{"id":90,"date":"2009-11-27T16:46:40","date_gmt":"2009-11-27T16:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/?p=90"},"modified":"2009-11-27T16:46:40","modified_gmt":"2009-11-27T16:46:40","slug":"chapter-34-nineteen-years-ago-part-3-its-more-like-eighteen-years-ago-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/?p=90","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 34: Nineteen years ago, part 3 (its more like eighteen years ago now)."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- \t\t@page { size: 21cm 29.7cm; margin: 2cm } \t\tP { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The four students lined up in the dojo in front of their master.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Ok before each of you is a solid boulder, I want you to shatter your respective boulders, with some limitations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Udo was glad his students were finally prepared for testes like this, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cadence, you must shatter it by dancing to the same resonance as the boulder, the correct frequency will make it crumble. Mavis, I don&#8217;t want you to just lift the boulder and drop it. Ignis, I don&#8217;t want you to just torch the boulder until it explodes, besides I don&#8217;t know how well this old dojo could take another fire. Doll, you must shatter yours by using strength alone, no external Qi in this test. Begin\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Cadence started to find a rhythm and the boulder crumbled pretty quickly, Mavis pushed at hard as she can against the block, imagining she was throwing birds at it like how she threw birds at the air to fly, but it took her a few goes before she hit with enough force to break the boulder. Ignis was just pissed off, he knew he should be able to master lava attacks and destroy the boulder that way but he could never figure out how.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll thought of what she could do to destroy the boulder physically, and she remembered seeing a really strong looking warrior from before she came to the dojo, so she shape-shifted into him and punched right through the boulder.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mavis looked over at Doll&#8217;s new form and was white as a sheet, she screamed and ran out of the dojo and down the steps as fast as she could.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll quickly changed back and ran after her, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Don&#8217;t go after her!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Udo called out, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153She must cope with it on her own.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8216;yeah right&#8217; Doll thought, she wasn&#8217;t about to let her friend deal with whatever scared her that much on her own.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll ran after Mavis for about half an hour until the two were totally out of breath, standing on am empty path that cut through wide fields.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll, gasping for breath asked \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Are you ok Mavis?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mavis for now seemed very calm.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Where did you see that man. The one you transformed into?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Cadence and I saw him on the way here before we met you, he was helping a load of men build a city gateway&#8230; who is he?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8230;my stepfather, the man who killed my mother. Where was this city?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll looked at Mavis, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153why do you want to know Mavis?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mavis turned around, eyes red with tears, it was clear to doll there was only one reason she would want to know where he is.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8230;Mavis, I don&#8217;t want to tell you if it&#8217;s that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">If you don&#8217;t tell me I will leave you all and go looking for him anyway!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll could see there was no turning back for her, if she was going to do this, she needed a friend close by.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">I&#8217;m coming with you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Udo looked out over the setting sun, it was too late now, he had a very bad feeling.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Ignis, Cadence&#8230; please could you go out and look for them, you can cover more ground if you split up.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">yes master\u00e2\u20ac\u009d they said in unison, and dashed off in the direction Mavis and Doll went.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">&#8211;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The bar was full at this time of night, men exchanged stories and cheer between swigs of beer, and two young girls walked into the bar, just a little too young to be in a bar like this alone. The first girl shouted above the noise in the bar;<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">We&#8217;re looking for Berk!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d the bar went quiet, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Where is he?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">there were hushed whispers among the patrons of the bar, why were the two girls looking for-<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Everyone out. Now.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d came a voice from the back of the bar, and after seeing who it was the bar was empty within a minute.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">I have to say I wasn&#8217;t expecting to see you again kid, I thought you would be too afraid to ever look for me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Berk stood up. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You should have stayed afraid girl.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">sh-shut up! I&#8230; I came here&#8230; to&#8230;\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Berk walked up to Mavis \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I see you&#8217;re still a thing of fear, what did you think you would do when you came here? Did you think you could actually kill me? I&#8217;ll teach you a lesson for disrespecting me like that.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Berk grabbed Mavis hair and threw her through a table at a wall before Doll could even react, but before she hit the wall, Mavis righted herself in the air and flew at Berk full speed, her arms hit his chest and out the other side flew a flock of dying birds and lots of blood.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mavis, shocked stepped back and fell over, Berk looked down at his chest. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153&#8230;bitch.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he fell over.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll rushed over to Mavis to make sure she was ok, and then looked over at Berk&#8217;s corpse, a light moved from his bracelet into Mavis&#8217;, though Mavis didn&#8217;t notice, she was crying too much.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">But what happened next doll noticed all too well, Berk&#8217;s shadow, started to move.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">It pulled away from Berk and what appeared to be an exact copy of Berk climbed from the shadow, and stood looking down on the two girls. Doll could tell that it was really a shapeshifter, different to her though somehow.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Well isn&#8217;t that an interesting turn,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said the copy, and Mavis looked up more scared than she had ever been before, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I wanted his light and waited in his shadow so I could claim two at once when he met another&#8230; but it seems I get to take three. I really am going to get an early lead. Now then&#8230; you.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The copy jumped at Doll, forcing her through two walls into the next house, by the time he landed on her he looked exactly like her.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">This way,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Doll&#8217;s reflection said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Your friend wont know which of us to kill!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Dickhead,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Doll was really pissed \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You assume I need her to help me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">A burst of Qi shot straight through the neck of her reflection and the copies head rolled along the floor, spilling blood all over doll.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Doll!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Mavis came running, but what she saw made her fall against the wall in shock.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">The blood spilling onto Doll had caused some kind of reaction and Doll looked just like Berk.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">change back! Change back DAMNIT!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Doll shouted. She looked over at Mavis, who was muttering to herself, wide eyed and pale, curled up as tight as she could be in the corner looking at the image of Doll beheaded.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Mavis, its me&#8230;\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as doll walked closer to Mavis, Mavis screamed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\">\u00e2\u20ac\u0153<span style=\"font-family: Lucida Sans,sans-serif;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">I- &#8230;I&#8217;m sorry Mavis\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Doll ran out into the night, she couldn&#8217;t help her friend from here, and it was all too much for her to take, she would hide for as long as she could.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The four students lined up in the dojo in front of their master. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Ok before each of you is a solid boulder, I want you to shatter your respective boulders, with some limitations,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Udo was glad his students were finally prepared for testes like this, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Cadence, you must shatter it by dancing to the same [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/91"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sophiehoulden.com\/writings\/fair\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}