Golden Sun is the property of Camelot and Nintendo. At least I managed to finish this one before a month… yay!
Chapter 11: The Awaited Moment; Part 2
Knock knock.
"Yes, who is it?"
"It's only me, sister. May I come in?"
"Ivan? Oh yes, of course. Hold on just a second."
Master Hama quickly rose from her seat in her small meditation room and opened the door, revealing a rather breathless Ivan standing at the doorway, wearing a black coat and pants with a white shirt underneath, and a red bow tie at the middle. She smiled warmly at the blond boy as she looked at her blood-related brother proudly, but soon to be replaced with a look of concern. "Ivan, you look tired… are you all right?"
Ivan shot a look of surprise to her. "Yeah, I'm fine… it's just that I was kind of rushing, looking after the final preparations before the whole event starts."
Hama shook her head slowly, a small smile still on her lips. "Still the same Ivan… so shouldn't you be at the ballroom now? Besides, you are already all dressed up for the night events…"
Ivan chuckled lightly, his deep violet eyes shining. "Yes, I am, but the old grandfather clock hasn't struck seven yet. I came here to look for you. How about you, sister? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the event too? You still haven't changed your clothes…"
"I'm still busy with my meditation," said Hama, frowning as she ran a hand through her short lavender hair, feeling slightly perplexed. "Every so often I get this feeling that Jupiter is trying to tell me something, something important… but there seems to be something unknown that blocks the connection, thus making it very difficult to concentrate further and speak to the spirits of the wind. It feels as though it is something that I cannot just leave and push out of my thoughts so easily."
The blonde glanced worriedly at his sister. "Is that why you've been cooping yourself up in this room lately?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so." She suddenly smiled. "But I feel that the barrier is getting weaker and weaker as I slowly but continuously try to push it away, so I should be able to reach the spirits soon… would you like to come inside and meditate with me, like a few days ago? You just might be able to reach the spirits and aid me." She gestured a hand.
"Okay… I'll do just that." Agreeing to her proposal, Ivan ventured into the small square room after his sister, his observant eyes scanning the dimly lighted room. "You know sister, even though I have entered this room numerous times, I have always felt this kind of mysterious and deep silence atmosphere of this room, yet I feel as though it radiates some kind of peaceful glow, and every time I come here I feel as though I am immediately rejuvenated… why is that?"
Master Hama sat down in her usual seat in the same position as she was a few minutes ago before, nodding her head with a big smile. "This is a good sign, Ivan. Many would feel the unusual atmosphere, but actually, few would be able to experience the feeling of rejuvenation… and I think you would be gladly interested to know that what we call by the name of Jupiter Adepts or Wind Adepts are only able to undergo this feeling."
Ivan's response was quick, his interest triggered as he sat down opposite Hama. "Jupiter Adepts? You mean human beings who have the special ability to control and manipulate the power of wind?"
"Yes. I see that you have not forgotten the teachings that I have taught you and Sheba the other day."
"But what does this feeling have to do with Jupiter Adepts?"
"You see Ivan, this—" She gestured the surroundings of the room with a slim hand. "No doubt you realize that this is my meditation room, the place where I meditate, connect, speak and feel the spirits of Jupiter itself within my very soul. Many would think that I sound ridiculous, but in my heart, this room is just as similar as to a sacred temple dedicated to Jupiter, a holy shrine. That is why I made the atmosphere such as it is now, and condition of the room only dimly lighted by old-fashioned candles. Only those that hold the power to the wind can feel this," she explained patiently.
Wide-eyed, Ivan swallowed the information thoughtfully, finding it a tad difficult to understand and believe. "Then… I'm a Wind Adept? That I can use the power of wind freely? And also able to enter others' thoughts and speak with the mind only?"
Master Hama smiled, reaching out a hand to pat his shoulder. "Yes. You might not have known this, but our family has been blessed with the power of Jupiter for many generations, and I am proud to own a brother such as you, Ivan, who also inherits our parents' legacy. Even though you have not much control over your power right now, the spirited power of the winds still run vigorously in your veins, and heart."
My family members were also Jupiter Adepts? And I am one too… Another thought struck Ivan. "But… but why didn't you tell me earlier then? You told me all about these Adepts and Djinn roughly about a month ago… why only now?"
"I wanted to test you, to see if you believed my words at that time. You did, even though you still had doubts about it. I wanted you to feel and relate the extraordinary feeling to me yourself slowly, and not force you. Besides, telling you a month ago would be perhaps not suitable, as I knew that you were quite occupied with tonight's event."
"I see…" Ivan looked down at his outstretched palms, his mind still in a whirl. These hands… they hold the might of wind?
Seeing his confusion, Hama hastened to subdue his daze. "Do not worry about this, Ivan. There is always time; I will teach you to gradually master this power slowly, no fear. But I see that we have sidetracked very much from our original purpose. We cannot delay the time much longer. Let us start our meditation." She smiled, her legs crossed, her eyes closed.
Mirroring his sister's actions, Ivan forced all wandering thoughts out of his mind, only focusing on his current task. He could hear his low, slow breathing in pace with his sister's in the silent room, slow and calm. Feeling a lovely wave of silent peace wash over his soul inside a moment later, his tensed muscles relaxed wholly, feeling at peace. Letting his inner mind leave his physical body, traveling far away, soaring through clear open space. Almost at once he could hear the faint sound of spirits harmlessly gliding, moving freely in the open space. Ivan inwardly smiled, knowing that he was making contact with his ancestors of Jupiter.
