Amber Joy Star

Chapter Seven

"Wait! Hey, hey, hey. Hold up." Sam said, stopping before the gates to the park.

"What now Sam?" Katie asked wearily. Her friend had been stopping them the whole way to the park, asking questions.

"This Portal Oak is in the Palace Gardens, right?"

"Yes, Samantha. I thought we covered that." Mark answered, smirking.

"Then why are we bringing sleeping bags and survival stuff?!" She asked.

"Sam has a point." Katie said. Mark sighed.

"You honestly thought that the return journey would have us in the Gardens? Please, Samantha, I thought you were bright enough to understand at least this concept." She glared so ferociously at him, Katie was surprised that he didn't flinch.

"There are Portal Oaks in all the known worlds and dimensions. The Original Portal Oak is in the Tanaril Palace Gardens. If the return journey would take the traveler straight to the Gardens, then the whole country would've already been overrun." Mark explained.

"Makes sense to me." Katie said, shrugging.

"Then where does it take us?" Sam asked.

"To a forest, near the North Road leading into Tanaril. About, let me think, a few day's journey from the border."

"Oh." Sam continued walking into the park. They rolled their eyes and followed.

Once by the Oak, they all stood in front of it.

'This is it.' Katie thought. 'There's no going back from here.' She just wished she could have said goodbye to her mother. Katie looked at Sam, whose expression was unreadable. It would be all her fault that she would have to leave her whole entire family behind. And they didn't even know if they'd be back--

"Come, no use in dawdling." Mark said softly. He approached the Portal Oak with his hand outstretched. They held their breath when he touched the twisted knob in the wood, half hoping it wouldn't work. That nothing would happen and they'd just resume their normal lives.

But the knob started to glow white at his touch, stretching wider and higher until it was larger than the oak itself and looked like a kind of archway. Mark walked through first, then Sam. Katie looked behind her at the world she was leaving behind,

"Goodbye..." She whispered before turning around and darting forward as the Portal began to slowly shrink...

She was falling through pitch black darkness. She couldn't see a thing, not even her hand in front of her face. Katie tumbled through the darkness and fear rose up inside of her. What if something went wrong? What if this was a trap and they were now stuck forever in this odd blackness, cursed to tumble endlessly forever. The urge to scream rose up inside her, but she couldn't make a sound.

Suddenly, she saw a bright light below her. It grew and grew as she got closer. It looked like a huge, white archway. The light became blinding, but she kept them open, determined not to miss anything. As she got ever closer her eyes began to water and she finally shut her eyes just as she was about to fall through the gate--

--and she hit the ground. Katie was sprawled on a leaf covered floor and her whole body ached. She spat a leaf out of her mouth and sat up. She saw that Sam also looked disgruntled and assumed that she had hit the ground too. Her friend's eyes were red and she kept blinking. Mark, however, looked perfectly fine. His hair was even messier, though, if that were even possible.

"That was fun." He said quietly. "Never gets old."

"Never, ever again." Sam promised, shaking her head.

"Well if you want to go back, you'll have to go through." Katie said, blinking furiously. Her eyes hurt too. Sam groaned and buried her face in her hands.

Mark sighed. "You two didn't close your eyes." It wasn't a question, but they nodded. He rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to close your eyes once you see the gate, that way you don't blind yourself." He said.

Just then a twig snapped and rustling was heard in the trees and bushes nearby. His eyes darkened and he frowned.

"Come." He told them briefly. Sam sprang to her feet and followed him instantly. Katie stood up slowly and looked around before hurrying after them.

"What was that?" She heard Sam ask.

"Not now." Mark replied briskly. They remained silent as they followed Mark through the forest. Katie kept looking around, because that rustling noise was following them.

'You're imagining things.' She told herself. 'It's us that's making the noise.'

They walked in silence for a while, Mark leading them through the forest. How he knew his way through the large expanse of trees, she didn't know. But the rustling noise was closer now, and the girls were scared.

"Mark--" Katie started.

"Quiet." He said harshly. Sam looked sympathetically at her, but she was staring at the ground.

'What the heck is going on? He doesn't seem the type to act this way. And I'm starting to get scared.' She thought despairingly.

Just then a large, disgruntled black dog jumped out from the bushes and in front of them. Mark gripped his sword as the dog just stared fixedly at them.

But something was...different about the dog. It's eyes were the purest yellow she'd ever seen, and there was something intelligent in the way it analyzed them. It seemed almost human.

Sam let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the dog.

"I thought it was something dangerous!" She said. Mark and the dog kept staring at each other.

"Don't be so sure, Samantha." He said quietly.

"What do you mean? It's just a harmless dog--" She had started to walk toward the dog when Mark flung an arm out and it hit her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Ow!"

"Sam...don't. I have a bad feeling." Katie said. Sam nodded and stayed next to her friend.

"Go on with your business, wolf, you know the laws." Mark said harshly. To their surprise, the dog laughed. A rough laugh that seemed like it didn't belong, but a laugh none the less.

"We're not even near the border." Its voice sounded like gravel. "The laws don't apply out here."

"I'm still a citizen of Tanaril, and a knight at that. The rules apply to me, and I won't even have to go before the Grand Council for trial if you attack first. And you can't attack these two either." He said. The dog growled menacingly and bared its teeth.

"Leave. Find your prey elsewhere." The dog growled one more time before stalking off into the bushes.

"What was that?!" Sam asked, completely bewildered.

"A werewolf, in disguise." He said, taking his hand off his sword, turning around, and smiling at them.

"But I thought werewolves were people that turn into wolf-like creatures at the full moon. It's not a full moon, it's not even night!" Katie said.

"Unlike your version of the werewolf, twisted by tales passed down over the millenniums, the werewolf is nothing like that. True, they were humans. They got bitten by a werewolf. That much is true. But the werewolf has three forms: human, werewolf, and a dog-like disguise. It would've gotten you, Samantha, if I hadn't stopped you. And they can shift through forms at any time, not based on whether it's a full moon or not"

They had both paled, Sam more than Katie. He chuckled.

"You two have much to learn." He said and started walking.

They stood completely still before going after him. Sam shouting, "You're a knight?!"

Sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter out!! I hope you like it, cause I did. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Then PM me or review! Till next time!

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