Rhea struggled in the hold of the shadows. She wriggled and screamed loudly, begging someone-anyone-for help. Three figures appeared before her and the tallest one threw back his black hood.
โWell. Well. Well. What do we have here?โ The man chuckled sinisterly.
โAn innocent girl.โ Rhea snapped.
โInnocent?!โ The figure on the left guffawed loudly, โYou? Innocent?!โ โYa here that Asha?!โ
Rheaโs head snapped up and she looked to the figure on the right who stared at her feet.ย
โAsha?โ Rhea breathed, โis it you?โย
The figure nodded silently and Rhea ran forward. She clutched Ashaโs hands but Asha pulled away.ย
โWhat happened to you?โ Rhea asked.
Asha looked at the man in the middle and he nodded.ย
โI joined the shadows.โ Ashaโs voice calmed Rhea.ย
โWhy? Youโre a photokinetic!โ Rhea cried softly.ย
โB....be..because...because! Iโm not a photokinetic Rhea! Iโm an umbrakinetic or whatever itโs called. The darkness prevails over light Rhea. Light is weak! Shadows are the right way to go! Join us. Join the darkness.โ
Rhea stared at Asha wistfully and saw a glimmer of Asha in her eyes. The Asha that used to tell Rhea stories. The old Asha.ย
The kind Asha.
โNo. I donโt believe you.โ Rhea stood tall; her chin held high. โAsha wouldnโt say that.โ
The figure on the left laughed again. โAsha literally just said that!โ
โNot this Asha. The old one.โ
Rhea held out her arms and crunched her eyebrows in concentration and a beacon of light shot out of her palms. Asha fell backwards in pain and let out a strangled cry.
It hurt Rhea to do this. To hurt the only person that ever stood by her-apart from her parents-when she was afraid of her power.ย
She never made many friends in her childhood. Rhea was always practising with the stars or writing in her journals, meaning that Asha was one of the only people that helped her. The figure on the left threw back his hood-revealing a burned face covered in scars. He threw out his fist and shadows curled out of his knuckles. They covered Ashaโs thrashing body, protecting her.ย
Ashaโs arms trembled as she shakily raised her arm to the sky, creating a bright swirl of black and white. Using this much of her strength hurt her, but she had to do this. She grimaced and used all her strength to send all that energy into someone.ย
But not Rhea.
Her boss. Her master.ย
Umbra.
Rhea fixed her gaze on Umbra who let out one final shriek before he fell to the ground. The only figure of shadows left was the man who laughed at Rhea. He circled her quietly, shadows swirling around his fists. Rhea hissed quietly and snapped her fingers.ย
The two lunged at each other and the forces of dark and light deflected off each other-sending Rhea and the man flying. Rhea stood up rapidly and fired another beam of light towards the man-knocking him out for good.
Rhea sped towards Asha and grabbed her hands. โAsha. Asha. Wake up. Wake up please!โ
Asha rolled over onto her side and her eyes fluttered open. โRhea.โ She said happily.
Rhea fell forward onto her knees and burst into tears. โI thought..I thought I lost you.โ she weeped.ย
โIโll never leave you. Youโll never lose me,โ Asha smiled.ย
โThen why did you leave me?โ Rhea pouted.
Asha looked away. โI didnโt mean anything I said back there. I mean...I am an umbrakinetic but Iโm also a photokinetic. I just....I donโt know. They controlled me.โ Asha motioned to the two men beside her.ย
โWith shadows?โ Rhea asked cautiously and Asha nodded.ย
โI think so. I honestly have no idea.โ Rhea smiled at Ashaโs cluelessness and helped her up.ย
โLetโs go home.โ
After a long ride through the towns and the forests of Stellarshade, Asha and Rhea finally returned home. Asha was still quite sore from the fight so Rhea steadied her as they walked up to the door quietly.ย
Rhea knocked softly on the door and heard a yell inside. โWHO THE HECK IS KNOCKING ON MY DOOR AT ELEVEN PM?!โย
โLooks like dad hasnโt changed a bitโ Asha laughed nervously and Rhea rubbed her arm supportively.ย
Celeste opened the door and her groggy eyes opened wide as soon as she saw who was standing in front of it.ย
โSurprise?โ Rhea grimaced.
ย Celeste stood there for a moment, giving Rhea a chance to look her up and down. Celeste looked tired and weary. Like she hadnโt slept in days.ย
โRhea honey you-โ Celeste noticed Asha and stopped short. โAsha....โ
โCeleste? Who is it?โ Aster appeared at the door looking as sensible as ever and his eyes widened when he saw the short haired woman standing behind Rhea.
โAsha?โ
ย Aster went through a lot of emotions in that short period of time. Sadness, happiness, anger and shock. But he settled on happiness to everyone's surprise. He leaned forward to hug his eldest daughter for the first time in about six years.ย
He cried and cried. Asha buried her face in his shoulder and held on tight.ย
She was so happy. She had a family once again.
