(sorry if the last chapter was a bit of a bum, I used it as a bit of a filler. Most of this chapter is filler too, but who gives a f***)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CHAPTER 7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Septimus was troubled. JoJo had told him what happened at Gothyk Grotto. And Jenna. And Beetle. And Rose. And I was in the middle of the circle of their disapproving stares. "You just made the image of you worse than it already is. And don't think we don't know what's happening around you. We all notice," came Rose's disappointed voice. "It just happened, okay? They knew something I didn't want them to know and shouted it out. So I just stared at them angrily and the flesh in their knees ripped open. I didn't know what was going on and I calmly walked away so they wouldn't know that I didn't know what I had just done," I exclaimed, frustrated. Jenna made a teeth-sucking noise. "You just made things worse for you! If you had shown that you had nothing to do with it people wouldn't grow more distant from you as they are now!"
"How can I control what I'm doing? Go on, tell me! Stop looking at people? Stop talking to people? Stop interacting? Stop feeling anything? What am I supposed to do? Huh?" I asked, feeling myself getting hot. I tried calming down but couldn't. Why was everything so hard? I stared at my feet, as I, two weeks ago, willed it all to go away. I could feel my insanity reaching to a point and panicked. "STOP!" I screamed. Everything froze. I stood in place, wondering why everything was so still. A leaf blowing in the wind stopped abruptly and hovered in midair, as if wondering where to go. I suddenly went cold. I stopped time. Time. Who could ever do that? Hotep-Ra? Hotep-Ra! He must know. He found out how to build a place that could suspend time. I knew I couldn't use the Dragon Boat, she was frozen too. Could I Transport to the House of Foryx? But no one can Transport that far. But I learned in my time as Marcia's Apprentice that apparently I was the most powerful. So surely I can Transport all the way to the House of Foryx? "Sorry, Sep," I muttered as I took the Questing Stone from his pocket. I knew that this was a pass for people who completed the Queste, but I had not done that. I snipped off a strand of his hair. Maybe if I held something belonging to him and the Questing Stone I would be able to Return to my own Time. Maybe it would work. Hopefully it would work. I put the Questing Stone in my Apprentice belt and the snippet of hair, and Sealed them there so they wouldn't fall out. Now was the moment of truth. I gathered all the power I had, and did the Transport. Any normal Ordinary Wizard would have laughed at this, for another Wizard to gather all the Magyk they had to do a simple Transport, but this was farther than anyone had ever traveled before, and so I wasn't sure that it would work at all. But I had to try. I felt a purple haze form around me and my figure slowly fading away. ALl at once, I was at the front of the doors to the House of Foryx, with the snow blowing into my face. I UnSealed the pocket in my belt and quickly snatched the hair out before it could blow away. I took out the Questing Stone. The doorman came out and opened the door. I walked in uncertainly but didn't hear the door close. I saw the door stand in place and the doorman too. The wind and snow froze. I was close to tears. My spell spread here too. But at least I could get out easily. I ran up the stairs leading to Hotep-Ra's rooms. I knocked as hard as I could. After what seemed like hours, and it might have been, for I had no sense of time, the door opened, revealing a tall woman with long, dark hair. I recognized her as Talmar Ray Bell. "Talmar! Thank goodness. Where is Hotep-Ra?" I asked. "You must be Sierra Everleigh! How nice to see you! Is everything going well?"
"Everything is not going well and I need to see Hotep-Ra. Now," I said, a little impatiently. "I will go and get him. Please excuse me." She turned back inside and closed the door. I groaned. It could be years until he came out. When he did, I sighed. I could only imagine my Time. As soon as I stepped out and undid the spell, everyone and everything would make up for the time they had lost and crumble and fall. I couldn't bear to think of it. "Hotep-Ra!" I cried. "Oh, please help me! I accidentally froze time…" I trailed off. "Ms. Everleigh, I am sure it will be alright. Now, let's see what has happened."
"I told you what has happened! I stopped time and it's a disaster!"
"Do not be silly. No one can stop time. Not even me. Hey, why is the door open? And why is the doorman just standing there?"
"Because I've stopped time! That's what I've been telling you! TIME HAS STOPPED!"
"Oh, my."
"Oh, for goodness sake, please help me end the damned spell!" I shouted. He looked shocked. I was so frustrated that I could not speak. I finally found my voice. "Just help me."
"Well, I cannot go outside, or else I will freeze too. I can't understand how you did this, as no one c-" I cut him off. "I AM BLOODY INSANE! I AM THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER OF THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER OF THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER OF THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER OF THE SEVENTH DAUGHTER! I CAN'T CONTROL MY POWER! I CAN'T CONTROL MY MAGYK! AND YOU ARE HERE RANTING ON ABOUT HOW NO ONE CAN STOP TIME WHEN ALL I NEED IS TO END THE DAMNED BLOODY SPELL!" I screamed. "WHAT IS SO HARD IN UNDERSTANDING THAT?!" He shook his head. I could tell he was thinking how difficult children had become. "I DON'T CARE IF CHILDREN ARE DIFFICULT, YOU ARE BEING DIFFICULT. Please. Just. Help. Me. End. The. Spell." My lips ripped with the effort of screaming. I think Hotep-Ra finally understood what I was saying because he said, "All right. All you need to say is, 'Furthermore, Time has stopped. I must untie the knot. To continue the life of Thee, the flow in Time I shall Free.' I hope that solves your dilemma. And forgive me for making you wait so long, I understand that you are frustrated and disoriented. I do not blame you for your outbursts, nor despise you. I bid you good day." With that, he turned and strode to his rooms. I thought Hotep-Ra was an amazing man, given what Septimus told me about him, but he was very unhelpful. I did a quick Forget spell on everyone in the House of Foryx, including Hotep-Ra so they would not remember me nor what I had said, and I ran out the doors. Thankfully I Returned to my own Time. I chanted, "Furthermore, Time has stopped. I must untie the knot. To continue the life of Thee, the flow in Time I shall Free." I imagined the snow blowing and the wind howling and my friends continuing their disappointed stares but blinking this time. When I opened my eyes, I saw the snow blowing and heard the wind howling. I Transported back to the Wizard Tower just as my friends were beginning to move their eyes and slipped the Questing Stone back into Septimus's pocket. I threw the strand of hair away, as I figured it was weird to keep clutching it in my hand, and stood in the middle of my friends. When they blinked, I laughed in relief. They all looked so confused but I didn't care. I hugged them so hard, I thought I would never see them again, in fear they might crumble down to dust. Septimus did a MindScreen on me and smiled. "Glad you did it," he said, and I grinned. But not for long. I glanced out the window and saw the unmistakable shape of Una Brakket.