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The girls were momentarily flummoxed at what they had just done, and just stayed there for several moments, pondering what they had just done. Rui was anxiously bobbing up and down, but allowed the girls several moments of wonder. Then she tightened her bond on the colored ball, and once again began dragging the girls. Jenna recovered first, and did the same. Karen and Amber came around at about the same time, and they all followed Rui’s lead. They had several more scenarios where the comets had to be blasted out of the way, but it didn’t seem real anymore to the girls. They were going at an alarming pace towards the source of all the comets. Amber suddenly stopped, causing the others to look back at her, and then see what see what she was staring at.
A ball, blue and white and green of incredible beauty, was far behind them. It was about the size of a fortune-teller’s crystal ball. They could make out ice caps, and it would be hanging so serenely and beautiful, if it weren’t for the comets. There were still a few hundred comets heading towards that beautiful ball. Strangely enough, there was no real damage so far, but how could that be so? Suddenly, the rain of comets ended, and the last of them landed on that planet. Nothing happened.
Amber sighed, with relief and wonder. The ball was so beautiful, so perfect to the eyes. It fit perfectly among the silver stars that sprinkled the empty space beyond. The sun lay beyond. It was the perfect picture. A picture of serenity, calmness, and incredible beauty was laid before them like someone had planned it, each star, each particle of darkness, every single inch of that incredible wonder.
Rui stared at it, transfixed and hypnotized. She remembered every moment she had on this beautiful place, and they were sealed into her memory forever. The little ducks and eggs, and the chocolate, and the tree house, and the pond, and the birds, and the hamsters and gerbils and Mattie…they were held within a golden casket in her memory, and she would always treasure them, but she would remember this picture, forever.
Jenna, in the several following days, would remember this, and tears would come to her eyes. Strong, iron-willed Jenna had never cried over a little thing. She never cried over the lost cookie, or the dead bird they found in the woods, or her fear of roller coasters after being on one. This image however, this picture, became the exception. The mere picture made her cry, without the meaning of it dawning on her, or remembering what had happened to it. She didn’t need to remember those things. She just needed that picture, and she would give a small tear, because of the incredibly intense beauty.
The picture was astoundingly beautiful. There was simply no other word for it.
That is…until it became a swirling mask of horror and chaos as it exploded into fiery balls of magma tearing through space at incredible speed in every direction possible.
~*~
Amber could not believe it. None of them could quite believe it. Not even Rui, who had known what was going to happen before. Karen took her kitten out of her backpack, and began stroking her desperately, as if by doing that, she could bring the world back. The kitten mewed and snuggled against the hand, the white stripes disappearing and reappearing among Karen’s fingers. Amber’s kitten remained on her head, and it gave off a small, pitiful mew, then curled up and made itself comfortable. Jenna’s was curled up at the bottom of her ball, taking a snooze.
They were all just floating there, frozen by what at happened when the shock wave hit them. They spun wildly, being pushed into space, and there was a blissful moment when the group had to struggle and regain control, when none of them had to realize the fullness of what had just happened. Their entire world, their home, all they loved and knew before, was gone. Just gone. A ball of magma came toward them, and they dodged it sluggishly, like they were swimming in thick syrup. The word rang like a bell in the girls’ heads, empty, hollow, merciless and unforgiving. Gone. Jenna’s mind babbled that this was a great irony to what she had told Karen not a half-an-hour ago.
~*~
Karen recovered first from the shock, and brought the others out of it by giving off a sob like a bark. It was eerily similar to the one she gave in the bedroom.
When there was a bedroom. Now that bedroom was gone. Along with the ducks at the pond, the pond, the forest, the trees, the apple orchard, the pizza, Amber’s paintings, the pressed flowers, the tree house, the basket…..
There were countless things lost. Countless things that had been small, yet of so much significance, and the countless things that were large such as a home, or a family. They only had one thing left now. They only had each other, and despite the fact that it was Rui’s fault, the girls didn’t care. She was part of them, and what she had done could be resolved later. They were now a family.
~*~
The Lady smiled as she watched the planet’s destruction. Then she turned her attention to the ball coursing through space, and smiled more broadly. Things were going precisely as planned.
~*~
A flower-like ball was streaking through space with incredible speed. A multi-colored ball made it’s center, and it had different colored balls as the ‘peatals’. This was of course, the group. Amber, Karen, Jenna, and Rui were flying through space, with Rui in the lead, to Rui’s world. The girls had different emotions churning within them, so their power was basically being controlled into their balls by Rui.
