Amora waltzed into the kitchen and found Lady Olette already making breakfast while she sang a song. Amora put her hand inside her gown and brought out the small box containing the crystal ball, muttering words, her eyes glowed a dark shade of red and when Olette turned around,she hid the orb quickly and gave Lady Olette a fake smile.
"Good day Lady Olette, beautiful morning isn't it?" She asked the lady. "Ah! Good Morning Amora, how are you? How did you fare last night?" Lady Olette returned the smile genuinely and continued beating eggs in a bowl while a small mortar pounded some spices on its own.
"Shall I help you with anything this morning?" Amora asked again, lifting the lid of one of the pots to see what was in it.
"Ah! Yes , do help me light up the stove and put the kettle on for some mint tea". Amora poured water in the kettle and then lit the stove with her hands as she conjured fire from her fingers. Olette was looking for match sticks , thinking Amora would want to use them to get the stove on.
"I can't find the damned match sticks tsk!" She said sounding exasperated. "Oh there's no need for that, I already lit the stove" Amora said. Olette looked at the stove and indeed found it lit. She looked from the stove to Amora and back to the stove again. "Did you get the match sticks?" She finally asked the smiling Amora.
"No, I don't need match sticks when I can do this" Amora snapped her fingers and her fingers lit up with tiny flames. Olette couldn't believe her eyes, she had thought it would take many moons for Amora to unhearth her suppressed powers but here she was, being a fire elemental.
"Oh my days Amora! You finally dug out your powers! The goddess be praised!" Olette's voice rang with happiness and excitement. Lady Olette walked to Amora and gave her a tight hug.
"Just what I need, a little contact" Amora thought to herself as she hugged the lady back. Her eyes turned dim red again and then she could see that a sparkling blue light had appeared on Lady Olette's back, with some mumblings,she placed her hand on the light and absorbed it.
"Oh, Grandma Daeva would be so proud of you" said the Lady Olette as she broke the hug and gingerly went back to her cooking. Amora stayed in the kitchen a little longer before heading back to her chambers. Safely locked in, she brought out the box holding the crystal ball and smiled devilishly before opening it.
Changer of dreams
Changer of dreams
In you my powers I seek
Place them within my reach
All of them through dreams
ex felixa somria tristia somria.
These were the words that rolled off her tongue as her eyes went dim red again,and she placed her hand on the ball, releasing the sparkling blue light into the ball. The ball glowed blue and then went dark.
"Ha! A little more happy dreams" she said to herself as she locked the ball in the box and stepped out again.
By now, word had reached the entire Daeva house that she had gotten her powers and everyone, the adults,out of excitement,hugged, shook and nudged her to say congratulations. Amora couldn't ask for more,it looked easier than she expected. She ran off to her chambers again after breakfast, chanted the words and put in the other absorbed light in the ball. Just as she was leaving her chambers whistling a happy tune, she heard yelling and crying and then, Cascade bumped into her with a very much tangled hair.
Cascade didn't stop running till she got into her chambers and slammed the door shut. Amora walked to the chamber and listened to her sobbing about her hair. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.
"Go away Ulanni, I don't want to see anyone" that was Cascade's crying voice talking from within the chamber.
"Open up Cascade, you can't hide in your chambers forever because you are having a bad hair day, everyone has it once in awhile" Amora said calmly.
"You don't know how much I struggle to be perfect, to be beautiful, to be lady-like just like Grandma Daeva always says. You clearly don't know anything about being a perfect Lady of noble birth" Cascade said quite rudely.
"Well, I do know how long perfection takes, and I certainly do know how to be a lady. Come on now, open up, I can help with your hair" said Amora , trying to coarse Cascade to open up. Amora waited a few seconds and then Cascade opened her chambers. Cascade chambers was beautifully decorated and it looked like a water spring palace on the inside with a silvery throne, small water fountain close to the wall and her bed was huge. Cascade's face was puffy from crying and her hair worse than a bird's nest.
"Ooh, you really look a mess" Amora said when she saw the fifteen year old
Cascade. Cascade was about to break into another sob but Amora stopped her. "Hey hey there there, don't cry, it's nothing we can't fix" Amora flashed her a smile.
"But I'll be late for the halls and the Mistress will be crossed at me" Cascade said. "Hmm, well, I guess I can try to make you beautiful before the halls" Amora assured her.
Cascade walked to her water fountain and manipulated the water into tiny bubbles to her face, washing the tears smudge off. She sat in front of her huge silver mirror and waited for Amora's instructions.
"I'll have to blindfold you" Amora said and then took a piece of clothing lying on the table to cover her eyes. Cascade hesitated but then she let Amora do her thing. After blindfolding her, Amora mumbled something under her breath and then a pink light appeared and Cascade's hair was fixed into a beautiful look of springy silvery curls that fell all the way to her waist. Amora took some of the silver clips on the table and adorned the hair.
"Oh my goodness! I look beautiful! I look like a princess" Cascade said when the blindfold came off and she could see her beautiful self in the mirror. She admired the springy curls and the way Amora had adorned her hair.
