No disclaimer. My original story!
Chapter One
Late at night, on the outskirts of Ireland. A figure ran silently through the darkened streets, seeking the safety of the Second Chance Orphanage. It was very late, and she knew that she would be punished even more severely if she did not make it back sooner rather than later.
The streets were covered in a slight fog, and it smelled like rain was coming. Now she knew that she had far more to fear than punishment. She was wearing her best dress, and if it got wet…
Her long red-brown hair streamed out behind her as she rounded yet another street corner. She reached the iron gate surrounding the orphanage just as it was beginning to drizzle. Some thought the place looked more like a prison then an orphanage. It had stone gray walls that towered over many other living quarters in the area.
The young girl buzzed the doorbell and another child answered. "Yes?" they asked in a bored voice.
"David? It's me Violet."
"Yes, yes come in then." The gate swung open and Violet walked up the front steps and opened the front door quietly. Careful not to wake the other children, she stepped softly across the foyer's marble floors and through the door leading to the kitchen.
A woman was sitting with her back to the door, but rose from her seat and turned to see who had arrived. Mary, the orphanage's manager, was a middle-aged, stout, plump woman who had pale blonde hair that used to be so much less graying. She was kind, but very strict. With stern blue-gray eyes and straight lined lips, you could tell she was not a woman to be crossed.
Mary spoke, "you're late."
Violet smiled, "yes Mary, but as you know the market is inconveniently located on the other side of town from here. And you are the one who wanted more carrots for the stew that is to be dinner tomorrow night."
Mary's stern expression broke into a grin and she waved Violet off to bed.
Violet smiled back, placed the carrots in the cabinet, then started toward the staircase leading up to her room. She glanced around and saw that Jane, the little girl she shared a room with, was sound asleep. She took off her boots, so as to not make any extra noise, pulled on a nightdress, and plopped into bed with an exhausted sigh.
Violet stared at the ceiling while thinking many jumbled thoughts. And eventually, she fell asleep.
Violet woke to the sound of Jade clomping around downstairs in her new boots. She shook her head and smiled, the little seven-year-old loved those boots as much as her own life.
She got out of bed and pulled on a faded, floral patterned dress, and an old gray smock. Barefoot, she ran downstairs and into the kitchen, where she found Jade, and Parker starting breakfast. As soon as Violet walked in, both of them hurried over and hugged her so hard, she thought they might squeeze the life out of her. If that had even been possible, they most likely would have succeeded.
"Violet!" Jade squealed.
Violet laughed as they released her and said, "good morning to you as well."
"Violet," Parker said quietly, as he tugged at the hem of her dress.
She bent down so as to look at him better. His sun-colored blonde hair was tousled from running, and he stared at her with his wide, innocent blue eyes. "My birthday's tomorrow."
Violet smiled as she remembered, Parker was turning five. "That's right Parker. You get to be a big boy tomorrow, and I found you the best present a big boy could ever want," she said in a soft voice as she scooped him up into her arms. He giggled while she made him fly around the room, making airplane noises.
Eventually she set him down gently on the floor next to Jade and indicated that she should take Parker up to his room. Jade gave her one of those bright, sweet smiles that she was famous for, nodded, and took Parker's hand. Jade led him up the staircase, promising that they would play a game when they got to his room.
When they disappeared around the bend in the stairs, Violet got to work stirring the oatmeal and then peeling vegetables for the soup later.
While she was working, Mary came in. She took one look around the room and sighed. Then she said. "Go ahead Violet, I'll take over here. I know you want to go to that old library again and you did help me last night when you got these carrots."
Her face instantly lit up and she hugged the older woman, thanking her as she walked back up the stairs.
On the way to her room, Violet saw Jade and Parker playing a game with Henry. Henry was Jade's little brother, and was five like Parker. Parker and Henry were basically best friends. And, like Jade, Henry had brown hair and almond shaped green eyes.
Violet walked into her room and picked out a plain black dress, her black coat, and her boots. After taking a quick shower, she pulled them on before hurrying back downstairs and out the front door. Once she was outside the gate, Violet headed across town to the library. She needed to catch up on some studying.
Violet arrived at the library in record time. She pushed open the oak front doors and instantly smelled the old parchment decaying on the dusty shelves. She nodded to the librarian as she walked past the reception desk and deeper into the creaky, cluttered library.
She turned into an aisle at random and pulled the first book that came to her attention off of the shelf. It was an old book, older than the others in the library. Stepping quietly over to the empty table in the farthest corner from the doorway, Violet peeled the book open. A fair amount of dust exploded into her face. Wiping it off with one hand, she turned to the table of contents in the front of the book. She scanned the contents but stopped when Chapter 3 caught her eye.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: How the Earth Came to Be…...2
Chapter 2: The Earth is Organized….167
Chapter 3: The Legend of the Lost Stones….259
Violet almost jumped with joy, this book is what she had been searching for! She started to turn to the page that the chapter started on, but then thought better of it and rushed over to the reception desk.
After checking out the book with her library card, Violet ran home as fast as a stray dog chasing the mail truck. Once inside she tore up the staircase and into her room. Luckily, Jade wasn't there, she was still playing with the boys. After pulling off her boots and shaking the feeling that someone had followed her home, Violet sat on the edge of her bed and opened the book to page 259. It said:
Chapter 3: The Legend of the Lost Stones
She scanned the chapter until coming across this paragraph:
"The Lost Stones are 5 major gems that control the balance of the Earth. These gems were originally created so that the human race could keep the Earth in order, but since these gems were extremely powerful, people tried to exploit them for personal gain. Eventually, the creator of the gems, scattered them across the globe, hiding them from harm's way.
The location of these gems is currently unknown, though scientists have a very vague idea of where to find them. It is said that one of the gems, the Heart Stone, was broken in half and each of the pieces are hidden on either pole. The Heart Stone is made out of pure diamond, and symbolizes love, it is said to hold the Earth together, because the human race cannot survive without love.
The other four gems, the Plant Stone, the Water Stone, the Life Stone, and the Sun Stone, all control the Earth, and sustain life, so that we may live.
The Plant Stone, controls all green things, and help them grow, so that we have vegetables, fruit, and forests. It is made out of an Emerald gem.
The Water Stone, controls every body of water on the Earth. It controls the moon's gravity, so that we have high tide and low tide, and helps sea life to survive. It is made out of a blue Sapphire gem.
The Sun Stone, controls the sun's rays to help plants grow and to give us night and day. It is made out of a Topaz gem.
The Life Stone, controls births and deaths of animals and human beings. It is made out of a Ruby gem."
Violet's mouth dropped open in astonishment, she had finally found the answer to life on Earth. She sat there for a while, thinking, and didn't hear the person walking up behind her until it was too late. The person grabbed her from behind and hauled her out the window.