Chapter Six
I awoke to warm sunlight filling the room. I sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed. I got up to brush my teeth and splash cold water on my face, then changed into more appropriate clothing for today's adventures. I pulled on some long, tight, dark-green slacks made from a durable, flexible material. I wasn't sure what the material was. It was made by the Tinker Elves. Basically Santa's little helpers who opted out of that particular arrangement. Or maybe they were already here when their brethren in the Spirit World signed that contract? Who knows, it doesn't really matter. The important thing is they can make nearly anything, and of decent quality I must say. They make a lot of the odds and ends my family needs, and we give them what small things they will accept in return. Usually artwork. They can make practical things, but have little to no artistic talent. I continued dressing, adding a light green, long-sleeve tunic to the outfit. A brown textile belt cinched my waste, finishing the outfit, the long tunic hanging beneath it like a skirt. My hair was still pulled back in its loose simple braid, but it was much disheveled from the nights sleep. I had been too tired last night to bother with it. I reached back and undid the braid, preferring a simple pony-tail for today's ride. So attired, I was ready to meet the day.
When I left the dormitory, I realized the place was deserted. It was mid morning, but I had assumed the tribes would take their time in setting out, as they usually did. I saw my four friends, gathered around the ornately carved log gate standing at the lip of the festival grounds. Made me glad they got to see it in the light. Cid spotted me and waved, the group coming to meet me halfway.
"Morning," I said cheerfully to my friends as they approached. They all wished me a good morning, but were looking at me cautiously. As if worried I might suddenly break. That was strange.
"You seem a lot better now. You slept through the night okay?" Malia asked carefully.
"I slept like a fat, happy baby," I said with a laugh. "Why? And why are you all looking at me like I'm about to shatter into a million pieces?" Even Chase was giving me a concerned look.
"It's just, last night seemed to hit you pretty hard," Malia said. "Only a couple other people were affected as badly as you. We just want to be sure your alright."
"Yeah, the stories were a little intense," I said. "But nothing I can't handle. My mind was just a little overloaded last night. It was a lot to take in. I had never heard the whole story about my families history. Only the blessing. I just hadn't realized what it really meant to be the Sanctums Guardian." My friends concern seemed to deepen after I said this. Now they were starting to get on my nerves. "What?" I demanded, maybe a little harshly. "You guys don't think I can handle it? That I can't live up to my ancestors?" I voiced my own fears aloud, as if it wasn't something that concerned me in the least. As if speaking it would prove that those thoughts didn't bother me. That they hadn't taken root deep inside me.
My friends all looked shocked. Maybe even a little bewildered. The concerned looks didn't leave their faces, and they all exchanged worried glances.
"Not that," Chase said. "The nightmare. How you were after."
It came back to me in a rush, and I prepared myself for the worst. I squatted on the ground, holding my head in my hands, ready in case I lost consciousness. All my memory of the previous night returned, but besides that, nothing happened. I could even vaguely remember the nightmare, and the Never-Tree, but they seemed to be blocked out. A soft echo of the light from the star I had seen last night seemed to cover them, lessening the mental blow. I took a few deep breaths to make sure, but the memories didn't grow. I smiled, standing up straight and gazing at my friends.
"I'm… fine," I said, sounding surprised even to myself. "Its not even close to being as bad as it was last night. I didn't remember a thing until Chase said something. Your a miracle worker Malia. Whatever you did last night worked like a charm." Malia has the hands of a healer, no doubt about it. I wonder if she's related to some long distant queen? Wouldn't surprise me.
"Holy mother of pancakes," Malia said, sounding extremely relieved. "Thank goodness. We were so worried." Her voice dropped back to a worried tone as she continued. "A couple women were in a really bad state after the nightmare. All the tribes left a few hours ago so they could be tended at home. Two were inconsolable, and one seems to be in a coma. She's pregnant too… I sure hope she recovers. Just so awful." She was clearly distraught. I felt it to. A pregnant woman slipping into a coma after having a nightmare. I'd never heard of such a thing. What had happened last night?
"Do you guys know what happened last night?" I asked them.
Everyone shook their heads. It was clearly something they were wondering as well. Now that the looks of concern had mostly left their faces, I noticed they all appeared a bit high strung. Tired, as if none of them had a very restful night. Then I realized something, and immediately felt like a selfish jerk for not even considering it before now.
"Did you guys… see it too?" I asked Remi and Cid. They both nodded, Cid looking down at his feet in discomfort. To my surprise, Chase was nodding as well. "You saw it too?" I asked the dog in surprise. "I hadn't even thought of that, I'm sorry Chase. Malia said only people who have a bit of magic were affected. I guess your people were affected too." He nodded, clearly not wishing to speak of it. I walked to him, kneeling down to pet him. He may not be some domesticated beast, but he is still a dog. I gave him a big hug, burying the side of my face in his thick ruff.
"I'll be fine," Chase said and leaned into me, making me lose my balance slightly. I had to stop hugging him to keep from tipping over. But I could tell he was hiding a smile. He'd be alright.
