"Wake up", Tori yelled, "Sweetheart, wake up!" Tori began to shake the sleeping Liz. "What?" Liz replied groggily. She wiped at her eyes until they focused on Tori. The sun was slowly rising up from behind the trees. "It's too early!" Liz whined. "Liz! Get up! You have to get moving. You're leaving!" Liz sat upright and looked around. Tori's hands were outstretched, holding a black bag in front of her. Liz wiped her eyes again and took her bag from Tori. She looked around and spotted Charlotte dressed in all black with her chestnut black hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked back at Tori. "Am I going to have to wear that too? I thought we were just going to the outside world. Do you want them to think that we're going to kill them all?"

Tori smiled and summoned a bubble sphere from the waterfall. It morphed into a tooth brush. She handed it to Liz. "Go, by the waterfall. I squashed some mint leaves in there. Brush your teeth, your breath reeks." Charlotte burst out laughing, losing her stiff composure. Liz rolled her eyes at the both of them and walked slowly toward the waterfall. A see-through bowl made of, clearly water, was filled to the top with some green paste. She dipped her toothbrush in it and began to brush her teeth. "And make sure you wash in the waterfall!" Charlotte yelled from her bed. I wish your bed would disappear from right under you. Liz laughed at the thought and spit out onto the dirt.

Liz slipped her clothes off and dove into the water. Her eyes stung a little, but she began to feel normal after a few seconds. She began searching around for the purple flower that always grew in their waters. It is called the "Mundus Radix". That means clean root in Latin.

After what seemed like hours, Liz spotted a flash of purple right underneath her feet. She grabbed it and yanked as hard as she could. The whole flower slipped out of the ground and she pulled her head out of the water. The flower was slippery in her grasp. She began to pull off the petals one by one and dropped them into the water. Instead of floating, the petals began to sink, as if they were being dragged down there. She pulled her head into the water and watched as the petals gathered into the abandoned hole that used to hold the flower. Even though, Liz had witnessed this happen over a hundred times in her own bathroom, it surprised her as the petals grew into another Mundus Radix, healthier than the one in her hand.

Liz jerked her head back up to the surface. She couldn't hold her breath for long and used sheer willpower to hold her breath long enough to see the Mundus Radix grow back. Liz began to scrub herself clean with the root, smelling the faint smell of fresh picked roses. She rubbed some through her hair and finally ducked back under water to wash herself clean.

Feeling as clean as ever, Liz walked out of the lake and fell back on her butt as a towel shoved her backward. She heard laughter in front of her and Liz could easily identify that it was no one other than Charlotte. "Hurry up and get dressed, we don't have all day. Your clothes are on the ground." Liz began to wipe at herself, ignoring Charlotte's shrill laughs of pleasure. Once all dried, Liz looked around and spotted the neatly folded pile of black clothes. Everything was black, including her undergarments.

Liz slipped them on and found that the clothes fit her perfectly, as if hand made for her. Not wanting to forget it, Liz turned around and began looking for her toothbrush. She spotted it quickly sinking in the ground. Liz scrambled toward it and made to grab it but it had already sunken away. "Ugh!" Liz looked into the sinkhole that had claimed her toothbrush and ran her fingers though her hair.

She stared hard at the hole, expecting her toothbrush to come bobbing up. Come on come on come on. Come back to me. Something flashed before her eyes. She concentrated hard on the sinkhole and plunged her hands into it instinctively. Her hands grazed something hard and smooth, like a stone, and she pulled it out. Unlike the brush, it came out willingly.

