-Malia’s POV-

I stood in a small room with baby cries bouncing off of the plain cream coloured walls. I turned around, trying to find the source of the noise. A woman in her late teens laid on the floor, crying as she held a baby in her arms. It seemed like she had just given birth as the umbilical cord was still connecting the baby to her mother. She sniffled, bleeding out, alone in a lonely room by herself.

“Nina Sprolf, my baby.” she cried, exasperated. A weird feeling puffed up in my chest, screwing my lungs tightly as I watched the woman in front of me cradle her baby and detach the umbilical cord.

My mother.

‘Our mother.’ Nina corrected in my head. I smiled, tears welling on my waterline and dripping down my face.

The wooden door burst down and in came an old looking English man. He looked shocked, staring at the baby in my mothers arm.

“Riya! You bitch! I said to abort-” he yanked us out of our mothers arms, slapping her in disgust.

“PLEASE! PLEASE DON’T DO ANYTHING RONALD! SHE’S OURS-” she tried to stand but fell back on her butt with no luck.

“Ours? No! You’re just a maid. My wife’s gonna kill me!” he paled, kicking our mother in the stomach. Damn, the lady just gave birth in a room by herself and now her baby’s father is kicking her?! On instinct, I fell on my knees next to her, trying to help her but when I tried to hold her, my hand went through her like I was a ghost.

‘She can’t see you Malia.’ Nina reminded me as I sighed in frustration.

“I have to kill her.” the man spoke to himself, looking at the baby in his hands.

“NOOOOOO!” Riya, our mother, stood on her feet as if it was a miracle. Blood dripped down her legs as her feet trembled from the immense pain she was forcing herself into. “DON’T. TOUCH. MY. CHILD!!!” she screamed, roaring like a maniac that had just snapped.

She launched at Ronald, snatching us off of him. He looked in shock but quickly masked his surprise, swinging his fist at her face. Riya dodged by an inch and kicked low into the groin. She stumbled back in pain, struggling to keep standing. Ronald, on the other hand, was shaking in tears, his hands on his knees.

Like second nature, our mother grabbed an alcohol bottle and smashed it on Ronald’s head. Pieces of glass flew everywhere but she didn’t stop. Picking up a piece of broken glass, she sliced the glass into Ronald’s throat with no remorse.

“I said please.” she justified in a raspy tone.

“PERIOD.” I fangirled, knowing she couldn’t hear or see me.

My surroundings spun around me, flashing memories around me like a fast flipped photo book, flashing my tantrums, downfalls, firsts and more.

It stopped at age 3. Baby Nina held onto her mothers arm, crying. Guards had cornered us into an alley. Mother was a thief, stealing to provide for us. She looked down at us, surprisingly calm as she gently pushed me behind her.

“Now, now boys. No need to get violent. I’ll happily come with you.” she said, her voice coming out gentle and cautious. She raised her hand in defeat but not before ushering me to stand next to the wall behind her.

A few moments of silence was shared between the guards. I sat next to baby me- I mean Nina… Baby Nina stared at me, her curly hair tied in tiny buns like fluffy cotton balls. She smiled at me and I was enchanted. I winked at her, hushing her as she giggled.

“Okay. Somebody grab the child.” the middle guard spoke, tilting his head to us.

I watched in admiration as our mother stepped forwards, with a threatening expression at the mention of her child. Her eyes were wide, jaw tightened and chin raised. The guards instantly stumbled backwards, surprised.

Faster than I could say ‘wow’, our mother grabbed the middle guard, pulling him close to her and swinging his body like a sac to the group of guys who were too shocked to react. Her dark skin shone like gold under the sun while her silky hair flew everywhere, whipping her opponents with elegance.

“Wooow…” Baby Nina whispered, her eyes glistening, watching intently at her mothers swift moves.

After all the guards were sprawled out on the floor, mother turned to us, with a stern look before it quickly changed into a smile. “Hurry. Lets go. Lets go.” she grabbed us, jumping over the limp bodies. She never spoke harshly. Her voice was always soft.

