Part 1
Ario was the perfect world. The
people and creatures were all very friendly. The sun rose each morning,
creating a beautiful sunrise, and it set each evening, leaving behind a
miraculous sunset and a cascade of stars. The children ran in the fields, the
parents worked, and all the animals and creatures played with each other. It
was magical, you could say. Probably because there was some magic. But it was
forbidden from Ario. That was the only rule: No magic.
Ario lied between the Blue Sea and
the Great Mountains. No one ever left Ario, because it had everything and
anything they could ever want. There was
a never-ending surplus of food, and there was home for everyone. And, why would
you want to leave a perfect world?
There was one girl, however, named
Lucille that had always wondered what lied beyond the Mountains, or what it
would be like to sail across the Blue Sea. Her mother and father scowled at her
when she talked about it. “Why can’t we leave, Mother?” Lucille would ask.
“Because no one knows what horrible things lie out there. You could get
killed!” her mother would always answer. The kids always teased her about it.
But that didn’t stop young Lucille. “At lease I have you, Drake,” she would
then say to her rather large kitten. “Mrowr!” was the kitten’s only reply, and
Lucille’s only hope.
Time passed, and Lucille’s curiosity
got bigger and imagination grew wilder. The other teenagers stayed away from
her. She grew more independent, with only her now rather large cat, Drake, for
company. “When will that cat die?” her father would mutter to her mother. “I’m
surprised he doesn’t look old yet…” Lucille’s mother would reply.
Not long passed, and Lucille couldn’t
stand her imagination. She started to plan a trip outside Ario. Drake sat
beside her, bringing her pencil after countless pencil, night after night, as
Lucille worked furiously. Only she and Drake knew about her escape plan. “You
see Drake? There is a small gap in the barrier by the mountains. If only there
was a way to make it bigger…” Drake pawed her and nudged her homemade bow and sheath
of arrows. She made them a while ago and pretended she was out hunting, using
rocks as prey. She would sneak out late at night to practice, and her accuracy
grew. Soon she could hit any target perfectly. “You’re right, Drake! I could
try and strike a hole in the glass! It would have to be a really hard shot to
break a hole…” Lucille reached towards her book of rocks, nature, animals, etc.
She flips to a page about a rock she never heard of, called Magestone. “This
stone is very rare in Ario, but can break any substance.” Lucille reads.
“Drake, I can’t believe this! This is perfect! I can use this for my arrows.
Let’s go find this ‘Magestone’.”
So, Lucille tells her parents she’s going
out. Drake and Lucille run throughout Ario, searching high and low.
Unfortunately, their luck ran out because they couldn’t find a single
Magestone. Even looking at the book for images they couldn’t find any! Just
when they wanted to give up, there was one last spot. “Let’s try digging this
time” Lucille says to Drake. So Drake began digging in the soft dirt, and they
find bunches of Magestone. “Here it is, Drake! The Magestone! Here, take some.”
Lucille says. She scoops some of the stone in her hands while Drake grabs some
with his large mouth. He ends up taking twice as much as Lucille takes in her
small hands. They pour the rock in Lucille’s backpack, and slide the book in
there. Then they both sprint home in eagerness to prepare the arrows.
Once the duo arrives home, they rush
to Lucille’s room, where they get the rock and materials to make the arrows
laid out. After some time, and a lot of broken sticks, they create enough
arrows for a full sheath of arrows. They slide the rock, materials, and old arrows
in Lucille’s bag. Lucille finally says to Drake, “Drake, let’s get packing!”
Drake gives an eager “Mrowr!” in return.
Lucille sneaks downstairs and steals
a few large bundles of food. “They won’t mind. This place has enough already.”
She grabs a few sets of clothes, not expecting to wear them often. “Oops,
almost forgot!” she says, then grabs a few containers of cat food and a mix of
dried meat and fish. She rushes upstairs again to find Drake sitting contently
on the floor. “You’re a good boy,” she says, ruffling Drake’s orange-tabby fur.
His only response is a purr, and finally a snore. “G’night, Drake,” she
whispers, then crawls into bed.
The next morning, Lucille and Drake woke up
before anyone else did. “Today’s the day, Drake.” Lucille says to a still-sleepy
Drake. “Mrowr,” he says, and then yawns. “How will my parents handle this? I
mean, what if they are right? What if I get killed and don’t make it back? I
better write a note.” Lucille says, and then she reaches for a piece of paper.
On it she writes “Dear parents, I’ve decided to run off out of Ario. I don’t
know if and when I will be coming back. Drake is coming with me. I have all the
supplies I need. Thank you for being amazing parents. Love you so much! Love,
your daughter, Lucille.” She takes the note, as well as her backpack full of
everything she needs, her bow, and sheath of arrows, downstairs. “Well, this is
it, boy. Here we go. No turning back now!” she says, eagerly running outside.
After some long trekking, they come to the spot
in the barrier with the small gap. Lucille grabs arrow and carves a “doorway”
in the glass. Then, she takes some rocks, mud, and grass to cover up the
doorway. “You ready, boy? Let’s go!” Lucille says.
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