"Tam? Linh? Can I talk to you guys for a quick minute?" Nala plastered on a smile and dragged the two over.
"What is it?" Linh asked.
Nala's words came out in a rush. "I messed up. With time. Sophie wasn't supposed to meet you guys now."
Tam shrugged. "So?"
"So, none of us can leave earth until the whole mess is fixed. Our powers are too weak to lead us to the elvin realm! In fact, they're so weak I can hardly vanish without blinking in and out!"
"What?" Tam yelled.
"I mean, it's not so bad! You guys have been to earth so many times it could be your second home!"
"But...but our treehouse! And the earth is so polluted..."
"You get used to it," Nala told Linh with a wave of her hand.
"Wait..." Tam turned back to look at Sophie and the others. "Even these guys can't leave? And everyone's powers are pretty much...useless?"
Nala gave a nervous chuckle.
Linh shook her head. "Hate to say it Nal but you've really messed up this time."
"What can I say? It's a gift!"
She did it all the time but it usually all turned out alright in the end. When Nala or Anita ever had a problem a thing their mother had always said was 'look for another opportunity'. Nala felt it was more helpful than the whole 'never give up' thing.
"Elves don't eat animals. What will we eat?" Tam asked.
"They're always vegetarian options! And I don't know about you but I lived on earth for a good amount of time so I'm fine with grabbing some chicken nuggets."
"Is it bad that I'm intrigued by those?" Linh said.
"No honey it isn't." Nala pat Linh's shoulder then walked over to Sophie and the rest.
Sophie's brown eyes settled on Nala's. "What was that all about?"
"Long story short, we're stuck here and you're going to live off salad and veggie burritos while I go to McDonald's."
"Wait...can you just go back to the part where you said WE'RE STUCK HERE."
"It was supposed to be Tam, Linh and I enjoying Iceland but you just had to follow me, so I'd consider it a partial fault."
"I can't live on earth!" Biana cried.
"Sure you can!"
"I don't like veggie burritos though. I might go rogue," Linh murmured.
"No!"
"Geez, Biana cool down we're not staying here." Fitz rubbed her back reassuringly.
Nala scoffed. "Fine. You can stay here and attempt to go back, while we three are going to England."
"We are?" Tam asked as Linh squealed, "We are!"
Keefe actually looked concerned. "Wait, you're serious? We can't leave the forbidden cities?"
"Why?" Dex asked.
Nala considered her answer. "It's hard to explain but something has happened that has caused a disruption in...time, one might say. We have powers but they're just about as helpful as a cheap magic show. People are working on it though!" she added when she saw the others' horrified faces. "It'll be okay!"
"But the earth is so...icky." Dex gagged.
"Hey! This place used to be my home you know!" Sophie said in defence.
Nala nodded. "I also lived here for a while too, in England. We had a luxury guest house we'd rent out for vacations." Nala frowned for a moment but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "We bought it right after you guys left! Isn't that cool?"
"Ooh! The one in Cornwall?" Linh asked.
"That's the one."
Sophie paused. "You've seen it before?"
Nala clapped her hands. "Less talking, more moving!"
Everyone held onto each other as Nala raised her crystal, picturing the house and two words in her head.
Cornwall, England.
◈▣◈
They had teleported to Cornwall, a place Nala would like to call the loveliest spot in England. Nala, Anita and their parents used to rent a guest house just to visit from time to time. They loved to visit the forbidden cities as a family. It might've had more problems than the Elvin world, but it was still beautiful in its own way. Nala's parents had officially bought the house three years ago, not too long after Nala had first met Tam and Linh. Nala read the sign as they approached the few steps leading to the door.
Property of the Crystals
Nala had always loved her surname. It reminded her of her family. She wished they could be together again and visit the forbidden cities together, but those times were over. Her parents were gone and Anita was always busy at the HQ. How did everything go so wrong?
It was when they sat in the living room that everyone decided to voice their worries.
Sophie pulled a second eyelash off. "Grady and Edaline are going to be so worried!"
Fitz nodded to Biana. "And our parents are probably going to flip."
"I don't want to think about how my parents will react." Dex shuddered.
Tam snorted. "Our parents never really cared about where we are anyway."
Keefe shook his head. "Sorry, the role of 'major family issues' is already filled by me."
Nala shrugged. "At least you guys have parents around, right?"
Tam and Linh's faces saddened while the rest looked oblivious.
"Where are your parents usually then?" Dex asked.
Biana hit him. "Dex!"
"It's fine." Nala held her hands together so they wouldn't form into fists. "My parents are dead, Dex. I think Dimitar squeezed the life out of them just about 785 days ago, but I wouldn't be too sure, the number escapes me sometimes.
"Nala!" Linh's eyes shined with tears. "We knew they died...but not like that."
Linh wrapped her in a tight hug, and Tam waited until she was done before he hugged her too.
