The Diamond Relic, By Makaila Odoom

The Diamond Relic, By Makaila Odoom

This is the story of how I saved my world. Okay, I know that’s the most used sentence to start a story, but I couldn’t think of anything else. So let’s start at the beginning. My name is Emerald, I’m thirteen years old and I'm the princess of the Gemstone Division of LunarWild. What is LunarWild you ask? Well, it’s a planet, almost just like your planet Earth, although ours has a much better name, and it’s much cleaner. If you ever visit our world, you’ll find a giant glowing castle, where I live, floating towers and beautiful sparkly oceans.

Anyway, back to the point. This story begins two weeks ago, when the messenger came to Diamond Island. I was sitting on the beach with my best friends, Onyx and Zircon, when Chrysoberyl, the royal messenger came running over to us. “Princess,” she said, out of breath. “Your majesty, someone is here to see you!” Chrysoberyl is very formal. I’ve told her five hundred and forty six times not to call me princess, (I’ve counted) and definitely not Your Majesty, but she still does. I stood up, and my friends followed me.

 “That’s weird,” Onyx said. “No one usually comes to Diamond Island without letting someone know.” Zircon frowned.

 “That doesn’t mean they’re not allowed to,” She said. 

Zircon and Onyx are siblings. They contrast each other’s ideas constantly, but they usually get along. They also have three other siblings. We walked over the Diamond Dock, on the other side of the beach, with Chrysoberyl, where a small sailboat was resting. A girl who looked my age was standing on the dock, waiting for us. She was tall, with dark blue eyes, brown skin, freckles, and bright blonde hair.

 “Hi,” She started. “My name is Hauyne.” I glanced over at Chrysoberyl. She gave a solemn nod and walked off in the direction of the castle. It was time to activate princess mode, which meant going extremely out of my comfort zone, because I'm super shy when it comes to meeting new people. I curtsied and Hauyne did the same.

 “Nice to meet you, Hauyne. These are my best friends, Onyx and Zircon.” I gestured to them. Onyx bowed and Zircon curtsied. “What can I help you with?” I asked.

 “Actually, I’m here to help you,” Hauyne said. I raised my eyebrow. “With what, exactly?” I ask. Hauyne grinned. “I’m here to help you reunite the Gemstone Divisions with the other divisions.” 

Onyx was the first to react. “WHAT!” He yelled. The sound echoes off the small castles nearby, where the Diamond castle workers live. 

“You mean, reunite the divisions that have been separate for fifty years?” Zircon exclaimed. Hauyne nodded, looking unfazed by all the surprise. “

Yes.” The divisions lost touch with each other a long time ago and no one knows what happened, it’s a mystery. 

“And how do you plan on doing that exactly?” I asked.

 “We’ll have to go to the forbidden island, complete challenges, and find the ancient relic that will restore the divisions,” Hauyne said, like it”s the easiest thing in the world. Onyx’s eyes almost bursted out of his head.

 “THE FORBIDDEN ISLAND!?” He boomed.

“But the forbidden island is illegal to attempt to travel to. Not to mention actually getting there.” I said, biting my lip. “I hate to be bossy, but as a member of the royal family, I’m entitled to forbid you from going.” 

Hauyne sighed. “Okay then, I guess we’ll never find the Moon Division, or the Sun Division, or the Star Division, or the Water, or Fire Division. Or Earth or Air. Who knows? There might be more that we don’t know about, but we’ll never find them now.”

I sighed. “You know, you’re very persuasive,” I admitted. Hauyne smiles. 

“So is that a yes?” She asked. I hold up a finger.

 “One second.” I turned to my friends and we huddled together. “What do you guys think?” I asked them. 

Onyx still looked shell-shocked. “I mean, just like all of us, I've always wanted to see the other divisions.” 

Zircon nodded. “Yeah, me too,” She said. “But we know that they banned going to the Forbidden Island for a reason. It’s really dangerous.”

