IV

The Search

———

Once more, the light made Amy wake up happily as usual. Drawing her foot from the bed to her bedroom door, she wore a soft feathery flip flops. Out of the usual, she headed to the living room. She saw her mother, sipping a color-faded tea while sitting on their indoor bench.

"Good morning, dear," Ellen almost forcingly stopped drinking the tea.

"Good morning, too, Mom." Amy sat down beside her mom as she laid her back flat on something behind her.

"Won't you take a little bread?" Ellen finally ended up, saying this.

"No, Mom." Amy glanced at the well-polished flooring. She had a peculiar dream before she have waken up happily.

"Amy, is something bothering you?" Then, Amy shook her head after a few seconds as a false response to Ellen's question. "Well, Amy, I have to tell you something and I hope you already prepared yourself for something surprising."

"Mom, what do you mean?" Amy asked curiously.

"You remember your father, David?" Ellen said.

"Yes . . . " Amy asked. "Is that connected to what you're gonna say?"

"He's lost because of those Kininvas." The silence embraced them after a start of explanation of Ellen. "They are captured because they want to invade our Kingdom, The Portland Goldens. I moved here for they can't find me, the Queen of Portland Goldens. But what I thought was just a wrong decision. I brought a bigger trouble and involved many places including Garing-free. Now, we're not safe here. We'll go to our Kingdom secretly and we'll be safer through our Portal Soldiers."

Amy was just looking down. What Mom is saying is easy to understand for her but I can't understand, she thought. She remembered what she had dreamt of. That dream gave her a mild power shooting an arrow just like she was a professional archer.

"Why?" Ellen asked, just to make sure that her daughter was alright.

"Mom, I dreamt of something," Amy said as she grabbed her bow and arrows. "And I want you to see it."

Amy led Ellen outside their house.

"This . . . " Amy said.

Amy used a metal arrow to draw couple of circles to make a target on the tree trunk. She put that arrow back. She took a wooden arrow. It's the one she used to shoot and it hit the very center of the target.

"Wow . . . You're given a power by Wizard Sheloin!" Ellen said. "It's for us to be guided. He knows we are going to search for the portal plate and we need to guard ourselves."

"What is a . . . portal plate?" Amy asked. There are so many things Amy still can't understand but she just chose to ask one.

"It's a square-shape plate that was built when a portal maker will have to go to another world. All his or her power will be transformed into a portal plate," Ellen explained as if it was easy to be understood by an eleven-year-old girl.

"You mean I'm also capable of making a portal? And another portal plate was built when I was born?" Amy asked happily.

"Yes," Ellen replied.

"But I'll never have it anymore," Amy said sadly, looking at her snow-white palms.

"No, once your fingerprints touched the center of portal plate, it'll disappear and you'll have your powers again. Just make sure that you touched the right portal plate for you," Ellen, again, explained.

"Okay, so let's go!" Amy said and she began frowning.

"Why?" Ellen asked.

"What about . . . Lance? I want to stay with my best friend . . . " Amy said.

"We can ask him." Ellen smiled.

"Really?" Amy hugged her mother tightly.

"Yes," Ellen said chuckling.

"Let's go!" Amy grabbed her mother's left arm.

They walked until they reached Lance's house while obscuring their weapons. They knocked. Lance peered at the door by the window. He took his sword and prepared. Finally, he opened it.

"Oh, sorry. Uh, just for . . . in case . . . You know," Lance said.

"It's alright," Ellen said. "Actually, we're here to say something to you."

"Wh-what? I don't understand, Aunt Ellen," Lance stuttered.

"We're asking if you can come with us," Ellen said.

"Mom is actually the Queen of Portland Goldens. And . . . those Kininvas are the enemies of our Portal Soldiers. We are moving back there again. Of course, being a friend, I don't want us to be apart. You're my best friend," Amy explained, emphasizing the best friend.

"I want to, of course – who wouldn't love a kingdom? – but what about Mom?" Lance asked hopefully. "D'you think she'll agree?"

Joan, Lance's Mom was walking home and said, "oh, good day!"

"Good day, too," Ellen said.

"Mom, if you couldn't come, please let me," Lance pleased. "It'll only be a short while."

"If you heard our conversation," Amy said.

