"Well, what do we have here?" She was looking Corinth up and down like some kind of foreign specimen. "You're far too thin, short, and weak. You should look into bulking up if you're going to compete."

"Compete in what?" Corinth asked while pulling a navy blue shirt over his head and down his scrawny chest. He spoke with an unexpected ease in his demeanor. Girls weren't nearly as intimidating to him as guys. He felt more open to the ladies.

"Levanta.r.s.e, of course!" she shouted while grabbing Corinth and shaking him to the very core of his soul. "Why else would you be hanging around that big dope?" referring to Anvard, of course.

But Anvard interrupted her session with Cory by pinching her ear, and pulling her from behind the divider. He let go once they were back in the open s.p.a.ce of the rather quant dorm room.

"What are you two doing?" he shouted, but tried to stifle the sound of his heavy, yet whiny voice. "Go find your cla.s.ses, sign up for an affiliate, explore the grounds. Whatever, just get out of-"

"Oh! That sounds great," girl number one shouted out, "we should go on a mini-tour. The one they gave on orientation day was way too weak."

"What was orientation day?" Corinth asked as he emerged from behind the gray shaded room divider.

"Oh!" She used a hand to cover her mouth. She wanted to display her shock verbally and physically. "You missed orientation. That's going to suck. You won't get any choice picks for cla.s.ses, dorms or roommates."

"Well, I guess that why they threw him in this shack here! I mean am I right, or am I right?" The second girl boasted with a ma.s.sive laugh that echoed throughout the small room. She sounded like a wounded animal after its second close encounter with a car tire.

"I'm sorry you had to meet my younger sisters like this, Corinth." Anvard sounded truly embarra.s.sed by their actions. Corinth was surprised to hear him say sisters, because of the difference in hair and skin colors, theirs being lighter than Anvard's. But as he looked at all three in a row, he saw that glint in their Lirian eyes. That very particular look of one's of their race, but even more likely, that very visible gleam in all three of their eyes was a family trait. They all had the same shine between them.

"Oh, please, Andy, don't sound so gloomy all the time!" the more lofty character sister yelped.

Anvard, or Andy, took a few steps over to the girls and stood between them at their backs. They were all standing in front of the dark oak door to Corinth's dorm. To the naked eye, the girls looked exactly alike. But Andy could tell them apart without question. "To my right is Emmy. And to the left is Emma."

"Uh, okay." Corinth was sure he'd forget that before the girls even opened their mouths to speak again, which didn't seem like it'd take very long. They were just as similar in detail as in overall appearance. They even had on the same outfit. But one of them had a satin scarf tied around her neck. The other had a silver necklace. If they removed those charms, there'd be no visible difference between them at all.

"I can see you're confused about their looks," Anvard said while taking a few steps away from his sisters and closer to Corinth. "They're twins you know?" he offered this as he tilted his head like he'd just solved an age old mystery.

"I don't think that's the reason he's got that confused look on his face, Mr. Obvious!" said Emma in a cra.s.s tone. "He knows we're twins, but he can't tell us apart, dummy!"

"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that." Both girls simultaneously rolled their eyes in the back of their heads. "There's an easy trick I learned as a kid to tell them apart." He walked pa.s.sed both of them and turned behind them again. He set one hand on each of their shoulders. He was considerably taller than they were. In fact, he was a lot taller than everyone in the room. Corinth was about the same height as the girls. Anvard had at least eight inches of height on all three. "Okay, so here it is," he said with finality, "look -'cause it's not easy to pick up on at first." He took his hands, balled them into loose fist, and gently punched both of his sisters in the back of their heads.

Corinth was stunned at the sight of it. Not more than the girls themselves though. Emma turned around and slapped Anvard across the face, while Emmy just stood there. After rolling her eyes several times, that is.

You see," he exclaimed with a bold smile on his creamy-brown skin face, which was somehow reddened from the slap to its beautiful surface. He rebounded from the sting of Emma's hand seamlessly, and then boldly stated. "Very different indeed!"

"What?" was all Corinth could muster.

