Midnight: The Sequel to Starlight

Here is the long-awaited sequel to Starlight: MIDNIGHT!

I wrote this as a WWP (weekly writing project).

Midnight

~The Sequel to Starlight~

By Alanna

 

Chapter ONE: Apple Pie with Willow

“Mmm…I smell apple pie!” I called.

I inhaled deeply, and the warming smell of apple pie came rushing into my lungs.

“Oh, Stellata…you always know when I’m baking apple pie!” Mom replied from the kitchen.

Just then, there was a loud thump. A dark-haired girl sat in the garden, looking disheveled.

“WILLOW!” I cried, running towards her.

“Hello, Stellata.” Willow said weakly.

Willow rose to her feet slowly, then stretched.

“Do I smell apple pie?” she yawned.

“Oh, yes, my dear, you came just in time!” Mom said, coming in from the kitchen, holding an extra-large apple pie.

“Yummy!” Willow and I said immediately, and scrambled to the dining table almost simultaneously.

I took three plates out of the cupboard, and Willow took three forks. We helped set the table, while Mom divided the pie into three large slices.

“I likf fhe pie fery much, buf fhis ish noth fhe reafon I came herfe.” Willow said while munching her pie.

“Willow, swallow then say that again.” Mom said patiently.

“I like the pie very much, but this is not the reason I came here.” Willow said, wiping her mouth.

Mom and I exchanged looks.

“You see, Star Lake is in danger again, and this time it’s the whole world, not just Star Lake…” Willow trailed off.

Willow whipped out her teleporting ring, signaling for us to do the same. I realized that we were going to visit Star Lake.

We all slipped on our teleporting rings, and held hands to form a small circle. I felt a familiar rising feeling, and we started to fly.

As we were flying, I peered at our surroundings.

I discovered that we were flying towards a large blue pool surrounded by clouds, and a starry night sky.

“The portal to Star Lake.” I breathed.

“Oh, yes. Beautiful, isn’t it?” Willow replied.

“Now, girls, let us go through the portal!” Mom said.

We each took a deep breath, and half flew/half jumped through the portal.

The portal felt sort of…wet. Also, kind of cool and silky.

“That’s my favorite thing to do!” Willow said happily.

Suddenly, we were dragged downwards at an alarming speed.

“This is NOT supposed to happen!” Willow wailed.

“It’s NOT?!” Mom and I yelled back simultaneously.

“No, it’s not! I have no idea what’s happeniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!” Willow yelled as we landed on the ground with a loud thud.

“Ow, it hurts!” I cried, feeling my leg gingerly.

My left foot was twisted at an unnatural angle, and it hurt badly.

“Stellata, you’ve fractured your ankle.” Mom declared.

I grimaced.

“Can’t you use magic to heal my ankle?” I asked.

“Well, yes, but…” Mom trailed off.

“But what?” Willow asked.

“It’s just that I haven’t done this for 20 years…Willow, would you mind healing Stellata together with me?” Mom asked hopefully.

“Sure!” Willow replied enthusiastically.

Mom placed her hand gently on my ankle, and Willow followed suit.

“Now, Willow, think about threads of magic going into Stellata’s ankle to heal the fractured bone.” Mom said.

Willow nodded, and we all closed our eyes.

I felt a sharp tingling feeling in my ankle, and suddenly my ankle stopped hurting. I moved my foot carefully, and a smile spread across my face.

“It worked! Thank you, Mom! Thank you, Willow!” I said.

We all whipped out our teleporting rings once more, and made a small circle with our hands joined together.

“To the palace!” We said in unison.

 

Chapter TWO, Part ONE: To the palace!

We landed at the grand entrance to the palace with a thud.

“Oof! C’mon, Stellata!” Willow said, scrambling to her feet.

“Get up, Mom!” I said, running after Willow.

Willow stopped suddenly, and a band of armed guards tried to block her.

“Oi! What do you think you’re doing? I’m THE PRINCESS, and this is the QUEEN’S SISTER and THE QUEEN’S NIECE. We’re ROYALTY!” Willow yelled at the guards.

“Sorry, my lady, but we have orders to not let anyone in.” A guard answered curtly.

“I don’t think I told you NOT TO LET THE PRINCESS AND HER COMPANIONS IN! ESPECIALLY MY SISTER AND HER NIECE!” Aunt Stella suddenly barged in.

