Chapter 3: the reveal
It was early morning in the practice room as the group lounged around the piece of paper the imps had given them slowly passed around to each princess. Each one of them letting out a sigh not waiting to have the paper in their hands, the paper was eventually ended up on the coffee table where Iris looked at it conflicted. "We don't have to go today." She offered looking at Talia and Auriana, the others had head back to Ephedia for an important meeting.
"Can we just not go?" Auriana stared wearily the scribbles on the paper, the direction to wherever the imps want them to go was illegible to almost every language. "I mean he's not that cute." She said with a little unconvincingly.
Talia gave a huff and sighed "It might be a trap."
"With those imps, I don't think he could pull off a plan like that." Iris tried to defuse her friend's apprehensions.
"But the twins tried something like this." Auriana wined, the opposite reaction Iris wanted her to have.
"Yeah but, that's the twins." She giggled, plans like that would never worked out for the Mephisto and Praxina.
Talia gave a nod of understanding "Yes, but I can name three things he's got that the twins don't." She glanced at Auriana before her could interject "And it's not, Jumble, Mumble or Snarl."
The green-eyed princess crossed her arms and hmphed a "Well, Talia you said he's protecting us because of you." She looked at Talia with something close to jealousy "What do you what to do with him."
With nervous glace Iris between Talia and Auriana. Talia's honey-colored gaze turning cold and introspective, Iris wonders if Auriana had hurt her feelings.
"Fine let's do it." Talia sighed picking up the piece of paper.
The tree princess locked hands to do a locating spell on the piece of paper. The magic circle glowed making the room seem dark in comparison, the scribbled-on piece of paper floated in the air turning into a ball of yellow light. The ball grew and expanded into an image of flat roof buildings interspersed with round colorful building like someone had painted giant insect hives.
The giant building sparking something in her memory "High Hope?" Iris blinked in recognition pulling back breaking the image.
As the lights in the room adjusted Iris glanced at the confused faces of her friends. "High Hope Art Academy, it's a little way's out of town, kid's and teen that to don't do well in normal schools go there." She tried to explain before pull out her phone "Here if we leave now it's only an hour bus ride." She shows a list of city bus routes that had a stop at that school to them.
Talia and Auriana nodded as they gather up somethings and moved out of the practice room and to the front door.
"Hi, girls where you heading?" The group stopped at the sound of Aunt Ellen's voice as she stepped out of the kitchen
Iris stammers for the right answer but deiced on a half-truth "To High Hope, it might a potently venue for LoilRock."
Aunt Ellen stared at them before laughing "Oh, sweeties let me drive you, remember you still need to set up the stage for your performance at the botanical gardens tomorrow night."
The trio nodded in appreciation and brief car ride to the coastal cliff side outside of Sunny Bay, they pulled into the parking lot of High Hope Art Academy. The conflicting architecture spotting the hills and cliffs.
"So, the front office is over there, I going to take a tour of the student galleries." Iris's Aunt pulled into a parking spot on the main campus "Just text me if you need anything."
"See you soon."
"Thank you for the ride."
The girls waved to her as they exited her car and made there was across the parking lot. Turning away from the doors to the offices at the last moment, they began to search for the secret gallery that Soren had mentioned. Peering into classrooms and both dance and art studios, grumbling on who the imps should have learned to write better.
"You hear that?" Talia's head suddenly shot up, her head turning to look at something in the distance.
Auriana tilled her head trying figure out what the Xerin princess was talking about "Hear what?" She shrugged.
"This way." Talia hastily jogged off to a far corner of the campus.
Iris and Auriana followed her throughout the school, letting her stop now and again. Talia was on the trail of some sort of phantom sound and it was the only clue the trio had to go on. A short goose chase, the trio found themselves in front of a small building done in that bizarre painted hive style. There was a glass door that looked like a giant pair of dragonfly wings, on either side of the door was labor sized statues of floppy eared dogs.
Iris kneeled down to read an engraving under one of the statues "Whirl and Twirl, greatest companions and greatest protectors." She frowned and read the rest of the inscription "Nineteen eighty-seven to two thousand and five."