Again, my world swirled like a whirlpool conjoined with joyful memories and opinions I had. I really did look up at my mother. She was my role model.

We lived in the shed of an old ladies cottage.

The woman used to garden but when she fell sick, her shed was abandoned and forgotten. Riya was smart, sneaking in and building me a cot out of hay. I grew up in the little house, most days sitting there silently, waiting for mother to return with food or stolen goods for me to play with.

Unfortunately, the lovely lady sadly died when I turned 10 and we were forced to flee as the cottage and its dead garden were put for sale. We were forced into living under an abandoned broken bridge which was beyond repair. I hated it there. The floor was cold and I’d wake up to bites all over my body. Mother tried her best to give me comfort but I was too young to understand, whining everyday, throwing tantrums.

Memories flashed past me in fast motion like falling pictures, showering me in beautiful joyous images.

Then everything slowed down at an important memory. The meeting of James Lance. I was out trying to find food because my mother wasn’t feeling well. I felt Nina’s emotions as if I was living through her. Her fluttering heart when she made contact with him and her fast heartbeat as she tried to act cool. I knew what she knew. I was Nina Sprolf.

I experienced every memory and experience she faced from day to day. Her growth and failures. Her combat experiences, knowledge and habits were syncing with me. It was like I was her.

Things fast motioned again. I was 17, secretly studying medicine with the identity of someone my mother had kidnapped.

“I’m so proud. MY daughter, studying medicine.” Riya smiled proudly as I peeled the egg shells. I giggled, feeding the boiled egg to her. My mind was contemplating on if I should tell her about the bullies at school. She tilted her head, smiling at me and I knew I couldn’t hide it from her… so I told her.

Time sped up until we reached the house of my bully. Oh God. Riya held her head up as I copied her.

“Remember Nina, no matter what they say, you do not bark back at dogs.” she peered down at me, warning me.

“That’s not how they’re handled.” I finished for her and she nodded in approval with a smirk on her face. I loved this side of her. “We are above screaming at people with no manners.” I continued, taking in a deep breath and exhaling while she pressed the doorbell.

A young girl opened the door and stared up at us with horror in her eyes. “AHHH! Mum! The blackies have come to kill us!” she screamed, running into the hallway with her hands on her cheeks.

‘Okay, that’s out of line!’ I raged.

Nina sighed in my head. ‘White people were very opinionated in my world.’

‘I’m white.’ I reminded her.

‘No, you’re me.’ she chuckled but I didn’t really get it. This conversation felt illegal and was pointless.

Mother stepped in and let’s just say… maybe the little kids’ warnings were right.

WHOOSHH! The ground under me disappeared as I fell into my next memory.

18 year old Nina Sprolf, sneaking into the kingdom to steal. James Lance, now the King. Interesting. I started to feel dizzy, all the knowledge and fighting techniques exploded in me.

Another fight, but this time they kissed… Ew! Luckily, as the idiot I am, I stuttered like a pussy and jumped out of the window, running away. James tried to run after me but I leaped into the air like mother had taught me, spreading my legs into an arched split before spinning onto a tree and losing him.

Time finally slowed down again. Church bells rang as I stood in a beautiful princess dress and walked down the aisle. As I looked up, I met the eyes of James Lance. My heart pounded out of my chest as I blushed. Why did it feel like I was getting married?!

BOOM! My soul exited Nina’s body as I stood watching in third person. A wall had exploded. We were under attack. A woman wearing a mask and heels pointed at us, as a swarm of demons rushed the interior of the building.

Mother stood up in her seat and it was as if time had finally slowed down. A demon grabbed my waist, teleporting me to a dungeon. The last thing I saw was my mothers horrified face as she watched her baby being taken before her own eyes.

Time flicked through a few weeks and my body ached with the amount of torture I could feel in the memories of the time period. Nina was at her breaking point, just like I was.