"So," I said to Malia, trying to dispel the dark mood that had arisen. "Holy mother of pancakes?" I asked teasingly. Everyone laughed and the mood lightened.
"Hey," she responded. "I'm hungry. So sue me. I haven't eaten breakfast yet, and pancakes happen to sound delicious to me at the moment. Unfortunately, I'll have to be content with what we brought. Maybe ill try to convince Cook to make breakfast for dinner when we get back to school," she said with a dreamy smile.
"Lets eat then," I said.
"We're still waiting for the Headmaster to come back," Cid responded.
Before I could ask where the Old Wizard had wandered off to, Chase let out a single long howl, almost like a wolf. We all looked at him surprised, no one so much as me. He wasn't really the barking, howling type.
"Told me to call him. When Liz woke," Chase said simply. He turned towards the gate, and we all waited. Soon Gramps came up from the festival grounds, looking around till he spotted us. He came over at a brisk walk.
"Good to see you awake Liz," he said when he reached us. "Was it bad?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes. He was one of the few people I had soul gazed, so that wasn't a concern. He knew what had happened three years ago, and seemed to realize the nightmare had stirred those memories. Seeming satisfied by what he saw, he gave me an encouraging smile. "That's my girl. Made of mithril this one is," he said to my friends as he patted me on the back. I blushed, but appreciated his belief in me.
"So, what happened last night Headmaster?" Remi asked, beating the rest of us to the punch.
"Hmm," said the Old Wizard, looking at us discerningly. As if deciding what he should say. "I've been communing all morning, but I have learned little. Not much of what happens in the outside world makes it here into the Sanctum. I do, however, know that something Big happened last night. It must have been big," he mused as if to himself. "Takes a goodly amount of power to penetrate the Sanctums defenses…" he trailed off, staring off into the middle distance. He seemed lost in thought, not something I see often. He always seems to just know things. I hoped it wasn't as bad as all that.
Malia's tummy rumbled, and it seemed to snap the Old Wizard out of his reverie.
"Ah, my apologies, you all must be famished. It's well past breakfast, and those young bodies and minds do need to replenish for the day ahead. Come along, lets eat," Gramps waved us on as he headed for the jeep.
We all happily followed him, and I tossed my travel pack into the back of the vehicle. We enjoyed a relaxing breakfast picnic, talking little but enjoying each others company none the less. We ate fairly quickly. Gramps ate little, obviously wanting to head back as soon as possible but not wanting to rush us. We met him halfway, eating faster than normal without actually rushing.
As we packed up the jeep, Gramps looked at the two heavily modified bicycles sitting off to the side. We'd had to take them down in order to open up the back cargo compartment. He sighed and said to me, "Looks like your fathers contraptions will have to wait a while before they're tested. Its a shame, he was so excited. You know how he is about collecting data. The more the better, regardless of the outcome. But, it can't be helped."
I looked up at him in alarm. "What? We can't go on our trip? But why?" I asked, feeling disappointed. I had started to look forward to a nice long ride. And I hadn't been to the HQ in far too long. And I really, really wasn't liking the idea of another long boring drive. I would at least get to stretch my physical and meta-physical muscles during a good ride.
The Old Wizard looked at me critically. "You still want to go? Hmm… are you sure your up to it? I don't want you going beyond your limit, young lady. You could always go on another day, when your fully recovered from your ordeal." He was inspecting me as I positively bounced on my heels. I wanted nothing more than a good adventure through the Scattered Forest, and I wasn't going to relinquish my desire without a fight.
"I'm perfectly fine, Gramps," I said a little heatedly. "Look at all the excess energy I have. I neeed to go on an adventure. I neeeeeeed to," I'd been trying for a tone of determined eagerness, but it may have been tainted ever so slightly with a bit of a whine. Just a little. A tiny bit. I'm not a whiner. I hope. "Please?" I added, hoping it didn't come off as too desperate.
He turned to Cid and asked, "And what would you like to do, my boy?"
I looked to Cid, and my hopes dropped a little. He did look pretty tired, and I didn't want to drag him along for the ride if he wasn't feeling up to it. I gave him a smile to show him there would be no hard feelings if he wanted to go some other time. Hopefully he understood. But then he answered.
"If Liz wants to go, of course I will," he said with his goofy smile. It triggered something in the back of my mind, but I lost it. Oh well, guess it wasn't important. Cid stretched a bit and continued. "I am a little tired, so we may not make as good a speed as usual. But I think I can manage. I am a little worried we might not be able to make it all the way back today though. We had planned on leaving earlier than this, so there's that. Would it be okay for us to stay the night at the Crew's headquarters, if we're making bad time?" he asked Gramps. The Old Wizard considered for a moment.
