"Rivka, do you know how the redheads killed the queen when they took power?" I say.

"Yeah," she says.

"Well, do you know that the queen had a son?"

"I think I heard about it at some point."

"Well, do you know that he survived? He was born into royalty. His mother had been overtaken by her own power and was executed. They planned to kill him too but, he was saved. He was raised apart from the rest of the world because if they knew he was alive they would have killed him."

"Yeah, it's kind of brutal, but they had to get rid of that family. They were evil and shouldn't have had any heirs who could claim the throne."

"I do agree that if he had been raised by her, he would probably have been the same way, but he wasn't. His mother was overcome by her own power, but his had been diluted just a bit, and he had been raised by a good woman. His powers didn't overtake him. He learned from one of his mother's old spell books that had been salvaged to make himself immortal. So he would never physically age a day after whatever point in his life he chose until he was ready to die."

She's just staring at me, she probably doesn't know what to say or how to react to this. I have to keep going.

"The woman who raised him taught him his whole life how to be a good ruler. He was trained for it but, he constantly lived in fear of the redheads killing him because of what his mother did. Does that sound fair to you?"

"No."

"What if I told you he was still alive? Now he plans to reclaim the throne that is rightfully his. He has also learned from his mother's mistakes. He waited until he knew he would have three kids. He wanted them to be teenagers at the oldest. He plans to train them until he decides one of them is ready to take his place. When that happens his spell of immortality will be over and he will be able to die in peace."

"How do you know all this? And what does that have to do with your powers?" she says confused.

"He chose me as one of his children when I was seven. He found me abandoned and took me in. He saved my life and trained me to be able to reach my full potential. All he asked in return was my loyalty and that I would help him when the time came," I say.

She nods. I wish I knew what she was thinking. I should probably leave out the fact that Lillyana was the one he was really waiting for. To get Rivka, I'll have to make her think she was the most important.

"I've been keeping a close eye on you and one other girl for quite some time now. I've been monitoring you powers. My master finally sent me into your school so I could convince you to join us."

"He wanted me?"

"Yes, you are one of the two most powerful people he has seen in a very long time. My assignment was to earn your trust and convince you to join the mission."

"What did you mean by him claiming his rightful place?" she says.

"Just like I said; the throne is rightfully his and he will come forward to take it back and make this world better."

"How would he do that?"

"He would restore this world to its former glory before the redheads ruined the system."

"I don't know if I should join."

"It's okay if you aren't ready," I say, "But, we need you on board for this to succeed."

"What about the other girl?"

"She's not as important as you are. We need both of you, but she's going to be much harder to convince. She's a redhead, and you know how stubborn they are."

"Lillyana," she says eyes widening.

"Exactly, I wanted to convince you first because I knew that you would have an easier time understanding. I also knew that if you do join, you'll be much more loyal to us than she would ever be. Not only would we not have to watch you constantly, but you could also help us win over her."

"So, you need me for this to succeed?"

"Yes."

"And this could potentially change our whole world?"

"Yes, but I swear it will be for the better."

"I-I'm sorry, this is just so much to absorb."

"My master would be helping our world. Your family and friends could live in luxury and so could you. You would be given a high position of power regardless of who was chosen as the heir. Although I'm almost certain that you will be the one chosen. You are the most powerful without having to rely on red hair as a crutch, not to mention you've been in a respected position your whole life because of your family and your own power. You already know what it's like and how to handle it. Unlike the rest of us, Lillyana was born a blonde and has only been out of that for a year, and I've been isolated from other people for as long as I can remember until I came to your school."

"That's true. And you swear that no one's going to get hurt by this."

"I promise that no one will be hurt by our mission. We're the good guys here."

At least I think we are.

"What would I have to do?"

"All we need from you is your loyalty, a willingness to learn, and we need you to help win over Lillyana and the rest of the world when the time comes."

"Okay, I'll help you."

I can feel myself breaking into a grin.

"That's great!" I exclaim, "Meet me outside the school tomorrow and you can come to my house! My master will start training you!"

"I have practice for the dueling team tomorrow, Lily does too. I think that I should still go, I'll be practicing fighting, and I can get closer to Lily to make it easier to win her over."

"Alright," I say slightly disappointed, "It would probably help and you can come to my house the next day. My master will want to start with you as soon as possible, and I still have to train every day."

"I will. I want to meet him as soon as I can."

"I should go now anyways," I say, "I only asked to come over today to get closer to you. I have to get home soon. I'll see you tomorrow okay."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

I can't believe I did that. I convinced Rivka to join us. I wonder if I told her too much. No, I told her just enough, and now she's on our side! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I still need to convince Lillyana to join us though. I'll figure that out later. At least I got one of them, and them being on the dueling team together will just make convincing the other one that much easier! 

I can't believe this was so simple! I can't wait to tell my master! I wonder if he saw it already through the table. I hope he didn't. I don't really want him to have seen how I lost my temper. He probably didn't see. He probably had something more important to be doing. At least I hope he did.

∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆∑¥∑∆  

I walk in the door and take my backpack to room. I go to find my master and see him in the center room pacing across the floor.

"Hello sir," I say.

"Hello my child," he says, "I watched you today, I see you convinced Rivka to join us."

"Yes, I'm sure she will be loyal, and she said she would help convince Lillyana to join us as well."

"I also saw what led to it."

Right.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"You can't have an outburst like that again, child."

"I know, I didn't mean too."

"But, you did."

"I'm sorry."

"That doesn't fix it. While I am impressed with the power you demonstrated, you can't let that happen again, especially in front of other people."

"I know."

"You also can't let it happen because it's a sign of a bad ruler. Someone in any position of power can never afford to have outbursts like that."

"I know."

"You can't let yourself get that frustrated just because someone doubts you."

"I know."

"A good ruler can always maintain their composure and find better ways to solve the problem of someone doubting you."

"I know."

"Good, then this should never be a problem again. Now that said, I am still impressed by the power you demonstrated."

"Y-you are?"

"What have we said about the stuttering?"

"Sorry."

"I am impressed, you took control of her and took away her powers completely with very little effort. And I was starting to worry about your ability to do that."

"You were?"

"Yes, but, you proved me wrong. Now I know that should the need ever present itself you could easily control either of the girls. That is a good thing if you can only learn to control yourself and use it wisely. I have been wondering now because of what I saw if you could learn to control the girls without their knowledge. It is nearly impossible, but now I think you might be able to do it. We will have to start working on that. You might experiment with it at school on those who don't know what you can do. Perhaps you could control their mind in such a way that they wouldn't notice you there, or put an idea in their head and see if you can make them follow it. Something to consider."

Ugh! I don't want to control anyone, much less innocent people who I was no business with in the first place! I know my master is trying to help but, I really don't want to do this. I still probably have to though, he always seems to know when I'm lying or not practicing.

"Very well."