A Fight Through Darkness

A Fight Through Darkness

Kristen climbs up the dark attic stairs hearing the pounding of thunder against the window, and the pounding of her heart against her chest. She screams as a rat scurries across her feet. “Keep going Kirsten, keep going, you are doing great,” she says to herself over and over again. Deathly scared of the dark, her entire body shakes as she walks through the attic. Kristen is looking for an age old map that she read about in her great-great-grandfathers’ journal. It states that the map is hidden somewhere in her house, “deep and dark the treasure will stay, because the map is locked away.” Her mind for puzzles races as it try’s to figure out this clue.
“AHHHHHHH,” she shrieks! Her flashlight runs out and the attic shows only shadows. But, she keeps walking up the stairs, across the attic. She stubs her toe on an old, dark brown chest. She curses under her breath but keeps looking. The chest is buried deep under a pile of junk. Suddenly it clicks, a dark brown chest, a deep pile. She moves her long brown hair out of her face. The map is in the chest! She opens the chest, and the map is there, rolled up and tied with a red bow. Just as she picks up the parchment, the lightning flashes, the thunder roars, and the rain pours down harder and harder.
“This is it, I have had the map in my very own attic all these years,” she whispers.
???
The next day the skies turn blue, and the sun shines down over the entire city. Kristen decides this is the perfect day to follow to treasure map.
“Moooommmmm! I’m going out, I might not be back for a while. See you later!” Kristen shouts as she walks out the door. The map says to walk three miles south west, and keep going until she hears the sound of water.
Kristen decides to run, after all she is only 14. She might as well get the exercise. After her three mile sprint, she is completely out of breath, but can finally hear the sound of water. She follows the noise until she sees a beautiful waterfall. Suddenly everything looks different. The colors in the flowers are brighter and stronger, the trees are taller, and the creatures look magical. The water sparkles like stars in a dark sky, and everything looks like it just came out of a picture. The scene looks like a fantasy land, something out of this world. Kristen keeps walking until something on the ground catches her eye. It looks like a gold locket. She picks it up and puts it on. That very second, a unicorn appears out of nowhere.
“Whoa! Who are you, what are you doing here? Please don’t hurt me.” Kristen stumbles back and trips on a rock.
“I am Bella, a magical unicorn, please don’t be scared. I came to welcome you to Ysatnaf Land. Yasatnaf is a magical land where creatures and people are welcome. I see you have found your first surprise,” Bella comments, looking at Kristen’s locket. “ I am glad you came, we have been awaiting your arrival,” Bella continues before Kristen has a chance to respond. “Your task, if you choose to except it, is to conquer the man who has taken over our land, his name is Lord Krad. He lives in the Forrest of Seert’s, and to get to there you must pass the evil mermaids, Claire and Tiffany. Our land and creatures need your help, and I will advise you throughout your adventure, using your locket. You might not know this, but your grandfather was once the owner of this land. He was a great man, and loved all the creatures very much. We need someone of his blood to help our land. You are the only person who can save us. Please Kristen, please.”
Kristen interrupts before she gets even more confused, “ Wait one minute, firstly, how is my locket going to help me?”
“Well, it does not only work as a locket, but a magic wand, spell book, and a walkie talkie. So…do you except the challenge?” The unicorn says, impaciently.
“Well, I do love adventure. But this is dangerous, and I have no idea where I am. How would I know what to do? I really don’t know about this.” Kristen says, hesitant to the challenge.
“Kristen, I talked to your great-great-grandfather before he died. He wanted you to do this. Please, this is all up to you.”
“You really talked to him? Well…” Bella’s eyes have tears in them.
“I guess I could, since it is so important to you. But will you train me to kill Lord Krad. Is there any information that I must know?” Kristen says with a smile.
“Of course I will help you throughout your journey, let me show you around as I tell you what is going on! You must be tired from your long journey. We will get you a bed and some dinner after I give you a tour of Ysatnaf.” Bella walks around with Kristen and tells her some very valuable information. “First of all, the only thing Lord Krad is scared of are bright lights. That was probably the most important information you will ever hear. Secondly, the evil mermaids names are Claire and Tiffany. They have beautiful necklaces on them, but the necklaces can hypnotize you. If they capture you, you must never, I repeat never, look at those necklaces. But, you have to get the huge pearl in their palace. The pearl is bright and white, without it you will not be able to defeat Lord Krad. Lastly, the Seert’s are trees that can move and grab you, but they look like ordinary trees. If they get you, they will turn you into a tree and you will never be yourself again. To fight them, you must use your knowledge in which you will gain throughout the trip.”
