I look up to where the clouds clear and I find my stomach getting heavy... as I gaze at the sun lit settlement by the wall... once it was so full of life. I may not have seen it but I know it was here. I can see ghosts of people walking about the street, mingling with each other, and buying things from the stores around it. The darkness has taken it over. A nightmare it has become. This land is lost... and it's never coming back, at least not the same way.
"Vil," I hear a murmur ask behind me.
I realize I had been staring at the dead sight before us for too long. I snap from my nightmare that's also my reality and look at the concerned, innocent eyes of my husband standing by me.
I shake my head quickly. "Sorry," I mutter and turn around, gazing on the wall behind me.
Éowyn turns her head to look at me. "Vilora there's nothing here... how is it that we would not see it?"
"A spell perhaps," Aragorn says to her.
Thranduil's face shows disbelief, as if he knows there's something incredibly advanced about this place that has nothing to do with magic. He eyes me with his brows pulled together just slightly.
I look up at where the gate should be and think. "Just keep feeling the wall around where the edges of the road is and beyond," I say quickly and run back to our car.
Legolas follows me.
I throw open the passenger door and place one foot on the pad, touching my finger to the area below the dash in front of the seat to open a compartment. All that is in there are a marker and some tissues.
I shut the latch and open the center compartment. The only contents are the supplies of ours I put in there.
I back out and close the car door, walking to the back and opening the door under the windshield. I don't find anything in there either but I do notice a small black bag zipped shut. I grab it, feeling the gaze of my elf who stands by me.
I pull it open to find two communicator devices inside. These will definitely come in handy. I slip one of them on my ear and take the other to our companions. I feel my hair flow off my shoulders as I walk on the hard ground to them. Luckily these boots aren't so uncomfortable. But staying barefoot for so long my feet have become like stone. Walking on nails wouldn't even bother me.
Thranduil is the first to eye me as I walk to them so I motion for him to come here. He approaches me and I hold up the device. "Use this to communicate with us." I place it on his palm after I grab his hand and he looks at it curiously. I show him how to us it and wear it and he puts it on his ear like mine. "I'm going to check in the shops for something. I'll be back," I say. "Let me know if you guys find anything."
He nods.
I turn and walk to the first building I see, Legolas fast walking to catch up with me. He probably understands that it's not wise to go anywhere alone even if it's just around the corner.
I step over a pile of broken concrete and approach the small shop. The words "Open" are dimmed in the clouded window as I pass it.
When I step through the broken doorway glass crunches under my foot and beams of light shine into the room, highlighting the air thick with dust.
I have no idea what the shop even sold, as all of the shelves are wiped clean of products. Must have been something essential.
My eyes dart around the room and only see emptiness. Pieces of stone cover parts of the floor where holes from the walls and ceiling are missing.
I walk forward through an isle, not hearing footsteps behind me yet.
My feet are quieter once I am not stepping on broken glass. I stop with my hands on the counter where a cashier would stand. For the earlier years my father had said that we had automated cashiers but once people figured out how to hack them they became more of a problem than actual human beings. And once the apocalypse started people became more trustworthy than machines that no longer worked...
I press my palms down on the plastic granite and hop up on the counter, sliding my legs over and to the other side. Legolas approaches now as my feet hit the tile of the room behind the counter. I walk around to see if there is anything left back here. On the wall to my left is a cubbyhole where an emergency kit was trying to be reached by someone because the glass panel is broken and the pack looks like it was pulled almost out.
I pick it up from its place and then gasp. On the floor by it I see a backpack. I toss the medical kit to Legolas and open the pack. A gift from God. Inside there is a clear tablet. I pull it out and smile. I hop over the counter and stand next to my elf. "This is what I need to open the gate," I say.
He looks at it confusingly. "A fragment of glass?"
"Things aren't always what they seem." I look up at him and press my finger to the upper right corner of the screen. The tablet lights up and shows me a page of applications. I work with it to get me what I want while Legolas stares at it in wonder.
"Come on," I say to him and leave the small building.
I walk to our vehicle in the light of the mid morning. I tell him to toss the medical pack in there and he carefully sets it in the front seat.
I walk to wall with him at my side to where out partners are standing. "Move aside, kittens. I got this."
