Clover passed through the mirror. Shamrock and Chelia waited for her to join them. “Sorry I’m late,” she said as she greeted the two. “Do you have the yellow jewel?”
“Right here,” Shamrock said, patting his side pocket. “Now we need to find Arle.”
“We have to be careful,” Clover warned. “There’re two of her. One of them is a bad version, and I think she’ll try to hurt Arle. We have to get the jewel to Arle so she can become a magical girl again, and defeat the other Melilot.”
“You’re not going to find her,” the dark Melilot said, appearing in the air overhead. “This world is my playground, and Arle is merely one of my toys. She’s been put away, out of sight, may as well be out of mind.”
“What should we do?” Chelia asked. “I don’t have any experience with this.”
“Just step back and watch us,” Shamrock told her. He smiled at her. “I have enough experience to handle this.” He pulled the yellow jewel from his pocket. He handed it to Clover. “Go look for Arle. We’ll handle things here.”
Clover took the jewel. She looked at the grassy hills and sparse trees. Down the hill, she noticed a beat-up old wood house. “I saw her near that last time. Maybe she’s inside.” She hurried down the hill.
Chelia’s eyes followed Clover down the hill, then shift to the old house.
“Watch what I do,” Shamrock instructed, causing Chelia to abruptly turn back toward him. “She hasn’t made any moves yet. If she doesn’t attack, we shouldn’t attack. If we provoke a fight, there’s a chance of getting hurt that might not happen otherwise.”
“Oh, I’m not looking for a fight,” the dark Melilot said from up above. “I’m just here to watch and see what happens.”
“So now what?” Chelia asked. “Do we just stand here and wait?”
“We do need to keep an eye on her. If we let her out of our sight, she might appear as Arle to Clover, and take the yellow jewel.”
Melilot smiled as she looked down on the two. “Watch me as long as you want. I enjoy the attention.”
At the old house down the hill, Clover pushed the old door open. She looked around, seeing dust all over. She stepped in, the wooden floor boards creaking under her shoes. “Arle? Are you in here?”
“Is that you, Clover?” a voice asked.
“Arle?”
A closet door shook, then pushed open. Arle stepped out from the closet. “I was afraid, and didn’t know what to do, so I hid in here. Is that other me gone?”
“Not yet. We need your help to stop her.”
“But, what can I do?” Arle asked as Clover walked up to her.
Clover took Arle’s hand in hers. She placed the yellow jewel on Arle’s palm. “You’re the real Melilot. You can’t let that fake intimidate you. You must confront her, or you’ll never be free.”
“I understand,” Arle said. She lifted the jewel in her fingers. “With this jewel, I am a Lucid Dreamer. I am Melilot.” The jewel flashed, and Arle became Melilot.
Outside, Melilot fell back, a flash of light returning her to Arle. Shamrock jumped into the air, a gust of wind lifted him, and slowing Arle’s fall. She slowly sank into Shamrock’s open arms, and the two descended to the ground.
“Are you all right?” Shamrock asked.
Arle looked around. “Where’d she go? Where’s the other me?”
Chelia walked over to the two. “Aren’t you the one who hid her?”
“Hid her? I was the one hiding. The other me found me, and I became her, and she became me. I don’t know what happened next. But now I’m here.”
“Wait, if you’re really Arle,” Chelia started, looking at Arle, then at the bottom of the hill, “does that mean the fake one is down there with Clover?”
“Is Clover here, too?” Arle asked. She struggled to get down from Shamrock’s arms, prompting him to set her on her feet. “If Clover and Samuel are both here, maybe I can do something.” She looked at Chelia. “Are you are..?”
“My name is Chelia, but certainly you recognize me by another name, Lady Alsike?”
“You do look familiar. Are you…? Yes, you are. You’re Cecilia. You’re Ceciliate Medic. I apologize. My mind is a bit foggy right now.”
“It is understandable, Lady Alsike. Please, rest here. Shamrock and I can check on Clover.”
“Not a good idea,” Shamrock said. “We need to stick together. Arle, even if you need to rest, you’ll have to come with us.”
“I wouldn’t stay even if you told me to,” Arle responded. “A lot of bad things have happened because I told my sister about you and Clover. I want to do everything I can to help out.”
Inside the house, Melilot looked out a dusty broken window.
“What’s happening?” Clover asked. “Did that other Melilot just fall? I couldn’t see it very well.”
“She fell, and Shamrock caught her. He’s certainly good at what he does.”
“Yeah, he’s a lot more experienced than me at being a magical kid. She we go meet them now, so you can prove once and for all who the real Arle is?”
