The girls looked around the alleyway and saw that suddenly the whole place was clear of any damage or debris from the brief fight. They walked around as if to make sure and then there was the sound of a siren and all the girls froze. In the chaos, they had not thought about the authorities.
“The police!” Natia said, her voice a little louder than it should have been with her sudden nervousness.
“How were we supposed to get back?” Maya asked.
“Arafina, we need to return now, please,” Margaret said softly. The ground around them started to glow with a soft light. The cops rounded the corner, there were two of them.
“Who are you?” One of the cops asked.
“We’re the Defenders,” Kelsey said. “We’re here to save the world.” She posed heroically for effect.
As soon as the words left her mouth, the girls were suddenly back in the castle courtyard. They adjusted to the sudden change of scenery for a moment. Margaret in particular thought she felt nauseous for a moment but it passed. Arafina walked up to them an expectant look on her face.
“So,” She said. “I gather it went well?”
“The police saw us!” Natia shouted.
“Calm down, Natia,” Kelsey said.
“She has a point,” Lennon said. “What if they recognize us around town?”
“That’s not possible,” Arafina said. “The magic of the transformation charms hides your identities to protect your loved ones.”
Natia waved her hand over her face. “We don’t have masks.”
“And you do not need them, your faces will appear differently to outsiders magically,” Arafina said.
“Well, that’s comforting,” Margaret said. All of the girls nodded and vocalized their agreement.
“I’m finally a superhero,” Natia said. “It’s about time.”
“To answer your earlier question,” Kelsey said. “We demolished all of our targets and we met one of the things pulling the strings of those monsters. It did not give us its name.”
“It looked like a clown, though,” Maya said.
“A clown?” Arafina asked.
“Big nose. Exaggerated features. Goofy.” Lennon said, closing her eyes to picture the thing.
Maya waved her hand and a large hand bag appeared out of thin air. She rummaged through it and pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper and started to sketch. After a few moments, she had a pretty good drawing of what the clown had looked like. She held it up for everyone to see.
“Like this, right?” She asked.
“Exactly!” Kelsey said.
“Oh dear,” Arafina said. “He was at the vanguard of the invasion of my world. If he is showing his face, so to speak, then the true invasion is not too far off.”
“How far off?” Lennon asked. “I mean, I know that there are a lot of variables but how long do you think?”
“I am not sure but no more than one year,” Arafina said. “Of course, they will now want to eliminate you before they make true landfall. You are the cog in their machine.”
“Good,” Kelsey said. “We worked really well together today. We can only get better.”
“Wait,” Margaret said. “Who put you in charge?”
“I must have missed that vote before I officially joined the team,” Maya said. She put her sketch book away.
Kelsey shrugged. “I’m used to it. I am the lacrosse team captain back at school.”
“I’m fine with it,” Maya said with a shrug of her own. “I do say that we should each get a voice on this team.”
“I agree,” Margaret said. “We vote on important things and we should talk to each other.”
“Communication is key,” Lennon said.
“Good because I can’t keep my mouth shut sometimes,” Natia said. Everybody laughed.
“Right,” Kelsey said. “And I’m going to rely on your skills to help me help you. Lennon, you have the fire and the brains. Natia, you’ll bring the noise and the creativity. Margaret, we need your light and your strength. Maya, lend us your shadows and your magic. We’ll learn from each other.” They all nodded at that.
“Speaking of learning,” Lennon said. “We have a lot of studying to do to figure all of this out.”
“True,” Kelsey said. “and speaking of studying, Natia you have to come back to school with us.”
“Wait, what?” Natia asked. “I don’t really want to.”
“You’re our teammate now,” Kelsey said. “We have to look out for each other and it’s best if we stay close.”
Before Natia could object again, Maya spoke up. “No, that’s a good idea. Things are about to get crazy for us. Embracing normal as much as possible will help us, right?”
“I’m glad you said that,” Kelsey said. “You’re coming to school with us too.”
“But, I don’t have anywhere to live,” Maya said.
“You can live here,” Arafina said. “There is plenty of space and I can transport you to school in the morning.” Maya nodded, the witchy, gothic girl suddenly looking even paler than usual.
“What about you, Margaret?” Kelsey asked. “What’s your story?”
“My name is Margaret Washington and go to <> Academy.”
“Ooh, very fancy, Washi,” Natia said. “I guess you’re covered.”
“Wait,” Lennon said. “You’re part of that Washington family?”
“Yes,” Margaret said. “I don’t like making a big deal of it. I love my family and I’m proud of them, though.”
“It’s cool,” Kelsey said. “You seem like a good person to me.”
“I try,” Margaret said with a smile.
Natia yawned. “Is it safe to go home now? I’m tired.”
“Yes,” Arafina said. “Your charms will now protect you from being tracked. They will also transport you back and forth from this castle. You are free to go, of course.”
“And we’ll see each other in the morning,” Kelsey said. “Let’s get some rest, we’ll need it.”
They all focused on their charms and they transformed again. This time it was just a simple flash of light and they were back to their street clothes. Lennon landed in her wheelchair and she looked disappointed for a moment but much happier than she had that morning. The forms of Kelsey, Lennon, and Natia flickered and disappeared. Margaret turned toward Maya with a smile.
“If you need anything, I’ll be happy to help you out,” Margaret said. “I know you’ve had a really rough time of it.”
“Thank you,” Maya said. “I’m OK for now though.”
Margaret nodded and smiled. “See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” Maya said. Margaret’s form flickered and disappeared.
“Now, let’s get you fed and pick you a bedroom,” Arafina said. “Follow me.” Maya followed her into the castle.
Tags: Arafina, End Episode One, Fiction, Kelsey, Lennon, Magical Earth Defenders, Magical Girl, Margaret, Maya, Natia
Wolf of Words 
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