Hello everyone! Strayphoenix here! This is my first W.I.T.C.H. fic so be nice. Here's the first chapter of 'Vernacula'!
There was silence within the old run down barn in the middle of the remote Meridian country side. No one had occupied the barn for at least fifty years. The silence, however, was broken by one of the three new temporary inhabitants of the barn.
"Well this sucks"
"No kidding, Caleb" Aldarn said rolling his eyes.
"How long have we been here now?" Drake asked with a yawn.
Caleb sighed and glanced at his Earth watch. His eyes widened in horror.
"Oh no! Look at the time! We have to get out of here! I have to get to Earth!"
"Great idea, Caleb. The three of us just have to find a way to fight off an army of ten thousand Lurdens" Drake said sarcastically.
"You guys don't understand! I really have to get to Earth!" Caleb exclaimed.
"Caleb," Aldarn said with a tint of frustration in his voice, "we're stuck in a barn, in the middle of nowhere, without weapons, with an army of Lurdens waiting outside to rip us to shreds. What on Earth is so important that you have to risk you're (actually, our) lives to get?"
"Wait! Wait! Don't tell me!" Drake said putting his fingers to his temples and closing his eyes. Aldarn and Caleb rolled their eyes as their friend pretended to read Caleb's mind.
Drake peeked an eye open and smiled playfully at Caleb. "It's Cornelia, isn't it?"
Caleb slightly blushed.
"Is it?" Aldarn asked.
"She invited me to watch her figure skating competition" Caleb explained, rubbing the back of his head. Aldarn slapped his forehead.
"It means a lot to her!" Caleb said defending himself.
"I'm sure it does" he grumbled.
"C'mon, Aldarn" Drake insisted with an impish grin, throwing an arm around his friend. "Like you haven't done stupid and dangerous things for a girl"
"Yeah, Aldarn. Oh! What was the name of that girl you dated two years back?" Caleb said with a grin, glad that the conversation had shifted away from him and Cornelia.
"Jessie, right?" Drake asked with a wink as he nudged Aldarn.
"That's different!" Aldarn insisted with a blush that strongly contrasted his green skin. "I was only risking my life" Then his sour mood completely evaporated and was replaced by an evil smile aimed at Drake. "And it wasn't at least half as dangerous as what Drake did for Mirabella"
Now it was Drake's turn to blush and Caleb and Aldarn started laughing their heads off.
"Well, they say on Earth that all is fair in love and war" Caleb said after his laughing fit.
"This is certainly unfair" Drake stated glancing up at the roof of the barn that was creaking from the weight of the Lurdens on top of it. "Wouldn't that make love unfair too?"
A large thud against the left wall of the barn reminded them of their situation and they got back to business.
"Can we finish this little philosophical discussion another time?" Caleb asked.
"Hey, Caleb? How much more time do you have to get to Earth?" Aldarn asked him standing up. Drake and Caleb followed his lead and Caleb glanced at his watch.
"Five minutes!" he exclaimed.
"If I get us out of here, I call best man at your wedding" he said with a smirk.
"Hey! If he's best man, what am I?" Drake complained.
"You can hold Cornelia's veil or something" Caleb said off-handedly with a smile. "The position's yours. What's the plan?"
"We break down the door and run screaming like three Earth girls to the nearest portal"
Caleb and Drake stared at him. "You wouldn't happen to have a plan that allows me to keep my dignity in tact, would you?" Drake asked him playfully.
Just then the creaking on the roof got really loud and it caved in. At least a dozen Lurdens dropped into the barn.
"Let's get out of here!" Caleb shouted breaking down the door and leaping over a couple of guards. Drake and Aldarn followed suit, almost enjoying themselves as they leapt over stunned Lurdens.
"After all of this, Cornelia better win that competition!" Aldarn exclaimed as he grabbed an ax from a fallen guard and started fighting another one.
Meanwhile on Earth, Cornelia was fixing her bun in the locker room as she was getting ready for her number. She heard a knock on her door. "Come in!" she called.
Irma and Taranee walked in grinning. Cornelia broke into a wide smile.
