Chapter 21
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I smile at Mother as we walk through the field of cherry blossom trees.
I always love when they’re in bloom.
I glance back and wave to Father as he stand at the doorway to our home.
He nods, before his eyes widen in shock.
Confused, I turn around and see what looks like a large tear in the air, as if someone just ripped the air apart like a piece of paper.
Curious, I start moving towards it, reaching out a hand.
“Miranda, īe!” Mother yells.
I glance back as my hand touches the tear, only for a strong wind to suddenly start pulling.
Mother grabs my other hand and starts to pull, but I feel myself being yanked back, the last thing is see being Father’s horrified expression as he screams.
“Misami! Miranda!”
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I feel heavy.
What…? What was I just…?
I’m faintly aware of a gasp, followed by someone saying, “Mel!” a little louder than I’m really comfortable with.
I slowly open my eyes, trying to blink away my blearily vision and foggy thoughts.
When my vision clears a little, I can see Will’s face staring back at me, tears in her eyes and a relieved smile on her face.
Wait. Why is Will standing over me as I sleep…?
I find it hard to move my body, it being too tired, so use my eyes to look around as best I can.
I seem to be in what looks like a hospital room. My memories of my original life may be foggy, but I do know I was in hospital several times in my childhood, so am very familiar with the look of a hospital room by now.
I laying in a bed, my left arm in a, held in a sling and my right leg feels like it’s wrapped in bandages. It doesn’t feel broken, per say, but I can tell something’s wrong with it.
I can feel some kind of plaster above my right eye and I think there’s bandages around my neck too.
I’m hook up to several machines, including an IV drip that’s attached to my good arm, beeping sounds indicating my heart rate going off every second or so.
What in the world happened?
“Mel,” Will says in a half sob as the door opens and the rest of the girls pile in quickly. “I’ve been… We’ve all been so worried.”
I try to talk, but find my throat feels to dry. I can’t make my lips form the words. Plus, there seem to be a mask over my mouth. Had I been having trouble breathing or something?
Taranee stares at me for a moment and nods, putting a finger to her head. Try this way. It’ll probably be quicker for all of us anyway.
I nod… or would, if I could move my head. Man, I’m so phsycially tired.
What…? What in the world happened?
Will gives me a worried look. “You… you don’t remember?”
There’s a pause, before I remember I can’t move my head and just mentally say, No.
The girls all look to each other with worry, before Cornelia answers. “We were in Equestria. You’d been on a scouting mission, when you stumbled upon a younger hippogriff and a Changeling nymph. You found a bunch of Changelings to keep them safe, when Miranda blindsided you.”
My eyes widen.
Irma nods. “You were so tired, both from how long you’d been scouting and how long you then had to keep the Changelings away from the other two, she quickly over powered you… and then pretty much tried to kill you, I guess.”
I blink, confused, before it suddenly comes back to me. Terrimar and that young nymph!
“Don’t worry, they’re both safe,” Hay Lin says quickly. “By the time we got there, Miranda had gone and you were in really bad condition.”
“Hay Lin and I stayed behind, taking those two back to camp with Tirek,” Cornelia continues, “while Will, Irma and Taranee brought you back here to Earth… and had to make up a story fast.”
“Mom thinks you were attacked by a bunch of street thugs,” Will answers to my raised eyebrow.
“It’s been all over the news the last four days,” Hay Lin interjects. “Irma’s dad was worried it might have been the arsonists,” she does air quotations, “so spilled the beans to Irma, Taranee and Alchemy.”
My eyes widen.
What?! Alchemy?! What’s she have to do with this? And now she knows the false Witness Protection story? And four days?! I was out that long?!
“We… didn’t exactly have a lot of time to figure things out,” Taranee admits sheepishly. “We kinda had to go with the flow and work as best we could with what that gave us.”
“But that’s as far as she knows,” Will ushers me. “She’s just as oblivious to magic as the rest of the world.”
I frown, thinking, Okay. That works out, I guess.
I better be able to move my head again soon. Not even being able to nod or slightly shake my head to nonverbally answer at all is getting really old, really fast.
“Anyway,” Irma says, waving a hand in the air, “while you’ve been out of commission, we ended up taking that test.”
I cock an eyebrow. Test?
Hay Lin nods. “For the trip to Redstone, remember?”
I blink, the sigh. Huh. Guess I forgot about that. Guess I’m not going, since I couldn’t take it. So, how’d you all do?
Hay Lin squeals, pulling Taranee and Cornelia to either side of her in a one arm hug. “The three of us got in!”
I glance to Will and Irma.
“I flunked,” Irma shrugs. “Not like academics has ever been my strong suit.”
I glance at Will.
She sighs. “I was so worried about you, I could focus, so I flunked too.”
I look at her sadly.
