The Quest To Destroy Olivine

Chapter 1

I gaze outside through the dusty window in my bedroom. The sun was shining brightly through the glass pane, making the dust stand out against the green  scenery. I really need to clean the window, because now it is starting to irritate me as well as my sister Emily. Emily hates mess and disorder, so the window has been getting on her nerves for months. I've asked her to clean it a few times but she has always refused, saying "It's your window, not mine. So why should I clean it?" But now the window was bugging me, so I decide to clean it. I get off my faded blue window sill seat and walk out of my room. I cross the corridor and stand at the doorway of my twin's room. I knock gently on the door.
"Emily?" I call through the wall.
"Come in." She replies softly.  I open the door and let myself into the room. Emily is laying on her bed reading one of her new books that Mum had brought her last week. I sit on her bed next to her and tug the book out of her hands.
She glares intently at me then laughs "What do you want Tahlia?" 
I grin back at her and then answer "Well, you'll be happy to know that I'm about to clean my window!" She suddenly sits up and punches me on my arm. "Finally! I'll come and help you." She snatches her book back and puts it on the bed side table. We get up, exit the room and head towards the kitchen. Mum is sitting on the couch watching TV, paying no attention to us. I grab a bucket from underneath the kitchen sink and fill it up with water. Emily grabs a sponge and a dry cloth from the laundry. We head outside and start washing down the window. Emily dampens the sponge and scrubs the window furiously, while I wipe off the excess water with the cloth. By the time we finish, the sun is slowly sliding down the western side of the sky. I wipe the last of the water off the window then head back inside with Emily close behind me. We put the cleaning items back into where we got them from, then looked at the time. It is 6:00pm, which means it is time to help Mum with dinner. Emily starts getting pots and pans out of the cupboards and I enter the pantry to help mum retrieve the ingredients. I glance at the ingredients that Mum had already pulled out of the draws, it looks like we are having roast chicken with potatoes, peas and carrots. Mum sees me standing at the entrance of the pantry.
"Honey, can you please get your sister to prepare the vegetables and can you get the chicken ready?" 
I nod my head and grab the vegetables, chicken and spices off the small wooden bench inside the pantry and take them back to the island bench in the kitchen. I hand Emily the vegetables and she starts chopping away. Mum comes out of the pantry and lines the baking tray with baking paper. I put the raw chicken on the tray and rub Mum's spices into it. Emily finishes with the vegetables and adds them to the tray. Mum slides the food into the gas oven. With dinner sorted and the window finally cleaned, I return to my bedroom. I lay back on my bed and reach for my phone. No new messages. I stare at my horse on the background of my phone for a while, before turning it off again. For the next hour I watch the tree outside gently sway in the cool evening breeze. It's quite relaxing, just watching nature doing its thing. Emily suddenly bursts into my room.
"Dinner is ready!" She says enthusiastically. I stand up and reply "Okay." I stiffly walk to the dining table and sit down with Mum and Emily. I fill my plate with the roasted food and start stuffing my face with it. It doesn't take long for us to finish dinner. Afterwards, we wash our cutlery and plates, then all sit around the fireplace and TV. I rub my hands together vigorously, trying to warm them up. It is early Spring and the days are warm and long, but the nights are still freezing after the long, cold winter we've just had. Glancing at the pile of firewood, I notice that it is getting very low. Mum also notices the firewood and says,
"You two girls have to take your horses into the woods tomorrow and collect more firewood, we are running low."
"Yeah, sure." I answer back. I wonder what the tracks in the woods are like after the heavy rainfall, I certainly do not want to get ourselves lost in that place because our tracks have been washed away. I realize that we will have to get up early in the morning so that we can ride out before the heat sets in. I know from previous experiences that Emily's horse, Ginger, doesn't do well in heat. My horse, Belle, is fine with the heat but dislikes the cold, so we must leave the farm at 8:00am when it's a nice temperature. This means we will get home with the wood at 1:00pm, just in time for lunch. I yawn, making me aware of how tired I actually am. "Well, I'm going to bed now. Em, we have to get up at 7:20am tomorrow so we can leave at 8:00am, okay? Good. Bye!" I say, waving to them as I walk to my bedroom. First, I set my alarm clock to 7:20am then I put my polka dot pajamas on and slide under my sheets. Tomorrow will be a big day, firewood collecting days always are. Sighing, I shut my eyes and let sleep take over me.