The+Fire+in+the+Valley

Shero Journey Story-The Fire in the Valley

**Grocery shopping that was the one errand Valerie and Vicki Li loved to do for their mother, Monica Li. Monica was sick and often called on her two daughters to help her do errands like grocery shopping. **
 * Valerie and Vicki were in an unusually happy mood today; they got to go ice skating today! Even though they lived in Red Lake, Minnesota, and their state was usually cold all year long, the weather was pretty warm all winter this year and today the ice rink was opening for the first time this year! They hurried home and made a quick lunch; macaroni and cheese. Vicki kept wishing their father was here so they could go ice skating while he prepared lunch, but he had disappeared three years, 24 days ago and was never found again. Valerie prepared a picnic lunch to eat at the ice rink when they were hungry. **


 * “Bye Mom!” they yelled and hurried out to the garage to get their bikes. Valerie’s was purple, blue, and green, and Vicki’s was green and blue. Every year they raced to the ice rink on Opening Day and Vicki, who was 15 this year, usually won. But this year was different; Valerie, who was 12, won since she had been riding her bike with her friends all year long and could go really fast now. Also, she got a new bike which was much better than her old one. They locked their bikes on the bike rack and ran inside so they would not miss any of the fun. **

**Public skating would officially start in ten minutes, so they had to hurry. The locker room was just ahead and they ran into the large, spacious room. Every year they changed the wallpaper and Valerie always kept track of what kind of wallpaper that they had. This year’s was blue with green stripes and little purple flowers. They opened a vacant locker and changed into skates and was about to leave when Vicki noticed a tiny piece of paper lying in the corner of the locker. **
 * Valerie urged her to open it, and she did. It read, “go to the bottom of the valley in the middle of your town at exactly 4:45 not a second late.” Valerie and Vicki discussed who wrote the note, and they both came to the conclusion that it was genuine, and the note was actually meant for them. **

**They hurriedly changed into their regular shoes and stashed their skates into their locker, and locked it. **
 * “Let’s hurry,” Valerie exclaimed, looking at her watch, “it is already 4:30, and it takes us about five minutes to ride our bikes to the valley.” **


 * After five minutes of furious pedaling, they reached the valley in record time and out of breath. “We-made-it!”gasped Vicki, stopping to catch her breath. After drinking some water, they ran down to the bottom of the valley and not a second late. Right when their feet touched the bottom, a HUGE fire exploded in front of them and sucked them in! Valerie and Vicki tried to scream for help, but their mouths would not open. They felt themselves spinning around and around and soon became unconscious. **

