2012-11-23, 10:40 AM
It seemed like while since we arrived in FantasyLand.
Jack and I were happily still together.
Cho and Ariana both found loves of their own, who I approved of.
Now and then, my mirror floated to my side and I asked it to show me memories. It normally showed me pictures of Jack, Cho, Ariana, and Skeeter. Pictures of me ruling FantasyLand. Me and Jack together, when he first asked me out. Me and Cho gossiping, then calling Ariana to come join us.
But sometimes it showed me memories that I didn't recognize. Memories of girls with fox ears. Memories of bird girls and dragons. Memories of two brothers...one was a tiger, and the other was an animagus. Memories I wasn't familiar with.
But the mirror never lied, so I assumed them to be true. I assumed them to be simple memories that I had forgotten in the time I was in FantasyLand. I shrugged them off...I had a notorious habit of forgetting things.
I had been working on beauty lately. I was trying to be cuter than ever. I once spent fifteen minutes in the mirror perfecting my smile, trying to adjust the way my mouth moved for maximum cute factor. I needed to portray a good image. After all, I ruled a whole world in the palm of my hand. Not to boast but the people thought of me as a good ruler, and I tried to keep that up.
Smooth skin. Glowing eyes. Confident expression.
I liked all of this to add to the image I was a confident girl and leader.
That night, as I sat in bed, I decided I should pay a visit to the Spirit Land. Ii was the Princess of Spirit Land. Calling my magic mirror, I asked it to take me to spirit land. Immediately it expanded to a full-length mirror, then morphed into a glowing blue portal. Stepping through, I felt my body suck into a space of nothing as I was transported to the Spirit Land: a huge multiverse where spirits like me (Talon) could mingle with the other spirits.
Stepping on the red path trimmed with gold, I walked around the Spirit City, a calm, serene, city with shops and restaurants and kiosks all around. I stopped by Merlina's Ice Cream, my favorite ice cream parlor. Merlina was at the counter and she beamed when she saw me. "Hey, Tal!" She called out.
I grinned. "I'm great, Lina! How are you? Long time no see."
"I know. I'm fine. What can I get you?" She smiled, even though she knew perfectly well what I wanted.
"I'll take the usual."
"One scoop mint cookie crush, one scoop valentine raspberry, one scoop triple fudge dutch chocolate?" She grinned.
I laughed. "You know it."
She scooped up my ice cream and gave it back.
"That'll be one bottle of Fire Resistance II." In Spirit Land, we used potions, enchantments, and spells as currency.
I gaped at her.
"Fire Resistance II?!" Lina snickered.
"Just kidding. Take the dang ice cream and get out of here."
I stuck my tongue out at her and left.
Licking my ice cream, I strolled around, enjoying the familiar streets. I waved hello to the people I knew, and smiled at the people who I didn't know, but for some odd reason knew me.
I walked down to the subway station. Unlike other subway stations on Earth, Spirit Land subway stations were clean, always had fresh paint, had reliable, trustworthy snack stands, and smelled fragrant and clean. They were a great place to have a cup of coffee. In fact, although it seems odd, there were little coffee tables set up everywhere. That's how clean it was. The subways weren't even that noisy, it was almost like white noise.
I was still craving ice cream, so I ordered a chocolate milkshake, which was oddly enough served at the coffee shop. The girl working the counter was about my age, with black cat ears and pin-straight red hair. Her nametag read "CHERRY". I payed her in one spell of wisdom, made to last for an hour. She seemed nice enough, but I soon was proved wrong. She called out to my back,
"Hello, Princess Talinella."
I whirled around. Whoever called me by my full name either didn't know me well enough, or was trying to annoy me.
But it was neither of those. Cherry's big eyes had turned lime green. Her figure lengthened to a graceful, curved shape. Her coffee shop uniform ripped off to reveal an earthy green dress. Her hair melted off and was replaced with flowing brown locks, curled to dozens of ringlets.
She seemed nice, peaceful, and good.
All that was a lie.
"Hello, Princess Peregrine."
Peregrine was the princess of the Dark Spirit Land. She existed to haunt things. She had the ability to heal anything, and looked sweet and friendly, but all that was a mask she wore to conceal what was underneath: a cruel, cold woman who wanted to cause pain in the world. Peregrine gained the trust of children, healing their pets and giving them temporary good advice...but as soon as they threw themselves into her arms, she slowly and painfully began to haunt them. The worst part, she had the ability to shape shift, and she commonly shifted into a form that looked like me.
That's why everyone thought Talon was a bad creature.
