FREE CHILDREN'S BOOK

                                                                                            LYANNA’S ADVENTURE
                                                                                                                  BY
                                                                                                     RICK KURTIS

                                                                                            LYANNA’S ADVENTURE
                                                                                                                  BY
                                                                                                     RICK KURTIS

                                                                         Chapter 1                 A Walk in the Park   
                                                                                                    age 10
            The sun in North Las Vegas on Bassler Street shone bright and felt warm and happy. Lyanna and her sister, Sanbrina played together in the backyard. Little-man, their pet cat, came running out the back door with Milo, their pet dog following close behind. “Milo, leave that cat alone,” Lyanna yelled.
The two began to chase Milo around the backyard, and Lyanna heard her phone ringing. You see, normally, Lyanna had her phone on her at all times, but today she forgot to charge it up, so she left it in the house on the charger. She ran as fast as she could, but by the time she made it to the phone it stopped ringing.
Lyanna looked at the number and became very sad. Her daddy walked in and sat down in the living room and said, “Was that your mom?”
Lyanna walked over with her sad look, curled up on her daddy’s lap and snuggled in. “Yes,” she said, “but I missed it.” Daddy gave her a big hug and said, “That’s okay, baby. She might be able to call later, and you can explain.”
Lyanna sighed, “Yeah, I know. I just miss her.”
Daddy heard her baby brother, Chris waking up from his nap, and sat her up and said, “Well, I have to get back to work. Tell Sanbrina to come and help me change and feed Chris. It’s such a beautiful day outside today, why don’t you take Milo for a walk in the park. Sanbrina and I can stay here to watch Chris. Maybe that will help to clear your mind.”
Lyanna thought and agreed it to be a good idea. She gave her daddy a kiss with a smile, and grabbed the leash that hung on the doorknob. She called out, “Milo, come here, boy.”
Milo always came with a big happy, tail wagging dance every time Lyanna called him.
Sanbrina came in too. Lyanna put the leash on Milo’s collar and said to Sanbrina, “Daddy needs your help changing Chris’s diaper, and I’m taking Milo for a walk in the park.”
Sanbrina answered, “Can I go with you?”
“No. Daddy needs your help. Besides, you said you were going to feed Little-man this morning. Where is he anyway?”
Sanbrina frowned, “Milo chased him over the wall.”
Daddy came out with Chris in his arms and said, “Sanbrina, would you please get me a bottle ready?”
With that said, Lyanna stepped through the door with Milo by her side. It didn’t take long and they walked around the whole park. There in the park she saw mothers pushing their baby strollers, while others watched their children playing on the playground. When the children saw Lyanna walking with Milo, they whooped and hollered, then they came running over to pet Milo. Milo loved all the attention and rolled over on the ground kicking his feet.
Lyanna shook her head and pulled on his leash. She said, “Come on, Milo, that’s enough. Let’s go.”
Milo jumped to his feet, and the children went back to the playground. Lyanna and Milo left the park and headed home. On their way, Lyanna saw Little-man sitting on top of a wall. “Little-man,” she said, “What are you doing up there?”
Little-man looked down and meowed. Then he looked over at Milo and hissed. Lyanna reached out and said, “Come on, let’s go home.”
Little-man meowed a short, “No.” He jumped down off the wall and ran down the street. Milo barked and took off after him. The leash flew out from Lyanna’s hand and off they went with Lyanna running after the two. “Milo, stop. Come back here,” she yelled. She ran as fast as she could and watched as Little-man and Milo headed straight toward the gigantic stone building. All of a sudden they both disappeared.
Lyanna came to a sudden stop against the stone wall building. She pressed her hands against it and thought, (Where did they go?) She looked around and saw the very end of Milo’s leash sticking out of the bottom of the wall. When she grabbed onto the end, she heard Milo bark, and the leash became taunt, and pulled her into the wall. Lyanna disappeared along with the leash.

