On the Friday night before Angie would embark
on her journey to the tribal lands, she made sure she had packed comfortable
clothing and the flute.
Ace helped her in getting the suitcases packed
for her spiritual vacation. "I should tell you," he started, "it
can get very hot out there, and it's the monsoon season. Flash floods
can happen at any time if there's a sudden rainstorm."
"Hey, I lived in an area that once saw the
worst flooding in the 20th Century and then had more problems in 2001 when
too much snow and rain resulted in more severe flooding. Of course,
I wasn't born yet when that all happened."
"Your parents must have told you stories about
the mighty Mississippi's flooding problems."
"Yes, they did. We even went through
a little bit of flooding ourselves when I was about 12. We had one
day when eight inches of rain fell in about 16 hours, and the sewers couldn't
take that much that quickly, so we had a bout of flood water, but most
of the people in Mason City were prepared for it, building sandbags and
homemade levies. I think only five houses ended up with water damage,
and all of us were grateful there wasn't any other major damage."
"That's something. It's usually in the
times of disasters that people can come together to make a difference."
Angie then put her head down.
Ace easily sensed some anxiety within her.
"What's wrong, Angie?"
"I'm worried. What if the people out
there don't like me? I mean, here I am, one of the city life, going
to the lands of those who were here before we were. I'm worried some
people will think I'm out to do something mean."
The Magician came up to her and held her shoulders.
"Angie, you shouldn't worry about something that hasn't happened yet.
You don't know anyone from there besides Khenta and Michael. They
could welcome you with open arms or maybe they won't. You won't know
for sure until you get out there tomorrow. I think you'll be fine."
Cosmo came into the room. "Yeah, Angie.
I think you're gonna love it out there. Besides, I know how much
you love getting back to nature. Just go for it."
Angie smiled at her two big brothers.
"Thanks, guys. Well, I'd better hit the sack now, since I do leave
at six tomorrow morning with Khenta. You guys sure you'll be okay
without me for a few days?"
"Of course we'll be okay," Ace assured.
"Mona said she'll cook us dinner for a couple of nights, and then we'll
eat out on others. It'll be all right. Now, get some sleep.
You need to be ready to go."
"Yeah, good night, guys." She then got
into her bed and quickly went to sleep.
As the two gentlemen left her room, Ace still
felt somewhat worried for his counterpart. "She's scared people will
think she's being malicious because she's not of Native American blood.
We both know Angie's normally not a mean-spirited person, but she fears
they'll think that way about her."
**I can understand that, Ace,** Khenta thought
to him calmly. **However, I've already let Michael know, and he's
told most of the people there. I think the only person she really
has to worry about is my grandmother Karen Swallowtail. She does
tend to have some animosity towards those who are not of the culture.**
I see. Maybe Angie can surprise even
her with the flute playing.
**Oh, I think she'll be completely surprised.
Well, time for me to get some sleep, since I will arrive at 5:45 for final
preparations.**
Okay, Khenta. See you in the morning.
As the link between them faded, Ace had a
new sense of confidence. "I think she'll be okay. She just
needs a little time to get used to being out there."
"And for Monday's show?"
"We've got that all worked out. Angel
will create a realistic hologram of Angie, and nobody will know the difference."
"Sounds cool, dude. Well, I'm gettin'
some shut-eye myself. See ya in the morning."
"Yeah, late in the morning."
"Ha-ha-ha," said a joking Cosmo.
Ace then went to his room and quickly fell
asleep on his bed.
The next morning, at 5:30, Angie had already
finished her breakfast and freshened herself up to be ready for Khenta's
arrival.
Ace was already up helping her get the luggage
to the living room. "Looks like you're all set to go."
"Yes, I am," she said happily. "Are
you guys sure you'll be all right?"
He hugged her and thought, Angie, we'll
be fine. Don't worry about us. Remember, though, if you need
me, I'm just a mere thought away.
