Thank you so much for the votes and for adding this to your reading lists. And oh my God!! #25 in Fantasy??? YOU GUYS ROCK! Anyway, on with the story.

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"So what's the new kid like?" Darya asked the moment her friend sat down across from her. Aerin looked up from removing her metal fork and knife from the cloth bag and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Seriously? Even you?"

"What?" Darya shrugged. "I'm curious."

Aerin rolled her eyes and nodded to the entrance of the cafeteria. Students had started flocking around it and the chatter became loud. She knew immediately that it was the new kid that was causing the ruckus. Everyone was curious and wanted to get to know her. And that weird presence... Aerin thought, keeping her eyes where the other students had gathered.

"What is with her? New kids don't usually get that amount of attention," Darya pointed out, dragging her friend's focus back to her.

The heterochromiac* let out a huff. "Well, at least someone has sense."

"She's heading over here," the dark-skinned girl hissed. Aerin stiffened.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Came the lilting voice of Safara.

"Ye-" Darya elbowed Aerin before she could finish the word, plastering a welcoming smile on her face and gesturing to the empty chair. "No, we don't mind at all. Go ahead and take a seat."

The swimmer gave her friend a harsh glare but didn't argue. She knew that once Darya makes her mind up about something, she cannot argue. To show her displeasure, she speared an innocent piece of tomato with more force than necessary and avoided meeting the new student's eyes.

It was an awkward lunch for Aerin to say the least. Darya had tried to cut the tension by getting to know Safara but the foreign girl's attention was mostly directed at Aerin. It gave the brunette chills and eventually, she had had enough and stood up, packing up her lunch with speed and efficiency taken from her time trying to eat fast to give other kids space at the orphanage table.

"Aerin-" the heiress tried calling out but the other girl walked away quickly. She'd talk to Darya later, away from the enchanting witch. Aerin froze at the thought. She was naturally cautious but to instantly have this much dislike for a new person, it was odd even for her. She shook her head, hitting both palms on either side of her cheeks. God, why am I so fixated on her? I don't even like her.

Realising she had stopped in the middle of the hallway and she was getting stares from stragglers, Aerin resumed her quick pace, heading for the pool. Looking at the water ought to calm her down.

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Safara R'eena was a stalker. Aerin was sure of that. She had spotted the girl on her way back to the orphanage. She had taken to using long ways around and weaving in and out of alleyways and crowds just to lose the strange girl but it always somehow ended up with the unwanted follower standing across the street from the orphanage with that damned smile on her enchanting face. As such Aerin was irritated and much more harsh than usual. She didn't even bother with the usual pleasantries of mingling with her peers. Instead, she went in when each class started and rushed out when it ended.

Today, Aerin reached her boiling point. Her attitude had not gone unnoticed and the swimmer's day became even worse after her coach suspended her from swim practice. Considering the pool was the only place in school that acted as her solace, Aerin was more than mad. Darya had even sensed her friend's ire and had been avoiding her.

As such, it was only to be expected that when Aerin spotted Safara stalking her again, she finally reached the very peak. She had been walking her usual route but this time, turned and hid in a corner just as a large group of people passed by. When Safara came into the alley, Aerin grabbed her and pressed her to the wall, eyes dark with anger but unknowingly glowing green from the power building up within her.

"What the fuck do you want!?" the brunette growled. To her utter irritation, the other girl did not even look fazed. In fact, Safara had a smile on her face.

"I was wondering when you'd finally acknowledge me."

Aerin dropped her in shock and confusion. "Acknowledge you?" Oh God, don't let her be one of those creepy obsessed stalkers in movies. A silly thought like that would usually have Aerin cringing but something about the new girl weirded her out and it really wasn't far off her.

"Aerin Cross, you have a grand destiny before you."

The mostly green-eyed girl blinked, the glow in her eyes disappearing. She blinked once. Twice. Three times then she burst out laughing. "You looked so serious saying that!"

Safara frowned. "I am not joking Aerin Cross. I was sent here by the Grand Union to tell you of the prophecy. You are to be the great uniter. I was sent to be your guide."

Yep, she's crazy. Aerin shook her head and walked away. "I don't know how it works on your planet but here on Earth, we have something called the United Nations where we send people to form resolutions for problems for the good of the member nations."

Just as the swimmer was about to leave, she heard ominous low growling from deeper in the alley behind her. This is not private property and this city may need a lot of changes but animal control is pretty good so there is no way a rabid dog should be here. Despite how many horror movies she watched, Aerin still turned around. Standing a few feet in front of her was a dog straight from the pits of hell. It was large- standing on four legs, it reached her shoulders. It was twice her width and it had blazing red eyes. Actually, even the inside of its mouth was blazing, smoking even.

"Okay Safara, if you roofied me, I swear to God I'm gonna-"

"That is not mine," the platinum-blonde replied. "Us Waterborne do not really get along with fire-related creatures. And definitely not hellhounds. They are Underborne."

Aerin stared at her schoolmate in disbelief. "So you are an alien? That planet comment earlier was definitely sarcasm."

Safara rolled her eyes. "No. Humans like to think they are the only ones on Earth but there is a vast world out there unseen to mortal eyes and it is unfortunate that your first introduction to our world is for a vile creature."

The hellhound let out a bark that got the two's attention. Aerin backed away slowly. "Any chance we can maybe give it a chew toy and it'll leave us alone?" She scanned the area. There was a low-hanging fire escape she can definitely get to by vaulting off the dumpster but despite her annoyance with Safara, she did not wish her death so she couldn't just leave. Stupid morals.

