To my dearest friends and followers,
Today I am posting the last 4 chapters of my novella. I have faithfully posted each week for the month of March, posting several chapters at a time, until the book was finished. You can find the other chapters in the blog Archive. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me and reading the first novella I ever wrote. Much love to you all!!
CHAPTER 13
"The Tree And The Castle"
"Do you know what The Sea Monster is?" Elina asked.
"A monster that lives in the sea," Tyler quipped.
"I meant where," she corrected.
"My guess is in the sea."
"Tyler!" Elina scolded. "You are no help at all!"
"I know," he shrugged. "What are big brothers for?"
Elina rolled her eyes. "Whatever. And The Sea Monster isn't a monster. It's a ship that sunk a long long long time ago. A treasure is hidden within. It belongs to Shellie the mermaid, and I want it!"
"You're stealing it?" he questioned.
"Oh, no. She's letting me have it when I find it," Elina corrected him.
"Right," Star spoke up. "We should start in the Lagoon."
The three walked on in the direction of the Lagoon, staying near the coast. They came upon the Silver Tree and it was well named. The trunk, and limbs, every twig and every leaf was made of pure silver. When the wind blew, the tree stood firm, not even the branches swayed. Only the leaves moved, clinking together making a harmonious sound like delicate bells on a wind chime.
"What a strange tree," Elina observed.
"And a fine one at that," said Star. "It is perhaps the oldest thing on this island. Balodian creatures of old used to use it for protection. It turns one's enemies stiff. Not into stone or anything, just stiff. Their bodies buckle beneath them."
"Ooh!" Elina said. She leaned up against the tree, thinking it would turn only her enemies.
"Elina, no!" warned Star. It was too late! Elina already touched it. She plopped onto the ground, still in her standing position.
Tyler laughed `til his side hurt. "You dimwit! What were you thinking?" he managed to say.
"I - I wasn't," she said weakly.
"I guess not," said Tyler. "How long will she be like this?"
"Forever," Star said.
"What?!" exclaimed Elina.
"There is a cure," Star said. "There is a book we can look it up in. All we have to do is get into the Balodian Castle and use the library. We find the book, we find the cure."
Tyler and Star picked up Elina and carried her to the edge of the mote and lay her down. There was no draw bridge. There was no way across and they couldn't swim across because of the serpent in the water. So Tyler, rope in hand, roped a small statue of a cat on one of the towers and they climbed to the nearest window.
Dropping to the ground, they saw eleven little princesses with eleven little chairs around one table with eleven little cakes and eleven little cups filled with tea.
"Do excuse us," Star said. "Where can we find the library?"
"Would you like some tea?" offered one little princess, holding her cup in hand.
"Would you like some cakes?" asked another, holding up her cake.
"Don't give them any cake," said another. "There is only enough for us."
"Don't be rude!" said the fourth princess.
"Let's get out of here," pleaded Tyler.
"Oh look, you made them leave," said the fourth princess.
"Good!"
"Don't be rude!"
"They didn't take any cake," said the second princess and started crying.
"No, no, don't cry," said another princess.
With that, the three left.
They entered what appeared to be the throne room. A big feast was being held. The queen, sitting at the end of the large rectangular table had on a crown that was too big and heavy for her head. It was so decorated in the front that it weighed her head down so low that her face kept falling in her food.
The king, at the head of the table, had a long bushy gray beard that was hanging all over his plate. When he cut a piece of meat, he cut his hairs from his beard and ate them too.
"Where is the library?" asked Star.
"Guards!" yelled the king. "Get them!"
"No, no, no!" Tyler yelled. He picked up Elina and carried her up a flight of stairs, Star right on his heels. "Ahhh!" Elina screamed. They then ran down a long corridor. There were no guards in sight.
"We better hide," Star said. "Just in case."
They tried several doors, but they were all locked. The Elina noticed one was slightly open. "Try that one," she said. They ran inside and closed the door, locked it, and piled a bunch of furniture against it.
"Hey, we're in the library!" Elina said.
Star and Tyler began to look at every single book in sight in search for the one with the cure.
"Let me help," Elina said. "What is the name of the book?"
"The Silver Tree," Star answered.
"There," Elina said. "I see it."
Tyler followed her gaze and found the book on a shelf all by itself. The book was rather large, very thick, and had a silver cover with a silver tree on the cover.
Elina was carried to the Wizard's room, adjoining the library.
Tyler read the book while Star filled the cauldron.
"Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, boysenberries, poison berries, belladonna berries, five purple marshmallows," he looked up from the book, "says right here that it's important that they're purple. We also need pigs feet, a hawk moth, and a white puffy cloud."
"Sounds good," Star said. "Everything I need is here, but you will have to get the cloud."
"I'm on it!" Tyler said. He took hold of his rope and left.
He stood outside on a balcony. "That one looks good," he thought. Tyler cast his rope into the sky and roped the cloud. He pulled it back to him and ran back into the Wizard's room.
