Okay, so I have happy news that will excuse any further delays in updating…
I GOT A JOB!
Who rocks? I rock! Who's bad? Sinbad! LOL Anyway, looks like I'm getting off to a good start for this school year, too, and I'm not even in school anymore! Whoo!
I hope you'll all enjoy my update, which will feature one of the secret sacred beauties of the North Pole that I made up, which was totally inspired by the awesome poetry of Lunarain137, who deserves extra props for her unwitting contribution to this work! Why?
A long time ago she sent me a poem in a PM message and it was so amazing that it inspired the place we see at the end of the chapter (and at the beginning of the next one!). I think you're all gonna like it, especially Luna-chan, whom I humbly ask to accept my interpretation of her artistic musings (seiza).
Actually, she let me use it in "Curse of Hades," and THIS is my interpretation of her awesome poetry! I hope you'll like it!
"This is stupid! What can she experience as a human that she can't as a veggie vampire, anyway? Oh, I know. It's that guy, because I can see the future."—Alice Cullen, How Twilight Should Have Ended (by the way, she pointed at Jacob)
Chapter 10: Hello, I'll Be Your Husband This Evening
Lenne was kneeling at a low table in the large sitting room of the wealthy Matthews family (of basic wealth) beside Master Hana, who was busily writing a letter. Lenne was dressed in a warm yet slimming blue dress with long sleeves and decorated with a blooming yellow rose; her hair was piled up beautifully at the back of her head like Prom Night with tiny daisies dotting it. Her face was touched up with face powder, shimmering silver eye shadow, and pink lip gloss.
She looked beautiful.
If only she'd been smiling.
Her well-made-up face was displaying an angry red brushstroke blush, looking down at the table, and her fists were clenched in her lap. She looked like she wanted to cry; only her mother's strength kept her calm.
"Well, that plan failed miserably," sighed Hana as she released her messenger hawk, "Hopa's truly gone insane this time."
"What difference does it make to him if I'm married or not?" Lenne grumbled, "I'm not his daughter."
"If you were, you wouldn't be in this mess," Hana crossed her arms, "but you're not. You're Ame's daughter, and there's nothing more exciting to a tyrant than the thought of controlling the aristocracy and its children…except controlling the entire population, of course." Lenne sighed and slouched; Hana carefully patted her head.
"But don't worry," she smiled, "I've been writing letters since last night. I know some people in the higher-ups that owe me. In the meantime, it's up to you to be a lady. You represent your family while you're here, so make them proud."
"I will, Master," Lenne nodded, feeling inspired, "And I won't worry."
"That's my girl," Hana smiled again, "Now straighten up. They're coming in."
The two ladies stood and turned to the opened doors; a couple of maids curtsied and admitted Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, a lovely husband and wife somewhere around her parents' age. Mr. Matthews had bleach blonde hair and bright blue eyes; his wife had silky black hair with a white lotus blossom tucked behind her left ear and sparkling brown eyes. She was a beautiful woman.
"Master Hana," said her husband as he came forward to take her hands in his. He held them up and bowed at the waist to her. "Welcome to our home."
"A pleasure, James," Hana smiled, "I see you've done well for yourself. Thank you for having us. This lovely lady must be your blushing bride."
"Yes," he nodded, "This is Kyoko. Dear, this is Master Hana, my former waterbending master."
"It's an honor to meet you, Master," Kyoko bowed humbly.
"All mine, Kyoko," Hana replied politely.
"Speaking of brides," said Mrs. Matthews, turning to Lenne, "You must be Lenne!"
"Yes, ma'am," Lenne blushed and bowed, "I'm Lenne Hakari. Pleased to meet you!"
"You're Ame Megami's daughter," said James, "It's such a pleasure to meet you!" He kissed her hand.
'Yeah, a pleasure to become my father-in-law,' she thought sarcastically.
"My husband and I were just saying how brave you were to stand up to the Royal Council the way you did," said Kyoko, "We were horrified when we heard how they coerced you into this!"
"Well, I did tell them I rather would have died than obey them," she said sheepishly, "but Master Hana's trying to keep me safe for my parents. It'd be a shame to waste such a long trip!" Kyoko giggled a bit.
"Still, though," said James sympathetically, "I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I sincerely hope we can stop this before we get to the altar."
"Thank you, sir," Lenne bowed.
"But until then," he motioned, "we'd like you to know our son."
Lenne turned her head to a young man she hadn't noticed come in with his parents. He had his mother's eyes and hair of a white/pale blue combo and it stuck out on his right front corner, a little like Roxas (who she still calls "Ro-chan"). He was a full head taller than her and buff—not too buff, just enough to make him look a little like a football player. The part Lenne liked best was his face—kind, honest, and strong.
