Heyyyyyyy, Sierra is back! :)

Sorry for the longer absence. I've been re-writing Three Tasks. They have just gotten to Ardhigiza and Thea and Jack are about to be chased by a pack of wolves. It's okay if you don't remember that, because it didn't happen in the original.

And also, I've been in a very non-writing mood from the events in Orlando. :( Words could not express how much it hurts me, whether it is the Pulse shooting, poor Christina, or the little boy at Disney World (and you know how much I love Disney). The world is full of hurt, and God sometimes gives us a lot of it at one time. But that's because He knows we'll use the hurt for good, to keep more hurt from happening.

Okay, sorry about that.

Love you all!

xoxo Sierra xoxo

Chapter Five:

Rani comes as a surprise to me. I wasn't completely sure what to expect a sorcerer to look like, but this definitely wasn't it. And I definitely wasn't expecting a sorcerer to be calmly and knowledgeably discussing pancakes with Kyle.

    "Uh, hi," I say. "No offense, but I have virtually no idea who you are."

    "I think that's the first time I've heard Victoire say 'no offense'," says Kyle, getting out the syrup from the kitchen. "See, Rani, you do still have some power over the younger generation."

    "You look much like your father," says Rani, peering at me with his glow-in-the dark eyes.

    "She got Videl's mouth," says Kyle.

    Rani's mouth quirks up. "Did she, now?"

    I roll my eyes. "I'll be happy to demonstrate if you want, Gandalf."

    "I'm afraid I'll have to pass," says Rani. "I'm here for only a short time."

    "That's unfortunate," I say. "You and Kyle can't continue your epic bromance about pancakes."

    "Told you," says Kyle. "By the way, how many do you want?"

    "Three," I say. "I'm starving."

    "Well while I'm making them," says Kyle, "how about you and Rani go for a walk on the beach?"

    I raise my eyebrows. "Sorry. Ajia might think you're hot, but you're not really my type."

    Ajia punches my arm, which I probably deserve.

    "Don't worry. My feelings aren't hurt," says Rani. "But I want to talk to you nonetheless, although from what I heard, you got plenty of fresh air last night."

    I glare at Kyle. He waves a spatula at me.

    "Fine." I grab my loose sweater from my pile of junk. "Let's go. But by the way, do you have some sort of voodoo that can get rid of your Assassin's Creed shit? You'll only stand out a little bit."

    "As a matter of fact, I do." A dark glow settles over him, and the next time I blink, Rani is still standing there, but he looks different. His hair is short and blond, coiffed up a little in the front, and he's wearing an ordinary light green shirt and slacks. But his glowing green eyes are the same.

    "That," I say, "is just creepy as fuck."

    Rani and Kyle exchange not-so-coverted glances. Both of them look like they're about to smirk.

*

"I met Videl around twenty years ago," says Rani. We're walking along the sand, me closer to the surf so I can let the salt water run over my bare feet. Rani is wearing sunglasses, but I'm not- for some reason, the sun's glare isn't bothering me. "To put it lightly, it was not the most amiable meeting. He threatened, tortured, and nearly killed my daughter."

    "If he was a monster, then why does Kyle talk about him like they were drinking buddies or something?" I ask.

    "Because we soon found out- and it was Thea who discovered this- that Videl's mind was not his own. The sorceress Neidra took control of it in order to bring both Ardhigiza and me to our knees." Rani pauses. "When I found Thea bleeding nearly to death, Videl's fangs in her throat, I wanted to kill him. But not long after, Neidra took advantage of my confusion and performed the same mind-altering spell as the one she perfected on Videl."

    Rani looks away, out toward the water. His eyes are drawn. For once, I don't talk. Rani has an eerie ability of keeping attention on what he has to say even when he's not saying anything.

    Shaking his head, Rani continues, "For months, because of the spell, the only unrelenting thought in my head was to kill Thea, my own daughter."

    "What?" I'm surprised. "Why?"

    "Neidra thought- correctly- that if I killed Thea, then broke from the spell, I would be so distraught, I would be easy to usurp. But during those months, Videl took care of Thea and protected her from me, a scenario I never thought possible."

    "Oh." I suck at sympathy, so I settle for a nod.

