The Royal Residence Room was a huge domed ballroom-like space. Beams of light ricocheted off the purplish yellow walls. Mist swirled around the feet of the bewildered Esse and Kennen. Kennen was on his feet because he had lost his ability to fly. “Esse!” Kennen gasped. “I can’t fly!”
“Must be security.” Esse mused. She had busied herself reading the labels by the doors. “Here we are!” Esse said, pointing to a label that read ORDERER GEMMA ELIZABETH’S ROYAL RESIDENCE. She knocked on the door. The door opened. And Orderer Gemma stood in the doorway. “Esse! Kennen!” she said in surprise. “What are you doing here?” Esse explained the idea she had had to come here, and Kennen told about Sir Anerapell and Sir Nek VI. Orderer Gemma sighed. “Those two.” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll give you a real tour.”
After Orderer Gemma’s real tour, Kennen felt better and Esse had gotten over Sir Nek VI’s terrifying ness. They had gone home, and they had told Nurse Moss their adventures, and they had slept, and woken up, until it was Wednesday. On Wednesday, Kennen awoke in his office, which Orderer Gemma had told him and Esse would happen. As Kennen sat waiting for Esse to wake up, he studied the walls. They were, in fact, not covered in scribbles, but in words that were overlapped on each other. Kennen stared harder. There were only three sentences written. The first, over by the window, said
I wouldn’t eat that if I were you.
The second, all clustered around the door, said
Don’t go! Stay! Stay!
Each of these was followed by a number, such as 28, 35, or 57. The highest number Kennen could find was 118. But the strangest message of all was written almost everywhere in the room, overlapped many times. It read
My name is Annaig, look up. ^
Very, very slowly, Kennen raised his eyes up to the ceiling. And he saw them. The two eyes stuck in his ceiling, which were staring at him right now.
Hello, Kennen
Anniag said. And Kennen noticed new messages he never noticed before.
Hello, Davide
Hello, Yam
Hello, Chico
Hello, Leugim
Hello, Luiza
Hello, Aidalac
And many other names, covering the ceiling around the eyes. Which were still watching Kennen. Suddenly, the door opened and in strolled Esse. “Hey, Kennen. Happy Wednesday!” Esse said. “What’s so interesting about the ceiling?”
Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest
Kennen came back a little while later. “What did you find out?” Esse asked. “Well,” Kennen began. “Your friend Luc was talking to this strange bear-lady. But she was telling him how to let you out. He has to tell the door the bear-lady’s name. She keeps saying only you know her name, and that the door is sound proof.”
“Kennen!” Esse exclaimed. “You can tell him her name!” “Well? What is it?” Kennen asked excitedly. Esse beckoned him closer. “Her name is Ursula Kinns.” she whispered. “Okay.” Kennen said. “Ursula Kinns.” He stopped before crawling under the door.
“Esse?” he asked. “Yes? What’s wrong?” Esse asked him. “Will you take me with you? Wherever you and Luc are going, can I go too?” Kennen asked. “Of course.” Esse answered. Only then did Kennen crawl under the door.
A few seconds later, the door opened. Esse ran into Luc’s arms and cuddled in his fur. She felt Kennen land gently on her shoulder. “This is Kennen.” Esse told Luc. “I know.” Luc said. “He helped me save you.”
“Now,” interrupted Ursula Kinns. “Esse must go through the door alone, ahead of the rest of you.” “I’m ready.” Esse said. And she was. This was going to be the big reveal. Esse was going through the door.
“Ursula Kinns.” she said loudly and clearly. A thin force field zipped in front of Luc and Kennen. And Esse stepped through the door.
Esse was standing in a very strange place. There was wet dirt underneath her feet, while large piles of sticks loomed above her. The wet dirt formed a path. Esse could go left or right. She chose right. Esse walked for a little while. The sky was blue, and it seemed peaceful enough. She couldn’t hear much activity. This place wasn’t very exciting.
Presently, Esse came upon a fork in the trail. She could go left or right. Esse chose left. She soon came upon a flatten path of sticks that seemed to serve as a bridge. After crossing the bridge, Esse came upon a large log, that seemed to be set there for the purpose of keeping out intruders. On either side of the log, large walls of more sticks loomed above her. This seemed to be some strange land of sticks.
