Shards: Intro- Part 1 (old)

Chapter Two: Chaperone

Scendit, Asha, Southern Atlantis

Paige
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"Paige! Paige!"

My eyelids slowly parted, then shot open once I realized I was on the ground like I was in that strange cauldron.

I was lying on my side. One hand was supporting my body weight on the crumb ridden carpet. The other was fisted and clutching my gut, which had developed a weird cramp while I blacked out. The ward approached me and held his hand out to help me up.

"You alright Paige?" He asked me nervously.

I seethed at the man, despite him being six inches taller than me, and way stronger too. Trying to stand up, I stumbled back a little bit and caught a chair arm behind me while I gradually regained my peripheral vision.

"The hell I am!" I yelled wrapping both forearms around my aching gut.
"What on earth did you do to me?!" I hissed.

"I did nothing!" the man put his arms up defensively, and to my annoyance; even smiled a little bit. "You did! Look what's in your hand!" he said pointing towards it.

Still looking at the strange ward accusingly, I took my precious time to accept that I could feel something in my left hand. I just hate being angry and in the wrong at the same time. When I gazed down and slowly opened my palm, an encased purple shard appeared, My shard.

"Hu-How is this possible?" I said rhetorically.

The wards response went unnoticed by me. I was paying attention to the object moving by itself in my hand. The shard slowly rolled across my palm and balanced itself on my left middle finger. Once it did, platinum strips appeared around it, and encased it entirely to reveal the same ring as before.

"Paige, where did you find this ring?" the ward asked with a raised voice. Regaining my awareness, I met the ward's grey eyes.

"I have my own questions," I made sure to raise my voice. "How do you know my name?"

The ward was unfazed. "My answers all tie back to the question I just asked you. Where did you find the ring?" The ward asked me with an even sharper tone of voice.

"You forget who you are speaking to young lady. So think carefully about what you say next," he warned me.

I had tendencies to be stubborn ofttimes, but I am smart enough to bite my tongue when it could get me in knee-deep trouble. This is one of these times.

I actually had nothing to hide about the ring, and wanted answers myself.

"Fine, sorry sir. I woke up finding the ring on my hand the morning on the eve of disembarking."
There was really nothing more to tell.

The ward grinned that grin again.
"Call me Elliot," he said to me softly.
"The eve of disembarking. Wouldn't that also be the day after Alpha-Phase finals?" He said with another chin stroke.

I was getting impatient again. But I kept it to myself.
"I believe so."

"So you're telling me that when you destroyed your wand, you didn't get a shard?" Elliot inquired.

"No sir, I didn't. I just woke up the next morning with one on my finger apparently disguised as a ring this whole time. I kept it because I liked it."

Elliot looked satisfied with my answers. You could tell because he stopped stroking his chin.
"Well Ms Paige, now for your answers," Elliot began. He gently took my hand and guided me in some direction. I was still trying to absorb everything that occurred this morning, and didn't pay attention to where we were going. For the first time on this whole journey, and at the very end of it too, I finally had a reason to smile.