Diversion To Urasha
Chapter 23

James hopped free from Chugga-Chugga, feeling his feet sinking into the purple sand beneath him. It felt kind’ve nice to be stepping on something soft. James had gotten too used to the rock-hard cliffs and the bumpy terrain of the Urashan forest.

As he waited for the rest of his companions to reach the little island, James knelt beside the blue seawater, taking a gentle little cup of it in his hands. The water was actually blue, instead of being clear. James swashed his hands through the water. He was surprised when he felt the seabed. This ocean was shallow. One or two metres high at best. Was it even a proper ocean? Did the water get deeper? “Is this it?” he found himself asking.

“What do you mean?” Crystaline had just unmounted herself from Yullom.

“This water? This ocean? It’s so shallow.”

“Well it doesn’t get much deeper than that. I’m guessing your oceans are deeper?”

“Yeah, much much deeper. We probably know more about what’s in space than we do in our own ocean. How crazy is that?”

Crystaline smiled. “I don’t know. I would say that is pretty crazy, but exciting too.”

James stood himself up, watching as the other three finally caught up, their chuggas landing on the shore.

“Oh, it’s about time,” Crystaline teased. “We were beginning to think you’d gotten lost.”

Crystos unmounted himself from his chugga. “Well, I hate to disappoint you, Sister, but I was merely enjoying the ride. I didn’t think this was a race?”

Crystaline and her brother shared a playful smile with one another.

James began to study the island. There wasn’t much on it by the looks of things. “So, the healing stone is definitely somewhere on this island?”

Crystaline looked at James with an expression which suggested she understood why he was sounding so doubtful. “I know it doesn’t look like much. But according to the map, my ancestors left the stone here. They probably buried it underneath the sand.”

“Great,” Phil’s not so enthusiastic voice sounded. “So now you’re expecting us to dig until we replace this thing? We don’t exactly have anything to dig with. Plus, who knows how deep they buried the damn thing. And that’s if it’s even actually here!”

Crystaline sat herself on the sand, using her hands as diggers.

James sat down too and began to dig. He was keen to show his support. He would dig all day and all night if he had to.

Hours passed, and James was still digging. His hands were starting to feel very sore. They felt ridiculously dry, and although James had short fingernails, little bits of sand still managed to get stuck in them.

Luckily, everyone else had decided to follow James’ example, and help to dig. Even the five chuggas were burrowing their feet into the sand. They were actually quite good at digging, and James was beginning to think that if anyone uncovered the healing stone, it would be one of the chuggas.

Feeling tired and hopeless, James began to slam his hands carelessly into the sand. He was almost punching the sand. He was beginning to feel so frustrated, and he wanted to hit that sand as hard as he possibly could. James raised his hand quite high, this time, allowing his fist to plummet through the air as he aimed to hit this sand right where it would hurt. “Ow,” James moaned, immediately inspecting his hand. There was no blood, but he’d definitely hit something hard. “Oh my god,” he whispered as he frantically begun to dig, realising what he may have just found.

As he peered into the sand, James could just about make out the blue little glint. He threw back all the sand which held it in place, until finally, James could see the healing stone in all its form and glory. James took the stone, holding it in the palm of his hand. It looked beautiful. It shined like a diamond, yet it was so smooth and round.

“James?” Crystos had seen that James had the stone. “You’ve done it,” he practically cheered.

Feeling excited, and very pleased with himself, James rushed over to Crystaline, desperate for her to see that he had found the healing stone. When he got to her, he could see that her face was literally white. Crystaline certainly didn’t look happy. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. “Crystaline, we’ve finally found it.”

Crystaline looked as if her heart was being ripped to pieces. “James,” she softly whispered. “Give it to me now.”

“But, Crystaline, we’ve found it? We’ve actually found it. Let’s be happy!”

“James,” Crystaline said more audibly this time, though her expression was still filled with anguish. “Give me the stone.”

James handed Crystaline the stone. He didn’t understand why she was being so gloomy all of a sudden. Surely this was what she wanted? The mission was complete. The mission was over. James felt a horrible tight feeling in his chest. Maybe that was the problem? Maybe Crystaline didn’t want this mission to be over as much as he didn’t?

