We had made it back to Redmont. I breathed a sigh of relief as we left our horses in the stable, and headed into the castle. As soon as I got in, Alyss and Evanlyn flew into Will and Horace's arms. They sobbed telling us how worried they were and whatnot. In the end, I told them it could have been much, much worse.
Even though their were a few wounds, we were sent to the infirmary right away. The healers tended to Halt's gashes, Crowley and Gilan's shoulder, Will's leg, and Horace's arm. I had a cut on my arm they tended to. I had hurt my arm on glass, apparently in the dark tunnel.
Then, we went down to the dining hall, and had the party of our lives. Food and music and laughter. And.. Wine. In the end, I had a few glasses because I was curious. My head pounded and I stumbled everywhere. Horace laughed so hard he was crying. I held my tongue. I knew drunks said crazy things when they had a cup or two.
I tumbled outside, out into the cool night. I sat under a big maple and closed my eyes to clear my mind. I heard soft, quiet footsteps. Halt. He sat down beside me, quiet.
"Thank you," he said. I turned. "for what?" He raised an eyebrow. "I would have thought that obvious. For saving my life." I smiled. "Your welcome."
Then, I saw it. I had been wondering if it would come back now, since the adventure was over. The portal. Halt saw it too. He breathed. "I guess its time for you to go back." I looked at him. "Guess it is." I didn't have anything to pack, and my paints, painting, and brush were in my pocket. So we rounded everyone up outside for the final goodbyes.
I hugged everyone. Then, Halt stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Your gift." I frowned, turning to him. "What?" He stepped aside, and there was Will and Alyss holding a scroll. They slowly spread out, showing the long, narrow paper. On it was a rainbow, and underneath were the words, our hearts go with you, rainbow stranger!
I felt touched. They had done this for me. Tears prickled at the my eyes, but I wiped them away. "Thank you." I took the poster in my hands, and with that, I jumped into the portal.
I came falling down into my bedroom with a loud crash. It was night time, and someone was in my bed. I leaned over and saw it was…. Me. Another of me. An exact replica of me. Then it disappeared. My mom came rushing into my room. "What happened?"
I stared at her. "I, er, fell off the bed?" I replied. She nodded, then went out. So it was like nothing happened. I hadn't been gone for three weeks, everything was normal. Then I looked back at my bed. The replica had been living my life for me while I was away. Strange. How'd it get here? Why was it here? So many questions.
But right now I just climbed into bed and drifted off into the land of peace.
SIX MONTHS LATER…
I still remembered all the adventures from half a year ago. It turns out that the portal didn't close when I jumped through it, and now Halt and everyone could visit me whenever they liked. And I could visit Araluen whenever I liked now.
We still had many adventures, though not as dangerous as the first ones. I still hung out with everyone. And I had won the art show with my sunrise painting. Everything was perfect. Though I still can't figure out how that replica came..
A knock on my door. I jumped, and then opened it. Halt. "Hi!" I said. He smiled. "How's everything?" I nodded. "Good." We chatted for a while, then he stood up. "Got to go. See you. Alyss is coming tomorrow." I nodded.
Then I watched him go outside onto my lawn. And then I watched him jump through the portal. I turned back to my room. Then, a soft hoot reached my ears. I turned around and saw a barn owl staring at me from a tree branch.I smiled. Yep, everything was perfect.
THE END
Hope you liked this story! Review! I don't really know about the replica, I just didn't want her getting in trouble with her parents for disappearing for two weeks. Nice ending, huh?
