Chapter 14
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Sany dropped her bag on the four-poster bed and waited for Dev to walk out of the room. She then crept up to the door and looked out the corridor to make sure that no one was spying on her. Then she went over to the barred window and looked down at the town that stretched below her. The sky had started to turn dark, and she could see the shadows in the forest getting darker with it.
"Hey, get me out," Mr. Peru's muffled voice reverberated across the room. She went over to her bag and slowly opened the chain and peered inside her bag. She saw her clothes and that bottle of watermelon juice, but she couldn't see Mr. Peru.
"What the hell! Where did he go?" She quickly upturned her bag and started rattling it vigorously. A small pile of clothes had now been accumulated on the head of the bed. But there was no red bird hidden within the depths of those clothes.
Where in the world did he go? Sany thought; had I somehow crushed the bird? Sany slumped to the floor, her knees hitting the cold, stone surface. "Kon won't forgive me," she muttered.
Something brushed past her hair. "Huh. What was that?"
"Hehe," Mr. Peru's voice echoed in her ears. "You can't see me, can you?"
"EEh.." Sany turned her head left and right and up and down. "Where are you?" She cocked her ears and listened intently. She could hear wings flapping in the air, could hear feathers cutting through space. Thanks to her ability she could not only hear sound but also see it. Or, at least visualize it.
An invisible bird was hovering over her heard. She couldn't see it but could sense the ripples it was creating. Then, it swooped down and alighted on top of the piled up clothes. And out of nowhere, Mr. Peru popped into view. "Yo," he said, saluting her with his right wings.
Sany pointed her finger at him. "YOU ARE A BLACK-APPLE USER, TOO?"
"Yes. I had already told you that," Mr. Peru said and started hopping around her clothes.
"I thought you were joking," Sany said.
"I never joke," Mr. Peru said and looked about. "So, we are in the past. That means I can meet with my ancestors."
Sany climbed back to her feet, slapping dust off her skirt. "We don't have time for that. I think I have discovered something. I think that the king is also a black-apple user. At first, I had believed, that the guy in that purple cloak was the one. But I didn't sense any surge in him. Either he has a low surge, or he is good at hiding it."
Mr. Peru started flapping his wings, rose up in the air and settled down on the edge of a window. He looked out at the darkening sky. "Yes. But I don't want to think about it. I'm missing Kon. I want to rejoin him."
Sany walked over to him. "I don't know how you got this power. But we may be able to use it now and meet up Kon."
"How? Tell me. Tell me.'
"You need to go invisible again and fly around the palace and look for a big machine."
"A big machine?" Mr. Peru tilted his feather-covered head left and then right.
Sany nodded. "That king does have a good amount of surge, but I don't think he is strong enough to create this barrier that is preventing us from returning back to our time."
"You don't?" Mr. Peru hopped from here to there while orange-sunlight poured around him. The sun was preparing to hide behind the mountains or ocean or whatever place the sun goes to hide.
"I don't," Sany said. "I think something else is behind this, and something fishy is going on here."
***
"What?" King Darold jumped out of his seat. "A tree from heaven landed on our world?"
Sany nodded. "Yes. I did happen."
"And the world changed after that?" King Darold asked. They were now in a different room. It was similar to the room they had given to Sany but was full of things and was way cleaner than hers.
"Yes," Said said, and in her mind, she thought: Damn, he is a terrible actor too. He already knows all this stuff. But if he is really from my time then why in the world are people here thinking him as their king?
"I can't believe it." King Darold let out a breath of excitement. "And now people in your timeline plant these apple trees with a hope that the trees would bear the wish-fulfilling fruit called black-apple?"
"Yes, my lord," Sany said, trying to play along with him. "But they don't directly grant your wish. Instead, they give you special powers. Suppose, you sowed an apple seed into the soil with a hope that you'll become rich. Then your tree will bear a fruit that won't make you rich but will give you an ability that will help you become rich. "
"So have you eaten one of these fruits?"
Sany looked at him. She wanted to see if his eyes were studying her. But now without Mr. Peru to distract the king, that would not be a good idea. "No, I never got a chance to eat one," Sany said. Now she completely understood why they weren't trying to harm her. She now knew that they were playing it safe.
"That is sad." King Darold leaned back in his couch. "Tell me more about your world."
"Sure," Sany said, and they talked for another hour.
***
"See you in the morning," Dev said and left.
"Okay," Sany said and turned back toward her room. She started out the window at the star-filled sky and something on the horizon caught her attention. "What is that?" Sany asked, her voice filling the dark room.
