Nightshade Forest

by Nikki Mitchell

  “I know you’re worried, but she will be okay,” Milo said. “Remember, this isn’t the first time Elfie has gone back to camp passed out on a guard’s horse.”

  She looked up at him. For Eleanor, this was the first time.

  “Now, let’s go save the kingdom,” he said, pulling Eleanor up off the ground.

  They could hear more crashing, but this time it was much louder, and the ground began to shake.

  “Giants!” Milo shouted, pointing at the huge beasts coming through the forest. They headed straight for the gargoyles. The gargoyles tried to fly higher, but the giants were too tall, and the gargoyles were too heavy to go any higher than the treetops.

  “Okay, now that the gargoyles are taken care of, let’s find my brother,” the queen commanded. “And I am sorry, girl, about the way I acted. This whole situation has me very upset.”

  Eleanor nodded and wiped the last of her tears away.

  Leaving the crashing of the forest behind, the queen and her troops disappeared deeper into the forest. Milo looked at his map; the red x had not moved. Luckily, the enchanted guard was off searching for owls, and the prince had no idea he was about to be ambushed.

  The queen pressed her hands against the trees as they got deeper and deeper into the forest. A single tear ran down her face—her kingdom was dying.

  “We’re getting close, Your Majesty,” Milo said.

  Queen Maribelle sat up straighter on her unicorn, ready to face her brother. Eleanor saw the fear on the queen’s face. This was her brother who she would have to fight in order to save her kingdom. In that moment, Eleanor was glad she hadn’t been dropped in as the queen. And part of her was happy she didn’t have a brother to deal with too.

  “How did you escape Franco?” the queen asked Eleanor, taking her attention off the state of the forest.

  “I busted the door with a fireball, and we flew until we couldn’t fly anymore,” she said.

  “I cannot believe he would do this. He knows the laws of our kingdom. Even though he could never rule, I still used his advice all these years,” the queen said.

  “Maybe he finally got jealous.”

  “I guess brothers can be silly like that,” the queen said. “Either way, I do not wish to hurt him today. He is the only family I have left.”

  Eleanor nodded, understanding the importance of family.

  “Your Majesty, the cottage is just up past that section of trees,” Milo said. “The prince is still in the cottage. But we don’t know if our plan worked. He may be expecting us.”

  As soon as Milo said that, a blue ball of fire raced toward Eleanor.

  20

  Eleanor’s eyes grew big and she barely heard Milo yell, “Duck!” The fire went straight over her head and into a tree. She screamed and flew higher. She looked around but couldn’t see anything.

  “Where’d that come from?” Eleanor shouted, flying down to the queen.

  “It can’t be,” Queen Maribelle said, looking around.

  “Can’t be what?” Mammot asked. He had come up by the queen after telling the dwarves to find cover. He was prepared for a fight, but not with magic.

  “I’ve only seen that magic come from one type of person,” the queen said. “Magicians.”

  “Magicians?” Eleanor couldn’t be hearing that right. The queen had banished them long ago, Elfie had told her.

  “Yes. My brother must have brought them back using the crystal,” she said.

  “Well, how do we get them to go away?” Eleanor shouted. She flew up a little higher to see if she could get an eye on the magicians. With no luck, she came back down.

  “We cannot,” the queen explained. “We just have to keep moving forward. I believe that like the wolves, this was just to frighten us.”

  “Um, no disrespect, Your Highness, but those wolves would have eaten us,” Mammot said. “My dwarves and I will turn back now. I knew there would be magic with the crystal, but I was not prepared for anything like this. This magic destroyed my mines once; I will not let it take all of my clan, too.” He turned to get the other dwarves when the queen called to him.

  “If you help me save our kingdom, you will be greatly rewarded,” the queen told him.

  “No reward is worth more than the lives of the dwarves,” he said.

  “But we are so close,” she said. “We desperately need your help.”

  “Our work here has been done. We brought you the giants and helped accompany you this far. You have arrived. We have no magic that will come against magicians or the crystal.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small drawstring bag. “Here are some light crystals. The fairies said it is jet-black near the cottage; you may need these. Farewell, Your Majesty.”

  With that, the dwarf turned and called his army back to him.

  “Where are they going?” Milo asked. “Why are they leaving?”

  “The dwarves do not tolerate any magic that is not their own, and the magicians were their dealbreaker,” the queen said. “They have done their duty and we must move forward.”

  “But we’ll be outnumbered!” Milo said. “We’re sure to lose. Half of your guards are across the forest and it’s just the ones we have left, you, me, and Eleanor. We have to get them back.”

  “You cannot bargain with a dwarf, dear. Let’s continue on.”

  Queen Maribelle, Milo, Eleanor, and the guards continued forward. Their plan was to surprise the prince, but he surprised them with the magicians. They moved toward the cottage. Eleanor waited for the magicians to strike again, but none came.

  “I believe you were right,” Milo said to Queen Maribelle. “The magicians were sent to scare the dwarves. The prince had to have known they would flee if too much magic was involved.”

  “They still may be waiting for us at the cottage though,” the queen said. “And the only thing that can combat blue fire is red fire.” She looked at Eleanor.

