swiftdragoness - Thanks. ^^
XV-Dragon - Yeah, the brother was actually all a mistake, when I was writing the entire story plot, I accidentally put that Will had a brother, which got me thinking, so I changed to plot to include him and now Will has an older brother. ^^
Surprise!
The school bell rung loud and shrill, signifying the long-awaited end of another interminable school day. Just on the threshold of freedom, Taranee and Hay-Lin caught up with Elyon. Hay-Lin treated her to a wide grin,
"Mind if we join you for a while?" she asked happily.
Elyon shrugged,
"Sure guys."
The three friends walked through town, chatting about various things. All of a sudden, Taranee slammed her forehead, almost comically,
"Damn, I forgot to pick something up at Will's house!" she turned to Hay-Lin and Elyon, "Do you mind if we take a detour?"
"Not at all." said Hay-Lin, with a well-practised smile. Elyon simply shrugged.
The trio proceeded to Will's house, where Taranee entered. There was a moment of silence, and then she called to Hay-Lin and Elyon, her voice not sounding very convincing,
"Guys! Come in here! You need to see this!"
Hay-Lin and Elyon looked at each other for a split-second, and Hay-Lin shrugged, smiling slightly, they entered, and were met by a barrage of noise,
"Surprise!!"
From behind couches and chairs, underneath tables, and behind doors, an army of people burst out, showering Elyon in confetti. At the forefront, Cornelia gave Elyon a brief hug,
"Happy birthday Elyon."
Elyon looked gob-smacked,
"You didn't forget after all..." she murmured.
Cornelia heard her,
"Of course not! As if I'd forget my best friend's birthday!"
In the corner of the room, Irma dissolved into a round of fake hacking coughs. Cornelia swung round, "Oh dear, Irma. Swallowed a confetti no doubt?"
In the doorway, Hay-Lin and Taranee stood motionless, almost as surprised as Elyon,
"How did she manage to organise all this during school?" Taranee asked the wind guardian.
Hay-Lin shrugged unconcernedly,
"You heard Irma, she has her methods." she said happily, before moving into the party.
Two hours after its start, the party showed no signs of stopping. Dances were had, food was eaten, drinks were drunk and conversations were had. Standing away to the side of the main celebrations, Hay-Lin gazed peacefully through the window, staring at the darkening sky. One or two bright stars could be seen poking through the light. As she watched a small, solitary, cloud float across the sky, she became aware of a voice, no two voices. She strained her ears, trying to listen, one voice was distinctly...snake-like hissing it's words out.
Cedric, she thought slowly. She spun round, but no one was near her, at least, not close enough for her to be hearing their whispered conversation, and yet she could hear Cedric, and someone else, talking between themselves,
"Are the plans ready for tonight?" it wasn't Cedric's voice, and it wasn't Phobos' either. I was cold, cruel and...empty. She heard the naga reply,
"Every lassst one. Ssoon the rebelss and the Guardians will pose no threat to our planss."
"And what of Phobos' plans?"
"His plansss are of little concern to you my lord. Ssoon you will be..."
"There's more at stake than titles, Cedric. If this fails, be certain that I will expirate you." Expirate? What did that mean, did he, whoever he was, mean kill? The unknown voice continued,
"Follow Phobos' orders for now, and more importantly, kill the rebels. Now."
"Ssire, we have an army of Lurdenss marching on their possitions as we speak. They will not survive."
"Be sure of it."
Silence. She heard nothing more. She breathed heavily, her mind reeling with what she had heard. Was Cedric betraying Phobos? And who was that voice? And the rebels... The rebels! She had to warn the others!
Gathering the rest of the Guardians was harder than she anticipated; she had to literally tear Cornelia away from some boy she had been dancing with, Will was in the kitchen, arguing with the dishwasher about overworking it or something and Irma was hiding from Martin, who had apparently been invited.
Finally, when she had gathered them all upstairs, she told them all she had heard. Taranee shifted uncomfortably,
"Are you sure you weren't hearing things?"
Irma rolled her eyes,
"And what, she happened to imagine hearing Cedric discussing plans with some random guy?"
Will stepped into the discussion,
"Look, at any rate, we can't do anything until everyone's gone, so we'll decide what to do after the party, OK?" A round of nods.
The party lasted through the evening, and well into the night, and had Will, Irma and Cornelia not ushered everyone out, then it would probably had continued longer. Eventually, when everyone had gone, W.I.T.C.H sat together in the living room. Taranee cleared her throat,
"So what do we do? Should we go to Meridian?"
Irma shrugged, saying,
"We'd need to find a portal first..." she was interrupted by a sudden flash of blue light. A point of glowing energy opened at the far side of the living room. The point of light expanded, until it formed a large portal, crackling with energy. Irma blinked,
"Talk about your coincidences..." she was once again interrupted as Cedric, flanked by two Lurdens, broke the shimmering surface of the portal, and cruel grin plastered on the naga's face,
"Ssurprise!" he hissed.
Cliffhanger! Is Cedric really betraying Phobos? Who is that mysterious voice? Is Hay-Lin going insane? Find out later in the story! And don't forget to R&R! ^^