Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. I just wanted to see a different keeper. I only own my OC. I'm just having fun. This is a rewrite of my first chapter.
Thank you to those who reviewed and viewed.
Enjoy.
Wanda Bane sneered as she stared out of the car window. She could see the place she would be living in until she turned eighteen. Heatherfield was a not big enough to be a city, but not small enough to be a town. It was an awkward inbetween. She couldn't believe she had gotten caught. Damn Howard for leaving her to take the fall! She was lucky the judge felt pity for her. Otherwise she would be in juvie right now.
How could he do that to her?! She was his second in command. His oldest friend, she thought he was hers. But she was wrong. She wouldn't let him sweet talk her into doing things anymore.
The social worker stopped the car.
The run down house where she would be staying with her Uncle Jerry. She couldn't believe her uncle passed the tests for being allowed to take her. Wanda scowled he was only doing it for the monthly checks he'd get from the government for her. The social worker opened his truck.
Wanda hated Bob the social worker. He wasn't particularly good at his job. He had been assigned to her when she was three. When he had taken her away from her dead mother who overdosed on a cocktail of drugs. Then just proceeded to send her to numerous foster homes each worse than the last. Until she had turn ten and ran away. She joined a gang. She had become a criminal. A thief, she was the one you went to when you needed information. A damn good hacker, if you needed anything done with cars, computers, cell phones, Wanda was your girl.
Greg her parole officer had stopped his patrol car behind Bob's parked one.
Thank god, the bastard wasn't going to be her officer in this place. She wasn't getting assigned a new officer.
She hadn't met him yet. His name was Lair something. She honestly didn't care.
Her greasy Uncle had clean up just barley. His beer gut button up under a grayish white shirt. His frayed dress pants and scuffed shoes didn't fit him well.
"There she is! My little Wanda!" He grabbed her into an arm wrapping that was supposed to be a hug.
Wanda made a disgusted face.
She jumped away when he let her go.
She half listened to the adults talking about her.
"Wanda will need to be put in a lower grade. I'm afraid she missed six years of 'll be put with kids two years younger than her." Bob sniffed into his tissue. Blowing his nose. He was thin, reedy man with bottle cap glasses.
"Still don't see why this brat needs to get a second chance. I rather see her in juvie." Greg growled. He was a muscular man and he knew it. He used it to his advantage to bully people with it.
Wanda's lip curled she didn't know why she couldn't just skip ahead to her own grade.
She could read, spell, write, and do her addition, subtraction, multiplication, divination well enough.
She knew how to pick any lock, how to talk her way out of things, how to draw attention away from herself. How to steal, how to give first aid. How to aim, how to read people, manipulate them, trade with them. Everyone had a price had she found out. How to negotiate to get what she wanted. How to live off one meal a day. Those were far more useful than calculus or child development.
"Of course my niece will be happy here. I already set her up at school, and she gets her own room." Her uncle's slimy voice promised.
Bob nodded.
"Good, I'm off then. My wife is waiting." Bob and Greg left. And Wanda was left alone with her Uncle Jerry.
He dropped his act.
"You don't break my stuff, you don't talk back and you earn your keep." He snarled.
Wanda glared.
"Yeah. Yeah sure." She muttered.
He narrowed his eyes at her.
He led her to her new room.
It had a wire frayed plug jack. A crooked window, ugly shag green carpet. A bare stained mattress on the floor.
Jerry left to go sit in front of his tv.
Wanda closed the door. She slid down the closed door to the ground.
"You can do this Wanda! It's only for a year and a half then you're free with an expunged record." She told herself to stop her tears.
This is a line break.
Wanda woke up to her rumbling stomach.
She reached into her baggage. She doubted Jerry would have actual food in his house. He lived off fast food and alcohol it seemed. Wanda did her best to make herself presentable for school. She braided her dark red hair. She got that from her deadbeat mother. The dark skin and brown eyes she got from her father. Wanda clenched her fists. She didn't want to think about him.
Her many freckles on her nose and cheeks embarrassed her. Her hair fought against being pulled back into a braid. It kept wanting to curl in the humidity.
She huffed as she tied the end of the braid.
Her worn and faded high waisted skinny jeans had a few holes. Her black t-shirt was covered by a warm baggy hoodie. She didn't bother with make up. She didn't have the money to waste on it. But she wished she could. She scrubbed her teeth with her finger. She was as good as she was going to get.
She left the run down house.
She cursed when she opened the front door to pouring rain.
"SHIT! Can't one thing go right today?" Wanda ran out into the downpour.
She hated Heatherfield already.
She was soaking wet and an hour late when she finally found the school.
She shivered from the chill of the wind.
She reluctantly made her way to the front office. The secretary gave her a disapproving look.
"Miss Bane? I presume?" She filed her nails.
"Yes." Wanda stopped her teeth from chattering.
"Not a very good first impression." She sneered.
"You're already a criminal, now we can add ragamuffin and late to the list."
The secretary inclined her head towards the wooden door. Wanda wished she could slam the bitch into her desk. Wanda kept her temper.
"Mrs. Knickerbocker wants to speak with you."
Wanda opened the door and stepped into the office. One would think it was a tea room rather than the principal's office.
Mrs. Knickerbocker was a plump and white haired woman. Her face was lined and strict. Wanda could already see she made it off to the wrong start with the old woman.
"Late on your first day! Not a very good way to start off your second chance." Mrs. Knickerbocker said in a clipped tone.
"My uncle couldn't drive me, I had to walk and he didn't have time to show me when the school was." Wanda said in a dull tone.
Mrs. Knickerbocker sniffed.
"A likely story. Let me make one thing clear Miss Bane this is your last chance. If you put one toe out of line. You will be out on your nose. You would do well to remember that."
Wanda sighed.
"Yes, Ma'am."
"Get to your classes." Mrs. Knickerbocker waved her out.
This is a line break.
"Hello everyone welcome back from the break. I see we have a new student with make her feel at home." Mr. Collins the history teacher points to Wanda. Wanda grumbles as she stands up in front of the class. Introductions were always the worst.
Wanda stood in front of the class still damp from the rain. She could hear her new classmates snicker about her age. She was two years older. She heard hisses of stupid on their lips. Her cheeks burned.
