Will slapped her forehead and Mom turned me around firmly so she could look me in the face. "'Oops'? Wilhemina Vandom, what is going on here? Why is a large blue man in your room, and who is this!?" She pointed at Will.
I hung my head. "Um. That's Will."
Mom zeroed in on the most vital point immediately. "Will?"
She nodded guiltily.
"What in the world are you wearing? Is that padded?"
Will turned bright red and crossed her arms across her chest.
It took Will transforming back into herself, and then into a Guardian again, before Mom relaxed enough to let go of me. Mind you, her next words were: "I don't believe this." She leant against the wall. We hadn't even got to the explainations yet! So much for breaking this to her gently. Then she looked down at me with a perplexed expression. "If you're not Will then who are you?"
"...Hope."
"That's a lovely name, but do your parents know that you're sleeping over here? Because I would have appreciated knowing." She reached over and brushed my hair back from my face. "It's uncanny how much you look like Will."
"She doesn't have anywhere else," Will told her while I looked for words. "Look, can we talk about this in a minute? Vathek, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Meridian?"
The blue-skinned giant dropped to one knee. "I bring a plea for help, Guardian. From Elyon!"
"Elyon?" asked Mom suspiciously. She darted into the kitchen and came back with a milk carton. "This girl?" she asked, pointing at the picture on the side. It was captioned: 'Elyon Brown - Missing'.
Vathek nodded solemnly. "Indeed, although I don't understand why her name is on that container."
"Because she's missing!" Mom put her hands on her hips. "Did you aliens abduct her? Her family must be frantic!"
"But her family is also in Meridian," he explained.
"It's a long story, Mom." Will looked over at me. "Another long story."
"Well you're not going anywhere until I hear those stories. Is this some sort of ungerground railroad for runaways that you've got mixed up in?"
"But...!"
"I've got a good mind to call the police right now."
I raised my hand. "May I at least get dressed? Please!"
She raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I'm not letting any of you out of my sight until I have some answers."
"Don't you have to go to work?" Will asked hopefully.
Mom's eyes narrowed. "I'll call in. Fine, the two of you can get dressed. You -" she pointed at Vathek, "- come with me. No childish games or I'll call the police right after I call work."
Vathek walked after her into the lounge with the sort of serene confidence that could only indicate he had no idea how much trouble we were all in.
Will grabbed for the nearest clothes, laundry heap or not - her attention was more on getting onto her phone to warn the others that we had been outed. Chances were that if Mom learned of the other Guardians - and it wouldn't take much now - that she'd contact their parents.
For my part I hesitated in front of the wardrobe and then pulled out a plastic carrier bag from the back. For whatever reason, I had set aside the clothes that were created with me all those weeks ago and now I dressed in them. If she forced me to leave I wouldn't be taking away anything of Will's... and the were warm and weatherproof. That might be important.
"Cornelia, there's no time," Will hissed into the phone. "You'll have to let the others know. We might..." She paused and gulped. "We might need to go to Metamoor and join Caleb's rebels until things calm down!" She had to take the phone away from her ear to protect her from the anguished squeal from the other end. "I don't like it either, but I don't see much choice!"
"You'd actually do that?" I asked as she thumbed the button to end the call. I could barely believe my ears.
Will's eyes were watering. "I hope it doesn't come to that. Come on, who knows what Mom has dragged out of Vathek by now!" She picked up Mr. Huggles - her dormouse, she'd picked a name at last - for moral reinforcement.
Mom fixed us with a suspicious look as we entered the lounge. "I think I said no games, Will. Not making yourselves up to look like each other more."
Will shoved her fists into her pockets and perched on the couch, Mr. Huggles scrambling up to cling to her shoulder. "Great. You're just looking for things to punish us for!"
"Don't speak to me like that! If you can't have an adult conversation, we can skip right to the punishments. Do you want that?"
Will scowled and lowered her head. "No," she muttered.
"M- uh, Mrs. Vandom, we're not disguising our looks. We really do look... well, identical," I explained.
Mom scowled suspiciously. "Because you're... an astral drop? Whatever that." She hesitated. "You are Hope, aren't you? You're not my daughter, are you?"
I swallowed. That brought back a hollow feeling I thought I wouldn't face again.
Will slammed her fist down on the arm of the couch. "Mom, she's my sister!"
"I think I'd have noticed giving birth a second time, or if not some time in the next thirteen years!"
"You didn't notice in the last month!" protested Will.
"This has been going on that long? Just what is this about Will!?"
"Stop it!" I shouted and buried my face in my hands. "Just stop it! Can't you not fight for once!"
Will touched my shoulder for a moment. "Vathek. What is Elyon asking for?"
"It is her parents," he explained awkwardly. "Her foster parents, who raised her here."
"I thought she blamed them for taking her away from Metamoor," I asked, not raising my head.
"I believe that she has forgiven them. She has seen how her brother imprisoned them." Vathek scowled deeply. "How he locks away anyone who thinks differently from him."
