Darlings (12 page)

Digging further, she noticed a cream box in
the bottom of the bag tied with a shiny red bow. Curious, Gwen
couldn’t help but to open it. Underneath gold tissue paper, she
found a strapless, form fitting, emerald green cocktail dress that
looked…expensive, even for her taste. She held it up to herself in
front of the huge floating mirror. She loved it, but wondered why
she would need a dress? Gwen assumed that must be the kind of thing
they wear in Everland. It looked like it would fit
perfectly. 

Carefully folding it back up, she tucked it
neatly inside the tissue paper and back into the security of the
box. Settling on a black sports bra, bright pink tank, and white
jacket Gwen dressed quickly. She noticed a pair of tennis shoes and
sparkling golden heels with emerald jewels down the strap that
daintily surrounded the ankle. She laced up her tennis shoes and
took a deep breath. Looking back into the mirror, she talked to
herself. “You can do this Gwen. You can…I hope.” 

She tossed the red bag on Pete’s bed as she
made her way outside. Andrew was waiting for her on the deck
stairs. 

“Better?” she asked, pointing to her
attire. 

“Oh I dunno, I guess I kind of liked the
grandma sweater,” he said drily. 

“I’m sure you did. So where is
everyone?” 

“Art and Mike are constructing a wooden fort
someplace, and everyone else is further out into the woods under
the thickest part of the trees. Just in case. You ready?” he asked
eyeing her facial expression. 

“I guess so.” They began toward the tree
line. Andrew took such large steps in comparison to her stride. She
had to hustle to keep up with him. “Have you ever seen regals use
their abilities?”

Andrew smiled. “Yah. I have. Every regal has
an ability, it’s not uncommon like it is to you.” 

“Oh.” Gwen said embarrassed. “Well what kind
of abilities do they have? Like flying or shooting fire and
stuff?” 

He grinned larger. “Almost no regals can fly.
Some can move objects with their energy though. Some can create a
brief shield. Others can manipulate liquid. Some I always thought
were cool were the regals who could become like air. Like you can
see them, but things pass through them. Now, if they get wet, their
ability is useless, but it’s pretty cool to watch.” 

“Do the royals have just one power
apiece?” 

“Yup, most,” Andrew responded. 

“What’s Pete’s?” 

“I’ll let him show you.” Andrew stopped and
reached inside his pocket. He took out a little brown sack similar
to the one Pete had shown her in the garden. He sprinkled a little
on the back of his hand and inhaled through his nose. 

“What are you doing?!” Gwen exclaimed. “Are
you doing drugs?” 

“What? No,” Andrew laughed. “It’s dust. It
enables you to see what’s enchanted. You can sprinkle it onto
yourself so you inhale a little but it lasts longer if you snort
it.” 

“Oh.” Gwen folded her arms across her
chest. 

“Here hold out your hand palm down.” Andrew
sprinkled a little of the white sparkling dust onto Gwen’s hand.
“Snort,” he said. Gwen was never into drugs and wondered if her
nostril would burn. Closing her eyes she inhaled the dust quickly.
Suddenly, up ahead she heard the others. Then they began to
form. 

Her feet stood frozen. She contemplated
turning around. The puffs of hazy smoke that were coming and going
with her every breath ceased. She saw a battle scene ahead of her.
On the left stood a large lion like creature she gathered was a
Mantican, which switched between walking on its hind legs and all
fours. On the right, a similar yet slightly smaller Mantican stood
in opposition. He was a darker brown than the one on the left and
seemed to jump and leap around more than the other. Behind the one
on the left, Gwen saw Pete, standing with his eyes closed, hands
extended. She watched as he whirled his hand through the chilly
air. He seemed to be fighting with an invisible weapon of some
sort. 

Suddenly, a sword came flying through the
air, chasing the smaller of the two. He leapt just in time for the
sword to miss but that didn’t stop the blade from following him.
Through twists and turns, the feisty beast snarled and batted the
sword with his blade like claws. Tings of metal on metal echoed in
the forest. Finally, the sought after Mantican caught the sword and
hurled it at Pete with a loud growl. Gwen’s stomach knotted as the
blade went whizzing through the air but was suddenly stopped by a
giant paw like hand. The larger beast had sprung up and grabbed the
weapon, hurling it back at his opponent. The blade stopped inches
from the smaller beast’s neck, as Pete lowered his hand.  The
battle appeared to be over, and the two Manticans began fighting
with each other, tumbling off into the trees. 

