Authors' Notes: GARGOYLES and everything associated with them belong to Buena Vista and Disney, not Clan LeFemme, Skydancer, or Lisette.  The characters of "Skydancer" and "Lisette" belong to the authors respectively, as well as the characters of Storm and Sunshine belong to Clan LeFemme.  All of the above may not be used without proper permission.  This is the next fic in the Clan LeFemme series.  Feedback is welcomed and appreciated, just be constructive please.  Hope you enjoy our story!

Brief Description: Redecorating in a ghostly manor can always lighten the mood.

Rated: PG

        Janua Caeli was quiet, the damp autumn mist swirled around its cornerstones as the moon began its northward dance across the small field of overgrown lawn to the edge of the wood.  The brightness of earth's satellite began its torturous zig-zag route across the limbs of the towering dark shapes of trees.  The night breeze brought about a rustling from a few lingering leaves that still clung with a weak grip to their stems, trying desperately to defy their ultimate deaths below them.  All around the surrounding treetops a pale mist rose up, shrouding them a ghostly gossamer net through which the bare, skeletal branches slipped to shiver in the stiffening breeze and the pale brightness of the moon overhead.

        The feeble light made its way to the house, enlightening it with it rays and casting a statue on the balcony of the right tower into its luminescence.  Suddenly, weak lines began to fracture the stone surface of the statue as, with a roar, the Skydancer awakened.  Blinking rapidly, the gargess looked around, not quite sure where she was.  Taking in the grassy embankment far below her, she glanced up at the full moon with a few visible stars surrounding, their distant twinkling looking like pinpoints of frozen white light.  Janua Caeli!  She was in the mansion!  With a determined tilt of her chin, Sky took a deep bracing breath of the chill, night air, and squaring her shoulders, walked inside and down the stairs, determined to find Lisette.

        Sky started down the winding staircase of the right tower.  Its ricketiness could be felt by the gargess as she carefully made her way down the ancient wooden staircase.  She liked the privacy of the tower room and had decided to claim it for her own, but the steps had to go!  Just as the Skydancer got about halfway down the staircase, a loud creaking of wood could be heard and the next thing the gargess knew, her foot went directly through the wooden plank of the step!  Gasping in surprise, she clawed the walls of the tower, sending chips of stone flying below.  Weakly pulling her foot free, Sky decided she had had enough of the staircase and spreading her fourteen foot wings, she leaped out into the openness of the middle of the tower and started a spiral glide down towards the bottom.  It was a tight squeeze, but she landed with a thud and caped her wings in around her.  "You are definitely going to need renovating!" she announced to the tower, glancing up at it.  As if in response, a dusting of dirt came floating down at her, hitting her square in the nose.  Wrinkling it in an attempt to prevent a sneeze, Sky shook her head and headed for the door that lead into the living room.  Giving the knob a little shake, she entered the dustiness of the living room.  Glancing around at the moon-enlightened room, the gargess spotted Lisette sprawled out on an antique sofa with a dusty sheet draped over her for a blanket.  The golden egg of Sunshine was clenched in her arms.  Seeing as how the mage was still snoring away despite the fact the sun had long since
set, Sky decided to have some fun waking her.  The gargess first went over and removed the egg from her friend's hands.  Pointing both hands up to the air above the sleeping mage, Sky grinned in anticipation.  "Storm Cloud form!" she commanded softly as streaks of white lightning shot from her hands.  The energy whipped around the room, crackling with its electricity and came together in the form of a small gray cloud above the young woman's head.  Weak thunder could be heard from the small gray mass, but still the mage slept on.  Slowly small drops of rain fell from the gray swirls, wetting the mage's face.  Laughter bubbled up inside the Skydancer as she watched her friend get wet.

        "Aghh!" Lisette screamed as she suddenly joined the world of the conscious, jerked from her deep sleep by the cold water that suddenly splattered her face.  Jumping nimbly to her feet, Lisette tried to hurry away from the onslaught, only to have her feet get caught and twisted in the dusty sheet that had been covering her, sending her tumbling to the hard wood floor.  "Ouch," she murmured as she slowly pushed herself to her knees and turned, her ice blue eyes focused on her friend.  "Not... funny," she stated slowly as she pushed a limp and dripping strand of pale blond hair from her face, her eyes beginning to glow an eerie green color.

        Skydancer slowly started backing away as she tried to contain the laughter that was roaring to burst out from her.  "I am sorry, my friend," she sputtered, trying to keep the smirk off her face.  "I did not mean for you to get hurt."  Seeing the green glow in her friend's eyes, the gargess was beginning to think she had gone too far.

        "Of course you did not, mon amie," Lisette answered with a small grin as she climbed to her feet, her eyes still glowing the same eerie green.  Then, with a snap of her fingers the egg disappeared from her friend's hands and then reappeared in her own.  "Si mon amie aimez l'eau, donnez-elle beaucoup!" (If my friend likes water, give her plenty!) Lisette quickly murmured under her breath, the French coming naturally to her.  Before her friend could react, a small bucket suddenly appeared above Skydancer's head and then tipped to the side, sending the cold water cascading over her friend's form. "And I did not mean that either!" she replied with a small smirk.

        Skydancer screamed in surprise as a splash of cold water suddenly came showering down around her.  Throwing her head back, the remains of her freezing shower soaked her hair and plastered her clothing to her body.  Looking up, she watched as the magical bucket slowly disappeared.  Sputtering, the gargess brought a hand up and wiped some water away from her eyes.  Warily, she glanced over at her friend.  "Well," she said, trying to regain her composure.  "I suppose I *DID* deserve that."  She looked at the mage for a moment and then slowly, a huge grin formed across her face and she burst out laughing.

        Shaking her head, Lisette tried to maintain her aura of anger for a moment longer before she too could hold it no longer and burst into laughter.  "We must look a mess!" Lisette gasped as she took in her grimy satin skirt.  At the start of the night, it had merely been dusty and wrinkled, but now, it was a sopping and grimy mess!  Shaking her head, she quickly snapped her fingers and a moment later she stood in a comfortable pair of blue jeans and a long sleeved dark-gray cotton shirt, perfectly dry once again.  "Would you care for the same?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

        Skydancer let the laughter bubble down throughout her.  Grinning, she watched as her friend changed.  "Yes," she responded, "but no tricks this time!"

        Sighing dramatically, Lisette acted as though she were pondering her friend's request.  "Fine, I will stop with the trickery for *this* night," she said, wiggling her eyebrows before quickly pointing her finger at her friend.  A second later, a pale green mist quickly surrounded her friend's tan form.  When it disappeared, a very dry and clean Skydancer stood in her place.  "Better?" she asked as she hugged the egg towards her, reveling in the laughter, the darkness of the night before escaping her mind for a while.

        Twirling around as the green mist surrounded her, Sky felt the warmth of the magic as it cleaned her up.  Glancing over at her mage-friend, the gargess grinned.  "That beats taking a shower any day!" she exclaimed.  "Though I think I miss my waterfall bathes once in a while."  The gargess made that comment while looking off into space.  "Its been a month since I last saw my mountain home, I think I shall have to pay it a visit soon, especially now since WE have a home.  I should move my things here.  Speaking of which, what do you want to do now with this place?"