Liz dropped it next to her in the dirt and began to observe it. It was a small black stone, the size of a small spider, and as smooth as a piece of glass. Liz had never seen anything like it, and it surprised her that she could retrieve the stone, but not the toothbrush. As she looked closely, she could make out initials imprinted into the rock. "V.A"

"Liz! Hurry up! We need to get going", Liz heard Charlotte scream. She grabbed the stone quickly and slid it into her bag. "I'm done. I'm done okay." She walked towards Tori and Charlotte, who were both scowling. When Tori saw Liz she smiled. "You look just like your mother." Liz smiled and glanced at Charlotte. Though she had looked really scary earlier, Liz could see that Charlotte was a little nervous. Her teeth were gritted and she kept wiping her palms on her black pants.

Tori's eyes grew dark. "Now, your mission is to go to the outside world and retrieve a ring. Now, the ring holds immense power and it is really important. You will be living with one of my friends, outside of the barrier. She will guide you and help you find the human family with the ring. Now the humans may have the ring, but they do not know what kind of power they hold so be careful not to hurt any of them." She smiled. "That would be awful." Liz noticed a hint of amusement in her voice, but she didn't say anything. "The only huge challenge you will face is getting through the barrier. Liz," She looked my way. "When you were on your way here from the orphanage, I could sense you coming so I used almost all of my power to weaken the wall in front of the forest. I wish I could help open the barrier but it is nothing like the wall." Liz frowned. She had thought that she had weakened the wall on her own. She felt defeated.

"Girls, you will need strong willpower to get through the barrier. You will have to use all of the known elements as one. When you feel it, you will be able to weaken the barrier, but be careful not to break it. Once it is broken, the humans will see our world and be able to walk among us once more. I have packed your bags with everything you may need to fit in with your surroundings. I put a charm on your bags that will fit many things without getting full. Remember girls, this mission might take weeks, months even, so I want you to be patient. The world is full of evil people." Liz turned toward Charlotte at this statement and Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Is all of this even necessary?" She asked bitterly. Tori's eyes once again flashed purple before she closed them and breathed in and out. "Yes," she said through gritted teeth, "And I expect you to protect your cousin at all costs and teach her to survive. If you come home without her, or leave her side, I will kill you myself." Charlotte gasped and took a step back. Liz smiled but felt guilty after seeing Charlotte's face, which was twisted with horror.

"Have a safe trip guys. I wish I could come with you, but I am too weak. I know you guys can make me proud. And remember, the world is filled with danger. Watch out for the things that lurk in the night". Before Liz could ask her what that meant, Tori had already vanished and it was just Charlotte and her in the darkness.

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Liz turned to Charlotte, who was scowling at her with a look of disdain. "Look softy, I hate being here with you, but you heard my mom, so try not to get in my way". Liz bit her lip nervously and nodded as Charlotte sighed exhaustively and began walking. Charlotte searched ravenously for something in her bag. Liz became curious. "What are you looking for?" Charlotte looked up at her and rolled her eyes. After about five minutes, Charlotte looked up at Liz, but this time as if she were searching for something on her.

"Give me your bag", she declared with her hand held out. Liz protectively hid her bag behind her back. "Why should I do that if you won't even tell me what you need it for?" Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Look softy, don't get on my nerves right now. Just give me your bag."

"No. What do you need from it?" Charlotte clenched her fists and her teeth. "Stop being stupid and give it to me now!" Liz shook her head. Charlotte came at her and pinned her against the tree by her neck. Liz squirmed but gave up eventually. Charlotte snatched the bag and let go. "You're so stupid", she told Liz between angry breaths, "You should have just gave it to me and nothing bad would have happened. But, no, you want to get me angry!" Liz felt her neck and knew that it was red hot. Her hairs stuck the back of her sweaty neck. Liz watched as Charlotte pulled something gold from her bag. It hung on a gold chain. Charlotte let out a bitter laugh. "I guess mom knew I would ignore you, so she put the compass in your bag. Well, that was smart, I hope she's satisfied wherever she is." Liz gnawed on the inside of her cheek. It surprised her, because she had never really done that. She was more of a nail biter.

