~Chapter 38~

Miss Angeline's News

An old man was crossing the street, his cane wobbling with each shaky step he took. He came to a curb, trying to step up onto the sidewalk, yet was having difficulty.

A little girl walked up, reaching her hand and gently taking his, helping him get onto the sidewalk. "Thank you," the old man said kindly to her.

"You're welcome," she replied sweetly, then hurried along to catch up with her parents.

"Where have you been, Dalia?" her mother demanded.

"I'm sorry, mother, but that old man was having trouble-"

"No time for excuses, we must hurry." Her father interrupted, taking her hand and pulling her along. "We don't want to miss the ceremony."

"What's the ceremony about?"

"It is a big event! The Keeper claims he has chosen an heir for the Azen- how could you not know about it? It's all everyone has talked about for the past year!" her mother replied.

"Oh." Dalia looked down in embarrassment. Being so young, she did not pay attention to many news, having heard about the Azen once or twice that year, occasionally meeting the Keeper- an old man who was reaching the end of his years, and had been spending his final months searching for one worthy to inherit its power.

Normally, the Azen would be passed down to the child of the Keeper, yet there was a break in tradition after the only child of the current Keeper was exiled from the city, for reasons Dalia did not know.

They entered a citadel, where the ceremony was taking place…

*0*0*0*0*0*

Damn memories… will they ever stop disturbing my peace?! Abyssa thought bitterly as she sat in the backyard the next morning. In front of her sat the Azen, shining in the morning sunlight.

She thought she would be happy to have it back in her possession, that after years of bad memories she could finally live in peace with the gem she was chosen to carry… but the moment Oliver got it, and she held it in her hands, she felt no such thing. Instead, it felt as if a new burden was placed upon her shoulders again, because now she had to keep it safe until she could find a place to keep it completely secure… meaning it would be a while longer before she could get on with her life.

Maybe I should just give it to Oliver… came a thought, which she immediately scolded herself for. No. He's already got enough burdens to deal with- and keep in mind, he has ties with that thief! You've already come too far to just give it up.

She sighed heavily, then picked up the gem and placed it around her neck- she had found an old ribbon to loop through it- and tucked it under her tunic, walking back towards the house.

*0*0*0*0*0*

"So that's where they're hiding!" the first hooded figure rasped. "I should have known that wretched boy knew Gateway!"

"Of course, he's a wizard, you blathering fool," the second hooded figure sneered. "And offspring of the Great Sage, Alicia, no less! Knowing she was the one who hid the Azen, it's no wonder we could not find it anywhere in this world!"

"No matter, her efforts will be in vain soon enough. The moment that gem is back in our world, and that girl is alone, we strike!"

*0*0*0*0*0*

Esther looked out the window, watching as Abyssa walked back towards the house. The moment the drifter woke up this morning, she grabbed the Azen and walked out with it to the backyard. The familiar-tamer immediately went to the window, believing Abyssa was going to make a break for it, relieved to see she was just sitting out in the yard, and immediately felt silly- after all, they would need Oliver's help to get back to their world.

But something was still troubling the girl, Esther noticed. What exactly it was, she did not know- she thought she would be happy to have the Azen back! There's something else about that gem that she's hiding from us, she thought. But what could it be? The Azen is supposed to be powered by hope, faith, and love, like Mr. Drippy said… Certainly the Keeper of it would feel such things!

"What's she doin'?" Mr. Drippy asked, hopping up by the window next to Esther.

"She's coming back in… Mr. Drippy, something isn't right. Abyssa has the Azen back, but…" Esther told him.

"But she doesn't seem all that happy. 'Figured one of ya would notice too, I did. Aye, Abby must feel an old pressure again- after all, bein' Keeper of a powerful gem en't exactly an easy thing to manage, 'specially if someone else is out to get it. Methinks it must be low on power,"

"Low on power? How?!"

"Same way anyone could be low on love, hope, an' faith, lass. It's been passed around so much in life, traded for goods, or stolen, or jus' thrown away. Such negativity can cause anyone to lose their muster. Alicia possibly knew this, an' hid it away wit' care, plannin' tah give it to Ollie-boy as a gift, which would explain why it hasn't lost power yet, an' why Angus would keep it to himself- bunting probably felt th' gem was th' only source of peace he had, yet kept letting his own negativity overcome him, slowly draining it. Abby-girl probably can't feel any peace, because th' gem needs a refuel of positivity,"

"Well, how can we fix it?"

"Whoever has th' Azen must let go of any negativity an' show some goodness! An' it can't be forced, it has to be sincere, meanin' we can't just say 'Oi, th' Azen is low on power- do somethin' good an' fill it up'! That means we don't tell Abby about it, till she discovers it herself,"

"What about Swaine and Oliver?"

"Ollie-boy could probably figure it out quick as a whip- Thief-Face might take some time, even if we do explain it to him. Best if we keep quiet about it. Only reason I told ya is 'cause you asked,"

"Okay,"

"Speakin' o' which, where th' heck IS Ollie-boy an' Swaine?"

"I think they're downstairs. C'mon, we'll go see them," They exited the room, heading downstairs, where they saw Abyssa standing in the doorway of the living room. "Morning, Ab-"

"Shush," Abyssa whispered, then pointed over.

They looked, seeing Oliver and Miss Leila were sitting on a couch (Swaine sat on the other side of Oliver, on the arm of the couch), while across from them sat a woman. She had long brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and wore a blue-gray suit-jacket with a matching skirt, and glasses. "That must be Miss Angeline," Mr. Drippy said.

