A/N: So, when I first heard about the book series "The Kingdom Keepers", I was so excited! I mean, a book about Disney World where the characters come to life? What could be better than that?! And then I read it....yeah. In my opinion, I feel like that book has so much missed awesome, it's painful. I commend Mr. Pearson for the idea, but, well, it could be more awesome. So in light of that, I'm throwing caution to the wind and I'm publishing this. Some characters from the book series will be mentioned, but these will generally be all OCs. Don't say I didn't warn you, and I'm sorry if I offended anybody.

Disclaimer: not mine!

Chapter 1

My fellow Keepers asked me to write this. Why me, I don't quite know. I suppose it's because I keep a diary so a lot of this is still fresh for me. Whatever the cause, I'll start my story now; Thomas says I haven't much time.

I suppose I should begin at the beginning. That is the most logical place and I want you to experience things just as I did, that way you can know the TRUTH.

First of all, I would like to address the idea of TRUTH. It is very hard to come by. It is also easily manipulated and made into lies –especially when the lies are based in TRUTH– that it can be difficult to tell where the TRUTH ends and the lie begins. This is the case with Mr. Ridley Pearson's Kingdom Keepers series. Not that they are complete lies, a great majority of them are based in TRUTH, which makes the lies that much more difficult to discern; it is just important to remember that they are great works of fantasy, and simply that, fantasy. I don't mean to sound harsh, but he left out some important things, and changed a lot of the key facts, and, well, you'll be able to tell as I go along.

What I am about to tell you through this account, though, is the TRUTH. It will seem unbelievable at times and it will definitely not be what you expected but I can guarantee to you that it will be the TRUTH.

The Disney Hosts had been released about half a year ago and the mysterious events surrounding the Magic Kingdom had settled down when I first heard about the casting call for more Disney Hosts, this time at Animal Kingdom. Well, I did not really hear about it, my mum did.

You see, she was desperate for me to make friends and she was always one to take the dramatic route. I was rather apathetic to the whole situation; I did not care about Walt Disney or anything to do with him, and, frankly, at the time, I rather wished that he did not exist.

My family and I used to live in England, my mum working in marketing for an international corporation when she got a job offer from the Walt Disney Company that she could not refuse. So all of us, my mum, dad, and two little brothers, James and Lucas, packed up everything and moved to Orlando, Florida while the original Disney Hosts were having their test run in the Magic Kingdom.

My mum came home from one day, after we were settled in, all excited, brandishing a paper in one hand and swinging her purse around in the other. When she told me her scheme, I rolled my eyes and continued to set the table for dinner.

"Come on, love," cajoled my dad, walking into the dining room, wearing his ridiculous apron that he always wore whenever he cooked. The frilly pink outfit hung loosely against his body, obviously not designed for a man's form, especially not my dad's skinny, tall one. His gray hair, which he insists is actually "blond", is starting to thin at the crown of his head, however his gray-blue eyes remain just as youthful as when he and mum married. "I think it sounds like a brilliant idea. You know how much you love to act and how much you love animals."

"It's rude to eavesdrop," I said, watching as my mum and dad traded a quick peck. "Besides, you need me around here to help unpack," I added, knowing it was a weak argument as I said it.

"Nonsense," said mum. "We only have a few more boxes; your dad can handle those. This should only take a weekend, a week at the most, and that is only if you get chosen as a Host. If not, it is just one morning of auditions. It will be fun!" My mum concluded, as if that would seal the deal.

I just stared at her, face blank and she finally sighed, not breaking down, but backing off for the time being. "Just look at this," she said, passing me the sheet with the audition information, slightly crinkled from where she had clutched it.

I took it without looking at it, setting it on the table and continuing to finish the table setting. The silverware clinked as I set it in its proper place around the table. I could hear mum singing a song as she changed out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable.

"Emma," said my dad, his quiet, middle-ranged voice coming from behind me. I jumped, not realizing he was still there.

"Yeah?" I asked, not turning to look at him. He paused, as if gathering his thoughts, then quietly began.

"Emma," he repeated. "Just because we're in America does not mean you have to stop doing what you love. Live a little."

I clenched my jaw and he sighed.

"I know you miss your friends, I miss mine as well, but we need to try and adapt. We can find friends here if we let ourselves," he paused again. "Think about it." He squeezed my shoulder and went back to the kitchen to finish cooking.

Heaving a dry sob, I sat down heavily in a chair. The tears would not come; I had stopped crying about leaving England long ago, or at least it felt like long ago. I allowed my eyes to scan the room and they finally landed on the audition sheet, which was conveniently right next to me.

That's weird, I thought for a second. I thought it was on the other side of the table. I shook my head, clearing away the ridiculous thought, and really looked at the paper.

