Sora

21: Trapped

2011-08-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Before I start, I just to mention a small change that I made in episode 20 toward the end. Justin was to have kicked in the door to the warehouse, however, upon planning the next episode, I realized that I needed the door intact (you'll see why soon enough)! So, just a few sentences have been changed on the 2nd to last paragraph.

Justin stood awkwardly next to the door as Sora and Witold had their reunion. Sora was acutely aware of Justin's presence didn't know whether to question Witold, hug him... or kiss him. As she approached him, her stomach fluttered with excitement. Oddly enough, she had missed him over the last few weeks. That was a feeling she didn't expect to ever feel for him.

Heat spread over Sora's face, and after a brief hesitation, Sora closed the distance between them, and hugged Witold. His embrace was strong; stronger than she thought it would be. Being away from him since their new connection, Sora had forgotten that Witold had... changed... how he had, matured. She pulled back and met his gaze. The light from the door was dancing off his eyes.

"How did you find me?" Sora whispered. "Why are you here?"

Before Witold could answer, Justin tripped, knocking a metal wrack full of books to the floor. "Sorry," he said, clearly embarrassed. He wasn't sure what to do with himself and where he stood with Sora, and now she was in the arms of another man... er, Kiswan. Justin stepped forward awkwardly, offering his hand to Witold. "I'm Justin," he said.

Witold merely glanced down at it, then back up at his face puzzled. Instead, Sora reached out and shook Justin's hand to show him how to do it.

"How dare you touch her!" Witold said.

"Witold!" Sora pleaded. "Please! He is my friend!"

"What is he trying to do?" Witold seethed. "Doesn't he know that you are promised to me?"

The door slammed shut interrupting Witold's rant, and through the little window toward the top of the door, Sora could see Cartwright peeking in. She ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was locked.

"What is going on?" Witold seethed.

"I don't know," Sora said as she walked back to him. Justin began examining the steal door. It was heavy, and well made.

Witold pulled Sora to the side and asked, "Who is this human? Why are you with him?"

Sora knitted her eyebrows together. "He is my friend, and and he is helping me! Did you expect me to do this all by myself?"

"Well, that is why Leo sent me here, to help you." Witold pulled away and walked toward a window at the opposite end of the building. Sora followed. The window was reinforced with bars.

"I didn't know that you would be coming to help me Witold." Sora reached for his arm, and turned Witold to face her. "I was told that I would be on my own."

"Jess tricked me though. How do you know that he isn't going to do the same?" Witold asked. "Jess knew so much about this... Justin." The resentment was clear in his voice. "She seemed to think that he was, courting you." His jaw clenched together.

Embarrassed, Sora's face turned red again. She reached for Witold's face and said, "He is not courting me, nor I him. He has been my only ally here! From day one, Jess was trying to find a way to take me away."

Witold pulled away, clearly hurt that I had bonded with another male. "But how do you know for sure that he isn't in on the plan?"

"Because..." Witold was balling up his fists with his eyes narrowed in irritation.... "Witold! Because, he is one of us!"

Witold snapped out of his emotion. "What? How can this be?"

"Can't you see the resemblance?" Sora asked. "He told me all about his ancestors and how there is a legend that is passed down from generation to generation about another race called the Kiswan. He is part of that line."

"What does this mean?" Asked Witold. "This would make him the closest to the true royal blood line."

Sora looked over at Justin and said quietly, "I do not know. We need to take this before the counsel."

Witold seemed bothered by the situation. Sora sensed that he was thinking about whether or not Justin was entitled to the throne.... would he be more eligible to partner Sora? Butterflies fluttered in Sora's stomach at the thought. She really had grown to like Justin. She just wasn't sure in what way she likes him.

"Well, the counsel will have to wait." Sora said, want to distract Witold from his thoughts. "We have to finish this quest, or else there won't be a kingdom to rule."

20: Confusing Feelings

2011-05-04T00:30:00.000-07:00

Witold sat in a small windowless room, on a flimsy metal chair with his hands patiently in his lap. The walls were made of light stone blocks, which gave the room a cold feeling. There was a metal door with a small window toward the top. Witold was told that this was where he would be staying while in the human realm, all though there was no bed.

He stood up and walked to the door. He reached for the door knob to ask Jess how long until Sora would be back, when he realized that there was not a handle. The only thing there was a circular plate. The door must have opened from the outside only. Witold pressed his face up against the glass window to try and see Jess. She was no where to be seen.

Witold had played off the stories about humans as a story to scare little Kiswan into doing what they were told. If you didn't do what was expected, then the humans would come and get you. Even Jess seemed to tiny and harmless, that he immediately put all thought of dangerous humans out of his mind... until now. He began to pace the room looking for a way out. He was not going to get this far and lay down. If tiny little Jess could make him feel so comfortable, then turn around and lock him up, what might she have done to Sora?

That thought stopped him in his tracks. He hadn't thought about that. Was Sora alright? He pulled the stone out of his pack and cradled it in his hand like it was a delicate flower that was beginning to wilt. The glow that came from it was brighter than it had ever been. Sora had to be close! But what if something bad had happened to her, and the stone was left behind?

Picture Source

He marched over to the door and began to pound on it. The sound echoed through the entire building, but no one seemed to be around. Where had Jess gone? What was she going to do with him? She was so tiny that he could have lifted her with one hand and tossed her aside.

The turmoil inside was alarming to Witold. He had never had such hostile feelings toward anything. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had to break free! He began pacing again as he felt his adrenaline building up. Unsure of what he was doing, Witold walked up to wall next to the door and kicked it with all of his might.

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As they waited, Sora and Justin sat on the tailgate of his truck. The wind had begun to pick up, and in the distance they could see a brown haze. The trees put off a fragrance that permeated the air, showing off its lush healthy foliage. Had it not been for an odd twist in events for the day, Justin would have been completely content. He had never met a girl like Sora before. She was so down to earth, and exotic. Her drive alone was an intriguing feature about her. She never seemed to stray from what she was supposed to be doing. He admired that about her. Ever since Sora had seen her friend Witold, she hadn't said much at all. She seemed to be thousands of miles away, yet she sat right next to him.

Even her sweet aroma trumped that of the lush trees in whose shade they waited. Justin leaned back in order to pull an apple from the ice chest. His heart pounded with excitement as he sat back up. In the split second it took to retrieve the apple, he acted upon impulse. Justin quickly put his arm around Sora.

She removed her attention from the gravel road and looked Justin directly in the eyes. They seemed to glow, with the flecks of gold adorning the beautiful brown eyes. Before she could say anything, Justin leaned in, his cheeks flushing... the sun must have gotten hotter... He paused slightly...

Jess's voice could be heard shortly before it cut out completely, followed by the purr of her little car. Sora hopped off of the tailgate and dashed through the trees only to see the tail lights of Jess's little blue car.

"Justin!" Sora called back toward the truck, "She left! Let's go get Witold!"

Justin slowly slid off of the tailgate and whispered to himself, "Right... Witold." He wondered why he felt like Witold was more than just a friend to Sora.

Sora was apparently impatient, because she ran back toward the truck, nearly bumping into Justin. "Let's go in!"

"Wait! Hang on!" Justin couldn't help but smile at Sora's percistence. "We need to go in slowly and quietly to make sure no one else is in there. The last thing we need is for the mayor to call the police on us for trespassing."

"Trespassing? What's....." Sora was interrupted by Justin.

"Trespassing is when one person goes in another person's house our yard without asking first." Justin crouched down next to a bush in order to observe the building.

Justin looked up at Sora, "Well, come on! You don't want to be seen!"

Sora obediently crouched down as well. "How long do we have to wait?"

"Well, we need to make sure that Jess is not coming back." Justin took a bite of his apple and chewed then swallowed. "We need to give it at least ten minutes." Another bite..... "Then we'll go in."

Sora sighed and leaned against a tree.

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Sitting across from Justin, Sora had time to reflect on what had just happened. She knew that she liked Justin, but something about the feelings felt so wrong. She absentmindedly picked the bark off of a stick. She wanted nothing more than to choose a partner that she loved, not just the partner that she was told to partner with. Something strange had happened just before Sore had left the Kiswone Nation. It was unsettling, and she had tried as hard as she could to push it out of her mind.... until she actually saw Witold riding in Jess's car.

Needless to say, Sora was very grateful for the distraction that prevented Justin from kissing her. She had to focus on her task at hand. If she didn't succeed, it wouldn't be very long before no one would be able to fall in love.

Sora timidly said, "Justin, I..." she stopped, "I can't," was all she could get out.

"Why?" Justin's voice sounded truly hurt.

"I don't know...I just have to focus on my quest." Sora tossed the stick aside and stood up.

Justin remained squatting down, giving himself time to think. "Well, I suppose, now that your friend is here, you won't be needing my help."

Sora was very confused at the change in Justin's tone. Humans were very sensitive beings... even if Justin had Kiswan blood running through his veins.

Justin interrupted his thoughts, "Look, forget it...we can go now."

He climbed the fence and turned around expectantly waiting for Sora to follow. Once she was over, Justin looked back and forth, and began to stealthily walk toward the building. Before he could take two steps, they heard a loud crash come from within. Both Sora and Justin forgot about being sneaky and sprinted, closing the distance between them and the building much faster. Justin tried the doorknob, and oddly enough, it was unlocked! He turned the knob, and pulled the door open, trying to see inside through the dim lighting.

Sora stepped through the doorway first, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the sudden darkness. There was not one light on, and there were not any windows in the large room. Sora glanced down each wall, and found a short hallway scattered with broken cinder blocks. Emerging from the hallway was Witold, a fierce look in his eyes.

19: Planning a Break Out

2011-04-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

King Otto sat in his throne room patiently listening to the complaints and concerns of the villagers. He had just finished listening to a Kiswan from the neighboring village of Dulder express his concerns about his crops. The Kiswan's name was Nule. He farmed tuber roots that the Kiswan called poppers. The poppers were a staple in the Kiswone Nation. Most meals that were fixed, were fixed with the poppers in mind.

Nule's dress was simple. He wore a long pant and no shirt. His coppery skin was smooth and well muscled from plowing and harvesting over the years. His only sign of aging was in his face, where wrinkles garnished his face, and his eyes twinkled with years of wisdom. He was worried about the earth soil, because it was dry and without nutrient. Nule had tried to call on the earth core to replenish the earth soil, but nothing came.

Otto knew that if the nutrients were not replenished, then the poppers would not be able to grow. He had promised to go and see for himself after mid day sup.

The problems throughout the kingdom were all the same. It appeared that the Kiswan were losing their power, and Otto did not know how to fix the problem.

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Justin and Sora stepped outside into the warm sun. It was ten o'clock in the morning, and already, the temperature was nearing seventy degrees. Sora closed here eyes and pointed her face at the sun. The raise penetrated her skin, giving her goose bumps all over her arms and legs. She smiled and headed down to Justin's truck.

Justin hurried ahead and opened the door for her. She hesitated, but climbed into the truck. "Thank you. What do we need to do before we leave?"

Justin shut the truck door and walked around to his side, while getting in, he said, "We have to get gas in the truck... so it can run for a long time, and we have to get some food at the store," he paused, "so we don't have to stop very often."

Sora turned and looked out the back window. There was a red box in the back right under the window. Justin had dumped all of the ice from his freezer into it, forming a layer around the six cans of Coca-Cola inside.

"So if we put drinks and food into that little box, they will stay cold?.. even in this sun?" Sora doubted the theory. She smirked and sniggered at the thought. "But the sun gets so hot here!"

"You'll see." Said Justin. "We will get even more ice at the store. It should stay frozen in their for at least the day, and then some."

He put the truck into drive and headed toward the Farmer's Country Market.
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Witold sat in the passenger seat of the tiny car while the human, Jess, talked non-stop. She talked about her 'boyfriend,' and her 'job.' She had an awful lot to say... about everything.

The one thing that kept Witold in his seat was the stone that he held in the palm of his hand. Its glow began to brighten with each mile they drove, until finally they drove into a 'city,' and the stone was warm to the touch and growing even more brightly.

There were homes everywhere, with cars and humans walking along the 'road.' Some huge buildings, nearly the size of the feasting hall were everywhere. Witold wondered what important humans lived in those buildings.

Witold pointed at a store and asked, "Is that where one of your kings live?"

Jess laughed out loud, "No, that is a store.... where we buy things?"

Witold still looked puzzled.

She sighed, "When we need something, like food, we go into that store with money and exchange for the food."

"Oh! Can we go in there?" Witold was excited about going into a store and buying anything you need!

"No." Jess glanced away, "We are going to go to Sora, remember? We are almost there, we just have to go to the place she is staying."

Jess' instructions were to take Witold to a warehouse north of Roswell. She wasn't to stop anywhere. Cartwright was sure that if Sora knew that another one of her people were captured that she would come looking for him, and they could capture her too. Jess' heart pounded with excitement as she passed a busy gas station.

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Sora had been amazed at how ingenious the humans were with preserving food. Some food was put in cans and sealed. It would keep like that for years! After they paid for the food, they made their way on to the next adventure... the gas station.

Justin wanted to show Sora how to fill his truck with gas. He put a plastic card into a slot on the machine, and pushed a few buttons. The machine beeped, and Justin opened the hole on the side of his truck, pulled off the nozzle, and inserted it into the hole. He pulled the lever back and she could hear the liquid rushing into the gas tank.

"Its like feeding it!" Sora had exclaimed.

"Kinda!" Justin laughed.

Sora walked back around to the passenger side of the truck. She leaned against the truck to watch the cars drive by while she waited. Looking down the road, she saw a little blue car coming their way. It had to have been Jess' car. She watched as the car approached, and was shocked to see a human looking an awfully lot like Witold. Sora's heart thumped, and her stomach fluttered uncontrollably.

"Justin!" She ran back around the truck to where Justin was putting the nozzle back on the machine. "I just saw Jess drive by!"

"Okay," She's probably just going to work.

"No! She had Witold in the passenger seat!"

"Who is Witold?" Justin asked coolly.

"He is my... err, he is a Kiswan!" She looked down in thought. "But how did he get here?" she said more to herself than to Justin.

"Someone came with you?"

"No! I came alone," Sora said. "I don't know why he would be here.... but we have to go and get him! Who knows what Jess and Cartwright are planning to do with him!"

Justin grabbed his receipt and got back in the truck. "Let's go then! Let's see if I can catch up to her."

Sora hopped back into the truck, and Justin was pulling away before she even had the door shut!

He pulled onto the street and sped after Jess's car. "If they have turned off onto another road, then we might not be able to find them." Justin was leaning forward and weaving in and out of traffic, and after a few minutes said, "Hang on... is that her car?"

Ahead was the little blue car. "Yeah! It is!" Sora sat up as if she could will the truck to catch up faster by leaning forward.

"Wait a second," Justin said. "I wonder..."

Sora turned suddenly toward Justin, "Wonder what!"

"I have heard rumors, that Cartwright has some property north of town. He keeps it chained off, with plenty of security. I bet that is where she is taking him. He most likely won't get away if they get him in there."

"Well what are we going to do?" Sora asked.

After a few minute pause, Justin broke the silence. "I think I have an idea." He slowed way down, in order to back away from Jess' car. Once her car went over a small hill, he turned off of the road, onto a road made of dirt.

Justin sped the truck down the road heading east. A line of trees followed along the road on the left, and a farmer's crop spanned out to the right. The line of trees began to get thicker the further Justin drove down the road.

"Where are we going?" Sora was anxious, and it was obvious.

Justin slowed down, and pulled into a group of trees on the left hand side of the road. "Cartwright has a reputation of being somewhat erratic and crazy."

"Yeah, you mentioned that already."

"Well, he owns some property out here in the country. Some friends of mine and I would sneak out here to spy on him." Justin pointed through the trees. "He has a warehouse in there. He built it to house aliens when he would catch them."

"What?" Sora jumped out of the truck and peered through the trees.

Sure enough, on the other side of the six foot chain link fence, was a giant building. It stood about one fifty feet away from the fence, and sure enough, Jess' little blue car was pulling up at that moment. Sora wanted a closer look, and she began to approach the fence.

"Sora, come back." He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "We don't want her to know that we are here, or else we won't be able to rescue him."

"I want to see him!" Sora tried to pull her arm free, but Justin pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her in order to contain her.

"Shhh! Or they will hear you!" He knelt down with her and nodded toward a small opening between the trees. "You can see through here." Justin let go of her, and watched as she peered through the trees.

She watched as Witold got out of the car and stretched his long legs. Justin noticed Sora's reaction as the Kiswan looked around and hesitated to follow Jess into the warehouse. Sora's full attention was on him. She seemed to have forgotten that Justin was there. Her eyes followed him until he had disappeared into the warehouse.

She seemed to snap back to reality, because she stood up and began pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do?" She paused to look at Justin who was still kneeling on the ground. "How are we going to get him out of there?"

Justin stood up and moved to the truck. Leaning up against it, he said, "Well, my friends and I used to come out here to see if old Cartwright had anyone locked up in there. Some of the younger kids thought that he performed experiments on regular humans that he accused of being an alien."

At that, Sora stopped pacing, and her cheeks paled. "Experiments? What kind of experiments?"

Justin opened the cooler that was full of the fruits and vegetables that they had bought for their trip east and pulled out two cans of coke. "I don't believe he ever did any experiments. I think he just tied them up and interrogated them." He handed a can to Sora who cracked it open and took a long gulp.

