Her Test Ends

Moving on.

xxx

Pressure - 'images of a storm's wind subduing two figures' - viciously pierced Ubos's mind, jolting him from a deep sleep. Heavy breaths exhausting past his lips. The flames he had just seen beckoning him to sweat and become parched. He turned to the way of the window, spying the mountains in the vast distance. Lydia...His mind whispered. His pages and spine pleading for him to thrust himself to Mistbow. Find her. End the test. Then, as he allowed himself to calm down, he looked to the sky. Night had yet to yield for the encroaching morning. Likely the culprit behind the terrors in his mind. Tricks to make it difficult on an old man's heart.

As Ubos was about to put it in the back of his mind, 'a dragon's fierce fire roared from a human mouth.' "Lydia?!" He gasped. It wasn't a dream. No tricks of the light. What he's seeing are visions. "She's in danger!" Drowsy moans froze him. Sofia tossed in her sleep, flipping her peacefully sleeping face to him. He'd forgotten he was spending the night with her.

I can't...He debated between her and the mountain. I can't involve her. It might be nothing. He prays it's nothing. And besides, it would be a shame to interrupt her sleep. No. He will investigate. Ubos expediently wrote a letter to Sofia explaining his disappearance in the event she wakes before he returns. He placed it beside Lydia's yet to be read letter. "I shall return soon, Princess." Though out of character, and might be considered inappropriate, Ubos kissed Sofia on the forehead. She inadvertently smiled, warming to the kiss. He imagined Lydia sleeping beside her. A pair unlike any he's ever seen. An unstoppable duo with a powerful bond. "A Princess, and a Sorceress…" He muttered, opening the window. "Oh the stories they will create."

xxx

A large bag was slammed to a table, knocking protractors and tools to the floor. "She wants me gone? FINE! I'll leave! I'll go so far away the Forbidden Mountain will seem like a proper retreat, it will!" Furiously, Cedric stuffed beakers, spare wands, books, powders, a couple of knives he's scrounged over the years. "Serves me right! No one ever wants Cedric's help! NO! NO! NO! They just want him for kicks, giggles, and a few PUNCHES in me pride!" There was a picture of him and Wormwood. He's wasn't too sure about it. He thinks he's making a funny face in it. The bag was virtually bottomless. He can pack half the kitchen into it. Handy piece of equipment. Got it for a good price a few years back.

"I volunteer for the second most important test of her life!" Cedric rested a hand to his cauldron. He can't go anywhere without that. "I care for her! Show concern for her health!" He tapped his wand to the cauldron twice. It shrank and floated inside his bag. "HELL! I went so far as to...HA!" He went so far as to fight for her. To drown the one behind her suffering. "NEVER...IN-MY-WILDEST-DREAMS…" He pulled on his snow white bangs, "Did I think love would make a rational mind like hers so...DELUSIONAL!" He laughed derisively at himself and Lydia. This whole mess was absolutely ridiculous.

"Hades hath no fury like a woman scorned! Though I doubt Hades has yet to experience the fury of Lydia! AND YOU..." Wormwood ducked behind a tapestry. A flick of Cedric's wand and the tapestry disconnected from the prongs. Wormwood was wrapped like a crepe, dragged to meet Cedric's infuriated stare. "You told her! You told her about Merroway Cove! That I know about the book! EVERYTHING!" Wormwood had no choice but to pleading caw his case. Possessing Lydia's one earring would be a godsend. But Cedric was able to conclude what Wormwood was trying to convey. "I understand she is our enemy in our quest to rule the kingdom! And yes, I can appreciate your great disdain for her, and for...our...RARE cordial meetings!" Wormwood sensed a but on the horizon. "But you had no right to ruin what was growing! None at all!"

'Every time people call us friends...I believe them!' Lydia's broken voice pierced his heart. "She called me her friend, Wormwood." Wormwood's eyes widened. His heart skipped a beat. "She...is the first person...in a very long time...who has ever regarded me so." He choked up, biting his tongue to fight tears wanting to spill. "The first friend...lost in a matter of…" Hours? Seconds? It was brief for him. And now he was alone. Only a bird to keep him company.

Wormwood's world was spinning like water at the drain. A friend? It was ludicrous. She honestly admitted to considering him a friend. After what he said. 'The relationship between you both is so strained you don't know what you are to one another!' He shook his head. He attacked the relationship in order to drive them apart. He assumed her young ego would forbid her from confessing. Guess she figured it out when forced. And by what he witnessed from the shadows, beneath where Eezeyal was perched, she meant it. Cedric? He felt the same. And Wormwood ruined it. Everything.

"Let's go!" Cedric barked, opening the window. Wormwood was surprised Cedric would want to travel with him. Nevertheless, he perched to Cedric's shoulder. There was a spanning horizon before him. No directions or destinations. Just a choice of which way he will go to get far away. "Take one last look, Wormy. We won't be seeing it ever again." And look he did. The workshop was close to empty. Save for a table, the drapes, and the cobwebs. In a puff of green smoke the pair vanished. Empty winds wafted in the abandoned shop.

xxx

Night finally passed and the morning rose gracefully above the mountain. Goodwin received Cedric's wisp some time last night. The whispers within spoke cliff notes of their making camp and would continue in the early morning. While the wisp provided adequate information, Goodwin recalled sensing a powerful energy somewhere a ways down the mountain. Very powerful. Conflicting magic flaring in all directions. He recalled how his nerves received a shock on the sudden stop. Then a burning sensation to the middle of his back minutes later. The alleged fracas ended by a presence vanishing off the mountain. The tension never left with it.

