"Focus. Focus on the energy deep within yourselves. Imagine it flowing; spreading through your body. Channel it through your hands now."
Linden sat with Miele, Divina and Malachi in the gardens surrounding his and Miele's home.
Both twins were glowing a pale gold while Miele was glowing green. All three had their eyes closed and were in meditating positions.
"Now, move your hands as if shaping a ball of clay, except this time, you're shaping your magic energy."
As the children did this, small energy spheres formed in their hands.
"Open your eyes." Linden instructed.
The children did and looked at their hands in awe.
"Wow. I've never been able to do this before..." Divina said softly.
"Me either!" Miele tossed the sphere of energy she held back and forth between her hands.
"Neither have I..." Malachi held it up close to examine it.
"Manipulating your magical energy is something anyone at a certain power level can do. Whether it's spheres, blasts..." Linden paused after seeing Divina release hers, obliterating a garden decoration. "...shields or other constructs, energy based spells are one of the few types common to all magical beings at your level, wither fairy, witch, paladin or wizard."
"Cool..." the twins said in unison.
"All three of you have done very well today. We can stop here for the day..." Linden got up, motioning for the children to do the same.
"I'm going to go inside and get dinner ready for when Fern comes home. You all stay out here and have some fun. You deserve it." Linden smiled at the children before departing for the house.
"Energy spells. I can actually do some energy spells now..." Miele sat on the lawn, back propped up by a tall, broad tree trunk.
"I could do some before, but it was completely accidental. I've never been able to do them on purpose though!" Malachi exclaimed.
"Yeah. Your dad is a really good teacher, Miele. Your mom too. You're lucky to have them..." Divina fiddled with a flower idly and an uncomfortable silence settled between them before Miele broke it.
"So... do you wanna hear how Nicky and I met Renata and we all became friends?"
"Sure!" the twins exclaimed in unison.
"Okay! Well, back then, it was the first day back at school..."
"And you say that this woman and this girl... The woman might be the one I have been making enquires about?" Queen Panacea asked, speaking to General Baxter on a private line in her office.
"Based on what you have said to us, yes. The woman is probably is the mother of the children you speak of. We've confirmed that she is indeed the Ganymedi queen and everything she says matches up with what the children have said since arriving on your planet..." the General nodded.
"I don't want to keep Malachi and Divina away from their mother for much longer then. When can we arrange a reunion between them?" Panacea asked.
"Once I send you what I can on this case and you confirm it, Your Majesty. It will have to be here in Magix, at the hospital she's in though. She is still not well enough to leave the hospital, far less the realm..." he said grimly.
"Very well. Send the files to me immediately and I'll work on this. Keeping a family separated for any longer than necessary would just be cruel..."
"I agree, Your Majesty. I quite agree..." he ended the call and minutes later, a new file appeared in her work e-mail folder.
The Linphean queen immediately got to work.
"Your house is really cool, Nicholas..." Malachi said, as he and his sister entered it for the first time.
The Linphean boy's home was essentially a giant tree house, nestled in the branches of one of the biggest trees that either twin (or Renata for that matter!) had ever seen.
They had gotten up to it through steps inside the trunk, though apparently, there were also magic wooden platforms that they could stand on and be lifted up on, or thick, leafy vines that they could either climb up on or be pulled up on.
"Thanks. Glad you like it." Nicholas looked pleased.
"It's gorgeous..." Divina said in awe, taking in the thick, green carpeting, pale wooden walls with various photographs and paintings hanging on them and simple, but nice looking furniture.
"Thanks, you two." Lily beamed, holding a giggling Rosalie in her arms, the baby's green eyes practically beaming too.
"It looks like little Rosalie here is glad to see you too..." Lily knelt down and held the baby up to eye level with the twins.
"Hey, baby Rosalie. You were sleeping the last time your big brother went to visit them. This is Malachi and Divina. They're nice and friendly too, just like your brother's other friends..." Lily said.
Rosalie cooed and reached for Divina.
"Why is she reaching for me?" Divina sounded a little nervous.
"She wants you to hold her! Come, I'll show you how to do it." Lily led her over to a sofa and motioned for the Ganymedi princess to sit.
"Here. Hold her head up like this and put you other arm there..." she handed Rosalie over.
"Aww!" Miele and Renata cooed.