        Noticing the far away look that had entered her friend's eyes, Lisette knew that her friend had been picturing her green playground high up on the mountain.  Maybe someday Sky would take her there as well, but for now, she knew that her friend needed to make that next trip to her previous home on her own.  She would come when Sky was ready.  Shaking her head, Lisette focused on Sky's words.  "Hmm.... perhaps we should go exploring?  After all, we have not even entered the majority of the rooms in this manor!  Why, just the dining room, the foyer, and the kitchen... and where did you disappear to this morning?" Lisette trailed off as she suddenly realized that while she had collapsed on the couch in exhaustion, she had vague recollections of her friend leaving a little before the sun rose.

        "The right tower room," Sky answered, nodding towards the tower's door.  "It's all the way up at the top with a balcony window.  I spent the day there, blending in with the gothic scenery.  The steps leading up there leave a lot to be desired, though.  I almost fell through one on the way down.  I glided down the rest of the way.  Thank goodness the passageway is big enough for that!  I imagine the left tower is similar to this one.  If you don't mind, I was thinking on claiming this one for my own."

        Laughing at her friend's excited and long-winded words, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  "Of course!  Sky, the tower room is yours," she acknowledge with a firm shake of her head.  "But that gives us even more reason to explore, for I have yet to find a room for myself!"

        The gargess grinned, green eyes flashing.  "Agreed, Lis," the Skydancer said.  "If the rest of this place is anything like the tower's stairwell, then I think you and I have a lot of work ahead of us."  Walking over to the door of the living room, the female gargoyle looked out into the foyer of the house.  Cobwebs streamed everywhere.  The gargess wrinkled her nose at the grime that layered the foyer.  "Not very enticing, is it?" she commented to the mage.

        Still laughing at their earlier antics, Lisette slowly sidled up to her friend and stepped past her into the dusty foyer.  The beautiful marble floor was littered with plaster, pieces of wood, and other things that she decided would be best not to identify.  "Not entirely," she finally responded as she turned and regarded the stairs that circled the room above.  Turning, she passed the golden egg to her friend, and then with a flick of her wrist, the magic glowing orb once more appeared, lighting their way.  "Well, do we go into that room?" she asked as she nodded towards the room that sat across the foyer from the living room, "or go back to explore the other rooms on the other side of that hallway," she continued as she nodded back to the two doors that sat beneath the stairs opposite of the front door, "or explore the other floors?"

        Sky turned her grass eyes onto the door directly across from them.  "I say we try that one first," she responded, shifting the golden egg into one  arm.  Looking sideways at the mage, she grinned.  "After you, 'mon amie,'" the gargess said in perfect rendition of the mage's name for her.

        Smiling, Lisette nodded quickly and began across the foyer, stepping over different objects till she stood before the open door to the next room in their exploration.  Shivering in anticipation, Lisette stepped into the room and watched as the magical orb fully illuminated the room that was of the exact same proportions of the living room.  True to Sky's earlier glance in the room, in the middle sat a long table with eight chairs set around it with a bookshelf that spanned from floor to ceiling with books on the surrounding walls.  All shelves were filled and a small bowl and scroll sat on the dusty table.  "It's a library!" she gasped, her eyes growing wide in amazement.

        The gargess came up along side Lisette, cradling the egg in her arms.  "Oh my!" she exclaimed with her green eyes widening slightly.  "I'd say it's a library!  There are three times as many books here as in my mountain home!"  Stepping inside excitedly, Skydancer quickly headed across the room to the shelves of books that lined the far wall.  Blowing on the dust slightly so she could read the titles of the books sitting there, she gave a low whistle.  "Lis, you would not believe what treasures line these shelves!" the gargess called.  "'One Hundred Ways To Make A Love Potion,' 'How To Conjure A Zombie,' 'The Wizard's Manuel For Raising The Dead,'" Skydancer read, reading off a few of the titles.  She raised an eyebrow and looked over at the mage.  "I can see how *those* will come in handy" she said with a grin.

        At the last title, Lisette couldn't help but the smallest of frowns that flitted across her serene features.  Shaking her head, she quickly banished the thought before it had finished forming.  Even if bringing the dead back was possible, it was not her place to do such a thing for Sunshine.  "I would wager that the previous owner was a magic user of some sort," Lisette finally murmured thoughtfully as she noted that on her side of the library, similar works were stuck in between such other famous novels as 'Huckleberry Finn,' 'The Grapes of Wrath,' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

        "I guess...." Skydancer breathed as she continued to scan the shelves.  She noticed that the entire wall that was directly opposite the door seemed to hold most of the conjure books, but as she got closer to the left wall, other books started popping up that had nothing to do with magic.  "'Portrait of Dorian Grey,' 'Jane Eyre,' 'The Artworks of Vincent Vangogh,'" the gargess continued reading.  "Seems like our previous owner was up to date with all the great works, not to mention artworks.  I don't see anything written recently though.  Everything here dates back at least 30 or so years."

        "Hmm.. that would coincide with what Kathy Higgens had said," Lisette nodded as she gingerly took a spell book from the wall and began thumbing through the aging pages.  "I believe she said that the last owner died many years ago.. twenty to thirty, I believe."

        Sky watched as  the young woman paged through the antiquated book.  "Anything in there useful to you?" she asked.  "My library pales in comparison to what this one holds, but I do have a collection of conjure books that you may be interested in.  You are welcome to look through those as well."

        Smiling shyly, Lisette slowly nodded at Sky with eager, puppy dog eyes.  "I would be honored to look through your spell books, Sky," she murmured as she closed the book and slid it back on the shelf.  "And as for these, I'm sure there are many things that I could use... I shall page through them later."

        A faraway look crossed Sky's emerald eyes for a moment before she blinked and smiled at the young woman before her.  "I'd be honored to share them with you.  They are of no use to me.  I'm going to visit my mountain home later this week I think..... shall we move on?" she asked, gesturing towards the door.

        And so the exploration of the first floor had continued.  Skydancer was right on her guess of the left tower, for it was exactly the same as the other with a long set of winding rickety, stairs curving around the wall till they entered an empty room on the very top of the tower, on the fourth floor of the building with a single door that led back into the main part of the house.  Back through the foyer once they passed through one of the two doors that sat beneath the landing of the first step sat a long hallway that stretched parallel to the front of the house.  From there, they had the choice of continuing forward into the large dining room, to the right into a sort of rec room, or to the left into a kitchen that stretched the same area as the dining room, a single door leading down to a basement in the corner.  The only other rooms to be found on the floor were a laundry room of sorts that they could enter by a door in the dining room that sat across from the kitchen with a bathroom connected to that.  Overall, the first floor itself had many rooms and many surprises--the best one being that most of the rooms were still furnished from their previous owner.

        Heading back into the foyer, Skydancer moved to stand in front of the grand staircase followed closely by Lisette.  Moonlight filtered in from the skylight above the door, casting the steps in an eerie glow.  Glancing up, the gargoyle saw cobwebs hanging from the hole that she had observed the night before.  It's chill filled the small hall and involuntarily the gargess shivered.  She felt as if they were being watched, but perking her ears up, she heard no one but the sound of her and her friend.  Shaking her head slightly, she started up the staircase when a cool breeze blew through the room.  Glancing behind her past the mage, she looked at the giant front doors.  Both were shut.  "Funny," she said, almost in a whisper.  "I thought I felt a chill wind blow through here."

