Chapter 18
“Oh, relax! We won’t!” George says, rolling out of bed. I follow her. We both grab our bows off the nightstand. As quietly as possible, we open and shut the doors. We stand in the hallway for a minute, and then George starts walking the way we didn’t go to meet Queen Raven. Not meet though. More like the way we didn’t go that almost led to our deaths. My thoughts sure are pure venom tonight. We walk for a little in silence. George is the one to break it, of course.
“How long are we going to stay in your fancy little fire house?” she asks.
“Two more nights. I think we all need to practice with our weapons-”
“Everleigh doesn’t.”
“Yes, yes, still, though. I do. And so do you. And I want to meet my soldiers. And eat some more of Avara’s delicious food!” I say, smiling.
“Okay, that sounds reasonable. And I like the food idea,” George says, laughing softly. I grin. We walk in silence some more. I look around. The windows are open, and bright rays of moonlight stream in, lighting up the path in front of us. It’s a beautiful sight. I look behind me, and realize George is falling behind. Well, she isn’t even walking.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“I don’t know. My thigh-ow!” she yelps. She must have tapped on it. The wound looks bad. Blood has dried around it, and it is giving her a bad limp. It wasn’t cleaned at all once she got it, like it should have been. I keep walking forward, and find a bathroom. I run back to George and drag her into it.
“It is going to get infected. We need to clean your wound,” I say, making her sit down on the toilet, and hold her leg out in front of her. I look at it. It is a big wound. The long jagged line goes almost down to her knee. I take a towel and rinse it in some cool water. I walk back to George and start to clean away the dried blood. George stiffins, I can feel it, but she doesn’t say anything. I then pump some soap onto the damp towel and rub it on the wound. George let’s out a little cry, but squeezes her lips tightly together. I then go back to the sink, clean off the soap. I look down at the wound. It doesn’t look so bad anymore. Just a line of really pink, red, skin. I search the drawers for a band-aid big enough. I can’t find one, and I have to lay three big band-aids across the wound. But they aren’t really band aids. I don’t have to peel off the paper on the back of it. Apparently it’s just magically sticky. Ha. Magically sticky. That is just plain weird. George looks up at me.
“Thanks,” she says.
“Yup,” I say. “How about we go back?” I suggest.
“Okay,” George says, rubbing her eyes. Together, hand-in-hand, we walk back to the bedroom in silence. We both crawl into bed and close our eyes. In a few minutes, George has dozed off, and I lay awake, not thinking about much. I don’t know when, but I do drift off.
Chapter 19
Sunlight streams in through the windows. The whir of the fan is the only sound, and the soft snoring of the others. I sit up in bed and look around. Everleigh is already awake, and her watchful gaze traveling around the room. When her eyes meet mine, she smiles. I smile back. I open my mouth to talk to her about what happened with the walk with George, but shut it, remembering that she wasn’t there. Speaking of George, she is softly snoring, her chest rising and falling. Harley and Emma don’t make a sound, but on occasion, I see Harley shift position. I carefully step over George and place my bare feet on the cool birch floor. It feels good, after being under the hot covers. I walk over to the window, and wave my hand for Everleigh to follow. She slowly sits up, and carefully slides out of bed. She walks silently, and gracefully over by my side. She gives me a smile, and I grip her hand. We both gaze out the window, at the lava, and the light blue sky. It is comforting, after the night's horrible events. It feels like a second home to me. “Did you get enough sleep?” I ask Everleigh.
“No, I don’t think any of us did,” she says, yawning. Of course, that causes me to yawn. I rub my eyes.
“Yeah,” I agree. “Let’s get changed so we can have breakfast and explore a little more. And we need a nurse for Harley and George,” I say. Everleigh nods.
“Okay.” We both get changed without saying a word. We turn away from each other, and slip off our nightgowns, slip on our dresses and shoes, grab our weapons, and quietly walk out into the hall. You know, it's a miracle. I’m wearing heels, and they never get uncomfortable. Probably they've been tampered with with magic? We wander around for a little, until we stumble upon the dining hall. Avara is there to greet us.
“Good morning, queens!” She says cheerfully. I wonder how she can be so happy, but then I remember she didn’t witness the terrors of the night.
“Hi,” We both say.
“Something wrong?” Avara asks, a concerned look spreading across her face.
“Yes, actually,” Everleigh starts to say. She tells Avara everything.
“Is there a nurse here?” she finishes, finally.
“Yes, just keep going down the hall, and you’ll find it.” Avara says. A smile tugs at her lips. “Now, what would you girls like for breakfast?”
“Crepes!” Everleigh says.
“Me too!” I say. “With strawberries, and whipped cream, and maple syrup!”
“I want strawberries and raspberries and maple syrup, please!” Everleigh says. Avara smiles.