All six eyes turn to lock with mine as I approach. I walk to where Aragorn has moved from on the left side of the road. I hold up my tablet and let it pulse, long for electricity within the stone. I move it along to where the panel should be and it indeed reads that I found something. I click the button that says "reveal" and it appears.
"It needs a combination." There's something humorous about the fact that no one has a clue about ninety percent of things I am doing and the things we have seen in my world.
I work to copy the program on my tablet as the others stand there.
"This might take a while," I breathe.
"We do not have a while..." King Thranduil says.
"Yeah that's so helpful thanks. Why don't you try this?" I snap without looking at him.
I don't hear a response but I'm sure he is not used be utterly talked back to like that and I almost feel bad about it but I can just sense an amused smile on Legolas's face and an offended look on his father's.
After I finish I follow the others into the library to hide there until I can hack the network.
I sit against the wall after trying different techniques and wait for it to hack automatically. There aren't many books left but there is more than I thought there would be, still in readable condition.
Éowyn skims her finger across the bindings on the shelves. Books became a rare thing since the year 2030. Digital versions flooded the Internet. Prints became very scarce. But after the Virus Incident in 2089 people went back to printing and soon libraries existed again.
Thranduil seems less impressed. Though I'm not surprised. He is used to such rich beauty in his everyday life.
Legolas is too busy being his curious self to act this way.
I motion for Thranduil to sit by me and I expect him to be hesitant, maybe to look at the dirty ground and decline my offer. But he breathes and sits by me, pulling his knees up just a tad and leaning his back against the wall.
His eyes flash about the room as he thinks.
I look at my tablet as it works but staring at it irritates me so I put it down and cross my arms comfortably.
"I'm sorry about all this," I say to the king.
"Do not be, dear one," he responds with a tone of habit. Do I apologize too much?
I look up at him, his calm eyes locked to mine.
"I came willingly. I will stand behind you even if it leads to death."
"Why? What have I done to deserve your favor so thickly?"
He doesn't respond right away. Maybe he doesn't know why he likes me so much. It doesn't make sense. I have smarted off to him, and taken advantage of his hospitality. Or at least that's what I thought... I mean that's correct, right?
"Darling I could not be luckier to have met you. Like I have been lucky that you were there for my sapling when I was not. And not to mention you have brought out laughter and happiness in my other leaf that I have not seen in far too long."
I can't find anything to say but I look into his smiling eyes and hug him around the shoulders.
He knows now that this means more than words and I can sense a gentle smile on his lips.
...
"You look good in that coat..." I say after a long time.
I hear him breathe a laugh.
"Never thought I'd see you looking so mundane." I smirk and let go of him as he smiles.
"I could say the same about you."
"This is what I wear on a daily basis..." I bite my lip. "This has always been me. Though around you I have always been in a fancy dress... Though ironically except for my wedding..." I find myself babbling again like I used to. "Which... You now know about... Sorry for hogging your son." I frown.
He laughs.
Without thinking my eyes search the room until Thranduil gestures to the far northwest of us and I look to see my husband sitting there with a book in his lap, staring at the pages mesmerized, his blue eyes wide open with wonder.
I can't help but hold back a grin as I stand up and walk over to him. When I sit next to him I realize it's a history book with black and white pictures... It's about inventions.
I sit with my legs crossed with my feet under opposite thighs like he does and peer at the pages. He has moved an inch to acknowledge I am right next to him all of a sudden.
He flips the page and studies some more... 'The Industrial Revolution'.
I smile. "Interested?"
He looks at me with the same look in his eyes like the first time he observed a handgun. "It is incredible," he grins and looks back at the writing.
"Surprised you can read that. Your written language was very different from Earth's."
"I can... almost detect what it says..."
I giggle and take it from him. Thranduil and the others have moved to the other side of the library now.
I hold it with both hands in my lap as he straightens up, pulling his legs out from how they were curled and sitting closer to me.
I read, "'Though electricity had been discovered before, it wasn't until 1879 that it became popular in ordinary homes thanks to scientist Thomas Alva Edison...'"
Legolas is quiet and listens intently to what I have to say... or what I have to read. He is like a small child that I have to teach as he sits politely, but interested in a way no kid would be.
