Being the focus of everyone's attention is as both unnerving and exhilarating. A black Flame. What did that mean? What Mancer rank was that? Kiara looked to Tess. Her twin stared back at her, mirroring her shock with sea green eyes.

Kiara looked to the window where their father was watching. What was the look on his face? Surprise? Fear? The faces of the crowd below blurred together. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, but she could tell some had begun to leave.

Kiara's mind raced. Was this good or bad? Was this dangerous? Was she dreaming? Was this really a fairytale like Tess hoped it was, constructed by some higher being? Kiara focused on rational thought. It was probably bad, and dangerous, but what could she do about it? She didn't feel like she was dreaming- time was moving too slow for that- and fairytales weren't real. Then why was this unheard-of black Flame hovering above her?

Mancer Jeoff's clap scattered her confusing thoughts. She needed to be calm.

Kiara's dream was originally to be like her mother, but now she had the opportunity to consider a larger goal. One that she'd thought about on the edge of sleep, to whisper to the stars. To be a famous Mancer. To make her mark on history and be remembered. She had the ambition and determination, but she just needed the Flame. Maybe she should've been more careful about what she wished for.

"That... that concludes this year's Inquisition, everyone! Thank you all for coming! Please enjoy the Inquisition Day festivities. For those of you who'd like to enroll for Inverell Academy, please stay in the courtyard and may your Mancing never fail." With that hurried closing statement, Mancer Jeoff's voice stopped echoing and returned to its normal volume. "Where are your parents?" Mancer Jeoff said, coming close to the girls. He looked... sweaty. Kiara glanced over to their home, from which her father was running. "Come with me, please." Mancer Jeoff tapped Kiara on the shoulder to get her attention. Kiara felt a bit uncomfortable, as she didn't like being touched by a stranger, but she followed, dragging Tess behind her. She'd need support with this.

Her father caught up with them as they entered the Jackrabbit Inn, where Mancer Jeoff was apparently staying on the upper floor. The door shut behind them without being touched.

Mancer Jeoff sat on the modest bed. "Nobody can hear us, I've made sure of it. Now, Mister...?" he looked towards the bulky man.

"Mr. Bradshaw, but you can call me Terence." He replied, sticking out a rough hand to shake. Mancer Jeoff ignored it. "Mr. Bradshaw, would you have any ideas as to why your child produced a black Flame?" Mancer Jeoff seemed to be taking the formality thing a bit seriously.

The girls' father looked to Kiara, his face blank. "Can't say that I do, no."

Mancer Jeoff turned his attention quickly away. "Now, Miss Bradshaw."

"Tess."

"Miss Bradshaw, do you have anything to say?"

Tess shook her head, then looked to Kiara. She looked concerned and... something else that had a hard edge to it.

"Miss...?"

Kiara paused. Should she even bother? He'd ignored everyone else's names so far.

"Kiara."

"Miss Kiara." Huh, it worked. Kiara expected the following question to come, and prepared her "I don't know either" answer.

"I'll be honest. I am not as knowledgeable as my colleagues at Inverell Academy."

Well. Okay. Not what Kiara expected.

Mancer Jeoff turned back to her father. "That is why I must take Kiara to Inverell Academy, where we will learn more about this black Flame."

Her father's jaw moved up and down, speechless. "Are you sure? I mean, I wanted my girls to go, but..."

Mancer Jeoff put up his hand, and her father's hands fidgeted in front of him. Kiara had never seen him like this before- it was a bit scary. "She'll be leaving tomorrow with everyone else. Girls, please leave the room for a moment, I need to speak with your father alone for a bit." Kiara and Tess looked at each other and left. As soon as they crossed the threshold, without even shutting the door, they couldn't hear a word the men were saying.

"That's crazy. What do you think they're talking about?" Tess asked.

"Well it's definitely about me." Kiara said, mixed feelings churning inside her. Her future was being discussed in that room, and she didn't have any say.

They waited around for a few moments, and then sound was restored.

