The Hidden Mages

Silence

(picture above is Leona)

In was getting dark when we found ourselves wandering in the forest with no idea of how to get to the west. We were hoping that Nico could help us with the directions but unfortunately he was still unconscious .

"We have been going in circle for THE PAST HOUR!" Lucas complained.

"Angelo are you sure you know where we're going?" I asked while trying so hard to drag my feet.

All of a sudden, Nico was slowly starting to wake up. He groaned sleepily while holding his head with his knees on the ground.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked while adjusting his eyes to his surrounding.

"Oh my lord. I can't believe this is happening. You guys are actually here!" he exclaimed in excitement before giving us a big group hug.

We all laughed in joy, our minds filled with happiness.

"We have a lot to catch up on but first we have to get out of here," said Angelo before asking Nico for directions.

We made a decision to head to the beach first before going to the west side. After an hour of walking, we finally made it to the beach where we had left our ship.

"Wow, you guys came here with that? How much did it cost?" Nico asked while taking a good look at the ship.

I was about to say something when I realized that we didn't buy the ship.

"Uh, yea about that. We didn't exactly buy the ship," I said, scratching my head nervously.

"We stole it," Lucas finished my sentence with a straight forward answer.

All three of our elder cousins looked at us surprised and I honestly thought that we were going be in trouble but what happened next truly surprised me. They laughed.

"Wow, now I really want to know what happen," Nico said between laughs.

We made a bonfire and sat around it to keep ourselves warm. We took the chance to tell Nico what had happened in the past few days. After we were done, it was time for Nico to tell his side of the story.

"Both Leona and I were stranded on this island since the day we split up. Right when we got here, the energy circling the island somehow managed to mess with our brains. It drove us apart. The last time we saw each other was 5 years ago," he stopped and looked into the night sky.

He, then, continued.

"I walked for a very long time until eventually, I found an abandoned castle. It was the only shelter I could find and it felt like the castle was calling to me,"

"Wait. Calling to you?" I asked, accidentally interrupting.

"It seemed to have some similarities with my powers. Anyways, I went in thinking that it was harmless but I was terribly wrong," he stopped once again when Lucas asked him about the necklace.

"I found it lying around in one of the rooms. Then, I heard a voice calling my name. After that, my mind wasn't my own," he said, finishing his story.

"Is Leona alright?" Daphne asked, worried about her younger sister.

"I can't promise you anything," Nico replied with his head down.

Before going to sleep, we planned ahead of how we were going to get Leona back. We finally made the decision that Angelo and Dylan would head to the west to save Leona while the rest of us would stay at the beach and wait. That way, it would be much safer.

.

.

I woke in the morning and realized that Angelo and Dylan had already left. I sat up and noticed Opal was still sleeping. Daphne was on the ship, gathering some food for breakfast. She came down from the ship with a few buns in a basket she had found in the storeroom. I woke up the others and we munched on our breakfast silently.

"How long do you think they'll take?" Lucas asked worriedly.

"Not too long," Nico replied.

We spent the rest of the day just sitting on the sandy beach, watching the waves of the blue ocean while patiently waiting for our cousins to return. I had some time to talk with myself about everything that has happened so far. It helped me to figure out some questions that were stuck in my head for a long time. Even though I wasn't able to answer all my questions, I still felt a weight on my shoulder.

"You alright?" Daphne asked before sitting down beside me.

"I'm fine," I replied, hoping to cover up the truth but that didn't really work out.

She gave me a look and I sighed, knowing that I won't be able to lie to her.

"I'm worried and anxious," I said.

"Anxious about what exactly," she asked.

"About the future,"

After a long talk with Daphne, I felt a bit relieved. Not completely but it was enough. It was getting dark and our cousins were still nowhere to be found. We sat around the bonfire under the night sky while anxiously waiting for the return of our cousins. It was silent. No one was in the mood to talk. Little by little we were starting to lose faith but neither of us wanted to say anything. But then.....out of nowhere......the whole island started to shake violently.

"Earthquake!" Lucas yelled, trying to balance himself on his feet.

Then, it stopped and the silence of the night came back. It was like nothing ever happened and it was like that for a few hours. Nico and I made up our minds to guard for the night. We've been guarding for what felt like hours when we suddenly heard voices coming from the forest. We looked at each other before walking towards the entrance of the forest. We waited and waited. Then, from the darkness came walking Angelo, Dylan and...... a girl.

Leona.