She watched, gripped by the scene before her, as Jovil sank down on the water’s edge and let his feet dangle over the surface of the lagoon.
“I didn’t tell you all because, well, if you realised that you each existed then you would want to know more and that would just…”
“Attract unwanted attention from Atla?” The one she now identified as Indramia interrupted him.
“Yes! Exactly!” Jovil sighed. “I have watched all of you from afar, all these years. I needed to be certain that you were all thriving and that you were not vulnerable in any way. It did concern me, at first, when Indramia and Ochrani ended up in the same engineering camp but, well, you were just drawn to each other. And it didn’t seem to be causing any problems. So, I left you alone. It was only really Tiegal I was truly worried about, because of her dreams…her desires for more connection, her loneliness.”
Tiegal made a whimpering sound that resonated throughout the cavernous space between them.
“Is that why you brought me here, before my Release Day?”
The lagoon bubbled around the circumference of Tiegal’s body as she spat out her question, through gritted teeth.
“Yes! Trust me, I debated it many times, but in the end I decided that you were heading towards danger now that you had reached the age to receive your Derado. But I also knew that I had to be fair to you. That knowledge is power. That’s why I begged you not to think of this male from your dreams during your first release. Or at least, to learn how to hide your thoughts from the others; especially from Atla’s aides! I had this terrible feeling that something disastrous would happen if you released your energy once you connected with the pink diamond in your Derado. And, well, it did!”
Parador could feel her own rage surfacing as she watched Tiegal’s expression visibly change from one of anger to calm understanding in the space of a split second; at how her hands immediately reached for her glowing Derado, and then out towards the lagoon master.
“It’s okay Jovil. You were trying to protect me. I can see that.”
Tiegal’s soft, reassuring words reached Parador’s ears like painful blows.
It’s that easy, is it? He played a deceitful game on you and all it takes is a few pitiful words for you to simmer down! Do you really think he is telling you the whole truth? Isn’t there something missing here Tiegal? I think this happy bonding party needs a little more shaking up. There is one sister here that you haven’t yet bargained for!
But just as she was about to emerge from her hiding place, Indramia delivered another blow:
“You must hold on to your dreams Tiegal! It’s not over. You will see him again somehow! The male you dream of! I have seen a vision of you together.”
On hearing this, Parador skulked back into the shadow. Indramia’s revelation had just turned the tables once more.
Damn! These seeing powers are actually quite useful! But then… If Indramia is telling the truth, that Tiegal will see this dream male again, then she must surely be capable of transporting to this other world again. And if that is the case…then I am back in the winning seat. My reasoning with Atla will still stand: that Tiegal must be an example to the others, what happens to those who dare to defy Atla’s philosophy. The question is, how and, when will she vanish again?
Crouching down on her knees she leaned forward to catch the rest of the conversation, something that was becoming more difficult as the water bubbled loudly and more ferociously with every minute that Tiegal and her sisters remained in the lagoon.
It was Ochrani who urged Indrami to reveal more, her voice booming out in excitable bursts as she clapped her hands loudly with each syllable she spoke:
“Do tell us what you see Indramia! Where, when, and how, will Tiegal see him again? And is he still kissing that other female?”
Stop that damn clapping you stupid caramel-haired idiot! I can’t concentrate when you smack your hands together like that every time you get excited about something. No wonder you have a power that means you have to use a diffuser to get any results. I could quite happily diffuse you right now!
Parador’s head was pounding now. The mint had stopped being effective and the scents and sounds in the cave had begun to overwhelm her again. It made her feel nauseous, and weak. But there were no more mint sprigs left in her pocket and the information being exchanged in this cave held too much importance for her future. She had no choice other than to bite her lip and persevere.
Tiegal had pulled herself out of the water now and was being wrapped up in Jovil’s black cloak. Her shoulders were slumped and the glow from her Derado had already dimmed. She looked both exhausted and defeated.
“I don’t think I want to go back there again though Indramia. Not now that I have found a real connection with the two of you, my sisters! And, not after seeing him with someone else! It broke the connection that I thought we shared somehow! I felt like such a fool. And, if I’m being honest, being transported and transformed like that was not exactly pain free either!”
Parador could hardly breathe as she waited to hear Indramia’s response.
“Tiegal, I don’t think you saw everything clearly when you were in that bubble. But, I did.
Just now, when we touched the diamonds together. It gave me a glimpse into your past, as well as your future.”
“What do you mean I didn’t see things clearly? I saw him kiss a female. It was nothing like I had envisioned in my dreams. It made me feel…hollow, as though everything had been sucked out of me!”
“Yes, Tiegal.”
Indramia swam over to Tiegal, managing to reach her in just two gentle strokes.
“He kissed someone else just as you appeared. And then…”
“What?”
“He saw you, and then he let her go!”
Parador held her head in a vice-like grip with both her hands as the pain behind her eyes pounded in persistent beats. Her head felt as if it could explode at any moment. There were too many smells, colours, and emotional energies swirling round this draughty cave for her senses to deal with all at once. It was oppressive, and also dangerously close to sending her into a panic mode.
