“AVERY!” I yelled… no response. Where is she? I thought as I slowly descended the steps of the huge spaceship. Avery, My older triplet, had been missing for five minutes. But in space, anything could have happened.
“BOO!” a voice yelled. I screamed, “Gotcha!” my older triplet said gleefully. I made a face.
“Avery, I was worried,” I said. We walked to the kitchen and found our mom preparing breakfast.
“Arya, can you go wake up Alecia?” my mom asked me. I nodded and went all the way back up.
I tiptoed into our room and shouted, “ALECIA WAKE UP!”
My younger triplet jolted awake and said, “I’m up!” Alecia and I made our way to the kitchen and found food laid out on the table.
“Dig in!” Mom said. Avery, Alecia, and I sat at the table and immediately started talking about the new world we were sent to find.
“Maybe we will find a planet made out of plastic,” Avery said.
“Or maybe a planet made out of sugar!” I said enthusiastically.
“Mmm,” both Alecia and Avery replied.
“Good morning girls!” a voice boomed.
“Hi, Dad,” the three of us said in unison.
After breakfast Alecia, Avery, and I looked out the window and I gasped, “Wow!” Outside was an explosion of color. Purple, blue, and green sparkles swirled together creating what looked like a dragon. Suddenly the rocket came to an abrupt stop.
BOOM! The lights flashed red. Our mom and dad hurried us out of the rocket right before the whole rocket turned red. “Hi!” a voice said, “What’s with the fancy head helmets?”
I took off my helmet. “Arya!” Mom said.
“There is oxygen on this planet!” I said. One by one my family took off their helmets.
“Of course there is ox-ee-jin,” said a different voice.
“Who are you?” Avery asked.
“Well, I’m Princess Jewelia,” said the voice that had greeted us.
“And I’m Princess Luna,” said the voice that had said “ox-ee-gin”. The two girls stepped into the light and the three of us gasped. Jewelia and Luna looked very alike, but the three of us knew them as someone else.
“EMMA!!’ Avery said.
“ELLA?” Alecia asked. Jewelia and Luna both rolled their eyes.
“Yes, we went undercover as those names before,” Jewelia started.
“But, we are not who you know us to be,” Luna finished. Alecia and Avery didn’t look so good after that. I thought it was because of what had just happened, but it was something completely different.
Jewelia and Luna let us stay in their Palace while we were here, and it was HUGE! The first thing I did was run around the living room. I expected Avery and Alecia to follow, but they just stayed where they were. Jewelia showed us to our rooms, and we all got a different room. I think Alecia was disappointed about not sharing a room with Avery and me anymore, but Avery seemed happy enough.
Some time later, I cornered Avery on the steps. ``Avery! What's going on?” I asked her.
“Nothing,” she said. “Arya, leave me alone,” and it continued for a while until something in her snapped, “I SAID, NOTHING HAPPENED!” Avery screamed. I blinked. “Sorry,” Avery said before she ran back to her room. Puzzled, I wandered around the enormous palace looking for something interesting.
I tripped and fell in front of a large statue of a swan. “Looks like you found the great protector,” Jewelia said.
“Em-Julia, you scared me,” I said. Jewelia grinned.
“The great protector is said to have saved the Jewel moon from its doom. The great protector defeated Sapphire before she could destroy our home,” she explained. I gasped. Jewelia walked away and left me to stare in amazement at the wonderful swan who saved the day.
The next day, the five of us were woken up to the sound of metals clinking. We had the usual breakfast routine, even though we were on a faraway land in which we knew nothing about. But it was what happened after that that really surprised me.
Lightning flashed across the sky, and the wind picked up speed. “WINDSTORM!” someone cried. Jewelia trembled. Her hands became purple, and her hair faded to black.
“What’s happening?” Alecia asked.
“It's a WindStorm. They only happen under the dark moon,” Luna replied. She ran to Jewelia’s side and comforted her, “and Jewelia gets sick whenever one occurs.” When the wind passed, Luna looked at Avery, Alecia, and I, and she said, “You three, I have a quest for you, go to the caves of wonder and bring back a diamond flower.” The three of us nodded and went to our separate rooms to prepare.
