Prue's Journey

By L.M. Gregson

For Prue and her friends, life on Castalia was just about perfect. Until it wasn't. Thanks to an evil force, they find themselves fleeing for survival and seeking for a way to fight this evil and reclaim their home. Join Prue and her friends on their thrilling adventure in this first book of the Perdilum series. Follow along as they navigate life in a way they never have before, and immerse yourself in the magic of Perdilum!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tellwell Talent
• Release date: Dec 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9781998190171

L.M. Gregson

Growing up in a small rural community, Gregson developed a vivid imagination at a young age to keep herself entertained. Her love for reading and writing soon followed, and while she has several unpublished novels under her belt, the Perdilum series will proudly be her first published work. Gregson looks forward to sharing this world she has created, and introducing its magic into the homes of readers both young and old.

Book preview

Prue’s

Journey

L.M. Gregson

ILLUSTRATED BY Heather D. Adams

Prue’s Journey

Copyright © 2023 by L.M. Gregson

Illustrated by Heather D. Adams

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Tellwell Talent

www.tellwell.ca

ISBN

978-1-998190-16-4 (Hardcover)

978-1-998190-15-7 (Paperback)

978-1-998190-17-1 (eBook)

My warmest thanks to those who have already joined me on this adventure and to those who have not yet, but will join me on this adventure, but mostly to my husband, the one who reminded me how much fun adventure and imagination should be.

If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colors suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colors become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire.

- J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 - Cully’s Plan

Chapter 2 - An Unlikely Friendship

Chapter 3 - The Girls

Chapter 4 - Exploring Castalia

Chapter 5 - Prue’s Plan

Chapter 6 - Finding the Witch

Chapter 7 - The Map

Chapter 8 - Lina Learns about the Girls

Chapter 9 - Noita

Chapter 10 - Preparing for Battle

Chapter 11 - March to the Pixie Village

Chapter 12 - The Ominous Cloud

Chapter 13 - Old Friends

Chapter 14 - Neverland

Chapter 15 - A Shocking Reunion

Chapter 16 - The Deal

Chapter 17 - Joining Forces

Chapter 18 - The Council of Magicks

Chapter 19 - Noita’s Past

Chapter 20 - The Offer

Chapter 21 - The First Challenge

Chapter 22 - The Isle of Simai

Chapter 23 - When Vines Attack

Chapter 24 - The Pile

Chapter 25 - Watching from Afar

Chapter 26 - Tug-of-War

Chapter 27 - Captured

Chapter 28 - Tyrock vs Kar

Chapter 29 - Beppo

Chapter 30 - The Emerald Eye

Chapter 31 - The Second Challenge

Chapter 32 - Malocris

Chapter 33 - The Truce

Chapter 34 - The Malocris Flutter

Chapter 35 - Separated

Chapter 36 - The Escape

Chapter 37 - Gunner

Chapter 38 - Sham’s Dilemma

Chapter 39 - A Dark Revelation

Prologue

I can’t stop now; I have to keep going! Prue’s legs were burning as she pushed herself to move at a quicker pace, her red hair furiously flying around her head and whipping violently across her eyes as she ran through the forest. It’s a good thing I kept up with my battle training! Prue thought as she let her mind wander back for just a moment to the day seven years ago when she and her tribe landed on the island of Castalia. Time had flown by since that day, most of it rather peacefully until now. She snapped back to her seemingly ill-fated reality when she almost tripped over a tree root, then managed to steal a hasty glance over her shoulder to see where Noita was as she regained her balance and quickly picked up her speed. Her calves ached with pain, and she felt like her lungs were about to burst, but she knew she had to keep running. The ominous cloud chasing behind was bearing down on her, but Prue breathed a sigh of relief as the white sails on her ship, the Bellis Perennial, came into view just up ahead through the tree line.