"Oliver, I won't say I'm not disappointed. Your running away caused a great scare for everyone," Miss Angeline said, calmly. "But, I understand the reason why, and what matters is you decided to come back. Now, can you give me some details about this friend of your mothers, and exactly why they didn't take you in or call any of us about your whereabouts?"

Oliver breathed in a deep breath. "He… he was a good man. He and my mom had been close friends a long time ago. But, he couldn't take me in because he was busy, taking care of his own kids. He told me everyone would be worried and that I had to go home…" he replied, while glancing over at Swaine, who gave a nod.

"And why didn't he tell the police? Didn't he know you were missing?"

"He didn't. He just knew I ran away, and that I had to come back and face my problems."

"By yourself?"

Oliver paused, stuck in his alibi. Swaine leaned over, whispering something in his ear. "Um… that's how he was raised, and how he raised his kids- it's an old custom of his to have kids do things on their own and learn how to handle themselves… uh, once they're old enough. He would only call the police if I were in trouble."

"I see… How old are his kids?"

Swaine whispered in Oliver's ear once more. "Um, I think they were 6 and 10,"

"Hmm… well, I may have to look into the family. I can't tell anyone how to raise their own kids, but not contacting the police or your guardian about your running away-"

"It's my fault… I didn't tell him everything- about where I was living, or anything."

"I see…" Miss Angeline leaned forward. "Oliver, I won't scold you for that. You were scared at the time, and didn't know what to do. Running away wasn't the answer, and neither was keeping details from Raoul, but you didn't consider that because you were just trying to find a new family on your own- a family with someone who was close to your mother." She sat up. "Now, Miss Leila, I know you and Allie were close, and you've done fine taking care of Oliver, but you can't really keep up with the finances, especially when you've already got a shop to tend."

Miss Leila sighed. "I know, Miss Angeline, but you know I can't handle letting Oliver be sent away. Why, look at how many people care about him! Myrtle would be heartbroken, and he just made friends with a new family down the street… I could still take care of Oliver, it would just take a little managing," she tried to say.

"Your heart is in the right place, ma'am… but you won't have to take care of Oliver for too much longer," the agent looked, giving Oliver a smile. "And you won't have to leave Motorville, either. I found someone who can take care of you, who plans on moving to Motorville by the end of the week."

"That's great! Who is this family?" Oliver asked.

"It's a family of one, actually. His name is Jasper. I believe he has a brother or friend living with him currently, because he was talking to someone else while we were on the phone."

"And he wants to adopt Oliver?" Miss Leila asked, to make sure she heard right.

"Yes. He claims he's a good friend of your mother's, and that she had helped him out once, but he never got the favor." She stood up, looking at her watch. "I have a meeting with him this afternoon, to handle some paperwork. I think you'll like him, Oliver… he's a good man,"

Oliver nodded. "I can't wait to meet him,"

"Thank you for your time… and welcome back, Oliver, I'm glad you came home." With that, Miss Angeline left.

"How wonderful!" Miss Leila exclaimed, hugging Oliver. "And to think we were all worried about nothing!"

"It's a miracle!" Esther added, running into the room and hugging Oliver after Miss Leila released him. "I'm so glad things worked out!"

"I wonder what this 'Jasper' fellow is like," Swaine inquired. "I mean, if he was such a close friend of Alicia's, why wasn't he around when she passed away?"

"He doesn't live around town- he probably didn't hear about it until late,"

"Still, you'd think others would know him-"

"Oi, don't try to ruin th' moment, Thief-Face! What matters is Ollie-boy doesn't have tah get shoved off to another town!" Mr. Drippy exclaimed.

"I thought that didn't matter, since he could cast Gateway and come to our world from any location in his world," Abyssa noted.

"Hey, if Ollie-boy's happy, we're all happy, get wit' th' program, mun!"

Abyssa rolled her eyes.

"I am kind of nervous about meeting Jasper," Oliver admitted, turning to Miss Leila. "He said he was a close friend of my mom's… do you know him?"

"Well, your mama had a few friends who came and went, but I was always so busy at the shop I didn't have much time to meet them all." She replied. "But Jasper sounds familiar… While I'm thinking about it, why don't you go tell everyone the good news?"

"Okay!" Oliver raced up the stairs, planning on grabbing his things.

"And remember, be back by 5 o'clock!"

"I will!" Oliver grabbed his magical items, and outfit, and went back downstairs, going to the backyard.

"I take it we're heading back to our world?" Swaine guessed with a smirk.

Oliver nodded. "I figured it would be a good time. After all, I offered to help out Abyssa first,"

Abyssa shrugged. "Well, it's no big deal…" she replied.

"No big deal?! You were ten seconds from killing me over that gem!" Swaine sneered.

"Again, no big deal."

Oliver waved Astra, casting Gateway, and they were on their way back to the other world.

*0*0*0*0*0*

A/N: Seems like there's going to be a lot more going on, but it's time to return back to one of the original plots- and maybe some suspense, but we'll see how everything plays out. ;)

Reviewer Thanks!

Mike AZ 2: Thank you; And I have an explanation or two for Angus's vision, but I'm saving it for later; I feel as if some ideas are rushed too much, and that I throw in too much in one story (my excuse is that I have so many ideas that I try to cram in, because I can't find time to update so many stories), but I'm glad you understand and still enjoy it. And yes, the journey for the drifter is far from over… ;)

Please review, nit-pick if you must, but don't flame!