I walked out the door to the back gate before I realized that I had forgotten something.
Sapphire and my white dress were the only things I had to remember Elsa by, and they were still in the castle!!!
Luckily for me, a friend ran out of the castle at that moment. "Scout!" I shouted. The family dog ran out barking and whining. I would miss him so much.
I petted Scout for awhile and then told him to find Sapphire and the white dress. He seemed to understand and ran off up the stairs.
In a few moments he was back carrying my dress and doll in his mouth. "Is Elsa alright?" I asked him. He didn't answer because he is a dog. I petted him one last time and watched him running back into the castle.
After getting back up off the ground, I rolled up the dress and put it, and Sapphire, into my pocket. Then looking back one last time, I opened the gate, and left the castle grounds all by myself, for the very first time in my life.
I had never been outside the castle by my self before. It was so different to my regular life. Unfortunately for me, I didn't know my way around the town back then.
I was just sitting down to take a rest when a voice said "not lost I hope". For a moment I thought that it was a dragonfly. But then I realized that dragonflies had harsh voices, whereas this voice was clear like a bell, and very kind.
"Who's there?" I asked the voice.
A girl about my age stepped out from behind the tree. "I am Shannis the mountain guide" said the girl. "I am Thalia" I said. 'A young mountain guide' I thought 'I thought all the mountain guides were as old as grandma'.
"Would you be able to take me up the mountain?" I asked her.
"Of course I can!" Shannis laughed "I have guided people since I was 2 and have continued for 10 years! I can take you to the top of the mountain in a week".
Once I decided she was safe, I sat next to her. "Aren't all the mountain guides 50 or 60 years old?" I asked her. "Nearly all of them" Shannis said, smiling. "Come to my tent, it's cold out here".
Once we were in the tent, she told me her story. "I was born in a settlement a day away from the mountain" she said. "My mother was a mountain guide herself at the time. I thought we were perfectly safe in the settlement, but then, the dragonflies came to the town and we had to leave the day before I turned 2. Then, on my second birthday, we climbed the mountain. For the rest of the year, my mother had to guide more and more people up the mountain, and since it wasn't safe for me to stay in the tent all by myself, I came with her. The second time we went up the mountain, however, I could remember exactly where to go, and it had been weeks since we had made our first journey. It was then that I discovered that I had a gift. I could remember any place I'd been to, even if I'd only been there for a few seconds. I continued going with my mother, but her eyesight started getting worse, and I had to help her find her way up the mountain. Then, when the people migrated again, I stayed here so I could keep on guiding my friends up the mountain."
"Not so many people have been coming, though" Shannis said, sadly.
As I looked down at Sapphire and the dress, which I had taken out of my pocket, I asked Shannis "what is up the mountain?". "Well I'm not sure" Shannis said "I think a monastery or a retreat of some sort". "Can I go there?" I asked her. "Of course! I will take you tomorrow" she said happily.
I looked outside through the tent door. The outside world looked dangerous, but somehow, I felt I could trust it. It was like déjà vu, I felt like I had had this experience before.
Little did I know that some pretty strange things would happen the moment this journey began.
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