I'm rather looking forward to writing that.
And now, on with the show.
W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.
"Oh no!"
I heard that worried squeal from below and rolled over on my improvised bed (in lieu of an actual mattress we'd managed to smuggle half a dozen old cushions up into the loft) to lift the little hatch set into the floor of my room. "What's the matter?" I asked poking my head down into Will's room below (hopefully it wouldn't occur to Mom to wonder at that hatch appearing after more than a week in the apartment - Cornelia's power over wood and stone was enviable now that she had had some practise).
"It's my dormouse," Will explained, looking up from the usually lively pet. "I think he's sick!"
"Do you want me to get the mop?" I offered, reaching for the knotted rope that I used to get up and down.
She lifted him up in both hands. "Not that sort of sick. Ill! He got into our jar of cookies."
"Are you sure he's not just sleepy?"
"I offered him the last one and he refused!"
"That sounds pretty conclusive," I agreed and scrambled down the rope. "So what do we do?"
Will gave me a panicked look. "I don't know! Mom's not home, who can..."
"Matt," we concluded in unison.
I picked up the dormouse out of Will's arms. "You're not dressed for going out," I told her. (Which was true, she was schlepping around a baggy sweatshirt and slippers, not exactly suitable for the cold, windy streets). "I'll call his house while you get dressed."
"Why do you get to call him?"
I rolled my eyes. "Because you get to go see him? I've no idea where he lives and if this is serious we can't risk me getting lost on the way there."
"Okay?" She gave her pet (one thing we did not share was a fondness for the voracious little critter - I guess I'm not an animal person) a scratch behind the ears before turning to what was now our wardrobe.
I on the other hand went to the telephone and leafed through the piles of contact details under it until I found Matt's number. "Someone really ought to organise these," I muttered quietly, realising that that 'someone' was probably going to be me.
I don't think Will was intentionally loading me down with her chores but it was just more practical for me to be the one doing them: I hadn't gone to school again so far, so I had much more time on my hands for things in the house. Besides, these were all things that I really ought to know how to do.
"Hi," I greeted the woman who picked up the phone. "Is Matt home?"
"Not at the moment," she replied. "Who's calling?"
"I'm..." I recalled that Matt's parents hadn't been too impressed at the dormouse's antics when Will dumped the pet on him before the mission to rescue Taranee. "...a friend of his from school. My pet's ill and I wanted to ask his advice. Do you know when he'll be back?"
"Not for a while I'm afraid," she told me. "But if it's an animal problem, he's working in my father-in-law's pet shop. It's Olsen's - on Almond Street - do you know where that is?"
"I'm not sure." I picked up the pen and paper that we kept handy for this sort of thing. "Could you give me directions?" She did and I scribbled away industriously. "Thank you very much."
"Thank you," Will said when I put the phon down. She was dressed warmly now and holding a towel which she used to wrap her pet up against the cold weather. "I'm going to dash, just in case it's something serious."
"Yeah, probably best," I agreed. "I guess you get to put off showing me more Maths."
"I don't see why you're so eager," Will told me, heading for the door. "It was just luck you got a good grade. There's no reason to think you're actually good at it."
"Well it's worth a try. You have the magic, maybe I get maths as compensation."
She laughed as she went out the door.
I watched her cycle away from the window and then went to the closet to get one of her spare jackets and another set of keys. After a few days cooped up here I really could do with getting out. As long as I stayed away from Almond Street, it should be safe enough. Just to be even saver though, I added a ball-cap from her closet and scraped my hair back into a short pony-tail. It was barely long enough to stay back but with a bit of luck I wouldn't be recognised if anyone who only knew WIll casually happened to cross my path.
As I walked out of the yard my mind went back to Hay Lin's question a few days ago. Well, to one of the bubbly girl's questions.
What was my name?
Part of it I knew. Will had chosen to declare me her sister and perhaps one day Mom might know who I was and accept me too. So I was one of the Vandom family, even if only one of them knew it. I still felt warm at that fact.
But my own name, that was something I hadn't decided. I didn't even have an idea yet that I liked.
(Irma had suggested 'Bill'. If I wasn't sure that she'd enjoy the experience, I'd have drowned her in the bathtub for that.)
I looked at shop signs as I passed them, looking for inspiration. Not that I was going to call myself 'Pharmacist' or 'Ye Olde Bookstore' but...
