The Chimera Chronicles
By Suzanne Jackson
Chapter 1 : Leaving
"I hate you! I hate it here!" Alyss Riddled screeched as she slammed her bedroom door. She grabbed the chair from her desk and jammed it under the doorknob to stop it from opening and went over to her closet. From her closet she pulled a backpack, two messenger bags and a duffle bag. She started grabbing shirts and pants and jamming them into one of the messenger bags. Once that was full she closed it and started jamming the backpack full of more clothes. After she filled it up she grabbed the other messenger bag and crammed as much make - up as it would hold and closed it.
"Alyss get out here this second!" her mother screamed.
"No chance of that lady!" Alyss said. Her mother and father were banging on the door trying to get in and she heard her dad say he was going to get and ax to break the door in so that was her cue for her to make her exit, and quickly at that. She finished filling the duffel bag and zipped it shut.
She grabbed her phone and jammed her wallet into her pocket. She pulled her window open, kicked the screen out, tossed her bags out and jumped out of her third floor window. While she was dropping through the air she hit speed dial one hooked on her earpiece, put her phone in her pocket and landed perfectly and silently. She slung the messenger bags over her shoulders, put the backpack on, grabbed the duffle bag and took off running.
"Hello?" Margret answered.
"Hey Margret, it's me." Alyss said.
"Well duh, who else would call me at one in the morning."
"Yea, sorry bout that. Can you meet me at the pond right now?
"Why?" Margret asked suspiciously.
` "I need someone with me for a little while as I schedule my flight and then you can go home." Alyss pleaded, already halfway to the pond herself.
"Schedule a flight? What for?" Margret asked urgently. Alyss heard shuffling and she knew that she was on speaker and that Margret was on her way.
"I can't take it anymore Marg! I'm sick it and I'm not going to deal with it anymore.." she said as she reached the pond.
"Jane and Mathew?" Margret asked.
"Why else?"
"Where?"
"Can't tell you cause James will get it out of you." Alyss said as she sat the duffel bag down and sat on a rock near the water's edge.
"Speaking of your boyfriend, are you going to tell him."
"Well, I was thinking of calling him when I was there."
"Alyss! Text him or call him or I will." Margret said with a laugh at her friend's cowardice.
"Fine, I just text him to meet us here." Alyss informed her.
You must have a couple of questions by now so I'm taking this time out to explain a few things. To put it bluntly, Alyss was a mistake. As in she wasn't supposed to happen and she wasn't wanted. Her parents had her brother, Rikardo, and then her sister, Genevive, and they were content with that. Then came Alyss. Her parents always yell at her and she usually puts up with it but that night was different. She was fed up with getting yelled at for seventeen years so she up and left. But that's enough background info for now let's get back to the present, shall we?
"Okay, I'm at the big rock at the edge of the forest so I should be there in a few." Margret said.
"That's good, could you do me a solid an call James to explain the situation?" Alyss asked.
"Sure Al no problem."
"Thank you bye."
"Bye." Margret said to her and hung up.
She was about to call the airlines but Taylor Swift's song,"Love Story" began to play and she hit ignore because it was her boyfriend. Alyss dialed quickly and asked for the 2:30 to Greece, one way. She had everything in order by the time Margret and James walked into her sight.
"What's all this nonsense about you skipping town?" James asked with a southern drawl.
"It's not nonsense James, I'm leaving." Alyss said trying to sound firm.
" Okay let us come with you." Margret said.
"Are you guys going to give me trouble over this?" Alyss asked them.
"No , we promise we are not going to stir thing up."James said.
"Alright , Spit shake on it." Alyss said , spitting into her palm.
"I wish we hadn't out grew the pinky swear." James complain but followed suit.
Margret spit into her palm and said "Get over it you big baby."and they shook.
"Okay, did you guys bring clothes or do you need to get some?" asked Alyss
"James and I have our suitcases in the truck so we're set." Margret said.
"Okay, our flight leaves in an hour so let's get going and I'll book two more tickets." Alyss said as she started walking.The others followed and they reached the car within minutes.
Margret was on the freeway before Alyss could dial. That was the reason that Margret drove whenever they were in a hurry: she floors it.
They were at the airport by 1:25. By the time they got everything in order it was 2:20. They were on the plane just in time. They took off and within twenty minutes all three of them were asleep.
((o
Alyss felt someone shaking her shoulder gently saying, "Hun, it's time to go. We're here." Alyss opened her eyes and stretched," We're here?" she asked disoriented. When she finally understood Alyss jumped out of her seat and looked out the window. It was so beautiful and unknown.
" Okay, so where's the apartment you bought or rented?" Margret asked.
"Apartment"
"You did rent an apartment?" James asked as they walked out the exit and stopped.
"Please tell me you at least got a car." Margret said.
"Well...."
"Awe ,Al !" James said
"Hold on, it will take me a couple of minutes and we'll have a house and car." Alyss said, already dialing.
"Better make it a nice one too." Margret said as she sat down on a bench. Before Margret and James had a chance to exchange two sentences Alyss had a car.
"Okay, the car should be here shortly," she said as she dialed another number, "and we have a house."
"Good ole' Alyss always has had a quick dialing finger, the right numbers and her parent's bank accounts." Margret said happily as their 2008 Mitsubishi Eclipse pulled up, "Here's a couple bucks for the bus dude." she said as she handed five dollars to the driver and pulled him out of the car.
"Come on, step on the gas girl ! "Alyss said as she and James got in and closed their doors.
"Okay, hold on! " Margret said as she floored it and left the guy standing in the middle of the parking lot looking shocked.
Chapter 2: Moving In
They found the house quickly, and just as Margret requested, it was a nice one.
"Woah! This place is... wow." Margret said.
"You said you wanted a nice one, so I bought a nice one." Alyss said as she walked upstairs to find a room. Alyss got the master bedroom since she bought it, Margret's room was right across the hall, and James's room was downstairs.
As soon as they were finished unpacking Alyss and Margret went downstairs to find James. They checked his room but he wasn't there. They checked the bathroom, no James. They checked the backyard, no James. They searched all of the second floor and were searching the ground floor, but James yet to be found.
"Well maybe we should call him?" Alyss suggested. She looked at Margret who nodded in agreement. Alyss picked up her phone and hit speed-dial #2. She listened while it rang then heard James's ring tone of Shikira's 'Hips don't lie' coming from the kitchen. She and Margret both made a double take toward the kitchen to find James's torso completely emerged in the fridge. Marget went up behind him and slammed the fridge shut with his body still in it.
"OWWW!!" he screamed, then backed out of the fridge. "What was that for?" he asked and looked meanly at Margret. She laughed and through back her head then gave him an evil smile.
"Ya'll Know this place ain't got no food righ'"James said. Alyss gave him a look that said this is a brand new house! Of course there wasn't any food. These things didn't come pre-stocked.
"I knew it he was in the kitchen! Of course of all places he'd be there!You scared us you... YOU.." Alyss stammered trying to think of something to say
"By us you mean you right?" Margret added while Alyss was still thinking.
Alyss ignored her and said to James,"See I can't think of a name bad enough name to call you."
"Good 'cause I don't deserve to be called no name. I was just lookin' for food!" he said defensive now.
Alyss rolled her eyes then said, "Well, is anyone hungry?" she asked.
"NO I was just lookin' for food to through it out of the winda'" James said sarcastically.
"Jeez, Don't got to be all... see again with the no name to call you" Alyss said pushing him by the shoulders.
"Ya cause ya'll love me too much."James said with a grin. Everyone started laughing but Margret broke the laughter and said "By 'ya'll' you mean her right" then they all started laughing again.
Chapter 3 -- The Book
They drove around trying to find a burger king or some other fast food place but all they could find was a resturant called Wilma's. They parked in the deserted lot and walked in.
"Hello? Anyone here?" Margret called. Instead of an answer Alyss heard her name being called.
