Snowy White

Snowy White

After Ali ate her dinner she went back to her room to rest, even if she was knocked out for a week. Her room also had a neat fireplace with a table and a couch over a rug and two large windows by her bed. She freshened up by washing her face and she changed into a pair of gray jogging pants and a white tank top while barefoot, her usual pajamas. It was past the params curfew by then, but Ali still couldn’t sleep so she went up to the roof.
The roof had been decorated with tropical flowers by her mother. She wore a knitted gray sweater and some slippers to the roof because the wind could get quite strong up there. The view there was amazing, in the back you could see the whole forest with a large waterfall on the horizon and in front you could see the beach and the ocean. Paramut had five moons, each one lining up behind one another and complementing each other.
“This is quite a view,” a familiar voice said. “Though it’s not the first time I was here.” It was Charlie. Ali looked behind her and saw him in black jogging pants and a grey sweatshirt while barefoot.
“Aren’t you cold?” Ali asked concerned of his attire. Ali leaned on the railings.
“Not really,” he said coolly. He leaned on the railing beside Ali.
“What are you doing up here?” Ali said.
“Couldn’t sleep, you?”
“Same,”
“Nice place to think, right? Especially with all the flowers,”
“I know. My mom grew the flowers here. Her essence was to grow plant life.”
“That’s pretty cool. Where are your parents?”
“Um, they were killed by the Contique superior when I was ten.” Ali said, looking down in sadness.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” He started mumbling words of apology.
“There’s no way you could’ve known, well, except for Drake.” Ali said.
“I really am sorry.”
“No, no, it’s okay. How ‘bout you, I don’t see your mother anywhere.” Ali looked at him.
“Um, my mom’s on Earth, foreign affairs.”
“Do you miss her?”
“Not really, we aren’t very close.” He looked down. Ali looked for a topic that wouldn’t involve any type of loss or sadness.
“Who do you think won?”
“Either us or the meatheads.”
“They aren’t meatheads. Some of them are quite nice.”
“Are you siding with them?” He asked in disbelief.
“No, I’m just saying. Not all of them are mean.”
“Whatever, that Matt is still a meathead.”
“Matt’s really sweet once you get to know him,” Ali sighed. “But I doubt you’ll be able to get to know him now that you’ve insulted him.” Ali paused. “This kind of makes you a meathead to everyone.”
“Hey, my reputation as a meathead is warranted.” They both laughed. Ali faked a yawn as an excuse to go back to her room.
“It’s getting really late. I should probably get to bed now.”
“Oh, yeah, me too.” They walked inside the manor and down the stairs to the dormitories. Charlie walked Ali down the dark hallway, which was lit by a few candles now, to her room.
“Good night Charlie.” Ali said as she closed the door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Charlie said just before Ali closed the door. She collapsed on the bed, and without warning, fell asleep in her sweater and slippers.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The crystoplasm beeped as an alarm on her bedside table. She sat upright and turned off the alarm with a touch. She went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Like the day yesterday, her hair was a mess and her eyes looked wet. She splashed her face with cold water and prepared for a warm shower. After she took a shower she changed into a fresh new change of clothes and brushed her teeth. She took her crystoplasm and placed it in a backpack along with some snacks, a bottle of water, and her bikini. She exited her room and made her way down to the ground floor.
“Morning sleepyhead,” Roy said from behind. “Aren’t you going to have breakfast?”
“I feel like going out today.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Ali shook her head. “Okay.”
“I’ll probably be back by lunch.”
“Fine, as l0ng as you don’t do any funny business. It’s nine now so you have three hours to get back.” Ali waved to her brother and left the manor.

