Finding Alex | TLOS

Ch.33

Conner was surprised to find that The Fairy Council weren't as enthusiastic as he thought they were going to be.

"Come on, guys!" he grinned happily. "It'll be fun!"

Xanthous rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry; Conner, but we already know how to defeat the Lady of the Lake. We prepared a plan and everything. We don't need any training." he shrugged helplessly.

Conner frowned. "Well, tell me your plan then."

Xanthous turned beet red. "I can't do that," he said. "It's secret."

The rest of the Fairy Council behind him started muttering things under their breath. Xanthous was definitely not the best liar, they thought.

"And why is that?" Conner asked. He was testing them, and Xanthous and the rest of the Fairy Council knew. "We're the ones who asked for help from you, not the other way around."

Skylene groaned. "Uh, fine," she said. "But I am not; I repeat I AM NOT, going to get into a circus costume! No way, for the blue fairy!"

Mother Goose nodded at that. "I'm not quite sure I'd fit," she replied, chuckling to herself.

"Great!" Red replied. "Now let's get down to business."

****

Inside Merlin's cottage, he sat at his table and worked quietly next to his future teller. He had learned so much over the past few years, he had to add everything into his notebook where he tracked all of the information that he knew.

Hope sat angrily on the couch. She was so bored and her parents knew it, but they didn't do anything. They just told her over and over that: 'We'll do something when they need us' or 'They'll be back soon with Claire and the rest of the prisoners'. She was incredibly annoyed at them, and wanted desperately to get outside and do something.

"Mother please," Hope pleaded. "All I want is to have some fresh air, go to the lake maybe."

Cinderella shook her head. "No, Hope. You may not go to the lake, and you may not go outside." she could see how much Hope was hurting, but she wasn't going to allow it.

Hope groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. "Why is that?" she asked rather harshly. "I'm old enough to do things on my own!"

"We know that," Chance intervened. "It's too dangerous to go to any sort of water form. We're scared of the Lady of the Lake," he admitted.

"You're scared?" Hope asked accusingly. She believed they were lying so she would stop asking questions. "You're never scared, Papa."

Chance smiled sheepishly. "Well this time, your Mother and I are." he said. "We don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me," Hope promised. "I'll be very careful, and I'll come back in ten minutes!"

Cinderella shook her head. "No, Hope," she said more firmly this time. "We can't risk that."

Merlin overheard their troubling case, and turned their heads towards them. "Hope, dear, come here." He said.

Hope raised her eyebrows, but walked over reluctantly. "May I ask why?"

Merlin smiled. "You may," he said. "I want to show you something," and he patted the stool next to him for Hope to sit on.

He turned to Cinderella and Chance with a twinkle in his eye, and they immediately knew what he was asking. They nodded discreetly. Merlin smiled. "Alright, Hope, would you like to look into the future?"

Hope turned excited. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Merlin grinned. "I have the capability to look into the future, darling," he replied, ever so casually. "Would you like to know something?"

Hope shook her head, but Merlin noticed the reluctance she had to stare into the crystal ball.

"Anything?"

Hope, desperate, finally nodded. "Yes," She burst out. "A million times yes!"

Merlin beamed at the little girl beside him. "What would you like to know?" he asked, turning his voice into something he'd use to tell fortune to some of his old pals.

"I'd like to know..." Hope trailed off as she tried to find something to say. "What Destiny and I look like in...Ten years," she admitted. "I've always been curious!"

Merlin nodded. He knew she was going to say something easy before she said what she really wanted to know.

"Sure thing," he replied. He moved his hands around the crystal ball, muttering things that sounded like spells, prayers or curses, but Hope couldn't figure what he said out.

The crystal ball burst into flames, and Hope backed away in her chair. "What's happening?" she shrieked.

Merlin patted her shoulder. "No need to worry, dear," he said. "This is a normal procedure."

Once the flames had calmed down, the ashes arose and took place by the crystal ball. When the ashes had disintegrated, Hope peered into the crystal ball, ready to see herself in the future. She saw herself aging, until the final picture appeared when she was 18 years old. A beautiful girl, with auburn colored hair, and emerald green eyes smiled back at her. She wore a beautiful purple dress, and a crown was being placed on her head.

"It's my coronation day!" Hope cried. "I can't believe it! I'll be queen!"

Merlin smiled. He couldn't see what she was seeing, but she knew it was something good.

Hope narrowed her eyes and saw her sister Destiny. Instead of getting the dark red/brown her sister had got from their Mother, Destiny had gotten a pale blonde from their grandmother. She had sparkling blue eyes. She was 11 years old, and had a sparkling silver dress on. She wore a small tiara, since she was was still a small princess.

"Destiny looks so different!" Hope said in astonishment. "She's really beautiful," she answered.

Cinderella and Chance scurried towards their daughter, wanting to see into the crystal ball, but were sad to find that it only worked for the girl who made the wish.

The vision in the crystal ball faded away completely.

Hope looked up at Merlin, a twinkle in his eye. "Thank you so much," She said. "I looked very cool." She giggled.

Merlin smiled. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

Hope bit her lip. "Well," She started. "I'd like to know...did I become a good queen? Did I meet the love of my life? Was I...as good of a queen as my mother was?"

Merlin smiled once more. "Let's find out!"