The Students of Sarila by Elsie Janda (the beginning after the end novel read .txt) 📕

be kept under control.”
“Does it always glow?” I asked.
“Only when it’s dark.” He replied. “Okay, I guess we’re ready for a little bit of combat. Ready?”
“I’ve been waiting for this.” I grinned and activated my aura.
Alexander did the same, and we took to hurling balls of energy at each other. I threw a tiny orb at him, and just before Alexander could put up a shield, his aura flickered out. “Tina!” He screamed as the orb touched his chest, which must’ve sent electricity pulsing through his body.
“Alexander!” I rushed over and checked to make sure he was still breathing.
His chest was still moving, but only slightly. I screamed and tried to move him into his room. I got him to the door. Sarila seemed to just appear at the doorway, with a worried expression on her face. “What happened? I heard you scream…” She looked at Alexander. “Oh no!”
She picked him up and struggled under his weight. I helped her carry him to his bedroom. “I promise, he’ll be okay.”
“I killed him!” I screamed. “I killed him!”
“Hush, Tina. He is fine.” Sarila assured me.
Crying, I stumbled back to my bedroom and fell asleep on my bed.



We Might Have a Plan

When I woke up, it was about 5:30. I looked in a mirror to still find my hair looking near perfect, but my eyes were red and a little puffy. Someone knocked on my door. “Come in.” I called.
Sarila entered my room. “I thought you’d like to know Alexander is perfectly fine.”
“Where is he?”
“Resting in his room. You should go see him.” She suggested.
“Where’s Peter?”
“I think he’s taking a nap in his room.” She replied. “You’ll see him in a half hour for dinner, Tina. Just leave him be.”
“How’d he do today? In training?”
“He had a lot of trouble picking a trigger. He finally settled on Emmy.” Sarila said. “Other than that, he did really well.”
“I did bad.” I sighed.
“That’s not what Alexander said when he woke up.” Sarila smiled. “He said that you’re better than he was. I think you might be better than me.”
“I’ll bet Peter is better than me.”
“I suppose I should mention he wouldn’t stop talking about you all of our training period.” She grinned at me. “He thinks you’re really cute and pretty and nice.”
“He’s sweet.” I smiled dreamily. “I think I like him.”
“If you do, I approve.” Sarila sighed. “You’ve never had a boyfriend, have you?”
I shook my head. “There was never a guy that left an impression.”
Sarila smiled and put an arm around my shoulder. “You’re growing up.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I may be the Water Master, but I’m also your official guardian. Remember when I found you?” She sighed, almost dreamily. “You were almost fourteen and you hated everything.”
“I hated you for a while.” I admitted. “But that didn’t last long.”
“You were a miserable girl, you know that? But I saw something else in you. You had been strong enough to survive everything you had gone through. And there was a slight spark of hope in your eyes that made me think you were the one.” Sarila looked me in the eye. “I’m really proud of who you’re becoming.”
“I’m not really all that special.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Yes, you are.” Sarila insisted. “You may not be able to see it, but I can. You are perfect for this competition. Even Peter will admit that you will most likely win.”
“Maybe I don’t really want to win.” I snapped. “I just want my life back.”
“Tina, this is your life. Can’t you see that?” Sarila said softly
“I don’t want this.” I shook my head. “I never wanted this.”
“Destiny isn’t your choice.”
“Leave me alone.” I told her.
“Tina…”
“Get out!”
Sarila left me alone. I had another twenty minutes until dinner. I spent it all sobbing.

When I went to dinner, my eyes were very red and puffy and my nose was slightly runny. It was very evident that I had been crying. Peter didn’t say anything when he saw me, but he gave me a very worried look.
I smiled reassuringly at him, but didn’t utter a word. In fact, I didn’t speak for the entire duration of the meal. As soon as I was done, I left without being dismissed. As I was leaving, I realized Alexander had not been there the entire meal.
When I was back in my room, I grabbed my notebook and added:

Almost killed Alexander

I carefully set the notebook back on my bookshelf. I picked up the only picture I had in this room and examined it. It had been taken the day Sally had become my legal guardian, just outside her bakery. Sally had her arm around me and we both were smiling. I could remember that this was the first day I had smiled in a long time. It was the first day I actually felt like I was alive.
Someone knocked on the door. “Come in.” I said.
Peter came in, closing the door behind him. He didn’t say anything, just held his open arms out. I didn’t hesitate to enter them. “You okay?” He whispered.
“I will be.” I assured him. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll worry anyways.” He said. “What’s wrong?”
“It was just a hard day.” I sighed. “I mean, I almost killed…”
“Tina, that’s not what’s wrong. You’ve been upset ever since we got here.” Peter interrupted.
I took a deep breath. “I feel like everything has been a lie. My life was finally worth living, and now it’s all gone.”
“I kinda like it here.” Peter led me over to my bed and we sat down.
“What about Emmy?” I asked.
“Don’t worry about her. I’m needed here.” He put his arm around me. “And so are you.”
“I wanna go home.” I murmured.
“I don’t want you to.” Peter looked me in the eye. “I need you here.”
I probably blushed a little, but I doubt Peter noticed. “I still think you worry about Emmy.”
“I do.” He admitted.
“Then why don’t you say anything?”
“Talking about it doesn’t make it better. If anything, it’ll just make it more miserable around here.”
“Talking will make it better, Peter.” I smiled at him. “Tell me about her.”
A cute grin formed on Peter’s face. “Like I said before, she’s seven and I love her to death. She’s got these big blue eyes, and really soft blonde hair. She’s sweet and kind. She’s the kind of person that could find good in the most evil person alive.”
“Does that include Ignatio?”
“Yes.”
“You know, he’s gotta have some sort of weakness.”
I sighed. “We just need to find out what, am I correct?”
“What was that Sarila was saying earlier about the Property Masters?” Peter wondered. “I’ll bet they’ll know some stuff about Ignatio.”
“Maybe we’ll have to find them, Peter.” I suggested.
“Maybe we will.” He agreed.
“Tomorrow, we’ll have to somehow find where they are…” I thought aloud. “And we’ll probably have to sneak away.”
“Maybe we should just go to bed, and then discuss this first thing tomorrow?” He said.
“Yeah, okay.” I concurred.
Peter leaned in and kissed me. “Good night, Tina.”

-

Ignatio chuckled when he saw the boy kiss the girl. “They are at a weak spot. Soon, we’ll be able to take over.”
His two apprentices nodded their heads. “That’s good, Master Ignatio.”
“Very good, indeed.” Ignatio grinned evilly.

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Publication Date: 10-24-2012

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