The winged horse mixed all the ingredients together in the cauldron. It made a thick, foul looking concoction. Star pored the drink into a tall glass. "Drink up," she said, handing it to Tyler to give to Elina. Elina drank it. "I feel way better! I'm sorry I touched the tree. I thought it would only stiffen my enemies."
"Well, now you know it doesn't," Star said.
CHAPTER 14
"The Wrong One"
"Let's get out of here," Star said. "I say we go the fast way."Elina and Tyler got on Star's back and she flew to the Lagoon. Getting off her back, they all dived into the water.
Elina and Tyler's legs melted together and became tails.
"I'm a mermaid!" exclaimed Elina joyfully.
"I'm a merman!" exclaimed Tyler in disgust.
"Oh how wonderful!" said Elina.
"No, it's not wonderful," he said crossly.
"Come on!" Star said. They followed her until they came to a cave. Elina swam ahead and went in first. She came out riding a seahorse. Laughing happily, she said, "Tyler, catch one and ride it. It's really quite fun!"
Tyler went into the cave and came out with one as well. Then Star went in and she also had one.
"I'm going to name mine Bubbles," said Elina. "What are you going to name yours?"
"I'm not," he said.
Elina made a sad face. "Oh look! My poor Bubbles is wearing glasses!"
"Haha!" Tyler laughed. "You picked a blind seahorse."
"Humph."
Star looked at the accident and lost control of her seahorse. It bucked her off and swam away. Tyler too lost his with one hand around his stomach as he laughed and the other pointing at Elina.
"Brilliant!" Elina threw her hands up in dismay. "He had glasses before and apparently can't see at all without them. Now he doesn't have any. How can he see?"
"I don't know," said Tyler. "But you don't have to worry about that anymore. He swam away with the others."
"Oh, poor thing!" Elina began to cry.
"Let's go," Star said.
So on they swam in search of the Sea Monster.
"Look! A ship!" exclaimed Elina, clapping her hands in excitement.
"Last one there's a rotten egg!" Tyler said.
"First one's gotta eat it!" shouted Elina.
Star was the first one at the ship. Tyler would have been second, but Elina pushed him aside and made him third. Elina giggled.
"Be quiet and look around," Tyler said.
"Yes Sir!" Elina said with a salute. She swam down to the brig. The water was dark and had a greenish color from the thick layer of slime and moss growing that covered the walls and floors and a human skeleton. "No treasure here."
Next she went to the hold. Old bunks covered every wall. Moldy, mushy mattresses filled the bunks. Rotten tables lay scattered on the sides. A lantern hung from the ceiling that was glowing with a warm flame. "How is that possible?" Elina wondered aloud as she swam closer to it. Indeed it was burning as it flickered out when she came near it. She turned and left, as there was no treasure there.
She met up with Star and Tyler.
"Any luck? I didn't find anything."
Neither of them had anything to report.
"Maybe Shellie was mistaken?" suggested Star.
"Or maybe this is not the right ship!" Elina suddenly thought. Swimming to the back of the boat, she could see plainly that it did not say the Sea Monster.
CHAPTER 15
"The Salt Water Creek"
"Well, how do we find a specific ship?" Elina asked. "The sea is so big!'
"Morgan!" Star exclaimed.
"Who's that?"
"She's a mermaid. Well, she was a mermaid," Star corrected. "She died a long time ago. There is a stone statue of her. Shellie built it with help of the Balodian creatures. It must have a clue!"
"Where do we find Morgan then?" Elina asked.
"Morgan means, from the sea," Star explained. "But the statue is not in the sea. None Asea Woods!"
"Ooh!" Elina and Tyler got on Star's back.
She flew them to the woods and they found the statue near the edge of the ocean. The statue was tall and she was pointing to the water.
"I guess we should go that way," Elina said. They all jumped in the water and swam around for a while. No one saw a ship of any kind. They got out of the water.
"Maybe the statue was moved?" Elina suggested.
"Let's take a look," Star said.
"Look!" Elina said. She was on her hands and knees studying the ground. "The weeds are all around except this area, like the statue was moved not long ago."
"Hmm," Star thought. "We better put her back in her place then."Big though the statue was, Elina pushed it all by herself. "There," she said, dusting off her hands. "She's pointing back towards the woods."
"She can't be," Star said. "There is no place for a ship in these woods."
"Maybe she's pointing past the woods then?" Tyler suggested.
Elina pulled out her map. "According to our location, if we followed the direction she's pointing, we'd end up back at Weepers Willows."
"Impossible!" Star said.
"Look here," Elina said, pointing to the map. "What's this line in Weepers Willows?"
"That's the Salt Water Creek," Star answered.
"We should look there then," Elina said.
They went to the creek. Not a word was said as they followed the narrow creek. They could see the bottom as the water flowed over smooth rocks. There wasn't a single fish as the water was too shallow.
The creek should have continued on until it met the ocean, but it didn't - meet the the ocean that is. Instead it continued upwards into the sky. Elina and Tyler were immediately on Star's back and she flew through the sky, still following the stream of water through the air. There were islands floating in the sky, much smaller than Balodia.
"Is it possible that the ship could be associated with one of the other islands?" Elina asked.
