Chapter 2

Kelly and Ryan appeared in a forest just outside of an Anasalan village.

Kelly looked around in awe. "Wow. The sky is blue, Rye!"

"No way," Ryan said. He then looked up to see the sun shining, partially blocked by misty clouds, in a beautiful light blue sky. "Way."

Kelly looked around some more. The trees were all pine, oak, willow, and some magic forms that she'd never seen before. There were birds and squirrels and hedgehogs and groundhogs and all forms of magic creatures. Kelly came out of the forest to see a rather large, crystal clear lake just by the village. "Wow."

"You said that already," Ryan said.

"I know, but…after growing up in a city like Acmetropolis…this is amazing." Kelly took out the manual and removed a map from it. She put the manual back and unfolded the map, which was about 1/5000th scale if the actual realm, a map that requiring a lot of magic-weaving to design, let alone print out. "OK…" She looked around the map and then saw it: a forest by a lakeside village. "Alright, we're here at Crystal Lake and Lake-Town, which is just a couple miles away from the castle. So if the portal was designating to open here, than the guys at the castle, knowing we're unfamiliar to this dimension and our powers, would've sent something to take us over there. So all we have to do is wait for them to show up." She re-folded the map and put it her pack. "I wonder who or what they're sending. Maybe we'll get to fly a dragon!"

HONK! HONK! Up pulled a taxi.

"Or maybe they'll send a cab," said Ryan.

Kelly suspected something was going on. "OK, that it so city and mortal. There's no way there's nothing magic about it. She walked over there and the window rolled down to reveal the driver.

"Hey there, kids!" said the skeleton in the front seat, "You must be Kelly and Ryan. Boy, was the queen excited to meet you 2, finally see old Sophie's kids. Your mom and I go way back."

"You didn't date, did you?" asked Ryan.

"Oh, no! I just drove her to school. Of course, back then I was all skin and bones…except for the skin!" He laughed. (drumbeat) "Allow me to introduce myself. Name's Bobby."

Kelly nodded. "OK." She got in the back of the car and Ryan followed. The luggage instantly zapped itself into the trunk. Kelly looked at her brother. "I could learn to like it here!"

Bobby then started to drive off. "Hey! What does a skeleton have for dinner? Prime rib!" (drumbeat) "And what does he say before he eats it? Bone apetite!" (drumbeat)

"I hope you're a better driver than you are a comedian," Ryan said.

Back at HQ…

Sophie sat down on the couch. "I guess it's kind of a good thing they're gone for the day."

Wendy sat down next to her sister. "That's a good way to look at it. I mean, it's not like they're gonna become queen and king before the week is out, forget to invite us to the coronation, get caught up in the power, and decide to zap the rest of their stuff there and stay there forever and never come back to see us. Just put that thought out of your head."

"It wasn't in my head until now!"

"Oops."

Sophie quickly took the headphone from Daniella. "Kelly! Ryan! What's going on? Please tell me you're OK!"

Back in Anasala…

Kelly groaned when she heard her mother's message. "Relax, Mom. We're perfectly fine. We're headed to the castle right now."

"You're not riding a dragon, are you?"

"Unfortunately, no. We're having to take the skelo-cab."

"Old Bobby's boring you with his jokes?"

"Exactly."

"Hey!" Bobby intercepted, "I got plenty of cool jokes! How about this one: this street is really marrow!" (drumbeat)

"OK, where is that coming from?" Ryan started looking around the cab for some sort of speaker that could be letting off the drumbeats.

"I wondered that all through high school, believe me," Sophie added.

Daniella snatched the headphone. "Just be careful while you're there! And if you need anything, be sure to call us or consult the manual I gave you, and don't hurt anyone with your magic-"

"Aunt Danni!" Kelly stopped her, "I repeat: spending too much time with Rev!"

Daniella sighed. "OK, fine. Just…good luck. And we'll watch things while you're gone."

Sophie grabbed the phone back. "And remember, tell Arielle…"

"That you want your bracelet back, we got it," said Kelly, "Do I wanna know what that means?"

"I repeat: I wouldn't ask!" Wendy intercepted, "Bye!" She hung up.

"Hey! I wasn't done!" Sophie said.

"So, honey, they'll be OK. They have their full powers, they can call us if they need us, they'll have the castle guards taking care of them. They're not kids anymore, So." Wendy walked off with that.

Tech walked up. "She's right. And they're not gonna forget us!" He glared at Wendy (who immediately mouthed "Sorry!") "I mean, they're already superheroes in our place, we're gonna have to let 'em go sometime."

Sophie then burst into tears.

"Or not! We can hold on tight! As tight as possible!"

"We're losing our babies!" Sophie cried.

"Hey, Gabby, TJ, and Polly are still in diapers," Ace pointed out.

Sophie just grabbed Tech and sobbed louder. Tech tried to calm her down, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Kelly and Ryan finally arrived at the castle.

"Welcome the castillo de Anasala," Bobby said, "And that is Spanish for Castle de Anasala." (drumbeat) "Hey! That was not a bone joke! Granted, it was a joke, but…" Bobby stopped.

Kelly quickly got out as quickly as possible. "Thanks, Bobby!" She rushed for the trunk and started getting out the luggage as Ryan got out of the cab.

"Let me take care of this," Ryan said as soon as Kelly started having trouble. He tugged on the suitcase…but it was still stuck. "Huh." Suddenly, the suitcase and pushed themselves out, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the ground. The trunk closed itself and the cab drove off.

