Arrival (Part II)
Gisa
It was a long time before Emma entered the room. "My papers got ripped on the way over." she mumbled, her eyes scanning the room.
Gisa nodded. "Fancy, huh? Guess what! Ron stayed overnight and Jamison came early and they were served breakfast!"
"Licked the plate clean." Ron laughed. "There was real bacon! And real eggs and perfectly toasted bread with real butter and real juice…" He rubbed his stomach dramatically, crumpling to his knees. Everyone laughed as he stood up.
"I wouldn't fall on my knees," Jamison laughed, adjusting the beanie on his head, "But I have never tasted food so good, and my stepmom was a chef."
Emma sighed. "Well, now I'm hungry, thanks guys. Who knows when we'll eat next?"
Gisa sat by the lit fire, holding her hands out in front of her. No matter the season, the island was almost always chilly. "Ron, why'd you stay the night? I mean, now that I've seen the place I get it, but like, looking at the building, one would think it is just another cold and drafty building."
Ron shrugged, his grin faltering a minute. "Well you know my stomach. Maybe I just sensed it." He laughed. "Okay, but I am pretty upset that they took my spray paint from my bag." He gestured to where their belongings were haphazardly thrown in a heap.
Jamison laughed. "I wanted to see what they'd do if I brought a longsword." Emma gasped and Gisa chuckled.
Cameron just rolled his eyes. "...and three daggers, four knives, one brass knuckle and all of your father's cigars. You set off every single alarm this building has, dude."
Despite the fact that he could have gone on serious probation, or worse, they couldn't help but laugh. Gisa was howling. "Your father is going to be so peeved!" she chuckled again, laughing so hard she toppled over. They only laughed harder.
"Do you think we'll be able to get cell phones?" Emma asked. "I heard you can do almost anything with them."
"I doubt they're as cool as your books say Em," Gisa said. "The idea itself is ridiculous."
Emma shrugged. "Willing to bet on it?"
Gisa smirked. "Heck yeah. I say if you get one you'll be disappointed. What happens when you lose?"
Emma rolled her eyes. "Well when you lose—"
A door swung open on its own, leading to a hallway. Made of iron. Gisa swallowed. The barrier ended, but iron began. Her mother said it was heavy, it burned, it muted your senses. She'd never had her powers completely before, but would it still stifle her the moment she stepped outside? They had iron doors on their house, but the barrier made their magic null anyway. They'd be stepping out of the barrier now…
Ron walked down the hall, followed by Emma and Jamison. With a deep breath, Gisa followed them. It was darker than the room in the tunnel, causing her to squint in the dim yellow lights. Much like the lights at home. She hugged her arms close to her sides, careful not to touch the iron for fear of it burning her. She heard the hum of the barrier as they passed through it in the tunnel. She waited to feel something, but she felt nothing as she walked down and turned the corner. And what she saw…
A long silver bridge stretched towards the green and sunny mainland over a teal ocean. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, birds were flying, everything was so bright. And then it hit her.
Every part of her tingled as she stepped from the hallway onto the bridge, the barrier behind her. It was sudden. She felt something warm, inviting, and yet so foreign and forbidden tracing along her spine to every nerve in her body. She laughed out loud, spinning in a circle as the sun shone on her, and that power filled every part of her. The dampener was released and she felt so free. Gleefully she let it out and glowed bright yellow in the sun basking in her own glow. She could hear everything, her vision was brighter, her thoughts clearer. Every sense was instantly more clear. It was magnificent, marvelous, and it felt so right. The cuts and scrapes on her skin disappeared, her power looking for an outlet, having never been unleashed. She felt so alive. So free. So perfect. She laughed again, finally coming to reality, her back a little straighter, head a little higher. She smiled more, giggling excitedly.
Emma walked over, her mouth agape. "Gisa you're… you're glowing. You're smiling, you're so…"
"I've had this power for less than thirty-seconds and I can't believe I've lived my whole life without it. It's like a missing piece. I've never felt so… right." Gisa laughed again, her chest heaving as she looked up at the sky.
"Everything is so beautiful…" Emma breathed.
"And it gets better." A voice said. All four kids turned to a stout man in a suit with dark shades on. Gisa pursed her lips trying not to laugh at his out-of-place handlebar mustache. Jamison seemed to be doing the same thing. "Please, we've prepared a special ride for you all. It comes complete with refreshments and complementary pillows for the ride. It should take us about a couple hours or so to reach our destination, so make yourselves comfortable. My name is Alex Chambers, I'll be your driver, and this is your entourage." He gestured to the motorcycles and cars parked around their limo.
