Yay! Lots and lots of makeup work! Very sarcastic Well, I knew it had to happen, but that didn't mean that I was any happier to have around 15 worksheets to do over the weekend. And that does not include the two essays I'm going to do to try and get the position of copy editor for my school newspaper (root for me) and an article. (That stuff is due on by birthday) But even with everything going on, I still am finding the time to write more to my stories because I'm so thankful for all of my reviewers who say that they love my stories, and I really love writing them. (Plus, if I didn't write this chapter soon I was going to explode!) Okay, the next chapter is here! And sorry, if my Internet were back, you would have gotten this chapter on Saturday.
Chapter 7: Into the PagesRachel's POV
Rachel glanced back quickly at the two girls walking next to her. Rachel felt very nervous and was shyly twirling her curly red hair with her finger. Everything felt too weird. Could they really be the girls from the W.i.t.c.h. books? Were they two of the Guardians of the Veil? Will did have the Heart of Candracar, and Irma had made the rainwater from the streets twirl around them, but it was kind of freaky to believe that these girls were walking beside her, on the wet sidewalk, kicking dead leaves around on the humid, wet day.
Even if nobody else could except it, Rachel had. She had no reason why not too. They had proved that they had magical powers, and Rachel was still trying to recover from the shock. Well, Wei couldn't, Rachel started to think with a sigh. She ran off as soon as she got scared about what was happening. But Rachel had stayed. Why couldn't she ever stay out of anyone's business? She always had to be the one to run up to people and get tangled in their messes and help them with their problems. Rachel looked back at Will walking with her hands in her pockets and looking around on the streets to her left. Rachel bit her lip guiltily and knew that she was actually helping for a good purpose. If Rachel couldn't help them, no one would.
"So, where are we going again?" Irma asked as they let a car pass before crossing the street. She was looking around nervously until Rachel gave her a smile.
"We're going over to one of my other best friend's, Eva's, house." Rachel told them. "We need to go and tell her what's going on, before Wei gets to her. And I'll, introduce you." She said slowly and regretfully as she pushed her hair back with her hand. Irma nodded silently and kept looking up and down at the many houses lining either side of the street they were now walking along. Will turned to her and brushed some of her own red hair behind her ears.
"Is that the one who grew a huge garden?" she questioned. Rachel blinked her turquoise eyes a few times.
"Um, yeah. I guess." She then looked at her very strangely. "You don't think that that's… you know." Rachel finished kind of softly. Will flung her head back and looked her straight in the eye.
"Actually, I think it might be. If it can happen in Heatherfield…you've got to believe it can happen anywhere." Will answered back. Rachel looked a little green but she kept walking. Irma kept sighing and looking around at the designs of all of the houses they were passing by.
"You know, here, it's not so different from Heatherfield. Some things might be different, but it was just like going to Meridian to save Taranee. A strange world can be familiar if you take the time to understand it." Irma said thoughtfully.
"Deep Irma. Really deep." Will said sarcastically. Rachel looked at them and blinked her eyes again. And then she couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. It was hard to believe about magic and that the Guardians were real somewhere else, but you can't move on without acceptance, and that was something Rachel could do easily. They were average teenagers like she was, even if they were a little 'special'. She had to believe, that's what Phoebe had always told her. 'You don't have to see to believe, but believe to see. Even feelings aren't seen, but you can believe something if it's alive in your heart.' Okay, Rachel thought with a small smile. She has 'Mom wisdom' sometimes, but she's right. Rachel felt herself being embarrassed. Now they probably just think that I'm weird.
When Rachel looked beside her however, the girls had smiles on their faces and couldn't help giggling also. Feeling a lot better, Rachel grinned too and skipped forward. Yeah. She knew she could handle this. There were probably girls out there who have been wishing that something like this could come true and that they could somehow, someday meet the Guardians. Maybe everybody has some kind of secret desire to meet characters from books, even if they never admit it out loud because then it would prove that it could never happen, Rachel told herself quietly as she stomped on more leaves. There is always something that makes them come alive in your heart, like you've already met them. Books always seem to do that to people. But then you have to face reality that it could never happen, even through desperate wishes. It wasn't real.
Isn't it though, Rachel thought to herself. She looked down the street and stopped Will and Irma to turn at the corner. If they have come to our world, doesn't that mean that every story is somehow, alive? That there is another world out there filled with magic and mystery? She just shrugged her shoulders and sighed dreamily. Rachel felt like she was in a fantasy. She saw magic before her very eyes and she wasn't dreaming. That meant that everything…was real…
"Uh, Rachel. Is this it?" Irma asked. The girls stopped and Rachel kept looking at Irma.
