Reyne Corea's Story

Fahad was taken aback when the girl rejected his offer, no one else had done that that night. But she continued, "But I would be delighted to be shown a tour of the gardens, my good sir." She was offering to return to the peaceful outside? Well he wouldn't argue with that. He nodded and held out his arm for her to take and led the other girl outside, sparing a glance for his sister who had been watching his exchange. She gave a nod in approvement and turned to a man behind her who asked her to dance. Outside, Fahad walked in silence wandering with the girl, who he realized hadn't given her name, to one of the places he had previously discovered. It was a small secluded clearing surrounded by trees with pale flowers in the moonlight. Without a word he dropped her arm and walked over to a tree and smelled the pleasant fragrance, his expression lifting to one of content and peace. "These don't grow in Duskin." He said simply.



Sidhe noticed her twin returning from dancing. She seemed to be in a good mood, but then again Reyne had always been a social one. "How are you doing, Sidhe? Having fun?" She asked. Sidhe looked at her with an intense stare. Her sister knew very well how she was doing, they could always read each others emotions. At Reyne's next question she sighed. "Must I? King's are always so boring and pompous." She knew the answer, her older sister would say the same thing. The thing was that anyone she really talked to other than family either learned about something unsavory about their future or ended up with bad luck, especially if they were happy.

After extending her invitation for the strange man to show her the garden, Adara watched as he hesitated, then extended his arm to escort her outside. As they exited the crowded room, the air became cooler, and Adara gently released her hair from the thin ribbon that held it, letting it cascade down her back. While they walked slowly through the green garden, she glanced curiously at the man that held her from the corner of her eye. He was quiet, and this surprised her: for most, silence was uncomfortable. But between her and this man - whoever he may be - it was relaxing. Peaceful, even. After a moment, he paused and freed himself from her grasp, moving toward a tree growing white flowers that looked luminescent in the pale light of the moon. Delicately smelling one's flawless perfume, he sighed. "These don't grow in Duskin," he said simply.

Taking a step forward, she stood beside him, a careful distance away as not to disturb his distant train of thought. "Yes, I know," she answered softly. "I've lived there since I was young." She looked up to the moon, remembering. "It's lovely there - but a change of scenery is always nice. . ." Trailing her fingers lightly on a closed flower, it began to open until it smiled up at the dark sky. In the dim light, it shined beautifully, and she smiled slightly. "I've never had much chance to travel," she said sadly, looking up to meet his eyes.

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"Must I? King's are always so boring and pompous," Sidhe answered her.

Reyne laughed in response. "I know, twin, but our father expects us to marry." Suddenly, she sensed him in the large room, and as usual, he didn't seem to be in a good mood. She sighed, exasperated. "How wonderful, father has decided to grace us with his presence." Her voice was dark and sarcastic, and her eyes narrowed slightly. Turning back toward her sister, she spoke. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go dance! Have fun! You must find a husband - and I'd rather he go into this marriage willingly than me having to force him." She laughed quietly, moving away from Sidhe and toward the dance floor. "You can do it, twin. Just look inviting. Try to wipe that horrid look off your face - you almost scared me away. Giggling once again, she disappeared into the crowd of dancing couples and grabbed a man that stood on the edge of the group. "And who may you be?" she asked coyly, leading him onto the floor. . .

"You seem much too calm to have a temper," he said simply."

Glancing up from her feet, Adara met the man's eyes and curiousity alighted gently in hers. Pursing her lips and looking upward in thought, she said, "Yes, I suppose you would think that." Staring back at the tree that stood tall in front of them, she caressed the flower that had opened at her touch earlier and the petals folded inward, until it was wrapped into itself once again. "Perhaps it is your quiet nature that is so near to mine, but I do not usually speak this freely to others. It's most likely your tranquility that is enveloping me, and in turn keeping me as peaceful as you seem." The corner of her lips tipped upward almost unnoticably into a wry smile. "I tend to hide my feelings from others, as some of the things that I think would anger them. . . I suppose I deserve the scorn that I receive, however: if you ask for honesty, then it shall be given - " She paused and bit her lip lightly, running a hand through her tousled, auburn hair. " - Rather, as much of the truth as is polite. . ."

