The sun shone brightly overhead as groups of teenagers walked home from their daily prisons. After mocking and eluding us all day the sun now allowed us to bask in it's glory and forget some of the weight on our shoulders caused by homework.

A group of us crossed the street, following Carol. We all hoped she had remembered to look both ways this time but knew for a fact she hadn't. She never did. Yet we always follow her without fail and have yet to have any misgivings to tell of.

Jeff and Paul were in deep conversation with Nick about what was now the most interesting thing in the world to them. Hackey sack. If you ask me, it's definitely a game that no one would miss if it disappeared off the face of the earth.

"So," Carol began after I recovered from tripping over the curb, "what did you do over easter break?"

I glanced critically at her, then at the guys. Then I remembered that she had been in Kamloops and the guys did not take any notice of what had happened to me. For me, that was a weekend that would leave a scar on my memory for years to come.

Friday had been normal enough. I forgot it was good friday the thirteenth and was awake really early. I got my hair cut and my nails done, which is worth mention since it's not usual for my mom to do that for me all the time. My dad took me to the library, but it was closed. Stupid holiday.

The afternoon brought work on my story and reading a book I had downloaded off of the internet, at least, when my brother and his friend weren't bothering me. Working on a project, my ass.

At quarter after six, in the middle of a radio countdown, my mom called to me to get ready. We were leaving the boys at home so that we could go and see all of the people I had grown up with. Well, not all since Carrie and Calvin couldn't make it. A party or something. It was at that get together that things getting weird.

When me, Jerri, Eliza and Beth went to the buffet we separated to get food, as though in a divine waltz. Okay, it wasn't, but oh well. I noticed that wherever I went this little blond girl in a pink sweatshirt, about grade five, was already there. When I went for dim sum, she was there. Chicken? There she was. It was driving me mad.

I refused to show my annoyance and attempted to get Jerri's older brother, Jacob, into a conversation. Like talking to a brick wall. At least no one can say I didn't try.

As we were leaving, I noticed Jerri had left her picture that Eliza had drawn for her behind. She dashed back to get it. The rest of us girls slowed down to wait for her. That was when I heard them.

"It can't be her," a girl said quietly to a man at her table who was flanked by what appeared to be lackeys. It was the blond girl in the pink sweatshirt.

"And why, pray tell, not?" he asked in an airily demanding voice. "All signs point to her."

"But our girl is supposed to be long of hair and not wear cosmetics," the girl argued. "Her hair was short and she was wearing nail decals. It can't be her."

"Oh, but she is," the man said in the same tone. "Things like that can change in an instant if her mother is a beautician. We shall take her-"

"Diane?"

No. No one called my name. I just went outside and lost that conversation. I wonder how that got in.

The next day I volunteered at an easter party for pre-schoolers. The kids were very cute and the other volunteers I was with were incredibly nice.

And then, she was there again. The blond girl in the pink sweatshirt. It was creepy. She was a few years younger and was wearing a green dress, but it was the same girl. And she was almost always right there. Creepy.

The event was, thankfully, only an hour and a half long so I was soon rid of her. I waited a while with my fellow volunteers while they awaited their rides and got a book out of the library.

After minutes of straining my memory I remembered the combo for my bike lock and rode out of there. The freedom I feel on my bike feels like I'm flying. Spectacular.

Or it was until someone had the nerve to freeze just about everything. Cars and people went still. The wind died instantly. Even the wheels on my bike stopped moving and I was thrown far over my handlebars and landed hard on the cement and skinned my arms as well as wrecking my favorite pair of pants.

To my surprise, I was laying at a pair of feet, boots to be precise. Not boot from this decade either, maybe not even this century. I looked up to see a man in a flowing cape and his female escort. The girl little blond girl was now fully grown and voluptuous woman. Lackeys moved in as well and surrounded me to make sure I didn't escape.

I was scared as hell. I wanted to go back to my room and stay there forever. It wasn't just the guys who looked like they had just come out of a fantasy novel (which was kind of cool)who had just surrounded and outnumbered me. It was that no one could help me now, even if they wanted to. All but us had fallen victim to being frozen in time. Nothing moved but us.

"You must come with us," the man in the cape said. "You can trust me."

"Trust you?" I asked in disbelief. After all this? Hell no.

"Yes," the girl insisted. "I'm Tarisana. You have a power within you which could help us. Hey, don't do that!" she exclaimed suddenly. "You don't know what it might do!"

And here I am thinking, Okay, is there something wrong with me muttering words, uncontrollably, that have never been heard in any language I know of? But then I found out what happened and why it seemed to worry her so.