"Do you here that?" Alyss asked. They were too dumbfounded to speak so they just nodded. They walked through a doorway and saw a big black book lying on on of the dusty tables. Alyss started walking toward it but James grabbed her wrist and she stopped. Instead of Alyss, James aproached it. Alyss and Margret followed, standing on either side of him. Alyss disregarded James's warning and made to open the book. Whaen alyss fingers were about and inch from the cover, a lady apperead seemingly from nowhere. She was dressed in an old-fashioned waitress' outfit, poodle skirt and all.
Before she could think about it, Alyss shoved the book into her shoulder bag and almost tipped over with the added weight on her left shoulder.
The lady smiled and said, "Hi dear's, can i get you something?"
"I am not an anim-" James started but Margret covered his mouth before he could finish.
"No, thank you, we're okay." She said and they walked out.
(o
"Where's that stupid book!" Alyss screamed. It had been calling their names the whole ride home and she was prepared to rip the pages from the spine and burn them.
"I think it should stay in the bag... downstairs... on the table... closed." James said, trying to prevent Alyss from finding and loop-holes even though he knew she wouldn't listen to him anyway's.
"I don't care if you set the fricken thing on fire! I'm tired, I'm hungy, I'm going to bed!" Margret screamed at James, advancing a step with every other word then stormed up the stairs to her room.
"That's a good idea, I will too. I suggest you do the same." James said.
"Fine." Alyss sighed and trudged up the stairs, she felt James watching her to make sure she wouldn't pull any funny stuff and she wasn't...not that moment at least.
Alyss waited about a half an hour then she crept downstairs and grabbed the book. On her way up the stairs she stopped.
'Has that door always been there?' she wondered quietly to herself, 'or am I just tripping from loss of sleep?' Alyss opened the door slowly and poked her head in but when she heard shuffling downstairs she jumped in and shut the door. One of the walls of the room was made entirely of glass and the rest were painted orange, or at least that's what color they seemed to Alyss. There was an old desk in the corner with a nice, thick coat of dust. She walked over and dropped the book on the table causing an uproar of dust in her face. Coughing, she sat down in the chair in front of it. She studied the book cover. On it was a pair of eyes with wings sprawling out from the sides, in between there was a strange symbol made up of eight intersecting arrows. She ran her fingers over the inscription below the eyes, it looked like Latin to Alyss.
"Alyss!" James said, shaking her shoulder. It was morning and Alyss was in her bed.
"What?" Alyss asked, disoriented.
"Come see this!" James said as he hurried down the stairs. Alyss stopped halfway down the stairs where the door should be, but wasn't.
"Huh..." Alyss said as she finished walking down the stairs.
"What was I woken up for?" Alyss asked.
"This!" Margret said, as she held out her had. In her palm was the same symbol she saw on the book but with one variation. Between the eyes wasn't the symbol, it was a flame.
"So, you got a tattoo. No big deal." Alyss said with a shrug as she went back upstairs. But, it was a big deal as Alyss, James, and Margret would soon find out. These "tattoo's" would change their lives... forever.
Chapter 4 All Seeing Eyes
Alyss didn't go to sleep that night, so she forgot James' warning and went downstairs to get the book. Like the night before, the mysterious door was there. She opened the door, walked inside, and sat at the desk. She put her hand on the cover, and... CRASH!!! Alyss dove under the desk to avoid a shower of glass. A boy, who looked about her age, dressed in black cargo pants and a white tank-top had crashed through the glass wall to where she had been sitting.
"Don't open that!" the boy yelled.
"Who-.....What-...How?" Alyss stammered while still in shock.
"Sorry for the fright," the boy said smiling,"but you don't want to open that.. yet anyways." Alyss couldn't speak. Who was this boy who broke through the glass wall? Why didn't he want her to open the book?
"You can come out from under there you know. Know one is going to hurt you." he said putting a hand out to help her up.
"Who are you?" Alyss finally spit out.
"Who am I!" he said looking offended." Well, you are asking a question that I have been trying to answer myself for a long time and to which I have not the answer to. Unless you are asking for my lineage, which I do have the answer to but most likely you are asking for my name. Correct?"he said smiling bigger."I'm just kidding you! My name is Damion."
Okay this guy is officially nuts! Alyss thought to herself while taking his hand to stand up.
Just then James burst through the door, armed with a baseball bat. He saw Damion still holding hands and twirling the bat getting ready to hit and said, " Alright, pretty boy I was gonna let you off easy this time, but now you done it!" He stepped toward Damion about to swing when Alyss stepped between the two boys. She caught the bat as he swung, for he didn't swing very hard.
"James, calm down." she said holding his shoulders " this guy is...safe! His name is Damion."
Just then Margret came into the room and said " What was that noise? Wait!" she said backing in and out of the doorway," Has this door always been-"she cut herself off when she saw Damion. "Who is he!" she said pointing at him. James leaned over then whispered "Something with a 'G'"
"It's Damion" Damion said holding out his hand for her to shake it. She did but their hands stayed together for a little longer that necessary. Alyss coughed and they both blushed then dropped hands and looked the opposite way of each other.
"Do you guys want to go down to the living room and talk this over?" she looked around and everyone was already sitting on the floor. "Or we could just stay in here." She sat down between James and Margret facing Damion. "Okay Damion, explain. Why did you come crashing through the wall?" she said as she gestured over to the broken glass.
"Well you know the sign on the book?" he looked around but only Alyss nodded. James looked confused, as always, and so did Margret. " Well, they're guardians or pets, if you would call them that, I like to think of them as a little bit of both. We don't know they're actual title but we like to call them chimaera's, meaning 'all seeing eyes' in Latin" he started to say then out of nowhere there was a puff of smoke and a pair of eyes appeared out of the smoke. They was a symbol that sort of resembled a crown." This is Trevor, my chimaera" he petted Trevor's head and a sound that sound almost like a purr came from it, Damion whispered something to it and it disappeared. He studied the faces of his students, Alyss looked like she just saw the most awesome thing in the world, Margret who looked stunned like this was physically impossible, and James who was scared out of his mind hiding behind Margret trembling in fear. "So, anyways. They each have different symbols between the eyes depending on the person they belong to. The book is a sort of guide. It tells how to take care of them, what they like, what they don't and stuff like that." he scanned their faces. James was terrified, Margret was zoning out, and Alyss was totally consumed with every word he said. Hm, maybe Margret and i won't be such a good match... maybe me and Alyss would work out better... he thought. His pleasure soon turned to fear as Alyss's face turned from interested to outraged.
"YOU BROKE INTO OUR HOUSE FOR THAT? DID YOU EVER CONSIDER THE FRONT DOOR YOU DOORBELL?" she screamed at him.
"Uh, nope." Damion said quietly as she stormed out, "Wow, remind me never to jack nothing of hers..." he added.
"I HEARD THAT! I HOPE YOU HAVE A LOT OF MONEY OR A REALLY GOOD LAWYER CAUSE ONE WAY OR ANOTHER YOU'RE FIXING THAT WALL!" she screamed from down the hall and slammed her door so hard that the glass left on the wall shook loose and fell to the floor.
Chapter 5 : Queen Alyss
"So you are telling me that these "things" are guardians?" Margret asked, carrying in a tray of coffee.
"Yes" Damion said, grabbing a cup and taking a drink.
"Few! That's a relief, I thought I'd caught some disease living with James." she said with a smile.
"Hey!" James said about two minutes later. The three of them burst out laughing until they saw Damion's face.
"Okay, back to business." Alyss said, "So ,why does Margret get her- OH MY GOD!" she started but was interrupted. She had looked at her palm and she had the eyes and wings but hers had a crown in between." I have mine!" she had a huge grin across her face. She stopped smiling when she looked at Damion, "What?" she asked.
"I've traveled around the world. I've been looking for you for six years." he said.
"What are you talking about?" Alyss asked, a little scared.
"You are QUEEN now." Damion said.
"Q - q - Queen of what?" she asked, thoroughly spooked.
