United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 11 - Linda

The first thing Linda noted about Ariel was that everyone there was much nicer than what she was used to. Although the man that had met her at the gates and escorted her to the king and queen seemed more skeptical of her than anyone else, he was quite calm and polite toward her. The king and queen had been patient and kind, thankfully giving her a chance after she revealed to them her strange ability. Everyone else she'd met that knew of her telepathy left her in the end, and Linda was shocked when the king and queen agreed. The maids that Linda had walked by either politely (at least, Linda thought it was polite because she was awkward around most people) avoided her gaze or gave her short nods of greeting as they walked past. Even the former king, who Linda had heard was somewhat of a sarcastic grump toward everyone, was polite toward her, though he wasn't ashamed to express his skepticism. It was all strange to Linda, because where she spent most of her life, no one was nice. 

Not even her. 

The second thing Linda noticed was the lack of guards. Technically, however, it had been the first thing she noticed. When she'd arrived at the kingdom, the only man that was there had been Shintaro, and she had already heard that he wasn't a guard - he was a Guardian. But as the Guardian had taken her through the paths of Ariel, she noticed that there were far fewer guards that what she would have expected. The killings had started with the guards, apparently, but who was next? 

The third thing that Linda noted - and she hated this part - was that the kingdom was loud. Even though she'd trained herself to slam a wall of emptiness over her own mind, the business of this kingdom was far too much for her. Everyone was bright and loud, even when they were calm. Linda was capable of blocking out most thoughts, but the ones that were too close to her she couldn't help but overhear. Even though most of them were just maids' thoughts about fixing things and whatever else maids did, it was tiring for Linda. 

But the strangest thing that she had found about the kingdom wasn't just about Ariel. It was directly linked to the Guardian of Ariel, Shintaro. Almost the moment that she had met him, she had stretched out her mind to search for a snippet of his thoughts (this was almost habitual when she met new people). 

But she'd found nothing. There were no thoughts coming from his brain, which rendered his mind quiet and still. Linda found it both scary and fascinating, and even one part of her relaxed at the realization that there was someone in the world that she couldn't hear. 

But how had he been managing to block her out? No one had been able to block their thoughts from Linda, not ever. So how was he doing it? How could Linda not hear his thoughts? It wasn't that he was thinking of nothing (if there was nothing in his mind, he probably wouldn't be alive), so how could he manage to keep her out? 

Was in a conscious decision or was it instinctive? Because he hadn't known she was telepath until she'd revealed it in the library office. Could he have known before then? 

The fourth thing that Linda noticed again included Shintaro. For an odd reason, she felt that she'd seen him before, but how could she have seen him? She hadn't even been living with her family when she was young, so where could she have met him? When she was young, the only person Linda knew was her sister; but even she was torn away from Linda, many years ago. She couldn't recall meeting anyone other than the man who came to see her almost every day, the one she'd grown to hate with every inch of her being. 

Where could Shintaro had come into her life, and when had he left? 

Every time she looked at him, Linda almost felt like she was staring at a piece of her that had been taken away, and she couldn't remember if it was real or not. She couldn't grab the piece and bring it back because she wasn't sure if it was actually a part of her.