I am EXTREMELY sorry about the delay for this chapter. I've just been lazy. You can now all go yell at me. :(
But, before you yell at me, read this chapter first!
So, without further ado, I present chapter 20 of The Dance called Life
Somewhere in the middle of Australia
Opal Koboi studied at her nails critically. Or, at least that's what she looked like she was doing to Mervall and Descant, the pixie twins who were currently attempting to create a 'light, fresh salad with a low-fat cream dressing' from one-week old vegetables and cheese.
"I thought I told you to go get more food days ago," Merv hissed, glancing at Opal, who was still mesmerized by her nails.
Scant growled. "I was going to, remember? And then Her Highness sent me off to Ireland. So I couldn't, could I? I only came back yesterday. You know how hard it is to fly from here to Ireland, observe some girl while researching her background, and then flying back here? From Ireland?"
"This is impossible. How are we supposed to make salad with only cheese and mouldy vegetables?" Merv groaned. "I bet she's not even going to eat it after we make it."
"How can I eat this?" Scant mimicked, his voice squeaking in an imitation of Opal. "The lettuce isn't crisp enough! Make it again."
"Mervall, Descant, come in here," called Opal imperiously. Scant jumped. Had she heard him? Sneaking to the doorway, the twins peeked through. Opal was still looking at her nails.
"What do we do?" asked Scant, his voice tinged with panic. "Does she want her salad already?"
Merv replied in a hiss. "We'll go in, and don't mention the salad, whatever she says. She might be asking for something else and might've totally forgotten about the salad." Scant nodded and straightened, putting on what he thought was a calm and serene expression on his face. They looked at each other, smiling serenely, and together, walked through the doorway to stop in front of Opal, who had stopped looking at her nails and were staring at the pixies.
"I thought you weren't going to come," said Opal, looking from one twin to the other. "What took you so long?"
A bead of sweat trickled down the side of the pixies' face. Even their sweat-dropping was in sync. "Nothing," they said together.
Opal regarded them with a raised eyebrow, but said nothing. Merv and Scant breathed a sigh of relief.
"I'll be busy for a day or two," she said, her voice tinged with suspicion. The twins were obviously hiding something from her. Could it hinder her plan? "While I'm gone, I have an assignment for you. Both of you."
Opal swivelled her chair and picked up a remote, the pixies standing rigidly straight behind her. She pointed the remote at a blank wall and pressed a button. A map appeared on the wall. Scant widened his eyes. The map even included moving images of the animals in the vicinity!
Opal twirled a laser pointer. "I want you two to build a house here," she indicated, circling the specified area with her laser, "And the house has to fit my exact dimensions." She clicked another button, and a blueprint for a house appeared next to the map.
Merv looked at the map closely. "Opal, is that – "
"Don't call me Opal!"
"Sorry, Miss Koboi. Anyway, Miss Koboi, is that a map for... Ireland?"
"Yes. I want this house in Ireland."
Merv gulped. She wanted a house that big to be built in Ireland? When they were currently situated in Australia because Opal wanted to investigate whether the energy produced by kangaroos jumping could be harnessed to do... something?
Scant, who was observing the progress of a rabbit making its way through the grass, perked his ears up at the mention of Ireland.
"We're going to Ireland?! To build a house?!"
"Yes, Descant. And I want it here." Opal increased the intensity of the laser to highlight the exact spot for her house. The wall started smoking. "It has to be here." She moved the laser slowly until the outline for that particular area was burnt into the wall, then decreased its intensity. "Get it?"
Scant, feeling slightly panicked at the amount of work Opal was assigning them, looked over at the plan of the house. And frowned. "Miss Koboi... How are we supposed to build a seven storey house?"
Opal smiled sweetly, sending chills down the pixies' spines. "What are you talking about, Descant? It's only one storey. The rest," she moved the laser around the bottom six levels, "Is underground." She pressed one more button, and both the map and the plan disappeared, leaving a black circle on the wall. "I want to be in Ireland by tomorrow morning. So get to work, boys."
Merv and Scant turned and walked off, feeling dazed by the events. Opal never allowed them to drive when she was awake, since she said she couldn't sleep when the shuttle was moving, and so technically they could only drive for ten hours every night. Ten hours to get from Australia to Ireland. Even if they were moving at their fastest speed it would take at least twelve hours to arrive! Especially since Opal disliked going through turbulence, which meant at least four hours of detours.
