Lapis Lazuli's Genie Secrets in a Bottle

Chapter 10: Hot and Cold

Later that night, Lapis was sound asleep with her magic carpet draped over the foot of her bed like a throw blanket. In her sleep, the young girl heard something, a voice calling her name; a very familiar voice.

"Lapis." the voice echoed in her  subconscious. "Lapis."

In her dreams, Lapis saw a blue light glow. And from that light, her mother appeared before her; much to the girl's tearful surprise.

"Mom?" she gasped. "Is that really you?"

"Lapis, my little girl." Blue Diamond smiled.

"How are you here?" the genie hybrid asked.

"I'm communicating with you through your dreams." the mother genie explained. "But, I cannot hug or touch you."

"Oh Mom, I miss you and Dad so much." Lapis told her in tears. "I feel so alone."

"But, you're not alone, dear." her mother reminded her. "You have your brother with you and new friends as well."

"You're right." the blue-haired girl said. "I know what I am now and once I'm strong enough, I'm going to save you."

"And that is why I'm reaching out to you." Blue Diamond spoke solemnly. "White Diamond is on to you, Lapis. He has asked his son Jasper to send his gang of criminals out to kidnap you."

"I just ran into a couple of them earlier today." her daughter gasped.

"You mustn't let White Diamond and Jasper capture you." the genie mother warned her. "If you end up in the emperor's clutches, he will destroy you. You must trust in your magic and trust in the ones who love you for the sake of your protection."

Just then, Blue Diamond started to fade before Lapis' eyes.

"No!" she cried out in tears. "Don't go. Mommy!"

"We'll be together soon, sweetheart." her mother's voice resounded. "In the meantime, you be safe."

Meanwhile in the waking world, Lapis was shedding tears in her sleep; once again indicating that she missed her parents badly.

The next day, the trio of genie teachers introduced Lapis to her next lesson: levitation. It sounded easy enough. It was just lifting objects off the ground. But, this was one of the hardest magical skill for the genie hybrid to master.

"Come on!" Bismuth chanted. "You gotta put in more effort than that. Again."

"Look, I really am trying." Lapis panted after her fiftieth attempt. "It's just that my magic is so frustrating to control. And just recently, I didn't even know I had magical powers."

"Don't worry, Lapis." Peridot said coolly. "Every genie goes through stress when it comes to mastering their magic."

"Yeah but, I feel like being half human is making it even harder for me to control my powers." the genie girl confessed. "I just don't know what to do."

"We know a couple of genies who might be able to help you." Garnet told her.

Just down the block, the group of eight arrived at a medium-sized building and Garnet gave a knock on the door. It opened to reveal a pair of genies that were rather short in stature.

One of the two genies was a bit more muscular. She had scarlet skin, black eyes, and burgundy colored hair held up by a maroon headband. She wore a red and yellow top with a vest of a lighter red, embroidered denim pants held by a maroon belt, and pale red heels.