The Animal Kingdom logo of a giant tree surrounded by animals stood out in shimmering green ink on the top right hand corner and the description of the casting call glowed in the same colored ink. My eyes flicked down the page; any one 15-18 years old could audition (I mentally checked that off), can provide a headshot and a copy of i.d. (check), can be in Orlando, Florida on May 10 (check again), and is an "unknown", basically has no other "claims to fame" (Yep, definitely check). That was all that was required.

I blinked, that did not seem so bad. Maybe I could do this. Continuing to scan the page, I learned that for the audition, hopefuls would have to read a monologue, which would be provided at the audition site. Again, not too bad.

What am I thinking? I can't actually go through with this. I thought. Why not? I argued with myself. Dad's right. I need to move on. I choked back another sob at the thought. Besides, Hannah wouldn't want you to not do something just because you missed her, I argued with myself. I had a point. I sighed and gave a twisted smile at the thought. America makes you insane, I decided.

I heard my mum coming back down stairs and walked slowly toward her, feeling like I was on a death march. She appeared at the foot of the stairs at about the same time I got there. She was dressed in a comfortable shirt and pants, though still managing to look stylish; her luscious brown her in a knot at the base of her neck. Her hazel eyes looked at me questioningly as she waited for me to talk.

"Alright, mum," I said, somewhat resignedly. "I'll do it."

~*~

My mum and I arrived at the audition site, the Grand Floridian Hotel, a few minutes early. Looking around the lobby, I stood stunned at all the grandeur. My mum, however, was hardly awed as she backtracked to retrieve me, then dragged me to the large room that served as the hotel's convention center.

Kids from 15-18 years old milled around, some trailing anxious parents, others talking comfortably in groups. I thought I recognized some people from my school but I was not sure, I had not attempted to make friends so I had not tried to learn faces or names. My mum squeezed my hand, then let go, moving passed the rows of chairs facing a platform and to a long table where five official looking people sat.

As I watched my mum walk, my eyes fell on some of the other hopefuls and I began comparing their outfits to mine. What can I say? It is a girl thing. I wore a dark blue top that complimented my figure and brought out the color of my eyes, but not so revealing that I felt uncomfortable wearing it. My pants and shoes were black and sensible, also not uncomfortable, but, as my mum told me, I still looked nice. My hair was in messy bun at the back of my head that my mum had designed; I was horrible about doing my own hair, mostly due to the fact that I could not control the dark brown mess alone.

I turned my attention away from my clothing and back to my mum who was already at the long table, filled with, I assumed, the director and producers of the DHIs or something like that. Mum stood talking to a woman who looked like a secretary and this was further reinforced when my mum handed over my papers, including a copy of my i.d. and headshot. The woman smiled at my mum and said something which caused Mum to jump and look around her, appearing somewhat flustered. My mum finally turned around and saw me, waving her arm signaling that I should come over. I was supposed to have followed her. Oops.

"This is Emma," said Mum when I finally made it over to the table.

" It is a pleasure to meet you," said the secretary women, offering a hand. Her dark brown hair was piled stylishly on top of her head, and her deep brown eyes twinkled as if she was sharing a private joke with me. When she smiled, her teeth were aligned in perfect rows. I looked down at her nametag. Charlotte. It suited her.

"Nice to meet you, too," I replied, shaking the offered hand. She smiled again and then let go, beginning to check through my papers to make sure everything was in order.

I glanced shyly down the table, hoping to see the nametags of the other occupants but none of them seemed to be wearing one. One of the men caught me staring at them and gave me a quick smile. A goatee that seemed to be fading light brown to gray framed his smiling mouth, and the hair on the top of his head seemed to be on the retreat. Dressed comfortably, but casually in an African print t-shirt, he definitely did not fit the picture that I had in my mind of a high up Disney executive. This picture of the "unusual executive" completed itself with the man's exotic earring dangling from his left ear.

A blush crept up my face when I saw his smile, I did not like to be caught spying, and I gave a nervous smile back. His eyebrows arched, as if surprised about something and he turned to whisper into the woman's ear next to him. She was dressed a little nicer than the man next to her; her blond hair was loose and gently curled, reaching to about her shoulder. Though she wore a business suit that complemented her figure, it was wrinkled in a couple places and obviously had not been worn recently. Her tanned skin and bleached hair hinted at a lifestyle that preferred the outdoors.

"You're all set," said Charlotte, jolting me out of the examination of the other table members. I thanked her and, turning to leave, I glanced quickly at the earring man and business suit woman. The two seemed to be holding a very deep conversation about something, but neither of them was looking at me, so I assumed it was a different subject.