Esse climbed over the log. The wet dirt path continued through a plain of sticks. The path led to a doorway. At least, Esse decided it was a doorway. It was a break in the walls looming above her. The building had no roof.
Many rooms branched off of the one Esse was standing in. She walked into one of them. In the center of the room were three tall sticks, stuck into the ground. Three large rocks stood around them. As soon as Esse entered the room, the rocks started rolling toward her. They didn’t seem friendly. One of them knocked Esse down, while the other rolled on top of her. The other rolled off somewhere else.
“Hey!” Esse exclaimed. She pushed the rock off her and ran. By the time Esse was past the log, many rocks were after her. Small pointed sticks zoomed past her head. Ducking into a pile of sticks, Esse hid from them. But they still found her.
Wrapping Esse in rope-like strands of stick, they carried her off to a small room with a few rocks guarding it. They tied her hands and feet, then wrapped a long strand of stick around her entire body. Then, the rock people buried Esse into the ground, except for her head. And they left her there for the night.
(and poetblr.)
—my writeblr and poetblr introduction—
To start off, my name is Ashiya. I am an infp and I am sixteen (and probably bisexual and genderfluid🌈). I like writing as a means to relax…and when I say writing it’s mosty WIP’s. I start but I never finish. Like the water cycle. It never ends. Unless you wield magic powers to control elements(waterbending)- which is kind of how I am hoping this blog will be to me. Break this vicious cylce that is bringing me closer and closer to self destruction…ok so maybe it’s not that dramatic but I hope I’ve gotten my point across?
As I’ve mentioned: I am new here and I’m (obviously) looking for some blogs to follow so I am just going to shamelessly ask if you guys could reblog this so I can know who you are!
Also, just a heads up. My actual writing is definitely not like this ^^^
I’m just super tired at the moment so my grammar is all over the place. And I sometimes use lower case in my poems for aesthetic purposes 😅 😋
Sooo, see ya!
Esse awoke to the rock people again. They were shoving some sort of liquid dirt in her mouth. It tasted a lot like pinecones. It wasn’t delightful. Esse was really sore from spending the night tied up and buried in the ground.
The rock people picked her up again and carried her to a mountain of sticks. They carried Esse up the mountain. At the top of the mountain there was a hole. “Uh-oh.” Esse said. The rock people danced around a little bit. Then they backed up, ran, and tossed Esse into the hole. “Yep.” she said to herself as she fell. “I was expecting that.”
Kennen was really worried. Was Esse okay? He could tell Luc was worried too because he kept fidgeting. When Ursula Kinns finally took the force field down, Luc rushed for the door.
“No.” Ursula Kinns said. “You can go in soon. After she gets buried.” “Buried?!” Luc yelled. “Esse is going to get buried!?” “Why, yes.” Ursula Kinns answered calmly. Luc and Ursula Kinns continued to quarrel.
Kennen edged slowly toward the door. Maybe he could escape and save Esse. But everything was interrupted by a loud banging coming from the very door Esse had gone through. Ursula Kinns and Luc stopped quarreling.
“Open up!” a gruff voice said. Nobody answered. Multiple people started banging on the door. Until it was finally was opened. By none other than Ursula Kinns, who immediately teleported somewhere far, far away. So Kennen and Luc were left alone amidst a swarm of Carlosians.
Kennen knew Luc had been caught because of the howling he made. “Hush, victim.” one of the men said. Luc continued to fight. There was the sound of gunfire, and a howl of pain as Luc fell to the ground. The gruff men gathered around the dead bear. There was some conflict, and they started trying to murder each other.
A knife zipped right by Kennen’s head. Kennen made his escape by whispering “Ursula Kinns.” at the door and slipping through it. Esse would understand why he hadn’t saved Luc - right?
Esse was falling so fast, she had no idea what landed on her until it started talking. “Esse!” Kennen said. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine.” Esse answered. “Where’s Luc?” “Carlosians came to the door, and Ursula Kinns let them in and then vanished! They took Luc but they didn’t see me.” Kennen explained.
