part one: estubia

JPart One: EstubiaL
I woke up, panting and sweating. As I tried to recall my dream, it slipped away. Again. I dreamed this same dream every night, I knew it, but I could never remember the dream. It was a nightmare. If only I could remember it…
I pulled myself to a sitting position. Shaking my head to clear it, I pulled the covers back and sighed. My room was cold, as it always is during fall. I half ran to my drawer. Pulling out my clothes for the day, I put my socks on first. I then dressed in my ragged, hand-me-down clothing. When I was dressed in my warmest clothes, I was still cold. Shivering, I headed down the stairs.
“There Phoenix is,” my father said. I looked around the crowded kitchen table and cringed. I was the last one to come down, which had happened every night since the dream first came. I knew that my siblings would be angry with me because, once again, they had to take on my morning chores because I was sleeping. If they only knew about the dream, they would understand, I thought. But I can’t tell them because I couldn’t even explain it to myself.
Lydia came to my seat with a steaming breakfast. I smiled at her as I took the food. Lydia was so sweet. She had… problems. She was not nearly as smart as any of us, but she was sweet, understanding, and so wonderful. I suppose I should tell you about my family.
There are eight of us kids. The oldest, at twenty-three, is Estin. Then there is Lylyia, who is my twenty-year-old sister. I come next, Phoenix, eighteen in a month. Reyfold comes next. He just turned sixteen last week. Elmonga is next. She is fourteen, and very vain. After Elmonga comes Elsiea, who is thirteen. Then come Parsnip and Turnip. They are ten, twins, and big trouble. After that is Lydia, the sweetest of all. She has problems in her brain. She outshines us all, though. Lydia never gets mad and is always willing to help. Lydia is nine now, though she cleans the house and cooks everything. Merryn is the last. She is seven. My mother dyed well giving birth to Merryn, and Merryn blames herself for mother’s death. No one can convince her that her life was not the sole cause of Mother’s death.
“Slept late again, Phoenix,” my father said with a disappointed frown. “This needs to stop happening. Your siblings cannot continue to do your morning chores.”
“I… I’m sorry, Father, it’s just…” I began, but Father’s stern voice cut me off.
“You had those nightmares again. The ones that you cannot tell us about, right?” he more stated than asked. I nodded, staring at my plate. “For causing your hardworking, obedient siblings to take over your chores, you will be doing all of the work for the rest of the week.” I gasped. Surely he could not, would not, make me do this. It was too much work for one girl to do! “Is that understood?” Father asked, glaring at me.
“Ye… yes, Father. I understand.” My voice sounded small, weak, defeated.
“Father, please, let me help her,” said Reyfold.
“No, son. She must do this herself. You are not to help her at all.”
“I get it,” Reyfold spat, apparently angry at Father for this unfair punishment.
We ate the rest of our meal in tense silence. When I had eaten all I could force myself to eat, I stood up and loudly put my dishes away. I walked out of the house to do everyone’s chores.
The chores took all day, leaving me drained and sweaty. I fell into my bed, still dressed, and fell asleep instantly. Sadly, the dreams came even though I was so worn out.
I sat up in my bed, a feverish desire to stop it, this thing that was coming. Panting, I stood up and rushed around my room wildly and blindly. How I could I stop it? I hoped the fast motion would help me think of a way… Suddenly, I stopped, realizing something. I had remembered the dream. I knew it now; could not stop it from running through my mind. I sat down on the edge of my bed and took a few deep, calming breaths. I thought through the dream slowly.
I was standing at the edge of our property, looking back at the farm with a downcast face. A bag, containing my few personal belongings, I guessed, sat at my feet. The house – my house – was burning. I could hear the screams of my family inside. Yet I stood there, not moving, not going to help them, just standing. Soon I became aware of something in my hand. I looked at it, not believe what it was. It was a burning torch. I was the one who started the fire. It was me. Why had I done this? I did not know. All I could think about was getting away… far away. I had to escape the horrible burning house before the fire spread. The waist-high grass around me would soon ignite, I knew this. I started to run. I ran and ran and ran, until I could run no more. I had reached the end of the world. I plunged off of the cliff into the nothingness below. I fell, deeper and deeper into the black void. Then, I hit something. A hand. A human hand was holding me. I looked up into the face of the person. There was no face, just a smear of skin where the features should have been. I could hear insane laughter, and, too my horror, the person who was holding me started flinging my body up into the air… now catching me, now throwing me back up. I went up, just to crash down into the palm of the stranger again and again, unable to stop it, unable to move. Then the dream ended. That was all.
