Ooh, interesting! I wonder why Queen Brightstar has a statue of the CB story Leafpool's sisters? AN IDEA! Maybe the statue is different for each person who sees it- like it would show the people that each individual person left behind. 

All of the entries so far were great!

POST! This is awsome!

Sorry for the long delay! I'm a lot busier now that I have school, but I'll try to keep posting as frequently as possible.

Part Five

~~

Cleo chatted happily with Owlgirl, her brain feeling soft and light. It was so exciting being in Brightstar's castle, on a mission to save the magical and physical realms! A flash of movement caught her eye as something moved, and she let her gaze stray for a second. Leafpool had just quickly turned away from the decorations corner, her face ashen-gray. Cleo's sentence broke off, and Owlgirl turned around to see what Cleo was staring at. "You okay, Leaf?" Cleo asked, her expression creasing with worry. Leafpool jerked up, seemingly noticing Cleo and Owlgirl for the first time.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she said, putting on a smile. But Cleo's sharp senses could still detect something was up, from the way Leafpool kept sneaking glances at the decoraion corner, at the haunted expression in her eyes. Cleo nodded slowly and turned back to Owlgirl, but never let Leafpool go completely out of sight. 

Just as Cleo was telling Owlgirl about the "Christmas Dinner Incident", the great doors flew open and Brightstar fluttered in, with two figures behind her. Cleo pushed herself onto her knees to try and get a better look at the newcomers. One of the figures was tall and pale, with long white hair and startlingly green eyes. She glanced around the room, inspecting it, though her eyes were mostly drawn to the exquisite tendrils of ivy selectively grown around the throne. The more Cleo watched her, the more she became interested in her.  She carried a staff with a shimmering stone on the end, and she stepped with a purpose and poise most like an elf's. Next to her padded a silvery white lynx, its muscles rippling as it walked.

The other figure was shorter and more animated, unlike the calm frost elf. Her red hair curled around her shoulders, bouncing as she walked. As she settled at the table next to Cleo, Cleo saw two small cat ears poking out from the red mass. Her blue dress was simple, but also had a distinct sheen to it, as if enchanted to glitter. She turned to Cleo and nodded hello, one eyebrow raising slightly. Cleo nodded back, not wanting to seem childish. Brightstar seated herself at the head of the table, her dimples glowing.

"Dear Miss Cleo, Owlgirl–or would you rather I called you Ella? No? Alright then– we have two new members of our peacekeeping party here with us. Miss Brook from the Frostcruac grove–" She pointed to the regal elf, who smiled slightly and dipped her head towards Queen Brightstar. "–and Miss Silvara, from the town of Relasin." Silvara's smile faded for a second, confused, but she quickly assumed it again and surveyed the rest of the girls, nodding. "However, I must go out again to recruit more peacekeepers. We must have good show of fairness at our meetings, hm hm?" She chuckled to herself as she said this, as if it was a joke no one else would understand. "So I must go out again and find them. I'm sure you all will get along perfectly fine, though!" She glittered out of the room, and vanished behind the oaken doors.

There was a silence throughout the hall as everyone stared at each other, unsure of what to say.

Then a loud, piercing meow echoed around the hall. Silvara jumped, surprised, and scooped a wiry black cat from beneath the table as it piteously mewed. "Oh–seems Raven needs her breakfast. You know how these things are–cats and all. I– suppose I'd better get to my room and see to her, heh, heh…" Abruptly, she stood up and walked from the hall, disappearing through the oppposite set of doors into the hall of the rooms.

As if by a sign, everyone else stood and headed for their rooms, with Leafpool in the lead. Cleo followd after Brook, feeling happier than she ever had been. She got to fix the worlds with elves and sorceresses?! How amazing was that! Suddenly Brook whipped around to stare at her. The frost druid's staff was glowing softly, pulsing with a deep red light. The lynx growled softly under its breath, fixing its eyes directly on her. For a second a swamping feeling of terror and regret at being here washed over Cleo, but it was quickly replaced with a dreamy easiness, a quiet female voice whispering 'No, no worry to be here. Everything's fine at home, everything's fine here.'

And it was, wasn't it?

Wasn't it? 

—
Lonnie

Don't die! I refuse to let you die! I have so many plans!! …That said, I'm very sorry I haven't been posting. I've joined a new sport, and I'm in 8th grade, so I have a huge workload. But I promise I WILL keep this alive for as long as I can! Don't give up on me!

Part Six

~~

Glowing steel pooled into the cast, filling out the shape. The second it began to cool, pliers snatched at it and thrust it into the cold water, steam spilling out with a hiss. The blacksmith lifted it out, smiling in pleasure as the sword cooled into a shining piece of weaponry. He set it down on the table and stomped over to the fire. "Keep it going, girl!" he barked, and the girl frantically began shoveling more and more coal onto the flames, building them higher and higher. The blacksmith sniffed and shuffled off to put the cooled sword away. Rea waited until his back was turned, then stuck her tongue out at him. She felt a little ashamed at the childish action, but her arms were shaking from the effort of shoveling the coal, and sweat dripped down her forehead to land on the coals. 

