Purple wasn't a common color for envelopes. But that wasn't what held the beautiful lady's attention. The envelope was not only purple but had gold linings and flowery designs. It was completely sealed with no flap or obvious way to open it. Her green eyes sparkled with interest, what could be inside.
'Suzy'. The sudden voice startled her and she subconsciously hid the envelope.
'What are you doing?' It was only Benjamin.
'Nothing' Came her lie.
'You can't keep that. It's for Mrs. Harry'
He had seen her little puzzle. She gave up the envelope with a disappointed sigh.
'I wasn't going to keep it'
Benjamin reached out and took it.
'By the way, do you know if Amber will be here today?' he asked as nonchalantly as he could manage, turning to make his way to the living quarters.
'I'm not sure,' Suzy replied.
Benjamin made his way to Mrs. Harry to hand over her package. The old stairs at the bottom groaned a little at his weight as he made his way up, soon he was knocking on Mrs. Harry's door.
'Slide it underneath the door' Mrs. Harry replied without opening the door. Benjamin complied.
Mrs Harry stood in the middle of her room with a purple vial necklace in her hand. She wore it at all times underneath her shirt. She picked up the envelope and placed it on her bed. She then opened her vial, immediately a flowery smell filled the room as purple vapour escaped. She inhaled the purplish vapour that emanated from the vial, placing it directly beneath her nose for about a minute then closed the vial. Replacing it on her neck and hiding it beneath her clothes.
Mrs. Harold, now seated on the bed, touched the envelope with a finger. Immediately, it budded like a flower and she got an impressed imagery of the events of the portal lord's last meeting.
Her breathing became uneven as she processed the information, she had to fight against a portal maker.
'Actually, there's something else I wanted to ask you' Benjamin, who had been outside her door the entire time, finally spoke up. He had turned to leave severally but curiousity got the better of him and he decided to ask Mrs. Harry about what was bothering him.
'Benjamin' a familiar female voice called.
It was Amber. Benjamin suddenly stopped his questioning midway, regretting not leaving as soon as he had delivered the package.
'Amber, you came around today' He managed a small smile.
'Yes, I wanted to see Mrs. Harry about something' She was also being evasive.
'Well, don't let me stop you' He smiled and briskly walked away.
Amber watched him walk a few paces then continued walking, past Mrs. Harry's room. She had actually come to try the door to the portal again.
. . . . .
Pearl was sitting expectantly in the portal hall when Mrs. Rose walked in behind her.
'I have been expecting you' Pearl spoke as a way of greeting without so much as turning around.
'Pearl. I need intelligence,' Mrs. Rose asked in her usual business-like manner.
'Yes, what do you want to know?' Pearl replied.
'I just got news that there's someone with the ability block in our jurisdiction. Is that right?'
Pearl had a hand on her chin and she finally turned to face Mrs. Rose.
'I have no idea'
Mrs Rose nodded slowly in understanding. Of course if there was someone with the ability block, erasing all traces of himself would be trivial for him.
'Alright then. You may not be able to check if there is someone with the ability block in this dimension, but can you make a search of 40 - 60 years ago in the blue portal master's domain, the land of the first rebellion.'
Pearl immediately realized what Mrs. Rose wanted her to do. To check when he was born. When he was born, he would have his gift innate and if anyone knew what it was by say premonition, she would also know. There would have been a point when he started using block but if it is a gift that doesn't transcend time, there would be no issue finding at least one person who knew about it and exactly what it was. Maybe, in the best case scenario, she could even find out about the gift from him, his past self.
Pearl sat in complete focus for about ten minutes and when she was done, she had found the user of block and knew the full extent of its ability, but she had followed him through his life and knew much more than that. Pearl knew everything about him and she sympathized with him. Maybe that was why she withheld information, why she tried to protect him.
'There is definitely a user of block in our town' she answered, then told Mrs. Rose just enough without giving away his identity.