        Feeling small bumps raise on her arms beneath her cotton shirt, Lisette uneasily glanced behind her at the closed doors.  "Perhaps there are more windows broken then we thought?" she suggested quietly as she turned back to regard her friend with solemn eyes.  Still, with the bright moonlight and the soft white of her glowing orb, her friend was cast in a strange light--so much so that Lisette quickly averted her eyes and began up the creaking stairs.  Inherently, she knew that
her friend wouldn't be far behind.

        The gargess allowed the mage to pass her as she gave another glance down at the bottom of the steps.  The moonlight continued to stream through the huge skylight, casting it's eerie light about the foyer.  Nothing seemed out of place, and yet....  Sky shook her head.  "It must be my imagination," she commented to herself.  Turning and suddenly anxious to put distance between herself and the bottom of the staircase, the gargess quickly followed Lisette up the stairs to the second floor landing.

        For some strange reason, the feeling of being watched slowly gathered up on Lisette as well till she began to feel her heartbeat quicken.  She had to get out of the foyer.. she wasn't sure why, but she just had to.  Without a second thought to the other set of stairs that broke off to her right and left, Lisette quickly stepped through the open doorway to stand in yet another hallway.  This one stretched the length of the house, once more running parallel to the front of the house, most likely directly above the one on the first floor.  Turning left and right, she saw that there were two doors that led to rooms along the front of the house and four doors that would lead to rooms that lined the back portion of the house.  Smiling slightly, Lisette turned to her egg-burdened friend.  "And which door shall it be?" she asked, trying to lighten the tension that both were feeling.

        Skydancer wrinkled her forehead as she glanced around the hall.  The light of Lisette's glow ball enlightened the hallway with a soft warmth.  The gargess welcomed it after the strange experience in the foyer.  Looking closely at the doors that lined the walls, she turned her green eyes onto her mage friend.  "I would happen to guess that most of these are bedrooms.  Shall we just glance into them?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

        Nodding her head absently, Lisette moved to one of the four rooms that lined the back wall and slowly pushed open the door.  Instantly, a loud creaking noise filled the silent house, causing her to wince and pause, almost foolishly, to see if anyone had heard the noise.  "But that is silly, we are the only ones here," she reminded herself quietly as she peaked into the room.  Sure enough, it was a rather large bedroom with a single canopy bed, dresser, and armoire against the walls with a large window looking into the backyard.  "I think that your guess was right," Lisette said, speaking louder for Sky's benefit.

        Sky glanced into the room.  It was beautiful but layered in dust, a perfectly ordinary room.  Wrinkling her nose at the smell of mothballs, Sky glanced back over at her friend.  "Do you want to continue on this floor or do you want to see what's on the next?" she asked.

        It only took a second for Lisette to consider their options.  "Let us move onto the other floors?  If this is mainly bedrooms, then I am curious to see what else awaits our discovery!" Lisette replied quickly as she hurried back into the foyer, her earlier feelings of discomfort forgotten as she eagerly turned to the right and followed the stairs as they curved along the wall of the foyer.  Halfway along the wall to the right of the front door, above the living room, Lisette turned onto the landing for the third floor and hurried into the open archway, eager for their next find.

        Skydancer practically had to run to keep up with her mage friend.  Following the young woman through the archway, she watched as the soft light of the glowball enveloped the third floor hallway.  A door to a small room was directly in front of them with several other doors to larger rooms lining the walls.  "Where to next, Lis?" she asked her friend.

        At this, Lisette paused.  The hallway was in the shape of an 'E' with the two points of the letter facing the front of the house.  At either end of the point sat the archway leading to either end of the staircase, with a door to a room directly across from the archway.  Then, down the halls that led to the main part of the hall sat three doors set into the hallway, evenly spaced, that were bound to lead to rooms on the back end of the house.  Shrugging her shoulders, Lisette stepped down the hallway and opened the door at the end, the two other doors to the right.  Opening it slowly, she felt her breath momentarily leave her as she stepped forward into the room, her glowing orb and two large windows that let in the moon lighting her way.  "I believe," she murmured as she felt Sky file into the room behind her, "that I have found my bedroom."  The room was fairly large with a canopy against the far wall, a large armoire, and its own bathroom.

        The gargess cast her green eyes around the room.  She had to admit, it was a beauty.  "Very nice," she commented.  "It suits you."  She grinned over at her friend.

        Smiling, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  Turning, she left her new room and entered the dark hallway once again.  Curious, she then turned to the middle-most doorway.  This room confused her, for if the bathroom was as large as she believed it was and if the room on the other side of this was a duplicate of her own, which she also believed to be true, that meant that this room didn't extend to the back wall.  "What do you suppose is in here?" Lisette asked as she tried turning the doorknob, only to find the room locked.  Confused, she turned and threw a skeptical glance to her friend.

        The gargess returned the puzzled look at her friend.  "That's odd.  Stand back," she said to the mage.  Pointing her finger at the troublesome lock.  "Lightning!" she commanded softly.  Immediately, a shot of white light sprang forth from her hand and blasted the lock of the door.  Reaching out, she tried opening the door again.  Still, it refused to open.  "Good grief!" the gargess exclaimed.  "What on earth is holding this door shut?!"

        Shaking her head, Lisette stared at the door.  "Perhaps we should try pushing against the door with our shoulders?" Lisette suggested as she stepped closer.

        "And do what with the egg?" Sky asked, gesturing to the golden jewel in her arms.  "No, I have a better idea.  Let's BOTH shoot the lock with our magic.  Less taxing too," she added with a grin.

        Chuckling quietly, Lisette quickly nodded her agreement.  "On the count of three then?" she asked as she raised her eyebrow at her friend, her magic ready and waiting.

        "Agreed," Sky said.  She raised her hand again.  "One... two..... three.... Lightning!" she commanded, sending another white spark forth as the glow of green witchlight came out from along side of her.

        As both bolts of energy, one of magic and one of nature, smashed against the lock, the door slowly creaked open.  That, in and of itself, surprised Lisette, for even if the bolts were strong enough to open the door, she would have thought that the door would have flown open instead of the slow creaking that it now did.  Once more ignoring the shivers that ran down her spine, Lisette slowly stepped forward and pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside, lighting
the small room.  "What is it?" she asked her friend and Sky stepped into the room.

        Skydancer glanced around the room, her green eyes adjusting to the shadows coming forth from it.  Shelves lined the walls covered with dust.  An old mop stood in one corner near a strange stain on the floor.  Puzzlement filled the female gargoyle's green eyes.  "Looks like a 'closet,' I believe it is called, of some kind.  I wonder what that stain on the floor is?" she said as she went over to it.  Bending down, the gargess ran a talon over the dark blemish.  Whatever it was, it had long since become a part of the floor in which it lay.  "Odd," she commented once more.

        Shivering once more as a sudden cold seeped through her bones, Lisette gently rubbed her free hand against her arm.  "Even though the room is a bit chilly.. I.. I like it," Lisette commented as she took in the small room.  For a closet, it was very large, and if one ignored the disturbing stain on the floor, the room seemed secure and safe.