"Cedric…" He whispered unnerved. "What is happening down there?"

"Goodwin?" Winifred touched his arm. His narrowed brow worried him. "Is all well?"

"I'm not sure…" He stroked his beard. It could something or nothing. "Send word to King Roland. Lydia will be arriving relatively soon."

"Of course." Winifred agreed. Though she will not let it slip that her husband is perturbed. She began to fear herself that something was amiss on the mountain.

The mountain's peak was just a short distance from their grasp. An hour or two of hiking and Lydia will best her final test. Joining the ranks of the Novice. And then she will return to her princess duties a new person. Then it will later feel as if nothing has changed. Albeit, much has changed during this test. And one will not be there to see her ascend. Unsure why. That one person was the one Lydia hoped would see he matriculate. After all, Cedric's the one obstacle that helped her get here in the first place.

"WALL!" BAM! Lydia's full face kissed a rocky wall. Lezard winced, then laughed. Somehow Lydia strayed from a straight path to a right turn that didn't exist. Signs she's deeply distracted. Eezeyal shook his head, burying his face in his wing. Lydia peeled her face free, groaning as she wiped pebbles off. Her nose throbbed painfully. "Knock any sense in that thick skull of yours? Or did it clear the haze?"

"While I can appreciate your attempts at humor…" Lydia sluggishly strayed back on course, "I'm not in the mood for it, Lez. Let's keep moving." Her dispirited words confirmed her drowsiness. She cried herself to sleep in Lezard's arm. The abundance of tears left her eyes dry. Her body worn. When she awoke, sorrow gripped her by Cedric's absence. She'd briefly forgotten she sent him away. "I want to get this test over with and go back home. I'm tired of this circus!"

"As you wish...Princess." Lezard's sinister smirk went unnoticed. But the sarcastic tone in his voice wrinkled Lydia's nose. She hates being called princess by her friends.

Eezeyal startled her by cuddling to her cheek. "Liddy. You doin' alright?" He knows she hates that question. But he's genuinely concerned. He doesn't want her walking off a cliff thinking about her argument with Cedric. "You have nothing to feel guilty about."

"I don't feel guilty!" She croaked, trying to keep Lezard from hearing. He may know of her earrings, but she dislikes eavesdroppers. "I...don't feel...anything." She was numb. As if the breath was ripped from out of her. Her spirit nailed to a wooden post to be burned. "To be honest...I don't know how to feel right now."

"Well yer feelin' some sort of grief." Eezeyal stroked a tear sneaking down her cheek. "Otherwise I'd consider this a speck of rain hankerin' tuh fool these old eyes." That would explain the tightness in her chest. She's trying not to cry again. "Talk tuh me, Lydia. You know you can."

"He lied to me, Ezee! Tried to kill you, me…" She placed a hand over her eye. That heinous tentacle strangling her in the water. The monster of the sea hunting down Oona and Sofia. And Ubos… "Cedric AND Wormwood know about Ubos!" One of the few secrets hung on the wall for another's eyes. She holds no worries that Cedric will try to take Ubos. He'd never find him before someone caught him. "For months we've been at odds! We've tried to kill each other, he stole my memories, I've left him bruises...we SAVED a kingdom from panic!" The curses moved on to praises. "We've battled witches, laughed at ridiculous jokes, encouraged one another to pursue goals well beyond our comfortable scopes!" The dancing, and the magic show for example. Neither of them would have accomplished those feats without the other's help. "I thought...in the midst of all we've been through...I thought he...I wanted…" The tears were back. She can't stand it. He betrayed her. Again...and again...and again. Yet still...her mind and heart screamed for the same thing. Bring Cedric back. She wants him back. But...she can never trust him. Yes! By some strange miracle...Lydia trusted him.

"Ssh-ssh-shh." Eezeyal hugged her cheek. "It's alright, Lydia. There-there." He comforted, drying her eyes. "Let it all out, Baby Girl." Lydia lost her balance. She connected her shoulder to a rocky wall, sliding to her knees under the weight of the of unyielding sadness. Why does this hurt so much? She screamed in her mind. This is far from the first time someone's claimed to be her friend and then stabs her in the back. It happened loads of times her first year at Hexley. Cedric is just like them. So why does her heart want to tear itself and the rest of her insides to shreds?

"Tsk-tsk-tsk. Lydia…" Lezard cooed, wrapping his arms to her from behind. He plucked Eezeyal off, setting him aside. He'd try not to be offended. "Poor Lydia…" He whispered in her ear. "That armor of yours isn't what it used to be, is it?" He's got her there. Lydia would let something like this blow over in an instant in normal circumstances. "You trusted him, didn't you? You trusted him..and he stabbed you square in the back when it suited him."

"I could write a novel on the subject." Lydia squeezed the arms around her. "In the end...everyone betrays you. For their reasons or another...no one wants you when you've outlived a purpose."

Lezard fought a tiny grin. Eezeyal arched a brow. "I would never be so heartless." He reassured her. "I don't think I've ever been unkind to you."