Suddenly, the spirits stopped in their slow movements as they crowded around him, all of them mumbled excitedly but with some kind of urgency. Ivan frowned. Their words were too soft and mumbled to be heard clearly. Can sister hear them? They seemed to be going further and further away every split second, and he didn't think that it was just his wild imagination that something seemed to be preventing them from nearing him.
What… what is it that you are trying to tell me, spirits?
A soft hush of voices replied. D… dang…Dan…? What is it?
Before the wandering spirits could reply once more, a jolt of excruciating pain rushed through him, causing his eyes to snap open instantly as he broke his focus. A hiss of pain fell from his lips. His eyes landed on Master Hama and immediately he knew that she had faced the same trouble as he did. "I couldn't reach out to them in time… what was that?"
Hama shook her head, her left hand massaging her temple gently. "I do not know… that is the barrier that I told you I have been experiencing. A moment ago, I managed to barely pass through the barrier and make contact with the spirits. They were urgently trying to convey some sort of message to me, but before the message was complete, the barrier suddenly reappeared with full force and pushed me out, thus sending a electrifying jolt to the both of us," said the wise woman.
"So you did manage to hear out part of the message?"
The lavender-haired woman immediately looked grave, her face sullen. "Yes… but it bears negative news for us. It seems that something bad and dangerous will befall the royal family soon…"
Ivan held his breath, his eyes widened with shock and curiosity. "Bad? But… but how soon?" he inquired.
Hama sighed. "That I do not know… unfortunately, we were cut off before the spirits could enlighten me further. Who, what and when will it happen is still much as a mystery. It is all very puzzling and worrisome."
"Yes…" A horrifying thought struck Ivan. "… Do you think that it will happen tonight of all times? It would be so typical for someone to scheme a plan to spoil the royal family's plans…" he asked worriedly.
Master Hama cocked her head thoughtfully, frowns creasing her forehead. "That is true, but it may just as well not happen tonight of all nights… but in all costs, it is quite essential that we do not alarm the royal family of this. It would only cause an terrific uproar, and it would be indeed very troublesome if our thoughts were wrong."
"So, you're trying to say that all we can do right now is to watch out for this 'evil' in case it happens?" Ivan spoke incredulously.
"Yes, I'm afraid that it is the only thing we can do right now… I only pray to Jupiter that our instincts are proven wrong and all goes well tonight."
"Well, I guess the best thing to do for now is to walk—no, run the whole way there as fast as I can. If luck is with us, I'll still barely make it."
Mia's voice was clear and determined, speaking much more confidently than she actually felt deep down. The aqua-haired young woman rose from her chair rather unsteadily, still clothed in the same daily beggar clothes that she wore a year ago. A lump formed at her throat as she looked down upon herself in sadness; her mother would have been, indeed, very disappointed and tearful of her bedraggled appearance. How would I be able to face all the looks, shame and scorn thrown to me in the palace by those nobles later on and still maintain a sense of dignity and pride, I wonder… but it's a bit too early to say that yet.
"Are you doubly sure about this, Mia?" Fizz asked, the Mercury djinn hopping over to her shoulder.
"Quite sure, Fizz. Though I honestly doubt that it'll work, you have to admit that it's the only way, and you can bet a million gil that I wouldn't sit and relax here without doing anything helpful and productive after knowing so much. Too much, in fact," said Mia, smiling grimly.
Spritz sighed. "True, true… then you'd better rush off now, 'cause it's almost seven already!"
"Yup, and don't worry about your stupid 'chores', Mia; we three will take care of all those while waiting for you to come back. Right, Serac?"
Serac paused for a while before speaking. "You know, I think it would be much better if at least one of us accompanied Mia to the palace. I mean, we do have our own different abilities than each other, and she might need some sort of protection if the steps really are Adepts who have some experience," she explained.
Mia sighed heavily. "Oh… for one moment I'd almost forgotten that they were most probably Adepts… but who—"
Before the female Mercury Adept could ask further, a heavy gust of wind suddenly blew in the room. This was an extremely surprising strange occurrence, for in the first place, there was only a medium-sized window at the left-hand side of the room, but shut tight at that, making the room quite hot and stuffy. Plastics and lightweight items were carried into the air by the strong wind, flying in all directions.
"W… what is this?" Mia spluttered out, her tied long aqua hair flying wildly. Looking at the Djinn for perhaps a suitable explanation with understandable fear, she was baffled when they didn't move an inch, seemingly rooted to the ground.
"This is…" Fizz spoke with uncertainty in her tiny squeaky voice.
"Hey! That's…" Spritz and Serac exclaimed excitedly in unison.
Much to Mia's amazement, suddenly hundreds of small circles of white, yellow, light pink and sky blue seemed to materialize everywhere in the minute room amidst the heavy wind. Mia could not think of what they exactly were; they were perhaps too bright to be stars (and Luna had not descended fully yet anyway), yet it was out of the question to consider them as small fireflies; fireflies were certainly not of such colours. A lovely yet mystical sight. She could only stare ambiguously at the colorful sight with a mixture of wonder, curiosity and shock as the hundreds of circles slowly grouped together in the middle of the room, forming a certain familiar blurry shape. Two shapes, in fact…
"Hu… humans?" Mia squeaked out.
