Chapter 6: Preparation

Summary: Gemma has her friendship, her power, and, most importantly, Kartik. Will everything be sunshine and daisies from now on?

Suggested music: I Don't by Danielle Peck

Paragraphs 62-68

"So, you and Kartik are finally together! About time!" says a giddy Ann the next morning in our room. "It all sounds so romantic! I only hope I could find someone like that one day…"

"You will Ann! Trust me, you are a wonderful girl who will make someone very happy… but make sure he makes you happy too. I learned that the hard way with Simon… But we have more important matters at hand. Pippa has begun to rally her troops. I propose we enter the realms tonight to check on Philon and Asha."

"I agree. Felicity? What about you?" Ann queries.

"Hmm? Oh yes, definitely… I'll get my bow ready…" Felicity has a distant look in her eyes. Almost sad…

Ann appears not to notice and begins to bustle about the room, gathering her mythology books, no doubt to read up on some creatures we have or might encounter. "Well, I'll get ready too. We must hurry or we'll be late for French!"

"Alright. We'll be there in a moment," I reply, staring at Felicity. Ann rushes out of the room, her nose in one of her books. I walk a little closer to Felicity.

"Fee? Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh sorry Gemma… just thinking about… oh never mind. Congratulations with Kartik! That's really wonderful…"

Now I know what she's thinking about. "You know, you could see him again…"

Felicity looks at me curiously. "Kartik? Why would I want to see him?"

"No, no. Not Kartik… Ithal."

"Ithal! Why would you ever think that I…"

"Fee, it doesn't take a genius to figure out you felt for him. Now that you see that Kartik and I are together, I think you're starting to wonder if your relationship could be possible…"

Felicity's ice blue eyes go misty. "I truly did care for him… We would take long walks and talk together, hold hands in the moonlight… but I've hurt him terribly… he'd never want to see me again… and he's probably found someone else… a nice gypsy girl…"

I can't deny what she says is true. Felicity was quite cruel to Ithal, completely disregarding his feelings just so she could keep up appearances. But there still might me hope. "Well, you never know until you try! How about we go visit the gypsy camp tonight after we enter the realms? Kartik is near there too, so I can say hello to him and I can fill him in on the status of the realms. What do you say?"

"Oh I don't think so Gemma, if anyone found out…"

"Fee! This isn't like you! Where is the girl who lived for danger? Come on!"

Felicity just looks down at her feet. "What about… Father? He loves me… I couldn't betray him that way…"

My heart sinks into my stomach. No… how can she still feel this way? "Fee… we've been through this before… what your father did to you… that was not out of love. It was… wrong."

Felicity's familiar icy glare returns and becomes fixated upon me. "Don't talk about my father that way. He didn't do anything wrong. He was only showing how much he loved me!"

"Then how come you were trying to protect your cousin?" I ask meekly. "Surely you must have some idea deep down that what happened was traumatizing for you."

Felicity has no answer to this and stares silently out of the window. The light streaming through the glass dances in her white-blonde hair. She is truly beautiful… but she did not deserve what she had gone through.

"Fee, think of the way you feel with Ithal… and then compare it to how you feel with your father. Is there any difference?"

She turns to me, wide-eyed, as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Well… when I'm… was… with Itahl, I felt… safe. I felt happy… as though everything was going to be alright…" Her face softens, as if she is reliving a particularly happy dream.

"And… with your father?"

Her face clouds over with fear. "I feel… afraid… like I want to run away. And I feel angry that he is hurting my mother this way… of course then I think she deserves it, running away and having an affair in Paris, leaving him alone… and then I think maybe that's why he does this… because he is lonely and I remind him of mother… and then I really hate her for leaving me alone… with him." Her eyes are brimmed with tears. I hug her gently.

"Fee… none of this is your fault. He is to blame. No matter how much you love him, what he did to you is unforgivable. You must move on. Even if Ithal is not the one, you cannot fall back into submitting to your father. Please, just try."

Felicity looks up at me briefly. "But Gemma… I am dirty. Will Ithal still want me… if he finds out I am not pure?"

