Chapter 8: Muddy Waters
Hey everyone! It's me, sakuraphoenix, and I'm back with a new chapter! Yeah, I get it, I'm late on the update. I'd tell you my excuse, but, I guess you're tired of it. In any case, it's time for the disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Keybladeauraofpie and I do not own W.I.T.C.H. We only own our OC's.
Enjoy!
It was another boring day in Sheffield Institute, with the guardians idly watching the clock, desperate for the school day just to end. Rene was on the verge of falling asleep, listening to the teacher drone on and on with the lesson. Harmony was secretly playing with her powers, hoping to make the time fly faster. Tina was playing with her hair while she was mentally banging her head on the desk. Naomi was looking outside, seeing Sora flying around in the trees, no hawks in sight. Mei-Xing was pretending to take notes while she was really drawing a comic strip. McKenna well, was just asleep. Relief finally came when the bell rang, waking everyone up as they packed their bags and headed out the door and into the courtyard.
"Sheesh. I thought that class was never going to be over with!" exclaimed Naomi
"You can say that again. I may be here as a student, but as for education, that's what Earth has to deal with? Man, even the Fight Club sounds more interesting than lectures." Harmony said as she was holding back a yawn
"At least I'm able to fall asleep. That guy is so boring." Said McKenna
"I know, right? It's a wonder why he's still teaching." Said Mei-Xing
Sora then flew over to Naomi and nodded her head, as if she understood the girl's problem.
"If he's from Meridian, and his job was to make everyone fall asleep, then he's doing his job." Rene said before everyone laughed at her joke
"Joking aside, has Cornelia found out yet, about you-know-what?" asked Tina
"Nope. She still thinks that we have the real crown, Phantom, I mean, Caleb even confirmed it." Said Harmony
"I still can't believe he still trusts us with his identity after what happened." Said Naomi
*Flashback*
Prince Caleb was waking up in Taranee's house, with his injuries all healed and everything, and had a shocked look on his face when he realized that Harmony and the Guardians were in the room.
"It's okay. Don't panic. We're not gonna hurt you." Naomi said while trying to calm him down
"Easy for you to say!" exclaimed Caleb
"No, we're serious Phantom, or should I say, Your Highness?" asked Harmony
Caleb now looked really shocked that both the Guardians and Harmony knew his secret, and that was when he realized that his mask was off.
"We know, that you're the Phantom, but we're not mad. I don't know why you decided to lead the resistance, but it's not our business to know." Said Tina
"It should." Said Caleb
"What makes you say that?" asked Rene
"Because I hate my sister just as much as the rest of Meridian! I don't believe that she deserves the throne. I don't wanna take it, since well, I can't, because Meridian's always been ruled by a Queen, and not a King, and besides, if I did take the throne by force, I'd be no better than my great-uncle Phobos. Trust me, that's something I do not want." Caleb said while sulking
"Hey, we didn't just you because you're Princess Evil's sister, right?" asked Mei-Xing
"Yeah, so?" asked Caleb
"Well you've helped out Harmony and the resistance all this time, so it's only fair to give you the benefit of the doubt, right?" asked McKenna
"I suppose…" Caleb trailed off
"How's this for a deal, we keep your identity a secret, and whenever you think your sister is getting suspicious of you, you can stay here in my house?" asked Taranee
"Hmm… I say you got yourselves a deal!" exclaimed Caleb
*End Flashback*
"Still, any ally against Cornelia is an ally." Said Harmony
"I totally agree." Said Rene
"Hey! Give that back!" exclaimed a voice at the other end of the courtyard
They turned to see a girl with tan skin, chocolate brown eyes, and curly black hair trying to catch her bag, which was currently being tossed around by three kids whom were at least a foot higher than her. Despite the height difference, there seemed to be an air of isolation surrounding her.
"If you want it, you're gonna have to get it, short stack." One of the bullies said while holding her bag in the air
They proceeded to toss her bag around again, only for McKenna to grab it in mid-air, shocking the bullies.
"Why don't you three just grow up? Seriously? Tossing a bag around? What are you three clowns? Elementary school kids? Why don't you just grow up?" McKenna asked as she gave the girl back her bag
"Oh yeah? Why don't you just take a hike!" McKenna exclaimed as she glared at them
Having the pajamas scared out of them, the boys ran while screaming like a bunch of girls.
