The
Diary of Miss Aidyn Hall, friend and teacher
September
7
11:30
AM
The
Final Entry
Apple
Blossom starts her writing lessons on Monday. Today is Saturday, and
as per the time-honored educational tradition of the humans, I will
never give lessons on Saturdays and Sundays. In my childhood,
Saturdays and Sundays were reserved for sleeping in, Saturday morning
cartoons, and long days of play. Unfortunately, Apple Blossom doesn't
entirely get that luxury. She has her morning lessons with Beryl, as
well as her education and training in becoming the Greenwood's future
queen. Her teachers must be doing an excellent job with her, as she
is already as much a little queen as she ever could be.
Apple
Blossom has yet to tell Beryl that she will be studying under me. She
might be telling her right now, and I have a feeling that it will
give poor Beryl a case of the vapors. But her parents have already
given me their seal of approval, though it was a very reluctant one.
They were even more reluctant when they were told that Katie was
going to be my teaching assistant. They said several words to Apple
Blossom in tree-elven, which Apple Blossom later told me meant
something along the lines of, “This is getting entirely out of
hand.” But after some careful and persistent persuasion, they
finally agreed—under the condition that the queen would supervise
these lessons. I had no problem with that; honestly, I had been
waiting for an opportunity to get to know the queen better. The most
that I had ever interacted with her had been on that first day, at
Apple Blossom's birthday party. We
don't play with humans, Apple Blossom, she
had told her daughter then. Look at how much has changed in the space
of a summer!
I'm sitting in the garden, looking
toward the magnolia archway that had concealed a whole nother world
for so long. Since my first step beyond that archway, I've met a
princess, attended a royal birthday party, discovered a land of
elves, swam with mermaids, gotten into trouble, made new friends,
become a teacher, and entered into an alliance that will make
history. And of course, I have produced my greatest work of all time
and given it the greatest purpose. Any writer can churn out fairy
tales until they get lucky with a big seller, but I doubt that any
other writer out there has ever donated their work to the archives of
a kingdom of forest elves. My diary will make history. By the time
Apple Blossom becomes queen, a generation of Jadeites will be aware
that an alliance between the Jadeites and the humans not only works
out, but has produced something wonderful more than once. Of course,
I'll still be around when Apple Blossom is queen. I might even be her
royal scribe, or else the head of the brand new Department of Human
Affairs. Ha ha, that's a long way away.
I've never been more motivated to
write than I am right now. I set out into the land of the elves in
search of writing material, and came back with a steady supply of it
and so much more. This particular tale will never be for human eyes,
but that doesn't mean that I can't take a few elements here and there
for my future stories. One day, I could write about an unlikely
friendship between a human commoner and elven royalty, or about a
race of people that can channel nature magic through gemstones.
Perhaps I'll tell the story of a woman who finds herself in a hidden
woodland where humans are looked down upon. No one will ever have to
know where I've come up with such fanciful ideas. It's just Aidyn's
imagination running away with her again, just like it always does...
And of course, I will write for
Apple Blossom. I'll tell her stories that will make those eyes light
up with wonder. I'll weave her wonderful worlds to dream about and
beautiful images to fill her lively mind. Stories will be part of our
lessons. Naturally, she will learn to read my other stories just as
well as she will learn to read this one. I wonder if she's ever tried
to write a story before...
But
this story will forever belong to her, and to the Greenwood; it's the
first of what I can only hope will be many, many stories of a
friendship between humans and Jadeites. Wait, I don't need to hope! I
know there
will be many others, because I will write them all! And maybe
someday, Apple Blossom and Wildflower will write even more. Nature
magic is one thing, but if you ask me, writing is one of the most
powerful magics in the entire world, and it's the kind of magic that
can be shared among humans, Jadeites, tree elves, and whoever else
may be out there in those hidden areas of the world.
Katie's
been blowing up my phone for the past twenty minutes. I guess I
should get ready to go and pick her up now. I've got a tupperware tub
of black grapes waiting in the fridge, and my teaching materials and
A Dragon's Pride are
all packed up in my bag. All I need is Katie, and this diary...
12:56 PM
Hannah sent some burgers over for me
and Katie's lunch, and I wish that she had sent enough for Apple
Blossom and Wildflower. If they liked venison, then a hamburger would
absolutely blow their minds. I'll make sure they get one next time.
I'm curled up in the back of Katie's
car, writing away as we head on down to the magnolia archway. “I
don't want you to drive,” Katie told me, “I want you to write.
Your story needs to end on a decent note, because if you have a good
ending, then they'll want to hear more.” I've got the window
cracked open, and the air is surprisingly crisp and fall-like for so
early in September. It won't be too long before the leaves begin to
change, and the Greenwood will be painted shades of red, orange, and
gold. It's far too beautiful out to study in the library. I might
move our class out to the banks of the Bell's Rush, and if we're very
lucky, Katie will get to see the mermaids.
“Don't park in the woods,” I
warn Katie as the first spruces of the mini forest come into view.
“The guardians wouldn't appreciate that.” Nodding, Katie pulls
over in front of the spruces. “You're coming out, right?” she
asks me as she holds the car door open.
“Duh, of course I am,” I tell
her. “I just want to finish this up first. Wait for me down by the
magnolias.”
Katie sighs. “You know I can't get
past all that brush without your help.”
“You've done it before,” I
remind her, recalling the time she had scared the daylights out of me
and Apple Blossom by showing up unexpectedly.
“Oh, fine then,” she says. “I'll
be there.” So she goes off into the woods and leaves me alone to
muse over the end of my summer adventures. It doesn't feel like an
ending at all, but a beginning: the beginning of a friendship, the
beginning of an adventure, the beginning of an alliance, the
beginning of a new chapter in both the history of the Jadeites and my
own writer's life. I'm gathering up my bag and getting out of the car
now. I don't want to leave Katie waiting—she isn't too fond of
spiders either, even though she isn't as squeamish around them as
Janelle is. I can write and walk at the same time, I've done it many
times before.
Katie's made it through the brush, I
see. It isn't so hard to get to the Greenwood if the guardians want
you to be there. When they don't want you to, it's another story.
There they are, perched high upon their webs in the leaves above my
head, watching to make sure that I keep Katie out of trouble. I nod
to them. They know that the Greenwood is my second home. I would
never do anything to bring harm to it.
Apple Blossom's here. I hear her and
Katie's cheery chatter. My human best friend and my Jadeite best
friend are chatting it up as if they have been best friends from the
very start. From this moment on, this diary belongs to Princess Apple
Blossom, of the Greenwood. Let it be known that within this book is
the one-hundred-percent true story of the very first true friendship
between a human woman and Jadeite royalty. The story of my adventure
shall be a message to the future generations of the Jadeites of this
Greenwood that all it takes to form a revolutionary alliance is just
a little bit of kindness and an open mind. There has been an alliance
before, there has been an alliance again, and let us hope that from
here on out, there will be many, many more.
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