"Ginny, talk to me for two minutes."
"Screw you, Mahn. I told you to stay away!" Ginny stood facing a dark haired, olive skinned man on the shore of the lake. She looked pale, almost sick as she glared at him. The only color in her face was two splotches of pink on her cheeks. She was angry at the man, obviously named Mahn.
"I know, but I swear I didn't come to do any harm!"
Ginny growled, clenching her fists, "Even when you don't mean to, you bring harm to me."
Mahn looked pained, "Come on, love. Two minutes, all it takes."
"I don't know how they got you to do it, but I'm not letting them take my son! I told Conan that, I told Sam, and now I'm telling you. I Will NOT announce my son as the crowned prince! It's too dangerous." Ginny's red hair whipped around her face as a chilly wind blew. The autumn day was cold, enough that both of them wore warm hoodies and jeans. Mahn wore gray, however. Ginny wore black.
Mahn scowled, "You don't know what's dangerous for him, love!" Ginny's eyes flashed.
"He's a lot more powerful than you realize! He controlled me, for God's sake! Me, Ginny! Even you can't do that!"
Ginny was shaking, she was so angry.
"No, no, no, no, no!" She screamed the last one. "Get the f**k out of here before I f*(king kill you!"
(9Oh yeah, this is open.))
Sky had never recalled seeing Ginny so angry. She could tell she was pissed. More than pissed. She didn't know if she should approach her or just stay away-let her cool off. She sat along the shore of the lake, several yards away from Ginny and the man she had never seen before. She wore a black hoodie and red pajama pants. She held her knees close to her chest as she watched the two speak.
Mahn snarled at her, "As if you could!" He snapped out.
Ginny let out a strangled scream and tackled him, knocking him onto the ground. The two fought physically until Mahn pinned her down. Strangely, he was stronger than her.
"Fine!" Mahn yelled, "I'll leave! But you need to think about it! Cody is the kingdom's only hope, Ginny!"
He jumped up, and pressed a button on his watch. Ginny jumped up, trying to knock him back down, but h was gone from sight before she could get a hold of him.
"Dam him straight to hell!" Ginny yelled out angrily, focusing both of her palms upon where Mahn had stood. She let lose a pure energy blast, creating a gigantic hole in the ground.
Sky's eyes grew wide when she seen the energy form in Ginny's palms. She quickly covered her head as she let loose. She felt the ground shake as a few rocks hit her hands where they rested over her head. Once the blast calmed down, Sky slowly removed her hands from her head. There was some blood from a sharp rock, but that could be bandaged later. She cared more about making sure Ginny was alright. From the looks of what happened, she probably would be. She was just angry. But it wouldn't hurt to make sure.
She stood up and slowly walked over to where Ginny stood. "Pardon me..Ginny." She whispered. "But are you..alright?" She asked. She looked around the area, looked down at the hole where she blasted the huge ball of energy. She took a deep breath.
Ginny turned with a growl, and without thinking knocked Sky's feet from under her, causing the girl to fall onto her back. Ginny then blinked, a look of remorse passing over her face.
"Sorry." She said harshly, reaching out her hand, "I expected someone else."
Sky looked at Ginny's hand for a moment then stood up without grasping it. She put a hand on her back. "d**n... ." She whispered then sighed. "It's fine." She looked at the ground. "I didn't mean to...intrude." She began. "You just looked a tad...angry." Sky whispered slowly, looking at the massive hole in the ground.
Ginny hugged herself, shivering against a nonexistant chill. She frowned, nodding as she too looked at the hole in the ground.
"Yes." She said softly.
"More than a tad."
"Is there anything I can do?" Sky asked her in the same soft tone. She felt extremely bad for Ginny.
She turned, tilting her head to the side as she looked harshly at Sky. She was silent a long moment before busting into forced laughter.
"Do anything? Like what? There is nothing anyone can do! They want me to expose my son, and I refuse. They will keep trying and I will keep refusing."
Sky couldn't help but feel a little offended. "Look. I don't know what's going on but I'm always here if you need someone to just talk to. I don't have to be here." She said to her, now looking at her. "Then keep refusing. You and Xaver...you'll protect Cody. So will everyone else. We're his friends. We'll make sure he's not...exposed."
