Jia was sure that the beach party wasn`t a facility member's idea. How did she know? Simple, alcohol from the most dangerous Kingdom of Illian was available for the students to consume which was something responsible Professors wouldn`t allow. Moon Brew, which was beginning to be consumed like water, was especially potent and hard to buy unless you were a high official.
Jia shook her head as students from the different magic schools converged at the bar located at the center of the private beach of Saton Knights. The land, as Roy mentioned, was purchased by the headmaster for drills but it could also be used to host Beach parties for the men.
She had been invited by Roy because for the last two weeks she had been on house arrest and wasn`t allowed to go anywhere. Zoey had come along as Cole`s plus one and Kyra was invited by one of her brothers. Both girls were there as Zoey`s back up because she wasn`t comfortable with going to a party where a lot of Cole`s ex flings were prancing around in their bikinis.
"Remind me again, why you don`t want to sit out in the sun?" Kyra sked as she turned from her sun lounge and glanced at her silver haired teammate.
Jia was sitting on a chair, under a huge beach umbrella and covered in a purple sarong. In her hand sat a book on Fairy tales from her kingdom. Zoey was lounging next to Kyra in her blue one-piece bikini getting a tan and watching Cole play volleyball.
Her boyfriend and his friends were challenging another squad and were currently dominating the game.
"I can`t tan, my skin is allergic to intense ultra violet rays that are commonly found in the sun so I have to be in the shade," Jia answered.
"But you play Soccer during PE out in the sun," Kyra pointed out.
"I can handle one hour or forty- five minutes of sun, not twelve hours." Jia admitted with a frown. She had to work on increasing her sun tolerance.
"What`s the longest you`ve gone out in the sun?" Zoey asked as she glanced at her friend who put down her book and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
"Two hours."
"Wow, that`s really sad."
Jia shrugged and turned the page of her book.
"Hey girls, you three coming for a game?" Roy called out. Jia glanced up to see her cousin, Chase, Cole and Mike approach them. The other two boys were being swarmed by a number of girl and they didn`t look to be in a hurry to join them.
"Sure." Zoey said as she sat up with a smile.
Kyra shrugged, "Yeah, I`m game."
"I suck at volleyball," Jia revealed, sighing as she bent her head down even further to take in what she was reading. She loved this book particularly because the stories weren`t about love and damsel`s in distress but rather adventure and about Female Dragon Riders.
"What?!" Chase asked. She glanced up to see everyone having dropped jaws and widened eyes.
"Do my ears deceive me? Or did I just hear that Jia, cousin to Roy, actually sucks at something?" Mike repeated. Kyra snickered lightly as Zoey stood up and smother her giggles. The boys however still looked shocked, even Roy himself.
"Don`t look so surprised," Jia snapped," I was never forced to go into sports until now. I have since discovered that I lack balance in volleyball, netball and Orb ball."
"Bummer," Roy said with a straight face. That triggered everyone to start laughing. Jia growled and stuck out her hand. She then paused and pouted as she remembered that magic was nullified on the land.
Her cousin`s laughter to get even worse so she took her beach towel and threw it at his face which landed on target. At that, Mike turned to laugh at his friend while Chase leaned over, clutching his stomach with laughter. Cole and was holding Zoey against him and laughing as Kyra smirked at Roy.
"Leave me be, peasants," Jia commanded them.
Roy picked up her towel and threw it back at her before jogging away with the others following suite. However, Chase paused and turned back to her, "What are you going to do in the meantime?"
Jia sniffed, "I was hoping to get some reading done today."
Chase shrugged and continued on, satisfied that one of his friend would be safe on her chair. Jia raised her book up and waited patiently until everyone was well absorbed in the game before sneaking away. She put on a pair of purple flip flops but left her hands bare. Gloves at the beach were just a nightmare but thanks to the Nullifying effects on the place, she was powerless and didn't have to worry about electrocuting anyone.
She swung her cute little bag pack on that had her phone, insect repellent, her reading book and a water bottle that Clary had so graciously lent her this morning as she was leaving.
"You don`t want to die of dehydration," Clary had said to her when she revealed that she didn`t bring one from home and whenever they went out, she would rely on the rain for water.
"If you go to a place where your powers are useless and you can`t bring the rain, you need a water bottle," Clary had lectured her when she tried to use her powers as an excuse.
Who knew her friend took hydration seriously?
She navigated her way through the beach till she reached the jungles. After securing her hair in a high pony tail, she began pushing away the huge leaves from the wild flowers blocking her way near the entrance of the jungle. She stopped after a minute to remove her phone and make a call.
After two seconds, an image of Rose came online.
"Finally, it took you long enough," Rose greeted.
Jia pursed her lips and glared at her friend's image, "Hi Rose, it's great to see you too."
Rose sheepishly smiled, "Sorry. Hi Jia, how is your beach day going?"
