"I guess the conference is over," Charlie said, offhandedly.
"Yeah, we certainly don't have everyone here now," Amelia said. A moment later Beth disappeared. "Looks like it's just us now."
Charlie nodded. Amelia was the next person she was most comfortable with in her new group of friends after Beth. Especially since she rarely felt any demands from Amelia.
"By the way," Charlie said. "I assume you're wearing a bikini because of what you were dreaming about before we started this conference."
"Yeah," Amelia replied cheerfully. "It's the only way I can wear one right now, as my mom really doesn't approve, but I like them."
"I'm not sure how comfortable I'd be in one," Charlie said, not sure why she felt so relaxed suddenly. "I don't like feeling like others are watching me."
"That's part of the fun," Amelia protested. "Knowing that all eyes are on you because they can't get enough of looking at you. I bet you'd look really hot in one."
"I'd still like to pass, all the same," Charlie replied.
Amelia ran over to Charlie and pulled her into a hug before Charlie could react. "Don't be like that," Amelia said. "You never know-"
Suddenly Amelia was gone. Charlie sighed. It probably was time then for her to let her magic go. She wasn't sure what else she could accomplish by herself in this place, wherever anyone could describe it to be. Not just in front of the school, that is.
She tried picturing herself opening her eyes, but when she did, nothing happened. She wasn't sure what to do about it. So, she tried thinking of what else she might do to try and end this dream conference for herself. She tried letting go of her magic and found she hadn't been pulling on it for a little bit without realizing it. Whether she'd stopped pulling on it when they all got there or if it only occurred after everyone else woke up, she couldn't be sure.
Charlie took a deep breath and wondered what else she could try when she suddenly felt herself and the world around her shaking all over.
Charlie felt her eyes snap open to find her sister Cherie shaking her. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" she cried out, not sure why Cherie was doing this.
Cherie let out a sigh of relief. "I didn't know if you were going to wake up. You've never slept this late before," Cherie said. Then as Charlie's eyes focused, she could see the worry evident on her sister's face.
"What? Why? What time is it?" Charlie asked, looking over at her clock.
Her eyes widened when she saw that it was almost noon. Charlie had always been an early riser and for her, 'sleeping in' had typically meant sleeping until nine at the latest.
"Was mom or dad worried?" Charlie asked.
"No, they left already. It's your friends who came to see if you were up," Cherie replied.
"Well, thanks, Cherie," Charlie said.
"No problem," Cherie replied as she started to leave Charlie's room. "But if you're having trouble sleeping, set your alarm, okay? I mean, when you woke me up earlier, it was about one in the morning."
Charlie stared after her sister in surprise. The attempts to initiate the dream conference hadn't felt like they'd taken that long. Maybe an hour for both attempts but not like it was halfway through the night. If anything, she would have estimated that when she'd taken a break from her attempts it was closer to ten.
She shook her head as she got out of bed and closed the door to her room so she could start to get dressed for the day. Although, setting her alarm when they had a dream conference might actually be a good idea, since she hadn't been able to get out of it on her own, which she couldn't figure out since she hadn't had that trouble the first time she'd accidentally initiated one.
_
"Are you sure we should ask Petals about this first?" Wes asked. "Can't we just try this before talking with her about it?"
"Of course we should ask her," Beth said. "This forest is her home after all, why shouldn't we ask her if she'd be alright with us traveling through her home to try and get to other worlds?"
"Yeah, it's called being polite," Amelia added.
"Wes, look at it this way," Ralph suggested. "If we want to use Petals' forest to travel to other worlds, why shouldn't we ask her? We don't know what might occur because of it and she should have at least a say in it in the event we bring danger to her forest, even though we just saved it."
Charlie kept quiet. When she'd gotten dressed, she'd merely put on a simple casual dress. Mostly because it took less time and she didn't expect the day to be that eventful. Although, while she had her regular shoes on, the dress didn't feel to be proper attire for traveling through Petals' forest, even if they were still mostly travelling along the still healing scar. Though, Hannah was wearing a skirt as well, although she didn't seem to be having the trouble that Charlie did. Nor had it been a problem for some reason when she had been wearing a skirt when she'd traveled through the forest in the past.
