The Forbidden Power

Chapter Two

In every soul, there is a storm, yet every storm has an eye.
-said by an old Rain poet

Layla's eyes snapped open.  She gasped, and filled her lungs with air.  She stared up into the bright green leaves above her head.  Bits of sky blue peeked in between leaves and branches.  Layla glared at the branch that, a moment ago, she had fallen asleep on. She muttered a curse under her breath.  She heard a sharp crack, and a boom.  Layla winced as ash rained down on her face.  Lightning had struck the tree.  She slowly got up and backed away.  Only then did she dare to look at the tree.
Once leafy green, the tree was now charred and black.  The leaves were barbecued, the branches weak and trembling.  But worst of all, down the middle of the trunk, a giant split.  Layla let out a cry of frustration.
"Not again!" Layla shouted.  She didn't care who heard her.  Once someone else saw this tree, they would know it was her.  She was the only one who couldn't control her power.  The Sisters, Sarah, Diana, and Claire were working with her, but she still had no control, not like everyone else did.  Layla didn't want to get teased again.
Why me?  Layla thought as she walked back to her village.  Out of everyone, why do I get the uncontrollable powers?  Why do I have to live with the Sisters?  Why don't I have any parents?  Layla had arrived at her house.  Or, more accurately, the House of the Sisters.  She rushed up four flights of stairs, past Sarah's floor, the biggest, Diana's floor, the second biggest, Claire's floor, next to last, and finally, to hers, the smallest.  Layla's walls were dark grey.  A light wood chest stood to one side, filled with the dark blue robes that every citizen of Rain wore.  To the other side, a reed mat that Layla slept on was sprawled across the floor.  Layla dove for the mat and curled up into a ball.  Only then, did she let the tears come. 
It was raining outside.  Hours later, Layla stood and walked to the window.  Storm clouds swirled around in the sky in the painful shapes of faces in agony.  Down below, in the streets, work and daily life continued.  The villagers were used to Layla's storms.  They all knew that she had no control, and they had learned to live with it.  Layla noticed four boys at the below her window. 
"Hey Layla!" The tallest jeered.  "Lost control?"
Layla glared at him. It was Derek, the biggest bully in the village, and Layla was his most frequent victim.
"What do you think, Derek?" Another boy shouted over the wind.  "Again!"
A third boy laughed and smiled, amused with his friends' insults.  The fourth, the youngest, was silent.
"What do you think, runt?" Derek nudged the youngest.  The boy stumbled, and fell to the ground.
Layla grimaced at the impact.  Her expression turned hard.  Derek smiled, and looked up at Layla.  His expression changed from amusement to discomfort.  All around, the storm fell silent.
"I've had enough, Derek."  Layla spoke softly.  There was no mistaking the threat in her voice.  "To tease me is one thing.  But to tease others, others that are perfectly normal, that is just crossing the line."  Layla's voice rose to a shriek.  "I've had it Derek!  You better stop or else, or else—"  Layla's voice trailed off.  After making it this far, she didn't know what to say.  Derek took this as an invitation to speak.
"Or else what?"  Derek taunted.  "You can't hurt me!  You can't even control your own powers.  What are you gonna do?  Make it rain?"  He started to laugh, and, right on cue, the other boys did to. 
Layla stared down at the boys, lost in thought.  He's right, a voice whispered in the back of her mind.  There's nothing you can do.  It was the sight of the small boy creeping away that yanked Layla back into the present.  The bullies were still laughing.  Layla clenched her hands into fists.  All of the anger, all of the frustration, all of the shame and disappointment, all of it flowed through her hands.  She would prove to them, and that voice in her head that she could use her powers just like everyone else could.  Layla aimed her closed fists down at the boys.  The storm clouds reappeared, except for this time, it was only over the three boys' heads.  As Layla unfurled her hands, it started to pour on the boys.  They hopped around and ran, trying to avoid the rain, but it continued to pour only on them.  Layla laughed.  This was fun.  Is this what it was like to be in control?  Well, you wouldn't know, said that voice in the back of her mind. You've never had control, and you never will.
That was it.  Layla lost control again.  Dark clouds zipped across the sky, back into place.  The downpour was tremendous.  Layla slammed her shutters and sat on her stool.  She buried her head in her hands, until, the door opened.  She looked up, and there stood Claire, the third Sister, slowly closing the door behind her.  She walked up to Layla and sat on the floor beside her.
"There, there, Layla."  Claire murmured.  "Its okay.  Just tell me what happened."
Layla told her about the boys' teasing, and how she had gotten mad at Derek.  She smiled when she imagined him running around, away from the storm cloud that trailed him.  Claire listened to the whole story silently, but intently.
