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PECULIAR HAPPENINGS

Livvy had lived her entire life in Madame LeBlanc's Home for Unfortunate Girls. The orphanage was small, originally intended for housing around ten girls, plus staff. Of course, the government's foster care system didn't understand the meaning of maximum occupancy and kept stuffing more girls in. Being one of the original orphans under Madame LeBlanc's care, and one of the oldest at the orphanage, Livvy had automatically been assigned the role of welcomer.

As she finished doing the dishes after breakfast, Livvy heard the visitor bell chime. She sighed. The social workers had been coming by more and more recently, bringing in orphan after orphan. Madame LeBlanc had started going crazy, working harder to make ends meet with so many children. She'd sent both the maids home in order to save money and that meant more work for herself, and the older girls.

Making her way to the visitor chamber, Livvy couldn't see Madame LeBlanc anywhere, and she hoped the woman was already inside. Closing the door behind her, she entered not to find the formally dressed social worker who always came to drop girls off, but a woman in a white and blue dress. She spoke excitedly to Madame LeBlanc and Livvy's eyes widened. Could this woman be here to adopt someone?

As the door slammed shut behind her, both the women turned to face her. Madame LeBlanc ran forward and embraced her, an unusual giggle escaping from her lips. Livvy froze. Though everyone said it was obvious that she was the woman's favorite, she'd never been shown such affection before. Slowly, she melted into the hug, wrapping her own arms around Madame LeBlanc.

When she stepped away, Livvy straightened, staring curiously at the visitor. "Who is she?"

Madame LeBlanc clapped her hands with excitement. "Oh, you'll never believe it, Olivia." She paused, her whole face lit up with the brightest smile Livvy had ever seen on her. "This is Duke Barclay's personal secretary and assistant, Eleanora Woods."

That was definitely a surprise. Livvy studied the woman again. The blue and white dress she wore was made of pure silk and was the most stylish thing she'd ever seen. Eleanora herself seemed about middle-aged, with a few freckles and even fewer wrinkles on her face. Her hair was a pale red and she was definitely pretty. Livvy didn't doubt that she could be in the position Madame LeBlanc described.

"And?" Then Livvy thought of an idea. "Is the duke planning on donating to us?" They could really use the money.

Madame LeBlanc suppressed another giggle. She was a naturally happy woman, unlike most people Livvy had met, but the orphan had never seen her so ecstatic. "Go on Eleanora, you explain."

The well-dressed woman cleared her throat and stepped forward. "Duke Cyril Barclay, the philanthropist he is, has decided to adopt a child." Livvy couldn't believe her ears. The duke was going to adopt someone? While she was perfectly happy in the orphanage with Madame LeBlanc and the girls, there were many who would be happy to have such an opportunity.

Like Willow. The little girl had arrived three days ago and hadn't stopped sobbing since. Her parents had died in a car crash and she couldn't get over it. Livvy's earliest memories were of the orphanage, so she couldn't relate to having loving parents, but she'd tried her best to comfort little Willow.

"All the local orphanages sent profiles of their wards, and out of all of them, he chose you, Olivia."

Livvy felt her blood run cold. Her? But she didn't want to get adopted! Her life was in the orphanage with her sisters and their caretaker, Madame LeBlanc. She wouldn't be going anywhere. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm good."

Eleanora stared at her coldly, then sighed as Livvy didn't take the words back. "I'm sorry, Olivia, but I'm afraid it won't work like that. The duke wants to adopt you and you only."

Livvy turned immediately to Madame LeBlanc. She was in charge and she could stop this adoption. "I'm staying here."

Madame LeBlanc hesitated, her eyes watering as her happiness disappeared. "They already turned in the paperwork, signed. You're no longer my charge. I'm sorry, Olivia."

The silence that followed was palpable. Livvy raged inside, but she didn't want to show it, especially to that monster of a woman, Eleanora. Calmly, she fixed her expression into a pleasant smile. "Alright, then. Give me a few minutes to get packed and say goodbye to everyone." She said, fully intending to run out the back door.

Eleanora narrowed her eyes. "The duke has requested your immediate presence, I'm afraid. You will get to come back and visit later."

"But-"

The woman nodded to armed men in black clothing. "Escort her to the car, if you please. And thank you for your cooperation, Madame."

The men grabbed her arms and half-led, half-dragged her out of the building and into their, probably bulletproof, black SUV. "Keep the girls happy, Madame LeBlanc!" Livvy yelled at her as a goodbye.

Madame LeBlanc nodded meekly. She waved. "Goodbye, my dear. Come see us again anytime."

The door closed, leaving me in the back with Eleanora while the security detail were in the front. I stayed silent the entire ride, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.

[center]~+~[/center]

Ethereal Hall, the home of the Barclays, lived up to the expectations. Built amongst a sparse forest, the estate was a statement of modern beauty. It was four floors tall with a giant window-wall that connected all of them. Artistic structures were built on the home and there was a section done entirely in stained glass. Around the massive building, Livvy spotted smaller cottages, probably the homes of the workers and permanent staff.

The SUV stopped in front of the doors and they marched inside. Livvy was taken into a large chamber with sofas and a TV. Duke and Duchess Barclay sat there together, tea in hand, biscuits, scones, and tea sandwiches on the table.

"Sir," Eleanora said with a nod of her head. "I've brought her."

The duke nodded, his eyes boring into mine as he studied me. "Dismissed, Miss Woods."

Eleanora seemed taken aback, as if the great and powerful Duke Barclay had never spoken to her that way before. "I- of course, sir." She walked away her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

"Olivia, dear, do you know who I am?" Duke Barclay rumbled. His voice was low and scratchy, but had a warm quality to it.

Livvy tried not to roll her eyes. "It's Livvy, not Olivia. And who doesn't know you? The youngest but most influential British duke, according to the BBC. Duke Cyril Barclay and Duchess Roxanne Barclay. But now, you're also my adoptive parents."

