Ok, I had to write this. I started it in my math class, after finishing the homework ahead of time. I'm not sure of the title yet, but I'm in love with the story. I really hope that you like it. Sorry about the typos that I know are down there somewhere. I try to proofread it, but you have to understand that I'm horrible at it. So, enjoy! I'm going to try and come up with a title for it.

~Katie~

    Let me tell you something, it’s hard to write a love story when one half of the intended romantic couple has no intension in being a romantic couple. So, instead, this will be a story about adventure, mystery, hardships, trials, clever minds, wonderful and scary places, and maybe, just maybe if the heroine is lucky, a dash of love. Remember this is not, I repeat, not about love and all the gushy, mushy emotions that surround it. If you want to read that kind of story, go to your local library or bookstore. Head to the romance section and pick up anyone of those paperback novels. You know, the ones with Fabio standing there, holding a woman, whose dress is rather revealing. Usually they’re about to kiss. So, if you want to read that kind of book, stop reading this and get what I told you to get. Now that that’s all cleared up, let’s travel to a small village nestled away in a valley. The valley is hidden away between very large mountains. The mountains were so large that the tops went past the blue sky and ended in the clouds.           

            Kaelise was the daughter of the village’s goat herder. She was an adoring daughter, unfortunately when she was ten, her father died when a very large boulder fell on him. Kaelise’s mother took it upon herself to take up the family tradition of watching over the goats of the village. Kaelise helped her mother and together they did a pretty good job; however, one of the village boys helped. That boy was Perjac Shoepin. His father was the shoemaker and carpenter of Iath, the small village. Blessed with many sons, he allowed Perjac to pursue the job of a goat herder. He was a little different from all his brothers. The boy seemed to like the creatures and being outside. That is how Perjac and Kaelise became close friends, the best actually.   

            Time went by. The children grew older and into the more awkward stages of pre-adulthood. Their bodies changed and hormones surged through their bodies. Older people would smile when they noticed younger people going through puberity, because they too remember when they went through that stage. In their minds they would think, I’m so glad I don’t have to go through that horrible awkward stage of life anymore! Then, smiling, they would pat them on the head and say they were going through the best years of their life. Kaelise was brimming with emotions she had never felt before, for Perjac. Suddenly, she wanted to be very close to him all the times, when he smiled at other girls, a feeling of wanting to hit them over the head with rocks came to her, and when he smiles at her, she melted. He was perfect. Then it struck her, she was in love.

            Perjac, being the young male that he was, of course had no idea of the feelings rushing through the girl he considered to be his best friend. He went through the day, thinking about goats, food, sleep, and girls, especially the ones with ample bosoms. He never even thought of Kaelise being in the category of ‘girl’ because she was his best friend, so placing her there didn’t even cross his mind. No, she usually wound up in the category of ‘goat’ because goats were what brought them together.

            One afternoon, as Perjac sat resting on a rock, overlooking Iath and the goats, Kaelise came up to him, carrying a berry pie she had just baked. She hated baking, but realized that Perjac loved eating.

            Maybe he’ll enjoy this pie. And he’ll be able to see how much I love him. She thought. Girls think thoughts like that. Expecting a guy to get every emotion she feels for him through food. It just doesn’t happen. Sitting down, Kaelise uncovered the basket, letting Perjac catch a whiff of the heavenly scent from the neo baker’s pie.

            “Kaelise, you made a pie!” the surprise in his voice was evident as his dark eyes scanned the content of the basket. His mouth watered when the warm, gooey berry smell reached his nostrils. With a triumphant smile, she nodded and reached into the basket to pull it out. Her action was interrupted when Perjac suddenly put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, into an embrace. Sighing with complete happiness, she returned the hug.
   
            Yes, I know I said this wasn’t going to be a love story and here are two teenagers, full of hormones on a secluded rock with a berry pie. Anything could happen, right? Well, something’s about to happen that I’m pretty sure you aren’t expecting too.

              “Aha, Kaelise, look,” with that Perjac turn her away from him and pointed across the valley to two thin black lines that seemed to stream down one of the smaller mountain sides. Kaelise’s blue eyes filled with resentment as she shot a look at the disruptive columns. “Well, do you see them?’ he asked.

            “Yes,” she agreed, bitterness seeping into her voice.

            “I think they’re soldiers…from the kingdom state of Ipoc,” he said quietly, letting her go to stand up. The dark hair that crowned the top of his head at six foot three, brushed lightly against the drooping leaves of the nearby tree. Sighing once again, Kaelise scrambled to her feet, joining him closely at five foot ten, and looked out, the gentle breeze playing with her golden brown curls.

            “We should go tell the village of their coming,” mussed Perjac, as he watched them, “Actually, I’ll go, you stay here and watch the goats. I’ll be back up in a little bit,” he looked at her, his deep pools of almost blackness cutting into her dark blue ones.

            “Okay, just hurry, alright,” she complied, shivering slightly as she glanced back at the horizon. They seemed to carry an ominous feeling she had never felt before. Troops from Ipoc came every so often to check on the village, since it fell under the protection of Ipoc, but hardly. Being hidden away in the mountains was usually good enough to stop most roaming bandit tribes. She watched Perjac’s athletic frame hurry down to the tiny village that lay below her feet. Sitting down once again, she reached into the basket for a piece of pie, only to find her appetite gone.

              In the world Kaelise lived in, cars and other such things, like TVs, mp3 players, cell phones with a digital camera, TV screen, mirror, internet connection, and nose clippers didn’t exist. They did, however, have magical creatures and beings that possessed magical powers. What Kaelise didn’t realize was that she actually had some magical genes in her, passed down through some sorceress on her mother’s side of the family. She didn’t know very much about her mother’s family because they lived outside of the valley. Her mother also didn’t talk about them very much and Kaelise never really asked. So, not knowing about her powers, it came to her as a big surprise when her mother’s voice rang throughout her head,

            “HIDE! Quickly, run to the hidden cave you used to play in with Perjac.” Confused and stunned, she looked around for her mother and then, not seeing her, called out,

            “Mother, are you here?”

            “I’m down in the village. Now, quickly, run and hide. Wait for me to tell you when it’s safe to come out.” At the point of utter confusion, Kaelise decided to run to the hidden cave. She and Perjac had found it when they were young. A water fall fell over the opening, but it was safe to get to, if you knew where you were going. It never even registered to Kaelise that she had never told her mother about it. Climbing into the cool chamber of the cavern, she listened. It was hard to hear over the steady flow of water, but not impossible. It was a small waterfall and it hadn’t rained in a while, so it was smaller than usual, but still hard to hear. She sat for what felt like a long time, and then she heard male voices close by.

            “I don’t see anyone up here,’ came the first, rough voice.

            “We have to look, just to make sure,” sounded a smoother, deep voice, “because if it turns out she’s up here and we missed…it will be our heads for sure.” There was more mumblings, and then the voices moved away.

            “I wonder who they were looking for,” she mussed as the light faded away. Days ended early in the valley. She shivered as a new, night cold, settled around her.