“Wow, thank you Bella. I really appreciate all of your help and advice. Do you mind if I leave and get some rest for my big journey tomorrow?” Kristen asks, almost falling asleep where she is standing.
“Of course, you go into that home over there. There will be dinner waiting, and a nice bed to sleep in. But, before you go, I must show you how to use your locket. First, the magic wand works by opening the first compartment. Then you can use to spell book to learn the chants, potions, and spells. Say the chant when the first compartment is open and the magic will appear. Lastly, the walkie talkie is the third compartment. You can communicate with me whenever you have a question, concern or just want to say ‘Hey’! One tip, if you loose this necklace, just come to me, and I will know where it is,” Bella finished up her advice, noticing Kristen is halfway asleep and not paying much attention.
???
Kristen awakes to the birds chirping, the sun shining against the water and everything looks magical. She is completely awake and searches in the spell book for a potion to make breakfast. Well what can she say? A girl needs energy! She makes eggs, bacon, toast, and a big glass of orange juice. After that, she calls Bella to tell her that she is on her way to the waterfall. She already made a spell on herself that allows her to breathe underwater and out of it. Bella tells her that the goal of the waterfall is to get the shiny, bright pearl the mermaids hide in their palace.
“Well, here I go,” Kristen says to herself taking a huge dive off the cliff into the cool, clear water. She keeps going, able to breathe, until she sees a gorgeous sparkling underwater mansion. The pearls on the mansion shine in the water like the sun in a cloudless sky. She goes through the seaweed door and into what looks like a parlor. Kristen decides it would be best to make herself invisible, she looks in her spell book, and transforms herself using the gold locket.
“Do you hear something Claire?” Tiffany, the mermaid asks.
“Why, my dear Tiffany, I think you are just imagining things. Let us go to the parlor for a game of cards, it will surely calm your busy mind,” Claire says loudly, winking at Tiffany. She wants Kristen to know that they were on to her. Kristen quickly hides behind a large cabinet, going as quietly as possible.
“Wow, what a lovely day, maybe we should look around to see if there is anything else to do,” a beautiful mermaid, wearing a shimmering pink tiara and a flowing skirt says. Kristen, forgetting for a moment that she is invisible, holds her breath and watches closely, remembering never to look at the emerald green necklaces tied lightly around their necks. “Wow, Tiffany, maybe no one is here, it doesn’t look like anything has been moved,” Claire says, realizing she might have made a mistake. She took one more lap around the room, accidentally bumped into the cabinet, but does not realize someone else is in the room. They left and Kristen opens the cabinet. Luckily the pearl is exactly where she thought it would be. She grabs the pearl, and runs out of the palace as fast as she can. She felt her invisibility and water breathing skills wearing off. She makes it up the waterfall and gets up gasping for air. She goes home to find Bella waiting for her.
“Bella! I got the pearl, they almost found me, but I found it first. I am so happy!” Kristen yells, showing how proud she is.
“The darkness has overcome, how has my speech became so numb,” Bella says in a very strange voice. Kristen immediately realizes that something is wrong with Bella. Her voice sounds darker, sadder then it normally does. Kristen strokes Bella’s purple and pink mane trying to figure out the riddle Bella is saying.
“‘Darkness’, ‘Speech’, and ‘Numb’ are the key words. Dark, Krad, could that be it? Has Lord Krad taken over Bella’s voice? Maybe he made a spell, allowing Bella to only speak a certain way? Yes that is it,” Kristen says to herself, and stops when Bella starts nodding furiously. “Did he do this to you because you are helping me?” Kristen asks Bella, as she nods her head yes.
“The oyster was bright, take it to the darkness and hold on tight,” Bella said, trying to tell Kristen what to do. Kristen thinks again:
“Oysters make pearls, the pearl is bright, Lord Krad is dark, so I should bring it to the forest of seerts and use it to fight them??” Kristen brainstorms, looking over at Bella. She again, nods like a maniac, showing that Kristen’s thinking is right.
“I am awesome!” Kristen jokes, proud of her and Bella’s accomplishments.
???
“OUCH!” Kristen yells and she trips over a stump and falls hard on the ground. “Just my luck!” Kristen swears under her breath. But, she gets up and keeps walking, not knowing that the gold locket is no longer around her neck, but in the hands of Lord Krad.