Ginny frowned, rubbing her eyes, "Sorry Sky. I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just..."
She shook her head, "I haven't gotten any sleep lately. Nightmares, you see. And then my ex-husband is doing everything he can to get me to announce Cody as heir to the throne..."
Ginny ran a hand through her bright red hair, looking older than ever. Yet still, not her age. She sighed, "And Mahn...well, he's just a jerk."
"Well...what do you expect? It's Earth. We have jerks. Sad but true. We can't do much about it either. But don't worry. Cody will be safe." She looked up at Ginny and made a weird face, crossing her eyes and such. "Come on now! Smiiiiile!"
Ginny raised one eyebrow, and the rest of her face remained impassive.
"Sky, smiles are for when you are happy. I've nothing to be happy about right now."
Her own watch, similar to the one Mahn had worn, beeped loudly and Ginny jumped, startled.
Sky gave a long sigh. "Okay." She said simply. She didn't really know what else to say. She watched as Ginny jumped at the sound of the beeping noise from the watch. "Er...what was that?"
Ginny blinked, holding her arm up and inspecting her watch. Her face hardened, "It means you should leave. Some more people are coming to make my life living hell."
She set her jaw, looking angry.
"What if I don't want to leave?" Sky asked, looking more serious now. "Better yet...why don't you just leave?"
Ginny sighed, shaking her head.
"Because this watch was made to never be removed. And that's how they track me."
She scowled, "The think because they control Time, they can control everything."
"Well...that would be impossible." Sky stuck her hand in her pocket and felt for her wand to make sure it was there. "I'm not leaving." She said.
"No, they are closer to controlling everything than anyone has ever been." Ginny said softly as everything became unnaturally silent. The birds in the air above them stopped midair. The leaves falling from the trees froze, halfway between the branches and the ground.
Time had frozen.
"They aren't violent, per say. But they do have their ways."
"Hmm...are they on their way?" Sky asked, focusing on the leaves. She was almost in a trance by them. She shook her head and wiped her eyes.
Ginny nodded, "Yes. They hate being seen by mortals, so they freeze Time. Except for me. But I can counteract their power and keep certain people, for example you, from being frozen in Time."
She frowned as a small whoosh announced the arrival of two gray clad men. One was older looking, possibly 50 or so years old. The other was possibly Sky's age. They wore gray robes, tied around the waist with thick rope from which small pocket watched hung from.
"Mrs. Sulai." Said the older looking one, bowing his head in respect to Ginny.
Sky jumped back a little when the two men appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She couldn't help but mutter "Woah.." under her breath. She pushed her black bangs out of her eyes as her eyes focused on the watches. "Mrs. Sulai eh?" Sky asked.
"Xian now, correct?" The younger one spoke, a small twinkle in his eyes. "Keep this up, Ginvera, and you'll have more husbands than Henry IIX had wives." He flashed a grin, openly playing with the watch.
The older one, frowned, "I apologize. Congratulations upon your wedding."
Ginny twitched, "You aren't here to offer congrats." She said, scowling, "I know why you are here, and as I told Conan and Mahn and Sam, the answer is no."
Younger and leaner still smiled, "But don't you see? They need him."
Sky watched the people speak, trying to understand all that they are saying. She dug her shoe into the dirt, making a small hole while still watching them.
"Conan Sulai should have thought of that possibility before he hit me."
Giny's harsh words caused the older man to frown deeply.
"How would he have known? He's human. He's not like us." The man's voice was rough as he glared at ginny. The younger man seemed suddenly aware of Sky's presence. He stood up a little straighter, smiling a bit more.
Still, he spoke to Ginny.
"He isn't like you." His eyes went back to Sky and he smirked, finally asking, "Who is this? Your newest apprentice? She's a good teacher this one, but stubborn as a mule." He winked at Sky.
Ginny folded her arms, scowling, "Don't talk to her, Kudlowick."
Sky looked away, holding in the desire to chuckle. (such a funny word. Haha) She looked back at the man known as Kudlowick. "She's not stubborn. And I'm not her apprentice." She said, looking serious now.
"Far more stubborn than anyone I've ever known." The older man now looked at Sky as well.
Kudlowick grinned, "And he's lived for a long time."
