"I've never been on a rollercoaster! If it's like that, it would be super fun!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together.
Griffin offered his hand to help me up, and I thanked him while placing my hand in his. We strode to the edge of Axel's massive body and hopped off right when his body was glowing brightly.
Griffin summoned a whirlpool of wind beneath our feet, slowing our descent and allowing us to land slowly on the grass. We turned back to see Axel return to his human form and make his way towards us. I gave him a curious look.
"I thought it takes you longer to shift back?" I inquired.
"It does only if I stay in my dragon form a long time. Last time, I was in it for almost a whole day. Takes longer for me to reduce my magic to a small enough capacity for my human body to handle," he explained.
"Wow. Being a dragon is tough," I mumbled, and he laughed.
"Sometimes. It's good at impressing you though." He winked.
"I think she was more impressed by my wind skills," Griffin noted.
"You realize anyone can use wind, right?" Axel replied.
"Next time you need me to lift you, I'm dropping you," Griffin grumbled.
"That's just rude." Axel huffed and offered me his left hand. "Ready for some fun, Arielle? I think we have a few hours before we have to go back."
"Where are we?" I asked, placing my other hand in his.
A glanced between the two of them as they grinned, and they began to tug for me to move forward.
Following their lead, we moved closer and closer to the tents and booths, and I started to speed walk ahead in excitement, practically dragging the other two along. They chuckled at my change in behavior.
"IS THIS THOSE PLACES?! In the… uh… commercials?! The fun parks?!" I exclaimed, unable to contain my excitement as I began hopping up and down.
"An amusement park, Arielle?" Griffin chuckled.
"YES, BRU!" I replied and tried to figure out where I wanted to go. "How does Aslan have a secret amusement park?!"
"It was created for after the Trials. Celestia and the others won't be doing that task until a few weeks from now, but familiars get early entry if we can fly down. It's run by magic, so the moment we arrive, it summons the individuals who run the park and basically allows us to play all day long."
"Really?! Where to begin?!" I exclaimed before looking between both of them. "Did you guys plan this?"
"Not really." Axel shrugged. "Griffin originally wanted to take you to the library."
"I DID NOT!" Griffin blushed and glared at Axel who had a sly grin on his lips.
"You wanted to. I saw the glimpse of your love to learn in your eyes."
"Fuck you!" Griffin grumbled, and Axel laughed.
"We wanted to bring you somewhere fun, and since Asher took you to a night festival, we decided a quiet but adventurous amusement park trip would be the perfect time waster."
"Aww. Thank you, guys." I squeezed their hands and they both exchanged looks before they smiled.
They both took a step forward and leaned in to press their lips against my cheeks. Bru?!
My face grew hot as my heart seemed to stop at their sudden gesture, and their lips lingered there for about fifteen seconds before they both leaned back with proud grins.
"Aww, Arielle's face is red," Axel teased.
"Really red. Damn, her ears are getting red too," Griffin noted.
"THEY AREN'T, BRU!" I huffed and tugged them forward. "I'll let you guys die on the rollercoaster."
"Aww, she's upset now." Axel laughed.
"She's kinda cute when she's upset," Griffin added.
"I'm not cute, BRU!" I replied, and they both laughed. Even though I was embarrassed, a grin formed on my lips and I began to skip; the two had to really try to keep up with me.
Time for a speedy adventure, BRU-REE!
"BRU-REE, BRU-REE!" I continued to sing as I held onto the unicorn stuffed animal I had in my arms. It had a nice little crown on its head, reminding me of Celestia, who was the queen of my world.
"She's so happy." Griffin huffed out a breath, and Axel sighed.
"We should have called the others to help us."
I looked over my shoulder to see the two guys holding huge stuffed animals—the first a unicorn similar to mine with a large gold crown on its head, and the other a large phoenix with a flower crown.
"Are you guys okay, Bru?" I asked. "I can help?"
"No!" they both exclaimed.
"We can carry them," Axel assured me.
Griffin nodded. "Yup! We're fine. Almost home."