Opal's voice arrested their movement. "Oh, I nearly forgot." The twins stopped in fear. Were they walking strangely? Did their hair stick up? Was she going to make them build a level in her underground house especially for a jacuzzi?
"Yes, Miss Koboi?" They said in unison, fear trembling their voices.
"Where's my salad?"
Fowl Manor
- - I'm going out, Butler. See you later. - -
"Are you sure that you'll be okay going out by yourself?"
- - Yes. What could happen to a kid like me? I'm not known well, not like Arty. - -
"Okay," said Butler sceptically. It was his responsibility to look after them both... but Sana was such a low risk target. Seriously, the McEwen family had never been targeted, unlike the Fowls, who received at least one death threat a day. She would be fine on her own, right?
"Have you got lunch? Stay safe. Don't go too far. Come back for dinner. Don't talk to strangers."
Sana flapped her hand at her as she left the room. Butler worried too much. It was just a walk around the country. No-one ever came around here. Today was too nice a day to waste indoors. The sun was out, the sky was a perfect arch of blue, birds were chirping... Sana just wanted to go into one of those soft, lush grassy paddocks and roll around in it.
As she walked down the road, fantasising about all the things she could do, a bright red convertible drove past with a loud vrooOOoom, shattering the calm Sana had felt. Annoyed at the car for disturbing her peace, Sana frowned at it and stuck her tongue out at it. Suddenly, the car stopped, and reversed, stopping violently beside the girl, who could see her surprised face reflected in the sunglasses of the driver. Sana tilted her head in confusion. What was the driver doing? Her eyes widened in fear. Were they going to bash her up for poking her tongue out? She flinched as the driver reached up. Sana squeezed her eyes shut. She had been right! They were going to attack her.
"Sana? Is that you?" A silvery voice, with an accent that didn't sound like any accent Sana had heard before, glided through the air. Sana gingerly opened her eyes. The driver had removed her sunglasses to reveal a pair of very pretty eyes, which were, right now, staring at Sana. Long, flowing hair gleamed in the sun, framing a heart-shaped face so delicate it seemed to be made of porcelain. Sana stared at the woman, her fear forgotten. She was so beautiful. Were people this perfect allowed to exist? Even if she looked like she was smaller than Sana, who was a bit short for her age.
"Are you Sana?" The woman spoke again, her voice tinged with hesitation. Sana nodded. The woman broke into a brilliant smile. "I knew it! The minute I saw your face, I knew it was you. You look so much like your mother."
Sana's mouth dropped open. This woman knew her mother? The woman laughed delicately at Sana's reaction.
"Yes, I knew your mother," she said, but then her face grew sad. "The world lost something when she died." The woman smiled. "You look exactly the same as Rowan did when she was around your age."
Sana took out her whiteboard quickly. Since most of the world didn't know sign language, she was stuck with a whiteboard when she spoke with people other than her close friends or family. What do you mean? Did you know my mum when she was little?
The woman nodded. "Yes, we were good friends when we were younger. We... fell out for a bit, but we made up after a while. Thank goodness for that, or I'd miss out on seeing Rowan again before she died."
Sana's mind whirred. This must be the fairy friend that her mum had spoken of! There was one more thing to ask.
Are you a fairy?
The woman, reading the question, raised her eyebrows but nodded curtly.
"Did Rowan tell you?"
Yes.
"I see." The woman looked away, at something behind Sana. "That changes the plan a bit..." Sana cocked her head in confusion. Plan?
Seeing the confusion, the woman laughed. "Sorry. I have a tendency to talk to myself. Don't worry about it." She stuck out a hand. "I don't think I've introduced myself. I'm Opal. Opal Koboi. "
Bottom of a hole, ten kilometres west of Fowl Manor
Scant planted his laser shovel into the ground and placed his hands on his back, stretching. Several bones cracked.
Merv jumped. "Ah! What was that sound?"
"That was my spine," Scant groaned. "This digging is killing me."
Merv and Scant had not slept for the past forty hours. In order to pacify Opal after failing to make her salad, Merv and Scant had had to fly at the fastest speed the Koboi Air Travel Shuttle (KATS) could manage so that they could reach Ireland just as the sun was rising. Even though Ireland was seven hours behind the Northern Territory in Australia, giving them extra time to meet their deadline, Opal had gone to sleep later than usual in order to 'perfect the plan', shortening their advantage to four hours. As a result, they had only finished landing just as the first rays of the Sun reached into the clear Irish sky. When the twins thought they could rest, Opal left, telling them that she wanted her house finished by the next evening, and then had driven off in a Mud vehicle.
