Thanks goes to Adeleidhis for helping me brainstorming ideas for the beginning of this chapter. :)
*.*.*
It was Miss Harbinger, wearing a grey traveling dress. That wasn't possible. Eliza eyed her suspiciously. Something about this tower didn't feel right.
"Miss Harbinger?" she asked her nanny, concern dwelling in her eyes. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in England."
Amanda hissed, brandishing her dagger. "She's not who she says she is!"
"What?" Eliza asked, stunned. "Amanda, it's my nanny Miss Harbinger. She won't hurt us!"
"I'm afraid, my dear, that your dragonoid friend is right about me." Miss Harbinger waved her hands in front of her, moving upwards until she changed form. She was no longer human. She was a purple dragonoid. It was the same dragonoid Eliza remembered seeing in Uncle Benjamin's drawing room!
"No, no, no! This cannot be!" Eliza spoke up, bewildered. "You're not Miss Harbinger, are you?" She asked the purple dragonoid, who smiled right back at her.
"You're right about that, deary." The female purple dragonoid said, confident and bold. "You may find that Miss Harbinger was my human alter ego. My name is Helen the Shapeshifter." She turned to Parker, the moment he entered the main room. "Ah! Parker Dooley, we meet at last!"
"You!" Parker said, shocked. "You were that voice in my head, the one telling me to do the wrong things!" He pulled out his sword, now cleaned and polished.
"Put that weapon down, boy," Helen said, smirking. "There's no sense in facing me. You're not ready! None of you are ready."
"I'll take you down no matter what, Helen!" Amanda said, curtly.
Helen laughed. "Oh, how bold of you!" She shook her head. "You're nothing without me, Amanda."
"Who are you? Why are you trying to open a portal?" Eliza asked the shapeshifting creature, curious and confused. "Why are you doing this? You brought me and Parker together! How? How did you know that Parker and I were mated?"
"Eliza!" Parker hissed at her in warning. "Don't."
"You didn't know?" Helen asked, curtly. She admitted, truthfully, "It was Aslan who put you two together. Of course, that doesn't explain how Parker was able to follow you around everywhere at home. I'm sorry, at your home, Eliza."
"Don't test me, Helen!" Parker sneered. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, you didn't know that either," Helen said, shocked. "Haven't you wondered what your powers were doing half the time you've been asleep? You've been following Eliza like a lap dog until she came and found you. Haven't you guessed this? You two are bonded in more ways than one!" She turned to Eliza, saying, truthfully, "Didn't it occur to you why I never let you read those fairy tales and fantasy stories? They're real, Elizabeth. They've always been real. Surely, you knew that before you ever stepped onto Beleriand's soil? Or at Paravane Trepess, which is one gateway between worlds."
"One?" Eliza asked, now curious. "You mean there's more than one way?"
"Yeah, there is," Parker said, honestly. "This tower, Paravane Trepess. There's thousands of other gateways. Portals to other worlds. There's even a portal world that can take us anywhere we choose."
"Very good," Helen sneered in wicked delight. "I'm impressed you've done your studies."
"That isn't the point," Amanda said, cautious. "What about that letter you sent to Parker? About his mother and his family?"
Helen said with full confidence. "Oh, his mother's letter tells the truth. She did exactly as she was told. Aslan isn't the only one working throughout the realms. Evil finds loopholes everywhere. The rest came from you, and you have done what no one else could." She admitted, sorrowfully, "Although, I hoped that Draco and Penelope would have killed you sooner. They failed. And here we all are in this portal room!"
"Don't trust her," Amanda told Parker and Eliza. "She's not going to help you."
"Ah! Look whose causing problems now. Shall I end your life and spare you the trouble?" Helen threatened.
"End her life?" Eliza asked, concerned. "Helen, if you have a heart, you could go to Manwë or Aslan, whoever he is. Explain things." She added, kindly, "I'm sure they'll understand."
There was a pause. Eliza smiled at Helen, wondering if she would change her mind. Oh, how she so wanted them to get along. Her smiled faded at the memory of her nanny and her bossy attitude. She didn't like that side of Miss Harbinger – Helen, nor did she want Helen to become evil.