Kelly helped Ryan up. "Are you OK, Rye?"

"Can I have some bacon with my waffles?"

Kelly zapped the bags into the air and helped her brother walk off, their luggage following them every step of the way.

Finally, the 2 walked through the castle doors and into a huge building.

"Whoa," both of them said.

There were tapestries over the windows, the floors were so shiny you could see your reflection clearly in them, and the roof/ceiling was over 100 feet up and not at all supporting the dozens floating candles and torches or the crystal chandelier in the middle of the room. As soon as their luggage was in the lobby with the 2 teen coyotes, the doors closed by themselves.

"I thought I heard someone coming in." Queen Arielle then came down the steps and noticed Kelly and Ryan. "Well, hello." She walked over to them. She seemed to be only a few years older than them—and was the appropriate height for such an age—but she was obviously very mature. "You must be Kelly and Ryan. It's an honor to meet Sophie's children."

"Well, we're not her only children, I may remind you," Kelly pointed out, "We're just the oldest. As Aunt Danni said over the videophone, Mom has 7 kids."

"I'm surprised our little triplets bred so fast," Arielle said, "Last time I saw them was at their parents' funeral service and they seemed just 21 then."

"Because technically, they were," Ryan said, picking up his bags, "They never told any of us that they were centuries old."

"Well, Witches age as mortals do, just at a different pace. I suppose I should be showing you around."

"Uh, how big is this castle exactly?" asked Ryan.

Arielle hesitated. "20 acres." Both coyotes stared at her, wide-eyed. "Not my design. It is easy for someone to get lost in this place, but that would mainly happen for mortals. A Witch/Warlock would be able to channel their senses and feel their way out. Oh, and don't bother carrying your bags." She snapped her fingers and the bags and lifted into the air again. "I'll show them to your room." She zapped them up the banister and down the upstairs hall. "Now, I guess you could learn the castle as you go along, but as to your powers-"

"Queen Arielle!" 2 girls who looked almost exactly alike (bright green eyes, curly brown hair) came in.

"We heard someone come in," said one of the girls, "Have the triplets arrived?"

"Karen," said Arielle, "I thought I informed you all that the triplets were no longer celibate or virgins. But Sophie's eldest daughter and son have come along, willing to claim the throne." Kelly and Ryan waved.

"OK, are they here yet?"

Both Kelly and Ryan stopped waving. "Yeah."

"Good! Where are they?"

The other girl looked at her. "I think that's them."

"Correct," said Arielle, "Kelly and Ryan."

Karen looked back and forth between Arielle, Kelly, and Ryan until finally pulling Arielle and the other girl off into a corner. "I thought you said only an untampered Witch can claim the throne."

"Because it's true," said Arielle, "I agreed to step down so that I can settle down."

"Are you aware that those 2 are half-bloods?" Karen commented, "They're not fit to rule this kingdom!"

Arielle glared at her. "For such unfair judgment, I could have you fired and thrown from the castle." She crossed her arms at her. "These 2 have magic and therefore considered Witches and Warlocks, qualified through pureness of youth and virginity to take the throne regardless of their bloodline. Should I hear you once more complain of these 2 before I step down, unless it be that they have done true wrong, than you will be thrown out of the castle, or even this dimension should you have wronged them. Do you understand me?"

Karen sighed. "Yes, your majesty."

Arielle smiled. She went back over to Kelly and Ryan. "This is Karen and Carmen, our royal twins. They'll be teaching you your magic until you take the throne."

"So we need to go over a few things right now," Carmen said, walking over to them, "How long have you been of age?"

"If you mean 15, then 1 month and a couple days," Kelly answered.

Carmen took note of this. "OK, and how long have you had your full power?"

"2 months in a few days."

Carmen's eyes widened. "You're premature?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, it shouldn't be, but…have you had any problems with your magic at all?"

"Not really," Ryan said.

"Once I was unable to unlock a door," Kelly explained, "but it was enchanted by a Gypsy, so I'm pretty certain that one doesn't count."

"OK, good," said Carmen, "We can work with this."

Arielle smiled. "Well, why don't you 2 take over these 2 and I'll be back in my quarters." She walked back up the stairs.

"Oh, wait!" Kelly suddenly said. Arielle stopped and looked at her. "Mom told me to tell you that she wants her bracelet back."

Arielle sighed. "Some people never let things go." She walked up the stairs.

"OK, come on," said Karen, starting to drag off Kelly.

"Where are we going?" Kelly asked, following as Carmen started to lead Ryan off with them.

"Until you take the throne, you're officially a princess," Karen explained, letting go of Kelly's arm for a second, "So-"

"We're leaning towards fashion here, aren't we?" Kelly asked, smoothing out her denim mini-skirt.

"Pretty much."

"In that case, I'll stay here," Ryan said. He turned to Carmen. "Well, hello."

Kelly grabbed her brother. "This is our big chance to really learn how to use our magic. Don't blow it with your lame flirting 'skills'!"

Ryan growled. "I'll just go off to our room." He stopped halfway up the stairs. "Where's our room?"

Karen sighed. "It's down the right hall, 3rd door on your left."

"Got it," Ryan said, walking off.

"Now, about this princess thing…" Kelly started.

"Come on," Karen said, dragging her off again and Carmen following.