Lesley walked down the hallway silently crying as she saw students arranging their stands for the science fair. Her eyes caught two girls who were crosschecking their robot. She and Amora had always been partners right from middle school and they took home the trophies each year that competed. The previous year, they had designed a machine they had called the scream charger, this could charge up mobile devices by powering with just sound and they had won again. This win was their biggest in their history of science fair partnership as they drew the attention of one of the judges who gave them tickets to the "SCIENCE SHOWDOWN", a competition where highschool scientists and college scientists would battle with science to win a grand prize. No high school students usually passed the early elimination stages but Amora and Lesley did with their incredible inventions and even got to the finals. Lesley's mother Mrs Harolds had been diagnosed with cancer and Lesley stayed with her throughout the course of her cancer stages and couldn't work with Amora for the finals. It was this time that Amora designed Lexi, an artificial intelligence with human behavior that could be a human's best pal. Amora's work had come second place to some college students work on virtual house keeping.
Lesley still didn't know or get why Amora would abandon her and their memories just to run off to some place that didn't have cellular network. She picked up her phone and placed a voicemail, probably for a millionth time since Amora disappeared.
"Hey Mora, it's me again, your supposed best friend. Where are you? Why can't you just call me or something? Why do I feel like you don't care about me anymore? This is the last time I'm gonna drop messages" she said with her voice tearing apart because of her crying.
Lesley sat in the class but her mind was not in the class as she kept thinking about why Amora left her and why her life was filled with suffering. She was so deep in thoughts that she didn't notice the teacher walking up to her till she tapped her table.
"Lesley Harolds, earth to you" The lady said as she snapped Lesley out of her thoughts and the class laughed at how she jumped when she heard the bang on her table.
"I'm sorry Miss Morrison, I uh got carried away" Lesley quickly apologized to the older blonde lady. The teacher looked at Lesley's tired and depressed face and was filled with pity.
Pity, however was something Lesley didn't want, not now not ever.
" Poor child, are you alright?" Miss Morrison asked again and Lesley was angry to see the woman's face of pity.
"Yes I am fine Miss Morrison, let's continue with the class please ma'am" Lesley pleaded as she noticed that the entire class had their eyes on her.
"You look depressed and I am very concerned" The lady placed her hands on her shoulder but Lesley shook it off. "Of course, only depressed people know depressed people" this was Lesley's rude reply that got a gasp from the teacher and murmurs from the class. Lesley, now realising that she had been too rude, immediately began to apologized as tears gathered in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to" Lesley's voice broke into a sob as she hurriedly packed her backpack and ran out of the classroom leaving the teacher and her classmates speechless.
........
Amora sat on a fallen tree close to the stream at midnight waiting for this new acquaintance of hers to show up.
"Hmmmm, perhaps she's not coming" she said to herself as she stood up and made to leave because the night's cold was beginning to get to her. Just then she heard a swift movement in the water and when she turned around, she saw Aquata walking towards her naked. Aquata's bare hips swayed from side to side as she stepped out of the water to meet Amora. For a moment, Amora questioned her sexuality as she found herself gaping at this beautiful water nymph.
"Why are you always naked?" Amora asked when Aquata sat on a rock facing her.
"Because where I come from, we only stay in our water forms and it's not a clothing ,it's our natural form and when we drop that form, we tend to be naked" She explained to the still gaping Amora.
"How long have you been living in this stream?" Amora's eyes still eyed the nymph who was playing with her hair.
Amora noticed that Aquata had beautiful honey brown eyes and lips as red as the roses in Grandma Daeva's garden.
"Well,it's midnight and I'm here, you promised to tell me about yourself and why you are here instead of with your kind" Amora said reminding the nymph of her promise the last time they met.
Aquata had thought that this Vadinian would forget about her history but she did not and she wondered why this Vadinian seemed different from the ones she had seen come from this house. She was the first person who had set eyes on her in her water form and in this form after her banishment from Dellantia.
"I am a water nymph, and my kind, we all live in a sacred abode called Dellantia and we as water nature spirits, protect the waters and their creatures including the mermaids and we are summoned by naturites when there's need for it like help to cross a raging water" Said Aquata as she watched Amora's lip form into an "O".
"Only the naturites can summon spirits of nature and I am a water nature spirit or was one" Amora noticed the sadness in her eyes as she spoke about once being a water nature spirit.
"Why are you so sad? Aren't you still a nymph?" Amora asked.
"Oh,I am a nymph but a banished one and I can't be summoned. I can't go home to Dellantia anymore,oh how I miss my sisters!. I can't be summoned by naturites because I was stripped of my answering powers" Aquata explained.
"So are you like a uh, powerless nymph?"
"No, not powerless, I can shift my form" Aquata shifted her form into Amora. Amora's chin dropped as she saw Aquata shifting into her.
