Ancient Mystic's War of the Realms Saga, Lady Adellandra Dratianos [reading tree .TXT] 📗

at the door.” He grinned at Anna, making her smile at the memory. “We held hands and used our combined powers to bring the watch to us. It looked so funny, until it fell to the floor. Dorianne sat up straight in bed and looked around. As soon as her eyes hit ours, along with seeing the watch broken on the floor, she knew what we’d done.”
“We may have gotten in trouble, but it was fun.” Anna supplied. “If you’re trying to get me to relax and not worry, you’ve succeeded.” She took his hand and stood up. “Come on, little brother, let’s cast a Protection Spell.”
“I knew you’d come around.” Kevin joked, following her to the altar room.

IV

Meanwhile, Ariana Woods-Reading flew through the air as fast as she could, heart pounding with fear. The memories of the Crusades ran through her mind, making her quiver, not knowing what to do.
It was all Sabrina’s fault. Why did she have to take me to the Abyss and remind me of the Dark Magic? Ariana mused with herself.
In a matter of moments, she was in the Ancient Mystic’s Province, heading toward O’Dell’s Castle. She barely had her feet on the ground a moment when O’Dell himself answered.
He saw the look on her face and cried. “Young Guardian! What distresses you?”
“My Lord Guardian, I’m truly scared.” Ariana whimpered, racing past his human-male form to the Castle’s main room. She didn’t want him to see her tears; it would show weakness.
“It cannot be that bad.” O’Dell claimed. “Calm yourself, then tell me what happened.”
Ariana looked at him finally, as if she were being made to.
“Would it help if I shifted?” O’Dell suggested, thinking of his often less-intimidating form of an all-mighty unicorn.
Ariana nodded without saying a word.
She watched as her Lord Guardian shifted to her favorite form. It was always easier for her to talk to him as a unicorn; his rainbow-colored mane and tail were soft to the touch, and the opalescent jewel which had been on his headband, was now underneath the horn on his forehead. It was only when Lord Guardian was a unicorn did she feel comfortable and safe telling him what was on her mind.
“Sabrina came to me in the Abyss, taking me there with what little power she had left.” Ariana began as she sat down on the comforting blanket next to him. She nuzzled into his mane, smelling the warm sweetness of the Dream Realm’s relaxing scent.
“May I ask what happened?” O’Dell was interested, his voice soft and calm. As much as he would like to deny it, Sabrina was his niece, and always the seductive trouble-maker.
Ariana twirled a clump of his multi-colored mane around in her hands. He didn’t seem to mind, seeing how the act always relaxed her. He let her continue. “She taunted me with the Dark Magic, reminding me of the feelings I’d had when I exiled her.”
“What feelings were those?”
Ariana took a deep breath, not wanting to remember. She had to explain to O’Dell, and warn him of Sabrina’s new plan (whatever it was). When she didn’t answer for a moment, he continued, nudging her with his muzzle.
“Ariana Moon.”
She shuddered; the name always brought back memories of the Orphanage. In the same respect, they also brought back the memories of her escapes to the Dream Realm as a child.
“I wanted revenge so badly, my Lord.” Ariana supplied softly, snuggling closer to him. She needed his warmth to go on; the pain was just too intense in her mind. “I wanted to kill her for what she did to the Crusaders.”
“More than that, I wanted to kill her for what she did to me.” Ariana’s heart began to pound as she thought about the Crusade once again. “I let the Dark Magic take over, but I didn’t want it to.”
Ariana pet his mane, thinking over the Crusades; how Sabrina wanted to turn Derrick, Aaron, and Mark Grey against her, reminding them of the love Ariana had for them.
“It is alright, you know.” O’Dell confirmed. “You did nothing wrong.”
“Why do I still feel so bad?” Ariana asked him, sitting up and trying to look into his deep green eyes. “I mean, the Dark Magic nearly made the Crusaders crazy. Aaron with his necklace, me with my past visions, Luna with her loves of both Shane and her own Magic, Derrick with his parents’ fighting, even Shane with his own loves of Luna and detective work.”
“You won out in the end, once your Earthbound sentence was over, correct?” O’Dell tried to lighten her mood.
“I guess so.” Ariana whispered to him, though her mind was elsewhere.
He had a hard time saying what was on his mind. “You know what must be done?”
Ariana looked up at him in horror, understanding his suggestion. She stood up abruptly and stepped away from him. “You can’t mean?”
O’Dell nodded his unicorn head, then shifted back to a human male. “You must learn to tame your wild Dark Magic, Ariana Moon.”
Ariana shook her head. “Please my Lord, anything but that. I can’t possibly – not after what it almost did to us?”
“You must.” O’Dell confirmed. “Your sisters are counting on you, for you are the middle daughter.”
He had a point there. She was the middle Woods’ daughter. Anna and Mary Ellen were both older than she was, with Luna and Claudia being younger.
“How?”
“You are the link, already grasping the powers they are now afraid of.” O’Dell told her. “They seek council in you, Young Guardian. It would be best not to let them down.”
Ariana thought over his words. “Must I learn the Dark Magic?”
O’Dell nodded.
“You’ll teach me, right?” Ariana asked. He’d always taught her how to control her growing Magics. Everything she knew about them, she learned from him.
O’Dell shook his head sadly. “Not I, Young Guardian.”
Ariana was confused. “Then who?”
“Me.” She heard Jezebel’s soft voice behind her.
Ariana turned to face a sorrowful Jezebel, once Orthos’ bride, now the Queen of the entire Grey Area. “You, Jezebel? I would have thought you would want to stay away from it.”
Jezebel shook her head, then nodded with a grin. “Who better than I to teach you how to control it?”
Ariana thought of something. “Did you teach Sabrina?”
Jezebel hugged her. “My daughter took it too far. She saw too much evil in it, wanting to learn that path more on her own.” Jezebel looked briefly to O’Dell, who nodded.
Ariana knew right away Jezebel wanted to talk to him in private.
Jezebel looked back to Ariana. “You, on the other hand, I trust will learn to control it responsibly.”
“What about when I exiled Sabrina to the Unknown?” Ariana asked.
“As I said; you did nothing wrong.” O’Dell replied. “Go home to your children, Young Guardian. They worry for you.”
“We will see each other tonight, when you make your rounds.” Jezebel supplied.
To ‘make her rounds’ meant to patrol the Dream Realm. It was Ariana’s duty as the Young Guardian to keep an eye on Young Dreamers and make sure no Dominionites, whoever were left in the Dream Realm, would harm them.
Ariana nodding, bowing to both O’Dell and Jezebel. “Until then, Lord Guardian and Queen Jezebel.”
Jezebel nodded her goodbye, and Ariana turned to leave.
“Ariana.” Lord Guardian’s voice boomed softly.
She turned to face him once again. “Yes, My Lord Guardian?”
Lord Guardian smiled. “You may call me O’Dell, anytime you like.”
“You’re an Elder, and I should call you by your title.” Ariana said. “Any other would be disrespectful, not to mention rude.”
Ariana stood silent while O’Dell laughed. “Who told you that?”
“You did, my Lord.” Ariana replied. “When I was very young.”
“That I did.” O’Dell said. “Now, I am telling you to call me O’Dell. After all, that is my name.”
Ariana smiled.
“Besides,” O’Dell went on. “We are on the same ground now. We need to work together.” He smiled at her, winking. “You are my successor, you know.”
Ariana laughed lightly. Trust him to make her smile when she was feeling lousy.
“Thank you, O’Dell.” Ariana replied. “I’ll return tonight, to patrol and begin my lessons in the control of Dark Magic.”
Jezebel nodded again, smiling this time.
Each only hoped the good mood would last, and Sabrina wouldn’t want to ruin that, too.
Story: #3:
Witches Grove

