Love and Hate- Part 1

It was a crystal night in the Minecraftian world. Many were getting ready for bed in their homes or, in some cases, their factories and castles. Except a couple of teenagers, who were wondering not too far from each other, but both completely oblivious to the others existence. These two had both been given late requests by their parents to find certain items in the nearby forest. To most this would have seemed like a strange and reckless thing for a parent to ask for, but in this world, strange and reckless seemed to be the norm for many people.

At this moment the two teenager, neither of them older than seventeen, were slowly moving further into the forest and ultimately, closer to each other. The girl was in search of flowers and mushrooms for her mother, a quest she was given quite often. She was tall and had the slimness of a dancer, but unfortunately none of their grace. Her hair was long and a vibrant red, with an Ender pearl clip in the back. As her violet eyes, well only one eye as the right half of her face was covered by her hair, scanned the forest floor for a hint of petals or red-spotted tops she would hum a familiar tune to herself, lost in her own magical world.

The boy was on a less, innocent, mission. He was scouting out and neutralizing mobs for his father’s future experiments, but so far he had only managed to capture and bring back a few zombies and spiders, not really up to his father’s standards. The longer he searched the more anxious his clover-green eyes became and the more he ran his hands through his short, blonde hair, his usual habit. If he went back with only a few measly monsters at hands his father would no doubt be displeased. So his search continued, deeper and deeper into the woods.

The two had entered the same clearing but neither was paying enough attention to notice, at least until they smacked into each other. The girl dropped her basket and the boy managed to trip and fall flat on his back with a loud, oof! Both were too stunned for a moment to totally understand what had just happened.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” the girl squealed, reaching for the boy’s hand and helping him to his feet. “I’m always such a klutz.”

The boy allowed himself to be helped up and while he rubbed the sore part on his back he huffed, “It’s fine, I wasn’t really paying much attention to where I was going.”

When the two were face-to-face they both paused, as if taken aback by the others appearance, before the girl picked up her basket and the boy bent to help her.

“Again, I really am sorry,” the girl said, scooping up a slightly wilted flower.

“It’s alright. Honestly, it was my fault,” the boy said, sheepishly. They flinched away from each others hands as they both tried to grab the same tiny mushroom, with an awkward pause and a couple nervous chuckles they continued to pick of the plants until they’d all been placed carefully back in the basket.

Standing again the two nervously waited for the other to speak, neither of them clearly knowing what to say.

“I, um, I’m Nova, by the way,” the girl said, extending her hand.

The boy smiled and took her hand, saying, “I’m Daniel.”

They shook hands kind of stiffly, both of them watching the other in wonder but neither knowing where to go from there.

“You know, I’ve never really seen you around here before,” said Daniel, trying to sneakily study her face while still acting nonchalant. He had to admit, she had a really pretty face.

“I’ve never really been this far away from my home before, so you probably wouldn’t,” Nova said, smiling. She liked the boy well enough, but had learned a long time ago, not to let appearances fool her.

“Oh...why are you so far away? Especially at this time of night,” Daniel asked, looking up into the starry sky.

Nova lifted the basket and said, “I had to pick up a few things for my mum. What about you?”

Daniel shrugged. “Just running a few...errands for my father.” He didn’t really want to say anymore than that, for fear of scaring the girl off.

Nova smiled, but it quickly faded when she realized how late it was getting. She was only supposed to be gone an hour or so.

“I-I should be leaving,” she said, sadly. She turned and started off, but was briefly stopped by Daniel’s blurted question.

“When can I see you again?” he asked, more surprised at himself then she was.

Nova paused for a moment, considering, before she turned and answered him in an uncertain voice. “Tomorrow afternoon? Same place?”

Daniel nodded enthusiastically then quickly composed himself. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds good...”

Nova giggled and took off again, with Daniel watching after her.

Once she had walked a good distance she jumped into the air and flew home with the help of her flying ring. All the while her mind was bouncing with tiny bubbles of thought.

Nova slowed when she could see the lights of her home in the distance. Coming closer her eyes glanced warmly at the castle, made from black stone and marble and decorated with a large logo of a red matter pick and a red-spotted mushroom. This was her amazing home, Blackrock Castle.

