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Nashaadh Sonjan

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Breton Wager - 5

Breton was very tired all morning. The first half of the Thursday school day was less than pleasant. He didn’t even bother skipping through any of it.

Breton reached English class at 12:11 pm that day, and he was not feeling in the mood. Sixth period’s job was to write a chronological and sequential paragraph about what they had done so far that day. So far, Breton had tried to sleep and had been interrupted no less than thirteen times by none other than Christian. Sixth period was no exception.

Breton’s eyes were feeling droopy. Very droopy. He could barely keep them open as he rested his head down onto his desk. He was about to drift off into sweet, sweet slumber . . .

“My Day, by Christian Aubry. There! What do you think, Breton? Breton! Breton!” Christian was forcfully shaking Breton to the point where he almost fell out of the chair. “Breton! What do you think of the title of my piece? My Day, by Christian Aubry. Isn’t it studious?”

“Mhm,” Breton agreed tiredly. There were many times when Breton wished he was in fifth period English. This was one of them.

“I was thinking I could start out with the breakfast I had this morning: bacon, with eggs (over-easy), and three ounces of orange juice! A ate it while surveying my vast lawn (which is visible from my dining room window).”

One reason that Breton wished he was in fifth period English was that Rose was there and Christian was not. Even if he didn’t sit beside Rose, at least he wouldn’t be sitting to the right of Christian.

“And then after breakfast, I walked to school. Wait, even better, I’ll say I walked to Field High School! Doesn’t that just sound scholarly?”

A second reason Breton wished he was in fifth period English was that fifth period English had written a compare and contrast paragraph. Breton had the perfect idea for one of those. It could be, The Similarities and Differences Between Christian Aubry and His Puppet Counterpart, by Breton Bauerbecken.

“After arriving at school, the bookish boy (that’s me!) made his way to his first period class, where he used his academic brain to construct an A+ model in first period Science class!”

One similarity between the two entities was their efinity to bother Breton when he very much didn’t want to be bothered. A second similarity was the fact that both creatures were constantly trying to get him to agree with whatever words happened to spill out of their speaking gullets.

“Second and third period went just as well for the intellectual teen, and as he sauntered from class to class, he began to think ahead to Friday, when he would dress as the noblest of birds for the First Ever Annual Field High School Masquerade Ball!”

A third similarity between Christian and his puppet pal was the fact that they only seemed to be around him because he was possibly famous. Neither of them knew that he was actually a time walker, but they both knew that Ashley Sonjan was his aunt.

“At the Friday Masquerade Ball, the learned young man would amaze the beautiful Nashaadh Sonjan and finally free her from the filthy Roosevelt Otterton!”

Really, the only difference between the two was that one was a narcissistic sixteen year old boy, and the other was boastful, sloppily constructed children’s toy.

“What a hero he is, that brainy Christian Aubry!”

Too bad he was in sixth period English.

Poor Margret - 5

Crabulul Iflanoonia worked in a small office with another girl named Nancyevelyn. Great-Uncle Crab glared at Esse as she walked through the door. Esse grinned at him. “Hello!” she said in a cheery voice. Crabulul began to growl. Esse shook her head sadly at him. “We are the police, and-” she began, but Crabulul cut her off. “You are not the police! You are that annoying childthat I see at family reunions!”

“Uh, huh. I see.” Esse turned to Kennen and whispered, “looks like we have a Code 5B2.” Kennen had no idea what this meant.

“Don’t you Code 5B2 me, missy!” Crabulul was shouting (actually, he was shouting a lot of other stuff as well that I will not repeat). As Crabulul continued shouting, (something about the police), and Esse was calmly pulling out from behind her back a paging device from who-knows-where, and all this was happening while Nancyevelyn slowly got up and told Crabulul, “Crabulul, steckte den Feuer-Blaster.” Uncle Crabulul sighed. From behind his back he pulled out a large hammer, and handed it to Nancyevelyn. Then he watched helplessly as Nancyevelyn handed it to a grinning Esse.

“What just happened?” Kennen asked as they walked back to the office. Esse grinned. “Well,” she began. “to begin with, I know Nancyevelyn because she is my 2nd cousin once removed and she’s a famous wizard. Code 5B2 means ‘angry relative wielding a fire blaster’, and so I took that pager from Nancyevelyn’s desk and paged Annaig to let him know we’re coming. Then, Nancyevelyn went up to Crabulul and told him to put down the fire blaster. She knows I’ll take good care of it.” Kennen just nodded. “How does it work?” he asked.

“Like this,” Esse said. She hit the ground with the hammer and flames shot out of the top. “This is our supplies” she said.

Annaig was amazed by the fire blaster, and agreed to get them a portal right away. “But what about your family Esse? And Nurse Moss?” Kennen asked. Esse shrugged. “We’ll only be gone for a little while anyway.” she told him. Annaig wrote a new message on the wall.

You have to jump into my eye.

“Okay…” Esse said. She jumped up on the desk and leaped into Annaig’s eye. Kennen flew in after her.

The Christian

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Breton Wager - 4

Breton went home that day on the bus with Rose. Rose sat on Breton’s lunch twice, and then he sat on Tony’s lunch, and by that point they were home and there were no more lunches to sit on.

Breton entered his house and was pleased. He could hear his mother in the kitchen and his father in the parlor. He had little homework, and he would complete it in the kitchen beside his mother, with his father in view. It would be a good ending to his Wednesday.

Breton took a seat at the kitchen table. His mother was making soup.

“Welcome home, Breton, how was school?” she asked, tossing carrots with a flourish.

“Indeed, Breton! How was you day?” echoed his father from his seat in the parlor.

“May I go to the Masquerade Ball on Friday?” Breton asked his parental unit.

“By yourself?” his mother asked, adding beets to the supper stew.

“I was planning on attending with Nashaadh and Rose,” Breton explained.

“Oh, Nashaadh! How is she?” his father asked. “You know, I haven’t called Ashley in quite a while.”

“And Rose,” his mother added. “When’s the last time we saw Rose? What’s his real name again?”

“Roosevelt,” Breton answered, assuming that this meant his masquerade attendance was approved.

“Ah, yes, named after that old president we had all that time ago!” Breton’s mother continued on.

“I think I shall call Ashley right now,” Breton’s father mused from the parlor.

Breton quietly slipped out of time.

It had been a rewarding but long day, and Breton had gotten about half an hour closer to bedtime when he heard a familiar voice.

“Breton! Breton! Are those your parents?” the Christian floated in through a wall, floppy arm dangling exasperatedly.

“Yeah,” Breton said. He wasn’t certain why, but once again, he found himself stopping his forward progression to wait for the Christian.

“They are adults, you know. Awfully so. Well above the age of eighteen. I shall approve of one parent at a time, please,” the Christian commanded boastfully.

Breton began to continue forward towards bedtime. He felt the Christian’s arms bumping against his head as he walked.

“Your father is the brother in law of Ashley Sonjan, correct?” the Christian asked forcefully.

“Yes,” Breton answered, really only half paying attention to the loud puppet. It really did remind him of the real Christian.

“Nikodemus Bauerbecken, brother of Ashley Sonjan. Patterson and Ashley Sonjan. Two daughters: Nashaadh Sonjan and Naulii Sonjan,” the Christian recited, as if this memorization of facts was even at all worth showing off.