"Where is Opal anyway?" Scant asked, rotating his hips in a wide circle in an attempt to loosen his back.
Merv shrugged. "I don't care. I just hope that we get this finished by the time she comes back."
"Are we deep enough yet? We've been digging with these things for four hours."
"I think we have three four metres to go. But our hole's wide and long enough."
"A few more metres, eh?" Scant picked up his shovel, adjusted his shovel to four metres, and began to dig with renewed strength. Even though they hated Opal at that moment for making them build a house in two days, Merv and Scant could not but thank her for making them both special laser shovels. The concept of the shovel was that a laser was used instead of plain metal, and so the depth of the shovel could be adjusted to a depth of six metres. The best thing was, the laser shovel could be used to dig corners, which meant that the hole was already a perfect rectangle.
Finally, after another thirty minutes, Merv threw down his shovel and lay flat on his back. Scant joined him soon after.
Merv sighed in relief. "We're finally done. The hole is done."
Scant nodded. The two brothers lay there, exhausted to their bones, and slowly, the cool darkness of the damp dirt seeped into their bones, relaxing their aching muscles. Their eyelids drooped. Soon Merv and Scant were asleep, oblivious to the rest of the world and to the passing of time.
The countryside of Ireland
"... and then, would you believe it? Rowan just marches up to the guy and tells him off! A girl half his size!"
Sana looked over at Opal, who was laughing at Rowan's antics from more than a century ago.
She was like that even then? Sana scribbled.
Opal glanced at the whiteboard and nodded. "She didn't change, even when she got banished from her race. She sticks to her beliefs like Mulch sticks to someone else's wealth. Mulch," she explained, "Is a dwarf infamous for his stealing."
After Opal had introduced herself to Sana, she had invited the girl onto the car for a drive around the country. Right now they were whizzing through somewhere with green rolling hills, where Opal was regaling tales of Rowan's childhood for Sana's entertainment.
Opal fell silent, and the two continued in silence for a while. Sana hesitantly touched her sleeve. Instantly, Opal looked over at Sana and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry about me. I was just thinking whether to tell you something or not." At this, Sana began to nod violently, looking at Opal in a hopeful, wide-eyed way.
"Don't do that puppy-dog look at me," Opal frowned, looking to the front. Then she glanced back at Sana, murmuring to herself, "Have I done well enough? Does she trust me enough? She needs to hear this from me. Especially if she's to help me in the human world while I conquer the People. But I need to time this with Merv and Scant finishing the house by tomorrow evening. They better finish it properly and on time, or I'm going to kill them."
Sana strained her ears to hear what Opal was saying, but only heard a soft murmur. Presently Opal stopped murmuring, and parked the car to the side of the road.
"Sana, do you trust me?"
Sana nodded and wrote, Of course. You're my mum's friend.
Opal inwardly smiled. All was going according to plan. Outwardly, she sighed and reached for Sana's hand.
"What I'm about to tell you is something you can't tell anyone, okay? Not even the Fowls."
Sana nodded, puzzled. How did she know she lived with Artemis? She hadn't said anything about them. It must be because her mum had told Opal about her and Aunty Angie's pact. That's right. Her mum had told Opal before.
Opal tightened her grip on Sana's hand, looked around covertly and then leaned forward, saying softly, "Your parents were murdered."
Sana reeled back, her back hitting the door of the convertible. How was that possible? Who'd want to kill her parents?
Opal nodded. "I thought their deaths a little suspicious, and so I did a little investigating myself, and that's what I found. They were killed, and then the house was set alight. But I still haven't found out who did it, just what happened that night. I'm still looking for the murderer, and I'm worried that they'll find you and kill you too." Opal's eyes filled with tears. "I can't let that happen to you, my friend's only child."
Sana looked down, blinking rapidly, feeling the tingling in her nose that told her she was about to cry. Opal looked at Sana from under her lashes. Good, she was responding to the murder.
"Listen, Sana. I want to bring justice to their deaths, but I need help. I've tried to send the information to police stations, but no-one cares." Opal looked straight into Sana's eyes. Time to tinge her voice with the mesmer. Just a bit. Not enough to control her, just enough to persuade the girl to help her.
