Grr�.. Anyone who wants to know why I�m ticked off, please ask� take it back� this is where I get to vent! HAHA!
I was listening to the news radio station and they were talking about cracking down on music downloading� Saying it is illegal. Everyone� did you know that? ::mock horror:: Geez� I have my own set of principles. I don�t go looking for American music or anything that I can buy here. If I can find it here, then I get it here. Unfortunately, the one thing I can�t get here is the stuff that I�m the most addicted to. J-pop.
I have to skulk around sites for Pool Bit Boys, Ayumi Hamasaki, Nanase Aikawa, Namie Amuro, Masami Okui, Janne Da Arc, Do As Infinity, Every Little Thing, C-KOM� ALL OF IT! Grrr�.
Leona:
The Curse of Ndale
Chapter One
�Ow� ow� ow� ow��
Leona sat uncomfortably on the couch in her mother�s office as Fern poked her arm, which had stitches in it from an accident she had had with a barbed wire fence that kept looters out of the museum.
�Ow� ow� ow� ow..�
�Amazing� you don�t even try to hit me� then why is it when Damien does this, you hit him repeatedly.� Leona�s best friend, Fern Kipling, said with a knowing smile.
Fern had a habit of giving her these smiles as though she knew something that Leona didn�t know. Leona didn�t doubt that she did, though. Fern was psychic and she could �read� Leona like an open book.
Fern was small and skinny. She even had a flat chest, unlike Leona, who had enough that she had to wear a bra, something that Fern made no attempt to hide her amusement for. She had long black hair that curled at the ends with blunt cut bangs that covered her eyebrows and went into her blue eyes.
Leona, on the other hand, was tall, lanky, and rather awkward looking. She had short, wild, rich brown hair and grey eyes. She wore oval glasses, as well. She also always wore a gold necklace with an enchanted lion tooth on it. It gave her the ability to turn into a lion when she was in a tough situation.
�Ow�ow�ow�ow�� Leona was getting tired of Fern poking her. Fern had come over for the winter holidays, but Leona was about ready to start hitting Fern if she didn�t stop soon.
Fern finally stopped when the door opened. Leona�s mother walked in. Cybil Sage was petite and kind of pudgy with a bright round face and long red hair. She was also American.
�Hello, mum!� Leona said brightly.
�Hello, Mrs. Sage!� Fern beamed.
�Hello, you two� I trust you are enjoying your stay, Fern?� Mrs. Sage asked.
Fern nodded fervently. �You don�t have as wide a library as I�m used to, but that�s alright�� Mrs. Sage smiled brightly at her and giggled. Anyone else would have found that statement a bit rude, but Mrs. Sage was too happy about Leona having friends to be irritated.
�I�m sorry that the animals aren�t out in the winter�. It just gets too cold for most of them�� Mrs. Sage said with an apologetic bow.
Fern waved a dismissing hand. �Oh.. it�s alright! I�m just having fun with Leo!� Then, she poked Leona on her arm again.
�OW! Stop it!� Leona growled.
�I see� well.. the park portion is open and the museum is open as well� I�m sure you�ll have fun exploring� Just make sure you are back by five�.� Mrs. Sage said with cheerful smile.
Leona and Fern looked to each other. �Want to go look around?� Leona asked.
�Certainly!� Fern smiled.
Leona and Fern walked out the door to Mrs. Sage�s office and put on their coats to go outside. Mrs. Sage sat down on her couch and smiled. �Well� I certainly hope she likes the new surprise I found on my trip to Egypt�.�
Leona and Fern walked around and saw a few kids walking around. They found the museum and walked inside. There were a few people inside of it, walking around and talking in their small groups.
�Show me where you found the necklace, Leo�� Fern whispered into Leona�s ear.
Leona led her friend toward the back of the building. Suddenly, she was rammed into by someone. Leona landed on her rump at Fern�s feet. �What the!�
Leona glanced in front of her and saw the one person she least wanted to see during the holidays, Damien. He sat on the ground and glared at her. �Why don�t you watch where you are going, Sage..� he growled.
�Why don�t you, Conrad�� she growled.
Fern helped her up and Damien stood up on his own. Leona pushed past him toward the back. �Why on Earth are you here, anyway�� he said.
�My mother owns the park, stupid�� Leona said.
He raised an eyebrow at her. �Oh really� Then, I don�t suppose you could show me around a bit?� he said.
�Why would I want to do that�� Leona said with a grimace.
�Because�� Damien blushed slightly. It was Leona�s turn to raise her eyebrow in a quizzical fashion. �I want to see this place� and I don�t have a tour map��
�You�re lost?� Leona said with a faint smile.
The pink that tinged his pale cheeks went a deeper shade. �I-I�m not lost! I just want to see this place!�
Leona smiled and grabbed his hand. She beamed up at him. �Come along�� Then, she tugged on him as she went toward the end of the museum. Fern giggled evilly as she followed.
They walked to the second to last exhibit before the exit. There, Leona pointed to a spot that Fern figured had to be the spot where the necklace used to be. Damien just snapped his head back and forth between Leona and the empty spot in the casement.
It was then that Leona saw something in the place where she had found her necklace. A few months ago, she had donned the necklace in an attempt to keep it away from a thief.
