Beyond: Snillotia Trilogy Book One

by Donna Wagner

  “I’ve been here before!” Tim yelled, as the memory replayed in his mind.

  Anna stopped shifting through the papers on the desk and looked back at him. “I was a baby- maybe two years old. I think it was the last time I was in here. My dad told my mom I’d start remembering things soon and if she wanted to keep them from me, she had to stop bringing me in here. Then I was crying, and my mom made me stop by showing me pictures on this window!” he said, pointing at the window.

  Anna came over and looked at the window. “How?” she asked.

  Tim shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, waving his hand in front of the window, “She did this and there they were.”

  Nothing changed on the window. Anna looked at her dim reflection in the glass, next to Tim’s. She waved her hand, forgetting that it was still glowing. Suddenly, the bright light left her hand and floated over to the window. As it touched the glass, the glass changed. It actually looked like a window. If Tim didn’t know any better, he’d think it was a real window. It looked exactly like the picture his mom had left there. As they stood watching, a bird flew passed. They looked at each other. Pictures didn’t move. Tim reached the bottom of the window and slowly lifted it. The scene on the other side didn’t change. As he opened the window, he could even feel air, coming through, exactly like it was a real window to the outside. When it was open enough to stick his hand through, he moved his hand slowly, not wanting to hit what must surely be magic glass, hard. There was nothing there. His hand was outside the window. “How?” Tim echoed Anna’s earlier question.

  He looked at Anna, his hand still outside. She looked shocked. “Anna! What did you do?”

  She shook her head. She didn’t know what she did. She had been thinking about the papers on the desk, about how they still needed to search the room to find something, but they didn’t know what they were looking for. She’d vaguely heard Tim explain what he remembered and basically just copied what he did when he waved his hand in front of the window. Most importantly, she’d been thinking more about how they were going to get back to the secret room and through the wall, since they had stayed passed the time her mother had warned then not to. “Basically, I was wishing we were back in Snillotia. I don’t know why my mom didn’t think we should stay after the sun rose, but it did, and I was worried about it.”

  Tim went over to the chair and sat down. “Arf!”

  Tim jumped up. On the chair was a small pug dog. It was staring at him with its giant, bulging, eyes. “Where did that come from?” he exclaimed.

  Anna walked up to the dog and held her hand out in front of the dog. The dog immediately sniffed her fingers and stuck it’s tongue out in a way that made it look like it was smiling. “I don’t know where it came from, but it’s cute!”

  Tim wasn’t too sure about it being cute, but it found it really odd that a dog had just randomly appeared in a secret room that had also just magically grown a window. “Wait a second!”

  Anna looked away from the dog. “You said you wished!”

  Anna gave him a confused look. “You said you wished we were back in Snillotia. I bet we are!”

  Anna shook her head. “We didn’t go through a wall. We didn’t go anywhere!”

  “No! It makes sense! You wished we had a light, and then your hand glowed. You wished the light was brighter, and then it was! You wished we were back in Snillotia and now we must be!”

  Tim ran out of the room and down the hallway. Sure enough, at the end of the hall was a normal door. Tim turned the knob and the door swung open.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  His parent’s room was not on the other side.He was in a hallway he’d never seen before. He looked to his left. There was nothing except more doors. He looked to the right. Again, there was nothing but doors. There did not seem to be an end to this hallway, in either direction. Tim hesitated before venturing any further. He decided Anna should go with him, wherever they were, and turned around to go get her. He walked into her instead. Anna had followed him out of the room, the pug in her arms. He looked at the dog. “Why are you bringing that?”

  “She is not a “that”. She is a girl. She started following me when I left the room. Obviously, she wants to come with us.”

  Tim looked at the dog, suspiciously. The pug stared back, with a hopeful expression on her face. “Fine, whatever!”

  He pointed to the hallway, “Do you see that we’re not in my house anymore? You must have wished us back! If you knew you had that power earlier, it would have made things so much easier!”