Auriana petted one of the dog statues "Aw poor puppies."
"Eighteen years is a long life for dogs." Iris tried to comfort her.
"Still." Auriana's eyes watered as she gave a small sigh.
"This door has a magic barrier." Talia said more focused on the door "There is a chance that we'll get shocked if we enter." She looked at her friends worried.
"Why would he do that?" Iris was starting to think that he might be more of an evil wizard, than protector or prince after all.
"Maybe it'll only zap evil people." The green-eyed princess said optimistically.
Talia gave a thoughtful nod "Together." She said the placed her hand against the magical barrier.
The two joined her as they quickly pushed the door open into a room brimming with a loud string of music.
"What is this place?" Iris moved to what appeared in be an inside balcony and see's it was the start of a long spiral staircase.
On further inspection of the long stairwell, the trio of princesses noticed something far more interesting. Along the wall of the decentering spiral were hundreds of music boxes, everyone playing the exact same tune.
"Hey!" The green imp Mumble zipped up the stairs to meet them "B-boss! The pretty ladies are here."
"Ho ho!" The jovial voice of the blue imp floated up to see them "Come on down, don't mind the music."
Carefully the group made there around the looping stairs to the platform Soren had been waiting for them on. His eyes trained forlornly at music boxes as the girls got closer to him.
"Why are they all playing the same song?" Talia was the first to get a word in.
"These are portals to my home realm." Soren gave a sigh not looking at her "The song is a distress signal."
"Helios must be pretty big." Auriana said impressed.
"Yeah, I've never seen all of it." He looked at the three girls with a tried sadness "Mom made me hide on earth since I was like three." He moved to hold one of the boxes "Been moving around between my aunts and uncles, while this music plays"
"I was baby when I was sent to earth, Garmorr and his dark magic has hurt all our realms." Iris said out of sympathy "He might do the same to yours."
The sky prince said nothing as he continued to listen to never-ending music.
"Do you want to help your people?" She asked him instead.
"I want them to stop fighting." He sounded like a child talking about his parents.
In a way he was. The imps had let it slip after all that the civil war what was happing in his realm start because of his mother and his own birth.
"Could you help them if it wasn't your people's debt to Xeris?" Talia said with concern.
He gave a sigh "Maybe."
"Tali?" Auraina tried to talk to her but was cut off.
"Soren!"
The dark-haired teen startled by the honey-eyed princess voice turned to look at her fully.
"I Talia, princess of Xeris." She looked at Soren and smiled "Reveal you of your people's debt."
The young man's shoulders slumped in relief "Thank you."
"But." She held a finger up to him "Once the civil war in your realm is over you as Prince Helios must return to help us defeat Garmorr."
He gave smile "Consider it done!"
The building shook violently the suddenness of it all knocking every one-off balance. The music boxes rattle on their perches, the stairwell bouncing on the wall.
When the tremor ceased Soren's, expression went stern and said: "It seems that'll have to assist you in one last battle." The from his pocket pulled out the bundle of pink a fabric.
The girls nodded and transformed then upon then made there way up the flight of stairs. As a fully transformed Soren leaped over them cape fluttering like a pair of wings.
"Is it the knight?" Auraina asked him as looked out the door.
Moving aside he let them the crystal-covered worried on his stead being chased by Mephisto and Praxina. The twin's cackling down at knight sneering as they heard him between two buildings.
"Should we just let them fight it out?" Iris asked.
Several dark spells cast as the knight was drawn deeper into a corner.
"Come on, it's clear you're doing well fight in close spaces."
"Maybe you shouldn't have taken those hits for those human children."
Soren shook his head as the taunts of Mephisto and Praxina. With a flick of his hand, he sent his imps out to the battleground that hours before had been a school campus.
"Boo!" Snarl wedged himself between the twins.
Praxina let out a coo of interest before shirking in disgust "What is that!"
"Imps, m'lady." Jumble answered his balloon of like body drifting across her line of sight. Then swiftly dodged a swiped her hand "what was that for?"
