Weasel Water Lou Of The Peace In Carlos - 6

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 4

When Esse picked herself up, all was quiet and dark. Not even gunfire could be heard. It was also quite cold. “Luc? Luc?” Esse hissed. Esse felt a furry hand on her arm.

Esse snuggled up to Luc. He was usually warm, but even Luc was cold in the little room. Esse heard rats scurrying around in the dark shadows. A cold dark voice sounded nearby. “Which one of you is skilled in the art of nymph stories?” it asked. Esse let go of Luc as he stood up. “It-it was me. I knew the nymph stories.” he said. “You knew the stories of Queen Frida’s Dogs and Jennifer and Clara?” the voice asked.

“My-my parents helped me on Jennifer and Clara.” Luc stammered. All was quiet. A small chuckle sounded from the voice. “Don’t hurt them!” Luc cried. “And don’t hurt Esse either!”

Esse felt her cheeks turn red with embarrassment, but she was glad that Luc had said that. “I see.” the voice said. “Come here.”

“No.” Luc responded. “You are a stubborn little bear, are you not?” the voice chuckled.

“And what are you?” Esse asked, standing up too.

“Me? I am something you have never heard of, something you may one day wish to have, but will deny wanting right now.” the voice said mysteriously.

“And what is that?” Esse asked, crossing her arms defensively.

“I will tell you later, child. Now, let us see what you want.” the voice said.

“We want a way out of The Peace in Carlos. It is shrinking because for the Carlosians.” Esse told the voice.

“Ah, yes. The Running War, as they call it here.” the voice mused. “And how may I help you with that?”

“Can you answer a question?” Luc asked.

“It depends on the question.” the voice sang out.

“Is this house a gateway out of Carlos and The Peace in Carlos?”

The voice chuckled. “I’m glad you asked.” it said. “Look upon the door.” At once a flickering light lit the wall in front of Esse. A door was set into it the wall. It was made of steel and covered in strange symbols that definitely were not nymph writing.

“This, my children,” said the voice. “is the gateway to another world. To reach it, you must answer this question: What is my name?” And then Esse and Luc were no longer in the room. They were both standing under the window to Johnson & Johnson. The window was placed in it’s socket.

“Wow.” Esse said. It certainly was strange. “Did that even happen?”

“Yes.” Luc said certainly. “It must have. We meet tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Esse agreed. And they went their separate ways.

That night, Esse rushed to the museum. With her family asleep, she could go where she pleased. Esse thought back to when she wished she could enter an adventure. And here she was, in an adventure. She had decided to go back to the invisible house and locate the source of the voice. Esse didn’t know where Luc lived, so she couldn’t ask him to come along. Right?

Outside the Johnson & Johnson recreation, Esse took a running leap at the window. It popped out of the frame, and Esse took another running leap to get a hold of the frame to pull herself through the window. It was much harder without Luc.

Rushing to the little room with Weasel Water Lou’s painting in it, she licked her finger and entered Carlos. Once in Carlos, Esse rushed down the stairs to the room with the voice. Gunfire still sounded through the Carlosian streets even though it was late at night. She put her hand on the door. “Lucjusz Yu Iflandoonia and Quer Ty Iflandoonia.” Esse whispered. The door gave way. She stepped slowly into the dark room.

Maybe the voice wouldn’t notice. “Welcome back, Esse.” the voice said. “I’ve been waiting for you.” But the voice heard her anyway.

“I’m here to decode the door.” Esse said bravely. The light illuminated the door again. Esse knelt in front of the door. She ran her fingers along the symbols as if she could read it like braille. And Esse could. The symbols and their meanings blinked and buzzed inside her head. She murmured the meanings out loud. “Max… Nora… Nils… Su-Li… Ursula… Anica… Liesl.”

“Yes.” the voice murmured. “And who wrote that story?” Esse shuddered. But she knew the answer. She had to answer. “No one wrote the story. It is a true story.” Esse answered.

“And what is the title?” the voice asked, almost in a whisper.

“Queen Gretchen’s Choice.” Esse let out in a breath. And then she was no longer in the small room.