"Now if you'll excuse me everyone, I have some student forms that need collecting." Mancer Jeoff got up from the bed and headed downstairs.

"What do we do now?" Tess asked.

"Get packed, I suppose." Their father said. "Come on girls."

After handing in their forms and packing their bags, Kiara and Tess stood before their father, late afternoon light making the room glow orange. Their father had called them down, but there wasn't dinner on the table, and he was strangely quiet. Tess and Kiara stood together awkwardly, waiting.

Their father kneeled before them, one hand on both of their shoulders.

"I'm not sure I have the time for this tomorrow, so I must do it now." He took a deep breath.

"My dears, I had always hoped you'd be able to become Mancers and become great people like your mother, but at the same time, I want to keep you close to me so I can protect you. Unfortunately, that's not how the world works. You need to go out there and stretch your wings. You need to learn how to grow among unforgiving people, and I may not see you for a few years. So, please take these words with you.

"Always be kind. You never know where people have come from, and how they've been treated in the past. Always be strong. Hold your head high, be mature and don't let insults pierce your heart.

"You will meet amazing people in your life. People who will love you, support you, and listen to you. Never let them go, even when it seems difficult to be around them." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Tess. Kiara. If you are to remember anything, remember just this: Be proud of who you are. Be proud to be a role model for those around you. And most of all, never give up on anyone, especially not yourself."

Tess sniffled. A moment passed. Then the twins hugged their father, holding him close. Tess was weeping, but Kiara found the tears wouldn't come. Nevertheless, she was moved by his words, and burned them into her heart.

Just after sunset, Mancer Jeoff knocked on the door of the Bradshaw residence.

Kiara ended up opening the door, given that her father needed to watch the fire and Tess didn't want to answer the door.

"Mancer Jeoff? Why are you here?" It was an awfully strange time to be visiting.

"Due to the unnatural nature of your Flame, I was told to give you a test by my superiors."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "What kind of test?"

"I'm going to teach you Air Mancing."

Kiara's heart began racing. So soon? She hadn't even seen Inverell Academy yet. "Wait, the whole thing?"

"Of course not. Just the basics."

"Why?"

"If you're not already aware, as a rule of thumb, the higher Mancer rank you're capable of, the faster you learn."

So... if Kiara was able to learn Air Mancing quickly... it meant that Black Mancing was quite powerful, right? Kiara grinned internally. That was pretty clever. A bit more clever than it seemed Mancer Jeoff was capable of.

Mancer Jeoff led Kiara into the street outside, where a light wind was blowing. "Perfect." He said almost to himself. Kiara frowned, but ignored the weird vibes she was feeling. She was about to learn Mancing!

"Feel the air around you. How it flows, and shifts and changes." Kiara did as she was told, though she felt as if he was reciting these words from somewhere else.

"These winds are like the flowing of Mancer energy. Get used to how it moves, how it changes directions on a whim."

He produced a piece of cloth from his pocket and held it up. "I want you to push the wind into the cloth. Don't use your mind, though. You can use your hands if you'd like, but see if you can use the breeze and redirect it."

Kiara was wearing a short sleeved shirt in the summer night warmth, and her tensing muscles were visible as she pictured a set of invisible arms connected to her shoulders like ghosts. She made these ghost arms move into the cloth, and suddenly it moved. She did it!

Mancer Jeoff had a pleased smile on his face, which made Kiara feel uneasy. "I did it!" Kiara triumphantly breathed to remove some of the discomfort. However, the cloth became as stiff as stone. Kiara frowned, prodding at it with her newfound Air Mancing abilities. It appeared to just be exclusively around the cloth. Mancer Jeoff's Air Mancing, no doubt.

"Come on," he encouraged. "Give it a shove."

Fine. If that's what he wants...

Kiara's shoulder moved back ever so slightly, then nudged forward. The invisible arm she envisioned extended towards the cloth.

CRACK.

