The Time Watchers (TW#1)

Madeline

I stumbled to the camp, the darkness terrifying me. I could hardly breathe, and my stomach was knotted up in worry. Evelyn's gone! She's gone, and she could be dead! I could have done something to stop her! Why didn't I do something?! My sister's gone! I fell on the ground once I got into our tent.

"Madie?" Asked Amelia, kneeling next to me. "What happened?! Where's Evelyn?!"

"She's gone... She left to draw the imposter away..." I kept gasping in air.

"WHAT?!" Charitie ran over to me, kneeling down next to my head. "She can't do that by herself! She can die! When she gets back, I swear, that missy is gonna have such a bad time!"

I was able to look up, seeing everyone in the tent. Connor and Razz were sitting on the forest floor. Amelia and Charitie were kneeld next to me. An oil lamp was in the center of the tent, illuminating everything. Our packs were lined up on the side of the tent.

"Guys, come on," said Connor optimistically, "it's Evelyn. She'll come back. She's fine." I could hear the slight worry in his voice.

"What if she gets caught?!" Barked Razz, starting to break her usually laid-back character. "She could get killed!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Andrew stepped into the tent, seeming worried. He looked down at me, then hurried and knelt down at my side. "Are you hurt? What's going on?"

"I'm... I'm fine." I gasped.

He looked around. "Where's Evelyn?"

"We don't know!" Razz held her hands tightly. "A man pretended to be the sorcerer, and then he chased us, and then Evelyn went missing!"

"Slow down. Why don't you run that by me again?"

Amelia took over. "You know the man who we were running from a few minutes ago?"

"Yes,"

"Well, he dressed up as the sorcerer who sent us, and tried to capture us. He's on War'decla's side. He chased Madie and Evelyn into the woods, and... I don't know what happened after that." She looked down at me, hinting that I needed to say something.

I took a few more breaths before saying anything. "We went down a hill and hid in a spot," I took a breath; "then Evelyn said she could lead him away if he chased her." Another breath; "I couldn't stop her. She just left and ran. He chased after her... I don't know what happened to her."

Andrew looked up to think, wiping a hand over his face tiredly. "... We should set up a search party. We may be able to find her."

"I don't think you need to."

We all turned, seeing Evelyn pull the flap of the tent aside, a notebook in her arms. "Seriously, I'm okay."

I jumped up, everyone running over and hugging her. Andrew stood and smiled, seeming relieved. When we pulled away, Charitie slapped her with a painful smack, and I hissed at the sound.

"Ow," Evelyn rubbed her cheek.

"Yeah. Don't do that!" Her friend barked at her. "You had us all worried!"

Razz held Evelyn in her arms, holding her tightly. "We thought you were gonna die!" Her eyes were streaked with tears.

"Awe, don't cry." Evelyn smiled up at our tall friend. "I'm okay!"

"We're glad you are." Andrew smiled, then frowned. "Why is it that you smell of wine?"

"Okay, so the man who was chasing me took me to this place by teleporting us there. My bracelet used its power to free me from my cell, and as I was escaping, the leader threw a wine bottle at me. He slammed me into a bookshelf, and choked me... But I'm okay! My bracelet saved me. And, I was able to retrieve this!" She showed us the journal she had been holding.

"Is that--?!" Connor gasped.

"Friday's journal!" Evelyn answered gleefully.

"Friday?" Andrew asked.

"It's the sorcerer's name." Explained my sister.

"Open it up! Let's see if its okay." I said eagerly.

Evelyn opened it to a random page, everyone gathering around her to see what there was to see. I recognized a bit of Latin, but it was so confusing it started giving me a headache. It went from different scripts and different languages, and I couldn't even understand the first word.

"Are these... spells?" Asked Andrew. Amelia rolled her eyes and shook her head, Andrew smiling gingerly from her reaction.

"I don't think so." My sister said, turning the pages carelessly. "I'm pretty sure these are pages full of... hm..." She rubbed her greasy, wine smelling head. "His experiences, maybe. It could be some sort of diary."

"Looky! There's our bracelets!" Charitie pointed to a page. We examined it, seeing a few different sketches of our watches. One was how it normally looked, and another was the components inside, all of them labelled.

"That's fascinating!" Exclaimed Andrew, clapping with delight like a little kid who just ate something delicious. "The magic there is so complex! That Friday sorcerer must be the smartest magician alive! I hope I can meet this man in person."

"Uh, maybe?" Evelyn shrugged and smiled happily. "It does look amazing, doesn't it?"

Connor smiled and nodded. "Yeah, my dad's pretty amazing."

I looked over at him. "I thought you said that you'd only say yes if your real dad did something to you again."

He shrugged. "I made up my mind. I want him to adopt me."

We were all looking at him now.

"I don't want to come home to a hateful alcoholic like my real dad. I'd rather come home to a smiling, genius, awkward goof like Friday. Plus, he said if I ever changed my mind, he'd take me in whenever." He shrugged yet again.

Andrew was confused, but spoke up first. "Well, if this Friday said he'd adopt you, and he is a kind man, I am happy for you."

"Thank you,"

"Daras letoran. Now, once we are ready, we should get going again. We've still got a long walk ahead." With that, the king turned and left the tent.

We were silent, before Evelyn broke the silence: "I need a bath."

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