"No one's ever unkind at first." Lydia parted from the arms, scrambling to her feet. "Only until their stomach can't hold the bile."

"I don't blame you for feeling that way." Lezard skipped to her side, taking her hand in his. "But be assured," He leaned so her voided orbs would at least grant him a peak. "I'm nothing like those shallow, two-faced, cowardly friends you've managed to lure." He came around, walking backwards as he held both of her hands. "You can believe in me, Lydia."

"I can't believe in anyone right now." She declined.

Lezard wouldn't release her hands. He stopped suddenly. Her chest pressed to his. "Lydia…" He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping hold of one of her hands. "Trust in me…" Lydia's eyes widened, going dreamily glossy. "Yes...just in me..." He slid the hand along her arm, brushing fingers as he cupped her cheek. "Shut your eyes…" His thumb traced under her eye, drawing them closed, "And trust in me." He slowly backed up the hill. "Follow me, please." He ordered, leading her by her hands. "You can sleep…" Lydia tromped along with him, lead by him weaving her past protruding rocks. Her legs simply noodles, "Safe and sound…" He momentarily released her hands, letting her walk on her lonesome. "Knowing I…" His lips brushed past her ear. He removed his thick gloves, "Am a-round…" He crossed her arms across her chest, leading her at the back. "Slip into silent…slumber…" He dipped her, swaying her her side to side. "Sail on a silver mist!" He spun as he scooped her by the legs, carrying her toward a dewey patch of grass on ledge. "Slowly and surely your senses will cease," He skipped and twirled, skipped and twirled, "To resist…" Her boots touched to the soft patch of grass. The gentle feel rejuvenated her strength. The brisk wind washing over her sticky face, cooling her to relax against Lezard's broad chest. "Feeling better?"

"A...little…" She swooned sleepily.

Lezard continued forward. The quilted view of the Enchancian Kingdom illuminated by morning's light. "Trust in me…just in me…" He spun her by the arm. Her glossy eyes fluttered open. "Shut your eyes…" He ran a hand over and closed her eyes again, "And trust…" He brought his lips in close, "In me…" His fingers laced in her hair, an arm around her waist. Their lips met in a tender kiss. Lydia melted in the kiss. Her weakening knees quaked. Lezard's arm at her waist helped her stay standing. Her mind became fuzzy. Clouds seemed to lift her high, carrying her away from all that's hurt her. This is what she wanted. What she needed. To forget the pain left by Cedric.

The kiss was broken for a breath. Then Lezard moved in again, deepening the kiss. Lydia expected as much. Hm! She winced at a discomfort in her lips. A squeezing discomfort. As if he jaw was grasped in rough hands. It trailed her jaw to her cheeks. She'd moved back to break only for Lezard to follow. The discomfort reach her neck. What's...She put her hands on his shoulders, trying to push. She grunted loudly. It was muffled by Lezard. Something bit her in her sides. Hard. It was kneading in her. The same stitching was climbing her sides, burning her ribs. Her legs were losing strength again. Much faster this time. Her head was spinning, and being squeezed in a vice. Stop! Enough! Her mind screamed. She was becoming scared. She amplified her strength and pushed harder to escape. Lezard refused to let go. In fact he started to become rough. Literally yanking her to keep her close. He clawed his fingers, hooking her. The wind was being robbed from her again. Veins in her neck became visible. Constricting.

Frantic and unable to take it, lydia bit his lip. Lezard roared in pain. "EEZEYAL!" She shrieked. Eezeyal unleashed a piercing screech. Wings spread and talons erect, he hooks feet fulls of Lezard's hair. The sharp pulls forced him to let go of Lydia. Lydia added a quick punch to his cheek, knocking him off his feet. "WHAT THE HECK, LEZARD?! ARE YOU TRYING TO-" She stopped. Horror strangled her. "No...no way…" She staggered. Eezeyal hovered in the air, ensnared by the same horror. Lezard's hands fell open when he hit the ground. Slits with dull sharp teeth were opened in his palms. 'He has mouths on his palms!' Cedric's voice bellowed. "Lezard…" Her voice shook. "What...are...those?"

Lezard droly admired his palms. He wasn't too stunned Lydia saw them. He hardly cares, in fact. He'd be far more surprised if she didn't catch on. "It would seem the proverbial cat is out of the bag." He snickered, climbing to his feet. "Or should it be the gloves are off."

"LEZARD! EXPLAIN!" Lydia stamped her feet. "WHAT-WHY-?" Her mind was frantic with questions. What is he? Why is he doing this? And...how long-

"LYDIA!" Eezeyal bellowed.

Lezard grabbed her by the neck. He roughly moved her back. Her tiptoes brushed the ground, legs flailing to stop. "LE...RD!" She choked. Lezard was crushing her throat. Pressuring building in her head. Her eyes rolling in the back of her head. Eezeyal dove for a second strike. Lezard caught him, gave him a sharp squeeze, and threw him over the edge. "NO! EZEE!" Lydia pried at both hands clamping to her neck. The world was sploching in black. She was fading fast. "W...Wh...y?"

