4 Chapter Three

Istelle got to her feet. She and her friends had landed in a clearing covered in soft, springy, bright neon moss. The temperature was later-spring warm.

Jude, curious, enthusiastic, and energetic, was the second to recover from the fall.

"Woah! What happened to Istelle's backyard?"

Liz was the third to stand up. She was smart and strong, tall, with shoulder-length, straight, light-brown hair.

"Yeah Istelle, what just happened?" She asked, examining her surroundings.

Lina tucked some strands of her long, dark brown hair that had come out of her braid behind her ear. At thirteen years old, she was the youngest of the group, friendly, clever, and thoughtful. She asked, "Where is Istelle?"

"I'm over here" Istelle answered, walking towards them, careful not to fall down; the moss was so bouncy it was like walking on one of those mini-trampolines.

"Why were you guys in my backyard?"

Liz and Linaria glanced at each other. "We needed to tell you something…" Liz trailed off.

Lina sighed. "Sam's moving."

Istelle didn't understand "moving what?"

"Moving house. He and his family are moving to New York and they might never come back."

"What? Since when? And when are they leaving? He never told me about this!"

"Today. He was leaving and he didn't tell any of us until he was about to go. So the three of us came to come and get you so at least you could say bye...we know how close you two are."

Istelle stared at them. What? No! No no no no no!

"But I honestly think that's the least of our worries right now, uh why were you like, holding onto a giant bird flying you into the sky?" said Liz.

Istelle groaned and told them the whole story. When she had finished, they were all gawking at her. "I know right, I don't understand either!" she exclaimed.

They didn't stop gawking. In fact, their eyes seemed to bug out and they seemed more surprised than ever!

Istelle turned around to see if they were staring at something behind her. They were in a clearing in a seemingly normal forest, except all the colors were brighter and everything seemed to be exaggerated. But they had been here for minutes now and they'd already seen all that. No, it was her they were staring at. "What guys? Stop staring at me!"

Then she felt a tingly sensation and looked down at her hands. Her skin was turning a shade paler, and freckles appeared every here and there. The same was happening with her legs and probably the rest of her. But apparently that wasn't the worst of it:

"Your hair!" gasped Linaria,

"Yeah! It's turning…" started Liz,

"Red! And long and wavy! How'd you do that Istelle?" Finished Jude, examining his own, long, straight blonde hair.

Istelle's hair was indeed growing longer, wavier, and redder. Soon it was a brighter red than is normal, as if artificially dyed, but somehow smoother and managing to still look natural.

"And she's growing taller," added Linaria. Now Istelle could feel it, she was stretching, her features changing until—

"Who are you?" Her friends all stared at her in awe. Jude said "You've got paler skin, fiery red hair, freckles, different clothing, say something please?"

"Huh? What?"

"A different voice" Jude continued, "you also look at least three years older than the rest of us."

Now it was Istelle's turn to gape. "But you guys haven't changed…" she said. Then she remembered something he had said and looked down at her clothing; her shirt was white, light fabric, loose and airy, long-sleeved, tucked into tight white pants. She wore heelless white boots that went nearly up to her knees, and everything seemed to fit her perfectly.

"What an outfit" laughed Jude, watching her reaction.

"Guys. Seriously. Where are we?" asked Liz impatiently. "I don't know" moaned Lina, "but the bright colors are killing my eyes!"

"We need to get out of here��� agreed Jude and they all turned to Istelle. She was frozen in place. Her friends could see on her face that she had just realized something "I see...everything." she breathed.

"Uh, Istelle? Something wrong? Do you know where we are? Can you get us out? Earth to Istelle!" Liz waved a hand in front of her face

Istelle looked at her. "No. Nothing is wrong. We are on planet earth, like we were before. But we are in Akeefa territory. We need to get to the other side, quickly. And," she paused. "We need to find Soren."

Her friends didn't budge. "Uh what is Akeefa and who in the world is Soren?"

Istelle sighed in exasperation. "It doesn't matter right now. Just follow me."

