Renda yawned deeply as she streched her arms.
Grabbing the silk red ribbon she twisted it back into a loose laying ponytail.
She yawned again. Monday mornings always threw Renda off.
She took her lipgloss off her dresser.
"Why today?" she muttered under her breath. Not only was it monday but cheerleading tryouts were scheduled right after school today Sure, she was farmiliar with most forms of dance and gymnastiques, yet Renda didn't have the stamina to do well at the tryouts; she felt all warn out and exausted.
Pulling herself out of the wooden chair, Renda slid the cherry lipgloss over her lips.
The bedroom door banged as her mother called, "Renda...Renda!"
"Yeah?" she asked, slurring the word.
"Candice is on the phone for you."
A sudden burst of energy shot through her at the sound od her bestfriend's name. "I'll be right down in a minute!" she yelled to her mom.
Hearing her mother mutter something about "teenagers", Renda rushed a little more to get ready.
Almost running down the stairs, Renda yanked up the phone.
"Candice, what's up?"
"Ren, I've come down with something." her friend cough sounded painful. "I'm not goin' to be there today."
"Okay, but I'll miss you in English lit. today. Were picking groups for those Shakepeare skits."
"Yeah, I know, bu....." the phone blanked out.
"Hello, hello... Candice?" of course it wouldn't work, their wasn't even a tone.
Renda turned around yelling "Mom" but no one awnsered.
Where was she?
Candice was going to worry about her. The batteries to the phone were probably just dead.
"Mom!" she yelled again, searching the house thouroughly.
Running into the kitchen, Renda saw a brown mug hovering over the peach cream counter top with coffee being poured into it, only, the coffee pitcher, a mug, and coffee were all suspended in place! Shivering, Renda was speechless. Her mother was missing and a coffee mug floating? She didn't even want to think about the phone. Someone help me! A sudden burst of fire shot through her.
"So you've figured out how to call early."
Renda turned around to see a tall woman of about 5' 9" wrapped in what looked like something an asian would wear, in red silk.
"Who, who the hell are you?" she tried to sound tough.
The woman chuckled, "maybe you should be asking who you are, Darshina. Oh, I'm sorry." As the intruder lifted her hands to her mouth in a gasp, the woman dropped to the floor in a kneel, "I over stepped myself, pardon me my Darshina, If thy gloyious self finds this useless vessal worth forgiveness."
"Get up!" she said exasperatingly, "I'm not this Darshina, or whatever the hell you called me, and I can't stand this groveling!"
"Thank you, thank you my Darshina! You are truly, truly generous may the Mistresses of Life shine upon you!" she kissed the ground.
Even though Renda was fighting the urge to kick the woman, she just touched the woman on the head and said, "All is forgiven, you may rise." remembering reading about some queen doing that in a similar scene.
"Yes my Darshina," she nodded once, "I am to bring my Darshina to Haligraz."
"Where the HELL... I mean where is that?" she quickly corrected herself.
"Why, it's in Shaditode, my Darshina." the woman's eyes never left the ground.
"Shaditode?"
"My Darshina has many questions. Has she not been told about Shaditode?" the woman seemed in deep thought.
"What's a Shaditode?" Renda asked.
"Oh my, my, my! This is bad, very bad! My Darshina does not even know about Shaditode! The Ogeraskto will be mad. Mad indeed, yes, yes,yes! But I must bring My Darshina to the Ogeraskto!" the intruder seemed to be talking to herself.
"Can you STOP with the pretending I'm not here? That's getting annoying."
"Yes my Darshina, at once my Darshina, please pardon me my Darshina!"
Renda glanced back at counter and felt shame over fogetting her family.
"What did you do to my family!?" she demanded. The woman blinked, "Nothing, my Darshina, the unit it fine."
"What unit?" she was now frustrated.
"Your mother? she is fine, my Darshina, only, in stopping time she became nonexistant." the woman's eyes almost touched Renda. "We must go now, my Darshina." her eyes up at the ceiling.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she exclaimed, "you have nothing to do with me!"
"My Darshina, you will die if you don't come with me."
"Yeah right." she rolled her eyes.
"You must, my Darshina, you must. Forgive me for ordering, but Idaia will kill you!"
Something in the woman's voice told her this was no lie, or joke, yet she still couldn't believe her. "Why?" she asked.
"You must come and all will be explained, my Darshina." trying to urge Renda.
She sighed. waiting to wake up, "Will my mother be okay?" she might as well play this deam to the end.
"Yes, my Darshina, now please come with me." she held her hand, and Reanda grasped it.
"Thank you, my Darshina." she said.