"Miss Hakari," Mr. Matthews introduced, "Our son, Shota." (like show-tuh)
The two fiancées bowed and curtsied to each other.
"Miss Hakari," Shota spoke first, "It's a pleasure. You're as pretty as I imagined."
"Pretty as her mother," Master Hana said fondly, making the girl blush.
"I made this for you," he said, withdrawing a small necklace box, "I hope you like it."
He placed the box in her hands and after a quick thank you curtsey, she opened it to see (as she had been told to expect) a blue engagement choker with a round wooden charm. A beautiful lily was carved on it, the kind that you'd get for Easter.
"It's lovely," she said, genuinely impressed, "Thank you."
"Shall we all sit down?" invited Mr. Matthews, politely taking his wife and former teacher by the hands. Likewise, Shota took Lenne's hand and helped her back to her seat.
As they discussed wedding plans (mostly the adults), Lenne found she rather liked the young Mr. Matthews. She was just starting to get bored with the meeting when a small water kitten padded over to her from across the table; she looked up at Shota, who was holding his hand up with his fingers curled. He was smiling playfully.
"You're a waterbender, too?" she blurted. He beamed and nodded. With a smile, Lenne held her hands out and the kitten climbed into them. She held her up.
"She's amazing!" she said, "I've never seen one this detailed before! How'd you get those tiny ice claws on her?" As she looked at the kitten's face, its frosty eyes flickered. For a second, they changed from blue to green!
"Huh?" She shook her head and looked hard at it, but they'd gone back to frosty blue. She got an idea just then; after placing the kitten back on the table, she hooked her thumbs together and curled in her fingers. When she spread them out, a pair of wings sprouted from its shoulders!
Shota laughed with her.
"Not bad, Miss Hakari," he said.
"Ahem," said Hana's voice. The two young people looked over at their adults, then shared a glance before snorting and snickering.
"Sorry, everyone," Shota apologized, "We're a little antsy. Could we possibly be excused?"
"If you must," his father rolled his eyes.
"Thanks, Dad!" he beamed and stood. "Come on, Lenne!"
"Well, where are we going?" she asked as he dragged her off by the hand.
"You'll see," he winked, and for another split second, his eyes turned green!
'Am I going crazy?' she thought as she followed him out. He led her to a small canoe half the size of Don's cab; it was blue with a zigzag line along the top with a couple of white raccoon tails hanging off the front where the rope was holding it to the porch.
"So tell me, Lenne," he asked as he climbed in, "Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?"
"Does the sidecar count?" she said, remembering the Light Cycle Uncle Sora and her father had built together. She and the rest of the children had been raised under a strict rule of riding only in the sidecar, only with a grown-up (and permission from whichever dad was theirs), and only with a helmet on. Only sixteen and up could ride behind, also with a helmet. No one under eighteen was ever allowed to drive it, and no one barely of age could have a kid in the sidecar, not until they had a little more experience.
"Of course," he nodded.
"Then yes," she said and accepted his helping hand, "Why do you ask?"
"Because this is the Water Tribe version of a motorcycle," he smiled mischievously, "So you might want to hold on tight."
This time she not only saw different eyes, but a whole different face when she looked in his eyes! It was a girl's face! She blushed pink, feeling like she accidentally intruded on his heart.
Shota didn't seem to notice, though; he faced forward with his fists out, face-down. He jerked his right one like he was revving up an engine and it caused the water under it to splash likewise. He then jerked his elbows back with his hands spread flat and the canoe took off like a motorboat! Lenne nearly fell back but she threw her arms around his torso and held on with her heart in her throat.
"Whoa!" she cried out, "This is amazing!" What made it even better was that there was no engine to shout over, just the skish of the water underneath.
"Hang on!" he repeated as they rounded a corner and splashed a passerby on the walk.
"Hey, you crazy kids!" he shouted as they zoomed away. Lenne threw her hand out and dried him off with a "Sorry!" and laughed with Shota again.
Off they went down the sea streets of the Star Frost district, waving to people as they went and engaging in friendly mini-races with other canoers until they left the neighborhood and came down a spacious canal with no buildings, sparse traffic, and crevices all along the looming ice walls. For a little while, they cruised along the wall on their left, then entered what had looked like a crevice but was actually an arm-length tunnel with an arched ceiling high overhead that had a dim light from reflecting the sunlight on the outer ice like a translucent church window. The whole tunnel looked blue and the water looked dark, and the walls showed their reflections with crystal clarity, down to Lenne's pink cheeks.
"Wow," she whispered, awestruck, "What is this place?"
"This is the Tunnel of Mirrors," Shota murmured, "I found it one day with my friends. We're still trying to figure out what the first Tribesmen built it for. It's our own secret place."