I knew the dream would come true sooner or later. It made no sense, but I knew. All I could think about was stopping the dream. After an hour or so, I came up with a solution. I had to leave. That was the only way. I had to pack my stuff and leave. I stood, very calm, and started silently stripping my room of everything I could fit into the small bag that I had. Suddenly, a thought came to me. How was I going to explain this to my family? I could not just pack and leave, or they might worry about me. I had to write them a note. Picking up a stray sheet of paper and some charcoal, I started scratching letters onto the page.
Dear family, I wrote, I must leave you for reasons I cannot explain. I have taken a small amount of cash to help me along my way. I have also taken some food, and our family picture so that I can have a small token to remind me of you. I know you will not understand no matter what I say. Please do not go out searching for me. Do not tell anyone I am gone. I believe that you are in danger while I am here. Please, please let me leave peacefully. I may or may not see you again, but if I do, I will explain everything the best that I can. With much love, Phoenix.
I hoped that they would read this and not search for me. That would just make it more dangerous to them. I finished packing quickly and headed out the door. I walked a few feet from the house, looked around me, and sighed. I would never get anywhere on foot. I would have to take Midgen. Midgen was one of our four horses. A sturdy palomino mare, not exactly in her prime. She was the least valuable of our horses. I figured that my family would want me to take her, so I could make my long journey safely.
I dashed into the house and picked up the sheet of paper I had written on. Ps. I have taken Midgen so that I can make it to wherever I am going. Please do not be angry. I scrawled. I went back outside and into the barn. I readied Midgen, who objected to being awoken early.
Finally, we rode off into the growing sunlight. I glanced back at my home, wondering if this would be the last I ever saw of it.

It was the eighth day of my journey. I knew this because of a small notebook and charcoal pencil that I had thought to bring along. The first page of the notebook was to mark the days on: one tally mark per day. Eight tally marks now sat on the first line of the page. I had not found a use for the other pages yet, but I figured that I could write important things down on there.
Midgen and I stopped at a stream that sang its way through the grass. This was the first running water I had seen since I left. (I had been drinking warm, old water that I had packed in a bottle. Strangely, the water never ran out. It just got grosser and grosser as time wore on.) Delighted by the stream, I hurriedly ripped off my clothing and threw it into the water. I waded in after the bundle, laughing. I caught my clothes and washed them best I could.
Having laid my clothes out on the bank of the stream, I got back into the water and started to wash away the dirt, sweat, and stress of my journey. I could tell that Midgen was enjoying this break also. I finished in the stream and got out. I made sure that I had changed the water in the bottle, pulled out fresh clothes from my bag, dressed, and laid myself out on the soft grass.
I felt my eyes growing heavy. I tried to keep myself awake, but it was no use. My body was not use to the lack of sleep, so I was soon out. Thankfully, the dream stayed away. I relished my first peaceful sleep in months.
I awoke to someone shaking my shoulder roughly. I opened my eyes and screamed.
“Who are you?” I bellowed at the man who had been shaking me. “What are you doing here?”
“I just helped you! I have been letting you sleep, taking care of your horse…” he was yelling also. I cut him off.
“Why are you here? Who are you?” I screamed.
“I’m here on my own business. My name is Fragen,” he shouted back.
“Why are we shouting?” I yelled.
He dropped his voice. “I have no idea.”
“Oh. Well, I’m Phoenix. Sorry to yell like that. You scared me, though, waking me up like that,” I said sheepishly.
“Quite alright, Phee,” he said, nicknaming me. The nickname took me off guard. I had never been called anything but Phoenix in my life, and here was this stranger, giving me a nickname. “It was rather rude of me. I just wanted to let you know that dinner will be ready soon.”
Fragen was tall and muscular. He had the most green eyes. They seemed to see right into you. They were the most enchanting eyes I had ever seen. His shoulder-length hair was dark brown, so dark that it seemed to be black. He was funny and kind. I had never met anyone like him, and I thought that I never would meet someone else so stunning.
