WOOT! A new chapter! :) So exciting, so fast! Okay, so I hope you like this chapter...I love it, like most other chapters. I hope it all clicks in the beginning for ya, because I've been giving tiny hints about what's going on. Anyway...enjoy!
Chapter 8: Discoveries
Dawn's POV-
There was a light knock on my door.
It was about an hour after I ran outside crying. I finally decided after about half an hour to come back and try to sleep, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon.
I sluggishly got up off of the bed, and walked over to the door. Mustering up all the calmness I had left, I sniffled, and then asked, "Who's there?" Without opening the door.
"It's me," Dusk said through the door.
I bit my lip, but then decided to reply, "I'm not opening the door."
"I know," Dusk murmured, and I could barely hear him.
"Dawn?"
"What, Dusk? If you're here to make me miserable, it's too late. You already did," I laughed humorlessly. I don't know why. It just felt right.
"I'm not here to make you any more sad," Dusk explained. "I...I wanted to say I'm sorry. And I'm a jerk. A big, huge, jerk. And a liar, too. I am jealous of Marth, and I like Emily, but if I had my choice, I'd always go with you, no matter what happens."
My heart shattered. A fresh wave of tears went down my face, and I shakily replied, "Why should I believe you?"
"I...don't know. I wouldn't blame you if you never talked to me again!" Dusk exclaimed. "Please...just know this: Remember when I kissed you the other day?"
I could feel Dusk leaning against the door, his forehead touching it. We were in the same position. One of the things about Time Ladies and Lords is that sometimes, we can feel the energy of others around us, but only if they're experiencing lots of emotion.
I raised a hand to "touch" his, which was resting on the other side of the door. "Yes?" I whispered.
"That kiss wasn't nothing. It was everything."
My heart completely melted, and a sense of warmness spread over me. I opened my eyes, and looked at my body: There were nanogenes all over it. I laughed without making a sound, and whispered through the door, "I forgive you, Dusk. Just...don't expect me to go all buddy-buddy again."
If a smile could make a noise, Dusk's would. "Thanks!" He replied.
"And how are you doing this?" I ask.
"The nanogenes?" Dusk asks.
"Yeah."
"Um...I'm not sure. It just felt like you emotionally needed some healing," Dusk explained.
"Goodnight, Dusk," I chuckled, and walked back to my bed, feeling a little bit lighter on my feet than before. I mentally thank Nitero, knowing that she probably couldn't hear me, but she does still exist within Dusk.
• • •
"Good-moooooorning!" I cried as I skipped to the castle's breakfast table.
Dusk patted the chair next to him, and I was overflowed with the feeling of happiness. My Dusk was back.
He flashed me one of his signature grins, and then replied, "Hey, Dawn."
The King sat at the end of the huge table, with Queen Marissa by his side. My eyes scanned the table, and I saw Emily sitting with one of her maid friends. She flashed me a smile when we made eye contact, but that's not really what I was noticing. She was wearing a blue bandana...
I continued to scan the table, and noticed Marth wasn't here. Curiosity got to me, so I whispered to Evelyn, who was on my left, "Where's Marth?"
She gave me a side-glance, and then replied quickly, "We don't know. He was at the ball last knight, but...he didn't come back."
Concern struck me like a bag of rocks. My eyes widened, and I immediately thought of how I sent him to look for other knights at the party. What if...they weren't the only things there?
Emily's father, Arashga, who is one of the head knights (not those knights, but the real ones), suddenly cleared his throat, and said, "Excuse me, but I think I shall go and use the loo."
Dusk snorted, so I elbowed him. That just made him chuckle even more, and I couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.
Arashga headed down the left hallway.
Wait a second, I thought. He headed left...the bathroom is to the right. The left hallway leads to the kitchen.
My photographic memory took over, so I squeezed my eyes closed, and looked through what pictures I had of Arashga walking down the hallway.
Zoom.
I looked closely at his hand, and say a tiny little vile filled with lighting blue liquid. I realized it was venitle fluid, a type of poison that gives a human body too much sugar to work with. When Time Lord and Ladies regenerate, they also have a type of glittery gold stuff that they breathe out of their mouths. That's like venitle fluid in dusty, gas form, and it's gold instead of blue.
A Mazai's venom is based off of venitle fluid, which is why Dusk got that reaction when he was bitten.
My eyes opened, and I saw chefs coming out of the kitchen with food. One of the dishes was glowing slightly more than the others, so I immediately knew that was the one that had the venitle fluid in it.
Arashga sat back down in his seat, and I was tempted to glare at him, because if I have to do what I think I'm going to have to do, it might hurt a little.
I rolled my eyes, and just before everyone, including the King, who had the glowing dish, took a bite, I screamed, "Oh my gosh! There's a mouse on the floor!"
Evelyn squealed, the Queen pulled her legs up, all of the maids moved away from the table, and the King looked under the table. And luckily, there was a flash of lighting outside that made everyone scream. What a wonderful distraction!
Dusk glanced over at me, so I winked, and then crawled under the table. Once, I even bumped into Emily, who was searching for the "mouse." I smiled at her, put a finger to my lips, and then continued to where the King was sitting.