I smoothed my bunny ears.
"What do you want, Peregrine."
Her cold, doll-like eyes shone in a false, cruel smile. "Just swung by your half of Spirit Land to say hi."
"You know you're not welcome in the good half."
She wore a look of false innocence. "But, we are friends, aren't we? Friends would cross any boundary to see each other."
I growled in the back of my throat. "Get out of here, Peregrine." Quickly, I called my mirror to my side and had it light some magic orbs on fire. I held them floating in the air, threatening to use them.
Simply and just as quickly, Peregrine called her own mirror (a black, broken copy of mine) and called the same, flaming orbs.
Not wanting to frighten any passerbys, I glared and set out the orb.
"Not here. Not now."
"So be it. I've got better things to do."
Curiosity got the best of me. "Like what?" I spat.
"I've been seeing this bird-girl for her whole life. And I'm about to make her whole world crumble."
Glaring with fiery eyes, I asked, "How so?"
"Well first I'm going to kill her pet dragon. Again." She ticked off a finger on her left hand.
She glanced at me. "Did I mention it's a Platinara?"
I scoffed. "Impossible. The next Platinara will only be born when I die."
She smiled cruelly. "Unless it's a clone. From the Dark Spirit Land."
Gasping quickly, I reset my poker face. "Just get out of here." I spat.
"So be it." She grinned.
"Cherry Albus, come back!" She screamed, and her figure plumped up slightly. Her hair brightened to the old red shade, and cat ears popped up. Her coffee girl uniform materialized out of thin air on her body, and a rill of freckles dotted her face.
She looked confused and lost.
She opened her mouth, like she was trying to say something. I ran to her aid, to comfort her. Being possessed is no fun thing. It drains you.
But when she spoke, it was as if nothing happened.
"I'm sorry, did I add the whipped cream in your milkshake?"
With great effort, I smiled at her, and nodded. Running up the stairs, I exited the Subway Station and gripped my magic mirror. Calling the portal, I stepped through and squeezed my eyes shut. I popped through on the other side, in FantasyLand. Breathing hard, I ripped open my desk drawer. Rifling through the contents with shaky hands, I found a pad of pink sticky notes and a pen.
Scribbling in shaky print, I wrote,
URGENT NOTE TO SELF:
FIND THE BIRD GIRL
Jack and I were happily still together.
Cho and Ariana both found loves of their own, who I approved of.
Now and then, my mirror floated to my side and I asked it to show me memories. It normally showed me pictures of Jack, Cho, Ariana, and Skeeter. Pictures of me ruling FantasyLand. Me and Jack together, when he first asked me out. Me and Cho gossiping, then calling Ariana to come join us.
But sometimes it showed me memories that I didn't recognize. Memories of girls with fox ears. Memories of bird girls and dragons. Memories of two brothers...one was a tiger, and the other was an animagus. Memories I wasn't familiar with.
But the mirror never lied, so I assumed them to be true. I assumed them to be simple memories that I had forgotten in the time I was in FantasyLand. I shrugged them off...I had a notorious habit of forgetting things.
I had been working on beauty lately. I was trying to be cuter than ever. I once spent fifteen minutes in the mirror perfecting my smile, trying to adjust the way my mouth moved for maximum cute factor. I needed to portray a good image. After all, I ruled a whole world in the palm of my hand. Not to boast but the people thought of me as a good ruler, and I tried to keep that up.
Smooth skin. Glowing eyes. Confident expression.
I liked all of this to add to the image I was a confident girl and leader.
That night, as I sat in bed, I decided I should pay a visit to the Spirit Land. Ii was the Princess of Spirit Land. Calling my magic mirror, I asked it to take me to spirit land. Immediately it expanded to a full-length mirror, then morphed into a glowing blue portal. Stepping through, I felt my body suck into a space of nothing as I was transported to the Spirit Land: a huge multiverse where spirits like me (Talon) could mingle with the other spirits.
Stepping on the red path trimmed with gold, I walked around the Spirit City, a calm, serene, city with shops and restaurants and kiosks all around. I stopped by Merlina's Ice Cream, my favorite ice cream parlor. Merlina was at the counter and she beamed when she saw me. "Hey, Tal!" She called out.
I grinned. "I'm great, Lina! How are you? Long time no see."
"I know. I'm fine. What can I get you?" She smiled, even though she knew perfectly well what I wanted.
"I'll take the usual."
"One scoop mint cookie crush, one scoop valentine raspberry, one scoop triple fudge dutch chocolate?" She grinned.
