new beginnings
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers.
Chapter Three
"Hi… mom."
Countess' jaw clenches. "So this is where you've been for the last few months? It's just like you to take up with… werewolves."
Her voice is laced with disgust and contempt. "What are you doing here, mom?"
"It doesn't concern you, daughter."
Emma's jaw clenches, clenching her fists. Gia steps in, "okay, I think you should leave now."
Countess tenses, a dark expression crossing her face. But it disappears as soon as it appears, as the elder witch plasters a clearly fake smile into her face. "Fine. But I hope you consider our offer."
Countess touches Gia's shoulder, before walking out of the house. "What was that about?"
Emma's always had a tense relationship with her mother, but there was more tension displayed in the last few seconds than Gia remembered. "Things have changed a lot since you left. And what offer was she talking about?"
"She offered me my father's seat on the board."
"She what? Why would she do that? The board has never been your biggest fan."
"I don't know. It was definitely… unexpected."
"Are you going to say no?"
Her first instinct is to say yes, but then she remembers last night's dream. If something really was up, she had no way of figuring things out if she wasn't on the board. But did she really want to take a seat on the board? She sighs, "let's go back into the kitchen."
After breakfast, Emma takes Gia to some fairies. It's snowing in the area, despite how warm it felt. The trees were wilted, and the ground beneath their feet had turned to a sand like substance. "What happened? It wasn't like this the last time I was out here."
She doesn't have an answer for her. They both look around the area, hoping to find at least one fairy out here. And they do find exactly one fairy, sitting on the ground, their head hanging. Their skin is pale, and their breathing shallow. They approach her, and she lifts her head. There's black liquid oozing from her eyes, and her mouth is open, as she struggles to catch her breath. Emma kneels down in front of the fairy. "Layla, what's happened here?"
"Darius Moran." Layla gasps. "He did this. Sort of a… parting gift."
Her father was an old and powerful warlock, but he wasn't this powerful. Emma says, "and the board hasn't tried to fix it?"
Layla laughs, although it sounds more like a wheeze. "The board only cares about witches. No offense."
"None taken." They both say.
Layla gasps, "but there's something else. There's a dark cloud hanging over the realm. Not quite dark magic, but more… pure evil for lack of a better term. Between Darius' spell and this evil, my people are weakening."
Layla gasps again, her breathing getting slower and slower. "I don't have much time. And neither do my people."
"We'll figure this out, Layla. I promise." Emma says.
"Thank you." Layla gasps again, her head falling to the side. Her breathing has stopped, and her body has gone limp. Emma hangs her head, slowly standing up. Layla's body turns to ash, floating into the wind.
"What do we do from here?"
Gia doesn't respond, looking over the balcony. She could see the board's base between the trees, and she closed her eyes as she tried to imagine working out of there. Last night's dream was becoming harder to deny by the second.
"Gia?" Emma comes up behind her.
"I know what I have to do." She says, turning around to face her friend. "I have to join the board."
"What? How do you know if the board has anything to do with this?"
"Last night I had a dream… my mom brought me to the Otherworld, and she told me that the board was up to something. I didn't know what she meant then, but now I think that she might have been talking about this."
"So… you're saying yes to their offer? Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes. There's no other way to get to the bottom of this."
Emma sighs, but doesn't argue any further.
She stands in front of the board's base, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Emma asks for what may be the fifth time. She had insisted on coming with her, despite Gia's objections.
"I'm sure." She exhales, knocking on the door. Blair Akron-Cassidy comes to the door.
"Gia. Emma. Please come in, we are just about to start." Blair walks further inside, leaving the door open. They followed after her, seeing the rest of the board sat at a round table. Blair takes her seat at the table, inviting Gia to sit in the other empty seat.
"I take it you have an answer for us." Countess deadpans, not even acknowledging her daughter's presence.
"Yes I do."
"Well… would you like to enlighten us?" Lord Hill says.
She inhales. "Well, I put a lot of thought into this. But… I've decided to take you up on your offer."
Silence fills the room for several moments. Their faces are unreadable as they all stare at her. Kenzie Hill stands up, "welcome to the board."
Her voice is slightly more expressive than the others, but even that's not saying a lot. "Thank you."
"We'll see you in next week's meeting. Now go." Kenzie does a shooing motion with her hand.
Gia and Emma both leave the base, walking outside. Gia exhales, looking back at the base. Emma says, "we should be getting back. Hopefully, the wolves will have lunch ready."