"My name is Wanda Cassia Bane." She growled. Then stomped over to the only open sit abruptly next to a brown hair girl.
"Well then, nice to meet you." Mr. Collins says as he frowns at the red head. He shook himself as he turned back to the smart board. The girl with brown hair and blue stuck out her hand.
"Hi, I'm Irma." She whispered.
Wanda nodded and shook the offered hand. A tall blonde girl glared at Wanda her seat was by Irma and another smaller blonde girl.
"Look at the new girl's clothes. How can the staff let someone like her into our school?" The long haired girl complained to her smaller blonde friend.
"Urgh! She smells like a wet dog too." The stuck up blonde punched her nose in a mockingly way.
Wanda was resisting the urge to flip the drama queen off. God! If she didn't have so much riding on behaving. She would rip this bimbo a new one. But it wouldn't be good for her if she fought on the first day. After she already looked bad by being late. She had no parents to bail her out. Wanda took a deep breath then let it out. She couldn't stand girls like this rich bitch. But she would just have to bear it.
"Corny is the queen bee around here." The girl Irma whispered.
"She's usually not so bitchy. Maybe it's that time of the month." Irma tells her.
"She seriously makes me want to puke with her unoriginal stereotypical mean girl act." Wanda mimes gagging.
Irma giggles.
"Corny unfortunately has her good points."
"You know her?" Wanda frowns. How could anyone stand to be that girl's friend?
"Yeah more like friends with the same friends. But I rarely go near her unless my other friend Hey-Lin begs me to." Irma grins. Wanda nodded turning her attention on Mr. Collins lecture about the civil war.
This is a line break.
"Hi! I'm Hey-Lin! You must be Wanda." The bouncing air head hugged Wanda tightly.
"Personal space." She ground out through gritted teeth. Before shoving the pigtailed girl off her.
Hey-Lin let go quickly.
Wanda looked at the lunch table Irma had waved her over to. A black girl with short hair and a Jedi looking braid pushed her glasses up onto her nose nervously. Then the queen bee blonde and her mousey friend. Hey-Lin pulled Wanda down into a chair next to her.
"So you already know Irma, but that's Taranee Cook, she really shy." Hay-Lin pointed to the girl with glasses. Who waved meekly at her, Wanda smiled softly at her.
"And the tall one is Cornelia Hale, and that's Elyon Brown."
Cornelia sniffed dismissively at Wanda. Elyon smiled weakly.
"So I have an idea!" Hay-Lin clapped her hands.
"Let's have tea and cookies at my family restaurant. I want all of you to come."
Cornelia cuts her friend off.
"What?! You're inviting her?! No one wants the new girl there. Especially not the charity case." She points to Wanda's clothes. Wanda gives the blonde her most intimidating glare, the girl flitches back. Before recovering from her fright and continuing on.
"We don't want that fashion don't, hanging around anywhere near us. I mean look at her. I don't want to be seen with a salvation army brat. She'll just move away in a couple weeks anyway." She flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder. Wanda's eyebrow twitched at the Salvation Army part. So what if she bought her clothes there. They had great deals and prices. Stupid rich bitch.
The rest of the girls looked down at the table. Wanda burst out laughing. It amused her that this stupid girl thought she cared about her opinion. All the girls stare at her in shock.
"Who says I want to hang out with any of you anyway?" Wanda rolled her eyes. Cornelia let her jaw hung open. As if thought of someone not wanting to be her friend was unbelievable.
"I have better things to do with my time than hang around with you losers." Wanda grabbed her tray and her bag. But not before purposely pouring her chocolate milk on top of Corny's head. The teacher's back was turned.
"Opps." Wanda smirked as she left the cafeteria, the shrieks of the angry blonde were music to her ears. Wasting the chocolate milk was so worth it.
She stuck out of the cafeteria.
This is a line break.
Wanda avoids all five girls for the rest of the week. Not that it was that hard. Wanda was good at not being seen. She was mad that the other four girls let their bitchy friend behave that way. She had established around the school to her moron classmates she was a girl that took no ones shit. And anyone who messed with her paid for it dearly. In secret of course, it wouldn't do to let the teachers caught on.
She had to be careful here if she didn't want to get kicked out.
Somehow she befriended a weird geek named Martin. Some dicks were trying to throw the poor kid in a dumpster. Wanda couldn't help herself, Martin just looked so pathetic. On the plus side,he was good with Math and science. He tutored her in exchange for protection. It was a win-win situation for both of them. But beside Martin, Wanda hadn't extended the hand of friendship to anyone else. Nor had anyone else extended the hand to her. She beat up some prick named Jeremiah and his punk friends. She had warned them not mess with Martin anymore. It wasn't her fault, they thought she was an easy target. She guessed the broken arm, wrist, and nose would keep the losers away for a while. In her opinion they deserved what they got,they had that coming to them, but that wasn't the Principal's opinion. She had just gotten out of her last detention. Martin had come to her defence.
Mrs. Knickerbocker liked Martin so that was the only reason she hadn't gotten into more trouble. Her classes weren't too hard. The age factor was catching up already. Wanda was in no man's land though. None of the kids her age wanted to hang out with the moron stuck two grades back.
And the kids in her grade thought she was a loser, too old to be in their grade.
Wanda walked home. Martin had offered to stick around but Wanda told him to head home. The streets were full of business workers catching cabs, people walking and driving home.
A heavenly smell filled Wanda's nose.
She breathed deeply.
It was Chinese food.
She loved Chinese food, it was making her mouth water. And she was so hungry, she had eaten nothing since yesterday's lunch. Jerry didn't believe in keeping food other than burgers at the house. And he wasn't about to share. Her only meal of the day was school lunch most days.
Wanda followed the scent to a restaurant name the silver dragon. She had just pressed her face to the window when an old woman ambushed her.
"Ah, you must be Wanda Bane my granddaughter's new friend. Come with me, my granddaughter's friends always get to eat free." The old woman pulled Wanda into the restaurant Wanda stopped struggling at the word free. Her stomach growled embarrassingly loud. But who was she to turn down free food. The old woman dragged Wanda into a back room filled with the four girls.
Taranee, Irma, Hay-Lin, and Cornelia.
