Shadows (story)

Lahden offered his arm to Rynn and she took it, trying not to think about how contact with him made her skin tingle. He led her to a secluded corner backstage and checked to make certain that none of the other students had followed them. Rynn couldn't tell. The only light was that which leaked back from the stage, and she could barely see. Lahden didn't seem bothered by the darkness, but perhaps that was because his father belonged to the Arcane Order of Shadows. He was probably used to the dark.

(Read all previous parts of chapter two here: http://propheciesofshadow.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html)

Reality (story)

Then a voice pierced the quiet. "Cut!" it said loudly.

Lahden looked away from her, and she snapped out of her trance, coming abruptly back to reality. The scene she had set in her mind vanished, leaving behind only the flickering illusion conjured by amateurs as a background to the stage. From the shadows behind the drawn back curtains, the faces of her fellow actors peered out, all eyes on her. Some were laughing or giving her sympathetic looks, but the majority seemed as frustrated as Lahden.

(Read all previous parts of chapter two here: http://propheciesofshadow.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html)