Illusory Adventures

By Kennedy Stone

What does one do as the burden of their home? The one people barely tolerate? Hiding away seems like the best option, but solitude is no place for a young mind.

Noname, a hated citizen of Elikai, asks these questions every day of her life. She has no control over her status that was given to her by her parents. Living only with her older sister Malone, she will attempt to find the answers while trying to restore respect to her family's name. Even if the kingdom is collapsing around her. No matter what stands in her way, she will take every chance to prove her worth. Powerful allies and enemies alike will watch as the youth change and figure out the secrets they have kept under wraps for years. Traveling throughout all the levels of society, she will discover that monsters come in all shapes and sizes. In the brightest whites and darkest blacks, as well as everything in between, Noname's eye-opening journey will test her strength, her magic, and her mind. She must succeed in her adventure and be quick about it. Either that, or nothing in her life will ever be the same.

If being alone is all one has, they will surely reject the society that shuns them. Yet that one person might be the key to solving the problems no one else sees.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781684983896

Book preview

Illusory

Adventures

Kennedy Stone

Copyright © 2022 Kennedy Stone

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-68498-387-2 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68498-389-6 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

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 1 

Noname? a faint voice called out in the background of rustling silk sheets, the sheets that provided a type of protection that could never be replicated. Within that protective barrier, dreams danced, thoughts twirled, and nothing else in the world mattered.

Noname! Not even the most persistent of problems could break in. Once you were wrapped up and surrounded by softness, everything was in your control. You decided how and when to move. You decided how and what to feel. And most importantly, you decided when you wanted to—

Noname, get up! Come help me make breakfast, unless you want everything to get burnt!

Never mind. Leave it to an older sister’s terrible cooking to shatter your paradise. With a disappointed groan, Noname threw off the covers of her bed. She stretched her stiff body and felt her joints pop and crackle indignantly. All this coming from the body of someone my age can’t mean anything good, she thought to herself. Despite this, the fourteen-year-old didn’t plan on making any changes to her morning routine.

In order to avoid another cooking fiasco, Noname had to work fast. She skipped out on picking her favorite spotted skirt and silk top. Walking around in sleepwear made her feel more relaxed anyways. She went to the small bathroom connected to her room, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. Hurriedly, she threw her bed together and arranged the pillows to look at least semi-nice, an overly easy task due to her love of her bed’s design—one dark stripe, one light stripe over and over again. With nothing but a glance of focused eyes, she manipulated the stripes to practically climb up the bed to their correct spots. They pulled the sheets like actual hands, then returned to being flat and inanimate.

She turned to look at her room before she went downstairs. Normal. Completely normal. So long as it stayed that way, everything will be okay. With a similar saying in her brain, she headed down the steps to the kitchen.

Morning, Noname. Took you long enough. A taller, more developed figure smirked at the fireplace. The pot hanging over the stove was dangerously close to boiling over. So she had made it just in time.

She was in her sleepwear, an old night gown that almost touched the floor. Despite it being so oversized, it made her look much more elegant than she was in reality.

Good morning, Malone, Noname said, unamused. More focused on saving the food, she maneuvered her way around the cramped area to grab seasoning and water to cool things down. So what are we doing today?

Is that even a question anymore? Malone said, almost surprised. We’re going to work on the outskirts of town again. All about climbing the social ladder, right? Malone looked over her shoulder and winked. She always was the optimistic sister. As much as it just dampened Noname’s spirits, it was probably better than the opposite. Even then, any reminder of the social ladder was a terrible thing.

At the very least, they didn’t have to go up to the top level, where the people were even more unreasonable. Their home on the second-highest level was the easiest place for getting coins. After Malone was fired from one of her recent jobs, their own level had been the best place to secure funds as well.

Noname stared intently at her newly secured oatmeal. This honestly pointless cycle made her head as foggy as a midsummer mount. My sister and I work together because we’re family. If only the rest of the kingdom was like that, she thought.

Um, are you trying to fire up your magic through your food or something? I’m not seeing any patterns in that bowl, Malone asked almost legitimately.

Noname didn’t look up.

Just thinking about something, she droned. Her mental well-being was as good as it could get considering the times, so she didn’t feel the need to answer directly.

Well, don’t forget to eat it. We’ve got to leave soon. Malone moved on swiftly, a skill that she wore very well as she breezed through the house. Anyways, I was thinking we could try to do tricks for the public with our magic. I think that’ll really get the charms flowing our way!