Coughing because of the carbonation, Sora said, "So, do you have a plan?"

"Why yes, I do!" Justin took a sip of his soda. "We just have to wait for Jess to leave."

"You think she will leave him in there all alone?"

"I most certainly do. She isn't one for sticking around." Justin said. "We just need to be patient."

Time passed slowly as they ate some snacks and waiting quietly in the shade of the trees. Sora was to pensive to talk much. She was thinking about all of the questions that she would ask Witold. She even wondered how their reunion would be. She felt somewhat guilty for befriending Justin, yet, at the same time, she felt guilty for thinking of Witold. What a confusing day.

18: Interception

2011-04-04T21:43:00.000-07:00

This is a story being told in chapters, or episodes. If you are knew to the blog, then feel free to start at the beginning of the story! Episode 1, An Introduction.
Feel free to follow this blog, and share it with your friends!

"Jess, I have a job for you." Whispered Jess' Uncle into the phone.

"What? I can't hear you," Jess felt for the volume button on her phone and clicked it twice, "why are you whispering over the phone?"

"Don't worry about it... just listen Jess!" Cartwright's tone was urgent and slightly crazed. "I have a job for you!"

"But I'm already watching Sora. If I go anywhere, I'll most likely lose her." Jess hated to take orders from her uncle, because he always made her do the work.

"Listen Jess, it's important." He paused. "Every time there have been alien sightings, they have been seen in multiples."

"Uh huh?" Jess knew where this was headed. She began pacing back and forth in front of her living room window.

"I really doubt that Sora came here all by her lonesome." Cartwright cleared his throat and dropped his voice. "If we are going to prove that we have made contact with extraterrestrial beings, then we need more than one of them for proof."

"You want me to go and see if there are any others lingering in Carlsbad, right?"

"Yes! I love how you seem to be able to read my mind! Good girl! Now, where did you say that you found Sora?" Cartwright asked in his southern drawl.

Jess slumped down on the couch by the front window. She sighed and said, "I found her at the Carlsbad Caverns. She seemed to be on a tour there.... but to tell you the truth, she seemed like she had been sleeping in the caverns. She had a bed roll and a backpack....."

"Good!" Cartwright seemed to forget that he was trying to speak quietly. "Now get down to Carlsbad and look for someone that looks like Sora. I don't care if it takes you weeks, or even months! There has to be another one!"

"Fine!" Jess said, "but I'm sending you all of my receipts so you can reimburse me...gas included!" And she hung up the phone.

Jess looked across the common area of her apartment complex one more time toward Justin's front door. She sighed, then pulled herself off of the couch to get ready to head south to Carlsbad.

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Witold walked along a black path wondering where he was, and how he was going to find Sora. So far, his experience had not been very positive. The humans were an odd sort of species. He shook his head as he remembered what had happened in the cave.

Witold came out of the black tunnel and found himself in a large cave. There was a walkway with railings going around the big room of the cave. He was leaning next to one of the stalagmites when a human came rushing toward him looking extremely upset.

The human started yelling at Witold about how he would stunt the growth of the stalagmite by touching it with his bare skin. Witold was so fascinated with the appearance of the human that he tuned the lecture out.

This human had on a pair of tan colored pants... only the pants were short, leaving the bottom half of his legs bare. He had a matching shirt, and a hat made of the same material. On the bottom half of the human's legs was so much hair! Witold nearly laughed at how odd it looked. The human's skin was dull in comparison to what he was used to with the Kiswan, and as other humans gathered to watch the show, Witold noticed how many different colors of skin there was... and how short most of the humans were!

Witold must have had a smirk on his face, because the (apparently male) human said, "You think this is funny do you? Do you realize, that particular stalagmite will not get any bigger because you touched it?"

Witold brought his attention back to the situation. He stood up, and looked at the stalagmite with a slight frown. "Oh, no. I'm sorry, I didn't realize..."

"Oh, you didn't realize eh? Every tour group is instructed not to touch any of the formations!" The human was beginning to gain confidence in himself. "Do you think you are above the rules? You can do whatever it is you want?"

Witold clambered over the railing. "I'm sorry. I didn't know... no one told me not to touch anything. I just came through that opening." Witold pointed to a smaller cave behind him.

"What?" The human looked behind Witold. "There isn't an opening back there. Let me see your receipt."

"Receipt?" Witold must have seemed crazy to the humans. "What is a receipt?"

The human grabbed Witold by the arm and said, "Come with me. We'll get this sorted out!" and he escorted Witold up the path and into a tiny room that moved upward, toward the top of the cave. It was almost like that little room was flying.

The black path that Witold continued to follow wound down and around a mountain. The land was an odd beauty. It was dry, with interesting plants... some with poky spines on them (he found that out the hard way).

He pulled out his stone and noticed that it had a somewhat brighter glow! His heart thumped in excitement! That meant he was headed in the right direction!

As he was nearing the bottom of the mountain, a small blue contraption, that Witold had learned was called a 'car,' zoomed past him, heading up the mountain. It skidded to a halt and whipped around, stopping next to him.

A tiny human got out of the 'car' and studied him for a few minutes. She had white hair, and was very pale. She was about the size of a very young Kiswan, maybe comparable to an eight year old.

The obvious female human approached and asked, "Are you Sora's friend?"

Witold couldn't believe it! How easy! "Yes! Sora is to be my partner when we return to the Kiswone Nation! You know her?"

"Your partner eh?" The human seemed to be enjoying some private amusement. "Well, she doesn't seem to know that.. especially how she has buddied up to Justin."

"Justin?" Witold scrunched his eyebrows, "who is...?"

The human interrupted, "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, "I'm Jess. I'm Sora's friend. She has been staying at my place. She wanted me to come and get you. She is busy meeting with.... the... uh...leader of our nation. What's your name?"

"I am Witold." Something didn't completely seem right with this human, Jess, but he was not in a position to be picky about his help. "But how did Sora know that I was coming? She should not even know that I know where she is."

Jess seemed uncomfortable, like a baby Kiswan being handed to someone it doesn't know. "Oh, she knows..."

Jess motioned toward the car. "Well, shall we? We have an hour and a half drive ahead of us, I'd really like to get back to Roswell."

Roswell? Witold had no idea where or what this Roswell was. He hesitated momentarily as he eyed the car, then Jess, then the road. "You will take me to Sora?"

"Yes, yes! Get in." Jess opened her door and got in. She waved for him to go around, looking slightly annoyed.

Witold walked around the car, opened the door, and got in. He had to cram his long legs in to shut the door, and off they sped.

17: Disturbance in the Force

2011-04-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Witold had never been this deep into the jungle before a few days ago. It was semi-dark due to all of the trees towering up over his head. The jungle was the one place where he truly felt small. The green trees were covered in orange and green mosses, and the floor was littered with moist undergrowth. The jungle sounds were both soothing and alarming. He loved the sound of nature and the birds, but it startled him when he was so alone.

He was making his way toward the swimming hole, that Sora had used to learn to swim, for the last time before his escape into the human realm. Agatha had been teaching Witold how to swim. The water was so refreshing, and after he realized that he could float, Witold began to enjoy and embrace the water. He now understood the mechanics of swimming, but his knowledge would have to due, since he was set to leave that very night. He would have to swim up under the heavy waterfall and take the same path that Sora took through the cave.

It was midday. Witold pulled the stone out of his pocket to look at it once more. It did not have a hint of a glow. Who knows how far away Sora is by now. She has been gone for nearly three weeks. She could be anywhere at this point. He placed the stone back in his pocket as he arrived at the swimming hole. He slipped off his shirt and shoes, and waded out into the cool clear water. Little fish darted around Witold's legs as he eased himself into the water. The swimming hole was not large, so the bottom of the body of water began to slope down quickly. Today's swimming practice would consist of holding his breath. Witold had swam out close to the waterfall, and he could feel the current push down around him. He knew that it would not be easy to swim under that without being in the water for an extended period of time.

Looking across the water to the waterfall, Witold set his determination, took in an enormous breath, and dove under.

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Sora awoke with a start. She had trouble sleeping that night. She sat up and listened into the darkness of Justin's bedroom. His soft snores could be heard from the living room couch down the hall. Sora got up and walked into the little bathroom to relieve herself. She felt wide awake. It couldn't have been much past midnight. But the stirring she felt was part internal. It almost felt like someone was watching her, which seemed silly. It had to be the feeling of waking for no reason in the middle of the night. Unsettling.

She walked back across the soft creme colored carpet and peered out the window. The window looked out the front of the apartment. Sora jumped. She could see the blinds from Jess's apartment wide open. She could have been mistaken, but Sora was sure that she saw Jess duck away from the window as soon as Sora looked out.

Something was very off about that human. Sora didn't need Justin telling her that now. No matter where she and Justin went, one of them caught a glimpse of Jess. Unsure of how the humans do things, Sora gave Jess the benefit of the doubt, but when Justin went out without Sora, he instructed her to stay in the apartment and not to let anyone in. She didn't have any issues following those directions. She realized that humans could be very bazaar.

Sora left the window, walked to the bedroom door and quietly opened it. Walking down the hall, she tip-toed past Justin and entered the kitchen. She got herself a glass of water and sat down at the kitchen table.

There was something else that woke her, and now she was wide awake anticipating what it was... almost like it would knock on the door at any second. Jess may be watching her and Justin, but that was not what woke her. After all, little Jess was harmless really.

Justin must have heard Sora getting a drink in the kitchen because he came shuffling in looking bleary eyed. The dim light above the stove was on, and it was casting its glow across the kitchen. Justin sat down shirtless across from Sora. She hadn't decided how she felt about Justin yet. He was definitely easy to get along with. He was obviously attractive. She tried to keep her mind solely on the quest, but on occasions her mind would wander to Justin. It was moments like these that she would freely take in his appearance. She would think about how kind he had been to her.

"What are you doing up?" Justin interrupted her thoughts.

Sora's face grew hot with embarrassment over her lingering thoughts. "I don't know. I just woke up, and well, I don't feel like I can go back to sleep."

Justin locked eyes on Sora. Her embarrassment not gone; her heart fluttered. "Huh. I woke up a while ago, and have only been able to doze off."

"I looked out the blinds of your bedroom, and I am positive that I saw Jess watching the apartment."

"Yeah, I saw her too." Justin began rubbing his eyes. "I don't have a good feeling about it. She is getting weird. It is almost like she has become obsessed with watching us."

"It must be why I can't go back to sleep." Sora stood to refill her glass of water. "I can't think of any other reason. My senses must be on alert."

Justin stood as well and walked to where Sora stood peering out the back kitchen window. "Hey." He grabbed Sora's shoulders, making Sora look in his eyes. "We'll get out of here tomorrow. I've taken care of everything that I need to. Soon, Jess will be just a funny story to tell."

In that moment, Sora realized her vulnerability. She stood there looking at Justin and how willing he was to take care of her. A small smile spread across her face. She was grateful for his help. She'd be lost or who knows what else without his help.

Sora looked at the clock. "Well, it is only two in the morning. I'm going to try and sleep."

Justin, broke his contact with Sora, hesitated, and said, "Yeah, me too. See you in the am."

"G'nite." Sora called down the hall as she entered the bedroom and closed the door.

16: A Side Story

2011-04-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

I have been better now for nearly a week. I have a lingering cough, but for the most part, I am doing great. All of my sickness issues wound me up lagging behind in my class, so I have been spending extra time catching up. I still have plenty to do, but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
*************************************************************************************

Witold was hardly sleeping at night. All he could think of was Sora. Was she safe? Where was she? How long was she going to be gone? He wondered the village wishing he could help her. He performed his duties... or at least he thought he did. Many of his tasks went by in a blur.

Agatha had been watching Witold. She knew that he was fretting about Sora. After planning with Leo, Agatha decided to bring Witold in to inform him on Sora's quest. After all, in the end, he would be the only one able to help her. After searching the entire village, Agatha finally found Witold sitting in the most obvious place.... right in front of his home. She approached him quickly as to speak with him while he was alone.

"Witold." Agatha whispered forcefully. "Come with me, quickly."

Witold looked up at Agatha puzzled. "What? Why?"

Agatha sighed loudly. "Just come with me, it's about Sora."

At the name, Witold perked up. "Where are we going?"

"To the archives." Agatha stepped back as Witold stood. She then turned around and walked down the most deserted paths back to the royal home. Witold followed close behind and wondered why Agatha was being so secretive and why she was in such a hurry.

As they entered the royal home, Agatha turned toward Witold and held her finger to her mouth prompting him to be quiet. She scurried along the corridors, with Witold close behind. Things were starting to get interesting.

As they entered the archives, Agatha slowed down. For an old Kiswan, she could move pretty fast. She walked straight to the back where the old man sat.

"Leo, we're here." Agatha sat down in a soft chair and ushered Witold to sit next to her, while Leo slowly emerged from his private quarters.

"Excellent! Witold, it is good to see you. Thank you for coming." He sat looking at Witold, which made Witold shift uncomfortably.

"We need your help Witold," said Leo. "Sora needs your help."

"How can I help? I have no idea where she is!"

"She is in the human realm." Leo stopped to let Witold take in this information.

Witold was looking down at the floor. He stood up from the chair next to Agatha's walked, around the back of it, and leaned on the high back. He looked from Agatha to Leo, then back to Agatha.

"You are serious! How did she get there?" Witold's eyes were wide and filled with worry. "Does her father know that she is there?"

"No. No one knows where she is, except for Agatha and myself," stated Leo. "Have a seat please, Witold, this might take a few minutes to explain."

Witold walked back around and sat next to Agatha in the soft chair. Leo explained every little detail of the last few months to Witold. How Sora's quest came to be, and how it was being prepared for. Leo explained about the cave with the secret entrance. The whole while, Witold just silently listened.

Leo ended his account. "Sora needs your help to bring down the barrier. She is not going to be able to get back through on her own. You must go to her, and when the time is right, you will join the power that the two of you have together and bring down the barrier, thus restoring that energy to the earth's core."

"When do I need to leave?" Witold asked.

"In two days time. You will leave in the night, when the clouds are covering the sky from all heavenly light." Leo paused..... "You are going to have to swim to get to the cave."

"Swim!?" Witold's courage began to wain. "I have never been in water higher than my knees!"

Agatha exchanged a glance with Leo then said, "Not to worry Witold, I can help you learn enough to get you into the cave.... but it has to be you Witold. No one else will be able to get out of this realm and into the humans' world."

"How will I find her? She could be anywhere!" Witold was beginning to realize how difficult this task would be.

"I put a stone in Sora's pack. It contains earth power in it. Here is its sister." Agatha pulled out from a pocket in her dress, a stone that fits perfectly in the palm of Witold's hand. "This stone has the self same power as Sora's. It will glow as you draw nearer the other stone."

Witold took the stone and examined it closely. It looked like a regular bit of rock. Leo interrupted his thoughts. "We will get everything ready for your trip. In the meantime, Agatha will take you to the small water hole and teach you how to swim. You need to put a lot of effort into learning. This will be your secret quest. Tell no one where you are really going. You may tell them that you are heading for a neighboring village, but do not be specific."

After receiving more instructions, Witold left the royal home for his own. He had to get some supplies together in order to learn to swim. If there was one thing that Witold enjoyed out of all of this was the fact that he got to find and be with Sora. It took his mind off of the worry for the time being, and he set his mind to succeeding with his personal quest.

15: Just When You Think You Know Someone

2011-04-01T22:37:00.001-07:00

Justin had just re-bolted his door, just in case Jess decided to try and storm in. He did not like the way she left without a further argument or threat. When he was dating her roommate, she was always lurking around and trying to squeeze her way in. Her roommate ended up moving out because Jess claimed that Justin was really interested in her. Justin was never really sure what kind of threat Jess gave her roommate, but Justin was sure that is what broke them up. Ever since then, he had tried to steer clear of Jess Cartwright.

"Justin," Sora interrupted his thoughts. "I didn't leave my nation without any kind of financial support. It might not be the same as your currency, but it should help."

Justin took a seat next to her on the black leather couch. Sora was pulling a little pouch out of her pack. She pulled open the leather draw string and dumped out thick hunks of gold that were molded into uneven disks.

"Where did you get all of this!?" Justin was running his thumb over the heavy coin. "This has got to be worth a small fortune!"

"We mine them in one of the mountains in the Kiswone Nation," Sora waved her hand nonchallantly. "We use them as currency to sell our goods to one another."

"There is one mountain that all of this comes from?"

"Yes, we have not even needed to start looking into other mountains," Sora picked up one of the soft coins to run her own thumb over the top. "We recycle the same gold most of the time. There is a large store of it in one of the chambers of the castle. Some of it hasn't even left that room for centuries."

Justin was in awe. "This could be a very large case in getting the President of the United States to listen to you. My country is in so much debt that his ears will perk up at the sound of large nuggets of gold just sitting around in another nation."

Sora began to fill her pouch back up. "Will someone one buy these do you think?"

"There are a lot of people who would buy these up in a heart beat." Justin put the few coins that he was holding into the pouch. "But you don't want to sell these. We'll need these later on, as they are."