            “Sweetheart,” her mother’s voice once again sounded in Kaelise’s mind.

            “Yes mother?”

            “I don’t think it’s safe yet for you to come down tonight…do you think you’ll be alright up there tonight? I think there are some blankets in the back of the cave.” Kaelise scrambled to the back, blindly feeling around. Her slender fingers brushed lightly against the familiar soft goat hair blanket. She pulled at it and wrapped it around her lithe frame. Warmth filled her as her low body heat warmed up in the encased area.

            “Mother, are you still there?”

            “Yes, I’ll be here whenever you need me.”

            “What happened?”

            “I’ll explain all that I can in the morning, now; you need to get some sleep.”

            “But, I’m not tir…” before she could finish her sentence, Kaelise drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Hi! Yes, I'm sorry nothing new has happened yet, but I've been busy moving into college!!! YaY! But when I have time, more Mages!!! And the start of a new series too!!!

Hi, yes, it's me again...I've changed my mind and decided to let you read a little short story I wrote that I really want to make into a childrens book actually!! Ok, for fun!!!

Katie

EDIT: haha, I should have also said, that if I turned it into a children's book, yes, it would not be worded like this at all. Simple, one sentence per page w/ beautiful pictures! hehe

An American Dragon

            Teeny wasn’t her real name, but that’s the name all the other kids at her school called her. She didn’t mind that they called her that because she mostly ignored them and in truth she was tiny. Teeny was a petite little girl with jet black hair that hung straight to just below her chin and she had solemn almond shaped eyes and peered out on the tan face. She didn’t like to be around the other children on the playground during recess because she was either teased or ignored by them, but that was just fine with her because there was a slightly woody area in the corner of the playground that Teeny went to play in. There was a large rock that she could sit on and several large goldenrod bushes that offered security and a place to dream and play.

            One recess she was over in her area and climbed into a sanctuary beneath the golden arches that rose like a cathedral ceiling over her head. Near the back of the small cabinet was a hole that she had been digging up for the past couple days with a sharp, hard stick that she had found. She sat in the dirt and started to scratch at the bottom of the hole. Within a few minutes her stick struck something hard. This took the little girl by surprise and she peeked into the whole and reached in.

            “Oh!” she exclaimed as her fingers bushed against something smooth and faintly warm. Taking up the stick again she dug as carefully and quickly as she could around the sides of the object. After digging for a few more minutes she realized it to be an egg of sorts. She got it to the point where she could reach in and gently pull the egg out the rest of the way. It was much larger than a normal chicken egg, near the size of a Nerf football. Just then the bell rang and Teeny didn’t want to leave the egg outside so she delicately wrapped the egg in the jacket she had brought out, even though it was a pleasant day out.

            Hurrying back to her class, she marveled at the egg she held cradled in her arms. It was gorgeous, a creamy, pale gold color, which ruby red veins spreading over it like tiny flames. The bundle was warm in her arms as heat seemed to come from the egg. She made it into her classroom in time and gently placed the jacket incased egg into her Hello Kitty backpack and tried to tune into her teacher. Teeny was a good student and was proud of the grades she brought home to show her equally proud parents, but how could she concentrate with just an exciting mystery in her little backpack. She was restless and moved around in her seat and her teacher, Mrs. Cads, noticed.

            “Miss Amanda Wong, does the culture of the people in Kenya not interest you today?” Mrs. Cads asked her. Teeny came back from her day dream about the egg and a pale blush spread to her cheeks as some of her classmates giggled while others laughed.

            “I’m sorry Mrs. Cads, I didn’t mean to not pay attention. I really like learning about Africa,” which wasn’t a lie because Teeny found learning about different cultures fascinating, “but I started day dreaming about something. I’m sorry, I’ll pay attention now,” she said in her soft little nine-year-old voice. Mrs. Cads gave her a quick smile before returning to the book, letting Teeny know that she wasn’t mad at her. Teeny sighed and turned her attention to Mrs. Cads.

            Finally school was over and Teeny hurried outside. Her mom was waiting to pick her up in the normal spot by the cherry tree, which was in full bloom. The walk was only ten minutes away, but Teeny’s mom liked to come and walk with her daughter.

            “Hi mommy,” Teeny cried, hurrying to her mother’s waiting arms.

            “Hello darling. How was school?” he more inquired, giving her small daughter a giant hug and pushed her bangs back and kissed her forehead.

            “It was good. We’re learning about Africa right now and it’s really interesting. I want to go and visit the giraffes sometime. We’re doing really easy math problems right now and I’m really good at them,” Teeny explained to her mom as they walked back to the Wong household. The two chattered back and forth about their day and when they reached their destination Teeny asked leave to go to her room to do a little bit of homework before her cartoons came on at 3:30. Dashing into the house, she hurried to her neat room. She opened her backpack and carefully reached in and pulled out the jacket that contained the egg and then she had to place it on her bed. It was hot to touch! She opened the jacket and the egg seemed to pulsate with heat and life. She reached down to touch it, but it burnt and she had to quickly pull her finger back and pop it into her mouth to cool it down. Then an idea hit her, could it be a dragon egg. If so, maybe it would hatch if she got it hotter! Teeny pulled the comforter off her bed and dragged it over to the heater while cradling the hot jacket in her arm. Making a nest, she rested the egg in the middle of it and searched her room for other miscellaneous blankets, sheets and whatnot she had. Teeny gazed proudly at her pile that almost reached her small height, then she glanced over at her Care Bears clock and saw it was almost time for her shows to be on. She left the room and quietly closed the door as if not to wake whatever might be sleeping in the egg.  She watched her shows and then helped her mother prepare dinner. Afterwards she played a game of candy land with her parents and then retired to her room on claims of wanting to read a book in there.

            Gingerly she peeled the blankets back, each warm with a heat, and as she got nearer the core the warmer each thing got. Finally she pulled back the last sheet she had covering it and gasped. The once creamy golden egg now had a pale blush spread across it and the ruby veins glowed as if on fire. She didn’t dare touch it and gawked at it mesmerized. That’s when the egg moved. Teeny jumped back startled at movement and then peeked into the nest once more. The egg moved some more and then she heard a crack and a seam broke the smooth shell. She could hear it long before she could see it. A rasping noise came from inside the shell as something clawed at the crack. A branching crack appeared from the main one and then a piece broke off.

            Out of the gap came a little scarlet leg, tipped with creamy claws. It clawed at more of the egg until the little gap became a gapping hole and then its head popped out. It only took minutes for this to happen, but to Teeny the minutes had stretched into years. She backed away a little bit and cast a mixed look of amazement, fear, wonderment, and incredibility as she looked at the small dragon that had crawled out of the egg.

            The two looked at each other for minutes then the dragon made the first move and that move was towards Teeny. Teeny held her breath as the creature approached her. She didn’t know how to react. Fear spread through her mind as she thought maybe it was coming to roast her and eat her; however, her fear was put to rest as the dragon stopped and started to rub its head against her leg.

