Galadriel saw Jewel trembling, tears flowing from her eyes with no signs of stopping, and immediately dropped the glamour of looking like his father, Shade. He knelt down next to her, and said softly, “I’m so sorry, Green. I thought this would motivate you to open a portal. I thought you would do anything to get away from the glamour.” He said, remorse in his chocolate brown eyes. “It was a stupid idea. I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through.” He shook his head as he allowed the rest of the glamour to fade away. The bubble-like glamour that resembled Shade’s house disappeared, along with her dad’s lifeless body. Galadriel threw a vial of the milky white potion and once again, the darkness faded away. Ambrosia came into view, and the rest of the group were huddled together, looking at Jewel as though they weren’t sure as to whether they should hug her or throttle Galadriel.
Jewel began shaking her head, but she couldn’t shake what she had just experienced. Even seeing the bubble-like glamour vanish completely hadn’t eased Jewel’s mind. She still felt overwrought with emotions, and it was going to be a miracle if she could get them back under control. The tears finally stopped, but that in no way meant the pain of watching her dad die, glamour or not, had subsided.
Ambrosia punched Galadriel in the arm and hissed. “No. You didn’t think it through. Look at what you’ve done to Girlie. She’s an absolute mess. We should have stopped when she successfully froze you. It was a win, and well, now- I don’t know that she’ll think of today in a positive way.”
“You’re always the one pushing her. Telling everyone else to push her. And now, you’re acting like I’ve done something that you never would have.” Galadriel fired back.
“Great job, Trickster.” Rain said caustically as she punched his other shoulder. “You could have used any scenario in the entire world or worlds for that matter, and you chose to reenact that one. Great choice.” She said with a roll of her eyes.
Galadriel’s eyes shot daggers in Rain’s direction as he rubbed the spot that she had punched him, but it wasn’t over, because soon the entire group was telling Galadriel how stupid the glamour of Shade’s house was.
Jewel, however, was busy trying to breathe. Her friend’s arguing back and forth was mere background noise. The rush of blood in her ears was tremendously loud and the beating of her own heart drowned out almost everything else. She couldn’t get the image of her dad dying out of her mind. It was like it had permanently burned a spot in her brain and no amount of attempting to reason with herself was going to fix it. The scene might not have been real, but Jewel’s emotions absolutely were.
“Um, guys- is Hybrid okay?” Jade asked. “She hasn’t blinked, she isn’t moving, well other than the slight trembling she’s got going on, and she’s sort of beginning to glow that emerald green color all over.”
“Chocolate sauce.” Rain muttered as she moved closer to where Jewel was still kneeling. “Spitfire. Earth to Spitfire. You’re sort of sparkling on, well, all over. Some of the strands of your hair are even turning a little green. Are you okay?”
“She’s in shock.” Frost pointed out. “Gem. Gem. I know that you are hurting and what Galadriel did, while well-intended, has hurt you more. But, we need you to calm down. Why don’t we go for a walk, or we could train, you know- burn off some pent-up energy?” He suggested.
“This isn’t working.” Ambrosia stated. “Girlie. It was a glamour. Nothing more, nothing less. You’ve got to snap out of whatever has got you looking like an emerald statue. Talk to us, blink. Do something other than what you’re doing right now.”
“This is my fault.” Galadriel sighed. “I’ll take Green for a walk around the Meadow. Maybe see the flippos.” He said quietly before tugging on Jewel’s arm.
His touch was enough to snap Jewel back to reality, but the reality that she was experiencing didn’t bode well for Galadriel. “Get your hands off me, Trickster.” She commanded in a deceivingly calm voice. Galadriel quickly dropped Jewel’s arm and took a few steps back, his eyes widening.
Jewel stood up slowly and turned to face Galadriel, her emerald eyes glowing brighter than ever before, and her skin glowing with the same intensity. Ambrosia, Foster, Frost, Sage, Zephyr, and Rain quickly fanned out and attempted to create a bigger divide between Jewel and Galadriel, but it only took a flick of Jewel’s wrist to teleport them back to camp. The rest of the group, which included Teagan, Jade, Dream, and Lyric watched warily as Jewel started to approach Galadriel.
