Worlds Apart - Jars Of Clay

I am the only one to blame for this,
Somehow it all ends up the same.
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride,
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide.

With a world I try so hard to leave behind,
To rid myself of all but love, to give and die.

To turn away and not become
Another nail to pierce the skin of one who loves
more deeply than the oceans,
more abundant than the tears
Of a world embracing every heartache

Can I be the one to sacrifice,
Or grip the spear and watch the blood and water flow?

To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own.
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me.

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are,
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart.

And I pray
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - I am on my knees
To love you - take my world apart
To need you - broken on my knees
On my knees

I look beyond the empty cross,
forgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remains.

More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour.
the battle between grace and pride,
I gave up not so long ago.

So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride.
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide,
take the beauty, take my tears.
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours.

Take my world all apart,
take it now, take it now.
And serve the ones that I despise,
speak the words I can't deny.
Watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away.

I look beyond the empty cross,
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain.

So steal my heart and take the pain,
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide,
take the beauty, take my tears.

Take my world apart,
take my world apart.
I pray, I pray, I pray,
take my world apart.
Worlds apart.

To hear the song, click HERE

Element (Revised) Chapter One- Escape

23^rd of July in the year 5046, 42 years following the great Separation. Patrick, chief royal scribe to his Majesty the Ivory King.

The following records the journey of Rebekah of Learning as she traversed the perilous path to the great Kingdom of Ivory, as told by Rebekah and her companion.

_______

My name is Rebekah, and this is the story of how I escaped from slavery in the Kingdom of Learning.

But what was the cost of my freedom? Was it worth the loss of a dear friend? Is one life worth another?

This is what I ask myself; what motivates me. Why I will go back to free the one who was taken so that I could get away.

There are four kingdoms in the land of Element which used to live in peace with each other. Ebony in the south supplying metals for building, Ivory, the white kingdom in the north supplying water and silver for trading, the kingdom of Learning, the smallest of the four, which supplied the knowledge of Element, and the Rainbow Valley kingdom, the biggest kingdom to the west Snake Forest supplied the rest.  What lies to the east, no one knows. It is said to be nothing but desert stretching out to the far eastern edge of the world.  The four Kingdoms once lived in harmony, until a time came when the dark king of Ebony decided that a supreme ruler of Element should be appointed.  The selfish king sought to claim the right to rule the four kingdoms, but the others wouldn’t have it. The Patriarchs of Learning and Ebony, in their arrogance, attempted to overthrow the northern and western kingdoms.  Wars were fought; many lives were lost; much blood was spilt.  A dam was constructed in order to cease the flow of fresh water, and in his rage, the Ebony king was said to have released hundreds of his dark and terrible minions to wreak havoc in the Rainbow Valley.  And so the Separation. Now our kingdoms live apart from one another.  Ebony and Learning, the crafty and the prideful, remain allies to this day, while the shining Ebony and the colorful Rainbow Valley live in peace, cut off from the southern terrors.

Right at this moment, thousands of men and women, girls and boys, are withering away in the intense heat of the desert sun, and here I sit in a sparkling marble palace in the midst of a shimmering lake surrounded by soft green grass, absolutely helpless and unable to go to their aid.

I once lived in the place, where all of the houses looked like giant books standing on their edges, and they surround a huge palace that looked very much like a library. The ground in this place was all sand and rock, the only plant life was a dull green forest to the west of the city. The people of this city live in fear of the forest, and the realms that surround our little kingdom. Rumors of poisonous snakes, dark powers, and creatures that can suck the color out of your body as if it is the very blood in your veins are whispered in the houses and the hallways of the palace. Of course, these were only old wives tales told to scare the citizens into staying within the city. Either way, entering the forest is forbidden.

I lived in cramped quarters in the lowest part of the palace with all of the other girls ages ten and up. I was a slave, forced to work my fingers to the bone so that my family, who I hardly even remember, could have food each day. I worked in the Palace of Knowledge, so named because all of the “Knowledge” of the land of Element is kept in the library that takes up more than half of the palace in the form of millions of books. All of the slaves there are females, taken from the poorer families (which are most of them) at the age of ten in order to work for their family’s sustenance. The king tells us that it is an honor to sacrifice our lives to feed our families. I suppose that is true, except… I never saw his daughters working for their food.

The boys have it differently. When they turn ten, they are taken to be trained for guard duty. When they turn eighteen, more than half of them are shipped off to fight in the war that is raging in the dark kingdom of Ebony which lies to the south. Most never return.

This is how my journey begins.

 The heat was almost unbearable. The hem of my dress swirled the dust into my eyes, and the itchy dull grey fabric clung to my skin, but I couldn’t even wipe the sweat from my forehead, because my hands were full. It rolled in great salty droplets down my cheeks and nose.