Far away, from inside the large house behind them, a loud gong sounded in the air and a voice could just be made out. "The midnight hour is almost here ladies and gents! Please make way back into the ballroom for the unveiling!"

Turning toward the ballroom, Adara quietly slid on her black heels and began to walk in its direction. Pausing her long stride, she looked back over her shoulder at the man that stood behind her. In the moon light, her amber eyes gave off a sharp glint and the dress she wore shined a pearly white, her long hair gleaming darkly as if a shadow, creating a hauntingly beautiful image. "Would you accompany me, sir? I have yet to know your name or face."

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After a few moments of dancing, Reyne noticed her sisters stir. Her father came from his shadow in the corner and began to move toward the distractions. Excusing herself from the man she was with, she moved to the edge of the room. Reyne loosened her mask slightly, readying to remove it, and quietly felt the auras of the others around her: excitement, love, surprise. Tuning out the insignificant feelings of the humans, she felt her sisters' - they all had a dark, maroon sphere encirling them. They were ready - and now. . .

It was time.

As they reached the ballroom, the deep moan of the clock striking twelve drifted hauntingly through the night air. Walking through the large crowd that had gathered in the room, a young woman approached the two and grabbed the arm that hung on the man's side. "My pardons, Miss, but I need my brother for a little bit. Do you mind?" With that, she pulled him away from Adara, and they were gone in a matter of seconds. But before he had left, the man managed to throw her a slightly apologetic smile before being dragged into the crowd.

Adara watched him being drawn away from her, looking on curiously. Through the ground - though it was barely made of Earth - she felt the two nearing the front of the crowd. After a few moments she saw him move toward the stage, and in seconds come to stand atop it, right beside the other kings.

She realized why he had felt the need to ask her to dance before - and why he traveled so often. How odd. . . she thought inquiringly. He's a king.

He hadn't seemed like one. Most were overly charming, and reveled in the attention offered from being a king. But this man that she had been with. . . he was rather quiet, and he had told her before that he enjoyed spending time in the gardens of the places he went - much more than being with people he was supposed to be with.

As Adara understood that she - a rather wild, anti-social girl - had just spent the last of a long evening with a king - well, it made her want to laugh. How ignorant she could be sometimes! She looked up in time to see him remove his mask and laughed quietly under her breath, a slight smile playing around her lips.

A king. . . Who would have thought. . .

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Reyne stood with her mask hanging loosely from her ears.

It was time.

Bringing her arms up at her sides, she held her hands, palms up, and began chanting the dark spell that wast o cast the barrier around the kings. There was only one missing now. She stood near the front of the crowd, just covered by enough people to hide the low words she spoke. Soon. . . soon it would time - time to release the magick that she held inside her - just waiting to erupt. The magnitude of their magick together would be incredible.

And Reyne couldn't wait to watch the chaos that ensued.

[[I apologize for my horrid writing, guys! Not much going on in this head of mine. . .]]

Reyne watched curiously as Amaris explained the predicament that the kings were in. The one with light brown hair stepped forward and politely rejected the 'offer', stating that the Kingdoms did not pass down IOU's from generation to generation - unless, of course, it involved money. He had a way about him that sparked curiousity in her - how he was able to turn down their offers gently, yet with a regal-air in his words. The other kings quietly agreed with him and her sister asked again, confirming that they truly wished to reject the sorceresses.

Reyne could feel the intentions behind Amaris' final offer - her sister had a love for causing chaos, but Reyne knew that the rejection was a small pain in her side.

She listened softly as they continued to talk, tuning in on her twin's thoughts. Sidhe knew that something bigger than all of them was coming, something that they had not been planned. The world in front of her flashed red as she felt her twin release dark magic on the ones that the king's had already chosen.

Who knew. . . she mused. Perhaps twin can become jealous. . .

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Adara watched as four young women moved toward the kings, and she suddenly felt the ground beneath them vanish from her range of sensation. It seemed as if a large sphere engulfed the eight and Adara no longer had contact with them. They began to speak to themselves, the eldest of the four sorceresses - for that is what she assumed them to be - acted as spokesperson for her younger siblings.

Adara was too far away from the group to hear what they said, and so she began to move closer when a searing pain caused her to fall suddenly to her knees. Gasping in shock, she clasped a hand above her heart, on the place of her strange birthmark. The burning continued on, but she attempted to stand, fighting against the awful sting. The pain finally won, and she fell to the floor, her pale dress surrounding her in a sea of white.