Jade was the first to move, but she did so cautiously. “Hybrid. Galadriel made a huge mistake with that glamour, but you’ve got to calm yourself down. I can literally feel your power radiating from your body, and if you lose control, none of us are going to be able to keep you from doing something you might regret.”
Jewel cocked her head to the side. She heard Jade’s words, and somewhere in her mind she knew that Jade was telling the truth. But at that moment, Jewel had tunnel-vision and all she saw was Galadriel. Someone who she trusted and cared about that had just brought her worst nightmare to life. Jewel didn’t care that it was only to try and help her, all she felt in that moment was rage and hurt, and it was directed at one individual and one individual alone.
Galadriel moved from behind Jade, giving her a ‘it’ll be okay’ look which she returned with a ‘I don’t think it is this time’ look of her own. He approached Jewel cautiously, with his hands in an ‘I surrender’ type of way. “Green….you know me. You know that all I want is for you is to be happy. The glamour was a bad idea, and I’m sorry.” He said, attempting to somehow reach Jewel’s rational side.
“You shouldn’t have done that.” Jewel growled.
“I get it, but you know I would never intentionally hurt you.” Galadriel said reassuringly.
“Liar.” Jewel seethed as images of what she had endured only moments prior popped into her mind. She shut her eyes to try and shoo the images away, which unfortunately did not work. But not only did it not work, but she was so intent on freeing her mind from the haunting memory that she failed to realize that some of her power had escaped, and by the time Jewel realized it, it was too late as the power had already reached its target.
Galadriel’s chocolate brown eyes rounded, and his Greek god-like features contorted into a horrified and anguished expression. He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands as he rocked back and forth.
“What did you do?” Jade shrilled as she dropped to Galadriel’s side. “Stop it, Hybrid! Stop it.”
Jewel’s eyes popped open and what she saw mortified her. Galadriel’s face no longer held that beautiful sun-kissed golden tone to it. Instead it was pale and almost ashen. More of a skin tone that one would expect to see on someone who is in shock.
“Young One! You must pull yourself together. You are hurting your friend and I know that is not what you intended, but you are the only one that can stop it.” Teagan said as he rushed in to try and help. He had been pretty laid back until this point, but now he had taken hold of Jewel’s arms and was gripping them to the point of bruising as he looked into Jewel’s eyes and tried to bring her back to her senses. “You must stop using your pain power, Young One. You must stop. Now!”
Seeing Galadriel in the state he was now in, eyes scrunched shut, rocking and making a low, guttural noise filled with pain, along with Teagan’s nervous expression and Lyric and Dream’s fear-filled one was finally enough to break through Jewel’s anger, but the one emotion was quickly replaced with panic.
“You have to stop hurting him Draconis.” Lyric shouted, her violet eyes pleading with Jewel.
Tears, once again, began to fall down Jewel’s cheeks. She tried to pull her power back, but this wasn’t like her pain power- it was something different altogether. And the more she tried to pull it back, the more seemed to flow from her. It was like trying to catch the wind.
Dream attempted to try and sing a soothing song, but Jewel knew, even in her panicked state, that it wouldn’t work. Dream’s power of making other’s go to sleep
or to hypnotize them through the use of her voice didn’t work on Jewel because she was an Immune.
Lyric must have thought the same thing, because she whipped around to Dream and snapped, “Can you please stop that. It’s not going to work on Draconis, and I’m not even sure that she knows what’s going on right now. Look at her.” She said, motioning towards Jewel. “She looks just as surprised as we are that Galadriel’s in pain.”
“I can’t stop it. I don’t know how to stop what I’m doing. I don’t even know what it is that I’m doing!” Jewel shrieked. “I have to get away from here. Maybe that will help him.” She said, eyes darting back and forth until she finally just took off at a wild sprint- no destination in mind, only knowing that she had to get away from Galadriel.
