A/N: So here's chapter 34 (AKA the other half of chapter 33). And the rest of the shout-outs! For those of you that wanted Rae to confront Silena, that's in this chapter. I hope I did it justice, and I hope you guys enjoy that scene and this chapter!
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Shay: It's okay that you didn't because it'll feel like less of a wait when these chapters come out. I'm very much invested in Alyssa and James as well. I like them more than I thought I would, because in the beginning, I was planning on giving Alyssa and James a cute, flirty friendship, but not actually put them in a relationship because of Chris, but then they became a couple and now I love them. Ellie will soon be in a different love triangle than the one she's in. You'll love this chapter because of the Gabi and Josh moment I put in. Their relationship is going to have a major development next chapter. And you'll just have to wait and see about Caty. I'm glad their friends again too; I guess you'll just have to wait to find out what happens with Angel. Well of course I can't tell you about identities unless you PM me. You'll probably find out identities sooner than you think however. I hope you liked the previous chapter and you like this chapter!
Taylor: Here's three double updates in a row, although these two were also technically supposed to be one chapter that I decided to split. I'm glad you liked them so much. Ellie won't be obsessive for much longer. You'll see why in the next couple of chapters. I'm glad they're best friends again too. I hope you liked chapter 33 and will like chapter 34!
Misa: Haha, no, that's not creepy. And anyway, I think that theory was disproved. This update is three days after your review. I got your PM, and I replied, so I hope that information will help the next time you try to guess. Good job though, even though you were wrong. Well, there will be a sort of "making up" moment between Josh and Gabi in this chapter. And yeah, definitely an awkward Thanksgiving. I'm surprised you were the first and only one to mention that. I knew you'd be happiest that Rae and Alyssa are friends again. You've been waiting for that for a long time. I'm glad you liked chapter 31 and 32 and I hope you like both the previous chapter and this one!
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"Oh, cool phone case Gabi!" Cara commented.
"Thanks. My brother's girlfriend gave it to me."
"Oh let me see," Caty begged, and Gabi handed it to her.
"Is Ariel still Michael's girlfriend? Because they were still fighting when I went home the next day," Sage said.
"It took some time, but they made up," Gabi said. "Actually, Josh helped with that."
"Really? What did you do?" Rae asked.
"Well, Ariel asked me about my family, and I told her a little about them. Then I got the great idea to tell her about how my parents met and their story. A modified version obviously, with Meridian being substituted with California."
"Aww, your parents' story is so sweet!" Cara cooed.
"And I bet it made Ariel want to make up with Michael," Sage realized.
Josh nodded.
"It was so brilliant!" Gabi gushed. "And, when Michael realized what Josh did, he decided he owed him, and doesn't hate him anymore!"
"He still doesn't like me either," Josh grumbled making Chris laugh.
It was the first guardian practice since the day before Christmas Eve. They group was still waiting for Alyssa, Ellie, and James.
"Caty, cute bracelet," Sage said as Caty looked Gabi's phone case.
"Oh, thanks," Caty replied smiling. It was a silver charm bracelet and it had a letter 'C' charm, a charm with her birthstone, and various other charms symbolizing her many activities such as student council and soccer. "Brian gave it me. It was his Christmas present."
"Wow. Not bad for Dorkzilla," Gabi commented.
Caty rolled her eyes lightly at the nickname, then asked, "Did you make this and have Ariel pay for it, or did she make it?" She was referring to the phone case as she gave it back to Gabi.
"She made it."
"That's amazing!"
Ariel had gone on one of those customizable case websites and made a collage style case for Gabi's phone. The amazing part that Caty was talking about was that Ariel had put pictures of everything Gabi loved (pictures of her favorite TV show, movie, actor, book, place, and people, as well as a close up of Gabi's first byline in Sheffield's student paper, a close up of Gabi's name in the ZOOM staff list, and a picture of Gabi in her Varsity uniform).
"You think so?"
"Yeah. A case that personalized is usually designed by the person themselves. Ariel clearly knows you better than anyone.
Gabi bit her lip. The truth was, Ariel didn't make her that case. Ariel gave her a charm bracelet with charms that spelled her name, a charm that held her birthstone, a pom-pom charm, a pen charm, a book charm, and a charm that said NYU. Gabi thought it tied with the high end speaker system Michael got her to replace her busted iHome as the best present she'd ever gotten. But then she opened Sienna's gift, and although she acted ungrateful and like she hated it, upsetting Sienna and angering her father, she secretly loved it.
Sienna was the one that made the phone case, and though Gabi would never admit it, she was touched that Sienna took the time to make her a case and pleasantly surprised at how well Sienna knew her. No one, not Ariel, Bree, Michael, or Luc knew her well enough to make a phone case that personalized.