The sun was shining in a clear blue-grey sky, but I wouldn’t have known. We hardly ever saw the sky, except on very hot days when the guards would open the ceiling windows so that the younger children wouldn’t faint from the heat. Of course this day wasn’t one of those days. It wasn’t hot enough to open the windows, but just hot enough to make us sweat uncomfortably in the long grey dresses that all slaves had to wear. At least I got to work alongside my best friend every day. The law said that we had to be paired with another girl when we first arrived at the palace. I was paired with Jenna, and we quickly became the best of friends.

She and I were assigned to work for one of the king’s daughters. He had seven daughters and five sons, and they hardly work a day in their lives. This particular girl’s name was Ursula, and she was his youngest daughter. When she wasn’t giving us some meaningless task that we had to do no matter how ridiculous, she was blathering on about the goings on in the kingdom, or about her newest love interest. The heat of the day meant that our main task was keeping her majesty cool. This meant that one of us consistently had to fan her with large paper fans, not even stopping to rest our burning arms, while the other ran back and forth to the kitchen to fetch whatever cool refreshment happened to pop into her head. We were to do all tasks without complaint or even a word, because slaves were forbidden to speak in the presence of the royal family. She was just saying something about the new set of guards that had arrived in the palace the week before, when Jenna came back from her fifth trip to the kitchen, holding the latest refreshment, lime flavored ice sweetened with white sugar. I scowled when I saw it, knowing that the people were starving and without relief from the harsh sun, while this princess binged on one of the rarest delicacies in the kingdom.

“Oh, if only I were fifteen again!” She wined, her ugly face pinched in an attempt to look pouty. “I swear they get taller and more handsome every year!”

I rolled my eyes as Jenna smirked and winked at me. With a toss of her long hair and a sarcastic flourish, she placed the dessert in front of our lady.

Ursula pursed her lips as Jenna flashed a bright smile. Who wouldn’t be a little jealous of Jenna’s beauty? With her bright blue eyes and waist-length light brown hair, she was one of the most beautiful girls in the kingdom. Even I find myself envying her good looks. Despite being fed barely enough to keep us alive, I’ve always had a more round figure, and there is no great beauty in my face. And my short, dark hair hardly compares to

Jenna’s velvety locks.

“Ah!” Ursula exclaimed, “Just what I wanted!”

It was Jenna’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Well girls,” She said with her mouth full of lime ice. “I think that’s all I’ll want from you today. You may go.”

Jenna’s shocked expression mirrored my own as I looked at her.

“Oh girls,” she said seeing our surprised faces, “it WILL be dark in an hour, and the heat will go away when the sun does. I won’t need you anymore.”

We didn’t argue, and we didn’t stick around for her to change her mind. Out in the hallway, my anger boiled hotter than the air.

“That spoiled, pompous- Deviling fiend-” I grumbled as I mopped my face with my sleeves.

“If I was allowed to speak to her, I would…I would-”

Jenna placed a calming hand on my arm.

“You shouldn’t be angry with her, Beck. She was raised to believe that she deserves everything and that we are meant to give it all to her.”

Jenna is the wisest person I know.

“Besides,” She continued, “We should be honored to-”

“Oh please.” I said cutting her off.

“Rebekah, think about it.” She said reassuringly. “To be able to earn the right to feed our families-“

“Just stop! Come on Jen, it’s hot and I’m in no mood to argue about honor. And besides, what family do I have? A real family wouldn’t have let them take me away.”

She sighed, but gave in and we walked to our quarters in silence. We travelled through the long grey hallways which wove through the center of the palace, and passed by the huge mahogany doors which led to the great library, which was also the throne room where the king sat. We came this way twice every day, but as we walked quietly by, the doors burst open making both of us jump and a tall thin woman with curly red hair and a frustrated demeanor rushed out. It was Catherine. She was the only royal who was against the fact that the kingdom tolerated slavery. She was also a founder of the Ivory King’s secret Counsel, despite the fact that it had been forbidden to even speak of the northern kingdom since the war that broke our alliance with the Ivory and Rainbow

Valley Kingdoms. If anyone found out, she would be executed immediately, king’s daughter or not. Of course,

Catherine was good at keeping things from her father, like her secret friendship with Jenna and I, and her efforts to help us escape from that horrible place.

Her frustration melted away when she spotted us.

“Ah! I was just about to come and find you!” She said with quiet excitement. “I have news for you. Come; let’s go to a more private spot so that we can speak.”

We walked through the halls, carefully avoiding guards along the way, and finally slipped into our “secret room.” It was really just an old, unused bedroom, but we turned it into a sort of safe house, and the only place where we could speak freely to each other, despite the law against it. We sat facing each other on the old rug that covered the floor, and Catherine proceeded to tell us her news.

“I may have discovered an escape route.”

My heart leapt at her words. Jenna tilted her head curiously.

“What is it this time? Will it be dangerous?” She asked.

