Land of the Hidden

Esmeralda

"Clo? Clodagh? Where'd she g-"
"Clodagh has business elsewhere, my name is Crystal, I will check on you every now and then and I will bring you missions and news."
Confused, Ria stared at Crystal, if not a little hostile she said: "What other business?"
Crystal narrowed her eyes,
"What is it to you?"
Here Raphael intervened,
"She's our friend, we just want to make sure she's okay."

Clodagh was not the definition of okay. She was scared, alone and tied up. In a sweeping of robes and slam of a door, Esmeralda stood in front of her.
"Esmeralda, please why am I tied up?"
Esmeralda smiled and crouched down to Clodagh's level where she was tied to a chair.
"My dear, I had tie you up, otherwise you would told them about my plan, and my plan cannot be revealed to them."
Clodagh clenched her fists,
"You can't turn them against each other. They are like family."
"Oh yeah?" Now suddenly incredibly angry Esmeralda started to shout, "well in my experience, family don't get you far!" Clodagh gulped and looked into Esmeralda's dark eyes, she didn't see the usual coolness, nor the meanness.  Clodagh saw pain, deep, dark pain that had been buried for centuries. Esmeralda shook her head as if to clear it,
"Anyhow, it doesn't matter what you believe. I got Tammika to break off from the pack didn't I?" A feeling started to rise up inside Clodagh, one she hadn't felt before, not like this. Clodagh fumed, she was angry. Really, properly angry. Not annoyed, not ticked off. Clodagh was breaking plates angry.
"You lied to Tammika to get her to join you! You're nothing but a horrible, selfish, manipulative bitch!"
"Woah there tiger, is that any way to talk to your mother?"
"You're not my mother," Clodagh spat
"you raised me, nothing more. A mother is kind, you don't know the meaning of kindness!"
Esmeralda sneered,
"Kindness? Love? They are nothing but weaknesses, they can be used against you. I am never kind. I am never loving and I certainly, never, ever trust anybody. Ever. Do you understand?" By now her voice was lowered to a menacing growl and her face was inches from Clodagh's. Wincing away, Clodagh turned her face and clenched her eyes shut. A swish of robes, and a slamming of doors announced that Esmeralda had left. Overwhelmed, Clodagh started to cry, she hung her head, tears dripping onto her silver dress, her curls falling around her face.

After hours of tossing and turning Ria finally fell asleep. She dreamt of the sand dunes in Donegal. She was happy there. Suddenly, Clodagh appeared beside her, gasping for breath.
"Clo? Clodagh what's happening? What's going on?"
"Ria, I, Esmeralda is trying to turn you against each other, Tammika is staying here." Clodagh shoved a piece of paper into Ria's hand before disappearing. Utterly bewildered, Ria woke up to find she was holding a slip of paper, bewildered she read it, the hideout is underneath Elitia, Tammika is being kept in ferville. Go quickly!
-Clodagh
Suddenly very awake, Ria ran to wake the others.

Once they were all seated around one of the tables in the breakfast room, Ria told them about her dream,
"But, Ria it was just a dream." Louise said groggily.
"That what I thought too, but look!"
She shoved the piece of paper into the middle of the table. Incredulously the three looked at the piece of paper.
"Elitians can travel through dreams now?" Raphael sighed
"I guess so, I mean they are like angels and there's a ton of stories about angels coming to people in their sleep." Jared, who had done his research, pointed out. 
"Okay, but we still don't have any idea how to get to Tammika or save Clodagh." Said Louise, yawning. Impishly, Ria started to grin,
"Betcha this place has a garage?"
Jared looked at her "why?"
She turned to look at Raphael. "Raphael, you know how to drive a car don't you?"