#also i had almost no internet all week so i couldn't have updated sooner sorry

[olivia-anderson-gifted]

Chapter 1: Teaming up with a criminal she hates? A good plan, truly

Edit: Yeah, remember how I said the beginning hasn’t changed in a while?

Well... heh...

But still, enjoy this slightly less canon chapter anyways.

“No one knows the exact moment or reason why the Gifted became this way.

“Some believe it was the consistent radiation due to the nuclear war in 1948; with the chemicals floating through the air and giving a few who survived abilities to gain the upper hand. This combat led to the planet we live in today. According to elders, there used to be an abundance of resources and technology, but the wars had decimated nearly everyone who knew how even an ‘automobile’ worked and the fuel required to use them was impossible to obtain.

“Others think it was an insane mutation that occurred in our species, not unlike the anomaly that caused humans to have larger brains and become more developed than many other species of their time. This is my personal belief, because, from what I can infer out of the 100 years of suffering, Gifts seem to be somewhat passed down within families.

“Still more believe it to have been geneticists of the era splicing genes of certain species beyond recognition, and they forced the Gifted to be a reality instead of one’s nightmare. Though, this is unlikely, due to the amount of the Giftless who have given birth to a Gifted person.

“A minuscule fraction of people think humans got it by mating with animals in order to obtain those traits and therefore gain a biological advantage. Those ones are, undeniably, incorrect. I’m pretty sure the constant exposure to radiation messed with their minds.

“But what truly are Gifts? They are, to state it simply, magical abilities. Usually, they develop by age ten, but they tend to crop up around five years old — typically adding features that hadn’t been there beforehand. They currently have little to no history, but they’ve started becoming more and more varied throughout the generations (or maybe that’s just because people are more willing to have kids now)-.”

Cal Montello looked up from his book just in time to avoid getting trampled by a horse. “I thought you were paying attention for us,” he whined at his twin, but the slight smile on his face told her that he wasn’t really all that upset. He probably should have been, he had almost gotten run over, but since it hadn’t happened he didn’t care. Crisis averted, stay tuned for next time to see whether or not he got killed.

“Technically, it is your turn to pay attention,” she argued. “Besides, why are you even reading that book? The author sounds biased.”

“Well, Mrs. Plinthe happens to agree with this bias. If I’m writing two, five page essays tonight I’d better get a perfect score.” While their mentor had never been particularly lenient on them, she had amped up her teaching style the past year, and it took an undeniable toll on him: even makeup could hardly conceal the dark circles under his eyes. Alexia certainly pitied him, but she couldn’t help being grateful that she had been born twenty minutes later — she did not envy him in the slightest. She’d take not having to try over a crown any day.

“Isn’t there supposed to be a banquet tonight, though?”

“Er… probably,” he said after a few moments.

The iron gates of the castle came into view and, as if by magic, all the broken down homes and beggars seemed to disappear into neatly rolling hills, flowered gardens, and pathways lined by clean homes. People still bustled about with the same urgency, but they tended to keep their distance from everyone around them. A few chanced waves at the twins, who smiled and waved back to seem polite, but none approached them.

The pair slumped unanimously as they reached the gates. They passed through, a stiff silence between the two siblings as they sulked through the gardens, a pair of bodyguards on their heels.

Their guards left them without a word, joining the others walking along tiny footpaths into the flowers.

The royals pretended not to notice a gardener attempting to cover up what they assumed to be a plant that had died to the Frost. Most humans had expected a wasteland full of mutated creatures but instead had gotten a nuclear winter. Humans had only survived by going into hiding with a few domesticated animals.

The snow made the castle look warm and inviting. That’s what snow does, right?

Despite the exterior, the castle was gorgeous once you made it inside. Flowering plants dotted the rooms, giving much-needed splashes of color. Smiling portraits were hung in every room. Stone floors were decorated with bright mosaics. Numerous attendants could be found in any given room.

They hounded the pair the moment they recognized their faces in the door.

“Alexia, would you like us to iron your dress for you?”

“Your hair must be fixed.”

“Cal, what did the queen say about you wearing those glasses in public? And where are your contacts?”

The twins had never had a normal life, but they figured it felt something like having a hundred moms around the moment they got home… except for the fact that they only did it in order to be paid.

He held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Ah, no, thank you all, though. I would like to be alone for a minute, then I’ll work on my appearance.”

Alexia crossed her arms over her chest. “Won’t you need help getting into your outfit?”

“I want to be alone with Cheshire to recharge a bit. I will call someone when I need help… but thank you. See you later, Alex,” he chirped. He gave her one last kiss on the cheek before he disappeared down the many halls. Alexia didn’t think much of it.