“Dinner?” I said, taken aback. “You made dinner?” I looked over and saw a nice little fire burning. A pot of something was sitting on top of the fire.
“Well, yeah, of course I made dinner,” Fragen said. “That’s what traveling companions normally do for each other. It’s your turn tomorrow.”
“What­? We’re not traveling companions!” I did not understand this boy.
“Oh, right. I’m supposed to leave you in the wilderness to make it on your own,” Fragen said sarcastically. “I wouldn’t be a gentleman if I did that, now would I?” he had a point, I had to admit. “You wouldn’t last another week on your own. Why are you out here, anyways? You definitely should be with your family right now.”
“You wouldn’t understand,” I said, turning my head away so that he would not see the tears that were forming in my eyes. He saw them anyway.
“Don’t cry, Phee. I was just wondering,” he said soothingly, patting my arm.
“I know,” I said, wiping my eyes. Maybe, just maybe, Fragen was better than I had thought. “I guess I should tell you my story, considering that I could be a murderer or something.” Fragen laughed at the thought.
I told him all about the farm, my family, the reoccurring dream, and why I left.
“Very odd,” he murmured to himself once I had finished. “I wonder what that means…”
He sat for a few minutes, thinking hard. I watched him think. Finally, he came to a conclusion.
“I will tell you my story now,” he said loudly. “I came from a very bad family. My parents fought all of the time. They would yell, scream, and throw things at each other, the whole deal. Finally, my mom couldn’t take it any more. She left one day. I was six. I haven’t seen her since. My father continued to beat me. I knew I couldn’t leave. Where would I go?” his voice got softer. “Then I discovered my powers. I can do magic.” I gasped.
“I thought magic was just make-believe,” I said disbelievingly.
“No, it is real,” Fragen insisted. I decided to keep quiet. “I showed my father. He was frightened. I could tell, even though he never said it out loud. One day, he left and didn’t come back for days. When he finally came back, there was a large object in his cart. I couldn’t see what he had gotten; it was under a tarp. He began to make something. It was a room. He locked me in the room and I had no means of escape. He fed me twice a day. I was never let out. It was horrible, Phee. Finally, he died. Somehow, I was let out of the room. I immediately set out. I’ve been traveling ever since. I don’t know what I’m looking for or anything.” He fell silent. I felt sorry for him.
“Prove to me that you can do magic,” I demanded, not knowing what else to say. He stood up and, with a flourish, set his horse on fire. I screamed. With another wave of his arm, the fire went out, leaving no mark at all.
“Wow,” I said. That was all I could manage.
“I wonder,” Fragen said under his breath. He turned to me. “Think fast, Phee.” He muttered something and a dart of blue lightning shot out of his finger tips. It was going to hid Midgen!
“No!” I screamed, flinging out my arms uselessly. To my surprise, something red shot out of my fingers and caught the lightning bolt, destroying it. My mouth fell open.
“Just as I thought,” Fragen said proudly. “You can do it too.”
“How can I do that?” I asked dumbly.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure glad I found you,” Fragen answered. “The food’s ready. Let’s eat.”

We set out after that night, following the brook. Fragen was nice company, I found out. We took turns making dinner. Fragen’s meals always tasted better, but he seemed not to notice. He taught me what little magic he knew. One day, when we stopped for the night, I pulled out my notebook (there were twenty-seven marks in it now) and realized that it was my birthday.
“It’s my birthday,” I said. Fragen looked surprised.
“Really? How old are you now?” he asked.
“Eighteen,” I answered. He looked surprised at that too.
“You look older than that,” he said.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty in a month,” Fragen answered. “I’ll have to get you something at the next town.”
That was unexpected. “You don’t have too,” I said. He gave me a look that said, yes I do have to get you something. I let the matter drop.
“Do you know when we’ll get to the next town?” I asked. He nodded.
“Two days or less,” he said, pointing. I could see a small smudge on the horizon. That must be the town. “I can do something to make us travel quicker.”
“Why didn’t you do that before?” I asked.
“It would have been hard on the horses,” he answered. That made sense.

We were at the town by the next sundown. Fragen made us travel much, much quicker. I seemed to learn something from him every day. He was teaching me the bits and pieces of magic that he knew. I could now start fires, warm things up, make myself invisible, and a few other little things like that.
