Cole woke from a deep sleep and dragged his hand down his face slowly. He rubbed his ice blue eyes and brushed his shaggy black hair out of his face. Peppy morning sunlight curled out from behind the window curtains and spilled lightly onto the carpeted floor. His work desk was cluttered with paintbrushes, sketching pencils and art paper. An art stand with half of a finished painting stood tall in the corner next to his dresser.

Just like every day, he got up and followed his daily morning routines. The house was strangely quiet for a Saturday. “Hello?” he called. No one answered.

Trotting down the carpeted stairs, Cole felt a rush of freedom at being the only one in the house. With that, he slid down the thin wood railing that followed the staircase down. A small wind blew his hair behind him as he recklessly flew down the thin pole. He smiled as he reached the bottom and made a small leap to the ground.

The soft patter of his feet on the hard wood floor as he walked to the kitchen was the only sound in the house. Hiss! An unfriendly greeting came from the fat grey cat sitting at the bottom of the stairs. Oh goodie! At least I’m not here alone! Cole thought sarcastically. “Go away cat.” He spat the last word as if it had left a bad taste in his mouth. But, the cat defiantly followed him into the kitchen, mewing angrily and swatting his legs with its tail.

He not-so-gently kicked the bristling cat aside and began pouring cereal into a white bowl. Cole opened the fridge which was covered in his old artwork. A beautifully painted scenery of a desolate forest with dark green trees that looked so real, you could smell the pine just by looking at them. Behind the forest lay a brightly colored Kingdom with multicolored bricks and stained glass windows. He shook his head as he remembered his dream. He desperately wanted to see what was inside the palace. This always appeared in a recurring dream that had become more vivid and frequent each time he had it. This painting was Cole’s favorite and hung near the center of the fridge.

Grabbing the milk in one hand, grabbed a spoon with the other and, shut the fridge door with his foot. Walking over to the table, he set the milk down on the counter and heard a loud rip.

He whipped around to see what had made the noise. There stood the evil cat with half of his favorite painting clutched tightly in between its jaws. Its eyes gleamed mischievously, its tail erect and its ears pressed in a 45 degree angle on its head. If cats could smirk, Cole was positive this one just had. Come and get it. The cat taunted with its glowing yellow eyes and quickly spun on its paws and bolted for the downstairs. “Agh! You stupid cat!” Yelled Cole in anger as he dropped his spoon on the table with a clatter and chased after the furry animal.

For a fat cat, he sure can run fast. He thought as he flipped the light switch on and flew down the stairs. As fast and as quietly as he could, he crept around the dimly lit area searching for the cat. The basement had a cold cement floor that was cluttered with many unopened cardboard boxes. There were so many, it looked like a cardboard box city. Stacks of boxes taller than Cole’s six foot height looked ready to topple over at any second. Cole let out a frustrated grunt as he tossed aside a box and let it slide across the smooth cement floor. A rustling sound came from the left and he jumped over boxes as carefully as he could toward the noise. “AHA!” Cried Cole as he sprang at the cat and snatched the torn drawing away from it. The grey cat stood hunched over its empty food bowl meowing hungrily. “Oh! All you wanted was food! Well, you didn’t have to be such a jerk about it!” huffed Cole angrily “I’ll feed you later dumb cat.” Exasperatedly he plopped down on the floor and looked around the box cluttered basement.

“What are in all these boxes anyways?” he asked himself curiosity overcame him as he picked himself up and trotted through the maze of boxes and came upon a shiny object hidden behind a thick stack of regular cardboard boxes. “What is this?” he asked himself as he dropped down to his knees to examine the new treasure.

The object appeared to be a silver rectangular box with faded green leaves engraved around the perimeter. A green latch was positioned in the front center of the box. The top had faded cursive engraved on the top of the lid. The container was ancient and looked very significant. When he ran his cold fingertips over the top of the dusty box, a chill was sent down his spine. Cole knew this box had something special inside of it; something magical.
With trembling hands he slowly unhooked the latch and lifted the cover the way a kid on Christmas opening their last present would; slowly and carefully so they could savor the moment and remember it forever. Thin beacons of light bursted from the box and illuminated Cole’s face warmly. “Whoa.” Escaped from his lips as the box started to shake and bounce in his hands. Startled, Cole dropped the box and the thing kept on bouncing from side to side like it was dancing until the lid flew open and a folded note popped out. The light died and the lid shut, but only for a second. The box began to shudder again; the lid flew open and this time it produced a red paintbrush with a perfect tip and a perfectly sharpened pencil. Once again, the light from the box went out and the lid snapped shut.
A frozen expression of surprise stuck to Cole’s face as the cat padded up next to him. The cat nudged the art supplies cautiously and circled behind Cole as he reached his hand out for the note. He carefully unfolded the delicate paper and read the words inside.

Dear Cole,
This note is meant for your eyes only. Well first off, hello! Everything written in this note is true and should be taken very seriously. You may be wondering why there is this mysterious box in your basement that no one has ever seen before and magically made art supplies along with this note appear. Please do not be alarmed, magic is considered quite normal where I live. I live in the palace of your dreams, behind the evergreen forest. This wonderful place is called Utasia. As cliché as this may sound, you are the chosen one. You must save Utasia from the treacherous Erasers and their evil ruler Dr. Sketch.
Cole stopped reading “What?! Whoa. Ok. No way. This must be a joke.” He ran his trembling hand through his hair and continued to read.

