I HAVE WRITTEN! Be proud of me :) This is how it's going to work: chapters will be written from different perspectives, but always in third person. This chapter is written from Dau's perspective, aaand that's all I'm going to say. My brain is bursting with inspiration! P.S. If you don't like the way that you've been written in, tell me and I'll try to fix it :)
Dau looked around nervously. Needless to say, the black
darkness that was seeping out of the sky was slightly unsettling.
"Dau?" Derek looked pale.
She hesitated. "Yes?"
"There is black stuff seeping out of the sky."
"I noticed that."
"Good. I just thought you might like to know. So you
can, you know, do something."
She swallowed. "Well, you see, there's a bit of a
problem," she said quietly. "When I got transported here, I didn't
have my pencils with me."
She saw Derek pause. Slowly, he looked at her. "Pencils.
You need…pencils." He continued to stare.
"Yes, Derek, I need pencils," Dau answered
defensively. "It's my power. I make drawings come to life."
Her explanation was obviously lost on Derek. She sighed,
exasperated. It didn't matter now, anyways. The darkness was coming closer to
them, winding down from the sky like serpentine shadows. Somewhere, the troll
roared.
"What would you prefer, Derek, being eaten by a troll or
being killed by black shadow vines?"
"You're asking me my preferred choice of death?" he
asked, horrified. "Oh god, this is it, isn't it, I'm going to die."
"I think the troll would be a quite pathetic
death," Dau mused. "Shadows would be cooler."
"Shadows are cooler," a voice remarked. Dau
and Derek spun around.
A tall girl with long, dark hair stood next to a good-looking
man. They both wore black, and they smiled.
"I'm Arratay Shadows," the girl explained,
"And this is my brother, Susurrus Ayer. And we're here to save you."
Susurrus and Arratay joined hands with Derek and Dau, and in
one second, they had teleported into a small, warm room.
Derek fell on the floor. "Oh god, I think I'm going to
be sick," he moaned. He curled up into a foetal position.
Susurrus smiled. "That's what happens when you cross
realities, Derek." Derek continued to moan.
Dau studied Arratay closely. She wore black clothes that Dau
recognised. Definitely Bespoke.
"So, proper introductions," Arratay said brightly.
"I'm Arratay, as you know, but you can call me Arra." Dau shook her
hand awkwardly and smiled.
"I'm Dau. Dau Sketch. Thanks for saving us, by the way.
How did you find us?"
"No problem," Susurrus replied. "When you and
Derek transported through to that alternate reality, you left a hole. We saw
it, decided to save you guys."
Arratay nodded. "Long story."
Dau peered outside the window. "Where are we?"
Arratay opened the curtains and the light flooded through. It
was about late afternoon, from the looks of it, but it was a sunny day. The
skyline was unfamiliar, filled with tall buildings that Dau didn't recognise.
"Welcome to New York. This is our flat, by the way."
Dau stared. "New York?" She was in a different
continent.
"You're a long way from home, from the looks of
it," Susurrus remarked. "It's fine, we can take you back."
Dau nodded. She had guessed that Susurrus was a teleporter.
As for Arratay, she couldn't tell. "Have you been to Perth?" she
asked.
Arratay thought. "Yeah, once, but only in um, what's
it?" She gesticulated randomly. "Kings Park, that's it. Do you live
close to there?"
Dau nodded again. "Yeah, that'd be grand, thanks."
"And…Derek?"
Dau looked at the heap on the floor and sighed. "I'll
drop him off at the Sanctuary, I guess. He's not supposed to be here, you
know."
Arratay smiled. "I was wondering what a mortal was doing
in an alternate dimension," she said, "Is there an explanation for
that?"
"I still haven't figured it out," Dau admitted. She
thought back to hours ago. She had been sitting at her desk, and suddenly she
had been transported to the field. And then Derek had turned up in the wedding
dress. She frowned. She hadn't realised that maybe it wasn't Derek who had
transported her there. And then there was the troll, and the black shadows. What
was going on?
"Ready?"
She looked up, still frowning. Susurrus had Derek slung over
his shoulder like a bag of potatoes, not seeming to suffer under his weight.
Arratay held out her hand, and Dau took it.
____________
Dau looked around. They were standing in the shade of tall
trees, surrounded by the warmth of the sunshine. The sound of laughter and
conversation floated over to the group, and the smell of barbecued meat
followed. A gentle breeze tousled her hair and she smiled. Perth had always
been her favourite city.
