CHAPTER 2
Will Vandom turned as she heard the familiar shout from behind her, and her heart started beating faster as her eyes confirmed who she thought it was. Matt caught up to the group of girls and immediately enveloped Will in a tight hug.
"I was kind of hoping I'd be able to meet up with you," he said to her and for what must have been for the hundreth time now her face reddened. She smiled back at him and noticed that he was not alone.
"Ah," Matt said following her gaze, "This is by bud, Wic. He's in my year so I'm not sure if you've been properly introduced yet."
"Wow," Will heard Irma mutter to Hay Lin, "he's not too shabby at all." Stepping forward, Irma extended her hand to Wic, "Hi," she said more loudly this time, "My name's Irma; and this is Will, Hay Lin, Taranee, and the blonde who thinks she's a princess is named Cornelia."
"Very funny, Irma," Cornelia snapped, but she smiled politely at Wic. Inwardly, she agreed with Irma. This Wic wasn't too shabby at all. Not that she cared of course, but she wondered how she hadn't met him before.
"Nice to meet you all," Wic said after shaking Irma's hand, "I've seen you around the school before."
Will tucked a red lock of hair behind her ear as they continued to walk towards school again. She was happy to walk beside Matt. Life always seemed a bit brighter when he was around, and since they had defeated Phobos and Cedric things had been quiet in Hetherfield. No summons had come from Kandrakar and the Heart remained silent. The relaxing break was nice for a change of pace.
"So I was thinking we could get together after school," Matt began saying and immediately she felt bad.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Matt, but we have plans for after school. It's Elyon's Birthday," she said without thinking, "We were going to celebrate."
Will didn't realize what she had said wrong when she saw Taranee give her a sharp look until she remembered that they were not alone.
"Elyon?" Wic inquired, "You mean Elyon Brown?"
Will cursed her carelessness, but luckily Hay Lin quickly spoke up, "Yeah," the small girl began, "Ever since she disappeared, we decided that we would celebrate her birthday in memory of her. Right, girls?" She looked around the group for support.
"Of course," Irma blurted out, "It's a sort of oriental custom Hay Hey here came up with," the girls all laughed nervously.
Will could tell that Wic was still suspicious, but he nodded anyways, "It's sad what happened," he said absently, "I always kinda of liked Elyon. Not romantically," he hurriedly added flushing slightly, "but, you know, she seemed like a nice girl. I wonder what ever happened to her."
There wasn't much time for a reply because they reached the gates in front of Sheffield just as the first bell rang.
Wic groaned, "I have to run," he said to Matt and the girls, "If I'm late again, the teach will have my head."
"Yes, yes," Irma said as they watched him run off, "he is rather cute isn't he?"
Matt laughed, "If you say so. Can't say that I've ever noticed. So are you all really going to see Elyon?" He directed the question at Will as the other girls drifted off towards their classes.
"After school," she replied, "We'll tell her you said hi."
"I wish I come along." he said with a sigh, "but you girls have fun. I'll be here waiting when you get back, as always."
With this, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. She stood on her toes to meet his kiss wishing moments like this could last forever.
"MISS VANDOM, MISTER OLSEN," came the sharp call startling both of them, "Get to your classes at once! You are five minutes late already!"
The pair of them fled from Principal Knickerbocker, and headed straight to their classes.
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Phobos looked around and was impressed in spite of himself. He had grown powerful, more powerful than he had initially realized. He still retained much of the power that the council of Kandrakar had given him when he had become Oracle. Although, he had never been given all of the Oracle's powers he still felt it flowing within him. On top of that his hatred had amplified his power to a level that he was just now beginning to understand. The fact that he could open a portal from Kandrakar to Meridian was proof of that.
But it wasn't enough. He knew, that if he wished to truly fulfill his goals of dominion he would need a power that would crush the combined might of the guardians and the considerable strength of his dear sister, the Light of Meridian. Inwardly he scoffed at her title, but it sparked a memory within him. Something that he had heard long ago, when he had first siezed the throne of Meridian. His sister truly was the Light of Meridian. When she was just an infant, those treacherous officers had stolen her away to Earth before Phobos could dispose of her. Even though they had succeeded in saving her from him, in the absence of the Light, darkness quickly spread across the face of Meridian.
Phobos had relished in that darkness. It fueled the evil in his minions, and even though at the time Phobos had drawn his power by draining the life of Meridian itself, he had often wished he could tap into that darkness and control it. At the time that had been impossible because that darkness had been so widespread across Meridian, but now, he wondered. With the return of Elyon, the darkness had fled from her. It hid in the deep places of Meridian, concentrated.