True enough, two human beings materialized from those 'circles'. As soon as the light and gusty wind mysteriously faded, it was easy for Mia to look at their physical appearances. She gaped in wonder, covering her mouth as long-lost recognition hit her. She would have never expected to meet her again in person, especially at this time after so long… she couldn't believe it.
"S… sister Jenna?"
Meanwhile, in the palace of Vale…
"Excuse me… hey!"
"Oh, my greatest apologies. I'm so sorry for stepping on your foot, milady."
"No, no, that's all right. It was my fault for rushing through this crowd anyway."
"Very well then, if you put it that way. You do seem to be in quite a hurry, milady…"
"Yes… yes, I am. Now if you'll excuse me…"
A rather exasperated Sheba skipped through the crowd in the fastest pace she could ever muster without accidentally lunging at the many couples and guests. Many guests had already arrived before seven, and so many more were arriving, that for a wild moment she almost wondered whether the huge ballroom had enough space to occupy all of them. Her sharp green eyes (surrounded by her dark green eye-mask) swept through the large crowd quickly, looking for any of her friends in view. She spotted a brunette a slight ways off and immediately hurried over, hailing him as she did so.
"Felix!"
The brunette in question spun around. A small smile graced his face as Sheba walked up to him as fast as she could in her long evening dress. It was a simple but exquisite dress made of deep violet shades, thus contrasting with her blond hair framing her face. It had a soft white silk collar, followed by a lovely bodice and fluffy white sleeves at the end, a smart white sash tied in a ribbon at her waistline and a blooming layer skirt reaching until her ankles. It most definitely suited Sheba's direct and simple tastes, or so Felix thought.
"You look positively fine tonight, Sheba."
The blonde smiled, her eyes scanning his own posh-black suit and black mask. His hair still maintained the same style as always; unlike some men, he never really did concern himself much with his hair. "Thanks, Felix. I'm glad that I chose this dress, since I could move in it comfortably without any difficulty. And you look great too," she smiled, her previous annoyance lessening.
"Thanks. You seem agitated… are you looking for someone?" Felix inquired, his dark brown eyes taking note of her actions.
"Ah yes, that I am. Have you seen Ivan, Garet or Jenna? I've been looking for them for the past ten minutes and if I don't see their faces in the next few minutes, I'm seriously going to think that they've vanished into thin air and disappeared into another universe altogether," Sheba huffed as she spoke almost sarcastically.
Shrugging his shoulders lightly, Felix threw her an amused look. "I'm afraid I haven't seen either of them too; in fact, I was looking out for my sister too… I have no idea where she has gone. But then again, it isn't easy to look for anyone in the midst of this big crowd. They just might be hanging around somewhere…"
"Well, if it's that way then Ivan better show up soon, because His Highnesses King Kyle and Queen Dora will appear soon, and then it'll be an uproar if Ivan isn't there to launch his opening speech! We're supposed to have a duel speech to welcome the guests. Besides, he did promise me that he would help me with the props and last-minute preparations, along with Jenna's help… and Jenna said that she'd pull Garet in too no matter what he said, busy or not busy." Sheba half-grinned at that.
Felix chuckled at the thought; his sister was a real mad-driver if she wanted to be. After so long, the protective brother had finally managed to 'accept' Garet as to what Jenna called 'one of the family' by and by, but not without much difficulty trying to cope with the fact that his sister actually loved the 'idiotic-clumsy-oaf' (as he used to describe him in the last times) to a certain extent ever since a few years ago. Despite Garet's sheer idiocy at times, he was loyal to his friends, and he was, undoubtedly, cheerful, caring (though in a clumsy way), brave and courageous. There was no doubt at all that Garet was quite the fine man in his own ways; Felix had admitted grudgingly that he was one of the best suitors his sister could have as a life-partner. Now then, if he had been told that a few years back… definitely a different story altogether.
"Well, to speak of the devil, there's Ivan!"
Sheba's clear excited voice penetrated Felix's thoughts, causing him to snap out of his reverie immediately. "Huh?"
Waving a hand, Sheba called out as loud as she could without attracting too much attention. "Hey Ivan! Over here!"
At the entrance of the ballroom, the blond boy looked left and right before settling his violet eyes on Sheba and Felix, and then he started towards them hurriedly, feeling rather breathless. "Did you call me, Sheba?"
The girl in question placed her hands on her waist and threw him an annoyed look. "Where were you, Ivan? You suddenly disappeared five minutes ago without even telling me where did you go! I just had to search high and low for you, and even then, I still couldn't find you at that…"
Ivan scratched his head awkwardly. "Oh… sorry about that Sheba, I forgot to tell you where I was going before I left. I just visited my sister a few minutes in the meditation room." Here his violet eyes glinted, remembering the events that happened to him and Master Hama minutes ago. "While meditating, we discovered… something very important, and I guess we didn't notice how time just flew by…"
"Something very important? Is it bad, or good?" Felix inquired suspiciously at once, pouncing on Ivan's doubt.
Ivan shook his head negatively. "According to my sister, it seems to be a bad 'premonition', but I'll tell you guys more about it later on, okay? My time is almost up; we got carried off the time. I'm needed on the stage pretty soon, so we'll meet up somewhere later on. All I can say is, just keep an eye on whoever and whatever that's happening around here for any troubles that you think might arise later on."
Sheba cocked an eyebrow, her instincts roused. "Troubles? You mean something dangerous might occur tonight?"