I heard a big bang, and realized it must be thunder. Wonderful, it's going to rain. I haven't seen rain in eight years! Cool!
Finally, I reached the King's place, quickly snatched his plate, and crawled with one hand back to my spot, slinking out from under the table, and plopping the plate down in the empty space in front of me.
Wait...it was empty. I glanced at Dusk, who was chuckling at the scene in front of him. Then, I looked at Emily. She was smiling mischievously, and glanced over at the King's spot, who now had my old plate. I looked back at Emily, and this time it was her turn to put a finger to her lips. I grinned hugely back, and mouthed the word, "Thanks."
One maid eventually shouted, "It's okay, we found the mouse! It's dead!"
Wow, there really was a mouse in the house? What a coincidence...
"Get that piece of vermin out of the castle!" The King boomed. The head maid nodded, and carried a little bundle of brown fur wrapped in cloth out of the dining hall.
The Queen thanked all of the cooks, and everyone started to eat their breakfast of waffles, eggs, and fruit. Mine, however, was very unappetizing, because I knew what was in it. But if I wanted no one else to eat or touch it, I had to fork it down. Wonderful.
I picked up a fork, and started to eat. Of course, it tasted delicious. Venitle fluid doesn't have a funky taste or anything, and that's why people never notice it's in their food.
I continued to eat because I was so hungry, and sure enough, I soon got a case of the jitters. Eventually, everyone was done, and during a polite conversation, I interrupted, "Sorry, everyone. Do you mind if Dusk and I step out for a moment?"
Dusk smiled at me. He knew by now that something was up. He never gives me those what-are-we-doing looks anymore, he just goes with it.
The Queen replied, "You are excused."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, I bolted out of the dining room, and Dusk followed. I was leading him to the place I knew no one else would be: My room. I just hope we make it there in time.
Eventually, we stormed into my room, and I was jumping up and down energetically. "Okay, what did you do this time, Dawn?" Dusk laughed.
"Don't laugh!" I giggle, despite my words. "I, uh, ate some 'poison,' and it has the same type of effect that your snake bite does."
Concern flashed over Dusk's face, and he reached for me, but I laughed, "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much." That was a complete lie, of course it hurt, but it wasn't as bad as the pain I felt when Stellia let the snake venom flow through me that one time.
"Us Time Ladies have a very interesting way of dealing with these situations. Having two hearts helps, too...just don't be alarmed if my face changes or something."
"You mean you're regenerating?" Dusk cried. I had explained the concept to him over lunch, while we were in France.
"Not sure," I replied, smiling. "It might kill me, might not. Really depends on...if...I can...do this!" I smiled even wider at the last part, and hacked up some venitle gas. I could feel some of the extra energy ebbing away already, and I sighed. "Better."
I continued to breathe normally, and golden dust flowed out of my mouth. "Can't I do anything to help? Like use nanogenes?" Dusk asks.
I shook my head, still jogging in place. "Oh no, don't waste those on me!" I reply. "I think...I should be..." I breathed out some more gas. "Okay!" I plopped down on the floor, the last of the venitle gas gone. "Much better."
Dusk chuckles, and I smile at him. "My face didn't change, did it? No new weird figure or anything either, right?"
Dusk carefully checks me over, and then replies, "Well, you look a little tiny bit...older, somehow."
"That's normal," I laugh. "Sometimes, when I would wake up in the TARDIS, I'd look a year older. It usually happens around my birthdays. If I don't regenerate, it just happens during sleep. Or, in this case, when there's venitle fluid in my body. How much older, exactly?"
"I don't know," Dusk narrows his eyes. "I mean...your hair is about an inch longer, and you kind of just look...different. I'm probably the only one that will notice, since I'm around you so much."
"All completely normal," I smile. Getting up, I fluff my hair a little in the mirror, and immediately notice what Dusk means. I look like more of a thirteen-year old now than a twelve-year old. Yes! Now, maybe people will take me a little more seriously.
"Okay, come on, then," I sigh. "Let's go."
As we walk back to the breakfast table, I quietly explain to Dusk, "I think the knights may have Marth."
"Why would you think that?" Dusk asks.
"He wasn't at breakfast today, and, well...last night, I asked him to help investigate." I shrugged afterward, and Dusk looked a little bit hurt. "He's not replacing you, don't worry," I scowled, rolling my eyes. "But anyway, I'm wondering if the knights weren't the only thing at the ball last knight."
"What do you mean?" Dusk asked.
"See," I start to explain. "The King almost got poisoned today, so that's why I started the whole distraction thing. I had to switch out our plates so that I was the one who got the poison, not him. Arashga was the one who was trying to poison him."
"Why would Emily's dad do that, though?" Dusk wondered.
"I'm wondering the same thing," I whisper, even though it's a lie. I think I know exactly what's going on here.
"Dawn, what are the Latia, exactly? Didn't that knight talk about it yesterday?" Dusk questions me.