"Hi, Wanda!" Hay-Lin waved.
Wanda scowled and waved sarcastically back. The old woman shoved her into a chair. Wanda folded her arms, this was weird.
"So nice to see you all together." She grinned. Her wrinkled face stretching with the bright smile.
"I'll get you your food and drinks."
She left.
Wanda and the girls stared awkwardly at each other.
"How did your grandma know my name? Why did you tell her we were friends?" Wanda leans forward to Hay-Lin. Body language was tense.
"I didn't actually." Hay-Lin said in confusion then grinned. "But we can still be friends."
Wanda gives a disbelieving snort.
"Great! Now I have an ancient grandma stalker. As if I don't have enough drama going on in my life."
"Whatever it's not like any of us want you here." Cornelia snarls.
"What's the matter Blondie? Afraid, I'll steal your stupid queen bee crown? Get over yourself. No one give two shits. I don't want to be a bitch like you." Wanda snarls back.
Cornelia's nostrils flared.
"Let's n-not fight." Taranee shutters.
The fight was avoided by Hay-Lin's grandmother reentering with food. Wanda figured she could just ditch them after she ate. It smelled so mouth watering good.
"Food's ready!" She set down the food plates one by one.
Mongolian Beef, spring rolls, cheese rangoons, fried rice, and lemon and mint tea was placed down in front of
Wanda. She felt a chill run up her back.
"Stalker is so right." She muttered before tearing into the food like a starving person. It was her favorite Chinese take-out dish. Wanda wasn't not going to eat it just because the crazy hag gave it to her. She didn't taste any thing in it.
"Now girls I will tell you a story." Hay-Lin's grandmother held up an old ornate box.
She opened the lid, pulling out a necklace that was glowing. Wanda looked at it longingly. Feeling complete just by being near it. But she quickly snapped herself out of it. What the hell was wrong with her? She had to leave before something happens. Something freak worthy, she had kept it secret for this long she would not blow it now.
"A sixteen years ago all the planets under the control of Kandrakar were at peace. Until an evil prince of Meridian stole the throne murdering his mother and her husband and tried to kill his baby sister to stop her from gaining the Throne back." As Yan-Lin told the story a glowing image showed flashes of worlds.
"Prince Phobos has been draining his home of all of its magic and is searching for his younger sister the princess to drain her of her life force and her throne. The oracle of Kandrakar sealed The Prince and his planet behind a veil. But now portals are opening to our world." Yan-Lin paused.
"It is the guardian's' job to seal up the veil. Protect and serve the oracle. And to stop Phobos. All of you have experienced strange things in the past few months Taranee, you have the gift of Fire. Irma you have the gift of Water. Hay-Lin you have the gift of air, Cornelia you have the gift of earth." Yan-Lin stopped in front of Wanda.
"Wanda you are the leader, the holder of Energy, and keeper of the heart. The gift of electricity."
Wanda push back her chair, it fell to the floor with a violent clatter.
"You're crazy! And I'm out of here. I don't have any powers." She snapped. She felt her world tightening in on her. She had made sure no living person knew about her strange gift. Now some old woman had found out? How?
"Do you work for Interpol?!" Wanda gripped one of the steak knifes on the table.
Yan-Lin frowned at her and the knife now in her hand.
"Wanda please, calm down." She reached out for Wanda, who slapped the hand away.
"How did you know my name? Have you been following me? Is this some kind of joke? Is it a prank?! Some sort of test? Did Judge Frank put you up to this?! Did Howard?!" Wanda's voice raised in pitch as her panic grew. But then again the rest of the girls looked just as freaked out as she was. She they weren't in on what ever this was. She edged towards the door, her eyes flicking at the other exits.
"Wanda, I can explain." Yan-Lin pleaded.
"Don't bother, I'm out." Wanda sprinted out of the room and crashed people over in the restaurant to get to the front door. Wanda sprinted all the way back to her crappy new home.
This is a line break.
"So somebody left you something, Kid." Jerry held up the strange necklace, it called to Wanda. She shivered.
"I'm not a mail service." Jerry's voice broke the spell.
Wanda scowled.
"Just a moron." She hissed under her breath.
"What did you say?" Jerry lowers his voice to the barest whisper. Wanda pales as her uncle advances on her. The loud smack rang threw out the room.
"I deserve respect, I put clothes onto your ungrateful back. I feed you, I send you to school. I could have thrown you to the wolves. If it wasn't for me you would be in juvie!" Jerry was shaking with rage. Wanda felt that saying he fed her and provided clothes for her was stretching it immensely.
"You don't try in school, all you do is cause trouble. Your mother was never this much trouble until she got pregnant with you. You ruined her life!"
Wanda should have just kept her mouth shut, but it was like word vomit. She couldn't help herself from replying.
"Says the drunken loser and if Catherine, my mom was so perfect why'd she sleep with half her high school? I have nothing to be grateful for from you Jerry! So fuck you!" She saw the fist coming, but she was frozen. Her head slammed into the wall, blood ran down her cheek. She'd have a shiner on her eye for the next little while. Wanda felt the energy itching to burst out. She could feel her fingers twitching from the need to wrap them around Jerry's neck. She refrained from the temptation.
Jerry glared down at his niece.
"Watch yourself Brat! Don't speak ill of the dead. I'm going out." He threw the necklace hard against the wall. He slammed her bedroom door.
Wanda sat there dazed until she heard the front door slam.
Wanda let out a breathy sigh, that was stupid of her. She could have shown her freakish abilities if she had pushed her Uncle anymore.
She didn't even want to imagine what would have happened if she showed what she could really do. What she might have done. It would've been so easy, who would miss her Uncle anyway? Wanda shook her head. Those weren't the kind of thoughts she could entertain. She would not become a monster.
The necklace glowed.
"What the actual fuck?" Wanda raised her eyebrows.
She reached down to pick it up. It felt warm, and it pulsed like a heart.
Wanda dropped the necklace as if it burned her.
This is a line break.
She wasn't a coward, Wanda would take this necklace back to the old woman, and tell her to shove her ideas about saving the world from evil, where the sun didn't shine.