The duke quietly thought for a moment, then smiled with mild approval. :You are right on all accounts, Livvy, except for the last one." He's going to send me back, Livvy thought hopefully. He doesn't want me anymore. "I am not your adoptive father, I am your real, biological father."

Those words hit Livvy like a hurricane. She closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists as she thought, no. She'd been given to the orphanage as a baby. She had no parents who wanted her. She'd made peace with that. She opened her eyes and croaked out, "How? I look nothing like you or your wife."

Duke Barclay sighed. "No, you do not. But you look very similar to your mother." He turned to his wife and she nodded, getting up. Kissing him on the cheek, she walked out of the chamber. "Livvy, come sit."

Livvy obeyed, sitting on the couch across from him. "How?" She repeated.

The duke sat forward, his mouth in a small frown. "I had an affair with Silvee Bennett, who coincidentally also went by Livvy, some sixteen years ago. Can you tell me who that is?" She shook her head. "She is the daughter of a lord. I could've married her, but I was already with Roxanne. Silvee became pregnant a few months before Roxanne, by accident. The result, was you. But Silvee hadn't known I was married and suicided when she heard. I thought you were dead too and kept this a secret to myself. This past year, I told my wife, and she encouraged me to look for you. I am a good man, Livvy. I love my wife and I love my children, and that includes you. I'm sorry this took so long to happen, but I found you. I know its going to be hard to fit into my family, our family, but I hope you want to try. Otherwise, I can arrange to find you a loving family that might be more accepting of you than us. I would understand. But, Roxanne and I, we want you to feel comfortable with us. My daughter Liana is around your age and my son Matthias is only a few years younger." Duke Barclay cleared his throat. "Will you stay with us, Livvy?"

The decision was an overwhelming one, something she hadn't been expecting. Livvy had been sure that the duke would kill or get rid of her to keep his reputation clean. But to invite her into his home and offer to find her a family? It had touched her heart.

"Of course, you'll have to forget about the real history and pretend that I really did adopt you. You don't look much like me, which is good."

Ah, there it was. Livvy tried not to feel disappointed. Of course the duke had to protect himself from political ruin, and he was still offering her a home.

"I- thank you. I grew up thinking that I was abandoned because my parents didn't want me or were dead. It's wonderful to know you actually cared the entire time." Livvy took a breath. "That being said, I love the girls back at Madame LeBlanc's like sisters. I would love to get to know you, Roxanne, Liana, and Matthias, but I can't leave them. They're my family too."

The duke frowned. "Would you consider staying with us if I let you work at the orphanage? I'm sure Madame LeBlanc wouldn't mind the extra help and the healthy donation I'm about to make."

Livvy, once again, was speechless. Tears welled up in her eyes. Maybe it wasn't fair that little Willow would never have a biological, or half-biological, family ever again. But she decided that she would take all that she'd get.

Running up to Duke Barclay, Livvy wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you so much, Dad."

The word seemed to mean as much to him as it did to her because his arms tightened the embrace. "Anything for my Livvy.

The day had arrived, I wore my second best suit, I didn’t find the company of half a dozen twelve year olds very important. The meeting had been arranged to be at precisely twelve a clock on Wednesday afternoon. It took place in a small basement of a convenience store. I’d assumed this mystery man had been very wealthy, so I had to admit that I wasn’t expecting a dusty basement with enough cardboard boxes to get Habitat for Humanity on their toes. He’d told me to expect more pleasant places in the future. The first to arrive for the meeting was a short blond haired girl, practically bouncing.
“Hello! I’m Judie! I’ was asked to meet here, by…you?”, She said it in a way that made me think that she was expecting a ‘rich’ man, and knowing that she is one of the ‘Best
Puzzle solvers in England’ She must have been told by the small coffee stain on my sleeve that I wasn’t close to wealthy.
“Not exactly” I simply said. As the door slid open and a creak from the stairs clearly rang out against the rusty walls.
“I don’t think that you 're trying to make a good impression?” a girl said, she sounded glum, bored even.
“This Isn't my place, I didn’t organize this, I only hosted it.” I said loudly so she could hear me from up the stairs. She clumped down and walked over, She walked slowly, her eyes rolled over every box and cobweb. I suddenly noticed the meaning of "The best Young puzzle solvers in England” It meant that every single one of them could probably read me like a magazine, read anything like a magazine. It was as if I was expecting the company of six dim tweens. The girl’s name was Adison, she had black her hair and was tied simply, she was wearing a dark green flannel and black tights, right after she’d stepped foot in front of me. The sound of a loud chat had carried itself down, into this basement like a carrier pigeon. Two boys stepped slowly down into the basement like turtles. A brown haired kid named Ernie, and a black haired boy named Tobias. They’d met just upstairs, but they acted like they’d known each other all their lives. The two talkative kids were followed by a tall bright red-headed boy named Carter, he talked just the right amount, but acted really suspicious towards everyone else, as if he didn’t believe these kids had an IQ any larger then seventy. A girl came next, crazy brown hair, named Mary Kate. The children took seats, in chairs that looked as thought they’d collapse at any moment. They looked at me as I took my time rearranging my stubborn cue-cards. The truth was that I didn’t believe what had been scribbled down on my cue-cards was the right thing to say. So, I decided to free-style it.
“Ummm, Hello! I’am Mr. Nickel, your host…I was ordered to summon you all here today to discuss what will be happening throughout the week.” I stopped there and examined the kids before continuing, “The man who asked me to be here today, would like you to be solving a series of puzzles, test’s you see.” I said, clearly the word ‘test’ was not a word to say.
“How pleasant” Tobias snickered.
“So, we’re your, what, subject’s?” Judie asked, concerned.
“Umm, Not like that…You will be solving puzzles to show your smarts.” I quickly put it together.
“These people are also puzzle solvers?” Judie asked, giving a disapproving look at the other kids. “Yes, that would be correct. Now let me continue…” I said waiting until every last eye was gazed on me.
“This man would like you all to meet me here, for your first puzzle at seven am tomorrow. We will be taking a private drive to a property nearby.” As soon as that had been said and questions had been answered, they all left for their first puzzle in the morning.
“Seven is so early, when will we have to wake up?” Mary Kate groaned on her way out.

