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Post by esmeralda on Feb 18, 2009 7:08:44 GMT -5
Esmeralda smiled and placed her hand reassuringly on Elisa's shoulder.
"Of course you will be together. Where there's a will, there's a way. And I have never seen any man so willing to be with a woman as Goliath when he is looking at you. Take it from a French woman, Elisa, that man loves you."
She silenced for a moment, remembering another time, when someone had loved Esmeralda. For a moment she felt a twinge of pain piercing her heart, then the moment was over, and she smiled again.
"We are going to sort this out, just you wait and see."
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Post by Elisa Maza on Feb 20, 2009 10:46:43 GMT -5
"Well, his name is Goliath." Elisa said to E. "He's from Scotland, and he's..."
Elisa paused. If she was going to turn into a gargoyle, she'd need to be honest with her friends.
"You can meet him this evening, if you want to." Elisa said with a smile. "He always sleeps during the day, but he'll be awake once the sun goes down."
Elisa smiled at Esmeralda's words. She gave her friend a hug, grateful that she had one so supportive as Esmeralda.
"Thank you."
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Post by esmeralda on Feb 21, 2009 19:09:20 GMT -5
Esmeralda smiled and looked over at Edna.
"Goliath is nocturnal," she said calmly, without explaining why Elisa's love had this habit.
"I have met him, and I can understand why Elisa loves him so much. The two of them are a match made in heaven."
She stared at the sun, that was about to slide over the horizon, to disappear.
"Ah, Elisa, we are in luck, my friend. It seems the sun is setting sooner than I was expecting. Ah - look at the colors of the sky. The blushing red, pink and orange. We are in luck to enjoy such a beautiful sight, are we not?"
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Post by Elisa Maza on Feb 21, 2009 19:44:21 GMT -5
Elisa smiled at the site of the sun setting, taking in the beauty of it. Esmeralda was right, the colors splashing the sky and reflecting the buildings were beautiful.
Elisa craned her neck towards the tower to see Goliath still perched on the ledge. The sun set, and moments later, Goliath roared and stretched out his wings, before leaping down and gliding towards them.
Elisa smiled as she reached up to hug him.
"Hi." She whispered.
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Post by goliath on Feb 21, 2009 19:49:31 GMT -5
Goliath smiled as Elisa embraced him. Running a talon through her hair, he looked into her eyes.
"You're certain?" He asked.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Elisa replied. "Besides, Esmeralda might have a way for me to still be apart of both worlds. She thinks she can give me a spell that will allow me to change forms at will."
Goliath had to admit he liked the idea. A part of him always wanted Elisa to turn into a gargoyle, but he hated feeling so selfish as to take her human life away from her.
"Hello, Esmeralda." Goliath greeted their gypsy friend. "Thank you for helping Elisa and I be together."
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Post by esmeralda on Feb 21, 2009 20:42:52 GMT -5
Esmeralda smiled warmly and looked over at Elisa and Goliath. The love between the two of them, reminded her of another time... another couple. So tender.... so fragile.... She blinked away a tear and looked away for a moment, then she took a deep breath and lifted her wand.
"Well, Elisa, if you are certain you want to do this, let's do a test now and see how it works."
She closed her eyes, and felt the warmth of the sun against her face. She memorized the spell in her mind, and then she started speaking as a bright light came from the wand, surrounding Elisa.
"From day to night, From night to day, Your love is bright, and finds a way."
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Post by goliath on Feb 21, 2009 21:29:25 GMT -5
Goliath held on to Elisa's hand for as long as he could until the magic pulled her into the air. He watched with wide eyes as a white light enveloped her, hiding her body from sight. Suddenly, the light flashed so brightly that he shielded his eyes.
The light faded away into the night, and he watched, unable to speak as Elisa's body was slowly lowered to the ground, where she lay, unmoving.
Goliath stood still for a moment, unable to believe what he saw. Elisa stirred, and he rushed to her side, kneeling by her as he gathered her in his talons, slowly helping her to her feet.
"Elisa?" Golaith's voice was full of concern. "Elisa, say something."
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Post by Elisa Maza on Feb 21, 2009 21:43:41 GMT -5
Elisa could feel the warmth of the spell surrounding her, lifting her up away from Goliath's hold into the air. Her body seemed to move of it's own accord as the light wrapped around her arms and legs. Oddly enough, there was no pain. When she watched Demona turn into a human, her cries were so raw, Elisa actually felt concern for her enemy. However, in her case, all she could feel was warmth. She supposed Esmeralda was somehow shielding her from any pain. She'd have to thank her for that.
