CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Tara finished her breakfast and headed to her tent. She packed her bag and went back to the center of the camp. She sat there alone waiting for someone to come and tell her that they were leaving. It seemed that everyone was busy with something. She looked around and her mind took her back home, where she used to live happily with her parents.

She was walking back home from work. She was tired but there was something bothering her. Something was wrong. She started to walk faster, almost running. When she reached her building she ran to the elevator and pushed the button. After a few moments she threw herself inside and pushed button number 8. She knew there was something horrible going on. Her heart was pacing. The elevator reached the 8th floor. Tara got out and ran to her apartment. The door was opened and the floor was covered in pink.

"Mom? Dad?" she called and hurried to the kitchen. A pool of blood was covering the kitchen and her parents on the floor. "NO!"

Tara woke up with a scream. She was shaking and crying. "That's not true! It didn't happen!"

"Tara, are you alright?" Amanda called and ran to her. David followed quickly.

"What's wrong?" David asked.

"It's not true. They're alive. They're back home waiting for me." Tara kept talking to herself without noticing anyone around. She held her head with her hands and shook herself back and forth.

"Tara?" Amanda put her hand on Tara's shoulder. But Tara couldn't feel her.

"I want my mom." Tara said looking frightened. "I want to see my parents." She turned to look to the forest, and then she looked to Amanda. "They're there. I came from there. I'm going back." She got on her feet.

"Tara wait!" David called after her but he was too late. She ran into the forest.

"Dave let's follow her!" Amanda said and they ran after Tara.

"What's wrong with her?" David asked.

"I don't know. Maybe she just had a bad dream." Amanda stood and looked around. "Cripes! She vanished!" she sniffed the air. "I can't find her scent."

David stood next to her, panting. "How.. are.. we.. supposed.. to find her?"

"I don't know. Listen, you go back to the camp and tell them what happened. I'll keep searching for her. I can find my way back."

"Alright. Be careful." David said and ran back to the camp.

Amanda kept sniffing the air and walked. She couldn't find Tara's scent. "Maybe it's the wind. It's not letting me catch her scent."

"Need help?" Leo jumped in front of her from nowhere.

"Don't you ever do that again!" Amanda said and her eyes flashed yellow.

"Sorry. But, whose scent are you trying to catch?" Leo asked.

"Tara. She ran away."

"Why?"

"I don't really know. She was sleeping and suddenly she jumps awake and screams and cries, then she ran to the forest. And I can't smell her!" The last sentence was a shout of anger that escaped Amanda.

"Hey, calm down. I'll help you." Leo said.

"Thanks. Two noses are better than one." Amanda said with a smile.

"OK, I'll go north, you go south." Leo said indicating to the directions that they were supposed to go.

"No, no, no. We're going together. What if you found her first? She wouldn't trust you."

Leo looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Why shouldn't she trust me? Because I'm a half-wolf?"

"Oh no. I didn't mean that. She wouldn't trust you, because you're a guy. That's all."

"Whatever! Let's go before she hurts herself." He said and they started to search. "Just keep your voice down. It's dangerous on this part."

"What?!" Amanda shouted but it came out as a whisper. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"You didn't ask." Leo replied simply.

"I just can't understand you!" she looked around for a familiar face, but Tara was nowhere to be found.

"How come we can't smell her?" Leo asked after two hours of searching.

"I don't know." Amanda said. "Do you think we lost her? I mean… forever?"

"No, no. I don't think so."

Amanda stood there and tears filled her eyes. "I don't really know that girl, but I'm here crying because I CAN'T FIND HER ANYWHERE!"

Leo took her in his arms. "Hey, we'll find her. This forest is big, but also it's so small. She can be anywhere near us. So, don't worry."

Amanda just stood there in his arms and cried. "I shouldn't have let her go. I was so stupid not to hold her back. It's my fault!"

"No it's not. And stop crying. You won't do any good by that." He softened his voice and continued, "I don't like to see you crying."

