Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction
Season Three Episode Thirteen: "The Dark Veil" Chapter One
Heatherfield. Sheffield Institute. The bell rang out announcing the end of last period. Hundreds of happy students flowed out of their classrooms anxious to be going home, to part time jobs, or out with friends. The Guardians and their friends were all walking together. "Are you guys sure you can't come?" Will asked.
"Yeah, sorry. I've got a radio show and I didn't get anything prerecorded." Irma said. Martin indicated he needed to be in the studio as well.
"I'm still playing damage control with Mom since she found out about Cassidy." Taranee said. "So I'd better just head home for once."
"Gotta pull a delivery shift at the Dragon." Hay Lin said.
Cornelia said "Ugh. I've got to get home to babysit Lillian. Our folks are going to some kind of art show. Give my regards to Miranda though. She'll be back in school tomorrow right?"
"Yeah," Elyon said. 'Tomorrow. Will, I guess it's just you and me."
"And what am I then?" Alchemy protested. "She's my friend too."
Elyon blushed slightly. "Oops. Sorry Al, I'm still not used to you knowing about us. You wanna come you're welcome, though it's not just a visit. We've got some 'business' to deal with as well."
"That's cool. Let's go." Alchemy answered.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the campus, Bess Grumper was looking for her sister. Courtney always met her after last period, but she was nowhere to be seen today. Bess's search took over half the campus with no luck. She asked everyone she saw but no one had seen Courtney anywhere. At one point in her search she stepped into her sister's last period classroom. The teacher was still there. "Excuse me, did Courtney leave early?" she asked.
"Very early." The teacher said, "She never showed up for class."
As she walked away, Bess felt the same anger that had led her to lash out at Uriah over the weekend building again. She didn't know why she was so angry lately, but it was really the only thing she felt at all. One more possibility occurred to her. She headed for the school's radio studio.
Meridian, Elyon's palace. A fold opened, and Will Elyon and Alchemy appeared out of it. They walked towards the north wing where they would find Miranda's room. Seeing that it was her first visit, Alchemy can be forgiven for being awestruck. "Elyon… This is actually yours?" she asked.
Elyon answered "See, this is another reason I didn't tell you about myself. When I'm on earth I just want to live a normal teenager's life and knowing stuff like this kind of changes how most people relate to me."
"Yeah, I can see how it would. I promise I'm not gonna be like that."
"If anyone can avoid it it's you." Elyon said with a smile.
In her room, Miranda had cleaned up and dressed. Thankfully Cassidy had bought her some clean options. The clothing she had been wearing when Neera's men kidnapped her would never be wearable again. "It's funny how the simple act of getting cleaned up and together can make you feel so much better." she thought. As she was brushing out her short hair a knock came at the door.
Miranda opened the door to find Will, Elyon, and a very relieved Alchemy, who promptly hugged her tightly while saying "I heard what happened. You're okay right?"
"I'm fine Al. Or at least I'm a lot closer than I was yesterday."
"Up and walking, that's a big improvement." Will said. "You ready?"
"Yeah. But who exactly are we going to see?" Miranda asked. In answer, Will opened a fold and gestured for everyone to go through…
Sheffield Institute Radio Studio. Irma had just introduced a set of three back to back songs and was considering slipping over next to Martin across the room when the door banged open and Bess Grumper stormed in. "Where is my sister?" she demanded.
"Bess, Courtney's not been here. I don't know where she's at." Irma said.
Martin asked "Have you checked with that new guy you've been hanging with? Maybe she's with him and Uriah."
An odd look passed over Bess's face. "Uriah? He's not here either?"
"Nope." Irma said, "And if you see him or your sister tell them we're disappointed. We could've used them for this show, Martin and I are covering the whole thing by ourselves."
Anger flared as Bess decided that her sister and their friends must have gone off without her. She struck out at the closest available target, a rack of spare parts for the equipment. Martin and Irma jumped back in surprise at the impressive force of the blow, which all but destroyed the sturdy wooden rack. Then Bess was gone, storming out angrier than she had arrived.
Irma and Martin looked at each other. "What the heck was that?" they asked in unison.
Will, Elyon, Miranda, and Alchemy emerged from the far end of the fold. Miranda looked around nervously and said, "Kandrakar? Um, Elyon, Will, are you guys sure it's okay for me to be here?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Alchemy asked.
Miranda blushed slightly. "Al, the thing is, the last time I was here… I kind of totally trashed the place."
A woman's voice spoke in response, "Indeed you did." The girls looked to see Halinoor descending a staircase. "However that was the past. The Counsel welcomes the sincerely repentant, regardless of what it is they needed to repent of. I take it you girls are here to see the Oracle."
"Yes ma'am." Will said. "We need to ask him about the possible motives for what Queen Neera was actually after when she had Miranda kidnapped."
Halinoor answered, "I see. Unfortunately the Oracle is currently in the midst of an extended meditation cycle and cannot be disturbed. Might this be something I can assist you with? I'm not as wise as the Oracle I admit, but I'm no slouch either."
"It's worth a try." Miranda said. She began to tell Halinoor about what Neera had said and done during her imprisonment…