Lydia's feet met the ground again. Sweet air filled her starved lungs. Lezard's lips met her ear. "Yensid's Knowledge is mine." He grumbled. Lydia's eyes widened in horror. He moved her back. Adding to her horror, Lezard's form was replaced by the mirror, malevolent image of her own. Murder reflecting in her mimick's eyes. Lezard gave her one last push. Her body felt weightless. The world tipping. Air rushing past her back. Lezard and the ledge growing farther away.

"AAAHHH…" She vanished within trees.

xxx

"LYYDDIIAA…!" Sofia and Miranda screamed at the top of their lungs. Baileywick and Marcy dropped their breakfast trays. Miranda and Sofia had their hands braced to the table. Their nails digging grooves in the wood. Miranda clutched her pounding chest, terrified gaze glued to her glass. Sofia hyperventilated, holding her head.

James, Baileywick, Amber, and Roland were rooted. Dismay and confusion on their faces. Miranda and Sofia were shaking like leaves. both pale as ghosts. "Miranda? Sofia?" Roland touched their hands. The two jerked back to reality. The haze in their heads cleared, bringing them back to the dining hall. "Are you two alright? Lydia's-"

"In trouble!" Sofia grasped his hand. Her big eyes pleading for him to see it. "Lydia's in trouble! Something's happened to her!"

"How do you know?!" Amber asked adamantly.

"We just do!" Miranda rose to her feet. Her sweated brow was knit. Miranda, Sofia, and Lydia always knew when one of them was in trouble. As if a thread bound them together, resounding whenever danger threatened them. They've never been wrong in the past. They aren't wrong now. She glared in the direction of Mistbow Mountain. "Lydia's in danger! We must go to her now!"

"And go to her you shall." Winifred announced, strolling into the dining hall.

"Ms. Winifred?" James gasped.

"Please pardon the intrusions, Your Majesties." Winifred remembered her manners and curtsied. "I've come to bring you to Mistbow Mountain. Lydia is due to arrive relatively soon."

"Please! Ms. Winifred!" Miranda rushed to her, holding the sorceress's hands. "Tell me what's happened to Lydia?"

Winifred lifted a brow. "What makes you think it has?" Miranda, unable to explain, simply touched her heart. Winifred understood. "Intuition. That's what would alert me when my Ceddy-kins was in trouble. I've never been wrong."

"Neither are we!" Sofia declared. "Lydia needs our help!"

"Then let us hurry without delay!" Winifred waved her hands, beckoning everyone close. "Where is that Constable Fellow?"

"At the stables." Baileywick answered.

"Then we shall pick him up!" Winifred snapped her fingers and stomped her feet. She and Royal Family transformed into orbs of light, gliding out the window.

xxx

Somewhere in the midst of the spirit stealing fall, Lydia lost consciousness. Her body and mind waiting for the impact that would carry her to the clouds. Her heart succumbing to the overwhelming grief. Giving her nothing left to live for. Sofia, Miranda - none of them came to her mind. The impact never came.

Lydia was jostled awake by tender bouncing. Her limp body jerking as if James was jumping on her bed to get her up. Trees, vines, and rocks slowly passed her by, growing right before her disoriented eyes. Gradually her head cleared. She was floating. Well, drifting down technically. She nullified the panic and confusion that come in response. She turned around to see what had her. Flapping pages ignited her life anew.

"UBOS! EEZEYAL!" She cheered. Eezeyal was lying on a patch of leave, catching his breath from the staggering fall. Tears of joy were in Lydia's eyes. Ubos strained bearing her weight. The ground was nearly upon them. "Let me down! I'm fine!" Ubos held no argument. He slowly lowered her. The fall left Lydia unbalanced and she collapsed to her knees. Her breath finally returned. "Thank you...Ubos…" She panted.

"My eternal pleasure…" He groaned, sitting beside Eezeyal. He was too old to be carrying damsels in distress.

"What are you doing here?! For that matter, how'd you know to come?!" Lydia limited her questions. Her head was pounding.

"I sensed a disturbance coming from the mountain. Decided to investigate. I traveled the whole night to catch your trail." And he was exhausted. Bags and black runs hung under his eyes. "As I ascended, Eezeyal flat fell right into me! Barely conscious!" By the looks of him the fall was kind. Ubos feared the worst when he bounced from sleep to awake. "Then I heard you screaming, and nearly lost my soul at the sight of you falling!" That's right! It was coming back to Lydia. She fell. No...I was pushed! "What in Zeus's name happened to you?! Where are Cedric and Wormwood? And where is Lezard?"

All fair and good questions. But all that require a long story. "I promise to explain! But right now we need to reach the peak!"

"Lydia, you should rest and explain." Ubos protested kindly. He begged her for an explanation.

"I'll tell ya what happened!" Eezeyal spat, propping himself to a small plant. "That no good, silver tongued, charismatically charmin' snake Lezard threw her off the cliff!"

"HE WHAT?!" Ubos gasped. Lydia sank miserably, hugging her elbows tightly. Overwhelming sorrow welled in her stomach. "Why?! What...what possessed him to do such a thing?!"

Lezard said something to Lydia before he pushed her off. A whisper. "He said...Yensid's Knowledge was his." Those words brought goosebumps to her skin. "And then...he dropped me! After he...he…" She touched her lips. Tiny welts brushed her fingertips. "Hm? What are these?" She touched her tongue to them.

Ubos moved in close. Lydia parted her lips slightly, allowing him a better look. "By the gods! I don't believe it!"