I stop to let him ask questions and he is so much smarter than I am it's hard to answer some of them... well most of them. That's why I grab a science book on energy and let him have fun with that. We read together them both and he listens to me while I talk to him about it along with other inventions of that century. He wants to learn about combustion and how it is used to make things move and work. Along with water and wind that create energy for machinery. I haven't explored the nature of such things since I was a child. But it's interesting to go back to it. I learn almost as much as Legolas does about it...
And somehow I have completely forgotten where I am and what I am doing.
The beeping of my tablet takes me out of my fun mood and back into the real world. Legolas looks alert as his smile gradually fades, his eyes locked on the screen of my device. I stand to my feet and walk over to where it sits on the dirty ground. I pick it up in my fingers and then freeze as I hear a loud thundering sound... the ground shakes...
I look at my elf who frowns and opens his eyes a bit wider.
I see Éowyn walk outside of the building and I follow her. We all do.
When the light of day touches my skin I stare up at where the others do.
Ahead of us a square of the large wall is moving down into the ground, leaving a massive opening big enough for huge military vehicles to move through. I sense the wide-eyed gazes of all my companions at the sight, the earth moving beneath us, our ears rumbling from the enormous machinery at work.
I smile and glance at my group just before running ahead towards our car. I hop in the front seat and shut the door. My fellowship follows and they all pile in they way they had before.
I toss my device to Legolas and ask him to hold it for me as I take the vehicle out of park and drive forward just as the earthquake stops and the section of pavement locks into place for our car to drive over.
All my companions gaze upwards as a shadow falls on our machine when it drives through the huge tunnel, looking up at the enormous structure of concrete above our heads as we pass under it.
I have to keep my eyes on the road but I can't help but look overhead at the manmade wonder, my megalophobia kicking in.
But once we are out I notice Éowyn lean up on the center console and stare out the windshield. We all look ahead to see huge skyscrapers, still pale blue because of the distance, but massive.
I think my friends are all speechless. They haven't seen anything like this before and I know it.
The city lies before us. And surprisingly most of it is intact. Glass buildings shimmer from the sunlight and reflect white into my eyes. I don't see any signs of orcs yet.
"I'm sure there will be something significant where he is. Sauron is nothing but theatrical... right?" I ask Aragorn.
"I am sure what we are looking for will be some kind of fortress," he replies. "And it will probably look like Mordor did..."
"Right so keep an eye out for circling black clouds of darkness and despair," I remark.
"Does not look like there's anything of that nature here..." Éowyn says.
"He's probably not here..." I breathe.
"Then what is our plan?" Thranduil asks. "Can we get through this area unseen?"
"I don't think so," I answer. "I wouldn't want to risk it, not while we are unarmed."
"What are we to do?" Legolas asks.
"We have to go on foot through the city."
"Could we go around?" Aragorn asks.
"Not if we don't want to spend days in here. Besides we need to track what direction our best bet would be."
I still don't see any orcs in sight so I stop at the closest building without going too far in.
I grab the medical kit and other things including my new tablet from their places and pack them in a backpack with the Lembas.
Aragorn offers to take it and I want to argue but he insists so I let him.
All of us head out from our vehicle and onto the back alleys.
"Legolas keep you ears alert. If there are any orcs within a mile radius we'll have to take routes through the buildings or under the city," I tell him.
He nods and runs swiftly ahead like he always does, keeping on his toes and staying ready for anything. Legolas has always been the type to be the eyes and ears. Thranduil has authority and wisdom, Aragorn has tracking ability and strategy tactics, Éowyn has fighting abilities and the most bravery. As for me I have the insight.
Together we work as a team. And with that I know we can survive just about anything.
We run lightly down the alleys and keep our eyes out for anything. But nothing catches anyone's attention. So we keep moving, using a fast pace when we have to pass over the open road. Though there's enough rubble and abandoned cars that we still have an alright camouflage.
Our feet kick up dust-like dirt from the concrete as we travel, the eerie silence letting us know how dead this world really is. I'm surprised we even still have oxygen to breathe.
We run for a while until Legolas finally stops abruptly, looking to the left of us with an alert look.
I hear it too. Orcs.
"Vilora here, quickly," I hear Thranduil command and l look to see him standing in the doorway of a broken down concrete building.
I don't hesitate. I run to him and we all go the same direction.
Legolas sticks his back to the wall that separates us from the three walking orcs on the street, his shoulder almost as the edge where the wall is broken off clean. I stick close to Éowyn behind me and watch as Legolas frowns and slowly peers his eyes past the wall to look at the scum.
