The Earth's Secret - The Hidden Island - Book 1

Chapter 7 - The Realms

In the morning, I woke early and dressed in the same, new clothes as yesterday. They seemed as fresh as if they had been washed, and my hair magically went back to it's new, long, straight curtain. I walked to the edge of my room and leaped, deftly landing on my feet, rather like a cat. Charlie was already down there, waiting for the rest of us. His sword lay next to him, and he was on his back, gazing at the dark sky. I walked over to him and sat down next to him. Charlie looked at me and sat up.

It's so quiet here." His voice startled me- I hadn't expected him to speak. "Especially when it's early."

"How long have you been up?" I asked. His eyes wandered to the sky, which still had darkness on the horizon. The meadow was still mostly in shadow.

"An hour or so," he said, rubbing a pebble between his fingers.

I frowned. "Why up so early?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. And I wanted to see the sun come up."

He looked back at me, waiting for me to speak. But I turned my face to the sky, which was turning pink around the edges.

"It's so beautiful here," I commented, looking anywhere but his face.

"It is," Charlie said, his voice quiet, and I turned to face him. He was standing, looking down at me, and we locked eyes. A breeze moved through the meadow, causing my hair to stream behind me. Finally, he offered me his hand.

"Let's wake the others, go to the volcano, and watch the sunrise." He said. I looked at him, my heart pounding, and took his hand. He pulled me to my feet but didn't let go of my hand. When he did, his fingers brushed my palm slowly, his eyes locked on mine. Then he turned and walked away, towards the treehouse, and began climbing to Sarah's room.

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When we woke Laura and Sarah, they got up immediately. Laura leaped into the air and soared towards the volcano, and I jumped after her before I thought about it. I hit the ground running, running as fast as I could across the meadow, up the ash covered sides of the volcano, dodging sprays of lava. When I glanced back, Sarah was jumping from tree to tree so quickly that she was just a blur. Charlie was gone. I worried for a second until I saw him burst out of a crevice in the volcano near me. Then he was gone, back inside of the volcano.

Laura landed at the top seconds before I made it. My heart pounded, and I realized that I had run faster than was physically possible- the tree house was a mere smudge on the far side of the meadow. Sarah flipped in midair and landed next to me, grinning.

Charlie clambered out of the main crater, his hands smoke colored. We all stared over the ocean, which was a deep blue, and into the sun, which was just beyond the horizon. The ocean called to me, and that was when I knew for sure- my realm was the ocean. That was why I was dressed in a deep blue, why my stick had gushed water.

I stared at the ocean, and it became clear to me.

I turned to the others. "My power is the ocean. I need to go."

They stared at me, but then Charlie nodded. "Me too." He turned back to the crater, then to us. "Me too."

Laura huffed. "Well, I'll find somewhere to fly, or, or...We can make our realms!" Sarah nodded.

"We can each make a palace or headquarters, and control our realm from that place. And we can build them, then show them to each other, and then- I hope the goddess will guide us."

Word Count: 627

Total Word Count: 10709