Orivelle woke up to the tapping from her dad as she stretched from the long night. Physically, she felt so sore and overwhelmed; everyone watched her as though they hadn't slept either.
"Sorry, but did you guys even take a nap?" she asked, looking so worried.
Her father replied with a tone that sounded like he was reading a poem, "Sleep is the quiet agreement between the body and the mind to heal what the day has broken, and I have no wounds to heal, so my dear〰️sleeping is not for me.", he smirked like a predator: charming on the surface but promising danger beneath the warmth.
She quietly walked out, heading aimlessly for the restroom, her every movement watched by everyone. After roaming the whole hut in search of the restroom, she walked back to them, shyly looking at Aunt Phoebe, who understood and led her outside.
After they got back to the hut, her father snapped his fingers "it's time" he said raising his hands, signalling everyone to come outside.
Meanwhile tired and hungry, Orivelle sat at the edge of a wooden chair expecting to hear " Breakfast is ready," but it seemed they had all just had their fill.
Quietly, she followed them outside, everyone standing in a position of a circle except Orivelle, her father beckoned her to come closer to him as she walked forward he seemed to drift farther away, though he was right before her eyes, looking confused she asked, "is it me or does this space feel…different?".
After stepping into the expanded space, she felt lighter - the air around her charged with energy.
"Before you can fight the world, you must first face yourself," her father whispered behind her ears.
A sudden surge of wind, a mirror-like reflection of a dark twisted version of herself appeared, its eyes glowing with the kind of fire she felt inside of her. It swirled around her whispering doubts and fears, echoing her insecurities: "...you know you're not ready…not strong enough…you'll fail…. you'll lose control and you'll burn from inside..", dark echoes of laughter filled the air.
Orivelle froze, feeling the pull of her own powers reflecting back at her.
She realized her first enemy was herself〰️her doubts and fears made flesh. She tried to push herself, to strike. But every move, her speed, her strength - her instincts were mirrored perfectly and used against her by her own reflection.
Each attack left her more drained, she could hear mother and aunt whispering "she's not ready yet…she's just a child". As her attention split, so did her confidence slip, like sand through her fingers. "I can't…I'm not ready," she muttered, panting, her hair lifted by the wind, her knees almost giving up on her
Her father stepped closer, calmly but firmly, "This is why you must learn control, power without control will only destroy you, you can't face the world if you don't face yourself.
The reflection laughed loudly, "You'll never win, Orivelle,you're weak…go back to Everwood and keep being a nerd." And then weakly she fell, feeding on her fear the darkness crushed her.
Her first battle, her first true enemy - was herself and she lost.
Weeks passed, Orivelle trained hard everyday with the help of her family, she pushed her soul and body beyond limits she never thought possible.
Each morning, each person tested her and at every night she wrestled with her reflection in the charged place, her fears and strengths echoing louder and louder.
But slowly, she began to study patterns and how the reflection anticipated her every move and she realized she had been fighting blindly, letting fear control her. Slowly she let control replace panic, she didn't focus on defeating her reflection but on understanding it. Every attack became deliberate, every attack a mirror of her own will.
Then it happened, with one steady breath, she surged forward. The reflection lunged, but Orivelle's moves were precise〰️sharper, stronger, faster. With one strike, the shadow shattered and dissolved into shimmering lights. She had done it, she faced herself and she conquered.
Orivelle stood, panting and grasping for air,her parents watched silently with pride and hope in their eyes as they turned back inside.
Before she could even catch her breath, she felt a new presence slice through the charged air. Dark, heavy and alive with malice, it lurked in the shadows with a predator's grace - making her skin crawl.
The real enemy had come, ready to challenge the powers she just began to master.
This time she knew there would be no reflection, only the fight for her life.