The Sought, the Sister, and the Sorceress: Part Three

     "Aw, man! I SO need a bath," complained Kari. Indeed, her usually blue Wocky fur was turning a murky brown. But the light blue stripes seemed untouched by the dirt. Maybe that was part of the magic in her blood. But I wasn't one to judge. I was sure my White fur didn't look much better.

     Lori, rolling her eyes, picked some apples from the nearest tree and said, "Dig in, ladies!" I was getting pretty sick of apples, but at least it was food. When we get home, I'm sticking to cherries.

     After breakfast, we were on the move again. We had just gotten through Terror Mountain (sheesh, was it cold!) and were now on the outskirts of Tyrannia. Lori hovered overhead looking backward to see if anyone was following us. Because it's not that easy escaping from Jhudora.

     I began wondering what I'd be doing right now if I hadn't followed Kari that night. Would I be waiting with Mom at the mailbox with bated breath to see if TNT had found Kari yet? What would Kari be doing? Possibilities buzzed in my head like an unwanted Buzzer in your bedroom.

     Wanting to make some conversation, I called over my shoulder to her, "So Lori, tell us about yourself." Lori was so startled by this question she kind of slipped in midair and had to do an odd sort of pirouette to keep from crashing to earth.

     "Well, okay," she said when she got her bearings.

     "I was born in Maraqua painted Maraquan. I THINK I had a mom, but I don't really remember much of my childhood." She looked like she was sorry she began but there was no going back now. "The last thing of my childhood I remember is seeing a big dark shape kind of like a ship, I guess. I swam closer and got caught in a fishing net.

     "I guess the fishermen threw on the closest paint brush they had, which was Faerie, because I couldn't breathe without water. I was so little at the time, and I told them that my mom had been lost in the Maraquan/Pirate war and they took me along.

     "We arrived at Mystery Island and the fishermen said I should go to Fyora. So I flew to the cloud and Fyora asked if I would like to be trained a spy. I thought that sounded fun so I joined up.

     "This is my first mission," she finished. "And I guess you guys are my first real friends." And she blushed delicately under her lavender fur. There was an awkward pause. Kari and I exchanged looks and make a silent agreement.

     "You know," I said. "We could be more than just your friends if you like. You can be part of our family. I know you'll probably be busy a lot, but wouldn't it be nice to have a family to go home to?" Lori looked at me like she'd never seen anything like a white Wocky.

     "Really?" she pressed. We nodded. She broke into a big smile. "I'd love it!" she gushed.

     We came to a steep hill. Lori supported us since she had a choice whether she wanted to walk or fly. Finally we seemed to reach the top. But then Lori slipped and landed on her back, partially crushing her wing. "Youch!" she yelled.

     Kari heaved her up and asked, "You okay?"

     Lori tenderly touched her wing and said, "Oof. Yeah, I think so. But I won't be able to fly until this baby straightens out."

     "Gee, that's too bad." I said, feeling white even under my fur. Kari gave me a confused look and Lori said, "Huh?" I pointed to the bottom of the hill. They looked over and Kari said, "Sweet Fyora!"

     For the "hill" was merely the side of a huge abandoned levee. The water had long since dried up and there were sharp rocks at the bottom leering at us. "What do we do?" I asked. Lori bit her lip and didn't answer. At that moment Kari slipped.

     She was heading towards the rocks a hundred feet below! I tried to grab her paw, but then I slipped and my leg tripped up Lori. This was no coincidence. Apparently Jhudora was on our tail more than we thought. Kari was silent in fear. Lori was yelling, "We're gonna die!" I just plain yelled. We were just about to hit the rocks when -

     A golden-white light surrounded us all. I tried to shout, "What's happening?" but found I couldn't. I heard music. It was one note, as low as you can imagine, then followed up by higher notes, mixing alto, soprano, melody, and harmony all into one. I looked over at Kari. She had her eyes shut, a peaceful look of concentration, her mouth open singing the note right in the middle of the chord. Her very fur seemed to glow the same golden-white.

     I felt myself being lifted off the ground. We were all hovering. I felt like I was standing on solid ground and floating all at once. Then we were placed gently on the other side of the levee. The music stopped and the light faded away. Kari sank to the ground in shock. Her eyes were wide open, giving way to a peculiar turn.

     Her eye color had changed. Her once hazel almond-shaped eyes were now deep green. I looked closer and saw flecks of gold and white dancing in the sea of incredible green. And her eyelashes! They were creamy white and long and thick. "Whoa," Lori and I said almost in unison.

     "What?" asked Kari, breaking out of her shock; she rolled over to a stream nearby and knelt to her reflection. Seeing her protuberant eyes staring back at her, she leaned back and drew in a sharp breath. There was a silence, then after a while Lori said, "We'd better get going."

     We started walking, munching on apples we had taken for the road. Bored, I asked Kari, "So what's it like to be the Chosen One?" Kari chewed thoughtfully at this question.

     Then she said, "It's weird. My whole life seems different, but at the same time it's like an ordinary day. Maybe I'm just in shock."

     We walked a little more until it was so dark we couldn't see our paws (or hooves, in Lori's case) in front of us. We started looking for shelter when I heard something fall on the ground. It was so dark I couldn't see a thing. "Kari?" I called. No answer. I took a step and tripped over something warm and soft. "Lori, Kari's fainted!" I exclaimed. Apparently, either it was a new "Chosen One" phase or she was so exhausted she couldn't take another step.

     I heard Lori kneel down next to me and lift Kari onto her back. "I'll carry her," she said in the darkness. "But you'll have to look for some sort of shelter, Sam." So I called upon all my Wocky senses, especially on the keen eyesight. And I saw a shape darker than the sky. I went toward it and felt it. "It's some kind of boulder," I called to Lori, who followed my voice.

     "Well, that'll have to do," she said grimly.

     So we lay down next to the big rock and were instantly asleep. The next morning I learned that it was indeed a "Chosen One" phase that had caused Kari's swoon. There she was next to me, sprawled on the ground. But her light blue lightning stripes had turned the same creamy color as her lashes. And there was something else the exact same color.

     Wings. Cream wings larger than an Eyrie's but as dainty as a Uni's were folded neatly across Kari's back. She awoke while I stared and asked, "Sam, whatcha you looking at?" She felt her back and her eyes widened. She stood up and unfolded her wings and then jumped up. She hovered in the air and instantly fell in love with her new attachment. Lori raised her head and her mouth hung open.

     "This is great!" she said excitedly. "We can go straight to Faerieland so that you can meet Fyora! Uh, that is, if you don't mind."

     To this Kari replied, "I really don't know what to do when my powers come full swing. I want all the advice I can get."

     Lori turned to me. I shrugged and said, "It's all right with me," so I clambered onto Kari's back and we flew for the castle in the sky.

To be continued...