Everything was dark. All around was dark. There was no sky or ground. Esse was in dark, and only dark. She was floating in darkness. Suddenly, a movie seemed to play in front of her. A man and a woman at a wedding. The women was Nora. The man was Max. But there was just one thing. Max was a bear.

The scene changed. Nora and Max were now adopting a child. Two children. Two Earthen children. The African boy was Nils, and the Asian girl was Su-Li. The scene changed. And this time, there was another baby. This was no adoption. This was a real baby, one that Nora had given birth to. But the baby was strange. The baby was half human, and half bear. And then Esse was falling, falling. And everything was dark.

Christian Aubrey

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

I’m looking for more writeblrs to follow so give this the ol’ reblog and/or like (especially if you write sci-fi) and I’ll check you out

Poor Margret - 4

“Yikes!” Esse said, following Kennen’s gaze upward to the ceiling. “Kennen, whose eyes are those? They’re humongous!”

“And they talk to me too.” Kennen told her.

“Really? Kennen, are you insane? Maybe we should call your sister, Heavenly Evenly.”

“No, Esse, look at the walls.” Kennen said.

“Yikes!” Esse said, looking around. “Kennen, did you do this?”

“No.” Kennen answered. “Annaig did.” Suddenly, Esse let out a little squeak. Kennen looked up.

Hello, Essy. Are you a friend of Kennen’s? My name is Annaig.

“Um.” Esse said. “it’s E-S-S-E.” Annaig corrected his mistake. Esse nodded approvingly. “He seems nice.” she told Kennen. Annaig drew a large heart around Esse’s name. “I think Annaig likes you too.” Kennen answered her.

Soon, Esse and Kennen had moved all of Esse’s work into Kennen’s Office. “The floor is too slippery.” Esse said. “Besides, I need more company to work happily.” Kennen’s job that day was to was to go through everyone’s files and see who had a criminal record. Esse’s was to go through the files of the people just moving to The Land of Nimm. “Hey,” Esse said, pulling out a file. “Here’s your sister.” Kennen leaned over to read. It said:

The File of:

Heavenly Evenly likes to eat at elevenly LALALALALA Pie. DODODO, NANANA, Tickle some type of fly Mamamel Pastamaker

“What in the world? Is that really her full name?” Esse asked.

“I never told you?” Kennen answered.

“Does she like pie?” Esse asked. Kennen shrugged. “I would think so. Can’t you look in her file?” he asked. Esse opened it. There on the first page it read:

Likes Pie:Yes/No/Limited

Job: NonDominant Animal Psychiatrist

“Huh.” Esse said. “The pie a bit of a strange thing to put in a file.” Kennen shrugged. “Not if you’re Heavenly Evenly.” he said.

Some time later, Kennen found his first criminal record. “Hey, Esse, did you know that Emelea and her children have a criminal record?” he asked. Esse leaned over to see. “Well, I guess Luc never told me the story.” Esse answered. “Then I will.” Kennen began:

The Story of Emela’s Children

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Emelea Grapis, one of the most criminal masterminds to this day. Emelea’s husband had run away after she threatened to drop 16 bananas on his head, leaving Emela with her two children. Their names were Heteb and Zoeabby. When Heteb was 16 years old, and Zoeabby was 3, Emelea launched the Great Kidnapping Thing. Queen Alissa lived in a beautiful palace on top of the hill, and because Emelea was the evil twin of her sister, Mistress Amelia, she was invited to live with Queen Alissa. Queen Alissa had three children; Aras, Tanyaasha, and Izzy, who were all kidnapped within a week. Here is how Emelea did it: Zoeabby, even though she was only three, could already speak fluently in English, Lithuanian, and German. So every night, Zoeabby would go through the hall outside Queen Alyssa’s part of the castle with her mother’s cloak on, and sing: “Aš miręs nuotaka aš sakau ‘boo!’ jums bus išsigandęs. BOO!” (the spell works better when said in Lithuanian. Besides, everyone there was from New Forkie, and so saying it in a language no one probably understood was a good idea.) Zoeabby would happily knock out anyone who was within three feet of her (this usually got a nosy princess listening at the door). Zoeabby would then grin and run off to get her mother. Emelea would take the cloak from Zoeabby, and go kidnap the nosy princess at the door. After the first three kidnappings, Emelea decided to kidnap all the other children in the building. She started with Queen Eneel’s children; Meuh and Raychell, and then to everyone else's children. Unfortunately, Emelea made the mistake of kidnapping Judge Anna’s granddaughter, and Judge Anna arranged a meeting with Neemzay, the genius of the castle, who was kidnapped soon after that, and working on means of escape. Judge Anna’s daughter, Queen Airuhbelluh, took a wild guess and got Heteb arrested. One of the queens, Queen Avarose, went insane and kidnapped Zoeabby. Emelea knew that she could either give herself up, and help the children, or run away and leave them. Emelea, knowing how a good parent should act, threw square-shaped dogs at anyone who tried to ride an elephant, and ended up escaping with her children as well (the kidnapped children were found two weeks later by Judge Anna and Inspector Ollie).