Michael told Gabi she should apologize to Sienna because it was a nice gift, and because he didn't want her to get in trouble with Dad, which gave Gabi the perfect excuse to use it without making it seem like she genuinely liked it. She put it on her phone and made it seem like she only did it to satisfy her Dad and apologize to Sienna. She told everyone who asked that Ariel made it. Not even Bree or Ellie knew the truth since Sienna wanted to give Michael, Gabi, Luc, and Eva their gifts at the same time, and Michael's gift hadn't arrived at the Shay house until the previous day. Josh was at Rae's house, so only Ariel and her family was there while she opened it.
Of course, after guardian practice, Gabi had taken Caty aside to tell her the truth. She knew Caty would give her an annoying lecture that started with was Gabi sure she still hated Sienna. Gabi knew one nice present didn't erase the fact that Sienna was just a gold digging slut, and when Caty began to lecture her, Gabi told her to not say anything unless she wanted to hear about how she should read the letter she got from her birth mother. Caty shut up and instead they talked about when Gabi was going to see Bree next and how she was going to bring up that Ellie was possibly being abused.
When they group parted ways, and Josh and Gabi got into Gabi's car, Josh said, "I thought Ariel gave you that charm bracelet you're wearing."
"She did. So?"
"Then who is the phone case really from?"
Gabi sighed. She didn't want to tell anyone, not even Caty, who she usually told everything to. She wasn't really sure why she told Caty. But she did want Josh to know.
"Sienna. She gave it to me yesterday."
"Wow. She has an impressive understanding of you."
Gabi rolled her eyes. "Oh please. So she knows my favorite TV show and that I love cheerleading. Everyone knows that."
"Really? Because I remember a conversation I had with Bree a while ago, and she had no idea what your favorite TV show is, or who your favorite actor is, for that matter. Sienna knew both and more. And she did a really good job. She could've just put in any old newspaper picture or a picture of a pen or something, but she took a picture of your name in the newspaper and in ZOOM."
Gabi bit her lip. That was true. Even more impressive was that Sienna chose Gabi's first byline and told Gabi when she gave her the case that she'd chosen that article because her first byline was special even if her best article was the one she wrote about public vs private schools for the October issue of Sheffield's paper, meaning Sienna was reading her articles, including the ones she wrote before Sienna had even met Daniel.
"She's 27," Gabi said.
"Why does that matter so much?"
"Why would she want to be with someone literally twice her age unless she's after his money?"
"Because she's in love with him! Remember, I told you, I can tell. They really love each other."
Gabi didn't say anything for a long time. She just focused on the road, driving a lot slower and safer than usual. Finally, she whispered, "He's not supposed to love anyone except my mom."
Josh looked at her, and without even seeing him, Gabi knew he was probably wearing an expression of concern, which made her heart flutter, because he hadn't shown the least bit of kindness to her since the day he told her he hated her. The comment about how Gabi was 'enchanting' when she talked about Ariel, and the subconscious heartfelt 'thank you' for her Secret Santa present didn't count.
"I can't say I understand how that feels," Josh said quietly. "Not fully. My parents are together. But when I first found out my dad cheated on my mom with Taranee, I was insanely angry. I was too young to understand you can be intimate with someone you don't love, and I couldn't understand how my dad could love anyone besides my mom. They married each other, they had an unbelievable story. It was always meant to be. Caleb and Cornelia, written in the stars. So I get it. Your parents are only supposed to love each other."
"Yeah, exactly."
"But your mother isn't here anymore. I'm sure your dad loved her more than anyone when she was still alive, but now she's not anymore, and your dad should be able to find happiness with someone else if he wants to. I'm sure your mom would've wanted that."
Gabi was silent again. When Daniel first started dating, Luc was around five. He was too young to understand, but Daniel sat Michael and Gabi down, and told them that a few years after Michael was born, he and Alexandra had discussed what would happen if one of them were to die suddenly. They agreed that they wanted each other to continue living and dating, and find someone else to love. Michael was 15, and understood completely. Gabi was 11, and the first thing she said was that she didn't want a new mom. Daniel promised he wasn't trying to replace Alexandra, but ever since he started dating, he stopped missing Alexandra.
In the first few years since Alexandra passed away, Daniel used to stare at pictures of her, tell stories about her, and tell Michael and Gabi how they reminded him of her. As Luc got older, he did the same for him. He talked about Alexandra all the time and they watched home movies together all the time. He'd tell his kids how he missed her every day and he spent years learning how to cook so he could duplicate Alexandra's recipes. He used to keep stuff like her favorite wine and the books she used to read on a rainy day around even though he didn't use them. He played the music she used to like and taught Gabi how to dance the way he and Alexandra used to.
The minute he started dating, all that stopped. Not only did he put her old records and books in storage and stop buying her favorite wine, but all of the pictures and home movies went away as well. All the talk and stories of Alexandra stopped. All the cooking, which he'd gotten quite good at, stopped. Then he began to work and go out more, and he stopped spending time with Michael, Gabi, and Luc as well, forcing them to grow up and take care of each other.
All three of them had mother figures in the mother of their best friends; they were lucky that way. But they were missing the presence of a father figure. Then Daniel began to integrate the new women he started seeing into the household. It was clear these women had more in common with Michael than Daniel. They'd stick around for a few months, soaking up all the presents Daniel got for them, then break up with him when they realized they'd soon need to make a deeper commitment, taking all the expensive presents with them.