                                                                                  Chapter 2                   A Whole New World
 
Lyanna flew through the air and tumbled across the grass on the other side. For a moment, she felt dizzy, and sat up to look around. “This place looks freaking,” she said softly.
The sky sparkled with a rose gold glow instead of blue, and the city of North Las Vegas was gone. She sat in a big open field filled with blue six leaf clovers, and each leaf looked as big as a quarter. She picked one of the clovers to take a closer look and said, “Wow, I thought a four leaf clover was lucky. These must be super lucky. Now where are those two?”
Lyanna took out her phone to call home. She looked at the screen and saw she had no bars. She tried dialing the number anyway, but the phone did nothing but buzz. She stood up and continued to look around and saw flowers that stood as tall as her. They had multicolored petals, blue stems, and pink centers. The trees were tall and skinny, but instead of a straight trunk and branches, they looped around in a circle, looking like a roller coaster ride. Some looped once and some looped twice. Other tree trunks even looped back and made a knot before branching out. “Weird,” she said, as she walked along through the meadow.
Off in the distance she heard a faint, tiny bark. “Milo,” she yelled, “come here, boy.”
The tiny bark grew closer, but she couldn’t see him. She called out again, “Milo, here, boy.”
All of a sudden this little tiny thing jumped out from the grass right into her arms. She didn’t know what it was and fell backwards, pushing it away. It jumped back on her and licked her face and said, “Lyanna, it’s me, Milo. Aren’t you glad to see me? I came when you called. I’m a good boy, right?”
Lyanna rubbed her eyes and held Milo up in her hands. He looked like Milo, but was the size of a small pickle. She looked at his cute puppy face and said, “Milo, you’re so tiny, and you can talk.”
Milo laughed, “I could always talk. I have a brain, you know. You just never heard me before.”
Lyanna stood up still holding Milo in one hand. “Well that’s amazing, simply amazing, but we have to get back home before Daddy gets worried.”
Lyanna walked back to the wall where they came in, but the wall had changed. She felt all over the wall and Milo sniffed for an opening and said, “This is where we came through. I smell are scent. It ends right here. I guess we have to move forward in order to get back.”
Lyanna picked Milo up and placed him into her shirt pocket. She looked down the hill passed the flowers, passed the trees, and saw a tiny, strange looking house far away. “Maybe someone down there will know how we can get back,” she said, and walked off down the hill on a whole new adventure.

                                                                               Chapter 3              Helping a Friend
 
On their way to the house, they saw a red fox sneaking around the house, and looking very suspicious. He opened the side window, and crawled inside. After taking a few more steps toward the house, the red fox came running out from the front door with a box under his arm.
Milo said, “Look, he’s a thief. He’s stealing that box.” Milo jumped down from her pocket and began to run and bark. With every bark, Milo grew bigger and bigger. He grew as big as a car.
The Fox became so scared that he stopped in his tracks. He covered his head and curled up into a ball and said, “Don’t hurt me, please. I had to do it, or else.”
Lyanna picked up the box and asked, “Why did you have to steal something that isn’t yours?”
The Fox shivered, cried, and explained, “The scum cats said I had to, or they would destroy my home.”
Lyanna looked into the box and saw a pair of sparkling blue shoes. She closed the box and said, “Well, you are a bad Fox. We are taking these back. Milo, pick him up and bring him along.”
Milo picked the Fox up in his mouth, and they walked back to the house. When they arrived, Lyanna knocked on the door. A young girl opened the door and said, “Yes?”
Lyanna opened her eyes wide for a better look. The girl looked just like her sister, Sanbrina, but much older, and bigger. At first she stumbled for words and said, “Um, hi, Ah. This Fox climbed into your window and ran out your door with this box. We caught him and brought him back.”
Milo dropped the Fox and the girl said, “Oh my, I knew this would happen. Please, come in.”
Lyanna said, “What about him? He’s a thief and needs to be punished.”
The girl said, “Look at him trembling, all covered with dog slobber. I think he’s learned his lesson. Just let him go.”
The Fox shook off all the slobber and quickly ran away. Milo shrunk back to his pocket-size, and Lyanna picked him up and followed the girl into the house. The girl turned and offered them a seat. “Please sit. My name is Sanbrina. I’m afraid that this is all my fault.”
Lyanna was confused and surprised at the same time. She said, “That’s my sister’s name, and you look a lot like her, just a lot older.”
Sanbrina sat and said, “Yes, how about that. I need you to do me a favor. You see, the Fox was really trying to help me.”
Lyanna smiled and said, “Well really, all I want to do is to get back home.”
Sanbrina knelt down on her knees in front of Lyanna and pleaded, “Oh please, it’s my daddy. They took my daddy.”
Lyanna placed her hand on top of Sabrina’s and said, “Okay, what can I do to help?”
Sanbrina stood up and opened the box with the shoes. “You see, the evil scum cats kidnapped my daddy, and they want these shoes for his release. I was too afraid to go, so when the Fox came, I let him take the shoes, because I already knew why. But with your puppy and my shoes, you can get my daddy back.”
Lyanna asked, “Why do they want the shoes?”
Sanbrina took the shoes out from the box and held them up to her feet. They began to glow and she said, “These are my magic shoes, but my feet are now way too big to fit in them. They think if they have the shoes, they can control their magic.” She then held the shoes up to Lyanna’s feet. “Your feet look like the right size. Here, try them on.”
Lyanna took off her sneakers and tried on the shoes. They were a perfect fit. The shoes glowed so bright and Lyanna felt a tingle all over her body. She said, “Wow, I feel happy and tingly.”
Sanbrina said, “The shoes have accepted you. You can now run so fast that you can fly. Please, you must help.”
Lyanna sat back, still tingly. “Yes, of course. What should I do?”
“With your big dog, you can scare the scum cats into giving back my daddy. Then you can bring him home safe and sound.”
Lyanna stood up. “Okay, where are the scum cats?”
They walked over to the door and Sanbrina pointed. “Way up there, almost at the top of that mountain inside a cave. With the magic shoes, you will have the power to run up the side like flying through the air and you will be able to carry my daddy back down.”
Lyanna smiled and said, “Okay, I guess I can help. I’ll see you later.” She looked at Milo in her pocket and said, “Are you ready, boy?”
Milo smiled with his tongue hanging out. “Roof, Wolf, let’s go.”
Sanbrina waved as Lyanna walked away.