Thanks, kindred brother. I just hope
this little getaway will help me physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
As a new feeling came into Angie's mind, she
knew Khenta had arrived. "She's here," Angie declared.
Khenta entered the Express to see her friend
already set for the trip. "Anxious to get going I see."
"You bet. Let's load up."
Ten minutes later, all the gear was loaded
into Khenta's car, and both Khenta and Angie were in the car and ready
to go.
Khenta looked at Ace and stated, "I'll make
sure Angie's okay. I just hope Michael doesn't greet her with one
of his practical jokes."
"That's the one thing I'm worried about myself,"
Ace said jokingly. "He does have a good side, but…"
"I know. Well, time to get going, if
we want to get there by 10."
Ace came around to the other side of the car
and held Angie's hand. "You have a good trip, okay?"
"I will. Thanks, Ace. Tell Cosmo
bye for me when he wakes up."
"You bet."
Khenta then started the car, and soon the
two young ladies were on their way to the tribal lands for a relaxing time,
hopefully.
Ace smiled as he saw the vehicle disappear
over the horizon. "Peace be with you on this journey, kindred sister,"
he whispered softly. He then closed his eyes and felt the calmness
coming from her soul.
After Khenta gave the gas tank a complete fill
at a nearby service station, she noticed the female magician feeling completely
relaxed. "She's meditating right now," she concluded in an undertone.
"I shouldn't disturb her. She's just having her daily talk with her
parents."
In the passenger seat Angie had her eyes closed
as she was in her meditative trance.
"Good morning, Mom, Dad."
"Morning, sweetie," Nancy greeted happily
to her daughter. "So, you can still meditate while being a passenger
in a car?"
"Well, better to do that as a passenger
than as a driver."
Robert laughed heartily at the joke.
"Yeah, it wouldn't be safe to meditate when you're driving." He then
turned his tone to one of seriousness. "So, you're taking this little
vacation to see if you can discover what caused you to become angry with
Cosmo last week."
"Yeah, Dad. I've been putting myself
under a lot of stress lately, and I'm not too thrilled about exploding
at Cosmo the way I did. I never thought I would do that…get so upset
at a friend. I mean, I never did this with Ashley."
"We know. When you and Ashley didn't
agree on something, you always were able to talk about the problem and
come to an understanding or a compromise."
"The stress of the last few weeks has really
affected me badly, including my cooking and my practices. Maybe some
time away will get me to the source of the problem."
Her mother stated, "We understand, honey.
Just remember, you must be at peace with yourself before you can make peace
with others."
"I know. I've got to learn why I've
been pressuring myself lately. If I don't, who knows what could happen."
As her parents hugged her, Robert added,
"It's okay, Angie. Stress is a part of life, but negative stress,
like you've had, can really put a damper on your life. This trip
will be helpful to you. Good luck while you're there."
"Thanks, Dad. Well, we're in for
a long trip, so I guess I need to get out of this trance."
Nancy had a light laugh. "Okay, sweetie.
Have a good day."
"I will. I love you."
She soon awakened from her meditative state
and blinked her eyes. "Wow, it's really sunny this morning."
Khenta smiled at her passenger. "Weather
is perfect for some road traveling today. Talking with your parents
as usual?"
"Yes. They're the way I can prepare
for each new day. I'm glad Ace taught me some of his meditation techniques.
I have a deeper understanding of my own power because of that."
"Say," the driver stated as she changed the
subject, "I was away on shifter business a little over a month ago when
I heard there was some kind of dimensional rift in Electro City.
What happened?"
Angie calmly answered, "The alignment of the
nine planets in this universe and in another created a strange dimensional
rift along the Grand Canal. It also caused my powers to grow stronger,
but I almost lost control of it…completely."
"Really? How come?"
"I…couldn't let go of my guilty feelings."
"You were still carrying the guilt of your
parents' deaths?"
"Yeah, that, along with Aunt Rita's situation
and the fear my friends would hate me because I basically lead them all
into a deadly trap."
