Prologue[]
Not too long ago, a rumor came around that the famed scholar-magician Møller-Alberto family has recently lost one of their children. The news spread to the whole island, from the heart of Lamplight Town to even the heights of Skywatch. The story follows: “They day that the poor kid turned mad. Apparently there’s even a haunted house on the southwest side of Firefly...not sure if it’s made by ‘em.”
While nowadays the rumor has died down a bit, it seems that many dare not venture to this house. Is there a real truth to this? What happened to the child?
In the house itself, Lillemor was quite annoyed at how much had to be done. Work and notes had to be organized, books had to be sorted, the house had to be cleaned, and dust was everywhere. “Never shall work be done with this clutter.” Lillemor huffed as her metal shoes clunked against the wooden floor, causing the planks to creak and groan. This house was everything. It held the present, the past, and possibly her future. One more east-blowing storm and it could possibly fall apart. The window shutters shook with cold wind, seeming as though they wanted to open up to the west winds.
Chapter 1[]
“Adrienne, I’ve had it up to here with your antics! You are hereby suspended for a week, starting tomorrow!” Yelled the teacher. Adrienne Ironshard was a girl known for her misconduct and mischief at the Academy. She runs down the halls, teases some people, and can even be a little rowdy at times. “But—” Adrienne was cut off. “No buts!” The teacher replied, who clearly looked like she had enough. Adrienne left the classroom with a heavy heart and a heavy notebook. Was mother and father going to know about this? Was she going to be grounded for the 300th time? After all, this was her first time suspended. She was surely going to be in trouble. Was it really her fault though? Adrienne sighed. There was clearly not going to be a good end to this. (When did a suspension ever turn out good?)
When Adrienne returned home, she opened up the family’s little blue mailbox. A letter from uncle Allen, a postcard, and a yellowed envelope. Taking them out of the mailbox, she looked at each one to see who it was addressed to. Uncle Allen’s letter was for her parents, the postcard for Adrienne’s siblings and her, and the yellowed envelope was just for her. Who in the world wanted to write a letter to Adrienne specifically? She proceeded to stick her hand in the envelope to look for it contents. She came out with two notes. One read, “Who are you?” and the other, “Is there anything beyond this island?” Adrienne read through the two notes again and again. Such silly questions, she thought.
But the questions buzzed around her head the rest of the day. Her mother was reading a book when she spotted Adrienne reading the notes that were sent to her. "Watcha got there, Adri?"
"Nothing. Just some notes someone sent me." At this, the mother smiled a small smirk. "Must be a love letter." She said, looking a bit smug. Adrienne was a bit shocked at this statement. But then an idea hit her. Let Mother think its a love letter all she wants, but she'll never know that it truly just notes. Adrienne ran off to the kitchen to grab a snack or two. As she darted into the kitchen, she opened a cookie jar and a plate, taking seven cookies all to herself, then running outside of the house. "Lock the door!" Adrienne's mother called after her.
Chapter 2[]
We all know that kids love hiding places or secret hideouts, and Adrienne's stayed with her as soon as she could run. It was a small clearing in Firefly forest, with a few flower patches and some berry bushes, hidden by the trees and a couple of thorned bushes. Adrienne was going there now, but something caught her eye. It was a corner sticking out of the mailbox opening. She opened the mailbox, and found what corner was sticking out. It was another yellowed envelope, this time bigger and longer than the last one. She took the envelope and continued running towards Firefly Forest to her little clearing.
When she got there, it was exactly how it was the last time. No one, just her. Adrienne picked off a berry from one of the bushes and ate it. It was as sweet as she could remember.