Beyond: Snillotia Trilogy Book One

by Donna Wagner

  As everyone in the room came back into one group, he also learned that Einna’s father was Grandpa Leumas and that Tre’s parents were Grandma Eilime and Grandpa Siul.

  Everyone eventually sat down. Anna was the first to speak. “How did you get here, in the castle? You weren’t here before. I was here all alone until Tim showed up.”

  Grandma An smiled at her granddaughter. “We were always here. You just couldn’t see us, just as anyone who came into the castle through the door, if it would open for them, at this moment wouldn’t be able to see any of us, including you.”

  Seeing Anna’s confused face, she continued, “Maybe I should start at the beginning. On the night before Prince Mit and Princess Anna were to be crowned king and queen, I saw what would have happened, if things went according to plan. I saw the Rebels attacking the castle during the ceremony and killing everyone inside. Then I saw them taking over, much as they have actually done. That is my gift. Every now and then I see things that will happen, unless we change them.

  “So, I decided to change things. I went to King Mit and told him about the vision. He agreed that we had to save our children. It was the only way there would ever be a chance to save the kingdom from the Rebels. Just in case the Rebels also changed things, Mit and I used what little power we had together as Sibling Rulers and put a spell of sorts over the castle. We made it so only one who was pure in heart and loyal to the royals could enter. Then we quickly got your parents and sent them to the backwards world, knowing that even though we would never see them again, we were saving their lives. We didn’t think the protection on the castle would last long, so we all gathered, here in this room, and we added another layer of protection to the spell. We made it so we couldn’t be seen by anyone, unless the one who was pure and loyal led the person to us. We didn’t know at that point in time, that that person would be Asilla, but she has faithfully cared for us through the years. She has brought food and news of what is happening in the kingdom.

  “We have waited for you both to return. We knew our children would send you back. I saw it as soon as we sent them through the walls. However, Mit and I did not know then what we know now. You both are different than any other prince and princess. We don’t know the real reason why; we just know that is a good thing. You will be able to save us all.”

  Tim didn’t know what to say. He knew he was already different because he could go through the wall whenever he wanted. Was there supposed to be more he could do? And what about Anna? They didn’t know what she could do at all yet. Anna apparently had the same thought. “The only way I’m different is because I can’t do anything at all,” Anna pouted.

  “That’s not true, sweetheart. I’ve seen the future, remember. I’ve seen you saving our world.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Anna looked surprised for a moment and then a look of determination crossed her face. Simply accepting her fate, she calmly asked, “Okay, so what do we do first?”

  All the grandparents looked at each other. Slowly they all shook their heads. “We don’t really know. We have been searching the castle for the last five years for a clue, for something that would point in the right direction. We’ve found nothing. None of us possess the powers need to find what we do not know,” Grandpa Mit explained, then he smiled, “But we do now.”

  Tim realized they were looking at Tre. Tre nodded once and scanned the room. Tim looked around too. He didn’t see anything different. Nothing jumped out at him or lit up the way that doorway they had come through had. Slowly, he realized that everyone was staring at him. “What?” he asked.

  Anna pointed above his head. He looked up and saw a glowing arrow pointing down at him. “But I don’t know anything! How am I the answer or the clue or whatever it is we’re looking for? I didn’t even know any of this even existed until a few hours ago!”

  “Well”, said Grandma An, “before you, no one was able to use a doorway to another world more than once. In the entire history of our people, no one has ever possessed that power. The fact that you can, and that you can take people through with you, is quite remarkable. How does that help us, though, is the question.”

  She looked at Tim, imploringly. Everyone else was silent, also looking at him, as if the answer would magically appear like the arrow still above his head, though the light of it was fading. Tim opened his mouth to question the staring again, but instead, he yawned. Grandpa Mit started laughing. Slowly, so did everyone else, including Tim, but he didn’t know why. Grandma Amme spoke first. “It’s been a long day for Tim, and more eventful then most of us have had in a long time. Why don’t we rest for a bit? Nothing is going to change in the next few hours, and we could all use some sleep.”

