Guardians of the Watchtower: North

Chapter 13

Ivy was standing on an enormous, car-sized boulder on Lookout Mountain, the wind blowing around her as she watched in horror the world burned below, all around her the land was burning. She watched. Her heart gripped with fear.The dark beings she had seen from the bridge that had shimmered in the light and shadows were doing impossible feats,taking chunks of the earth and destroying the valley below. Denver was up in flames and masked with the sound of hundreds of thousands of people screaming for help, begging for mercy. Slaughter plagued the land , like someone dropped an atomic bomb, wiping out all life in a split second. Ivy screamed a blood-curdling scream, raised her palms to the dark sky and plead for mercy for her people. Her cries pierced through the valley and the men stopped their work and looked straight at her. It was then that she realized they were looking for her. They were coming to kill her and as she turned to run she came face to face with the black figure from her bathroom, but this time it spoke.
"We will find you Hedera. We will find all of you. The guardians will fail this time, and when we turn you into a Shadow Walker, you will be my prisoner, forever."
The figure engulfed her, Ivy kicked and screamed, trying to fight back. The figure kept shaking her until John's voice cut through her screams, her eyes shot open and she gasped for air.
"Ivy!, Wake up!"
Ivy shot straight up screaming bloody murder, unable to remember where she was or what was happening for a second, before realizing she was safe and in her room.
"You've been asleep for a day and a half Ivy.....I think my last batch of tea must have been a little too strong. How are you feeling?"
Ivy laid back down, letting the blankets and pillows fluff around her. Glad that what she had seen was just another damn nightmare, she laughed. It was getting ridiculous, every time she falls asleep she was having nightmares, not dreams anymore. She looked at John and smiled.
"I'm okay, I feel better than I have in a long time."
"Well, that's great. Oh, and by the way, Happy birthday Miss. Ivy."
Ivy's smile grew as she thanked him.John snapped his fingers and in came a small entourage of maids came in with balloons tied to her breakfast cart. They all said happy birthday together throwing confetti in the air, the ivy on their faces glowed slightly, Ivy was still sure she was seeing things and wasn't about to say anything. She was not going to be deemed crazy on her eighteenth birthday. So she just smiled and ignored it as they brought her food to her.
John grabbed a chair and began going over the itinerary of the day from breakfast, to her getting dressed and getting her hair done, to the ball gown and her entrance to her party.
"Is it ready?" she asked.
"Is what ready?"
"My dress, the one from the picture is it ready" Ivy asked excitedly
"Well, of course, madame is never late. The finishing touches are being put on your dress now. You won't be able to see it until you put it on so hurry and finish so you can get into the shower and get started on your hair and makeup. They will be arriving in an hour, so you'd better be washed up and in your robe by then."
Ivy gave him a "yes sir" kind of mock salute in as she continued to eat her eggs benedict and finish her glass of orange juice. The maids were ready to remove her tray and make the bed. Ivy slid off the bed easily and ran towards the bathroom. Another maid trailing behind her knocked on the door she had just closed. Laughingly she reached her arm out to grab the robe the maid was holding. Trying to be slick, Ivy had to reopen the door and pull the trapped robe through the door she had closed to quickly.
Ivy turned the water on steam rose from the cold marble and filled the bathroom. She took her baby ivy necklace off and placed it on the side of the sink. Hopping around, she tried to pull off her socks. The steam was so thick it was hard to see much, Ivy stepped into the shower, her giant t-shirt got slightly wet as she took it off and tossed it over the shower door and hit the floor with a plop. Turning the waterproof radio on, she began to sing along with the music that filled the bathroom while she washed her hair.
When Ivy finished, she pulled the robe over the top of the shower wall and put it on, walking out, she tied it into place. Using the towel that sat folded on the back of the toilet,Ivy towel-dried her hair to stop it from dripping onto the floor. She threw the hair towel onto the pile of clothes on the floor and picked up her necklace gently she put it back around her neck. Ivy tossed her hair over her shoulders, putting it up in a bun would be pointless the hair stylist would take it back down anyways.