                                                                             Chapter 4                     Finding the Scum cats
 
After Sanbrina closed the door, Milo said, “The magic shoes, let’s try them out.”
Lyanna rolled her eyes and continued to walk. She gave a chuckle and said, “Ha, ha, yeah right. They are probably just ordinary shoes, but will give it a go and run anyway.” She looked at the shoes and said, “Okay, Milo, hold on. Shoes, do your stuff.”
Lyanna began to run and the shoes glowed with bright blue sparkles. All of a sudden she flew across the open meadow so fast the flowers fell over and lost some panels. She ran so fast that the petals looked like a rainbow following her from behind. When she made it to the base of the mountain, she jumped into the air, and glided up the side of the mountain. She squealed with delight, “Weeee, I always wanted to fly.”
Up the side of the mountain she flew, all the way up to a flat ledge at the top. Lyanna stopped to look around. She saw an opening for a cave farther up the way. She placed Milo down on the ground and said, “Okay, Milo. You scare them and we’ll get her daddy back.”
Milo looked at her and asked, “Aren’t you scared?”
Lyanna bent down and petted the tiny pup and said, “Not with you by my side. Let’s go.”
Milo became all excited and jumped around. “Okay, okay, let’s go. Rough.”
The two walked to the entrance and stepped inside. Their eyes soon adjusted to the darkness and the soft glow coming from her shoes. They saw a bunch of hairy beasts standing guard over a man. When they stepped closer, Lyanna saw the man’s face clearly. It was her very own daddy. Milo began to bark and bark and grew bigger and bigger, while Lyanna rushed in and yelled out, “Daddy!”
The scum cats sprang into action. Two of them stood between Lyanna and her daddy, and the others surrounded Milo with their long claws. A standoff ensued.
Lyanna shook her finger at the scum cats, and said in a loud mean voice, “You let my daddy go!”
A powerful, echoing voice came from out of the dark, “No. It’s not that easy.”
The scum cats became quiet and sat down in their spots. Lyanna became frightened, because of the powerful voice. Being that the scum cats were as big as lions, she thought the leader must be bigger. All she could think of was the beast in Beauty and the Beast.
The blue shoes gave off enough light to fill the front of the cave. Out from the darkness walked Little-man, her pet cat. She was still afraid and said, “Little-man, come quick. There is a beast coming up behind you.”
Little-man laughed an echoing laugh and said, “I am their leader. They listen to me. You too, will now listen.
Lyanna asked, “Little-man, why are you doing this?”
Little-man stood up on his hind legs and picked at his stretched out nails. Milo growled, and Little-man poked him on the tip of his nose. Then he laughed, because he knew Milo couldn’t do anything about it while the scum cats stood around him. Little-man walked over in front of Lyanna and said, “We lived in peaceful harmony and Sanbrina would feed us every day. She took care of us, feeding us our favorite food, Frosted Flakes. She promised us Frosted Flakes for life. But then one day, she stopped. She just stopped. She promised us, but here we are. We love our Frosted Flakes.”
Lyanna said, “Yeah, who doesn’t, but what am I to do?”
Little-man continued, “We need Frosted Flakes to survive.”
Lyanna said, “How about you let my daddy go and will get you your Frosted Flakes? I do have on the magic shoes as you can see.”
Little-man put his paw to his chin to think and said, “Yes, you do have the magic shoes. I will let Milo and your daddy go after you bring us a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes. You have two days, no more, no less. Now go, before I change my mind.”
Lyanna held her hands out in defense and said, “Okay, just don’t you hurt them. I’ll try.” Little-man turned around and walked away in the darkness, and Lyanna walked out from the cave.