Khenta looked at her in surprise. "Angie,
you know your friends would never hate you. Why did
you think that?"
"I was trying to save Mrs. Brighton, or so
I thought. Turned out she was the Faceless from the mirror world,
and she tricked me into believing she really was Ashley's mother."
The female magician's face then turned sad. "I owe the release of
those guilty feelings to my parents and to all my friends, especially Ace
and Jas."
"Jas? Who is Jas?"
"Jas Lee. She and I became very close
friends during all the planetary mayhem. She's not a shifter, but
she has this eagle birthmark on her right arm. At her mental command
the birthmark can quickly come to life and become a giant transparent eagle.
She saved my life with that eagle."
"I can tell you still miss her a lot," Khenta
said while scanning Angie's thoughts and feelings.
"Mm-hmm. I do miss her. She and
I were able to help each other and become stronger within ourselves.
She left me her pair of nunchakus while I sent the beanie butterfly
I bought last year to her world with the last of the increased power I
had during the planetary alignment."
"When you let your heart be free of all the
shame, you were able to control your intense powers. How has your
magic been since then?"
"It's dropped back to the normal development
level, although there are still a few aftereffects, such as the strong
bond I can still sense with Jas in the other world."
"I can also tell you had not one but two Magicians
through this. Now that must have been strange, seeing two Ace Coopers
at the same time, and neither of them being that dangerous double."
"Tell me about it. I never expected
to see two Aces, or two Cosmos, two Zinas, two Vegas, two Monas, basically
two of everything, except myself, Jas, and Faceless."
The shifter's face became more surprised.
"Wow! That's really unbelievable. Seeing double of almost everybody
must have driven you crazy."
"Yeah, especially when I had to keep both
Aces from attacking each other when this all started."
Khenta and Angie laughed heartily about the
situation as they continued their road trip towards the tribal lands.
By 10 a.m., the car arrived at an area of homes
that looked nothing like Electro City's style of homes.
Angie was mystified by the structures' architecture.
"Definitely the Native style. Almost looks like what Mr. Whitefeather
was living at when I stayed there for the summer."
"Believe me, you're going to love it here.
We should be arriving at Ananda's home in a few minutes. You and
I will be staying there."
Angie nodded in agreement to the plan.
"I can't wait to meet the people here. I just hope they'll accept
me."
"It'll be okay, I promise."
The female magician then closed her eyes to
reach out to her magical equal. Kindred brother, I made it.
I'm here.
In the practice room of the Magic, Ace heard
the calm inner voice of his kindred sister. I'm glad you made
it there safely. If you need me, you know how to reach me.
I will. Thank you, Ace, for letting
me do this.
I'm glad you wanted to seek help for your
stress. Good luck.
The two young ladies soon came to a regular-sized
house with straight walls and a straight roof.
Khenta pulled the car up at the front door
of the home.
Angie closed her eyes and immediately took
in the atmosphere of the area. "I can feel the wind, the air, the
earth…part of my being somehow."
"We haven't been here five minutes yet, and
you already have the feel of our culture," Khenta said in astonishment.
After she gave a honk, a gentleman in his
early 40s came to the door. "Khenta, it's good to see you again.
And you must be Angela Jacobs."
As she stepped out of the car, she shook his
hand. "Hello," she said in a shy tone.
"It's okay, Miss Jacobs. You have nothing
to be afraid of here. I'm Ananda Greyleaf, one of the elders on this
reservation. Khenta has told me about you and your situation involving
stress. We're glad you have come out here, and we hope we can help
you resolve whatever stress you hold inside your soul."
Angie felt her slight anxiety fade.
"Thank you, Mr. Greyleaf. If you don't mind, I'd rather be called
Angie."
"I understand, Angie. Please, let me
help you both get your luggage out of the car."
After a few minutes, Ananda showed Angie into
the home.
Her face immediately widened in awe.
"Mr. Greyleaf, this home is beautiful. Native American quilts, pottery,
and many other items which hold great sentimental value."