Ooooh. Bookstore.
Will, I would have to admit, was not the most literary of girls. While she had a few books other than school texts, most of them had were obviously from when she was (a lot) younger and I'd read through all of them already, when school books got too dull.
Yeah, I'd had quite a bit of time on my hands over the last few days and school books are evidently written to be as boring as possible.
Anyway, perhaps I could get a better book here. I had a little money - Will had split her allowance with me in case I needed some money for an emergency - and it couldn't hurt to look even if I didn't buy anything.
There was a little bell thing that rang as I pushed the door open. The show was shadowy inside and it took a moment for me to realise that the leather-covered volumes on the shelves were actually books! They looked nothing like the bright and colourful children's books and cheap cardboard-covered school books I'd seen so far.
For a moment I thought that I was alone in the shop but then I heard the sound of footsteps and a man stepped out from behind one of the bookshelves. He was tall and thin with blond hair slicked back into a pony-tail. "Can I help you, Miss...?"
"Uh, I'm just... seeing if something catches my eye?"
"Of course." He bowed slightly. "If you need help, just call."
I nodded and started scanning along the shelves, picking out the titles that were embossed into the spines, sometimes in gilt. It took me all of a minute to realise I was way over my head. Some of the titles didn't seem to be in English at all and once I reached the third shelf I realised that some of the letters didn't seem to be from the alphabet.
"What the..."
There was a giggle from behind me and I turned to see a girl around my own age leaning against bookshelf opposite, hands clasped behind her.
For a moment I froze, looking at her. My face must have been quite the picture because she giggled again. It was, to be honest, a pretty nice laugh and I turned around and sat down with my back to the shelf, chuckling at my own plight. "Okay, I confess! I don't have a clue what I'm looking at."
"I think that shelf is Russian... or maybe Greek," she told me, then looked at me somewhat expectantly.
"Sorry, am I supposed to pretend I can speak those?" I asked after a couple of moments.
She grinned. "I think we can skip that bit if you want. There's some stuff in the back that might be a bit easier to get into."
"Sounds good." I scrambled to my feet. "I'm not really looking for anything particular, just something a bit more interesting than everyday life." Standing I found that I was a little taller than her which was an almost new experience for me. She had mousy brown hair about the same length as mine except for two thin braids that hung down in front of her shoulders.
"I know how that feels," she assured me and waved her hand towards the back of the store. "Over this way."
"Thank you."
I'll be honest, the books in this part of the store didn't look all that different. In fact, some of the scripts seemed even stranger... "I'm not sure that this exactly what I'm looking for."
"I guess they really didn't tell you anything," the girl said sweetly.
I looked back and saw her clothes change to a long green dress with a blue tabard over it. A silver circlet appeared in her hair and two silver ornamental rings capped her braids.
Ohhhh dear. This could be bad. Still.... maybe she was friendly. "You would appear to have the advantage of me."
"Looks like I do," she nodded. "I'm surprised the Guardians are letting a loose end like you run around."
"I appealed to their better nature." Did this place have a back door. A window? Well, another window - the one that I could see was a mosaic of coloured glass in the shape of a peacock and I rather doubted I'd be able to get out of it.
"So that's how you convinced them to put up with you, faker." She put her hands on her hips. "Well don't think I miss what you are. I've been watching you for a while. And I have the power to stop you."
"Stop me? I don't know what you mean. I don't even know who you are!" I darted away from her, trying to get away from her by going around the other end of the bookcase. I had almost reached the corner when the bookstore owner stepped into my path. Except he was also changing shape, changing into something that wasn't even human.
I recoiled, almost losing my balance.
"You're not going anywhere," the girl told me and thrust her hands forwards. A bubble of force formed around me, suspending me in mid-air. "You've done enough already, pretending to be friends with Cornelia and flashing your belly at Matt."
What? I flushed. How could she know that!? And why would it even matter to her? Unless...
Cornelia. Matt.
She'd told me that her friend Elyon had a crush on him. And later that she'd vanished, perhaps into Metamoor.
"Elyon?"
She curtseyed. "Elyon Brown," she confirmed. "Except that's not who I really am."
"Indeed," the towering snake man agreed, slithering around her. "You're far more than that, Elyon."