"Listen, you should stay here tonight. You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the couch...." Justin hesitated. "I don't think it would be wise to stay with Jess." Justin got up quickly and walked down a hallway. Sora thought she saw his cheeks go red. Once she realized why he had blushed, she blushed herself. Truth be told, Sora did feel a bit uncomfortable going back to Jess's apartment. She just couldn't get over the sickening feeling that something was not right.
***********************************************************************************
Justin had changed the sheets on his bed, and put some on the couch to finalize the arrangements. Their plan was simple. Justin would talk to his boss the next day telling him that he needed some time off, and his last few weeks of pay. The old man would see reason, after Justin smoothed over how long he would be gone. Luck was on Justin's side, since there was not much to be done until it was time to harvest the corn.

The old farmer should be able to get Justin his money by the next day. They planned on leaving that night. In the meantime, Justin and Sora would make preparations with food, and a route to get to Washington D.C.

With their plans finalized, Sora gave Justin a hug, thanking him for his help, and bidding him a good night. She entered his room to retire for the night. She was very grateful for his generous heart in helping her. She would be stranded without his help. As a female Kiswan, he could not help appreciating such a good human, or was it Kiswan... or both? As she laid in his bed waiting for sleep to wash over her consciousness, Sora thought of how Justin's short hair reflected the sunlight through his highlights. His dark eyes had the same flecks of sunlight in them as well. He was clearly a handsome Kiswan. Sleep enveloped Sora, and she dreamed of Witold, trying to get to her to help her.

***********************************************************************************
The sun had just risen, and Sora heard a distant, yet urgent knock on a door. Sora sat up in the bed. She heard a few thumps which may have indicated that Justin had fallen off of the couch when the knock sounded. She smiled at the image, but remained where she was. Something told her that it was not a good idea to go out into the living room.

Sora heard muffled talking for a few minutes, and finally silence.

A few minutes after the muffled conversation ended, Justin walked down to his bedroom, where Sora was staying. He knocked quietly, and when Sora invited him in, he entered looking extremely worried.

"That was the sheriff." Justin sat down at the end of the enormous bed.

"The sheriff?" Sora had not heard of a sheriff before.

Justin gazed up at her. "Oh right. A sheriff is a chief enforcer of the laws of the town. He basically answers to the higher government officials like the mayor."

"Oh, what did he want?"

"The sheriff was looking for you. He says that you are wanted for robbery... He claims that you stole a map of the mayor's when you were with him yesterday. The whole police force has been instructed to watch out for you."

"What?" Sora was shocked. "I didn't steal anything! I looked at his map, while he was comparing mine with his."

Sora took her map out of her pack and unrolled it. She had just then realized that Justin was holding a piece of paper in his hands.

"That is the same map in this picture," Justin handed the photo over to Sora to examine.

"How did he get this! Mayor Cartwright was taking pictures of it on his phone, but how did he get it printed out?"

Justin looked at Sora's map. "I don't know, but he is claiming that your map is his. He sent the mayor here, because Jess told him that she had seen you 'nearby.'"

"I think that you should keep that map well hidden. If Cartwright has the police involved, they will be back later with a warrant to search my apartment..." Justin paused and said, before Sora could ask. "A warrant is a piece of paper that says the police can search my apartment, no matter what."

Sora was surprised, "I can't believe the treatery that seems to be so common here!"

"Yeah, well that is how it is." Justin said matter of fact.

"Oh, yeah, they asked if you were here. I said no. I told them that my mother was staying for a few days. I don't know how long that will hold them off, but I suspect someone will be watching me."

Justin made breakfast for Sora, pancakes with syrup, which was utterly delicious. He then got ready for the day to head over to his boss' house to discuss his pay. The plan was for Sora to keep a low profile while he was gone. If anyone came knocking on the door, she was to remain silent until they left. If the person was starting to break in, she was to head out the back window and hide in the place he described to Sora. It seemed easy enough.

Nothing happened for many hours. Sora was just quietly making her way through the house. She was looking at every picture that Justin had, and every detail of his belongings. It was very interesting. He seemed to be such a simple person.

Her musings were interrupted by some rustling around the front door. Sora tip-toed up to the door to look out the peek-hole. She could see the top of Jess' head. The doorknob jiggled, as Jess tried to open the door. The next thing Sora noticed was a piece of lined paper being slid through the crack in the door. Sora waited until Jess was gone before removing the paper. She sat down and read the disturbing note.

"Sora,

You are making a huge mistake! My uncle is the only one around here that can help you. He knows the president personally, and he ensures that you will be safe with us. We are you friends, and want nothing more than to help you succeed! Please let us help you. If you don't come to us willingly, then we will have to come and get you. My uncle can either be your greatest asset, or your worst enemy. Chose carefully.

Love,

Jess xoxo"

The change in tone was enough to give Sora chills. What were these humans planning to do to her?

14: A New Plan

2011-04-01T22:37:00.000-07:00

Sora was not quite sure how the subject switched so quickly. Neither of them seemed inclined to let this one major commonality pass by. Sora began asking questions about Justin's family history. The stories, according to Justin have become somewhat legends passed down from one generation to another. After so many centuries without receiving any kind of contact from the Kiswone Nation, Justin's ancestor's began to believe the stories were just that. Stories.

During the first years of the human race, many Kiswan scouted the earth for new and interesting things. The kings wanted to bring to their land the most diverse plants and animals possible. While none of the Kiswan left to colonize other parts of the world, many would be gone for years at a time. When the first sinful act of murder was committed by the humans, the King of the Kiswone Nation made the most difficult decision ever faced by any of the race. To put up a barrier, hiding the Kiswone Nation from the human race. This decision was taken to the counsel of elders. Each of these wise-tellers had a son out of the nation on a quest. Even the King's eldest son, and heir to the throne was too far to be reached in time. These men of twelve made the decision to put up the barrier, barring these noble questkiswan from ever returning.

After hearing this account of Justin's legends, Sora was awe-struck. This is the same story told by the elders of the Kiswan, only from a different perspective. Sora was sure that Justin was the ancestor of one of these noble Kiswan. His ancient ancestor must survived by adopting himself into the human race. What was amazing to Sora was the fact that Justin's Kiswan genetics still seemed quite dominant.

By the time Justin finished his story, Sora was grinning from ear to ear. She was elated! "Do you know what this means?"

Justin looked utterly perplexed. "What do you mean? I have no idea what this means."

Sora continued. "You are either son of a noblekiswan, or son of the ancient king of the Kiswone Nation!" Justin still seemed slightly puzzled. "This could mean that you are the rightful heir to the throne this very day!"

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Justin stood up from his side of the fluffy couch. "I am NOT a king!" His face was glowing red.

"You might be." Sora's tone had hushed. There was no way she could trace the kingship line in her mind. She would have to look at the charts back in the Kiswone Nation.

She continued pensively, "Back when the barrier was established, the king was very distraught at the loss of his son, and heir." She looked Justin in the eyes. "The heir to the thrown is not just by being the eldest son. The heir is chosen by the fates. A king and a queen will have Kiswan after Kiswan until that heir is born...... I am the current heir....."

Justin had been pacing back and forth across the living room, but at this last comment, he stopped abruptly. "You are the heir?"

"Well, I was, until I met you." Sora picked up her glass and walked back into Justin's kitchen to fill it with more ice and water from the fridge dispenser, followed by Justin.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Justin exclaimed!

"No, if we trace your lineage back to this founding king of the Kiswone Nation, then you could possibly have right to the throne." Sora paused. "When the barriers were put in place, the king was forced to choose a new heir. Many of his offspring petitioned to be it. He finally chose a daughter that had shown promise, but was not a genuine match for the position. She is in my family line."

"So since the heir to the throne had to be altered, you are still the current heir." Justin said quietly.

"It is not that simple, Justin." Sora took a sip of her water. "Maybe the cause of the weakness in the barrier is due to the fact that the Kiswone Nation has not been lead by the one hundred percent correct heir to the throne!"

It was Sora's turn to pace back and forth. "I have got to find a way to contact my father! He'll know what to do! If you are the heir, then you will be able to help me bring down the barrier before the earth loses its power to reproduce the vegetation and provide for the life currently living here."

"You are serious?" Justin was sitting at the table in the kitchen cradling his forehead in his hands with his elbows resting on his knees. "I have no power to help you."

"We'll get there. I just need to find a pigeon so I can send my father a message."

Justin laughed. "Well, there are pigeons all over town! Good luck catching one!"

Sora approached Justin and knelt down in front of him. She pulled his hands away from his face and looked him in the eyes. "I won't force you to do anything that you don't want to do, Justin. But I need some help. I can't do this alone."

Justin began to get his calm composer back as Sora continued. "I still have to alert the world that there are other races among them. If I just bring down the barrier before they know about us, then there will be a major war, and that is what the Kiswone Nation was avoiding when the barrier was put in place."

Justin stood up and walked to the living room. He peered out the window and pulled the blinds down so that no one could see in. "Jess is back," he said. "I have to talk to you about her and her family."

"She has probably been looking for me. I should go let her know I am here." Sora moved toward the door.

Justin darted in front of her and blocked her path. "Sit down, I have to tell you about Jess."

***********************************************************************************
"Jess comes from a long line of believers in aliens. Her great-grandfather was one of the first to talk about being abducted when the 1947 spaceship supposedly crashed here. The whole family, ever since, has been on the hunt for aliens."

Sora scrunched her eyebrows. "So? Her and her aunt and uncle seem a little odd, but they want to help me get the word out."

"That's just the thing," Justin said. "I don't think they are at all interested in your story as being from this planet. If you knew them like the majority of Roswell does, you would know what I am implying. They want to get you put into some kind of weird hospital that they run, so they can perform tests on you. They have never been able to gain concrete proof of the abductions, and they will do whatever they have to do gain such proof....even if it is a lie."

Sora was speechless. She was still trying to process this information when a knock sounded on the door. Justin got up from his couch and looked out a little hole in the door. He had explained earlier that it was a peek hole. He turned to Sora and whispered, "Its Jess. You should hide. I'll tell her I haven't seen you."

This didn't sit well with Sora. Jess had been very kind to her, and maybe these stories were true, but she could not just disappear without explanation. "No, its okay. I want to speak with her about my changed plans."

"Changed plans?" Justin looked confused.

"You are going to help me then right? Because at this point, I have no one else to turn to, and you do have Kiswan blood in you!"

Justin sighed. "Alright."

The knock sounded even louder the second time. Justin unbolted the door and opened it. There was Jess, standing at the door looking extremely upset. "Have you seen my friend I was with this morn......" Jess had just looked in Sora's direction.

"What are you doing here?" Jess accused.

"Well, you didn't expect me to hang out at that court house all day did you?" Sora stood. This made Jess calm down. Sora was very tall, and could be extremely intimidating. "I took a walk, and ate my lunch in a corn field. Justin happened to see me, and he offered me a ride home. You weren't there, so he invited me in."

Jess glared in Justin's direction as if to read on his face if this was true. Logically, how would it not be true. Jess's history of paranoia was beginning to ebb its way out into plain sight.

"Oh, well you could have called me," she shot back.

"Jess, I just learned what a phone was today...." Sora was amused. "Anyway, Justin and I have been talking, and he has been planning a trip to the east coast. He said he would give me a lift in the direct of your president."

Jess's glare returned as she pierced daggers through Justin with her eyes. "Oh, I see, well I was planning on taking you."

"You were? I didn't even have a plan this morning."

Jess was not pleased with the way things were going. "Well, if you change your mind, I'll be across the lot. Some people just cannot be trusted." She whisked around and stormed back toward her apartment.

"I don't like the way that ended," said Justin. "We haven't heard the last of this. I'm sure she is on the phone with her uncle at this very moment."

"Well, what can they do?" Sora brushed Justin's worry from her mind. "So are you really up for taking me to the president?"

Justin sighed. "Yes, I will. But it will take a few days. I have to get the last of my pay from the farmer, he is kind of slow at paying me.

***********************************************************************************
Until next time!

13: Finally Learning New Things

2011-04-01T22:35:00.000-07:00

When Justin pulled his enormous truck into the parking lot, he and Sora walked toward the apartments. Sora noticed that Jess's car was not in her parking spot. She walked up to the door and tried the knob. Locked.

Justin was watching, and when Sora turned back around, he said, "Well, I'm done with work for the day. You can come in and wait for Jess to come back."

Sora's heart sped up. The offer made her nervous, but it was extremely hot outside, and she could use a nice comfortable place to sit down and wait for Jess... and the court house did not qualify for such a comfortable spot. Not with Mayor Cartwright lingering around, and his wife watching Sora's every move. (Sora was not unobservant--they both regarded her as what they thought she was, an alien).

"Okay, if it is no trouble." Sora responded.

Justin lead Sora down the sidewalk to where his apartment door was. He unlocked it with a key and let Sora pass through first.

She took in the entry room. It had an enormous over-stuffed black leather couch. Jess's couch was so much smaller than this one. Sora had arose that morning with a pain in her neck. This couch, looked completely welcoming. The rest of the room was scattered with books, and other things that Sora had never seen before. Justin had an enormous black device on the wall, just like Jess's. However, Sora had not been able to find out what it was.

Sora turned around to see Justin watching her as she looked around at everything. "You really aren't from around here, are you?"

Sora shook her head. "Everything here is so new, I don't even know what to think."

Justin walked past her. "Do you want anything to drink?.... um, water or something?"

"Water would be very nice, thank you." Sora responded.

"Have a seat on the couch, I'll be right out." Justin then went into the room the humans call the kitchen.

Sora heard clanking then the rush of water filling a glass. Justin brought out a glass of water with little cubes floating on the top. Sora brought the glass up closer to her face in order to see the contents a little bit closer. She glanced up as Justin drank deeply from his glass. As he drained the water, the little cubes clanged to the bottom of his glass. She poked at the little thing floating at the top of the water. It was cold. Freezing cold.

Sora asked Justin, "What are these?"

"Ice cubes....... frozen water," Justin added since Sora obviously did not catch on. "Come here, I'll show you.

Justin walked into his kitchen and showed Sora an enormous white box sitting up against a wall. It had two handles on it that were to open two separate doors. Sora recognized an identical piece of furniture in Jess' apartment.

"This is a fridge." Justin opened the bottom door. "It keeps food cold. Milk, cheese, eggs..... anything you want to be cold."

"Oh, I wondered about the milk that Jess served me this morning. It was very cold." Sora bent down to look inside. There were apples, grapes, carrots, and many other fruits and vegetables that the Kiswan enjoy.

Justin shut that door and opened the top door. "This is the freezer." He was looking very pleased to be giving Sora this tutorial. "This is where we make ice." Justin pulled out a little tray with little compartments.

"Look." Justin said. "I just filled this tray with water, after a few hours, it will turn solid. It will be ice, like in your glass." He pulled out another tray that had ice already in it. "See?"

Sora touched the ice. It was very cold. Sora then turned her attention back to her glass. She took a sip of the water, and drew a breath. It was so cold in fact that it gave Sora chills down her arms.

"Wow! This is so...... refreshing!" She then began to drink more deeply from her glass.

Justin said, "Look what else we keep in the freezer. He pulled out various containers of food. One was ice cream. "Let me show you a little treat that we have."

After dishing up the bowls of ice cream Justin lead Sora back out to the entry room where he sat down on one end of the couch with one foot tucked underneath him. Sora sat on the opposite side, looking down at the bowl and spoon in her hands. The bowl was very cold, it made Sora shiver. As she took a spoonful and put it in her mouth, nothing surprised her more than the wonderful taste of vanilla ice cream with swirls of fudge running through it.

Justin laughed at Sora's expression, and she found herself falling into a very comfortable conversation with someone she had just met. Nothing was ever this fun with Jess. Sora felt like her relationship with Justin was a natural one. They talked for a few hours about things that are human, before they returned to the Kiswone Nation.

12: Not So Completely Alone

2011-03-31T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sora didn't know a lot about human behavior at this point. She realized that the only humans that she had really interacted with at this point was Jess and her aunt and uncle. She wondered if all humans were as odd as these three.

Mayor Cartwright spent an hour comparing Sora's map with another map, like the one hanging on the wall in the entrance hall. Its rounded features enabled the viewer to see all of the land on the earth. Sora was amazed with how much land was really missing due to the barriers. Mayor Cartwright was eating up all of the information that Sora shared with him. He was so fascinated by Sora's map that he took out a small object and began holding it up to the map pushing a button over and over. Cartwright saw Sora looking at the device strangely and turned it around so that she could see it. An image of her map was engraved on the front.

Cartwright was obviously pleased to show Sora more detailed what the device was. "It is a cell phone, and it can take pictures... that is what I am doing with it."

"What is it for?" Sora asked taking the device from him.

"We are able to communicate with other people with it. It is a phone that can go everywhere!" Cartwright took the cellphone away from Sora and proceeded to push some buttons on the front of the device. He put it up to his ear, paused for a moment, then looking satisfied he handed it back to Sora. "Put it to your ear."

Sora did as she was told and heard an odd buzzing sound. She looked up at Cartwright and nodded encouragingly. Finally, there was an end to the buzzing...

"Hello?" A girl's voice answered. Sora did not respond. "Hello? Uncle Bill?"

Cartwright took the phone from Sora and put it back to his ear. "Jess, you can come in now. I was just showing Sora how a cellphone works."

There was silence for a moment, then Cartwright said, "Okay, I'll tell her. Okay, buh bye."

Cartwright pushed a button on his cellphone and placed it on his desk.

