Lost Paradise

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The halls are dimly lit by lamps on either side, casting shadows across the room. At the end is a huge ,round, mahogany table with eight chairs but one is taller and the strange girl sits in it. She gestures for us to take a seat. Josh sits beside me, his eyes wide as he watches us all sit down. He's eating the apples I saw him with in the basket, he offers me one but I shake my head.

The girl beams with pride.

"My name is Joy." She says and studies each of us carefully.

"You must be hungry!" She exclaims as if it's obvious. Then stands and elegantly strides over to a cupboard.

I catch Nessie's gaze from across the table, she lifts an eyebrow and I shrug in reply.

"Here you go." Joy passes round plates of bread and glasses of red liquid. The bread has strange yellow seeds in it and I have no clue what the drink is but I suddenly feel my mouth water. The last couple of days we have drank from the small pool of water and I realise my mouth is sandpaper dry. It all tastes delicious.

Christina finishes her bread and brushes the crumbs off her hands.

"If you don't mind me asking." She says turning to face Joy, "but do you know how we got here?"

"I brought you here." Joy whispers and bows her head as if she's embarrassed.

Christina bangs her fist on the table.

"Well, there better be a good reason!" She spits at Joy. Which is quite rude saying it the host.

"There is." Then Joy stands up and walks out of sight down one of the hallways. The click of her shoes is the only sound.

I watch Christina as she sighs and takes a sip of her drink. Nessie and I exchange another glance.

Joy returns carrying a box with a velvet, orange sheet over the top of it.

No one says anything but we are all thinking the same: what is that? What has it got to do with us being here? Where is here?

With a swipe of her hand, Joy whips the cloth away, revealing a small, white rose. Our group stares at it in silence. One of the white petals begins to curl up.

"It..it's dying!" Amy whispers, breaking the silence that hangs over the room.

Seth nods, "you need to water it; do you want me to get you some from the lake?" Seth questions Joy, trying to be polite.

"No." Joy replies firmly. "This rose is the reason that your all here!"

"Your going to have to explain." Christina says leaning back in her chair, running her fingers through her waves of brown hair.

"Yeah, I'm a bit confused." I say adding to what had been said.

Joy cleared her throat.

"This is not an ordinary rose. It's special. If it dies all the wildlife and plants in this world die too." She pauses to look at us. "Your friend is right: it does need water. But the water has to be from the magic fountain of beauty, across the hills."

Josh bites his lip and stares at the table.

"And you want us to get that water?" He asks Joy, watching as the rose slowly dries out.

She nods.

"I would go myself but if I leave, the rose dies faster."

"Excuse me but can you tell where this place is?" I say. Asking the question that everyone is thinking.

"This place.... Is like... a different dimension." Joy replies between pauses. My mouth drops open in shock. What? But before we can say anything Joy continues.

"Time passes differently, two weeks here could be two hours on earth."

I look up at Nessie. That means our parents won't even know that we're missing for another week or more. Nessie's face goes pale. But Joy can send us back, so if we get the water we will go home. No one will know we've been gone. Maybe that's a good thing.

Joy tells us we can sleep in the castle, there are enough beds for us all. But before we leave to go and sleep she says:

"When you go to the fountain there will be three terrors. I'm sorry, but that is all I know."

I sleep better than I have done in days. Knowing, like everyone else, that I will need my energy for tomorrow.