Long, long ago when I was a young man, Edward Sketch and I were the best of friends. Sketch was a genius, almost everyday he would create new things and we would use them to play together. We had lots of fun together until one day he created the magic art supplies that you now own. Though they may look ordinary those aren’t any regular art supplies, they possess magical powers that Sketch used to use for evil deeds. Trying to be the good friend, I repeatedly asked him to stop and give up the power of the tools. The power made him blind to my efforts and I only made him angrier and angrier. So, I stole them and hid them away. With these art supplies I created a new world which is now Utasia. Utasia is place filled with creative people and magical creatures you’ve never seen before. Everyday, the city was alive with creative people and beautiful colors. People here are responsible with their magical art supplies; using them only for good things. That is why Dr. Sketch wants to destroy Utasia. He plans to do so by taking out the power source which is located in a cave a journeys distance away from our beautiful kingdom. Please help us! The instructions to getting here are on the back of this note. We’ll be seeing you shortly Cole!
Sincerely, King Pastel

Cole sat in stunned silence and let the note flutter to the ground. The cat playfully pawed at the note and turned it over. Inscribed on the back were instructions on how to draw a magic doorway to Utasia. Cole decided that this was way too crazy to be true. “Impossible.” He repeated to himself over and over. “This is completely insane!” Still, curiosity burned him up every minute he sat thinking about the note.
After a couple of minutes of contemplating what was going on, he looked at the box and note. “I guess it’s worth a try… I don’t have anything to do today anyways.” Carefully he pocketed the note, grabbed the tools and box and sprinted up the stairs. The cat followed close behind at his heels.
Panting, he reached his room and grabbed a small blue backpack. Quickly he ran to the kitchen and threw a bottle of water and some snacks into his bag and charged back to his room to pack an extra pair of clothes. Slamming the door shut behind him, he swiveled into his chair and began to work at the drawing.
He picked up the magic pencil and felt tingles on the tips of his fingers. The pencil gave off a friendly warm glow in his hand. The pencil nestled perfectly in between his fingers. He looked at the instructions and put the pencil on the paper. With light long strokes, he drew the top of the arched door. Next, he moved on to the doors sides, the door started to look more and more realistic with each detail he added. Carefully, Cole brushed up the drawing and added a doorknob.
Ever since he was little, Cole had a passion for art. Colors fascinated him and painting was soothing and made him more expressive. After he took up art, the dream came and didn’t stop coming. Every night, he would wake from the vivid dream longing to go inside the inviting palace. In his dream, he would run up a long path with lush grass and beautiful plants that he’s never seen before. As he got nearer to the palace, everything seemed to slow down like Cole was trying to run through clear gelatin. Sounds blurred and his vision wavered like he was underwater. He would slowly reach out his hand for the purple and yellow arched door. In his dream, he could feel the cold of the gold door knob as his fingertips just grazed the smooth knob. And then, he would wake up. The palace would disappear and the beautiful scenery would fade slowly to black, the feeling of the metal on his fingers vanished.
Cole shook his head and felt a burst of excitement rise in his chest. I’ll get to go in the palace! He thought excitedly. Cole opened the box with great care and delicately laid the items into it as if they were made with glass. He opened his backpack and carefully put the art box under his clothes to keep it protected.
Cole slung the backpack over his shoulder and followed the instructions on the note and hung the drawing up on his wall. The thought of getting into the palace excited him beyond what he was used to.
Cautiously, he watched the door as it started to take on a 3D shape. The door looked like it was pushing out of the paper. Light purple and crimson yellow stripes alternated along the frame of the door. The door pushed out fully and stuck to the wall while the paper lightly tumbled to the floor like a dead leaf in autumn.
Cole waited anxiously for the door to open for he was too scared to open it himself. Seconds felt like minutes as he stood waiting for the door to open. Suddenly, the purple door knob began to rattle back and forth Coles breathing quickened, his hands sweated nervously as he tightened his grip on the strap of his backpack.
Cole almost yet out a yelp of excitement and fear. “Ok calm down.” he tried to comfort himself. The door creaked open a couple of inches. A curious head popped out from behind the door. “W-who are you?” Cole stammered frightened. Even though the person looked harmless Cole still tensed up and slowly stumbled backward. The head belonged to a green eyed, orange haired, intelligent looking girl who had as many freckles as there are stars. Her lips were thin and pink and her nose was small and pointed like a foxes.
“Hi, I’m Maya!” the girl said happily. Cole stared at her in amazement. For one; he’d never seen such red hair and vibrant green eyes and two; her looks contrasted his so much they looked like exact opposites.
“Um hi…” Cole took a shaky breath and tried to meet her eyes. She pushed the heavy door wide open with both her arms and stood aside. Her skinny arm swept outward toward the beautiful scenery behind her. “Welcome to Utasia,” she cried happily with a wide grin.
Behind her, a cotton colored bunny with pale blue wings hopped by and nibbled on a blade of sweet grass. Cole blinked hard and started to feel light like he was floating. “W-what is that thing?” he stammered looking at the creature with a confused expression on his face. “Oh,” Maya said turning to look behind her. “That is just a bird-bunny. But we call them nybis.” She giggled. “They don’t bite. Actually, they are very friendly!” her giggling sounded like the chiming of silver bells. Cole smiled and took a step inside Utasia.
Cole took in the new world around him. A wide brown path lined with an abundant forest led to a beautifully colored palace. Nymbis flapped their little wings and tumbled among the brightly colored flowers. He took in a deep breath and the air tasted fresh and sweet, it felt much cleaner than the smoggy city air he was used to inhaling all day long. A slight warm breeze ruffled the pine needles and the grass bent slightly in the direction the wind blew.
“Wow.” Cole looked around and saw Maya facing the palace, her eyes were closed lightly and her chin was held slightly higher than normal. She inhaled a deep breath and turned to Cole. “You read the note right?” Cole nodded “Okay then, let’s go!” she said her pretty smile returning back to her face. She grabbed his hand and began to run down the path toward the palace. As he ran behind her, his eyes were wide with surprise when looked down at his limp large hand in her frail small one. Slowly, he tightened his grip so that it wasn’t too tight or too weak, but just right.
With Maya in front of him, together they ran down the path and past a tall gate with two magenta colored brick watchtowers on opposite ends. Inside of the gates there was a large village. Maya slowed her pace to a walk and Cole eased up beside her. Awkwardly, he looked down at their hands at let go. Maya looked up at him with a flash of surprise and Cole instantly wished he hadn’t done that.
“Where are we?” Cole asked Maya looking at the bustling market place. Colorfully clothed people walked around the market place buying paint and many different items that looked completely foreign to Cole. Neon colored vendor carts were scattered around the area. Maya and Cole began to weave their way through the huge crowds and carts. Cole slowly put one foot in front of the other; he wanted to savor the moment and experience the new village. His eyes swept over the bright marketplace and equally bright people.
To Cole’s left, a street vendor shouted: “GET YOUR NON-FLAVORED FRUITS HERE!” in front of the man a bunch of small white fruits in the shape of cubes sat scattered around a table. A small brown stem poked out of the top and a perfectly green leaf sprouted from each stem. Curiosity overtook Cole’s senses. Not taking his eyes of the strange fruits, he asked Maya “what are those?”
“Those,” Maya said turning to face where Cole was looking, “are Non-flavored fruits.” she said “here, watch this.”