"Oh thank you so much for this, I'm so sorry I was mean to you when you first arrived" Cascade said to Amora who was smiling sheepishly. "Ah! It's alright, don't be sorry" she replied.
Cascade got up and hugged her tightly, muttering thank you to her. Amora's eyes dimmed again and then the blue light appeared on Cascade's back for her to absorb.
............
At the learning halls, Bloom could not help wondering what was up with Amora as she kept smiling with everyone including the annoying Fiammetta and her girls, even when they didn't return the smiles. She noticed that Amora could easily do spells , pronouncing the words correctly and with finesse. Another thing that baffled Bloom was the fact that Amora kept touching everyone at every slight opportunity, she didn't know what had gotten into her but she decided to watch Amora and see if this was an effect from the dream walking spells or it was just a miraculous change from within.
Amora began to feel a bit dizzy and her body began to shake. She didn't want to lose this form and be out in the open just yet, not until she had completed what she had come for.
"I need to go to the washroom" She said as she swiftly got up from the chair and grabbed her leather bag, the one Ruslan had gotten her as a gift for unlocking her powers. "Do come with me Bloom" She said to Bloom who was reading a book. Bloom obliged and followed Amora ,still suspecting her but following on the talk they were having. Bloom excused herself to go attend to some dying plants just outside the washroom area while Amora went into the room to wash as she had said.
Amora went into the washroom, heart beating really fast, she located the brick water fountain, dipping her hands into it's flowing waters, she cupped some water and poured on her face. She was so busy bending over, scooping some more water and washing her face that she didn't notice Neyastra standing hands akimbo behind her.
"Well, if it isn't the overnight sweetheart Amora Ulanni Daeva. Stealing the hearts of all learning Mystians, hmm a pathetic show just to make a name" Neyastra spoke with sheer mockery in her voice.
"I do not wish to pick up an argument with you Neyastra, if you'd just leave me be and let me wash in peace" Amora said calmly still bowed, not looking up to whom she was speaking with.
"I do not wish to pick up an argument with you" Neyastra mimicked her and walked up to her. She was standing very close to Amora now who was still bent over the fountain.
"Neyastra, please stay away from me" Amora's voice was shaky as she spoke. Neyastra thought Amora was getting scared having her close , so she pulled her by her hair and was shocked to see the reflection in the mirror just above the water fountain. Instead of Amora's face, she saw the face of a man, who had the left side of his face a bit scarred but not covering the fact that he was handsome.
"Who..who..who.. are you? Please I'm sorry" Neyastra began to tremble as "Amora" who had now turned into a man , turned to face her.
"I am Feldar, the changer of dreams , the wanderer as you know it" The man replied.
"Oh moon goddess! Feldar the wanderer! I thought you were only but a myth? What have you done with Amora's body?" Neyastra asked still shaking. She had tried to move but found that she couldn't move, she was glued to the spot, facing the already angry Feldar.
"You had the chance to leave, but silly child, you chose to stay" Feldar said , sounding quite angry.
"Please, let me go, I promise,no one would know you are here" Neyastra was already crying and getting red.
Feldar began to murmur some words and his eyes began to glow red and just then a wooden door appeared behind Neyastra and with a snap of his finger, the door opened and Neyastra could feel something pulling her in, like an invisible force.
"Please! No no no please please please I'm sorry! I beg you in the name of the moon goddess, please" Neyastra begged some more still crying and moving backwards gradually into the opened door. Feldar didn't listen, he snapped his finger again and with one swoosh of air, Neyastra went flying through the door, yelling and the door slammed shut, disappearing into thin air where it had come from.
Feldar went back to his form as Amora and then washed his face and stepped out to see Bloom, whose hair had taken a light blue color now as she had worked on a blue plant.
"Are you alright, Mora? I thought I heard screaming" Bloom asked when she stepped out.
"Oh I'm alright, there was nothing, probably just in your head" She gave a stiff smile and they continued walking with Bloom knowing that something was definitely not straight with Amora and she was going to find out what it was.
.............
Evander had woken up and was wailing now in his cot. His mother and father, Olette and Ruslan had also woken up due to nightmares.
"Hush now baby, mother is here" Olette shushed the three year old and rocked him to try get him back to sleep but he just didn't want to close his eyes. "He must have had a bad dream" said Ruslan as he went to his wife and son.
"mama, papa" That was Linetta coming into the chamber trembling.
"What's wrong my princess?" Ruslan asked as he picked her up and saw that she had been crying.
"I had a terrible nightmare papa, I saw a huge monster. It's coming to get me" Linetta sobbed.
"Hush now dear, there's no Monster" Ruslan was calming the little girl down. Ruslan and Olette exchanged confused glances, not knowing what was going on.
Meanwhile, Amora's imposter was seated in her chambers , eyes red and lips chanting words.
Changer of dreams
Changer of dreams
In you my powers I seek
Place them within my reach
All of them through dreams
ex felixa somria tristia somria