**After a while, they opened their eyes and found themselves staring into the eyes of a young woman whose skin was as smooth as a pebble and looked as if she was in her late twenties. She was wearing a long white gown with a necklace made out of amythests. ** “We need to ask the Queen for extra clothes and accessories,” Vicki reminded
 * “You survived the fire,” said the woman softly, staring at them in awe, “this is very rare. If you are wondering if I sent the note, the answer is yes. It was kind of like a test to see if you would survive. If you did, an ever greater quest would await you.”She introduced herself as Queen Eliana and Valerie and Vicki introduced themselves. She said that they were in the world of Upendi, and The Fire was the only gate from the Upperland to the Lowerland. **
 * She said the only way to return to what the Upperlanders called Minnesota would be to find a quest, and get a special object that by the touch of the wizard Agad, it could return them to the Upperland, and he might also give them something that will benefit them in some way. She said that the special object was a golden crown that disappears after every quest and hides itself. She also warned them that there was a good chance that they might die. **
 * Valerie and Vicki thought about this, and finally accepted the quest. Queen Eliana smiled and tapped a tiny silver bell, and a servant silently appeared. **
 * “Ching,” she ordered, indicating to the tall servant, “take the girls to the guest room on the fourth floor that is decorated with all purple.” **
 * Ching bowed to her, and led the girls to the room. The room had two beds that was covered with purple and white blankets, lots and lots of purple pillows, four white ones, purple curtains, a white rug on the purple carpet, and a big bathroom that was divided into two parts with a glass door in between. One side was the toilet and the other side was the shower. The sink was in between. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“You should take a shower at least three times a day for one week,” Ching advised in a deep voice, “having the smell of the Upperland is dangerous in Upendi and you will not leave the castle until the week is up unless you leave earlier. You might not be here for the whole week, but then you would need to shower more than three times a day.” He left the girls staring at him with questioning eyes, and went out of the room. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“This feels like a prison,” Valerie complained. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“It is for a good cause,” assured Vicki, “We NEED to get home.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They each took showers and combed their hair. They fell onto their beds, weary after their adventure today. Suddenly, Vicki jumped out of bed and stared at Valerie. She pointed at the alarm clock. It read 5:40. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Valerie, “ she goes to sleep at 6:30 and our quest starts tomorrow!” **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“How do you know that?” Valerie asked. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“I asked her and she told me when you were taking a shower.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They quickly changed and ran downstairs to find the Queen. She was undressed and about to brush her teeth when Valerie and Vicki burst in. She looked surprised and quickly put down her toothbrush. She turned off the light in the bathroom and came out to meet them. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What brings you here at this time?” the Queen asked quizzically. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“We have come to ask you for extra clothes and acessories,” answered Valerie and Vicki in unison. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Ah, a splendid idea,” the Queen said approvingly, “come with me.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">She led them to a huge closet and told them to chose what they think would be appropriate for the quest. She also told them that they could be going anywhere and she did not know where the crown was. Inside the closet were dresses, jeans and sweatpants, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, hairbands, tights, jackets, boots, and much more. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Valerie and Vicki both chose thick brown jackets, shorts, jeans, shirts, socks, and some boots. Then the Queen told them that there were some weapons secreted in some of the clothes and that they would have to be careful. The kids looked surprised and thanked the Queen for her generous gifts. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They packed all the things that the Queen had given them into their new suitcases and took another shower. The warm shower felt really good after all the excitement today and they tumbled into bed. **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The next morning, the delicious smell of pancakes and waffles woke Valerie and Vicki. At first they thought, “why would Mom make us pancakes and waffles on a regular day?” Then they remembered; they were in a strange world called Upendi and was living with a queen and of course a queen would eat a delicios meal everyday. They jumped out of bed and took a quick shower, changed into t-shirts and shorts, and ran downstairs for breakfast for they were starving. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Hi,” the queen smiled, “you sure are up early.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">While the girls busied themselves at the kitchen, the queen continued making those delicious smelling pancakes and waffles. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“What makes them smell so good?” Valerie asked. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ Oh,” the queen said, “ I add a lot of syrup on them after about three minutes and also a lot of honey. Brown sugar makes them better.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Valerie nodded. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Soon the pancakes and waffles were finished and they all sat down to eat. After breakfast, the queen packed them enough food for about twenty days and the basket was so heavy they could not carry it. The queen said that she was going to send four people to go with them. Queen Eliana tapped a large golden bell and one man and three women came in. The queen introduced the women as Rita, Sunny, and Starr. and the man was Charley. The girls introduced themselves, and Charley took the basket, and the girls waved the queen good-bye. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Outside was a large barn and they all went inside. Valerie and Vicki both gasped, there were about 30 owls flying around inside! Sunny gave them each an owl and Starr showed them how to ride. Valerie got on her brown and black owl named Soot and squeezed her legs tightly around the body of her owl and tried to fly. Rita advised her to loosen her legs and she found that it was easier to fly and much more comfortable. Vicki was given a snow white owl called Arorya and took the advice that Rita gave Valerie and flew perfectly. Charley put the basket of food on his white and brown owl and said his owl’s name was Arny. Rita and Sunny got on yellow owls named Arr and Aryea, and Starr got a blue owl called Amry. They put the saddles on their bats and flew off. