She felt hands grabbing her and someone else's voice drowning out the mermaid's words as she was pulled away. She fought the hands and opened her eyes to see herself surrounded by the spellsinger organization again.

Kathy who had been raised by a normal human mother (and nothing to do with spellsingers and their world) grew suspicious at this change in the mermaid's tone. Like always, she felt her anger rising once more as she struggled to understand what the mermaid meant about her father.

But surprisingly, this time she felt sanity return quickly and she asked calmly, though still warily, "My father is dead, are you talking about bringing him back?"

((good idea))

((I have a feeling the mermaid wants Kathy for herself, she will be sent to the mermad world and has to d something to lift the curse with her power))

((YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!))

((Yeah, Now I can sort of see it that way, but should we decide on an ending and work towards it?))

((YES!))

((no that's fine we're all writing this together. You can add whatever you want to, I was just thinking that right now it's kinda more like Katherine against the other spellsingers than all the spellsingers against something else.

((The machine was just to add conflict, if you didn't like it there can be plenty of other ways to make conflicts.))

((I like the part about her worrying about her real voice Thomas, but she's already pretty much accepted that the magic is real, she just doesn't want to believe in it (if anyone else wasn't getting that same vibe tell me please!) Where did the machine thing come from?

I have been thinking of a way to have an ending, and I hope everyone thinks it is good.

Kathy, being a real spell singer, probably has never heard her actual singing, without the magic. After she finally decides that magic is real, I think she might want to find a way to listen to her actual voice. The antagonist of the story might have a plan to hypnotize everyone into doing what he wishes. Unfortunately for he/she, spell singers can brake that trance. The antagonist will make a device that can either temporarily disable their powers, or sap them completely. ((How they defeat this person is not important, maybe the mermaid helps, but after wards, ))Kathy walks towards the machine and uses it to temporarily take away her powers, just long enough for her to sing to herself, letting everyone know how her regular voice is, since she is scared she has a horrible voice after she starts to believe. ((We can decide wether or not her voice will be beautiful, or horrible.))

This is just an idea, but if we decide on an ending first, and then work to it, that way it will end sooner.((Maybe there will be a sequel... :) ))

the stories in this group never end they just keep going. Let's try for an end to this one ok guys?

Huh? Janeen, what are you talking about?

DragonEyes posted on her blog again wrote: "Thomas wrote: "I am a little confused, I thought spell singers could not use their power on other spell singers. How would they know that she was a spell singer in the first place?"

Hi Thomas! You..."



((They never end....))

Thomas wrote: "I am a little confused, I thought spell singers could not use their power on other spell singers. How would they know that she was a spell singer in the first place?"

Hi Thomas! You're right they can't use their magic on other spell singers, or rather the others with the same magic are immune to it. But that's why they are after Katherine, because she's got the REAL SpellSinger magic. That's what the mermaid's on about too. The other spellsingers somehow gave up their magic or diluted it with something else, but that part isn't really clear yet. Also we don't know what the mermaid's after, cause I get the feeling she wants something from Katherine.

DE is the story ending, i feel like giving her a quest of some kind?

The story isn't done quite yet, but we should be getting close. Have you noticed that none of these stories in this group seem to end? Well, I Think she needs to find out more about this mermaid, and about whatever choice it was that caused the spellsingers to mess up their magic, and something will happen with that unerstanding she gains. Then maybe she can fully accept her magic or get rid of it forever and that will be the end. How's that sound to you all?))

Thomas wrote: ""What use is it to sing if it doesn't make me happy?!" Kathy screamed, "Why was I the one to be cursed with this so called power that everyone thinks is wonderful?! I just have a good singing voice..."

((She isn;t speaking oldy in the fourth paragraph!!! Fixy!!!!))

((oh))

((Her dad is dead, but part of him stayed in Kathy's dreams, at least that is what I was trying to get at.))

((Maybe she has to find her dad?))

((This is a pretty long story))

((ok with me too...Kathy does have a lot of people emoting for her hehee

DE is the story ending, i feel like giving her a quest of some kind))

((Its okay!))

(( I know you tell people that you can't type too much, but are you sure that it is okay that I type this much? ))

"What use is it to sing if it doesn't make me happy?!" Kathy screamed, "Why was I the one to be cursed with this so called power that everyone thinks is wonderful?! I just have a good singing voice that's all! Even if I did have this singer ability, what use would I be? Well? They aren't about to be extinct like in book with people trying to find a hero! All these people are just greedy people with a thirst for a power that isn't even real!"

