Quest for the Crystals chapter 36

Hello! So the first scene was inspiredby two of my younger friends, but I edited some parts out so I could post it here.😁

Hope you enjoy and See ya later Iggyfeathers!

Chapter 36 The Trader 

 Rose was pacing back and forth in front of their crackling fireplace trying to think of some way to help the Wingfeathers. “Well, we could.. wait no that won't work or we might.. no we don't have enough people for that or maybe no that won't work either…” she said as her pacing became a little quicker. 

“Rose, calm down, we'll find a way.” Sophia said. 

“How can I possibly calm down at a time like this? Literally, my friend is going to war with one of the craziest queens there ever was! And to make matters even worse she's probably coming to our home and trying to steal our crystal!” Rose snapped, as she stopped pacing to look at Sophia with worry in her eyes. Rose continued to pace while her little sister Emily played with their squeak. (It's kinda like a bunny)

“What did Kal and the others ever do to Queen Opal?” Rose asked, as she continued to think of what to do. 

“Oh yes, your friend Kalmar.” Sophia said

“Oh you stop it…” Rose replied

“Ugggh, this would be so much easier if we could leave the Emerald Kingdom!” Rose groaned, sinking into their soft, navy blue sofa. 

For the next two hours the three sisters tried to come up with ways that they could help the Wingfeathers and protect their own kingdom without actually leaving their kingdom. They didn't come up with much.

Suddenly the clock struck three and Rose remembered that she still had to clean the Great Pixie Tree for Mr. Stars. 

“I have to go to work… but come over if you come up with any ideas.” Rose said, as she went over to the door and grabbed her bag off of the counter and walked out the door.

Rose opened the large wooden door to the Great Pixie Tree and stepped inside. She saw that the duster that she left on the floor was sitting exactly where she left it, right underneath the table. She picked it up, sighed, and started dusting the table again. When she was done she grabbed the broom and swept the entire Great Pixie Tree. 

When an idea came to her, Mr. Stars was so kind to her to let her be his apprentice that she thought it would be a great idea to clean his office. She went over to the little purplish door and knocked on it calling “Mr. Stars, are you in there? You told me to clean the Great Pixie Tree and I thought it would be a good idea to clean your office too.” No answer, “Okay, I'm coming in!” she said and again no answer. Her heart thumped and she turned the silver door handle with an etched symbol of two fairy wings on it, and the door opened. 

Inside was like nothing she had ever seen before. The entire room was just bookcases. But not just any bookcases, these bookcases had ancient books that she'd never seen in her life. At the center of the room was a large desk with piles and piles and piles of books on it. Then in the corner of the room was a large table full of strange objects: beakers, beakers with liquids in them, a type of gold dust, a cauldron and even a bottle of extra fizzy soda. 

She went over to the desk and looked around. She opened one of the drawers in the desk to see about 30 brown wands. Then she took a look at the bookcases. It shocked her when she read some of the titles. “The Ancient History of the Emerald Kingdom” was one of them, but the one that made her heart leap was titled “The Great Wingfeather / Pixie War.” 

She immediately, without any question, lifted the book off the shelves and cracked it open. She flipped through the pages and looked at all the beautifully drawn illustrations and started reading at the first page. She was shocked to read that the mentor and leader that she always thought was someone trustworthy; actually, was not only not an elf and not a wizard, but actually, is Queen Opal's father! She couldn't believe her eyes with the fact that Mr. Stars, the wizard, wasn't a wizard at all, he was actually Mr. Stars, Opal's father! 

Her heart thumped as she put the book down for the fact that she couldn't read any further. It was just too much. Then she looked at the table with a new found curiosity. She saw on the table something that she hadn't noticed when she first walked in: a little golden medallion. She looked at it carefully and saw that etched on the medallion was the initials E.S. Emerald Stars. She was thinking to herself when suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps! “Oh no!!” She exclaimed, also to herself, and she looked around the room quickly for somewhere to hide as the steps grew louder. She instantly darted underneath the desk, as Mr. Stars walked in, slamming the door behind him. 

“Oh, how tiring it is to put up with this act! If it wasn't for those Annierians I would be living happily in my palace with my family! Certainly, not having to be a silly old wizard, pretending to be an elf protecting the Emerald Forest!” Mr. Stars said angrily. 

Tears of betrayal stung Rose's eyes as she held her breath for fear of being found underneath the desk. 