"What is it, Ubos?" Eezeyal crept close, sensing to ominous air amassing.

"On Lezard's hands! Were there mouths?" Ubos pressed them both.

"Ye-yeah! How did you-?"

"Remove your shirt! Now!" Ubos's command silenced Lydia. She blushed madly. She stammered to ensure she heard him correctly. "Lezard was handsy with you, Lydia!" That was enough to halt her arguments. During that ravenous kiss, Lydia recalled feeling the life being sucked out of her. 'He's a leach!' Cedric's voice bellowed again. Lydia dropped her jacket, and opened her sleeves enough. The top three buttons came undone as well. She pulled her sleeves up, and lifted the bottom of her shirt. Mouth shaped bite marks riddled her shoulders, arms, sides, and her hands. Resembling the mark on her mouth. "I don't believe it...how was someone like this permitted to Hexley?"

"What are these, Ubos?" Lydia asked fearfully, lowering her shirt.

"Leaching Bites!" Ubos growled.

"Leaching Bites?" Eezeyal's never heard of such a thing.

"Leaching is a forbidden arte! Forsaking to anyone who uses it!" Ubos is disgusted just talking about it. "Those who hunger for unlimited power surrender themselves to a power that will let them take from other magic users! Sometimes leaving nothing in their wake!" Explains why Lydia felt as if the life was being sucked out of her. Lezard was stealing her magic. "Unimaginable power is bestowed. The body and spirit amplified a ten fold! But there is a hazardous catch." Isn't there always? "The one who becomes a leacher can never stop. Thrice a month they must feed, and thrice a month they must consume until the mouths on their palms close." Lydia and Eezeyal were tempted to ask of the repercussions for those who don't satisfy the hunger. Or for those that do. They can stretch their imagination. "Lezard is a cursed man, Lydia. Driven mad by the unrelenting hunger. And if the mouths on his hands aren't closed…"

"OH MY GOSH!" Lydia darted to her feet. "He transformed into me!"

"He what?"

"Lezard transformed into me just before he tossed me! He wants Yensid's Pin, but he'll also have three fairies and two sorcerers to feed him!"

"Liddy, you don't think he's that powerful, do you?" Eezeyal scoffed skepticism.

"Maybe not! But my family is going to be waiting for me!" Ubos and Eezeyal saw where she was going. Terror gripped their spines. "Lezard was willing to kill me! What do you think he'll do to them for the brooch?"

"Then there is no time to waste!" Ubos flared open his pages. He absorbed Lydia and Eezeyal within his pages, and took off up the mountain. He just hoped he'd reach the top before Lezard.

xxx

Goodwin and the fairies gazed pleased as a gaggle of orbs floated to the peak. Winifred was the first to form. A snap of her fingers and the Royal Family, Baileywick, and Constable Miles emerged. That was quite the ride. They were tempted to go again. "I am pleased you all made it." Goodwin welcomed.

"Wouldn't miss this for the world!" Roland stated happily.

"Master Goodwin!" Miranda apologetically trounced on the welcoming. "Lydia. Where is she? Is she alright?" She pleaded for answers.

Goodwin was beginning to see a pattern. Confirming for him that there is trouble surrounding this trial. Though he wishes to continue, he can't risk a young woman's health. "Winifred! Let's head down and see if we can find Princess Lydia." Winifred nodded firmly. "Hopefully she is not too far away."

"ACTUALLY!" Heads darted to the voice. A waving hand sprouted from a steep slope. "I'M CLOSER THAN YOU THINK!" A racing Lydia ran up, dispersing the dower air.

"LYDIA!" Miranda, Fauna, and Sofia cheered, on the verge of tears. Goodwin and the others released held breaths. Hearts and minds rested at ease seeing her. "We feared the worst!" Fauna cupped her heart.

"Sorry 'bout that!" Lydia lurched forward. Her hands pressed to her thighs as she panted heavily. "The...last stretch...was indeed...a stretch."

"We're just glad you're safe." Goodwin praised, patting her shoulder. "You gave everyone here quite the scare. Especially your family." He gestured for her to apologize to the slightly aggravated family.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I possess a talent for making the heart race." Lydia dusted herself off, plucking dust from her uniform. "People just need to stop worrying over nothing and they'd prolong their lifespan." While to others that may be Lydia's normal impassive, unfiltered response, Miranda, Sofia, and Fauna were quite put off by it. Surely Lydia sees how worried she's made everyone. And...why isn't addressing her family. Or Sofia for that matter. She sounded as if she'd be overjoyed to see everyone on the mountain peak. "So can we get this circus over with or do we plan to play nursemaid until the next morning?"

"Oh yes! Quite so!" Goodwin cleared his throat, moving to prepare the next challenge. "But, one quick question. Where has Cedric gone?" That boggled everyone else too.

"Cedric? PFFT!" Lydia waved it off. "I didn't need him so I sent him home! He was slowing me down!" Now Baileywick, Miles, and Winifred were becoming aggravated. They know she insults. But she...doesn't dismiss him with such...rancor.

Miranda knit her brow angrily. Something wasn't right. Not by a long shot. Lydia's standing right there. But that girl isn't her daughter. "Lydia?" The roll in her eyes flicked a sour chord in Miranda. "I don't see Eezeyal anywhere. Didn't you take him with you?" She was right. Eezeyal went with Lydia. He's never gone from her side.