"Queen of the Chimaeras and of their humans." Damion said. bowing, "You are my Queen. My queen that I've been searching for. I am King of the Chimaeras and of their humans."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"There is on Queen and one King that are picked every hundred years. You are my Queen and I am your King." he said, holding her hands with both of his.
"A-are you sure?"
"Your mark proves it." Damion said, turning her left hand over and pointing at her crown. Alyss looked around at Margret and James, Margret was stunned and James was furious.
"Just because she has the stupid mark means Alyss is Queen?! There is no other way to tell? James asked.
"It's all the proof that anyone needs. Alyss believes it! You do believe it right?"Damion asked.
"Well, yeah, I do. I mean why else would it be a crown?" Alyss said.
"Yeah she believes it! When we first met Alyss believed that I owned an Italian sports car. If you told her that cat's were purple Alyss would believe it!" Just her believing , it means nothing!" James said furious.
"James, calm down. It's alright ." Alyss said crossing the room and hugging James, "It's no big deal."
"No big deal? How can it be no big deal? It is too big of a deal!" James said.
"James deep breathe." Alyss said. James took a deep breathe .It did not help though.
"So, anyway's. I think it's time that one of you open the book." Damion said.
"Okay. I guess I will do it."Alyss said.She walked over and grabbed the book.She took a deep breathe and opened it.
"What? No magic SPIRITS rushing out or any stuff like that?"
"Wait for it......" Damion said. Light shot from the pages and Chimaeras popped up in front of their owners in puffs of smoke. Margrets appeared in a cloud of Red smoke., James appeared in Blue smoke and Alyss appeared in Gold.
Coughing ,Alyss said, "They sure know how to make an entrance HUH?
"I guess you could say that."Damion said, and for the first time since his arrival Damion smiled.
Chapter 6 : Mom
The next morning to their surprise......yeah, right they knew this was coming, James Chimera sign appeared on his hand. Alyss and Margret befriended their Chimaeras quickly but James had a little trouble.....adjusting.
"AH!!" James ran behind Damion screaming.
"Dude, take it easy man.That is the tenth time in the past hour!"Damion said, reaching out to pet James chimera but getting only a growl in return, "Okay never mind then." he told it as it floated over to Alyss.
"It's okay little guy, he is just weird like that. "Margret said patting it on the head. "You should be used to him by now." she chided him.
" How can I get used to that? Them things are big ole eye with wings sticking out of them, floating around and popping out of nowhere!" he exclaimed.
"You hurt it's feelings." Margret said as James Chimera whimpered and disappeared.
"Right, that thing has feelings." James said, doing air quotes and rolling his eyes.
" James , stop being so.... overly sarcastically dramatic!" Alyss said. They all turned to her and said "What?" simultaneously.
"Forget it." Alyss said.
"James, you will have to bond with him sooner or later." Damion said.
"Says who?" James asked, I did not exactly volunteer for this you know All I agreed to was running away with my girl and my girls best friend."
" James, I didn't volunteer for this either, but I'm taking all this in with a smile, You love animals so this should be easy for you." Alyss said.
"N-n-n-n-n, No. Your right I do love animals, natural animals. Them things are not natural !!"
"Quite the opposite James , the Chimaeras are the most natural animals that you could find ." Damion said.
" I do not agree." James muttered under his breathe.
"So, anyway's. Do you guys know how to read Latin?" Damion asked.
" Why the heck would we know how to read Latin?" Margret asked.
" Retardest question of the year?" James said.
"Don't you mean most retarded?" Alyss said
" What ever ."
" Okay, so anyway , You don't know Latin? Hmm...... this is a bit of a set back." Damion said.
" Uh-Oh the Queen is not going to be happy about this" he added quietly to himself.
" I'm not going to be happy about what?" Alyss asked looking at his eyes searching for an answer.
" What?" he asked Damion had been spacing out. Oh not you Alyss."
" But I thought you said I was Queen." she said looking down. In the background Alyss could hear James saying "Yes, I told you Alyss could not be Queen!" to Margret oh so quietly.
"No she...... the real Queen........ Wait " It took a while for Damion to get his words straight.
"Okay so here it is, the Queen right now has.... is watching us , I'm suppose to train you..... to be training you, before the next full moon. You have to be ready to take over and-" Alyss cut Damion off "Wh-WH-What, I'm suppose to be ready by the next FULL MOON!"
Margret butted in ,"According to my calculations that is next MONDAY!"
"So your telling me I have to be ready in FIVE DAYS!"
" Yes." Damion said quietly backing away knowing Alyss would blow up as soon as she heard this.
" But ,Why and yeah so, WHAT!"
" Have to do my job or MOM will-"
"What!" They all said turning to him.
" Did I hear you right, Are you saying the Queen or the old Queen is YOUR MOM"
Margret said then burst out laughing. Eventually they all joined in except one.
"It is not funny" Damion said sternly, " If I don't do this right, I will have no job and my mom won't pay for school."
" Oh I'm sorry." Alyss said looking down again.
(( O
Chapter 7 : Training
Margret heard a deafening crash. "What was that?" Margret screamed as she ran down the stairs, "Please let nothing be broken, please let nothing be broken." she muttered to herself. She turned the corner to find Alyss standing on the back of the couch and Damion on the armrest. They both had swords in their hands. "Stop! What do you think your doing? House rule number seventy eight; No sword fighting in the house. And house rule eighty nine; No standing on the furniture." she said. Alyss and Damion responded by looking at her as if she belonged in a nuthouse.
"Chill Margret, no-" Alyss started.
"Don't say it's no big deal! Someone get hurt or something could get broken or... or... something else could happen! And get off the couch already..." Margret went on like that for awhile.
While she was ranting James came in and asked Alyss in a whisper, "What's she all worked up about?"
"Sword fighting and on top of that standing on the couch." she explained.
Margret finished and looked at them, "What?" she asked Damion who had been staring at her.
"Huh? What? Oh, nothing." Damion answered, "Common Al, let's finish this lesson outside." he said but his eyes were still on Margret.
"Hey Marg, wanna come out and watch? I bet Alyss is gonna kick his butt!" James asked.
"No thanks, you go ahead. I think I'll just go upstairs and take a nap or something." she said as she walked up the stairs.
"Okay..." he said as he went into the backyard.
"Okay Alyss, remember what you learned yesterday." Damion said as he prepaired himself, "And no cheap shots today!" James noted that Damion looked a bit scared.
After the fight Alyss, Damion and James were headed inside.
"Alyss! I said no cheap shots, that wasn't a fair fight!" Damion said as he sat down on the couch.
"Want a rematch?" Alyss offered.
"N-no thanks, I'm good." he replied quickly.
Alyss laughed and said, "Then don't complain. Do either of you know where Margret is?"
"Room." James said.
(o
Upstairs in her room Margret was in shock.
'Why did he look at me like that?' was the biggest question in her head right now. She had come up with two explanations and wasn't sure which she liked best.
Explanation one: There was the king and queen. The queen didn't love her king because she loved her farm boy. The king was jealous and wanted his queen for himself, so he was using the queen's best friend to get the queen jealous so she'd go to him.
Explanation two: Again, the queen with her farm boy but the king was totally fine with that and loved the best friend.
Margret heard someone knocking on the door and called, "Come on in."
Alyss walked in and immediately knew something was wrong, "What's the matter?"
"Nothing," Margret wasn't sure if there was something anyway's, "how was your lesson?"
"Fine." Alyss replied with concern in her voice. She knew something was up but wasn't sure what it was yet, "Are you sure everything's cool?"
"Yep..."
"Okay." she said as Damion and James came in.
"Yall get ready, we're going out to eat." James said.
"Where we going?" Margret asked.
"You'll see." he replied with a smile.
End of chapter 7
ROMANCE ALERT!!!
Chapter 8: A Date
James drove today instead of Margret since they weren't in a big rush today. He drove them to a lake in the woods.
"We're having a picnic?" Alyss asked, feigning surprise.
"Yep." Damion replied.
