With a Flick of my Tail

Secret passageways

"Sera! Emerald! Alyssa! Dana! Wake up!", mom shouted into our rooms. "You have five minutes!" Slowly and painfully I got out of the bed. My leg muscles are really sore after the little summer excursion to visit my dad and family. That was a lot of swimming, but it was worth it. There was food - lots of it. It's always worth it when food is involved. "Two minutes! Meeting in the hallway!" Mom then left our side of the hallway and ran down to the other end. Aiden, Tavien, Kai, and Zayn are staying in one room together. "Boys! Get up! You have five minutes!" I heard someone fall off the bed.

"Oof. Hey!", I heard Kai yell.

"Hay is for horses now get up!" mom yelled at him. Slowly, I walked over to the door, only stopping to look at the clock. It read 4:30 A.M.

"Mom?", I croaked out. She looked at me.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Hey!", Kai groaned.

"What? I told you once before. You don't eat hay. Horses do. Now, what do you want?"

"Why do they get to be called sweetheart?" Mom narrowed her eyes at him.

"Because, they're girls. Are you a girl?"

Kai looked as if he were about to say something. "Ah, never mind. Don't answer that. You were saying?"she said when she turned back around to face us girls.

"School's not until 9:00. You do know that it's 4:30, right?", I asked her.

She grinned before answering, "Of course." She turned back around and paused for few seconds before moving on. "Now, the reason I have gotten you up so early is for your training." Tavien was about to interrupt, and before he could do so, mom spoke.

"It will only take about thirty minutes - I hope." We looked around the room at each other. "I am going to teach you how to shift like a pure shifter. And, the reason why I am doing so is because I don't know what the other shifters are like in the area. In case you get into trouble, you can shift, or if you're in a large crowd or if you don't want to shift, you can use your royal voice on them. Before you ask me any questions, please, save them to the end. I only have three and a half hours to teach you everything. Now, if you will, follow me." We followed her down the hall into her bedroom.

"Why are we in your bedroom?", I asked. Mom was digging around the room looking for something.

"Because there's something I need in here." She continued digging until she pulled out a box. "Ah, here it is." We looked at her quizzically.

"Why do you need a box?", Kai asked.

"It's not just a box. Besides, its not what I need with the box. It's what I need inside the box." And with that said, she pulled out a shiny silver crown with a small red stone at the top. "See?" She walked over to the wall opposite her bed and placed the crown against the wall, front first. Suddenly, something creaked and the wall opened like a door. "Let's go. Everyone in."

"What is it?" Dana asked.

"It's a portal to the royal training ground. Now, let's go."