She finally made it to the waterfalls after an hour’s journey. She sat on a rock and breathed some air. It was the same waterfall that you could see from the roof. It was also one of her special places. This was where her parents first met. This was the main source of the mystique fluid, the main source of power for all params. Ali sat and thought about everything for a while. About the operation, the Contique, the planets of Paramut and Earth, and most of all her parents. For some reason she couldn’t stop thinking about her parents. The last time she was there, she was ten and with her family; Roy, her mom and dad.
She stood from the rock and walked along a passageway leading into a hidden cave in the mouth of the waterfall, which was hidden by enough flowers to overlook. The shadow of flowers would rise when Ali passed through but Ali guessed it would do that to anyone with good intentions. The cave was quite abnormal. Instead of being covered by rock it was covered by millions of different flowers that covered the walls and some part of the floor which was covered with a patch of lush grass. Ali sat in the middle of the cave and stared at the variety of flowers. Her mother, Grace, created this patch of plant life in the cave on Ali’s first birthday as a present. On Ali’s tenth birthday she created a special flower made of mystique fluid, a variety of essences, and a bit of Ali’s blood. As a result, just one petal from the flower could provide many uses, to heal, to gain knowledge, to gain power. However, that wasn’t the special part about it for Ali. Whenever Ali neared the presence of the flower it would glow and change to different colors based on Ali’s mood. At the moment it was a shade of silver meaning she had mixed emotions. It was so special to her that she showed it to no one. The flowers placed there were always healthy and didn’t need to be tended because of the mystique surrounding them. Ali sat there looking at the flowers.
“Hey Moody.” She said quietly. She had started calling her flower Moody because of its appearance. This was her parent’s final gift to Ali before they left undercover in the Contique and were murdered. Ali cupped the flower in her hands and plucked a petal from it. She took her crystogem from its chain and flipped the lid open. As Ali held the petal over the crystogem, the petal evaporated into a sand-like form and she slipped it into the crystogem. She dropped a few dewdrops of mystique from the flowers into the crystogem . As soon as she closed the lid, the crystogem glowed a bright color of silver. This meant the mixture was complete. The mixture of an essence and mystique would provide a liquid that had a specific purpose. Ali had never done this before and she didn’t know what exactly the purpose of this specific essence was. The result of a mixture of mystique and an essence was called a layath but most params called it what it was mixed from, mystique. Attaching the crystogem back on its chain, she saw that the place of the petal she had plucked off was replaced with a new one. Ali smiled and both the flower and her crystogem changed colors from silver to gold. Ali stood up and left the lair. As she left the cave she heard the vines grow back into place and hide the cave. She sat at the edge of the sand near the shallow water, near enough to dip her feet in the mystique. A low growl came from behind Ali, in the forest. Instinctively, Ali yanked the crystogem off its chain and transformed it into two daggers as she stood up in a readied stance. A flash of white appeared from the forest brush.
“Show yourself!” Ali yelled. A creature she had seen in books appeared before, standing tall and proud. It had a coat as white as snow with amazingly blue eyes. It was only a few inches shorter than her. Ali readied her weapon, now more alert than before. She had a lion cub brought from Earth by her parents before as a guardian or pet on her eighth birthday. Her parents told her that the cub had died but it was so similar to the lion before her that she questioned the possibility.
“Balthier.” She turned the dagger back into a crystogem and placed it on its chain. The lion nodded to her. “My parents said you were dead.”
I didn’t die, I was experimented on with mystique. Though, your parents never thought I would live through it, Balthier said in her mind. Ali approached the snow white lion with caution. She hugged the lion with much love and in return it purred with the same love. “You’ve grown so much.” Ali whispered.
You too my dear, I’ve been watching you for a while now. You’ve become skilled with those daggers you use, Balthier said. Ali backed away from Balthier.
“I suppose so. Um, I’m supposed to be getting back soon. Can you walk me to the manor?” Balthier nodded and they started walking in the direction of the manor. “So, you said they’ve been experimenting on you?” Ali asked.
They have and as a result I gained powers of my own, Balthier said.
“Essences,” Ali corrected.
Fine, I’ve gained essences,
“Like what?”
I have incredible speed and strength and I can change into any of Earth’s animals but not Paramut’s. It’s too complicated for my blood.
“Anything else?”
“I can speak with my own mouth.” Balthier said with his own mouth. Ali looked at him with shock. “You’ll be surprised of what I’m capable of.”
“Wow, an animal is speaking to me with his own lips.” Ali said, amazed.
“Climb onto my back.” Ali shook her head. “I’ll show you what I can do. Besides, you’ll get to the manor much faster if you do so.” Balthier bowed down so that Ali could climb unto his back. “Hold on tight, my dear.” Ali held onto his mane tight so that she wouldn’t fall off. Balthier started to walk but broke into a sprint in a second. It was quite easy to hold on to his mane though everything around her was a massive blur of green and brown. A few minutes later, Balthier slowed to a walk and Ali saw that she was back at the manor. Ali slid off Balthier, who was standing tall and proud again.
“Impressive,” Ali said.
“Only impressive?” Balthier asked.
“Okay, it was really awesome.” Ali said as if she were holding her breath for a long time.
“Ali? Come on, it’s time for-” Roy said as he opened the door. “What is that?” Roy pointed to Balthier. Ali had been so busy looking at Roy that she hadn’t realized that Balthier had changed to a lion cub.
Don’t tell him who I really am, Balthier said to her mind.
“He followed me from the forest.” Ali lied. She hated lying in general but she didn’t know what would happen to him if she told the truth.
“What’s wrong with his leg?” Roy asked. Balthier’s right hind leg was crippled up as though it was broken.
“I’m not sure, maybe a broken leg?” Ali held the lion cub in her hands gently and stroked him.
“Well, bring him inside. Maybe we could fix that.” Roy gestured her towards the manor. With Balthier in her hands, she walked into the manor.
“Okay, but can I keep him in my room till he’s better?”
“Sure, as long as you give him a bath every now and then. I’ll talk to Clint about it. In the mean time, what are you going to call him? I mean saying boy all the time gets boring.” Roy said.
Oh, call me Bashe. I’ve always wanted to be called Bashe, Balthier said silently.
“I’ll name him Balthier.” Balthier wined at Ali’s disobedience.
“Okay, Well, I’m sure that you and Balthier are very hungry now.” Ali and Balthier nodded simultaneously and Roy laughed at the two. The two params headed towards the dining room with the lion cub named Balthier.

