Hey guys. It's me, htenywg. Mmhm, I took down the From Us To You, and here is the revised version. This chapter was co-written by myself and D, and I swear I'll pass it to you, Pris.
So. Read and enjoy. At least it makes more sense now.
Crossing Barriers
Chapter One
The examinations were over at last. Alethia, Denea, Clarenova, JK, Gia, Jenn, Raen, Sapphi and Estel could finally breathe after months of slogging. Ahead of them were six weeks of holiday and pure heaven before their results and school posting slips were given out.
But perhaps a little background information would be in order here.
The nine girls formed what was known as the TRC. Nobody knew exactly what it stood for, or at least, nobody could remember. In any case, it had been around for so long and had been referred to as such that everyone had stopped asking. It was not anything exclusive or anything, but nobody really knew how they accepted members anyway. But it was just there, and no one questioned its existence.
In reality, the TRC was first formed by Alethia, Denea and Gia, best friends of three years who shared interests like reading, horses and a love for English and Mathematics. All three were rather outcasted because of their vertically challengedness, but they didn't really mind all that much. In the subsequent year, Clarenova, JK and Estel were initiated before Raen, Jenn and Sapphi at the start of the previous year. The nine had stayed this way, close-knit but very diverse, for a whole year. Therefore, the TRC had a history of three years, rather long for a schoolgirls' organization, most of which tended to fall apart in the first to sixth month.
All the girls could be characterized by physical appearance. Clarenova was the most easily identifiable, her hair being in a braid that hung just below her waist. She was tall and was protective of her braid, practically hugging it protectively whenever anyone threatened its length. Estel was quite tall, slightly taller than Clarenova, and very big, almost like a badger. She had short hair and spectacles that she constantly pushed up her nose. JK had slightly frizzy hair, tied back and clipped up with two hairclips at either side of the head. She tended to be slightly blur at times, but she was very athletic, lithe and slim.
Alethia was the shortest of the lot, a fact that nobody hesitated to rub in now and then. Her uncontrollably wavy hair was a cause of great frustration every morning, and she claimed to wake up looking like a lion. She tied her fringe straight back and the rest of her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She wore glasses with a degree in only one eye. Gia was taller than Alethia, but shorter than JK, with a round face and eyes forever blinking behind glasses. Her fringe was also tied up, but her hair was short. Denea was possibly the primmest of all the girls, but also easily the most hot-tempered. She too tied her fringe up, but clipped it to the right, having a right parting. Her dark eyes had a natural thick, black outline, giving her a kind of Egyptian look, but her Oriental features were also thus prominently emphasized.
Sapphi had long hair, tied back into a long, free tail that the girls loved to flick and play with when utterly bored. Her arms were frequently crossed, and she had small eyes that expressed many emotions. Raen was only slightly taller than Alethia (fine, by 10 centimetres) but there was dispute if she was taller than Gia or not. Her hair was in a short, bouncy ponytail as well, bound with a black scrunchie, and occasionally, when she was in the mood, a big black bow. She was dark-skinned with chocolate eyes, and was possibly the most cheeky and mischievous of the girls. And finally, Jenn was possibly the plainest. Normal straight black hair, spectacles, normal face, but she had stayed in a foreign country for the first 7 years of her life and had an accent that she couldn't seem to get rid of.
So much for the girls. Now on with the tale.
So the day was a joyous one for the TRC members. That is, the day of their final examination. The moment it was over, the girls rushed from their various examination rooms to converge in the corridor. Chattering excitedly about this final examination, they waited for Alethia to get out from her classroom.
"Hey, how did you do that question...?"
"The one about Sultan Hussien and Raffles?"
"No, the map one..."
"Oh. Which? The Straits of Johor or MacRitchie reservoir?"
"Crap! You mean it's MacRitchie? I am so dead."
"Yes, look who's finally here!"
Alethia rushed up, panting.
"Sorry guys...the invigilator kept dropping the answer keys. Speaking of answers, was it the Straits of Johor or Singapore?"
"Johor."
"Damn."
Slinging her arm around Estel, who was still nursing her MacRitchie reservoir injury, Clarenova said,"Oh well, it's over. Let's move off, shall we? We're blocking the passageway."
Grinning apologetically, the girls left for the bus stop.
***
"Whee!" The bag was suddenly flung into the air. Jenn caught it deftly by the strap and slung it over her head again. Sapphi started inching away nervously.
"Er...?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! You see, the fact that we're totally FREE! just sunk in," Jenn explained, grinning away happily.
