It was dinner time and Mr Williams was not home yet. Everyone except for Mr Williams was sitting around the table, looking from one person to the other.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx25mdoSK3
“Can we eat now?” Zachary asked, his elbow on the table, supporting his drooping head.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tZdyKYnXO
“Yes, I suppose so,” Mrs Williams said as she looked through the window opposite to them. “I wonder where your father is, he doesn’t usually come home late…”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYjNSFHSpcu
The boys dug into their food with their mother.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7zywUBAJC
“Mom, do you happen to know any stories about pirates that visited here once?” Daniel asked, mouth full of chicken, looking at James, then to Zach and then to Mrs Williams.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKrKFEqG0H
“What’s the sudden interest?” Mom asked brightly, putting down her fork, a lightbulb clicking in her mind, “Ooh, I do know one story.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbc0QhkHbCv
The brothers leaned forward in interest.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYOfwQAANT
“I’ve heard rumors, remember, RUMORS, of pirates that once used to hide in this town. They would park their ship near the waterfall next to the Lewis’ house and come into town to sell or buy goods and take shelter in houses. Some people said that someone, out of curiosity, went inside their ship…He came out saying that he saw magical things beyond humans’ imaginations, the pirates called him to the ship for a ‘cup of tea’ but he never came back…so did the pirates after a very violent storm. Sorry if I scared you boys…it IS a rumor.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡry7WANNyIy
“That.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡstAbpbtV6i
“Was.”
“Awesome.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbJ8bf78NZ
After dinner, Mr Williams finally came home. His clothes, skin and hair wet from the rain.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeMkKpg0RA
“Hello boys, dear, sorry, I had to take a sudden long shift, some teenagers decided it be funny to lead a kid into the park and leave him there, teenagers these days…bunch of careless-” Mr Williams began to say129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7D6iWh60ej
“Jim!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5JH8TUfQ9X
Mr Williams cleared his throat, “Right, uh- sorry dear, but I must say, they annoyed the hell out of me.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMYTh56bRu
Mr Williams sat down at the table as Mrs Williams told the children to go and sleep, she stayed with Mr Williams at the table. They boys brushed their teeth, fighting for space in front of the sink because of their incapability of taking turns and walked towards their bedroom. James opened the door to reveal a very, very messy room that looks like 3 different rooms which held 3 different children with 3 different hobbies smashed together. James climbed the ladder to his bed, Daniel closed the lights and walked towards his own, which was under James’ bed and Zachary walked towards his hammock (Mr and Mrs Williams had tried to convince him to let them buy him a bed but he insisted on sleeping on a hammock).
“Today was amazing,” Zachary said, looking up to the dark ceiling.
“Yeah, that cave is one hell of a place,” a voice that sounds like James said.
“Which is absolutely awesome, who knows what else we will find in the other caves…” Daniel said.
“Other caves?” James and Zachary repeated.
“Yeah, don’t you realize that this town is full of them? The waterfall probably has some weird stuff, too. It’s weird how the government hasn’t investigated them yet.”
“Probably because they don’t value this town.”
“Which is OUTRAGEOUS! This is the best town I’ve ever seen.”
James and Zachary went on about how underrated this town is and how much it deserved to be the capital of the country. But again, Daniel had his mind on other things, as he stared into the ceiling, he thought of the book again, which he had placed on his desk. It was very exciting, his plan, well, exciting for a person like him of course. He would wait for his brothers to fall asleep and then take the book, go find a quiet and private place and open the book, yep, that was the definition of exciting to him.
“…so yeah, I really think those guys in suits should come visit us sometime, right Daniel?”
“Daniel?”
“What? Oh yeah, agreed.”