They dragged Derek over to the side of a restroom, and Dau
approached the brick wall, scanning its surface. She tapped one of the bricks
twice. To the regular passerby, nothing happened. But Dau could feel the magic
pulsing underneath her palm, rising off the wall like steam.
"Right, we'd better be off," Arratay announced
cheerfully. "I'm getting hungry, and it's late." She looked around,
confused. "It's morning here."
Dau laughed. "The time difference is about thirteen
hours, you know."
Arratay smiled. "Right. Little buggers, those time
zones, always confusing me." Arratay suddenly lunged forward, engulfing
Dau in a bone-crushing hug. "I like you, Dau. I'm glad I saved you."
Dau blinked, surprised. "I'm glad you saved me,
too."
Arratay stepped back and grinned. Susurrus nodded at her and
they joined hands.
"Arratay - I mean Arra, wait," Dau stuttered,
blushing. "Thanks. Really, thanks for saving my life."
"No problem, Dau," Arra replied casually. "See
you around!" Susurrus gave a final wave and they vanished.
Still smiling, Dau turned around to Derek. She glowered at
him, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and started yanking him through the brick
wall, and into the Australian Sanctuary.
On the other side, she collapsed. She had to drag Derek
through the entire corridor, all the time while Cleavers stood guarding the
hallway. If they didn't have helmets on, they would definitely have had amused
expressions. Amused expressions and annoying, smug smiles. Dau had silently
declared Cleavers her nemesis.
Now she lay on the floor, panting. The perplexed Administrator
approached the pair with trepidation. Dau rolled over, groaning, and lifted her
Sanctuary pass. The Administrator peered at it, and finally nodded. "Can I
get you somebody?" he asked.
Dau nodded. "Can you get me Duck?" she asked.
"The Minister for - "
"I know who Mr. Taasp is," he
interrupted. "Do you have an appointment?"
She glared at him from her place on the floor. "Do I look
like I have an appointment?"
He did not look amused. "I will notify Mr. Taasp of your
presence, but I cannot guarantee anything, with this short notice," he
replied stiffly. "Understood?"
She scowled at him. She was often treated like a child
because of her height and her looks. "I'm not a child," she said.
"I've been here longer than you have."
He gave her a look and stalked off. Dau smiled sweetly and
closed her eyes.
____________
Dau opened her eyes. She recognised the laughter coming down
the corridor. Standing up, she grinned as Duck walked up to her.
"Dau! How long has it been?" Duck smiled.
"Just a month," Dau replied, and laughed, looking
at Duck's clothes. "What's with your clothes?" she questioned.
Duck pouted. "They made me wear a tie. A tie, for
God's sake. Something about having to look good since I'm a representative for
the Sanctuary and all."
"The Minister for Foreign Affairs is an extremely
important job," the Administrator said in his whiny voice. Duck's eyes
were beginning to glaze over, and Dau suspected that this wasn't the first time
he had heard this speech. "One who holds such a respected position should
embody the responsibilities of his or her job through a formal dress code, as
he or she is the representative for all of Australia when he or she meets with
the other representatives of other nations." The Administrator finished
and smiled triumphantly.
Duck applauded loudly. "Very good, very good," he
praised. "Someone's been a good boy!"
The Administrator looked insulted, and finally walked away.
Dau laughed and shook her head. "Are you allowed to do
that?" she asked.
"Of course," Duck said. "Being a
representative of Australia and all, I voice the opinion of the people,
and…other things like that." He nodded. "What can I do for you
today?"
Dau gestured to Derek, who was beginning to wake up. Duck's
eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.
"Is that Derek Landy?" he sputtered. "The
Derek Landy, the only mortal who's allowed interact with the magical
community?"
"That's the one," Dau replied. "Somehow, he
and I went dimension-hopping. Ended up being chased by a troll, you know."
Dau suspected that the wedding dress wasn't helping with the explanation,
either.
Duck frowned. "Someone else did this," he murmured.
"Someone else teleported you two there." He looked at her.
"Anyways, I'd better contact the Irish Sanctuary, get someone to take him
back. Does he normally wear dresses?"
Dau shook her head and laughed again.
"Right, I guess that's a no," Duck said. "You
heading off, then? Need anything?"
"Ah no, my place is close to here, I'll just walk. Can
you handle him?"
Duck raised an eyebrow. "I am the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, you know. I'm trained to do this kind of thing. I think. Job
description didn't mention wedding dresses, though." He began to trail
off.
Dau waved. "See you later, Duck."
"Mr. Taasp," the Administrator corrected
from behind his desk.
Duck smirked at Dau and she glared at him. She skipped out of
the Sanctuary and back into the sunshine.