Through the Land of Element

Part One of Chapter Two – Viridian.

I think that I must pause now and say that writing of my journey this far is quite an unpleasant task.  If the Ivory King hadn’t insisted that I record everything that has happened, I wouldn’t have even dreamed of doing it. 
I mean, right at this moment, thousands of men and women, girls and boys, are working 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 grass, absolutely helpless and unable to go to their aid.  It just doesn’t seem fair!  If the king says the word “Patience” one more time ----
Is this really how I am?  I should be grateful for his help, and yet here I am complaining.  Even Green tells me that I’m lacking in patience.  That boy is certainly far wiser than I am.  And far more patient.  I suppose he has good reason to be patient though, for everything he’s been through in his life. 
But who is Green? And how did I get here?
I suppose patience is my answer.  In time, everything will become clear.
For now, let us return to the clearing in the forest.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

My mouth dropped open slightly.  Did this guy realize what I had just been through?  He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes as he took in my dirty face and leaf-strewn dress. 
“What happened to you, girl?”  He asked.  “Did you sleep in the woods?”
I scowled at him.
“Where else?”  I snapped. The pain in my wrist and the dryness of my throat were starting to irritate me. 
“You sound thirsty.  And your wrist!  It’s practically the size of a snake egg!” He exclaimed.
“I fell.”  I said.  “Are you the Ivory King’s agent? The one who can help me get into the Rainbow Valley?”  I fired my questions at him in rapid succession.
He fell silent for a minute, his bearded chin tucked close to his chest as he considered my questions.
“You’re a bit young to be travelling that path by yourself.”  He said finally.  “Come on inside so I can take a look at your wrist.”
“You didn’t answer my question!” I complained as I followed him inside. 
“Patience, girl!” He said as he lifted a pail of water from a hook just outside the door and then took two mugs from a cabinet on the wall.  His house was very small.  It had only one room, with a small bed in one corner and a table against one wall with a window over it.  
He gently pushed me into the chair at the table, and set a mug of cool, sweet water in front of me.  He then took another pail and turned it upside down to sit on like a stool.  After he situated himself and took a few sips of his own water, he began to examine my injure wrist.
“I don’t think it’s broken.” He said after a painful moment of poking and prodding.
“There may be a crack in the bone though.  I’ll make a splint for it, and you should be fine in a few days.”
As he started to splint my arm, he said, “Now, before I tell you anything, I want to know your story.”
I winced, but not from the pain in my wrist.  The last thing I wanted to do was to relive the past twenty-four hours again. 
“Just start at the beginning.” He said taking another sip of his water.
I sat in silence for a moment.  The sound of the birds through the window was a beautiful sound.  The light from the early morning sun shone through the trees and the green-tinted light stained the dirt ground around the house, creating beautiful patterns.  As I sat there, I tried to come to grips with the fact that my life would never again be normal. 
“You still in there?”  His voice called me back into reality.
“Look, I understand that you’ve probably had a rough couple of days, but I can’t know if I should trust you unless I know your story.” He said. “Try starting with your name, then go on from there.”
“My name,” I started, “Is Rebekah. I come from the Kingdom of Learning.”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

I told him everything.  Once I started, the words poured from my mouth like a waterfall.  I told him of the slavery in my Kingdom, of Catherine’s plan, and of the circumstances surrounding my escape.  I relived every painful memory again.  It felt good to talk about it though.  Like the weight of it was being stripped off of me.  And he listened silently all the while.  

