Lady of the Midnight Forest Part 1... Or is it?

   "Lexi, I- I don't think I can hold on much longer."
   "Just a minute Elli, Governess Prissypants is almost there."
   Elli sent a pout my way. "Easy for you to say. You're not the one holding a bathtub's worth of river water in the air."
   I looked up at the floating glob of water floating precariously above our heads. I couldn't even  imagine carrying that much water with my own hands. Elli was really getting better at this elemental magic stuff. 
   "Well, you don't have to hold it much longer. She's coming down the hall right now!"
    Unfortunately, as soon as I said that,  Elli let her trembling arms fall. Which of course made the water plummet and splash everywhere. Drenching us in the process.
    Miss Helena (a.k.a Governess Prissypants) heard the noise and rushed to the corner where we were hiding.
    "Guards, I found them!" 
     A rough cloth covered my ears and mouth. Extreme pain, then darkness.

A few hours later...

     I slowly opened my eyes at the sensation of being jostled around. It sort of felt like I was in one of those horrible bumpy carriages.
     I blinked and took in my surroundings. Seemingly cushy seats that were actually rock hard, supposed gold decorations that I knew were just painted on. Yep, looked like a horrible bumpy carriage to me.
     I tried to sit up, but my limbs were weirdly floppy. I would have ended up sliding down to the if someone hadn't caught me.
     "It seems that one of the new guards thought we were intruders and shot those tranquilizer darts at us." The familiar voice of Elli came from behind me. "I think he must have somehow only managed to hit you and not me." Her tone was disapproving. "Clearly, that stupid idiot of a guard was lying through his teeth. I don't see why you put up with this... treatment you get from the palace staff! I could always just tell Papa, and he would-"
     "Don't. Please don't Elli." It seemed no one approved of 'that dirty little orphan girl who randomly got picked out of the trash'. I could see why. I had all these gifts, clothes, good food, and I didn't even do anything to earn them. I only have all this stuff because Elli insisted that I get everything she gets.   
     "I-
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     "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO STOP THERE!!!" The thump of a book crashing to the floor echoed throughout the castle. A shaky hand slowly picked it back up again.
     "I fixed the broken computer. I read the blog posts. I even opened a portal to the Mystika archives, after failing multiple times mind you." All of this was directed to a winged mint-green bunny sitting on a table. "I do all that and I'm not even the tiniest bit closer to figuring out what happened here!"
      The raging girl gestured wildly at the scene behind her. It seemed like a perfectly normal library. That is if a perfectly normal library had books and shelves in utter disrepair, and comatose people scattered on the floor.
       The girl sighed and rubbed her temples. "You know what? I really need some sleep. Let's go Flying Mint Bunny."
       Said creature dashed after her as she walked out of the room.


Yeah guys... I have no excuses. But at least I posted!
   

Mystika Archives: Found

Hey everyone, it's Elara again!!!!

  So after we got back from RTHQ, Lexi and I finally went to the chocolate room, and guess what I found? The Mystika Archives!!!!!!!
  .... You don't know what the Mystika Archives are, do you?
  Well, the Mystika Archives are where all the life stories of all the Mystika students are! Lexi may have mentioned that to you before. 
   Anyway, guess what else I found?
   Nothing less than the life story of a certain Alexandra Sarielle Rue!!!
   Lexi is currently out on a mission right now, so I can post it on here if you want!!!
   ...Only problem is, part of it kinda got singed to a crisp. So I'll only be able to post the first part.
   It's your choice :)
   
Elara


If you do want me to write out the first part of Lexi's life story, it'll basically explain how Lexi met Elara, Henry, and Sam, and what Lexi did before joining the Mystique. If you don't want me to write it, I'll just go on to the next mission. Lexi's life story isn't really needed to understand any of my missions in the future, so it doesn't matter to me.

Tour guide Lexi Rue, at your service!

