The Earth's Secret - The Hidden Island - Book 1

Chapter 6 - The Blessing

When I woke up, I thought I was still dreaming. The air was moist and pure, easy to breathe and see through. I felt as if I had had a long, refreshing sleep, which I probably had had. I could sense every particle of water vapor in the air, and I felt much calmer than I had ever before. The last thing that I remembered was the wind, cool and calm...

I opened my eyes and looked around. I was in my bed, gazing out over the meadow. Birds chirped. The blue- tinted air made me calm.

Until I stood and saw myself reflected in a new mirror that was suspended in mid-air.

A dark blue unitard covered everything from my ankles to my chin, leaving my arms bare. Matching gloves without fingers covered my hands, and my stone in the ring was now navy. My feet were bare, and my nails were painted expertly, made to look like splashes of water. My skin was smooth. But my face...

I was different.

My hair was it's normal dark brown, but shinier and straight. My hair was supposed to be it's curly, messy self, but it was now longer- almost to my waist- and perfectly straight. It hung like a curtain of silk from my head. On the crown of my head was a small braid that circled only the very top of my head, and it was braided with tiny strands of blue silk.

But the face that the beautiful hair framed was breathtaking.

My eyes were the green, as always, but seemed more becoming and noticeable. My skin was clear of my dreaded acne. My cheeks were tinged pink. Subtle touches of makeup, too small for me to see, brought out all of the small details that made my face- well, beautiful. I looked older.

It came to me that everyone would be looking for me- and I wondered if everyone had changed.

I twisted the ring on my finger and jumped from my room, landing on my feet without a spark of pain. Almost before I had straightened, a voice came from behind me.

"You got done, too?"

I turned and saw Sarah getting up, brushing herself off.

"I jumped right after you, but rolled when I landed," she explained. I studied her. Her wavy, lighter hair was rolling down to her shoulder blades, and her face looked highlighted her makeup tinged green. She wore a similar unitard to mine, but her's was a deep brown with arms of dark green leaves that circle her arms. The neck was in a V, not up to her throat like mine. Her club was freshly polished and hung from her hand.

She grinned at me. "You look great."

"As do you," I returned.

We stood in silence until Laura's voice cut through the air.

"Hey!"

She flew down to us, her spear clutched in her hands. Charlie fell from his room, seemingly limp, until he rolled, hit the ground, and came up standing. Laura landed smoothly and set about observing us as we took in her and Charlie.

Again, they both had unitards on, Laura in a white with spots of black and a neck that looked puffy, like clouds, and Charlie in a simple orange with a normal neck. Laura's choppy, brown hair was loose, bouncing in a breeze, and her face was less highlighted, but her eyes were tinged blue. Charlie...

His sword hung from a simple cord at his waist, gleaming and sharp. His unitard was orange, as I had mentioned, but his ankles flickered like they were smoldering. His face had the least highlighting but seemed much older. His sandy hair was slicked to one side, a common style back at home, and his eyes were their normal bright gray, like dark ash. He studied me with surprise, and I felt a little flip in my stomach that had nothing to do with the magic that had changed us.

Word Count: 645

Total Word Count: 10082