Thankyou for all the reviews! I'm glad that some people are happy with what I have written! Hopefully you'll like this one too! If you wanna give me some heads up, just tell me and I'll be grateful for it :D When I wrote this I had a name switch, so if you see the names Erin, Molly and Kiely, they're the old names. Sorry!
Chapter Two
Castle on a Cloud
"Oh my days," Panted Raven "How many flipping stairs are there to this dammed castle?" She sat down on the step, as to which I followed. Jasmine however collapsed, lying flat on the stone stairs.
"Imagine if you had to climb the tower to this dammed cloud." I breathed heavily. There were two ways to reach this castle, teleportation and the tall tower with 1000 steps. Someone must have teleported us all here, and that person must have mighty powers to haul about forty girls up here.
"Let's just take a breather until we're ready to tackle the last of the stairs." Jasmine said.
"Jasmine, you're the one who has taken all the spots clubs at lunch, why are you so tried?" I laughed.
"Climbing stairs was not part of the exercise." We all laughed, but we really needed to carry on. I got back up, and pulled Jasmine up too. Raven pulled herself up, legs trembling.
"You know, I bet you the man of this castle is watching us right now." I said. I took another step.
"How'd you know?" Raven asked. One more step.
"Because," Another step. "I suspect this is some kind of test. I mean," another step. "Why else would someone bring us to this place without a purpose?" another step. "And in a test, there's always," another step. "The examiner." I explained, and finally, we reached the top. "And welcome to the examiner's house." The castle was huge upfront, and it looked like it was touching the sun itself. An open gate lay ahead, with two masts with eyes on it.
"Well this 'examiner' has a thing for eyes." Jasmine said, looking at one of the masts.
"And I have no idea which form the 'examiner' will take. Hopefully a humanoid one." Raven looked at me is angst.
"So he's got more than one form? What," she started laughing, "Is he like a huge eyeball?" Jasmine laughed too.
"Yes." I said plainly. Their smiles fell from their faces, and they looked back at the castle. I walked through the gates and up to the massive wooden doors. Jasmine tried pushing on her own, but it wouldn't budge. "Ok, I need your help guys." She said. At that we all pushed on the door, but it Still stayed motionless.
"Well what now? It obviously won't move." Jasmine despaired.
"There must be a spell on it! Now how do we-" Raven was then cut off short when I opened the door.
"It's pull, not push."
"Aaaah." Jasmine and Raven said in harmony. I looked through, and saw a huge entrance hall.
Inside everything was its own unique shade of purple, from the wooden floors and the chandelier, to the velvet sofas and the giant staircase. A blood red rug streamed through the left and right hallways, and up the stairs. The stairs were worn down, turned light pink buy the many years.
"Whoa, talk about spooky house." I took a step inside, floorboards creaking. With every step the plush carpet softened our footsteps, but was replaced with the wind channelling through the stone walls. Soon all of us were in the middle of the entrance hall, and I shivered from both the creeps and the chill gust. Suddenly a wind howled from ahead and slammed the door shut, making us all jump.
"Haunted too." Raven gulped.
"Not haunted, evil." I said. I looked left, where light was pouring through the many doors in the hallway, and then right, where a hallway was swallowed up by the dark. I looked at the staircase, and started walking towards it.
"Violet, I think we should go left." Raven said. "Its clear civilisation is that way." She then started walking left.
"No right, into the darkness where more secrets lie." Jasmine argued, and then started walking right.
"Stop, you're both being asshats. Jasmine, that's a terrible idea, monsters will be lurking there. And Raven, I highly doubt that fires in those rooms are being maintained by a human. Also" I then pointed to the rug, "These stairs are worn down after many years of use. This means that the person living here has gone up and down these steps many times a day, and therefore would not make it more difficult for himself by putting a trap here. So, the way is up." I concluded, and took the first step on the stairs.
I turned around and saw that the others had already gone down their chosen path. I face palmed myself, for their sheer stupidity.
"Idiots." I muttered, and started walking up the stairs again. In just seven steps, both Jasmine and Raven came back screaming.
"I TOLD YOU!" I shouted back, and to my horror I saw that Jasmine had brought about ten goblins with her, and Raven had brought a small dragon. "You dingbats! Right, you two take care of the goblins, I've got the dragon!"