Dedicated to Magicrainbow123  'cause she kept nagging me about it :P

 "Okay, so first off, here's the mess hall. It's where we eat, have food fights, and act kinda crazy" I pointed through an archway. I had been assigned to give Persia a tour of Mystika Academy.
   Have I ever told you how much I love giving tours? It makes me feel all professional and stuff.
   "Anyway, the food fights don't happen as much as you think. Although, if one does break out, I suggest army crawling under the tables. Most of the teachers are cool with it if you have food stains on your clothes, but the Air teacher will go nuts if she sees even a speck of dirt on you. Pretty much all of the people in the Air house are neat freaks, so I advise you stay at least a foot from them unless you want to get slapped with a bunch of feather dusters." Pausing to take a breath, I found Persia looking at me strangely.
    Turning the corner, I started up again. "So, this hallway," I gestured in front of me. "Is where we have all our classes. There's one teacher for each element, Basic and Secondary, so there are a lot of teachers." I heard a creaking noise behind me and whipped around. "Oh, shoot there's the stairs!!!"
    I ran as fast as I could towards the slowly fading staircase, with Persia panting behind me.
    "What in the world are we running for?!?!" Persia asked
    I pointed at the staircase."That's our only way to the second floor!"
    Note to all readers: Disappearing staircases are very very dangerous and absolutely should not be messed with. There is always the chance you might slip and fall into thin air. Which happened to me.
    "AHHHHHHHH NO I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE- Wait, what?" Somehow, I was... floating!!!!
    I gawked at Persia. "Did you do this?"
    She winced and shrugged. "I don't know. Look, can you just hurry up? You're kinda heavy."
   I giggled, embarrassed. "Oh right, I, uh, forgot I had wings." I unfolded them and hurriedly flew the rest of the way. Persia followed soon after, collapsing on the floor and breathing hard.
   I ran over to her. "Are you okay?!?! Do you need me to take you to the Water house?!?! That's the house all the healers are in, you know..."
   Persia held up a hand to stop me. "I'll be fine. What's on the second floor, anyway?"
   A relieved grin spread across my face. "Well, for starters, most of the dorms are on the second floor. The only exception right now is the Fire house, which I'm in. The Fire house has their own separate rooms that they're able to move around."
   Persia's brow furrowed. "What do you mean by 'right now'?"
   My eyes lit up at this question. "Okay, so technically, there's an unlimited amount of elements. Since  there's one house for each element, there's an unlimited amount of houses." Persia opened her mouth to comment, but I held up a finger to stop her. "Right now, I think there are only five active houses. Their official names are Dreamers of the Day, Walkers of the Water, Movers of the Mind, Communicators of the Crystal, and Fighters of the Forest. Their elements are Fire, Water, Air, Ice, and Earth, respectively. Instead of having a headmistress, we have a representative from each active house"
    I helped Persia up. "All the dorms are really awesome. The Ice dorms are completely made out of ice and crystal, the Water dorms are partially flooded so you can swim whenever you feel like it, and the Earth dorms have a forest growing in them!" I leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Also, the boy side of the Earth dorms are rumored to be haunted."
    Persia gave me a puzzled look. "What about the boy students?"
    I burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I must've forgotten to tell you. Mystika is a girls-only academy. A long time ago, guys went here too, but some big fight happened." A glowing light caught my eye. "Oh, this is perfect timing!!!" I pulled Persia over to look. "The doorways with these shiny symbol thingys," I rubbed the mark. "Are a kind of mini portal. If you have a key and you know how to activate them, you can go to the specialty rooms. There's a trampoline room, there's a chocolate room, and tons of other rooms!!! Apparently there's a room with all the life stories of all the students that have gone here! I'm still trying to find it."
     I pulled a key out of my pocket and showed it to her. "You get the key when you get sorted into a house. Now, allow me to demonstrate the activation." With a flourish, I picked up the key and held it in front of me. "One thing you should remember is that the symbols switch doorways every couple of days." I closed my eyes and concentrated on letting my power flow through me and to the key. 
     Somehow, I uh, managed to use a little too much magic and I ended up creating an actual portal.
     I spread my arms out. "Stay back!!! This might be- Oof!" Something careened into Persia, making her stumble forward and crash into me. The world seemed to slow down as we fell into the portal.
     "Oh my gosh, I cannot wait till we get there. I haven't had a piece of chocolate in ages and it's been driving me-"
     "Elara," I growled out. "You are in so much trouble when we get back."  

   

The sweet victory of finally getting a party

   I looked down at the dancers from my position on the rooftop. Up here, there was a beautiful view of Salindae, with the added bonus of everyone looking like ants. Leaning over the side, I could almost see the small specks that were Henry and Elli dancing together. I grinned triumphantly to myself. After all, a matchmaker takes pride in the couples she creates. Or in my case, shoved together repeatedly.
   I probably could have stayed there for the rest of the party smiling happily among the fairy lights and flowers that were up here on the roof. I could've been my normal awesome self, and definitely not confused. But no, I just had to be within earshot of the party and that song just had to be playing.
   

"Oh, happily ever after

Wouldn't you know, wouldn't you know

Oh, skip to the ending 

Who'd like to know, I'd like to know

Author of the moment, can you tell me?