My mum and I left the table; mum walking over to a group of adults, obviously spotting someone she knew from work or perhaps not. She has a way with walking into groups of people and becoming the life of the conversation.

I briefly flirted with the idea of following her over to the parents, but I decided whatever they were talking about would probably not interest me and, besides, it would be awkward. So, instead, I stood where my mum had left me, wanting to and fearing to join a conversation. I finally settled on sitting in one of the chairs my mum and I had passed by earlier. The chair I choose was one of about 100 lined up in ten neat little rows facing an elevated platform. I hope I'm not auditioning up on that, I thought fearfully, feeling panic rise up in me. In order to distract myself from the upcoming audition nerves, my eyes scanned the room, not really looking for anything in particular, just for something to do.

Finally the people at the long table began to move. Charlotte gathered all the audition forms into a neat pile and headed toward the platform, silently signaling everyone else to find seats. The other four table members headed toward an unobtrusive door, the man and the women still in deep conversation.

Charlotte climbed up the steps onto the platform and quietly waited for everyone to settle down. The room hummed with quiet conversation and anticipation as everyone got comfortable. My mum appeared by my side from who-knows-where and gave me a quick toothy grin before turning her attention to Charlotte. My stomach finally did what it was threatening to do since my earlier preliminary panic attack; it began to knot as I exhaled slowly, trying to calm myself down.

"Thank you for coming, everyone," said Charlotte, once she decided the room was ready to listen, pronouncing each word clearly as if she cherished it before saying it. The conversations that still continued quieted after that statement and the room was silent. "I know you're all excited for this audition, and I want to thank you all in advance for coming out. First, some background info.," Charlotte smiled. "You all know about the Disney Hosts Interactive, right?" The crowd murmured excitedly, some kids letting out whoops and scattered applause.

"For all of you who don't know," she said, smiling at the enthusiasm of those who whooped. "DHIs are holographic tour guides. They were first tested at the Magic Kingdom in the fall, but now, because the Hosts have been so successful, the Imagineers want to introduce them to all the parks, starting with Animal Kingdom. Those of you who get the parts as the new DHIs will be lending your voices to animals instead of people. These animal prototypes have already been chosen, but it is up to you to give them character."

I blinked. Wait, not people? I guess that makes sense because it is at Animal Kingdom, but they had people at Magic Kingdom. Well, at least I don't have to worry about people recognizing me everywhere I go if I get the part, I thought, zoning out of what Charlotte was saying for a moment.

"For the audition," continued Charlotte as I tuned back in, "you will choose one of the animal monologues to read, only one mind. After that you will perform an impromptu skit with five other randomly selected auditionees –basically we will choose some situation from a hat and you will have to come up with a skit with only three minutes prep. time. I will leave the monologues on the stage and you will have ten minutes to prepare. Good luck to you all," Charlotte concluded, laying six separate piles of paper on the stage then leaving, going through the same door the other table members had gone through, closing the door behind her.

After Charlotte left, there was a moment of silence, as everyone waited for something to happen, and then, chaos. A mob of teenagers rushed to the stage, shouting out the different monologues to each other.

"Oh, cool, lion!"

"Nice, dinosaur."

"I'll trade an eagle for a deer."

"Anyone seen the fish monologue?"

"Wow, a dog!"

I sat stunned, somewhat paralyzed at the sudden noise. Crazy Americans.

"Go on, Emma," said Mum, nudging me forward. "Get up there, or you won't get a good one."

I swallowed, not wanting to get trampled by the mob, but I needn't have worried, everyone had mostly cleared out by the time I got up there. I couldn't see any lion, dinosaur, or fish monologues left. I spotted an eagle monologue, but it had nearly been destroyed in the tussle, almost in two pieces. So, it was between the dog and the deer. A quick round of eenie-meanie-mynie-moe solved that problem. Dog.

I picked up the monologue and wandered away from the stage, looking over the monologue as I went. The room was loud again, as kids were beginning to read their monologues, practicing how they wanted to say them. I wandered over to a corner that was thankfully unoccupied and stared at my paper, not really reading the words.

"Five more minutes," came Charlotte's voice.

I blinked and almost had an actual panic attack. How did Mum talk me into this? I can't do this. I can't do this at all. Focus, Emma. Just read the monologue, you'll look less stupid if you have a general idea of what you're saying. My eyes scanned the page again; words flashed through my mind but did not stick. This felt like a nightmare. My stomach rolled; the butterflies in my stomach seemed to be doing the tango as the words blurred, twisted, and rearranged themselves. This was nothing like auditioning for school plays back at home in England. For one thing, back home wasn't Disney, the largest employer of entertainers in America. And who was I? Some new kid out on limb, a limb that was growing shaky and unsteady as time rushed by.

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