Chapter 7
Danieva's Quest
Madison decided to use her pass at the end of the month and everyone went with her. Even Talida joined them. This time they got to explore the whole garden and breathed in their wonderful scents. They avoided the dark greenhouse altogether much to the relief of Julian's sinuses. Talida kept on lagging behind and caught up each time she did before they noticed she was behind.
It was only when they reached the garden maze did Talida lag behind again. She was outside the maze and felt something strange coming from within it. She looked in to the maze entrance to see some shadowy figures gliding past. They went by so fast they were blurred in Talida's vision. 'OH! HELL!' Talida ran in to the maze and grabbed her pendant from around her neck. She was finding her way in to the middle whilst turning in to her magic form at the same time. She didn't know what she was getting in to or what she would find; But Talida was driven by concern for her friends.
She hid behind a wall before the centre of it and peeped inside using a hole in the bush. All her friends were bound by the same force as the one on the building and were taken to separate parts of the centre. The shadows were milling round them but didn't attack. They were so engrossed in their captors they didn't know Talida was there.
Talida was about to make her move but someone appeared in the centre. A woman with long flowing brown hair matching her long flowing green dress smiled at them with her stunning blue eyes.
"Hello Yue, Kiro. Remember me?" Kiro and Yue looked with the utmost hate at this woman. "Hello Danieva, up to no good again?" Kiro asked trying to keep a growl from sounding in his voice. "Why however did you guess?"
"You've gained control over the shadow wraiths again? You're not as powerful as you were, and when your power fails they'll turn on you."
Danieva looked exceedingly bored. "Yes Kiro I've heard the same boring story. But I'll have more power after this." She took out a little black box and opened it in front of Yue's face. White flowers were sparkling inside and Yue tried to hold his breath. But the pollen had already started to work and he couldn't help releasing a sneeze. Danieva absorbed the white breath and felt recharged. "Do you like them? I made them myself when I was Clow Reed's apprentice. Pity he didn't destroy them when I was turned in to a statue. Around me they'll flourish and I'll have more than enough white breath to last quite a few lifetimes."
Talida had seen enough and blasted the box in to dust. Danieva looked over to where the blast had come from and stared when she saw Talida appear. Yue breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to Talida. Danieva looked like someone had taken the wind out of her. "This is…unbelievable! The one's blood I need…I believed to have died long ago…and yet…here you are."
Talida did a little bow and the others looked confused. "Your little mask hides your identity I see. But Yue and Kiro should've recognised you by your staff and wings." Talida looked annoyed and couldn't see the joke.
"Well we don't…heh…ashho…recognise her." Danieva missed the white breath and growled. "So you were holding one in Yue? I should've known. Well to ease your mind I'll tell you who this is. This girl in black is none other than Talida Reed, the last in the Clow bloodline. Her blood made me come back to life, by accident of course. You two should know this, you were there after all."
The two guardians looked at each other totally mystified. "We were?"
"Yes Kiro. Hmm…looks like Clow Reed wiped more than the memories of where you used to live. You don't remember the years you spent with her? Oh, how delightful. Your life will be mine one way or another Talida." Talida shot a fireball at Danieva clearly very angry. 'Don't count on it.' Danieva made the ball disappear and smiled. "She doesn't speak. Have you become a mute?" Talida didn't respond. "Well let's see how quiet your friends will stay."
The shadows started to move towards them and they looked worried. Talida raised her staff and a bright light flooded the darkness once again. 'That's it Miss. Reed, just keep on using your energy and your life will be mine.' She thought as the shadows disappeared. "We'll meet again Miss. Reed I promise."
The bonds broke and Danieva vanished. Talida took a step back as the others got up, she felt tired but there were fewer shadows to destroy so she felt ok. She turned and walked towards an opening out of the centre. "Talida?" Yue asked. Talida looked back and then ran out of the maze as fast as she could.
She turned back in to Alidat again and went to the garden's cafe. The others slowly walked in to find her drinking a coke. "Are you guys alright?" She asked pretending to be oblivious to what happened a few minutes ago. Smiles appeared on their faces so she thought they were ok.