Of course, people will trade their currency for a freak show, Noname chided. If we show them our odd magic, that will just make them hate us even more. What’s next? Showing weapons to earn their trust?

Oh, come on! Malone insisted. Showing them something they’ve never seen before is just what these stuck-up nobles need. Besides, what have we got to lose?

The last of our dignity.

We still had that?

Noname just about face planted into her oatmeal in exasperation. Luckily, Malone used her magic to catch her head, creating a quick barrier made with the napkins on the other side of the room, which was definitely an accomplishment with how much she was laughing.

Mmff! Can’t we just do what we do every day? Noname pleaded through the napkins. Begging is so much easier!

Where’s the fun in that? Malone said simply.

Well, what if I don’t want to have fun?

Everyone needs fun, Noname. I want you to have some, because it’ll be good for you.

Noname’s eyes narrowed as she looked up from the napkins. You don’t know what is good for me, she made her statement flatly.

Malone paused and stared at her sister. No matter how many times this happened, it always caught her by surprise, a sudden hostile air that seemed to engulf Noname at the worst times.

Please, Noname, she started her plea. It was just a silly suggestion. You used to like our morning talks, and you know, this is what mom and dad would want, you know…to focus on the good times and share our gifts with others. They would want us to enjoy ourselves, just like them, right?

They left us by choice. How should I know what they want? Noname concluded.

A silence radiated in the room, much like the silence that poisoned the whole house when their parents left them. This silence went on for what felt like centuries, until Malone’s face twisted into a determined look. Her breathing became sharp through her slightly opened mouth, and she raised her head to say something, not that Noname was paying attention, lost in her head, fighting between the clarity she wanted and the frustration that she always had known.

Without looking up, she abruptly spoke, Look, I just don’t want the square incident to happen again.

The emotions in the room rose higher and higher. The air got heavier and heavier. The room was about to burst, but fortunately, a knock came to the front door of the house, a noise so unexpected it destroyed both the silence and the tension.

What the… Noname trailed off bewildered. She turned her full body toward the door in her chair. No one ever comes to our house, unless…

Curiosity could quickly turn to fear when one has something to lose. Although the girls thought they didn’t have much of anything, they had forgotten the most crucial thing they did have, their home. Malone’s eyes widened in horror as she came to this realization shortly after her sister did. This could mean trouble for them, especially if the sudden visitor was from the top level.

S-stay there, Malone stammered to her sister as she headed toward the door slowly, almost as if she was in a trance. Once Malone finally got to the door, she only opened it slightly. Hello? Who is it?

A formal, but burly voice was there. Is this where Malone and Noname Treyloe take up residence? the man asked the ridiculous question. He should’ve already known the answer.

Um…yes. I’m Malone. What do you need from us? she introduced herself trying to sound friendly. After that, she stepped out and shut the door quickly behind her.

Noname eyes couldn’t leave the exit. Possibilities bounced around within the walls of her mind, making it difficult to focus on much of anything. As her gaze remained locked, and her thoughts remained anything but, only soft murmurs could be heard through the door. Even though she had no idea what the man and her sister were conversing about, she knew exactly what she needed to do. Malone was always good with people, but if she felt truly threatened, the one meaningful thing their parents left behind would come into use. Noname was ready to fight if her sister gave the word.

She raised her hand slightly from the table, as the faint shimmers of magic hovered at her fingertips. The triangles and ovals on her breakfast bowl were wearing to pop out and be put to combative use. The only problem now was she couldn’t understand any word from inside. So if things escalated out there, by the time she heard, it might be too late.

With too many negative outcomes to deal with, Noname started to stand up from her chair and head out. She had only gotten a step away from the table when her sister exploded through the door, almost knocking it off its hinges, the man walking away in the distance.

Finish your food and put on your best clothes, girl! We’re going to the royal castle! she cheered.

What?

Chapter 2 

Noname was completely sure that she, and her sister, had the worst set of circumstances in the kingdom. They were public enemy number one. They barely had enough money to stay on their level, and now they were being called to the royal palace, which she knew couldn’t mean anything good. The only occurrences of the royal council calling individuals to the palace were when someone had committed an extreme crime, or at least those were the only ones she had heard of. No one, however, knew what exactly happened to people when they went into this place. Since the dark times started, civilians knew there were punishments for crime, but what those punishments were was anyone’s guess. People may not like the council, but they could do whatever they want, including making people disappear, since people who get called in are rarely heard of again.

More ominous thoughts filled Noname’s head as they got closer to the palace. The palace was at the center