"Okay! Thank you, Bru!" I beamed and turned back to continue singing and humming.
"So happy," Axel commented and Griffin chuckled.
"And competitive. Jeez, I wonder if Celestia is just as competitive as her familiar."
I tried not to giggle at their comments, as I skipped towards Celestia's dorm house. I knew I didn't like losing, but that was proven as fact when we began playing at the booths. It only took me a few tries to get the knack of the games, and before the other two knew it, I'd won the grand prizes, which were what they were currently carrying. I got one for Celestia, and I was planning to give the other to Faelia.
I didn't need either of them since I had the small unicorn doll that I'd let Celestia cuddle with so that it would have her nice scent. At least when Celestia wasn't around, I could still snuggle with it to remind me of her.
"Huh? Noah and Gabriel?!" I exclaimed; the twins turned together to look in our direction.
"Oh. You guys are back," they said in unison, and I noticed Asher and Rainer were standing behind the brothers.
The two of them leaned over to look our way and their eyes widened.
"Holy crap?! You took her to the amusement park?" Rainer asked.
"And did she win those things?" Asher questioned.
"Yup!" Axel and Griffin replied as I reached the others. Noah hugged me first, giving me a soft kiss on my lips. I moved to hug Gabriel who gave me a tender kiss.
"Don't tell me you're really competitive?" Gabriel asked.
"A little," I said sweetly, and Noah laughed.
"I can feel the lie in those words."
"She's totally competitive. If we didn't drag her out of there, she would’ve won every single prize," Axel whined. "Rainer! Come take this thing. I'm dying."
"You sound like you walked for days. You're a dragon. Suck it up," Rainer replied but walked over to help him anyway after giving me a half hug and a kiss on the forehead.
Asher followed, coming over to hug me, and he placed a kiss on my nose which made me giggle, before moving to help Griffin who thanked him.
"Why are you guys standing here?" I asked.
"We just got here. We figured you guys would be here shortly, so we decided to wait so we could enter all together," Noah explained.
"Ah, Bru," I replied and smiled brightly. "We're here!"
"Welcome back," the others greeted together, and we made our way to the entrance of the house.
I led the way and opened the door, and Noah held it for the others as I walked into the dark house.
"Hey, where did our Masters and Mistress g-"
"SURPRISE!"
"BRU?!" I jumped at the sudden flash of lights and streamers that flew into the air. Celestia, her men, Othello, Miona, Magnor, and Orlando stood in the living room with their hands up.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ARIELLE!"
"Bir...thday?" I blinked a few times, trying to remember what day it was.
Celestia giggled and walked up to me as the rest of the familiars crowded around with broad smiles.
"She forgot her birthday." Gabriel sighed.
"It's because we've been so busy." Noah laughed.
"It's really my birthday today?" I questioned, and Celestia wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezing me tightly.
"It's your birthday, silly! How did you forget?" Celestia questioned.
"Um. I don't know. You don't have a calendar in your room!"
I argued and hugged her back. "OH! Celestia! I got you a huge unicorn plushie!"
"Did you? It's your birthday, why are you spoiling me, my silly loving familiar." Celestia giggled and kissed my cheek.
I giggled and snuggled against her. "I didn't remember.
"No wonder why we were kicked out," Rainer commented.
"Right?! We get to celebrate!" Axel cheered.
"Birthday fun!" Asher cheered with a cute smile.
"Hmm? Where's Faelia?" Griffin pondered.
"Good question," I replied. "I won a plushie doll for her too."
Celestia grinned and released me. "We'll tell you in a second. All of you come into the living room so you aren't all tightly squeezed in the hall."
We followed Celestia's instructions, making our way into the living room, and the guys lined up by my sides: Gabriel, Griffin, and Asher on my left, while Noah, Rainer, and Axel were on my right.
Othello stepped forward with a small smile on his lips.
"Myself, Ms. Arcadia, Magnor, and the Headmaster, Orlando himself, decided to announce this in person instead of the usual method by letter."