Kiara had broken through his shield with simple, unbelievable force and shattered it like a fist through glass. The cloth ripped out of his hand and down the street. Kiara whispered "Oh shi-!" and reached out to grab it, despite it being out of her reach. The cloth changed direction and flew like a dry leaf towards her, spinning and flipping around to land at her feet. Mancer Jeoff stared at her in disbelief and then a smirk appeared on his face. Was it... pride? Or something more sinister? Either way it was creepy. As a parting message, Mancer Jeoff told her to not reveal that she'd already learnt Mancing, otherwise they'd both be in trouble. This was the final, creepy straw. Kiara wasn't about to go near Jeoff again.

The table was chokingly silent, and dinner was over quickly. Her father mumbled something about going to bed early to be ready for tomorrow, and left. In the girls' room, Kiara practised quietly, trying to fold a piece of paper. Suddenly she heard Tess' voice. "I watched you do Air Mancing outside." She had a hard edge in her voice. Kiara stayed silent. "You're not going to say anything? You're not going to apologise for anything?"

Kiara turned, staring at the pitch black in the direction of Tess. "Apologise for what? I had no control over what happened today."

"What about going to learn Air Mancing? What about me? One thing happens and all of a sudden you're too good for me?" Tess sounded like she was going to cry. Kiara didn't know what to say. Eventually, she succumbed to sleep while Tess tossed and turned on the other side of the room.

In the morning, their father handed the girls a short letter of acceptance for the both of them, which looked severely hurried. Mancer Jeoff must've had quite a busy day yesterday. Tess refused to even look at Kiara, but she could still feel daggers piercing the back of her head. Tess was never one to let go of a grudge.

Kiara noted that of the few dozen people who had produced Flames the previous day, a decent amount had turned up. They had formed small groups, with their bags by their feet. Parents hung around, talking to each other. Mancer Jeoff came into view from the direction of the Jackrabbit Inn, rubbing his face tiredly. "All right, Flames." Kiara noticed he was far less formal than yesterday. "We're going to be flying for two hours, so make sure you're hydrated and have gone to the toilet."

A voice piped up next to Kiara. "You're that weird Black Flame, right?"

Kiara turned to see a girl slightly smaller than her, with soft brown hair pulled into one braid and bright honey-coloured eyes. "Yeah," Kiara stated cautiously. Being called weird wasn't a good opener.

"Do you know what it is? Is it Dark Mancing? I've heard it's usually navy blue, so I think I might be a little colourblind."

Crap. Should I tell her the truth? I can't outright lie, she'd find out eventually.

"I don't know what it is right now. Maybe." Kiara shrugged slightly.

"Oh, my name is Evie," the girl said cheerily, and stuck out her hand. Kiara shook it and turned back to Jeoff at the sound of his clapping hands.

Kiara leaned to the side, still facing Jeoff, and whispered, "My name's Kiara."

Jeoff told everyone to break up into two groups. Kiara looked over to where Tess stood, and after a moment of hesitation, went to the other group. If Tess wanted to be distant, then so be it.

She noted that Evie followed her like a duckling on quickly shuffling feet. It was both adorable and annoying at the same time.

The flight was mainly uneventful. They stopped on the very edge of a small forest for lunch, before quickly moving on.

The students admired the rolling countryside. Occasionally, the wildlife stopped to watch them pass by, alerted by their passing shadows.

At one point, Evie cried out and pointed, drawing the attention of the rest of the children. "An Abiran Wren!" she shouted, and several pairs of eyes followed her outstretched finger to see a bird gracefully swooping with opalescent feathers, following an insect, the clicking sound of it's beak snapping reaching their ears.

"The Abiran Wren is the Queen's personal crest," she said. "I've heard its song is beautiful." Kiara watched it swoop and twist, the peacock-coloured feathers reflecting the sunlight. She had always loved birds, and often wondered about how they worked. How did they think? Did they ever get bored?

But along with gasps of excitement, there on the horizon was something else to occupy Kiara's attention.

Inverell Academy.