"You could have told me you wanted that", Liz said, fighting off the tears in her eyes, "You didn't need to use force". Charlotte smirked. "I didn't have to, but I wanted to." She began to walk away, staring at the thing she called a 'compass', completely leaving Liz behind. Liz picked her bag off the floor and began to follow her, keeping a safe distance from her. Liz pulled out three defa berries from her bag and plucked them into her mouth.

Once she bit into them, she could feel the energy flow through her, just as the juice of the seeds had in her mouth. She stared up at Charlotte, who was walking a lot faster now. Liz began to speed up. Charlotte then broke out into a run. "Wait!" Liz began to run too, following Charlotte. Liz felt the defa berry juice's energy run through her veins, faster than her blood and began to run faster and faster too.

Charlotte began to slow down to a stop, but Liz didn't notice. She was busy willing herself forward, faster than she had ever ran. She was determined to never stop. Not until she slammed into something hard and fell backwards. The energy the berries gave her left her completely and she felt normal again. She sat up and saw Charlotte's amused face staring back at her. "What hit me? Did you do it?" Charlotte bit her lip to hold back her laughter. "Don't blame me. You're the one who ran head first into the barrier. I'm confused why you aren't drained of energy though. The barrier does that to you if you try to force it down." Liz stood up and dusted herself off. "Well, let's just say defa berries have a plus and a minus side." Charlotte burst out laughing and Liz couldn't help the smile slowly spreading on her face. This was the first time Liz had seen her cousin laugh out of pure happiness and not bitterness. She decided to savor the moment and joined in. Charlotte stopped abruptly and stared out ahead.

Liz realized she ruined the moment and dropped her gaze to the ground. "So, what do we do now? I mean, we're at the barrier, so, what else?" Liz asked nervously. "Look down at the stones", Charlotte pointed to the five big stones lined up in front of them, "We need to touch them and think of a power. Back then when they created the barrier, there were only the four main groups. Water, Earth, Sky, and Illusion. The unspeakables were forbidden to use their powers, but once the King saw how the Torleans just left and came back when they pleased, he asked an unspeakable to mark the fifth stone." Liz, already feeling intrigued by the story asked, "What did she mark it with? What power did she use?" Charlotte turned to face Liz, a smile already tugging at her lips. "Fire. She used fire". Liz gasped. She had read about fire in the textbooks at school and how only the unspeakables could do it and make it appear. She hadn't thought about it until now.

"So, when do we start?" Liz asked enthusiastically. She wanted to see how fire looked like up close. Charlotte laughed, an icy and cold laugh. "We? You don't even know how to fight, let alone use your powers. I will be doing all of the magic here." Charlotte walked over to the stones, ignoring Liz's disappointed face. She bent down in front of the first one and whispered loud enough for Liz to hear. "Aqua." She moved her head back and looked back at Liz. "Watch this." Liz moved closer and watched the stone, which had already began to bubble up. A stream of water shot out through the top and into the sky. "Woah! Cool!" Liz exclaimed. Charlotte smiled and rubbed her hands together. She whispered into the next stone. "Terra". Liz waited for a stream of like rocks or something to shoot up into the sky, but nothing happened. Instead, the rock began to dig itself into the ground below it, moving quickly. "Wow!" Charlotte moved to the next stone and whispered, "Caelum". The rock immediately lifted itself up from the ground and floated upward. Liz watched with utter amazement. She had never seen magic in motion.

There were only two stones left and Charlotte was on the fourth. "Illusio", she whispered and the stone disappeared completely, leaving behind a wisp of smoke. She turned to me and smiled, a glint in her eye. "Now, it's time for fire!" She stood in front of the last stone, while Liz snuck around her to get a better view. "Ignis", Charlotte whispered. She stood back, expecting a flame. Nothing happened. "I should have known it wasn't going to be this easy." Charlotte looked up, and spotted a little of the moon's light through the trees. "Let's just go to sleep, I'll find a way tomorrow". Liz looked around, bewildered. "There are many dangerous animals in this forest. Plus, you didn't even let me try." Charlotte began to set her blanket. "Fine, I don't care." Liz walked over to the stones, each back to how they were before.

