Chapter 1
Kidalsworth, Algara
It was another beautiful summer's day, with a cloudless blue sky overhead, and springy green grass underfoot. However, all was not well. It would have been the perfect day for mothers to get all the house work done, hang out their washing, with a lovely feeling that their children would be happily playing, and quite safe. Not anymore. Not since they snatched little Katrine Marget from her front garden two months ago. Like most little fairies on that wonderful May morning, she'd been playing quite happily at the front of her house on the lawn. A fat salesgnome had come to the door, and tried to sell her mother some sea crystals from Atlantis. She quickly became absorbed in their beauty, and decided that she had to get one. Poor Mrs. Marget went into her house to find her purse, but when she came back, both Katrine and the gnome had gone. It was distractions such as these which led to the disappearance of the other children too. Of course, search parties were sent out, but none were successful, and not a single child returned. The chances of the poor souls still being in this world were extremely, extremely small. The chances of them even being in their not-so-little town of Kidalsworth couldn't even be seen through the most powerful microscopes from Tricket 5.7923792. And they were the science freaks. No one had been taken for almost two weeks now. The people were starting to relax a little. But that was about to change. A gorgeous blonde-haired sprite walked up the path to the Laser family's house. Their nine-year-old son Kelp was playing kadball - a popular sport played mainly in Tricket 5.7923792 (they had to find something to do when they were staring down microscopes at things smaller than atoms) which is rather like the game played by humans with a black and white ball and a net, - by himself on the front lawn. The sprite smiled at him, and knocked on the door of his house. Mrs. Laser answered, and the charming sprite launched into a long talk about this 'charity' she was working for which looked after homeless and orphaned beings across many of the worlds. She really milked it, and even looked as though she was going to cry about a little blind elf who'd been left to die by her cruel harsh parents. It had Mrs. L in tears, and she quickly ran inside to find her cheque book to make a big fat donation. In her absence, the sprite ran over and handed Kelp some chocolate. As his mother seemed to like the sprite, he took it, and bit into it. In two seconds flat he was asleep, and the sprite signalled to two ugly gremlins who had been hiding behind a bush. "Hurry up!" she hissed at them. They grabbed the boy with their huge hands, and zapped themselves away. The sprite disappeared too. Mrs. Laser found her cheque book and hurried back to the door. The sprite was gone. "Kelp dear, did you see whe.." She looked over at where her son had been playing. All that was there, was the ball he'd been playing with.
Kidalsworth, Algara
It was another beautiful summer's day, with a cloudless blue sky overhead, and springy green grass underfoot. However, all was not well. It would have been the perfect day for mothers to get all the house work done, hang out their washing, with a lovely feeling that their children would be happily playing, and quite safe. Not anymore. Not since they snatched little Katrine Marget from her front garden two months ago. Like most little fairies on that wonderful May morning, she'd been playing quite happily at the front of her house on the lawn. A fat salesgnome had come to the door, and tried to sell her mother some sea crystals from Atlantis. She quickly became absorbed in their beauty, and decided that she had to get one. Poor Mrs. Marget went into her house to find her purse, but when she came back, both Katrine and the gnome had gone. It was distractions such as these which led to the disappearance of the other children too. Of course, search parties were sent out, but none were successful, and not a single child returned. The chances of the poor souls still being in this world were extremely, extremely small. The chances of them even being in their not-so-little town of Kidalsworth couldn't even be seen through the most powerful microscopes from Tricket 5.7923792. And they were the science freaks. No one had been taken for almost two weeks now. The people were starting to relax a little. But that was about to change. A gorgeous blonde-haired sprite walked up the path to the Laser family's house. Their nine-year-old son Kelp was playing kadball - a popular sport played mainly in Tricket 5.7923792 (they had to find something to do when they were staring down microscopes at things smaller than atoms) which is rather like the game played by humans with a black and white ball and a net, - by himself on the front lawn. The sprite smiled at him, and knocked on the door of his house. Mrs. Laser answered, and the charming sprite launched into a long talk about this 'charity' she was working for which looked after homeless and orphaned beings across many of the worlds. She really milked it, and even looked as though she was going to cry about a little blind elf who'd been left to die by her cruel harsh parents. It had Mrs. L in tears, and she quickly ran inside to find her cheque book to make a big fat donation. In her absence, the sprite ran over and handed Kelp some chocolate. As his mother seemed to like the sprite, he took it, and bit into it. In two seconds flat he was asleep, and the sprite signalled to two ugly gremlins who had been hiding behind a bush. "Hurry up!" she hissed at them. They grabbed the boy with their huge hands, and zapped themselves away. The sprite disappeared too. Mrs. Laser found her cheque book and hurried back to the door. The sprite was gone. "Kelp dear, did you see whe.." She looked over at where her son had been playing. All that was there, was the ball he'd been playing with.