I was suddenly back on my bike, riding once more without a care. All the injuries to both myself and my clothes were gone and I was left wondering if I was losing my mind.

I got home and tried to forget about it. I began to fill out a job application and got ready for the dance that night. Who did Jeff say was coming tonight? I asked myself. Anything to get my mind off of the events of the afternoon.

The dance was nice. I saw everyone, more or less, that I hadn't seen all easter. Okay, in a day, but still. Alex loved my new haircut and she was obsessing over it for the whole of five minutes.

I danced my heart out. When it comes to dances, I always do. Dancing used to be my life and now I live to recapture those times. I danced until my bladder called me away.

It was then, after I had done my business, when they came again. I steped out of the washroom and there they were, a swarm around the door. When I tried to go back into the washroom, the blond woman blocked my path.

"What do you want?" I pleaded loudly. "Can't you just leave me alone? I didn't do anything to you." C'mon, I thought, someone hear me. You can help, you're still moving.

I felt a hand fall on my shoulder and then, blackness. I really wish I was a screamer, that I could have gotten someone's attention. Then again, so would my disappearance when Alex and Cheryl noticed. At least I thought so.

When I woke up, I was in a cage. Not like an animal cage or something you might see on TV. It was lined with bits of fluff and made of, well, translucent blue. It was just a box of blue surrounding me and keeping me in. When I tried to get out I found that not only was it solid, but it gave quite a shock as well.

I also noticed that I had been tied with my hands behind my back and my feet, which mere also tied together, were tied to my hands as well. I suppose if I had tried I could have stood comfortably. Maybe.

"Sleepin' Beauty's woken up," a man with a British accent called.

"Diiaanne."

No, they didn't know my name. The man and woman came in and asked my for it. When I didn't reply they looked rather angry, but introduced themselves.

"I believe you have heard of me," The man said regally. "I am commonly known as Merlin. I have existed since the time of King Arthur, and yes he was real."

"I have been constantly switching names since the Salem witch trials so I have long forgotten my name," the woman explained. "Yesterday I was Tarisana, but now, I think I shall be Peaseblossom."

"The fairy?" I asked skeptically. This was getting really weird. "Right. That doesn't tell me what you want with me, who these other people are or what you want with me."

"Oh, that's simple," Merlin said "You are one of the magic incarnate, like the rest of us. We want your magic, and if you don't give it to us, we will destroy you."

I just shut up after that and tried to look brave. It had to be a bluff. It had to be. This was all a hoax, no one in this world had magic. It was impossible. Even if I did, hypothetically, have it, how would I give it to them?

The staring contest thankfully ended and they left me alone in my cell. I was starving, cold and scared for my life. I tried to wiggle out of my bindings and get through the blue wall that kept me prisoner. I was, however, able to get my hands in front of me and was very discouraged to learn that the rope was tied without knots.

I was given a sandwich to eat and I grudgingly devoured it as my hunger was now unbearable. It turned out, as I suspected, there was a sleeping draught in it and I was out, yet again.

"Four of you to make one decent spell!" Peaseblossom exclaimed none to quietly when I awoke. "Go on already, get the magic and kill the brat before she wakes up!"

"But Merlin said-" one started.

""I don't care! Get it and get rid of her!"

I was fully awake now and frantically spilling out whatever words came to me out of no where. This had saved me once and I prayed that it would again.

Before I knew it, a shock wave spread out from me, sending my captors flying and breaking the rope that held me. I was free!

"Diane!"

No one knew my name! How many times do I have to go over this?!

Merlin came in to see what had happened. Meanwhile, I'm floating in mid air and tons of information starts flooding into my brain.

Merlin knew something was happening and that he had to stop it. Lightning and fire shot at me from nowhere (though I think Merlin was the cause) and I didn't feel a thing. I just floated there, finding out the truth of what was happening.

"Aren't you ashamed of yourselves?" I asked when everyone had recovered. Merlin's relentless attack continued, but he seemed to be listening as well. "For centuries you have been feeding off of the magic of others until it disappeared form this land. You are the reason magic almost doesn't exists. Most of the remaining magic, for some reason fled into me in order to escape from you. But that doesn't matter to you, now does it? You just want power and the extended life it will grant you. Well, here's an idea for you, how about you spend a little time in limbo? You will be the only ones there, so no competition for the strongest and you can't hurt anyone else ever. Mitikama lestama!-"

THWACK!

"Diane!"

"Carol, what did you do that for?" I asked, annoyed.

"You just completely zoned out," she explained. "So, how was your break? Anything exciting happen?"

"Nope," I replied. "Same old, same old."