  Murmurs of agreement were made by all. After sleeping arrangements had been decided, Tim’s grandparents hugged him one by one and wished him goodnight. He made his way to the room he was told he could sleep in, which, thankfully, was not the room with the crib in it. He laid down on the bed and was soon fast asleep.

  ✽✽✽

  “Tim! Tim!”

  Lost in his dream, Tim thought his mother was calling him. Then he felt someone shaking him. That didn’t seem right. As sleep slowly left him, he realized someone was leaning over him. He jumped back, almost falling off the bed. “Relax!” a voice called in the darkness.

  Confused, Tim couldn’t place the voice. Everything that had happened tumbled back into his head. “Anna?”

  “Who else would it be?”

  Tim shrugged, wondering why she woke him up. He was still tired. She sat down on the bed next to him, the moonlight coming through the window, now shining on her black hair. “Why’d you wake me up?”

  “I couldn’t sleep. I’ve been thinking,” she stopped.

  Tim waited. He felt like she was trying to think of a way to say something and shouldn’t interrupt. After a moment, she continued, “With everything I know, all my parents told me, from the time I was old enough to understand, I thought I was prepared. This world isn’t strange to me; it’s as familiar as the one I grew up in. My parents thought that was the best way to prepare me to come back here. I came here, expecting this immediate change, that I’d know what I was supposed to do and that you’d be as ready as me to face the Rebels. I didn’t think much about how we were going to face them; I was just confident we would win. But then you didn’t show up and I didn’t feel any different. I felt like me. I couldn’t do anything special and I was here alone for so long. So, I keep thinking, trying to figure out what I can do to help because I’m supposed to. So, I can’t sleep. I had to think-”

  “Anna-”

  “No! Let me finish! I thought of something! I think I know what we must do next, at least where we should look for a clue. I don’t think it’s here. I think that arrow pointed at you because of what you can do. I think the answers are in the other world. I think we have to go back and search your house!”

  “Okay. We’ll tell everyone tomorrow morning. We can all go.”

  “No! I think we should do this alone. No, I know we must do this alone. We must do it right now. Maybe I’m just trying to feel special, but I really do have a feeling that we have to go right now.”

  Tim sighed. “Okay. So much for sleep, I guess! Let’s go!

  CHAPTER TEN

  Tim and Anna walked silently, but quickly toward the way back to Tim’s house. As they reached the hallway that led to the room, a figured blocked their path. They froze.

  “I knew I should be here right now,” Einna said, “What are you two doing? You should be resting.”

  “We can’t, Mom. We have to go. It’s what has to be done. I just know it is.”

  Einna looked at her daughter for a moment. Seeing the determined look on her face, she finally nodded and stepped aside. As Anna walked past her, she grabbed her and squeezed tight. Tim stood awkwardly next to them, till suddenly, he found himself part of the hug as well. “Both of you, be very careful. You should also know that time is short. You shouldn’t
be there after the sun is up. Trust me. I know.”

  Anna and Tim understood. They continued to the room with the doorway, hand in hand. “Ready?” Tim asked.

  “Of course!” Anna replied, “It’s what we have to do.”

  Tim led the way and through the wall they went.

  It was very dark in the secret room. The light Tim had set up in there was gone, as was everything else he had moved into the room. It was completely empty. They made their way to the rest of the house. Tim gasped when they reached the living room. “Where is everything?”

  “I knew we had to come tonight. It looks like someone is finally emptying the house. Your parents are gone, Tim, and you’re a kid. Did you think the house would just stay vacant forever?”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it. What if they already took whatever it is we’re looking for?”

  Anna shook her head. “No, I think that’s why I knew we had to come. I think whatever it is, is still here. “

  As they made their way through the rest of the house, they saw that it wasn’t completely empty. His father’s office didn’t look like it had been touched yet. “Why don’t we start in here?” Anna asked.