Cole watched her walk up to the man. A minute later, she came back with a non-flavored fruit in her hand. She gave him a small smile which he returned, and she delicately plucked the leaf off the stem and let it fall to the ground. Phoomp! Phoomp! Phoomp! The little white cube began to make the noise of something getting sucked down a tube, and strangely, change its shape. Cole stared in amazement as the once bland looking fruit was instantly replaced with a pomegranate, then a blueberry, then an apple and many other different fruits. “Whoa!” exclaimed Cole. Maya’s smile stretched wider, “If you want to stop it, you just have to pick the stem.” She handed Cole the shape shifting fruit and he did as Maya told him. A large pomegranate plopped into his hands. Maya began to walk again as Cole shoved the newly acquired fruit into his bag. This might be useful for later. He thought as they continued to maneuver their way up to the palace.
They traveled past a vivacious forest as green as Maya’s eyes and as alive as the city. Huge mushrooms as tall as buildings sprouted out of the ground. Tan colored mushrooms towered over the shorter ones that were red with white spots. The tan mushrooms had a flat mushroom top and the red ones had domed tops. Cole stared in awe as they continued to walk along a dirt path. Dark green grass trailed along the perimeter of the path. Beautiful lamps made with dark oak wood and soft yellow lamps glowed along the path as well. The place looked like it belonged in a scene of a movie where mystical fairies would dwell. More nymbis lazily rolled in the grass and a large eyed deer with a unicorn horn peeped out from behind a tree.
“Maya, this place is amazing!” whispered Cole. He didn’t know why, but it seemed appropriate to whisper in this kind of forest. “I know… I wished I lived here.” Maya whispered back dreamily. They hiked up a hill until they were overlooking a sparkling dark blue river in a deep valley. Together they sat at the edge of the hill sharing the sweet pomegranate.
The sun turned the sky a light orange that reflected off the water down below. Cole wished he had brought a camera, this place seemed so unbelievably beautiful, he was sure no one would believe him if he tried to describe it. “I should paint this scene as soon as I get back home.” When the word home left his lips, Cole’s stomach tightened a little but instantly went away as the natural beauty of the valley soothed him. “That’s a good idea.” said Maya quietly swallowing the last pomegranate seed.
After their small stop Maya insisted on them hurrying to the palace. “We took too long on the hill,” She said stretching her arms up to the sky and yawning. “We have to get there before it gets dark.” With that she picked herself up and began to walk. Cole caught up with her and was soon at her side. Along the path they walked, the soft yellow glow of the lamps illuminated the trees and their faces.
Finally, the much anticipated, large purple and yellow palace door came into view. As they approached, Cole’s fingers felt the familiar tingle they felt every night he had his recurring dream. He built his pace to a jog as they got closer.
The sound of his black Converse shuffling along the dirt road was the only sound in the warm evening. Cole’s heart beat picked up and rammed against his ribs as if it was trying to break out of its cage of bones.
So close. 5 feet away, 3 feet, and at last, he was standing directly in front of the door. Cole stood uncertainly. Is this a dream? He thought warily. “Go on, open it.” said Maya excitedly “I can not wait for you to meet the king of Utasia.” She waited patiently for him to open the door. Cole stretched out his hand and touched the surprisingly warm metal. He cringed, waiting for everything to disappear into darkness. But nothing happened. Slowly he opened his eyes and blushed Maya stared at him curiously which only made him blush more. Without another thought, he opened the door and waited for Maya to enter.
Behind the door color seemed to burst and hit Cole like a cold wave of water. His eyes widened and he stood motionless with his mouth open. The outside of the palace didn’t even begin to compare with the beauty on the inside.
Arched golden pillars came together in a dome shape at the center of the tall ceiling. Vibrant colored light poured in from the amazingly huge stained glass windows. The colored light painted the whole room in fresh greens, sunny yellows, sunset colored crimsons and luscious purples. Cole stepped inside the door and looked up in awe. Above him was a beautifully painted starry sky. A deep dark blue sky dotted with spectacular golden stars spread out vastly over the whole ceiling. Under his feet, a checkered black and beige marble patterned floor rested like a huge chess board a long velvet red carpet laid directly at the tip of his shoes.
Cole did a full circle and took in the whole palace. His eyes glimmered with a thin wave of tears as he felt the beauty of the stained glass and the palace soak into him. A warm feeling filled his chest and his heart felt like it was melting. A smile broadened over his face as he quickly wiped his eyes not allowing any tears to fall on to his cheeks. Maya’s face was illuminated by a green light that suited her eyes perfectly. Cole’s hair glimmered with red light. Complimentary colors. He thought absentmindedly and turned his attention back to the palace.
A small bearded man adorned in thick purple robes sat in a large golden throne sat at the other end of the lengthy red carpet. A golden crown with bright blew jewels glistened and reflected the light. In one hand, he held a thin scepter that looked like a paintbrush and in the other; he stroked his short ivory beard. Wrinkles appeared under his eyes as he smiled. “Welcome!” he bellowed with a deep elegant voice “I see you have arrived with Cole. I thought it would be much harder to get him to come along.” The wrinkles around his eyes deepened as he leaped down from his high throne. He strolled down to Cole and Maya with his cane tapping softly against the red carpet. Thud thud thud, the king’s cane rhythmically hit the velvet as he hobbled slowly toward them. Cole stood and sucked in his breath. It is the king! He thought straightening out the many wrinkles in his mahogany shirt.
Maya became tired of waiting and gracefully walked up to the king. Cole followed slowly behind her. The old king gave Maya a smile and grabbed her hand with his free one. His skin wrinkled like old leather and the blue veins were visible against his pale skin. He held her hand gently and looked at Cole. “It has been a long journey here. I say we have a feast and go to bed. Soon it will be late.” A maid, who had been standing quietly in the corner the whole time, stepped forward and led Maya and Cole to the dinning room. Another maid came from behind Cole and removed his bag from his shoulders. Cole felt the weight lift off his shoulders, literally! He straightened his posture and began to walk.
The maids pushed open a set of heavy oak doors and held them open for the guests to enter. Once the doors swung open, loud happy talking and the sound of glasses and silverware clanging filled the room. But also as equally overpowering was a heavenly aroma that wafted in and filled Cole’s senses. His mouth began to water, and he suddenly realized how hungry he was. Maya closed her eyes and took in the scent of freshly baked brownies, grilled meats, mashed potatoes and numerous veggies. Her stomach growled loudly and her cheeks turned a bright fuchsia. Cole laughed teasingly and walked in to the dining room.
The dining room had long oak paneled walls and high arched windows. The walls had wooden pillars decorated with carved vines. A long dark oak table stood in the middle of the room with chairs the matching tone. A golden glass chandelier dangled and glittered above the middle of the table. Fancy golden plates with pink flowers painted on the sides were set all along the table. The table had enough room to seat over 100 people, but Cole noticed that people weren’t seated at the table. Cole squinted questioningly at the figures at the other end of the table. Even though he was extremely hungry, he stayed where he was trying to make out the figures at the other end. The king caught him staring and said with a small chuckle “Those aren’t people in case you were wondering.”
“What are they then?” asked Cole surprised
“They are statues.” Said the king beginning to walk again. “There are some humans here, but mostly live statues; I created most of them myself.” He smiled proudly and took a seat at the head of the table. Cole and Maya sat on opposite sides in front of the king. Live statues? Cole thought I should not even be surprised, I have seen so many weird things here in this new world.
