So, I went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for my birthday. I'd like to think it was in the name of research, but the truth is I'm just obsessed with Greco-Roman art. If you were at the PMOA on Sunday the 7th and saw a small Italian teenager pointing up at a big sculpture exclaiming "I KNEW IT! THAT WAS CERES!" then you should have gone over to say hi. I'm awesome. And yes, I'm officially fifteen now, and I'm so stoked!
Twenty chapters… wow :D There are no words to describe how great I feel right now. I'd like to thank the academy, my colleagues at Hogwarts, and The Association for Malicious Chocolate Bars. MTFBWYA. This chapter is going to be hard to write, so I apologize if it sucks.
Confession #6: The best geek-out movie of all time (I think) is Monty Python and the Holy Grail. "What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?" "Depends, is it African or European?"
Anyways, thank you all for helping me make it this far. I would have quit this idea long ago if I didn't know that people liked it so much. So here I am. And there you are, wherever you might be, waiting for me to stop talking and get on with it already. I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit confusing. All will fall into place soon, if you read between the lines. Review please!
Mary's face lit up. "Really? I LOVE that game! You know me so well, Ib!"
Ib tried to keep from grimacing, and managed to say with a straight face, "But we're doing it a little differently."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. If you want to play, you have to follow the rules."
Mary cocked her head to one side, which would have been cute if not for the dismembering burns crisscrossing her creamy complexion. "What kind of rules are you thinking of?"
"Ib –" Garry started warningly, but she held up a hand to silence him, and he did.
"Firstly, you have to hand over Holly's blood and hair,"
"Why?" she whined.
Ib smiled, knowing that her plan was working. That was something else she developed in the year she'd been outside the gallery: excellent planning skills. "Because it's a rule, silly. Do you want to play or not?"
Mary looked down at the vials and lock of hair in her left hand, then at the gash on her right palm, and reluctantly stepped forward, holding these items out to Ib. She twitched a few times, like she was fighting with herself inside her own head. She's mentally unstable, thought Ib. If this works out right…
"I can't take them if I'm trapped in this position," Ib used her chin to gesture to her own form, still kneeling with her palms glued to the floor by an invisible force.
Mary pursed her lips, then snapped her fingers and suddenly Ib and the others were mobile again.
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Cassia wanted to fly at Mary and take her down, but she knew she couldn't. Ib looked determined, and Cassia knew that look anywhere: she had a plan. And she knew that when someone had a plan, everyone was a pawn, and if that pawn moved in the wrong direction, it could jeopardize the entire game. She saw that the others realized this too, because none of them made a move to attack Mary. Plus, she could always trap us again before we could get to her, she added to herself. Ib put the vials and Holly's hair in her skirt pocket and took a step towards Mary.
"If I win, then I get to keep these and you won't bother us until we get out of here or otherwise," she held up the vials and the hair. "If you win, you can have these, you can posses Holly, and you can kill us. You can't attack my friends, and my friends can't attack you. It's just you and me."
She thought for a moment, then nodded. "That seems fair."
"You swear to play by the rules?"
"Yes."
"Cross your heart and hope to die?"
"Only if you do too."
Ib made a crossing motion over her heart, and so did Mary. What is she trying to do? Cassia thought as she tried to figure out Ib's plan. "There. Before we play, though, I'd like to speak with my friends in private, please."
Mary pouted, but disappeared in a swath of yellow mist, taking all exits from the room with her.
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There's a Carton for every story, Adrian.
Adrian didn't know why he remembered his mother's words in that moment, but he couldn't help it. His mom was a big literary freak and always gave him snippets of knowledge like that. As Ib walked over to them, trying to regulate her own breathing, the only thing he could think of was: She could die. Garry pulled her into his arms as she held back her tears, and a pang went through Adrian's chest. She's too young to die.
"What are you planning to do?" Garry said.
"I'm going to try to take down Mary, but not at the expense of all your lives," she said. "I want to give you all a fighting chance."
"You are very brave, Ib," Adrian had almost forgotten Belle was there, no longer pinend to the wall by the force of Mary's magic. Belle reached down and picked up her pendant, putting it around her neck once again. It glowed, like it was a puzzle piece that had found its match. "Not many people can make a choice like that for others. I wish you the best of luck against my sister."
"Thank you, Belle," Ib said.
"Are you sure you thought this through enough, Ib?" Toby was concerned too. "Are you sure you can win?"
"No, but it's my only option," she shook her head. "My cards are on the table. So… if I lose…"
"We should take some time to say goodbye," Garry finished, and Ib gave a feeble nod in agreement.
Goodbyes are the worst. They had all grown so close after all this, and to know that it all may end in the next few minutes was terrifying. Adrian watched as Holly and Toby held each other tightly, tears streaming down Holly's face as he spoke some soothing words to her. Ib went around to everyone, giving them goodbyes and saying how much she respected them. When she got around to Adrian, she leaned over and gave him a hug. He was stiff for a moment, then hugged her back.