'Thank you. I presume his abilities transcend time, that is why you cannot identify him'
Pearl squirmed at lying, especially to Mrs. Rose but she gave vague half truths as answers to her suspicions, leading Mrs. Rose to a false deduction, that the block user had erased his identity from the minds of all who knew him.
A loud banging noise suddenly erupted in the hall interrupting their conversation. Both heads whipped in the direction of the banging.
Mrs. Rose walked slowly in the direction of the sound and there was Amber, desperately trying to open the portal door. Pearl had her head in her hands.
'Not now' she whispered.
Amber banged on the door until she tired herself out and venting a frustrated cry, sat down just outside the door, staring at it. She later got up and went away.
Mrs Rose's eye swept across the hall and she saw Ophelia, staring through her mirror into the portal hall, her hand on the glass. Ophelia almost looked to be staring straight at her, but that was impossible. It seemed their time was up.
'I'll go first,' she said, then walked out the door to the library. As soon as she did, Ophelia's hand then body slipped into the portal hall where she and Pearl were alone.
Suddenly slipping through to the hall temporarily disoriented Ophelia, but she managed to get her bearings.
'Was someone just here?' Ophelia asked
'Why are you asking?' Pearl asked.
'It just feels like I walked in on something.'
Ophelia suspiciously glanced about her, looking for traces of the recently vacated occupant of the portal hall. When she could find none, she asked again puzzled.
'Why couldn't I enter though?' To this Pearl raised a brow, leading Ophelia to explain more.
'I placed my hand on the mirror with the intention to phase through it but instead it was as solid as it ordinarily is. I thought I was doing something wrong but then all of a sudden, I slipped right through' Ophelia managed in a single breath.
'It's probably your imagination' Pearl tried to dissuade her.
'No. It isn't. But there's no use arguing over something like that. I was thinking over what you told me last night and I realized something this morning.'
Pearl's interest piqued
'There's someone in your journal with the name Suzy, right?'
'Yes, she works in the library with Benjamin. She passed the test'
'Isn't Suzy a nickname for Suzanne? I mean it's pretty obvious, besides she's new in this town so shouldn't that make her a prime suspect?' Ophelia deduced.
Pearl nearly face palmed herself. How could she be so negligent? Or did she think of it before but didn't want it to be true so she ignored the warning signs?
'What's more, she was so desperate to get close to Mrs. Harry. I'm not sure what her relevance in all this is, but that's also pretty fishy in itself'.
'I never thought of it that way before' Pearl admitted.
'You four spent a lot of time together, weren't there signs that she was hiding something?'
'No, not really. She doesn't seem like that kind of person' But if Ophelia was right, a possibility she couldn't rule out completely, then Amber might be in danger.
'I'll need you to do something for me. Please warn Amber to stay clear of her at least for the moment but don't mention me' Pearl pleaded.
'Of course' Ophelia agreed, guiltily looking away in shame at the games her friend still played with her own sister.
. . . . .
Amber had gotten up and walked a good distance to Mrs. Harry's room before she turned and decided to try the door again. She couldn't understand why the door had refused to give way. It wasn't like when Mrs. Harry tried it, then the door opened but it opened to an ordinary room. This time, the door had been completely shut as though from the inside.
But before she could try the door again, the handle turned and the door opened before her. A beautiful lady stepped out of the portal hall. Amber could not help but stare at this statuesque lady. She turned and walked in the direction of Mrs. Harry's room, barely aware of Amber's presence.
Amber continued to stare after her even when she had entered the room until Suzy, who had climbed up the stairs called out to her.
'Hello, Amber?'
'Yes?' She answered, startled out of her stupor.
'What are you doing here? Were you banging on the door?' Suzy asked.
Amber, who didn't want Suzy to find out about her recent adventures or the lady who had walked out of the portal, tried to change the subject.
'Nothing much, I came to see Mrs. Harry, but she's occupied. Let's go'
Suzy and Amber walked down the stairs together, and as they reached the bottom steps, Suzy turned to Amber and asked a favour.