Lottie stared into her apocoli, watching as the little jets of pink liquid swirled around in her glass. She was getting sick of this drink, despite the fact that she actually quite liked it. Every time Lottie drank this drink, it was another day without James. Surely, he had to come back soon? Lottie drummed her fingers frustratedly against the silver table, hoping that James was still alive. She tried to push away the nasty little thoughts of harm reaching her best friend. James was okay. He had to be. Lottie knew that she would feel it if he wasn’t.

Lottie sighed, watching the stoic woman sat opposite her. Lisa was absolutely great at pretending that nothing bad was going on. Karl was even worse. Lottie didn’t even know where he was. At least Lisa had the decency to stick by her own people. Not that Lottie particularly enjoyed always having Lisa around. Having Lisa constantly around meant that Lottie always had to feel that horrid wall of anxiety around her that she had grown to hate. Just being around Lisa made Lottie nervous because she didn’t always know what to say to the woman. Occasionally, she would feel little bursts of confidence, which would enable her to speak her mind, but most of the time, the wall imprisoned Lottie, stifling her.

Lottie squeezed her glass, staring straight through Lisa as the king entered the restaurant. He was surrounded by his usual entourage of shifty looking individuals. Lottie took a swig of her drink. King Cryston was literally the shadiest person that she had ever actually met. Lottie bit her lip in frustration. There was something, something so wrong about this whole fricking situation, and Lottie couldn’t pinpoint it.

Almost as soon as he had entered the restaurant, the king left, dragging his people behind him.

Instinctively, Lottie got up from the table, desperate to finally discover what the king was up to. He was up to something. Lottie knew that for a fact.

As she sneaked after the king, Lottie could feel Lisa rushing after her.

“Slow down!” the woman hissed. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Lottie ignored Lisa as she navigated her way through the palace corridors. Whenever Lottie couldn’t see any other people about, she found herself practically hugging the walls, desperate to not be seen by the king or any of his followers. Whenever Urashans did walk past, Lottie felt her feet falling into a regular rhythm. She needed to blend in and look normal. Not that it looked as if any of the Urashan people would notice her anyway. None of them would even acknowledge her, or even look at her. To them, Lottie and Lisa did not exist. Lottie was unsurprised by the disdainful arrogance of the Urashan people. In fact, it summed them up perfectly.

As she continued to follow the king, Lisa tailing her, Lottie began to recognise the fact that she was in new territory. The corridor looked even posher than before, and the people walking past looked that bit more important too. This must be where the royal family lived themselves.

To Lottie’s relief, the king finally stabilised, entering a room with his people, and slamming the door shut behind him. Lottie raced over to the door, pressing her ears to it. She watched Lisa doing the same thing, a bewildered yet curious expression on her face.

“Crystanaphy!” the king beamed. “How are you, my love?”

“I’m wondering when this will all be over,” she coldly replied.

“Soon, I am sure.”

“Do you think they’ll have all made it?”

There was a slight pause before the king answered. “Oh, I should most certainly hope so. Crystaline and Crystos without question. The others? Questionable. I mean Morcees and Borcees are no great loss, but if we lost any of the humans? Well that would be a great shame, wouldn’t it?”

There was another pause. The next voice, Crystanaphy’s. “To you maybe.”

“To me? Not just to me, my dear. To you, to Crystaline, to Crystos. To every single Urashan on this planet. To Crystie.”

“You seem so sure it’s what she’d have wanted?”

The king sounded genuinely riled. “Don’t question me, Crystanaphy. It’s what needs to happen. When the humans get back, this is happening. We will finally act out our revenge.”

Lottie’s jaw dropped. It felt as if her heart had dropped too. She watched as Lisa covered her mouth, completely and utterly shocked. The woman was shaking her head, as if shaking her head would convince her that this wasn’t really happening. This was happening. Lottie had been right all along!

Footsteps sounded out from inside the room, too close for comfort. Before Lottie or Lisa had the time to compose themselves and run, the door swung open, unveiling the king.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” he purred.

Lottie felt someone grabbing onto her from behind. When she looked across to Lisa, a mean brute of a man was holding her, restraining her as she desperately tried to fight herself free from his grasp. Lottie realised that she was doing the exact same thing.

The king waved his forefinger in front of Lottie’s face. “Oh dear. I really did want you humans to feel comfortable here…until your friends returned that is. Since I have caught you snooping, you leave me no other option. You must be dealt with now.”