"And I still have my water manipulation ability but the connection I have with the Aquo-moon has been severed the day I was banished"
"Why were you banished though? There's basically nothing worse than killing someone and I know you didn't kill anyone, why banish a sweet one like you"
Aquata smiled shyly when she heard Amora referring to her as sweet and beautiful.
"Well, I broke the rules of Dellantia and I had to be banished. I was sentenced to die by absorbing myself into the Aquo-moon but my sisters ,who were members of the council, pleaded on my behalf and the council agreed on just banishment"
"That's quite harsh, I wonder what you did to deserve death"
Aquata took a deep breath as she started reminiscing and telling Amora all that happened.
Aquata had fallen in love with a human she used to spy on while swimming around the beach checking for any danger in sight. She had wanted to be with Timothy so much that she showed herself to Timothy and did everything Tim asked of her just so he could feel the same way she felt.
Aquata would trick fishes with her songs and lure them into Tim's nets and she was always leaving Dellantia even when it wasn't her turn to scout the oceans. She was soon discovered by one of the other nymphs and was reported to the council. The council couldn't stand what she had done. She had broken the first rule of never showing yourself to anyone on the above, the other realm. She had not only lured them but she had also not been a good protector of the sea creatures as she lured them to him. Humans fished the sea yes, they agreed but they weren't supposed to get help from nymphs. The council had taken it upon themselves to erase Tim's memory of Aquata and also banished Aquata to wander around the realms for all of eternity, the day she would ever swim to Dellantia, she would be absorbed into the Aquo-moon.
Amora listened to Aquata's story with rapt attention and was moved with pity for her. "So much punishment just because you were in love?, That's total brutality" Amora said spiting the other nymphs.
"Well, here I am, living in the stream behind house Daeva" Aquata smiled at her.
"I'm so sorry you were banished Aquata, you must miss home so much, your sisters too"
"Ah! I do miss home, especially Alda and Darya, my sisters" Aquata sighed sadly.
"I wish you could go home someday, it's quite lonely without your family or loved one" Amora sounded sad now .
"Why do you sound so sad Amora of house Daeva? You have an entire family"
"I am still getting to know these people Aquata, I came from the human realm. I lived there all my life and I watched the woman who raised me as her own, my mother die, I left my best friend behind and now I feel guilty for keeping her in the dark. I should have at least explained a bit to her before disappearing" Amora's voice threatened to break into a sob but Aquata consoled her.
"It's alright dear, you can always reach your best friend from here"
Aquata's revelation made Amora's face light up with hope. "How can I do that please? Don't ask me to come next midnight please" Amora begged the nymph who was wearing a proud smirk on her face.
" Well, it's just a spell, the dream walking spell. You can reconnect with your friend in the other realm by walking into her dreams" said Aquata as she got up and moved to the water.
"Please don't leave, tell me about this spell, please" Amora was sounding desperate now as she begged Aquata.
"It's a spell to be performed by a coven of witches to make a charm, easy daisy" Aquata smiled mischievously as she slowly took her water form. "How do I find a coven?" Amora asked again.
"You'll see , you'll see. Please go back to your chambers now Amora of house Daeva, I'll see you next midnight" Aquata said as she finally took her water form and disappeared into the water.
Amora stood there staring at the water for sometime before deciding that she was going to reach Lesley and Bloom was going to help her find her coven of witches who would perform the spell.
.....
"Wait what? A coven of witches to perform the dream walking spell? Amora! What in the name of the moon goddess is wrong with you? Sometimes the the dream walking goes wrong and you would stay trapped in the dream forever" Bloom sounded hysterical when Amora told her of the spell she needed so she could get to Lesley.
"I know Bloom, but I need to speak to my friend again , I need to reach her, please help me" Amora begged her as she was defiantly shaking her head and walking ahead of Amora to the lunch chambers. The lunch chambers was filled with different young Vadinians , eating and talking. There was also a queue that led to the platform where the food was being served. Amora and Bloom joined the queue still arguing about dream walking.
"Come on please " Amora begged desperately.
"Pheasant, turkey or ham?" The older lady with a funny hat asked Amora and Bloom. They both stopped arguing and picked up their plates, choosing pheasant soup. The lady tapped her wand on their tray making the pheasant soup appear with a side dish of soft bread and rich creamy butter spread and a cup of grape juice.
The two girls walked to an empty table and sat there still conversing in low tones about the coven.
"This is a ridiculous thing to do Amora" Bloom stirred her pheasant soup with a wooden spoon as she spoke to Amora who was still stubborn about the dream walking spell.
"Come on Bloom, what could possibly go wrong? It's just reaching to her through her dreams, nothing much" Amora was trying so hard to convince Bloom but she wasn't ready to help Amora on this one.
"Everything could go wrong Mora, everything. You don't know much about magic and dream walking is one of the most complicated spells in all history of magic, so no, no dream walking" Bloom was stern with her response.