                                                                            Chapter 5                  The Adventure Begins
 
Once outside she felt so alone. Her phone didn’t work, and her daddy and Milo were trapped by the evil scum cats. She talked out loud to herself while walking away, “What am I going to do? Where can I get a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes? How much is a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes? Maybe that Sanbrina girl will know what to do.”
Right then she felt a tap on her shoulder and a voice said, “I know where you can get a lifetime supply.”
Lyanna turned around and saw a smoky figure floating in the air. “AHH,” she screamed, “a ghost.”
The ghost screamed and looked behind himself, then said, “Oh wait, that’s me. Don’t be afraid, I’m here to help.”
Lyanna was too frightened to move and asked, “Who are you?”
The ghost stood tall and became more of a person and said, “I am the ghost from Christmas past.” He waved his hand and shook his head. “No, I’m just fooling. My name is, well it was, and I guess it still is, Robin. I used to be a Teen Titan, but I was put under a spell by an evil which, and here I stay, until I can do a good deed. Everyone runs away when they see me, so I’m still a ghost of a boy. I’m so glad that you didn’t run away. I think I can truly help you.”
Lyanna calmed down from her fright and said, “I wanted to run, but my new shoes wouldn’t let me. Somehow they told me to face my fears. So, you said you know where I can get a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes?”
Robin smiled. “Yes. There is a very powerful wizard on the decks of Globe City. He couldn’t help me, because mine is a spell placed on me by another. But I don’t see why he can’t help you. He is good and kind and only does nice things to help other people.”
Lyanna nodded. “Okay, where is this wizard?”
Robin turned back into a ghostly figure and swirled around Lyanna and said, “Yippy, follow me.” He floated away, gliding down the side of the mountain.
Lyanna shoes glowed and tickled her feet. She followed along and said, “Hey, wait for me.”
In no time at all, Robin stopped in front of a beautiful blue wall of leaves. Lyanna stopped and he said, “This is the Butterfly Maze of Confusion. I can’t show you the way, because it’s against the rules. If I do, you will always end up back here, where you started.”
Lyanna scratched her head. “How am I supposed to know which way to go?”
Robin answered, “It has something to do with how the butterflies flutter around on the inside. I really don’t know. I just wiggled through the branches. I’ll meet you on the other side.” Robin barreled right into the bushes and disappeared.
Insert butterfly maze
Lyanna looked at the wall and saw a small round hole big enough to crawl through, so she did, and entered inside the maze. Once inside, she saw hundreds of beautiful butterflies of all different colors fluttering about, eating the leaves to trim the sides of the walls. “Oh, how beautiful. Now to find my way.” She watched the butterflies that were flying around in order to figure out the secret way. There were so many of them, but the more she watched, the more she notice that some flew backwards into the main passage and continued along their way. Lyanna went down one of the passages where the butterflies came out backwards. It turned out to be a dead-end. “So, that’s why the little guys backed up. So if I just followed them when they fly straight ahead, I can find my way out,” she said.
At every turn Lyanna had to wait to see if the butterflies would back up before she continued. This took some time, but after a while she finally made it to the other end of the maze.
(Did you make it through?)
Robin waited by a signpost until she came out. He formed into a ghostly boy and said, “Over here. You made it through.” He pointed at the sign. “Now to cross a swamp without getting stuck,” he said. The signpost read, (Beware of Quicksand.) Robin continued, “I can float up high in the air and guide you around the soft spots. From up high the quicksand spots are a slightly different shade in color than the hard ground. Or you can probably run across the top in those magic shoes.”
Lyanna looked at her blue shoes. They didn’t even sparkle or tickle her feet. She said, “I don’t think I’ll chance it. You better guide me through, please.”