“There is a man, an agent of the Ivory King who lives deep in Snake Forest. If you can get to him, he can take you to the entrance to Rainbow Valley. From there, you can easily make your way to the Ivory City.”

She went on to explain how we might be able to get into the forest, but I could hardly hear one word. My mind was racing a mile a minute. The possibility of escape was simply too much.

“Whatever it is,” I interrupted. “I’ll do it if it gets me out of this place.”

She nodded. “I thought as much. It WILL be dangerous. Jenna, are you in?”

We both looked at her. She seemed deep in thought with her long hair making a curtain that hid her beautiful face.

“Is this really wise? Should we attempt it?” She whispered.

“Jenna, this is our way out!” I said. “You said that if we found a way, we would take it!”

“I did say that yes, but if it’s as dangerous as Catherine is saying, maybe we should wait for a safer way.”

“Jenna, this is the first time that freedom has been a possibility since the king started using young girls as slaves.

You two are the only ones who are brave enough to even think of it.” Catherine explained. “There won’t be another way.”

“Well then,” She said after a moment. “If Rebekah is set on going, then I’m in.”

“Excellent. We’ll have to move quickly. We only have one shot at this. I only just managed to convince my father to give the forest guards the night off. I had to explain to him that everyone is too afraid of the forest to go anywhere close to it, so why guard it every single day? Even then he only agreed to give them one day and a night.

It’s a wonder those men don’t die from the heat.”

Jenna’s fingered the hem of her dress as she pondered this.

“It seems very sudden.” She said thoughtfully. “Shouldn’t we have taken the time to plan this?”

“Why wait?” I said eagerly. “Besides, this seems like the only opportunity we’ve got. A long shot maybe, but we have to go tonight!”

Jenna shot a questioning glace at Catherine.

“Rebekah is right.” She said. “Even if we did wait, there’s no guarantee that I would be able to get my father to give the guards time off for a second time.”

“All right then,” She said after a moment. “We go tonight.”

Catherine smiled. “Good then. There’s no time to waste, so go and prepare your things. You should try to eat something before we go. It’s a long way to the cottage. My father doesn’t know that the cook is on our side, so at dusk, go out through the back door in the kitchen. I’ll make sure it’s unlocked. From there, head straight to the boulder at the edge of the forest and wait for me there. But be cautious!” She warned. “If anyone sees you, all is lost.”

My smile grew into a grin.

“I’ll be there!” I said confidently.

Jenna nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you then." Said Catherine, and she got up and quietly slipped out of the room.

_______

Back in my quarters, I quickly stuffed my few belongings into a rucksack. I didn’t have much, just an extra grey dress and a locket made out of silver from the Ivory kingdom with a picture of my father and mother inside. I hardly remember them, even now. It had been seven years since I last saw them when the guard came to take me away. I don’t even know why I kept it.

I quietly opened the door and looked out into the empty hallway. All of the other girls were still working, or in the wash room, which was where Jenna was. I knew she was coming, but I just couldn’t wait. I slipped out and started for the kitchen. This was when the royal family and the guards were eating their supper, so the hallways were deserted.

I made my way to the kitchen as quickly and quietly as I could and I managed to slip inside without anyone seeing me. I felt a thrill when I realized that I had just broken the law that said slave girls weren’t allowed outside their quarters during supper. I made my way through the kitchen and past the cook who was pretending to sleep in a chair in the corner. She knew that if she actually saw me, she would have to raise the alarm. When I reached the back door, I paused with my hand on the doorknob. I hadn’t been out of doors since I first arrived here. I took a deep breath and turned the knob. The door opened smoothly on oiled hinges and a blast of warm, fresh air blew into my face.

Oh how good it smelled! I stepped out onto the rocky ground and looked around. The book-shaped houses stood in rows, and curved to the left and right all the way around the city. They were at least three deep all the way around the palace, but around the back there was a large gap through which I could clearly see the boulder and beyond that, Snake Forest. I always wondered why it was called that. I didn’t even know what a snake was! Only that it was to be feared.

I cautiously walked forward, sand and gravel crunching loudly beneath my feet. The dirt paths that were what passed for roads were silent and empty. The sun was just going down, staining the dirt blood red. The faded green of the forest glowed, and the lines of every branch stood out in sharp detail. I still wish I could see what the kingdom looked like before the Separation, when sweet water flowed in from the Ivory kingdom and the city was full of green.

“I’ll see grass again soon.” I said to myself.

For now, I was simply content to be outside. Freedom seemed so close now. The sun sunk slowly below the horizon, and a light breeze came from the west. It smelled of trees and fresh, moist earth. After glancing around to make sure I was alone, I made my way through the gap. The ground sloped gently downward towards the tree line and I saw the large grey boulder which was pointed like an arrow towards the forest. Once I reached the far side, I stopped and leaned against it, breathing in the clean outdoor air.