This can't end like this, he thought.
There's a Carton for every story.
Adrian took something out of Ib's pocket, and put something else in before she could notice. She pulled away, gave him a small smile, then moved away from him, not even suspecting what he'd just done. He felt the gravity of his actions fall on him like a rock, knowing very well what the end result would be. There's a Carton for every story, Adrian. Someone who sacrifices for the betterment of others, and even for the betterment of someone they love dearly. You'll understand one day.
He had a feeling that day had come.
In his mind, his plan was set in motion.
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Holly didn't know what to think about all of this. I should just give myself over to Mary and save the others this misery. We could all die, or we could all escape. The odds are not in our favor. All her teachers and everyone she had ever met had told her she was exceptional. That she was the brightest and smartest kid they had ever seen and always knew the answer to any problem thrown at her. But here she was, in a haunted, surreal gallery, with her brother and all her friends about to put their lives on the line to save hers.
She was terrified. She wanted her mother so badly it hurt. As Toby hugged her close and whispered encouraging, uplifting things into her halo of bright blonde hair, she knew he wanted her too. But they both knew that it was likely that they would never see her again. This made Holly want to cry harder, but the gallery had stolen her tears.
She had been tortured, taken, attacked, scarred, and nearly lost her mind around every corner. She'd almost drowned in paint, was chased away from her dying brother by a hoard of statues and paintings roaring with bloodlust, and if it weren't for Cassia, Ib, and the hope that her brother had somehow survived, she would have perished at the hands of one of the monsters in the shadows. The pain she had endured traversing this gallery wasn't something she would ask on her worst enemy. It's nothing a child should have experienced. She was shocked when she learned that Ib had somehow survived it, nearly on her own for most of the time. Garry had nearly died on several occurrences, and he was a few years shy of an adult. She admired Ib's courage, but looking at her now she looked broken and defeated as she said her goodbyes and awaited her final showdown with Mary, if you could even call it that. As she managed to detach from Toby and wandered over to Cassia, watching from below her stoic expression that was leaking hurt.
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Cassia hugged Holly's small form close and stroked her hair. "It'll be okay, Holly." All Holly could do in reply was nod into her red shirt. Holly was the closest thing Cassia had to a sister and she felt so responsible for her, so indebted to her for helping her along. She felt helpless to save her. I feel helpless to save anyone.
Holly pulled away and nodded next to her. Cassia turned around and standing next to her was Adrian, his face ashen and his expression bleak. Holly went away courteously as Cassia turned to face him. What do I say? She thought, her ruby red eyes meeting his violet ones.
"Adrian, I –"
Before she could even finish her sentence, he grabbed the back of her neck, pulled her up to eye level with him, and kissed her. Cassia's mind shorted out and she couldn't even register what was happening, so she just closed her eyes and enjoyed the brief feeling of slightly melancholy bliss. This boy – this infuriating, sadistic, loyal, broken boy – had officially stolen Cassia's heart, and she had no idea how to feel about it. He pulled away after a few moments, leaving her mind whirling, and Cassia didn't care if the others were looking at them or not.
He pressed his forehead to hers and there was a sad silence between them before he said, "I had to do that."
"It's okay," Cassia's voice came out about an octave higher than usual.
Soon, there was a rush of air in the room. In a swath of yellow smoke, Mary formed again in the center of the floor, looking towards Ib expectantly. The cut on her hand re-healed and she looked very impatient. "I've given you enough time. Let's begin."
She flicked her hands and suddenly Cassia felt like she wasn't in control of her own body. She flew backwards, her feet dragging along the floor limply and hit the wall with a thud, her limbs splaying out and stiffening like she was being restrained. She looked to her left and right frantically and saw that the others were struggling with the same issues; even Belle, who still looked astonished that Mary was even able to do that to her.
"I told you not to hurt my friends!" Ib cried.
"What? I'm just making sure they don't retaliate," Mary smiled innocently, her big blue eyes beaming.
Ib's fists clenched at her sides, but her expression never steamed. She simply said, "Okay Mary. We'll do this your way."
She reached into her pocket with trembling hands and pulled out a rose. The rose shimmered and appeared in Mary's hand, gleaming and dusted with sparkles, obscuring its petal color with the sunny yellow color of her magic. When the light died down and she shook the dust from the rose, you could practically see the astonishment on Ib's face. Mary's hands shook and her cheeks flamed red. Smoke curled off her fingertips and her scars contorted in her anger. When Cassia saw the rose, she forgot how to breathe. She hooked at Adrian to her right, but his eyes were closed and he seemed disconnected from the world. She was confused. What had just happened? Her heart contracted in her chest as she looked back to Mary and Ib just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her.
The rose in Mary's hand wasn't maroon red, like Ib's. It was violet.
"You cheated," Mary 's fist closed over the flower, and the entire room burst into flames.