I was playing guitar really well but lost my confidence in the middle of the song when I looked up and saw the whole crowd staring at me.
Evil eyes glared at me from the audience and all I could see besides the piercing ice blue eyes was straight blonde hair that looked like a ray of sunlight. The eyes of the predator were mocking and what looked like demons behind the assumed girl looked like they were fighting back hysterics. Even though it was dark where this she-devil was I could sense that she was smiling in some unknown satisfaction.
A shadow was forming next to me and I could see it was Spyro and he was beginning to disappear.
"What's happening?" I asked him in a panicked rush.
"I'm disappearing because you lost confidence in me. When you saw the crowd you panicked. DO NOT listen to the demons! Remember who you are…" He explained to me in a rushed voice that had me focusing hard to make out what he was saying.
"No you can't be disappearing, I need you!" I told him, my voice cracking on letters while sobbing.
"I'm sorry…" was the last thing he told me before disappearing completely.
"NO!!" I screeched to the air.
"No!" I woke up to my friends sitting near me on the recliners in the living room. They were both looking at me perplexed.
"Are you alright Aqua?!" Amber asked me in a scared tone.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Carly asked next. I nodded.
"What was it about?" Amber pushed.
"You know…" I tried to think about a common dream I'd had before. "Just the one where I'm being chased by a dog and it-it bites me." I shuddered for effect.
"Oh yeah I've had that one before." Amber agreed while nodding in understanding.
"Same here," Carly added in.
"You guys ready to go? My dad's having a few work buddies come over this morning for the football game he recorded last night. You guys can stay if you'd like to hear them blab on and on about the different players." We laughed while getting packed and ready to go to answer Carly's question.
Once we were all packed we headed out to Carly's car and put our instruments in the back and got settled into the car. I sat in the back this time since Amber sat in the back last time. Amber and I offered to drive but she insisted on wanting to drive her own car. My dad would have corrected me on calling this van a 'car' but personally I didn't see the difference. Anything with four wheels and that runs on gas is a car to me. When Carly got on the highway she decided it was time to have a conversation. This is never unusual of Carly because she has always been the I-need-to-talk-all-the-time kind of person.
"When you guys get home do you want to ask your parents about going to the mall this afternoon? I'll call Dana when I get back home and see if she's free."
"Sure," Amber said immediately. "I'm desperately in need of new clothes." She explained.
"Okay, what about you Aqua?" Carly asked.
I was about to say yes when I remembered the spirit that would be at my house, Spyro. I really wanted to go with my friends but I needed to think about priorities and figure out this whole spirit deal.
"No, I can't. Sorry guys." I answered on the spot.
"Why?" Carly wondered perplexed.
"I'm going with my family to…Chuck E. Cheese's. You know my little sister was saying she wanted to go there a few days ago. I told my parents I would take her to the games and stuff." I responded hoping my hesitation in the beginning wouldn't be questioned.
"Skyler really said that?" Carly asked with suspicion rising in her voice. Of course she would notice. She had censors that could detect hesitating.
"Yes."
"Are you meeting a boy?"
"No!" I told her heatedly.
"You sure?" she asked in the most annoying voice.
"Yes!" I said through gritted teeth.
"Positive?" She asked once more and she finally hit a nerve.
"Yes Carly just shut up! Do you know how annoying you are sometimes? I am really going to Chuck E. Cheese's so end of story. Just leave me alone and shut up!" I immediately covered my mouth when I saw her face.
"Sorry…" She said barely audible. Carly only looked at the road now. Amber slinked lower in her seat avoiding eye contact with us.
I let out a long exasperated sigh. Why did I say that? I felt stupid for letting Carly's continuous questioning get to me. I was about to say something when I thought better of it. Now would not be a great time for me to talk.
I decided to scan outside to see where we were. We were already on my block and to the point where I could see my silver car through the morning fog. Fog was pretty usual in San Diego in the winter so I always expected to see it during the cold times of the year.
Carly pulled over on the curb and waited for me to get out and get my guitar. I got out and opened the lever to the trunk and grabbed my guitar. Amber was walking toward me while I just stared at her perplexed.
"You should say you're sorry." Amber told me while looking at the ground.
"Why? Carly's the one-"
"She should apologize too." Amber cut me off now looking into my eyes with fire burning in hers. Basically if her eyes could burn I would be ashes.
"I really don't think you should have responded to her like that and I know you know better than that. However she is also somewhat in the wrong but you knew she was only teasing you. You took it to great offense and let her get to you." Tears began to well up in my eyes. Tears always came out when someone pointed out that I was in the wrong. "You need to work on your temper and learn to get a grip." She said with more force in her voice. "Okay?" I nodded in response and turned immediately to avoid her seeing the tears.
I walked to my front door in a rush as if I was frightened of something. The pain began to wash over me and the storm of tears began to fall. When I made it to my front door even though I couldn't see either of them I knew they were both staring at me. I turned the door knob and walked inside. I wiped away the tears and changed my mood when I heard footsteps in the hallway. It was too dark in this part of the house so my family wouldn't even notice my red eyes.
