La Dolce Vita

By Seniya

B is for Beginnings

Part One

He has half the deed done who has made a beginning.—Horace

The Sunday morning had opened just like many others in Heatherfield. The sun had been bright and high in a cloudless blue sky. The birds had been singing, and slowly and in unison, all the houses in Heatherfield had emptied of their owners, dressed in their Sunday best as they set off on the journey to church.

Hay Lin was exempt from this early morning ritual today. Graveyard duty had taken its toll on her. Or rather, lugging home a giant cauldron half a mile had taken its toll. Still, there was no rest for the wicked and her mother had roused her at the crack of dawn, piling down math equations and chapters of history like a demented hurricane.

Right now, Hay Lin was crouched over her computer desk, actively typing away. She was desperate to finish this essay before lunch – or before her grandmother found some other errand for her to do, whichever one came first.

Her long raven hair hung loose about her shoulders, still damp in the roots from her quick shower this morning so that her pink "hello kitty" t-shirt was soaked right through. There were bags under almond shaped eyes, and every few minutes, she would stop her frantic typing to stifle a yawn. The impact of slavery on the socio-economic structure of America wasn't helping to keep her awake either.

It was a knock at her window that made her look up from her work, but it was the source of that disturbance that made her jump up from her chair and rush over to the window. In a second she had flung it open and stepped back to welcome the intruder.

"Hi Eric!" She flinched inwardly at the sound of her voice—had it always been so nasal and high? "H-How are you?"

"I'm doing all right." He was chewing gum; it drew her attention to his perfect teeth and gorgeous mouth. Oh God, was she staring? She looked away immediately, dragging her fingers through her messy hair and wondering if she should at least attempt to put it up. Would that be desperate? She sat down on her bed.

"So, um, Eric," She crossed her legs, uncrossed her legs. "What's up?"

He had been looking over her homework; his eyes lingering on the sketches that decorated the sheets where her polynomials should have been. "Your grandmother called," he met her gaze, making her mouth dry out, "said something about her compass."

"Compass?" The disappointment pooling in her stomach was intense, but she managed to smile through it. "Oh, that."

"Your mom making you study on a Sunday?"

"Oh, yeah..." He had grown over the summer, he towered over her now, "But it's not so bad."

"You're not coming to school this September then?"

"Oh," She remembered that conversation, it made her feel unnaturally happy that he did as well. "Well, Mom thinks that it doesn't make any sense. I mean, she wants me to do my SATs next year, and if I went to public school they might put me in ninth grade or something—so this is better." No! She was rambling! She sounded so pathetic! He was going to go home and laugh at how stupid she was!

"I think," he came closer. She could smell the soap that he had used this morning. Irish Spring. She closed her eyes and puckered her lips. "Maybe you would like public school. You wouldn't be stuck in this house by yourself all the time. I mean there are other things that are just as important as college."

Hay Lin opened her eyes. "You're right." She forced a smile, "I'll talk to her."

"Eric!" Her grandmother's heavy footsteps signalled her arrival long before her voice did. "Why can't you use the door like normal people!"

Her hair was pulled back into a severe bun at the top of her head. Today, she had traded in her usual silk dresses for sweat pants and a t-shirt, but even the casualness of her attire couldn't take away from the stern lines in her face. "I knocked." Eric grinned, "I figured that you had stopped answering your door."

Yan Lin clicked her tongue in annoyance, her knowing eyes moving from her granddaughter, sitting blushing on her bed, to the lanky youth who was slouching under the weight of an overstuffed backpack. "You didn't need to come here." YanLin scolded Eric, more annoyed about the fact that his presence would cause her granddaughter to behave lovesick for the rest of the day than the mere fact that he was there. "I just wanted to know if your compasses were working properly."

He shrugged off the heavy backpack and rolled his shoulders back and forth—an action which caused HayLin to swoon. "Not exactly. At first, I thought that this was an age problem—you know, that fact that your equipment is half a century old. But, uh, nah, mine aren't doing so well either."

"Brilliant deduction." This meant that she had been right. Lilith most definitely hadn't been lying. "You can leave now."

"Not so fast." Eric walked briskly over to the old woman, "this is only happening in Heatherfield."