Walking out of the bathroom into her bedroom there were at least fifteen people unpacking bags of makeup and hair products, setting up lighting and tables lined with brushes for makeup and hair. In the middle, in the back, was a chair and a huge mirror. Ivy walked in, several people were moving stuff around so she wouldn't trip over the cords to curling irons, hair dryers and thingS that looked like medieval torture devices. The head makeover artists had Ivy sit down, and the work on her skin and nails began. Trimming her toenails and waxing, that in spurts of ripping were removed, followed by her screams, and laughter. Ivy tried to not to show that it hurt much more than she thought it would. She was mostly hairless from head to toe and manicured and pedicured with singular diamonds on the black tipped ring fingers and the one on each big toe on both of her feet. When they finished tweezing her eyebrows to utter perfection. They began to put the makeup on. First, the primer followed by the base and contouring, before they even started the eyeshadows and eyeliner. Ivy caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she looked like porcelain perfection. She felt beautiful even with the base and a little contouring on her jaw and cheeks. She looked like the statues you'd see in the museum of an exotic woman. Then she was pummeled by the makeup artists adding white and shades of brown, black, and gray. The eyeliner was put on, not with a pencil, but with a paintbrush and looked perfectly thin. The lip gloss applied, made her lips tingle.
"Is my mouth supposed to tingle?" she spoke through a squished mouth because the other girl was still applying the gloss.
"Yes it's gonna make your lips plumper."
Ivy eyebrows drew together, " But my lips are already full."
"Yes and this will make them fuller."
Ivy didn't get a chance to try anything else because the girls traded places with the guys, who went to town on her hair. There were three different guys drying her hair all at once, grabbing bright colored bottles that perfumed the air with hair products and put it in her hair. Brushing her hair out the enhanced her natural curls, twisting it in places and pinning it up the rest fell in an array of wild curls.They took flower and jewel screw in hair coils and placed them all over twisting them into her hair. By the time they were done Ivy looked like a dream come true. The final touch was the jewel studded braid they pulled across her forehead and pinned behind her ear to hide the end. She was perfect, and looking at herself she wanted to cry, she had never felt more beautiful in her life, even if she was in her bathrobe.
When the knock came at the door, one of the maids still waiting in the room went to answer it and came back to Ivy's side.
"John said the Madame is ready for you to come in, Miss."
"My dress is ready!!"
Ivy was up, skipping to the doors as the maids opened them allowing her to walk directly into the room. The platform she had to stand on had a dressmakers doll standing in her place, it was the most beautiful emerald green dress that every jewel would be envious of its sparkle and how the light caught it, it was the perfect fairytale ball gown. The sweetheart top with short sleeves would sit on her arms, not her shoulders and cinched in corset top was just for looks anyways because the green ribbon that tied her corset was in a neat bow with the strings barely long enough to grace the floor over the bloom of her skirt. Tears welled up in her eyes and the makeup artists protesting she would ruin their work, rushed her back to her room to fix the mascara before it smeared.
The maids made all the men leave the room as they brought the dress into her bedroom and began helping Ivy get into the undergarments and slip into the dress, she held onto the bedpost as they cinched the bodice at her waist. The dress fit like a glove and the skirt billowed out, swallowing her feet completely. The ladies wouldn't let her go barefoot, but she did manage to talk them into the simple black slip-on ballet slippers that she could get in and out of easily. Ivy hadn't realized getting ready would take so long, from her bedroom window she could see the sun was already slipping below the western horizon, she watched as the last glimmer of light faded out. Ivy, fully ready to go walked into the sitting room, John looked at her like she was his crowning jewel.
"Everyone is already here, in the ballroom, waiting for your arrival my dear. Sylar will be at the bottom of the stairs to walk you into the ballroom, and the party will begin after your first dance."
"Oh John, I can't do this, do I look alright?"
"You look magnificent my dear, everyone is here to see you."