Wanda fondly stroked the glowing necklace. Wanda shuttered snapping herself out of its grip. It was like this thing was alive. She hated it, who did it think she was? Golem? No way was she going to become anything close like that messed up yet adorable little freak. Oh god, if she called the thing her precious she was chucking the thing straight into the ocean.
She saw none of the other so called guardians' at school. It seemed they all voided each other. So much for their 'friendship.' That was fine with her.
Wanda didn't need the stress of this girl band having to save the world anyway. She thought with a sneer.
Girls her age were more like backstabbing, close minded, bitches. Then again boys were just as stupid.
Wanda had only ever had a few friends in her life and most had been boys. She didn't know if they were still her friends. Or if they had ever really been her friends.
Howard always said...Stop Wanda, don't think about them, that isn't your life anymore, you went straight. You want nothing to do with that bastard who used you. Besides not like Howard has even tried to contact her after he betrayed, abandoned her. She didn't need him. She told herself hoping she would believe it. She needed to believe it. Howard has done terrible things. Wanda stared at the shops as she walked.
"Wanda! Wanda!" A girl called.
Wanda turned around in surprise.
It was Elyon the small blonde girl.
"Hi." She said lamely.
"Hello." Wanda says curtly as she eyed the smaller girl.
Elyon shuffles her feet.
"Listen I'm sorry, about Cornelia. She's nice but..." Elyon trailed off.
"It's just really, really, really deep down?" Wanda offers snidely. She frowned at the hurt look on Elyon's face.
"I guess though, I didn't really help my case by blowing up at lunch I suppose." She decided to not take her frustration out on Elyon.
Elyon smiles slightly.
"She can be bitchy sometimes. No filter. But she's my best friend."
"Yeah, I guess." Wanda says doubtfully. She had once been the same way with Howard, always making excuses for him.
"Now what do you want?"
"You don't have friends do you? Not any you really trust." Elyon surprises Wanda with the insightful comment.
"Yeah that's me, I've always been a lone wolf." Wanda says warily, except for Howard and the boys. Now she really was the lone wolf. Her chest tightened with emotion.
"Were you there that night Yan-Lin did some magic trick? None of the other girls will talk much less about that." Elyon frowns.
"Yeah I was there, and it was to be frank, it was crazy. That old hag has some serious delusional dementia." Wanda tells Elyon bluntly sitting down on a bus bench.
Elyon sat down next to her.
"She seems to think I'm the leader of a fighting group of pixies that have to save the world from some evil Prince." Wanda informs Elyon.
Elyon blinked.
"Wow, that is crazy."
"Tell me about it." Wanda groans.
"She said this evil prince is trying to take over the universe, kill his little sister. I'm apparently the guardian of the heart. Sounds stupider out loud every time I say it." Wanda lifts the necklace out of her pocket.
"Whoa, what is that?" Elyon stares at the pink jewel in wonder.
"It feels weird."
"It's a magical necklace apparently. But it's crazy, a magical necklace giving magical powers? I don't believe in magic, I mean, maybe people who can do things. But Magic?" Wanda scoffed.
"It sounds like lame version of Green Lantern or something. But way more lame. Or that bogus 80's show. At least Green Lantern has Hal Jordan." Wanda rambles her hands waving animatedly.
Elyon doesn't answer then slowly says.
"So basically Yan-Lin told some weird story and gave you that necklace to save the universe?"
"Sound about right. Not that I'm taking the job. Do I look like hero slash leader material to you? Nope. Besides the world doesn't deserve saving. Plus I wouldn't be getting paid." Wanda stands up brushing off her pants.
"I'll be giving it back to the crazy old lady. See you around Elyon. It was nice talking with you." And it was, talking about this crazy thing with another human being.
"Yeah, thanks for being honest with me. See you at school." Elyon waved goodbye.
Wanda made her way to Hay-Lin's family restaurant.
This is a line break.
"Please sit, have some tea." Yan-Lin waved a hand at the table. Wanda reluctantly sat down.
"Look, I'm not what you're looking for. I couldn't even keep my pet rock alive. I'm no hero." Wanda didn't even want to mention her criminal record.
"And if you really knew me you wouldn't want me hanging around. And say I believe you on this whole crazy you will save the universe crap. Why me? And how did you know about the electricity thing?" Wanda's hand is twitching nervously, releasing little arcs of energy.
"I've never told a single soul about that."
Yan-Lin's eyes widen at the display.
"How long have you been using your element?"
"You mean being able to control electricity? Since I was like five or at least that's as far as I can remember." Wanda taps her fingers on the table. She stopped the energy.
"Most unusual, most guardians don't develop their powers until coming into contact with the heart." Yan-Lin stares at Wanda.
"You are special, I felt the moment you walked into the room. You are very connected to your element. I know you don't believe in any of this Wanda. But I beg you to just give it a chance. You might be surprised." Yan-Lin honesty and pleading, touched something in Wanda. She took a deep breath.
"Okay, I'll do it. But if this is some trick I'll make sure you regret crossing me." Wanda doesn't want this to be a trick. She feels like this old woman might understand what she has been going through. At most she could have someone to talk too. At the least she could get free meals.
But she couldn't let the old woman past any of her walls. For fear they'd come crashing down. Another person to disappoint her. To manipulate her, make her think they loved her, to hurt her, she couldn't let her guard down or there be trouble. There would always be trouble.
This is a line break.
"So how do I get this thing to turn on?" Wanda shook the necklace, which swayed unimpressive.
"Power of the heart?" Wanda tired weakly, she glared at it when it did nothing.
"Heart power!" Irma sang before breaking out in giggles.
"Yeah. No stupid 80's references, please." Wanda glares down at the stupid necklace.
"How can you not know how to work it?" Cornelia sneers. Wanda ignores her.
"Why do we even need a stupid battle cry to transform? This sucks! Guardians unite is-" Wanda is cut off as the necklace glowsand is lifting her off the ground.
"Wow!" Hay Lin cheers.
"Get me down!" Wanda shouts in alarm.
Bright lights fill Wanda's vision.
Suddenly it's gone and the other girls are wearing weird outfits.
Wanda looks down at her new uniform.
A long teal shirt with a high collar, a purple poncho that had a hood and mouth mask. Dark teal pants and dark purple sturdy boots. Black gloves.
