Liana groaned slightly as her mind wandered into a dream:
The soldiers that were chasing them earlier were running by the tree that they had stayed in the first night. The lights of their torches flashing off of the tree walls. The shouting and fire flashed before her eyes. Suddenly, the scene changed. She wasn't in the tree, she was in a house. In a small room. There was shouting and the sound of a baby crying. Light from a fire outside illuminated off the walls. A lady, who was only a silhouette ran into the room and picked up the baby from the crib on the other side of the room. Then she turned and ran towards Liana. But the room door burst open, and a dark figure stepped inside, a sinister grin on his face.
The silhouette ran towards her, but the man knocked her out of the way. Then his big hands reached for Liana.
Liana sat up with a gasp. Sweat was pouring down her forehead. With a sigh, she looked over at Corinne, who still appeared to be fast asleep. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and let out a breath of air.
She slowly climbed down and sat beside Jeremy "Hi."
The boy jumped slightly "Hey. What are you doing up?"
"I couldn't sleep anymore." Liana answered "I can take the watch now."
"You sure?"
"Mm-hm." She smiled and nodded "Good night Jeremy."
He smiled, then stood up and walked to a tree that was a few yards away, climbed up and fell asleep.
Liana hummed quietly to herself as she stared into the darkness.
She heard a gasp above her head then jumped as Corinne hit the ground beside her.
"Are you okay?" Liana asked.
Corinne laughed "I'm good." she shook her head "Hit the ground. Nothing new there."
"I thought you didn't move in your sleep."
"I usually don't." Corinne said as she scooted against the tree trunk "It was just..."
"Having a nightmare?" Liana guessed as she leaned against the tree "What happened?"
"I was in Paris." Corinne started "But I couldn't do anything. Everyone was in trouble. My friends, my mom. Louis. And I couldn't move! They were all calling for help and..." she shook her head "Then it changed. I was at home. There was a bunch of shouting and something outside was on fire. And I heard..."
"A baby cry?" Liana asked, sitting up straight.
"Yeah." Corinne looked over at her confused "How did you know?"
"I just had the same dream." Liana answered "I've had it for as long as I can remember. But I never told anyone."
"Wait. You were dreaming that you were in my house?" Corinne asked.
"I don't know where I am in those dreams." Liana answered "What happens in yours. I mean, after the baby cries?"
"It's more like a memory than a dream." Corinne said, staring up at the stars "Anyways, my mom comes into the room. I must be little or something, because she picks me up, then she starts to run to the other side of the room. Then this big guy comes in and... I woke up there."
"That is so weird." Liana mumbled "How are we having the same nightmare?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's the woods. They're kind of creepy." Corinne said.
"Maybe even haunted!" Liana added with an overly dramatic terrified voice.
The two girls laughed which instantly calmed their nerves.
"On a happier subject." Corinne said a second later "Jeremy."
"What about him?" Liana asked slowly.
"He is smitten." Corinne said in a sing-song voice.
"We're just really good friends!"
"Maybe." Corinne looked over at the girl and laughed "He likes you as much as you like him."
Liana crossed her arms "Oh? And what about you and Louis."
Corinne's eyebrows lurched "What do you mean?"
"It is so obvious that you're not just one of his body guards." Liana sent her a winning smile "So. Does he like you as much as you like him?"
Corinne clamped her mouth closed then slowly answered "No-o. He's my boss."
"Mm-hm." Liana shook her head "Corinne, you're in love with him. Aren't you?"
Corinne stared at her hands, then looked over at Liana smugly "You have to answer my question first."
Liana huffed "You are stubborn, aren't you?"
Corinne chuckled "That's what they tell me."
Jeremy sighed as he shifted on his branch bed. He was so hoping he'd get a positive answer. But now... he was still as unsure as he had been for the past year.
The next seven dayswent surprisingly easy. No army men showed up to chase them, and there were no interferences.
They passed through Paladia and Appolonia without any problems and on into the next town.
"Starving!" Jeremy groaned "Any one else?"
Corinne shot a glare at him "Why do you even ask, Jeremy?"
"We're out of money." Jeremy continued "No food. no..."
"Jeremy!" Liana cut him off "Please! You're not helping!"
The boy nodded slightly "Alright. Hey look!" he shouted "There's an Inn!"
"What part of 'no money' did you somehow miss?" Corinne didn't mean to keep getting aggravated with him, but her patience was wearing thin.