"So, what're you going to do for these few weeks?" Gia asked innocently. Eight shoulders shrugged, almost in unison, in response.
The girls were in a field. They had taken a bus from school all the way down to their haven, a little escape from the hectic and busy world outside. To get there, one only had to walk a fair bit, climb a little, crawl a distance, oh, not to mention jump a bit...before one gets to a fairly large clearing with trees surrounding it, and a rock slab in the centre, flat enough to be used as a sort of table. Queerly enough, the clearing, by some magic or otherwise, was virtually non-existent to adults and the like. So the girls normally used this place to do their homework or to write, as most of them did. Today, however, the girls were lounging around under the shade of a giant rain tree, bags thrown aside, sitting in a circle and passing around a bag of Twisties. As JK crunched on a stick of Twisties, she asked, "Why'd you ask, anyway?"
Alethia, Denea and Gia glanced at each other. After a few rounds of "You tell 'em" "No, you"s, not to mention copious amounts of grinning, Clarenova broke in.
"Will you guys quit fooling around already? In case you forgot, the rest of us exist too, you know. Now just tell us, one of you."
"Fine," Denea beat the others to it. "What say we go into Mossflower again and visit Consellariel, Fey and the others?"
"It's been a long time since we last visited them," Alethia added.
"Besides, we have loads of time ahead of us," quipped Gia.
Estel's eyes widened.
"Oh yes! Why didn't we think of it earlier?" she exclaimed, excited.
Jenn slowly raised her hand, doubtful.
"Er, exactly how do we get there? I mean, Mossflower is just a fictional place in a book, right? It doesn't exist...right?" Sapphi nodded her agreement, looking confused.
"Yeah," Raen put in. "We can't actually go there, right?"
The rest turned to look at Jenn, Raen and Sapphi. Clarenova smacked her forehead.
"We forgot! They've never been there before! They joined the TRC only last year!"
"Aw," JK said. "Don't worry, you'll find out now!"
***
"Now then," Alethia smiled, looking at her watch. "Should we go home and get stuff, or should we just go now?"
"Go now," Estel said decisively. "The stuff we need are always with us, anyway."
Alethia shrugged. "Alright then."
Denea dug deep into her bag and retrieved an ornately carved wooden box. Gia and Alethia followed suit. Clarenova looked around the clearing, looking to all appearances as if she were looking for something, but JK found it first.
"Over here!"
JK was motioning to a small mark on the bark of a tree. Sapphi looked closely at it.
"It looks like a...sword."
"That's the right one."
Denea undid the silver clasp on her box. The others undid that own clasps, Gia struggling for a moment. "ARGH," she muttered. "Damn thing always gets stuck."
Clarenova made a mock bow to Alethia. "Pray, marm, would you do the honours?" She ducked, snickering, as Alethia made a swipe for Clarenova's head. Then, Alethia opened her box. Raen and the other new girls gaped. Nestled deep amidst deep purple velvet were a finely cut amethyst and a small sword-like piece, made of pure gold, with a diamond set in the centre. Alethia removed the goldpiece and fitted it into the marking in the bark. A soft golden mist now surrounded the tree. When a bit of the mist cleared, there was now a door visible in the bark. Alethia removed the goldpiece, and Denea and Gia joined her. They all removed their respective jewels, all cut in slightly different ways. Denea's was a shining sapphire and Gia's was a pink garnet. Their goldpieces were different as well. Denea's had an emerald set in hers, while Gia had a pearl set in hers. Alethia plucked the jewel from her box and placed it into one of the three brackets carved into the living wood of the tree. Denea and Gia filled in the next two brackets. The ground began to rumble and shake. The three hastily stuffed their boxes back into their bags. Sapphi, Jenn and Raen looked positively terrified.
"It's alright," Clarenova reassured them cheerfully. "There was once we had a 9 on the Richter scale."
"Mmhm," Gia grinned. "I think this one will only be a six."
As if confirming Estel's prediction, the stone slab began to revolve, and, it appeared, made the ground shake even more. The slab slowly rose and morphed before their eyes. It had become an arch, smooth and cool to the touch.
"Through this, people!" JK motioned.
"Wait. Salamandastron side or Redwall side?" Gia asked.
"Redwall. I have no wish of seeing my alter ego this soon. Especially if she's found out by now exactly who jammed the lock to the forge." Alethia said, laughing.
