EMERALD KINGDOM:The Escape

Chapter 4: Harrie

"Silence!"
The humming of the crowd stopped.
"Thank you. Harrie?" She gestures her hand towards me, telling me to speak. I can almost see a thundercloud hovering above my head. I take a deep breath in. "Okay. Well, the message isn't clear. Nothing is. But I have a strong feeling that we need to go. And Nadia is important too. All we need is two more people to come along." Everyone considered this, apart from James, who rudely shouted, "Pfft! How can we go on a huge quest that'll lead us to danger and trouble just because you have a feeling?"
I ignore him, my eyes fix forwards.
"I mean, it's clear now that Lotta's not coming back on her own. We should set off this afternoon at the latest. Me, Nadia and two others. We need to vote." Everyone started chatting again. I sigh. The pixies unusually look worried. Everyone does. I hear the babies screaming at the back of the hall, distressed. Just as Mother Ruby is about to shout again, Olivia raises her frosty hand. Her snowy, white hair was braided in two lace plaits down her back and she has an icy expression hanging on her face. Suddenly I feel cold. Her glassy eyes look deep in thought, as if collecting them together.
"Um," she says, reluctantly, "I have a hypothesis, but could you please read it again so I can confirm it?"
Everyone stares at her, and so do I. No one wants to hear it again. I don't want to read it again. I don't even want to touch it. Being a PowerBorn, I should be brave, but it terrifies me. My hands tremble as I open the scroll. Raising my eyebrow at her, I read it again. My words echo through the hall:
"The Power Of The Sky lies in the enemies hands;
In their base will the heroes land;
The Sea and the Blossom will save the day;
But will face sudden death along the way;
Against all odds, if they return;
They will have a dark lesson to learn."
Olivia nods slowly, as if I haven't just read a scroll telling us to go on a suicide mission. "How do we know it's not from Diablo themselves?"
"We don't," I say, "That's a good point. But why would they tell us that they've captured Lotta?"
"It could be a trick. A trap. To lure us in to their power." She exclaims. Everyone realises this.
"You're right." I say, trying to sound in control, "but we have to take risks." It's the best I've got.
"Right." Mother Ruby says, "okay. Harrie has made it quite clear that he and Nadia need to go along." I blush, embarrassed. I didn't mean it like that.
"So," she continues, "let's start with a vote. Can all the dorm leaders line up at the podium, please?" A few people-including James-shuffle out of their seats and make their way to the podium. Of course, he makes sure he is first in line and stands tall and proud. He straightens his shirt. As Mother Ruby speaks, he combs his golden hair over neatly; "each of you can nominate one person in your dorm, including yourself. Then we'll take a vote on each person you nominated and see which two will be joining Harrie and Nadia in their journey. Nadia, are you okay with this?"
She smiles. "Of course! Anything for Lotta. Uh, and the kingdom of course, too."
James opens his gob.
"Okay." Says he, "Well I nominate myself. I have many reasons for this. I feel as if I am the most organised person in my dorm and when you're on a quest as important as this, you will definitely want that. So, say you're in the base of Diablo and you're on the run. But first you super quickly need an...invisibility potion. So you sort through your bag, but you can't find it, and the devil spirits are catching up. You don't know what to do. Your instincts tell you to run, so you do but you're shot with a bow and you die because you couldn't find the invisibility potion. Boom. Dead. Gone." He banged his fist on the table. Everyone stared at him in disbelief. Mother Ruby coughed. "Right um-"
"Wait-I'm not done. Or you are looking for shelter, so you decide to build one out of twigs. But it's messy and dirty and icky. Who would want to sleep in that? Surely you'd loose your stuff in all the mess! And you would get ever so dirty!" Once again, silence. Gemma-Power Of The Wild-scowled at him, as if the shelter sounded like a great idea.
"Thank you, James. I'll write your name on the list. Who's next?" Mother Ruby says, writing his name in the air with her wand. James tries to protest that he's not finished, but Amalie is already at the podium, glancing at James weirdly.
"Okay. Well I've given this a lot of thought and I think that Wendy would be ideal for the journey." Wendy's eyes widen at the sound of her name, as if she wasn't listening before. She realises what's happening at smiles, happily.
"Wendy is always in control and up to the task, and never complains when it's her turn to do the dishes, or make the beds. She's always really helpful and reassuring. This is good when you're on a journey, for she always knows the right thing to do. You need someone like that. Someone to cheer us all up." A few murmurs sprout from the crowd and Wendy looks pleased. Amalie steps down from the podium and Mike steps onto it, his pitch black hair covering half his silver, glimmering eyes which are fixed forwards. His pale face is expressionless.
"Right. I think that Tom ought to go on the quest, because he is good at healing people and, uh, I guess he has strong power. I mean, the Power Of Life is going to be dead helpful-uh I mean-not dead helpful, but like, well. You know what I mean. He's cool, and the note says that you guys will face sudden death so bringing life along is a good idea, right?"
Who made this guy Dorm Leader? He can barely keep his hair in control. Even Tom looks disappointed. Even so, Mother Ruby waves her wand in the air, and his name appears in a ruby red colour. Finally, Taylor walks up to the stage, her yellow dress flowing, even though there is no wind in the room. Her corn coloured hair falls in a waterfall braid at her shoulders, and a few daisies appear on her dress and in her hair. She smiles at everyone, and suddenly I'm reminded of summer meadows, and a fresh breeze washes over me. I shake my head.
"Umm..." She hesitates, "this is a really tough decision but... I think I nominate Zoe. She is really brave, and always fights for what's right. She has never given up, and her powers are very, well, powerful. See can summon the sun any time she wants, so if it's damp and rainy, you know what to do." She laughs slightly to her self. "She is committing and willing to fight for what she believes in. And a journey like this could really someone like her." Everyone glances at Zoe, who is beaming so bright, it's kind of blinding. Literally. She has a bright glowing aura around her. You can't look at her for more than five minutes. I consider what Taylor said but then again, it's typically like the Power Of Summer to favour Power Of The Sun. Still, she's right about Zoe being super brave and really nice.
"Well then," Mother Ruby continues, "Everyone close your eyes. You may vote twice. Who would like to vote for James?" I can hear a few people shifting, lifting their hands. Mine stay by my side. Never in a million years would I help this guy come on a hole journey with me. I would tear my hair out in frustration.
"Wendy?"
I raise my hand. She's better than Tom and James, I suppose. Plus, Tom looks like he'd rather stay here.
"Tom."
"Zoe." I raise my hand again.
"Well." Mother Ruby continues, "Can I have a drumroll please?"
I roll my eyes. That's Mother Ruby, always making a drama of things.
"The winners are...Wendy and James."