by K. Manna
“AHH!” Bree’s terrified scream was cut short as something snatched her into the shadows of the brush.
Where is she? What was that? Holy shit, what just happened?
Bree had disappeared into the darkness of the night. I couldn’t see anything. It all happened so fast. One moment I was with Bree, and the next I was alone. I started to scream hysterically. All kinds of questions and thoughts raced through my frazzled mind. Moments later, a figure leapt out of the bushes. Freakish white eyes and teeth were glowing back at me through the darkness.
“Shh, it’s all right. It’s only me and Ricky.” I recognized Max’s voice. “We wanted to scare all of you, but then you separated. We thought it would be easier without Sasha and Lottie around, so we followed you two.”
Then Bree and Ricky climbed through the bushes. Ricky was smiling, but Bree was still slightly trembling from the scare.
“Yeah, well, it worked,” I said, breathing hard. “You two are punks.” I smiled with relief.
Elise ran up behind me. “Is everything all right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, we’re fine. Just a couple of immature boys playing tricks on innocent girls.”
Bree took my hand in hers as we walked back to the palace together with Max and Ricky leading the way. We all laughed and made jokes, but it was taking a while for my quickened breathing and heartbeat to settle back down to their normal rhythm. I couldn’t think of the last time I had felt that scared.
When Sasha and Lottie finally caught up to us, Sasha asked, “What the heck happened back there? I heard one of you screaming, and I got all riled up to fight off …”
I interrupted her, pointing to Max and Ricky ahead of us. “It was those two playing pranks. They deserve a good beating for that.” I laughed.
“Oh, I will gladly give them the smackdown,” Sasha said.
Everyone laughed.
“See, I told you that I heard someone in the woods,” Lottie reminded us.
“Yeah, you might have heard something, but we win because you didn’t figure it out in time. Ha-ha.” Ricky laughed and gave Max a high-five.
Boys. Boys will be boys; that’s no lie. They did win, though.
And they did scare the pee out of me, literally.
CHAPTER EIGHT
BLACKOUT
I awoke to the sound of rushing water and the heat of the midday sun. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and sat up. Squinting in the sunlight, I looked around to find myself somewhere entirely unfamiliar, alien even. Somehow I had managed to fall asleep in the middle of a jungle. All around me were giant plants and the sounds of the forest. A breeze blew through the canopy and made a sound not unlike the waves of the ocean, and it was then that I realized that I was moving. I was in a tree—no, not a tree—I was on a giant flower! I turned around and realized that I had slept on top of a silky, purple flower petal and had used the fluffy, yellow, pollen-filled center as a pillow. My fingers brushed through my hair; yellow pieces of pollen drifted into the air and onto my lap. Another gust of wind began to make the flower bob up and down, causing more pollen to drift through the air.
It felt like a ride at the fair and made my tummy turn. Up and down, up and down. My hands gripped the sides of the petal for steadiness.
All around me, brightly colored flowers bobbed in the wind—pinks, purples, yellows, reds, and a single orange flower dancing among the others.
How do I get off of this thing?
Very slowly, I leaned slightly forward over the edge of the petal to take a peek below.
Holy moly!
The flower was dipping over a massive waterfall: water falling from so high and crashing into teal crystal waters below, white frothy waves gushing where water met water. I reached to scratch an itch on my upper back. My fingers bumped into something that felt almost feather-like but firm.
What in the world is that?
With fingers groping around blindly, I realized that what I felt were wings, wings connected to my back.
No way!
I looked over my shoulder. They were transparent but iridescent wings with tiny sparkles of teal and purple that shimmered in the sunlight. They felt like soft, smooth feathers, but stronger.
Oh, and they work!
They fluttered back and forth, faster and faster. While still holding on, I pushed myself to the edge of the petal and let my legs dangle over.
Man, this is high.
My stomach twirled into a little summersault. The wings on my back fluttered so fast that I could feel the wind stirring in all directions. I loosened my firm grip on the petal and closed my eyes.
Okay, this is it. Let me fly. Please, let me fly.
With my body lifting off of the petal, I peeked out through one eye and then the other. I was flying out over the open water. Spray from the falls misted around me; the crashing water roared below. The sunlight casted my fairy shadow against the gleaming water. And for being such a wee fairy, somehow the shadow over the water below looked giant.
I am a fairy, an actual fairy, flying away with my own pair of wings!
That morning, I stumbled into the dressing closet. Lottie, who always woke before me, had already started getting dressed for the day. She had such cute womanly curves, unlike me. All I had were straight hips, a flat-patty butt, and little booblets.
“I wish I had your body,” I mumbled, still feeling half-asleep.
Lottie gave me a surprised look. “My body? Why?”
While picking out the same boring outfit that I had to wear every day, I yawned. “Because you have curves, curves that I will never have. I still look like a little girl, and you, you look like a woman.”
Lottie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, Go-Go. Whatever. You know everybody wants what they don’t have. But we are perfect just the way we are. If we were all the same, it would be too boring.”
