Vonaias Aleanvalsa

Back in the Real World

Vonaias smelled bananas. 

The seaside village was sprinkled with cute little shops all the way down the main streets towards the port. The docks were huge. Dozens of ships were anchored there, everything from fishing boats to enormous monsters that could sail across the seven seas. Unfortunately, there was no sign of a pirate ship. 

Vonaias thought the pirate ship wouldn't be anywhere near here, of course. The dock was much too populated, and the pirates would most likely have anchored their ship in a faraway part of the dock, avoiding attention. 

He should be smelling the salt of the sea, or fish, or gunpowder. But his nose picked nothing but bananas, and Vonaias wanted to find out where the smell was coming from. He turned to Urbin, who still rode in front of Dilfondon. They had tied a piece of cloth to make it look like he was wearing a cover over his mouth, but in fact it was done to hide the fact that they had gagged him. They couldn't afford the wizard screaming for help. 

"I smell bananas," said Vonaias. 

"Me too," Urbin replied. 

Vonaias sniffed the air, again and again, and the smell of banana got stronger and strong as he walked towards what appeared to be a bakery. The sign over the door read: Big Bobo's Banana Bread Bakery. 

"I'm hungry," he said, his stomach grumbling. He entered the bakery and was met with the most delicious smell in the world. Freshly baked banana bread, chocolate chips and some other delicacies wafted through the air. 

And then, he stopped, because behind the counter, kneading dough and peeling bananas were six familiar figures. They were familiar because they were behaving in a way that Vonaias recognized instantly. One guy in the middle who seemed to be giving the orders, three guys worked together kneading dough, peeling bananas and whisking eggs. Two other dudes were at the counter, selling the bread. 

Jasper, Henry I, II and III, Hugh and Jack. It had to be them!

Vonaias approached stealthily. "Can I have a banana bread? How much would a banana bread be?" 

The guy in the middle who had been giving orders approached. "Hello, I am Bobo. What can I do for you today?" 

Vonaias repeated that he wanted a bread. This was Jasper, he was sure! 

"Can I have one for free?" he asked. He was not carrying any money. 

The man called Bobo/Jasper snorted incredulously and said no. Of course not. "We are not donating to the poor today."

Vonaias cracked a mischievous smile. "How about I make you a deal? Do you like to gamble?" 

Vonaias knew that Jasper was super into gambling and making bets, so of course he was going to say yes. 

"Yes," he said as expected. "Alright. What kind of bet?" 

"Hide and seek?" suggested Vonaias. That was something he was not going to lose at, ever. His stealthy abilities were off the charts. Bobo/Jasper nodded, and they both agreed that if Bobo/Jasper found Vonaias, then he would have to leave or pay for the bread. But if he couldn't find him in twenty minutes, then he would give him all the bread he wanted for free. They established that they should keep the game within two blocks, and no going into other people's houses. 

Vonaias was excellent at this game and he suggested it as often as possible. So far, nobody had been able to find him. 

He first made Bobo/Jasper count to twenty. Then, as fast as he could, he dashed out the door, went into a small alley and quickly changed into his camouflage robes. He leapt onto the walls and boosted himself onto the roof of the shop, waiting. He was kind of bored, so he crawled closer to the Bobo sign, there, in plain sight, only camouflaged and perfectly still so nobody could have seen him unless they knew where he was. 

From that vantage point, Vonaias could see Bobo/Jasper look around for him. He checked behind things, opened garbage bins, looked under people's clothes, but he did not even think about looking up. 

Twenty minutes went by and Vonaias reappeared. 

"Now, can I have a banana bread?" 

Bobo/Jasper as well as his friends were all extremely impressed at Vonaias's hide and seek skills. They too had been searching, just to see if they could find him, but couldn't. 

They gave Vonaias a large, freshly baked loaf of banana bread and it tasted AWESOME. 

"Alright, then," said Vonaias. He had found his friends and now he had to take them back because he needed to make sure that they did not remember the whole cape thing when they got back to the real world. He would return to the fantasy world later, and continue on the search for Captain Farghed's pirate ship, but for now, bread in mouth, Vonaias raised his watch and began to press buttons. 

Just as he was about to explode into atoms, a very strange feeling took over him. It reminded him of the spell Lovan Dilfondon had cast on him to steal his memories, only this time, it was much, much worse. But the wrist watch had started working, and Vonaias couldn't stop it. As he burst into tiny particles of himself, he felt as if something was pulling him, or perhaps piggyback riding him. 

When they returned to Andrew's bedroom, everyone looked exactly as they had when they had left, standing in a circle holding hands. 

Jasper spoke first. "Huh? Why are we holding hands? Get off," he said to Henry II. 

Andrew looked around. "What do you remember?" 

"I don't even know how I got here," said Hugh. 

Andrew mentally congratulated himself. "And what about yesterday? Do you remember anything?" He needed to make sure. 

"Yeah, same. I don't know. I don't remember a thing," said Henry II. 

Andrew let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, my bananas," he exclaimed, glad his friends had no memory of what had happened before, of Bong, or of the fantasy world. It looked like everything was going to be alright and now Andrew had a magical cape with him at school, which would come in super useful from now on. 

His friends left, carrying juice boxes and bags of chips with them, thanked Andrew for a lovely afternoon, and went back to their own dorms. Andrew spent the rest of the night playing video games, with Bong at his side, who was giving him tips on what to do next. He was so quick and so smart, and Andrew began winning everything he tried to do.  

It was almost sunrise by the time Andrew closed his laptop, and he barely managed to catch a few hours of sleep before his alarm rang, and he grudgingly got up to go to class. 

He was on his way to chorus, and he was just on time. Kestrel and Luke were there already, saving him a spot. Just behind him, Jasper and the rest entered the classroom. Andrew thought this was going to be just another boring chorus class, until the headmistress suddenly came into the room. 

Miss Soja looked to be in her thirties, she had blond hair and blue eyes, and was always very nice. Behind her came a boy that Andrew had never seen before, but he wasn't interested either. 

"Good morning class," she began. "I'd like to introduce you to the newest student. He is an exchange student from... from... oh, I can't pronounce the name of this country."

"Never mind, miss," said the boy. "It's not important."

Andrew looked up, because the voice sounded somewhat familiar. Then, his mouth fell open and he gasped. 

Lovan Dilfondon's face was staring back at him, but he was young. Much younger than his fantasy world self. He looked to be around Andrew's age, and he was staring at him with hatred in his eyes. 

"How--" Andrew stammered. How could it be? 

"Class, this is Logan Dillifon. Please join me in welcoming him to our school!"