  Tim started to disagree. “I already looked in here, after I went through the wall the first time. I had no idea what was going on and I was trying to find an explanation.”

  “But you weren’t looking for a clue then. You were just looking for an answer. Maybe we’ll find something different.”

  Tim shrugged and turned to a bookcase on the closest wall. “I guess I’ll start here.”

  Anna moved further into the room. “Then I’ll start over here.”

  They searched quietly. All that could be heard was the sound of books thumping and pages shuffling. After some time had passed and most of the books had been looked through and Anna had gone through the desk again, she announced, “I guess I was wrong. Maybe we should look somewhere else?”

  Tim started to pull the next book off the shelf. He heard a very loud click and the book didn’t move any further. “What was that noise? Is someone coming?” Anna sounded panicked.

  “I think it was this book. It won’t come off the shelf. I don’t think it’s a book at all.”

  He pushed it back into the shelf. The loud click sounded again. He pulled it out as far as it would go. Click. “It sounds like the hidden doorway to the secret room unlocking. Maybe this was the original way to open it and they had the easier way installed later?” Tim thought out loud.

  They raced from the room back to the secret door. It was closed. Tim flipped the light switch and it opened. He pushed it close. “I guess it wasn’t it.”

  “Tim, are there any other secret doors in your house?”

  Tim gave her a look. “Why would there be another one? And if there was, why wouldn’t my parents show it to me? They showed this door to everyone!”

  “Maybe they hid things in there they didn’t want you to see, since they didn’t tell you anything about Snillotia!”

  Anna looked up. “What’s above us?”

  “Umm, my parent’s room.”

  “Come on!”

  Anna grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the stairs. As they entered the room, the first thing Tim saw was that the wall across from his parent’s bed wasn’t a wall anymore. Anna was right. There was another secret door. “How’d you know?”

  “I just thought about it. You have a secret room downstairs. There has to be something above it!”

  Tim started toward the newly revealed door. “Wait!”

  Anna pointed at the window. “Look! The sun’s coming up! My mom said we shouldn’t be here when the sun comes up!”

  Just then, they heard a new noise. It was the sound of the front door opening and closing. Then the sound of footsteps echoed in the almost empty house. “Quick!”

  Tim pulled open the new secret door and stepped inside. Anna followed him. Tim pulled the door shut and heard the click of the lock engaging. He also faintly heard the book thumping back onto the shelf downstairs. He prayed that whoever had entered the house hadn’t heard it too. Then he prayed this secret door stayed a secret longer than the one downstairs.

  Tim and Anna stood right behind the door for a very long time, as quiet as they could. After some time had passed, Anna said, “I think we’re okay. I don’t think whoever came in knows we’re up here.”

  “I think so too, but whoever they are, they’re still downstairs. I can hear them. I think they’re packing up the dishes and glasses in the kitchen.”

  “Well, should we see where this door leads?”

  Tim nodded. He already knew he was in another hallway. He had realized that when they had been waiting to be discovered. It was dark and he could barely see Anna, who was right next to him. They both started looking for a light switch by running their hands along the walls in the hallway, as they walked. “I wish we could find a light!” Anna exclaimed.

  By the time she had finished saying the word light, a strange thing had begun to happen. Her hand seemed to be glowing. “Tim!”

  Tim stopped and looked in the direction of Anna’s voice. Immediately he noticed her hand. “Um, did you know you could do that?” was all he could think to ask.

  Anna shook her head. “Well, I guess you found your power.”

  Anna nodded. She held her hand out in front of her. The light wasn’t very bright. She could see about a foot in front of her and then it was dark. “This won’t be very helpful if we have to look through anything in there,” she said gesturing ahead, “I wish it was brighter.”

