swoop in and pull her into my web of friends, like Father says to, but it's hard.
She mostly keeps to herself, barely speaking and only answering questions when called upon, though I think she hangs out with her roommate Marigold sometimes, and a few others.
Personally, I like her strategy. It's smart, covering up her past actions like that. However, she might be laying it on a bit too thick. It's very obvious she's trying to get on the teacher's good side, and it's getting on the nerves of most of the other teacher's pets. It's like a roller coaster illusion: It's realistic, but when you get to close or make it over exaggerated, it becomes clear that it's all an act. If she plays her cards in a certain way, she and her whole reputation could either become stronger, or tumble into a bigger chaotic political disaster. I'd requested a meeting with her, but didn't get much out of it. She's good. Very good.
I take a break from writing, and lean back in my chair. I close my eyes and relish the warmth of the fire on my face. I'm hanging out in Ophelia's dorm, since it's the only place in school I call a safe haven. Not even my own room is safe, with this one annoying girl who snoops through my plans. Ophelia dorms here at the school, along with Erza. She says her parents 'want them off their hands' and ship the two off to boarding schools as often as possible. Maybe they don't want them to see the violence and blood in Trevanta...
I open my eyes and look over the room. Not a whole lot has changed since last year. There's still the little Songbird Serenade poster hiding under her bed (which she claims isn't hers, but she's surprisingly a bad liar about it), her midnight blue duvet on her twin sized bed, the white walls adorned with silvery stars. I turn back to the book and continue.
She shared a bit with Erza and Ophelia about her little 'incident' at her previous school. They informed me as soon as she left the common room. I'm still contemplating whether or not to fully initiate her, or to just keep her as a contact on the outside. Father, of course, wants me to get as close as humanly possible to her for some weird reason, but he doesn't know my plan of control over the school.
I sigh, and decide to let loose the tension that's been collecting in my chest for awhile.
Journal, I'm worried about Abrax. Every day he grows weaker, and more and more silent. I wish he would just talk to me once. I'm not sure if it's pain or hunger or both that's keeping him from connecting with us again.
Father and Mother are trying their best to keep us happy, but I can see right through them. I wish they would stop treating us like small children and tell us what the hell is wrong with our big brother. What I would give to hear his voice say my name. He used to be a beautiful singer, his voice flowing like a river through a shady forest. He was just, well, a refreshing person to be around. Now he's just a shell.
Sometimes, it looks like his true spirit, the one from so long ago, is fighting its way out. I know it's hard on him, and I know this is selfish, but I wish he would just TALK for once. Talk to me, late at night, comfort me through the tough times. That is why I became so intent on ruling the school. Maybe he looks down on me. Maybe if I'm powerful enough, fearsome enough, enough like my parents....he'll think I'm worthy of his time.
I set down my pen so I don't cry. My whole life, I've been trying to be like my parents. Ruthless as my father. Strong like my mother. Graceful like my sister. Deadly like my brother. I wish it would all just go away. I act all scary, trying to become my parents, but I hate myself for it. I know I have my real friends, like the twins and Soren, but everything else is fake. The swagger I have. The power I wield. Even my friends, sometimes.
I guess I am like Ash after all: We both have our illusions we hide behind.
I circle the passages I want to send to Father with my pen, then let the journal work its magic. Father gives each of us a magical journal. Everything we write gets written down in his. It's his way of keeping tabs on all of us. I've been dabbling around with it and now I just treat it like an average diary. I don't write down most of the things I feel. Just, sometimes when I feel like it. A few moments later, the words fade away. On their way to Father.
"Lost in your misery again," comes the rich voice of Erza. I turn and see the whole legion looking at me. "You ready," asks Ophelia with concern. "You need the practice. But if you're not up for it-"
"I want to do it," I burst out, catching her off guard. Again, I'm striving to be my mother. Always up for a challenge. "Let's just get this over with," Soren grumbles. "Let's hope this time you don't faint."
****************
Half an hour later, and I'm wishing I had refused. "Salamander," Ophelia reads from the flash cards she's holding. I morph into the desired animal. I feel like I'm going to be sick. I can feel my bodily fluids threatening to spill from my mouth. It takes all of my willpower not to pass out or hurl. It's barely been 3 seconds when she calls out "Hippogriff!" I morph again, this time seeing spots. My vision is going black, and I can barely hear the next card. "Deer," she cries, and I try to morph again. I'm only halfway there when my body collapses on me, and I crumple to the ground. Somewhere along the way, I turned back into a person. I vomit, the noxious stench filling my nostrils. Then, I fell over to the side, completely unconscious.
When I came to, the Venators were talking in hushed tones. I try to listen in on their conversation. "She's stretching her limits," whispers Erza. "Another one of these training sessions and she'll have to go to a hospital! She could kill herself, you guys."
"Well, we can't just let her quit," Soren fires back. "She's been working way too hard to let her give this up. She gets stronger and maintains the animals longer every time."
"But..." Ophelia pipes up, "Is it possible for her to get stuck in an animal form permanently?"
"Of course not," Soren scoffs. The twins look unsure. "I need to go practice my new concerto, see you in an hour."
Soren is a competitive pianist, and believe me when I say he's good. Though his tight schedule can interfere with our meetings, I do a good job at squeezing things in.
I sit upright, and rub my eyes a bit to clear away the blurriness. It helps, but not a lot. "How much did I miss," I ask, my voice cracking halfway through the sentence. "You were out for about 15 minutes," Erza tells me, offering me a hand. I gladly accept it, and pull myself up. "It's better than a few weeks ago," offered Ophelia with a hopeful look. "You were out for almost 3 hours then."
"Please," I spoke, putting a hand up to silence her. "Don't remind me."
Ophelia just shrugged and said, "Okay. Whatever clunks your cowbell, I guess." I close my eyes and rub my temples. There must be some way to make Ash crack. I pace the floors, thinking all the while on how to unlock her guarded mind. Hurt her family? No, her mother and father are too powerful. Plus, she's a pyro. She could light me on fire with a thought. Poison her friends, perhaps. No, I don't want to be seen as a murderer. We don't need another teenage arsonist on the loose in school. Also, we would have no good alibi to cover up the story. And then there's the matter of where we get the poison. I froze in my tracks. Wait...poison...
My eyes shoot open. "That's it," I whisper to myself. "That's it," I say louder. I threw back my head and laughed like a mad scientist. "I've got it," I shouted. The twins were staring at me. Probably thinking I was a maniac or I hit my head too hard. "My plan is perfect," I raved, pacing wildly. "We orchestrate some sort of setup. Maybe another murder or something. I don't know what exactly. Not yet, anyways. Then, we pin the blame on Ash. Make her friends see her as Ash the Arsonist. The teenage girl who keeps the ashes of her former enemies in jars. The murderer of 26. The childhood killer. A ruthless pyrokinetic who can and will kill." At this point, I was just rambling. Erza and Ophelia were looking to each other, then back at me, occasionally nodding. "It's perfect," I seethed. I felt my inner psychotic tyrant breaking through me. "My plan is perfect. Father will approve. Finally, after all these years, the spotlight's on me. Not my sister, nor my brothers, but me. Ravena Nightshade, the queen of Greenwood High School. The ruler of my own kingdom of teenagers. Finally, I would live up to my parent's legacies..." I realized what I was saying and shut my mouth. Way to go, Ravena, I thought. What a great idea, talking about your innermost desires in front of others. I cleared my throat and recomposed myself. "We can poison the minds and thoughts of Ash's friends. Once they realize what she really is beneath her facades, they'll turn on her. Then, we pull her into the trap. The people in this school are weak, and powerless against us. With her added to the legion-"