"Oh yeah…" Lydia tapped her chin, then waved her hand again, shrugging it off. "He left to. Yeah. Didn't need him along." Roland, James, Amber, and even Goodwin caught that hook the Miranda cast. That's not...Sofia's mind drifted.

Miranda darted forward, wrenching Lydia by the bicep. "WHO ARE YOU?!" She roared.

"WHAT?! MOM?! LET GO!" She clawed at the surprisingly strong grip. She winced in pain. "WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU? LET GO!"

"Lydia would never go anywhere without Eezeyal!" Miranda yanked her closer, practically pressing their noses together. "And she would NEVER say she doesn't need him! EVER!"

"Mom?"

"Don't you dare call me that!" Miranda shocked everyone slapping the girl across the face. It knocked her off her feet. Miranda puffed out her chest, glaring daggers at the imposter. "ANSWER ME! What have you done with my daughter?!"

Lydia spat in revulsion. To think a woman like that possessed so much bite. It was enough to make her laugh. And she did. "I see where Lydia get's her combative bite from." As she rose to her feet, the illusion faded on glittering orbs rising to the sky. Goodwin, Winifred, and the Fairies gazed stunned and in apprehensive awe. Roland, Miles, and Baileywick moved ahead of the kids, barring them from Lezard as he revealed himself. "You also explain her perceptive nature."

"Lezard?!" Miranda gasped, her mind screaming for this to be another trick. "I don't...understand! Why are you posing as Lydia? And where is she?"

"Not sure, really." Lezard crossed his arms. "Probably lying dead at the bottom of a cliff."

DEAD?! Roland and the others screamed in their minds. Sofia shook her quivering head. Her whole body felt winded. Lydia's...dead? No…! "You're wrong!" Sofia screamed. James and Amber held her back. Her fingers clawed at thin air. "LYDIA'S NOT DEAD! SHE'S NOT!" She wept hysterically. "YOU'RE LYING!"

"Lying or the truth, little Princess, it matters very little to me!" Lezard snorted maliciously. "Either way, she's not coming here to claim her prize! So you'd better accept the reality and move on!"

"Lezard, why?!" Flora flew in front of Miranda, safeguarding her from the clearly dangerous boy. "Why would you do this? I thought you liked Lydia!"

"Yes I did! Until she started surpassing me at everything in school!" Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather shared confused glances. In an odd way, this transition made sense. Not to those just joining the history of those two. "I was the best! The cut above the rest! I was going to be the one to become a Royal Sorcerer! Then out of nowhere she's ascending?" For years that confused him to no end. Until he discovered her little secret. "The village runt with no real talent! Never!" Refused to be beaten by trash. "I flew through my lessons! Ascended to the rank of novice two months after graduating! All my instructor offered me was a new wand with removed restrictions!" The very wand he hid in his cloak, and he threw it at the ground. Worthless. Purely worthless. "Why should she be offered the chance to seek aid from the greatest sorcerers before and of our time? I AM SUPERIOR!"

"NO!" Roland bellowed, marching beside his wife. "You're not superior! A true sorcerer works hard for their goals! All you've proven is that you steal what you aren't meant to have!" He grit his teeth. "You're just a leach!"

"And you're a helpless to stand in my way!" Lezard's foot stomped, cracking the ground under Roland, Miranda, and Flora. Flora retaliated by lifting her wand. The ground swallowed her, Roland, and Miranda up to their shoulders. Flora's wand bounced from her reach.

"MOM!"

"DAD!" The children screamed.

"YOUR MAJESTIES!" Baileywick and Miles darted. Goodwin, Winifred, Merryweather, and Fauna spread out. The fairies barred the young royals or the aids from progressing. Winifred and Goodwin aimed their wands for the evil boy. "Now surrender the brooch, Master Goodwin!" He opened a palm. The mouths in his palms made Flora, Miranda, and Roland scream. Goodwin and her fellow sorcerers recognized those mouths. "Or they die in the next five seconds!"

A familiar shriek distracted Lezard. All heads turned to the sky. Talons reflected on Lezard's glasses. "Impossible-!" Eezeyal, from out of the blue, swatted Lezard's glasses, scratching his nose.

"EEZEYAL!" Sofia, James, and Amber cheered. That only means one thing.

Eezeyal furiously clawed and marred Lezard's face, ripping hair by the root. Lezard swatted wildly while trying to block his face with one her. Barely missing the bird he shouted curses and profane words. Eezeyal abruptly stopped his onslaught. Lezard spun to punish him. A punched broke his nose, knocking him against an erect boulder. As if a ghost arising from the grave, Lydia towered over him. Unadulterated rage burned in her eyes. "Impossible!" Lezard shook his head. "You can't be-"

"LYDIA!" Lydia forgot Lezard. Sofia flew to her. "OH LYDIA!"

"SOFIA!" Lydia lifted her into a tight hug. Tears of joy streamed down Sofia's cheek. You're okay, you're alive, Sofia repeated between her blubbering. Lydia pet her down her back, holding her so close that they'd never part. James and Amber raced to her, placing hands on her to ensure she wasn't another trick. "It's alright! I'm here, Sofie! I'm here…" She cooed.

