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Incanto!
By Areeba Haider
CHAPTER 1- THE FIRE
Kylie fought her way to the front of the crowd; a man held a gun, a B-27589, fully loaded. His black eyes glared as he addressed the crowd. "Here are the traitors, the murderers, the filthy hypocrites!" Two shots and two limp bodies fell to the floor.
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Kylie awoke with a start, drenched in cold sweat. The nightmare occurred more than ever now, so much that the scene was forever sketched in her mind. She could remember that day so clearly, the day that had ruined her life.After a few minutes of heavy breathing, Kylie got up, took a long look around her, and tip-toed right out of the room.
It was chilly outside and a breeze was blowing. Outside, it was silent, and Kylie was at peace. She knew that at sunrise, the whole town would wake and chores would begin. In the distance she could hear gunshots, but it didn’t trouble her.
As she walked, Kylie passed the abandoned school and the toryll shop before arriving back at the orphanage. The morning bell had just rung and classes were about to begin.
"And then in the year 2001, almost 6,000 years ago! A group of extremists called … Kylie? Kylie!!!"
Kylie awoke with a start. "Wuh? Ooops, sorry Mr.Lambot. I … I … I won’t do it again. I promise! Really!" She flinched under the glare of her infuriated teacher.
Later that night, Kylie punched her pillow until the patches that covered the patches needed patching. She had lived at the orphanage most of her life. She was almost twelve now. Almost twelve.
Twelve was the age that you had to choose a career. After you chose, you were "escorted" out of the room by a professor who excels in your career choice. (Escorted is the term the teachers use but Kylie had seen a girl go kicking and screaming. But that was last year. )
It was not that Kylie wasn’t smart but she got bored quickly. Mr. Lambot was worried that she wouldn’t be able to choose a career.
I wonder if there is a job for adventurers. That’s what I wanna be. An adventurer. Yeah. That sounds exciting. Kylie took a deep breath hoping for the smell of the citrus smellizer would fill her nose. A smell did fill her nose, but not the one she wanted. The smell of smoke. Probably some late night smoker. And without any thought about the smoke, she drifted off to sleep.*******************************************************************************
Kylie was deep into the weirdest dream of her life.
A dragon. A heavy fire breathing dragon. It picks her up and drops her into a large nest. It shakes her and calls her name.*****************************************************************************
"Kylie!!! Kylie!!! OH MY GOSH!!! Kylie WAKE up!!!!!!!!! Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrre!!!!!!""Huh? What fire? Where?"
"HERE!!!"
"Oh… my… gawd" Kylie gasped at the sight around her. Flames surrounded all but one wall and the orphanage was going down like dominoes. Wall by wall Kylies home for the last ten years burned to the ground. She scrambled to her feet and ran. Outside the majority of the orphanage girls had huddled around Ms.Cordelia."Hurry, girls. Hurry!!! Head count!!! Hustle!!!"
But Kylie didn’t hustle. Not to Ms.Cordelia, anyway. Instead she took a deep breath, grabbed her little bag, and ran.
Her long legs pumping with every step she took, Kylie’s decision became clearer and clearer. Kylie was going to Danayla.
CHAPTER 2- CAPTURED!
Night fell quickly in the forest and before long the sky above her was a deep blue. The woods weren’t as frightening as she read about though, and the occasional wolf was the only danger. The path twisted and turned and Kylie was beginning to doze off. Not long after, kylie decided to turn in for the night for she was sure she was not being followed. But she hadn’t even begun to nod off before her peace was interrupted by a loud, gruff voice.
"Hey!!! You!!! Yeah, I’m talkin’ ta ya’. Ya don’ look from here! Yeah, ya’ look, what’s it called, that place!!!! Ya’ know? Seven miles away!!! Ya’ know? Uhhhh….. Yeah! Uh! Andalsi!!! Yeah! That’s the place!! Their eyes are kinda’ funny."
Kylie was silent. HIS eyes were funny. They slanted down a bit and were wider than most.
The man gazed at her expectantly. "Soooo……. Ya ain’t gonna answer me are ya sucker? Well, ya know what? I’ll do the answering for ya!" He swung his right arm over his shoulder…….
"Wait!!!! So I’m not from here, I’m from Andalsi." She shrugged. "So what?"
he lowered his arm. "I’ll tell you what! Ya here are campin’! Ain’t I right? Well, I’ll tell you what! This here is king’s ground. That means……."
"No offense, but…. I kinda gotta go so…. Could ya uhmmm… hurry up a little"
"That means that you owe him! Land or money?"
Kylie rummaged through her little bag. All she could find were three silver coins. Enough to buy a piece of bread, if anything."Well. Gee, sir. I’ve only got this. Hope it helps!" Kylie picked up her bags and prepared to leave.
"Hey! Not so fast!!! Lemme’ see those silva’ coins of ya!"
Kylie gulped, and, her heart beating fast, she handed him the coins. As he examined them she shuffled nervously on her toes. The king was not a very kind man. Or at least, that was what she had heard.
"Humph. These ain’t no real Silva’s. Thought you got away with it did you? I ain’t the smartest person on earth, but I ain’t no dummy! Ya’ here me? Huh? That’s right. ‘m takin’ ya ta’ the king!!!"
CHAPTER 3- THE CASTLE
Ronan just didn’t understand. He had gone over the problem three times now and had no rest. The idea that a piece of metal was much more powerful than him was just unfathomable. It just wasn’t right. He couldn’t do his evil deed without it. And he didn’t even have the faintest idea what exactly it was.*************************************************************************
The journey to the castle was uneventful. It took less than a day to reach it and the guard was not a very talkative fellow. As they reached the town the castle towers became apparent. In the distance she could hear a bugle call. Even as she neared the castle the sheer size of the building did not hit her until she had walked up to the doors.
