Murtalia: Chapters 1-7

INTRO

On a cold night, in a dark forest, just outside the village of Tyree, in the kingdom of Murtalia a woman appeared out of the fog on the forest path. She was beautiful. Almost inhuman. She had long, golden hair, and eyes that sparkled when the light touched them. Her small figure seemed to float through the air, as though she was flying rather than walking. She was carrying a small bundle wrapped in wool blankets. She walked toward the edge of the path and laid the bundle down underneath the branches of a large berry bush. She stood up and looked down at it, with a look on her face that said she wanted to pick it up and never let it leave her sight again. But instead, she sighed and began walking in the other direction. She turned to look at it one last time, and, tears streaming down her face, she disappeared.

Chapter 1 THE DREAM

When two strange men in blue robes appear
‘Tis a sure sign that evil is near

Kenna woke up very frustrated and confused. She had had one of those weird dreams again. Only this one was new. There were several tall men who were chasing and catching what looked like small glimmers of light. Once the men caught them, they examined them carefully, and threw them down with looks of disgust on their faces. It seemed like the men were looking for a certain one, but could not find it. But how could you tell the difference between glimmers of light? It all seemed pretty strange to Kenna. She decided to tell her mom about it. She started to get dressed, when she heard her mom calling her. She walked out of the room where she and her four brothers and sisters slept, and into the small kitchen area.

“Kenna, I have to go to the market today. Would you please collect the eggs and milk the cow?” her mom asked.

“But mom, I was planning on going to Anne’s house today! Why can’t Lynette do it?” Kenna protested.

“Your sister volunteered to do the cooking and take care of Cara and Dillion. You can help out too.”

“What about Owin?”

“Oh, right!” her mom said remembering the newborn baby. “Would you please take care of him too? Lynette has enough too handle with Cara and Dillion.” Her mom was right. Five-year-old Cara and two-year-old Dillion were a lot to take care of, even for fifteen-year-old Lynette. But still, Kenna was only thirteen, and she had to take care of a baby. That just didn’t seem fair.

“Sure, whatever,” muttered Kenna as her mom walked out the door.

“I’ll be home around 1 o’clock,” her mom called. Right then, Kenna realized she had forgotten to tell her mom about her weird dream. She just had to tell somebody, so she decided to tell Lynette.

“Lynette, I had one of those weird dreams again,” she said. Lynette sighed.

“You know what I think these dreams mean?”

“What?”

“I think it means you are going crazy.”

“Lynette!”

“Well, can you think of any other explanation? Nobody else in this family has weird dreams like that twice a week!” Kenna rolled her eyes in disgust. Her sister could be such a pain sometimes.

“You’re a lot of help. If I was going crazy, I think I would know.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Lynette said as she went to go call their father in for breakfast. He went to work in the fields at dawn every day, and he still didn’t get all the work done he wanted to.
Kenna sighed. She grabbed a jacket, and was about to go outside and do her chores, when she heard someone crying from inside the bedroom. She walked in and saw Dillion lying on the floor, bawling like someone had tried to murder him. Cara was sitting right next to him trying to comfort him.

“Dillion, stop crying! Kenna’s gonna hear and she’s gonna be real mad.”

“Cara, I already heard. What did you do?” asked Kenna as she walked forward and scooped the little boy off the ground.

“Kenna!” exclaimed the little girl, startled. “I’m really sorry! He was hungry! I didn’t mean to drop him! Please don’t tell mom!” Cara pleaded.

“Alright, alright, calm down. I won’t tell mom this time. But you better stop trying to carry Dillion around. One of these times he’s going to get hurt and you’re going to be in big trouble with Mom and Daddy.” Kenna warned.

“Okay, I won’t do it anymore,” promised a sad-looking Cara. Kenna couldn’t help but laugh at the little girl. She always looked so sad when she got into trouble. Her blue eyes got really big and sad, and her blonde curls fell down into her face. Kenna and her siblings were known throughout their village as “the pretty little blonde ones” because of their blonde hair and blue eyes.
But everyone said Kenna looked a bit different. Her hair was more of a shimmering golden color, and her eyes were brighter and had a slight sparkle to them that the other children didn’t have. Kenna had once asked her mom where she had gotten these traits from, but her mom had casually changed the subject.

