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Do not come after me. Because death awaits you in this world. The nib of the pen scratched against the parchment as I spent my last moments at the writing desk. “Quintalline, stop fretting!” The little glass man had been pacing the shelves for days after the news of my awaiting end. “Your new master will be just as good! So long you do your job properly!” Quintalline grumbled over his shoulder as he climbed up the desk to scatter some sand onto the fresh ink. “They definitely won’t feed me enough!" With a mutter he settled into sleep, his glass joints clicking with a crystalline ring. I stretched my arms and relished the last night I would have. Steadily, I creased the letter into a small crane and whispered a few words under my breath. A tear began to appear in the air, the seams ripping to create a portal. “I hope you get this in time.” With my last wishes said, I gently pushed the crane into the wormhole and waited for my end.
She waited. She waited every single day for him to come back. To hear the sound of the doorbell ringing. To see the large stack of books he always took back for her. To feel his embrace again. But he didn’t come.
Cora picked on others. She wasn’t genuinely mean, but something had to fill up the vast void of loneliness in her heart. Every day she sat alone. After he left, Cora became hollow. So, she took it out on others. She wasn’t particularly big so she used her words to attack. Oh words. The one thing her father had loved most. He would sit at his desk for hours, conjuring up lands of fairies and trolls, forests with prowling beasts that could kill you in seconds. And Cora could only sit in amazement as her father typed away these magical words, the lulling click of the typewriter filling all her senses. But now, now things were different. She lived all alone still waiting for him to come back. Until she found the crane.
Since her father left her, Cora had always neatened up his study in vain of his reunion with her. But then one day, she saw something out of place. The shelf on top of his desk was always filled with little glass animals, collected from his travels. Cora knew them off by heart. An elephant from India, a white tiger from Nepal (one of his rarest), a phoenix from Greece and a red – crowned crane from Japan. Except…it wasn’t a crane. In place of the delicate glass bird, a roughly folded paper crane sat innocently amid it all. Cora blinked. She reached for the parchment and slowly unfolded it.
Dear Cora,
You may have wondered where I’ve been – I hope you haven’t been worried sick. You may not believe what I am about to say, but I trust you with this information.
You know that book I always loved? What was that it called? The Seas of Tarronia? Well anyways, I’m in the book. I’ve been researching in the Royal institute here and I’ve found what this is called. A ‘book warp’ is what happens when readers get sucked into the very lines they were on. And yes, I am enjoying it here though I am trying to figure out how to come back. But I warn you. Do NOT come after me because death awaits you in this world.
Father
The last line smudged as one tear fell onto the page. That was all it took. One tear and Cora disappeared. Later she wouldn’t even believe how such a fuss grew from a tear. But it was inevitable. She just didn’t know what was waiting for her in the printed world beneath the pages…
Cora gasped. It was all she could do for that moment. Everything around her seemed to be frozen in eternal beauty. A luscious canopy of leaves surrounded her and sweet-smelling flowers adorned bushes. The hypnotising smell of the flowers clouded Cora’s mind, and without thinking, she grabbed a sweet berry from the branches and ate it. The syrupy flesh melted in her mouth but when she turned to look around her, the forest revealed its true form. The tree she was leaning against was just a blackened stump and all the bushes were burnt. Tendrils of smoke calmly rose from the scene. Now the flowers weren’t sweet, but they were intoxicating, the smell rising from the plants and curling around Cora’s throat until she choked on herself. The leaves were not the luscious green, but they were dark silver, and the veins were skeletal. The trees were reaching limbs now, the branches not surrounding her, but trapping her. The woods were ebony black, and shadows seemed to fill the place where light was. But the thing that scared her most was not the forest. It was the looming figure that now stooped over Cora.
A woman gazed over her. A white cloak billowed around her and the edges of her dress was tattered, leaving wisps of delicate fabric in the air. A light veil covered her face and she seemed to radiate with warmth but Cora could sense something. The lady smiled at her and whispered something into the air. Come with me. Her voice was soft and gentle and Cora reached out as if in a trance. The world spun and the last thing she felt was a sharp pain in her head.
“Wake up! The Queen’s soldiers can’t see me here!” Cora opened her eyes and saw someone looking back at her. “You’re finally awake! Don’t you know anything? You almost got taken by the White Women!” A girl stared back at her in disbelief. She had fiery red hair and a pair of aviator goggles rested on her head. Cora sat up. “Where am I?” The girl rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know anything?” Cora shook her head. “You really won’t understand what I’m saying, but I think I come from a different world.” The girl looked shocked. “The other side? You’re from there?”
