continuing

First Journey
Point Six

"Can we stop and rest?" Brenda wheezed.

"We don't have time!" growled Sir Icmath.

"Why the rush?" demanded Brenda. She still felt bad for leaving Hoe behind but she kept telling herself it was for the best. After all, he was safe at the cottage in a warm bed with a roof over his head. An uneasy feeling flooded her thoughts. He is safe, she continued telling herself. The only thing she did not understand was why she could not tell him goodbye.

"Done resting?" Sir Icmath glared at her impatiently. " We need to hurry!"

"But why?" Brenda wanted to know.

Uneasy lines spread across the knight's forehead, as he briskly muttered, "I don't want to run into some old friends."

"Friends or enemies?" pressed Brenda, beginning to walk on slowly.

"You can't stop asking questions, can you?" he complained.

"Nope!" laughed Brenda grinning from ear to ear.

"Remember what I told you before? I used to be knight for an evil group. The same group who ruined  your village. When I realized their real intentions I escaped. Now I'm taking you to the City of Fire so we can defeat them once and for all. You want to know why we're in a hurry. I think I'm being followed," he said the last bit in an undertone.

Shivers ran down Brenda's back.  "Followed?" her voice trembled.

"Yep!" Sir Icmath charged ahead with hardly a glance at Brenda.

Squaring her shoulders, Brenda charged after him determined not to show her fear. She looked behind her for one quick minute but saw nothing but the thick walls of trees and heard nothing but the breeze whispering. Sir Icmath must be mistaken, no one was following them.

They came to a dangerously fast moving river and Brenda expected Sir Icmath to turn around but he did not show surprise. A sharp wrinkle of defiance spread across his brow.

"We are not going to cross are we?" demanded Brenda hoping to hide the panic in her voice.

"There should be a raft somewhere around here!" Sir Icmath growled running back and forth along the rivers edge. "Where is it?"

"Is that your raft?" questioned Brenda pointing at wood object that peaked out from under a tangle of moss at the side of the river.

"That's it! I was starting to worry but sure enough, there it is," exclaimed Sir Icmath as he dragged it from the tangled mess.

Brenda gasped, "That thing is usable? It looks like it is about to fall to pieces. I am not going to get on that!"

"It is perfectly safe!" argued Sir Icmath motioning her to get on. "Now stop grumbling and hurry!"

"I can't!" Brenda wailed.

"I told you it was safe!" Sir Icmath was clearly not going to stop and recon with her. Before she could resist he pushed her onto the floating raft and jumped on after her.

From then on Brenda was fighting to keep her balance as cold water raced by under her finger nails. Inside she was battling the current of anger that Sir Icmath had stirred in her heart. Who was he who thought she was at his beck and call? The sickening reminder of how they had left Hoe behind kept growing. Ice cold water splashed against Brenda's cheek and stung her left eye. She blinked and dug her nails into the rough surface of the raft.

"You alright?" shouted Sir Icmath fighting the current with his paddles.

"What do you think?" Brenda yelled back.

The water dragged them down river but Brenda shut her eyes and clang for her life. When she felt the raft jolt to a stop her eyes flung open. She could not believe she was staring at firm ground.

"We're alive!" moaned Brenda.

"You had your doubts?" A mixture of amusement and shock stole across Sir Icmath's eyes.

"I thought we were dead!" Brenda cried her exasperation giving way.

"What were you scared of?" hissed Sir Icmath.

"Drowning! What did you think?" Brenda snapped wiping her wet face.

"Drowning!" Sir Icmath threw back his head and shook with laughter. "I guess in my haste I forgot to give you a life jacket. I had mine on."

Debating on whether to be mad or not, Brenda noticed for the first time Sir Icmath was wearing a bright red life jacket. She shot him a stony glare. He shrugged nonchalantly.

A splash and cries cut into there silence. Sir Icmath dragged Brenda behind the cover of some bushes and vine. From there they saw a tiny figure fighting the waters and shrieking for help. For a while Brenda did not recognize and then it hit her. He was Hoe.

"It's Hoe! We have to save hhhhmmm!" before she could finish Sir Icmath muffled her voice with his hand clamped over her mouth.

"Shhhhh!" he growled. "It is to dangerous. We would be to late!"

Brenda fought to get lose. She tried to wave her arms and kick but her limbs fell limp under his resistance. There she watched helplessly as Hoe sunk underneath the water. Tears filled Brenda's eyes.

"Hold on!" something shouted.

Brenda heard splashes. She tried to twist herself around to see what was happening but Sir Icmath had pulled her back.

"Hoe is being rescued by our follower!" hissed the knight gravely."Maybe he has become useful after all."

"How?"squeaked Brenda sighing with relief.