Will immediately waves a hand. “No-no, Mel. This isn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself, okay?”
She stares intently at me for a moment, before I relent.
I frown. Wait. How well is that going to work for W.I.T.C.H.? I mean, three of you are going to be in completely different timezones.
Cornelia shakes her head. “It’s okay, Mel. We’ll work it out. For now, we’re just concerned for your recovery.”
I blink, something only just occurring to me. Wait, that reminds me. If I was in such a bad state after Miranda jumped me… how were you able to get me back to Earth alive… let alone convince everyone I was just beaten up by a bunch of thugs? No one would believe that much damaged could’ve been done by a bunch of thugs.
Taranee oddly gets a slightly annoyed look, before shaking her head. “Believe it or not, we got you at least healed enough simply by getting you to transform from human to your Guardian form again.”
I deadpan. Taranee, I not a child. I’m not going to believe I could be magically healed by something that doesn’t heal.
There’s a very long, very uncomfortable pause as the girls all look around.
My deadpan stays. You’re kidding. You’re kidding, right?
Taranee sighs. “Well, no, we’re not.”
I look between her and Will. Explain. Now.
Will glances at the others and sighs. “It happened the day after we found out about the result for Redstone.”
THE DAY AFTER REDSTONE’S RESULTS
The girls we all gathered in Cornelia’s bedroom… which looked like a clothing bomb had gone off.
“Cornelia, you know clothes are meant to go in the suitcase not on the floor, right?” Irma teased as Hay Lin picked up a pink jacket.
Cornelia gave a sarcastic laugh as she took the item of clothing. “Ha, ha. Very funny.”
“Man, I wish I was going to Redstone,” Irma sighed, jumping onto Cornelia’s bed and rolling onto her back. “Even with Will and Mel staying, it’s just not going to be the same without you guys too.”
“How is Mel doing, by the way?” Taranee asked, giving Will a concerned look.
Will sighed, looking away dejectedly. “She still hasn’t woken up yet. The doctors say it’ll honestly be a miracle if she ever does.”
No one knew how to respond. The mood had definitely gotten gloomier.
“Well, once we get back from the month trip, I’m sure she’ll be away before then and we can tell her everything about Redstone,” Hay Lin tried to brighten the mood.
Taranee put a hand on Will’s shoulder, wincing and took of her glasses, putting them down on a nearby pile of books and rubbed her eyes, before glancing around and frowning. “Cornelia, you still have that issue of Fashion Flops from last month?”
The girls all looked to her in confusion.
Taranee pointed to a bookshelf above Cornelia’s desk. “That one, see? It says “Worst Fashion Flops of the Year”, right there in the bottom right corner?”
The girls all stared at her, causing Taranee to feel worried and confused.
“Taranee…” Will asked tentatively, “you can… read that? From all the way over here… without your glasses?”
Taranee blinked, before her eyes widened and she looked around as if only just seeing the room for the very first time.
“I… I don’t understand. I can see clearly, without them? How? That doesn’t even begin to make sense!”
“Wait a minute,” Hay Lin frowned, rubbing her chin. “Remember what The Oracle said, back when we were trying to figure out how to save Mel? He said transforming into Guardian form would help heal her.”
“Do you think, maybe…?” Irma looked to Taranee.
“That somehow it healed my eyesight too?” Taranee shook her head. “How? We were trying to heal Mel, not make my eyesight better.”
“Then I think we need to speak with The Oracle,” Will said, holding out the Heart of Kandrakar, “and find out what he meant back then and how it connects to this.”
She opened a Fold to Kandrakar and they all went through, it closing behind them.
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The girls walked briskly through the halls of Kandrakar until they entered the Court of the Council, much to the Council’s surprise.
“Guardians?” Halinor gasped. “This is a surprise. What brings you here?”
“Taranee’s newly found eyesight,” Will said flatly, indicating to her. “Mind explaining how she went from nearsighted to being able to see perfectly just randomly?”
“And how it’s connected to how we somehow healed Mel just by transforming into our Guardian forms?” Irma added.
The Oracle smiled. “Don’t worried, it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
“Nothing to be concerned about?” Taranee asked sceptically. “All of a sudden I’ve got 20/20 vision when my eyesight’s been bad since I was little. Am I supposed to just consider this normal?”
The Oracle blinked, before looking genuinely surprised. “Wait a moment. Do none of you actually know? I thought maybe you had simply forgotten, but… are you all actually unaware of the Gift of Xin Jing?”
“Wait. Xin Jing left a gift along with the Heart when she turned into a dragon?” Hay Lin asked, confused.
The Orcale looked very surprised, before frowning in thought. “I guess, with how quickly you all first encountered Cedric and you all had to prepare for facing Phobos, it must have slipped Yan Lin’s mind.”
