Dear Reader,
You are about to be plunged into a world of confusion. Don’t let it worry you. All will be revealed… eventually.
Hilda hummed to herself as she smartened herself up for the day.
BANG! BANG! BANG! “Hilda, are you ready yet?!” shouted Artemis from the other side of the door.
Hilda sighed a bit. “Not yet, Arty. Almost.”
“Well, hurry up! We don’t have all day, ya know!”
“I’m well aware,” Hilda replied in owlish tones.
Hilda, finally set, joined her friends in the hallway.
“Alrighty,” said Via. “So, where are we going today?”
“How ‘bout the North Tower?” suggested Kitty.
“Great idea!” agreed Mariposa.
The girls raced up the steps of the North Tower, hoping to get there before anyone else arrived.
“Whew,” Artemis panted. “We got the whole place to ourselves.”
Hilda sunk into her usual chair by the fireplace. She reached into the fruit bowl beside her but came up empty.
“Here.” Mariposa produced a fresh peach and gave it to Hilda.
“Thanks.”
Mariposa refilled the bowl as Kitty browsed the bookshelves.
“The Lost Books On Plant-Based Remedies, no,” Kitty mumbled to herself. “Encyclopedia of Plants That Cure, no. The Magic and Medicine Behind Herbal Healing, aha!” She took down the book and plopped into a nearby armchair.
Artemis lit a candle and climbed a ladder up to the loft. She began snooping through the books on the table.
“Whatcha doing up there, Arty?” asked Via.
“Looking for my stash. Orion had better not taken it… Aha!” Artemis triumphantly held up a very thick book titled The Complete History of the Empire of Amalia.
“Uh…” Via looked puzzled. “How… interesting?”
Artemis opened the tome. “Behold! My stockpile of Cocoa Cookies!”
Narrator note- According to my research, these “Cocoa Cookies” are like gold to the youngsters of the Kingdom of Alister.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Three loud knocks interrupted Via’s beholding. The girls all looked up, startled. Their classmates Troy and Diego were standing on the balcony. Mariposa used a handy vine to join Artemis on the loft.
“What are you doing up here?” Mariposa shouted through the glass.
“Trying to get this!” Troy replied, holding up a ball.
“How did that get all the way up here?”
“Strong breeze.”
“I see.”
“Can we come in?”
“Fine, fine, fine.” Mariposa opened the window while Artemis hurriedly put away the history book. Troy and Diego clambered through the skylight.
“What time is it?” asked Hilda.
Troy checked his watch. “Nine fifteen,” he replied.
“Augh!” Kitty exclaimed, standing up abruptly. “We’re going to be late to class.”
They all hurried down the tower, through a corridor, down the main hallway, and into a classroom. Their classmates Orion, Vincent, and Ben were already there. Their teacher, Ms. Umoya, closed the heavy oaken door, on which was bolted a plaque which read, “Ms. Umoya, First Year Magic Teacher.”