James parked the car and Damion led them up a small hill. Damion and James sat up the blanket and weighed it down while the girls set up the food.
"Hm, why's there only enough food for two people?" Margret asked, looking up to find that there was only her and Damion there, "Hey, where'd they go?"
"Oh, they aren't here? I hadn't noticed." Damion said, looking around. As he said this, Margret heard the Mitsubishi start up.
"What the- where'd they go?" she asked with alarm.
"Margret, relax. They're just..." he started but trailed off.
"We're stuck here Damion! Do you know how far we'll have to walk! Did you tell them something?"
"Well yeah I told something to James." he said as he looked at the ground, "I told him that I like you." he mumbled.
"What?" she was almost positive that she heard him wrong.
"I like you." he said louder, "I told James and I guess he told Al so the reason we're here is-"
"-They're trying to get us together." she cut him off. 'I have the greatest friends.' she thought.
"Yeah."
"Well, we should eat. They must have worked hard on this." she said.
Damion laughed and said, "Yeah, I guess." even though he knew perfectly well that the picked most of the stuff up at Costco.
They finished eating by sunset and turned to face it. Damion reached for her hand and they sat there, her hand in his for a few minutes. He surprised Margret by brushing his lips against her cheek and saying, "I really like you Margret. After just three and a half days I know that you're the one for me."
She responded by turning and kissing him, "I like you too Damion. I really do."
After about twenty minutes he asked her, "Are you ready to go home?"
"Yeah, sure. But how are we going to get there? It would take forever to walk."
"Well, not really. James drove in a few circles to make it look farther than we went. If you go through those trees over there it's only a few yards to the house." he said, pointing at a bunch of trees.
"Seriously?" she asked as she ran over to where he indicated, "Wow. I didn't even notice it."
Damion laughed and said, "Well, that was kind of the plan."
They walked back home and got a bunch of teasing from James until Alyss told him to quit it which took awhile cause she was doing a bit of teasing too.
End of Chapter 8
Chapter 9 : Tekadishtonia
"Okay! I give!" Damion yelled as he was knocked to the ground and Alyss's sword flicked up to his throat.
"You are such a wimp!" Alyss laughed as she walked over and helped him up.
"Alright guys, time to come in. I've given you guys two hours so no complaints." Margret, who had been watching them fight, called from the doorway.
"Okay Marg." Damion said and went to pick up his sword, "You're really good with a sword Alyss, perhaps the best person I've met." as he sheathed his sword and walked toward the door.
"Thanks. So are we going to move on to another topic? We've already covered swordfighting, learning Latin, speaking Latin, reading Latin, resolving conflicts and war tactics. Is there anything else?" Alyss asked as she followed him inside and sat down on the couch.
"Well, you still need to find out how to coordinate colors for like royal balls and parties, and you need to learn what style of dress to wear to different occasions but I suck at those so that is going to be up to you to teach yourself." Damion said as he sat down next to Margret who had taken a seat on the other couch.
"Wow, you're done Alyss. Do you believe that? It passed so fast." Margret said.
"So, what now? Are we 'sposed to wait for someone to come get us?" James asked as he came downstairs and sat next to Alyss.
"Well, the fifth day is tommorrow..." Damion trailed off, waiting for Alyss to get the hint.
"Yeah... and?" Alyss asked.
"We have to go."
"Now? Right now?" Alyss asked in surprise.
"Mother said that the sooner we came, the better. So yeah, pretty much." Damion answered.
"Wait a minute, doesn't she expect you and Alyss together and not Alyss and James?" Margret interrupted.
"Yes. I don't know how she'll react but, knowing mother, it's sure to be interesting. She won't accept it easily."
"Boy, that sounds like fun. Have a nice trip 'kay guys. Don't worry, I'll water the plants and feed the dog and everythin' else that Margret and Alyss do." James said.
"First of all, we don't have plants or a dog... that i know of at least." Margret said.
"Oh, well if yall leave me 'bout two hundred I'll be sure to find a dog and some plants."
"Well, it would be nice to have a dog..." Alyss started. "Wait a minute! You're not getting out of this!" she said once she thought about it for a few seconds.
"Aw, so close..." James trailed off in dissappointment.
"So, are you ready?" Damion asked them.
"I guess... Where exactly are we going?"
"Tekadishtonia." Damion informed them.
"Teka- what?" Margret asked.
"Tek-a-dish-tone-i-a" Damion correted her.
"Okay, how do we get there?" Alyss asked him.
"Well, I kind of forgot the way." Damion admitted.
"How can yall forget the way to your ouwn home?" James asked.
"Cut me some slack, I haven't been to the place in like six years okay?" Damion said defensively.
"How in the world do you expect us to ge there Damion?" Alyss asked.
"The chimaera's know the way." he said, "I hope." he added under his breathe.
"Okay. Jill!" Alyss called her chimaera and it appeared infront of her.
"Yes Miss Alyss?" Jill asked in a sweet voice.
"Do you know how to get to um..." Alyss started but trailed off because she couldn't pronounce the name.
"Tekadishtonia." Damion finished for her
"Of course Miss Alyss, it's just through the Eldunari." [defenition of Eldunari at end of section]
"Are yall trying to tell us that we need to go through our book?" James asked.
"Of course not, you twit. Throught the Eldunari tree." Jill clarified. Jill was a bit upset that James had hurt Solstice's (James's chimaera) feelings.
"Would you please take us there Jill?" Damion asked.
"Of course Master Damion."
Jill took them into the woods in the back of the house and led them to four trees that, crossed together, formed the Eldunari.
"Master Damion, do you know the rest of the way?" Jill asked Damion when they came up to it.
"Yes Jill, thank you." Damion said.
"Okay, see you later." Jill said and then dissappeared.
"Oh! I've seen this in a movie once, I know how to do this." James said and backed up three steps. James ran at the tree and smacked into it. They all laughed as he got back up, "Well, I guess that movie wasn't a very reliable source." he said, trying to maintain what little dignity he had.
"If you would have let me explain, I could've told you that wasn't going to work. Alyss or I must say an incantation before that tree would let anyone through." Damion said when he stopped laughing enough to speak.
"We can do magic? You never mentioned that! That is totally awesome, can i try?" Alyss said.
"Hm, I guessed it couldn't hurt if you learned one incantation... okay, the word are Aro akam reast Eluna trakada [defenition at end of section] Place your hand on the trunk and say that, just as I said it."
"Okay, I'll give it a shot." Alyss said as she walked over and put her hand on the trunk, "Aro akam reast Eluna trakada. What, no magic spirits ruching out or anything?" she quoted herself.
"Not this time, sorry to dissappoint you. Hey James, wanna test it out?" Damion asked.
"Now way man! I'm alright." James said, backing up a step.
Damion stepped through and Alyss and Margret followed but James hesitated. He turned to leave but Alyss stuck her hand out of the tree, grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him through.
End of Section 1
Eldunari: the formal name for the eight pointed arrow on the cover of the black book that was found at Wilma's
Aro akam reast Eluna trakada: Let me pass through, Eldunari, so that I may reach home.
Chapter 9 :Tekadishtonia [Part 2]
"Unnecessary!" James said indignantly as he was pulled through the portal.
"If I hadn't pulled you through, you wouldn't have came. Don't deny it James, we've known each other since pre-k, I think I know what you're like by now." Alyss said with a laugh.
"Whatever." He mumbled.
"So, I take it that this is where we're supposed to be?" Margret said as she pointed at the large palace.
"Yes, this is my home. I hope you will all except it as yours too." Damion said.
"Well, I guess it's too late to turn around now huh." Alyss said with a nervous laugh.
"The heck it is! Let's get going!" James exclaimed.
"No James." Damion said.
James listened and instead of leaving he turned to Alyss and asked, "You okay?" Alyss was never nervous about anything, especially meeting new people.
"Y-yeah, never better." she said shakely.
"You sure? Cause yall don't look too good... You better not barf."
"I said I'm fine James!" Alyss snapped at him.