Each moment felt like an hour, and I felt the air grow cooler as the sun went down. Suddenly I heard a commotion behind me. I peeked around the boulder and saw Catherine running wide-eyed towards the boulder with a group of soldiers chasing after her. I quickly ducked down behind the boulder, but not before she caught sight of me.

“Run!” She screamed. “Run! Go no-“

I heard a shriek, and then nothing. I looked around the corner again and saw guards standing in the light from the kitchen door over a crumpled bloodied figure.  Catherine was unnervingly still, and I knew she must be dead.  Two of the guards broke away from the group and started towards my hiding spot.

“She was yelling at something down here.” One said.

“Yeah, I could have sworn I saw someone.”

“Hey!” A new voice called out.

I heard the guard’s footsteps moving back towards the palace, so I peeked around again.  Jenna stood silhouetted in the kitchen doorway. Our eyes locked for a moment, and she smiled sadly at me.  Just before they reached her,

I thought I saw her silently mouth the word “run.”  Then the guards reached her and she was hidden from view.  I didn’t hesitate.  I ran.  I knew they wouldn’t follow me into the forest, so I ran as hard as I could for the trees, my sandaled feet pounding over the sand.

“Look! There goes another one!” “Get her!” “Don’t let her reach the trees!”

The voices yelled after me, but I didn’t look back. I plunged into the forest, and I ran as far as possible, not even caring in which direction I was headed.  My lungs felt as if they were filled with white hot metal, but I didn’t stop.  Finally when it was too dark to even see anything around me, and the air was hardly even reaching my burning lungs, I tripped and collapsed onto the leaf-strewn ground. Tears flooded my eyes as the events of the day came crashing down on me.

Catherine dead, and my best friend captured or worse.  I curled up into a ball and cried.

_______

What now?  I couldn’t go back, and without Catherine’s directions, I didn’t know how to move forward.  For the first time, I felt alone.  All of my life, there had always been someone with me.

And now there was no one.

I was alone in a strange place.  The night pressed in around me, but I made no effort to get up or even to move.  I just cried until I had no tears left.

For the rest of the night, I laid where I fell.  I slipped in and out of consciousness, waking only when the visions of

Jenna and Catherine were too much for me.  I kept seeing their faces in my head, screaming at me to run.  And the

expression on Jenna’s beautiful face as the guards surrounded her.

It wasn’t fear.  I was more…acceptance; peace.

I knew that she had sacrificed herself so I could escape.  I decided right then that I would go back, maybe with the help of the Ivory king, and that I would free not only her, but all of the slaves in the Kingdom.  I told myself that I would do whatever it took to free her.

I finally came to myself just as the light started to creep into the forest.  A flood of memories came rushing into my mind.  My eyes stung as they filled with tears.  Something seemed different though.  It wasn’t just the tears, but something else was making my eyes sting.

Smoke; I could smell smoke.  I knew it was smoke because I had often smelled it coming from the kitchen.  But this was a more cheery and inviting smoke.  I sat up slowly and looked around.  I could see nothing but trees in every direction.  I stood and wiped the dirt and tears from my face with my sleeve.  Perhaps it was a campfire, or even the house of the man that I was supposed to meet.  Catherine had said that he lived very deep in the forest, and who knows how far I had run the night before.  I actually started to feel hopeful.

I followed the smoke through the trees, moving faster and faster.  Suddenly, they grey hem of my dress caught on a root, and I fell.  As the ground rushed towards me, I threw my hands out to catch myself.  I cried out as I felt the bone in my wrist crack and a lightning bolt of pain shot up my arm.

Tears began to flow as I sat against a tree and cradled my injured arm close to my body.  I looked around to get my bearings, my eyes still stinging from the pain.  The smell of smoke was still overwhelming, and I knew that I needed to find the source.

Just then, I heard a faint rustling noise above my head.  I leaped to my feet, and spun towards the tree.  Just inches from my face, a pair of huge red eyes stared at me.  The creature was quite possibly the most horrible thing I had ever seen.  Curled endlessly around the tree was what seemed to be a giant, armored worm with an arrow-shaped head like and large red eyes like a cat’s eyes.  The thing’s body was as thick around as my waist, and its armor looked like overlapping coins covering its entire form and it was a mottled brown color that blended perfectly with the bark of the trees and the forest surrounding me.

I stood frozen, unable to move as I stared into the creature’s blood red eyes, my injured wrist throbbing with each heartbeat.  I started as I felt something brush against my ankle.  I slowly looked down and found myself surrounded by those terrible creatures. The one clinging to the tree let out a loud sound that I can only describe as the hissing of a cat. It reared its head back and opened its mouth to reveal razor sharp three inch fangs.  I couldn’t run.  My mind was screaming at me to move, but my body wouldn’t obey, my mouth open in a silent scream.

I saw the creature tense its muscles, preparing to strike, when I heard voice yell, “MOVE!” and a strong arm wrapped around my waist and arms, lifting me completely off the ground.  The creature launched itself at me, closing its jaws in the air exactly where my face had been only a split second before.