"Ok!" they shouted back nervously as the goblins encircled them. At least they were easy to beat.
I turned to the dragon, and panicked when I saw that it was making for Jasmine and Raven. I looked for anything to distract it – suddenly my eyes fell on a purple vase, sitting in the corner. I jumped over the banister and grabbed it. It was light, and it would certainly get the dragon's attention.
"Sorry for breaking your pot!" I shouted to the owner of the house, and then threw it at the dragon's head. It flew through the air, and smashed on the horns on its head. Its fiery yellow eyes flicked over to me, and I unsheathed my sword. "Let's dance."
I ran up the stairs, and looked over my shoulder to see the dragon flapping its small wings to catch up with me. Just what I wanted, it would give me a better attack stance with it in flight.
I stopped running when I got to the second floor, and was nearly deafened by the scream of the dragon. It turned to me, but didn't leave the air. I held up my shield when it drew back its head and started breathing fire at me, closing my eyes and hoping for the best. The wooden shield easily caught on fire, and I dropped it as I felt the searing pain of the fire's heat on my skin. I looked back at the dragon, which was about to breath fire again. I had to act now.
I ran up to the banister, and jumped onto the dragon, sword in hand. I pierced it right in the neck, and as the dragon fell screaming a piercing wail, I fell with it. It landed with a heavy thud, but the body protected me from the impact. I stood up on the dragon's chest, and looked over to Jasmine and Raven.
They were still fighting the goblins, but there was only one left. I saw that Raven had a bruise on her cheek and Jasmine had a rip all down her sleeve. Finally, they both stabbed it in union, and it exploded in a puffy purple cloud.
"Like I said," They turned to me, tired. "The way is up." They looked to the staircase, and nodded. I turned, and once again started climbing the stairs.
"Violet, have you any idea where we're going?" Jasmine, asked, tired. We had been trudging through the castle for at least an hour now, but I had a sense that we had to keep going up.
"No, but I know we have to go up." I said. I found another staircase going up, and took it.
"No? So we're just relying on a hunch?" She protested.
"And what happened the last time you didn't follow me, hmm?" I stopped and looked at her. At that she looked down, and I carried on going.
"I know a perfect song for this place. Do you wanna hear?" I asked.
"Anything to fill in the silence. " Raven said, who was holding her arms and looking round the place with eyes as wide a saucers.
"Right, it's my own twist of the song, Castle on a Cloud." I cleared my throat before continuing, but kept on walking.
"There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in his castle on a cloud.
There is a room that's full of knights,
They work hard all day and train all night,
Sometimes there are cries of pain,
In his castle on a cloud.
There is a man all in purple,
Controls the winds in the sky,
He's nice to see but he's cold inside,
He says: "Nice try, you have nowhere to hide."
There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in his castle on a cloud."
After I stopped singing, there was an eerie silence. We had left the stairs behind and now were walking down a dark hallway. Jasmine and Raven were walking behind me, saying nothing. The only sound that I heard was the thud of our footsteps on the wooden floor. I looked out of the stained glass windows as I went. They each told a hidden story, about light and dark fighting an immense battle, or something more humble like one giving a great gift to another to save the world. But each shone dark, like they were shunned and unloved.
Suddenly up ahead, in the semi-darkness, I saw a lonesome figure. It was clearly a boy, but any other detail was lost in the darkness. The hairs rose on my neck, but I forced my fear down. I stopped walking, and the others nearly bumped into me.
"Who's there?" The figure looked at me, red eyes flashing. It so reminded of the creatures I would imagine lurking under my bed. Suddenly it ran off, to the right. "Wait!" Jasmine called after me as I ran off after it. I was the fastest runner, Jasmine coming close. We pounded round the corner, finally trailing a lead to whoever owned the castle, and maybe, the answers to why we were here.
I saw a huge door with an eye at the other end of this new hallway close shut, and I ran for it. "He went in there!" I looked at the others, and laughed when Jasmine overtook me. She grinned, and gave a new burst of energy. I guess I shouldn't say anymore that I'm the fastest.
However Jasmine underestimated her speed and couldn't stop in time, and consequently slammed right into the eyeball door. It bent under the impact, and she literally crumbled to the floor.
"Ooww…" She sat up and put a hand to her head, clearly in pain. I and Raven however were laughing our heads off.