The rest laughed, while Jenn and Sapphi looked on with huge eyes. Raen, however, was busy inspecting the arch. There were different runic carvings on either side of the stone arch, written in Loamscript, which the girls had mastered and were now using as their own code to pass notes in school. First learned by Clarenova, it was a must to learn it. Not to mention memorize it. Raen was still rather slow at it. She traced the runes, and slowly read out 'Redwall' on one side of the arch, and 'Salamandastron' on the other. By now, the girls had stopped laughing, and they were trooping over to the 'Redwall' side. Clarenova and Estel grinned at each other and stepped through first, and before disappearing with a loud "Shit!"
JK grasped Raen's arm and nodded, then she let go and they stepped through together. "What the -!"
Following, Sapphi and Jenn made it in with only an "Argh!" apiece. Then the original trio went in, and found the reason for the various expletives. They had landed in the middle of the Abbey pond. Clarenova and Estel were already standing on the bank, wringing out the water from their clothes. Clarenova grumbled, trying to wring the water out of her braid as well.
"That portal is so unpredictable!"
"Oh, quit thy whining will you? You aren't the only one with hair that gives the most drastic results when wet," Alethia grumbled, desperately trying to pull the rubber band out of her now curly hair. And when Alethia's hair curled, it tangled.
"Girls! You're here!"
The splashes had brought the Abbots and Abbesses running to see the commotion.
"Ah, back again, aren't you? You've been long."
"Finally! Come in and dry off!"
"At least it's not like last time, when you landed on the weather-vane."
"I think we have no intention whatsoever to repeat that delightful incident, verbally or otherwise," Denea growled stiffly.
"A whole week out in the infirmary," Gia remarked.
As the group headed inside, Raen, Jenn and Sapphi trailing in after them, looking around with huge eyes, they didn't realise that they had forgotten something. Amidst their joy at the prospect of returning to the Abbey, Alethia, Gia and Denea had forgotten to retrieve the jewels from the brackets. The portal was still open. The arch still stood in the field.
***
Vatrisha crept in. She had followed the girls on the bus, under the pretence of going home. Sniggering slightly, she crept on, following the trail. Now she arrived at the clearing. She saw the arch. Smirking a small, self-satisfied smile, she stepped through the arch. The portal went mad as it sensed a person with dark thoughts in her heart go through it. Vatrisha disappeared.
End of Chapter One.
A/N: Well. It's done! Next chapter: the story of the portal, jewels and goldpieces, their uses, and Alethia, Gia and Denea realise their mistake a tad too late...
So. Read and enjoy. At least it makes more sense now.
Crossing Barriers
Chapter One
The examinations were over at last. Alethia, Denea, Clarenova, JK, Gia, Jenn, Raen, Sapphi and Estel could finally breathe after months of slogging. Ahead of them were six weeks of holiday and pure heaven before their results and school posting slips were given out.
But perhaps a little background information would be in order here.
The nine girls formed what was known as the TRC. Nobody knew exactly what it stood for, or at least, nobody could remember. In any case, it had been around for so long and had been referred to as such that everyone had stopped asking. It was not anything exclusive or anything, but nobody really knew how they accepted members anyway. But it was just there, and no one questioned its existence.
In reality, the TRC was first formed by Alethia, Denea and Gia, best friends of three years who shared interests like reading, horses and a love for English and Mathematics. All three were rather outcasted because of their vertically challengedness, but they didn't really mind all that much. In the subsequent year, Clarenova, JK and Estel were initiated before Raen, Jenn and Sapphi at the start of the previous year. The nine had stayed this way, close-knit but very diverse, for a whole year. Therefore, the TRC had a history of three years, rather long for a schoolgirls' organization, most of which tended to fall apart in the first to sixth month.
All the girls could be characterized by physical appearance. Clarenova was the most easily identifiable, her hair being in a braid that hung just below her waist. She was tall and was protective of her braid, practically hugging it protectively whenever anyone threatened its length. Estel was quite tall, slightly taller than Clarenova, and very big, almost like a badger. She had short hair and spectacles that she constantly pushed up her nose. JK had slightly frizzy hair, tied back and clipped up with two hairclips at either side of the head. She tended to be slightly blur at times, but she was very athletic, lithe and slim.
Alethia was the shortest of the lot, a fact that nobody hesitated to rub in now and then. Her uncontrollably wavy hair was a cause of great frustration every morning, and she claimed to wake up looking like a lion. She tied her fringe straight back and the rest of her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She wore glasses with a degree in only one eye. Gia was taller than Alethia, but shorter than JK, with a round face and eyes forever blinking behind glasses. Her fringe was also tied up, but her hair was short. Denea was possibly the primmest of all the girls, but also easily the most hot-tempered. She too tied her fringe up, but clipped it to the right, having a right parting. Her dark eyes had a natural thick, black outline, giving her a kind of Egyptian look, but her Oriental features were also thus prominently emphasized.