Go! I’ll get there, just go! Weigh anchor! She screamed at the top of her lungs when she broke through the trees and landed on the warm, sandy beach, her arms gesturing wildly as she ordered the girls on the ship to hoist the anchor and set sail. She was relieved to see that at least some of her tribe had made it back to the ship, though Prue noticed there were fewer faces than she had hoped for. Prue stared at the faces for a brief moment, then quickly shook her head and tried to focus on what she had to do in order to survive. She saw three rowboats at the water’s edge, and for a moment, Prue wondered if she could make it to those boats, untether one, push off from the shore, jump in, and begin rowing herself to the Bellis Perennial, all before the cloud caught up and consumed her as it had so many before her that day. Prue furrowed her brow and turned sharply away from the beach, knowing that running in the sand and then dealing with the small boat would slow her down immensely. Instead, Prue veered away from the beach and sprinted toward another area of the forest, making sure to avoid the cloud as she did so. Through the trees, she had noticed the cliffs ahead that overlooked the sea, and she knew that in the time it would take her to get to the top of the hill, she could come up with a plan to save herself; that is if the cloud didn’t catch her first. Prue chanced a quick peek over her shoulder and could not see the witch, but she knew it would be safer to just keep running. She had never seen a witch take the form of a cloud before and had no idea how to fight this battle. She had to save the remaining members of her tribe from the same fate that the rest of her sisters had just gone through, and she knew that she had to be alive to do this. In the 20-plus years she had spent here in the world of Perdilum, Prue had never found herself in such a sticky situation without a solid plan to get herself and her tribe out of it.

Some leader I am, she thought sarcastically while once again she quickly checked the distance between herself and the carnivorous cloud without breaking her pace. I probably could have prevented this if I had just done my job in the first place. Why wasn’t I more involved in everything? She turned her neck to face forward again and was met with a low-hanging branch.

Oof! Prue cried out as the branch hit her square in the chest and knocked whatever wind that remained in her lungs out of her. She struggled to take a few staggering breaths as she clumsily began running again, and then, to her horror, Prue heard laughter. She could not tell if it was inside her head or swarming over her like annoying little gnats that never seemed to go away when swatted at. The laugh was maniacal and faint but steadily growing louder. Prue stopped running, but only for a moment, wondering if there was something more that she could do to stop the witch and prevent her from causing more trouble. The laughter grew louder, and Prue hastily concluded that her best option would be to get to the ship, rejoin her surviving tribe members, and create a plan with them to banish the witch once and for all. She sped up the hill toward the cliffs as fast as her exhausted legs could carry her, and she tried her best to ignore the laughter that continued to grow louder and louder and seemed to be suffocating her. She stopped at the edge of the cliff and looked down at the jagged rocks below, knowing she would certainly die if she jumped. Noita was right behind her now, and Prue’s hair stood on end as she felt the witch’s warm breath on the back of her neck.

Chapter 1

Cully’s Plan

One month earlier…

Olinda, there is no good reason for you to go through with this. You know the harm Noita can cause if we loosen her ropes and set her free. Don’t be foolish! She is angry at all of us, not just the humans, remember? Lina pleaded with the slightly older pixie, Olinda, as though she were speaking with a dear friend and not the leader of the pixie Flutter on Castalia. Lina had tears welling up in her bright purple eyes as she tried to reason with Olinda and couldn’t help but feel frustrated with her leader’s ignorance in the matter at hand.

The two pixies had been close friends since they were children in the Flutter, though they had somewhat drifted apart once Olinda had been named the new leader several years ago. Olinda was a few years older than Lina but had always been something of a protector over the small pixie, even though Lina was considered to be an outcast in their Flutter. Ever since she had been collected with the other baby pixies and brought back to the village, Lina had had a hard time fitting in with the other pixies who were so graceful and nimble, while Lina, though very petite, was always so clumsy and awkward. The other pixies in their Flutter viewed Lina as a klutz and had difficulty accepting her for who she was. On the other hand, Olinda had always been popular and loved and admired by all. She could do no wrong, according to the other members of the Flutter, but no matter how popular she was, Olinda never turned Lina away when the petite pixie approached her for help or friendship. However, things changed when Olinda became the new leader of the Flutter; she had hardened a bit and stopped spending so much time with Lina.