I stuck my tongue out at her, feeling a little bratty. “Quit being so damn cheery. You’re making me sick.”
Smiling, Lottie walked over to me. “Do that again.”
I asked, “What, stick out my tongue?”
Lottie made a bratty face back at me. “Duh.”
So I did. Squeezing my eyes shut, I stuck my tongue out at her and wiggled my head around like a snotty little kid would do. Suddenly, Lottie’s quick fingers gripped my tongue. My reflexes were still slow from just waking up, so I wasn’t able to pull away fast enough.
“Ah!” I complained, her fingers still holding my tongue.
“You little brat,” Lottie jokingly laughed. “Say you’re perfect. Say it!”
“Okay, okay!” I pushed her off of me and gave her a sly smile. “We are perfect.”
Meditating was becoming easier for me with each passing day. The purple healing light that I imagined coming from my hands grew hotter, brighter, and carried farther little by little, day by day. I looked forward to our daily meditations because they helped me to relax. I was gaining confidence in my abilities, becoming stronger mentally and physically, and the days began to fly by. I even complained to Eugene that I didn’t like that our meditation time was being cut short. He promised that it wasn’t and explained that it only seemed that way because I was enjoying myself.
“All right, meditation time is up,” Eugene said, looking at me. “And I promise once again, Margo, that meditation time has not changed. Well, today we will be working first on healing puncture wounds, then stab wounds and the like. After mastering that, we will move on to healing more serious trauma. Also, all of you will need to practice healing more on each other because you may be expected to perform just that for the Royals Rise.”
Indee sighed. “At least this doesn’t sound as bad as us having to burn ourselves. That was horrible. I think burning to death would be the worst way to die.”
“No, I think drowning would be the worst way to die,” Bree disa
greed.
I said, “I agree with Indee. Drowning isn’t painful and you would die within minutes, but burning to death would be way painful. Think about how painful it was when we burned one little part of our body, and then think of that feeling taking over your entire body. Who knows if the pain would put a person in shock first or if they would just have to burn until their body turned into ash.”
“Point taken. Ew, gross.” Bree made a disgusted face.
Eugene pulled several large individually wrapped needles, a forceps, a tube of clear gel, and small towels from his bag. He handed a needle to each of us. “Piercing should be a fun exercise for all of you, right? I know when my daughter was your age she wanted all sorts of body jewelry and body art. Thankfully that changed as she grew older.”
This is flippin’ huge. Ugh, I hate needles. Why did Eugene have to bring the one thing in the world that I can’t stand? Real fun, dude.
I stared at the vicious needle that I held in my hand. The needle looked way longer and thicker than a sewing needle.
My breathing became shallow and quick. Then my hands started feeling clammy.
I hate needles. I hate needles. I hate them so much.
Bree unwrapped the needle in her hand and asked, “Who wants a piercing first? I think piercers are awesome. I want to pierce one of you or both of you if you’ll let me.”
Indee flicked his ponytail. “That’s fine with me. Here, you can do my ear.”
Bree rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Indee. Everyone does their ears. Pick somewhere a little more interesting, will ya?”
“Excuse me, honey, but have you ever pierced someone before?” Indee asked.
“No.”
“Okay then, that’s what I thought. Now don’t be giving me crap. I am your first victim, and I want you to pierce my ear,” Indee said, cocking his head to one side.
Eugene gave Bree a little lesson on how to pierce. He showed her how to clamp Indee’s ear with the forceps and apply the clear gel to the end of the needle to make it slide through the skin more easily. Then Eugene added that, in any other circumstance, the piercer would be wearing gloves and using some kind of sterile solution such as alcohol to prevent infection. But since we drank the potent Enertion drink every day, that wasn’t needed. Enertion apparently boosted immunity and had bacteria-fighting ingredients.
Bree listened closely to Eugene’s instructions. Then taking the needle in her hand, she held it over the opening in the clamped forceps where she would be firmly pressing the needle through the skin.
Bree’s lips puckered as she took a deep breath and then asked, “Indee, are you ready?”
I’m not. Why am I even watching? Look away if you know what’s good for you. Look away, I tell you!
“Just do it,” Indee raised his voice with annoyance.
In went the needle, and it was over just like that. A bubble of blood seeped up from the little hole in Indee’s ear.
Bree wiped the blood with a towel. “Done. Now get healing, boy.”
Indee set his hand in front of his ear, closed his eyes, and began his usual humming song along with the head and shoulder dance. Watching him do this never failed to make me laugh inside. I tried holding it in, though, so that I wouldn’t distract his flow. Clearly, I didn’t do a great job because Indee hummed longer than usual as we watched quietly. Bree got bored and pulled her compact from her pocket and fixed her hair. I watched her, thinking of Sasha’s comments about Bree’s hair obsession.
This little piece goes here, and that little piece goes there. So, Sasha really wasn’t exaggerating.
When Indee’s eyes opened, he asked, “I’m pretty sure my ear isn’t healed all the way through yet, but will you take a peek at it?”
