*
Broad lakes with multi colored water surrounded Alexia. She looked down and gasped; she was standing on bright purple water. Cautiously, she moved one foot and tapped it on the surface. Her foot went under the water. Feeling slightly nauseas she pulled her foot out and stood still on the surface. She didn’t dare move again.
Suddenly Lacier appeared in front of Alexia. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Lacier said as though she was looking at the lakes for the first time.
“Beautiful but scary,” Alexia said trying to stop shaking.
“Don’t worry. Our whole planet is made out of this liquid. Only a Sian can walk on it. It’s a security measure to keep intruders out.”
“My foot, when I dipped it in it went underwater.”
“Of course. We can treat it like real water if we want to. We keep many important things down there,” Lacier strode toward Alexia making the surface of the water ripple under her feet.
“Amazing…”
“Yes, we’re quite proud of this invention.”
“Oh it’s an invention?”
“Yes. This planet wasn’t very different from Earth a thousand years ago. We had to make some changes as you can see,” Lacier said pointing to leafy green trees that floated in the air and purple clouds that were closer to the ground than Alexia expected. “Even our clouds have been modified. We have changed their color and pulled them closer to the planet so that it is harder for Temorvick to spy on us.”
“Where is Temorvick?”
“He has his own ghastly planet. It is what your Earth kind would call hell. Of course hell doesn’t exist but Temorvick took the idea of hell and used his immense powers to create a simulation on his planet,” Lacier gestured for Alexia to walk with her. Nervously, she followed Lacier walking very slowly. “He works day and night devising plans to take over new planets. His goal is to rule everybody.”
“Why?”
“He’s evil. He can’t stand the fact that there are people out there enjoying their lives. According to him we all should be working for him.”
“Working for him?” Alexia stopped walking. Lacier sighed.
“I didn’t want to tell you this yet. But the real reason he wants to take over all of the planets is because he is looking for something,” Lacier motioned for Alexia to follow her.
“Like a person or…”
“He’s looking for an artifact. It’s an ancient amulet that gives the wearer the power to do anything they want.”
“Isn’t he already powerful?”
“Yes. He isn’t as powerful as the whole of Sian though. We are his sworn enemies. The only defense against him. He wants us dead. With that amulet it may be possible.”
“Why don’t you look for the amulet before he finds it?”
“It isn’t that simple. The amulet could be anywhere. That is why the planets Temorvick takes over do not last long. He orders the inhabitants to search and search until everything is destroyed,” Lacier looked distraught. “We Sians could never destroy nature. We pledge our lives to guarding it.”
“Wow. I don’t really know what to say.”
“I’m sorry this is such a crash course in the real goings on of the universe. But you have to know all of this. Everybody in Sian is taught these things in their lessons from a young age.”
“Why was I sent to Earth?”
“Oh we’re here,” Lacier said, avoiding Alexia’s question. Temporarily, Alexia forgot about the question herself at the sight of hundreds of castles colored as vibrantly as the lakes. “Welcome back.”
A tall Sian woman that reminded Alexia of an Amazon woman greeted them cheerfully as they approached the city. “Lovely weather as usual, Lacier.”
“Of course,” Lacier said nodding at the woman.
“Ah little, Alexia. I haven’t seen you since you were this big,” she said showing Alexia how small she was with her hands.
“Sorry I don’t remember you or any of this.”
“Of course you don’t,” Lacier took Alexia’s hand and led her into the city.
They walked through immaculate watery streets containing luscious floating trees that hovered above the mysterious water and glowing spheres that floated in the air. It made Alexia think of Venice, if Venice had been splashed with every color of the rainbow. A few people walked purposefully through the streets greeting each other politely as they passed by.
All of a sudden Lacier stopped at the gates of a black palace. “This is my home,” Lacier said as she pulled out a key to the gate and unlocked it.
“It’s massive.” Alexia had to tilt her neck to see the top of the ornate palace. “How come it’s black?”
“Black is a protection color. All colors mean different things here in Siania,” Lacier informed Alexia as she shut her gate behind them.
“Oh what does purple mean? You seem to wear a lot of it,” Alexia said while looking at Lacier’s clothing.
“It means agility and strength,” Lacier said as they reached the front door of the palace.
“Cool,” Alexia said making Lacier smile.