We stared at them in confusion, not know what he was talking about.
He continued. "I would like to officially congratulate the following familiars who have been registered with a permanent Master," he announced, and my eyes grew wide as I quickly glanced to either side of me. The other familiars appeared shocked by the sudden announcement.
"Noah McGinty, Gabriel Meadow, Rainer Charm, Axel Kristopher, Griffin Sun, and finally, Asher Sun. Congratulations. You have all been accepted as official familiars of your designated Masters for this term. Once we've filled out the forms, you may remain by your Masters' sides and assist them in any activities for the rest of their time in Aslan and in the near future as Hunters."
We stood there in silence as his words began to settle in, and Finn leaned over to Orion and whispered, "I think we broke them all."
"Maybe," Orion replied.
"Is there a spell to fix them?" Caio wondered.
"Uh, Abra Kadabra?" Cairus replied.
"I don't think that's how you say it," Hunter noted.
Celestia clapped her hands and the professors moved aside to reveal Faelia who was holding a large cake.
She looked beyond happy as her eyes filled with tears. "You all officially have Masters! Congrats my familiars. As of today, I am no longer your temporary Mistress, but a teacher and loyal second guardian. Now, stop standing there and thank your Masters!" she exclaimed happily.
"This is real?" Noah asked.
"Like… REAL real?" Rainer whispered.
"This isn't a joke, right?" Axel questioned.
"Please tell us it’s not a joke," Griffin added.
"Or April fools," Asher mentioned.
"It's not April," Gabriel whispered and smiled. "We're really being taken in?"
Celestia smiled and nodded her head while the others wore comforting expressions as they stared at us.
"You guys are officially the familiars of my men, and at least now you can always be around Arielle." She winked and looked at me. I blinked back tears as I moved over to her and hugged her tightly.
"I love you, Mistress BRU!" I cried, letting my tears fall.
Celestia hugged me back and whispered, "I can see they care about you. And the others and I decided we wanted to surprise you all. Kinda like a double surprise."
"It's the best double surprise EVER!" I sobbed and leaned back to look at Faelia as Miona and Othello took the cake from her so that she could walk over to me.
We glanced at the male familiars who continued to stare in shock, and it wasn't until Celestia's men moved to congratulate them before they really took it in and began to cry and sob.
That ignited the waterworks in all of us, seeing their happy expressions as they hugged their new official Masters. The relief in the air alone made me beyond thrilled for them, and it was by far the best birthday gift I could ask for.
"Thank you, everyone," I whispered, glancing back at Celestia and Faelia who smiled and pulled me into a group hug.
It was one of the memories I knew I'd cherish forever, and I knew my boyfriends would do the same.
"Everyone ready? Celestia's Awakening ceremony should be starting soon," Hellsin announced. "I'll be heading there to join the others. You guys know exactly where it is, correct?"
"Yes!" We all replied in a serious tone. We stood nice and tall near the first entrance of where the barrier was, facing Hellsin, who was suited up in combat armor and glancing at each of us to make sure we were prepared to fight if necessary.
Today was the day Celestia was going to undergo something called the Awakening ceremony.
I didn't know all of the details since Celestia said her parents would explain when they arrived at the site in a specific part of the Aslan forest, but it was apparently a big thing.
Big enough that all of us are suited up to help guard the surrounding area.
The ceremony would cause a shift in magic, and because my Mistress was so strong, it would lead to an attraction of Forsaken. Our purpose was to protect the outer parts of the forest, and I planned to do just that once we got there.
Our armor wasn't very clunky, mine being more feminine to cater to my curves, and it actually covered my body compared to the usual fairytale drawings with "less armor." The guys were in more manly armor outfits, the material gold like mine but with some sections that were blue versus mine that had sections of pink.
My hair was up in a bun and my flames were dying for some action as we waited patiently to leave.
The ceremony, when complete, would give Celestia 70% of her power that was apparently outside of her body and locked away somewhere. However, that would leave her completely vulnerable, which was another reason we were overprotective and making sure no Forsaken got past our line of defense.