Gabi explained all this to Josh. "Everything got worse when he started dating."
"But Sienna's different. They dated for a year, and now they've been married for a year. If all your Dad's other girlfriends really did only last for two or three months, Sienna's already been around for 12 times longer."
For some reason, Gabi found that funny, and laughed. She pulled up at her house, parked the car in the driveway and turned it off, but neither of them moved.
"It's not the same. Sienna's only ten years older than me and her daughter is a menace. Sienna can't be my mother. She can't be anything to me. Eva hated me before I even said a word to her, and she does things like cut up my mother's old dress and torments Luc. No one with the least bit of compassion would call him Lucifer, but she does it for fun! I don't want either of them in my house or in my life."
Josh sighed. "I agree with you that Eva is a menace. She's nice to me, but she is terrible to you, and I have to commend you. You could've done so many things to her, but all you do is battle with her verbally."
"That's only because I don't want to get in trouble," Gabi muttered.
Josh ran his face over his hand, frustrated. "Why do always do that?"
"Do what?"
"You always discredit yourself. Every time someone tries to give you a compliment, you always just deny it because you don't think you are what they saw you are."
"Josh, I-"
"But when someone insults you, you're always really offended."
"I never used to be like that."
"Then why are you now?"
"Because of you!" Gabi cried. "Because I used to be a confident, self-assured person before you came into my life. And then I meet you and I start to second guess everything, like my actions and my self-worth. I want to be a better person. You make me want to be a better person. But nothing is ever good enough for you. How can I not discredit myself?"
Josh let out a breath. "I never said you were a bad person."
"You said you hated me. You said I was annoying and obnoxious and-"
"You're not. You're amazing," Josh broke in. "You're sweet and honest and caring, and you're really pretty."
Gabi began to blush but said, "I'm not any of those things. Maybe I'm honest, but in a bitchy way. I only care about certain people, and I'm definitely not sweet."
"Really? Because you used to torment Alyssa everyday of her life, and now you guys are best friends. You can always make Caty feel better, and you never treat Ellie like she's stupid. Every other person in the world has, most of the time, without meaning to. You're so much more than you give yourself credit it for. You're incredible, you know that? And the fact that you don't see it baffles me."
Gabi blushed harder and realized for the first time since their 'I hate you' fight, he was looking straight into her eyes with a startling intensity. He stared into her eyes as if the entire world would implode if she didn't understand this fact-not just understand it, but know it and accept it with every fiber of her being.
"I say things I don't mean. I've always been like that. Being nice doesn't exactly come easy to me. I've only ever been truly kind when it came to Sage, because you can't not be kind to her. So I'm sorry that I say all these mean things to you. And I'll be honest-because you deserve my honestly-but I did used to think you were annoying and obnoxious and all those other things. But I never hated you for it. And you're not any of those things anymore. You have changed and even though you shouldn't change for me, it's more than good enough."
"Thank you," she said because she couldn't think of anything else to say.
Josh gave her an actual, genuine smile, and said, "Now back to Eva and Sienna…I agree that Eva is a menace, but Sienna is sweet and she cares about you so much. She's trying so hard to please you and she won't give up. But you're never satisfied, and your feelings rub off on Luc."
"She's not my mother."
"She's not trying to be."
"It's not fair Josh. I don't want Sienna here. I just want my mother back."
"I know," Josh said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "But think about it this way. If Sienna was just in this relationship for the money, she wouldn't be trying so hard to get you, Michael, and Luc to accept her. And she only wants you to accept her for you, not her. She wants you to accept her so you'll be happy. So maybe you should try and all the bitterness you have towards Sienna will disappear."
Gabi stared forward silently for a long time. When she turned back to Josh, tears were streaming down her face. "I can't," she whispered brokenly. "The minute I accept Sienna, I'll lose my mom."
"What?"
"Dad started dating and he stopped talking about Mom, stopped thinking about her. If I accept Sienna, that'll happen to me too. And I can't do that to her. I never want to forget her."
"You won't-"
"Then why did Dad?"
Josh didn't have an answer.
"That's what I thought."
Gabi wiped away her tears and got out of the car. Josh followed after wordlessly, wishing he'd done a better job at helping the girl he undeniably had feelings for find happiness.
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"Why couldn't we take your limo home?" Alyssa asked the same afternoon, shivering as she and Rae walked home.
"I want to walk and be free as much as I can. Mom's so overprotective that I have to take advantage of being able to walk places while I can."
"It's freezing!" Alyssa cried. "And it's almost dark anyway. Why is your mother letting you walk home?"
"Technically we were supposed to be home two hours ago, when it was still light out. She hasn't called me to check up on me, so I'm assuming she's on call with a client."
"This is the last day I walk home with you. I'll take your limo without you if I have to, but I'm not walking anywhere after today," Alyssa threatened. It was inhumane how cold it was outside, the fire guardian was always more severely affected by the cold on top of that. "I'm going to follow Sage's example."