"thank you for all of your help John. "
"Anything for Sabian's baby, we'll meet you in the ballroom." and with that John ushered everyone to the elevator. Ivy made her way down the hallway to the stairs, nervous as all hell, and began descending them slowly as they curved around to face the open floor of the landing to the first floor and there in his tux stood Sylar who looked up just as Ivy came into view. The sight of her stole the very breath from his chest, she looked like a princess, and he knew just then he was so lucky to have her.
The smile that crossed her face made her almost glow seeing that he loved how she looked as she stepped off the final step into his waiting arms. He pulled her close giving her a much-wanted hug and whispered into her ear,
"You look amazing my beautiful Ivy."
Ivy couldn't hide the blush that flushed her face as she bit her bottom lip in joy and he couldn't help himself, he pulled her face to his and kissed her softly stealing her breath way too. The kiss was interrupted by John, of course, who was clearing his throat, trying to get their attention.
"Okay you two it's time to enter," as he turned and began walking down the west wing towards the ballroom, Sylar laughed as he offered his arm to Ivy who took it with a smile as they began the walk into the party.
As Ivy entered the whole room came to a complete silence, even the dead not dare disturb. Ivy looked around at the sea of faces, of all the strangers, they all had the silver ivy along the left side of their face like the others she had seen since she read the verse from the book of shadows. The crowd parted clearing the floor. Only Shanon was left standing there with open arms for Ivy.
"Happy Birthday my love," and everyone in the room joined in, and that's when Ivy saw the ivy along the side of her mother's face as well. She began to question again if she was seeing things now. Shanon signaled for the music to start and the hired band t began playing something soft with a beautiful kind of eerie lullaby that was catchy. Sylar turned to Ivy and bowed and she mimicked him jokingly, he took her hand and began leading her into a dance that she knew from dancing with her dad. So she didn't falter when Sylar picked her up, and the crowd oohed and aahed as she swayed with the music gracefully at Sylar's lead.
The clock struck midnight, and the music stopped. Ivy looked around as the people began backing up to the walls, leaving her alone in the middle of the ballroom floor with Sylar. Ivy quickly looked at Sylar who smiled, bowed to her again and kissed her hand then began backing up as well. Fear struck Ivy as she looked at the sea of faces staring at her. At that moment she saw John opening the drapes over the massive windows, letting in the chilled dreamy night. He stopped only to open the windows which let in the crisp chilled air. That's when she saw it for the first time since the labyrinth, the silver butterfly.
The only thing that caused her to look away from its floating dance in the doorway was John pulling the chain by the door. Metal whined as gears turned. Ivy looked around but everyone was looking up, she fought the urge to but she looked as well. The mirrored dome that showed her scared face looking back down gave way and slid open to let in the night as well.
Ivy's heart was in her throat as the moon shone down through the opening inches from where she stood. It was her mother's voice that cut like glass through the silenced room,
"This is why I brought you back here, my love. I made a promise to your father that I was bound to keep."
"What promise?!"
"That on your 18th birthday I'd bring you home so you could take your rightful place."
"My rightful place as what?"
" As a witch and the Guardian."
"Mom have you lost your mind? I am just a kid. I can't be a witch, their not real."
"Not real? Your father was one of the most respected and powerful warlocks of his time...."
Ivy nearly choked at her mother's comment and looked around. She quickly realized she wasn't seeing things, that it wasn't her imagination. Every person in the room had silver ivy embellishing the side of their face. Remembering the butterfly, she found it again playing in the moonlight.
"Being magic doesn't make you immortal, it just slows the process. What seems like fifty years is nothing for him or anyone else like him, like you and me."
Ivy was dizzy and suddenly everything up to this point almost made since.
"Then why do I age like a normal person?"
"Because you haven't said the oath and walked the circle of your own free will."
"So I have to choose to be this way?"
"Yes."
Ivy knew who had said it before she turned because everyone around her bowed. The wave of energy hit her like a gust of air, light and soft and caring, as she turned to face the Goddess who was standing in the moonlight.
"you must make this choice on your own my child, your birth mother nor anyone else can't make it for you....but know this I will love you regardless of what you choose."
"And what if I don't want to be a witch?"
