Alright here you go chapter 3. I have to say I am pretty discouraged at the moment. I know how the story is supposed to go, but I am having trouble finding the right words. So I need your advice should I keep trying and share the rest of the story or should I just scrap it. Please Please Please tell me what you think- Guardian of the Realm

Nancy Aarons sat on the front porch of her house and watched Joyce Ann play while Ellie and Brenda finished the yard work. Joyce Ann ran to the edge of the yard grinning as she went. Joyce Ann jumped up and down excitedly as she saw her brother's blonde haired friend approaching.

Leslie panted hard as she came into the Aarons' front yard. She saw Joyce Ann at the edge of the yard, Brenda and Ellie appeared to be working, and Mrs. Aarons was sitting on the swing on the porch. Leslie headed straight for the porch. "Mrs. Aarons," Leslie said gasping for air, "Mrs. Aarons."

"Leslie what's wrong?" Mrs. Aarons stood and walked toward the exhausted eleven-year-old.

"May Belle," Leslie said as soon as Mrs. Aarons got close enough to hear her. "May Belle fell in the creek She needs you! Judy is giving her medical help, but she needs you."

May Belle's eyes fluttered open. She tried to focus. There was too much movement. There were four or five men dressed in some kind uniform, her mom, Leslie, Leslie's mom and behind them there were bright flashing lights. Everything wavered in and out of focus. She tried to move but her head hurt too bad. She was so tired. She closed her eyes, and drifted.

Jesse Aarons' Sr. pulled up in the driveway of his home. He had left work the moment his neighbor Bill had called. He pushed open the front door. Bill, Leslie, Ellie, Brenda, and Joyce Ann all sat in the living room waiting for him. "Did Nancy go in the ambulance?" Bill nodded as he stood. "Alright let's load up," Jesse Sr. said in a gruff voice. Bill, Leslie, and Ellie all loaded up in the Burke's car, leaving Brenda and Joyce Ann to ride with their father. As they left the house Leslie taped a note to the door for Jess. When they arrived at the hospital the doctors were still stitching up the gash in May Belle's head. For the next several hours they all took turns going to check on May Belle. The doctor had said that she needed lots of sleep, so they were all very careful not to wake her up. Some of the tension was relived when Jess called three hours later. The Burkes left to go pick him up so that most of May Belle's family would be there if she woke up while they were gone.

May Belle woke up hours later. She looked around her. The walls were white as was the bed and the sheets. There was a wardrobe against one wall and a television. Everything got blurry again. She closed her eyes to clear her head. When she opened them she was startled to find some one standing at the edge of her bed. It wasn't her mom, or her dad. Not Ellie. Not Brenda. Not Jess or Joyce Ann. It wasn't any of the Burkes either. She had never seen this person before. She focused on the person in front of her. It was a boy about six or seven with blonde hair and blue-green eyes. He smiled.

"Hi," the boy said, "I'm Taylor Gabriel Grayson. You can call me Taylor. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts. What… what are you doing here?" May Belle asked groggily.

"It is my job to watch over you, May Belle. I'm your guardian angel." Taylor smiled down at her.

"My guardian angel?"

"Yeah, you need to rest, I'll be here when you wake up."

May Belle's eyes fluttered closed again, she woke up several more times that day and every time Taylor was there. Twice she woke up to find her mom or dad there and Taylor was nowhere in sight. During the short talks she had with Taylor she learned that he was a patient at the hospital just like her (not an angel like she had been told earlier.) She learned that he never had visitors; he liked the color red, had a rather active imagination, and it was nearly impossible to discourage him. She liked Taylor. Around 5:00 that evening when she woke; not Taylor, but her brother, Jess, was standing by her bed. "Jess?"

"Hey May Belle how are you doing?"

"I'm okay. My head hurts pretty bad."

"Yea," Jess smiled, "some else is here to see you."

May Belle noticed that Leslie was in the room. "Leslie," she smiled.

"Hi," Leslie stepped closer to the little girl's bed.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome but I didn't do anything special."

"You saved my life. You pulled me out of the creek."

"It was really no big deal. You would have done the same for me."

"Thanks any way."

