The next morning, after the summer festivity in Blue Dragon was a sunny one. Kari woke up at the first rays of sunshine, anxious to get a move on. It was today that they would recover the pendant, and thus begin their journey back to Asturia. She hoped Folken was making the same progress. Kari thought how odd it was the she had not received any dreams from the cackling lady for the duration of the whole trip. Maybe she was keeping track of her adventures, and would send her a dream when both she and her brother were reunited. In any case, she was grateful. The dreams were always horrible, and left her with a nagging suspicion that she was being watched. Kari didn't like to know that she was spied on. Well, it was time to get up anyway. She wanted to make it out of Blue Dragon by the end of that day. Caleb would undoubtedly want to talk to her, and she just wanted to keep away from him. He disgusted her to the essence of her being, and she didn't want to have anything to do with him. If it weren't for the guide the people had promised her and Duncan, she would have slapped him, and told him what she thought of his disgusting nature. But, it wasn't politically wise to do that. That guide would prove to be a blessing. Speaking of Duncan, she was wondering when he came to bed last night. She had not heard him come in (his room was adjacent to hers) but then again, she had fallen asleep instantly. Kari got dressed, and went to knock on his door.
"Duncan, wake up." She said outside of his door.
A tired moan came from inside.
"Duncan! You sleepy head! Wake up!" Kari said, and just barged in on him.
He was sleeping face down on his bed, with the sheet covering the bottom part of his body. Kari blushed when she saw his naked upper half. Nevertheless, she became practical and grabbed the can of water on the small table.
"Wake up, or else I'm gonna pour this on you." She told him smiling.
"Go away! I'll wake up when I feel like it." he told her.
"No, come on, our guide is probably waiting." Kari insisted.
"You better not pour that on me, or else." Duncan told her, and turned face up.
"Well, then you better get out of bed no?" she told him mischievously.
"I'll get up, sheesh, pass me my shirt." Duncan asked her. (he slept in his pants)
"Ok, see, now we're getting somewhere." Kari smiled, and passed him his black shirt.
Duncan put it on, and then lazily got out of bed. He was sitting on its edge, rubbing his eyes, when a few droplets of cold water hit him in the eye.
"I told you to hurry, now come on!" she told him smiling victoriously.
A vicious grin crossed Duncan's face. She would soon pay, for waking him up with the dawn, and then splashing him with water. He quickly grabbed his pillow, and threw it at her.
The pillow caught Kari by surprise, and made her splash some of the water in the can on herself.
"Oh, so this is how you want to play? I see!" she said, and just threw the remaining water on him.
"You little witch!" Duncan exclaimed. The water proved to be extremely
cold. He grabbed the pillow again, and attempted to clobber Kari once more.
However, she ducked it, and once the pillow was on her side of the room,
she threw it back at Duncan.
In a few minutes, they were engaged in a very serious pillow fight,
their quest to get the blue pendant long forgotten. Each was more preoccupied
with hitting the other. In the end, Duncan had Kari cornered, and was approaching
viciously, two pillows, in both his hands.
"You wouldn't dare Duncan Fassa." Kari said proudly.
"Oh yeah? Watch me, Yukari Alia de Fanel." He retorted following her model, and accentuating her long forgotten middle name. A heartbeat after that, he clobbered her with both pillows. Kari got hit by one, and ducked the other, ending up behind him. Duncan was faster though, and turned around, locking her in his arms.
"Give up yet?" he asked quietly in her ear.
"Never, not while I can still do something about it." she told him, and with all her strength, she bent down, thus knocking him on his back. Duncan landed on the soft carpet with a groan.
"Are you all right?" Kari asked him, immediately becoming serious.
Duncan didn't say anything, and Kari leaned down to see if he was all right. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her down beside him, forcing her on the ground.
"You little rat! That was just a trick, wasn't it?" Kari asked smiling.
"Indeed it was, Yukari." Duncan answered her.
"Would you stop calling me that, and let me go!" she told him.
"Nope, not until you promise to let me sleep in peace from now on." He told her chuckling softly.