The other trouble that she'd had with the dress was when she saw Beth taking more pictures of her, which Charlie assumed was to send to the secret admirer that had been mentioned a couple months ago, but hadn't been since. For some reason, she found herself worrying more and more about that over time. Sometimes even checking her reflection in the mirror before she went with her family on a simple errand, before she could catch herself. She was starting to wonder if she was the same person she had been still.
"Why not give us some travel music, since you said that you figured out how to make yourself a human CD player," Tim suggested to Wes.
"I already told you guys," Wes protested. "I'll show you once I can show Petals too. Besides, I've only gotten it to work when I'm standing still. I haven't gotten being a human CD player and walking down yet."
"You could still work at it," Ralph commented offhandedly.
"If it's so easy, why don't you do it yourself?" Wes challenged.
"If its easy for you, why don't you show us? We can take a short break so you can demonstrate," Tim said.
"Why don't you try and figuring it out for yourself," Wes returned, his voice starting to get heated. "I'm sure we'll get to where Petals is soon, right Charlie?"
Charlie sent her thoughts out towards Petals and could tell she was working on something by where the center of her forest was, the sequoia standing over her. "Petals is towards the center of her forest. So, it shouldn't be too much longer," she said, wondering if the day would be as tedious as this short walk had been so far.
Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her face. Part of her brain was struggling to figure out what happened. It took her a moment to realize that she'd fallen and that the ground hadn't tilted up to meet her. She didn't feel anything else hurt, so she let herself lay there and even closed her eyes. At that moment she was content to not move. She couldn't say why everything about her felt off, but rest certainly sounded good.
However, it didn't last that long. While the others hadn't noticed Charlie on the ground right away, given she was towards the back of the group, it was quickly noticed.
"Are you alright?" Beth asked as she knelt next to Charlie and turned her on her side. "What happened?"
"Fine," Charlie replied. "I'm not sure what happened. It felt like the ground tilted up so I walked into it." Charlie knew things didn't work that way, but that's how it had seemed to her.
"Let me see if I can find anything with my magic," Amelia said, her voice making Charlie wonder just how much Amelia had been looking forward to one of them getting hurt so she could test her magic on them to work at being able to heal with her magic, regardless of what kind of injury.
As Amelia knelt on her other side. She closed her eyes as she felt Amelia's magic envelop her. It felt like being wrapped in a blanket, but one that she could breathe through.
She started to laugh as the pain in her face faded into a tingling sensation that typically occurs when she'd bump part of her body into something, but this time it was like it was healing all at once and all that tingling was put all into one short moment. As a result, she couldn't help but laugh at the experience.
"Is she going to be alright?" Ralph asked. "Or did you just break her?"
Amelia ignored Ralph. "What happened to you?" Amelia asked her as her laughter died out after a minute. "It's like you're fully rested but like you don't have any energy, and even your magic feels tired."
"Couldn't say," she replied. "This is the first time it happened." A part of her was starting to worry that this might be more serious than she was first thinking, but at the moment it didn't seem all that important to her. Which she couldn't think of why that might be.
"Maybe she used more magic than we realized in the dream conference?" Tim asked.
"Could be," Hannah said. "Maybe we should wait for a week or two so we can be sure that Charlie will be rested well enough and that she'll be able to try again."
"Well, what should we do about her now?" Wes asked. "Do you think she'll be able to walk the rest of the way or should we take her back to her home?"
"I can help her walk if she'd be up for it," Beth offered.
"That sounds fine," Charlie replied. "I'm not sure I'd be able to explain to my parents what happened if I returned this quickly. At least when they get back home from work." She would rather walk on her own but given how she didn't feel tired and just fell like she was, she wasn't confident that it wouldn't happen again. It might also explain why being in a dress was so troublesome in the forest for her today. Part of her started to wonder if wearing jeans or shorts would be just as problematic with her in the condition she was in.
So, she leaned on Beth as they continued through the forest. "Thanks," she whispered to Beth.