She had to, though, Lina would tell herself. As a leader, she had to start being more authoritative and stop spending so much time with me. She would never say this out loud, but Lina was somewhat surprised when Olinda was made the new leader. For as long as Lina had known her, Olinda had never shown any interest in leading the Flutter of Castalia, and when she was named so, even the other Flutter members were surprised. Sure, they loved Olinda, but they never imagined her as their leader.

Over time, the pixies accepted Olinda in her new role, and they saw how strong she was. She was also fair and kind and always seemed to have the Flutters’ best interest at heart. Several years after obtaining leadership, Olinda abruptly chose a pixie named Cully to be her second-in-command, which Lina thought was a weird move, and she wasn’t the only one to think so. Cully was the exact opposite of everything Olinda stood for; she was mean, sneaky, and had a reputation for not being very trustworthy, but Lina and the other pixies figured Olinda saw something in Cully that they could not. Lina had always thought that Cully was a bad influence but didn’t dare say anything for fear of being made even more of an outcast, seeing as the other fairies eventually began to favour Cully and her leadership style.

While Cully had been in a position of power, things around the small village had gotten worse for Lina and nobody, not even Olinda, seemed to notice, though Lina did not exactly go out of her way to look for pity or sympathy.

Olinda didn’t seem to notice much of anything anymore if it had to do with Lina, and Lina couldn’t figure out what was happening with her old friend. She had been the Flutter leader for almost a decade, but the last four years had made Olinda sterner, more aggressive, and seemingly more pessimistic.

Now, as she spoke with Lina in her office, her face looked weary, and she sighed deeply, the lines around her mouth more pronounced than usual as she frowned.

Lina, making a deal with the witch is the only chance we’ve got to overpower Prue and her tribe. Cully has explained it all to me very clearly, and I’ve got to say, it makes perfect sense to me now, Olinda said to the small pixie, then straightened herself up and looked down her nose at her. Those humans took over this island seven years ago without a second thought about how disruptive and intrusive they were. This is our home, not theirs, and they seem to have forgotten their place. Before they arrived all those years ago, we were living quite peacefully with the witch. She kept to herself, and we minded our own business too. Sure, she was never pleasant to deal with or be around, and we were all extremely scared of her… Olinda trailed off, thinking about all the times the witch had intimidated the pixies into silence or had not upheld her end of a deal by scaring them from calling her out on it.

One time in particular kept flashing into Olinda’s mind; there had been some nasty-tempered Meadow nymphs stranded on the island by a ship of pirates almost immediately after Olinda had become the Flutter leader and, being new to that position, she was not sure how to handle it properly. The nymphs had begun running wild all over Castalia, causing chaos everywhere they went. Trees were being vandalized, flowers and plants were constantly being trampled, and they were disturbing the fish in the lake and the creeks. Noita was also upset by the nymphs and their loud, high-pitched voices, so she promised Olinda that she would get rid of them safely if Olinda would just herd them all together into one space to make it easier for the witch.

Olinda, grateful for the help, gladly obliged and was eventually able to gather the nymphs to the same area by coaxing them with promises of a huge party where the manliest pirates would be in attendance. She was instructed by Noita to leave them there and return to her Flutter. Olinda had a strange feeling about leaving them with the witch, so she checked back the next day and saw a whole new grove of trees planted in the area where she had left the nymphs. She swore if she looked closely at the trunks, she could see their faces outlined in the bark, and it looked like they were screaming in pain. She quickly dismissed this thought, telling herself that her imagination was just running wild, but deep down, that was when she knew that Noita was not to be messed with or crossed. Cully justified Noita’s actions to Olinda by simply stating that the nymphs had been asking for trouble. Olinda reluctantly agreed with Cully, though she never returned to that grove again.

The pixie leader had been zoned out for a couple of minutes, staring at the wall while thinking of this and the many other questionable times that included the witch, until Lina quietly cleared her throat to get Olinda’s attention again. The pixie leader blinked slowly and gently shook her head to snap herself out of her thoughts.

