The Gorgon's Curse

Chapter Seven- The Black Time

"What just happened?" Jackson asked. "Why doesn't she remember anything?"

"I don't know! Maybe it's the poison!"

"Or maybe...." Jackson said slowly, in alarm.

"No! No, no, no! It can't be! I refuse to believe it!"

"No, it could be! It is possible!" Jackson said.

"But we closed the barrier of Black Kingdom. Black time cannot be back! And after all, we remember what happened, right?"

"Maybe she does not remember it because she was weak at that time!"

"Or maybe she has forgotten because she was poisoned later! And after all black time does not work on the gem bearers!"

"No, she has a very nice memory! She remembers very old things!"

"But something doesn't feel right! Black Time felt different. I mean I could sense it. It wasn't Black Time; it was something else. Something worse!"

"You're scaring me!" Jackson said mockingly, with the merest trace of fear in his voice.

"Oh really! What's such a thing I have said that has made 'Mr. Oh, I am so brave' afraid?" Jessica sneered.

Before Jackson could argue over that point, Devin appeared out of nowhere. Perhaps, they were so busy arguing, they didn't realize that Devin was standing there. Or perhaps, Devin actually appeared out of nowhere. Even before they could give it a thought, Devin spoke, "I heard you arguing! In this argument, I think that Jessica has a point, however- "he added as Jackson opened his mouth to argue, "I do not think that Jackson is completely wrong. It's not necessary for the barrier of Black Kingdom to open for Black Time to be back."

"But it can be an illusion like before! We must learn from our mistakes." Jessica disagreed.

"Right now, we need to focus on the Monster World!"

"Why?" Jackson asked.

"'Cause, its barrier is open right now!" Devin replied irritably.

"Wait, what! You didn't tell me? I did not know that!" Jessica replied petulantly. "Nor did Jackson!"

"I knew about it!" Jackson said carefully, afraid to enrage Jessica. "But I thought to give Lucinda the priority."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Stop!" Devin popped in to avert them from fighting.

"Sorry," Jessica murmured guiltily.

"You know what, maybe we should go and have some dinner," Jackson suggested hungrily.

"Is that all you care about?" Jessica asked furiously.

"Jessica, I think Jackson is right!" Devin said honestly.

"Of course! Why would you take my side?" she cried angrily and turned to leave when Helio took her hand and pulled her back.

"Look, we need to work together! We won't be able to solve the mystery alone! And secondly, I am hungry too!" he stated logically.

"Fine! But after dinner, we'll discuss rest tomorrow! I am tired and I haven't done my today's assignment!"

"Tomorrow it is, then!" Jackson agreed, trying not to have another row.

The three of them spent the rest of the week arguing about Black Time. On Friday night, they finally decided to interrogate Lucinda the next day. It was Quimica, the other day. They had to make a sleeping potion. Hickinnbottom, who wanted them to learn the potion themselves, did not teach them anything and told them to add few more ingredients to the juice of the lotus tree to dilute its high effect that can sometimes result in memory loss. By the end of the class, no one was able to make it. Layla had made a potion that can make the drinker fall into a sleep like death which no one can wake them from. Lucinda had been able to dilute a little effect but found it hard to dilute more.

"Come on! You were nearly done!" Jackson said trying to cheer her up as they walked to have lunch. "Lucinda, I was just wondering if you could tell us more about Black Time!"

"About what, exactly?" she asked politely.

"The Black Time!"

"How can I say more about something I don't know!" she said blankly.

"You don't know what?"

"I don't know what you mean by the Black Time if that's what you said!"

"You don't know what Black Time is? You are lying!" he said trying not to imagine what would happen if Lucinda could not remember Black Time.

"I am not! Don't accuse me of lying!" she said indignantly and rushed to sit with her friends.

Jackson turned to the other two; both of them were just as speechless as him. "There is something wrong!" said their expressions.

"What do we do now?" Jessica asked worriedly, sitting on a chair in Jackson's room and looking at the open ceiling.

"I have an idea! Maybe we should keep an eye on her!" Devin suggested.

"You mean, spy on her?" Jackson asked surprised.

"Yes, that is exactly what I mean!"

"That's not a bad idea, but the only problem is-"

"We need her fingerprint! Bummer!" Jackson completed the sentence for her.

"Well, we can use Raskovnik to go inside," Devin suggested.

"Well, you know, there is one more way to know if she is well or not! If there aren't any other enchantments put upon her room, then she is unwell." Jackson grinned. "And if there are, hen we are barbeques!"

"So, what do we do?" Jessica asked sarcastically.

"We wait!" Devin said firmly.

Just like the previous year, they had duels on Sundays. And again, Lucinda was paired with Layla, the girl everyone knew she hated the most. Neither one of them needed their wands. They just snapped or flicked their fingers when they had to cast a spell. This time, they were both staring into each other's eyes, just like they ended the duel last time. There were two big waves of smoke fighting each other. Layla's was black while Lucinda's was white. It was like their shields were fighting. And it all happened very fast; Lucinda's smoke wave broke Layla's smoke wave, and black smoke covered the whole room. All of them started suffocating. After the queens moved their Sceptres, the smoke vanished. All were breathing hard. Layla had fainted, while Lucinda looked like she would drop unconscious at any second. She was breathing hard, muttering a spell under her breath.

"Are you alright?" Jessica asked as Lucinda held her for support. Few had surrounded her and few had surrounded Layla. Others were confused and looked around. The queen of the southern part of the Gem Land, Queen McKenzie walked carefully towards Lucinda. "Are you alright my child?"

"Yes, I think so!" Lucinda replied exhausted.

"You look quite weak! You need to rest! Our médecin will be able to cure you. Till that time, Ms. Dennard I would request you to put the energizing charm on her!"

"Sure queen!" she said, taking out her wand. "Invigoratus!" Lucinda however, looked even wearier.

"Dear, dear! Take her to her room, quickly!" said the queen tensely.

"Yeah!" Jessica said apprehensively. "And I think she'll need feeding up!"

"You are quite right, cariño!" said the queen hurriedly.

Jessica helped Lucinda to get to her room. And without warning, Lucinda blacked out as soon as she came in touch with her soft, feathery, comfortable bed.