“Apple juice for you both?” We both nod. “Coming right up!” she says, and runs out of the room. Everleigh and I have a seat at the table, and we sit, chatting quietly until Harley walks into the room, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Ugh! That Raven weirdo is going to DIE!” she yells, plopping down in a chair. “What is for breakfast?”
“Crepes,” Everleigh and I say at the same time. We share a smile.
“Oh yum!” Harley says, licking her lips. “What are we doing today?”
“I was thinking we could practice with our weapons today. Just in case we run into trouble again,” I say.
“Okay. Sounds great!” Harley says, yawning.
Chapter 20
I load my bow. Pull the string back. Let go. My arrow flys through the air and...bullseye! I hit the target perfectly. WELL it is ABOUT time! I’ve been doing this for hours and only this once I get it. I do it again some more, shooting arrows, until I can get a bullzeye almost every time. “Anabelle, you're doing great!” Harley says, who is throwing her knives at the targets. George and Everleigh are done, and are lounging in the newly discovered living room, and Emma is chopping blocks of wood with her hammer.
“So are you! Are you ready to go to the living room?” I ask Harley.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s go check on Emma.” I press the button on my pendant, and the arrows fly into the quiver. “Thats cool! Do you think mine will do that?” Harley asks. I shrug.
“Probably.” Harley turns her pendant over. Sure enough, a blue button is on the back. She pushes it, and all the knives fly into her belt.
“Wow! That's awesome!” Harley says, and together, we walk over to Emma.
“How’s it going?” she asks, without looking up.
“We got good with our weapons! Ready to go to the living room?” Harley asks.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Emma says, picking up her hammer. All three of us push the doors open and walk into the hall.
As we enter the hall, George runs to meet us.
“Look at my leg! Look at it!” she says, pulling up her shorts. You wouldn’t even think she’d gotten injured. Not a trace of the injury is left.
“George, that’s great!” Emma says, brushing her hand gently across George’s leg.
“Yes, that is awesome,” I agree. “I have something to say, guys,” I say, fiddling with my fingers.
“What?” Harley asks, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
“Tomorrow, we’re leaving here, and-” I roll out the map El gave us. “And we are going to the Earth kingdom.”
“Why?” George asks, scowling. “The food is awesome here.” “Because Raven knows we’re here. If we stay here for too long, it’s risking our lives. We should go.”
“Oh, relax! We won’t!” George says, rolling out of bed. I follow her. We both grab our bows off the nightstand. As quietly as possible, we open and shut the doors. We stand in the hallway for a minute, and then George starts walking the way we didn’t go to meet Queen Raven. Not meet though. More like the way we didn’t go that almost led to our deaths. My thoughts sure are pure venom tonight. We walk for a little in silence. George is the one to break it, of course.
“How long are we going to stay in your fancy little fire house?” she asks.
“Two more nights. I think we all need to practice with our weapons-”
“Everleigh doesn’t.”
“Yes, yes, still, though. I do. And so do you. And I want to meet my soldiers. And eat some more of Avara’s delicious food!” I say, smiling.
“Okay, that sounds reasonable. And I like the food idea,” George says, laughing softly. I grin. We walk in silence some more. I look around. The windows are open, and bright rays of moonlight stream in, lighting up the path in front of us. It’s a beautiful sight. I look behind me, and realize George is falling behind. Well, she isn’t even walking.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“I don’t know. My thigh-ow!” she yelps. She must have tapped on it. The wound looks bad. Blood has dried around it, and it is giving her a bad limp. It wasn’t cleaned at all once she got it, like it should have been. I keep walking forward, and find a bathroom. I run back to George and drag her into it.
“It is going to get infected. We need to clean your wound,” I say, making her sit down on the toilet, and hold her leg out in front of her. I look at it. It is a big wound. The long jagged line goes almost down to her knee. I take a towel and rinse it in some cool water. I walk back to George and start to clean away the dried blood. George stiffins, I can feel it, but she doesn’t say anything. I then pump some soap onto the damp towel and rub it on the wound. George let’s out a little cry, but squeezes her lips tightly together. I then go back to the sink, clean off the soap. I look down at the wound. It doesn’t look so bad anymore. Just a line of really pink, red, skin. I search the drawers for a band-aid big enough. I can’t find one, and I have to lay three big band-aids across the wound. But they aren’t really band aids. I don’t have to peel off the paper on the back of it. Apparently it’s just magically sticky. Ha. Magically sticky. That is just plain weird. George looks up at me.
“Thanks,” she says.
“Yup,” I say. “How about we go back?” I suggest.
“Okay,” George says, rubbing her eyes. Together, hand-in-hand, we walk back to the bedroom in silence. We both crawl into bed and close our eyes. In a few minutes, George has dozed off, and I lay awake, not thinking about much. I don’t know when, but I do drift off.
