Chapter 2: Destiny Misunderstood

"I can't believe it."
"Gaffer does look worried."
"Why would she be concerned with us? She'd like us to get out of her way, if that was the interpretation of her tone?!"

Clae looked at Ash exasperatedly, as her friend just shrugged and looked even more worried. The former paced as the latter sat on a stair, watching their other classmates huddle around arboretum pieces and artifacts, their teacher nowhere to be found, after fussing over and scolding them when she found them. The tattletale Shea was nowhere to be found. To change the subject, Ash suddenly said the impossible.

"I think were getting worse than detention."

This made younger brunette restless. "She'd dare," she growled angrily as she released the heavy bag she was dragging across her shoulders on the floor. It sagged to the floor with a flop, as the clunk of metal reminded her of the prescence of the non-existant book she didn't expect carrying. Picking the bag up and sitting beside Ash, she took the iron-clamped book out of the bag and started to examine it with her hands. Her friend looked over, spying the book ruefully with green clouded eyes.

"Maybe you shouldn't have gotten that book from that old wisecrack, Claeren."

Clae frowned. One, she didn't like to be called by her first name; and two, she didn't undertsand why Ash, THE Ash, who loves to write and would suspect a Lord of the Rings item or character when she sees one, would reject such an offer like the book. "You don't know what that book could contain..." she continued, twiddling her fingers nervously, something Clae knew Ash wouldn't do in any way as based on her very strong personality.

"Ash," she finally felt herself sigh, as she topped trying to pry the rusted lock on the side of the book open. "What is wrong with you?!!" With a roar and the rise of the accented tone of her voice, she angrily threw the book down at the floor on Ash's feet, as it suddenly bursts open. The green-eyed girl looks at her, eyes wide open in shock. Clae took time to catch her breath, and wonder what on earth she has done.

The commotion reached the students, as they looked at Clae absurdly for a moment, and one by one walked away... muttering to themselves about a goody-two-shoes going bad. "Now what have I done?" she exclaimed in frustration, falling to sit down next to Ash, despairing in humiliation. However, her friend has missed the interruption.

She was pointing at the book, that have broken open with one strike of motionary force, the throw. "Look," she pointed out.

Three rings for the Elves who would question the sky
Seven for the Dwarf-Lords who miscalculated for the Strength of the Stone
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to be betrayed
One for a Child possesed upon his Dark Throne
Far from Mordor, but in where the shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them
One Ring to bring them all, And let the darkness bind them.
By the Child far from Mordor, but in where the shadows lie.

"But in where the shadows lie-?" Clae echoed the scripture that appeared like ink spreading upon manuscript by invisible writing hands. "That's not what its supposed to sound..." Ash said, inching away from the book, eyebrows raised. Clae looked at her disbelievingly, but nodded. "I know." Her eyes returned back to the book, probing the pages wearily, waiting for other words to appear. "Clae, that book is witchcraft." Ash suddenly exclaimed, darkness in her voice. "Get away from it."

Clae looked back at Ash, her eyes still in a trance. "Ash... its the War of the One Ring, its what I have been looking for all my life..." she whispered, her eyes dancing. "You wanted this too, didn't you? The man knew exactly what are dreams were... but why fight it? Ash...?" Her friend began to back away from her, insanity reflecting from her eyes. "What is wrong with you?" She began to stand up, but suddenly, the pages of the Book turned again. "Look!"

A leaf separated itself from the others, and revealed two empty pages, with their name written on the bottom of each. "My name..." Clae whispered as her hand travelled over the empty page above her name. "...And yours!" Ash somehow lightened up a bit, and knelt next to her friend, her hand gliding towards the empty page, as if magnetized. "This Book was meant to be ours, Ash..." Clae said softly, but excitement in her voice.

"And the story is ours alone."

A snap errupted from Ash's brain. "Ungh!" she exclaimed as she tried to pull her hand from the book. But it wouldn't budge. "Its stuck! Its stuck, Clae!!! Look what you made me do!!!" She began to panic. "Ugh, it is!!!" Clae began to try pulling hers off too.

