The Golden Core | Secrets of the Core #1

Chapter One - Part Three

After a few moments of the line running smoothly, her eyes finally locked with the giant grey building in front of her. She had been here many times before, but each time she wondered why the only windows were on the black doors. Were they trying to hide the training?

Summer was ahead of her in line, but he got stopped before heading inside. She tried not to listen to the conversation that they were having, but she couldn't help it. Apparently, the woman was new. How did she not know him? The woman continued making silent slices on the paper with her pen each time a witch or wizard walked through the door. She eased her way forward, doing her best to scan the room inside every time the door opened.

Winter continued walking until she got stopped right in front of the black door by an arm. "Hang on," the woman with the pen said sternly. "What's your name?"

Taken aback by the woman stopping her before she went inside, she stuttered slightly when responding. "W-Winter." It was strange that the woman didn't know her. She must've come from another city. She looked up at the woman for a quick second as she waited for her to drop her arm.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Princess Amberstone. Please continue," the woman apologized, bowing to her as she checked Winter's name off the list.

Giving the woman a small grin, she continued through the door. The loud echo of the black doors fell behind her while she glanced around the room. Each witch and wizard stood in their specified places but were all separated by their elements. There were fire trainees on the right, earth trainees in the middle, and ice trainees on the left. Winter moved toward the other students training with ice on left side of the building and took off her shoes, laying them by the wall. Summer was on the right with the rest of his class. She found it odd that, even though they were brother and sister, they knew the opposite elements. What if Mother and Father planned it that way? She didn't think it was possible, but there was a chance. Her thoughts were interrupted as the instructors began to start their lessons. She jumped on to her mat as quick as she could, the foam squeezing in between her toes as she started to focus.

Other students stood across from her lifting their hands in the air while a grey swirl came from their palm. Fire emitted from one of them, but the boy that was controlling it seemed to have trouble as the flame kept going in and out. He tried repeatedly; Winter studied his movements, but she knew right away that his left hand should be above his other, not below it. She shook her head, telling herself that she could easily do better than that if she could control fire. But Summer was already showing the boy how to do it correctly; the fire lit up from his palm immediately. He was too good for training. She wanted that.

Her specific instructor walked closer to her, deciding to stop between her and another wizard, taking her away from staring at the boy across from her. She saw the man's lips move, but he was talking so softly she couldn't hear a word he was saying. How was she supposed to know what to practice? She shrugged her shoulders. She'd figure it out.

He looked over at her and came closer. "Are you doing okay, Winter?"

She stood up straight, smiling at him as she dropped her hands by her side. "Yes, I'm doing just fine."

"Great! Why don't you go ahead and practice control? Try to find different ways to handle it. I'll be back to see how you're doing after I check on the other students."

She nodded, hearing his footsteps beat against the tile as he walked towards the others, but they quickly faded away as she focused. After a couple of seconds, she couldn't hear anything except what was going on in her mind. Winter pictured a small block of ice, joining together with another block, forming into her hands. Slowly, she lifted her hands, stretching them out as she waited for it to appear. Keeping her concentration, a swirl of grey appeared above her fingers as both blocks became visible in her hands.

Her teeth started to chatter while her hands shook from the cold, but she pushed the two blocks together, dropping her right hand to her side, still holding the joined block in her left hand. The next part of this she always failed at, but she told herself she would nail it this time. Winter looked up towards the ceiling and brought her right hand back up with her left. She dropped her hands down just a bit and then, with all the force she could muster, she threw the block of ice into the air.

Quickly, Winter imagined the block of ice frozen in mid-air, trying to keep her focus, but some of the other witches and wizards were blocking her as she heard their voices.

"Oh, so that's how you do it!"

"Hey, can you help me?"

She shook her head, breaking the noises from her mind and focused on concentrating once again. The image of the frozen block came back into view when she looked up. It was beginning to fall, making its way toward the center. She held her breath, hoping it would stop, when time finally gave in and the block rested in mid-air.

She exhaled but made sure not to lose concentration when a small ringing in her mind began. It stopped as quickly as it started, but then she heard her mother. Winter, come home immediately, she begged.

Winter felt her stomach twist as an uneasiness washed over her. Hearing her mother like that wasn't normal, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what was going on. She began to drop the block of ice slowly, thinking that she would go home the minute she was done with practice, but then her mother came through her mind again.

Come here, now. It's about your Father. He needs you.

"I knew something was wrong when he showed up today!" she yelled, not caring about the other students staring back at her. Immediately, she lost all concentration, making the block fall from an immense height at a fast speed. With a loud crack, she jumped backwards as the ice shattered into a million pieces. She ducked, flying through the burst of glittering shards as she ran out of the building. She didn't care about the ice as long as it didn't hurt anyone, she would clean it up later. Right now, her father needed her.