"What did you get on the test?" Liam askes as we grab our lunch trays and sit down at a table. I had just finished 4th period and we met up to eat lunch.
"I got a B+!" I say triumphantly. Liam's face brightens and he high fives me.
"Great job! Much better than the C you got on the last test." He jokes. I elbow him in the ribs gently and laugh.
"Lemme guess, you got an A?"
"Yup." He chuckles. I nod knowingly and take a bite out of the BLT on my plate.
"Hey guys!" I look up from my plate and see Clay and Marina joining us.
"Where's Cass?" I ask.
Clay answers, "She's eating her lunch in the library." Liam and I nod. Cass loves reading. She reads any spare second she gets.
"What'd you guys get on the history test? Marina got an A+." Clay asks us. I smile brightly and high five Marina.
"I told you you could do it, Marina! I got a B+ and Liam got an A. Did you get an F?" I ask Clay.
He smiles mischievously and says, "Nope."
"Really?!" Liam's eyes fill with hope. Clay always fails his tests. It's not that he's bad at the subject, he just never studies or pays attention in class.
"I got a D-!" Clay says while taking a bite out of an apple. Liam and I sigh.
Riiiiiiiiing
"Wow," I say getting up from my seat. "Lunch went by fast."
"Well, see you guys later," Marina says as she and I walk to 5th period.
◦ ◦ ◦
The next morning, I walk into History class and sit down at my seat which is next to Liam's. Liam leans over and says,
"Clay pranked another teacher last night. He got detention. So if we don't see him at lunch, that's why." I sigh sadly, not even bothering to ask what he did. He is such a trouble maker! I have played a few pranks on people with him... but never on teachers!
"Good morning class," our teacher Mrs. Jacobson greets us. "Today we will be reviewing the history of our kingdom. Can anyone tell me how it started?" Not a second later, a girl named Julie raises her hand.
"Miss Evergreen?"
"Well, our kingdom started when a group of refugees found a large valley surrounded by mountains and forest. The refugees decided to start anew and built a village. Over time the village became prosperous, and it was very popular in trade. By this time, over a hundred people lived in the village. So, the people decided to crown someone to rule the village, and make it a kingdom"
"Yes, very nice. Who wants to continue what Miss Evergreen told us?" Liam raises his hand.
"Yes, mister Hart?"
"They chose a very kind-hearted, and hard-working man named Sir Percival. He was given the privilege to name our kingdom. The name he chose is Alynthia. After many years, his wife had twin girls. One of them would have to be chosen to take over the throne. So, when they grew up, King Percival chose one of his daughters to rule. The other daughter surprisingly didn't get upset and traveled until she found land to start her own kingdom. With time she did, and she named her kingdom, Valdonnia."
"Very good." Mrs. Jacobson looks around the room and her eyes rest on me. "Miss Bennett, why don't you tell us what happened next?" I glance at Liam and he gives me an encouraging smile. I take a deep breath then tell the class what I know.
"Both kingdoms were prosperous and worked together peacefully for many ages, until one year, the Queen ruling Alynthia had two daughters. The older daughter gained the throne to Alynthia. The younger daughter was jealous and angry. Instead of going off and starting her own kingdom, she decided to take over Valdonnia. It was a very wealthy kingdom, and with the help of knights whom she promised riches too, she overthrew the king and queen of Valdonnia and took over. She had dark intentions, which led Valdonnia to become an unsafe place and very cruel to live in. Both sisters had children. The queen of Alynthia had our queen today, Queen Helena. The cruel queen of Valdonnia had Valdonnia's queen today, Queen Sasha. Our kingdoms are now great enemy's and we no longer live in harmony with one another."
"Perfect! Now that we've reviewed all that, its time to start a new topic. 'The Crisis of Alynthia Today'." Mrs. Jacobson writes a few things on the board then goes to sit on her desk. She's a young teacher, maybe in her early 30s. She's pretty chill and cool. She has fiery red hair and usually wears huge dangly earrings and colorful clothing. She's definitely my favorite teacher.
"I'm not sure if you've all heard rumors of this or not. But Valdonnia stole something very precious from our kingdom many years ago. Probably when you were all 9-10 years old. Does anyone know what they stole?"
The class is silent. Students look around at each other to see if anyone knows, but it seems no one does. I whisper to Liam, "Do you know?"
He shakes his head and stares at the board, looking for clues. Mrs. Jacobson laughs heartily and says, "No one? That's alright." She then smiles and tells us, "It is a sword named 'Prosperitas'. Its name means good fortune, success, prosperity, and welfare. This sword started out as King Percvial's ordinary sword. But a wizard in the King's council thought King Percival deserved something to thank him for his kindness and his personal support of the kingdom. So he enchanted King Percival's sword so that whenever he brought it into battle it would cause him to be successful and never miss a target. The sword was passed down through the generations until it became King Rupert's sword. Now remember, King Rupert was born an ordinary citizen like you and me, and he married Queen Helena and became king. And on their royal wedding, she gave him the sword. It was an amazing celebration. I was there myself."
"But how did Valdonnia steal the sword?" a boy named Collin asks.
Mrs. Jacobson answered mysteriously, "No one knows. One morning it was in King Rupert's study, the next morning it was gone. The only clue we have is a note that was left on King Rupert's desk saying that Valdonnia had taken the sword. We do have theories though. Many people think Valdonnia sent people to sneak into our kingdom and break into the castle at night. Others think that some of the castle's staff betrayed the king and stole the sword for Valdonnia. But we do not know the true story."
"Why don't we just send an army?" Julie asks, confused.
"I'm not quite sure, but the King and Queen don't think it's smart. Valdonnia's army is twice as large as Alynthia's and we can't afford to lose any more knights."
"Have they been doing anything else to get the sword back?" a kid named Jordan questions.
"Good question. They have been sending small groups of people into Valdonnia to try and sneak in and steal the sword back. So far, everyone who's gone into Valdonnia hasn't come back."
The class goes eerily silent. I decide to crack the question, "What happened to them?"
"They most likely died or were taken captive. We've sent over 10 different groups in the last few years. And no one has returned. The kingdom is giving up hope."
Liam and I look at each other surprised. 10 groups? And we haven't heard a word back from any of them? This really does seem like a lost cause.
Riiiiiiiing
Mrs. Jacobson jumps off her desk and says cheerily, "Class dismissed."
As we all file out, not one of us says a word.
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