In grade school- before her parents died- Zalean had learned to read a little, but on the streets no longer schooled she slowly began to realize how illiterate she was. The fear of becoming a blundering fool made Zalean struggle hard to read. She'd read nutritional facts on the back of cereal boxes, or magazine articles found under her "employers" bed, as long as they were words and were free she'd read them learning more everyday.
Once she tried a bookstore and read for hours without purchasing a thing, then at the end of the day she left and no questions were asked. It worked great and she got to brush up on a lot, but the next day two police men escorted her out for loitering. In the end her plan failed but that didn't stop her from seeking knowledge; it just put it off a bit.
It wasn't until Zalean found the newspaper stand that she even contemplated reading worldly things. The machine was so simple after she figured out how to get it open without putting money in, and there were no people to inconvenience her. She'd read the newspaper even after her eyes began to hurt, and she'd write down the words she didn't know to figure out later. Then as easily as she took it out she put it back into the machine putting to ease her conscious. Every other week the events in the newspaper found a spot to rest in her yearning mind.
In the end Zalean felt confident in her knowledge and learned to love reading. That is the reason she found herself as the sun rose in the east pouring through the books of the Blood. Clothed in a beige dress she found in her wardrobe she searched, and searched but could not find a lead on the clear jewel. In fact in all the books that stated the jewel hierarchy a clear was never mentioned. There was no such thing as a clear jewel. This dead-end just encouraged her to look harder. If she was trapped in this strange world she might as well learn something about it.
The world enchanted Zalean; it was like the fairytales of childhood, but even better. She could touch it, and commune with it letting her know it was real; it made her feel alive. At first she assumed it was only a dream but that waned with each passing moment. She wanted it to be real, for the world of the Blood was much more entertaining then Earth. It was an escape that in the end, if it weren't real, she'd be distraught.
Giving up on the text in front of her, she retreated to her room. Dropping to her knees beside the bed she rummaged beneath and took out the package. Zalean had hoped that it might change colors, but- she looked down at the uncovered jewel- it hadn't. The only way, she had discovered, to change a jewel was to make the Offering but what the Offering was she didn't know. Knowing the bracelet couldn't be hers made her sad, but she felt a connection to it all the same. The priestess had entrusted it to her so maybe it was her's, or at least her's to know.
Curiosity got the best of her and she fastened the bracelet around her wrist and waited. What she waited for she didn't know but soon she felt it. A small throbbing ensnared her, as energy flowed around her warmed wrist. She was shocked at first but then it subsided and she was left with only lingering warmth.
There was an abrupt knock on the door and before she could do or saw anything the door burst open.
A/n; Thank you all my reviewers I expect to get a whole lot more.