Sapphi had long hair, tied back into a long, free tail that the girls loved to flick and play with when utterly bored. Her arms were frequently crossed, and she had small eyes that expressed many emotions. Raen was only slightly taller than Alethia (fine, by 10 centimetres) but there was dispute if she was taller than Gia or not. Her hair was in a short, bouncy ponytail as well, bound with a black scrunchie, and occasionally, when she was in the mood, a big black bow. She was dark-skinned with chocolate eyes, and was possibly the most cheeky and mischievous of the girls. And finally, Jenn was possibly the plainest. Normal straight black hair, spectacles, normal face, but she had stayed in a foreign country for the first 7 years of her life and had an accent that she couldn't seem to get rid of.
So much for the girls. Now on with the tale.
So the day was a joyous one for the TRC members. That is, the day of their final examination. The moment it was over, the girls rushed from their various examination rooms to converge in the corridor. Chattering excitedly about this final examination, they waited for Alethia to get out from her classroom.
"Hey, how did you do that question...?"
"The one about Sultan Hussien and Raffles?"
"No, the map one..."
"Oh. Which? The Straits of Johor or MacRitchie reservoir?"
"Crap! You mean it's MacRitchie? I am so dead."
"Yes, look who's finally here!"
Alethia rushed up, panting.
"Sorry guys...the invigilator kept dropping the answer keys. Speaking of answers, was it the Straits of Johor or Singapore?"
"Johor."
"Damn."
Slinging her arm around Estel, who was still nursing her MacRitchie reservoir injury, Clarenova said,"Oh well, it's over. Let's move off, shall we? We're blocking the passageway."
Grinning apologetically, the girls left for the bus stop.
***
"Whee!" The bag was suddenly flung into the air. Jenn caught it deftly by the strap and slung it over her head again. Sapphi started inching away nervously.
"Er...?"
"Oh, I'm sorry! You see, the fact that we're totally FREE! just sunk in," Jenn explained, grinning away happily.
"So, what're you going to do for these few weeks?" Gia asked innocently. Eight shoulders shrugged, almost in unison, in response.
The girls were in a field. They had taken a bus from school all the way down to their haven, a little escape from the hectic and busy world outside. To get there, one only had to walk a fair bit, climb a little, crawl a distance, oh, not to mention jump a bit...before one gets to a fairly large clearing with trees surrounding it, and a rock slab in the centre, flat enough to be used as a sort of table. Queerly enough, the clearing, by some magic or otherwise, was virtually non-existent to adults and the like. So the girls normally used this place to do their homework or to write, as most of them did. Today, however, the girls were lounging around under the shade of a giant rain tree, bags thrown aside, sitting in a circle and passing around a bag of Twisties. As JK crunched on a stick of Twisties, she asked, "Why'd you ask, anyway?"
Alethia, Denea and Gia glanced at each other. After a few rounds of "You tell 'em" "No, you"s, not to mention copious amounts of grinning, Clarenova broke in.
"Will you guys quit fooling around already? In case you forgot, the rest of us exist too, you know. Now just tell us, one of you."
"Fine," Denea beat the others to it. "What say we go into Mossflower again and visit Consellariel, Fey and the others?"
"It's been a long time since we last visited them," Alethia added.
"Besides, we have loads of time ahead of us," quipped Gia.
Estel's eyes widened.
"Oh yes! Why didn't we think of it earlier?" she exclaimed, excited.
Jenn slowly raised her hand, doubtful.
"Er, exactly how do we get there? I mean, Mossflower is just a fictional place in a book, right? It doesn't exist...right?" Sapphi nodded her agreement, looking confused.
"Yeah," Raen put in. "We can't actually go there, right?"
The rest turned to look at Jenn, Raen and Sapphi. Clarenova smacked her forehead.
"We forgot! They've never been there before! They joined the TRC only last year!"
"Aw," JK said. "Don't worry, you'll find out now!"
***
"Now then," Alethia smiled, looking at her watch. "Should we go home and get stuff, or should we just go now?"
"Go now," Estel said decisively. "The stuff we need are always with us, anyway."
Alethia shrugged. "Alright then."
Denea dug deep into her bag and retrieved an ornately carved wooden box. Gia and Alethia followed suit. Clarenova looked around the clearing, looking to all appearances as if she were looking for something, but JK found it first.
