Places to Chat
Story Chain!
Chatterbox: Inkwell
Story Chain!
Story Chain!
I think it would be fun to start a story chain. Each person can write a sentence or paragraph to the story. I'll begin...
Kelsey Rose woke up and sighed. It was the first day of school in a new town...
Ok, you continue the story. Don't be afraid to add mythical creatures, or wild adventures to the story.
submitted by Teresa, age 13, Michigan
(January 5, 2013 - 11:54 am)
(January 5, 2013 - 11:54 am)
After everything, I managed to fall into a light sleep, awaking often. Finally, I managed to fall into a somewhat steady sleep. Hazy images of Sophie and Frank fluttered in my mind, but quickly faded away. Suddenly I was jolted awake by the opening of the cell door. I pushed myself up, glaring at Amnester's soldiers. They gruffly yanked me to my feet and herded me toward the door. We passed through the main prison.
Eveyone was gone.
I started to get an uneasy feeling. I was dragged down the spiral steps, and led down a series of halls, the same of which I had entered. I started recognizing places. Not just from trying to find the linixies, but from my dreams as well. Suddenly we stopped in front of a set of large, oak doors. The stone around was a deep, smooth, grey. My fear intensified by the second. The door was swung open, and I was hauled inside. My entire army was huddled together, and Amnester stood before them. I felt sick. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to run. But I was forced to stay and watch the horrors unfold. Amnester slowly walked among them, smiling in the faces of their fear, their pain, their humiliation, their sorrow.
"Look at your leader," he hissed, delighting as some of them turned away, wincing as if my appearance physically hurt them.
"Look to where she has fallen. Look at who you put your faith in. She led you to utter destruction and abandoned you."
"NO!" I screamed, unable to listen to it any longer. "I didn't!"
Amnester silenced me with a wave of his hand. I could feel tears pouring down my cheeks.
"Pathetic." He said it quietly, yet it could be heard by everyone in the room. I fell to my knees, my expression pleading. Amnester stopped in front of one of the linixies. The smallest one...
(September 8, 2013 - 10:05 pm)
Amnester stopped in front of one of the linixies, the smallest one: Cynthia.
Cynthia was only six, yet joined my army because both her parents were in it. She never truely fought against Amnester, but helped by making weapons and gathering food.
Cynthia looked small and frail next to Amnester's muscular build. Her usual sparkling emerald green eyes had faded into a soft green-grey color and her silky carmel colored hair was now matted and greasy. Amnester bent down to the child's eye level, while Cynthia silently trembled. Her parents looked anxious and tried to come to the aid of their only daughter, but were abruptly stopped by the hands of Amnester's guards.
"Hello little deary. What is your name?" Amnester asked, in a sweet but dangerous voice. (think Miss Trunchbull in Matilda when she calls up Bruce to eat the chocolate cake)
Cynthia stayed silent, her eyes downcast. A minute past before Amnester became angry. "Answer me you little weasel!" he shouted, while slapping Cynthia hard across her right cheek. Cynthia's eyes watered, but she did not let any tears fall.
"Cy-Cy-Cynthia," she whispered. Amnester stood up and paced the room, tapping his prized sword against his calf.
We stood there for five minutes before Amnester returned to the child. He pointed the sword at her neck. "This child, Cynthia..." he started.
I didn't let him finish. I ran in front of Cynthia and pushed her towards her parents. "I will not let ANY of MY people perish. To stop this once and for all, I will let Amnester take away my linixie powers, so that you might live," I said confidently.
Amnester grinned.
(September 11, 2013 - 2:55 pm)
Oh my gosh, I love where this has gone!
Amnester's hand shot forward, curling around my throat. He lifted me up to the point I feared I would choke, but could still just touch the floor with my tips of my toes.
"Wise choice, my dear," he whispered, virtually nose to nose. Keeping his grip on my neck, he dragged me to the center of the room. I could hear little Cynthia straining against her parents, sobbing hard. The other linixies wore expressions of shock, horror, fear, and a hint, just a hint, of admiration. Amnester painfully pulled me to the center of the room, waving everyone back in a six foot radius. Here he threw me onto my face. I pushed myself up, fighting to keep from shaking and sobbing.
I pulled myself to my knees, and looked up at him, dead in the eye. He grinned maliciously down at me. Then he turned, facing the crowd, of thin, depressed, hopless faces, burdened to see their leader like this.