"How did you know?"
"Uh, because there are flowers about halfway up the side of the house." Irma said simply as she pointed ahead of her. Rachel turned and her eyes opened wide. Eva's house was being plant infested! They had no garden. They had a forest!
"Let's go." Rachel said as she ran up to the front door. She took a deep breath and prepared herself. Then, she knocked. A rushing sound came from the window. A skinny black girl with brown eyes and dark brown braided hair had pulled back the curtains, revealing her pink tank top and light silk pajama pants. She narrowed her eyes and looked curiously at the bunch and then moved to unlock the door. Rachel heard a click and the door started to swing open. She could hear Eva's voice even before the door was fully opened.
"Rachel! I can't believe you got me sick! Didn't you know that Jordan kept hinting that he was going to ask me out today to the dance next- oh hi." She said forgetting her anger quickly at the sight of Irma and Will, who had jumped back about a foot in surprise from Eva's immediate outburst. "I'm sorry. I didn't see that you brought anyone. I'm Eva. Come inside if you want. I'm not exactly dressed though."
"It's okay." Will said brightly. "My name is Will and this is Irma. I'm sorry that you're sick." Eva waved it off with the tissue in her hand.
"It's okay. Someone else should be saying sorry." Eva said, eyeing Rachel quickly. Rachel felt her face turning a bit red before Eva stopped paying her any attention.
"Well you guys can come- achoo!" Eva sneezed into her tissue. Rachel saw Irma nudge Will hard in the ribs as they both stared open mouthed at the few inches higher on the side of the house that the flowers and plants had taken up. Eva stuck her head out of the doorway to see what they were all looking at. Her head turned sideways curiously.
"Well, it looks like our plants are getting plenty of water. Mom must have done something to them to make them grow better. Um, do you guys want to come in? I doubt you just want to stand out here in my doorway." The girls looked grateful and walked inside the house. Eva turned to them and smiled quickly with a raise of her eyebrows.
"So. What did you come here for?" She asked with her hands on her hips and a small grin. "You're obviously not selling cough drops." Rachel didn't know what to say. They needed to go someplace where they could talk easily. They needed a place where all of the secrets could be understood for all of them. But where could they go…
It suddenly hit her. Phoebe's house was closest. She had all of the W.i.t.c.h. books there. There had to be a reason why Phoebe and Ona and Will and Irma switched worlds!
"Get dressed Eva." Rachel told her as she grabbed her arms. "It's a long story, but I'll explain everything on the way."
"You're crazy Rachel." Eva said as they continued, yet again, down the street. "Out of all the reasons why you had to drag me out of my house, you tell me this? You sounded serious. A discount on all of the clothes at the mall is more believable."
"I thought you said that you thought she was serious." Irma joked. Eva just frowned.
"A discount on all the mall's clothes is serious." She said. Irma rolled her eyes.
"You sound just like Cornelia."
"Who?"
"Oh! Now it's just getting harder to explain." Rachel complained. "Oh thank God. We're here." Eva just stared at Rachel with her eyebrows raised.
"Since when have you been so forceful?" she asked. Rachel turned red and blushed.
"I'm not. This is just the first time that I seem to be the only one who knows what's going on. Well, sort of." The girls walked up to the door and rang the bell. A twelve-year old boy with curly brown hair and brown eyes answered the door enthusiastically.
"Oh hi Eva, Rachel. Who are your new friends?"
"Justin, this is Will and Irma. Now will you please go along and play the PS2 or something because we're going to be really busy." Eva said. Justin crossed his arms together smugly.
"You're not my mom. You're acting just like my sister. Besides, Phoebe isn't even here." Justin's eyes lit up and he smiled mischievously. "Oh, she's going to be so grounded!"
"Please! Phoebe is, is-"
"At school still," Will said quickly. Eva and Rachel raised their eyebrows. "To work on a school project."
"Yeah, and tell your mom that she couldn't call because she doesn't have a cell phone yet." Eva said with a smile. "Can you stay out of our way while we're here." Justin just rolled his eyes and said that he was going back on the Xbox. The four girls started running up the stairs and turned the corner to walk into Phoebe's room. Irma shut the door and locked it behind them while they all collapsed on the bed in the corner of the room.
"So, you seem to find yourself comfortable with telling your friend's brother what to do." Irma said as she stretched her legs out. Eva just shrugged.
"I guess. We've know each other for a while. My little sisters even have a huge crush on him."
"Mine does too." Rachel admitted and she rolled her eyes again. "I don't get it though. We always must have just seen him as a little brother."
"Well, he is kind of cute if you're thinking that way." Will said with a shrug.
