Wonder Lost

Preparations

Everyone froze. The crowd, seeing the change in Frederick’s expression, quieted, hundreds of heads turning toward her. Simon slowed the car to a stop. Leo and Isabella had already been frozen the moment Frederick appeared.

“That’s impossible,” Frederick whispered. “How—?”

“There’s nothing impossible here, Frederick,” Isabella said, flying above the car and landing on the street. The crowd gasped. Isabella quickly tapped into her memory of her first kiss, Leo’s hands stroking her tear-stricken cheeks and turned partly invisible. “As you can see, I’m clearly dead. I’m just trying to send a message to my… how do you call it… ex-boyfriend? Boyfriend? Widowed-boyfriend?”

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Frederick whispered. “Leonardo, do you see Isabella?”

“Yes, sir,” Leo said. “I was just spending the day with her. It’s been a very happy day, compared to the others.”

“And how long has she been dead?” Frederick asked.

“Almost 3 months now.”

“And, Isabella, why have you come back?” Frederick asked.

“I told you: I wanted to visit my family.”

“Is there any other reason?” he pushed.

“Well I just wanted to tell you that I know your secret. And I haven’t told anyone yet, just so you know.” Frederick’s pale, translucent face blushed a fierce red.

“What secret?” he whispered, a look of shock on his face.

“The one that involves a murderer and a baby.” Frederick’s face blushed deeper. “And I’ve also cursed the murderer and his daughter.”

“You can’t—”

“Now, Frederick, as powerful as you are, I am much more powerful and I’m untouchable, being dead and all. But should you do anything to hurt the baby or the two gentlemen in this car, I will expose your secret to everyone: your followers, everyone in the Oasis, the other Cosmos… So I suggest that you leave now. And take your followers with you.”

“You’re forgetting something: why should anyone believe you? And how do I know you aren’t dead? This could be some trick—” Frederick’s rant was interrupted by an arrow made of air going through his chest. His knees buckled, the air knocked out of him.

“What was that?” he asked. There were tears in his eyes. “How do you know about Francine?”

“When the arrow went through your chest, it showed you your greatest sorrow, which in your case is your sister, Francine, who was cast from the Cosmos hundreds of years ago.”

“Wait, you spied on me last night?” Frederick asked, his face a mix of various expressions.

“Well, when you’re dead, you have a lot of free time, so yes.” Frederick scowled. “Now I suggest you leave before I expose you.” Frederick glared at her, trying to hide his grief. He faded away, and his followers disappeared with him. Isabella crumbled to the ground and immediately passed out.

Her father was waiting for her.

“Bella,” he said. “I’m sure you realize that your suspicions are correct. There will be a battle coming soon, but before that can happen, you are going to have to make a decision that may mark the end of your quest. And I just want to say that whatever you choose we will all be proud of you. You will face the consequences, but they will always be better than the easy choice.” His body flickered. “You’re waking now, but don’t forget what I said. Good luck, Bella.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Isabella said as she woke up. She groaned, a seat belt buckle digging into her back.

“Isa, are you okay?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Isabella mumbled. She sat up. “Where are we?” She looked at the dense forest in front of them.

“Driving back home,” Simon said. He seemed angry. She looked at Leo through the side mirror. His face looked guilty and nervous.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. Nobody answered. “Hello? Can you hear me? Simon? The last time I checked, I wasn’t dead.”

“You never told me about the Cosmos. Or Rose. Or Tim. Or our parents. Or our house.”

“You told him?” Isabella exclaimed to Leo. “I thought we were going to protect him, not bring him into this! Do you know how deep we’re in this as it is? Both Frederick and Liam know that I can appear. They might begin to suspect something!”

“Isa, please—”

“No!” she said. “You promised me you wouldn’t tell him! I didn’t want him to know! Now he’s in danger! How could you!” Isabella felt a lump in her throat and put her head in her hands.

“Isa—”

“Stop,” she said, her voice breaking. “Please.”

Isabella was terrified. What if their plan backfired and the Cosmos—or really, Frederick—found out she wasn’t dead? Then anyone who knew anything about Frederick’s acts of treason would be hunted and killed. What if Simon was… no, she couldn’t think about it. Tears came to her eyes but she wiped them away, hating being so weak.

She felt the car slow down, but she knew they weren’t in Liviette. She heard Leo’s door open and his soft footsteps on the road. The door next to her opened and Leo stepped in the backseat, kneeling next to her.

“Isa,” he whispered. “I’m sorry. You know that I would never have told him, but he was begging to know, for your sake. I should have waited, and I feel awful for it.” He paused. “I really am sorry.” Isabella couldn’t speak. She was going to start crying if she did, and she didn’t want Leo to feel any worse.