“Now I have successfully gotten the villagers all riled up with the fake war. My next task is to steal the Emerald Kingdom's crystal!” Mr. Stars said, grinning with ease. At this Rose had to cover her mouth. She couldn't believe that Mr. Stars was planning to take the thing that protects their entire kingdom. “Some king he is!” Rose thought to herself. She couldn't believe that this person who was thought to be an old, kind wizard and who was supposed to protect them; now turns out to be actually a king who was planning to destroy his own kingdom. 

“I just have to make sure that pest of an apprentice that I have, stays out of my way!” Mr. Stars said to himself, as he took some of the golden dust and sprinkled it over his head. The words stung Rose’s heart like a million thorns from the prickly pear bushes. 

But she pushed herself to keep watching Mr. Stars for what he did next; she almost couldn't believe it and probably wouldn't have if she hadn't had read the book. He took off his cape to reveal a pair of blue shiny fairy wings. 

“Ah, that's better," he said as the golden dust tingled all around his wings and he started to float as his wings flapped. “You know when Opal said that she found a way to recreate pixie dust, I had my doubts, but this is surely something.” Mr. Stars exclaimed as his wings took off and he flew around the room. A moment later, he landed back down next to his experiment table. He picked up a beaker full of a yellowish, green toxic  chemical and walked over to his desk exactly where Rose was hiding underneath. She held her breath as her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest for fear of what Mr. Stars was going to do to her. But he didn't see her. Instead he grabbed the little golden medallion on top of the desk and went back to his experiment table. 

He flipped open the little medallion and suddenly a hologram of Queen Opal appeared. 

“What is it this time? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something right now?” Opal asked harshly, 

“Are you sure that the solution that you gave me will work?” Mr. Stars asked doubtfully 

“Of course I'm sure! I made that mixture myself!” she snapped as a Shapeshifter came up to her and started to ask her a question but she quickly snapped at the Shifter and went back to talking to Mr. Stars.

 “So what is exactly going to happen when I use this?” Mr. Stars asked curiously 

"I've already told you what's going to happen,” she said irritably. “I'm just trying to make sure that I don't burn our kingdom to the ground.. again.” Mr Stars said cautiously.

 Opal sighed and said, “When you touch the hourglass pillar with the solution it will open the glass causing all of the elves' stolen power to escape. Inside that hourglass is the Emerald Kingdom's crystal. The elves' magic is protecting it. Melting a hole in the glass will cause the power to escape and the crystal shall be yours to take and deliver to me.” She said coldly; she looked like she had to explain this many many times. 

“Elves’ Magic? What is she talking about?” Rose thought as she hid underneath the desk, still horrified at what would happen if Mr. Stars found her there. 

“Now I have to go now because the little Jewels of Anniera are being pests like they always are so I have to go down there and threaten them to be quiet!” she huffed as she closed her Medallion and ended the hologram. 

Mr. Stars groaned, as he closed his medallion and grumbled 

“Oh, if it wasn't for that little king! Then the elves would have never moved to the Emerald Forest and I wouldn't have had to steal their powers and put them in with the Emerald Kingdom's crystal. Then this all wouldn't have happened, but no, the Annierians just had to attack us for no good reason!” 

He said as he walked over to the door, but not before putting his dark blue cape on and forcing a smile and slamming the door behind him. 

When she was sure he was gone, Rose took a deep breath. What had just happened to her was so nerve-wracking that she was shaking like a leaf in the wind. She managed to stand up and forced herself to read on in the book. What she found out next was what she had overheard Mr. Stars and Opal talking about. 

Apparently after King Esben Wingfeather hurt Princess Ruby, all of the fairies were taken from the Emerald Forest. King Emerald Stars had to disguise himself as an old wizard; he even had to drink an aging potion to really sell it. And he tricked all the elves into giving him all of their magic so he could keep The Great Pixie Tree alive in order to hide the Emerald kingdom's crystal. 

It seems like Ruby (at that time in the book, Opal) went off on her own to try to get revenge on the Wingfeathers for doing everything that they did to her. And she was never able to talk to Mr. Stars except in  a private conversation with a special magical medallion given to the king and the second born royal. 

This information caused Rose to not only look at her world differently, but also see how much her home was in grave, grave danger. She carefully put the book back on the shelf, exactly how she had found it, split open the door, and ran for her life for her little cottage in the Elven Village to tell her family what she had just learned.