“Hang on. What would Hay Lin know about this Gift of Xin Jing?” Will asked, very confused.
The Oracle took a deep breath. “The Gift of Xin Jing is a special power that has always flowed into the Guardians. Every time you transform, your bodies and powers become stronger, any flaws in your bodies being healed and disappearing in time.”
“Whoa! Hold on now,” Taranee’s eyes widened and she pointed to them. “Do you mean the reason I’ve been getting all these headaches is because us transforming has healed my eyes, so my glasses are actually bad for them now?”
“You couldn’t have warned us about this happened sooner, like, when we all first met the day you dropped the Vail?” Irma asked accusingly.
The Oracle shook his head. “I truly thought you were all already aware of the Xin Jing’s Gift. I suppose it was one of the details I should have checked in on when I first noticed young Taranee still wearing her glasses the day you all first came here.” He bowed. “I do apologize for not informing you all sooner.”
Taranee scowled. “With all due respect, sir, my life isn’t all about Kandrakar.” She turned to the others. “Aren’t you guys going to say anything? All of this is okay with you?”
“Well…” Will paused, looking to The Oracle. “Wait. So, Xin Jing’s Gift is what healed Mel?”
Taranee frustration faded and they all looked to The Oracle, who nodded.
“While not technically are Guardian in the same aspects as yourselves, Mel’s Heart of Shadow is currently linked to the Heart of Kandrakar, so the healing properties of Xin Jing’s Gift apply to her as well, though in a slightly smaller capacity than the others.”
“Huh? Why?” Irma scowled. “Mel’s the only reason we can still transform. Why does she get jipped on Xin Jing’s Gift?”
The Oracle closed his eyes. “Because Xin Jing Gift is split between her and Will.”
Their eyes widened.
“You have to remember, girls,” Halinor said calmly, “something like this has never happened in the history of Kandrakar. Never has another Heart been needed to maintain the link between the Heart of Kandrakar and the Aurameres. This is new territory for all of us, not just the Guardians.”
The girls all looked to each other, before Taranee let out a heavy sigh, frowning. “Well… I guess you have a point. Without this gift from Xin Jing, Mel wouldn’t have recovered enough for medical science to help her.”
NOW
I look from one girl to the other, before my eyes remain on Taranee.
So… if you don’t need glasses anymore, then how come…?
Taranee reaches up and takes off her glasses, holding them out a little closer to me. “They’re fake. I used my fire to turn them into just normal glass. Gives the illusion I still need them, without letting anyone know I suddenly have perfect eyesight.”
I glance to Will and she takes my hand. I get the feeling we’re not just going to keep transforming over and over with the sole purpose of healing me, are we?
Will gives a sad smile, shaking her head. “We will be transforming to heal you, but only in small amounts. We can’t have people questioning you having a miraculous recovery, now, can we?”
I sigh, mentally agreeing, before frowning and looking away. Also guessing I’ll be off of missions for a while, huh?
Will nods apologetically. “We’ll need you for the transformation, but then we’ll have to Fold out of here while you stay behind.”
I scowl, but sigh in agreement. Then I frown. Wait. Wouldn’t the security camera see all that? My eyes widen. Wouldn’t they have heard all of this?!
Will chuckles, shaking her head. “Doris was kind enough to play a recording on loop as soon as you woke up.” She turns to look at the small camera facing my bed. “Thanks again, Doris.”
“No problem, honey,” the camera says in a New York accent. “Private chats should always be private, ya know what I’m sayin’?”
“She’ll also make sure no one sees us transform or Fold out,” Irma gives a thumbs up. “Far as anyone else will know, they system just jumps a bit right as we left.”
I smile, though inside… I don’t feel happy.
Until I heal completely, I can’t help. I’m the reason they’re going to Equestria at all. I should be helping them.
I sigh. I guess I’m just going to have to be patient and hope I heal quickly enough to be of real use again.
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“No, Mr. Brooke. I don’t want to disappoint you,” Sylla said into his cell phone. “I’m trying my best…”
“I wouldn’t call it that,” a gruff man’s voice said on the other line. “You haven’t made any progress yet! We need to know what those girls know and why that Vandom girl matches her description!”
“It’s been harder than I thought, sir,” Sylla said uncertainly. “Young Melinda’s shyness makes it much harder to get her to open up, despite my trying to act like the kind teacher. Plus, with some of them now traveling to Redstone, those girls will be separated, meaning things have become much more complicated. I can’t keep watch on them in two places at once.”
“Oh, come on!” the man on the other end shouted, causing Sylla to quickly move the phone away from his ear. “Besides, I’ve found a solution to that problem. You’ll simply travel to Redstone with them. We want information, evidence, something that can explain it all! Am I making myself clear?”
The call ended.
Sylla sighed in frustration. “Clear is crystal.”