"Over here!"
JK was motioning to a small mark on the bark of a tree. Sapphi looked closely at it.
"It looks like a...sword."
"That's the right one."
Denea undid the silver clasp on her box. The others undid that own clasps, Gia struggling for a moment. "ARGH," she muttered. "Damn thing always gets stuck."
Clarenova made a mock bow to Alethia. "Pray, marm, would you do the honours?" She ducked, snickering, as Alethia made a swipe for Clarenova's head. Then, Alethia opened her box. Raen and the other new girls gaped. Nestled deep amidst deep purple velvet were a finely cut amethyst and a small sword-like piece, made of pure gold, with a diamond set in the centre. Alethia removed the goldpiece and fitted it into the marking in the bark. A soft golden mist now surrounded the tree. When a bit of the mist cleared, there was now a door visible in the bark. Alethia removed the goldpiece, and Denea and Gia joined her. They all removed their respective jewels, all cut in slightly different ways. Denea's was a shining sapphire and Gia's was a pink garnet. Their goldpieces were different as well. Denea's had an emerald set in hers, while Gia had a pearl set in hers. Alethia plucked the jewel from her box and placed it into one of the three brackets carved into the living wood of the tree. Denea and Gia filled in the next two brackets. The ground began to rumble and shake. The three hastily stuffed their boxes back into their bags. Sapphi, Jenn and Raen looked positively terrified.
"It's alright," Clarenova reassured them cheerfully. "There was once we had a 9 on the Richter scale."
"Mmhm," Gia grinned. "I think this one will only be a six."
As if confirming Estel's prediction, the stone slab began to revolve, and, it appeared, made the ground shake even more. The slab slowly rose and morphed before their eyes. It had become an arch, smooth and cool to the touch.
"Through this, people!" JK motioned.
"Wait. Salamandastron side or Redwall side?" Gia asked.
"Redwall. I have no wish of seeing my alter ego this soon. Especially if she's found out by now exactly who jammed the lock to the forge." Alethia said, laughing.
The rest laughed, while Jenn and Sapphi looked on with huge eyes. Raen, however, was busy inspecting the arch. There were different runic carvings on either side of the stone arch, written in Loamscript, which the girls had mastered and were now using as their own code to pass notes in school. First learned by Clarenova, it was a must to learn it. Not to mention memorize it. Raen was still rather slow at it. She traced the runes, and slowly read out 'Redwall' on one side of the arch, and 'Salamandastron' on the other. By now, the girls had stopped laughing, and they were trooping over to the 'Redwall' side. Clarenova and Estel grinned at each other and stepped through first, and before disappearing with a loud "Shit!"
JK grasped Raen's arm and nodded, then she let go and they stepped through together. "What the -!"
Following, Sapphi and Jenn made it in with only an "Argh!" apiece. Then the original trio went in, and found the reason for the various expletives. They had landed in the middle of the Abbey pond. Clarenova and Estel were already standing on the bank, wringing out the water from their clothes. Clarenova grumbled, trying to wring the water out of her braid as well.
"That portal is so unpredictable!"
"Oh, quit thy whining will you? You aren't the only one with hair that gives the most drastic results when wet," Alethia grumbled, desperately trying to pull the rubber band out of her now curly hair. And when Alethia's hair curled, it tangled.
"Girls! You're here!"
The splashes had brought the Abbots and Abbesses running to see the commotion.
"Ah, back again, aren't you? You've been long."
"Finally! Come in and dry off!"
"At least it's not like last time, when you landed on the weather-vane."
"I think we have no intention whatsoever to repeat that delightful incident, verbally or otherwise," Denea growled stiffly.
"A whole week out in the infirmary," Gia remarked.
As the group headed inside, Raen, Jenn and Sapphi trailing in after them, looking around with huge eyes, they didn't realise that they had forgotten something. Amidst their joy at the prospect of returning to the Abbey, Alethia, Gia and Denea had forgotten to retrieve the jewels from the brackets. The portal was still open. The arch still stood in the field.
***
Vatrisha crept in. She had followed the girls on the bus, under the pretence of going home. Sniggering slightly, she crept on, following the trail. Now she arrived at the clearing. She saw the arch. Smirking a small, self-satisfied smile, she stepped through the arch. The portal went mad as it sensed a person with dark thoughts in her heart go through it. Vatrisha disappeared.
End of Chapter One.
A/N: Well. It's done! Next chapter: the story of the portal, jewels and goldpieces, their uses, and Alethia, Gia and Denea realise their mistake a tad too late...