The Story of Udonia

Chapter Ten: Helicopters and Balconies Don't Mix

Hannah Judy Hoss daughter of the King of Haruhi Gregory Peter Hoss and Queen Judy Maryland Hoss.
After Haruhi and Udonia worked together to dethrone the King of the eastern Kingdom, they had a falling out. My grandfather and his wife didn't like the way that Hannah's grandparents were ruling their kingdom. In fact, they came very close to war. Not wanting to make the same mistakes as their parents, Judy Hoss, who was Judy Wallace at the time, and my father signed a peace agreement with Eric Covington too. They then moved on in peace. Judy married Greg, my father married my mother, and Eric married Alyssa. The Hoss's and my parents weren't friends. They also weren't friends with the Covingtons. Hannah was just the other princess that we never really talked about.
She was reaching out. Ashley and I saw it as an opportunity to strengthen the bond of peace.
I sat in the dining room and tapped my black heel on the floor as I waited anxiously. I heard heels coming down the hall. I stood up and looked at the door. Ashley was standing in the archway. She was wearing a respectable pink dress and black heels. Her outfit was similar to mine except I was wearing purple. I smiled and relaxed when I saw her. We hugged quickly and sat back down.
"Hey, Claire." She smiled. "Relax. She's only human."
I exhaled. "I know, but I've never met Hannah. I'm nervous that she wouldn't be like us...I don't know."
"The fact that she reached out to us is promising." Ashley said.
"I know." I stopped talking when I heard heels coming down the hall again. Lacey appeared at the door with Hannah Hoss behind her. Lacey then left us to our business.
Hannah looked nothing like I had envisioned. She had very long blonde hair that was braided behind her. She was short, like Ashley short. She had bright green eyes and a petite figure. Her expression was stoic. She wore a tight black dress that was also very professional looking, like the dresses Ashley and I were wearing.
I smiled at her and stood up. "Welcome, Hannah." I reached out my hand.
She smiled too, but only on her mouth. Her eyes still showed sternness. "Thank you, Claire. I've been looking forward to this." It was hard to take that as a positive thing due to the mixed signals I was reading.
Ashley stood up next with a large grin on.
"Hi, Hannah. Ashley Covington." She shook her hand as well.
Hannah kept on her fake smile. "Wonderful to meet you both."
We sat down at the table. There was a moment of awkward silence. I needed to say something to break the ice.
"How was the trip? I don't know how long of a trip it is to your castle from here." I asked.
"It's about five hours." She replied quickly. "I was fine. I don't mind long car rides."
I gulped, unsure what to do next. I looked at Ashley for help. She whipped out her charm, a trait both her and Ashton shared.
I didn't take long until I felt a little more comfortable.
The waiters brought in lunch. We are and talked more about our childhood memories and other things.
After I eating, I started to feel a little stuffy inside. "Would you like to move this somewhere else? Outside, perhaps?" The asked the ladies.
"Oh." Ashley smiled. "You have beautiful gardens." She suggested.
"Do you have roses in that garden?" Hannah asked.
"Yes, I believe so." I answered.
"Then in afraid we can't go. I'm allergic to roses." Hannah said.
"That's unfortunate." Ashley frowned.
"We can go to the garden balcony." I said. "It has a great view."
"Alright." Hannah stood up and took a sip of her water quickly.
"Wonderful." Ashley smiled and jumped up.
I stepped in front of them to lead the way. "This way." I said.
We walked to the western end of the castle through halls filled with bedrooms. We finally reached the tall stair case that lead up the balcony. We ascended up. Once at the top, I opened the old door to the balcony. We all stepped out.
"We really should invest in an elevator." I joked.
The girls laughed.
We took in the view. You could see all the flowers and trees. The topiary garden didn't look the same from above, but still good. You could also see the fountain that my grandmother had put in that was near the graveyard. I spotted the pear tree and located the graves of my family members. We stood in silence as we admired the view.
"It's beautiful." Hannah said.
"We've hired the best gardeners." I replied.
"It's a little chiller." Ashley shivered. "Perhaps we should..."
She stopped talking when we could all suddenly hear a humming sound. We looked around in confusion and then looked up. I spotted a black dot in the distance.
"Is that a plane?" I asked.
Ashley shook her head. "No, I think it's a helicopter."
"Why is it flying here? This is restricted airspace!" It came closer and was heading straight for us.
"I don't think we should stay to find out!" Hannah grabbed Ashley's arm.
They retreated in doors. I followed after them ad I was stopped when the door suddenly blew shut. My heart beat increased. I turned the knob as the door didn't open. I tugged on it and it wouldn't budge.
"Help!" I yelled. "It's stuck!"
I heard Ashley's panicked voice behind the door. "I can't get it to open!"
Just then the sound of the helicopter's blades increases. I turned to see it very near. The breeze it was creating blew my hair like crazy. I furious knocked on the door and pulled the knob. It wasn't any use. I turned back to look at the helicopter. Nerves engulfed my entire body.
What is it going to do?! Is this it for me?!
I observed the red snake image on the side of the copter. The cobra was coiled up with it's tongue out. I heard a terrifying noise come from the copter. It fired one missile in my direction. I raised my arms up over my head in defense.
Just then, I was surrounded by some sort of force field. It was purple magic that seemed to be coming out of me. Noticing that I hadn't died, I glanced around at the force field.
What the hell?!
While still confused, I saw the missile in front of me. It was moving towards me in slow motion. I took my chance and lunged myself out of the force field. The missile then exploded in the force field. I felt a blast against my back and passed out.
__________________________