"Speak no more!" shouted the mermaid through her translucent teeth, looking quite insulted. "Thow have been gifted with a power your father also had, he with his piano. You disgrace him! Don't thy wish for your father to be proud of thee? Surely thy self has a reason for not singing your sweet song!" the mermaid finished.

"You don't understand," said Katharine quietly, "I told everyone I quit singing because daddy died, and that is partly true, but there is a bigger reason. I just can't sing unless he plays. That is the only time I feel happy enough to sing," explained, waiting for another crude taunt.

Instead of a crude taunt, Kathy saw a smile curl up on the mermaid's face, almost making it look human. "I understand thow pain child," she said with now not anger, but understanding in her voice. "Your father still loves thee, I see him every day. When thow dreamt earlier, thow father wanted to talk to thee, let you know how much he misses thee, but he needed to helpeth thee pursue thy gift of singing. If thow want, I can make passage for him to come to your dreams and mind any time thee wish. That way, thow can have a piece of thy father any time you like," the warm looking fish woman said.

((I am a little confused, I thought spell singers could not use their power on other spell singers. How would they know that she was a spell singer in the first place?))

"Katherine. This is your last chance." It was that same mermaid that had been in her dreams for the last few days. Her horrible cartilage teeth gleamed translucently creepy as her enchanting voice spoke. "You have been given three; just as the others were. Will you truly decide to stay cursed as you ancestors chose to be?"((She's only had 2 other dreams about the mermaid right? or maybe only two where the mermaid spoke?)) Everything about her was enchanting but her face, slashed across the cheeks with red gills and those horrible teeth coupled with eyes that seemed to drill through Katherine in their stormy intensity.
"Wha- what do you mean?" Katherine managed to stutter out, her own voice sounding torn up and gravely in comparison to the creature's.
"Will you forsake your voice, your birthright, and your power with it, just as they did, so that you can live among the humans? Live cursed without song and forsaken by the best world?" The creature gestured impossibly beautifully behind and beside her. For the first time Katherine realized that she was standing up to her waist in water, the waves headed for the sandy beach behind her for some reason parting around the mermaid so the water they stood in was completely without movement.

((I'm not sure what to put here Nausheen... I'll have to think of something. K?))

De 1ne St[♥:]r Pr!nc:$$ N[♥:]ush"n wrote: "((she 's not good with feet))tee hee"

((LOL))

She banged on the door with all her pent up fury hoping to force it open with the sheer force of her desire to escape.The door remained shut, she went down on her knees hugging the door and sobbed for quite a while...still no one came and the door remained closed.

'What am I to do' she said, 'I don't want to sing, they all want me to and it's just so wrong. I can't allow myself to be forced this way.'

While she was engrossed in this internal turmoil, she heard a voice calling her name from very far away, it was a strange sweet sound and oddly had no words to it..it was just a melody floating into her mind and flooding her senses. She started singing the ancient mer song of her ancestors......

the ocean was really blue, and she was gliding on a sunbeam across the water as it rippled, she felt a hand on her hand and looked down...

((she 's not good with feet))tee hee

((...'which seemed 10 feet high'??

No one stopped her this time and she kept walking on. She found herself infront of a large door which seemed 10 feet high. She looked for a handle, the door had many small squares on it and all of them had a knob thing on them. She looked for a key hole and found none.

She continued down the corridor, clenching and unclenching her fists, hating everyone. She gritted her teeth.

((cool!))

She stood up and started stomping out of the room, pushing people out of her way so she could get to the still open door. Someone grabbed her arm, as if comming out of a daze and she pulled away from him. "Just leave me alone!" she yelled. "Get out of my way!" She was upset and angry and for some reason felt betrayed, even though she couldn't remember ever thinking of Kevin as a friend in the first place. She was so angry that if someone else had interrupted her she would have attacked them.
She walked out the open door unaware that behind her there was a hallway where the people who had heard her sing had obeyed her orders and stepped out of her way...

"Why should I care what your mom says, she is just like the rest of them!" said Kathy.

"Where's the door?" she asked him, "this is the most terrible thing that has ever happened to me...I feel like I am being tortured just cos I can sing. And I don't even do that anymore, I have just forgotten..." she railed, her voice rising up to the ceiling of the white room. She wanted to scream some more but couldn't think of anything else to say...it all seemed so unimaginable that these cultists could control her this way and just keep her here without any care in the world.

Mad, angry, and also hungry, she stared at a far point in the room, until Kevin shook her and said "hey! you must trust the old man, he knows a lot about spell singers."