The town was more of a city, really. The people were kind but kept their distance, as if they respected us, but from a distance. They obviously had few visitors; there was only one inn in the whole city.
The inn was odd. You paid money to sleep there. Food was included. The weird thing was that there was only six rooms in the entire inn: the woman’s sleeping room, the men’s sleeping room, a woman’s bathroom, a men’s bathroom, the area where you checking in, and a kitchen. Everyone slept on cots in their gender’s room. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served on large wooden tables that separated the sleeping rooms in half. The bathrooms were nice, with stalls that had toilets, sinks, and bathtubs, complete with soap, shampoo, and towels. The inn was very clean, too.
Before dinner I bathed. The warm bath felt wonderful. I scrubbed the days of riding in the dusty, windy fields out of my hair. I put on my one other outfit, a dress that had been my sister’s, and threw the other one in the laundry hamper that the inn provided. I went into the sleeping/eating room. They served a wonderful dinner of chicken and vegetables, stir-fried with rice.
After I had finished my dinner, Fragen met me in the check-in room. “Are you ready to pick out your present?” he asked me. I blushed slightly and nodded.
“Erm… what are you thinking about getting me?” I asked, feeling very rude.
“Oh, anything, Phee.” He leaned close to me and whispered, “I know how to make money. Don’t let word get out, though. I think that may be illegal.” The thought of using illegal money was not a welcome one, but I knew it was necessary. My money had only paid about half of what it had cost for me to stay in the inn. Fragen could not possibly have that much, either.
“I guess I’ll take an outfit, then,” I answered. I could not think of anything else to ask for.
“Just one, then?” Fragen asked. I nodded, trying not to seem greedy or anything. “And how many do you have with you?”
“Two,” I said softly, knowing that he was going to insist on buying me more than just one outfit. I did not like spending too much money on myself. I had left the farm few times, and I had never had more than about twenty weights spent on me at any time. (Weights are our form of money. Each weight is about a third of an ounce.)
“I can’t just buy you one, can I?”
“I guess not.”
“Okay,” Fragen smiled, “we shall get you enough for a while.” We headed down the streets.
The atmosphere in the market was loud and cheery. Stalls lined the streets. Shopkeepers yelled their deals to the customers that filled the roads and shops to bursting. Fragen pulled me aside and ordered two chocolate-covered apples from a candy seller. He handed one to me. I took it, smiling. We headed down the streets to where the clothes shops were.
I headed into the first shop, a nice one, thinking that, as long as Fragen could keep making money, I should enjoy living in the lap of luxury. I looked at some dresses. None of them caught my eye in particular. That was all that they had as far as women’s clothes went. Grinning at Fragen, I headed over to the men’s side of the store. I looked through the racks, searching for a nice outfit. I found one, a loose, peasant-style shirt with black leather pants. When I asked the saleslady for a changing room, she thought I was helping Fragen find new clothes. Fragen and I laughed at her surprise when I went into the changing room with the clothes.
They sort of fit, but not quite. When I finished, I asked the saleslady if there was a tailor in town. She gave us directions to the place. We payed for my new clothes and headed out, deciding to go to more shops before we went to the tailor’s.
I got six outfits, some women’s clothes, some men’s. Fragen liked the fact that I was not afraid of what other people thought of me. The tailor took my measurements and the clothes. He looked interested in us. I bet he would, two travel-worn companions, asking him to make expensive men’s clothing fit a girl. We would definitely stand out in this tradition-keeping town.
After we had left the tailor shop, we went back to the inn. Before bidding me a good night, Fragen pulled something out of his pocket. It was a little box. There was a small bow on top. I stared at in confusion. He handed the box to me. I opened it slowly and gasped. A delicate, silver necklace was inside. The pendant had blue, green, yellow, and purple gemstones in it. I had no doubt that they were real.
“When… when did you get this?” I asked stupidly.
“While you weren’t looking,” Fragen laughed. “Do you like it?” He seemed earnestly worried that I could actually not like the beautiful piece of jewelry.
“It’s… it’s… I love it,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. It was the nicest gift I had ever gotten.
“Good,” Fragen said. He went off into the men’s room. I put the necklace on.

