W.I.T.C.H
Chapter 7
Still Life
Balsilide
35 Years Ago
A seven-year-old boy sits at a wooden table, and looks at his plate with suspicion. He swings his feet just inches above the dirt floor. He eyes the rickety door, peering through the cracks and onto the small, dark street outside.
"Taram again?" he asks his aging mother. "We've had Taram for dinner all week!"
"Endarno!" His mother shouts, waving a wooden spoon at him. "Be thankful for what ever food you get! Now eat what's on your plate."
The boy looks down at his food. He sighs.
"Yes mother. Thank you mother."
His mother looks at him lovingly as he pokes at his meal.
"You are a good boy, Endarno." She says, coming over to put her hand on his shoulder. "Someday you will be able to eat whatever you want."
"Really?" Endarno answers, looking up at this mother.
"Really." She replies. "As long as you…"
Her advice is interrupted by a knock on the door.
Heatherfield
Irma sat curled up in her favorite chair, reading her favorite magazine. Below her, her brother Chris is in the middle of intense battle with virtual aliens. Irma turned the page when an explosion made her jump and rip the page. She glanced up at the screen. GAME OVER it exclaimed in big red letters.
"Not again!" Chris yelled at the T.V.
"Chris, can you keep it down!" Irma yelled over the top of her magazine.
"Why, so you can figure out how to make boys like you?" Chris replied.
"For your information…" Irma began, and then caught Chris looking at the cover of the magazine and smiling. 'In this issue: How to make boys like you!' it read in bold letters.
"Just keep it down!" Irma said, retreating back to her magazine.
Irma muttered to herself as she quickly flipped through the pages. Suddenly, something caught her eye.
"Karmilla. Karmilla! KARMILLA!" She shouted, leaping out of her chair.
"Hey, keep it down!" Chris shouted up at her. "Some of us are trying to save the universe here!"
Irma ignored her brother and ran into the kitchen.
"Mom! Dad! Mom! Dad!" She shouted at her parents.
"What do you want now, Irma?" Her dad said with a sigh.
"Karmilla's coming to Heatherfield! In one month!"
"Who, or what, is Karmilla?" Her mom asked.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." Irma said, glaring at her mother. All she got in return was a blank stare. Irma sighed.
"Karmilla is the biggest, the baddest, and the best rock star in the history of history!" Irma said, shoving the magazine into her mom's face. "And she's coming to Heatherfield next month!"
"Whatever happened to what's his face?" Irma's dad asked. "You know, AMC, or DMV?"
"It's VMJ, and he hates being called that." Irma replied. "And he's good, but Karmilla. Karmilla!"
"So how does this concern us?" Irma's mom asked, eyeing her daughter.
"Can I go?" Irma asked, throwing herself at her mom's feet. "Can I. Can I? Can I!"
"Out of the question."
"WHAT! Why?"
"Times are tough." replied Thomas Lair. "We're barely making it by as it is. We can't afford for you to go see some rock concert."
"But… I… Guh!"
"Maybe if you had a job," Tom said, "then you could go. But until then,"
"A job?" Irma said. "I've heard of those."
"Cute. Now how badly do you want those tickets?"
Irma looked at her magazine, then at her parents, then back at the magazine. She took a good, long look at Karmilla, and took a deep breath. And at that moment, Irma Lair decided to get a job.
Meridian
Elyon and Caleb leaned against the hallway wall, looking at the swarm of men combing over every square inch of Mr. Jantique's room. As the Balsilidians had pointed out, they had nothing to prove Vathek's innocence. However, as the Meridianites had countered, nothing had been found to prove Vathek's guilt. This had resulted in a stalemate, one that would ultimately end poorly for Vathek.
"Do you know what this is?" Elyon asked Caleb.
Caleb glanced over at Elyon.
"This is exactly what I was trying to avoid." Elyon said, continuing to stare into Jantique's room. "Do you know why I wanted to hold a diplomatic conference?"
Once again, Caleb was silent.
"Because they're boring." Elyon continued. "They're very, very boring. Everybody sits around, we have a few drinks, we sign some papers and everyone goes home. It's nice and peaceful. At least that's what happens when everyone else holds one. What happens when we hold one? A foreign diplomat dies. A diplomat dies! Do you have any idea how bad that is?"
"I still don't understand how he could have died." Caleb said, staring back into the room. "There was no way anyone could have entered the room! Maybe that tower…"
"You know," Elyon said, "an inside man could have…"
"Elyon, you can't possibly think Vathek…" Caleb interrupted.
" No, no, no, of course not." Elyon said. "Sorry. Of course it wasn't Vathek. But unless we can convince the Balsilidans of that…"
"What would happen?" Caleb asked.
"If we can't prove his innocence, then he would be taken back to Balsilide to await trial." Elyon said. "But on Balsilide, it's not innocent until proven guilty. It's the opposite. And Balsilidian trials don't take as long Meridian ones or Earth ones. They could find him guilty in a matter of hours."
Neither of them said anything for a while.
"What's the punishment for killing a diplomat on Balsilide?" Caleb asked.
"You don't want to know."
Elyon leaned her head back and looked at the celling.
"Caleb, this would be a really good time for you to work your magic." she said.
Caleb thought about this for a while.
"Elyon, when you need magic, I think we both know who to call."
Balsilide
35 Years Ago
Endarno watches as his mother answers the door. She opens it to find two men in black robes staring back at her. The men fascinate Endarno. He feels as if he has seen men like them before, but can't quite place where.
"Mrs. Fultari?" One of the men asks.
"Yes?" Endarno's mother replies.
Suddenly, Endarno remembered where he had seen them. They had been at his friend Henrit's house, right before Henrit found out his dad had died. But what were they doing here?
"Mrs. Fultari, it's about your husband."
It was the only time Endarno would ever see his mother cry.