My alarm clock seems louder than usual. I guess I wasn’t used to waking up so early, I had half the nerve to press the snooze button, but I didn't. I grabbed my best suit this time, and after going through my morning routine, packed into my car and drove down to the convenience store. I was surprised that when I entered the store, six people were already there.
“What took you so long! We’ve been waiting here for days!” Said Carter.
“I must admit we’ve had time to…socialize” sighed Adaline.
“Well, we better get going, the cars are probably already here," I said , making my way up the stairs quickly as if the devil was after me. They followed.
“The limousine you mean?” Asked Ernie, austruck by the sight of a luxurious black car, with brand new windows and a sleek painted body. A bald driver got out and opened the doors for us, we piled in, and gosh, the car was huge, we could all fit in the place comfortably. The seats were spotless and the driver barely said a word to us, talk about luxury! The children chatted about themselves and I just scrolled on my phone until the car came to a stop.
“Where here” Said a deep voice, It took me a minute to find out that it was the supposedly silent driver who had spoken. He got out and opened the doors, and as soon as they were open everyone got the sight of a huge mansion, complete with bright green grass and roses, large spotless windows and a big black door with a gold knocker. Everyone was oohing and ahhing at the sight, as they made themselves across a perfectly paved road up to the front stoop. They fought for a second for who would knock the knocker then resorted to rock, paper, scissors, shoot. Tobias won and reached out his arm, he stood on his tippy toes before finally grabbing the knocker, lifting it up and dropping it with a huge Clang! Everyone covered their ears before in a second, it was over. We heard a small tip tap.
“Some womens coming!” Said Ernie eagerly.
“Yes, yes, because of the heels, we could have all guessed that! Even him!” Said Judie, pointing a finger at me.
“Gee thanks.” I said under my breath. Suddenly the door swung open, relieving a plump lady wearing all white and black.
“Hello Dears!” She said kindly, “You all must be the greatest young puzzle solvers in England, yes?”
“Yup!” Said Mary Kate cheerfully, The women moved aside swiftly, letting us go through the grand doorway.
“I have orders to escort you to the puzzle room, so follow me.” She said sweetly. We followed her down a stunning foyer, diamond floors and fancy furniture. We walked down a long hall with countless doors, until we made it to the very end. The last door led to a big room, it had white walls and, strangely, floors. a bookshelf off to one side, six chairs along the left wall, a tapestry of an old woman was hung on the wall in front of us and a beautiful persian rug was on the floor. There was a very small corner desk on the very side of the room as well. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust, which made me suspect that the room was not being used in the present.
“This is the puzzle room, you must escape in forty-five minutes.” She said smiling.
“Forty-five? I bet we can get out in ten minutes!” Said Carter.
“Well then, let's see.” I said, following the women out.

I couldn’t believe that I was a good puzzle solver, well, when Mr Nickel's letter arrived I really couldn’t believe it. Now, me and five other kids are trapped in an escape room, with a clock ticking for forty-five minutes! When the door shut behind us, it seemed as though everyone tensed, as though they were worried.
“Okay, Let's organize!” Said Mary Kate, “Who wants to check the bookcase?”
“Me!” Said Tobias eagerly.
“I’ll do the desk.” Said Addison.
“I’ll check the tapestry!” Said Ernie.
“I guess I’ll do the rug.” I said.
“I’ll do the chairs.” Said Carter.
“Well, I’ll do everything else'' She said smiling, “Let’s get to work!” Everyone ran to their places, and began moving, placing, checking, pulling and pushing. I simply pulled aside the rug, there was nothing. But something strange caught my eye, everything else had a scrappy old line of paint, this seemed to have a newer coat. I dragged my hand along the new coat. I felt a sudden downwards hill, it seemed to go along a square… this was probably some kind of door, but there was no handle, and it was painted close.
“What have you guys found?” I asked, standing up and brushing the dust of my pants.
“Tobias found a safe behind the bookcase, and Adison cracked it, like the thing we're you use a cup and hear the ticking and everything,” Mary Kate said, gesturing to a small cup lying on the floor near the bookcase. “We found an envelope inside, it’s a complicated code, Tobias is working on it now.”
“I found a secret compartment in the desk, but It’s hard to…figure it out.” Said Adison.
“What do you mean?” I said, Adison gestured for me to follow her, I did. We walked over to the desk and Adison pulled out the left drawer. It was empty. She reached to the very end and… seemed to flip a switch of some sorts. A small drawer popped out, instead of there being a hollowed out inside, there was a keypad, with numbers zero to nine.
“We need a password.” She said,
“Well, I found a trap door of some sort, under the carpet, except it's painted closed.” I sighed, looking away at the others, Carter was feeling under the seat of a chair, It must have been strange if this wasn’t an escape room, every now and then, he’d call remarks like,
“We're doing great!” or “Everyone stay focused so we can solve this puzzle!” or checking his watch and calling out how much time we had left.
“Thirty minutes left!”
Mary Kate and Ernie were standing over Tobias pointing at letters as he scribbled things down. Then Mary Kate snatched the pencil and began hurriedly writing, Ernie and Tobias’s eyes grew wide like cookies.
“We cracked it!” Yelled out Ernie.
“You mean I cracked it” grumbled Mary Kate.
“How?” I asked. I had expected them to, but I was a little surprised.
“We thought It was hard like the beale papers or something, but it wasn’t!” said Tobias.
“Actually, since we were thinking that it was gonna be hard, we didn’t notice that it might be easy!” Mary Kate explained eagerly.
“That’s a smart way to trick someone,” said Carter thoughtfully.
“Yes, yes. Now let’s get back to work.” said Mary Kate,
“What did the code say!” I asked.
“Oh, yeah, It said ‘1323697732481’” She said reading off the page, Addison ran up and grabbed the page before running back and carefully typing in the code.
“It…didn’t work.” she said, confused, she typed it again, then looked at me and shook her head.
“Maybe this is a code too.” I said, shrugging, then I watched as Ernie and Tobias collaborated into lifting the huge tapestry of the wall and gently lowered it to the ground. Ernie reached down, and pulled out a knife.
“Is this supposed to threaten us or something…?” Said Adison slowly.
“Nope!” I said, running over and held out my hand while pulling aside the rug with the other, Ernie placed it in my outstretched palm.
“There’s nothing there.” Said Carter, “and we have ten minutes left!”
“No, there’s something there!” I said, lowering the large steak knife and cutting the outline of the door timidly, the paint chipped off onto the rug, but I kept cutting until my new line met my previous.
“It’s a door!” Mary Kate gasped. I rigged down my fingers and pulled upwards, the door swung open, It was very dark in the hatch, I slowly lowered my hand. What if there was a spider or something? I tried not to think off the terrifying insects that might be down there about to take a nibble at my hand. I felt around, I felt dust and cob-webs then finally, I felt something rought touch my fingertips. I grabbed it and held it out to read, It was written with a type writer of some sort, the paper had probably been down there for a while pending on all that dust and webs.
“It says Median, Split, Median, Split, Cut, Smallest, Greatest, Addition.” I said, then I looked up to see if they could make sense out of it.
“Sounds like a…Math problem?” Says Ernie, but it came out like more of a question.
“Oh! Yes!” I said excitedly, I ran to the desk and grabbed the pen and the paper with the code, I quickly scribbled down a possible answer after doing the instructed math. Adison typed it in,
“Incorrect….” She said, walking over to me. I tried this time to take out the seven instead of splitting it up, like I thought I had to do.
“600!” I said, She clicked on the number slowly and then we all squeezed our eyes shut as if we didn’t want to see our new code fail, but thankfully, it didn’t.