"Go away!" She continued to scream at the imps
"I got them!" Her brother said trying to clumsily trying to hold on to the three sky creatures.
"Crystal Colidum!" a tricolored crystal whizzed past the twins as the three princesses made a collective warning shot.
Seeing the opportunity, the striped equine and its rider bolted from the fight. Galloping off to a distant cliff side.
Praxina let out an angry growl "I'll get the knight, you handle this mess!" She shouted at her brother before flying off after the warrior.
The chase the child's play for Praxina she knew the cliffs would be a current dead end for the warrior. She had moved to cut him off only to the knight jump off his stead and fell off like the rock down the cliff and tumbled down to the craggy sore below. She hovered down to the knight's still body, perplexed by what would make proud warrior to such a thing. Her eyes fell on the jagged gem sticking out the reflex surface the armored chest.
After what she has seen of the knight her master would be better off with the large jewel then it's wielder. Placing her feet on a set of rocks she gripped the sharp maroon gem and pulling on it. She funneled her magic power in her arms and jewel sent sparks out in return as the reflective black of the armor crack and shift. Praxina let out a giggle of delight as she held the jewel in her hands. She could feel the absolute untapped magic that sparks in her grasp.
Turning to leave the still warrior stranded on the rocks, only to see that the knight had disappeared. In a fact, the interworld around changed unreservedly unnoticed. "What is this place?" Her accusatory voice echoed back from cavernous walls.
She walked around in confused staring at massive pillars of stained glass and webs of golden strings in the slick floor. The wild gem she held pulsing energy as the large pillars began to the spin glow with a similar primal power. The magic spun and mixed with the light as her body grew heavy "Gaw!" Praxina let out a noise as she fell on her hands and feet. the feeling of her magic being ripped out of her body.
A pale apparition danced at the corner of Praxina's eye. Lifting her head, it fulling look at the stranger jagged her.
The woman was deathly skinny with pointy ears that judged out of translucent hair. Her large cherry red eye's filled with manic laughter at the prone Praxina. With bony fingers, she pulled at the young sorceress face spidering down to rip the wild gem from her grasp.
Praxina gasped falling back on her own cape. The ghostly woman summoning up writhing tendril of lighting from the gem readying to bring them down on her like a whip.
"Next time you'll be more careful when touching something you don't own."
The crackling distortion of the knight made Praxina's eye snap open. Heart pounding, she looked at the fractured and disintegrating armor of the warrior. She tried to laugh but failed, finally understanding why Garrmor needed the knight.
"Where is your brother!" Garrmor's burned like a physical blow as his image glared from a crystal pillar.
"He's coming Lord Garrmor." Parxina tried to keep her expression neutral through her insides where shaking. She had let the stone covered warrior wade into the ocean as it tried to put the gem back in his armor, the side effect of the maroon gem had paralyzed her. When she'd returned to the human academy the battle she'd left to Mephisto to handle was over.
Her mind had jumped to the worst conclusion. while Parxina knew that the princesses didn't have the stomach to kill her brother. Kidnapping and torture her twin might not be out of the realm of thought for them.
"Mephisto!"
Parxina jumped and turned to look at cave entrance then the grand wizard called out her brother's name. Her annoyance and worry turned to shame as she watched him enter half soaked with the three sky imps clinging to him.
"What are those?" Garrmor asked though the dry irritation in his voice told the twins that he knew and was displeased.
Mumble answered before the young sorcerer could "Imps! oh, tall scary one."
"Mephisto how did you find these imps?"
"Ho-ho!" This time Jumble was the one to answer "He was clearly more versed in the evil arts than our last boss." He gave a playful shrug "So, we are compelled to be in his service."
"I see." The wizard's tone turned bored and cold "So, what delayed your master form reporting to me?"
"Nixie hunting."
"Nymph not nixie!"
"Nixies don't sing."
"Lord Garrmor!"Red-faced Mephisto finally spoke up "These creatures merely distracted me from searching for the knight or the Oracle Gems."
"Well, incompetence leads incompetence. Learn to control your minion's tongues before trying to excuse your failure." With those words, Garrmor's image vanished from the pillar.
