Hello again faithful readers! You are the reason I am still determined to finish this fic. I have many other chapters that have just been waiting to be published, and I would like to thank allyrwhitney for all the sweet reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story and it has motivated me to ACTUALLY PUBLISH all the chapters I've been too depressed to publish since like last year. ANYWAY! As always, thank you to my beta and my other faithful readers! Y'all are the reason this fic is still kicking. We're nearing the end here and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 31: Audacious
Amber and Sofia ran together with Cedric and James trailing behind them as they rushed back to the battle field. "Amber, look out!" Sofia yelled, tackling her sister to the ground as a black blast hurdled towards them. Both girls covered their heads and squeezed their eyes shut as a cold blast of air wooshed past them. Sofia looked up hesitantly to see Vasilia floating in front of them, her hand outstretched as black smoke sizzled around her.
"Get out of here, Amulet Bearer if you value your life," the sorceress growled.
Amber removed her hands from her head and looked up at the woman as tears subconsciously formed in her eyes.
A stronger blast came from the same direction. "You're not getting soft on me, are you Vasilia?" the mad sorcerer called.
Vasilia sucked air through her teeth in frustration as she put her hands up in front of her face, blocking the massive ray of magic. "Go! I did not spare your life for nothing!"
Sofia tugged on Amber's sleeve, equally terrified of and thankful to the savage woman. "Let's go this way!"
Amber stared at the woman more in shock and awe than anything else as the two scrambled away from the barrage of magic. Sofia pulled her sister into an alcove that had been made by some pieces of fallen stone. She sat Amber down as far away from the entrance as she could and then peeked her head out, scanning the area. She saw James and Cedric running towards them. They weren't far, maybe only a few meters, but the wizards' war waged above them. Just as Sofia thought they might make it, a beam powerful enough to level an entire castle rushed toward them. Sofia didn't hear herself scream her loved one's names as an explosion of light made Sofia cover her eyes.
There was a high pitched ringing in Sofia's ears. Little white dots danced in her vision as she tried to force herself to see straight. James. Mr. Cedric. Where were they? She wished she didn't have to think the next, more nauseating question. Where were their bodies? Slowly, the white dots started to dissipate and the ringing gave way to the sound of voices raised above the cacophony of destruction.
The smoke cleared as Sofia's vision returned and Vasilia was floating in front of Cedric and James, her golden emerald eyes pulsating wildly. "I am your opponent, Kashchey! Stop playing games and fight me!"
The sorcerer floated lazily in the sky and smirked down at the woman. "Maybe I would if you would stop trying to preserve these puny, pathetic pests!"
"If they're so puny and pathetic, then stop firing at them and focus on the one who will end your existence!" She focused her malice and hatred into her next attack. He put his arms up to block the massive blast. When the light cleared, his smile was as smug as it was deranged. "Come now, tell me that's not all you have."
Vasilia gritted her teeth. He was much, much stronger than the last time she had faced him. But so was she. She took a breath. "Not even close!" She launched herself into the sky once more, leaving a small crater in her wake.
With both sorcerers in the sky Sofia was able to urge her sister to stand. They couldn't stay safe here for long. "Come on, Amber, we've got to move."
Amber merely nodded. Now that she was in the thick of the battle, she wasn't quite sure what to do. The only thing on her mind when she got those awful visions of Vasilia's past was helping the woman, but how could she help a century-old sorceress with a vendetta against an even more powerful, more evil wizard? As if Sofia had read her mind, the younger girl gave her sister an encouraging glance. "Don't worry, we'll figure out some way to help." It would have been significantly more difficult to believe had it not come from Sofia's mouth.
"Sofia!" James cried as he and Cedric ducked into their shelter.
"Are you guys all right?" asked the youngest princess.
"Yeah," James panted. Cedric merely nodded, still trying to catch his breath.
"Good. Follow me." Sofia motioned.
"Wait, where are we going?" James asked.