        Standing up, the gargoyle put both arms around the egg.  Suddenly, the golden orb took on a life of its own as a feeling of severe warmth and security flowed forth from it.  Startled, Skydancer held the golden egg at arms length and watched in amazement as the little thing shimmered and shaked as if taking on a life of its own.  "I think our little friend here likes this room," the gargess remarked, not quite sure what to make of the whole thing.

        Puzzled, Lisette could only stare at the egg in awe.  "Perhaps this room should be the... rookery," she asked, reverting back to the gargoyle term that she was taught so long ago, "when the renovations have been completed?"

        "Rookery?" Skydancer questioned, arching an eyebrow at her friend.  Her green eyes flashed puzzlement over the unfamiliar term.  "I take it that is another 'gargoyle' term that I am not familiar with?"

        At Skydancer's words, Lisette felt a wave of sympathy well within her.  How unfair life was that she would know more about Skydancer's own heritage than the gargoyle herself.  "Yes, mon amie.  Rookery is what my clan had called the place in which all of the clan's eggs had been laid until they hatched," Lisette explained as a faraway look entered her eyes.  "Thank God that the clan had no eggs at the time of the massacre.. I don't know what would have been the eggs' fate if there had been any," she murmured before focusing once more on her friend.  "Do you think this room would work for that purpose?"

        Nodding at the mage's explanation, Skydancer felt a wave of loneliness pass through her as once again she realized how much she had missed from being alone.  Shaking her head, the gargess smiled at her friend.  She had to keep reminding herself, she was no longer alone.  "I think this will do just fine."  Looking down at the golden egg in her hands, she smiled at it.  "What do you think, my little friend?  Would you like this to be your room.... errr...... rookery?" she asked it, not really expecting an answer.  Surprisingly, though, the egg flashed a bright golden glow before the mage and the gargess and then suddenly quieted again as if never having done anything in the first place.  A look of surprise crossed the Skydancer's face.  "Well, I guess that answer's that question," she remarked wryly with a grin at Lisette.

        Nodding her head slowly, Lisette looked at the egg in amazement.  "Yes, it does.  Although, I am not quite sure how...." she trailed off as she puzzled at the mysterious egg.  Shrugging her shoulders, she once more turned her bright blue eyes to her friend.  "Well, now what Sky?"

        Skydancer turned her emerald eyes on the golden egg as she shifted its weight to her other arm.  "How about we start by making this room a bit more like a rookery for this little one?" the gargess suggested gesturing to her welcomed burden.  "Then maybe we can begin cleaning up this place.  It looks like it's going to take us a while."

        The green-eyed beauty looked down at the bare wooden floor.  A coolness could be felt rising through the floorboards.  "Not a bad idea," she commented.  "We should make this room as comfortable as possible.  What else goes into a rookery?  You'll have to tell me as I've never seen one."

        At this, Lisette paused.  "To be honest, I am not quite sure," Lisette admitted with a small frown.  "I was never allowed in my clan's rookery... all I know is that it was actually a cellar beneath the château with hay covering the stone floor."

        At this, Skydancer's brows knitted in puzzlement.  "Well..... then I guess we're left to our own devices," the gargess said.  "Shall we go with hay or should we go with the carpet?" she ventured to her mage friend.  "Personally, I think the carpet would be better considering the fact that this 'Storm' could easily set the hay on fire with a burst of lightning..... not to mention me.  Carpet can too, but hay is more flammable.  The fire would spread faster."

        Smiling, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  "Oh trust me, I was thinking the same thing.  I believe that our little egg's rookery should be a little more modern than those that I heard of.. after all, perhaps things have changed during my one thousand years of sleep?" Lisette questioned.  "But what color carpeting?"

        "Hhmmm...... how about sea-tones?" the Skydancer suggested.  "They are always soothing to look at.  If it's one thing this egg needs, it's peace.  Especially after last night," she added darkly, white light briefly flashing in her eyes.

        Nodding absently, Lisette missed Skydancer's reference to the night before as she concentrated on her friend's suggestion.  "Perhaps a sea green or pale blue?" she suggested, picturing the room in her mind's eye.  "Or perhaps a cream carpeting with sea green walls?"

        "Or how about a pale blue carpet with sea-green walls and cream bordering?" the gargess suggested, raising and eyebrow.  "That would go too."

        Tapping her chin thoughtfully, Lisette puzzled over the suggestions for a few seconds before nodding her head.  "I like it," she stated decisively.  Turning, she grinned at her friend and indicated that she should stand back.  After the night they had the previous evening, Lisette knew that it was time to have some fun... and she knew just the thing.  "First, let us start with the carpeting," she murmured as she reached back and brushed her pale blond hair behind her shoulders where it fell to the bottom of her back in a soft wave.  Then, she pushed her dark gray sleeves and concentrated on what she wanted.  "This room is bare and needs our help, so donnons-nous a carpet of blue," she murmured as a green mist seeped from her fingers and slowly covered the scuffed wooden floor.  An instant later, a soft padding of pale blue lined their path, already making the room brighter and more cheerful.  "Ca va?" she asked, arching her eyebrow at the new look.

        "I like it!" Sky exclaimed with a grin.  The bright carpet reminded her instantly of a bright summer sky, just the thing their egg needed!  "I think we need some hay over there on that shelving, Lis.  Let's make a bed for this critter," she commented holding up the golden egg.

        "First, let's get some sturdy shelving up there," she acknowledged as she eyed the old boards.  Closing her eyes, she quickly murmured a short spell beneath her breath, and a moment later, she opened them to see a set of sturdy oak shelves in the place where the old ones had been.  "Much better," she murmured with a slight smile.  "And now for the hay..." she trailed off as she murmured yet another short spell beneath her breath.  Seconds later, a soft bed of hay was created.

        Skydancer walked over to the fresh smelling straw and gently laid the golden egg in it's new nest.  "There you are, little one," she crooned to the golden treasure.  Standing up, the gargess turned her grass eyes onto the mage and smiled.  "Care to whip up some brushes so we can add some more color to this room?"

        Smiling, Lisette quickly rubbed her hands together.  She had been waiting for this.  Closing her eyes, she quickly murmured another short spell, "J'ai vu le film de 'Fantasia,' maintenant donnez-moi le même." (I saw the movie 'Fantasia,' now give me the same) Opening her eyes, Lisette saw a flash of green light before six paintbrushes appeared out of thin air and then began moving of their own accord, dipping into large pails of sea green paint and coating the walls of the small room.  Laughing in delight, she quickly snapped her fingers as a bright symphony of music filled the small room.

        Skydancer blinked rapidly, totally startled by the instant scene playing out before her.  She had meant for the mage to whip up paint brushes for themselves, not have the brushes moving by themselves!  But as the melody went on with Lisette keeping time with the melodious music, Sky couldn't help but smile.  Her friend certainly knew how to have fun!  "What was it that you said?" the gargess called out, grinning.  She could barely be heard above the joyful noise that bounded throughout the room.