The ground flew by underneath me as my savior ran hard and fast.  Each step jarred my wrist, and pain caused my eyes to water.  We stopped abruptly and I was dropped onto the ground.  I cried out as my arm hit the hard dirt, but I quickly rose to my feet.

The woods surrounded us as we stood in a small clearing with a tiny house in the middle.  I saw smoke pouring from the stone chimney and just to my right, bent over with his hands on his knees and breathing hard from the run, was a man.

“How,” he said between gasps, “in the name of all that is good and holy did you end up out here?”

Trust in the Lord and He will provide (Senior Challenge, 2013)

Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him.

Reflecting back on my high school years, it’s pretty obvious that my trust in the Lord was sadly lacking, if not non-existent. Even after Worthy ’11, where I rededicated my life to God, I still failed to trust in Him completely. I always told myself that I could handle things; even that I could control my own life, but that never worked out how I wanted it to. Recently, God has opened my eyes to the fact that I cannot rely on myself or the things of this world, but if I rely on Him, He will give me strength and help.

We all put our trust in something. Whether that something is money, people, possessions, etc., all of those things will ultimately fail us. It will be like the foolish man in Matthew who built his house on the sand, "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."(Matthew 7:26) That is how it will be for us if we place our trust in the things of this world.

God promises us that if we trust in Him, He will not fail us. “It will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24, 25) God wants you to trust in Him, and when you do, He will be your strength and your shield. He will give you joy and help in times of trouble.

So I, Bekah Price, challenge you, the youth of Covenant Life, to trust in God with your whole lives and He will not fail you.

What Do We Build Our Lives On?

We all build our lives on something. Money, popularity, talent, relationships, or what have you. 
I speak from personal experience when I say that these things can be yanked out from under you so fast it will take your breath away.
Its like in Matthew, when Jesus is talking about the man who built his life on the sand, "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."  (Matthew 7:26,27)
When you build your lives on things of this world, temporary things, it's so easy to have them taken away. 
And then what are you left with? 
As Christians, we are called to build our lives on the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Psalm 18:2 says, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."
When you build your life on this strong foundation, and those things of this world, those false gods, are pulled out from under you, "It will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24,25)
God wants you to lean on Him. To trust in Him so completely that no matter what trials may come your way, you will not falter or fall to one side or the other, but you will grow stronger on your foundation, and glorify God so that others may see and believe.

So what are you built on? The fickle and false things of this world, or on the solid, unchangeable rock that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? 
When trials come will you be able to stand firm, or will you stumble and fall?

Build your life on the rock, and I promise you, you will never stumble and you will always have something to cling to in times of trouble.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." Matthew 7:24,25

"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many, For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." Matthew 7:13-14

Hannah's Dream

So I know its been a really long time since I've posted parts of my story, but I'm having some kind of writer's block, so in the mean time, I'll post Hannah's dreams. They're about 100 times better when she actually tells them, but they're pretty darn amusing. This is the one that she had two days ago:
"So I was a shape shifter thing and I turned in to the cheetah. And I was part of the avengers. We were in New York. Loki landed on me after an explosion. He picked me up and said, “Stay out of my way!”
He threw me. So I jumped on him, and he started yelling at me so I put my tale in his mouth. “I got him!” I jumped up and down. Then we were on the helicarrier, and he was in the glass container. I brought him coffee, then I heard a sound in the pipes. When I looked, I found a rat’s nest.
“Hey captain where do I put a rat?” I said in my walkie talkie. “Uhh. In hall A, shoot B.” I threw one down. “Oh wait no, its shoot A.” “Were does B end up?” Nick Fury was sitting at his desk and rat landed in his coffee. “Sorry! That was an accident!” I brought his breakfast. He mumbled to himself. “Dropping rats in my coffee, humph!” “Hey, Hannah! Can you fix a hole in Loki’s room?” “I’ll try.” Loki had spilled his coffee on the floor and it burned a hole in the floor. I covered it with concrete with Bekah. Loki had spilled all his coffee that by the end of the week his whole floor was covered in concrete. I gave him some action figures to play with because he was bored. He got a Loki action figure and it had a tiny spear. “Oh! It shoots lasers!” He cut a door in the room, and came to my room. I was asleep. He snuck past and came to Bekah’s room. She looked up. “What are you doing!?” He ran back in to his room and shut the door. Bekah had been bringing him coffee so she could keep seeing him. One day she brought him a latte and a rat fell in it so she had to keep bringing them to him. One day we all went swimming he was chained to the pool. Then he and Bekah rode on a horse he was chained to it but they road off into the sunset."
THE END
Written by Hannah Price
Edited by Bekah Price

Through the Land of Element

Part Three of Chapter Two – Viridian.