Around her, others looked on as she collapsed, until the sound of another girl dropping drew away their attention.

Chaos had finally arisen.

[[Sorry for posting so late - I was busy! But you guys are doing awesome ^.^ Nice story going along.]]

Reyne listened as they requested Amaris' final offer, and her sister began to chant a spell of dark magick. Joining her, Reyne felt the power surge inside them and as they let go, it was forced onto the kings and the spell was upon them. The veil protecting them from the people around them disappeared, and so did she. She and her sisters were invisible, and Amaris began to walk away from the small group. Slipping unnoticed through the crowd, Reyne headed toward the stables outside, where her large stallion waited calmly for her. As she moved to mount him, her fingers traced the grey and black spots that lingered on his blazing white coat. Jumping nimbly on his back, she tangled her fingers in his mane and squeezed gently with her legs. The horse reared back on its hind legs, letting out a loud whinny, and bolted from the stable.

Reyne galloped of into the stark night, invisible to all eyes.

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"Hello."

The quiet voice interrupted her reverie, and Adara looked up to see the man whom she had been with just moments ago - though it had seemed like hours. Now that he was closer to her, she saw his face clearly. The man - king - looked to be only a few years older than she, and had soft features that were hardened by the strength in his eyes. She looked curiously at him, then answered him.

"Hello." She stepped away from the wall she had been leaning on and chuckled lightly at the realization of what had just occurred. "You have been curse, my king." Her tone was serious now, soft and light at the mention of the sorceresses' dark spell. "I pray that you are not hurt from their spell?" The inflection in her voice formed a small question as she looked him over for any injuries.

Adara remembered suddenly that she had no knowledge of his name, and so told him hers. "My name is Adara - Adara Waraqa. It means Fire Leaf in Arabic." Looking at him almost coyly from the corner of her eye, she asked," May I know yours?"

[[Sorry about the long post guys. Adara's part is not really that relevant, so feel free not to read it haha]]

"My apologies, but I have been called away to a kings' council at the Bonsai tree." Fahad bowed slightly in front of her, then added, "Perhaps we shall meet again."

"Perhaps." Adara watched as the man moved away from her, toward his sister, it seemed she was. She was exhausted from all that had happened this night, and her only wish at this point was to go home. Her wamy, tiny little house in the middle of the towering trees in the wood where she and her fox, Red, stayed. She missed Red, when in fact, she had brought him with her.

Quickly stepping outside, Adara felt through Earth until she found the feel of his small paws on the ground nearby. The little kit was wandering the maze, exactly what she had told him not to do. With a sigh, she slid off her heels and held them at her side as she began the long trek toward the young fox, determinedly marching through the large hedges.

After a few long minutes of walking, Adara came across the kit where he ran clumsily after a leaf, pouncing and jumping just centimeters away from it as it floated lazily in the air. She laughed at the sight of the silly animal and creapt up behind him, playfully sweeping him up into her arms and cradling him lovingly to her body. The baby fox looked up at her with large brown eyes, and growled happily.

"Didn't I tell you not to wander the maze?" she chastized him lightly.

His big eyes looked guiltily away from her.

"I only want you to stay safe! Now, we'll be starting for home tomorrow, so be sure to stay from people until then."

Adara gently set him down on the grass and began to walk toward the large forest that connected with the outer walls of the maze. As was known, she had a rather harsh disliking for humans, and so she had stayed in the trees - after all, she had only planned on being in Mornia for a few days, at most. In a large oak, a canvas bag filled with supplies sat nestled in the high branches of the tree. Throwing her shoes down, Adara slid her dress over her head - where, in fact, she had been wearing a thin tanktop and a pair of cloth shorts underneath - and dropped it onto the ground, a rather unlady-like thing to do. She began to climb the huge tree and was on the same branch as the canvas bag in a matter of seconds.

Adara sat casually on the rough bark and opened the bag, rifling quickly through the things. Absentmindedly, she pulled the the clip that had pulled back her slight layers out of her hair, and it fell in a wave of auburn around her face. The girl then found what she had been looking for and uncovered it from inside the folds of the bag. A thick, canvas water bottle was held in her hand and she wrapped the long strap over her shoulder and around her waist. After a bit more time, she pulled a small apple from out of it, and then a thin piece of cheese. She put these in the pouch of the water bottle and began her climb down.