Sofia didn't answer and hurried out of the shelter with Amber following closely behind. If she was being completely honest, she didn't know why she wanted to go that way, she just had this feeling in her gut that told her to go that way.
"Sofia, wait up!" James complained, trailing behind his two sisters.
As the quartet ducked behind boulders, trying to avoid the shock waves of magic, Sofia thought she saw a faint glimmer out of the corner of her eye. "Huh?"
"Come on! Let's go to that fallen tower!" James suggested before eagerly running in the direction he pointed. Cedric followed the boy. Why? He wasn't quite sure, but at least they'd be out of the cross fire.
"Aren't you going to go, Sofia?" Amber asked, her tone drenched with panic. As much as she wanted to follow her twin and Cedric to more relative safety, she couldn't leave her sister.
"Oh, yeah. Hang on." Sofia turned to her left, in the direction of where she saw the glint.
"Sofia!" Amber gasped angrily, but followed her regardless.
"Merlin's mushrooms, where are those two going!?" Cedric exclaimed, smacking a hand to the top of his head.
Sofia stopped running and looked at the ground.
"What in the world are you doing, Sofia?" Amber called out, trying to catch up to her sister. How had she gotten so darn fast?
"Amber, look!" Sofia bent down and moved some of the soft soil around, revealing the familiar gem she always wore around her neck. There was a large crack down the middle of it, and it had lost some of its luster, but there were seven small indentations around the outer edge of the gem. "Huh, that's odd. I don't remember those being there before."
Amber felt an odd jolt from inside her coat pocket. She stopped and raised an eyebrow as she put a hand on the stashed box. Nothing. Hm, maybe she was imagining things. She took a step towards Sofia and it wriggled in her pocket again, this time more violently. "What in the world?" Amber withdrew the box and held it in front of her as it steadily wriggled in her hand as if something was trying to get out.
"Amber?" Sofia called, holding the silver chain in her hand as she began walking over toward the older girl. Suddenly, Sofia's amulet shone bright like a bright, fuchsia beacon. She had to turn her face away or risk more white dots in her vision.
The box continued to shake in Amber's hand, steadily becoming more violent as Sofia came up to her. "Amber what is that?" Sofia inquired, shielding her eyes from the brightness of her amulet.
Amber struggled to keep the box in her hand as it struggled to jump out. "I'm not exactly sure!" she grunted. "But it's never done this before! Ah!" the box leapt out of her hand and clattered onto the floor, still bouncing around.
Sofia struggled to pick up the jittering box. "Why don't you t-try opening…it up?" she laboriously suggested.
Amber grasped the box with one hand, helping to keep it steady while she undid the crystal latch on top, both girls squinting in the bright light of the amulet. The box immediately stopped shaking and the silver egg that was inside floated up to hover between the two girls' faces. They both gazed in wonder at the egg as a faint, silver glow appeared around it.
Words whispered in the back of Amber's mind. She had no idea what they were or what they meant, but she felt that they needed to be said. It was a language she had never heard before, and it mostly sounded as if someone was trying to speak but was out of breath and kept having to gasp for air. The words themselves seemed to have no sound at all, but they carried a heavy weight as they started in her throat. The sensation of her voice manifesting sounds without her previous knowledge of said words was mystical and fantastic, but also frightening.
The egg's glow changed from silver to white. As Amber continued speaking, the colors began to pulsate: first white, followed by a soft yellow, then vibrant green, electric blue, ruby red, violet, and finally black. Amber's mouth still formed the strange words; it felt like it they were a long forgotten memory that bubbled up from inside her, moved effortlessly though her throat and past her lips. With each pulse of color, the egg shrank until it was about the size of a small seed.
Both girls marveled at the display, hypnotized by the beauty before them. The seed then stopped pulsating colors and instead took on a kaleidoscope of all of them. The colors shifted and churned together in a bright halo around the tiny ovular shape. The gem at the end of the silver chain floated up to meet the smaller oval. The seed floated into one of the notches that recently appeared on the gem's face and suddenly, there was a bright white light that engulfed both girls.