"All right. Let-"
"FORSAKEN ALERT!"
We jumped at the sudden announcement, and we all turned toward the barrier, noticing the large black sludge-like creature who had its slimy hands up. It hit the barrier with force, but the barrier deflected the impact.
"Wait! WHAT, BRU?! Why are Forsaken here?!" I exclaimed.
Hellsin frowned. "I have no clue. I have to be at the Awakening ceremony though." He tsked and his body began to glow as he grew in height until he was at his 8'5 frame. He summoned a scepter and twirled it as a large magic circle formed beneath him.
"Thy power granted from the Egyptian gods, grant me magic and might to devour the Darkness and send them to the Path of Light."
I trembled at the sudden burst of power that surrounded him as he raised his scepter and slammed it to the ground. We all reacted fast, pushing off and summoning our wings to keep us afloat as the wave of energy pulsed through the soil.
Loud eerie screams sliced through the air and Hellsin turned to us.
"If there's Forsaken here, that means the others are in more danger! Tell Charlotte and the others. I'll be fine on my own. I've already summoned reinforcements!"
We glanced behind us at the gates, noticing a group of shifters approaching us at full speed.
"Alright, Bru! Be safe!" I called out.
Even in the chaotic mess, he smiled and nodded. "Protect Celestia and the others."
"Will do!" I declared and glanced at the others who nodded in approval. With that, we gathered in a circle and held hands. "We can teleport to the entrance, right?"
"I can do it. Just give me a bit of a boost," Rainer declared.
We all nodded, closing our eyes and directing our magic energy to Rainer.
"To the pure forest that's only fit for a Queen. Teleportana!"
* * *
"SHIT, DUCK!"
We didn't even have a second to react to the shift of us arriving at the destination, when all of us dropped to the ground to avoid an oversized arm that passed by us.
I opened my eyes and scanned the area, seeing what I'd envisioned as a b
eautiful, calm-filled forest, in utter chaos as balls of light and white thunder streaked from the sky above, striking Forsaken of various sizes.
I felt myself being lifted and glanced up to see Noah was the one who was holding me, his flames bursting out of his back and rapidly shifting into black feathers that began to rain down towards the ground.
His eyes shifted to black, and I could see the dramatic change in him as he grew serious. "Destroy as many Forsaken as we can in five minutes. Then we go in to secure the area!" he ordered.
"UNDERSTOOD!" the others acknowledged.
I glanced at Gabriel, who usually had pink-white flames. They were now pure white feathers that were also shedding a number of feathers that began to scatter below on the multiple Forsaken as we drifted higher up.
"I can fly," I declared, feeling pretty useless at the moment in Noah's hold, but when his eyes met mine, that idea dropped right out of my head.
"I wouldn't normally stop you from participating, but if Celestia's done her Awakening ceremony, any use of magic from you is going to have a dangerous impact on her." Noah replied.
I bit my lip at his words. The thought sank in as I realized my predicament. Shit, Bru.
"And with this many Forsaken, I can guarantee her Awakening ceremony is finished. Sorry, Arielle, but sit tight while we handle this. It won't take long. RAINER!" Gabriel called to the pixie familiar who was flying around at a speedy pace, avoiding blows from the Forsaken while littering glitter all over them.
"Almost!" Rainer replied.
A loud roar echoed around us, shocking everyone both in the sky and down below; my gaze drifted to my left to see Axel in his large dragon form with Asher and Griffin standing on top of his head.
Asher's eyes were closed while a book that was glowing a bright silver floated in front of him. Griffin stood next to him and began to move his hands in a certain pattern.
"ALL ALLIES RETREAT!" Griffin shouted, and I watched Magnor, Orlando, and all the others on the good side launch in the air and move as far as possible.
I wanted to ask what was going on, but I was hit with a strong wave of power coming from Noah and Gabriel.
Arielle Rainbow (Familiar Blessed Chronicles Book 2) Page 9