If he could could find that darkness and somehow harness it, bend it to his will, then he would become more powerful than even the Oracle. And he knew just where to look. He would have to go to the point in Meridian that was farthest away from the royal palace. There, at the point where the darkness could hide from the Light, Phobos would find his power.
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The Light of Meridian stood alone on a palace balcony over looking the city below. In the morning sun the city seemed so peaceful even though it teemed with life. The usual street vendors lined the roads trying to offer their wares to any passer-by, squires ran errands for their teachers, and the city guard marched steadfastly on their patrols. But on top of all this there was an extra sense of excitement in the air, for today was the Queen's birthday. A splendid feast was going to be held in the palace, and a great festival would be held long into the night.
It seemed as if the whole city buzzed with preperations. Not long ago the people of Merdian had little cause to celebrate anything. Under the rule of the tyrant, Phobos, any public gathering would often be met with bloodshed. But now that had changed, for the Light of Merdian was on the throne and her people loved her. This night would indeed be one to remember.
They why, Elyon thought as she lifted her eyes to gaze to the horizon, did this sense of forboding grow within her. She noticed that even though the it was a warm, sunny morning, dark clouds gathered far off on the the horizon. She shivered slightly as she watched the storm growing hundreds of miles away, and she felt very much alone as she often did in this world over which she ruled.
"You can't be cold, my Queen, it's shaping up to be a beautiful day," she heard the friendly voice behind her, and a smile crept to her lips.
"No," she said turning around to face the tall, brown haired boy, "I was just thinking."
"I hope they were happy thoughts," Caleb said as he walked up to look at the view below the balcony, "Today is a very special day."
Elyon again smiled and playfully pushed on Caleb's shoulder, "My birthday isn't really that special."
Now Caleb turned to face her, "But it is," he said with a very serious look, "you dont understand what this celebration means to those people down there. Not only is this a celebration of you're birthday, but it is a celebration of the peace and prosparity you have brought to all of Meridian," Caleb paused a little surprised at the passion in his own voice, "Sometimes I think you don't know just how much you mean to your people. How much you mean to me."
Caleb turned back to look out across the city again, and Elyon wondered what he meant by that last statement. Was he just affirming his deep friendship for her, or was he hinting at a little something more? His face didn't show anything different, however, so she decided to ignore it.
"Thank you," she said, "but you know it wasn't just me. I could not have claimed the the throne without you or the guardians' help, and if it wasn't for them I may have never escaped the Tower of Mists on Kandrakar," she stopped and again watched the far off storm, "Sometimes I feel I am not stong enough to be Queen."
"You will find your strength," Caleb said placing his hand over hers as it rested on the balcony's railing, "and until then and for as long as I live you can count on my sword to be there for you."
Elyon smiled already feeling more confident. Caleb certainly had the gift to encourage armies with his words, but sometimes she wished he could be a little more warm with those words. She understood what he meant by his "sword" being there for her, but still it would have meant much more if he could have simply said the he would be there for her.
"Excuse me, Queen Elyon, Captain Caleb," the two heard Elyon's maid in waiting join them, "but we need your opinion on the decoration placement for the feast."
"Of course," Elyon said leaving the balcony behind her.
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Wic let out a sigh. It felt good to finally be out of school on a Friday evening. The whole weekend now lay before him. To be honest he found it hard to concentrate on anything all day. The conversation he had accidentally overheard still ran through his mind. Even when the girls had invited him to join their lunch table today he couldn't get that word out of his head. Meridian. The word felt so familiar to him, like he should know what it meant, but he was too shy to ask the girls about it fearing that they would think he had eavesdropped.
But there was something else bothing him as well. He knew he had heard the girls talking about going to see someone for a birthday, but when he had asked them about Elyon they quickly made up that transparent excuse. One thing Wic prided himself on was the fact that seemed to have gift for reading people. Lies seemed transparent, and excuses were shallow. He felt sure that they were lying to him, but why?
Could the girls somehow know where Elyon Brown was? The idea intrigued him, for, like he had mentioned to them, he had always liked Elyon. Not in any romantic way, but somehow he felt connected to her in a way that was hard to describe. He realized, with a start, that it was almost the same way he felt about the word 'Meridian.'
The realization that the two were connected hit him like a ton of bricks. Wic wondered how he had not realized it before. They were talking about going to see Elyon and they were going to Meridian. If only he knew what that meant.
"Mr. Wislow," called a naturally sharp voice bringing him back to the present. He looked up to see Principal Knickerbocker stalking towards him.
"Uh...Principal Knickerbocker," Wic began trying to come up with an excuse for not paying attention, "Wait, school's out for the day. You can't get me in trouble."
"And just what might you be up to that warrants you getting into trouble, young man?" she said raising her eyebrows so high that Wic thought they might disappear into her hair line, "Oh, never mind that. Miss Vandom has once again left her Physics book on her desk, and if she doesn't study this weekend she might as well not come to class anymore."