            “Why it acts just like a cat,” she thought and out of habit, she reached down to scratch its head, but her hand hovered over its head. Did she dare to touch it? She bravely made up her mind and lowered her hand the next inch and was pleasantly surprised to come in contact with a slightly warm, smooth surface.

            “Why, it feels just like the egg did when I first found it,” and the dragon gave off a low rumble in what Teeny took to be happiness. It look a lot like the Chinese dragons she had seen in books and it was very similar to Mushu in the Disney movie Mulan. A smile spread across her face as she realized that it was her dragon. It seemed devoted to her and another thought flashed across her mind, “Maybe it thinks I’m its mother!” she thought excitedly. Then she picked it up and held it in her arms.

            “But what should I call you,” she said, stroking under its chin, making it do its rumble purr again.

            “I would like a male name please,” a small and smooth voice said in her head.

            “Oh,” Teeny said, somewhat startled, “you can talk.”

            “Yes, in a way. What is your name mistress?” the tiny creature asked her, its liquid golden eyes looking up at her.

            “Why, my name is Teeny. Well, actually it’s Amanda Wong, but everyone calls me Teeny, except for some adults,” she explained to the scarlet dragon. It was a very pretty dragon, covered in scarlet scales with cream claws, liquid golden eyes, and a ridge of small golden scales that followed its spine from top to the end of his long tale. Two horns of the same cream color rose from the top of his head. “What would you like to go by?”

            “I know really nothing of names, so I am open to anything mistress Teeny,” he replied graciously.

            “Well, how about Draig?”

            “That is an interesting name mistress and I will gladly bear it.”

            “Okay, Draig it is then. Are you hungry?”

            “A little bit,” he admitted to her.

            “Okay, please stay here and I’ll go get something from the fridge and bring it back,” she told the dragon. He quickly replied and jumped out of her arms and onto the naked bed. Teeny slipped down to the refrigerator and pulled out a few pieces of chicken and returned to her room. Draig roasted them, to Teeny’s surprise, and devoured the pieces. Teeny’s mom came up to her room to tell her it was her bed time and Teeny quickly hide Draig in her closet. She knew her mom would probably have to find out about the existence of Draig, but not now. Afterwards she brought him back out and the two of them settled in for the night. The next day was a Saturday, giving Teeny plenty of time to decide what to do with Draig while she attended school and how to tell her parents, or even if she should. But that’s what she would think about tomorrow, not now and she drifted off to sleep with a warm little dragon cradled in her arms. Her American dragon and first real friend.

Ok, this is my little camp horror story, but it's not really too creepy or anything, but I like it....I hope you enjoy it and, once again, sorry about any typos, ect, ect.

i need an editor

this is my story and my story alone....

~Katie Schaffer~

The Leerding of Ocheebee

“Let me tell you a story,” he began, captivating his younger audience, “about a young group of kids, much like yourselves, who were campers here at Camp Ocheebee. Now this was long before my time, years ago, even before I was a camper. My counselor told it to me and my fellow campers when we were about your age,”

            “You were our age once David?” a young girl piped up from the front row of the seats by the fire.

            “Yes, Marisa, believe it or not, I was once your age, and so was Allison,” David said, motioning to his fellow counselor, an average sized girl with beautiful brown hair and eyes who sat nearby, keeping an eye on the kids.

            “Yes, those many years ago,” she teased, winking at David through the darkness which was only illuminated by the roaring fire. The small hoard of little ten through twelve years olds had roasted their marshmallows…or burned to a crisp as so many of them liked to do and now were ready for their camp story of the night. The little kids giggled at the thought of the two older teenagers being their age once and sitting in their seats, eating gooey s’mores.

            “Ok, now I’m going to continue with the story,”

            “Yes Mr. Storyteller, we shan’t interrupt you again,” Allison said mocking him and making the little kids burst out laughing again.

            “Thank you Ms. Doesntletmetellmystories, now, as requested by the large majority, it’s ghost story time. Now this tale, as I was saying, takes place here, at Camp Ocheebee, back when this camp was new and campers where coming here for their first time. There were a group of kids who formed a group while they were here and they were called “The Nightraiders” because they liked to wonder around the camp after lights out. Now, as you all should know, these lands once belong to the native Americans and they claimed that evil creatures roamed these parts, so, the Indians would never live here because of this spirits that wandered around these parts,” and David continued through the entire story without interruption as the kids listened, engrossed in the story about a bunch of campers who went out one night and ran into the infamous Leerding.

            The Leerding is supposedly a cross between a mountain lion, a bear, and some other animal and its size was only slightly smaller than that. It could run on all four legs, but also stand on its back two if it wanted to. It had razor sharp claws and fangs in which it would catch and rip its prey to shreds. A thick mat of hair covered its entire body, but its face was like a monkey’s and it had human like eyes. The human like eyes come from the fact that they believed it was some how also descended from humans too. The eyes were the worst for a human because if they looked into them, they would feel sorry for this creature and would stand there, gazing into these sad, deep pools of blue until the creature was upon them, and then…it was too late. Another thing that the Leerder possesses that is chilling is its cry, which sounds like a cross between fingernails on a chalkboard and a woman’s scream. It’s bone chilling and if it’s heard, usually that’s not a good sign.

            As the story went on, the kids had gotten lost in the nearby woods on a midnight hike that they weren’t supposed to take and had ended up in a clearing.

            “And so,” David said, lowing his voice, causing the kids to lean in, each holding his or her breath in anticipation for the ending, “they stepped into the clearing, glad to be out of the dense forest where they couldn’t see anything. Then, that’s when they heard the terrifying cry of the Leerding,” and at the moment, Allison let out a shriek, jumped up and lurched at the kids causing them all to panic and scream at her.

            “Sorry, I couldn’t help it kids,” she cried, tears of laughter streaming down her face.

            “I don’t think that was funny,” muttered one of the little girls, folding her arms and looking close to tears in the firelight.

            “Aw, I’m sorry Aimee. Here babe, why don’t you come over here and sit on my lap,” Allison said, feeling slightly bad for scaring the kids, but only slightly, and she held out her arms to the little Aimee, who sought their comfort. David, who had planned this out with Allison earlier, had been a little startled when she had done it, but hadn’t shown it, or so he hoped to the younger kids.

            “Well, I guess we all know how the kids felt in the story,” he said, trying to lighten the mood, “now, back to the story. So, they heard the cry and across the clearing from them stood a Leerding. Now, they didn’t know this, but it was only a young Leerding, but still, it was a Leerding that they had heard about from an old Indian guide who told stories at the camp; besides doing his other jobs like teaching the kids about watercraft. Now, they remembered that the old man had said that being in the middle of the water was a safe place because the Leerding didn’t like to swim and another safe place was up a tree, really high. Unlike the creatures if was shaped after, the Leerder had no skill in climbing trees, which was a good thing for these children, who hightailed it to the trees behind them. The three boys boosted the two girls up and with the help, the third boy made it up right before the Leerding took off his feet. The five children clung to the branches of the tree for the entire night as the nocturnal baby Leerding prowled under the tree, trying to lure them down with its eyes.