"You guys came!" she exclaimed coming over to hug them.
"Of course we did! How could we not?" Taranee said as she returned Cornelia's hug.
"Are the others here?" Cornelia asked as she released them from her grip.
"Will and Hay Lin called and said they were just leaving the Silver Dragon two minutes ago" Irma provided. "They sounded really excited"
"Ugh. I hope Hay Lin didn't bring those shirts that she brought to my last competition" Cornelia said with disgust.
"These?" Irma asked with an evil smile as she and Taranee opened up their jackets to show her the green and yellow shirts they were wearing. 'Go Corny!' read across the front in blue on both of them.
Cornelia let out a defeated sigh. "Yes, those." Irma and Taranee giggled.
"Hey," Cornelia asked as her smile returned, "is Caleb here?"
"I haven't heard anything from him since yesterday" Taranee stated.
"Oh" Cornelia said as her smile faded. "Maybe he forgot" she whispered as she sat down on one of the benches.
"Don't say that!" Taranee reassured her sitting down next to her. "He's probably a bit busy. He'll be here. Promise"
"Thanks" Cornelia said with a small smile.
She heard the muffled sound of applause and knew that the last skater was done and she was up.
"Well," she said standing up, "wish me luck!"
Irma and Taranee gave her two thumbs up. Cornelia walked out of the locker room, took in a deep breath, and skated onto the ice.
"Where's the nearest portal?" Caleb shouted to Aldarn as they finally broke free from the army and began running over the dead grasses of the once green plains of the Meridian countryside.
"I heard that one opened near Shomanka" Aldarn supplied.
"That's three miles from here!" Drake exclaimed looking behind him and noticing that the army was starting to collect itself and beginning to run after them.
"Look!" Caleb pointed out. Aldarn and Drake looked in the direction he was pointing and saw that a portal had just opened before their eyes.
"Wow. Of all the luck"
"Wait a second; you don't expect us to go with you, do you?" Aldarn asked as they approached the portal.
"Of course not, Aldarn" Drake said sarcastically. "You can stay here if you want"
"You guys really don't have an option" Caleb stated.
The three reached the portal and jumped in simultaneously. Upon reaching Earth, they tumbled into a dumpster and made a hell of a ruckus.
"Oh gross! What is this?" Drake asked getting out of the garbage.
"It's where the Earthlings dump their garbage" Caleb said pulling himself out of the dumpster. Drake and Caleb then turned around to get Aldarn out.
"Aldarn?" Caleb asked as they pulled him out of the dumpster. He looked about to throw up.
"I don't even want to know" Drake stated as they started to get the garbage off of them.
"Ahem!"
Drake and Caleb turned around to see that the portal was closed and that Will and Hay Lin were watching them with knowing grins.
"Um…hi?" Caleb said sheepishly.
"Where have you been!" Hay Lin exclaimed. "She started already!"
"We were fighting Lurdens!" Aldarn explained while brushing off an old banana peel from his shoulder.
"I don't care what you were doing! Get in that stadium right now!" Hay Lin grabbed Caleb by the wrist and dragged him out onto the sidewalk. Drake and Aldarn laughed at him and started to follow. Will stopped them.
"You don't plan on hanging around Heatherfield like that, do you?"
"Like what?" they asked. Will rolled her eyes. They probably thought that green and striped skin wouldn't attract attention in Hetherfield.
"Here, everyone has the same skin color. And we don't walk around with enough fighting armor to slay a dragon"
"Don't you mean a giant snake?" Drake asked.
"Earthlings don't know the difference" Will said.
Aldarn shrugged his soldiers."Well, what do you want us to do about it?"
Will grinned and the alley was filled with a bright pink light…
Meanwhile, inside the stadium, Cornelia closed her eyes and felt the breeze zoom across her face from the speed at which she was skating. She quickly reviewed her next three steps and waited for the musical notes that would carry them out. She had already faltered a little bit in the first few minutes of the routine and she couldn't mess up again.