"I told you this is bad luck! You shouldn't have taken it!" Ash screamed at her, as they both began to grapple towards their bags.
"How should I know?!!" Clae responded angrily, scouring her pouch for scissors.
Ash struggled hard to get her hand off, even tear the page off. "Is this enough proof?!!"

Clae felt a little bit guilty. The moment she realized that this book had to do something with Middle Earth, she couldn't take her eyes off it... especially when the lyre of The One Ring talked about two children - them! But now, things were coming out a little bit complicated, as if they were about to be eaten by a nasty book filled up with dustballs. Just when she had gotten hold of the sharp edge of her cutter, it accidentally slashed the tip of her finger. "Ouch!"

The drop of blood fell on the book, and splattered all over the page.
"Uh-oh," Ash felt herself mutter, as light suddenly errupted from the book's spine.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Clae grabbed her finger and began to nurse it... when she realized that she had taken her hand off the book. Ash looked at her in a shocked trance, as both suddenly looked back at the Clae's page... where her handprint was glowing blue. "Wait," Ash whispered as she pointed out words forming in the middle of the handprint, in tongues of gold.

Yours Idril Narmolanya, is the gift of wisdom and light.
Your heart is the measure of true courage
And your vow cannot be broken.

Both girls exchanged looks and Clae whispered to her friend, "What does that mean?" Ash could only shrug. Much to her surprise, when her hand came off, and her handprint glowing in red. "The book has words for me too?" Clae looked at her blankly and just nodded.

Yours Larien Anwamanë, is the gift of pride and flame,
Your anger shall spread fire upon the black hearts of Mordor
And your power can never be underestimated.

"Ah, so I am strong..." she whispered.
"... like what you always have been." Clae added.

For a while, their handprints glowed blue and red, with their gifts glowing in letters of gold. Then, the colors faded, and the pages flew back into position, the book snapped closed. "Oh." Both girls said in unison. When all light and awe had faded, both realized that some people were looking over their direction... and they realized what a fracas they could have created. "Come on," Ash said, getting up on her feet.

When they have left the staircase, they went through this hallway devoid of any schoolmates, judging the look on their faces after the two of them created a personal frenzy over something they couldn't even see. They didn't want their schoolmates to think of them worse as crazy morons with an autistic's world much further. Reaching the Arboretum Library, Ash suddenly halted. "What?" Clae muttered nervously, as Ash eyed her backpack. "This is our chance," the latter whispered, as she reached out to get her bag, which Clae has swung out of the way. "What on earth are you doing?!!"

Ash looked back at her friend, her green eyes not as brilliant as before. It was gray, with a cloud of uncertainty and doubt. "I'm getting rid of that Book once and for all," a growl escaped from beneath her throat, lunging at Clae's backpack. "It has caused us nothing but trouble ever since." One more lunge and she suddenly lost balance and hit the floor... due to Clae's swinging moves that are as graceful as a bullmaster.

"Haven't you been listening to Mithrandir? We might need this book, Ash..." a beacon of invisible hope sounded from Clae's words. However, Ash did not seem enlightened as she got up to her feet, looking defeated. "You're getting too attached to that book, Clae... " she whispered haughtily. "None of its words or hallucinations are true, you know that... Just because it gave you the gift of wisdom and light..."

Clae's eyes began to cloud with worry. "And you don't believe it? You have the gift of fire and flame, you should be proud..." her voice began to drift away. "Unless you're jealous of what I got..." Ash's green eyes of envy flared bright red. "Jealous? Why should a sane, psychologically fit person be jealous of a TON OF LIES, Claeren?" When she was finished, Clae had already dropped the bag in shock, and Ash was billowing steam from her ears and nostrils.

"Ash," a pained soul asked silently. "What has gotten into you?"

Raising an eyebrow, and batting an eyelash, Ash swiftly took her own backpack which has fallen to the ground, and left a clueless and discombobulated Clae standing alone in a remote part of the Enclosed Arboretum. Bothered both by her conscience and anger, she turned around, dragging the heavy backpack in isolation, as a tear from her eyes fell on her cheeks... slightly glowing in a tinge of blue.