“Mom!” Willow called.

“Let them in!” Aunt Stella demanded.

“At once, Your Majesty,” answered the guard, bowing awkwardly.

“Stupid,” muttered Aunt Stella.

The guard cringed, his face red with shame. We walked through the throng of guards, and followed Aunt Stella to the main hall.

“Sit down, make yourselves comfortable.” Aunt Stella said.

It was only when I faced Aunt Stella directly, I realized how pale and tired-looking she was.

“Stella! Why are you looking so pale and tired?” Mom gasped, rushing to Aunt Stella’s side.

Aunt Stella tried to push Mom away gently, but she wasn’t fast enough.

“What happened?” Mom asked softly.

“A crisis-” Aunt Stella collapsed on the table before she could finish her sentence.

“MOM!” Willow cried, rushing to her side.

“She hasn’t slept in days.” Willow said sadly, holding Aunt Stella’s hand.

“We’ve got to get her to her bed.” Mom said.

Willow and I nodded, and we used our magic to carry Aunt Stella to her bedroom.

After tucking Aunt Stella in, we went back into the main hall to discuss the situation.

“So…how should we start?” Willow said awkwardly.

“Well, remember how you said you had something to tell us?” Mom prompted.

“Ah…yes.” Willow shifted awkwardly in her chair, suddenly seeming very worried.

 

Chapter TWO, Part TWO: Willow’s explanation

“You see, Star Lake is in danger again. And this time it’s not just Star Lake. It’s the whole world. A powerful group of sorcerers and sorceresses are threatening to destroy everything…unless we tell them THE SECRET. The secret to eternal life. But the thing is, that secret was lost…way back in history. The only lead we have is a weirdly mysterious poem written on VERY brittle parchment.” Willow finished.

“Show me the poem.” Mom demanded.

“Um…sure!” Willow said uncertainly.

She used her magic to fly the parchment through the air, then land it on the table gently. Mom immediately snatched it, and read it aloud.

“To discover the secret you must prevail

Against scorching sun and hail

To go to the place where the secret is buried

Thou must go to the city’s seed

To take the secret off its stand

Thou must enter an unknown land

Where there is an eternal setting sun

Where there are white boulders and orange sand

When you go there you must run

For the secret is lost as quickly as it is found”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Hmm…scorching sun and hail must mean Star Lake’s extreme weather. And the city’s seed must mean the heart of the city, where it all started. An unknown land with an eternally setting sun, white boulders, and orange sand…seems familiar. Oh, yes! That’s the boundary city of Star Lake, the most magical place of all!” Mom explained for us.

“But what if we can’t find the secret?” Willow asked.

“Well, I don’t know. But you WILL find it, I know you will.” Mom answered.

“So, are we going to find this secret together? Or just Willow and me?” I asked.

“Perhaps just you and Willow. Trust me, you two WILL find the secret. And Willow, I know your mother will be proud.” Mom replied.

Willow’s face lit up at the mention of her mother being proud of her.

“Well, I guess I really COULD do this…” Willow said.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” I said.

Suddenly, Aunt Stella walked into the hall.

“So, what did I miss?” She said casually.

“Well, you see, Willow and Stellata are going to hunt for the secret…” Mom started to explain.

Aunt Stella held a hand up to stop Mom in mid-sentence.

“Don’t worry. I heard everything. And I WILL be proud of you, Willow, even if you don’t succeed. Just make sure safety is your priority, not finding the secret. So, you girls can take this copy of the poem, then you can go! Oh, and take these with you.”

Aunt Stella handed two large backpacks to us, one purple with Willow’s name on it, and one aqua with my name on it.

“What’s inside?” Willow asked immediately.

“Well, you’ll just have to find out LATER.” Mom said.

“Very much agreed, big sister.” Aunt Stella said, putting an arm on Mom’s shoulder.

“Off you go, girls!” Mom and Aunt Stella said together, waving.

They were a little teary eyed, and so were Willow and I.

 

Chapter THREE: The hunt begins…

 

We walked out of the palace, while thinking about where to go first. I peered inside the backpack, and found a map.

The map had a few sections, and was rather like an iPad. It really looked like something Aunt Stella would give us.

I looked at the map carefully. On the top, it read “The Secret”, and on the bottom, it read “Hello, Stellata. Where do you want to go today? I will take you one step closer to the secret every time you consult me, but I will not tell you the whole location. I will not tell anyone else what I tell you, you are the only one I will talk to. Well, unless you request it.”