It wouldn't do for a busy body like Eric to find out about everything that was going on. She suppressed a frown and stared up into his pimple covered face with as earnest a face as she could muster. "And how do you know that?"

"Internet."

Shit. The internet for Yanlin meant other busy bodies blabbing the details about what was initially a very sensitive job. Still, this meant that the boy already knew too much.

He was rambling off this knowledge right now. His voice hadn't matured fully yet, and it rose and fell often during his speech. God, she'd never know what HayLin saw in him. "You see, the compasses find demons and ghosts because they pinpoint high energy levels. They aren't working now because the energy in Heatherfield is fluctuating. They're trying to pinpoint too many things."

"Eric, did you find out all of that by yourself?"

Jesus Christ! It was common sense! "HayLin, didn't your mother leave you a shit-load of homework?"

"Nana! Don't swear!"

"So Eric," It was better to sway the conversation in a safer direction as quickly as possible, "what do you think about the missing girls?"

"Are you asking my opinion?"

No, she was asking if he had two brain cells to rub together! "Of course, your views are always valued."

"I think that it's Kappas."

"Water demons?" Unlikely. Nearly impossible. "That's...interesting. What makes you think that?"

"They're too old to be Lilith. And I'm going on the fact that all these girls lived near water."

This was Heatherfield. Everyone lived near the water. Besides, Kappas had gone extinct back in the early eighties. "You know, you could be right," Seizing this as an opportunity to rid herself of the young parasite, Yanlin elaborated, "Kappas are most active during the night. But, since the sheriff put that curfew in place they must be starving. They would be willing to strike in the daytime. They would be willing to strike right now." She let the last sentence hang in the air for a long moment.

"Well, Haylin and I'd better be making our way down the pond then! Better catch those kappas! Let me get my jacket." She threw in a chuckle for good measure and began to retreat down the hallway, waiting for the call that she was certain would come.

"Mrs. Lin!" True to form, Eric had followed her. "You know, you don't have to do this. I'll go look for the kappas."

"Oh no, Eric. I couldn't let you take all the glory for rescuing those girls," she sighed heavily as though this were a great conflict in her heart. "When I think of all the photographs they'll make you pose for. And all of those interviews that they'll force you to do."

"But Ms. Lin!" He rushed past her on the stairs, turning only once to face her and plead half heartedly, "look, HayLin has her homework to do. I'll go. It's no problem."

She waited until she heard the soft click of the front door before retracing her steps to HayLin's room. "Get your things. We're leaving!"

"Nana, did you hear what Eric said?" The tiny brunette was practically bouncing off of the walls with glee. She clasped her hands on top of her heart before whispering reverently, "HayLin has her homework to do!" She shrieked wildly at the end. "He cares Nana!"

In response, YanLin tugged at her loose hair sharply. "Get your things." She repeated, "we're leaving."

"Where are we going?" Her face fell, "we aren't going to Hell again, are we?"

"No," YanLin said, "our destination is much worse."

.........................................................

It was a gloomy day in Meridian. The morning had brought with it another raid from Phobos' soldiers. And by afternoon, the air hung stagnant and heavy beneath the cloudless raven sky, rank with the stench of death. No moon or sun brightened the sky. The only light came from the insides of the hovels and the caves where families stayed huddled around fires, silently recovering from the day's horrors.

Within the rebel's headquarters was no different. In each of the dimly lit rooms members alternately broke down in tears and swore damnation to their king. Even Caleb was not immune to the grief which had taken hold of his entire camp. Aldarn was especially stricken, his mother and sisters had been ravaged by the soldiers before they been torched alive. His father had been kidnapped along with the other men from his village. They were probably being tortured as they waited here.

Aldarn blamed himself for his absence and was nearly hysterical with grief. Caleb had taken him into his private chambers more out of desperation to keep his madness from spreading than out of a real sensitivity for the boy's feelings. "It isn't wise of you to blame yourself. Phobos is cruel. He will do this again."

"Is that how you let yourself sleep at night?" The shorter man rose to his feet, tossing aside the ale that the older men had given him to calm his nerves. "We sit here doing nothing while those men are killed."

Caleb's green eyes hardened, "Aldarn, sit down."

