Chapter 22

One of my biggest fear in this world was right before my eyes, Danny was holding my Diary, I looked around my room and realized it was thrashed and the lockers on my vanity were broken.

"Finally back I see, how was your date with lover boy" Danny asked not turning around.

'I need to be strong, I'm stronger than I know, these are all figments of my imagination' I kept telling myself that but it didn't help that I was still scared and nervous.

"W-why are you here Danny" I asked trying to be as natural as I could.

Instead of answering she laughed a terrible laugh that if I'm not mistaken I've heard before.

"Y-you, you-- you're not Danny, who are you and why are you here" I asked, more like screamed.

"For a chosen one you are smart, but you're just a little girl, a scared little girl who longs for things she can never have, hence your test" She said still not turning around.

"What's are you talking about, how can you know about my test" I asked quiet in shock.

"Well it's simple dearest, since the time you were chosen as potential guardian, I've been watching you, through means you would never have expected" She paused.

"Well, you see dear, this world was created from your deepest desires, I mean the book does find new was to torment a potential guardian, am I right now?" She laughed.

"What are you getting at" I asked impatiently

"Bottom line dear is you are a greedy, conniving, manipulating, twisted little girl, who wants everything at the tip of her finger" She finally said I was shocked.

"It's you isn't it, the witch from my dream" I asked, this time she stood up and sprung around.

"Took you long enough dear, but using the word witch is so outdated, I'd prefer the words sorceress or rather enchantress, witch just sounds too hag-ish, don't you think dearest"

I could feel the lump in my throat getting bigger, I knew Danny's character was off at a point but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought she was being manipulated by that evil witch.

More importantly this witch was telling me things that deep inside I knew was the truth but I will never accept that part of myself.

If only Mr Jonathan had told me something about her earlier, it probably would have been a bit easier to defeat her than just standing here all scared.

"Oh you better be afraid, cause I darling, am your worst nightmare" She shrieked and all I can say was the sound was so horrible, nothing could be compared to the ear deafening sound.

And before I knew what was even happening, everything around me started to rise up in thin air, like gravity was lost but only in my room.

"This isn't a dream girl, I'm more real than you could even imagine and guess what dear, finishing you off here would means I can finally steal both the book and the crystal from your mortal body" She laughed wickedly again.

Before I could react the things floating started flying towards my direction, I closed my eyes to brace myself for impact but nothing happened.

I slowly opened one eye and I saw a thin wall of purple around me and all the things she sent to attack me on the ground

"Don't think you're safe girl, the gem is only as powerful as it's wielder" she said, this time her eyes or rather Danny's eyes turned a bright red

I didn't have enough time to comprehend what was going so I dashed out the room and ran downstairs to the kitchen

"Dearest why are you running, it's quite simple, just die and all your worries will be over, aren't I making enough sense dear" The witch said walking down the stairs

I hid under the kitchen counter calculating the course to my next except route which was already determined: the back door

As I sat there waiting for an opportunity to run all the things she said about me started ringing in my ear. I couldn't fight the truth anymore.

In my depressed state the crystal started glowing again.

"Not now" I whispered as I held the crystal in my hand closing my eyes and immediately I was transported into a white space or something like that.

"You really need to open your mind more sometimes, you're too scared"

"Who said that" I asked

"Oh I don't know, Randy Othor, come on give me a break"

"I'm in no mood for games, I'm in a life or death situation right now and if you don't mind I have some running to get back to" I said walking around aimlessly.

"Ugh fine, you're no fun" and there he was again in front of me Robert.

"You! What the hell are you doing here, it's not safe" I shouted trying to find an exit.

But he only laughed "What's so funny, we're about to be hunted down by a crazy witch and all you can do is laugh" I said to Robert in annoyance.

"Oh, You mean Altheda" He said so casually.

"You know her name" I asked confused.

"All you need to know now is that you're at the final step to finishing your quest, you only have a few hours before you're dragged into an eternal darkness" Robert said and every thing Atedal, Ataran or what ever her name was said about me came back.

"Everything she said about me is true, I really am a bad person, I'm no better than that witch out there" I said sulking.

I started feeling bad about myself but felt worse after thinking about all the people I let down because of my selfishness.

SLAP!!! "Ouch, what was that about" I screamed holding the back of my head but no response.

"Did you just smack the back of my head" I asked him again.

"Would you have preferred your face, cause there's more where that came from" Robert said with a smug smile.

"That's it, I'm gonna rip you to shreds" I said lunging out at him but he simply disappeared and appeared somewhere else, in the same space.

"Egh, you were saying, I couldn't hear you with all the negativity filling up the room" I ran again to smack some sense into him but he kept on evading my attempts.

After what felt like forever I finally gave up and fell to the ground catching my breath.

"Now that you're tired and worn out, I think we're ready to talk here" He said gently stretching out his hand to me.

Obviously instead of pulling my self up, I dragged him down with all the strength I had left making him fall next to me.

"Ha, finally got you" I said still panting to calm myself down a bit. I'm so out of shape, I thought to myself, but what happened next was even weirder.

Robert started laughing and as you would have it, I started laughing too. I'm sure we were laughing out of control, when Robert eased his a bit.

"Stubborn as always" Robert said under his breath.

When I noticed he wasn't laughing anymore I eased things up too.

"You were never chosen to be the next guardian because you were pure of heart or whatever that is, even deities that are supposingly pure also harbor jealousy against one another so no one in real sense is actually pure at heart" He said facing upwards.

"The truth is that there's still alot you need to learn about yourself and the world around you. Your passion to achieve something and a leader's spirit are all attributes that make you stand out so embrace those flaws, those uncertainties, the evil within because they're all still part of you but they do not define you. You define you"

I was stunned after listening to Robert, and as always, he was was absolutely right. I've always been trying so hard to think about others, do things that most atimes pleases other, but that's not a bad thing, I can look out for myself and also others. It's time to embrace me for me.

"Oh, and one more thing, Nothing you want matters until it matters where it's needed the most"

Those words echoed in my head and it was if fireworks went off in my heart, I had totally forgotten what Mr Jonathan told me before he left.

I didn't understand it then but I think I do now, and all it took was a corny guy to make me realize what I knew all along.

Wait... Now that I think about it, I think can sense magic now, all over his place and I was teleported here, and Robert has be disappearing and appearing around the whole place... Now that I put 2 and 2 together...

"Robert y-"

"It was nice knowing you Jess" Robert said cutting me off and the next thing I saw was the back door, I was back in my hiding spot under the table in the kitchen.

Couldn't he have transported me anywhere else, no he had to bring me back to the door of death.

"Well if you insist on playing hide and seek, I might as well tell you a story, one I'm sure you will definitely enjoy my dear" I could hear the witched voice behind the kitchen door.

I darted towards the kitchen back door but it was as if it was automatically shut in my face.

"No no child you have to hear my story first" She said and as I turned around she was right in front of me, nose to nose as she smiled.

"Come on dear, you've already wasted my time, I'll think of another way to end you while you listen" She said and with a flick of her fingers we were in the living room both seated.

But the thing is, I can't stand up, or move at all

"Don't worry, I can't cause you any physical harm as long as you have that thing around your neck, but don't think you're safe, oh no my child, you're anything but safe" And again erupted another evil laugh.