"Just remember, this is who you decided to listen to. This is who you decided to follow," Amnester spat with a gloating expression. I bowed my head, allowing the tears to fall. I sobbed hard and silently. Not for myself, but knowing there was nothing I could do. Amnester yanked me to my feet, holding me at a foot apart. He loosely held both my arms, and started muttering in a language I had never heard before, but could somehow understand.
"Give me these linixie's powers, as she has so granted me." He gripped my arms to the point I lost circulation.
"KELSEY!" a voice nearby shouted. I glanced over at Sophie and Frank. How they got here, I didn't know. They were horrified. Sophie had tears streaming down her face. I managed a weak grin, then a pain I had never felt, nothing compared, spead rapidly throughout my whole body. My knees buckled, but Amnester held on, just keeping me on my feet. I screamed and writhed in pain, kicking and thrashing. A blinding light filled the room. I wondered if the pain would ever end. It left me without any strength at all, to the point I couldn't even scream, but just twitch. I started hoping for death, anything just to end this. Suddenly the light faded, Amnester released me. I dropped to the floor, unable to move. I could faintly feel blood tricklying out of the corner of my mouth. Amnester just grinned, first to everyone around, then down at me. He marched through the crowd, everyone parting. Sophie and Franked watched him go, Sophie gasping down sobs. They then ran over to me, kneeling down beside me. Sophie pulled me into her arms, Frank said something I couldn't hear.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I just wanted to protect everyone, and I didn't know any other way."
(September 11, 2013 - 9:23 pm)
Sophie, still sobbing, said, "Shhh, it's alright. You made the noble and right decision." I pushed myself away from her to look at her in the eye, "But I failed. I failed myself. I failed you. I failed my friends. Most importantly, I failed this world." "No, you didn't. In fact, you might have just saved this world and your own," Frank said, entering the converstation. The linixies around us stared and Frank confused as did I. "I'll explain later, but first we have to get you into a bed," Frank added.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I woke up in a comfortable bed with a white quilt. Sophie and Frank were sitting in white wicker chairs having a heated discussion, but they stopped as soon as they saw me wake up. "Good morning, Kelsey!" Sophie said cheerily, though her eyes looked worried. "Where am I?" I asked. "This is one of my countryside cottages," Frank said. That explained the blue colored wall, white furniture and blue and white checked curtains, not to mention the cows outside the french door windows.
After preparing me breakfast in bed, Sophie and Frank sat down on the edge of my bed. "I have some good news and some bad news," Sophie started. "The good news is that by giving Amnester your powers you defeated him and his minions," Frank said. "But I failed, I didn't defeat him!" I protested. "Ah, but you did. Linixie powers can only be used for a good or noble cause and if the power is attempted to be used for evil, the linixie power will automatically transform the person and his or her followers into ...," Sophie said holding up a jar. The jar contained six frogs with faces of Amnester, Meredith, Iggy and three guards. I laughed, but immediately stopped when Frank and Sophie exchanged an uneasy expression.
"What?" I asked. "Kelsey, you can't go home unless you have your linixie powers. In other words, you are trapped here," Frank explained. "According to ancient scrolls, when a linixie power is stolen or misused it goes to a place called Libonia and can be retrieve through a quest the Libon, the keeper of misused Linixie powers, gives you," Sophie said. "We know that Libonia is located somewhere in this world, but we don't where," Frank added. "We do know that the quest Libon gives you will be challenging and hard to accomplish," Sophie said. "But, we don't want to over push you until you are capable of making a journey," Frank ended.
I could feel tears pooling in my eyes.
(October 12, 2013 - 4:07 pm)
Oh goody! I was hoping this thread would come back round! And I love Amnester turning into a frog!
I knew I should be glad that I'd, well, saved the world. But all I could feel was absolute misery. I knew there was hope of getting my powers back, but after everything, I felt exhausted. I emotionally couldn't take any more, and even this brief conversation had worn me out. I leaned back against the pillows, tears trailing down my face. Sophie gripped my hand.
"It will be okay, Kelsey," she said gently. I looked at her. She was sincere, like she really knew everything would be okay. Her eyes were full of hope, warmth, and sympathy. I smiled weakly, then she and Frank left the room as I slowly fell asleep.