"He distracted us from the enemy," whispered Sir Icmath.

Brenda tried to wriggle out of the knight's grasp but he held her still. "I meant how is he being rescued?"

"The enemy dragged him to safety. Listen Brenda," the urgency had returned to the knights face, "We need to make a move on. Your little friend is alive."

"But..." wailed Brenda uneasily"...if he is with the enemy then he is not safe! Sir Icmath, Hoe is in danger!!!"

"The enemy should not hurt Hoe! Now come on Brenda!" Sir Icmath urged.

"No!" declared Brenda. "I will not forsake Hoe! We have to rescue him! Sir Icmath, I will help you and so will he, if we save Hoe."

The knight's brow darkened. "Brenda, it is to risky!"

"Listen!" Brenda sighed. She felt panicky but determined not to leave Hoe's life in danger. She had to save the little boy. "Sir Icmath, if you help me save Hoe I will help you defeat the enemy whatever happens!" She tried to gather up courage. "I will help you even if it costs me my life." If she could only save him.

"That's not good enough!" Sir Icmath scowled. "If we rescue Hoe you must promise to be my slave for the rest of your life."

Brenda gasped. She knew the cost of being a slave in this country. Slaves wore a black permanent stamp on their right arm. It never wore off. Once a slave, always a slave. She was desperate, so the words slowly escaped in one breath. She promise to be Sir Icmath's slave if they rescued Hoe. In those few moments she whispered goodbye to freedom. If Hoe's life could be speared it was worth it, she persuaded herself.

"Common then!" Sir Icmath grunted and they started after Hoe.

A heaviness settled in Brenda's stomach.  

to be continued

Just an ordinary girl...

This is a little funny thing I wrote. Thought I would post it as I work on continuing the First Journey.

A magical castle, enter at your own risk...

I never expected my first petsitting job would end up like this...

"The No Stress Pet"

Somehow I, Kate Romaine, became the best animal-sitter ever. It all started on an unexciting, grey summer afternoon when the door bell rang. I was home babysitting my little sister. I marched to the front door and found myself face-to-face with my bizarre neighbor, Mrs.Green. 

“I have a problem?” she stated.

“Can I help?” I asked bluntly.

Mrs.Green fidgeted nervously, “I think my pet got into your house.”

“What? All the windows and doors are closed, Mrs.Green,” I assured her, feeling annoyed at her interruption. “If a pet shows up I’ll call you.”

“Well,” Mrs.Green looked embarrassed, “I saw it get in.”

How?” I demanded.

Mrs.Green sighed,“The chimney!”

I squinted at Mrs.Green,”Your crazy, right?”

“No,” she answered.

“I can reassure you there is no pet in my house!” I declared stomping my foot. “Don’t worry!”

“OK, but call me when you find her!” Mrs.Green murmured, taking a step back. “Oh and I think I should warn you...”

Suddenly, we heard a blood curdling scream. Terrified, I darted to the family room. Mrs. Green was right behind me. I froze staring at my little sister who stood a foot away from a huge tarantula.

“Kate, the spider is coming for me!” she shrieked.

I picked my sister up and dashed a safe distance away. Mrs.Green calmly picked up the scary creature and said, “Don’t worry! Penelope-Anastasia the second won’t bite. She’s soft and sweet.”

“That’s your pet?” I felt sick to my stomach.   

Mrs.Green smiled,“Do you want to hold her?”

I was not scared, I just wanted to play safe so I quickly answered,”No thanks!”

“She escapes sometimes!” Mrs.Green explained.

“I can see that!” I said feeling dizzy.

Mrs.Green laughed, “You know, if you want, you could watch her next week while I go to Texas. I would really appreciate it.”

I stared at the fuzzy spider and gulped, “I am not much of an animal person.”

“That’s fine!” Mrs. Green grinned and cried, “Penelope-Anastasia the second is so easy! All you have to do every day is feed her three times, take her on a walk, give her her vitamins, brush her hair, and play fetch with her. She’s a no stress pet! Thanks so much for offering! Tell you what, I’ll talk to you on Saturday!”

It took me a few minutes to realize Mrs.Green wasn’t joking.

“God tells us to love our neighbors,” I told my parents that night, “but He never says anything about loving their pets.”

“I think this is a wonderful opportunity!” said Dad. “By watching Anastasia-Penelope...”

“Penelope-Anastasia the second!” I reminded him. 

“...you are showing love to your neighbors,” Dad continued.

Mom smiled sadly, “Too many kids today pay attention to themselves more than serving others. You can show Christ’s love by helping Mrs.Green.”

