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Whooo!!! My story; just thought I'd post it here.
Chapter 1
Once upon a time there was a peaceful small village on the edge of a beautiful forest. And in this wonderful place there was a young girl named Isadora who had just turned 16 and was eagerly waiting to open her present. “Can I have it nooow,” Isadora whined. She was wearing her favorite black dress. It was very simple and had long sleeves that covered her hands. She had long light brown hair that was thrown over her shoulders. “Not yet,” her grandmother said, “we have to wait for your parents to come home.” Isadora’s grandmother was a very short person with many wrinkles on her face and hands. She was wearing a black dress just like Isadora’s and was busily cleaning the kitchen. Isadora walked over to the window and glared out of it. She saw the forest, which her little town was settled on, and the pointed blue mountains in the distance. “I’d love to visit those mountains someday,” she told herself. Then the front door to their old seasoned home opened and her parents walked in. “Where’s my darling 16 year old,” her father said. “Daddy!” Isadora cried happily while she ran to him and met him with a hug. When she was finished welcoming both her parents home, she yelled to her grandmother, “They’re here!” and ran off to find her. “Okay I’m coming,” said her grandmother with an annoyed happiness as she hobbled out to the living room with a brown package in her hands. It was in the shape of a small, flat, rectangular box and was wrapped in very simple brown wrapping paper held together with coarse string. Isadora stared at it in wonder and held it in her hands for a moment and then quickly tore off the paper. Inside was a dark brown almost black book. It was slightly cracked from old age and had gray print on the front reading “Experimental Spells for the Young Witch.” “Magic!” Isadora exclaimed overwhelmed with eagerness. She had always wanted to do magic. Her grandmother had been a fairly skillful witch in her time, and Isadora had always hoped that someday she would be able to cast spells too. “Do you like it?” asked her grandmother. “Yes! Of course,” said Isadora delightedly. “And what’s even better,” her grandmother said, “it talks!” “Hello, I’m Broken,” said the book. The words seemed to just flow out of the book for it did not move when it spoke. What?” said Isadora startled. “Oh that’s just his name dear,” said her grandmother with a touch of concern in her voice. “Now why don’t you go and show your present to Fredrick.” “Okay,” said Isadora happily enough as she rushed out the door and bounded towards Fredrick’s house.
She followed the dry dusty road that was a center route for all the people in the village. Fredrick’s house was about half the village away; so on her route Isadora passed many of the interesting buildings in the town center. The bank was just opening up for business and Steven the stickly accountant was unlocking the doors with big golden keys. The town market was already full of people buying bold colored fruits and freshly baked confectioneries. Isadora took a quick stop at her favorite market stall full of odd knick-knacks and charms form the next country over. Not having any money with her, she continued on her way and passed her old schoolhouse. It was built into the side of a hill and had all sorts of flowers around it planted by the children. The cool winds and the many beautiful colors all around caused the schoolhouse to have a very peaceful feel. Now she was approaching Fredrick’s home. His family owned a farm and had a great barn in which Fredrick and Isadora always played together in. “Fredrick,” she called. “Hello?” he shouted back. They ran to meet each other. Fredrick was wearing worn dark brown pants, which were slightly too short for him, very simple leather shoes with no socks, and an oddly proportioned sweater with a very large collar. He had very blond hair covering his ears and dark blue eyes, which matched his sweater. “Guess what I got for my birthday,” she told him beaming. “A footstool?” he asked with humor in his voice. “No stupid. A book of magic!” “Really? That’s amazing!” he said excitedly. “Let’s take it into the barn and try some of the spells. “Oh good I was hoping you’d say that,” Isadora said. They ran off to the barn and closed the large worn barn door quietly behind them so no one would see and they sat down on pads of hay so they would not get mud from the dirt floor on them. Isadora began to flip through the thick crinkled pages of the book. “Here’s one for turning straw into spaghetti,” she said. “Well there’s certainly a lot of straw here,” he said looking around at all the bundles wrapped up and placed near the back walls. “Try it.” Isadora read through the spell quickly and then placed the book on a barrel. She raised one hand and waved it in an S-shape and said “Gewardhubas.” A bright yellow-orange shimmering ball of light appeared out in front of her. It wavered in the air and had little misty white waves of light rolling off it. Fredrick and Isadora stood there in silent awe. The spell ball slowly spiraled upwards towards the barn rafters. When it reached the uppermost storage areas it flung itself towards Fredrick. He opened his mouth to yell and the spell ball flew right in. Fredrick fell to his knees on the muddy ground and clutched his throat wit his hands as if he was choking. Then he emitted a bright flash of light and became a footstool. “Fredrick!” screamed Isadora. She stumbled over to the footstool and began shaking it with great force. It was a very plain footstool with slightly unsanded birch wood and a circular top. “This cannot be