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Astrosa
Allyson
Chapter Four
Astrosa stepped into the room, and almost jumped back; a girl with honey hair and blue eyes sat on a bed across the room. Next to her, another girl with chestnut hair and brown eyes lay by the foot end. She was supposed to share a room? The first girl�s nose wrinkled and she sneered. �Oh look, Galena, it�s the bastard.�
�You�ve got it wrong Sarah.� Galena said. �It�s not the bastard, it�s the traitor�s bastard. That�s another category altogether.�
Astrosa trembled a bit and the air in the room changed. It grew cold and heavy. The girls were too busy laughing to notice the change.
�Well I for one, won�t have a traitorous whelp in my room, will you?� Sarah said coldly.
�Certainly not!� Galena agreed. �It�ll have to sleep outside with the other dogs.� She giggled mercilessly, tears streaming down her face.
Astrosa went numb at that moment. Red fire lifted Galena up against the wall, with a pressure so strong that air was cut off. Astrosa kept pressing, until Galena couldn�t scream. She didn�t notice Sarah run out of the room.
A minute later, when it was almost too late, Harailt of Aili arrived at a full run with the teachers. It took four of them to wrench Astrosa away from hers spell and free Galena. When she hit the ground, she began to gasp for air, and her face slowly returned to its natural color. Astrosa stood back, held by two teachers. �Don�t say a word about me again. Ever.� She said in a deadly soft voice and allowed herself to be led out of the room.
*~*~*
Astrosa was moved into an empty room to avoid future problems of the like. The Dean had lectured about temper, but Astrosa didn�t care. What did he know; they were all just stupid anyway! She certainly wasn�t about to admit that she hadn�t meant to lift the girl, and it wasn�t as though she hadn�t deserved it.
In the morning over breakfast, everyone whispered. Astrosa only heard a few snatches of conversation; everyone was careful not to speak near her.
�Did you hear��
�Just attacked her in��
��Roger�s daughter.�
"�dangerous��
It seemed that if there had been any doubt about who she was, it would be dispelled by lunch. Many people made the sign against evil as she passed, but Astrosa just stuck her chin up and walked on. Internally she was hurt, but only weak people had emotion.
Astrosa sat down with Akilah, Neal, Otto, and Dawn wordlessly, almost defiantly. Akilah, Otto, and Dawn merely nodded or murmured hellos, but Neal turned in excitement. �Is it true? Did you really try to kill Galena of Kennan?�
Akilah sighed. �You have about as much tact as my pet yak back home. Probably less, he doesn�t stick his foot in his mouth.�
Astrosa stared him down for a moment. When he held her gaze stubbornly, she said, �Yes.�
�Cool.� He said, and returned to eating. Astrosa was puzzled by his strange behavior, but was beginning to sense that strange was the norm for him.
*~*~*
Astrosa�s first class sounded too simple for words. All they had to do was arrange five pieces into a puzzle on the ceiling. While the teacher, Master Derrick, helped Dawn on the other side of the room, Astrosa wandered, bored. Puzzles were for six-year-olds. She had been able to levitate things when she was a week old.
Astrosa had noticed a group of older students create giant crystal filled with many colors of light that formed pictures the day before. She spotted a round glass ball in the corner, and decided to try this herself. She poured in a flood of her power, feeling light-headed. Her fingers felt foreign and pale fog began to mist around her eyes. Suddenly, the ball exploded, shattering glass around the room.
Master Derrick was at her side in a moment, tomato red with fury. �How dare you try a complicated working you didn�t understand! What in the Gods� names could have possessed you to be so stupid?�
�Don�t talk to me like that!� Astrosa screamed in fury. She sent fire flaming out of her fingers without thinking. He deflected it to the ground, where it left a singe mark. She gasped for air.
His voice grew softer when he realized people were staring, but it was still full of fury. �You have no control over your gift whatsoever!� he said sharply. �You could�ve easily killed Galena last night, and you�ve most likely wounded people here.�
�This class is too easy!� she complained.
He chuckled coldly. �It�s amazing how arrogant you are. You do have strong power,� he admitted, �but unless you can control when and how to use it, it will do you no good.� He paused to collect himself. �If you do not learn to control yourself, it is very possible that you will be expelled.� Noticing that she was paler than usual and breathing quickly, he said, �Report to the infirmary, you�ve overexerted yourself.�
Astrosa strode down the hallway angrily and Derrick went inside to check on his remaining students.
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