  “Great. So, I get to fight magicians,” Eleanor said sarcastically.

  The cottage came into view and Eleanor’s heart raced, her stomach growled, and she began to sweat. The last time she was here, she was with the only best friend she had ever had, Elfie. Eleanor wasn’t sure if the last chapter would end as soon as the crystal was saved or not. If that happened, she would never see Elfie again. Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

  “I will go first,” the queen said. “He is my brother, after all.”

  “Maybe you should send a guard in first, to make sure the magicians or wolves aren’t waiting for you,” Milo suggested.

  Two guards stepped forward and the queen put her staff up to stop them. Eleanor waited for her to jump down from her unicorn, but the queen charged at the back door to the cottage while on her unicorn. The unicorn lifted its front legs and beat the door open. Without hesitating, the queen stormed the cottage. Milo and Eleanor flew behind her and the guards followed closely.

  When Eleanor and Milo entered the cottage, they saw the queen raise her staff and tap it three times on the ground. Suddenly, a green glow appeared in the top of the staff. She was channeling the power of the crystal.

  The prince was standing in the doorway of the main room.

  “Sister, you have come to save me!” He threw himself at her feet.

  “You lie, brother. You took my crystal for your own gain,” the queen said sternly. “Where is it?”

  “Wha—what are you talking about, sister?”

  “I will ask you only one more time before I have my guards remove you and place you in the lowest dungeon. WHERE IS MY CRYSTAL?”

  Suddenly, there were two loud popping sounds, and blue fireballs stared flying toward the queen. Quickly, and without even thinking, Eleanor shot fire at both of the balls, causing them to disintegrate.

  “You will never get it back, sister,” the prince said, jumping back up to his feet.

  The fireballs kept coming and Eleanor tried to keep up. Milo flew to the queen and Eleanor saw her whisper something to him. He flew into th
e other rooms to search for the crystal. The prince knew they were coming; he wouldn’t have it in his pocket now. He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

  The queen tapped her staff on the floor again and the prince reappeared.

  “You forget, brother, who the real power in this kingdom belongs to. As long as I am near the crystal, its power is mine.”

  “You forget that I have turned at least half of your kingdom against you,” he responded, spitting at the ground. “They wish to bow to me.”

  “Not even the servants in the dungeons will bow to you once I get you back to the castle, Franco.”

  Eleanor continued to fight the magicians, but she was taken aback when she heard howling. It was getting closer.

  “Your Majesty! The wolves,” she cried.

  “They’re hungry, sister. Very hungry. And they only listen to me,” he said, laughing.

  “Give me my crystal, Franco.”

  Eleanor could hear the wolves coming up the porch. She turned to see them and the guards coming behind them. They were outnumbered. She flew outside, hoping to get the magicians to follow her. Milo could never find the crystal if the fight was inside the cottage.

  Blue fireballs whipped by her head as she flew up into the trees. The fight would be a lot easier if she could see the magicians, Eleanor told herself. Just then, she remembered that she could be invisible too. She put her hood up and, just like that, she was gone. She flew low into a tree by the back door. She needed to get the wolves outside too. She shot fire to get their attention, but her sleeve was hit by a blue fireball and her aim went askew. She didn’t notice until after she put her sleeve out that she had started the back of the cabin on fire. Milo was in there. The queen was in there.

  21

  “Milo!” Eleanor shouted through the front door.

  Suddenly, everyone came running out of the cottage. It was chaos. Eleanor couldn’t see where anyone was because of the smoke. She could hear the wolves howling and shouting, but that was it.

  She had forgotten about the magicians and jumped when she felt someone come up behind her. A hand covered her mouth so she wouldn’t scream. She turned her head a little and realized it was Milo.

  “You need to stop doing this, you know,” she said.

  “Well, stop getting stuck in trees.”

  “What do we do now? I can’t see anything.”

  “We have to wait for the smoke to clear,” he said.

  “We can’t just leave the queen helpless!” Eleanor said.

  “She’s not helpless; she has guards and some magic to keep them at bay.”

  The blue fireballs started again, and Eleanor put her hood back up. While the magicians thought she was still in the tree, she and Milo flew down by the main battle. Once they made it through the smoke, they saw the queen summoning more magic from the crystal into her staff. As long as the queen could stay close to it, she could use the crystal’s power, regardless of who was holding it.

  “I want my crystal. This is your last chance. Really this time. I have a girl with fire power, and I will have her blast you into pieces,” the queen said.

  “So much for not wanting to hurt him,” Eleanor said under her breath.

  The wolves were growling and had the queen surrounded. The guards were closing in on the circle as well. Prince Franco had all of the guards enchanted now, and they were cornering her. Eleanor looked around, hoping to find something that would help, and that’s when she saw it. Glowing, the crystal sat in a tree on the other side of the cottage. Eleanor started to fly when the hood on her cape caught on fire. Another blue fireball.

  “Dang it,” she muttered, patting it out. It was completely charred.

  She had to get to the crystal, but it was too high for Eleanor to fly. She had already used a great deal of energy. Plus, the magicians were watching her. She tried to find Milo, but he had disappeared into the battle, helping the queen.