I lost count of how many time I woke up screaming. I was continuously plagued by nightmares. Each time I woke up in incredible amounts of pain. Amnester was in some, despite his being a frog, while others I dreamt of what the journey would be like. Each time I failed miserably. Sophie eventually offered to move her cot into the room with me, which I gladly accepted. Frank gave me serums to help ease the pain, which they did some. But I felt a special pain in my chest. I realized later that I'd always felt a slight tug there whenever I used my powers. Frank reasoned that I'd likely always feel that pain, at least until I got my powers back.
I slowly regained strength, though I was always in some sort of pain. I felt as if I'd been severed from a body part, and that the pain would never go away. But the pain gave me determination to go on with this quest, and succeed. Besides, Frank guessed that he and Sophie would likely be able to come with me. I was glad, for right now, I barely had strength to summon my sword, let alone wield it. But I kept on working, preparing. I wasn't going to fail this time.
(October 12, 2013 - 7:54 pm)
Here's the part where I wish I had pictures and maps! (Note to BHR: Abscondita is the Latin word for hidden. Spero aeternum is hope forever in Latin. Frank, Sophie and Kelsey don't know what the words mean. )
Throughout the next three months I regained enough strength to begin planning my route to the unknown location of Libonia. Sophie and Frank brought bins full of maps and scrolls from Frank's basement and from dusty, unused libraries. Some maps were contradictory to each other, causing Frank to muse over them for days at a time.
There was one bin that caught my interest and it was labeled with the mysterious word 'Abscondita'. The material inside the bin differed from the other bins. The bin 'Abscondita' was filled with not only maps and scrolls, but actual objects like ten fluorescent beads strung on a cord, a brown sack, a book written in a foreign tongue, a jar filled with a sticky green substance, an empty photo album, a sword with the words 'spero aeternum' engraved in gold and magnets.
The maps were drawn three thousand years ago according to the titles. In the right corner of one map, under the word 'key' the word 'Libonia' was written with four arrows pointing up, down, left and right. Instead of the traditional, north, east, south and west, the letters L, B, H and W stood. "Frank, Sophie! Look at this!" I said, shoving the Libonia map into their hands. Frank and Sophie studied it for nearly ten minutes before commenting on my find. "I believe this is a map of Libonia," Sophie said. "Of course, this will only be useful when we get there," Frank sighed, "Where did you find this map?" I pointed to the 'Abscondita' bin. "I believe that this is the treasure. The bin that holds the clues to finding Libionia," Frank said.
We searched through the whole bin, in hopes of finding a map showing us where Libonia is located, but our search was in vain.
(October 13, 2013 - 4:25 pm)
That's a neat idea! I like this! I'm sort of studying Latin, though French has sort of pushed it to the wayside.
I sat curled up on the floor surrounded by the things in the 'Abscondita' bin. None of it made any sense. The sword was evidently symbolic, having some purpose other than fighting. You could tell that just by looking at it. The jar of green substance reminded me of Greek fire from mythology, so I was hesitant to do much with it. But the rest, I had no idea.
"Maybe it's meant to be used in Libonia," I mused. "Like a travel kit, or some such thing."
Suddenly the door gently swung open, and Cynthia looked hesitantly in. After Amnester had been turned into a frog, the whole Linixie army had been released. Some of them had chosen to remain here, saying they were "still faithful to my service". I was so grateful I'd been forgiven, and immensely happy that Cynthia's parents had chosen to stay as well.
"Hi Cynthia." I smiled. She'd been a great companion as I was regaining my strength, and we spent a lot of time together.
Cynthia smiled happily and skipped into the room.
"Could we go on a walk?" She asked, clasping her hands behind her, swaying back and forth. When I'd gotten strong enough to venture outside, the two of us had taken frequent walks.
