In the Beginning
Part 5
About
a good 30 minutes later, we reached the castle grounds. It was even more
majestic than I had pictured it and it made me feel proud to know I'd made it
that way. We crossed the drawbridge onto the castle grounds, then walked
through the huge front door of the castle into the foyer.
The
room we entered was massive and reminded me of a museum exhibit about the
Medieval Era. In fact, the only thing I didn't see among the sword displays and
the mounted animal heads was a suit of armor. A candlelit chandelier hung from
the ceiling, almost directly above the grand staircase that lead down from the
second floor walkway. The walkway went completely around the room, which was
bigger by itself than the average house, and branched off to other doors and
hallways above. In comparison to castles I'd seen in books, this one was rather
small, but it seemed less foreboding that way.
"This
place is beautiful!" I gasped, staring around me.
"I
kinda loike it meself," replied Target, "but ye act as though ye've
never seen it before."
"I
haven't. See, I'm not really who you think..." I began.
"Well,
if you're not you, who are you?" asked a voice on the stairs. I looked up
as Target said,
"Robin,
luv! Look 'o I found 'angin' off ol'Lady Wilira's drawbridge!"
Robin,
Dark Fairy of Pyrope, perhaps the coolest and the most deadly of the characters
I'd created, stood in the middle of the steps looking down at me with a quietly
scrutinizing gaze. She was kinda of short, I knew, but standing on the steps,
she looked much taller and fiercer. She wore a long flowing dress that looked
rather like a peasant girl's than a aristocratic fairy's, but Robin was known
to do things opposite of the expectations set for her. Her skin was even darker
than mine and her hair was longer with a wreath of blue flowers in it.
"She looks a great deal like someone we know," Robin said, gracefully
coming down the stairs, "but she doens't feel like her."
"Knew
you'd say that, luv," grinned Target, looking up at his wife and taking
her hand as she came to the last few steps. "That's why I brought 'er
here."
I
looked at Target in surprise. All this time he'd believed I was a fake and he'd
never let on. He really was as good a ranger as he was in my stories.
"Who
are you, really?" Robin asked. I was speechless for a moment, fearing that
perhaps the help I so desperately needed right now was going down the tubes.
"I-I'm...Daina...sort
of. I'm just not the Daina I write about, I mean, the one you know."
"Obviously,"
nodded Robin.
"The
Daina we know would never run off so willingly," grinned Target.
"Well,
strange as it seems, I am the real Daina and...well, I write about you
guys..."
"You're
a historian, then?" asked Robin.
"No,
not exactly...I'm more of a creator."
"Of?"
"Well...I
made you guys and Christine and Dove and..." Before I could complete my
sentence, Target was bellowing with laughter. "I'm serious!" I said
indignantly. "All of you are part of a story I wrote!"
Robin
looked at me and shook her head sadly. "I have no idea what to make of
you. You could be a loony from the outskirts of the Forest, or an enemy in
disguise..."
"I
swear I'm not lying...!"
"Then
create someone, something, right now!" said Target, composing himself a
little.
"Well,
I...can't just make it, I write about it and..." The two of them were
looking at each other now with a mixture of pity and confusion. "I could
tell you about stuff you've done and places you've gone. I know them by
heart!"
"I'm
sure you could," said Robin condescendingly, which really pissed me off.
"Alright,
fine!" I snapped. "I know you've got two children named Diana Arianne
and Nicholas Michael and you named your daughter after me sorta and I know
you've got a nanny named Bullet who used to be Target's sidekick when they used
to be bounty hunters and I know..."
"All
this stuff'd be common knowledge to a good ranger," said Target, shaking
his head.
"Or
an assassin," said Robin thoughtfully. The two of them looked suspiciously
at me and I looked back.
"Nah,"
said Target. "She's not smooth enough to be a decent assassin. For that
matter, she's not smooth enough to be a decent rabbit hunter."
"Oh,
thanks!" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in the air. "You
spend half your life putting all you can into your characters and all
they can do is insult you! Great!" I began walking around in a huff as I
ranted. "Y'know what I want? I don't even wanna go home anymore. I
don't even care if I get there anymore. All I want is my clothes back
and I want my papasan chair so I can get outta this stupid get-up and
relax with something that reminds me of home." I paused for a second,
gauging the effect I was having. Robin and Target were staring at me as if they
were used to having people enter their castle and completely go to the zoo.
"Yeah!
That's ex-actly what I want," I continued, "and I tell ya
what, just for you guys, I'll create it right here." I
turned around and sarcastically waved my fingers around as if conjuring up
something, then gasped. A sharp pain twisted in my head for a moment, so sharp
it made me dizzy. The world spun around me for a second and I had to close my
eyes and put a hand to my forehead. Someone rushed to my side to help me steady
myself, so I opened my eyes again to thank them.
When
I opened my eyes again, I felt even worse.
There
in front of me sat my hooded sweatshirt, my white turtleneck, my jeans, a pair
of white socks and my Reebok ERS's...the same clothes Dove had tossed in the
fire. The entire outfit sat, neatly folded, in the seat of my papasan chair.
I
wasn't sure if it was from the initial pain or from the secondary shock, but I
did know one thing for sure.
This
was my second faint of the day.
This
time, I woke up in another bed, but not in Dove's room. This was the room Robin
and Target had reserved for me in their castle. It was was a quaint little room
with its Victorian style furniture and its huge canopy bed. Robin sat at the
foot of this bed now, one hand on my forehead.
"How
do you feel, dear?" she asked me.
