Chapter One
Once upon a time there was a twelve-year-old girl named Jenna. Jenna loved exploring the woods behind her house when she had time. But her parents made her go to private school and it took up a lot of the time she used to spend exploring, plus it was boring. One day Jenna was walking through the woods behind her house, after ditching her very boring Spanish homework, and saw something glowing behind a clump of redwoods. Jenna was naturally curious and ran behind the redwoods to see what it was. There in front of her was a sparkling golden portal in-between the branches of the trees. She reached her hand out to touch the portal and was sucked in! When she hit the ground she felt seasick. She was lying on soft green grass that felt like cotton candy and something was breathing long hot breaths on her face. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when she saw a cute black cat… with giant purple wings and long purple horns on its head!
“AHHH!” Jenna screamed and jumped up.
Now on her feet she looked around and realized she was standing on a cliff. It had a forest in the background and it overlooked a small town with many giant crystal houses. There was even a market with more of these “cat-dragons” roaming around. The cat opened its mouth and said,
“Who are you and why are you here?”
Jenna replied, her voice shaking “I just stumbled upon a portal and fell in,” “I mean you no harm.”
The cat gave her a long look and then gestured with its paw for Jenna to follow.
Chapter Two
Jenna followed the mysterious cat down a path that led to the village. Along the way the cat shared its name, “I’m Shadow and welcome to The Crystal Grove! We build everything out of crystal and everyone comes…. Er used to come here to get crystal.” Shadow grew quiet and continued walking down the path until he reached the village. “Anyway on a happier note, here we are!” Shadow led Jenna through the village and market. There was a crystal mine and a crystal forest on the edge of town but the town itself was filled with sandy colored stone paths. There were also small pools of water that surrounded the open space that wasn’t filled with stone. In the center of town was a giant crystal palace with colorful hydrangea bushes along the edge. Shadow led Jenna to the entrance of the palace's doors and motioned for her to step through. He gently nudged her inside when she hesitated. Jenna gasped when she saw the inside. There were many halls filled with portraits of a white cat with beautiful blue eyes and matching blue and gold wings. Shadow led Jenna down a hall made of pale pink crystal, into a throne room. On the throne was the same cat in all the portraits lining the halls. Shadow bowed to her and motioned for Jenna to do the same. Jenna hastily bowed, blushing when she tripped over her overalls. “That’s Queen Sapphire, our leader!” Shadow whispered to Jenna as he helped her up from the floor.
“What do you need?” the queen asked in a bored sarcastic voice.
“I picked up this girl on my way back from the Moon Market,” Shadow explained, “She came from one of those wild portals.”
“I see….” the queen said.
Queen Sapphire was definitely interested now as she was sitting up on her throne.
“Is she the one?” Queen Sapphire asked, looking at Shadow hopefully.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Shadow replied.
Chapter Three
“What is going on?!” Jenna yelled at Shadow as the trio walked out of the castle.
“I will tell you a story that might help you understand,” Shadow replied sadly as he looked at the crystal forest. “Long ago we had a sacred sapphire that protected us and everyone else from evil. We all worked in harmony for many years producing enough crystal for everyone's needs, but one day humans found our land and stole the gem hoping to make money off of it. They hid it somewhere in our land when they realized they couldn't go back with it. Many cat-dragons claimed they have found it but we have been too scared to check it out. The lands where it was claimed to be hidden are very dangerous. Without the gem we began to die off and many of the other creatures we were living with left us to live a better life. After the gem was stolen, our queen called a seer to tell us our fate. The seer recited a prophecy that we have been waiting to fulfill for many years.”
“What’s the prophecy?” Jenna asked.
“One day an unlikely hero will emerge from the wild portals and find the gem to restore all power for cat-dragons. They will be destined with the power of illusions and will save the land of The Crystal Grove. That's the prophecy,” Shadow said.
“.... Is it me with the illusions?” Jenna asked.
“We don’t know. Many “unlikely heroes” have emerged from the wild portals, but you're the first human and one that hasn’t tried to destroy us,” Shadow replied.