"No!" There were tears streaming along his dark green cheeks, he shook his head wildly as he spoke, "What kind of leader are you? You allow people to be murdered in front of your eyes and you don't even try – y-you don't care! You're wasting your time searching for a missing girl instead of trying to help those who are actually here!"

"Aldarn, sit down." He had folded his arms atop of his chest, but otherwise, his body betrayed no sign of stress.

Heart racing, breaths coming in short pants, Aldarn tightened his fists. And rushed forward.

Caleb took the first blow to the side of his face. The second he managed to catch on its way to his stomach. The difficulty came in subduing the overexcited young man, but through sheer determination and a great deal of upper body strength, he eventually managed to wrestle Aldarn to the floor. With one arm pinned behind his back, Aldarn was shoved back into the corner. Wiping the trail of blood from the side of his mouth, Caleb spoke, as calmly and as surely as he had before, "Aldarn, sit down."

And then he left.

.............................................................

"How's Aldarn holding up?" Baldorn met Caleb in the deserted corridor. He eyed the red trail along the man's chin and smirked, "He give you that?"

"Did you bring her?" Ignoring the quips and the innuendos, Caleb walked along the corridor, pausing once at the single open door. There sat the answer to his question.

The woman was tall, thick and tempting. Her dark mocha skin was gorgeous, her ebony hair was stunning and her face was absolutely divine. She, as all women do, knew all of these things very well and as a result, had a knack of manipulating her features to her best advantage.

"Caleb," She had a deep, raspy voice, "You do know how to keep a lady waiting." She knew that too.

"Lucia. Since when have you been described as a lady?" Caleb kept his distance, knowing of her love of touching, "did you bring what I asked for?"

Lucia smiled, revealed perfect white teeth, she moved slowly, "Don't I always?" Her hazel eyes lingered momentarily on Baldorn. "Who's your friend?"

"Where are they?" Caleb snapped her attention back on him.

"I can't carry around spells." She laughed, "silly boy."

"Then hurry up." He watched Baldorn smile appreciatively from out of the corner of his eye, "Phobos destroyed another two villages today. I'd like to be able to stop the next strike before this nation turns against me."

"Touching," Lucia walked forward, the long scarlet robes that she wore clinging to her hips and breasts as she did, "But a communication charm and a concealment spell won't come cheap."

Caleb nearly strangled her. "Haven't we already paid you?"

"That was before I noticed how desperately you wanted my services," there was a certain degree of maliciousness in her eyes as she watched Caleb's taunt frame. "These are hard times. The price has gone up."

"You are a disgusting shadow of a woman!" Caleb hissed, growing more annoyed when she only laughed off his insult.

"But I'm rich." She placed her hands on her hips. "Pay me."

"Go get the woman's money Baldorn." He was definitely going to strangle her.

"Don't look so grim Caleb," Her eyes watched Baldorn's broad back as he exited the room, "I'll do you a favour. For free. I promise."

"I don't want your favours."

"Of course not." She understood. It didn't matter. Lucia licked her full rouged lips before beginning in her strong, musical voice, "the concealment spell will hide you from all mortals. They won't be able to see you, hear you or taste you. Isn't that interesting? The taste thing. But they will be able to feel you. So stay out of their way before they become suspicious."

"Anything else?"

"You will be able to communicate, with your thoughts, with another person of your choosing. But choose carefully, they will be able to hear everything. This goes both ways." She smiled her slow, seductive grin, "May I volunteer?"

He began to back away, "Can you cast them both today?"

"Yes. Another thing. The concealment charm wears off after a while. I'll give you three days. After that, you can come back – for seconds."

Baldorn returned then. In his fist he carried a pouch filled with gold which he dutifully handed over to Caleb.

"Here's the favour." She watched happily as Caleb began to pick out a few coins, "I'll ignore the fact that you're unappreciative. I took the liberty of casting a seeking spell. Yes, I did it for free. Something to cheer up the troops. I couldn't get a clear visual of the girl. There's a spell that protects her. It makes her hard to see. But she does live in a village called Heatherfield. She hasn't lived there for very long... and she isn't happy there. Uh, she's short, quiet. Has very tiny feet." She clicked her tongue as she attempted to recall another fact, "She has a very strange name. Even for someone on earth. It isn't the name Aphrodite gave her. I suppose her captor thought that this would protect them both."