  Anna shrugged and looked up and down the hallway. She didn’t really think her power was to wish for whatever she wanted, but she didn’t want to get into a long conversation about it right then. “Where do you think we are?”

  “Let’s find out.”

  Tim led the way down the hallway. He chose to go to the right first. At the next door he came to, he tried the handle. “It’s locked!”

  Anna tried the door across from the locked one. “This one’s locked too!”

  They ran up and down the hallway, trying every door they reached, each one had the same result. There was still no end to the hallway in sight, and still more doors. “Where can we possibly be?”

  Anna looked lost. “I’m more worried about how we get out of here.”

  “Arf!”

  They looked down. Anna had put the pug down as they were trying to find a door that would open, and the dog was at her feet. “Arf!” she barked again.

  “She was here, wherever here is. Maybe she knows the way,” Anna suggested.

  She looked at the dog. “Do you know how to leave here?”

  “Arf!”

  The pug turned and ran. They hurried to keep up with her, only to realize a minute later that she had run right back to the room they had started in. “I guess she doesn’t know the way out, after all,” Anna said, disappointed.

  “Arf! Arf! Arf!”

  Although Tim didn’t quite know what to make of the dog, he suggested, “Maybe we missed something in the room, and she wants us to come see.”

  They walked back into the room and found the pug standing in front of one of the bookcases. As they got closer, she started pawing at one of the books on the bottom shelf. Tim leaned over and pulled the book out. It was an old notebook. Written in large, childish writing on the cover was “Nelle Rellim”. Recognizing the backwards version of his mom’s maiden name, he opened the notebook.

  “My name is Nelle Rellim and I have just completed my thirteeth year. I am leaving tomorrow to start my stay at the Ymedaca. I know everyone leaves their parents and does this after the thirteenth year to prepare for whatever changes may come, but I’m still scared. I don’t know if anyone will like me there or if I’ll make any new friends. I’ve been told I’ll be on the 10th floor, but none of my friends are going to be on the same floor. Mother says I’ll still be able to see my friends, that I’m not going to be on the 10th floor forever (although she seems very excited that I was assigned to this floor, for some reason), but I still wish I knew at least one person going who would be living near me.”

  Tim stopped reading. “Apparently this is my mom’s journal from when she was 13.”

  Anna, who had been reading over his shoulder, nodded excitedly. “And now we know where we are!”

  Tim thought for a moment. “The Ymedaca!” he exclaimed, then catching on to all names seeming to be backwards, he continued, “The Academy! So, this was like their school?”

  Anna nodded. Her mom had told her about the school in Snillotia and how it was different from what she knew Tim had experienced so far. “Kids here learn to read and write from their parents when they’re young. Then their parents also usually teach them their trade, since things are always kept in families here. Asilla’s family, for instance, must be like doctors where we grew up. I thought about that when she had that potion for us that changed our appearances for a bit all ready. Anyway, when they turn 13 they go to the Ymedaca, or as most kids refe
rred to it, the Y. They’re assigned a floor, usually because of what some old person whose power has something to do with seeing the future, has said. My mom said family connections are also a part of it. All though the floors can interact, generally, each floor is entirely self-sufficient, so each floor tends to stay in their own spaces. The people on your floor become like your family. You live at the Y for eight years. This is where our parents all met. Obviously, my mom and your dad knew each other before, but they didn’t know my dad or your mom. That’s probably why Grandma Aras was happy. The Prince and Princess are always on the tenth floor, and if I’m remembering correctly, they’re a year older than your mom, and my dad is a year older than them, so when your mom came, everyone was finally together. One other thing that always happened here was that people stayed close to those on their floor- there wasn’t much chance to meet others very often, so most of the time, the person they married was on their floor. Grandma Aras knew as soon as your mom was assigned to the 10th floor that there was a good chance she’d end up marrying the Prince.”

