A/N: This is officially the first chapter of the story commissioned by my deviantart friend ASinglePetal ( rollingbell here on FF), featuring her OC Lila and Genie from Disney's Aladdin. I chose the title "Ethereal" for this story, because in a way both of them are ethereal creatures. Lila is a goddess and Genie is a magical creature, whose body could be considered ethereal. This first chapter is an introduction to Lila. I have to say I am a very descriptive writer and I like to elaborate on the characters, so my chapters won't be hasty. , I leave a lot of hints about her backstory but most of it is still a mystery and will remain for a while. I must say I got really into this story. And it ends with a small intro on the next chapter XD. The song Lila is humming is "Scarborough Fair" from Simon & Garfunkel. It's a traditional british song. It comes from Yorkshire, which is much nothern than Berkshire, where Lila lives but she heard it in a fair so it was probably by wandering artists XD. I love this song. Also currently Lila is in the area of Cornwall, southwest England, again far from Reading where she lives. The song that plays as Lila faces the ocean at awe is "Teh Bounldess Ocean" from FF III Ost. Also love it , I hope you like it. Please review ^_^
DISCLAIMER: The Genie and all the other characters from the movie Aladdin belong to Disney. Lila and her grandmother belong to ASinglePetal. The rest of the OCs, I came up with XD.
Cover art by me :D
Ethereal
Chapter 1. A walk by the sea
The white-haired girl was walking down the rocky beach barefoot. This was the first time she had been that close to the sea. She was carrying her shoes with one hand and humming a soft folk tune… She must have picked it up in the Fair, and for some reason it was stuck in her head. She took a deep breath and let the pleasant sea breeze enter her lungs.
"Ahhh this is so nice…" she mumbled and continued to hum that tune… She had been walking for a good 20 minutes at least. She hadn't noticed how time past because this was so pleasing, and she found that when she did things she would enjoy, time really flew.
Were she back in Reading, her parents would make her stay home most of the times or be over cautious over her… She really didn't know what was the matter with that. It wasn't always that way… It had all started when she turned 12. Suddenly she was allowed to socialize a lot less and she could always feel her father's or mother's eyes over her. They were subtle about it but the past few years her parents had grown far too overprotective… In Reading she wouldn't even think to sneak out, although she did enjoy her occasional walks down the Thames the few times that she did sneak out. For some strange reason it was always on full moon nights. It's like she felt a sudden urge to be in an open place whenever the moon was full. Sometimes she even did it self-consciously, without even knowing that there was actually going to be a full moon. There was something magical about the silver moonlight reflecting on the calm waters of Thames. However this… This was magnificent. She had heard of the ocean, seen paintings of it but she couldn't imagine this kind of beauty. It was so captivating she had a strange feeling of pressure in her heart. But it wasn't uncomfortable… It was sweet. She very often found herself admiring and mentally praising the beauty of the world around her. She loved the walks in the woods and the hills and of course the Thames. And now she saw the wonderful sea in its majesty and couldn't help but wonder…
"Is this really a work of some higher entity… And if it is, what kind of incredible mind could have imagined and brought life to such beauty?..." she mumbled again. She rather often found herself expressing her thoughts out loud, even unintentionally and that had gotten her into some trouble but not too much, her parents were really sweet and they never really treated her less than great. The only thing that bugged her was the overprotectiveness and the secrecy… She would not rarely walk in on them talking in whispers or low voices and the conversation would immediately stop once Lila entered the room. She was really intrigued to ask, but she never really did.
