Beautifully Dark Places
Chapter 3
Untapped
I stared across the room at Malorn and Nolan's younger sister, Susan Darkwhisper. I was heavily annoyed at the sight of her making goo-goo eyes at him. Malorn didn't seem to notice, even though he had his arm slung around her shoulders and she was laughing hysterically at a joke that wasn't even funny.
"So, what about Kymma staying here for the night?" Malorn fidgeted a little bit as he spoke. Susan blinked in confusion, obliviously having forgotten about me—the quiet girl sitting at her kitchen table. Malorn looked at me apologetically.
"Oh! Kymma," Susan gave me a quick look over, and nodded, "yeah she can stay. Anything for my bestie."
Malorn smiled a little, and kissed her forehead. I was pretty sure my eye twitched. I wasn't exactly jealous. I was more... annoyed, though I didn't really have any grounds to feel annoyed.
"Oh," Malorn said as he stood up, "give her some clothes, too. You two look about the same size. She needs to fit in at Krokotopia so we can get that key."
Susan nodded and waved to him as he walked out the door, and then turned to me, "So, you're the new girl everyone's been talking about."
I shrugged, "I guess. Thanks for letting me-"
"I'm only letting you stay because Malorn thinks I should let you. Don't thank me."
I blinked, and nodded. Susan was very pretty, and it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was Nolan's sister. She told me that my room was the second door on left in the hall. I thanked her-and was scolded once more-as I walked out of the kitchen, but distinctly heard her mutter something about how we couldn't possibly be the same size. Wonderful, I rolled my eyes; I'm bunking with another Ariel. I opened the door, revealing a large green bedroom. The walls were wallpapered in a beautiful forest landscape, and the floor was a mock type of grass. It was gorgeous.
I sighed as I sat down on the big green bed. I was so tired, and, in a way, the happiest I had ever been. I had finally gotten to have something good in my life. It didn't matter that Malorn practically had girlfriend, Nolan was a total jerk, everyone called me non-magic, or that Ambrose was looking for a way to get me home. I didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay here forever. All that mattered to me was a boy was talking to me, I knew three incredibly cute guys, and my life was finally going to have some meaning.
For once, someone needed me to help them.
Ambrose had told us that a man named Alhazred had the key to unlock the secret hiding spot of the crystals. So, in order to get the key, we had to travel to Krokotopia to something called the Krokosphinx. Nolan was furious because he had to accompany us, and had stopped by Susan's house long enough to tell me how much of a witch I was (which I delicately pointed out I was indeed not a witch and was a 'non-magic'). Malorn had to arrange for another student to take over teaching his classes for him. I hadn't seen Boris since we left Ambrose's office. I sighed a little; it was hard not to wonder what my parents were doing while I was in a world of magic.
Not that I cared, because I definitely didn't care.
"Hey." I nearly jumped straight off the bed. Susan was smiling at me from the door, holding an arm full of clothes. Her short white hair bobbed a little when she laughed.
"Sorry, about earlier. I'm a little," She walked towards the bed and dumped the clothes onto it, "…protective."
"It's okay," I smile back, pulling myself into a sitting position. Susan sat on the edge of the bed, pulled out a white tunic with what appeared to be a hawk's face on the front.
"I wore this back when I was an apprentice. So, you should fit in." She put the tunic back down and looked up at me, "Do… do you like him?"
I knew who she was talking about, and from fear of being murdered in my sleep, I shook my head. She nodded, and laid out a pair of boots and a hat for me. The hat was cute, and reminded me of what we studied in history. In fact, all of the clothing here reminded me of the clothes worn back in the early nineteen hundreds to the late eighteen hundreds. Susan moved the clothes to a nearby chair, and told me to get some sleep.
"Hey, Susan," She turned back to me, "how do you handle Nolan?"
"Nolan's a very… different person." She smiled a little, "He can be a big sweetheart. He doesn't show affection like other people do. He has his own way."
And with that, Susan left me sitting in a big bedroom wondering how in the world Nolan could be a sweetheart.