“Wow.” Esse said. “I had no idea.”

“Neither did I.” Kennen agreed. They continued while talking about Emelea’s children.

But soon after that, Kennen picked up a new file. “Hey Esse, look at this.” he said. Esse leaned over to see. The file read,

File of Lucjusz Bnmq Erty

“Oh.” Esse said. She looked confused and sad. “Luc has a criminal record? What does it say?”

“Yeah. About that. It’s weird because, you know, no one but us a Weasel Water lou are supposed to touch these but, well, I’ll just show you.” Kennen flipped open the first page and handed the file to Esse.

Status: Deceased LIVING!!!

Or else prove that he’s dead!

“Whoa.” Esse said. “So Luc isn’t a criminal. Who would do that?” Kennen shrugged. “Well, he sighed his name at the bottom.” Kennen said, showing her.

Helpful Comments by Ulul Iflandoonia

“WHAT?!” Esse said. “My Great-Uncle Crab wrote this? Uh!” Kennen looked puzzled. Esse explained for him. “My great-Uncle Crabulul is so rude. But somehow he became a critic, and since he’s a quickwolf, he’s made it his business to go everywhere people want him out of.”

“What’s a quickwolf?” Kennen asked.

“Quickwolves can go so fast, that they vibrate through walls and stuff like that.” Esse answered.

“Wow. So he got into our files?” Kennen said, leafing through the others to see if Crabulul had made any other comments. “Hey, um, Kennen, Annaig is talking to you.” Esse said. Kennen looked up.

Are you sure Luc really is dead?

“Well, um, yeah, right Kennen?” Esse answered.

“Well, yes, I saw it happen! Wait, no. I mean, I saw him go all limp but maybe…” Kennen said, thinking hard.

Maybe you should find out. If you go get supplies from Crabulul I can teleport you wherever you want.

“Oh, Annaig! I want to hug you!” Esse said, jumping up and down. “C’mon, Kennen, let’s go to Great-Uncle Crab!”

Lucjusz (Luc)

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Breton Bauerbecken

Illustration courtesy of Teepi Guest

Why intercept?

Why?

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 3

The next day right after school, Esse went to see Luc at The Museum of Time and Space. She was certain her mother would notice her absence,but she was trying to help a bear save their home.

“The Johnson & Johnson window is on the East side.” she told Luc. So they set off. They peeked in every window until they found the one. High up on the wall. “This is it.” Esse told Luc. “You get on my shoulders and climb in. Then, pull me up.” Luc told her.

There was a bush right under the window to the Johnson & Johnson reconstruction. Esse landed right in the middle of it with an oof. Luc climbed up the wall. “You can’t open it from the outside.” he reported. “But I can try to break it.”

“Quietly. Break it quietly.” Esse instructed. “I’ll try.” Luc said. “Do you have some cloth?” Esse handed him her sweatshirt. Luc tucked it into the edges of the window. Then he raised his paw and smashed it. The whole window popped out of the frame and landed on the floor, muffled by Esse’s sweatshirt. After Luc checked to make sure nobody heard the window fall, he crawled through the window.

There was a small thud as he landed on top of Esse’s sweatshirt and the window. Seconds later he reappeared to pull up Esse. Once they were both inside, Esse took him to the little room with the tapestry. All was the same as before. Except this time, Luc was with her, and for some reason Esse felt safer.