Soon Asha got called to the Stellarshade court for a hearing. Aster wasnโt allowed to be one of the โjudgesโ so he was sitting in the stands along with Rhea and Celeste.ย
โAsha Solo, you have been called before the council for an extremely serious reason. Do you know what that reason is?โ Councillor Isa towered over the courtroom.ย
Asha nodded silently. โI know that I made bad choices but I sincerely apologise for my actions.โย
The hearing went on for hours before the council came to a decision. Asha would be under close watch for six months and if no suspicious activity happened she would be released from watch and have three months of service. If any sort of treasonous activity occurred she would be sentenced to jail time-the period depending on the activity.ย
Rhea was ecstatic. She could live with her older sister once again. The family was reunited and happy. And that was all that mattered.
โAsha! Come here!โ Rhea called into the house.ย
Asha walked out of the house and sat down next to her little sister. โWhat are you looking at?โ She asked
Rhea pointed to a cluster of stars in the sky and smiled. โRemember?โ
โOphiuchus...โ Asha said quietly, โI do.โ โItโs very rare so youโre lucky to see it.โ Asha laughed as she quoted something she said very long ago.
Rhea laughed with her and they joked around for a while before settling down.
Rhea put her arm around Asha and leaned close to her ear. โIโm glad youโre back.โ She whispered.
โMe too Rhe. Me too.โ
Epilogue
Rhea held Saturnโs hand and pointed to the stars. โYou see that star right there?โ Rhea asked.ย
Saturn shook her petite head in confusion and Rhea chuckled-tilting her daughter's head in the direction of a bright star.ย
โItโs Ophiuchus.โ Rhea said. โItโs very rare so youโre lucky to see it.โย
Saturn stared at the bright sky and cocked her head to the side. โWhereโs Saturn?โ She asked innocently.
Rhea laughed and gave her daughter a hug. โWhere do you think it is?โ She asked and Saturn shrugged.ย
โOver there.โ Rhea pointed to a small dot in the endless sky and Saturn clapped her tiny hands together and a spark of light shot out from her palms and into the sky.
Rhea looked at the light floating up into the air and looked back down at her daughter.
โDo you want to know how I do this?โ Rhea called a star down from the sky and bounced it in her palm as Saturn nodded eagerly.ย
โOk so....โ Rhea placed her hands on her daughterโs and smiled.
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33 comments
Aw, cute ending! I love writing about shadows, they just give us so much inspiration lol. I can tell you had fun with this, and it was a fun read! I like the name meanings, that was a cool edition :) How have you been?
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Good. Just baked like....one batch of banana bread and muffins, cookies and brownies lol. And thank you so much!
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ooh that sounds fun! np :)
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I just realised that the flower Aster means patience.....Aster has no patience at all.
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XDD iRoNy lol I took your form btw :)
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Thanks!!!
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This was so amazing, I loved part two so much! The fight scene was really cool too! To add on, I just ๐LOVE๐ Rhea's and Asha's powers! And Asha's. They are so unique and cool. The ending was so cute, It was such a good story with great imagination. And, I'm telling you, you're going to be a BIG and AMAZING author one day! โจ
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Thank you Akshara! I swear you just made my whole day! Or maybe even my week! ๐
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Good Job the only thing is... "Rhea was always practising with the stars" Do you mean *practicing*?
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The spelling is different in Nz I think. There are two. Not sure if I did the right one though XD
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Idk?๐
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I checked and it was correct! Yay!
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Oh okay, Iโm not familiar with New Zealand spelling. Lol
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How did your day go?
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Good! How was yours?
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This was so amazing! I think I liked the second part the best. The fight scence was so cool and I just LOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEEEEEE Rhea's powers! And Asha's. It's so uniquie and cool. The ending is so cute and sweet. It was super smart naming Rhea's kid Saturn. It was such a good story with so much imagination. Like this is amazing writing for someone your age! Are you SURE your not some famous author whos an adult and came onto Reedsy to show us noobs how far we have to go???? ๐
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Aw Maraika! This made my day! Thank you for the amazing feedback ๐ And no I don't think so :p
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I finished the form. :D
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Thanks :) And hey, if you ever want to collab with someone tell me!
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Have you ever done a collaboration?
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Trying to with Detective Em but we're trying to come up with plots :)
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Fun!!!
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AND I LOOOOVVEEE AJR AND MARVEL TOO! Ya feelin good, ya feelin right. Across the floor and I'm already losin my mind. Favourite song from them. My jam when I was like five XD
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Yay!!!๐
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And land of stories. Goldilocks is ssssssoooooooo vibey!
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I enjoyed this concept of Rhea controlling stars and all. The first paragraph really kept me reading. GOOD JOB! :) I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE KOTLC MOVIE!!! *loud cheers* (I hope they cast good actors)
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Ugh, they better! And thank you sooooo much!
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