Turning sharply around a corner, still spewing steam from parts of her body, Ashley Kingsford suddenly collided with an insect figure in Prada shoes and Abercombie tops, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Watch where the hell you're going!!!" Ash roared at the person, going right past it.

"Why are you so cold, Ash..." a drawling, girlish voice rose from behind her. "You shouldn't be affected by goody-two-shoes's ego-eccentric hallucinations. You know she doesn't like you either." The blonde girl fell into a halt, aghast. "What do you mean...?" she growled, her face redder than the sun.

Shea Sandman, the snotty, preverted know-it-all stepped out of her hiding place - the Arboretum's Study Hall, smirking. "You seem jealous of this small prize she gets to keep, instead of you, isn't it?" she predicted, throwing her finger up in the air, waving it around in circles. Ashley turned red and muttered lethally... "I am not jealous."

The snot-bag geek raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She began to circle the golden haired student, her heels clicking on the marble floor. "Then why are you so guilty?" she asked as-a-matter-of-factly, as Ash's face began to glow a little redder.

"Ash, Ash, Ash..." Shea aid tauntingly. "Why do you hang around that snotty, good-for-nothing Claren? Her will is as bad as her word, if you know what I mean..." The angry blonde stepped aside, and crossed her arms, still steaming. "What do I look, stupid?!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger animatedly at herself. Shea's look turned a little bit stern, but still scheming. "She's a liar, don't you see? She's just using you so that she'd gain a little from your popularity. Us popular girls know so much about users, I wonder why don't you..."

Clearly sticking out her point, she said, "Know that she's got this precious artifact... that Book you're jealous of, she has no use of you anymore." As her words ended, Ash's eyes gleamed, as if shocked or enlightened. But then it just fueled the indescribable anger for Clae within her... Shea innocently twiddled her thumbs as she spoke her confusion. "I advice you to betray her, and then take revenge on her later."

Ash grunted, slung her bag ove rher shoulder, and turned her back on the antagonist. "Your advice is too late," she growled. "I already left her..." Shea's knowing smile melted into a frown, as she tried to catch up to Ash's huge, angry steps. "What about the Book? Aren't you going to steal it? Aren't you going to get it back? I thought you wanted revenge?!!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air.

The girl turned around, a suprised, mocking expression plastered on her face. "So!" she exclaimed in a jubilant expression. "Its the book that you want!" Shea nodded, in a sort-off manner. Ash's amused expression deteriorated into a snarling frown. "Then get it yourself!" she screamed, turning around a sharp curve, out running a reluctant Shea whose intention was revealed.

"Hey!" Shea screamed after her. "That was rude! And look whose face is glowing unusually red!"
But Ash was nowhere to hear her.

Alone and abandoned, Clae stood miserably on the spot where Ash left her... all alone under the vaulted dome of the Enclosed Arboretum - Plant Museum. Taking the accursed Book out of her bag, she realized that this book was the cause of all this mishap. She couldn't understand why Ash would be jealous of her gift... after all, it is only in words. Just in words.

"If you have never come to me..." she whispered angrily, raising the Book abover her head. "None of this would have happened." With the swift move her arms, she threw the book on the floor.

SPLAT! The Book, to her surprise, fell open.

"What?!" Clae exclaimed, looking much confused as ever. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind circulated in the hall, taking everything along its way. The leaves of the book, began to turn, as the girl started to panic. "What is going on?..." she screamed amidst the flying objects, the strong wind, and the loud flipping of the pages of the book beneath her. That's when she noticed that something was also wrong with herself.

Getting herself face to face with a glass, enclosing a group of plants... she didn't take notice of the variety of plants displayed in it, but the distortion in her reflection. Her hand slowly went up to her cheek as she disbelievingly whispered, "It can't be," as a gasp escaped her mouth. In the heat of it all, she realized that her face was glowing blue.

It must be all because of the accursed Book's will.

A thundering din filled her ears. She looked up to see a radiating blue ray crash through the volted dome of the Arboretum, and completely consume her. And with a scream her own ears cannot hear, Clae McCraig vanished. All she left was a single Book lying on the floor.

The adventure has begun as we know it.