The Ring of Imperium

Chapter 2

As I descended deeper down the spiral staircase, it became apparent that my grandmother had been down here a lot. For one, even though she had passed away almost a year ago, I could still smell the strong flowery perfume that she wore for as long as I could remember. There were also flowers painted on the white walls, which she had done with her bedroom and my room and almost every room in her old house, which was now mine. A little strange when you go to the bathroom and see a flower painted in the toilet lid.

I finally reached the bottom, and seeing a light switch on the wall, I flicked it. I clicked off the flashlight as the lights turned on. Nothing could have prepared me for what greeted my eyes. Haha, just kidding. I looked just like her room, only with a few differences. For one, in the place of the bed there was a sandbox. An actual sandbox.

"Well that's weird." I said to myself. There was also a stone pedestal that looked like the bottom half of a birdbath that you could get at like Home Depot or something. On it was a locked box. I tried picking up the small safe, but it wouldn't budge.

Then I realized something. Examining the lock, I found that there wasn't even a keyhole. Wrapping my right hand around the lock, I pulled at it a few times. Nope. Sighing, I stopped pulling at it and studied the box.

As I was trying to see what the strange inscriptions engraved in the metal read, I felt the lock grow warm in my palm. I had forgotten I was still holding onto it. After around 7 more seconds of the lock getting warmer, all of a sudden it opened with a CLUNK.

I jumped, not expecting the sudden loud-ish noise in the quiet room. Pulling the strange lock off the box, I opened it. Inside it was one of those fake necks that hold necklaces in jewelry stores, holding an old-looking chain with a ring in the end. The ring didn't even look like it was attached to the chain. Picking it up out of the box I tugged at the ring. It didn't even budge considering it looked like it was magnetically attached.

"Hello? Weird voice? What am I supposed to do with this?"

Silence.

"Well then, I guess I'll just put this back in the box and never come down here agai-"

"No, wait! Don't put me back in there!" said the voice.

"Wait a second. The voice talking to me in my head... is a weird necklace?" I asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Yes and no. I am the ring on the necklace."

"How does that make any sense whatsoever?" I practically yelled.

"I'm a magic ring," it simply responded.

"Well, almighty ring-person, do you have a name?" I asked sarcastically.

"Not a normal name. It's kind of weird since your grandmother was into fancy Latin names. She named me 'The Ring of Imperium'."

"You were my grandmother's? Oh wait, I'm dumb, this is her room, of course you're hers," I rambled, smacking myself on the forehead. "What does imperium mean?"

"Power." the voice answered.

"Well I'm going back to bed now, I guess I'll take you with me," I mumbled, yawning.

Trudging back up the stairs and into the shed, I looked at the floor panel that revealed the stairs.

"Um. I forgot how to close that..."

"Rotate the spade 3 times clockwise and one time counterclockwise."

"Thanks, Ring of Impartial," I yawned.

"It's imperium!" the voice said, outraged. " I-M-P-E-R-I-U-M!"

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, now half asleep while shuffling out the shed, back into the rain before closing the doors, which locked immediately.

Returning back to my room after hanging my soaked jacket, I set the necklace on my nightstand before falling face first onto my pillow, wet clothes and all. I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Morning came way too soon. I felt as if I had slept only five minutes the entire night.

"Need.. more... sleeeeeep," I groaned as I dragged myself out of bed. Pointing at the ring, I said, "This is all your fault!"

"Hey! No it's not! It's your grandmother's!"

"Yeah. It's all her fault that even a year after she's gone-" I sniffed. "-you make me wake up in the middle of the night to go get you!" I said sarcastically.

"She told me the day before she died to call you to me exactly one year, two months, and three weeks after she would pass. I have no idea why, but she always loved the number 123."

"Oh. Ok." I said, still feeling so overwhelmed by all that had happened at midnight last night. "Oh, shit!" I exclaimed. "I'm gonna be late for work and I didn't fill up my car with gas yesterday!"

"I can help you with that. Probably." The ring said.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, hurriedly picking out my clothes and grabbing a towel, making my way to the bathroom.

"Well... the person who wears me gets five powers. A faster way of transportation might be one of them."

"Cool. Be right back in 10," I responded, not fully hearing what had just been said. Something about powers?

When I got back after showering, getting dressed, and making sure I didn't look like I was a zombie, it was already 8:30.

"Crap! I have to leave in five minutes if I want to make it in time, and that's not even counting traffic!" I groaned.

As I was about to run down the stairs, grab a banana, and drive like a crazy woman to work, the ring said something.

"Wait! Take me with you!"

Grudgingly, I turned around, grabbed the necklace and put it on.

"I would put the end inside my shirt, but you're at the end, so... yeah. And you don't even match with what I'm wearing!" I said, exasperated as I ran downstairs and grabbed a banana and my car keys. "A dull rust-color doesn't exactly go with a black shirt."

A/N: I honestly have no idea, I just chose two random colors. Do they match, or nah?

"Ok," the ring responded. "What color would match?" It asked as I pulled out of the driveway and fishtailed down the street, far past the speed limit.

"Silver."

"Done," it responded a second later. Glancing down for a second while trying to pass a moron that was going way below the limit, I was stunned. The chain, along with the ring, had turned silver.

"Nice," I said a minute later while blowing the horn at another idiot who stopped at a green light.

So that's the new chapter. Took forever to write since I had to type it on my iPad. I wish I could use my computer without my mom getting suspicious of what I'm doing.

What should I name the ring? I have no idea yet. 

List five powers that you think she should have when she wears the ring. Cuz I have no idea yet.