Sage had asked Rae if Harvey could pick them up. Rae said she wanted to walk, but Sage was free to take the limo if she wished. Sage felt awkward taking the limo without Rae, but Rae insisted it was fine. When Harvey arrived at The Silver Dragon, Alyssa considered going with Sage, but them decided she should accompany Rae, just in case. It could be dangerous for a teenage girl to walk the streets of Heatherfield alone in the dark, and just because Rae had powers didn't mean she could go all guardian on any random human trying to attack her.
Rae just rolled her eyes and changed the subject. "So what were you and Gabi talking about for nearly an hour today?"
"We were telling each other about our Christmases."
"But the whole group did that right after practice."
"Yeah, the bare bones. We were giving each other specifics."
"Why?"
"Because the specifics are interesting and fun."
"But you only do that with friends."
"Gabi and I are friends," Alyssa said, her tone mirroring the tone one would use to explain something to a five-year-old…or Ellie.
"Since when?"
"Since that day at the hospital. You know that."
"I don't get it though Lyssa. That girl spent nearly five and a half years tormenting you daily with insults and demeaning nicknames, and now you're almost as close with her as you are with me!"
"So? People change. Gabi has."
Rae snorted. "Yeah, sure."
"She has! I don't get why you two don't get along. You didn't like that she used demeaning nicknames, but she's stopped. She doesn't even call me Classless-a anymore, and she used to use that name on me even after we became friends for a while. You didn't like that she had Jake, but now you have Jake, and she's over him. You didn't like that she was bitch to everyone, but now she's not a bitch to anyone. What is there to fight about?"
"We're not fighting, and we're friendly, just not friends."
"Well, I guess not everyone can be friends. Maybe you and Gabi just don't mesh."
"And I'm okay with that. I just don't get how you two do mesh."
"Are you jealous?" Alyssa teased.
Rae rolled her eyes and lightly shoved the African American. Alyssa retaliated by lightly shoving Rae back, and the two ended up collapsing in giggles.
"You coming over?" Alyssa asked when they reached Larson Street.
"No. Sage and I need to talk to my mom."
"Are you going to confront her about knowing about Meridian?"
"Yeah. I hadn't wanted to before, but the more I thought about the more I realized if she's pretending not to know Sage, she must be afraid of something. As a guardian, we should find out what it is, in case it's a threat to us as well. Plus, I want to know if she knows who I am, like my dad does, or if she could give us a straight answer as to who Angel is."
"Good luck then," Alyssa said with a smile.
Rae smiled back weakly and continued on to her own house, nervousness building up inside of her.
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When Rae got home, she found Sage waiting for her in her room. Rae had decided that morning that she was going to confront her mother about knowing about Meridian, so she asked Sage to help and told her mother they needed to talk about something important when they got home that day. Silena was on a conference call when Sage got home, and was still on it by the time Rae got there, but told her she'd be free for the rest of the day, once she got off the phone. Now the two girls were waiting for Silena to be free.
Rae paced around her room nervously, wringing her hands.
"Rae, are you sure you want to do this?" Sage asked.
"Yes, why?"
"Because you look ready to pass out and I'm worried about you."
"I need to know," Rae said. "I need to know what she knows."
"Okay. Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Alyssa here, instead of me? I don't know how much help I can be."
"Sage, you don't have to be here if you don't want to. When I asked you to help, it was just a question. You could've said no. You still can."
"No, I want to be here for you," Sage said quickly. "I just want to make sure I'm the person you want here."
"You are," Rae said immediately. Sage was a calming force. She was also really kind. Too kind sometimes. That could get her into trouble.
'I'll watch over her,' Rae decided. 'Someone needs to.'
Rae figured Josh used to watch over her and protect her. She could tell by the way they interacted. But as they got more and more used to Earth, they stopped spending as much time together. Josh spent all his time working on his art or entertaining Luc. Sage spent all her time at cheerleading practice or musical rehearsals. Josh mainly hung around Rae, and Alyssa when they were still friends. Sage mainly hung around Gabi and Ellie. Josh joined newspaper as a photographer and made the basketball team. Sage joined Key Club, the Sheffield Social Committee, and Glee Club. They still hung out during guardian practices and at rehearsals when Josh helped out with set design, but they didn't spend much time together outside of that, and they never hung out just the two of them like they used to when they first arrived on Earth. So Rae decided she would take Josh's place.
"Girls! Are you still available?" Silena called from the kitchen.
Rae and Sage exchanged looks, took deep breaths, and entered the kitchen.
Sage and Rae hopped up on the stools in front of the island. Silena stood on the other side, and pushed a plate of sugar cookies over to the teenagers. They both took one and let the sweet taste calm their nerves.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Silena asked. She seemed perfectly at ease. She probably didn't think her daughter was going to confront her about magic.
"Remember those friends you used to have? Cornelia Hale and Elyon Brown? Whatever happened to them?" Rae started.