The king stood from his chair and delicately hit his fork against his wine glass. Suddenly, a silence washed over the whole party as they turned their attention to the king. “Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen but we have new guests in our palace! Cole and Maya have arrived!” The crowd cheered pleasantly. The king smiled and waited for the noise to end. “I expect them to be treated like guests by every one of you. For you do know that they will be going off for their mission soon.” the crowd was quiet and the king took his seat again. Cole’s stomach dropped. As wonderful as this place seemed, Cole felt that there was a mysterious darkness lurking below the surface. He picked up his fork and twirled it between his fingers feeling his hunger slowly ebbing away.
Maya noticed his distress and gave him a reassuring glance. His stomach unclenched and just that friendly glance made him feel a little better. Cole mustered a smile and looked down at his empty plate.
“Time to eat!” declared the king picking up his knife and fork in both hands. A clay statue came bounding out of the kitchen. He had a black mustache and a chef hat that was too big and kept falling off. He was about as tall as the table with the hat on. Quickly he scurried into the dining room delivering plates of steaming food. Cole caught a quick smell sample of each dish as the little chef hurried back and forth.
Cole’s stomach growled lowly as the little clay chef walked over to Maya to get her order. “What would you like?” he asked her quickly his thick Italian accent made it almost hard to understand what he was saying. Cole watched Maya order and then the king. He was too busy with his thoughts to understand what they were ordering. Food didn’t seem as important as the dangerous mission that he was here for. How can I even trust these people? Is this even real? What if I cannot get back home? His thoughts clouded his brain and tightened his stomach again. At the moment, Cole was surrounded by so many festive things but he couldn’t bring himself to be content. Just keep your guard up. He mentally warned himself and stopped looking at Maya. How could he trust these odd people that he had just met?
The little man scurried over to Cole, fixed his hat, and asked him what he would like to eat. Flustered, Cole hastily replied with: “I will have what Maya is getting.” The chef nodded until his hat fell off. He swiftly picked it off the floor and being very frustrated; jammed it on his head. With that, he took off for the swinging kitchen doors.
The king sat in his chair and looked at his guests with a serious expression on his face. He slid to the edge of his chair and leaned in close. Maya and Cole did the same. “As you already know, this mission is very dangerous and could cost you your lives.” He looked at them both gravely. His pale grey eyes held no more merriment Cole had previously seen just a couple of minutes ago. “That is why I have a training session for you both. Starting tomorrow morning, wake up at 8 and we will begin your classes until we feel you both are ready for the upcoming quest.” The king sat back in his chairs as the heavy oak wood kitchen doors swung open once again.” The smell of delicious food filled the room, the happiness returned to the king’s eyes once again.
The waiter set a hot plate with thick steak and an overflowing amount of thin fries in front of Cole. Maya licked her lips and the waiter set the same dish in front of her. The king received a mountain of spaghetti with huge meatballs. Cole’s mouth watered even more as he picked up his knife and began cutting the steak. The quest worried Cole enough to make him slow his eating, but not enough to stop eating completely.
After a couple of bites he put down his fork and began to think again. I don’t even know Maya… maybe I should try to get to know her. He swallowed the fries and smiled awkwardly at her hoping there was no food in his teeth. Maya caught his smile and made a funny face at back. So how do I go about asking her about herself without sounding creepy? He thought over possible sayings in his head. He decided on saying: “Hey Maya, I don’t really know anything about you and…” Cole broke off awkwardly. Maya gave him that same puzzled look she gave him at the door. “Okay…” she drew out slowly the quizzical look leaving her face. “Yeah, I understand what you’re trying to say.” She looked playfully into Cole’s eyes the entire time. Cole wiped his slightly sweaty palms on his jeans. Talking to Maya made him nervous; he really wanted to impress her.
“Well for starters, my name is Maya Carter, I’m 15 and I like sculpting.” She paused and took small sip of her lemonade. “I was born here in Utasia and was abandoned on the streets as a baby. The king found me and took me in as his daughter. I don’t know who my birth parents are.” She added the last sentence without a trace of sorrow in her voice. She looked at the king with loving eyes and he returned the friendly look. “The king’s daughter? Whoa! I was definitely not expecting to hear that!” she grinned and shrugged. “Why don’t you tell us about yourself?” the king asked Cole. Cole looked up at the king, traces of spaghetti sauce were smeared on his white beard. Maya giggled and Cole sat unsure of whether to laugh or to sit and do nothing. “Dad, you have some sauce in your beard.” She giggled again and handed him a napkin. “Oh?” cried the king feeling his beard and inspecting his fingers for marinara. He began to laugh such a deep hearty laugh that seemed to shake the table. A laugh that was so bold everyone began to follow and laugh along. Cole couldn’t help but crack a smile and laugh along.
The laughter died down after a couple seconds. “So tell us.” Said the king breathless from laughing. Cole began to tell his story. He didn’t really have much of a story, but then again, these people had never seen life outside of Utasia. So anything outside would be foreign to them. “I’m Cole Stamm, I’m 16 years old and I like to paint and draw.” He told them about his ordinary boring home in the city, his family and how he ended up getting the letter that led him to this place. Cole’s story concluded dinner.
The little chef whizzed into the room and took everyone’s empty plates and rushed them back to the kitchen for cleaning. Cole leaned back in his chair and felt his eyelids grow heavy along with his stomach. Fighting to keep his drowsy eyes open, he stood from his chair and bid everyone goodnight. The same maid that had taken his backpack led him to his room “Do you need anything else?” she asked quietly standing in the door frame of Cole’s room. “No, I am fine thanks.” He said smiling.
As soon as Cole heard the click of the door shutting, he shut off the light and flopped onto the big comfortable bed laying motionlessly until he fell asleep.
Cole woke the next morning. Pale morning sunlight dripped through the curtains onto the carpeted floor. Cole looked around groggily. His eyes slowly adjusted as he rolled over onto his back. He groaned and sat up slowly. He panicked when he first saw that he wasn’t in his room but quickly remembered where he was and relaxed. He also remembered that he had training soon.
He got out of bed and explored the room. Sleeping in his clothes last night made his movements stiff and robotic. The room had many paintings and one wood statue of a horse that thankfully didn’t come to life. He found his backpack and all his clothes tucked neatly into a closet in front of his bed. He showered, dressed into comfortable work clothes and brushed his teeth. Looking in the mirror he felt ready for the day.
A soft knock filled the unnoticed silence in his room. Cole opened the door and Maya greeted him. “Hi! Are you ready for training?” she asked all peppy and happy. Cole couldn’t help but smile whenever he was around Maya she reminded him of the sun; always bright, radiant and pretty. Her general outlook on things was also really sunny.
“I am as ready as I will ever be.” Cole said trying to sound as optimistic as one could at 7 am. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and left his room.
The two walked down the long dim lighted hallway slowly. Old paintings of former kings and queens neatly lined the dark wooden walls. Cole stopped occasionally to look at the paintings and scan the golden plaques underneath them.
Maybe I should say something. Cole thought, panicking a little. Wait, what should I say? He looked at the ground, at his shoes at the paintings, anxiously trying to avoid looking at Maya and making the already situation worse. Coles arm tingled when Maya’s brushed up against his. He looked over at her for the first time in the hallway hoping it was not an accident. His hopes were dashed when she blushed and quickly looked down. Cole turned back and kept looking at the paintings. He saw the end of the hallway like a miner would see a light at the end of a tunnel. He broke off from their slow steady pace to leave the uncomfortable feeling behind him.