“Interesting,” Breton mumbled distractedly.

“Ashley Sonjan invented the equation for time travel,” the Christian continued. “Are you special, Breton? Or is your aunt the real hero of the story?”

Breton jumped back into time with a smack, hitting his bed with much more force than he meant to. He didn’t sleep well that night.

Poor Margret - 4

“Yikes!” Esse said, following Kennen’s gaze upward to the ceiling. “Kennen, whose eyes are those? They’re humongous!”

“And they talk to me too.” Kennen told her.

“Really? Kennen, are you insane? Maybe we should call your sister, Heavenly Evenly.”

“No, Esse, look at the walls.” Kennen said.

“Yikes!” Esse said, looking around. “Kennen, did you do this?”

“No.” Kennen answered. “Annaig did.” Suddenly, Esse let out a little squeak. Kennen looked up.

Hello, Essy. Are you a friend of Kennen’s? My name is Annaig.

“Um.” Esse said. “it’s E-S-S-E.” Annaig corrected his mistake. Esse nodded approvingly. “He seems nice.” she told Kennen. Annaig drew a large heart around Esse’s name. “I think Annaig likes you too.” Kennen answered her.

Soon, Esse and Kennen had moved all of Esse’s work into Kennen’s Office. “The floor is too slippery.” Esse said. “Besides, I need more company to work happily.” Kennen’s job that day was to was to go through everyone’s files and see who had a criminal record. Esse’s was to go through the files of the people just moving to The Land of Nimm. “Hey,” Esse said, pulling out a file. “Here’s your sister.” Kennen leaned over to read. It said:

The File of:

Heavenly Evenly likes to eat at elevenly LALALALALA Pie. DODODO, NANANA, Tickle some type of fly Mamamel Pastamaker

“What in the world? Is that really her full name?” Esse asked.

“I never told you?” Kennen answered.

“Does she like pie?” Esse asked. Kennen shrugged. “I would think so. Can’t you look in her file?” he asked. Esse opened it. There on the first page it read:

Likes Pie:Yes/No/Limited

Job: NonDominant Animal Psychiatrist

“Huh.” Esse said. “The pie a bit of a strange thing to put in a file.” Kennen shrugged. “Not if you’re Heavenly Evenly.” he said.

Some time later, Kennen found his first criminal record. “Hey, Esse, did you know that Emelea and her children have a criminal record?” he asked. Esse leaned over to see. “Well, I guess Luc never told me the story.” Esse answered. “Then I will.” Kennen began:

The Story of Emela’s Children

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Emelea Grapis, one of the most criminal masterminds to this day. Emelea’s husband had run away after she threatened to drop 16 bananas on his head, leaving Emela with her two children. Their names were Heteb and Zoeabby. When Heteb was 16 years old, and Zoeabby was 3, Emelea launched the Great Kidnapping Thing. Queen Alissa lived in a beautiful palace on top of the hill, and because Emelea was the evil twin of her sister, Mistress Amelia, she was invited to live with Queen Alissa. Queen Alissa had three children; Aras, Tanyaasha, and Izzy, who were all kidnapped within a week. Here is how Emelea did it: Zoeabby, even though she was only three, could already speak fluently in English, Lithuanian, and German. So every night, Zoeabby would go through the hall outside Queen Alyssa’s part of the castle with her mother’s cloak on, and sing: “Aš miręs nuotaka aš sakau ‘boo!’ jums bus išsigandęs. BOO!” (the spell works better when said in Lithuanian. Besides, everyone there was from New Forkie, and so saying it in a language no one probably understood was a good idea.) Zoeabby would happily knock out anyone who was within three feet of her (this usually got a nosy princess listening at the door). Zoeabby would then grin and run off to get her mother. Emelea would take the cloak from Zoeabby, and go kidnap the nosy princess at the door. After the first three kidnappings, Emelea decided to kidnap all the other children in the building. She started with Queen Eneel’s children; Meuh and Raychell, and then to everyone else's children. Unfortunately, Emelea made the mistake of kidnapping Judge Anna’s granddaughter, and Judge Anna arranged a meeting with Neemzay, the genius of the castle, who was kidnapped soon after that, and working on means of escape. Judge Anna’s daughter, Queen Airuhbelluh, took a wild guess and got Heteb arrested. One of the queens, Queen Avarose, went insane and kidnapped Zoeabby. Emelea knew that she could either give herself up, and help the children, or run away and leave them. Emelea, knowing how a good parent should act, threw square-shaped dogs at anyone who tried to ride an elephant, and ended up escaping with her children as well (the kidnapped children were found two weeks later by Judge Anna and Inspector Ollie).

“Wow.” Esse said. “I had no idea.”

“Neither did I.” Kennen agreed. They continued while talking about Emelea’s children.

But soon after that, Kennen picked up a new file. “Hey Esse, look at this.” he said. Esse leaned over to see. The file read,

File of Lucjusz Bnmq Erty

“Oh.” Esse said. She looked confused and sad. “Luc has a criminal record? What does it say?”

“Yeah. About that. It’s weird because, you know, no one but us a Weasel Water lou are supposed to touch these but, well, I’ll just show you.” Kennen flipped open the first page and handed the file to Esse.

Status: Deceased LIVING!!!

Or else prove that he’s dead!

“Whoa.” Esse said. “So Luc isn’t a criminal. Who would do that?” Kennen shrugged. “Well, he sighed his name at the bottom.” Kennen said, showing her.

Helpful Comments by Ulul Iflandoonia

“WHAT?!” Esse said. “My Great-Uncle Crab wrote this? Uh!” Kennen looked puzzled. Esse explained for him. “My great-Uncle Crabulul is so rude. But somehow he became a critic, and since he’s a quickwolf, he’s made it his business to go everywhere people want him out of.”

“What’s a quickwolf?” Kennen asked.

“Quickwolves can go so fast, that they vibrate through walls and stuff like that.” Esse answered.

“Wow. So he got into our files?” Kennen said, leafing through the others to see if Crabulul had made any other comments. “Hey, um, Kennen, Annaig is talking to you.” Esse said. Kennen looked up.

Are you sure Luc really is dead?

“Well, um, yeah, right Kennen?” Esse answered.

“Well, yes, I saw it happen! Wait, no. I mean, I saw him go all limp but maybe…” Kennen said, thinking hard.

Maybe you should find out. If you go get supplies from Crabulul I can teleport you wherever you want.

“Oh, Annaig! I want to hug you!” Esse said, jumping up and down. “C’mon, Kennen, let’s go to Great-Uncle Crab!”

Christian Aubrey

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Breton Wager - 3

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.

Heyy, new writeblr! ^̮^ Pls REBLOG so I can follow you!

(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!

Poor Margret - 3

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?”

Breton Bauerbecken

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Rose Otterton

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Breton Wager - 2

After the Christian’s declaration, Breton lost control of the time and was yanked back to Math class. He hit the chair with an, “Oof!” A girl behind him gave him a look, and then continued punching numbers into her calculator. The bell rang, and it was time to pay attention.

Breton turned to the front of the room to watch the teacher. Mr. Brown crossed to the center of the room with great purpose.

“Today! We shall be learning the equation to time travel! Singular One! Let us begin!” Mr. Brown executed every word with a flourish.