Silena smiled. "Well actually, they're Cornelia Hart and Elyon Martin now. They both got married several years ago. And they're still my friends, you know that. I talked to Cornelia just last week. I haven't heard from Elyon in a few months however. Why are you asking about them?"
"Have they ever met me?"
"Yes, when you were little. You used to play with Elyon's daughter and Cornelia's son."
Rae looked startled for a minute and exchanged shocked looks with Sage. Rae, Sage, and Josh used to be friends?
"The last time you guys all saw each other, you were five and Elyon's daughter and Cornelia's son were six."
"How come I don't remember this?"
"You didn't play together often. Usually Cornelia and Elyon came over here without their kids. You three only saw each other a total of four times."
"Well, how come you haven't seen them again since then?"
"I have. Just not while you were around."
"Well why didn't you ever invite them over for Thanksgiving or Christmas the way you did with all your other friends?"
"I did, but they usually go to Cornelia's parents' house for those occasions. Why are you asking about them?"
"Because I met Elyon's daughter and Cornelia's son. Sage is Elyon's daughter and I know you know that and I know Dad does too."
For a minute, Silena just stood there, staring at them, her face completely expressionless. Rae stared back her, defiant, while Sage cringed at Rae's bluntness.
Finally Silena sighed. "You're right. I know that, and so does your father."
Rae frowned. "Wait, that's it? You're just…admitting it?"
Silena frowned as well. "Of course. I mean, if I denied it, you'd know I was lying, so what would be the point?"
Rae bit her lip, realizing she was right. "Okay…so you've known who Sage's mother is all this time?"
Silena nodded her confirmation. "I had a suspicion when you called and left a message asking if Sage and Josh could stay here. Even though you said Sage was your penpal and Josh was her friend, I thought that might not be true because there aren't a lot of girls named Sage. I knew I couldn't pretend I didn't know about Meridian if they were both here-"
"And that's why you only let one of them stay here," Rae finished.
Silena nodded, and looked at Sage. "Of course I recognized you right away, so when you got settled, I called your mother. I couldn't get ahold of her however."
Sage ducked her head, knowing she wasn't allowed to tell Silena that Elyon was captured.
"So then I called Cornelia, and she told me that Sage and Josh were going to stay on Earth to help you and the other guardians."
Even though Rae knew that if Frank knew she was guardian, then Silena probably did too, she was still shocked, and her mouth dropped open. "So you knew?"
"Of course I did. Cornelia wouldn't hide something like that from me."
"But Cornelia told me to act like I didn't know you if you acted like you didn't know me, and not to tell you that Rae is a guardian if you acted like you did know me," Sage said.
"Well that was before Cornelia realized I'd call and ask her what her son and his best friend are doing on this world," Silena responded.
"But Mom, you were always so overprotective of me. How could you let me train to be a guardian?"
"I'm overprotective because I'm your mother," Silena said. "But I also know how important the guardians are. And I know how important you guys specifically are."
"You know we're the Thousand Year Guardians?"
"Yes, and so does your father. It's your duty to save all the known worlds. If you really didn't want the responsibility, then I wouldn't say anything, although I know that you're not one to shy away from something so important. But if you did want to be a guardian, I wasn't going to stop you. I mean, think about it. You got suspended, and I didn't even ground you because I knew you needed to go to guardian practice every day."
Rae couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her overprotective mother chose not to ground her so she could go to guardian practice while Taranee, who almost always let Alyssa do whatever she wanted, took her powers away?
"Mom, do you know about the Angel of Magic?"
Silena frowned. "I'm afraid not. Is that a person or…?"
"Well, I don't think she's a literal angel, but she has the appearance of one. She has these large, snowy white wings, and her face keeps changing, and so does her skin color, and she glows and she has an echo-y voice, and to be quite honest, she gives me a head ache every time I see her," Rae explained. "But she has magic, and she helps us out in battles sometimes. She won't tell us her name, so we just call her Angel, but she's powerful. She can disintegrate monsters."
Silena's eyes widened and to Rae's surprise, she smiled. "Well that's wonderful! She sounds like an asset, and I'll have to admit I feel better knowing you have an ally like that."
"That's the thing," Sage piped up. "We're not sure if she is our ally. Or at least, we don't know how long she will be."
"What do you mean?"
"Angel is a loyal to my mom. We think that Mom stored a fraction of her power in an important item, and put a seal on someone she trusts so that person could use the object to gain her powers should the need arise. Because of that, she is regent of my mom, and her loyalty is too much. If Mom ever switches sides, Angel will too."
"Switches sides?"
"Like, if Elyon ever went to the dark side, or turned evil," Rae clarified.
"But why would she ever do that?"
Rae and Sage exchanged looks. They couldn't really explain that without telling her what happened to Elyon and her family.
"She probably won't," Rae said quickly. "Just…in case she gets brainwashed or something."
Silena laughed lightly. "Oh, honey, Elyon is far too powerful for that."
"Yeah," Rae said.
"Haven't you met her? It's within a guardian's power to sense magical energy. You would've been able to sense how powerful she was."