"No, we need to get a move on, and plus, you started it, I just threw a little water. It was a pity that it landed on you." She argued with twinkling eyes. Then, she made a break for it. Slipping through his fingers, Kari got herself off the floor. However, Duncan caught her hair, and the elastic it was tied with, came off. Kari's braid came apart, her long raven hair flowing on her shoulders, and covering her face in an unruly way Duncan found most intriguing.
"Oh, now look what you did! It took me 5 minutes to braid that!" she said simulating unhappiness. In reality, she wasn't that mad.
Duncan didn't say anything. He was still shocked at how beautiful she could be with her hair like that. Not that she wasn't beautiful before, but now, she was truly breathtaking. It was amazing what that long unruly raven hair could do.
"Umm? here's your hair tie." He said and gave her back the elastic.
"Thank you, now we really need to get a move on, come on, breakfast awaits," Kari told him taking the elastic, but not tying her hair back. Duncan was grateful for that. He couldn't get enough of her, when she looked at him like that, with her chocolate eyes and her raven hair falling in long dark rivers down her shoulder.
"Yeah, and in the future, donut do that." He said recovering from his dreaming. Duncan smiled at her, with a secretive smile.
"Oh yeah, and what else would you like me to do different in the future?" she challenged him.
"Well, not fight with me every minute of every day, don't come barging into my room at the break of dawn, and leave your beautiful black hair down more often." He said rather fast.
"That's quite a list you've got!" Kari said, and left the room. "Come on, hurry, we don't have all day." She said and closed the door.
Before she left though, Duncan saw her crimson face. "Did she like that? Or was it more?" he asked himself before starting to pack his stuff. He then remembered Caleb, and Kari's midnight kiss, and felt his happiness dissipate. "Why is it bothering me like that?" Duncan wondered.
Outside, Kari was waiting for him, with all things packed. "Here we go again." she thought. Their pillow fight had only lasted fifteen minutes, but it were the best fifteen minutes she had spent in a long time. "We'll help you mom, dad, don't worry, that wench wont have you for long." Kari sighed again, thinking of how much she wanted just to be home, and to never have lived this. It was true, some good things came out of it, like her friendship with Duncan, but she wasn't sure that all of it would be good. With those final morbid thoughts, she went down to wait for their guide.
To her surprise, it was Caleb who was waiting outside for them.
"Umm... where's our guide?" Kari asked.
"Well, here I am, can't you recognise me?" he asked smiling stupidly.
Kari only smiled politely, while a shadow of repulsion crossed her face.
"I'm here, let's go," Duncan announced from behind them. Seeing Caleb there was no surprise. Kari probably invited him to be the guide, since she probably wanted to spend more time with him. "Is she that blind?" Duncan asked himself. However, when he looked at Kari, he saw displeasure written all over her face. "This is most interesting. Have the two love birds had a fight?" Duncan asked. Somehow, that prospect appealed to him, and he smiled.
"Well, let's go. We should be able to make it there by noon if we hurry." Caleb told them.
The three travellers mounted their horses, and headed into the direction of the mountains, leaving a cloud of dust behind them.
The three figures faded in the golden horizon, as the dust began to settle in the small village. The sun was shining on the landscape, and the wind was blowing softly, yet they were the only things moving towards the grey giants.
~~~~
"Your daughter is indeed a keen child! She's doing my bidding precisely. Ha, soon, I shall have two of the three pendants." Lucilla told Hitomi.
"Leave my family alone you old owl!" Hitomi snapped.
"But my queen, I'm having so much fun keeping an eye on all three of them. First, your husband has a very interesting mind. Secondly, your daughter is quite a heart twister. Even my own man wasn't strong enough to resist her charms. She must have inherited some of your exotic ways of being." Lucilla said poisonously.
"What are you saying?" Hitomi asked alarmed.
"Well, that incompetent, Caleb, he was only supposed to lead them to the temple, not fall for your daughter!" Lucilla told her.
"What are you planning to do you witch?" Hitomi asked more and more alarmed.
"Don't worry, I wont harm your daughter! It's not my intention. I just offered her a little help. You see, I paid Caleb to get the dragon to her, so she could slay it, and then to guide her through the mountains." Lucilla told her.