"Well,"
I began, "I'm not in any pain, thanks to you, I assume?" Robin moved
her hand with a faint smile and began forming a powerball of purple light
without response. "Where's Target?" I asked.
"I
believe he's retired to his weapon room for a while." Robin tossed the
ball casually out the window. This act was followed by a man's bellow wafting
up from below. "Or he could be outside," she added, raising an
eyebrow to glance sidelong at the window.
I
smiled a little, but I still felt somewhat tired. "Did I really..." I
began.
"Yes,"
said Robin, "you did materialize some interesting things before you
fainted. Naturally, this has swayed Target's and my belief that you were a
crazed maniac."
"My
sanity, although questionable at times, is not my problem today. I can't get
back to my time or place or whatever I call my conscious."
"Explain
this part to me, slowly," Robin frowning as if trying to understand.
I
recapped my story, telling Robin about how I'd been late to class and hit my
head and ended up in my subconscious talking to Christine, then captured by
Dove and Naomi and rescued by Target.
"That
is truly quite a story," Robin nodded. "I'm not sure whether or not
it's real, but I do know you posess a great deal of magic. I can feel its power
coursing through you and I can certainly see it, but it doesn't seem to take
well to you. Have you not used your powers lately?"
"Man,
I'm a hack writer and a lousy student, but not a sorceress. I've never created
anything in my life that wasn't on paper."
"Until
today," said Robin. "Well, the only thing I can think of right now is
number one, to try and get you used to using that power of yours and two, to
return you to where you started and hope that somehow, you can find your way
back."
"Flag
on the play," I said, closing my eyes and and holding my hand up.
"First of all, "that power" of mine kinda hurt the first time I
used it and I have a fairly low threshold for pain. Second, I don't really know
how I got here, so finding my way back is kind of a needle in a haystack type
job. And three, I left Christine back in that castle, so I have to go get her
before I do anything else, anyway."
Robin
sighed. "Not much in the strength or the determination department, but you
do have bravery on you side."
"Thanks."
"Not
that that'll help you very much. You're not exactly what I'd call seasoned for
battle, dear."
"Yeah,
I know, they're gonna eat me alive over there," I groaned.
"Of
course, that power of yours might help even the odds a little."
I
shifted my lips thoughtfully and glanced up at the ceiling. "Have you ever
tried to be something you weren't?"
"You
mean, have I ever tried to be a heroic woman who could save the life of
anybody, no matter how dangerous or complicated?"
"Uh-huh."
"Never,"
Robin replied. "But you're not the Daina you write about, dear, so don't
worry about trying to fill her shoes." Robin got up and went to the door.
She turned to look at me before she left and said, "Make your own
pair."
I
looked over at my Reeboks with a sigh. I guess it couldn't hurt to work on
this power stuff a little more, I thought. Like, since I happen to be a
little on the thirsty side, I guess I could think up a...can of Slice.
The
pain that had hit me before returned briefly, then the can appeared on the
covers in front of me. I popped the top and leaned back, fairly impressed with
myself. The pain hadn't been as bad this time, I obviously was still awake and
I was feeling pretty good. This wasn't so bad after all, I thought.
I
got up to go look out the window. I knew I wasn't supposed to be up or
anything, but I was still pretty awed by the idea of my having created all I
surveyed. As I walked to the window, my vision fuzzed on me a little and I
staggered, grabbing for the window sill for support. In my sudden movement, a
small vase slipped off the sill and fell out of the window. I leaned over to
try to stop it, but before it had fallen more than 2 feet, it changed, turning
into a fairy-sized Naomi. We exchanged looks of surprise, then I yelled,
"Hey!" and her silvery blue moth wings fluttered into motion. So
surprised was I at the woman's ability to change that I nearly forgot my
purpose. By the time I had leaned out the castle window to grab her, she was
too far away to reach. "Come back here, you...!"
"Come
and get me!" she said tauntingly. I grabbed my can of Slice and threw it
at her, but she dodged and it hit the ground below. Its contents spilled out
and began smoking dangerously on the ground, as if dissolving it. Good thing
I didn't drink that!, I thought.
"Boy,
does your aim suck!" laughed Naomi. I was halfway out the window
when Robin ran in.
"Have
you taken complete leave of your senses!" she demanded as she
yanked me back in. "What are you doing?"
"It's
Naomi!" I said indignantly. "She was watching us!"
Robin
looked out the window at the fairy, who was still smirking at us. "You
could come out, too, Robin," said Naomi.
"Why
bother?" said Robin, forming a small ball of light in her hand.
"That
little ball of pain isn't gonna come near me," Naomi smirked.
"This
large ball of pain doesn't have to come near you," replied Robin
calmly. "You won't be able to outfly it and its width in comparison to
your size will be too hard to dodge." The ball she had been making in one
hand was now between both hands and was growing in size and brightness. Naomi
took one looked at it and flew away as fast as her fragile little wings could
carry her.
The
ball of light Robin was making slowly dissipated as I said, "Way to go,
Robin! You really scared the crap outta her!"
"It
was nothing, really," said Robin.
"Are
you kidding? I couldn't have..."
"No,
really. This was just an ordinary ball of light," said Robin. "I got
rid of most of the energy I drew from your pain a few minutes ago."
"So
you bluffed her?"
"Of
course," said Robin, turning to leave. "Just because I'm a little
unsure of my power doesn't mean I have to advertise it." She gave me a
meaningful look and left.
Yeah,
I get it, I thought. "Robin?"
She
ducked her head back in. "Yes?"
"I
get the point," I said. "But I'd still like to try and get this power
a little more under my control before I go trying to help Chris. Will you help
me?"
"Naturally,"
said Robin, smiling.