Twisted Returns

"I can't lose my baby..." Lorraine says. "It's just... I can't lose her. I found out her gender last night in the hospital."

"Your soul has identified you," Amber says. "I can't stop it."

"No!"

"Well, I can... But that means giving up your old self forever," Amber says. "And your magic. You will go full human. In a few minutes, the transformation will be lost."

"I - I..." she says, looking like she could burst into tears at any moment. "I won't. I will miss Crystalline... but I have her memories. I used to be her and she will be a part of me always."

"If you say so..." Amber says. The pink light floats in the air at a standstill. We're all silent, watching as it gets dimmer. Slowly, it flickers out. Lorraine sits down.

Amber clears her throat. "Well... there's nothing to do but continue." She picks up a lavender ball with a silvery undertone. It matches to Elise. Amber asks her, "Do you know your past identity?"

Elise shakes her head and stands up. A minute later, a thin blonde stands in her place. I notice that her deep set blue eyes remain the same.

"Serenity Illusen," I accidentally say out loud. I feel the blush coming to my face and hide behind my shiny black hair.

"Diana, please announce everyone's names as soon as they transform. It will help those who don't know their identities."

I nod and Amber continues. Next is Ashlee with a deep purple orb. She transforms and becomes a tall, thin girl with long brown hair. Her eyes are noticeably the same color purple as the ball.

"Angelina Sparkles."

Andrew with a gray sphere. He also becomes taller and his hair darkens to black.

"Jason Yale."

Lynda matches to a red orb. Transforming, her pale skin darkens to a deep tan, and she looks younger. Her hair takes on a honey tone and seems to shrink back into her skull, growing shorter.

"Lacy Queens McLace."

Next, a green one. It matches to Katalina. Amber starts the spell, but like Lorraine, she jumps up and backs away.

"I can not!" she exclaims, backing away. "Marigold, please show me a picture of this... Rebecca."

Marigold sighs but doesn't protest. Spreading her arms apart, she conjures a huge translucent screen. On it, the picture of a smiling redhead appears. Her cat-like eyes resemble Katalina's.

"I can not," Katalina repeats. "I was not beautiful back then. I will keep this body."

Low sounds of disgust are heard, but no one's really surprised. Katalina backs away, watching the green light fade. The screen shuts off.

"That's all," Amber says, and her sunburst necklace stops glowing.

"What?" Sarah says. "What about me?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't have anyone else here," Amber says, her golden eyes filled with genuine concern.

"Hold on a minute..." Marigold says, walking over to Sarah. "I can't believe I didn't see it."

"What are you even talking about?"

"The Legend of the Earthborn. To put it simply, you are the only Earthborn magical being in eight million years."

"What?"

Marigold nods. "It is true that the beginning of civilization today on Earth began less than a million years ago, for the humans. But beings were there. When Earth lost its magic eight million years ago. the planet was used as a prison."

"And how do I come into this?" Sarah asks. "Am I some prisoner or something?"

"No. But you are the reincarnation of a legendary woman's child. Your mother, so to say, sacrificed her life for your rebirth."

"So what am I?" Sarah asks. "Fully magic or what?"

"Yes. I have your legend in a book. You might want to read it," Marigold says. "And to everyone - there is much to do now that you are in your old bodies."

"You will have flashbacks," Alina says. "I can't predict about what, or when. But you will remember aspects of your magical lives."

"And family is going to be involved," Amber says. "I know it seems strange, but you have relatives waiting for your return. They will have to come to the castle for your security."

"Training will have to be taken more seriously with your new powers," Marigold says. "And learn to respond to both of your names - you may be used to your human name, but your legal name is your previous name. Sarah and Wessley, meet me in my study tonight at seven for citizen registration."

This is all a lot to take in. For everyone else, I mean. I've already met my family - no problem with that. And over the past few days, nearly everyone has been calling me Diana. I'm getting used to it.

"Anyways, I know this is a lot of responsibilities. So before we get this all sorted out, let's have lunch."

----

I knock gently on the door of Marigold's study. When she doesn't answer, I go ahead in.

The room is empty. Strange, because I saw Marigold walk in a few minutes ago. I walk around the room.

I'm careful not to touch anything. Stacks of books lie everywhere. A large square bookcase takes up half of the back wall. The other half of the wall is empty.

Unlike the other bookcases, this one contains only books. A huge navy book with gold lettering catches my eye. Walking closer, I see that it says DIANA CRYSTAL. It seems to be safe, so I pull it off the shelf.

This causes the whole shelf to smoothly slide to the right and I understand why the space was empty. A door is revealed.

I reach for the doorknob, the book in my left hand. When my hand makes contact with the silver metal, my body freezes, reminding me of the sweet ocean. The sensation lasts only about a fraction of a second.

The door opens and I see Marigold standing near the back of the room, facing away from me. Her head is bent over a book.

"Marigold?" I ask. She quickly shuts the book she's reading and turns to face me, her hands over the title of the book. I can make out an F on the cover.

"Oh, hi sweetie. Do you need something?"

Many questions of all kinds arise in my head, but I simply answer, "No."