"I'd shut up if I were you." Damion advised.
"Yeah James, shut up." Margret agreed.
"Alright." James said.
"Can we go now? I'm tired of standing around." Alyss asked.
"Okay. But put these on and don't take them off until I say to, okay?" Damion said as he handed them each a black cloak.
"When did you grab these?" Alyss asked as she clipped her cloak into place and pulled her hood on.
"I had them on the railing of the staircase." Damion told her.
"Really? I didn't see them there..." she trailed off.
They walked up to a gate but stopped when a row of archers appeared on the top. "Halt! State you names and business peasants!" one of the guards yelled.
"Don't take off you hoods." Damion whispered to Alyss, Margret and James but pulled down his own, "I am Prince Damion. I merely wish to enter my home."
"Your highness, I am dreadfully sorry. Please do not have me beheaded." the guard begged.
"I will think about it." Damion said. Alyss looked at his face and she realized that he was serious.
"Raise the gate!" the guard yelled.
The rest of the guards obeyed and they passed through without any difficulties.
"What was that about not beheading him?" Alyss asked.
"Exactly what it was. He asked me not to behead him and I said that I would think about it."
"Have you ever ordered a soldier to be beheaded before?" Margret asked.
"Once..." Damion admitted.
"For what?" Alyss asked.
"He broke one of my new toys." Damion said.
"What?" Alyss asked.
"I was eight okay!"
"Jeez, that's pretty harsh." James said.
"Whatever. What's done is done. So what now?" Alyss said.
"Now we need to track down a servant to get clothes for the two of you before we can do anything else." he said.
"What about you and James?" Margret asked.
"I have clothes for James and I. All I need to do is find a servant... there's one. You there, girl! I need you to find dresses for these two." he pointed at Margret and Alyss, "Make sure they are of the finest silk. You may take them to my room. Understood?"
"Y-yes Prince Damion, I understand." the servent said before she scurried away.
"Finally, someone who listens to me." he muttered to himself. "Okay, let's go." he said to Alyss, James and Margret. They followed him up four flights of stairs and poor James almost had to crawl to make it up the last flight. When they got to Damion's room, James collapsed on the floor.
On the bed were the most beautiful and elegant dresses that either of the girls had ever seen.
"Oh. My. Goodness. It's beautiful!" Alyss said as she picked up the green dress, held it up to her and twirled around once.
"These aren't even fancy to our standards." Damion said as he laughed at their reactions.
"Then I can't wait to see fancy." Margret said.
"You two can take these and change into them in the closet or the next room, whichever you prefer." Damion told them.
"We'll change in the next room if you don't mind." Alyss said. They changed and then the girls reentered the room.
"This feel's kinda weird." Alyss said, "It's the first dress that I have ever worn."
"Oh, don't worry. You'll get used to it. Around here, the girls wear dresses almost all the time. On only very rare occasions do they wear regular clothes. For the queen, that's almost never." Damion said.
"Well, at least we don't have to wear heals right?" Margret said.
"I like wearing heels." Alyss said.
"Well, that's good." Damion said, holding up two pairs of heels. One pair green to match Alyss's dress and the other blue to match Margret's.
"Do you want me to fall down the stairs? You want me to break my ankle don't you!" Margret exclaimed.
"Relax, you'll be fine. If you feel like you're going to fall down, just grab my arm okay?" Damion said reassuringly.
"If I fall, I'm going to break your arm." Margret threatened as she put them on, "Now what?"
"Um, stand?" Damion said.
Margret tried to stand but she couldn't.
End of Part 2
Chapter 10
(Chapter 10 is missing.)
Chapter 11
11. [Part 1] Alyss and Margret: Dresses, Hair, Flowers
The next day at breakfast Damion and Alyss announced their engagement but left out the tiny detail that it wasn’t to each other.
“That’s great sweetheart.” The queen said to Damion.
“It is isn’t it?” he said.
“Alyss would you like me to take you shopping for your dress or would you like to do that with Margret?” she asked.
“Um, I would prefer to go with Margret if you don’t mind.”
“Okay, that’s perfectly fine.” The queen said with a smile.
They all finished eating breakfast then Alyss, Margret, Damion, and James went shopping.
((0
“How about this one?” Alyss said, coming out of the dressing room in a wedding dress.
“It’s exactly the same as the last four hundred!” James exclaimed.
“Dude, that ’s only the fourth dress.” Damion said.
“Well, it’s three too many. They all look the same to me.”
“James, the first one was a white and the second was an eggshell and the third was off-white and this one is a cream. They’re all different styles.” Margret said, shaking her head.
“What?” James asked then quickly said, “Wait, never mind.” Then sat down next to Damion.
“So, what do you think?” Alyss asked, spinning around.
“I think it’s nice.” Damion said.
“Ugh, next then.” She said then went back into the dressing room. She came out five minutes later and said, “What do you think of this?”
“Beautiful Alyss. It’s the perfect dress for you.” Damion said, hoping the word were enough to satiate her.
“Really? Well, if you insist, I suppose that it’s perfect.” She said then went back into the dressing room to change into the clothes she wore to the shop.
Damion turned to Margret and said, “Thank you. I thought she’d never stop trying on dresses.”
“I told you it would work.” She said.
Alyss came out and they bought the dress. Margret and Alyss started talking about flowers on their way over to the flower shop which was across the street.
They ended up ordering freesia, orange blossoms, and roses.
“So, we’re done now aren’t we?” James asked hopefully.
“Almost. We still need to find out how Alyss will be wearing her hair.” She said.
“Oh.” James said, disappointed.
“Can James and I skip this part? I mean, what do you need us to do?” Damion said.
“Hm, I guess. Is it okay with you Marg?” Alyss said. Margret shrugged.
“Cool, come on James.” Damion said but James was already down the street. “Wait up!” he said, breaking into a run.
[Part 2] Damion and James: Guns, Targets and …a bird?
“Wow, I’ve never fired anything other than a be-be gun.” James said as they walked out of the palace armory and out into the forest in back of the palace.
“You haven’t? Well, maybe we should start out with something other than a machine gun.” Damion said.
“Nah, it’s alright. Jus’ tell me where to shoot an’ I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Damion said a bit hesitantly.
“So where do I shoot?” he asked.
“Right over there.” Damion said, pointing at a tree with a target carve d into it.
“Okay. Woah!” James said as he pulled the trigger. The machine gun was acting on its own accord, he hit six trees, spun in a full circle and heard a squawk and saw a puff of feathers before he took his finger off the trigger. He turned to his side to find Damion who had dropped to the ground to avoid the shower of bullets, “Whoops, maybe you were right.” He said as he helped Damion up.
“Yeah whoops! I told you that thing was too powerful for you.”
“Well, let’s look on the bright side. I killed dinner.” James said with a smile.
“You almost killed me!”
“Just one small bad detail my friend.” James said.
“It’s hard to look over the ‘small’ detail when it involves getting shot with a machine gun!”
“Well sorry!” James said as he walked over and picked up the dead bird.
“That’s alright but look; this is how it’s done.” Damion said then carefully shot a D into a tree.
“Wow, if I try again I bet I could do that!” James said, getting ready to shoot.
“No!” Damion said as he snatched the gun from James.
“Okay then let’s go fry this thing up, I’m starving.” James said. Damion laughed and they walked up to the palace.
A servant greeted Damion and James at the entrance hall.
“Good afternoon Master Damion.” The servant said in a cheery voice. He was tall, thin and wearing a purple suit. “Have a good target practice?” he asked, looking at the bird in James’ hand and noticing the grass stains on Damion’s clothes.
“Fine, we came across a few problems but we worked them out.” He said.
“Ya’ll got a barbecue? Gotta cook this thing somehow.” James said, holding the bird up.
A servant girl poked her head though the doorway, “The queen wishes to see you.” She said.
“Thank you Annie.” Damion said, walking into the dining hall. The first servant walked out the front door. James looked around and then threw the bird out the window. He heard a thump and the gardener’s yelp. James glanced at the window and nearly ran into the dining room.