"Then why doesn't she ask Phobos to release them. Or her precious Cedric?"
The scowl slipped away. "Maybe she has. Maybe she no longer believes them as she once did. There is hope that he will not be able to deceive her any longer." He placed one hand on my head, ruffling my hair lightly at one word in his remarks. I'll leave you to guess which one. "I cannot break into the prison, Keeper of the Heart. If I could, many of my own friends would not suffer there. I have advised her to do as I do: to believe in the Guardians of the Veil."
"What!? Absolutely not!"
We all backed up at Mom's voice. "Mom!"
"You are not recruiting my little girl for some cockanamie scheme to break a couple of people out of a prison in some magical kingdom somewhere." She folded her arms. "And that's final."
"Mom!" Will bolted to her feet, the dormouse having to cling tight to avoid being flung away from her. "These people could be in real danger! You don't know what Phobos is like!"
"That's all the more reason that you shouldn't be involved!"
"I can do this!" I could practically feel the pulse in the air as the Heart of Kandracar slipped into her hand.
"No you can not!"
"Will!" I yelled as a flash of pink light engulfed us all. "Don't -" The light faded, revealing a stark windowless room with stairs leading up to a door set high in the wall. Since there wasn't a couch for me to sit on, I proceeded to fall to the floor. "Oh!"
There were an assortment of other cries of surprise and I realised that it wasn't just Will, Vathek and myself who had suddenly arrived. Or even just adding Mr. Huggles to that list.
"What happened!" exclaimed Cornelia. "Will!?"
"Wow, you just, like, teleported us all!"
Irma, dressed only in a bath towel, didn't look quite as impressed. "Yay."
"Will, are you crazy?" demanded Taranee. "What if someone saw us vanish?"
"Someone did," I grumbled. "That might not have been the best solution, Will."
"If I gave her another minute she'd have been trying to take the Heart away from me!"
"What are you talking about?"
Will looked over at Cornelia. "You didn't tell them?"
"She was still on the phone," the blonde explained, pointing at the handset that Taranee was still hanging onto.
"Getting on well with Nigel?" Irma asked slyly.
"I guess she didn't get the news either?" I asked.
"Oh, I did," she assured us. "But if this is my last chance of a decent bath, I wasn't going to miss it. I doubt they have decent plumbing in Meridian."
"What news?"
"Mom caught Vathek sneaking in to give me a message," Will explained. "Worse, she caught Hope as well."
"Oh man!" Taranee groaned. "How could this get any worse?"
Will and I exchanged looks. "Um..."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
I hung my head. "Um. That's Will."
Mom zeroed in on the most vital point immediately. "Will?"
She nodded guiltily.
"What in the world are you wearing? Is that padded?"
Will turned bright red and crossed her arms across her chest.
It took Will transforming back into herself, and then into a Guardian again, before Mom relaxed enough to let go of me. Mind you, her next words were: "I don't believe this." She leant against the wall. We hadn't even got to the explainations yet! So much for breaking this to her gently. Then she looked down at me with a perplexed expression. "If you're not Will then who are you?"
"...Hope."
"That's a lovely name, but do your parents know that you're sleeping over here? Because I would have appreciated knowing." She reached over and brushed my hair back from my face. "It's uncanny how much you look like Will."
"She doesn't have anywhere else," Will told her while I looked for words. "Look, can we talk about this in a minute? Vathek, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Meridian?"
The blue-skinned giant dropped to one knee. "I bring a plea for help, Guardian. From Elyon!"
"Elyon?" asked Mom suspiciously. She darted into the kitchen and came back with a milk carton. "This girl?" she asked, pointing at the picture on the side. It was captioned: 'Elyon Brown - Missing'.
Vathek nodded solemnly. "Indeed, although I don't understand why her name is on that container."
"Because she's missing!" Mom put her hands on her hips. "Did you aliens abduct her? Her family must be frantic!"
"But her family is also in Meridian," he explained.
"It's a long story, Mom." Will looked over at me. "Another long story."
"Well you're not going anywhere until I hear those stories. Is this some sort of ungerground railroad for runaways that you've got mixed up in?"
"But...!"
"I've got a good mind to call the police right now."
I raised my hand. "May I at least get dressed? Please!"
She raised a sceptical eyebrow. "I'm not letting any of you out of my sight until I have some answers."
"Don't you have to go to work?" Will asked hopefully.
Mom's eyes narrowed. "I'll call in. Fine, the two of you can get dressed. You -" she pointed at Vathek, "- come with me. No childish games or I'll call the police right after I call work."
Vathek walked after her into the lounge with the sort of serene confidence that could only indicate he had no idea how much trouble we were all in.
Will grabbed for the nearest clothes, laundry heap or not - her attention was more on getting onto her phone to warn the others that we had been outed. Chances were that if Mom learned of the other Guardians - and it wouldn't take much now - that she'd contact their parents.