Unfortunately, this was Jewel, and her coordination was questionable even when she was in a good frame of mind. Seeing as how she wasn’t however, it was no wonder that she wound up tripping over her own two feet and tumbled down the same steep hill that she had fallen down several months prior when she had been spending time with her dad, who at that point, was still glamoured to look like Hammond Leaks. The irony wasn’t lost on Jewel, and as her body bounded uncontrollably down the hill with her arms flailing as she attempting to grab hold of something to keep herself from falling any more- images of her dad crept back into her mind and the minute that happened, everything changed. Jewel felt like she was floating, her body completely weightless and the Meadow had somehow disappeared. What was also confusing was the fact that Jewel was no longer falling down the side of the hill but was standing steadily on her own two feet. She didn’t remember hitting her head on the way down, but perhaps she had and what she was now experiencing was unconsciousness. It wouldn’t be the first time, and the scenery was nice enough- a blue sky, a bubbling brook, and a blanket of soft grass.
“Hello, Angel.” A voice from behind Jewel said.
Jewel spun around and was hit with a thousand emotions at once. Her dad was standing right in front of her, looking healthy and strong, which both excited and confused her all at the same time.
“How…..how is this possible?” Jewel asked as she moved a little closer to him. “Is this a dream? Holey buckets, am I dead? Are you dead? Are we dead?” She said, her eyes all but popping out of her head.
Steele chuckled heartily. “No, Angel. This isn’t a dream and you’re definitely not dead. And neither am I.” He smiled wide like a Cheshire cat. “You’ve used your astral projection power to come to this place- wherever this place is, and you have somehow brought my consciousness along with you. Not that I’m complaining, though. I have so missed you.” He said as he opened his arms towards Jewel.
Jewel didn’t miss a beat and quickly rushed into his embrace. Sobs she didn’t know were still inside of her burst forth, and she clung to her dad, as though at any moment he might disappear- which in truth, was a very real possibility. He embraced her tightly and rubbed her back, allowing Jewel to let go of all the emotions she had been holding onto. Moments passed, and had it not been for her dad loosening his arms, Jewel never would have moved away.
“Come, Angel. We have much to discuss, and I don’t know how long your astral projection will hold.” Steel pointed out.
Jewel nodded and sat down next to him.
“First things first, however.” Steele began, his smile broad which only accentuated his sharp features, and his sea green eyes twinkling as though he was the happiest Sorcerer in all the worlds. “I want to tell you again, Angel, how very proud I am of you. You are so strong. I dare say, stronger than even you give yourself credit for.”
“I don’t feel very strong right now.” Jewel admitted. “In fact, the only reason that we have somehow reunited here is because I lost control with my friend, Galadriel. I somehow used my pain power on him, which I never would have done intentionally.”
Steele gazed upon Jewel intently for a moment and then chuckled, but upon seeing Jewel’s befuddled look, quickly pulled himself back together. “You didn’t use your pain power on him, Angel. And before you ask how I know, it’s because you told me. Well, inadvertently, that is. You see, through the astral projection process, you somehow also projected your deepest worries and most recent memories to me. It’s almost as though I was there with you and have experienced it all real-time. So, let me assure you that what you think happened with Galadriel, didn’t happen at all.” He said jovially. “And might I add, that you really are something special.” He added with pride.
“Well, that’s not the first time I’ve heard that, but if I didn’t use my pain power, why was Galadriel hurting so bad?” Jewel asked.
“Because, Daughter, you used your Empath powers in reverse.” Steele answered, quickly continuing when Jewel shrugged in a ‘I still don’t get it, but now I’m more confused’ way. “You see, being an Empath is more than just seeing auras or reading feelings. It also gives the individual the ability to project their own feelings onto someone else. Which is essentially what you did. He felt what you were feeling at that exact moment.”
“He looked like he was in so much pain though.” Jewel stated.