"Fee, if he truly loves you, he will not care. You had no control over the circumstances. And if he does care, then he is not the right one for you. You have to find someone who loves you for who you are and will help you heal after what you have gone through. I fortunately figured that out with Simon… if he had known the truth about my visions, he wouldn't have stayed with me. But Kartik has stood by my side through it all. That is the kind of person you want, Fee. Someone to help you through this terrible time."

She takes a deep breath and lets it out, like a gust of wind carrying all her troubles away. "Alright," she says regaining her composure. "Tonight we will go to the realms and then the gypsy camp. I have to know whether he is the one for me… I would hate to lose him if he is."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

After enduring a particularly horrible French lesson and an equally unbearable archery class, we slip away into my room before dinner begins. The door of light appears in front of us and we walk through. A gust of wind carrying an infinite amount of flower petals rushes to meet us, filling my nostrils with the most beautiful aroma I have ever smelt. Everything is how we had left it… Pippa has not made a move… yet.

Our first stop is Philon's camp. As we enter, we are greeted by the centaurs with the unfriendly grunts we have become accustomed to. Perhaps one day they will come to respect us, but not until I hand over a share of the power. If only I knew how to do that. I mean, after all, I did bind the power to myself. That makes it quite difficult to give away.

I pull away the curtain at the entrance of Philon's tent. "Lady Hope. You have not visited us the past couple of days. I hope that means there have been little or no problems concerning the Realms?"

"Unfortunately, no Philon. We have learned the identity of the new ruler of the Winterlands… it is our dear friend Pippa." I give Philon a brief recount of my dreams and the actions I had taken concerning them, careful to leave out the romantic parts with Kartik of course.

"Ahh… this is indeed unfortunate. Is there any indication that she has acted upon these threats?"

"No. We have scouted the area and nothing seems to be out of place. But, we must act quickly and continue to prepare."

"Of course Lady Hope. Our finest warriors have been training vigorously for the upcoming battle. And I can tell you and Felicity have improved with your archer skills, and Ann has become a brilliant strategist. There should be little to fear. But, something seems to trouble you Lady Hope… what is it?"

I snap out of my daze. "Oh! I apologize Philon… its just… is there any way to help Pippa? If we somehow convince her to stand down, can she still cross over even though she has been corrupted? There must be some way…" Felicity and Ann both whip their head's toward Philon, anxiously awaiting the creature's answer.

Philon gives me a surprisingly compassionate look. "I do not know Lady Hope. That is probably a question for Asha. I must ask though, if there is no way, will you be able to confront and possibly… eliminate… your dear friend?'

I feel as though my heart has been ripped out of my chest. How could I possibly do that to Pippa? Of course, we were never true friends, but we had formed a bond here in the realms. She was a part of our sisterhood… our family. But… were she of sound mind, I doubt she would want to live this way. She tried to escape her fate once… we must help her to do the same now, whether it by intervention… or death.

"Yes. It is my duty Philon. I love Pippa dearly, but she would not want to live this way. I will do what I must."

Philon releases a deep sigh. "Well then, you must be prepared. Felicity, you need more arrows yes?"

A while later, we leave the camp and head to the dwelling of the Untouchables. Asha greets us and we repeat what we have learned.

"How tragic. This could put us at a great disadvantage. Now their attacks will be more organized, and Pippa knows of your abilities."

"Yes… it is most unfortunate. But Asha, we were wondering if there is any way we could help Pippa, Maybe we could convince her to cross over. Is that possible?"

Asha stares at me sadly. "Oh Lady Hope… I wish there was, I really do… unless…"

"Unless what, Asha?" I ask anxiously. She seems to be lost in thought. "I am not certain Lady Hope… let me look into my theory more before I give you an answer. No sense in getting your hopes up. In the meantime, we must teach you some new powers. Pippa knows every move you could possibly make. You should have a few surprises up your sleeves."

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We stumble back through the door of light and land in a tangled heap in my room, exhausted and famished. Asha refused to let us leave until we had learned an entire arsenal of new powers. After changing out of our sweaty clothes, we trudge down the stairs to dinner.