"Their looks are definite and they refuse to dress differently, most of the time," he threw in while shifting his eyes from girl to girl, "but their personalities aren't nearly as congruent as their appearance."

"You're even dumber than you look!" shouted Emma.

"You see!" Andy exclaimed,"Emmy wouldn't say that to someone's face. She has the courtesy to do it behind their backs, like a normal person would. But Emma thinks the world is hers for the taking, so she takes her up-and-down att.i.tude out on anyone and everyone in her path. Really, they're both a bit ferocious, but at least there's a notable difference."

Corinth didn't want to admit it. But he actually thought that tidbit might be helpful in learning to tell them apart in the future. He figured a small nod would be sufficient in acknowledging Anvard's helpful experiment. Anvard nodded back with a huge grin that he couldn't even begin to try to wipe away.

"Someone's crushing pretty hard," said Emma under her breath to Emmy.

"I couldn't agree more, darling," said Emmy in an even more m.u.f.fled tone.

They were all beginning to walk out the door when Corinth started to panic. "Where's my dog!?" he screamed. "Oliveto, where are you boy?!" He realized that Oliveto hadn't made his presence known in quite some time. He was in the room with him just before Anvard abruptly walked in and introduced himself.

"You have a dog?" Anvard asked precariously.

"Yeah, he was here, like, a few minutes ago!" Corinth said with a fl.u.s.tered, searching stare rendering his olive skin cheekbones red with rash confusion.

"Is its fur green and super ugly?" Emma interrogated with a blank expression.

Corinth didn't exactly know how to respond to that. "Well... yeah. He's sort of rough looking, but I'm going to clean him up."

"Oh, well how lovely for you and your dingy mutt," she said with a half-witted sardonic tone. "But he's with one of the teachers now. A mean looking teacher too," she informed a deflated looking Corinth. "Me and Emmy noticed that flee-trap when we were making our way down the Main hall."

"Cool it with the insults, Emma!" Anvard said with a very authoritative pitch to his voice.

She didn't like his tone, but she was happy to get a rise out of anybody. She was just that kind of girl. She smirked menacingly as she spoke on. "Well, if it will help pull your boyfriend out of his deep despair, we'll take you to where we last saw the mangy pooch." Anvard shot her a p.i.s.sed look that she instantly disregarded.

"That'd be great!" Corinth shouted while running out of his dorm into the hallway.

Emmy started to walk out after him, but Anvard stopped Emma as she began to follow her twin sister's lead. He pulled her armed and gripped it hard.

"Cool it with the insults," Anvard growled, "or I'll tell your entire dorm floor about your bedtime swims!"

Her eyes widened as she attempted to free herself from her brother's tight grasp. It was no use, he was a trained athlete and an all around strong guy, nearly twice her size. "You've got to be kidding me," she said with genuine shock, "all this for a kid you just met!" Anvard just shook his head. "He doesn't even seem like he likes you as a friend, better yet something more. It doesn't work the same way in all the Worlds, Andy. With those eyes, he's either Draconian or La Envidian. Neither of those Worlds work the way Lirio does."

Anvard knew that all too well. But didn't think being cautious meant much of anything in a town as diverse as Hyperborean. The Aurora Boreal school made quotas for themselves to fulfill for each of the eight Worlds. Solely enacted to keep diversity as its main priority. "Yeah, well let me find out the hard way then. Don't just go gang busters like you did the last-"

Corinth poked his head in the door, cutting their conversation short. "Come on you guys. Oliveto's probably scared." He whist himself away just as quickly as he appeared.

"Well, maybe his owner shouldn't have let him wander off while he chatted up my idiot brother." Emma scoffed while walking out of Corinth's dorm, fixing up her clothes. She spoke out just before Anvard pushed her to the ground, and stepped over her body like road kill.

"I'm going to get you back!" she howled from the floor in the hallway.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," he virtually sang the words as he headed down the hallway in pursuit of Corinth and Emmy. "Without wetting the bed, of course," he added to the already firm statement as he began to jog.

