Behind the Mist by M.J. Evans

Author:M.J. Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: teen, middlegrade, fantasy stories, fantasy trilogy, horse stories, unicorn stories
Publisher: M.J. Evans

Chapter 13: The Journey Begins

Preparations for the trip were quite easy. The only thing Jazz and Nick needed to take with them were their shoulder bags filled with the invisible clover. Mastis and Shema decided to accompany them to the edge of the Dark Kingdom.

With his confidence fully intact, Nick looked around his cottage. Warmth filled his heart as he looked around his little home and he hoped that he would be back to his comfortable down bed soon. He stepped out into the sun-filled clearing where Jazz, Mastis, and Shema were waiting for him.

“What direction are we going, Mastis?” Nick asked.

“We will accompany you northward to the point where the light meets the dark.”

“What will we do then?”

“You will step into the dark,” was Mastis’ reply. With that, Mastis turned and led the way into the woods that surrounded Nick and Jazz’s clearing. They traveled throughout the day in the opposite direction from the way they had traveled to visit the Council and Mt. Elisia. At some point, the meadows of flowers began to give way to fields and trees that were not quite so lush. The surrounding land looked more like the Earth that Nick had come from, still beautiful but not as bright and colorful. As he continued looking around, Nick started to see lots of animals. He noticed horses grazing in a lush, green pasture in the shade of a giant oak tree. The scene looked like the pastoral images depicted in paintings by George Stubbs. Nick was familiar with most, though not all, of the species of animals they came upon. “Are we still in Celestia?” he asked his guides.

“No, we left Celestia at the edge of that last meadow. We have entered the Animal Kingdom. This is where the animals come after their Earth life. You will notice that their behaviors are different than they would have been on Earth,” said Mastis with a smile.

Nick looked around. Indeed, things were different here. At one point he noticed several lions grazing among a herd of oxen. Farther along he came upon some bear cubs curled up and sleeping with young lambs. After traveling for several hours, Nick noticed something unusual. “Why don’t I see any dogs here?” asked Nick.

“Oh, that is true. There are very few dogs. You see, most of the dogs choose to go to the Human Kingdom. In fact, poodles were actually insulted at the mere suggestion that they stay in the Animal Kingdom,” said Shema with a chuckle.

Nick smiled to himself as he thought of, Belle, the poodle who had been such an important part of his family until her death the year before his own death. Knowing that she was with the rest of his family was comforting. He took a moment to daydream about Belle playing with his little sisters, Lynn and Nancy. He smiled to himself as he thought of the time he had taken her to an off-leash dog park, and how he thought she would love to run and play with the other dogs.

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