'So, my boyfriend is in town, and he wants to take me out. Can you come with us?' The idea that Suzy wasn't originally from this town had escaped Amber, it felt like she had always been with them. Amber felt she wouldn't be comfortable as a third wheel so she tried to turn her down in a polite manner.
'Amber, are you coming too?' Benjamin asked, a little too overjoyed. The quick-thinking Amber caught on immediately. So it was his idea.
'I'll think about it,' she replied.
'Great, we'll meet at Benjamin's house tomorrow', Suzy said with a sweet smile.
…..
Mrs. Rose's visit left old Ann in no small measure of shock. Block, another powerful gift right here, in their little town.
'Are you sure of this?' The elderly woman asked, hoping, wishing that Mrs. Rose had made some sort of mistake.
'Pearl told me.' That cleared all doubts.
'And there's one more thing, his ability transcends time,' Mrs. Rose added, sinking the elderly librarian into deeper depths of despair.
'If someone has the ability to block here, then we're not safe. Who knows how many enemy forces may have infiltrated the town now, and we would be completely unaware. Block completely erases their presence. Even Pearl would not know immediately,' Mrs Harry ranted, her demeanour finally cracking. She crumbled on her bed, looking ever the pitiful elderly woman.
'The council, they must pardon my faults. I cannot be expected to defend my territory in this weakened state' she half sobbed.
'You'll be able to write an official plea to the council. Given the circumstances, they might reconsider,' Mrs. Rose suggested.
'There's the bureaucracy. It will take too long for them to approve my request.' She suddenly stopped, looking lost in thought. Then her face lit up.
'I have an idea'
Mrs Rose's brows furrowed at the sound of that.
'I hope it's not what I think it is'
'There's no other way. I have to hand over my position to someone else. I need a successor, and I already have the perfect person for the job.'
'Who?' Mrs Rose asked.
'It's Benjamin. He's worked here since he was a child. He is unaware of it now, but he is one of our kind. He's young and strong, he can handle responsibility. Beyond that, the portal master's punishment inflicted on me won't be transferred to him.'
'Are you sure you can trust him with this responsibility? And at such a critical moment, too. It isn't fair to decide for him. He has to choose to be a portal Lord for himself.'
'Of course. He might refuse,' a dark cloud covered Mrs. Harry's face as she contemplated the possibility.
'But I'm sure he won't, not when he knows what's at stake. He, his family and friends could all be in grave danger if he doesn't step up and accept this role. I won't be able to do much otherwise. I'm too weak.' Despair seeped through her words.
Mrs Rose was completely against the idea but decided not to dash the elder's hopes. Instead, she started making preparations to appeal to the council of Portal Lords. To see if they might change their minds about Mrs. Harry's verdict.
....
Amber settled down in her favourite spot and was about to delve into another book, specifically recommended by Suzy, when the chessboard came out. Suzy had gotten one for the library.
'Amber, let's play,' she called. Suzy had sufficiently dominated Benjamin in chess to the extent that he never wanted to play against her again. The difference in skill was huge. So she moved on to new competitors or 'fresh meat' as she would call them when she was in the mood. She was competitive to a fault with a tendency to trash-talk when she was winning. Otherwise, she would stare at the board with a concentration that was almost scary. Needless to say, Amber didn't want to play against her, but as there was no one else and Benjamin was still sore from the last beating he had taken, she stepped up.
'Alright,' Amber braced herself to match Suzy's intensity. Amber was a very different kind of player. She felt more at ease when everyone took things easy, and she could hold a conversation when playing, no matter how intense the game.
The atmosphere changed as soon as Suzy made her first move. The game got serious immediately. Fifteen minutes into the game, Benjamin came out to watch. He was shamelessly rooting for Amber to pay Suzy back for all his losses.
Suzy focused completely on the game and gave Benjamin such a stare when he tried to engage in small talk with Amber that he decided it was best to watch in silence. Another five minutes passed in unbearable silence, the only sound that of moving pieces. Suzy took more and more time thinking through each move, while Amber moved her pieces almost immediately, it was her turn, as though she anticipated every move Suzy could ever make. It was Amber's game, and it became obvious that it was only a matter of time until she won.