In the same place that the necklace had been in, there was another necklace with the same kind of gold ring the hooked in the back, like hers. Her mother had originally given the necklace a chain, but gave Leona a ring like the one before her so that it seemed more appropriate.
�It says it was found in Egypt�� Fern said.
�Blah, blah, blah� let�s just go�.� Damien growled.
They walked to the food court. There, they ran into Max and Eamon. Leona blushed at seeing Eamon. �Good Afternoon, Eamon�� she said in a slightly shaky voice.
�Good Afternoon, Leona� how are you?� Eamon asked her with a smile.
�Fine� Fern is staying with us during the winter holidays�� she said as her cheeks started coming back to their normal color.
Fern, on the other hand, was smiling blankly at Max. He gave a small smile and turned back to Eamon. �So� ready to go take a look at the new exhibit in the museum, Eamon?�
�Yes� thanks, Max�� Eamon said with a cheerful smile. Then, they walked off toward the museum.
Leona stared after Eamon and Max. �I still can�t believe it� How can he be your brother when you are so�. Horrible!� Leona said to Damien.
Damien didn�t look amused. �It�s all a front, Sage�.He�s mean when you or Max aren�t there�.�
�Somehow, I think that anyone would be mean if you are around, Conrad�� Leona said slyly.
Damien�s cheeks tinged pink again. He glared at Leona. �At least I didn�t go to the masked ball with a loser, Sage��
�Jack isn�t a loser�� Leona growled at him.
�That was weak, Damien� You do realize that�� Fern said with a faint smile on her face.
Damien puffed up his chest and stalked off in a huff. �I hope you have a WONDERFUL time, Sage!� he growled back at them.
�Damien gets stranger and stranger every time we run into him...� Leona mused as she stared off after the boy.
�Come on� let�s get going so we can catch up with your brother�!� Fern said as she poked Leona on her arm again.
�OUCH! STOP IT!� Leona whined, but she obeyed.
They walked back to the museum, only to find that it was empty. �Odd� this place was packed when we were last in here�� Leona said.
They crept into the building. Leona could feel the lion instructing her with its instincts inside her own mind.
Then, she heard something, or someone, walking around toward the back. She pushed Fern into a corner and crouched behind a casement. The person was coming toward the entrance, where they were located.
The person�s footsteps came closer toward Leona�s position. She fought to keep the lion inside her to calm down. She could almost feel herself ready to rip flesh with her hands.
Then, they stopped. She felt the person was close to her. She peered around the corner of the casement and saw a tall man with long black hair. �He said I had to retrieve this thing�.� His low voice rang out in the silence.
Leona saw in his hand the necklace that was in the casement. It looked very similar to hers, but for some reason, it didn�t feel as though he had a power necklace.
Suddenly, his head snapped around and she ducked down as fast as she could. She heard his steps coming closer. The lion was beginning to come out without her control.
The thief was surprised by a creature pouncing on him. He thrown against the closest wall, his chest felt like it was on fire as the thing clawed him.
He opened his eyes and gazed into two frightening yellow eyes. There was something wrong with them, though. They were almost human.
It bit him on his shoulder. He threw it off of him and crumpled to the floor. His heart raced as the creature stood up. In front of him was a very skinny, rather pretty girl with wild short hair. The yellow eyes glared at him through her oval glasses.
�Not this time, sweetheart� I�m in no mood for foreplay..� he smirked at her. Then, he stood up and ran for the door. He felt the claws sink into his back. He wanted to stop, but he drove on for the door.
He threw her off again and she fell onto her back. Leona�s brain was beginning to black out as she watched the tall man run out the door with the necklace. Then, her eyes closed and she couldn�t see anything more.
�You say that a thief stole the necklace?�
�Yes� Leona tried to stop him, but he threw her off of him and she blacked out and he got away��
It sounded as though Fern and Mrs. Sage were talking. Leona opened her eyes and glanced around. Sure enough, Fern was sitting in the chair next to the couch and Mrs. Sage was pressing a cold cloth onto Leona�s forehead.
�Ah! It looks like she�s awake� you really shouldn�t go after thieves like that, you know�� her mother said with a small smile.
�It�s alright�. She knows, mum�.� Leona groaned.
Mrs. Sage raised her eyebrows at Fern. �How interesting� Did you tell her, Leona?�
�More like she knew...� Leona said as she attempted to sit up.
�I�m telepathic, Mrs. Sage�� Fern smiled brightly. �And Leo is easy to read��
Mrs. Sage laughed. �Well� it seems there are more strange things other than my dear daughter here��
�Mother�.� Leona grumbled as she rubbed her head. It hurt just trying to think. �I must have hit my head on the way down��
�That you did� and the thief got away with the necklace�.� Fern said. �Oh� I hope it wasn�t valuable�.�
�It wasn�t�. I had put in a decoy into the casement�. Incase of this very thing�� Mrs. Sage laughed.
�Then, where is the real necklace�.� Leona asked.
�Hidden� but you�ll know when you see it�� said Mrs. Sage with a smile. �Just get some rest, honey�� Then, she shoved Leona�s head into the pillow on the couch.