"It runs in the family. Now, can we get to the bottom of this already." Eva said impatiently. "What in the world are you talking about Rachel? What do you mean that these girls are the ones mentioned in books?"
"Hey!" Irma started. Will elbowed her to let her continue.
Rachel motioned for them all to come to the floor. She got on her knees by a bookshelf and the others crowded around her.
"Are those?-" Will began.
"Yes." Rachel confirmed. "There's your life story so far. W.i.t.c.h." Will and Irma scanned through the copies and looked at them with disbelief. Rachel looked at them and bit her lip nervously. How was she going to explain this? She wasn't good at all of this stuff. Rachel even thought that she was lucky to have gotten everybody this far. Rachel wished that Eva had known what was going on because she always just gets straight to the point. Or Wei, if she had actually believed in it all, would help everyone understand by backing her story up with facts that it's true. Rachel most of all thought that she needed Phoebe. She had a way with adventure and mystery and could always figure out what was going on and help you understand. But Phoebe wasn't here right now. She was supposevily in another dimension! That's why they were all here. Rachel knew that there had to be a connection somehow.
"This is still way too hard to believe." Will sighed as she put down 'The Return of a Queen.' "Everything that's we have done is here. Us fighting Phobos and trying to close the portals and restore Meridian. But how did anybody even know about us to make these in the first place?" Rachel shrugged. She had no clue. Eva scoffed as she picked up the book that Will had just put down. She turned her head and put the book down satisfyingly.
"See, that's not you guys. These girls are older and wearing…" Eva looked at it again. "Um, is that the style wherever these girls are from because they can certainly-" Rachel through herself across the books and clasped her hand on Eva's mouth before she could say her statement. She turned to Will and Irma apologetically, but they looked highly offended.
"That is us." Irma told her. "But we're in our Guardian forms, where we go and fight evil you know." She threw Eva the 'The Disappearance' one and Eva picked it up with a frown and looked at the first comic inserts inside. Her frown deepened and her eyes were showing disbelief as she started to quickly flip the pages. She threw the book down with a carefree smile and a roll of her eyes.
"So, they look a lot like you. That doesn't mean that I'm going to believe that you girls are magical and come from another world and you got here by passing through a mirror and switched worlds with Onalia and Phoebe." Eva said with her arms crossed. Rachel groaned and threw herself back on the floor.
"You guys prove it to her since I'm obviously not good at taking charge and explaining things." Rachel said while waving her hand around in the air while she lay back on the floor. Irma shrugged and Will nodded.
"Well, you can look at this for a few seconds but be warned. The Heart of Candracar has been acting pretty weird every time I take it out here." Will told her.
"Huh? The Heart of whoie?" Eva said confused. Will just closed her fist tightly and then opened it where the Heart of Candracar yet again started floating upward. Eva's eyes lit up and her mouth dropped open.
"Did that just come out of your hand?" Eva asked with a weird expression on her face. The Heart of Candracar started shaking again and it started flashing to a deep scarlet.
"Oh boy!" Will cried before bringing the Heart back into her hands. She sighed heavily and looked at Irma.
"Um do you have a bathroom around here or something." Irma asked.
"Yeah, there's a bathroom right over there." Rachel said while pointing around absentmindedly with her eyes closed.
Irma stood up and closed her eyes for a moment, then she smiled and waved her hands over the door as she opened her eyes. Behind the door, Rachel could hear the shower and sink running as they shot out cold water. Eva looked around again.
"I think Phoebe needs to get her plumbing fixed." She said.
"Just believe them already Eva!" Rachel yelled angrily. Eva started huffing and getting defensive.
"Okay! They have magic then! That doesn't mean that any of this makes sense!" she yelled back. She stopped and blinked. "Did I just say that?" Rachel got up on her elbows and Irma waved her hand before the door again. The water stopped pouring and she sat down cross-legged on the floor.
"So, you believe us?" Will asked hopefully again. Eva scrunched up her mouth in a thoughtful mode and then looked back at her.
"I might sort of believe you, but I still don't understand any of this. I'll just go along with you though." Rachel sighed with relief and started getting back into her chirpy mode. She got up on the bed and started jumping up and down cheerfully.
"Well, you don't know how hard it was for me to be serious instead of happy." Rachel said. "Hey, do you guys want to go downstairs for something to eat?"
"Um, news flash Rachel." Eva said in an annoyed tone. "It's about time we should all be going to dinner, and what's going to happen when Phoebe and Ona never go home?" Rachel jumped from her feet and landed with a little hop back onto the bed.
"Hmm, what were those things called that youmake when you go somewhere?" Rachel asked Will.