“Sure,” I said, crawling over to him.
The top of his earlobe looked completely healed, but when I turned it over, the hole was still visible with a small bit of blood oozing out of the back.
“The front of your ear looks good, but you still need to heal the hole from the back,” I told him.
“While he is doing that, I will pierce you, Go-Go,” Bree said, scooting toward me with the big needle in her hand. “Where do you want it? Your ears are already done, so you should pick somewhere different, somewhere fun.”
How about nowhere? I don’t want that big, freakish thing poking me. I know I have to, but … Quit being a pussy and get it over with.
“Um …”
A nose ring would have been cute, but the thought of being stuck in the face really weirded me out.
Hmm, where else? Oh, my mom would flip out if she were here. She told Gage no tattoos or piercings until he moved out of the house, and look at me now. Ah, but I don’t want to do it. I hate needles!
My insides started to tense up again.
“What’s wrong?” Bree asked.
I sighed. “I hate needles with a passion. I really, really despise them. I wish I didn’t have to do this.”
“You have your ears pierced. What’s the big deal?” Bree asked cluelessly.
“My grandma had my ears pierced when I was a little baby. Thankfully, I have no memory of it, but needles … I don’t know how to explain it; they just scare me. A childhood incident involving my brother, his friend, and a needle is probably what scarred me for life. Let’s just say, I was their pretendish patient.”
Bree looked surprised. “Oh, get over it and let’s have some fun. I think you should lie down and relax. I think piercing your belly button will be the best choice.”
I think not, but fine. Since I have to pierce something.
I lay back on the ground and tried my damnedest not to think of that monster needle jamming through my skin. But, of course, that was all I could think about. Once again, my breathing became quick and shallow, and my palms began to sweat profusely.
Uh, this isn’t good, not good at all. I feel weak. I feel hot. I feel like I’m going to die. OMFG, what if I die? Stop freaking out. It’s only a needle.
Bree held up the needle. “Ready?”
I closed my eyes tightly, held my breath, and nodded my head “yes,” then shook it “no.” Bree waited, but I still held my breath.
BAM!
The needle poked and pulled at my belly button.
Ow!
I gritted my teeth.
“Oh, shoot. I messed up,” Bree complained. “Eugene, will you help me?”
You have got to be kidding me, Bree! Ugh, I hate you right now.
By now, I was really feeling hot and sweaty, even a bit dizzy. The needle tugged at my skin some more, causing me to clench my jaw and hold my breath longer.
“Sorry, Go-Go,” Bree apologized softly.
Yeah, yeah, sorry shmorry. This sucks. Oh, dang this sucks. I feel weird, really weird.
Eugene and Bree finally stopped dinking around with my belly button and left me the hell alone. Still holding my breath, I placed my hands one on top of the other over my poor, tortured tummy.
Purple light, come to me, like now, please! Oh, there it is. Heat … Ugh, I feel weird. I feel weak and dizzy …
Blackness.
Eugene’s balding head hovered over mine as I slowly began to open my eyes.
“Wh-what’s going on?” I mumbled.
Eugene took a cold, wet towel off of my forehead. “You passed out on us, darling. It looked like you were holding your breath for much too long, but you will be fine.”
I felt worried about my mom finding out about my new piercing and asked, “Is it gone? Did it heal? If my mom sees that I have a piercing, she’ll be royally pissed.”
Eugene laughed. “Oh, you are something, Margo. Your mother will not see a hole in your navel because you have completely healed it shut. Amazingly, your energy continued to heal while you drifted off. You did a great job and should be very proud of yourself.”
A few feet away from me, Bree and Indee were working together. It looked like Indee was actually about to pierce Bree’s eyebrow.
“When you feel ready, you can join us,” Eugene said to me. “We’ll be moving on to healing deep cuts. There is no rush, so take all the time that you need. We can begin without you.”
I scratched my head. “Ya know, Eugene, I don’t think I will actually ever be ready. I haven’t been ready for any of these painful exercises that you’ve had us do.”
“Okay, then let me know when you feel completely recovered from your fainting spell,” Eugene said, adding, “And, Margo, some of the best things in life happen when they’re least expected.” He smiled before turning around and walking toward Bree and Indee.
After dinner, Sir Felix announced the hard-working Goodies Galore winner, and it turned out to be me! Of course, I chose Lottie to come with me. She ended up selecting an unusual silver armband that wrapped around her upper arm three times. The band was skillfully crafted to look like vines and had little green crystals for leaves. There was also a twin bracelet that perfectly intertwined with her bracelet, but it came separately. Lottie hadn’t been chosen as a daily winner yet, but she said when and if she did, she would pick me to come along with her and hoped that I would get the other bracelet for myself.
“They will be our sister bracelets,” Lottie said.
I already had the gray buckled boots in my hands that I had wanted previously, but when we were about to leave I decided …
Ah, heck with the boots. I will get the sister bracelet instead. It will make Lottie happy, and it will have more meaning than a pair of cute boots. Plus, I can always snatch up the boots when Lottie wins.