When I finally came to the moment I encountered the worm creatures, he interrupted me. 
“Those snakes almost had you!” He exclaimed.  “Another second and you would have been dead!  Why didn’t you run?”
So those were snakes.
“I didn’t know what they were.”  I explained.  “And I couldn’t run.  I couldn’t even scream.  It was like I was frozen.”
“Your first encounter with one of those demons can have that effect.”  He said.  “I suppose I know the rest then.”
I nodded, not meeting his eyes, but focusing on the grain of the wood on the table in front of me.
“I am so sorry about your friends.”  He said comfortingly.  “I had the honor of meeting Lady Catherine once in the Ivory Kingdom.  She was quite an extraordinary woman.  And your Jenna sounds like a girl full of wisdom.”
I looked at his face, and saw a single glistening tear sliding down his cheek.  
What kind of person was this man who had saved me?  Surely he must have been very brave to live here, in these horrible, demon-possessed woods all alone.
His build and well-tanned face told of countless hours spent in the sun, yet his hair was a color that I had rarely seen.  A blond color only ever sported by a few of the royal family in Learning. 
And I would hardly have been able to guess his age.  Bits of grey in his scruffy yellow beard suggested someone older and wiser, and yet his sparkling blue eyes told of a youthful spirit I had only ever seen in Catherine.
He noticed me studying his face and a hint of a smile crept into his expression. 
“Not exactly what you’re used to, huh?”  He asked, reading my puzzled face. 
“I suppose it’s my turn to tell a story now.” He said having finished constructing the splint on my wrist.
“My name is Hunter.  I was born in the Amber realm, which is sometimes known as the yellow band of Rainbow Valley.  My parents moved to the Ivory city when I was a baby, because they wanted to live farther away from the ocean.  As I grew, I developed my hunting and survival skills, and I found that I had a passion for helping people, especially after I heard of the oppression in your kingdom.  I’ve lived in this house since I was eighteen, helping people through the horrors of these woods and across the river on the border of Rainbow Valley.  There’s only one bridge you see.  It leads directly into the Viridian Realm, which is the green band of the Rainbow.  I’ve been helping people across for twenty-five years now.”
“No wonder you aren’t afraid of the creatu- I mean, the snakes.” I said.
“As it happens, the snakes in these woods are afraid of the smell of their own blood, so once a week I sprinkle it all around the edges of my clearing.  They don’t bother me in here.”  He said, proudly surveying his tidy home.
“Also, if you hadn’t accidentally stumbled directly into the middle of their nest and disturbed their ‘king,’ I doubt you would have even known that they were there.”
“Is that the only nest in the forest?” I asked nervously.
“Actually, no.  There are three separate nests with three separate species of snakes in these woods.  The one that you happened upon this morning houses the smallest species in the forest.”
My eyes widened.
“Those were the smallest!?” I said.
He chuckled at my outburst. “Hard to believe that those could be classified as small isn’t it? Yes, those are the smallest species, and the only ones with red eyes and poison in their teeth.  The largest of them won’t grow to more than twenty feet long.  The yellow-eyed snakes in the northern part of the forest can reach lengths of forty feet or longer.  Those don’t have poison, but they do have yellow eyes like their black cousins in the southern-most part of the forest.  The northern variety grows so big that they live in caves because they can’t fit in the trees without breaking them.”
I shuddered to think of these demon creatures growing any larger than the one that I had come face-to-face with that morning. 
“We’re off topic now though.  I suppose you’d like to know what’s next for you now.”
“Yes, I would.” I said.
“Until you’re free of the forest, the danger of travelling will be significant, even with me around.  And when you get into the Valley, you’ll have to be extremely cautious.  Color-snatchers still roam, and they prefer to prey on lone travelers.”
“You won’t be traveling with me?” I asked, starting to feel panicky.
“I can only travel as far as the bridge, but no further.  After that, it’s just a matter of following the river north.”
The feeling of dread crept up my spine.  The thought of all that time alone scared me.  Then something else stuck in my mind. 
“What are Color-snatchers?  Are they the creatures that suck the color from your skin like the blood in your veins?” I asked.
“Color-snatchers appear to be human.  They may have been human at some point.  But unlike us, who need food and water to survive, they live on color.  They feed on the color of living creatures, usually humans.” He explained.
“Where did they come from?” I asked.
“The Black king of Ebony created them during the great war between the kingdoms as a way of crippling the people in rainbow Valley.  Back then, thousands of them roamed the valley, but now only a handful of their decedents still live.  But there are still enough of them out there for you to be very wary of anyone you might meet on your journey.”
I sat in silence for a moment.  My wrist began to ache underneath the splint, and I yawned, suddenly realizing how tired I was.
Seeing my exhaustion, Hunter smiled and rose to his feet.
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about the journey just yet.  You’ve been through a lot and you need to recover for a day or two. We can talk more about the next step tomorrow.  For now, you can use my bed.”
“Where will you sleep if I have your bed?” I asked concerned.
“Don’t worry about me.” He said. “On warm nights like we’ve been getting, I often take my fold away cot and sleep out under the stars.”  He smiled warmly.
“Thank you for your kindness.” I said gratefully. “How will I ever repay you for all that you’ve done?”
“No need for that.” He said humbly. “Just reach the Ivory Palace in once piece.  That is all the reward I need.”

Through the Land of Element

Part Three of Chapter One – Escape from the Kingdom of Learning.