"I don't know… I sincerely hope not, but stay alert just in case. Oh, and keep this to yourselves. Don't alarm the royal family of this, okay? We wouldn't want to cause a false alarm and ruin the whole night…"
"Right. If anything happens, I'll inform you guys at once." Felix assured his comrades determinedly, his face grave and serious.
Referring to the majestic grandfather clock, he gave a start when he noticed the hour and minute hand of the clock pointing five minutes to seven. He quickly turned to Sheba. "Almost seven. Let's go, Sheba."
Another thought struck the blonde. "But how about Jenna and Garet? I still haven't seen them anywhere… wouldn't you like to warn them too? And how about the props?"
"Don't worry about that; I heard that the rest of the crew fixed all of those. As for Garet and Jenna, I'm sure they'll appear sooner or later; but we've got our own responsibilities to tend to for now. We'll leave it up to Felix here to find and inform them; that all right with you, Felix?" Ivan grinned.
"You can count on me," was the stoic man's assuring answer.
Sheba shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever you say then." She glanced up at tall Felix and smiled lightly. "See you later then, Felix," she waved her other free hand towards him as she disappeared into the crowd, led by the prince of Vale's future advisor.
Well, at least she had Ivan with her now… though she still wondered where in the world Garet and Jenna had disappeared to…
Mia stepped forward in a half-daze to touch her young godmother, an act to convince herself that she was really there, and not some spooky phantom being. "Is… is that you, sister Jenna? Really you?"
Still in her evening ball dress, Jenna peeled off her maroon eye-mask, handed it over to her male companion beside her who kept it in his breast pocket, and hugged Mia enthusiastically. "Mia, it really is you! I'm so glad to see you! You've really grown so much; the last time I saw you, you were only barely ten years old!" she exclaimed.
The male stranger chuckled heartily, decidedly very much amused by Jenna's actions. "Hey Jenna, you sound so mushy and all that when you say that, you know. I'd never thought you'd be so ecstatic over this."
Jenna frowned. "Well, now you know. And mushy is not the right word. Still confused over your vocabulary, eh?"
Mia pulled away from the hug and glanced at the male stranger suspiciously. "You know, you seem somehow oddly familiar too… that spiky red hair… and that voice… where—" She suddenly gasped. "Garet?"
Grinning broadly, the spiky redhead removed his red and black-striped mask. "Yup, you got me there. Glad to see you again, Mia."
"That hair… it should be officially announced as your trademark. I should think anyone would be able to recognize Garet from a mile away," Jenna mused.
Garet chuckled, but he suddenly gave a start when his fiery eyes suddenly caught sight of the three unwavering Djinn on the floor. "Hey! Aren't they--"
Before Garet could continue his unfinished sentence, suddenly two small circles of red light emitted from his body, radiating a welcoming warm aura. To Mia's astonishment, the circles took on the forms of small, tiny creatures that were all red in colour, head, tails and all; except for a pair of blue orbs for the eyes and a yellow chest. Popping out from Garet's shoulders, those two enigma creatures excitedly hopped down onto the floor and scampered up to the other three Mercury djinn, where they all immediately launched into excited squeaks, gamboling around the floor.
"Hiya Fizz, Spritz, Serac! Still looking the same eh? Wait a minute, what am I saying? You guys always look the same anyway!"
"Oh my god, I can't believe it's you guys! Especially you, Fizzy-coke!"
"Hey! Don't mess with my name! My name is purely original!"
"Forge? Fury? That really you?"
"Well, of course! Who do you think it is, man? No other djinn named after us you know!"
"Boy, am I so glad to see you guys again! It's been far, FAR too long! I can't believe it!"
"Hey, hey, don't get so mushy on me, Fury. You'll be crying fire tears next, for all I know."
"… Hold on a sec! Does that mean that the clan feud between us opposing elements is over?"
"… Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that! Ah, who cares about that anyway; that was fifteen years ago!"
"Fine with me. Hey, how about the rest? Aren't there more of you?"
"Oh yeah, that's right. Granite, Quartz, Ground, Bane, Echo, Petra and Geode are here too; we're with our master, you see. But they're all sleepin' and snorin', those sleepyheads. And you know, that hotheaded vampiress-looking chick over there has nine other djinn too! Cool, ain't it?"
Suddenly, a loud feminine cough broke through the djinn's ecstatic conversation. All five Djinn, and including a speechless Garet and Mia, looked over towards a fuming Jenna, whose cough originated from.
Jenna's eyebrow twitched, her mouth in a malicious smile as she stepped closer to the djinn, speaking politely but on very thin string. "Now then, which one of you just called me a 'hotheaded vampiress-looking chick' again? Oh no, don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna hurt you or something, you know?" She smiled evilly, her words betraying her tone.
All five djinn squeaked in fear. "Uh… um, we're sorry?"
Sighing heavily, Garet placed a hand on Jenna's left shoulder. "Just leave it for now, Jen. Don't forget why we came here; we don't really have much time anymore, you know." Turning to a baffled Mia, he smiled apologetically. "Sorry for all that… disturbance, Mia. Anyways, I'll just make a brief introduction: These two are what we call Mars Djinn, and it's up to you to believe me or not, but Jenna here and I are Adepts like you too, though we're of the opposite element; Fire. And yes, Jenna and I do know each other, we're childhood friends, in fact. So yeah, big coincidence I guess."