“Because you were in so much pain.” Steele said. “Which brings me to my next point.” He said, a serious expression forming. “You have to stop beating yourself up over what happened to me. I made the choice to step in between you and Shade. I knew what the consequences would be, but you are my daughter, and I love you more than anything in all the worlds. I would do it again in a heartbeat, so I need you to stop thinking that my current frozen state is in any way, shape, or form your fault. It’s not your fault, Angel. It’s Shade’s fault- all of it.” He grabbed Jewel’s hand and when she met his gaze, he added, “And you have to let go of all the anger and sadness over what has happened. If you can figure out a way to help me, then great, but don’t allow yourself to be consumed or obsessed with finding a way. I have come to terms with the fact that I may not make it. Now, it’s your turn to do the same.”
“How can you say that? How can you act like your life means so little?” Jewel sputtered.
“It’s not that my life means so little, Angel.” Steele said as he tilted Jewel’s chin up so she could see how serious he was. He paused briefly to make sure that Jewel was paying attention before he continued. “It’s that your life means so much.”
“Why? Why am I so important? Why does the literal fate of the worlds rest on my shoulders? Why didn’t I ever get the opportunity to just live a normal life? I mean come on, there should have at least been one thing in my life that was half-way normal, right?” Jewel ranted.
“You would think so, and I cannot possibly imagine what you have gone through but think about it from a different perspective.” Steele urged. “Had you not gone through the hard times, would you have been prepared for this moment right now? And before you say you aren’t, just know that you are more ready for what is to come than anyone I’ve ever met. If anyone can unify the worlds, it’s you. I believe that the Protectors have it right- you are the one from the Prophecy, and I know that you will do the right thing. I am proud to call you Daughter.”
Jewel pinched her nose between her fingers. “Thanks, Dad.” She said quietly.
“Now. Before your astral projection ends, let me give you a little insight about your powers. The first, which you have figured out, is that your powers are tied very closely to your emotions. Now, one thing I believe you have missed about this point, however, is that even when your emotions feel out of control- you can use that to your advantage. The emotional turmoil will give your powers a heightened kick, so to speak, and if your intent and focus do not flounder, then you will have the ability to do just about anything. The second thing is that I believe that you still have a few more proverbial tricks up your sleeve, so don’t be alarmed if they come to the forefront. You are a very rare mix of Sorcerer and Elemental, but you also come from a long line of very powerful individuals with a lot of rare and unique abilities. As you know, my sister was an Immun
e, but what you are unaware of is the fact that your mother also had a couple of family members that had some very peculiar gifts for Elementals. Her brother, Reed, for example, was not just an Elemental- he was also able to communicate with any living thing.”
“But I thought that was only a Fairy trait.” Jewel said. “Was he a mix of two magical races like me? Was Mom?”
“No.” Steele answered with a shrug. “He and your mother were purely Elemental, as far as they or I know. Reed and your mom, Rose, didn’t tell very many individuals about any additional gifts the family possessed. In fact, I believe that to this day, the only ones that knew were me, my sister Starr, his cousin Juniper, and Rose. And the only reason Reed told me and Starr about his power was because Starr was different too. Reed knew based on that alone, that we wouldn’t judge him or be afraid.” He explained. “You see, Angel, one thing that has never changed is the level of tolerance other’s have when it comes to someone different. You are not the first, nor will you be the last to have to endure ignorance, and hate based on nothing more than someone’s fear and dislike of your rare gifts. But make no mistake. That’s what your powers are……gifts.”
Jewel nodded, chewing her bottom lip, and mulling over everything her dad had said. “You mentioned that Mom had a couple of family members with rare powers. Who was the other?” She asked curiously.
“Well, let’s see. There was Rose’s cousin and then there was Rose, herself.” Steele started. “Rose’s cousin, Juniper, had the gift of language. And I’m not talking about someone who could learn languages easily. I mean that she could literally understand anyone, no matter the language or dialect they used. Even reading in other languages was easy for Juniper. She used to say that things would just translate in her mind when she read or heard other languages so that she could understand the words clearly. It came in handy quite a few times over the years, to be sure.” He admitted.
The Council Page 7