MAYA
Maya subtly watched Cole’s blue eyes shift uncomfortably around the room. He was avoiding looking at her. Should I say something? She asked herself as her arm accidentally brushed his. She looked down and instantly felt her fair complexion turn to that of a tomato’s.
He can’t even look at me. He must really not like me. Thoughts like this seeped into her mind whenever the slightest thing went wrong. Ever since she found out about her parents abandoning her, she read into simple things to the point where she thought that everyone hated her. The only reason she was so happy around everyone is because she did not want people to feel how she had felt.
When she first met Cole, she liked him instantly. When they shared the pomegranate and watched the sun set behind the river, she really couldn’t help but notice him in a different way. She tried to keep herself from thinking it was a romantic kind of date. But now it was confirmed that there was nothing between them because of the way he is acting. Did I do something wrong? Oh what do I do? What do I say? She felt heavy and suddenly walking became difficult.
When the end of the hallway appeared, she felt relief lift the heavy feeling off of her like a pair of wings. Maya straightened her shoulders and mustered up enough confidence to ask him how he was doing. She opened her mouth slightly to speak and watched in surprise as Cole strode quickly away from her side towards the light as if he could not get from her away fast enough.

Once in the training room, Maya had built up enough sadness that it began to show on her once happy face. She sat at one of the tables and she pretended not to notice Cole fill the seat next to her. She looked straight ahead as other statues and students began to fill the classroom’s desks.
A serious looking marble statue with round glasses, a brisk red bowtie and a sharply carved nose sat at the front of the room. The only thing that stood out to Maya was that he was only a head and shoulders. On his desk lay many interesting trinkets and art supplies. The room was an elegant class room with tall oak pillars and gold embroidered curtains lacing around the tall arched windows. Long tables orderly filled the large room.
As the last students entered the classroom, the statue professor took a deep breath and hopped from his high stool from behind his desk onto the floor. He was only about 3 feet tall without his stool. Maya suppressed a giggle and watched as the teacher began to drone on about the lesson.