Magical energy? Is that why Rae could always feel when there was portal without the Heart? Or why she felt some sort of sensation, like an electric shock or something, whenever she was with Sage?
"I haven't met her yet, actually."
"But why not?"
"Um…we've only been to Meridian once, and we didn't get a chance," Rae said, and that was at least true.
"But shouldn't you have gone back?"
"It could be dangerous," Sage said quickly. "We don't know who the Thousand Year Guardians' enemy is or where he's hiding. That's why it's safest for the guardians to just stay on Earth and continue training until the prophecy begins to unfold."
Silena nodded. "That makes sense. Why were you asking about Angel though?"
"Well, like Sage said, Angel could switch sides if Elyon does, and it made me a little weary. But Dad indirectly told me to trust Angel when he was here for Thanksgiving. I figured if he thinks I should trust her, he probably knows her real identity. I thought, maybe if you knew her, you'd be able to tell me who she is, but you haven't even heard of her."
Silena shrugged. "I'm sorry, sweetie. But…you said Angel is Elyon's regent, and she would've only used the powers Elyon stored away if she needed to. Why did she need to?"
"Maybe Mom just wants someone looking out for the guardians on Earth. I haven't talked to her in a while," Sage said. "She was too sick to come to Thanksgiving at the Hales'."
"But shouldn't she have contacted you by now?"
"She has. But it just keeps slipping my mind to ask about Angel. We're always so busy, and I'm preoccupied learning about and exploring this world. I know why Mom loves it so much," Sage said. It was a clever lie, plus Sage really sold it because she really was fascinated by everything Earth had to offer.
Silena smiled at that.
"Anyway Mom, I just wanted to ask you about that," Rae said. "Thanks for being honest."
"You do know this means I'll be doubly worried, right?" Silena asked, half teasing, half serious. "Because now you know why I'll be obsessively worried."
Rae groaned. She didn't know that, but she should've.
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
"Wait, what's it called again?" Ellie asked.
"Teletransporting," Hay Lin answered.
"And it's like teleportation?" Caty prodded.
"Yes," Hay Lin said, nodding.
"I can teleport with magic," Sage spoke up. "Watch."
All eyes turned to the Meridian princess. She disappeared from where she was with a little 'zing' noise and reappeared with the same noise on the other side of the basement. She did it a few more times, ending up first by the window, then next to Gabi, and finally in front of Hay Lin.
"Whoa," Ellie breathed.
"It's just like that," Sage said. "Obviously I can teleport to wherever I want, but only within this world. With teletransporting, you can cross between worlds, but that takes a decade of practice. Right now, we're just trying to teach you how to teletransport within one world."
The girls all nodded. It was January 4th, one day before they started school again, and when the girls had arrived at guardian training, Hay Lin said they would take a break from sparring to learn how to teletransport, an ability all guardians possessed to take them from place to place. As usual, Hay Lin started out with an anecdote from her time as a guardian to demonstrate its usefulness.
"The first time I heard about teletransportation was in the first summer since we found out we were guardians. Phobos had escaped from prison and he and his minions were storming the castle. Elyon was in the meditation chamber, diving into a memories of her servant to learn more about her parents, so she wasn't completely conscious. The guardians were all scattered. Irma was at her family's beach house, Taranee's family had gone camping, Cornelia's family was in Paris, and Will was at a museum. I managed to get Will by calling her. She had the Heart, so she could fold over here. Blunk had been to Irma's beach house before when the five of us went together, so he folded there to get her. And my grandma teletransported to get Taranee and Cornelia."
"But your grandmother wasn't hooked up to an auramere. How did she do it?" Alyssa asked.
"I was hooked up to an auramere and let her borrow life force from me."
"Why didn't you just do it yourself?" Ellie asked.
"Because we hadn't done it yet. If you do it wrong, you could end up anywhere. The first time I teletransported, I ended up in the middle of a bull fight."
All the girls' mouths dropped open. James too was shocked. The others just laughed.
"And you could also end up inside solid rock or a glacier or anything like that and die."
"So we're learning this super dangerous skill why exactly?" Gabi asked.
"Because even though it is super dangerous, it is also, like you said, a skill once you master it."
"When was the first time any of you teletransported?" Rae asked.
"It was only a few months after Grandma did it. Will was the first one to try and she used it to get us from one end of Zambala to the other."
"Zam-what?" Rae asked.
"Zambala. It was another world. Kadma, the Earth guardian during my grandma's time, led the attack when Zambala was being attacked, and as a thank you, the Zambalans gave Kadma the Heart of Zambala and made her their Queen. She stayed on the planet to rule over and protect the Zambalans for many years."
The guardians exchanged looks. That sounded a lot like Will and Jumelle.
"When Nerissa was on the prowl trying to get the former guardians on her side, she attacked Zambala to try and get Kadma. Once she had Kadma, she absorbed the Heart of Zambala into the Heart of Meridian to create the Seal of Nerissa. She had two hearts to the one we guardians had. There was no way we could've defended ourselves from her attack without Kadma on our side, so Will teletransported us so we could escape."
