Arriana's Return

Arriana's Return - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"So Lucas really does not like anything different does he?" Arriana sighed and sat on the ground.

She bit her bottom lip and rested her chin in her hands. Her heart thumped in her chest. The weight of what she agreed to do was weighing heavily on her. This was a lot more than winning a swim meet or being lead on a school project. An entire world rested on her shoulders.

"No, he does not," Zoe said.

"Alright, I'm ready to go make Coresova a hell of a lot more different. Let's go give this maniac a migraine. I'm ready to take my kingdom back," Arriana stated firmly, standing up.

Her adrenaline coursed strongly through her veins. It almost seemed as though she was having an out-of-body experience. She knew what she was doing, but she didn't feel in control of her acions. She was terrified. Not brave.

The room of people began to chuckle and the mood seemed to lighten a bit. Tensions were high; they all knew this would be a hard journey for the young girl. She had never been in a fight, never stood in front of people when it wasn't necessary. Like she always thought...she was a normal, average, mundane teenager that always blended in with the background. She was about to step into the spotlight and be there for a very long time.

The next few days were such a blur for Arriana. So many questions were still flying around in her mind. She was beginning to get nervous as the hours ticked away.

When will Barwick come for us? Why didn't the others ever rise up and take control? Why wait for me? I'm nobody. I've never been there. I don't even know how to fight. Will I be a good queen? Will I be able to learn enough to defeat Lucas in time? Is this all even real? What if I screw up? Oh man, what am I getting myself into?

Everything she knew to be right and wrong or real and fake seemed to be the opposite. The thought that she would lead an entire army seemed like a joke. She had no idea if she was doing the right thing or if this was going to be the biggest mistake of her life. In the back of her mind, she still always assumed that everybody would jump out of somewhere, someplace and yell "Gotcha!" and they would all have a good laugh at her expense. It still hadn't happened. Arriana continued going to school for some sort of normalcy before chaos surrounded her. As she watched her fellow classmates file through the hallways, mess around in class and just act the way they normally do she began to realize how immature and pathetic it all seemed now. Here she was, only seventeen years old and about to travel to this other world and prepare for a battle against a man who is so full of hate that he has been on a mass murdering spree for who knows how long. He could very well have been killing the magical and mythical creatures of Coresova for a lot longer than seventeen years. Arriana would've bet money on it at this point. She also began to wonder if everyone else had ever thought about life beyond Smithtown. If they thought about their future or what else was going on out there. Lost in her thoughts, she did not here Ms. Monegan calling her name. She did realize it when she was wacked on the back of the head with the yardstick though.

"Miss James, are you with us today?"

The class erupted in laughter.

"Yes, Ms. Monegan. I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind," Arriana murmured coming out of her daydream.

"Well if you can pry yourself away from your ever so important thoughts do you think you can join the rest of the class and answer my question?" Monegan asked sarcastically.

"Um, what was the question?" Arriana asked.

Sighing heavily Ms. Monegan looked down at Arriana from the top of her silver rimmed glasses and her long pointy beak of a nose. Her lips pursed tightly together and her muddy brown eyes glared at Arriana.