Dammit! Why didn’t I bring more mint?
It was now clear that her original plan - to make a grand entrance and then expose Jovil and all his pathetic lies - would no longer work. Her current physical and mental state would not give her the necessary upper hand.
Does he really think he can ignore me, and my existence? I was made in this lagoon too! By him! Who does this lagoon master think he is?
A dark green mist seeped from under her cloak: the tell-tale sign that her anger was releasing its colour from her Derado. She quickly covered the neckpiece with her hand before her angry colour energy alerted her presence to the others.
This enclosed space was too much. They were all too much. Jovil, with his fiery coconut scent, long hair and constant pacing. Ochrani, with her enthusiasm for this birth-scene reunion: “Look at the light and magic we are making in the water together!” Her loud voice, bouncy mannerisms, and overpowering scent - a strange mix of lilies and basil.
Indramia, with her pathetic whisper of a voice, and slow, swan-like movements. And her grating over-confidence in the power of her visions.
“Between us, we will keep you safe from Atla before you are ready to return to him again,” Indramia declared.
And then, Tiegal the ‘sister’, whose name tasted of red grapes and who released a scent that
could change from velvet rose to wild bluebell, with even a slight change in the direction of
the wind. She was just… sickly sweet!
How could I have been made amongst you? I am nothing like any of you!
She watched each of them as they either exited the lagoon or moved away from the edge, and then reconvened in their strange communal circle on the cave floor. And then, how they all gathered their cloaks around their shoulders and turned their focus to Tiegal, waiting for her to speak up:
�
�Can you tell me more Indramia? About what you saw, in your vision?”
Parador flinched at how Tiegal shook whilst waiting for Indramia’s response. This desperation of hers - to find an old-world version of a love connection - was nothing short of offensive.
“I only see things in flashes, but I saw how he let go of the female he was with. It looked like he reached his hand out to you and then called out for you to come over to him. But your energy bubble took you away. I guess your release at the Pyramid was not enough to keep you there long enough that time?”
“No! It was Tiegal’s jealousy releasing. I think that’s what sent her back here again,” Jovil interjected. He placed his hand on Indramia’s knee, as though offering an apology for interrupting her.
“Can’t you see? This is the conflict of releasing emotions. On one hand, having feelings towards another can build us up, make us burn brighter! But… it can also dampen our fires and take away the control we need to have over our lives, our individual islands.”
He sounded exasperated.
“And it’s exactly why Atla’s philosophy teaches us that we should never be prisoners to our emotions. It’s why we wear our Derados; so that we can control our energies, and exchange our desires with each other without the need for all these connections with each other! They make you weak, and out of control.”
Parador trembled as a forgotten feeling of excitement flurried through her. Her eyes no longer pounding, she let her left hand release its hold on her forehead and her right hand fall away from its grip on her Derado. Jovil’s words had given her an idea.
Without making a sound, she stealthily slipped off her cloak and unclasped her rope belt so that she could unzip herself out of her jumpsuit. Then, careful not to make a splash, she lowered herself down into the darker end of the lagoon, where she knew the others could not see her.
The moment the icy water met with her skin, she grinned. Being naked and exposed like this felt deliciously enticing. Her turquoise diamond on her Derado lit up in response to her excitement and her entire body flooded with endorphins in anticipation.
Let’s see what happens when I remind them how controlling your desire brings more power.
Now that she was submerged under the water the voices of the others were muffled but she was no longer interested in hearing the rest of their pathetic attempts to search their deeper selves. Whatever vision Indramia thought she had seen for Tiegal’s future, it had not yet been written. Not as far as she was concerned. She would be the one who determined how the rest of Tiegal’s story developed. For now that she understood their individual powers, and their weaknesses, she held all the winning cards.
She swung her head from side to side, enjoying how her jet-black hair floated around her face as she moved. Then, on impulse, she wriggled her hips in a similar fashion, relishing how light her breasts felt as they danced in the water; and how dangerous the desire that burned inside her felt as she succumbed to the temptation to touch herself between her hips.
We all have forbidden desires Tiegal Eureka. You just need to learn how to keep, and enjoy them - all for yourself!
Within seconds of receiving her expert touch her body reacted, instantly rewarding her with a flurrying sensation that rippled through her, whilst simultaneously releasing a burst of turquoise energy colour from her Derado.
A buzz of noises from the other side of the lagoon reverberated across the surface of the water, signalling that the others must have finally realised that they were not alone.Delighted, she pushed herself upwards, gulped as much air as she could, and then broke into a fast breast-stroke towards them, all the time keeping her head just under the surface.
As she emerged from the water, just in front of the edge where they had gathered, she heard Jovil cry out: “Parador? Is… that you?”
Parador couldn’t hold back her laughter. The lagoon master looked utterly terrified! And she? Well, she knew that she looked positively resplendent in her naked form; both radiant from her release, and from the glowing diamonds that surrounded her in the lagoon.