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All the owls began spinning around and diving and suddenly going higher and performing other tricks. Valerie and Vicki both declared that roller coasters would never amaze them again! After a few minutes of trick flying, all the owls began flying regularly. Sunny and Starr suddenly put their ears on their owls’ fur and listened for a few seconds. Then they sat up and whispered to the others that the bats, their enemies were close. Arr suddenly swooped low and the other owls followed.They hid in nearby bushes and could see the owls flying above them. The bats suddenly stopped in midair and looked around. Satisfied that there were no other creatures besides them, they flew off. All the bats and people continued on their journey. They decided that their first destination would be the Artick ocean since hardly anyone visits there nowadays. Every one agreed and Aryea and Sunny led the way. Soon they could smell the ocean. Unlike the oceans in the upperland, the ocean was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">__swee__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">t!! They took long sips in the sweet ocean and filled canteens with the sweet water in case of emergencies. Rita opened a sack fastened on her owl and brought out plastic helmets connected to big tanks. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ To breath underwater,” Rita explained. She asked Charley, Sunny, and Starr to help her. Rita tied tanks on Amry and Arr, Sunny tied some on Aryea and Soot, Charley prepared Arny, and Starr tied a tank on Arorya. The people each put on one too. Starr told them to hold onto their owls and not let go because they would drown without their owls. The kids all took her advice and they dove into the freezing water. At first they wanted to hold their breath, but then remembered that they had oxygen tanks and relaxed. They dove deeper and deeper and deeper and then all their bats suddenly stopped. It was so dark that Valerie and Vicki could not see anything, but Starr informed them that they were on the ocean floor. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sunny handed them waterproof flashlights that worked without batteries and turned them on. Suddenly everything around them was lit up and they could see that thousands of weird fish and sharks swimming around them curiously. Valerie screamed and Rita shushed her. She explained that the sharks meant no harm and were only curious. Valerie relaxed and her face turned red. Charley told them to follow him and they obeyed. He led them to a dark cave and stopped. He asked them if they thought this was the place and they all nodded. Rita went to the front and took them inside. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The inside was creepier than the outside and Valerie and Vicki stayed behind the group, ready to swim outside. Sunny laughed, and told them that there was nothing inside the cave except them, and possibly the magical crown. Vicki and Valerie relaxed and swam quicker. Suddenly, Sunny realized that Aryea was not with them, and relayed this information to the others in the group. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Starr said that they must find Aryea quickly, and that if they did not find her soon enough, she might get hurt, or even die! Everyone gasped, and quickly split into three groups to search for Aryea. Vicki and Sunny were in one group, Valerie and Starr in another, and Charley and Rita were assigned to the same group. Vicki and Sunny went outside the cave to search for Aryea, Valerie and Starr went ahead and checked to make sure that they didn’t miss anything, and Charley and Rita looked the middle and back of the cave, where they already came from. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sunny and Vicki quickly swam outside and came back as quickly, reporting that they had seen a strange man about three times the size of Sunny, who wanted to see them. Everyone looked confused and went outside. It was true! A very tall man filled the doorway, and introduced himself as Agad, the Wizard. Now everyone was really confused, why would the all powerful wizard know them and want to see them? As if reading their thoughts, Agad smiled and said that he had sensed someone was searching for the magical crown and the queen had told him where they were and on his way here, he found an owl that he thought had escaped from them on his way here and brought her along. Sunny eagerly asked him to show them the owl. Agad smiled and did what Sunny asked him. The owl was actually Aryea! Sunny ran forward and hugged Aryea for what seemed like hours and then finally let go. Valerie and Vicki looked at Sunny and asked her how she knew that the owl was Aryea. Sunny told them that all owls have different markings on their chest and Aryea had a white diamond.Sunny explained that Aryea had sensed trouble outside and went to investigate, when she got captured by a strange woman and was her prisoner for about half an hour when she suddenly freed her. It seemed like she was afraid of Agad was coming and she was afraid of Agad. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Oh no!” Starr gasped, “if that was Vienna, the Evil Witch, she will stop at nothing to keep us away from that crown. We must hurry and get the crown and then escape as fast as we can. If Vienna captures that crown, it will lose all its power and will never be able to work again!! Luckily, Vienna was not a very fast swimmer, and Starr was on a wonderful Swim Team and was a wonderful swimmer. She paused and smiled at Sunny, and Sunny blushed, and Starr continued, “We can easily outswim her, but she has many tricks up her sleeve, so we need to be careful.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Agad warned them to be careful because Vienna was a very dangerous woman and would do anything to get the crown. He also warned them that she could turn into anything she wanted. He also told them to beware strangers because they could be Vienna’s little minions or even Vienna herself. They all nodded and Agad left them. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Everyone nodded and hurried back into the cave. The inside was really dark, so Sunny handed them all flashlights. Starr advised them to get off their owls because there might be really low places where people could only go on foot. Starr was right! In the next few minutes, they approached a tall narrow passageway. They all crouched on their hands and knees and crawled through. When they were safely on the other side, their bats came through. Soon they found themselves in a really bright tunnel, and the allies all turned off their flashlights. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Suddenly, Rita gave an ear piercing scream and put her ear to the ground as of to see if it would echo. After a few moments, she stood up and explained that she had thought there was a canyon ahead and screamed to see if it would echo and it did. Charley said that if there was a canyon up ahead, they would need to get on their owls, so everyone did. A few minutes later, they approached the canyon and Starr and her owl, Arny took the lead followed by the other owls.The owls all flew in a perfect line all the way over the canyon. Valerie was so nervous that she forgot to loosen her legs, and Soot flew slower than all the others. