Auroras

By Ceryce Collie

There is more to the world than many know. Far north in the Arctic lies a land shielded by an invisible force. Magnolia is the princess of Lumera, one of the two kingdoms, and heir to the throne. Her life has been planned out for her and all
that is left is for her to obey. Magnolia wants change, and quickly, she starts to get it, none of which she ever wanted, nor could have imagined. It all starts when she sneaks away with her best friend James, whom her father has just forbidden her to see. In the midst of a series of life-changing and unforgettable events, Magnolia finds herself and her friends with an ancient power and fi ghting a battle against horrible monsters they unleashed into their world. They dread the day they see the Auroras in the sky, because then there is no going back.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465347831

Ceryce Collie

Ceryce is fourteen and lives in the Bahamas with her parents and two siblings. She started writing Auroras when she was twelve. It is the first book she has published but not the only one she has written. The first book was a book of poems she wrote when she was about seven years old and the other book was started when she was ten years old but never finished. Even though Auroras took long to write, she enjoyed writing it. Her inspiration was her father who wrote a book as well. She's also an amateur fashion designer and poet. She hopes to write more books in the future and exploring different genres with them.

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Ceryce Collie.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011913983

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-4782-4

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-4781-7

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-4783-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Prologue

In a land far north in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, hidden from the rest of the world by a mysterious force, were two kingdoms. One kingdom never experienced night and the other never experienced day. The first which only experienced day was called Lumera. During the Lumera nights, there were slightly bright sunsets straight through to morning which, then, had a sunrise. The other kingdom which only experienced night was Kahlor. In the Kahlor mornings, there were dark sunsets until midday when night took over. The two kingdoms were complete opposites. Those two kingdoms and a small place in the middle of them called Prime took up all the land.

The people of Kahlor, Lumera, and Prime were aware that there was an outside world. They just did not care to know about it and felt that there must be a good reason why they are protected from it. It didn’t affect them in any way so it did not concern them. As for the rest of the world, they were completely oblivious to it. Or are they?

Lumera’s king and queen were Roland and Veronica. They had four children, three boys and a girl. The oldest boy, Roland the second, was twenty-five and was in charge of the Lumera Army. The second and third boys were four years younger than their older brother. Their names were Callum and Brian; they loved having their power over others. If they could get more, they would.

Last, there was Magnolia. She was fifteen and the heir to the throne. The king and queen had decided to start a cycle: first boy shall be king; his first daughter shall be the next queen and her first son shall be king and so on. As the only princess in Lumera, she had to be careful of her every move. Her parents wanted her to be the picture of perfection. Every time she did something wrong, even as a small child, she was reprimanded and immediately corrected for it.

Chapter 1

It was an early morning in the palace. I went to the dining room for breakfast and sat down at the table.

Good morning, I said to my parents.

My father said, Good morning Magnolia. Sweetheart, you are late. You were supposed to be up earlier.

I groaned to myself. I was so tired I could go to sleep on the floor.

Roland, let’s ease up on her a bit. She has done a lot lately, said my mother.

He sighed. Fine. Magnolia, be ready for today’s event. You will meet the most elegant girls your age and might even make some friends. He was overjoyed at the thought of me having friends that were girls.

Do not slouch, Magnolia, Mother told me.

He continued. You are growing up, and I need to take this time to make sure that you are surrounded by the right people so that you are not lead to the wrong path and can fulfil your duties as a princess. This will be very good for you.

I was so tired of hearing that. I could quote it in my sleep. I even had nightmares about it.

Magnolia, quickly finish eating. Don’t eat it all, though. You don’t want to be fat, my mother said.

Yes, Mother, I said respectfully. Mother was obsessed about my weight and figure. If she even thinks that I’m gaining weight, she will put me on a diet faster than I can think to argue.

Father, I said when I finally managed to build up the courage, can I do something with James today? That is, after the event is over. My hands were sweating badly. Maybe this time he’ll say yes, I thought. My parents had never let me do anything outside the palace with James, no matter how much I begged and pleaded.

Father stopped, cup held in midair, inches from his mouth, and laughed, "Oh course you cannot, darling. You know that your very important social event will be ending late tonight, and I do not like you out late at night. You also know I don’t like that boy you call your friend. He sipped the hot tea and rest it back down on the table. Perhaps another time."

I had heard that line time after time. It never changed. Never.

A few hours later that morning, I was in my room getting ready when I heard a knock on the door.

