Benotripia- The Complete Trilogy

by McKenzie Wagner

  “Roseabelle!” Astro said, grinning wildly. “You did it!”

  “We were about to come in after you,” Jessicana said seriously. “Suddenly all these Darvonians appeared and we did our best to stop them but they pushed right past us. They were too greedy in pursuit of the Dream World. There were too many of them, there was nothing we could do!”

  Roseabelle laughed and hugged both of her friends at the same time. “It doesn’t matter. You guys were waiting for me! That’s what matters!”

  They heard a deep shuddering sound at the other end of the room, and the three friends looked over to see the Dream World’s door slowly disappearing. It changed into a semi-solid state and vaporized into mist. “It’s gone,” Jessicana said softly. Astro let out a whoop.

  Soon all of them were jumping up and down in their excitement—the Darvonians had been vanquished!

  “Where’s Moonstar?” Roseabelle suddenly asked, her eyes wide.

  “I don’t know!” Astro said. The Sheilvoh had stayed behind with Jessicana and Astro, but now was nowhere to be found.

  “Roseabelle!” called a voice from outside. The stone muffled the sound and it was hard to make out who the voice belonged to.

  Astro walked forward, staring at the stone wall. “Who is that?”

  “Be careful. It could be a trap,” Jessicana insisted.

  “Hold on. It sounds like . . . my father!” Roseabelle said, grinning broadly.

  “I’ll blast through it,” Astro said, striding up to the wall.

  “But what about the Shadow Horses, Astro?” Jessicana inquired.

  “I’m pretty sure they’re gone,” Astro said. “I don’t feel overloaded with electricity or anything.” He stretched forth his fingers and shot a range of lightning at the wall, peppering it with bolts. Jessicana and Roseabelle both took cover by dropping to the floor as lightning flashed across the room. It looked like Astro was engulfed in a radiating dome of silver and blue. Suddenly there was a white flash. Roseabelle shut her eyes, hiding them from the searing pain.

  Jessicana tapped her on the shoulder and Roseabelle slowly opened her eyes to see a smoking crater in the wall and Astro standing beside it. He grinned and rubbed his hands together. “And that’s how you do it, folks.”

  Jessicana coughed on the dust that was rising from the leftover debris. She rolled her eyes and stepped forward, picking her way through the broken slabs of stone. “And you said you weren’t overloaded with electricity.” Astro grinned sheepishly.

  Roseabelle stood up and then stopped short in her tracks; on the other side of the hole in the wall stood three figures smiling at her. “Mom! Dad! Dastrock!” Roseabelle ran toward them, hugging her parents. She nearly plowed them over. She spotted Moonstar crouched beside Magford.

  Danette immediately reached down to embrace her. “Darling, did you really—?”

  Magford, who had stepped inside, nodded and grinned broadly. “She did.” He shook his head. “Roseabelle, how did you do it? You took on hundreds of Darvonians!”

  She smiled modestly. “Not really. I just put the Stones in a bowl. If Jessicana and Astro weren’t here, I wouldn’t have survived.” She gestured at her friends and looked up at Dastrock. “I don’t understand. What happened to you guys?”

  Dastrock smiled. “Remember my power of making illusions? Well, once I received your mottel, which saved all of our lives, I made it look as though our ship was heading in a different direction. Then once we reached land, we abandoned ship and travelled to the Darvonian palace and saw Magford fighting some Darvonians so we joined in to help. The Sheilvoh led us here.”

  Magford thumped Dastrock on the back and Danette smiled at her husband, pulling him close in an embrace. “What about the Darvonians?” Jessicana asked.

  Danette smiled. “Their leaders are now gone. Sheklyth, Heltonine, Kinetle—they were all overcome with the prospect of power, so they went into the Dream World. In fact, there are scarcely any Darvonians left. We have nothing to fear.” Roseabelle glanced up to some debris in the air, a trail of where the Dream World had been.

  Roseabelle felt all the worry, all the anxiety, and all the bad dreams about Sheklyth simply lift away, and she grinned at her friends. “Well, you know what this means right?”

  “Let’s go home,” Jessicana said.

  “And party!” Astro added.

  All of them were so fatigued, so weary, that they burst out laughing. Right then and there, they plopped down on the ground, and Jessicana handed Roseabelle the parchment. Astro drew a rather sloppy meal on the trutan, and soon they were eating cheerfully and talking.

  “Wait a second,” Roseabelle said, turning to her dad. “How come Metamordia was so deserted?”

  Magford sighed. “The Darvonians imprisoned all the people. They’re stuck inside cliffs that dotted the island. As soon as you rescued me though, the Darvonians traveled to Darvonia, leaving the Metamordians unattended. I received word that they have gotten out safely.”

