Allies of Plaxas

Chapter the Thirteenth: Opal

"Well, it looks like you three ladies are training hard,"

I whirl around, my concentration breaking. Mitali stands behind Ruby and I, a grin playing on her face.

"But whatever for?" she adds. She holds out her hands in front of her, bent at the elbows. She looks like she's weighing two possibilities, invisible to us, when suddenly a gem appears in each hand--a ruby and an opal. She offers the opposite gem of our name to each of us. "So you may remember each other always," she tells us when she sees our puzzled expressions.

I examine my ruby, with it's clean cut edges and its shiny surface. "Thank you, Mitali," I tell her.

Ruby nods, too engrossed in her gem to respond.

"Now. What are you two girls doing here on a beautiful afternoon? Shouldn't you be, I don't know, playing on the beach? The elf has not come to fight us today. The skies and grounds are clear of battle. Enjoy your day today. It's only a matter of time before the warriors of Plaxas go searching for the elf instead of the other way around,"

Ruby and I glance at each other. "Yes," she says. "About that,"

"You went last night. You went to see the elf, didn't you. Despite Saimad's requests."

Ruby cocks her head. "However did you know?" she wonders. "We kept it such a quiet secret!"

Mitali laughs. "I sure hope you kept it quiet. As it was a secret. But I found out because Saimad told me. His power is quite useful for those kinds of things. Oh, and, I also have the power of manipulation so I can get into your mind as easily as you can get into mine. Actually, I can get into yours easier,"

"How could we have forgotten Saimad's power! We're such idiots!" says Ruby.

"You'd better leave then. This school doesn't accept idiots," Mitali says jokingly.

"Oh. Well....what happens if there's someone who is an idiot? What do they do to them?" Ruby looks so genuinely worried that I laugh. She looks at me strangely. "What?" she asks.

"You do realize that she was joking, right?" I ask her.

"Oh...." Ruby's cheeks turn a bright red as Mitali joins me in laughing.

"But anyway," says Mitali, once she's calmed down. One look at Ruby makes her laugh again, though. Ruby glares.

"What....what did the elf say to the two of you?" asks Mitali.

"She....she needs our help. Because of the war,"

Mitali nods. "As I suspected. I wish I could help her. It's up to you two now,"

I look between the two of them. "Mitali. You....you knew?"

She and Ruby look at each other. "The third time Ruby had her dream, she had it in my quarters. We were in the middle of training and then....she just collapsed. I didn't know what to make of it. And five minutes later, she woke up and told me about it,"

"She....she didn't tell me. I had no idea. I would have helped. But she didn't tell me,"

Mitali looks worried and she doesn't react to what I say. "The elf....she went and just put this on you? She wants you to stop this....this little skedaddle in between the humans and the elves? That's absolutely ridiculous. You must go talk to her. She must be out of her mind. You two could get hurt,"

"You mean, I could get hurt. Opal's not going," says Ruby.

"Yes," I say. "I am."

"No. You know nothing about this! This doesn't bother you. It's me that it bothers. And it's me that going to fix it!"

I step back. "Geez. Ruby, that makes it sound like you're going to do it yourself. You can't always be the hero of the story. You're going to need my help,"

She shakes her head. "You still don't understand. You weren't there when mom came home....you weren't there when dad died."

I shake my head too, mirroring her movement. "But I have lost people--here at this very school. Bella....she was our best friend."

"What even happened to her?" asks Ruby.

"I-I can't tell you. It's....it doesn't concern you. It only concerns Kaitlynn and me,"

Ruby glares. "And the elves don't concern you. So stay out of my business. I need to do this alone,"

"Stop acting like a hero! You can't do this alone, Ruby, you're going to get yourself killed! Please, let me come. I'm your sister. You need my help," I tell her.

She sniffs and turns her head. Mitali rests a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby, please consider....come. Let's take a walk," she says, and they begin to walk away.

I groan and stomp back up to my room where Kaitlynn is lying on the bed, reading a book for her history homework. She sets it down when I come in, slamming the door behind me. "Opal, what is it? What's wrong?"

I tell her what happened in the courtyard with Ruby and how she was being so stuck up and conceited. She comes over to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

"Opal....Ruby is a great person. And so are you. But let me tell you the things that I don't like about her," She begins ticking things off on her fingers. "One, she's kind of bossy sometimes. Two, she thinks that she can solve any problem by herself. Three, she acts like she's the boss of you. All the time. She uses you as a lever to get things that she wants,"

I go to sit on Ruby's bed, thinking. Is she? When has this happened? I mean, I suppose she was trying to get me to tell what happened to Bella....but I don't like thinking about my sister this way.

"Now, let me tell you the things I don't like about you. I think you are a better person than Ruby, no offense to her. And I hope that you can use these things to help get better, Opal. First of all, I think you're kind of a slob."

I look around the floor. Some of my clothes are strewn around the floor while all of Kaitlynn's and Ruby's are stacked neatly on the shelves in the corner of the room. I start to laugh and I say, "I bet that Sydney's room is even more messy. Because she doesn't have Liam, her personal servant here for her,"

Kaitlynn begins to laugh too. She finally manages to compose herself. "Also, you're....well, I don't know if this is a bad thing, but you're too trusting of your sister. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you rely on her too much and she kind of uses that. Every time she does that it makes me seethe. I....Opal, I care for you so much, but I just can't say that about your sister. I'm sorry, Opal. But if you really want to help her....just follow her. Do it by yourself. Because you can do this. I believe in you. I'll help you if you'd like,"

I smile and hug her. "Thank you, Kaitlynn. I will,"