“Where should we go first?” I asked quietly.

“Now, now. The fourth verse of the poem says to go to the city’s seed, which your Mother says means the heart of the city; where it all started. So I guess your cousin Willow knows where it is?” The map replied, in a soft voice which sounded a lot like Mom.

Willow was staring at my map, awestruck.

“Uh…I know where that means.” Willow managed to say. “The Inner City. Except it’s now a museum.”

I put back my map and whipped out my teleporting ring.

“Inner City, here we come!” Willow and I declared.

We closed our eyes and felt a strong wind around us. I dared to open my eyes a few minutes later and saw that we were flying at a high speed to a little, walled place in the center of everything. I saw the Glass Spire, where we had dueled with the mad wizard Obsidian Flame-Chamber a year ago. I smiled at the memory.

Suddenly, we were being pulled down – and FAST. I realized we were going to land, so I braced myself for the landing.

We landed with a soft thud, like usual.

“Let’s get tickets!” Willow said excitedly.

She dashed towards the entrance, and exchanged some odd-looking banknotes for two tickets.

“WAIT!” I said, stopping Willow in her tracks.

“We might be, well, recognized!” I hissed.

“Oh yeah!” Willow whispered.

She rummaged in her backpack, and fished out a large, blonde wig, thick glasses, and a jacket-and-skirt outfit.

I followed suit, and found a large, auburn wig, a deep blue pendant on a string, a tartan pleated skirt, a white blouse with its sleeves rolled up, a black blazer with golden buttons, and black boots.

Willow snickered when she saw my outfit.

“Looks like you got a school uniform.”

I glared at Willow.

“I LIKE it.” I retorted, pointing at Willow’s outfit. “Your one is WORSE. You have a giant puffy blonde wig, a weird sweater, and a old-looking skirt. Oh, and NERD GLASSES.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded from inside my backpack.

“Better get a move on, girls! Stop arguing and GO CHANGE!” The map said cheerfully.

Willow and I glared at each other and stormed off to a nearby toilet to change.

After changing, I looked myself in the mirror. I straightened my wig, and pulled at my outfit. I didn’t look too bad. Willow was right, it did look like a school uniform.

Willow came out eventually, grumbling about her outfit.

“It looks so WEIRD!” She complained, pulling at her wig and clothes.

“Now, Willow, you don’t really look as bad as you think…it’s just that you wore your clothes inside-out, and you haven’t pulled your wig straight.” I assured Willow.

Willow’s face turned red, and she muttered, “I’m going to change.”

I shook my head at Willow, then started to comb my hair, or rather, my wig. I darted into a cubicle, and whipped out the map.

“To which exhibit should we go first?” I whispered to the map.

“Here’s a floor plan of the whole museum. You should go to the “Heart of The City” exhibit, where the first clue is hidden. Well, actually, it’s on display…” The map replied with a hint of uncertainty.

“You’re asking us to STEAL IT?!” I hissed back.

“Well…yes, but…you’ll have to, if you want to find you-know-what. I’ll shut down all the electronic security measures for you, and handle the security guards for you. Oh, and I’ll distract everyone. It’ll be the perfect crime. Not exactly.” The map replied confidently.

“Well, we don’t have much choice…and it’ll be SO easy with everything gone…” I pondered.

I stuffed the map in my bag and strolled out of the cubicle to look for Willow. Willow was looking a lot better, with her clothes straightened and her wig pulled down a bit.

“Willow, we’re going to steal a piece of parchment from the exhibit “Heart of The City”…” I whispered into her ear.

Willow’s eyes widened.

“How are we going to do that?” she asked.

“Well, the map is going to shut down all the security, and distract everyone, while we lift the parchment out of its case!” I replied.

“Ah…” Willow said, nodding.

“So, let’s go!” I said, dashing out of the bathroom.

Willow ran after me.

 

Chapter FOUR: Stealing the parchment

Willow led the mad dash to the exhibit, which was upstairs. There weren’t too many people there, which was a relief.

Suddenly, there was an announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time to go to the annual city museum celebration show! And after that, there will be a party! You all have been invited, so go to the City Gardens NOW!” The speaker sounded.

Willow and I heard “Ooh!”’s and “Ah!”’s from the many visitors in the museum, and saw them dashing towards the exit.

