Chapter 6: Stories of the Past & Present

Later that night, Artemis sat on her bed, deep in thought. Once she and Dimentio had returned, they found O'Chunks being chewed out by Nastasia for failing to beat Mario. Artemis couldn't help but feel at least a little bad for him; after all, he now has to write an essay on his own failure. But that was not the focus of her thoughts. No matter what she did, when she was alone she could not help but think of back home. First to her mother, who was probably completely losing her mind, and then to her friends.

There was Cynthia, with her beautiful platinum blond hair, always graceful and elegant. She's a wonderful dancer and an even better singer, her voice like soft silk. Then there was Erik, his sleek ebony hair always covering one side of his face. He was an amauter chef who always was calm and collected, even when his dish was about to explode. The three of them have been friends since they were little, and were always seen together. Artemis could not help but wonder what they were doing without her there. Before she could think any farther on the subject, she was interrupted by a loud banging on her door.

"Ay! Artemis! Could ye help me out wit somethin'?" O'Chunks' voice could be heard from the other side of the door. Curious, Artemis got up and opened the door to a rather tired looking O'Chunks. He was holding in one hand several sheets of paper and a pencil.

"Hey…um, what's up?" Artemis asked.

"I would like ye to look over this here paper I be writin' for Nastasia. I ain't finished yet but I want te know If I be going in the right direction." O'Chunks explained.

"Oh, alright." She said, inviting him in. He entered and sat at the edge of the bed, his weight causing it to creak. She sat next to him and opened her hand for him to give her the papers. He did and as she read through them, she could not help but be impressed. The handwriting was a bit crude but it was still legible. The content was what surprised her. It was very comprehensive and detailed. Every jump, every punch, he remembered it all. When she had finished she looked up at him, and handed him back the papers.

"It's really good. In fact, it's excellent. There is just so much detail! I'm just surprised you remembered all that. I know I couldn't." Artemis praised him, which caused him to blush slightly.

"Oh, it ain't nothin'. I use to write reports like this all te time, back when…" He said, before cutting off suddenly.

"Back when?" Artemis prompted.

"I suppose it won't hurt to tell ye. Back in me home world; I used to be a general in the army. Me and my men traveled all across the land, beatin' back the enemy the best we could. But, one of me councils, Crooks, sold us out to the enemy, the coward. And because of him, all me men fell. I felt so helpless… I couldn't do anything for them or comfort their families… so that's when I joined the count, knowin' nothing like this could happen again once we make a perfect world." O'Chunks concluded his story, he voice grave throughout. Artemis could practically feel his pain as he relayed the tale, his internal suffering.

"I'm… so sorry. I had no idea…" She said, her voice soft. In truth however, she did know. But hearing a story second hand from Carson in Flopside and actually hearing it from O'Chunks were entirely different things. At that moment, Artemis realized that there was more to the brawny warrior than she had initially thought.

Later on, after O'Chunks left, Artemis found she could not fall asleep no matter what she did. So, she decided to do a little exploring. She got up and walked into the empty hallway, quietly closing her door. She went from one hall to the next, finding nothing of interest. After a while, she stumbled upon a large set of double doors. Opening them, Artemis entered a huge library with shelves of books covering every wall. She entered in awe of the sheer amount of books, her pulse quickening. She rushed in, skimming shelf after shelf. The books seemed covered every topic under the sun, from cookbooks to novels even science textbooks. Artemis felt she had died and gone to heaven if heaven were made of books. Finally she settled on a book and sat down on one of the many plush chairs that were dotted around the library. Artemis quickly lost herself in the large tome, becoming no longer aware of the world around her.

"Well, well, what have we here?" A voice called out from behind her, causing her to jump and nearly drop the book.

"Oh gosh!" She shrieked, her heart pounding wildly. She turned to find the owner of the voice and found herself looking at Dimentio, with a wide grin that was becoming larger by the second. She exhaled in relief.

"Dimentio don't scare me like that!" She said, her heart still pounding.

"Terribly sorry, but I just couldn't resist! You were so enraptured with your book you hadn't even noticed my presence." Dimentio said with a chuckle. And despite herself, Artemis found she was laughing too.

"May I inquire as to what you are reading?" Dimentio asked, floating over to her and leaning over her shoulder. She blushed at the close proximity and turned the book to its cover. It read "Angeli: Tale of The Forgotten Ghost". On the cover it showed a young Nimbi flying across a bank of stormy clouds. Dimentio, amused, snatched the book from her hands then looked on the back and skimmed through the pages.

"Hmm… a love story is it? I never thought you the romantic type… " Dimentio mused, dropping the book back into her hands. She blushed, thoroughly embarrassed.

"I… maybe I am! A little! I mean… you don't know me!" Artemis declared, holding the book to her chest protectively. Dimentio had begun to walk away, but his head turned after her rather awkward statement.

"Don't I?" He said, the question simple yet ominous. Then, he teleported away, leaving Artemis alone. She then sat there for a while, his words echoing in her head.

Far, far away from Castle Bleck, on the corner of Emerald Cove and Sunset Street stood a white house. The house was fairly large, and was adorned with elegant banisters and crown molding. On one particular stormy night, a young woman was pacing about a room on the second floor, her bedroom to be exact. It was also mostly white with pastel blue and pink for accents. The large queen sized bed was equipped with a white canopy with butterfly print. The windows were framed with thin blue curtains that when light hit them the color would be reflected onto the walls.

The young women paced about, her phone in hand. Her long platinum blond hair occasionally fell in front of her eyes, blinding her for a moment before she would return it to it's place behind her ear. Her fingers tapped swiftly on the touchscreen, the words of her text dancing off her fingers.

-hey, what's up?- She send to her friend, expecting his quick reply.

-hey Cynth. nothing really, why?- Her friend, Erik, replied.

-no reason. some storm, huh? hope Artemis is all right.- The girl, Cynthia, typed.

-yeah. she still playing that game?- he asked.

-...yeah. you know her, when she becomes obsessed with something, she goes in deep.- Cynthia sent with a sigh and a chuckle. As much as she loved her friend, Cynthia found that Artemis sometimes took those games a little too seriously. She was afraid that since Mrs. Gracey was out this weekend, Artemis would do nothing but play that game.

-yep, that her. Lol. anyway, I gotta get to bed soon, Sunday church and all that. My grandma's wearing her new pearls tomorrow. Night.- Erik wrote with finality.

-Night.- Cynthia replied back, also thinking bed was a good idea. It was already 11. So, she shut down her phone and turned off her lamp, crawling under the covers and into dreamland, unaware of just how far into the game her friend was about to go.

Hey everyone. I'm really, really sorry! Life kind of happened and just continued to happen and the next thing I know it's been like a year and a half since I last updated!

But the great news is, I'm back! Thank you so much for being patient and dealing with me not updating. My life should now be more stable now that I've permanently moved and don't expect to be moving around again anytime soon. So, expect more of this story in the near future and I hope you continue to enjoy. Please, as always, leave a review if you have a minute as it really helps me gauge the amount of interest in this story! Till next time, bye~