The golden light filled my heart, my breaths, my very soul. I was smiling; how could I not be. I was brimming with the most powerful source in the universe--love.

Giselle looked terrified for a moment, but quickly regained her composure, furious. She raised her arms and a wave of black mass came crashing down towards me. But I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, I almost laughed. I felt so much power running through me, I felt like I was larger than life, stronger than mountains. I could stride across the world without any fear, invincible. Yes, that's how I felt: invincible.

The black wave crashed into my golden glow.

It was like the black was stuck to it. Nothing moved for a few moments. Giselle lowered her arms, but the wave didn't move. On instinct, I raised my own arms.

The golden light swelled, and the black wave shivered. Then, something strange happened. The black rose into the air, twisting and writhing into a ball.

Suddenly, Giselle shrieked. I looked at her in alarm. She was being raised into the air like there was a string attached to her stomach that was pulling her up into the air. Black water was pouring out of her, from where I couldn't tell. It spilled out onto the floor, then rose into the air to join the twisting ball. Then Giselle collapsed onto the ground, all black gone from her being.

I stared at the black sphere, now roughly as big as a bedroom, spinning swiftly in midair. I didn't know what I was doing, but my arms moved of their own accord. They drew backwards, and then shot forward together in the direction of the spinning mass. A warm feeling blossomed in my chest.

A bolt of golden light exploded from the sharp glow that surrounded me. It hit the sphere right in its center.

The sphere exploded.

I felt the force of the explosion pass me by, but it did nothing more than ruffle my hair. A ring of black particles surrounded the room, threatening to merge back together at any moment. I flicked my hand, and a disc of golden light surrounded me, growing to the edges of the room and swallowing the black. Then it slowly retreated until the only light was the glow around me.

Some part of me sensed it was over. I didn't want it to be, but I had no control over that decision. I slowly exhaled, my body lowering to the ground. As my feet softly landed, the glow faded. But I knew it wasn't really gone. It was inside of me, waiting, until it could be used again.

I remembered Giselle. I ran to her limp form, a little wary but mostly concerned. She was laying twisted at an awkward angle. I carefully rolled her onto her back. She didn't react. Picking her wrist up, I felt for a pulse. Nothing...nothing...

Wait. There.

I felt a beat. I slumped in relief. She was alive. If I had killed her...

"She is merely unconscious," a quiet but firm voice said behind me. I jumped. Genivieve.

I turned to look at her. "What happened to Giselle?" I asked. "What was all that black stuff? Did you see it?"

"We all saw it, my dear," Genivieve said kindly. "And I saw it much earlier, while crystal gazing." She knelt beside me in the floor. "What you saw coming from Giselle was her hatred. We all have a bit of our soul that is black, but hers was so consumed, so overwhelmed, she could use it to directly harm others. It is a rare and horrific ability. I have not heard of anyone else who can do it."

"But what about how I was glo-"

Genivieve held up a hand. I fell silent. She smiled wryly. "Please be patient, Sierra dear. I'm getting to that. You were capable of all that you did because you were in a different form."

"Wait wha-"

"No interruptions, please. Yes, you were in a different form, one that Myths so rarely achieve, it isn't considered a true form of Myths. It is called goddess form."

I was frozen. What?

"Now, I promise you, you are not a deity in any way, shape, or form. The true name of this form is long forgotten, but when ancient civilizations had the rare chance of seeing a Myth in this form, they mistook the girl in question to be a goddess."

I nodded. That made sense. "But how come I was one?"

"Because," Genivieve said simply, "you have a golden heart. When you faced Giselle's anger and hatred, all you could think of was how misguided she must be. You saw her as a good person, and all you wanted was for her to be that good again. You have mastered one of the most invaluable emotions ever."

"Love," I whispered. Genivieve smiled. "Yes child. Love."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Abigail, Liza, and Chris made a teleporter back to the school. It took all three of them to do it, which I guess is why sorcerers don't just teleport everywhere. They also tend to be a little unreliable I think, as we teleported in the ocean half a mile away.

Tess was with us. After defeating Giselle, we found her in the dungeons and broke her out. Audrey was the one who found her. It was a beautiful moment when Tess accepted her outstretched hand to stand up.

We transformed into mermaids, and the sorcerers took out their brooms and flew. The princesses, dryads, and Genivieve had opted to stay on the island. It was their home I suppose. Magnolia had said something about a real government in Lilitua. I was happy. Things were really looking up.

We arrived on land, wet and grinning ear to ear. The castle looked as magnificent as it had the first time, and maybe even more so, because we knew that we were the reason it was still there.

We walked into the courtyard. The whole castle was silent. I saw girls, standing in the huge windows of the castle, staring at us in shock.