"Jess had to go back to her apartment for a little while. She has class at the University in an hour. She asked if you could hang out with me while she is there." Cartwright seemed elated at this development.

"Oh, well, I would like to walk around for a while." The last thing Sora wanted was to spend the day with this odd human. "I could come back here in a short while, if that is alright."

Cartwright seemed slightly hurt, but beamed anyway and walked her out to the entrance hall. He lead her over to his wife's desk and explained the plan. She opened a bag sitting at her feet and produced a small green piece of paper.

"Please dear, I know that you don't have any money with you," Janice held out the green money with a kind smile on her face. "You can get yourself something to eat and see some of the things that down town has to offer."

"Thank you, that is very kind." Sora took the money, realizing it would hurt Janice's feelings if she did not. "I will see you later then."

They waved her off and Sora walked out the doors. Cartwright had given her some basic directions to get to an alien museum and to a few restaurants close by. Apparently restaurants were places where humans went to eat different kinds of food.

Sora knew that she wouldn't be hungry for some time, so she decided to just walk for a while. She wanted to find some quiet place to think, away from Roswell. She turned onto Main Street and began walking toward the south. The sun was beginning to warm up nicely. She closed her eyes and pointed her face toward the sun. The heat rays seemed to emanate right through her body, warming every inch. Sora had always loved the sun, and the warmth that it brought.

Sora continued walking. She walked across other streets that were controlled by green, red, and yellow lights. The metal contraptions.... cars had to follow the lights. Sora just walked, and those cars would stop if she was crossing the street. Some of the humans didn't appear to be too pleased to stop for her.

Sora noticed all kinds of different humans. There were scroungy looking humans, and very shiny polished humans. Some had very dark skin, some had brown skin, and some had white skin. She was amazed at how different many of them look! As Sora was walking toward another stop light, she saw a male human walking toward her. He didn't seem to even notice her, but he was talking to himself, as he walked. He held a similar device like Cartwright had, but it was not up to his ear. Sora did notice a shiny black bug of some kind sitting on top of his ear. How bazaar!

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Sora had walked quite a ways. She even passed where Jess's apartment was. But she came to a street that was named McGaffey Street. She decided to walk west on that road. She still hadn't found a quiet place to sit and think about what she wanted to do next.

She walked for some time and finally came to a place where there was not as many buildings and houses. She found some tall crops of corn growing and decided to find a nice shady spot to sit inside the field. When she found a small clearing in the field, she sat down and nibbled on some of the dried fruits that were in her pack. Sora felt finally alone and comfortable so she laid back and stared up at the clouds as they passed over her head.

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Sora had no idea how long she had been lying there in the corn field when she heard some footsteps making their way through the field. They were obviously human foot steps; she could tell by the steady, stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp.

Sora sat up quickly and gathered her things together. Just as she was putting her map back into her pack when a tall human male walked into Sora's little clearing. She had to look twice before she realized that this was Jess's neighbor Justin.

"What are you doing out here?" He seemed a little bit shocked to run into someone else in the crops.

Sora looked a little sheepish, "I was just resting in the shade. I was trying to escape this town for a little while."

Justin watched as Sora stood. "Oh, wait! You are my neighbor's friend aren't you? I saw you leaving with her this morning."

"Oh yeah, Jess let me stay at her house last night." Sora suddenly felt very uncomfortable with Justin staring at her. "I'm just passing through, really."

"Where are you from?" asked Justin.

Sora took a deep breath. "Well, I'm not from around here, or anywhere that you know of."

"Okay?" Justin had a smile creeping over his face. Sora couldn't help but reciprocate.

"I come from a land called the Kiswone Nation. I am the only one of my kind to come into the human realm in thousands of years." Sora felt awkward telling him this. Glancing up at Justin's face, she saw a small reaction to what she said.

Justin laughed out loud. "So you are an alien?" He was obviously amused with this story. "Come on, did Jess put you up to this? Her whole family tries to convince the whole town that there are aliens. Her uncle swears he saw them land here a few years ago."

Sora scrunched her eye brows. She began wondering about Jess and her family. They seemed a little odd, even for humans.

"No, Jess did not ask me to say that to you. I am not an alien, and I did not come from outer space." Sora was getting a little bit angry. She slung her pack over her shoulder and said, "I have to go now, I have some important work to do."

With that, Sora wheeled around and began walking back out of the corn field, the way she came in. Justin didn't let her leave.

"Wait! Wait! You didn't even tell me your name!"

Sora stopped in her tracks. She turned to face him. "My name is Sora, princess of the Kiswone Nation."

Justin paused for a brief second. He was looking at Sora with a thoughtful expression. "The Kiswone Nation eh?"

"Yes!" Sora said. She was getting very tired of this silly game that he seemed to be playing with her.

"I'm sorry for being rude. Let me at least give you a ride. You have found yourself quite a ways away from Jess's apartment."

Sora appraised Justin carefully. He did seem to be sorry... "Well, okay. I have to go back to the city hall." Sora really did not like those cars, but she did see the value in them. It would only take them a few minutes to drive the distance that took Sora an hour to walk.

Sora followed Justin the opposite way through the corn field. He led her to a little house where there was a very large car waiting for them.

"Wow! This car is very big. I like this much better than Jess's small one." Sora exclaimed as Justin opened the passenger door of his black Dodge pick up truck. Sora climbed in.

"This is not a car." Justin said, "It is a truck. They are much better than cars." He then shut the door behind her and walked around to the other side, climbing in to his seat.

As he started the truck and began to pull onto the road. Sora began to change her mind about these huge metal contraptions. This big truck was not so bad. She felt much more safe.

Justin broke through Sora's thoughts when he said, "So, Sora. Tell me more about this Kiswone Nation..." he paused. "The name sounds a lot like a place that is described in stories and legends that have been passed down from generation to generation in my family."

Sora whipped her head toward Justin in awe. She swore that she saw resemblance of a Kiswan in him earlier that morning! Could it be.... could he be....?

11: Meeting New People

2011-03-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jess led Sora out the door and back to that horrendous car. Sora was not a fan of those huge metallic contraptions. As they were walking out to the parking lot, Sora caught a glimpse of what she thought was another Kiswan! She wheeled around and found herself gawking. Only once she saw his features full on, she was slightly disappointed. He had many features that the Kiswans have. The difference is that his short hair had faint highlights to it, and his skin was very light, and looked like it was bordering a tan.

Jess noticed that Sora had left her side and turned to see who the distraction was. Jess walked to Sora's side with a coy smile on her lips. "Ah, I see you have noticed my neighbor, Justin. He is very hot, isn't he?"

"Hot?"

"Nearly every girl in town has tried to catch his notice. He used to come over to watch movies with me when I had a roommate. I think he liked her..." Jess trailed off, pensively.

"Huh, well maybe you can introduce me later," Sora said as she turned back toward Jess's car.

"Oh, okay..." Jess said hesitantly, "Only, don't get too excited, he doesn't seem to ever want to hang out anymore. Let's go." Jess seemed quick to change the topic.

The drive to the court house didn't take nearly as long as the drive the night before. Once they arrived Jess led Sora up the steps to the large doors. After getting inside, Jess walked up to a desk and began talking with a pleasant looking older human.

Jess explained that Sora wished to see the mayor. She then leaned forward and whispered something into the woman's ear. The woman's reaction told it all.

"Alright! Well, I will see what I can do about getting her in with him. Have a seat over there (she motioned to a few rows of chairs), and I will send a message to Mayor Cartwright's office."

"Thank you Janice." Jess said politely.

Janice the welcoming woman stood up to walk toward a hallway. Before she turned away, Sora noticed how she gave Sora a good look over. She seemed pleased with something, and scurried off down the hall.

"Janice is my aunt," Jess leaned in to Sora as they sat down. "She'll make sure you get to see Mayor Cartwright, since he is my uncle."

"So this Mayor Cartwright..." Sora glanced up to the high ceiling. "He is the king?" Sora was very impressed with his palace. The decorations and the artwork in the carvings were impressive.

Jess giggled. Her giggles were starting to get on Sora's nerves. "No, he is not the king. We don't actually have a king."

Sora gave her full attention back to Jess. "You don't?"

"No. There is a leader for every town, that leader is called a mayor. There are many leaders, but the main leader for the United States is referred to as President. He is the one that oversees all things pertaining to the U.S. He just has help."

Why does this president need so many people to help him?" Sora was confused. Her father never needed any help. She wondered if these humans were really so weak.

Jess stood up and walked over to a wall. On the wall was a huge map. "This is the United States." She outlined the country with her hand. Then she pointed to a small point at the bottom of the country, "This is Roswell. This is where we are."

Sora stood back and looked at the whole map. The kingdom was enormous! To the left of the map was another map that had rounded features.

"That map is of the whole world," Jess pointed to where the United States were. "There are many countries, with many different leaders."

Sora was in awe. She studied every detail of the map while Jess sat back down to wait. She wanted to remember every small detail so that she could compare it with her own when she was by herself.

Finally, Sora heard Janice call Jess's name. Jess hopped up and trotted over to her aunt's side. The conversed for a few minutes and Jess called Sora over.

"Okay, Sora," Janice said. "Mayor Cartwright is ready to see you. He is pretty excited to meet with you! Good luck!"

Jess sat back down on one of the chairs as Janice lead Sora down the hall and to a large wooden door. Janice knocked twice then opened the heavy door.

A portly man stood up from his large desk and walked around to greet Janice with a hug and kiss on the cheek. She blushed, winked at Sora, then left the room closing the door quietly behind her. Sora wondered how such a heavy door could close without making a sound.

Mayor Cartwright approached Sora with his hand outstretched. Sora was unsure of what she was supposed to do, so she mimicked him. She stuck out her left hand, and the mayor awkwardly grasped her fingers with his right hand.

"Well now, Sora," he said pleasantly, "isn't my wife lovely?"

"Oh yes, she is very nice." Sora had spoken with many important Kiswan, but this was the most uncomfortable meeting she had ever experienced.

"Have a seat, please!" Mayor Cartwright said. "We have been wondering when we might make another contact with your kind!"

"You mean, I am not the first to be here?" Sora was puzzled. How could this be? The barrier has been up for centuries upon centuries!

"Well, in 1947 a space ship crash landed just outside of town... there weren't any survivors." He looked genuinely concerned.

"What is a space ship?" Sora was confused. As the mayor opened his mouth to explain, it all snapped into place. The things that Jess had been going on and on about were spaceships and aliens. This man thought I was from the sky!

Mayor Cartwright was saying, "...so you see, a farmer found the crash sight, since it was on his land..."

"Um, mayor." Sora interrupted the speech. "I am not from outer space. I come from another nation on this same planet. Only, none of you humans know of its existence. You think that my land is ocean. I am princess of the Kiswone Nation. I was sent here to inform you humans of our existence. We have been hiding ourselves from view by manipulating the earth's core power into forming a barrier. This barrier has been in place since the first humans were placed on this earth."

Mayor Cartwright was silent, and he had a slightly dumb expression on his face, so Sora continued.

"The earth's core grows weak. It cannot sustain the barrier much longer. If it loses its power, then the earth will lose its ability to grow vegetation and sustain life. It is urgent that I speak with your president. I need to inform the world of our existence in order to break the barrier."

Cartwright finally found his words. "What you are implying will change life as we know it! How do we explain to billions of people that we are not alone on our very earth!? It could cause wars upon wars!"

Sora hadn't thought of that kind of repercussion. She began to realize that she could not do all of this alone. She needed help. This human world was about to change. She just had to get this mayor to believe her story.

Sora opened her bag and pulled out the rolled up map. She spread it out over the desk and began her rehearsed account of the Kiswone Nation.

10: Take Me to Your Leader

2011-03-31T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am here to say, that I have finished the most horrendous course that I have taken in a very long time! I think I will pass with a B, which I am very excited about. My next class is World Literature, which I am extremely excited about! So, let's celebrate with me finishing this post (I have had it 1/2 way done for nearly a month now)!

I changed my mind about rewriting the last episode. That just seemed like way too much work, and it was giving me writer's block. I guess this little paragraph is to acknowledge that the facts of the Carlsbad Caverns were not accurate, and that maybe one day, I will fix it to be more accurate. I learned what they are really like when I made a visit there just about one month ago. Anyway.... without further adue!

The ride in the car was not a quiet one. Jess was the type of human that would not let anyone get a word in. She talked and talked and talked. Sora was not completely sure, but she thought that maybe she had dozed off now and then. Jess, the human, jabbered on about aliens and how they were obviously real. She was a firm believer in them, and she suspected Sora as being one of them. Sora supposed that she was an alien of sorts, since she was not familiar with the human realm, and none of the humans had ever seen a Kiswan before.

Sora assured Jess that she was not an alien, and when she tried to explain where she came from, Jess would seem to interrupt and continue on to another topic of conversation. Sora had never seen the likes of such a talkative creature. She was growing slightly impatient, because she was already missing her kingdom, and--Witold.

Sora had been successful in not thinking about Witold up until that moment, when she was in an alien world, with no one that truly knew her. She could picture his beautiful green hued eyes. They were piercing and bold. She began to relax a little bit upon thinking of him. She even had a hint of a smile forming on her face.

Sora's thoughts were not her own for very long. Jess interrupted with a string of questions, that Sora didn't even have time to answer before she was fired another.

"So where are you from? Jess asked without taking her eyes off of the road.

"Well, it is kind of hard to explain." Finally! Sora needed to get on with this quest. "I am from a place called the Kiswone Nation."

"Huh." Jess didn't even seem to be listening. "So, where is your family? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Sora did her best to answer each question before another was fired. "My family is back at my home nation. What is a boy...?"

Jess sped around a huge, black, round, and shredded looking thing in the middle of the black path.

"What was that on the black path?!" Sora asked. Her heart was thumping.

Jess looked over at Sora. Her eyebrows were scrunched together. "The black path?" Jess said it like a question. "That, my dear, is a road. We drive our cars on it. And the thing in the middle of the road was a tire."

"A tire?"

"Yes! They are the wheels that help our cars go!" Jess seemed amused at this game of, you don't know the obvious.

Jess laughed out loud. "I guess I am going to have to teach you a whole lot of things in order for you to even seem normal!"

The drive in the car took a very long time, but Sora was sure that if she had tried to walk that distance, it was sure to have taken her six or seven days. She was very relieved when Jess drove her car into a little path that led to a house. Jess let Sora inside the house and instructed her to get comfortable. She was going to be sleeping on the couch.

Jess walked out of the cozy room and Sora immediately laid down on the couch. It was not as comfortable as her bed at home, but it was comparable. She was asleep within minutes of laying her head back and closing her eyes. Jess came strolling back into the living room, probably wanting to talk some more, but she was greeted with Sora's light breathing, and no conscious person to talk to. So instead of sitting down, Jess went back to her bedroom, and went to bed.

***********************************************

Sora awoke to a loud buzzing sound coming from a door down a narrow hallway. She had to relieve herself, and wondered where a bathroom might be. Sora walked back into the room that she slept in. There was a big black shiny thing hanging on the wall, and there was a shelf next to it filled with little boxes and very life-like pictures all of the the little boxes. Sora picked one up and saw that it opened. Inside was a shiny circle. Sora thought it was all very peculiar.

Jess opened the door from which the loud buzzing had just shut off. She walked over to Sora and asked if she wanted to watch a movie. Sora put the little box back on the shelf and walked over to Jess.

"Do you have a bathroom?" Sora was getting anxious.

"Oh, yeah, sorry Sora

"Alright," Sorry replied. She entered the bathroom and shut the door.

It took her a few minutes to learn how to get the water to come out of the little waterfall on the wall. But she did. Sora cleaned up, and put her second pair of fresh clothes. As she walked out of the bathroom with wet hair, Jess looked up from the couch that she was sitting on.

"Are you ready to eat?" Jess was scrutinizing Sora very closely. "Maybe we should take you shopping. You look like you could use some new clothes."

Sora said, "No thank you. I do not need new clothes. What I do need is to speak with your leader."

Jess giggled. "Oh, so you want me to take you to my leader?" Again, more giggles.

"Uh, yes. Please." Sora thought that Jess was very strange. "I have some things that I need to discuss with the leaders of your realm."

"I KNEW IT!" Jess hopped up off of the couch. "Come on, let's eat. Then I will take you to city hall. Maybe you can get in a meeting with the mayor."

Sora sat down at the table. Jess had set out two bowls and two spoons. Jess filled her bowl with little bits of dried food. Sora followed suit. Then Jess poured milk over the top. She inserted her spoon, and began eating the contents together.

Jess looked up at Sora with a raised eyebrow. But before she could say anything, Sora poured the milk and began to eat the very delicious... cereal.

9: A Close Encounter

2011-03-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Sora spent some time eating some of the dried fruit and vegetables that she had brought on her trip. She sat in the mouth of the cave and watched the sun rise in the east. Despite the early hour, the air was warm and comfortable. Sora felt so free. She felt like the roof had been blown off of her existence, and she was ready to experience it all.

Sora retreated back into the cave. She rolled out her bed in a far corner, and was asleep within minutes of lying her head down.

                                      *********************************************

Sora awoke with a start. She looked around confused about where she was exactly. One event to another, the realization dawned on her. She could hear voices echoing through the cave. She sat up and rolled up her bed as fast as she could. Just as she was tying it back onto her pack, a group of humans came strolling down one of the smooth paths lined with an iron bar. Many of the humans were holding onto the bar, almost like it was keeping them from falling over.

