This is a story of mine, which is still in progress. It was inspired by a mixture of Inuyasha and Fushigi Yugi smile
The winter air was crisp as the small flakes of snow fell to the ground slowly, disturbed only by the occasional light breeze, The sun was high in the sky by this time of the day, making the light reflect off the light and basking everything in an ethereal glow. A girl sat on a stump in the middle of a field, her arms folded around her for extra warmth as she looked at the winter wonderland around her.
"Are you cold, Adara? Amazing. It must be a sign of the Apocolypse." A deep voice said, making the girl jump and turn around in shock. She scoffed at the young man behind her, and turned back around as he walked around her. His long leather duster gathered snow as it dragged on the top of the two inches of white fluff. He was wearing steel tipped leather boots and a wry smile as he approached her. "You're supposed to be inside. It's not good for you to be out like this when you're sick."
"I know, Ethan, but I can't help. It snowed for the first time this year, and I wanted to enjoy the occassion."
"Not so, it snowed last January. Stand up, I'll walk you inside and make sure you stay there this time." He chuckled and grabbed her wrist, pulling her so that she stood up and stumbled along behind him, her cheeks rosy and her eyes watering slightly from her cold. His black and green dyed hair swung into his face as he trudged through the snow, trying to get her inside as soon as possible. He had looked out for her since they were in elementary school, when he had first met her at lunch when she was getting picked on. He had stopped the teasing, and had treated her like a little sister ever since. She tended to be a bit of an airhead sometimes, but she was the smartest girl he knew.
Adara giggled as she was dragged by Ethan, and pulled her own weight backwards so that it would be harder for him to pull her and she could stall him and spend as much time outside as she could. He always looked out for her, even when she didn't need any protection. It sometimes got annoying, but she knew that he was just trying to do what was best for her.
"I'm telling you, I'm fine! I don't need to go inside, I just want to play in the snow a little bit!" She protested, trying to pry her wrist from his grip.
"You're not sweet talking me out of this one. You're sick, and you're staying inside." Ethan finally got to the door to her house and opened it wide, pushed her in, and followed behind her. "Mrs. Casma! I found your lost kitten!" Ethan yelled through the house, openly joking since he had known Adara's mother for years now. The older woman looked around the corner of the hallway and let out a sigh of exasperation, walking over to Adara.
"Thank you, Ethan. Adara, where have you been? You were worrying me sick! How do you think you'll get better if you're outside in the snow, hopping around like a rabbit? Honestly, you have to take better care of yourself." Adara's mother said, unwrapping Adara from her red scarf, had and coat and setting her down on the couch in the living room with a thick blanket. Ethan took off his own winter coat and boots, and walked in after Adara, sitting down beside her on the large couch.
"Next time I see you outside while you're sick I'll drag you in by your ear." Ethan smirked wryly and poked Adara teasingly on the nose. Adara snorted and pulled her blanket up closer to her, shivering slightly.
"There now, see? You're freezing cold still. I'll be right back, you stay there and watch TV or something." Ethan turned on the television and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Adara watched the TV with boredom, as the discovery channel played a show on the current technology of space travel.
"Here, drink this, it'll warm you back up." Ethan handed Adara a mug of green tea and sat back down beside her, watching her drink it slowly with content. As she finished the drink he noticed the bored look to her eye and sighed. "Alright, I get the point." He put his hand on his forehead, and moved his black and red hair from his face. "I'll take you to the library tomorrow. You can check out some books to read, and maybe even a few... romances." He cringed at the wild look in her eye, knowing that the reason she read romances was for the shmarmy plot lines so that she could get away from reality for a bit. She had been recently dumped by her previous boyfriend, a guy that he had not entirely liked. Personally, Ethan thought that Adara could do a lot better than him. She was still depressed about it though, which is probably how she had gotten sick. When Adara gets depressed, her whole body goes into a sort of shut-down.
"Really?" Adara said in excitement, happy to just get out of the house, none the less go to the library. She tried to cheer, but her hoarse voice made her cough with enough force to make her whole body confulse with each cough. Ethan looked at her in concern and put an arm around her to try to comfort her as she came out of the coughing fit and rolled his eyes when she smiled goofily.
"I think you should refrain from talking too. It sounds like your voice is going."
"But-"
"I know you like to talk, but you really will lose your voice if you keep this up."
Adara sighed and hung her head, looking at Ethan with annoyed eyes.
"Don't give me that look, you're the one who got a cold over Christmas vacation."
"Yeah. Thanks for coming over to help me out too, Ethan." Adara said, smiling sweetly.
"Not a problem, it's not like I have anything better to do. No talking." Ethan put a finger over her mouth to emphasize his point. "Besides, it's our senior year. It's not like we have homework over Christmas break or anything. I'd better get going though, I have to help my dad working on the desk in our garage." He stood up, walked over to the door, and resituated himself in his leather duster and gloves.