        Laughing, Lisette kept one part of her mind concentrating on the brushes as she turned towards her friend.  "One day while I was waiting for you to wake up, I watched an animated movie in the hotel room that was called 'Fantasia,'" Lisette replied with a bright smile.  "It was my inspiration for this," she said, gesturing to the scene around her, inadvertently causing one brush to move with her hand, painting a streak of green across Skydancer's leg.  "Oops."

        "Ugh!" Skydancer screeched as she felt the coolness of the brush go over the bottom of her leg.  Looking down, the gargess saw a streak of green going across her ankle.  Reaching down, she picked up the dancing little bristle and looked over at Lisette with a devilish gleam in her emerald eyes.  "Oh, really?" she asked with a grin.  "Catch!" she yelled suddenly, tossing the brush and the green paint flying across the room at the mage.

        Screaming out in surprise, Lisette attempted to catch the flying brush--and failed miserably.  "Merci beaucoup," she muttered sarcastically with a large grin as she looked down at her gray shirt, which now had a big splotch of sea green down the middle.  Shaking her head, she reached down and picked up the brush from where it had fallen on the new carpet, which now also boasted a green puddle.  "I suppose that we should have waited to do the carpet until after," she said with a smirk, turning to meet her green-eyed friend.

        Laughing, Skydancer nodded her agreement.  "Well, you must admit, it does add a 'touch' of color to the room," she said.  "But seriously, I don't think it's anything that two 'magicians' can't handle."  Stooping down, the gargess swiped the green streak off her ankle with a taloned finger.  Looking at the color on her fingers, the gargoyle female commanded her own magic to appear.  "Rain," she commanded.  Instantly, her hand was awashed in water dripping down to the floor.  Shaking her hand a bit, the water stopped as suddenly as it had started, leaving only a wet hand in its wake.  "Much better," Sky said smiling.

        Grinning, Lisette quickly shook her head.  Leave it to her friend to find such ways of overcoming every obstacle.  Shaking her head, Lisette quickly focused her magic and formed another paint brush in her other hand, a bucket of sea green paint at her feet.  "Well, shall we join the fun too or leave it all up to the brushes?" Lisette asked as the music tinkled merrily along.  Laughing, she leaned down and dipped the new brush into the large bucket and then picked up the dripping brush.  Grinning evilly, she quickly returned the favor and tossed the sopping paint brush back at her friend.  "Here, catch!"

        "Ack!" screeched the green-eyed gargess as the sopping wet brush dripping with green paint came flying at her.  Skydancer jumped back to avoid it, but still ended up with it hitting her square on her stomach, putting a giant blotch of sea green on her loindress.  Running her taloned hand over the spot, the tall female suddenly found her hand covered in green paint.  Quirking an eyebrow at the mage, the Skydancer looked a bit perturbed.  "This is fun?" she asked, not looking very amused.

        Laughing, Lisette quickly bent over and dipped her already wet paintbrush into the pail by her feet and began streaking the thick substance across the stale walls.  "Of course it is!" she cried as she and the paint brushes worked, quickly covering the walls in a fine coat of sea green.  Already, the room was looking brighter and better.

        Smiling wickedly when Lisette turned her attention back to painting the wall, Sky reached down and picked up the paintbrush where it had landed at her feet.  "If you say so, my friend!" she called out as she threw the brush, paint and all, at the head of the young woman.  Laughing hysterically, she watched in horrid fascination as the green paintbrush landed on the back of the blond head of Lisette.  "Whoops!" Sky called out, clearly not remorsed at all.

        Surprised at the sudden thump against her head and the heaviness she now felt there, Lisette slowly stared at the green wall ahead of her in shock.  Very, very slowly she began to turn around and stared down at the floor, a sopping wet paint brush lying before her.  "Skydancer," she growled, her eyes flashing green as a mirror flashed before her in her hand and on the wall behind her.  Very slowly, she used both mirrors to check out the back of her head--and groaned as she saw that she now had green hair, not blond.  Scowling, the mirrors disappeared as she stared into her friend's laughing green eyes.  "I feel bad, my friend," Lisette murmured, no sadness in her voice whatsoever, "that here I am having all of the fun while you stand there nearly dry.  Perhaps I should help you to share in the fun?" she asked, the wicked grin once more returning to her lips.

        "Nearly dry?" the gargess scoffed, gesturing towards the green blotch on the front of her.  "I hardly call this dry.  This dress is now officially my 'painting dress.' "  Sighing briefly, Skydancer pointed her hand above Lisette's head.  "Rain," she commanded again.  Instantly a rain cloud formed above the two females and water gently splashed down upon them, rinsing the green from Lisette's hair and from the front of Sky's dress.  "Stop," the gargess said again, and the cloud disappeared, leaving a rather wet mage and gargoyle after it.  Skydancer grinned at her friend.  "Care to dry us off so we can get down to business?" she asked, gesturing to the painting brushes as they continued to dance merrily to their musical tune.

        Pouting softly, Lisette wrinkled her nose at her now-dripping countenance.  "And here I wanted to toss this brush at you again!" she said, laughing softly as she stepped forward and handed the brush to her friend.  Shaking her head, she quickly furrowed her brow and used the magic that wasn't working with the brushes on her and her friend.  Smiling, she quickly snapped her fingers, and a flash of green light later, the two were dry once again.  "Now, can I turn around to work on this wall here or will you throw your paintbrush at me again?" Lisette asked with a small smirk.

        Dipping the brush down into the paint can, Sky stood back up and grinned at her friend.  "Paint away, Lis," she said as she started painting the other end of the wall.  "I think I can manage to 'behave' now," she laughed.

        Smiling, Lisette quickly shook her head as she turned back to her wall and began to diligently rub the large brush across the wall.  A few minutes later, she wiped the sweat from her brow and stepped back, admiring her handiwork.  Before her sat a wall of sea-green, the soothing colors already working on the kinks in her back.  Grinning, she turned and saw that Skydancer was just finishing up her wall as were the two paintbrushes.  Quickly, she snapped her fingers as the brushes disappeared in a flash of light and as the green spots on the carpet vanished as well.  "I believe that we have finished," she said, grinning lightly.

        Sky stepped back as she surveyed the walls of the room.  A bright sea-green shined back at her as the paint disappeared in a flash of Lisette's witchlight.  The tones of the ocean had a calming effect on her along with the blue colored carpeting and she smiled in approval.  "Job well-done, I think," she commented, walking over to the golden egg.  Picking it up, Sky ran her taloned hand over its smooth surface.  "I think this will be a very happy place for you to grow up
in, little one," she crooned to the egg, clearly not expecting an answer.

        Once more she was wrong as it seemed as though the bright golden color of the egg seemed to grow brighter for an instant.  Surprised, Lisette looked at her friend in shock.  "I shall not even ask," she murmured as she looked at the room.  "But it is missing something..." she trailed off.  Overall, the small room still looked bare with the floor standing open and the single set of shelves against the far wall which held the temporary bed for the egg.

        Quirking her eyebrow once again, Sky looked around the room.  "I agree," she commented, "but what?  I know next to nothing on decorating."  The gargess took the egg back over to the soft pile of hay and sat it down.  "Any suggestions?" she asked, turning her attention back to her mage-friend.