It is time we took back what was ours, Lina. You are either with us or against us. Cully makes some strong points, and you would do well to hear her out occasionally. She knows what she is talking about when it comes to protecting the Flutter because she is smart and confident. You’re just not like us, you know? You’re… softer.

Lina rose from the chair she had been sitting in and looked up at her leader with sad eyes before gently pleading, Olinda, please, I’m asking you now as a friend not to act on Cully’s bitterness. You do not have to listen to her just because she is your second-in-command; she is wrong about this! What does your heart tell you?

Olinda turned her back to Lina and calmly gazed out the window toward the open sea.

Even if I thought you might be right, it is too late, Lina. We will meet with the rest of the Flutter tomorrow morning to reveal the plan, and I really hope to see you there, supporting us.

The next morning, Cully’s strong voice rattled the pixie-filled room.

Silence!

Olinda stood at the front of the meeting hall beside her second-in-command, facing the other fairies in their Flutter who had been talking loudly with one another. The two of them together were very intimidating to the other pixies, and Cully was very aware and proud of this. She always seemed to take advantage of her leadership role, ensuring that the other pixies knew she had some level of power over them. Now, with the hall silent and all the pixies watching them anxiously, they began to explain their plan to take control of Castalia from Prue and her followers, with Olinda taking the lead in the conversation.

Prue has been in power for far too long. After exiling Noita seven years ago, she used the witch’s powers to ban the use of all other magic on our island unless she or her second-in-command, Jaida, needed it. The only magic they have allowed us to continue using is our pixie dust and healing nectar, which, as we all know, is not nearly as powerful as the spells and enchantments we used to cast without the help of our dust. We were able to accomplish the most impressive magical feats and create new potions and spells, and now, we have been left with next to nothing.

And! Cully loudly interrupted, stepping slightly in front of Olinda before the leader could continue speaking. Prue banished Noita into isolation to a location undisclosed to both Olinda and me! That proves that the humans have never trusted us, so why should we trust them? When we asked Prue where they had hidden the witch, she simply told us that it would be better if we didn’t know. When we asked her why she had hidden Noita in the first place, Prue gave us an absurd reason and did not even seem remorseful that she had not bothered to ask us for our opinion before doing it, like she thought we were too stupid to help!

At the mention of this last part, Olinda looked down in a subtle attempt to hide her guilt. Actually, Prue had told Cully and the pixie leader why she and her tribe were planning to bind the witch and her powers, but Cully hadn’t believed them. Prue asked for their help to trap Noita, but Cully had convinced Olinda that Noita could not be captured and that the witch would kill them all if they helped the human tribe attempt this impossible feat. Olinda had listened to Cully at that moment and had allowed her fear to overtake her courage. Since then, she had gone along with Cully’s lie about Prue, agreeing that the human girl had not spoken to the pixie leader about the attack on the witch before it happened. After a few short moments, Olinda regained her composure and looked back into the crowd, accidentally making eye contact with Lina, who had been watching her suspiciously. Olinda quickly looked away and scanned the crowd with her head held high, hoping to show confidence and assurance in their plan instead of the doubt and hesitation slowly creeping in. Cully also noticed Olinda’s change in demeanour and somewhat slumped shoulders and spoke even louder now, with more resolution in her voice as she firmly clamped her hand on Olinda’s back, pushing her toward the front of the small stage.

This is the plan our fearless leader has come up with, and I have no doubt it will work!

The two pixie leaders could see a fire begin to spark in a few of their listeners’ eyes, so Olinda kept the pace after hastily glancing at Cully’s confident face for reassurance.

While exiling Noita, Prue bound the witch’s magic and stole some of it, leaving whatever was left completely useless to the witch while bound. Prue uses the stolen magic selfishly for herself and her tribe! Cully saw them with her own two eyes! Prue and her friends were goofing around with the magic on the same day that they had captured the witch, and yet, they use her powers to stop us from using our own, which we have had since the beginning of our Flutter. They use Noita’s stolen magic whenever and however they want!

That’s not totally true.

