THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO DRAGON FAIRY , WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO REVIEW. =)

Chapter Ten- Asharmi's Spell

Asharmi crept into The Royal Circle's meeting room, and carefully closed the door. It had no furniture- only large, comfortable cushions on which the Circle sat during meetings. Carved into the stone above the door way was a rose. The rose of Silence. It smybolized that anything said or done should go no further than this room. Her eyes roamed greedily to the Scared Book of Spells in the centre of the circle, open at the right page. Placed around The Book were the ingrediants for the spell. She smiled. This was just too easy.

She sat down on one of the cushions, and glanced at The Book. Her heart sank when she realized that the spell was written in old Draconian English- not her strong point. But then, if she was able to perform a spell without even understanding the language it was written in, she would be the most respected Seer on Gaea! She would be considered even more important than Lady Tollarna herself! Surely it was worth the risk. Stumbling a bit on the long words, Asharmi began to read. "The re.re." Already, Asharmi had come across a word she didn't understand! Slightly put out, she skipped it and continued her sentence. "of power, the ritual of the Gods, is dangerous and p..powerful? Beware stranger, use not this. power, this cursed power of. At. Atlantis. Do not disobey. If you do then you have.er.skip that word! And those who forget the harsh lessons of .h.hist.history are forced to relive it. To strip a God, person, or demon of their powers, first of all, the door to their power must be opened.to open a door you need a.comiaves, what's that? Um." Asharmi paused for a moment, searching for the right translation. "Key! To open a door, you need a key. The key is a feather of one cursed by the Gods, sprinkled with the blood of an innocent."

Asharmi wondered what the 'feather of one cursed by the Gods' was. There were no birds she knew of that had ever displeased the Gods. It was the only ingrediant that was missing. Oh well. A goose feather would have to do. She carefully took her goose feather out of her pocket. It was her good luck charm, so it seemed fitting that it should take part in her first real spell.

"Place the key in a bowl under a fire. As the blood boils, reach to the object of your spell and wait for the blood to.e.ev.um. once there is no blood left, the door will be open. Place a royal chest of Freid in front of you. You must then recite: ..." After that, there was a long stream of words she didn't understand. "Well, what am I supposed to recite, then?!" She cried angerily. Very carefully, she reread the paragraph. "Release this being.of.erm, themselves?.Wield the magic of..Atlantis. Accept my gift to you." Of course, she had got it completely wrong. What terrible events this child caused through her mistake. So much suffering, Gaea will always remember. "The power will then seep into the chest. The chest must be closed at once with the words. 'Fermo, er, Ferma la puerta derm pouvoir,' The door to the vict.victim's power, the passage to their.soul must then be closed, for it may easily become invaded by. Our Cursed Power, and .their.? will no longer be their own. To do this, .b.burn.the feather in the fire. Once the ritual is over, the only way to .ret.return the power is to have the chest smashed, and. to draw the blood of the. victim with a piece of it. May the Gods favour you, stranger, for you who will .perform this ritual, you are damned." Asharmi sat still for a few moments, processing what she'd just read. She then reached over and dragged the bowl towards her, and put the feather in it. She then took a crystal bottle, which contained a crimson liquid. The blood of an innocent. Gently, she poured the blood over the feather, and watched as the red slowly seeped into the light grey of the goose feather. She put the bottle down and taking the bowl with her, went to the corner of the room were a fire was already roaring. Carefully, so as not to burn herself, she placed the bowl into the fire. Once she had dragged the Royal Chest of Freid in front of her, she sat down near the fire, and closed her eyes. If she was to reach this girl Hitomi, all on her own, she had to concentrate. Slowly, she mentally reached towards Ziabach, following the beautiful vibes of magic that Hitomi was emitting. "Hitomi." She whispered. Almost there.

Hitomi gave a start, her sobs suddenly silenced. She was not alone. Somewhere, in this cell, she could feel a presence. She knew this being, whatever it was, wasn't evil. But it didn't make it any less dangerous. Slowly, willing herself to be silent, she moved into the deepest shadows. Like it would make a difference. She knew it would find her anyway. 'Oh God, what do I do now?' She thought desperately.