"No problem," Beth replied.
She was surprised at how much of her weight she was putting on Beth just to keep herself from falling again. Beth seemed a little surprised as well but didn't say anything.
Charlie partly wondered if she'd nod off while being supported by Beth as they moved along. She didn't have to wonder for long as it hardly felt like it'd taken any more time before they were entering the clearing at by the sequoia, which as far as Charlie could tell, was at the exact center of the forest. She could see Petals walking over to them as they spread out to be in a rough circle again.
–What's wrong with Charlie?– Petals asked them as she took a place in the circle.
–Hold on.– Ralph said. –Where'd that horn come from?–
Petals gave Ralph a look that Charlie could only call annoyed. –I've always had it. Even Charlie saw it when she first saw me.– Petals replied heatedly.
–Well, this is the first time we've seen it.– Amelia said gently, stepping to Petals' side to rest her hand on Petals' shoulder.
–Charlie was able to see it, though there was the sense that she wasn't able to see it clearly.– Petals replied.
Charlie inwardly winced as everyone turned to look at her. Again. "Another thing you didn't bother telling us about?" Hannah asked.
–I didn't think it was my secret to share.– Charlie answered using her magic, hoping this method would keep her from giving anything she didn't want to give away.
However, as soon as she said that with her magic, she didn't know what the response from any of them was. All she knew was that they were suddenly on a different topic and her head was resting against Beth's chest.
"-sure what's going on," Charlie heard Tim say.
Charlie lifted her head and looked around. She was kneeling on the ground, her weight completely leaning against Beth, so Charlie assumed she'd fallen unconscious or something, not that she could figure out why.
"Hey, she's awake," Beth called out.
She couldn't make any details out, but she had a vague idea of which blur was which of her friends.
"Are you okay?" Amelia asked Charlie as she opened Charlie's eyes to look into them.
"As good as I was before," Charlie replied. "Only now everything's a blur."
"Maybe we should try this another day," Amelia suggested. "I'm not sure if this is a problem or not. I can't find anything that might explain what the problem is."
–I think Charlie might like to take a drink of my stream.– Petals offered. –Whenever I feel worn out, I drink from it and feel better right away. –
–I'm not sure that'll be enough.– Amelia replied. –I can't find what the problem is, so I can't say what we might really need.–
"You know," Beth said, "what if it's Charlie's magic that's the problem?"
"What do you mean?" Ralph asked.
"It's just that we know she was using her magic for our dream conference and before she passed out this last time, she used her magic to talk to all of us. Maybe Petals' stream will help Charlie's magic. After all, Petals is a magical creature, so this entire forest might help any kind of magic," Beth answered.
"That might not be a bad idea," Wes said. "though, it might be good for all of us to drink from Petals' stream every so often."
–You can't.– Petals stated flatly.
–Why?– Hannah asked.
–I can't say.– Petals replied. –It just feels like it would be a bad idea.–
"Maybe Petals understands how her forest works without how she knows," Tim suggested. "That could explain why she isn't okay with us drinking from it and not knowing why."
"Makes sense," Ralph commented.
–So, where's the stream?– Beth asked Petals as she started to stand up, fully lifting Charlie, struggling enough for Hannah to help Beth.
Charlie was surprised to realize that she didn't have any strength to support any part of her body in any meaningful way. While she could move, she found she couldn't even make a fist that could even grip a piece of paper. She actually felt like a rag doll, at the mercy of whoever was carrying her around. She couldn't help but start to feel worried about what was happening to her. She hoped whatever it was would be able to pass by quickly. She definitely did not like this feeling.
Petals led the way off to the side, into the brush a little. Just past a few berry bushes, Charlie couldn't see what kind with how quickly Beth and Hannah passed them, the stream flowed gently by. Hannah cupped her hand as they knelt Charlie by the stream and brought the water to her lips.
Charlie drank what she could, which was barely a mouthful. As she felt the water go down her throat, it felt like her nerves were suddenly on fire. Almost like they had been asleep and decided to wake up all at once right then. Charlie couldn't help but start to cough. It almost felt like she was coughing up a lung. Charlie wasn't sure how long she was coughing, only that she could feel something ready to come up.
