-1A/N: I own Kayla, Arden and Melody. The rest I must regretfully say belong to the great and powerful J.K Rowling who has more money then I have socks (Which is saying a lot).
Smile. ; ) Please Review.
"Wishes are sometimes better left unsaid"
Chapter One: Christmas Eve
Standing there you could almost think that the whole place had been hit by a tornado. But under closer inspection anyone who ventured into this danger zone would realize that that is actually what my mother would call 'decoration'. The whole place was a mess of red and green, even the little beagle puppy that my little sister let loose in the house had a red and green sweater.
Mostly the whole 'Christmas' thing was driving my older brother half mad. He had decided long ago that the whole holiday was a scam, just about the time after he found out that there was no way my parents were giving him a laptop for a Christmas present along with a new car. So ever since then he's been the grouch of Christmas, even when it comes to the best parts like the cookies or even the eggnog. Well I hate eggnog, but my mom's eggnog is always filled with sugar enough to kill a grown man if any ever decided to come over.
This Christmas though we were housing our Grandparents. Two ancient looking people who looked as fragile as rice paper. Both of them were in their mid nineties, and acted like any old person was expected to. Well my Grandfather at least. My Grandmother was a energetic lady, even at her old age she was the one making the cookies look like something out of a horror film just to see my mother have a breakdown.
"Those are for Janie's party this afternoon! How exactly am I supposed to make a whole new batch before they come over!" she had cried throwing her hands into the air, sending a great cloud of flour about the kitchen.
Janie, the little sister in question, luckily was out of the room and didn't see what she was about to feed her thirty or so little devils of friends. Instead she was upstairs with Matt, most likely arguing over where he was going to go when this whole party was taking place.
Me on the other hand was not going to be even a miles distance of the place. To be in the same house as my sisters friends is taking your own life into your hands. I was on my way to my friend Arden's house at the moment of the cookie breakdown. And even the pitiful look of 'save me' I was getting from the puppy was not going to slow me down.
"I'll be back soon." I said as I shuffled about the stairway trying to get my coat on as hurriedly as possible.
"Where are you going!" shrieked my mother her voice as clear as a tinker bell, and also as harmful to my ears.
"To Arden's, I'll be back soon." I said crossing my fingers that she would not push anything further.
Probably because I had wished that she appeared at the stairway next to me, looking a royal mess. Her brown curls, which Melody often refers to as the springs, were twisted every which way with powder caking them as well as her already pale white face.
"You were supposed to help with the party Kayla, you said you would." she hissed her eyes mere slits.
"I will when I get back, I'm just going over to finish up something for the report we're doing." I said back trying to edge my way backward toward the door.
"Winter break is for another week Kayla, don't you dare try to leave me alone with them!"
"I don't know what you mean mother. Oh look at the time! Best be going before they leave without me!" I said hurriedly as she began to move forward.
Sadly I am not as fast as any elf like in Lord of the Rings, but I luckily was fast enough to run out of that house without the terrifying women catching me. I ran out into the yard where Arden's brother Alex had his car parked.
Jumping into the car he gave me a odd look, as did Arden who was sitting in the passenger seat.
"You have flour all over your hair, Kayla-" said Arden before I broke in after seeing my mother emerging from the house.
"DRIVE!" I screamed madly, "She's coming!"
Both looked at me oddly again, as if I had gone mad before Alex shrugged and put the car into gear. The last I saw of my mother was her practically sprinting at our car, even in that long skirt, with a cookie roller high over her head.
"So you want to tell me now why you had me get off of work early to come get you Kayla?" asked Alex in his brotherly way, though as usual his face wasn't hiding his amusement.
"Janie is having her truckload of little monsters come over for a 'Christmas eve' party. I was not sticking around for that, last time they tied me to a chair and gave me a makeover." I said shuddering slightly.
"How bad could that have been? You're a girl after all." said Alex his red eyebrows raised slightly.
"Not when twenty six-year olds are trying to make you look like a friggen clown." I replied still shuddering even as Alex's laughter filled the car.
"At least we saved you from that nightmare." said Arden grinning as I leaned my head against the side of the car.
"Oh yes, thank ye my knight in shining- leather." I said after taking a look at his outfit.
"You like it? Mum gave it to me early, said I needed it so I won't catch cold out here." he said proudly puffing up his dark brown leather coat with his hands.
"I like it so much I might steal it from you," I said laughing.
"I already tried, he's to protective over it. Its to much of a bother to even attempt Kayla, just to warn you." said Alex turning the car sideways so that we were parked in front of their house, only five minutes away from mine.
Getting out of the car I looked up at my favorite house of all time. It was a old manor like house, one of the last ones in San Francisco. Arden's great grandfather had left it to them, after he died at the age of 109. So the place was practically a museum on its own, filled with all sorts of interesting stuff.
Our favorite part of the house was the fact that you could get lost in its many rooms, though not as badly as you could in a mansion. Closets were filled with all sorts of clutter, some of which were as interesting as the stuff you'd find in a toy store. If we ever went to toy stores anymore that is.