I crossed my arms. She had magic, evidently, and I didn't. I wasn't going to be able to fight her like that, so I'd have to find another way.
"So if you're not really Elyon Brown, does that make you a fake too?"
Her eyes narrowed angrily. "No, it makes my so-called parents fakes. After my real parents died, they stole me away from my brother and took me away from Meridian to Heatherfield. They pretended to be my family, the same way that you're pretending to be Will's sister."
"You shut your mouth!"
My hand hurt and I realised I'd slapped it against the bubble as hard as I could. As if it had been her face.
"I may not know your family, Elyon. But I do know mine. And don't you ever dare suggest that I don't love them."
Elyon walked forwards and looked me right in the eye. "And what are you going to do about it? You're nothing but an illusion and soon you won't even be that!"
"Now let's not be hasty," her companion suggested. "Remember the plan, Elyon. Our guest could be very useful to us, as long as she considers the consequences if she proves... uncooperative."
Elyon lowered her head submissively. "Of course, Cedric. You can trust me."
I have no idea how she took any reassurance from his toothy grin but once he had slipped away behind the bookcases, she took a deep breath and then eyed me up again. "You don't have any future in Heatherfield. All you are is a construct of magic. Once we defeat the Guardians you'd simply fade away. But Cedric and my brother want to give you a chance. We can give you a real body, and a new life in Meridian."
"That sounds like a sweet deal," I agreed warily. Something told me that it wouldn't be a simple as that. They would want something from me and they'd take measures to keep me to whatever they asked for. And what if they decided not to keep their word? I didn't like the look of Cedric - maybe I'm a little suspicious by nature - and Elyon hadn't been exactly trustworthy, luring me into this.
"And if you don't agree I'll simply make this bubble smaller and smaller until your body is destroyed. My magic is stronger than any of the Guardians. Stronger than all of them combined!"
"I don't think I'd enjoy that." I had to get out of the bubble. It already felt as if it might be getting smaller. I eyed its margins and I think it really was. That suggested that just by thinking about it Elyon was making it happen. "So what do you get out of this? We both know that I'll do what I have to in order to survive."
Elyon smiled. "The Guardians need the Heart of Kandrakar to fully master their powers. Without it, they can't keep closing the portals and trapping my people in Metamoor. I think they'd be a lot more reasonable - maybe we could even be friends again - if you were to bring the Heart here."
The thought of the bubble shrinking had been enough for that to start happening and I didn't think Elyon had actually intended to do that. I hoped not, because the ideas beginning to form in my mind rather counted upon my being right.
I needed to keep her talking while I put it together. "And what if I were to agree, and then go tell the Guardians about this shop? I imagine you'd know, and wouldn't get caught but there's got be a portal around here. Not to talk myself out of this deal, but I imagine you want some kind of safeguard?"
Magic seemed highly dependent upon intent and perhaps upon focus. If I could break hers, then perhaps it would break the spell.
Elyon gestured and the oily surface of the bubble faded away athough I could still feel it against my hand. "No one needs to know that this is around you, but I won't be taking it away until we have the Heart."
"What stops you from clenching it down on me if I chat with Matt?" I asked innocently.
She scowled at me. "Maybe you'd better not."
"But surely you're over him, now that Cedric is in your life. Why should I mess up Will's chances with him?"
There was colour in her cheeks. "You don't understand!"
"A lot of things, no. I think you're being a real fool about your parents. But your brother?" I changed by tone of voice. "That, I do understand."
"W-what?"
"You chose him over everything. Your friends, even the world you knew?"
Elyon nodded. "Yes."
"Then you know why I won't betray my sister."
"But you aren't really her sister! You said you'd do anything to survive."
I could see doubt and confusion in her eyes and I seized upon it. "If I took your deal then I wouldn't survive. Something might be left wouldn't be me. Because I'd never betray Will. That's who I am."
My ears popped as the bubble closed around me. Under that crushing power I was forced into a crouch and then into a fetal postion. Somehow I twisted to keep my eyes on Elyon. Her hand was steady... but her lower lip was trembling.
The pressure forced a gasp of pain with the last air in my lungs, but I kept looking at her.
Looking her in eyes.
Making her watch me die.
Magic was will.
And I had to shake hers.
The last thing I thought before red overtook my vision was that there was a pun in there somewhere.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
And now, on with the show.