"OH MY GLOB JAZZ! AH HA HA HA!" Raven shouted through her laughing fit. We were all now on the floor, rolling in laughter. I had to say, seeing her slam into the door was a classic comedy trick. After about a minute of my sides hurting, I finally got up, ready to move on. A big smile was still on my face and I picked the others up.
"You ready to see what's on the other side of this door?" I asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be." Raven sighed, looking at the door with dread. The double door was purple with a golden eye engraved in it. The iris was blood red, in contrast with everything else.
"My head still hurts…" groaned Jasmine.
"I wonder why that is." Raven remarked. I looked at the handles and placed my hands on both, and pushed.
The doors creaked open, and I gasped at the room that lay ahead. A cold gust came through, and I shivered slightly, goosebumps rising on my arms.
The six walls were made entirely out of glass, and all met up to one point. Clouds raged outside, yet the room was silent. The floor was covered in blood, and monsters that you would only see in stories lay littered on the floor, dead. But who was in the chamber really made me freeze, the one with blood on his hands.
At the end of the room, lay a golden throne, and on that throne sat – rather casually, his legs were resting on the right arm and he leaned on one elbow – a strange man to the eyes. His hair was pale lilac, his skin even paler. Elf ears poked out of his head, but his red eyes were more distracting. His cheeks were tattooed with small T's, and on his head he wore a sock hat, with a golden lining, and a stunning red jewel embedded right above the forehead.
Under his dark purple cloak he wore a purple tunic, brought closer to his body with a golden belt. Bright red half-length leggings stood out of the purple theme, and knee length red sandals completed the whole outfit. He was, of course, Vaati the Wind Sorcerer. The one who was sealed away by the hero in green. "Wow." Raven whispered, still looking round the room. My eyes were glued on the man opposite me, the one who dominated the whole room. I noticed that bat-like demonic eyes flew about him, minion-like things. He was inspecting his nails, both impatient and determined to get the blood under his nails off.
The man sighed. "It took you long enough for you to get here. I am not a man to be kept waiting." His voice was menacing but that did not put me off, despite the clear fact that he killed all these creatures.
"You didn't exactly leave a map." I said back, my voice echoing throughout the room. He looked over to me and my friends, as if only just realising I had a voice. A smile crept on his face, and I could just see the cunning flash of his eyes.
"No matter, I was intrigued anyway by your knowledge and you bravery. Out of all the girls I brought here, you were the only one who really knew what was going on! Even your friends couldn't find the dark mirror on their own." He must be referring to the mirror outside, the one which lifted the spell of the fog. "So you brought us here? Tell me, why would you need about fifty useless girls? Can't you use your own minions for whatever your purpose is?" I took a few steps forwards, blood rippling with my steps.
"Ah, all in good time. But the reason why I can't use my minions is because, to be straight, they're not what I am looking for and stupid. You girls however, are intelligent, courageous, and independent, even from an early age." He got up from his throne, and I couldn't say he was the tallest of all the people I have seen.
"I'm flattered. Any more compliments and I would think you're the good guy. Oh but how rude of me, I haven't introduced myself and my friends!" I now wore a smile, but this new feeling of mine was… different. My blood was pumping, my head racing, and I felt like a frisky horse ready to race.
I turned to Jasmine, and nudged her forwards, who stumbled over what looked like an arm on the floor. "This is Jasmine," She looked up briefly and then back down to the floor. I then turned to Raven and nudged her forwards. "And this is Raven." At least she held his stare.
"My name is Violet." I looked back at him, but I sensed he already knew our names. He stood up, and gave a small bow.
"I am the wind sorcerer, Vaati." I gave a curtsey back in respect. I mean, get on the wrong side of this guy and you'd wish you never did a single thing wrong in your life.
"I almost forgot, I need to introduce my loyal servant, the one who helped you finish your quest here." He then pointed to the right corner behind us, and I turned to that direction. In the corner stood the boy, but now I could see him in light.
The first word that came to mind was black. He had black scruffy hair under his black sock hat, a black tunic and one small black hoop earring on his elf-like ears. Under the tunic he had white leggings and a long white undershirt, brown boots and a brown belt. He carried a sword and shield on his back, and his red eyes shone with the charisma of a fire.