After a few minutes of walking the trio was now in the crystal forest located on the edge of town. Queen Sapphire walked in a circle until she stopped in front of a clump of four trees the colors of the rainbow.
“Step in the middle please Jenna,” the queen said.
Jenna gingerly placed one foot in the middle and when nothing happened she put the other one in too. Suddenly, bright lights were sucked out of the trees and swirled together to make a rainbow amulet which clipped itself around Jenna’s neck.
“It’s her..” Queen Sapphire and Shadow whispered in unison as they gazed up at Jenna.
“Please, will you go find our sacred gem and save The Crystal Grove?” Shadow asked with a pleading look.
“Of course, I would be honored!” Jenna replied happily, overwhelmed with many feelings.
Chapter 4
“We are saved, my citizens!” Queen Sapphire yelled to the cat-dragons roaming around town.
“A hero has arrived from that prophecy that was read to us long ago and she will save us!”
“She sure has high expectations,” Jenna whispered to Shadow.
“She just wants to make sure that everyone's okay. We have lived in this town for many years and this is really exciting.” Shadow whispered back.
“......I need one volunteer to accompany this hero on her adventure,” Queen Sapphire was saying.
The crowd of cat-dragons murmured and they all began backing away except for one cat. She was a calico cat with gold horns on her head and pale pink wings with gold streaks.
“My name is Coriko (Core-ee-ko) and I would love to accompany you on your journey” the cat said in a voice as soft as clouds.
“Then it's settled! You two will leave tonight with a map and find our gem!” Queen Sapphire said to
them.
Later that night Coriko and Jenna set off with only a map and a jar full of sparkling fireflies.
“The map says to head east, through The Dream Lands, The Flower Orchard, and finally to The Crystal Ocean,” Coriko said to Jenna.
“The gem should be in a secret cave located just a bit north from the Crystal Ocean.” Jenna replied, reading a slip of paper the queen had given her before they set off on their adventure.
“These lands sound so nice, how can they be dangerous?” Coriko asked Jenna.
Jenna shrugged and the two set off to find the gem, neither of them knowing the dangers coming their way.
Chapter 5
Coriko and Jenna arrived at The Dream Lands at dawn. The Dream Lands were a forest of soft cotton candy-like trees and sweet smelling scents. They had been walking all night and they were both very tired.
“Coriko….CORIKO!” Jenna yelled at Coriko who had fallen asleep on one of the soft bushes. But Coriko didn’t wake up. A voice spoke out of nowhere
“The Dream Lands…. They make people…. Fall asleep and dream the most pleasant dreams….. So pleasant…… yet they will never wake up.”
Jenna looked around and realized the voice was coming from the map.
“How do I wake her up?!” Jenna yelled hysterically. “We just started, she can’t not wake up!”
“Calm down young one… there is still hope,” the map said.
“Please tell me! I can’t lose her!” Jenna said.
“You must go into her dream and make it bad… so bad that she will just want to wake up.” the map replied. The voice faded and Jenna was left in The Dream Lands alone.
“How do I get in her head?!!” Jenna yelled into the nothingness.
“.....Just close your eyes and you will be there,” the map said in a very annoyed voice.
Jenna closed her eyes and let the cool breeze wash over her. Before long she was standing in the middle of a ballroom and Coriko was dancing with another calico cat. He had blue and gold wings, gold horns, and a gold crown on his head.
“Seriously?!” Jenna thought.
She rolled her eyes and looked around for something to ruin the dance. She spotted decorations and raced over to them. One by one she pulled them down and stuffed them onto the food and drinks. Coriko didn’t see her but she also didn’t seem bothered by the broken decor. Jenna hurriedly looked around for something else to ruin and spotted a gramophone playing the music. She rushed over and smashed it on the ground. The music stopped playing and the prince seemed to lose interest in Coriko. Suddenly both of them landed back in The Dream Lands, neither of them asleep.
“What was that for?!” Coriko yelled.
“I was trying to save you! We need to move on if we are going to get that gem!” Jenna yelled back.
“Right…sorry. We should probably start walking in the direction of The Flower Orchard,” Coriko said quietly.