Robin was thrilled that he could help. He floated up and pointed. “Okay, go to your left.” Lyanna walked into the swamp with Robin pointing out which way to go.
About half way through, Lyanna saw a unicorn sinking in the quicksand. She ran over to see if she could help. “Robin,” she yelled, “get down here, quick.”
Robin came down, and the unicorn yelled, “Stop! Don’t come any closer, or you’ll be stuck.” Robin grabbed Lyanna just before taking another step. He pulled her back, and they fell on the ground.
“Wow, that was close,” he said. He looked at the unicorn and added, “She’s stuck good. It won’t be long and she’ll be a goner.”
Lyanna pulled away from Robin and quickly stepped into the quicksand. She reached out for the unicorn’s front huff and grabbed hold. “Oh no she won’t. Robin, grab a hold of me and help me pull.”
Robin said, “I’m a ghost. I can’t pull you.”
Lyanna yelled, “You have just stopped me from running in and pulled me back, so you can pull on me now.”
Robin jolted his head with a surprised look. “Oh yeah, I guess I can.” He quickly grabbed onto Lyanna and they both pulled as hard as they could. The unicorn struggled with all her might, while they pulled their way out of the quicksand.
Lyanna made her way out and placed her feet on solid ground. Robin looked at her feet and said, “Lyanna, you lost your blue shoes in the mud.”
Lyanna kept pulling. “I don’t care. Grab her by the backend and push.”
Robin floated up and around and reach the backend of the unicorn. He howled a loud ghostly moan, pulling her up and out of the sand. All three of them made it back to solid ground. They were weak and sat down to rest. The unicorn said, “I am in your debt. My name is Lauren. I’m sorry that you lost your magic shoes.”
Lyanna said, “How did you know that they were magic?”
Lauren said, “Ah duh, I’m a unicorn, a magical unicorn.”
Robin tried to float up, shaking off the mud. “Not so magical if you became stuck.”
Lauren turned to look at Robin, stood up and said, “Unfortunately the swamp is a no magic zone. That’s why she could not use her magic shoes either.”
Lyanna stood up. “Well, easy come, easy go. At least we are all safe now.”
Lauren said, “Yes, for now. But we are only halfway through. I don’t know how I made it this far. I’m scared to continue. I don’t want to ever go through that again.”
Lyanna smiled. “Not to worry. We have a guide, Robin.” She looked at Robin and said, “Are you ready? Let’s get out of here before it gets too dark to see.”
Robin turned completely into a fog and most of the muddy mess fell off. Then he turned back and floated up into the air and said, “Okay, let’s go.” He pointed back behind them and said, “This way. You know from up here, the swamp looks like letters. It looks like it spells out something.”
Lyanna and Lauren followed from the ground.
Insert swamp maze
They walk side-by-side and Lyanna said, “Hi, my name is Lyanna, and that’s Robin. We are going to Globe City to see the Wizard.”
Lauren became excited. “I’ll come with you. I have never seen a wizard before.”
(Did you find your way through?)
While they walked, they talked, and Lyanna told her all that had happened and also what she still had to do. Lauren understood and said, “Because you have saved my life and lost your magic shoes, I will be more than happy to help you all the way to the end of your journey. Oh look, we made it out. There’s Globe City on the other side of this meadow. Hop on and I’ll give you a ride.”
Lyanna smiled. “I never rode on a unicorn before, or a real horse. I’m afraid I’ll fall off.”
Lauren stopped and lowered her front as to bow down and said, “Oh, nonsense. Just hold on by squeezing your legs around my middle and hold on to my mane, that’s my long beautiful hair. I promise, it doesn’t hurt me. Now that I’m away from the swamp, I’m magical again, and I won’t let you fall.”
Lyanna thought she would give it a try, and hopped up onto her back. Lauren raised up and started out slow. She began to prance then went into a trot. She turned her head and asked, “Are you doing okay?”
Lyanna patted her on the side of her neck and said, “Yes, this is fun.”
Lauren smiled. “Okay, hold on and lean forward. I’m going to go into a full gallop, then a run. Here we go.”
Lyanna leaned forward and held on tight, and Lauren took off like a shot. The horn on top of her head began to glow, and her mane turned all different colors like a rainbow. The faster she ran, the rainbow colors trailed through the air behind them. Lyanna turned to look at all its beauty.