"Thank you very much. I am glad to see
someone of the city truly appreciates what we have…and what we don't have."
"Believe me, I do appreciate your lifestyle.
I stayed on a reservation for a summer and had such a wonderful experience
learning what it was like to live that way."
"Okay, I'll show you to your room."
Just then, an older woman in her late 70s
entered the living room. "Khenta, hello. It's so nice to see
my granddaughter again." Then, she noticed Angie and turned stern
with her voice. "What is going on here? Why is a person of
the big city here on our reservation? She must be one of those people
who want to drive us from our homes to develop something."
Angie tried to speak up. "No, you don't
understand," she said calmly. "I'm not here to drive anyone away.
I've come seeking—"
"What? A way to make sure we have no future?
No thank you. You are not welcome here."
The female magician turned away and put her
head down in shame. "I'm sorry you think that way," she mumbled before
she walked outside the door with growing tears.
Khenta and Ananda both became very worried.
She turned to him and whispered, "Can you
take Angie's luggage to the guest room while I sort things out with my
grandmother?"
"Sure, I understand."
As Ananda walked out the door, Khenta faced
her grandmother. "What did you do that for? Angie has come
here seeking our help. You cannot judge every person to be the same
way."
"Listen to me, young lady. She is not
one of our culture. She's just the same as all the others that have
come out here before. If she is to stay here, it will not
be in this house."
The Phoenix stared angrily at her grandmother.
"You seem to have forgotten something important. Judging one with
the whole will lead to trouble while judging one from the heart will lead
to the truth. When you learn more about Angie, you may be surprised."
She then walked to the guest room, where Michael Raven had been finishing
cleaning the room for their guest.
Michael noticed her angry look. "You
okay? I heard you and your grandmother get into an argument."
"She's not making Angie feel welcome.
That young woman has sought help for her stress, and Grandmother seems
to be making things even worse for her."
"I know Angie's not the typical tourist.
After what you told me, Angie really does understand about the Native American
culture and heritage. I don't understand why Mrs. Swallowtail is
treating her so badly already."
Khenta's face became distressed. "She
still wants to judge a whole other culture by the few she has seen.
I wouldn't be surprised if Angie did bring a camera with her, but it isn't
strapped around her neck. That young woman has two things not too
many others can have: an open mind and an open heart."
"She also has the Magic Force," Michael added
jokingly. "So that's actually three things."
"That's right. Angie shares the Magic
Force's power with Ace Cooper himself. She does deserve to have that
power, with the kindhearted soul she has. I just hope she'll be all
right. I'm going to talk to her."
Outside, Angie sat on the steps of the home.
Holding her face in sobs, she said, "I knew I shouldn't have come here."
"Stop, Butterfly," Khenta noted as she sat
next to Angie and tried to comfort her. "My grandmother is very protective
of the culture, and she does have feelings against those whose blood are
not of this way of life. However, she is the only person here who
thinks you don't fit in. Everyone else knows you were coming but
have promised to treat you as a friend, not a celebrity."
Angie faced her shifter friend.
"Thanks, Khenta. I want to be myself when I'm not performing on stage.
Of course, I don't know if I should even be a celebrity or with Ace at
times. I—"
"Will you stop putting yourself down so much?"
Khentura said straight to Angie's face. "You have a home with friends
who really care about you. You need to stop putting yourself at self-pity
just because of things that will happen. You accidentally exploded
on Cosmo when he made fun of your cleaning habits. However, you said
they would make you leave. Real friends will have arguments and differences.
The important thing is not to say you'll leave if you cause any type of
problem. There are going to be situations where even the best of
friends will have disagreements. You've got to stop placing shame
on yourself when every problem arises."
The words hit close to Angie's heart, but
she understood. "Yeah. It's just that…I have this fear of letting
everybody down. If I say the wrong words, I could hurt someone easily."
"That can happen for various reasons, but
you won't do it on purpose. I know you too well. Now, will
you stop feeling sorry for yourself?"