 I nodded. “I agree with both of you, but I think we should go. We just need to be really careful. Reuniting the divisions is my family’s dream. I would love to make it come true. Obviously, you all don’t have to come if you don't want to.” I concluded. They laughed. 

“Of course we’re coming,” They said at the same time.

I turned back to Hauyne. “We’re in.”

Back at the castle, I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. We had agreed to meet at the dock at midnight to hope to make it to the island by morning. It was easy to sneak away in a family of fifteen, especially when you’re the middle child. You’re basically invisible. My parents are always busy teaching my older siblings the right way to rule, or busy reading my little siblings bedtime stories. But since I wasn't taking any chances, I told my parents that I was going to a week-long charity event in the city. I usually go to a lot of those, so they weren’t suspicious at all.

I packed with Onyx and Zircon that night, and my little sister and brother, who are twins, and eight, also helped me. Usually, mom helps me pack too, but she and dad were busy taking care of a family whose house got infested with gemmites. They were living in the castle with us until an exterminator came. 

At 11:50 PM, Onyx, Zircon and I walked to the dock, to find Hauyne snoring away on her boat. “Hauyne…HAUYNE!” Onyx yelled. Hauyne jerked awake. “Are you ready to go?” I asked her.

Hauyne yawned very loudly and sat up.

 “I’m ready,” She said.

We climbed onto the boat while Hauyne set up the sail. The boat was electric, and Hauyne started the engine, and we took off down the dock and into the Aquamarine Ocean. The boat had a convertible roof, and Hauyne put the roof up so we could rest. I was sitting in the middle of Onyx and Zircon, and they just had to use me as a pillow. Even Hauyne fell asleep again. The boat was in self-driving mode, so no one had to monitor it. For a while it was just me and the gentle humming sound of the boat’s engine, and then I fell asleep too. I dreamt of puppies, rainbows, unicorns, and a rubber chicken with a top hat on.

I opened my eyes, and that is what was literally in front of my face.

“AHHH!” I screamed, jerking awake. “Onyx, don’t ever put Doodles in front of my face when I'm waking up!”

Doodles, as you have probably figured out, is Onyx’s rubber chicken that he weirdly always carries around with him. Most of the time he uses Doodles to scare Zircon and I.

He laughed. “Sorry.”

“We all know that’s a lie,” Zircon said. I realized it’s daytime now, but it seemed like we were still heading toward the island. Hauyne was showing Zircon the controls, while Onyx squeezed his rubber chicken, which made an obnoxious sound.

Several agonizing chicken squeezing hours later, we finally made it to the island. It was midday, thankfully, and we still had a lot of time before dark.

The island looked normal, just overgrown, and deserted. There were trees and flowers and animals everywhere, but it still had an eerie look about it.

When we docked on a stretched out piece of the island, because there was no actual dock, I heard a crunch. We were still in the boat, so it couldn’t have been any of us. Hauyne climbed out.

“Okay, you can come out now,” She said, but not to Onyx, Zircon and I. 

All of a sudden, a girl emerges from the bushes, but she wasn’t one of us. She wasn’t from the gemstone division.

How did I know that? Well, I don’t know.

The girl is average height, with straight brown hair and brown eyes.

She waved shyly.

“This is Madison,” Hauyne said. “She’s from the Nature Division.”

“Whoa,” Onyx said. “How did she get here?”

Madison spoke up. “My parents lived here before everything happened, and this island became Forbidden. I’m the last surviving member of my family. I know this island like the back of my hand, so I'm here to guide you, and keep you safe.”

“Wait, if you know this island so well, why couldn’t you find the artifact that reunites us with the other divisions yourself?” Zircon asked.

“We need royal blood,” Hauyne said. “And we figured it couldn’t hurt bringing a few extras, just in case.”

“Gee, thanks,” Onyx rolled his eyes, but laughed.

“Alright,” I said. “Let’s do this thing.”

With that, I traversed into the Forbidden Island, with my two best friends, right by my side.

“So, where to first?” I asked. 

“Well, we have to get through Treacherous Endings first,” Madison said. “You have to swing over quicksand with sandigators that barf sand in them.”

