Her Spirit's Eyes: Part Eight

      "Nuh-uh!" Zora protested.

      "Wh-what makes you say that?" Princess Rose stuttered.

      "See, Laura!" Wanda started. "This is what I was trying to tell you a long time ago! I was reading this book, 'The Prophecy of the Indera'..."

      "You have that book?!" Rose's eyes widened.

      "...AND," Wanda glared at Rose, "I saw this part that said something like, 'great magic the Indera uses, it makes them hard to find, the indigo with purple eyes, can possess any body and any mind.'"

      "Wow!" Laura added. "You have good memory."

      "Thanks..." Wanda smiled, but then her smile faded and she got back to her previous, solemn mood. "But anyway, did you hear that, Laura? Indigo with purple eyes, possess any body... do you remember when Dina's eyes changed colors? And how her personality changed?"

      "Yes, very well." Laura nodded. She remembered how worried she was when Dina suddenly changed.

      "I think that's what it's talking about!" Wanda exclaimed. "My eyes turned indigo, Ardon's eyes turned indigo, we were acting all strange... I think Dina was switching places with us, just by that single touch!"

      "Okay, now I'm lost..." Zora moaned.

      "Yeah..." Laura said, ignoring Zora, "and I remembered how you asked Ardon if he was Dina when his eyes were indigo... he said yes!" Her eyes widened. "It all makes sense now!"

      "No, it doesn't..." Zora said, "and besides, what does any of this have to do with the Princess wanting to kill Dina?"

      "I'm getting there..." Wanda assured, "...but there was something else it said in the book, it says that the Indera's got this weird destiny to overthrow the Crown, the Daggerking descendants."

      "This is rubbish!" Princess Rose protested.

      "But of course, poor Princess Rose wouldn't want to be overthrown," Wanda added. "But it says in the book that the Indera, being Dina, can't be stopped. Except through one process...

      "There's a section in the book that says something like, 'although it seems impossible, there is a way to defeat the Indera. There is but one weapon that can truly stop the Indera. It has been called the Royal Dagger, and it hides deep in the castle, resting for when the time of the Indera shall come...'" Wanda took a breath. "And a little ways after that, it says that the Royal Dagger can only be used to defeat the Indera on the pedestal that it's found on, which is in the castle."

      "This is mad!" Rose yelled. "You are going on and on about something that's not true!"

      "You deny it; that almost always means it's true," Wanda said with a smirk.

      "'Almost'!" the Princess added.

      "Let me put it this way..." Wanda started, "if you think Dina's the Indera, and if you know she's supposed to overthrow the Crown, then why wouldn't you like to just find an excuse to bring her here so you could stick the Royal Dagger through her heart and get rid of her for good?"

      "Please!" the Princess rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I don't even believe in the Indera!"

      "I can stand for that." Laura smirked. "When you first came for the inspections, you picked up Dina and said, in these exact words, 'She's... the Indera...'!"

      "Um... well... um..." The Princess looked around, a drop of nervous sweat coming down her forehead.

      "HA!" Zora shouted. "Busted!"

      Princess Rose sighed. "Okay, so perhaps it IS true..." she admitted, pulling Dina out of Laura's arms, "But what does it matter? I'm already doing it, and you cannot do a thing about it!"

      "Hey!" Laura shouted, as the Princess hastily ran off with Dina. "GET BACK HERE!"

      Laura chased after Rose, and Wanda began to chase after Laura, but stopped, turned around and looked at Zora. "Well? Don't just sit there; Laura needs help!"

      Zora's eyes widened, and she scrambled out of her chair and chased after Wanda.

     * * * * *

      Laura was running as fast as her Xweetok legs could go, but this was harder than usual because she was wearing a dress.

      "Give back Dina!" Laura shouted at Rose.

      "Never!" Rose replied.

      The Princess turned a corner, and was stricken by surprise as she crashed into Monina.