The walk clumsily down the pavement with swords almost dragging on the ground, as if they have spent the whole day walking like this. As they pass our building Legolas snaps his head back and everyone holds their breath. One of the orcs has a bow and I know that if they caught us, one of us would get an arrow in our flesh that we might not survive from.
My fingers that have become soft touch the rough concrete wall that is glued to my back. I can hear some mutters come from the enemy and I make sure not to move, my knees becoming stiff.
But they pass without noticing us and as soon as they do I back from the wall and walk to the door on the other side, opening the metal handle. My husband is the first to come up behind me as I stand looking up at the flights of stairs that lead to the roof.
There's no way the lift would work so stairs are our only option. I run up the first flight and Legolas follows. The others I can hear on the steps as I climb higher. I don't know how tall this building is but it takes me a while to climb the steps.
By the time we reach the top I fling open the door to the roof and step into the wind, letting it tug my hair from my face as I walk out into the open.
I stop once I am close enough to the edge to see over. My whole group stands with me as we look at the sight. Before us is the enormous city... completely abandoned. The only life we can see are the three black dots walking northeast. The orcs we encountered.
The city, ash and dust... the giant buildings that reflect the sunlight of silver and blue, remains of other structures and pile around the skyscrapers. I can see trees far in the distance beyond that. I didn't even think we had trees left. It seems they have overgrown the smaller area where the neighborhoods and markets would be.
I can't tell if this view of millions of manmade architecture clawing at each other for the sky is incredible or corrupt... dark perhaps.
But even so, everyone stares in awe. My eyes automatically want to see it all as it was, alive again... with people on the streets and families in their homes... but they're all gone. Eaten by Morgoth.
I can only see one road visible so that means it must be in use still, by the orcs. It leads northeast.
The clouds block the bright sun from us, sending a grey light onto the lands except for the occasional beams that shine golden through the cracks of silver.
Wind tugs at our hair from the height.
"They have all headed northeast," Aragorn says.
"You see that? A road," I point it out to Thranduil who stands by me.
"That would be the wisest way to go then perhaps," he replies.
"Aragorn?" I turn my head to him and see him look to where we were and nod.
My eyes scope around on the city floor and that's when I see two cars that look in good enough condition to use. I run back to the door and down the steps.
Once on ground level I race to the vehicles.
Opening the door to the first one I hack it quickly.
"Legolas and Aragorn come here," I say while I do so.
The others step closer but the man and the elf stand behind me. I turn to them. "Which one of you is a faster learner?" I raise an eyebrow.
They exchange a look of confusion, their expressions describing a shrug.
I sigh. "Alright Legolas get in the front seat—the left seat. I know Aragorn is extremely good at analyzing things because he's a ranger and tracker so he'll have to learn from the passenger seat." I gesture for the other side and he walks around the front of the car to get in. I open the door to the back and hop onto the seat.
Thranduil and Éowyn get in with me and I place my knees on the floor, leaning over the center console to talk to Legolas after we shut the doors.
"Start the engine, Legolas," I purse my lips.
He seems awkward in the front seat and doesn't know how to position himself.
I point to the start button and he looks at it. "You have to press it in."
He puts his gentle finger to the button and pushes it carefully. The thing starts up quietly and he braces himself by placing both hands on the wheel.
I keep a smile back and point to under the dash where his feet are supposed to be. "That's the gas pedal that you press with your foot when you want to go forward. The one next to that is to the brakes. The gas makes you go and the brakes make you stop. Uh the wheel is used for what you would expect. And that lever there puts you in park, reverse, and drive... uh..." I realize the words I use are alien. "Well 'drive' means forward, 'reverse' means backwards... and 'park' means you want to come to a stop and stay that way for a while... but that's not really important. The important thing is that at least three of us need to know how to drive in case I get injured or someone else does..."
Aragorn seems to nod.
"Alright first thing's first. Legolas press the button on the lever with your thumb and pull it to where the light is on 'D' for 'drive'."
He looks cautiously at the contraption and then grips the lever with his palm and pulls it. I wasn't worried about the car moving because we're on completely flat ground.
"Now while you're not moving you want to keep your foot on the brakes unless you are in 'park'."
He grasps the wheel with both hands.