I was awoken with the sound of an argument. It was not the kind of argument where things were thrown and broken, just a simple old yelling fight. I got up and put on the clothes Susan had set out for me. They were actually very pretty when I put them on. The tunic was white with back trim and a touch green. The shoes and hat were simply black, but they were still cute. I was surprised about how good they looked on me. I started down the hall until I could make out what they were saying.
"I'm not saying you have to be her best friend, Susan." It was Malorn, and he didn't sound too angry, just exasperated. It seemed as if they had been discussing this for a while now.
"I don't care what you're saying, Ashthorn, I just want you to know that she can't live with me. She's going to have to go home sooner or later." Susan was the one yelling, and very loudly at that, "I don't hate her, or anything like that. It's just that simple. She's non-magic. She cannot stay here."
"She can't help that she's not magic." Malorn paused, and then continued with a disgusted voice, "You're starting to sound like Nolan."
"Why do you care so much about a girl from Earth? She can't do anything special." I could hear the frustration in her voice as she threw her hands in air. Malorn chuckled, but his laugh sounded… dangerous, as if it was a warning.
"Drop it, Susan."
"I will not drop it." I couldn't tell if she was crying or just extremely pissed off, "You're supposed to care about me, you… you..."
"Susan," Malorn sighed, and reached for her. She pulled away from and shook her head. He stared back at her in confusion, "What?"
"You don't even think about hugging me until you get over-" I went ahead and walked in, hoping they would stop fighting, Malorn looked almost as terrified as I felt, "-her."
Susan stomped out of the living room and into the hallway. Malorn looked me up and down for a seconded and nodded. I smiled weakly, but said nothing about what I had heard.
"Just wake up?" Malorn seemed nonchalant, and was adjusting his robe to keep from looking at me.
"Yeah, and I had to change." I pulled at my robe where it was too tight across the belly, "What was up with all the yelling?"
Malorn sighed, probably in relief, and just shrugged at my question. A knock came at the door.
"Suzy!" It was Boris. Apparently, everyone was meeting here. I pushed past Malorn to open the door. Boris was in something similar to what he wore yesterday, except that he now wore a cloak similar to what Suan had loaned me.
"Where's Suzy?" Boris asked as he plopped down on Susan's large white sofa. He looked at us expectedly; I glanced at Malorn, only to find him staring at me. I could feel the blush creeping on my cheeks. Malorn sighed a little bit and explained that Susan was in her room because they had a tiny fight, though he didn't say what the fight was about. Me, I thought, panicking, they were fighting me.
"That bites." Boris played with the end of his staff as we waited for Nolan. I sat down beside, hands shaking from nerves. Boris asked if I was ok, I simply nodded and stared at the door. Malorn left to go change in one of the guest rooms. Boris looked at my hair with a strange look. I had forgotten that I braided it before I came down.
"What have you done to your hair?"
"I braided it." I raised an eyebrow at his awe. Had they boy never seen a braid? By the look on his face, no, he had never seen a braid or anything similar to it. Another knock on door sounded, and I answered.
It was Nolan, in a rather handsome yellow and white cloak with a strange symbol on the front. He had on a different hat, though he still had his hair hidden. This hat was some kind of hood, but also covered his mouth with a light blue cloth. He wore simple yellow and blue boots with some gold straps across them. Nolan also had changed his staff from a wood want with a red ball on the end to a wooden staff with a curved end and a blue ball in the middle.
I realized that I had been standing at the door staring at him the whole. I shook my head just I realized that he hadn't said anything. I looked back at him to see that he too was looking at my new apparel.
"Coming in, bro, or you gonna stand there and stare at her all day?" Boris grinned as he said this, making his nose wrinkle up a little. I laughed nervously, and smiled at Nolan. He glared at me, narrowing his pretty blue eyes in my direction. He turned back to Boris, unable to let that comment go.
"I wasn't staring, I waiting for her to get her ass out of my way." He sat down on the sofa, practically glowing with agitation. Boris told him he seriously needed to join the tournaments—whatever those were—to get some of his anger out of the way. I started to ask, but really didn't feel like more information. Malorn walked back in, dressed in black armor and equipped with a long, double edged sword. He looked around. God, he's handsome. I shook my head at the random thought.
