Life Of Hera

Part 24 - Now Claire Knows

They were shocked as well as Teapea. Claire looked at them, petrified. She looked at the lair and her eyes slowly landed on them.
"You guys are -" said Claire, frightened.
"Claire, listen to us, calm down," said Hera.
"We will explain everything to you," said Jovie.
They explained everything about the lair to Claire and that she might be the keeper of the crystal ball.
"That's ridiculous, how could I be the keeper?" said Claire.
"Just think about it, your bracelet glowed and you're adopted," said Hera.
Claire looked at her bracelet then at Hera.
"Even if I am the keeper, what am I supposed to do?"
"As the keeper of the crystal ball, you could destroy the crystal ball once and for all and our world will be safe," said Hera.
"But I don't know how to do that, "said Claire.
Jovie took the book on the table and flipped to a page with Claire's bracelet. She showed Claire the page.
"Look, you could destroy the crystal ball with a spell, "said Jovie.
"But I don't know what's the spell," said Claire.
They thought for a while.
"How about we look for it in the secret chamber?" asked Jovie.
"What secret chamber?" asked Claire.
They told Claire about the chamber in the library.
"That sounds like a good idea," said Claire. "But if we look for it and get caught, we'll be doomed!"
"But this is for the sake of our world. It's in your hands Claire!" said Hera.
Claire remain silent and nodded her head.
"By the way, how did you get in here?" asked Jovie.
"The door wasn't closed," said Claire.
Hera and Jovie looked at each other. They recalled themselves returning from Isabel's hurriedly and forgetting to close the door.
"Anyways, why did you come over?" asked Hera.
"I came to remind you of the assignment. Remember, the secret passageways?" said Claire.
"Oh," said Hera.
"Well, one has already been explored but we can't present it," said Jovie.
"It's getting late, we'll discuss about the assignment tomorrow," said Hera.
When Claire opened the door to leave, Leonora happened to return from the forest. Claire greeted her and left. After Leonora closed the door, she looked at Hera and Jovie, arms crossed.
"I'm sorry mom, she happened to come here out of the blue!" said Jovie.
Leonora sighed and said, "Well it's already done, we can't do anything about it. But next time be careful. Close the door!" She looked at Teapea, "Why didn't you look after them?"
Teapea meowed.
The next morning, Hera and Jovie brought some books to the cafe to meet Claire for the assignment.
"Why don't we meet up in your house, Claire?" asked Jovie.
"Oh my house is a mess. It's better here in the cafe," replied Claire.
They sat at the counter. After that, a lady made them each some coffee. It was Amelia.
"Thank you, Miss Amelia," said Claire with a smile.
"Anytime, what are you guys working on?"
They told her all about the assignment. Amelia nodded her head and said, "How interesting. Well, I'll get back to work then."
They discussed for a few hours but still couldn't choose a place to explore. Out of nowhere, Miss Gianna walked towards the from behind the counter.
"Are you girls still working on the assignment?" asked Gianna.
"Yes, we've been working for hours!" said Claire.
A sparkle at the corner of Jovie's eyes caught her attention. While the three of them were talking, Jovie looked at the basket placed on the counter. The basket was sparkling and glittering. Jovie looked at the basket and was about to open it.
"Do not touch that!" said Gianna in a furious tone. The three of them were shocked.
"Sorry, Miss Gianna," said Jovie.
"Oh it's okay, dear. This is just some rare ingredients from the forest. It's really hard to find," said Gianna while holding the glittering basket.
"Wow, Miss Gianna, you do collect lots of ingredients even in the night!" said Hera.
"Oh yes," said Gianna.
After that, the three of them continued the assignment.