Unity I

The next day, they started packing up. There wasn't much to pack anyway, so they were set to leave before dawn even broke. Ivy was sorry to see them leave, but she wasn't too upset; they were bound to leave anyway. She had held onto a small hope that she could follow them, but she wasn't invited, plus there was the fact that her coven members would search for her. They won't want to let go of their most obedient slave. She felt slightly hopeless; the joy of being an Acabi was slowly suppressed by harsh reality. She saw them out. Sue was carried by Jerry, and Ares held onto Aria's bag despite her protests. As Ivy turned to return to her hut, Aria called her, "Did you forget something?" Ivy turned in confusion. "No, why?" Aria looked at her like she was silly. "Then why are you going back, don't tell me you're chickening out?" "I... I'm coming with you?" "If not, do you plan to join us later? Why? Is a certain boy making you delay?" Her brows raised suggestively. "No! Actually, I didn't think you would want me coming along." There was silence; Ivy pinched her palm. Everyone was staring at her. "Don't be silly," Garsam said. "You're an Acabi." Ivy felt her eyes sting with warm tears. "I'm an Acabi," she whispered. "I'm one of you." "Yeah, so come along already." Ivy laughed as she ran into her hut; she excitedly grabbed a knapsack that held her few clothes, stuffed in her spell books, and rushed out. When she reached them Aria pulled her hand. "Let's go." Ivy nodded, but a sudden thought made her halt. Aria turned to her. "What now?" "I didn't say goodbye." Aria laughed in realization. "Yeah, your boyfriend will be sick with worry." "I can help with that." Lev zigged over. He clicked his hand, and a thin, almost translucent paper appeared. A gold open beside it. He handed them to Ivy. "Write your farewell, and it will be delivered." Ivy's eyes sparkled; she had never seen magic like his. Her coven comprised of element controllers like Thaen's wind control and body magic like her sister who could make herself invincible, float, or fast. This was her first time seeing a conjurer type magic. "Thank you," she said. She wrote a quick message to Thaen telling him that she was leaving and basically promising to return if she could. When she was done, Lev collected the paper. In his hand, the paper folded up into an origami and flew off in the direction of the village. "Wow," Aria gasped. Ares frowned. "Basic magic," he said. Lev scoffed. "Ahh, I smell vinegar in the air." The origami entered the village and into Thaen's hut. A woman with pure white hair and narrowed blue eyes watched it from her window. Her eyes flashed as the contents of the note appeared before her. So, the little minx was leaving. Interesting. *** It took more time to locate the building where Sinbad was held. Garsam had to sniff his own trail and retrace his steps. They reached it by nightfall. The chief conjured an inconspicuous tent. Sue was put down, and Jerry shamelessly got in with her; he said he was tired from carrying her all through. Aria surveyed the looming building. "But why are we here?" Ares replied, "We just need to get something real quick." "Oh... Do you need my help?" "No!" Ares blinked. "Okay? I know when I'm not wanted." She turned and walked into the tent. Vel quipped in sarcasm, "A few more of those, and she'll be madly in love with you." Ares groaned in frustration. He headed towards the tent. Vel hollered, "Hey, that tent can only take three people max." Ares held open the tent flap and addressed Aria. "You can come along; I just thought it would be dangerous, but... I'll keep you safe." A sulking Aria looked up at him. "Oh, okay, take care of her. We'll be back soon." The last part was for Jerry, who was dozing off on a sleeping bag; he nodded, but Aria wasn't even sure he heard her. Behind the building the three of them spied over a low wall. Garsam was surprised when she saw the number of guards patrolling. Perhaps their last break-in was alarming. A new batch came and replaced the former in a matter of seconds; there was totally no way to sneak in without being seen. "I thought you said they didn't have much security," Aria whispered. "They didn't the last time I was here; it's a recent development besides they caught S-somebody I know." "Ooh, rescue mission, how exciting," Aria droned. She shuffled back to Ares. "Can't you get us in?" "I can." Aria's eyes twitched. "Then why didn't you say anything?" Ares shrugged and tapped his forehead. His body glowed for a second in the sunlight, then he started fading. Eventually, he couldn't be seen. Aria stretched her hand feeling the air. Her hand touched something warm and solid. An invisible hand held hers. She looked at her hand that was held and noticed it was fading as well, and just like Ares, she became invisible. "Woah," she raised her free hand and waved it in front of her face; she couldn't see it. It felt so weird. Garsam turned back to see she was alone. "Guys?" She called out hesitantly. Aria suppressed a giggle and caught Garsam's hand. Big mistake. Immediately, Garsam felt her touch; she tightened her hold and twisted Aria's hand behind her back and slammed her into the dirt. Although Aria had become invisible, but her body didn't disappear, so it wasn't difficult. Aria groaned in pain. It had happened all too suddenly that Ares couldn't react. At some point, he had let go of Aria, and she immediately became visible. When Garsam saw her, she cussed. "What the hell was that?" Aria didn't answer and instead rolled on the ground. Her hand felt like it was about to tear off. Ares removed his spell and became visible too. He touched Aria's aching shoulder. She felt the pain disappear at the same time Ares winced. With her pain gone, Aria snapped at Garsam, "Why did you fucking attack me?!" "You startled me!" "Do you give a smackdown to everyone who startles you? With that psycho reaction, I'm sure you don't have many friends." Garsam, who had originally been apologetic, straightened up till she towered over the shorter Aria. She looked down at Aria coldly. "You wouldn't know, but most people who have 'startled' me in the past did so with poisoned silver blades, so yeah, I'm well aware that I don't have many friends or people I trust. I don't need a snotty little witch to tell me that." Aria glared at her, and Garsam did not back down. Ares looked between them. He gently tugged Aria. "We don't have time to waste; the sooner we get in, the faster we can get your friend out and find your parents." He urged Garsam and Aria respectively. He muttered a spell and tapped Garsam's forehead, and just like Ares did earlier, Garsam turned invisible. Ares did the same for him and Aria. He warned them, "It doesn't last long, so let's move fast. Also, try not to bump into anything or pick up anything." Aria nodded, then realizing it, corrected herself with a "Yeah, got it." They crossed over the fence and into the building. Garsam recognized the familiar passage. Even though it had been cleaned up and the blood removed, she turned back and saw a slightly transparent Aria. She looked down at her own hand. The magic was fading. Heavy footsteps sounded, and they hid. Several people in white lab coats with a few guards dressed in black walked past their hiding spot. Aria was squeezing into a corner so as not to be seen, so she couldn't see the people who passed. One of the people in lab coats stopped and looked around. It was a woman with dark hair. Her eyes scanned the surroundings with a hint of doubt. When her companions questioned her, she smiled apologetically, and they continued on their way.