Amanda looked into his eyes. They were glittering. She knew what that meant and she pulled away from him. She wiped her eyes with her hands. "Let's continue." She said and ran further into the forest.

It was noon. The sun was shining in the sky, but as deepest they went, darker it became. Little rays of light were visible through the trees. Amanda and Leo kept searching. But there was no sign of life at that part of the forest.

"I think we should go back to the camp." Leo said.

"Maybe you're right." Amanda said. "She's gone. We won't find her anymore."

"The queen can find her!" Leo said in excitement. "She can use her crystal ball."

"Huff-puff! Why didn't we think about that before! Let's go!"

They ran back to the camp. They reached it in much less time. They hurried to the queen's wagon and burst in.

"Didn't I teach you to knock child?" the queen said without looking at Leo.

"Sorry Your Majesty. I didn't mean to." He replied.

David was sitting opposite of her and staring into the crystal ball. "Did you find her?" he asked Amanda as soon as he saw her entering.

"No." Amanda replied.

"The ball isn't showing anything." The queen said.

"We went deep into the forest. We couldn't smell her. She just… vanished!" Amanda said.

"Calm down Amanda. The queen will find her." Leo said.

"It's all my fault." Amanda said.

David got up and hugged her. "It wasn't your fault and it wasn't anybody's fault. Something went wrong. She couldn't just disappear on her own. She's not a witch, and she's not a fairy or an elf."

"I guess you're right." Amanda said with a sigh of relief. Leo looked at her with the corner of his eye, and tried hard not to growl at David.

"Come on kid, let's see what the queen has to say now." David said and they sat in front of the queen.

"This is weird. It never happened before." The queen said while looking at the ball that Amanda thought it just contained some white smoke in it. "The ball shows all the living creatures whom I want to see. But… This could mean only one thing." She waved her hand over the ball and the white smoke disappeared. "She is in a place where everyone is invisible."

"Where can that be?" Amanda asked.

"I have no idea." David replied.

The queen didn't show them if she knew about the place. She sat there staring at the little window of her wagon. "Time will tell. Time will tell." She said in a low and a calm voice.

Amanda and David looked at each other. They didn't know what to think. They didn't have any clue about what to do.

"I almost forgot my dears." The queen said as her smiled returned to her face. "Tomorrow is your mother's birthday isn't it dear?"

"Yes." Amanda replied. "But we won't make it in time."

"Oh don't worry about that. You'll be there in time. And you'll be able to buy her a present too."

Amanda looked at her with a hope. "How?"

The queen got up and walked to the end of her wagon. A small wardrobe was put there and she opened it and took a little box out of it. She put it on the table and opened it. There were many little pouches there, all in a different color. No pouch matched the other. She took out a blue one.

"Take this." She handed the pouch to David. "That's travelling dust. You throw it in the air and stand under it. As soon as it touches you, you should say the name of the destination you want. But, it must be a place with solid ground. You can go to Kissingtown, and after you do your shopping, you can go back to your father's palace."

At the mention of the word palace Crystal opened her eyes. She was still sleeping all that time. But she didn't show them that she was awake. 'His father's palace? Is he a prince? The son of King Wendell?' A smiled formed on her lips and she closed her eyes again. She was listening to the whole conversation now. And no one would stop her from listening. They forgot that she was there.

"Alright. I think we should wait until Crystal wakes up. We can't leave her here all alone." Amanda said.

"You're right." David said.

Crystal opened her eyes again and yawned. She looked around her with an expression of a shock on her face. "What happened?" she asked and sat up.

"You had this terrible headache and we brought you here." Amanda said and sat next to her. "How do you feel now?"

"I'm fine." Crystal looked around. "Where's Tara?"

Amanda looked to David and he shrugged. They didn't know how to tell Crystal that her friend disappeared.

"Where is she?" Crystal asked again.

"She… she disappeared." Amanda said. "Now, don't worry." She added quickly as she saw the frightened look on Crystal's face. "We're going to find her. I promise."