The Quest
Chapter 3
Lazuli's body burned as consciousness slowly embed its way back in. Her head ached so badly, she thought it might explode. The cold hard surface she laid on, did nothing for her aches and pains. Why was she in so much pain. Whatever she'd done before she never do again. Whatever she had done it had to do with her friends, Lazuli was sure of it. She slowly cracked an eye. The room she was in was dark, had a triangular shape ceiling and bars. Bars? Lazuli jumped up, reached for the cold metal and looked out of her. The room was sparingly lit with no doors, no windows and no way out, her cage hovered several feet above the ground. There had to be some way to escape. 'I cannot use magic' she thought lightly fingering the mithril clamped round her neck like a collar. She sneered her disgust cursing a fowl human word, shaking the bars. She knew it would do nothing to help her situation, it was the only thing she could do. They grew hot, scalding the palms of her hands "You are not going to escape from here" A modulated voice stated in gnomish, he walked in slow long strides into the light.
"Alberich" she tried to keep her voice even, but hatred came out. He chuckled in response. "How could you say my name like that " he inquired with mock pain. She ignored him "What exactly do you want. This insult will only bring about war more quickly! Your best option is to be relea..." Lazuli didn't get to finish that sentence before his hand took a hold of her long nearly white hair. He gripped so hard she was sure he'd pulled a hand full of it out as he slammed her slender body against the bars of her cage. The metal heated against her skin. She could feel her skin bubble and break under it. He growled something about her under his rule at the moment and showing more respect. Besides screaming, she wasn't sure what came out of her mouth in response, but whatever it was had made very very angry. He slammed her into the bars again and then dropped her. The cold metal floor was heavenly against her burned skin. Alberich was still speaking as he walked from her cage,something about “it would heal” and “sending a healer” but Lazuli didn't bother listening. That is until he said something about humans. “Thank you providing those humans. They'll make wonderful gifts for my generals.”
Lazuli shot from the floor. “Humans? What humans?”
Alberich smiled “The ones that were capture with you.” He smiled .
“No! Let them go. Alberich, my king, please they have nothing to do with this world.”she begged, forward pressed to the floor as she bowed.
Alberich smiled, approaching the bar, he seized her by her hair once again, slamming her back against the bars. The under burned side of her face sizzled. Lazuli collapsed when he released her, shaking from her sobs and screams.
Sienna couldn't believe her ears. Accepted. She sat, eyes wide, nobody said anything. Argante sat back into her chair, “Now we need to discuss how to go about training and...” She paused then called “Weird Sisters” snapping her fingers. Three women appeared;all with the same faces and clothes and no wings The only difference between them was hair color and height. The shortest one had blonde almost orange hair. The one middle in height had hair darkest color brown. The tallest had hair the color of pearls. “Ladies, these are the Weird Sisters” Argante introduce, she pointed to the shortest “Phoebe.” The middle one. “Seline.” And then the tallest “Luna. They will be taking your place in the mortal world. Ladies!” The weird sisters stepped towards them. “Please stand up.” Luna insisted, her voice sounded ethereal soft. The girls did, the sisters aligned by height in front of the humans. Luna in front of Tabitha, Phoebe in front of Sienna, and Seline in front of Amanda. The sisters lay their foreheads together, hands under the girls chins.There was a shock that made them weak in the knees. Sienna winced, eyes shut, when she opened them again, Phoebe wasn't in front of her. Another Sienna was; sepia skinned, all dark braids and high cheek bones. Sienna jumped back in surprise.
“Are you ok?” Phoebe asked in her voice
“U...um yeah..”
“During my time in your world, I will be using your memories to blend into your society.”
Sienna nodded dumbstruck. She snuck glances at glances at her friends who had moved to oppose sides of the room with thier sister. Phoebe cleared her throat, Sienna turned her attention back to her, Phoebe now stood like her; hands behind her back, hips cocked. This couldn't get any weirder. “This is so weird.” Sienna breathed, sitting down in the armchair. Phoebe smiled
“Don't worry, you'll get used to it. There anything I need to know, your memories don't tell me.” “Memories?” Sienna asked sharply, blinking.
“Yeah, your name is Sienna Leila Lewis. When you were 5, you lost your favorite teddy bear at the zoo. Then when you were eleven...”
“Don'tcha think that's a little personal.” Phoebe blinked too. It was interesting to watch the emotions flitted across her face, Sienna's face. Phoebe's face eventually settled on annoyance, she sucked her teeth. “Well how else am I suppose to blend into your backwards world?” Sienna wanted to say that a warning would have been nice. To tell her that memories are private and that she was being rude, but thought better of it. All of the sisters might be going out of their way to help them. So Sienna apologized , then took it back mentally as pride crossed over Phoebe's face. Once the sisters retreated out the disappearing door and Argante explained that nothing was settled. Training would start tomorrow, she then led them through the castle; up long, twisting stairs and down an elaborate corridors. They passed a common room with green and red chairs on the way to our room. “I arranged for food to be brought to your quarters.” Argante informed . “There are no rules that I really want you to abide by” She continued thoughtful after being asked. “Don't drink any gold wine, you may be offered it...I hope not” the last part was said an undertone . “And be respectful Tabitha.” Tabitha scoffed “Oh and do not make deals. Faery deals are different than human ones. Different rules.” They stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, it opened to the smell of delicious food and bright light, draped in pale colors and dark woods. The girls walked in.
