Jim Lake Jr.
It was a lovely sunny day, perfect for a casual ride along the backroads in the valley beyond Arcadia Oaks as Jim drove his prized blue moped, following the winding road that slithered through the sea of greenery like a black serpent beneath a cloudless blue sky, wind roaring against his ears as he picked up speed. Suddenly, as if time had slowed, he faintly heard a familiar voice calling from a distance.
"Jimmy!"
In the blink of an eye, Jim stood upon a meadow of wild grass and flowers beneath clear blue skies stretched as far as the eye could see.
"Jimmy!"
Again, he catches the name in the wind, its familiar and light voice reminding him of one particular little girl who once called him by that nickname. Sweeping his gaze across the sea of green, he catches sight of a little girl waving to him excitedly, her bright, innocent smile shining like the dawn of a new day.
"Come on, Jimmy!"
Beckoning him to follow, she turned around and ran, her little turquoise dress with white frills folding in the wind as the breeze swept through her wavy, golden-brown hair.
"H-Hey, wait for me!" He runs after the little girl, whose playful giggles echo across the field. "Come on, slowpoke!"
"Wait!"
"Lizzie!"
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Jim groaned as his morning alarm went off, interrupting his dream—one of many he'd had almost every night for the past month. Each dream was filled with old memories of his childhood friend, Lizzie, whom he lost one tragic night ten years ago, never to be seen again.
Sliding off the motor pedal magazine from his face, he turns to look at the time: 6:00 A.M. He better get moving. He promised his best friend, Toby, to make lunch for him that day.
Jim quickly gets out of bed to start his day, unaware that in a few moments, everything he thought he knew was about to change.
Unknown
Along the sidewalk heading towards Arcadia Oaks High, a girl with golden brown wavy hair and turquoise eyes walked beside her tall friend with hazel-colored eyes partially covered by indigo streaks of hair.
"You sure you want to enroll in this school, love? I'm sure Arcadia Oaks Academy would be lucky to have you instead," Douxie asks the girl beside him, his hands in his jacket pockets. The girl sighed lightly. "Again, I'm sure. You don't have to worry about me, Doux. I can take care of myself."
Douxie chuckled. "Oh, I know that. It's not you that I'm worried about. It's the school."
The girl laughed, looking up at her friend with a raised brow. "Really, Doux?"
He shrugs, smiling at the girl, his hazel eyes twinkling with mirth. "I'm just saying, love. You'll be sweeping people off their feet once they meet you."
"Like I did with you?" She smirked.
"Ha!" Douxie laughed, rubbing the back of his head before muttering softly to himself. "Not literally, I hope."
The two chuckled as they approached Arcadia Oaks High, the sky lightening with the coming dawn. They walked up the front steps towards the main entrance through the central courtyard. Inside, they went down the hall to the main office, where faculty were prepping for another school day. A woman with black hair and glasses behind the desk glanced up at their arrival. "Good morning. How may I help you?"
The girl glanced at Douxie, who grinned with two thumbs up, giving her the courage to walk up to the front desk with a polite smile. "Hi there. I'm a new transfer student. I've been told to come today for my first day of school."
"Ah, yes. Can you tell me your name, please?"
"Elizabeth Walker."
After saying goodbye to Douxie and filling out a few paperwork, Liz waited patiently in a chair on the side as the lady went to get the principal. A tall man with black and side gray hair and green eyes entered the office, noticing an unfamiliar face. Curious, he approached the girl with a friendly smile. "Hello there. I don't believe we have met. I am Mr. Strickler, the history teacher."
Liz looks up to greet him. However, she senses something strange about the man. Shaking off the thought, she smiled back politely and held out a hand to shake. "Elizabeth Walker, but everyone calls me Liz. Nice to meet you, Mr. Strickler."
As the two shook hands, the lady returned with a short, middle-aged man. "Ah, I see that you two are acquainted. Perfect. Welcome to Arcadia Oaks High, Miss Walker. I am Principal Levit. I have your class schedule here, and your first class of the day will be with Mr. Strickler. Since you're here early, why don't you explore around to get familiar with the campus? Mr. Strickler, would you mind giving Miss Walker a small tour?"
Mr. Strickler nodded. "Not at all. Come along, Miss Walker. We'll start with my office first."
Liz follows Mr. Strickler down the corridor to his office. After dropping off his bag and explaining his open office hours, the tall teacher guides her throughout campus, pinpointing each area: the classrooms, bathrooms, gym, library, cafeteria, auditorium, and central courtyard. Just before Liz could thank her teacher, a sharp pain followed by a burning sensation coursed through her body, making her stumble with a gasp. Kanji.
"Are you alright?" Mr. Strickler asked, glancing at his new student with worry. Liz clenched her jaw but quickly hid her pain with a smile. "Quite alright, Mr. Strickler. I, uh, just realized I forgot something at home."