They all went to the gift shop next and Talida found a bottle of perfume. She read the label. 'The moon flower.' The label had the same kind of flowers that made Yue sneeze. 'Not magic ones for white breath but it could be useful.' She bought a bottle and hid it in her bag from the others who she was watching very carefully.
Julian blew his nose and was sniffing every now and then like he had a cold. Sakura and Madison wanted to leave quickly so they did. Talida could see the fear in their eyes past the fake smiles on their faces.
They waited for the bus and sat down together. This time Madison sat next to Talida who stared out the window back at the garden. She saw Danieva in the shadows and was talking in Talida's head again. 'Soon Talida, I shall have your blood and you can't stop me.'
"Get out of my head and stop posing as a vampire." She muttered. Madison heard Talida and saw her mouth moving. "What did you say?" Talida looked at Madison. "Nothing, I was just talking to myself." Madison turned away and Talida smiled. When they got off the bus Talida went home alone and wondered about Danieva all day.
She asked Winston about her and he went strangely quiet. "Who is she?" Winston avoided her eyes. "Would you like some tea?" He went in to the kitchen and came back to and even more curious Talida. "Sugar?"
Talida snapped and turned the tray over making everything fly off the coffee table. The cups and Teapot smashed making the tea splash down on to the floor. "STOP IT! TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!" She yelled and looked very angry. Winston kept calm and took a deep breath. "You were never told how your parents died and I knew this day would come. When Danieva lived again she came looking for you so she could have all her powers back again. But instead she found your parents two years later. Combined their blood did restore a fraction of her power…but I never thought it would make her last this long. Yue's white breath can make her last longer and become more powerful. But the only thing that can bring her back to full strength is your blood."
Talida sat down and was shaking like a leaf. "So she…she…"
"Killed your parents, yes." Talida looked lost for words and Winston put an arm around her. It did very little to calm Talida and she told him what happened today. Winston went very pale and gave her some advice. "Whatever you do don't fight her! She must have her powers drained before she can be destroyed for good. Don't leave yourself exposed so she can drain you. If that happens then the world and everything we know will be destroyed."
The next day at school Talida was distant and didn't talk to anyone. Julian tried but she just stared sadly at the ground. She avoided her friends for a few days and said very little to anyone. Her sleep was minimal and she looked tired everyday she went to school.
She snapped out of it over the weekend by coming to a conclusion. 'Next time I see Danieva I'll end her life!'
On Monday she was back to her old self but her friends wanted an explanation. She was back up in the tree at lunch. Julian and Tori were on the other side of the fence whilst Sakura and Madison were down below. "What happened last week?" Talida looked angry. "That's my own business; I'm back to normal so no questions need to be asked."
"Not if it doesn't make you act like a complete stranger for nearly week!" Julian and the others agreed. Talida looked angry at being cornered like this but they weren't about to back down. "Fine! You really want to know then here it is! I just found out how my parents died ok! If you want to know more then they were also murdered! Do you want the time and date as well? There is such a thing as begin too nosy you know!" Talida sat back in the tree over looking her friends who were feeling very guilty. "Sorry Alidat." Sakura said. "Yeah, well what can you do?" Talida said quietly.
As the month past Danieva seemed to be laying low. The shadows were still and there were no attacks being made on Talida or her friends. 'For now.' She thought. Talida got to act like an average kid again and was even invited to a sleep over at Sakura's.
Unfortunately Nikki and Chelsea were coming too. But when Talida changed they started to warm up to her. Talida still didn't say sorry, but they didn't hold what she said against them anymore. It was water under the bridge now and peace had been made. Talida thought it would be a wise move to leave her necklace in her bag. Sakura would've definitely noticed the pendant and Talida kept it hidden.
Sakura showed the girls round the house and Tori was trying to lay some ground rules. "I have to get up early and work tomorrow so I'm asking you lot not to stay up too late chatting." Sakura was getting really angry. "Tori this is my sleep over stop treating us like little kids!" An argument was about to take place so the girls took refuge in Sakura's room. "You've done this before." Chelsea and Nikki nodded at Talida's observation. Ten minutes later Sakura came in with a very ugly look on her face. "We've been given a curfew! Lights out at eleven. I feel like I'm in prison." Then she calmed down and the fun began.