"So, everything's been a fake? And if you knew where the pendant was all along, then why didn't you go get it?" Hitomi asked.
"No, I only helped her a little, the threats were very real, and she handled them awesomely. I can't get the pendant, because only a pure and good person such as your daughter can get it. She was born under the protection of the Blue Dragons, thus, she can get the blue pendant." Lucilla explained matter of factly.
"Why are you doing this?" Hitomi could see the flip side. Folken must have been born under the protection of the Green Dragons, thus he was going after the green pendant. Over the week since Lucilla was keeping her captive, she had been seeing the progress of her children. However, that didn't warm Hitomi in any way. She was sure that the insane woman had some twisted plans for her whole family. Over time, Hitomi had managed to find out that the three pendants together held great power, which Lucilla wanted. Why, was still a mystery to her. With time, she would find out. There were still a few more weeks until the dead line, and her children seemed well ahead of it.
"Why do you want the pendants in three weeks?" Hitomi asked.
"Well, my queen, you're not going anywhere, yet I'm not sure I should tell you." Lucilla said.
"As you yourself agreed, I'm not going anywhere. What harm could I do you?" Hitomi asked sweetly. This was important. Maybe she would be able to help her children somehow. Her powers, no matter how rusty were still there.
"Well, ok, but one peep out of you when you see your kids again, and I promise you much pain." Lucilla threatened.
"Ok, I can't do anything anyway, while I'm here trapped like this." Hitomi told her.
"Very well. You see, in precisely three weeks -well actually two and a half, it's already been a week and a few days- the Phantom Moon, Gaea, and the Moon will align perfectly. From Gaea, it will look like two circles, one into the other. You've got to admit, you've never seen that before. Then I shall proceed on..." Lucilla didn't continue, because her magic smoke, with which she monitored Kari showed something interesting. "Ah, they're here, watch this my queen. Now we shall test the wit and purity of your daughter!" she began laughing insanely. Hitomi frowned behind her. "Damn it Kari, your timing couldn't be worse. She was going to tell me, and then I could have helped you, but now, well, I can only wait, and hope that she'll come back to the subject." Hitomi thought.
~~~~
Yukari, Duncan and Caleb were oblivious to Lucilla's threats of doom, and by the time the conversation in the cave took an interesting turn, they reached their destination. The mountains were indeed majestic, and summer seemed in bloom everywhere you looked. All the way through, Kari and Duncan had passed though the remains of a once virgin forest. The trees stood tall and proud as their crowns peeked into the horizon. The wind raced softly by, and the small lakes offered refreshing water. The small group had followed a safe but twisted path, governed by lakes and the high walls of the mountains. The path followed the slithering of a snake, and Kari looked up ahead with worried eyes. Everything they had met so far had been a symbol. A symbol that a great power rested deep in the belly of the temple ahead. She dreaded going in after the pendant, but she had no choice. Kari could feel the fragile balance of things, and the spiritual ropes that held the whole environment together. All of them, all of them pointed to the temple in the near distance. Kari suspected that they did not point at the temple, but rather at what was inside the temple. "I'm here because I need this pendant to save my parents, and that's exactly what I'll do. Nothing more, nothing less." Kari thought.
By the time the train of her thoughts ended, she had reached the plateau. A few meters in front of her lay the majestic temple of Dragon's Nest. Kari looked around, surveying the plateau. It was a flat circular area, no more than 50 meters in radius. Small bushes surrounded it circularly, at even distances. Almost like someone planted them that way. The temple stood proud in the middle of the plateau, its sacrificial fires still burning in front of it.
"Isn't this supposed to be abandoned?" Duncan asked.
"Yes, it's supposed to be abandoned." Kari answered.
"Then why are the sacrificial fires still burning?" Duncan pointed out.
"That is because they are fueled by underground gas pools. When the ancients build this place, they wanted the fire to burn forever, thus they mostly built their temples underneath, or close to natural gas pockets. That's how the fires are burning today. They will probably by burning out of our life times." Caleb told them.
