THE KEEPERS RISE

Chapter 3 - A New Leaf - Part 2

*Remember to click the play button to listen to the soundtrack as you read!*

As soon as Rhea was out of earshot, Velda whooped in delight and went through the motions with her extra pocket, shoes, hat, and jacket. Each time it was a little easier to call on the magic. The teal crystal went in last. Then Velda turned to Cha, who had been watching her silently. "What if I tried to store you in my stone?" she wondered.

Cha tilted its head. "Would that be possible? I am still unsure exactly how this kind of magic works."

"I don't see why not. You've already got a stream of magic connecting you to the stone, so it might even be easier."

"I suppose you may try," the vaya relented. Cha went to the center of the long room and looked down at Velda expectantly.

In a fluid motion, Velda trained her focus on Cha and raised her hand, and the vaya began to shrink and come towards her. The strand of spirit material and magic was easy to manipulate, and soon Cha was right next to the emerald, barely a finger's width tall. Cha gave Velda a quick wave as it touched the stone and disappeared.

Velda was left in an eerie silence. "Cha, can you hear me?" she asked the air. When there was no response, she started getting worried. "Cha?"

Then, the all too familiar shimmer filled her ears. Keeper?

Cha! How is it in there?

It is rather empty, the vaya said. I can see the other things you stored in your stone earlier, however. I wonder if any being has ever seen this place. Cha struggled for words. It is quite unusual, it offered finally.

I'm sure some mage somewhere decided that it would be fun to store someone else in a Magistone, Velda giggled. You might be the first vaya to see the inside of a Powerstone, though.

Indeed. Velda felt a sudden burst of playful happiness come from Cha. You should go back downstairs in this condition, Velda! I wonder if anyone will notice who is missing.

Velda nodded and took a last look around for anything she might have left behind, then left the room and headed down the stairs. MepKing Alesteir was talking to Miss Lexio on one side of the room. He seemed to have a constant air of insanity around him, like he was constantly about to go into a laughing fit, but everything about his speech was perfectly normal, though lacking the kind of royal superiority that Velda had been expecting. The only thing that gave away his nature was his mouth, always slightly upturned in a smirk.

MepQueen Rhea was watching the other children play with their toys near the back wall, with a small crowd of them asking questions around her. Unlike the MepKing, she was graceful and seemed more like a real leader. That made sense to Velda, since Myusaria was a matriarchy; Rhea was even more important than Alesteir.

Mortimer was there too, standing near the MepKing with a royal guard watching over him. He turned and glared at her as she entered the room, though he didn't approach her. "This wasn't supposed to happen," he told her. "I was going to get all the fame. Look at what you've done! You've ruined this for both of us. You and that big, good for nothing-" He paused. "Where is that vaya? Did it finally give up on you?"

Velda rolled her eyes. "Hardly. I stored it in my stone." In her mind, Cha chuckled with delight.

"I don't suppose the MepQueen let you know how to get your things back out again?" he said, staring down at his own stone.

"No," Velda admitted, "But it can't be that difficult, right?"

While MepQueen Rhea talked with Miss Lexio about the paperwork they would need, Velda asked the MepKing tentatively, "How did you and the MepQueen get here so quietly?"

Alesteir chuckled. "You two were making plenty of noise with that magic! Do you have any idea what it sounded like?"

"My magic was a lot louder, I bet," Mortimer said to them. He looked confident, but Velda knew he hadn't been paying attention to the noise. His focus had been totally set on her.

"We didn't come in time to see your magic being cast," Alesteir told Mortimer, "But I did see a green wave of energy as I opened the door. It was very impressive."

"Mortimer is right," Velda blushed. "His magic was strong too."

"Mine was stronger," Mortimer insisted, glaring at her. "You couldn't possibly get anything like fire out of that stone! All you did was blast me and the fire out of the way."

"That took just as much energy! I had to match it!"

Alesteir was starting to look uneasy. "You two will need to be more civil around each other if you expect to live together," he warned.

"Says who?" Mortimer fumed. "I know I'd much rather be by myself."

"Try me," the MepKing said absentmindedly.

Rhea walked over with a roll of papers in her hand. "That's quite enough," she interjected. "You will learn to get along if it takes your whole lives, but this is not up for discussion."

Velda and Mortimer knew that they couldn't argue with the MepQueen, but they still maintained their glares silently. After an awkward pause, Alesteir said, "We should be off. Do either of you need to say goodbye to anyone?"

A small voice came from behind Velda. "What about me? You thought you could just leave?"

Velda turned and saw San with a wide grin on his face, but under it, she knew he was hiding sadness. He had been one of her closest friends in the orphanage. "I hope you're not too upset that I'm leaving," she said.

"I'm just happy that you're so fortunate!" San sniffled. "Good luck, Velda!"

"You too! Goodbye."

Santander looked like he was about to cry, and after rubbing against her side, he ran up the stairs without another word. "I hope he isn't going to miss you too much," remarked Mortimer. "That seemed extreme."

"As if you care," Velda snapped.

"Shut up." Mortimer pointedly turned his attention back to the royals.

Rhea had been whispering something to Alesteir, but she turned back to them quickly. The four guard meps joined them. "Ready to go?" she asked. They all nodded, and Rhea led them out the door.

The guards went out first, and Velda was struck by the fact that there was no vehicle of any kind. She had been expecting a hovercraft, considering how rich the royals surely were, or even a normal land vehicle, but she could only see the reflection of sunlight on the empty cobblestone road.

"How did you get here?" Mortimer asked.

"Teleportation," Alesteir said simply. He raised a hand with a dark cyan Magistone on a bracelet around it. Effortlessly, he lit the stone and magic rushed ahead of them, forming a giant circle in the air. Velda noticed that his eyes were blue-green, a lot like hers, and they glowed brightly from the effort.

Alesteir turned to Rhea. "Ladies first," he beckoned. She smiled and stepped forward into the portal, followed by the four guards. They each disappeared as they touched the magic. Before Rhea left, Velda saw an orange ring on her hand, which explained why her eyes were a normal orange color. That was also why Mortimer's eyes were still dark orange, Velda realized.

"I have to go last to release the magic," Alesteir told them. "Go ahead." Velda and Mortimer exchanged a look, then both stepped into the portal.

Velda first felt the magic as a warm feeling around her, but it felt claustrophobic and she soon began to fight it. She couldn't tell where she was but heard wind rushing past her as her vision fell into darkness.