"Um, t-thanks for getting my bag back for me." The girl said nervously
"Hey, no prob. By the way, I didn't catch your name." said McKenna
"I-I'm Raven. Raven Delacroix." Said Raven
"I'm McKenna. McKenna Kershaw. Nice to meet you." Said McKenna
"Hey! McKenna! Ya comin' or what?!" exclaimed Naomi
"I'll be right there! It was nice meeting you Raven." McKenna said before running off to meet the others
"So, what was that all about?" asked Harmony
"A few jerks decided to toss Raven's bag around. Uh, that's the person's name I just helped out." Said McKenna
"I see. Well, I'm off to Meridian. I need to see if Phantom's doing alright. See you guys later." Harmony said before waving to the girls
"See ya later!" exclaimed Rene
"Holler if you need our help!" exclaimed McKenna
"Thanks, but I'm sure I'll be fine!" Harmony exclaimed before running off
"While she's at it, why don't we hit the mall? I heard that there's a sale on boots." Said Mei-Xing
"Sounds like fun." Said Naomi
"But you hate shopping." Said McKenna
"When I'm with mom." Said Naomi
That caused the others to laugh. Back in Meridian, Cornelia was trying on outfits for her coronation while Caleb was just rolling his eyes, obviously bored out of his mind, wanting to hit his head on the table.
"So, which gown do you think looks better? Teal or aqua?" asked Cornelia
"The one you're wearing. The teal." Said Caleb
"This is aqua." Said Cornelia
"This is torture!" exclaimed Caleb
"Well, excuse me little brother. You're not the one getting the coronation in a few weeks!" snapped Cornelia
"Well I'm not the one who cakes make-up on my face every day for three hours." Said Caleb
"Say that again to my face! I dare you!" exclaimed Cornelia
"Gladly!" Caleb exclaimed before they had a staring contest
While they were busy with their staring contest, Harmony was in her maid disguise, while wandering through the castle library.
"Come on, where is it? No. No. No. Secrets of Meridian. Next! No. Nope. Ah-ha! This should do the trick. A Complete Guide to the History of Meridian – The Royal Family. If Cornelia is the true heir, then there should be something in here that should have some kind of test or whatever to prove it." Harmony said as she picked up the book
Seeing guards, she quickly stashed the book while replacing the book with a dummy book while pretending to be dusting the shelves. Thankfully, the guards didn't even notice her, so after she finished pretending to dust the shelves, she hurried out of there, and noticed Cornelia trying on a dark lavender dress in the throne room.
"If tacky is her style, she really is tacky." Harmony said before hurrying out of there
Back with the girls, they were trying on some boots, but none of them found something they liked, until Naomi tried on a pair of black ankle-high boots.
"Whoa. Naomi, you look awesome in those!" exclaimed McKenna
"You think so?" asked Naomi
"I know so! Good things these shoes are on sale. Since we're here, you wanna get some clothes?" asked McKenna
"Eh, I'm fine with clothes. I don't really need anything new." Said Naomi
"McKenna! You shop here too?" asked Raven
Both McKenna and Naomi looked shocked to see Raven.
"Raven. So, what are you doing here?" asked McKenna
"I was buying some new clothes when I saw you over here. So, uh, who's this?" asked Raven
"Oh, this is my friend Naomi. She and I go way back." Said McKenna
"Nice to meet you." Said Naomi
"Nice to meet you as well." Said Raven
"Hey McKenna, did you see the time? If we don't go now, Ms. Cook's gonna kill us!" exclaimed Naomi
"Yikes! Well, that's my cue! I have to go!" McKenna exclaimed before she and Naomi paid for the boots and ran out of the store, while meeting with the others
As they walked home, Taranee, Harmony, and Caleb were reading out of the book Harmony managed to snag, and the girls noticed that immediately as they walked into the house.