Merryweather and Fauna freed Roland, Flora, and Roland from the ground. "Lydia!" Miranda wrapped both of her girls in a hug. Her family was still whole. "Thank goodness! You're safe!"

"Sorry I worried you, Mom. Dad." Roland shook his head. He's just glad she's safe. Lydia looked to her scared brother and sister. "I'd imagine you'll all be very upset with me later." She laughed.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT!" Amber and James hugged her legs. She's alive! She's okay! Lezard did lie! Lydia was fine! There hole left in the dining hall was filled.

"OH, SPARE ME!" Lezard barked, balancing on the boulder to stand. "All of this love is making me want to vomit!" The moment dissipated in mere seconds. Lydia motioned for her family to stand back. This wasn't over yet. Sofia and Miranda shuddered to leave her again. Lydia nodded sternly, assuring them she wasn't going anywhere this time. Miles and Baileywick escorted them a safe distance. Goodwin and Winifred lowered their wands. The fairies, however, remained on guard. Lydia stared Lezard down, taking pride in the bloody nose she's given him. She'll do a lot worse if he doesn't speak fast. Her serious expression made him laugh. "How is it you're alive?"

Lydia lifted her hand. Something whisked through the air. She caught her spellbook as it darted from nowhere. "You're not the only one with hidden tricks!" This cleared the air for Sofia and the sorcerers. Ubos saved her life. He surreptitiously gave them a wink. "Leaching. That's a new one. That the price for falling in love these days?"

"Oh Lydia...what a fool you've grown to be!" He chuckled. He tapped his nose. Green leaves healed the superficial wound on the spot. "Guess I can't blame you for being so head over heels. I am quite the catch!"

"I don't understand!" Lydia skipped the insults and banter that he tried to usher and went straight for the jugular. "What have I ever done to you, Lez?" He owed her that much. Seeing as how this betrayal was out of character. And with no real rhyme behind it. "Why would you do this to me? My family? EVERYONE!"

"WHY?" He roared. "BECAUSE I WON'T LET A SKIPPED INHERITOR CLAIM WHAT SHOULD BE RIGHTFULLY MINE!" Lydia lost color in her face.

"Skipped inheritor?" Roland tapped his chin.

"What's that?" Miles asked. Goodwin, Winifred, the fairies, and Miranda shied and turned away. They lowered their heads to escape answering.

"Oh. I see." Lezard laughed, spying the awkwardness emanating from them. "Naughty, naughty, all of you!" He chastised. He focused his sights on Miranda. "Queen Miranda, keeping secrets from your family? Shame on you!"

"It's not my secret to tell!" Miranda roared. "Neither is it yours!"

"That closet is opened, Your Majesty! Might as well admit to the skeletons!" Miranda grit he teeth. Her back was in a corner.

"What's he talking about?" Amber yelled, looking to anyone for an answer. No one volunteered to answer her. "LYDIA!" Lydia flinched. "What is this maniac talking about?! What are you and mom not telling us?"

"Allow me, Princess Amber!" Lezard mockingly bowed.

"SHUT UP, LEZARD!" Lydia screeched. "I don't know how you found out, but don't you dare utter another word!"

"Even if I don't tell now, Lydia," He gestured to the fretfully curious onlookers, "They'll forever hold questions, and then you'll lose them just like you lost your father!"

"Her father?" Roland whispered. "You mean Balthasar?" He pressed.

"Who is that?" Miles asked. James and Amber wondered that too.

"He's Lydia and Sofia's biological father." Baileywick reluctantly answered.

"EXACTLY!" Lezard guffawed. "You see, Little Lydia has a small problem with her powers!" He pinched his fingers. Lydia and Miranda wanted to stop him, but those floodgates were already opened. No sense trying to close them. "Because her biological father's powers remained dormant, they passed on into her and melded with her own magic!" Sofia, James, and Amber blinked. They remembered a moment during her duel with Cedric where she pulled immense powerful out of nowhere. And, other times, when Lydia loses her patience, random things happen. Explosions. Disappearances. You name it. "Lydia has surplus magic flowing through her veins. The rub being if she doesn't maintain constant control she can very well leave a crater where your castle stands!" Roland didn't cast a fearful glance to his castle in the background. He holds faith from the bottom of his heart - if what Lezard is saying is true - Lydia would never submit to her powers. "Still haven't figured out yet how she controls it." Sofia further confirmed his words with what happened in Merroway Cove when she took off her...headband.

"Because she's ten times the sorcerer you'll ever be!" Fauna hissed. "Lydia strives in her work, and dedicates herself to succeed! She's one of the brightest and most talented minds we had at Hexley!" Lydia was warmed by the word, but they felt empty right now.

"No, Mistress Fauna!" Lezard pointed a forsaking finger at Lydia, placing that sword at her neck. "She's a monster, born and bred. And I refuse to be out done by a monster!" A monster. That's how he see's her. How he's always seen her. When Lydia thought about it, she has caught Lezard giving her evil glares from time to time. Once he went so far as to not talk to her after Finals their fourth year. She bested his scores. She thought it was him being petty. Instead...he resented the power residing in her. She doesn't see why. These powers are nothing to be jealous of. They're a blight. "And Queen Miranda knew the whole time! Never breathed a word!"