Breton decided he no longer wanted to sit through this and with a wink of his eye, slipped out of time.

Breton began to walk towards 9:08, when free period began. He made it halfway down the hallway when he felt the pain hit his head again. What was he doing in Math class? Well, he would know soon enough. He began making his way to the auditorium.

“I suppose you think you’re too good for Math class, then,” the Christian’s voice floated to Breton’s ears, the Christian floating behind it. “You’re such a special time walker, you don’t need to sit through time travel equations.”

Breton wasn’t sure why, but he found himself waiting for the Christian to catch up with him.

“Well?” the Christian asked, reaching Breton’s shoulder. “Are we feeling special this morning?”

“I already know the equation for time travel,” Breton explained as be continued to progress to 9:08.

The Christian followed him closely. “You know, other people would know it too if they were born with special abilities like you, Breton!” he replied derisively.

“I could tell them if they asked,” Breton offered.

“I could tell them if they asked,” the Christian mocked.

Breton reached 9:08 and snapped back into time. The smack of his return caused him to stumble somewhat down the auditorium stairs.

“Breton!”

Two children Breton’s age, his two friends, were the only people in the otherwise empty auditorium. Nashaadh and Rose waved as Breton made his way towards them.

“There you are!” Rose exclaimed. “We were going to start without you!”

“Rose was going to start without you,” Nashaadh clarified. “I would have waited.”

“What were you going to start without me?” Breton asked.

“We’re making posters with things like, Don’t Touch the Lighting Equipment and stuff like that,” Rose answered.

“Since I’m the Backstage Manager and no one else does anything useful around here,” Nashaadh sighed resignedly, picking up a stack of poster paper.

“Hey! I help!” Rose complained. “Look! I brought markers!”

“I know you help, Rosie. And Breton does, too,” Nashaadh quelled Rose. “Thanks, by the way, both of you. Neither of you are even on stage crew.”

“We were hoping you could do the drawings,” Rose said to Breton. “‘Cause you’re good at that kinda thing.”

Rose handed Breton the markers and placed the poster paper in his hands. Nashaadh headed backstage.

“I only draw with pens and ink,” Breton spoke.

“Oh! Well! Mr. Special over here!” Rose cried out. “Only draws with pens!”

Breton was reminded of something.

“Rose! Calm down!” Nashaadh said orderly, returning from backstage with a box full of costumery. “Breton, I’m sure there are some pens in the Art room I can go find for you.”

“The equation for time travel is ((0 − 273.15) × 95 + 32)K + T over 1s(D) times SE,” Breton declared. Nashaadh and Rose stopped what they were doing and looked at him.

“Um, thank you, Breton, but . . . why, I mean, we already know that . . . I can get you some pens, if you want,” Nashaadh spoke uncertainty, placing the box of costumes on the floor of the stage.

“Yeah, because Nashaadh’s mother invented the equation for time travel,” Rose shared loudly.

“Rose, hush,” Nashaadh muttered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t you go get Breton some pens from the Art room.”

“What? Why me?” Rose whined. “It just started getting interesting!”

“Rose, please,” Nashaadh asked of him.

“Fine, fine, I’m going,” Rose gave in, jumping off the stage and making his way up the auditorium stairs. “But you guys better not start without me!”

The auditorium door slammed behind Rose as he exited the room.

Nashaadh took a seat on the edge of stage and gestured for Breton to sit beside her. He did.

“Breton,” she stated. “Are you alright?”

“I’m being haunted by a B- Art project,” Breton shared with his cousin. There was a pause as Nashaadh looked off into the distance.

“Out of time?” she asked.

Breton nodded.

“Do you want to talk to my mother about it?”

There was another pause as Breton looked off into the distance.

“Not yet,” Breton decided.

“Okay,” Nashaadh finished.

There was a silence.

The auditorium door slammed. “I’m back!” Rose announced. “And I brought lots of pens!”

Poor Margret - 2

Esse and Kennen were two minutes early. They waited in the lobby. Kennen flew around the room, picking up falling stars that had fallen from the top of The Meadow of Nimm overnight. Esse created little constellations on the table. After a little while, Sir Anerapell, (directly translated meaning Sun Spirit Guy with the Moonish Nose) flounced into the room. He grinned at Kennen and Esse, his glowing blonde hair and crescent nose almost scaring them out of their wits. “I will be escorrrrting you through the palace!” Sir Anerapell told them in his squeaky high-pitched Decneleb accent. He grinned even wider. “O-kay.” Esse stammered. Kennen was too freaked out to say anything at all. A man came around from behind Sir Anerapell. “This is Sir Neeeeeek the sixtthhhhhhh.” Sir Anerapell hissed at them. (Directly translated, Nek means Great Life, but Lacking Creativity of Death) Sir Nek VI was an old, old, old, old, old, old man, having never died before. Sir Anerapell grinned again. “We shall now begin our tourrrr, shall weeee?” he prompted.

The tour was no fun for Kennen. He had to perch on Sir Anerapell’s finger, while he flounced and gestured wildly around the room. Kennen knew Esse wasn’t having fun either. She had a look of disgust and terror on her face, having been made to let Sir Nek VI escort her down the halls. Finally, they reached the room marked WEASEL WATER LOU, SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Flouncing into the room, Sir Anerapell showed Esse the writing on door to the left of the room. On the door it read ESSE IFLANDOONIA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Esse’s office was quite nice. The walls were ice-like glass, as well as the floor and ceiling. Non-melting icicles hung from the ceiling. A snow-like rung lay across the floor. That was when something very strange happened. Sir Nek VI lifted Esse off her feet and dropped her on the snow-like rug. This was too much for Esse, who shuddered, rolled her eyes back in her head, and fainted. Kennen shuddered. Sir Anerapell grinned, flouncing toward the door marked KENNEN DAMANEL PASTAMAKER, ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Opening the door, Kennen took in his new office. The white walls looked like a small child had scribbled on them, using lots of different colors. The ceiling was green, and had two eyes that were blinking down at Kennen. On the bright yellow floor was a red rug shaped like the letter R, on which Kennen was dropped. And then the tour guides were gone. This was the end of the tour.

Kennen rushed into Esse’s office. She was lying on the snow-rug, still unconscious. “Esse,” Kennen whispered, nudging Esse’s arm. “Wake up! They’re gone!” Esse moaned and rolled over. “Where am I?” Esse asked, sitting up.

“In your new office.” Kennen told her. Esse nodded. “Yeah, I was kind of, um, paralyzed with terror when Sir Nec-m VI brought me in here.” she explained. Kennen nodded. “I noticed.” he said.

“But, I guess we should be going now, so, let’s go.” Esse got up and strolled over to her desk. “Look at this.” she said, picking up a sheet of paper. Kennen flew over. “It’s a map.” he observed. “The tour guides must have dropped it.”

“Look!” Esse said, pointing at the map. “There’s Orderder Gemma’s room!” Kennen looked. In small letters, a sighed read ORDERER GEMMA ELIZABETH, 5TH DAUGHTER TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. “Let’s go say hello!” Esse said, dashing out of the room. “Wait!” Kennen called, flying after her. They went down many halls until they reached a door marked ROYAL RESIDENCE: IMPORTANT PERSONAL ONLY. “We’re important.” Esse said, pushing open the door and rushing in. “Not until Wednesday.” Kennen muttered, before following Esse.