"Sure, I could use a break from this," I said standing up. I grasped the top of the chair next to me, while Cynthia grabbed my other arm, helping me to stand. Frank thought I would never become very strong until I regained my linixie powers. Cynthia and I headed out the door, into the fresh morning air. There was still dew of some of the leaves still untouched by the sun's rays. We headed a way we hadn't really explored before, heading deep into the woods. The trees made a canopy above, seeming to block out the sky. A silence settled over us, as if speaking would disturb the sereness. After awhile, we sat down opposite a particularly large oak tree, it's roots spreading out across the clearing, it's branches spreading out reaching all the way above us. Cynthia stood up, and walked over to it. There was something... special, about this tree. I reached up, laying a gentle hand on it's side. I suddenly yanked back, having felt a spark, or something. I looked down at my hand. My fingertips glowed faintly, then faded. I reached up again, pressing my hand against it. I closed my eyes, consentrating. Images shot through my mind at lightning speed. My eyes flew open, and I stumbled backward, falling to the ground.
"What happened?" Cynthia cried, kneeling down beside me. I looked up at her, breathing hard and fast. "Cynthia, I think we found it."
(October 13, 2013 - 6:51 pm)
Cynthia looks confused, "Found what?" "The...," I stopped right there. Even though Cynthia knows about my quest to regain my powers, I don't want her to know the location of the portal in case of danger. "Nothing. You know, I'm feeling a bit light-headed. Would you mind bringing me back inside?" I say. "Alright," she says.
When we get to my bedroom door, I can hear Sophie and Frank shuffling through more bins. "Thanks, Cynthia. Maybe I'll feel better tomorrow," I say, hoping that she'll go back to her parents to leave me alone to talk with Frank and Sophie. She does.
When the door creaks open, Sophie and Frank look at me. "Your back early," Frank remarks. I nod. " I think I found the way to Libonia!" I say. Sophie and Frank look dubious. "Where?" Sophie asks gently. "I'll show you. Let's get our 'Abscondita' bin and go!" I say.
-------------------------------
"This is where it is!" I say pointing to the tree. I touch the tree, but no tingle radiates my body. Frank and Sophie are beginning to look worried. "Are you tired? I think we should go back inside," Sophie says. "No! I'm sure this is the spot, you have to believe me!" I say passionately.
(October 14, 2013 - 6:17 pm)
I couldn't understand it. It had worked earlier. What was different? A thought struck me.
"Nooo... It can't be," I mumbled to myself.
"What can't be?" Frank asked, watching me.
I looked at him for a moment, without really seeing him, lost in thought.
"What?" Sophie asked, coming up beside him.
"This," I said, gesturing to the tree. "Is just a gateway. It's useless without the key."
"Well, what's the key? One of these things?" Sophie asked, looking at the 'Abscondita' things.
"No, it worked earlier, but not now. I didn't have any of those thing earlier. There was one difference."
"What is it then?!" Franks asked impatiently.
"Not what, whom," I answered. "Cynthia is the key."
"You're not serious," Franks asked after several seconds of silence.
"Yes. Yes I'm sure of it," I said, growing more confident with each word. It all made sense. "The smallest of things can make the biggest of differences, and be of the most importance. Trust me, I know. Wait here." And before they can say another word, I run back into the woods. I stumbled several times, and my breathing was labored by the time I reached the house.
"Cynthia!" I shouted, leaning on my knees, panting. After a moment, she came running out the front door, looking concerned, her parents trailing behind.
"What's wrong?" Cynthia asked.
"I need your help," I said, my voice low. "It's of vital importance." Cynthia looked at me with large eyes, deep with worry. But she nodded calmly. I looked up at her parents, who looked on with worried faces.
"I need her. But I will do my upmost to protect her. I'll do better than last time."
They looked at me for several long seconds, then her mother gave a nod of consent, then her father.
"Thank you," I breathed. I gripped Cynthia's hand, and we sped back into the forest.
*********************************************************************
We were kind of implying that Cynthia was special, so I thought maybe she could be the key!
(October 14, 2013 - 10:15 pm)
(August 20, 2013 - 1:22 pm)
(August 20, 2013 - 8:24 pm)
(October 12, 2013 - 1:06 pm)
@BHR
Sorry, I can't write the next segment today. I don't have enough time, but I'll get to it as soon as I can.
(August 28, 2013 - 11:45 am)
That's okay, I'm pretty busy too. And TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP TOP!
Cappie says dime. No Cappie, I don't have a dime and I won't pay you.
(August 31, 2013 - 8:55 pm)
Top!
I'm designating tomorrow as the day where I catch up on all the RRs and RPs. Look for the next segment tomorrow.
Cappie says grin. I'm glad you like my choice Cappie.
(September 7, 2013 - 8:17 pm)