“There.” Esse said pointing at the tapestry.

“Wow, they really do hate that thing.” Luc commented, looking at the area around the tapestry just as Esse had. “You said it sounded hollow behind it?”

“Yes.” Esse said. “Try it out.” Luc walked over and knocked on the wall. The hollow sound echoed through the room again. “There must be a way to open the tapestry. Maybe if we look closer we’ll see something.”

Esse walked over to the painting. She looked closely. “There’s that swirly thing in the corner with a bunch of colors. Does that mean anything?” she asked.

“Well, yes,” Luc responded. “That’s obviously a giant-sized vortex. So…”

“A what?” Esse asked.

“A giant-sized vortex. You can tell from the mix of blue, brown, maroon, and teal. Small vortexes are violet, black and neon-yellow.” Luc answered. “Haven’t you ever seen one?”

“No.” Esse said. “My dad used to work for the Things that Don’t Exist Patrol, and vortexes are definitely one of the non-existent things.”

“Well, they are real, I learned of them in Wise Learning.” Luc said. “So obviously, the little dog thingies are going into the vortex.”

“But why do they have waterfalls pouring onto their backs?” Esse asked.

“I don’t know.” Luc answered. “Who is Weasel Water Lou?”

“I was hoping you knew.” Esse said. “It’s an unusual name, let’s work off that.” Luc decided.

“Well, the water in the name Weasel Water Lou could explain the stains of probably water on the canvas. It looks like they placed their finger on it. See how it’s in the shape of a paw print? And some fingerprints.”

“Maybe it’s an artist thing they did.” Esse mused.

“Maybe.” Luc agreed. “But look, I just noticed something. See these words in the corner?” He pointed at some strange symbols Esse had never seen before. “Those are ancient symbols of the nymphs.” Luc continued. “Bears had to learn that language during The Many Wars.”

“Can you read them?” Esse asked, excitement bubbling inside her.

“Yes! I learned it in Wise Learning!” Luc was excited now too. “Then read it!” Esse instructed him.

“Let’s see, the first word is… Starshine, with a capital S, next is Snowflake, also a capital S, then it’s Sugarplum, with another capital S, last it’s Frida, with a capital F.” Luc read aloud.

“Well, Frida is obviously a name, right?” Esse said.

“Correct.” Luc said. “Queen Frida had three dogs Starshine, Snowflake and Sugarplum. They ran around The Meadows of Bella. One day, Bella started a war with Lily, queen of the sun, and Queen Frida was brought into the conflict and was hurt. Starshine, Snowflake, and Sugarplum saved her by creating a vortex to safety and pushing her through it along with them. But they had to be bathed in the Waterfall of Sara first. Sara gave them their own personal waterfalls. She’s one of the really nice queens.” Luc paused.

“I know that because it’s a nymph story.” he added sheepishly.

“That makes sense,” Esse nodded, moving on to more important matters. “The tapestry shows Queen Frida’s dogs going into the vortex to safety, with the personal waterfalls that Queen Sara gave them!”

“Yeah!” Luc agreed. “And maybe we can get to safety too, if we wet our fingers or paws and touch the vortex!”

“Weasel Water Lou must be a mechanical genius if this is going to work.” Esse commented.

“Well, it’s worth a try.” Luc said. They licked their fingers and touched the vortex. The vortex grew and grew until it could fit both a thirteen-year-old girl and a bear child. Esse felt herself being sucked in by her finger. Colors were all around her. She became dizzy. And then they were there.

The first thing Esse heard as she picked herself up off the floor was the muffled noise of running feet. “What’s going on?” Esse asked.

Looking around, she realized she was in a house. And no one was in sight. “Luc?” she called out. There was the sound of running, and Luc came into the room. “The vortex must have separated us.” he explained. “They do that sometimes.”

Suddenly, a loud noise sounded from outside the strange house. Esse jumped. “Oh, that’s just the gunfire.” Luc explained nonchalantly. “They do it a lot in Carlos.”

“Don’t people get hurt?” Esse asked, shocked.