"Arg-g-g!" she shouted from the stone floor, like some sort of pirate. She then picked herself up and began running after the three of them. "Wait up you guys ... my ankle!" No one seemed to hear, with her facescrunched up, she shouted even louder. "Wait guys, my ankle's busted!- Don't you care about my ankle?!!" Once she realized no one was paying her any attention, she straightened out her faux limp and booked it down the fire-torch and sun lit hall, like a track star. She didn't like being left out of anything, so despite her limp, she caught up in no time.

Chapter 10:.

Daddy Is The Dearest

April 1, 1002 ~ Daylight While Corinth attempted to rectify losing Oliveto, his father was out on the town shopping for his school supplies.

"Hyperborean sure has changed." Cris threw all of his son's a.s.sorted items onto the counter.

The young man behind it gave him a drooling stare. Cris took a look around to make sure he was in the right place. Everything seemed in order. People were still forming up in line behind him. He had only moved forward because the lady before him in line walked away seemingly satisfied with her purchases. He knocked on the counter sternly to get the guy's attention.

"Uh... Uh.... Yeah, I'm awake!" The guy snorted mucous, and then wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Cris cringed just looking at him. "Yeah, that's good to know, bud. Considering how you're at work in all." Cris wasn't upset, but he felt like the kid was anything but apologetic over his unhelpful demeanor.

"Oh, I'm sorry, guy. It's just, they got me working double shifts now, cause the kids are coming back to school. I'm tired is all," he sounded sincere. And Cris could definitely identify with being overworked.

"Don't mention it," Cris flagged his hand casually, "just ring it all up, please."

"Sure thing, man. Let me just get a quick price check on this here notebook. I'll be back before you can yell-fire!" He smiled with croaked teeth and laughed out the toxic gas that was his bad breath.

"You've got to be kidding me," Criston mumbled under his breath, "it's a freaking notebook!" his pitch climbing slightly higher.

While he waited, he took a look around. He was continually comparing his memory of Aurora Boreal school and the town of Hyperborean that surrounded it, to the current day setting. He couldn't believe that it had become so large. It was still a relatively small town, but compared to its size seventeen years ago, Cris thought it was huge today.

Crix Avenue was bigger and better than last he'd seen it. He couldn't believe that he was standing in the very shop that his father, Conrad, had taken him to buy all his school supplies so long ago. 'One Stop Drop' was the only school supplies store in town, besides the one on school grounds. He wished Corinth was with him, but his mother convinced him last night that Corinth needed to spread his wings on his own accord. Criston would be leaving soon. If Corinth couldn't handle meeting a few new people on his own, then the sky wasn't the limit. The dirt ground was.

The cashier returned from his mysteriously lengthy absence and began ringing up all the other items. Everything went smooth from there, and Criston got out in record time. The kid behind the counter seemed pretty stupid, and most likely was, but he knew how to work that touch screen register. It was probably the only thing he could do well, Criston thought, as he exited the store back onto Crix Avenue.

Even though Crix is the main street in Hyperborean, it isn't very wide. It was like a funnel that opened up only once you reached the Puente del Rio. The bridge you have to cross to get over the Rio Plato, or Silver River, onto the school's property. Though tight, it had all the most important stores. All the biggest brands and even street performers roaming the sidewalks filled with shoppers. This is where tourist shop and stay. There were no residential homes on Crix. Only the wonders of an entire town channeled into one focused alley of a long, winding main street.

As he walked on, he noticed the key shop. The same key shop that sold him his now lost llave so many years ago. "Weston's," Criston said while he pa.s.sed the shop.

He had forgotten what the shop was called. He was reminiscing reverently now, thankful that the Erratum spell from that key saved Corinth and him. He wanted to go inside and take a look around, but didn't have the time. He had to pick up an entire wardrobe for his son. Sena. Hendrix told him that he could simply retrieve Corinth's clothes from their home in Draconia, or at the Refectory on school grounds, but he didn't want to take the risk, and figured he'd rather look about town than simply go to the Refectory. She tried encouraging him to use the power that his restored hand gave him. But he wasn't interested in pulling at the threads on this one.