Do I end up, do I end up happy..."

   If the Mystique had a theme song, this would be it.Well, if we had a theme song and I convinced them to like it.

   I love this song so much, I almost dived off the building and flew to the source of the music. I settled for running down the stairs at a frantic pace. 

   After about three flights of stairs I sprinted down the hallway, aiming for the servants' staircase, which had the slipperiest banister ever. 

    Unfortunately, I didn't make it. The floors were still wet from scrubbing, and I ended up flying through the air. Seriously, they should have those bright yellow wet floor signs that I saw in some other Verses. I mean, someone could get horribly injured in a situation like this.

    I probably would've been sent to the hospital ward too, if someone didn't catch me and set me down.

    "Oh, thank-" I trailed off, staring at his face. I narrowed my eyes. "You, again?!?!"

    He raised an eyebrow. "Me again, what?"

    "Hallucination guy! What in the name of chocolate are you doing back here?!?!"

    "I'm sad, Lexi, I thought we were past all the name calling."

    "I'm not as vulnerable as I was in the dungeon. You may look like Sam, but I know he's dead already. So, Hallucination guy, shall be your name."

     Hallucination guy sighed exasperatedly. "Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm proud of you. Who would've guessed that annoying brat would actually-"

     "Hey! No name-calling!"

     He facepalmed and muttered something about hypocritical stubborn girls. I frowned, impatiently tapping my foot.

     He took a deep breath. "I'm assuming you wouldn't believe me if I said Sam actually didn't die, and is standing right in front of you?"

     I shook my head no.

     "Well, it was worth a try. Here's some advice: Sometimes you shouldn't always believe in what you see" Hallucination guy waved at me and then sauntered off.

     I stared at him as he walked off. A flash of light caught my eye. I stopped breathing for a second. Was that- was that the storm ring on his hand?

     He turned around and winked at me, putting a finger up to his lips.

     Even after he left, I stood there, shocked.

     Maybe my friends were right. Perhaps I am going insane.

    So that's my first big mission, done! Right now I'm back at Mystika Academy, and guess what? I wasted my whole summer vacation on that mission! It was totally worth it though.

    Anyway, we also have a new student!!!! Her name is Persia and she seems really nice. She's currently in the undetermined house. I eavesdropped on her once, and it seems like she has a boyfriend named Wesley. They seem soooo cute. Oh shoot, my friends are bombarding the door. Happy chocolate eating!!!

Lexi

 P.S. The song is Happily Ever After by He Is We. Check it out!!!

Verse 2: A grand/epic ballroom

    I blinked at the strange sight of a flash mob, in tuxes and glittering dresses. Even stranger was the fact they were dancing the Caramelldansen. Do you know how hard that is?!?! It took me hours to get it right and I still looked like an idiot while doing it.
    I shook my head after realizing I had been staring much too long at the flash mob, and started pushing my way through the crowd.
    I'm pretty sure I stepped on way too many skirts and shoes, and I was apologizing non-stop. This all stopped when I saw her face.
    "Laixa!!!" I immediately ran and bear hugged her. "I haven't seen you in ages!!! Is this your new life? You still have your awesome fashionista skills, right? Did you make tons of new friends?" Her puzzled expression told me everything I needed to know. "Oh, this is probably that incident you told me about, I'm guessing. Well then," I stuck my hand out. "My name is Alexandra Sarielle Rue, but you can just call me Lexi. The next time you see me, you have to teach me all about my fire magic, and those awesome fashionista skills I mentioned earlier. Promise?
    "...Okay" Laixa said hesitantly, the look on her face screaming 'get me away from this crazy person'.
    I beamed at her. "Great! Now if you'll excuse me, I only really came here for this." I casually slid a moonstone armband off of someone's arm. "So, ta ta for now, and remember, you promised!" I winked at her and hightailed it out of there.
    Panting hard, I stopped in a dark alcove. I grasped the piece of jewelry with both hands, and created a portal.

After being subjected to torture by rainbow sparkles...