W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H. - W.I.T.C.H.
"Oh no!"
I heard that worried squeal from below and rolled over on my improvised bed (in lieu of an actual mattress we'd managed to smuggle half a dozen old cushions up into the loft) to lift the little hatch set into the floor of my room. "What's the matter?" I asked poking my head down into Will's room below (hopefully it wouldn't occur to Mom to wonder at that hatch appearing after more than a week in the apartment - Cornelia's power over wood and stone was enviable now that she had had some practise).
"It's my dormouse," Will explained, looking up from the usually lively pet. "I think he's sick!"
"Do you want me to get the mop?" I offered, reaching for the knotted rope that I used to get up and down.
She lifted him up in both hands. "Not that sort of sick. Ill! He got into our jar of cookies."
"Are you sure he's not just sleepy?"
"I offered him the last one and he refused!"
"That sounds pretty conclusive," I agreed and scrambled down the rope. "So what do we do?"
Will gave me a panicked look. "I don't know! Mom's not home, who can..."
"Matt," we concluded in unison.
I picked up the dormouse out of Will's arms. "You're not dressed for going out," I told her. (Which was true, she was schlepping around a baggy sweatshirt and slippers, not exactly suitable for the cold, windy streets). "I'll call his house while you get dressed."
"Why do you get to call him?"
I rolled my eyes. "Because you get to go see him? I've no idea where he lives and if this is serious we can't risk me getting lost on the way there."
"Okay?" She gave her pet (one thing we did not share was a fondness for the voracious little critter - I guess I'm not an animal person) a scratch behind the ears before turning to what was now our wardrobe.
I on the other hand went to the telephone and leafed through the piles of contact details under it until I found Matt's number. "Someone really ought to organise these," I muttered quietly, realising that that 'someone' was probably going to be me.
I don't think Will was intentionally loading me down with her chores but it was just more practical for me to be the one doing them: I hadn't gone to school again so far, so I had much more time on my hands for things in the house. Besides, these were all things that I really ought to know how to do.
"Hi," I greeted the woman who picked up the phone. "Is Matt home?"
"Not at the moment," she replied. "Who's calling?"
"I'm..." I recalled that Matt's parents hadn't been too impressed at the dormouse's antics when Will dumped the pet on him before the mission to rescue Taranee. "...a friend of his from school. My pet's ill and I wanted to ask his advice. Do you know when he'll be back?"
"Not for a while I'm afraid," she told me. "But if it's an animal problem, he's working in my father-in-law's pet shop. It's Olsen's - on Almond Street - do you know where that is?"
"I'm not sure." I picked up the pen and paper that we kept handy for this sort of thing. "Could you give me directions?" She did and I scribbled away industriously. "Thank you very much."
"Thank you," Will said when I put the phon down. She was dressed warmly now and holding a towel which she used to wrap her pet up against the cold weather. "I'm going to dash, just in case it's something serious."
"Yeah, probably best," I agreed. "I guess you get to put off showing me more Maths."
"I don't see why you're so eager," Will told me, heading for the door. "It was just luck you got a good grade. There's no reason to think you're actually good at it."
"Well it's worth a try. You have the magic, maybe I get maths as compensation."
She laughed as she went out the door.
I watched her cycle away from the window and then went to the closet to get one of her spare jackets and another set of keys. After a few days cooped up here I really could do with getting out. As long as I stayed away from Almond Street, it should be safe enough. Just to be even saver though, I added a ball-cap from her closet and scraped my hair back into a short pony-tail. It was barely long enough to stay back but with a bit of luck I wouldn't be recognised if anyone who only knew WIll casually happened to cross my path.
As I walked out of the yard my mind went back to Hay Lin's question a few days ago. Well, to one of the bubbly girl's questions.
What was my name?
Part of it I knew. Will had chosen to declare me her sister and perhaps one day Mom might know who I was and accept me too. So I was one of the Vandom family, even if only one of them knew it. I still felt warm at that fact.
But my own name, that was something I hadn't decided. I didn't even have an idea yet that I liked.
(Irma had suggested 'Bill'. If I wasn't sure that she'd enjoy the experience, I'd have drowned her in the bathtub for that.)
I looked at shop signs as I passed them, looking for inspiration. Not that I was going to call myself 'Pharmacist' or 'Ye Olde Bookstore' but...