“Alright, that’s settled. Now get dressed and come eat breakfast. Lynette made porridge.”

“Aw, we always have porridge,” Cara complained.

“I know, but it’s better when Lynette makes it. She adds more sugar.”

“Okay, I’m coming,” said Cara. Kenna turned to Owin, shaking her head. Somehow, he had slept the whole time Dillion was crying and Kenna was scolding Cara. She gently shook him awake, and then carried him and Dillion into the kitchen.



After breakfast, Kenna and Lynette played with Cara, Dillion, and Owin for a few hours. The three younger children weren’t old enough to do chores, so they had to have something to do to pass the hours of the long, summer days. Kenna didn’t mind taking care of them, as long as Lynette was there too. But it wasn’t long before Lynette had to go make lunch. Kenna was left alone to put Dillion and Owin to bed for their afternoon nap.

“C’mon boys, nap time,” she said. “Cara, will you please help Lynette with lunch?”

“Do I have to?” Cara complained, even though she knew very well that arguing was useless.

“Yes, now run along,” Kenna said as she carried a baby on each arm into the bedroom. She gently laid them both down on their on their beds and put them to sleep. She started to walk back into the kitchen to help Lynette with lunch, when she remembered her chores.

“Lynette, I need to go out and do my chores. I’ll be right back,” she called. Lynette let out a long sigh.

“Can’t you wait until after lunch? I need you to watch Cara and make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble,” Lynette said.

“I need to get my chores done. Besides, Cara’s your responsibility anyway. She won’t do anything.”

“Kenna, just stay in here and help me. You’ll have plenty of time to finish your chores. I can’t watch Cara and cook at the same time.”

“Hey, you volunteered to cook,” muttered Kenna.

“Kenna!” Lynette yelled as she slammed the soup pot down on the table, spilling the hot liquid.

“Alright, alright, I’ll watch Cara. Where is she anyway?” inquired Kenna as she looked around for the little girl.

“I don’t know, but when you find her, call Daddy in as well. He’ll need time to put everything away and wash up,” said Lynette.

“Okay, whatever you say,” Kenna grumbled when she was out of earshot of Lynette. As she walked out the door, she looked around and saw Cara standing over by the cow pen.

“Hi Kenna,” she said. “I was just saying hi to old Betsy.”

“It’s time to go in and eat lunch.” Kenna said. “I thought you were helping Lynette.”

“I was, but she told me I was getting in the way more than helping, so I came outside.” Cara said as she rubbed the cow’s forehead.

“Well, go inside and wash up. I’ll be in shortly.”

“Okay,” the little girl said as she ran inside. Kenna walked out past the barn and searched the fields for her father. She saw him right away. He was already walking toward the house. She waved at him, signaling that it was lunch time, and he nodded in reply. She waited for him to catch up, and then they started walking back toward the house.

“Nice day isn’t it,” her father said.

“Yes, very nice.” Kenna said.

“I hope your sister makes as good of soup as your mother, because I’m real hungry,” he said as they walked by the kitchen window.”

“I don’t know,” Kenna said. “I don’t think Lynette can make soup at all. We might just be having bread and water for lunch.”

“I heard that!” Lynette called from the kitchen. Kenna and her father both laughed at their joke. Offended, Lynette scowled at them and finished setting the table

“Come on, Lynette. We all know you make wonderful soup,” her father said. “We were only joking.”

“I know, I know,” she replied as they all sat down and began to eat.

“So, which one of you was supposed to collect the eggs and milk the cows today?” their father asked.

“I was,” Kenna said.

“Well, have you done it yet?”

“No, sir.”

“Then I expect you to start right away after you finish your soup.”