“That’s the point.” Luc said. “The Carlosians are the most violent race on the planet. They are constantly trying to murder each other.”

“How do they stay alive?” Esse asked. Luc shrugged. More gunfire sounded outside, followed by shouting.

Esse jumped up. “Are we safe?” she asked, looking around worriedly. “Not if we go outside.” Luc said. “But I actually think that this house is invisible.”

“How can you tell?” Esse asked. “Well, if you stick your head out the window, and turn around so you face the house, you will see right through it.” Luc answered.

“Did the Carlosians see you?” Esse cried, realizing this is what he had done. “Well, they ran around pointing at me.” Luc said, shrugging. Esse looked him sternly in the eye. “Never do that again, okay? That’s really dangerous.” she scolded.

“Okay.” Luc agreed. And he meant it. But a new problem arose in Esse’s head.

“How do we get back to The Peace in Carlos?” she asked.

“Look.” Luc said, pointing to the wall. “There’s the same tapestry we just went through, by Weasel Water Lou.”

“Is Weasel Water Lou in nymph stories?” Esse asked. Luc tilted his head, thinking. “Not that I know of.” He finally answered. “Though there are many stories I’ve only heard of, like the story of Emelea’s Children. For all we know, Emelea could be Weasel Water Lou’s mother.”

"It’s such an odd name, Weasel Water Lou.” Esse mused. “C’mon, Esse.” Luc beckoned from the doorway. “Let’s explore!”

After Luc and Esse had explored most of the house, they came upon a locked door. Esse and Luc both tried to open it, and then they tried together. But the door wouldn’t budge.

“Maybe there’s a code, just like with the tapestry.” Esse suggested. They looked all around the door until Luc found symbols on the wall next to it. “This is more nymph writing!” he exclaimed. “And I bet that this house is made with nymph magic!”

“What does it say?” Esse asked. “Is it another story?”

“It’s more names.” Luc said. “Jennifer and Clara. I don’t know that story.”

“Try to think.” Esse said. Luc thought for a while, but he couldn’t think of anything. “I’ll ask my parents tonight.” Luc decided. So Esse and Luc did the same thing exiting the house they did entering the house, and promised to return again tomorrow. They popped the window frame back into the window socket while exiting the museum. Then they went home.

The next day, Luc and Esse met at the window to Johnson & Johnson. They did the same as last time, and entered the house in Carlos, which they began to call The Invisible House. After they were safely in The Invisible House, Luc told Esse what he heard from his father.

“So the story is called Jennifer and Clara.” Luc began. “Jennifer’s father, Tim, promised to his sister, Olivia, Jennifer’s aunt, to give her his first born son. So when Jennifer is born, and she isn’t a boy, Olivia becomes angry, and kidnaps Jennifer’s mother, Linnea, and runs away. So Tim takes Jennifer to hide her in case Olivia goes after her, and Jennifer meets a girl named Clara who has two sisters, Cicci and Molly.

“A little while later, Olivia has a daughter named Emma, and since Tim (stupidly) hid Jennifer in the same town as Olivia lived, Emma becomes friends with Cicci. Then Olivia knows where Jennifer is, so Olivia kidnaps Tim, and also Clara’s family except Clara, who escapes. So Jennifer and Clara go to live with Clara’s Uncle Erik, and he helps them find Olivia so she can be arrested. They first have to get through this door by speaking the full names of their parents. Then they all live together with Uncle Erik, who is rich. The End.”

“Wow.” Esse said. “That’s really complicated.”

“I know.” Luc agreed. “But what I think is that if we say the full names of our parents, the door just might open.”

“Okay.” Esse said. “Let’s try.”

They walked up to the door. “We have to put our hands on the door.” Luc instructed. Esse put her hand on the door. “You first.” she whispered to Luc. “Dunya McDaniel and Wert Mies.” Luc said clearly. Esse copied his clear tone, saying, “Lucjusz Yu Iflandoonia and Quer Ty Iflandoonia.” Suddenly, the door gave way, and Esse and Luc fell face first into darkness.

