The Inner Kingdom: Quest One (Dragon Quest Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

continued.
    “April, you are not dreaming,” I assured her going to where she was standing.
    “Whatever is going on, at least you are not alone this time,” Angie said, grabbing April’s hand.
    “So I am not dreaming? This is all, actually happening?” April asked, trying to regain her composure.
    “Unfortunately, yes,” I replied. “We need to look and see if there is anyone here. If there is a castle, there is bound to be…”
    “A benevolent, kind, and gracious king who will take us in and tell us how to get home,” Angie interrupted me sarcastically.
    “Do you want us to just wait here for the vortex to suck us back in?” I retorted unable to think of anything else to do. “How long do you consider that is going to take? What are we supposed to survive on?”
    “Ashley is right; maybe whoever lives there may help us,” April said with a hopeful expression on her face.
    “Whatever. Have it your way,” Angie muttered after about a minute of silence. “Let’s hope that the person who lives in that castle is not a tyrannical dictator like Vlad the Impaler.”
    “Thanks, Angie. That makes me feel a whole lot better,” April said with a hint of a smile.
    “I guess that settles it. Let’s go exploring," Angie instructed, taking off her long snow coat. “What? I am not going anywhere with that heavy hot thing on my back."
    She did have a point, I thought as I began to remove my own scarf and coat.
    “You’re not going to take off your coat?” I asked April when I saw she still had hers on.
    “I think I am good. I want to keep anything that ties me closer to Earth, and my sanity."
    Understanding exactly what she meant, we soon all agreed to stay on the path so we didn’t get lost.
    For thirty minutes, all I could see was grass and many flowers. It was like a sea of many colors. The flowers varied from roses to daisies; some of them were in colors I had never seen before. It was breathtaking.
    The sudden sound of footsteps alerted us to the fact, that we were no longer alone. Before we could react, a group of heavily armored people began to ambush us.
    The glare coming off their shiny armor nearly blinded me as they surrounded us. My eyes quickly adjusted, allowing me to see that the men were carrying giant bows and arrows, which they were pointing directly at us.
    “I hate being right,” Angie whispered shakily
    “How did you get into the royal gardens?” said a deep booming voice coming from the tallest person in the group with the biggest bow.
    These were telltale signs to me that this person had to be the one in charge.
    I turned toward Angie and April, not sure what to do. Almost simultaneously, we slowly backed away from the armed people closest to us.
    “Do not move, or we will be forced to harm you!” The one in charge announced aloud, signaling something to the others with him.
    “We don’t want trouble; we just want to know how to get back home,” April explained, taking a step toward him with her hands up.
    I was soon taken back to this morning’s dodge ball incident; I could hear the release of the arrow that was pointed at April, but unlike earlier, time did not stop.
    April’s screaming awakened me from my déjà vu moment. Angie hurriedly removed April’s jacket to try to see the wound; the arrow had deeply grazed her side, staining red the lower right side of her Tweety bird shirt she was wearing. I attempted to slow down the bleeding by using the belt to April’s coat as a bandage.
    “That was a warning shot,” the tall man said, putting another arrow in his bow. “Next time, I will not miss.”
    “Are you all out of your minds?” Angie yelled at the steel-clad people, but her eyes were only on the one guy that had shot at April. “We only want to know how to get out of here, and you shoot at us!”
    “Unless you want to meet the same fate as your friend, I suggest you stay where you are,” the man warned, aiming his bow and arrow at Angie.
    “Oh, are you going