She was dismayed by her fellow girl's outfits and her own it wasn't as bad. but the colors made it unbearable, why couldn't it be black?
"What have we got behind us?" Hay Lin squealed as she took in the weak looking butterfly wings on everyone's backs.
"What have we got in front of us?" Cornelia was far more concerned with her new womanly body. She admired it appreciatively.
Wanda supposed going from a 14 year old body to a twenty year old body would be strange. She had went from a sixteen almost seventeen body to a fully mature woman's body.
She looked down at her own body and the wings behind her. The necklace was gone, but it was still with her. Wanda could feel it pulsing like a second heart.
Wanda frowned.
"So I guess I own your grandma an apology. She's not crazy"
Hay Lin wasn't listening to her as she flapped her new wings and took off into the sky.
"Ugh! I'm afraid of heights. I get woozy in high heel shoes." Taranee groaned.
Hay Lin zoomed around.
"Hay Lin don't fly so high up. It's still day time someone might see you!" Wanda fails to order down the air head.
"This rocks! You do something Taranee!" Irma grins as she points her finger and water jets out of it.
Taranee lets out fire ball from her hands that quickly goes out of control and almost hits Cornelia.
"See!? That's exactly why I don't like fire." Taranee whimpers in fright.
"Great, we have a guardian of fire fraid of fire." Wanda sighed.
"Irma! Put the fire out!" Cornelia yells.
Whether on accident or on purpose Irma's conjured water lands mostly on Cornelia but it puts the fire out.
Cornelia glares at Irma but at least sets the fight aside for later.
"Oh poo, there's like no soil or anything. I can't do my earth thingy. You know, like rise towards me or whatever."
The earth rumbles and a giant sunflower grows past Cornelia's head. Worms crawl out of the ground towards her. Cornelia takes one look at the worms before running away screaming.
"Okay! Everyone get over here!" Wanda shouted loudly.
The four girls surprisingly obey her.
"Look I know this is weird for everybody. But we need to learn how to control this stuff or someone will either see us or get hurt by us. And I don't want to end up on an examination table being cut open. So every Sunday is now training day. Okay?" Wanda notices the frighten looks.
"Oh come on, It's just Sunday, it's not like I'm saying every day"
"There's a giant snake man behind you!" Hay-Lin shouts, pointing behind Wanda.
"What?"
Wanda turns to look behind her. A glowing portal had just opened behind her. Inside was a giant snake thing chasing a boy who looked their age. He dove out of the portal knocking Wanda into the ground.
Wanda froze hearing about monsters and seeing them were two different things.
Wanda couldn't move, she only stared at the monster.
"Guardians!" It hissed. It reached for Wanda.
Wanda kicked out at its hands.
It growled.
The boy threw himself at the monster. Wanda shook her head and breathed.
Instinctually Wanda charged up her hands with energy.
The boy looked straight at Wanda.
"Close the portal! Close The portal." He yelled.
"How?!" Wanda yelled back as much as she wanted to save this boy. The portal would have to be closed. If there were more of those monsters, they were screwed.
"Use the necklace!" Hay-Lin shouted.
The necklace appeared in Wanda's hand before she could even think about it.
"I need everyone to aim their energy at the portal." Wanda yelled.
A blast of energy drive the snake man back closer to the open portal. The other four girls joined her.
The snake man wrapped its long tail around the boy. Retreating into the glowing portal. Wanda stared at it willing the thing to close. She held the necklace up and the portal vanished.
Silence filled the air.
Cornelia broke it.
"He's gone! That monster took him, how could you let that thing take him?"
"Oh, shut up Corny!" Wanda growled disappointed in herself for failing.
This is a line break.
"His name is Cedric. And the boy he took is named Caleb the rebel leader." Yan-Lin informs the girls.
"It all happened so fast, I didn't know what to do." Wanda held her face in her shaking hands.
"Don't blame yourselves." Yan-Lin patted Wanda's shoulders.
"I don't, I blame her!" Cornelia points to Wanda.
"WHAT!? Excuse me?!" Wanda looks up and shrieked.
"She totally blew it! How is she going to be our leader when she couldn't even save that guy?" Cornelia sniffs.
"Take easy Corny!" Irma points an angry finger into her face.
"No! You take it easy!" Cornelia slaps the hand away.
"Yeah, well I wasn't the only one frozen in fear by that Cedric the creepy snake guy. So shut the hell up Corny. We're all to blame." Wanda growls folding her arms.
Hay-Lin interrupts before more fighting would ensue.
"So does everyone on that meridian place look like him?" She hands her drawing of Cedric to her grandmother.
"No Lord Cedric does not always look like this. He can change his form." Yan-Lin stares at the drawing.
"Well that's good news for his wife." Irma jokes.
Wanda snickers.
"Yeah can you imagine, honey I'm home." Wanda mock hisses her tongue poking out.
"Irma, Wanda, this is serious." Hay-Lin scolds them.
"I know, you think I'm not scared!" Irma froze all the tea in the room. The room becoming chilly.
"Do not fight." Yan-Lin orders.
"You only have each other and you will need each other to survive."
Wanda rolled her eyes.
"We're so doomed."
This is a line break.
School was strange, considering Wanda was now semi accepted into the group. She had never hung out with this many people at a time.
"So it's class picture day tomorrow. Do you guys get dresses up in like formal clothes here or is it casual clothes? Please tell you guys don't do anything weird like all wear the same shirt or something." Wanda groaned. She hated having her picture taken. Maybe she should just take Martin's advice, just ditch school and send in a picture.
All five of the girls including Elyon laughed and denied at getting dressed up.
Cornelia laughs.
"I don't need to dress up. I always look this good."
Silence meets her statement.
"Wow, you are so humble Corny." Irma rolls her eyes.
"I guess, I'll just wear what I usually wear." Wanda shrugged. Not like she had any leftover money for that kind of stuff anyway. And she didn't want to risk stealing.
"Which is?" Corny raises an eyebrow.
"T-shirt and jeans." Wanda scowls. The girls all stare at her blankly shaking their heads sadly.
Wanda refused to show her embarrassment. These girls had been taken care of their whole lives.
They took things like being able to dress up for granted. Wanda glared at them with resentment.
This is a line break.