            The night was so dark though and the children didn’t want to look down, so they were safe. Night finally passed, giving into the demands of day and when dawn came creeping across the sky, spreading her color to the dark world, the Leerding gave up and slunk into the receding darkness to return home…” David paused, letting it sink into the kids who sat there quietly.

            “What happens next…to the kids?” asked one of the boys, breathlessly.

            “Well, they were too afraid to climb down,” David continued, “but, luckily for them, the old Indian guide and discovered they were gone and he and several other camp officials came looking for them and found them, thanks to the guide’s excellent tracking skills. The children tried to explain about what happened to them that night, but the camp officials scoffed them for having vivid imaginations, but the old Indian looked at them with knowledgeable eyes. The group refused to be out after dark and were always inside if they could be. On the last day of camp, when the parents were coming to pick them up, the old guide came up to the quiet group sitting on the deck and said to them

            ‘You have seen one of the most feared creatures by my people and now it will be feared by you as well. I know you will never forget what you saw…but be glad that you have memories, instead of not having any at all,’ he told them. And then they parted and not a single one of them ever came back to Camp Ocheebee again…The end,” David finished.

            “Well…what did you all think of the story?” Allison asked, breaking the tension that hung in the air like heavy English fog. That broke it up and the little kids started chattering about the story and others they had heard, but that didn’t stop them from throwing a cautious look over into the inky woods every now and then.

            “Well, it’s time to head back to the cabins for bed everyone,” David said, standing up and stretching his lanky limbs. The campers looked relieved to be heading back towards the lit area of the camp, where they could climb into their secure cabins and sleep away the evil thought because they were so tired from the day’s activities that they had no room for nightmares or extra thoughts. Together Allison and David rounded up their group of kids and escorted them back to their cabins and watched them get ready for bed. It was getting close to lights out and the two left the kids securely in their cabins and headed down to the mess hall where all the other counselors were meeting.

            After a quick meeting to discuss the plans for the campers the next day, the senior staff members retired to the back of the mess hall to play a few games of cards and chat. The younger members of the staff, which consisted of Allison, David and a few of their friends, Georgic, Jacob, Matt, and Isabella, strolled down to the lake front together in high spirits because they had the next couple of days off, while the shift rotated to the junior counselors, who were kids that weren’t quite old enough to be counselors yet. This gave them free time.

            “Hey, you all want to row over to the other side of the lake and explore,” Jacob asked, throwing the idea into the air.

            “Are you crazy,” Isabella asked, looking at him like he was a lunatic, “the other side is haunted.”

            “What are you talking about Izzy,” questioned Georgic, who was new to the area.

            “That’s where the old camp used to be and there are Leerding all over there, there is no way you could ever get me to go over there. It’s creepy enough being over here,” she stated, crossing her arms and glancing around.

            “Don’t listen to her Georgic,” Matt consoled, “she claims to have Native American blood in her and so she believes all their crazy legends.”

            “Hey,” she cried, playfully hitting Matt’s arm, “I’m not crazy and I do have Native American blood in me. And I’m not making it up. There are such things as Leerdings and they live over on that side of the lake and in other places…don’t you all know that that’s where the old Camp Ocheebee used to be?” she questioned, looking around at them, but each shook their head.

            “Oh, well, my grandpa told me that a long time ago, when his grandfather was an older man, he worked at Camp Ocheebee and it was located on the other side of this lake. The Indians have always avoided that land because they believed it to be tainted with an evil creature, known as the Leerding. It wasn’t until white men came and took over the land that anyone dared to enter that area. But if you go back, you’ll see mentions about bodies being found, mutilated by creatures that didn’t fit any other description, but that of the Leerding,” she said with honesty and passion, her brown eyes catching those of everyone she spoke too. They looked at her and then Jacob, Matt and David all burst out laughing while Allison looked at her friend with sympathetic eyes.

            “Please with all the science we have today, don’t you think we’d be able to tell if they existed? I’ve never seen or heard about them, but here,” Jacob said.

            “That’s because they are believed to be also descended from man and my people believe that they have found a way to change back into this stage,” she said, casting a look over them, “that’s why I wear this charm,” and she pulled out a necklace with a round, white stone on it.

            “Oh Isabella, those are just sill stories made up to frighten kids and people with over active imaginations,” David said calmly, putting his arm around her shoulder and causing Allison to throw Isabella a jealous look; however, it was lost in the dark, but Georgic did manage to catch it, but that was only because he adored Allison, even though she didn’t pick up on it.

            “So, do you all want to go still, or has Isabella frightened you all out of it,” Matt daringly asked.

            “Well, I’m up for it,” Jacob said, stepping up.

            “Me too,” chimed David.

            “Well, if you three are going, I might as well go,” sighed Allison, secretly glad to be going on a moonlight trip across the trip with three hot guys. When Georgic heard of her plans he also spoke up about going. Only Isabella declined to go on the trip to the other side. The group made short work of getting ready; Allison headed to the mess hall to pick up some snacks to take with them. They left Isabella on the shore, watching her five friends head off to the other side, to the devil shore. She shook her head slowly and sent her prayers with them, singing a low song she had been taught a long time ago by her grandfather, who, in turn, was taught by this grandfather.

            The configuration of the canoes had it so Allison was sitting in the same one as David and Matt, while Jacob and Georgic paddled the other one, Allison was happy with the situation, while Georgic was slightly more on the sad side not to be with his crush. They made it over to the other side of the lake in good time, joking and laughing the entire way to make light of the morose mood set earlier that evening. About an hour later the group of five made it to the farther shore, the distant horizon that had tempted them for so long.

            “I can’t believe we’re standing here,” whispered Allison, stepping out the boat via David’s arm.

            “Ok, guys, confession time,” Jacob stated, tying up his canoe next to where Matt was tying up the other one, “I’ve always wanted to come here, ever since I was a little peewee camper.”

            “Who hasn’t,” joked David.

            “Well, I don’t think it’s ever crossed my mind,” Allison said thoughtfully.

            “You’re a girl, girls never think about things like this,” stated Jacob. That only made him receive a rather well place and hurtful punch to the arm.

            “Shut up,” hissed Allison, glancing around at the shadowy forest that lay in front of them just past the short pebbly beach.

            “Oh, it’s ok Allison. Hey,” David said, “Izzy’s stories didn’t get to you, did they?” he asked, coming up to her and rubbing one of her folded arms.

            “N…no, don’t be silly. I’m just a little cold from the trip over, but I’m good, you should know that David,” she said confidently, flashing him on of her grins and he grinned back. Jealousy surged in Georgic as he saw those two flirt.

            “Well, so what are we going to do here, since we’re here?” questioned the envious boy.

            “Well,” started Matt, “I don’t know. I’ve never actually thought about what we would do…”

            “I never knew I would actually be over here,” Jacob said, searching their surroundings. “I guess we could,” and he stopped in mid sentence as he noticed something.

