A Journey To The Clouds, A Fantastical Prophecy - Book One - ✓

Chapter Thirty-nine

Chip! Peanut! Coco!" I shout.

"Ally?" A small voice yowls. Peanut!

"Connor! Where've you been?" Coco squawks.

"It doesn't matter. We have news." Connor tells Coco.

"We're leaving. We need to get a move on. We've spent way too much time resting." Or you all, anyway, I think while glancing at Connor from behind me."Anyway, I think I see the castle from a very far distance." I say, squinting.

"So we're leaving?" Chip asks. I see that Coco looks relieved.

"You got that, right. I say we pack up and leave in the next couple of minutes." I tell them. They nod, both reluctantly. I squat down and I scratch the tops of their heads.

"Hey, it'll be an adventure! Don't be so grumpy!" I urge. Chip throws a smile on his little face. He then scrambles over to the oak tree, and he starts trying to pull our bags so they sit right side up.

"An adventure! C'mon, hurry up Peanut! We're losing daylight!" He shouts, waving for Peanut to go by him. I chuckle to myself. He was right about the losing daylight thing though, the sun peaks at the top of the trees now. We best be going.

"You're good with them. I could have never convinced them like that." Connor says, half amused.

"Eh, it's just the trick of making it sound much better than it actually is. Kids will go rampant for an adventure if it was told in a slightly happier manner." I tell him.

"So there's a trick for that? Cool! I would love to take that trick from the professional." Connor says. He has his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I smile.

"I wouldn't say i'm a professional, but at least I have books to back it up." I tell him. He smiles.

"Let's get going." I tell him. He nods and he follows me towards where the oak tree is.

We finish in approximately five or so minutes and we start heading towards the direction of the castle.

"So. Hot. Need. Water." Connor pants. I turn around and look at him. He looks like he does need water. His skin is pale, and his eyes are a greyish color. I silently hand a flask I filled back where we last stayed the night.

The hours drag by and it feels as though the castle is just getting farther and farther away from us.

"We need to stop here." Peanut squeaks from my pocket. The weather has gotten chillier, and the wind has gone nowhere but up. We are surrounded by woodland and trees. No liquid water remains. Only ice appears in the valleys of the greenland. Only the appearance of the castle gives me hope that we'll be there soon. I sigh. I can only nod in agreement. We're getting close. Definitely.

I am able to tell because of the way the trees droop and the way the bushes sink. It seems as though everything is starting to lose its color. . strange.

Chip, Peanut, Coco, Connor fall asleep instantly when we finally make camp. I, however, relaxed in my loose sleeping bag.

I'm about to fall asleep when I remember something. Well, something. I reach into my bag and pull out the poems. I read through them and try to figure out what they mean. All of the adventure that has happened should give us a clue, right?

You will find me on your land;

Not in a sea of clouds.

In the land of the free and the home of the brave,

You cannot expect to be lent a hand.

The world you must save cannot become plain sand.

Oh land of opportunity, the journey you have ahead.

I am tan and hard to see so be sure to look carefully.

I am where you least expect

but this message will be direct;

You can find me in a forest

Then you shall start your quest

The forest looks like a fairytale

But only who can open is female

I have great magnificent curves

The birds who fly overhead are doves.

Be careful, tread lightly or this world will be no more

Steal their mothers

In the castle there is a fire

And the Crew of Doom has a great desire

Up five feet and down ten

There you are in the den

Get rid of men's souls, we shall outsmart

The two mothers will burn, through their flesh and their aching heart.

Two kids shall start on June eighth

They shall soon face Crew of Doom's wraith

Take the souls of two whom the young look up towards.

Demolish them and have their heads be their own.

I study the first one and upon reading the first few sentences, it starts to slowly make sense.

'I am tan and hard to see so be sure to look carefully.

I am where you least expect

but this message will be direct;

You can find me in a forest

Then you shall start your quest

The forest looks like a fairytale

But only who can open is female

I have great magnificent curves

The birds who fly overhead are doves.'

It's finally clicking. We have to find something and we need to look carefully to find it. It's tan, it's in a forest, and the birds fly overhead are doves . . .with absolutely no description of the landscaping around it, except extensive woodland. Never mind that now. It is also where I'd least expect it. . . I wonder where that is...

Last but not least, curves. I wonder if the curves mean arches? It hits me like a bolt of lightning as I remember Connor suggesting it before we began the quest. Of course! Then a darker thought rolls in. How did he know, though? I shake my head immediately. It could just be a coincidence. I mean, arches have curves, after all.

I put that excerpt aside as I pull out the Crew of Dooms poem that Lily overheard.

'In the castle there is a fire

And the Crew of Doom has a great desire

Up five feet and down ten

There you are in the den

Get rid of men's souls, we shall outsmart

The two mothers will burn, through their flesh and their aching heart.

Two kids shall start on June eighth

They shall soon face Crew of Doom's wraith

Take the souls of whom the young look up towards.

As the Crew of Doom fight with swords'

I bet that this one has to do with our mothers. I think as I slowly drift off into a dizzy haze of sleep.