  “How do you know that though?” Astro questioned.

  Magford shrugged. “Benotripia isn’t the only island that uses mottels.”

  Roseabelle suddenly reached inside her pocket. “Oh no!” she said. “The Third Eye is gone! I must have dropped it in the Dream World.” She expected Danette and Dastrock to be angry with her, maybe even a bit disappointed, but Danette just laughed and put an arm around her.

  “Roseabelle, you are worth more than the most powerful magical relic in all of the three islands,” she said.

  Roseabelle’s dream had come true right before her eyes. For once in her life, her whole family was reunited.

  The smile she wore was brighter than a thousand suns. Or Dragocone Rays, for that matter.

  Epilogue

  ROSEABELLE SAT AT THE KITCHEN TABLE, HER LONG red hair dangling down her back, partly tied back by a red ribbon. The blue dress she wore paled against her brown eyes, and she uncertainly glanced at the rainbow medal she gripped in her hands. It was the medal she had received for saving her mother; holding it always gave her a little bit of strength. Swallowing her fear, she slid it around her neck, the metal shining with a pearly radiance.

  From the other corner of the room, Moonstar purred softly. “What?” she asked him teasingly. “Are you nervous too? I doubt it. I’m standing up in front of all of Benotripia today and being named.” Moonstar just stared at her with his large golden eyes.

  “He says you’re being a drama queen,” said a deep voice from the top of the stairs. Roseabelle looked up to see her father, Magford, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and black pants made from Awnshneelia spider silk, one of the rarest and softest fabrics in all of Metamordia.

  “I am not!” she protested and stifled a smile when Magford raised his eyebrows at her. “All right, maybe a little. But it’s for a good reason. Weren’t you a little worried too when you were crowned?”

  Magford put an arm around her. “You’ll do fine, Roseabelle. I’m so proud of you.”

  Just then, the front door swung open, revealing Astro and Jessicana. The parrot girl was dressed in a formal aqua dress and the lightning boy was in silver-and-black shirt and pants.

  “You’re going to be crowned!” Jessicana exploded, hugging Roseabelle. “You’re going to be the ruler of Benotripia. This is so exciting!”

  Roseabelle laughed while Astro grinned from ear to ear, his fingertips crackling with electricity. “Uh, Astro,” she said. “Please keep your hands in your pockets. The last time you were in my house, we had some silver fireworks.”

  He grinned sheepishly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “This is so cool, Roseabelle!”

  Danette poked her head into the room. “You ready, Roseabelle?”

  She sighed. “I-I think so.”

  “You’re ready for this,” Danette said. “You realize what today is?”

  She nodded solemnly and Magford smiled. “Four years ago, this very day was when the Darvonians were vanquished.”

  Jessicana bou
nced up and down. “Come on, Roseabelle. You’re ready for this!”

  Roseabelle gave her friend a small smile. “But I’m not even Benotripian!”

  Danette laughed. “Just because you were born in Metamordia doesn’t mean you’re not a Benotripian. You grew up here. It’s all right to have two homes.”

  Roseabelle sighed. “All right, I guess I’m ready.” Jessicana squeezed her hand and Astro grinned at her. All of them exited her home and scaled down the ladder. Roseabelle’s eyes nearly popped open at what she saw.

  People as far as the eye could see clumped together, some sitting in chairs, some standing, eagerly awaiting her arrival. On the ground there was a glittering red-and-orange stage. Dastrock stood on top of it, holding an intricate scepter out of the same metal that her medal was created from. The rainbow colors glinted brilliantly in the sun.

  The Benotripians cheered as Roseabelle descended onto the stage next to Dastrock, her mother and father following. Her friends stood at the left side of the stage, and Astro gave her a big thumbs-up.

  Danette regally stood in front of the people as Roseabelle fidgeted behind her. She put on her biggest smile, warmth swelling up in her chest. Maybe she was nervous, but she was more excited. Danette raised her hand and the mumbling chatter instantly vanished. “We gather here today to honor my daughter, Roseabelle, who has gone above and beyond to serve Benotripia. She has bravely battled the Darvonians, defended her friends, and displayed endless courage.

  “I am fully aware that the honor of becoming the ruler of Benotripia is normally bestowed to the heir when they are seventeen years of age. But Roseabelle is a different case at fifteen years old. She has given her all to Benotripia. Without her and her friends Jessicana and Astro, we would not be standing here today. Being a ruler is not about receiving; it is about giving. And these past few years, that is exactly what Roseabelle has done. So today, I bestow to her the Destiny Scepter—” Danette broke her speech as Dastrock held the scepter out in his hands, extending it to her.