"So when do we go? Tonight?" Hay-Lin is walking backwards facing the other girls, so far Wanda was impressed by Hay Lin not hitting a single thing. She got chatty after they dropped Elyon off at her house.
"Yeah, no not tonight. We will be talking to the rebels if we can find them and helping them rescue this Caleb guy. But we know nothing about that place. We need to be careful." Wanda kicks a rock.
"We need more information before we make our move."
"After picture day of course. We can't miss it." Cornelia flips her hair. Wanda snorted, this was the girl who screamed at her for not saving the guy.
"Forget picture day! I don't care about what I look like, I care about who I am. Let's go kick some meridian butt!" Irma punches the air.
"Look! All of you, this isn't a game. These things we will be fighting against aren't going to just go easy on us because we're new to the game. We could end up dead if we're not careful." Wanda warned as she stresses the words careful.
"We need to be careful."
"Don't be such a downer, Wanda. You're taking all the fun out of this." Irma wraps an arm around her.
"Because fighting a bunch of monsters from another world is so much fun. Look I want to go, but I don't know how much help we will be."
Wanda can't seem to help the rest of the girls understand the dangers they're in. If she was going to be responsible for their lives. They needed to listen to her, damn it!
She didn't want the guilt if one of them got themselves killed.
"Let's train again tomorrow. Hey um...Taranee don't you walk this way too?" Wanda asks.
"My dad's cooking tonight, and he's horrible. I'm going to Irma's place. See ya tomorrow Wanda." Taranee waved good bye.
Wanda felt strange.
"Don't be such a baby." She muttered to herself.
"You always walk home alone. This isn't any different. Shake it off Bane."
But Wanda couldn't shake the bad feeling crawling up her spine at going alone.
Her chest tighten at the sight of the four girls chatting as they walked off.
She still wasn't in the group of friends, if it weren't for this whole guardian thing Wanda doubted they would have ever talked with her.
"No big deal, Wanda you've always been alone. Who needs them anyway?" Wanda reassures herself.
She turned away and walked off.
Gripping her backpack in her left hand. She gripped her pocketknife in her pocket with the other, no one messed with a crazy girl with a sharp object. That gave her some confidence as she turned off into the shortcut to her uncle's house.
Wanda walked by the alley.
Something wasn't right.
She backed away from the alley. She was set to chase after the other girls.
"Leaving so soon Guardian?" The hissing voice of the monster snake man rang out.
It's tail wrapped around her neck. Her backpack dropped to the floor.
Wanda couldn't breath.
Her vision was blurring, and everything went dark.
This is a line break.
Wanda had the mother of all headaches. She was being dragged by the snake man. She couldn't help herself she groaned.
"Oh god, what the hell hit me?"
"Silence! Guardian!" Cedric orders.
"Fuck off! Seriously my head, what did you losers do? Stomp on it?" Wanda cradles her pounding head in her hands.
Wanda then looked around at her surroundings.
A creepy goth looking hallway.
The two henchmen were dragging her to two large closed doors. Cedric pushed the doors opened to a throne room. He threw her at the bottom of the tall throne chair.
The blonde man sitting on the throne stared coldly and detachedly down at her.
"So you are the new keeper of the heart of Kandrakar."
Wanda didn't answer, she was to busy trying to find an escape route.
"I assume the old wind hag told you about me?" The man tried again.
"You're the psycho Prince Phobos trying to take over the universe." Wanda deduces.
"Yes I am Prince Phobos." Phobos sneers.
"And you are Wanda Cassia Bane aged 16, you live with your Uncle Jerry. Why the heart chose you is a mystery. A plain looking and weak thing. Just a little girl."
"Okay, that's not creepy at all. Is this how all homicidal princes spend their time? Spying on teenaged girls? What? Can't find anyone around here who wants to put up with you? Must be because of your horrible personality. And your bad taste in clothes." Wanda couldn't stop herself from speaking. Foot meet mouth.
Phobos's green eyes burned.
A hand gripped her throat and lifted Wanda off the ground.
Cedric hissed.
"Show respect to Prince Phobos."
"Why? He's not my royalty. And prissy Prima Donnas don't garner any respect from me." Wanda hissed right back.
Cedric tightens his grip angrily.
Wanda tried to break the choke hold.
But lack oxygen was making it hard to focus.
"Enough. Drop the guardian, Cedric." Phobos orders.
Wanda gasps in pain as she hits the hard stone ground. Vines wrap themselves around her. The rose thorns digging into her skin. Wanda looked up at the man. Fear creeps in, her uncle wouldn't even report her missing for at least a month by that time she could already be dead. Big help, the local police would be, if she disappeared on another planet. But still she had to think of something and think of it fast.
The blonde man on the throne was intimidating, he had an aura of pure hate and sneers for those beneath him.
Looking to be in his early twenties, long light blonde hair, goatee, green eyes, dark robes and a strange looking crown on his head.
"Where is the heart of Kandrakar?" He demanded.
Wanda thought quickly.
"What will you give me for it? This heart is something you want. Which means it has value. If you want the damn thing. You have to make a vow you won't kill me." She bargained. Didn't Yan-Lin say the prince used magic?
"You have to vow with magic, I don't trust you not to break it."
Phobos leaned back on his throne an amused smirk on his face.
"A Vow?" He didn't seem to want to take her deal.
"One time deal, going once, going twice-"
Wanda started to count down. Phobos held up a hand.
"My prince-" Cedric tries to warn him.
"Very well." The greed was plain in his eyes, he wanted the necklace badly. Wanda wonder just how valuable the little thing really was.
He gathered his magic into his hand.
"I swear on my magic I will not kill you."
Power filled the air and filled his words.
Wanda felt the magic prick at her.
She smirked, she couldn't believe he fell for it. This vow was going to come in handy later. At least she was guaranteed to survive by the prince's hands.
"Now where is the heart of Kandrakar?" The Prince held out a hand.
Wanda didn't know why but she answered him honestly.
"In my backpack."
"Backpack?" Phobos frowns and looks at Cedric.
"It's a bag to hold things, my prince." Cedric bows.
Wanda grins as the Prince turns back to her.
"Where is this Back-pack?"
