Jane and the Guardians: Sword of the Lady

Chapter 3

Out of her bedroom window, Jane sees John enter Mrs. Smith's front door. It's him, her heart flutters. Funny, they didn't seem to know each other earlier, and returns to her homework. Perhaps he's asking Mrs. Smith about me? She smiles at the thought. Her cats, Donnie and Marie, jump onto her desk and watch as the door closed.

She picks up Donnie and stands it up like a person. "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am, but I am here to ask for your neighbor Jane's hand in marriage," Jane says to herself in deeper voice, pretending to be John using the cat. "I will provide her with everything she'll ever want and sweep her off of her feet. And we'll live happily ever after." Jane hugs the cat and giggles like the teenager that her is at the possibilities.

A knock at the bedroom door followed by the familiar voice of Mrs. Smith, "may I come in dear?"

Surprised by the interruption, Jane drops Donnie on the floor and says yes hastily before she even realizes who was there.

The door opens and Mrs. Smith walks in. She sits on Jane's bed and pats the spot next to her, "Come, we need to have a talk." Her face wears a serious expression that Jane had never seen before.

Jane walks over to the bed, trying to read Mrs. Smith's thoughts. Nope, the ring still doesn't work on her. She sits next to Mrs. Smith, "What is it? Is something wrong? Is John bothering you? I just saw him go into your house." She doesn't remember seeing Mrs. Smith coming out of her house. Wait, when did you get into my house?

"Explanations later," Mrs. Smith stops her. "Now, it is very important that you listen and follow what I am telling you. Give me your hands and close your eyes."

Jane hesitates.

"Now Jane," Mrs. Smith demands with a stern voice that Jane rarely hears from Mrs. Smith and knows better than not to follow.

"Close your eyes and clear your mind. Yes, we are doing the basic concentration exercise," Mrs. Smith reverts to her usual kind and gentle voice before Jane can even think.

Of course, she can read my mind.

Clear your mind, now the voice comes straight into her mind without any words being spoken.

Jane snaps to attention and clears her mind, going through the breathing and mental exercise she and Mrs. Smith had done many times before. Until today, she thought these were simple concentration exercises to help her study.

"Good, now focus on the ball of energy," Mrs. Smith says as she grips Jane's hands slightly tighter.

Jane feels a surge of warmth enter her body through her hands and coming to rest in her abdomen. "Hey, that's pretty neat," she reacts to the tingling sensation.

It won't be neat for long if you don't concentrate. Now, focus on the energy and grasp it with your mind.

Jane knows better than to ask what "grasp it with your mind" means. That is the task, a brainteaser game they have played many times through the years. She has to piece together what that means by grappling with it in her mind. It is the same as the "put on the ring and focus on the emotions around you" instruction she received with the ring yesterday. She images a hand taking hold of a ball of energy. It feels warm. And it feels like it is about to explode! Okay hand, hold on tight.

Jane feels the ball of energy expand and her belly becoming bloated. The energy continues to expand and she feels as if she is about to explode. Okay, don't panic, she calms herself and takes a deep breathe. If one hand can't keep it from expanding, then perhaps two will do the trick. She imagines another hand closing over the first to contain the expansion of the energy. The rate of expansion slows. She adds another pair of hands to more success. Pretty soon, hundreds of hands are surrounding the ball of energy and compressing it to the size of a marble. Then the hands all merge into a large one, holding the energy in its grasp.