There! Asharmi had found her! She opened an eye to check on the fire. The blood was boiling- some of it had already evaporated away. She closed her eyes once more and chanted: "Release this being of.themselves. Wield the magic of Atlantis. Accept my gift to you." Asahrmi waited for a second, and heard, in the distance of what sounded like the low rumble of a thunderstorm. A gentle breeze played with her long, straight hair. She knew at once something was wrong- The door and window were closed. This breeze wasn't a natural one. The low rumble became louder, until it was a huge roar, making the walls tremble with it's fury. "What's happening?!" Asharmi cried, absolutely terrified. If she could complete the spell maybe all this would stop.She took a step towards the chest- it exploded, scattering needle-sharp splinters everywhere. She screamed and threw herself to the ground. 'What have I done?' She asked herself, horrified. "Stop! Stop!" to her immense surprise, it did. She looked up, to see a tall, dark figure in front of her. It radiated power. "Who.who are you?" She whispered. "I am power," said the figure, it's voice deep and ancient. "I am the mother and father of all Magic. everyone of you who have The Gift owe your existence to me. Now you have summoned me, and I will take back what I have given. Hitomi is mine." A strong wind ripped through the room and it was gone. "Oh no."

She could feel an unknown power ripping through her body. It was pushing her spirit out- she was dying! Hitomi opened her mouth to scream, but the mouth that was meant to make the sound was no longer hers. Suddenly the pain stopped. She was vaguly aware that she could see herself. Or at least what used to be her. Its eyes were filled with fire, and was destroying everything in sight. The thing removed the cell door by mere thought, and was gone. Hitomi wasn't perturbed by what she had seen. She moved forward, and realized that she was floating. The strangest thing was, it felt natural. Suddenly she heard someone call her name. The voice sounded familiar. Could it be.? She followed the sound, and drifted through the veils of place and time towards it. "Hitomi," The voice said. She turned round. "Grandma!" She cried joyfully as she threw herself into her grandmother's arms. "Grandma, I've missed you." "I've missed you too, Hitomi." Hitomi buried her head into her grandmother's chest, breathing in that Grandma smell of musty roses and safety. Her Grandmother gently stroked her hair, murmuring: "It's alright, Hitomi. Everything's going to be alright." Hitomi lifted her head and smiled. "Don't worry, Grandma. I like being dead." "No, Hitomi. Listen to me. You weren't meant to die today. This is wrong. I'm sorry, Hitomi. You're going to have to go back." "No!" Every part of her being rebelled against the idea. "I'm not leaving you! I can't loose you again! Besides, I don't want to go back. There's so much suffering there." "I know, Hitomi. But if you die, then Van will die too, and Fanelia will fall. The balance between good and evil will be uneven. Please Hitomi, my darling. I'm sorry this has happened, that you had to suffer so much.but you can't give up." "Oh Grandma." Hitomi felt a touch of helplessness. "Even if I do go back, what good will it do?" "Fate will take care of that, Hitomi." "Grandma." Tears welled up in Hitomi's eyes. "It hurt so much when you died.why must I relive it?" "Hitomi, there isn't just suffering. Can't you remember all the times you were happy? All the times the people around you were happy? One day, you will find your happiness again. But before that, remember: once someone has been touched by power, some of it will always remain. It will be hard for you at first. You must relearn the use of your body and find your memories." "My memories?" Hitomi quiered, confused. "Yes, Hitomi. You will have died and come back, and so the natural balance in your soul will be upset. Your soul contains your memories and feelings, but normally, this wouldn't be enough to forget your soulmate, or anything of spiritual importance. But when you return to Earth, it will have tipped the balance too far, and you will lose your memories. I'm so sorry Hitomi." Hitomi gasped with shock. It took her a few moments to fully realize what her grandmother had just said. "But, Grandma.does this mean I forget about Gaea?.about." Saying it would hurt too much. Instead, she let her Grandmother say it for her. "About Von? Yes, but not for ever. It will take time for you to get used to the new situation. But once you have, gradually your memories will resurface. It will work out in the end." "Will I forget about you? I mean, about what's happening right now?" "Yes, honey, you will." Hitomi nodded, preparing and stengthening herself for the trial to come. Her Grandmother heart tightened. It wasn't right that her sweet little granddaughter should have to fight like this, or have to grow up so quickly. It just wasn't right! Hitomi smiled. It was full of strength and hope and tragedy. "I'm ready to go back now." She said. "Okay, Hitomi." Her grandmother kissed her on the cheek and looked at her for the last time. "Goodbye, Hitomi."

Well, peeps, whatcha think? Please review, it means a lot to me. : ) I'll try and update early september. P.S I'M GOING TO THE LONDON PREMIERE OF LORD OF THE RINGS! YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!! *does a little jig of joy and dreams of true love, Frodo a.k.a Elijah Wood!*