Sora tried to slip back into the corner. She had no idea what they would think when they saw her. A few of the humans glanced at her as they passed not even giving a second glance. But the very last human was trailing behind looking at a map and walking anything but straight down the path. This female human had orange hair that was pulled back, and pale white skin. Her arms, legs, and face were dotted with little brown spots. It reminded Sora of a leopard. The human was wearing short pants, and a shirt that showed her shoulders and her arms.

The female glanced up right as she was about to pass Sora. She started just a bit, but smiled at Sora. Sora looked up the path then looked back at the human. She smiled back. The female said, "Are you waiting for someone?"

Sora's jaw dropped open. She did not expect that she would be able to understand the human. "Uh, no. I was just on my way out of this cave."

"Oh. Have you already finished your tour?" Asked the human with genuine interest.

"Tour?" Sora scrunched her eyebrows at the term.

"You aren't from around here are you?" The human said. She approached Sora and held out her hand. "Come on, you can come with me. It can be so annoying to follow a tour guide. I'll show you around. I've been here so many times."

Sora hesitated, but she took the human's hand feeling very foolish and childlike. "You are from around here," Sora guessed.

The human female smiled up at Sora. "Born and raised. Well actually, I'm from Roswell. I just decided to take a day trip to visit the caverns. They are one of my favorite places to explore."

Sora nodded her head. She had no idea what Roswell was. The human interrupted Sora's thoughts.

"I'm Jess Lewis." The human stated. "What is your name?"

Sora looked at the human and said, "My name is Sora."

"Sora what?"

"Just Sora." Sora wondered what she was getting at.

"Oh okay, I won't pry. I understand." Jess looked down at the map for just a second.

"You are very tall," Jess said. "I am lucky to be five, five when I have heals on. You have got to be at least six feet tall!"

"I haven't ever really thought of it. My dad is much taller than I am." Sora said matter of fact.

Sora glanced up at the humans ahead of her and Jess Lewis. She had noticed how odd shaped they were. A few of the male humans were taller than her. But most of them were shorter than her. She was very used to looking most Kiswan in the eye, or even looking up. She noticed a few humans that were shaped round like fruit, while some were very thin, like a stick. She was very intrigued at how different each human was.

Jess Lewis didn't seem to notice Sora's pensive moment and continued on. "Wow! Your dad must be tall! My dad is barely taller than me."

Sora didn't know how to respond, so she just kept walking. Jess looked over at Sora and said, "You have gorgeous skin. How do you get that healthy glow?"

Sora was beginning to be a little uncomfortable. She wondered if Jess Lewis even realized that she was not as involved with the conversation as Jess Lewis was. "I don't know. All of my family has the same skin." Sora replied.

"Oh." Jess laughed, which made Sora look down at her. "I was hoping you had some magical way to make pasty white skin, beautiful and golden. I try to tan, but I just burn, then freckle."

Sora lifted one of her eye brows. She needed to learn more about what this human was talking about.

                                *********************************************

Sora walked with Jess Lewis further into the cave. This was the last thing that she wanted to do, since she spent the last day and a half in a cave. She wanted to get some fresh air, and decide her next move. But something about Jess Lewis held Sora by her side. The more and more Jess Lewis talked, the more Sora realized how different this world was. Sora definitely needed a friend.

Jess Lewis talked on and on about a boy that she really liked, but he had no idea that she existed. Sora thought, 'What is a boy?' Jess Lewis didn't even seem to miss a beat she immediately started talking about highlights, and how Jess Lewis was wanting to get them. Sora thought, 'What are highlights?'

After mentioning the highlights, Jess Lewis' face lit up. She turned to Sora and said, "Hey! Where did you get your hair done at? Yours looks beautiful! How did they get the golden color to match your eyes so well?"

"Uh." Sora paused. "What? My hair has always been like this, and so have my eyes. Dark with a tint of gold, like the sun."

It was Jess Lewis' turn to look confused. "Oh, okay... That's alright if you don't want to share your secret."

Jess Lewis looked down at her feet as they walked. Neither of them were paying much attention to the surroundings of the cave. Sora realized that she made the human, Jess Lewis feel really bad. But she just didn't understand why. Jess Lewis remained quiet for the rest of the tour, which was nearly over.

They walked out of the cave, and Jess Lewis said, "Well, it was good to meet your Sora. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Oh, ya. You too Jess Lewis." Sora then turned around and walked toward a path made of hard black rock.

She stepped on the hard rock path, and began walking. All of a sudden, Sora heard a high pitched wailing sound. She whipped around just in time to see a huge black animal charging right at her! She jumped off the path into the sand and brush, just in time. She was almost trampled! Sora sat up to see that the big black animal had stopped. She looked harder at it, and noticed that it did not have legs. It had enormous circles that were very shiny in the middle. She saw it lift its wing, but she gasped at what she saw next. A human climbed out from under the wing!

It was one of the old human females that was in the same tour group that Sora had been in. She waddled over to Sora. It was obvious that her feet hurt her from the long walk in the cave.

"Oh dear!" She clucked. "I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!"

Sora had just stood up on her feet, and she was looking past the old human at the big black animal. It had lost all life. Sora then glanced around a little bit more. She noticed more of those animals. Some were very big, while some were tiny. There was even a few that a human would just sit on top of, like a horse! Not only were they so varied in size, but there were so many different colors. Sora was amazed. What kind of animals were they?

The human noticed Sora looking around. She said, "You aren't from around here, are you dear?"

Sora shook her head. "What kind of animals are those? I need to find out where to get their eggs, so I can take them home."

The old human looked at Sora like she was crazy. She finally composed herself a little bit and said, "Those, dear, are cars. We drive them?" She said it like a question. "You have never seen a car?"

Sora shook her head.

"They are machines that we control, in order to go where we want to go?" Again, like a question.

Sora watched as a green car sped out of the corral, and onto the black path. It could go very fast.

The old human turned to see the green car that Sora was watching so closely. "Okay. Dear, I am going to leave now, since you are okay."

She didn't give Sora a chance to respond. Before Sora knew it, the old human female was in her car speeding down the black path.

Sora shrugged her shoulders and continued her walk in the same direction. This time, she was more careful to watch out for those cars.

Sora walked quite a ways. She followed signs that pointed to the town Roswell. She had no idea why, maybe because it was the only thing that she knew about the human world. Jess had explained about how aliens crash landed not far from Roswell. Sora had inquired what aliens were exactly. Jess's description of them was, 'Little green men that live up past the stars.' She then proceeded to tell Sora how odd it was that she had never heard of aliens before she asked if Sora had never watched TV. Sora made a mental note to find out what TV was.

Sora came upon a table next to the black path, so she decided to stop and eat. She nibbled on some dried meat and vegetables. She was so tired, and she was so lost. The hardest thing that Sora has ever had to do was to find a way out of the kingdom. Now that she was out, she had no clue what to do next. The only thing she knew was that she needed to contact the human leaders and inform them of the Kiswone Nation. Before she could break the barrier, humans had to know of the existence of the Kiswan. Otherwise, they might attack.

Kiswan had no way of protecting themselves. They were not skilled in wielding weapons. They were skilled hunters when it came to hunting game for meat. However, no Kiswan ever enjoyed taking the life of an animal. It would be so much harder to take the life of a human, that might very well be the Kiswan equal. All in all, if not taken care of properly, the entire Kiswone Nation could be in jeopardy.

   ****************************************

The sun was past mid sky, and Sora knew that she was traveling North. She had never experienced the heat like she was experiencing it there. It was dry, and the sun's power was magnificent. Sora was not inexperienced to heat. But the Kiswone Nation has plenty of foliage and trees that help a Kiswan cool down on a hot day like this. Here in the human realm, the sun was just pure and unadulterated. Sora's water skin was quickly depleting. She had to consume so much water in order to stay hydrated. She wondered how much longer it would take her to get to this village of Roswell.

Sora plugged along for hours. The sun was getting close to the horizon, and Sora looked forward to the break she would receive from its power. A few cars passed by every now and then, but for the most part, Sora did not see many humans. She saw plenty of lizards and bugs. She even saw an enormous spider that was as big as her hand. She stayed away from it, for fear that it might have poison.

As the sun began to set, Sora would look West at all of the colors that filled the sky. From the western horizon all through the sky, oranges and purples were reflected off of the clouds. Sora had never seen such a magnificent sun set with nothing to block the view.

After the last moments of light passed below the horizon, Sora began to pick up the pace. Even though it was still very hot outside, the sun drastically changed Sora's fatigue. She began a slow jog north. She could hear animals out in the brush coming out to hunt and play. She could hear their every move, and she caught glimpses of them as they dashed in between the brush. She began to feel at home in nature.

Her comfort was short lived, because one of those cars pulled up next to Sora. She was startled at the bright lights on the front of the car. They were just like eyes. She was wary, but stopped her jog in order to address the human.

"Hey! Sora!" It was Jess Lewis.

"Oh, hi Jess Lewis," Sora said, a little out of breath.

"You can just call me Jess, Sora. So, have you been walking this whole way?" Jess never seemed to be too surprised by Sora's odd behavior.

"Well, yes. I have never had any other way to get around. I am pretty used to it."

"Where are you headed?"

"That village, Roswell."

Jess laughed out loud. "You will be walking all night, and all day, and then all night again before you reach Roswell. You had better hop in. I'm going there anyway."

Sora was not to sure about this. The whole car thing just did not sound very safe. Jess seemed to notice Sora's discomfort.

"Come on, it will be okay." Jess hopped out of her big red car and walked around to the passenger side. She opened the door and motioned with her had for Sora to sit in the black leather chair inside. "Have a seat."

Sora finally gave in. She turned and sat her rear on the seat with her feet still on the black path. Then she pulled each leg in, one by one. Once she was all the way in, with her pack tucked by her feet, Jess slammed the door shut.

"Put on your seat belt." Said Jess as she climbed back in behind a large wheel. "I'll get us to Roswell in no time."

When Sora didn't move, Jess over exaggerated putting on her own seat belt in order to show Sora how to do it. "We can't leave until you strap in. It's my rule." Jess was very adamant.

"Okay," Sora imitated Jess's actions, and they were speeding down the road, Sora's eyes wide with fright.

Jess looked over at Sora, who had not taken her eyes off of the black path in front of them. "So you have never ridden in a car either, have you?"

Sora shook her head without saying anything.

"You're an alien aren't you?" Jess was eager, and excited.

8: In the Middle of No Where

2011-03-31T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sora slipped out of the royal home without incident. She had all of her belongings, and was excited to get the journey moving. She knew it would be a long hard road, but she also knew it would be an experience of a life time.

Sora arrived at the water hole with the water fall nearly one hour after leaving the royal home. The woods were so beautiful during the night, even without any light from the stars or moon to cast their glow. Everything was so quiet and peaceful, it was like a very pleasant dream.

The plan was to dive into the water, and swim under the waterfall again. This made Sora hesitate. This is one thing that she did not plan for. The first time she went, Sora did not have shoes on her feet, and she did not have her pack with her. Sora replayed that incident in her mind for a split second. The panic of not ever reaching the surface was a bit terrifying. Sora could not afford to leave any of it behind, and hopefully none of the supplies and food would get damaged by the water. But Sora was confident that between Agatha and herself, they were sure to have packed things just right.

Sora remembered Leo saying that there was a direct link the the earth's energy, and ever since he came to the cave looking for a way out of the kingdom, he linked his own power to that in the water. Sora thought for a moment. Now that she was well aware of the power, which before she thought of as a presence, She could absorb that power to give her more strength to swim under the waterfall and to safety. That had to work, otherwise, Sora had no other options, and her quest was doomed to fail before it even began.

Sora slipped off her shoes and tucked them tightly within her pack. She waded out into the water and felt the energy all around her. It was exhilarating. Without hesitation, Sora dove right in and swam the short distance across the water hole.

Sora came up for air a few feet in front of the roaring waterfall. The spray from the waterfall was unrelenting. Taking in a few deep breaths, Sora dove down and kicked her feet. As soon as she was far enough under the water fall to lessen the power of the falling water, Sora began to swim horizontally toward the inside of the falls.

The last thing that Sora expected happened. As she swam under the falls, the current caught her pack, and began to pull her further down in the water. Sora could already feel her lungs aching from holding in her breath. Sora might have been a good swimmer, but she still could not hold her breath like a whale.

The current kept dragging Sora further down into the water, then she hit another current caused by the water ascending back to the top. That water flipped Sora upside down, and she somersaulted around in the water. Disoriented, Sora began to feel her lungs scream. She wondered how long she could last without involuntarily taking in a would be breath. Sora desperately tried locking her mind on the surface and righting her body in order to swim back to the top. But at that point, Sora was unsure of which way was up or down.

Suddenly Sora remembered the presence in the water. She thought of her conversation with Leo. She clung to that energy, because it was the only thing that was going to save her life. Letting the energy serge through her body, Sora began kicking up toward the surface. She opened her eyes and stuck her hands out in front of her so that she would not bump into anything.

When Sora's lungs were just beginning to suck in water, Sora burst through the surface of the water. She frantically clung to the rocks that were on the underside of the waterfall. She pulled herself up onto the cave opening coughing up the water that her lungs tried to take in. Sora turned to her side and laid down resting her head on her arm. The only thing Sora wanted was for her heaving chest to calm down.

*********************************************

Sora was unsure of how long she laid there with her pack still on her back. But she seemed to lay there heaving in ragged breaths trying to force her body to realize that it had survived. She always loved swimming, but now Sora decided that she would be more careful with where she chose to swim.

Sora had put her shoes back on her feet and found her way down the long straight tunnel. Maybe she was just paranoid, but Sora felt like she was being constantly watched. She felt very intruded upon. It could have been just the presence of Mother Nature, or it could have been Leo's power connected to the cave still. Whatever it was, it made her nervous, and she just wanted to get out of the Kiswone Nation to complete her quest.

Sora's thoughts kept her company all the way to the end cave. She walked straight across to where the original writing had been, and she stopped in her tracks.

The writing was no longer there. In fact, nothing was there. In the cave wall was an opening that continued. Sora looked around briefly to ensure that she had not missed the opening in her previous trip to the cave. Sure enough, there was not any other spot in the cave with writings on the wall.

She took a deep breath and proceeded through the opening. Sora didnt' know what she would expect, but this tunnel was very much like the other that lead to the ending chamber. It did not veer right nor left. It just continued on in a slight descent. Sora had no idea of what time it was. She didn't even know how long she had been walking along the long straight tunnel. She began to think about how annoying and boring it was for the creator of the tunnel to keep it so straight and lame.

At that thought, the tunnel banked left, then right, then Sora tripped on something. She was so used to the smooth clear path that she had been following that she didn't see the first step at all. She began to ascend the stair case in front of her. She squinted toward the top, but still could not see all the way to the top.

If any Kiswan was worried that he was not in good shape should have been walking up this stair case with Sora. Her legs began to burn, but the staircase continued up the seemingly never ending stairs. Sora felt funny about it, but she began to sing a song out loud to herself. She was alone, who would hear?

The song went like this:

Across the sea
Is a lonely tree;
The tree just grows,
But no one shows.

The fruit thereof,
Is prized like a dove.
The tree just grows,
But no one shows.

The wind flies by,
But does not say hi.
Instead he twirls,
To another tree and furls.

The two trees turn,
And what do they learn?
Neither was alone,
But of themselves had not shown.

A pair they made,
And fruit they paid.
The trees just grow,
But looks no more.

This legendary bard told the story of a young couple who did not realize the love that they shared. They both were looking for something else, but once they were knocked up side the head, they found each other.

Sora immediately thought of Witold. She hadn't heard that bard for many years. Why was it that since yesterday, Sora has been thining an awfully lot of Witold? Sora needed to get her head on straight and forget about him. She was happy that her climb had come to a halt, because she no longer wanted to dwell on him. The very last step that she took led to, yes, another cave. Sora sighed. Was this trip ever going to end? She was beginning to feel slightly claustrophobic of this tunnel and cave series.

Sora was worried that if she were to stop now, she might get trapped in the cave once the sun came out again. So she walked around the perimeter of the cave in order to find an opening that lead out. She also looked for markings or further instructions. But she realized that Leo would not have been able to get further than the first cave. Sora had walked all around the cave and was nearly back to the stone stare case when she saw another opening. It seemed to lead back in the direction from which she came. She was wary, but continued anyway.

This tunnel was very narrow. Sora had just enough room to walk through without scraping up her arms on the walls. In addition, the tunnel did not ascend nor descend, it seemed to be perfectly level. The difference was that the tunnel was curving left and right. Luckily, Sora did not meet any forks in the tunnel. If she did, then she would surely get lost in here and never get out.

Sora took a quick sip of water out of her water skin. Her stomach began to grumble, and her eyes were beginning to be heavy. She knew that she needed to get out in the open so that she could rest up for the remainder of the quest.

To Sora's surprise, this tunnel did not cover a vast amount of space like the other tunnels. She had only been walking for a few minutes since the stairs when she walked right out of a whole in the side of a mountain.

Sora stumbled a little bit due to the surprise. She was not expecting to be outside just yet. But all at once, she felt the weight of feeling vulnerable crash down on her. She knew that she had crossed through the barrier, she could feel it. This was the human realm. Sora looked around. She desperately needed to find cover. She could see the sun beginning to rise in the east. She scoured the area and found a very large opening in the rocks. This cave was enormous. She entered the narrow entryway and continued into the main cavern.