“Isa, please,” he begged. “Talk to me. I’m sorry.” Isabella tried to forget about Simon for a moment. The lump in her throat disappeared and she looked at him. His eyes reflected her melancholy expression.

“What if they find out?” she whispered. “And they come after him?”

“Isa, they won’t find out. Not unless you tell them. The Cosmos can’t even see us, so they won’t know. Simon’s going to be fine.”

“Honestly, Bella, you act as if I can’t take care of myself,” Simon said.

“That’s because you can’t,” Isabella said, sitting up. Leo sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“For now,” Isabella said. “Where are we?”

“We’ll be in Liviette in thirty minutes,” Simon replied. “Tony said we’re going to get the jobs today.” They rode in silence, Isabella curling up next to Leo.

Suddenly, Simon’s phone rang. He looked down at his phone to see the caller ID and pressed accept.

“Hello?” he said. He paused. “Yes… why? Oh, okay… I’m sure that’s fine, I mean I would prefer it, but I don’t know if she will.” Isabella looked at Leo, who was looking at Simon. “Okay. Thanks, Tony. Bye.”

“What did he say?” Isabella and Leo said in unison. Before answering, Simon moved to the edge of his seat, away from Isabella.

“He said that…” he moved even farther away, “you aren’t allowed to get the job.” Isabella furrowed her eyebrows, deep in thought.

“I’m confused. Why?”

“He said that it would be too dangerous, and we need you to spy on the Cosm—”

“No,” Leo said sternly. “Isa’s not going to risk her life by travelling to another planet and turning invisible. Remember the last time she tried that? How are you allowing this, Simon?”

“I was going to talk to Tony about it,” Simon said. “Calm down, Leo. I know what I’m doing.” Isabella, surprisingly, was fine with not going. She didn’t know why she wanted to stay, but maybe she could be of use to this team.

After a few long moments, Simon parked in the Oasis’ garage. They got out and went inside, sitting at the dining table where steaming plates of steak and rice awaited.

“Isabella, you’re fine with this?” Tony asked her.

“Yes, but only the part where I don’t have to go. I can’t spy on the Cosmos anymore than you can, except if you count through dreams.”

“Okay…” Tony said, thinking it over. “Leo, Simon, go get ready. Get Via to help you disguise yourselves. Isabella, you can keep eating.”

“That’s okay, Tony, I’m full. But thank you.” She excused herself and went into her bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair. She sat on her bed. Leo came into her room, taking her face in his hands and gently kissing her. After he pulled away from the too-short-kiss, he led her into bed.

“Goodnight, love,” Leo said. Isabella moved her hand from his chest to his hair, brushing it back. She got a whiff of his natural aroma.

“You smell good,” she mumbled, half asleep. “Like cinnamon and vanilla.” Leo chuckled softly.

“And you smell like strawberries.” They fell asleep.

In the morning, Isabella woke up to find Leo gone. She was too tired to think, but after a minute, she sat up.

“Leo?” She got out of bed and saw Leo at her dresser, looking at the vase of hydrangeas in the corner. “Are you okay?” Leo turned around.

“Yeah, sorry, Isa,” Leo said. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“It’s four o’clock. Come back to sleep.”

“I can’t. Please, Isa.” Isabella got out of bed and took his face in her hands.

“What happened? What did you see?” Isabella asked, assuming it was from a dream.

“Nothing, baby,” Leo said. He changed the subject. “I have to train, but you can go back to sleep.”

“Leo, you promised to tell me anything that bothered you,” Isabella reminded him, bringing the subject back up.

“Isa, I’m fine. It isn’t bothering me. I promise. Now go back to sleep.”

“Leo, can you do me a favor?” Isabella requested. Leo smiled.

“It depends on what it is.” Isabella frowned.

“You don’t trust me,” she stated.

“I do… but I can’t tell you the one thing. If your request doesn’t have anything to do with my dream, then I’ll do it.”

“Can you come back to sleep? You don’t have to train yet. You can still get an extra hour of sleep.” Leo kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her.

“Sure, Isa,” he whispered. He walked back to bed with her and Isabella didn’t go to sleep until she heard Leo’s steady breathing.

When they woke up again, Leo got up and went into his room to get ready. Isabella woke up half an hour later and saw Leo above her, her head in his lap.

“Good morning, Leo,” Isabella muttered. She was exhausted.

“We’re leaving today,” Leo said, “to go to Liam’s fortress.” Isabella sat up and frowned.

“How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“As long as it takes. I’ll try to take many sick days,” he added, with a large, irresistible grin. Isabella kissed him softly.

“Promise me you’ll be safe?” she said once he pulled away.

“I’ll be back in one piece,” he guaranteed. She heard Via calling his name and kissed him again.

“I love you!” she called as he walked out of the room.