I glanced at Willow, and she nodded. It was time.

We looked both ways to make sure no-one was watching, then I fished out the map from my backpack.

“Stellata…everything is complete. Go and steal your parchment.” The map announced triumphantly, but seemed a bit tired.

“Thank you.” I replied, putting the map back.

Willow dashed around the whole exhibit, trying to find the parchment.

“I can’t find it!” She exclaimed.

“Let ME try.” I replied calmly.

I strolled to each of the items on display, and found the parchment soon enough.

“What do you mean, you can’t find it?” I asked. “I found it!”

“Well…” Willow trailed off, her face turning red. “I guess I didn’t look well enough.”

I shrugged, and went over to the parchment’s glass case.

“Give me a hand with this. It’s quite heavy, so be careful.”

Willow walked over, and started staring at the glass case before closing her eyes. I realized she was going to use her magic to lift the case off its pedestal.

The case hovered uncertainly at first, but slowly made its way to the ground without shattering.

“I must learn to do that.” I muttered to myself.

“HURRY UP! PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK! THEY’RE REALIZING THIS WAS ALL A HOAX!” The map said urgently form inside my backpack.

I gasped. Willow jumped.

“C’mon, Willow, give me the parchment.” I said as calmly as I could.

Willow nodded steadily, and handed me the parchment, which she had rolled up carefully.

I placed the parchment very carefully into my backpack, while Willow looked around to see if anyone was back yet.

“Quick! Someone’s coming!” Willow hissed.

I nodded, and darted around for a hiding place.

“Get through the portal!” Willow urged, pushing me from behind into a shimmering blue pool which was slightly transparent.

I jumped through, with Willow behind me.

“We’re going to the Outer City, AKA Boundary City, which was mentioned in the poem. It’s now basically a museum. People used to live there a long time ago. But then it was totally destroyed, so they rebuilt it, and now it’s a museum.” Willow explained.

“Not stealing from a museum AGAIN!” I moaned.

“Hey, I hate that too! But then there won’t be any security measures, as very little people visit that place anymore. It’s so…boring!” Willow replied.

Suddenly, we passed through another shimmery blue pool, and landed on a flat surface with a thump.

“Oof!” Willow said.

“Is this the museum?” I asked.

“Yeah, but I think we’re OUTSIDE of it, and we’ll need tickets.” Willow replied.

 

Chapter FIVE: Exploring a run-down museum…

 

Willow dashed manically over to the counter with some banknotes to get tickets for the museum. But it turned out that the museum didn’t need tickets – not anymore!

“Too little people visit nowadays. That’s why.” The person at the counter explained.

“Um…could we have a guided tour?” I asked awkwardly.

“Oh, of course!” The person, which was an middle-aged lady, was delighted. “Come along, it’s not every day someone comes to visit!”

Willow and I glanced at each other, and I shrugged.

The lady led us to a small cloakroom-like place, where we got a flashlight, helmet, and a small pouch each.

“We’re going to be exploring a cave first, where you might find some nice stones, which you can keep, but don’t take any stones from the display! That’s what the pouch is for. Also inside the pouch, there is an ancient-style lucky stone with carvings on it. It’s a free souvenir, since people don’t come often.” The lady said.

I nodded uncertainly, while Willow examined her lucky stone.

The lady beckoned for us to follow her, and led us to an opening of a cave.

“Put your helmets on, girls, and switch on your flashlights!” The lady announced cheerfully.

Willow and I hurriedly slapped our helmets on and switched on our flashlights. We scrambled into the cave after the lady.

“Now, this cave has a VERY special history, the earliest people to live in Star Lake lived in THIS very cave! This cave connects to a string of caves that the early people also lived in!” The lady said.

I spotted something glittering on the ground. I picked it up to examine it. It was a glittering midnight-blue gemstone, like a sapphire, only darker.

The lady noticed the gemstone, and gently pried it out of my grasp.

“Now THIS is a beautiful example of Star Lake’s most renowned gemstone: The Midnight Crystal!” The lady announced, holding the gemstone high in the air.

She handed the Midnight Crystal back to me, winking. I slipped the crystal into my pouch as soon as her back was turned.

The lady went on to explain the extended early history of Star Lake, which I didn’t really listen to because it was pretty boring.

We followed the lady to the cave’s exit, which led to the REAL museum.