Standing in the darkened castle the Garrmor turned another pillar where Lev stood with a smug expression.
"I take it you are less incompetence." It was not a question.
Lev just smiled "look for yourself." He pulled back a tree branch to show him the grazing creature called Intrepid "I'll have your ancient warrior by the end of the day."
With nothing more than a nod, Garrmor left Lev to his hunt.
Lev moves to a better hiding space, knowing the that the stead would not take him to the knight if startled. He had to stalk the equine and rodents under the stone brut's command and now he was closer then he could have imagined.
The zebra stripes cute raised their fang head sniffing the air before trotting off.
Stealthily Lev followed the horse like monster to a cave hidden behind a mound of fallen rocks. He could feel an ominous power flowing from the dark hole. He sat and waited for Intrepid to emerged yet, the creature didn't emerge as the sky grew dark.
As night fell he's patient ran thin and he moved to the mouth of the cave. He smiled seeing animal takes under the dark shard of his target's armor. He moved deeper into the cave to find the remains of a small fire and a pile of clothes. They seemed too small for an adult and out of curiosity move closer to the pile. There was sharp crack as lights bopped across his vision as the ground rushed up to him. When he came to his senses there was someone kneeling over him.
"Hey!" A soft, quiet voice called to him "Hey!" Lev blinked as he patted on the check "I think I might have given you brain damage."
His vision focused and he looks up at the gentle face of a human female teen. Her lager dark eyes the color of untweeted tea and delicate petals lip pull into a frown. The girl's hair was an unkempt mane of golds and browns like the leaves of an autumn tree.
"You're not a man." He let out a confused croak
The girl let out radiance laugh "aww that's so sweet." She breathed and sighed "But I'm not interested in dating murderers."
Her words made the world snap into focus and he lunged at the human. To his surprise she dogged and he caught a wooden training staff. He was not in the mood to be beaten over the head again and took the weapon out of her hands.
His icy eyes winded as she rammed her shoulder in his gut. Though the sudden closeness was he need to place the spell that freezes her in space. He let out a breath and stared the girl, she was feral compared to other humans her age. The looked around that cave and the training staff as new revelation struck him.
He stood up and released her from the spell "Where is your master." He looked at her disorientated form.
"Master?" She groaned "Oh, you're one of those." She lay back on the dirt floor the cave "You want that rock guy."
Lev kneeled beside her "Yes, where is he?" he narrowed his gaze menacingly at him.
She just smiled shrugged "I don't know he just comes and goes."
Lev was a skilled liar, and he found fail lies like assassin finding hole in a kingdom defends. The vagabond of a teen had given a half-truth, just enough of a lie to tell she was hiding something.
"So, are you like his squire?" He tried to create a leading question to get any information.
The human wouldn't let as she vaguely giggled "We share a space, I do things for him."
"Listen I need to meet him." He gave an irate sigh "I've been hired by someone, to make sure he agrees to a partnership."
"What's in it for me?"
Lev blinked and then smiled as he said: "What do you want?"
"Deal's off I've changed my mind!"
"What?" Lev almost laughed at the human girl.
With her thick mane pulled back into a messy bun and pants accessories to go along a gray tunic shirt. He knew she made herself look as much as a non-transcend teenager to make him wait a whole day then to shut down on their agreement.
Unwilling to renegotiate a new deal, with time running out to show Garrmor the stone warrior. He looked around the darkened gated garden in front of him to see what could have scared her out of her own plan. "Oh, do a little pop group ruin our date." He chuckled seeing the unmistakable stage of LoliRock.
The girl crossed her arm mumbled something face darkening with embarrassment.
He gave her a mischievous smile "Come on, I know how to make this worth your while." Taking her arms and leading her behind the stage "Stand guard." He said poking his head in the backstage changing trailer.
"This isn't changing my mind." The brown-eyed girl mutter but let him slip inside.
She then glanced around worried to see if some had noticed them. The froze like a rabbit smelling a snake, as her large eyes falling on a venomous green pair. The stranger stared at her like a predator and she made herself smile at him in hopes it made herself less specious.