                                                                      Chapter 6                        Meeting the Wizard
 
In no time at all, they were at the edge of Globe City. Lauren stopped and Robin caught up. He sounded like he was out of breath. “Wow, you sure can run fast.”
Lyanna laughed. “You’re a ghost. What took you so long?”
Robin answered, “I am a spirit, not a ghost. I have feelings too, you know.”
Lyanna apologized, “I’m sorry. I just thought wrong. Please forgive me, Robin.”
Robin formed into a solid form and landed on the ground. “That’s all right. I think the mud just slowed me down. Let’s go see the Wizard.”
The three walked into the city in search of the Wizard. Because of all the mud, all the people gave them a disgusting look, and they walked away from them, except for the guards at the Great Hall entrance. They stood firm and one said, “Halt, who goes there?”
Lyanna answered, “We wish to see the Wizard. We need his help, please.”
The guard put down his staff and gave a half grin. “You can’t see the wizard looking like that. It’s forbidden. Follow me.” The guard walked away and another guard took his place. The three of them followed behind. He turned around to look at them again. “Got stuck in the quicksand, didn’t you?”
Lauren answered, “Yes, I did and these two kind souls risked their lives to pull me out.”
The guard smiled. “Well, that’s more than worthy to gain entrance before his Majesty. Here we are. Jump in this pool of water and wash off.”
They looked at the great pool of water before them. The water sparkled as much as the magic shoes did. Lyanna felt ashamed and said, “That pool is so clean. I don’t think we should.”
The guard talked over her, “Stop. Nonsense. This is a Uni-wash. This water can never get dirty, no matter what. It’s okay, just jump in, you’ll see.”
Robin had the least mud on him, so he jumped in first. All the mud instantly disappeared and when he came back out from the water, he was dry and sparkly clean. He laughed. “Wow, I haven’t been this clean in years, and I feel tingly all over.”
The water didn’t have a spec of dirt in it, so Lyanna and Lauren's stepped down and in. With every step, the mud disappeared. They dove under and came up totally clean. When they stepped out, not one hair was out of place and they too were completely dry and sparkly clean.
Lyanna looked at Lauren in all her beauty. Her coat shone a sparkly white with the rainbow mane and tail. Her green eyes glimmered behind her golden centered horn. Lauren asked, “What are you looking at?”
Lauren shook her head and said, “I didn’t mean to stare, but you are so beautiful.”
Lauren blushed with a glowing pink and turned her head away. “Aww, thank you.”
Robin rolled his eyes. “Come on. Let’s go see the Wizard.”
They all walked back to the guarded entrance. The guards bowed, stepped aside and open the doors. The three walked in to the Great Hall and held their heads high as if they were royalty. Once inside, they saw three floating globes with the lights swirling down underneath each. In the center sat one lone chair that looked like a throne. They walked toward the chair and three globes shot a beam of light on each of them, and they stopped. A red light lit up Robin. A purple light lit up Lauren, and a yellow light lit up Lyanna. It’s as if they couldn’t move another step, so they waited. Lyanna looked around and said, “Hello? Mr. Wizard? Are you here?”
A swirling little tornado spun into the room and landed on the throne. The wind slowed down and a person appeared, sitting on the throne. He was a round little man, more like a three foot tall egg shaped man with short legs and long arms. He had a crown on his head that was made out of rose gold with an array of blue diamonds.
All three of them bowed, showing their respect. Lyanna began to speak, “Oh Great Wizard, we come to you…”
The Wizard waved his arm and the globe lights went back to normal. He cleared his throat interrupting her and said, “I know exactly why you are here. I am the great and all powerful Lord Gumball. You, Robin, have done a very good deed. Two good deeds in fact. Because of your good deeds, your wish will be granted, but it is up to you to choose. You may return back to your normal self and go home, and the witch that cast the spell can no longer bother you. Or, you can stay as you are, a ghostly form of your former self forever, and you may never leave.
Robin looked sad toward Lyanna, then back to Lord Gumball and said, “Thank you, Lord Gumball. Can I go back to normal after helping Lyanna?”
Lord Gumball became stern. “No. You have already helped her. Make your choice now.”
Lyanna stepped over and gave him a hug. “It’s okay, Robin. I have Lauren to help me and the Wizard. You can go back and live a normal life.”
Robin wiped the tears away from his eyes and said, “I’m going to miss you. Thank you, Lyanna, for helping me.” Robin turned back to the Wizard and said, “Okay, I’m ready. I want to return back to normal, and go home.”
Lord Gumball raised his hand. “As you wish,” he said. All three globes beemed out onto Robin. The lights grew brighter and brighter and swirled him around in the air. Robin turned back into a real boy, waved goodbye and faded into nothingness. Then the lights returned back to normal.
Lord Gumball turned his attention to Lyanna and said, “For you, I will grant one wish. But first you must prove yourself worthy and pass my three tests. Do you accept my challenge?”
Lyanna bowed and said, “Yes, your Majesty.”
Lord Gumball leaned forward. “Good, let’s begin. One: I have three colored globes. One is yellow, the second is red, and the third is purple. If I added the color blue to each, what color will they become?”
Your Answers: 1
                          2
                          3
Lyanna gave her answers and Lord Gumball said, “Very well. Now for the next. If I gave you 20 marbles and place them in your hand, and you place 10 of them in your bedroom and the other 10 in your living room, how many marvels would you have left? A. Zero, B. 10, or C. 20?”
Lyanna asked, “May I ask one question? Are they now my marbles, or are they still yours?”
Lord Gumball answered, “I said I gave them to you, so they are yours. Your answer?”
What is your answer?   ______
Once again Lyanna gave her answer, and Lord Gumball said, “Very well. Your last test. This is a riddle. My name has eight letters. My first letter is S, and the last letter is E. I’m warm and bright and I’m gone at night. What am I?”
And your answer is? ________________________.
Lyanna gave her answer and once again Lord Gumball said, “Very well, you have passed my test. I will now grant you one wish. You can choose to be sent home, right now, or you can stay to help free Milo and Daddy. You decide your own fate.”
The lights glowed and beamed their spotlights on Lyanna. This had to be her decision. She thought long and hard. (Oh my, what do I do? If I go home, Daddy and Milo are in big trouble, and if I stay and help them, I might have to stay here forever. Oh, what would Alex and Katie do?) She looked over at Lauren, and Lord Gumball turned the unicorn around so she couldn’t see.
Lord Gumball said, “Lauren can help in whichever you choose, but you have to make the choice now. Which do you choose?”
Lyanna knew she had to stay and help even if it meant she could never go home. She answered, “I choose to stay and help.”
Lord Gumball said, “As you wish.” The lights glowed brighter, and a small bag appeared in her hands, then the lights returned to normal. Lord Gumball continued, “In that bag is what you wish, a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes for the scum cats. Do not open the bag until you get there. In the presence of the scum cats and Little-man, open the bag. But do not make any loud noises. Rub your hand across the unicorn’s horn and sprinkled the unicorn dust into the bag while saying Frosted Flakes forever, then hand the bag to Little-man. Remember, no loud noise, and whatever you do, do not say, (Froot Loops are my favorite.)
Lyanna tilted her head with a puzzled look. “Um, why not?”
Lord Gumball pointed at her and said, “Because I am Lord Gumball, and I said, so just don’t.”
Lyanna grinned. “That sounds silly anyway, but okay. Thank you, your Majesty, thank you.”
The globes turned brighter and beamed onto the wizard, and he disappeared. Then the globes turned back to normal.