“You? I know you! You’re the one with the horse-tail image in your eye-light!” Tiegal slapped her own forehead. “How could I forget this? You came to me, just before my Release Day! You knew my name! And you said that you had magic secrets inside of you…from your creation. Just like me! And…I suppose both Ochrania and Indramia do too!”
Parador smiled as she rested her arms on the side of the lagoon and then pulled herself up and out of the water so that she stood, dripping wet, in front of them.
“That’s right Tiegal. Anything else?”
Quite predictably, Jovil rushed over to her and wrapped her up in a cloak, before Tiegal had a chance to respond.
“For goodness sake, Parador. Cover yourself up!” He demanded.
The scent of his fear seeped out of his pores as he brushed past her. The smell made Parador retch in response. She pushed him away from her and then turned her gaze back to Tiegal again, aware that Indramia and Ochrani were both staring at her with stunned, flashing eyes and wide, open mouths.
This was all proving too easy. She could feel an incredible rush of energy inside of her. Could even picture new synapses connecting together inside her brain. It was like she had just been re-born all over again!
Thank you, sisters! Your cosy little lagoon reunion has just made me even more powerful than the three of you put together!
Determined to capitalise on how her surprise appearance had rendered them all powerless with shock, she flashed her eyes at them each in turn. Jovil made a move towards her. Without hesitating, she shot him an extra brilliant flash of eye-light before he could advance any further. He stilled instantly. Satisfied she had him under her control, she then turned to her sisters. Not one of them made a move. Her eye-light had successfully stunned them, but they were all flashing their own eye-light back to her.
“This will be fun. I can’t wait to see which of our magic markers can out-shine the others. Let’s see, Ochrani. An angel? Hmmm…it is a useful guide but it bears no relevance now. Angels are relic ideas from the old-world.”
Parador gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
“But what about Indramia’s star? Definitely more of a competitor. I can’t deny that there is a more useful magic in this kind of energy. After all, it does symbolise a reading of one’s destiny!”
She rubbed her chin as she surveyed the three females, marvelling at her own power to render them paralyzed in front of her.
“In fact, I would say that this is where I need to intervene!” She stepped in front of Tiegal, pulling on a wet strand of her chocolate-brown hair that had stuck to the side of her nose so she could tuck it behind her ear for her.
“There you go! I’m sure that must have been irritating you!” She raised her eyebrows at her in a deliberately sardonic manner, relishing the satisfying feeling of control, and the fury she could sense coming from Tiegal when she touched her.
“Because Tiegal here has too much heart. And that, my sisters, is problematic! You see, I for one, do not want her messing things up around here. It just won’t fit with the big plans that I have for shaking things up. My own dreams, that exist in THIS world, that I fully intend to turn into reality. So, angels, stars and hearts will need to forget about each other…vanish! You work too well together.”
As she spoke her knees quivered with excitement. Consistent turquoise energy vapour released from her Derado in exquisite bursts around her as her body became intoxicated by the exercising of such intense power. Golden threads of her magic reflected on the faces of her puppets as she scanned her eye-light between them, all the time channelling words inside her head to ensure she could master them into behaving as she wished:
You have never heard of or have seen this lagoon.
You have no memory of meeting your sisters.
You have no knowledge of your powers.
You will exit this cave silently and retreat to your camps.
Despite her confidence, she held her breath as she watched her three sisters walk away from her in silence, one by one. Each of them ascending the steep ladder that led to the corridor of the upper section of the cave, quietly and robotically obeying her orders.Once they were out of sight, she exhaled slowly and then turned her attention to Jovil, who was staring at her. His eyes were firmly locked on hers. Dim flickers of light sparked from his pupils.
Careful not to break his trance too quickly, she sauntered over to him on her tiptoes. Using her index finger she pressed the red diamond that sat in the eye-shaped pendant of his Derado and waited for him to return to a state of consciousness.
“Hello Jovil! Remember me?”
His eyes flickered and his pupils dilated, a look of horror filling his face as he registered who she was.
“Parador? Wh…wh…what are you doing here?”
“I came here with you, don’t you remember? On Atla’s orders. To wait for the pink energy
female to return.”
“Tiegal? She came back?”
She grabbed him by the arm, aware that he could too easily faint.
“Yes, she did. And she played some nasty little mind tricks on us when she did. You collapsed before we could stop her from escaping. If we go now, we can probably catch her. Atla was clear in his instructions that we should bring her back to him. She is very dangerous.”
Jovil trembled under her touch as he absorbed her words. She could hear his mind scrambling to make sense of why he was here, with her.
“Why are we here though?” He gasped.
Ah, you think no one knows about your secret lagoon then? That I hadn’t worked out your dirty little secret?
“Call it an intuition. I figured if she were to return then it would be to one of the diamond lagoons. You were the one who told me there was this other one, hidden down here. Don’t you remember?”
She gave him one of her most innocent - and practiced - smiles, followed by another bright flash of her eye-light.
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