Me and Melody's favorite part of the place though was the large attic. It was where we usually hung out on summer days, surrounded by the many books that the old library in the south wing had moved up there. It was a quant place, big enough for us to be able to dance around or play juvenile games like cops and robbers. Which never really turned out that well when your running on a wood floor that has many jagged edges that would continually make us trip.
But the place was more of a home to us then anywhere else. Getting out of Alex's station wagon I felt a warmth, as if I was finally going home for the first time in months.
"We brought Melody over earlier," said Arden coming to stand by me as I surveyed the house and yard, "She couldn't stand it at home either. I don't know what she was mumbling about most of the ride, but it sounded a lot like her dad came back home."
I shook my head angrily, "That man shouldn't even be allowed to step foot in that house. He should have been castrated for what he did."
"Kayla, please don't say that when your around me. It makes me cringe, just thinking guy would have to-" said Arden turning slightly pale.
"Arden that man deserves jail time at least."
"Cheating on his wife isn't a federal offence."
"He friggen slept with her sister. And I know he contributed to her suicide, I just know it."
"No one can prove anything." said Arden grabbing my arm. "Come'n lets stop arguing. We best try to put on a brave face so Melody doesn't completely have a bad holiday."
I grumbled but let Arden drag me into the man room of the house where Melody was already set up on the couch, her long flowing blonde hair over one side of it. She was half asleep, petting Max Arden's black Labrador. She looked up at us when we came in, along with Alex who popped down into a armchair the moment he came in turning the TV to the football channel.
"You guys want to go hang out in the attic?" she asked her voice as happy as ever as she sat up, the usual fake grin spread across her face.
"Sure." I said looking at Arden worriedly before we both went up the stairs following after Melody who was practically tripping over each step she took in her long jean skirt.
The moment we got upstairs and the door was closed all hell broke loose and once again the girl began to mutter. Muttering would have been the easiest thing to call it, though it was more along the lines of mad talk. Or rather 'the earth is going to end lets all freak out now' kind of talk.
"How could he come back? That scum of the earth-"
"Mel calm down." I cried grabbing her shoulders.
Her blue eyes met mine before she burst into tears, large watery ones that left marks on the dusty floor.
Hugging her I sent Arden a look that made him scramble for the toy box, or rather the game box as Mr. Hippo and Mr. Rabbit aren't usually played with much up here. He hurriedly pulled out a box, a board game that we never even tried yet and placed it on the floor of the room.
"Come'n lets play this, it looks interesting." said Arden in awe.
I don't even think he was faking. Melody stopped crying and looked down at what Arden had in front of him, a board game called 'Wish' with stars all around the outside of the word.
"What is that?" she asked though she was already kneeling down next to him, waiting for me to follow.
"It was in the game box. I don't think we've ever played it." said Arden.
"I don't think we've ever seen this." I murmured sitting down next to Melody, the three of us in a triangle around the box, "I would have played something like this ages ago."
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Melody rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand before practically tearing the top of the box off.
Inside were three little figures, one a heart another a clock and the third what looked like a sword.
"How do we play?" I said as I picked up the heart, which barely was the size of the nail on my pinkie finger.
"First we set the three pieces in the middle of this." said Arden reading off the directions (a old parchment paper that looked as old as the house) and holding up a bowl like thing that looked made out of rock, "Then we make three wishes. One for each of us."
"Easy enough." I said putting the pieces into the bowl.
"Alright Melody you first." said Arden as the two of us turned to her.
"How about- I wish that we'd go on a adventure, away from here and all the things that are happening now." said Melody smiling slightly at the idea.
"I wish that we could have magical powers and see things that we'd only dreamed of." said Arden grinning as I rolled my eyes.
"And I wish that we'd find true love." I said smirking as they both gave me a weird look. "Hey, we all want that to. Along with adventure, and powers. But hey, sorry if I'm a girl and a romantic-"
"Its your wish Kayla, I just thought you'd wish for something like new shoes." joked Arden. Kicking him I nodded to the directions.
"What's next?"
Arden sighed opening the parchment again. He blinked looking up.
"Its blank." he said before adjusting his glasses and looking again.
"What do you mean blank? Like that games over?" asked Melody.
"Well that was short and rather pointless." I said before reaching over to pick up the pieces from the bowl.
Only they wouldn't come off the bottom. I yanked, pulled. Even Melody tried to help. They weren't moving.
"The directions from before aren't even there-" said Arden in a awed tone, with a shiver of fright. Looking up he asked, "What's going on?"
That's when the power went out. The lights just flickered and went out.
I could hear the others breathing as we looked about us, everything seeming scary and frightening in the darkness.
That was even before the place began to spin. We all grabbed hands and hooked our legs onto the table we were playing on as the room spun around and around and around- before even that was impossible and the whole place went black.
We must have let go because I felt myself falling, with nothing to hold onto. I screamed, my voice no longer audible to my own ears before I felt myself hit something wet, but slightly soft.
The impact though was enough to cause me to faint, and to let dreams take over my subconscious. Sighing I let my head roll to the side as everything began to get brighter.
: ): ): )Please Read and Review: ): ): )