                                                                         Chapter 7                     Operation Rescue
 
Lauren turned around and bowed so Lyanna could get on. She said, “I guess were done here. Let’s get back to the mountaintop and save your daddy and Milo.”
Lyanna climbed on, and Lauren headed out of the city. Once at the edge of town, Lauren sped off at a full gallop. Lyanna asked, “How are we going to get through the swamp?”
Lauren ran faster than ever and turned a share right. “The Wizard filled me with a powerful boost when he spun me around. We are going to jump and sail right over the top.” While she ran, the air currents pushed them up and down, and she had to twist and wind her way through. She flew up and then down, spiraled around and did a loop-d-loop. Lyanna felt like she was on a roller coaster. When they flew over the swamp she saw what Robin had talked about. The swamp did look like letters and spelled out her name. When they made it to the edge of the Butterfly Maze, Lauren pushed back up in the air, and Lyanna noticed that it too spelled out a secret message.
Did you see the hidden message in the Butterfly Maze?
Lyanna shouted, “Woo-hoo, this is fun.” Her tummy tickled the whole way until Lauren landed on the other side of the maze. By now the extra power vanished, and Lauren ran at her normal unicorn speed. In no time at all they were back in front of the cave. Lyanna slid down and they walked inside. Lauren whispered, “Lyanna, I don’t trust that cat. Don’t give them the bag until you get them free first.”
Lyanna said, “Good idea. I don’t have my magic shoes, so can you give us a little light, please?”
“Sure,” Lauren said, and her horn glowed a bright gold.
There were the scum cats, laying around their prisoners. Milo jumped up and barked, happy to see them. The scum cats woke up and went into action. They blocked their way. Little-man’s voice echoed from the dark, “What’s going on?” He walked through the legs of the scum cats and saw that she returned. “So, you came back. Wonderful. Did you get what I requested?”
Lauren held out the bag. “Yes, a lifetime supply of Frosted Flakes from Lord Gumball, the Wizard in Globe City. Before I give you the bag, I want you to release Milo and Daddy.”
Little-man paced back and forth thinking. Then he motioned for their release, but under full watch. The scum cats stood close to their victims. “All right,” he said, “they are free to go. Now your end of the bargain.”
Lyanna and Lauren stepped closer while she opened the bag. She placed her hand on Lauren’s horn and rubbed, then sprinkled the dust into the bag while saying, “Frosted Flakes forever.” The bag puffed up and she handed it to Little-man.
Little-man looked at the bag and laughingly said, “Is this all? It’s not enough.”
The scum cats held on to Daddy.
Lyanna yelled, “The Wizard said it is a lifetime supply. You said if I brought you a lifetime supply you would let them go, and I did as you wished. You are just a greedy, mean, creature, and you deserve nothing.”
The bag bulged bigger in his hands, and began to spill out over the top. Lauren nosed up to Lyanna and said, “Shush. The Wizard said no loud noises.”
Lyanna saw how the bag puffed up and Frosted Flakes poured out from the top. This gave her an idea and she said, “Yes, he also said not to say,” and she yelled, “Froot Loops are my favorite.”
Lauren said, “No, don’t.”
Lyanna continued at the top of her lungs as loud as she could, “Froot Loops are my favorite. Froot Loops are my favorite. Froot Loops are my favorite.”
All of a sudden the bag burst, and Frosted Flakes flowed with huge golden flakes encompassing the entire cavern. Every space began to fill up with Frosted Flakes. Little-man lost his balance and fell. “Make it stop,” he yelled. Because of his yelling, the Frosted Flakes in front of him grew twice their size.
The Frosted Flakes forced the other scum cats away, and Daddy became free. He ran to Lyanna’s side and said, “We better get out of here before we become trapped like them.”
The scum cats tried climbing over the growing pile of flakes, but like a tidal wave, it push them deeper into the mountain. Milo jumped into Lyanna’s hands, and she put him into her pocket.
The three ran toward the outside with a giant wave of Frosted Flakes rolling up behind them. By the time they reached the entrance, the Frosted Flakes pushed them through the air with a mighty force. Lyanna landed on the edge of the mountain’s ledge, almost going over the side.
In the sunlight, the Frosted Flakes stopped and shrank back down to their normal size. Lyanna pulled herself back up to her feet. Daddy yelled, “Lyanna, help, I can’t get up.”
Lyanna turned around and saw her daddy holding on to the ledge with both hands, but couldn’t pull himself up. She thought, (Oh no, what can I do? I’m not big enough to pull him up by myself.) She jumped to the ledge and grabbed her daddy’s arms. “Hang on, Daddy. Try to pull yourself up.”
Daddy shook his head and tried to push her away. “No, get back. I’ll just pull you down with me. Just let me go.”
“No! You’re my Daddy. I’ll never let you go.” Lyanna thought back to when Milo barked and had a crazy idea. She yelled, “Milo, bark as loud and as hard as you can. Bark, boy, bark.”
Milo said, “I can’t. I can only bark if I am angry or scared.”
Lyanna turned to Lauren. “Lauren, can you help, please?”
Lauren, being a magical unicorn, reshaped her form into the red fox that took the box at the beginning. Then she roared and evil noise that scared Milo to bits. He began to bark and bark. With each bark, he grew bigger and bigger, as big as Clifford, the big red dog.
Lyanna watched, still holding onto her daddy’s arms. He began to slip farther and farther off the ledge and she said, “Good boy, Milo. Now hurry, pick Daddy up in your mouth.”
Milo stepped over to the ledge and gently wrapped his mouth around Daddy. He picked him up and placed in back next to the cave entrance. Daddy sat up, shaking off the dog’s slobber. “Yuck, I am all gooey.”
Lyanna laughed and gave her daddy a big hug. “Yes, but you’re safe. Let’s go home.”
Lauren turned back to normal and Milo shrank down to pocket-size once again. Lyanna picked Milo up and gave him a kiss and hug. “You did great, Milo. Thank you.”
She placed Milo into her pocket and wrapped her arm around her daddy’s and Lauren said, “Hop on you two, and I’ll give you a ride down the mountain.”
Lauren stood firm and waited until both of them jumped up on her back, then off they flew down the side of the mountain. She galloped so fast and so light that it felt like they parachuted out of the plane on a hang glider. She soared, swiftly banking back and forth down the side of the mountain trail, all the way to the bottom.

