*** Not part of the story****

I just wanted to say I have loved reading this. Great job!

Me too! Keep it goin guys. I'm dying to find out where it's all leading!

It was the sound of a key turning in a lock.

She looked around.
A man had locked the shop door and was pulling down the blinds.

She could no longer see the outside world ~ and no-one could see in.
She had never felt so alone.
She was gripped with fear.

The woman behind the counter looked as terrified as she felt.
She had not helped this woman; she had only endangered herself.

Then she heard a welcome voice; a voice she recognised:
"I am still here, Highness. Even if you cannot see me, do not worry, for I shall not leave you. And remember, no-one from this world can see or hear me."

Of course, it was Delia.

Maia relaxed a little and tried to think as calmly as she possibly could, bearing in mind that the man with the key also had a gun ~ and it was aimed straight at her!

Suddenly the soul of a shaolin warrior encompassed her whole being. With a ruthless determination she proceeded to rip her book in half with a killer rage screaming, "WHATS UP WIT THAT!??!". Clinching her fists she warms up with a few moves which eventually lead to a drunken-style demonstration. "Woah this magic really IS real. The man with the key wasn't having it. "Perhaps she has gone insane" he reasoned. With no regrets he squeezed the trigger and fired 4 rounds. Using her drunkin, style the girl starts to backflip for every round fired and catches each bullet with her teeth. She spits them out and looks back at the man with the key and says "I have so many styles, forgive me."

[well, now that's a new twist. And here I thought it was about time for the Prince to show up. But I always knew that women are superior beings. Why wait for the Prince? Clean up the mess herself, and then meet the Prince without being in need of rescue. And I guess we're gonna save the dragon for a real emergency.]

[What's a drunkin style?]

ROFL


I think it is meant to say "drunken" perhaps, as the warrior encompassed her being it was awkward at first?

Sorry off topic let's continue....

The man fled out the door, as did the spirit from Maia, she was understandably shaken, confused and she looked at her drawings strewn about her.

This man was a robber but not the real threat, her drawing clearly showed the event outside the store. The entire drawing was so exact, this detail could not be the one mistake.

Delia spoke, "Princess it seems as though you have become a vessel for magic, you must focus your mind"

Focus indeed, she realized as she just noticed the woman in the shop , passed out on the floor so

she quickly scurried over to help the older lady up from the cold, dirty floor.
"My dear, oh thank you, oh thank you!!"
The princess had replied in a "your very welcome" tone.
"It seems as though the coldness is quickly falling here", the princess asked.
"Perhaps so", said the woman.

The princess thanked the older woman for quickly chatting with her, but princess left down the street with her green and white cape around her neck, while it started snowing....

...snowing??? at this time of year? she looked around for the boy. the large flakes of snow drifted slowly down. with no wind, they spiraled lazily to the ground. maia shook her head as if she had just awakened.
what business did snow have here in junedar? the air was not terribly cold but the snowflakes on her skin gave her goose bumps. delia quietly pawed up beside her, looking with an amused expression at the falling snow.
"mistress, i can see you have much to learn still but i have to tell you that if you catch on to the rest as fast as you did to the plight of the shopkeeper, you will grow from magician apprentice to magician master with little time between." as an afterthought, she bumped maia's arm and said in a slightly muffled voice "here are the gloves you required"
a gentle strum of harpstrings floated on the air as the remaining flakes stopped falling and the temperature was near normal again with no sign of any unusual activity.
delia could sense maia's confusion and decided to give her a little hint, she was after all, very new at this.
"maia, can you think of any reason that it would have snowed now?
remember this... now that your magic is awakening, you will have to learn how to "think" again. when you asked for gloves in there, you also thought how inappropriate the item was. the thing is, your magic can sometimes affect your surroundings so a request like that can be made, yet go "unseen" by others. there are things you are going to have to do that will require you to, shall we say "manipulate" your surroundings or the people near you. i am sure that only a little practice will be needed before you have it just right."
somewhat stunned, maia replied " a dragon and now my own magic! if only my parents could see this!"
the memory of that terrible fire came back to her as clear as when it was happening...

... and Maia was comforted to know that her little dragon friend was still with her.

She had been so unhappy with her boring, unadventurous life, and now she was surrounded by new, amazing friends ~ and she had magical powers! It was almost too much to believe.

As Delia had said, she must learn to be careful.

If she could change the weather with her thoughts, and take on the soul of a Shaolin warrior when in danger, then she must be very powerful ~ and she knew that she must treat her powers with responsibility and respect.

Her powers were new, thouugh. Never before had anything like this happened. It must have been connected to her recent birthday, when she became 18.

If she had had powers before, then surely, even as a baby, she could have rejected the evil ones. She could have prevented that fire, which had destroyed her home ~ and almost destroyed the kingdom. She could have kept her parents from their clutches.

She was beginning to feel calm now. The snow had melted and the sun was shining again.

She must focus ~ focus on the woman in the shop, and the potential dangers that she might encounter. She would have to go back, she was sure of that, but not yet ..

What should she do?
She suddenly knew; she must draw, and let her subconscious mind guide her. But her paper was ripped and her pencils broken!

"Is this what you are looking for?
It was Delia, holding her pad, her pencils and her drawings. All were in perfect condition.

"Let's sit down here", she suggested.

Maia smiled.
They sat down on a little knoll and ...