“Yes, that's what we should've been doing this whole time.” Jenna said still a little annoyed with Coriko.
The two of them set off east again, this time looking for The Flower Orchard.
By sundown that day they had reached the gate to the orchard.
“Look, Jenna there's a sign! Coriko said.
Coriko was right! On a small wooden signpost a message in dripping black paint read “ALL THOSE WHO ENTER… BEWARE!! THERE ARE MANY DANGERS IN THIS ORCHARD!”
“Well that's dark. I thought the orchard would be sunshine and rainbows,” Coriko said, looking wearily at the sign.
Jenna sighed and pushed open the iron gate. It creaked and groaned as if it hadn’t been oiled in a long time. They stepped in through the gate and gasped. The sight was beyond magical! There were many trees the color of the rainbow with many exotic fruits on the branches. In the center was a sparkling pond and if you looked closely you could see small fish swimming around. Drinking out of the pond was a white unicorn with a rainbow mane and a gold horn. Jenna and Coriko walked up to the unicorn hoping to get a closer look when they heard a growl.
Chapter 6
“What was that?” Jenna whispered to Coriko.
Slowly they both turned around and saw a wolf. It was the color of snow and had bright green vines wrapped around it.
“I’ve seen this before in one of my books!” Coriko said in an almost whisper “It's The Wolf of the Forest, it's a very rare mythical beast that only appears when its master commands it too.
“What does its master want with us?!” Jenna yelled, making the wolf growl more.
“I don’t know! It probably thinks we're intruders!”Coriko said.
Then out of nowhere the wolf pounced! Jenna and Coriko barely dodged it when it snapped its jaws shut on thin air.
“Use your amulet!” Coriko yelled, running around in a circle frantically trying to make the wolf dizzy.
“Oh yeah!” Jenna said and pulled out her amulet.
Jenna opened her mouth to ask how it worked when a blast of shimmering light burst out of the amulet and zapped the wolf. The wolf fell to the ground but jumped up as fast as it had fallen. It bared its teeth and prepared to pounce again but Coriko spit a stream of strawberry colored liquid on the wolf and it fell once more but didn’t rise this time.
“Strawberry milk! Everyone hates it.” Coriko said, answering the disbelief on Jenna’s face.
“That was very brave of both of you.” said a voice.
The girls turned around to see the unicorn, thankfully not hurt, smiling at them both. Sparkles flew out of the unicorn's gold horn, one landing on each of their hearts.
“This will keep you safe in times of danger.” the unicorn said
“Thank you.” Jenna and Coriko said in unison.
The girls walked out of the iron gate once more and started their journey to the last place on their list…. The Crystal Ocean.
Chapter 7
After walking for many hours the duo couldn’t seem to find The Crystal Ocean. The only thing they managed to find was miserable weather.
“We’ve been walking in circles!” Jenna yelled angrily as they passed the same rock for the fifth time that hour.
“Maybe we took a wrong turn?” Coriko said uncertainly.
They were just about to pull out the map when Jenna spotted something glowing in the distance.
“Look!” Jenna shouted pointing to the west.
“Is that the cave or the ocean?” Coriko asked.
“Who knows, let’s check it out!” Jenna replied, already sprinting toward it.
Coriko took off flying above Jenna.
“Look!” Coriko yelled
Up ahead there was a cave shimmering with crystals. They were everywhere. Growing inside and outside the cave and behind the cave was an ocean with crystals illuminating the bottom.
“This must be it!” Jenna said as she started to climb up the rocks to the cave.But the rocks were slippery from the recent rain and she slipped down onto the wet sand.
“Can you carry me?” Jenna asked Coriko.
“I can try but I think you're too big.” Coriko replied.
Coriko grasped Jenna’s hands with her paws and flapped her wings as much as she could. They rose a bit higher than before but it was too much for Coriko and she dropped Jenna onto the wet sand again.
“Go without me!” Jenna said to Coriko. “I can find a way up... Somehow.”
“No, there has to be another way!” Coriko said.
Coriko looked around desperately for something to carry Jenna up and spotted something on the other side of the cave.