"Ready to go?" Malorn looked around at everyone. Boris stood, putting his hand out in front of them. Nolan stood and put his hand on top of Boris's. Malorn motioned for me to do the same. I walked over, laying my hand on top of Nolan's. I took a deep breath as he whispered something that sounded like a different language. Pain ripped through my body, like each molecule of my existence was being torn apart and put back together. I could someone screaming, and it took a few seconds to realize that person was me. I wondered why I was the only one screaming. Could everyone not feel how horrible this was? It was dark. I was unsure if my eyes had closed or if there was simply no light in this place. I was near tears when someone's voice cut through my screams.
"Kymma, are you ok?" It was Malorn's voice, or maybe Nolan's. What if I had imagined that? Was it safe to speak?
"Nolan?" Even my mind was screaming that it was a stupid thing to say. Somewhere deep inside I knew it was Malorn speaking, but for some reason I hoped it was Nolan. I should have been happy that anyone cared enough to ask if I was ok because at home that would have never happened.
"No," The voice came again from the darkness, "It's Malorn."
"Open your eyes, stupid." Now that was Nolan. I realized that once again, my eyes worked and I could open them. Malorn was kneeled beside me, peering down at my face. I had to resist screaming at his surprising closeness. Nolan was standing beside me, looking down at me with his hands in makeshift pockets on the side of his robes, "I was wondering if you died."
"I'm afraid you're going to have to try harder than that to get rid of me." I shot back, hoping that my face was sour enough to be convincing. Malorn stood and helped me up. I thanked him as I dusted myself off.
"On to the Balance school!" Boris grinned, marching ahead of his with his head held high. I walked between Malorn and Nolan, watching the girls quite literally drool over the three. Boris flicked his white hair out of his face. Nolan glanced at them and muttered something about annoying apprentices. Malorn simply waved politely.
"Wait, it's an island?" I asked once the Krokosphinx came into view.
Boris turned back toward me, now walking backwards, and spoke, "A floating island."
I raised an eyebrow. Malorn smiled and patted my back again, "It's totally safe, don't worry."
"Wow, I bet your girlfriend's pissed about this." Nolan laughed a little. Malorn shot a look his way, but said nothing. We walked across the sandy surface of the island we were currently standing on to a small flying boat thing. We rode for a few minutes, with desert air and sand flying around us. It was unbelievably hot on the boat. I was working up a sweat just trying to pull my hair out of my face from where it had come loose from my braid.
"Step out slowly!" Boris called, earning himself a rude comment from Nolan. I followed them off the boat and to a small ladder. I was forced to go first, and didn't like the idea, but went any way. The school was small, and cold. I let Boris go through the door first, being a little freaked out by the pet crocodile that the teacher had. Boris smiled and started talking. I looked around for the teacher, and couldn't find anyone in the room.
"Boris Tallstaff! Ah, how long has been?" The pet croc smiled. I nearly had a heart attack. It was a talking crocodile.
"Too long, Alhazred." Boris smiled back at the Balance teacher. Great, so not only was it a talking crocodile, it also taught magic. I was unsure what made this seem more like a dream: a talking, magic teaching crocodile or having guys be nice to me. Hmm, must be a tie.
"What can I help you with? Come to learn more Balance magic?"
"No, actually we're here because we think you have a key that we need." Alhazred did something similar to raising his eyebrow, Boris continued, "we need the key to the crystal room."
Alhazred sighed and shook his big head, "I'm sorry, Boris, but the key to the crystal room was stolen by a women who claimed to be a henchman of Malistaire. She took it before the Fang fell."
Nolan groaned and threw his hands up in the air, "You cannot even keep up with a simple key? Now I can't summon anything without bringing a stupid girl from Earth to Ravenwood."
"Shut up, Nolan." Malorn hissed. I actually felt bad for Nolan. He seemed really upset about the Myth crystal, or just upset in general. I couldn't tell which.
"Well, now what?" Malorn asked, looking between Boris and Alhazred.
Alhazred sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more assistance for you young wizards."