happening!” she yelled. And then to her surprise the footstool leapt out of her hands and began stomping angrily about the floor. She sat there for a moment staring at it with glazed eyes and then glared with eyes flaming and turned her attention toward the book. “You stupid book,” she yelled. “This is all your fault!” “I can’t help it,” replied the book with a bored sort a voice. “I’m broken.” “You are!? Then this is my grandmother’s fault for giving you to me!” While Isadora continued arguing with her book and giving worried glances towards the footstool which was now spinning on one leg, Fredrick’s mother who had heard the screaming came rushing to the barn. She burst through the door and saw a footstool, which had stopped moving, and a crazed looking Isadora looking back at her with wide eyes. “What’s wrong my dear?” asked Fredrick’s mother. “And where did that footstool come from?” “Oh I’m ffine,” stuttered Isadora. “And I brought that footstool from my house.” “Okay….,” Fredrick’s mother said. “Where’s Fredrick?” “He ummm…..he went out to the forest to collect berries.” “Ehhh, he should have known better. It can be dangerous out in the forest. I’ll go get him.” “Oh no! I mean, I’ll go get him myself so you won’t be bothered.” “What? All right then, but you be careful too.” Fredrick’s mother went out through the open barn door with a swoosh of her long quilted dress and left Isadora completely horrified and unsure of what to do.
Chapter 2 “Oh! What am I going to do,” Isadora moaned to the book and footstool, but mostly to herself. “If anyone finds out what I’ve done to Fredrick I will surely be burned for black magic.” She looked down at her hands and began to think. Since Fredrick had been turned into a footstool by magic and her book was broken, then she would have to find someone else who could cast magic and have them turn Fredrick back. The only other witch she knew of was Sirsu of Tazrule Swamp, and that was several miles away. “Well just have to go to her then,” Isadora said sounding defeated. “What’s that suppose to mean,” asked the book rather snobbishly. “Oh sorry. I’ve decided that we should go to see Sirsu in Tazrule Swamp for help with turning Fredrick back to normal. “Fine with me,” said the book. Isadora picked up the book and called to the footstool to come. She slipped through the door, which Fredrick’s mother had left opened and stared into the forest she was going to have to go through. It was very dense with all sorts of dark green plants and foul smelling rotting wood. You could see the sharp contrast of light on the border of the forest. The people of the village didn’t usually travel through the forest because it was a very difficult and tiring journey they didn’t really have a need to travel through it. Any trade was done on a path created through the forest but it was in the opposite direction that Isadora had to go. With a sigh she took the first step into the shady green. In the forest branches and vines reached out and ripped Isadora’s black dress and scratched her skin. The footstool was having a horribly hard time getting over the logs and thick strong bushes on the ground. “I look like I rolled down a mountain,” she said unhappily looking down at herself. “And I’m hungry.” She looked around for some berries but none were to be found for it was too early in the summer. Then turning her head slightly to the right something caught her eye besides a large old tree. She walked over to it and saw that it was a finely woven basket filled with food. Simple sandwiches, odd-shaped fruit, several pieces of thoroughly cooked meat and a metallic canteen were all inside. “Well this is extremely fortunate,” Isadora said delighted. But before she had a chance to try any of it there was the sound of crunching twigs and hearty laughs from men talking amongst themselves. “Oh no,” she thought, “they are coming this was and this food is probably theirs.” She snatched the basket and slung it around her arm as she darted back onto her trail. Not paying attention to where she was stepping, she slipped on a moist flat stone spilling much of the contents of her basket and dropping the book. She scrambled to quietly and quickly reclaim the various food items and the book, and then ran as fast as she could for fear she had been heard. When she was far enough away she sat down on a musty rotten stump. She smiled to herself when she heard the angry yells of the men and took a large bite of a sandwich. When she had finished eating she continued through the forest until she exited the other side. Now for the next few miles in front of her lay wide open fields with rolling hills and grazing animals. In the light of the setting sun the grass looked like a dark green-blue river flowing across the cool plains. “Well this looks much more enjoyable,” said the book. Far far away in the distance Isadora saw what seemed to be a very large brown rock. “I wonder what that is,” she thought to herself. She walked over to a tree and sat down leaning against it “We’re going to rest here tonight,” Isadora said to the book and footstool. Fredrick, exhausted from the difficult journey through the forest, let his for small wooden legs fall out from underneath him and stayed there. “Why? I’m not tired,” said the book coolly. “Maybe that’s because I carried you all the way,” she said annoyed. The book flipped itself partly open on the ground where Isadora had placed it and vibrated one of its pages back and forth at Isadora. She glared at the book for a moment and then rolled over onto the ground with her back to the book. She looked up at the star-filled sky and marveled at all the sparkling diamonds. Then she closed her eyes and swiftly fell asleep.