Kristen finally notices that the locket is not tied around her neck when she attempts using the walkie talkie to call Bella. “Oh my, what am I going to do.” She runs all the way back to Bella, where she try’s to figure out the clue of where the locket is. Bella’s powers tell her where the locket is hidden, but she could only speak in riddles.
“Up above, the leaves blow off, the locket shall be hidden aloft,” Bella says slowly, so Kristen can understand.
“Up high, leaves, wind…trees?” Bella nods after the word trees, “The locket hidden up above…the locket is hidden in the forest of seerts!” Kristen jumps up and down once Bella nods ‘Yes’.
“Okay, good bye Bella, the next time I see you, Lord Krad will be dead!”
???
The wind is howling, and Kristen walks through the rain, barely able to see. Her bright lantern blinds the seerts and they allow her to pass. With the light blinding the evil trees, Kristen walks and walks until she finds a huge seert, with his branches going above the clouds. Kristen shakes the tree, knowing it is the one with her locket above.
A rustling in the trees gets her attention. She turns off her lantern silently, hoping that the people there will not see her. Suddenly a black hooded figure appears out of the bushes. Everything got cold and the winds came harder. A dark, low voice speaks.
“Who dares disturb the Seerts and their master? WHO WHO,” the loud voice booms and echoes though the forest.
Kristen decides that the voice much be Lord Krad. Shaking behind the tree, she quietly crunches down hoping the trees and Krad will not see her. She try’s to not be scared of the dark, but it is hard. Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blows all the leaves around, Kristen almost falls down but she finds a way to stays still. As the branches stop shaking, a gold object falls out of the sky, right on the Kristen’s neck.
“My necklace, oh yes! Thank goodness,” Kristen yells, a little too loudly.
“Kristen, is that you? I have heard you have come here to kill me. HA! That will never happen, I am the most powerful man in all of Ysatnaf Land. Don’t you dare come near me, or I will be forced to kill you. You will regret every accepting that challenge,” Krad says loudly. He takes a step toward her, smiling an evil smile.
Kristen thinks back to everything Bella has told her. “Don’t let the seerts grab you…” How could she do that? She quietly looks through her lockets spell book. Ah ha, maybe she could make herself unable to touch, that would definitely make her undefeatable. So she silently does the spell, and just in time…
“Got you! Yes, you’re coming with me,” one Seert attempts to grab her, but cannot touch her. It was like she has a layer of invisible shields. Kristen remembers the bright pearl she got from Claire and Tiffany, and shines it at Lord Krad. She also makes her locket and lantern turn on a light that looks about as bright as the sun. Lord Krad screams:
“No stop, light can never defeat me. You will be sorry, stop stopppp!” he yells, and whips out his wand. He is too late, the light has defeated him. He slowly melts away. The ugly pile of mush melts away into the ground. Only Lord Krad's magic wand stays on the rocky path. Lord Krad is dead.
Kristen picks up the wand, breaks it in half and says “Magic is never good in the hands of evil. I have learned from this journey to expect the unexpected, and to allow myself to help, because one person can change the world. Although, with a friends support and love, anything is possible.”
When the Dark Lord dies, everything become good again. The sun comes out, the trees become nice, the mermaids no longer hypnotize, and everyone in the land is delighted. Kristen is ecstatic and runs all the way back to the waterfall the see Bella.
“I have done it, Bella I cannot thank you enough. You have provided me with the knowledge, not just to defeat the evil, but the knowledge needed to be a true friend, and a good person. This experience had changed me so much,” Kristen says grateful to have such a good influence in her life. “I still cannot believe I came here because of my grandfathers hidden map. If it wasn’t for him, I would not have met you. He would be proud of our teamwork. When I get home I will keep my map as a memory of this amazing time. Grandfather will never be forgotten.”
“Oh Kristen, I agree. Your grandfather would be honored to have you as a granddaughter. We are an amazing team. But, it is you who should be thanked. Because of your courage and strength, you have saved our land, and made every person just a little bit happier. I appreciate what you have done, and I am so glad to have a person like you in my life” Bella said, tears flowing down her face.
“Goodbye Bella, I will be back soon, I promise,” Kristen said crying, hugging Bella. “I will never forget you.”
Bella waves and waves until she no longer can see Kristen walking down the path to her home. “Goodbye Kristen,” Bella whispers, as the last tear runs down her face and lands on the rocky path.