Mia stumbled into a chair, still feeling slightly groggy and muddled, her three djinn following suit as they sat on her lap. "Oh…" She managed a small smile towards the two Mars djinn that were looking at her with newfound interest. "I… I think there is a lot to discuss, so why don't the both of you take a seat on the bed." Smiling apologetically, she gestured to the bed. "I'm sorry for the messy condition in here, and there isn't enough chairs really, but this room is not exactly what you would call large enough to suit three people."
"Oh no, it's perfectly all right; I've heard from Garet how nasty your stepfamily can be," Jenna assured her 'godchild' as she sat herself down gingerly beside Garet on the bed. By now, Garet had called back the two Mars djinn, Forge and Fury, and they disappeared in the same way they had appeared a few minutes ago obediently, much to Mia's amusement.
Noting her raggedy worn-out clothes, Jenna couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the grown-up young woman. Life had looked so bright for her ten years ago in Imil… "I know there are many things for you to absorb all of a sudden right now, Mia, and you're most probably feeling pretty muddled right now, so if you have any questions; so shoot out whatever you want to ask and we'll try to answer quickly without wasting too much time," she spoke in a businesslike way.
Sighing in relief, Mia noted that at least her godmother still understood her feelings even after the long lapse. She couldn't help but feel a tad envious when she compared Jenna's lovely scarlet maroon ball gown with her own beggar-like clothes, easily a thousand times more 'posh' than hers. Putting that thought aside, she quickly sorting out the many questions that she wanted to ask in her mind and asked hesitatingly. "I… okay, first thing first; how did you know that I'm an… an Adept?" Frankly speaking, she still did not believe the whole thing a hundred percent; but with the whole turn of events, it looked like it was for real. She had to know more about it.
Smiling encouragingly, Jenna replied, "I can feel the light aura of water around you. You see, experienced Adepts like Garet and I are able to tell who is an Adept and who isn't, but even so, we can only tell in a very near distance. And it's even easier to recognize an Adept user if their element is opposite than ours, which definitely applies in this case. Besides, your hair is blue." Taking Mia's hand in hers, she smiled comfortingly. "You can trust us, Mia. We wouldn't lie to you."
Fizz cut in eagerly, waving her cute tail to and fro. "And if you can't believe her, you can surely believe us, Mia! I'd never lie to you after so long knowing you, right?"
Mia nodded as she smiled, all of the information sinking in. At least that one's cleared up… "Right… so how exactly did you manage to… appear so suddenly here? What was all those white, yellow, pink and blue circles and stuff?"
This time, Garet answered with a grin on his face. "That was my doing, Mia. Those circles thing and how we came here is Psynergy. You know what's Psynergy, right?" When Mia nodded in affirmation, he continued, "Well, certain Adepts have their own unique abilities. For instance, Fire Adepts like us can cast Psynergies like Fire, whereas Water Adepts like you can cast water-based Psynergies like Douse and such. And Teleport is one of my Psynergies that I possess control over. As for those circles, I um… well, I'm not too sure about that too, but some people say that those circles are actually part of us really; something like we… er, 'dissolve' into those things, and when we reach our destination, the circles will group together and we'll be whole again, like what you've seen. But I'm not too sure about that theory though… come to think of it, we never do question those kind of stuff, it's just that way."
"Hey, wait a minute! I thought Teleport couldn't be used to travel from one place to a totally different place!" Serac interrupted, his curiosity roused as the conversation went on. Beside her, Spritz nodded vigorously, the djinni's head bobbing up and down.
"Well, yes, usually it's not possible to Teleport from one place to another totally different place altogether, but luckily we were able to do it."
"Wow, not bad skills, eh? And I thought you were the dumb one…" Being slightly sarcastic at times, Serac was also known to be blunt and direct.
"Serac!" Fizz and Spritz quickly hushed up their friend, looking at her reproachfully.
"Hey! I heard that! Well, I know that I'm not very smart and all that, but you don't need to rub it in, alright?" Garet exclaimed indignantly. "Geez… some djinn just love to blabber whatever they like…" he muttered under his breath.
"Oops… sorry, buddy."
Shaking her head helplessly at their antics, Mia decided that the best course of action was to just ignore both of them. "So, you're trying to say that you two teleported here? All the way from… er, the palace, I presume?"
"Yeah, that's right. When I heard all about your difficulties, I straightaway demanded that we teleport right over here and see what we can do," Jenna explained, her eyes brazen. "The cheek of your stepfamily to do all that to you!"
"But wait a minute, how did you know this was my room?"
Garet grinned, his humour once more restored. "Thank our Djinn for that. I gather you have already heard of the djinn's past from your djinn?"
"Yes, I did. Fizz said that their home was burned down and destroyed; all of them broke up since then, though there was a plan to meet up again… right?"
"Yep, right." The djinni in question confirmed that statement with a brief nod.
Jenna nodded. "Yeah, and did you know that the plan to 'meet up again' is around this time, and the meeting place is actually Vale itself?"
"What?" All three of Mia's djinn gasped in unison.
"But… why didn't we know about this?" Spritz asked timidly.
Fizz's yellow orbs glowed. "Maybe it was too late to tell us. If I still remember correctly, our Mercury side is on the west wing of our home, at the furthest end. The majority must have decided the meeting place and time at the last minute, most probably even at that time when our home was obliterated. It was well past midnight when it happened, remember? If there was a quick message before our whole home exploded and before we all scattered everywhere, we would have been too far away to get it. We djinn even barely had the time to escape."