Chapter 3
In the morning Isadora awoke to the footstool poking her in the back. When she opened her eyes she saw the bright hot sun slightly above the horizon. Animals in the field had already started their day of feeding. She yawned and sat up. “Yes we probably should get going,” she said sounding refreshed. “But first breakfast.” She slowly ate a bright yellow fruit which had little thorns spaced about an inch and a half from each other. It was very sweet and creamy. Isadora enjoyed eating it greatly. Then she stood up, took the off the ground, grabbed the basket, and started in the direction of Tazrule Swamp. The sun was beating down and glaring into Isadora’s eyes. The grass was no longer a green-blue river but a burnt yellow-green color which made her feel sorry for the animals feeding on it. “Ugggg,” she complained trying to look at the ground so her eyes wouldn’t hurt so much. “I can’t take this.” She glanced up and saw the horizon waver in the heat and also a large dark brown mansion coming up. “This must be what I thought that rock was,” she thought out loud. “Maybe we can rest in the shade of it. But when they reached the mansion the sun was just about at its zenith so there was no shadows to rest in. “Just my luck,” Isadora said as she flopped down onto the footstool who quickly shook her off and began stomping around in a circle like it did at the barn. She sat on the ground looking at the mansion. It had several circular windows, which were now shut with curtains pulled to keep out the burning sun. Also the walls were a deep chocolate brown and a large grayish door had been left open as several gardeners hurried in and out. “If only it would rain,” she sighed. She looked down at the book in her hands and a smile began to grow on her face. Quickly she flipped open her book and found a spell. She read through this spell more carefully than the first in hopes that it would go better. Closing the book, she stood up and did something of a rain dance with jumping up and down on one foot and waving her hands in large circles. There was a crack of thunder and clouds began to fill the sky. “Yes!” she cried out. “It worked!” Then a rock about the size of a cherry fell from the sky and landed a couple feet away from Isadora as she stared at it in confusion. Her gazed snapped back to the sky and she saw several other stones falling downward. She screamed as the rocks began to collide with her bringing large areas of blunt pain. She ran to the only cover for miles, which was the open mansion door. She had to shove past the gardeners also scrambling inside and screaming about the falling rocks. She didn’t have much time to take notice of the inside of the mansion for she was frantically looking for Fredrick. The crowd began to spread out to the inner walls and she saw the footstool darting around violently in a panic. Isadora did a stumbling jog over to the footstool and placed a reassuring hand on it making him stop jittering. And now she began to become aware of her surroundings. She was standing in the middle of a grand entrance hall with two staircases, one on the left and one on the right, leading to an upper balcony. The floor was light peach flowered tile and the walls were a similar color but with alternating white stripes. Several people were standing along the walls and staring at her in disbelief. Based on their outfits she guessed that they were the servants to whoever lived here. Sounds of the rocks hitting the ground could still be heard through the open door. One young man dressed all in white walked a little forward and asked, “Miss, did you cause the raining rocks?” “Maybe….,” she answered unsure if this man had a punishment in mind or not. He seemed to take this as a yes and had her follow him up the left staircase and through a door on the balcony. Inside was a lavishly decorated room with deep red wallpaper. There was an old stone fireplace burning happily and on the mantel were several faded photographs. In the very center of the room was a very long dining table covered in food but only one person sat at it in the farthest chair from where Isadora now stood. The servant walked over to the man at the end of the table and Isadora followed cautiously. The man was excessively fat and completely bald. He was wearing a very colorful regal shirt, coat, and pants. Still, overall he resembled something of a clown. The servant leaned over to the fat man’s ear and whispered something. “Oh!” exclaimed the fat man and his eyes fell curiously on Isadora. The servant finished whispering and left the room with the fat man still staring at her. After a long pause he said, “Hello. My name is Carte. What’s yours?” His voice was very immature and childish. Isadora, looking worried said, “Isadora.” “Well that’s a nice name,” said the man. “Now, my servant tells me you can do magic and I do love all things magical.” “Oh,” said Isadora fearfully for she could tell where this conversation was going. “Yes. Would you mind doing something magical for me?” “I can’t.” “Didn’t you make those rocks fall from the sky?” “Yes but….” “Well do something,” Carte ordered