When she first told him about the powers of the gla.s.s hand, he didn't believe her one bit. They sent Corinth off to sleep, before their in depth conversation about the hand of fate. She said that it's a portal. Or that it opens up portals, something weird like that. He could use the hand to build bridges between the gaps in reality. All he need do is will it. His right hand lights up and turns into a purplish-blue gla.s.s when he forces it to. It freaked Criston out when he watched his flesh melt away, revealing the true nature of his newly gifted limb.

While he walked onward to the clothing store, La Ropa, he looked down at his right hand. He couldn't believe all the power that was literally in his palm. He was starting to become anxious about all the possibilities. How could anything ever be normal again? His wife was locked in another realm, his son's possessed by some unknown force, and now he's holding the key to opening up entrances to other dimensions. And who knows where else! She also informed him that he'd no longer need his llave. He could wield magik without a wand or llave now. He could access all of his power through the hand of fate.

How convenient, Cris thought, as he grabbed the black handle on the door to La Ropa, pulling hard. It was a rigid door, so he jerked as he tried to balance the rest of his bags against the force exerted by the shift of his weight. The door swung open abruptly after he ripped back on his heels. It occurred to him then that balancing the rest of his family life was going to be just as stiff and dark as this shop door that he could barely open.

Little did he know that the Hand of Fate could effortlessly open any door without ever grasping a handle.

Chapter 11:.

A Penny For Your Thoughts, A Courter For Your Heart

April 1, 1002 ~ Daylight "Well, the thing was right here last we saw it, so whatever," Emma told Corinth with a stuck up look that made him want to smack her clear across the hallway.

"I'm sorry," Anvard confessed, "I must have unknowingly let him out when I came into your dorm."

"Oh, pipe down, Andy." Emmy touched his shoulder. "Corinth understands. He knows you didn't mean to lose his best friend, and force a school wide manhunt for his search and rescue in the process. Believe me when I say this isn't your fault. Not one bit." Emmy's sarcastic side wasn't as frank as her sister's, but it was certainly as viscous. The two of them circled their brother, while they all stood helpless on the first floor of the Olympia building.

The building had twelve ascending floors. Corinth's dorm was mixed in with the teacher's dorms on the top floor, because there was no s.p.a.ce left in the three smaller student dorm buildings connected to Olympia. The floors inside all four buildings were constructed in such a way that they appeared to resemble the making of a bicycle tire. There are eight long halls that all run into the Main hall. The Main hall circles the entire outer perimeter of the building, like the inner tube of a tire, making everything on each respective floor accessible by way of one route. The eight directional halls that extend inward from the Main hall, like the spokes of the tire, all meet up at the Atrium of each of the buildings.

The Atrium being the heart center, there you could find the common rooms for each floor. The students gather there, watch TV, play games etc. Also, the elevators that take you from one floor to the next are there. The elevators are the only other exits from the upper floors, besides the sky-walks, which can only move you from building to building, but not get you out of one. Unless, of course, you're planning to jump down from those miniature bridges. There's twelve stories worth of height for each of the four structures erected into the sky. Might take a little longer, but you'd be better off just taking the elevator from the Atrium, rather than jumping like a maniac.

And that's exactly what the four of them did to get down to the first floor of Olympia. They searched each floor as they made their way down. Eleven floors searched and one to go. Emmy and Emma said they saw Oliveto -leashed up next to a mysterious lady, who wore men's clothing. Corinth hoped it was Sena. Hendrix. He figured she'd be the only one to understand. He didn't want to get in trouble his first day at school with a ministrant he'd only just be meeting.

"Well ... maybe we can go to the Grand Ministrant," Corinth suggested to the group.

"Are you kidding me!" Emma shouted. "The witch who gave that depressing speech at orientation?" Corinth's face said yes, while she continued on with her ranting and raving about Sena. Hendrix's constant gloomy disposition. "The chick that runs this joint? Oh, no! I'm out! You can find your silly pup on your own time. Me and Emmy are going to go sign up for some affiliates. Let's go twin-y!" She waved her sister onward.