      "What? Princess Rose...? What's going on?" Monina looked around with confusion.

      Princess Rose pointed at Laura, who was a little ways behind her, "Get her!"

      "What?" Monina yelped. "But I--"

      "I dunno, throw a plate at her, or something!" Rose said as she dashed by Monina.

      Laura came close behind Rose, dodging Monina in her path, "Excuse me..."

      "Oh, uh..." Monina watched Laura run by her, "...hey, wait! I'm supposed to get you!"

      Monina ran after Laura, who ran after Rose. Behind Monina were Wanda and Zora, who were quickly catching up.

      "I don't run around this much even when I'm at the mall!" Zora moaned.

      "Be quiet." Wanda gave Zora a glare. "And quit complaining!"

      "I can't help it... at this rate, Dina's gonna..." Zora glanced to the side. She saw another hallway, and where it led, then she smiled. "Hey, you keep going this way! I'll go around!"

      "Huh?" Wanda turned her head, but Zora was already running off in a different direction. "Um, okay... whatever!"

      Farther down the hall, Laura was slowly but surely falling behind. She looked behind her, noticing Monina, and looked back at Rose and tried to run faster. Unfortunately, she tripped on her dress trying and fell forwards onto the floor. She groaned, as Monina caught up with her, and Laura shouted, "DINA!"

      "Whew!" Monina panted. "Well, you're stopped. My job's done..."

      "Laura!" Wanda called. "Are you okay?"

      "Rose still has Dina!" Laura groaned. "She's gonna get away if I don't--"

      "Hey, you!"

      Wanda and Laura looked down the hall. Zora jumped out in front of the Princess, bringing the startled Princess to a screeching halt. Zora snagged Dina out of Rose's arms and ran off, exclaiming, "Yoink!"

      "Hey!" Rose yelped, and she started running off after Zora.

      "Zora!" Laura called. "Oh no, I gotta go help her! She's gonna--"

      "Laura, Laura, calm down." Wanda sighed. "We all know that you can't run very well in a dress! Zora and I will distract Rose. I've got something better for you to do..."

     * * * * *

      Zora was running as fast as she could with Dina in her arms. Rose was close behind her, and Dina was starting to cry.

      "It's okay, Dina girl!" she said, trying to comfort Dina a little as she turned and dashed up the stairs. The Princess followed, running as fast as she could up the stairs without falling.

      "I'll get yo--" Rose threatened, but then she suddenly lost her balance and fell over forwards. "Whoa!"

      Wanda was behind Rose when she fell. She purposely tripped her up, and she smiled as she went around her, after Zora.

      "Like, so totally thanks!" Zora said blithely.

      "Keep running!" Wanda demanded. "She won't stay down forever!"

      Zora's eyes widened, and she nodded, as she climbed the rest of the way up the stairs. Princess Rose shook her head as she got back up, and then looked to the top of the stairs. She groaned as she realized that Wanda and Zora had already made it up the stairs, and then she dashed after them as fast as she could to the top.

     * * * * *

      "This way!" Wanda called, as she and Zora dashed into a room.

      Zora couldn't help but look around in awe when they got into the room, "Wow, they really DO have a nursery."

      "You hold the door closed!" Wanda exclaimed. "We're safe in here, for a little while."

      Zora nodded, and she grabbed a chair and propped it under the doorknob. She sighed, and sat down with her back against the door. She used this short time to catch her breath before she had to start running, again.

      Wanda, however, took Dina to the back wall of the room, and comforted the crying baby Xweetok.

      "It's okay, Dina. We'll get you out of this." Wanda bounced Dina a little. "We'll get you back to your mommy and back home, okay? Calm down, it's okay."

      Dina began to quiet down, and she began to stop crying. Wanda sighed, and spotted some alphabet blocks. She remembered what Laura said about Dina liking alphabet blocks, and picked them up. She placed the blocks in front of Dina. Dina managed a small smile, and began to play with the blocks, calming down a little. With a sigh, Wanda stood back up, and started to walk over to the door, where Zora was resting.