getting annoyed. “I can’t. I refuse. My spells never work and I have to be going on my way.” Carte’s eyes widened as he saw his chance. “Well until you do some magic I will not let you go.” Isadora bit her lip realizing the mistake she had made and sighed, “Fine.” She sat down in a chair three seats from where Carte sat and placed her basket of food on the ground next to her. She opened her book and found a spell for a little smoke ball. Putting the book in her lap with her left hand, she said “bobomous” and pointed to a spot in the air with her right hand. From the spot she had pointed to, there was a little pop and thick dark gray smoke expanded. It stayed there churning in the air for a while and then slowly faded away. Carte clapped merrily while Isadora wore a look of disbelief and wondered why the spell had worked so well. “Do another,” Carte said in an even more childish voice than normal. “No! I have to go now,” said Isadora standing up. “Hahaha,” he laughed, “I can’t just let you go. Do you know how rare real witches are these days? You are going to stay here and show me as much magic as I want!” “Oh no I’m not!” Isadora said loudly and angrily as she ran towards the door. “Guards!” yelled Carte and almost instantly two large guards dressed all in white came through the door and blocked it. Isadora stood ready to dart in any direction but was unsure of what to do. Fredrick had previously kept himself hidden from the fat noble but now he ran at Carte and tried to feebly attack him with his small legs. “Oooo! An enchanted footstool,” said Carte in delight as he picked it up and held it in his sweaty bulging hand by one leg.” “Let him go you frumpypigskin!” Isadora yelled her temper bursting. She opened the book and found a spell she knew would go horribly wrong: controlling fire. She held the book under her left arm as she swung her right arm in a jagged square shape and shouted “forfisaisaisamo!” The fireplace exploded with orange-yellow flames burning the photographs and the walls around it. Carte screamed and dropped Fredrick who came running to Isadora. Several sparks from the fire flew to other parts of the room and ignited fires there too. The two guards left the door and ran over to their master trying to help him. Seeing her chance for escape Isadora ran out of the room and down the stairs with the footstool close behind. In the main entrance a couple of people tried to stop her running out of the house, but they were too distracted by the screams from upstairs and the fire, which had begun to spread to the balcony. Isadora didn’t stay to see if everyone got out okay, she just keep running and running until the scalding sun began to get to her. Though not at its peek anymore the sun was still glaring and painful. She turned around and watched the burning house.” “Oh no!” Isadora cried remembering something she had forgotten. “I left the basket of food there! What am I going to eat now.” She sat the thinking about what she was going to do next. The book made a yawning sound and then mumbled, “I sorta fell asleep after we reached the big house. Anything interesting happen when I was out?” “Yeah,” Isadora said obnoxiously, “you made stones pummel from the sky and you burnt down that mansion.” “Really?” asked the book sounding smug. “If I had a hand I’d be patting my back right now.” Isadora flicked it. She looked up at the sky and sighed, “If we continue we’ll be able to reach the swamp around nighttime. Plus we can’t rest here or we will fry.” Once again she stood up and began walking towards Sirsu. The last few miles of the flat plain went quickly because the sun was on her back instead of in her eyes. Before long she began to see the edge of the swamp. It was a murky green color with several thin, twisty, dead-looking trees. As she came closer she saw the swamp ground was a thin layer of brownish slime. “Wonderful,” Isadora said sarcastically but she was too exhausted to really care. Gloomily she looked into the dark nasty swamp. The light going into it seemed to be eaten away by the darkness. “There is no way I’m going in there at night,” said the book. “Well what can you do about it,” Isadora provoked. The book wriggled itself loose and broke free from underneath Isadora’s arm. On the way to the ground it clamped hard on her hand. Isadora yelped in shock and waved her hand fanatically but the book refused to let go. “Fine! We’ll stay here tonight,” she said frustrated. The book lessened its grip and fell to the ground. She sat down and looked up at the sky. It was still bright even though the sun had already sank below the horizon. Pinks, oranges, reds, and yellows were smeared about the sky. Isadora began to relax after the very stressful day she had just had. The rancid smell of the swamp wafted over to Isadora. It smelled of rotting life and she realized the book was probably right by saying they should not have gone into it at night. But they didn’t have any food left. With these thoughts in her mind she slowly slipped off to sleep. Chapter 4 By the time she woke up it was already late into the morning. Her skin on her face and