Me and the maid had sat in the parlor enjoying a warm cup of tea. The Maid was very kind and we had a nice discussion on stocks. When the maid finally tore her eyes away from her small cup and up at the clock.
“Well, we best get going, they should be done.” Said the maid, she said it as if she didn’t believe they’d even be halfway there. We walked down the hall to see all six of them sitting in a line outside the door. Judie was fidgeting with an old fashioned gold key.
“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting here for days” Said Tobias, grinning as he recited what he’d said that morning gleefully.

We walked down a narrow hallway and the maid showed us to our seats just in front of a long twisty staircase. Did this man have to walk down those stairs every day? We’ll, at least he wasn’t some old man with creaky knee caps. As I thought this, I heard a creak, but not from a knee cap, from the grand staircase. The maid was dusting a statue of Zeus and a shelf with ancient books that looked as if their spines had been cracked enough times to be as old as zeus.
“Anabelle! Are the guest’s here? You brought them to the escape room, yes? Oh Annabelle, tell me they got out! Otherwise this would have been a large waste of time, and money!” Said a voice from upstairs, it was difficult to classify the voice since it was echoing along the stairs until it came down to where we were sitting.
“Oh, coming!” Said the maid, ‘Annabelle’ I guessed. Annabelle bustled up the stairs, dirty cloth still in hand. I heard a small clicking sound, it was like the sound we heard when Annabelle was coming to the door. I looked around, just to see Carter tapping his foot on the ground. Carter stopped. But the clicking sound continued. I craned my neck to get a look at the top of the staircase. Annabelle was coming down, she continued down the stairs until she made it to the very last step.
“They’ll be seeing you now.” I heard a step, then a deep sound like wood hitting wood, then another step. Gosh they 're going down the stairs slowly, maybe he broke his ankle or something? The noise continued until we saw the person coming down the steps. I gasped, so did Ernie, then Tobias at the sound of his friend, then Judie,Then Mary Kate, followed by Carter, Adison signed instead. Well, how surprised I was. In all the adventure and mystery books I’d read in my lifetime, I learned that there’s always a plot twist.

Cover created by Charlotte Wentworth

We all know what the Hogwarts express is, It takes you to Hogwarts of course! But do you know about the History behind it? How it was built? You're about to find out!

Harry Potter's Uncle Vernon once said, "Funny way to get to a Wizards school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures now have they?" And he did bring up a pretty good point. Why do we travel to Hogwarts like Muggles?

The Hogwarts Express was built in the early-to-mid 19th century. The Minister at the time was Ottaline Gamble. Ottaline was inspired by the Muggle's invention, the train. If a train was built, It would be a better way to transport thousands of students to Hogwarts without muggle notice, and thus the Hogwarts Express was built!



But How did they actually build it?

Well, it was built by some muggle engineers, and it was moved by some muggle railroad workers, 176 to be precise. After that their memories were wiped with a good ol memory charm. OBLIVIATE! The Moving also required a very powerful concealment charm so that nobody would notice.

Before the train however, most people went by portkey or flying. While this is fine.. It is easy to attract muggle attention when thousands of kids are crowding around an old sock or something like that, and disappear.. That's not normal right?

And The Trolley Witch.. Most people think of her as just this random old lady who sells pumpkin pasties. While this is true, have you ever wondered why she even works there, and how old she is and all? Well if you have wondered that, here's the answer, Nobody even knows how old she is, but she was hired by Ottaline Gamble in the 1870s! Yes, before the Hogwarts Express was built. And who knows how old she was when she got hired? She could have been an old lady already! Nobody knows her name, she doesn't even know herself actually, because apparently nobody ever asked her name and she forgot it after all these years. She is also not a squib, she was able to transfigure her hands into claws, and produce a non-corporeal Patronus. And not many people remember but she went to Dumbldore's Funeral.



Remember all this the next time you board the train! Maybe try talking to the trolley witch when she comes around with her cart! Maybe You'll learn something?

With thanks to Charlotte Wentworth for the cover design and the help adding the illustrations!

