It was a hot, July morning in the year 1220 and the sun beat down so furiously that the trees seemed to melt into puddles. The sky was clear and the deepest shade of blue you had ever seen. The clouds looked like little fluffy cotton balls high up in the sky. Birds chirped in the distance. Every living thing was covered in a thin film of sweat. The trees in the forest were the color of emeralds. To the right of the forest there was a little cottage, and in that cottage there was a sleeping, sixteen year old girl named Isabelle.

Isabelle was suddenly awakened from her sleep by three loud bangs on her door. Her father was already at work as a blacksmith down in the village square so it was up to her to answer the door. She quickly dressed herself and ran to answer the door. Isabelle unlocked it and turned the old, bronze handle. When the old, oak door creaked opened she immediately wished that she had left it closed. It was another noble from the king. He was probably here to tell her that her father owed money.

“ Lady Isabelle Smith? ” the messenger asked.

Isabelle replied, “Yes, how can I help you?”

“ I am here on behalf of the king to notify you that your father has been arrested and thrown in jail due to his debt.” the messenger announced.

“What?” Isabelle was shocked. She knew that her father was in debt, but she had no idea that it was this bad.

“Your father, he is in the castle in a jail cell. He owed the king $1,000. I am also here to let you know that his bail is $500. I am so sorry.” He put his hand on her shoulder for a second then slowly turned and walked away.

Isabelle stood there. She couldn’t breathe. She closed the door and sat down on a stool. I’m all alone, she thought. What am I going to do, I don’t have the money to pay his bail. She pulled her knees to her chest and sat there like a ball unsure of what to do next.

Isabelle sat there for a long time. For a while, she just sat, but then she started to think about what to do next. Her father was in jail. They needed money, $1,500 to be exact. How am I going to get enough money to pay his bail and his debt, then it hit her, Mt. Joy. There was supposed to be some legendary treasure at the peak of the mountain. No one had ever reached the top and nobody knew why. The people that tried to climb to the peak just disappeared. If Isabelle could reach the top, she would be rich. She would be able to help her father and pay off all of their debt and all their problems would be solved.

She sat and thought about it some more and decided that this was the only chance she had at freeing her father.

Isabelle immediately started packing for the journey ahead of her. She packed food, water and extra clothing because she had no idea how long her journey would take her.

Isabelle sat down after all the packing she had just done. She needed to plan her route to the mountain. Mt. Joy was just on the other side of the winter world. She would need to pass through the fall world and the rest of the summer world, which was where she lived, in order to get to the winter world. She would also need to pass through the rest of the summer world, which was where she lived. She drew a map with a quill and with black ink, highlighted her route. Isabelle went back to her bed, closed her eyes and fell asleep. It was late so she had decided to leave early tomorrow morning.
********

When Isabelle woke up the next morning it was still dark outside. The sun was barely peaking over the horizon and the sky was just starting to turn pink. She stretched her arms and legs. Then she remembered that today she was heading to Mt. Joy. She grabbed her things and headed out the door.

She walked around the side of their little cottage and came to the edge of the forest outside of her house. Uh-oh, she thought, this forest looks huge and is supposedly filled with all kinds of mythical creatures. Isabelle took a deep breath. Once I get to the other side of this forest, I will be out of the summer world and I will already be in the winter world. She inhaled once more but as she tried to take a step, hr feet wouldn’t move. She thought of her father, all alone in that cell and then, like someone had just pushed the on button her feet started moving and she headed into the dark forest.

This isn’t so bad, Isabelle thought to herself. She kept walking, proud of herself for those first few steps. Suddenly, a huge, green, giant monster strolled out in front of her.

“AHHHHHHH!” Isabelle yelled out.

She was so scared that she started running. She ran right around the monster and down the path. She ran and ran. Isabelle didn’t know if she would ever be able to stop, but then she looked around and realized that she was out of the forest.