    "For that, I had an eternal debt to your uncle. He became a part of our family, in a way. Often, he was temperamental, unreachable, stubborn, and reckless. But more often, he was caring, supportive, kind almost rashly brave, and beyond loyal. And for that, I note his absence often."

    I don't think I should say "Oh" again, so I say, "Yeah. I'm sorry."

    "Before Videl died, he told me he wanted you away from Ardhigiza and away from the Velah. He didn't want you to have any memory of him, or of the tragedies you faced when you were only two years old. Ardhigiza is under my control currently, but technically, the realm belongs to you. You are its rightful empress, though the last time the Velah had a single ruler was just before Videl's death."

    "So are you gonna keep it from me?" I ask dully. "That's what you're here for? To tell me that I need to get through you before I get to Ardhigiza. I'm not even interested in being a damn queen. So you're fine in that department."

    "That is not why I'm here," says Rani. "It's only natural that you have no interest in ruling a place you don't even remember, especially since you have grown up living a normal life in a normal town."

    "I don't know if you can count Malibu as normal," I say. "But sure, I'll go with it."

    "You are in the same position my daughter was in, though several years older. She grew up like you, then came to the knowledge she was part of something bigger. But I am here to offer you something. I took your memories. I can give them back."

    I blink. "So you're offering to give me all the bad memories? All the pain? Nobody told me you were a sweetheart."

    "I'm offering to remind you of the life you used to have." Rani is irrationally patient. Nothing I've said has swayed him.

    "Cool," I say. "The one full of death? Well I'm dying to remember it. I'm still trying to deal with this Velah shit, and having the current domineer of what I guess is my realm trying to help is really not helping."

    "Kyle was right," says Rani, still uber calm. "You are more like Videl than you were like Archer. He also had an eerie ability to pretend he didn't need help."

    I put my hand on my forehead, then run my long nails through my hair. The beach has made it somewhat curly. I'll have to straighten it when I get back. "Look, I appreciate that you came from galaxies away to talk to me, but it's probably just best if you leave me alone. I don't care how close you were with Videl, because I don't remember him. I don't remember the first thing about him. And I'm not sure I want to know. I'm dealing with through shit as it is. I don't want to suddenly get a halfway emotional attachment to someone who is, wait for it, dead."

    "I think-"

    "Too bad I don't care what you think. You said Videl was like me, but you also said I'm kind and caring. I'm neither. Probably the only reason I'm not in rehab is because my stupid Velah body just flushes out alcohol and drugs. I cuss, I ignore, and the amount of people I care about I could count on my hands. So I don't care. See you around, Gandalf."

I turn away from the sorcerer and walk back toward the house. The sea salt swirls through my nostrils, mixing with petroleum and grass.

Rani doesn't follow me, but my newly-tuned ears pick up his low voice. "You are just like him. You do care. You care too much."

*

"You ditched him?" Ajia demands an hour later. After letting myself in through the back door, I skipped the pancakes and went right up to my room to avoid confrontation with Kyle. Giovanna and Ajia followed me as soon as they finished eating and are now sitting on the floor in front of me. "Why would you ditch the king of Niriket?"

    "Because I wasn't interested in what he had to say," I reply from my position of lying down, which gives me a good view of the ceiling. I glance down at my friends. Ajia is staring at me like I've lost my marbles, but Giovanna is calmly arranging my pencils and pens in rainbow order.

    "You probably should," says Ajia. "He's the king."

    "You're only saying that because you think he's hot," I retort.

    "Who's hot?" Ayaan asks. I shift my eyes to the door, where he and Dean have just walked into the room. They're both dripping seawater, their surfboards still under their arms.

    "I didn't ask for the Pacific Ocean in my room," I say.

    "Well it came anyway," says Dean. He leans his red and black surfboard against the wall. "Is there a particular reason a Niriketian king is in our kitchen?"

    "He came to offer his services," I say. "I had to politely decline."

    "'Politely' and 'Victoire' do not belong in the same sentence," says Ayaan.

    "Neither do 'Impressive roasts' and 'Ayaan'," I counter.

    "Why didn't you want your memories back?" asks Giovanna.

    "Because I don't need more shit," I say, then glare at the boys. "Yes, please sit on my bed when you're more wet than-"

    "Please don't finish that analogy," says Anthony, who has just appeared at the door. "I don't think I want to hear it."