Confused, Wic asked, "What does that have to do with me?"
"Don't act foolish, boy. I saw you sitting at her lunch table today. You're friends with her, are you not?"
"I guess so," Wic replied as he realized that it was true.
"I want you to take this book to her," the dumpy Principal said handing him a large textbook, "I overheard them saying that they were going to stop by Professor Rudolf's house to see her niece, I assume. Do you know where that is?"
Wic nodded as he went over everything in his head. This would give him the chance to follow the girls and perhaps gain more clues as to what was happening to him. Quickly, he made up his mind and ran from the Sheffield Institute in an attempt to catch the girls before they left Professor Rudolf's old house.
He ran as quickly as he could down the streets dodging cars and people alike. Wic often ran for fun. Even though he tended to be a late sleeper, when he woke up on the weekends he could run for miles. It made him feel healthy and free, and for someone who often felt like they were chained down somewhere they didn't belong, it was one of the best feelings in the world.
Faster. He thought as he started down the last block that would lead to his destination. I need to go faster. If he didn't arrive in time, he doubted wether he would be able to see the girls again until monday. He willed his legs to move faster, and to his surprise he felt a faint sense of heat against his chest. Before he had time to realize what was happening he found that he was suddenly in front of Professor Rudolf's old house. He looked up in time to see the group of five girls just as they went inside.
How is this possible? Wic wondered in stark amazement. It had taken him a matter of seconds to run that entire block. He absently rubbed the spot where he had felt the heat agaisnt his chest, and to his surprise his fingers felt the small bulge of his pendant under his shirt. He slowly pulled out the small tear-shaped crystal and thought he saw a faint glow where it was normally clear. Just a trick of the light, he tried to convince himself.
Just then a flash of light caught his eyes and he looked just as it faded from the window of Professor Rudolf's house. His burst of speed momentarily forgotten he walked up to the door, intent on finding more clues as to what was going on. He raised his hand to knock and waited with bated breath, going over what he was going to say. To his slight surprise it wasn't one of the girls who opened the door. It was Matt.
"Wic," Matt said looking surprised himself, "what are you doing here?"
"Um," Wic began trying to gather his thoughts, "Will left her book in class." He held up the book for Matt to see.
"What made you think she'd be here?" Matt looked over his shoulder a little nervously.
"Principal Knickerbocker said she'd be here," Wic replied starting wonder why Matt was acting so suspicious.
"Who is it, Matt?" another voice called from within the house. After a moment the speaker appeared. She was a tall girl with short, dark hair, and she smiled at Wic standing in the door. She looked to be about college aged.
"This is my friend, Wic," Matt answered, "He's here to give Will her textbook."
"Nice to meet you," said the girl, "My name is Rebecca. I'm Professor Rudolf's niece, but I'm sorry to say that Will and the girls aren't here at the moment."
"But," Wic said with surprise, "I just saw them come in a second ago."
Matt and Rebecca exchanged an alarmed look. "They just left out the back door," Matt mumbled, "They were just dropping something off before leaving."
"You're welcome to come in for a bit if you want," Rebecca said and smiled again, "And I can take the book and give it to Will. She said she'd stop by again before the night is over."
"I better not," Wic said handing her the book, "I need to get home before my mom starts to worry."
"See you later then, Wic," Matt called as the shorter boy turned and started heading towards the street.
"Yeah," Wic muttered as his frustration began to rise, "Right." Why was Matt acting this way? Once again he sensed that he was being lied to. He was probably Wic's best friend and he was hiding something from him. He we was sure of it. His mind reeled with the events of the day. First Meridian, then Elyon, then that moment where he had run faster than should have been possible, then the flash of light in the window, and now Matt seemed to be in on it too.
Wrapped up in his thoughts he was a little surprised when he realized that he was already almost home. Everything that had happened today started with that single word, Meridian. Desperately, he wished to know what it meant. He needed to know. As he walked up the path to his house he made up his mind. He would simply have to ask the girls what it meant.
When he walked into his house, he found his mom in the kitchen watering one of the plants on the window. "Hi, honey," she said over her shoulder, "How was school today?" Wic mearly grunted in reply as he was still thinking about how he might bring the subject up to the girls. "What's wrong?" His mom asked turning to face him.
"Meridian," Wic answered absently.
He jumped when he heard the pitcher his mother had been holding crash to the floor, its contents spreading in all directions. "What did you say?" his mother asked, her eyes wide and face drained of color.
Author's Notes: The stage is set and the characters are in place. Now the real story can begin :P. I realize this was a fast update, but I really wanted to get the setting down in the first weekend of the debut. Hope you enjoy it.