The Poisoned Woods
I’ve been thinking about those days when Elglathia was full of poison. Most people think I’m a hero, but I was just doing whatever I could to save my skin. Rose would call that humble, but I think I’m just selfish. I left Rose when she could have died, I wouldn’t call that humble and benevolent. My mom’s coming. She’s probably trying to cheer me up. But after what happened to Felix and Fox, nothing can cheer me up.
“Honey, you need to stop thinking about Fox and Felix. It’s not going to do anything for them.” Mum put her hand on my shoulder. I pushed it away. Don’t read my mind! I thought.
“You know the mind reading spell?” She said.
“Yeah. I also know a bit of Swahili, so I can understand some spells without knowing them.” I stormed off, leaving her looking surprised. I should probably explain what happened there. My mother read my mind using our clan’s brand of spell. We use Swahili based magic, or African based magic. I’m not good at that magic. I have trouble casting spells, but I do have magic. Vines that obey me. And now I’ve got a sword.
“Hey, Logan, can you tell me a story?” I looked down at the voice. My little sister was looking at me.
“Okay Pastry. I’ll tell you about the story I call the Poison woods.”
“The one where you saved us all!” I nodded and began my tale.
I woke up with a yawn. The morning bells were ringing around me. Time to wake up. I thought to myself. I quickly slipped on my green silk shirt and my brown leather jacket. I also grabbed my best jeans and boots. I was dressed so fancy because it was apprentice day, where 13 year olds got apprentices.
As I went out the door, I grabbed my gold choker, hoping that soon I would have an acting symbol on it. I ran to the main square, just in time to see Mr. Pineapple walking to the mentor seats. He was the acting mentor, and I wanted to be his apprentice so badly. The announcer noted that I’d arrived and slapped me on the back. “Hope today goes well for you Logan. We start in 2 minutes.” I smiled and ran to the student chairs.
“Hey Parker, how’s it going?” I greeted my best friend, Parker. Before he could answer, the announcer came on.
“Good morning citizens! Welcome to the apprentice ceremony! We will start with the painting mentor.” The announcer walked off stage and Mr. Point, the painter, came on.
“I hope today goes well for all of you. For me, the person I have picked is-” He started to cough, hard. The crowd grew silent, a bit concerned for him. Mr. Point’s eyes turned a dark, inky, horrible, black. He passed out right then and there. “The queen.” He muttered before going limp. Then a messenger ran onstage.
“The queen is sick! She is poisoned by a goblve poison! We need to use the student quest.” The crowd gasped. The student quest was a magical orb that had the students' names. Whoever picked had to do that quest. The messenger pulled out the orb. “The student going on the quest is Logan Vine.” He said in a solemn voice. I stopped breathing for a second. Me? I couldn’t get the herbs that could save us. No, I was scared.
“Are you sure?” I managed to say as I walked up the steps. He nodded his head. “Well, I guess I better go pack.” At home, I found both my parents with dark eyes. Scared, I finished packing and ran out of the house, knowing that I was changing, that my whole world was changing, that I would never be the same. I ran straight into the forbidden woods. The woods were forbidden because the king had nearly died by one of the creatures that lived there. But now the woods were dying, now everything was dying.
I closed my eyes as I ran, not wanting to see the tree’s bark turning black and infected, not wanting to see the lush forest turning dead. I’m not sure how far I ran, but I know that when I’d stopped, the air was cold and the forest was dark. I turned around slowly in a circle, realizing that I was lost. “Hello?” I said, hoping for someone to answer. But of course, no one did. I began to run again, this time off the path, and into the woods. I rammed into something and fell on the ground, seeing stars everywhere.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to hurt you, but I thought you might hurt yourself running off the path.” I heard a soft melodic voice. I opened my eyes and saw a girl looking down on me. Every single thought in my head became blank except one. That girl just hit me hard. I realized she was staring at me.
“I’m fine. But just don’t do it again okay?” I finally said. She smiled.
“Okay. Why are you in these woods? I thought the Swascan clan had outlawed this place for fear of it. Us Pericanals are not afraid of some silly trees.” I stood up and dusted myself off. Who was she to think that Swascans were afraid? We were much braver than that scaredy cat Pericanal clan. I was about to say so when she continued. “I don’t mean to offend you or your clan. I just noticed that you looked quite terrified when you saw the trees.” We walked in silence to the lake.
When we got to the lake, I heaved a sigh of relief. It was there. I could save my clan. “Hey.” I had noticed something. “What’s that black thing on the lake?” Rose and I walked to the center of the lake. There was a spot of blackness on the lake just like-“Rose! It’s poison! Run!” I grabbed her hand and we ran away from the poisonous spot on the lake. The poison, perhaps sensing our fear, started to spread towards us like a spider's web. Rose leaped onto safe ground, but I had gotten my boot stuck on the ice. “Help Rose!” I cried. She stuck out her hand.
“Jump! I’ll catch you and your boot will not be covered in poison!” I looked at her incredulously. Was she crazy? “Just do it!” She pleaded. The poison was getting closer by the second. It was now or never.
“I can’t Rose! I can’t jump that far!” I realized that this was true. I was sure to die. Rose looked panicked.
“Just jump! Trust me it’ll work out!” Nothing to lose I guess. Except my life. I prepared myself and jumped. My boot came free as I sprang in the air, but not enough. The poison grabbed my ankle, intending to pull me down. I closed my eyes, getting ready for pain. But it never came. Rose was muttering under her breath and her hands were in the air. She was keeping me afloat, and floating me higher and higher so that the poison couldn’t reach me. “Hakanu, Suma!” She shouted, and the poison retracted.
“Rose! What was that?” I had fallen on my butt on the safe grass. I had never seen someone do spells like that. And I understood it was Swahili magic, but it was not any type that I had learned. She blushed.
“It’s just wind magic. Really common.” I smiled. Only two clans had magic that you instinctively knew.
