Rich Kids Don't Die | Featured

Chapter Ten

"BLOODY HELL," Maddie whispered. "What is this place?"

Alex turned to her, the curtains of green, silky moss still resting on his forearm, and smirked. "Welcome, Maddie Dominic, to the sparkling world of Zia – Land of the Silver Sands, home to the Greek realm of magic."

The air smelled of musk, with a cool, crisp air blanketing the city. From the ends of the damp soil Maddie and Alex had stumbled into, the earthy brown faded into a shiny, gleaming and damp soil-like substance of grey. When Maddie reached to touch it, she realized what it was – sand. Sparkling, damp, sand.

"Were you even listening?" Alex asked. "I literally just said that. Land of the Silver Sands, remember?"

Maddie rolled her eyes from where she had crouched down, and patted the soft, damp sand once again. Clutching clumps of it, she held her breath. Suddenly, she felt something else in the sand; hard, small, and round.

She dug her fingers into the silver sand, as her small fingers caged around what she had been searching for, and she pulled it out. A pearl. Turning to Alex, she furrowed her brows. "Pearls in the sand? What are these for?"

Alex sent Maddie a sheepish smile. "They help retain the magic of the place. All you have to do it crush them, and a little more of it will come out. Their like tiny, magic bombs! Beneficial to the environment."

Maddie nodded, her small smile growing. This wasn't something she'd seen before, but she was more than ready to grow used to the scenery. The sky was clear, strips of turquoise instead of cerulean. An aroma of driftwood and salt wafted in the air.

"Get up. There's more to see." Alex said.

Obliging, Maddie followed Alex past the silky moss deeper into Zia. She decided to abandon the sandals, and let her toes wriggle in the soft silver sand. It was slightly damp, as if it had been blanketed in foamy seawater for a split-second, and left a gleaming imprint onto her skin, as regular beach sand would have done. It was exhilarating. Fresh.

They treaded on forwards, passing green or blue-domed houses that were a pristine, crisp white. Children flooded the area, as if they too had only just gotten out of school. Magic school, perhaps? They squealed, clashing into each other as they poured out of a much bigger, white building. This dome, however, was patterned, with a large ribbon on the facade – Greenwind, School of Magical Studies.

A small sentence had been engraved right below it. Admissions Open Now! Maddie turned to Alex, mouth hanging open in utter awe. "You guys have a school, too?"

Alex grinned like a chesire cat. "Of course, Maddie. This is our own realm. This was our own choice." Once again, Maddie looked hard at the children. They seemed normal. Bustling about, in a hurry to leave. All ages, shouting and mucking around for a laugh.

They wore regular shoes, with occasional sweaters and hoodies for the wind. Luckily for them, instead of sloshing about in the sand, there had been a stone pathway created solely for students. Maddie looked down at her feet and tried hard not to grimace.

Eventually, they passed the children and moved on to where street markets were placed. Merchants with funny accents hollered to a chattering crowd. An array of fruits, in fuchsia, mint, violet, and even forest green, hung onto the stands, whilst some other stands held shining rich silks, sky-blue muslin, rosy satin, and – you get the idea.