As she approached the corner where she knew her friends were sitting, she saw that three figures were entering the isle. Will, Hay Lin and…
Her heart hit the ceiling as she saw Caleb and he gave her a tiny wave. Knowing she couldn't wave back, she settled for giving him her biggest grin. She felt like skating a little faster, like turning a little extra, like leaping a little higher.
She heard her note and dug one pick into the ice and propelled herself into a double spin in the air. She landed gracefully back on the ice on one leg and the audience applauded. Her eyes found his again as he and her friends cheered.
'That was awesome!' he mouthed to her. She blushed but smiled and mouthed a small thank you in return as she skated away from their area feeling as light as a feather.
As the end of her number drew near, she made her way to the center of the rink and began spinning really fast on one leg with the other touching the back of her head. She hadn't practiced this last move as much as her other ones but she felt like she could do it right at that moment. She slowed down according to the music and then struck her final pose as the music subsided.
The audience went absolutely wild! They loved her! She grinned like a fool and bowed a couple of time. Amongst all the cheers and applauses, she could hear her friends chanting her name. Following their voices, she found their four identical shirts and a long brown cloak sitting in between them. They were all standing and she could see Caleb better seeing that he was slightly taller.
Full with pride and relief at being finished, she felt really light spirited. Without really thinking, she blew him a kiss.
And even though he was half of the stadium away and there were hundreds of people around him, Caleb knew that kiss was meant for him. Suddenly, he was feeling just as light spirited as she. He managed to smile wider than he even thought possible.
Cornelia giggled and with a final courtesy, skated off the ice.
In Meridian, things aren't quite as joyful…
"Phobos?" Elyon asked as she knocked on the huge doors that lead to his throne room. She heard a whooshing noise inside before they swung open with magic to let her inside. There she saw Phobos and Cedric in the beautiful throne room where she knew that they'd be.
"Yes, sister?" he responded with that smile of his.
"Phobos, I was wondering, what type of music do you guys listen to in Meridian?"
"Why do you ask, princess?" Cedric said, looking a little bit suspicious.
"Well, I've had this song that I liked from Earth stuck in my head all day and I was just wondering…" she said but Phobos cut her off.
"You don't want to go back home, do you?"
"No, that's not it at all" she responded quickly.
"Meridian music is only a little bit different from Earth music, Elyon" Phobos stated, changing the subject quickly. "Would you care to listen to a small concert with me? Meridian's most talented singer lives right in this castle"
At those words, Elyon's face lit up. "Really? But aren't you busy with prince-things?"
"Nonsense" he said with a wave of his hand. "You go wait in the ballroom. I'll have Cedric go and fetch her and I'll be along in a minute"
"Thank you, Phobos! You're the best!" she exclaimed with a smile and rushed out of the room.
The moment she did, Phobos' magic wore off and the bright sunny, throne room returned to its former dark and gloomy state. Cedric turned to Phobos.
"If your majesty would permit me to state my opinion, I don't believe this is the wisest of decisions" he said to Phobos.
"Would you rather her be home sick and want to return to her pathetic world?" Phobos growled at him as he started to get up.
"Of course not, your majesty, it's just…" he paused to make sure that there were no guards at the door.
"It's just, if word gets around the castle that she's still alive, you know it will spread to the people…I mean, she's been believed to be dead for a good seven years…"
"We took her in the first place so she could sing for our entertainment, did we not?" Phobos asked in an annoyed voice as he glided past Cedric to the doors of the throne room.
"Yes, but when we took her, her brother wasn't second in command of the rebel forces" Cedric contradicted.
"Silence! This is not negotiable!" Phobos snapped at Cedric, turning on his heel to face him. "Go fetch the girl and bring her to the ball room!"
Cedric bowed his head in respect and fear. "Yes, your majesty"
Phobos left the room and Cedric followed after him. He took the left hallway and transforming into a snake midway up the stairs, arrived at a locked bedroom door. Once he had unlocked it with his key he swung the doors open with a clang.
A figure that had been reading lazily on the bed, jumped with a start. "Cedric!" she exclaimed.
"Get dressssssed up, Vernacula" he ordered with an evil smile, "you'll be holding a concert for the princessssss"
Well? What do you think of my first chapter? Let me know!