As Jack was about to put the key back, he felt a sense of pull in his body as if he
didn’t want to let the key go. The key seemed much too beautiful to be an ordinary house key
and with a key that large, what doorknob could it possibly open? How could he just leave it to
sit. The key had to have a story behind it and how it managed to be in their house. It couldn’t
have belonged to royalty. As far as Jack knew, he was in no relation with any kings or
queens. But where then? Jack had no clue. He wasn’t going to put it back though. He would
just hold onto it and keep it a secret until he thought the time was right.
Jack finished his cleaning and made his way over to Adeline’s house. He hadn’t seen
his friend all day and missed her laugh. The walk to her house was not long but had the most
beautiful view. The tall trees bent over him as if he was caved in and every day new wild
flowers appeared in the grass. The air smelled of fresh pine and mint and the gentle breeze
brought everything all together. Jack arrived at the little cottage where Adeline lived. The
house was made of white painted brick and sheets of weathered hay on the roof. The house
was not perfect but, it was manageable. Adeline’s family was just like Jack’s in the sense that
they were not wealthy. On the other hand, her family had a nicer house and Jack’s wasn’t so
nice. But Jack never cared about that. He pushed aside their differences because they didn’t
matter.
When Jack knocked on the door, no one answered. This wasn’t unusual. Jack knew
exactly where Adeline would be. Jack walked past the house and back into the yard where a
treehouse sat. There were few steps to the top of the treehouse but, Jack managed to get to
the top. There Adeline sat in her innocent way. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled in a messy
ponytail and her bare feet were all muddy. It looked as if she was reading something, but Jack
wasn’t sure what. “Oh hi Jack!” said Adeline. “Hi, what you got there?” “Oh, just some old
book my dad gave to me called The Staggered Bow . But the thing is, the grammar is so
horrible it’s hard to understand.” Adeline says. “Oh I see.” said Jack. “So, what have you been
up to?” Adeline asks. “Well, I have something to show you, but I’m not sure where it came
from.”
Jack pulled out the key from his pocket. It had been a heavy weight on his pants but it
didn’t bother him very much. When Jack showed Adeline the key, she stood in admiration and
awe. “Where did this come from? It’s beautiful Jack! This could be worth a fortune.” said
Adeline. “Yeah I know. I just found it in a random box while I was cleaning out my attic. I have
no idea where it originally came from. That’s why I’ve come here to ask you if you could help
me. But we’re not selling it. I have a feeling this leads to somewhere important and I want to
find out where.” said Jack. “I would love to help you. But I have a feeling it’s not going to be
easy.” “I know but, I’ve decided to take that challenge. We should start as soon as possible.
How about now.”

Jack and Adeline made their way into the forest where they knew someone could help
them find out more about the mysterious key. He went by the name of Fimblin. He was a
dwarf that lived deep within the forest and Adeline and Jack happened to meet him one day
walking in the forest. He was very old and he knew much about the land of Whel. They knew
if there was anyone to go to, it would be Fimblin.
Jack and Adeline soon made it to Fimblin’s dwelling. He lived in a fat stump of a tree
covered with moss that no one would suspect of someone living there. Jack knocked on the
stump as if it were a door and out popped the dwarf. He had a long wispy white beard and a
big fat nose it between in eyes. “What do you want?” The sun had already set and the dwarf
was not too happy that someone was bothering him at this time of day. “We don’t want
anything”, said Jack. “We just have something to show you.” Jack pulled the key from his
pocket to show Fimblin. “I found this key in my attic and I thought you might know where it
came from.” The dwarves eyes opened wide. “Oh my! You are the one.” Jack and Adeline
had no clue what Fimblin was talking about. “The one? What is that supposed to mean?”
Adeline said. “There was a prophecy”,said Fimblin. “There was a prophecy that a boy would
find a key. And this key would unlock the world of magic.You are that boy.”

“Well how do we knew for sure that this is the key in the prophecy? This could be any
key.” said Jack. “Oh, this is the key alright. I know because my father was the one who
prophesied it decades ago before he died. My father was the holder of that key and of magic.
And once the holder of all magic dies, not only is the magic gone but, the key is put in a new
place, where the new holder of magic will soon find it.” “So you’re telling me that I’m the new
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holder of all magic?!” asked Jack. “That’s right”, Fimblin replied. “How do I unlock the world of
magic then?” “There is a gate that only that key unlocks. Once you unlock that gate all magic
in the world is released again.” said the dwarf.
“Where do we find these gates?” asked Adeline. “They are all the way in the woods of
Merk. You will come upon many valleys and mountains along the way. It’s a long journey but,
you can make it there.” Jack knew about the woods of Merk but had never been there. It
dawned on him that without magic, the world was dull and dry. Everyone was relying on
someone to unlock those gates, and Jack knew he needed to take the journey. “You should
go as soon as possible.” said Fimblin “I’m coming with you”, said Adeline and on that note,
Jack and Adeline made their way to the woods of Merk.