As they were walking back to her house, the girl explained to Cora. “My name is Cecilia. My father left me 2 years ago for an expedition but he never came back.” Cora was surprised at how close Cecilia’s story was to her own. “This kingdom is ruled by the High queen and all her witches. Do not get in her way.” Cecilia’s eyes hardened at the thought. “My mother was taken by the queen and now all she wants is revenge.” They walked in silence until they crossed a familiar looking face printed on a poster. It couldn’t be. She glanced at the poster again. “Who is that?” Her voice shook as she asked Cecilia. “Oh, that’s John Fa- wait. Cora, what did you say your name was again?” Her eyes widened as everything started to click together. Cora took a breath. “Farrow. Cora Farrow.” Cecilia looked in disbelief. “John Farrow is your father?” Cora nodded, her heart turning cold. “He’s getting executed next week.”
“We have to stop it!” “But how?” Cecilia looked back sadly. “Can’t you just break into the prison?” Suddenly, an idea came to mind. “We have to find the enchantress.” Cecilia was sceptical to tell Cora her idea but it was the only way. “We have to pack.” She led her into a small room filled with random pieces of clockwork, metal, and glass. At the end of the room was a small wardrobe. Cecilia rummaged for some clothes and grabbed some food for the journey. Cora stood silent next to her and traced her fingers along the map of the kingdom. “It will take us three days to get there. Just hope that nothing gets in our way.” And so, they set off.
The outskirts of the town was bordered by the Blackwood forest, a divide between the elves’ city and the village. “Let’s go.” Cecilia took a breath and pushed past the first few branches of the dipping trees. “Why are you willing to help me?” Cora stopped in the middle of the thick tree trunks. “Firstly, because I love a good adventure,” a smile crept across Cecilia’s face, “but also because your story is so similar to mine.” They walked in silence until they reached the heart of the forest. “Can you hear that?” Cora stopped suddenly. The faint sound of someone playing the flute could be heard in the distance. Cecilia stopped walking. “Don’t make a sound. She walked quietly forward until she could see a figure sitting on a rock. It was a hermit. The old man looked calm but Cecilia knew of his intentions. Before she could even say anything, Cecilia could sense that the hermit and disappeared but now left an obstacle in the way. When they tried to walk to the other side of the river, an invisible boundary held them back. Cecilia, with no hope pulled a feathered arrow and slung it onto the bow. In a swift movement she punctured the boundary and the wall shattered, pieces of iridescent glass falling onto the ground.
Do not come after me. Because death awaits you in this world. The nib of the pen scratched against the parchment as I spent my last moments at the writing desk. “Quintalline, stop fretting!” The little glass man had been pacing the shelves for days after the news of my awaiting end. “Your new master will be just as good! So long you do your job properly!” Quintalline grumbled over his shoulder as he climbed up the desk to scatter some sand onto the fresh ink. “They definitely won’t feed me enough!" With a mutter he settled into sleep, his glass joints clicking with a crystalline ring. I stretched my arms and relished the last night I would have. Steadily, I creased the letter into a small crane and whispered a few words under my breath. A tear began to appear in the air, the seams ripping to create a portal. “I hope you get this in time.” With my last wishes said, I gently pushed the crane into the wormhole and waited for my end.
She waited. She waited every single day for him to come back. To hear the sound of the doorbell ringing. To see the large stack of books he always took back for her. To feel his embrace again. But he didn’t come.
Cora picked on others. She wasn’t genuinely mean, but something had to fill up the vast void of loneliness in her heart. Every day she sat alone. After he left, Cora became hollow. So, she took it out on others. She wasn’t particularly big so she used her words to attack. Oh words. The one thing her father had loved most. He would sit at his desk for hours, conjuring up lands of fairies and trolls, forests with prowling beasts that could kill you in seconds. And Cora could only sit in amazement as her father typed away these magical words, the lulling click of the typewriter filling all her senses. But now, now things were different. She lived all alone still waiting for him to come back. Until she found the crane.
Since her father left her, Cora had always neatened up his study in vain of his reunion with her. But then one day, she saw something out of place. The shelf on top of his desk was always filled with little glass animals, collected from his travels. Cora knew them off by heart. An elephant from India, a white tiger from Nepal (one of his rarest), a phoenix from Greece and a red – crowned crane from Japan. Except…it wasn’t a crane. In place of the delicate glass bird, a roughly folded paper crane sat innocently amid it all. Cora blinked. She reached for the parchment and slowly unfolded it.
Dear Cora,
You may have wondered where I’ve been – I hope you haven’t been worried sick. You may not believe what I am about to say, but I trust you with this information.
You know that book I always loved? What was that it called? The Seas of Tarronia? Well anyways, I’m in the book. I’ve been researching in the Royal institute here and I’ve found what this is called. A ‘book warp’ is what happens when readers get sucked into the very lines they were on. And yes, I am enjoying it here though I am trying to figure out how to come back. But I warn you. Do NOT come after me because death awaits you in this world.