Until he wasn’t at the party, that is.

Once a week the queen met with the other six rulers of the kingdoms and other powerful people throughout what had been England. It existed solely as a way to boost both her popularity and ego. The richest and most influential came, such as the Hans (well, the father did, everyone else was almost always sick), that one princess that for some reason wouldn’t leave the twins alone, the entirety of Gardenia’s royal family, and many more people Alexia struggled to really care about.

Cal and Alexia had to go every time no matter what; Alexia knew something was amiss when Cal didn’t show. The queen made up an excuse about how Cal had gotten sick and ended up being unable to come to the banquet. Alexia gave a smile, nodding her agreement wordlessly.

She mumbled that she wanted to be excused as soon as she deemed it acceptable. When questioned on it, she said that she wanted to make sure Cal was okay, which really wasn’t a lie. She got a few coos about how good of a sister she was, then left.

She broke into a sprint once she had gotten out of earshot of the guests.

The room looked as if it had been hit by a hurricane — the sheets strewn across the floor, the drawers forced open in a rush, books and papers littered the floor, the list containing their secret codes in tatters on the ground, their food stash had been depleted and so had a large portion of their money. It looked as if Cal had run away.

Alexia knew better. Sure, Cal had voiced his distaste of the castle many times before, the fact that he hated being there enough to leave was pretty much common knowledge. However, if he was ever to leave he would have certainly asked her to go with him, or at least warned her of his departure. No, he’d been forced out, and rather suddenly.

Alexia looked at her suitcase and began packing the essentials: clothes, food, books, maps, clothes, sheets so she wouldn’t have to lay on the ground, weapons, money, clothes… the list went on and on until she had filled seven bags. The essentials were getting less and less essential, she noted, and put down the tiara that she had considered taking in order to look cute. She looked through her bags and removed a bit, but honestly couldn’t part with much.

Who should I take with me? Obviously not the castle staff, I can’t tear them away from their occupations, and the other royals couldn’t care less. I’m not getting someone else injured because I mess up, she mused. So, who could hypothetically get injured without impacting Mandalo? Maybe… She made a decision and walked to the stables. She freed her prized horse, a strong black one named Blackjack, and loaded her up with all of her belongings.

She clambered onto Blackjack’s back and set off to the other side of the city where the slums were located, pulling her hood over her head so fewer people would recognize her. The princess had hidden her bags under a blanket so she didn’t look too wealthy, though she did feel people staring at her as she made her way to the thief’s house.

Not everyone owns a horse, Alexia, might as well have worn a giant sign saying ‘rich person’ on your back.

She rapped on the door twice and waited. The house was not at all what she expected of the thief: small, dingy, one of the windows broken, in general disrepair. The twins gave him far too much money for what he did, so she couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t afford a better house than the decaying one-roomer.

Alexia regretted her decision the moment she spotted Nathan Green’s face in the doorframe. The male was unhealthily skinny, with matted hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Yellow freckles were dull under a thin layer of grime. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he gave her a once over. Both twins had long since used to this, the general Which one is this routine. She could have lifted her bangs to give him an easier time, but she didn’t. Once he came to a decision he motioned for her to get on with it.

“Hello, Nathaniel,” said Alexia, toying with her fingers.

“Evenin’, princesa. Why are you here?” He asked. If there was anything to like about the criminal, it was that he always got to the point.

“Your ‘occupation’ is finding things us royals lost, is it not?”

“Sometimes…” Nathan said carefully.

Alexia straightened to her full height. He wasn’t impressed. “I lost Cal, help me find him,” she ordered.

“No,” he said, moving to close the door. Alexia put her foot out to stop him. He seemed to consider breaking her foot with the door for a minute.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” She whined, more than aware that she sounded like a four-year-old who wasn’t allowed a new toy.

“I mean ‘no’. I could say it in Spanish if you’d like.” He moved to close the door once again, almost crushing Alexia’s foot in the process.

“I’ll pay you, of course,” Alexia said quickly, wishing she had started with that. The male paused for a moment and she flexed her foot a few times to make sure it was okay. “One hundred lous if you come with me,” she added before he lost interest.

He opened the door fully, leaning against the frame.

“Listen, it’s not that I don’ like you… actually that’s exactly it, you suck. I have things to do other than help you, princesa.”

She couldn’t miss the greedy look in his eye, though.

“I’ll give you an extra fifty lous if we do find them. You have a baseline of one hundred even if we fail,” she offered, and she could immediately tell that he was sold. Nonetheless, he pretended to mull it over.

