The Orb And The Onslaught {COMPLETE}

brO ehT

 
     She only noticed her father wasn't talking anymore when the Orb was suddenly ripped from her grip. Her eyes flew open, she thought for a moment that he'd rushed her to steal it. But she saw no sign of her father, or the Orb for that matter. She hadn't had chance to get the Orb working before it had disappeared. She searched the stone gazebo and the immediate area surrounding but it was nowhere to be found.

    She sat down on the top step to the gazebo and rested her head in her hands. Had she really just lost the only object that could save Esothiea? Had she failed some kind of test and the Orb had been taken away as punishment? The mere chance that any of those answers was true made Florence wince in pain.

"Bravo!" Called a voice.

    Florence lifted her head to be greeted by Nathan, Joey, Roxy, Quentin and Skyrah. The cats looked proud, Quentin and Skyrah looked concerned.

"Why are you saying that? Don't applaud me, I just lost the Orb... and any chance of saving the world."

All five mouths fell open momentarily.

    Roxy was the first to recover herself, she padded her way forward to rest a paw on Florence's knee.

"What do you mean? What happened here exactly? Spare no details."

Florence told them everything, from heading out after the Dryele vision, to them turning up and congratulating her.

     By the time she was done, all three cats were smiling in their own feline way.

"Oh, pish, we knew you'd passed when we saw you sitting here, but we didn't realise just how well you'd done." Joey exclaimed rather proudly.

"We shouldn't have really expected anything less from you though."

     Florence frowned, her gaze passing between them, "Did you miss the part where I said the Orb was taken from me? It's gone, I have no idea where to. What are we supposed to do now? How am I supposed to-"

"Florence, stop, please." Nathan now had a paw on her other knee and his expression was as reassuring as his voice. "You didn't lose the Orb and it wasn't taken from you, because it was never really there. This was another test, to see how you would react to the temptations the Orb can present. With all of the power it holds, it would be tempting to use it against every bad person and creature in Esothiea."

     "But you resisted that urge," Roxy continued exactly where Nathan left off. "You thought instead about the balance that must be upheld, you didn't take it upon yourself to be judge, jury and executioner for the whole world. Even when faced with someone like your father, a man who would deserve every punishment you could throw at him. And by the sounds of it he was very smooth and persuasive, attempting to manipulate you into doing terrible things and making you think it was a good idea."

    "Yet you stayed true to who you are," Joey finished. "Despite him going as far as to try to anger you in such a horrible way, you didn't waver... And that's the kind of person we need to handle the Orb and save the world."

Five faces stared at Florence with admiration, the calibre of what she'd done was hitting them one by one. A smile rippled around the group, though Florence's didn't last long; she was starting to realise something else that made the bottom of her stomach drop.

   "But that means this still isn't over, I still have to find the real Orb and use it."

The cats nodded and Florence closed her eyes, taking a deep, calming breath. The tests were starting to take their toll, adding to everything they'd gone through to get there. Florence was ready to flop on the ground.