  Again, as soon as she finished her last work, the glow changed into a bright light. The entire hallway was lit, and they could see into the secret room, she could make out a desk, against the far wall. Tim grinned. “Come on!” he said, grabbing her unlit hand and pulling her into the room.

  They stopped just inside the doorway. Tim took in the room, a section at a time. There was a desk straight across from him, filled with scattered paper, books, and pictures. On either side of the desk were bookcases, filled with books, which sort of resembled his dad’s office downstairs. To his right, there was no furniture, but instead, what looked like a window. As he looked closer, he realized it wasn’t a real window, but something tugged at his memory. Not being able to bring whatever he was thinking to the surface, he continued his survey of the room. Across from the fake window, to his left was a large, overstuffed chair and ottoman. The room looked well used. Tim couldn’t help but wonder when his parents used it, since he couldn’t think of a time when he couldn’t find them. “I can’t believe I didn’t know about this room. I guess we should start looking around, since we’re here.”

  Anna moved toward the desk. Tim looked at the window. It seemed so odd. He approached it and touched the glass pane. Nothing happened. He tapped along the edge of the frame. Still nothing. He tried focusing hard, to figure out why this window seemed so important. Nothing happened. Unable to figure anything out, he turned to move away. The curtain he had been holding back floated back into place, which he saw from the corner of his eye. Suddenly a memory came flooding back.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Tim is very small. He is sitting on the floor and above him is a floating piece of fabric. He tries to grab it, but it’s just out of his reach. A laugh reaches his ears. He looks past the fabric and sees Mommy. Mommy is looking at Daddy, who just walked into the room. “Da-DEE!” he yells and raises his arms.

  Daddy looks down at him and smiles. He steps closer and lifts him into the air. Tim loves being lifted high. He squeals in delight. Daddy looks at Mommy and says, “You know you can’t bring him in here much longer, if you want to keep everything from him till he’s older. He’s going to start remembering things soon.”

  Mommy looks sad. “I know. He’s not going to be my little baby much longer.”

  Tim doesn’t like that. Whose baby will he be, if not Mommy’s? The happiness he felt being lifted into the air fades. He starts to cry. Mommy walks t
owards him and takes him from Daddy’s arms. She bounces him up and down on her hip. “Shhh, baby. What’s the matter?”

  Tim looks at Mommy through his tears. She’s smiling again. He still isn’t quite sure what to feel. What was it that made him sad? Was Mommy leaving him? Mommy walks to the window. Tim likes the window. Mommy makes it do pretty things. Mommy holds her hand in front of the window and closes her eyes. Tim watches as pictures start flickering across the glass. Tim sees himself. Mommy and Daddy are on either side of him and he seems a lot smaller than he is right now. He has no hair! That makes Tim smile a little. Mommy moves her hand again and Tim sees Mommy with the people she says are called Mom-mom and Pop-pop. They’re looking at her and smiling. They look nice. Mommy whispers, “They would love you so much, Tim.”

  Tim feels this makes Mommy a little sad. Tim wishes they would come see him for real, so Mommy would be happy. The pictures stop and Tim sees what he thinks is Mommy’s favorite one. She always leaves it there. Tim sees grass and hills and a big sun. Mommy smiles again. “That’s home, Tim. I wish I was home.”

  Daddy comes and stands behind them. He puts his arms around both Tim and Mommy. He doesn’t say anything. Tim knows something happened and Mommy can’t go home, but as Tim looks at the picture, he’s happy he’s here with Mommy and Daddy. He thinks maybe if he told them that, they’d be happy here too. “Tim ha-PEE here! Tim ha-PEE! Ma-MEE ha-PEE!”

  Mommy and Daddy laugh. Tim can feel that they are both happy again. Mommy looks at Daddy and says, “You’re right, honey. It’s time,” she looks at Tim and adds, “Tim’s a big boy now!”

  Tim looks over Mommy’s shoulder as they leave the room. The light follows them and as the room gets darker, he sees Mommy’s home fade from the window.