"Tiny feet?" But Caleb was far too grateful to question it any further, "and you're certain of all of this." He weighed the coins in his hand before handing them over.

"I always am." She brushed her heavy hair off her shoulders. "I don't want anything to happen to you."

'I'm touched."

"Not until I've had my turn to do some damage anyway."

Lucia pulled her robe closer to her body, "Another thing Caleb. Enemies are everywhere. Everywhere. Be careful."

"I always am."

......................................................................

Will had always considered herself as being a very simple girl. She wasn't fussy like other sixteen year olds. She didn't want a car or the expensive jeans or even clear skin. But she did have those few things that she liked. And that was fair, wasn't it? For someone who wanted so little to always have those few things that made them happy?

For example, Will had her favourite cereal. Fruit Loops. She had been having Fruit Loops every day for breakfast since she was five. It made her happy. She was a creature of habit. Imagine her frustration then, at waking up on this Sunday morning to find that her mother had no Fruit Loops. Well, that wasn't really surprising. She doubted that her mother knew her birthday, much less her favourite cereal.

Still, it wasn't a problem. Will had pulled on her jeans and taken the ten minute walk down to the town's supermarket. To find it closed. Yes, closed. The owners, as well as the rest of the town had all gone to Sunday service. And she was apparently, the one who would suffer.

There wasn't much she could do about that. So she had swallowed her disgust and gone home, rattled through her mother's lime green cupboards and found some low carbohydrate, sugar free cereal, which she then ate, grudgingly, with soy milk.

Will also liked cartoons. She had been watching the antics of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig since she could remember, and she had no intention of stopping. Sadly for her, the TV had stopped working.

As well as the electric water heater in the shower.

And the computer in the mango coloured Study.

In fact, every single electrical device in the house was dead. Meaning one thing, as her mother had so eloquently put it when she had arisen around noon. "What the hell did you do?" Clearly, this was all Will's fault.

"The phone's dead too!" She then began the search for her cell. Once it had been found, she dialled the number of a male neighbour, who had confirmed her primary accusation: his devices were all still functioning. He didn't know what that could be. A fuse? But he'd be over in a minute to see what was wrong.

Will didn't think that it was necessary for her to remain in the house while her mother entertained. So she'd gone up to the guest bedroom, rummaged through her suitcase and found a clean t-shirt. She'd go down by the pond that she'd passed by yesterday. That would definitely be more fun than this.

............................................................

"There are many worlds in ours." Her grandmother had suddenly become excited. Over the last hour she had apparently discovered a trick to deciphering the compass. Her interpretation had led to the back of Heatherfield Methodist, back to the cemetery, during that morning's sermon.

The sun beat down heavily on the back of HayLin's neck; sweat dotted her forehead and ran down her back. But her grandmother didn't seem to notice, she continued to speak in quick, frenzied tones. She was anticipating something—clearly.

"They sit on top of each other. Like a house of cards. All over the place." They passed by old Mrs. Martin's grave—the compass' needle gave a lurch—and then they went beside it. "They're separated by magic and spells and veils."

"Like the Underworld? Where the dead go?"

"Exactly. Where we are going now is like the Underworld...At least in premise." YanLin bent and pulled at some of the grass near the headstone. It was dead. Dry. Fried actually. Burnt.

"It's another dimension," Behind them the pastor had started the alter call, the organ sounded triumphantly. "So how is it different?"

"Remember the guardians that I told you about?"

"Yeah..."

"Before the guardians, before even humans existed, there was only one world. Earth." The needle was moving erratically now. This was it. "When humans came, they brought with them the seven cardinal sins. They polluted Earth. They created malice, greed, laziness, envy, pride, gluttony and lust. It was chaotic. You can't imagine."

"I guess not."

"The Gods above grew angry. They spilt Earth into two to save humans from themselves. Evil was placed in Meridian and good was left in Earth. The Gods took away man's immortality as punishment."

"Nana—these stories are...getting worse."

"The guardians were created to maintain a balance between the good and evil."

"But—Not everyone on Earth is good. Look at Hitler, Hussein – Bush."