She landed and skipped to the front door, staring up to give a smile to Teep, the guard dinosaur and her parent’s closest friend. He nodded at her and then returned to his post, bow at the ready and quiver full of arrows.

Inside, Nova quickly found her mother and handed her the basket, delighted at how please she was.

“Oh, these flowers are perfect! And I’ll find a lovely place for these new little mushroom friends. Would you like to help, Nova?” her mother asked, blue eyes shining.

Normally Nova would have been happy to help, but tonight, she’d rather have some time to herself before bed.

“Well, if you’re sure. Goodnight, sweetie.”

“Night, Mum,” Nova said, faking a yawn.

Nova didn’t hesitate as she climbed the stairs and slipped into her room. She quickly changed out of her usual long-sleeved shirt and cargo pants, but instead of climbing into bed she sat at her window and stared off into the distance, thinking.

“You seem distracted,” a soft voice spoke from Nova’s open doorway, making her jump.

Her father was stood in the doorway, watching her. He always did have a way of sneaking up on her.

“It’s nothing, just thinking about something I found when I was out,” she said, vaguely. More like someone, she thought.

She had considered the idea of telling her mother about Daniel but there was no way she was talking with her father, he would probably go on complete Dad alert. Besides, there wasn’t really much to tell anyway, was there?

“Hm.” Was all her father said, before leaving her alone with her thought, something she appreciated. Her mother would have no doubt pressed her for more information, but thankfully, her father knew when it was time to stop asking.

Nova crawled into bed then, feeling sleep start to take over. She could still look out her window at the dazzling stars in the sky, and she let her mind wonder, like across the ocean and forest to wherever Daniel was. She fell asleep then, excited and terrified for the coming afternoon.


Miles away, Daniel had returned home and was now watching his father hurry around his laboratory, working on some last minute experiment. He was quite pleased with himself when he came back with his haul of monsters, which included a few creepers he had cleverly caught after his run in with the fiery-haired girl. Which he thought was a miracle considering his mind had been so filled with excitement and wonder over the girl, Nova. He thought it was lucky he hadn’t been blown to bits by this distraction.
When he had managed to get them back to the castle he had been thrilled to see his father satisfied with his day’s catch. Now, on the outside Daniel watched smugly as his father worked, while on the inside his conscience warred with itself, over whether or not to tell his father about Nova.

“Hand me that screwdriver, Daniel,” his father instructed, hand out-stretched for the tool.

Daniel did as he was told and went back to his place, leaning against one of the steel tables.

“So, I met someone in the forest,” Daniel said, without thinking. Realizing what he had said his pale face reddened.

“Oh, really? And who was that?” he asked, not paying much attention to his son.

“It, um, it was a girl. I-I didn’t really catch her name, though” he lied, feeling uncomfortable enough without going into detail. He never really talked to his father about anything personal, usually because Daniel didn’t really have anything personal to share, most of his life consisted of his work, just like his father.

His father straightened at Daniel’s words, and his teal eyes bore into his son’s. His work forgotten he watched his son skeptically and asked, “A girl? What girl?”

“You know, just a girl...” Daniel muttered, instantly regretting opening his mouth. “We kind of...ran into each other.” He grinned, remembering how they had almost knocked each other out as they’d carried out their errands. “She was really...nice.”

“Nice,” his father snorted, turning back to his work. “So, you met a nice girl in the forest, had a conversation, I assume, didn’t bother to catch her name and then decided to tell me all about it.”

“Um, yeah,” said Daniel, staring at the ground, mortified by his father’s obvious sarcasm and lack of interest. “I was just trying to think of something to talk about, I’ll just...go to bed, then.” He started for the door in a hope to save himself from further embarrassment.

“Why talk at all?” he heard his father mutter after him.

Once in his bedroom in one of the castle towers, Daniel laid across his bed and stared up at the high ceiling, lost in thought. Only when he heard his father go to bed did he decide it was time to sleep as well, and as he closed his eyes, a smile lit his face at the thought of seeing her again the next day.