Chapter 17

“We’re lost” I sighed, stamping through the twigs and worthless vegetation.

“We’ll be find. Pass us your compass again” Jamie answered.

“Their footsteps stopped ages ago. Maybe we should go back”

“It’s fine. What’s wrong with the compass?”

I glanced at it. The needle spun uncontrollably, never showing sigh of stopping.

“It’s confused”

“At least we’re not the only ones”

We both sat down on the nearest rock for a rest.

“How do these work anyway?” he asked, trying to undo the back.

“Magic” I joked.

I spent a minute or so soaking up the environment. It reminded me off the woods in movies back at home. The silver birches stood tall, only they seemed to glow faintly a glossy silver colour. I touched the silky bark but nothing came off on me. I turned around to see Jamie grinning at the broken pieces of compass.

“I think it’s broken”

I laughed along and put the pieces in my pocket. I didn’t want to the first polluter of this enchanted forest.

“What’s with the neat box?” he asked; pick pocketing it out of my pocket.

“Hey give that back… it’s how I plan to keep in touch with Leona” I smirked, trying to wrestle it off him.

Finally I got it back and we took a few more sips of smoothies and carried on walking.

“Carry me” I moaned, drooping to the floor ten minutes later.

Jamie smiled and gave me a piggy back for a couple of minutes. I felt kind of embarrassed because I was only joking at the time but I wasn’t going to turn down a free piggy back.

We watched a mouse like creature, with a split tail, scurry across a purple rock and to our surprise, hop like a grasshopper.

“Weird” I giggled.

Suddenly we heard voices just beyond the trees. Soft but deep voices. It wasn’t Loriei or Abi but it was better than nothing. I leaned forward, ready to make a run for them but Jamie pulled me back.

“How do you know they can be trusted?” he asked heatedly.

“Oh” I gasped “I didn’t think”

He shook his head and smiled.

“Come on” he whispered and motioned for me to follow him.

Like cats, we both crept past the twigs silently and spied on the two males.

They stood beyond the bushes dressed in white tunics, talking normally to each other about some dance festival. They both had bleach blonde hair, combed back neatly.

“They look nice enough to me” I shrugged.

Jamie took another look and nodded.

We decided to sneak around them so we didn’t scare them from behind. We approached them slowly and shyly right in front of them. I looked at Jamie to introduce us, he looked at me. I rolled my eyes and tried to speak first but I heard Jamie start to speak. I stopped and he too stopped.

“Hi,” I continued “I’m really sorry about this but we’re a bit lost”

The two men looked surprised

“Are you trying to get to the white city?” one of them asked.

They obviously mistook us for their own kind, whatever they were.

I turned back to Jamie.

“Yes” he answered.

“Follow us” the other one instructed.

They led us a little further through the woods until we embarked on a huge white castle. It looked a lot like the castles from story books except it twinkled like a star in the darkness of night. We passed great marble arches and pillars, holding the flawless white ceilings up. In the distant a gentle tinny instrument played solo, letting off the most beautiful magical sound and sending chills down my spine when it reached the high notes. The two men stopped outside a hidden white door.

“You can go in now.” one said after a couple of minutes. “She’s ready for you”

I took one last look at Jamie and twisted the glass door knob. A blue swirling mist instantly poured through and we were urged to hurry in. Jamie closed the door after us, quickly and stared at the elegant and enchanted image in front of us.

The room was a light navy colour, tinged with a hint of silvery blue, completely different to every other room in the castle. A small blue mist gathered at our feet, changing shades as it rolled on the smooth marble floor which felt warm on their feet.

Shimmering water twisted in a water feature that meandered across the room. A small bridge curved over it and at the end of the room, a layered white stand stood. This worked as a miniature waterfall, as the crystal clear water trickled down the side and flowed in the small spring below.

Sat on the marble banks of the water, a young blonde girl sat, dipping her hands in the water. Her silver dress sparkled like lip gloss in the pearly midnight blue gleam. She stood up when she saw us and drifted on the mist, almost as if her feet floated above the ground.

“You poor things!” she gasped, when she saw the state we were in and gave us both a hug. “Let me get you some new clothes”

Before I had time to protest, a freezing cold breeze blew over me and I looked down to see my clothes had changed. Instead of my faded yellow dress with mud and grass stains all over, I was wearing a fluffy white dress up to my knees. At the front, a silver pattern was embroidered in glittery thread. The instant I saw it, I loved it and wondered how I looked straight ahead. I looked over at Jamie to see him dressed in a white and gold tunic flowing over black, quarter length trousers. Although he pulled a face at first, he didn’t complain and to be honest he looked better wearing that than he ever did in tracksuits. I guess it was because now I could see body. It was then I noticed how much he looked like the blonde haired girl and men who brought us in.

“My name is Juliet, the cousin of the fairy leader of the realm. What do you seek?” the girl introduced, leading us to the blue crystal waters.

I took a glimpse at my reflection and struggled not to beam with pride at me figure and elegance. I had also noticed how Jamie was giving me second glances. It was the feeling every girl wanted, to be a princess in a boys eyes.

“Well, actually there is something. My name is Riley and this is Jamie” I started.

Juliet looked at me and smiled.

There was something about her which made me feel really popular and I just felt a little sad for I knew, I wouldn’t see her again once we left Ylddion.

“Well, I’ve lost my cousin, Abi. She was with a friend of ours, a Bloomie called Loriei”

Juliet’s face dropped.

“You’ve seen her?” Jamie asked, already knowing the answer.

Juliet rubbed her face a little.

“I know where your friend is, but your cousin isn’t with her” she informed her. “I think she lost her outside the castle and when she came back…”

Her voice trailed off and she looked at me like she couldn’t think of the right way to say it. The first thing I thought of was that they had been attacked and Loriei came back a bloody mess, without Abi.

“Can you take us to her?” Jamie asked hopefully.

Juliet hesitated but motioned for us to follow her.

To be continued...