"I notice you haven't marked it so," said Lenne, thinking of her family's Secret Place back home, which was riddled with doodles, drawings, and squiggly patterns. This tunnel was clean-cut and graffiti-free, as pure as a temple.
"Not all teenagers are delinquents, you know," he replied, guessing her thoughts, "Sure, it's popular to be 'the bad boy' or 'the bad girl…' but I think don't think there's anything wrong with being the opposite. If it's okay to be bad, then it's just as okay to be good, isn't it?"
Lenne nodded; she could see the logic in that.
"You know, Shota," she said a bit sadly, "It's such a shame we met because we were forced to. I actually kind of like you, as a friend." Shota smiled at that.
"Well, the way I see it," he said as they rounded a corner, "Just because we're being forced into a marriage neither of us wants doesn't mean we can't be friends!" Lenne giggled a bit, then paused as she heard a low buzz, like an approaching car or TV static.
"What is that?" she asked quietly.
"Two more corners," he answered, "Then you'll see."
The buzz became louder on the next corner, and on the next one, Lenne gasped out loud.
A great cavern opened before them with a dazzling white ceiling of sparkling snow above and a thick floor of ice below, reflecting the indirect light that touched the ceiling. The floor was perfectly round and wide as a roller skating rink, but it didn't touch the wall. A circle of water about five to ten feet wide separated them.
But what caught Lenne the most were the waterfalls.
Seven of them, all along the wall, pouring from some unseen cataract of the ocean beyond the ice, generously pouring their waters into the circle that flowed into the tunnel. One was gently flowing and crystal clear, like water pouring out of a pitcher. It was to the far right. On the far left was a foamy white one that leapt and danced down with huge drops breaking free, like a fountain geyser. Next to the gentle one was one that fizzed at the top and broke into a mist in its flow, like when you put your thumb on the tip of a garden hose.
Beside the dancing geyser-like one was one that dumped heavily and straight down like a heavy downpour. Going back to the right, there was another one that fell with beauty and grace and had a slightly green tint; it looked like the kind of waterfall you'd find in a rainforest. Opposite to this one was one with ice protrusions behind it poking out like rocks, causing the water to break briefly and fizz outwardly a bit. Some of them were situated like steps, making it look like it was coming down a flight of stairs.
Each of these first six waterfalls was unique in its style and had an impressive size, but one so impressive or so eye-catching as the seventh fall.
White, massive, and deafening, the seventh waterfall dominated the cavern from the back center like the King of Heaven in court with His angels. It was no taller than the others, but was certainly bigger, threw off the most mist, and hung a rainbow in the room as if to crown its own majesty. It put the period on its statement of self-proclamation, a statement Lenne could hear more loudly than the roar of the fall itself.
She was so caught up in the amazing beauty she barely even noticed when Shota brought the small canoe to a smooth stop on a slope he made from the ice. He turned his head back to look at Lenne; she was staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the falls with an adorable red blush across her face. He laughed.
"Lenne, you're so cute!" he couldn't help saying as he stepped out.
"How is this possible?" she asked as he helped her out.
"I don't know," he answered, "It's amazing, though, isn't it?" Lenne nodded speechlessly as he led her to the center arm in arm like a gentleman.
"Welcome to the Cavern of the Seven Falls," he introduced with a presenting hand.
"It's incredible," she breathed, "Did you and your friends name it that?"
"Yep," he nodded, "The tunnel, too. No one else knows about this place; we all promised not to tell anyone as long as the Royal Council rules the Tribe." Lenne looked surprised at him.
"But this place is sacred," she said, "I can feel it! There's magic in here, Shota—spirit magic! I felt it in the tunnel! Surely they respect the hallowed grounds of the Pole!" Shota's face darkened.
"They don't even respect the basic freedoms of their people," he said bitterly, "Which is the most sacred thing of all! How can I expect them to respect a beautiful place like this?"
Again, those green eyes flashed inside his brown ones; he caught her glance and looked forward apologetically.
"I'm sorry," he said self-consciously.
"Don't be," she shook her head, "I feel the same way." She took his hand in both of hers and pulled him forward with a cheerful smile. "Come on! Show me around the waterfalls!"
"Okay," he chuckled, "Let me show you my favorite one first."
Author's Review:
At last, one of my favorite chapters is up and running! It's about time, too! Ever since I started working, I haven't had much goofing off time, which is actually a good thing, but don't worry! I'm still doing my best for my loyal readers! ^_^
Oh, don't worry: They're not falling in love, just becoming really good friends. She was just trying to cheer him up.
So yeah! What do you think of the secret tunnel and the waterfalls? It was all inspired by Luna-chan and her wonderful poetry, so let's all give her a big hand while we wait for the next exciting chapter! See y'all then!