We stayed in the city, Gul, for a week, searching for someone who could do magic as we could. We did not come right out and say, “Does anyone here do magic?” because this could get us killed. We had to be more careful, listening in on conversations between two shady characters, visiting bars with magical names, and such. Finally, after searching for six days, we found something.
I was in a bar, waiting for Fragen and listening. Nothing that I was hearing helped us in any way. I ordered a drink and sat, bored, when Fragen came in. He spotted me immediately and came over.
“I found something,” he said, sitting down. “A woman – her name is Myrie – she can do magic, I think. I left a message for her at the inn she’s staying at. I hope she comes.”
“Comes where?” I asked, confused.
“Here, of course. I told her to meet us here tomorrow at nine thirty.”
“Wow… after all that searching… you found something, just like that,” I said, hoping that she would come.
The rest of the day was spent sitting around idly and reading books that we had bought. It was very boring. I took about three baths, from sheer boredom. After a while, we went out into a park. Fragen and I sat on some swings and talked for a bit, about our families and pasts and dreams. The pendant was still around my neck. Every now and then, I played with it unconsciously.

The woman, Myrie, did come. Fragen and I were at the bar, waiting. She came thirty minutes late, which worried me. Fragen kept insisting that she would come.
“So this is the girl you were talking about,” Myrie said coldly as she sat down. “Not a very pretty thing, eh?” I glared, first at her and then at Fragen. Who did she think she was, walking in late and insulting me like that! The nerve of some people.
“Nice, to meet you too, Myrie,” I turned to Fragen, “So this is the woman? When I pictured her, she wasn’t so fat and that nasty wart wasn’t on her face like that.” Myrie looked affronted. Fragen just looked awkward. Myrie did have a wart, though. And she was not what you would call thin.
“Uh… Myrie would you like a drink?” Fragen asked. I felt bad for him. I had not wanted to hit it off like this, but how she angered me.
“No. I would like to have my wits about me.” she glanced at me pointedly, as if she thought that I would wait until she was drunk and then kill her. It was not a bad idea, though.
“So why exactly do we have the… pleasure … of talking with Myrie?” I asked Fragen, fingering the pendant.
“Oh. I don’t know. I thought maybe she could teach us about magic,” Fragen said.
“It would cost you,” Myrie said. ‘Oh, please, surely you know that we can make money whenever we need it,’ I thought nastily.
“Money is not an issue,” Fragen said confidently.
“Then you know how to make it?” Myrie more stated the question than asked it.
“Well, yes, of course I can,” Fragen answered.
“Does the girl know?”
“I have a name. It is Phoenix and I demand to be referred to as such.”
“I have not taught Phoenix that yet,” Fragen said, stressing my name. I beamed at him.
“You are teaching the girl?”
“Phoenix. I am teaching Phoenix.”
“Well, didn’t she know?”
“No. Phoenix did not know that she could do magic.”
At this point, I needed to say something. “I grew up on a farm with my seven brothers and sisters. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, except once when I was about to be bitten by a snake. Before I could even scream, the snake dropped dead. I never told anyone. Oh, and there were the dreams.”
“The dreams, you said?”
“Yes, the dreams,” I answered, explaining them to Myrie.
“Ah, my, that would be bad,” she said once I had finished.
“Are you going to buy anything or just sit there?” this was the barkeeper, a small, wiry man.
“Oh, we’re very sorry, but no, we wont be buying anything today,” Myrie answered as Fragen opened his mouth.
“Then you’ll have to leave. Can’t have paying customers waiting, now.”
We got up and left. “I shall see you tomorrow, six sharp. Bring all of your stuff with you. We will be leaving at once.” Myrie walked off without another word. I glanced at Fragen with a confused look. He just shrugged.
“She was strange,” I said to him as we started back to the inn. “I didn’t like her.”
“That’s just because she was so rude to you at first.”
“I hate her. She is a pig.”
“Oh, come on, Phee. Please. I need answers,” Fragen looked at me pleadingly. I fingered the necklace.
“Okay, I’ll give her a chance. But, if I am offended, I will walk off. Understand?”
“Yeah. I do. please don’t walk off, though. I need you with me,” he said. I raised my eyebrows.
“Really,” I drug the word out, “how so?”
