“Mom….that’s horrible. How many soldiers died? Did you see the king and queen die? What if they’re still alive? Did you guys kill any of those things? Does this mean there are other creatures too? Like dragons? Or good ones, like unicorns? Why did-”
“Kate.” My mom stopped me. “I don’t know. About a quarter of our army died. About 25.”
“That’s a tiny army!” I blurted. “Er, sorry. No offense.”
“We were practically in the middle of nowhere. With a neighboring kingdom. But we were small, not worth attacking.”
“Then why’d those things attack you? And why...if...is-”
“I can’t answer all those questions. Why did they attack us, maybe because the other kingdoms had bigger armies or the things were just closer to us. I don’t know. I do know, now, that there is magic. There are legends of those things, and pixies, enchanted trees, magic stones, and-”
My brain almost exploded. But I couldn’t let it explode because now I had more questions.
“MAGIC STONES?!” I shrieked. “Tell me more! Mom!” My mom almost hit the ceiling, she jumped so high.
“Good god, Kate! Why do you want to know about some rocks?” My mom queried.
“Rocks are…..cool…” I mumbled. My mom sighed.
“Okay, so as the legends go, there are stones that have different powers. They are all the colors of the rainbow, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. But no one has seen them for years, according to the legends. But supposedly, there is a secret vault or something that will open at the right word or phrase. No one can find it. Again, not even sure these are real. Just because one thing-”
“Just because one thing is real, it doesn’t mean everything else is too. I know, Mom.” I sighed. “But, Mom. Could this vault be anything...like a tree...or a rock?” I asked, pretending to not know anything. My mom thought about this.
“I really don’t know. But I guess, a rock or a tree would keep them hidden. Why are you so curious?”
“Just ‘cause.” I replied, barely paying attention. “Can I go see Anne?” My mom looked at me suspiciously.
“Not the forest, right?” She challenged.
“No, Mom. Now I am so terrified of those things that I won’t go into the forest.” I said dully.
“Oh, honey. I didn’t mean to scare you!” My mom apologized. “Do you want me to walk you-”
“No, Mom. But you can watch me leave so you know that I’m not going in the forest.” I suggested. I only said this because I actually wasn’t going in the forest. And I wouldn’t until my mom was sure I would never do it again.
“Remember! One week until you are free to go anywhere without me supervising or checking in on you!” She called as I left the hut. “Anywhere-”
“Anywhere but the forest, I know! Bye!” I ran to Anne’s house and burst in. Anne was talking with her parents. They froze and looked at me.
“Hey…..guys…” I started awkwardly.
“Kate? Hi, there! What brings you?” Anne’s dad said. I could tell he was trying to sound cheerful, but there was something about that sounded strained or wary.
“Um, I need to talk to Anne.” I explained. “It’s kind of important.” Anne’s parents looked at each other.
“Yeah, of course. Just, um, will you give us a second?” Anne’s mom asked. “It will only take a second, sweetie.”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.” I replied. I stepped outside to wait. Since they didn’t have a door, like most people, just a curtain, I could hear parts of what they were saying.
“She was in the forest…..dangerous…..hang out anymore….are you sure….okay…..be safe….”
Anne practically ran out of her hut. I greeted her and we ran to the grassy area so I could tell her everything. Also, my mom could see us in the grassy area so she would see we aren’t in the forest.
“Anne! I have something-well a lot to say!” I told Anne everything. I told her about my parents grounding me, the attack on our kingdom, and the magic stones, and the vault. When I finished, Anne was speechless.
“Wow...okay wow.” Anne said slowly. “So, I guess we found the vault. But how did we open-”
I couldn’t wait any longer to tell her.
“Anne!” I practically screamed. “I know how we opened it! You open it by a specific word or phrase! Not a button! The phrase is ‘other stones’! We said that right before we went in and right before we were spit out!” Anne’s mouth hung open.
“We have to go back!” She yelled.
“Shhhh….!” I exclaimed. “My mom can’t hear. Besides, I can’t go back until next week. My mom said she’ll be watching me until then.” Anne rolled her eyes.
“Your mom has better things to do than watch a teenager.”
“Oh, really?” I pointed to the window at my hut. My mom was watching. She saw us and waved. We warily waved back.
“See?” I complained. “I’m being watched like a three year old! We can’t do anything but wait.”