Kari frowned. She had almost forgotten about that fool that supposedly was their guide. All thorough the trip she had to stand listening to him trying to sound important. Kari was tired of him, and she hoped that he would leave, so she and Duncan could get on to business. She didn't say anything, for his suppositions could have been true. Kari looked up and what saw she didn't like. At any louder noise, the mountains would be coming down on then. She saw the boulders high above them.
"What's wrong?" Duncan asked when he saw her worried look.
"I don't like this place. It's a death trap waiting to happen. At any louder noise, we're dead." she told him.
"Why's that?" Caleb asked.
"Look up. We're surrounded by mountains, and if you look higher up, you can see the boulders waiting to fall. So be very quiet." she told them.
"Ah, that's no problem. People have been coming here for years praying to the blue dragons, and nothing happened." Caleb assured them.
"Let's hope we're not the exceptions." Kari muttered.
"Well, what now?" Duncan asked.
"We go in, but I think that we should leave our hoses down the path, where they won't be harmed if a rock slide happens." Kari proposed.
"I was thinking the same, thing. Let's try it." Duncan agreed.
They went back the small mountain path, and tied their horses to some boulders. Caleb led the way again, while Kari and Duncan followed behind.
"Well, did you tell him why we're here?" Duncan whispered.
"No, I thought that he would leave after he showed us the temple. I don't like having him around." Kari confessed.
"Funny, I wouldn't have thought that last night." Duncan muttered. "Well, ask him if he plans to come in." He told her.
Kari made a disgusted face. "Very well, but I still don't like this. He won't understand, and I don't want to explain." she said.
"Well, we have to be polite. It's not good to make enemies with the people of his village. They shall prove useful later on. I saw much of the old Zaibach technology used by them. Trade is very profitable here." He told her.
"You're right, well, here goes..." she muttered. "Hey Caleb, are you going into the temple with us?" Kari asked.
"Yes, I would like to see what you find. I've always been curious as to what was in there, but since I was mostly busy, I never got the chance to look." he told them.
Kari and Duncan exchanged dark looks.
"He's lying." Duncan thought. "There is an alternate reason as to why he wants to come into the temple, but he's keeping it hidden. Kari knows that. Maybe she's not as blind as i thought.'"
"That lying rag. There's another reason why he wants to come with us. I don't like this. There's something about him that's not right. I wish the earth would swallow him up right now." Kari thought.
The temple was old yet well managed. It was made of solid stone, and over all, it was a very imposing structure. With its beautifully carved walls, and imposing fires, Kari felt like she was stepping into an ancient world. Almost like she was exploring the Mystic Valley. They entered the temple, prepared to step into darkness, when to their surprise they saw sunlight illuminating the place.
"What the..." Caleb exclaimed.
"Look up." Duncan told them.
Indeed, when they averted their gaze to the ceiling, they saw a big mirror, reflecting the golden arrows of sun throughout the building.
"Awesome!" Kari exclaimed.
"I know, so what do we do now?" Duncan asked.
"Well, how about we try reading the hieroglyphs on the walls?" Kari asked.
"Yeah, that's a good idea." Duncan agreed.
He approached the nearest wall and began examining the carved pictures. Kari came up behind him.
"You know how to read this thing?" She asked.
"Well, some, not all." Duncan confessed.
"You know more than me. If I'm not mistaken, this talks about the Atlanteans?" She asked.
"Yeah, it says that the god-like ones crowded the sky like a storm cloud with their wings, and headed to their meeting place. There, on the top of mount Parnassus, they held their council. Some wanted to leave, and some wanted to stay. The ones that wanted to live between the mortals left immediately to begin their existence as Rhynjbido (can't spell) or Draconians, as they are more widely known. The others agreed that it was time to leave Gaea, now that they have taught the mortals how to live. They created three pendants, one pink, one green, one blue. On the day of the alignment when the moon is full, the pendants shall be brought together and....." Duncan stopped translating.
"What happened?" Kari asked. Everything was starting to make some sort of weird sense in her head.
"Well, the next part got erased because of old age, and it contains some symbols that I don't recognise. It looks like a dragon, well actually a slain dragon, and a person, that is holding something... ah, it's no use, I can't make it out." Duncan stood up.