When it finally came, it was like phlegm from her lungs that was the size of her fist. It was rather gross and Charlie had to look away from it.
"What was that?" she asked, suddenly realizing her limbs had the strength they had earlier as her vision focused.
–I'm not sure, only that it was blocking your magic.– Petals answered. –If I was to guess, I think it was like you used up more magic than you could handle and your magic was drying out inside of you.–
–How would that work?– Ralph asked.
–I don't know.– Petals replied simply. –Maybe you should talk to someone who knows more about your kind of magic.–
"I could ask Heathcliff about it, but I don't really feel like calling him this soon after I was at his camp without something big to mention as well," Charlie commented, carefully standing up, suspecting that she should avoid using her magic if she could right now.
–By the way, would you mind if we saw what other worlds your forest led out to?– Amelia asked Petals. –We thought it might be good to see if there might be anything that could be a threat to you in the other worlds.–
Petals considered what Amelia suggested for a minute. –Do you really think that other worlds are connected to my forest?– Petals asked.
Apparently, Petals hadn't thought about there being other worlds other than her forest and the one she'd visited after she was attacked in her forest.
"When I spoke to the Heart of the Forest, I believe it said something to that effect, I think. If I remember correctly, it was that your forest connects to, I think five different worlds, including ours," Charlie told Petals. Trying to remember exactly where she'd learned about that from. "Though, if it wasn't from the Heart of the Forest, then it might have been from Heathcliff's people. I'm not really sure exactly where I learned about that from."
Petals sighed. –I wish yours was the only world I connected to. I don't like the idea of what might come from other worlds.– she lamented.
–I understand.– Beth told Petals. –The unknown can be scary, but it doesn't matter what you would like, only what is. The other worlds might be peaceful and not have anything that could be a threat to you, especially since how long you've probably been in here with this being the only incident you experienced. Let us at least take a look to see what dangers might be in the other worlds so we can help you stay safe.–
Petals mulled this over in her mind. Finally after a few minutes she sighed. –I understand and of course all of you are always welcome here, so if you need to pass through at any point feel free whenever you want.–
Everyone took turns hugging Petals, although it looked to Charlie that Ralph only did that because he thought it was expected of him. –We'll let you know what we find and if there's anything that might interest you.– Tim assured Petals.
–Let me know if you want anyone else to be able to pass through. While I know all of you are friends, I don't want any enemies to enter like that intruder.– Petals said.
–We'll do our best with that.– Hannah replied. –We want you to stay safe too.–
"So, let's get this party started!" Wes cried out, taking a CD out of his pocket, which Charlie had no idea how he fit it in the pocket.
Wes held the CD in his palm, then Charlie could tell that he was using his magic as the CD floated in the air above his palm and began to spin, a red light glowing from the space between the CD and Wes' palm. Then Wes held out his other hand and the music began to play.
Charlie recognized the song from the radio. It was 'A New Divide' by Linkin Park and a song she liked. Charlie was impressed at Wes' ability to do this with his magic.
–What's the point of this?– Petals asked, her confusion echoing through her words.
–He wanted to show us what he'd figured out to do with his magic and wanted you to be with us when he did.– Beth explained.
At the end of the song, Wes put the CD away, then stopped so suddenly, Charlie started to look around to see if there was something that had changed in a negative way somewhere in their surroundings.
"Hey guys, what if we camped out tonight?" He suggested. "We could go to another world, spend the night and then return in the morning. I'm sure we could get our parents to okay that. At least as long as we don't let them know it's on another world."
Charlie was hesitant. Not because she thought her parents wouldn't agree, but more because she hadn't camped with her new friends. She felt more than a little trepidation about the idea, but didn't want to say anything, given she didn't have a reason why they shouldn't.
"Great idea!" Amelia cried. "Hannah could bring her keyboard and play a few songs for us and we could experiment a little more with our magic."
"Um," Charlie started. This was a topic she felt she should say something. "I'm not sure it would be a good idea for me to use magic for the next little bit."