“OKAY,” Zircon said. “Who decided to name it that?”

“Me,” Madison shrugged. “I would try to reassure you, but it’s as bad as it sounds.”

I grimaced as I stepped on twigs, leaves, tripped on roots and almost stepped on something mushy and questionable.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound good,” I agreed.

I heard a squish behind me as Onyx stepped on the questionable thing that I nearly avoided.

“EEEEWWWWW,” He squealed. Zircon and I chuckled.

We walked for a few more minutes, until Hauyne and Madison pulled back some palm tree leaves. And there it was. Treacherous Endings. A bubbling pit of quicksand, no way around it except for over, with tan looking alligators in it. I guessed those were the sandigators.

“Okay,” Madison said. “I'll go first to demonstrate. Look very closely.”

She grabbed a thick, sturdy vine from a tree, thats branches were hanging over the quicksand. She stepped back, still holding on, got a running start, and jumped. I held my breath and watched her nervously.

Madison tucked her feet and gracefully swung over the quicksand, landing harmlessly on the other side.

Zircon started clapping, Onyx and I joined her. Hauyne smirked, and stepped forward.

“My turn,” She said.

Hauyne grabbed onto the vine, and swung over the quicksand, and the gators, even more elegantly than Madison had.

I was still extremely nervous.

“Alright, Onyx. It’s your turn,” I said, pushing him forward without a second thought.

“Uhhhhh,” Onyx started. “Zircon, you’re the Dare Queen, you go first.”

Zircon shrugged. “Alright.”

Zircon followed Madison and Hauyne’s lead, grabbing the vine and swinging across with ease. I wasn’t sure if I could do it as well as them.

“Alright,” Onyx sighed. “If my sister can do it, so can I.”

I raised my eyebrow. “Didn’t you just call her a Dare Queen?”

“I’m trying to hype myself up, Em! Would you rather go next?” He asked.

I grimaced. “Sorry, go ahead.”

Onyx swung over the quicksand, but with much less pizzazz than everyone else. Mine would probably look worse.

I took a deep breath, summoning every ounce of courage I had left. I grabbed onto the vine, took a couple of steps back, ran forward, and jumped squeezing my eyes shut.

I may or may not have screamed louder than a blue whale.

When I let go of the vine, I landed on my back, and almost got the wind knocked out of me.

Madison helped me to my feet, while holding back a chuckle. I rolled my eyes.

After that extremely embarrassing moment, we walked for fifteen minutes, until I heard a strange sound from behind us.

It sounded like voices and clanking metal.

Oh. OH NO.

Palace guards.

My parents must’ve figured that I wasn’t at a charity event and sent their guards after me.

Onyx and Zircon must’ve heard the sound too, because they pulled me behind a bush. Hauyne and Madison climbed and hid in a tree.

The guards eventually reached the spot we were near.

“The king and queen really think Princess Emerald would go to the Forbidden island with no protection but her commoner friends?” A guard in shiny blue armor said.

Onyx and Zircon huffed next to me. I felt bad for them. They’re always getting looked down on because they’re from one of the lower class noble families.

“I bet it was Zircon Garnet that convinced the princess to come. That girl’s always getting into trouble,” said a guard in yellow armor. 

For people who try to be discreet, they certainly talked loud and wore bright clothes.

“Am not,” Zircon whispered.

“Well, it’s a good thing she has her older brother. Onyx is the exact opposite. He’s a big scaredy-cat,” said a guard in green armor.

Onyx grumbled. I was beginning to lose my patience with these guards. How dare they talk about my friends like that?

“Well, we’d better keep looking,” Blue guard said. “I hope we don’t have to swing over more quicksand.”
“Me too,” Yellow guard said.

They turned to the left. We stayed in our hiding spots until they were completely out of sight.

Hauyne and Madison climbed down from the tree. “I think they’re gone now.”

“Thankfully,” Onyx said.

“Yeah,” Zircon frowned. “They were rude. How could they talk about kids like that?”

“Only they could,” I assured them.