“I guess it is cool,” Lacier agreed with Alexia. “Well here we go,” Lacier opened the front door revealing a slightly less impressive room than Alexia was expecting. The floors were dusty wooden planks with visible splinters. Large windows were covered with rugged green curtains that Alexia was pretty sure were responsible for the musty smell that lingered in the room. “Sorry, I haven’t been here for awhile,” Lacier said noticing the mess.
“Oh that’s okay. Just different to what I was expecting.”
“Sianian women don’t worry so much about keeping up appearances. We know there are much more important things at stake.”
“I agree.”
“Of course if we expecting company, we just clap our hands like this,” Lacier said as she clapped her hands. The whole room seemed to come alive with energy. The curtains stretched out and dusted themselves, the floor ate up all of the dust and splinters, and the room suddenly smelt like cinnamon.
“Incredible. Mom, I mean Cynthia,” Alexia corrected herself. “Would love that.”
“Bit of a neat freak is she?”
“Kind of.”
“Right, I want you to continue our lesson on controlling objects.”
“Okay.”
“Summon something to control.”
“What?”
“Summon an object. G.,” Lacier sat down and summoned an apple out of thin air and took a bite out of it. Alexia stared at the apple, it was the largest, reddest apple she had ever seen. She closed her eyes and kept this image in her mind desperately trying to summon another apple just like it. Something heavy weighted down her hand. Excitedly, she opened her eyes and saw a gigantic green worm with two round eyes squirming in her hand.
“Ugh!” Alexia screamed and dropped the worm sending it soaring to the floor. The worm gave her a disgusted look and wriggled across the floor disappearing into another room. “Gross!” Alexia wiped her hands on her jeans.
“Obviously you associate worms with apples.”
“Yes, but I wasn’t thinking about a worm.”
“Are you sure?” Lacier stood up. “Every single thought you have affects your magic. A Sian must have a clear mind at all times.”
“Okay. Let me try again.”
“Of course,” Lacier said as if she expected nothing less.
Alexia slammed her eyes shut and concentrated hard. To her dismay she felt the same slimy warmth as before. When she opened her eyes she had to stifle a scream. She had summoned another unusually large worm but this time, it was bright red.
“Not again!” Alexia nearly dropped the worm but Lacier stopped her by placing one hand in the air.
“We can use it.”
“What? I was trying to get an apple.”
“You were putting too much emphasis on the color. and you didn’t clear the worm out of your thoughts,” Lacier stepped forward. “Okay now, I want you to keep the worm i
n the air taking care not to drop him. He is very delicate after all.” Alexia nodded and managed to send the worm high up into the air as though he was being dangled by a piece of invisible string. Lacier nodded in approval. “Good. Now I want you to send him toward that wall,” Lacier pointed to the wall behind Alexia. “Stop him just before he hits the wall, or before he has a heart attack from fear.” Lacier said feeling a little bit bad for the worm.
“What if I can’t stop him in time?”
“You must learn to work under pressure. Go,” Lacier shouted making Alexia react straight away. The worm soared towards the wall. Beads of sweat formed on Alexia’s forehead. She wouldn’t forgive herself if she couldn’t stop the worm in time. To Alexia’s relief, and the worm’s, she managed to stop the bug two inches in front of the wall.
A rush of excitement hit Alexia like a speeding bus. “I did it!” Alexia jumped up and down. Lacier’s eyes lit up a brighter purple than usual.
“You did do it…” Lacier sounded surprised. “Let’s put that worm in the garden shall we?”
“Oh I nearly forgot about him. Wonder where I summoned him from.”
“Fat camp for worms I think,” Lacier said, inspecting the chubby worm.
After relocating the worm Lacier took Alexia to the center of Siania. “So we’re going to see the president of Siania?”
“You could say that. She is in charge. But she is also your grandmother.”
“Are you saying that everybody here is related?”
“Sort of.”
“What relation are you to me?” Alexia asked eagerly.
“I’m your Aunt Lacier. I thought you knew that.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Ah, well sorry I thought I mentioned that earlier.”
“So what do I call my grandmother?”
“Her name is Polly,” Lacier chatted as they walked down a long corridor.
“Polly? I figured she’d have a different name.”
“She does but nobody can pronounce it, so we call her Polly.”
“Oh, fair enough.”
“Okay she’s behind this door,” Lacier stopped at a large black door. “She might not seem like it, but, she is very wise.”
“Okay,” Alexia nodded.