But something was amiss. Emma turned to her twin sister. But the response she was used to, didn't come as expected. Emmy was staring at the cobblestones of the first floor just beyond the entryway that Corinth had pa.s.sed through the night before.

Though it was still morning and the sun shined bright, the same torches were lit and fixed against the walls. That surprised Corinth, once he noticed. But he figured with last night's events he had seen weirder things occur than fire in daylight.

"Well, sweetie, don't be shy," said Emma. "Let's. .h.i.t the road already. I'm sure we can still get some good affiliates. I hear that they always need Equestrians. And we're a shoe in for that, right?" Emma had that dumb look on her face. The look some sport when they know they're being ignored, but they refuse to acknowledge it.

Emmy kicked up some dust on the ground and put her hands in the odd pockets knitted onto her skirt. She didn't breathe a word. An uncomfortable silence set in between all four of them. It took Anvard to break it.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" the big pink-eyed fellow yelled. "She doesn't want to go with you, Emma." He grabbed Corinth by the arm with one hand and Emmy with the other, gently pulling them along toward the entryway.

As they walked away from her, Emma felt a cold chill move over her spine. She and her twin did everything together. Nothing separated them . . . ever! Not even Andy. So,if she wasn't doing this for Andy-then it must be for that little runt. The pink in her irises started to shimmer from the sunlight that flooded in through all the stone-craved windows on the walls, and the huge open entryway before her.

The signature marking of her race started to creep into her stance. It showed all over her face. She was jealous! Her lip trembled as she watched the three of them walk eagerly away from her, arm in arm. Such a pretty girl with flawless skin. The picture perfect reflection of her sister and mother.

Most in Lirio were beautiful beyond telling. Beyond telling of their vanity, for sure. Their pink eyes and angelic faces gave them a leg up on the compet.i.tion. No one could outcla.s.s their beauty. And no one could tell them a thing that they didn't already know. They had it all figured out at every turn, which made them reluctant to admit fault or express sympathy for anyone other than themselves. There's an old saying about them that goes: 'You'd be better off kissing every swine's b.u.t.t for good luck, rather than expecting a returned favor from a Lirian.'

As she was raised to think, Emma knew exactly what to do in this moment. She took a swift look at her surroundings, and spotted what she desired. A mirror! It was more or less a stained-gla.s.s portrait of a horseback golden-armored knight. But as long as she could see her reflection in it, she was overjoyed. She walked eagerly over to it, and began working her magik to bring her facial expression up to par with her emotional needs. She pulled out a tube of lips gloss and some colorful eye-gook. She started changing her appearance to something more whimsical. She fluffed her double-pocketed. tie-dye skirt, and repositioned her pink & white blouse. A gust a wind blew in. It pushed her long brown hair into her face. She collected it all out of the breeze, and pulled it back into a tight ponytail. She wanted to look more diligent, too. She took her emerald earrings out of her ears and placed them inside her bag, along with her makeup and other gooey beautifiers. She stared at the lovely looking girl in the mirror. She beamed with unnecessary confidence. She was the new and improved Emma Fielder. Ready to conquer.

"Hey, wait up guys!" She ran outside after them, crying for those she desperately pursued.

They all turned around immediately, but only one of them spoke. "Look Em, if you want to go do your own thing, we're totally okay with that. But we need to find Corinth's dog... now!" Anvard seemed frustrated. He was used to being in control. He was two years older than his two irresponsible twin sisters. He was also a captain in Levanta.r.s.e at his last school.

As opposed to all the things that could truly get in the way, he couldn't believe that a little green furred dog was ruining his chances to impress Corinth. He figured if he didn't do it now, some other guy from Lirio or Velocidad was likely to do it sooner, rather than later.

Emma looked at Corinth with a scowl that gave him goose b.u.mps. But instead of making a snarky commit, she reached into her pocketbook and produced a peculiar parchment. It was beige and looked to have some watermarks on it. But otherwise, very plain.

"What's that?" Corinth asked as he stepped forward and tried to take it from her to get a closer look.