"I think I know why that lady took my parents." Kari told him.
"Why?" Duncan asked.
"Well, you said something about an alignment of the two moons with Gaea, and the three pendants only working on that day or something. Well, I suspect she wants to access the power of the Atlanteans or something. In any case, she needs the pendant for something that's going to happen on that day. Thus, the deadline." Kari concluded.
"You might be right. We shall have to see what's about that when we get back to Asturia. The library probably has something about that. For now, let's see if those inscriptions don't tell us anything about the location of the blue pendant." Duncan said.
"You're right, well, let's look. Maybe it's written on the next section of the wall." Kari said and examined the next portion of the inscriptions.
"Well?" Duncan questioned.
"I'm not that good at reading hieroglyphs, but I think it says that we have to take the south corridor, and once we come to a bridge, we cross it and then it's right in front of us." Kari said.
"Let me see." Duncan lightly pushed her aside.
"Is that what you read?" Kari asked.
"I'm not sure." Duncan confessed.
"How about you let me try?" Caleb offered.
"You know how to read these?" Kari asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Why didn't you say anything before?" Duncan asked him.
"You never asked." Caleb smiled at them.
Kari felt like punching him in the face, but then they would have to wait until he woke up to have their confirmation. She just growled warningly at him.
"Give it a shot." she motioned.
Caleb took one look at the pictures, and then said. "It's the east corridor."
"How can you be so sure?" Duncan asked suspiciously.
"Well, it shows the corridor from the direction of the rising sun. That would be east, right?"
"Let's give it a shot, it does make sense, and there's a little sun there in the picture" Kari told them.
They set out on the east corridor, proceeding slowly. It was pretty dark, and they were walking slowly. It took them deep into the temple.
"Be careful where you step. There might be hidden traps here." Caleb warned them.
"It's kind of hard to step any other place. In case you haven't noticed, the corridor's been getting narrower and narrower. Soon, only one person at a time will be able to pass." Kari told him.
"Yeah, I saw. It's all part of the challenge." Caleb retorted.
"Good, so how about you let me go first, since this is my challenge?" Kari asked.
"I couldn't let such a beautiful lady like you get hurt could I? Do not worry, I've done this before." Caleb told her.
Kari was silent. Caleb was a fool, and he prized himself for his cheap words of praise. Kari had a stinging reply on her lips, but she decided to continue in silence. Soon, they will be rid of him. Soon, the corridor became indeed narrow, all of a sudden, Caleb stopped.
"Why have we stopped?" Duncan, who was last asked.
"Because we can't go any further. There's a wall in our path." Caleb told them.
"What do you mean a wall?" Kari asked.
"Just what it is. A wall." he told her.
"Let me see!" Kari said and pushed past him. Indeed, there was a stone wall in their path. Also, on the wall, there was a torch, which surprisingly enough, was burning, offering them the little light to see the obstacle.
"What do we do now?" Duncan asked.
"Well, we either go back, or we try to get past this." Caleb said leaning against the wall. Just then, a horrible noise came from behind the wall, almost like an ancient rusted mechanism was set in motion. Needless to say, in the next second, a few feet behind them, a few holes opened, and small darts started shooting from both sides of the wall.
"How did that happen?" Kari asked alarmed.
"I think I pressed something in the wall. " Caleb confessed.
"Great, stupid! Now there's no other way than forward!" Duncan congratulated him.
"No one calls me stupid, city boy!" Caleb yelled.
"Both of you, stop it right now!" Kari yelled. "The only way we'll make it out of here is if we stay calm! Now, Caleb, touch anything, and I promise you, you're gonna wish one of those darts hit you!" Kari threatened.
"What's there to do?" Duncan asked.
"Well, we go forward. I have a feeling that those darts are poisonous, and since I don't want to try my theory, we'll have to find a way to open this door." Kari told him.
"Caleb could test them. Wouldn't you just love to throw yourself in front of the shooting darts?" Duncan asked mockingly.
"One more peep out of you, and I'll show you how it is to test them yourself!" Caleb bit back.