            “What is it Jacob, Leerding got your tongue,” played Matt, turning to his friend, surreptitiously hoping that he wasn’t close it at all.

            “No,” he started slowly, “guys, does that look like a building to you?” They followed his pointed finger to the dark outlines of something that resembled a building.

            “Shit, no way,” David cursed under his breath as he looked upon what appeared to be the remnants of a building. Matt was enthralled by this mystery.

            “Come on guys, let’s get a closer look,” he said, and lead the way to the dilapidated ruins. Jacob followed a step behind his friend. Allison hung back a bit, remembering Isabella’s words to them.

            “Maybe she knows more than any of us thinks,” she thought to herself.

            “Allie, you ok? Don’t you want to go and see what’s up there,” David asked his hesitant and oldest friend.

            “Oh, yeah…David, don’t you remember what Izzy told us earlier this evening…about the camp being over here once…where do you think she learned about it? I mean, we’ve only known her for two seasons of camp and we don’t really know who she is or where she comes from…” she blurted out.

            “Oh, Allie…I don’t know, truthfully, but come on, I’m sure there’s a good reason that she knows all about the camp and its history. Now, no more worrying about it, ok, please?” he pleaded with her, playfully clasping his hands and trying to give her his best puppy dog face. It worked, well in one way, Allison burst out into giggles and he continued, “Besides, you have four guys here to watch over you, nothing will happen to you, I promise,” he declared solemnly. Georgic nodded his head in assertion.

            “Ok, you’ve convinced me, let’s go see what’s going on up there,” she sighed, grabbing a couple of the flashlights and positioning herself between the two boys, “let’s go.” They found Jacob and Matt waiting for them twenty feet away from the building.

            “What, not brave enough to go in,” Allison asked, teasing the mercilessly.

            “Hey, no, we were waiting for you all to get here, besides, we forgot the flashlights and it’s gotta be dark as hell in there,” Jacob claimed, grabbing a light from Allison’s hands.

            “Well, shall we ladies,” David asked mockingly bowing to the wooden wreckage.

            “Oh, let’s dear,” cut back Jacob, and the three laughed and made their way to the front of the building. Allison and Georgic made their way more slowly with Allison’s light trained on the ground, however, Georgic seemed to be fine without it as he helped her along.

            “Where are you from again Georgic?” she asked, stopping and looking slightly up at him.

            “Oh,” he seemed startled by her question and by the fact that this girl he adored was directly addressing him. “I’m just from a backwater little town over in a few counties. I heard about this job and since it was the best paying on I could find, I took it.”

            “Hmm, well that explains why you can see so well in the dark Mr. Country Boy,” she said, playfully knocking into his arm. She had never noticed how quite nice he looked before. His eyes were shadowed though, but as she thought about it, she couldn’t remember what color they were exactly. “That’s right, I’m so sure they’re a deep chocolate, close to Jacob’s I think,” but that didn’t matter.

            “Hey you two look at this,” Jacob called, and they followed his beam of light upwards to the remains of a sign. “What do you think it says?” All of them studied it closely, for it was hard to read and looked almost like something had been clawing at it.

            “Guys, I think is says ‘Camp Ocheebee’,” Allison said fearfully. “Do you think it’s true, that this is the old camp?” Jacob swung his light away from the dreadful sign to the place past the cabin, into shady foreground. David took Allison’s light from her and doubled the light. The site that hit them, took their breaths away. Cabins lined both sides of an old dirt road that was overgrown with weeds of the decades. All were falling down and looked like something or some things had attacked them with sharp objects.

            “Come on, let’s get a closer look,” Matt said, stepping away from the cabin, toward the approaching and unforgiving cover of night. Allison took a step away from them all, headed closer to the shore, to the boats, to the water, to safety.

            “You ok?” questioned David, whispering in her ear.

            “Yeah, just got the willies I guess,” she choked, even though a knot of cold dread and horror had settled in her gut and wasn’t about to leave.

            “Alright, just making sure, you know, just say the word and I’ll take you back to the shore and to the canoes.”

            “Thanks David, you’re sweet, but go on, I’ll be fine right here, just let me breath a little bit, ok?”

            “Sure thing,” he said, and with that he kissed her on the cheek and went off to join the other three boys who were ahead of them. She was left all alone for the first time that night, not even Georgic had stayed behind, in fact, and he seemed to be in front of them all, looking about quickly. The group went ahead and disappeared into one of the cabins ahead. Icy tingles shot up her spine and Allison scanned her surroundings and what she saw almost caused her to faint. “Shit! Holy Shit!” her mind screamed as she saw what appeared to be a set of eyes, not on her, but on where her friends had disappeared into. Her hand reached up and grabbed the necklace Izzy had forced upon her to take in the mess hall. She stood there, frozen in terror, and then, fled, back to the water and to the boats, safety.

            Reaching the water she saw that the lines to the canoes had been cut, no, not cut, severed and by something with razor sharp claws. At the point of hysteria she noticed that one of the canoes was close by in the water and without a second glance, she ran into the water and swam out to the floating boat. She managed to get into it and sat gasping at the bottom, shaking and frightened. Looking up, over the edge of the boat, she saw a several pairs of eyes looking at her from the edge of the forest. They seemed resentful and sad; as an almost automatic motion, Allison’s hand went up to the stone around her neck. A sound caught her attention and she looked past those mournful eyes to where she had so thoughtlessly left her friends.

            Georgic had said that he saw something worth investigating in the cabin and the other three boys had followed him in, but David felt like something wasn’t right with it. Georgic motioned them over to the end of the cabin that seemed to be concealed in even a darker shade of dark.

            “Look there, in the corner, shine your lights on it,” he said. The two with the lights complied and the sight which awaited them scared them more than anything they could have ever imagined. A pile of bones lay scattered in the corner, varying from very small rodents to large deer like, to something the resembled a human skull.

            “What the hell is this?” Jacob questioned, hysteria creeping into his voice.

            “I don’t know, but I think we should find Allison and leave,” David said, turning around.

            “Oh no, I don’t think so,” came a cool, deeper voice that could have once belonged to a teenaged boy named Georgic. The three boys turned about and shined the dimming lights on a creature they never though to exist. And, for the first time, even the manliest of them all wasn’t afraid to scream in terror as a boy they thought was one of their friends turned into a hellish creature and was joined by several other slinky beast of its type.

            The cry that Allison heard was that of three teenaged boys who knew nothing else would be coming in this life, dreams died with those screams; however, those weren’t the worst of them, it was the cry that came after it, the cry of women, screaming like they had just seen a ghost.

            “Or a Leerding,” she thought, full of terror, looking back at the shore, which was at least a good fifty feet away and the distance was increasing. The minutes passed and she didn’t hear anything for the longest time and then her sharp eyes caught movement on the shore and she watched as Georgic stumbled onto the shore. She watched him look frantically around for the boats and her heart soared, someone was there.

            “Georgic,” she cried, finding a voice somehow, and he looked up at her and smiled, but only for a brief second.

