Malory growled and threw the notebook into the wall. "I just don't get it!" she snapped at Jaenelle. "It's impossible to get this language. Everything here sounds like Greek to me!" When Malory looked up at a very confused Jaenelle, she figured she should explain. "Greece is an old country on my realm. It's had a strong government, and it's systems are older than our country alone. It's filled with mythology and tales that simply fascinate me and... I'm talking to much. We should try the phrase again."
Jaenelle simply nodded and picked up the notebook, slightly fascinated herself. She didn't say anything as she kept instructing Malory in the language at the Keep. She had puzzled over how to move the door so she wouldn't keep showing up at Cassandra's altar, but Jaenelle was still stuck. She fiddled with the Twilight's Dawn jewel hanging around her neck, now in a necklace that had once held her old Ebony jewel. She had attempted to get into Malory's mind earlier to try and teach her the language, but Malory's mind couldn't be pried open because Malory thought it felt too weird.
The barriers in the mind were set up the same way it was in the Blood. Malory could choose to let her in, but Jaenelle simply couldn't open the mind like she thought she could. She figured asking Daemon may help, it may just be the power of Twilight's Dawn wasn't enough, but she knew things were still sticky between Malory and Daemon. She thought of other people the girl may trust, but only Lucivar came to mind. Both had arrogance in common when neither of them were frustrated at something, and both had tempers to match. Maybe the two would find some common ground if they simply got to know each other...
There was also Daemonar. He had a birthright Red jewel. While she thought out the different lines of thought, she kept her ears open on Malory's pronunciation. When she said something wrong, Jaenelle tapped the table with her fingers gently. Malory would then fix her pronunciation and the lesson would continue like normal. So far, Malory had learned much of the language, but not enough to get by on her own if she needed to. Jaenelle started to fiddle with Twilight's Dawn again. This time, Malory caught the nervous fidgeting.
"Is that diamond important or something?" She asked. It sparkled a little, but she could closely relate it to a diamond easily. Jaenelle looked baffled. "The necklace. It's a diamond, right?" Malory asked.
"What's a... diamond?" Jaenelle asked, letting the unusual word slide off her tongue. It felt strange, and she'd never heard it before. "This is Twilight's Dawn. It's my new Jewel."
Malory looked even more confused. "It's a diamond. I have one in my own bedroom on a bracelet I got as a birthday present once. It looks almost exactly like that, almost cut the same too."
Jaenelle looked more baffled. "Did you bring it with?"
Malory shook her head no. "I keep it in my bedroom. It's sort of special, and I don't want to lose it."
"Take me to your room. I'd like to see it." Jaenelle extended a hand and prepared to catch the Gray wind. It was the darkest she could go so far, and she was constantly testing the winds. It was as if she were building her power up to ride whatever wind she wanted again. Malory gulped and grabbed Jaenelle's hand, feeling that smothering air she always did when Jaenelle was 'wrapping' her for protection. She hated traveling on what Jaenelle called The Winds.
In no time, they found themselves at Cassandra's altar. She'd gotten so used to traveling back and forth, it's almost as if there was no time at all between jumps. They entered through her doorway, and Jaenelle used witch fire to help Malory find the hole in her closet still behind the picture of Elaine. This would have been the first time that Malory would have let Jaenelle, or anyone from this world, into her room.
Malory nudged the picture aside and stepped in before Jaenelle, opening her closet door and peaking out to make sure no one was waiting for her. Lately, her family had noticed her frequently disappearing into her room. They were starting to get worried, and Malory didn't need any talks at the moment.
She closed the closet door behind Jaenelle, hoping she didn't look at the picture she'd painted of Elaine all bright smiles and happy faces. She watched as Jaenelle assessed Malory's mess of a bedroom. She also looked in a mirror and fluffed her hair, a habit Malory recognized as a way to help Jaenelle think deeply. Malory went to the jewelry box she'd hidden under her bed and pulled it out. She took hold of the diamond bracelet her grandmother had given Elaine before she died, and she remembered how Elaine had given it to her to keep safe and secret. Like it was a secret that the two had been so close to each other during Elaine's final days. Malory sniffed a moment before presenting the bracelet before Jaenelle.
Jaenelle examined the bracelet and felt the familiar power underneath the cool exterior. This Jewel was cut into a large square and held by a small crown of metal on the bracelet. The metal that held it had funny etchings in the sides. Each etching was unfamiliar and unusual.
"What are these?" Jaenelle asked, gesturing toward the etchings. Malory looked a little confused.