Father
The last line smudged as one tear fell onto the page. That was all it took. One tear and Cora disappeared. Later she wouldn’t even believe how such a fuss grew from a tear. But it was inevitable. She just didn’t know what was waiting for her in the printed world beneath the pages…
Cora gasped. It was all she could do for that moment. Everything around her seemed to be frozen in eternal beauty. A luscious canopy of leaves surrounded her and sweet-smelling flowers adorned bushes. The hypnotising smell of the flowers clouded Cora’s mind, and without thinking, she grabbed a sweet berry from the branches and ate it. The syrupy flesh melted in her mouth but when she turned to look around her, the forest revealed its true form. The tree she was leaning against was just a blackened stump and all the bushes were burnt. Tendrils of smoke calmly rose from the scene. Now the flowers weren’t sweet, but they were intoxicating, the smell rising from the plants and curling around Cora’s throat until she choked on herself. The leaves were not the luscious green, but they were dark silver, and the veins were skeletal. The trees were reaching limbs now, the branches not surrounding her, but trapping her. The woods were ebony black, and shadows seemed to fill the place where light was. But the thing that scared her most was not the forest. It was the looming figure that now stooped over Cora.
A woman gazed over her. A white cloak billowed around her and the edges of her dress was tattered, leaving wisps of delicate fabric in the air. A light veil covered her face and she seemed to radiate with warmth but Cora could sense something. The lady smiled at her and whispered something into the air. Come with me. Her voice was soft and gentle and Cora reached out as if in a trance. The world spun and the last thing she felt was a sharp pain in her head.
“Wake up! The Queen’s soldiers can’t see me here!” Cora opened her eyes and saw someone looking back at her. “You’re finally awake! Don’t you know anything? You almost got taken by the White Women!” A girl stared back at her in disbelief. She had fiery red hair and a pair of aviator goggles rested on her head. Cora sat up. “Where am I?” The girl rolled her eyes. “You really don’t know anything?” Cora shook her head. “You really won’t understand what I’m saying, but I think I come from a different world.” The girl looked shocked. “The other side? You’re from there?”
As they were walking back to her house, the girl explained to Cora. “My name is Cecilia. My father left me 2 years ago for an expedition but he never came back.” Cora was surprised at how close Cecilia’s story was to her own. “This kingdom is ruled by the High queen and all her witches. Do not get in her way.” Cecilia’s eyes hardened at the thought. “My mother was taken by the queen and now all she wants is revenge.” They walked in silence until they crossed a familiar looking face printed on a poster. It couldn’t be. She glanced at the poster again. “Who is that?” Her voice shook as she asked Cecilia. “Oh, that’s John Fa- wait. Cora, what did you say your name was again?” Her eyes widened as everything started to click together. Cora took a breath. “Farrow. Cora Farrow.” Cecilia looked in disbelief. “John Farrow is your father?” Cora nodded, her heart turning cold. “He’s getting executed next week.”
“We have to stop it!” “But how?” Cecilia looked back sadly. “Can’t you just break into the prison?” Suddenly, an idea came to mind. “We have to find the enchantress.” Cecilia was sceptical to tell Cora her idea but it was the only way. “We have to pack.” She led her into a small room filled with random pieces of clockwork, metal, and glass. At the end of the room was a small wardrobe. Cecilia rummaged for some clothes and grabbed some food for the journey. Cora stood silent next to her and traced her fingers along the map of the kingdom. “It will take us three days to get there. Just hope that nothing gets in our way.” And so, they set off.
The outskirts of the town was bordered by the Blackwood forest, a divide between the elves’ city and the village. “Let’s go.” Cecilia took a breath and pushed past the first few branches of the dipping trees. “Why are you willing to help me?” Cora stopped in the middle of the thick tree trunks. “Firstly, because I love a good adventure,” a smile crept across Cecilia’s face, “but also because your story is so similar to mine.” They walked in silence until they reached the heart of the forest. “Can you hear that?” Cora stopped suddenly. The faint sound of someone playing the flute could be heard in the distance. Cecilia stopped walking. “Don’t make a sound. She walked quietly forward until she could see a figure sitting on a rock. It was a hermit. The old man looked calm but Cecilia knew of his intentions. Before she could even say anything, Cecilia could sense that the hermit and disappeared but now left an obstacle in the way. When they tried to walk to the other side of the river, an invisible boundary held them back. Cecilia, with no hope pulled a feathered arrow and slung it onto the bow. In a swift movement she punctured the boundary and the wall shattered, pieces of iridescent glass falling onto the ground.