“I suppose I should. It’ll probably be too late by then, however. They probably know about the switch already.”
“What switch?” Clover asked.
“You haven’t figured it out yet?” Melilot asked, looking back at Clover. “Don’t look down.”
“Down?” Clover looked down. The boards vanished from underneath her feet, Clover falling into the basement.
“I told you not to look down,” Melilot said, looking at Clover from the first floor. The boards re-appeared, leaving Clover in darkness.
The front door opened. Shamrock entered, followed by Arle, then Chelia. The three looked around the room, their eyes stopping on Melilot.
“Where’s Clover?” Shamrock asked.
“Who?” Melilot said back.
“Don’t play games with me,” Shamrock told her.
“Games? Who’s playing games?” Melilot looked around. “I don’t see anyone named Clover here. How is it a game?”
“I’ll look around for Clover outside,” Chelia suggested.
“No,” Shamrock said, grabbing Chelia’s hand. “She wants us to split up.”
“No offense, Shamrock, but I think I’m old enough to handle myself. I’ll be all right. I’m just going to go look for Clover, okay?” She pulled her hand from his loose grip, then she headed outside, closing the door behind her.
“Is Clover outside?” Melilot asked. “Somehow I don’t think she is. She’s probably lost in the dark somewhere, crying because she doesn’t know her way out.”
Shamrock gritted his teeth. “I’ll ask you again: Where is Clover?”
“I assure you, she’s perfect safe wherever she is. Maybe a few cuts or bruises, but otherwise unharmed.”
Shamrock took a few steps closer to Melilot. “Where is she?” he demanded.
“I dare you to take another step,” Melilot said to him.
“Fine.” Shamrock stepped forward. As he foot lifted, the boards started to shake underneath him. He stepped down to find the floor vanishing from below his feet. Shamrock fell forward, into the dark of the basement. As he disappeared below, the boards returned.
The door opened again, Chelia returning. “I went all the way around the house, but I didn’t see Clover anywhere.” She looked a the girls standing on either side of the room. “Where’s Shamrock?”
“Melilot dropped him under the floor,” Arle explained. “We’ll probably be next! What should we do?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done this sort of thing before. I don’t know where to begin with a Rainbow Jewel.”
“Just think of something, and it’ll happen,” Arle told her. “It really is that simple.”
“Think, think,” Chelia whispered to herself. She closed her eyes. “Think, think. Just imagine it.”
Melilot smiled. The flood boards vanished from under Chelia, dropping her into the darkness. The boards reappeared. “Are you ready to concede defeat, other me?”
Arle stepped back a few steps. She dropped to her knees, and started pounding a fist on the wood floor, the repeated impact padded by the layers of dust. “Clover, are you down there? Can you hear me? Shamrock, what should I do? Someone, please help me!”
“You can do anything,” Clover’s voice called from below. Arle blew away dust, then put her ear to the wood. She listened to Clover’s words. “This is your dream. You have complete control over it, even if you don’t have a magical jewel. You can do anything if you can imagine it.”
“My dream?” She sat up. “Is this a dream? I’m dreaming? And I can do anything?” She lifted herself to her feet. “If this is really my dream, then I don’t want to be Melilot anymore. Melilot is a bad person who does bad things. I don’t want to allow her to do anything else bad.”
“This is who you are,” Melilot told her. “I am who you are.”
“No. You’re wrong. You’re Melilot, but I’m not. From now on, I am a new magical girl.” Yellow lights shimmered around Arle. “I’ll be a sweet magical girl, just like Clover said I could.” Her black hair turned yellow. “I am no longer Melilot.” The brown of her eyes became yellow. “From now on,” yellow took over as the hue of her clothes, “my name is Sweet.” The anklet with the yellow jewel vanished from Melilot’s ankle. It appeared on Sweet’s ankle.
“This can’t be,” Melilot said. “You weren’t supposed to be able to control your dream like this.” Melilot faded away.
Sweet waved a hand out, the floor vanishing before her. A staircase of wood appeared.
Chelia from the darkness below first. She hurried over to Sweet. “You did it, Lady Alsike,” Chelia said, taking the girl’s hands into her own. “Rather, Lady Sweet,” she corrected. “You have faced your inner foe, and you came out victorious.”
Clover and Shamrock reached the top of the stairs. Shamrock gave a thumb’s up pose, and Clover giggled to see it.
The entire house shook for a moment. The blue sky outside turned red-orange.
“Thank you all for waiting for me,” Macrae called out. The wooden house vanished, leaving those inside standing on dirt. They looked to see Macrae walking down the hill toward them. “Thank you for keeping my jewels all in one place for me.”