"Hi sweetie," My mom, Angelina, greeted me giving me a hug as I closed the door. I noticed she was wearing an apron over her slim tan body. Her eyes were a glowing hazel and her hair bounced down her back in thick even brown curls. I then remembered she was making a few cakes for up coming weddings and birthdays. That was her job; she made and decorated cakes. She smiled at me as I rubbed some flour off her face.
"Having a good time mom?" I desperately wanted to go to my room but didn't want her to become suspicious.
"Yeah…let's see I made three cakes and I need to make one more and take them to the shop."
"That's great mom but why did you make them here?"
"I made them here because I'm still waiting for the order of ingredients to come at my shop. They're supposed to come this Tuesday. Well I better get back to work. Oh hey, how was your concert?"
"Up in flames," I told her as if this was the usual news.
"I'm sorry honey but I know you'll be able to do it next time for sure." She told me squeezing me tighter before disappearing into the kitchen.
"Sissy you're back!" My little sister, Skyler screeched and ran down the stairs to hug my leg. Her skin was a simple tan and her hazel eyes were hypnotizing. Her black hair was going down her back in luscious curls.
"Hey Sky," I greeted her giving her a small hug. "Are you going to watch Dora the Explorer?" I asked her in a childlike voice kneeling down to her eye level.
"Yeah!" she responded and ran to the living room to search for the remote. I smiled at this.
I walked into the study and my dad, David, was working on a laptop that looked like milk had spilled on top of it. He looked intent on his work since his square glasses were sliding down his face. His jet black hair was sticky with sweat and his flushed tan skin had sweat drops mostly on his face. His eyes were a bloodshot brown as he continued working on the computer. His job was to fix electronics. He loved tinkering with anything that's powered by electricity or energy. He had many electronics stacked up on the shelf near where he was sitting. He noticed my presence and looked up from his work.
"Hey Aqua," he greeted with a smile. "How was the concert?" He asked while fiddling with the computer.
"We failed…again." I told him.
"I'm sorry that's too bad but I don't think you failed. You can always get back up and try again." He comforted.
"True." I walked over to him since he gestured for a hug.
"Well I'm going up to my room."
"Alright," He said still smiling and going back to his work as I passed the study and walked up the stairs in a rush.
I opened the door to my room to find the spirit, Spyro, on my computer. He was grinning at the screen. I would have screamed if my family wasn't here.
"What are you doing? That's an invasion of privacy!" I screeched under my breath as I closed the door and nudged him hard.
He looked up at me still smiling. What I wouldn't give to wipe that smirk off his face.
"I figured since you and I don't know each other too well that I could find out some things about you. I was also bored and when I noticed your computer I decided to learn a few things about you." He told me still grinning.
"Ugh! I don't even care. Do what you want!" I told him as I dropped my guitar and fell on my bed with my hands over my eyes. I could feel the tears coming. I sat up and the crying began. I always cried when I got stressed or upset.
"Please don't cry! I really can't deal with that right now." He told me looking completely hopeless. He sat down next to me with deep concern filling his eyes.
"No…it's not just you…" I sobbed.
"It's not just me?" I shook my head.
"It's just friend problems. Don't worry about it." I told him.
"I'm not that great at comforting…humans or anything for that matter so maybe I'm not the best person to um…go to."
I only stared at him my face still red from tears.
"Why would you need to comfort me? More importantly why do you care? I barely know you." I asked him honestly curious.
"Because you're sad and you should help someone when they feel down. I just wanted to help you. I'm awful at it because I'm usually always alone most of the time so I have no one to practice on but myself."
"Sorry…" I told him feeling bad that I had said anything.
"For what?" He asked honestly perplexed.
"You said you're usually always alone." I told him.
He shook his head. "But that isn't your fault. I'm alone because I choose to be."
I was confused. Why would someone want to be alone? He could tell I was still pondering this so he must have decided it was time for a subject change.
"I guess I have some explaining to do." I nodded.
"Yeah, explanations would be nice." I said sarcastically.
"Ask away and I'll try to answer the questions as best I can." He told me.
I tried to think of where to start. "So…where are you from?"
"I'm from the land or dimension if you will of Aiden. It's a magical world where creatures such as those in your mythology exist."
"You mean like unicorns, mermaids, wizards, witches-"
"Yes like those and more." He told me cutting me off. "I'll take you some time when it's safer. You see we are in a war right now."
"A war?" I asked.
"Yes, but it's so ridiculous. We are fighting against ourselves." I raised an eyebrow. "Everyone is starting to lose faith in each other and think everybody's against them. Our true enemies lie in the darker lands of Aiden."
"Wow."
He nodded.
"Um…is Spyro your real name and do you have a full name?"
"Spyro is my real and I do not know my full name."
I tried to think of how to word the next question.
"When you said um…take form of things…what did you mean?"
"I think of what I want to change into and automatically transform into it. This human form I'm in right now is my permanent human form. Every time I think of turning into a human I will turn into this form."
"Are all of your forms you take permanent after turning into them the first time?"