COLE

When Cole sat by Maya he could not feel her radiant warmth any longer. She seemed cold and annoyed. She didn’t look at him so he stopped looking at her. The small teacher gave an extremely boring lecture that Cole had a hard time staying awake through. Then after the boring lecture they moved onto the action. The professor pressed a button on his desk and the room transformed into a completely white craft room. Shelves with paint and paint brushes covered every wall. Aprons hung on many pegs around the room. Every art supplies Cole could ever think of was there. “Whoa…” he muttered to himself in disbelieve. This place was like an artists dream.
Next to the paint brushes was a huge green machine with wheels, dials and a touch screen in the middle of the circular shaped machine. On the screen, a full color palette with many different shades and colors all arranged in a circle shone on the screen. Maya seemed to appear behind him. “It is a color mixer.” She whispered quietly. Cole whipped around in surprise and he smiled. In return, Maya bit her lip and smiled a small smile.
Together they began to work on learning how to make paintings come to life, origami weapons and how to use clay as a weapon also. Maya excelled in making clay pellets and shackles while Cole was best at bringing paintings to life.

After 3 days of training, Cole woke up in his room knowing that the awaited day has finally come. He sat up in his bed hours before the designated time he was supposed to be awake. I need to be sleeping he thought. But his thoughts kept buzzing in his head. He was wide awake by now, the crust gone from his eyes. He sat, pondering if the training was enough. He was glad he did not have to go alone for Maya was going to accompany him. Cole lay back slightly relieved that he did not have to go alone. His slight crush on Maya had turned into a full crush and nothing less. He covered his blushing face with his hands.
Cole decided it was time to wake so he stood and parted the curtains to let in the early morning dim light. He put on some clothes, brushed his teeth, and combed his hair in front of the mirror. He took a couple deep breaths and stared at his reflection. Although it may have not appeared that way on the outside, he felt more alive and confident than he used to feel at his old home. Quietly as so not to wake the other residents of his hall, he opened his door and tiptoed down to Maya’s room.
He knocked on the door cringing at how the sound echoed around the hall loudly. He heard a thump and a few seconds later, a disheveled looking Maya opened the door slowly. She was still wearing her pajamas, her tousled red hair was frizzy and had tufts of it sticking in every direction, and she squinted her green eyes. She obviously was not expecting any guests.
Cole smiled brightly and she squinted her face even more. “What do you want?” she asked her voice raspy but still sweet to Cole’s ears. “Some bodies not a morning person!” chimed Cole teasingly passing by her to sit on her bed. He patted the spot next to him and she plopped down next to him and flopped back, her orange hair spreading over the covers. “What did you want to talk about?” she asked again. “Just about this whole quest thing… I’m not even sure what we are supposed to do.” Cole regretted saying those words. They had been training for 4 days for the mission and he still did not know what the task was even about.
“We have to stop Dr. Sketch from taking the power source located deep in Utasia’s cave. It’s a large purple gem in the middle of an even larger stone. Dr. Sketch should be making his journey up there now. Our goal is to get there before he does and protect the power source from him.” She sighed and the room became heavy with the weight of realization and danger. “How dangerous is this man?” asked Cole cautiously. “Well, he will stop at nothing to get back at my father for taking away his power.”