Lucjusz (Luc)

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Why intercept?

Why?

Poor Margret

At first, Kennen didn’t know where he was. Then he remembered; sleepover with Esse at Nurse Moss’ house. Esse stood up and stretched. There were no need for beds in Nurse Moss’ house because the floor was so soft. Kennen pretended to be asleep. Esse changed and sat back on the floor. Checking the clock, Kennen had seen it was only 8:10. Nurse Moss woke at 9:30 on weekends. Suddenly Kennen realized: today was the day. This was Esse’s 13th birthday, or, her coronation of Assistant Secretary to Master Cameron and Mistress Amelia. Weasel Water Lou would be teaching her “the ways”. Even though work didn’t start until Wednesday, (and it was only saturday) Esse had been promised a private tour of the palace with Kennen. Kennen would be Esse’s assistant, making him the Assistant to the Assistant Secretary to Master Cameron and Mistress Amelia. Esse bounced over to Kennen to see if he was awake (you could bounce on Nurse Moss’ floor). “Kennen,” Esse whispered, poking Kennen’s wing. “Today is the day!”

“Hmm? What?” Kennen mumbled, opening his eyes and pretending to be tired. He honestly did want sleep. “I said today’s the day,” Esse repeated. “Now hop on my shoulder and we’ll go find Nurse Moss.”

“I can fly.” Kennen grumbled. Esse bounced out of the room, Kennen close behind her.

Flying into the kitchen, Kennen saw Nurse Moss preparing waffles. “Yummmmmmmmm.” Esse sighed. “Thanks, Nurse Moss.” Nurse Moss smiled. “Today’s the day!” she replied. “Hey, it’s my day too!” Kennen reminded her. “I know.” Nurse Moss said. “So I made you some seeds and berries. Raspberries, your favorite.” Kennen was awake now. With Kennen at the tabletop bird feeder, and Esse in her favorite cushiony chair, they munched their special breakfast. “Eat up!” Nurse Moss said to Kennen. “You’re too skinny!” Nurse Moss was always complaining about how skinny he was and NOT HOW PLUMP, MISS EVELYN FACE! His pale blue color made him look sort of sick. “You’ll want to hurry.” Nurse Moss said. “The tour starts in- goodness me! The clock stopped!”

“What!?” Esse cried, her fork clattering to the table.

“You have 20 minutes, so no walking.” Nurse Moss told them. “If we ask Doctor Lexie now, maybe we can borrow her MotorHuman360.” Doctor Lexie’s MotorHuman360 was not a human with a motor attached to it, nor a motor car that looked like a human. Doctor Lexie’s MotorHuman360 was simply a really fast guy named Niree who liked to say “vroom vroom.”.

“All right, let’s do it!” Esse said.

“Are you sure?” Kennen asked her. “You hate riding Niree.” Esse grimaced. “You told me that when you ride Niree, you feel too sorry for him, having to carry people around.” Kennen said.

“Well,” Esse considered. “We really should go now.” “Well then,” Nurse Moss said, standing up. “We better hurry before someone else asks.”

Soon, Kennen was flying behind Esse, who was on the back of a very pleased Niree, who loved talking to his riders. “How goes it, Miss If?” Niree said, using Esse’s nickname he gave her.

“Um, okay.” Esse gulped. Despite what Esse had told him, Kennen knew she was terrified. Because of Niree’s fast speed, Esse’s legs were flung out behind her, and she was clinging to Niree’s shoulders for dear life. Niree didn’t seem to notice anything that happened to his passengers. He couldn’t even really hear them. “Ah, yes, my grandmother lives there.” Niree responded. “We call her Grandma Lolch. Funny, isn’t it?”

“I, uh, yeah, um, okay.” Esse agreed. “Oh, yes, you’re right Miss If. That’s a great place to go camping. Grandma Lolch used to take me and R.A. there every winter.” Kennen sighed. Niree was nice, but kind of deaf.

Breton Wager

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.

Esse Iflandoonia

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Writing ship-able couples

Here are some tips for writing relationships your readers can get behind:

1. Give them reasons to click

The two characters must have things in common - a hobby, a philosophy, a background. There has to be some element that connects them.

Your readers will root for relationships in which the characters fit together better than they would with others.

Also, make their traits compatible. Have them share some characteristics or have their strengths and weaknesses be complementary. Is the one hotheaded? Maybe the other keeps their cool well in situations of conflict.

There are endless possibilities. Just make sure there’s a reason these two people like/love each other.

2. Have them be vulnerable in front of each other

Personally, this is the best way to get me to love a couple.

Have them share secrets, open up about their feelings and tell each other things they haven’t told anyone. Have them cry in front of each other and comfort each other.

This can be taken to a whole new level by having them understand the other’s emotions even without speaking and already offer comfort. Keep in mind that this will probably only be possible with long-established couples.

And having them open up is also a great way for them to discover all the things they have in common/love about each other.

3. Build up the tension

I cannot emphasise this enough: DO NOT MAKE YOUR COUPLES GET TOGETHER TOO QUICKLY.

One of the best elements of a romantic subplot (or even main plot) is the tension. Your readers want to see the pining! They want the build-up.

And no, I’m not saying that you should introduce endless, petty obstacles. That can become tedious and appear forced.

Just give your characters time to sort through their feelings. Make them fall in love slowly. Have them be unsure. Insert SOME obstacles/conflicts.

Have them almost kiss a few times. Not all the time. Too many almost-kisses can become frustrating. But you should throw a few in there.

And, if you feel comfortable with it, add some sexual tension. Have them notice each other’s bodies and imagine what they’d like to do to each other (that sounds more explicit than I intended :) )

4. Write a healthy relationship

This could just be me and my rejection of unhealthy romances, but I will not root for abusive relationships.

Have your characters be kind to each other, support each other and truly care for each other.

If your characters are constantly putting each other down, physically/emotionally abusing each other or going against the other’s wishes, they’re not in a healthy relationship.

A great way to write a healthy relationship whilst still maintaining the tension, is to have the conflict in the relationship be external. Instead of having the conflict be due to internal struggles between the two characters, have obstacles enter from outside.

Your readers should want them to be together and for that, they should be good for each other.

5. Have their friends/family see their chemistry

I find it beyond adorable when two characters are still figuring out their feelings for each other, but the fact that they’re perfect for each other is crystal clear to everyone around them.

Have their friends tease them about the relationship. Have family members ask after the them. Have their loved ones conspire to get them to admit their feelings.

If your other characters are rooting for them, your readers will probably do so as well.

Plus, this means that the chemistry between the two characters is so strong that it’s obvious, which is always good for an exciting romance.

That’s all I’ve got for now. If you have any further questions about writing OTPs or any other aspect of writing, feel free to message me or pop me an ask.