"What?" Dev looked at her.
"That light beyond the forest," Sany said.
"Oh, that." Dev walked over to a window. "That's where Gorgon has camped its army. Do you want anything else?"
"No," Sany said, "Just send me back to my time."
"I can't lower the barrier," Dev said, "not until the war is over."
Sany looked back at the light beyond the forest. "I see."
"I'll leave, then," Dev said and walked out of her room.
A few minutes passed. Sany started wondering what Kon and Mr. Peru were doing now. Her eyes started getting heavy, and she was about to fall asleep when jangling noise filled her room.
"Eh..." Sany raised herself up, and with her arms propped on the bed, she looked around and saw something glimmering in the darkness. Sany strained her eyes and saw that it was a keyring. "You need to come with me. You need to come with me." Mr. Peru's voice floated into her ears.
"Huh." Sany sat up straight on her bed. "Is that you?"
Mr. Peru popped into view, carrying the keyring in his talons.
"What do you mean? Did you find the machine?" Sany stood up and rushed toward him.
Mr. Peru let go of the keyring, and Sany caught it.
"I've found him," Mr. Peru said.
"Who?" Sany asked though she felt like she already knew the answer.
"Kon."
***
"That's a wrong key, too," Mr. Peru said while he hovered above her. "Try a different one."
"Yes, yes," Sany said and tried a different key. She glanced at Kon who was sleeping on a raised platform behind the bars of the cellar.
She still couldn't believe that Kon had followed them into the past and had ended up in a cell in a dungeon under an old palace.
"Hey wake up," Sany screamed at him, gritting her teeth. "Damn it. This one is also not the right key. Are you sure Mr. Peru that you stole the right key ring?"
"I did," Mr. Peru said. "Keep trying."
Kon snored loudly.
"Damn him," Sany said, inserted another key, twisted it, and heard a click. "Huh. Yes, I did--"
Without warning, purple light started glowing behind her, and Sany was pushed into the gate of the cell which swung open. Sany went flying as the purple, glowing object sent her deeper and deeper into the room, and suddenly the light disappear and she landed on top of Kon.
"What the.." She heard creaking and jangling noise and looked behind her and saw Dev locking the gate.
"NO." Sany got to her feet and rushed toward him, holding her open-palm before her.
"That won't work," Dev said and a purple, floating, glowing, square materialized before her. Sany ran into it and was thrown to the cold, stone floor of the cellar.
Sany got back to her feet, rubbing her sore forehead. "So, you are the barrier user?"
Dev moved away from the gate. "See, I told Darold, I can take care of you on my own. I knew you are not that strong." Purple square appeared under his feet, lifting him up, and it looked like he was standing on the flying carpet. "See you tomorrow," he said and hid the key inside his cloak.
"Wait. Don't go. Don't think that I can't force my way through these bars," Sany said, grabbed two bars and sticking her face in between them.
"Don't bluff," Dev said while he floated away from her. "If you could have used force, you wouldn't have wasted your time on the keys."
"If I can't force my way through this gate, then he can!"
Dev chuckled. "Oh. He? He won't be waking up for a while."
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Sany dropped her bag on the four-poster bed and waited for Dev to walk out of the room. She then crept up to the door and looked out the corridor to make sure that no one was spying on her. Then she went over to the barred window and looked down at the town that stretched below her. The sky had started to turn dark, and she could see the shadows in the forest getting darker with it.
"Hey, get me out," Mr. Peru's muffled voice reverberated across the room. She went over to her bag and slowly opened the chain and peered inside her bag. She saw her clothes and that bottle of watermelon juice, but she couldn't see Mr. Peru.
"What the hell! Where did he go?" She quickly upturned her bag and started rattling it vigorously. A small pile of clothes had now been accumulated on the head of the bed. But there was no red bird hidden within the depths of those clothes.
Where in the world did he go? Sany thought; had I somehow crushed the bird? Sany slumped to the floor, her knees hitting the cold, stone surface. "Kon won't forgive me," she muttered.
Something brushed past her hair. "Huh. What was that?"
"Hehe," Mr. Peru's voice echoed in her ears. "You can't see me, can you?"
"EEh.." Sany turned her head left and right and up and down. "Where are you?" She cocked her ears and listened intently. She could hear wings flapping in the air, could hear feathers cutting through space. Thanks to her ability she could not only hear sound but also see it. Or, at least visualize it.
An invisible bird was hovering over her heard. She couldn't see it but could sense the ripples it was creating. Then, it swooped down and alighted on top of the piled up clothes. And out of nowhere, Mr. Peru popped into view. "Yo," he said, saluting her with his right wings.