The person asked, May I come in?

I knew that voice anywhere. It was James, my only true friend (my only friend, too) that, sadly, Father doesn’t approve of. I don’t care, though. At least I got to see him often enough.

Sure James, I said.

Hi, Maggie. You look nice, he said.

Can you all leave us alone please? I asked turning to the other people in my room. I didn’t feel comfortable with everyone else around while I talk to James. They would tell my parents everything I say to James and whether or not I speak in a royal manner and other stuff that bore me. Gladly, they left quickly. So are you coming to the event today? Please say you will. I don’t know if I can handle being there with all those girls who only talk about who to date first and which of them looks more like a twig. I sat on my bed and grabbed a pillow.

When they talk about boys, you can just suggest me and how amazing I am? James tends to be conceited, but most of the time it’s out of sarcasm. I threw the pillow in my hands at him. I got him right on the side of his head. We both burst out laughing.

Hey, you can’t blame me for asking. He threw the pillow back at me.

Well, I can blame you for that! I laughed. Okay, okay. That’s enough of that; next thing you know I hit you again and you can’t get back up off the carpet. So are you coming to the ball or not?

I can’t. You know the king won’t allow it.

That hasn’t stopped me before.

He paused for a second. That’s a good point. Okay, I’ll come. I might be a little late. He turned and left for the door.

After he left, I finished putting on my makeup and jewelry. My long brown hair was curled and pulled back. It looked nice around my tan skin. My brown eyes were always described by my mother as heavenly golden. I always got compliments on them, whether people meant them or not.

I looked in the mirror, mentally preparing myself for the worst and hoping it would be enough.

We waited until everyone arrived until we went into the ballroom and sat on our thrones. People had gone about the palace making the last few preparations. I thought it was really unnecessary to make such a big thing out of something as small as me meeting people to build my social status and making friends. I sighed and hoped for the best.

Mother and Father sat two steps higher than me, and I was down between them.

As I waited impatiently on my throne for James to arrive, people began to come in large groups. I started to think of worse situations to try to calm myself down. I thought of having to make a speech in front of everyone about how I really feel about everything being decided for me including how I appear to the kingdom. That thought was horrible. I wished I hadn’t thought about it. I started to feel unbelievably hot, almost hot enough to melt. Mother looked at me puzzled. I just smiled. I looked through the crowd to see James walking through to the front. Finally! I just needed to find a way to get down from here and to him.

I leaned back and stretched upward to whisper to Mother saying, Mother, I need to go to the bathroom to check my makeup.

Good, I thought I was the only one who noticed something wrong with it. Go ahead, she said, quite relieved.

I forced a little smile. There was nothing wrong with my makeup! It was absolutely perfect. I put that thought away as I walked into the small hallway leading to the bathrooms and signaled James to come.

You are late James, I said trying my best to sound angry in my slight whisper.

As I said I would be, he said. It takes time to look this good.

It doesn’t matter how good you look, James! The point is you should have been here earlier.

Well, the important thing is that I am here now. What do you need me to do?

Anything that will help if you get the chance.

He nodded. Good luck.

I sat in my horrendous throne and noticed my father vigorously clearing his throat. I looked back at him and he motioned his head towards the clock. I knew what that meant; he wanted me to ‘mingle’ with the other girls. It didn’t matter how many times I told Father I have a friend, he didn’t care and he didn’t even appreciate the fact that I have a friend that I made on my own. It’s really pathetic, actually. James and I have been friends since we were nine years old. His parents came to the palace to do something for my mother. James was told to go in the garden and we found ourselves playing and having fun and soon we became friends. Father was oblivious to the fact that I didn’t need his advice or recommendations on who are my friends. It had me thinking, what if Father could just drop into a vat of mustard and peanut butter for a few moments just so he would get a little sense in his head. No way, that would make me too happy.

I stepped down from my throne and onto the floor. I was immediately surrounded by the many girls asking so many questions and giving so many compliments. I didn’t know what to do until I felt someone grab my hand and pull me toward a soft, cushioned chair near the wall next to the hallway. It felt like I was sitting on a cloud. I drifted into a trance with beautiful music and sweetly smelling flowers then shook my head to get back to reality.

When I got back, James had all the girls in one straight line with one chair in front of me. I was surprised and completely relieved.

James, I don’t believe it! You are amazing! How did you do this? I said to him.