Really, just say yes. We’re losing valuable time.

“I guess I could help you find them, it’s only a month or so anyways if we can get this done quickly,” he said after a while, cracking a devilish grin that almost made Alexia nervous. “I’m finally growin’ on you, then? Took, what, thirteen years?” He teased, before disappearing into his home. Only a few seconds passed before the thief popped out with only a small bag slung over his shoulder.

“You don’t want to bathe before we go? Whatever, I suppose, let’s get started. If we leave now we might be able to catch up to him. He’s going on foot,” she said.

“Do I get un caballo?” Alexia stared at him until he started motioning to the horse.

Nathan and his family were from Spain, so she wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t aware of certain terms. What did she do with this knowledge? Attempt to trick him, of course.

“You mean a ‘school’,” she lied. The male looked offended.

“Honestly, how dumb do you think I am?” he whined with a defeated expression, as if he already regretted agreeing to help Alexia. She chose not to answer his question and he pretended not to notice. 

A true friendship.

So, they went to the royal stables and Nathan tried to pick a horse. The horses all whinnied as if in protest as he neared them. Smart animals.

“Honestly, which one of them am I supposed to choose? They’re all so creepy and…” He trailed off. “Caballos,” he whispered disdainfully, before choosing the one that seemed least likely to murder him. It obviously wanted to, but he stuck to his decision anyways. “AYYYYYY- c’mon, Lance, I just want to live-” he stopped speaking as he was distracted — he had fallen over Lance’s head and laid in a pile of hay dejectedly.

“Horses can sense fear,” Alexia said ‘helpfully’ as she watched him climb on again.

“So, it’s called a horse.” He pumped his hand in the air victoriously before almost sliding off the tail-end of his steed.

Getting outside ended up being relatively easy. No one came up and bothered them for fear of upsetting the princess, the guards pretended they didn’t see her sneaking out, and Nathan managed not to magically die.

This good mood did not last.

While it was clear there used to be a forest outside, little had actually survived. The only living plants were pioneer species attempting to break through the snow. There wasn’t an animal in sight, it wasn’t obvious any had ever existed.

Sure, she’d been outside before, but only in a carriage, and she tended to sleep during trips. To actually see the world was horrifying.

Alexia pulled her map from her many, many bags. “There’s a part where the path forks up ahead. One leads to Gardenia and then the other kingdoms, the other leads to the Giftless Camp. Which one do you want to try first?” She questioned. Though she had asked, she didn’t want to head off to where the Giftless were; it was criminal territory, and traveling with one of them was more than enough for her.

Nathan idly twirled his knife through his fingers, which she figured would end up with a few missing. “Cal probably went towards the place with all of the Lames,” he said.

“Giftless,” she corrected. The Giftless were exactly what they sounded like, people without any form of ‘magical’ ability, though there were so few of them that they had been renamed ‘Lames’ by the general population. Discrimination against disadvantaged minorities? That’s basically unheard of! Nonetheless, they were to be taken to a labor camp once they reached eleven years of age. Most people avoided the topic like the plague.

“Are you going to explain your reasoning, Einstein?” She muttered sarcastically after a few moments.

He sighed so loudly he must have broken a rib.

“Obviously there would be fewer people in that direction. Whatever he was runnin’ from was clearly terrifyin’, he would go where it would be harder for them to find him,” he explained slowly, as if explaining two plus two. It annoyed Alexia that he made sense.

“Whatever, I suppose we should find a place to sleep before it gets too dark,” she mumbled, holding out a hand and concentrating for a short moment. The light around them gathered into a ball in her fingers, but even that was faint with so little to work with. She figured they had about an hour before even her Gift would be useless. She found herself actually glad for the lack of trees, as they would have run out of light long beforehand. “Maybe they’re at an inn or something,” she tried, though she doubted it.

She wondered if she would be able to find him if he didn’t wish to be found. He’s been gone for less than a day, don’t give up yet, Alexia scolded herself mentally, looking around. Nothing but dead shrubbery as far as the eye could see, certainly not any buildings.

“A place to stay out here? We’ll take shifts. Go ahead and sleep.”

The princess wanted to argue, but she couldn’t deny that sleep sounded really good. She pulled a pillow and blanket from one of her bags and promptly passed out.

#chapter 1 #alexia's pov #cal #alexia #nathan #holy crap guys look i uploaded chapter 1!!!! #also i had almost no internet all week so i couldn't have updated sooner sorry #ill get back to my only somewhat inconsistent schedule now #probably should put the name of the book and part in the tags huh oops #gifted #part one: the lost prince #writing #original writing #ocs