She looked around herself. This isn’t the winter world. There were flowers on the ground and the grass was green. The air smelled fresh and wasn’t as cold as it should have been in winter. It was then that she realized that she was in the spring world.

I must have planned the route wrong. How could I have forgotten about the spring world? She started to get angry with herself. This was a stupid mistake she should not have made.

She continued on, walking as fast as she could to make up for the lost time. Eventually her surroundings began to change.

Isabelle looked around. All she could see was white, everywhere. Ice crystals were hanging from every tree. Snow covered the ground. Isabelle stood there and looked at every thing around her. Its beautiful, she thought to herself, and very cold. Isabelle quickly pulled out her all of her extra clothes from of her old, brown backpack. She put them all on and then she put on her coat then she continued on the path.

She traveled on farther and farther. Eventually Isabelle reached a lake. The lake was glassy and the trees surrounding it were dead and drooping. It looked like a death sentence. The ice looked very thin but the lake was too wide for Isabelle to go around so she was going to have to cross it.

Isabelle stepped onto the ice. Nothing happened so she tried again. Again nothing happened so she continued across the lake. Isabelle was about half way across the lake when she heard a deafening CRACK! She turned around to see a huge split in the ice behind her. She started running, her heart was pounding the icy cold air into her lungs; it was only 10 feet to the other edge of the lake. Almost there, she thought to herself. Then, she felt the ground slip from under her feet and then her head was under the icy water. She couldn’t breathe. Isabelle started swimming up and when her head was above the water she reached for the edge of a piece of ice and pulled herself out of the water. Then she crawled the rest of the way across the lake and then, at last, she reached solid ground.

Isabelle took a moment to catch her breath then put on dry clothes and went on. She followed the path until she reached the end of the winter world and was at the bottom of Mt. Joy. It was late so Isabelle set up camp and would climb the mountain tomorrow.
*********

When Isabelle woke up she had a little breakfast of bread and packed up her blankets.

She looked at the mountain in front of her. It doesn’t look that big, she thought. Not one person has ever been able to reach the top of this mountain. I’m going to. I will make it to the top. Then she started her trek up Mt. Joy.

Isabelle climbed and climbed, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Then she saw the reason no one was ever able to reach the top. Right in front of her was a steep cliff. She walked up to it and looked for foot holes and hand holes. She found some and started to climb. Miraculously she found enough holes to help her climb all the way to the top of the cliff. Then she saw the peak. There it is, the answer to all my problems. She took the last few steps into the cave at the top of the mountain. When she looked in side her jaw dropped.

There were piles of gold all around her. To her right, there were gold coins ad to her left there were gold statues and jewelry. She could not believe her eyes. Isabelle grabbed as much as she could carry, putting big handfuls into every one of her pockets.

She could hardly wait to get back to her father so she hurried out of the cave, then she began to climb back down the mountain. When she got to the bottom, it was dark outside again so she set up camp and went to sleep.
*********

The next morning she packed up and hurried home. She went through the winter world first and then through the forest outside of her house. Before she knew it she was back in her little cottage. Isabelle dropped her things on the floor and sat down for a minute. She couldn’t believe that she had done it. She had actually made it to the top of Mt. Joy and got the money. She stood up and hurried to the castle.

When she arrived she told guards she was there to free her father. They escorted her to the throne room where she knelt before the king.

“ I have enough money to pay my fathers bail and all of his debt, sire.” Isabelle told the king.

“Very well then, give me the money.” He replied. He quietly sat there for a minute and counted the amount. Then he called for the guard and told him to go get Isabelle’s father.

Isabelle looked to the door expectantly, then she saw her dad. “Papa!” she exclaimed when he entered the big room. She ran and gave him a big hug.
“I missed you!” Isabelle told him.
“I missed you too! Now let’s go home.” He replied. Then they walked home together and Isabelle told him of all her adventures. They were out of debt and were happy.

The End!