There was a huge commotion when Ali and Balthier walked inside the dining room. They were surrounded by a lot of girls who were cooing over Balthier. “Lucky lion.”
What can I say, I’m a player, Balthier said.
“Okay, please go back to your tables. I’m sure both of us are very hungry so we need to eat.” Ali said over the noise. The girls left the two sadly. Ali carried Balthier to her table where all of her patna’s were seated, including Colton. “Hey guys.” Ali said stroking Balthier.
“Awww,” Jen and Kiara said simultaneously while the guys smiled. Nicole came in and placed a dish beside Ali on the ground that was filled with Karnato and beef, a few slices of a golden fruit which was quite tasty and beef. Ali placed Balthier on the ground and he started to eat the Karnato with beef.
“Where did you get that guy?” Drake asked.
“He followed me from the forest.” Ali answered.
“Why is his leg like that?” Kiara asked.
“We think it’s a broken leg but we’re not sure.”
“What’s his name?” Jen asked.
“I named him Balthier.”
“Well, he ain’t a bad looking cub.” Charlie said.
“You know, he looks like your guardian from when we were like nine.” Colt said. Ali panicked a bit as he said that. “But I guess that cub you had would be an adult by now.”
“Yeah, that’s right. My cub before would be an adult by now.” Ali said nervously. Ali was half-way through with her food which was Limen, a type of toasted bread mixed in with Karnato with other fresh fruits.
Can we go to your room now? I feel weird, Balthier communicated.
“Um, I’m going to go up now. I’ll see you guys later, I guess.” Ali held Balthier in her arms and stood up. She left the dining room and went upstairs to her room.

“Well, I’m glad we got through that.” Ali sighed. As soon as the door closed, Balthier's mane grew and his features grew larger till he was his normal adult self. He jumped on the bed and lied down with his head tilted on the bed, making him much cuter. Ali came to the bed and lied down. Balthier moved sideways and let Ali lay her head on his belly. “You’re like a pillow.” Ali said.
“I’m not sure if I should be offended by that.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“Okay, I'm not offended. Now, why were you at the falls? Were you looking at your precious flower again?” Balthier asked.
“Yeah, I took a petal just in case. I couldn’t help it.” Ali said holding the crystogem for the two to see.
“You miss them a lot, don’t you?” He asked and as an answer she nodded.
“I miss them so much.” Ali said solemnly.