The Order of the Twelve

Chapter 1: Rosie

Chapter 1: Rosie

         There was nothing that Rosie remembered more clearly than the day her life was ruined. Some children in the small village of Arinna would have considered it wonderful to be blessed with a talent, but for Rosie it was the worst thing that could have ever happened. This meant that like all the magic users from any of the twelve lands controlled by the king, she would have to leave her homeland of Virgo and go to the capital city to be trained to use it. The only thing worse than the day she found out she had a talent was the day everyone else found out about it.


         “You must hide your talent my little Rose,” her mother’s words echoed in her mind, “or I fear we shall lose you forever.” That was what her mother Marissa had said to her the day they discovered her talent, and she had hidden it. She succeeded in hiding her talent for five years. She only trained herself to keep her talent under control, and more importantly, to keep it from appearing during the king’s yearly talent search. Every person between eight and twenty was required to be tested for a talent. If anyone passed the test, they were shipped off to the capital city to be molded into healers or soldiers or who knows what else.


         “Oh come on Rosie, going to the capital won’t be that bad,” is what Rosie’s friend Lacey Montag had said to her the day before she left, “I bet there will be plenty of cute boys there.”


         “Lacey, I’m being forced to go to the capital because of a boy. I really don’t think more of them are going to fix my problem.”


         “Don’t be such a jellyfish Rosie. I mean it’s not like you’re going away forever.”


         “You know just as well as I do that none of the talented kids have ever come back. So I’ll either be stuck in the capital, or get shipped off to one of the other lands and help take other kids away from their families,” she snapped. “I’m sorry Lacey. You’re being so nice to me and I keep biting your head off.”


         “Don’t worry about it Rosie, that’s what friends are for. I mean, who knows, you just might like it at the capital. Also, be careful on the way there, okay, there have been rumors going around about a rebel group of talented and you might not be safe traveling, even with the soldiers escorting you.”


         “Okay Lacey, I’ll be careful.” After Rosie finished packing her belongings, she and Lacey spent the rest of the day at their secret hideaway. It was a small clearing in the wooded area behind Rosie’s house. Rosie’s favorite thing about it was the patches of heather that bloomed in white and pink no matter what time of year it was. Lacey always made fun of her for being superstitious, but even she knew that flowers had meanings in their land; like white and pink heather meant protection and good luck, you never gave yellow carnations to a loved one, and wedding presents always included peony. Coming to this place always put Rosie’s mind at ease, even though it reminded her of the first time she discovered her talent. But today, even the sweet smell of heather and clover couldn’t lift her spirits. Today she just stared at the sky while Lacey braided a tiara out of flowers to put in Rosie’s hair.

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         As Lacey sat in the grass braiding a “good luck” tiara for Rosie, she couldn’t help but remember the day when Rosie first found out about her talent. It was September 7, Rosie’s thirteenth birthday. It was also the first time they had ever been to the clearing. At the time, the only thing that grew there was clover. They had just started talking about how perfect the clearing would be if only something bloomed there.


         “Isn’t it obvious?” Rosie had said between giggles, “The perfect flowers to bloom here are pink and white heather. I can just picture what it would look like.” Then she lay on the ground, spread her arms out wide, pressed her palms into the dirt, and closed her eyes to imagine it. Then out of nowhere, heather started popping out of the ground in full bloom.


         Lacey gasped and said, “Rosie, open your eyes!” As long as she lived, Lacey would never forget the look of terror she saw on Rosie’s face that day. “Don’t worry Rosie. You’re not going to the capital. We’ll tell your mom what happened and she’ll know what to do.”


         For the next five years, Lacey and Rosie’s mother had been the only people who knew Rosie was talented. There were some close calls, but nobody ever found out. Still, the heather that grows in the clearing is still a permanent reminder of Rosie’s talent. I’ll say this for Rosie, Lacey thought, she did one heck of a job. The heather here is so resilient it takes the worst frost of the year to keep it from blooming.


         “Well Rosie, you will be happy to learn that I am almost done. Then we can add some color to that drab brown outfit of yours.” Lacey said jokingly.


{indent]“Lacey, I only wear this ‘drab’ brown outfit because it matches my ‘drab’ brown hair” Rosie retorted.


         “Your lovely brown hair is exactly why you shouldn’t wear brown clothes. You should try a little color for a change. We can start small. Try wearing green instead. If you don’t wear something besides brown, the soldier’s might lose you in the forest and then you’ll never even make it to the capitol.”


         Rosie groaned. “Okay, I’ll wear something else as long as you stop bothering me about it.”


         “That’s all I ask. Rosie James, what would you ever do without me?” For the first time the entire day, Rosie truly smiled.