The Two Worlds by Alisha Howard

When magic is involved,
there are no limits,” came Grandpa’s sharp response. He continued
to walk quickly through the rows until finally I didn’t think I
would be able to keep going. Just when I was about to ask for a
quick break, he stopped in front of a white wall that was
sandwiched in between two rows. Grandpa knocked three times and
whispered something that I couldn’t make out. The wall changed into
a brown door with strange symbols etched into it. As the door swung
open, Grandpa motioned for us to step in.
    Inside was a room that resembled a
classroom. There was a round table with a few chairs around it. A
small black chalkboard was placed on one of the walls, and it
looked like it was brand new. There was a window on the opposite
side of the chalkboard, but when I looked through it all I saw was
a sky full of stars.
    Grandpa took one of the chairs, and we
did the same. I sat down with a sigh, gingerly moving Yolonda and
Finny off my chest for a few moments. They had remained very warm
since this whole ordeal had started. I noticed that Rena looked at
me weird, but didn’t say anything.
    “ Okay, Grandpa, what’s this
all about?” Nia demanded, raising her eyebrows at him. “Why are we
here?”
    Grandpa sighed as well. “You’re here to
learn about your history.”
    Nia frowned. “Our history? What are you
talking about?”
    Grandpa shushed her and looked down at
his hands. When he looked back up at us, it seemed that the
wrinkles around his eyes had deepened.
    “ You are a part of a
legend,” he began. “A powerful legend that we are watching being
played out right now.”
    I watched him, wide-eyed, as he rose
from the table and went to the chalkboard. He studied it for a
moment and then put his hand up to the chalkboard. A drawing seemed
to leak out of his fingertips and spread across the board until it
took up the whole surface. Grandpa stepped back, and I realized I
was looking at a drawing of Mom and Dad. They were smiling at me,
and Dad looked around to spot Nia before waving at her.
    Nia stared at the board.
“W-What?”
    “ Once upon a time,” Grandpa
began, “there was only one kingdom on Turgor. The Felkne kingdom
was the most powerful in this universe, highly feared and respected
by everyone. The King and Queen ruled with justice and grace. Those
were peaceful times.”
    Grandpa glanced back at the board. I
hadn’t taken my eyes off of it since he began talking. “A rebel
group by the name of Bulen wanted to overthrow the royal family and
bring themselves into power. They were not large enough or strong
enough, though. For centuries they plotted, attempting to find a
way to complete their plan. Finally, they discovered another rebel
group that was much smaller but much more powerful than they were.
They convinced the new group to join their ranks, and from that
union the KaKonians were born.
    “ The KaKonians eventually
began a battle with the Felkne, but they still were not powerful
enough to overcome them. While hiding out after a particularly
unsuccessful attack, they came up with a plan. The Felkne King and
Queen had six children. The last two were girls, who were said to
have been more powerful than the King and Queen combined. When the
girls were born, an oracle prophesied that as long as they lived
they would bring victory and peace to the kingdom. Of course, when
the KaKonians found out about this, they assumed killing the girls
would ensure their victory. So they went after the girls, who were
no more than your age at the time, and kidnapped them.
    “ The King and Queen were
both devastated and enraged. A full-scale war broke out among the
KaKonians and Felkne. For decades the war raged on. Finally, one
awful year, the girls were found inside a KaKonian base camp. They
had been tortured and killed. The King and Queen, so devastated at
their loss, could not continue fighting. The remaining Felkne
children tried to continue on in war, but were not as powerful as
their parents.