Katydid bowed her head. I might as well continue... I'm going to be in serious trouble anyway... The asinine activity was the singing, she said quietly, she took a deep breath, dried her tears and stood up. Let's go. We're not finding anything by staying here.Maybe if I win... Mum and Daddy will be proud of me... She turned to Ren and Chris Thank you. And Chris? She gave a cheeky smile, I wouldn't suggest using that phrase again. It's kinda creepy, like you're gonna cut my mouth out and actually turn it upside down.

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You... you really don't get it... do you? I... I love him... I'd die with him. Or for him. That's what you do... how you feel when you love someone. - Impulse

“Singing? She was upset about singing?” It confused him. There wasn’t anything wrong with singing, unless there was something bad in the song. He couldn’t quite believe it, but he was glad that Katy was feeling better. He nodded as she thanked him and turned back to the playhouse door. With a little hesitation this time, the boy stepped forward and reached out for the handle. Ren waited a moment more taking a deep breath before pulling the door wide open.

Swetini couldn’t believe the child would think he would even consider. “No why would I do that? Your adventure’s only just started!” He would’ve said more, but the skeptical boy who had bumped into her earlier had begun to comfort her. He smiled at this, the boy had acted like a real gentlemen just about then. It was an attributed many boys should strive to have. When Katydid had finally cheered up he quickly mentioned to the boy, “You did well”. Swetini gave Chris a wink, “Surely your father would’ve been proud of you”.

Meanwhile, once the doorway to the other world was opened, the first thing Ren would’ve noticed was a bright, whitish yellow light. The light illuminated most of the basement’s interior, casting its glow on the antiques that littered the room. This glow seemed to give the antiques a more vibrant color, making them look like they were almost new. The blinding ray subsided, revealing what lay behind the playhouse’s door. At first glance it would’ve looked like a forest, lush and green. But after studying the land beyond a bit more one would notice that the land beyond was not a forest, but an orchard. Fruit trees of every sort lined the green land from west to east in zigzagging lines, giving off the smell of freshly grown fruit. Woven through, around, and in-between some of the fruit trees were paths the color of rainbows, in extravagant patterns (who knew where they led). Placed in the centre of this view was a single wooden sign with additional signs nailed beneath the topmost one on its wooden stem. Each sign seemed newer than the previous, as if whoever made them was not contented with what the signs said, and had to edit them each and every week or so. If Ren were to poke his head through the doorway and look up, he would see what would’ve seemed to be the shade of a great and mighty oak tree, standing tall and proud above the fruit trees. It would be a strange sight to be sure, what was a oak tree doing in the mists of fruit trees (some of which were rather tropical and seemed out of place)? Behind the leaves and branches of the supposed oak tree was a vast rainbow of many colors, its particles caught the rays of a golden sunlight. The strangest thing was, the sun’s rays felt so close, it felt so warm, and the children would’ve felt it. The feeling would’ve hinted that somehow this sun was different, almost touchable, like it was waiting just over the horizon. It was the strangest feeling, the feeling of wanting to touch the sun. Christopher would recognize this orchard as the Plentiful Orchard, mentioned in the carpenter’s journal. According to the journal it was used to grow the ingredients for some of the lands more fruity delicacies.
.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Swetini asked the children. “And to think, it was inside something so plain! What you see before you my dear children is what is only described by the journal as the land of Candy, or Candy land if you will. It perhaps has a name of its own, but sadly Lucy had never mentioned it to her grandfather, so Candy land will have to do for now. Now, who will enter the new ground first? And please don’t rush in at once. Single file would do nicely.” He smiled at each of the kids, awaiting their reactions to the sight of the new world.

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Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

Lucas was surprised when the fireworks went off and he jumped about three feet in the air but then some the piñatas started to burst, releasing a rain of candy, and this preoccupied him until the fireworks stopped. Looking up, with a sucker in his mouth, he stared at Mr. Swetini for a moment. Lucas was going to ask him some questions but decided against it. His father would usually hit him for asking a question and, although Mr. Swetini wasn’t his dad, he was still afraid of getting hit so he kept quiet. When Mr. Swetini started to explain some things Lucas became bored, because he hated learning even if it wasn’t school related, so his vivid imagination took over and he was soon herding cows. When everyone went down to the basement he hadn’t really noticed for he was currently in a fight with Indians. He soon snapped out of his daydreaming and found that everyone had left the room. “Oh no,” he said to himself when he saw the basement door open, “they didn’t leave without me I hope.” Lucas quickly ran down the stairs of the basement but at the last six steps did he trip over himself and he rolled into Mr. Swetini. “Ow my head,” He said as rubbing the back of his head, “Sorry. I lost myself in my little world.”