“Only for your clan. My clan had to learn spells to do magic.” I continued to chat with Rose, not realizing that someone was watching me.
“Logan? Do you smell that?” Rose asked me worriedly. “It smells like…wolves!” I turned around, but I was far too late. The pack of wolves had already gotten close.
“Run!” I screamed. I was almost petrified with fear, but my body knew what to do. I started sprinting towards the goblve lair, hoping to find the plants I needed. I then heard the most terrifying thing I had ever heard. A wolf was whispering in my ear.
“I will bring you to Darkbond. He will be pleased to have a subject to work on.” The wolf intended to chomp on me, but he never got the chance. His black eyes widened in surprise when a strong wind whooshed him off his feet. “Get her!” He shouted to the pack, meaning he must have been the alpha. A young wolf's eyes went blacker than before, her intentions apparent.
“No! Vines attack!” I shouted. A cluster of vines appeared out of thin air. My choice will save her. I will be the hero I want to be. I thought. The vines wrapped around the wolf, and she collapsed, partly passed out. A wolf that I presumed was her brother ripped up all my vines and lunged at Rose, who had fallen on the ground.
“Upeopee.” She said calmly. A burst of wind floated around her, and the wolf was knocked to the ground. Then Rose ran. The wind left her, but she was very fast. She was only a little bit behind me.
“Thank goodness you're safe.” I said to her, but as soon as those words came out of my mouth, the alpha wolf lunged at her and grabbed her by her shirt. “Rose!” I cried, scared for her.
“Leave me. Run.” She said, seeming to know her fate and didn’t want it to happen to me.
“No!”
“Do it. I’ll be fine, but you don’t have the skills. Run.” I swallowed back my reply, not wanting to end on a mean note. I didn’t want to leave her. I had been this close to saving her. But I was selfish. I ran. I didn’t know I would save her, I just knew I would save me. So I ran far away from the wolves, and hid. I don’t know how long I hid, but I do know that I heard Rose’s pained shouts.
“Rose. I-I’m so sorry.” I sobbed. Crying won’t get you anywhere. You have to save her, and save your tribe. I thought to myself. “I can do this. It’s time to save my world. It’s time to save Rose.”
I wrapped a few vines on my arm, just in case I might need them to fight. I quickly ran to the entrance to the goblve hideout. That was where I heard Rose and that was where I needed to go. Now, I knew that I had to be very careful. Unlike goblins, goblves were smart and could wield magic. They had the magic and smarts of an elf, and the muscle and dexterity of a goblin. They looked like a goblin, but they had pointed ears and noses. I shivered thinking about them. I hope I don’t run into one. I thought.
The inside of the lair was strangely warm, even though it was nearly winter outside. I felt very sleepy. Snap out of it! This is a goblve trap! I yelled at myself. I shook my head and continued on, ignoring the tiredness I felt. “Rose? Hello?” I looked around a corner, and to my surprise, found the wolves from earlier. They were trapped in cages, helpless. “What the-” I slapped a hand over my mouth. Don’t let them know you’re here. But it was no use, they had heard me.
“Who? Is that Logan?” The girl wolf asked. I took a step back.
“How do you know my name?”
“Rose, the girl that we captured, said it. I assumed you were coming to get her. I’m Fox by the way.” She answered. I looked at the cage.
“What happened to you and your brother?” Now Fox took a step back.
“How do you-”
“I guessed.” I interrupted. Then I left them, not wanting to wait a second longer. I felt really sympathetic to them. Because of me, they were trapped in cages. I’ll make this right, I’ll be their friend. I thought, and then I left. I walked a bit more, and found where Rose was taken. It was a slightly large room, but had only Rose in it. There wasn’t a goblve or wolf in sight. “Rose!” I yelled, overjoyed. Oh, I guess this means I have a crush on her. I thought, a smile tugging at my lips.
“Logan! You shouldn’t be here!” She gasped. “I can’t believe you got in without Darkbond seeing you. He’s the goblve that rules this place.” She explained. “But you need to go. They’ve been hurting me.I don’t want them to hurt you. I-'' She blushed. “I like you.” I smiled. She did too!
“I’m going to get you out of there.” I then found something spectacular. A sword! I reached for it, and grabbed hold of it. “I just need this!” I pulled, but it didn’t pull free. Instead, a net fell down on me and pulled me up. “Aaaaaaa!” I screamed. I had fallen for a goblve trap.
“Well. Well. Well. A silly human, befallen again to my easy traps. Typical.” A goblve had walked into the room.
“Hello, Darkbond.” I spit. He smiled, soaking up my hate.
“And you wonder why I hate humans. By the way, your hate tastes delightful, I feel so much stronger.” I snarled. He cut the net that tied me. I fell down hard. I started to see stars and became lightheaded. Darkbond laughed and ran a finger down my cheek. “Let’s have fun. You broke into my lair, and you thought you would get away with it? He laughed again, much more manicaly. “Time to pay for your crimes, child.”
“Darkbond. I may be young, but I can still beat you.” I grabbed at the sword again, and it pulled free. “Let’s dance.” He simply chuckled at the sword.
“Child, you can’t beat me with that. I have magic, I have poison.” And with that, he conjured pure poison over his hand. “I will crush you. Be prepared to never see the light of day again!” But before he could throw the poison, a wolf came crashing in.
“Sir, I know this is a bad time, but Felix and Fox escaped.” Darkbond growled.
“Keep them away. Now go!” He yelled and returned his focus to me. Unfortunately for me, I was still staring at the wolf. That meant that I got a bunch of poisonous gas thrown at my face. I fell to the ground, coughing and fading. I need to get away. I thought desperately. I slashed the sword in the smoke and it evaporated. Darkbond stopped laughing. “Well, that complicates things a little.” He formed a sword out of poison, and we started to duel.
“I will win. Good always wins!” The goblve nearly broke his concentration.