The large black door opened letting out a strong smell of chocolate. The sweet aroma spoke to Alexia’s appetite enticing her to walk further into the room. Inside the colossal sized room, brilliantly painted portraits of powerful Sian women lined the walls. Alexia noticed a picture that looked identical to her. The girl had long brown hair, dark brown eyes, pale skin and a slender face. “Lacier, is this me?”
“No,” Lacier stopped walking and tapped her foot impatiently.
“It looks like me.”
“That is your twin sister Amosa,” Lacier walked over to the painting and stood next to Alexia. She stared at the picture with soulful eyes.
“My twin. Where is she?”
“Hopefully you’ll meet her soon enough. Come, you must meet Polly.”
“Okay,” Alexia stole one last look at the painting of Amosa and hurried to catch up to Lacier who had already strode away.
Polly Sian stood in a large kitchen setting. Alexia gasped as she stepped into the room which had the extraordinary colorful liquid as a floor. It was going to take her a long time to get used to walking on water. A silvery fish darted quickly through the water underneath Alexia making her jump.
Polly was folding egg whites into a bowl full of rich dark chocolate. Alexia felt pangs of excitement bite at her. Even though she had only just found out she was adopted it made her feel better to know she did have real family.
Lacier cleared her throat. “Hello, Mother.”
“Ah, Lacier,” Polly placed her spatula into the bowl and looked up at Lacier. “Lovely to see you. How are things on Earth?”
“Earth is okay. Temorvick had two spies, only one now,’ Lacier walked over to Polly and kissed her on the cheek. Two spies, Alexia thought.
“Alexia come closer,” Polly held out her arms towards Alexia. Nervously, Alexia walked toward her dragging her sneakers over the water.
“Hello,” Alexia’s voice was a tiny squeak.
“Don’t be nervous love,” Polly pulled Alexia into her arms and hugged her tightly. Alexia couldn’t help but smile in the warmth of Polly.
“Everything has been a bit of a shock for Alexia, Mother,” Lacier chipped in.
“Of course.” She withdrew from Alexia and stepped back to look at her. “You do look like Amosa.” Polly gazed at Alexia with her bright aqua eyes. Alexia couldn’t help but stare back. Even though Polly was much older than the other Sians she had seen she was every bit as beautiful. There wasn’t one trace of a gray hair in her long black mane and her skin was radiant like a drop of rain in sunlight.
“Where is Amosa?” Alexia said, desperately wanting to meet her twin.
“I think it’s time she knew,” Polly said, glancing at Lacier.
“Okay.” Lacier walked over to Alexia and summoned a three-seater couch that hovered above the water. “Sit down,” Lacier gestured toward the couch and took a seat herself. Alexia sat next to her. Polly walked back to her floating bench and picked up her spatula again. “Your sister Amosa has been abducted.” Lacier took a deep breath and surveyed Alexia’s reaction.
“By who?” Alexia gasped.
“We believe Temorvick has her but we can’t find her.”
“What are you going to do?”
“That’s where you come in,” Polly said as she spooned the chocolate mixture into a muffin tray.
“Yes,” Lacier continued. “Since you are her twin you have a very close bond even though you haven’t met. You can sense her and tell us where she is.”
“Is that why you contacted me? Because you need me to find Amosa?”
“Yes,” Polly talked as she held her hand over the muffin tray. The muffins rose instantly. Alexia was too angry to notice the magical muffins that didn't' seem to require an oven.
“So when we were born I was the reject. You sent me off to Earth and the only reason you brought me here is to bring back your precious Amosa!” Alexia’s blood was boiling.
“It isn’t like that!” Lacier exclaimed.
“Send me home,” Alexia hopped off the couch and nearly sunk into the water. She caught her balance and pointed at Lacier. “Send me home!”
“No,” Lacier’s said sharply. She still had the same determined look in her eyes that she did when Alexia first met her.
“Fine. I’ll find my own way.” Alexia ran out of the room, her feet splashing wildly across the water as she ran. Lacier stood up to run after her but Polly stopped her.
“Let her go, dear. She needs time to think,” Polly took a bite of muffin, and smiled. Lacier scowled at her.
“How can you eat at a time like this?” Lacier snapped at Polly.
“How can you not eat? It relaxes you, dear,” she said with her mouth full.
“Mother please. Alexia must feel as though she doesn’t belong anywhere. She thinks that nobody wants her. She’s lost and confused. I’m going after her,” Lacier decided.
“You never listened to me anyway,” Polly remarked as she lifted another muffin out of the tray.