Red sat at the bottom of the tree, looking curiously up at her. When she reached the ground, Adara pulled the cheese and apple out of the pouch and held it in front of him. The little fox quickly snatched the two and began to eat. She took off the cap of the bottle and poured out a small amount of water into it, setting it onto the forest floor next to Red.

After a moment of watching him, satisfied with his appetite, she sat down near the tree, resting her back against the cool bark.

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Reyne rode for a long time, until she finally reached the safe house and slowed her horse. She jumped neatly off the stallion's back and lead him to the stables, giving him a large, orange carrot on the way. When she left him, he was happily munching on the vegetable.

Entering the house, Reyne saw her father lounging lazily on a couch and Amaris wandering around, attempting to ignore her father's presence. Her twin, Sidhe, sat nearby, reading a book - though Reyne could tell that her twin's attention was being easily pulled away from the story's words. Reyne was immediately bored by the uninteresting-ness of her family.

With an exasperated sigh, she began to walk away from the three, sweeping quietly through the dark halls of the house. She paused in front of an old door made of dark mahogany with a worn, unfinished look about it. She gripped the doorknob and roughly pushed it. The slab of wood creaked against its hinges, but didn't budge. She pushed once again and with a loud groan, the door yielded and slowly opened.

Inside, it was dark. Reyne tried vainly to flick on the switch but it was nowhere to be found. She murmure a quick spell and a small ball of lighty floated in front of her in the air. It entered the bulb of a dingy lamp nearby and the room was suddenly bathed in its warm glow. She moved toward a a small book shelf that sat in the corner of the tiny room, and rifled through the limited array of titles.

Paradise Lost

Reyne suddenly found the book and pulled it from the shelf, flipping it over in her hand and brushing it silently off. She rose and turned to sit on the bed, leaning back against the post and opening the book. She began to read, her eyes scanning the neat words.

In the forest, Adara heard the cries of shock and wonder at the kings' transformation, and she felt the thud of their new limbs on Earth's damp surface. Forgetting her dress at the base of the tree, she quickly swung Red into her arms and began walking in the direction of the kings. In a few moments, she arrived - but stayed hidden - and saw four animals in place of each young man: a bear, an eagle, a leopard, and a wolf. The leopard's eyes were a clear evergreen, and she noticed the hint of amusement they held. The bear also looked rather pleased with the sudden occurrence and rolled playfully onto its back.

She had been curious of the events that had taken place - but still had respect for the privacy that the group clearly wanted - and so Adara started to walk back into the woods, setting the little fox onto the forest floor and sitting beside the great tree. Though it was an odd happening, she would simply have to wait until they were ready to tell everyone.

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Reyne listened to her father's satisfaction at the spell his daughter's had created, his low voice complimenting their work. She scoffed in contempt at his seflishness and continued to read her book - but she soon got distracted by the smell of food that continued to caress her sensitive nose. Sighing quietly, she set her book on the nightstand beside the bed and rose from the soft mattress. The girl had slid off her heels and now padded barefoot down the long hall, her nose constantly in the air. She silently slipped into the kitchen and began to pull a few things out of the large refrigerator that stood in a corner of the open space, putting them onto the counter next to her sisters.

"Mind if I help?"

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Jason watched quietly at the kings' shift into animal form, and a haiku he thought of suddenly whispered on his lips.



With a sigh at the simplicity of his poetic thoughts, he brought his mind back to the present and gauged the kings' reactions - two seemed positively confused at the change, and yet two others were eagerly discovering their new bodies. He chuckled softly under his breath and turned toward Harumi as she began to speak.

"There is a way to remove the curse," she said, her gaze on the ground beneath her feet. "Would you like to explain it - Lejla, Lavilev, Jason? - or shall I?"

Jason looked at the others, then spoke for himself in a low, and soothing, voice. "I believe that you are fully capable of that yourself, Harumi. I have no objection of you speaking."

Now that he had voiced his opinion, he was silent again, and faded into the simple background of their calm setting, listening to the others speak amongst themselves.