"Yes, like the Chihuahua I took form of. So every time I think of turning into a dog I'll turn into that type of dog with the same details."
"That's so cool."
"Not really. It's pretty common in Aiden."
"But I don't live in Aiden so to me it's pretty cool."
"You mean your world doesn't have anything like that?" He asked.
"Not that I know of…" There was a pause of silence until I realized something. "Wait a minute. How long have you been in 'my world'?" I asked raising my fingers to show the quotation signs.
"A little less than a week…" He told me trailing off.
I let that sink in. "Why are you here?" I asked him turning my head back towards him in interest.
"I'm here so I can fulfill the mission the Courtroom of Silence sent me on. If I fulfill it then I get to be their Master and Aiden's Master. My mission is to help a human such as yourself fulfill a major hardship in your life. The reason it is so difficult is because human's minds all work differently and it is extremely hard to change the way their mind works. Once I do that I will return to Aiden and become the land's Master." Once he finished he brushed a midnight lock from his left eye.
I let that sink in first and then wondered something. "What is the Courtroom of Silence?"
"They are the peace keepers of my world. They are in charge of everything magic has to offer. I am not very fond of them though."
"Why not?" I asked wondering what could possibly be wrong with peace makers.
"They keep order in a torturous way…" He looked down while saying this obviously not wanting to go on.
"You don't have to continue if it's too hard for you." I told him hating to see his angelic face in pain.
"Thank you." He told me truly relieved. "I'll tell you another time when the atmosphere isn't so bad in Aiden."
I nodded. I looked down at the floor as Spyro continued to stare at me.
"Why me?" I asked breaking the comfortable silence.
"I got to pick which human I could use to complete this task. That's why I was looking park. You looked in depth with your thoughts. I could tell you really thought about things. I wanted so badly to talk to you but I had to wait for the right moment." He looked like he was in pain. He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand. I would have put any cherry to shame. "So beautiful…" I was taken aback by this. I didn't know what to say to that. I pulled away. His hand dropped and his eyes were filled with ancient shame.
"Forgive me…I didn't mean to startle you." He told me cautiously as if one wrong word could break me.
"It's okay." I told him too quickly.
He leaned back and I could tell he wanted to say something. "I'm sorry about going on your computer and looking at all your information. That wasn't right of me and I should have at the very least asked you first. Do you forgive me?"
I put on a sad face. "I don't know…" I waited for a moment for my little act to sink in. His face was downcast when he heard my response. I almost felt bad about teasing him. Almost. He looked at me finally meeting my gaze. I smirked.
"I'm kidding, I forgive you!" I told him laughing. His face turned from a grimace to a smirk.
"You are diabolical." He told me smiling.
"I've learned a few things," I told him.
"So…when and how are you going to help me?" I asked curiously.
"Whenever your next concert is and the same way you felt that impulse go through you. I'll take control of that part of your body." He answered easily.
"Take control?" I questioned nervously.
"It's just going to feel like the last time when that dark impulse went through you." He comforted while stroking a lock of my hair and pulling it behind my ear. I blushed furiously while he only smiled.
"Okay…but what do we do until then?" I asked.
"I'll be attending your school to keep a close eye on you to make sure you're safe." He told me gently as if this was normal talk.
"Why would you need to make sure I'm safe? What are you protecting me from?" I asked. What would I need protection from? Are there actually enemies in his land like he said?
His voice then abruptly turned dark. "There are forces in my world that want to destroy the good in them. They want all the power and authority they will most likely gain from doing something so difficult. The Courtroom of Silence is not a joke, Aqua. The Courtroom of Silence is very powerful but if the offending forces get enough power they can be triumphed and so can my world."
His voice if it were even possible turned even darker. "Promise me something Aqua…" he let that linger for a minute as I leaned into him. He then suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him in a tight embrace. "Promise me that if anyone mysterious is to question you that you will come straight to me and I will protect you. I can't loose you…" I was still in shock from him hugging me. I had never had a guy hug me except for my male relatives. "Promise me!" he whispered brokenly in a harsh tone.
"I promise." I told him solemnly. He squeezed me tight one last time and then released.
"So what now?" I asked. I was still a little rigged from the hug. It was so straight forward…
"Now we have to wait until your next concert and that is how I'm going to figure out how your mind works." He told me.
"Where will you stay?" I asked.
"I'm going to stay with my Uncle Atticus." He answered smiling.
"You're uncle?" I questioned.
"Yeah, he has a large house and a chamber on the outskirts of his land for me to put my dragon, Rataxis."
I was lost for a second. I'm pretty sure all I was doing was blinking and breathing. Now I think my breathing must have stopped. Dragon?! What was Peter Pan going to show up in my window saying he's going to take me to Neverland?
"Dragon?!" I managed to get out between breaths.
"Oh, yes I did forget to tell you about Rataxis didn't I?" he asked not even phased.
"Just…a little bit." I breathed out.
"Sorry, he was a gift from my father before he deceased." He explained.
"Whoa…" was all I could get out of my mouth I was so stunned.