"No one lives on those islands," Star answered. "There wouldn't be a ship there."
"Oh."
They continued to follow the creak through the sky. The water was still too shallow for a ship.
"Star," Elina said, "I just thought of something."
"Oh?"
"Shellie said the Sea Monster sunk a long time ago. But she didn't say it was still in the water! Morgan was pointing this direction. The ship could be in the sky somewhere."
"Elina!" Star exclaimed excitedly. "I bet you're right!"
They followed the creek and kept their eyes open for the ship amongst the clouds. In the distance, all three could see the creek ended on a large puffy cloud on which was a pool of what was once water, but was turned into ice. The first deck of a ship was level with the ice and the rest was underneath the cloud. On the back of the ship, they could make out the name.
The Sea Monster.
CHAPTER 16
"Back Again"
"Oh, my oh my!" said Elina bursting with excitement. "I told you we'd find it!"
"You sure did!" Tyler said. "Good job sis!"
"You did it, Elina!" Star said.
"Thank you, thank you!" Elina said, throwing up her arms in excitement. She stepped onto the ice and slid on her tummy all the way to the ship. "Come on guys and help me!" she yelled.
The others slid across the ice and were by her side in a moment.
"We need to break the ice to get to the other decks," Elina explained.
"And when we do get there," said Tyler, scratching his head, "do you plan to break through the wood?"
"Oh no, nothing like that," Elina assured him. "We just need to break the ice enough to get to the side of the ship and then go through the portholes."
Elina, Tyler, and Star were breaking the ice little by little with their bare hands and Star's hooves. Eventually the ice was broken enough for them to slip inside. Wiggling with great difficulty, they all made it through the portholes. The ship was filled with water, but not a single drop made its way out of the ship, not through the open window or even the small crack in the wall. They searched until they came to the third deck. There, in the middle of the room, was the treasure chest. Big massive chains were wrapped around it with a big lock. The keyhole was about the size of your thumb.
Elina, seeing a big key on a ring hanging on the wall opposite them, swam over and grabbed it with both hands. No sooner was the key lifted from the nail that a large electric eel appeared. It moved through the water like a snake. it was black with green spots, red eyes, and four fangs, two on top and two on bottom.
"What are you doing here?" asked Elina.
"I live here," said the eel. "What are you doing here?"
"I have a right to be here. I came to get Shellie's treasure."
"You have no right!" the eel said. "She doesn't want you to have it. Why else would she have me here to guard it?"
"It's mine," Elina insisted.
"You want to fight for it?" the eel said, becoming angry.
"Yes!"
The eel, with eyes blood red, swam so very fast to Star and electrocuted her with its fangs until Star appeared to be lifeless. The same thing happened to Tyler.
"No!" Elina screamed. She stood with her back to the wall and kept moving away until the eel had her cornered. She was very scared. She was pushing against the wall with all her might, hoping to get farther away from the eel. She stood trembling with fear as she looked into its eyes. Suddenly the eel darted right for her! She couldn't bare to look. She didn't want the eels fangs to be the last thing she saw. She closed her eyes...
...She opened them and found herself back again. She was sitting on the front porch of her house. Tyler was just sitting down by her side.
"Hey, how long you plan to sleep out here?" he asked, pushing her shoulder.
"Huh?" she said, looking up at him.
"You're still sleeping, aren't you?" asked Tyler.
"No, I'm awake," she answered sleepily.
"Whatever," he shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "Come in and go to bed, you've been asleep at least an hour."
"Is that all?" she responded. She followed Tyler up the steps and inside the house. She said goodnight to her mother and father. She looked at the clock. It read 10:00. She was never allowed to stay up so late.
She went into her room and found the family pet, Winkster, asleep on her bed. After Elina put Shellie's Hidden Treasure on the bookshelf, she changed into her pajamas.
She picked up Winkster and left her room. She was in the dark hallway and walked past the bathroom door until she stood outside Tyler's bedroom door. She knocked.
"What do you want?" he answered.
"Can I come in?"
"I guess."
She walked in and found Tyler lying in his bed. Elina turned on the light and sat down next to him.
"What is it?" he asked and turned to look at her. He was squinting his eyes from the bright light.
"I was reading and fell asleep..." she began.
"I know," Tyler smiled.
"And I had a dream. It was so strange and made no sense. There was a horse with wings and sometimes she was there and sometimes she wasn't! And you were in it. You were missing and I found you. Then you died. An eel shocked you. And then I..."
"Ya, that's cool," said Tyler. "Can you tell me the rest in the morning?"
"Promise you'll listen to me?" asked Elina.
"Promise."
Elina held her pinky finger out. Tyler rolled his eyes and took her pinky in his.
"Can't believe we still do that," he mumbled. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Elina smiled. She leaned over to hug him awkwardly, still holding Winkster in her other arm. She then went back to her room and got into her bed. THE END.
**THANK YOU so much for reading!! I really hope you all enjoyed reading this!! It was a lot of fun for me to type it out and share it with all of you. XD
Yours truly,
Me
Great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!! It was fun XD
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