"So, Felicity," I say as quietly as a can through a mouthful of mashed potatoes, "are you ready for tonight?"

"Yes… I believe so. I do hope Ithal will listen…"

"Of course he will. He adores you after all!"

"Adored me… a world of difference."

Ann sits quietly, pushing her boiled carrots around her plate. "Ann, what's wrong?"

She slowly lifts her head to meet my concerned gaze. "Well, what am I going to do at the gypsy camp? Felicity will be rekindling her romance with Ithal and you'll be smooching with Kartik, so what exactly am I supposed to do?" Ann retorts angrily.

"Ann! We will not be… smooching! Honestly…" My face is hot with embarrassment, both at her suggestion and at my stupidity. The truth is I had not thought about what Ann would do at the camp. It would not be very kind of us at all to leave her here, but it would be even more torture for her if she came along. "Well… would you rather stay here? I wouldn't want to leave you…"

"No, no, I'm sorry. It's just quite upsetting that I have no one to … smooch with."

"FOR THE LAST TIME WE WILL NOT BE SMOOCHING!" I reply, much louder than I had wished. Many of the girls turned to look at me with horror struck faces. "… which is what my servant Emily said to me, but I did not believe her for a second! I knew she was flirting with that stable boy and was not going to let her get away with it!" I say in an even louder voice, hopping to prevent any potential rumors from being spread around Spence. Ann giggles shamelessly, and I can't say that I blame her.

We walk out of the dinner hall and into the lobby. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us? I feel terrible leaving you here like this." Ann gives me a small smile, but she cannot hide her true feelings from me. "Don't worry Gemma. I think I'm going to read up on the water nymphs some more. Don't want them stealing our skins because I wasn't pre…"

"Gemma!"

Ann stops dead in her tracks, immediately recognizing the husky, and in my opinion, somewhat pompous voice. She stands frozen, unable to turn around. So I do it for her.

"Tom!"

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"What on earth are you doing here?" I stare at him bewildered and frightening, hoping and praying to heaven it has nothing to do with father. "What has happened? Is everything all right? Spit it out man!"

"Well that's a fine how-do-you-do! I've missed you too dear sister. Oh I'm just marvelous, thank you so much for asking!" He glides over to us with that high and mighty air of his. "I have just come to inform you that Grandmother will be in town in a few days next month and will want to pay you a visit. Ah! Who is this? I don't believe you have introduced me to her!"

I stare in shock. He is gesturing towards Ann! I know she has changed, but not that much! I can see Ann stiffen, even with her back turned towards us. This is the moment of truth… I hope Ann is ready.

"Oh Tom! Don't tell me you have forgotten her already!" Tom suddenly looks stricken with confusion and embarrassment. Place my hand on Ann's shoulder. "Well, since he is so idiotic to have forgotten my friends so quickly, how would you like to meet my brother again? Perhaps… start over?"

Ann seems to be glued to the spot. I can tell Tom is trying to keep his composure, but his constant fidgeting reveals his anxiousness. He never liked being left out of the loop, or looking foolish. "Come now, he won't bite! He's actually more afraid of you than you are of him!" I say cheerfully, trying to build Ann's courage. She trembles slightly under my grasp. She is about to make her move. Slowly and elegantly she turns to face him. "Hello… Tom."

Tom's jaw drops to the floor. I'm almost afraid that it has become unhinged. His eyes immediately become filled with sadness. He whispers breathlessly,

"Ann?"

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Oooo! What a good place to leave off! Sorry it took so long! I've been up to my eyeballs in school work! I hope you liked this one! I didn't put in too much detail about the Realms because I'll be describing it in more detail later (plus I'm lazy and impatient and I wanted to get to the twist! Haha!) I'll put up the next chapter soon, cuz its about halfway written. Want to give a special shout out to mecca-dog, coolmauraders (Prongs), MedievalBaby, SOBs 4 Sirius 223, hecate0808, DeathsBride08, words-ON-paper, Spuffy57, Alatarial Elf, ATiKTImporta, and HappyEndings! Thanks for the reviews! Keep writing and reading!