"They're runes for wisdom and enlightenment. The woman who gave this bracelet, my grandmother, she put them in there herself and said that diamonds always held more power and influence than what we're led to believe." Malory traced her finger along the designs, feeling the old feeling of reassurance and confidence that she knew what to do every other time she did so. Jaenelle saw something different, though. She could sense the power running through the runes and into Malory's veins. The power was enough influence to have equal power to a Yellow Jeweled witch.
Malory slid the bracelet on her wrist and clasped it there. "We should go back. I need to learn the language and be home in time for dinner." She grinned and started to lead Jaenelle back through the opening until they were in Cassandra's kitchen again. Before they had gone through the hole in the closet, though, Jaenelle had a small glimpse of the picture there.
"Did you paint that picture?" she asked Malory. Malory immediately withdrew into herself a little.
"Yeah. It was a long time ago." With that, Jaenelle could see that Malory wouldn't say anymore. With her best not-sure-but-game smile, she grabbed Malory's wrist.
"We're going somewhere before we learn other things. We need to see my brother Lucivar and pry your brain open." Jaenelle started to wrap power around Malory again to keep the girl from getting hurt, but the power of the runes was different this time. They changed from a more gentle power to a more rough wall of power. Jaenelle gave another weak smile before they jumped onto the Gray winds heading to Ebon Rhi.
In Ebon Rhi
Daemonar stretched his wings wide and his arms, reveling in the strong winds that were already floating him upwards. His mother watched him, smiling. Marian was so glad that Daemonar was lucky enough to have his wings. She remembered how close she was to losing hers. She and Daemonar were waiting for Lucivar to return from the Hall back home. Business with the High Lord was normally longer than this, but Daemonar was turning fifteen soon. There was a party to plan, and she hoped to warn Lucivar before finally spilling her guts to Jaenelle.
"When's dad going to be home?" he asked Marian again. His mother simply shook her head.
"In most cases, he's gone for a couple of days. Today? He said he'd be home early with his present for you. I already know what it is." She winked at her son, who stared at her with pure son-loving-his-mother contempt. She grinned even wider when a shadow of wings fell over her son. Lucivar landed with a classic Eryan war blade in one hand, and his signature arrogant grin was on his face. Daemonar eyed the blade at first with envy, then his eyes widened as he looked at his mother in pleasant surprise. Marian nodded. Lucivar handed the blade to his son.
"If you do anything stupid with that, I'll personally beat the shit out of you after your mother," Lucivar said. "Don't forget to clean it before putting it away." Daemonar grinned with his father's arrogance and waved a hand before running off to practice. Lucivar looked at Marian before approaching her next.
"Yes I'm telling Jaenelle. If I don't, she'll use those pretty new nails Surreal did to scratch my eyes out," Marian said, still sitting comfortably. Lucivar nodded before scooping his wife up.
"When are planning to have another?" he asked, referring to having another child. After Daemonar turned five, they decided to wait until he was a little older for another child. Marian gave Lucivar a proud look.
"What do you mean 'when'?" she asked, letting her hand wrest on her stomach protectively. Lucivar picked up the signal and grinned widely before groaning. He remembered Marian's last pregnancy. This one might not be any better. Marian, as if reading her own cue, grinned widely and kissed Lucivar gently.
"Don't worry," she said. "I swear I won't throw anything at you. Just don't"-
"Don't fuss to much," Lucivar finished for her. He suddenly set her down and kissed her cheek, ushering her carefully inside. "Jaenelle's coming," he said simply.
Marian looked confused. "Should I tell her about Daemonar's birthday?"
"She has someone else with her," Lucivar muttered, nudging her inside again. Despite Marian's slight struggling, he was able to shut the door when he heard his name called. He didn't want his pregnant wife caught up in the middle of something bad in case this other visitor wasn't friendly. Lucivar whistled to signal he was in the back.
Jaenelle brought Malory around the back. Malory could vaguely remember Lucivar, but she remembered only seeing him the first time she visited. He also remembered her. He also remembered Daemon coming in with a black eye the second time she had visited. Daemon had said this girl could hit...
"What did you guys need?" Lucivar asked. He waited while Jaenelle translated to Malory what he'd just said and then watched Jaenelle fiddle with Twilight's Dawn nervously. His sister was never nervous to ask him for something unless she was sure it might be dangerous.
"I can't open her mind, and she has a difficult time opening it," Jaenelle finally said, gesturing to Malory. "I was thinking you may... I don't know... open it for us. Even she wants to try, but she says it's too strange."