"And not everyone in Meridian is evil. But there is a balance between the two. It is very intricate. And if it begins to topple too far on either side, the veil separating our worlds begins to tear."

"Okay." Somehow, when her grandmother had explained to her all those years ago that the shadowy old man sitting quietly at the foot of her bed was actually her great-great-great grandfather, it hadn't seemed as impossible as all of this. "I'll go with the guardian thing. I remember what you said; they control the elements—blah, blah, blah. But this ancient world, veil thingy is too much."

"My own flesh and blood." YanLin seemed genuinely disappointed, "A sceptic. You're getting to be like your father!"

"Nana! Look, the compass stopped working, you said so yourself. Why are we standing here? Church is gonna be out in a few seconds and they'll see us out here—they already think we're witches or something!"

"Look!" Her grandmother faced her with fury on her face, she was brandishing the dry grass as though it were proof. "It's burnt!"

"So? It's summer!"

"No! It's burnt! Great heat was here! Just here! I know it!"

"You don't know! It's just your stories!"

"I know because I've seen it!"

"Nana! Stop it!"

"I know because I was one! I was a guardian of the veil!"

HayLin's face clouded at that. "Nana..."

"The veil is weakest where evil is done. This is where we summoned Lilith."

She wouldn't get to finish her explanation, she wouldn't need to. Behind her grandmother, a bright blue light exploded out of nowhere. It was massive and blinding, well over seven feet in the air and two feet across. HayLin needed to shield her eyes from the light. Where it stood, it made a low buzzing sound.

But nothing could hide the smug grin that now covered her grandma's face. "I told you so! Now hurry up! They don't last long!"

She grabbed HayLin's arm and pulled her into the light. The younger followed, too stunned to do anything else. The last thing she remembered was the ice cold sensation that drenched her from head to toe as she was pulled forward.

This was hell all over again.

......................................................

What would he need to take to earth? The basics, he imagined. Food and water definitely, bedding. He wasn't certain what Earth had. The legends had always described it as a hellish place, far worse than anything Meridian had ever had to offer. Persons from Earth had always been described as cold and cruel. It was their evil that had led to their segregation in order to protect the others.

He couldn't risk the life of anyone else in his camp on this mission. It was too risky and arguably, too frivolous. He'd have to go himself. If in three days he couldn't find anything, then he'd just have to count his losses and return home to find another plan of attack. He hoped the other men would see it the same way. Aldarn had been upset, but what he had said couldn't be ignored. These were the thoughts that infected the entire camp.

They were growing tired of following him.

"Aphrodite was a beautiful woman. I was but a lad when she married Ares," Baldorn was happy to give Caleb some advice, "But I will never forget her face. The most beautiful woman that you could ever imagine. I had never seen hair so red."

"I suppose that's where Phobos gets his vanity from."

"I'm just saying – if the daughter takes after the mother. Don't hesitate to bring her here."

That brought to mind another question. How to get the princess into Meridian? He wasn't even entirely certain that he knew exactly how to get himself back to Meridian in one piece. Would the girl fight? Would she be like her brother?

Careful not to let these worries show, Caleb hoisted his travelling bag onto his shoulder, "Lucia said," he watched Baldorn carefully, "that I need to communicate with someone here. I choose you, Baldorn."

The older man's face never wavered, "I think that you should choose Aldarn." His voice was steady, his face was stoic.

"Why would you of all people volunteer Aldarn for this mission?"

"He is young. He needs to feel important. He is desperate to prove his worth. If you show that you trust him like this, his attitude towards you will surely change."

"Aldarn is also young, rash, angry and foolish. I can't risk it."

"There are many other men here who will be watching him. We will ensure that he doesn't do anything foolish. Sometimes Caleb, a leader must make a decision like this to save the trust of his followers, and not just their lives."

..............................................................................

Aldarn had been willing, apologetically so. Caleb was still unsure about his decision, but he couldn't ignore the truth. This would surely benefit him, in the long run.

They had found a young magician to complete the final steps of Lucia's enchantment. After that long moment of awkwardness where Caleb had heard with unbelievable clarity the curses and insults that Aldarn would have loved to have spoken – he had set off.