"It's ok. Thanks anyway." Boris smiled, turned back to us, and held out his hand, "Ready to go back?"
"Let's go. Maybe Ambrose will know what to do."
"Wait!" We turned back to Alhazred. He smiled and continued, "I can give you this," he removed the necklace I hadn't noticed he was wearing and held it out to Boris, "it will give you the capability to port to Earth, but only as long as you wear it. It is by no means a substitute to the Spiral Key, but it might be of some service to you. The last thing I heard about the henchman was that she was on the old world. Maybe it can help you."
"I'll talk to Ambrose." Boris said as he walked out of the door. I watched the big oak door close behind him without making much of a sound. I was tired beyond belief, especially after the port back home, which was worse than the first one. Malorn had left when we got back because he wanted to get back to his classes. Nolan, Susan, and I were the only ones left in the house.
"So," Susan said, rocking back and forth on her heels. She was obviously trying to make conversation.
"We didn't get the key," Nolan fumed, "Alhazred lost it. Seriously, who loses a key that important?"
"Did you forget that you lost the key to Unicorn Way?" Susan grinned, mocking him. I expected him to go crazy and start chewing her out.
He laughed.
Nolan Stormgate laughed at someone ridiculing him.
Yep, I was pretty sure I was dreaming.
"Yeah, I remember that." Nolan smiled, and realized I was staring at him with my mouth hanging open. I couldn't help that he shocked me bad enough to make me stare at him like an idiot.
"Are you expecting me to kiss you with that face?" Activate Nolan smart-remarks again. I sighed and turned back to the door. He made an hmm sound, and started talking to his sister again.
"I got to go back home and get some sleep." Nolan got up and hugged his sister, and then stopped awkwardly in front of me, "Well—uh—see ya, stupid."
I waved nonchalantly and listened as the door closed. I sighed and got up. Susan bided me a goodnight, surprisingly still being nice to me after this morning, as I walked toward my room. I closed the door behind me in hopes of knowing if Susan came to murder me in my sleep. I sat on my bed in the pitch black darkness to mull over the day's events.
I knew that Earth could potentially be in trouble, and our only way of really doing anything we couldn't get to. I also knew that Malorn at least liked me, especially after everything that was said that morning, and that I liked him… a lot. He did look rather marvelous in that black armor, he reminded me of a knight, and his hair was beautiful. Nolan's cute, too, though. I shook my head at the thought. I couldn't like Nolan; nothing good could ever come of that. But… he is handsome… and he has pretty eyes. I thought unwillingly.
Maybe he likes me. He did say something about kissing me. The thought made my skin prickle. Hmm. What are the pros. He can be nice, at least to his sister, and he is smart… Even if he's a jerk. I sighed at my newest problem. Nolan or Malorn? I rolled my eyes in an attempt to clear my head.
Don't forget how gorgeous I am.
I held back a scream as I fell of my bed. I looked around, panicking.
"Who's there?"
I'm not hiding in your room, stupid.
I squeaked and held my ears. There was no way this was happening. Nolan couldn't be telepathic. That wasn't possible, was it? Get out of my head! I screamed in my head, climbing back into my bed.
You know what this means? You at least have some magic because you called me.
I teared up a little and pulled the covers over my head. I'd never felt so humiliated before, even when Ariel told Tim that I liked him. I wondered how much he had heard. Can you just get out of my head so I can think to myself? I cried in my mind, hoping that I didn't sound too pathetic.
You must just have untapped magic. Hmm. That's almost as weird as you. And quit crying.
I sniffled and buried my head in my pillow, praying that I wouldn't wake up and have to face seeing him again.
Ok! Yay! Chapter 3 is up! Hope you guys like it! So, what do you guys think about my little take on chat speak, huh? Telepathy :D!
BlackRoseNecromancer: Oh course I like her! You were very creative with her! Thanks, and I do not plan to discontinue!
Hour 13: Thanks!
DeathySophia: Sweet! I've never met someone on fanfic that wasn't a native English speaker! And don't worry, I hate that one.
fanficreader137: Yeah, I'm changing it to a T. Thanks, I wouldn't have thought about it!
Well, R&R!