"Okay so gently let go of the brakes and press on the gas pedal."
He does so with elegance, the vehicle moving forward slowly.
"Alright let's just go down this road and circle back around to this spot. You'll get the hang of it and then Aragorn will give it a go."
Legolas speeds up gently and takes us down the street. Since there are no other drivers there is really no danger.
"Vilora, how do the wheels turn when there is nothing to pull it?" Éowyn asks.
"Well there is. It's called the engine. Back when cars were first invented they called them horse-less carriages. It's just machinery powered by the energy absorbed from the sunlight."
"It's incredible."
"I suppose so."
Legolas isn't too bad at this. But when we make a round trip our path is blocked by rubble on the streets. "Alright we should turn around then," I say after he stops the vehicle surprisingly smoothly. Elves.
"Leggy we're gonna have to turn around..." I sigh, looking out the left window. "Okay put it in reverse and then back up while turning the wheel to the right all the way."
He hesitates but shifts the lever and pulls the vehicle back.
"Watch out for the—"
A crash makes our car stop abruptly.
"...fence," I finish.
I glance at Thranduil is rolls his eyes at his son's incompetence.
I continue. "Okay well that works, hun, just go back to 'drive', turn the wheel the opposite way, and get us moving down the road again."
"Apologies," he says regretfully.
"It's fine."
We head past buildings and soon we are back where we started.
Then Aragorn and Legolas switch places and it takes only a few seconds for the ranger to get the vehicle going. He isn't as smooth as Legolas but he learns just as fast. I tell him it takes a little to get the hang of how the vehicle feels and operates. But he gets it. And soon I let him take the other car with Thranduil in the passenger seat and Éowyn in the back seat.
I ride in the current car with Legolas driving by me. We head out with my vehicle at front just as the sun begins to touch the tips of the buildings.
The light bounces off the glass and steel around us as we head northeast. It's amazing how some of this city has held up. I finally have a strange peace of mind as we travel like before. I think car rides have always been relaxing to me; comforting in a way.
I rest my head against the back of the seat as Legolas drapes his wrist over the steering wheel. He looks as peaceful as I do until he notices my strange gaze.
He keeps a smile away as his eyebrows twitch at my expression.
"Sorry you just look so... human..."
He looks back out the windshield and tucks a lock of hair behind his ear revealing the subtle point.
I roll my eyes and smile, biting my lip and looking out the glass.
The road is clear... but Legolas swerves just slightly to avoid any abandoned cars or remains of them.
That's when I see it... plants... they grow through the concrete and break up tiny sections of the street that leads into the forest.
I lie back in my seat and bring my feet up so that my knees rest by my chin. I imagine that I am still in Middle Earth as I watch the green vegetation pass us from out the glass, thinking of the forest of the Shire in which I arrived. I shut my eyes and let the sun dance patterns on my lids through the leaves.
I let my head rest against Legolas's elbow resting on the center console. His eyes glance to mine for a second before letting his dimples come forth.
I don't know what will happen and how this will all end... but all I need is my God with me and my Legolas here at my side. My cheekbone can feel his skin just barely, comforting me in a way where I know he will never leave me again. This time I am sure of it.
.
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.
.
.
I catch myself opening my eyes to light... but a distant light. I notice it's the moon. The trees have cleared just enough for it to shine into our car from the windshield. I frown. It's night... how late?
I touch my finger to my ear. "Thranduil, how are you guys doing? Is Aragorn tired?"
It takes a second to hear reply. He is probably figuring out how to use the device I gave him. "I can tell he is, though he does not admit it."
"Well that's Aragorn for you," I sigh. "We're gonna pull over to let everyone rest. I see a clearing ahead where he could get off the road and park in the woods. The only thing more dangerous than a sleepy driver is... well maybe half the things I saw on Middle Earth but that's not the point."
I can see his smirk of my foolish yammering in my head and I bite my lip. "Legolas slow down and turn here." I'm lucky headlights turn on automatically when it's dark. Can't imagine having to do that manually.
We didn't practice much on turning but he's alright at it. It's really Aragorn I'm worried about, bumping into us from behind. Either way we drive down grass and past the trees until we can no longer see the road. I notice a spot big enough for us both and we stop there. It's actually a decent size clearing.
I open the door for some fresh air and step my feet onto the soft grass... I look down and smile. I missed the touch of grass...
