Shattered-Season 4 of Regal Academy

Aftermath: Part 2

Astoria

I felt shaky breaths coming from my nose. The white-haired witch stood in front of me, her sharp features glistening in the slight haze the afternoon sun cast across the library. Her tan skin glowed unnaturally. "R-Reilyn?" I stuttered. Stopping myself, I stood, pulling out my wand. "Don't. Move." I thrust my hand outward so my wand rested underneath her chin. Reilyn laughed, gently moving my wand. "I'm not going to hurt you. Actually, I'm here to fix the mess I made." She sighed. "My aunt is dead because of what I did." Was I feeling sympathy toward the witch who had taken away so many of my friends? I pushed away those feelings, staring Reilyn down instead. 

"Well, she's gone now, and you don't care about my friends. So what's in it for you?" Reilyn hung her head. "I want to redeem myself. Is that really so hard to believe?" I crossed my arms. "Actually, yes." Reilyn took a step closer. "Look, I'm not looking to make enemies. But you're clearly not going to sit down and agree with me." Reilyn looked me dead in the eyes. "I could kill you in five different ways right now." She held up her right hand. "Let's see.... I could psychically control your mind and and make you slit your throat. I could stab you with the point of your sparkly little wand. I could magically stop your heart." Three fingers were raised. "Should I go on?" I shook my head, startled. "That's better," she said. Reilyn backed me into a corner. 

"Here's what you're going to do, little Rapunzel. You're going to help me turn back time by finding a spell and helping me perform it. Then I'll leave you and your little friends alone." The Earth expression, making a deal with the devil, came to mind as I nodded timidly. The only difference was that I was waking a deal with one of the most dangerous magical beings in all the lands. Reilyn smirked. "Well then, let's get to work." 

It could've been days, weeks, months since we'd left the library. We searched until every book had been read thrice before we found a solution. "Well... Here. I found this." Reilyn held open a dusty old grimoire. "Part of it is in a foreign dialect, though." I studied the pages of the grimoire, noticing the curved, slanting figures used in the dialect of the spell book. I almost instantly knew which dialect this was. "This is written in Laek. The LeFrog dialect." I leant over the page, studying the characters. "I know-Joy! We just need to go and speak with Joy!" Reilyn put out a tan, muscular arm in front of me. "Slow down, little Rapunzel." She twirled her fingers gently. Within seconds, a tight-fitting metal harness wound around my chest. 

I turned to face Reilyn, who smirked, holding up a polished brass handle. "Just so that you don't try to escape." Reilyn pulled my wand from my pocket. "Thank you." I grunted. "Would you like a gag as well?" Reilyn kicked my back, prompting me forward. I had no choice but to follow along, hoping my message had been delivered. 

...................

Joy felt a sudden tug at the edge of her subconscious. She leant into her thoughts, curious, only to find herself within the frenetically intelligent, anxious mind of Astoria Rapunzel. Her gaze reached out toward the vast columns of neatly arranged books, scrolls and stone carvings containing Astoria's thoughts. Find the golden scroll, echoed her mental voice. Joy reached into her pocket, performing a simple Illumination spell with her wand. A spark of pure, glowing light dispersed into the air, slowly rubbing against the molecules forming it and lighting them up. 

Joy swiveled around, her eye catching on a scroll reflecting the light. She noticed the golden sheen upon it and took it in her hands, unraveling it carefully. She read the hastily scribbled text upon it before nodding and allowing herself out of Astoria's thoughts, ready for the mission before her. 

...................

Several staircases and an extremely uncomfortable dragon ride later, we arrived at LeFrog palace. Reilyn shoved me off the dragon, dusting off her bronze boots. "Take me to the LeFrog princess." She shook the handle, prompting me forward. I walked through the corridors until I found Joy's room. Please, please, please be ready, Joy.  "LeFrog! Am I going to have to put you in a harness too?" A laugh. "I don't think that's going to be very effective.... WHEN YOU'RE A FROG! FROG MAGIC!" Joy shot out from behind the four poster, pointing her wand at Reilyn. A zap of light and Reilyn was an albino frog. 

I took my own wand. "Tower Magic!" Reilyn was now imprisoned in a jail of extremely venomous vegetation. One move and she would die. "Quick, the spell book," Joy whispered. She scanned the pages I'd flagged, her frown increasing with every word. She slammed the book shut, sighing. "To do this spell... We're going to need the blood of someone cursed by the three great witches-The Shortbread Witch, The Sea Witch and The Evil Queen." Joy looked down at her feet. All hope had been lost. "No-wait. I know!" I looked at Reilyn, cowering in her jail. "Remember the Legend of Devon?" Joy nodded, looking into space. "It says the Warlock's powers were fuled by...." Joy's face lit up, as did mine. "The three great Witches!" I hurried on. "Which means that Reilyn, who is a Warlock of Devon as well, must have the exact same curses and magic in her blood-" Joy cut in. 

"Which means all we have to do is extract some of her blood!" Joy flicked her wand and I flicked my own, releasing her from her frog state and her thorn prison. I scooped up the leash, throwing it over a startled Reilyn's head, taking the handle. "Do the honours, Joy." Joy nodded, pricking Reilyn's skin with the tip of her wand, quickly angling the drop of blood into a phial. "Now, we just blast it with magic." We held hands, angling our wands at the droplet simultaneously. A light as bright as heaven itself filled the room.

Rose Cinderella stepped out of the beam of light along with Travis. They both looked at one another, then at us. There was a moment of pure silence before Rose cleared her throat. "Who are you?" Travis frowned. "And where's Hawk?"

How did Travis and Hawk end up in the parallel universe with Rose? And why do they have no memory of their friends? Find out in the next chapter of Shattered!