“I think I see some steps!” Corkio shouted and flew over to the other side.
Jenna groaned and started swimming through the water which was surprisingly warm for such drab weather. After a few minutes of hard work Jenna emerged from the water to the other side and saw pale blue crystal steps leading up to the cave. She ran up the steps and saw Coriko waiting by the entrance to the cave. The pair walked through the entrance and trudged through muddy water until they reached the back of the cave.
“There's nothing here!” Coriko groaned as she stared at the back of the cave wall.
“Maybe we’re missing something.” Jenna said.
She felt along the cave wall feeling for something out of the ordinary. Suddenly a stone came loose and the wall spun around revealing a secret compartment. Inside were small steps leading up to a podium where… nothing was on it.
Chapter 8
“WHAT!” Coriko and Jenna yelled.
“This has all been a wild goose chase!” Coriko groaned.
“I mean we were going off rumors not facts.” Jenna said still very disappointed.
“We should go back to the town and tell them the bad news,” Jenna said. “Maybe they have another lead we can follow.”
“Sounds good.” Coriko said.
They walked back up the steps where the unicorn from The Flower Orchard was waiting.
“What are you doing here?” Jenna asked.
“I came to give you a ride back.” The unicorn said.
“How did you know we needed help?” Coriko said, kinda suspicious of the unicorn.
“I am a unicorn… I know stuff.” The unicorn replied coolly.
The unicorn bent down and the two climbed on. Suddenly the unicorn jumped into the air and took flight running along the clouds. In less than a minute they had returned to The Crystal Grove.
“There back!” Queen Sapphire yelled, as she came running into the center of town out of her palace.
When she saw their faces she knew something was wrong though.
“Did you find it?” Shadow asked, he had come out of the castle with the queen.
“It was a wild goose chase.” Jenna said sadly.
All the faces fell and the queen spoke, “I have to show you something Jenna.”
Jenna nodded and started to follow the queen and Shadow into the mines. Coriko tried to come to but the queen refused to let her. “This is for only Jenna to see.” she said
The trio walked in through the entrance and stopped at a fork in the path.
“While you were gone we heard rumors that our gem was destroyed. We didn’t want to believe it and hoped you would have found our gem but it seems the rumors might be true.” Queen Sapphire said sadly.
“How would it have been destroyed?” Jenna asked.
“Long ago there was a dynamite accident in the mines and the gem was being held near it in The Crystal Forest,” Shadow said.
“We think that the gem might have been destroyed in the accident. We didn’t think to mention it until now. Sorry.” Queen Sapphire added.
“What should we do?” Jenna asked.
“We hope some bit of the gem survived and is still in the forest but we don’t know. We want to look around and see if we can find at least a fragment of it.”
The trio walked out of the mines and into The Crystal Forest. They walked to the spot where Jenna got her amulet and started looking around. Jenna was searching around a small clump of crystal saplings when she spotted something on the ground.
“Look!” Jenna yelled pointing to an area just to the right of a sapling. The two others gathered around and gasped when they saw a small fragment of a gem. The gem.
Chapter 9
After that the events went by really fast. The trio brought back the gem and the town was overjoyed! After the gem was placed in a vault safe below the castle a message was sent out to the other creatures that used to be living there and asked them to visit or come back. After all that it was time for Jenna to go home.
“Can’t you stay?” Coriko pleaded as the queen, Shadow, and Jenna neared a wild portal.
“I wish but I need to go. My parents are probably worried about me.” Jenna said sadly.
“Don’t worry, time hasn’t passed that much back in your world.” Shadow said.
They all grew quiet as they neared the portal. Jenna stepped up to it and put her hand out but turned at the last second.
“Goodbye!” she yelled as the portal sucked her in.
“Come back soon!” Queen Sapphire yelled back.
Jenna arrived back on the forest ground. It looked like it was only dinnertime and she hadn’t been out long. As Jenna trudged back to her house she looked back at the redwoods hoping she would see another portal but it was just plain old redwoods.
“I will be back,” Jenna whispered looking at the redwoods. “I will be back.. I promise.”
The End
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