“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been acting weird lately.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JXiBIPfVX
“He’s probably going through puberty, he’s getting nervous and stuff,” Zachary laughed.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG61bAERzjo
“Ha-ha-ha, very funny, I’m going off to sleep, might want to wake up early tomorrow,” Daniel said, tucking himself in his blankets.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFi0mviJjm
“To go and buy face cream to get rid of your pimples?” Zachary choked.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRQeuV6NCk
129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqgmJxNKKl0
It was exactly 12 AM sharp and there were no signs of talking, mocking nor laughter from his brothers. Daniel took a peek and he saw James, eyes closed and heard him muttering words like “No, no pirates don’t take me!” and “I thought it was just a cup of tea!” and heard Zachary snoring. He slowly got up and tiptoed to his desk. With silent fingers he took the book and slowly and quietly walked towards the door, opened it slowly to decrease the chance of it creaking and went outside. He breathed a sigh of relief and started towards the attic hatch. He lowered down the ladder, climbed it and entered the attic.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs91N6dQ20Y
The attic smelled like old boxes, dust and a bit of chocolate for some reason. It was a wooden attic, with one single window opposite to Daniel. He walked towards the window, passing a bunch of boxes containing clothes, carnival stuff and even puppets. He had to push a giant television to his left to pass and when he got to the window he opened it. The night breeze brushed against his white face and he wiggled his body through the window.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqiw6DdrGn
It was a beautiful, full-moon night. There were no clouds visible and there was a light breeze that made the night a very cold one. Daniel climbed up to the roof and found a spot for him to sit at. He pulled out a little torch and shone it towards the blue, gold-decorated book.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4eIINm9iYW
“What do we have here…” Daniel said to himself.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxh3uINoGYB
He opened the book to a page that read, Captain’s Journal.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2XQzFlZHhX
“Whoa, it’s the captain’s journal…am I invading privacy?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73fjV3Qwbm
He turned to the next page to see a page with Jour 1 on the top right corner of the page. He turned all of the pages swiftly, holding the book with one hand, and holding out his finger to let the pages turn. But it turned out to be just a normal journal, with his French-speaking knowledge, he read things like “We finally saw land” and “We’re running out of food, we might need to make a quick stop to replenish our ration supply”. Daniel knew what to do, he knew this book was hiding something, from his past experience which was just this morning, he witnessed James dragging his finger across a what seemed to be a normal piece of parchment and it showed its hidden contents.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuZ1jZReO0
So Daniel, being the intelligent boy he is, decided to do the same, hoping he would find something interesting. He closed the book and dragged his finger from the right side to the left side of the book and then from the top to the bottom. The golden patterns on the book shone, making Daniel close his eyes. Once the golden patterns stopped shining, Daniel rubbed his eyes and stared at the cover, it was still the same. But just as he was about to open the book-129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItQGEpYCBu
“Daniel?” came a voice behind him.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ36yfvQTLkR
He turned around, dreading his fate, it was James, accompanied by a sleepy Zachary.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuWx0ToiYRz
“Hey guys…”
“Don’t ‘Hey guys’ us, what is that? Are you hiding something from us?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIvPXKsCtP
“No lis-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthawFbTmAe
“Is that why you’ve been acting weird?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCiWRF3Y3C
“James, let me ex-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVxFASqTWA
“No no no no, there is no explanation needed. You’ve found some magical, or whatever the word to explain this is, book that might be very important and you didn’t want to share it with us. Daniel, Zachary shared a treasure map with you!”
"Huh?" Zachary said sleepily, his eyes partially closed. "But I'm- I'm too tired, you're going to have to fight the ogre king without me!"
“Look, I’m sorry OK, but, I really wanted to tell you, but I for some reason couldn’t. Does that sound weird?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlMTrR4b5Ob
James looked at him in disgust.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsTWUH9BxA
“Alright, I’m sorry, let me make it up to you 2, at least 1 one of you that’s awake (Zachary was like a horse, standing up yet sleeping). Come,” Daniel said, trying to regain his brother’s trust.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIJQNlCJrs
James walked towards Daniel and sat down next to him, Zachary following him, just, in a sleepier way. Daniel looked at them for a second, hoping for reassuring faces, but got mad ones. He quickly turned back to the book and opened it, “Guide to the Unknown”.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbVxycbAZz
“What?” Daniel said in shock. “Last time it read ‘Captain’s Journal’”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VzsXPSozh
“Huh, I wonder why,” James mumbled sarcastically under his breath.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23IJFO1xIs
Daniel looked as if he was holding himself from rolling his eyes. He opened the next page only to find-129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3oPZp4lOPR
BOOM129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3B4wrjn05K
The boys jumped, even Zachary awoke.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡItulnNN3Z8
“What in the bloody hell was that?” Zachary exclaimed, suddenly laughing, he felt British.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5nNrRV7XN
The book dropped in front of Daniel’s feet and started writhing out of control.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9r4oVIYf6
“It’s possessed,” James commented, staring at the thrashing book.
“No kidding…”
The book continued for another 5 seconds and then-
Silence.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyL33IWqMp
Dead silence had dropped and the brothers were more than confused (“How did I even get up here?” Zach said, rubbing his eyes.). Then, just as James opened his mouth to speak, a light flashed out of the book and what seemed to be a little fairy burst out of the book, giggling. The fairy was cyan in colour and had a leaf dress on. She had emerald green eyes and a little leaf hat on her head. Zach had slapped himself, thinking that this was a dream, only to find himself holding his hand upon his cheek in pain.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFQsRNe0G1
“Hello fellow travellers,” the fairy giggled, “you’ve found my book!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRZZbZ35jiM
“Uh-yes,” Daniel said.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyF93RhRrWg
“Well very good, in that case I must carry on with my job,” the fairy said, tapping what seemed to be a wand in the air and conjured a desk for her to sit at. Her leaf dress suddenly turned into a suit and she was now wearing glasses.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ59wWLsN1SE
“Welcome strangers! To the Royal Guide: The 2 Worlds. Here, you will be learning about Inter-World Travel, a little map of the magical world and a brief recap of the portals that allows you to travel into the wonderful world of enchantment.”