"Hello, stop insulting yourselves, we have bigger problems!" Kari pointed out.
"So, what do we do?" Duncan asked again.
"We read the hieroglyphs on the wall." Kari pointed out.
"Let me do it. Look where dumbo brought us!" Duncan muttered.
He neared the wall, and began to decipher the symbols. Silence engulfed the corridor. The only sounds present were the rhythmic shooting of the darts.
"Kari, I think there's a way out of this!" Duncan told her after a while.
"How?" She asked quickly getting up.
"Do you still have the drag-energist from the dragon you slayed?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's in my pack." Kari said indicating her bag.
"Well, I think they say that if you put it in that hole, and turn it, the door should open." Duncan told her indicating a medium sized, round hole to his right.
"I guess it's worth giving it a shot." Kari agreed and searched her pack for the energist.
She brought out the dragon's heart, and looked at it for a bit. The heart was glowing faintly. It still looked majestic. With the clear lighter blue outside, and that dark crystal like middle, it looked almost like it was alive. Kari thought that she could hear a faint beat from the inside. That was impossible, the heart didn't beat any more. It crystallized the moment it was extracted out of the dragon. Then why was it glowing softly. Could it have been because the pendant was close by? Without further delay, Kari shoved the energist into the circular place. She twisted, and like magic, the door began to rumble and shake, almost like it was going to come apart any second. Amazingly, the darts stopped shooting as the door opened.
"I don't believe this!" Caleb exclaimed.
"I guess this proves we're on the right path." Duncan said.
"Let's go, we wasted enough time here already." Kari motioned them.
They stepped beyond the path and indeed, they reached a canyon, with a frail looking hanging bridge. Kari looked down at the darkness of the canyon.
"We better be careful, or we're gonna end up smushed." she said.
"Are you sure this is the way?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah, it's the bridge all right." Kari sighed.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Caleb came into the conversation.
"I guess we might as well give it a try." Kari said and carefully proceeded onto the bridge.
One by one, they carefully made it across. Kari waited until they were all together, and then spoke. "We don't know what dangers wait ahead, I have to go, because the safety of my parents depends on it, you can stay here and wait for me, or go back now." She told them.
"Are you kidding? I didn't abandon you this whole journey, I'm not about to do it now! Let's go!" Duncan said.
Kari smiled at him warmly. Maybe they were becoming better friends.
"I am not about to let a pretty lady go into the jaws of danger without me, I'm going too!" Caleb said.
"You can drop it with your compliments, they aren't helping the situation." Kari said, not able to hold off her disgust any longer.
Duncan smiled inwardly. He was wrong to doubt her way of judging people. She had sniffed Caleb out long before he thought she did. However, she acted politically and did not say anything about it. There was more to Kari than Duncan thought. Apparently, she could be very sneaky when she chose to be. He was grateful she didn't do it often though. She was a very resourceful adversary, and he would have to be more careful later on when they would confront.
"I guess it's settled." she smiled and led the way.
They entered the room. It was more like a large hall than a room. Surrounded by dozens of mirrors, it was like they were out in the daylight. In the middle of the room, with its own personal source of light, that came from an opening up above, stood a tall statue of a human. At a first glance, a mere observer would have found it a human, but if you looked closer, you could see it was a Draconian. The statue had long majestic wings, and a kind smile. Kari looked up at it, and felt warmed by that presence.
"A Draconian, eww, let's get out of here." Caleb said.
"What's wrong with the Draconians?" Kari asked a little sharply.
"They doomed the Atlanteans, and all other they associated with. They're monsters, that bring destruction. Everyone knows they're bad luck. If I would see one, by god, I'd tear it to pieces. One of them rested in our village, and that same night, half of it burned to the ground.
"It wasn't his fault!" Kari exclaimed.
"Yes it was. I was still a little boy, but the people hunted it down, that lucky demon flew away, I hate them." he stated proudly.
Duncan looked at Kari, and he saw a look of pure disgust on her face. Something that Caleb said must have repulsed her beyond everything. He couldn't help happiness overwhelm him. She really didn't care about that scum bag.