Malory looked at Lucivar after Jaenelle translated every word. She ran a hand through her short, curly brown hair, eyes showing fascination and paranoia at the same time. Lucivar frowned and shook his head.
"If she wants to open her mind, she could do it herself," Lucivar pointed out calmly.
"Except she doesn't understand. We've been given these gifts from birth. We can take this ability for granted, but people like her need more training." Jaenelle started to fiddle with her wedding ring. "I think my Jewel is simply preventing me from opening her mind by force. Not because I'm not powerful enough, but mainly because I hated prying people open as a child. It's as if Twilight's Dawn would mimic what I like and dislike and make that a basic for what's possible and impossible."
Lucivar noted this and finally shook his head yes. "I'll only do it if she's okay with it." He nodded toward Malory.
Malory had a small semblance of understanding enough to say, "Help me." Lucivar's jaw dropped a moment. She hadn't spoken the Old Tongue then. She was speaking the common language here. Lucivar nodded and put both hands on her mind, carefully locating the barriers. He was shocked by how similar the barriers between the human mind was so similar to that of the Blood.
He was able to pry the first few barriers open. Jaenelle was keeping her own senses open and helped to spread the rest of the information through the brain as much as possible. When Lucivar reached a barrier he judged to be the Opal barrier, he finally felt some resistance. He could feel the alien touch of his Jewels in her brain bothering her.
"Jaenelle, hurry!" he muttered, feeling a strain on his Jewels to keep the barriers open just long enough. When he felt Jaenelle slowly retreat from Malory's mind, he let the barriers fall close.
Malory, the whole time, had felt nothing but extreme pain and dizziness. Her head hurt by the end of it, but she had new information in her mind that flowed as if it had been born there. She reached into her head and pulled out the phrases carefully.
"Thank you," she said in the common language. "Thank you... Lucivar." She rubbed her head, still feeling a lingering ache. Jaenelle, obviously worried but still satisfied at the progress, took Malory's hand and led her into Lucivar's home. Marian was in the kitchen, waiting for an explanation. When she saw Malory, she inched back a few feet. Malory looked at the woman and felt the throb in her brain start again. As long as she stared at the floor, the throbbing died to a dull sting in the back of her skull.
Jaenelle stood next to Marian and said, "I already know that Daemonar's birthday is coming. We should celebrate it at the Keep. This is Malory, by the way."
Jaenelle started to leave the kitchen before Marian caught her wrist. "What is she?" Marian asked. "She's... not blood. She's also not landed. Her power is the same as my birthright right now, but she wears a jewel looking exactly like yours..." The look in Jaenelle's eyes cut her off enough. No. Marian wouldn't be afraid because this girl was unfamiliar.
"She has a headache, so I'm going to get Papa to come here to not only say happy birthday to his grandson, but to make the tea we normally have for head aches. He never did give me that recipe..." She left the kitchen, and Marian and Malory, just as Daemonar ran out from the practice clearing. He spotted Jaenelle and ran to greet her.
"Aunty Jay!" he cried, waving his weapon around. Jaenelle stared at it a moment, fighting her mind and body to relax. Every time she saw a weapon in another male's hand, it always caused a defensive trigger in her. Daemonar would never intentionally hurt her, though.
"Hey Daemonar!" She called, running to meet him and a now excited Tassle.
Daemonar won't let me play fetch with his new toy! Tassle whined. Jaenelle snickered and scratched Tassle gently behind his ears.
"You wouldn't want to play with that toy," she said simply before looking up at Daemonar.
"I thought I felt you here! Dad didn't come get me though. He also took off for some business in town..." He felt himself stiffen and ready for an attack. He was a Warlord Prince to took protecting the females in his family as seriously as his father. The psychic scent in the house was incredibly alien and unfamiliar. Jaenelle picked up on it right away.
"Leash it, Daemonar," she commanded calmly. Daemonar was able to rein it in enough as Jaenelle guided him toward his house.
When both of them entered the kitchen, Malory and Marian were both giggling and talking excitedly. Somehow, both of them had managed to get along.
Daemonar, still defensive, edged around the kitchen to his mother's side. Marian stopped laughing long enough to hug her son. "Don't forget to clean that before putting it away," she said. "Also, this is Malory. She's your aunt's new student."