"I'm so sorry to hear that, Fizz…" Mia spoke softly, her hand caressing her djinn's head.
Shaking her head decisively, Serac half-grinned. "Nah, it's alright; it was game over long time ago. You're really lucky to have come here coincidentally, ya know Fizz. Spritz and I myself were pretty lucky to land right in Vale."
"True, true."
Seeing that it was time for him to continue, Garet willingly obliged. "Anyway, what with those djinn scattered around town and outskirts of Vale, it was actually quite easy to get bits of rumors and information everywhere. And since one of our djinn reported that there were a few djinn hiding out in the inn, we figured out that it could only be you taking care of them, since Jenna here did tell me that your mother side of the family were also Adepts."
"Really?" Mia half-smiled wistfully, remembering the good old times when she was still in Imil, happily playing with the snow when winter descended, along with her brothers Picard and Alex… I wonder where are they now… I miss all of them so much. Shaking her head, she focused on the current matter at hand. "Speaking of the djinn, how did your djinn appear out of nowhere from your body too, Garet?"
"Oh, that," Garet smiled sheepishly, scratching his head absently. "Uh… let's see… how do I explain?"
Rolling her eyes, Jenna came to his rescue. "Djinn aid us by way of becoming 'one' with its master. They… er, sort of combine with us, so if they come out, most likely they'll pop out on your shoulder with a bright light. Usually, there's no specifications of which djinni belongs to who; we can easily switch djinn at any time to our own likings, tastes, and sometimes the current situation affects it too," Jenna explained, smiling faintly.
"So… any other questions before we proceed?"
"Well, there are many things I would like to ask, but I guess now's not the proper time… looks like I'll have to catch up the news after all these long years with you, sister Jenna, some other time."
Now his turn to roll his eyes, Garet sighed. "All silly girl talk… now, let's get on with our plan, Jen."
"Right-o. Anyways, Mia, before we start off, I'd like to tell you that we came here to bring you directly to the palace; Garet here told me that you wanted to very much, but you couldn't afford it, what with your stepfamily making it all the more worse."
Shaking her head, Mia corrected, "I do want to go very much, but there is another important reason why I need to go there."
"Huh? Important? What's that?" asked Garet, his fighter instincts roused as he leaned forward curiously. Jenna only raised her eyebrow in confusion.
Not able to contain her mouth any longer, Spritz squeaked excitedly, "They want to poison the prince's mind!"
That statement created an immediate and effective response, much to Spritz's delight. Both Garet and Jenna's eyes widened, Jenna's hands gripping the bed sheets tightly as they both chorused, "WHAT?"
"Yes, unfortunately it's true," Mia nodded sadly as she continued, "It seems that they want to manipulate the prince in choosing one of them as his bride-to-be by administering some kind of potion called 'Death Potion'. By manipulating him, they will be in one of the highest positions ever, one of the richest and most powerful; and they will be able to rule Vale."
"Are you really sure about this, Mia?"
"No, regretfully I'm more than a hundred percent sure. No mistake."
Muttering curses under his breath, Garet made an effort to calm himself down, the mere thought of some stranger manipulating his best friend was so outrageous. Jenna gasped in horror, her face drawn pale by the news. "By Mars…"
"At that time, we were the only ones that knew of their plans, so it was extremely vital for me to warn the prince of it. Anyway, we tried substituting the 'Death Potion' with ordinary water, but I think they're smarter than that; they probably keep other vials of it somewhere in person. And… well, actually I could go to the party ball, but to cut things short, my stepfamily spoiled all of my plans, so to speak. You can already see how bad is it in my room," Mia spoke between gritted teeth, her knuckles already turning almost a deathly white as she curled her hand into a tight fist.
"Then we need to warn Isaac quickly before they get ahead of us!" Garet quickly stood up, ready to teleport back in an instant to warn his friend.
Once Jenna got hold of her own bearings, she pulled the fuming redhead back down. "Hold on, Garet… this is indeed very bad news; we need to keep the stepfamily away from him, but we can't just rush in without calm planning first." A thought struck her as she asked, "Are you stepfamily Adepts too?"
Before Mia could give an answer, Fizz immediately took the cue, seeing a chance for her to speak. "Yeah, they're Fire Adepts like you guys. At least, we're quite sure of the sisters 'cause we could feel their aura, and besides, their hair were all bloody red. We didn't get to confirm with the stepmother though."
Glancing at Fizz and Spritz questioningly for confirmation, the fiery young woman was satisfied when she received confident nods as response. Thinking thoughtfully, Jenna threw a knowing glance towards Garet who took it casually. "I see… I expected that, but still, I hoped that it'd be easier…" Turning towards her companion, she inquired, "What's the time now?"
"Fifteen minutes past seven," was his only reply.
Smoothing the small creases on her red and purple dress self-consciously, Jenna pursed up her lips. "Already late… but never mind. Now that I know the graveness of the situation, we have to improvise our plans a great deal, Garet. Anyway, before we venture off any further, do you know how to cast Psynergy, Mia?"
Interrupting the conversation once again, Serac helpfully answered the question. "No, Mia doesn't. We didn't teach her how to control it; well, at least Spritz and I didn't for the past two weeks. Fizz?"
Shaking her head regretfully, Fizz replied, "Mia was always busy the whole time at Prox there from day till night, and I didn't want to disturb her about this kind of stuff when she's all tired out, if you know what I mean."