“What?!” Esse yelled. “No!” As Kennen silently broke the ropes that held her, Esse cried and cried and cried. “He could be killed!” she wailed frequently. Kennen did his best to soothe her.
After Esse was all out of tears, Kennen shared an idea. “How about I fly ahead and see if we’re close to ground yet?” he suggested. “Okay.” Esse agreed. “But come right back.”
Kennen dove downward but saw nothing. Esse caught up with him. “Is that you?” Esse asked, as Kennen landed on her shoulder. It was so dark now that she couldn’t tell.
“Yes, it’s me.” Kennen answered. “I didn’t see anything.” No one spoke as Esse sniffled and wiped away her tears. And then they were silent. But soon, ground came in view. It was rather hard looking…
“Quick!” Kennen said. “Turn me into something bigger!” Esse said something and Kennen was no longer a butterfly, but a bluebird now.
“That’ll do.” Kennen said. Then he dove ahead. As Kennen was diving, a voice from below yelled something, and Kennen began to grow and grow until he was bigger than Esse herself. Esse hit Kennen hard. He wrapped his wings around her. Then they hit the ground.
Why intercept?
Why?
After English next Tuesday, Esse had to sit next to Price on the hour-long bus ride to The Museum of Time and Space. She could hear Mies and We talking happily together. They were the only people on the bus enjoying themselves. Even the bus driver was grumpy. He was constantly telling them to “Be quiet, or you’ll never see those heads of yer’s again!”
When they reached the museum, a tall elderly man led them through the many exhibits, telling them all about Dental Floss. “Dental floss has been going on since prehistory, but in 1815, Dr. Levi Spear Parmly thought of using waxed silk threads to floss teeth!” the museum guide exclaimed with enthusiasm. Too much enthusiasm in Esse’s opinion.
He talked and talked and talked until they got to a pair of double doors with CLOSED FOR RENOVATION written on them. The guide was now bursting with excitement. So were Mies and We. “And here it is students!” the guide said. He threw open the doors. “The history of Dental Floss!” Mies and We oohed and aahed. After about two minutes of walking around, Price announced that he had to use the restroom. And just like that, he was gone.
Mies and We were in a corner, huddled around a photograph of some guy named Dr. Charles Bass. Esse walked into another room. This room contained dental facts, not all of them about flossing. There was a door at the end of the room that also said CLOSED FOR RENOVATION. Esse figured if she was already in an exhibit that was closed for renovation, she might as well go in this one.
The room was lit by a flickering light, coming from a lit chandelier hanging from the ceiling. All was quiet. No one was around. Not even Mies, We, or the guide could be heard from the other room. It seemed that the door Esse had come through was the only way to enter the room. Esse walked farther into the room. Every noise echoed.
There were no exhibits in this room. The floor was carpeted, unlike every other room in the museum, which was covered in hard tile. The walls were lined with wallpaper, instead of painted white. A plastic mat covered some of the floor beneath a tapestry with gold tassels hanging down the sides. Pick axes lay on the plastic mat, as well as hammers and a small bulldozer that fit in the room. The wall around the tapestry was chipped and cracked, as if someone had been trying to excavate around the tapestry. The museum obviously wanted the tapestry gone. Why?
Esse got a closer look. It was very old tapestry, with ancient writing at the top. There was a large multi-colored swirl to the left. To the right was what looked like dogs with waterfalls and lakes on their backs. It was fascinating. In the bottom righthand corner was the artist’s name:
Weasel Water Lou of The Peace in Carlos
It was truly very mysterious. Esse knocked on the wall. Hollow sounds echoed through the room. Was the tapestry a door? Who was Weasel Water Lou? Why was this tapestry in The Museum of Time and Space? Of course, Esse couldn’t spend forever in the little room. But when she walked out of the room, Esse saw something unfortunate.
Difgih was standing across the way from Esse. She was obviously partnerless. Her back was to Esse and she was reading something about dental floss for braces. Esse slowly tiptoed across the room into the one with FLOSS OF THE PRESENT. Hiding behind the biggest dental floss container in the world, Esse got a look at the clock. 4:37. That meant that the bus would come in thirteen minutes to pick them up and drop them off at home.
