Chapter Ten:
Unity
Everyone convulsed on HuiLing, Cerella and Wanda when the three made it through the veil. The Queen raised her hands and the veil closed as Phobos neared it. The last they saw of him was a look of pure rage.
"How did this happen?" Asked Will as the girls reverted back to their civilian forms, wearing their Meridian robes once again.
"We don't know. That one witch just appeared as we were about to go through." Replied Cerella.
"She needs to go to the healers right away." The Queen stated. She summoned a group who carried Wanda away out of the throne room.
"When she's better, we're going back home, right?" Asked Tress.
Will looked over at Elyon, who smiled.
"We'll need to talk to the Queen to know for sure what happens." She said at last.
"But you do know your job's not done yet, even though we're back together, right?" Asked Terrane.
"WHAT?" The four remaining girls shouted at once. Derek put his hands over his ears to avoid the din.
"Just because you saved us, does not mean your job as Guardians is done." Said Irma.
"Our duty wasn't over until many years after we put Phobos behind bars." Nodded Cornelia in a matter of fact way. She was standing next to Caleb since she returned, and had not left his side.
"Hey! You guys know you get to be W.I.T.C.H. too, just like us, right?" HayLin said randomly, as she found the nearest pen on the table, sat down, and started writing on her left hand. She showed the girls the nickname she came up with.
"Is that what you guys were before?" Asked HuiLing, running over to her mother.
"Yep. We were W.I.T.C.H., or at least that's what we called ourselves." Smiled HayLin.
HuiLing took her mother's pen without saying anything and wrote it down on her hand as well.
"Hey, we ARE W.I.T.C.H., guys!" She said, and the others blinked.
"Now, what do we do with the new-comer?" Elyon looked at Fusagu.
"I promised him I'd help him find his parents." Said Ingrid rather quickly.
"I can help with that personally." Elyon knelt down to be eye to eye with Fusagu, who seemed rather embarrassed at being addressed to directly by the Queen. "We'll help you find your parents, okay? I'm sure they'll be either here in Meridian or on Earth."
"Thank you." Smiled Fusagu.
"Until then, you're to stay in the castle. It will be safest for you. Is that all right?" Asked Elyon.
Fusagu nodded, not really sure what to say to this show of kindness. The Guardians and the Queen were nothing as Phobos had made them out to be.
"Don't worry, you're more than welcome here." Elyon placed her hand on the boys' head, and he smiled. "There we go, that's better. You're only a child after all, it's about time you acted like one."
"Besides, you only get to be a kid once in your life." HuiLing piped in.
"I'm going to go help the healers." Cornelia said, rolling up her sleeves and heading out of the throne room.
"In the mean time, you girls need to rest up. We need to talk about something rather important." Irma smiled, looking at Tress, Ingrid, HuiLing and Cerella. All of whom looked exhausted.
They were relieved that Irma suggested rest. They followed Cornelia out of the room without another word, disappearing down the hall way. Though instead of going to their rooms, they went in the direction Cornelia's form headed.
The four hung around the door of the room, while HuiLing used her power with air to listen in to what was happening without intruding.
"The removal of the needle is very delicate work," one of the healers told Cornelia, "It will take all of us, and precise control in order to remove it without disturbing any of her nerves. The user of this needle was an expert."
"Right." What powers Cornelia did still have from her Guardian days enabled her to assist in the work that followed, using thin vines she summoned from the earth to wrap around the needle.
"We'll need you three to hold her down. Even with anesthetics this will be rough for her." Cornelia's orders were direct and precise as she worked on slowly removing the needle.
In the hallway, the girls waited almost impatiently for word on when they would finish.
"I thought you were going to bed?" Derek asked when he saw the four outside the door.
"Yeah? What about you?" Snapped Cerella.
"Do you have no faith in our mother?" Asked Derek.
HuiLing and the others stared blankly at the question. He leaned against the wall opposite the door and crossed his arms.
It was nearly dawn by the time the doors opened, and Cornelia stared around at the expectant faces while she untied her hair. Then she sighed in a clearly annoyed manner.
"I should have known you wouldn't listen to them. But yes, Wanda's all right. She pulled through perfectly." She said, and looks of tired relief came upon their faces. "Wanda still needs rest though. She'll be just like new tomorrow. Now, to bed. ALL of you. Before I tell your parents that you disobeyed a direct order."
"Thank you auntie!" Tress, Ingrid and HuiLing hugged Cornelia, while Cerella smiled brightly again.
