scroll. It floats in the air and un-scrolls itself. Grandfather repeats the words that form on the scroll. Once the incantation is complete, a blue ripple appears and the wind picks up.
“Go through Arabella, I’m right behind you.”
I walk through and find myself back in Edgewood Forest. I turn back and wait for Grandfather. He makes it through and the portal quickly disappears. That’s right, they only last thirty seconds, I remember.
“You okay?” asks grandfather.
“Your crown disappeared!” I laugh.
“We’re not royals in this world my dear,” he reminds me with an affectionate smile.
“Okay, so what first?”
“Well, we need to search the forest for three passion flowers, they’ll be around here somewhere.”
“That’s great, if I knew what they looked like,” I giggle.
“They have a yellow centre with a blue spiked ring around the centre, and purple petals.” He smiles.
We search for a while, trying to find the flowers. I suggest we put some dirt in the jar - at least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. Shortly after, we light the red candle and capture the drops of wax. Two things down, three to go.
Nearly an hour of searching Edgewood forest for the passion flowers, I stumble upon an entire bunch of them. I carefully pick precisely three, and then carefully place them inside the jar.
“How will we capture wind in a jar Grandfather?”
“That’s easy my dear, you just need to manipulate the air, and I’ll fill the jar with wind.”
“You can’t see wind how will you know you’ve captured it?”
“I’ll colour it,” he replies simply.
I didn’t know what that meant, but I guess I’ll soon find out.
“We also need six rain drops,” I say anxiously.
“Arabella, have you forgotten your four element abilities?” he laughs, “You can manipulate the weather, and capture the rain drops.”
“I haven’t forgotten, but it makes me nervous being here. It was only three days ago that werewolves were here trying to break into our world.”
“Fear not my darling, I’ve had no visions of any wolves paying us a visit. You’re safe with me,” he assures me. “Alright dear, let’s start with the air element, remember what I taught you on your birthday? How to manipulate the air?”
“Yes, of course,” I state with confidence.
“Good, go ahead when you’re ready.”
I take in a deep breath, close my eyes and concentrate. The wind soon picks up, and I decide to open my eyes to watch what’s happening; the wind around us glowed blue, like little sparkles - now I know what he meant by ‘he’ll colour’ the wind. Grandfather filled the small jar, leaving us with only one more thing to do before we could head home.
“Alright Arabella, you’ve manipulated the weather before, this should be easy.”
It amazes me how he knows everything; he was referring to the night at Shadow Lake, when I made it snow.
I imagine rain and click my fingers. Soon enough, drops of rain fall upon my face.
“We need precisely six rain drops,” I remind him as Grandfather counts the drops. I lean against a tree, hiding from the pelting rain.
Well this was easier than expected. Too easy perhaps? Oh I hope we’ve done it right. I really want it to work.
“Well Arabella, we’re all done. You ready to go home to try restoring the portal?” smiles grandfather.
“Definitely!”
Grandfather places everything safely inside the satchel, and places it across him. He pulls out the scroll, ready to open the portal to transport us back to Aquarian Falls.
“Arabella, you can make the rain stop now,” he says with a laugh.
“Whoops sorry!” I giggle, working my magic again. The sun soon shone in Edgewood forest.
The portal appears, and Grandfather heads through first this time. I move quickly but am yanked back roughly. My necklace is caught on the tree!
“Grandfather? Help me, I’m stuck!” I yell in panic.
But he had gone through already, and I didn’t know if he could hear me. I try to untangle my necklace from the tree, but I couldn’t. Time was running out. The portal is only open for thirty seconds! I’m panicking, oh my God, I’m going to be stuck here.
“Grandfather!” I yell again, hoping he could sense my dilemma.
I couldn’t risk breaking my four-element necklace. Oh my God.
“Grandfather!” I give one last desperate shout.
That’s when I feel someone cover my mouth, preventing me from calling out any longer. I freeze in shock and watch as the portal disappears, tears streaming down my face. I’m officially scared. Who is holding me in their clutch? I have a really bad feeling about my captor.
“So good to see you’ve returned, Arabella.” spoke a deep, dark, evil voice.
I gasp in fear as I notice werewolves slowly closing in, surrounding me completely, and leaving no room for me to break through. Their sharp claws and fangs glisten in the sunlight.
Please. Someone, anyone, please help me, I think desperately, knowing my chances of survival were slim to none.
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A Teenage Enchantress: Earth, Air, Fire and Water Page 11