"Don't you see?" Jeremy said quickly "Sometimes an Inn's entertainment doesn't show up. We could see if we can exchange some food for a song!" he pointed to Liana "Like you and Alexa did that time when you stole my show!"
Liana shook her head "I don't know, Jeremy."
"It's worth a try." Jeremy grabbed the two girls' arms and quickly ran for the Inn.
"Jeremy." Corinne said as she fought to keep her balance "Are you... sure?"
The Inn was five stories tall and painted a shiny white with black shutters. Red curtains hung in the windows.
"An Inn's an Inn." Jeremy answered.
He pushed open the door and froze.
"Whoa." All three of them gasped.
Inside the lobby was lush red carpets and fancy furniture. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling and people in fancy dresses and suits were walking around, some sending the trio odd glances as they passed.
Liana mentally reached up and smoothed back her hair "I'm starting to be glad we got these dresses from a queen."
"Even though they are covered in dirt now." Corinne added.
"Can I help you?" A broad man, who was obviously the manager asked.
"How's your entertainment?" Jeremy asked in a very professional sounding voice "Because I happen to have one of the most beautiful girls in the world with me!" he cleared his through "Most beautiful singer, that is."
Corinne snickered. What a mess up!
The owner looked at them thoughtfully "What do you want as pay?"
"Just a meal." Corinne answered.
"Alright, I'll give you a chance." The man said with a curt nod "If you impress me and make my clients happy, I'll reward ya."
"You won't be disappointed." Jeremy said dramatically.
"Ladies, follow me." The man showed them to a room "So you can wash up before I put you on stage." then he led Jeremy to another room.
"Remind me to hit Jeremy later." Liana said as she splashed some water on her face.
Corinne smiled "You'll be fine."
Fifteen minutes later, they were led into a HUGE dining area. There were at least a hundred people in there!
"Come." the owner led them to a stage at the other end of the room. It looked like a stage from a theater! It was surrounded by lights and had curtains hanging from the sides "There's some instruments over there. Do good." then he marched off.
"You can do it." Corinne said as she handed a guitar to Liana "They'll love you!"
Liana nodded nervously, took the instrument then walked out onto the stage. Suddenly, all the lights went out except for one bright light that was shining straight on Liana.
She froze, her heart started pounding so hard she could barely breathe.
Corinne frowned as she watched Liana standing stock still in the middle of the stage "She's got stage fright."
"That's not possible." Jeremy whispered "She did fine back when we first met."
"But that was different!"
Liana stared at the massive amount of eyes staring at her. Only her. She couldn't move. She couldn't speak.
She spotted the Inn owner frowning as he watched her.
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She ran off the side of the stage.
"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.
Liana sat down the guitar then sank into a corner "I can't do it. Not alone. I always had Alexa with me!" she shook her head "I'm sorry... I can't."
"It's okay." Jeremy soothed as she dropped to his knees in front of her "We'll be fine."
Corinne slowly picked up the guitar and looked towards the stage.
Liana needed a little bit of encouragement... but what? She didn't know any songs good enough!
Taking a deep breath, she walked out into the spotlight, unnoticed by Liana and Jeremy.
"Just... think of the situation you're in, the way you feel and the things you love. Then write it." Liana had said back on the ship.
She glanced over at Liana. She was scared and tired. She was in a strange place with a bunch of strange people and basically running for her life.
An idea suddenly came to her. Liana just needed something familiar. Something like... home.
While teaching her to play the guitar, Liana had used a song that she and Alexa had sung to make the diamond castle appear. With a smile, she slowly began to strum the guitar, giving the music a little twist of her own.
Liana's head snapped up and she looked towards the stage "Corinne?"
Jeremy followed her gaze "I hope she knows what she's doing."
Corinne took a deep breath then started singing:
"Hidden beneath the ground, is the spring that feeds the creek
Invisible as the wind, that you feel upon you cheek.
And every breeze that whispers reminds us constantly
Sometimes what's real is something you can't see.
"Hey." Jeremy said "Isn't that the song that you and Alexa sang at the Diamond castle?"
"Yeah." Liana nodded "She just made it... peppier."
Believe in all that can be
a miracle starts whenever you dream
Believe. And sing from your heart you'll see
Your song will hold the key.