"How much practice did you guys have?" Caty asked.
"None at all."
"And she did it successfully?" Gabi wondered.
Hay Lin nodded. "She almost put us in the wall, but managed. She didn't try that again until we started to get formal training for that skill. But she pulled it off then, probably because she was desperate."
"You never know what people are capable until they're pushed to the edge," Caty said, realizing too late that sounded ominous.
An uneasy air set around the team until Hay Lin broke it by awkwardly clapping her hands together and saying, "Okay, so let's get to it. To start, I'm going to teletransport all of you from here to Rae's house."
Ever since Rae had told the team that she'd confronted her mother and Silena had admitted to knowing about Meridian and about Rae's guardianship, Rae's house had been like a second base for Team GRACE.
"All of us all of us, or just the guardians?" Cara asked.
"The guardians," Hay Lin clarified. "I'll need to borrow life force from one of you."
Rae stepped forward, since she was the leader, but Hay Lin shook her head.
"Like flying comes easiest to the air guardian, teletransporting comes easiest to the Keeper because it is like folding, a skill the Keeper possesses. You've begun to make folds without the Heart. I need you at full strength because by the end of practice today, I want you to try teletransporting once."
The other girls looked at each other. Finally, Alyssa stepped forward.
"What should we do?" James asked.
"Want to learn to be an archer?" Cara asked.
"Or how to use a dagger?" Sage inquired.
"I'd like to learn both," James replied.
The girls smiled and led Josh to the clearing so they could train him in weapons. Chris and Josh decided to go with them and spar.
Hay Lin grasped onto Alyssa's arms. "I need all of you to be as close to me as possible and let yourselves relax. You can be as tense as you want when you are teletransporting yourself, but it's hard for someone else to teletransport others if they aren't relaxed."
The girls all nodded. Hay Lin closed her eyes, and Alyssa began to glow. The glow seemed to be leaving her and flowing into Hay Lin. Hay Lin began to glow as Alyssa returned to normal, looking like she was about to pass out. When Hay Lin let go, Alyssa fell backward. Caty and Gabi caught her and held her up.
"Are you alright?" Hay Lin asked
"Fine," Alyssa assured her.
"Good." Hay Lin smiled, and the next thing they knew, all the girls felt a strange tingly sensation inside of them. In just a few seconds, they were in Rae's kitchen.
"Whoa. That felt so weird," Rae breathed.
"Good observation New Girl," Gabi snorted. "Very articulate."
Caty and Ellie collapsed into giggles and even Alyssa laughed. Rae understood Caty and Ellie-they thought everything Gabi said was funny. But why was her Alyssa laughing?
"I didn't know how else to describe it," Rae snapped. "But you're welcome to try."
"It felt like I was hollow for a moment," Gabi said. "No, that's not exactly right. It felt like…like I was getting blown away by the wind."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ellie said. "I feel that every time I go invisible, and this was just like that."
"I felt a tingly sort of sensation inside me," Rae said. "And I felt that when I started working on bare handed folding. It's stronger when I actually make the fold."
"That feeling means you're getting closer to mastering bare handed folding," Hay Lin said. "And yes Ellie, teletransporting does feel the same as going invisible."
"So how does this work?" Alyssa asked.
"What you need to do is to visualize the place you want to go. You also need to visualize yourself teletransporting to that place. And it's easier if you relax. And that's really it."
"If it's that easy, how come it takes so long to master it?" Rae asked.
"Because you need immense concertation, and it's so easy to lose focus. If you're goal is to teletransport to The Silver Dragon basement, and halfway through the teletransportation, you imagine, I don't know, pasta, and you could end up in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant."
Everyone gave Hay Lin a 'Really?' look.
"It happened to Irma," Hay Lin replied.
"I don't think I want to try this anymore," Ellie said.
"It's perfectly safe as long as you follow my instructions," Hay Lin assured her. "We're going to be doing very short, very easy distances today. Now, I need to borrow life force from someone else to get us back to The Silver Dragon."
Caty stepped forward this time and they returned to the empty basement.
Caty sat down as soon as they arrived, trying to recover. The rest of the girls stood at attention, ready to learn. Each of them were thinking of how useful this ability would be in their regular lives. They wouldn't need a car to get anywhere, they could wherever they wanted whenever they wanted, and there was no chance of them being late ever again.
Hay Lin taught them the basics that day. By the end of the two hours, they were disappointed that only Rae had been the one allowed to try it, and the most she was allowed to do was teletransport from one end of the basement to the other. However, Hay Lin promised if they stuck with it, they'd be able to do more in no time.
The other members of the team came back to The Silver Dragon around the same time Hay Lin ended practice. She went upstairs to get back to work while Rae showed the other members what she learned.
Josh and Gabi said they had a shift in ten minutes, but Rae stopped them saying she had one more thing she wanted to discuss before they left that day.
"What is it?" Alyssa asked curiously.
"Well, I was thinking about the prophecy."
"What about it?" Caty asked.
"Why hasn't it happened yet?"
"What do you mean?" Alyssa asked frowning.