Chapter 12 -- Mysteries and Paris
“Hello son, hello James.” The queen greeted them, “Do either of you know when the girls will be back?”
At that moment the girls walked in, arms full with bags and as if that weren’t enough, three servants came in with their arms full also.
“Oh my gosh, you wouldn’t believe how many sales there were!” Alyss exclaimed.
“You were supposed to be looking at hair styles!” James said.
“We were… at first. But we20heard the ladies in the salon talking about this huge sale going on so we went window shopping.” Alyss said.
“Then how do you explain all this?” Damion asked, motioning to all the bags.
“Well, we saw this totally cute top so we went to go buy it. When we went in we saw that everything was half off so… yeah.” Alyss said.
“Might I ask how you paid for all this?” Damion asked.
“We kind of maxed out the credit card you left us with.” Alyss said.
“We’ll talk about this later.” Damion said sternly.
“Sorry.” Alyss and Margret said.
Damion shook his head and turned to his mother, “What were you going to say mother?”
“Well, while you were out I talked to one of my most trusted advisers and she agreed to be your wedding planner. Isn’t that great?” she said. A woman came out from a door in the corner of the room and smiled. “You should recognize her. She is the woman that you encountered at Wilma’s. I sent her to make sure you found our guide of the chimaeras.”
They ate dinner in silence. When they were finished they and the wedding planner went into the palace library to discuss the wedding details.
“So it is you two who are getting married, correct?” she asked, gesturing to James and Alyss.
James started nodding then stopped and said, “No, it’s Damion and Alyss that are gettin hitched.”
“Kids, it’s okay. I know what is going on. I know that You, Margret, love Damion and that you, James, love Alyss.” She said.
“How did you know?” Alyss asked.
“Honey when you’re a wedding planner, you’ve seen it all.” she said with a smile.
“Oh.” They all said.
“So, what did you have in mind for the wedding?” the planner asked.
((0
Later, after they had discussed the wedding details, Alyss and Damion were up in their room and Alyss was getting a lecture on all the spending she and Margret did that day.
“Come on Alyss, did you really think that we would have any use for a blender?” Damion asked, holding a blender that Alyss had bought up.
“Well, you never know.” Alyss said in a small voice.
“And the nails, how much?” he asked, referring to the acrylic nails that Alyss and Margret have gotten.
“Twenty-five… each nail.” She said.
“What? Twenty-five dollars for each nail? That’s two-fifty Alyss! Two fifty could put a down-payment on a < I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">car!” Damion exclaimed.
“Like you need a new car, you already have five cars in your garage.” Alyss said.
“Nuh-uh… seriously?” Damion said.
“Yeah, you have a red 2009Jeep Wrangler, a yellow 2002 Porsche 911, an orange 2009 Lamborghini Estrada, and a green 2009 Aston Martin DBS. By the way I love the Aston Martin, mind if I borrow it sometime?” Alyss said.
“Sure, have it.” Damion said, picking up and tossing Alyss a pair of keys.
“Awesome, thanks. So am I done getting yelled at?” she said, catching the keys.
“I guess.”
“Okay, good night.” Alyss said.
“Good night, dream pleasant dreams.” Damion said then gave her a hug.
Alyss wasn’t used to this. Damion only gave her hugs when they were putting on their show for the queen and palace staff. She hugged him back awkwardly. “Thanks, you too.”
Before he left, Alyss notice an earring in his left ear and said, “Damion? When did you get an earring?”
His hand flicked quickly up to his ear then back into his pocket before he turned around and asked, “What earring Al?”
She walked over and looked at his ear then said, “Oh, never mind.”
He looked at her with a concerned expression; “Get some sleep hon.” Damion said as he walked out and closed the door behind him.
((0
Damion walked into Margret’s room and was immediately greeted by a hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Miss me?” Damion asked with a laugh.
“Yes, yes I did.” Margret said, smiling.
“And why is that?”
“Because I love you.” She said.
“Love you too.”
“Do you?”
“What kind of a question is that Marg?” Damion asked.
“The kind that would like an answer.”
“Yes Margret, I love you with all of my heart and I always will.” Damion said with a puzzled look.
“Okay…”
“Since you asked me a question, it’s my turn. Why would you ask me such a silly question?”
“Because I’ve always felt like you’re too good for me.” She said, sitting on the bed.
“Really? I’ve always thought it was the other way around…” Damion trailed off. After a few minutes had passed he asked, “Is this what you want Marg? We can go about this a different way, we don’t have to do what Laura says.”
Chapter 13
(Chapter 13 is missing.)
Chapter 14 -- Letter
“This is your sister?” Alyss asked.
“Well… yes. In a sense.” Mystery answered.
“What do you mean ‘in a sense’?”
“Paris isn’t my sister by birth. We might not have met if she hadn’t ended up on my doorstep.” He said. Mystery20sat down with his back against the shed and looked up at Alyss.
“Turned up on your door step?” Alyss asked.
“Yes, I woke up and went out to get the paper to find this little pixie in its place.” Mystery said with a smile at Paris.
Alyss sat down next to Mystery and said, “Did you ever find out who left her?”
“Nope, not yet. I will though, someday.”
“Big brother carries around my letter with him all the time.” Paris said as she sat down on the other side of Mystery.
=0 A
“Her letter?” Alyss asked.
“The letter that was left with her.” Mystery said. Mystery pulled out a paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to Alyss.
“What would you do if you found them?” she asked.
“I’d let Paris go if she wanted to be with her family.” He said sadly.
Paris hugged Mystery and said, “Don’t worry big brother, I wont ever leave you. We’ll be a family forever.”
“Thanks Paris.” He said.
Alyss unfolded the letter.
Please take good care of her. She deserves a good home that I know you can provide for her. I’m sorry to leave her like this but I can’t take her. Please be her safe harbor, be the parent that I couldn’t be. Let her know that you care, let her know that you love her.
~Someone in need
P.S. Don’t let her or any other woman walk alone at night.
As she read it, Mystery recited it.
“Wow, I don’t know what to say.” Alyss said.
“You don’t have to say anything. We’re not looking for sympathy from anyone.” Mystery said defensively.
“Hey, relax. I didn’t say you were and I didn’t say I was giving sympathy.” Alyss said sharply.
“Well fine then!” Mystery exclaimed.
“Fine!” Alyss said. Alyss got up and said, “I’ll see you later Paris.”
Alyss turned and walked away. She heard a small ‘bye’ from Paris but Mystery didn’t say anything. She wondered why he had gotten so upset.
Alyss walked up the steps and into the palace.
“Excuse me!” She called to one of the servants.
He came over and said, “Yes?”
“Where is the library?” She asked.
“The library is the third floor.” He said.
“The library takes up the whole third floor?”
“Yes, it is an immense collection.” He said.
“Thank you.” Alyss said.
“You’re welcome Princess.”
Alyss went into the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. Alyss stepped out of the elevator and a smile broke across her face.
The library was huge. The walls were shelves and the room was filled with rows and rows of book shelves.
She went over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book. She sat down in one of the chairs and started to read.
Alyss read and read, only stopping to turn on a lamp when the room grew dark. She read until someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned and saw a servant boy.
“P-princess Alyss, the queen wanted me to come and summon you for d-dinner.” He stuttered.
“Thank you. I shall be down in a few minutes; I just need to put this book back.” Alyss said, getting up.
“You could t-take that with you if you’d like to.” He said.
“Really?” she asked.
“Yes. You could even keep it if you really like it. We need to get rid of some of these books or we’ll need to start a new library.” An older servant said.
“Thank you.” Alyss said.
“You’re welcome.” The servant said.
Alyss walked out of the library and went down to the dining room and took her seat next to Damion.
“Sorry, I was in the library reading and I lost track of time.” Alyss said.
“That is the second time that you’ve been late.” The queen said.
“I’m sorry.” She said and looked down at the table.
The queen said nothing. She turned to Damion and said, “Are you ready for the wedding tomorrow?”