A bang of shattering metal echoed down the hall and my frail neck tilted slightly upwards to see the wild face of my beautiful mother.

“Mum!” I cried out but before she could enter my cell, a sword sliced through her neck. It was short and quick but my heart shattered at the sound of my mothers last breath.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I practically screamed out my lungs as I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see my mother decapitated.

‘Nina, I don’t wanna see it!’ I cried in my head, begging her to skip this memory but the little soul of Nina Sprolf was nowhere inside me right now. She was hiding in the back of my head, burying her head in the darkness, wishing the same as I was. For it all to stop now.

The little clicking noise of our brains made us both gasp. The memory fully conjoined us into one person as my chest heaved, feeling at one but in a horrible way. WE were hurting.

The soldier laughed like a maniac, finding my reaction amusing.

“NINA!!!” James called out to me, down the hall. James you late idiot.

The guard turned behind him in surprise. A little light flickered in him and as if he was trained on what to do, he pulled down the lever next to my cell door.

The room around me started to rumble and groan as if a monster had just been awakened from its nap.

I watched the mortified look on James face, still in my now bloodied and ripped wedding dress and tiara, as we both realised my fate.

I stood helplessly as the ceilings came crashing down on me. The last thing I saw was the crying face of James, reaching for me.

“AHHHH!” I gasped, snapping back into reality, back into the red room and chained to the wall.

It was all a dream? Tears were rushing down my face. Dream or not, that was the most painful thing I had ever experienced.

‘No, those were my memories.’ Nina spoke in my head. I think this concussion was driving me crazy. It felt so real. I looked up at my hands and noticed claws extending from them.

I don’t have claws. I’m not connected to my wolf side. How?

“Nina. I- What’s-” Nothing I was saying was coherent as I tried to keep my eyes open; but I could feel my eyeballs rolling to the back of my head.

My vision came back to me but I felt different. I wanted to look around but… I couldn’t. Nina.

My wrists yanked off the shackles as a chunk of the wall came out with it. My teeth sharpened into canines and my claws extended. Cool. I snapped off the shackles and surprisingly, it didn’t take any mana so the collar didn’t shock me. My grip held the collar and in one tug, it was off.

I was a head taller and my physique became more lean, I had wolfish mana ears protruding out of my head, claws and fangs. The increase in power made me feel like I could destroy anything that would come in my way; like I was on a powerful drug. I had the maturity needed of a 29 year old and I knew things that 12 year olds wouldn’t normally know.

My mind went fuzzy as the colours around me dulled. I tried opening the door but it was mana proof.

‘Nina, its not-‘

My foot moved upwards, kicking down the door with such force that it shattered into tiny chunks.

‘Your welcome’ I heard her smirk through the link in our mind.

I didn’t waste time, Nina gave me back control. I kicked my feet behind me and ran, nearly losing balance because I was going unexpectedly fast. I made my way down to the chambers, running past some guards. They didn’t even see me, my feet were unimaginably fast.

I could see the wavelength of their mana, sensing how strong they were.

The cries of Soyeon echoed through the walls as I came closer. Once her cell was in view, I tried to stop my feet, but I ended up crashing through the wall. Rocks tumbled down on top of me but I didn’t feel any pain. My ears sunk back into my hair and my claws retreated into my fingernails. My teeth shifted back as she looked up at me in total shock.

“Malia?” Soyeon looked up at me. “How’d you get so tall?”

“What do you mean? I was always this tall.” I towered over her. I was probably up to Zeref’s ear now. Her jaw hung open, taking in my appearance. I probably looked really different because of the rush of adrenaline coursing through me and the aftereffects of the transformation.

I gripped her hand and picked her up bridal style. “Hold on.” I told her, my voice dry as I spoke.

She gasped as I sped past the guards again. We ran into the halls and again I was headed directly at two people. I tried to halt my feet as Soyeon yelped in her dizzy state. We crashed into the two people and we all grunted in unison.