Luck had been on his side on that night. He had been headed South, that was where magic was the strongest and oldest, more importantly, it was here that the majority of rips had been spotted. He wouldn't have to wait long. Before him, not a quarter mile into the darkness was a light. A massive blue light that simply beckoned to his weary mind.

He broke into a sprint, his blood pumping, muscles trembling and mind whispering prayers to whoever would listen.

Good luck, my friend.

It was Aldarn's voice before the cold numbness of the magic. It polluted his very soul with fear, but it only lasted a second. In the next moment, he was unbelievably hot and he was falling, tumbling down a dry slope while a white light above him burned constantly.

.........................................................................................

Will had tried to ignore the gangly boy that had been at the pond when she had arrived. But it was easier said than done. Especially since the young man didn't seem to want to be ignored. For one thing, he had come to the pond fully dressed and toting around a massive backpack. Secondly, he had spotted Will and had rushed toward her, brandishing a badge clearly taken from a child's policeman set and attempting to push her off of the premises.

A solid blow to the bowels had cut out that behaviour.

"But... S-Seriously...Y-You can't be here."

"It's public property moron."

"But," Still winded, Eric attempted to stand straight in order to give himself some sort of advantage against this little girl with the heavy hands, "We're doing very delicate investigations here. It's dangerous."

"I'll bet."

"What? Don't you believe me?"

"Let me think." Will tapped her finger against her chin, "No!"

"All right." Eric pushed out his chest, "You can stay. You just need to maintain a minimum three to four feet away from the water's edge."

"You're an ass."

She walked away after that, intending to strip off her jeans and go for a few laps about the pond when something from across the other side caught her attention. Someone was rolling down the bank!

The boy was still chattering on behind her when Will asked, "Do you see that?"

The idiot behind her had the audacity to ask, "See what?"

The person never stopped, they rolled completely into the water causing a giant splash, and never resurfaced. "Someone just fell into the water!" She was already pulling off her sneakers and jeans when the boy began shrieking behind her. "That splash! No! You can't go into the water!"

He had actually begun touching her again, pulling at her hands so that she nearly fell down, "Don't touch me!"

"No, you don't understand!" He watched, horrified, as she rid herself of her T-shirt as well, "There are things in the water! It isn't safe!"

Dressed only in her camisole and shorts, Will ran, as quickly as she could with Eric behind her, and then dove into the water, using her arms and legs as best as she knew how, in order to propel herself to the other side.

It didn't take her very long to get to him. It was a boy, Will realised, that lay facedown in the water. A boy who was considerably bigger than she was. Still, she captured one of his immobile arms and positioned that about her neck, carefully, she pushed his head back so that his face was out of the water. Then, she began to pull the both of them towards the bank, having to drag her tired limbs and his dead ones onto the pebbles when they arrived.

He was just unconscious, Will discovered, there was a pulse. Carefully, she tilted his head back and pressed both of her hands on top of his diaphragm. Two repetitions later, it had worked. He coughed and sputtered, managing to get most of the water out of his lungs. She sighed with relief, smiling even as the boy before her started to stir awake.

He had incredibly green eyes, Will noticed, the discovery made her already erratic breath hasten, "Hey." Will licked her lips and pushed some of her sopping wet hair out of her eyes, "You all right?"

She had never seen someone look so confused in her life. Linking that to the fall, she smiled again, "you'll be okay. Just lay here for a while. Get your senses back together."

"You," he was staring, unabashedly staring at her, in a way that made her feel as though she had wronged him greatly, "You can see me?"

"Of course, I can see you." She wrinkled her nose, "just lie down, you'll feel better soon."

He had no intention of listening to her; in fact, he had already struggled to his feet, moving dizzily for the first few steps before whispering something – to himself. Now, she couldn't link that to the fall.

She had rescued a crazy person.

"Great," Will muttered, deciding to distance herself as much as possible from this guy, "well, look – Mister. I think you should go to the hospital, get your head checked out."

Definitely get his head checked out. "How can you see me?" God, he moved fast. He was in front of her again, his green eyes boring into hers until it became painfully uncomfortable.

"I don't know. Could it be because – you're right in front of me?" She rolled her eyes. There was no one in this town that was normal. Nothing like Heatherfield to make you miss Texas.

"What are you?"