"What's with the textbook?" asked Tina
"It's not just a book. This is A Complete Guide to the History of Meridian – The Royal Family. This is supposed to have the complete history of every royal family member, and every method to determine if Cornelia is the legitimate heir to the throne!" exclaimed Harmony
"Why do you guys think that she isn't?" asked Rene
"Because Cornelia's magic is growing weaker. If she were the true heir, then she'd be the Heart of Meridian, and would have access to an unlimited source of power. The crown that would be used in her coronation is one that was passed down for generations in the Meridian Royal Family. Whenever the rightful heir wears the crown, the crown would glow, and Cornelia would be named Queen of Meridian." Said Caleb
"Here it is! Right here! When heir apparent is accused to be fake, five trials will follow to seal her fate. The first of trials will test thy purity, in the waters of a lake. Within these waters, a gem of heart shines. Okay, can these guys translate it into English or something?!" exclaimed Harmony
"Basic Shakespeare. If the heir to the throne is accused of being a fake, she's gotta take five trials to test her rightful claim to the throne. So somewhere in Meridian, there's a lake, and I'm guessing at the bottom, there's gonna be a crystal heart, or a heart made from a gemstone." Said Naomi
"It can't be that easy." Said Harmony
"Maybe only someone from the royal family's bloodline can see the gem." Said Naomi
"Or the true heir to the throne of Meridian. When my grandmother, Elyon, was living here on Earth, she had no idea that she was in reality, the true heir to the throne of Meridian, so Phobos used this artifact called the Star of Threbe to find her." Said Caleb
"I remember that day. Because Elyon was wearing the star, Will, Irma, Cornelia, not your sister Caleb, Hay-Lin and I were powerless and we couldn't transform back into our civilian forms." Said Taranee
"So if Cornelia's near the lake in question, maybe we can find the artifact and hide it in a different place." Said Mei-Xing
"Or we could make a fake, or better, buy a fake and replace it with the real deal." Said Naomi
"What do you mean?" asked Harmony
"Have any of you guys heard of Swarovski Crystal?" asked Naomi
Only Harmony and Caleb were confused. In Meridian, Blunk Jr. and Blunk Sr. were sneaking around the castle, when they noticed Cornelia in her room, and decided to listen in to the conversation that she and her mother were having.
"Trials?" asked Cornelia
"Yes. There are some people in Meridian who believe that you shouldn't be on the throne. I plan to quell their accusations by having you take the five trials needed to prove your rightful place on the throne of Meridian. There is a sacred spring in the northwest. There, you will take the first trial." Cornelia's mom said while pointing to the map
Both Blunk's snuck out of the castle with the goods they snatched while Blunk Jr. went to Earth to find the guardians. When he found a portal, he found himself in the back lot of a store, the same store the Guardians were currently in, an art supplies store.
"So we're looking for a piece of expensive crystal?" asked Caleb
"It's only expensive if you don't know where to look. You can buy some here for pretty cheap in any size." Said Mei-Xing
"That's great, because we don't know how big the crystal is." Naomi said as Harmony was looking through the book
"We do now." Harmony said while looking in the book
"Wow. According to this, the crystal should be big enough to fit into the palm of your hand. Also, it's clear, so we need to find a clear Swarovski crystal, whatever that is." Said Caleb
"Don't worry. We should be able to find it." Said Naomi
"Would this do?" McKenna asked while holding a Swarovski crystal heart that fit into her hand
"Yes! That'll work!" exclaimed Harmony
"McKenna! What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice
They turned to see Raven, who was wearing an outfit, similar to McKenna's own style.
"Uh… hey Raven." McKenna said while taken aback at Raven's clothing
"What's wrong? Don't you like my outfit?" asked Raven
"It's not that. I mean, it looks cool and all, but uh, well…" started McKenna
"I knew you'd like it! Do you wanna hang out?" Raven asked while dragging McKenna away
"Raven…" started McKenna
"Come on!" Raven exclaimed as she dragged McKenna out of the store
"That was… weird." Naomi said in shock
"Let's hurry and get this crystal. I have to hurry home before mom realizes that I'm missing." Said Caleb
"Great idea. That means you can also check up on Cornelia for us." Said Harmony
"Yeah. I'll see you ladies later." Caleb said before winking at Tina
Tina caught his wink, and immediately blushed a bright red before he walked out of the door, just as he noticed McKenna struggling in Raven's grip.
"McKenna? What's wrong?" asked Raven
"Rave, listen…" started McKenna
"You gave me a nickname! No one's… ever done that before." Raven said while smiling
"Listen, don't you think that you're being a little too clingy?" asked McKenna
"What do you mean?" asked Raven
"I mean, you're being a little too… pushy. I think you should give me a bit of space. Rave, I just think that you need to give some people some space and not , well, you know." Said McKenna
Raven just started to cry before she ran off while McKenna just stood there in shock.