        "Hmm... I know!" Lisette cried, snapping her fingers.  "We need a more permanent bed for our little egg!" she cried as she turned to eye the bare center of the room.  Smiling in satisfaction, she slowly nodded her head as the French came to her mind.  Whispering quietly, she pointed at the spot and closed her eyes.  A second later, she opened them to see a sturdy wooden podium of sorts in the center of the small room with a crib, of sorts, just large enough for the egg on top.  "Well, what do you think?" she asked, turning her bright blue eyes to her friend.

        "It's perfect!" the Skydancer exclaimed.  Picking the egg back up, she carried it over with some straw to the wooden cradle and laid the egg in it.  It was the perfect size.  Suddenly, glowing brightly, the golden egg seemed to agree.  Sky inhaled sharply at the brightness and looked back up at Lisette.  "I think our little friend here, agrees.  There seems to be more to our egg than meets the eye."

        Shaking her head in amazement, Lisette couldn't help but agree.  "I have *never* seen a gargoyle egg do that before... it is a gargoyle egg, right?" she asked, suddenly confused.  After all, Sunshine was obviously gargoyle... but then again, was she *just* a gargoyle?

        "I guess...." Sky said, her voice trailing off.  "I have never seen a gargoyle egg before.  You are the expert in that area, my friend."  The gargess paused for a moment, running her taloned hand through her hair and down her braid that was flopped over on her shoulder.  "Still I think there is something special about this egg...perhaps the reason why that fiend is after it.  Maybe it's magical or something?" she suggested, true puzzlement flashing in her grass-colored eyes.

        Shrugging her shoulders, Lisette nodded her head in agreement.  "I am hardly an expert... but it does make sense for that Storm-monster to be after the egg if it was special in some way... I just wonder what way?

        "That question, I don't think will be answered, until this little one decides to hatch in about ten years or so," the gargess said as she bent down in front of the cradle until she was eye-level with the egg.  Reaching out a taloned hand, the egg suddenly gave off a warm golden glow that was reflected in the deep green of Skydancer's eyes.  "In the meantime," Sky continued," it's our job to protect it."

        "And protect it we shall," Lisette murmured as a loud crack resounded throughout the manor.  "What was that?!" she cried, moving instinctually towards the egg.

        A large cracking sound could be heard again from above them.  The house shook briefly, as if something were hitting it from the outside.  Looking around her, Skydancer's eyes immediately flashed a white-hot glow.  "It sounds as if it is coming from outside..." she growled, instantly moving towards the door.

        Jumping at the repeated noise, Lisette quickly hurried after her friend, too preoccupied with the new threat to even notice the door to the rookery slam shut behind her, definitely of its own volition.  "Could it be Him?" she asked as she hurried after her friend down the hallway and then down the long flights of stairs of the foyer that led to the front door.  Cringing, she ignored the creak of the old steps as they moved, praying that they wouldn't give way beneath them.

        "Perhaps," the gargess called softly behind her as she skipped down the steps, trying to avoid making noise.  Reaching the bottom, the house shook once again as something blasted the sides of it from the outside.  Not caring if she was heard or not any longer, the female gargoyle raced towards the front door.  "He's going to pay for this if he is!" she exclaimed to Lisette, unaware that a figure in white watched them from atop the staircase.  Before either of the females saw it, it turned and floated back up the stairs towards the rookery.

        Angry now at the attack, seething actually, Lisette tore open the front door and raced outside... and stopped dead in her tracks.  Before her, floating high up in the dark night sky stood none other than the demon that had destroyed Sunshine just the night before.  Instantly, her eyes locked on the monster's green eyes.  "You!" she hissed as she took in his dark robes and his fine black hair that twisted in the wind.

        Coming up from behind the mage, Skydancer turned her eyes, two white hot globs of twin fury, up at the monster above them.  She watched as lightning danced across the sky, encasing Storm in its fury and power.  "Come back for more, murderer?!" the gargess called out, taunting the evil that floated above them.

        "I've come for the egg," Storm called out, his green eyes flashing as they locked on the two before him--the same two from the night before.  "Give it to me and no harm will come to either of you," he continued, lying through his teeth.  Either way, the two mystical creatures would be destroyed, as had been the meddling mother, Sunshine.

        At his words, Lisette couldn't help her skeptical look.  "And you expect us to believe you, you monster?" Lisette called out, her eyes glowing green with fury.  "You destroyed that egg's mother!  You will NEVER get the egg!" she cried out as she lashed out with a powerful bolt of magical fury.

        As the green ray of witchlight sailed through the sky at Storm, the demon raised his hand and reflected it instantaneously as if he were merely swatting a fly back into place.  The green bolt came sailing back towards the two females almost immediately.  Hissing in her breath with a flash of surprise, Skydancer raised her own hand and called forth her own powers.  "Lightning!" she commanded, pulling Lisette back at the same time.  A powerful bolt of white energy went sailing through the air, deflecting the returning green ray just before it was about to hit them.  "That was too close," the gargess muttered, clearly stunned for she knew the power behind her friend's magic.

        "How... how does he DO that?!" Lisette gasped as she stood, shaking under the terror of such a near-miss.  She, too, knew the power of her own magic and knew that if the magic had connected with them, the results would have been deadly.  "If he can reflect my blasts, how can we fight him?  What is his weakness?!"

        "Let's try hitting him together like we did last night," Skydancer said as she stood back up.  The winds whipping around them seemed to gather strength, making the gargess feel that they were connected to the fiend above them somehow.  "Spread out," she called, stepping off the porch.  "We'll hit him at the same time from opposite directions."

        Nodding slowly, Lisette stepped from the porch and began heading to the left, in the opposite direction of her friend.  Already, she felt the magic that she had spent begin to replenish itself as she glared at the hateful demon, neither man nor gargoyle.

As if sensing the young mage's glare, the Storm slowly turned his head and regarded the beautiful young woman with narrowed eyes.  "And what now?  More pathetic attempts to stop me from getting what I want?" he said, laughing out loud, causing the sharp crack of the thunder to resound around them as lightning danced in the sky.  "What can a.. a... human," Storm said, guessing at the young woman's race, still puzzled by the feelings he was getting from her, "and a gargoyle sorceress do to me?" he yelled out, glaring now at the gargess who stalked opposite of the young woman.

Skydancer uncurled her wings and took up a defensive stance just below the creature who was terrorizing them.  Her emerald eyes locked onto the evil green of the demon above her, challenging him at every turn.  "More than you think!" the gargess shouted back to him.  Raising her hand, she called to her the elements that were at her disposal.  "LIGHTNING!" she roared up into the blackness of the night.  A burst of white hot electricity went streaking up at the Storm.

Taking that as her cue, Lisette quickly gathered her magics to her once again before unleashing them once more in a powerful burst that seared the night sky with green.  "Dètruisiez le mal!" (Destroy the evil) Lisette called out, her own fury pouring forth.  Instantly, she watched in grim satisfaction as the Storm deflected Skydancer's bolt of lightning, distracting him so that her own bolt of magic hit him squarely in the back.

"Arggghhh!!!" Storm shouted in surprise as he was struck from behind.  Clearly not prepared for the blow, the fiend tumbled backwards through the sky, dazed from the attack.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Skydancer decided to strike again.  "Lightning!" she commanded, this time her white energy finding its mark.  In amazement, she watched  as the being called Storm began to tumbled through the sky towards the earth.