                                                                              Chapter 8                    Getting Home
 
Lauren galloped across the meadow leaving a rainbow trail behind them all the way back to the house. Sanbrina came to the door and ran out to greet them.
Daddy jumped down and they hugged big time. Sanbrina turned to face Lyanna. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Lyanna said, “You are most welcome, but I have to go and try to get home. Daddy, are you coming?”
Daddy walked back over by Lauren and put his hands on Lyanna’s leg. “Lyanna, child, I’m really not your daddy. Well, I am, but I’m not. Let me explain. You see, this is my world here, and this is my daughter, Sanbrina. My other daughter, Lyanna, is in your world with your daddy. If and when you do get back, then she will return here to her home. Do you understand?”
Lyanna nodded. “Yes, that’s why Sanbrina, here, is bigger than me. But how can I get back? The passageway is gone."
Lauren turned her head. “Maybe I can help. The wizard said you had enough help. He must’ve meant me. If you show me the exact spot, I’ll see what I can do.”
Daddy said, “That just might work. You have proved yourself to the wizard. You stopped a thief. You helped a ghost, saved and unicorn, and me and Milo. I think you have done everything you were meant to do. The passageway should be open for your return. If not, you are more than welcome to stay here.”
Lyanna bent down and hugged Daddy with tears in her eyes. She came back up and wiped her sniffling nose. “Thank you, Daddy. Let’s go, Lauren, I’m ready.”
Sanbrina brought out and handed her sneakers to her.
Lauren turned around and began to walk away, while Sanbrina and her daddy waved goodbye. Lyanna turned and waved back.
Lauren sprang into a light galloped all the way back to the wall. When they arrived, Lyanna slid down and put Milo down on the ground to pick up their scent.
It didn’t take long and Milo found where they came through. Lauren stepped over and lit up her horn, shining her gold light onto the wall. In the path of the light, a hole appeared. Milo jumped up and down. “It’s the passageway, bark, bark,” he said, and ran through.
Lyanna looked into the hole in the wall, then stood back and reached over to give Lauren a big hug around her neck. “Thank you, Lauren, for all your help. I’m going to miss you.”
Lauren said, “Me too, girl. Me too.” A rainbow tear rolled down from Lauren’s eye and she added, “You better get going.”
Lyanna let go and said, “Okay, goodbye, Lauren.” She bent down onto her knees and crawled through the hole to the other side.
Lyanna came out from the whole, and it closed up behind her. Milo danced and barked, licking her face with happy excitement. He was back to his normal size. Lyanna stood up and said, “Come on, Milo, let’s go home.” The two walked straight home and entered the house.
She saw her daddy kneeling on the floor changing Chris’s diaper and Daddy said, “Hi, Lyanna. You weren’t gone long. Did you enjoy the park?”
She quickly walked over and gave her daddy a long squeezing hug and said, “I’m so glad to be back. I love you, Daddy.”
Daddy smiled. “I love you too, baby. Oh, by the way, this young woman dropped by and left this package for you. It was funny. She looked a lot like you, only a lot older. A very pretty girl. Anyway, she said this is a thank you present for all your help, whatever that means.”
Lyanna reached for the package and sat down to open it up. She pulled the paper back, and there on the inside was a beautiful white, rainbow mane unicorn with the golden horn. Lyanna squealed with delight and hugged it so tight.
                                                       More fun books can be found on rickkurtisbooks.com
                                                                                                           Enjoy