She stood in front of the first one. "Can you please give me the names?" Charlotte groaned, already laying on the blanket. "Aqua, its aqua." Liz bent close to the rock and whispered, "Aqua." Nothing happened, even after she stepped back. Charlotte laughed. "Told you, you don't know what you're doing. Just go to sleep." Liz scowled. "No, I want to do it." Liz bent down in front of the stone, ignoring Charlotte's sneers. This time, she thought of water, natural flowing water, like the waterfall. "Aqua", she whispered. She stepped back. The stone began to gurgle, just like it had when Charlotte did it. The stream of water came not long after that. "I did it!" Charlotte sat up. "Do the next one." Liz excitedly walked over to the next one. "What's the next one?" Charlotte stared at her. "It's Terra." Liz bent down, remembering what the rock did when Charlotte had whispered to it. She thought of dirt and rich plants. "Terra", she whispered. The rock began to shudder and then finally began to bury itself beneath the ground. Liz turned to Charlotte, who had her eyes opened with astonishment. Charlotte cleared her throat. "Uhm, its Caelum". Liz walked over to the next stone and thought of the sky. Of the clouds, the winds, the moon, the stars, and everything that makes it the sky. "Caelum", she whispered. The stone slowly levitated and then shot up towards the sky. Charlotte was so close now, that she was literally breathing down on her neck. "The next one is illusio." Liz nodded and walked over to the fourth stone. She thought of how the stone disappeared, how things could be there one second, and look like they are not. How tricks could easily fool the mind. "Illusio", she whispered. Once again, the stone disappeared from thin air and left behind a wisp of smoke. She heard Charlotte gasp. Liz moved on to the last rock, her bag weighing heavily down on her shoulder. She just remembered it was there. "The last one is uhm, its ignis". Her breath caught in the air. Liz had never seen or witnessed fire, so she didn't know what to think of. But she knew one thing from the books she had read, and it was that it was hot. Really hot. Liz thought of the sun's heat on her back and how it made her sweat. "Ignis", she whispered. Charlotte held her breath. Nothing happened.

Charlotte laughed. "Told you nothing was going to happen." Her voice sounded rough, as if she had been holding in her breath. "But congrats. I had to train for years before using my powers". She walked back to her blanket, leaving a disappointed Liz on the ground. The stones were still showing off their powers, but she knew they would die down eventually.

Liz felt the wind in her hair, leaving behind brief words. 'The stone' But what stone? Liz reached inside her bag and pulled out the black stone she had found earlier. It was glowing bright red and hot to the touch. "Ouch." Liz exhaled while dropping the stone. She stared at it intensely. "Will you work my little stone? How about if I whisper it to you?" Liz dropped the stone on top of the original fire stone, the only one not doing anything. "Ignis", she whispered to the rock, thinking of a burning sensation. The stone ignited. "Charlotte! I turned it on! I turned it on!" Liz heard Charlotte's feet behind her. "You turned what on? Stop yelling." Liz stood up and faced her. "I turned on the fire stone!" Charlotte was behind her in no time, staring at the rock that held the mythical fire. They stared at it, mesmerized. They had never seen anything like it. It was a yellow-orange color, with a hint of blue near the bottom. It was dancing crazily in the wind.

"How did you do that?" Liz smiled. "I just-". The ground began to shake. The outlines of the barrier caught fire, surrounding them with the orange flames. Charlotte let out a scream while Liz stood there shaking. "What's happening?" Liz yelled. Charlotte answered solemnly, "For the first time in a long time, the barrier is coming down."

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Hey Guys!!! Thanks for reading the third chapter!!! I hoped you liked it!!! Stay in tune for chapter 4 when Char and Liz go into the real world. The world of 2015!!!!