The bus ride from the museum was possibly less fun than the bus ride to the museum. When Price and Takahiro showed up at the bus late, they got in trouble for abandoning Esse and Difgih. So Price and Takahiro had to sit next to Mr. Oliverst and Esse and Difgih were “lucky” and got to sit in the back of the bus. Together. Esse looked out the window the whole time, and Difgih looked at the ground.
It wasn’t that Esse disliked Difgih, she was just afraid of her. Difgih had this weird telling-the-future thing she was always doing. And maybe Esse just didn’t want to know that she would meet a bear and go on a book worthy adventure. Maybe she just wanted to stay away from Difgih.
Esse got home at 6:43 p.m. Mrs. Iflandoonia was washing the dishes. “How was it?” she asked as Esse came in.
“It was good.” Esse answered. “Price abandoned me to go hang out with his friend. I sort of went around by myself. He had to sit with Mr. Oliverst on the ride back.”
“Aha!” Mr. Iflandoonia exclaimed. “I thought so! Price is no better than his father!”
“Luc!” Mrs. Iflandoonia said with her hands on her hips. “Really?!” Mr. Iflandoonia guiltily slinked away, probably harboring more thoughts on Price’s father. Mrs. Iflandoonia rolled her eyes. “I’ll talk with him later.” she said. “Well, Esse, how was it anyway?”
“I saw this exhibit on Dental Facts, and one of them had the biggest dental floss container in the world.” Esse answered. “But I have English homework, so, bye.”
Esse went up to her room to ponder the questions she had thought of earlier. But who could think with all that racket that Illtyd and Sverre Jon were making? She could hear them fighting over who would be Sidfig. “I’m the one who bought the book first!” Sverre Jon was yelling.
“I know that Esse has The Magical Powers of the Bonnet!” Illtyd yelled back. “That makes me a Verarlium Partosium, and you have nothing to do with it!”
Esse got out of bed and walked out the door. “Where are you going?” Mrs. Iflandoonia asked. She was trimming bushes. Why was she always everywhere she shouldn’t be? “I’m going for a walk.” Esse answered. And so she walked into the forest.
After about 1 ½ miles, Esse rested off the trail. It was so peaceful. Esse usually didn’t like quiet and peaceful. She normally liked things happening. But the forest was her favorite quiet spot. It was meant to only be the sounds of the birds and the deer and rabbits and foxes and… that strange noise from behind her. Esse turned around. There sat a little bear. Well, not little, this was a bear after all. If the bear stood on its hind legs, it would probably be as tall as Esse.
“Oh, hello.” she said. Then thought, Maybe I do hate Difgih. “Hi.” the bear answered back. The bear crawled over to rest next to Esse. “My name is Luc. Short for Lucjusz.” it said.
“My dad’s name is Lucjusz!” Esse said.
“Cool.” said Luc. “Do you want to be friends?”
“I guess.” Esse said. “Just because my dad and you share the same name? But, okay. I think bears are probably better friends than people.”
Luc nodded. “Oh yes, oh yes. We don’t hunt nixies for sport.” Esse smiled. “You’re much better than the kids in my class.” she said. Luc nodded.
“I always thought bears were better than nixies.” he said. Esse tilted her head. “Bears have never actually talked to me.” she commented. “But I think it’s because my brothers are too loud.”
“Oh, it’s not you.” Luc explained. “It’s, an, um, bear thing. We, uh, call it , um, Don’t Speak With Murderers. No offence.”
“Oh, it’s okay.” Esse said. “And you’re an adventurous bear?”
“Oh yes. I am the second bear to talk to a nixie and survive. Nobody knows yet though. The first nixie is you.” Luc answered. “I thought that that’s how I would die, but. . .I guess I die differently.”
“I guess we’re friends then.” Esse said, only a bit weirded out by the last part of Luc’s sentence. Luc nodded. It was decided.
The next day, Esse decided she was going to go see Luc again. If she found him again, she knew she would have made a friend. During school that day, Esse caught Difgih staring at her as if she knew. It was creepy.