For my part I hesitated in front of the wardrobe and then pulled out a plastic carrier bag from the back. For whatever reason, I had set aside the clothes that were created with me all those weeks ago and now I dressed in them. If she forced me to leave I wouldn't be taking away anything of Will's... and the were warm and weatherproof. That might be important.
"Cornelia, there's no time," Will hissed into the phone. "You'll have to let the others know. We might..." She paused and gulped. "We might need to go to Metamoor and join Caleb's rebels until things calm down!" She had to take the phone away from her ear to protect her from the anguished squeal from the other end. "I don't like it either, but I don't see much choice!"
"You'd actually do that?" I asked as she thumbed the button to end the call. I could barely believe my ears.
Will's eyes were watering. "I hope it doesn't come to that. Come on, who knows what Mom has dragged out of Vathek by now!" She picked up Mr. Huggles - her dormouse, she'd picked a name at last - for moral reinforcement.
Mom fixed us with a suspicious look as we entered the lounge. "I think I said no games, Will. Not making yourselves up to look like each other more."
Will shoved her fists into her pockets and perched on the couch, Mr. Huggles scrambling up to cling to her shoulder. "Great. You're just looking for things to punish us for!"
"Don't speak to me like that! If you can't have an adult conversation, we can skip right to the punishments. Do you want that?"
Will scowled and lowered her head. "No," she muttered.
"M- uh, Mrs. Vandom, we're not disguising our looks. We really do look... well, identical," I explained.
Mom scowled suspiciously. "Because you're... an astral drop? Whatever that." She hesitated. "You are Hope, aren't you? You're not my daughter, are you?"
I swallowed. That brought back a hollow feeling I thought I wouldn't face again.
Will slammed her fist down on the arm of the couch. "Mom, she's my sister!"
"I think I'd have noticed giving birth a second time, or if not some time in the next thirteen years!"
"You didn't notice in the last month!" protested Will.
"This has been going on that long? Just what is this about Will!?"
"Stop it!" I shouted and buried my face in my hands. "Just stop it! Can't you not fight for once!"
Will touched my shoulder for a moment. "Vathek. What is Elyon asking for?"
"It is her parents," he explained awkwardly. "Her foster parents, who raised her here."
"I thought she blamed them for taking her away from Metamoor," I asked, not raising my head.
"I believe that she has forgiven them. She has seen how her brother imprisoned them." Vathek scowled deeply. "How he locks away anyone who thinks differently from him."
"Then why doesn't she ask Phobos to release them. Or her precious Cedric?"
The scowl slipped away. "Maybe she has. Maybe she no longer believes them as she once did. There is hope that he will not be able to deceive her any longer." He placed one hand on my head, ruffling my hair lightly at one word in his remarks. I'll leave you to guess which one. "I cannot break into the prison, Keeper of the Heart. If I could, many of my own friends would not suffer there. I have advised her to do as I do: to believe in the Guardians of the Veil."
"What!? Absolutely not!"
We all backed up at Mom's voice. "Mom!"
"You are not recruiting my little girl for some cockanamie scheme to break a couple of people out of a prison in some magical kingdom somewhere." She folded her arms. "And that's final."
"Mom!" Will bolted to her feet, the dormouse having to cling tight to avoid being flung away from her. "These people could be in real danger! You don't know what Phobos is like!"
"That's all the more reason that you shouldn't be involved!"
"I can do this!" I could practically feel the pulse in the air as the Heart of Kandracar slipped into her hand.
"No you can not!"
"Will!" I yelled as a flash of pink light engulfed us all. "Don't -" The light faded, revealing a stark windowless room with stairs leading up to a door set high in the wall. Since there wasn't a couch for me to sit on, I proceeded to fall to the floor. "Oh!"
There were an assortment of other cries of surprise and I realised that it wasn't just Will, Vathek and myself who had suddenly arrived. Or even just adding Mr. Huggles to that list.
"What happened!" exclaimed Cornelia. "Will!?"
"Wow, you just, like, teleported us all!"
Irma, dressed only in a bath towel, didn't look quite as impressed. "Yay."
"Will, are you crazy?" demanded Taranee. "What if someone saw us vanish?"
"Someone did," I grumbled. "That might not have been the best solution, Will."
"If I gave her another minute she'd have been trying to take the Heart away from me!"
"What are you talking about?"
Will looked over at Cornelia. "You didn't tell them?"
"She was still on the phone," the blonde explained, pointing at the handset that Taranee was still hanging onto.
"Getting on well with Nigel?" Irma asked slyly.
"I guess she didn't get the news either?" I asked.
"Oh, I did," she assured us. "But if this is my last chance of a decent bath, I wasn't going to miss it. I doubt they have decent plumbing in Meridian."
"What news?"
"Mom caught Vathek sneaking in to give me a message," Will explained. "Worse, she caught Hope as well."
"Oh man!" Taranee groaned. "How could this get any worse?"
Will and I exchanged looks. "Um..."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.