“Now, girls, I’m going to leave it to you to explore. Have fun!” The lady walked back to her post, which was at the very front.

I whipped out the map.

“To which exhibit?” I whispered.

“Remember the part about the sunset, sand and the boulders? That’s all about landscape, so…” The map replied.

“So it must be the exhibit about geographical stuff!” Willow finished.

“Let’s go!” I said, putting the map into my backpack.

I realized that Willow hadn’t opened her backpack AT ALL. I also realized that I was terribly thirsty.

“Willow! Wait! I’m thirsty!” I called softly.

Willow stopped and turned around.

I opened up my backpack, and peered inside. Nope. Nothing to drink at all.

“Willow! Check your bag for drinks!” I hissed.

Willow placed her backpack on the floor, and opened it.

“Hmm…all I can find is a tent thingy…and some drinks and food!” Willow said delightedly.

“Yours must be the bag for shelter and food.” I replied, grabbing a bottle of water.

Willow shrugged, and bit into a large roll of cake, spraying crumbs everywhere.

“Willow!” I said.

I fished out the map from my backpack, and peered inside. My backpack held clothes, utensils, and bedding. It also held other useful things like electronic gadgets.

“Willow, let’s go!” I whispered, packing my bag. “We’ve got a little something to steal!”

Willow nodded, brushing crumbs from her face.

We ran to the exhibit, and dropped our bags on the floor.

“Map, what are we going to steal?” I consulted the map quietly.

“A painting.” The map replied simply.

I frowned. What did the map mean by “a painting”?

I looked around. There was only one painting on display, and it was a painting of a landscape, complete with a sunset, orange sand, and white boulders. This must be it!

“Map, any security?” I asked.

“Um…not really. There’s only a faulty security camera, and if you stand in certain areas, like near the painting, it can’t detect you. But I’ll do away with it anyways.” The map replied.

“Thanks.” I whispered.

Willow must have overheard the conversation, because she nodded, and ran over to the painting’s glass case. This time, I lifted the case up slowly, and placed it on the floor with my magic.

Willow slowly rolled up the painting, and placed it into her backpack.

“Map, where next?” I asked.

“A safe place for you to examine both.” The map replied.

I nodded, and tried my best to conjure a portal to go back home.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps. It was probably the lady, so I grabbed Willow, and we hid behind a large screen-like thing.

I slipped on my teleporting ring, and so did Willow.

“We’re going home.” I whispered in Willow’s ear, and she nodded.

We made a circle with our hands, and a shimmery blue pool appeared out of thin air.

I jumped through behind Willow, just before the portal closed up.

 

Chapter SIX: Piecing the clues together…

We landed in the garden with a thump. I stood up and brushed my clothes down. Willow picked herself up, and walked inside.

I followed Willow, dragging our backpacks behind me.

I plonked myself down on the sofa. Willow did too, and we took the parchment and the painting out of the backpacks.

I read the writing on the parchment:

Thou hath found the missing link,

To the secret fortress where the secret is hidden.

But to travel there thou must,

Bring the painting that thou must find.

Stella Flora Glacelle

Willow peered at the last bit of the poem.

“Hmm…Stella Flora Glacelle seems so familiar…oh, yes! This is the old language that people in Star Lake used to speak! Stella means star, Flora means flowers, and Glacelle means glacier, or lake! So that means Star Flower Glacier! Or lake, but it’s not likely. I know where the Star Flower Glacier is! Well, it’s called Star BLOSSOM Glacier now, but it doesn’t matter.” Willow said excitedly.

“Oh, sure…” I said, putting the parchment back into the backpack immediately.

We whipped out our teleporting rings, and made a circle again.

“To Star Blossom Glacier!” We declared.

 

Chapter SEVEN: Star Blossom Glacier

We landed in a very cold spot, so cold I was afraid I’d get hypothermia. I pried open my backpack with freezing hands, and tried to find a jacket. Well, I hoped for a parka. I found two parkas, and two pairs of furry mittens.

I passed a parka and a pair of mittens to Willow. She accepted them gratefully. I slipped on my parka and mittens, then zipped up my bag.

“Where should we start?” I asked Willow.

“I don’t know. How about consulting the map?” She suggested.

I whipped out the map, and asked it between chattering teeth, “Where to start first?”

“Brr…it’s COLD out here! Anyways, you should look at the painting.” The map replied.