"You could still enjoy the music," Hannah said. "After all, you haven't heard me play yet." Charlie wasn't that surprised that they still insisted that she come anyway, although it did make her feel more than a little self-conscious about it.
"I bet Wes could even figure out how to play a movie for us," Ralph commented. "I mean, all you'd need to figure out it how to work the video on your hand."
"Maybe," Wes laughed. "Wouldn't be a bad thing to work on."
"Let's first take a look at the conditions in the world Charlie chooses so we know exactly what gear we need for the night," Tim suggested.
Charlie was startled. "Why would I be the one to choose?" she asked. Was there another conversation she'd missed when she'd passed out?
"Well, if you're not going to practice magic, you should at least get to be involved in some way," Tim explained, not that it really explained it to her. There were still many questions she'd like to ask but didn't think she should. Partly because she wasn't really sure of her place in the group, so wasn't sure how much she should ask or push on any topic, and partly because she realized she really didn't want to be left out of this activity, which actually surprised her a little. Although, she still couldn't help but worry that she really should refuse anyway.
She wasn't sure she really understood why Tim's reason was acceptable to her group of friends, but it was clear that they did find it was an acceptable reason. In the end, however, she couldn't think of a reason to argue against it, so let the issue go.
"Come on!" Amelia called out, already moving towards their world. "Let's go! The sooner we get going, the sooner we can get started camping!"
"Shouldn't we first see what the conditions in the world we'll be camping in will be?" Beth asked.
Amelia stopped short. "Yeah, might be a good idea," she said, returning to the group.
"So, Charlie," Ralph said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Which world will we camp in?"
_
Charlie's head was still spinning. She hadn't expected the camping trip to be approved by all of their parents so quickly. Not only that, but everyone had gotten what they'd need for a single overnight camping trip within an hour. Even though she wasn't opposed to the idea in the first place, things were moving faster than she'd have liked.
The world she'd picked was to the left of just across Petals' forest from where their world's entrance was. The world, or at least this part of it was full of hills and the air had the feel of mid-autumn, though the temperature was rather mild. The entrance to Petals' forest was at the bottom of a valley with a small stream cheerfully flowing through. The weather was clear and the few trees in sight were starting to turn their leaves other colors.
They were also able to find a good amount of dried driftwood that they were able to collect nearby along the banks that looked like they regularly flooded in the spring.
Everyone else wasted no time in beginning to experiment with their magic and mostly working on their own, while Charlie worked at getting a fire going so they could make something to eat when it started to get dark. Especially since she could use matches rather than her magic to get the fire going.
While Charlie still wasn't sure of her place among her friends, she did feel fine with having these tasks left to her, given it gave her time to review what had happened in her mind. She was starting to suspect that the reason she couldn't wake up at the end of the dream conference was because she'd depleted her magic so much. Whether it was because she tried twice earlier or because having everyone together was the problem, or a combination of the two, she wasn't sure how viable of a communication method it would be, or if it should only be used as an emergency method to communicate. Maybe a few more experiments with it could give them the answers they were looking for.
She sighed as she started getting the hot dogs to cook on the fire so they'd be ready whenever everyone was done themselves. She carefully set the camping grill over the fire and started setting the hot dogs on it. She could only fit four hot dogs at a time, but she wasn't too worried. Right now she was testing to see how long it might take to cook them. Besides, they had enough for everyone to have four hot dogs if they wanted.
"Ummm, Charlie?" she heard Wes call out to her. He was the closest to her of everyone at the moment.
"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes focused on her task.
"You might want to see this," Wes said, Charlie now catching the trepidation in his voice.
She looked up to see several unicorns looking at them from across the stream. Their gaze didn't appear hostile, but it was clear they had been able to approach without anyone having noticed them before now. They looked almost like carbon copies of Petals, but it was clear they weren't. They looked curious, but she wasn't sure if this was a bad position to be in or not. These didn't feel like Petals. They seemed more mature and aware of their abilities.
She felt a sliver of fear start to climb her back. Would this end well for them? She wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.