"I think you did the right thing." Said Caleb
"I hope I did." Said McKenna
Caleb then walked off just as the others exited the store.
"Did we miss something?" asked Rene
"Not exactly. Frankly, I wish I missed that." McKenna said while looking away
"Girls! Harmony! Blunk have news!" Blunk exclaimed while waving to them
"Blunk! What are you doing?" asked McKenna
"Papa and Blunk hear Cornelia and mama talking. Trial at special spring. Or something like that." Blunk said while shrugging
"How long will it take for Cornelia to get there?" asked Naomi
"There's a sacred spring in Meridian's northwest. It's gonna take her a day and a half to get there, or a day if she's fast." Said Harmony
"Then we better get this crystal to look like a crystal." Naomi said while holding the bag
As the girls went their separate ways, Naomi and Mei-Xing were working together to polish and smoothen the Swarovski crystal to be the perfect shape, and when they finished, it could still fit into the palm of their hands, and it looked like something Cornelia would actually believe it to be the result of the first trial.
"Looks perfect." Naomi said while looking at the crystal
"Let's put it in the place where the trial's gonna take place tomorrow after school." Said Mei-Xing
Mei-Xing's cell phone then dinged, as if getting a text, and when she saw it, she looked horrified.
"What's wrong?" asked Naomi
Mei-Xing just showed Naomi what she saw, and it was a picture of what looked like McKenna, breaking into a store. The caption read 'Classmate or thief?'
"Give me that!" Naomi exclaimed in anger
The sender was identified as restricted, but Naomi checked the photo and found out that it was a fake.
"This guy has no idea who they're messing with now." Said Naomi
Naomi then used a program to reveal the photo's actual image, and it turned out to be Raven!
"Raven?!" exclaimed Naomi
"Why do this?" asked Mei-Xing
"No idea, but I think every person in school has seen this text message with the caption. I'm just going to do a little photo shopping of my own." Said Naomi
"You do realize if you use the original image that you'll get into trouble." Said Mei-Xing
"Whoever said I was using the original?" asked Naomi
Mei-Xing looked confused while Naomi worked her magic on the computer while Sora perched herself on Naomi's shoulder as she watched.
"You also realize that tomorrow's Halloween, right? We're gonna have to go to school in costume." Said Mei-Xing
"Then what costumes do you have handy?" Naomi asked while working on the image
"Hmm… I got this skeleton costume that'll look really creepy on you. I also have this old devil costume mom used to wear during her theater years in college. I have this witch costume I made last year. I also have a Flapper costume, a vampire costume, a cop costume, a fairy costume…" started Mei-Xing
"Wait, rewind. A fairy costume?" asked Naomi
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" asked Mei-Xing
"We're gonna need that costume for McKenna tomorrow. As for Raven's prank, I've altered the image just enough to subtly point to Raven, but won't directly show it." Said Naomi
"What about you?" asked Mei-Xing
"I think I have a costume somewhere in my bags." Naomi said while thinking
The following day at school, before everyone got there, Mei-Xing and Naomi put up the image Raven altered, minus the caption, with an arrow leading to a macho guy in a burglar mask with the caption, 'Feminist or low esteem? What do you think?' while Mei-Xing was decked out in her witch costume, and Naomi was decked out in a Mulan costume, hair ornament and all.
"You really had a Mulan costume in your bags?" asked Mei-Xing
"Hey, I'm half-Chinese. I like to stay close to my culture." Said Naomi
"Get out of town! Are you really?" asked Mei-Xing
"Yeah." Said Naomi
"Shi tai hao le!" exclaimed Mei-Xing
"Ni ke yi shou zhong wen?" asked Naomi (1)
"Yeah. Dad's Chinese." Said Mei-Xing
"I should've seen that coming. Come on. Let's see if Raven's gonna take the bait." Naomi said as a crowd of people were making their way to school as a part of the early morning rush to school
Mei-Xing and Naomi went to the courtyard, followed by Tina in a princess costume, Rene in a mermaid costume, and Harmony, in her regular Meridian garb, but was colored green, so it could be mistaken for a female Robin Hood costume.
