Chapter 3 part two

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Alexandra yawned and rubbed her eyes as she walked home from the castle. She hadn't been getting the sleep she needed because of the vision the week before. Every night she would wake up screaming and drenched in sweat, remembering the Steelback's face before the flames had engulfed it. And on top of that, Lady Cassara had been giving her a hard time, always asking for her and no one else to wait on her.

"Miss Alexandra!" yelled someone from behind. "Wait up!"

Alexandra stopped and turned to see Makani running towards her a couple feet away.

"Makani! Hey. Did I forget something?" Alexandra asked.

"No, Miss Alexandra. Do you have any spare time tonight?"

"Um, lets see, Cadmus and Sara are working late tonight, Suoh is going to the Nightmarket, and I don't have any chores that I know of. So, yeah, I'm free."

"Good. I want to start teaching you on how to keep out Mind Controllers. Is that all right?"

Alexandra nodded. "Yes, of course."

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, Alexandra stealing glances at Makani every couple of seconds. Whenever it seemed like he was about to look at her, she quickly looked down at the dirt road. Then it suddenly became akward and uncomfortable, and it stayed that way the rest of the way home.

Alexandra opened the door to the house. "Do you want some tea before we start, or just get it over with?" she asked, turning to Makani.

"If you don't mind, Miss Alexandra, I'd rather do it right away. I have some things that need attending to back at the castle."

Alexandra nodded. "Where do want to sit?"

"We can sit in front of the fireplace," As the sat down, he said, "Once you become more advanced, we can try it with Sara, and then with a multiple number of people. Now, are you comfortable?"

"As comfortable as you can get sitting on the floor."

Makani chuckled as they both sat cross-legged. "Okay. Close your eyes, Miss Alexandra. Now, once I tell you to, drown out every sound that you hear. Nothing can distract you when you do this. If even one little thing gets your attention in a dire situation, a Mind Controller can take over your body--arms, voice, mouth, eyes, emotions, everything--and can make you forget everything and control your every move. They can kill everyone or even you yourself. Remember, only strong people are able to become Mind Controllers, so they'll be very dangerous.

"In your mind, you'll see a large ball of light--that's the source of your power. I'm sure you've seen it when you use your Element, am I correct?" Alexandra nodded. "Good. Now, don't block it out of your mind, just your source of vision. After that, it will be pitch black. Then slowly come back through every step--not fast, mind you, or else there could be some serious damage--until you can only see the backs of your eyelids. Once we get more into your training and you get more advanced, you can start trying this without closing your eyes. No, no, Miss Alexandra, that's still a long ways off, there's no reason to get excited. I'm just telling you what's in store for the days ahead. Now, do what I've told you, and give me every detail of what you see."

Alexandra nodded and took a deep breath. She slowly let it out until the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat. Drown out every sound you hear... She took another deep breath as the sound of her heartbeats slowly began to fade. She then felt a weird, cold sensation trickling in her head, like water flowing slowly down a steel pipe, but then it quickly disappeared.

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"Miss Alexandra! Please wake up. Miss Alexandra!!"

Alexandra's eyes slowly fluttered open as she found herself looking up in Makani's face. She could see his hair lfalling towards her face and frame his beautiful eyes. She felt cold and clammy, and her blood pounded in her ears. Her heart raced at the sight of Makani leaning over her. She took in a shuddering breath and let it out, just now realizing her head was in Makani's lap and that she had collapsed to the floor. He moved a piece of hair out of her face. His touch felt nice and warm against her cold forehead.

"Are you all right?" Alexandra nodded.

Makani let out the breath that he'd been holding. "Thank the gods," he whispered. "Can you stand?"

Alexandra chuckled. "I think I remember you asking me that before," she croaked.

Makani smiled. "Well, at least sit up, then. There we go." He helped Alexandra slowly sit up and propped his leg up behind her back. "I'll have to teach you how to drown out the sound without stopping your heartbeat, but I think we've had enough for today."

Alexandra leaned against his warm, sturdy leg, giving a weak and tired smile. She looked into his eyes and smiled. She thought she had seen something in his look that he gave her, but it was too quick to take barley any notice.

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Alexandra was walking down the empty hallway carrying a serving plate full of fresh fruits when she saw Lady Cassara walking elegantly and confidently towards her, though it was obvious that Alexandra wasn't her destination. Alexandra stiffled a gasp and ducked her head, praying that Cassara wouldn't notice the quite and almost-invisible maid walking the opposite way down the hall. Unfortunately, luck was not on her side. Right as she passed by, Lady Cassara overturned the platter in her hands. The contents and the platter itself clattered to the floor.

"Pick it up," she commanded forcefully.

Alexandra did as she was told. She got down on her knees and picked up the serving tray, then picked up the small dishes without a word and avoiding those cold, hard, bone-chilling eyes. She just started to pick up the fruit when Cassara kicked the serving tray away, and again its contents were sprawled across the floor.

"Oops," said Lady Cassara sarcastically. As Alexandra reached for the dishes a second time, Cassara stepped on her hand with her high heeled shoe. As Alexandra bit her lip to stop herself from crying out, Cassara leaned down to whisper in her ear as the shoe ground into her hand.

"I told you," Cassara said harshly. "I will get you fired. You better quit now, or forever wish you had." With that, Cassara kissed her lightly on the top of the head and continued on her way, with her head held high.

Alexandra sat back on her heels, examining her wound and trying not to cry. The skin around the wound had turned deep red, and a little bit of blood was flowing slowly from her hand. She held her hand and massaged the punctured skin with her thumb, tears pricking her eyes and threatening to overflow. She let them, and her tears fell onto her hand. She closed her eyes for a minute, opened them, and the wound was gone. Alexandra gave one last sniffle before she picked up the items that were so rudely discarded from her hands. She headed back to the kitchen to replace the fruit she had had lost, and to send someone else to pick up the now spoiled ones on the floor.