“Yes. Laura dropped off Alyss’ dress, Margret’s dress and the tuxes. The flowers were delivered and are in place in the grand ballroom and servants will be setting things up tomorrow outside for the actual ceremony.” He said.
“Good.” The queen said.
They ate in silence and when they were in the elevator Damion said, “Okay, this is the last chance to change out minds. Are you sure that this is how you want to do this?”
“Yes.” Margret said.
“Yep.” James said.
“Sure.” Alyss said.
“Okay. Everything will go as planned.” Damion said.
They reached their floor and went into their rooms.
Alyss changed and went back into the room to find Damion sitting on the bed watching MTV.
“What’s on?” she asked.
“Fantasy Factory.” He said.
“Awesome.” She said and lay down on the bed. They watched TV until they fell asleep.
Chapter 15 -- Wedding Presents
“Wake up Sissy; it’s your wedding day!” Paris said, shaking Alyss’ shoulder.
“What?” Alyss asked. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“It’s your wedding day! The day that you are to get married!” Paris said, bouncing up and down with excitement.
“What? It is?” Alyss asked. She jumped out of bed and asked, “Where’s Margret?”
“In the bathroom, I thought that this one would be better because it’s bigger.” Margret called from Damion’s bathroom.
Alyss walked over to the bathroom to see Margret setting up curlers, straighteners, crimpers, and various hair supplies on the large counter.
“Is my new dress here?” she asked Margret.
“Yep, it’s in your closet.” She said, not looking up from what she was doing. Alyss thought she saw a smile on Margret’s lips but disregarded it.
Alyss walked over to the closet and gasped. Hanging on a rack was a green dress with a black ribbon around the waist that tied in the back. The bottom flared out and was puffy while the top was tightly fitted with a v-neckline.
“I love it!” she shouted.
“Paris liked it too.” Margret called from the bathroom.
Alyss removed it from the rack and nearly dropped it because standing behind her dress, in her closet was her sister.
“What are you...? How did you… Why are you…? What?” Alyss stuttered.
“At a loss for words baby sis?” Genevive said with a laugh.
“How did you get here?D Alyss asked.
“That one guy um… Damion I think came into my room through my window and told me that my baby sister was getting married and I couldn’t let you get married without me.” She said with a grin.
“Thank you Gen!” Alyss said, throwing her arms around Genevieve’s neck.
“You’re welcome. I was hoping to be in your wedding but you probably don’t have a dress for me huh?” Genevieve said.
“Actually, I ordered an extra bridesmaid’s dress while Alyss was changing out of the dress.” Margret called from the bathroom.
“Really? How could I not notice that?” Alyss asked.< /FONT>
“Your mind was busy with all of the dresses I’ll bet.” Genevieve said then asked, “Would you mind if we move this outside?”
“Oh, sure.” Alyss said and walked out of the closet. Genevieve followed and sat down on the unmade bed.
“Alyss, come here so we can get started on your hair and make-up.” Margret called from the bathroom.
Alyss walked into the bathroom with Genevieve following and sat down on the stool that Margret had moved into the bathroom.
“Where’s Damion?” Alyss asked.
CHe’s in the other room. I told him that we should have this room because we needed the space.” Margret said, picking up the straightener and starting on Alyss’ hair.
“And when he argued, James told him about the time that he didn’t let Margret use the large bathroom for you and her to get ready for eighth grade graduation so she put him in a dress while he was sleeping.” Genevieve said, leaning against the counter.
Alyss laughed at the memory then said, “How have things been at home?”
“Fine. Mom and Dad are hardly home anymore, they’re always out looking for you.” Genevieve said quietly.
“Yeah, right. You don’t need to lie to me Gen, I can take the truth. What? Did they have a party? Did they invite all of their friends that hated me over for a toast?” Alyss asked.
“Stop moving Alyss.” Margret said.
“They really do love you Al, even if they have a funny way of showing it. Dad grounded Rikardo because he wouldn’t help them look for you.” Genevieve said, looking Alyss square in the eyes.
Alyss froze. “He grounded him? But he never grounds Rikardo… it’s always Jane that does it…”
“Will you please just call them Mom and Dad? They’ve always wanted you to. They do love you Al.” Genevive said.
“Really? Do yelling and screaming and fighting add up to love? If it does then I’ve been looking at love the wrong way.E2 Alyss said.
“Alyss, they didn’t yell at you that much. And when they did, you deserved it.” Genevieve said quietly.
Alyss stayed quiet then said, “Wow, I didn’t think I was that bad of a kid to get yelled at, at least twice a day…”
“You aren’t a bad kid Al. You never were, you were just… a rule breaker.” Genevieve said.
“Sissy isn’t a rule breaker.” Paris said quietly.
“What? And who might you be?” Genevieve asked.
“This is Paris, she has a little garden on the palace grounds and she’s flower girl.” Margret said.
“She is?” Alyss asked.
“Yes, I had James go out and get her dress this morning. He should be back any minute.” Margret said, setting the straightener down and picking up the curler.
“So, you and James finally decided to tie the knot?” Genevieve asked.
“Not exactly…” Alyss said.
“Then who?” Genevieve asked.
“Damion…” Alyss said.
“That guy? Hon, he’s ugly as heck.” Genevieve said, “What happened with James? Did living together tear you apart?”
“Yeah. He said that he felt closed in.” Alyss said, looking down at her lap.
“Awe… but Hon, you and James were together for five years and you didn’t get married. You meet this guy and want to marry him after not even three days?” she asked.
“Well, we felt a connection. We are in love. James and I both realized that we weren’t meant to be together.”
“And this guy Damion, he’s a prince.” Genevieve said then gasped, “Alyss ar e you going to marry him just because he’s a prince?”
“No! Not even close Gen!” Alyss exclaimed, “How could you even consider that I’m that shallow?”
“Alyss, should we just tell her?” Margret asked.
“No, she shouldn’t find out any sooner than everyone else.” Alyss said.
“Tell me what?” Genevieve asked.
“Nothing, you’ll find out when we announce it.” She said.
“You’re pregnant? Alyss how could you?” Genevieve exclaimed.
“No I’m not pregnant! You’re way off Gen.” Alyss said.
“Then why?” Genevieve asked.
“You’ll find out when we make the announcement.” Alyss said.
“If you could call it an announcement.” Margret said with a laugh.
“Alyss you know I hate being out of the loop.” Genevieve said, glaring at Margret and Alyss.
“Don’t worry; the story shall become simple in a few hours.” Alyss said.
There was a knock on the door. “I’ll get it!” Paris sang happily.
“Look out the peep hole Paris!” Alyss said.
“Okay Sissy.” Paris said. There was the sound of the door opening then Alyss heard James.
“Here ya’ go, little missy.” James said.
“Thank you James.” Paris said and the door closed.
Paris came skipping in with her flower girl dress in hand.
“Yay, I get to wear a pretty dress like Sissy and Margret!” she said happily.
Margret smiled and set the curler down.
“There, all done. Do you approve of it?” she asked.
Alyss’ hair was in a bun with tendrils of hair spiraling from it. Margret had put green glitter in her hair to give it sparkle. Alyss’ bangs were down and curled.
“Now we have to do your makeup.” Margret said, picking up a MAC container and opening it.
“Now I really have to stay still huh?” Alyss asked.
“Yes. Don’t talk and try not to blink while I’m doing your eye make-up.” Margret said, applying eye shadow.
“Perfect.” Alyss said.
“Shhh.” Margret said.
Alyss laid her head back and waited.
When Genevieve thought she was asleep, she asked Margret, “How’s she been, really?”
“She’s… okay. I can tell that leaving you and Rikardo hurt her but she couldn’t take it anym ore. She didn’t feel like there were any other options and she wouldn’t let us change her mind, so we just went along with her. To, you know, keep her safe.” Margret said.
“From what?” Genevive asked.
“Nothing, everything, herself.” Margret said sadly.