“Pretty dangerous I am guessing.”
Cole looked out the window then at the brass clock hanging above the bed. He scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up. “Looks like we should probably head down to the dining room now.” Maya got up and stretched “ok I will be there in a couple of minutes.” She said her voice returning back to normal. She shoved Cole playfully out the door and shut it quietly.
Cole stood outside her door for a couple of minutes then headed for the stairs. He traveled through the hallway they had first walked through to get to the training room. Cole remembered how awkwardly he had acted and the thought brought the blood rushing to his face. How embarrassing. He thought. Many untraveled hallways branched off from the main hallway. I have never seen these hallways here before… Cole wondered where they lead to. He stopped walking and turned, causing wrinkles in the red carpet to appear. Immediately they straightened out again as if some magical force had ironed them flat. Cole jumped slightly at the small action of the carpet straightening out. Cole still was not really used to magic; it made him feel as if something were watching him all the time.
The hallway branched off into three separate pathways. He looked down each dimly lit hallway wondering which he should take. I am going to have to make this mini adventure fast. He thought. I only have a little bit of time. He looked around to make sure no one was watching and chose the path on the left.
He walked slowly and along the wall. The lights flickered which was unusual, everything in the palace seemed brand new. Cole’s gut tightened he wanted to turn back and go back to the dining room. How could you possibly embark on a dangerous mission if you can not even walk down a hallway? That stopped his wanting to go back.
He kept walking and a staircase appeared. There is another floor? He took one careful step down the first stair and stopped. Clink! Clink! Underneath his feet, he felt churning as if mini gears where clicking underneath the stair. Cole looked down unsure if to retreat his foot back to the step or stop being a wuss and ignore it. He retreated. Whipping his foot back from the stair, he began to quickly back away.
The clicking sound intensified until it sounded like a broken clock and the stairs flattened against them selves until they were a steep sloped slide. In the blink of an eye the ground beneath Cole began to do the same. Cole’s eyes and mouth opened wide in surprise and fear. He dropped heavily to his bottom and began the rickety slide down the slope. A surprised scream escaped his lips and his black hair flew back and whipped recklessly in the wind. He shut his eyes and gritted his teeth and grasped for the wall. He flew down the stairs at top speed, there was no stopping.
Call for help! He screamed in his head. Cole was just about to yell when he hit a bump in the stair and the air knocked out of his stomach. The next thing he knew, he was in the air then face down on the solid ground. He groaned and rolled over onto his side holding his aching head. “Ow ow ow” Cole muttered slowly. Painfully, he sat up and laid his head against the concrete wall.
It was dark and mysterious and Cole did not like it at all. “How am I supposed to get back up?” he asked no one in particular. “I do not know Cole, how will you get back.” a voice responded. Pure fear struck Cole’s heart he turned his head quickly in the direction the voice came from. He immediately regretted turning his head so fast, black patches appeared before his eyes and the basement seemed to tilt like it were spinning. “Wh-who is there?” Cole stammered sweat trickled down his forehead and his sore body began to tremble even more.
“Why, it is me Doctor Sketch. I suppose the king told you all about me.” an object glided out of the darkness towards Cole. Dr. Sketch sounded like a snake if snakes could talk. His voice glided over his words and sounded smooth and cunning.
The object revealed itself fully and to Cole’s surprise, it was not a human. It was an advanced looking Etch-A-Sketch on wheels. The Etch-A-Sketch’s screen contained a sketch of Dr. Sketch! The sketch of Dr. Sketch smiled deceivingly. “What do you want?” Cole asked getting to his feet. He tried to look as brave as he could but on the inside, he felt like a mess. “I just came to tell you that you and your girlfriend should not try to stop me from gaining control of Utasia. The present king does not want to change things from the way they are. My way of ruling would be much more modern and effective.” Cole was shocked the only lame thing that came to his mind was; “she is not my girlfriend.”
“I do not really care. Just do not get in my way.” He cackled menacingly and the Etch-A-Sketch rolled back and let the shadows envelope it. “You have been warned!” Sketch taunted from the darkness.
Cole turned and sprinted for the stairs that turned back to normal. He did not look back or stop until he reached the top. He felt sick and wanted to collapse into a heap onto the floor, but he knew that he had to get out of there.

MAYA
Maya was greeted by two maids who opened the heavy dark oak doors to the dining room. She entered the dining room expecting Cole to be sitting there; he was not at her door when she opened it. But the seat where they usually sat together at was empty. “Do you happen to know where Cole is?” she asked her father as she slid into one of the chairs. “I can not say that I do. He should be here by now.” responded the king with mouthful of steak and eggs. Maya ordered Cole’s usual breakfast first and then hers. The little chef did not ask any questions as to why she was ordering two meals and ran back to the kitchen.
Maya watched the door the whole time waiting for Cole to come through the door and announce that he just got lost one the way here. How could he have gotten lost we have been here in this palace for a long time! She kept staring at the door half heartedly answering her father’s questions with “yeah”.
Maya had almost given up and was about to get up and look for Cole when he loudly burst through the door. His face was paler than usual and his hair looked like he had just got up from bed. Sweat glinted on his forehead and his shirt was as wrinkled as a bulldogs face.
With all eyes on him, Cole stumbled into the dining room and dropped into the chair next to her. He was breathing heavily and looked sick. “Are you ok? You look like you have seen a ghost!” she whispered. The food was set before him, but Cole did not look hungry. He just shook his head and told Maya about the mysterious hallway. “I did not see another hall attached to the main hallway.” She said puzzled.
“It was there trust me. Down there I saw Sketch.” He exclaimed desperately. He began to tell Maya how Dr. Sketch had threatened them to stop the mission or there would be trouble.
Maya shifted uncomfortably and nibbled her toast. She knew this doctor guy was trouble. “Let’s just eat. We need energy for the journey.”
Cole immediately dug into his bacon and eggs and devoured the whole thing in a matter of two minutes. Maya nibbled on her buttered toast and slathered hot sauce onto her scrambled eggs. She finished and woke Cole who fell asleep at the table. They got up and left for the king’s throne.
When they reached the throne room, colored light from the stained glass windows put a small smile on her face. She linked her arm around Cole’s and saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes that quickly disappeared. They walked together up to the throne where the king was sitting with a maid named Emma. Emma stood beside the king listening to what he was saying. As soon as Maya and Cole approached the throne, Emma hurried down from the steps right past them into the dining room.
The king ascended his throne with a solemn expression and embraced the two in a large hug. Maya stood still even though it was her father, she felt awkward hugging Cole… even though she had just linked her arm in his.
“Emma will explain what you need to do. I have to go get your special supplies.”
Cole and Maya nodded and the king exited the room. The doors swung open and Emma entered the room again. She handed each one a pack of food, magical healing medicine, magical weather coat and a map. “Now listen, in order to get to the cave you must go through the path that is marked out on the map. Once you get there, head straight to the middle of the cave and there should be the power source. Cole you draw a lock and Maya you can sculpt a force field in order to protect it from anymore harm.” She shoved the supplies into their hands and turned away “Good luck.” And with that she hurried off toward the maid’s quarters.