Poor Margret - 2

Esse and Kennen were two minutes early. They waited in the lobby. Kennen flew around the room, picking up falling stars that had fallen from the top of The Meadow of Nimm overnight. Esse created little constellations on the table. After a little while, Sir Anerapell, (directly translated meaning Sun Spirit Guy with the Moonish Nose) flounced into the room. He grinned at Kennen and Esse, his glowing blonde hair and crescent nose almost scaring them out of their wits. “I will be escorrrrting you through the palace!” Sir Anerapell told them in his squeaky high-pitched Decneleb accent. He grinned even wider. “O-kay.” Esse stammered. Kennen was too freaked out to say anything at all. A man came around from behind Sir Anerapell. “This is Sir Neeeeeek the sixtthhhhhhh.” Sir Anerapell hissed at them. (Directly translated, Nek means Great Life, but Lacking Creativity of Death) Sir Nek VI was an old, old, old, old, old, old man, having never died before. Sir Anerapell grinned again. “We shall now begin our tourrrr, shall weeee?” he prompted.

The tour was no fun for Kennen. He had to perch on Sir Anerapell’s finger, while he flounced and gestured wildly around the room. Kennen knew Esse wasn’t having fun either. She had a look of disgust and terror on her face, having been made to let Sir Nek VI escort her down the halls. Finally, they reached the room marked WEASEL WATER LOU, SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Flouncing into the room, Sir Anerapell showed Esse the writing on door to the left of the room. On the door it read ESSE IFLANDOONIA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Esse’s office was quite nice. The walls were ice-like glass, as well as the floor and ceiling. Non-melting icicles hung from the ceiling. A snow-like rung lay across the floor. That was when something very strange happened. Sir Nek VI lifted Esse off her feet and dropped her on the snow-like rug. This was too much for Esse, who shuddered, rolled her eyes back in her head, and fainted. Kennen shuddered. Sir Anerapell grinned, flouncing toward the door marked KENNEN DAMANEL PASTAMAKER, ASSISTANT TO THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. Opening the door, Kennen took in his new office. The white walls looked like a small child had scribbled on them, using lots of different colors. The ceiling was green, and had two eyes that were blinking down at Kennen. On the bright yellow floor was a red rug shaped like the letter R, on which Kennen was dropped. And then the tour guides were gone. This was the end of the tour.

Kennen rushed into Esse’s office. She was lying on the snow-rug, still unconscious. “Esse,” Kennen whispered, nudging Esse’s arm. “Wake up! They’re gone!” Esse moaned and rolled over. “Where am I?” Esse asked, sitting up.

“In your new office.” Kennen told her. Esse nodded. “Yeah, I was kind of, um, paralyzed with terror when Sir Nec-m VI brought me in here.” she explained. Kennen nodded. “I noticed.” he said.

“But, I guess we should be going now, so, let’s go.” Esse got up and strolled over to her desk. “Look at this.” she said, picking up a sheet of paper. Kennen flew over. “It’s a map.” he observed. “The tour guides must have dropped it.”

“Look!” Esse said, pointing at the map. “There’s Orderder Gemma’s room!” Kennen looked. In small letters, a sighed read ORDERER GEMMA ELIZABETH, 5TH DAUGHTER TO MASTER CAMERON AND MISTRESS AMELIA. “Let’s go say hello!” Esse said, dashing out of the room. “Wait!” Kennen called, flying after her. They went down many halls until they reached a door marked ROYAL RESIDENCE: IMPORTANT PERSONAL ONLY. “We’re important.” Esse said, pushing open the door and rushing in. “Not until Wednesday.” Kennen muttered, before following Esse.

Weasel Water Lou of the Peace in Carlos - 5

Esse awoke in a small room with hard red walls. The walls were thin, and light streamed through them. Esse was lying on a small bed with dirty pink blankets. She got up and looked around. Two more dirty pink beds identical to her’s were each in corners of the room. In the last corner was a door.

Esse lept up and flung herself at the door. It didn’t budge.

Of course it was locked. Why wouldn’t it be? There were symbols on it, but they made no sense. The yellow ceiling was cracked and peeling. Small flakes drifted down periodically. It was very quiet. There was no doubt about it. Esse had been kidnapped.

