The Kingdom Keepers had been traveling for about an hour.
Dillard and Jess were getting to know one another still.
Maybeck was a little grumpy because Charlene was outside.
And Finn was still uneasy about bringing two people along.
All he knew was that Jess was not apart of the quest, but Dillard still was.
He continued to look at the map, seeing that they were still far from Holly Kingdom.
But suddenly, they all came to another abrupt stop.
Finn was furious now.
He leaned out the window and stared at Philby, Willa, and Charlene.
"I swear to god you guys are going to break my neck with these stops!" he yelled. "And the more stops you make the more Maleficent wins! And furthermore we are not picking up anyone else!"
"It's not that," said Philby.
"Then what is…" Finn said, and then he looked ahead. "Oh…"
He saw why they stopped.
They were at the edge of a cliff.
Everyone got out to check it out.
It wasn't a deep cliff, but a big one with a rushing river down below.
It also had one of the things everyone hated.
A wooden bridge that looked very old and falling apart.
"We can't bring the carriage on that," said Willa.
"I think we're doomed," said Dillard.
"Quit being overdramatic," said Maybeck.
"Well guys we'll have to abandon the carriage," said Finn. "We let the horses go to, hopefully finding their way back.
Everyone sadly agreed.
They took out the necessary stuff from the carriage and dumped it on the side of the road.
They also let the horses go, watching them run off to hopefully get back home.
They all then walked up to the bridge and just stared at it.
"Did I mention I'm afraid of heights?" asked Philby.
"We should all go at once," said Charlene.
"I disagree," said Jess.
"No one cares," said Maybeck. "You're not apart of the quest."
"Hey!" said Dillard. "Don't talk to her like that."
"Let me deal with this," said Finn. "Why do you disagree Jess?"
"It will slow all of you down more," said Jess. "You apparently need to get to Maleficent's fast. Taking your time across this bridge will take longer."
"Well she does have a point," said Willa.
"I could try to use magic to hold up the bridge," said Philby. "Just pray I don't look down."
"Well…I'm not going first!" said Maybeck.
The girls giggled a little.
"I'll go first," said Finn. "One by one then start following me."
Everyone nodded and Finn walked up to the bridge.
He took a deep breath, and put one foot on it.
He heard it creek as he put weight on it.
He gulped and then continued across it.
After he got on, Philby went on, using magic to try and steady it.
Maybeck then came, then Charlene, then Willa, then Dillard, and Jess last.
All of them continued across, hearing it constantly creek.
Pretty soon they were in the middle.
"We're almost there!" said Finn.
Suddenly, everyone heard something.
It was a single snap.
"Uh-oh," said Dillard.
"Philby?" asked Willa.
Philby was flicking his hands constantly.
"Something's not right!" he said. "My magic stopped working!"
"What?" asked Charlene.
"Someone's blocking it!" said Philby.
Everyone began to eye Jess.
"No it's not me!" she said.
"You're the only other mage here!" yelled Maybeck.
But then suddenly, a bolt of green burst came out of nowhere and hit one of the ropes on the bridge.
"Green magic?" asked Dillard.
"Oh god it's Maleficent!" said Philby. "She's watching us!"
They heard more snapping then.
"RUN!" Finn yelled.
Everyone began to run faster across the bridge, hearing more snapping.
But then it was too late.
Another green burst came crashing down at the other side and the bridge gave way.
It broke apart and everyone screamed as they went falling down into the river below.
They all hit the water and began getting carried down the rushing waters.
They were unable to swim and barely able to surface.
Thankfully they were all able to somehow not get hit in the heads by rocks.
But it still didn't matter that Finn thought he was going to die right here.
Killed by Maleficent by water.
Soon enough, the Keepers were dragged into calm waters.
And one by one they were all dragged onto land.
After a minute of not stirring, each of them sat up coughing out water.
"Oh god!" gasped Philby. "I thought I was a goner!"
"I'm alive!" gasped Maybeck. "Wet but alive!"
Everyone sat up coughing out water.
All but Charlene.
"She's not breathing!" yelled Willa.
"Let me!" yelled Maybeck.
He stepped up and began pressing down on her chest.
He was trying to push the water out of her.
"No Maybeck!" yelled Finn. "You'll break her lungs! Let me!"
He pushed Maybeck aside and sat down over her.
Finn sighed, upset he had to do this.
But his father had taught him how to.
He leaned down and put his mouth over Charlene and breathed in.
He did it once and then pressed his ear on her chest.
When it didn't work, he breathed into her mouth again.
He did it several times, but nothing happened.
"My god," said Philby. "Maybe this is where a Keeper dies. Because we broke the prophecy!"
But then suddenly, Finn breathed in once more, and Charlene began coughing up water.
She was alive.
Everyone gasped happily.
"Charlene you're ok!" said Finn.
Charlene blinked and stared up at Finn.
"Finn?" she asked. "You saved me!"
"Uh…yeah," said Finn. "You're welcome."
Before Finn knew it Charlene pressed her lips against Finn's.
Everyone gasped at that.
Fortunately for Finn, he made it only last a second as he pushed himself right off her.
"Whoa elf girl!" said Finn. "Easy there!"
"I'm sorry!" said Charlene. "But you saved my life! That was your reward."
"What about me?" asked Maybeck. "I almost tried to help."
"He was pressing down on your chest," said Jess.
"Really?" asked Charlene. "Well then close your eyes and you'll get it."
Maybeck squealed and closed his eyes.
But as he leaned in for a kiss he thought he was going to get, he instead got a kick in the nuts.
He gasped and fell to the ground.
The gang laughed as he was in pain.
But that laughter died down after a few second when they all remembered their situation.
"We fell off the bridge," said Philby. "We're now off course! I think lost!"
"Now we've really fallen behind!" said Willa.
"I blame Blondie!" said Maybeck.
He eyed Jess.
"Hey this is not her fault!" yelled Dillard.
"He's right," said Finn. "It's not."
"But she suggested everyone get on the bridge!" said Willa.
"We had no idea Maleficent was watching," said Finn. "This is not Jess' fault."
"Alright fine," said Charlene. "But I still have an eye on her!"
"So what do we do now?" asked Maybeck.
Finn looked up at the sky.
The sun looked like it was setting.
"I suggest we make camp," he said. "Trust me I hate it but we're weak and wet and need to rest."
Everyone sighed and began to make camp.
Finn stayed to help Charlene get up.
He still could only think of one thing other than that the quest was now delayed.
He had his first kiss not with Amanda, but an elf named Charlene.
And he felt surprised and hurt.
OMG! I did the kiss scene with Finn and Charlene like in Book Five! Or was it Six? I forget. But now the Keepers are off course! And if I planned these chapters right, we see another character from the books in the next chapter! So stay tuned!
See you next update! Review please dearies!
From your favorite Fanguy,
Jacob/Hades/Rumpelstiltskin/Sonicphantom47