"Did you guys get that…" started Tina
"Picture of McKenna? Yeah. It's been altered. Raven's behind that one." Said Naomi
"What?! What are we going to do?" asked Rene
"Well, seeing McKenna in her fairy costume walking this way, we're about to show you." Naomi said while pointing to McKenna in the costume
"Hey guys. I've been hearing rumors that I've been caught on camera on something." Said McKenna
"Yeah, practically the whole school knows it." Naomi said while acting to be clueless
"What? How?" asked McKenna
"We saw a poster. We'll take you to it." Said Mei-Xing
The girls then led McKenna to the poster, where a lot of people were crowded around it, and then when McKenna saw it, she saw the altered photo on the left, and the new photo on the right, and when Raven saw what everyone was looking at, she was shocked.
"I didn't have that image!" exclaimed Raven
Everyone suddenly became quiet at Raven's outburst. Even Will heard it.
"I… I mean, I… I never saw that picture before…" Raven started nervously
"Miss Delacroix? What did you mean by 'I didn't have that image'?" asked Will
"It was just something that came…" started Raven
"Principal Vandom, I think you should see this." Naomi said while showing Will the original image on Mei-Xing's phone
"My office, now! I mean it Miss Delacroix." Will said as she led Raven away
Before she did, she took down the poster while the girls went back into a secluded hallway.
"Thanks for helping me guys." Said McKenna
"Yeah, but I have bad news. Cornelia's gonna make it to the lake, today! We have to replace the crystal, now!" exclaimed Harmony
"Don't worry. We got it covered. Here's the crystal." Naomi said while handing the crystal heart to Harmony
"Guardians, unite!" Rene exclaimed as she held the Heart of Kandrakar in the air
"Water!" exclaimed McKenna
"Fire!" exclaimed Tina
"Earth!" exclaimed Naomi
"Air!" exclaimed Mei-Xing
"Quintessence." Said Rene
"Problem, there's no active portal. How are we gonna get to Meridian?" asked Harmony
"Last night, grandma told me that the Heart of Kandrakar absorbed the Seal of Phobos when she was the Fire Guardian. It'll open a door to Meridian." Rene said as she opened a portal
They then found themselves on the shores of Meridian's lake, and Cornelia wasn't too far away.
"Okay, McKenna, Mei-Xing, get Harmony down to the bottom of the lake to replace the crystal. Naomi, can you and Tina hold off Princess Evil?" asked Rene
"Can someone say earthquake? Earth!" Naomi exclaimed as she slammed both of her hands on the ground
"The Guardians! They're here! Soldiers, attack!" Cornelia exclaimed as she pointed one of her fingers at Rene, Tina, and Naomi
"Lesson one, never play with fire!" Tina exclaimed as she threw fireballs at them
Mei-Xing and McKenna created an air bubble for Harmony to use around her head, like it was a diving helmet.
"You two go on and help the others. I'll replace the crystal." Harmony said while holding the crystal
She dived into the water, and saw a watery maze. She swam through the maze, avoiding many fish and other watery creatures along the way. When she finally reached the center, there was a single towering pedestal, which suddenly began to glow in Harmony's presence. When the glowing faded away, a diamond heart was sitting there for Harmony to take before she replaced it with the fake. She hid in the watery labyrinth as Cornelia swam through before making it back to the surface, seeing the guardians defeat Cornelia's guards.
"I got it!" Harmony exclaimed as she swam out of the water
"Let's get out of here!" Rene exclaimed while pointing at the portal
They all went through in time and sealed the portal behind them, with Will at the other end.
"Uh, is this a bad time?" Naomi asked nervously
"What do you girls have to say… for having five minutes left before class begins?" Will asked while tapping her watch
Everyone else smiled before Tina dried off Harmony and the girls reverted back to their normal looks. As they were walking to class, Harmony looked at the diamond heart with a worried look on her face.
'Why did it reveal itself to me? I'm not the heir to the Meridian throne. Am I?' Harmony thought in worry
Done and done! Man, this one took me a while to finish, but above and all, I'm finally done! Please review, check out my boyfriend, Detroid434's profile, and until next time, I'm sakuraphoenix, saying I heart you, signing off for now. Kan dao ni!