"The colors around them melted together, as did the shapes. A bright light over powered Renda, making her try to rip her grasp from the woman's hand. She suceeded.
The world around her materialized again in what seemed like a year, or was it a second?
Candice would just love hearing about this dream! she thought.
The sky abouver her was dead gray just waiting to touch her. Trees around her were whittled away bone statues, and the only few strands of grass were drained of all color.
Renda shivered. "How could any place be so cold? she wondered out loud. It wasn't just the cold, something in this place was wrong.
"Renda, is it?" Renda turned around watching a woman draped in a silver dress that fit her curves strongly and a dark gray cloak that hanged over her shoulders comfortably, walk towards her. She had stunning light blue eyes, and hair daker than midnight.
The woman carried a reagal air around her. Although that might have only been because of the woman's high check bones and hieght of possibly 6"3'. The woman's stare porbably helped. She matched Renda stare for stare demanding respect.
Renda wanted to bow down to her. An urge she fought with everything in her to contain. "Who the hell are you?"
"Ah, so you do have spirit. That is good. For a moment I thought Adizimal got hold of you, well that does not matter now."
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Why I am called Idaia."
"That, that lady told me you wanted to kill me!" panick struck her face, as she started to run.
"Honestly dear, I have no time for this." she lifted her hands mumbling, "Shia vez aroro shank!"
Renda suddenly stopped unable to move forward. Struggling with all her might, Renda still couldn't budge."If I really wanted to kill you child; I would have done so already."Idaia said, "Now will you settle down? I have a lot to explain to you."
Reluctantly she nodded.
"Good, oh, you might as well get that notion of escaping out of your head."
Staring, Renda was shocked how did she know? Could this woman understand body language better than most, or was their something else? She wished Candice could be a part of this dream. She always was good at figuring out these kinds of problems.
"Come with me." the voice was motherly yet demanding, so Renda followed in silence.
The terran lost all signs of loss and death, turning into a field without flowers and grass. The field was plain and dry, with cracks seeping through corners of the cement-like dirt.
Suddenly, the field smoothed out and lost all traces of cracks. The earth felt soft to Renda from the long and dry taveling.
Peaks of green appeared below the growing of dark black clouds. As they traveled on Renda noticed that she was starting to walk close to Idaia's side, instead of behind her.
Seeing the rain starting to drizzle in front of them both, she looked closer to see a flushing forest.
Heading into the forest, they stopped in front of a marked oblisk. The silver land mark stood about three feet higher than Idaia, with the coloring of gold and what looked like an egyption symbol.
The object took her breath away. "It's gorgeous!" breaking the long silence, she barly managed a whisper.
"Yes it is." Idaia said carelessly, "and it's extremly dangerous."
"How is this dangerous?" Idaia looked at her.
"You have no idea about this world, do you Renda." It was a statement, "The mistress of Fire not knowing about her true realm." Idaia looked to be talking to no one in perticular.
"Mistress of Fire? Who's that?"
She was knocked back into reality. "That's none of your concern yet, child. Right now I've got to get you away from the Ogeraskto."
"I've heard that name before. That woman wo called me Darshina said this Ogeraskto person would be pleased."
Idaia's eyebrows shot up in an instant and fire flickered through her eyes, but smoothed out once she made direct eye contact with Renda. "Did she now?"
Shivering, Renda was worried. Idaia hardly ever made eye contact with her, and when she did it was always with a regal air.
"Yes." she said, gulping.
Idaia turned away after muttering, "Mistresses!"
"What?"
Idaia sighed, "Darshina was the Mistress of Darkness."
"What are those?" catching Idaia's glance, she was truly fearful.
"The Mistresses have the ability to conjeur one element. Many have the ability, but the Mistress is stronger than any other, child. She was grown with the powers of all. They are able to channel others' powers Only one Mistress is born, for each element, about every 500 yrs. The Mistress always seem to live to be about 550 yrs, child."
"That, that's impossible!"
"In your past world yes child, but here, no." Idaia turned to the oblisk, running her hand down the stone.
"Idaia, why am I here? Can't I go back home?"
"Child,"
"Stop calling me that! My name is Renda."
"That won't work, hmm... Renda is too noticable. Go by... Scarlet at Calar."
"No, I won't change my name!"
"You must. If the Ogeraskto recognizes you, you will surely be shipped off to Haligraz to become to the Darshina!" the fire in Idaia's eyes burned through Renda like fire crushing the trees.
Not even being able to stand the glance Renda retreated her eyes to the ground, "Okay, I'll be Scarlet, but only this once!"
Idaia nodded once, and allowed the tidal wave of relief to wash over Renda.
"Now, let us be on our way, child."