“Is that the bridge?” I asked as we approached the edge of the forest.
“That’s it.”  Said Hunter, still pale and tired from his earlier ordeal. After insisting on leaving right away, he had immediately begun to prepare for the long hike through the forest. It didn’t take long for him to prepare, even though he wouldn’t let me help, insisting that I should “Conserve my strength for the journey ahead.”
As we left, he went and retrieved his Obsidian blade from the Color-Snatcher’s body.
“What will happen to him?” I had asked, giving the corpse a very wide berth.
“He’ll be food for the snakes.” He replied coldly.  Seeing my shocked expression, he went on to explain that if he buried the body in the clearing, it would be a beacon to any other snatchers in the area.  I was silent for most of the hike, except to ask an occasional question about his life in the woods.  He replied with only the shortest of answers. 
Since we had left relatively early, only about an hour and a half after sunrise, we managed to make it to the bridge by around supper time.  Hunter had kept a very brisk pace despite his exhaustion.  It seemed amazing to me that any man could have such stamina after what he had been through.
Now, there before us was a wide river with water so clear that you could count the stones at the bottom, and see each fish as it swam by.  The grass that grew on the edge of the awful Snake Forest was withered and brown, much like the forest itself, but the grass across the river was the greenest that I had ever seen, and the trees bore emerald green needles.  Even the ground between the trees seems soft and green.  The bride that spanned the river was a simple stone structure, but it looked strong and the stones were slightly worn, suggesting that it had sat on that spot for many years.  It was a beautiful sight to behold.  Even the sky seemed to reflect the green, turning it into an endless aqua-colored expanse. 
At this point I was very eager to cross and to never again set foot in these horrible woods.
As I now beheld the beautiful sight before us, I realized that freedom was so close.  So much closer than I had ever imagined it to be.
“All of the green you’re seeing is the eastern most part of the Viridian realm.”  Hunter explained.
“It’s so beautiful!”  I said.  “There’s so much green!”
“Well that’s because it’s the green band of Rainbow Valley miss.” A man emerged from a narrow path leading from the edge of the needle-covered trees to the bridge.
“Rebekah, may I introduce Leo, the bridge keeper.” Said Hunter.
“The official title is Gate Keeper.” Leo said with a grin.
Hunter rolled his eyes. “Leo, this is Rebekah.  She’s travelling up to Ivory.”
“Is she now? And why is that?” He said, directing the second question at me.
I hesitated.  Why WAS I going to Ivory?  Before I would have said that it was because I craved freedom.  Everything seemed different now.  Why did I want to go?
“Because-” I started quietly.  “You’ll have to speak up girl.”  “Because,” I said loudly, “I’m not the only one who craves freedom.  Hundreds of people are being held in slavery, and the Ivory king is the only one with the power to free them.”
Leo considered my answer for a moment.  “That is an honorable quest.”  He said at last.
Then Hunter spoke up.  “Leo, you know very well that anyone I might bring is worthy of crossing.  This girl isn’t here to cause trouble.  Although she could use a good hot meal and a full night’s sleep before she heads north.”
“I can do that.  Hunter, are you alright?  You seem a bit pale.”
“Color-snatcher.”  He said, and then proceeded to tell Leo what had transpired.  I started to grow impatient, shifting from foot to foot as his story dragged on for what seemed like forever.  This beautiful new realm called to me from across the bridge.  I suddenly longed to stretch out in the soft grass with the thick green moss as a pillow.  I could smell the flowers and another new scent that drifted across the river.  The scent gave me visions of a cozy house with a cheery fire blazing in the fireplace.  All I could think of was crossing that bridge and burying my feet in the lush grass. 
Finally, Hunter finished his tale.  Leo, eyes now wide said, “Well, if all of that really happened, I’ll be glad to welcome this miss into Viridian.  We could use someone like her in our realm.”
Hunter raised one eyebrow.
“I’m not here to fight Color-Snatchers.”  I said, frustrated.  “I’m going to Ivory.”
“Well, either way,” He said.  “Someone who could go up against a Snatcher with just a twig and actually walk away must have some insane amount of courage.”
He opened his arms. “You are most welcome in our realm.”
This was it.  I was only a few steps from freedom.  I took the first step onto the bridge, but hesitated.  I turned back to look at Hunter.  His head tilted tone side and his hands were clasped behind his back.  He looked almost sad as he watched me. 
How could I ever thank him for helping me? 
I ran towards him and threw my arms around his neck.  He patted my back gently as I hugged him.  “Thank you.”  I said as I released him.  He placed a strong hand on my shoulder and peered into my eyes.  “Good luck Rebekah.”  He said.  “I won’t ever forget you.”
My eyes misted over as the genuineness of his simple goodbye reached my heart.
“I won’t forget you either.”  I said.  He smiled, his eyes regaining their sparkle.  He gently turned me around and gave me a light push towards the bridge.  I lifted my rucksack higher onto my shoulder and took in a deep breath.  I knew that I was about to enter into an entirely different world.
“No turning back.”  I said to myself, and I walked onto the bridge.  As I stepped off onto the soft grass, Leo smiled brightly. “Well miss, shall we?” He said gesturing with one hand towards the trees.
A smile crept onto my own face; the first that I had allowed myself since before I left for this place.  The air of this world was crisp and inviting.  It promised adventure, but I knew that it would have to wait.  My quest called me onward.  I walked forward with a new confidence, suddenly sure that I could do what needed to be done.
“No turning back.” I said again.

