Alevai

I love my state

2006-11-07T11:49:00.000-06:00

I love the great state of Wisconsin, which is why I got up this am and walked the two blocks to the polling place and voted.

Here's my suggestion for you: If you love your state, make sure you go and vote today. I don't know if you and I agree on politics, but I'm sure that we can agree that American is the best country on earth and we should do everything in our power to keep her safe. One way to do that is to vote.

If you're in Wisconsin, don't forget to vote no on the amendment -- removing the chance of civil rights from a group of people is unAmerican.

God Bless.

Child's Play

2006-11-06T15:43:00.000-06:00

I am nearly positive that all of you all ready know just what Child's Play is all about. But, for those who don't, here's what the website says:

"With the help of hospital staff, we’ve set up gift wish lists full of video games, toys, and movies. You can go to each hospital’s list and buy a toy, and that toy will be sent to the hospital. Some of these kids are in pretty bad shape. Imagine being stuck alone in a hospital over the holidays, getting something from a fellow gamer would really raise their spirits. Some of the stuff the hospital will give away for kids to keep, while other gifts (like consoles) will be kept by the hospital for patients to use throughout the year."

The gifts shouldn't be gift wrapped. Any other questions should be checked out here.

Not to toot my own horn, but I donated last year. I try to give to a lot of charities, especially at this time of the year, but this year -- due to the fact I'm broke -- I'm going to have to cut back on the money I give. BUT, Child's Play is the one charity I'm keeping on my list. I'm sure there are others out there in the same financial spot as me, but try to give something. Even $15.00 can be used to buy a gift for a child. They raised over $600,000 for children last year. Let's help them make it to a cool million this year!

Also, I'll be placing a banner for Child's Play and leaving it there (and on my other websites) until after Christmas.

God Bless

Alevai - Chapter Ten

2006-09-27T18:05:00.000-05:00

Chapter Ten…

Aaron looked up at the sky. “It is starting to get dark. We would be best to stop for the night.”

“But what about our sister?” Elizabeth asked.

“And, Sky?” Maddie added.

Aaron stopped walking. He rubbed his chin and thought for a moment. “I can only presume that they are somewhere safe.”

“How can you say that when you don’t know?” Elizabeth asked.

“Because to believe otherwise would be unthinkable. In either case, we will not be able to help them in the dark.” Aaron eyed both girls and smiled at them. “Ladies, I promise you that we will find your sister and your pet. I never break my promises.”

Elizabeth and Maddie looked at each other. “What do you think?” Maddie asked.
“I don’t know.” Elizabeth looked at Aaron. “Where will we sleep?”

“Around the next bend is a house of a friend of mine. Perhaps she will put us up for the night.”

“It’s a she?” Maddie asked. “Is she your girlfriend?”

Aaron felt the heat rise to his face, as he thought about Varem. “We used to be quite close,” he said, hesitantly. “But, now we are less close. I would rather not discuss it.”

“We understand,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, our parents are divorced,” Maddie added.

“Divorced? What is divorced?” Aaron asked, as he began walking again.

“They aren’t married anymore,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, that’s why we moved. We don’t live with Dad anymore.”

“That must be very difficult for young ladies such as yourselves.”

“It was really hard at first, but we’re okay,” Elizabeth said.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Maddie echoed.

All three of them were quiet until they rounded the bend. In front of them stood the largest, most beautiful house the girls had ever seen. Both girls stopped and stared.

“Welcome to Bariches,” Aaron said.

“Wow, this place is huge,” Maddie said. “Does your friend live here all by herself?”

“She does now,” Aaron said quietly. “Let’s go knock on the door.” He opened the front gate and held it for the girls to walk through. Then, he followed them in, closing the gate behind him.

The front door of the house opened and out came a maroon colored dragon, almost the same size as Aaron.

“I don’t know what you’re wantin’ now, Aaron Flisler, but ye can turn around and leave my property,” the dragon said, as she charged off the large porch, waving a dish towel in her paw. “I won’t have ye around here after the way ye broke my heart the last time.”

Aaron held his paws out in front of him. “Now, Varem, you know I wouldn’t come back unless it was important and necessary. We need a place to stay, just for the night.”

“We?” Varem said, stopping her charge. “What do you mean we? Ye dare bring another gal to my home, did ya, Aaron Flisler?”

“Actually, Varem,” Aaron said sheepishly, “I’ve brought two girls. Human girls.” He pointed toward Elizabeth and Maddie, who, at the sight of the angry female dragon, had moved off to the side.

Varem whirled around to look at the two frighten girls. She saw the fear in their eyes and her heart melted. “Why, Aaron, wherever did you find these young ladies?”

“They found me,” Aaron said.

Varem looked at the two girls, who were huddled against Aaron’s backside. “Is this true?” Both Elizabeth and Maddie nodded. “Well, come on in. I’ve just finished a batch of haggis for dinner. There’s plenty enough for all of ye.”

Haggis turned out to be a dish that was chili like in consistency and tasted great.
Aaron and Elizabeth told Varem the whole story, as the girls sat perched on books in order to reach the top of Varem’s dinning room table.

“We have to save that girl, the one who was meant to be queen,” Maddie finally said, interrupting Aaron in mid-sentence.

“Maddie, we can’t save her. We have to find Becca and find our own way back home.”

“Elizabeth is correct, Maddie. You girls must find your sister and your way home. You cannot risk your lives.”

“But, what if Becca is to be the next queen, how can we take her home?”

Elizabeth stared at her sister. “What are you talking about? Becca’s only five. How can she be queen?”

“It’s been twenty years since the last girl came through, right?”

“Yes, it has been twenty years,” Aaron answered.

“And Becca was the next girl to come through the portal?”

“So?” Elizabeth asked.

“So, maybe, Becca’s supposed to be the next queen.”

“Well, Becca couldn’t be queen of anything,” Elizabeth said.

“The girl is quite right. You sister is probably fated to be the next queen, which places her in grave danger,” Varem said. “You’ll be needin’ to rescue dear Caitlin, if you wish to reach home with your young Becca.”

Alevai - Chapter Nine

2006-05-16T18:04:00.000-05:00

Becca and Sky did not stir during the trip to Biscoe’s home. When Biscoe and Narisch laid them in the grass next to Biscoe’s home, Sky awoke with a start. He saw the two men staring down at him. He stood and growled at them.

Biscoe began to laugh. “Look, Narisch. This little dog thinks he can harm us.”

Narisch wasn’t amused. He took a step back. “Biscoe, he is protecting the girl. I wouldn’t assume that he could not bring harm to you.”

Biscoe was not impressed. He reached his hand to pet him. Sky lunged and bit him. Biscoe yelped and pulled his hand back.

“Do not come any closer,” Sky said. “I’ll bite you again.”

Narisch’s mouth dropped open. “Biscoe, the dog talks.”

“I can hear that the creature talks,” Biscoe snapped, still discontented about being bit. “He bites hard as well and he has drawn blood.” He held his hand up for Narisch to see before taking a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapping it around his hand.

“I will hurt you even more, if you come any closer,” Sky said. He glanced down at Becca and quickly turned his attention back to the two men. “What have you done to her?”

“Nothing,” Biscoe said. “We found the two of your sleeping. We brought you to my home.” He took a step back and knelt on the ground. “We mean you no harm.”

Sky thought about this, but he did not relax his stance. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Biscoe nodded. “You can’t, I suppose. If I were you, I would unquestionably feel the same. I pledge on my life that I mean you and the girl no harm.” Biscoe stuck out his hand. “I am Biscoe. Perhaps, we could be friends.”

Sky looked at Biscoe’s outstretched hand. He felt that he could trust this man. He looked up at Narisch, him he was not so sure. “What about him?”

“Narisch, tell the pup you mean him no harm.”

“I mean you no harm,” Narisch said.

“You are lying,” Sky said. He was unsure as to how he knew this, but he knew in his heart that Narisch was lying.

“When we found you, I wanted your pelt, but Biscoe stopped me,” Narisch admitted. “But, now, I mean you no harm. I pledge it so.”

Sky knew that this was the truth as well. He put his paw in Biscoe’s hand. “I am Sky,” he said as the two shook.

Narisch knelt and shook Sky’s paw. “I am Narisch,” he said.

“Why did you bring us here?” Sky asked.

“We could not very well leave you in the sleeping grass,” Biscoe said. “We could tell that you are not from our land and it is dangerous for strangers here.”

“That is the truth,” Narisch said. “Heavens knows what might have happened had one of the Queen’s men found you.”

Biscoe nodded in agreement. “Where are you from?”

“Wisconsin.”

“Wisconsin, what a bizarre sounding name,” Biscoe said. “How did you get here?”

Sky told the men the tale of the moving into the new house and the mirror. While they were speaking, Becca awoke. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. Sky made the introductions. Becca felt unsure about where they were, but Sky convinced her that the men were okay.

Soon Biscoe’s family appeared. Sky and Becca found themselves repeating the tale of how they came to be in Alevai.

“We would like to find our way back home,” Sky finally said.

“Well, you will be unable to do anything more today. The sun will be setting soon. You will stay here with my family. In the morning, I will escort you to the Schein.”

“I hope that you like fish,” one of Biscoe’s sons said. “I caught some for dinner.”

Alevai - Chapter Eight

2006-05-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

Aaron began to make his way to the Schein with both girls following closely.

“Mr. Flisler, may I ask you a question?” Maddie asked.

“Please, Maddie, call me Aaron. What would you like to know?”

“Well, I thought dragons liked to eat children.”

“Heaven forbid! I should eat a child!” Aaron exclaimed. “I do not eat any meat.”

“Then you’re a vegetarian?” Elizabeth asked.

“A veg-a-what?”

“A Vegetarian. Someone who only eats vegetables.”

“Oh, yes, yes, I suppose I am what you call a vegetarian. I don’t like to hunt animals. Little creatures should be my friends, not my food, I always say.”

“Are all dragons vegetarians?”

“No, but most dragons do not eat people. Most of us are quite civilized. Speaking of eating, are you girls hungry?” Both of them nodded. “Well, I see a maranz tree up ahead. This is the perfect season for maranzes. Do you girls like maranzes?”
“I’ve never had any maranzes,” Maddie said.