"I think I'm going to make Wanda new dress robes since her old ones are all ruined now." She said, then at a look from her mother she added rather hastily, "After I get proper beauty sleep of course."
Sometime later, Wanda woke after the girls and Derek had gone to their individual rooms for proper rest. She found that she could barely move, but could turn her head and speak.
"Where am I?" She asked the nearest woman.
"You're in the recovery room." The woman turned around. "You'll need to stay here until we can be sure you are healthy again."
"Recovery room?" Blinked Wanda. "What happened?"
"You were struck by a poisoned needle as you were about to go through the veil. You were completely unconscious by the time you were brought to us." The healer smiled. "Now, rest. The removal of the needle and the poison put your body in to shock and it needs time to recover."
Apart from the fact that she could not move, Wanda did not feel remotely tired. She needed to see her friends and parents to make sure they were all right.
"Not now, you'll just wear yourself out." The healer put her foot down on that matter rather quickly. "They're all fine, just taking time to rest and recover from what happened. When you've rested more, you'll feel like brand new."
Wanda closed her eyes again reluctantly, and fell asleep surprisingly fast.
In the throne room later that afternoon, everyone was gathered to await her arrival. The healer in charge of caring for her came to the Queen and said that Wanda made a full recovery even if she was stubborn about the matter.
The door opened, and the healer in charge at the castle walked in, followed closely by Wanda.
Will and Matt came forward instantly and embraced their daughter.
"I was so worried about you." Said Will, gently pushing some of Wanda's hair back behind her shoulders.
"I'm fine Mom." She replied, swatting her hand away.
"Glad you're back."
It wasn't her father, but Derek who said that, and she blinked at him for a moment before smiling.
"Thanks." She said.
"Ahem." Ingrid coughed as Will and Matt looked at each other, then at Derek and their daughter.
"Wasn't there something you adults had to tell us?" Asked Tress, fixing her glasses.
"That's right." Will went on as though nothing had happened.
"There's going to be a ceremony, now that Wanda's back to full health." The Queen said, stepping forward.
A look of dread came across Wanda's face.
"Ceremony?" She asked.
"Yes. A Passing of the Guard ceremony, to be exact." Nodded Irma.
"What's that mean?" Blinked HuiLing.
"Tonight, we're going to stand together in front of the whole kingdom and announce the new generation of the Guardians of Kandrikor." Said Will. "And then, I will pass the Heart of Kandrikor to you, and you and the girls will transform."
"There never was a proper ceremony before because Phobos was in charge and forced the Guardians before us to go in to hiding." Smiled Cornelia.
"Plus one of the Guardians was driven mad by power, killed off one, then the whole group was separated." HayLin checked off the details with her fingers.
"The point is, this time things will be done right." Sighed Will.
Wanda slumped her shoulders, as though her worst fears had been confirmed.
"Something wrong?" Asked Matt.
"No, unless you count being forced to stand in front of thousands of people you don't even know perfectly normal." Growled Wanda.
HuiLing could sense danger in the air.
"Wanda, you're going to this ceremony. We can't be W.I.T.C.H. without you! All we'd be is I.T.C.H., and I don't think that would go over too well with the people." She said at once.
Wanda crossed her arms over her chest, and looked away in a very peevish manner.
"I don't see what the problem is." Blinked Derek.
"Wanda just doesn't like being in front of big crowds of people." Smiled Tress.
"Well spotted." Snapped Wanda acidly.
"Wanda, you're going or else." HuiLing's eyes narrowed dangerously. In times like these, she was the only one who could get Wanda to cooperate.
Will and Matt stepped aside, figuring it would be best to let the girls work it out on their own without interruption.
"I'm NOT going." Wanda had her arms crossed firmly as HuiLing stomped over to her.
"Wanda, you've got two choices." She said, lowering her voice so only she could hear and raising her fingers. "One, you can either go quietly and enjoy the ceremony, or two," She lowered the second finger. "I will lock you in a closet with Derek until it's all over and leave the people to guess who's our proper leader."
Wanda stared at HuiLing. Both options were dreadful, but she finally settled on the first.
"Fine, I'll go." She said at last.
"Good girl." HuiLing patted Wanda on the shoulder with a perfectly cheerful expression on her face again. "She's going!" She announced to the group.
"Good, because I managed to finish her new dress robes just in time for the ceremony." Smiled Cerella.