_ _ _ _ _ _

Leo was a very kind fellow.  He had a very nice smile and a very peaceful persona, although he was quite a bit younger than I had thought, perhaps only a year or two older than myself.  He had a tousled mop of brown hair, and tiny wrinkles appeared around his brown eyes each time he smiled. 

He talked animatedly as we walked; enthusiastically describing the village beyond the woods, affectionately named Mint Village because it seemed as though sprigs of mint grew around each and every house, and describing his camp.  He explained that I would be staying there for a while before heading north.  He also explained that his camp was not only his, but that he shared it with anyone who happened to be travelling through the woods.
"There are quite a few people there now I’m afraid.”  He said, “But no worries, there’s plenty of room and lots of pleasant company.  You see, a travelling circus from the Sunburst real has decided to camp there for a few days before they make their way to the Amethyst realm for a festival.  Quite a lively bunch they are.  There’s this one fellow, Ethan I think is his name, who always has a monkey sitting on his shoulder.  Can you believe that?  A monkey! And the lovely lady Sophie who does portraits; she did one of me that I quite liked. And that’s not even mentioning the-”
Leo continued to speak like this for some time.  I half listened, but my mind was elsewhere, completely captivated by the forest around me.  I had never seen so much green!  Unlike Snake forest, these woods had virtually no brown anywhere.  The trees were covered with soft green needles, and even the trunks were completely overgrown with vines.  The ground itself seemed to be a carpet of green, covered with a variety of soft mosses that ranged in shades of green from a deep olive to a bright lime which grew on the path that we were using.
“This,” I thought to myself.  “is a place that I could live in forever.”
Even now I long for those wonderful woods.  I think when all is over and done, I will go back and stay there.  Perhaps I’ll build myself a little cabin like the one Green lives in.
  When we were nearly at Leo’s camp, which I knew because I could hear happy voices and smell the fire, I noticed a very narrow path, only a small gap in the foliage, branching off of the one on which Leo and I walked.  I barely saw it, catching only a glimpse as we walked by. 
“I wonder where that leads.” I said absentmindedly.
“What was that miss?” Asked Leo, who paused in the middle of a description of the vast green fields which covered the center of the realm.
“Oh, I just saw a little path back there.”  I said.
Leo seemed confused for a moment.  “I know of only one other path around here, and it’s to the west of my camp.”
I shrugged. “Perhaps I was mistaken.”
And then we rounded the final corner and I beheld a sight which I shall never forget.
In a large clearing ringed all around by tents, was the most colorful bunch of people I had ever seen.  At least twenty people wore small splashes of red, yellow, blue and green which swam in the midst of a milling sea of orange.  Every shade of orange was visible, from peach, to gold, to pumpkin, and some even wore what looked like orange flames sewn right onto their cloaks.  It was truly a sight.
“I’m guessing that the Sunburst real is the orange band in the rainbow?”
Leo’s smile grew.  “That’s right miss.”  He said, his eyes twinkling.  He gave me a wink and we stepped into the clearing. 
Immediately we were greeted by people with wide friendly smiles.  I nervously followed Leo to the center where a bonfire blazed.
“Ah, Leo! Welcome back!” called a voice.  A man stepped from the crowd.  He also smiled brightly when he saw me and he shook Leo’s hand.  He was just an inch or two taller than me, with straight brown hair which hung just past his ears.  He had bright blue eyes and didn’t seem much older than Leo.  But the most striking feature was not his eyes, or his brightly colored clothes, but the small creature which sat on his shoulder. 
Not much longer than my arm, this creature was covered with short yellow fur, with intelligent black eyes, a long tail, and it wore a tiny orange vest. 
The man noticed me looking at the animal and said, “I see you’ve discovered Chester.”  He smiled again and stroked its fur.  “Chester is a Champagne monkey from the Amber realm.”
“A monkey.” I said thoughtfully.  Then the monkey did something very surprising.  It jumped from the man’s shoulder to mine.  Startled, I froze, my muscles stiffening. I could feel Chester’s fur on my ear.  It was very soft, almost like silk.
The man laughed. “He likes you miss.”  He said.  “My name is Ethan, and these are my friends.” He gestured around him to the milling crowd.  “We are circus performers.  We do our best to bring laughter and joy to the six rainbow realms.”  He said with a bow. “And what might your name be, miss?”
“This is Rebekah.  She came from the kingdom of Learning.”  Leo said.  I was very nervous. I truly had never met anyone like these people. Nor had I been treated as anything but a slave since the day I turned ten.  But I liked it here.  I allowed myself to smile and relax as I petted Chester’s fur.
“I’m very glad to meet you, Ethan.” I said.
“Glad to meet you too Rebekah.” He said.  “I hope you enjoy our company.”  He winked and gestured to Chester who quickly jumped back onto his master’s shoulder.  Ethan bowed again and made his way back into the crowd.
“Aren’t they something?” Said Leo.
I nodded, yawning from a sudden wave of exhaustion that overtook me.
“Where are my manners?” He said.  “Come with me.  I’ll get you a hot meal and a place to spend the night.” 