They dumbly nodded, ducking into the limo. Gisa felt a dampener in the limo, but it didn't hurt like her mother said it would. It felt like… it felt like this awakened power was sleeping somehow. Curled up gently inside her peacefully. Somehow it felt alright to her. She couldn't use it, but it was there.
She looked up to see the other three raiding glass jars filled with colorful snacks. Emma had already thrown herself across a long soft bench, her head on a pillow, pink candy on a stick in her mouth. "Gisa, I've never been so happy," she giggled.
Jamison and Ron were practically shoving each other out of the way to stuff their mouths with a small round brown candy. "Gisa you have to try this," Jamison said, throwing another into his mouth. "It's nuts and something that the wrapper says is chocolate? I don't know what it is, but I love it."
Gisa grabbed one, nibbling a side of it. Her taste buds exploded. She put the whole piece in her mouth. "This is the best thing I have ever tasted!" She grabbed another one, throwing herself onto a chair, the pillow behind her.
She sunk into the pillow ever so slowly. She sighed blissfully. "I will never be satisfied with a pillow less fluffy than this."
Emma hummed her agreement, her eyes closed as she dozed on the pillow in the backseat. "I know this must be what characters in books feel like when they say 'Feels like a cloud' even though clouds are just water vapor." She giggled, shoving her face into the pillow.
"They're also good for this." Jamison flung his pillow into Ron's face before he could react. He let out an oof before sending his pillow into Jamsion's head. Gisa ducked out, sitting beside Emma to watch the chaos unfold in the backseat.
They tired of the pillow fight quickly, reclining in the spacious cab and filling themselves with candy, glancing at the water as they drove at a steady pace over the bridge. The mainland was growing closer and closer by the second. Nobody said anything, but they grew more tense as they neared it. The silence pressed hard from every side.
Emma coughed, the first one to break the silence.
Ron took note of her uncomfortable glance. "Jamison, what's the deal with your face? You look like you sprinted into a brick wall." His face indeed was swelled, slightly purple and yellow. Cuts and scrapes littered his arms, neck, and face. His nose was crooked and his knee wrapped tightly. Gisa nodded her agreement.
"You can't say anything Ron, look at yourself." Jamison wasn't wrong. Ron's sweatshirt looked as old as he was and the knee of his pants were ripped. A few pieces of hay and grass clung to his hair and clothes.
"I had to train hop, what do you want?" He shrugged. "I didn't feel like walking." He picked at the scab on his knee absently.
Jamison pursed his lips before giving his own explanation. "I took a few pit fights to get my mind off of things and I met a nasty opponent." Gisa raised an eyebrow. "Funny," he said flatly to her. "No, I still won. I won on a K.O."
Gisa chuckled. "I would have beaten you to a K.O. but you were too weak to get off the floor." she smirked.
Jamsion smirked back. "I didn't want to ruin your pretty face or embarrass you."
Gisa wasn't sure which part to remark on. "Oh so you let me win?"
Jamison shrugged. "You said it, not me!" He put his palms up in emphasis, trying to hide his grin.
"Well," Gisa looked over to Emma and Ron, both waiting eagerly to see the outcome. "I doubt they have pits on the Continent, but perhaps we'll have to have a rematch then."
They laughed for a while as Jamsion tried to do an impression of an angry Gisa. Ron dug out a box of cards from his bag of belongings and they settled cross legged on the spacious floor, while Emma draped over the couch, forearms resting on the floor.
"Poker? You stink at poker." Emma laughed when Gisa suggested it. Gisa only stuck her tongue out at her.
It was true though. Four games in and Gisa had lost the most. Emma, clearly having won the most, only laughed harder. "You have to learn when is the right time to fold dear." They dealt a fifth hand, but they quickly lost interest as the limo slowed down entering a long winding gravel road.
It seemed to take forever, but soon an enormous polished white mansion completely outdone with flowers and bushes of all colors, bubbling fountains and other water features came into view. A few gardeners in large hats were trimming flowers and weeding the garden beds. They all stopped their work to watch the limo pass by.
Gisa held her breath as the limo slowed to a stop by an impressive entrance onto a rose pathway up a wide white staircase into glass double doors. But what was more impressive was the cluster of nobles, hands folded or down by their sides all waiting for them. And there was Prince Michael at the very front.