Beyond the Looking Glass

Chapter 8: The Kingdom of Laurindale

We left for Laurindale early in the morning. We rode a carriage that was being pulled along by two horses. Sebastian was maneuvering it.

It's been about an hour since we left. One thing I was excited about was how we were going to reach the kingdoms below since our kingdom was floating.

"Haruo, Knock knock." Alli said to Haruo who was sleeping beside him.

"Knock knock." Alli repeated again.

Haruo looked up and glared at Alli. "I am not a door."

Allister laughed. "I was going to tell a joke."

"Oh I love jokes. Who's there?" I asked.

"Bo-" Alli was about to say but was cut off by Haruo.

"Who's where?" He started looking around. "An enemy?"

Aya started laughing beside me. Ally and Shaine burst out into laughter too.

Alli ignored Haruo. "Boo."

"Boo who?" I asked.

"Aww don't cry." Alli cooed.

I stared at him and facepalmed. "I thought you were better than that."

Keni stared the ground for a few minutes. "What's wrong?" I heard Alli ask her.

"I thought jokes were supposed to be funny... Why do I feel annoyance inside? Boo? Boo who? That didn't even make sense. Where is the liberty? Do you see me laughing, Alli?" Keni ranted.

I shook my head as I chuckled lightly. I looked at our surroundings while everyone was still teasing Alli about how he was losing his touch.

"How does one lose his touch? What does that even mean?" I heard Haruo ask before I noticed that we were already at the edge of the Kingdom. I could see the cliff.

"Oh my gosh! We're here! How do we get down?" I asked.

"We fly, of course." Sebastian replied.

Before I could even ask what he meant, the horses that were pulling us grew big feathery wings. I gasped at the sight. It was amazing.

Before we got to the edge, the chariot lifted from the ground and soared in the air. When we passed the Kingdom, I saw the pit below us. It was pitch black. Just looking at it sent chills up my spine and not the good ones.

When we passed the pit, I saw another Kingdom in the distance. As the chariot flew by the village, people waved at us. Ally and the others waved back. A child waved towards me and I waved back with a big grin.

We finally landed just outside of the Laurindale castle. Sebastian told us to go ahead and situate ourselves while he took care of our belongings.

"I'll stay out here." Raymond muttered.

We all turned to face him. I noticed the concerned looks of our friends. They knew something that I didn't.

Allister slung his arm over Raymond. "Ray, we're here with you. If you stand for nothing, what'll you fall for?"

Raymond shrugged in response. Ally locked her arm with his arm and smiled up to him. He smiled back and followed us inside without hesitation.

There were two thrones in the middle of the entrance hall. The middle one bigger than the one to its left. A man sat on the big throne.

"Welcome to Laurindale! I'm King Val Presley for those of you who didn't know yet." He greeted with a warm smile.

"King Vally!" Ally exclaimed and ran towards him.