“Well, I think you girls will like them.” Aaron approached the tree and inspected the fruit. He pulled down three maranzes and handed one to each girl and kept one for himself.

The maranz was the size of a grapefruit, yellow in color and had a skin very similar to a banana. Aaron showed the girls how to open the skin. Inside, the fruit was neon pink.

Maddie looked over at Elizabeth. “I don’t think I can eat this,” she said.
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, but then she felt her stomach rumble. “Well, we should at least try it.” She pulled out a piece of the fruit. Fruit juice ran down her arm, as she popped it into her mouth. Once she had chewed and swallowed, she smiled at Maddie. “This is awesome. Try it, Maddie.”

While the girls ate their maranzes, Aaron told them of the history of Alevai.

“You see, every twenty years, a young girl from your world is crowned our new queen.”

“From our world?” Elizabeth asked. “How can that be?”

“A portal opens and the young girl just appears, very similar to what happened to you. Then, the girl is crowned our new queen, except, twenty years ago when the young girl came through the portal; Queen Elva Zores had her imprisoned. She refused to give up the crown.”

“Then what happened?”

“Well, the wizards joined together and tried to defeat Queen Elva Zores and her army, but they lost. Those that survived were either imprisoned in the dungeon or they fled to the Schein. That is where we are headed now.”

Alevai -- Chapter Seven…

2006-05-09T16:44:00.000-05:00

Becca grew tired of walking. She sat down in the cool grass. “Let’s stop, Sky,” she said.
Sky stopped walking and sat down beside her. “No matter how far we walk that castle never seems to get any closer,” he said.

“I’m scared, Sky. What if we can’t find a way home?”

Sky thought a moment. The thought had crossed his mind that they might be stuck in this strange, new world, but he didn’t want to worry Becca by voicing this opinion. “We’ll find our way home,” he said. “I promise.”

Becca, relieved by the small dog’s promise, felt a little better. She laid back in the cool grass. “I’m so tired,” she said. Her little eyes fluttered shut.

Sky laid his head on her stomach. “Me, too,” he said in agreement. “Me, too.” He closed his eyes. Soon he was fast asleep.

Biscoe and Narisch were returning to their village with the days hunt swung over their shoulders. They had been catching game in order to save the meat for their families and to sell the soft animal pelts. The days hunting had not gone well and they were both left with only four animals between them.

“What a lousy day,” Narisch said, bitterly. “Eight hours and I only have two musrits to show for it.”

“I feel the same way, Narisch,” Biscoe answered him. “But, if we get an early start in the morn, perhaps we can do better then today’s catch.”

“You are always so bloody jolly. You cannot be of strong mind where you are so bloody jolly.”

“Narisch, you are the epitome of despair. I should say that one who is so constantly in gloom should not be of strong mind, either.”

“I should wonder why I continue to follow you in the hunts. We do so poorly.”

“And, I wonder the same of me, Narisch.”

“Perhaps you are implying that it is a fault of mine that we have had a bit of bad luck.”

“Certainly not, Narisch, certainly not. Nature is as nature does. We are merely traveling through a cycle of bad hunts. We shall come out victorious soon enough. I shall not blame you for our troubles, only for your appalling manner.”

“My appalling manner?” Narisch started to go on, but he tripped on something and nearly fell to the ground. He looked down and found that he was standing beside a sleeping child and pup. “Biscoe, have you ever seen such a sight?”

“Narisch, I’ve seen lots of sleeping children.” Biscoe sighed. “I am the father of twelve.”
“No, silly, a dog as white as this.” Narisch leaned down and softly patted Sky’s side. “His pelt is nice and soft. We could get a pretty penny for a pelt such as this.”

Biscoe scowled at Narisch. “Can you not see that he is that child’s pet? We cannot harm her pet.”

“Pet, scmet. Who cares? We could use the coins.”

“Narisch, I will not harm this child’s pet, no matter how many coins we would receive.” He studied Becca. “She does not look like she is from here. I should think that a child from here would know not to stop moving once they were in the sleep grass.” He bent and lightly tapped her shoulder. “She is far under the blanket of sleep.” He stood.

Narisch backed away from Sky and Becca. “Oh, no. Biscoe, she is one of those people. We must leave them.”

“One of what people? And, why should we leave them? For what?” Biscoe still stood looking down at Becca.

“We will be harmed. Don’t you know the legend?”

“The legend?” Biscoe thought a moment. “Oh,” he said. “You do not mean THE LEGEND?”
“Yes, yes I do. If she is to stay here, she will surely threaten the queen.”

“Narisch, our queen is a nasty old hag. Surely, this sleeping child could not be a threat to her.”

“Biscoe, how can you say such things? Our queen is right and just. She is gracious and kind.” Narisch looked around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.

“Narisch, we are far away from the castle. You do not have to lie about your feelings. The queen is evil incarnate. She has destroyed almost all that is dear to yours and mine. Our children are forced to labor for her needs.” Biscoe took a breath. “And, if the legend is true, she has entrapped a young girl for her own evil means.”

“I don’t know why you say such things. The queen has kept us safe from all who dare oppose us.”

“Oppose us? Who opposes us? She talks of these mystical beings that wish us harm, but I have never seen proof of this. Our country has been preparing for war for as long as I can remember, yet, I am not at all sure if anyone remembers why or against whom we are preparing.” Biscoe spat on the ground. “If this girl could bring ruin to our queen, then I shall assist her.”

Narisch glanced around again. He knew in his heart that Biscoe was right. But, Narisch rather enjoyed his and Biscoe’s supply shop and he did not wish to anger her. He had seen how people suffered when she showed her displeasure.

“I’m going to take her and her dog home with me,” Biscoe said. “I all ready have so many children no one will notice one more.”

“Do you think that is wise? What if the queen finds out?”

“She will not find out, Narisch. I will pay the proper tax for having thirteen children. She shall not care.” Biscoe said. “Take the pup, while I pick up the child. Hurry, Narisch, once she is out of the sleep grass, we shall not have much time. I do not want her stirring too soon.”

The men stooped and picked up their charges. They looked around to be sure no one saw them before moving quietly back into the tall grass.

Alevai -- Chapter Six

2006-02-01T16:54:00.000-06:00

Chapter Six…

“Similitude, why do you run so?” asked Epik, the guard who normally protected this hallway.

“I have news,” Similitude answered.

“So, tell me this news that brings you so far from your post.”

“The queen has sent for Foyln,” Similitude replied.

“Foyln? Why? Has something happened?”

“The portal has been opened.”

‘Opened!’ Caitlen thought. ‘Perhaps this will mean I can go home.’ Even though it had been years since she had been home, she could still smell her grandmother’s cooking and she could see the fields of corn. Every night, she would dream that she was back on her grandparents’ farm, running through the corn fields or hiding in the hay loft. Every morning, she awoke in the dungeon and her heart would sink, as she realized this cell was her home.

“I wonder what this means.” Epik said.

“I do not know, but there is talk that a child and a dog came through the portal. They were seen by Poshet.”

“A child and a dog? What an unlikely pairing. Perhaps,” Epik lowered his voice to a whisper and Caitlen had to strain her ears to hear. “Perhaps, the queen will be overthrown.”

“Epik, do not talk that way! We could be overheard. It is not safe to speak of such things while we are in the castle.”

“Similitude, do not be so fearful. Everyone knows that Queen Elva is evil and she is ruling on a throne that does not truly belong to her.”

“Maybe so, but she is the queen and we must honor her. We must remain faithful, even when we disagree.”

“Similitude, you go on and remain faithful. I will choose to speak my mind.” He paused. “I do not believe that this one show be kept locked up. She should be allowed to go free. Maybe, her people have finally come to claim her.”

“Maybe so, Epik, maybe so, but if that is the case then we must be on guard even more to protect our queen.”

“You may protect the queen, Similitude; I will join in the fight to put the rightful queen on the throne. I am weary of living in fear and hiding my head. I have no children and no wife. There is no reason for me to continue to serve a queen in whom I do not believe.”

“Epik, you should save your judgment until we know more of what is to happen. Perhaps, I would join the rightful side. For now, keep an extra watch on the prisoner.”

The two men saluted and Similitude walked away. Epik watched Similitude turn the corner at the end of the dark hall way. Then, he peered into Caitlen’s cell.

“Did you hear that, mi lady?”

“Yes, Epik, I did. What do you think this means?”

“I think it means that a new queen is to be chosen. Otherwise, how would the portal open?” Epik glanced around to be sure he would not be overheard. “Stay alert, mi lady, for I will try to free you soon.”

“Thank you, Epik. I long to be free of this dungeon.”

“After my watch is over, I will see what I might learn of this girl and her dog.”

“Be careful, Epik. You are the only companion I have.”

“I will remain vigilant and careful, mi lady. I will not fail you again.”

Caitlen caught her breath. Epik always spoke like this to her and yet, she knew that he had been a boy himself when she had been captured. He had just begun his apprenticeship to the castle guards at the young age of 13. Still, he felt guilty for not being able to stop her capture.

Epik would have joined with the wizards and soldiers who had risen up against Queen Elva, except he worried what would become of Caitlen. Instead he stayed on the castle guard and worked his way into being the one guard who was able to spend the most time with Caitlen. His devotion to the young girl moved from brotherly interest to an innocent love as the years went by. Now, Epik was a man of thirty three and, yet, he did not allow himself to marry, so that he may remain free for Caitlen. His only hope was that Caitlen would be able to return the affection that he felt.

***

Alevai -- Chapter Five

2006-02-01T16:52:00.000-06:00

Chapter Five…

Elizabeth circled around the mirror for the tenth time, while Maddie stood watching her. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to figure out where Sky went,” Elizabeth answered.

“Maybe, we should look downstairs. I’ll bet Becca and Sky went downstairs.”

“We would have seen them.”

“Well, maybe they’re hiding. She’s probably still mad because we teased her about that imaginary castle.”

Both Maddie and Elizabeth began searching through the attic, opening trunks large enough for Becca and Sky to hide in. After a while, Elizabeth slammed a trunk lid. “They’re not here.” She walked back to the mirror.