But I walk around the front after Legolas turns off the vehicle. The moon makes the grass a dark teal color and casts black shadows under us.
Thranduil is the first to get out and stretch his legs—well I guess elves don't do that sort of thing... do they? Anyway he walks about the clearing after all of us share a bite of Lembas and I fold down the center console of their car. Aragorn sleeps there on the front and then Éowyn sleeps in the back seats. Thranduil I believe ends up resting in the large back end of the vehicle which is arguably the best space in the car to sleep.
I sigh and listen to the leaves blow in the subtle wind.
Behind me I hear my husband approach steadily. I turn my head to see him gazing up at the sky in wonder and delight. I smile because I remember how much Wood Elves love star light.
I walk back to where we are parked and open the back door to our car to find bundles of thick blankets still there. Surprised, I pull them off the seats and press a button on the back end of the vehicle.
Legolas watches by me as the back of the car unfolds into a pick-up bed and I hop onto it after I toss layers of blankets up there to make a pallet.
I sit leaning against the back windshield and wait for him to join me.
Letting a sheepish grin hide on his lips he swiftly bounds up to sit with me.
A light blanket is placed over us and I lean my head on his shoulder.
I find myself staring up at the sky along with him who does the same. After my eyes become a bit more adjusted to the darkness, more and more stars begin to appear. And soon the black is filled with billions of tiny little specs of brilliance.
And these stars I recognize. Immediately my eyes search for a constellations that I know.
"My eyes have missed the star light," Legolas breathes.
"Mine too," I sigh.
...
"Syl" I mutter after thinking of something for a minute.
"Hm?"
"I was just thinking... if we ever have girl I want her to be named Sylvanna."
"Really?" He eyes me and smiles almost, with his eyes squinted.
"Yeah," I keep my own grin at bay and look back into his eyes... after a few seconds I finally ask, "What?" because he keeps staring at me like that.
He tries to keep his smile away but looks ahead and licks his lips subtly. "Nothing."
I bite my lip and lean my cheek against his shoulder, letting my smile show finally.
After a few seconds I can't take it anymore. "Hey look at me," I say lifting my head from him. "Look at me."
He eyes me innocently, awaiting what I have to say.
I reach up, my hand grabbing the back of his head and pulling him to me, my lips colliding with his all of a sudden. My hand falls to his chest and I adjust, kissing him again with passion. But then I part from him and slump back to the way I was casually.
He doesn't move an inch, reassuring me that he has a taken aback expression on his childlike face. That only brings a smile to mine.
"Look there's the Big Dipper!" I say with a finger pointing. "Remember when I told you about shapes in the stars?" My eyes look into his as he smiles.
"I do," he squints.
"Well look do you see that one? It looks like a dipper." I point again.
"Where is it? And what is a 'dipper'?"
"Uh it's like a spoon... but not..."
He eyes me with an amused expression.
I giggle. "One second." I reach into my pocket and pull out the marker from the other car that I kept. "Give me your arm," I say as I pull his opposite arm closer to me.
I take off the lid as the two of us sit with a space between us not big enough for a piece of paper to slide there. I use the marker to dot his arm with four black spots on his fair skin, adding two more for the handle of the dipper.
While I do this he looks down with a grin, letting me mark on his skin with the ink as he sits still.
I hold his arm up when I'm done. "See? Can you find it?"
"Yes I think I see it," he says, excited. He points to the sky just above us. "Is that it there?"
"Yes it is," I laugh.
"You do this for fun?"
"I used to. I'm surprised you didn't since you and your father love the stars so much."
"Well we did things similar..."
"That's right I forgot."
"What others are there?"
"Well..." I search for more and find my father's favorite. "There's Scorpius." I point at the outline. "And then the queen... I forgot her name. Can you see the weird shape of the stars there that look like an elephant with a tumor?"
He starts to laugh and after a second I can't help myself but do the same.
I love his laugh. It's so genuine with happiness. And it makes me do the same when I hear it and see that smile.
Yet the only thing my mind can think while we laugh is how much I love him.
We talk for a long time and we lie by each other and watch the stars until I find myself falling asleep on his chest, the happiest place I could ever be in the universe.
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PS: please please please COMMENT and tell me anything on your mind or what you think so far. I REALLY need reviews if i am to grow as i writer! thank you!