It seemed as though time was standing still for her, though she doubted it lasted for a minute. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground, and out of the haze came Goliath's voice, etched with concern.
"Elisa?" he said urgently. "Elisa, say something."
"When did I pass out?" Elisa wondered to herself as she felt Goliath lift her to her feet. Her eyes closed, Elisa placed a hand to her forehead in an attempt to clear her head of the still present feeling of levitation. When she opened her eyes, she nearly cried as she saw her hand, her still human hand in front of her face. Glancing down, the body of a human was still hers.
"It didn't work." Elisa whispered brokenly.
"Elisa, you..." Goliath seemed to have trouble getting words out. "You have... wings."
Elisa looked over her shoulder, and sure enough, gargoyle wings were protruding from her back. Staring at them in amazement as she stretched them out, she reached behind her to touch one. She felt the soft leather before turning to Esmeralda, trying to put an intelligent sentence together.
"What happened?"
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Post by Edna Mode on Feb 21, 2009 21:55:17 GMT -5
Edna watched in amazement as Esmeralda performed some sort of a spell with a magic wand on Elisa as she was being intrigued by the magic powers of the wand. "Such a wonderful skill you possess how did you learn?" She asked Esmeralda as she continued to see if it worked on Elisa "If she really loves this Goliath fellow then anything is possible" She said with a smile. When she saw Elisa grew wings she was impressed.
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Post by esmeralda on Feb 21, 2009 22:01:56 GMT -5
Esmeralda watched in anxiety when her friend passed out. She put her hand in her dress pocket to see if she had any medical herbs with her, in case Elisa needed medical care after the spell. The warmth between Goliath and Elisa made her eyes fill with tears. She hoped the best for her two friends.
While Goliath was kneeling next to his love, Esmeralda watched the results of her work. Elisa's skin color was normal. Esmeralda sighed deeply. She had failed! She lowered her head in shame. She had wanted so much to help her friends so they could have each other, and she didn't even manage to turn a human into a gargoyle. She could have cried.
It always works with Archimedes....
Of course, Archimedes was a tiny owl. It was easier for an apprentice to transform him....
"I am so sorry...." she whispered sadly, still looking down at her feet.
When she heard Goliath exclaiming that Elisa had wings, she looked up in surprise. There, on Elisa's back, were the most magnificent wings a female Gargoyle could ever wish for. Esmeralda's face lit up in a bright smile.
"I'll be darned.... not only do you behave like an angel, now you look like an angel as well! All it takes now, is a halo and a white nightgown, and we can use you for a Christmas decoration."
She chuckled and shook her head.
"I am only joking. It seems my spell only worked partly. Please remember I am only an apprentice. We could of course repeat the spell over and over, until you are completely transformed. But it would be tedious. Another alternative is to make a magic potion for you to drink. Which of these two options would you prefer?"
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Post by Elisa Maza on Feb 21, 2009 22:18:26 GMT -5
Once the initial shock had finally worn off, Elisa could appreciate the beauty of the wings. She stretched them out again, before draping them around her shoulders, clasping them together.
She laughed at Esmeralda's angel joke, knowing her friend was only trying to break the ice.
"There's nothing to be sorry for, I knew from the beginning that you were still an apprentice." Elisa said, hugging her friend. "But you'll forgive me if I say I'd rather do without the wand. Let's try the potion."
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Post by esmeralda on Feb 21, 2009 22:53:29 GMT -5
Esmeralda chuckled with laughter and looked over at her friend, returning her hug gently. She felt relief that Elisa would try again... without wand. A glimpse of humor lit in Esmeralda's eyes.
"Well, if you are going to try my potions, I might just as well confess... I can't read or write either. So I have to trust my memory when it comes to the mixing of potions. And my knowledge of herbs and plants of course. But if I were capable of curing the gypsies from plague, I should be capable of mixing potions."
((Is it notable Esmeralda is from the 14th century? ;D ))
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Post by goliath on Feb 22, 2009 0:22:22 GMT -5
"Sounds like a plan." Elisa said. "If you can save your people from death, then I'm sure you can do this."
Goliath was surprised that Esmeralda had never learned to read. It hardly bothered him that she'd be making a potion for Elisa from memory. Like Elisa said, if she could make potions to save lives, then this would be easy for her. Still, so much could be discovered through books, one could take a trip around the world without leaving their room.
