Chapter 11: Saturday

- Nya's POV -

I was reading through Potions: A Very Precise Dictionary when I heard a familiar yell from across the room.

"Hey, Nya! How was Potions?" Zach called. I put my fingers up to my mouth in a 'shush' sign. But of course, he didn't seem to get the message. "What ya reading?" He asks as he pulls out a seat next to me.

I lift up the novel so he can see the front cover. "That's nice." He said, clearly disinterested. But I didn't mind.

He put his arms around me and I leant on his shoulder. I stayed that way for a while, enjoying the comfort of just being with him.

"Have you heard much about Reed? You know, the girl who was attacked last week?"

"Yeah... She and Emily were friends or something. She's being released from hospital tomorrow.

"She was interviewed by the police, but she couldn't remember much, just... White eyes..." My voice shook, and I shut my eyes tightly, trying to get painful images out of my head. The dreams still haven't stopped. I realised I was gripping tightly onto Zach's shirt.

"Hey... It's okay. It's all over now. It was all over three months ago." Zach murmured. He was right. I couldn't let these stupid dreams get the better of me. Besides, dreams aren't real. If anything, they're just memories I can't get rid of.

But what happened to Mackenzie really spooked me. Maybe... Maybe she was a Wielder too? I shook my head, clearing my brain. Nah. I doubt it. Herobrine attacking his own Wielder? Unlikely.

Then there was my potions teacher, Mr Ranger. I had put that blood-red potion out of my head as much as I possibly could, but it was always at the back of my mind, haunting me as I tried to fall asleep. I hadn't told Zach about it; it wasn't his burden to carry.

Suddenly, Zach groaned in annoyance, looking ahead of us. Following his gaze, I realized Liz and her tag-along friends were watching us from behind the glass near the library entrance. Liz looked pouty, and not surprisingly so did the other two girls.

"They won't leave me alone! Seriously, yesterday Emerald had to ward them off with her sword!" I laughed at Zach's upset tone. Laughing felt good, like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.

We ignored Liz and her lapdogs and continued our conversation. "So," Zach asked, "How do you like uni so far? Hard? Easy? Fun?"

I thought about it for a bit. Sure, there were moments I didn't enjoy so much, but there were always the good times, like hanging out with Clare and Gemma and Emily, or spending time with Zach, or learning new things in classes.

So I said,

"Fun. Definitely fun."

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- Still Nya's POV -

It was a Saturday; my favourite day of the week. Less traffic, more free time. Saturdays were always good.

Particularly this Saturday. Today, along with Zach's dormies and some of my friends, was going to be spent shopping in Bloquear's Market District. I hadn't been there in what felt like years, even though it was only a few months since I left my hometown (on my Father's orders, may I add).

Waking up from my very comfortable sleep, I checked the clock which had been hung on my wall above my desk. Uh oh. Twenty minutes to get ready.

Damn myself and my terrible sleeping habits.

***

I sat on a bench in Florem Park, which is where the eight of us are meeting. I had a book with me, but that was all I needed. Just something to distract myself until we set off to the Market District.

Maybe I should explain a little. It wasn't so much of a district, more several intercepting streets, filled with dozens and dozens of small market stalls, surrounded by the tall Bloquear buildings. The stalls sold almost everything; eggs to dye, stone bricks to hay bales. Horses, of course, weren't allowed down these streets, mostly because they're usually too overcrowded for a horse to fit through.

Aphrodite was locked into a large fenced field along with a couple of other horses. Every park had one; there had to be some place to leave your horse if you wanted to stroll around the lively market streets.

So anyways, while I sat waiting for my friends to show up (turns out my clock was an hour fast), someone put their hands over my face and shouted, "Guess who?"

I smiled. "If you want to scare me, Clare, you should at least disguise your voice!" I say, laughing. Clare took her hands off my eyes and sat beside me on the park bench. She had her black hair tied into a ponytail, which made her bright blue eyes stand out even more.

"So, which horse is yours?" She asks me, gesturing to the pen ahead of us.

"The white one. Her name's Aphrodite. She's pretty fast." I reply, pointing to my beloved mare. Clare nodded and grinned widely.

"That chestnut one with the white stripe down his back? That's my trusty steed, Lightning."

I looked over at the strong horse, which was currently rearing up on it's back legs. It's power was enormous. "Wow!" I exclaim, amazed. "He looks faster than Aphrodite!"

Clare shook her head in exasperation. "He's strong, but he isn't overly fast. He's even more of a hot head than Ethan." she said, referring to Zach's slightly arrogant roommate.

"I heard that."

Clare and I turned around in surprise to find Ethan standing there, his back leaning against an oak tree. He didn't look all that amused.

"Err..." Clare started awkwardly, trying to think of something the least bit rude to say. Suddenly, Ethan put up his hands in an 'I surrender' type fashion and grinned crookedly.

"Don't worry 'bout it, okay? It was a joke."

Wow, Ethan being friendly? Next the Nether will play home to wild sheep!

The three of us talked about mindless topics until Zach, Vent, Emerald and Gemma arrived. Apparently, Emily had gotten food poisoning from a raw chicken she ate and couldn't make it. I was disappointed; today was gonna be great, and I didn't want anyone to miss out on it.

The weather was nice; warm and sunny. But this was Minecraftia; here, a storm can arrive out of the blue in a matter of minutes.

We strolled aimlessly down the busiest street of the district, constantly stopping at certain stalls to look or buy. I paused at a fresh bread shop, remembering to buy something for tomorrow's breakfast. I walked up the old woman running the blooming business and asked for five loaves; enough to last a couple of days. She smiled gently and handed me the bread.

"That will be two iron ingots, please Miss." She asked, and I handed her the charge. I stood there for a while, scanning over the small, yet homely market stall. This must be the woman's entire life.

Turning my head to the store to my right, which sold freshly picked apples, I monitored the cashier; a boy, no older than sixteen. His family must own the stall. He was serving a customer, who, under her light pink jacket, was carefully inspecting each apple before she gave them to the boy to pay. Hm... The girl seems somewhat familiar. I shrugged. All well, probably just my insanity showing through again.

Zach and Emerald, who had stopped at a swords stall (typical), caught up and stood next to me.

"You ready to go yet, Nya? There's a few more streets I wanna check out before midday." Emerald asked, and I nodded. The three of us turned and began walking away from the bread stall, but a shocked voice from behind us stopped me in my tracks.

"Nya..? Is that you?"

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HAHAHA I FEEL THE POWER OF SATAN INSIDE ME WHEN I WRITE CLIFFHANGERS

and sorry mcskaterchick I know Lightning was meant to be your dog but I really wanted to

GUYS I HAVE REALISED WRTITNG ON YOUR COMPUTER RATHER THAN YOUR PHONE IS LIKE 10 TIMES EASIER WHY DIDNT ANYONE EVER TELL ME THIS BEFORE

Anyone wanna guess who the mystery person at the end is?

Ill give you a hint; T____. If you read M:HL you might know *wink*

REMEMBER! VOTE VOTE COMMENT VOTE (pls tell me if that's getting annoying cos im practically annoying myself)

- Jazz (from her computer screen this time)