Andrew shouted, “Looking good, boys!” as he
clapped and ran toward Pete excitedly. Panting, Pete held his knees
as if he had just run a marathon. Andrew slapped Pete on the back
approvingly and Pete smiled. He motioned for Gwen to come and join
them. She took a deep breath and began tromping through the tall
grass to reach the pair. 

“Where did those Manticans go?” Gwen asked,
hesitantly surveying her surroundings. 

“Tok and Koli? Oh their just wrestling over
there somewhere.” Andrew motioned to the trees. “Seriously Pete,
your skills are getting mad awesome!” 

“That was Tok and Koli?” Gwen attempted to
keep her cool, but the boys could sense her fear. 

Andrew explained, “Yah, it was Tok and Koli.
The smaller hyper one is-”

“Koli” Gwen answered. “Yah I can tell
now.” 

“You alright Gwen?” Pete asked
breathily.  

“Yah. It’s just when you turned Andrew you
seemed…furious. It was like the anger was what made you turn…are
they angry?” 

“No we can turn when we want to for the most
part. There are just times when we don’t have much control over it.
Like when our sworn ones are in danger, or when our second moon is
full and the pirates are at their strongest. Then we are
forced.” 

“Oh, so that’s where the full moon werewolf
thing comes in?” Gwen wondered. 

“Yah, those stories got really messed up over
time. Not this worlds full moon, our full moon, and the second one
at that. It happens once a year.” 

“And let’s not forget how pretty you guys
are,” Pete put his arm around Andrew and tapped his
cheek. 

“Yah, let’s not forget that load of-”

“Are you guys going to train or not? I have
wayyy more important things to do here than watch you three talk,”
Tina hollered from a boulder not too far away. “I’ve got to meet
Ashton and go over the materials list at three don’t forget.” She
appeared to be sitting on the rock, painting her nails and giggling
with Jonah, all the while eyeing Pete protectively. 

“Yes Tina, we know,” Andrew rolled his eyes
and hollered back. 

“I’d watch it Mr.” Pete laughed. “She can be
ornery. Wouldn’t want to wake up with a tail or
something.” 

“Yah, yah.” Andrew said brushing off Pete’s
warning. “So let’s do this I’m ready to get a good work out
in.” 

“Okay we need to find Gwen’s ability first.”
Pete said. “Andrew you need to turn and we’ll go from
there.” 

Without another word, Andrew closed his eyes
and clenched his fists. He hit the ground and the snapping started.
First his shoulders, then his knees and feet, and through the
twisting and turning he became her protector. He roared like a
lion, and growled like a dog. 

Gwen stepped back, afraid, yet not as
terrified as she was in the gym. He raised a mammoth paw to his
mark.
It’s alright Gwen. I’m still me inside. Talk to
me.
 

Gwen raised her hand slowly to her chest.
Wow. This is kind of…scary
. She thought staring up at Andrew
who stood on his huge hind legs. She felt Pete’s hands take hold of
her shoulder from behind. 

“It’s alright. It’s still Andrew,
unfortunately.” Pete laughed, and Andrew grunted louder than he
expected, causing Gwen to shutter. She could feel her body break
out in a cold sweat. Andrew, sensing her fear, lowered himself onto
all fours. He slowly walked closer to Gwen, his massive paws
thumping on the packed dirt of the forest floor. Soon they were
face to face. Something in his eyes was still Andrew, though she
couldn’t place what. His teeth protruded upward over his giant dog
like lips. The same coarse fur covered his body. He was larger than
Gwen remembered him in the gym. His fur was thickest around his
neck reminding Gwen somewhat of a lion’s mane. Gwen reached her
hand out to touch his coat, but remembering the last painful touch
she quickly brought her hand down. 

Go ahead. We can touch in this form. He told
her. She brought her hand up to his face and began stroking his
mane. It was softer than she thought it would be. Not as bad as you
thought, huh? Andrew asked. 

Gwen shook her head no. Somewhere in that
moment, Gwen didn’t see the repulsive frightening beast she did
before. She saw her protector for the first time. He could see it
in her eyes and felt relieved. 

“Hey are we late for the petting zoo?” Koli
asked as he ran up to the three wearing only his running shorts
followed by Tok.. 