Luc told Esse some interesting news. “Esse, you’ll never believe what I heard!” he said. “The Carlosians are closing in on the West Side of Peace, and they just took it over!” “Who are the Carlosians?” Esse asked. “You don’t know?” Luc asked, shocked. “The Carlosians are the people in the country that surrounds us. They are evil, and violent, and deadly, and they’re slowly taking over The Peace in Carlos! Only not so slowly anymore!”
“Wow!” Esse exclaimed. “I can’t believe I didn’t know that!”
“Neither can I.” Luc said. “I wonder who else doesn’t know. The problem is, not everyone has a hiding place, a secret den like my family does, and so they can’t always be safe when they need to be.” He shook his head in disapproval. “They’ll probably all die or something.”
“No!” Esse cried, “We can’t let that happen! What will we do?!”
“You and I can try to find a place for everyone.”
“Oh, yes. That’s a good idea,” Esse agreed, “Do you know any places?” Luc shook his head. Esse started to sigh, then paused, remembering the tapestry. “I might know a place!” she exclaimed with glee, “Yesterday I went to the new Dental Floss exhibit in The Museum of Time and Space, and I found a really mysterious tapestry by someone called Weasel Water Lou. There were pickaxes and bulldozers, and things like that near it. I bumped into the wall, and it was hollow! Also, the room looks like a room in a old house, not a museum room. There’s real carpeting and wallpaper! Maybe they’re making a hiding place for us! I wish I could show you.”
“That sounds nothing like my den, but okay, I’ll take your word for it.” Luc said. “I wish I could get to it.” After a moment, he exclaimed, “Hey! Are there windows near it? Maybe I could get in!” He sounded excited.
“Well…” Esse mused. “There’s a wall of all glass in the Dr. Levi Spear Parmly exhibit. Does that help?”
“Are there any windows that you can open?” Luc asked. “Oh, well, in the recreation of Johnson & Johnson, there’s a window. It might fit you, but I should probably measure it.” Esse answered.
“That would take too long.” Luc said. “Roughly how big was it?” Esse showed him with her hands. Luc just fit. “Good!” Luc said. “Is the Johnson & Johnson recreation on the first or second floor?”
“First floor, but the window is high. I’ll help you.” Esse volunteered.
“Good.” Luc nodded his approval. “See you tomorrow, Esse.”
“You too, Luc.” Esse waved goodbye.
December 2nd was a day of mourning for Luc. They had his funeral and made a grave. They filled a coffin with lots of things to represent him and then buried it deep into the ground. Esse told about their adventure. Kennen told of Luc’s death. Everyone understood that after Luc was dead,Kennen of course could not help him. Luc’s parents and siblings were given gifts. It was safe to say that Luc would never be forgotten. He helped Esse find out how to open the painting. He saved Esse when Ursula Kinns kidnapped her. Luc did lots of other wonderful deeds before Esse even knew him. Luc was truly a wonderful bear. Esse cried through most of it. But Kennen comforted her by gently landing on her shoulder. “Thanks, Kennen.” she whispered in his ear. “Throughout my whole adventure, I’ve had friends. I’m glad you’re here now that Luc is gone.” And that is how Esse survived the funeral of her best friend. With a friend, who will always be there for her. And she will return the favor, and always be there for him.
THE END
Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest
Breton didn’t usually walk this way after Math class ended. No, he decidedly didn’t walk this way, and he decidedly wasn’t supposed to.
“Darn,” he breathed. This was not going well at all.
Turning around, Breton tried walking the other way. No, that didn’t feel right either. If he turned to the left and went that way, he’d be back in Math class. That would end the whole thing right then and there. Going to the right would guarantee his progress into one of the Science classrooms.
Breton took a step towards the Science classroom. There was a buzz and a zip as everything resituated to his current standing point in time. Breton took a breath, closed his eyes, and began to walk forward.
After what felt like a good amount of steps to take towards a Science classroom, Breton stopped and opened his eyes. Ah, yes, this was indeed the Science classroom he knew and loved. There was Ms. Jennings. She was holding a paper out to the class, and the way her face was positioned seemed to indicate that this was a very important paper she had grasped before her. Oh, and look, there was Christian. Apparently he had Science first period. Go figure.