Margret set down the eyeliner and picked up the lipstick.
“Was she that unhappy?” Genevieve asked.
“I don’t know. Only she can answer that. I’ve wanted to know but I was afraid to bring it up. You know what she says, Why dwell on unpleasant things? Let’s live in the great present.” Margret said, imitating Alyss’ voice.
“Yeah… does this Damion guy make her happy?” Genevieve asked.
Margret stayed silent then said, “Not as happy as he makes me feel.”
“What do you mean by that?” Genevieve asked.
“Well, Alyss doesn’t appreciate him. Not like I do.” She said, applying lip liner to Alyss.
“So, you love him too?”
“No, I love him. I’m the only one. Alyss is in love with James, no matter how much she lies.” Margret said.
“So she’s lying to me? I’m confused. Who is she with, James or Damion?”
“James.”
“Yet she’s marrying Damion?”
“Yes. We have a plan so that things will be set straight.” Margret confessed.
“And what is it?”
“You’ll see.” She said and applied blush to Alyss’ face. She put mascara on and tapped Alyss between the eyes.
Alyss’ eyes flickered open and she lo oked at herself in the mirror.
“Thank you Margret, you’re the best stylist in Tekadishtonia.” Alyss said gratefully.
“Remember that.” Margret said then added, “Do you need help getting into your dress?”
“Yes, please. If not, I’ll mess up my hair or make up.” Alyss said and got up. She walked to the bedroom area and Margret and Genevieve helped her get changed. She walked to the full length mirror and thought she was going to cry.
“Alyss Riddled, don’t you dare cry on me after I’ve done your make up.” Margret said, laughing.
“I won’t. I’m fine, I just… yeah.9 D Alyss said.
There was a knock on the door and James said, “Al, there’s another visitor here for you.”
“Well send him in!” Alyss called.
The door opened and Alyss ran and nearly tripped on the hem of her dress but her brother caught her.
“Hey Hatchling, how’s it cracking?”
“I’m not a hatchling anymore Rikardo, I’m grown up now.” Alyss said.
“You’ll always be my hatchling, Al. Don’t you know?” he said with a laugh.
< div style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in">Alyss laughed and said, “Let me guess, Damion got you?”
“Yep.” He said, setting Alyss on her feet.
“Wow, I can’t believe you guys are here. Wait, Jane and Mathew aren’t here right?” Alyss said, alarmed.
“Nope.” Genevieve said.
“Good.” Alyss said.
There was another knock on the door and a voice called, “Princess, you’re up in ten minutes.”
“Thank you!” Alyss answered, “So big brother, are you here to walk me down the isle?”
“Yep, James rented me a tux and everything. I wouldn’t miss it for the Earth. So, you and James finally decided to make it official?” Rikardo asked.
“No, I’m marrying Damion.”
“Oh yeah huh, they told me.” He said with a smile.
“What? They told you and I can’t know?” Genevieve said.
“They weren’t supposed to but James and I made a bet that if I could pin him against the wall for a minute then he’d tell me what’s going on.” Rikardo said laughing then added, “He should know by now that I’m stronger than him.”
“Yep.”
“We need the bridesmaids now.” The servant called again.
“Okay, they’re coming.” Alyss replied.
“Here, something blue and borrowed.” Genevive said, handing Alyss a blue garter. Alyss put it on and stood up again.
“The dress is new. And this is old.” Rikardo said, putting a lace flower pin into her hair.
“Where’d you get this from Rik?” Alyss asked.
“It was Grandma Riddled’s. Good luck with the plan sis, whatever it is. And just so you know, I’ll be here for your real wedding as well.” Genevive said, recognizing the hair pin.
Margret and Genevive walked out of the room and Alyss took a deep breathe.
“I hope this works.” She said quietly.
“It’ll be fine Sissy.”
“She’s right. I hope your real wedding is as grand as this one.” Rikardo.
“Princess, you’re up.” The servant called.
Alyss, Rikardo and Paris walked out of the room and into the elevator. The doors opened and they walked over the large doors that separated Alyss from her grand pl
Chapter 16. -- Plan in Action
The doors opened and the wedding march started. Paris walked in front of Rikardo and Alyss, sprinkling dark green petals on the ground. Alyss and Rikardo started walking slowly behind her.
When they got to the front Rikardo took Alyss’ hand and placed it on top of Damion’s. He stepped aside and the pastor started reciting vows.
“If there is anyone who objects to this union let them speak now or forever hold your peace.” The pastor said.
Right on cue, James came out of the doors in just overall’s with a piece of straw in his mouth and shouted, “I object!”
Everyone turned and people started murmuring.
James took the straw that he had in his mouth and threw it onto the ground then walked up the isle.
“And why is that?” the pastor asked.
“Because I am in love with this woman.” James said.
“Well, this is a very serious matter. Come with me, all of you.” The pastor said, motioning to Damion, James and Alyss. They walked into the entrance hall and closed the doors. Mystery transformed into his natural form and said, “Was that good?”
“Mystery? I thought we were getting a real pastor. And I thought you wouldn’t appear in front of others.” Alyss said.
“You were but my sister said that you were looking for a pastor so she came to me and I went to Margret and she said I could do this.” He said, “Besides, I had to do something to tell you I’m sorry for my outburst.”
“Oh, thank you. I appreciate it.” Alyss said.
“Okay, I think that we’ve taken enough time. Let’s go back out there and we can make this into a double wedding.” Mystery said, phasing back into the pastor and opening the doors. They walked back up to the front and Mystery turned to the crowd.
“Sorry for the interruption. It seems like we shall have a double wedding. Princess Alyss shall be married to Sir James and Prince Damion shall be married to Miss Margret.” He announced.
There were various murmurings from the crowd and as many reactions. Some were outraged, others were understanding, some were upset that Damion was marrying someone other than the set queen, and almost everyone wondered who they were going to be ruled by.
“Now we shall proceed.” Mystery said. Mystery looked down at the book of20vows and started flipping through them, looking for where he left off.
“Would you mind if we just skip to the ‘I do’s’?” Margret asked, stepping up beside Damion.
“Sure, why not? We’re doing everything else wrong.” Mystery closed the book and asked, “Do you Damion Grad take Margret Downing as you lawfully wedded wife?”
“I do.” Damion said.
“Do you James Keith take Alyss Riddled to be you’re lawfully wedded wife?” Mystery asked.
“I sure do preacher.” James drawled.
“Do you Margret Downing take Damion Grad as your lawfully wedded husband?”
“Yes I do.” Margret said and smiled widely.
“Do you Alyss Riddled take James Keith as your lawfully wedded husband?” Mystery asked.
“I…” Alyss said and paused.
“Do, Alyss. I do.” Margret whispered.
James’ face turned from joy to worry in the blink of an eye.
“Do you take him as your husband?” Mystery asked again.
“I… I do.” Alyss said.
Everyone let out their breath=2 0that they hadn’t realized they had been holding and broke into applause.
“I pronounce you married.” Mystery said.
The couples kissed and then turned to the crowd. The queen stood and walked up to the front.
“Why didn’t you tell me son?” she asked.
“I didn’t know that I could.” Damion said.
“You can tell me anything. So, how is this going to work out? Are you going to rule?” the queen asked Damion.
“Can we both rule?” Alyss asked.
“Yeah, that’s what I was=2 0going to ask.” Damion said.
“Well, it’s not common but neither are your circumstances.” She said shaking her head. “I suppose so…”
“Awesome, that’s what we’ll do then.” Alyss said.
“The coronation shall be in a week. The servants will put Margret’s clothes in Alyss’ closet and move Alyss and James into the room that will no longer be mine after tonight. But for now, enjoy your wedding.” The queen said with a sad smile.
“Thank you, we shall.” Damion said.
The rest of the evening passed fast. James removed Alyss’ garter and one of the servants caught it. Alyss tossed her bouquet and Paris caught it.
When everything was done, Alyss, James, Damion and Margret went to their rooms and for once, Alyss felt like she belonged.
The End