Sany pointed her finger at him. "YOU ARE A BLACK-APPLE USER, TOO?"
"Yes. I had already told you that," Mr. Peru said and started hopping around her clothes.
"I thought you were joking," Sany said.
"I never joke," Mr. Peru said and looked about. "So, we are in the past. That means I can meet with my ancestors."
Sany climbed back to her feet, slapping dust off her skirt. "We don't have time for that. I think I have discovered something. I think that the king is also a black-apple user. At first, I had believed, that the guy in that purple cloak was the one. But I didn't sense any surge in him. Either he has a low surge, or he is good at hiding it."
Mr. Peru started flapping his wings, rose up in the air and settled down on the edge of a window. He looked out at the darkening sky. "Yes. But I don't want to think about it. I'm missing Kon. I want to rejoin him."
Sany walked over to him. "I don't know how you got this power. But we may be able to use it now and meet up Kon."
"How? Tell me. Tell me.'
"You need to go invisible again and fly around the palace and look for a big machine."
"A big machine?" Mr. Peru tilted his feather-covered head left and then right.
Sany nodded. "That king does have a good amount of surge, but I don't think he is strong enough to create this barrier that is preventing us from returning back to our time."
"You don't?" Mr. Peru hopped from here to there while orange-sunlight poured around him. The sun was preparing to hide behind the mountains or ocean or whatever place the sun goes to hide.
"I don't," Sany said. "I think something else is behind this, and something fishy is going on here."
***
"What?" King Darold jumped out of his seat. "A tree from heaven landed on our world?"
Sany nodded. "Yes. I did happen."
"And the world changed after that?" King Darold asked. They were now in a different room. It was similar to the room they had given to Sany but was full of things and was way cleaner than hers.
"Yes," Said said, and in her mind, she thought: Damn, he is a terrible actor too. He already knows all this stuff. But if he is really from my time then why in the world are people here thinking him as their king?
"I can't believe it." King Darold let out a breath of excitement. "And now people in your timeline plant these apple trees with a hope that the trees would bear the wish-fulfilling fruit called black-apple?"
"Yes, my lord," Sany said, trying to play along with him. "But they don't directly grant your wish. Instead, they give you special powers. Suppose, you sowed an apple seed into the soil with a hope that you'll become rich. Then your tree will bear a fruit that won't make you rich but will give you an ability that will help you become rich. "
"So have you eaten one of these fruits?"
Sany looked at him. She wanted to see if his eyes were studying her. But now without Mr. Peru to distract the king, that would not be a good idea. "No, I never got a chance to eat one," Sany said. Now she completely understood why they weren't trying to harm her. She now knew that they were playing it safe.
"That is sad." King Darold leaned back in his couch. "Tell me more about your world."
"Sure," Sany said, and they talked for another hour.
***
"See you in the morning," Dev said and left.
"Okay," Sany said and turned back toward her room. She started out the window at the star-filled sky and something on the horizon caught her attention. "What is that?" Sany asked, her voice filling the dark room.
"What?" Dev looked at her.
"That light beyond the forest," Sany said.
"Oh, that." Dev walked over to a window. "That's where Gorgon has camped its army. Do you want anything else?"
"No," Sany said, "Just send me back to my time."
"I can't lower the barrier," Dev said, "not until the war is over."
Sany looked back at the light beyond the forest. "I see."
"I'll leave, then," Dev said and walked out of her room.
A few minutes passed. Sany started wondering what Kon and Mr. Peru were doing now. Her eyes started getting heavy, and she was about to fall asleep when jangling noise filled her room.
"Eh..." Sany raised herself up, and with her arms propped on the bed, she looked around and saw something glimmering in the darkness. Sany strained her eyes and saw that it was a keyring. "You need to come with me. You need to come with me." Mr. Peru's voice floated into her ears.
"Huh." Sany sat up straight on her bed. "Is that you?"
Mr. Peru popped into view, carrying the keyring in his talons.
"What do you mean? Did you find the machine?" Sany stood up and rushed toward him.
Mr. Peru let go of the keyring, and Sany caught it.
"I've found him," Mr. Peru said.
"Who?" Sany asked though she felt like she already knew the answer.
"Kon."
***
"That's a wrong key, too," Mr. Peru said while he hovered above her. "Try a different one."
"Yes, yes," Sany said and tried a different key. She glanced at Kon who was sleeping on a raised platform behind the bars of the cellar.