"Ahh!" she suddenly exclaimed, immediately snapping out of her thoughts. The sea tide had slightly risen and a small wave had licked her foot. At first she was startled but the feeling of the cold water was quite refreshing actually. So much that she popped a smile. She dipped her toes playfully into the wet sand and waited for another small wave to come and touch her feet. After some minutes she decided to keep walking with her feet inside the water. Luckily the breeze was smooth and there was little to no turbulence in the sea. The waters were greyish as the afternoon sun had almost disappeared behind the huge rocky hills that stood majestically before the coastline. The beach was mostly rock, with irregularly smoothened from the water, boulders of various sizes lying all across the coast, however the ground was covered also by a dark brown thin grain sand. The color of the rocks was also greyish to white, something that made the image even more beautiful. Lila sighed cheerfully. Today's outing was equally or even more pleasing than a full moon night at Thames. Suddenly, her eyes opened wide and a small blush appeared on her face. It was a blush of excitement. Right in front of her, well, a few meters ahead, on a small peninsula entering the sea, stood a beautiful, stone-walled, again grey in color, cylindrical building. It looked actually more conical, with the base being considerably wider than the top, which was almost as narrow as a tip. On the lowest level of the establishment, there was a rather large wooden gate, which was obviously the entrance and right under the tip, was what looked like a chamber or a large room, enclosed by glass windows and surrounded by a small terrace with white railing. Right over that little chamber there was another one, much smaller one and that comprised the tip of the building.
"That must be the lighthouse papa was talking about.." her eyes were sparkling as she uttered those words. Her parents had specifically told her NEVER to go near that lighthouse because it was dangerous. But then again they had said the exact same thing about the beach, but there she was… The house they were staying at, was north up the hill from the cast so she had walked a fair distance to get there after sneaking out. But she didn't mind at all, since the scenery was wonderful and the weather was quite sweet. She looked at the building a little reluctant… But god did she want to see what was inside…
i I'll just take a peek and I'm out…/i
She thought as her feet led the way to the lighthouse. She put on her shoes soon after, as the peninsula was steep and the rocks were kind of edgy and she didn't want to injure her feet or her mom would definitely tell she had been out. She climbed up and reached the wooden gate. It wasn't locked , but it was sealed with a big wooden board that she'd have to remove if she wanted to get in…
"Well… I did come all the way here" she self-spoke determined and decided to go for it. It proved much easier than she had thought, as the board only looked heavy. She didn't succeed with the first try, but she did remove it. A small opening cracked and after a slight pull she opened the big gate. To her surprise, there was no entrance hall. Behind the door there was the beginning of an escalator, she guessed lead to the room on the top of the building. The light was quite dim, as the torches on the side walls of the escalators were not lit. However she could see the steps as there was still light outside… And she'd have to be quick because there wouldn't be for much longer. She ascended the spiral staircase pretty fast, holding her light blue dress not only out of fear that she'd step on it but also because she didn't want it to get dirty. It was a little humid by the sea of course but she figured it would dry out on the way back.
Reaching the top she realized that there was no other door and the stairs led directly to the chamber. She entered it and her face lit up pink again her eyes sparkling, open wide.
"This is amazing…" she uttered in awe. In front of her lay the boundless ocean. The sea extended as far as her eyes could see and that's where it joined with the grrey-blue sky. This was a sight for sore eyes. She had seen the sea from up the hills, but the image was somewhat 'distorted' from the mountains and the hills. However in that room, on that peninsula that extended several meters into the sea, wherever she looked around she would see just the ocean and the sky. She admired the wonder of creation once more, bringing in her mind the creator… He or she must have been indeed one gifted being.
She was trying to fight the urge to go in the terrace as that, she knew very well, was indeed dangerous. However she wanted to so much. When finally she lost to her curiosity and started walking to the balcony door suddenly she heard a loud banging noise, which was probably the entrance door, and a very strict voice from all the way down the stairs.