“Well how do we knew for sure that this is the key in the prophecy? This could be any
key.” said Jack. “Oh, this is the key alright. I know because my father was the one who
prophesied it decades ago before he died. My father was the holder of that key and of magic.
And once the holder of all magic dies, not only is the magic gone but, the key is put in a new
place, where the new holder of magic will soon find it.” “So you’re telling me that I’m the new
holder of all magic?!” asked Jack. “That’s right”, Fimblin replied. “How do I unlock the world of
magic then?” “There is a gate that only that key unlocks. Once you unlock that gate all magic
in the world is released again.” said the dwarf.
“Where do we find these gates?” asked Adeline. “They are all the way in the woods of
Merk. You will come upon many valleys and mountains along the way. It’s a long journey but,
you can make it there.” Jack knew about the woods of Merk but had never been there. It
dawned on him that without magic, the world was dull and dry. Everyone was relying on
someone to unlock those gates, and Jack knew he needed to take the journey. “You should
go as soon as possible.” said Fimblin “I’m coming with you”, said Adeline and on that note,
Jack and Adeline made their way to the woods of Merk.
That night, Jack and Adeline had walked farther into the seemingly never ending forest
and decided to get some rest. They laid down in the grass, though it was uncomfortable, tried
to get some sleep. After a couple of hours, there was a howl that interrupted the silence of the
night. Adeline woke up immediately and woke up Jack. “Jack, did you hear that? There are
wolves near by.” “They can’t see us, it’s practically pitch bla”
Just before Jack could finish his
sentence, a wolf jumped out on top of Adeline. Adeline screamed as the wolf attacked her.
Jack was in shock and didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t just leave Adeline there helpless
so he jumped on the wolf trying to get him off of Adeline. The wolf obviously didn’t look like it
wanted to fight because it ran away right as Jack attacked him. Jack couldn’t see how badly
Adeline was hurt but by the way she was groaning and wheezing in pain, it didn’t sound good.
“My leg.” Adeline forced the words from her mouth. “He bit it and made a deep cut.”
Jack realized he had a flashlight with him and pulled it out to inspect her wound. The
bite was worse than what Adeline explained. It was evident that the wolf took more than one
bite and all the skin in the bitten area was gone. Her leg was stained with blood and the open

flesh was infected severely. Adeline’s was covered in sweat. Jack had nothing to cover the
wound with but, he poured cool water over it to wash most of the blood away and to relieve
some pain. Adeline winced and groaned as the water went over her wound. Jack assured her
that it would sting but it was good for the wound. Jack then got some leaves to wrap the
wound in just so that it wouldn’t be exposed to dirt. The two then tried to get a few more hours
of sleep before they would start of on their journey again.
Early the next morning, Jack and Adeline ate the berries from the bushes and roots
just to fill their stomachs before they set off. Adeline checked the bite and it still looked very
bad. and she was still in much pain. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk” she said. Adeline tried
to get up but, she couldn’t stand on her foot. Her leg was too injured for her to be able to walk
on it. This time Jack propped her up on his shoulder. It wasn’t much better but she could stay
up. It wasn’t going to be easy, but for as long as he could, Jack carried the limping Adeline on
his shoulders for as far as they could walk.
A few hours passed and both companions became weaker and weaker. They had
made it to far enough to a valley where they could stop and get some water. Adeline was
looking much paler now. She had lost so much blood from the bite that her she had a fever
and became sick. Her body temperature was not at it’s normal level. It was lower. Jack
insisted that they stay at the valley for her to rest, but Adeline demanded that they must not
delay because of her. They still had a full 24 hours to go till they would make it to the gates so
Jack didn’t argue.
The sun was now beginning to set, the day was winding down, and Jack and Adeline
were not far from the woods of Merk. All of the sudden Adeline fell to the ground. She cried in
pain and was having trouble breathing. Her face was now white and her eyes were beginning
to roll back into her head. “Adeline...Adeline, c’mon say something… anything.” Jack wept on
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the ground, his tears hitting the earth. Adeline’s breaths got heavier and heavier, slower and
slower. Jack knew this was the last of his dear friend. “Please!” he was screaming now. “Don’t
go...don’t go. I...I love you.” Jack didn’t mean this in a romantic way but in a caring way. He
truly loved and cared for Adeline. And at that moment his friends heart stopped beating.
Throughout the rest of the day, Jack constantly blamed himself for Adeline’s death. He
should’ve listened when she warned him about the wolves. He should’ve protected her, but he
didn’t. He was a coward. And that’s all she would remember him by. The coward who wasn’t
brave enough to save her. He had to move on from his guilt though. He needed to focus on
getting to the gate and unlocking it. He would forever miss Adeline but he knew that she
would want him to make it to the gates and face reality. That’s the kind of person she was.
Selfless.
Night passed and Jack had finally made it to the woods of Merk and there stood the
gate. It was even more beautiful than the key. He was in astonishment, shock, and wonder all
at the same time. Jack slowly walked towards the gate, took the key out from his pocket, and
inserted it into the lock. Just then, the key lighted up and the gate shone with a bright light as
he turned the key. This had not been done in decades. Once Jack opened and stepped
through the gate there he saw things he couldn’t name or barely even find the words to
describe. It was the world of magic. All from over the land the towns sparked with joy because
they knew that the new holder of magic had come. The sun seemed to shine brighter, the
grass seemed a little bit greener, and the sky just a tad bit bluer. Dragons, trolls, and other
mythical creatures rushed from out of the gates. Fairies and flying animals whirred into the
streets and villages. All was right again. Everyone was happy. The world was as it should be
and Jack made that happen. Oh if only Adeline were here to see this and join in on the
excitement Jack thought. He felt happy and quite sad at the same time. But Adeline was
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smiling down at Jack. Not only because she was proud of him but, because he was the holder
of magic.
THE END