“I don’t want to do this whole magic thing alone,” he said, reddening. “That’s all.”
“Okay, then, I won’t make you do it alone,” I said, then lowered my voice to a whisper. “I just wish I knew what would happen.”
The day dragged on. It was just another day of waiting and wasting time. Finally, though, night happened. And after night, the next day came. The day we would leave with Myrie. At six sharp, we were outside of the inn, ready to go. Myrie apparently did not know how to tell time, because she turned up late again.
“Look, Miss Punctual decided to show up!” I said as Myrie came up to us. she glared at me. I gave her a fake but cheery smile.
“we had better get a move on,” Fragen said nervously, trying to avoid a cat fight. I gave him a genuine smile. We all mounted our horses (Myrie had a fat gray mare) and headed down the main road.
We were a spectacle to those people, who were very traditional. First, there was a large woman in a hot pink dress on an equally large horse. Next came a stunning man on his beautiful charger. Then, a girl in man’s clothes, sitting regally on her horse. I imagine that those townspeople had never seen anything like us, and they would not ever see it again.
The moment we stepped out of town, the atmosphere changed. The weather had been pleasant when we were in the town, but now it was notably hotter and the grass was dried out. The heat made us irritable and moody. At nightfall, it was amazing that we were all alive. Fragen made the meal while Myrie and I sat, tired and sore, glaring at each other. I really could not stand the woman. She acted as if she had known Fragen for a long time, when I knew him before she ever did.

The next day, before we started out, Myrie called Fragen and I to her. I wondered what she wanted to tell us.
“Fragen, Phoenix,” she said my name with a strained edge, “It seems as if we are just going nowhere without a point, doesn’t it?” I nodded. I did not know about any certain reason as to why we were going where we were, so I was eager to hear a meaning to our traveling. “We have a very important task that I have assigned us to. We are going to find the Stone.” I did not understand her.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked. Myrie looked at me in a way that made me feel irritatingly stupid.
“Please don’t tell me that you don’t know about the Stone,” she said. I shook my head. “What do you know? Well, the story of the Stone is made out to be a legend, which it isn’t. It is a very real thing. There are six sides to our world, you do know that. Each side is different, which you should also know. There are people who do magic on each side. They – we - are a dying breed, though. sadly, we are the only thing that stands between our lovely planet and destruction.
“On each side of the planet, there is a magical Stone, which is what we are after. This Stone is protected by many obstacles and tests, for its safety. We must get past all of those obstacles. We need to get the Stone. It is very important that we do this.”
“Why? Why do we have to get this Stone thing?” I asked.
“You cannot know yet. It is just key that you follow me and do everything that I say.” This idea was repulsive.
“And why should I do that?” I asked testily.
“Because you have no where else to go,” was Myrie's simple answer.
“Fine. I’ll think about it.” I got up and stalked up. Fragen followed me. Myrie politely stayed behind.
“I think we should go with her, Phee,” Fragen said.
“Why should we go with that…” I started, but Fragen cut me off.
“I don’t know. For some reason, I feel as if this is the right thing to do.”
“I don’t want to get too involved. This whole idea of stealing this important magical Stone thing seems wrong to me. we could get into big trouble if we go messing with that, I think.”
“We will just have to be extra careful, won’t we?” Fragen smiled. I could not say no to him.
“Okay, Myrie. We’ll go with you,” I said, packing up. I really did not want to go. Truth be told, I was scared.
“Good. I’m going to tell you something now that you have agreed to come on this mission,” Myrie said, sitting down on the dry grass.
“Wait, I have a question,” I said. “What would you have done if we hadn’t said we’d come with you?”
“Why, I’m not stupid. I would have killed you,” Myrie answered. Even though I was pretty sure that this was a bluff, I was still a bit uneasy about Myrie. She continued with, “I already have one of the Stones.” She pulled what was obviously the Stone out of a concealed pocket in her jacket.
The Stone was amazing. It was yellow-golden in color, but, unlike a usual rock that you would pick up, the color pulsed and changed. Instinctively, I reached out to touch it. Myrie pulled it back.
“I don’t think you should touch it,” Myrie said. I gave her a confused look.
“Why not?” I asked.