A small, high-pitched voice from the back of the room was barely loud enough to be heard in the split second of silence following Olinda’s remarks. Cully angrily scoured the room to find the pixie who had spoken, fully aware of who it was. Her eyes eventually fell on Lina, and she glared at her as the small pixie continued to speak, a little more timidly now than before, very aware that all eyes were on her.

They have actually helped us out a lot with those powers. They even used the magic to help rebuild our homes after the hurricane two years ago. Remember?

She turned to the closest fairies around her, urging them to remember what had happened, and a few of them showed signs of remembrance.

Our homes were basically demolished, and trees were strewn about everywhere; it was a mess! They did most of the heavy lifting for us even when we had grown to be their size, and then they even used a little bit of magic to help with the things that nobody could fix. Prue asked Olinda if she felt comfortable with them using the magic in that situation, and Olinda agreed, right?

Lina looked up at the leader, who was now glancing around nervously, her face a deep shade of red, and Lina knew she had hit a nerve.

They really do only use it when necessary… Lina began, but she trailed off quickly as Cully’s icy glare darkened, forcing the young pixie to sit back down in silence with her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Lina had never seen Cully look so mean, and it scared her to the point that she wouldn’t even look back up after sitting down. A few pixies snickered at Lina as they turned back to face the front of the room, eager to hear what their leaders had to say next.

Olinda’s face slowly returned to its normal colour as she continued speaking, nodding coldly toward Lina. Thank you, Lina, for bringing up my next point. Prue had to help us rebuild our homes in the first place because she limited our use of power by using the magic she stole from the witch! Why should we be the ones with limited power? We had magic before Prue did, and we were here long before her tribe was. We taught them how to use our pixie dust and nectar as an act of friendship, and then they went behind our backs and betrayed us! Why should they be in charge of the magic when they don’t know as much about it as we do? Magic is in our blood, not theirs!

Olinda took a breath while scanning the room, trying to get a read on what the other pixies were thinking so far. Noita is the most powerful witch in Perdilum, and Prue has managed to get on her bad side. So…

So! Again, Cully sharply cut Olinda off, unable to hold her tongue any longer. We will find Noita, reveal to her our plan to take back Castalia and cut her free if she promises to use her magic against Prue in exchange for her freedom. She will be weak at first, but we will help her gradually build up her strength over time. As we all know, if magic is not being used constantly by the magical being, it becomes harder and harder to perform, and the being’s power becomes weaker every day. Noita has been imprisoned for just under seven years without being able to use her powers, and even though she is the strongest witch in our world, she will still be weak and need our help to recover. It should take about one week for her to regain some of her strength after we have her under our supervision and care, but even then, she most likely will not be able to use her full range of power.

Lina looked at Cully curiously. How in Perdilum does she know how long it will take the witch to regain her strength? One week is oddly specific, she thought to herself, scrunching up her nose in wonder, and then refocused just in time to hear Cully finish her speech.

She will be so grateful for our help that we won’t have to worry about her anger being targeted at us, but instead, it will be completely unloaded on Prue and her tribe.

Cully looked around smugly as though she had just explained the smartest idea as the other pixies cheered and clapped and chattered excitedly amongst themselves.

By looking at the faces in the room, it was clear that Olinda and Cully had been able to turn every pixie’s heart against Prue and her tribe that day; every heart except for one. Cully knew that Lina’s heart would never be turned in her favour, but she couldn’t have her messing things up. Not now.

Chapter 2

An Unlikely Friendship

Lina, you look upset. What happened? Is everything okay?

Samantha, a young, innocent-looking girl, worriedly asked as the pixie fluttered into view while transforming herself into her human form. She stumbled as she hit the ground and barely caught herself on a low branch to keep from falling into the shimmering lake Sam had been dipping her toes in.

Oh, Sam, it’s awful! There is going to be a big rebellion! The Flutter is planning to combine all their pixie dust powers to force you girls to return the magic you took from the witch and possibly get you off the island altogether! Olinda and Cully want to take back control of their magic and, Lina stopped