“They have to be here,” Maddie answered her.

Elizabeth stood in front of the mirror and stared at it. “Sky was standing in front of the mirror. He barked and then he disappeared.”

“Try barking. Maybe you’ll end up wherever he went.”

“I’m not going to bark at the mirror,” Elizabeth said, as she reached up to touch the mirror’s surface. “That would be…”

Elizabeth vanished right in front of Maddie’s eyes. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She walked to the mirror. “What am I going to tell Mom?”

***

“Silly,” Elizabeth finished. She looked around. A path reached out before her and across the field to her left, she saw a castle. “Where am I?”

“You are in Alevai,” a voice answered her. “And, if you do not wish to remain here, you best turn around and go back.”

Elizabeth turned toward the booming voice. Standing to her right was a large bluish-purple dragon. He was sitting back on his haunches and smiling at her. “Uh oh,” Elizabeth gulped. “Who, who are you?”

The dragon bowed slightly. “I am Aaron Flisler of the Cavarbash Flislers. Although, I am quite sure that you have never heard of us. And, you are?” He held out a paw to her.

“I’m um Elizabeth Velan,” she answered reaching out her hand and shaking his paw. As scared as she was, she knew that was no excuse for bad manners. Her mother had taught her and her sisters to always be polite to people. She was sure that her mother would expect her to extend that politeness to a dragon.

Aaron dropped her hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Elizabeth.” He looked past her. “Oh, dear, just as I thought. The portal closed.”

Elizabeth looked in the same direction. “The portal?” She looked back at him. “I don’t understand.”

“You see on your side there must be a portal of some sort to allow you to come here to our side. Unfortunately, there is not a portal on our side to get you back, at least not one of which I am aware.”

“A portal? The mirror I touched. It must be a portal, right?”

“Absolutely. But, the opening does not stay that way for long.”

“How will I get home?”

“I am not sure. We will have to go and see Wayzgoose.”

“Wayzgoose? Who is Wayzgoose?”

“You haven’t heard of Wayzgoose? Don’t you have great wizards in your land?” Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t believe it. From what sort of primitive land do you come?”

“Wisconsin.”

“Wisconsin? Hmmm, what a funny sounding name. There are no wizards in Wisconsin?”

“No, that’s silly. Wizards aren’t real. They don’t exist.”

“Oh, my dear, wizards are very real. I should like to think that you wouldn’t tell Wayzgoose that you think he doesn’t exist. That would be quite rude.”

“I won’t. I promise,” Elizabeth said. “Where do we find Wayzgoose? Is he in that castle?” Elizabeth pointed toward the castle in the far distance.

“No, no one of such caliber lives in that castle.” Aaron involuntarily shuddered. “We must stay far away from the castle.” Aaron looked around and then leaned his face close to Elizabeth. “Evil lives in the castle,” he whispered. He stood straight up. “Come along, dear Elizabeth. We should start off to see Wayzgoose and find a way to get you back home.”

Aaron turned and started down the path. Elizabeth stood and watched him. She turned back toward where the portal had been. She was torn. She thought she should wait for Maddie. If Maddie reopened the portal home, she could rush back through. Then, again, if she were to leave, how would she find Becca and Sky? She didn’t know what she should do, so she stood, paralyzed with doubt.

Aaron walked oblivious to the torment going on in Elizabeth’s mind. He turned to speak to her. “I say, dear Elizabeth, do you.” His voice trailed off as he realized that she wasn’t walking next to him. He turned back around. Seeing Elizabeth standing with her back to him, he walked to her.

Aaron placed one scaly dragon paw on her shoulder. “Elizabeth, are you going to come with me? Or will you be spending what little time we have before dark standing here?”

Elizabeth looked at the paw on her shoulder and then turned to face Aaron. “I don’t know what to do,” she said, with tears welling up in her eyes. “I want to go home, but I want to find Becca.”

“Becca? Find Becca?” Aaron scratched his head. “Who is Becca?”

“My little sister. She and our dog, Sky, disappeared and I think she’s here.” Elizabeth’s tears overflowed and she threw herself into Aaron’s enormous belly.

Aaron, who had never been confronted by the tears of a young female, was flabbergasted as what to do. He finally began patting her on the back. “There, there,” he said soothingly. “I’m sure we will find your sister and your little dog too.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” a voice asked.

Aaron stopped patting Elizabeth’s back and saw a small dark-haired little girl standing in front of an open portal. Elizabeth looked up and turned to the voice. She released herself from Aaron’s grasp and ran to the little girl.

“Maddie!” she exclaimed. “You’re here!”

“Where are we?”

“We have to go back home,” Elizabeth said. “The portal will close soon.” She turned toward the opened portal.

Maddie looked around Elizabeth and asked, “Where’s Becca and Sky?”

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks. Maddie did open the portal, but they still didn’t have Becca and Sky. Should they really go home without them? What would they tell their mother?

Aaron walked closer to the girls. Maddie froze when she registered his presence. “Elizabeth,” Maddie whispered in her ear, “is that a dragon?”

“You are a very observant young lady,” Aaron said. “Indeed I am a dragon.” He bowed slightly. “Aaron Flisler of the Cavarbash Flislers at your service.” He held out his paw to her.

Maddie stared at it for a moment before shaking it. “Maddie Velan,” she said. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Believe me, dear girl, the pleasure is all mine.” Aaron smiled at the girl. He didn’t know much about human children, well, any children for that matter, but he did so enjoy polite ones. He released Maddie’s hand in time to see the portal close. “Oh, dear. The portal has closed.”

“The portal?” Maddie asked. “Elizabeth, what’s he talking about?”

“Our way home. It’s closed now,” Elizabeth said with a sigh. “Now, we have to find Becca and Sky and then we need to find another way home.”

***

Alevai--Chapter Four

2006-02-01T16:51:00.000-06:00

Chapter Four…

The older servants remembered the wrath of Queen Elva twenty years before when the girl who was to be the next queen stepped through the portal. Queen Elva went mad with the thought of being cast aside after ruling Alevai for so long. She had the young girl imprisoned. She did not dare have her killed, for none of her advisors could tell her what would happen if she did.

All, but one, of wizards of the land immediately rose up against the queen. They had hoped to save the girl and give her back her rightful place on the throne. At the very least, they desired to send her back through the portal. Through various means, the queen and the rouge wizard, Foyln, defeated the wizards. Queen Elva banished them to Schein and Foyln place a ward along the dividing line to prevent the wizards from coming back.

Today, while out in the fields, Poshet, Balbatisher’s uncle saw a young girl come through the portal. He watched for sometime and saw a white dog follow. Poshet heard them speak about going to the castle to find help. He ran as quickly as he could to the servants’ quarters of the castle to get there before the visitors. There the servants gathered to decide what should be done. They had discussed not telling the queen, but this was quickly disregarded. If the young girl and the dog made it to the castle, Poshet could be punished for knowing about them.

After much discussion, they agreed that Balbatisher would tell the queen what Poshet saw. They hoped his youth would protect him from her wrath.

Balbatisher rounded the corner and entered the Throne Room. Queen Elva was sitting upright on her throne, drumming her fingers on the arm. Two guards stood at the base of the raised altar, one on each side. Balbatisher caught his breath a moment, before moving from the doorway and into the Queen’s line of sight. He wondered why it was that the Queen never looked happy.

“Your majesty,” Balbatisher said, bowing as he did so. “I bring you news.”

“Come closer,” said the Queen. “Of what do you have knowledge?”

Balbatisher walked a few feet forward. He kept his head down and did not meet the Queen’s gaze. “Your majesty, I have received word,” he began, using the words he had memorized in the servants’ quarters, “that the portal to the far land has been breached.”

The queen leaped out of her chair, startling the guards. “What did you say?” she screeched.

Balbatisher kept his head down. His knees were shaking with fright. “The portal has been opened, your majesty.”

“How?”

“I do not know, Your Majesty. I only know that a young girl and a dog came through the portal.” He took a breath. “We do not know where they are, but they were last seen heading for the castle.”

“So, they are coming here?” Queen Elva smiled and sat back on her throne. “Perfect. Thank you, Balbatisher. You may go now.”

Balbatisher looked up at the queen in wonder. She smiled at him and nodded. He bowed again and quickly walked out of the throne room.

“Coming here,” the queen said to herself. “How delightful.” She turned to one of the guards. “Call the wizard Foyln and tell him I require his presence in the throne room.”

“Yes, mi lady,” the guard said, before running from the room.

Alevai -- Chapter Three

2006-02-01T16:38:00.000-06:00

Chapter Three…

Becca heard a voice behind her and she stopped in her tracks. She was scared because she thought the voice called her name.

“Becca, get back here!” the voice yelled.

Becca slowly turned around and looked. Standing ten yards away was Sky. “Sky! What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to take you home, young lady, so come on,” Sky said.

“But, I don’t want to go home.”

Sky opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. Did Becca answer him? How did she know what he was saying? He barked to her. “Hurry up, Becca.” ‘Wait,’ he thought. ‘I’m speaking English. How can that be?’

Becca ran back to him. “Sky, when did you learn to talk?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, truthfully. “It must be because of this place.” ‘Hmmm,’ he thought, ‘I rather like being able to speak.’ He thought a moment that perhaps they could stay wherever they were, but he knew that Vicy would worry about them. “It doesn’t matter,” he finally said. “We must be going.”

“I don’t want to go. I want to see the castle.” Becca stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

“Well, you don’t have a choice. Your mother will be worried and so will your sisters.” Sky turned around and watched as the portal between the worlds disappeared.

“I want to see the castle,” Becca said, stomping her feet on the ground.

Sky turned and looked back at the hole between the two worlds. It began to grow smaller, until no trace of it existed. “Uh oh,” he said. “It’s gone.”

“What’s gone?” Becca asked.

“Our way home. It’s gone. It just closed up. Now, we’re stuck here.”

“Good. Then I get to see my castle.”

Sky turned and looked at her. “Your castle? Becca, we can’t get back home if the hole is gone.”

“Oh,” Becca said. This thought sunk in and scared her. How would she survive if she couldn’t see Mommy? What would she do? She began to cry.