The four silently made their way through the forest of bright colors. Even in her tall boots and new form, Istelle was suddenly an agile, quick, and stealthy traveler. She seemed to know her way around.

"Do you know where we're going?" Linaria whispered behind her. "Yes, I used to live here" came Istelle's reply, causing her friends to exchange glances. What?

Suddenly, Istelle ducked behind a giant tree, pulling Linaria with her. Jude and Liz quickly followed. "What is it?" mouthed Liz, but Istelle pursed her lips in a no-talking kind of sign. They sat there, listening, hardly daring to breathe.

"I shan't harm you, you need not be afraid" they heard a voice on the path ahead of them. Motioning for them to stay where they were, Istelle came out from around the tree.

"Friend or foe?" She asked whoever it was.

"I am Altair. I have only just completed my wizard's quest and I set out now to explore the world. I see that thou art a Lette warrior, why is it that you are traveling weaponless on Akeefa territory? A certain death awaits you no doubt if you do not journey from this place soon."

"I am Istelle. And we did not mean to be here...If you are truly who you say you are—"

"I can help lead you safely out."

At this, Linaria, Jude, and Liz came out from behind the tree. They saw that Altair was tall, the hood of his gray traveling cloak pulled down to reveal short, light-brown hair and playful brown eyes. He was strong and confident looking as he motioned for the four to follow him. They did, after Istelle.

The group traveled through the forest of bright colors and unnatural hues for nearly two hours, over big logs, around spiky plants and prickly bushes, under hanging branches and through thickets, avoiding animal dens and trying not to make sounds. There was no conversation between them. All was silent except for the sounds of their breathing and their feet rustling the crunchy leaves.

Finally, Altair led them out of the forest and into another clearing, much larger than the one the four friends had first landed in, and covered in wild grass and weeds rather than moss. Halfway through the field, the bright green grass and neon wildflowers and weeds faded into calmer, lighter, pastel colors. On the other side of the field, the forest had no violent colors and instead was sweet and soft.

Linaria, Jude, and Liz stared in amazement.

"Welcome to the border," said Altair "come let us hide on the other side, then we might be safer from the Akeefa."

The group traveled into the woods of calmer tones, adjusting their eyes. After only a half-hour of hiking, Altair stopped and turned to Istelle

"I believe we are safe now."

"Yes, I believe we must be safe. Thank you for guiding us this way."

"It was no trouble on my part. Perhaps we should sit together here and eat before I leave you?"

Istelle looked at her friends. They all seemed quite exhausted. She answered Altair

"Yes, I think we must eat soon, but we do not have—"

"I have nourishments. Please sit"

Altair gestured to the ground and smiled kindly, pulling off his robe and revealing a small cloth sack he had been carrying with him.

Istelle and her friends sat down and watched him with much interest as he reached inside the sack and pulled out a much larger sack that he placed on the ground and opened. The sack contained food for all of them and they dug in, and for a few minutes, there was only the sound of the rustling of the sack or the munching and crunching of the travelers.

"So what brought you away from the rest of the Lette and to the Akeefa territory with these children?" Altair asked, surveying Istelle's friends.

"They are my friends and they are helping me," Istelle paused for a moment "gather a new army. Made up of people who want the war to end. We will gather ourselves an army and help the Lette win the war and make the Akeefa return to their home place."

Istelle's friends stared at her. Wait what? Altair on the other hand, looked intrigued. "So, you will travel—" He was in the middle of asking a question when he was interrupted by a moan. They all looked at Liz.

"I think I ate too much," she said. She was clutching her stomach.

Jude put his food down. "Are ye okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just…"

"Here." Altair stretched out his arm and handed Liz a little bottle he had produced from his tiny sack.

Istelle stood up, alarmed, seeing the look on Altair's face. She reached Liz in two quick strides but it was too late

"No Liz, stop!"

Liz drank the contents of the little bottle.

"No. I told you no! Liz. What you just drank, that was poison."