"Jesus Christ." Will had long grown tired of this, she got to her feet and began to walk around the bank, actually preferring the company of her mother than either one of the lunatics that she had met today.

To her relief, moron number two, hadn't decided to follow her. Now, moron number one, had become incredibly quiet, watching her with incredible interest as she picked up her things. "What are you?" He asked finally, just as she had finished pulling on her shirt.

"The anti-christ," She smiled, "duh."

It was meant as a joke, but he actually seemed willing to take her seriously, "Oh look! For God's sake! You see that guy over there. Just make sure he goes to a doctor or something okay? I think he hit his head."

Eric's eyes followed her gaze over to the bank before settling back on hers, "what guy?"

"Are you kidding me? That guy! Brown hair, black shirt, green eyes! Seriously! Do you wear glasses or something?"

"There's nothing there."

Will clicked her tongue impatiently, she wanted to kill something, but she exhaled patiently instead, "fine. Whatever! I'm going home!"

Eric watched her go, pondering to himself. There was nothing special about that girl. She was human, definitely – not possessed. He had sensed a higher than normal energy level coming from her, but it hadn't been overwhelming, still, could that be it? Had she just seen a ghost? But psychics always knew the difference between the living and the dead. And her energy level wasn't nearly as high as YanLin – who could see demons.

Something didn't fit.

But he had seen the splash.

Had there been something there?

....................................................................

It was only that child who could see him, Caleb discovered as he had begun his journey around the village called Heatherfield. Everywhere he had been so far, people ignored him completely, often walking right into him during times when he hadn't been paying attention.

Additionally, this place was unbearably bright and hot. Yet, the humans didn't seem to mind. Perhaps this climate was pleasing to them.

Have you found the princess yet, Caleb?

Also, the communication with Aldarn was quickly becoming annoying. Aldarn would disrupt his thought process every few minutes asking the same question. "This place is strange, Aldarn. They have these empty tin monsters without teeth, with wheels and they carry them in their mouths at incredible speed! There are noisy silver birds in the sky! It's beyond magic! It's..."

I can see what you see Caleb. Have you not found her? Caleb, it's been a day already.

"Impossible! I've not even been here for an hour and half!"

You need to hurry. It won't be long before the spell wears off!

Time moved slower on earth, clearly. Leave it to Lucia to forget about that fact. If she thought that he would pay her to renew the spell then she was wrong. Earth was so different than Meridian. It was nothing like the legends. Here, there was quiet, humans walked around cheerfully with small human children by their side. They would laugh. Even the sky was different. It was bright ad hopeful. Nothing like the endless black pitch that he was accustomed to. Even now, it had begun to grow dark and the sky had started to change from blue to purple. At least it was cooler now.

"I will need more time Aldarn. There are many persons in this village than I first thought. And if a spell rests on the princess, I am not certain that it will that simple to locate her –"

Or perhaps it had been.

Caleb, have you found the princess yet?

He thought of the red haired child who had pulled him from the water. He had brushed her off as a nymph or a faerie. Those things could exist on earth, after all. She certainly looked like one with her tiny features and small, pointed chin. It had made sense; her magic would allow her to see him. But what if –

Caleb? Who is that girl you keep thinking about? Is that her?

Had the Gods finally been kind to him? After all these years? Had it really been so simple?

Caleb? Answer me!

Never before had he seen hair that red.

"Yes. I've found her. I've found the Queen of Meridian."

...............................................

To Be Continued

Author: I'm really thrilled that you guys like this. I'm not used to writing this type of fantasy/action type of story so the fact that it is getting a positive response is very good for me. I had to split beginnings into two, simply because it was much, much too long. Phobos makes an appearance in the next one. As well as some kick ass guardian powers. I'll be introducing the guardians one by one in this story. Next one, in C is for...whatever C will be for, will be Irma, and depending on how I feel, I'll introduce Taranee and then Cornelia.

In part 2, we will witness Caleb's kidnapping of Will. More of Eric's meddling. The discovery of the missing girls. And much, much more. I still have to write that though. Hehehehe.

Reviews are always welcome. State anything that you'd liked cleared up!

And a special hello to Zadien! Great to see you girl! And if you haven't yet, read her awesome story, Waking Dreams.