Sky sighed. He wished, for just a second, that he had crossed into this new world with Elizabeth or Maddie. They were much stronger than Becca and wouldn’t cry. He hated crying.

He jumped up on Becca and licked her face. “Now, you need to stop crying,” he said, softly. “Wipe your eyes and let’s just think about what we’re going to do.” He sat back down.

“Okay,” Becca sniffled. “But, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“Well, we have two choices. We can sit here and wait. Maybe, one of your sisters will figure this out. I think Elizabeth might have seen me disappear, so maybe, she’ll touch the mirror.”

“When will she do that? I want to go home.” Becca sat down on the dirt path in front of Sky.

“I know you do.” Sky moved and licked Becca’s face. “I want to go home, too.” He sat back. “Our second choice is we could go and take a look at the castle. Maybe, they’ll know how to get us back home.”

“Do you really think so, Sky? Maybe, there’s a wise old King and he can send us home.” Becca stood and started to jump around. “We can go home and I’ll get to see the castle.”

Sky looked at the castle. “I think,” He said, “if we cut across this field, we’ll make better time than taking the path.” He took the lead and the two of them walked into the tall grass toward the castle.

***

Alevai -- Chapter Two…

2006-02-01T16:36:00.000-06:00

Chapter Two…

A week went by before the girls found the time to venture back into the attic. They had been busy unpacking and decorating their new bedrooms. Her mother had taken the bedroom at the end of the hall. Becca had taken the one next to it. Maddie had finally decided on the bedroom right at the top of the stairs. This left Elizabeth the bedroom directly across from the attic door.

Elizabeth was especially pleased with her room, with its high ceilings, built in bookcases and large window seat. She had all ready filled more than half of the tall bookcases with books and stuffed animals. As she unpacked her room, she daydreamed about curling up in the window seat, covered with a blanket and reading one of her favorite books. Her mother had promised that they would make a large pillow to place on the window seat. Elizabeth was looking forward to picking out the fabric for the pillow and the new curtains they would put in her window.

“Hey, Elizabeth!” Maddie exclaimed, as she barged through the door. Becca and Sky followed her into the room. “What’cha doin’?”

Elizabeth looked up from her box, annoyed at this intrusion. “I’m unpacking. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“I’m tired of unpacking!” Becca whined. She threw herself down on the bed.

“Me, too. I don’t think we’ll ever be done,” Maddie said, sitting down next to Becca.

“You’re not going to be done if you’re sitting in my room,” Elizabeth said, taking another book out of the box and placing it on the shelf in front of her.

“Let’s go back into the attic,” Maddie said.

“Yeah,” said Becca. “I want to see my castle again.”

Elizabeth thought a moment. She was torn between doing the right thing – unpacking – and goofing off with her sisters. Maddie and Becca both pleaded by saying come on and even Sky barked his agreement. He wasn’t sure just what the girls had in mind, but he was tired of lying around watching everyone else work. He wanted to play.

Elizabeth placed another book on the shelf and then gave in to her sisters’ pleads. “Okay, but just for a little while. I still have tons to do.” She stood and wiped her hands on her pants, before following her sisters out into the hall.

Maddie had the attic door opened and she led the way up the stairs. Becca followed, with Sky trailing behind. Elizabeth closed the attic door behind them before running up the stairs.

The attic was still the way the girls had left it, with trunks and boxes opened. The clothing items they had tried on were scattered haphazardly throughout the room.

Elizabeth looked around the dimly lit room. “There must be a light switch somewhere,” she said and set about to find it.

Maddie was more interested in finding out what was in each trunk. She would open a trunk and rifle through the clothes. She thought maybe she’d find a clue as to whom these items belonged.

Becca wanted to go back and see her castle. She raced to the far end of the attic, with Sky right behind her. She turned around to glance at her sisters. They had made fun of her for saying that she had seen a castle. Well, she’d show them. She was going back.

Becca stood in front of the mirror. She rose up her right hand and let it touch the mirrors smooth surface. She felt a whoosh and then, she was gone.

Sky blinked and shook his head. ‘Here we go again,’ he thought. He barked and was shushed by Elizabeth. He walked behind the mirror and then in front of it. Where had Becca gone?

Sky turned and looked at Elizabeth and Maddie. He couldn’t believe that they didn’t notice that their younger sister had seemingly disappeared into thin air. He barked again to get their attention, but they ignored him. He knew that he had to do something. He sat down and began to think. This was tough for him, for although he was a very bright dog, he hadn’t spent much of his time trying to solve problems.

Sky thought about what Becca had done right before she disappeared. She touched the mirror! He thought. He stood up and looked back at Elizabeth and Maddie. He wondered if he should leave them alone in the attic. Well, they were safer here than Becca was wherever she was. He took a step toward the mirror and barked, before touching it with his nose.

Elizabeth, hearing Sky bark again, turned toward him in time to see him vanish. “Uh, Maddie,” she said. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“See Sky disappear.”

Maddie stopped rummaging through a trunk and looked at her sister. “What are you talking about?”

“I just saw Sky disappear.”

Maddie stood and walked to her sister. “Disappear? He must be here.”

“No, he’s not and I don’t see Becca, either.”

“Becca was just over by that mirror a second ago,” Maddie said, still totally unconcerned.

“Well, she’s not over there by the mirror now, is she?” Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and shook her head accusingly.

“God, you sound just like Mom when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Put your hands on your hips and shake your head.” Maddie changed her voice and placing her hands on her hips said, “Well, she’s not over there now, is she?”

“I do not sound like Mom.”

“Do so.”

“Do not.” Maddie took a step toward her sister and stopped. She turned around and looked for Sky. ‘Sky would never let us fight,’ she thought. He never liked the girls to fight and would always jump in between them whenever an argument would start. “Elizabeth, where’s Sky?”

“I told you he disappeared.”

“Oh, man. He’s really gone.”

“Now you believe me?”

Maddie began searching the attic, with Elizabeth hot on her tail. Finally, she stopped, convinced that Becca and Sky had really vanished into thin air. “Elizabeth, do you think Mom’s going to ground us for losing Becca and Sky?”

***

American Eskimo Dog Buttons...

2006-01-10T12:05:00.000-06:00

For a limited time, I Love My American Eskimo Dog buttons are available. If you love your Eskie (and I know you do), please buy one. Only $2.00 each and that includes shipping and handling.

Help keep the Eskie Lover site free! Buy a button today!

The Christmas Break is over...

2006-01-01T22:48:00.000-06:00

Sorry, I've been gone for the month of December. I know that you are all just dying to read Alevai and find out just what happens next to Elizabeth, Maddie, Becca and Sky.

Over the break, I made some changes to Chapter One and finished writing Chapter Eleven. I hope you'll take the time to re-read Chapter One.

If this is your first visit, Welcome. Please feel free to stick around.

Blessings.

Alevai -- Chapter One

2006-01-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

2005 --

Elizabeth sighed as only a young girl can. She had been placed in charge of her two younger sisters while her mother unpacked the kitchen. Her mother had not come right out and said that Elizabeth needed to watch over them. She had merely told the girls to run along and play. Elizabeth took it upon herself to become her sisters’ guardian. She did not want to watch over Madison, age 9, and Becca, age 5. She felt that she should be downstairs with their mom, helping unpack. That would be a job worthy of a mature 11 year old, which she was. Instead, Elizabeth – who never wanted to be called neither Liz nor Beth – was exploring their new home with her two younger siblings.

All three girls were in the upstairs hall of the old home. There were three doors on the left side of the hall, one door at the end and a single door in the middle of the right wall. Maddie, as Madison was called, had begun to busy herself opening the three doors on the left and inspecting each bedroom carefully. Her mother had promised that each girl could choose her own bedroom and Maddie wanted to scrutinize each room before she made her decision.

Becca, being quite the Mama’s girl, had chosen the bedroom closest to their mother’s, although, their mother had not yet decided which room would be hers. Becca was frantic with the thought that Maddie would choose a room that would end up being the closest. This thought was very unsettling to her.

Elizabeth, following Maddie, was unconcerned as to which room she would fill with her prized belongings. Being the oldest carried with it the responsibility of watching over her two younger siblings. Therefore, she was going to pick the room in between their choices. She would be able to hear Becca if she had a nightmare and she would be close to Maddie for one of their late night gab sessions. Since her parents’ divorce, Elizabeth had taken it upon herself to reign supreme over her sisters. She hoped that this would take a huge weight off her mother’s shoulders.

Maddie walked out of the bedroom at the end of the hall. “I don’t like that one,” she announced.

“Well, which one do you like?” Elizabeth asked her.

“I’m not sure. I need to think about it.” Maddie stood with her arms crossed. “Which one do you like?”

“I have not thought about it.” Elizabeth answered, choosing her words carefully.

Becca sat down on the top step at the opposite end of the hall. “I don’t like any of them,” she said. “I don’t like this place.” Becca placed her arms upon her knees and her head on top of her arms. Quietly, she began to cry.

Elizabeth shot Maddie a knowing look. Becca had not been happy to leave their father behind. She, as youngest daughters often do, had her father twisted around her little finger. Both Elizabeth and Maddie sighed. Maddie went to comfort their youngest sibling. Elizabeth stood behind the two of them and was about to place her hand on Becca’s shoulder to comfort her when the front doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” she exclaimed and ran down the steps into the foyer. She yanked opened the front door and in bounded Sky, the girls’ seven year old American Eskimo. He leaped up at her to give her kisses. “Sky!” Elizabeth yelled, as the two of them crashed to the floor.

Sky stood over her and wagged his tail, which in turn wagged his whole body. He licked her face and barked a tremendous greeting. He had missed the girls.

Hearing their sister yelled out Sky’s name, both Maddie and Becca bounded down the stairs, calling to him. This sent Sky into a tizzy, as he didn’t know which girl he should kiss next. He jumped on all of them, licking and barking. They had only been separated a couple of days, but to Sky, it had seemed like a year.

“This is just great! I’m overshadowed by a dog.”

Elizabeth pulled herself away from Sky and moved to hug her Aunt Cheryl. “Thanks for bringing Sky home,” she said.

“I really had no choice,” Cheryl said. “He’s been bugging me to come home. Keeping me up nights, staring out the window. He’s been a pathetic sight!”

