All About Runes: Chapter 6
'Oooh...what a night!'
Cecile yawned and stretched on her bed. Even though she didn't stay up late drinking the night away like the others, she still stayed up until everybody had gone to sleep before sleeping herself. Odd thing was that when she passed by the supposedly empty dining room last night, she thought she saw a person still inside. Cecile didn't know for sure whether that person was a he or a she, since she only saw the silhouette of that person scanning the dining room. But since she was too sleepy and already incapable of doing anything other than sleeping, she assumed it was probably one of the guests. The probability of it being an enemy was unlikely, since the night shifts are on guard every night.
The young knight sat on her bed and rubbed her eyes. Her dream that night was odd too. She kept hearing screams and footsteps as if all around the castle. Cecile stood up shakily and scratched her neck. 'Is that another bite...? Ugh...And it's hot too!'
She fanned herself, stepped into her small washroom and went in front of faucet, thinking about having another refreshing hot bath in the baths on the ship as usual. She opened the faucet and splashed cool water on her face. Just then, she felt something hairy touch her arm. She immediately slapped her arm in attempt to kill the 'insect' she assumed would be there. When she put away her hand, she was surprised to see nothing there. 'That's odd...Wait...there's something wrong here...' Cecile grabbed a bottle lying on the ground and held it tight.
When Cecile felt that hairy thing on her arm again, she immediately swung backwards and raised the bottle. What she saw brought another loud scream echoing in the castle hallways.
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A knock came abruptly on Lucia's door. The Karayan chief immediately went to the door to open it, expecting the young Karayan Aila to be the one outside. When Lucia opened the door, it was indeed Aila who instantly went inside and sat comfortably on the floor. Lucia closed the door and sat next to the girl.
"So...??" Lucia asked.
"I...actually..." Aila took a deep breath. "There's something I've been feeling lately...I think there's really something wrong with me."
"What is it?"
"I feel like I've grown overly fat. And my lower abdomen feels so heavy." Aila looked up.
"Er..." Lucia faltered. "Isn't it just your period?"
"No, I just finished it a few days ago." Aila looked skeptical.
"Well, there doesn't seem anything wrong."
After a few more minutes, Lucia stood up and laughed. "I thought it was something bad, you looked really serious."
"But---!"
Suddenly, they heard a scream and breaking of glass.
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Cecile didn't hear the frantic knocks on her door as she kneeled in front of the mirror. When she had swung backwards, she didn't see any insect or fiend, but her own reflection on the mirror. But it wasn't the same reflection she saw everyday. It was a reflection of a young lady staring open-mouthed in shock. The girl was of medium height, the typical height of a 17-year old girl. She had long straight light brown hair that ended halfway on her back, and bright green eyes. The bottle that Cecile was holding fell carelessly to the floor, breaking into many pieces. She kneeled slowly in front of the mirror and touched her hair. Seeing her reflection do the same, she realized she wasn't dreaming. Gone were her short hair, short limbs, and flat chest. In a matter of minutes, she realized that she had morphed into her older self!
The shout of her name brought her back to her senses. There was somebody knocking on her door frantically, calling her name. In panic, she immediately ran to the door but stopped midway. What was she supposed to say!? 'Hi, it's me Cecile. And I became a grown-up overnight?...yeah right!'
"Hey, Cecile! Cecile!! What's wrong?!" Aila shouted.
"Uhm---I—I—think---there may be---uhm---something wrong with m---me right now...." Cecile shuddered, instantly detecting the change in her voice.
"It's ok Cecile. I'm sure it's not that bad. Open up. It's me, Aila." Aila said.
Cecile unlocked the door but left it closed. She immediately jumped on her bed and put the covers over her.
When Aila opened the door, she was surprised to see Cecile cowering under the covers. When she sat beside the bed and shook Cecile's shoulder, the young knight immediately spoke up.
"Promise you won't scream...?" Cecile muttered.
"Whaaat...?" Aila replied. 'Why would I scream?
"Just promise me."
"Okaay...fine."
When Cecile pushed away the covers, Aila bit her lip and stifled a gasp.
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After a few more minutes, Aila and Cecile were found on the bed facing each other in Indian seat. Aila still couldn't believe her eyes. Cecile, a grown up!?!? 'Ok...so maybe I'm overreacting, people do grow up anyway. But----'
'Uhm.........................................Uhm................maybe...we should hide you first, the people might panic...There's enough trouble in this castle already." Aila finally said.
"Trouble?!! What kind??" Cecile panicked.