Alexia wandered the streets of Sian with a heavy heart. She felt as though she had no home and no purpose. Her thoughts drifted to her friends back home and Cynthia who was probably worried sick right now. Gina would be keeping her busy though.
Although her legs were as heavy as tree trunks, she kept walking over the water which was dark blue in this area. The water had soaked through to her socks making her shoes squelch with every step she took. She longed to get home to change her clothes, and go to sleep.
A large bubble popped up from the water beneath her feet sending a shiver up her spine. This gave Alexia a chilling thought, if there were fish down there, did that mean that there were creatures such as sharks as well? It was too
deep to see the bottom, the water went murky a few meters down making visibility impossible. Alexia shuddered. “Anything could be down there…”
Feeling silly for talking to herself, Alexia continued to walk. She couldn’t stop looking down at the eerie water as she walked. They wouldn’t be stupid enough to have dangerous creatures down there, would they? Alexia thought to herself as she stared into the water.
Alexia didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
Swimming swiftly under her was a large dark oval shape. The shape approached Alexia becoming a little more clear. Grey skin became clear as the vibrant light from Siania’s two suns hit the underwater shape. Dread struck Alexia, they do have sharks down there! She began to run not caring about the splashing of water hitting her jeans making her legs feel even heavier. The shape swam faster. Alexia looked down to see if the shark was still after her; it was. The shark was completely visible now, its rough fin was nearly protruding from the water. The fierce looking creature stared straight ahead and seemed to stay at the same speed as Alexia although she was sure it could go much faster if it wanted to. Alexia had seen enough nature documentaries to know that this was a Mako shark beneath her. She also knew that Makos were believed to be the fastest shark and were said to able to swim at nearly seventy kilometers per hour. However this Mako was much bigger than any shark she had seen on television. She wasn’t very good at measurements but she could tell it was at least twenty meters long. Bigger than the largest of sharks on Earth, the whale shark.
Alexia knew that running wouldn’t save her. If the shark wanted to, it would have bitten her by now. Being interested in animals, Alexia knew that sharks weren’t human killing machines as feared to be by many, however this was a very large shark unlike any of Earth. Nervously, she stopped running and stood completely still. The shark also stopped. It hovered under her like a playful seal. It poked its broad nose out of the water and bobbed up and down making the water ripple wildly around Alexia’s feet. Sharp rows of teeth were visible from its mouth which appeared to be smiling. This made Alexia feel slightly at ease. She had never seen a playful shark before. It reminded her of a gigantic dolphin with razor sharp teeth.
“Oh he likes you,” Lacier’s voice sounded out from behind her. Alexia turned to face her feeling slightly relieved.
“What is he doing?”
“All of the creatures in this water are protectors of Sian. They would never harm you.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
“Pat him.”
“What?”
“He wants you to stroke him.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“I don’t often joke.”
“Why was he chasing me?”
“He could obviously sense that you were scared. He was protecting you.”
“Amazing,” Alexia said as she studied the shark. It was still bobbing up and down, and staring at her with its giant dark eyes. Alexia edged forward slowly, and put her hand out toward the massive fish. It lowered its head eagerly awaiting her touch. Alexia held her breath as her hand landed on the shark’s rough skin. Thrills of excitement soared through her body. She couldn’t believe she was patting one of the most feared creatures on Earth as though it were a playful puppy.
“See, he’s very friendly,” Lacier said as she walked up to Alexia.
“At least he likes me I guess,” Alexia said as she stroked the shark.
“What are you talking about?”
“What do you think? I have nowhere to go, no family.”
“Don’t say that. You have plenty of family.”
“Family are people who love you and don’t lie to you.”
“Nobody really lied to you, Alexia.”
“How do you figure that? For seventeen years I’ve been living on a planet where I don’t belong and calling Cynthia my mother.”
“It was for your own good. You had a better life on Earth than Amosa did here. All she did was train, she didn’t have a childhood. She was chosen to be a guardian of Earth. A planet that Temorvick desperately wants. She had to be as skilled as possible.”
“How do you know I had a better life? Just recently somebody tried to kill me.”
“Price wasn't himself. Temorvick ordered for two of his most skilled cronies to watch you. In order to do that they had to possess people in your life. Mrs. Crook is another one they possessed. Before that it was your physical education teacher.”
“Oh wow. I thought my P.E teacher was just cranky.”
“Price isn’t possessed anymore. Mrs. Crock still is.”
“Why couldn’t you stop him doing that?”
