Chapter Thirteen: Transformations

            The day after the twins left, Torin realized she had to do something. Though she promised Kye she wasn’t going to try and solve anything on her own, she never said anything about trying to move things along a little. And with that loophole in mind, a plan was born shortly after.

            She knew she wouldn’t be able to do this alone; no, she needed help. If anybody could assist her, it was Cori. It turned out, however, that she didn’t have to go looking for her. Before Torin had even finished her thoughts, there came a knock at her door. She hurried to the entryway and pulled it open. There before her stood Cori, playing with the frayed hem of her shirt.

            “Cori?” Torin asked, looking at her visitor.

            “Who else?” she retorted, her eyes not seeming to smile with the rest of her.

            “I was just going to see you,” Torin responded, ignoring the sarcastic answer. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

            “Well out with it,” she said, resting a hand on her hip.

            Torin looked around through the doorway, checking if anybody had followed Cori on her walk. “Come inside,” she said after a minute, stepping aside and allowing her to step in.
            Once the door was closed, both girls found their way to the main room and sat on either side of the old black sofa that rested alone in the room.

            “I have to ask you something,” Torin said, first wanting to know how serious Cori was about getting the boys back.

            She nodded, her chin-length dark hair falling around her face. “Go ahead.”

            “You like Kyrill, don’t you?” Torin asked, having figured it out earlier. All the signs were there, and she scolded herself for not having put the pieces together earlier.

            “Of course I like him. He’s a great friend, and…”

            “Cori. I’m serious here,” Torin interjected.

            “It wouldn’t work,” she said quietly. A first for her, Torin noticed.

            “What do you mean it wouldn’t work?” she asked, not wanting to dwell to long on the topic.

            “I’m a demi-god,” Cori said, as if that would explain everything. “Two years ago, Rill lost a girl to a demi-god. He’s hated them ever since. If he knew I was one…”

            “What does he think you are?” Torin asked.

            “Nothing,” Cori shrugged. “It never came up. All they know is that I’m a hydromancer.”

            “A hydromancer?” Torin questioned.

            Cori smiled. “Water control. It comes with having Poseidon as a father.”

            “Why haven’t I heard of this?”

            “You never asked,” she answered simply.

            There was a moment’s pause, in which both girls said nothing. It was Cori who eventually broke the silence.

            “What were you going to tell me?”

            “Excuse me?” Torin questioned.

            “You said you had something to tell me, remember?” she said slowly, as if Torin was going deaf.

            “Right,” she replied, taking a deep breath. “Do you want to help them?”

            “Kye and Rill? Of course I do. What’s the plan?”

            “Obviously, we can’t get them back here. The royal court won’t allow it,” Torin began, stating what the both of them already knew.

            “Go on,” Cori urged, just wanting the bottom line.   

            “So if we can’t bring them here, why can’t we go to them?”

            Cori rolled her eyes. “Because we’re girls, Tor.”

            “But what if we weren’t?” Torin asked, a smile tugging at her lips.

            “Come on, it’s not like we can just…” she trailed off and looked at Torin, mouth hanging open and brown eyes wide. “I am not doing that.”

            “Please Cori? If you won’t do it for me, would you at least do it for Kyrill?” she prompted.

            The dark hydromancer closed her eyes and sighed. “Fine. But we’re going to need some help.”

            “Already on it,” Torin responded, heading for the door with Cori in tow.

 

            “You want me to do what?”

            “You can get the rings, can’t you? We really need your help, Nia.”

            The silver-haired girl crossed her arms and looked at the ground. “Change rings are hard to get ahold of.”

            “But your father works with that kind of stuff, doesn’t he?” Torin pressed.

            “Yes but…”

            “It’s really important. You don’t even have to come if you don’t want to.”

            Nia closed her violet eyes and leaned her head against the doorway. “I’ll see what I can do.”

            “How long do you think it will take? We want to be on the move as soon as possible,” Cori spoke up.

            “Not that long, if everything is kept the way it usually is. The embassy isn’t very secure,” Nia smiled. “I’ll meet you in the stables tomorrow at noon?”

            “Deal,” Torin said, happy at the turn things were taking.      

 

            Sure enough, Torin arrived at the stables the following day to find the two other girls already there. Cori was feeding a sugar cube to a golden colored horse as Nia watched, leaning against a wooden beam. She was twirling something aimlessly in her left hand, but Torin couldn’t quite make out what it was.

            As she walked closer to the two, she noticed that it was some sort of bag: made of leather and attached to the wrist by a small strap. Her footsteps were easily heard crunching in the broken twigs underfoot, and Cori looked up.

            “Do you still think this is a good idea?” she questioned, already knowing the answer.

            Torin stepped into the barn. “I’m positive. Do you have the rings?” she asked, turning to Nia.

            She nodded. “Of course.”

            “Are you coming with?” Cori asked.

            She nodded again. “I don’t see why I should let you two do this alone.”

            “The sooner we leave the better,” Torin said, shifting the weight of the bag she had brought with her to rest more comfortably on her back.

            “We can be out of here in minutes,” Cori said. “The horses are already saddled.”

            “Let’s go then,” Torin replied, immediately walking over to Moren.

            Cori rolled her eyes. “Rings first, Tor. We can’t ride in looking like this.”

            “Oh, right.” She blushed and walked back over to where the two stood.

            Nia slipped the little bag off her wrist, and gently tugged it open. “I’ve already programmed them, so all we have to do it put them on and they should work,” she explained, taking one.

            “How do they work?” Torin asked, taking a small silver band out of the bag.

            “Easy,” Nia explained. “Just slip it on your ring finger, and it will change your form.”

            All three of them pulled on the tiny circlets, and glanced at the others. There didn’t seem to be any change.

            Torin looked skeptically at Nia. “Are you sure these work?”                    

            She laughed. “Of course they work. We all look the same because we’re all wearing them. Go look at your reflection,” she said, nodding towards a bucket of water in a nearby corner.

            Torin slowly made her way to the bucket and peered inside. Staring back at her was not her own reflection, but that of a boy around her own age. She gasped, and looked back at her companions, who were clearly trying not to laugh.

            “It’s a bit shocking at first, isn’t it?” Nia smiled, showing off her perfectly straight teeth.

            “I actually screamed the first time,” offered Cori.

            “I guess I’ll just have to get used to it,” Torin said, walking back to where Moren stood. She swung herself onto his back, landing neatly in the saddle. “Now who’s ready to go?”

Author's Note

New chapter! Tell me if there's anything I should add/get rid of. I'm not too sure about the chapter title, so suggestions are welcome!