“I love you more, Isa,” Leo said. Isabella walked out of her bedroom after a minute and got ready. She went into the training room. Before she could start training, she saw Amanda at the training room doorway.

“Via needs you to come into her room. She’s going to give you a makeover,” Amanda said, with a sour expression towards her. She muttered, “A makeover that you greatly need.” Isabella pretended not to hear that comment. She followed Amanda into Via’s room, and Amanda rushed out of the room after dropping her off.

“Hi, Via,” Isabella greeted. Via smiled at her.

“Hey,” she said. “Can you take a seat? Tony wants you to go outside or something—he didn’t give me many details but he wants me to cut your hair and try to make you look different.”

“Cut my hair?” Isabella asked, subconsciously feeling her long locks of hair. They went down to the bottom of her shoulder blade. “How short?”

“Maybe up to your shoulders,” Via said, taking out various hairdressing tools. “And then we would curl it or something. Take a seat over there,” she instructed politely, pointing to a shampoo sink. Isabella sat down and put her head back. Via started to wash it and Isabella smelled various fragrances coming off of it.

“So are you only changing my hair, or—?”

“No, I wanted to give you these beautiful blue contacts, too. They look so good!” Via exclaimed. “And maybe I can try some new clothes, or makeup… Liam wouldn’t expect you to wear makeup, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Isabella said. She felt Via rinsing her hair out. She wrapped it in a towel and moved her to another chair.

“Wow, you have long hair!” Via said. “Do you mind that I’m cutting it?” Isabella thought of the safety of everyone in the Oasis, and every one of her friends relying on her.

“No, I don’t mind.”

Via began cutting long strands of her hair, and wouldn’t let Isabella see her hair until she was completely finished. Finally, Via handed her a mirror.

Isabella gasped, but she was speechless. Her hair had darkened but the color was the same. Otherwise, there were no other similarities. Her hair popped up to almost above her shoulders because of the wavy curls in it. It was parted from the side, and some loose strands came out from behind her ear.

“It looks so good,” she whispered. She saw Via standing behind her chair, with a large grin across her face.

“Do you like it?” she asked.

“I love it!” Isabella touched the soft curls, and watched as they bounced up and down as she walked.

“Come, let me get you the contacts.” Via led her to a sink where she gave her a contact case.

“Do you know how to put them in?” Via asked. Isabella nodded.

“I’ve had some experience,” she replied. Isabella opened the case and put the contacts in, blinking a few times before she got used to them. Via did her makeup, applying light mascara, some blush, and lipstick. She looked into a mirror and saw the face of a new person staring back at her. Her eyes were a beautiful periwinkle and her cheeks were rosy. Her lashes were long and defined and Isabella’s lips were a rich red.

“Via, you’re so good at this!” Isabella exclaimed. Via smiled.

“Thank you,” she replied. “Tony needs you in his office. He has to talk to you about something.” Isabella nodded.

“Okay, well, thank you so much, Via,” Isabella said.

“No problem,” Via said as Isabella walked out of the room. She walked to Tony’s office, where he was sitting at his desk. He closed his computer when she sat down. He raised his eyebrows at her; not in a mocking way, but just in shock.

“Via works wonders, doesn’t she?” Tony speculated as he organized his thoughts. “So… we need you to test your disguise. Just go out into the city and buy some groceries or something. We just want to see if any of Liam’s servants are here, so if anyone looks at you funny, or looks familiar, text me.” Isabella nodded.

“What if someone recognizes me and attacks?” she asked. “Or if they report something to Liam?”

“Then go invisible and scare them,” Tony suggested. “Leo said you could do that…?”

“I can, but it’ll be hard.” Tony looked disappointed. “But I’ll try.” The corners of his mouth lifted into a small grin.

“Okay,” he said. “Go now, the supermarket is three blocks from here.”

“I don’t have any money,” Isabella said. Tony gave her a stack of liotts. “I don’t think supermarkets charge this much for a couple of fruits.”

“Just take some extra so you have it.” She smiled and said goodbye. Isabella stepped out of the room and went outside. She walked three blocks and got to the supermarket in less than five minutes. She picked up some fruit and some steak and payed at the register. She observed everyone who passed her, taking her time to count out thirty one liotts. Isabella didn’t see anyone familiar.

“Thank you,” she told the cashier. She left the supermarket and made her way down the street.

Before she opened the door, she heard an alarm going off. She quickly opened it and the alarm became louder and more urgent. Isabella ran through the hallways, trying to find the cause of the commotion. She took the stairs two at a time and saw Tony talking to Simon. She ran to them.

“What’s going on?” Isabella asked. Tony slowly turned around to face her but he couldn’t meet her eyes. “What happened?”

“One disguise didn’t work,” Simon answered.

“Which one?”

“Leo’s.”