A giant pillar of white light suddenly shot up into the sky, zooming past the two dueling sorcerers. Cedric and James shielded their faces as a huge gust of wind exploded past them. Vasilia and Kashchey leapt out of the way of the beam and hovered in midair, looks of shock and terror plastered on their faces.
Silence hushed over the castle grounds. The wind ceased as everything within the vicinity froze with either fear, awe, or both. Hardly even a breath left their lips as the three sorcerers and the boy all gaped at the gleaming pillar that shot high into the atmosphere.
Vasilia's being trembled as she felt the massive amount of sheer power the light emitted. What caused this enormous power? She released the breath that she had been holding and glanced at her rival. He, too, seemed overwhelmed by the magnitude of power, and she took a small comfort in that fact. Vasilia felt like she was staring into eternity, all of the power that she had couldn't even graze the surface of what this thing was giving off. For the first time in a century, she felt small, helpless, frail. Never could she have imagined such a power; and Kashchey felt, for the first time in a millennium, genuine fear.
Miranda and Roland had just crossed the gate back into the castle grounds when the pillar erupted into the sky. They braced themselves, clinging to one another as the ground quaked beneath their feet.
Even after everything stopped, even the wind falling deathly still, Roland could feel his body trembling. His skin tingled from his scalp to the tips of his toes. Miranda's breath was as unsteady as his legs. "Rollie, what do you think that was?"
"I don't know, but it seems to have stopped those two from fighting. Come on." Roland forced himself to jog ahead, ignoring the painful jolts that it sent through his legs. It was almost as if they had fallen asleep in those brief moments after the blast. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure Miranda was behind him. She was, but her face was ashen with fear. His probably was too, but they couldn't waste any time. If Sofia was at the castle, who knows how close she would have been to the blast? It wasn't long before they spotted the royal sorcerer, staring slack-jawed at the mystical pillar. And only a split second after that, that they saw a familiar blonde boy doing the same. "James!" both parents exclaimed as they sprinted to the sorcerer and prince.
The prince turned at the sound of their voices, but the look of shock and awe stayed plastered on his face.
"James, what in the world are you doing here!?" Miranda breathed as she embraced her son. He didn't look her in the eye, or rather he couldn't tear his attention away from what he just witnessed.
"Where are your sisters?" Roland asked urgently, also kneeling in front of the boy.
James moved his mouth, trying to speak, but couldn't get any words to form. He took his arm and weakly pointed to the shining obelisk before them.
The king and queen shared an apprehensive glance before looking back at the source of light. Suddenly, the earth shook, as if a huge clap of thunder rumbled right above their heads. The light before them shrank back to earth and suddenly just blinked out. Where there was a giant pillar, there were two young girls. Silence no longer hung oppressively in the air as a gentle breeze blew across the smoldering, cracking castle.
Amber and Sofia stood where the center of the pillar had been, Amber holding a small box and Sofia grasping something in her clenched fist. The younger princess opened her palm, revealing a small ruby. She smiled at her older sister who returned the gesture, and then turned her hand over letting the small gem fall into the box. Amber shut the lid, smiling, before she threw her arms around her sister's neck.
"Girls!" Miranda exclaimed as she and Roland rushed to meet them.
The two girls broke their embrace. "Mom, Dad!" Sofia called.
"Mom, Daddy!" cried Amber at the same time as her sister.
Both girls ran to their mother. Miranda kneeled down and welcomed both children into a tight embrace. "Oh, my sweet girls!" She buried her face in their hair as tears fell from her eyes. "I was so worried!" After a moment, Miranda lifted her head. "What in the world are you two doing down here?" she scolded.
The girls looked at each other, searching for a suitable explanation. Amber opened her mouth, but then closed it and then grinned at Sofia who giggled back at her. "Go ahead, Amber."
A broad grin spread across Amber's face. "Well, it's kind of a long story, longer than you'd think. But we saved Sofia and stopped Vasilia and Kashchey."