“Yes father,” Kenna said as she stood up and took her dish to the water bucket to be cleaned.
After rinsing her dish, Kenna walked outside. The sun was high in the sky, and surrounded by white, puffy, clouds. What a beautiful day she thought. A perfect day for mom to go to the market.
She looked around at the fields and nearby forests. Everything looked so peaceful. But when she looked over at the road, she saw something very strange. There were two men leaning on the wooden fence her father had built. Both of them were bald and dressed in long, elegant, navy blue robes. Kenna had never seen them before, but they gave her a very bad feeling. They saw her, and started whispering to each other. Kenna knew it wasn’t polite to eavesdrop, but she did anyway.

“She’s the one, Doran, I know it,” said the first man, as they walked down the road. Once they were out of earshot of Kenna, they began to talk again.

“Are you sure, Cameron?” asked Doran. “The king would be very angry if we brought him the wrong girl.”

“Am I sure? Of course I’m sure! She has that gold-colored hair. That’s a dead giveaway! Besides, she’s the only girl in this village who looked about the right age,” said Cameron.

“But how do we know we’re in the right village?”

“Elaina told us, remember?”

“Ah yes, of course, Elaina. Our little spy,” said Doran.

“And if, for some reason, we have made a mistake, we will simply blame it on the kidnappers,” said Cameron. And the two of them walked toward the royal carriage waiting for them at the end of the road.

Chapter 2 TROUBLE

A priceless treasure hidden from human eyes
Until it is revealed by a mysterious spy

The fairy meadow always looked beautiful just as the sun started to rise. The dew sparkled on the soft petals of the roses, pansies, and sunflowers. Neala, Queen of the fairies, looked down at all this from her perch in a tall pine tree. This was her kingdom. She was very proud of it. It was not very big, but then the average fairy was only five inches tall, so it didn’t have to be. She thought about her previous kingdom. It had been wonderful. It was completely hidden from human eyes by a shield of fairy magic. It had been perfectly safe. Well, at least she had thought it was safe.

“Queen Neala!” her advisor Brenna called as she flew up into the tree and sat by her queen. Brenna was a very pretty fairy. She had coal black hair that danced with the wind as she flew, and contrasted her pale skin beautifully. Her eyes were very mysterious; you could never tell what she was thinking.

“What happened now?” the queen asked, forgetting her previous thoughts.

“It’s about Elaina. The king’s wizards have been sighted near the village of Tyree. I am afraid she might have told them. What are we to do?” she asked. The queen sighed as a look of sorrow and distress crossed her face.

“My dear Brenna, I am afraid there is nothing we can do without arousing suspicion. We will just have to watch, and wait, and pray that they don’t find what they are looking for.”

“But what about the key?” asked Brenna, “We can use the key to bargain with the king, can’t we?”

“No, I’m afraid we cannot. The Dragon’s Key was given to the fairies thousands of years ago because, as you know, the dragon species was dying out, and the dragons wanted to prevent the key from ever falling into human hands. They knew the fairies would be wise enough to know how to handle it, but the fairies would also protect it from humans. We know now what the Dragons already knew thousands of years ago; if the key ever falls into human hands, dark and horrible magic will be unleashed. The consequences would be devastating, and even deadly for the entire world.”

Chapter 3 THE KING

The lost item he seeks has been discovered
It won’t be much longer ‘till it is recovered

Very few people knew about the dark, cold passages that wound their way through the ground beneath the castle. In fact, the only living people that knew about them were the king and his two most powerful and wise wizards.

“Move out of the way, you stupid oaf!”

“I’m sorry Cameron, but we are in kind of a hurry. The king told us to report any information we found right away. Besides, it’s not my fault I can’t see anything. Why couldn’t we have brought torches?”

“Doran, are you completely clueless? Nobody is supposed to find out about these tunnels. People would find it very suspicious if they saw us carrying torches around the castle in the middle of the day!”

“Right, whatever. Hey, I think this is the one,” Doran said, running his hand along one of the many doors leading off of the tunnel.

“Move over, let me feel,” said Cameron, pushing Doran out of the way. “The royal insignia should be carved right in the middle.” He felt around a bit longer before finding the carving of a dragon with a large and beautiful key. “Yep, this is the one. Give me the key.”
Doran handed him the key they had been given thirteen years ago to be used on this very occasion. Cameron fitted it into the lock and turned. The two men were rewarded with a loud “click”.