"Mom, Dad... can I ask you something?" Asked Wanda.
"Sure thing, honey." Blinked Will.
"What are we going to do once this is all over?" She said after a long silence.
The four girls looked at the parents without saying a word, even Derek had a worried look on his face as Matt and Will looked at each other.
"We've decided to move back to Heatherfield, to tell you the truth." Matt said at last.
Wanda threw herself in to her parents arms.
"It just wouldn't be right to take you away from your friends after all that happened to bring you together like this." Smiled Will after nearly being bowled over by her daughter. It was such a burst of energy that she did not expect to come from her. "You'll be able to be proper Guardians of Kandrikor once the move is complete." She patted her daughter on the head.
"Thank you, Mom... Dad." Smiled Wanda.
"This means we can throw a home coming party!" Cried out Ingrid.
"We can do it at our place, right?" Cerella looked at her parents.
Cornelia and Caleb exchanged faces.
"Fine. Just this once." Sighed Caleb after seeing Cornelia's raised eyebrows.
HuiLing practically shouted for joy at the thought of a party soon.
"And don't worry, it won't be neon pink this time, Wanda." Cerella smiled.
"Good. Because then I'd have to throw you in water and electrocute you for that." Wanda gave a nasty smile that made Cerella give a nervous laugh and rapidly change the subject.
"So girls, let's go get ready for the ceremony, shall we?" She asked.
The girls then left to prepare themselves. HuiLing supervised Wanda to make sure she got in to her new dress robes without argument, then frog marched her down the hallways with the other girls.
"You guys ready?" Asked Will with a smile.
HuiLing had a firm grip on Wanda's right arm and only let go once they were behind the crimson curtains that barred them from the view of the public down below. They could all hear the noise of the cheers as they welcomed their beloved Queen, then silence fell as she made the announcement.
"People of Meridian, a new age has arrive where we must witness the change of the Guard. The Guardians of Kandrikor that you once knew have passed their powers to the next generation, who will now reveal themselves to you. I present them to you!" She called out, and the curtains were raised.
The silence was broken by the cheers of the crowd that pounded on their ears.
"The former Guardian, Will Olson passes the Heart of Kandrikor to her daughter, who will be the new leader of the new team." Elyon looked on with pride.
Will held out the Heart of Kandrikor as Wanda, Ingrid, Tress, Cerella and HuiLing stood in front of her, Irma, Terrane, Cornelia, and HayLin. Fusagu, Derek and Caleb were in the back for support.
When Wanda reached out for the Heart of Kandrikor, she felt its warmth, as though the acceptance of all the people of Meridian were within this crystal at that very moment. She held the necklace up, and the crystal began to glow a bright red color. Wind started to blow, causing their dress robes to ruffle slightly in the breeze.
"Guardians Unite!" She called out.
The flash of light dazzled all who were not used to it yet, and when the girls reemerged as the new Guardians, the joyous and triumphant cheers of the crowd nearly deafened them. They looked down at the people, wondering how long their own duties as Guardians of Kandrikor would last.
When they glanced back at their families, they saw that the adults were beaming with pride and excitement.
"A new age has come, and with the new age, new Guardians." Elyon spoke to the crowd as it quieted down at last. "They will protect this land and Earth, as their predecessors did before them. And we shall do everything we can in our power to help them if they need it."
The crowd roared its approval.
"Soon they will return to Earth, but they will come when we need their aid. So fear not, people of Meridian. The Guardians are here to protect you as they did in the past!" Elyon's voice boomed over the people, and could be heard throughout the village down below in the castle grounds for those who could not attend.
The ceremonies continued long in to the night, long after the girls had gone to their rooms and to sleep. Or so their parents thought.
"So, what do you think?" Tress asked, glad to be back in her dress robes. She wasn't quite used to the Guardian outfits yet.
"I think it's going to be interesting." Said Wanda. "I'll take this over the boring life of being the daughter of a rock star on Earth any day."
"There will never be a dull moment after today." Smiled HuiLing.
"HuiLing, with you around, there's never a dull moment." Grinned Ingrid.
The girls could not resist the laughter. It felt like it had been ages since they laughed together like this, and they didn't stop for several minutes, and finally decided to get to bed so they could be rested for the journey home the next day.
Finally their families would be together again, and when Wanda and her parents moved to Heatherfield, they would be as one again, and just as powerful as before. Perhaps even stronger with their hearts united as one.