To the left of them, three beds lined the wall. To the right, sat a table and a cart under the window. The room was lit by oddly shaped light hanging from the ceiling.
“I hope everything is to your liking.” She said hopefully.
“Its perfect.” Tabitha said, eating “Thank you.”
“Good, well I will leave you to your night. Rest well.” She beamed at them. The door slid shut behind her. The room sobered, the girl sat in silence, eating delicious food they no longer had a taste for. Sienna stood, laid her plate on the cart, and then walked to the door. It opened without a problem, which was good, she had been worried Argante had locked the door. She walked back to the bed in the middle and curled in the sheets with a mumbled 'goodnight'. The response was just as quiet. The room was dark when Tabitha opened her eyes again. The only light came from the window and the only sound came from Sienna's horrible snoring. Tabitha sat up in bed, looking over Sienna for Amanda, who she hoped was just as awake as she was. “Psst! Anamda!” she whisper-yelled. Amanda rolled over with a groan “Can't sleep ?”She asked Tabitha nodded then realized Amanda couldn't see her and mumbled a 'yeah before laying back in the bed.
“Do you think we did the right thing? I mean staying here and all.”She asked
“Don't ask me” Amanda said
“This the most illogical thing I have ever done in my life. And probably a mistake. ”
“ Why did you agree to it ?”Tabitha asked Amanda went silent, curling on her side.
“I need to get away from home.” Her voice had gone soft and thick. “I am using Elizabeth’s situation to escape my own. Selfish right?”
Tabitha did say anything.
“We should go back to sleep” Amanda muttered Thabitha crawled out of bed, and slid into Amanda's, she wrapped her arms around her. Amanda yelped, “What are you doing? Get back in your bed.” She twisted in Tabitha's arms.
“Shut up” Tabitha responded
“What?”
“Shut up and take my love or I'll wake Sienna up and you'll have two of us to deal with.” Amanda signed, but stopped squirming. Tabitha figure they fell asleep like that because the next thing she heard was Argante voice cork screwing though her head. “Up Up! Mustn't be late!” She croaked, buzzing a few inches of the ground. Her wings were moving at a speed a humming bird would envy.
“Yeah... its going to take a bit to get used to that” Tabitha thought
She sat up in just in time to watch Argante pull the covers off Sienna, who shot up with something akin to a snarl on her face. It was highly entertaining. Amanda ignored them, asking me to hand her glasses, she stood and walked over to the table. Three piles of folded cloth sat there, all had something rectangular on top.
“Those are for you, ladies” Argante said, “Dress quicky, you can bathe later. If anything does not fit, let me know immediately. I'll be sown the hall in the sitting room but hurry! Time is of the essence. Bellatrix does not like to be kept waiting” And with that jumbled mess of English, she flew from the room.
"Alberich" she tried to keep her voice even, but hatred came out. He chuckled in response. "How could you say my name like that " he inquired with mock pain. She ignored him "What exactly do you want. This insult will only bring about war more quickly! Your best option is to be relea..." Lazuli didn't get to finish that sentence before his hand took a hold of her long nearly white hair. He gripped so hard she was sure he'd pulled a hand full of it out as he slammed her slender body against the bars of her cage. The metal heated against her skin. She could feel her skin bubble and break under it. He growled something about her under his rule at the moment and showing more respect. Besides screaming, she wasn't sure what came out of her mouth in response, but whatever it was had made very very angry. He slammed her into the bars again and then dropped her. The cold metal floor was heavenly against her burned skin. Alberich was still speaking as he walked from her cage,something about “it would heal” and “sending a healer” but Lazuli didn't bother listening. That is until he said something about humans. “Thank you providing those humans. They'll make wonderful gifts for my generals.”
Lazuli shot from the floor. “Humans? What humans?”
Alberich smiled “The ones that were capture with you.” He smiled .
“No! Let them go. Alberich, my king, please they have nothing to do with this world.”she begged, forward pressed to the floor as she bowed.
Alberich smiled, approaching the bar, he seized her by her hair once again, slamming her back against the bars. The under burned side of her face sizzled. Lazuli collapsed when he released her, shaking from her sobs and screams.
Sienna couldn't believe her ears. Accepted. She sat, eyes wide, nobody said anything. Argante sat back into her chair, “Now we need to discuss how to go about training and...” She paused then called “Weird Sisters” snapping her fingers. Three women appeared;all with the same faces and clothes and no wings The only difference between them was hair color and height. The shortest one had blonde almost orange hair. The one middle in height had hair darkest color brown. The tallest had hair the color of pearls. “Ladies, these are the Weird Sisters” Argante introduce, she pointed to the shortest “Phoebe.” The middle one. “Seline.” And then the tallest “Luna. They will be taking your place in the mortal world. Ladies!” The weird sisters stepped towards them. “Please stand up.” Luna insisted, her voice sounded ethereal soft. The girls did, the sisters aligned by height in front of the humans. Luna in front of Tabitha, Phoebe in front of Sienna, and Seline in front of Amanda. The sisters lay their foreheads together, hands under the girls chins.There was a shock that made them weak in the knees. Sienna winced, eyes shut, when she opened them again, Phoebe wasn't in front of her. Another Sienna was; sepia skinned, all dark braids and high cheek bones. Sienna jumped back in surprise.