      "I'm amazed that Princess Rose hasn't found us yet," Wanda admitted.

      "Well, that's good..." Zora panted. "That means more time to rest!"

      Wanda looked back at Dina, who was calmly playing with alphabet blocks. "I hope that we can get out of this castle soon..."

      "Ugh, and I thought that a trip to the castle would be--" Zora was interrupted by the doorknob wiggling. Both Wanda and Zora jumped out of their skin, and looked to the door.

      "Open up this door!" shouted Princess Rose, on the other side of the door.

      "Oh em gee, she found us!" Zora gasped. "Go get Dina, I'll try to hold her off as long as I can!"

      Wanda nodded, and ran to the back of the room as Zora started leaning against the door. Dina looked shocked, and her eyes began to water, again.

      "It's okay, Dina! You'll be okay! You don't need to cry!" Wanda tried to comfort Dina, as the door was throbbing madly. Dina did not calm down, if anything she got worse. Wanda grabbed a tissue, and gently wiped some of the tears off Dina's face.

      "It's okay, I'll keep you safe, I'll..." Wanda looked into Dina's indigo eyes. Even though they were full of tears, they still shined with the usual, magical feel. Wanda got an idea. She set the tissue down and rolled up her sleeve a little, "Dina, touch my arm."

      "...Weh?" Dina looked at Wanda through her tears.

      "Do that body-swap thing that you did before." Wanda said.

      "Eh-neh..." Dina lowered her head, and sniffed.

      "Rose is looking for you as a baby Xweetok, not a blue Bori!" Wanda explained. "The book says that the magic you use is supposed to make you hard to find... and you want to be hard to find, or Rose will get you and then you'll be... hurt really badly!" Wanda figured that it probably wasn't really a smart idea to mention death to a baby. "Come on, it's for your own good!"

      Dina looked at the door, Zora was pushing with all of her weight to keep the door closed, and the chair propped under the door looked like it was about to break. And all to keep her safe. Then she looked back at Wanda, and the arm that she was holding out.

      "Do it!" Wanda yelped.

      Dina nodded, and touched Wanda's arm. Both of their eyes closed, and they sat there for a few seconds. Before they could open their eyes, a loud *SNAP!* was heard, and Zora fell to the floor as the chair broke into two pieces, and the door flung open, Princess Rose on the other side.

      "Wanda! Dina!" Zora called, eyes wide.

      Wanda and Dina opened their eyes. The Bori's eyes were now indigo, and the Xweetok's were yellow-green. Dina was now in Wanda's body, and Wanda in Dina's.

      "GUH!" Wanda (the baby Xweetok) shouted, and Dina (the Bori) ran out of the nursery past Rose and down the hall.

      Princess Rose looked towards the back wall of the room, and she saw Wanda, thinking she was Dina, and smiled.

      "Ah yes, there you are..." she chuckled maliciously, and began to walk over to Wanda.

      Zora's eyes widened when she saw the Princess pick up Wanda, also thinking it was Dina, and tried to get up, but she found that a table that was knocked over when the door flung open was weighing down her leg, and she couldn't move. She groaned, and struggled to get the table off her leg.

      Meanwhile, Rose looked at Wanda with a smile, but her smile faded when she saw her yellow-green eyes. "Arrgh! Now where'd she go?!"

      She set the smiling Wanda on the floor, and she marched back to the door, just as Zora managed to lift the table off her foot. She sighed with relief, but gasped when she saw Rose standing over her. The Princess looked into the startled, purple eyes of Zora and groaned. She charged out of the room, as Zora sat, feeling her heartbeat.

      Wanda crawled by as fast as she could, exclaiming, "Huh-ee! Guh geh Roh!"

      "What the?" Zora yelped after Wanda finished speaking. She just shook her head in confusion, got up and chased after Rose.