“I just don’t know if it would be wise,” she said. I had this feeling that this was not the true reason, but I decided to let it go. For now, anyways. Instead, I finished packing my stuff and mounted my horse. Myrie and Fragen followed suit.
“Where to?” Fragen asked.
“We are going north to Garvish,” Myrie answered. I knew about this place; I had read about it on one of those boring afternoons that Fragen and I spent in Gul. This was the side of the world that was covered in water. I could not wait to see this.
It only took us four days to reach the Gateway to Garvish. The trip was trying and exhausting. We traveled from dawn to dusk. There was no magical assistance in our travel, either. Myrie said that her horse was incapable of magic interference or something like that. I learned a lot in that time, though.
“This is the Gateway?” I asked, crinkling my nose. We were standing in front of a doorway that lead straight down into the ground.
“Yes, it is,” Myrie answered. I could tell that she had been here before.
“So, what do we do now?”
“We go in,” Myrie said, like I was stupid. How was I supposed to know where we went now?
Fragen held the door open for Myrie and I. I smiled and thanked him as I walked through. Inside, the underground chamber was stuffy and cramped. A few potted plants sat around, wilting. There was a desk in a corner. An old woman sat at the desk, reading a book. We approached her.
“Hello and welcome to the Gateway to Garvish,” the woman said in a nasally voice. “I’m Matilda and I am going to help you through to Garvish.” She motioned to a scale that was hiding next to the desk. “Please take your shoes off and step on the scale.” I was surprised that she did not ask our names first.
“Why do you need our weight?” I asked.
“It all goes on record,” Matilda said, motioning for me to step onto the scale. It all goes on record… why did they need a record? “Get off, honey,” Matilda commanded. I stepped off of the scale and watched as she wrote something down on papers that she had gotten from her desk. Fragen went next. Matilda got out a different paper for him. After she had weighed all of us, she spoke. “What are your names?”
“Phoenix Cage,” I answered.
“Fragen, no surname,” Fragen answered.
“Gracie Trink,” Myrie answered untruthfully. When Matilda leaned over to write our names down, Myrie motioned for me to keep quiet about her name. This confused me.
“Age?” Matilda asked. We answered. “date of birth?... Height?” – she measured our height out – “Let’s see… eye color? Hair color? Why are you traveling to Garvish?”
“We are visiting my sister, who is doing research in Garvish,” Myrie answered. I wondered why she had lied again. Matilda nodded and wrote it down. She put all of our papers into a folder and handed it to Myrie.
“Take this,” Matilda commanded, “Keep it safe. You cannot get back into Estubia without those papers. Now, please follow me.” She lead us out of the room and through a few halls and doors. We finally arrived at an iron gate.
“Is that the Gateway to Garvish?” I asked, a bit let down. I thought that the gateway would be something bigger, better, not just a little rusty door underground. This showed in my voice, because Matilda sounded flippant when she answered.
“Yes, of course this is the gateway. What did you expect, a big, pretty door up on ground? That wouldn’t have worked because of the square shape of our planet. This tunnel gradually curves so that you come out on Garvish. Don’t ask how it works, cause I don’t know.” She unlocked the door and held it open for us. “Have a nice visit to Garvish,” were her parting words.
The tunnel was dark. I had to take care not to bump into Myrie, who was in front of me. the ground was uneven. I wondered, correctly, if they had made the tunnel uneven so that you would not realize that you the ground was sloping so much. We walked for about thirty minutes. Finally, we saw the chopped up light that meant we had reached another iron door.
When we got closer, I noticed that a man was standing there, waiting for us to come. I briefly wondered how they could communicate from side to side. The man was old and stooped, his smile lacking most teeth. What little hair he had stood out all over. When we reached the door, he already had opened it. “Welcome to Garvish,” he wheezed. “Have a nice stay.” He then lead us out into a room much like the one we had our papers filled out in.
“Come over here, now,” he told us, “I need to stamp your papers.” Myrie took out the folder and handed it to him. He took a rubber stamp out of the drawer and quickly stamped our papers. “The door is right there,” he said, pointing to a stairway.
We went up the stairs. I walked slowly, heart racing. I had not been outside of my farm before this adventure started, and here I was, going to a whole different side of our planet. At the top, Myrie opened the door. I walked out into the sunshine.