I brought out a silver bag and put in a Jeweled light, a Map slate, a bottle of mineral water, snacks, a Jade vine, my notebook, a few pencils, some gold and silver coins, a change of clothes, and a Moondust sweater. I also decided to throw in some sharp diamond chunks. I flung on the backpack and made my way to the front door, and find the cave, to save the day, and to earn the trust of Jewelia and Luna.
“Hey! Wait for us!” I heard a voice yell. I turned and found Avery standing with Alecia with golden backpacks slung over their backs.
“Oh, well come along then,” I said, “I didn’t expect you to want to come.”
“Well, of course we are coming!” Avery said
I nodded at the two of them, and they nodded back. We walked out the door and headed to the large city of Crystaline to gather more information.
“Hello, Miss,” Alecia said to a girl. The girl looked at us, “Hi, I’m, um, Amber. Do you know where to find the caves of wonder?” Alecia asked.
“Um, my name is MoonLight. Why?” the girl asked. Avery and I got the act and decided to play along
“Hi, my name is Emerald, and we are visiting this area. We are from the, ummm-” Avery started.
“Hi! I’m Diamond, and we are from the Jeweltop region,” I intervened.
“Um, okay, the Caves are right here,” MoonLight marked a spot on my Map. We thanked her and headed to where the caves were located.
Alecia gasped. Inside the dark, spooky cave was a meadow of glowing diamond flowers. They were pretty deep inside of the cave, so we decided to rest for the night. We built a campsite, and I wore my sweater. Avery brought blankets so that we were able to sleep comfortably until the morning came.
I woke up to the sound of screaming. “THE FLOWERS, THERE GONE!” Avery wailed. We looked at the spot they used to be in.
“They must only grow at night,” I reasoned. Alecia nodded. “So all we can do right now is walk to the spot we saw earlier and when the moonlight lets them bloom we can pick them,” Alecia said. Avery nodded, and we started to make our way deeper into the dark mystical cave of wonder.
I felt Alecia shiver in the cold. I slipped the sweater onto her shoulders, and she looked at me gratefully. I gazed at the dark, cold cave and shivered in fear.
As we ventured into the cave, I was constantly hearing sounds, such as gems scraping together. Alecia and Avery could also hear it, and we went to investigate the sound once we were close enough.
“I FOUND SOMETHING!” Avery called. Alecia and I rushed to see what she was talking about. There were three butterflies flying around, causing the noise. The blue butterfly flew to Alecia, the pink one flew to Avery, and the purple one flew to me. Suddenly, we started to float in the air, and the butterflies told us what happened to the flowers: flashing images and playing sounds in our brains.
“The flowers only bloom every windstorm,” the butterflies told us. “The petals have a healing power so many people go to find one, but most do not return. The only people to have ever returned were Queen Jade, Jewelia and Luna. and of course you three. Sadly, most of the flowers have died, but six remain. We will bring you to the spot where the five remaining flowers thrive.”
We floated deeper into the cave and found a patch of the flowers. We picked all six of the flowers, and the butterflies flew us back to the outside of the cave. “You three have Jewel Moon blood inside of you,” the butterflies said, and with that they disappeared.
“Wait? What do you mean we have Jewel Moon blood?” Alecia shrieked.
At the same time Avery shouted, “Wait come back!” I looked at the spot where the butterflies once flew.
“Let’s go back to the palace,” I said. Alecia and Avery nodded. We packed up all of our stuff and made our way back to the palace.
I took out the map slate, and it was pretty useful. There was a dot on the map labeled “You” and the route back to the palace was highlighted in white. We followed the map as best as we could but found ourselves even farther away from the Palace than before.
“Oh, no,” Avery whimpered. I looked at the map.
There were no longer images on it, just words. “To get back there is a track, but beware of the scare you will face on the back,” I read ominously.
“Huh?” Alecia said.
“Well the first part most likely means that there is a path leading back to the palace, but there are some sort of guardians protecting the path and there is something scary we will have to face on the way,” Avery reasoned. Suddenly the map showed a path heading straight to the palace.
“Ouch!” I said. “BEES!”
I screamed, and stared at my swollen finger.
“No, these are Swools,” Alecia explained. “Their bite makes the limb that they bite swell up to twice its size.”
“Well, that’s the terror the riddle was talking about,” Avery noted, “RUN!”
We ran as fast as our legs would move. Suddenly, the Swools stopped and the map flashed with a new riddle, “If you ever want to return, find what lays, eat the answer. I am white, I am round, I hatch, into something found, I can be eaten too, what am I?” I read.
