Ashcroft: Search for the Dixon Glade

By Alice Michelle Hook

Life in the Ashcroft Forest has been full of adventure over the past few months. Edie the sprite had a curse that turned her into a fox. Edie and her best friend, Abbie, went on a harrowing quest to have the curse removed from the fairies of Holli Lake. They returned only to find the same curse had been put on many of the other members of the As

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fox Fire Publications LLC
• Release date: Aug 9, 2022
• ISBN: 9781950745258

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ASHCROFT

Search for

the Dixon Glade

BY

ALICE MICHELLE HOOK

FOX FIRE PUBLICATIONS, LLC 2022

Text copyright © 2022 by Alice Michelle Hook

Illustration copyright © 2022 by www.SelfPubBookCovers.com/RLSather

All rights reserved. Published by Fox Fire Publications, LLC and

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Fox Fire Publications, LLC.

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Paperback ISBN: 978-1-950745-24-1

eBook ISBN: 978-1-950745-25-8

Printed in the U.S.A.

First Ashcroft: Search for the Dixon Glade paperback printing, August 2022

Acknowledgements

To my real-life Jay, Joe, and Jordi. I love you. Thank you for sharing in these stories with me.

To my mom and dad who read to me any time they got the chance and opened my mind to these amazing worlds.

To TJ Berry, my co-author, co-editor, partner in the crime of the missing Oxford comma.  I couldn’t do it without you, and I wouldn’t want to.

To my Edie, thank you for beginning this journey with me so many years ago.

To the sprites of the Ashcroft Forest and the Dixon Glade.  Thank you for being my muse. 

And to two of my favorites who finally get a character in this adventure: Clark and Alene. You both taught me a love of writing and editing in your own way.  I am forever grateful to both of you and the time you invested in me.

Fox Fire Publications would like to thank www.SelfPubBookCovers.com/RLSather for this amazing cover.

Search for the Dixon Glade

Chapter One Memories

Chapter Two Welcome

Chapter Three Abbie’s Idea

Chapter Four Parvack

Chapter Five Legend Has It

Chapter Six Strawberry Fields

Chapter Seven Reunion

Chapter Eight A Walk Through the Forest

Chapter Nine Homecoming

Chapter Ten Jay’s Decision

Chapter Eleven Settling In

Chapter Twelve Conversations

Chapter Thirteen Wedding Plans

Chapter Fourteen Reception

Chapter Fifteen Journey

Chapter Sixteen Found

Chapter Seventeen Return

Chapter One

Memories

Jay! Michael exclaimed, looking at him in surprise.  What are you doing here?

I came looking for the rest of our tribe.  What are you doing here? Jay asked in shock.

This was the first place I found after I got separated from all of you, Michael replied, thinking back on the events of the past few months.  He walked over to Jay and embraced him.  Fen, the tribe leader, allowed me to stay here.  I’ve become friends with a lot of the sprites, including Abbie and Edie.  He motioned to the two of them, but Jay continued to stare at him.

I’m so glad to see you alive, Michael, Jay said.  We were all so worried about you after we got separated.

You just don’t know how happy I am to see you, Jay.  I didn’t know how to find any of you, and I was worried I’d never get to see you again, Michael responded, his voice choked with emotion.

Why don’t Abbie and I finish preparing lunch and let the two of you catch up? offered Edie.  Jay looked away from Michael for the first time when she said that.  He seemed to finally realize there were others there.

Actually, our food is ready, Michael replied.  We only need one more sandwich."

I’ll make another sandwich for myself if you’ll bring the rest out, Edie, Abbie suggested.

Sure, Edie agreed.  She took the sandwiches and baked butternut squash out to the table and set the table for four.  Abbie made a honey and berry sandwich for herself.  They all sat down and began their meal.  Abbie and Edie ate quietly.  Edie eyed Jay with interest but kept quiet.  Jay brightened with the food.  He looked less frightening and calmer as he ate.

Why did everyone leave?  What happened to the tribe after I got separated from you?  Is everyone OK?  How did you end up getting separated as well? Michael asked.

Slow down there, Michael, Jay requested, laughing and clearing his mouth of food.  Before we get into that, do you remember what happened right before we lost you?

I think I do, but everything in my mind around that time is so fuzzy.  I don’t know if what I’m remembering is real or something I imagined, Michael answered honestly.  So why don’t you tell us what really went on?

Jay laughed again.  Alright.  Let me paint a picture for Edie and Abbie to help them see this in their mind more easily, Jay said to Michael.  Our glade lies in the middle of a large forest and at the base of a mountain.  It was a charming village that held many sprites that I cared about.

Wait, Abbie interrupted before she could stop herself.  You said it WAS a charming village.  What happened to it?

Jay answered her, "One night, a large storm raged.  There was a lot of heavy rain, and the village began to flood.  We rarely had trouble with flooding, but on that night, the water running off the mountain was collecting in the glade.  Our emergency plan was to travel up the mountain and stay in a cave until the rain stopped.  Then we would go out and survey the damage.  So, we followed the plan and headed up the mountain.  Michael and I were the last sprites out of the village because we stayed behind to make sure that everyone got out.  The rain grew harder as we made our way up the mountain together.

"Just as we were about to reach the top of the mountain, a bolt of lightning hit a tree nearby.  One of the limbs snapped and hit Michael.  I’m not sure where the limb hit him, but he dropped quickly.  Still fresh from the shock of what happened, I tried to follow where he fell, but the rain obscured my vision, and I couldn’t find him.

"I searched for hours.  The only reason I stopped my search for you was that two of the older sprites forced me into the cave so that I wouldn’t get hurt too.  They promised me that we would resume the search for Michael the next morning.  I was so worried about Michael that I didn’t sleep very much that night.  The next day, we searched all day, but we found no sign of Michael.  I was distraught, as were Michael’s parents.  We hoped that nothing bad had happened to you, Michael, but the rain had washed away any clues of where you had gone.

"While we were searching for you, several of the other sprites went to survey the state of the village.  They returned with bad news.  Most of the homes in the glade had been destroyed.  We all knew that we couldn’t live in the cramped little cave for very long, and the ground was too wet to start building houses any time soon.  We salvaged all of the belongings and memories that we could.  Then we set off to try to find somewhere either to stay until the ground dried out or to build a completely new village.

"Early in the morning every day, several sprites scouted new places and then we moved everything to a new site every afternoon.  For almost two weeks, we would camp somewhere different every day.  Then we got too exhausted to continue at that pace.  We decided to continue to send a few scouts out each day to see if we could find a piece of land that would be a good place for us to settle permanently.

I was one of the sprites who went out on scouting trips every other day.  It took my mind off thinking about what fate had befallen you.  The other scouts and I had a hard time finding anywhere that was proper to build a completely new village.  One night I returned from scouting to find that our whole camp was gone.  Michael, I know exactly how you must have felt to be without your friends and family.

Jay stopped at this point to drink some water and take a deep breath.  Michael patted him on the shoulder and then