I saw Alice again. This time I went with Skie, Chey, and Adam...

Day Two...

Chapter Two...

Lily awoke the next morning in the tree house that she and Jack found nearing the dusk before.

Jack was still asleep. Laying in his corner.

Lily took her Bottomless Basket and dug around for her breakfast when she heard something below her on the Emerald path. She looked down the trap door where they had brought the rope ladder up and saw two of the strangest creatures she’d ever seen in her entire lifetime. One had a Lion’s head and was standing upright but with a Badger’s body. He was wearing an emerald green suit and was a little heavy set and had a gold pocket watch in his hand. In the other hand he had a china cup full of emerald coloured tea for it was steaming. Next to this LionBadger was a woman with a Quail’s head and a Peacock’s body. She had on a lovely royal blue dress and a tiara on her Quail head with some of her fallen peacock feathers on it. She, also, was drinking that emerald coloured tea. Yet, her arms and hands were that of wings.

“Did you hear from the Lady in Scarlet?” the LionBadger asked the QuailPeacock.

“No, I heard it from the Lady in Periwinkle.” the QuailPeacock said, a little offended that he thought she had heard it from the Lady in Scarlet.

“Well, what is her account?” the LionBadger asked, a little taken aback that she hadn’t heard it from the Lady in Scarlet.

The QuailPeacock cleared her throat and said, “She said that the garden is lacking in some things. She said that the tea tasted like moss and the sandwiches were made of red bread and not white!”

“What a load of CRAP! The Lady in Scarlet said that the garden was beautiful and that the tea tasted like wine. The sandwiches were to die for!”

“Well of course she said that!” the QuailPeacock screeched. “The sandwiches were red! She adores anything that is red!”

Lily listened intently to the conversation until Jack brought her out of her head.

“What are they yelling about?” he asked, looking down at the creatures as well.

“About these two Ladies accounts of the same tea party in the garden.”

“Oh, The Lady in Scarlet, the Lady in Periwinkle, and the Lady in Emerald.”

“Who are they?” Lily asked, sitting up as the two creatures went on their way down the path.

“The three biggest gossips in all of The.” Jack said, lowering the ladder and climbing down it.

“Gossips! That’s not nice. And people listen to them!” Lily cried out as she climbed down the ladder after Jack.

“Well, of course! They get the news around. Even before it happens, they know. They spread it around and so all of The knows what happens around here. But they live in the valleys and we’re still in the wood.” Jack said as he started out on a brisk pace on the Emerald Path.

“I should like to meet them.” Lily said as she followed Jack down the path.

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Nearing noon, they exited the wood and found themselves at the top of a very large hill. All around, they could see other forests and lakes and streams and rivers but in the middle of all that were rolling emerald green hills.

“Are those the valleys?” Lily asked, pointing to the rolling hills.

“Yes.” Jack said and looked around and walked off towards his left.

“Where are you going?” Lily asked and followed him.

Jack was standing a ways beyond the path, staring at something.

Lily stopped two when she saw it. A huge magnificent castle with large turrets and towers. It was all of some sort of scarlet bricks and it glowed it’s red beauty.

“What is that?” Lily asked.

“That... is the Castle of the Queen.” Jack said.

“Who is the Queen?” Lily asked, looking down at the blue Jack.

“The Queen is the ruler of The. She’s evil and manipulative and is said to have some Dark Magic in her veins. She lives in the Ruby Castle. She made every Emerald Path lead straight to the Castle.”

“Then how am I to get through The?” Lily asked, looking at the dark lines in the feilds and grassy knolls that she knew to be the Emerald Path. She followed one that looked like it was going towards the West, where Gap was, but it went straight to the Ruby Castle.

“Oh, we Zacs know the way through! We are the best at getting through things that normal creatures could get lost in. Why do you think we made it this far? I took you through the path that’ll lead not to the castle, but to another path that does lead to the castle! But then I’ll take you to a different path and another and so on till we get to the gate to Gap!” Jack said, smiling happily.

Lily smiled politely as well, “Alright, thank you, Jack!” she said and they made their way back to the Emerald Path.

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They made their way down the steep hill to the first valley where they found a field of random vegetables. Potatoes, pumpkins, corn, and cherries growing right from the ground.

“This is a very odd garden!” Lily cried in amazement. She looked down at the potatoes laying in the dirt.

“Of course. This is the Orange’s garden. They are an odd set of people. Even for people!” Jack said. Lily stared at him but then noticed a girl standing at the edge of the garden on the right side. She had long brown hair that reached her waist and was very dirty looking. She was wearing overalls and a white shirt on under it with dirt stains all over it. She had on garden gloves and was holding a rake that was taller than she was. She was about Lily’s height.

“Hello!” Lily said politely, waving.

The girl just stood there.

Jack stood on tiptoes and said in Lily’s ear, “Let’s go. She’s one of them!”

“No. That would be rude! What’s your name?” she called out to the girl.

The girl was silent and unblinking. “Rae.” she said finally.

“Hello, Rae! I’m Lily! Lily Amin! And this is Jack, he’s a Zac!” Lily said as Rae walked through the garden with her bare feet and walked right up infront of Lily and Jack, who was hiding behind Lily.

“Lily... you don’t look like a flower?” Rae asked.

“That’s because I’m not a flower!”

“Oh,” Rae snapped. “Where are you going?” she asked. Her voice was light and polite and curious sounding, though she looked tough and mean.

“I’m going to the Ladie’s School in Gap.”

Rae started snorting as a form of laughter. “You’re going through The? You’ll never get out!” Rae said while snorting her laughter.

“I’m with Jack.” Lily said sternly and Rae stopped laughing at once. Jack poked his head out from behind Lily and looked at Rae.

“A Zac. The most annoying thing on God’s green earth?” Rae asked.

“Yes.” Lily said, folding her arms in front of her.

“Oh.” Rae said, looking down and picking up a bunch of cherries. “You want?” she asked, placing them under Lily’s nose.

“No, thank you.” she said, looking a little repulsed.

“Fine.” she said and stuffed them into her mouth and pulled out, with some difficulty, the stems.

Lily and Jack watched her savor the fruit when suddenly, she grabbed the head of the handle of the rake and swung it down on a yellowing bush. She dragged it out and the rake was through the neck of a now dead wild tiger.

Lily was wide eyed and Jack had his mouth agape.

“Stupid thing! Thought it could sneak up on Rae! Well, it was wrong!” she said with glee in her voice.

“How did you see that!?” Lily cried.

“I didn’t. I heard it. I have wonderful senses!”

“You should come with us! You could help protect us!”

“I don’t know. What’s in it for me?” she asked, yanking the rake out of the dead wild tiger’s neck and blood started pouring onto the Emerald Path, making it look dark and deadly.

“Uh... you can have one of my dresses?”

Rae stared at her with her dark eyes. “Let me see it.” she said quietly.

Lily pulled out her Bottomless Basket and dug out her old dress that she figured might just fit Rae. She pulled it out. It was a pretty red with a dark blue pinafore. It had puffy sleeves and had a small tear on the bottom in the front by it was hardly noticeable.

Rae took it and held it up to herself and said, “I like it. I’ll come with you!” she said and ran quickly behind a very big orange tree and changed rather quickly.

“Let’s go!” she said and started marching off down the path that led straight up another, very steep hill. The garden they were in was inbetween two very steep hills only ten feet apart from each other.

Lily and Jack followed Rae up the path and up the hill.

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End of the Chapter... I guess...

8-13-07

Well, now they have Rae with them. Who will be next? I really don’t know... you tell me. :D