"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Ethan. Remember the promise for the library tomorrow." Adara smiled, walking behind him with the blanket wrapped around her like a cuccoon.
"Will do." Ethan grinned back, did a mock salute with two fingers, and walked out the door again, out into the snow.
The next day, Ethan drove his old, black jeep into Adara’s driveway, looking at it with a smile. He had saved up a lot of money for this thing, and had worked on it with his father for nearly a year to get it running well. He put the car into park and winced as the engine made a slight clunking sound. Well, it wasn’t the best car in the world, but for what it’s worth, it worked for him. He closed the door and walked up to Adara’s house, his duster flapping behind him as he closed it against the cold winter air. He rang the doorbell of the house and looked up in surprise when he saw Adara run past the window in her pajamas, squealing in horror that she had slept in so late. Ethan laughed and waited a few minutes until she opened the door fully clothed, but with tousled hair.
“Did you see me?” Adara blushed, seeing Ethan’s wry smirk.
”Well you did streak past an open window, it was kind of hard not to notice you.” He snickered, and pointed over his shoulder to the jeep. “Ready to go when you are.”
”Alright, just let me get my winter clothes.” She said, grabbed a sweater, hat, scarf and coat and closed the door behind her as they walked to the jeep to head to the library.
Shelves upon rows upon volumes of book! Literature everywhere the eye could see. Adara had always loved reading, and the library was one of her favorite places to be in the entire city. If that made her a geek, then guilty as charged. As she walked briskly over to the fantasy section, Ethan followed her hurried steps with a chuckle.
”Well at least you’re feeling better today.” He said with a hushed voice.
”Yeah, I think I only had a 24 hour bug. I feel fine now.” Adara smiled and picked up a book, but looked to her left at two voices coming from between the shelves.
”This is inexcusable! This door is supposed to be locked every day, and every night. How can these books remain safe if the lock is broken?” An older man’s voice whispered harshly as Adara and Ethan pretended they couldn’t hear it.
”I’m sorry sir, but it seems that the last employee that came in broke the lock! I can fix it soon, but it will take a while to find the correct size for this door, it’s an abnormal dimension.”
”I don’t care if it’s an abnormal dimension! These books are classics, and there are none like them in the world. If they’re damaged…”
”No one will damage them sir, besides, who wants to see these dusty old antiques?”
”Most of our readers for the library wouldn’t even bother with this room if they didn’t know what it held- good point. Just get a new lock as quickly as possible.”
“Yes sir.” And the two men walked away from the large door at the end of the hall.
”What was that all about?” Ethan whispered to Adara, leaning over her so that no one around them would hear.
”I don’t know, but apparently there are some good books in there.” Adara said, a mischevious gleam coming to her eye. Ethan looked at her with a shocked face, and shook his head firmly.
”You’re not going in there. You heard what they said, those books are one of a kind and if one of them gets damaged, we’ll be in deep trouble!”
“Oh come of Ethan, take a risk once in a while. I’ll only look at one book, okay?” Adara said with a pout, and widened her eyes pleadingly at Ethan
Ethan looked at her puppy-dog face, trying not to give in, but sighed, and started walking slowly to the door, with Adara cheering silently and following him.
They looked around to see if the coast was clear, and finally turned the large ornate handle to the door, surprised at how heavy it was. When they were finally inside the room, they closed the door behind them gently, and looked around.
”This room must be ancient! Look at all the dust everywhere.” Adara said, looking at all the cloth and leather bound books around her.
”Looks like my basement.” Ethan said with a wry grin.
“Smells like it, too.” Adara snickered and looked at a book in one of the nearby shelves, picking it out and looked at the cover.
”Look at this, it says ‘The 1,000 Year War’. I wonder what it’s about?”
”Sure, that can be your one book. Just start reading it before someone comes in and finds us in here!” Ethan said, looking at the door in nervousness.
”Don’t rush me. Okay, here’s what it says.” Adara opened the book, which crackled with the strain of opening for the first time in decades. Marveling at the detailed illustrations in ink, she started reading the first page.
‘This book is a tale of adventure, romance, sorrow and life peril. It follows the journey of a young woman and man as they travel through a foreign land, in hopes of stopping a senseless and violent war. You, reader, have been given the priviledge of being these two people.”
”What does that mean?” Ethan looked at Adara in shock as she shrugged and continued reading.
”Through dangers untold and wonders unseen, you will face your fears and conquer them. For you, Adara and Ethan, will become part of the story.”
”Wait- did it just say our names?” Ethan looked at the book in horror as a light burst forth from the page, engulfing them both in its glow. Ethan put his arms around Adara protectively as she dropped the book, and the world faded into darkness.
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