She still couldn't believe that Kon had followed them into the past and had ended up in a cell in a dungeon under an old palace.
"Hey wake up," Sany screamed at him, gritting her teeth. "Damn it. This one is also not the right key. Are you sure Mr. Peru that you stole the right key ring?"
"I did," Mr. Peru said. "Keep trying."
Kon snored loudly.
"Damn him," Sany said, inserted another key, twisted it, and heard a click. "Huh. Yes, I did--"
Without warning, purple light started glowing behind her, and Sany was pushed into the gate of the cell which swung open. Sany went flying as the purple, glowing object sent her deeper and deeper into the room, and suddenly the light disappear and she landed on top of Kon.
"What the.." She heard creaking and jangling noise and looked behind her and saw Dev locking the gate.
"NO." Sany got to her feet and rushed toward him, holding her open-palm before her.
"That won't work," Dev said and a purple, floating, glowing, square materialized before her. Sany ran into it and was thrown to the cold, stone floor of the cellar.
Sany got back to her feet, rubbing her sore forehead. "So, you are the barrier user?"
Dev moved away from the gate. "See, I told Darold, I can take care of you on my own. I knew you are not that strong." Purple square appeared under his feet, lifting him up, and it looked like he was standing on the flying carpet. "See you tomorrow," he said and hid the key inside his cloak.
"Wait. Don't go. Don't think that I can't force my way through these bars," Sany said, grabbed two bars and sticking her face in between them.
"Don't bluff," Dev said while he floated away from her. "If you could have used force, you wouldn't have wasted your time on the keys."
"If I can't force my way through this gate, then he can!"
Dev chuckled. "Oh. He? He won't be waking up for a while."
Sany dropped her bag on the four-poster bed and waited for Dev to walk out of the room. She then crept up to the door and looked out the corridor to make sure that no one was spying on her. Then she went over to the barred window and looked down at the town that stretched below her. The sky had started to turn dark, and she could see the shadows in the forest getting darker with it."Hey, get me out," Mr. Peru's muffled voice reverberated across the room. She went over to her bag and slowly opened the chain and peered inside her bag. She saw her clothes and that bottle of watermelon juice, but she couldn't see Mr. Peru."What the hell! Where did he go?" She quickly upturned her bag and started rattling it vigorously. A small pile of clothes had now been accumulated on the head of the bed. But there was no red bird hidden within the depths of those clothes.Where in the world did he go? Sany thought; had I somehow crushed the bird? Sany slumped to the floor, her knees hitting the cold, stone surface. "Kon won't forgive me," she muttered.Something brushed past her hair. "Huh. What was that?""Hehe," Mr. Peru's voice echoed in her ears. "You can't see me, can you?""EEh.." Sany turned her head left and right and up and down. "Where are you?" She cocked her ears and listened intently. She could hear wings flapping in the air, could hear feathers cutting through space. Thanks to her ability she could not only hear sound but also see it. Or, at least visualize it.An invisible bird was hovering over her heard. She couldn't see it but could sense the ripples it was creating. Then, it swooped down and alighted on top of the piled up clothes. And out of nowhere, Mr. Peru popped into view. "Yo," he said, saluting her with his right wings.Sany pointed her finger at him. "YOU ARE A BLACK-APPLE USER, TOO?""Yes. I had already told you that," Mr. Peru said and started hopping around her clothes."I thought you were joking," Sany said."I never joke," Mr. Peru said and looked about. "So, we are in the past. That means I can meet with my ancestors."Sany climbed back to her feet, slapping dust off her skirt. "We don't have time for that. I think I have discovered something. I think that the king is also a black-apple user. At first, I had believed, that the guy in that purple cloak was the one. But I didn't sense any surge in him. Either he has a low surge, or he is good at hiding it."Mr. Peru started flapping his wings, rose up in the air and settled down on the edge of a window. He looked out at the darkening sky. "Yes. But I don't want to think about it. I'm missing Kon. I want to rejoin him."Sany walked over to him. "I don't know how you got this power. But we may be able to use it now and meet up Kon.""How? Tell me. Tell me.'"You need to go invisible again and fly around the palace and look for a big machine.""A big machine?" Mr. Peru tilted his feather-covered head left and then right.Sany nodded. "That king does have a good amount of surge, but I don't think he is strong enough to create this barrier that is preventing us from returning back to our time.""You don't?" Mr. Peru hopped from here to there while orange-sunlight poured around him. The sun was preparing to hide behind the mountains or ocean or whatever place the sun goes to hide."I don't," Sany said. "I think something else is behind this, and something fishy is going on here."