Vicy came up the basement steps and looked out of the doorway. “I see the fur ball is home,” she said. She closed the door behind her before wiping her hands on her jeans. “Thanks for bringing him home.”

“You’re welcome. Are you unpacked yet?”

“No and the movers have been delayed. We won’t even get our furniture here until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That’s unacceptable.”

A shriek from the excited children stopped the grownup conversation. Both Vicy and Cheryl smiled at them.

“Hey, girls, why don’t you give Sky a tour of the house?” Vicy said to them.

“Okay, Mom,” Elizabeth answered. “Come on, Sky. Let’s show you around.”

The three girls and one furry white dog ran up the ornate staircase. Cheryl and Vicy watched them.

“Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ve unpacked the coffee, the coffee maker and some cups,” Vicy said.

“You’ve unpacked the most important things,” Cheryl said. “What are you going to do without beds?”

“Oh, we’ve got sleeping bags. I’ll light a fire and the four of us can campout on the living room floor.”

“I’m sure the girls will enjoy that.”

Vicy and Cheryl strolled off to the kitchen, their voices echoing thru the big downstairs.

Upstairs, the girls gathered in the hallway with Sky jumping up and down between them. Sky, a standard size American Eskimo Dog, had fur white as freshly fallen snow, except for a cream colored stripe in the center of his forehead. His face usually had a smile and his pink ears stood at attention. He had a habit of moving his ears to best hear every little sound. At 19 inches tall and a weight of 35 pounds, he was quite formidable when he wished to jump up on the girls.

“What room will Sky want?” Becca asked her sisters.

“This house is so big, he can have any room he wants, I guess,” Elizabeth answered.

“I think he should sleep in all our rooms,” Maddie said after a moment.

Becca kneeled in front of Sky and took his face into her hands. She was feeling much better now that her best friend had arrived. “Do you want to sleep in all our rooms?” she asked him. Sky licked her face and wagged his tail.

“I think that’s a yes,” Elizabeth said.

Maddie turned away. “I still don’t know which room I want,” she said. She opened the single door on the right side of the hallway. To her surprise there was a set of steps leading upward. “Hey, I wonder where this goes.”

Maddie bounded up the dark steps. Becca and Sky followed her. Elizabeth stood alone in the hall for a moment. She wasn’t so sure they should explore another floor of the house without their mother knowing.

Maddie stuck her head back out the door. “Elizabeth! Come on!”

At this prodding, Elizabeth shook away her doubts and followed her sisters up the stairs, closing the door behind her.

The upstairs was a large attic, filled with old furniture, dusty boxes and beat up trunks. The girls ran through the large room, opening trunks and boxes. Each of them found various old style hats, gloves and dresses.

Sky, too, got into the act by pawing and sniffing at the dust. He sneezed.

“Where did all this stuff come from?” Maddie asked, as she tried on a black glittery hat.

“The people who lived here must have left it behind,” Elizabeth answered her. She placed a feathery, purple boa around her neck. “We could wear this stuff as Halloween costumes.”

“That would be cool,” Maddie said.

“Yeah, cool,” Becca echoed. She had found a large blue hat with an Ostrich feather sticking out of it. She placed it on her head and added a pink boa around her neck. Long black gloves completed her ensemble.

Becca looked around for a mirror. She spotted a one standing next to a large wardrobe on the far side of the attic. She pushed her way past boxes and trucks to the mirror, with Sky following behind her. She stood in front of the mirror, posing as only a little girl could, but the mirror was dusty and she couldn’t see herself very well. She took one end of the boa and reached for it. Once she touched the mirror’s surface, she vanished.

Sky, who had been standing behind Becca, could not believe his dog eyes. One second, Becca had been there and the next, she was gone. He walked around the mirror and sniffed the floor. The dust made him sneeze. He came back around the front and looked toward Elizabeth and Maddie. They were oblivious to the disappearance of their youngest sibling. ‘This isn’t good,’ Sky thought. He barked to get their attention.

Elizabeth barely glanced in his direction. “Shh, Sky,” she said, “you’ll get Mom up here and she might make us stop going through these boxes.”

“Yeah, Sky,” Maddie agreed. “Be quiet.”

Sky rolled his eyes and barked again. The two sisters glared at him, before going back to their opened trunks. ‘This is really not good,’ Sky thought again.

***

Becca glanced around her. She could see a huge castle in the distance. Between her and the castle were fields of green grass. She didn’t know where she was. The view was beautiful. The sun was setting behind the castle and the sky was all shades of pinks, yellows and reds.

Becca took a step toward the castle, but then, she heard Sky bark behind. She turned back around and saw a hole. Through the hole, she could see Sky, pacing back and forth. Beyond him, she saw her sisters. They hadn’t noticed that she was gone. She turned back to the castle. She really wanted to explore this land, but what if she couldn’t find her way back home. That would not be good.
Sky barked again and Becca turned back to the hole. She took a step forward and placed her hand out in front of her. She felt a whoosh and found herself back in the attic. “Cool,” she whispered.

Sky blinked. Here was Becca, no worse the wear, standing in front of him. How did that happen? He sniffed at her. She smelled almost the same, but he could smell a fresh grass smell. He barked at her to ask her where she went, but she merely smiled at him and patted his head. He supposed he wouldn’t get an answer – such was the life of a dog in charge of three girls.

“Elizabeth, Maddie, Becca!” they could hear their mother calling them. “Where are you girls?”

“Uh oh, we better get back downstairs,” Elizabeth said. She took off the clothing she had been playing with and dropped it on top of a trunk.

“Do you think she’s mad?” Maddie asked.

“She doesn’t sound mad.” She looked at Becca. “Come on, Becca, put that stuff down.”

Becca started to tell them about the castle, but decided not to. She took off the gloves, hat and boa, dropping them in front of the mirror. “Come on, Sky,” she said, as she ran back to her sisters.

The trio of girls and Sky walked down the attic steps.

Vicy and Cheryl were waiting in the foyer when the girls came down the stairs. “Hey, where were you guys?”

“We were in the attic,” Becca said.

Elizabeth and Maddie looked at each other before watching for their mother’s reaction. They were worried that she, in one of her overprotective moods, would ban them from the attic.

“Really? And, just what were you doing in the attic?”

“I saw a castle,” Becca answered truthfully.

“A castle? There’s a castle in the attic?” Vicy asked.

Elizabeth looked over at Maddie and mouthed, A Castle. Maddie shrugged. Who knew what Becca could possibly be taking about?

“No, silly, it’s out in the field,” Becca answered. “But, I saw it when I touched the mirror.”

“Really, well, you’ll have to tell us all about it at dinner,” Cheryl said, squatting down to Becca’s level. “I’m betting you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving,” Becca said, with a giggle.
“What about you two,” Vicy said. “You girls hungry?”
Both Elizabeth and Maddie nodded in agreement. They were happy that their mother hadn’t banned more trips to the attic.
“Can we get Chinese,” Elizabeth asked.
“Not Chinese,” Maddie countered. “Let’s get pizza.”
“I don’t want pizza,” Elizabeth said, turning toward her sister. “We had pizza last night.”
“Well, I do want pizza,” Maddie said, raising her voice ever so slightly. The girls continued trying to outdo the other one in voicing their dinner preferences.
Sky had had about enough of listening to the girls. He walked in between them and pushed Maddie back away from Elizabeth. Then, he sat in between the two girls and barked until they both quieted down.

“Gee, Vic, I didn’t know you guys had your own referee,” Cheryl said.
“That’s my boy. He keeps the girls in line.”

***

Best Friends

2005-12-05T13:19:00.000-06:00

Best Friends Animal Society is more than just a non-kill shelter. They take care of the animals no one wants.

From their website:

"Best Friends is working with you and with humane groups all across the country to bring about a time when homeless, unwanted animals are no longer being destroyed in shelters, and when every healthy dog or cat can be guaranteed a good life in a caring home.Best Friends provides information, assistance, and training to people and grassroots groups who are looking to create no-kill communities. "

Check them out and help them give these animals a second chance.

One: The campaign to make poverty history

2005-12-04T08:43:00.000-06:00

From their website:

"WE BELIEVE that in the best American tradition of helping others help themselves, now is the time to join with other countries in a historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty. WE RECOGNIZE that a pact including such measures as fair trade, debt relief, fighting corruption and directing additional resources for basic needs - education, health, clean water, food, and care for orphans - would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the poorest countries, at a cost equal to just one percent more of the US budget. WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all."

Their Store:

The Farley Foundation

2005-12-03T09:36:00.000-06:00

Here's what the Farley Foundation is all about (taken from their website):

"It's every pet owner's worst nightmare. A beloved pet needs veterinary care, but the owner can't afford treatment. For many seniors and people with disabilities, this scenario is a sad reality.

That's where the Farley Foundation steps in.

The Farley Foundation helps sick and injured pets that belong to low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

The Foundation offers financial assistance to veterinary clinics in Ontario to help cover the cost of providing necessary veterinary care for pets belonging to seniors receiving the Federal Guaranteed Income Supplement or people with disabilities who receive the Ontario Disability Support Payment, and who cannot otherwise afford treatment for their pets."

Isn't that a worthwhile cause?

A word from the Author...

2005-12-02T09:32:00.000-06:00

Hi, as you know, we're in the midst of the Advent season and Christmas, that precious time of giving is just around the corner, so I have decided that from now until the end of the Christmas, I will not be posting any new chapters.

What I will be posting are links to charities I have discovered or given money to in the past.

I don't have a lot to give, but I try to give what I have, so on both my Said Jesus blog and here, I will only be posting links to various charities. If only one reader gives to one of the charities, it'll be worth it.

God Bless and Merry Christmas

Cole Hein

2005-12-02T09:15:00.000-06:00

"Cole Hein has an undiagnosed illness that can make him stop breathing and possbily lead to his death! Cure4Cole.com is part of an international effort with the help from Lamar Outdoor advertising to find anyone with information that could help save Cole's life!"

Go to the website, read the story. There's no asking for money, just asking if you can help find a diagnosis. If you're a doctor or know one or a nurse or anyone that might have an idea, please help. If you have your own website, please post about Cole on your site. Someone, somewhere should know what's causing this.