“Yah if I’d have known that I’d have stayed
turned.” Tok kidded. 

Gwen put her hands down, feeling
self-conscious. 

Andrew looked at the others speaking to them
through their Mantican connections. “Alright we’ll turn back and
you can practice on us. Come on.” Tok said. 

I’m going to try out my new strength ok?
Pete’ll get you started
. Andrew said through their
connection. 

Gwen nodded and Andrew took off. He ran on
all fours, scaling a tree like it was a mere ant hill. He bounded
from tree top to tree top as if it were a game until out of sight.
She could hear cracking and snapping as the other two took on their
animal form. 

“Okay now to find your ability.” Pete said.
“This way, Tina has to help us.” They met Tina and Jonah at the
boulder. 

The spicy fairy stood in front of Gwen. “You
need to clear your thoughts,” she said. “Close your eyes. It should
come naturally.” Gwen closed her eyes, as Tina drifted upwards, her
silky wings fluttering. She placed her hand on Gwen’s forehead and
threw her own head back, whispering a language Gwen couldn’t
understand. She began speaking barely audible and became increasing
louder until she was almost shouting. She spun around Gwen like a
tornado repeating the same unfamiliar words. 

Finally, she stopped and placed her tiny feet
back on the ground. Looking into Gwen’s eyes, she seemed to be
searching for something. Gwen peered anxiously back, noticing the
change in Tina’s irises. It went from her typical bright green to a
shiny gold. They held one another’s gaze for what seemed like a
long time. At last, the fairies eyes returned to their normal color
and she turned to Pete. 

“I don’t see anything.” Tina looked
confused. 

“What? You have to be doing it wrong Tina.”
Pete said nonchalantly. “Is her mind clear? Maybe she didn’t get
enough sleep since her overload.” 

“Well she should have, Andrew took on almost
all of the pain so she could sleep.” Tina retorted
smartly.  

It made sense to her now. That’s why Andrew
was so tired. Gwen felt guilty, even though she had no control over
what he chose to do when she was asleep. 

“Guys, just chill out.” Jonah piped up from
the back. “Should you try it again Tina?” 

“No it won’t do any good, I am telling you
all I did it correctly. This isn’t my first rodeo.” She firmly
stated. It was true Tina was one of the most powerful fairies in
Everland. 

“Gwen, do you feel anything at all?” Pete
finally addressed her. 

“Not really.” She admitted. 

“Okay, I’ll see if I can help you. Close your
eyes again and breathe deeply. Try and feel the energy in your
chest. It’ll feel like you’re going down the tallest drop of a
rollercoaster.” He stepped behind Gwen, pressing her body against
his. Gwen could feel her cheeks burn. How would she ever clear her
mind now, she thought. He placed his hands on her hips. Tina folded
her arms, obviously getting aggravated. 

“Just relax,” Pete calmly said to Gwen. She
couldn’t figure out what to do with her hands so she settled on
placing them at her sides. “Try again,” he instructed to Tina. She
began the ritual once more. Floating around the two, Gwen felt
something. It was as if a small shock entered her body. Her stomach
fluttered just as Pete said it would. “I feel something,” she
whispered.

“Hold on to it,” Pete whispered back. Tina
abruptly stopped and stared into her eyes again. 

The fairy looked bewildered. “I see….you,
Pete.”

“Me? What’s that supposed to mean,” Pete
asked but just as the words came out of his mouth Gwen held out her
hand and suddenly a small nearby rock was hovering in front of
them. 

“She’s a Telekinetic, like me,” Pete
smiled. 

Gwen dropped her hand and the rock fell. She
felt as if she just got done running a race. Panting she turned to
Pete. “We have the same ability?” Gwen inquired.

“Looks like it,” Pete said proudly. 

“Cool,” Jonah said, grinning from ear to ear.
“This is awesome!” 

“No, no, no, no, no!” Tina furiously shouted.
“It’s not right. I would have seen kinetic energy, I saw you Pete,
something’s not right…unless…” Tina seemed to be pondering
something. 

“Unless what?” Pete asked. 

Tina shook her head.  “It hasn’t
happened in a really long time, I doubt she has it.” Tina looked
suspiciously at Gwen. 

“Has what?” Pete questioned with
angst.  

“I think she’s a borrower.” Tina stated,
stunned.   

“What’s a borrower?” Gwen asked.

Pete looked worried. “A borrower or a
taker?”