She didn't believe him so he continued, "My mom said he can help you if you stop fighting"

She was not given any visitors for several hours and it was long until her dinner, so she did the only logical thing to do, she slept.

In this dream, she was so peaceful. She was a little girl again and was out in a field spiining amongst the flowers. Whether or not it was a flashback, Kathy didn't care. This was one of the first times in years that she had felt this happy. Then, a hand reached out of her out of nowhere, and Kathy turned to see her visitor.

"Daddy!", she screamed, running into his arms. They hugged and laughed. Kathy's younger self got on his back and they were both still laughing. Kathy's dad started to walk to the house.

...

Kathy looked up at her dad, playing the piano like Beethoven. Better then Beethoven.((Maybe dad was a spellsinger)) Kathy loved her dad's songs and did the thing she loved to do when he played. She sang.

Music filled the neighboorhood and people would go outside just to listen to the beautiful harmony of a man and his daughter. Even with all this commotion, Kathy didn't care, neither did her father, they just kept on doing what they did best, the only audience they cared about was mom, and them.

They music started to blur and everything started to fade away. Kathy knew what was happening.

"NO don't go!", she screamed,"Don't leave me again..." She started to sob lightly, her older self again. She stopped crying and looked up, realizing it wasn't a dream anymore. There she saw at least 50 people, trying to cram themselves in the room.

Kevin walked up and whispered to Kathy, "Did you know that you sing in your sleep?"

They took her to another room, this one like that last room she had been held in had no windows, but it was a stark white room with nothing but a table and some chairs in it.
When she aroused the muffin man in old clothes was watching her. "Sing something for me please." he may have said please, but Katherine could tell keeping silent wasn't a choice she was given.
"I haven't sung anything since my father died several years ago. I'm not about to start doing it now, just because a bunch of cultists believe I'm some kind a special... thing." She kept her voice low and clam as she said that.
"You know, that if the women's rights movement was happening today they would be calling it a cult?" The man asked. Katherine didn't even look up from her hands (that were no longer tied she noticed)to answer. "I don't see how this could possibly be the Women's Right's Movement."
"Very well then." The old man hissed. He was very angry, she could tell. He turned and left the room by a door that was pushed open from the outside, and then closed seamlessly into the white wall. She was still a prisoner, and this time, she was completely alone. Not even Kevin was here to give her the comfort of something familiar.

Kathy was really confused and scared now when she was being led by the couple in business suits...she tried to free herself but she couldn't shake their iron grip. She fainted...

The man nodded and smiled. He gestured to the couple in busiuness suits and they came toward Katherine and started untying her from the bed. The man and Kevin's parents walked out.
Kevin stood in the door and blocked the man and woman who were leading Katherine out. "What is going on here?" he asked.
"Move, please." The woman said to him, ignoring his question.
Kevin glanced at Katherine. "I found her, don't I have any right to know at least what you are doing?"
"No" Said the man, and pushed him out of the doorway and led a struggeling Katherine past where Kevin Lay sparwled on the floor.

she narrowed her eyes. "I have no idea what youre talking about, but if you involve anyone else in this illegal little kidnapping of yours, i guarantee i wont cooperate any more,"

"hrrrmmmmm" he angrily cleared his throat, "you don't know how valuable you are to us, almost precious beyond measure...we're not going to let you go so easily until you tell us how we can go back to who we were, hmm?"
he gave her a meaningful look as if she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"why are you doing this?" she demanded. "Im of no importance to you."

"Now, now. There is no need to panic," he said as calm as ever. "So how ould you feel if your friend were to see you scream?", he questined. Before Kathy could answer he continued,"Evelyn is safe for the time being, but we can not promise her well being until you promise to cooperate and control yourself, understood?"

"You are a nasty man, you can't kidnap me and keep me locked up here forever, I will find a way to escape soon...." she shouted at the muffin man, angry he could calmly talk about Evelyn as if it was the most normal thing in the world

"Well, my dear, you certainly didnt let me finish asking my question. let us try again, shall we?"

Harrumphh!", he growled, while managing to keep a glare on Kathy and Kevin at the same time Then, out of the blue, he smiled. "I see your serious answers assuredly," he said with a genuine smile, " So I know that you will be serious when you answer my next question. True you may want to live, but how important is Evelyn and your family to..."

"NO!", Kathy screamed.

"Oh, i am. completely. you can't tell?"

"How about you get serious now, so I can too? he asked.