            “Allie,” he called out, across the water, “it’s…it’s true…everything that Izzy said is true. The Leerding do exist. Where’s the other canoe?”

            “I don’t know,” she cried back at him, tying to keep it low, “I had to swim out to this one. I think they severed the ropes.”

            “Quick, hurry and paddle back here and get him,” he hissed.

            “No, swim out here, I don’t want to go anywhere near that shore,” she said, tears started rolling down her face as she thought of her other friends.

            “Please, just start paddling over here, please and met me,” he pleaded, glancing over his shoulder into the forests.

            “Ok,” she said and picked up a paddle and started to head back, sobbing all the while. When she looked up she noticed that Georgic seemed very calm all the sudden was still wasn’t in the water heading out towards her.

            “Why have you stopped?”

            “Why aren’t you swimming out here?” she questioned, then she tried to remember a time when she had ever seen Georgic in the water, but couldn’t.

            “Hurry up Allison,” he snarled and then looked at her, eyes widening, “oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that there’s a lot of things running through my mind and I don’t think I could make it to you. I feel like I’m about to collapse.” Through out that all, Allison had been paddling towards him.

            “Just look into my eyes Allie and you can see I mean it,” he quietly begged. She complied and feel into the deepest pools of blue she had ever seen, she seemed to grow closer and closer to them, when all the sudden a weight pulled her attention away from the eyes.

            “The rock,” her mind screamed and woke her from an almost deathful trap. “No! You! You’re a Leerding!” she screamed, accusing him.

            “Such an awful thing to say dear, now look at me,” he demanded, anger growing in his voice.

            “Well the detective said they say they found the girl at the bottom of a canoe, shaking and muttering about something called a Leerding and a boy named Georgic. She’s in a mental hospital right now. But nobody knows who that boy is and there are still three other teenagers missing from the camp. Gone, without a trace, but, anyway, they’ve decided to close done Camp Ocheebee for good,” reported the girl with slight Native America features to an older man who seemed to have seen more than his fair share of decades pass.

            “That is good,” he replied, looking across the lake at the regained territory.

Really, I haven't forgotten about this story, I love it, but I've been busy getting into college and graduating and getting a job. But I'm done with all that, well, most of it, but here it is, Chapter 9!!!

Again, sorry about typos and all those other things that might not make any sense, I am sorry, but then again, I'm horrible at proofreading and once again, this is not the finally copy of the chapter. These are frames,. Ok, with that said, Enjoy!

~Katie~

also, tomorrow, I'll post the list of characters I have so far.

Chapter 9

            She slowly lifted her head off of the fluffy pillow and waited for her vision to clear. A bright world came into existence; however, if was not one she was familiar with and then that when the memory struck her. She had been brought to the Caelum Castellum by two of the Faelin the previous night. Sitting up abruptly, Emmia swung her legs off the side of the bed, only to realize that she was missing the ground by half a foot.

            “Damn these short legs,” she thought as she crawled over to the other side of the massive bed to check for a safer way down, and there it was. A little wooden set of stairs was waiting for her to descend. Emmia carefully made her way from the soft, but overly too large bed, only to find herself come face to face with a woman. Since she was quite surprised by this and because she never heard the woman come in, she screamed. The woman didn’t seemed to be startled by Emmia’s response to her being there and instead of backing off, she stepped forward and smiled and radiant smile at her.

            “Greetings and good morning young guardian,” she began in a musical voice which hinted to Emmia that this was no ordinary woman, if she even was human, “Please call me Rosile. I am one of the Faelin who resides and serves the great four in the Caelum Castellum.”

            “Oh,” was all Emmia could get out as she stared at the beautiful and mythical creature in front of her. The Faelin were only of legends and myths to the humans of the world of Zeenia, but here she was, gawking at one. Even as a guardian, she had never seen one before; however, that was because the Faelin are creatures of Old and had disappeared from the planet with the rest of the Old when the Goddesses defeated Yen.

            “Come, you should bathe first and then I will take you to the garden to eat,” Rosile said gently, taking the young girl’s hand and guiding her across the room to an open doorway in which green, gauzy material hung in futile attempts at a door. In the room was a large bathing area with two, large sunken bathing pools. At the opposite end of the hall was another door way in which blue glass beads hung. Emmia couldn’t see what was in that room because of the distant and the lack of light coming from that room, but the bathing area was bright enough. All along the right wall were giant open areas to let in light, and a wall to over look whatever might be below. Green tendrils with purple flowers crawled over the edges of the wall and spilled onto the white floor. Along on the left wall was a beautiful mosaic depicting land and water together in harmony and a small door in the middle of it all, but it was very well disguised as a tree and Emmia had to look several times before spotting it. Rosile lead her to the first pool and began removing Emmia’s clothes before she realized what was happening.

            “Oh, you don’t have to do that Rosile, I can undress myself,” she said half-heartedly as her gaze continued to roam over the enchanting room and in the end she let Rosile finish her job. After she was undressed, she stepped gingerly into the pool which had been filling with water when they first entered the room. She gasped when her toe touched, it felt perfect. She hurried up and submerged her body up to her neck in the deliciously warm water. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and was overcome by the smell of rainstorms and flowers, two of her favorite smells.

            “The bath is smart my lady and it adjusts itself to fit the bather’s heat preference and aroma,” explained Rosile as she knelt by Emmia and dipped her hair into the water. “Now if you’ll just allow me to wash your hair,” she said as more of a statement instead of a question. Emmia was just fine with letting Rosile was her hair, her hands massage her scalp perfectly and she slipped into at state of relaxation and was blissfully unaware of her surrounds as she let Rosile wash her.

            “It is time to get out and dry off lady,”

            “Yes, oh course Rosile,” mussed Emmia, “Rosile?”

            “Yes my lady?”

            “Why am I here?”

            “You are here because the Goddesses have sensed a disturbance in the South and the Elements are not responded to you, the Guardians, as they should. So they have called for the four of you to come here to the Caelum Castellum to plan their next move,” Rosile explained, while drying Emmia off.

            “We’re just pieces to them…”

            “We are all just pawns to the great four little mage, now here, step into this gown,” interrupted Rosile hastily, pulling an emerald green gown up Emmia’s slim body. The material was light and silky against her body. The dress was a wonderment in itself. It fell to the ground in a pool of emerald, with silver threads interlace up the bodice in patterns of intertwining roses and the sleeves where cut with slits starting at the shoulder and falling down to her wrist. Rosile brushed her hair and left it down and put a wreath of white roses in her hair.

            “There you go, finished,” she claimed and examined Emmia as an artist might a masterpiece. “Ah, except for one thing, shoes,” and she placed a pair of sliver slippers at Emmia’s feet. She looked at them in disgust, she hadn’t worn shoes in the longest time and her reason was that she felt as if she had lost some touch with the earth when she did.

            “Do I have to wear them?” she questions Rosile and for the first time she saw something that resembled shock pass the perfect face of the Faelin.

            “Not wear shoes? Is there something wrong with them?” started Rosile.