"Yes, yes. Okay. That sounds like a good safe plan. But I don't want you two over-doing it now, you hear me?" Gramps said with a sharp jab at both Cid and I. "It's not a race. Liz's father just wants to know how well this new invention of his runs. A simple, leisurely test drive is all that is necessary. Take your time, and stay with your friends for the night if you need to. That's perfectly fine." He looked at us, his glance shifting back and forth between us. "And behave yourselves. Your both growing fast, but your still to young to be engaging in any…" he drifted off, a twinkle in his eye as he kept shifting his gaze between us, "fornication," he ended, with a wink at me. I stuck my tongue out at him. He was just trying to embarrass me, but I knew the Old Wizards game. And he knew me and Cid had been best friends for practically our entire lives, and that I had no feelings for him in those regards. Cid however, blushed profusely, and we all laughed, him included.
Sex isn't really taboo in my family or at the school. Not that the students are allowed to engage, of course. Well, its not exactly forbidden. The teachers know that telling a teenager they absolutely cannot do something is the best way to guarantee that they do it. They have ways of discouraging it though. It's also approached in a way that encourages us so make safe smart choices. More about the emotions involved, as well as the hormones. Teaching us the difference between physical infatuation and genuine emotional affection. And why the difference between the two matters. In the end, we're taught that a persons body is their own, and their choices are theirs to regret. That they have to pay the consequences of those choices, no matter the cost. Helps kids to think twice, maybe three times about something so important. Not that it always works, but learning to be a wizard is hard work. Physically and mentally. Doesn't leave you with much energy left for other strenuous activities. So it doesn't happen often. Personally, it has never been an issue for me. I'm way too busy for boys. I'll probably live for a very long time too, so I can worry about all that later. Though looking at Remi… and there's the physical infatuation. But it wasn't like I wanted to rip his clothes off or something. Well, not much. I was in control of myself, and I would never relinquish that for purely physical reasons. Remi was my friend, but I'd only known him for a little over a year, since he started at Strong Roots. We hadn't gotten to know each other all that well. I didn't even know his favorite color, or food. I didn't know if he loved long quiet walks at night under the stars. I didn't know what his dreams or hopes for the future were. I had always wanted my first time to be special, even before I really knew what that meant. I've always had this feeling that I would meet someone really amazing. Someone I'd have a truly deep emotional and spiritual connection with. My soulmate, I guess. Maybe I'm just an idealistic dreamer, but I was willing to wait for him.
I smiled over at Cid, mouthing 'thank you' to him. I was sure it was his assurance that we would go slow, and rest if we needed to, that had convinced the Old Wizard to let us go on our adventure. As the others loaded themselves into the jeep, I walked over to give Cid a big hug. After a second I began to pull back, but he clung to me, clearly needing some friendly human contact. He'd had a rough night, so I didn't begrudge him. I hugged him back—realizing maybe I had needed it too—until he ended the embrace. I felt bad for boys sometimes. Always feeling like they need to tip-toe around their emotions. It must be exhausting. And a little lonely. He gave me a thankful smile.
"Cid," Gramps shouted from the jeep. "I'm counting on you my boy. You'll have to keep that one reigned in. Keep a tight leash on that impulsive behavior of hers. You keep an eye on her too, Chase. I want my grand-daughter back in one peace, understand?"
"Hear you loud and clear, Headmaster," Cid shouted with an over-exaggerated salute towards the jeep. Chase got up and moved around behind me and to one side, then sat in a hyper alert state, his ears up and eyes flicking all around. I rolled my eyes at the both of them.
"Cya Gramps. Bye guys. Hope you don't die of boredom on the ride home," I shouted, then turned to Chase. "What did he mean, that he wanted you to keep an eye on me? Aren't you heading back home?" Chase lives pretty far from here. Off east with one of the tribes.
"Nope," he said, still pretending to be hyper alert. I made a silly face at him, and he relaxed with a huffing chuckle. "Coming with you. A long run sounds fun. Stretch these old bones. Change of scenery might be nice, too. Thought I'd come stay with you. If that's okay. For a while. You know. Until I get bored," he said casually. The rascal.
"I mean, if you really want to," I said, as if I didn't care one way or the other. "If its not too hard a journey for such an old beast as yourself. I doubt you could even keep up with Pop's new ride."
"Ha. Gonna leave you two in my dust. See nothing but my tail the whole ride," the dog countered.
"We'll see about that," was Cid's riposte. "You haven't seen how fast I can go on one of these." He'd moved over to the other side of the road, inspecting the two heavily modified bicycles.
I dropped down and gave my friend a huge hug. "Of course I want you to come with us. That's wonderful. I'd never even thought about you coming to live at the school. We'll have tons of fun. And you can play with my little sisters every day," I said, extremely happy about this new turn of events. Couldn't have too many of my friends around. I'd added that last bit as something of a jab, knowing my sisters are not his favorite people. Not that he really disliked them. They are just at the age and size that he made a perfect pony, so that's what he was to them. He did not appreciate two little girls trying to ride him. Chase made a huffing chuffing noise with a bit of jowl to it. It was actually a fairly good impression of a horse. I laughed heartily, as did Cid.
"All right, time to get underway," I said excitedly, rubbing my hands together. "Lets see what Pops new Magi-bikes can do."