“Ah, yes. I’ve waited so long to see the inside of one of these rooms. Finally I will be able to. Along with becoming the king’s second in command for delivering information he’s been wanting for thirteen years,” said Cameron.

“Oh yeah, you get all the credit. I didn’t help at all. Nope, I didn’t keep the key safe for thirteen years; I didn’t capture that stupid fairy, who, by the way, happens to be the best source of information we’ve used; I didn’t—.”

“Okay, so maybe you helped a bit. Now shut up! We’re about to see the king!” exclaimed Cameron, as he slowly pushed the heavy door open. As they walked through the doorway, they saw a small, elegant room, with soft, ivory carpet, two beautiful chairs with amazingly intricate carvings, and a small sofa. On the sofa sat the king, his mouth set in a grim frown, as usual, and his gray hair sticking out in all directions. He hadn’t smiled in thirteen years; some said he had forgotten how.

“Thank you for your coming on such short notice,” said the king. “Word gets around fast, you know. I heard that you had the information for me before you even entered the castle. Come, sit down, and tell me. Who is it?”

“Well after some searching—,” Doran started to say but was abruptly cut off by Cameron.

“Let me do the talking,” Cameron muttered into his ear. “Well, your highness,” Cameron began, “after some searching, we found the girl in Tyree, on a small farm on the east side of town. She matches your description perfectly. In, fact she looks just like her mother,” he said. The king quickly stood up.

“Don’t ever mention Cinnia in front of me!” he bellowed.

“Sorry your majesty,” Cameron said, bowing. “I forgot how much that name angers you. I would feel the same way if my wife—.”

“That would be quite enough Cameron,” the king said as he sat back down on the sofa. “Did you happen to catch the girl’s name?”

“Begging your pardon sir, but don’t you already know her name?”

“Well of course I know her real name, stupid! But she wouldn’t be going by that name while she was living as a peasant, now would she?”

“No, of course not, sire, of course not. In fact, I do remember her father calling her Kenna,” said Cameron. The king stood up again.

“I am her father, you stupid oaf! Do you hear me? I AM HER FATHER!!!” the king screamed at him. Cameron stumbled backwards.

“Of course sire,” said Doran, who had been standing off to the side, not saying anything. “Of course, you are her father.”

Chapter 4 THE SICKNESS

Taking a life is a horrible thing
But there is no stopping an evil king

The next day dawned clear and beautiful on the farm. Kenna and her mother were the first ones to wake up on the morning, so Kenna decided to tell her mother about the two men she saw the day before. “Mother, I saw the strangest thing yesterday,” she began. “When I was outside doing my chores, I saw two men dressed in navy blue robes standing over by our fence. When they saw me, one of them said something like, “She’s the one.” I don’t know what they were talking about. Oh, and the funniest part is that they both were completely bald! Can you believe it mother? Who in their right mind would walk around with no hair on their head?” Kenna’s mother suddenly looked concerned.

“You said they were dressed in navy blue robes? And they were talking about you?” she asked.

“Yes. Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, dear everything’s fine. But nobody around here wears navy blue robes,” her mother said.

“I guess you’re right mother. Now that I think about it, it is very strange. They couldn’t be farmers, not with the robes they were wearing.”

“No, definitely not,” her mother agreed. “Kenna, promise me you’ll tell me if you see these men, or anyone like them again.”

“Yes mother, of course,” said Kenna.

“Good,” she said. “Now I’m going to go lay down. I haven’t been feeling so good since I got home.”

“Okay,” said Kenna as she walked outside. She fed the chickens and the cow, and then went inside to see if anyone else was awake yet. Sure enough, Lynette and Cara were both awake.

“Good morning,” said Kenna. “Would you two like to go on a picnic with me later?”

“I don’t know Kenna,” said Lynette. “I don’t feel so good. My head hurts, and I feel really dizzy.”

“That’s strange,” said Kenna. “Mom said she wasn’t feeling so good either. When did you start feeling sick?”

“About the time mom got home yesterday.”

“That’s when mom started feeling sick too. Must be something going around,” said Kenna. But somehow, she knew this was more than just a common cold. She decided to think more about it later, because there was nothing she could do at the time. “Well, what about you, Cara? Would you like to go on picnic with me?”

