I know it's not much, but I'm trying.
Dis: if i OWNED it, would i really be WRITING about it?
"Nusg nisir eht erof ebni aga ecnosn giers oahc, enode gamad retfa tubk cabrehg nirb dna emohr ehd nes."
A sudden wind whipped around the apartment, wrapping around the two girls. Arietta closed her eyes to shield them from flying dust particles. She felt the bottom of her stomach fall out as the couch vanished from under her. She heard Andriana scream before she blacked out.
The first thing Arietta thought when she came around was that blacking out really sucked. Sitting up, she tried to ignore the pounding in her head.
"Everyone alright?" she asked.
'I'll live…' Kalas said.
'I'm fine,' Gibari added.
'I'll be alright,' Xelha said.
'Status normal,' Savyna stated.
'Great Mizuti be invincible!' Mizuti reminded everyone.
'I'll be fine,' Lyude said.
"Well, I know you're all fine, if you weren't, I'd probably be dead," Arietta retorted, quoting something Kalas once said.
"What the hell happened?" Andriana asked, looking around. "Where are we?" Arietta looked around as well. They were near the entrance to a town. Everything looked like it came from a child's picture book, even the residents. Arietta sighed, and she felt the recognition from the bonds.
"Reverence," she said, "we're in Reverence."
'That means Balancoire isn't far at all!' Kalas said. Arietta nodded.
"Yeah, maybe Melodia could help…" She took Andriana's hand. "Come on, we have to get to the next town."
Arietta led an awestruck Andriana through the Picturebook Village. They were only stopped once, by that strange villager who used to claim that Malpercio was coming. This time was almost the same, except he was yelling about Chaos taking over in Destruction's stead.
"That…thing…was really weird…" Andriana said as they approached Balancoire.
"He was like that last time, too," Arietta said, though inside she was nervous. He was right before about Malpercio…
Nothing more was said until they were standing outside the Calbren Mansion.
"Excuse me," Arietta addressed one of the guards outside, "is it possible for us to see the Duchess at all? It's very important."
"Her Grace, Duchess Melodia, is not receiving any audiences at this time," the guard replied formally. "We are under strict orders not to allow anyone in."
"Please, it's important!" Andriana said, surprising Arietta and the Spirits with her boldness.
"The Duchess isn't seeing anyone!" the guard said forcefully. Andriana opened her mouth to say something else, but Arietta nudged her and shook her head. The two turned and went back into the city.
"Why'd you stop me?" Andriana asked.
"Because I know another way into the mansion," Arietta said. She jerked her thumb over to the waterway. "Follow me."
The two jumped into the water, and Arietta led the way into the basement of the mansion.
They emerged in the mansion's museum. Thankfully, there was nobody there, so they were able to sneak in. After checking to make sure the entry hall was empty, the girls raced up the stairs into what could have been called a throne room.
"Where is she?" Arietta asked herself, looking around the empty room.
'Perhaps she's in her bedroom?' Xelha suggested. Andriana's eyes went wide.
"I'm hearing voices!" she yelled.
"No, you're not," Arietta hissed, slapping her hand over her friend's mouth. "That was just Xelha, and she's right, Melodia's probably in her room." Andriana nodded and Arietta let her go.
They made it to the other side of the mansion, having had to 'duck and cover' twice to keep from being seen by maids. Eventually they came to Melodia's bedroom door.
"Come in," came the familiar voice after they knocked. They opened the door to find the pale girl sitting in a chair reading a book. Arietta blinked briefly at the teal hair on the once albino-colored girl, but recovered quickly. Andriana just stood there, having become numb to any more surprises. Arietta smirked when she realized that Melodia didn't know who was there.
"Hey, Melodia," she said, smirking even more when the Duchess' head jerked up at the familiar voice. Arietta spread her arms slightly in a 'ta da' gesture. "I'm back." Melodia dropped her book and stood up.
"Who are you! I know your voice!" she demanded. Arietta stood there with an expression on her face that just screamed 'Kalas', something she picked up from being bonded to him for two years. Realization struck the young Duchess with an almost-audible click. "Arietta? Is that you?"
"Hey, Melodia, nice hair, though it looked better white, I have to say."
"What are you doing here? Where's Kalas?"
"Well, it's like this…"
---
"…and Andriana got dragged back with me. I don't know why I'm still bonded to everyone; they should have gone back to their bodies when we landed," Arietta finished, with more than a little help from her Spirits in the retelling. Melodia perked up.
"You just reminded me, I found this a couple of days ago," she said, rummaging around in a drawer. She came back and handed Arietta a Magnus. "I saw this on my bed, and it reminded me of the spells you used through Kalas, so I decided to keep it in case you ever came back."
The former Spirit looked at the Magnus, and she could feel the surprise from the bonds as well as from herself. Lingering Time.
"Hey, that's one of those card things!" Andriana exclaimed. Melodia looked stunned for a moment, and then laughed.
"Well, since it's getting so late, you should stay the night, and set out tomorrow morning for Wazn. Perhaps the witches there will know how to help you. Pity I can't see where everyone is…" she said.
"I'm sorry… With any luck we can have this all straightened out soon. Thanks for letting us stay tonight."
"Any time, Arietta, any time. I'll have a servant show you to a room."
---
The next day, Arietta, Andriana, and the six Spirits were on their way to Wazn, courtesy of Melodia. As soon as the sapphire-colored airship hit port, they were out and staring around Cursa in wonder. They would have kept staring if Xelha hadn't spoken up.
'Come on, we have to get to the palace.' Andriana jumped, but they both nodded. They started off towards the Ice Palace, completely ignoring the stares of the citizens in favor of looking around at the buildings in awe. By some miracle, they made it all the way to the palace. Nobody tried to stop them as they made their way up three flights of stairs into the throne room.
In the room were four women. One was sitting on the throne, and the other three were kneeling in front of her. Andriana, understandably, didn't know who they were, but Arietta would know them in her sleep. Barnette, Kodelle, Glamyss, and Catranne.
Alright, I think I have a few special mentions going out to... -checks review list- agent-hyatt and Rebbe. Really, people, I need more reviewers, that's two out of three.
That's all till next time, and trust me, I'm really trying to keep this moving!