Reblog if you found any of this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 10

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

I’m looking for more writeblrs to follow so give this the ol’ reblog and/or like (especially if you write sci-fi) and I’ll check you out

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 9

On Wednesday, Esse was so excited she woke up super early and woke Nurse Moss up too. “Hurry!” she kept saying. It seemed that Kennen had been doing the same. Esse and Nurse Moss met Kennen and Doctor Lexie in the lobby. “Let’s go!” Esse said. With Esse running close behind him, Kennen flew all the way to the palace. They were waiting in the jungle waiting-room when a girl about Esse’s age came in and sat down next to them. “Orderer Gemma!” Nurse Moss and Doctor Lexie said at the same time. Orderer Gemma smiled sheepishly and waved. “Hi, Nurse Moss. Hi, Doctor Lexie.” Orderer Gemma had messy orange hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was wearing the same blue outfit as Esse, with a blue vest over it. The blue vest had a few badges on it. Esse looked closer. One badge was for surviving a landslide. Orderer Gemma waved to Esse and Kennen. They waved back. Soon, a voice sounded through the room, “Orderer Gemma, your appointment with Teacher Yi is ready.” Orderer Gemma got to her feet. She turned once more to wave and smile sheepishly again before vanishing through a door. “I think we just met the princess.” Kennen whispered to Esse. Esse nodded. Orderer Gemma seemed to be a pretty nice princess. Soon, the same voice sounded through the room again. “Nurse Moss, Doctor Lexie, Esse and Kennen, your appointment with Weasel Water Lou is ready.” They walked through a door with the word SECRETARY etched into the wood. Opening it,they saw this: A small cocker spaniel sat at a wooden desk. A small dirt path led to the desk. Surrounding the path were trees and grass. “Hello.” said the cocker spaniel. “And how does my painting concern you?”

After Esse explained to Weasel Water Lou her whole adventure starting at her trip to the dental floss exhibit, Kennen repeated the part where Luc was taken away. Weasel Water Lou nodded. “Luc is no longer alive.” she said. “That is certain.” Esse nodded. She lowered her head. “I hoped…” Esse trailed off. Kennen landed gently on her shoulder. “As for your The Peace in Carlos being in danger, I will help you. You see, I once had a very good friend named Joe of the Braceland who I made that tapestry for. I would love to help all your people escape.” The next few days, Weasel Water Lou worked on the second tapestry, and Esse, Kennen, and Master Cameron worked out what to say to King Nnu, the ruler of The Peace in Carlos. “When I still lived there,” Weasel Water Lou said. “the ruler was Queen Asda.” Esse explained that Queen Asda was in the west part of The Peace in Carlos, solving their recent Carlosian invasion. Mistress Amelia was very helpful and so was Orderer Gemma. Orderer Gemma and Esse soon became very good friends. Kennen became friends with a boy named Ky, who was coming with them to talk to King Nnu. Everyone was very excited when Weasel Water Lou finally finished the second tapestry. It was time for Esse to go home.

Once in The Peace in Carlos, Esse led the new-comers toward King Nnu’s palace. “Let’s avoid everyone until later.” Master Cameron suggested. Everyone else agreed. “I have a secret way.” Esse announced. She led them through the woods where she first met Luc. They reached the end of the forest. They were in Ie Square. The big sign reading IE SQUARE stood tall above their heads. “We mustn't be seen!” Master Cameron hissed. Esse nodded. There were so many people in Ie Square. Disguises might be necessary. Kennen and Weasel Water Lou were already okay, but Master Cameron, Esse, orderer Gemma, and Ky had to get disguises. They all changed into olympic horse riding uniforms except for Orderer Gemma, who insisted on being a flight attendant. They blended in pretty easily. The olympic horse races were happening, and a plane had just crashed by Lake An. No one was hurt, but many flight attendants were milling about. When they reached the gates of King Nnu’s palace, right outside Ie Square, they tore off their disguises. They didn’t need them anymore. They entered easily, (King Nnu refused to have guards) and entered the throne room, where King Nnu and Queen Ly sat. “Your Majesty.” Esse cried. “We are in terrible danger!”King Nnu listened to the whole story from Esse, then Luc’s death from Kennen, and finally, all the rest from Master Cameron and Weasel Water Lou. “First.” said King Nnu in an orderly fashion. “I must inform Luc’s parents of Luc death. Kennen, would you mind coming?” Kennen said he would go. “Secondly,” King Nnu continued. “Esse, please go directly to you parents with Master Cameron. Weasel Water Lou, Ky, Orderer Gemma, please stay here and tell me of the place you come from.” So Esse and Master Cameron headed off.

“Esse!” cried Mrs. Iflandoonia. Esse was embraced with lots of crying. It felt so good to be back home. Even Elian was glad. Ty still thought Esse had been away at camp. Demitri,Sverre Jon, and Illtyd listened to the whole story of Esse’s travels, while Mr. and Mrs. Iflandoonia discussed things with Master Cameron. Soon, the whole town knew, and the escape from The Peace in Carlos was set for Friday, November 20th. Esse waited and waited. The day finally came.

The whole town was gathered in Ie Square. The large sign reading IE SQUARE was broken. Everyone had brought their belongings. Only nine at a time could enter the tapestry at once, not including luggage. It took five days to get everyone into The Meadow of Nimm. Esse and her family plus Kennen camped outside the vortex in The Meadow of Nimm to make sure everyone made it safely. There was a great search of The Peace in Carlos to make sure no one was left behind. But everyone was safe. No one was in danger in The Meadow of Nimm, with Ursula Kinns being gone. Weasel Water Lou verified that. She said that teleporting wasn’t very useful unless an emergency was occurring. You cannot control where you teleport to. All was well. Forever.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 8

Esse awoke on a soft bed of moss. She sat up. Everything in the little room was soft and mossy. Even the walls were covered in moss. A kind looking lady came in. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “You’re awake!” She hurried to get something off the stove. “My name is Nurse Moss.” said the lady, pouring the liquid into a cup. “My name is Esse.” Esse said as Nurse Moss handed her the cup. Esse drank the liquid. It tasted wonderful. “Once you feel up to it, I will take you to meet Master Cameron. He greets all the newcomers.” Nurse Moss was saying. “Is Kennen doing okay?” Esse asked. “Your bird friend broke his wing, but Doctor Lexie is caring for him. He’ll be better in no time.” Nurse Moss answered. For the rest of the day, Esse rested and talked with Nurse Moss. It was very relaxing. At one point, Esse was telling Nurse Moss about the tapestry by Weasel Water Lou. “My friend Luc helped me.” she said. “That was before I met Kennen.” “Where is Luc now?” Nurse Moss asked. “Um, he, he, um, was, um, carried away by evil villians. He’s probably dead now.” Esse started to cry again. “Oh dear, you poor thing.” Nurse Moss said. “You really must talk to Master Cameron tomorrow. How are you feeling?” “Okay, I guess.” Esse sniffled. “Well good.” nurse Moss said. “You will meet him tomorrow.”