The red rock walls were different than the tunnels that Sora had just journeyed through. Those were not natural. They were perfectly smooth, with no jagged edges or abrupt cliffs. This cave was filled with stalactites and stalagmites formed out of the same red looking rock. Sora loved this unique cave. This is where she decided to set up camp for the day. She would then continue her journey at night.

Sora did not yet know it, but she had found herself right in the middle of the desert of New Mexico. She was seeking shelter in the Carlsbad Caverns. These are hardly empty during the day time, since tourists and recreational humans go inside to explore the many wonders to behold within.

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Keep checking!

7: When the Clouds Roll In

2011-03-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Sora was sure that the look on her face revealed her guilt. Before turning the corner and meeting the Kiswan coming down the hall, she took a deep breath, let it out, then proceeded forward. She was greeted by none other than Witold. She stopped in her tracks. Any composure that she had been mustering was now obsolete. She caught his eye, then glanced down at her feet.

"Everyone is looking for you." Witold said gently. "I've come to find you. You sure are an awful long way from the restrooms."

Sora looked at him. "I wasn't ready to return. All of the attention is hard to handle at one time." This was the truth. "I just needed a break." Sora shifted uncomfortably.

"I can imagine." Witold took a few steps closer. "People firing questions left and right. I would want a break too." Witold hesitated on his next move, but relented. He offered his arm to Sora and said, "Would you like to continue your walk? We don't have to go back just yet."

Inside, Sora screamed "YES!" That feeling took her off guard and she blushed. Instead, she said, "They might send someone after both of us if we do not return."

Witold was looking intently at Sora. "Well, I know that they are still in between the main course and dessert. Most Kiswan are pretty full." He had a sly smile on his face which made Sora's heart speed up a few notches. "I'm sure we would be alright taking a little bit longer."

Sora really was not ready to go back into the great feast hall. She was tired of all the attention. Knowing that no one would really be upset with her being gone a little longer, Sora gave in.

"Why don't we walk through the gardens." Sora suggested. "I could really use some fresh air."

"The gardens it is."

Sora took Witold's arm and let him lead her toward the rear entrance to the royal home.

The gardens were one of Sora's favorite places in the whole kingdom, aside from her water hole of course. There were enormous trees and the paths were framed with hundreds of different kinds of flowers. There were benches placed in locations. Some of them even hid the person sitting there from view. Sora used to get lost in the gardens on purpose, just to get away from everything else.

They entered the gardens by passing through the beautiful stone archway, and Witold looked down at Sora. He seemed unsure of how to continue.

He finally took the leap. "Sora." Witold cleared his throat. "I don't want you to leave being mad at me."

Sora met his gaze. "I'm not mad Witold." He smiled at her use of his name. "I just want you to understand that this is something that I need to do."

"I understand that." He sighed. "I just don't know what to do without you. You might be gone for many months!"

Before, Sora would have been irritated at his declaration, and she would have told him to find someone else. But at his words, her heart thumped, and the blood rushed to her cheeks. She didn't respond at first. They just walked in silence for a few minutes. Witold led them down a path that would take them to one of the secluded benches. Butterflies were dancing in Sora's stomach. She felt excited and nervous at the same time.

Upon reaching the bench, Sora took a seat, and Witold sat down turned toward her slightly. She turned to him, not knowing what to say. She was still very confused by her feelings for this Kiswan. How could he have changed over night? But then the realization struck her. He had been changed for a very long time. Her memories of him flashed through her mind. Many of the memories showed him growing and maturing, but Sora never took the time to notice. He turned into an adult during the time of Sora's disinterest. Witold was regal enough to be king.

Witold interrupted her thoughts. "I am worried about you traveling by yourself." His words were soft and hesitant. He did not want to start another argument with her. "I would never forgive myself if something happened to you."

Sora sighed. She might have been confused about her feelings for Witold, but of her safety, she knew she could take care of herself. "I appreciate your concern Witold, I really do. But I must do this. It is set in stone now anyway."

Sora was beginning to fear what was in store for her. Especially since her conversation with Leo. She had no idea what to expect from the humans. The last thing any Kiswan knew of the humans was that the son of the first man and woman killed his brother. That was shocking enough for any Kiswan to withdrawal and hide away for the rest of humanity. What if they are all like that, what if they see Sora and want to kill her? Part of her wanted to let Witold come along, but she new better.

Witold sensed that she was not going to change her mind, or see reason. He took Sora's hands in his. This action demanded Sora's full attention. The energy that flowed through them revived Sora, she was excited and.... and... in love?

"Sora?" Witold leaned in even closer, making Sora's cheeks flush warm with red. She couldn't seem to focus on anything other than his lips. "I.... do... love you."

Before Sora could even respond, Witold's lips were upon hers. The energy flowed through their lips, and she melted into his embrace. Sora felt like she could have stayed right there with Witold forever.

Witold pulled away from Sora and gently swept a strand of hair back away from Sora's face. She was lost in the fresh green hue of his eyes. It was as if time had slowed to a complete stop. He had a smile on his handsome face. Why had Sora never seen him before? She had been too prideful to think that anyone could change.

The next thing Sora new, Witold was pulling away from her all together. He was sitting on the opposite side of the bench. She blinked and turned around as someone came running down the path. It was a young page. She stopped in front of Witold and Sora and placed her hands on her knees in order to catch her breath.

Sora gave Witold a puzzled look. The page finally stood up straight and said, "I have been looking all over for you Miss Sora. I ran into Agatha and she informed me that you came out to the gardens." She gulped down more air. "The king is worried. You have been absent for quite some time now. It is nearly time for you to leave on your quest. I was sent to find you for the end of the quest celebration."

Witold stood and offered Sora his hand. "Run and tell the king that I have found Sora. She was in the gardens contemplating her quest."

"Yes sir!" The young page took off back the way she came.

"Come Sora, we must return before we are in trouble." Witold offered his arm once again, and they walked back to the royal home at a faster pace.

Sora could have sworn that she and Witold had been sitting on that bench for just a few minutes. But the reality seems as if they had been there for hours! Witold held a very large smile on his face. Sora couldn't help but admire the beauty of his demeanor.

                                                   *********************************

They entered the feast hall together. Witold had spaced himself away from Sora. She missed the comfort of his energy right next to her. She now felt empty and alone. She felt so confused. So much was happening in such a small amount of time.

Queen Sasha came scurrying up to Sora and called her attention back to earth. "Where have you been? We had the dessert without you!"

"That is okay mother, I was pretty full after the other four courses." Sora smiled and kissed her mother on the cheek. Distractedly, Sora kept glancing around the room. She was restless and fidgety.

Sasha looked over at Witold, who had put more distance between himself and Sora. She knew something had happened. Sora was acting odd. Looking at Witold gave nothing away. She thought about Sora's feelings for the Kiswan. She knew that Sora was not interested, so Sasha put the thought out of her head.

                                             *****************************************

The last part of the Quest Ceremony was an official good bye to the Kiswan heading off on his quest. In this case, it was her quest. No one would see Sora again, until she came back. She would be applauded and sent out of the feast hall to claim her supplies and pack and slip out of the royal house before anyone was allowed to leave the hall.

Before the official send off, Sora was allowed to go around to the Kiswan that she was closest with. This included Agatha, her parents, and a few other close friends. During this time of goodbyes, Sora kept an eye out for Witold. However, he could not be found anywhere. She felt sad that he would not see her off. But soon her attention was taken elsewhere when her father commanded the attention of the villagers.

"I want to thank you all for attending our celebration!" The king's voice could really carry. "We are extremely proud of our daughter in accepting this quest, and we know that she will be back before we know it with experience and wonderful new things that will improve our kingdom!"

The cheers erupted from the crowd. Sora stood from her seat and proceeded to her mother to give her a kiss on the cheek and a big hug. Then to her father. He smiled at her with pride, hugged her then motioned for her to make her walk out of the hall.

The cheers and applause only heightened as she neared the door. She turned and blew a kiss to all just before walking through the enormous doors. With no sign of Witold anywhere, Sora hustled to her chambers to change and be off. She was finally ready to go.

                             *************************************************

Sora's quest outfit was composed of comfortable black pants that allowed Sora to move with great ease. She had a green top that was light weight and was short in the sleeves. Since it was summer, she would not need to wear anything with long sleeves. Although, she had a long sleeve shirt packed.

Sora had transferred the scroll map to an outside pocket of her pack, she was now ready to cloud up the sky and be on her way. the sun had just retreated behind the mountains, and it was now growing dark outside. Sora sat down on the floor with her legs crossed. She sat up straight and began meditating. Her thoughts drifted to Mother Nature. She could feel her power radiating from the stone floor underneath her. After focusing on this power, Sora turned her attention to the sky. The thought of clouds filled her mind. It would not take long for the clouds to cover the star strewn sky.

                                      *****************************************

Leo had taken a seat on a bench in the gardens. He was anxiously waiting for the quest celebration to end. All of his hope was riding on the hopeful power of Sora. Agatha had informed Leo long ago that Sora had a unique strength about her. She would take Sora into the archives to "teach" her about the Kiswan history when she was quite young. Leo met with her during these times. He would teach her how to meditate and hone in on her power. Now was the moment of truth, to see if Sora truly had the power to complete this quest.

Agatha approached the bench and noticed Leo bouncing his knee up and down. She placed a hand on his knee, and said, "She will succeed. Do not worry. The feast is over, and Sora has been sent to gather her things."

Leo's smiled stretching some of his wrinkles and, and causing even more to appear. "I know she will. I just pray that she can follow through with bringing down the barrier. Of course it won't happen until she brings news of the humans to the king. Once the king knows that we will still be safe to move forward, he will take down the barrier himself."

"When do you plan on speaking with the king about how the earth is losing its power?" Agatha had fulfilled her role in the plan. She had helped Sora realize her potential, and she had kept a close eye on her progress, always reporting to Leo.

"Tomorrow morning I will begin consulting with the king." Leo turned his gaze heavenward. "Otto will listen. I know that he senses the weakening too. He will see reason."

"When will you tell him that Sora is in the human realm?" Agatha asked.

"I do not know yet. That will be a touchy conversation. All superstitions point to humans as being violent and unworthy of our presence. The king will be worried that the Kiswan people will become corrupted." Leo sighed. "I don't know how brutal the humans are, but Otto will be concerned for our safety. Only time will tell."

Just as the final rays of light were snuffed out by the mountains, the clouds started rolling in. Leo could hardly help himself. He jumped up off of the bench, pulled Agatha up with him, and despite his age began to dance with her. Both Agatha and Leo began laughing and singing loudly. No one else would have brought these clouds in, because all Kiswan wanted Sora to be off with a clear sky, that was a good omen for the success of the quest.

On a negative note, many Kiswan will be worried that Sora is destined to fail with the cloud's sudden appearance.

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Keep checking!

6: Not Alone

2011-03-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

Sora had laid down for a little nap. She wanted to be completely rested before she set out. She was going to do to a lot of traveling during the night for a few days. She was not sure what would await her outside the nation, but she was beginning to grow anxious.

Despite her need of sleep, Sora could not let her body and mind rest. As she was possibly drifting off to sleep, Agatha entered her bedroom. Sora peaked out from under her eye lashes to see Agatha glance over at Sora and hesitate. Then upon deciding on something, Agatha approached Sora's bed very carefully as to not disturb the would be sleeping Sora.

Agatha had passed Sora's line of sight but Sora could hear some rustling amongst her things. Agatha was most likely packing a few things that she thought Sora was in need of for the journey. After a few moments of silence, Sora felt a light shake.

"Sora, wake up." Came Agatha's urgent whisper. "It is time for the quest banquet. Your father and mother are waiting for you to enter together."

"I did not think there would be a quest banquet," I said. "Is it dark yet?"

Agatha shook her head. "No, it is not dark yet. The sun will not go down for a few more hours. The whole village is waiting for you to enter with your father and mother."

Sora sat up quickly. She was pleasantly surprised, this just might help her retrieve the map without being noticed.

"Okay Agatha." She said. "I will be right out. Let me just freshen up for a minute."

Agatha nodded and proceeded out the door. Sora entered the bathroom thinking about Agatha's secretive behavior. She could just go and check for anything missing, or anything new to the pack. Agatha is not typically secretive, so Sora shrugged it off. Checking her pack would have to wait. There were plenty of details that she had to worry about at the moment.

********************************

Sora tied part of her long golden hued hair back so that the majority of it was falling down her back. Her dark skin was clean and glowing. Never had she had a banquet in her name. She was nervous. Being the center of attention was never Sora's favorite past time. And since she was the king's daughter, she was expected to dress as such. Sora's gown was a beautiful emerald green with a sleek but flowing skirt that dusted the floor. The piece extenuated her lean beautiful form.

Sora looked at her reflection and laughed to herself. It would be a very long time before she would be wearing anything so beautiful. Satisfied with her appearance, Sora took a seat at her vanity to wait for her escort to the dining hall. Immediately, her mind started forming a plan. She knew that this banquet would last for at least two hours. A five course meal should be expected. It is custom to eat one course, then when every person is finished to converse while waiting for the next course. It was a very long process, yet it was usually quite enjoyable. This celebration would make it easy for Sora to slip out undetected at some point to head to the archives.

A soft tap on the door broke her concentration. She stood and did not hesitate to answer the door. She knew exactly who was behind it.

"Father!" Sora exclaimed upon opening the door. She gave him a quick hug then smiled up at his beautiful blue hued eyes. His blue hued hair was cropped short to a very appropriate length for a king. The king was one of the most handsome men in the village. He was dressed the part as well, with a nice grey tunic.

"Are you ready for your quest celebration Sora?" The king asked. His face showed a pleasant smile. "It's not every day that my daughter goes on a quest."

"Ha! Well, it is going to be a successful one!" Sora took his arm and allowed him to escort her toward the feasting hall.

They could hear the chatter from within the hall. It sounded like the entire village was indeed there. Butterflies fluttered in Sora's stomach. The sooner she got sat down, the sooner she could relax. Her mother greeted them at the main entrance. She too took the King Otto's other arm, and they waited for the doors to be pushed open, upon which silenced the entire hall.

The entire village stood out of respect for their trusted leader. As they proceeded to the head table, many blew kisses to Sora, and touched her arm to show their support. Sora was touched that her people were so supportive of her quest. She could not help but love them even more. King Otto, sat his wife down first, then proceeded around the table to seat Sora. Finally, he rounded the table to his seat. Raising his hands in a welcoming gesture, King Otto sat down, with the rest of the attendants.

Sitting across from her, and next to her mother was Witold. Sora had not noticed him at first. But while everyone was getting settled in, she stole a glance at him. Her heart raced when she took in his appearance. She didn't realize how deep the hue in his eyes and hair were. He was wearing a black tunic similar to the king's. However, Witold's tunic had a beautiful exotic green flower pinned to the left of the buttons. His hair had been pulled back into a very short pony tail. Sora's thoughts seemed to be lost. She could not concentrate on anything other than the strand of hair that had come free. As if he knew that she was staring at him, Witold glanced up and met her gaze. A small smile lighted his face, not quite touching the sadness in his eyes. The heat filled Sora's cheeks as she blushed and glanced down at her goblet, heart still racing. Sora wondered what had happened, she never expected to fancy any Kiswan, let alone Witold!

Thankfully, Sora's thoughts were interrupted by her father clinking his knife of the side of his goblet. The sound was the cue for the first course to be brought out. As if lined up behind the door to the kitchen and waiting for this specific signal, the servants loped out and began depositing plates in front of each person. The king was served last so that he could ensure that everyone had been served. Once his plate had been set down in front of him, King Otto stood with his goblet in hand.

"Today is a historical day!" King Otto paused for effect. "The day that my beautiful daughter and heir is to set off on her quest!"

The Kiswan cheered heartily.

"Not only is it Sora's first quest, but she is the first female to be granted the opportunity to bring our nation new treasures!" The king paused again to let the people calm down.

Sora stole another glance at Witold and upon immediately meeting his gaze, she dropped her eyes.

"May we all grant her the power from the earth to succeed in her quest and return to us safe and sound!"

Even Witold stood up at this announcement to the end of the speech. Not a person remained sitting. Sora slowly rose to accept the blessing of her people. She smiled and bowed to each table. This sent the villagers into more of an excited applause. Sora knew that she could help her people by following through with this quest.

The king raised his voice above the cheerful celebrating and said, "Now let us sit, and eat!"

The sound of chairs screeching on the stone floor filled the hall. Every Kiswan sat down like a giant wave, and began to eat the first course of the great feast. Each Kiswan was starting with an elegant plate of vegetables, all fresh from the village gardens. Sora delved in, and was grateful for the no talking rule, since she was adamant on avoiding any conversation with Witold.

Sora was relieved to find that most Kiswan were demanding her attention in between meals. She was addressed with many questions about what she wished to accomplish while out on quest. There were some jokes told, and the overall feel of the feast was light and happy. There had not been a quest in nearly ten years, so most Kiswan were anxious to find out anything new.

Sora's moment of truth was in between the the main course, and dessert. Sora excused herself from the table with the excuse of needing to relieve herself. Nearly two hours had passed, and the sun was close to casting the pinks and oranges across the sky. Then after that, Sora would be off, on her own. For the first time, this thought scared her.