"Then that is your right, but being born on the winter solstice, you will be one of the most powerful witches of your time. Your people have waited a millennium for you to come and fulfill the prophecy to save us all!"
Ivy looked around at the sea of faces looking at her like she was the center of the world, her mother's face, Sylar's face, and then John's, all waiting on her answer. Then her father's face popped into her mind and she knew her choice before it came out.
"My father believed I could do this, be this, and I chose to be a witch."
The room filled with cheers and clapping and people smiled as did the Goddess who was now holding her hand out to Ivy.
" If this is the path you chose then walk the circle with me and say the oath out loud for the world to know you choose to walk in the moonlight, you choose to be the Guardian."
Before Ivy was able to ask what oath the room grew a voice and it was like everyone was as one.
Ivy watched as memories flooded back to her. She knew this not as an oath but as a bedtime rhyme her father would tell her as she laid there, trying to fall asleep with him brushing the hair from her face.
The room grew quiet again and Ivy looked to the Goddess who was still standing with her. She watched as thousands of butterflies in all shapes, sizes, and colors fluttered through the balconies open doors, flowing around the Goddess and Ivy, the wind from their wings making Ivy's curls flow around. Ivy began reciting the creed, but she felt the earth move under her. Faltering only for a second she continued,
"Hail to the Watchtowers, by the power of earth and the creation of life, I go into this of my own free will, with a pure heart and pure thoughts, I choose to be the Guardian of the Watchtower of North, I invoke the power of the earth and the goddess herself to give me strength and knowledge to do what is good and right................ to protect the world."
As the last words escaped Ivy's delicate lips the world gave way under Ivy's feet, but she did not fall, she was standing on thin air,floating towards the moonlight. Ivy was scared, wide-eyed and still as a board, looking like a deer in headlights. The closer she got to the moonlight the more she could feel her skin tingle. She had only seconds to look around to find her mom smiling her encouragement that gave Ivy the push she needed as the moonlight caressed her and the world burst to life the energy grew so much in her heart that she felt the moment it burst through her skin, it tore a scream from her throat. It was like a solar flare of green fire arching from her heart to the Goddess herself. The vines from the ivy outside filled with life,shaking the chill of winter from their leaves. They flooded the room going around the people to get to Ivy. Reaching for her, wrapping small thin vines around her, she began to glow her skin was as if someone put the moon under it and it was shining through.Soft at first then so bright it was blinding and soon engulf the entire room. The light was pouring out from her heart, her open mouth, eyes and the palms of her hands. She was complete. Everything in her world suddenly felt as if she knew the answer to all, and could feel the life of the world tingling in her very fingertips. She no longer felt like the outcast but one with every living thing from the rocks to the trees to the very people standing in the room with her. Ivy came back down to the floor, her bare feet touching the cool marble. Butterflies fluttered around her, some landing on her dress and in her hair that was floating on a wind of her own powers. The people all around cheered and clapped and hugged each other. The love, in the room, was intoxicating as it washed over Ivy,filling her with a laughter that was like being a child again. The kind of laugh that makes your soul shine through for the world to see. Ivy saw, for the first time, pentagrams glowing silver in the palms of all the people. Looking down she found the same pentagrams softly glowing in the curve of her palms, but hers were not smooth and straight but looked like they were made of the same baby ivy that was now intertwined in her hair. Looking up and down her arms and pulling the skirt of her gorgeous ball gown up to look at her legs they were swirled like candy canes in silver ivy that were iridescent on her skin and flowed like water smooth and delicate and perfect. Moving to the mirrors that covered the walls of the ballroom, Ivy's breath was taken away, she looked like a goddess herself. Her skin was perfect her hair had changed and now had streaks of greens through it and a silver pentagram sat on her chest centered and perfect, gleaming in the moonlight's reflection. She felt complete , for the first time since her father had passed away she felt alive. She could feel her heart beginning to heal feeling closer to him like this. She would make him proud of her and do her best to be the Guardian her father thought she was destined to become it was just a matter of training and becoming as strong as she needed to be to win.