"Looks like my sister likes you!" Nicholas smiled.
"Now, you try too, Malachi..." Lily motioned for Malachi to sit next to his sister and put Rosalie in his arms.
Immediately, she reached for his hair and tugged, giggling as she did.
"Hey!" Malachi looked indignant as the other children laughed at him.
"She likes you too, Malachi..." Lily giggled as she took her daughter from him.
"Rosalie has a funny way of showing it..." Malachi muttered.
"How old is she?" Divina asked.
"Seven months. She'll be a year old in June..." the woman smiled. "Anyway, enough attention on little Rosie here. Let Nicholas show you around and then go have some fun!" she shooed them off.
"And this here is our plant balcony..." Nicholas led them out a door that revealed a large, broad wooden balcony with several different plants in different pots, trays and other containers.
Plant care tools, potions and other aides were locked inside a cupboard under the awning that covered about a quarter of the balcony from the doorway out.
A few chairs and benches were also scattered around, as well as a medium sized table in one corner.
"I would spend a lot of time out here if I could..." Divina said as she looked around.
"I do. I think that this is my favourite part of the house besides my room..." Nicholas smiled.
"I can understand why..." Malachi nodded.
"Hey Nicky! You know the spell to give plants the gift of speech yet?" Miele turned to Nicholas, who scowled at the use of his hated nickname.
"No... I don't." he half-growled. "Why are you asking me this?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Ever meet a talking plant, you two?" Miele turned to the twins.
"Miele, what are you going to do?" Renata asked, suspicious.
"Just thought they'd like to have a chat with the plants is all..." the copper-haired girl reached for a sunflower that was taller than she was.
As she touched it, it glowed green as did she.
The plant moved from side the side and its petals moved back and forwards as a voice came from it, sounding like a light, misty voiced female.
"But what is this? You have let me speak, Miss DiFiore?" the flower asked. "I have never been given this gift before..."
Divina and Malachi looked at one another in amazement.
"Yeah, I came to visit again with Renata. We've made new friends since. This is Malachi and Divina..." Miele pointed to each as she spoke.
"Can the plant actually see us? I mean, it has no eyes..." Divina whispered to her brother in Ganymedi.
"Do not ask me. I don't know that much about plant magic either..." Malachi shrugged, also speaking in Ganymedi.
"New friends, huh? Nicholas, they seem nice." the flower turned as if to face him. "How did you meet them?"
All the children immediately looked uncomfortable.
"That... is a long story that we'd rather not get into right now..." he said nervously, fiddling with his glasses.
"I can sense some disturbance in their aura. I understand. Sometimes friendships come to be through bad things..." the sunflower nodded.
"Anyway, we're going to go do something else now. Bye!" Miele ended the plant speech spell.
"How did you do that?" Nicholas and Renata asked in unison.
"Why did you do that? Make that particular plant talk, I mean?" Malachi asked.
"Yeah! Why not make all the rest of the plants talk too?" Divina queried.
"First question: I read a textbook that Flora had from school before she left for Alfea. Two and three, I did it because I wanted to try. I've never done it before. I can't do much of that yet either..." Miele shrugged.
"You are strange..." Renata remarked after a while.
"I'll take that as a compliment!" Miele smiled.
"So..." Divina started, slightly weirded out by Miele's behaviour. "What else is there to do here?"
"Let's go back to my room. We'll find something there to do..." Nicholas led them back inside.
"Your Majesty, that is wonderful news! Should I tell them as soon as they get back?" Linden asked as he sat in his living room.
"Of course! She knows that they're safe in theory, but she wants to see or herself. Bring them over to Magix as early as tomorrow!" Panacea smiled.
Linden perked up as he heard his wife returning with the children in tow.
"They're back. I'll tell them now, Your Majesty..." Linden smiled back.
"Go ahead then!" Panacea ended the call.
"Fern, come with me for a minute, please?" Linden took his wife aside as soon as she, Miele and the twins stepped inside.
When they returned a few minutes later, both adults looked especially pleased at something, much to the children's confusion.
"Divina... Malachi... We have news about your mother. Good news." Linden smiled at them.
"Mom's okay?" Divina asked eagerly.
"Mom escaped and is safe?" Malachi asked, just as eager as his sister.
"Yes to both. And... she's asking to see you..."