Then I heard a scream. "Oh my freaking GOSH!!!"

A huge cheer exploded from the crowd. Anna, who had screamed, tackled us in a hug. Suddenly, we were being swarmed by people. I lost my bearings, swept up in the flood. The next thing I knew, we were raised above the crowd, Audrey, Sophie, Tess and I, soaking wet, and filled with a euphoria so strong I thought I might change into a fairy right then in there.

Then the crowd dumped us onto the ground in front of them. I stood up laughing, and then I froze. I was looking right at Mrs. Simone. She had her hands clasped over her mouth and tears were streaming down her face.

Then she ran forward and hugged us tightly. "Oh girls," she sobbed, "I am so proud...so...proud."

And then I realized, tears were streaming down my face too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Sierra, may I speak with you for a moment?"

I looked up from my breakfast, surprised. "Yeah, of course, Mrs. Simone." I stood up and followed her out of the dining hall.

We walked outside to the courtyard area. It was a gorgeous day outside. I heaved a sigh of contentment.

"The weather is beautiful," Mrs. Simone remarked. "Perfect for a spring break."

I looked at her, surprised. "Spring break? What spring break?"

She looked at me, amused. "Well, Ms. Catalona did promise your mother you could come home over break, and most schools do have a break around springtime. I think she might be a little suspicious if we didn't send you home for a little while."

I was disappointed at this news--after all, I had just gotten back--but it would be nice to see my mother again. And take Wyatt off Patrick's shoulders for a little bit. Maybe I would have Dad take us down to the park to play. Maybe Olivia could come...

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I missed them more than I knew.

"Mrs. Simone," I said quietly, "I defeated an evil villain yesterday. What am I supposed to say to my family when I get home?"

Mrs. Simone sighed. "I truly don't know, Sierra. You're creative. I would make up stories about the school. We have pamphlets about the 'treatment' we do here if you'd like to take a look at that to give you some ideas. Tell them stories about Audrey and Sophie. You can base it off real things."

I nodded. It would be so hard not to say anything. We stood in silence for a moment. Finally, I couldn't bear it any longer. "Mrs. Simone, can I ask you a question about something I saw when Giselle attacked me?"

"Yes, of course," she said, walking over to sit on a bench. She motioned for me to follow. I did, warily.

I explained to vision I had seen. Giselle, searching for Juan. Mrs. Simone and the other teachers taking Juan away. The girl named Alice, killed by Giselle's hatred. Mrs. Simone's anger, and Ms. Catalona holding her back.

Mrs. Simone looked shocked by the end of the story. I waited in silence, staring at the ground. Maybe I shouldn't have told her.

Then she sighed heavily. "Yes. I remember that night. Almost too well. Sometimes, I wish I could erase it from my memory." She closed her eyes. Her voice grew soft. "At that time, my guild--Jennifer, Sumiko, Janessa, Mariah, April, and Alice--was working for the Elder Council. We had no control over our powers until we found them. We didn't understand what was going on. When they...took us in, we thought they were all powerful, all knowing, they could do no wrong. When they told us there was a sorcerer boy being tortured by his guild, we believed them without a second thought. So we went with the rescue team to go get him. We had some sorcerers on our side that were a little...destructive. Everything was burning. We wanted the job to end quickly. So we went to get him.

"When Giselle tried to stop us, I overreacted. I've always been a passionate person, and I was mad at the guild for what I thought was an unspeakable act of dehumanizing. Then Alice..." here her voice faltered. She took a breath and tried again. "Alice was going to fight Giselle for me. When she shot that beam, I was terrified beyond belief. I didn't know a sorceress could do that, shoot magic from their bare hands. Later, we assumed she had on some type of glove. We couldn't truly see her that well." She took a breath. "Until you told me just now, I didn't know that girl would become Giselle."

A tear leaked out of her right eye. "I was so distraught over Alice's death. It was so sudden. I wanted to kill Giselle the way she had killed my friend. Jennifer...was wiser than I was. I am inclined to believe she still is."

There was a moment of silence. "What happened to Juan?" I asked softly.

Mrs. Simone opened her eyes and smiled. "As for Mr. Juan Marquez, he is alive and well, teaching Foreign Magic at...another school. I hear he is quite popular with the young students."

"Another school?" I asked, surprised. "What do you mean? Is there another school for Myths?"

"I've said too much," Mrs. Simone said, standing with a mischievous smile, "but I imagine you'll meet them soon enough." She began to walk away. I sat, stunned. What did she mean?

"Oh, and Sierra," she called back. I turned my head. She had a twinkle in her eyes. "It is not a school for Myths."

And with that, she walked away, leaving me quite confused.

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ONE CHAPTER LEFT!!!

~Paint_splatt