The Crystal 3 by Jones M (uplifting books for women .txt) 📕

placed in the four corners of the room. I was doubtful at first before I tried to use my powers again, but the same pain came back. It was then that I noticed the orange rocks glowing until the pain in my form stopped.

It hadn't taken me long to realize they were caging my powers. 

I had to give it to them; Elizabeth and her family were smart.

I kept trying and trying, but nothing seemed to be working. I was stuck in the small wretched place with no way out of there. There was nothing that I could do, and so I started counting the days and hours in my mind. I had quickly lost count, and so I stayed there without an option.

Who knows how long I've been in here?

I grabbed the teleported plate and practically dug into the food.

The crystal thought she had outsmarted me. She thought she could get away with what she did to me.

I smiled as I thought of what I would do to her when I would escape. I planned to kill her family and friends. Certainly, that would bring her down. And then I would go after her, take pleasure in torturing her to death before going to take over the world.

The best part is that I would be the world's ruler for all eternity.

My gaze turned to the stones in front of me. If two of them could be destroyed, then I would be able to escape.

That was another thing. The witches thought the stones could keep me in the cell forever.

They were wrong.

Didn't they know that everything that was earthly could break down? More importantly, didn't they know that the rocks could lose their power?

I knew they didn't know, and so I began to form an escape plan. I knew the witches were determined to keep me locked up forever. Getting rid of the rocks would also take long, but that period seemed shorter compared to forever.

Time and time again, I would try to escape. The price would be dizziness, headaches and sometimes unconsciousness. However, the more I used my powers, the more the rocks would get weaker. One of the rocks had a particular crack that ran down through the half of it.

That one was as good as destroyed.

To my delight, no one seemed to notice! One more rock to continue breaking, and I would be freed from my prison. The moment I would be out, there would be hell to pay.

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One week later

Emery's P.O.V

It had been another uneventful week for me. I had spent most of my time indoors either on YouTube or watching movies. I was also able to visit Erick, Justin, Selena and Ashley, but they were busy most of the time.

A knock sounded on my door, making me pause the movie I was watching. I sighed as I got up from the couch. 

It was still morning, and I wondered who it was that wanted to see me then. I opened the door and stood still in shock at the person in front of me.

It was Zane.

He was staring at me with those brown orbs of his, and I felt my heart clench with an emotion I wanted to push away. He had worn the same gray shirt I had seen him with at the grocery store with a pair of black denim jeans.

It had been a month ever since I saw him. I wouldn't lie if I said I missed him.

"Emery," he said my name as if he was in a daze. Or maybe it was my ears playing tricks on me.

"Zane... wow!" I said, still in surprise. "Is everything..." I trailed off, not wanting to pick up on his therapy sessions.

"Emery, it's okay. You don't have to feel bad about mentioning my counseling sessions. I believe I've gotten better. Doctor Charles has been a wonderful therapist."

I smiled at him.

"As a matter of fact, I'm done with counseling."

"Really?" my eyes shot up at the news.

"Yep," he replied with a smile.

"That's great!"

There was a moment of awkward silence that lasted a couple of seconds.

"Do you want me to come in or..." Zane trailed off. I realized we had been talking on the doorstep, and I felt myself blush in embarrassment.

"Oh, sure! Sorry," I moved back, allowing space for Zane to enter. He brushed past me, and I felt some form of electric shock run over my form.

Damn it!

Zane and I walked towards the room with the view leading to the castle. We sat on the couch, facing each other. I decided then to switch off the TV so I could focus on Zane.

"So, how have you been?" I questioned, and then I realized it was a mistake. Zane did not need to tell me how his therapy sessions had been.

"Bad at first, but things got better," Zane replied, much to my relief. I thought he was going to frown or give me a look of disappointment.

Wait. Why did I care if he did that?

"How about you?" he asked, bringing my focus back to him.

I told Zane about my mostly-boring month. Then I told him about the time I spent with Ethan and Liam visiting Andreladia.

"You have to agree that that is a weird name for a place," I told him.

"Actually, Erick wanted to name the place after his father."

I frowned in sadness, remembering how I was told of King Andrew's death. It had been a sad month in Crystalia. It took longer for us who were close to him to move on.

"Why call it Andreladia? Why not Andrewson or Andrew City?"

"Elizabeth wanted to make the area more formal," Zane said, using air quotes at the last word. I laughed out loud, earning a smile from him.

"Well, if Andreladia is formal, what about Joshalia?"

"Let's not even go there," Zane said as he chuckled. "I think they were too lazy to give names to the areas. Might as well give the children a laugh and create a job vacancy for naming places."

I laughed with Zane, noticing how he smiled and how his eyes lit up in front of me. We continued talking about random stuff.