“You know them?” Hauyne asked.

I nodded. “Not personally though. I’ve wandered around the palace a few times and heard them gossiping about people.”

Madison chimed in. “Well, I think you too should ignore them. You’re both great.”

“Thanks,” They both said.

“This is getting pretty dull, so let me tell you about the next obstacle,” Madison said. “It’s called the Poison Garden. It’s a path full of beautiful flowers that lure you to them. You can’t fall for it though, you have to stay strong. If you let the flowers take you, they’ll spray poison in your face, and that’ll be the end of you.”

I took a shaky breath. “How nice,” I said, sarcastically.

“Hold hands and don’t look at the flowers,” Hauyne explained.

I took Hauyne and Zircon’s hands and we traversed further into the rough.

As we made it into a clearing, I saw the flowers, and it took all my strength to tear my eyes away. They were so shiny, and they smelled like rainbows. Maybe if I just took a quick sniff…NOPE. I was not falling for that.

Five minutes later, we made it out of the clearing. Everyone was safe.

“Whew, that was close,” Onyx said. “Those flowers smelled so good.”

“I know,” Zircon said. “It was hard to resist them.”

I nodded. “What’s the next challenge?”

“The next challenge…” Madison paused for dramatic effect. “Is finding the relic.”

Onyx threw his hands up in exasperation.

“How are we supposed to find a relic on this giant island when we don’t know what it looks like?” Zircon asked for him.

“Well, it’s not just anywhere on the island…it’s in this lake. It’s a giant diamond,” Hauyne explains.

I looked in front of me, and there’s a giant lake that I hadn’t realized was there. It’s blue and clear and sparkling, it reminds me exactly of a diamond.

Zircon blinked. “Bruh, it’s literally right there.” She pointed to a diamond that was in the middle of the lake

“Congratulations!” Hauyne chuckled. “You found the diamond.”

“Now, Emerald has to touch it,” Madison explained.

Without hesitation, I jumped into the lake, feeling excited. I ran as fast as I could, while in water, to reach the diamond, which I realized was the size of a large box. Once I reached it, I tapped it with my finger.

Nothing happened.

“Wait for it…” Madison said. “Three...two…one…”

The diamond exploded.

Suddenly, ten other people were standing next to me, looking just as confused as I probably did.

“Whoa…” Said a girl in a red jumpsuit. “Where am I?”

Suddenly, realization dawned. I glanced back at my friends, who had just come to the same conclusion, their mouths wide open. Madison and Hauyne were beaming.

“You’re the princess of the Fire Division,” I exclaimed.

“You’re the princess of the Gemstone Division!” She beamed.

I walked over to all the other people around me, who were as excited as I was. We introduced each other. There was…

Rhoda of the Fire Division.

Willow of the Nature Division.

Ocean of the Water Division.

Carter of the Air Division.

Elizabeth of the Star Division.

Ryan of the Moon Division.

And so many more princesses and princes from other divisions. We all had one thing in common, we were all middle children in large families.

When I finally stopped chatting with everyone and went back to my group I marched right over to Madison and Hauyne.

“How?” I asked.

“We have friends from all of the divisions that we found a way to keep in touch with. They recruited the middle child of each of the royal families to find the relics on the Forbidden Island,” Hauyne explained.

“Wait, so every division has a Forbidden Island?” Zircon asked.

“No,” Madison said. “It’s the same one for every division, you just can’t see the other people until you’re reunited, like you are now. And you have to find something different for the division that you come from. We were always so close to each other, but we were just invisible.”

“Oooohhh,” I said. “Well this is awesome. I’m so glad we’re all together again.”

Madison was right. When I returned home, I saw other islands that I had never seen before. All this time, they had been right next to us. I told my parents everything that had happened, and they immediately set off to go find and talk to the kings and queens of the other divisions. For the next few months, we learned new things from the divisions, had new ideas and perspectives on things. Life was the way it was fifty years ago, and it was all pretty great. But the big question still remained.

Who had separated the divisions in the first place?