Malory became just as edgy and defensive the moment both of them locked eyes. Malory was on her feet, stiff and in a stance meant for an attack, and Daemonar clutched his blade a little harder. Both of them stared each other down. Malory's power started to rise to Red Jewels to match his own, and none of them noticed Jaenelle ushering Marian out of the room. Both females were baffled by Malory's sudden rise in power, but Jaenelle knew how to deal with it.
Jaenelle stood between them and placed one hand on Daemonar's chest and another on Malory's shoulder. "Both of you, leash it now. Marian's terrified."
Both of them stopped an unconscious rise to the killing edge. Underneath that, Malory could feel a smothering retreat as she felt Jaenelle wrap enough power around the both of them to shield them. Malory backed off and sat back down in her chair. Daemonar vanished his weapon to the weapon's room before turning his back.
"Ass," Malory muttered.
Daemonar's reply made Malory's jaw drop.
Malory's irritated reply gave Daemonar the same reaction. After that, somehow the two were able to smile weakly at each other before Daemonar disappeared into the weapon's room to clean and store his new blade.
Malory looked at Jaenelle. "What's his problem?" she asked, standing and pacing out of the kitchen. She walked to the nearest field she saw with someone strong enough to hit. Jaenelle followed her, keeping a careful eye on her. She called Tassle with them, who was still waiting on the porch. That much power had bothered him, and he was now a little scared of Malory.
Malory stumbled her way to the practice field that Daemonar was just practicing in. She took a hit at a near by tree used for target practice, hitting as hard as she could. The bark cut through her bandages and bruised her skin. She took another hit. Then another. She kept hitting until her frustration was out of her. Her knuckles bled, and she was sure a few of them were broken again. She took a few more hits before walking away from Jaenelle, who had paled from across the field. Tassle, worried for the girl, started to follow her back up to the house.
Marian was already on the porch with Malory stormed past her and into the kitchen again. She sat back down in a chair and reached for her backpack on her back before remembering she had forgotten to bring it. She frowned and looked at her bleeding hands, deciding to ignore it until they stopped.
Marian, on the other hand, was already rifling through her cupboards before finding the one with bandages in it. She tossed them to Malory, who caught them easily. "Thank you," she said to Marian before peeling off the bandages on her knuckles.
Jaenelle gasped at the scars as she entered the kitchen. She settled to watch Malory wrap her hands in clean bandages and wondered if she could do anything for scars that old. She looked at Malory's haunted look, a look Jaenelle remembered having, and decided it would be a waste of time. It was more than just a physical scar to Malory. It was something... emotional. In the heart and mind.
When Malory finally finished wrapping her hands, Jaenelle took both of them in her own and started to heal them. Malory didn't fight. She glared as Daemonar, who had finished cleaning and storing his blade, entered the kitchen and stood close to this mother.
"What did she do to herself," Daemonar asked Jaenelle.
"She hit the trees in your practice field until she wasn't pissed anymore," Jaenelle said simply.
"Weird," Daemonar muttered.
Malory glared at him. "That's what I am, apparently. Not that some thick-headed male would understand!" she snapped at him. She ripped her hand's from Jaenelle's and was about to take off again when she felt Daemonar's hand clasp around her wrist.
Irritation and fear caused her to whirl around with her foot and aim for his balls. He had a split second to grab her ankle first.
"You just try and find out what I'd understand. If you haven't noticed, my aunt is the strangest thing on two feet... sometimes four... no offense," he amended. Jaenelle sighed and shook her head.
"None taken. Even I know how weird I am." Jaenelle stood and pried Malory from Daemonar's grip.
Daemonar let go and glared. "You can keep that mouth of yours in check. I don't take attitude from a bitch."
Malory glared fury and grabbed the nearest thing to her – there was a frying pan sitting on the table – and chucked it at Daemonar. Daemonar curled in his wings just in time for the frying pan to hit the wall instead of him. Marian nearly burst out laughing at the coincidence. She'd played this scene out before.
The difference was that Daemonar wasn't interested in her. Not that she'd noticed, anyway. Chances were it might happen, though, if she kept her eyes peeled and encouraged him.
She remembered talking with Malory. Malory was a slice of sweet and feisty all wrapped up into one. Marian remembered how easily Malory could get along with someone, and she could see how she would easily defend someone too, even if it was just herself.
Daemonar growled and stalked out of the room, snatching the frying pan to take his anger out on instead of the girl. Malory, confused but still pissed, ripped from Jaenelle's hold and stalked back outside to sit on the porch.
"What just happened?" Jaenelle asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Marian's amused look.
"A repeat," Marian applied. She grabbed a basket of eggs. "Want to try cooking again?"