  Roseabelle looked at her mother and saw her kind face and intelligent eyes. She was smiling warmly, and motioning for her to take the scepter. She saw her father and uncle with identical grins on their faces and Jessicana and Astro, both beaming. Even Moonstar seemed as though he was smiling. Taking a deep breath, she spoke the traditional words: “I accept.”

  The crowd burst into roaring cheers, and Roseabelle took the scepter and held it in the air. Jessicana and Astro raced to her, embracing her. “That was crazy!” Jessicana said.

  “How were you so calm and collected up there?”

  “I would have freaked!”

  Roseabelle laughed. “Oh, please. Whenever I see you guys out there, I’m completely fine.”

  And truly and honestly, she was. Because finally, Benotripia was at peace.

  Discussion Questions

  If you could make up your own power, what would it be?

  If you had the choice to live on one of the three islands—Benotripia, Metamordia, or Darvonia—which would you choose?

  Roseabelle used her courage to venture into the Dream World, Jessicana used her potions and her wits to escape from the Darvonians, and Astro utilized his lightning to protect himself and his friends. Each of the three friends used their strengths to help each other. What are your strengths? How could you use them to defeat the Darvonians?

  Why do you think Magford allowed the three friends to go after the Darvonians instead of making them stay behind while he took care of it?

  What was your favorite part of the book? Why?

  Do you think a Sheilvoh would make a good companion? Why or why not?

  Acknowledgments

  AT SEVEN YEARS OLD, I WROTE MY VERY FIRST STORY in a glittery purple notebook and spent an entire summer pouring out my imagination into it. Now, six years later, that story is published, I still have that notebook, and I’m now done with the entire Benotripia series. I can’t believe I’m where I am today. Let’s just say that I have a lot of people to thank.

  Gratitude to my amazing family—Mom, Dad, and Ty—for supporting me in everything I do. You guys are truly awe-inspiring. The same goes to all three of my grandparents and every single one of my extended family members, especially the ones who dressed up as creepy Darvonians at my second launch party. I couldn’t do any of this without you.

  Thanks to Rachel Sharp for bringing the Benotripia characters to life with the out-of-this-world cover art and illustrations.

  Also, to my crazy fantastic friends Erin, Samantha, Rianna, Frances, Sarajane, Marina, the three Ashleys, and Emma, for always boosting my morale and making me laugh. Thanks to Annabella, for being the perfect Jessicana.

  I want to express deep gratitude to Ms. Kunz who first taught me the basics of writing and to Ms. Pearce for making my middle school experience positive and to Melia, for being so eccentric about my writing.

  Jennifer A. Nielsen, Richard Paul Evans, and Frank L. Cole—thank you for being the most inspiring authors and people I’ve ever met. I’d like to show my appreciation to the Cedar Fort team for being so incredibly wonderful in all they do: Lyle, Angie, Alissa, Kelly, Rodney, and everyone else who has strived to make Benotripia a success.

  And last but not least, love to my spectacular readers! Benotripia has been such a blast. Thank you for sharing and enjoying the story. Although the series is complete and I am already missing adventures with Roseabelle, Jessicana, and Astro, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it. Thank you all for making my dreams a possibility.

  About the Author

  MCKENZIE WAGNER IS FOURTEEN YEARS OLD AND has adored reading since she was four. Her love of books inspired her to write a book of her own, and she completed the first book of The Magic Wall series, The Magic Meadow and the Golden Locket, at age seven and the second book, The Blue Lagoon and the Magic Coin, shortly thereafter. With her new series, Benotripia, she has now expanded her writing to appeal to kids of all ages. She wishes to obtain an English degree and continue her path as an author. She currently resides in Utah with her mom, dad, and brother, Ty.

  © 2015 McKenzie Wagner

  All rights reserved.

  Cover illustrations by Rachel Sharp

  Inside illustrations for Benotripia: The Rescue by Tera Grasser

  Other illustrations by Rachel Sharp

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, whether by graphic, visual, electronic, film, microfilm, tape recording, or any other means, without prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief passages embodied in critical reviews and articles.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. The views expressed within this work are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Cedar Fort, Inc., or any other entity.

  ISBN 13: 978-1-4621-2585-2

  Published by Sweetwater Books, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc.

  2373 W. 700 S., Springville, UT 84663

  Distributed by Cedar Fort, Inc., www.cedarfort.com

  Benotripia: The Rescue previously published in 2012

  Benotripia: The Stones of Horsh previously published in 2013

  Benotripia: Keys to the Dream World previously published in 2014

  Cover design by Rachel Sharp and M. Shaun McMurdie

  Cover design © 2015 Lyle Mortimer

  Edited and typeset by Melissa J. Caldwell