"Hey! Hey! Don't get too excited. It's not that bad, some people of the castle just got changed into babies." Aila muttered. "Forget about it, they already took care of it anyway. Let's just concentrate on how to hide you."
"Well... how do we do it exactly?.." Cecile asked the Karayan.
"Hmmm...I could cover you up. I'll just tell them that you got sick or something and I'll ask for clothes from Queen or Lady Chris." Aila stood up. "Just wait for me ok?"
When Aila stood up to leave, Cecile suddenly held her arm to stop her.
"Wait...I have a better idea." Cecile beamed.
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When the news of the commotion spread, the residents panicked for a while but settled down a few hours after. Most of the people stayed in the Grand Hall where people sat on the many sofas to drink coffee or read the daily paper. On the far corner were two people casually drinking tea. The lady sat back and glanced around the room. When her gaze saw what she was looking for, she smiled.
Hortez put his teacup on the table and glanced at the direction where Jeanne was staring. When he saw the High Priest Sasarai, along with Dios, Nash, and the new guests, he looked suspiciously at the girl in front of him.
"Why are you looking at the High Priest?" Hortez asked Jeanne.
"Oh, no. hee hee. It's not him I'm looking at. Apparently, I just noticed that the runes have started getting effect."
"Oh, really? I didn't notice." Hortez replied, glancing around once more.
Jeanne crossed her arms and stared at the person she was looking at. 'Oh my! It seems like trouble.'
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"Have anyone of you seen Faye today? I tried knocking at her door, but she doesn't respond. She locked both of her doors when I got back from dinner. Is she angry with me?" Farrah asked the people sitting around her.
Nash, who was standing beside Sierra, glanced at the vampire.
"I don't know. I haven't seen her today." Sasarai replied.
"Me too, my lady. Maybe she just overslept." Dios said.
Farrah looked at the entrance of the Grand Hall, expecting her sister to arrive.
"We'll check on her." Sierra said suddenly before walking away. Nash nodded to Farrah before dashing away.
"I hope nothing's wrong though..." Farrah mumbled.
"Don't worry my lady, stop frowning, and---er---put a smile on your beautiful face. Your admirers might get heartbroken." Dios said.
Farrah laughed and smiled at him. "Flattery won't get you anywhere, you know."
"Yeah, what a lame excuse to use. I bet that admirer you're talking about was yourself." Sasarai mumbled to himself before getting shocked. 'What the----!?!'
"E—Excuse me, sir?" Dios looked at the High Priest, wide eyed.
"Oh nothing. I just said that maybe Lady Faye is yet again making excuses not to get out of bed. She better not do that if she wants to train herself." Sasarai replied casually.
"Oh." Dios smiled. "I thought I heard something else."
Farrah looked back at the entrance nervously. Faye gets herself in trouble once in a while, but never in a public place! 'I hope nothing's wrong!' Farrah thought as her clammy hands remained fisted on her lap. When she glanced at the doorway again, she thought she saw her sister entering. Instead it was a young lady with long braided light brown hair and bright green eyes dressed in a long peach morning gown. A young Karayan lady followed suit. The two ladies were walking unusually faster than normal. And they were headed straight to the other exit. Just when they neared the exit, the owner of the castle went came out of the exit, bumping onto the lady in the gown. Farrah saw the two blush as they apologized to each other. And before the owner could talk to the girl, they immediately dashed away. Thomas stood there staring at the exit scratching his head.
"Lord Sasarai, did you see those two young ladies who passed by?" Farrah asked the High Priest.
"Yes. Why?"
"I thought the lady in the gown looked very familiar."
"Maybe she's one of the guests around here. I don't think I've seen her around here either." Sasarai glanced at the entrance. "Hey look, it's Nash."
When Farrah saw the spy, she was surprised to see him alone. No sierra. No Faye. She immediately panicked and walked to him, meeting him halfway.
"Where is my sister???" Farrah asked immediately.
"Not to worry, my lady, she's awake. But she's still doing something. Sierra is with her. They'll arrive shortly after." Nash smiled reassuringly.
"Oh..." Farrah said as she glanced at the entrance. 'WHAT is Faye doing!?"
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In Faye's room
"Ok young lady. I suppose you should start explaining, and it better be good." Sierra said to Faye with her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised.
"Well........." Faye bit her lip.
She was sitting on her bed looking guiltily at the vampire, arms fisted on her lap---With the sleeping figure of Albert just below her, clueless as to the deep trouble they were in.
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A/N: Don't forget to review please!!!:) I'll post the next after the first 5 reviews. The more the merrier.