  “So where is everyone? Why is this place totally empty and locked up?”

  “The Rebels probably closed it. They don’t want the people happy, or to be able to fight them. Why would they keep open the place that helped people learn to use their powers in the best possible way?”

  “I guess that makes sense. This still doesn’t help us figure out how to get out of here, though.”

  “No, but you were right. I did bring us back to Snillotia, somehow. At least now we can contact my parents and tell them we’re okay!”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Anna took something out of her pocket. “Cell phones work here?” Tim asked, before seeing what was in her hand.

  She held up her key. “Of course not, but there is a reason every Snillotian is given one of these when they turn 13. Only royal keys are supposed to also be portal keys, but all keys can be used to communicate. You can connect with whoever has touched your key. Watch.”

  Anna held her key in one hand and touched the center of it with her finger. Light shot from the key and Anna said, “Mom.”

  Suddenly on the wall next to the window a square of light appeared, as if there was a projector pointing at it. “Anna!”

  There was Anna’s mom, projected on the wall, looking surprised and relieved at the same time. “Where are you? Oh, I’m so glad your father explained how to communicate with keys to you! Where are you?” she asked again.

  “Can she see us, too?” Tim whispered.

  “Mom, can you see us?”

  “No! I don’t know where any keys are here. Hold on, I’ll use your father’s. Tre!”

  Tre appeared next to Einna. “I need your key. Anna’s communicating!”

  Tre pulled out his key and handed it to Einna. She touched the center. “Oh!” she exclaimed, “You found Nelle’s secret room, which is wonderful, but you should have come back before the sun came up. I told you, you shouldn’t be there after the sun rose.”

  “We are back.”

  “You knew about my mom’s secret room?”

  “Wait- They have to be back to communicate.”

  Anna, Tim, and Tre all spoke at the same time. “Let me go first. Honey, to communicate like this with keys, they must be in Snillotia. So, they are back, but-

  “Then you’re at the Y? How on Htrae did you get there?”

  “Well, I can try to explain, if you let me-”

  “Wait. I want to know how you knew about my mom’s secret room! I didn’t even know it existed, so, how did you?”

  “We always can keep our Y rooms with us, if we choose. Upon completion, we’re told how to essentially copy our room and its contents, in any room we’re living in. I didn’t even think to try it in the backwards world, but Nelle loved her room, so I guess she did, and it obviously worked. I recognized that old chair behind you.”

  “But how did you know it was a secret?”

  “Well, when we first escaped, we talked and saw each other all the time. It was just the four of us and we didn’t know anyone or anything about the place we were living in. We had discussed how our future children would have to be the saviors of our world. Unfortunately, we didn’t agree how we were to go about preparing you for that. I knew she didn’t plan to tell you until you completed your 13th year. It was one of the reasons we stopped talking. You both were getting older and if Anna knew things that Nelle didn’t want you to know yet, she didn’t see how to keep you from learning whatever Anna knew. You two always had so much fun playing together,” she finished wistfully.

  Tim looked at Anna, she didn’t look surprised by the revelation that they had known each other before. A fleeting image of a tiny dark-haired girl in pigtails flashed through his head. Before he could respond Anna cut in, “Okay! Now on to how we get out of here!”

  Anna recounted their story of finding the secret room and discovering they were in the Y. “But it’s just a never-ending hallway! There is no end at all and no way out!”

  “It sounds like you’re in storage,” said Tre, then he continued, “Once you have a room at the Y, it exists forever. Rumor was that it went to storage after you left and a new room took its place. That’s how you could copy it if you chose. I guess the rumor was true. I wonder…”

  He had trailed off, lost in thought. “What, Dad?”

  “Well, part of that rumor was that storage existed because of, and was controlled by, a creature no one ever saw, but was said to be horribly ugly, with large eyes that barely fit into its head! But don’t worry, I doubt that parts true,” he said, not to worry them, “The creature’s called a Gup, but it’s just mythical- not real at all!”

