The Warrior- Laila Nomon

5. Free

They prepared a checklist for their departure to see that everything they needed was with them. Laila read them out while Fedrick checked. 'Map?' Fedrick asked.

'Check.' Laila gave him a thumbs-up.

'Boots?'

'Check.'

'Warm clothes?' Fedrick questioned, ticking it off.

'Check.'

'Okay, and three duffel bags and the bag that Rosalie packed for you?'

'Check.'

'Armor?' Fedrick asked, looking up with a mischievous grin.

'Check- no, wait what the-'

'Cool your boots. Your camera?'

'Whatever. Check.'

'Laughter and sunshine?'

'Stop it. You're overdoing it.'

'Okay, okay, keep your hair on, Laila. I think we're good to go.'

As the other two picked their bags up, Laila picked up hers and asked quickly, 'Why not levitate them?'

'Good point. Why didn't we think of that before? Come on, Laila, if any mortals happen to pass by, we can't explain three civilians standing in the middle of nowhere with floating bags in the air.' Fedrick replied, a hint of sarcasm laced in his tone. Lita sighed and turned around.

'Are we travelling on foot?'

'Yes and no. Since the enchantments here will not let us disapparate, we'll walk a few paces and then we can turn maybe...over there.' Lita said pointing a few yards towards a part of the meadow where they could just make out a patch of overgrown grass.

'Are the Warriors at the Headquarters friendly?' Laila asked as they started walking.

'Some of them are. But you got to keep away from some of the old ones. Down-right rude, them,' Fedrick answered.

'Oh, and are there any kids my age?'

'Nah, we don't have no nine-year-olds over there,' said Fedrick, chuckling.

'Hey! I'm thirteen in a few months!'

'You don't look like one.'

'How old -'

'All right, I think we can turn here. Hold my hand Laila, hold Fedrick's with your other hand,' Laura said, offering her hand, who had been listening to the bickering till now, cutting Laila off. Laila did as she was asked to do and they turned on the spot. She felt her heart skip a beat and tried to breathe. When she inhaled, ice cold air pierced her throat and she stopped mid-way. They landed in front of a large building, so huge it looked like it was the Parliament of some country. The white snow had already piled up, so it was impossible to make out which color the building was. It had large columns holding up the ceiling above the porch. Laila looked up at it in wonder. 'Wow, that was fast. I have learn how to do that, this is so cool, you guys have to-'

'Let's go in, we shouldn't keep them waiting. I'd already informed them that we would be arriving shortly,' Laura said and let go of Laila's hand.

Angry that she had been cut off a second time, Laila forgot to let go of Fedrick's hand and marched onto the stone steps behind Laura, dragging Fedrick behind her like a mother rushing through a supermarket with the three-year-old flying behind. Laila was shorter than him so he had to bend down to avoid slipping and getting dragged along on the floor.

'Laila, what the-.' Laila didn't hear him; she was mesmerized by the insides but was trying to still stay angry at Laura. Fedrick tried to wrestle his hand out of hers, but she was moving so fast now, that he had to choose between letting himself be dragged along and break his wrist or wrestle his hand out of her tight grip while losing his balance, fall, and break his nose. He chose door number one.

The entry hall of the building looked like it was made of mirrors, every inch of it was shining beautifully, giving the room an impression of more space than there actually was. There were colorful chairs huddled around small coffee tables with vases full of flowers in them on the left side of the room in a straight line. On the right side were the portraits of the twelve Leaders that Laila had seen in the mansion. There was a bronze door at the end of the room and it was this that Laura pushed and went through first and then Laila along with Fedrick.

It was now that Laila looked at back at one of the walls to take one last look of the hall and saw her reflection and realized that she was dragging along Fedrick who was now on the floor, given up any hope of getting free and letting himself get dragged along behind her on the floor like a sack of potatoes and finally let go of his hand. Fedrick, shocked at his sudden liberty, ran past both of them and disappeared. Laila caught up with Laura, not angry at her anymore. They turned a corner past a few empty halls and a dining area. 'What's that grand hall at the entry for?' Laila asked as they climbed up a long set of stairs.

'That is just for confusing Zadok and his cronies. When there is an attack, the hall transforms itself into a room full of mirrors. So, while they figure out where the door is, we get more time to raise an alarm and make sure we put every Warrior on his or her guard.'

Laila laughed but Laura didn't. She stopped her laughter, embarrassed suddenly. 'What was that for?' Laura asked.

'I'm just amazed at the way you guys are obsessed with enchantments and mirrors, and especially, coffee tables.'

This time, Laura laughed too. 'When your powers and enchantments and some rusty old iron and bronze armor and only a few who know how to use it are all you really have to protect you from a maniac who's escaped from one of our most heavily guarded dungeons, you have got to make it as presentable as you can.'

'Oh. So, how do you raise an alarm? Won't the invaders know and try to escape?'

'Good point, we're coming up with solutions for that one.'

'What if Zadok comes again for me?'

A/N: Alright. I have come to realize I love cliffhangers- when I'm on the writing end of it, of course. But, let's face it- though it makes us impatient, it does add a bit of excitement to the story. I'm feeling epic, so here's a double update! Read the next chapter and leave your thoughts on it in the comments!