After wiping her face clean of the tears,
Angie simply answered, "Okay. I'll stop my self-pity."
"Grandmother needs time to cool herself down,
so why don't we take a look around the reservation?"
"Sure."
Khenta and Angie went through the parts of
the area, which included a playground and school with funding coming from
Ace Cooper himself, as well as other homes built in the style of the tribe.
"It's nice here. Do people earn livings
here, too?"
"Yes. We have people here who work as
teachers, irrigation specialists, construction workers, and the like.
You might say we have a small city of good workers."
"I know for a fact when any crime happens
on tribal land, there are special tribal laws for each particular group,
right?"
"You are knowledgeable about the Native American
way of life. The laws are decided by the council, which includes
myself, Ananda, Grandmother, and that man over there on the horse."
Angie noticed a gentleman on a beautiful brown
mare. She noticed he had the same black hair as Michael Raven.
"That guy looks just like—"
"Michael? He should. That's Michael's
older brother, Victor."
"I didn't know even know he had a brother."
"Yes, there's another Raven besides Michael
and Robert, the owner of the DNA Club."
"Does he have a job here, too?"
"Well, not really. You see, he's an
excellent rider, and he's training to become a certified riding instructor.
Upon his certification, he wants to start a small riding school here.
This way, he can take people around the area without them worrying about
blisters on their feet."
Angie laughed about that. "Who can blame
him? How long does he need to finish the certification process?"
"Another 50 hours, but the time he spends
here really takes him away from that. Both he and Michael have a
love of horses, and Victor even gave Michael a horse for his 18th birthday."
"Oh, for his—" The female magician stopped
in midstream because she realized Michael was younger than
she was! "Wait a minute! How old is Michael anyway?"
"He's 20. Why?"
"I thought he was at least 27."
"No, that's how old Victor is."
"Is Victor a shifter, too?"
"No, he is not of shifter-kin, but he has
accepted our existence. I mean, he has a brother who is a shifter
and a part of the Council."
"Okay, so Michael's 20, and Victor's 27.
What about you, Khenta, how old are you?"
"I'll confess, I'm 21."
Angie became further appalled. "You're
a Healer, whose power is only second to Owl, and you're just 21 years
old!?"
"Yes. Is there a problem somewhere?"
"No, of course not. It's just…I thought
the majority of shifters would be in their late 20s into their mid 30s.
I didn't expect them to be so young. How old is Marshall?"
"Well, Marshall is 19."
"That I'm not surprised at. What about
the head of the Council, Ashanti the Black Widow?"
"I'll put it to you this way: She has
been head of the Shifter Council for about 13 years now, and she's 28."
After some quick calculating, Angie really
became shocked. "Ashanti has been the Council head…since she was
15!? I was just getting through Algebra II with trigonometry
at that age. How is this possible?"
"The answer is a simple one," Khenta stated
with a slight giggle. "You remember about Ashwood, right?"
"Yeah, that was where both Oriole and his
aunt Daria Weinke were taken after Faceless caused trouble back in Des
Moines. I think Kevin told me that it's the absolute realm where
any form is safe."
"He told you correctly. Ashwood is where
we set everything for all shifters, including the rules and laws for first-timers.
We take on the responsibilities most adults in their 30s would be doing."
"Must not be easy, is it?" the female magician
asked in wonder.
"Taking on the duty at a young age is never
easy, and there are things we have to sacrifice."
"It's just like buying a car. I can
understand that."
"Thanks, Angie. I'm glad you do understand."
"Now, can you tell me more about Victor over
there?"
"Despite the age difference between him and
Michael, he's only an inch taller. As I said, he's an excellent rider.
Would you like to take some lessons from him after lunch?"
"It's been so long since I have been on a
horse, so I think I'll take that refresher course, if that's okay with
him."
"I'll ask him at lunch for you."
"Thanks. I'm gonna look around a little
more."
"Sure, but if you do get lost, just contact
me by thought."
"Got it."