Ooooh. Bookstore.
Will, I would have to admit, was not the most literary of girls. While she had a few books other than school texts, most of them had were obviously from when she was (a lot) younger and I'd read through all of them already, when school books got too dull.
Yeah, I'd had quite a bit of time on my hands over the last few days and school books are evidently written to be as boring as possible.
Anyway, perhaps I could get a better book here. I had a little money - Will had split her allowance with me in case I needed some money for an emergency - and it couldn't hurt to look even if I didn't buy anything.
There was a little bell thing that rang as I pushed the door open. The show was shadowy inside and it took a moment for me to realise that the leather-covered volumes on the shelves were actually books! They looked nothing like the bright and colourful children's books and cheap cardboard-covered school books I'd seen so far.
For a moment I thought that I was alone in the shop but then I heard the sound of footsteps and a man stepped out from behind one of the bookshelves. He was tall and thin with blond hair slicked back into a pony-tail. "Can I help you, Miss...?"
"Uh, I'm just... seeing if something catches my eye?"
"Of course." He bowed slightly. "If you need help, just call."
I nodded and started scanning along the shelves, picking out the titles that were embossed into the spines, sometimes in gilt. It took me all of a minute to realise I was way over my head. Some of the titles didn't seem to be in English at all and once I reached the third shelf I realised that some of the letters didn't seem to be from the alphabet.
"What the..."
There was a giggle from behind me and I turned to see a girl around my own age leaning against bookshelf opposite, hands clasped behind her.
For a moment I froze, looking at her. My face must have been quite the picture because she giggled again. It was, to be honest, a pretty nice laugh and I turned around and sat down with my back to the shelf, chuckling at my own plight. "Okay, I confess! I don't have a clue what I'm looking at."
"I think that shelf is Russian... or maybe Greek," she told me, then looked at me somewhat expectantly.
"Sorry, am I supposed to pretend I can speak those?" I asked after a couple of moments.
She grinned. "I think we can skip that bit if you want. There's some stuff in the back that might be a bit easier to get into."
"Sounds good." I scrambled to my feet. "I'm not really looking for anything particular, just something a bit more interesting than everyday life." Standing I found that I was a little taller than her which was an almost new experience for me. She had mousy brown hair about the same length as mine except for two thin braids that hung down in front of her shoulders.
"I know how that feels," she assured me and waved her hand towards the back of the store. "Over this way."
"Thank you."
I'll be honest, the books in this part of the store didn't look all that different. In fact, some of the scripts seemed even stranger... "I'm not sure that this exactly what I'm looking for."
"I guess they really didn't tell you anything," the girl said sweetly.
I looked back and saw her clothes change to a long green dress with a blue tabard over it. A silver circlet appeared in her hair and two silver ornamental rings capped her braids.
Ohhhh dear. This could be bad. Still.... maybe she was friendly. "You would appear to have the advantage of me."
"Looks like I do," she nodded. "I'm surprised the Guardians are letting a loose end like you run around."
"I appealed to their better nature." Did this place have a back door. A window? Well, another window - the one that I could see was a mosaic of coloured glass in the shape of a peacock and I rather doubted I'd be able to get out of it.
"So that's how you convinced them to put up with you, faker." She put her hands on her hips. "Well don't think I miss what you are. I've been watching you for a while. And I have the power to stop you."
"Stop me? I don't know what you mean. I don't even know who you are!" I darted away from her, trying to get away from her by going around the other end of the bookcase. I had almost reached the corner when the bookstore owner stepped into my path. Except he was also changing shape, changing into something that wasn't even human.
I recoiled, almost losing my balance.
"You're not going anywhere," the girl told me and thrust her hands forwards. A bubble of force formed around me, suspending me in mid-air. "You've done enough already, pretending to be friends with Cornelia and flashing your belly at Matt."
What? I flushed. How could she know that!? And why would it even matter to her? Unless...
Cornelia. Matt.
She'd told me that her friend Elyon had a crush on him. And later that she'd vanished, perhaps into Metamoor.
"Elyon?"
She curtseyed. "Elyon Brown," she confirmed. "Except that's not who I really am."
"Indeed," the towering snake man agreed, slithering around her. "You're far more than that, Elyon."