Jia nodded with approval at her friend," It`s going well. Sorry it took so long to call you. I needed everyone distracted so I could leave."
"Which I still don`t agree with. Why can`t you get someone to go with you to find this plant? One of the girls, your cousin or Chase?"
Jia huffed as she began walking again," Because I don`t want a babysitter. This is my first time in two weeks to be completely on my own and I can defend myself and find this plant for you without getting the Emperor`s attention."
Rose chewed on her lower lip, "I still don`t like it."
Jia arched a brow at her friend, "Well you aren`t here to stop me."
"I could call their phone." Rose threatened.
"Everyone put their phones on silent as soon as we got here."
Rose muttered a curse under her breath, "I knew I should have warned someone. Before you three left."
"Well you didn`t. So suck it up."
"Fine."
"So what am I looking for and where can I find it?"
"Alright, you`re going to be looking for the Tears of the Moon. It`s a white plant that was rumored to be planted by the Fair Folk in land that you are standing on. But it only grows near a waterfall that has a rainbow and since the land you're standing on is private property, I have no maps to guide you. We need this plant to reverse the spell."
Jia stopped in her tracks and winced," Uhhh…Of course." The spell in question was another long story that didn`t need discussing until a later date. "Send me a picture of the plant."
An image of a pretty but strange looking plant appears in front of Rose`s face. It had diamond shaped leaves and looked delicate. Instead of the usual green, it was pure white. A shade darker than her hair but still ethereal looking.
Jia scanned it thoughtfully, "Looks easy enough to track it." She pressed onwards, being carefully of not stepping on anything dangerous.
"What about the waterfall?"
"I can find it; I was taught survival skills by my- "
"Uncle?" Rose supplied.
"No, my papa," Jia chuckled, "I can find any water source. I`ll find that waterfall. "
Rose sighed heavily, "Text me when you do."
"I will."
"And Jia?"
She hummed in reply. Rose pointed at her.
"You be careful, alright?"
"Promise." Jia agreed with a thumbs up. She then ended the call before putting the phone away and continuing on with her journey. Using what knowledge, she had from her days learning survival skills on the Elites Base, she took in the geography and took in the appearance of the animals. Everything needed water and in a place such as this, the beach would be off limits so the wildlife would have to find some other way to survive and get water to drink. Plus, thick vegetation needed a lot of water to thrive. She stopped once to apply insect repellent on her arms and legs because the bites were just annoying.
It took her a full thirty minutes for her search to continue, by then she was hot, sweating and thirsty. Her hair strands were matted with sweat and clung to her back and neck. She stopped and removed her sarong, leaving her only in her bikini top and jean shorts. Stuffed the sarong into her bag before applying the insect repellent on herself again on her exposed torso before removing her container and gulping down her drink. She was tempted to wash herself with the water but she was sure that her thirst would come back to haunt her. She was done drinking when she heard it. The sound of water flowing.
Straining her ears, she put her water bottle back into her bag and moved towards the sound. A minute later, she was greeted with sight of the most beautiful water fall she had ever seen.
Clear, crystal like water flowed from the top before crashing down into an equally stunning water hole. The water seems to flow in a narrow line and if she was right, it would flow out into the sea. Birds seem to chirp and fly around the place and nature seemed at peace, untouched by people.
"Score!" Jia exclaimed as she stood before the water fall. The water looked so clear that she could see the little sprites gliding inside the water. All along the edges of the waterfall however were Jin flowers. Poisons plants that killed people just minutes after contact with their skin. And if that wasn`t enough sharp jagged rock lay waiting at the bottom for anyone who was stupid enough to jump in from the ideas. Jia had a feeling that nature was telling her that if you could look and admire that falls but do not jump into the water unless you wanted an early death. She quickly pulled out her phone and fired a text to Rose before doing anything else.
She grimaced as she began scanning the place for the plant. Sure enough, it was there. Three clumps of it grew on the top left side of the falls on a steep curve. It looks easy enough to climb but she would have to avoid touching the plants around the area to be sure that nothing was poisonous.
Jia adjusted the strap of her backpack before making her way over to the falls. The climb wasn`t hard but it wasn`t easy as well. She kept losing her balance and slipping so she had to dig her finger into the soil to pull herself up. So now she was hot, sweaty and dirty.
"Times like this, I really miss being able to fly," Jia muttered angry to herself. True, if she had her magic with her. She`d just fly over the falls and pluck up the plant before flying back to the beach.
When she reached the top, she removed her bag pack before kneeling and reaching down over the cliff where the plant was barely within reaching distance.
"Come on," Jia whispered as sweat dripped down from her forehead. Hearing a snap, she risked it and pushed herself further and managed to grab the nearest pant. With a relieved laugh, she slowly pulled the plant up. Jia was just pulling herself back up when she felt the ground she was standing give way. Jai screamed and pitched forward, time slowing down as she fell towards the rocks and the Jin.