Corinne began to smile brightly as she got more into the music. She started to walk across the stage, feeling more comfortable with her instrument.
Waiting behind the clouds is the sky that's always clear
And chasing away the doubts you watch the sun appear
Liana cocked her head "She... wrote another verse."
Jeremy's head was bobbing to the beat "Catchy."
It's shining to remind you as each new day begins
there's always hope if you just let it in
Corinne began to make use of the stage as she sang.
Believe in all that can be
a miracle starts whenever you dream
Believe. And sing from your heart you'll see
Your song will hold the key.
You can paint the stars you can touch the sky
spread your wings and discover you can fly-!
You won't know until you try
Everyone began to cheer as she resang the chorus, Corinne smiled not realizing how much fun she as having.
Oh- oh oh Believe-!
And dream what can be
ask with your heart and you will receive
Believe the beauty is yours to see
your song will hold the key.
The cheering was ear killing when the song came to an end.
Corinne smiled brightly then took a slight bow, laughing to herself. She had just gotten up on a stage and sang! Actually sang!
Liana walked out onto the stage, clapping along with everyone else "You were amazing!"
Corinne laughed then ran over to the other blond and hugged her "I couldn't have done it if it weren't for you." she took a deep breath "I know it's been hard but..."
Liana shook her head "There's always hope if you just let it in."
"Sing another one!" Someone from the crowd shouted.
"Yeah! Sing another one!" someone else echoed.
"Uh..." Corinne looked down at her guitar. Now what?
Liana smiled as she took another guitar that Jeremy was holding out to her and began to play and sing:
Things are crazy these days, time slippin away
I've got the world ahead of me, I don't wanna miss a thing
'Cause there's so much to do and I'm gonna get through
Now I'm ready, yeah I'm ready, ready to take it on
Corinne smiled brightly then joined in on the chorus:
I'm ready for you, are you ready for me?
I'm invincible, I can do anything.
I'm ready to go, are you ready to see?
Don't you know that it's impossible to stop me!
As they continued singing, people began to cheer and clap. One song led to another, and another. They sang slow songs, they sang fast songs. Most of the time, people were on their feet clapping to the music... kind of like a concert.
People filed through the doors to listen.
After a bit, Jeremy took over Corinne's guitar and would occasionally join them on numbers.
Everyone found it extremely amazing that there were two girls that looked alike singing and harmonizing perfectly together.
It was two o' clock in the morning before the girls were finally able to get off the stage, not counting the slight eating brake they had been granted.
"Please, stay the night." The Inn's owner said "It's on me."
Corinne looked over at Liana "It is late."
"Very late." Jeremy agreed with a yawn.
Liana nodded "True. But you know how urgent our situation is. You decide."
"Thank you." Corinne said to the Inn owner "We appreciate it."
"Follow me." the man led the girls to one room "I'm sure you two are used to bunking together, bein' twins and all. There's two beds." then he scurried off to take Jeremy to his room.
Corinne and Liana looked at each other then burst out laughing.
"First we're sisters, now we're twins." Liana laughed "What's with that?"
"I have no idea." Corinne sat down on one of the beds "I think I'm losing my voice! I have never sung so much in my life! And just so you know, for the first time in my life, I..."
"Wrote a song." Liana finished "Wasn't it amazing! Even if it was just the second part of a song." then she smiled softly "Thank you. It really did help."
Corinne nodded the kicked off her boots "We should be in France in about a week. You and Jeremy can head back home then."
Liana froze "Ye-ah." she said slowly "Are you sure you'll be alright in Paris alone?"
"The musketeers are in Paris." Corinne answered "I'll be fine."
Liana nodded then laid down on her own bed "Good night."
"Good night."
"Sire, we believe we may have located them." Drake announced, sitting a newspaper down in front of the king "It appears they're quite the singers."
The King shook his head disgusted "Since you idiots can't seem to catch a teenage girl! Send the letter on to Paris and try and get her again. But make Louis believe we have her. Hopefully, we'll get an answer before she gets there."
(Okay, this is probably going to knock interests down 500% but... 'The King' is no one special. He's just a random king who wants to take over Paris. And how Corinne recognized Heinrich, he's the guy who stepped out of the trees at the beginning. Drake's the one that hit her from the back. So... Hope you're not disappointed!
And to NinjagoGirl, You'll have to wait and see! If I told you it'd ruin the story!
Well... Laterz!)