Spying a ladder by her bed, Esse climbed up it. There was nothing on the second floor of Esse’s prison. Just a yellow floor, cracked and peeling like the first-floor ceiling. The ceiling for the second floor was much better than the first floor’s ceiling. It was red like the walls. Esse sighed.

She went back down the ladder and flopped on her bed. Kidnapped by a creepy nixie-bear. Now what?

Outside Esse’s prison, the voice, or, Ursula Kinns, was waiting patiently for Esse’s rescuer to arrive. And she didn’t wait long. He was coming.

A few minutes later, Luc burst through the door. “Where is she?” he demanded.

“Calm down child.” Ursula Kinns said calmly.

“Where is she!?” Luc repeated, yelling this time.

“Esse is perfectly fine.” Ursula Kinns answered. Luc growled. “Show me.” he demanded.

“Oh, well, you’ll have to open the door first.” Ursula Kinns said playfully. “And what’s more, your little friend here knows my name.”

“Wait, what?” Luc said. “My name. The one that opens that door.”

Ursula Kinns flicked her wrist. The door was illuminated by light. “How does she know? Did you tell her? Why her?” Luc had many questions. “Yes, told her. In a way.” Ursula Kinns smiled. “But why would I tell you? You are not the nixie. You can’t go through the door until she does.”

“I can’t?” Luc asked. He was really confused. “I will explain it to you.” Ursula Kinns said. “Come closer.”

Esse was going to get out. She had to. So when she heard Luc outside, she devised a plan. Esse was not about to let some bear come and save her. Though she did like Luc, she could get out herself.

Spells. That must be the key. The bear-lady was definitely using magic of some kind. Esse only knew one spell. It was actually a rather advanced spell. It was turning things into strawberries. Sometimes it was useful. It usually wasn’t.

But hey, maybe it would come in handy now. She was hungry, after all. Esse walked over to the ugliest pink bed and cleaned it the best she could. Then she recited the chant.

Blueberry, Sweet Pea, and White Rose,

Wanted a strawberry and SO DO I!

The bed churned as if it were a liquid. It turned into a pinecone. “Ugh.” Esse said. She didn’t think eating a pinecone would be very delightful. Even if she wasn’t fed, or wasn’t able to get out, a little magic practice could be useful. So she decided to change up the strawberry spell to a new chant.

Mushroom, Chanterelle, and Bumblebee,

Wanted a ladybug and I DO NOT!

The second pink bed turned into a butterfly. It flapped around. “Hello.” it said. “I didn’t like being a dirty pink bed.”

“What were you before a dirty pink bed?” Esse asked. “Oh, I’ve always been a dirty pink bed.” the butterfly replied. “But what I am now is a big improvement.” “You’re a butterfly.” Esse told it.

“Ah, now that’s a pretty name.” the butterfly said, flying around the room. “Oh, what’s up here?” it said, spying the ladder. “Nothing.” Esse answered. “I checked. It’s like this room, just with no beds.”

“What’s this?” the butterfly asked, landing on the pinecone. “It’s a pinecone.” Esse said. “What’s your name?” “Well, ever since I got here, I’ve been called Dirty Pink Bed, but I had a different name when I was young. It was something like…..Kennen. I really think it was Kennen, actually.” the butterfly said.

“My name is Esse.” Esse told Kennen. “Kennen is an interesting name. I like it.” “Thank you.” said Kennen. There was an awkward silence.

“So, um, Kennen, I’m sort of trying to escape.” Esse said. “Do you know a way out?” “No,” Kennen said. “But I can still help.” “There are these symbols on the door.” Esse said, walking over to the door and crouching down. “I have no idea what they mean.” “Me neither.” Kennen said, flying over. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know.” Esse sighed. “My friend Luc is outside the door, and he’ll probably save me. I was hoping to save myself.” “Hey!” Kennen suddenly exclaimed. “I know a way we can get you out! There has to be a way the person who trapped you here opened this door, right? Well, I bet I can fly under the door crack, and then see how to get you out. Then, I’ll tell you, and you can escape!”

“Good idea!” Esse agreed, standing up. “Let’s do it!” Kennen crawled under the door crack. So Esse was left to wait.