To Sora's advantage, the hallways were empty. Every Kiswan in the village was in the feast hall enjoying themselves. With a little bit more confidence, Sora picked up the pace. She knew that if she was gone for too long, someone would come looking for her. Since Sora had grown up in the royal home, she knew the way perfectly. As she approached the large room known as the archive, she slowed down. She thought she heard someone inside. She peered around the doorway and into the room. She saw Agatha talking to someone that she could not see. The person was being blocked by a stone shelf holding some of the important documents from the Kiswan history.

Sora tried to peek further to see who Agatha was conversing with, when she slipped on a rock and fell to the floor. A rock! What is a rock doing in the middle of a walkway? The hallways are usually clean of debris. The talking stopped abruptly, as Agatha scrambled over to help Sora up.

"My dear! Are you all right?" Concern was clear in Agatha's tone.

"Yes, I'm fine," Sora responded. "It just scared me. I'm not used to wearing these over done dresses.

"I know deary," she said. "Come in here, we were actually waiting for you to come."

"What? How did you know that I would be coming in here?" Sora said. How confusing! There were obviously some things going on that Sora had no idea about!

Agatha lead Sora into the archive toward a very old man. He had to be the oldest Kiswan that was still alive, at the ripe old age of two hundred and seven. He was the caretaker of the archive named Leo. Leo was probably the only one alive that knows where anything in the archive was.

"We need to be brief, otherwise, someone will come looking for you." Agatha pushed her up to Leo.

"Hello Sora, it has been a very long time." Said Leo. "I am glad that you are here, and that you got my message."

"Your message?" Sora asked. "What message?"

"The one written on the cave wall." Leo looked at Sora hard, as if to see what was going on in her mind.

"Whaaa?" Sora was confused. "I.... uh, how did you..." Sora shook her head. "You wrote that message on the wall of the cave?"

"Yes I did, nearly one hundred and ninety years ago." Leo looked pensive, like he was remembering something from long ago. "I knew that one day, the time would be right, and someone would be drawn to the cave. I just didn't think that I would be alive to see it happen."

Sora sat down on a chair across from Leo. "How did you know that I found the cave?"

"I could feel you drawing from the energy in the water in order to swim under the waterfall," he said. "That energy is always connected to me, and always has been." Leo chuckled to himself. "Sometimes it was annoying, especially when large fish got into that water hole."

"So, how did you know that it was me?" Sora asked. All of this was getting to be a little much.

"Agatha informed me that you had been swimming in the water hole with the water fall. I had sensed your presence there on other occasions as well. Like I said, when you went under that waterfall, I could feel you pulling from the energy source that lingers in the water in order to get back to the surface on the other side."

"So what does this all mean?" Sora asked perplexed and exhilarated that she was no longer alone in this quest.

"The truth is, Sora, that the power from the earth is fading. The core seems to be dying out due to the amount of humanity that is on the earth. Mother Nature cannot sustain all of the humans and us at the same time with the barrier still in place." Leo looked at Sora intently.

"I knew that I had to get out of our kingdom. I just knew that I had to do something for our people!" Sora's excitement began to increase with each moment with Leo.

"I have known this for nearly two centuries. It has been passed down from generation to generation. I was the one who finally figured out how breaking the barrier would be accomplished. I thought that I would be the one to do it," Leo paused, with clear disappointment on his face. "I was not powerful enough to open the barrier located in the cave. And I definitely could not talk to the king about it, even though the king had enough power to open the barrier, and possibly remove it all together."

Sora stood up and began slowly walking back and forth, thinking. "What happens if the barrier is not broken completely?" Sora asked.

"Well, Mother Earth will have to choose either the Kiswan, or the Humans to survive." Leo looked at Sora intently. "Since the human race has quadrupled the size of the Kiswan race, I have reason to believe that she would choose to save them."

"I see," Sora said. "So I need to find a way to contact the humans to inform them of our presence. We need them to know about us."

"Correct." Leo was pleased that Sora caught on so quickly. "Your father and mother will feel the same as all other kings and queens in regards to the barrier. There is a lot of unknown, which makes them feel vulnerable."

Our conversation was interrupted by footsteps down one of the corridors. Agatha pressed Leo to finish giving his information. "We need to get Sora back to the feast hall. They will be having dessert very soon. She will be missed."

Sora was surprised by how quick Leo moved. He trotted over to a special cabinet in the back corner. He opened it, and produced a very old scroll made out of cloth. He hurried back to Sora's side and handed it to her.

"This is the map of the entire world," Leo helped Sora unroll it. "The main bodies of water are here, here and here." Leo pointed to each ocean for Sora to see. "You will need to summon the energy from the earth's core in order to cover the sky with clouds."

The foot steps grew louder, they were obviously coming toward the archives.

"Hide that scroll. If it is found in your possession, then you will be in great trouble, heir or not." Leo gave Sora a quick hug and said, "Now be off!"

Sora turned around and lifted her dress just enough to tuck the scroll into an inner hem. It should be safe there until she returned to her chambers to leave. Agatha escorted Sora out, and with tears in her eyes gave her a great big bear hug.

"You can do this," Agatha said. "I know that you were destined to be the one to save our kingdom!"

With that, Sora was off, ready to greet the person who's foot steps had rushed a very important conversation.

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5: A Surprise

2011-03-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

Preparations were not as difficult as Sora imagined they would be. Her father let it be known throughout the royal home, and through out the village that if Sora came inquiring after anything, that they grant it. Otherwise, they would have to answer to the him. Some of the Kiswan were shocked that she was being granted a quest from the king. Many were hoping to get a chance to speak with Sora in order to find out the details of her quest.

Sora had gathered food to last for two months. She would not be able to carry much more than that. The morsels consisted of dried meats, dried fruits, dried vegetables, and wheat. She could chew on the wheat for hours. This could keep up her strength while she traveled, and it could keep her mouth moist. She planned to carry a canteen that she would fill up at fresh water streams.

Among Sora's other provisions were some bandage wraps and special ointments from the physicians. One small bottle contained a tonic made from lemons. The purpose was to drink it when no water could be found. Just a sip could help the body use the moisture that had been retained. This would be a very valuable tool, especially in crossing long stretches of hot land. She also would be carrying a blanket roll to rest on each night.

By the time all of this had been prepared, it was nearly mid day. The sun was high and warm. Sora had two tasks left to complete. First, she had to go to Witold and ask forgiveness for her breaking the partnership, and acquiring the one last thing that Sora desperately needed for her journey. The ancient map of the whole world.

Witold would be difficult to convince of her breaking the planned partnership. He had always fancied Sora, even when they were very young. He would do anything for her willingly and adoringly. It made Sora sick. He was not like the other males. He could not run through the forest without making a sound. He would probably alert every creature out there that he was there. Most of all, she could just not see herself producing a royal heir with him. The funny thing is that there is another Kiswan in the next village that is in love with Witold. She just needs a chance to catch his attention, because they would make a perfect match.

The house that Witold lived in was quite large for being a villager home. This was the last thing that she wanted to do. She could see the house in the distance, it was not far off. Sora's heart started to pound. Her stomage started to flop along with her racing heart beat. Sora took a deep breath. As she approached, she even started to feel light headed. She finally realized that she had been holding her breath. So she let it out in a swift whoosh. Then sucked in more air. She was nervous and had to manually breath in and out. Sora just never realized how hard it would be to tell Witold that she did not want to partner him.

The seemingly eternal walk to his home finally ended. Sora stood on the stoop waiting for some miraculous motivation to pull the door chain. As Sora was reaching up for the chain, the door swung open, and someone came barreling out of the home, knocking Sora to the ground.

"Ahh! Watch out!" Sora called.

She looked up and saw Witold with a sheen of sweat making his coppery skin look extra brilliant. Witold wasn't a bad looking Kiswan. His hair had the hue of a deep green, along with his eyes. He was just as slender as any Kiswan, but he was the most awkward and said the wrong thing nearly every time. He was much too predictable, and Sora knew that he would never allow her to roam on her adventures if they were to partner. Kiswan had a few more years on Sora, he was born four years ahead of her.

"Sora! I'm so sorry, I was just rushing to your home." Witold stood up and offered his hand to help her up. "I just heard that you have been given a quest. Is is true?"

Sora didn't want to actually face him. She dusted off her pants and said, "Yes, it is true. I leave tonight, before the sun goes down."

"Oh." The pain and surprise is obvious in Witold's eyes. He backs away slightly and looks down at the earth. "How long might you be gone?"

"Well, my task is to find all of the new lands that have been found and document them." Her voice lost gusto as she looked up and saw the hurt on his face. "Witold." He looked up at Sora looking like he might cry. "We have never been a right match. I might be gone for many months. You should choose someone else to partner. I know you could find a young female who would appreciate you so much more than I could."

That was not the right thing to say. He glared at Sora. Suddenly Witold did not look as boyish as he always does. He looked like a hurt bull ready to fight for what was his. This frightened Sora. Not for her life, but for her freedom. Witold said, "I should come with you. We could perform the partnering ceremony, and leave together."

I gaped at him in shock. He would slow me down, and probably get us killed. "Witold, you understand that when the king issues a quest, it is for that one person alone."

"Yes, but you are a female!" Witold shot out with slight rage in his voice. The green hue flashed the sunlight, which made him look even more intimidating. "Surely, your father will not be sending you out on your own and unprotected! That would be foolish of him!"

Witold turned around ready to stomp away. "Witold! Wait!" Sora said. "You had better watch your words and tone you use with father, or else you might find yourself on a quest, leading to your death!"

Sora lurched forward and grabbed hold of Witold's arm. She spun him around, or tried to. He tripped on his feet and fell into Sora. She had caught him in an awkward embrace. They had never been that close before. Sora could feel the electricity emitting to and from her body. Witold had recovered himself, and was looking down at Sora. She looked up into his eyes and felt the shock ten fold. In that very moment, Sora realized what she was doing. She pulled away from Witold, and she took a few quick steps back from him. She noticed the puzzled look on his face. She felt the same way that he looked. What could that have meant? All she knew was that she was now looking at Witold in an all new light, and he knew it. Suddenly he did not seem as undesirable. How much more can a few minutes change?

Confused, Sora said, "I'm sorry Witold. I have a lot to do in order to leave. I must go. Have words with the king if you wish, but remember that an assigned quest is irremovable. It must be fulfilled."

Sora took one more glance up at Witold, he returned her gaze, and right then her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed. Sora turned abruptly in her tracks and ran off toward the royal home. She began to feel the tears come only seconds away from leaving his presence. At the time of departing from him, Sora's emptiness increased. She needed answers.

Sora threw open the doors to the royal home and turned left down the first hall keeping up the fast pace. Few Kiswan popped their heads out of the door to see what was the hurry, and some jumped out of Sora's way. Sora ran all the way to her own chambers. She threw open the door and landed on her bed sobbing.

Agatha who was putting away clothes and books but stopped what she was doing and came to Sora's side. "What is it deary?" Agatha patted Sora's sleek hair gently brushing it away from Sora's face.

"What is wrong with me Agatha! I have never fancied him," Sora said in exasperation. "Why do I suddenly feel like I am losing my world in leaving him?"

"Who?" Agatha asked, "Witold?"

Sora looked up at Agatha, and nodded. It all just felt so wrong! Her pining over someone that she only enjoyed spending time with during their very young years.

"What is wrong you ask?" Agatha looked at Sora and laughed. "You have experienced what nearly every Kiswan experiences in their early years. Love."

Sora looked up. "That can't be!"

"How impossible is it really. Witold is handsome is he not?" Agatha sat down next to Sora on the bed. "He is a lot more grown up than you have ever thought of him, isn't he?"

Sora's face reddened. She looked away. "This can't be. I am leaving tonight. I have to forget that this ever happened."

Agatha took Sora's face in her soft wrinkled hands. "Deary, you cannot run away from fate. It appears that this partnership was not only planned by your parents but by those who control destiny as well."

Sora did not want to accept it. She had never loved Witold, and as long as she does not see him again, she was confident that she could forget him. She had to.

"I will speak no more of this, and neither will you Agatha!" Sora was upset that Agatha was not saying what she wanted to hear. "Please, Agatha! My parents cannot know what happened. This quest is too important!"

Agatha appraised Sora quietly. "Fine, I will keep this secret, but you had better take this time away to really consider Witold."

"Thank you Agatha!" Sora did not acknowledge Agatha's request, and Agatha noticed. Sora got up and slipped into her bathroom. "I will make this quest a successful one!"

Agatha frowned. "Be not surprised if when you return, Witold is waiting for you to fulfill your promise to partner."

Sora pretended not to hear Agatha. When Sora left the bathroom, Agatha was no longer in her room. Her spirits were brightened with the thought of the last task before departure. Sora placed her bag on the bed. She took inventory one last time. She knew that this one item, her father would never allow to leave the archive. Sora would have to sneak back into the royal home to steal the map to the whole world.

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#4: Preparation

2011-03-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sora had two nights before the night sky would be dark. The only thing that she would have to do was cover the stars with clouds, and plan for any interruptions. Coming up with the supplies would be the easy part. The disappearing would be the hardest.

Sora took her time on her walk back to the royal house. She took in the vegetation surrounding her. The best times to think were when Sora was alone and in the wild. She needed to figure out the perfect cover. She had a few ideas forming, but nothing seemed right yet. What she needed, was to get a hold of the maps that were drawn by her ancestors before the time of the humans. If she could do that and convince her parents that she was ready for a long journey by herself, she would be set. While plucking a beautiful lily from its stem, an idea popped into Sora's head. She knew exactly what she needed to do and say in order to get permission for this journey.

Sora looked up at the sky, the evening colors were beginning to set in. The blue sky was melding into purple with soft streaks of pink and orange. Off to the east Sora could see the faint sliver of the moon beginning to rise. She knew that she needed to start her plan right away in order to be ready to go by the next night. A smile spread across Sora's beautiful face. Her heart sped up, and she dashed through the forest toward home.

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Sora was greeted at the front gate to the royal home by the day servants leaving for the night. Sora's personal servant greeted her with a big hug. The old lady was the closest thing to a second mother (aka grandmother). "I see you have been adventuring again today young lady," Agatha said affectionately. "I haven't seen you since you arose this morning!"

"I know, Agatha." I said. "I had a lot of fun though! I found a waterfall that is so beautiful! I would love to show it to you one day!"

Agatha looked at Sora more carefully then. "Ah, I see you have been swimming again. I hope you don't forget that water takes life!"

"But not mine Agatha! I can swim, just like a fish!"

"You are such a silly girl!" exclaimed Agatha. She smiled at Sora with a twinkle in her eye. "Your parents are getting anxious that you were not yet home. They don't want to eat without you."

"Okay, I will go straight in to see them!" Sora hugged Agatha good night. "See you in the morning Agatha!"

They parted ways, and Sora slowed down her pace in order to slow her heart. All of that running had her worked up. She wanted to appear calm and collected in front of the king tonight.

Sora's thoughts wondered to Agatha. She was such a dear old woman. Sora's second mother had passed on to the earth when Sora was quite young. Her name had been Hespi. Hespi was her father's mother. She was very old when she passed. King Otto would tell Sora stories about her as a great queen, and as a great mother. She lived to be nearly two hundred years old. A great feat, even among the Kiswan.

Sora walked into the royal home. The high rock walls curved at the top to form a domed ceiling. The Kiswan built their homes out of the stone and ground. They would call upon Mother Nature to help form and move the rocks to the proper places. The rock walls, floor, and ceiling helped keep the home nice and cool. The hallways were tall and narrow, and they lead to a series of chambers around the outside of the great feast hall. Many of the walls were decorated by noted royal artists over the centuries. Some had paintings of mountains and valleys, while others had paintings of the people and their houses. Many of the houses were very similar to the royal home. The only difference was in the size of the royal home compared to the home of the villagers.

The royal home had to be big enough to house visitors of the neighboring villages. Many people came and went, some staying longer than others. Even some of the servants had rooms in the royal home. However, the majority of them chose to stay in their own houses with their families. The royal home was larger than the average villager's home, because it was a tradition to invite all of the villagers twice a year to feast with the king, queen, and their offspring.

As Sora continued down the long hallway that lead straight to the hall, she began to get whiffs of garlic and onions mingled with game, and she could hear chatter among the servants as they set about completing their duties. Down one adjoining hallway, Sora could hear someone singing a lullaby.

Sora pushed open the door to the great feast hall. She saw her father and mother both sitting at their places at the table. The table was very long. It could seat fifty people alone. During the great banquets, eleven more of these tables would be brought into the hall. The hall itself was huge. It had torches glowing on sconces around the room. The high stone walls arched up at the top to form a partial open ceiling. The light shown in through eight holes. Each hole resembles the petal of a flower.

Sora looked up at the ceiling as she approached the table. The sun was nearing the end of its decent toward the west. The sky was full of orange and pink, with clouds highlighted in the same. This was Sora's favorite part of the feast hall. The opening in the ceiling actually looked like a beautiful pink and orange flower.

Sora first greeted her mother Sasha. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders and hugged her. Upon parting, Sora kissed her gently on the cheek. Next she greeted her father Otto, with the same hug, and the gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Where have you been Sora?" Otto said. "You are lucky that we have just barely sat down to eat. We would not have wanted you to go to bed hugnry."