"Most likely back on earth. Your thugs should really be more careful." Wanda smirks at the snake man.
"Didn't even check to see if I had the necklace with me. Don't see why you want it so much. I doubt you'd look great as a flying pixie. Maybe you should reinvest in your henchmen instead, these ones suck. If the back is still there you're welcome to it and anything in it." Wanda's face was lit up with a cheshire cat grin.
Phobos stares at her opened mouthed. Cedric and Vavek looked at her in horror.
"You don't have it?!" Phobos looked ready to rip her head off.
Then he turned to Cedric.
"Is this true?" His voice dangerously soft.
Cedric cowers.
"My prince, I am sorry. Vavek and I will retrieve the back-pack. Right away."
Phobos sighs.
"Do not fail me, go quickly to the portal find the bag with the heart and return."
Cedric and his blue friend left.
Leaving Wanda and the Prince alone.
Wanda hide her smile. With the other two gone, maybe it would be easier to escape.
Wanda charged her fist with energy, cutting thru the plants. Phobos's back was still turned. She punched him hard in the head. Then ran as fast as she could out the door.
She heard the cursing Prince shout in rage. Shit! She had better not get caught. She had a feeling it wouldn't be good for her.
Wanda risked a glance back at the door. He wasn't chasing her. Wanda fell to the ground as she hit a chest.
She looked up.
Phobos look furious with her. He grabbed her by the hair and teleported them both back to his throne room.
He let go and threw her at the ground face first.
Wanda forced herself to keep breathing steadily. Trying to remain calm. Showing fear only ever made it worst.
"Did you really think you could just escape?" Phobos gripped her chin, bruising it.
"It's only a matter of when. I'm not going to just let you keep me here. I don't fall in line for anyone." Wanda snarled at him, twisting out of his grip.
They study each other with calculating eyes.
"You have a great more mastery of your element than the keeper before you." Phobos looked thoughtful.
"Look this is stupid, just let me go. I don't even want to get involved with this whole guardian thing. Saving the universe is not my idea of a good pastime" Wanda tried to reason.
"Trust me I'm not the hero type, I'm a survivor."
Phobos was about to respond.
When the doors reopened.
Cedric and his blue friend slunk back in.
"Did you find it?" Phobos asks impatiently.
"No." Cedric winces.
Phobos snaps his fingers and Cedric is writhing around on the ground thrashing in pain. Wanda flinched at his screams of pain.
"Stop it." Wanda didn't know why she said it. She shouldn't have. Cedric looked super pissed at her outburst. Maybe he didn't want her pity. Phobos so surprised at the outburst does so. He stalks towards Wanda. She straighten her back and glares at him straight in his cold eyes.
The dangerous man towers over her.
"It's just a stupid necklace, it's not worth killing anyone over." Wanda snapped at him.
Phobos, and the other two just gape at her.
"Just a stupid Necklace? Do you really not know of its true value?" Phobos says this slowly like speaking to a dimwitted child.
"Did they not inform you? That you hold one of the most powerful objects in the universe?"
Wanda stares at him blankly. She was genuine in her surprise.
"Umm no, no, they did not. But so what? It turns people into pixie creatures and closes portals, big deal."
"Big deal? Big deal! Cedric take the keeper to the dungeon. Perhaps if we starve her, the heart will come to her aid of its own accord." Phobos is disgusted with her.
Wanda snickered.
"You can't kill me remember." She had on a mocking grin.
Phobos stares at her with the utmost hatred.
"You are the heart of Kandrakar's host. It won't let you die. And I won't be the one who handles your food."
"You speak as if it's alive." Wanda murmurs.
"It is a magical object, of course it's alive. You twit! Really, the oracle is getting lazy if you don't even know this." Phobos glares at her.
"Who is the Oracle?" Wanda glares back at him.
Phobos just makes a disapproving noise. He waves her away. Falling into his chair staring at her with disgusted gaze until she left his sight.
This is a line break.
"You're not really going to throw me into that pit are you? Why not one of those nice empty cells over there?" Wanda didn't fancy breaking a leg or something when she was tossed into the pit. That would put a dent in her escape plan.
The blue guy ignored her as he threw bread into the pit. Plus being chained sucked. Her hands chained behind her back it would be even harder to break her fall. Or get to her pocket knife or her lock picks. Did they have to chain her hands and tie her feet and arms with rope? Didn't that seem over kill?
"You're going down into the pit Guardian." Vavek says loudly.
Before throwing into the dark, dank, hole. She screamed as the wind rushed past her face.
"Don't worry I'll catch you." A voice calls.
Strong arms stop her descent. Wanda opened her eyes. There was the boy.
"You're that rebel leader guy. Hey I have a knife in my back pocket cut me loose." Wanda swallowed.
Caleb reaches into her back pant's pocket and cuts her free from the ropes with the knife.
"My name's Caleb, did they hurt you?" Caleb set her down.
"No nothing I couldn't handle. I've had worse." Wanda rubbed a bleeding thorn prick.
"Snake-face got both of us. Small world." Wanda grumbles.
"Wait you were there? You're a guardian?" Caleb frowns.
"Guilty as charged. So any ideas on getting out of here?" Wanda asks looking up at the top of the pit.
"Climbing maybe?"
"Blunk think pretty girl smell nice." A green small frog thing sniffs her hair. Wanda shrieks and jumps behind Caleb.
"Don't worry it's just a smuggler Passling nothing to worry about." Caleb reassures her.
"The only dangerous thing it can do is kill you with its stench."
"Blunk smell nice, Passlings don't want to smell clean." Blunk shutters at the word clean.
Wanda calms herself.
"Okay, if you're a guardian of the veil, use the heart to get us out of here." Caleb orders.
"Um I don't have it." Wanda looks away at seeing the grimace on Caleb's face.
"How can you not have it?" He yelled.
"I got kidnapped okay, I left it behind back on earth. At least that creeper prince didn't get it." Wanda huffs at him.
He stops and nods.
"Fine, I guess it is better that Phobos not get his hands on it."
"So I'm guessing climbing won't work? What if you put me on your shoulders and that Blunk thing goes on mine. So Blunk the smallest of us can climb up that chain and throw something down for us to climb out." Wanda suggests.
Caleb frowns.