“Malia?!” Xanxus gasped, looking at my state. Why does everyone keep doing that?!

“What are you doing here?” I hissed, still on the floor, clutching the wound on my head. Soyeon helped me up, offering me her hand. I grabbed it and tried to pull myself up and back onto my feet but instead, accidentally pulled Soyeon down with my new uncontrolled strength. We both stood up ourselves, giggling.

“You look like you went through hell. We came to rescue you.” Johan’s voice started to glitch in my head.

‘You’re passing out. I studied health and was a nurse. I-‘ Nina’s voice started to fade.

‘I know! I have your memories meaning I studied health too-‘ I clutched my head again. I cut my head like three times.

“We did go through hell. You’re a little late.” Soyeon rolled her eyes.

Everyone’s attention turned to me as my footing faltered and I stumbled forwards into Mr Xanxus. He smelled like sweat and smoke. I looked up at him, my eyes lazily looking into his. “You stink.” I stated.

“Yeah well have you smelt yourself?” he countered, shoving me into Johan.

Johan threw the portal to the ground and it opened into a forest. He then swung my arm around him and stepped through, Xanxus and Soyeon following close behind.

“We have to get her to the hospital!” Johan panicked as the portal closed behind us.

“Well no shit.” Soyeon grunted, her vibe coming off bitchier than I remembered.

“No, no, no… hospital- I no needed” my words jumbled together as I smiled and shut my eyes; satisfied with the sentence I had just formed.

‘Malia we speak good.’ The drunken voice of Nina boomed into my ear drums, echoing into the corners of my head. I groaned, clutching my head again.

A gust of wind blew in the air, so strong that we all stumbled back. I let myself fall over, thinking the wind would catch me but it didn’t and Johan caught me before I hit my head for the hundredth time. Thanks Johan. Mr Xanxus flew through the air and into a big log, screaming like a girl as he did.

Soyeon looked at me with a special eerie glint to her eyes. Her eyes started to glow white. I frowned, not in the right state of mind to voice any questions. My head was bleeding out.

“My brother’s here.” Soyeon took in the fresh scent of the minty wind and rolled her eyes back in satisfaction like she had just sniffed a line of cocaine.

A tall guy, Zeref’s height, appeared through the trees, knocking down the ones behind him while he ran.

As he came closer, the ground shook at the magnetic connection with the air. The wind howled as Soyeon and her brother hugged each other, wind swirling around them in celebration. He checked her for wounds as she cried in relief. He then turned to me, looking straight into my eyes. Both his eyes were white like Soyeon’s. He then let her go and the hyue of his eyes changed again to a dark black.

“She’s my friend. Malia. She saved me.” Soyeon quickly stated as if, if she didn’t, he’d kill me. He squinted his eyes at me as I smiled goofily.

“I’ve hearing- um- a lot about you.” I smirked as he looked at me like I was crazy. Not much of a talker?

“She hit her head.” Soyeon chuckled nervously as her brother peered at me in distaste.

‘I don’t like him.’ Nina warned and on instinct my opinion faltered about him as I felt Nina’s emotions.

Johan sized up Soyeon’s brother; he was way taller than him but also skinnier. “I’m Johan.” he spoke in a deep tone trying to look intimidating. As soon as Johan left my side, the world spun under me and I fell on my butt. Mr Xanxus came stumbling back next to us, dizzy and confused.

“Taejun Park.” he said, unphased. Taejun’s eyes stayed trained on mine and I started to feel self-conscious. Johan was starting to get annoyed at the fact that Taejun wouldn’t acknowledge him. Soyeon held her brother’s wrist trying to subtly hint at him something important.

“BLAGHGHH-“

Johan and I turned to Mr Xanxus who started to puke onto the floor with no sign of stopping. Chunks of food poured down onto the floor.

I looked back at Soyeon and Taejun to see that they had disappeared without a goodbye.

This day has been so crappy. I couldn’t wait for this whole year to be over.