I laughed. "You know it."
She scooped up my ice cream and gave it back.
"That'll be one bottle of Fire Resistance II." In Spirit Land, we used potions, enchantments, and spells as currency.
I gaped at her.
"Fire Resistance II?!" Lina snickered.
"Just kidding. Take the dang ice cream and get out of here."
I stuck my tongue out at her and left.
Licking my ice cream, I strolled around, enjoying the familiar streets. I waved hello to the people I knew, and smiled at the people who I didn't know, but for some odd reason knew me.
I walked down to the subway station. Unlike other subway stations on Earth, Spirit Land subway stations were clean, always had fresh paint, had reliable, trustworthy snack stands, and smelled fragrant and clean. They were a great place to have a cup of coffee. In fact, although it seems odd, there were little coffee tables set up everywhere. That's how clean it was. The subways weren't even that noisy, it was almost like white noise.
I was still craving ice cream, so I ordered a chocolate milkshake, which was oddly enough served at the coffee shop. The girl working the counter was about my age, with black cat ears and pin-straight red hair. Her nametag read "CHERRY". I payed her in one spell of wisdom, made to last for an hour. She seemed nice enough, but I soon was proved wrong. She called out to my back,
"Hello, Princess Talinella."
I whirled around. Whoever called me by my full name either didn't know me well enough, or was trying to annoy me.
But it was neither of those. Cherry's big eyes had turned lime green. Her figure lengthened to a graceful, curved shape. Her coffee shop uniform ripped off to reveal an earthy green dress. Her hair melted off and was replaced with flowing brown locks, curled to dozens of ringlets.
She seemed nice, peaceful, and good.
All that was a lie.
"Hello, Princess Peregrine."
Peregrine was the princess of the Dark Spirit Land. She existed to haunt things. She had the ability to heal anything, and looked sweet and friendly, but all that was a mask she wore to conceal what was underneath: a cruel, cold woman who wanted to cause pain in the world. Peregrine gained the trust of children, healing their pets and giving them temporary good advice...but as soon as they threw themselves into her arms, she slowly and painfully began to haunt them. The worst part, she had the ability to shape shift, and she commonly shifted into a form that looked like me.
That's why everyone thought Talon was a bad creature.
I smoothed my bunny ears.
"What do you want, Peregrine."
Her cold, doll-like eyes shone in a false, cruel smile. "Just swung by your half of Spirit Land to say hi."
"You know you're not welcome in the good half."
She wore a look of false innocence. "But, we are friends, aren't we? Friends would cross any boundary to see each other."
I growled in the back of my throat. "Get out of here, Peregrine." Quickly, I called my mirror to my side and had it light some magic orbs on fire. I held them floating in the air, threatening to use them.
Simply and just as quickly, Peregrine called her own mirror (a black, broken copy of mine) and called the same, flaming orbs.
Not wanting to frighten any passerbys, I glared and set out the orb.
"Not here. Not now."
"So be it. I've got better things to do."
Curiosity got the best of me. "Like what?" I spat.
"I've been seeing this bird-girl for her whole life. And I'm about to make her whole world crumble."
Glaring with fiery eyes, I asked, "How so?"
"Well first I'm going to kill her pet dragon. Again." She ticked off a finger on her left hand.
She glanced at me. "Did I mention it's a Platinara?"
I scoffed. "Impossible. The next Platinara will only be born when I die."
She smiled cruelly. "Unless it's a clone. From the Dark Spirit Land."
Gasping quickly, I reset my poker face. "Just get out of here." I spat.
"So be it." She grinned.
"Cherry Albus, come back!" She screamed, and her figure plumped up slightly. Her hair brightened to the old red shade, and cat ears popped up. Her coffee girl uniform materialized out of thin air on her body, and a rill of freckles dotted her face.
She looked confused and lost.
She opened her mouth, like she was trying to say something. I ran to her aid, to comfort her. Being possessed is no fun thing. It drains you.
But when she spoke, it was as if nothing happened.
"I'm sorry, did I add the whipped cream in your milkshake?"
With great effort, I smiled at her, and nodded. Running up the stairs, I exited the Subway Station and gripped my magic mirror. Calling the portal, I stepped through and squeezed my eyes shut. I popped through on the other side, in FantasyLand. Breathing hard, I ripped open my desk drawer. Rifling through the contents with shaky hands, I found a pad of pink sticky notes and a pen.
Scribbling in shaky print, I wrote,
URGENT NOTE TO SELF:
FIND THE BIRD GIRL
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