Amber’s mind was babbling things, and her heart was hurt so bad, she felt like someone tore it apart and threw the pieces into a blazing furnace, that was burning ice. She felt like she was freezing and burning at the same time, although only her eyes betrayed her hurt, because they were full of pain. Her mind was babbling things like, “Apples were good, where’s my cow-face pillow? I think I left it at Karen’s house. Oops. Wait…no I didn’t. I had it in the tent. Tents are good. Tents are fun. The pressed flowers were destroyed, darn…we are so going to fail that project…the ducks, I wonder what happened? I wonder if the ducklings are big strong ducks now. They were cute. Pancakes are cute, and yummy with chocolate chips. They tasted good. Will I ever taste an apple again? They were good, and stuff in my room. Darn, I didn’t clean my room…” and other things of the sort.
Karen was thinking clearly, as if nothing had ever happened, and that their lives were still the same, though they would never be the same. Never again. Her heart however, was lost in a black hole. “Black holes,” she thought. “They’re in space, and are some sort of vortex that sucks everything in, even light. Great. I hope we don’t fly into one of those.” Karen, at the moment, was cold, and unfeeling as a machine. She was functioning correctly, but she was cold, and unfeeling as metal. “How far away is Rui’s Hollow? I wonder if Mom and Dad would have liked to have come along. Mom was always sort of dreamy, and liked fantasy books, and believed in fairies, but I’m not sure about Dad. Dad was sort of the ‘tied-to-the-ground’ type. He was solid, and down to earth. I don’t know about Dad, but I’m sure Mom would have come. This would be her dream come true. Man, I wish we didn’t leave them behind…”
Jenna was crying. Silently. Her eyes were squeezed shut, and her tears were flowing freely down her cheeks. She felt the loss. Her mind was blank, and she was frozen. Frozen into a curled ball suspended in the ball, Jenna thought nothing, and only knew quiet grief. Her kitten mewed, half bringing her out of it. The kitten mewed again, and pushed off with it’s hind legs on the bottom of the ball, propelling it on Jenna’s head. Jenna was surprised, and stared at the kitten. The kitten stared back with its’ knowing brown eyes, the black coat with white splotches would have blended perfectly with the surroundings, except Jenna’s ball was red. The staring contest continued for another minute, but then Jenna took her kitten, and hugged it tight, taking comfort from the small fuzz ball that throbbed with life, and warmth. They would have remained like that for the rest of the journey, except for a part where they met an orthimhin, as Rui called it.
Or to put it more accurately, she screeched it.
“ORTHIMHIN!” she screeched as a bird-shaped shadow, darker than the rest of space, streaked towards them.
~*~
The Lady smiled, and then laughed as the orthimhin, her creation of darkness, streaked towards the group. There were only four of them, because the energy required to create them put her into a slumber lasting twenty years. Her subjects forgot her, and lived under their own rule. The taxes stopped coming in. The children that were born never knew of her, never learned how to fear her, or respect her. Oh yes, the castle would remain untouched, because those who would remember her would tell their children not to go near ‘that terrible place’. Her castle grounds were barren of any life, beside herself and the servants, and the recently added elves. Her palace grounds were stone, and unnatural stone. She had made them herself, every stone on her palace. She would not use the natural elements that surrounded her, because then the spell casters of natural elements would not be able to use her home against her. That in itself was not much worry since she was the strongest spell caster in the Land, but she didn’t want to rebuild her home. It was too much trouble. It was the essence of stone, but was not natural stone, so yes, it could be destroyed, but no one in the Land would dare to do that. If the four Realms of the Land bonded under one banner, they might, they might have a chance. But they were all convinced that the ancient alliances with one another were dead, and they did not bond with one another, but instead trying to destroy her individually. She took pleasure in defeating their attacks. Her home was in the center of the Realms, in the point where they all connected. That would be important when she was to wipe out all the Realms with her four young spell casters at hand, and she would spare all the magic workers, in order to bring about a new generation. It would be the new generation of Magic. The Land would be no more, and not the pathetic thousands of non-magic people either. Just spell casters, and magicians, bonding together and bringing the four Realms in to the union of the Monesia, Land, and Realm of the most powerful magicians in the galaxy. Yes, the cost on the Land itself would be great after the war was over, but that could easily be reversed with the Four Elements at hand.
It could possibly be the most powerful Land and Realm in the entire cosmos. The Lady smiled. This was a good plan. Now, how to get hold of the three remaining girls, the other three of the Four Elements, that would be an entirely different matter. A matter that required much thinking and planning….Earth was already in her hands. How to defeat Fire, Wind, and Water when they were united…would be a challenge. A challenge on intellect and strength. The Lady smiled. She hadn’t had so much fun in years.
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