Kingdoms

24

{Lauren}

I stare at Shelby's double laying on the ground in front of me. Scott and I look at each other, then my copy laying in front of him.
"Woah." Shelby says, "I just killed someone."
"We all did." Lizzie says, Callum Two lays in front of her.
"Is everyone ok?" Andy calls. We walk over to everyone, our copies float behind us.
"We're fine." Liam says
"So did your doubles have powers or no?" Ursa asks
"No." Em says
"Bolt, Bea, and Sapphire." Skye says, "Where are they?"
"Sapphire." Eli says, "Oh no..." River and Dragon appear.
"What happened to your shoulder?" Rose looks at Dragon's shoulder.
"Just an arrow." He shrugs
"Lemme see." She looks at his shoulder and puts her hand on it.
"Ow." He winces.
"Sorry." Eli appears again holding Sapphire.
"She's gone." He says. Auni appears with Bea.
"So is she." She says, "She tried to time travel but she didn't have the energy."
"What about Bolt?" Ivy disappears and appears a couple seconds later with Bolt.
"I just got my ass kicked by myself." Bolt says, "They're almost exact replicas of us, the same traits, same appearance but she could walk and fly."
"They weren't exactly like us." Dragon says, "His weapon was different and he was completely resistant to fire."
"And Shelby Two relied on her weapons more than art magic." I look at the cut on my arm.
"So they had different ways of fighting." Ari says
"He didn't have any of my scars or tattoos." Grey says, "And they weren't human, their blood was grey."
"They were built." Ari says
"Well then they were built a while ago and they weren't updated for a while." Eli says, "Mine had long hair and dressed how I did before, she was Emerald."
"So who's has injuries that are worse than a cut?" Rose asks
"I do." C says, she holds her arm delicately.
"And I had an arrow in my shoulder." Dragon says. Bolt Two appears.
"You may have won this round, but this is not over." She says, "Master will make more that are stronger and better than this round." Both Bolts disappear.
"So there's gonna be more of them and Bolt just took Bolt." Reni says, "We should be concerned, right?"
"Definitely." Ivy says
"So I know we need to get Bolt back and everything, but I'm literally holding onto my arm to keep the bone in place so can we focus on that for a second?" C asks
"Oh right." Stella says, "Here, lemme see. Also, this is gonna hurt a lot." C winces as Stella takes her arm.
"The cuts are lined with darkness." I say
"We won't be able to heal them." Shelby says
"Oh great." Dragon says.
"We'll have to wait until we get to the next city." Alex says
"And how far is that?" C asks
"We'll get there before sundown." Ivory says
"Looks like we're here for tonight." Auni sighs, "Ivesvale."
"We can't." Eli says, "We have to get to the next town or teleport there."
"If we teleport we'll leave a trace, one of the many people who want us dead could find us." Lauren says
"What's so bad about this place?" Ivy asks, "It's cute."
"I'm not staying here." He says, "You guys can but I'm finding another town."
"Why?" Ursa asks, "We're all tired, hungry, and C and Dragon are hurt, why can't we just stay here?"
"Why do I always need to give a reason for what I do?" Eli asks
"Because it's right here and we're tired!" Ursa says
"Fine, this is my hometown." He says, "I'm not from the kingdoms, Sophie and I ended up there when we ran."
"But Guardians are always from the kingdoms, the magic is passed down from generation to generation." Scott says
"Well I don't know what to tell you." He says, "I'm not going back in there."
"It's been ten years." Ursa sighs, "I'm tired."
"Then you can go in." He says, "I'm not."
"Hello, can I help you gu- Emerald?" Someone walks up to us.
"Hey Lydia." He looks at all of us, "I'm not staying here." He walks away.
"Eli wait!" Greta goes after him.
"Hi, I'm Lydia-"
"Nice to meet you, we're gonna go." C says
"Wait but- ugh, fine." Ursa groans

{Daisy}

"So that was where you grew up?" Daffy asks
"No, I didn't grow up there." Eli says, "The kingdoms are my home and where I grew up."
"You know what she mean." Lilly says
"Look, I don't want to talk about it." He says
"We know you don't, but you have to." Alex says, "The promise you made when you became a Guardian. Some secrets are allowed, but not big ones like this."
"Secrets can be kept if they don't affect the work a Guardian does." Eli says, "Paragraph three, line two on secrets."
"Major secrets are not to be kept, this includes dishonesty." Alex says, "Paragraph five, line three. You're not the only one who memorizes things."
"Fine, I grew up outside the kingdoms." Eli says, "That's it."
"No, that's not it." Alex says
"Alex..." Ari says warningly
"You're still holding things back."
"I'm not." Eli says, "It's the exact story you already know except I'm from out here."
"You're lying." Alex says
"Alex, let it go." Ari says
"Why didn't you tell us?" Alex asks
"Alex let it go!"
"I didn't tell you because I was scared." Eli says, "I was in the kingdoms for two months when we became Guardians. I was hurt and scared and I just ran away from the only home I had ever known. You're surprised I didn't tell you? Last time I checked, you still haven't told us some things-"
"Eli.." Greta says
"I'm not going any further than that." He says, "Unlike some people, I have limits and I know when someone doesn't want to talk about something." A dome forms around him and he keeps walking.
"We don't need another Ursa and Reni." Ari says
"He kept something from us!" Alex says
"So have you!" Ari says, "El relived that already and he was too terrified to even move for days, he doesn't need that again."
"Well there goes "I'll back you up and support you unconditionally" Right down the drain." Alex says
"That's not what I meant when I said that." Ari says, "I-"
"Something else you said, "I don't need to explain myself to you. If you're with me then you'll understand." You said that when we first started dating." Alex says, "And I don't understand which means that maybe, I'm not with you." The rest of us start walking faster leaving Ari and Alex alone.
"So is this the end of Ari and Alex?" I ask
"No, Ari and Alex are a power couple." Ivy says, "They'll-" There's a loud burst of shouting from behind us.
"They'll be fine." Daffy says. Ari appears in front of us, a dome forms around her.
"You were saying?" Ursa asks
"Should we talk to them?" I ask
"If you wanna get punched, sure." C says
"Yeah, I wouldn't right now." Callum says

We walk into the hotel.
"Hi, do you have a reservation?" The person at the desk asks.
"Hi, we don't have a reservation but we were hoping you can you get us a room." I say
"I'll see what I can do." She says. We stand off to the side as other people check in.
"Hey, are you ok?" Daffy asks. I snap out of my thoughts, my breath is shaky.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I say, "The fight just wore me out."
"Did she tell you to do anything?" She asks, "You know, with mind control."
"Yeah." I say, "Mine didn't have any affect on her, but hers worked fine."
"What did she tell you to do?" She asks
"Turn and kill all of you." I say, "Either I killed you guys or you guys would kill me thinking I was my double, either way she got what she wanted."
"And you resisted?" She asks
"Yeah."
"Your room is ready." The receptionist says handing me a key.