Hey Everybody!
Woah! How long has it been since I've updated? Quite a while I suppose! So I'll give you guys a longer chapter today so to make up for it. Thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! I had a nice PM from a fan who gave me the next ideas for the cards. Thanks!
Wendy and the Memory of her Mother
"That day, I was already late. So I considered taking a shortcut, and went through the woods behind the school."
The sun was just a memory in the sky; the only light was from the afterglow of the sunset. Beneath the sheltering treetops, the forest was already almost as dark as night. Through it crept a hesitant schoolgirl. She reached to brush her smooth brown hair back from her face, and then jumped as a crow took flight, startling her.
Phew, she thought. That was scary. Then she stiffened. A tiny glowing dot was dancing in the air some ways before her.
A firefly?
She'd never seen a firefly with a bluish glow like that, but it was so beautiful that she was intrigued, and took a step forward. Immediately the tiny dot zoomed off through the trees, and the schoolgirl took off in hot pursuit. After racing through the gloomy forest for a minute, the tiny glow came to an abrupt halt, and she did too. They had almost reached the edge of the forest. Was it her imagination, or was it becoming bigger?
The girl took a careful step. It was not her imagination; it was definitely growing. Larger, and larger, until her entire vision was filled by the beautiful light. She had to squint to make out the shape coming for her. It was getting bigger, and darker, and –
The furry one-eyed serpent was almost upon her before she had the presence of mind to run.
Wendy shrieked in terror, interrupting Asuka's tale and causing the ears of everyone near to ring loudly. Chelia winced and clapped her hands over her ears.
"Wendy-chan!"
There was no darkness, no forest, only the busy and active schoolyard where Wendy and her friends were gathered for cheerleading practice. Wendy reddened when she saw how everyone was looking at her, but she was still shaking.
"Sorry." Chelia shook her head, then returned her attention to Asuka.
"Asuka-chan, is that story true?" The storyteller nodded her brown eyes widen.
"Yes, it is."
"Can it be that you saw something else?"
"No way."
"Let's stop talking about that," Wendy pleaded. "I can't stand scary stories."
The others paid no attention. Chelia's eyes were sparkling with excitement.
"Hey…why don't we see if that story is true? We'll be done with practice early today."
"But…but…but…" Wendy faltered.
"What?"
"You know, those woods…the other end is like a cliff. It's dangerous."
"It'll be okay if we don't go near that."
"B-but if a ghost really appeared - "
"It'll be fine if we run away as soon as it show up."
"B-but…"
"I'm saying," Chelia interrupted impatiently, "it'll be okay."
Wendy thought it was far from okay, but before she could say anything, a whistle sounded. Asuka glanced at their instructor.
"Oh, break is over."
"Let's go." The other two skipped away, leaving Wendy to follow with heavy steps. She hated scary stories, hated ghosts, and more than anything she hated being put in a position where she was the only one scared.
Why does everyone like scary stories? Scary things might happen.
"Hey," Wendy said brightly, as if the idea had just occurred to her. "Why don't we not go after all?"
"It's all right," Chelia said encouragingly. "It's still light out."
That was true, but as the three girls wandered down the path through the woods, that light was fading rapidly. It got dark so quickly under the cover of the trees. But nobody else seemed concerned.
"Yes I agree," Asuka chimed in, "there's nothing to worry about."
"You know," Chelia said chattily, "it's almost my mother's birthday. What do you think I should get her as a gift?"
"Your mother likes to bake sweets, Chelia-chan. Perhaps a cute cake plate."
"A cake plate. Hmm…What do you think, Wendy-chan?" The words were out before she could stop them, and Chelia clapped a hand over her mouth. How could she have said that?
Wendy saw her friend's expression and hastily put on a smile.
"It's all right, don't worry about it." She didn't blame Chelia. It was so easy to forget that she was the only one in the group with no mother. But the conversation got her thinking about what time of the year it was, and a little smile played across her face. Was it late May already?
That's right, she thought fondly. Next Sunday is my mother's…
"This way," Asuka declared, and led them onto a smaller, less-used path as it continued to grow darker. A bird cawed loudly and took flight from a low branch, causing Wendy to whimper and clutch at Chelia's shirt.
"It's a crow," Chelia said calmly. Drat her. Didn't she ever get scared?
The girls at last made their way to the edge of the trees, where before them Fiore spread out in the dying rays of the sun. The steep incline of the earth had led engineers to construct a terrace for the highway below, creating a steep drop-off that led from the forest's edge to the road. A railing had been built for safety, though now it was twisted and broken. A bird chirped in the woods behind them; other than that, it was perfectly peaceful and silent.
"It was here."
"But there's nothing here."
"Maybe it doesn't come out unless it's night."
Their wondering was cut short by the sudden appearance of a blue glow by the old railing. Wendy's eyes widened and she began to breathe harder.
Run, her mind screamed, but her feet were frozen to the grass below her. The glow was growing larger and larger, until it seemed there was nothing in the world but the eerie blue light. And something was emerging from that light. It was hazy, unclear, but getting bigger. Wendy managed to hang on until the creepy image of the woman was coming directly toward her, and then she snapped.
Screaming in unison, all the girls tore back through the woods, Wendy dragging a nonplussed Chelia behind her. They ran and ran, until they reached the main path and stopped to regain their breath. All their eyes were dilated wide with fear and adrenaline, and they clutched at each other for support.
"A long-haired woman!" Wendy wailed into Chelia's shoulder.
"A blurry, pointy-eared - " Asuka whimpered
"A one-eyed, round - "
"A pink thing with a wide mouth and fangs!"
"A large pumpkin."
What?
The two of them stopped their frantic cries to shoot surprised looks at Chelia. She was smiling cheerfully.
"I mean, what I saw was a large pumpkin."