At that moment there came a muffled cry from under May Belle's bed. Leslie, and Jess jumped. "What was that?" Leslie asked taking a step back. They looked down to see what had caused the noise. From under the edge of May Belle's came a head, a head of blonde hair, then a neck, shoulders, and so on. When the person finally came all the way out from under the bed, they saw that the person was a boy. He was about May Belle's age with blue-green eyes about the color of Leslie's. He was wearing a red t-shirt, a pair of overalls, and a pair of black high-topped shoes. Jess looked the little boy over. The boy looked at Jess, and then at Leslie. He plopped down on the bed beside May Belle. He looked down at the floor and then at Leslie again. "You didn't have to step on my fingers," the boy said sounding rather pitiful.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were down there," Leslie said, or would have said but "I'm…" is all she got out.

"Leslie's not at fault here," Jess was furious. "Who are you? Your not even supposed to be in here." Everything came out in a harsh whisper. "Get out now before I call the doctor in here."

Tears fill the boy's eyes but he refused to let them fall. He got up from the bed and walk out of the room. He glanced back and smiled at May Belle right before he step over the thresh hold.

"Jess," Leslie slapped her friend on the arm. "He's just a kid. It was a mistake. You didn't have to jump all over him."

"He had no right to be here. May Belle needs rest and she wouldn't get any with him around. Besides he made it sound like it was your fault his fingers got smashed." Jess looked from May Belle to Leslie and then back. May Belle started to say something but Jess cut her off. "May Belle there's something I have to tell you, but it's a secret and you can't tell nobody." He then made a big production about check the whole room to make sure there were know other visitors. He stuck his head out the door and looked both ways to make sure the little troublemaker was gone then he shut the door and returned to Leslie and his sister. "I need to tell you about Terabithia," he said his voice barely above a whisper. He and Leslie had talked about it earlier that they would tell May Belle about Terabithia and as soon as she was feeling better take her there.

"Terabithia? What's that?" May Belle asked excitedly.

"That is were Leslie and I go after school. We don't need to say the name anymore though you never know who might be listening. Agents of the Dark Master might be anywhere. Call it New Neverland just till we get somewhere safe."

May Belle giggled, "Tell me more about New Neverland."

Jess pulled up a chair and began to tell May Belle all about "New Neverland" and the adventures that he and Leslie had had there. He had just begun to tell about their first encounter with Hairy Vultures, when Leslie quietly slipped from the room.

Leslie walked down the hall back toward the waiting room. Jess needs this time with his sister. He thinks it's his fault she fell. He needs to see that she still loves him. She laughed to herself. That boy hiding under May Belle's bed was about the funniest thing I have seen. Jess completely lost it. It's not like it was a big deal. I was an accident. She turned a corner and heard a small voice call out as she past one of the rooms. Leslie turned to see who had spoken. It was the blonde haired, blue-green eyed boy from before. Leslie smiled at him.

"I'm sorry, for how I acted. I didn't mean any harm by being in May Belle's room," he said as he fiddled with one of the buttons on his overalls.

"It's no problem. I'm sorry for stepping on you finger. I didn't know you were there. I'm sorry for how Jess acted I don't what got in to him." The boy smiled at Leslie. "By the way if you don't mind my asking what were you doing in there," Leslie asked.

"I don't get any visitors except Mrs. Caroline but she doesn't want to talk about anything important. So when I found out there was another kid on this floor I decided I would talk to them. I have been here for three days and it is killing me. I can't even go outside with the Dragon Doctor breathing down my back. I have no one to talk to. I'm lonely. So I was waiting for her to wake up again when the two of you came in. I had to hide because the Dragon Doctor say I'm not supposed to be out of my room. If they found me up wandering around they would take me down to the room of 1001 tortures."

"Well I have some free time right now if you would like to talk," Leslie said. The boy instantly brightened. "But first," she looked at him, "I kind of need to know your name."

"Taylor Gabriel Grayson. What's your name?"

"Leslie Anne Burke"

Taylor suddenly got a curious look on his face. "Will you smile again?"

"What?" Leslie asked confused.

"Smile. You know," Taylor grinned really big to demonstrate.

He looked so ridiculous Leslie couldn't help but smile back at the boy.

Taylor's eyes got wide, "You been there too haven't you?"

"Been where?"

Taylor motioned for Leslie to come closer. "Terabithia," he whispered.