Awkwardly the green-eyed male smiled back and waved to her as if she was a friend. He was then quickly away pulled by a blue-eyed girl seemed to be nagging the boy as she did so.
Where was a moment of relief for the brown eye girl "What are you doing?" She said startled as she felt fingers working out the hair out its bun.
Lev merely 'shushed her as he works to pulled her mass of hair into a ponytail. She felt him slide something into the scrap of cloth that held her hair up.
"What did you put my hair?" She turned to Lev trying to feel the ponytail he created. Only to see the platinum blond teen had disappeared.
"Hi, there!"
She spun around to see Auriana bouncing up to her all dressed up in a glittery performance outfit.
"I love that flower clip!" Auriana giggled "I have one just like it."
"Thanks?" Was all the girl could say her expression frozen with the realization of what Lev put in her hair.
"Are you shy?" Auriana's eye's widened and took the girls hands "Iris told me about shy people!"
"Auriana show time!" Talia's voice called out.
"Bye shy person." Auriana whispered to her as if she was small animal before running off.
Lev remerged his shoulders shaking the silent laughter amused by the prank he had created.
The brown-eyed girl shifted pulling the shoulder bag she had "Not funny." Her cheeks turned red with blush.
Lev gave a nonchalant smirk "Fine what do you want to do?"
As the music started from the performance and she leads Lev away from the crowd to a set of benches by a large fire pit. "Sit." She said sliding into the one benches.
"Really this is how you wanted to spend your night?" Lev set down beside her rather confused.
"I like company." She said absently.
He was aware of that. Lev considered it foolish to rat out a powerful ally for a couple hours with a stranger. "What about your master?" He asked now seeing the loneliness in the light that reflected her dark eyes.
"He doesn't human very well." She pulled her legs closes to her chest "I don't human well either."
Lev didn't respond knowing that either he could turn her suffering into a joke or tell her he wasn't good a being 'human' himself. Those options would just distress her and he would lose his chance to successfully do his job.
His gaze focused on the distant crowd of the concert and saw Mephisto and Praxina on the outer edge. Even disguised as humans it was so obviously them he wondered why the twins even tried. Lev knew they wouldn't attack him not with the princesses so close, not in the wake of a fresh failure.
"So, do you know that your boss wants from him?" The human finally asked.
"I don't know." Lev honestly didn't care what Garrmor wanted he could be setting up a tea party for all he knew. Lev jumped as he felt the girl's head rested on his shoulder and started at the hair ornament that he stole for her. The fabric and rhinestone bloom stood out like an Ephedian wildflower against the fall colors of her hair.
"I'm Opalite."
"Lev." He flinched inwardly at the simple exchange. He didn't want to know her name, he'd hoped these moments as impersonal as possible. The girl, Opalite, was a contirdiction compared to the other humans he'd encountered. The less she talked the more he seemed to knew about her, the more he saw himself.
The worse part of it was that when everything was set and done he'd leave her. No one, not even the girl resting against him would make him weak.
The area grew silent as the concert ended and Opalite stood up "I'm done." Her voice was tight as if she was fighting tears "I'll take you to him now."
Lev stood up looking to see if could still locate the twin then said: "Let's go." When he couldn't see them.
Together they made there out with the crowd of people and continued out into the road that leads deeper into the woods. Lev watched her gracefully lead him through the growing darkness and wondered how easy it would be to forget her.
A red spiral of light appeared in front of them and Opalite jumped back reflectively "That far enough!" Praxina held out her hand forming a magic circle, threating attacks them.
Lev called out the young witch's bluff and shot a crystal projectile at her. "Run!" He shouted to Opalite, the girl had froze, trying to process the sudden exchange.
Praxina growled and summoned up her duel rapiers and rushed at him with a furry.
That was all the human needed to see, to spin around and run blindly into the forest.
"Stop! not so fast!" The group of imps popped out of the brush in front of Opalite.
"Ouch!" The sky creatures screamed as the human use her purse to smack them aside.
Her fingers slipped and her bag when she tried to get another hit in. She gasped as the pursed sent flying into the black of the forest.