They are asking for cards:

"Please feel free to write Cole some happy mail and let him know you were by his website. Please DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY! We are hoping to break the world's record for cards recieved (another way to get the word out about Cole)
Po Box 4096
Redwood Postal Outlet
Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
R2W 5K8"

BTW, anything in quotes is directly from the site.

Artist Request

2005-12-01T13:10:00.000-06:00

As you can tell from the picture of Alevai's Castle, I'm not much of an artist. If I can't draw it using my mouse - I ain't drawing it.

Anyway, here's a call out to artist's of every shape and size. I'd like to establish at the very least a picture of Aaron -- the bluish, purple dragon.

I can't pay you, but I have a goal of making this story into a selling book, so I'm sure we could work something out. At the very least, I'd like to put the pictures of Aaron on t-shirts and we could split the profits.

Well, drop me a line: alevai-@-top-of-my-head.com.

Blessings

Rosa Parks

2005-12-01T08:04:00.000-06:00

Fifty years ago, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus. Fifty years ago, this small woman, by remaining seated, took a stand for human rights everywhere.

Please, no matter what your race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, take the time today to remember Rosa Parks. Let's try to walk in her footsteps, showing us to not stop until everyone is treated with the respect and dignity that human beings deserve.

God Bless

Alevai's Castle

2005-11-30T17:26:00.000-06:00

Chapter Five…

2005-11-24T15:26:00.000-06:00

Caitlen paced her small cell. She usually spent much of her day pacing, as there was really nothing else to do. She heard running footsteps in the hall outside her cell. She went to the door and peered out. She could hear two of the guards speaking just outside her cell.

“Similitude, why do you run so?” asked Epik, the guard who normally protected this hallway.

“I have news,” Similitude answered.

“So, tell me this news that brings you so far from your post.”

“The queen has sent for Foyln,” Similitude replied.

“Foyln? Why? Has something happened?”

“The portal has been opened.”

‘Opened!’ Caitlen thought. ‘Perhaps this will mean I can go home.’ Even though it had been years since she had been home, she could still smell her grandmother’s cooking and she could see the fields of corn. Every night, she would dream that she was back on her grandparents’ farm, running through the corn fields or hiding in the hay loft. Every morning, she awoke in the dungeon and her heart would sink, as she realized this cell was her home.

“I wonder what this means.” Epik said.

“I do not know, but there is talk that a child and a dog came through the portal. They were seen by Poshet.”

“A child and a dog? What an unlikely pairing. Perhaps,” Epik lowered his voice to a whisper and Caitlen had to strain her ears to hear. “Perhaps, the queen will be overthrown.”

“Epik, do not talk that way! We could be overheard. It is not safe to speak of such things while we are in the castle.”

“Similitude, do not be so fearful. Everyone knows that Queen Elva is evil and she is ruling on a throne that does not truly belong to her.”

“Maybe so, but she is the queen and we must honor her. We must remain faithful, even when we disagree.”

“Similitude, you go on and remain faithful. I will choose to speak my mind.” He paused. “I do not believe that this one show be kept locked up. She should be allowed to go free. Maybe, her people have finally come to claim her.”

“Maybe so, Epik, maybe so, but if that is the case then we must be on guard even more to protect our queen.”

“You may protect the queen, Similitude; I will join in the fight to put the rightful queen on the throne. I am weary of living in fear and hiding my head. I have no children and no wife. There is no reason for me to continue to serve a queen in whom I do not believe.”

“Epik, you should save your judgment until we know more of what is to happen. Perhaps, I would join the rightful side. For now, keep an extra watch on the prisoner.”

The two men saluted and Similitude continued running down the hallway. Epik watched Similitude turn the corner at the end of the dark hall way. Then, he peered into Caitlen’s cell.

“Did you hear that, mi lady?”

“Yes, Epik, I did. What do you think this means?”

“I think it means that a new queen has been chosen. Otherwise, how would the portal open?” Epik glanced around to be sure he would not be overheard. “Stay alert, mi lady, for I will try to free you soon.”

“Thank you, Epik. I long to be free of this dungeon.”

“After my watch is over, I will see what I might learn of this girl and her dog.”

“Be careful, Epik. You are the only companion I have.”

“I will remain vigilant and careful, mi lady. I will not fail you again.”

Caitlen caught her breath. Epik always spoke like this to her and yet, she knew that he had been a boy himself when she had been captured. He had just begun his apprenticeship to the castle guards at the young age of 13. Still, he felt guilty for not being able to stop her capture.
Epik would have joined with the wizards and soldiers who had risen up against Queen Elva, except he worried what would become of Caitlen. Instead he stayed on the castle guard and worked his way into being the one guard who was able to spend the most time with Caitlen. His devotion to the young girl moved from brotherly interest to an innocent love as the years went by. Now, Epik was a man of thirty three and, yet, he did not allow himself to marry, so that he may remain free for Caitlen. His only hope was that Caitlen would be able to return the affection that he felt.

Moderation...

2005-11-22T19:13:00.000-06:00

Hi, I just wanted to quickly post and let you know that I have turned on the moderation setting for the comments. I haven't received any comments that shouldn't be published, but since I did design this blog with children in mind, I thought I should protect them from any adult type comments that might arise.

Be assured that M-F, all comments will be reviewed within 8 hours. The weekends might take longer. I believe that if you are a member of blogger, your comments are not moderated.

Thanks and keep reading! New posting tomorrow!

Chapter Four…

2005-11-20T15:13:00.000-06:00

Balbatisher ran through the castle to the throne room. At age 12, he was Queen Elva Zores’ youngest servant. His age is why the older servants sent him. They knew that he, as the baby of the lot, would not be punished too harshly when he passed along the news that the portal had been opened.

The older servants remembered the wrath of Queen Elva twenty years before when the girl who was to be the next queen stepped through the portal. Queen Elva went mad with the thought of being cast aside after ruling Alevai for so long. She had the young girl imprisoned. She did not dare have her killed, for none of her advisors could tell her what would happen if she did.

All, but one, of wizards of the land immediately rose up against the queen. They had hoped to save the girl and give her back her rightful place on the throne. At the very least, they desired to send her back through the portal. Through various means, the queen and the rouge wizard, Foyln, defeated the wizards. Queen Elva banished them to Schein and Foyln place a ward along the dividing line to prevent the wizards from coming back.

Today, while out in the fields, Poshet, Balbatisher’s uncle saw a young girl come through the portal. He watched for sometime and saw a white dog follow. Poshet heard them speak about going to the castle to find help. He ran as quickly as he could to the servants’ quarters of the castle to get there before the visitors. There the servants gathered to decide what should be done. They had discussed not telling the queen, but this was quickly disregarded. If the young girl and the dog made it to the castle, Poshet could be punished for knowing about them.
After much discussion, they agreed that Balbatisher would tell the queen what Poshet saw. They hoped his youth would protect him from her wrath.

Balbatisher rounded the corner and entered the Throne Room. Queen Elva was sitting upright on her throne, drumming her fingers on the arm. Two guards stood at the base of the raised altar, one on each side. Balbatisher caught his breath a moment, before moving from the doorway and into the Queen’s line of sight. He wondered why it was that the Queen never looked happy.

“Your majesty,” Balbatisher said, bowing as he did so. “I bring you news.”

“Come closer,” said the Queen. “Of what do you have knowledge?”

Balbatisher walked a few feet forward. He kept his head down and did not meet the Queen’s gaze. “Your majesty, I have received word,” he began, using the words he had memorized in the servants’ quarters, “that the portal to the far land has been breached.”

The queen leaped out of her chair, startling the guards. “What did you say?” she screeched.

Balbatisher kept his head down. His knees were shaking with fright. “The portal has been opened, your majesty.”

“How?”

“I do not know, Your Majesty. I only know that a young girl and a dog came through the portal.” He took a breath. “We do not know where they are, but they were last seen heading for the castle.”

“So, they are coming here?” Queen Elva smiled and sat back on her throne. “Perfect. Thank you, Balbatisher. You may go now.”

Balbatisher looked up at the queen in wonder. She smiled at him and nodded. He bowed again and quickly walked out of the throne room.

“Coming here,” the queen said to herself. “How delightful.” She turned to one of the guards.

“Call the wizard Foyln and tell him I require his presence in the throne room.”

“Yes, mi lady,” the guard said, as he bowed. He ran quickly out of the room.

Chapter Three

2005-11-14T11:47:00.000-06:00

Becca found herself in the same place – on a path in the middle of long flowing green fields. She started down the path. This time she would find her way to the castle. Maybe, there would be a nice princess she could play with. She looked up at the sky and noticed how blue it was and how it didn’t have a cloud in it at all. She wondered what kind of place this was where the sky was so blue without any clouds.

Becca heard a voice behind her and she stopped in her tracks. She was scared because she thought the voice called her name.

“Becca, get back here!” the voice yelled.

Becca slowly turned around and looked. Standing ten yards away was Sky. “Sky! What are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to take you home, young lady, so come on,” Sky said.
“But, I don’t want to go home.”

Sky opened his mouth to reply, but stopped. Did Becca answer him? How did she know what he was saying? He barked to her. “Hurry up, Becca.” ‘Wait,’ he thought. ‘I’m speaking English. How can that be?’

Becca ran back to him. “Sky, when did you learn to talk?”

“I don’t know,” he answered, truthfully. “It must be because of this place.”

‘Hmmm,’ he thought, ‘I rather like being able to speak.’ He thought a moment that perhaps they could stay wherever they were, but he knew that Vicy would worry about them. “It doesn’t matter,” he finally said. “We must be going.”

“I don’t want to go. I want to see the castle.” Becca stood in front of him with her arms crossed.

“Well, you don’t have a choice. Your mother will be worried and so will your sisters.” Sky turned around and watched as the portal between the worlds disappeared.

“I want to see the castle,” Becca said, stomping her feet on the ground.

“Uh oh,” he said. “It’s gone.”

“What’s gone?” Becca asked.

“Our way home. It’s gone. It just closed up. Now, we’re stuck here.”

“Good. Then I get to see my castle.”