Without taking the time to jump for joy as she so wanted to do, Lisette quickly began murmuring words beneath her breath.  Instantly, a large steel cage appeared beneath the tumbling fiend so that he had no time to stop himself.  Knowing that this would not be enough, Lisette quickly nodded the cage closed with her magic as the man lay on the hard floor, his breath coming from his lips in deep gasps.  "Pardonnez-moi, mon Dieu," (Forgive me, my Lord) Lisette whispered silently for what she was about to do as she nodded towards her gargess friend.  "Sky, use your lightning on the metal!" she called out, her voice filled with urgency.

Not knowing exactly what the mage intended, the gargess nodded as she pointed her hand once more at the monster inside the steel cage.  "Lightning!" she said again, calling forth from the reserves of her energy.  White bolts of electricity went shooting out from the gargoyle's hand, encasing the cage in a brilliant white light.

The instant that the lightning touched the smooth metal of the cage, a scream of agony broke the night.  "Aghhhhh!" Storm roared in pain as he was quite literally electrocuted by the metal that he lay upon.

Wincing, Lisette quickly turned away and covered her eyes from the gruesome sight.  "Ohhh, that had to hurt," she murmured.

Bolts of energy surrounded the steel cage as white lightning seared in and around Storm.  Bending and breaking his body to sickening positions, Sky watched in horrid fascination as Storm was riddled with the powerful electricity.  Screaming in agony, the fiend writhed under the pain he was feeling before finally collapsing on the ground.  Suddenly, there was nothing but silence from him as the lightning bolts began to dissipate.  Taking a step towards the steel cage, Skydancer looked uncertainly at the monster within.  "Do you think he's dead?" she whispered, her voice sounding loud in the sudden silence.

Slowly, Lisette pulled her hands away from her eyes and saw the Storm's smoking body.  "I am not sure," Lisette murmured as she too began to advance on the large steel cage.  "I... I do not sense any magic from him," she gasped, her large blue eyes growing even wider.  "Oh, mon Dieu!  Did we kill him?!"

"I do not know...." the Skydancer breathed, but never had a chance to finish.  The night sky flashed in brilliant white lightning and thunder boomed across the darkness.  "Away from my husband!" a voice echoed around them, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

The gargess looked up overhead, trying to see where this new voice was coming from.  "What on earth?" she whispered.

Shocked, Lisette looked up into the sky with wide eyes.  What she saw caused her heart to stop for a second time that night.  "Who are you?" Lisette murmured as she took in the woman.  She was beautiful.. no, ethereal.  The woman was about average height with a slim form... and the most beautiful skin tone she had ever seen, a soft violet color with shiny black hair that cascaded down her shoulders.  The lithe form was clothed in a high collared oriental top that was form fitting with long sleeves make of silk, burgundy of color that hugged her waist before splitting off in the front with a huge slit starting at the waist down the front, and beneath a matching pair of satin burgundy pants.  Startled, Lisette's blue eyes slowly connected with the black eyes of the woman, obviously fey by her pointed ears that jutted through her raven locks, lightened only by soft violet highlights.

"I said," the woman repeated coldly, her eyes flashing green even as her voice, which was soft and musical, sent chills down Lisette's spine, "to get away from my husband!"  And then, a sharp green snake of magic flew from the floating woman's fingers and connected with the ground before Lisette and Skydancer.  Yelping, the two quickly made a sharp retreat from the said cage, moving as one towards each other.

Breathing heavily from the intake of the magical charge, Sky closed in on her friend, needing the sense of strength she knew the two had together.  Taking a defensive stance next to Lisette, the gargess turned angry eyes up at the new being above them.  "Who are you?" she demanded again.

"I am known as Shaylyn, wife to Storm," she said, arching a finely sculpted eyebrow at the two, "not that such... trash, as you need to know."

At the insult, Lisette felt herself straighten her shoulders as she stood beside her friend.  "Trash?!" she asked, her eyes flaring green.  "And just where do you come off calling us trash when you are married to *that*!" she taunted, pointing at the still-smoking fiend.  "Or *was* married to it," she amended as shadows entered her eyes as his still form.  Truly, even though he was evil and had killed innocence the night before, she still didn't feel right in aiding in the being's demise.  She didn't have such a right.

Skydancer's eyes took on the white glow of an angry gargoyle.  She didn't like this new witch anymore than she liked her husband.  "Seems to me that *YOU* are the 'trash' around here.....Shaylyn...." the Skydancer said, watching as the woman came down to the ground in front of the cage that held her husband.  The evil loveliness of the woman radiated around her.  The gargess was unimpressed by her beauty.

"Me?  Trash?" she asked with a haughty laugh as she stepped menacingly forward, the soft satin of her shirt that stretched down to her ankles in back swirling around her.  "You were a dirty and tattered loin dress while that... human," she said, pointing at Lisette's fuming red face, "wear's a simple pair of pants and a dingy gray cotton shirt?"

Now Lisette was truly mad.  "Human?!" she cried out, her face red and tight with anger, a move so unlike her normal self.  "I am NO human you *WITCH*!" Lisette hissed.  "And look at you!  Do you not care for your husband who is hurt behind you?  How can you sit here and waste time insulting us when he may be dead?!"

The woman tossed her head back and laughed.  Raising her hand, a green glow formed in her violet eyes and a magical green mist shot forth from her hands and encircled the cage that held Storm.  "Behold these mortals' puny fear and make my husband disappear!" Shaylyn commanded.  White lightning flashed across the sky, thunder cracked, and in a brilliant glare of green light the cage containing Storm vanished.

Skydancer drew in a sharp intake of breath as her emerald eyes widened in stunned fascination.  Never had she beheld such power before.  Her green eyes locked onto the evil lavender depths of the woman in front of her.  "What are you?" the gargess whispered.

Smiling evilly, she woman pushed her long raven locks over her shoulder with a careless hand.  "I am your worst nightmare.  And trust me, this is NOT over.  If you mess with my husband and get in the way of our plans for the egg, then you both shall pay dearly," she said, her voice a dead calm.  A second later, she disappeared in a flash of bright green.

"And another one emerges," Lisette murmured, her voice devoid of all emotion as she met Skydancer's wide eyes.

The Following Evening

 The moon rose as if a ghostly sailor riding high upon the night sky.  It shone down upon the house of Janua Caeli with its brilliant white light, encasing it in a spotlight of magical brilliance.  The statue of Skydancer cracked its casing as the gargess exploded from her stone shell.  Stifling a loud yawn, the gargess glanced around from atop her outside balcony before going inside in search of her mage friend.  Gliding down her circular tower's spiral staircase, the gargess landed with a thud and entered the living room.  "Lis!" she called upon entering.

 "In the library!" came Lisette's ringing voice from somewhere else in the house.

 Crossing the dimly lit living room, the gargoyle female entered the foyer.  Pausing for a moment, a coolness surrounded her and Skydancer had an eerie feeling of being watched.  Quickly shrugging her shoulders in an attempt to get rid of the strange feeling, the gargess continued across the foyer and into the library where she found Lisette hunched over a bunch of ancient looking parchments spread out across the floor.  "What are you doing?" the green-eyed beauty asked her mage friend, clearly puzzled at what she was looking at.