"Huh, oh you mean our astral drops?" Will asked.
"Yeah, those." Rachel said a bit happily. She walked over to Phoebe's desk and started searching around. She finally found the picture and walked over to Irma and Will.
"Here, this is a picture that we took lastmonth at Onalia's birthday party." Rachel said. She looked at the picture and remembered how fun it was with them all together again. Ona was in the middle and was wearing a pink party hat. She had grabbed Phoebe and Eva around the shoulders and Phoebe had dragged Wei and Eva had pulled Rachel into the picture also. Each of the girls had gotten a copy. She sighed and handed the photo to the girls.
"The girl with the party hat and short blonde hair and blue eyes is Onalia." Rachel told them. "And the one next to her with the long wavy brown hair and hazel green eyes is Phoebe." They nodded and Will was about to close her eyes when Irma put a hand on her shoulder.
"Why don't I do it. We can't risk your astral drop issues." Irma said. Will nodded regretfully as Irma closed her eyes and concentrated on the two girls that Rachel had shown her in the photograph. Soon enough, blue swirls of magic started appearing and two figures began to take existence. Irma opened her eyes and Rachel smiled. Figures of Phoebe and Ona were standing in the middle of the floor looking around confused.
"Wow!" Eva said with surprise. "How did you do that." Will smiled simply.
"Magic."
"So, we have to find some way to get Will and Irma back into their world and Phoebe and Onalia back here." Eva said as they started walking down the stairs from Phoebe's room. "Should be easy enough, right?"
"Uh right." Irma said. "Except that we have no clue of how to get back, especially since the Heart of Candracar decided to go all waco on us right after we came here." They had reached the bottom of the stairs and started heading toward the living room. Eva and Irma kept talking as Rachel walked into the room and opened her eyes wide with horror. She quickly spun around to face the girls who had just entered behind her.
"Uh, there's another surprise for you Will." Rachel said nervously. Will turned her head to the TV and screamed.
"That, that's me!" Will cried out as she turned to Rachel for an explanation. Rachel looked at her shyly.
"Did I forget to mention that they also made a show about you based on the books?"
"Yeah, you sure could have said that." Irma said. She jumped onto the couch eagerly. "Awesome! I've always wanted to be a TV star! Whoa! Did you see that blast I made to Elyon and Phobos? Why did I do that? Is this before Elyon comes to our side then?" Rachel nodded uncertainly.
"I guess so. Only Ona and Phoebe would know all of that. I think that none of this stuff from the show is about exactly what you have done though."
"We kind of figured that." Will said. "Why did that ugly potato thing jump into the portal?"
"I don't know." Rachel said. Eva walked up to the remote and pressed info.
"The Rebel Rescue." Eva repeated. "I guess that's what the episode is called. This must be freaky to see yourselves." Will nodded and looked back to talk with them during the commercial.
"Have you two seen this?" Will asked. Rachel and Eva both shook their heads.
"No. Onalia talked about it a lot though." Eva told her. "She's been very hyped up about it after some guy called 'Matt' went through this portal into Meridian, I think it was called.
"WHAT!" Will yelled. She jumped off of the couch to face Eva. "He went through a portal!" Irma started howling with laughter on the couch. "What else?"
"She also said that he-" Rachel looked at Will strangely and started giggling. "He saw you in your Guardian form!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Will yelled with complete horror. She blushed when Irma looked at her with fits of laughter. "They've got this show all messed up. There's no way he could-"
"It's back on." Irma interrupted as she tried to keep her voice calm even if she was trying very hard to stop laughing. Rachel felt the same way. She turned back to the TV.
"Ah, I'm not here anymore. Ooh, but it looks like Will and Matt are." Irma said jokingly as she started to flutter her eyebrows at Will and laugh.
"Shut up." Will said but she couldn't help blushing as she looked back at the screen.
"I have no idea how he is. I gave him away."
"Oh."
"Not that I didn't think he was the cutest thing ever, but my mom wouldn't let me keep him, so Irma watched him, and then she got super attached, so I couldn't take him back. But I couldn't tell you 'cause, well-"
" 'Cause you like me? Huh. Wow. I can't believe I just said that."
"And I can't believe I'm going to do this."
Rachel turned quickly to Will whose mouth dropped and face turned a bright red. Rachel could tell her heart was on the drum roll when the TV Will grabbed Matt and pulled him into a kiss.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Will screamed. Irma snorted and laughed so hard and so much, she fell off of the couch and started pounding her fists and kicking her legs on the floor with laughter.