***"What?" King Darold jumped out of his seat. "A tree from heaven landed on our world?"Sany nodded. "Yes. I did happen.""And the world changed after that?" King Darold asked. They were now in a different room. It was similar to the room they had given to Sany but was full of things and was way cleaner than hers."Yes," Said said, and in her mind, she thought: Damn, he is a terrible actor too. He already knows all this stuff. But if he is really from my time then why in the world are people here thinking him as their king?"I can't believe it." King Darold let out a breath of excitement. "And now people in your timeline plant these apple trees with a hope that the trees would bear the wish-fulfilling fruit called black-apple?""Yes, my lord," Sany said, trying to play along with him. "But they don't directly grant your wish. Instead, they give you special powers. Suppose, you sowed an apple seed into the soil with a hope that you'll become rich. Then your tree will bear a fruit that won't make you rich but will give you an ability that will help you become rich. ""So have you eaten one of these fruits?"Sany looked at him. She wanted to see if his eyes were studying her. But now without Mr. Peru to distract the king, that would not be a good idea. "No, I never got a chance to eat one," Sany said. Now she completely understood why they weren't trying to harm her. She now knew that they were playing it safe."That is sad." King Darold leaned back in his couch. "Tell me more about your world.""Sure," Sany said, and they talked for another hour.***"See you in the morning," Dev said and left."Okay," Sany said and turned back toward her room. She started out the window at the star-filled sky and something on the horizon caught her attention. "What is that?" Sany asked, her voice filling the dark room."What?" Dev looked at her."That light beyond the forest," Sany said."Oh, that." Dev walked over to a window. "That's where Gorgon has camped its army. Do you want anything else?""No," Sany said, "Just send me back to my time.""I can't lower the barrier," Dev said, "not until the war is over."Sany looked back at the light beyond the forest. "I see.""I'll leave, then," Dev said and walked out of her room.A few minutes passed. Sany started wondering what Kon and Mr. Peru were doing now. Her eyes started getting heavy, and she was about to fall asleep when jangling noise filled her room."Eh..." Sany raised herself up, and with her arms propped on the bed, she looked around and saw something glimmering in the darkness. Sany strained her eyes and saw that it was a keyring. "You need to come with me. You need to come with me." Mr. Peru's voice floated into her ears."Huh." Sany sat up straight on her bed. "Is that you?"Mr. Peru popped into view, carrying the keyring in his talons."What do you mean? Did you find the machine?" Sany stood up and rushed toward him.Mr. Peru let go of the keyring, and Sany caught it."I've found him," Mr. Peru said."Who?" Sany asked though she felt like she already knew the answer."Kon."***"That's a wrong key, too," Mr. Peru said while he hovered above her. "Try a different one.""Yes, yes," Sany said and tried a different key. She glanced at Kon who was sleeping on a raised platform behind the bars of the cellar.She still couldn't believe that Kon had followed them into the past and had ended up in a cell in a dungeon under an old palace."Hey wake up," Sany screamed at him, gritting her teeth. "Damn it. This one is also not the right key. Are you sure Mr. Peru that you stole the right key ring?""I did," Mr. Peru said. "Keep trying."Kon snored loudly."Damn him," Sany said, inserted another key, twisted it, and heard a click. "Huh. Yes, I did--"Without warning, purple light started glowing behind her, and Sany was pushed into the gate of the cell which swung open. Sany went flying as the purple, glowing object sent her deeper and deeper into the room, and suddenly the light disappear and she landed on top of Kon."What the.." She heard creaking and jangling noise and looked behind her and saw Dev locking the gate."NO." Sany got to her feet and rushed toward him, holding her open-palm before her."That won't work," Dev said and a purple, floating, glowing, square materialized before her. Sany ran into it and was thrown to the cold, stone floor of the cellar.Sany got back to her feet, rubbing her sore forehead. "So, you are the barrier user?"Dev moved away from the gate. "See, I told Darold, I can take care of you on my own. I knew you are not that strong." Purple square appeared under his feet, lifting him up, and it looked like he was standing on the flying carpet. "See you tomorrow," he said and hid the key inside his cloak."Wait. Don't go. Don't think that I can't force my way through these bars," Sany said, grabbed two bars and sticking her face in between them."Don't bluff," Dev said while he floated away from her. "If you could have used force, you wouldn't have wasted your time on the keys.""If I can't force my way through this gate, then he can!"Dev chuckled. "Oh. He? He won't be waking up for a while."