"Caleb, can you go check our exit? I think the hieroglyphs at the entrance will say something interesting." Kari told him.
"Sure, of course... Kari." Caleb smiled.
She didn't return it, but looked at him with a look of pure darkness.
"You wanted to get rid of him no?" Duncan asked.
"Yeah, he's a scum bag, it's disgusting. Come on, I think i know where the pendant is." Kari said.
"Where?" Duncan asked.
"The box at the feet of the Draconian." she said slowly.
"Well, let's see!" Duncan said and just picked up the box."
"Don't do that! Put it back before something happens!" Kari exclaimed.
It was too late. A wall came slashing down, covering their only exit. A terrible menacing noise echoed from behind them. Because of the force with which the wall came down, the aging pillars that supported the room gave out. They started crumbling one by one, like they were made out of paper.
"The room's going to come down on us! Hold on to the box!" Kari screamed at Duncan in all the confusion.
"We're going to die if we stay here! Let's go take shelter!" he yelled back.
"No, because of the noise, the whole valley's going to collapse. Just hold on to the box! I'll get us out of here!" Kari yelled over the horrible noise. Indeed, pieces of the ceiling were starting to peel off. It was indeed dangerous to be standing there.
"How do you plan to do that?" Duncan asked, getting close, and trying to shield her from the falling debris.
"With these!" Kari said. Immediately, out of her back, the two most softest, purest ivory wings began to sprout.
Duncan watched in awe as Kari began to transform into the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Feathers started falling from her wings as they grew, and became her. He didn't think it was possible for her to become more beautiful, but he stood there dazzled, as she came closer to him. "Have I died and gone to heaven?" Duncan wondered. "My god, that's Kari, that's the girl I called a useless wench, and I said she wasn't a princess. Of course she wasn't. Look at her. Those wings hanging by her in that royal way. She fell from heaven and ended up in my life. How did that happen? She's so pure, yet she looks so frail, but look at her eyes, they look so, warm, and caring, I could spend an eternity just staring at her eyes. They're the window to her soul, and she's so wonderful. How could I say I cared about anything in my life? I'd never seen her. She's so wonderful, with those ivory wings. On her they look eerie, yet so wonderful, I hope I get to see her like that before I die. It's my only wish, I don't want anything else, but to hold her in my arms.. She's so beautiful, and amazing, and caring, and sweet, and lovable, and god, that piece of ceiling is going to fall right on her!" Duncan quickly closed the gap between them, and pulled Kari towards him. In the following seconds, the piece of ceiling hit the floor. She would have been squished by it.
"Thank you, " she whispered. Then, she grabbed him, and began to flutter her wings.
They slowly raised off the ground, and slowly made their way through the opening in the ceiling. All Duncan could see was her beautiful face, and the way she smiled reassuringly.
"Let's go faster, before this thing crumbles." she told him. They began to rise faster, her wings fluttering furiously. In the strain, they were leaving a trail of ivory feathers behind. As soon as they reached the surface though, a new threat appeared. Because of the noise, a landslide was in the process. Kari and Duncan had to dodge flying pieces of mud, as well as small rocks.
"Hold on! It's going to be a rough ride!" she told him.
Indeed it was, but in a few minutes, they reached a safe area. Kari put Duncan on the ground, and pulled her wings in. The landslide was advancing, and they continued, running on foot until they reached their horses. Caleb's horse wasn't there luckily. The coward must have left at the first signs of trouble. Kari was happy. They mounted their horses, and galloped off in a hurry.
~~~~
A half an hour later, when the ground stopped shaking, they stopped their gallop, and rested by a small river. It was almost night, and the sun was setting bloodily to the west. Kari jumped off her horse, and immediately, she felt how all her power leaves her body. She crumbled to the floor. Luckily, Duncan caught her in time, before she hurt herself.
"Kari! Kari wake up!" he called.
She had slipped into unconsciousness. Duncan got up, and wetted a hankie in the small lake. He brought it to her, and put it on her forehead.
"Come on Kari, wake up! You can't give up now! The danger's past! Come on! Wake up Please?" he begged his voice cracking.