I crossed my arms. She had magic, evidently, and I didn't. I wasn't going to be able to fight her like that, so I'd have to find another way.
"So if you're not really Elyon Brown, does that make you a fake too?"
Her eyes narrowed angrily. "No, it makes my so-called parents fakes. After my real parents died, they stole me away from my brother and took me away from Meridian to Heatherfield. They pretended to be my family, the same way that you're pretending to be Will's sister."
"You shut your mouth!"
My hand hurt and I realised I'd slapped it against the bubble as hard as I could. As if it had been her face.
"I may not know your family, Elyon. But I do know mine. And don't you ever dare suggest that I don't love them."
Elyon walked forwards and looked me right in the eye. "And what are you going to do about it? You're nothing but an illusion and soon you won't even be that!"
"Now let's not be hasty," her companion suggested. "Remember the plan, Elyon. Our guest could be very useful to us, as long as she considers the consequences if she proves... uncooperative."
Elyon lowered her head submissively. "Of course, Cedric. You can trust me."
I have no idea how she took any reassurance from his toothy grin but once he had slipped away behind the bookcases, she took a deep breath and then eyed me up again. "You don't have any future in Heatherfield. All you are is a construct of magic. Once we defeat the Guardians you'd simply fade away. But Cedric and my brother want to give you a chance. We can give you a real body, and a new life in Meridian."
"That sounds like a sweet deal," I agreed warily. Something told me that it wouldn't be a simple as that. They would want something from me and they'd take measures to keep me to whatever they asked for. And what if they decided not to keep their word? I didn't like the look of Cedric - maybe I'm a little suspicious by nature - and Elyon hadn't been exactly trustworthy, luring me into this.
"And if you don't agree I'll simply make this bubble smaller and smaller until your body is destroyed. My magic is stronger than any of the Guardians. Stronger than all of them combined!"
"I don't think I'd enjoy that." I had to get out of the bubble. It already felt as if it might be getting smaller. I eyed its margins and I think it really was. That suggested that just by thinking about it Elyon was making it happen. "So what do you get out of this? We both know that I'll do what I have to in order to survive."
Elyon smiled. "The Guardians need the Heart of Kandrakar to fully master their powers. Without it, they can't keep closing the portals and trapping my people in Metamoor. I think they'd be a lot more reasonable - maybe we could even be friends again - if you were to bring the Heart here."
The thought of the bubble shrinking had been enough for that to start happening and I didn't think Elyon had actually intended to do that. I hoped not, because the ideas beginning to form in my mind rather counted upon my being right.
I needed to keep her talking while I put it together. "And what if I were to agree, and then go tell the Guardians about this shop? I imagine you'd know, and wouldn't get caught but there's got be a portal around here. Not to talk myself out of this deal, but I imagine you want some kind of safeguard?"
Magic seemed highly dependent upon intent and perhaps upon focus. If I could break hers, then perhaps it would break the spell.
Elyon gestured and the oily surface of the bubble faded away athough I could still feel it against my hand. "No one needs to know that this is around you, but I won't be taking it away until we have the Heart."
"What stops you from clenching it down on me if I chat with Matt?" I asked innocently.
She scowled at me. "Maybe you'd better not."
"But surely you're over him, now that Cedric is in your life. Why should I mess up Will's chances with him?"
There was colour in her cheeks. "You don't understand!"
"A lot of things, no. I think you're being a real fool about your parents. But your brother?" I changed by tone of voice. "That, I do understand."
"W-what?"
"You chose him over everything. Your friends, even the world you knew?"
Elyon nodded. "Yes."
"Then you know why I won't betray my sister."
"But you aren't really her sister! You said you'd do anything to survive."
I could see doubt and confusion in her eyes and I seized upon it. "If I took your deal then I wouldn't survive. Something might be left wouldn't be me. Because I'd never betray Will. That's who I am."
My ears popped as the bubble closed around me. Under that crushing power I was forced into a crouch and then into a fetal postion. Somehow I twisted to keep my eyes on Elyon. Her hand was steady... but her lower lip was trembling.
The pressure forced a gasp of pain with the last air in my lungs, but I kept looking at her.
Looking her in eyes.
Making her watch me die.
Magic was will.
And I had to shake hers.
The last thing I thought before red overtook my vision was that there was a pun in there somewhere.
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.