neck burned with the sunburns she had gotten the day before. The damp shade of the swamp was beginning to seem a lot more attractive to Isadora. She got up and went over to the footstool, which was still sleeping, in a long patch of grass. She gently rubbed her hand against its wooden top and Fredrick jumped up, attentive and ready to go. “We’re going now,” she said to the book as she picked it up “See doesn’t it look nicer now then it did last night,” the book commented. Isadora looked towards the swamp. The light of the sun had brightened up the groggy darkness but now it had a sick green color to it. “Yes, beautiful.” She placed her right foot into the swamp and it sank about half an inch into the soggy ground. “Just beautiful.” The going was very slow in the mud and Isadora had to carry the footstool because he couldn’t walk in it. The smell of the swamp was overwhelming and Isadora tried to breathe through just her mouth until she realized the air tasted almost as bad as it smelled. Creatures festered in the shadows and created eerie noises. The trees were bent at disturbing angles and had many unusual lumps growing on them. At one point Isadora got so hungry she had to eat some berries she found on a light gray bush. Just like she expected they were the most horrible things she had ever tasted but she ate them because of the pains in her stomach. The deeper into the swamp they went the darker it got until she saw a light in the distance. “Look! Look!” Isadora exclaimed. “That must be coming from the witch’s house.” As they neared she began to see the outline of a house. It was very small and shabby. She could see several breaks in what she thought was oak wood. Through the windows came the light they had followed. On the side of the house facing Isadora there was a rickety small porch and a front door falling off it’s hinges. “You first,” said the book. The steps to the porch sagged under Isadora as she climbed. She opened the door just wide enough to stick her head through but the hinge was all rusty and it let out a sharp high-pitched squeak. “Who’s there!” shouted a high but rough voice. Isadora peeked her head through the door and saw a very startled and frantic elderly woman about the age of her grandmother. She had long blond hair, which stuck out everywhere and wide eyes. She was wearing a large puffy black robe, which made her look much larger then she actually was. Isadora decided hiding would not make things any easier so she opened the door wide with much squeaking and stepped in to the house. “Sorry to bother you,” said Isadora looking around the room. It was a very small room with cluttered shelves on the walls and a large pot in the middle fizzing with colorful liquid. The old witch Sirsu was standing next to the pot with a spell book in her small wrinkled hands. “I need help with something.” Sirsu didn’t answer and still stared with wide eyes so Isadora continued. “By accident my friend was turned into a footstool,” Isadora explained indicating the footstool crouched close to her leg. “Would you please turn him back.” The edges of Sirsu’s mouth pulled back in a gruesome smile and she let loose a crackling laugh. “You must deal with your mistake,” Sirsu laughed. “You turned him into a footstool, you can turn him back.” Sirsu cackled and laughed bouncing up and down on her heels while Isadora glared at her getting angrier and angrier at each laugh. Finally Isadora couldn’t take it anymore and burst, “ON MY BIRTHDAY I GOT A BROKEN MAGIC BOOK WHICH TURNED MY BEST FRIEND INTO A FOOTSTOOL FORCING ME TO LEAVE THE TOWN I HAD LIVED IN ALL MY LIFE! I HAD TO TRAVEL THROUGH A FOREST WHICH RUINED MY CLOTHES, A HUGE PLAIN WITH THE SUN FRYING ME ALL THE WAY, AND YOUR PUTRID SWAMP COVERED IN SLIME AND CONTAINING THE WORST BERRIES I HAVE EVER EATEN! I’VE MADE ROCKS FALL FROM THE SKY AND BURNT DOWN THE MANSION OF CARTE! IF YOU DO NOT TURN HIM BACK RIGH NOW I’LL BURN DOWN THIS SHACK OF YOURS AND THE WHOLE DISGUSTING SWAMP TOO!” Isadora stopped, panting and glaring at Sirsu with furious eyes. Sirsu seemed stunned by the unexpected outburst and stared back with the same wide frightened eyes she had when Isadora first saw her. “Well?” growled Isadora. “Yes, yes!” yelped Sirsu as she picked up the footstool and placed it down in front of her. She took both hands, made a “X” with them in the air and then continued on to make many other shapes in the air. The footstool began to glow and sparkle in a shade of deep blue. Sirsu muttered something that Isadora couldn’t catch causing the footstool to emit a bright flash of light and turn back into Fredrick. Isadora stood there staring at him in shock. She almost couldn’t believe he was standing right there. Fredrick turned from facing Sirsu to Isadora and smiled. Isadora changed her look of disbelief into a smile too. “Now get out of my house,” barked Sirsu. Fredrick took Isadora’s had and together they stepped out of Sirsu’s house and began the journey home. The End
Hahaha...longest journal entry EVER!!
Musical Wind · Mon May 21, 2007 @ 10:24pm · 1 Comments |
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