As soon as Khenta left, Angie walked around
the village and soon saw a beautiful white horse in a stable. "Moonlight?"
she whispered.
She came up to the horse, which started neighing
wildly. Putting her right hand out, she calmly said, "It's all right.
I'm a friend." She then began to glow in a light-blue aura and reached
out to the equine with her heart.
As the horse was calmed quickly, it allowed
her to touch at the mouth.
Next, Angie closed her eyes and recalled the
beautiful wild horse who had helped her when she was a child. "Moonlight…I
still remember."
She remembered the wild horse back at that
ranch in Iowa. She was able to get Moonlight to help her stop a bull
from harming a group of children playing in an open area of land.
"Moonlight, oh, how I miss you, old friend."
About a mile away, Victor, on his horse, saw
the young woman near the wild horse. Becoming concerned, he galloped
quickly over to that stable to see if that horse would attack.
Incredibly, he pulled up when he noticed how
calm the wild horse was. "I don't believe it," he whispered.
"She's got Lilyflower calmed down. How did she do that?"
Opening her eyes once more, she calmly asked,
"What's your name, beauty?"
"It's Lilyflower," a baritone voice answered.
Angie was suddenly surprised by the voice,
which in turn caused the horse to start neighing wildly again. She
tried to calm the horse down again. "It's okay, Lilyflower.
It's okay. We both got a surprise. You're okay."
After the horse became composed once more,
Victor jumped off his saddle and approached the young woman. "Nobody's
ever been able to calm her down before. It seems you've got a knack
for taming wild animals. Are you an animal trainer?"
Turning her gaze to Victor, she answered,
"No, I'm not. I'm a magician. Angela Jacobs."
Victor was pleasantly surprised. "So,
you're the one who came out here to find the source of your stress, right?"
"That's me."
"Victor Raven." He put out his right
hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Jacobs."
Angie blushed somewhat. "Please, I'd
rather be called Angie. I don't feel comfortable being called 'Miss
Jacobs'." She then shook hands with the tall gentleman. "You're
trying to become a certified instructor."
"I guess Khenta told you about that.
I keep coming out here every summer, though, so it does put me behind.
I have 50 hours remaining before I am officially certified to teach people
to ride horses. I also want to start—"
"A small riding school. She explained
that as well."
Victor smiled at the young magician.
"You know a lot about me from her, don't you? Well, from what she's
told me about you, you're a talented magician working with Ace Cooper.
I've seen you perform with him on TV a few times, and you're really getting
good with your magic."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Raven. Um,
this might be a bit much to ask, but I haven't been on a horse since I
was 11. Could you give me a refresher course on proper handling before
I accidentally do something wrong and get kicked?"
With a hearty laugh, Victor said, "I wouldn't
mind at all, Angie. And, please, just Victor will do. I'll
let Dad be 'Mr. Raven'."
"Okay, Victor. So, when is lunch?"
"Should be about—"
They both heard a triangle clanging.
"Lunch time!" Ananda shouted.
"Now."
Angie laughed. "Oh, well, I'm hungry
anyhow. I can't wait to eat."
"Would you like to ride with me on my horse
Soaring Eagle?"
After some slight hesitation, she answered,
"No, thank you. I'd like to walk if that's okay."
"Of course it's okay. I understand.
See you at the lunch table." Victor then galloped away on Soaring
Eagle for the main house.
Angie walked at a rapid pace to get to the
lunch table, since she really was hungry. Whew, I didn't realize
the size of this place. I'd better hurry.
A couple of minutes later, she entered the
dining area of Ananda's home. "Sorry, everybody. I did some
rapid walking to get here."
"That's okay, Angie," he said happily.
"Take the seat next to Michael."
She sat down in the chair when she heard a
sound resembling someone passing gas.
Everyone was completely shocked, except for
Michael himself.
She stood up and took the round piece of plastic.
"A whoopee cushion?"
Victor immediately scolded his younger brother.
"Michael, that was rude. This isn't the place for your jokes."