Much to her surprise, her schoolmate got out a spear of all things. The spear was a shining silver with some sort of runic writing embedded on the shaft. On the lower end of the shaft was a simple spike while the upper end was the main head. Opening up to the head was a pair of snakes coiled. One snake's head was lower than the other with a normal spike prong while the other one had a glowing prong in it. It seemed to be emitting water, like a fountain, except the water spout was sharp. Aerin was absolutely confounded. Where did she hide that?

"I will show you that I will be a good guide and protector for you," Safara declared, taking a stance as the hellhound took a running start.

Aerin could only stand in shock as the giant dog lunged at the blonde but she rolled out of the way and stabbed the spear into the dog's shoulder causing it to let out a loud howl of pain. She briefly wondered why no one came to rescue them but from what she's seen so far and what little she started to process from Safara's words earlier ("...there is a vast world out there unseen to mortal eyes..."), it seems like something prevented ordinary people from seeing what was happening. Or maybe I've finally gone crazy, Aerin thought sardonically.

It was like watching a dance- a deadly dance with a giant dog that is. Safara was so graceful and her moves showed years of training. As an athlete, Aerin recognized that at least.

Midway through the battle, she saw the hellhound poise for something but Aerin, still in shock and unable to move her legs, could only raise her hands. The hellhound breathed out a ball of fire and all Aerin could think of at that moment was, I don't want my tombstone to read 'Here lies Aerin Cross, BBQed by a giant fire-breathing dog from hell.'

Something seemed to rise out of her. She could picture a wall of protecting her. Water. Water was safe for fire. Aerin dared open her eyes and to her utter shock, she had a wall of water right in front of her, just like she pictured it. "Am I doing this?"

Safara came into her view with a relieved smile. "Yes. I told you that you are destined for great things."

"I don't care for that mojo right now. Shouldn't we run?" Running sounded good to Aerin. She found confrontations lead to no good just like the situation she was presently in.

"No. The hellhound may attack others. We must kill it."

Aerin looked back to the front where the orange refracted light gave her the only sign that the hellhound was still alive and trying to get through. The rest of the alley had been obscured in thick white mist. She didn't know how long she could hold it off. She could already feel her head pounding from the amount of concentration she was pouring into keeping the image of the wall of water still in her head.

"On my signal, bring down the shield and jump aside," Safara commanded.

The brunette frowned. She didn't know whether to trust the mysterious blonde but she did not have a choice so she nodded. It wasn't what she was expecting though. There was no counting. The spear-wielding girl just yelled, "Now!" then Aerin was pushed aside causing her to drop the shield.

Safara had quickly gotten back to her feet though and ran into the mist. There were growls and barks then pure silence. For the first time in a while, Aerin felt fear. The girl had grown up fearing everything. She feared the system for placing her in bad homes. She feared adults who patronized her or hurt her. She feared the city for the things she had witnessed growing up but this was different. Aerin could not push aside her fear because this was something she couldn't understand or explain by the logic that governed her life. There was no toughing this one out because she knew that she was defenseless if that creature tried getting to her. She could run but could she really outrun a creature of that size? And Safara- "Oh God! Safara!"

Aerin got up, panicked for her schoolmate. Once again, she called on something and the mist was blown away. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw the blonde leaning against the wall, breathing hard but clearly alive and mostly unharmed. She ran to her and swept her in a hug. "Thank goodness!"

The blonde seemingly melted in her arms and unseen to Aerin, had a smirk on her face. "So... We are friends now, yes?"

Realizing what she was doing, Aerin pulled away as if burnt. "No!" Extremely believable Aerin, she thought, wincing at how fast and loud that denial came, "That was just what normal people would do to someone who uhh... saved their life." Okay, Aerin, dig yourself a deeper hole, won't you? The brunette cleared her throat and said, "And since you're not maimed or needing to go to the hospital, bye."

"But are you not going to ask about the-"

Aerin didn't hear the rest of the sentence as she found herself walking as fast as she could out of the alley. She had a lot to process. She wasn't even sure if it was real or she was tripping on something. If she was, she'd give Safara a good punch tomorrow for risking her future swim scholarship.

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Safara R'eena watched as the Prophesied One walked away from her. She understood of course. Her instructors at Silens* had told her of this. She knew that growing up human, Aerin would be difficult to convince of the world beyond hers but Safara was also told that she had to do whatever it takes to get the Prophesied One on their side before the Underborne got to her.

Sooner or later, you'd have to accept your destiny, Aerin Cross, she thought as she withdrew her weapon into the praeclusio* on her neck and walked out of the alley.

Unbeknownst to her, there was a witness at the scene. A man with purple skin, pointed ears and eyes as black as night stepped out of the shadows. The devilish smile had appeared on his face the moment the Prophesied One had walked away from the half-siren half-seelie Waterborne. He had to observe some more and once the time was right, he would hopefully have a new mistress to serve. Our people will get what we deserve. Then he backed away into the shadow and disappeared to tell his master of what he had witnessed.

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1*Aerin has central heterochromia. She has green eyes with hazel centers. It's Emma Dumont, the face-claim's real eye condition according to IMDB

2* Silens is the base of the Grand Union (still thinking of a magical name for the union because it sounds really cheesy right now xD)

3* Praeclusio is a magical storage that can be in any wearable form (Safara's is via a necklace)

Author's Note

*waves white flag* Please don't throw rocks at me.

Hi everyone! I finally got around to finishing this chapter. I really didn't know how I would write this chapter. I really need a co-author because man, I just hit a wall and my current co-author seems to only specialize in editing rather than plot-writing. So PM me if you're interested in writing this with me.

Anyway, thank you so much for reading. Don't forget to hit that bright star down below and of course, feedback is very much welcome. I'm a bit sensitive though so no flames. Until next time! Bye!

-Liz

Word Count: 2243