  I plopped down hard, back in the Phiriexiell palace. I looked at my surroundings quizzically; I thought I still had two more jewels left to go...
  Elli sighed in relief, helping me up. "Lexi, you really should have waited till I set up the shields! I'm pretty sure you set off alarms all over the place!!!"
  I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure it's not that bad. Why am I back here, anyway?"
  She held up a tanzanite hairpin and my fire opal bracelet. "I decided to help you out and find some of the jewels too."
  "Did you see the storm jewel anywhere?"
  "Maybe it was never taken in the first place." Elli said, shrugging.
  "That makes sense. Wait, why were one of the jewels in The Lady or the Tiger? I thought that was a Realm?"
   "Oh how do I put this... If a story isn't finished or has a vague ending, it can be a Realm and a Verse at the same time."
   I looked at her, eyes wide. "You know, right now I'm really glad the last Septimus Heap book isn't out yet."
   "Even when it is out, I think you can still go to that Realm. It just might be kind of... hard for you."
   "It's not like I'm going to try to change the story! I just want to try a stupid FizzFroot!!! Is that so bad?!?!"
    "Yes. Yes it is." Elli deadpanned. Her stomach rumbled. "See, it's making me hungry. Do you mind telling me where the kitchens are?" 
     "Well, I do, but a certain someone wouldn't." I cupped my hands around my mouth. "Hey Henry, come over here!!!" 
     "What?" He said grumpily.
     "Can you show Elli to the kitchens? I have something to take care of up here."
      I smirked as a steady blush spread over both of their faces. This was going to be perfect.
      "W-well, um-" Henry stuttered out.
      I cut him off. "Really? Great! Now, shoo, shoo!!!" I shoved them out the door and slammed it. My back slid down until I was seated comfortably on the floor. If everything went well those two would confess to each other before I had to leave.
      To pass the time I examined my jewel, watching the light reflect off it, revealing many different colors. As pretty as it was, I frowned. It seemed... different somehow. I moved it closer to my face. And suddenly I saw it.
       Etched into it ever so faintly, was a feather.

       It turns out that when we brought the jewels back to Hexanalyn, everyone in a coma woke up! I feel so proud of myself, my first big mission done! I'm not leaving yet, though. I mean, we still have to celebrate Elli's birthday! Since you know, the party got crashed and all. Well, the next time you hear from me, I'll be dressed in my best having tons of fun!!! See you then!
        
Lexi
       

Verse 1: A story yet to bloom...

    You know, portals can be very unreliable at times. Sometimes they lead you into a completely different place, or land you somewhere awkward...
    I really shouldn't be surprised I landed on someone.
    "Oh my gosh, I am so, so sorry. Did I hurt you at all?" I scrambled up and proceeded to check him for injuries.
    A weak grunt came from the man I landed on. "I'm... fine... Just knocked... the breath out... of me."
    "WHO DARES TO INTERRUPT THE TRIAL?!?!?"
     I glanced up to see a semi-barbaric king with an angry expression, glaring at me. "Um, I apologize, your majesty. Uh, what exactly is going on here?"
     A random voice spoke up. "It's the courier's trial to see if he was guilty for loving the princess."
     Looking around, I eventually came to the conclusion that I was in an arena. This seemed suspiciously like that one story I read...
     I furrowed my brow. "But, love can't really be classified as good or evil, right? On one hand, he's guilty because he didn't suppress his feelings, and let them grow. On the other hand, the feelings appeared inside of him, without him really wanting them. In the end, love is just there. It can cause us to do awesome things, or horrible things, but it remains neutral." It seemed I had everyone's attention by now, and murmurs of disbelief echoed throughout the whole arena. "Also, if he truly loved the princess, he would be punished either way, by getting eaten, or by marrying someone he doesn't love. So isn't this whole trial unfair?"
     The king turned his glare towards the courier. "JUST OPEN A STUPID DOOR ALREADY!!!"
     He slowly stood up and reached for the right door latch. But before he could lift it, both doors crashed down simultaneously, revealing a tiger and a... ninja? The ninja dashed towards the king and pinned him down, while the tiger transformed into another ninja and casually strolled up with a pair of handcuffs. 
     "Your majesty, you have been found guilty by the ISAR (Inter-Verse Society of Animal Rights) of animal cruelty, and as such, we reserve the right to dole out the necessary punishments." The first ninja stated, as he was being arrested.
     His eyes widened in recognition. "Wait, aren't you the lady behind one of the doors?"
     She pretended to think for a moment. "Well yeah, but I didn't really want to get hitched, you know?"
     The former tiger looked at her without sympathy. "That sounds way better than being deprived of food for half a year."
     "True."      
      This time it was my eyes that widened in recognition. I could have sworn I had heard that voice before...
       "Who's going to rule now?" Yet another random voice in the arena asked.
        I rolled my eyes. "Isn't it obvious? The princess and the courier will." I sent a meaningful look to both of them. "I mean, you might as well get married, since the king can't stop you."
        The princess practically leaped into the courier's arms, as the priest, choristers, and dancing maidens came out. In the midst of all the commotion, I spotted the two ninjas slinking away with the king. I ran after them, and finally managed to catch up outside.
        "So Cali," I crossed my arms and faced the tiger-turned-ninja. "What in the name of chocolate are you doing here?"
        "First of all, at least say my name correctly. It's Kaliazhe. KAH-LEE-AH-ZEH. Second, I actually have a life outside the palace kitchens, not that it's any of your business."
        "Speaking of that," I turned to the other ninja. "Do you mind giving me that choker around your neck?"
        She blinked."What, this old thing?"
        I nodded vigorously."Yes, yes, absolutely."
        "Sure, take it." The lady unclasped the choker and tossed it to me. I watched it fly through the air, the dangling jade glinting in the sun, before landing in my open palm.
        I gripped it tightly, moving around the back of the arena. After doing a quick scan of the area to make sure no one was there, I released my magic, letting it poke and prod at the jewel. When a soft green glow surrounded the jade, I sighed in relief, then quickly shoved more magic at it, creating a portal.
        As the rainbow sparks swirled around me, I dove in, without hesitation.