“We don’t know to reverse the possession. We tried once but the owner of the body died. We have learned to wait until they leave the body themselves because they always do.”
“Poor Price. He got hurt in the process.”
“His wounds will heal. I will make sure of that.” Lacier placed a hand onto Alexia’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. “You must know that you did the right thing by burning him. He was going to kill you. In fact it was amazing that you were able to use your skills without knowing about them. That’s why I think they should have sent Amosa to Earth instead of you. ”
“How did they choose which one of us would be sent away?”
“Polly did it. Amosa has not been able to master movement like you have so quickly. Polly selected badly I’m afraid.”
“Why couldn’t we both stay?”
“You have to understand. Sianians don’t breed to have happy families. We are guardians. If we didn’t exist, Temorvick would have free reign to do as he pleased.”
“You don’t have any fun at all?” Alexia couldn’t believe they lived to work and that was all.
“Fun isn’t a word we use too often here.”
“That’s a shame. You don’t ever just get together with friends?”
“To organize battle plans yes. I’m actually late for a meeting. I’ve been promoted to lead my own stealth group. That’s why I can’t be the guardian of Earth anymore.”
“Amosa was going to take over…”
“Yes. Now my first mission is to find her. But I need your help,” Lacier pleaded with Alexia. “Please, help me find your sister.”
“I will,” Alexia said, gallantly.
“Thank you, Alexia. Thank you.”
Sheepishly, Alexia walked back into Polly’s kitchen. Polly had just finished mixing a cake batter, and had chocolate on her hands. Dishes were piled high and left over ingredients were scattered around the bench. “I thought you’d be back,” Polly said, licking chocolate off a slender finger.
“Don’t judge her, Mother. You have to understand that all of this new information is sudden for Alexia.”
“Yes, yes,” Polly used her magic to bake the cake by placing her hand over the top. Alexia watched in amazement as the cake cooked perfectly in under two seconds. Martha Stewart eat your heart out. “Do you feel better, Alexia?”
“A little bit.”
“Good. Have some cake,” Polly pushed a slice of cake in front of Alexia. Thick caramel icing had appeared on top of the cake.
“Oh, no thanks.”
“It is very rude to reject chocolate here, Alexia,” Polly said snootily.
“The older you get here, Alexia, the more chocolate we eat. It keeps us going. We can eat it as much as we like and don’t gain a pound. Try it. It’s delicious.”
“We can eat whatever we want?”
“No. I said chocolate products don’t make us fat because we use it as a power source, a fuel. Other foods will make you fat.”
“Why do you have to prepare the food, Polly? Can’t you just use magic and make the cake appear?”
“It has to be made partially by a Sian otherwise it will be fattening to us. I’d look like this.” Polly waved her hand over herself and instantly grew to be five times larger. Four extra chins popped out from her neck and her flabby legs spewed out onto the surface of the w
ater. Fat on her arm rippled as extra baggy skin from below her upper arm soared toward the ground.
“Oh!” Alexia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Polly waved her hand and returned to her normal, slimmer self.
“You see? If I don’t make the cake like this, I wouldn’t be able to eat so much.”
“Okay, I’ll try some then.” Alexia looked at the cake. It was the most appetizing thing she had ever seen. Like cakes looked in the cartoons she used to watch. Polly handed out cake to Lacier and Alexia and then took a large piece for herself.
“So I gather since you are here eating cake with us, that you have decided to help.” Polly took a bite.
“Yeah I guess. But I still don’t know what you want me to do.” Alexia bit into the cake, and felt an immense feeling of satisfaction. The cake tasted like all of the best desserts she had ever eaten, all fused together into one sweet package.
“We’ll go to the soothsayer. He will be able to help us,” Polly said, finishing off her cake at the same time as Lacier.
“That recipe keeps getting better, Mother. What’s different?”
“I added more chocolate.”
“Of course,” Lacier said.
“Guys, please forget about the damn chocolate for one minute,” Alexia said, rather bemused and still feeling queasy after seeing a monstrous version of Polly. “Where and what is the soothsayer?”
“Have you not taught this girl anything?” Polly snapped at Lacier.
“I’ve only been with her for one day. What do you expect?” Lacier snapped back. “I don’t work miracles. Well actually I do, but not ones that big.”
“Uh huh. Let’s go then.” Polly waved her hand over the kitchen bench, the baking mess of cluttered dishes and sticky packets of chocolate disappeared. And Alexia reflected again how much Cynthia would love this place.