'Check,' Amber suddenly said. Suzy tried delaying the inevitable, sacrificing the queen, but in three more moves, Amber won the game.
'Wow, Amber, you play just like Pearl!' Benjamin exclaimed, impressed.
Amber's quiet pleasure at her victory was truncated by those words. She was hurt, yes, but also shocked. Remembering and mentioning someone who had vanished was outside of character for the people of this town.
'Sorry, I didn't mean to.' he immediately apologized, but the damage was done. Amber gloomily walked away, just as sad as though she had lost. Suzy stared at the pieces in evident anger as though they had betrayed her. She controlled herself against an outburst like the last time she lost, but she was cold and bitter for the rest of the day.
Benjamin eventually made his way up to see Mrs. Harry again, but this time he wasn't as inconspicuous as he wanted to be. Amber saw it. A journal with a burnt back, which he tried to smuggle as he went up the stairs for the second time that day. She not only saw it, she immediately recognized it. It was the very same journal that her mother and the elderly librarian had argued over just a few days before. Wasn't it supposed to be Ophelia's? What was Benjamin doing with it?
She followed him to Mrs. Harry's room. The door swung open as soon as he got there, disorienting him. As he tried to compose himself, Amber got a full view of the journal, confirming her suspicions. Mrs. Harry had appeared too suddenly for Benjamin to sensibly articulate the purpose of his visit. She was busy and had somewhere to be, so she couldn't wait for him to organize his thoughts and muster the courage to say what he had to say. She ended up leaving him with a promise to hear him out another day.
Amber decided then and there to follow Suzy to his place the next day. What she hoped to accomplish, she wasn't sure, but definitely, some hidden truth lay in this direction.
When Amber got home that day, Ophelia was waiting for her at the door.
'Welcome'
Amber beamed.
'Thanks, it's been a long day,' She responded.
'You've been going to the library a lot recently' Ophelia decided there was no point walking on eggshells around her.
'No, I've always been a regular there'
'Oh, alright. Do you know anyone called Suzy? She works there, right?'
'Yeah, why?' Amber was defensive.
'Well, I heard about her and she's bad news. You might want to limit your contact with her. Just give her a little space,' Ophelia tried to get her point across.
Amber thought about this for a moment. She wasn't prone to emotional biases, so she weighed the evidence. Suzy was a bit off, especially when competing. But she was by no means 'bad news'.
'Really. From who?'
'What?'
'Who did you hear about Suzy from? You have never met her personally, so how do you know her?'
Ophelia was flustered.
'I just know someone who knows her'
'Alright. I know her personally, and she's not that bad.'
With that, Amber walked away.
'Sassy' Ophelia muttered under her breath. What now? She couldn't dissuade her. She thought of just spilling the beans that the instruction came from Pearl, but neither Pearl nor Amber would like that. Ophelia determined to tell Pearl as soon as she met her again that Amber didn't take the advice.
.....
Pearl chose. She wasn't sure it was the right choice, but it was hers. The circumstances disoriented her, sure, it was in the spur of the moment, yes. But she chose.
'High treason.' The words hung heavy in the air. That was, after all, what someone else, someone less informed, would call her choice.
A thought came to her, it isn't too late, maybe I can still tell her. But she knew it was late. What exactly was she doing? She waited stealthily, out of earshot, as she stalked the home. Benjamin walked to the front door and knocked, then he came out. The block user, her very own mathematics professor.
'What kept you so long?' A tiny voice said from within the house. Pearl strained to see a young boy, no more than twelve.
'I'm sorry, Harold. I know I promised to help you with your literature assignment. I just got carried away' Benjamin apologized as he walked in.
His father lingered at the door, as though aware of the unwelcome spectator. She quickly hid herself, dashing through a portal.
Pearl sat with her head in her hands. There were some cons to having a gift such as hers. She was all knowing, the oracle, but some things were better left unknown. So that's Harold.
'How unfortunate,' she sighed.