I woke up, my eyelids tinted red from the sun through my window.
I rolled out of bed, and my blanket wrapped itself around my feet. I wormed my trapped feet out of my paint splattered quilt and got off the hard, wooden floor, stretching and still sleepy.
I retrieved my clothes from my closet, a red beret to put over my short, black hair, a turquoise, buttoned smock, a vertically striped, gray skirt, and a pair of shiny, brown shoes.
I started my day like all others; going into my art room and painting something of past adventures on my easel.
My easel was not normal, as occasionally it predicted the future. I said occasionally as in; only if one certain event was truly important, whatever I painted on the easel would have bled through the paper and morphed into something new, a picture of what was to come. I painted something every morning to see what would appear on the next sheet of paper, just in case something were to happen to the forest that surrounded my small, lonely cottage.
That day I painted a tiki-like statue called Kabu in Kabu Valley, backgrounded by a sky tinted sunset red. I liked to explore the world I was given, and my painting was of the time I discovered Kabu out on one of my short expeditions.
As I finished the fire in front of Kabu, which blocked a hollowed out portion of Kabu, I couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
"Maybe today would be the day I discovered something new, something the wildest imagination couldn't create." I thought.
I lifted the page, and there laid a top view of my forest, even my cottage had a clearing, and northeast of the entire forest was a civilization, and northeast of that town was a yellow and red castle on an unstable looking cliff. Northwest of the town was a dome-like building with a thin, crimson red X painted over it.
"Well, if destiny wants me to go to that building, I am willing to do just that." I muttered determinedly. I took off the painting of Kabu and got it ready for the frame, and then took the map off the easel and looked at it closer.
The map was slightly transparent, and I could make something out. I held up the map to a window and the writing was made clear.
Seven words were printed into the map: Prepare for a short journey and combat.
I figured that meant it was time to pack.
I packed light: two spare changes of clothes, some dense bread rolls, a flashlight, a pad of paper, my paint brush, and my palette.
My paint brush gave me the ability to paint on a pad of paper and have it spring to life and follow my commands, and my palette has jars of paint that need to be squeezed periodically to refill the supply in the dips of the palette itself. My palette was also spill-proof, meaning it could be upside down and never spill.
I fit all that into a red backpack that matched my beret, and as I looked at myself in my long, splattered mirror and thought about what else I might need for my journey, my gaze fell upon my backpack clutched by the handle in my hand.
Below the first pocket, in yellow letters, a name. The name was Adeline Briar Corona.
I shouldered the pack and went back into my art room to grab my map. I read what it said again and noticed it said to prepare for combat, and I did own a razor sharp exacto knife for kiragami, and I once accidentally cut a piece of paper using the middle of my index fingernail as a pad and it cut the whole half of the nail right off, even though I was pressing lightly. I deduced it would fare fairly well in combat.
Supplies at hand, I ventured out of my little cottage, then looked back and whispered a farewell, then continued my hike through the forest, not aware of what lay ahead but willing to follow the advice of my magic easel.
At one point, an old memory resurfaced about something my easel showed my quite a while back.
It resembled a poster for a movie; it was a picture of various machines, and it had the words "Air Ride" printed at the top in bold letters. That had been quite a while ago, however, and nothing had happened after that, so I didn't pay it much mind, except for designing my own, of course, but I didn't like the ones I painted. They didn't look as cool as one of the Air Ride Machines that resembled a purple bat. But something in the back of my mind made me remember that long forgotten painting and I got the feeling I was supposed to use my magic paint brush.
I shrugged off my backpack and fished around for the paint brush, and feeling its cool blue handle, I pulled it out, along with the pad of paper and palette.
I first drew myself a pencil so I could more easily make my blueprints.
I pondered what I should draw, then realized a paint brush would be sufficient, with the handle pointed forwards and the brush coated in seven different colors of paint, perhaps trailing those colors.
So I sat on a log and sketched out a rough drawing, then carefully wrote the measurements under two directional arrows, and colored it with my magic paint brush. I flipped the paint brush so the handle was to the paper and a clear dose of lamination shot out and stuck to the paper. The paper emitted a gradually brightening light which faded, revealing a five foot paint brush exactly like the paint brush that created it. The brush resembled a witch's broom and hovered two feet off the ground.
I thought it looked pretty neat!
I took my seat and held on, then willed my skybrush to ascend above the tree line and soar to the edge of the forest, upon quickly reaching there I noticed the town was there, and the castle, and...
Something was going on at the dome shaped building. Something a crowd was gathered around that was apparently exciting.
I flew toward it as fast as I could, knowing that was where the easel wanted me to go, and quick as the swipe of a brush, I was in the crowd, skybrush in hand trying to see what was happening. A pack of cats in black clothes with patterned white and green sacks were fighting a small, pink ball with blue eyes and red feet.
The pink ball was heavily outnumbered and without a weapon, but was dodging fine regardless. Someone from the crowd threw something at the pink ball, and he surprisingly ate it whole and obtained a turquoise and scarlet two sided jester hat with squares, crescent moons, and stars on the green side and an equal red side. The hat was lined with a white material with a circle at the front. A wand materialized as well; iridescent with a gold handle.