“Are you ok?” Phoebe asked in her voice
“U...um yeah..”
“During my time in your world, I will be using your memories to blend into your society.”
Sienna nodded dumbstruck. She snuck glances at glances at her friends who had moved to oppose sides of the room with thier sister. Phoebe cleared her throat, Sienna turned her attention back to her, Phoebe now stood like her; hands behind her back, hips cocked. This couldn't get any weirder. “This is so weird.” Sienna breathed, sitting down in the armchair. Phoebe smiled
“Don't worry, you'll get used to it. There anything I need to know, your memories don't tell me.” “Memories?” Sienna asked sharply, blinking.
“Yeah, your name is Sienna Leila Lewis. When you were 5, you lost your favorite teddy bear at the zoo. Then when you were eleven...”
“Don'tcha think that's a little personal.” Phoebe blinked too. It was interesting to watch the emotions flitted across her face, Sienna's face. Phoebe's face eventually settled on annoyance, she sucked her teeth. “Well how else am I suppose to blend into your backwards world?” Sienna wanted to say that a warning would have been nice. To tell her that memories are private and that she was being rude, but thought better of it. All of the sisters might be going out of their way to help them. So Sienna apologized , then took it back mentally as pride crossed over Phoebe's face. Once the sisters retreated out the disappearing door and Argante explained that nothing was settled. Training would start tomorrow, she then led them through the castle; up long, twisting stairs and down an elaborate corridors. They passed a common room with green and red chairs on the way to our room. “I arranged for food to be brought to your quarters.” Argante informed . “There are no rules that I really want you to abide by” She continued thoughtful after being asked. “Don't drink any gold wine, you may be offered it...I hope not” the last part was said an undertone . “And be respectful Tabitha.” Tabitha scoffed “Oh and do not make deals. Faery deals are different than human ones. Different rules.” They stopped in front of a heavy wooden door, it opened to the smell of delicious food and bright light, draped in pale colors and dark woods. The girls walked in.
To the left of them, three beds lined the wall. To the right, sat a table and a cart under the window. The room was lit by oddly shaped light hanging from the ceiling.
“I hope everything is to your liking.” She said hopefully.
“Its perfect.” Tabitha said, eating “Thank you.”
“Good, well I will leave you to your night. Rest well.” She beamed at them. The door slid shut behind her. The room sobered, the girl sat in silence, eating delicious food they no longer had a taste for. Sienna stood, laid her plate on the cart, and then walked to the door. It opened without a problem, which was good, she had been worried Argante had locked the door. She walked back to the bed in the middle and curled in the sheets with a mumbled 'goodnight'. The response was just as quiet. The room was dark when Tabitha opened her eyes again. The only light came from the window and the only sound came from Sienna's horrible snoring. Tabitha sat up in bed, looking over Sienna for Amanda, who she hoped was just as awake as she was. “Psst! Anamda!” she whisper-yelled. Amanda rolled over with a groan “Can't sleep ?”She asked Tabitha nodded then realized Amanda couldn't see her and mumbled a 'yeah before laying back in the bed.
“Do you think we did the right thing? I mean staying here and all.”She asked
“Don't ask me” Amanda said
“This the most illogical thing I have ever done in my life. And probably a mistake. ”
“ Why did you agree to it ?”Tabitha asked Amanda went silent, curling on her side.
“I need to get away from home.” Her voice had gone soft and thick. “I am using Elizabeth’s situation to escape my own. Selfish right?”
Tabitha did say anything.
“We should go back to sleep” Amanda muttered Thabitha crawled out of bed, and slid into Amanda's, she wrapped her arms around her. Amanda yelped, “What are you doing? Get back in your bed.” She twisted in Tabitha's arms.
“Shut up” Tabitha responded
“What?”
“Shut up and take my love or I'll wake Sienna up and you'll have two of us to deal with.” Amanda signed, but stopped squirming. Tabitha figure they fell asleep like that because the next thing she heard was Argante voice cork screwing though her head. “Up Up! Mustn't be late!” She croaked, buzzing a few inches of the ground. Her wings were moving at a speed a humming bird would envy.
“Yeah... its going to take a bit to get used to that” Tabitha thought
She sat up in just in time to watch Argante pull the covers off Sienna, who shot up with something akin to a snarl on her face. It was highly entertaining. Amanda ignored them, asking me to hand her glasses, she stood and walked over to the table. Three piles of folded cloth sat there, all had something rectangular on top.
“Those are for you, ladies” Argante said, “Dress quicky, you can bathe later. If anything does not fit, let me know immediately. I'll be sown the hall in the sitting room but hurry! Time is of the essence. Bellatrix does not like to be kept waiting” And with that jumbled mess of English, she flew from the room.