     * * * * *

      Dina ran as fast as she could, but she wasn't used to being a Bori, so she stumbled a little as she did so. But nonetheless, she stayed on her feet and continued running.

      "Come here, Bori!" shouted Princess Rose, who was behind Dina, and gaining on her.

      Dina gasped, and ran faster. She came to a corner, and turned it. Rose following a few seconds afterwards. Dina could feel her heartbeat as she turned another corner, and almost crashed into Zora.

      "Wanda?" Zora yelped.

      "Dina," Dina corrected her. "Hold still..." Dina touched Zora's shoulder, and their eyes closed. A couple seconds later, they opened their eyes, again. Wanda was back to being a Bori, and Dina was now in the body of Zora.

      Wanda was a little shocked, but immediately turned around and ran the other direction. Dina did the same thing. Just as Rose turned the corner, she smiled as she saw Wanda, then groaned as she saw that her eyes were back to yellow-green. Then she spotted Dina, and chased after her.

     * * * * *

      "Wuh!" shouted Zora, who suddenly found herself in Dina's body. She tumbled down the stairs that she found herself on, and landed on the ground, thankfully cushioned by Dina's diaper, although it felt a little bit strange.

      She then got up onto her feet, and waddled off. She could hear some yelps coming from upstairs, some from Wanda, some from Dina, and some from Princess Rose. She gasped, and tried to waddle faster, but fell over forwards, onto her belly. She groaned, and started to crawl, suddenly becoming curious where Laura had went.

     * * * * *

      Laura ran towards a door, with a Shoyru guard standing on either side. They stopped her as she approached, exclaiming, "What are you doing here? How did you get into the castle?"

      "The Princess invited me for dinner... well, sort of," Laura answered truthfully.

      "Then why aren't you in the dining room?" asked the guard on the left.

      "Things got a little... well, out of hand, and I need to speak with the King," Laura said.

      "The King is not to be disturbed right now!" shouted the guard on the right.

      "But I need to talk to him! It's very important!" Laura exclaimed.

      "Even if it IS important..." the right guard began.

      "...no one is allowed into this room, ever!" the left guard finished.

      "I don't need to enter the room, but I need to talk to him!" Laura replied. "You see, it's about the Princess..."

     * * * * *

      Dina yelped, as she tripped and fell face-first onto the ground. The Princess ran to her, and looked at her intensely. Dina rolled over, and gasped, seeing an evil grin appear on Rose's face.

      "There you are, Indera," Princess Rose said smugly.

      Dina began to crawl backwards, and then rolled back over and started to crawl forwards. However, Rose grabbed her by the foot, and picked her up off the floor. Dina struggled to get away, and Rose smiled.

      "Resistance is futile," the Princess exclaimed. "You can't get away!"

      "Oh, yes she can!"

      Wanda ran up behind Princess Rose and poked her in the back with her huge Bori claws. Rose yelped in pain, and dropped Dina to the floor. Dina panted, as she got up off the floor and began to run away while Wanda had the Princess distracted.

      After a while of running, Dina looked over her shoulder and sighed, as she thought that she had lost Rose. But she was caught by surprise as she suddenly came crashing into Monina...

     * * * * *

      Princess Rose came running down the hall, mentally kicking herself as she couldn't find where Dina had run off to. Then she spotted Monina, who was looking down the hall. She sighed, and went to the Pink Bruce.

      "Monina! Have you seen a purple Acara come this direction?" she asked.

      "Yes." Monina nodded, never even looking at Rose. "She almost knocked me over as she came running down this hall."

      "Many thanks!" Princess Rose said with a nod, and she continued down the hall.

      As the Princess faded out of sight, Monina smiled. Her usually azure eyes were indigo. It wasn't Monina at all; it was Dina. She went running in the opposite direction as Rose, laughing just a little, hardly believing that Rose fell for her trick.

To be continued...