No, there had been a ghost. Wendy had seen it. They had all been scared. What was Chelia raving on about? Wendy had only one word to describe her friend's enigmatic statement.
"What?"
Wendy squeezed her eyes shut as she sudsed up her hair in the bathtub later that evening.
"It was really scary!" She squealed.
Happy scowled as he concentrated on his backstroke.
"What, you're scared of ghosts?" He asked her.
"Yes, I'm scared!"
"Even though you're fine when you fight Fiore Cards?"
"If I don't know what something is, I can't stand it. At least with Fiore Cards I know what they are."
Happy thought it was twisted logic, but didn't want to question it.
"That's some reasoning that I kinda understand, and kinda don't. But, everyone saw something different, right? Hmm…was there such a Card?"
Igneel's voice carried up the stairs. "It's time for dinner!"
"Okay!" Wendy shouted in reply, and began to rinse her hair. "I wish you would turn back into your true form and become my bodyguard, Happy."
"If you want to do that, then you have to at least capture the Cards that govern fire and earth." He puffed out his chest in anticipation. "My true form is really cool!"
"Cool?"
It seemed difficult to believe. Wendy pictured a winged and stuffed kitty cat that was as tall as a building. To her it seemed goofier than anything else.
Wendy looked appreciatively at her dinner as Igneel set out the plates.
"Wow! It looks delicious!"
"You like noodles, right, Wendy?"
"Yes!" Her attention was caught by a framed photo sitting by the flower vase. She hadn't seen this one before; her father had probably put it out for Sunday. "Oh, I love this photo. It's from when Momma was sixteen, right?" Her father nodded, just the tiniest hint of pain showing in his gentle eyes as his daughter picked up the frame to study the photo more closely.
Grandine had begun modeling in junior high. Wendy's father had saved every one of her photos, professional or otherwise, and there were many. She hadn't seen this particular one before, but Wendy thought it was more beautiful than any of them. Her mother was undeniably lovely, with a finely chiseled face and crystal green eyes that seemed alive even in the photo. Her thick and wavy blue hair cascaded over her shoulders and almost down into her lap, practically a part of the ruffled and romantic dress she wore. A ribbon tied with a white flower around her neck gave it the final touch.
"Momma is beautiful!"
"Yes," Igneel said wistfully. "She is the most beautiful, kind, and lovely person in the world."
Wendy brushed a fingertip over her mother's face. She had only been three when Grandine left this world, and she had no personal conscious memories of her mother. But her father told her stories about her all the time, and Wendy loved her.
"Now, if you don't eat quickly, your food will get cold."
"Yes. And if you don't hurry, Dad, you'll miss the bullet train."
"Yes." He chuckled lightly.
Happy drifted over Wendy's right shoulder, watching her scrub the dishes.
"So your dad and older brother are both out?"
"Natsu is at work. Dad has another presentation and is out of town," she explained, then grinned. "Dad made some pudding before he left. Let's eat it together, including my brother's share." She winked, and Happy erupted in cheers.
"Pudding! Pudding!" In the other room, the phone rang. "Oh, I'll get it." He fluttered out of the kitchen and returned a moment later toting the black phone that was almost bigger than he was. Wendy waited until he held it up to her ear.
"Hello, Dragneel residence. Chelia? What's wrong?" Her hands stopped moving as her friend spoke. "She went into the woods again?"
"Yes, I had a call from Asuka. Apparently, she went again with another group of squad members, and the ghost showed up again, she said."
Wendy had a sinking feeling in her stomach. Somehow, she already knew exactly what this meant for her.
Happy shook his head as he eyed Wendy in the dark woods. It was a pink rabbit costume this time, complete with a fluffy tail and large ears. Her appearance was kooky enough, but the fact that she was shivering from bunny ear to toe made it even worse. She looked as though she might bolt at any second.
"What's this? How is the Cardcaptor scared of something like this?" Happy questioned.
"But - " Wendy whimpered, and did not finish what she had intended to say. Chelia lowered the camera and gave her friend a concerned look.
"Are you all right?"
"I'm not all right, but – people got hurt, right?"
"Yes. Asuka-chan went with a group of about five people, but they all panicked when the ghost appeared, and they tripped and such. I heard it was a mess."
Wendy gripped her wand a little tighter.
"If it's a Fiore Card, I have to catch it!"
"That's more like the Cardcaptor who upholds the peace in the neighborhood," Happy observed approvingly.
"But what should I do if it's a ghost?"
Oh brother. Happy rolled his eyes.
"In any case, we won't have a story unless we find out for sure!"
"Yes…"
"Then shall we go?" The words were barely out of Chelia's mouth when a glowing blue dot winked into existence by the trees.
"Wendy!" Happy shouted excitedly, and Wendy nodded.
"Fly!" Her back sprouted feathery wings, and she zoomed off in pursuit of the dot as it flew through the trees. Zipping in and out through the obstacles and avoiding branches, Wendy got a little of her confidence back and started to breathe again. Maybe she could do this after all.
The glow returned to the drop-off, just as it had earlier in the evening. She fluttered towards the ground, wand in hand, and clutched it defensively.
All right, I'm here. Now what are you?
The image was coming forward again, and she tensed in preparation. It was definitely a woman, with long wavy hair that floated around her head like a soft cloud. Closer…closer…at last Wendy could see the face. And she almost dropped her wand.
"M-M-Momma?"
It was her. There could be no mistake; Wendy had been looking at her photo only hours earlier. Those hauntingly familiar green eyes twinkled as she drifted above the ground and held out her arms for her daughter.
Cliffhanger! What's going to happen to our little Cardcaptor next? Find out next time: Seeing is Believing! Sky versus Illusion!
Please review, favorite, or follow and watch out for ghost!