Willow took the painting out uncertainly, and we studied it together. The painting consisted of a sunset and a orange beach with white boulders.

But when I looked even closer, the landscape seemed to be forming…words. The sunset and the reflection of it in the water made the letter T, the strokes in the sand made the letters E, R, R, and A, and the boulders had some arrow-like etchings on them.

“Hmm…Terra…doesn’t that mean land? And those arrows could be directions…” I thought aloud.

“I know what that means! Terra probably means that dirt crater thing, and those arrows must be directions to find it!” Willow replied.

Willow grabbed my hand and dragged me as she ran to what she called the “dirt crater thing”.

It truly WAS a dirt crater. It seemed that someone had made a giant dent in the ground.

I studied the arrows. There was one pointing up, two pointing right, two more pointing up, and one pointing down.

I walked one moderately sized step forwards, two to the right, then two forward. Willow followed after me, staring curiously.

Willow realized what I was doing, and handed me a shovel. She started digging, and so did I.

After what seemed like a few hours, I hit something hard with my shovel. I gently picked loose the dirt around it, and scooped the object up. It was an ornate tarnished silver chest, with an elaborate lock.

Suddenly, I heard a clang from behind. Willow pried an elaborate silver key out from the ground. This must be the key!

I held the chest out to Willow, while she tried to unlock the chest. At last, we pried it open.

The chest was beautiful, with a red velvet lining. In its center were two curious-looking vial things, with scrolling letters around part of it. Willow’s eyes widened in surprise.

“These are midnight binary coded locks! If you can enter the correct code, they reveal whatever they are protecting. But if you don’t anything inside it will be destroyed. But you also have another option: to use a Midnight Crystal to reveal a secret code. Since Midnight Crystals are SO rare, the creators designed this lock to be opened with a simple code-word, which can be revealed with a Midnight Crystal. And YOU have one!” Willow explained.

I took the crystal out of the pouch, and picked one of the locks up. I ran the crystal around it, but couldn’t find anything. Something caught my eye. On the top, in tiny gilt cursive, there was the word “Starlight”. This must be the code-word!

I slowly scrolled the letters around to make the word “Starlight”. The lock clicked, and slowly sprang open. Willow gasped. Two beautiful necklaces with a deep blue pendant and a piece of parchment tumbled out. I read the parchment:

Thou thinks thyself hath found the secret,

But that is not all.

Thou and thy companion must put on these necklaces to test if thou is worthy or not.

If thou is not worthy,

These necklaces are death itself.

Willow and I shuddered. I slowly slipped the necklace on. Nothing happened. Willow put hers on. Nothing happened either.

Suddenly, there was an ethereal voice.

“You have proved yourself worthy of finding the secret. Keep these necklaces, and open the next lock.” The voice said.

Willow and I ran the crystal over the next lock, and opened it. Two vials came tumbling out, as well as two glittering gemstones. The gemstones were midnight blue, with gold star-shaped flecks.

“The Starlight Crystal!” Willow gasped.

“You are right. You have proven yourselves worthy, so you are to keep these crystals, but the vials contain the secret and may not be opened until the world is in a time of need.” The voice replied. “Now, Willow and Stellata, I will transport you home. But because I know that those people want the secret, so I shall tell you an effective lie: The secret to eternal life is in this vial. This vial that I will give you contains the fairest poison of all. It is a cloud, that will take all that are not worthy to another world of punishment, and give happiness to those that have not wronged.” The voice said.

Suddenly, a vial containing an inky dark poison appeared in front of us. I took it, and put it in my backpack.

“Thank you.” Willow and I said together.

“You are welcome.” The voice replied, and a portal appeared in front of us.

We stepped in together.

 

Chapter EIGHT: Back to the palace!

We were stopped in front of the palace doors by a group of people wearing dark cloaks covering their faces.

“Where is the secret?” One asked.

I handed them the vial.

“The secret is in here. Open it, and you shall see.”

The person opened it, and a large, dark blue cloud came out.

Willow and I watched as the cloud whisk away most of the group, leaving some, which ran away as fast they could.

Suddenly, Aunt Stella and Mom came running out, faces streaked with tears.

“I’m so proud of you.” Mom said, hugging me.

“I got a Midnight crystal, AND a Starlight Crystal!” I replied.

Mom pulled away, and called to the others.

“Who wants apple pie?”

We all put our hands up, and yelled “ME!”