"OF COURSE SHE KNEW!" Lydia growled. "Who do you think contacted Hexley in first place?" Miranda doesn't regret it either. "Their arrival was on a whim, but my mom feared what my powers could do! She's been aware of them from day one!"

"She's been aware her daughter was a monster?" Lezard cooed.

"You're wrong!" Roland stepped forward. "Lydia is not a monster! You are!" He barked, taking Lydia aback. Lezard hissed through gritted teeth. "While I may not understand the true might of these skipped inheritors, I do know it takes more than looking to truly see!" Roland went beside Lydia, proudly holding her at his side. "Judgements by those as ignorant as you do not make her so! If Lydia has powers beyond comprehension then so be it! She will master those powers, and she will become the Queen Sorceress I know she'll become!"

"Dad…" Lydia touched his hands. He may not ever understand. He barely knows. But still, Lydia believed him. Regardless of what he will soon see.

"Now enough of this!" Lezard decreed. "I'll not stand in the presence of this filth any longer!"

"Too bad." Lydia set Ubos on the ground. "You'll have to stand it a few minutes more." She slowly removed her headband. Winifred, Goodwin, the fairies, Miranda, and Sofia gazed shocked. They slowly backed away, coaxing the others to move with her. "You see…" She grasped at a handful of dead weeds that appeared to be flowers once upon a time, "I'm not quite done with you yet. While at the same time..." She stroked two fingers across her lips. Green and black speckles pasted to them, "I gross nauseous in your presence." She kissed the weeds. "DIABOLUS SNARE!" (Devil's snare) She thrust the weeds like a sword. The weeds grew thick, coated in slime, extending like lightning, wriggling madly. The tips split, growing teeth. Lezard staggered. The weeds constricted him legs to shoulders, lifting him off the ground. Lydia crushed the base. The weeds reacted in kind and squeezed bones of his arms and legs bent close to breaking. The mouths in his palms squealed, closing on the spot.

"While it would be easy to simply toss you off the mountain, or crush you into a fine paste, I want you to listen to what it is my armor has held back for seven years." She removed the color from her lips. "COVER YOUR EARS!" Eezeyal scooped up Ubos and dove behind a rock. Everyone snapped their hands to their ears, crouching low. "No mercy for the forsaken! Allow the shrieks of heaven to sunder the land!" She tossed her hands to the air. Wind flocked around her arms like lightning to a rod, filing in her nostrils as she drew in a prolonged breath. She closed her hands, parting her lips to reveal swirling streams. "MORTIBUS CLAMARE...!" (Deaths cry) Lydia screamed bloodcurdlingly loud. Skulls and wind flew from her mouth, morphing her scream into a disembodied wail. The hands did little to muffle the ghoulish cries. All eyes gazed in wonder and fear, watching ghosts fly from the bowels of Lydia. The wind and skulls pierced Lezard's ears, ushering his own wailing. In his eyes nightmares flashed. The streams carried the skulls in and out of his body. Magic he'd stolen from many unfortunate victims escaped, darting in all directions and circling the mountain before returning to nature. Lydia's along with them. Lezard's skin loosened from the bone. His striking eyes clouded to grey. Lydia closed her mouth. The wind and skulls dissolved into the thin air that constructed them. Lezard's body fell limp like a doll without strings. The weeds dropped him, returning to their withered form.

Roland, Sofia, Amber, James - all eyes and mouths gaped in utter amazement, horror, and disbelief. Miranda, on the other hand, while uneased by her power, was not all too surprised. It broke her heart to know Lydia's held that back for so long. "Guess the break up's official." Lydia hoarsely mocked. After today...she might stay in her room for a week. A year. She twirled her headband. The moment it rested was when she felt the block set. Her strength evaporated from her shoulders, being stolen on the flowing wind. The band felt tight. She messed with it a little. The world was jiggling like pudding. The stifling silence drew her coated eyes to the crowd of frightened and disconcerted friends and family. Sofia and Miranda, battling to talk or move, further broke her heart. "Don't...look...at me...like...th...at…" Lydia's eyes rolled in the back of her head. She started to fall.

"LYDIA!" Sofia and Miranda darted.

Roland slid on his knees, catching her seconds before she hit the ground. Her headband left her head. A shallow breath left her mouth. Her skin was paling. "Lydia? LYDIA!" He pat her cheek. No response. Her breathing was growing more shallow. James and Amber held hand, breaking down in tears. "Don't do this, Lydia! Not again! Wake up!" Sofia cupped her cheeks, shaking her head. She buried her face in her hands, falling apart. Miranda held her close, blinding her from the sight.

The fairies huddled close. The touched their wands together. A green bell tolled over Lydia. The dinging sprinkled dust that seeped under her skin. It appeared to be working, but not enough. "MAKE A GURNEY!" Miles boomed to Winifred and Goodwin. "WE MUST GET HER TO THE INFIRMARY IMMEDIATELY!" The two sorcerers nodded and sought material they could weave the gurney from.

"Come on, sweetheart!" Roland shook her. Lydia stayed lifeless in his arms. Ubos and Eezeyal looked on in horror. No...They both moaned. Baileywick gripped his watch, begging the ticking hands to open her eyes. "Wake up! WAKE UP!"

To be continued.

Egh. Not one of my better chapters, but it will do.