The boys exchanged confused glances and turned back to the fairy.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLhDWa0Enud
“Now, let’s begin shall we?” the fairy asked rhetorically as she got up from her desk, flying around them. “So, this world is divided into two parts, The Normal Earth and the Magical Earth. Now we fairies come from the magical Earth, but since my job is to give information to lost trolls, wizards, ogres or even werewolves that need help getting back into our world, I live here, in the cozy shelter of that book.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFM2qaRgmt
“We magical humans and creatures alike have been in constant struggle with normal humans since the dawn of man. So, our faithful leaders at that time decided it was best to hide us all in another world, safe from the humans. Now, since you are royal blood, you deserve to know about the access points scattered around the world!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3FyvSqoWq
“But we’re not-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCONj6zqHvP
James and Zachary clamped their hands together to cover James’ mouths.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtMa0DX9yxo
“We want to hear what she will say, if she knows we’re not royal, let alone magical, she’ll stop,” James said.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuFls1Z5dy
“So, the gateways to this magical world are scattered around the planet, whether it be in libraries, doors, closets or even toilets! But among them, are more powerful gateways, gateways that brings you to the landmarks of the Normal Earth and that can allow passage to big amounts of people or objects. Of course, these powerful gateways were built for a reason, our ancestors used these very portals to migrate to the magical world! Among these are Stonehenge, Borobudur, Sphinx and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Porte Library.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmaC7txl5RH
“How about the Lighthouse of Alexandria?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyLOpyVOY4t
“Yes, that too.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQUAmXhqnp
James and Daniel put in mind that all the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World probably served as these so-called gateways.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9L1Qowp5ss
“What’s the Porte Library?” Zachary asked.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSb5uGq2TG0
“Pardon? You do not know of the Porte Library?” the fairy asked, offended. “The Porte Library is another important gateway. It’s an underground library that constantly moves itself within the borders of Liberia. Luckily, it’s right in this town at the moment, if ever you need to go there, it’s on top of that hill.” the fairy pointed at a hill behind the town.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCr6SyUf8ad
“To use that one, you need to, yes it might be weird, you need to drag your fingers in a circular motion on the trap door to open it and once you get inside, drag your finger across a green book on a desk and see what happens.”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhhFfkT8OWv
“Last but not least, the map!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjNqqqmLCSj
She turned to the book but seemed confused.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVuAH6RfU0
“Where is that map?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkjlYfurGqz
Zachary turned red and said innocently, “You mean this map?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYpaozYQYc
He pulled his piece of the map out and the fairy gasped.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvBiyMfSxq
“YOU RIPPED IT APART?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Wb8lnMCKe
“We thought it was some kind of treasu-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKYN2Mcum2
“WHAT THAT MAP CONTAINS MORE THAN TREASURE!” she roared, then calmed herself down. “Pardon me for my disorderly behaviour, your majesties. May I please have the remaining pieces?”
Zachary scurried off to the window, tripping on one of the tiles of the roof, and came back minutes later, with the other pieces, panting. The fairy took the pieces roughly and turned her head around in anger and started to assemble the map according to their positions and muttered out “Convenio” and the map joined together. The fairy puffed her cheeks and turned to the boys.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvf1g2VJ5g
“Do not do that again, please,” she said in a silent, deadly anger.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABLGs98ouJ
And what was once a devilish creature, turned back into a sweet little fairy.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4maIzveXHk
“So…you see, this map isn’t only a treasure map, if you drag your finger the other way…”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyEt0BcKLWP
The ink once again dissolved and reassembled into a picture of this ginormous planet that looked like Earth. It had some pinpoints, each of which had a label on it. Some read "Trolls", some others read "Pixies". She zoomed into their country of Liberia and saw trolls sneaking into what seemed to be a chocolate factory.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtx7pKwRqg
“Those nasty trolls,” the fairy said.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4KJKPg8ct
“Anyways, here you go, this will come in use if you ever get lost again, I hope all of you understood these instructions, your majesties. It's an honour to have been of help and service."129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBH5AVGct7
By the end of this sentence, the flash of light came again and the fairy gave a last giggle and disappeared.
"She must've been in there for a long time. She didn't even know we weren't royal, nor magic."
“SORRY? DO YOU GUYS SERIOUSLY BELIEVE WHAT YOU JUST SAW? WE'RE NOT GOING INSANE RIGHT? LIKE WHAT THE F-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUwbM8obXo
“ZACHARY!” Daniel shouted, covering his mouth with his hand.
Zachary finished the curse under his breath when Daniel wasn't paying attention.
“Do you know what this means?” Daniel asked them, forgetting Zachary had said that. “There is a whole new world out there!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zE03giivf
“And if we hadn’t showed up, you would be the only one who knew,” James said.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhTFfBqGZi6
“I said i was sorr-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkZC4aXVYLe
“I’m joking, we all do that sometimes. Like did you know I was the one who ate all the cookies mom made-”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRA4zLwkAvS
“WHAT?”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJUgisTiMr
“YOU SAID THE CAT ATE THEM!”129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnMCGcH8rkR
“I thought we were being honest with each other, we’re in a place of peace, right?” James asked nervously.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIxYIaeFgP
“THE ONLY PLACE YOU”RE GOING-” Zach exclaimed, pointing his finger at James.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOBpUVNQc7
“IS THE GRAVEYARD!” Daniel continued.129Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcg1cS5Xwch
James raced to the window, two angry beasts following him, as the moon covered itself with its blankets of clouds. The muffled sounds of laughter and screams soon faded into the starry night.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