My first day on pet-care duty was quite an adventure. First, I had to feed Penelope-Anastasia II disgusting dried insects. Then, I had to wait thirty minutes after she had finished eating to take her on her walk. Mrs.Green said it was a special precaution so she wouldn’t get cramps. With salad tongs, I lifted Penelope out of her cage. Sure, the tongs were unnecessary, but as my grandma always said, “Safety has it’s benefits!” Since it was cloudy, I decided to let Penelope take her walk inside. She raced all over the room. For half an hour, I let Penelope exercise. Then, I started chasing her around the room with salad tongs. You'd think she would be tired by then! She wasn’t. Finally, Penelope, thinking she could outsmart me, climbed on top of the bookshelf. I had to catch her so I climbed after her. After that I was cleaning up dusty books all afternoon. The shelf had toppled over and made a huge mess. When I was finally done, I realized Penelope was gone! I searched the entire room. By then, I was panicking. It’s bad enough losing your own pet, but it’s horrible losing someone else's. I searched Mrs. Green’s entire house, from the top to the bottom! I just could not accept that I had lost Penelope Anastasia II. At last, I collapsed on the sofa. I scratched my head to think. It was then that I felt something fuzzy on my ear. So much for salad tongs!

I learned that week sacrificing your time for someone else is not easy. God commands us to love one another even when it’s hard.   His Word says in Matthew 20:28 “...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   

Little Movie

Here is a little movie we made with our friends. Its our version of Princess and the Pea. I am the starring actor in it! Just Kidding! :)

Princess and the Pea - Medium.m4v - Google Drive

I have not been posting lately because I was so busy during the summer. One of the things I've been doing is working on my book. Wanna peak?

Bluesetta

      On a huge estate with her six boisterous uncles, lives a small girl, Winn Maud White. When everyone is around she appears quiet, shy, and polite, but whenever she can Winn escapes to the world of her imagination. She loves to go play down at an abandoned lane and read and write stories about her magical princess who she calls Bluesetta. But one day Winn meets someone else at her Shady Lane. Suddenly Winn has a best friend, Faith Tan. Then life changes for her. Faith disappears, an uncle gets engaged , school starts, and Winn is forced to leave her imagination behind. Can Winn find her best friend? Can she rely on the BEST friend of all? Mystery, grief, changes. Is Winn looking for something that does not exist? -Bluesetta

That's just a sneak peak. Believe  me, its way more! I'm going to try to post plenty from now on. Please submit your email so every time I post it automatically emails you. Thanks! :)

continuing (at last, sorry guys, I took off for the summer)

First Journey
Point Five

Hoe blinked up at Fin.

"You look suspicious," stated Spy Fin, studying him with an icy eye. "Why are you alone in this forest?"

Hoe wondered if he could trust Spy Fin. He cocked his head and studied the face of his rescuer. She was freckled, somber, and tall. "Hoe is looking for his friend," he whispered, reluctance weighing down his words.

"Friend?" Spy Fin squinted down at little boy.

"Yes, she left Hoe," muttered Hoe sadly.

"Well," Spy Fin shrugged, "You should come with me. You are drenched."

"Hoe is fine!" declared Hoe indignantly, stomping and sending water splattering to the ground.

"No, you are not! Do you have a family?"Spy Fin demanded.

"No,"  Hoe muttered. He did not want to remember his family.

"Well, I guess you have to come with me," declared the spy grimly.

With a another stomp, Hoe glared fiercely at her and shook it wet head. "Hoe is on a mission!"

Spy Fin snickered down at Hoe and tried to decide what to do. At last she made up her mind, "Your going to come with me! Your drenched!"

Hoe tried to stand firm and resist, but Spy Fin snatched him up, hoisted him onto her back, and raced off. With a long discouraged sigh Hoe gave up resisting. Instead he clang to Fin's back and tried to stay on. Fin came to a ginormous tree and jerked to a stop. Quickly she let Hoe slide off her back.

"We're here," Spy Fin grunted unenthusiastically.

Hoe glanced at the big but other wise plain tree, then back at Fin. Confusion was splattered across his face. "Um, this it?"

"Yeah," handing him a long vine, Fin nodded. "Hold on." 

Before Fin could explain, Hoe found himself flying up into the air. The vine was pulling him so fast he could hardly hold on. His stomach twisted into a knot. As abruptly as it had started, it stopped. He was dangling from a vine which, now that he could see, was not very long. He dangled 15feet up in 
the air feeling sick and panicky.

"Now let go!" shouted Spy Fin from below him.

"What?" Hoe sputtered.

"Let go!" Spy Fin screamed up. If Hoe could have seen her face he would have relaxed. She was 
clearly used to this procedure, but all he saw was spinning ground and green...his sweaty hands gave way.

to be continued