The next day, Nurse Moss woke Esse early. “Master Cameron is a very busy person. You have to see him when he’s not busy with Mistress Amelia. Or the children. I used to be their nurse.” she said. “The children?” Esse asked groggily. “Yes.” Nurse Moss said. “They have seven; the twins, Ella and Ei, Gemma, Lie, Beth, Ai, and Izzy. Gemma is just about your age, now that I think about it. Now, get dressed and we’ll be off.” Nurse Moss hurried Esse into some clothes that were completely blue and glowed faintly. Stepping out of her room for the first time, Esse saw what looked like a jungle. Ring-tailed lemurs were everywhere. They they climbed on vines that strung from the trees. They scampered up trees covered in vines. They huddled in the leafy bushes. Nurse Moss hurried Esse to a high wall surrounding a magnificent palace. The palace itself was made of wood and covered in vines. Flowers sprouted from the walls. Esse was amazed. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” Esse told Nurse Moss. “Well now is your chance to enter the palace.” she answered. They first room of the palace was coated in trees and vines and flowers just like the outside. Nurse Moss knocked on a big lump that stuck out of the wall. The wall collapsed and led into a room. The room was more like a beach than a jungle. The walls and floor were made of sand. A strange sun-like light floated above Esse’s head. The gentle sound of ocean waves was heard from the lapping of water in a corner of the room. A tall man stood in the center of the room. He was wearing a green waterproof jumpsuit sort of thing and sunglasses. “Hello, Esse.” he said. “And welcome to The Meadow of Nimm. I am Master Cameron. And this is Mistress Amelia.” Master Cameron gestured to a brown-haired lady by his side. She was also wearing sunglasses and the waterproof jumpsuit. Her’s was red. Mistress Amelia smiled and waved at Esse. “Many people come here. They come from Eerht, they come from Ring. They come from this planet and from many planets. I, personally, am from a place you probably never heard of called Earth. Amelia comes from here. This is her native village.That is how diverse we are.” Master Cameron explained. “You are welcome to stay forever. But you may also leave whenever you want. You never have to come back.” Esse nodded. “I might want to go home.” Esse said. “And maybe see what my friend thinks.” Master Cameron nodded. “I understand.” he said. Then he turned to Nurse Moss. “May Esse consult her decision with Kennen?” he asked. “I’ll ask Doctor Lexie.” Nurse Moss said. “Oh, um, Master Cameron?” Esse asked. “Yes?” Master Cameron answered. “Do you know anyone named Weasel Water Lou?” Esse asked him. Master Cameron and Mistress Amelia exchanged glances. “Yes. She is my secretary. Would you like to meet her?” Master Cameron asked. “I want Kennen to come too.” Esse said. Master Cameron thought a bit. “You may meet her on Wednesday. Is that okay, Miss Moss?” he asked. “Oh, yes. Doctor Lexie will be done by then.” Nurse Moss answered. So Esse and Nurse Moss said goodbye, and they went back to the hospital. “You will see Kennen tomorrow.” Nurse Moss reassured Esse as she put her to bed. “Thank you, Nurse Moss.” Esse said.

The next day, Monday, Esse woke early before Nurse Moss was awake. She got dressed and waited for Nurse Moss to wake up. Nurse Moss awoke, and, seeing Esse already up, hurried to get breakfast ready. Soon, they were on their way to Kennen’s lobby, where they were meeting Kennen. Kennen was waiting in the lobby with Doctor Lexie, who greeted them kindly. Kennen was back to normal bluebird size with his left wing in a cast. Kennen flew over to Esse. “Kennen!” she said happily as he landed on her shoulder. “I haven’t seen you for a while! I missed you.” “I missed you too.” Kennen said, nuzzling into her neck. Nurse Moss and Doctor Lexie sat down in chairs to talk. Esse and Kennen sat on the floor. “Guess what?” Esse asked Kennen. “What?” he asked.

“We get to meet Weasel Water Lou!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

“Wow.” Kennen said. “I’ve never met her before. Where does she live?” “She’s Master Cameron’s secretary.” Esse answered.

“No way, really?”

“Really.”

“Awesome.” Kennen said, nodding. “When?” “Wednesday.” Esse said. “I can’t wait.” After they talked about a few more things, it was time to go back to their rooms. It was the same thing Tuesday. and then Wednesday finally came.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 7

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.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 6

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.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 5

Esse awoke in a small room with hard red walls. The walls were thin, and light streamed through them. Esse was lying on a small bed with dirty pink blankets. She got up and looked around. Two more dirty pink beds identical to her’s were each in corners of the room. In the last corner was a door.

Esse lept up and flung herself at the door. It didn’t budge.

Of course it was locked. Why wouldn’t it be? There were symbols on it, but they made no sense. The yellow ceiling was cracked and peeling. Small flakes drifted down periodically. It was very quiet. There was no doubt about it. Esse had been kidnapped.

Spying a ladder by her bed, Esse climbed up it. There was nothing on the second floor of Esse’s prison. Just a yellow floor, cracked and peeling like the first-floor ceiling. The ceiling for the second floor was much better than the first floor’s ceiling. It was red like the walls. Esse sighed.

She went back down the ladder and flopped on her bed. Kidnapped by a creepy nixie-bear. Now what?

Outside Esse’s prison, the voice, or, Ursula Kinns, was waiting patiently for Esse’s rescuer to arrive. And she didn’t wait long. He was coming.

A few minutes later, Luc burst through the door. “Where is she?” he demanded.

“Calm down child.” Ursula Kinns said calmly.

“Where is she!?” Luc repeated, yelling this time.

“Esse is perfectly fine.” Ursula Kinns answered. Luc growled. “Show me.” he demanded.

“Oh, well, you’ll have to open the door first.” Ursula Kinns said playfully. “And what’s more, your little friend here knows my name.”

“Wait, what?” Luc said. “My name. The one that opens that door.”

Ursula Kinns flicked her wrist. The door was illuminated by light. “How does she know? Did you tell her? Why her?” Luc had many questions. “Yes, told her. In a way.” Ursula Kinns smiled. “But why would I tell you? You are not the nixie. You can’t go through the door until she does.”

“I can’t?” Luc asked. He was really confused. “I will explain it to you.” Ursula Kinns said. “Come closer.”

Esse was going to get out. She had to. So when she heard Luc outside, she devised a plan. Esse was not about to let some bear come and save her. Though she did like Luc, she could get out herself.

Spells. That must be the key. The bear-lady was definitely using magic of some kind. Esse only knew one spell. It was actually a rather advanced spell. It was turning things into strawberries. Sometimes it was useful. It usually wasn’t.

But hey, maybe it would come in handy now. She was hungry, after all. Esse walked over to the ugliest pink bed and cleaned it the best she could. Then she recited the chant.

Blueberry, Sweet Pea, and White Rose,

Wanted a strawberry and SO DO I!

The bed churned as if it were a liquid. It turned into a pinecone. “Ugh.” Esse said. She didn’t think eating a pinecone would be very delightful. Even if she wasn’t fed, or wasn’t able to get out, a little magic practice could be useful. So she decided to change up the strawberry spell to a new chant.

Mushroom, Chanterelle, and Bumblebee,

Wanted a ladybug and I DO NOT!

The second pink bed turned into a butterfly. It flapped around. “Hello.” it said. “I didn’t like being a dirty pink bed.”

“What were you before a dirty pink bed?” Esse asked. “Oh, I’ve always been a dirty pink bed.” the butterfly replied. “But what I am now is a big improvement.” “You’re a butterfly.” Esse told it.

“Ah, now that’s a pretty name.” the butterfly said, flying around the room. “Oh, what’s up here?” it said, spying the ladder. “Nothing.” Esse answered. “I checked. It’s like this room, just with no beds.”

“What’s this?” the butterfly asked, landing on the pinecone. “It’s a pinecone.” Esse said. “What’s your name?” “Well, ever since I got here, I’ve been called Dirty Pink Bed, but I had a different name when I was young. It was something like…..Kennen. I really think it was Kennen, actually.” the butterfly said.

