Abduction of Beauty

The glass winked back at her as the candle flames danced, revealing a stunningly beautiful face. Kalabrys smiled slowly, watching as her full, blood-red lips turned up at the corners, like the poised wings of a bird in flight. She knew, without vanity, that she was the most beautiful woman in the Digiworld and she worked damned hard to keep it that way. Honing her features in much the fashion as a samurai sharpening his sword.

With a wry twist of her lips, acknowledging that she was hardly here to gaze into her own eyes, she waved a hand dismissively, banishing the image of herself and summoning that of another in its place.

Large, golden eyes gazed into hers through the thick glass of her scrying crystal. The eyes were so sad Kalabrys just couldn't help the wide grin that split her face. So easy, god this will be so easy.

A laugh escaped, filling the silence of the room, echoing even after her mirth had died.

"Tonight…" She softly promised the girl in the glass. "Tonight."

Mimi wondered through the foliage, beams of late noon sun lighting her path, a baby held awkwardly in her arms. At least he was sleeping. She didn't know what she would have done if he had been crying. In fact, since she'd woken yesterday and Daenerys had placed her baby in her arms for the first time, she hadn't known what to do. She'd smiled uncertainly then looked down into the clear blue eyes… of an ugly little stranger. She had felt no instant bond, no overpowering maternal affection, nothing but a vague sense of everything being wrong. At the same time she'd been studying the baby, he had apparently been studying her too because he'd scrunched up his fat, pink baby face and let out an angry wail.

Even now, thinking about the experience sent waves of panic sweeping through her. Thank god he's sleeping she thought, if he started crying again she would probably bawl right along with him.

It just isn't fair she bemoaned, not for the first time. It really isn't fair! She sat down on a nearby rock as depression settled like a black cloud over her.

She didn't know how long she had sat there, locked into her own private hell, before something… (foreboding?) touched her mind. Blinking she realized that she had been staring into nothing. She shook her head to clear it of her dark, hopeless thoughts and only just caught a glimpse of the person heading towards her.

Oh God! Her foolish heart leapt at the sight of him. Matt had been an attractive boy, but as a man he looked like a movie star. She clutched the baby reflexively in her arms and he woke with a scream of protest. God she did not need this now!

She looked down at the baby, her baby; and though fleetingly of just putting her hand over that pudgy, round face and silencing him.

"Here, let me." Two hands reached to take the baby from her. Horrified, she looked up into his face, hoping he didn't somehow know what she'd almost done. She had forgotten in that moment that Matt even existed, let alone was anywhere near. She relinquished the screeching bundle gratefully.

Watching him, Mimi saw a small smile curve Matt's lips as he cradled the baby naturally in his arms. A twisted sort of jealousy reared up inside her. The baby had stopped screeching almost as soon as Matt had folded him into his protective arms. She didn't love the baby, wasn't even sure if she ever could; yet seeing him settle happily in his father's arms, not screaming his head off, made her absolutely furious. What was wrong with her that made that baby hate her so?

"You doing okay?" Matt asked, rocking the baby slightly as his blue eyes roved over her body before coming to rest on her face, concern in their cerulean depths. Was she doing okay? Well she was more tired than she had ever been in her life, her whole body felt deflated, and she'd just had an urge to smother her baby? Was she doing okay?

"I'm fine." She told him, trying to smile. He frowned at her, but much to her relief he didn't argue, though she could tell he wanted to.

"You look tired." Was all he said, then looked down into the silent bundle in his arms. "You wouldn't mind…" He stopped as if not sure what to say, then, with a loud sigh that seemed to say "in for a penny in for a pound" he forged on. "I want to be a part of my son's life, Mimi."

Something ugly twisted inside her as she looked into Matt's eyes, saw the need there, the blossoming love for a baby she cared nothing of. She wanted to refuse him, for no other reason than she didn't want him to love the baby.

Something of the ugliness must have shown for he looked at her with sad eyes. "What's wrong Mimi?"

She wanted to tell him to mind his own business, to get lost, to give the baby back to her. She didn't want the it though, the baby didn't even feel like hers. God she didn't know what to do, but she was sure that she cared a lot for Matt, and that prompted her to be truthful, or at least as truthful as she could be.

"I don't know, Matt." She said, feeling defeated in some way. Perhaps it was because in a sense she had just given up.

She had surrendered her secrets to him with that simple confession.

Sora was worried. The emotions she was receiving from Mimi were intense and dark, twisted in some way. The aura was distinctly Mimi, but there was something there, interlaced with the emotions, like a poison creeping through the blood, slowly killing all that was her friend.