"Hey, it's my custom when we have a special
guest at the lunch table."
Karen also yelled at him. "The lunch
table is no place for your practical jokes. Now I wish to eat and
get this overwith, since I have some errands to do this afternoon, none
of which is having to do with our 'guest'."
Ananda stared at her once more. "Karen,
if you are not willing to say anything nice about Angie, then don't say
anything. You've already hurt her once today."
"It's all right, Mr. Greyleaf," Angie stated.
"She isn't used to seeing someone not of the city take it in as well.
I'll give her some time."
Khenta was relieved to hear Angie speak that
way. **I'm glad you're not feeling hurt by what she said earlier.**
There are cynics, skeptics, and critics,
and I have to understand it's just part of the game of life.
**Good. Let's eat, shall we?**
I'm with you, Khenta. Let's dig in.
They soon took in some of the Native cuisine,
which Angie thoroughly enjoyed. "Who is the chef in this case?"
Khenta blushed a little. "It's me.
I cooked the meal."
"You've got to give me the recipe for this.
I'd love to be able to cook this back at the Express for my friends."
"I'll be glad to give you the recipe.
It's always good for one chef to be able to share recipes with another.
Who's going to cook for dinner this evening?"
"I will be. I'm going to serve up some
grilled barbecue chicken, steamed broccoli, and some rice. Will that
be okay with everybody?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Victor said, "I think it'll be good.
So, you also cook for your friends?"
"Yeah. I enjoy being able to cook for
my friends. I know Ace and Cosmo miss me a lot, but they told me
Mona would cook some of the meals, since she's a good cook herself."
"You must enjoy cooking, but do you use magic
to do so?"
"No, never. I'm so used to cooking with
two hands I'll never allow myself to use magic as a shortcut unless it's
a recipe involved in an act."
"I remember," Ananda stated, "I saw you do
a recipe for both chocolate-chip caramel cake and apple pie in two different
performances. How difficult was it to do it by magic?"
Angie straightly answered, "Very difficult.
In my case, magic as a shortcut didn't work because it took me about six
weeks to master those types of tricks. Of course, it wouldn't have
been possible to begin with if I didn't have Ace's help."
"I'm also willing to bet," Michael started,
"cooking by magic doesn't taste half as good as it does when you're cooking
it yourself."
"Exactly. I feel more rewarded when
I cook with my hands and not with magic."
Victor found Angie's humble demeanor very
pleasant. She's working with the best magician in the world, yet
here she is acting like just a regular person. It doesn't seem like
she wants to rub in her celebrity status or brag about being able to do
magic.
Karen, on the other hand, still had a hard
time accepting Angie. This young woman may seem humble, but I
know she is up to something. I intend to keep a close eye on her
until I figure out exactly what she plans to do.
As soon as everyone had finished their noontime
meal, they departed for their afternoon tasks while Angie went with Victor
to relearn how to properly ride a horse.
"Okay," Victor said, "since you've grown a
little attached to Lilyflower, I'll let you work with her. Sound
good?"
Angie nodded happily. "Sure."
As Victor slowly opened the stable to the
horse, Angie slowly walked up to the philly and put her arms out.
"It's me, Lilyflower. Remember, we just met a couple of hours ago."
The equine calmly walked up to the young magician
and let her touch its mouth, petting the creature.
"You got the first step, Angie," Victor noted.
"Now, we need to figure out how to get the saddle on her."
"If you can get the saddle, I'll try to get
her into position."
"Since you are shorter, you'll need to get
her to lay on all fours so we can get the saddle properly attached."
Angie concurred and then turned her attention
to the horse. "Lilyflower, we need you to lie on the ground on your
knees," she said calmly. "I want to be able to ride you, but you'll
still have some wilder tendencies. I'll be as gentle as possible,
I promise."
Lilyflower understood what the female magician
said and quickly lay on all fours.
Victor returned with the saddle and was surprised.
"You are attached to Lilyflower. Well, let's get the saddle on her."