First there was games and truth or dare. But then it took a bad turn. The conversation turned to families and Talida became very quiet. Kiro listened intently and Talida looked very unsure of what to say. Sakura and Madison said she didn't have to say anything. "Don't worry it's going to come out sometime so it might as well be now. My parents were murdered when I was eight, my uncle died whilst I was in his care. I have no other living relatives and I live with my father's butler Winston, we live in a house my uncle used to own but is now mine." Nikki and Chelsea didn't know what to say and just kept quiet.
Talida left the room and sort some sanctuary away from the uneasy silence. Julian had come round for a visit and was in the living room. He saw her leaning with her back against the wall and sigh. "Are you ok?" Talida looked over to Julian. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"No you're not." Julian patted the cushion on the seat next to him. "Now tell me what's up." Talida looked in to his eyes and it felt like she was talking to Yue again. She felt comfortable and safe once again so she decided to tell. "We were talking about our families." Julian's smile faded and he had an understanding look on his face. "Painful subject?" Talida nodded. "Well here's something you could do. Don't think about the bad things and try to concentrate on the good things."
"There's not many things to feel good about. They left me with Winston and sent me to residential schools every term. The only time I was with them was on Christmas and my birthdays." Julian smiled. "What did you do on those days?"
"Family stuff I guess. We opened presents, celebrated the days, talked about nothing important all day…family stuff." Talida was day dreaming and had a smile on her face. "It's a good feeling to remember stuff like that isn't it?" Talida nodded. "Yeah, thanks Julian." Tori went in to the living room and Julian stood up to great him. "Remember what I said, no later than eleven."
"Sir yes sir!" Talida saluted him and marched back to Sakura's room. The girls were watching and giggled. Julian chuckled whilst Tori didn't know how to react to that.
The sleepover was back in full swing and families weren't ever mentioned again. There was games and laughter for hours. Then sleeping bags were unravelled and Sakura went out for a minute to answer a phone call. Something caught Nikki's eye on the floor. Talida's pendant had fallen out of the bag and she picked it up. "Is this yours Alidat?" Talida spun round so fast she felt dizzy. She saw her pendant in Nikki's hand and snatched it back in a second. Nikki and Chelsea stared at Talida as she cradled it in her hands. "Sorry, it was my dad's. It's the one thing I don't let anyone else touch or see. Sorry."
"That's ok; I probably would've done the same." Nikki said in an understanding way. "Yeah, me too." Chelsea said. "You want a cuddly toy to keep you company?" Chelsea pulled out a little blue fluffy bunny and Talida just laughed. She had a quick glance at Kiro who still hadn't moved. He didn't see the pendant from his point of view.
They went to watch a video and Talida went back to Sakura's room alone. She spotted Kiro and studied him a little. Kiro kept perfectly still but was worried she knew something. Talida shook her head, retrieved what she wanted and left the room.
Kiro breathed a sigh of relief and Sakura returned on her own. Kiro flew over to her and looked concerned. "Alidat took a real good look at me a moment ago. Like she knew something." Sakura turned to Kiro and took his concerns in to account. "What else did she do?" Kiro told Sakura about the pendant but she wasn't about to chance a peek in Talida's bag. "She's got it on her now. I didn't get a look at it, but she seemed to be very protective about it being touched by other people." Sakura returned and they kept watching the video.
Tori came home at eleven thirty to find the girls asleep. They woke up the next morning at different times. Talida woke up last; her energies were drained after Danieva's attacks but seemed to be slowly coming back to normal.
They didn't leave the house until late afternoon. Talida skated around the town deep in thought. 'I hope Kiro didn't notice me too much.' She took out her pendant and held it close.
She held her pendant all through the day and went flying again at night. She didn't tell anyone it was her birthday tomorrow but somehow they knew. Talida didn't want to celebrate it but her friends' had other ideas. They invited Talida to Madison's house and a surprise party was waiting for her.