"We?" Miranda asked.
"James, Cedric, and myself," Amber explained motioning to the two behind her parents. "We may have snuck into the castle to try and help you free Sofia."
"You WHAT!?" Miranda yelled.
"Amber, what were you thinking? Cedric, you let them do this!?" Roland bellowed as the boy and the sorcerer had just run up to the group.
"Daddy, please, don't blame Cedric! It was all my idea!" Amber exclaimed.
"Your idea?" Miranda demanded.
"Amber, you promised you'd stay out of sight when battle broke out," Roland scolded, looking down at his daughter with disappointment.
Amber laughed nervously. "Well, technically we were out of sight, thanks to Cedric."
The king and queen turned to their royal sorcerer, glaring at him expectantly.
Cedric rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly. "The stealth cloaks protected us from Vasilia's magic."
Amber saw her parents about to unleash a wrathful lecture on the sorcerer and decided to quickly step in. "I made Cedric follow James and me into the castle. And when we were there, I learned that Vasilia wasn't as evil as we thought."
"What are you talking about, Amber?" Roland asked, jerking his head back to face his daughter.
"Remember that golden bowl that had spilled and Birk told us not to step in it?"
"You were there for that too?" asked Miranda, shocked.
Amber merely nodded, opting not to explain the exact details of how they got there. "Inside the bowl were Vasilia's memories and I accidently fell into them. I saw some of the terrible things she did, but also some of the things she had to endure. All this time, she was just trying to defeat Kashchey once and for all. She had to take out her memories so that she wasn't plagued by them day and night, so that she could continue on her path to eventually rid the world of the evil man. Once I realized that, I knew we had to help her, so Sofia and I came back."
Roland knelt next to Miranda and the two furrowed their brows in confusion and frustration. "Amber, no matter how good you think her intentions were, she still kidnapped Sofia and she was fighting a very powerful wizard. How on earth did you think you were going to help her?"
"With this." Amber pulled the small, ornate box from her coat pocket and showed it to her parents.
"What is this?" her father inquired, gazing at the box.
"That's another long story, but it helped us stop Vasilia and Kashchey from fighting," Sofia piped up.
"What was that light, then?" asked their mother.
The girls glanced at one another for a moment, seeming to have a silent conversation before Sofia answered, "That was powerful magic that was activated by my amulet and made them stop fighting."
Their parents exchanged concerned glances before turning their attentions back to their daughters. "So, you mean to tell me that you both stopped Vasilia and that other sorcerer all thanks to this box and your amulet?"
Sofia glanced at Amber who shrugged her shoulders. "That pretty much sums it up," stated the older girl.
Roland looked at his wife and couldn't help but chuckle. "It seems like we've found ourselves in a similar situation when Sofia freed Princess Elena from her amulet."
Miranda was about to object, but then thought briefly about it. Power hungry sorceress, huge magical powers, getting way more involved than they thought she should have been? As much as she hated to admit it, it was a very similar situation. Except Sofia had enlisted the help of all the inhabitants of Avalor. She decided not to follow that train of thought just now. What was important that both of her daughters were safe and no more explosions were happening. "I guess you have a point." She then turned back to her daughters. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you put yourselves in danger and disobeyed us."
Amber resisted the urge to state again that they hadn't technically disobeyed when Sofia cast her a warning glance, realizing that doing so would probably just get them in more trouble.
Miranda sighed and then hugged both of her daughters. "What matters to me right now is that you are both safe."
After the girls hugged their mother, they did the same to their father. "But don't make things like this a habit, okay? You nearly gave your mother and I a heart attack!" Roland scolded.
"Ok, Dad." Sofia smiled and shot Amber a quick glance from the corner of her eye.
Amber stifled a laugh and nodded at her father. "I think I'm about ready to go home, what about you, Sofia?"
"I think that's a great idea, Amber!" the other princess beamed, linking her arm with her sister's and the two began walking in the direction of the castle gate from where they came.