Chapter 19
Sunlight streams in through the windows. The whir of the fan is the only sound, and the soft snoring of the others. I sit up in bed and look around. Everleigh is already awake, and her watchful gaze traveling around the room. When her eyes meet mine, she smiles. I smile back. I open my mouth to talk to her about what happened with the walk with George, but shut it, remembering that she wasn’t there. Speaking of George, she is softly snoring, her chest rising and falling. Harley and Emma don’t make a sound, but on occasion, I see Harley shift position. I carefully step over George and place my bare feet on the cool birch floor. It feels good, after being under the hot covers. I walk over to the window, and wave my hand for Everleigh to follow. She slowly sits up, and carefully slides out of bed. She walks silently, and gracefully over by my side. She gives me a smile, and I grip her hand. We both gaze out the window, at the lava, and the light blue sky. It is comforting, after the night's horrible events. It feels like a second home to me. “Did you get enough sleep?” I ask Everleigh.
“No, I don’t think any of us did,” she says, yawning. Of course, that causes me to yawn. I rub my eyes.
“Yeah,” I agree. “Let’s get changed so we can have breakfast and explore a little more. And we need a nurse for Harley and George,” I say. Everleigh nods.
“Okay.” We both get changed without saying a word. We turn away from each other, and slip off our nightgowns, slip on our dresses and shoes, grab our weapons, and quietly walk out into the hall. You know, it's a miracle. I’m wearing heels, and they never get uncomfortable. Probably they've been tampered with with magic? We wander around for a little, until we stumble upon the dining hall. Avara is there to greet us.
“Good morning, queens!” She says cheerfully. I wonder how she can be so happy, but then I remember she didn’t witness the terrors of the night.
“Hi,” We both say.
“Something wrong?” Avara asks, a concerned look spreading across her face.
“Yes, actually,” Everleigh starts to say. She tells Avara everything.
“Is there a nurse here?” she finishes, finally.
“Yes, just keep going down the hall, and you’ll find it.” Avara says. A smile tugs at her lips. “Now, what would you girls like for breakfast?”
“Crepes!” Everleigh says.
“Me too!” I say. “With strawberries, and whipped cream, and maple syrup!”
“I want strawberries and raspberries and maple syrup, please!” Everleigh says. Avara smiles.
“Apple juice for you both?” We both nod. “Coming right up!” she says, and runs out of the room. Everleigh and I have a seat at the table, and we sit, chatting quietly until Harley walks into the room, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
“Ugh! That Raven weirdo is going to DIE!” she yells, plopping down in a chair. “What is for breakfast?”
“Crepes,” Everleigh and I say at the same time. We share a smile.
“Oh yum!” Harley says, licking her lips. “What are we doing today?”
“I was thinking we could practice with our weapons today. Just in case we run into trouble again,” I say.
“Okay. Sounds great!” Harley says, yawning.
Chapter 20
I load my bow. Pull the string back. Let go. My arrow flys through the air and...bullseye! I hit the target perfectly. WELL it is ABOUT time! I’ve been doing this for hours and only this once I get it. I do it again some more, shooting arrows, until I can get a bullzeye almost every time. “Anabelle, you're doing great!” Harley says, who is throwing her knives at the targets. George and Everleigh are done, and are lounging in the newly discovered living room, and Emma is chopping blocks of wood with her hammer.
“So are you! Are you ready to go to the living room?” I ask Harley.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s go check on Emma.” I press the button on my pendant, and the arrows fly into the quiver. “Thats cool! Do you think mine will do that?” Harley asks. I shrug.
“Probably.” Harley turns her pendant over. Sure enough, a blue button is on the back. She pushes it, and all the knives fly into her belt.
“Wow! That's awesome!” Harley says, and together, we walk over to Emma.
“How’s it going?” she asks, without looking up.
“We got good with our weapons! Ready to go to the living room?” Harley asks.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Emma says, picking up her hammer. All three of us push the doors open and walk into the hall.
As we enter the hall, George runs to meet us.
“Look at my leg! Look at it!” she says, pulling up her shorts. You wouldn’t even think she’d gotten injured. Not a trace of the injury is left.
“George, that’s great!” Emma says, brushing her hand gently across George’s leg.
“Yes, that is awesome,” I agree. “I have something to say, guys,” I say, fiddling with my fingers.
“What?” Harley asks, curiosity flickering in her eyes.
“Tomorrow, we’re leaving here, and-” I roll out the map El gave us. “And we are going to the Earth kingdom.”
“Why?” George asks, scowling. “The food is awesome here.” “Because Raven knows we’re here. If we stay here for too long, it’s risking our lives. We should go.”
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