Free Goldest and the Kingdom of Thorns by Joanne Durda Page A

looking at Octagon, Theo told Ebrix, “Make sure no ingredients are omitted. It could turn into a catastrophic nightmare.”
    Theo turned and left with Meek following him. Meek took a second look back at Octagon and then continued on his way.
Be careful, my Brother, Theo knows you are strong in character – and that knowledge is fearful to him
, Meek thought quietly to himself.

The Unspoken Secrets Revealed
    Ushi and Goldest rode into the Kingdom of Marble. Niciu’s hooves clanked loudly on the marble floor. Goldest and Ushi marveled at the whole kingdom, which was a gorgeous marble with various colors of the spectrum running through it. No dirt or dust could be seen anywhere. Ushi noticed that the air was cooler here than in other kingdoms. Ushi reined in Niciu as his eyes panned the marble hills which laid before them.
    “I never would have believed something like this could exist within a kingdom!” Ushi exclaimed with awe.
    Clank! Clank! Came the sound from Nicius’s hooves as he walked upon a monstrous, beauteous chessboard of marble implanted in the valley floor. Ushi was thunderstruck and exclaimed, “Where are the players!” Goldest croaked her giggles, as she seemed to be giggling about everything as of late. If she wasn’t giggling, then she was hiccupping.
    “Why, the players must be most handsome, themselves, belonging to this exquisite structure,” Ushi stated. They moved onwards, assuming the recherche’ pieces belonging to this marble chessboard came out and displayed themselves only at certain times of the day or night to make their moves.
    They rode upon a lake with marble floor – thewater being like glass. Multicolored glass fish were swimming in the clear lake. A gorgeous waterfall cascaded down the colorful marble staircase into the lake. Ushi spied a marble cave, which looked inviting to him, around the east end of the lake.
    “That cave looks like a good place to make sleep for the night. The comforting sound of the waterfall would make us drift into sleep much quicker,” Ushi remarked.
    Ushi headed Niciu toward the cave, with their packhorse following close behind. He dismounted and prepared the horses for the night. Goldest jumped off Niciu’s rear end and into the clear lake with the colorful glass fish.
Those are the most strangest things I have ever seen
, Goldest thought to herself with a chuckle. She floated on her back as she kicked her legs at the glass fish surrounding her. Not knowing what she was, their curiosity soon left them with her kicking and splashing. She continued to giggle and croak as she took delight in the clear, cool water.
    “Ahhh,” she croaked, as she laid her head back and took in the last of the warmth from the sun’s rays.
    Ushi’s eyes panned the area and noticed that there were no trees or bushes to build a fire with. Even the colorful flowers which grew around the lake were made of glass. “No fire for warmth tonight,” Ushi stated mildly as he sighed. “And no fragrance, either. Just clean, crisp, cool marble.”
    Night came fast upon them. The cave was dark and became colder as the night grew deeper and deeper. Ushi wrapped his rug tightly around himself, trying to keep warm. Goldest chuckled and croaked inside her blanket, knowing Ushi was having a difficult timesleeping on top of the hard, cold marble. Ushi heard Goldest’s muted chuckling.
    “This was not a very brilliant idea, Goldest. The marble may be quite beautiful to look at, but it is too cold and hard!”
    “I never realized there would be nothing here to make a fire with to warm you. I am so sorry, Ushi.”
    “Sorry does not mean anything right now,” Ushi told her dryly. His tired body lay there, trying desperately to get some sleep for the long ride tomorrow. At times, he could hear Goldest’s spontaneous giggling inside her blanket at intervals during the night. His last thought before he finally drifted off to sleep was that Goldest could be a real snoot when she wanted to