Chapter Twenty Two : The Bond

A few days had passed, and Penny was doing everything in her power to keep her attitude positive going forward. She had been working with Ember Closely and was learning a great deal from the human, much more than she would have expected.

And though not being sure of how she would accomplish her goals, Penny continued trying to focus on ways to return to the Underworld. Ember had offered her assistance in finding a way to do so and the two began working more closely with one another, almost becoming inseparable.

" So what do you think the Underworld is like? " Ember asked Penny as they sat outside under a large oak tree, now resting after having spent most of the day training to hone their combat skills.

" I know that the Sky is green..and I know that the world is suppose to be very beautiful " Penny remarked as she began remembering stories that were told to her long ago by Lysette.

" I know it's a place where Kingdoms had risen and fallen. I know that it had spent most of its existence in a war, which tells me that it can't be all that different from Earth" Penny's words dissapointed Embers hopes of a fantastical world that would be far away from the home she had known and would be filled with magic and beauty and possibly even peace.

" Well, I guess nothing is perfect" Ember chuckled and Penny agreed. " Yeah, but a world is only as good as the people within it. They are the true essence of a world. If people can come together and get along, then the world can propser. And if they can't, then the world will never see its true potential. In some ways, the Underworld is filled with more deceit and power hungry people than Earth every could be. Because there, they didn't need weapons to do their fighting, they did it themselves. So when they would make a decision, when they acted on their greed, they knew it might cost them their lives but they didn't care. " Penny brought up many good points, all of which, Ember found herself not being able to disagree with.

" Yeah. I suppose. But you, are a single person. And if you are meant to change all these things within the Underworld then I'd like to know how? Who says that anyone or anything would listen to you? " Ember had heard stories of former leaders, some, even with great intentions being casted out by their people because of one reason or another. And now, Penny was her friend, someone she cared about. And to have Penny risk being hurt would be painful to Ember as well.

" I guess, I just have to be stronger. I have to show them how to live in peace, in the same way you are showing me to not use violence to solve my problems. There are many ways to do things, some right and some wrong. There is never a perfect answer or choice, but at least striving to do the right thing is good enough" Penny explained. This answer was one of the reasons that Ember was glad they had bonded. Penny had a pure heart. She may be hard-headed but she would always try to do the right thing if she could and that is something and someone that Ember felt she could believe in and stand beside.

" Well, I guess if anyone is gonna change things, it would definitely be you" Ember smiled as she leaned back against the tree.

" I have to find a way to get to the Underworld soon" Penny told Ember who looked over to her.

" I might live for hundreds of years, but you won't. And I want you to get the chance to see it. To see where I came from. Plus, having you by my side to help wouldn't be the worst idea. You've been a major help to me " Penny smiled back at Ember who blushed.

" If the time should come where you find a way to make it happen, I will gladly go with you" Ember replied and then added " Just know that if I get eaten by a Lycan or a Vampire, I'm going to blame you" the Two laughed at the possibility of running into the creatures of the Underworld. Having Lysette with them would be a great help as she knew how to get around the world quite well. But without her, they would be lost.

" So...are you gonna get a castle too? " Ember joked and Penny rolled her eyes. " Nah, maybe a small cottage in the woods or something but I definitely don't want a castle. Seems like it would be too much in the open and would also be way too much room for me. At most, I'd have you and Lysette so that's only three people. And I don't really think I'd need an army so..I dont know..just doesn't seem necessary" Penny answered.

" I really do hope someday that I get to see it for myself. I know how important it must be to you but I also kind of wanna see it. Living on Earth for as long as I have, it gets boring after a while. Which is kind of funny that I say that considering especially most of my life on the run, trying to survive as best as I could. And while Earth is home to me, seeing a whole another world I feel like would be any one's dream. To walk on land does it no other human has walked on, to experience new people and new things, it's so exciting to me" Ember expressed as she reached up to try and adjust her thick curly brownhair which had been pulled back into pig tails.

" Well, I'm gonna make it happen. Just trust me" Penny assured as she held out her hand, attempting to cast a fireball, which was something she still had not successfully accomplished to this point.

"This is never going to work" Penny sighed as Ember turned to her " Well maybe not fire but you could still try the lightning or snowballs" Ember points out and so Penny begins focusing on storms. Picturing lightning images in her head so that she had something to focus on. And as she continued to focus, she began noticing a small tingling sensation in her palm. This was followed by little flickers of electricity shooting out from her finger tips sporadically.

" Oh shit..you are doing it! " Ember squealed as she moved a little closer to Penny to watch the sparks." Looks like we found your new ability " Ember smiled.