            “Oh, no…it’s just that I haven’t worn shoes in the longest time,” Emmia started to explain and a look of realization crossed the Faelin’s face.

            “Oh, of course, forgive me. It slipped my mind that you are the Earth mage and wearing the shoes would interfere with your connection to the earth and all your surroundings. Again, forgive me,” she claimed, bowing to Emmia for the first time. Emmia was shocked and a little worried about her reaction, but then smiled and touched the other’s shoulder.

            “Don’t worry about it Rosile. So,” she said, changing the subject, “I’m hungry, when do I get to eat?”

            “Now, if you wish my lady,” smiled the Faelin and she led her to the small door in the tree, “I’ll take you to the garden were you will be joined by another mage,” now it was Emmia’s turned to be startled.

            “Really, another mage, which one, who is it?” she rapidly fired the questions at her guide as they walked down the hall and stepped out into the light; however, Emmia forgot her questions as she gasped over the spectacular display that was in front of her. The most beautiful garden stretched out before her, filled with more types of flowers and plants then she could ever dream of and intertwining streams and ponds added another beauty to the view. Then, that’s when she saw what was past the gardens, she saw the planet Zeenia, drifting peacefully in the blanket of dark space and in that moment it struck her that she wasn’t on her little planet anymore and she was, in fact, standing in the beginning of the most beautiful garden she had ever seen which was on the Caelum Castellum. She was within the presence of the four Goddesses. She stood there for an instant and drank it all in and then she smiled and became quite giddy.

            “Please hurry Lady Emmia,” Rosile addressed her.

            “Oh, I’m sorry, where too?”

            “If you please, that pavilion in the middle of the lake. Take the bridge that appears in the water and be quick, Lord Davus of the Air will be joining you soon,” and with that Rosile faded away into the darkness of the doorway, leaving Emmia stunned and in wonderment. Emmia, however, forgot about Rosile and hurried to the water’s edge and was amazed to see a large stone appear out of nowhere.

            “This must be the bridge Rosile was talking about,” she thought as she gingerly took a step onto the large rock, which she found to be quite sound and low and behold, another rock appeared in front of that one. Trusting the rocks, Emmia followed them to the center of the lake where the pavilion stood and what a handsome thing it was. There were slightly translucent stones that covered the floor and this allowed the blueness of the lake to shine through and cast its color onto the white pillars and ceiling, and wild rose vines climbed up the pillars on the outside and their smell filled the open place. It seemed magical to a girl who was blessed with a gift of magic. Then she saw several low benches and a table set out that was filled with all different types of food, but she was certain that that hadn’t been there before.

            “But then again, I am in a place that is filled with magic. I’d better get use to such things because I don’t know how long I’ll be here,” she thought and sat down and began to nibble on a piece of bread covered with some sort of nut butter. Tastes exploded on her tongue and she leaned back into the pillows and sighed. Her mind traveled to the mage that Rosile said was joining her.

            “What is his name,” she pondered, “oh, that’s right, Davus, the air mage. I wonder what her looks like,” then something caught her attention and she peered over the side of the pavilion towards the shore of the lake. There was a young man staring at the water like she had been several minutes ago. He was a lanky fellow and it was too hard to see his features very well, but his hair appeared to be a whitish color.

            “Oh, he’s old,” she thought sadly, but then the light hit his hair, “oh, no! It’s silver!” as he came closer, she studied him, he kept his face down, but it was easy to see that he was no old man even though he had distinguished long silver locks. When she realized that he was almost at the pavilion, she hastily adjusted herself on her set so she appeared to have been there for awhile and she hoped, secretly in her heart, that she appeared to be attractive. As he stepped into the pavilion, he looked up for the first time and their eyes caught and they stared at each other, then Emmia cleared her throat and said,

            “Hello Davus, Lord of the Air and fellow mage, there is much we must talk about,” she stated, “Oh Goddesses, that sounded stupid,” she thought angrily to herself and mentally slapped herself, but then she realized that Davus hadn’t seen to notice what she said.

            “Hello, you must be the Earth mage,” he started, his voice coming out in a little wisp that Emmia seemed to have to catch.

            “Yes, that’s right, I’m Emmia,” she said shyly, which was out of character for her because she was never a shy child, and she raised her hand to him as she sat up. Davus, in turn, reached for it and bought in up to his lips.

            “It is a pleasure to meet you finally Lady Emmia,” he said and kissed her hand and then lowered it and sat down on a nearby seat. “Is the food any good?” he asked, eyeing the dishes set between them.

            “Oh, yes,” she managed to squeak out and then she steadied her voice, “yes, I’m sure it is all quite good, I’ve only just begun, so I haven’t managed to taste everything yet.”

            “Well, I’m glad you’ve only just started, that was we can enjoy this meal together,” Davus said, smiling and reached down and picked up a piece of the  bread with nut butter and took a bit, “Oh, this is good,” he said, eyes going wide in surprise. Emmia started to laugh at his expression and Davus’s eyes twinkled at her as he reached for another piece.

            “So, do you know why we’re here,” he asked.

            “Actually, not really,” replied Emmia, “but it might have something to do with how I lost feel for my powers for that little bit,” she didn’t like how Davus stared at her.

            “You lost control of your powers too,” he asked incredulously.

            “Yeah, but I think they’re back now and there was a sword…” she began before realizing that she didn’t know where the beautiful sword that she pulled out of the ground was.

            “I lost mine for a while too, and I almost died because of it,” he said wistfully, looking out over the lake, “Maybe that’s why we’re here.”

            “Maybe,” said Emmia slowly and both lapsed into the recesses of their minds, going over what had happened to them lately. But their thoughts were broken when a commotion was heard from the banks of the lake. They looked over and they saw two figures walking across from a field to where the bridge was and they appeared to be in the heat of a fiery argument.

            “Do you think those are the last two mages,” Davus asked her, shooting her one of his smiles that gave her butterflies.

            “Probably, and it looks like they’re already been acquainted,” she answered, giving him one of her smiles, which she hoped worked. “I wonder what their stories are,” she mussed as they watched the two figures make their way closer.

Here it is, chaper 8 in all of it's glory and longness. Haha, I like it and I hope you do too. Please read and review and remember that I'm horrible at proofreading my own writing, so please, if you see something big, comment on it.

Thanks!,

~Katie~

Chapter 8

            She gazed serenely around the lush setting of Glendale forest. The green of the forest was reflected in her bright eyes. Emmia was sitting on a very large rock in the middle of a small clearing. Sighing, she shifted to gaze up at the sky and noticed the darkening sky. The sight brought a smile to her dark face. The forest needed rain and the rain also made her feel rejuvenated. She loved her connection with the earth and the land. Just then, a drop of water fell from the sky and hit her cheek and she giggled.

            “I’d better start back for the Cottage. Kelli’s probably worried about me,” mused Emmia as she stood up and stretched she short limbs. Thunder cracked overheard and she was startled. It was really close and she hadn’t seen any lightening flash through the sky. Then, again, thunder sounded his loud voice and this time it was even closer. The booming turned into a laughing and in the brightness of a lightening bolt something materialized in front of the astonished girl.

