𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 》 JASON GRACE ¹

ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ᵗʷᵉⁿᵗʸ

Hello! ~ Something weird happened when I published the last chapter and a few hundred words were deleted without me being warned or anything. I've recovered them and published the changes. The last line on that chapter should have been Noelani telling the others that they're seeing the king of the winds immediately - if not then I'm afraid you've missed it and need to have a quick check back. Sorry for the inconvenience!

''COME ON, CUPCAKES! ONLY A FEW THOUSAND MORE STEPS!''

Noelani huffed, shifting the weight on her back. She didn't want to insult Piper, the girl wasn't even that heavy compared to others she had had to drag back to the infirmary - but those others hadn't had to have been carried up such a steep track against wild winds for over half an hour.

''If he say's that one more time,'' Noelani paused, bending her legs before standing up straight in order to push Piper back up her back. ''I'm going to turn him a lovely warm fleece.''

Piper chortled from behind her. ''And just think, whenever it get's dirty you can take it out and beat it.'' Noelani laughed under her breath, not having that much to spare any more.

Leo and Jason were struggling too and every few seconds Leo would send a longing look over his shoulder at Piper before turning to Jason. He was denied every time he opened his mouth, causing Leo to dramatically drag his feet and mope for a few minutes.

Jason seemed to be exhausted too, the shoulder that carried the golden backpack sagging as if it held unimaginable weight. Every time he so much as stumbled, Noelani had to bite down her vicious laugh - the one that was usually reserved for Clarisse whenever she lost. It was petty, she knew, but Jason had not only hurt her feelings, but crushed any blossoming ones under his boot.

The only one who seemed to be in a good mood was Coach Hedge. He kept bounding up the slippery staircase and trotting back down. ''Come on, cupcakes! Only a few more thousand steps!''

''You've said that already Coach!'' Piper yelled up at him, having the time of her life on Noelani's back. Who knew the girl could mumble the most terrifying, yet amusing, threats under her breath?

Finally, they arrived at the top of the island. Bronze walls marched all the way around the fortress grounds, though Noelani couldn't imagine who would possibly attack this place. Although, she would understood why someone had a good rant about how elevators exist.

Twenty-foot-high gates opened for them, and a road of polished purple stone led up to the main citadel - a white-columned rotunda, Greek style, like one of the monuments in Washington, D.C. - except for the cluster of satellite dishes and radio towers on the roof. 

''That's bizarre,'' Piper said, tapping Noelani's shoulder to let her know she could walk from here.

''Guess you can't get cable on a floating island,'' Leo said. ''Dang, check this guy's front yard.''

The rotunda sat in the center of a quarter-mile circle. The grounds were amazing in a scary way. They were divided into four sections like big pizza slices, each one representing a season.

The section on their right was an icy waste, with bare trees and a frozen lake. Snowmen rolled across the landscape as the wind rolled across the landscape as the wind blew, so Noelani wasn't sure if they were decorations or alive.

To their left was an autumn park with gold and red trees. Mounds of leaves blew into patterns - gods, people, animals, that ran after each other before scattering back into the leaves.

In the distance, Noelani could see two more areas behind the rotunda. One looked like green pasture with sheep made out of clouds. The last section was a desert where tumbleweeds scratched strange patterns in the sand like Greek letters, smiley faces, and a huge advertisement that read: WATCH AEOLUS NIGHTLY!