Breton took a step towards Christian. “Owgh!” he exclaimed as something painful happened to his head. Lifting his hand to the back of his skull, Breton felt a bruise forming. Shoot, what had he been doing a few seconds ago? Had it been dangerous? It certainly hurt, whatever it was.
Taking a look at Christian, Breton decided he should just return to Math class. Christian looked like he was about to say something to the person next to him, and Breton didn’t really want Christian to talk. The look on Christian’s face was not one of pleasure, and his usually neat blonde hair was sticking about. Both his hands we balled into fists, and one was poised above the table as if to pound it in the moments to come.
Breton turned and began to walk the other way, back towards the Math classroom. Eyes closed, of course. He began to pick up the pace, until he heard a small voice coming from over his shoulder.
“Breton! Hey, Breton!” it hissed. Breton stopped, opened his eyes, and turned. Coming down the hallway was Christian.
No, this wasn’t Christian, Breton decided. Not at all. What this looked like was the product that came from someone trying very hard to make a plush doll of Christian. They hadn’t failed, not necessarily. It was flying. That had been accomplished. Its long floppy arms caught the wind behind it as it moved.
“Breton!” spoke the Christian. It had floated very close now, and was only half a foot from Breton’s face.
“Hello . . . Christian,” Breton finally decided on words. “Are you . . . going to class?”
“No! I’m not going to class!” the Christian huffed, exasperated.
“Oh, you’re not. Yes,” Breton usually found himself at a loss for words, and talking to the Christian was no exception.
“I am getting rather fed up with you,” the Christian grumped, turning with a puff. “Which is ironic, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it?” Breton asked, not entirely sure.
The Christian was suddenly very close, touching noses with Breton, the Christian’s long arms flopping onto his chest.
“I am you,” the Christian declared dramatically, and left.
After Rose returned with the pens, Breton got to work on the posters. He sat on the stage across from Rose, who, despite his previous claim, was not being of much help at all. Nashaadh bustled around backstage, moving boxes and hanging the posters that Breton completed.
“Breton, are you going to the Masquerade Ball on Friday night?” Nashaadh asked after a little while.
“I’m going!” Rose interjected before Breton could even conceive an answer. “I’m going with Nashaadh,” he added.
“You really should come with us, Breton,” Nashaadh invited.
“Aw, Nashaadh, do you have to go and invite your cousin?” Rose pouted.
“Rose, he’s your friend too!” Nashaadh scolded. “It’s a school hosted event, he should go anyway!”
“I know, I was just kidding,” Rose said calmly. “You should definitely come, Breton.”
“How?” Breton asked, not pausing his decoration of Nashaadh’s posters.
“Well, I’m going as a phoenix,” Nashaadh reminisced, setting down a box and plopping down beside Breton and Rose. “All red and yellow and fire . . .”
“And I’m going as a parrot,” Rose shared, scooting closer to Nashaadh. “All color and sleek good looks.”
Rose tossed his wavy, dark red head of hair. Nashaadh laughed.
“You really should go, Breton,” Nashaadh repeated.
“What would I go as?” Breton argued politely. “You guys already took phoenix and parrot.”
“You could be a woodnymph bird,” Nashaadh offered.
“Oo! Yes! You’d look good in purple, Breton!” Rose agreed, clearly enthused.
“You really would, Breton!” Nashaadh exhibited excitement. “There must be a beautiful indigo pattern jacket somewhere we can buy for you!”
“Yes! And I have these wonderful pants that will match gorgeously!” Rose continued.
“Ohmygosh, Breton, we are totally building your costume for you!” Nashaadh squealed. “You are coming on Friday!”
Breton remained silent as Nashaadh and Rose used the previously discarded markers to plan his costume. Silently, he was pleased. Nashaadh and Rose were his two closest friends. And although a Masquerade Ball sounded scary, if he went to one, he would want to go with Nashaadh and Rose.
Besides, with the Christian hanging around, it might be a good idea to live in the moment.