            “Little Lady of the Earth, I presume,” boomed the deep, crackling voice.

            “That depends on who wants her, my dear…err…” She didn’t know how to exactly address this…creature.

            “I, my little mage, am Ru’those, Lord of the Storms. Once I belonged under the control of Lord Davus, the Air Mage, but no longer!” Emmia gasped. She knew of Zeenia’s history and past. When Yen had threatened the land, Ru’those had been the first element lords to swear allegiance to the false god. Since he no longer had to answer to the Goddesses, he set out causing as much destruction as he could in the world. When the Goddesses had the world under their control again and had given powers to the first of the mages, they had bound Ru’those to the air mage so he couldn’t wreck havoc on the world of Zeenia again. But, if Ru’those was out and causing trouble that could only mean that something had happened to Davus.

            “Y…you are supposed to be bound! You can’t be here without the Lord of Air’s consent.” Ru’those answered he with his rumbling laugh and it filled her with dread.

            “I no longer answer to him little one. I have a new master. One who lets me do as I please. Well, as long as I do the one thing he requested of me.”

            “And what might that be, my Lord?” Emmia was afraid to ask.

            “Why, kill the little Lady of Earth for him.” The rain had started to pour down my then and Emmia could only see the bright body of Ru’those.

            “Oh,” was all she could say.

            “It was nice knowing you little lady,” Ru’those said while forming a sword out of lightening. He took a step towards her and raised the sword and that’s when Emmia regained her wits.

            “I think not!” She cried as she ducked and rolled away from him. Standing up she sought out to the earth. There had to be someway to stop this creature. Ru’those looked stunned that she had moved and then he started to laugh again.

            “Well, that was unexpected, but this should promise to be a little entertaining,” he stated as he stepped towards her. Her mind thought quickly about what she need.

            “I need a sword,” she thought, “but I’ve only fought against my sword master!” This wasn’t really the time to worry about little things like that she decided. “Besides, he said I was a good student,” she remembered as she reached down to the earth and grabbed. Ru’those stopped to look in wonderment as she pulled a glittering blade from the earth.

            “Impressive. For your sake you’d better know how to use it,” and grinning he stepped closer, “but I have feeling that you don’t know very much about sword play, do you?”

            “I hate you!” screamed Emmia as she raised the blade. That’s when she noticed why the blade shone so much. The sword seemed to be made out of one solid diamond! She took her gaze off of it just in time to notice Ru’those’s lightening blade flashing down towards her. She raised her sword to meet his and the two mighty blades struck. The impacted made her loose her breath. He was strong, but she hadn’t really expected anything less. He swung again and this time she was ready and the impact wasn’t as bad.     

            He kept pushing his attacks and she kept fending him off, but he was backing her up. It was time to change the flow of battle. She sought down to the earth to pull some up to trip him. But she couldn’t!

            “I can’t feel the earth!” Panic filled her. It wasn’t responding to her. It was like someone or something had broken her link. It was strange and she felt slightly lightheaded.

            “What’s the matter little mage?” panted Ru’those, “had enough?” Emmia realized that he was getting tired. He was Lord of Storms, but storms could only last so long she realized.  

            “I’m just getting started my lord,” she spoke quietly to him as she dodged and then started attacking him, changing it so he was on the defense. That’s when she noticed something she could use to her advantage. “The rock, I can push him against that.” Slowly she forced him that way. They were both tired and unrelenting as the rock got closer, then she found some strength and hit his sword with such great strength that one would not believe an eighteen year old could have and forced him to stumble against the rock. She didn’t even pause to think as she rammed her diamond sword thought the body of Ru’those.

            His screams filled the air and a golden liquid was springing up from where her sword has pierced his body. She pulled out her sword and the rain started to slow. Ru’those looked at his golden blood with fear in his eyes.

            “I’m not supposed to die,” he whispered, his voice a mix of terror and awe, “that’s some sword you’ve got there my lady,” and then his eyes closed as his body gave one last shudder. She stood there for a minute, trying to make sense of what had just happened when the body of the fallen lord started to disappear into the air, turning into little particles of light. She watched as they scattered to the sky.

            “What a day,” she muttered and then started back to the Cottage.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Kelli was there waiting for her lady’s return. When she saw her walking back Kelli gave a sigh of relief. Then she noticed that the Lady Emmia walked with a slight limp, looked a little dazed and was carrying one of the most beautiful swords she had ever seen.

            “My lady,” she cried, hurrying out to her, “are you alright?” Emmia looked up at her; her eyes had gone from a bright green to a dull green.

            “I’m fine Kelli, just a little tired. Please, could you bring up a hot bath for me and tell the cook to heat up some broth?”

            “Yes M’lady. Emmia, dear, you have visitors. They’ve been waiting for sometime and I don’t think they should be kept anymore.” It was the fear in Kelli’s voice that got Emmia’s attention. Sighing, she realized that the bath and food would have to wait.

            “Alright Kelli, could you please just bring us some heated wine then,” they had walked inside and Kelli had lead her to the doors in front of the receiving room. Then, letting go of Kelli’s arm, she pushed open the doors and walked in. The sight that greeted her took her breath away.

            They were absolutely beautiful and there were two of them. One being stood up and she was pretty sure it was a male.

            “My Lady Emmia, Mage of the Earth?” he inclined.

            “Yes,” she squeaked, and then she cleared her voice, “yes, that is me.” The first being nodded and the other one also inclined its head and stood up too.

            “We are messengers from the Caelum Castellum Lady. We are Faelin and we are here to take you to meet with the Goddesses. There is an imbalance in the world of Zeenia that has come to their attention and they wish to speak to all of the mages.”

            “Come with us dear,” spoke the other one with a softer, musical voice that seemed to match her body perfectly. The beautiful Faelin reached out her hand towards Emmia and Emmia reached for it. She shifted her sword to her left hand, she didn’t know where she was going, but she was taking this sword with her.

            “M’lady? Where are you going?” Kelli had just stepped into the door with the hot wine.

            “I’m gong to go see the Goddesses with the Faelin Kelli. I’ll be back later,” explained Emmia. She was stunned and she just didn’t know what to believe and she wasn’t sure if she could tell the difference between dreams or reality. “Don’t worry and tell the others not to worry. There’s something that needs to be seen.”

            “Yes M’lady,” replied the shocked Kelli as she curtseyed to her lady and the Faelin. Emmia smiled a sleepy smile at Kelli and then the room seemed to blur around her. Emmia was tired of trying to think, it had been a long day and she was tired. Things whirled around her and she felt cold. The next thing she knew what the feeling of warm water and a motherly voice clucking above her. Her body felt warm and she was lying on something soft, but still her eyes wouldn’t open for her. But she didn’t care and she gave up her mind to dreams. Hopefully tomorrow would give her some of the answers she wanted, but right now, sleep was more persuasive.