“Sure!” said Cara enthusiastically “I’ll help pack.”

“That sounds great!” said Kenna, as she and Cara packed fruits and pastries in a small basket.




“What do you think is wrong with mom and Lynette?” Cara asked as the two of them sat on the bank of a small river.

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling something very bad is going to happen,” replied Kenna.

“You don’t think they’re going to die, do you?” asked Cara.

“I’m sure they will be just fine.” Kenna said reassuringly. But she wasn’t so sure. Strange things had been happening in this small village of Tyree. First, the bald men in the blue robes, now this sickness. “Maybe we should start heading back,” she said.

“You are worried, aren’t you?” asked Cara, her voice distressed. “I knew something was wrong. Oh Kenna, what are we gonna do?” Cara began sobbing as she clung to the dull brown wool of Kenna’s dress.

“Cara, stop that! It’s getting late and I think we should get home to help mother with supper. Now calm down and help me pack up this food. Cara stopped crying, except for the occasional silent tear running down her cheek, and started packing. Kenna was thankful that her sister hadn’t noticed the trembling in her voice when she had spoken. She was suddenly feeling very frightened. What if something was really wrong? What would happen if her mom died? What would she do? This was to horrible for her to even imagine. They had to get home. They had to get home fast. Hoping Cara would not notice her urgency and worry, she frantically shoved the remaining food into the knapsack. Then the two of them set off down the trail.

When they got back to the cottage, the first thing Kenna noticed was that her father was not working out in the fields like usual. Kenna began to run, pulling Cara along behind her. Only something very important would bring her father in from the fields early. Something was very wrong, Kenna knew it. Her and Cara burst through the door, and ran to her mother’s bedroom.

The sight they saw when they got there was almost unbearable for Kenna. Her mother was lying on the bed, her face pale white. Sweat ran down her face, but she pulled the covers tight around her body. She tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, and moaned constantly.

“Mom?” Kenna said as she ran over to kneel by the bed. “Mom, can you hear me?” But her mother would not respond.

“Daddy, what’s wrong with her? Why won’t she saying anything?” Cara said. “Is mommy gonna be okay?” Cara began crying as her father picked her up and began comforting her.

“Shhh. Everything’s going to be alright. It will be okay, Cara,” he said. Cara began sobbing into his shirt.

“Daddy, where’s Lynette?” asked Kenna, her voice shaking. Without waiting for a response, Kenna jumped up and ran to the next room. There, in the small bed that she and Lynette shared, was Lynette, lost in the same fitful sleep as her mother. Kenna slowly backed out of the room, and went back to her mother’s room.

“Daddy, what are we going to do?” Kenna said softly as her eyes filled with tears. The only person in Tyree who knew anything about healing and diseases was Kenna’s mother, and even if she was capable of helping, there wouldn’t be much she could do. Kenna had never seen or heard of a disease like this before.

“It’s gonna be alright,” he said. “Kenna, will you go fetch some water for your mother?”

“Yes father,” Kenna said. She did not believe his comforting words, but she knew that they would make Cara feel better. As she turned to walk out of the room, she saw a silent tear slide down her father’s rough, worried face. She knew he must have felt devastated and overwhelmed. If her mother and Lynette died, her father would be left to support the family on his own. She would have to take care of Dillion, Owin, and Cara on her own. What would happen to them?

As she dipped a cup into the water bucket, she realized she didn’t know where the two little boys were. She quickly took the water back to her mom’s room.

“Daddy,” she said, turning to face him. Her dad still had that one tear on his cheek that he hadn’t bothered to wipe off. He was staring out the window, his face unreadable. “Daddy, where are Dillion and Owin?” she said.

“In the other room,” he said slowly, without taking his eyes from the window. “I need to go outside for a minute.” He gently laid Cara down on a blanket on the floor, and walked away. Puzzled, Kenna went to the room where Lynette was sleeping, and saw two tiny bodies that she hadn’t noticed before curled up on the floor. She sighed with relief when she noticed that they were sleeping peacefully, unlike her mother and Lynette.

