Try-out Chapters

A History of Dwas- From The Leopard Gates

         "Vicho Vi! Stop it!" shouted Elsta- she was 12- at her little sister, Vicho Vi, who had been poking Elsta.
"But I want you to play with me! Right now!" whined 10-year-old Vicho Vi. "Please? Pretty please? Palaffe?"
"No. I don't want to right now. I'm reading."
"Please, Elsta? We'll play dolls."
"And...I'm Pekelsen, right?"  
"Yes, of course you're Pekelsen!"
"No. I really don't want to. Please stop it, Vicho Vi."
"I don't want to stop it." Elsta finally looked up and saw Vicho Vi's brown hair, brown eyes, and three brown freckles on the nose right in front of her.
"No." To avoid eye contact with her sister, Elsta looked around at the enclosed patio, where she was swinging on a white porch swing. The copper gate that Elsta was by led into a large garden where tulips and roses and Native Taliwonnes bloomed.
Behind that was the stables and the horse corral, and beyond that was the pastures. Miles of tall grass, patches of good soil, and bubbling brooks every here and there.
To Elsta's back was her large house- in a losslea sense, which meant that it was large house but only over the Lost Seas- there, in Dwas, it was a perfectly normal house, like a block of apartments or two-story houses down rows of streets across the Lost Seas. 
A berry patch was at the end of Busy-side Street. The road was a mixture of dirt, dust, and pavement. At the front of each house was a shop. The Rosays' was called Lorconna Family Riding. It sold riding habits of all colors, saddle blankets, bridles and that sort of thing. There was a bakery just a few houses down, and a clothing store in the next house. It was a wonderful place to live.
Elsta finally had to quit ignoring Vicho Vi because the little girl had pressed her nose upon her older sister's. Elsta pretended to nearly slap her sister on the cheek (but never in all the world would try to hurt her sister) and yelled,   
"Vi-Vi, stop! I'm at the half of my silver string! Be quiet or go pester Jahon, and leave me alone!" Vicho Vi was quiet for a moment, her sad/ashamed face on, then rushed inside the huge house and came back to the patio with a large picture book, Lovable Jungle Animals. She sat beside Elsta in the white porch swing and began reading about exotic birds from the southern part of Dwas.
Soon after Vicho Vi begun the next chapter on the Didliewouh Bird, Elsta was sucked back to the time when the Magic Leopard of Dwas still roamed the Island of Dwas. She had just finished the introduction, relaxing on the recently painted porch swing above the freshly mowed lawn, and was starting Chapter 1-

The History of Dwas
The Island of Dwas was once completely unknown of, until a young woman, Empata Letoti, nicknamed Sunshine by all, explored the Lost Seas on her magical ship, the Good Shark. She sailed for days with nothing but underwater forests and occasional schools of fish and pods of dolphins. Once there was an enormous whale, even bigger than a blue whale, that passed by the ship. Then one day, historians think it was the 22nd day of her journey, when the front of the Good Shark scraped the bottom of the ocean. That was a signal to Sunshine, that there was land in front of her, where she would stop. She would live there and inhabit it, and it was only her ship's length ahead- about a mile- using land terms, because that is how long her ship was. Once on the land, she explored the magnificent place, which was called by her an island and has been ever since. She brought people from her home in the world across the ocean of the Lost Seas to live with her, on her island. Sunshine named the island Dwas, and invented a main language called Dwasil. Through the years, the English language has become more popular, though Dwasil is still spoken fluently in Dwas. Sunshine became the leader, or the Plaza Judge. In Dwasil -Paysa Hgushe. She raised her country well, teaching the people to be kind, courteous, to help others and be smart, and to, of course, be adventurous.

Elsta's eyes began to hurt, so she slammed the book shut and put it on the glass table beside her. She was just in time. Ring! Ring! Ring! The dinner bells started to clang and Elsta pulled Vicho Vi along as she ran through the patio and the T.V. room, the living room, another patio, the bathroom, and then to the dining room. Elsta took out the plates and cups out of the cupboard and set them on the table while Vicho Vi placed the eating utensils.
Soon Elsta, Vicho Vi, Jahon, Dada, Mama, and granna Rosay were all seated at the long table, carefully and beautifully carved by Jahon Senior., Elsta's grappa. They all held hands and Dada, a man of few words, said, "Jahon, palaffe bless the food." The girls' five-year-old brother, Jahon, blessed the food and everyone dove into the dinner.
"I don't like this rice! It's gross!"whined Vicho Vi as she shoved her red spice-rice to the other side of the plate.
"Now, Vicho Vi, you MUST eat. Especially now that you're whining, I can't give in. Didliewouh Birds have to eat what their Mamas bring them, too, even if they don't like it. A few bites at least, chicho." Then Elsta and Jahon started saying things like,
"Ha, Vi-Vi. I'm getting cake and you won't. I get your serving of chocolate cake, too, ha!" teased Jahon. And Elsta,
"I don't like red spice-rice either, Mama. I don't want it. Why can't we have some Dwarf specialties, like what Dada brings home every Monday and Friday?" Dada took Jahon into the kitchen for a talking-to, and Mama gave Elsta the look only moms can give. Then granna Rosay spoke up,
"Quiet, children! Vicho Vi will eat her red spice-rice and the rest of you will finish your food, have Hot Drink and cake, and go to bed. Everyone gets one slice of cake and one cup of Hot Drink after they eat all their dinner." All of the children finished their food, had Hot Drink and cake, then went off to their bedrooms to get ready for night. They went to the hallway of bedrooms, where 5 doors stood on the left. The bedrooms on the left was first Elsta's, then Vicho Vi's, Jahon's, Mama and Dada's master bedroom, and granna's master bedroom at the end of the left side. The guest bedrooms were not in this hall, they were in another.
On the right side of the permanent resident hallway were 5 doors, but they all led to one large room, the Grand Hall. There was a stage, rows of chairs, and in the back 6 tables. Elsta was often kept up late at night with some performance or another going on.
Now, each child went to their rooms, got into their pajamas, brushed their teeth, and then lay in bed, waiting for someone to come and say goodnight. Later Mama or Dada would tuck them in and turn off the light.
"Gisho nitte, chicho. Timp kout, herrure weit chicho. Good night, young child. Sleep tight, sweet young child." they would say every night, and close the door, leaving the child to slumber in their beds.