The Infinity Ball

Chapter 2

Felicity

My sisters cornered me. I have never seen them be more intimidating than they are now. They're typically sweet or innocent, but right now, they're frightening. I have to calm down or they'll know I'm scared. I almost make a fist, leaving my hand a bit open. I put my arm behind my back so they can't see that I'm using magic and make a small fireball in my hands and roll it back and forth. I'm immune to my fire magic. To me, fireballs just feel a bit warm, like a metal outside in the summer. I stare above my sisters' heads and then back at their faces. The fear is completely gone. I can talk to them now without getting embarrassed.

"Just because I leave my bedroom door open doesn't mean it's open for everyone," I say, the crouch down to look at my half-sisters. "It's past your bedtime. Why are you five in here?"

"It was a sleepover," Hattie says overseriously.

"A sleepover?" I repeat. "We all sleep on this floor."

Minus Lucinda. Since she's married and has a child (Aviana aka the next queen of Norillia after Lucinda), Father gives her and her family a suite elsewhere in the palace.

"But we wanted to spend extra time together tonight since we never all hang out at on-" Millicent explains.

"-That's not an answer to what Hattie asked," Lucinda cuts Millicent off. "Felicity..."

Her voice is quieter and less harsh for a minute.

"Where were you tonight?!"

...And then it's loud and harsh again. Well, if Lucinda's forcing me to admit I was away from home tonight, I suppose I have to tell her. As much as I would typically lie in this type of situation, Lucinda's the oldest sister. She's kind of like our secondary mother...after our real mother, our stepmother, our fairy godmothers, and our nannies. And now she's an actual mother, making her even more like our secondary mother.

"I went somewhere," I say with fake confidence as I continue to roll the fireball in my hand.

Millicent and Hattie stare at me wide-eyed and Zoey smirks.

"I want to be the one to tell Father," says Zoey.

My stepsisters refer to my father as their own. Their biological father passed away several years ago. Even if they're divorced, I'm glad my parents are still alive.

"But I want to!" whines Valentina.

"I'll tell Father," Lucinda speaks up. "But only if I feel that I should tell him."

Again, Lucinda pretends she has some kind of authority over us, her younger sisters. She's not in charge of us, so why does she act like she has that power?

"Where did you go?" Lucinda asks slowly as if speed will give her an answer.

"Just through the door at the end of the hallway," I sigh, trying to give away only a bit of information.

Zoey runs out of my room. I hear her run in the direction of the door.

"I didn't know we had a door here!" she yells. "I supposed we've ignored it!"

I hear her open the creaky door. Zoey gasps so loud that we can hear it clearly from my room.

"It's not a room!" she exclaims. "It goes to a different place!"

My other sisters run out of my room and I quickly walk behind them. I suppose they must believe Zoey. That's rare, any of believing Zoey. She's practically titled the least trustworthy sister.

"Wow!" exclaims Hattie. "Is that a pond? And a castle?"

"It is," I sigh. "It's Nixllapis, the ice fairy kingdom. It's a portal. I don't know how it works or how it was made, but it's here and it goes to Nixllapis."