Sky turned and looked at her. “Your castle? Becca, we can’t get back home if the hole is gone.”

“Oh,” Becca said. This thought sunk in and scared her. How would she survive if she couldn’t see Mommy? What would she do? She began to cry.

Sky sighed. He wished, for just a second, that he had crossed into this new world with Elizabeth or Maddie. They were much stronger than Becca and wouldn’t cry. He hated crying.

He jumped up on Becca and licked her face. “Now, you need to stop crying,” he said, softly. “Wipe your eyes and lets just think about what we’re going to do.” He sat back down.

“Okay,” Becca sniffled. “But, I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
“Well, we have two choices. We can sit here and wait. Maybe, one of your sisters will figure this out. I think Elizabeth might have seen me disappear, so maybe, she’ll touch the mirror.”

“When will she do that? I want to go home.” Becca sat down on the dirt path in front of Sky.

“I know you do.” Sky moved and licked Becca’s face. “I want to go home, too.” He sat back. “Our second choice is we could go and take a look at the castle. Maybe, they’ll know how to get us back home.”

“Do you really think so, Sky? Maybe, there’s a wise old King and he can send us home.” Becca stood and started to jump around. “We can go home and I’ll get to see the castle.”

Sky looked at the castle. “I think,” he said, “if we cut across this field, we’ll make better time than taking the path.” He took the lead and the two of them walked into the tall grass toward the castle.

***

Chapter Two…

2005-11-10T14:32:00.000-06:00

A week went by before the girls found the time to venture back into the attic. They had been busy unpacking and decorating their new bedrooms. Elizabeth was especially pleased with her choice. Her mother had taken the bedroom at the end of the hall. Becca had taken the one next to it. Maddie had finally decided on the bedroom right at the top of the stairs. This left Elizabeth the bedroom directly across from the attic door.

Elizabeth loved her room, with its high ceilings, built in bookcases and large window seat. She had all ready filled more than half of the tall bookcases with books and stuffed animals. As she unpacked her room, she daydreamed about curling up in the window seat, covered with a blanket and reading one of her favorite books. Her mother had promised that they would make a large pillow to place on the window seat. Elizabeth was looking forward to picking out the fabric for the pillow and the new curtains they would put in her window.

“Hey, Elizabeth!” Maddie exclaimed, as she barged through the door. Becca and Sky followed her into the room. “What’cha doin’?”

Elizabeth looked up from her box, annoyed at this intrusion. “I’m unpacking. What does it look like I’m doing?”

“I’m tired of unpacking!” Becca whined. She threw herself down on the bed.

“Me, too. I don’t think we’ll ever be done,” Maddie said, sitting down next to Becca.

“You’re not going to be done if you’re sitting in my room,” Elizabeth said, taking another book out of the box and placing it on the shelf in front of her.

“Let’s go back into the attic,” Maddie said.

“Yeah,” said Becca. “I want to see my castle again.”

Maddie had the attic door opened and she led the way up the stairs. Becca followed, with Sky trailing behind. Elizabeth closed the attic door behind them before running up the stairs.

The attic was still the way the girls had left it, with trunks and boxes opened. The clothing items they had tried on were scattered haphazardly throughout the room.

Elizabeth looked around the dimly lit room. “There must be a light switch somewhere,” she said and set about to find it.

Maddie was more interested in finding out what was in each trunk. She would open a trunk and rifle through the clothes. She thought maybe she’d find a clue as to who these items belonged.

Becca stood in front of the mirror. She rose up her right hand and let it touch the mirrors smooth surface. She felt a whoosh and then, she was gone.
Sky blinked and shook his head. ‘Here we go again,’ he thought. He barked and was shushed by Elizabeth. He walked behind the mirror and then in front of it.

Where had Becca gone?

Sky turned and looked at Elizabeth and Maddie. He couldn’t believe that they didn’t notice that their younger sister had disappeared, seemingly into thin air. He barked again to get their attention, but they ignored him. He knew that he had to do something. He sat down and began to think. This was tough for him, for although he was a very bright dog, he hadn’t spent much of his time trying to solve problems.

Elizabeth, hearing Sky bark again, turned toward him in time to see him vanish. “Uh, Maddie,” she said. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“See Sky disappear.”

Maddie stopped rummaging through a trunk and looked at her sister. “What are you talking about?”

“I just saw Sky disappear.”

Maddie stood and walked to her sister. “Disappear? He must be here.”

“No, he’s not and I don’t see Becca.”

“Elizabeth, do you think Mom’s going to ground us for losing Becca and Sky?”

Elizabeth nodded. “She’ll probably take away our allowance, too.”

***

Sky, the American Eskimo Dog

2005-11-09T15:23:00.000-06:00

Here is a drawing of Sky, the American Eskimo Dog hero of the story. More pictures will follow, including pictures of the girls...

Stay tuned and I hope you're enjoying the story so far.

Blessings.

Chapter One…

2005-11-07T12:54:00.000-06:00

2005 --

Elizabeth sighed as only a young girl can. She had been placed in charge of her two younger sisters while her mother unpacked the kitchen. Her mother had not come right out and said that Elizabeth needed to watch over them. She had merely told the girls to run along and play. Elizabeth took it upon herself to become her sisters’ guardian. She did not want to watch over Maddie, age 9, and Becca, age 5. She felt that she should be downstairs with their mom, helping unpack. That would be a job worthy of a very mature 11 year old, which she was. Instead, Elizabeth – who never wanted to be called neither Liz nor Beth – was exploring their new home with her two younger siblings.

All three girls were in the upstairs hall of the old home. There were three doors on the left side of the hall, one door at the end and a single door in the middle of the right wall. Maddie had begun to busy herself opening the three doors on the left and inspecting each bedroom carefully. Her mother had promised that each girl could choose her own bedroom. Maddie wanted to scrutinize each room before she made her decision.

Becca, being quite the Mama’s girl, had chosen the bedroom closest to their mother’s, although, their mother had not yet decided which room would be hers. Becca was frantic with the thought that Maddie would choose a room that would end up being the closest. This thought was very unsettling to her.

Elizabeth followed Maddie unconcerned as to which room she would fill with her prized belongings. Being the oldest carried with it the responsibility of watching over her two younger siblings. Therefore, she was going to pick the room in between their choices. She would be able to hear Becca if she had a nightmare and she would be close to Maddie for one of their late night reading sessions. Since her parents’ divorce, Elizabeth had taken it upon herself to reign supreme over her sisters. She hoped that this would take a huge weight off her mother’s shoulders.

Maddie walked out of the bedroom at the end of the hall. “I don’t like that one,” she announced.

“Well, which one do you like?” Elizabeth asked impatiently.

“I’m not sure. I need to think about it.” Maddie stood with her arms crossed. “Which one do you like?”

“I have not thought about it,” as usual, Elizabeth chose her words carefully.

Becca sat down on the top step at the opposite end of the hall. “I don’t like any of them,” she said. “I don’t like this place.” Becca placed her arms upon her knees and her head on top of her arms. Quietly, she began to cry.

Elizabeth shot Maddie a knowing look. Becca had not been happy to leave their father so far behind. She, as youngest daughters often do, had her father twisted around her little finger. Both Elizabeth and Maddie sighed. Maddie went to comfort their youngest sibling. Elizabeth stood behind the two of them and was about to place her hand on Becca’s shoulder when the front doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” she exclaimed and ran down the steps into the foyer. She yanked opened the front door and in bounded Sky, the girls’ seven year old American Eskimo. He leaped up at her to give her kisses. “Sky!” Elizabeth yelled, as the two of them crashed to the floor.

Sky stood over her and wagged his tail, which in turn wagged his whole body. He licked her face and barked a tremendous greeting. He had missed the girls.

Hearing their sister yelled out Sky’s name, both Maddie and Becca bounded down the stairs, calling to him. This sent Sky into a tizzy, as he didn’t know which girl he should kiss next. He jumped on all of them, licking and barking. They had only been separated a couple of days, but to Sky, it had seemed like a year.

“This is just great! I’m overshadowed by a dog.”

Elizabeth pulled herself away from Sky and moved to hug her Aunt Cheryl. “Thanks for bringing Sky home,” she said.

“I really had no choice,” Cheryl said. “He’s been bugging me to come home. Keeping me up nights, staring out the window. It has been a pathetic sight!”

Vicy came up the basement steps and looked out of the doorway. “I see the fur ball is home,” she said. She closed the door behind her before wiping her hands on her jeans. “Thanks for bringing him by.”

“You’re welcome. Are you unpacked yet?”

“No and the movers have been delayed. We won’t even get our furniture here until tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? That’s unacceptable.”

A shriek from the excited children stopped the grownup conversation. Both Vicy and Cheryl smiled at them.

“Hey, girls, why don’t you give Sky a tour of the house?” Vicy said to them.

“Okay, Mom,” Elizabeth answered. “Come on, Sky. Let’s show you around.”

The three girls and one furry white dog ran up the ornate staircase. Cheryl and Vicy watched them.

“Let’s go in the kitchen. I’ve unpacked the coffee, the coffee maker and some cups,” Vicy said.

“You’ve unpacked the most important things,” Cheryl said. “What are you going to do without beds?”

“Oh, we’ve got sleeping bags. I’ll light a fire and the four of us can campout on the living room floor.”

“I’m sure the girls will enjoy that.”

Vicy and Cheryl strolled off to the kitchen, their voices echoing thru the big downstairs.

Upstairs, the girls gathered in the hallway with Sky jumping up and down between them. Sky was a standard size American Eskimo. He stood 19 inches at the shoulder and weighed 35 pounds. This made him quite formidable when he wished to jump on the girls.

“What room will Sky want?” Becca asked her sisters.

“This house is so big, he can have any room he wants, I guess,” Elizabeth answered.

“I think he should sleep in all our rooms,” Maddie said after a moment.

Becca kneeled in front of Sky and took his face into her hands. She was feeling much better now that her best friend had arrived. “Do you want to sleep in all our rooms?” she asked him. Sky licked her face and wagged his tail.

“I think that’s a yes,” Elizabeth said.

Maddie turned away. “I still don’t know which room I want,” she said. She opened the single door on the right side of the hallway. To her surprise there was a set of steps leading upward. “Hey, I wonder where this goes?”