Jenna nodded her head understandingly. "Either way, it's fine. You see, Mia, since your steps are Adepts, they might try to harm you if they're that desperate. We don't know for sure what they are capable of, so I think that it'll be better if you bring all three of your djinn along to the palace for safe protection."
"Yeah, I suggested that idea too!" Serac squealed, beaming.
"Oh… but how am I going to bring my djinn along?" Mia asked, her eyebrows furrowed. Things were getting much more serious that she actually thought… she never thought her life would seem so much at risk, and she never thought that she would be involved in the Adepts' circle. For one bare moment the young woman began to doubt her 'quest', but immediately she mentally slapped herself; she had begun the whole thing to stop them herself; she could not back off now! She had to go on until the end…
"Easy; let them become one with you. They'll make you stronger too, so you just might be able to cast a Psynergy or two," Garet finished simply.
"But first, you need to something about these djinn. Now, put it this way; any djinn can aid its master in two ways: one, they empower us with their power, thus making us physically and mentally stronger. By becoming one with its master, the Adept is able to unleash any of the djinn whenever he or she wants to."
"Another way," Jenna continued, "is by way of summoning. Summons are certain creatures that are very powerful; but they can only be summoned if you have enough djinn to do so." Pausing to catch her breath, Jenna leaned forward with a curious glint in her eye. "I'm sure that you have heard the legends foretelling the almighty goddess of rainbows, Iris? Or maybe the old myths of the boatman of the river Styx, the deadly Charon?"
Mia uttered a loud gasp, her aqua eyes widening as she took it all in. She had heard of them before from her late mother during her young days; Saya used to relate those well-known myths and legends to her young child as her favourite bedtime stories at night, and even in her young adulthood age now, Mia still had not forgotten one bit of them. How did she so love to hear her mother telling her those fascinating tales! As a happy child once, she had personally liked the tales of Nereid, the princess of the sea spirits deep in the sea; Atalanta, the famous heavenly huntress dwelling among the clouds high above, charming all of its prey; and especially the story of Iris, the goddess of rainbows, the guide of all souls through dimensions. And how she shivered when she heard the tales of Catastrophe, whose name struck fear deep down, the absolute embodiment of destruction, assassinating all that dared to disobey him with just one mighty flash of its sword! I never thought that they were for real… do all of these creatures really exist?
"Mia?" Fizz jumped up and down on Mia's lap, breaking her reverie at once.
"Huh? Oh… sorry, guess I got carried away a little," Mia explained, smiling at the two Fire Adepts. "So you're trying to say that all these creatures can be summoned using the djinn's power?"
"Exactly," Jenna agreed, "but not only will the summons require the djinn's combined power, it also requires the will and strength of the Adept to call upon it and sustain the toll that it will take."
"So, we become one with Mia now?" Spritz chirped in, eager to be of help.
"Yeah, I guess so…" Looking at Mia once more encouragingly, Jenna continued, "Don't worry, nothing bad will happen. Just close your eyes and sit still; let them be with you, Mia. You might just feel a little dizzy afterwards, but it's only natural since it's your first time."
Nodding to the awaiting djinn with a smile, Mia braced herself for it, though she unconsciously tensed as she shut her eyes. Moments later, she felt a warm hand placed gently atop her own, telling her to relax. Suddenly, a warm light began gracing her, slowly enveloping her, making the aqua-haired woman enjoy its warmth. A few distinctive but distant murmurs of words reached her ears as the light gradually disappeared in her. We'll protect you, Mia.
Opening her eyes, Mia somehow unconsciously noticed a slight change in herself. She could not place it, but she felt somewhat… more at peace? Alert? Stronger? No, she thought, rejuvenated would probably be the best word to use; she felt a strange deep power surging through her like enormous waves, and somehow it made her calm and relaxed, but also alert at the same time. So this is how it feels like… not too bad, I guess. She smiled slightly.
"Are you alright, Mia?"
Adjusting her eyes to the dim light, she looked up and realized that it was none other but Garet whom had placed his hand on hers to calm her down a minute ago. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm not really dizzy or anything; but it all feels quite… rejuvenating."
Jenna smiled happily. "Great to hear that, Mia. If you're in a tight spot, don't be afraid to unleash that power within you; even though you're not trained in Psynergy, at least you'll be able to channel just even a little bit of it."
Hey, it's been so long since I've felt this warm! She could hear Spritz excitedly squeaking inside her, making her widen her smile.Heh heh, you sound as if you've never been in this situation, Spritz. Serac responded dryly.
Don't worry about them, Mia. We're always ready. Fizz's soothing echoed lightly in her head. Smiling, she whispered back a 'thank you' silently.
Not able to sustain the waiting any longer, Garet began pacing left and right anxiously. "Right, so now that we're all ready and done, can we teleport back at once now? I'm really starting to worry about Isaac, you know. Another five minutes gone already!"
"Men! Always so impatient." Sighing, Jenna shook her head. "I'm just so glad that we came along, Mia. All this while, we didn't think that the situation would be so bad; we just thought that it'd be an extreme delight for you if we helped you out to the ball so that you would be able to enjoy yourself there, and nothing further than that. But are you ready to do this, Mia?"
Before Mia could say anything, Garet's djinni, Forge, suddenly made another appearance on Garet's shoulder again with a flash of light and blurted out, "Hey, why don't you two just teleport back and tell this Isaac person yourselves about the whole plan, since you already know the current situation? Ya can't really expect her to go, you know. For one thing, she doesn't have any clothes to go with, and for another, this Isaac doesn't really know her, so he might find it hard to believe whatever she would say, right? Since you're his so-called 'godfather', why don't you tell him, Garet?"