Nala gave a soft laugh. "It's been a while since I had a real Tam hug."
"If you'd told me, I'd go back to Ravagog with you every time, you know that."
"I know. That's why I didn't."
For a minute the memories came flooding back. The everblaze, the screams, being thrown away from her parents and Anita scrambling to help her up, promising it was all going to be okay. She was twelve, she was so confused, she just didn't understand what he wanted with them. Why weren't they next to her, here for the meeting that had been called? Why were they struggling in King Dimitar's large hands? Hell broke loose, ogres and elves were running around everywhere, and she quickly lost Anita in the crowd. She was scared. She'd just lost her parents, she couldn't lose Anita too. Why had the ogre King done this? What did her parents do to him? How dare he even call himself a King, the power hungry tyrant. In Nala's eyes he could never be King.
Nala snapped out of it. She shouldn't think about it, she shouldn't talk about it. There were bigger fish to fry at that moment.
"The view's great from here. I hope it makes you guys feel a bit better about being away from home."
The others sensed that she wasn't going back to the subject so they left it alone.
"It's as beautiful as I remember," Tam agreed, though he wasn't really looking at the window.
"How long have you and Linh known Nala?" Fitz asked.
Linh gave a small smile. "Three years."
Keefe snorted. "You've been with her for three years and you're still alive? I only knew her for two days before I was being chased by ogres."
"And I was about to be burned alive," Sophie added.
Tam shrugged. "She's gotten a bit more reckless over the years but she's easy on us.
Nala scoffed. "Am not."
Biana had been weaving in and out of bedrooms, checking out the balconies and the two bathrooms that were in the house.
"It's like a cute cottage." She smiled.
It was a decent sized house for a guest house but in the Elvin world houses were much larger of course, so it was different for them.
"They're only two bedrooms. Anita and I would share one, and my parents would be in the other one."
"So girls in one and boys in the other?" Tam suggested.
Nala nodded. "Sounds good."
◈▣◈
"Linh and I can sleep in my bed. Sophie and Biana you can take Anita's."
Biana gasped. "I don't have anything to wear! I feel so sticky in my clothes."
And you don't have Ella. Nala managed to transmit to Sophie.
Nala grimaced, as if forcing power pained her. "I think I can conjure up a few things...it just might leave me a little drained."
A pile of clothes and objects tumbled from the cieling, and Sophie grabbed her stuffed elephant before anything else.
"My hair gel!" they heard Keefe cry from the other room.
Biana picked up her light pink nightgown. "Thank you, Nala."
"It was no problem."
Nala sat on the bed, feeling the energy drain out of her.
Thanks for Mr Snuggles.
My pleasure transporting the little dragon Fitz, I hope you grabbed him before Keefe saw anything.
The girls changed and said their goodnights to each other before slipping into their beds. Everything was quiet, almost peaceful. For about a minute.
"Four of us can fit in this bed! It's huge!" Dex argued.
"But I need at least a meter of space!" Keefe yelled back.
"That's a bit much Keefe," Fitz said.
"Maybe I'll just take the floor..." Tam mumbled.
Dex sighed. "I'm with you, Tam."
"You go ahead and do that Bangs Boy!"
"What did you just call me?" Tam snarled at Keefe.
"I don't know your last name, what else am I supposed to do?"
"Keefe kicks!" Fitz whined.
Linh sat up next to Nala. "If we want any sleep I think we're going to have to check on them."
The four girls stood in the doorway of what used to be Nala's parents' bedroom. Nala causally leaned on the doorframe, taking a look inside. She hadn't been in there for a while.
"Oh sorry, did we disturb you?" Dex asked.
Nala smiled. "No, not at all!"
"Dex is right though, this bed is huge! Stop complaining and go to sleep!" Biana snapped.
"Fine, but expect a lot of kicks tonight, Fitszer," Keefe smirked.
Fitz glared at him. "Maybe I'll just take the couch..."
Tam had already made himself comfortable on the floor and was drifting off into sleep.
"You do that Fitz." Nala yawned. "Just let us rest in peace."
And then there was peace.
Even though Nala was convinced she was in a peaceful slumber, a chill ran through her spine. Flashbacks started up again, running from Dimitar's cold grin to her parents' lifeless eyes. She remembered it being the first time in her life—and hopefully her last time—that she wanted to kill someone. And she wouldn't rest until she saw Dimitar's lifeless body on the ground, his blood pouring into the river along with him.
*throws up aggressively*
Okay it definitely could be worse but like you know it's average I'll work on it k people? Also is it Fitszer? I feel like it is even though I feel like it should be Fitzer. Ughhhhhh writing is so emotionally frustratingggggg.
Or maybe I'm just emotionally frustrated?
Goodbye y'all
Two chaps in one day weeeeeee *wiggles*