One of the cats noticed and extended a hand and easily snatched the new equips away before they had a chance to be used.
I pushed through the useless crowd and aimed an exacto knife at the back of a cat, felling it in one blow.
I rushed to the pink ball's side to protect him and we locked eyes. Then the pink sphere's eyes widened slightly and he pushed me out of the way, opened his mouth abnormally wide, and a mini tornado was formed, effectively catching four cats in it. The pinky swallowed the cats, and started flashing as he closed his eyes.
A moment later he was wearing a gray baseball cap turned backwards, a pair of roller skates, and was holding a paint brush similar to mine but wider.
A voice yelled from the crowd, "Look, it's Paint Kirby!"
Paint Kirby? Considering now there has been a change related to paint, the pink ball must be named Kirby.
Kirby leaped into the air and brandished a paint brush and all but four of the opposing cats were drenched in acidic purple paint and were quickly defeated.
As Kirby's feet touched the ground, a cat came up from behind and stuffed Kirby into his sack and took off running. The other three followed as the sack shook and bulged and stretched.
I got back on my skybrush and pursued the cat that trapped Kirby as it ran to the castle.
I could vaguely hear metallic footsteps running after us, but the cat and I were going too fast for the footsteps to catch up.
I finally descended and blocked the path with my skybrush. The cat and I were really close to the castle at that point and I had the cat up against a cliff.
"Wait! Don't push that TAC off!" the same voice from the crowd shouted.
The TAC tried getting around me, but was met by my knife at his throat.
A gloved hand wrenched the sack away from the TAC's shoulders and shoved him off the cliff.
"That takes care of that problem," the voice sighed, "But who are you?"
"I'm Adeline." I replied, looking at the asker for the first time.
He had blue skin, an aquamarine mantle, a cape that matched his skin, gray armor with gold lining, white gloves, a brown scabbard with a gold sword hilt, purple feet, and a silver mask that covered his whole face except for an obtuse V that revealed half of his piercing, yellow, pupiless, almost scary eyes.
"My name is Sir Meta Knight. This is Sir Sword Knight and Lady Blade Knight." Meta Knight introduced first glancing back at a knight in dark teal armor then to one in bright green with a red pony tail.
"It's a pleasure to meet you all. You all seem like the mysterious type, so I assume it's an honor for you to give the first introduction. Am I right?"
"Yes," Sir Meta Knight answered.
"What makes you think we're the mysterious type?" Blade joked.
Meta Knight cleared his throat. "We saw you fight back there, for a couple seconds, and while you did, you downed a TAC. A feat to be proud of, yes, but you did it in one blow. TACs are extremely strong and swift, very hard to defeat. Would you be interested in working in the castle as defense?"
I was taken aback by Meta Knight's offer. I replied, "I'm not sure I could. Thank you for your offer, but I'm an artist. I defeated that TAC with an exacto knife, actually."
"And where did you get that?" Meta Knight pointed to my skybrush.
"I made it."
If I could see Meta Knight's eyebrow, it probably would have been raised. "You made a flying paint brush that trails rainbows?"
"Yeah. I have this magic paint brush and whatever I paint with it then laminate pops into real life."
"Can you show us an example?"
"Sure, I just need to find it in here..." I fished around in my backpack again and pulled out my brush and paper. Instead of an inanimate object, I sketched then colored Meta Knight. I laminated the painting and saw the glow of the paper again, and when the light faded away, I had two Meta Knights staring at each other.
"Hey Meta Knight!" Sword yelled.
"Yes?" both Meta Knights turned at the same time.
"Can you make him disappear, too?" a Meta Knight asked.
"Sure. All I need to do is say the special word my drawing reminds me of and 'Return'. Mystery, return,"
The Meta Knight to my left disappeared.
"Would you like to live at the castle? You could be an artist and defeat demon beasts like Kirby-"
"Oh no!" Blade Knight exclaimed, "We forgot to let Kirby out of the bag!"
Meta Knight glanced down at the green bag he was holding and opened it and peered inside. I looked inside, too. Kirby was staring at us with wide eyes.
I reached in and grabbed Kirby's hand and pulled him out.
Kirby smiled in such an adorable way and poyoed happily as if to say thanks then started to walk down the path. Kirby was past Sword Knight and Blade Knight when Kirby started coughing really hard. A giant something hit the path.
"Hair ball." Meta Knight muttered.
I guess I should have seen that coming, Kirby did just swallow four cats.
Kirby kicked the hair ball off the path and continued walking back to the dome shaped building, which I figured was his house.
"I think I'll take that job." I decided. "I would be doing art while protecting innocent lives."
"Then let us go to the castle," Meta Knight suggested.
At the castle, I met interesting creatures called Waddle Dees, and became a knight. I met King Dedede, who apparently no one likes, and at one point was ordered to paint his image for his bedroom wall. I was much happier with people in the castle than I was in the forest in my cottage, but I did go back to retrieve my easel, quilt, and all my former paintings, including the ones with Kabu and the Air Ride Machines.
I woke up with the sun tinting my eyelids red, and for once I rolled out of bed onto a soft carpet, and put on armor over my regular clothes. Although I tried every day, my easel would not create any other signs for that day. Maybe this is my destiny.
The End