The Hidden Kingdom

Chapter 6

Elena and I began trudging up the stairs. Who could blaim us? The mental and emotional impact of this whole ordeal had made caused us to become weary. Not to mention crabby. *cough* Elana*cough*. Speaking of Elena, I couldn't let her sulk all day. I had to remedy the situation with her or else she would give me the silent treatment for who knows how long. I swear, sometimes, it's like she should have been born a princess. It's kind of ironic now that I think about it.

I grabbed her arm just as she was about to enter the purple room. She looked completely exhausted. "I"m sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Trust me, and I will do anything to get us back home. I promise."

A small, tired smile appeared as she hugged me and said, "I know. Besides, even if we don't get back home, our parents will end up finding some way to kill us." At that, we both errupted into laughter.

We entered my new room. It was overwhelmingly pink. From the ceilings to the rugs to the comforter. It actually reminded me of my own room back home. One which Eliza had joked, "It's as if a unicorn threw up in here!" It was a medium pink although I had wanted it a hot or bright pink, and it had white doors and night stands. In the present, between fits of laughter, Eliza teased,"I think another girly girl lives here. You two will get along so well!"

I mock scowled at her. That sent us both into another flurry of laughter. I stopped laughing, suddenly remembering this was a serious matter. Once we were both somber again, I said, "You know we're in serious trouble- both parental and personaly right?" She nodded the exhuastion creeping back into her features. "I don't know what we're going to do! The only thing that's preventing me from completely going ballistic is the fact we have summer vacation right now." I looked at her. She contributed nothing else because she knew we were facing a tough adversity- a dilema if you would. As I stared at her, a faint memory was tickling my subconcious, but what? I gasped as it hit me. "Do you remember that guy? The one you were flirting with at the movies?"

"Yes, but I don't see how that's revelant." She said befuddled.

"Remember how Lilith told us that only powerful wizards could create portals? Well, I think that he was the one who created our portal. It's the only reason he waited for me to leave that stupid hallway! No wonder he was giving me such nasty looks."

"You're right! The only thing we need to do now is find him. It might be hard, but we can do it." We smiled our plan unfolding inside our heads. After a while, Eliza lightened the mood by saying, "So, what kind of bad looks was he giving you? Was it something like this?" She scrunched up her nose and furrrowed her eyebrows.

I laughed as I said, "No. It was more like this." I narrowed my eyes and pulled off the coldest look I could make. She burst into another fit of laughter that encompassed the room. We quieted as a simple doorbell ring anounced someone was at the door. "Should we open it?" I asked. She hesitated but nodded.

We walked down the stairs calmy and opened the door. There stood a middle aged man carrying a bag full of what looked to be scrolls. Without a word, he pulled one out and placed it in Eliza's hand. He promptly turned around and left to finish his deliveries.

I returned my attention to Eliza only to notice she was opening the invitation. I snatched it out of her hands. "It's illegal to read other's mail!" I scolded.

She scrunched her nose and defended herself by saying, "But, we don't know if this might be helpful. Plus, it's a scroll. We can just roll up the invitation again and no one will notice. I relented and handed her back the parchment. With a swift tug at both ends, the scroll opened again. Beneath an emblem, old fashioned cursive read "You're invited to honor Prince Damien Aundevere for his 17th birthday. Black or White attire will be required."