    "There's something I don't want to hear and it's standing at my bedroom door," I say.

    "Nice to see you too, Wednesday."
    "Likewise, Professor Lupin. So what are you doing here?"

    "I came to check on you guys. It's been an interesting couple days."

    "Yes, and I blame you, Professor Tattletale."

    "Sorry," says Anthony, leaning against the doorjamb. "If I see a student of mine with fangs, I feel it to be my moral obligation to tell her family. How are those biters coming in, by the way?"

    "Pretty solid. I only drank some of the blood of one of your students who was being a dickhead about Gia."

    "Please tell me you're kidding," says Ayaan.

    "I doubt it," says Ajia.

    "I'm not," I say. "Anthony, not to be rude, but because I'm in a worse mood than normal, it's your fault half the things these last couple days have happened, and we're currently having a group meeting that doesn't involve you, could you kindly get the fuck out?"

    "I'll be here a while," says Anthony, who doesn't seem to take offense to a single word I just said. He and Rani would be great friends. "Let me know when you want to be nice to me and save your project grade."

    Dean looks offended. "Hey, I worked on that with her."

    "Pick a better partner," says Anthony with a smile, then leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

    "Rude," I say. "I'm a damn amazing partner."

    "What are you going to do about the Woman of Antiquam?" inquires Giovanna.

    "Great question," I say. That reminds me of what Wairua the Hedwig impersonator told me. I reach for my cell phone. "She wants me to follow 'the songs'. Which isn't helpful. Remotely. There are trillions of songs."

I text Riyell. Have you ever heard of a woman named Baya? She's Niriketian.

"Did she give you anything else?" asks Ayaan.

"Yes, that's why I haven't mentioned it," I say.

My phone buzzes.

No. You might want to ask a Niriketian.

"Fuck," I mutter.

"What?" asks Ajia.

"I'll be right back," I say, getting to my feet. I'm still exhausted from last night, but manage to drag myself back down the hall and down the stairs.

Thankfully, Rani is still here, talking to Kyle and (yay) Anthony. Ky has finished cleaning up the kitchen and is now in the living room, holding Arabella on his lap. Carolina and Elizabeth are playing a board game nearby.

"Hey there," says Kyle. "Back for round two?"

I'm not in the mood for his joking, but I'm pretty sure I've been enough of a smart ass for one morning. Putting a hand to my head, I say, "Rani, can I talk to you really quickly?"

"Yes, of course." Rani, still in his Earth disguise, stands, then gestures to the kitchen.

We've barely walked out of the living room when I say, "Do you know a Niriketian named Baya?"

Rani frowns, then leans against the granite counter, somehow managing to avoid the last of the flour stains. "I wish I didn't. Do you have some reason to believe that she is the woman tracking you?"

Well, word certainly travels around here quickly. "It's Wairua's guess. The owl. You probably already know who that is."
    "Yes, I do, though I haven't seen him in years. I'm glad he has reconnected with you."

"The woman has purple eyes and dark hair. Could it be Baya?"

"Possibly. And Antiquam means-"

"Revenge in Latin, yeah, I know. Wairua said she might want revenge on me for Caomh or something like that. Could that be right?"

"It could be," says Rani. "The last I knew of Baya, she killed one of my warriors and vanished into the forests. For years, I've had soldiers and assassins stalking her in the woods, but she has evaded all of them. But if she somehow snuck off to Earth, that would explain it." He pauses. "Unfortunately, it would give Marjoy an excuse to be right, but at least it could be an explanation."

I have no idea who Marjoy is, but it stands to reason that I don't really care. "What is Baya like?"

"I never met her. But if she and Caomh were intimate, I could only imagine she is deranged, at least somewhat, to pick a partner like him. Wairua could be right. She could be seeking revenge for Caomh's death. Because Videl killed him, she might pass the blame onto you."

"And I thought the worst thing handed down to you was debt and a bad credit card record," I say.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't know anything else about her. I'm sure Wairua already told you the genealogy behind the violet eyes. But Victoire, I must caution you." Rani's eyes are very green and very worried. "If Baya is hunting you, then it is not just you who is in danger. She will not stop until she hurts every single person you love and care for too."

~~~~~~~
That was quite a chapter :)

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xoxo Sierra xoxo