“Child, that just isn’t true. Welcome to the real world, where life isn't fair.” He jabbed his sword at my chest, and I barely was able to parry it with the stolen sword. Why did I agree to do this? I thought. I guess I agreed to do this because…I wanted to be a hero. And this is what I got. I realized. I continued because I believe in my magic, and I believe in the power of good. I just need to believe I can win this. I just need to believe in myself. I was making a crucial self discovery, but it was a really inappropriate time to do that. “Are you having self discovery? Now?” He looked at me gleefully. “Child, are all humans as inept as you, or is it just your stupidity?” Then he jabbed at my legs. This time, I was unprepared, so I only managed to dodge it by falling. Now I couldn’t do anything about his attacks. I was doomed. But just when Darkbond was about to hit me, something barreled at him. Fox.
“Run Logan! I don’t want any more people to die by the hands of someone I follow. It’s time to stand up to him!” With that, she kicked the goblve in the shins. “Fenix, help me!” She shouted to her brother, and he came flying in. He bit Darkbond in the jaw and smacked him hard with his tail.
“This is awesome, now Logan, you finish the job!” I grabbed the sword, and sliced the poison sword. The poison oozed out, and I trapped it in my sword. I expelled the poison out of the sword with a command, and it went in a circle around Darkbond.
“Now trap him forever!” I yelled. The poison flew into him and he screamed in pain.
“Child, this is not the last you’ve seen of me! Daekdl!” He then disappeared. There was a bit of silence before Fox whispered something.
“We need to get out of here. He put a curse on the walls. They are about to collapse.” Then she and Felix picked up Rose out of the cage and me from the floor.
“What the-” But I didn’t finish my sentence because the walls had started to crumble. “Run! Or would it be a different word? You don’t have feet after all-” I broke off with a pointed look from Felix. “Right. Sorry, just go faster.” We raced down the hallways and found the entrance blocked. That’s not good. I thought. “Wait. Is that the herb of healing? I need that to save my clan!” I jumped off Felix and grabbed the herb. But my moment of triumph didn’t last. The entire cave was about to collapse on me. “Ahh!” I shouted. But before I could be crushed, a body smashed into me and threw me out of the cave.
“This is for hurting you. Goodbye and good luck.” Felix shouted the words as he and Fox stood inside the cave, unable to get to safety.
“Fox? No! You saved me. And Felix too.” Rose was sobbing as the wolves were buried under the rubble of the cavern. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe that the wolves I had thought enemy a few minutes ago were now my friends-and gone. I looked at my hand, which held the plants that could save my clan.
“They’re heroes. They made sure I got the plant that could save my tribe. Let’s honor them by going to my home and saving my clan.” Rose looked a bit worried at my statement, but agreed.
An hour later I was in the dying forest. But the dead trees no longer gave me sorrow; they gave me a feeling of determinedness. This is what I needed to save. “Are we there yet Logan? I don’t want your people to think that I’m a danger.” I looked back at Rose, shocked.
“We would never! You will be celebrated throughout our clan for saving me and the plant. Is this why you were worried?” She nodded her head. “You have no reason. My clan is very friendly.” I walked past the forest and into my clan’s territory.
There were dozens of people waiting there, who started to cheer when I came out. “Thank you Logan. You saved us.” It was my baby sister, Cinnamon. “And did you even use the wand the messenger gave you?” I looked at my hip, where a wand was. I blushed a bit. “Just as I thought.” Cinnamon said smugly.
“Sorry I was too busy saving your skin to check on you, Pastry.” I smiled at the nickname I had given her. “I think soon things will go back to normal.”
Some high placed officials gave me a place to work and a cauldon. I now had to use the herb to make a potion for the people. “No biggie.” They had said. I was pretty sure that they had ment it sarcastically. Where is the pity? I thought to myself.
“Hey Logan. Maybe I can help you.” I jumped as a hand touched me. “Whoa don’t be scared, it’s just me, Parker.” My heart rate slowed down a bit. “I’m good with potions, and you need to make a potion so…” I smiled gratefully.
“Thanks man. I need your help, I am no good with potions.” I made room for him and Parker immediately got to work. He cut up the plant and threw it into the boiling water in the cauldron. Then he grabbed other ingredients and smashed them into mush, which he then threw into the potion.
In a few hours, he and I finished with the potion and were ready to deliver it. “Well, that was fun.” He said to me as some kitchen people began ladling it out to people.
“Yeah, with you it was.” I smiled. Good old Parker. “Life isn’t the same without you. I can’t believe that I changed without you. I think it had to do something with my actions, but I really don’t care. All that I care about is being here with you. And my new friend Rose.” I walked over to Times Square where Rose was.
“Hey Logan. Ready for the celebration?” She said as she moved me to where she was.
“Cele-what?” She didn’t get the chance to say anything else because Rose and I were put onto a float for a parade and giant celebration. I blushed. “I’m not a hero.” I whispered to her. She smiled.
“You are. You’re just too humble to say so.” I let it be, not wanting to remind her that I left her for dead. I got butterflies again in my stomach. I should probably embrace that I like her. I thought.
“Hey, Rose? I kinda you know….like you.” She blushed. Then she smiled. Big.
“Hey Logan, I have a secret for you. I do too.” Now I was blushing. She liked me!
“Do you wanna go out or something?” She nodded. “Yay! Thank you Rose. You really are brilliant.”
“And then you kissed?”
I was roused out of my story. “What?” Cinnamon was smiling.
“In the stories, the hero and heroine always kiss.” I laughed. Typical Cinnamon.
“No. We did not kiss. And thanks by the way.”
“For what?”
“Cheering me up.” She smiled.
“Just doing my job.” I laughed again.
“You really are sassy. Pastry.” Cinnamon became serious. “What? Did I say something.”
“No.” She smiled. “I just realized I forgot to tell you something.” I didn’t get a chance to ask her what because what she forgot to tell me became apparent. Fox and Felix walked in.
“Fox? Felix?” I reached out to touch their fur, wanting to make sure they were alive.
“We survived the cave in. We pooled our magic to save us.” Fox said. I smiled a real genuine smile.
“I’m so happy you're back.”
“I’m happy to see you too.” Felix replied to me. Cinnamon went over to us.
“You know what I think?” She said in her Cinnamon way.
“What, Pastry?” She laughed.
“I think that life will be great now that we're all together.” Everyone smiled wide. And you know what? She was right.