“My name is Esse.” Esse told Kennen. “Kennen is an interesting name. I like it.” “Thank you.” said Kennen. There was an awkward silence.

“So, um, Kennen, I’m sort of trying to escape.” Esse said. “Do you know a way out?” “No,” Kennen said. “But I can still help.” “There are these symbols on the door.” Esse said, walking over to the door and crouching down. “I have no idea what they mean.” “Me neither.” Kennen said, flying over. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know.” Esse sighed. “My friend Luc is outside the door, and he’ll probably save me. I was hoping to save myself.” “Hey!” Kennen suddenly exclaimed. “I know a way we can get you out! There has to be a way the person who trapped you here opened this door, right? Well, I bet I can fly under the door crack, and then see how to get you out. Then, I’ll tell you, and you can escape!”

“Good idea!” Esse agreed, standing up. “Let’s do it!” Kennen crawled under the door crack. So Esse was left to wait.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 4

When Esse picked herself up, all was quiet and dark. Not even gunfire could be heard. It was also quite cold. “Luc? Luc?” Esse hissed. Esse felt a furry hand on her arm.

Esse snuggled up to Luc. He was usually warm, but even Luc was cold in the little room. Esse heard rats scurrying around in the dark shadows. A cold dark voice sounded nearby. “Which one of you is skilled in the art of nymph stories?” it asked. Esse let go of Luc as he stood up. “It-it was me. I knew the nymph stories.” he said. “You knew the stories of Queen Frida’s Dogs and Jennifer and Clara?” the voice asked.

“My-my parents helped me on Jennifer and Clara.” Luc stammered. All was quiet. A small chuckle sounded from the voice. “Don’t hurt them!” Luc cried. “And don’t hurt Esse either!”

Esse felt her cheeks turn red with embarrassment, but she was glad that Luc had said that. “I see.” the voice said. “Come here.”

“No.” Luc responded. “You are a stubborn little bear, are you not?” the voice chuckled.

“And what are you?” Esse asked, standing up too.

“Me? I am something you have never heard of, something you may one day wish to have, but will deny wanting right now.” the voice said mysteriously.

“And what is that?” Esse asked, crossing her arms defensively.

“I will tell you later, child. Now, let us see what you want.” the voice said.

“We want a way out of The Peace in Carlos. It is shrinking because for the Carlosians.” Esse told the voice.

“Ah, yes. The Running War, as they call it here.” the voice mused. “And how may I help you with that?”

“Can you answer a question?” Luc asked.

“It depends on the question.” the voice sang out.

“Is this house a gateway out of Carlos and The Peace in Carlos?”

The voice chuckled. “I’m glad you asked.” it said. “Look upon the door.” At once a flickering light lit the wall in front of Esse. A door was set into it the wall. It was made of steel and covered in strange symbols that definitely were not nymph writing.

“This, my children,” said the voice. “is the gateway to another world. To reach it, you must answer this question: What is my name?” And then Esse and Luc were no longer in the room. They were both standing under the window to Johnson & Johnson. The window was placed in it’s socket.

“Wow.” Esse said. It certainly was strange. “Did that even happen?”

“Yes.” Luc said certainly. “It must have. We meet tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Esse agreed. And they went their separate ways.

That night, Esse rushed to the museum. With her family asleep, she could go where she pleased. Esse thought back to when she wished she could enter an adventure. And here she was, in an adventure. She had decided to go back to the invisible house and locate the source of the voice. Esse didn’t know where Luc lived, so she couldn’t ask him to come along. Right?

Outside the Johnson & Johnson recreation, Esse took a running leap at the window. It popped out of the frame, and Esse took another running leap to get a hold of the frame to pull herself through the window. It was much harder without Luc.

Rushing to the little room with Weasel Water Lou’s painting in it, she licked her finger and entered Carlos. Once in Carlos, Esse rushed down the stairs to the room with the voice. Gunfire still sounded through the Carlosian streets even though it was late at night. She put her hand on the door. “Lucjusz Yu Iflandoonia and Quer Ty Iflandoonia.” Esse whispered. The door gave way. She stepped slowly into the dark room.

Maybe the voice wouldn’t notice. “Welcome back, Esse.” the voice said. “I’ve been waiting for you.” But the voice heard her anyway.

“I’m here to decode the door.” Esse said bravely. The light illuminated the door again. Esse knelt in front of the door. She ran her fingers along the symbols as if she could read it like braille. And Esse could. The symbols and their meanings blinked and buzzed inside her head. She murmured the meanings out loud. “Max… Nora… Nils… Su-Li… Ursula… Anica… Liesl.”

“Yes.” the voice murmured. “And who wrote that story?” Esse shuddered. But she knew the answer. She had to answer. “No one wrote the story. It is a true story.” Esse answered.

“And what is the title?” the voice asked, almost in a whisper.

“Queen Gretchen’s Choice.” Esse let out in a breath. And then she was no longer in the small room.

Everything was dark. All around was dark. There was no sky or ground. Esse was in dark, and only dark. She was floating in darkness. Suddenly, a movie seemed to play in front of her. A man and a woman at a wedding. The women was Nora. The man was Max. But there was just one thing. Max was a bear.

The scene changed. Nora and Max were now adopting a child. Two children. Two Earthen children. The African boy was Nils, and the Asian girl was Su-Li. The scene changed. And this time, there was another baby. This was no adoption. This was a real baby, one that Nora had given birth to. But the baby was strange. The baby was half human, and half bear. And then Esse was falling, falling. And everything was dark.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 3

The next day right after school, Esse went to see Luc at The Museum of Time and Space. She was certain her mother would notice her absence,but she was trying to help a bear save their home.

“The Johnson & Johnson window is on the East side.” she told Luc. So they set off. They peeked in every window until they found the one. High up on the wall. “This is it.” Esse told Luc. “You get on my shoulders and climb in. Then, pull me up.” Luc told her.

There was a bush right under the window to the Johnson & Johnson reconstruction. Esse landed right in the middle of it with an oof. Luc climbed up the wall. “You can’t open it from the outside.” he reported. “But I can try to break it.”

“Quietly. Break it quietly.” Esse instructed. “I’ll try.” Luc said. “Do you have some cloth?” Esse handed him her sweatshirt. Luc tucked it into the edges of the window. Then he raised his paw and smashed it. The whole window popped out of the frame and landed on the floor, muffled by Esse’s sweatshirt. After Luc checked to make sure nobody heard the window fall, he crawled through the window.

There was a small thud as he landed on top of Esse’s sweatshirt and the window. Seconds later he reappeared to pull up Esse. Once they were both inside, Esse took him to the little room with the tapestry. All was the same as before. Except this time, Luc was with her, and for some reason Esse felt safer.

“There.” Esse said pointing at the tapestry.

“Wow, they really do hate that thing.” Luc commented, looking at the area around the tapestry just as Esse had. “You said it sounded hollow behind it?”

“Yes.” Esse said. “Try it out.” Luc walked over and knocked on the wall. The hollow sound echoed through the room again. “There must be a way to open the tapestry. Maybe if we look closer we’ll see something.”

Esse walked over to the painting. She looked closely. “There’s that swirly thing in the corner with a bunch of colors. Does that mean anything?” she asked.

“Well, yes,” Luc responded. “That’s obviously a giant-sized vortex. So…”

“A what?” Esse asked.