"Who's there?!" it was a male voice. Sounded rather old. Lila panicked. She didn't get that a lot, she was pretty clam most of the time but this time she was probably bending more rules than the ones her parents had set. She wasn't supposed to be in that lighthouse. She looked around… there was nothing in that room but a table with some strange tools in It and a cupboard. She opened is foolishly in her panic although she would never fit in there no matter how tiny she was. Tools again. She looked outside… She was even more visible there…
i Ughh…What am I going to do?.../i
She thought as she heard the steps of that man get dangerously closer. Suddenly she remembered. There was another chamber visible from afar.. She looked up. She was right… There was a small hatch door on the ceiling. She looked around calmer and more carefully now. A small ladder of 5 stairs was lying on the floor on the other side of the room. Lila smiled and rushed to it. She supported it under the hatch, climbed on it and opened the hatch. Without thinking much she jumped in that room and closed the hatch. And just in time. The man with the strict voice entered the room and looked around. She could not see him but she could hear his steps.
"Someone's been 'ere…" he said in a strange accent. "Where are you? Show yourself trespasser…" his voice sounded threatening now… Lila was starting to fear…
i Oh no…/i
She looked around. The only thing in the room was a huge type of vessel, that looked like a giant pan or plate… Next to it there was a strange mechanism with several gears and levers… There was nowhere to hide in there. She heard the man talking to himself..
"Meh, there's no time for playin' around… Those southeast reefs are a death trap to sailors… I better get into it…" and then she heard the terrifying sound of the ladder being climbed. Without much thought she climbed behind the mechanism. She was less than hidden but what else could she do?
The hatch door opened and a very ugly old man entered. He was wearing a ragged brown cape and a strange looking cap that covered almost all of his hair. On his hands he had a big lit glass lamp. It wasn't really dark yet but the afternoon light had started fading and becoming dimmer.
i Maybe he won't see me../i
Lila thought. But unfortunately the first thing the man did was turn his attention to the mechanism.. Apparently, it was important. His eyes narrowed and he lifted his lamp as he approached. He spotted her and his face was distorted, well, more than it already was at least. The way the lamp lit it also made it look terrifying. Lila felt chills down her spines.
"Whad'ya doin' here you little brat?" he hissed.
In all her panic, Lila jolted from her position and tried to jump away. However in her effort she tripped and fell over the mechanism, which was detached from the floor and practically crumbled to pieces.
"Ah! Oh no…" she turned to apologize but the man's expression was so scary, she preferred to get up and run for it. She managed to get past him and rushed down the ladder but at the last trip her dress got caught, she tripped and fell on the floor.
"Ouch!" she exclaimed.
"Come he' you little runt.." the old man hissed again having made his way down as well. Lila crawled as far as she could, getting her precious dress all muddy, until she hit a glass window… The man was now walking towards her in a very threatening way Lila crawled herself to a lifting position hugging her knees and burying her head between them and waited for the worst.
"Now I'll teach you not to sneak in where you don't belong…" he said in a way that made her skin crawl. She didn't turn to look at him. She stayed in her fetal siting position. She felt so scared… She felt her whole body shivering… But there was also another feeling… As if something was moving inside her body, all around… It felt… less like matter and more like…energy… She thought it was probably the fear. However, what she couldn't see, was that her body was emitting a strange white glow..
"What tha…" the man said stopping in his tracks.
"GET AWAY FROM HER" she heard a familiar form yell. She lifted her eyes and saw her father, standing at the door with all his might giving the old man an icy glare.
"PAPA!" she exclaimed and run to him. The white glow was gone now… It was very brief but it was there. Lila's father wrapped her arms around her and stroke her white-blue hair.
"Shh… It's ok… You're safe now" he said as he felt his daughter shaking. He wouldn't scold her now… But when she relaxed… She would definitely hear it.
"Ya daughter broke the lighting mechanism… Ya know what that means?" the old man said bitterly.
"We'll fix it tomorrow. I will. I am a mechanic. I will pay the expenses as well" he said calmly.
"Now I have to take my daughter home. Excuse us" he said and turned away, still supporting Lila in his hug.
"Well.. We betta wish no sailor finds himself in the open waters of the Lizard Peninsula…" the old man mumbled looking to the horizon, as Lila's and her papa's steps faded down the stairs.
…
Somewhere in the open Ocean, just South of the Lizard Peninsula, a pirate ship, coming from the Far East, had drifted in the British waters…