"I'm sorry father. I was out in the woods, it was a beautiful day." Sora said. "I found this beautiful lilly for you mother."

Sora then retrieved the flower out of her pack and handed it to her mother. She proceeded around her father to the other side of the table to sit cross the table from her mother. (It is customary for the king to sit at the head of the table with his wife to the right, and the heir to the left.)

"Sorry I am late." Sora said.

"No worries, you are here now. Let us eat!" King Otto said in a raised voice.

At his words, the dinner servants bustled out with trays filled with plates of food. Onions and garlic with wild game meat, and all of the plants from the garden were the star of the evening, each cooked to perfection. The custom was to eat, then talk. A queen many years ago was self-conscious of people watching her talk and eat, so she decreed that they talk after the food had been consumed. The tradition stuck.

Once their stomachs were full, each would sit back in his chair and wait for the others to finish eating. Sora was finished first. She patiently waited for her mother and father to finish. She wanted to present her request in the best way. She had many different confrontations going through her head, but she could not decide upon one.

The king and queen had finished without Sora's notice, and both were watching her curiously. "Ah hem." The king cleared his throat. "Sora, I have a matter of business to discuss with you."

Sora started. She sat up in her chair and said, "Father, if I may, address you first?" Sora hesitated. The king did not like to be put off like that. "I have been thinking about something a lot lately, and I need to ask your permission before we go any further."

The king was not irritated, but curious. Scrunching up his blue hued eyebrows he said, "You may proceed."

Sora stole a quick glance at her mother. She had a soft face, and her eyes and hair had the hue of sunlight in them. Most thought of her as a rare beauty, that is, until Sora was born with the same characteristics.

"I have been thinking that I want to go on another journey. Well, more of a quest." She said it fast, like she would forget it, or lose the nerve. Sora glanced back and forth between her mother and her father. Her heart rate sped up a little, anxious for a response. The official quests were given to male Kiswan. Sora cannot remember ever hearing about a female being granted a quest.

"Hmm... Sora," King Otto said. "You realize that you are the heir to the throne, and you are expected to partner Witold at the end of the summer? A quest may take you away from here for many months."

"Yes, sir," Queen Sasha said. "However, Sora has proved to be very resourceful, and I am confident that she could make this a just and profitable quest. You said yourself that we need to find more land."

"That I did," said the king. "But I did not intend it to be our daughter. She is far to precious to me to send her out like that."

"Otto!" The Queen scolded. "You know better than to consider Sora as a typical helpless female. She has accomplished many more things than most males! She can swim for earth sakes!"

"Baaaah! Woman!" Otto said. He sighed then looked at Sora. "What do you wish to achieve with this quest?"

Sora cleared her throat. She was surprised at how her mother stood up for her. It must be because her mother knows that Sora has no interest in ever partnering that Kiswan Witold. Just because she had never fancied a male before does not mean she would never. Most of the males her age were just ridiculous! She wanted to partner for love, just like her parents had. Besides, rulers in love, would be much better for the kingdom.

"Father, I want to do what you suggest." Sora declared. "I want to find new land and new things, and bring them here. I want to scour our kingdom and find the places that are not on the maps. I want to be able to draw new and updated maps. We all know that our maps are very outdated."

"That I can agree with," said Otto. "Our men have found vast amounts of land within the protective barriers that were never documented. Let it be written. Sora heir to Kiswone will embark on her quest in one week....."

"Um, father?" Sora interrupted. I was thinking, uh... the sooner I leave, the better. I was thinking tomorrow night."

Otto looked at Sora slightly puzzled but said, "Sora leaves tomorrow. There is much to do. Let us make preparations. Whatever Sora needs, grant her. And we will have to contact Witold and inform him of the postponement of the ceremony."

Sora jumped into her father's arms nearly knocking his chair back. "Thank you father! Thank you! You won't be sorry for this! I will make you proud!"

Sora went and kissed her mother on her cheek and whispered, "Thank you." Then she was off to her chambers to make a list of provisions and a plan. In her excitement, Sora didn't even hear the king. She had forgotten all about the fact that he wanted to address something to her. She was too excited to think of anything else.

I'll be plotting over the next day or two.

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#3: A Destiny

2011-03-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is part #3 to a series of blog posts

Sora walked down the narrow tunnel examining the walls for anything out of the ordinary. She ran her fingers along the rough rock. The person responsible for creating this tunnel was very skilled, because despite the roughness of the rock, the wall seemed to be without flaw. It did not seem to have any dents or cracks. She traveled for some time. The tunnel never veered left or right, it just continued straight with a gradual decline.

After some time of walking, Sora finally reached the end of the tunnel. The tunnel opened up into a large cavern. The stalactites hung from the ceiling with stalagmites reaching up from underneath. Some of them had even joined in the middle creating huge pillars from floor to ceiling. There was a faint sound of water dripping, slow and steady. The air smelled of wet rock, but was nice and cool. Sora felt great relief from the stuffy tunnel and the hot summer air outside.

Sora walked into the center. She could feel a breeze coming from the opposite side of the cavern, yet there did not seem to be an opening on the other side. From what she could see upon scanning the walls was that this was a dead end. There didn't seem to be any obvious signs of why she was so drawn down the tunnel.

Sora sat down on the cool rock. She really liked the cave. It had a cool calming feeling about it. She felt like she could think very clearly sitting there on the cold floor. As she was staring off across the cave, she saw a little flicker of light. When she blinked and looked in the direction of the light, it was gone. Sora wondered if it was in her imagination. She got up anyway and walked across the cavern floor. As she approached the far side where there was a small crevice in the wall, Sora stopped. Inside this little crevice, there were writings from floor to ceiling. The words were very bright compared to the dark wet stone, so that there was no mistaking what they said. Sora stepped back in order to read the message as a whole.

"A time will come when the border to the land will have to be breached. You will know when this time has come. Only few are chosen to know this secret. If you have found this, then you are ready to move forward. Our civilization is going to dwindle without the technology that can be provided from the humans outside. The kings do not agree with this, but it is true. Come to this cave at the new moon of the sixth month in the year, and you will find safe passage through the earth and into the realm of the humans.
The magic is set to happen during the new moon only if there is no light in the sky. You will have to command the clouds to cover the stars. Darkness will be your best protection.
Prepare plenty of food and supplies, as it will take you many days to reach the human civilization. Good luck, and may mother nature be always with you."

Sora's heart skipped with excitement. It is almost like she was meant to find this. She felt like she was lead to this very place in order to see this message. She had no idea that her civilization could be in jeopardy without human help. The magic that the Kiswan have can be very powerful. Sora wondered if someone could see the future with his magic.

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The royal blood line has the ability to wield more power than the normal beings of the kingdom. It was given to them from the earth as a gift to prosper in peace. When a royal partners with one not of royal blood, the offspring lose some of their power. Over the centuries, many have lost a lot of power. Love was driven to take over that power. Those beings did not seem to mind, because they were happy. They were left with barely enough power to heal minor wounds, and grow a meager harvest.

Sora's magic had not yet reached her potential. She needed to partner in a ceremony under the consent of her father, and mother earth to reach that level of power. So far, any of the other royal males were not at all interesting to her. She would rather grow old without pairing with any of them. However, it was her destiny to produce an heir. The royal she would pair would eventually become king with Sora as queen. Their youngest offspring would then be next in line for the leadership of the kingdom.

As it stood at this time, Sora could wield enough power to heal ailments, and to grow enormous crops of food. She could also control the elements. It rarely rained over her head, only when she wanted it to. Many of the Kiswan did not like the rain, so the royal families usually controlled it to pour out over their crops, leaving the villages dry and warm. Sora's potential could be so much more. She could wield the power from the earth's core in order to control more than just the elements. With that power comes a lot of responsibility. Sora was not sure that she even wanted to have that opportunity, but as the youngest of her parent's offspring, it was her destiny.

The Kiswan royal family will have a baby, and if that baby is to be the heir to the throne, then they would have no more offspring. The king can use the power in the earth to determine the destiny of that child. If it is not the official heir, then the king and queen will keep having offspring until the right one is born.

Just like Sora's dislike of the special treatment, she did not like the destiny that was set before her. She was convinced that her parents just did not want to have any more offspring since she was offspring number 21. This was the largest royal family in history. Sora's eldest brother will have fifty-seven years of life, this year end. (Remember the Kiswan live twice that of a human, and therefore reproduce at a much slower rate).

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Sora examined the message on the cave wall one more time. She laughed to herself. She was sure that her destiny was pulling her away from becoming queen of this land. She felt her destiny saying that she would be heading for greatness.

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End of part 3

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#2: Finding a Way

2011-03-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

Sora was born in the royal home. She was always a strong willed young one. Her father? The king. She had a privileged life, one that she did not care for. She wanted to be among the beings in the kingdom. She wanted to cultivate the land, and raise fields of vegetation. Sora despised the special treatment that people tried to give her. When she would venture out into the realm, most people would stop to open doors, offer drinks, and bow to her. As princess, she just wanted to melt away. Disappearing was the only thing that brought her the least bit of interest. She thought about it every morning before arising out of bed, and every night just before drifting off. Often just the fantasy of leaving the realm on an adventure would bring a smile to her face.

Ever since she was a child, Sora heard stories about the ancients who would travel so far across the world in search of new and amazing things. Sora had scoured every inch of the Kiswone Nation, and she had grown tired of the exotic foliage that grew in every part of her nation. After twenty years of life, Sora was ready for some adventure.

No one had stepped outside of the borders since the barriers were initially put up. The thing that puzzled Sora so much was the fact that no one seemed to care that they were basically prisoners inside their own land. Sure, they had plenty of food, and they were free to go where ever they wanted as long as they did not breach the borders of the land. The atmosphere contained a gloomy presence. No one really seemed to be content. People were happy, but there was a hole within the lives of the Kiswan people. Sora was determined to break the doldrums. Not only did she long for her freedom to see the rest of the world, but she loved her people and knew that instating this freedom would make them happy.

Most Kiswans cannot swim very well, so they usually did not venture into water for fear of ending their life too soon. Sora's strong will drove her to accomplish many things that most of her people did not even consider doing. When she was fairly young, she was exploring next to a pond. She had climbed a tree and was trying to see the other side of the pond. The branch snapped, and she plunged into the water. Sora fought and thrashed at the water in a panic. Finally, she let her instincts take over. She held her breath and laid back. She found out how easy it was to float. After that she learned that not everything just sinks down to the bottom like a rock. She started visiting the pond daily. She was even able to swim all the way across it. Her adventures in swimming were merely the beginning of her need for it. The adrenaline rush kept her busy. It kept her happy.

No one knew, but Sora had been scouting the nation in search of a hole in the protective barrier. She found a few caves hidden very well that had writings on the wall. One in particular was behind a water fall. The water fall was one of the most beautiful things that she had ever seen. The rocks all around it were threatening to catch anyone daring enough to try to jump off into the water hole. Sora would climb down around the water hole to throw rocks into the water. The trees surrounded the area, so if felt like a private room, and the sun shown through the hole in the trees making the water glisten. Green vines hung from the trees and some even tangled into the water. The water had a beautiful blue green color. It was the place that Sora would visit to meditate.

One day while lounging in the sun at the water hole, Sora saw a glimmer in the waterfall. It seemed to be on the other side of the waterfall. She had never even considered that there would be anything behind the water that fell from the cliffs above. She kicked off her shoes and waded into the chilly water. Once waist deep, she dove in and plunged under water swimming toward the water fall. Fish darted around her alarmed at her presence. The bottom was too deep to see, but Sora knew that there was something big lurking at the bottom. She never saw it, but whenever she dove under water, she could feel the presence. It was as if mother nature herself were awakening because someone was invading her territory.

Sora came to the surface to get a deep breath before she dove under in order to avoid some of the weight of the falling water. Breathing deeply while treading water, Sora took one more gulp of breath and dove down kicking fiercely with her legs. The presence in the water was alarming, yet welcoming. She could not see anything, but knew something was watching. Her heart started pumping fast. As Sora started to swim under the pounding water, she was drawn down even deeper. She had never been that deep before. Her lungs were starting to call out for air. She knew she would never make it back to the top in time. She kicked her legs as the last bit of adrenaline pulsed through her body. She closed her eyes and stretched her hands out in front of her. As soon as her arms were extended, they bumped into the rock. She began swimming up, feeling the pressure of the waterfall wein, and the surfacing water helping her rise faster. Sprouting out of the water like a great fish, Sora gulped in air. She clung to the rock that formed a flat platform on the inside of the waterfall. She dragged herself up onto the rock, her chested heaved as she laid there marvelling that she did not die.

Once she had calmed her breathing, Sora began looking around. It was odd being on the other side of the waterfall. It was darker than she expected. She was sitting in the mouth of the cave. The inside of the cave had the appearance of a funnel. The mouth was quite large, but it met in the middle making a narrow hallway. Sora stood then approached the entrance. The opening was a few feet higher than Sora's own head, and wide enough to fit two of her side-by-side. Sora glanced around to take in everything about the mouth of this particular cave. Nothing about it seemed to be natural. Her nerves were jumpy and her ears tuned to the slightest of sound. Other than these obvious warnings, Sora a felt very strong power pulling her toward the tunnel. It was so dark, and evil things can live in the dark.
Just like she was about to dive under the waterfall, Sora took a deep breath and walked into the tunnel.

Now I should mention that conveniently enough, the Kiswan can see perfectly in the dark. They did not have the same electricity that the humans had developed. Their energy and light came from the power in the earth's core. Their senses were much more atuned to the darkness.

To be continued.....

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If you like this so far, please, feel free to share it with others, and to subscribe! I will see how far I can make this story go! As of right now, I have a general idea of what is going to happen. It is kind of fun to just wing it without an outline or anything.

#1: An Introduction

2011-03-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

**I had started this story on a different blog url. However, after nearly a year of starting the story, I decided that the story needed its own blog. So, I am moving all of the episodes here to this new blog.**

I have come up with an idea that just keeps on picking at me. I need to start it now, otherwise, like my other novel, it will be over two years in the making.

REMEMBER: This is a rough draft.
A work of fiction

An Introduction

The Kiswone nation is one that is unknown to humans. The inhabitants are a very ancient being, who can control the forces of mother nature. Humans call this kind of power magic because they do not understand where the power comes from. The Kiswan avoid all war and conflict, even among themselves. They live quiet lives in the peace of their own land. Their young are taught to fear the edge of The Kiswone Nation, perhaps with tales of dangerous humans.

The Kiswan are not quite humans, although they look very similar. They were created millennia ago from the vegetation combining its matter with the dust of the earth. Since their creation, they pair up together much like humans but reproduce at a much slower pace, since their life expectancy is twice that of a human. Their features are fine. Most have brown hair with matching eyes. Each individual has a unique hue in their hair and eyes. Their skin has a coppery tone. It would make a human look twice to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him. All Kiswan are tall and slender. They move with ease, and can run through a forest without being heard.
The Kiswan brought the dinosaurs from the earth as well. They used the creatures like humans use cows, chickens, horses, and all of the animals found on the earth now. Each dinosaur had its use. However, it was not in their nature to last like their creators. They eventually perished through the centuries leading to the appearance of humans.

They did not need much land because it was not in their nature to fight and start opposing nations. However many ventured into the uninhabited land across the world. The main quest was to bring back rare species of plants that they would mate with the vegetation indigenous to the Nation. Many would take whole herds of dinosaurs with them in order to survive the elements. Even though some of these quests kept away certain individuals for many years, each one would find his way back to Kiswone, to his family.

Once the first two humans, one male and the other female, appeared in a garden many miles away from the border of the Kiswone Nation, the current king decided to put up a barrier in order to keep these alien creatures out. It was an unfortunate fact that many of the Kiswan who were off on adventures and quests were not able to return. Those were forced to find new dwellings across the world, and find a way to survive. Some of these Kiswan even pared up with the offspring of the first two humans. Generation after generation, the blocked out Kiswan forgot where they came from, and evolved into a more human like being.

It is said that the Kiswan people protect their domain by pulling energy from the earth's core at the borders of their land. These boundaries give the illumination of water. Humans would call it a mirage. It is said that this mirage is so powerful, that the human will be influenced to believe that he is at the edge of land, at the ocean. It would almost be like he is in a cyber space. He could be basking in the sun, or swimming in the ocean, but none of it is real.

Their mysteries have been mere legend. They exist in tales that most humans tell their children to scare them into obedience. It is human nature to fear the things that are not understood. As children, humans are taught that three-quarters of the earth is made up of water, and the last quarter, land. There is speculation that the water percentage is much less, and that humans cannot see the land that is hidden. The few that know of the Kiswan people believe the water to be one-quarter of the earth, and the remainder land. These findings would change the world.

The power hungry nations on earth would immediately wish to claim this land as their own. The Kiswan Kings have watched from a distance as, through time, the Native Americans were driven to small sections of land in America. These ancient beings made a pact that none would ever leave the land of Kiswone, thus protecting their people forever.

Through the centuries, the Kiswan developed intelligence, just like the humans. Both creatures developed right next to one-another. Cities were built, and many kinds of technologies to sustain a way of life. However, there was a very big difference with the two sets of beings. The Kiswan made things from the earth. I suppose you could say that since humans were willing to experiment with unnatural substances, they progressed a lot faster in what the humans call the twenty-first century. Little did either race know, that their worlds would collide together.

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