"Help me avenge them." Sana's eyes widened. Was it possible for anyone's voice to be more beautiful than Opal's? "No-one else cares, Sana. Justice is up to us to invoke. If you help me, I'll direct you to accomplish missions for me, missions that only you can do. You must help me. This is the only way to avenge your parents." Opal layered a bit more mesmer into her voice. "Follow me. Help me. This is the only way you can avenge your parents."
Sana nodded, getting a little teary. Of course she had to avenge her parents! Her parents, murdered! If Opal was the only one who could help her take revenge, then she would do whatever Opal wanted her to do.
Sana took out her board. Thank you for telling me. I will do anything to avenge them. What should I do now, Aunty Opal?
Opal smiled. The best people to control were recently orphaned children, and here was a case proven. "One, stop calling me Aunty Opal. It makes me feel old." Sana quickly rubbed the 'Aunty' off her board. "Two, here's a phone for you. This way, I can contact you whenever I need you to do something." Opal took out a slim concoction of plastic and metal out. "This has a touch screen. Play with it in your spare time. To answer calls, press the green button. Don't show anyone this either."
Opal smiled at Sana, then glanced at the dashboard. "Didn't you mention something about going home for lunch? It's about time to head back. Put your seatbelt on." With that, Opal swung the car into a violent U-turn and began to speed down the freeway.
The hole in the ground, again
"Merv! Merv!" Someone seemed to be shaking him.
"Go away. Let me sleep for five more minutes..." Merv rolled over, away from the source of the shaking.
"Merv! Wake up!" Scant screamed into his ears.
Merv opened his eyes blearily. "Where are we?"
"We need to build the house!"
"What house?"
"Opal's house!" Scant replied. "It's four in the afternoon! We slept for too long!"
Merv bolted upright, hitting Scant, who was bent over him. "The house!"
Scant nodded furiously. "We've only dug the hole!"
"Why is there only a hole? What happened to the rest? Why is the wood I bought still sitting in stacks?" Opal's voice drifted down. The twins froze and looked up, where they saw Opal's face looking down at them exasperatedly.
"We're working on it!"
"Well, get to it. Come up, eat something and then go back down later. You're not sleeping until this is finished." Opal's face disappeared, and soon they heard the door of KATS slam shut.
Merv looked at Scant. "She's in a good mood. I thought we were going to be dead."
Scant nodded fervently. "The plan must've gone well. I guess the girl must've been really agreeable. Thank you, Sana, for being so good and saying yes to Opal so quickly! I love you!"
"Merv! Scant! Make dinner!" Opal shouted from KATS. The twins, without further ado, activated their prototype DoubleDex wings and flew up.
Opal, sitting in her hover chair, smiled at the twins as they walked past.
"Don't take too long!" she called. "I want to eat soon, and the house still has to be finished. Remember, deadline's tomorrow night, nine o'clock."
Merv and Scant answered in unison, "Yes, Miss Koboi." In an undertone, Scant said to Merv, "The plan must've gone really well. She smiled at us!"
At that instant, Opal laughed delighted. Merv and Scant, unnerved in a good way, hurried to prepare dinner from fresh food, bought when Opal refused to leave Australia with only mouldy vegetables as food.
Oblivious to the effect her behaviour was giving Merv and Scant, Opal laughed again. She loved gullible, temperamental girls! Who knew that her chosen human puppet was so easy to manipulate? With such little use of the mesmer? From what she had seen in the report Descant had given her, Sana had all the physical and mental capabilities to accomplish what Opal had planned for her. Making up all those stories were easy, since Sana didn't know anything about her mother before she became human. Opal laughed derisively. Poor girl, she even believed her when she was told her parents were murdered. How dumb could anyone get? Opal reached for her remote and pressed a button. A large picture of Sana appeared on the wall.
"Sana, my dear girl," Opal purred, "You're going to help me conquer the world."
How was that? Please review!
And, after a discussion with my sister, I have decided to slowly edit this story, since it moves a bit too slowly for my liking, especially the beginning and the more recent chapters. Don't worry, I'm not going to change my main ideas, I'm just improving the story. So don't be alarmed if chapters suddenly come up as a earlier number, because I might have merged some chapters together.
Bye bye until next time!
