Artica's Story (on hold)

Ch. 1: A Little Chat

10 years later

I was gardening in the front yard when Dad came out the door and asked me"Artica, are you done yet? We can go to visit Holiday if you'd like."

I stood up immediately and dusted off my clothes.

"Of course, Dad. I'm done. Let's go!" I wasn't fully finished, but I could do it later easily enough.

He smiled "Not yet, Artica. Wash your hands, they're so muddy."

I quickly washed my hands and came out. "Now can we go?"

He laughed. "Sure, let's just visit the market first."

We headed toward the market.

"What do you want from here?" I asked as we stepped into the general store.

"Oh, just a little milk and some fruits."

He put some money on the counter and grabbed a bottle of milk and a few fruits.

We continued down the road until we arrived at Holiday's house.

She opened the door

"Artica! I'm glad you came to visit! Oh, hello, Mr. Fox!"

My dad replied, "Hello, Holiday, is your dad home?"

"Yes."

I stepped in and Holiday and I went into her room and sat on the bed

"So, what's up? How's tamarun class going?"

Holiday went to tamarun class, which was an ancient fighting technique from the time of the Great Arctic.

"Pretty nice. Want to see some moves?"

She jumped off the bed and got into a weird pose.

"Our teacher said this is how to focus all your energy."

I nodded.

She then spun around with one leg in the air and then when she stopped she delivered a powerful kick.

I sat there, stunned

"Sir called this a roundhouse kick. And these are only the unarmed moves."

My eyes gleamed.

"They teach you with weapons as well?!" I asked excitedly.

"Yeah, if you're above eighteen they'll let you use wooden weapons like broadswords and javelins. I don't know, they're just plain wood. Not too exciting. I wanna be in the army. There they'll let you use metal and stone instead of this baby stuff.

My dad told me I could go after four years but my mom doesn't want me to go at all."

"Makes sense, you know. Everything you just told me." I remarked. "But seriously, I want to learn how to fight too. Why is dad so overprotective?" I groaned

Holiday laughed "He probably doesn't want you to get hurt. You'd probably faint at the sight of blood."

I glared at her and then sighed "You're right- about Dad, not about me- He doesn't want me to get hurt."

"Aw, come on, it's alright. Anyways, how's gardening been for you?"

"It's fine."

Before Holiday could reply, I heard Dad calling me.

I sighed. "Bye, Hol. See you at school on Monday."

Holiday sighed as well.
"I'll come with you to the market, Artica."

When I stepped outside, I saw Mr. Star trying to convince Dad to stay for a bit.

"Come on, Snowstorm. Stay here for lunch!"

I grinned at Holiday. Lunch was a good one hour away. If Dad agreed, I could stay for a lot more time!

I immediately ran over and hugged dad "Come on, Dad, please?"

He replied, "Well, honestly, Arty, I would love to, but then Holiday's dad would have to cook some more, and that'd be rather inconveniencing, wouldn't it?"

"Nonsense! I delight in cooking, and anyways, I don't have to. I cooked up an absolute storm yesterday, trying out new recipes. There's enough for all of us. There's turkey soup and kale salad for starters, potato and duck korma for the main meal, and peach buns and lemon cupcakes for dessert. " Mr. Star replied.

"Alright, you got me." My dad sighed

I was curious, though.

"What's korma?"

Holiday laughed "Just try it, Artica. It's delicious! By the way, dad, could we have some snacks?"

Her dad said seriously, "No, Holiday. Wait until lunch."

Holiday sighed. "Fine, but I'm HUNGRY!"

I stealthily grabbed some cherries from the bag Dad had kept on the desk and hid it. Once we were in Holiday's room, I showed them to Holiday.

"Thanks, Artica!"

I grinned and took one myself.

When we finished, Holiday repeated the question she'd asked me before.

"Oh, not bad at all! It's way more interesting than I thought it'd be. You should see the front yard of my house. It's so pretty!"

We chatted about some other stuff: the recent news, school opening, Etc.

Pretty soon it was time for lunch. I gasped as I saw the absolute feast laid out on the table.

I had the salad first, and I have to admit, it was pretty crunchy and tasty. Next came the turkey soup, and I have never tasted a richer taste than that.

After the starters, there came the part of the meal I was most curious about: the duck korma.

The korma certainly surprised me. It kind of looked spicy, but it actually wasn't. I loved it, I had two full helpings!

Both Dad and I were far too full for dessert, so Mr. Fox packed two peach buns and a batch of lemon cupcakes for dessert in a picnic basket.

Like Holiday said before, she dropped us at the market. I smiled contentedly, it had been a nice day, and I was happy.

"Ooo, the evening paper!" I grinned.

I picked it up to get it inside but stopped short when I saw the headline.

End of Chapter 2