"Meet Shadow Link. You were taking far too long to get here, so I sent him to speed things up."
"Hi." I waved at him. He looked at me with plain eyes, and then turned away as if I wasn't worth the time.
"Touchy. So what now? We're here, and we have no idea why." something flashed in his eyes, but it was too quick to catch.
"Shadow, guard the door outside." He did as he was told, without a word. I wondered what Shadow's voice is like. I turned back to Vaati, who was walking back to his throne. "You three can sit on the steps, it will make your wait a little more comfy." I started walking towards the step, when suddenly Raven grabbed my arm she shook her head, but really we had no choice. Quite frankly I forgot that they were both there for just a second.
I tugged the others along and walked over to the steps up to the throne. I sat on the top step about a metre away from him. The others sat on the second, clearly uncomfortable. Suddenly a thought occurred to me.
"How old are you?" I looked at him. You couldn't really tell what age he was.
"About a millennia. I was sealed away once so those years added to my age. But really I'm eighteen." I looked around, and one of the demon bats slowly flew over to me and landed on my lap. It looked quite cute really, if you ask me. With the huge puppy dog eye and the small wings, I couldn't help but stroke it.
"I'm fifteen." There was an awkward silence, and I looked over to Jasmine and Raven. They were hugging each other, as if to keep warm. I poked raven with my foot. "Are you guys cold?"
"F-f-f-reezing." Jasmine said through chattering teeth. I couldn't feel the cold that much.
"You only feel the cold if you have a pure heart. Those with tainted ones don't. I made it a side effect to see who is good and evil for when all the potential girls come in here."
"I'm not evil!" I turned around in shock.
"Are you sure about that? You haven't got a single dark thought in your mind? You have never sworn or lied?" He asked, and eyebrow raised. Well, I have sworn and lied. And had numerous dark thoughts.
"Well I haven't done anything evil." I grudged, and leant on my arm.
"But there is no difference between thinking evil and doing evil. I however have done both." He said casually, and now he too was stroking a bat demon.
"I'm sure you have." I thought back to the legends he was in, and remembered that he turned a whole city of Hyrule into stone. Well at least he didn't slaughter the whole city.
"You don't fear me." Vaati said randomly. I looked up in surprise, yet I could see why he stated it.
"No, I don't." I agreed. Fascination came over him more than surprise.
"That's a very foolish mistake." It was almost like he was warning me.
"I may be a jester but I am no fool." I replied.
He laughed. I had to admit that those words were a lot more mature than I usually intend.
"Come sit by me, Violet." He gestured to sit by his feet. What? I Thought. Why should I do that?
"That's a very odd thing to do." I replied, unsure.
"It will make your stay more comfy. And it's rude to turn down your host's offer." He smiled, and I guessed I had no choice.
"Fine." I then stood up and walked over. I then sat at his feet, leaning against the small of the throne.
"Well this isn't awkward at all." I said sarcastically. Suddenly Vaati clicked his fingers, and a mirror appeared in front of us in a cloud of purple smoke, very much like the dark mirror outside.
"This lets me see what's going on outside the castle." So that's how he watched us.
I looked over to Jasmine and Raven, and saw that they were frozen solid in ice. I panicked, but I knew that I couldn't save them.
I looked back to the mirror, and saw that the glass was blurring, and then formed a picture of the grounds outside. I saw in horror that some girls were lying on the ground, dead. I noticed Alex was among the unlucky few. Only one girl was left and was fighting three darknuts. I turned away as she was caught on the edge of her opponent's blade.
The mirror blurred, and now showed the other dark mirror. At least 16 girls were around it, wondering what to do. One was leaning against it, but because her skin couldn't touch it the spell of the fog wasn't lifted.
I rested my head on the throne, tried form the fighting and walking around.
Again the picture blurred, and now was cut into different pictures, all following a different group of girls wandering about the castle. Some were fighting, others holding a wounded ally, and I tried to avoid the picture where they a group lay dead.
I closed my eyes, blotting out all the pictures, my frozen friends, and the cute demons. I let sleep take a hold of me, like a mother holding her child.
Is it wise to fall asleep next to Vaati? Why didn't she freeze? What will she do? Why is she there? READ TO FIND OUT! WARNING: there will be more singing and it may be cheesy!