"Please Bloom, this is my only chance to speak with her. I'm all she's got and I left her behind. Tell me now Bloom, if you were in Lesley's shoes wouldn't you feel abandoned? Wouldn't you want to hear what happened to me? Wouldn't you Bloom?" Tears gathered in Amora's eyes as she spoke, Bloom sighed as she watched the emotional Amora talk.
"I guess I would want to hear what happened to you" Bloom replied sadly. "But believe me Mora, this is dangerous and I would not forgive myself if anything happens to you" Bloom held Amora's hands as she spoke.
"We shouldn't expect the worse girl, nothing will happen to me trust it, I need you to trust it"
Bloom finally consented to get the dream walking spell done and they began to discuss about the coven if witches they would have to go find.
"The only coven of witches I know are Blossom's friends, they call themselves the sister witches three. You remember my sister Blossom right?" Bloom asked her.
"Yes,your older sister Blossom" Amora replied as she took her soup that had already gotten cold. "So how do we get these witches?" She asked.
"Well, they are not in the learning halls, they proceeded to be tutored under Zamiel, one of Vadina's finest guardians. We will have to go to their house which is situated at the other end of Vadina. We can borrow your uncle Ruslan's hexed carpet or we can walk there and walking there takes two days" Bloom explained.
"The flying thing makes me sick can't we get one of those charmed marbles to help portal us there?" Amora asked as she expressed her utmost disgust at the idea of flying on a carpet, as her previous experience didn't sit well with her.
A plate of pie whizzed past Amora and landed on Bloom's face. There was a round of laughter from the other people in the lunch chambers. The target was so smooth, Bloom knew it was from an air elemental or a witch. She cleaned her face with her palm but the sticky thing was still on her face.
"Who did that?" Amora asked angrily as she helped her clean her face.
"It's alright Amora, it's fine I'll just clean myself up" Bloom got up and made to exit. Amora heard tiny laughter coming from two tables away from theirs. She turned to look at them and saw two girls, Solana and Neyastra laughing and snickering. Amora saw Neyastra's hand stained with strawberry filling and it was a strawberry pie that had landed on Bloom.
"Of course it has to be those silly witches" she muttered angrily. Bloom held her hand and pleaded with her not to go approach the two girls who were laughing heartily at their little joke. "Ignore them Mora, Please" Bloom begged but Amora wasn't ready to listen.
"Someone has got to teach those girls some manners and I'll do just that" Amora yanked Bloom's hands away from hers and went to the table.
The two girls stopped laughing and put on a serious face when they saw Amora approaching their table.
"Why did you do that?" Amora asked as anger flashed in her eyes.
"Do what? What are you talking about?" Neyastra asked feigning innocence.
"Don't play games with me Neyastra, you have pie stains on your hand , you threw the pie at us"
"So what if I did? What are you going to do about it?" She asked moving closer to Amora. Amora raised her hand to hit Neyastra but Solana's hands lit up in flames and she held it close to her face. The students in the chambers watched this with excitement and they soon began to pound on the table, trying to push the girls into fighting.
"One wrong move and you can say goodbye to your pretty face. I'll light your face up" Solana threatened as she brought her flaming hands closer to Amora's face. Amora knew she had no powers to fend off this fire elemental, but she needed to teach them lessons. Bloom knew Solana was going to do as she said , quickly looked around for anything to help Amora with. She saw a small pot holding a bean plant that was just bringing out it's head into the world. Bloom's eyes turned green and immediately, the plant grew enormous and long and wound through the chamber like a snake. Bloom directed the plant to Neyastra, wounding it around her neck choking her. Neyastra began to struggle with the thick plant that was strangling her.
"Back off Solana, or I'll choke the living daylight out of your stupid witch friend" Bloom had a fierce look on her face. Solana didn't back down at first ,but she saw Neyastra turning green because she wasn't getting enough air. The other students laughed, murmured and gasped, watching the showdown.
Solana put off the flames on her hand and withdrew from the duo.
"Wise choice Solana dearie" Bloom said and she began to release her grip on the plant that held Neyastra.
"What in the name of the moon goddess is going on here?!" That was the strict voice of the Halls Mistress. Everyone scurried to their seats, Bloom immediately made the plant go back to it's normal size.
"Using your powers on another? In the absence of a tutor?" She asked sternly.
"They started it" Amora quickly said pointing at the two girls who had already begun to cry fake tears and wincing in pain.
"I'll see you both in my chambers this instant" She said sternly before walking away. Amora glared at the pretentious girls who were now giving them evil smiles. "Go face the music Amora bear, Bloomie bear" Neyastra said blowing them fake kisses.
The other students murmured within themselves. Aenon saw everything and was in fact intrigued by Amora's guts.
"I'm so sorry Bloom, I should have listened to you and ignored them instead of getting you in trouble" Amora apologized to Bloom.
"Oh it's alright Mora, it felt good to stand up to Solana and Neyastra" Bloom hugged Amora and then they proceeded to go into the chambers for questioning.