“Kenna,” whispered a raspy voice. Kenna jumped at the sound of her name. She listened for a moment. “Kenna.” There it was again. It was coming from the other room. She slowly and quietly walked into the room. Her mother was lying there, looking at her. “Kenna, come here,” she said in that same raspy voice. Kenna ran over to the bed.

“Mother!” she cried. “Oh I thought I would never be able to talk to you again!” she leaned over and kissed her mother on the forehead. “Are you feeling any better?” she asked.

“No, my dear. I am afraid I am very close to death. But there
is something I need to tell you before I leave.” Tears poured down Kenna’s face.

“Mother please don’t leave. I need you.” Kenna knew her words were useless, but she said them anyway.

“Hush now,” her mother said. “We don’t have much time.” She reached under her pillow and pulled out a small metal object. “This belongs to you. I’m sorry I never told you.” Kenna looked down at the thing her mother held out to her. She gasped as she realized what it was. She had seen pictures of it before, but she never thought she would ever see one in person. It was a sparkling, metal butterfly. The metal shined every color of the rainbow. When she picked it up, she felt a sense of power rush through her body. As Kenna turned it toward the light, it glowed brilliantly. It was beautiful.

“Mother, does this mean....,”

“Yes, Kenna. I am not your real mother. You must leave. Those men you saw are bad men. They are looking for you. Don’t let them find you.”

“Mother, I’m scared. What about Lynette and Cara and Daddy and the boys?”

“Lynette will live. This disease is the work of those men. I am the only one who knows the truth about you. Only I will die.”

“I love you, mom,” said Kenna, sobbing. Kenna’s mom began to cry as well.

“I love you too. One more thing, Kenna. Don’t ever lose that butterfly. And be sure to look at the back.” Kenna could tell her mother was getting weaker by the second. She sat there by the bed holding her mother’s hand until it went cold. Only then did she look at the back of the butterfly. There, beautifully inscribed in the metal, were the words “Princess Annalina.”

Chapter 5 PLANS

The princess must leave, before it is too late
Or she and her family will meet a terrible fate

Kenna sat by her mother’s bed for several minutes, silently thinking about what had just taken place. She had never thought her life could change so suddenly. What was going on? What did all of this mean? She thought about everything her mother had said in the past few minutes. Why were the bald men looking for her? And was her name really Princess Annalina? Everything was so confusing. All she knew was that she had to get away. Her mother had told her to leave, and after the day’s events, she wasn’t about to ignore her mother’s advice. She felt bad leaving her father and siblings, but what else could she do? She wouldn’t be much help to them if the bald men found her and took her away. She had to tell her father about what her mother said and why she had to leave. Wait, she couldn’t tell her father anything! Her mother had been killed because she had known the truth. Kenna wasn’t about to get her father killed as well. No, she must keep everything a secret. She would leave under the cover of the night. Little did she know, other important plans were being made for that night as well…

Chapter 6 MORE PLANS

If the item he seeks is successfully returned
The entire world has reason to be concerned

The king sat in the secret room under the castle, waiting for Doran and Cameron to report their news. He impatiently tapped his foot on the floor, and listened for the sound of the two wizards coming down the tunnel. Finally, after several silent minutes, he heard metal scraping metal as a key was inserted into the lock. The two men entered the room and carefully closed the door behind them.

“You are late!” the King bellowed.

“I am sorry, your majesty. We were just making sure that certain, ahh, shall we say, events have occurred without any problems,” explained Cameron.

“Hmmm… I see. So the girl’s peasant mother is dead. And I assume that the kidnappers are on there way?”

“Yes, sire,” said Doran. “Your daughter will be returned to you by morning.”

“Good. Now, Cinnia will have to return to the castle to rescue her precious daughter. And when she does, I will force her to reveal the location of the Fairy Kingdom, and she will watch as every fairy in Murtalia is imprisoned and enslaved, and her beautiful home is destroyed,” the King smiled wickedly at the thought of his marvelous plan, and how it would teach everyone in Murtalia that he alone ruled, and no magical force would ever be able to defeat him. And, with the fairies under his complete control, he would be able to take the Dragon’s Key, which had been in their possession for thousands of years, and with this key, he alone would be able to uncover the dark and terrible magic of the ancient fire breathing creature.