Well, I don’t like to brag… but I will anyway, he said grinning. I used my charm and great looks to do it, but I think it was my persuasive and amazingly hypnotic voice that really got them.

"I don’t care how you really did it, but thanks!" I said beaming. I hoped that that would make things a lot easier.

The first girl came. She had lovely blonde hair but way too much makeup on. She looked so nervous that I was afraid her shaking would cause an earthquake.

Hi, I noticed you look a bit anxious but it’s okay. You can calm down, I said to her calmly and sweetly.

She looked like she wanted to speak but was still shaking. I relaxed my face more and gave a pleasant smile then said, Tell me something about you.

The girl opened her mouth and said, My favorite color is pink, but not dark pink. Not that light pink that is almost white either but like a carnation pink or rose pink.

I like— I began but she cut me off.

Oh and I also like lavender. I really don’t like dark purple or violet, though. She interrupted me talking faster.

By the way, what is your—

Boyfriend’s name? Kendal. I met Kendal a few months ago. He has the cutest hair ever! I can’t believe he wasn’t taken. Well he was, but that didn’t stop me. I believe that if you want something, you ought to fight for it. Well, not literally fight but you know what I mean. Wonderful, first, I couldn’t get her to talk. Now, I couldn’t get her to shut up.

Wow, that’s so great. But what—

Do I think is your perfect match? I guess someone a year or so older, rich, somehow close to royalty. Good looking of course, sweet, charming. It doesn’t matter if he is smart if he is rich now does it? She giggled.

Now that’s not what I—

Want? Well how about a guy who is… . I stopped listening to what she was saying at that point. I could not believe how much and how fast she talks. I couldn’t even get a full sentence in. I started to worry that the talking would never stop.

This is going to be a long day, I thought.

To my dismay, she had started talking even faster. I looked over to James and saw him laughing. I wished he could explain to me what was so funny. I widened my eyes and motioned my head towards the girl. James understood and hurried to me.

"Hello, I am so sorry but it is time for someone else to have a turn," James said to the yapping girl.

Well, there is no need to try anyone else. Princess Magnolia and I are already great friends, she said with a smile. We have plenty to talk about. James and I exchanged exhausted looks then looked back at her.

The girl still didn’t want to move so James grabbed her arm gently and led her away. I hoped with all my heart that there wasn’t anyone else like her.

The next girl had very delicate features. Her hair and eyebrows were light, giving her little color. The only color in her face were her stunning blue eyes. If you focused on them, you wouldn’t notice anything else about her. She was short and really tiny and much more relaxed than the other girl and was definitely excited.

She said, Hi, my name’s Jessica.

Hello Jessica, it’s nice to meet you, I said, being happy that she seemed alright. What do you enjoy doing?

"A lot of stuff since I need to keep exercising; I have to keep myself skinny. The more I look like a stick, the more attractive I am."

Oh, great, I see that’s working well for you. Lovely, a weight obsessed maniac, like I need another one. Mother is more than enough.

So what is your favorite food? I desperately wanted to change the subject and food was the first thing that popped into my head. Perhaps I could have gotten past her thin addiction.

Nothing really; I usually end up working it off anyway. I think that a good figure is most important. So what’s your favorite kind of dirt?

Uh, pardon me? What did you say? I hoped I didn’t hear that correctly. What type of psycho has a favorite type of dirt? Apparently, this one does.

I asked you what you favorite kind of dirt was. I’m really into nature.

I hesitated. Oh, that’s a hard one. There’s the one outside the door… and the one in the forest… oh, and the one that’s in the corner over there. I think that’s about it.

My favorites are the green, the pink, and the yellow dirt. The bright blue dirt makes me sick.

How can there be… never mind. Your time is up. It was nice speaking with you. I hate having to lie to people just to make them feel good, but I seriously thought that the lack of food in her body was having an effect on her brain.

But, I didn’t get to talk much with you. I guess we will talk later. She got up and was lead away by James.

Two girls down, about a million left.

The next girl looked better. She was slightly chubby and had brown skin. Her hair was pulled back in a curly bun. Somehow I could sense something different about her from the other girls. Maybe it was her proud look. Maybe I was wrong.

Hello, what’s your name?

She said with her head held high, I am Cecilia, the daughter of Duke Fringe. I am practically royalty as you already know.

Oh, how… wonderful! Sadly, I was right about her.

"Yes, indeed. Let me start telling you about myself. I despise anyone who isn’t among the upper class people. They consider everyone equal when rich people are clearly more important. They expect