“I am white, I am round, I hatch, into something found, I can be eaten too, what am I?” Alecia was whispering under her breath. Alecia thought for a long time. Avery and I were also thinking.
“White, can be eaten, hatches into something, round…” I was muttering.
“An egg!” Alecia announced, “and the thing that lays must be an animal that lays eggs and we need to eat one of those eggs to see the next clue!”
“Awesome!” Avery congratulated. I grinned. The map changed images, and now there was a path to what seemed like a lake or river.
We followed the path all the way to a huge river made of liquid Aquamarine. On the sandy shore was a single swan, protecting its eggs, but next to the swan was a different looking egg; the different egg had a ruby embedded on the top. Just looking at it, we knew that the egg had the clue inside of it.
“We need to get to that egg,” Avery said.
“Yes, but how?” I asked frustratedly.
“Two of us need to distract the swan while the other one goes and retrieves the egg,” Alecia explained. “Avery and I will distract the swan while Arya gets the egg.”
Avery and I nodded. Operation “Get the Egg” was a go. Very loudly, Avery and Alecia advanced on the nest. The swan noticed and flew after them, Avery and Alecia ran as fast as they could, and the swan chased after them. “Get the egg!” Avery shouted at me. I nodded and ran to the nest. I took the ruby topped egg. I removed the ruby, and to my surprise, inside of the egg was a clear liquid instead of a clue. Not knowing what else to do, I drank the liquid. My mind clouded over, and I took out the map. I ran and found Avery and Alecia sitting under a bush.
“Did you get the egg? Alecia asked. I nodded and took out the map.
“Crystal clear this should be, to get out you must find a crystal that will pout, to the gang it will shout, find a gem on the 4th tree, and out you will find yourself to be,” I read.
“Ummmm,” Avery started. “That’s not crystal clear.”
“Crystal clear this should be, to get out you must find a crystal that will pout, to the gang it will shout, find a gem on the 4th tree, and out you will find yourself to be,” I mumbled.Alecia stomped around angrily.
“I got it!” I announced. “We must go to the four seasons tree! The gem we need must be there! Sadly, the tree is protected by something called the gang.”
The map changed into a path leading to the tree. Tired, we decided to just sleep for the night and solve all this gang nonsense tomorrow.
In the morning, we packed up all our stuff and headed to the four seasons tree. “Ummm,” Alecia said. I looked ahead, and five wolves advanced on us.
“I think we found the gang,” Avery whispered. We ran. Alecia and Avery ran to the right, and I ran to the left. The wolves ran after Avery and Alecia, so I quickly turned around and headed for the tree.
I climbed and climbed and climbed the four seasons tree until I reached the top. I found a glistening moonstone. I climbed to the spot where the moonstone was, shivering from the snow. I reached for it and the moonstone flew to my hands. “Who do you want to bring to the palace?” the stone spoke in my mind.
“Alecia, Avery, and me,” I said. Suddenly the moonstone glowed brightly, and in a flash, I was teleported back to the palace.
I found Avery and Alecia chatting with Jewelia and Luna, when they saw me they invited me over. “We gave Luna a flower and she fed it to Jewelia,” Avery explained, I nodded.
“And it seems to me you met the great protector,” Jewelia said.
“Oh! The swan!” I exclaimed, “But how do you know that wasn't an ordinary swan?”
“Because there is only one swan on the Jewel Moon, but thanks to you three we have information about the great protector, like she has eggs!” Jewelia explained excitedly.
When we went to our parents, my mom yelled, “Family Hug!” and we all hugged, even Jewelia and Luna.
Then Queen Jade walked in, “I have organized a dinner dedicated to the three who saved my youngest daughter.” Jewelia grinned at me.
During the dinner, we ate delicious food, and the room was filled with laughter and delight. Jewelia, Luna, Avery, Alecia, and I were playing a card game called actime. There is a deck of cards with actions on them, such as drink a glass of water or do hopscotch. When we drew a card, we had ten seconds to do the actions. If we succeeded, then we could claim a point, but if we did not, nothing happened. We were all laughing at the amusing actions we had to do, and somehow, we all ended up laughing on the floor.
I smiled and said, “You know, maybe we don’t need to go back to earth after all.”