Maddie bounded up the dark steps. Becca and Sky followed her. Elizabeth stood alone in the hall for a moment. She wasn’t so sure they should explore more of the house without their mother knowing.

Maddie stuck her head back out the door. “Elizabeth! Come on!”
At this prodding, Elizabeth shook away her doubts and followed her sisters up the stairs, closing the door behind her.

The upstairs was a large attic, filled with old furniture, dusty boxes and beat up trunks. The girls ran through the large room, opening trunks and boxes. Each of them found various old style hats, gloves and dresses.

Sky, too, got into the act by pawing at the dust. He sneezed.

“Where did all this stuff come from?” Maddie asked, as she tried on a black glittery hat.

“The people who lived here must have left it behind,” Elizabeth answered her. She placed a feathery, purple boa around her neck. “We could wear this stuff as Halloween costumes.”

“That would be cool,” Maddie said.

“Yeah, cool,” Becca echoed. She had found a large blue hat with an Ostrich feather sticking out of it. She placed it on her head and added a pink boa around her neck. Long black gloves completed her ensemble.

Becca looked around for a mirror. She spotted a one standing next to a large wardrobe on the far side of the attic. She pushed her way past boxes and trucks to the mirror, with Sky following behind her. She stood in front of the mirror, posing as only a little girl could, but the mirror was dusty and she couldn’t see herself very well. She took one end of the boa and reached for it. Once she touched the mirror’s surface, she vanished.

Sky, who had been standing behind Becca, could not believe his dog eyes. One second, Becca had been there and the next, she was gone. He walked around the mirror and sniffed the floor. The dust made him sneeze. He came back around the front and looked toward Elizabeth and Maddie. They were oblivious to the disappearance of their youngest sibling. ‘This isn’t good,’ Sky thought. He barked to get their attention.

Elizabeth barely glanced in his direction. “Shh, Sky,” she said, “you’ll get Mom up here and she might make us stop going through these boxes.”

“Yeah, Sky,” Maddie agreed. “Be quiet.”

Sky rolled his eyes and barked again. The two sisters glared at him, before going back to their opened trunks. ‘This is really not good,’ Sky thought again.

***

Becca took a step toward the castle, but then, she heard Sky bark behind. She turned back around and saw a hole. Through the hole, she could see Sky, pacing back and forth. Beyond him, she saw her sisters. They hadn’t noticed that she was gone. She turned back to the castle. She really wanted to explore this land, but what if she couldn’t find her way back home. That would not be good.

Sky barked again and Becca turned back to the hole. She took a step forward and placed her hand out in front of her. She felt a whoosh and found herself back in the attic. “Cool,” she whispered.

Sky blinked. Here was Becca, no worse the wear, standing in front of him. How did that happen? He sniffed at her. She smelled almost the same, but he could smell a fresh grass smell. He barked at her to ask her where she went, but she merely smiled at him and patted his head. He supposed he wouldn’t get an answer – such was the life of a dog in charge of three girls.

“Elizabeth, Maddie, Becca!” they could hear their mother calling them. “Where are you girls?”

“Uh oh, we better get back downstairs,” Elizabeth said. She took off the clothing she had been playing with and dropped it on top of a trunk.

“Do you think she’s mad?” Maddie asked.

“She doesn’t sound mad.” She looked at Becca. “Come on, Becca, put that stuff down.”

Becca started to tell them about the castle, but decided not to. She took off the gloves, hat and boa, dropping them in front of the mirror. “Come on, Sky,” she said, as she ran back to her sisters.

The trio of girls and Sky walked down the attic steps.
Vicy and Cheryl were waiting in the foyer when the girls came down the stairs. “Hey, where were you guys?”

“We were in the attic,” Becca said.

Elizabeth and Maddie looked at each other before watching for their mother’s reaction. They were worried that she, in one of her overprotective moods, would ban them from the attic.

“Really? And, just what were you doing in the attic?”

“I saw a castle,” Becca answered truthfully.

“A castle? There’s a castle in the attic?” Vicy asked.

Elizabeth looked over at Maddie and mouthed, A Castle. Maddie shrugged. Who knew what Becca could possibly be taking about?

“No, silly, it’s out in the field,” Becca answered. “But, I saw it when I touched the mirror.”

“Really, well, you’ll have to tell us all about it at dinner,” Cheryl said, squatting down to Becca’s level. “I’m betting you’re hungry.”
“I’m starving,” Becca said, with a giggle.

“What about you two,” Vicy said. “You girls hungry.”

Both Elizabeth and Maddie nodded in agreement. They were happy that their mother hadn’t banned more trips to the attic.

***

PROLOGUE…

2005-11-01T10:38:00.000-06:00

1955-

Caitlen Thomas was bored.

Her grandmother, Sadie, having both a thirteen year old and a seventeen year old to worry about, didn’t quite know what to do with her young charge. So, she did what busy women often do – she allowed the girl free reign. Her grandfather, Robert, more worried about the crops in the fields than the entertainment of a five year old, mostly kept to himself. The two boys, after working hard in the field, were not interested in amusing a five year old. This left Caitlen on her own.

The huge house was the perfect place for a five year old to explore. Built in the 1800s, it had the big and ornate design of the Victorian age. The home had two stories, not including the cellar and attic. The ceilings were unusually high.

Since arriving at the beginning of summer, Caitlen had explored nearly every floor. She had rummaged throughout the basement, breaking a jar of her grandmother’s canned tomatoes in the process. She ran through the first floor, until her carrying on had finally disturbed her grandmother enough to banish her to the outside.

Today, however; the rains had come, making it impossible for her to be outside. Even her grandfather and two uncles, after tending to the farm animals, were shacked up. The two boys were playing chess. Her grandfather was catching up on some paperwork.

Caitlen decided to amuse herself in the attic. She quietly walked up the stairs, careful not to disturb anyone, lest they inform her that the attic was off limits. She opened the door at the top of the stairs, a blast of trapped summer heat caused her to take a step backward. She moved back up the stairs and closed the door behind her.

The attic was loaded with boxes and trunks all covered in a heavy layer of dust. The place smelled of mothballs. Caitlen found it difficult to breathe, as the air was heavy with heat. She sneezed and then held her breath, hoping no one in the house below had heard her.

They hadn’t.

Caitlen began her walk through the stacks of boxes and trunks. She dragged her hand through the dust as she made her way to the other side of the attic. The flurry of dust particles brought on another sneeze. Again, she paused and again, no one heard.

Once reaching the far side of the attic, she came to an old wardrobe. Standing beside it was an old full-length mirror. Caitlen admired herself in the mirror for a moment before pulling on the wardrobe’s handles. The wood creaked as it stuck in place. Caitlen put all of her five-year-old strength into it. The door finally gave, causing her to thump on the floor in a pile of dust.

There was no response from downstairs.

Caitlen stood up and brushed herself off. She looked into the dark wardrobe and wished that she had a light. She pushed the doors open even farther. She could see something glitter on the bottom shelf. She reached in and pulled it out. It was a small tiara.

Caitlen squealed with joy at her discovery. A real tiara! Now, she could look like the princess she was. She placed the tiara on her head and danced around in front of the mirror. The mirror, being covered in a layer of dust, didn’t reflect her image back to her as brightly as it should. Caitlen reached out her hand to clean the mirror and vanished.

***
Hours later, Sadie began to call for her. Daylight had faded and the rains changed to a bad storm. When Sadie could not locate her energetic granddaughter, she sent Robert out to look for her.

Robert grumbled about children wandering off, but he went. He checked the hayloft first. Caitlen knew better than to climb the rickety old ladder to the top and play among the bails of hay. But, Robert knew that a playhouse such as that would be irresistible to an five year old.

Robert called her name, before resigning himself to climbing the ladder. Once at the top, he called her name again. “Caitlen, now you come on out of there.” He received no response. He heard a noise toward the back. Grumbling about Caitlen’s obvious disrespect, he pulled himself the rest of the way up. He walked to the back of the loft. “Caitlen, you come on out of there!”

There was no answer, just the rattling of the wind and the tapping of the rain on the tin roof.

Robert moved a bail of hay and was startled as a young bird took off flying. He dropped the bail, as he turned to watch the bird soar out of sight. Peering over the rest of the stack, he saw no sign of Caitlen.

Robert climbed back down the ladder and searched the rest of the barn. No sign of Caitlen. He began the walk through the pastures, but didn’t make it too far. The wind shifted into high geared and buckets of rain fell down upon him. He headed back to the house, cursing the bad weather and wondering just where his small grandchild ran off.

Robert was surprised to find the sheriff’s car in his driveway. He rushed into the house, just in time to hear Sadie say that Caitlen had vanished into thin air.

"Vanished? Little girls don't just vanished, ma'am,” the sheriff's deputy said. "She must've wandered off and gotten herself lost." He closed his notebook and tucked it inside his jacket. "With this rain, it'll be pretty hard to find her, but I'm sure she's probably all right."

Sadie spotted Robert. “Did you find her?”

Robert shook his head. “She’s not out in the barn and the rain prevented me from going to far out into the pasture.”

“I’ll keep a look out for her,” the sheriff said. “She probably ran to the Thompson’s when the rain started getting bad. I’ll check with them.”

"Thank you," Sadie said. She was trembling with fright. How in the world could she possibly tell her daughter that she had lost her only child?

"Well, better get on back out there," the deputy said. "Let us know if she wanders on back home."

"We'll do that," Robert said. "We'll be sure to do that."

The deputy turned back around. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'm sure she'll show up."

She never did.
***

Welcome to Alevai.

2005-10-31T10:28:00.000-06:00

A few months ago, I started writing a story for the children of a friend of mine. Well, I've managed to write a grand total of 6 chapters before getting stuck.

So, I thought, maybe if I posted my chapters one by one, I could gain some insight from the comments that could send me on my merry way.

Just a note: By posting this story on the Internet, I in no way give up my rights to it, nor am I leaving it out for public domain status. This story is copyrighted by me and me alone. If you leave comments regarding it, you are relinquishing rights to your comments. So, if I use your idea, don't sue me -- you wouldn't get anything anyhow.