I slowly opened my eyes and saw I was in my room. The familiar surrounding helped comfort me.
I must have been a dream. I told myself. I sat up in my soft bed. I looked to my left and saw Ashton sitting with his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knee. He was tapping his foot on the floor.
"Ash?" My voice came out quieter than I wished it to.
His eyes immediately met mine. "Claire." He got up and raced to my side.
His large arms wrapped around me.
"When did you get here?" I asked. "What time is it?" I then recalled my possible dream. "What happened?"
"It's 4:14." He said after glancing at his watch. "I got here about a half hour ago after spotting smoke coming off the building, I panicked." He kissed me quickly. "I was happy to here you were safe."
"That's all well and good, but what happened?" I asked again.
"I don't know exactly. Lacey said that your were locked on the balcony and a mysterious helicopter fired a missile at you!" He was still panicked. "She said that after it did that it left. Ashley and Hannah were able to get through the door and found you unconscious on the burning balcony. There was a hole in the castle where it hit. They pulled you to safety." I could feel his heart beat.
I absorbed his words then looked at his nervous state. "Okay. I'm fine, Ash. Calm down. I just need more answers." I stood up.
How the hell did I do that before?! Who sent that helicopter?!
"Alright...do you want to talk to Hannah and Ashley?" He stood up and came closer to me.
"Yes." I replied as I headed for the door. "Where are they?"
"With Lacey and the castle guards trying to work out what happened. They'll want to talk to you too." He explained.
"No!" I yelled then pushed Ashton back into my room.
He was confused. "What's wrong?" He grabbed my arms.
I pushed him off and began to pace.
How can I explain this? No one will believe me. It will sound crazy! I'm not even sure what it was so how can I explain it?! Ash!
I turned to see his distressed expression. He was even more confused when he saw my wide eyed expression. I reached for his hand.
"Come here." I pulled him to the bed. "Okay, this might sound crazy, but it is the honest truth."
"Alright." He nodded his head.
"I think I used magic...like I don't know how I did, but when I put my hands up to block the missile, I was suddenly surrounded my this force field. It was like slow motion. The missile stopped and I jumped out of the way. Then it exploded." I stopped to observe his expression.
His jaw was dropped and his eyebrows were lowered. He closed his mouth and took in a deep breath.
"You think you have magical powers?" He asked looking at me like I was nuts.
"I know it sounds insane, but that's what happened." I stood up in anger.
"Oh, baby. Did you hit your head?" He asked with concern.
"No, Ashton!" I shouted. "Maybe I can do it again." I grumbled.
I ran over to my bed and grabbed a pillow. I ran over to Ash and shoved the pillow in his face.
"Throw this at me." I said.
He took the pillow. "Okay, if you think this will work."
I stepped into a more open area. Ashton stood about ten feet away and threw the pillow. I put up my hands in defense and in pillow hit my body. Nothing happened.
I slowly lowered my hands. Ashton looked at me with an I-told-you-so expression. I rolled my eyes.
"Maybe it needs to be something that could hurt me." I turned around and looked at my dresser.
I ran over and picked the first thing that caught my eye. I handed Ashton my hair brush.
"Throw this at me." I smiled, probably a scary grin.
"No, Claire. I'm not going to throw your hair brush at you." He sighed. "This is crazy."
"Yes, I know it is, but if you care about me at all, then you will the brush at me." I stepped back.
We returned to our original positions.
"If this hits you, then you can't get mad at me." He prepared to throw it.
The brush flew through the air. I raised my hands in defense. The purple force field came out of my body and the brush stopped mid-air. I stepped to the side and out of the field. The brush, still suspended in the air, dropped to the floor as the magic disappeared.