Quirking a brow, the teacher glanced at his watch, then back to the young girl before him. "Ah, I see. School won't be starting for about another hour. I presume that should be enough time for you to reach home and back here on time?"
Liz nodded, slowly stepping backward. "Yes, that should be enough. See you later today in class, Mr. Strickler."
Waving at him, Liz quickly turned and left the school, her feet carrying her to a secluded spot outside the campus as the burning sensation across her body faded. Feeling a heavy weight in her gut, she teleported to an empty alleyway, where a teleportation circle was placed as a waypoint in the town square.
Keeping an eye out for passersby, she exits the alleyway and heads down the sidewalk, passing a row of shops until she catches sight of her blue motorbike parked in front of a bookstore with a sign on its window that reads: GDT Arcane Books.
Thankful for a moment that Douxie was in Arcadia Oaks Academy, Liz fished out her keys from the inner pocket of her denim jacket and hopped onto her bike. As soon as she turned on the engine, she sped towards Arcadia Oaks Canal, hoping that what she felt earlier was perhaps a fluke and that Kanjigar was alright. After dodging past the morning traffic, she parks her motorcycle on the side of the road just before the bridge. Then she ran through the trees towards the canal until she stopped at the edge, gasping in shock as her hand instantly covered her mouth and stared in horror.
At the bottom of the canal were broken pieces of stone, and in its center, gleaming under the sunlight, was the Amulet of Daylight. Liz immediately recognized who it was: Kanjigar the Courageous, her mentor, and her foster father, Kanji.
"N-no." She muttered, unaware of the tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe it. Kanji is...
Liz shook her head, hoping to get rid of what she thought was a horrible nightmare, but alas, the reality was hard to ignore as the Amulet of Daylight twinkled in the sunlight.
But how did this happen? Kanji has always been cautious with daylight and would never have let himself be exposed to it unless...he did so willingly to protect the Amulet of Daylight from the wrong hands.
Only one such troll came to mind: Bular, the Butcher.
Liz scans through her surroundings for any signs of the Gumm-Gumm prince, but he is nowhere to be seen. Since the sun has fully risen, she believes Bular to be long gone. However, she knows she has to keep the Amulet of Daylight safe before it gets lost or ends up in the wrong hands, so she makes her way down the slope of the canal.
Before Liz could descend the slope to the bottom, a black-haired boy with a blue helmet, jacket, jeans, and bike appeared in her peripheral vision. With a loud cheer, he landed and slid down the opposite slope of the canal. Surprised by his appearance, she hid atop the steel frames supporting the bridge above her, letting the shadows cloak her from view. The blue boy stopped at the bottom with his back facing Liz and shouted, "Come on, Tobes!"
Glancing back to where the boy came from, another boy approaches. A short, chubby boy with orange-red hair tucked underneath a white helmet with orange stripes in the middle, wearing a red sweater vest over a yellow button-up shirt, brown pants, and white shoes. This boy must be "Tobes."
The poor boy was gasping, trying to catch his breath. Still, he started rolling down the slope, passing by the blue boy to the opposite slope, only to slide back down to the bottom of the canal, where he fell on the ground.
That was when Liz noticed the blue boy laying down his bike, removing his helmet, and heading towards a stone pile on the other side of the bridge with his friend following behind him. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the blue boy approach the stone pile, asking his friend if he heard a voice. They screamed and fell back in surprise when a voice called out, "James Lake."
Liz's eyes widened, recognizing Kanjigar's voice. It can't be. He's calling for —
"That! That pile of rocks knows my name," shouted the blue boy, James Lake, who crawls toward the pile and finds the Amulet of Daylight. As James analyzes the amulet closely, Tobes looks around, shouting, "Who's doing this? Come out now!"
Not wanting to be seen, Liz tucks herself further into the shadows. That's impossible. It cannot be. The Amulet of Daylight has chosen its next champion—a human.
Suddenly, a school bell rings from a distance, breaking Liz's thoughts and alerting the two boys below her. The boys quickly ran for their bikes and headed toward the direction of the school. Not wanting to be late either, especially on her first day, Liz had no choice but to leave behind the crumbled corpse of her mentor and foster figure as she got on her bike and raced to school.
Edited: 8/29/2024
Hello there!
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! I'm new to the writing-your-own-stories business on Wattpad, and this is my very first fanfiction.
While reading, feel free to leave some critiques. I would appreciate any feedback on how I'm doing with my writing and if there is anything that I can improve on.
Also, I came up with an activity for you all. There will be a question at the end of each chapter that you can answer freely if you choose to. It may relate to the Tales of Arcadia fandom, this fanfic, or the readers (nothing personal ofc). For example:
Fandom Question: Who is your favorite character from Tales of Arcadia?
Fanfic Question: When did you start reading this fanfic? [mm/dd/yy]
Readers Question: What is your Hogwarts house?
I would like to see your responses and get to know my readers, especially their likes and interests. And who knows, we may have something in common <3
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Happy reading!
- Miss_Nightingale