It was Amanda who said that shapeshifters were evil. Eliza hoped the dragonoid had enough sense not to attack Helen, not when the shapeshifting dragonoid didn't do anything.
"Come on, Amanda," Helen faced the white dragonoid, smirking. "Surely, you won't let your attitude convince you that all shapeshifters are evil? Shall we test this?" She smiled mischievously. "Surely, you won't let prejudice convince you that my race is evil."
Amanda snarled. She wasn't giving up on this fight. She charged straight for the shapeshifter, throwing her dagger at the purple dragonoid. Helen dodged the dagger and smacked Amanda in the stomach. The reaction left Amanda crashing to the wood-planked floor in pain.
"Don't make me do that again," Helen said, serious. "You were the one after shapeshifters."
"And you were the one threatening me!" Amanda cried back, annoyed. "Don't you remember that?"
Helen pulled out Amanda's dagger. "You want to face me? Fine. I challenge you to a duel. Fight to the death. May the best dragonoid win." She smiled wickedly in Amanda's direction, her face confident and bold. Amanda stood up and pulled out a dagger off the wall, ready to fight the shapeshifting dragonoid. "Come on, Amanda. Surely, you weren't planning on making it through this alive, were you?"
"You won't win. I'll guarantee it," Amanda said, testily.
Another pause entered the room. Eliza watched in horror as Amanda and Helen made the first move, blade clashing against blade. Amanda dodged Helen's first blow, only to be smacked in the back by Helen's elbow. Amanda spun around in pain, doing her best to keep her composure together. She spun around, clashing her dagger against Helen's dagger – or rather her dagger against the dagger she found on the wall.
Amanda parried and dodged another blow, as Helen smacked the wall and swung at the white dragonoid. Each dragonoid was nearly equal in the fight, but Helen was quickly proved to be the stronger duelist! The white dragonoid ducked too soon, causing the purple dragonoid to bash her on the head with the hilt of her dagger. Amanda sprawled on the floor, her head throbbing.
"Ow!" Amanda winced, doing her best to keep focused.
"Giving up already?" Helen asked, cunningly. "You can't win. You're too… delicate. A delicate flower with too much honor in your heart. And that honor will kill you before you meet your family." Amanda glared at her, as Helen spoke again, "You're nothing without me around. Nothing!"
Amanda growled, swinging her dagger at the shapeshifter. She stood up, ready to take another blow, when Helen's blade struck her in the stomach, hitting her enough to make her fall to the floor in a weakened state. She was going to die here. There was nothing more to say about it, except to rest in peace—
"No! No! NOOOO! Please, NO!" Eliza shrieked in terror, only to be held back by Parker before she had the chance to rush up to Amanda's side. She looked at Helen's cackling smile. How could she do this? "I'll kill you!" She ran towards the shapeshifter, hoping to take her revenge on her now. Only she didn't count on Helen choking her with a wave of her hand.
"You think you can stop me? Please," Helen said, proudly, "on the inside, you're still that little girl who was afraid of moths." She sneered, threatening her and Parker, "The next time we meet, I can assure you that it won't be pretty. I will come back and you two will know the meaning of pain." She released Eliza, allowing her the chance to breathe, before vanishing in a cloud of purple smoke.
Eliza coughed loudly, sputtering in an effort to regain her strength. She was happy when Parker came to join her, but terrified at the sight of seeing Amanda on the ground, coughing weakly. No! This couldn't be! Amanda was supposed to live! The moment she recovered, Eliza rushed up to the white dragonoid's side, holding her friend's scaly hand.
"You two are something," Amanda said, weakly.
"Please don't go! We need you!" Eliza cried out in pain, choking back tears.
"No. You two need each other." Amanda moved Parker's hand in Eliza's, holding them together. "Take care of each other. Go without me. Tell my family… about me. Bring my body back to them. Please?"
Eliza nodded several times. "We will. Don't worry about that."
"Good," Amanda said, softly, feeling at peace. "I can see it now. Aslan's Country." She looked up at the ceiling, as a white light engulfed her. "It's so… beautiful." She looked on, the light leaving her eyes. Eliza couldn't believe this. Amanda was gone.