Chapter 7 ESCAPE

One escapes in the dark of night,
But two are missing in the morning light

As she slowly crept out of bed that night, Kenna thought about everything she needed to bring. A satchel of food, all of her savings money, a set of clean clothes, and the butterfly charm her mother had given her. Thinking about this charm made her want to cry. This charm meant that the family she had lived with for thirteen years wasn’t really her family. It doesn’t matter, she thought. They still are and always will be my family, just not my real family. That made her think, who was her real family? And why would they leave her for someone else to take care of? Oh well. She could figure these things out later. Right now she had to leave. She grabbed everything she needed, and at the last minute, grabbed the ribbon her mother had bought her, looped it through a slot in the metal butterfly, and tied around her neck. The same sense of power she had felt when she first got the butterfly rushed through her again. Then, she took a deep breath, took one last look at her family, and then walked out into the black night.




The castle gates slowly creaked open, and a mysterious carriage left the castle grounds, followed by three men on horseback. All three men and the carriage driver wore long, black, billowing robes. All of the horses used by this strange group were also black. Even the carriage was completely black, except for the bright red dragon holding a large gold key painted on the door.

It was clear that these men did not want to be seen as they sped down the road, heading toward the village of Tyree.




Kenna walked down the road and into the forest. She had decided that she would spend most of her nights sleeping there. She did not want to have to pay to sleep at the inns. She knew where she needed to go, but if the metal butterfly was what she thought it was, it would be hard to find this place. But she could do it. She would manage. She just hoped her family would manage okay as well. Thinking about her family made a silent tear run down her cheek. She quickly wiped it off and began looking for a place to sleep. She found a soft bed of moss under a large, leafy tree and there she laid down and fell into a deep sleep.




Back at Kenna’s house, Kenna’s father lay awake in bed. Silent tears fell onto his pillow as he thought about the loss of his beloved wife. What would he tell the children? Lynette had been sick at the time, Owin and Dillion had been sleeping in the other room, and Cara had fallen asleep on the blanket on the floor. Kenna was the only one who had known. Poor Kenna. He assumed that his wife had told her that she was not really their child.

Where had Kenna come from anyway? Why would anyone just leave their child for someone else to take care of? He decided to go check on Kenna and make sure she was sleeping okay after seeing her mother die. He stepped quietly out of bed, being careful not to step on Cara who was still sleeping on the blanket on the floor.

As he walked into the room where his children were sleeping, he counted everyone in the room. Owin in the crib, Dillion on his small sleeping mat, and one blonde girl sleeping in the big bed. Including Cara in the other room, that made four. He had five children. He quickly walked over to the bed and looked to see which of his daughters was lying there. It was Lynette. Telling himself not to worry, he decided to check the outhouse. But something told him she wasn’t there. Suddenly, the door burst open and four men in black robes stormed into the house. The biggest man, the one who appeared to be in charge grabbed Kenna’s father and pinned him up against the wall. His eyes were as hard as stone, and his grip was strong.

“Where are the children?” he bellowed. His commanding voice sounded like thunder.

“Ahh… They’re… ummm…” Kenna’s father was too terrified to speak.

“Search the house,” said the big man as he released his Kenna’s Father. The three men began tearing the house apart, looking for the children. They soon found them and dragged them out into the kitchen area.

“Here they are master,” said one of the men. The master began examining each child as Kenna’s father, who was still standing against the wall, watched in horror. He knew they were looking for Kenna, and he was afraid of what would happen when they didn’t find her. Thinking of what he could do to save himself and his children, he was suddenly startled as the big man grabbed a scared and confused Lynette. Lynette looked to her father as if to say, “Help me,” but there was nothing he could do.

“This is the one, men,” he said. “Take her out to the carriage. Be sure she doesn’t make a sound.” He turned to Kenna’s father. “If you try to follow us, or if you tell anyone what happened tonight, you and your family will die.” And with that he stormed out of the house.