"Heh, missed us." The imps giggled as they creep toward her.
Opalite fearful step backward at the creatures approached. Only to stumble back into the gloved hold of Mephisto "Let go of me!" She screamed and struggled against his grip.
"Not a chance." The green-eyed wizard chuckled.
After all, he found his songstress, while the human that struggled against him was the meek soul he thought she was. It was unmistakably her, that's what mattered him at that moment. Praxina was hesitant earlier when he wanted to take the girl captive. Not the information he had learned about the Melanosthro, a rare beast so powerful they could use it to overthrow Garrmor with could convince her. Only see Lev did his sister relent and consider what he had to say.
"He won't save me."
Mephisto look confused at Opalite who had stopped struggling.
"If you don't let me go, right now then the warrior. The knight of Jewlrestdom, Garrmor seeks is gone forever." Though she didn't lift her head to him each word held a threat.
His mind stopped her hadn't considered that the knight might have been the keeper of the Melanosthro and not the human. While that was a logical line of thinking especially with how the human could possibly have knowledge of Garrmor. A small part of him advised to keep the human, the connection to the beast and the knight would be enough to satisfy Garrmor and his own curiosity.
"Go and bring him here!" He let her go and shoved her forward taking a risk "But if try to run and hide." His green eye's bore into her brown ones "I'll find you and make you'll regret it."
Opalite gave him a strange look that he didn't understand before running off into the darkness.
"Mephisto!" Praxina saw he brother reenter the battle "Where's the girl?"
Mephisto gave a sheepish look "She kicked me."
Lev burst into laughter and Praxina gave her brother a murderous look.
"It really hurt."
"Boss help us!" The tree imps jumped out of the brushes as the two dewizzel chased them down hungrily.
Mephisto suppressed a smile as hear the crashing noise which signaled his deal with the human was successful.
"Stand down!" The light from the accent warrior's gem pulsed like a beacon with the boom their voice. The reflective crystal covered warrior then harshly grabbed Lev by shoulders "you best get out of here boy." The stone monster growled shoving something into Lev's hand "go!"
The twins attempted to go after the pale-haired teen but the knights next words stopped them cold.
"Show me Garrmor!"
Mephisto and Praxina stared at each other with conflicted expression at being handed a victory. Together the summoned up a connection to their master a dark crystal pyre appearing from nothing.
"So, we finally make an acquaints with each other." Garrmor spoke in a formal tone.
The knight was not as cordial "Why you do send you slaves to hunt me wizard."
"Slaves?" The masked wizard gave a small chuckle "You must have a misconception on how a treat my minions."
The dewizzels tired with imps snaked up the dark armorer rubbing and nuzzling against the stone entity "I have no interest in being your slave."
"I have no interest in making you one." The wizard's tone was one of restrained irritation "I simply want to free you from the vex you placed on yourself."
"Vex?"
"You search for royal's magic to save an ancient land whose rulers abandoned it."Garrmor spoke as if he was revealing a secret "The truth is the only person you need to break that curse, is you?"
"That makes no sense." The knight absently pated one of the head of the clinging rodents.
"Sh."
The stone entity looked over at the twins who were whispering to each other.
"Not yet, but if you join me it all be clear." Garrmor said to regain the warriors' attention.
"What's in it for you?" The knight said
"To simply study you. You are the only living connection to a culture in which magic and people like us were held at the same level as kings." The wizard answered, "we most defiantly could create a mutual relationship."
Then suddenly the air in front of the stone warrior rippled and tared opened into a portal.
"The door is open. Do you accept?" The grand wizard asked.
"I do." The knight answered stepping through the portal.
Meanwhile, Lev had gotten far enough away to inspect the bundle he was given by the warrior. Pulling back the covering his heart's rhythm jumped in speed. The fabric flower clip he stole for Opalite and a folded letter. His stomach twisted and mouth went dry as he read the note, because it was the truth.
(AN: I'm unsure if I should continue with the fic. This anyone interested in where this is going? I'd like to keep writing it. Leave a review and tell me what you think.)