"Yes, but honey, be careful." Joan said. "You'll be back right?"

"Of course, Mom! I ain't gonna leave you all here," Lance said.

"Okay, be careful. Bring something, dear, like for survival," Joan suggested.

"It's here," Lance tapped his sword, hanging on his waist and waved goodbye to his mother.

Joan waved at him just like it was only a Boy Scouts' camp. Bringing a sword is too much, I guess, she thought. Anyway, today's world is harsh.

---

"Now, we are here. We need to find the portal plate," Ellen said while showing the map.

"What is a portal plate?" Lance asked and Amy explained it.

"Yes, that's right," Ellen said.

"Hey, there's a village over there!" Amy said.

"Yeah, it's the Transport Managing Village. They manage the transport of every Portal Soldier. They also keep the portal plates," Ellen explained.

"It means, we're here! Come on!" Amy stepped forward then walked backwards when she saw a Kininva. She bobbed it on the head, using her heavy bow. It was lying on the ground. Ellen swung her sword and Lance did the same to make sure that it was defeated. The three of them defeated a Kininva!

"Yay! We defeated a Kininva!" Lance and Amy screamed happily in unison while spinning around, hand in hand.

"Come on," Ellen said.

They walked inside the said village.

"Good day, Queen Ellen! It's nice you're back," a villager said.

"Tell them this is a secret. No Kininva should know this," Ellen said and so he obeyed.

A short-bearded, tall man who appeared like a mushroom led them to an open field of grass in the middle of the village. He held his right hand high and his left supporting the other arm's elbow. String of lights appeared from his hand and a portal was made. Amy tried to copy the gesture the tall man did but no portal was made by her.

"Amy," Ellen called and Amy responded by a cute look from her eyes. "Get over it."

The four of them walked towards the enormous portal. They came nearer, nearer, and nearer until the lights of the portal were gone. They are in a brightly lighted and clean hall.

"Mada— your Majesty, your portal plates are in the last dungeon," the man spoke too politely. "Please follow me."

The four of them walked passed the several doors of the dungeons in the long hall. First names are engraved on different metal doors as they walk.

"This is strange, boy," Amy whispered to Lance.

"This looks completely peculiar to me. I'm not used to this," he whispered back.

The sound of the tall man's heels stopped.

"We're here," Ellen said.

"You're right, Mada— your Majesty," the tall man replied.

The door is differently special. The door is made of shining, blue diamond. The words Ellen & Amy were written in gold on the diamond door.

"Do you have the keys and with you, your Majesty?" the man asked.

Ellen dabbed her jeans' pocket and took something out of it. The silver key with diamonds linings was given to the tall man. He unlocked the diamond door of Ellen and Amy. The door opened and the bright dungeon shone. They saw the floating portal plates, Amy's and Ellen's.

"May I leave you now, your Majesty?" the man spoke again. "So as you, young man?" The tall man grabbed Lance's arms.

"He's with us and let him go," Amy glared at the tall man.

The man grinned and chuckled. He said, "sorry, your Majesty. I thought you are invaded by this messy-haired young man at the—"

"You may leave immediately," Ellen cut him.

Ellen looked back at the awesome and colorful portal plates as the man left.

"Look at the sizes of the portal plates, Amy," Lance said and the sound echoed. The other portal plate is small while the other one is bigger.

"The smaller one is yours, Amy," Ellen said. "Touch your portal plate. We have got no time to waste."

As ordered, Amy stepped nearer her portal plate and looked at her mother how she touched it. Amy looked at Lance, unknown of what to do. Finally, Amy had the courage to touch the portal plate. A portal appeared in front of them.

"Follow me, dear," Ellen said as she first entered the portal. Amy grabbed Lance's arm and they entered the portal. The light covered them and it had gone. Lance wowed.

"Let's go! Amy said.

They saw the Castle. It was the kind of Castle which is so clean and white. The ceramic-looking concrete walls of the castle perfectly reflected the light of the sun.

"Mom, I'm just going to walk around the village," Amy said, having her enthusiasm for the village over the castle's beauty.

"Yes, go ahead," Ellen said. "Just go back before the dinner is set for us."

"Sure, Mom," Amy said.

She kept her weapons as she lowered ger guard then started to walk around the village.

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