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At the other side of the canyon, Valerie relaxed, and fed Soot an apple for squeezing her legs so tightly against his feathers, and patted his neck. Again, they found themselves in a really dark room, so they turned their flashlights. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Are we still underwater?” Valerie asked. **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">wasn’t sure that there was a canyon ahead.” **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Yes,” Charley replied, “This is an underwater cave, but they are very rare, so I **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The surrounding walls were faded and crumbling, so Valerie and Vicki assumed that they were in a place that no one had been to in a long time. At the end of the crumbling passageway, they found themselves staring into a large wooden door with a huge brass padlock, keeping the door secure. Everyone leaned against the door and pushed and hit the door, but the door would not give way. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A small, fat elf approached the people quietly and watched with a grin on his face, for he knew that they would never open the door without the golden key, and he had the golden key! When Starr turned around to find something to open the door, she saw the little elf that had been watching them and warned the others about him. The little elf introduced himself as Pixel and told them that they could only get the key from him by getting the marble statue from bottom of a water well. Whenever people drank from this well, they would turn young. It was called the Well of Youth. He said that the marble statue was important to him because, with the right words spoken, the marble giant would turn into a real giant that would grant all the elf’s wishes. He warned them that the real statue was not shiny so they wouldn’t mistake it for something else. **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They thought about this for some time, all of them having the thought that the marble giant could bring Valerie, Vicki, and perhaps their dad home. They did not know the magical words, and all had a strong hunch that their dad was in this room, so they thought this idea was not possible, so they agreed to the elf’s request. Pixel smiled and let them go back through the passageway. They hurried out of the dark, underwater cave and into the bright sunlight through a shortcut that the elf showed them, not wanting to lose any time because Valerie and Vicki wanted to find their dad soon and get home. Not remembering how to return to the Well of Youth, they went into Agad’s den and asked him for directions. He told them that if they went forward for about half an hour, they would find a small hill and at the top of the hill was the well. The well was really deep, so it would be very hard to get the figurine. They all nodded and went outside. Sunny took out a compass, so they would know where North was because if they went straight, that would be North. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After about an hour, they found themselves faced with a big hill. Already tired from their 2.5 mile walk, they paused to get a drink of water before climbing the big hill. After an hour of climbing, they saw the well at the top and hurried to get a drink from the water that was in it. When they were about twenty yards from well, Vicki remembered that this was the Well of Youth, and it would be unwise to get a drink from it, so she reminded the others and they retreated from the well. Charley took some rope from his pack and went to the well to get the statue. The rope had a hook at the end, so it would be easier to hook onto the marble. Charley threw the rope into the well and pulled it up, with the statue hanging on the hook. Everyone cheered, and Charley put the statue into the pack. All of the weary people went down to the bottom of the hill. Once they were at the bottom, they went through the shortcut which was hidden behind some brush and a large oak tree. When they got to the large wooden door again, they found Pixel waiting, so they handed him the marble statue. Pixel held it up to the light, as if to see if it was genuine. After a few moments of peering at the statue, he nodded at them and handed them a large golden key. Elated by their good fortune, Rita pushed the key into the lock and turned it. Everyone waited impatiently. Would it work? It did! The door swung open and revealed a small, brightly lit room. In the middle was a golden crown and and besides it was a small cot with a man lying in it. When Valerie and Vicki were about to call out “Dad!!” the little elf sprang on them and immediately became big and attacked them. **
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Do you think you could get away with this that easily,” exclaimed the elf wickedly, “I am Vienna, the Evil Witch, and I plan to keep you away from the crown... forever!” She finished with a evil laugh and lunged for them. Sunny and Starr both lunged for the crown, but Starr got there first, so she ran away into the damp passageway, hoping that Vienna would not notice her. She did not, thankfully. She was too busy focusing on Valerie, Vicki, Charley, Rita, Sunny, and the owls. While Vienna was chasing Rita, Sunny took out her sword and threw it at Vienna. Vienna dropped dead, and the others hurried outside with the sick man and put him on Arny with Charley. Rita took the crown from Starr with a lot of protesting from Starr, saying that she was old enough to hold the magical crown, but since Rita was her mother, she obeyed. They hurried quickly to Agad’s den and gave him the crown. Agad gasped and put his hand on the crown, amazed by their accomplishments, but before doing anything else, he gave them a small jar of strange purple liquid with dots of blue and green everywhere and told them that this would heal their mother’s illness. Before letting them say anything else, he told them that he knew their mother was sick by his visioning crystals, called the Oculus. He saw that their mother was sick. **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Don’t worry,” he assured them, “I will bring the crown back to Queen Eliana ,and she can tell the crown to hide again.” **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After saying this and handing Vicki the jar, he spoke some intelligible words and Valerie, Vicki, and their dad found themselves spinning around, the feeling that they experienced when they went through the fire. After a few minutes of spinning, they found themselves lying on their beds in their house. They called to their mother and Monica hurried to their side. **

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quiz Time ** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">media type="custom" key="18002480"
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“ Mother,” said Vicki gasping, “there is an amazing Lowerland below us, and I am sure you would be interested in it! We also found Dad and something to cure your disease!" **