"I knew you'd ask that eventually," I flash a smile at him. "The Latia are kind of what you humans call shape shifters. They can change their shape, and race, for that matter. Like in those science fiction shows, you know? So I think the Latia are using the Arenae-based aliens to do the dirty work...while really, the only danger in this castle is-"Dawn!" A voice interrupts. Dusk and I were back in the breakfast hall, and Evelyn was looking straight at us.
I noticed everyone else was gone, and realized Dusk and I must have missed the rest of breakfast. "Hey, Evelyn!" I smiled warmly at her.
"D-Do you know where Marth is?" She whispered, and I saw a tear slide down her cheek. "I'm worried about him."
I walked to her side, laced my fingers with hers, squeezed her hand, and replied, "Don't worry, Evelyn. Dusk and I will find him!"
She nodded, and laughed, "Yes, I suppose I am overreacting. I'm just worried because-," A big bang of thunder interrupts Evelyn, and she continues, "That."
"Don't worry!" I repeat. "We've got it all under control." I gesture to Dusk and myself. "But for now," I whisper, walking over to Dusk. "I need you to work without me. Go down to the ballroom; look for any signs of a struggle. Like...blood." I shudder at the thought, and then hand Dusk my sonic screwdriver. "Use this if there are any locked doors."
"Are you sure?" Dusk asks.
I nod, smiling. "Yeah, take it. You'll be fine. And if...for some reason something happens, get to Sweetie if you can, and if you can't, no biggie! I'll get you out!"
Dusk smiles, and then replies, "Gosh, Dawn. I can take care of myself. You can't always be superman. Or...woman, in your case."
I wink at Dusk, and giggle, "Of course not. Maybe I'll put myself in danger just so you can come get me. But no promises. See you later!"
I skip down the hall, and hear Dusk cry, "Wait, what are you doing?" But I ignore it.
Eventually, I reach my guest bathroom, and the door is open. Before entering, I whisper, "All right girl, what do you have for me this time?"
Pushing the door open, I cautiously look around, before my attention to the mirror. And of course, written in dark purple paint, were the words, "Meet me in the castle library at eleven o'clock."
I smile, and raise a hand to touch the paint. Some of it gets on my fingertips. "Fresh," I whisper. "Good."
I eventually leave the bathroom, take a deep breath, and think. Because sometimes, that's just what Time Lords and Ladies just need to do.
Okay, what do I know?
There are tunnels that are apparently dangerous, Emily helped me this morning, there are new messages and clues on the mirror each day, and Marth is missing. It's also going to storm soon. The plates are shaped like a star, which is the symbol of the Latia species. So if there are Latia people in the castle, who are they? Arashga tried to poison the King this morning with Venitle Fluid, which can actually only be found in Mazai venom, a Time Lord or Ladie's regeneration process, and on earth, at the very bottom of oceans. So Arashga must have gotten the Venitle fluid from Earth. But how is that possible?
"I'm missing something," I whisper, putting a hand to my forehead. "Come on, think harder. Time to make some connections."
So if Arashga tried poisoning the King, maybe he's the one who took Marth, too. But what would he need Marth and the King for? Well, besides the obvious fact of ransom...wait a second...family. Marth and the King are family, just like Arashga is Emily's father. But Dusk told me a while ago that Emily's whole family is working here. A huge, tight knit group of family members. So why stay so tight? Because they're different? Different how?
"Latia!" I cry, and it all makes sense. Just like that. Gosh, I can't get over how brilliant, bizarre, and baffling my brain is. The Latia, Marth, The King, the words on the mirror, who's writing them, the venitle fluid, the star, the plates...the blue bandana.
I glance at the grandfather clock in front of me: ten fifty-five.
"I've got to get to the library," I whisper, and start racing upstairs to where Evelyn told me the library was on our "tour."
I knew exactly whom I was going to see, and how they were going to help me. Well, I don't know how they will help me, but maybe I'll get some questions answered.
I burst threw the library, gasping for air, and a girly voice laughed, "Wow, Dawn, you're here early. I believe we have some things to talk about."
I smiled brightly at Emily, my unspoken friend, my ally, my answer.
"Yes, Emily. I think we do, also."
• • •
WOAH! Okay, be honest: Who saw it coming? :D Was it too obvious?
Any predictions for the next chapter? I actually have several ideas of what will happen, so stay tuned... ;) Here's your sneak peek:
I raced outside, with Evelyn by my side. Lighting flashed above us, and thunder boomed away.
"Sorry, Dawn, but what exactly do you want me to see?" Evelyn asked.
I laughed, and then explained, "Look up."
Up. Have you ever that's the one place never bother to look?
The forest around us was being pelted by rain, yet we were dry.
"Oh my goodness, what on Muforam is happening? How are we dry?" Evelyn cried.
I smiled at her, and replied, "The Latia have been plotting this whole thing, using sonic devices to create a safety layer for the force field all around the castle, in the shape of a star. No one gets in, no one gets out. But that's okay, because you have everything you need: Me."
Evelyn gives me a blank stare, so I say, "Basically...run."
He he he...you gotta love Dawn. :) Does she remind anyone else of the Tenth Doctor? REVIEW!