"He's a smuggler he'll leave us for dead."
"Blunk would not do that." The thing seemed hurt at the comment. Wanda patted Blunk's head.
"Okay fine at least if we get him out it'll smell better." Caleb conceded. He pulled out a key and unlocked her shackles from her hands.
"Where did you get that?" Wanda questions.
"Umm... Caleb fumbled for words.
"Found it in bread. Hurt poor Blunk's mouth." Blunk says pitifully.
"The blue guy gave it you? You aren't a spy sent here by Prince crazy are you? Is this a trick?" Wanda narrows her eyes.
"To get me to drop my guard?"
"I would never work for that vile excuse for a prince." Caleb snarled.
"Vavek gave it to me, because he's a spy for the rebels."
"Why didn't he throw rope down too?" Wanda narrows her eyes.
"Because he's smart and it would ruin his cover if he did that."
Caleb bent down to allow Wanda onto his shoulders. Then he stood up, Wanda gripped the indent of the walls to steady herself. Blunk climbed up Caleb then Wanda. She grinned after the sixth time when the smelly little thing finally reached the top of the pit.
"Now, find us something to get us out of here." Caleb yelled up to the thing.
"Blunk will find." It called down to them and it scuttled away.
Wanda and Caleb waited.
Caleb opened his mouth to complain how they never should have sent Blunk up there when a long end of a rope hit him on top of the head.
"Thanks Blunk, I owe you one." Wanda called as she climbed up. Caleb quickly following after.
When they reached the top Wanda and Caleb looked at each other.
"Why are we the only prisoners in here?" Wanda stared at the empty cells and pits. Unless you counted the skeletons, they were the only breathing people in the dungeon.
"This dungeon is for high profile prisoners only." Caleb's eyes searched for a useable exit.
"Phobos sends the rest to the mines or worst. We can't go that way." He pointed to the winding stairs.
"Does this guy have any people who like him?" Wanda asks.
"Just the lurkins, Changlings, the weaponry guild, the bounty hunter guild, the new magic guild, the rich and the royal court."
"So the poor are the only ones fighting against the prince?" Wanda frowns.
"The old healers guild, the merchant guild, the old worshipers of Escalnor, rements of people stuck here when the veil was raised. The old magic guild. Some just support the rebels other actually fight."
Wanda nodded. This was useful information.
"Guards are on watch outside the door." Caleb nodded to the staircase that led out of the dungeon.
The drooling Blunk tugged on Wanda's pants.
"Take Blunk, Blunk know secret way out."
"No way we're not letting this smelly Passling leads us out." Caleb shakes his head.
"Do you have a better idea?" Wanda raises an eyebrow.
Caleb doesn't reply.
"Okay, Blunk lead the way. But there had better not be a giant freakin' spider at the end got it?" Wanda bends to look at Blunk.
Who nods.
"Blunk doesn't like spiders."
Blunk waves them towards the endless tunnels of cells.
This is a line break
"Okay Blunk you are my new favorite person. Seriously." Wanda cheered then stared expectantly at Caleb.
"Okay, okay, thanks for leading us out Blunk." Caleb admitted.
Blunk grinned widely then sniffed the air.
"New portal opened, good business for Blunk." Blunk walked into the swamp.
The two teenagers followed him.
"You can smell portals?" Wanda asks. That was a useful skill. Wanda could use someone to sniff out the portals so she could close them.
"It's how Passlings make a living." Caleb shrugs.
"Hey there's the portal!" Wanda pointed ahead of them.
"Way to go Blunk! Come on I'll close it as soon as I get the heart back."
The three jump into the glowing portal.
They ended up in the old basement of the school.
"Wanda! You're okay! I was so worried!" Hay-Lin tackled Wanda.
The heart of Kandrakar in her hand.
Wanda held out her and and pointed it to the portal closing it.
Wanda then noticed the other three girls.
"Hey it's that boy, you didn't get eaten by the snake guy." Hay-Lin cheered.
"What is that smell?" Cornelia disgusted voice filled the air.
"Oh that's the brave and valiant Blunk who rescued me and the Rebel leader from Prince Prissy's dungeon." Blunk blushed a dark green at Wanda's words of praise.
"What happened?" Taranee asks.
"Yeah how did you guys escape?" Irma added.
Wanda noticed the nice clothes the rest of the girls were wearing.
"Crap, it's picture day and I'm covered in grime. And cuts." Goaned Wanda.
"Who cares about picture day. I want to hear about how you met him." Cornelia smiled coyly at Caleb.
"Fine, fine" Wanda tells them about the crazy adventure.
This is a line break.
Caleb and Wanda repeat the story to Yan-Lin.
"I'm just glad that evil Prince didn't get Wanda." Irma hugged Wanda, she stiffed from the hug.
"I don't think he wanted me, he wanted the heart. He was super pissed when he found out I didn't have it." Wanda frowned. But then she smirked.
"But at least he can't personally kill me now. You should have seen the look on his face when he found I didn't even have the heart. It was priceless."
Yan-Lin nodded.
"You were very clever getting him to agree to a magic vow. He cannot break it unless he wishes to lose his magic. But do not underestimate him. Phobos is always good at feeling loopholes." That put a damper on Wanda's good mood.
"Hey guys look what our initials spell. W.I.T.C.H." Hay-Lin showed them her inked hand. The W was smudged Wanda thought it looked like a C.
"Citch? That sounds like a college frat boy's name. Or an STD. And my name starts with a W genius." Wanda says dryly.
"It's a W." Hay-Lin pouts.
"Hey if we pick any name it should be Team Awesome or the fearsome fivesome,
W.I.T.C.H. is lame." Wanda only received blank looks. Wanda rolled her eyes.
"I like it. W.I.T.C.H." Taranee smiles.
"That should be our super hero team name!" Irma giggled.
"No way!" Cornelia and Wanda say at the same time then glared at each other.
The other girls laugh.
"I think it sounds like a good name." Caleb grins.
"Really? You think so? Then we should totally call ourselves W.I.T.C.H." Cornelia leaned in closer to Caleb.
"Fine, whatever." Wanda's lips twitch up into a smile.
"Lame, The fearsome fivesome would have been so much cooler." She muttered under her breath.