Back in my quarters, I quickly stuffed my few belongings into a rucksack.  It wasn’t 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 quietly opened the door to the slave’s quarters.  All of the other girls were still working, or in the bath 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.  Luckily, there were almost no guards.  Most were at supper.  
I got to the kitchen quickly and I managed to slip through without anyone seeing me.  When I reached the only other door in the kitchen, the one that I knew led outside, I paused.  I hadn’t been out of doors since I first got here.  I took a deep breath and turned the knob.  The door opened smoothly on oiled hinges and a blast of fresh air blew into my face. 
Oh how good it smelled!  I stepped out onto the rocky ground and looked around.  The book-houses stretched to the left and right for as far as I could see.  They were at least three deep all the way around the palace, but directly across from the kitchen door, they were only two deep, and there was a gap between them 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 walked forward with sand and gravel crunching under my feet.  The sun was just going down and the green of the forest seemed so beautiful in contrast to the beige and tan of the ground.  I wish I could remember what the kingdom looked like before the war.  When sweet water still flowed 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.  The sun sunk slowly below the horizon, and a light breeze came from the west.  It smelled of trees and fresh, moist dirt…and of freedom.  After glancing around to make sure I was alone, I made my way through the gap and to the boulder.  After clearing the houses, the ground sloped downward towards the trees, and the boulder almost seemed to point the way.  Once I reached the far side, I stopped and leaned against it, breathing in the clean air. 
It seemed as though I waited for hours.  It got darker every minute. Suddenly I heard a commotion behind me.  I peeked around the boulder and saw Catherine running wide-eyed towards the boulder with a lone of soldiers chasing after her.  I quickly ducked back behind the boulder, but not before she saw me.
“Run!” She screamed. “Run! Go no-“
I heard a shriek, and then nothing.  I looked around the corner again and saw guards standing over a crumpled bloodied figure.  I knew Catherine was dead.  A few of the guards broke off 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 running back up the hill, so I peeked around again.  It was Jenna standing in the kitchen doorway.  Our eyes locked for a moment, and she smiled sadly at me. Just before they reached her, I saw her mouth silently; “run.” And then she was blocked from my view by the guards.  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 tree line.
“Look! 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.  I ran until my lungs burned, but I couldn’t stop.  Finally when it was too dark to even see my feet, and the air was hardly even reaching my lungs, I collapsed on the leaf-covered 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 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, usually Jenna. 

And now… 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, 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 someday, 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 help 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 smoke coming from the kitchen.  I sat up slowly and looked around.  There was nothing but trees as far as I could see in all directions, but there was definitely smoke in the air.  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 Jenna and I were supposed to meet.  Catherine had said that he lived very deep in the forest, but who knows how far I had run the night before.  I suddenly felt hopeful. 
I followed the smell 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 the bone in my wrist cracked and I felt a lightning bolt of pain shoot up my arm. 
Tears flowing freely, I sat up against a tree and cradled my injured arm close to my body.  I looked around to get my bearings.  The smell of smoke was still overwhelming, and I knew the way I needed to go in order to find the source. 
Just then, I heard a faint rustling noise above my head.  I leaped to my feet, spinning to face 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 beheld.  Curled endlessly around the tree was what seemed to be a giant, armored worm with red cat’s eyes.  The thing’s body was as thick around as my waist, and its armor looked almost like overlapping coins covering its whole body.  It was a mottled brown color that seemed to blend perfectly with the bark of the tree. 
I stood frozen, unable to move as I stared into the creature’s blood red eyes.  I jumped as I felt something brush against my ankle.  I looked down to find myself surrounded by these terrible creatures.  The one clinging to the tree let out a sound that can only be described 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.  I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. 
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, but I was pulled away with inches to spare. 
The ground flew by underneath me as my savior ran hard and fast.  Each step jarred my wrist, and the pain caused my eyes to water.  Suddenly we stopped and I was dropped roughly onto the ground.  I cried out as my arm hit the hard dirt, and 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 chimney.  Just to my right, breathing hard from his run, was a man.
“What in the blue blazes,” he said between gasps, “are you doing in my woods?”

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Through the Land of Element

Part Two of Chapter One – Escape from the Kingdom of Learning.