The next night, all five sisters found themselves in an enchanting place in the Dream Realm. It was somewhere Ariana and Luna had been to before, each in their own Crusades.
“This place looks marvelous!” Mary Ellen cried, running to each bush, each tree, each flower, just to get a feel of them. Everything around the girls was glowing with Magical brilliance, as if it came out of a fairy-tale.
“Be careful, Mary Ellen.” Ariana warned, watching Mary Ellen walk. “It’s not as enchanting as it looks.”
“How do you know?” Mary Ellen asked.
“Let’s just say I wandered here one time too many.” Ariana replied.
“What is this place?” Claudia couldn’t help asking as she knelt to feel the leaves on the ground. “Everything here has more energy than I’ve ever been in contact with.”
“That’s why you have to be careful.” Ariana told her.
“This is called Witches Grove.” Luna replied. “It is, or should I now say was, in the Dominion.”
“Now the Dominion Wall fell, I believe it’s in the Grey Area.” Ariana said after her twin. “At any rate, this place is known best for using images against you.”
That made Claudia shiver, with Mary Ellen and Anna meeting anxious eyes.
“Sabrina’s here.” Ariana announced, walking. “I can sense it.”
“She was here, you mean.” Luna replied as she followed. “That’s what I sense.”
“Don’t argue, you two.” Anna scolded. She saw something ahead of her and stared, unable to tear her eyes away. “What’s that?”
It was an image of Kelly, Ariana’s thirteen-year-old daughter, kissing Bradley Allen, her step-brother, who was a year older and lived next door with Aaron and Aimee. Both Kelly and Bradley looked a little older, with Kelly wearing a strange yellow crystal around her neck. They were holding hands, smiling into each other’s eyes when they parted.
“Let me guess.” Luna whispered, turning to her twin. “You haven’t told them the truth, yet.”
Ariana shook her head. “The twins, Derrick and I don’t want to ruin their bond.”
When the twins turned back to the image, both Kelly’s and Bradley’s were gone. In their place was a hurt seagull, jumping around and screaming.
Claudia’s first impulse was to run to it, to heal it, but she remembered what happened in the park.
Anna, Mary Ellen, Ariana, and Luna each stared at her confused when she gasped.
“Your image with Sabrina.” Ariana whispered, remembering their late-night phone call. “Is this how it started, Claudia?”
Claudia nodded, standing. “Craig was with me. I healed it from the inside out, but realized my Healing Power hasn’t been so hot since I was a little girl.”
“She’s right.” Anna remarked. “Claudia was always intrigued by it, practicing before she took the Oath.”
“I wasn’t intrigued, Anna, I was scared.” Claudia remarked. “When Christopher sprained his ankle and I felt it, I wanted to heal him with it.”
“What happened?” Luna asked.
“The P.M. Got in the way.” Claudia remarked. “I saw how he sprained it as it happened, but was too scared to do anything about it.”
“P.M.?” Ariana asked.
“Photographic Memory.” Claudia said. “That’s my strongest power. The Healing has always been my weakest.”
The sisters turned back to the image, but the seagull was gone. Claudia heaved a sigh of relief. She shared a look with Anna.
Ariana gasped. She sensed something and took her