7 years ago "Xabiere, come on, let's go." My sister, Henrich, shouted from the top of the hill together with the twins, Rosie and Mondrea. "Wait, Hen, I need to catch my breath," I breathed. It's not very easy to be fast when there is something that slows you down, you know? "Come on, Xabiere! You're going to miss the parade!" Mondrea shouted as she kept gesturing me to come closer, but I was so tired that my legs wanted to give up. However, I held my breath and quickly climbed with my might. As I finally made it to the top, Rosie looked at me as if I was late for too long. "Why are you so tired?" she asked. "Because I am carrying your heavy stuff!" I once again held my breath, carrying Rosie's box filled with knitting stuff. Jeez, for pity's sake, Rosie. "Guys, here they come!" Mondrea pointed at the marching soldiers from a village I d

"Is mother feeling okay?" Henrich asked Nurse Joy by the time we're in Snowfall clinic. After the book fair (Honestly, it was totally great. I even bought several books with big discounts!), Henrich and I were in the nursing room while Rosie and Mondrea were sitting on a bench in the hallway. I hope Rosie survives Mondrea's talking at this point. "Yes, your mother is quite well. Doctor Walden has checked on her condition. He told me to take care of her and make sure to keep her stable," replied Nurse Joy. Her brown hair was tied up in a casual bun. Her calm facial expression was always the same. Her dark brown eyes also looked the same way as she looked at her patients and visitors. "Thank goodness." Henrich sighed in relief as she closed her eyes, but then quickly opening them. "Wait, what do you mean . . . keep her stable?" "Well, there is a little problem to her condition- or a big one. When

I almost forgot how big Quarté was, a land where I was born. If you're asking why it was named Quarté in the first place, it's because it was named by the founder of this huge region: Sir Aisle "Seven" McKenzie, the last Era's most popular adventurer up to this very day. During his life, he was ordinary, but today, he is a legend. The book has it that he traveled to the bottom of the earth just to find a fairy locked inside by an evil sorcerer named . . . uh . . . I think I forgot. The book was all dusty and chewed up.   For a month, he traveled and found this unknown island. As he gave himself a tour just to explore this region for many days, he figured that there were no harmful monsters but friendly enchanted creatures that didn't have a business to kill humans. And he found that every area's climate was different. Such as summer from the south, spring from the east, autumn from the west, and winter from the north (where I lived). You have n

While I'm in a deep slumber, I heard the sound of hooves stomping, people yelling indistinctly, and metals chimed like heavy-weight bells. As I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a white bed with a soft blanket placed perfectly above me. My head was wrapped in bandages. On the other side, my scarf and jacket were hanging on a hook. The rosy-red color of my scarf became maroon with ashes. I could feel that my right arm was wrapped with bandages as well.   I grimaced and held my head as I sat up. I was in a large tent, though no one's here except me. Where am I? I tried to get up, but the pain kept holding me down. "Well, well, well, good afternoon." It was Sean who showed up, this time he didn't look like a hippie with style, he looked more like he was going on a trip to the beach. His ponytail was wavy as ever while showing of wearing a purple floral jacket, caramel shorts, and black shoes.   "Se

I woke up as my head bumped to the ground with a loud thud. My eyes had gone black because of overdue sleep, definitely need to wash them. Later, I went upstairs to the quarter deck to see what was going on. Sean was resting on a hammock, playing his pan that attracted birds while Claes was busy driving. Yesterday, we almost died because of a tornado, and Sean forgot that he was the pilot because he had his distractions. So Claes told him that he's the one who should drive instead.   "Morning." Sean stopped to greet me with his usual smile.   "Morning. Where are we now?" I asked. Sean pointed to the wooden railing, I went there and gasped as I saw the Northern Quarté burned to ashes. The morning smile instantly dropped. Despite that, I could still see the white snow on the trees. We parked at the burned shore near the icy river. Sean and I followed Claes as we got off the vessel. "Look at this place." Claes wa