A dark, tall, wall loomed above her and the door knocker seemed large enough for a giant. It had the ancient king’s symbol on it and she was surprised to find it light and hollow. As she knocked the door swung open and another man greeted her at the door. This man was dressed in black and had a green hat. He looked at her, his gaze never seeming to shift. "Why are you here?" He spoke the last word sharply, like a knife against the metal.Kylie wasn’t sure how to reply. "uhmmm… camping on kings ground?"
He gave her a knowing look and then led her through the dark dismal hall. At the end of the corridor was a damp and musty… cell.
"Maybe you can plan your case in here. Another twenty years or so and we’ll be ready for your trial." He laughed cruelly before shoving her into the dungeon.
CHAPTER 4- THE DUNGEON
"OWWWW!!!!!" Kylie screamed. The push into the dungeon had made her bump into the brick wall in the back.
"Quiet, honey. They’re not going to hear you. No matter how loud you scream. These walls here. As soon as you in them the walls block out all sound. So his MAJESTY may sleep"
Kylie jumped. She hadn’t thought there was anyone else in the cell. But yet there was. A small hunchbacked thing. Its nose was long and pointy and it had bushy eyebrows. "Oh…" she breathed. "A ferisher"
"got that right. ‘M name’s fernie. Yours?"
"UH… Kylie. I thought that they were gone from…"
Yes. Yes, but I’m not from Danayla am I?"
Kylie was taken aback. "are you from…"
‘I’m from Calaylorielly. Ferisher capital of the world."
"Oh" and with that Kylie went to sleep.
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Kylie awoke the next morning, or at what she thought was morning (there were no windows in the dungeon so no light flowed through.) The ferisher was sleeping, snoring actually. Kylie hadn’t noticed before but the brick she had bumped into had a strange word
INCANTOOn it and it was also loose. She pried the brick out, for the clay that held it was not very strong. The inside of the brick had been hollowed out like a box. She searched the inside of the box and her face fell with disappointment. There was nothing in there unless… yes. There was a tiny, shiny, gold ring. It was just the right size. Her excitement grew as she stared at the ring. Kylie had never heard of the word Incanto. It might have been a bad thing but nothing was happening to her so she just stuck it on to her ring finger.
A while later the guard from last night appeared at the cell.
"you’ve had your 20 year wait and now it is time for your trial. Ferisher." He spat out the last word in disgust.
Fernie shuffled out towards the guard. Although Kylie knew she was trying to keep a straight face, Fernie wore a mask of terror.
This was the last look of Fernie, Kylie ever got. She did not return from her trial. Kylie only assumed the best and hoped that she had been set free.
The words of the guard now haunted her. "Another twenty years or so and we’ll be ready for your trial." That was what he had said. Twenty years. Kylie’s stomach turned and churned. Would this be where she died? She was bound to lose her childhood in the dark and lonely cell. All because of one stupid fire.
And at that moment Kylie realized the terribleness of her situation. All because of one fire, she now had to sit in the cell for twenty years. If she survived those twenty years, then she would be put to trial. And if she didn’t win the case well….she was basically a goner.
CHAPTER 5- ESCAPE
Ronan gripped his spiky black hair wildly. Of course!!! The answer was right in front of him. Incanto. He had to look for the metal object with something to do with Incanto. Incanto was the ferishi way of saying power. And metal has power. It can be used to make magnets. It can be melted to make jewelry. Without metal life would be impossible. "Ha ha!!! I get it now!!! Incanto!!!! Of course!!!"*******************************************************************************
kylie awoke to a funny tingling feeling from her head to her toes. All of a sudden her eyes got disconnected and everything froze.
The coolness of the humid air pressed against her cheeks her palms wet with sweat. The smell of soil wafted through her nose and she sneezed. The pitter patter of people’s feet while walking down the spiral staircase created a rhythm. The bars of the cage looked down at her, they were her only obstacle.
Her eyes began to function correctly and Kylie looked down. What she saw there made her scream, but no sound escaped her mouth. Because what she saw was… nothing. She was light as wind and capable of walking through walls. Now was her time to escape!!!!
She sprinted right through the cell and out to the door. All at once she was out. Out of that gloomy castle and Kylie silently celebrated.
CHAPTER 6- THE REVELATION
Ronan was sure he had found it. The thing. THE metal object. The prophecy had said that it was round, tiny and gold. A ring. And it was in the king’s dungeon. He grabbed his bags and prepared to commit a crime.
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Kylie allowed the wind to mess up her hair. She now felt a feeling she had never felt before. Now she was truly free.And then, a familiar tingling feeling. Kylie was visible again. The ring had turned a slight red and the truth hit Kylie. The ring. Of course. And the prophecy and… oh… my… gawd!!!
Terrified, Kylie turned. A man with spiky black hair and dark brown eyes stood in front of her. "Excuse me ma’am" his voice was slightly accented. "Excuse me but that ring is mine. So if you could just hand it over?""Yours? This is mine. I found it in the dungeons."
He glared. His eyes were on the ring. Faster than Kylie knew he could, Ronan stretched out and… grabbed the ring.
"NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kylie jumped over him like a tiger. But he wasn’t there. A big black stone now stood in his place, the ring beside it. She picked up the ring and thought… problem solved! I’m out of the dungeon and he’s dead. NOW I’m free.
The end
EPILOUGE
So Kylie went on to roam the earth. She became an adventurer just like she wanted.
In Danayla a big black stone slowly crumbled to reveal a man. A man with black spiky hair. Alive and well.
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