The king returned back from the room with two pairs of golden winged shoes. Cole gawked in amazement. Winged shoes? I get to fly! The king handed them the shoes. “Put them on when you get outside, would not want any of you to hit the ceiling!” he joked. He bid them one last goodbye and told them to be extra careful. Maya lingered on the hug a little longer. She wanted to stay like that forever in the warmth of her fathers arms where everything felt safe.

COLE
As soon as they got outside Cole slipped on the shoes and the wings began to flutter until Cole was lifted 3 inches of the ground. He couldn’t help but smile “Maya, these are so cool!” he cried leaning forward and regaining his balance. Maya put on the shoes and hovered up next to him. “These should get us there faster than walking.” She said excitedly. She pulled out the map and pointed herself in the designated direction and zipped off. “Race you there!” she cried behind her as she sped off for the woods.
Cole flew after her and soon caught up. While zipping through the air, Cole snuck a peak at Maya. Her orange hair blew behind her and whipped in the air like flames of a fire. Her green eyes glinted with tears from the wind blowing in them. She was moving so fast her freckles seemed to blend together in a tan blur. A huge grin spread on her face as her sea green eyes caught his ice blue ones watching her. Cole felt alive and free while he was flying and he couldn’t help but smile too. Together they dodged trees and flew over rocks as they admired the beautiful landscape below.
Cole began to push the pace surging ahead of Maya so much that he tipped his balance too far and tumbled head over heals through the air. He heard Maya gasp and zip after him. She grabbed him under his shoulders and tried to steady him. He laughed and tried to stand as if he were a new baby foal learning how to walk. It was tricky trying to stand in the air.
They continued the journey taking an occasional break to eat the complete meals that popped out of a magical old tin lunchbox.
“I see it!” exclaimed Maya landing on the ground and rushing to the cave. Cole followed uneasily, he did not want to stop flying; he was having such a good time in the air with Maya. Reluctantly he walked up to the cave. “Look, footprints!” exclaimed Cole. He quickly scoped the area to make sure no one was watching them. “Oh geez! That means Dr. Sketch is already here!” Maya concluded in a fearful whisper. “Ok, we have to go in.” they both took a deep breath and entered the dank cave.

MAYA
Trying to reassure Cole, Maya whispered “We might have to fight in here, just remember all that you’ve learned.” Cole nodded slowly in disbelief. Something in her gut told her that the man inside the cave would definitely be a threat.
The inside of the cave was dark and cold. The hollow sound of dripping water droplets echoed around the cave. Sharp, crooked shapes jutted out of the floor and ceiling like teeth. “Maya, how close are we to the power source?” Cole whispered while carefully stepping around the pointy stalagmites. “According to the map just turn right and it should be ther-“her voice trailed off as the sound of footsteps coming from around the corner echoed around the cave. Shhh! Cole hissed at Maya.

Maya instantly quieted and crouched down behind a large rock. Cole crouched behind the one opposite her. Her heart beat quickened as soon as the sound of footsteps got nearer. “I thought I heard voices around here” grumbled a low voice. “Well you were probably just imagining it. You are really paranoid sometimes Frank…” said a second voice that sounded the exact opposite of Franks; high and fluty. Frank responded, “I guess you are right. Let’s go report to the boss that it wasn’t anything”
The footsteps receded and so did Maya’s heartbeat. She waited a couple of minutes to let the adrenaline and her shaky breathing level out. She peeped her head out cautiously from behind the rock and found Cole staring straight back. That was close she mouthed. I know he mouthed back. They both carefully clambered out from behind the rocks and regrouped and began to walk again.

COLE
Cole poked his head around the corner, an old man in a lab coat with an evil grin and a goatee on his face stood hovering above a large purple crystal. He looks just like that sketch on the Etch-A-Sketch. A shiver was sent down his spine at the thought of that terrible moment in the basement. His insides clenched with fear as he saw two other men standing beside Sketch. On both sides of him stood two big men with pointy hair that made their heads look like pencil tips. Frank and that other guy. Cole thought.
“We can’t just let him take the power source,” Maya whisper-screamed at Cole. “We have to do something!” Cole gave her his best look of bravery and stepped out from behind their hiding spot.
“Hold it Sketch. Don’t you dare touch that crystal.” To Cole, this threat sounded weak, it sounded even weaker when Dr. Sketch laughed. He could feel Maya’s presence at his side. “I already warned you not to mess with me! Now, I am giving you another chance to go back or be killed. ” snapped Dr. Sketch. Cole’s face heated with anger and froze with fear at Sketch’s last word.
Suddenly, the two pencil heads jumped out at Maya and Cole. “You get Sketch! I’ll take these guys!” yelled Maya as she dove into the fight with her clay weapons raised. Cole wanted to help Maya as she struggled with the two big pencil heads, but he knew that she would not let them get the best of her. He turned his attention back to Sketch who was ignoring him completely as if he was not a threat at all and continued to attend to the crystal.
Cole’s whole body burned with even more anger as he shakily grabbed his brush and painted an ink symbol in the air and sent it flying at sketch. Dr. Sketch was taken by surprise and was flung back until he hit the wall.