 Shrugging her shoulders, Lisette glanced up from the parchments that she had been examining and met her friend's eyes.  "I decided to use my time to see if I could find something to aid us in our fight against Storm and Shaylyn," she murmured as she quickly turned back to the scrolls, her mind locked on the ancient Latin words, trying her best to translate as she read.

 Raising an eyebrow of interest, Sky walked around the papers, careful not to step on their brittle yellow pages, and came up behind  the mage.  Stooping down along side of Lisette, the gargess scanned some of the paragraphs.  "Latin," she commented, quickly beginning to read with ease the many paragraphs of spells that lined the antiquated papers.

 Nodding her head, Lisette quickly glanced up and watched in frustrated amazement as Skydancer skimmed the pages with ease.  Groaning, she handed the parchment to her friend and slowly climbed to her feet, rubbing her aching backside.  "Perhaps it would be best if you translated the spells for me into English so that I can cast them!" Lisette laughed, a small smile on her face.

 "That can be arranged," the Skydancer said with a small smirk as she continued to scan the pages.  "By the way," she continued, pausing in her readings, "where's our little friend?  I think we'd better keep an eye on it considering the attacks of the last two nights."

 Without even thinking Lisette picked up another book and began paging through its contents.  "Oh, don't worry.  Irma is watching it..." she trailed off as she finally listened to her words.  "Now where did that come from?" she wondered aloud as she slowly put down the book and glanced up at her friend.  "I do not even know an 'Irma,' let alone what the word means!"

 Skydancer paused immediately upon hearing Lisette's strange statement.  Cocking an eyebrow very high, she turned her green eyes upon her friend.  "Irma?" the young gargess questioned.  "Means 'friendly spirit.'  Who's Irma?"

 Shaking her head in confusion, Lisette pondered the word.  "I have no idea," she answered honestly.  "I have never even heard of such a name before," she murmured.  Before she could get any further in her pondering, though, a large book fell from the high shelves from above and landed with a large thud right beside Lisette, causing her to jump back in surprise as a cloud of dust was raised in the room.

 Skydancer looked over at the large book on the floor with silent surprise.  "Okayyyy....." she commented, and reached over to pick up the book.  "'Rejuvenation,'" the gargess read, translating the Latin title instantly.  "Intriguing name for a book," she commented, handing it over to Lisette.

 Surprised and a little spooked, after all, there had been no one near the book when it had fallen, Lisette accepted it from her friend.  Immediately, she began scanning the page that the book had fallen open on.  "Why, I believe that it's a spell to... restore," Lisette murmured, attempting to translate the old Latin words, "a house to its past state!"

 Glancing over Lisette's shoulder, Skydancer read briefly over the spell.  "House of present, House gone fast, Restore thy future, Restore thy past...." the gargess translated loosely.  "It would seem so, Lis," the gargess said, smiling into her friend's blue eyes.

 Instantly, Lisette's smile turned from one of surprise to one of mischief.  "The spell seems simple enough... should we?" she asked, her eyes twinkling merrily.

 The green-eyed gargess grinned in return.  "Yes, let's!"  the Skydancer exclaimed excitedly.  Taking a step back, she bowed to her mage friend.  "You may have the honors, oh magic one!"

 Giggling like a young girl, Lisette quickly climbed to her feet, the book clutched tightly to her chest.  "Come, let us cast the spell from the foyer!" Lisette cried, her smile growing as she hurried through the doorway and into the large room, her tennis shoes tapping on the cracked marble floor.  "Would you give me that translation once more?" she asked as her friend joined by her side.

 Nodding, the gargess repeated what she had read before.  "House of present....House gone fast...Restore thy future...Restore thy past..." she whispered, knowing that it had to be Lisette, and not she that commanded this type of magic.

 Repeating the words quietly to herself for a few moments, Lisette slowly gathered her magical power to her.  When she was ready, she closed her eyes and pictured the house in its state of disrepair.  "House of present," she whispered, her voice carrying the immense power of her magic, "house gone fast.  Restore thy future.  Restore they past."  Suddenly, her eyes bolted wide as the spell reached from deep within herself to the powerful magic that she had hidden there.  Instantly she was panicked as she realized just how strong the spell was and that she was too late to stop it now.  With a scream of agony, she felt her magic flow forth from her body till it surrounded the massive house and the lawn around in a field of green magic, so bright that its intensity could probably be seen from Castellum deGens itself.  "Help me," she murmured as the moment was frozen in time.  Groaning, she fell slowly to the hard, cracked marble floor and from there into unconsciousness, the spell still drawing from her strength.

 And as the magic surrounded the mighty manor, the changes began to take place.  Slowly at first, the house changed in small and subtle ways: the marble floor beneath them returned to its original state of repair, shining from the bright moonlight that seeped through the now complete stained glass window.  And then, the changes progressed faster and faster as all glass returned to its rightful places, the stairs returned to their deep and sturdy mahogany, the dust and grime
magically disappeared from the floor and walls, the sheets disappeared and the house became furnished once more, the plumbing and electricity were restored as a large chandelier appeared above the two, casting it's warm glow through the foyer, the wooden fixtures were fixed and all returned to its rightful state.  And then, the magic moved outside as the gates were repaired and as the garden magically came into bloom, the bright flowers creating an enchanting atmosphere as the grass returned to a perfectly mowed level, the roof was repaired, the sidewalk lost its cracks, and the lights from within Janua Caeli shined out through the perfectly shined windows to illuminate the perfectly clipped shrubs.  All in all, Janua Caeli was an impressive manor once again.

 "Lis! Lis!" the Skydancer called as she grasped the shoulders of the young mage as she slid to the floor.  Then, in stunned disbelief, the gargess watched in amazement as the floor magically fixed itself as a wave of eerie green magic traveled throughout the house.  Light flashed above her, and glancing up, she saw a beautiful crystal chandelier appear in the socket above their heads.  Breathing in sharply from the amazing magic taking place before her, Skydancer turned her attention back to her friend who was still lying on the ground.  "Lis!" Sky exclaimed again.  "You did it!  You did it!  Janua
Caeli is back to its original state!  Lis!" she called, shaking the young mage gently.

 A soft groan was the Skydancer's only response as the young mage weakly shifted in her friend's arms.

 Realizing that the strength of the spell probably knocked the wind out of her friend, Skydancer stood up and gently picked up Lisette.  Carrying the smaller woman into the living room, the gargess stopped briefly in amazement at the transformation the living room had undergone.  The dusty sheets that had lined the furniture had all disappeared.  In its place stood clean looking, Victorian style furniture, looking brand new.  Going over to the nearest sofa, Skydancer gently placed her mage friend upon its soft cushions.  Reaching up to an afghan that laid across the back of the high sofa, Sky spread out the blanket over the mage.

Smiling, Sky stood up and looked down at her.  "Sleep well, my friend," she whispered, not wanting to awaken Lisette.  "Its a rest well deserved."  Turning, the Skydancer went over to the newly restored window and looked out over the green carpet of lawn that spread out in front of Janua Caeli.  "I believe we have finally come home," the gargess said, smiling into the night.