She had to talk to someone. Which was why she was wondering through the foliage after dark, hoping to meet someone on one of the paths since she wasn't at all sure where else to look. So far the only thing she had met that wasn't planted was one small, orange bird that was hopping through the plants, keeping pace for all the world as though it was following her.

Trying to ignore the silly thing she walked on. Her mind wondered hopelessly in circles, spinning around her friends. She was worried about the four of them for sure, their future, their mental health, their friendship, but she was terrified for the friends she couldn't contact. She had no idea what was happening with them, if they were alright, if they were even alive. It felt to her as though she should feel them, sense their emotions, she should know.

She felt so useless.

Sighing she picked up her pace, but between one step and another, everything changed around her. One moment she was walking along the path and the next she found herself surrounded by gloomy, gray stone walls. She glanced around frantically, looking for some center of recognition. There was none, but there was a glowing, greenish light at the end of the long room. Slowly, she walked towards it.

"I've been waiting for you." A voice drifted to her ears, barely a whisper. Closer now, she focused on the kneeling figure, but waves of hair concealed the person's identity.

"What do you want with me?" Sora gasped, she recognized that quivering voice!

The ground suddenly felt as if it had dropped away from her and in less than a second, it was over. Feeling as if her head had just broke water, she gulped in huge breaths of air, her brain scrabbling for an anchor. She opened her eyes to see the ground a hell of a lot closer and shoved herself to her knees and then to her feet, rubbing her throbbing nose. Her hand came away smeared with blood.

But she couldn't worry about that now, she began running down the path. She had to get there before it was too late.

Jyou jerked awake. The ground was hard beneath the snow and he was shivering so bad it was a miracle he'd fallen asleep in the first place. At first he didn't know what had awakened him, but slowly the dream filtered into his conscious brain.

Sora had been there, he hadn't seen her but it was as though she was riding on his shoulders, seeing through his eyes, and he had been compelled forward towards the faint light. Voices had spoken, but he couldn't remember what had been said.

Sora's comforting presence had dropped away. Terrified of being left alone he'd turned to look behind him and his friends had been there, frightened and bunched together. But their group was still incomplete. He'd felt a sense of doom at that realization.

They couldn't win if they were separated.

Win? Win what?

Jyou had the unsettling sense that he had just glimpsed the future. Of course that was ridiculous, people couldn't see the future… could they?

She didn't know what had woken her, but she sensed something wasn't right.

Slowly she rose from the bed, succumbing to an overpowering urge to leave her room. She didn't remember actually walking and was surprised to realize that she was moving down a path away from the tree house. The ground rolled past beneath her bare feet, the hem of her gown bushed again her ankles as she walked, but she had no impression of moving.

Perhaps she was dreaming? It had that fuzzy unreality feeling. She stopped, blinking. Everything was fuzzy. Looking at her surroundings it seemed as if she was walking in a cloud, the path before her could go on forever or end within the next few steps. She couldn't see more than a few feet before her. To top it all off, the strange fog glowed with an inner light, illuminating everything in a pearly hue.

What was going on?

She turned to look behind her, but the path seemed to have disintegrated with each step she left behind. She was enclosed in a tight circle of dreamy mist. Choking down the insane urge to scream and scream until someone came for her, she strained her eyes, hoping to see even the outline of a shape.

Laughter erupted from somewhere behind her, sounding so close. Startled, she spun to see a faint figure flit past. "Wait!" She cried desperately. It must be the children playing in the fog, but why would they be out so late?

She ran down the path, following the shadows that seemed to dance, twisting, disappearing, then giggling hysterically as they lead her on a merry chase. "Wait!" she called again, panting.

"Hurry! Hurry!" The amused voices drifted eerily clear through the fog. A shiver coursed down her spine. She had a bad feeling about this, but what choice did she have? On her own she would meander around for hours until either the fog cleared or someone found her. She quickened her pace.

The laughter of the children surrounded her now, she imagined them holding hands, skipping in a sinister circle around her and she felt tears clog her throat. Blindly she ran, terror giving her feet flight.

She glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed. When she saw nothing she slowed her step.

Suddenly from nowhere, a creature sprung up in front of her. Screaming, she dug in her heels and practically halted in her tracks.

The laughter grew and spiraled into a tornado as more shadows melted from the fog to become solid beings.

They were hideous little things. Small green elves with large, pointed ears and red, cat eyes. She screamed again.

And continued to scream when she felt something heavy settle over her and her world turned from pearly gray to black. She screamed and screamed and screamed.

The little creatures danced and laughed and carried her off.

Chapters to Come

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever