My little sister is turning 13 next year! She is an avid reader just like me, but she also likes to create stories. A few months back, I was telling her about an idea I had for a new story, and she loved it. She kept giving me all her own ideas, so much so the she inspired me to sit down and start writing. I’m hoping to have it finished in time for her birthday, as a gift to her. Here’s a short excerpt of The Quest: Ariana’s Tale…

           Phew that was close! I slunk down lower in my seat, and felt the tension ease out of my arms and legs. I hoped everyone wasn’t staring at me, but I needn’t worry overly much since the rest of the class seemed as bored as I was. I guess they were just better at hiding it.

The only reason I liked this class was for the big class project. We had been given an assignment to do research about our island, and research meant more time spent in the library. I love the library. The one they have here at the academy is ten times as big as the one my grandfather had. It was like an infinite world of books and stories. A place to hide away from the horrors of endless lectures and surprise examinations. A place to find other things that were hidden too.

I was doing it again…allowing my thoughts to carry me farther away than the walls of this stone cut classroom…I glanced around to see what I had missed and caught the stare of my best friend. Nesta always sat in the row right next to me, and we had almost every class together this year. I returned Nesta’s smile with a sort of half shrug to tell her I was lost. She pointed to the book that we must be reading from, and lifted its edge for me to see the cover. I pulled my own out from under my paper and quickly opened it, pretending to know where we were at. I didn’t have to pretend for long though, because soon one the other kids had gone to ring the bell.

“That’s all we have time for today. We will adjourn on the morrow. Be sure to work on your projects in the meantime.”

I quickly took up my things and shoved them into my satchel.

“Are you going to the library again today?”

“Yes, I want to see if they have any books on the royal family.”

“Is that what you’re doing your project on, then?” Nesta fell into step beside me, and together we navigated the corridors of our sea side academy.

“Yeah. There is so much about them that I don’t know. I mean, they haven’t been seen in years, and it’s not like I know anyone who has a reason to travel the half day’s journey to the castle.”

“Does that mean you’re going to write about…” here she paused and half-pulled, half-dragged me into the nearest alcove. Nesta glanced around us nervously, and once the coast was clear, she whispered, “…the prince?”

Everybody on Masatonia knew the ill-fated story of our land. It was like a page straight out of the fairytales my mother had told me about when I was a little girl. It went something like this, “Once upon a time, there lived a king and queen who had a child named Evander. He was very special to them and to their kingdom, for he was the first boy child born to the royal family in many generations…”

“You’re going to, aren’t you? But Ariana, won’t that get you into some sort of trouble?”

I shook my head. “You worry too much. Besides, Master Gribbs did say we could do it on any topic.”

Nesta looked at me uncertainly, her face full of panic. I shrugged off the prickly feeling that had started to climb up my neck, and moved back into the hallway towards the library. “I’m not sure yet what I’ll write on anyway. Aren’t you even the least bit curious to find out what happened? No one, and I mean no one, ever talks about it. It’s almost like it’s…”

“Forbidden.” We said this at the same time, and our words circled around us on the salty breeze.