As soon as he put the saddle on top of the
horse, Lilyflower stood up again, giving he and Angie the opportunity to
properly buckle the bottom of the saddle at the belly area.
"Now," Victor added, "pick the side easiest
for you to mount." After Angie took the left side, he added, "Okay,
now put your left foot into the stirrup, and I'll give you a boost.
Get ready to grab the cantle when you feel balanced."
She did exactly what he told, and in a matter
of seconds she was on Lilyflower completely and safely.
"You're ready to ride. Now, pull the
reins back slightly and we'll be on our way on horseback."
After doing so, both Angie and Victor left
the stable on the horses.
"Hey, I think I've got it," Angie said happily.
"Now it's up to me to keep it under control."
"Right. Just don't do anything sudden,
and you should have a smooth trip."
As they passed by the main house, both Khenta
and Michael saw the two friends and their horses.
"Wow!" Michael said excitedly. "Victor's
already got a good student out of Angie."
"Yes, he does. Angie's refresher course
didn't need a lot of work. It's like she's done this before."
Using mind-to-mind contact, she spoke to Angie. **You did this with
another horse named Moonlight. You also were able to do everything
on your own with the magic within you. Because of you and Moonlight,
you prevented kids from being harmed.**
That I did, Angie thought back.
I remembered those kids playing out there, and I didn't want to see
them be hurt by a runaway bull. I guess I still have that special
memory inside my heart.
**Some memories are worth holding on to.
It's the good memories that should be with you for a lifetime, not the
bad and painful ones.**
I hope to make this a time for me to remember.
So far this trip is doing me good both physically and spiritually.
Suddenly, a little girl ran out from the left
side and ran in front of the horse.
The unexpected sight caused Lilyflower to
become agitated, making Angie lose control of the reins.
The little one ran safely to the other side,
where she hid behind Ananda.
"Hang on, Angie!" Victor shouted in concern.
Unfortunately, the horse jumped to the degree
where Angie was thrown off!
Everyone grew concerned for her safety, but
Angie used her magic to control her body movement and surrounded herself
in her light-blue aura to slow her plunge.
She landed on both feet safely on the ground.
As soon as her aura faded, she calmly said, "It's okay. I'm fine.
Now to deal with Lilyflower."
Just as Karen stepped outside to see what
was happening, the horse continued neighing and jumping wildly, heading
right for her!
"Mrs. Swallowtail!" Summoning the magic
within her soul, Angie's body began to emanate her aura once more and concentrated
on levitating the elderly woman to safety. Spreading her arms outward,
she screamed, "Let my heart guide my power!"
Karen was lifted about 10 feet into the air
and away from Lilyflower's wild movements.
"Victor, Michael!" Angie shouted. "Try
to regain control of Lilyflower while I keep Mrs. Swallowtail in the air."
As the Raven brothers worked on getting Lilyflower
to calm down, Karen found herself astonished. "How is it I'm in the
air? It must be the spirits working for me."
"No, Grandmother," said Khenta. "This
is the work of a young woman gifted with a special power of magic.
She's keeping you up there until Lilyflower calms herself."
It took a few minutes, but soon Lilyflower
was relaxed, and Karen returned to the ground.
"I appreciate what you did, Miss Jacobs,"
Karen said as she walked back into the house, "but it doesn't change my
feelings toward you. You're still not welcome here."
Everyone looked at her in shock.
"I can't believe her," said Ananda angrily.
"Even after you saved her life, she still won't accept you yet. What
is wrong with her?"
"She still has a hard time right now," Angie
answered calmly. "It's all right."
"Maybe to you, but not to me. I think
it's time we did something to make her accept you."
"No, Mr. Greyleaf," Angie interrupted.
"You can't force her to change, especially when history is against her
and what she believes in. Mrs. Swallowtail herself
has to accept me."
"But…how are we going to be able to convince
her you're not like the others?"
"We'll find a way. Just give me a little
time to figure out how to deal with this situation without having anyone
feeling hurt."