Genre: Fantasy

Wc: 649

OOC Notes: Btw, this is my first time writing fantasy, so hopefully it’s good!

The Stars Align

"Mom look at the stars!" my seven year old daughter Ellie said to me as we lay on the grass at night, pointing to the sky. There was a big, beautiful constellation in the sky, one that is rarely seen, it only appears once every thousand or so years. The stars formed a scene of an old myth told, starting all the way back in the ancient times. “Those stars up there, those ones tell a story” I said to her “ooh really?!” She asked, bolting yo to a sitting position. I chuckled at her sudden excitement “yeah really, you wanna hear it?” I asked. She quickly nodded her head up and down so fast that she almost knocked herself over. “Okay okay, calm down” I smiled. “Long long ago, there were magical beings. Beings like witch’s, wizards, centaurs, elves, and mermaids” Ellie’s eyes widened as she heard the word ‘mermaids’ “they lived in the same world as us, same world as humans. They lived together happily for a long time, until the humans started getting jealous of the magical, and wanted their powers. The humans started killing off some of the magical beings for their powers, taking them for their own. After a few months of this happening, it started to get really bad, and almost all of the magical being were gone, the humans were going to any length to get their powers. Then, finally, there was one brave soul who stepped up. The humans were getting ready to battle the magical beings who had all gathered, ready to fight back. The battle was just about to start when Angar Ealric, a knight, stepped up. He had disguised himself as a human for many many years, hiding his magic from everyone. He tried to help the magical by talking to the humans, but it didn’t work, they were too selfish. As they ran to attack, Angar cast a powerful spell to protect the magical. They could not be seen by human eyes or touched by human skin, other than one day every thousand years, like today. In the process of casting the spell, it was so powerful and required too much energy, Angar did not survive, but because of him, legend says that there are still magical beings out there today” I finished. “Wow!” Ellie said “so, today I can see mermaids?!” I smiled again “only for a few hours while the stars are out, but apparently so”. I pointed up back at the stars “you see that clump on the left?” I asked, Ellie nodded “those are the humans. Now those on the right? That’s the magical” Ellie oohed. “And right there, in the middle of both groups, is Angar.” If you looked closely, you didn’t just see stars lining up, you saw a man standing there with his hands up to the sky, and a bright star above his head; the magic. “You see every thousand years the stars align, a symbol of the past, but also the day the spell must re-set, which is why you can see the magical” I explained “I wanna see!” Ellie said excitedly. I laughed, the odds of the story even being true was low, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. “Mom what’s that sound?” She asked. I listened. The trees behind us were rustling, I turned around to look. Slowly, a figure emerged from the tree line, revealing a half human half horse looking thing. “Mom!” Ellie screamed “it’s a centaur it’s a centaur!” It was. It really was. “Why does it look so familiar, like I’ve seen it before?” She asked still staring at the creature with wide eyes and a huge smile. “I’m not sure” I lied. I’ll wait a few years before telling her she’s seen them before, and that both her and I don’t need to wait a thousand years to see them.

By Delainie Silverwing

January 2024

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The Invisible Girl

I am the invisible girl. They see me, but don’t remember me. I watch them pass me by every day, never thinking about me, though they are all I think about. I am made of wood, carved by the gentle hands of an artist, sculpted to perfection by metal tools in the bright lights of a clean studio. I sit in the middle of the town, my long brown hair bleached by the sun, wrapped in a flowing mahogany skirt. Wooden bracelets adorn my wrists, and my arms are open to welcome anyone to visit me. Sometimes, people will sit with me or drape my shoulders with roses, but they never speak with me. Instead, I just listen.
I hear them when they mutter to themselves as they walk the cobblestone streets of the village square. I see them when they fall and I know when they succeed. I am always here, the invisible girl, who knows everyone but is known by none.
When it rains, the water traces down the folds of my dress and steadily drips down my pedestal, splashing rhythmically on the pavement. The raindrops trace my face like tears, but I cannot wipe them away. I simply gaze down at the town, whether winter or spring, and wait for someone to notice me.
The little girl visited me today. She was wandering the village alone when she saw me. She raced to my feet and pulled herself up onto my lap, where she sat in the curves of my wooden legs. She stroked my hand and told me about herself. I gladly listened. For once, someone was speaking to me.
Her name is Brooke, and she comes from far away. Her family is visiting our town, but only for a short while. She comes to see me every day, always speaking to me for hours, as if I were her best friend. I am always sad when she leaves.
….
Today, Brooke picked wildflowers from the grass around my feet. She weaved them together into a necklace and draped it over my head. The yellow, pink, and purple hues are beautiful over my brown skin. I wanted to thank her, but I could not. I cannot speak to anyone, only sit and listen.
….
I waited for many hours, but Brooke did not come to see me. She is gone, and the flowers have begun to wilt.
I am the invisible girl. I am always here, watching, but nobody notices me. The beating sun of summer shines down on me, warming my wood and making the flowers in my grass grow. I bravely smile on, my carved lips gentle as the ferns that sway in the breeze.
….
It has been many years since Brooke has been to visit me. I am weathered heavily, beset with scratches and discolored wood. More people have entered my village, building more and more things. The trees have been cut and the stone streets have been replaced with cement. The air is thick with smoke and pollutants. I no longer care to listen to the people that walk by.
….
It has been a long time, but I have not forgotten the little girl who used to sit in my lap and gave me a necklace of flowers. Now, a park has been built around me. Benches dot the landscape and the trees have been planted back. Many more people walk by me, going about their days. There is a boy here who has hair the color of sand. He climbs into my lap, the way Brooke used to, and speaks to me with a gentle voice. Soon, he brings his friends to visit me, too.
The children of the town speak with me every day, adorning me with gifts of vines and flowers. They climb my wooden body and sit in the crooks of my arms and atop my shoulders, and I listen to them gladly. Their laughter is like music to me.
I am many things. I am the listener, a statue, the wooden girl, and a friend. But I am no longer invisible.

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