“A giant-sized vortex. You can tell from the mix of blue, brown, maroon, and teal. Small vortexes are violet, black and neon-yellow.” Luc answered. “Haven’t you ever seen one?”

“No.” Esse said. “My dad used to work for the Things that Don’t Exist Patrol, and vortexes are definitely one of the non-existent things.”

“Well, they are real, I learned of them in Wise Learning.” Luc said. “So obviously, the little dog thingies are going into the vortex.”

“But why do they have waterfalls pouring onto their backs?” Esse asked.

“I don’t know.” Luc answered. “Who is Weasel Water Lou?”

“I was hoping you knew.” Esse said. “It’s an unusual name, let’s work off that.” Luc decided.

“Well, the water in the name Weasel Water Lou could explain the stains of probably water on the canvas. It looks like they placed their finger on it. See how it’s in the shape of a paw print? And some fingerprints.”

“Maybe it’s an artist thing they did.” Esse mused.

“Maybe.” Luc agreed. “But look, I just noticed something. See these words in the corner?” He pointed at some strange symbols Esse had never seen before. “Those are ancient symbols of the nymphs.” Luc continued. “Bears had to learn that language during The Many Wars.”

“Can you read them?” Esse asked, excitement bubbling inside her.

“Yes! I learned it in Wise Learning!” Luc was excited now too. “Then read it!” Esse instructed him.

“Let’s see, the first word is… Starshine, with a capital S, next is Snowflake, also a capital S, then it’s Sugarplum, with another capital S, last it’s Frida, with a capital F.” Luc read aloud.

“Well, Frida is obviously a name, right?” Esse said.

“Correct.” Luc said. “Queen Frida had three dogs Starshine, Snowflake and Sugarplum. They ran around The Meadows of Bella. One day, Bella started a war with Lily, queen of the sun, and Queen Frida was brought into the conflict and was hurt. Starshine, Snowflake, and Sugarplum saved her by creating a vortex to safety and pushing her through it along with them. But they had to be bathed in the Waterfall of Sara first. Sara gave them their own personal waterfalls. She’s one of the really nice queens.” Luc paused.

“I know that because it’s a nymph story.” he added sheepishly.

“That makes sense,” Esse nodded, moving on to more important matters. “The tapestry shows Queen Frida’s dogs going into the vortex to safety, with the personal waterfalls that Queen Sara gave them!”

“Yeah!” Luc agreed. “And maybe we can get to safety too, if we wet our fingers or paws and touch the vortex!”

“Weasel Water Lou must be a mechanical genius if this is going to work.” Esse commented.

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Luc said. They licked their fingers and touched the vortex. The vortex grew and grew until it could fit both a thirteen-year-old girl and a bear child. Esse felt herself being sucked in by her finger. Colors were all around her. She became dizzy. And then they were there.

The first thing Esse heard as she picked herself up off the floor was the muffled noise of running feet. “What’s going on?” Esse asked.

Looking around, she realized she was in a house. And no one was in sight. “Luc?” she called out. There was the sound of running, and Luc came into the room. “The vortex must have separated us.” he explained. “They do that sometimes.”

Suddenly, a loud noise sounded from outside the strange house. Esse jumped. “Oh, that’s just the gunfire.” Luc explained nonchalantly. “They do it a lot in Carlos.”

“Don’t people get hurt?” Esse asked, shocked.

“That’s the point.” Luc said. “The Carlosians are the most violent race on the planet. They are constantly trying to murder each other.”

“How do they stay alive?” Esse asked. Luc shrugged. More gunfire sounded outside, followed by shouting.

Esse jumped up. “Are we safe?” she asked, looking around worriedly. “Not if we go outside.” Luc said. “But I actually think that this house is invisible.”

“How can you tell?” Esse asked. “Well, if you stick your head out the window, and turn around so you face the house, you will see right through it.” Luc answered.

“Did the Carlosians see you?” Esse cried, realizing this is what he had done. “Well, they ran around pointing at me.” Luc said, shrugging. Esse looked him sternly in the eye. “Never do that again, okay? That’s really dangerous.” she scolded.

“Okay.” Luc agreed. And he meant it. But a new problem arose in Esse’s head.

“How do we get back to The Peace in Carlos?” she asked.

“Look.” Luc said, pointing to the wall. “There’s the same tapestry we just went through, by Weasel Water Lou.”

“Is Weasel Water Lou in nymph stories?” Esse asked. Luc tilted his head, thinking. “Not that I know of.” He finally answered. “Though there are many stories I’ve only heard of, like the story of Emelea’s Children. For all we know, Emelea could be Weasel Water Lou’s mother.”

"It’s such an odd name, Weasel Water Lou.” Esse mused. “C’mon, Esse.” Luc beckoned from the doorway. “Let’s explore!”

After Luc and Esse had explored most of the house, they came upon a locked door. Esse and Luc both tried to open it, and then they tried together. But the door wouldn’t budge.

“Maybe there’s a code, just like with the tapestry.” Esse suggested. They looked all around the door until Luc found symbols on the wall next to it. “This is more nymph writing!” he exclaimed. “And I bet that this house is made with nymph magic!”

“What does it say?” Esse asked. “Is it another story?”

“It’s more names.” Luc said. “Jennifer and Clara. I don’t know that story.”

“Try to think.” Esse said. Luc thought for a while, but he couldn’t think of anything. “I’ll ask my parents tonight.” Luc decided. So Esse and Luc did the same thing exiting the house they did entering the house, and promised to return again tomorrow. They popped the window frame back into the window socket while exiting the museum. Then they went home.

The next day, Luc and Esse met at the window to Johnson & Johnson. They did the same as last time, and entered the house in Carlos, which they began to call The Invisible House. After they were safely in The Invisible House, Luc told Esse what he heard from his father.

“So the story is called Jennifer and Clara.” Luc began. “Jennifer’s father, Tim, promised to his sister, Olivia, Jennifer’s aunt, to give her his first born son. So when Jennifer is born, and she isn’t a boy, Olivia becomes angry, and kidnaps Jennifer’s mother, Linnea, and runs away. So Tim takes Jennifer to hide her in case Olivia goes after her, and Jennifer meets a girl named Clara who has two sisters, Cicci and Molly.

“A little while later, Olivia has a daughter named Emma, and since Tim (stupidly) hid Jennifer in the same town as Olivia lived, Emma becomes friends with Cicci. Then Olivia knows where Jennifer is, so Olivia kidnaps Tim, and also Clara’s family except Clara, who escapes. So Jennifer and Clara go to live with Clara’s Uncle Erik, and he helps them find Olivia so she can be arrested. They first have to get through this door by speaking the full names of their parents. Then they all live together with Uncle Erik, who is rich. The End.”

“Wow.” Esse said. “That’s really complicated.”

“I know.” Luc agreed. “But what I think is that if we say the full names of our parents, the door just might open.”

“Okay.” Esse said. “Let’s try.”

They walked up to the door. “We have to put our hands on the door.” Luc instructed. Esse put her hand on the door. “You first.” she whispered to Luc. “Dunya McDaniel and Wert Mies.” Luc said clearly. Esse copied his clear tone, saying, “Lucjusz Yu Iflandoonia and Quer Ty Iflandoonia.” Suddenly, the door gave way, and Esse and Luc fell face first into darkness.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos

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.