Once she couldn't hear the boss any more, she dug the shovel into the coals and raced for the back door.  She knew she might get in trouble later, but really, all she wanted right now was to run, run so fast the wind whipped her hair out of her face and cooled her skin. She dashed out of the shop and whirled around a corner, feet pounding at the pavement. Dodging around startled townsfolk, she slipped through alleys and darted across roads until she finally came to the very edge of town. Peering out across the grassy plains that encircled her town, she imagined running just as fast as the wind that blew across the prairies. She slowly stepped out onto the short grasses, preparing to take off, but stumbled as a blast of light appeared in front of her. She crashed onto her back, feeling a sharp pain in her wrist as she landed on it. Unable to stand for her smarting wrist, she could only watch as it morphed into an eddying whirl of energy and a silhouette of a tall, elegant figure appeared. 

Out of it stepped a stately woman with dark hair, wearing a shimmering cerulean gown. She almost stepped on Rea until she tried to scrabble out of the way, crying out as her wrist bounced against the ground. The woman let out a small gasp of surprise, but quickly recovered and leaned down to Rea. "Who are you?" she asked. Rea grunted and tried to push herself up, but her wrist hurt so much she simply just fell onto the ground again. 

"Well I'm Rea, but who are you?" she shot back, more angry at her helplessness than anything else. The woman laughed, seemingly not at all offended.

"I go by the name Queen Brightstar," she replied. "And I believe you may need some help." Before Rea could protest, the queen reached down, gently clasped her wrist, and whispered, "No need to cry." Rea's wrist briefly glowed, then the queen stepped back. Rea tested it slowly at first, then pushed herself straight up. 

"You're Queen Brightstar? But you're from the magical world. Why are you here?" Queen Brightstar straightened up, suddenly seeming much more powerful.

"I come here on a peacekeeping mission. Tensions have been rising between my world and yours, unfortunately sparked by my mother, and I am seeking out worthy individuals to heal them. Once I discover them, they will return to my world with others members of my diplomatic party. " Rea's heart jumped in sudden excitement. Could she really?… but surely the queen wouldn't be taking kids. Still, she had to ask. 

"Could I go?" she asked before the queen could go towards the town. The queen only looked mildly surprised, and she turned back and looked at Rea carefully. Rea began to feel small and awkward beneath the queen's burning stare, but she held her ground and looked right back. Finally the queen gave a small nod and took Rea's hand. The girl stared at, dumbfounded. Could this really be the break she was looking for? Could she really be escaping from her terrible job into a world of magic? Before the queen could change her mind, she nodded and plunged into the portal, completely ready to turn away from the town she'd grown up in, but had never truly loved. 

Part Seven

~~

Brook sat alone in her room, Excelsior winding around her feet. The staff's stone was glowing unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Just looking at the thickly red glow sent chills of fear down her back, and that was uncommon among one as strongly-willed as her. But the strangest thing was that it had activated around the rich Normal World girl. Brook had been suspicious of Queen Brightstar from the beginning–she still remembered the time when Moonlight reigned–but the girl?

So odd…

– – – –

A ways down the corridor, Owlgirl was also in her room, alone except for Bree and a little cat who'd crawled into her room last night. Bree was perched on her bedside dresser, head nestled beneath her wing, and the gray tabby was curled up next to her, batting at a tassel on the fringe. Owlgirl absentmindedly played with a throw pillow, counting under her breath. "Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf. Good." It reminded her of her mother, kneeled next to her, counting along. It was a Normal World language, but her mother had loved the elegant sound of it so much she'd decided to teach it to her daughter. 

"Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq–" She was suddenly interrupted by a crash in the corridor. The kitten, who'd told her his name was Jay, leaped up, his blue eyes wide. Owlgirl tripped out of bed and raced to the door, throwing it open. Cleo was there, back against the wall, chest heaving. 

"Cleo, what is it?" Owlgirl cried. Cleo whipped towards Owlgirl, her hands shaking.

"Th-there was a bomb in my room!" she said, voice trembling. "I-I was just sitting there, reading Helmock Nomles, when something started ticking! It was so loud, right underneath my bed! And–" Now she paused, looking uncertain. "I only heard, like… like, um… fiteen ticks, but now it's stopped. I…" She stopped talking, and an uneasy silence hung over the hallway. 

"So odd…" Cleo murmured.

– – – –

Silvara sat in the grand hall, picking at her meal. The vegetables looked severely unappetizing, and the meat rather chewy. Though perhaps that was just because she had never liked her greens. It's not like you got many, growing up in a prison. Finally she gave a heavy sigh and pushed the plate aside. She wasn't really that hungry anyways. Blizzard meowed plaintively, and she lifted the plate and put it down for him, listening at he lapped up the food. 

No one else was in hall, but the emptiness and quiet felt familiar, like an old friend. So quiet it was, in fact, that Silvara could hear the quiet but hurried clicking of heels in the hallway. She snapped up, instantly going on guard. No one came rushing towards her, ready to attack, but she did see the silky train of a gown swish out of sight. Curiosity tugging at her, she silently got out of her seat and followed the gown. 

Peering around the corner, she saw Queen Brightstar standing at the wall, running her hand down it. She traced out a pattern in the shape of a crescent moon and a ray of light, then pushed hard against the wall. For a second, nothing happened. Then, with an almighty groan, the wall shifted back to reveal a long, spiraling staircase. The queen quickly lit a candle and disappeared down the stairs, the wall–or could it be a door?–closing behind her. Silvara waited until she couldn't hear anything any more, then rushed to the wall. She threw her shoulder against it, shoving as hard as she could, but nothing happened. What had the queen been up to? It was so odd…