"If you wish, I could start teaching you how to read." Goliath said. "There are so many wonderful stories out there, it would be a shame to keep missing out on it."
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Post by esmeralda on Feb 22, 2009 1:01:57 GMT -5
Esmeralda smiled and looked over at Elisa.
"Thank you for trusting me. I will try my best to not mess up."
She looked over at Goliath with a sad smile, knowing what he was thinking. So she decided to tell him the story of her life.
"I was born on a cold and grey Chigago morning in the ghetto in Paris about sixteen years ago. I don't know exactly when. You see, nobody knows who my parents are. I was found as a newborn baby child on the stairs of Notre Dame, and the people who found me were gypsies. It was raining and storming, and I would probably have died, if they had not brought me with them.
They brought me to their king, Clopin. Luckily for me he accepted me, and practically adopted me, raising me as if I was his own child. Since he was a king, with a lot of things to do, the other gypsies, especially the women took good care of me.
Among the gypsies, in spite of their poverty, I met nothing but kindness and love. They gave me a good upbringing, and taught me how to sing, to dance and to act. There were times when we didn't have food, water or roofs over our heads, and we were chased from town to town, because gypsies are not tolerated everywhere. But we always had each other."
Her eyes darkened. Now she came to the painful part of her life.
"One cold and dark Autumn morning one of the gypsy women dressed me in my best dress, and brought me to one of the schools in Paris. She was trying to get me enlisted, so I could get an education, and possibly a better life than the other gypsies. We managed to get to the gate. There we were stopped by a man, dressed in dark. He was the head master of the school. And he said that there was no use in educating gypsies. We were too stupid to learn anything. Then he told us to get lost, before he called the police. We then tried another school, and another one... but we got the same answer - and worse - on the other schools as well."
Her eyes filled up with tears, and she took a deep breath, bracing herself for the painful memory she now was about to tell.
"The last school..... was in the outskirts of Paris. Behind it was a dark and scary forest, famous for the big amount of wolves they had there. The gypsy woman went to the door and knocked, trying to get me enlisted. She told me to wait for her by the gate. The head master there didn't even bother to answer her. Instead he released his pack of hounds. They started chasing after us. The dogs would have caught up with me, tiny as I was, if not something unexpected had happened."
A tear formed in her emerald eyes, and trickled down her cheek.
"The woman... pushed me in the direction of the forest, screaming for me to run for my life. Then she started running in the other direction, towards the dogs. She was sacrificing herself for me... and the dogs.... attacked her. I could still hear her screams ringing in my ears while I ran into the dark and scary forest. I never saw her again.
I was so struck with grief, and so blinded by tears, that I didn't see where I was running. So I ran, and my left ankle was caught in one of the snares the village hunters used to hunt the wolves. It was a thin snare made of metal thread, and the more I struggled to break free, the deeper the thread went into my skin. I was trapped."
Another tear fell from her eyes.
"For three days and three nights I was stuck in the snare. Soaked by the rainstorm, and without any food or water. When Clopin and the other gypsies finally found me, I was so weakened by hunger, thirst and my wounds, that I almost died."
Esmeralda lifted her left leg, placing it on the rock next to her. She removed the silver bracelets and jewelry around her left ankle, to reveal a scar that went all the way around her ankle. Her voice was silent as she continued to speak.
"I got other scars later. I have scars on my back after being thrashed with a whip for being a gypsy, and for standing up to defend my people. But this scar is the most painful, because it also hurts me emotionally. It reminds me of the loss of the woman that was like a mother to me."
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Post by goliath on Feb 22, 2009 1:22:26 GMT -5
Goliath and Elisa listened with growing horror at Esmeralda's tale. By the time she had finished, Elisa had tears flowing down her cheeks, and Goliath was at a loss for words. He had dealt with such hatred against his kind his entire life, but to hear of humans doing it to each other... Especially when all Esmeralda wanted to do was learn... How could someone be so cruel as to deny them that, and send vicious dogs after them like they were criminals? Goliath's eyes glowed at the injustice of it all, before his sadness over Esmeralda's cruel past overtook his anger.
"Everyone deserves to learn." He whispered. "You and your friend did nothing wrong, and still that... that man..."
Goliath sighed. "Forgive me. I did not mean to bring back such painful memories."
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