A few moments later I sat on a wide tree stump near the fire with a bowl of warm savory stew in my hands.  The people were so friendly!  The chattered on around me about all of the realms and the different villages in which they had performed. 
Still a bit uncomfortable, I sat quietly, listening and looking all about.  Suddenly I noticed something; A large blot of green in the midst of the orange.  
Sitting across from me was a man entirely dressed in green.  He wore a high green hat and a green cloak that seemed to by many different shades of forest green.  In the fading light, he looked pale, and he sat perfectly still, staring into the flames and seeming not to notice anything that went on around him.  The fire suddenly blazed higher, blocking my view of the mysterious stranger.

_ _ _ _ _ _

That night I slept in an extra tent loaned to me by Ethan.  Two women helped me to set it up.  They introduced themselves as Sophie, a painter, and Allison, a story teller.  They were very kind, and they even gave me a new dress to replace my tattered grey one.  It was a simple, comfortable dress made from gold and blue fabric.  Despite its simplicity, it was the most beautiful thing that I had ever worn.  I thanked the women, trying desperately to appear friendly. 

All I could think of was my friends who had to spend every night on beds of rough straw or the cold wood floor while I had the luxury of a mattress.  I real mattress!  Sleep did not come easy that night.
When I woke the next morning, the camp was silent.  I heard the faint crackle of a dying fire and the early morning songbirds warming up their voices.  I stepped out of my borrowed tent and stretched my sore muscles in the early morning light.  The camp seemed so peaceful and beautiful.  The mossy ground was incredibly soft under my bare feet.  The sun just started to peak through the trees when Leo appeared and began to relight the fire.
“Good morning, miss.” He said without looking up.  “I hope you slept well.”
“I slept just fine, thank you.”  I said sitting on the same stump I had sat on the night before. 
Leo seemed very weary.
“And you?” I asked. He glanced up at me and smiled.  “Oh, don’t worry about me.  I’ll catch a few winks later at the bridge. I hope you’re enjoying this realm.”  He said.  “From what I understand, it’s quite different from what you’re probably used to.”
“I suppose it is.”  I said.  “It’s quite a bit greener than my realm, and much friendlier.”
“Tell me about your village; your family.” He said.
“Not much to tell.  I only ever saw the inside of the castle, and I hardly remember my family.”
Confident that he had gotten the fire going, he came and sat by me on a large dry log.
“And what of you, Leo?  What of your family?  You seem a bit young to be out on your own.”
“To be honest, I was glad to leave.” He said.  “My dad wasn’t around much, and my mum left managing the house to my sisters and me.  As soon as they were old enough, they moved to Ivory to get a better education.  After that, when the position of Gate Keeper opened up, a neighbor offered to take my mum in so I could have the job.  Been here since I was twelve.  Almost six years I’ve been doing this job.”
“And you just stay out here?  You haven’t gone home in six years?”
“Naw, I visit every so often.  Mostly just to check in on my mum, or to get new books.  I spend a lot of time reading these days.  Aside from that, I’ve got all I really need.” He said, smiling again.
I smiled back.  His smile made me think of Jenna.  Like her, he seemed so perfectly content with his life.
Soon, we started to hear the people moving about in their tents, and the clearing was once again abuzz with activity.  A sweet smell permeated the air as the people began to cut into melons with light brown rinds and startling orange centers.  I was offered some by a woman named Hayley.  I hesitantly bit into the soft orange flesh and immediately sweet sticky juice dribbled down my chin.  I thought to myself that I had never tasted anything so delicious.  Would the wonders of this kingdom ever end?  I soon began to day dream about someday visiting each realm of the Rainbow Valley.  The people began to pack up their tents and I heard Ethan explaining to Leo that they had to reach Amethyst within two days or they would miss the festival at which they would be performing. 

As I sat and listened to the activity, the feeling that I was being watched crept over me.  It only took a moment to locate the source of the feeling.  The green-clad man that I had seen the night before stood at the edge of the clearing, just visible through the sea of orange cloaks.  He seemed almost transparent, his cloak blending perfectly with the trees.  He staredintently.  Chills ran down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.  Even from a distance I recognized what he was. 

I was staring right into the grey eyes of a Color-Snatcher.