My story begins on a day like most others. The sun was shining in a clear blue 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 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. One of the rules was that we were not allowed to work alone. We were paired up with working partners when we were first taken. I was paired with Jenna, and we’ve been best friends ever since.
Jenna and I were assigned work to one of the king’s daughters.  He had seven daughters and five sons, and they hardly work a day in their lives, except for one daughter who you will learn about later.  This particular girl’s name was Ursula.  She was one of his older daughters, and also one of the more gossipy ones. 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, not even stopping to rest our burning arms, and 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 talk in the presence of the royal family.  It was my turn to do the fanning.  She was just saying something about the new batch of guards that had come in 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 somewhere my family was starving and without relief from the harsh sun, while this princess binged on one of the rarest delicacies in the kingdom simply because she didn’t want to sweat a little.
“Oh, if only I were fifteen again!”  She said in her winey voice.  “I swear, they get taller every time!”
I rolled my eyes as Jenna smirked and winked at me.  With a toss of her long hair and a dramatic 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 more beautiful than most of the girls in the kingdom.  Even I find myself envying her.  Despite hardly being fed enough to keep us alive, I’ve always had a more round figure, and there has never been any great beauty in my face.  And my short, dark hair hardly compares to her velvety locks. 
“Ah!” She 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.
“The spoiled pompous brat!” I said as loud as I could without actually raising my voice.
“If I could talk 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.  If only I had just listened to her.
“Besides,” She continued, “We should be honored to-”
“Oh please.” I said cutting her off.
“No really.” She said reassuringly. “It’s an hono-“
“Just stop! Come on Jen, it’s hot and I’m in no mood to argue about honor.”
She sighed, but gave in and we walked to our quarters in silence.  As we walked through the center of the palace, the doors to the great library, which was also the throne room where the king sat, flew open and another of the king’s daughters rushed out.  It was Catherine.  She was the only one of his daughters who disagreed with the fact that there were slaves in the palace, and she was also a secret member of the Ivory King’s Counsel, despite the fact that it had been forbidden to even speak of the northern kingdom since the war that alienated the four kingdoms from each other.  If her father or 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 frustrated frown melted away when she saw us walking by.
“Girls! I was just about to come and find you!” She said to quiet for the guards to hear. “I have news for you.  Come on.  Let’s go to a more private spot.”
We silently walked through the halls, carefully avoiding guards along the way, and finally we slipped into our “secret room.”  It was really just an old, unused bedroom, but we turned it into a sort of safe house.  A place of escape, where we could speak freely.  We sat in a circle on the floor, and Catherine proceeded to tell us her news.
“I may have found a way out. For both of you.”
My heart leapt at her words.  Jenna tilted her head curiously.
“What is it this time? Will it be dangerous?” She asked.
“News has reached me that a man, an agent of the Ivory King lives deep in Snake Forest, and if you can get to him, he will take you through to rainbow Valley.  From there, you can easily cross to the Ivory City.”
She went on to explain how we might be able to get into the forest, but I hardly heard a word of it.  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. Just so long as it gets me away from this place.”
She nodded. “I figured you would say that. It WILL be dangerous though. Jenna, are you in?”
We both looked at her.  She seemed deep in thought with her long hair making a curtain that hid

her face from us.

“Is this really wise? Should we attempt it?” She asked.
“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 rout.”
“Jenna, this is the first time that freedom has been possible since the king started taking children as slaves. You two are the only ones who are brave enough to even think of it.” Catherine explained. “There won’t be another rout.”
“Well then,” She said after a moment. “If Beck 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.”
Jenna’s eyebrows shot up.
“So soon?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said eagerly. “The sooner the better, right?”
“Maybe we should wait. Not too long, but don’t you think that we’re rushing into this?”
“This is our only chance!” I said. “We have to go tonight!”
Jenna shot a questioning glace at Catherine.
“Rebekah is right. Even if we did wait, there’s no guarantee that I would be able to get my father to give the guards time off.”
“All right then,” She said slowly. “Tonight it is.”
Catherine smiled. “Good then. The king doesn’t have as great an influence over the cook as he thinks he does.  She’s on our side.  At dusk, head out through the door in the kitchen.  I’ll make sure it’s unlocked.  From there, head straight out 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.

Through the Land of Element

Part One of Chapter One – Escape from the Kingdom of Learning.

I once lived in a city where all of the houses looked like giant books, standing on their edges, and they all surrounded a huge palace that looked like a library.  The ground in this place was all sand and rock, the only plant life was a lush 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 suck the color out of your body as if it is the blood in your veins float through the houses and hallways of the palace.  Of course, these were only old wives tales told to scare people into staying in 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 (also the throne room) that takes up more than half of the palace in the form of millions upon 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 told us that it was 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 fifteen, 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 waging with the dark kingdom of Ebony which lies to the south.  Most never return.

There are four kingdoms in the land of Element which used to live in peace with each other.  Ebony supplying metals for building, Ivory, the white kingdom in the north supplying water and silver for trading, my 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.

And then there’s me.

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

But at what cost?  Perhaps the life 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.

I will not let her down.