"Hold your horses, there, R," Erza interrupts me. "Suppose we do cause an accident. How do we know that Ash's friends won't stand up for her, or stick with her? Plus, how do we know the accident won't be traced back to us? We have been seen as the 'shady group' in this school. You know that. Are you really going to risk the empire you've built here for her?"

"Trust me," I promised him. "I've been keeping tabs on everyone who comes into contact with her. This one girl, Marigold, is her roomate. She's weak, and scared of us. I can see it in her eyes whenever she looks at me. Maybe, just maybe, if we can frighten her into believing Ash is a monster..."

"She'll spread it around with her other friends and they'll turn on her," Ophelia finished, catching onto my plan. "I like it," she grinned. Ezra still looked unsure. I rolled my eyes. Ezra never really trusted a plan until it was all thought out. "We'll work on it more later, when we have Soren to help us," I promised him. His expression brightened slightly. "Okay," he threw his hand up. "You win, until we know how good this plan really is."
That's about as good an answer I'll get from him, so I didn't push further. "We should sleep on it a little longer and wait for Soren," I finished, unofficially declaring the meeting over. As I left the dorm room to go to my own, I couldn't stop thinking of my plan.
Soon, Ash, I thought maliciously. Soon, I will have control. I am the queen here. I will shatter your illusions and show the people of this school what you really are.