        If anyone knows the story Lexi went to I'll give you virtual cookies!
Also, I think the door the princess chose had the lady behind it because I think she would rather see her love live and possibly be happy, than die.
        ...If you didn't get that, you probably haven't read the story I was talking about.
     

Portal chains, portraits, and wait, is that verses I see?

   Obviously, going into the portal first, meant that I was the first one to arrive at our destination.
   "Hey Henry, Elli's on her way, and she has something to tell yo- Oww!"
   Elli stood in front of me, arms crossed. "Lexi, I told I would tell him after we find the jewels! You have absolutely no right to-" Suddenly, a blush spread across her face. "Oh, s-sorry Henry. I, um, didn't notice you there."
    "Right Elli, you didn't notice the guy staring at you, grinning like an idiot." I said sarcastically.
     Henry flushed furiously. "I was not grinning like an idiot!"
     I raised an eyebrow. "Then you admit to staring at her?"
     "I didn't do that either! Elli needs to be treated with respect, and that does not mean staring at her and grinning like an idiot, which you wrongly accused me of doing!"
     "I'm the same rank as Elli, and you never treat me with respect!"
     "Well, you don't deserve it."
      Elli stepped in. "Look, I know both of you were separated for most of your lives, but can you catch up on the sibling quarrels later? We have a job to do."
      "Sir, yes, sir!" I mock-saluted Elli.
      "Okay then, Lexi, did you receive a small portrait of yourself? Can you give it to me?"
      "Sir, yes, sir!" I reached into my pocket and tossed it at her.
      "Lexi, just stop."
      "Sir,yes-" Elli shot a glare at me. "Ugh, fine."
      Elli reached into her pocket and pulled out five more portraits of different people. Looking closer, I saw that they were portraits of the other Chosen, including Elli.
       "Do you know about the Jewel's Safeguard yet?" Elli asked, looking towards me.
        I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "Um, no?"
        Elli took a deep breath. "The jewels were made so that anyone could use them, in case something happened to the Chosen. However, if a jewel falls into the hands of someone with a hint of dark magic, it activates the Jewel's Safeguard, which immediately transports the jewel to a safe Verse. The portraits, when put together in a certain way, create a chain of portals that lead to the Verses that have the jewels. Luckily, I managed to make a few stop-overs to the other countries and collect these. Any questions?"
        I raised my hand slightly. "What's a Verse?"
        Elli facepalmed. "You're in the Mystique, and you still don't know?!"
        "Sorry!!!"
        "Well, anyway, Verses are the worlds that were created by imagination or dreams but haven't been written down, or made into a movie yet."
        "That makes so much sense now, thanks!" I rolled my sleeves up. "Now let's get crackin'!"

 A few hours later...

        "Ugh, I can't take it anymore!!!" I screamed, clutching at my hair. "My head hurts, I'm starving, and we've been staring at these for ages!!!" I threw one of the portraits down on the pile and stomped off. 
        A loud click and the sound of gears whirring came from behind me. I whirled around just in time to see the rest of the portraits click together, and transform into something almost unrecognizable.  
        Elli leaped up and hugged me. "Hooray, we can get on with it now!!!" She bent down to unlatch the seashell jewel and pressed it into a slot. A tell-tale rainbow light burst from the jewel.
        Henry looked at me. "Well Lexi, it is your mission..."
        I grinned back at him, unashamedly. "Don't worry, I'll get those jewels back no matter what!"