Ginny scowled, "Listen, I'm not going to agree. And I think you are through here. Leave."
Kudlowick sighed, turning his eyes on Ginny, "Do we have to?" He whined, "I'd love to stick around and watch you wrangle up your next husband."
Ginny's eyes turned dark, and she took a step forward. Kudlowick held up his watch, dangling it.
"Wouldn't do that, Ginvera. I have the power to freeze you where you stand."
Ginny growled, "And I have the power to kill you in a single hit. Wanna see who's faster?"
Sky said with a small smile "Can't we all just get along?" She looked from the Old man, to Kudlowick, then to Ginny. "Ya know...Peace on Earth?"
"None of us, including your teacher here, care about Earth or peace." Kudlowick said. But he stepped back, dropping his aggressive stance and smiling again. He nodded towards the older man, who nodded back. They both picked up the watches hanging from their waists.
"We must go." Said the elder.
Kudlowick looked at Ginny, "See you again, Queen Gwenivere." He swept into a bow, the two of them disappearing quickly. Instantly, Time began again, sounds coming back in a rush.
Ginny snorted after them, rolling her eyes in disgust.
"A lot easier to deal with than Mahn, but still annoying."
"Yeah. Very." Sky said and fixed her bangs again. "Well...I'm assuming that there are no more visitors then?" She asked, her eyes going back to Ginny.
Ginny nodded, "I hope so. I don't really feel up to it." She yawned, covering her mouth. She shook her head in an attempt to wake herself up.
She was so tired lately.
She scowled at the spot where Kudlowick stood, "He thinks he's a hot shot because he took my job."
"Take it back." Sky said. Of course things were never that easy, but leave it up to Sky to suggest things like that. The yawn was contagious as Sky had to yawn too.
"Don't want it back. Besides, they'd never let me have it back."
Ginny swayed where she stood, and then slowly sat down on the ground. She looked up at Sky with dull eyes, "I violated too many of the rules..."
Sky sat down next to her and stared out at the lake. "People make mistakes. Even if you can't go back and fix them, you learn something out of it. Plus...everything happens for a reason."
Ginny chuckled darkly, "Let me rephrase that. I violated too many rules on purpose."
The red haired teacher pulled her knees up, resting her chin on them as she to now stared at the lake.
"Everything does happen for a reason, but sometimes the reason they happen for never gets a chance to show itself."
"That is very true indeed." Sky said. "Say, how are Xaver and Cody anyway?" Sky asked, hoping maybe that could brighten things up. "I haven't seen him in awhile."
Ginny closed her eyes, "Since Xav and I got married, Cody's been as bright as the sun. I swear, you'd think he was the newly wed." She smiled softly, "His lessons are going well, he's much better at controlling his magic now."
She sighed, "Xaver's been alright. We haven't really spent that much time together in the past few weeks. Both of us are so busy."
She peaked through one eye, "Maybe I should force them into a vacation..."
"You guys should go on one. Maybe to the Bahamas or Rome." Sky said. "You'll have to bring Cody to the school sometime. I miss him." She laughed, but it was true. Cody was an intriguing little kid. He knew how to brighten up a persons day.
Rome is awesome...but I'd rather just go somewhere that no one could find us." Ginny shrugged, and then smiled as Sky said about bringing Cody to the school.
"I should, I suppose. But I can't keep up with him lately, he's too...full of energy." She sighed, "And I can't rely on him to follow the rules, or anyone to enforce them all the time."
Sky picked up a flat gray rock and tossed it into the lake, watching it sink while making a strange noise. "Well...he's what, five now? He's supposed to be full of energy." She grinned. "He's too young to follow rules." That wasn't necessarily true, but alwell. She picked up another rock and tossed it into the lake.
Ginny frowned, "His age shouldn't matter. He's a prodigy by all standards. Following the rules I set before him should be a simple task."
She shook her head, "My mum is one for rules, and she made all seven of us listen...perhaps she can get Cody to a bit...."
Sky shrugged. "Maybe." She said. She picked up a twig that lay on the ground and began drawing circles in the sand of the shore.
Ginny was silent for a moment, looking out over the lake. She turned her head to Sky, smiling tightly.
"You're right. I doubt it if he'll listen to her."