She was still, as if frozen.
"Damn you, you can't give up on me now! I see, I finally understand, you can't leave me like that!" He said angrily.
She was still unresponsive. Duncan cradled her in his arms, and places a soft kiss on her lips.
"Please come back, I need you," he whispered.
Kari began to stir in his arms. She opened her eyes, and saw Duncan looking down at her warmly. He was still there. After what she'd shown him, he was still there. Kari smiled at him.
"Hey there, stranger." she said weakly.
"Don't you scare me like that!" Duncan exclaimed.
"Funny, I didn't know you cared so much about me." she grinned.
Duncan turned red. "Well, no, but it would have been boring to make it back all by myself, and plus, I didn't want to have you on my conscience." he said.
"Yeah, thank you." she said.
"You don't need to be thanking me, you're the one that saved my life." Duncan said turning serious.
"Oh, that, that was nothing, I guess you probably don't want to have anything to do with me anymore. Well, if that's the case then...." Kari didn't continue, because Duncan put his finger on her lips.
"Ssh, what you did was amazing. I don't think I've seen anything more beautiful. You looked like an angel." he told her.
"How do you know about angels, only people from the Phantom Moon believe in them." she said.
"I'm not quite as dumb as I look no? Well, in any case, if you're worried about it, I'm going to keep your little secret, and Kari, you don't have to be ashamed," he said getting up and heading towards the lake.
"I'm not ashamed. It's just that people like Caleb, well they don't understand. But thank you for not running away, it's nice to see some people can accept me for who I am." she said quietly.
"How could I run away? You were the most beautiful thing I ever saw," he said and his eyes widened realising he had voiced his thoughts.
Kari blushed at the compliment. "Thank you," she said. " I guess we're making camp here for the night, I still feel a little weak." she told him.
"Sure, after all, we have the pendant." Duncan told her.
"Speaking of that, have you opened the box?" Kari asked.
"No, that's yours to open, you're the one that risked your life. Here, I took a look at it and saw that you open it with the energist, just like the door." he told her, and handed her both the energist and the box.
"Well, here it is, the moment of truth." Kari said and twisted the energist into the lock. However, it just became part of the box, shining softly.
Breathlessly, Kari opened the box, and in it, she found the blue tear shaped pendant. It was glowing softly, a blue glow, that looked very warm and inviting.
"Yes, we did it!" Kari jumped up and hugged Duncan.
"Yeah, now all we have to do is make it back to Asturia." he said happy for her.
"And hope my brother found the green one. Then, the exchange!" she exclaimed happily.
"Yeah, but for now, let's rest. The sun went down a while ago, and the fire's all started up, come on, we have a busy day tomorrow!" Duncan told her.
~~~~
Later that night, Duncan was watching Kari sleep soundly. She had indeed
been tired from all the strain of the day. The blue pendant was hanging
around her neck, along side the pink one. They were glowing simultaneously,
almost like communicating. He smiled, looking at her sleep peacefully,
with the shadows of the fire dancing on her face. She was an angel, with
and without her wings. That was the latest discovery Duncan had made. He
smiled again in the dark, and went to sleep himself, with the moon shining
above him. Its silver streaks of light outlined the tops of the small waves
of the lake, making them look like strands of pearls, dancing in the night.
Everyone could see that it was a dance of love, for love was indeed in
the air.
*Author's Note*
Hey you all there, it's chapter 13. I did try my best, and that's as much as i could come up with. i hope you liked it, one down, one to go, and then a few more fluff filled chapters. you DO want some fluff right? all work and no play is not that good m i rite? well, i m gonna give you fluff, before the final confrontation, IF you tell me that you want it. Please tell me how this chapter was, i really didn't mean for it to suck, i worked a long time on it (about 5 hours) it's my longest chapter ever. i really hope i haven't bored you, and i hope that i made clear where they were and stuff (i'll never be as good as marilyn with her descritpions, but hey i try) so please tell me what you think, i really wanted it to be interesting!!!!!!!!! i really did!!!! thanks a lot, and see ya soon, with next chapter!!!!!