"He, I-" Will started with a scared expression on her face. "Oh, I'm going to faint." Rachel fell to the floor and started laughing with Irma while Eva, grinning broadly, helped keep Will on her feet.
"It's okay Will." Eva said with Will's arm around her shoulder as Will started to drift downward. "Come on. You have a crush on the guy, um, wherever you're from. No big deal. Don't you think you're being a little, dramatic." Eva strained her shoulders and started tilting down as Will leaned forward with her hand on her head. Irma wiped away her tears and was still smiling when she looked at Will. Her smile tilted downward with concern and she jumped up with Rachel who couldn't help still grinning behind her.
"Will?" Irma asked uncertainly.
"Oh." Will moaned. Her eyes fluttered open and she stopped swaying on the spot. Eva dropped her arm and moved away gratefully as Rachel started getting concerned too.
"Are you okay?" she asked. Will shook her head.
"How do you get to the attic?" she asked. Rachel felt that that was a weird question.
"There's a trapdoor thing with stairs in the upstairs hallway. But you don't want to go up there. It's all dusty and old- hey!" Rachel called as Will bounded up the stairs with Irma at her feet. Rachel and Eva looked at each other and then ran up the stairs after them. The attic door was open and Rachel could just see Irma's shoe disappearing at the top. Rachel ran to climb up the stairs. She reached the top and looked around when Eva reached her side.
"Over here." They heard Irma's voice call out. Rachel looked around the corner and kept walking toward where she heard her voice. She kept walking and soon the gloomy light from the window at the top showed Will and Irma pulling off a white cover sheet off of an old mirror. Wait a second! It looked like-
"That's the mirror! That's the same mirror that we came through!" Irma yelled. Rachel nodded her head. It was the exact same mirror that was next to the bookshelf with the burnt books, or else a very good copy.
"But, how did it get here?" Rachel asked confusingly. "Wasn't it just at Barnes and Nobles?"
"I have no idea." Will replied. "But we need to figure out why we're here, and why Phoebe and Onalia went to Heatherfield. And I have a feeling that this mirror holds our only clue."
"Okay, I'm lost." Eva said as the other three girls crowded around the mirror. "What mirror? Is it that mirror that you were talking about earlier, Rach?"
"Yes." She responded. "But what do you mean Will?" Will stepped down and let Rachel step up at the back of the mirror.
"Go ahead. There is a message there. Read it." Rachel turned obediently to the back of the mirror. She could barely make out a message scratched into the wood.
"I bless my very first daughter, in some generations to come. To have this magic mirror, to find where her secret is from. Drawn to the mirror, where the elements will meet their twin. They must both pass through different worlds, to find the ring within. Use the ring, look in the mirror, it takes you where you see. But when evil crosses through the glass, then new Chosen ones there shall be. A. W. to P. W." Rachel repeated. "Cool poem. So what does it mean?"
"If we knew, I think we would be crossing into Heatherfield right now." Will answered. "But I thought that whoever made this magic mirror was giving it to some sort of daughter of hers after generations, like a granddaughter of some kind."
"But who?" Eva asked quizzingly. "And why here of all places?" Rachel was as confused as well. She didn't like all of this seriousness and all of these puzzles. When were they going to get a hint to all of the answers, a clue to what was going on!
"Hold on a second." Will said. Rachel could just see the wheels turning in her mind. "What are your friends' full names?"
"Phoebe Marie Whitfield and Onalia Lyn Johnson. Why?" Eva asked. Her eyes opened wide in understanding.
"No!"
"What? What's going on?" Irma pouted. Rachel was confused as well.
"Don't you get it Irma? Phoebe and Onalia went through this mirror at the same time as us! It is in Phoebe's house!" Will yelled excitedly. "P.W.!" Rachel didn't have to think long to figure out where this was going. She opened her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open.
"But, would that mean that-""I think so." Will interrupted again. "This mirror must have been given to Phoebe specifically a long time ago. But the question is, how is she connected to it? What does that mean?"
Lalalalala…oh. Done already. Well, actually it took me a while to write but I finally found a stopping point. I think I am starting to be able to write longer and be more descriptive with my words. That might be a good thing but I'm not sure at the moment. I just keep typing and typing without an end for a couple of hours now. I was even laughing so much while writing the part when Will found out about her TV self and saw when Matt kissed her, that I couldn't write for ten minutes. Kind of stupid but I couldn't help it. I couldn't resist showing the TV show to them after Will and Irma found out about the books, and I thought showing the part when Will kissed Matt was perfect! Well, now what I was trying to desperately hint out in the next chapter is obvious. In the next chapter, see how Phoebe and Onalia deal with going to the Sheffield Institute. Coming soon!