"So, you think that you were in control of your powers, for a moment?"  Claire asked, an excited tone in her voice.  Layla shrugged.  Because the other Sisters, Sarah and Diana, were often busy, Claire was the one who attempted to train Layla 's wild powers.  Layla was rarely in control.  What if, Layla thought, What if this is a new beginning?  What if I'm finally learning control?  Layla's daydream was cut short by Claire's soft voice.
"Layla?  What do you think?"
"Huh?"  Layla asked.  She was so caught up in her thoughts, she hadn't even heard Claire's question.
Claire sighed, clearly exasperated. "I said, even though your powers go out of control when you have strong emotion, that might be exactly the way to control them.  With strong emotion.  Should we give it a try?"  Layla nodded.
"Okay, then.  I want you to think of what makes you really mad."
Layla thought.  Those boys, Derek and his gang, made her mad.  She walked to her window and opened it.  A light drizzle had started.  Layla realized that she needed real anger, not just her annoyance with the boys.  Great Storm Gods, Layla realized, I'm angry at my parents for leaving me.  She opened her eyes, and was blinded by lightning.  A raging storm swirled outside.
"Control it, Layla!"  Claire shouted.  "Rein it in, direct it!"
Layla finally understood.  A tall pine tree stood a couple of meters away from the tower.  She pointed to it and focused on that tree, keeping the storm alive in the back of her mind.  The rain and grey clouds thinned, drawing closer to the tree.  Soon, all that was left of the storm swirled around the tree in tight circles.
"Call it off, Layla!  Call it off!"  Layla focused on stopping the storm.  Lightning struck down the middle of the tree and branched off in all different directions.  Just as it threatened to hit a nearby house, Layla pulled it back.  She yanked all of powers into a tight ball of destruction and threw it up into the sky.  Once past the clouds, it dispersed.  The violent storm was reduced to a light drizzle.  Doors slowly creaked open up and down the street.  Everyone looked to Layla's window, and saw her standing there, smiling broadly.  One began to applaud, then another.  Layla beamed.  She had done it!  Layla heard her door open, and turned.  There stood Sarah and Diana, behind Claire.  Layla threw herself into their arms.
"Good job, Layla."  Sarah whispered in her ear.
The rest of the day, Layla was happy.  She skipped down the road as she did her chores, nodding to people and smiling, and when it was dark and time for bed, Layla regretted it.  She was hoping that this beautiful day would last forever.  Layla lowered herself onto the reed mat that she used as a bed, and pulled up her woolen blanket.  As her eyes fluttered closed, and she drifted gently into sleep, Layla smiled. 
The sun shone down through Layla's window.  She squinted into the harsh light as the birds sang sweetly on her windowsill.  She sat up, and used the stool beside her bed to pull herself into a standing position.  Layla walked across the room and tried to summon a small raincloud.  A raging storm appeared inside her room, splashing her mat and knocking her few pieces of furniture around.
"Oh, come on!" Layla groaned.  "I just wanted to take a shower!"  She focused on pulling all of the power into a tight ball, just as she had the day before.  For the most part, she succeeded, but small droplets of rain still fell from the ceiling.  She gave up on the shower, and trotted downstairs. 
"Layla, dear," Diana called to her as she entered the main room.  "Would you be so kind as to go collect some oranges from the woods?  I don't have enough to make orange juice for all of us."
"Of course I will, Diana."  Layla replied.
"And, Layla," Sarah said. "Get me four fresh apples also.  I'm making an apple fritter tonight."
Layla smiled as she skipped out the door, grabbing a woven basket on her way out.  Her happiness still lingered from the day before.  She ran down the dirt road, to the dense green forest on the village's edge.  Layla slowed down once she was shrouded in the trees and leaves.  She followed the trail to the orange grove and picked a half dozen oranges for her basket.  Out of the corner of her eye, Layla spotted the tree that she had struck with lightning the day before, but it didn't bother her as much now.  She walked farther from the village towards the apple orchard.  There she picked five apples: four for Sarah, one for her.  Layla started to hike back up the trail, but some thing made her stop.  Behind her, she heard a scream, and distant marching.  She turned, and a girl was running down the other side of the rise.  Layla slowly went towards her, and tripped and fell.  She rolled down the hill, and stood up at the bottom, bumping into the same girl.
"What?" Layla stuttered, shocked. "Who are yo-"
She was cut off by the girl's shouts. "Run!  We need to run!" 
Layla spotted a flicker of orange behind the girl.  She understood.  It was the Fire Army, coming for her village.  The girl grabbed her arm, and ran, dragging Layla behind her.  Layla turned, and ran with her.