"Well, isn't this what we've been training for? Obviously Kasson is a concern, but he's not like Phobos. Phobos's tyranny apparently formed a rebellion that tried to fight him at every turn. He always tried to desolate the population of Meridian. But Kasson's not doing that. In fact, his rule hasn't brought any bad to the people of Meridian except for the taxes, and obviously the capture of the royal family."
"So?" Josh asked.
"So, we're mainly training so that we can defeat the enemy outlined in the prophecy," Rae said. "But none of the events outlined in the prophecy have come to light yet."
"How do we know that?" Caty asked. "We're not even sure what the prophecy means. Every meaning we gave to those lines are just guesses."
"Besides, the prophecy mentioned someone getting captured and something being stolen," Alyssa said. "Those things could've happened. Just because we don't know about it doesn't mean it hasn't happened."
"That's even worse! We need to do something!"
"Something like what?" Chris asked.
"Like…I don't know. Wasn't there a line about a place without rain? Let's go there!"
"Where do you think that is New Girl?" Gabi asked. "For all we know, it could mean the Sahara Desert."
"I think it's probably a different world," Rae replied.
"That doesn't narrow it down," Josh said.
"There are a lot of places that could count as 'a land without rain,'" Cara agreed.
"Like Petlakar," Sage said.
"And Handamoor," Chris added.
"Sageshamay," Josh reminded.
"Miragdia," Cara said.
"Smythelore."
"Villadar."
"Beauxin."
"Brinala."
"Okay!" Rae broke in.
"Smythelore? Beauxin? Tell me those are made up," Caty said.
Cara giggled. "They sound ridiculous, don't they? But they're all real. Chris and I have been to Beauxin actually."
"I'm sure when something happens, we'll know," Alyssa said. "Maybe we'll sense it or something."
"I've been reading some of the journals, and a lot of the water guardians said they saw visions in puddles and such about stuff that was outlined in the prophecy," Caty said.
"And Hay Lin said the Earth guardians can see visions in the Earth and the fire guardian can see visions in the flames," Gabi said. "And Ellie already dreams in visions. One of us will figure it out if something's happening."
"But why hasn't anything happened yet? We've been attacked by those brown monsters who want us dead a few times. Shouldn't something else have happened?"
"Why are you rushing this?" Gabi asked. "The more time this enemy takes to do something, the more powerful we'll be when it comes time to fight."
"Yeah, it almost sounds like you want something to happen," Caty said.
"Like you're the traitor!" Ellie cried in an 'aha' voice.
"No Ellie. No one is saying that," Caty sighed. "And the traitor is still male. Don't forget that part. But still Rae, why are you so over eager?"
"Give her a break guys. She's thinking like a leader," Alyssa defended. "She just wants all the information, so she's asking questions. It doesn't mean anything."
"Thank you," Rae said. "Let's all keep our ears to the ground though, okay?"
Everyone nodded except Sage and Josh, who looked at Rae like she was crazy.
"So we can't play our ears, but we can keep them pressed to the ground? Makes sense," Josh snorted.
Rae rolled her eyes. "It's an expression dumb ass," she explained. "It means, let's keep alert and pay attention."
"Any specific orders?" Sage asked.
Rae nodded, getting a familiar look on her face that Alyssa dubbed her "Leader Expression. "Sage, I want you, Josh, Chris, and Cara to look out for information from Meridian. Guardians, you guys watch for visions. We should all concentrate on the prophecy and tell each other any theory we may have on the meanings, no matter how farfetched they may seem."
"What can I do?" James asked.
"I'm going to be working on deciphering the prophecy tomorrow with Rae," Alyssa said, alluding to the plan she and the Keeper had discussed before practice. "My house. Come."
James nodded.
"Alright, everyone know what they have to do?" Rae asked.
Everyone nodded and slowly began to leave. Caty invited Ellie over for dinner, so the two of them left first. Cara and Chris decided to spar some more and stayed in the basement. Gabi and Josh went upstairs to start their shift. James gave Alyssa a kiss and left. He had a shift at Lange's, but Alyssa didn't work that day.
Rae waited for Alyssa, who was coming to her house for dinner. Alyssa said something to Gabi and they both began to laugh. Then Gabi said something that made them laugh harder. Rae stood by the door for ten minutes waiting for her best friend to finish what seemed like a highly amusing conversation with a girl who used to torment her.
Alyssa smiled at Rae as they walked to Rae's house. Rae gave her a smile back, but felt a pit in her stomach. She didn't like this new friendship between Gabi and Alyssa one bit.
G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.
A/N: So what did you guys think? I hope you liked it. I know this chapter was boring, but it would've made your eyes bleed if I didn't split it up, so I had to. I know the next chapter will be more interesting to most of you. I'm excited to write it. Hopefully it'll be up soon because I am on Winter Break, but my dad is cracking down on me, since I'm a college senior this year and didn't get an internship last summer. He wants me to find an internship for the spring and the hunt starts now, so I don't know how much time I'll have to write. But don't worry, I'm not giving up on this story!