"Hey! That's already twice you've come out without my permission!" Garet tapped Forge smartly on the head.
Mia couldn't believe her ears, staring wide-eyed at the spiky redhead. "W… what? You? The prince's godfather?"
Smiling sheepishly at Mia, Garet replied, "Well, yeah. Like how Jenna here is your godmother, I'm Isaac's godfather." He made an exaggerated bow. "So very pleased to meet you, Dame Mia."
"And to think I met part of royalty on the streets!" she laughed. Turning back at Forge smilingly, Mia shook her head. "What you say is true, Forge, but I really must go. This was, after all, my own decision to start all of this; I can't just let others do it for me while I just lazy around behind the scenes, doing nothing. If I can't convince the prince, then at least Garet can back me up. I must do something. But thanks for your consideration though, Forge."
"Besides, Forge," Jenna smiled with a glint in her eye, "our original plans must still come in, you know! I've got my own objectives to reach too, remember? No Mia, no go!"
"Fine, up to you guys then," he chuckled, bouncing on Garet's shoulder. "You know, maybe you should act more like Mia, Garet. With your style, maybe you'll find one day all of your djinn deserting you for her since she does know how to say 'thank you' appreciatively, rather than your gruffy 'thanks' all of the time." The Mars djinn grinned at his joke as he vanished.
"Why that—"
"Oh, stop it, Garet. We're already late, and you still want to squabble with your djinn? Funny. Besides, haven't you forgotten that we promised to help Sheba with the props and all that? She's probably wondering where on Mars are we now… you'd better apologize to her when we meet her, understand?"
"Hey! Why only me apologize? You should say sorry too; you were the one who said that you'd help her out, AND you pulled me in!"
"Ah, who cares about those trivial stuff? When the time comes then we'll see about it, okay?"
"Women… I'll never get to understand them," he muttered under his breath.
"B—but wait, am I going there wearing this?" Mia asked anxiously, her eyes on her current plain clothes. "It's not that I mind that much really, but…"
"Oh yeah, how could I forget!" Jenna slapped her forehead, sighing at her own forgetfulness. "Don't worry about that, Mia. I know what you mean; honestly, I wouldn't be able to face all of those nobles if I came up there, behaving like normal when everything with me obviously isn't. I'll fix you up straightaway in no time, no fear."
"Straightaway? But how? I don't see any clothes with you…" asked a bewildered Mia.
Winking mischievously, Mia's godmother turned to Garet. "Pass it over to me, will you?"
Raising an eyebrow, Garet replied, "Huh?" Then realization hit him, and then he grinned. "Oh yeah, it's right here." Reaching out into his breast pocket, he handed over a thin silver-colored glittering wand with the length of approximately ten inches, adorned with a shining yellow star at the end to Jenna.
Noticing Mia's unbelieving stare, Jenna grinned as she took the wand from him, waving it gaily in the air. "Cute, isn't it? My djinn found it by accident only a few days ago. They told me that it has some kind of unknown 'magic' in it," she smirked. "I didn't believe their words at first, but then I tried it out once, and now I do believe in it. Think me potty all you like, but my eyes don't lie to me."
"Magic?" Mia asked further, her tone sounding on the cynical side. Not like she didn't trust her godmother though; she just found it hard to believe such a thing that had no really logical sense in it; well, perhaps the Adepts matter were not so believable too, but she had seen the proof… was there no end to enigmatic and incomprehensible matters? Maybe everything is just an illusion, someone pulling thick wool over her eyes… now, that sounds even crazier than ever, she thought.
"Yes, sounds pretty childish, doesn't it? Sounds as if it's something from those fairytale lands. But I assure you that it's completely real; even Garet had to believe me after what he saw. I'll show you. But first, please stand up, Mia."
Obliging the instruction given, Mia readily stood up, her unwavering gaze still on the peculiar wand. What can it do? As her aqua eyes wandered around for a second, she noticed that Jenna's male companion had stopped pacing for the moment, his attention now focused on Jenna's actions as a wide grin marked his face.
Jenna herself seemed as though she was almost on the verge of grinning idiotically, though Mia was clueless as to what for. Raising the wand, Jenna stepped closer to Mia. "You'd be surprised, I promise you. In fact, I could almost say that Garet practically jumped out of his skin when I showed an example to him," she laughingly said.
Before Mia could react, Jenna lowered down her hand and tapped the wand lightly on her clothes.
"Change."
Author's Notes: Yeah, it's not much of a cliffhanger, but I just had to stop it here, otherwise it'd be far too long if I continued, due to all of the explanations and plans. I know that there isn't much action or stuff in this chapter, but you can expect that to come more or less in Chapter 13. Things are getting pretty boiled up!
Thank you for all of the reviews and support! Ah yes, and since I couldn't get to respond to the following reviews, I'd like to say thanks through here:
Kodoku: I thought you had a fanfiction account named 'kodoku433' or something; that's how you got my alerts, right?
Insanity Team! (A.k.a. Violet): Lol… I'm glad you're still on with this fic!
GoldenSunGeek: You hid your e-mail address in your profile; so I couldn't send you a reply… and thanks for the definition of cerulean.
Review and drop by any suggestions or comments that you'd like to make!