  Tim laughed. Anna looked at him, then smiled. He was looking down at her feet. “Well, Dad, I can tell you Gups definitely are real!”

  She picked up the pug, so her parents could see. “She isn’t scary at all though. Actually, I think she’s really cute!”

  “Gup… pug… now why didn’t I put that together? Our neighbors down the street in the backwards world have a pug!” Tre exclaimed.

  “Well, pugs aren’t horrible, dear, they’re just little dogs- quite nice actually-” Einna started to say.

  Anna cut her off. “Guys! It doesn’t matter! We still need to figure out how to get out of here!”

  “If the Gup is real, honey, I’d take a guess, that only she can show you the way out,” Tre said.

  They all stared at the dog in Anna’s arms. She stared back, her mouth open so wide she actually looked like she was smiling. “Well, I guess we wait to see what she does, then,” Tim sighed.

  “We’ll see you later, Mom and Dad!” Anna said, cutting the connection to her parents.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Once they were alone again, Anna sat on the chair with the dog on her lap. The pug licked her face once and then curled up and went to sleep. Anna gave a half-hearted smile. “She is really cute, but she’s a dog! She can’t talk to us or tell us where to go from here. She isn’t even leading us anywhere now!”

  Tim looked around the room again. “She brought us back into this room before. She led us to my mom’s journal. Maybe what we’re looking for is here. Maybe it’s in her journal!”

  “Maybe,” Anna agreed, “but, Tim, did you happen to notice how many notebooks are on those shelves?”

  Tim looked up from the page of the journal he was looking at. “There are more?”

  Anna nodded. “Your mom wrote a lot. She must have really liked writing.”

  Now Tim nodded. “She did! That was her job, you know.”

  Anna shook her head. “Wait! I know something about my own family you don’t?” Tim asked, “My mom wrote children’s books. She had a whole series. They’re pretty popular. They’re about a princess who doesn’t know she’s a princess, but she has magical powers…” Tim’s voice trailed off.

  “What?”

  “Maybe she wasn’t just writing stories. Maybe she was writing about herself! Maybe that�
�s why the stories were so good!”

  “I guess that could be true, but your mom wasn’t technically a princess. She just married the prince.”

  “Oh. Maybe not, then. Her stories were so good though. It was like they came alive, right off the page when you were reading them.”

  Anna’s eyes widened. “Tim, it was probably her power. I’ve heard of that one. My mom told me she knew someone with it once. It must have been your mom she was talking about.”

  “Well, the stories remind me a lot of what I’ve been learning about Snillotia. Maybe they have a clue in them, along with maybe these journals of hers. But we can’t stay here forever reading! We need to get back to the palace!”

  “Plus, if your mom wrote these books in the backwards world, they wouldn’t be here.”

  Tim looked at her, with a look on his face that said he had an idea. “What are you thinking?”

  “Well, you made other stuff happen just thinking about it. Maybe you could do it again. Just try it!”

  Anna shrugged. “Okay. Books written by Nelle Rellim, appear!”

  Nothing happened. “Try again. Remember she wrote them in the backwards world. Her name was Ellen Tollins there.”

  “Books written by Ellen Tollins, appear!”

  Again, nothing happened. “You didn’t say you wish.”

  Anna sighed. She didn’t really believe this was going to work. She just couldn’t wish for things and have anything come true! That couldn’t possibly be her power. Tim was looking at her, encouragingly. “I wish the books Tim’s mom wrote in the backwards world were here.”

  There was a loud crash behind her. She spun around. A pile of book was now sitting on the desk along with some papers that hadn’t been there before. She was shocked. “You did it!”

  Anna shook her head. It really hadn’t seemed like she did anything. When the light had appeared in her hand, she had felt that power. But coming back to Snillotia and now these books, she hadn’t felt anything at all. She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. The pug was looking at her, with that expression that resembled a smile again. “It’s her!”