  Just then, Eleanor heard a faint sound coming toward her, high up. She saw huge wings. Wings that filled the gaps between the tops of the trees.

  “The owls!” she yelled. “And their eyes aren’t green!”

  An owl swooped down and Eleanor jumped on. She had finally gotten used to flying with her own wings, but this was crazy. Her stomach did flips. She felt the air rush over her and grabbed the feathers a little tighter. She was still afraid of heights, after all.

  Eleanor bent down and whispered something to the owl. She couldn’t be sure, but it seemed like the owl nodded in agreement and did a full flip in the air to change directions. Eleanor was sure she was about to fall off, so she wrapped her arms around the owl’s neck. She closed her eyes to regain her composure and when she opened them seconds later, they were headed straight for the crystal.

  For a moment, Eleanor cheered herself on like she would all of the heroines in her books. She knew for certain that all she had to do was return the crystal and she could make it back to Elfie. She wasn’t even worried about making it home; she knew that would come. She just needed to see her best friend, to make sure she was okay and to say a proper goodbye.

  The owl let out a screech as blue fireballs started to fly again. The magicians saw the crystal too, and Eleanor heard the popping. It was a race to the crystal, and Eleanor knew she had to make it there first.

  Luckily, Eleanor was riding an expert flyer. They circled the tree until she was able to grab the crystal. She tucked it into her coat, and they dove straight to the queen. The bird dropped Eleanor off.

  “Can you keep the magicians distracted long enough for me to get this to the queen?” she asked the owl.

  Again, the owl nodded and soared straight into the air.

  Eleanor ran toward the mob of people and creatures fighting. She caught the queen’s eye and pulled all of her energy into flying. Just a few more seconds and this would be over, she told herself.

  Just as her wings started to give out, she reached the queen. She pulled the crystal out of her pocket and handed it to the queen.

  Prince Franco yelled and the wolves charged, but it was too late. The queen placed the crystal into her staff, and a green flash blasted through the sky. The animals fell back and their eyes returned to black. The guards pointed their spears at the prince and the queen spoke.

  “I asked you for my crystal and you lied to me. I will have mercy on you because you are my brother, but you will be banished from this realm, along with the magicians,” she said. She tapped her staff and the prince disappeared. “Let’s go home,” she ordered.

  Milo and Eleanor flew together, and Eleanor wished she could just sleep for days. Then she remembered Elfie.

  “We have to get back to Elfie. I have to know if she’s okay,” Eleanor said.

  “I’m sure the queen will want a word with us first,” Milo said.

  Eleanor was afraid of that. In most fairytales, once everything was restored, the queen or king gave the rewards and the story was over. She wouldn’t have a chance to say goodbye to Elfie.

  “Well, I’m going home,” she said. “I will meet you back at the castle.”

  “I need you at the castle first, my dear.” The queen had snuck up behind them.

  “But I need to check on my friend, please.”

  “I have summoned her to the castle. She will be there waiting,” the queen replied.

  Eleanor let out a sigh of relief, and they headed back through the forest. As the queen passed through, the trees began to glow. The forest came back to life.

  22

  Inside the throne room, the queen took her throne and everyone in the room bowed.

  “Thank you all for your service to the kingdom,” she said. “You will all be rewarded with rubies and the sweetest treats. You may all go back to the village and the mines.” Everyone turned to leave, and she called Eleanor aside.

  “Thank you, my dear, for returning my crystal to me. You saved this kingdom and it will be forever in your debt,” she said. “You will find your friend in the third door on
the right.”

  Eleanor bowed quickly and ran toward Elfie’s room. She swung the door open and found her friend sitting in an armchair reading the book Eleanor had taken from the library. It seemed like decades ago that she was there.

  “Well, hey there,” Elfie said.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Eleanor began to cry.

  “Oh, enough with the tears. I never get to finish out the adventures.” Elfie shrugged her shoulders.

  Eleanor started to feel weird. This was it. The last chapter; the happily ever after. She ran up to Elfie and hugged her.

  “I have to go now,” she said. “I will miss you.”

  “Yeah, same. Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll return the library book you stole.” Elfie winked. “See you later, Eleanor of America.”

  The room started spinning again and everything got dark. She had done it. Eleanor spun until she landed on her couch. When she opened her eyes, Eleanor was sitting on her couch, between her parents, just as she was before she left. Only this time, she was on the last page of the story.

  “Would you like to read the next one?” her father asked.

  “No, thanks, I think I’ve had enough adventure for the day,” she said, closing her book. She headed to her room, and on her way, she heard something crinkle in the pocket of her nightgown. She reached in and pulled out a deep purple leaf. She smiled and tucked it into the book.

  The end

  Coming soon:

  Book two in Eleanor Mason’s Literary Adventures

  City of Gold

  Eleanor Mason can travel through books. She owns a magic book given to her by her father. This time, she finds herself in a city turned to gold, by the evil imp, R. She knows that in order to return to her bedroom back home, and hopefully before lunch, she has to solve a riddle.

  The evil imp shall unleash the gold

  The news shall travel to the enchantress of old