"I'm bored," I said after spending some time talking to the hunk in front of me. 

Stop thinking like that, Emery! I chastised myself.

I had laid my head on one of the armrests. My legs were on the floor, and so it was an uncomfortable position. Zane playfully rolled his eyes at me.

"But you have been watching so many series," he said.

"Still bored," I replied, not even concerned with the irony of my situation.

"Okay. If you are so bored, then we could both get out for a while."

I immediately sat up on my chair.

"Where else could we go? I spent most of the month with Liam, Ethan, Ashley and my cousin."

"Who?"

"Selena," I replied, knowing he was confused about my cousin.

"Oh."

"Anyway," I continued, "I was given a tour around Andreladia and the city. I even stood on the Crystalia mountains last week."

"Emery, have you been to the forest?" Zane asked, earning a snort from me.

"Hell no. What if there are dangerous animals in there?"

Zane looked at me in disbelief.

"The dangerous animals are only located in the forest near Andreladia. The Joshalia forest only has birds, squirrels and sometimes deer."

I blinked in shock at Zane.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Why didn't anyone tell me that?"

"You didn't ask!"

I sighed.

"We can go now if you want," Zane said. "Oh! We could even have a picnic. I promise that you will love it."

I went along with Zane's plan. We headed towards the kitchen where we helped each other prepare a meal that we could eat outdoors. Ten minutes later, we were walking out of the house with a picnic basket in my hand.

"Let me carry that for you," Zane offered, taking the basket out of my hold as we went towards the forest that was currently filled with green.

Spring had come to Crystalia. The snow had melted to reveal large patches of growing green grass, and green leaves practically sprung out of the trees. As we walked, I heard the sounds of birds that I had no idea existed.

Zane and I headed towards the back of my house where I suddenly noticed the many trees that existed. They were currently what I could see from my bedroom window, and I had no idea if I should have felt safe about them. Zane had told me how safe it was, and so I wouldn't have to worry about man-eating creatures breaking through my window to eat me.

The sun had been beating down on us, and we were suddenly in the shades provided by the tree leaves. Crystalia was still cold, but it was a lot less cold than it was in winter.

All I could hear were the sounds of birds and the crunching of our feet on the grass.

"Zane, where are we going?" I questioned the person who did not bother turning to look at me when we were walking further into the forest. I guess he was focused.

"You'll find out," he replied.

"Where is it?"

"You'll know when we get there."

I decided to drop the subject, seeing that Zane was not going to answer my questions. Maybe he didn't even know where we were going. He said he knew some spot in the forest. What if it had disappeared? Was it even possible for Zane to forget this 'place'?

I wouldn't have blamed him if he did. If we were lost, it would have been a big issue if we were powerless. It made me glad I was a witch.

About thirty minutes filled with small conversations later, we arrived at a small clearing. The area was partially covered with trees, but what had my attention was one of the Crystalia rivers that was flowing on our right. A couple of flowers were growing on one of its sides, much to my astonishment.

"Oh my," I commented at the beautiful view in front of me. The trees encircled the clearing in the form of a 'C'. On the other side of the river, there seemed to also be another clearing before it disappeared within the many trees.

"It's beautiful."

"I know," Zane said as I felt his eyes on me. I turned to face him, and I thought I saw him move his head to face something on his left. May have been a trick of the eyes.

Or maybe...

No. I did not want raise any expectations of something that may not be true. I didn't want to hope because that would spare me the embarrassment of being turned down.

"I never knew this place existed," I said.

"It has been my private sanctuary. It's practically where I go to think and stuff."

"Wait. No one knows about this place?"

"No one but you," Zane stared deeply into my eyes. A warm feeling I quickly regretted ran through my form. I took a large gulp, fearing that I may lose control and melt in front of him. 

I couldn't believe Zane still had such an effect on me. What was worse was that they had grown stronger.

"Wow. Thank you," I had no idea how I found my voice, but I was glad I did not make a fool of myself. Zane smiled at me as he walked towards the basket.

About five minutes later, we had both sat on a blue-checkered blanket that covered a fraction of the clearing. We took out the meals we decided to bring for our lunch. They were comprised of chicken sandwiches, two apples, and four small boxes of juice.

By then, I was sure it was afternoon. Zane and I slowly ate our lunch as we talked about other stuff. 

"How many girlfriends have you had?" I asked, and I immediately regretted it. Zane coughed after I had asked. He looked at me in surprise.

"Nevermind," I said, wanting to end the awkward conversation.

"Four of them. You, unfortunately, know one of them," he said. "There was also Perrie, Gigi and Simone."

I nodded along, wanting the conversation to end.

"So, anything else interesting in your life that I should know about?"

Zane expressed a look of thought.

"None," he said, and we were back to silently eating. I