Lily couldn't believe her eyes at what she saw when Ren opened the door. It looks like something from a story book, she wondered. The thought made her both curious and excited. Talk about an adventure!

She glanced around her, particularly at Ren. Well he had opened the door, but...would he mind if she went first? Probably not, knowing him. No one else seemed like they were going to go first (then again, she didn't really give anyone a chance).

Lily's hand shot up to volunteer. "I'll go first," she said brightly. She said it politely, but there was no mistaking the eagerness in her voice. She walked over to the open door, peering inside. For a moment even she herself had to stop and consider; could this be real? She was quite used to going on adventures in her own world inside her head, but this was something quite different. She took a deep breath. No, it was fine. She'd crossed swinging bridges (a park bench), swum deep dark oceans (a swimming pool - same difference), and climbed imaginary mountains before now. She was sure she could manage to walk through a simple doorway to another world. Without any more hesitation she walked straight through.

"Come on Ren," she called back over her shoulder, knowing that he would probably need some encouragement before he stepped through.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Light; Blinding light poured from the open doorway. Ren had to shield his eyes. When the light finally faded he saw it. Not some TV screen, a trap door, a painting, or even another room, but a forest. Strike that, not a forest but a grove of fruit trees stretching as far as he could see through the small doorway. The boy’s jaw dropped his eyes transfixed. “Heh… eh… a… uh…” A string of incomprehensible sounds escaped his mouth as the boy staggered back several steps in sheer disbelief. He couldn’t believe it. There was no way any of this could be real, but his senses told him otherwise. He could smell the fragrance of fresh fruit, and feel the warmth of the sun on his skin. It was surreal and impossible, but there it was and it scared him. He simply stood there paralyzed trying to take it all in.

"Come on Ren,"

The next thing Ren knew Lily was boldly walking through the door, urging him on. Until she spoke he hadn’t even realized anyone had even stepped in front of him much less said anything. He turned back to Mr. Swetini for a moment. “It’s all true. Everything you’ve said is true.” He admitted meekly. “I can’t believe it, but there it is.” This morning he woke up thinking he would just be returning some library books and here he was staring down the doorway to another world. “Should I go?” He thought still looking to the man seeking encouragement, perhaps reassurance. Lily was going. He could just let her go… but what if something happened? Would he be able to life with himself if he left and she never came back? No, no he wouldn’t. It would be all his fault if something happened then. He turned back to the portal where Lily was waiting. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, fighting with himself to make a decision, and then sighed. He would go. “Right.” He nodded to her. “Right behind you.” Reluctantly Ren followed her through heading towards the wooden sign to see what it said. Anything to take his mind off of what he was doing.

Alright! Katydid stepped through the doorway, This is it. My Narnia, my Wonderland, my time to visit another world and hopefully come back safely. She turned around in a couple slow circles, taking in her surroundings. It's so beautiful. she murmured. She resisted the urge to climb a tree. It's not lady-like, do you want to be compared to a heathen. Kathleen? Her mother's voice chimed in her head. Her father added his Don't be so plebeian, Kathleen Alana Mason.

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You... you really don't get it... do you? I... I love him... I'd die with him. Or for him. That's what you do... how you feel when you love someone. - Impulse

'Shall we?' Brina looked down at the stuffed dog then glanced back into the door way. "Yes I think we should go Zed." She took a few slow steps forward then crossed through. "Wow, it's so nice here." Brina said as she took in the sights. It was true that they had trees and grass at home, but somehow these felt more... more mystical maybe.

"I guess we just go after this point," Brina held Zed out in front of her and spun around and around until she fell, Zed sitting on the ground in front of her. "Left? Okay then we'll start this way then." Brina stood up, picked up Zed, and brushed down her skirt then began walking. She glanced back at the other kids who had come through the door way only once and then just kept going. "I wish I had..." Brina shrugged sadly and hugged Zed close.

Sin laughed and bounce happily, looking at the beautiful scenery. Yeah, muttered Hell, grinning rougely... or as roguely as a child can. They looked at each other and giggled. To Never-Neverland! shouted Sin, yelling for the first time in many years. He then grabbed his brother's arm and Christopher's sleeve gently and pulled them both towards the warmth of the sun, giggling all the while. Yeh coming with us girly? Hell called to the girl with the stuffed-animal, smirking confidently as Sin moved a little closer to him.

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Billy wasn't impressed by swetini's magic tricks, he was a kid but he knew they were just attention grabbers and nothing really spectacular, he followed the others down into the basement behind Lucas trying to keep close to him, all the while upkeeping his almost monklike state of silence giving him all the while a mind running riot with thoughts and speculations behind Swetini's 'Good intentions'.

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Christopher grinned at Katydids response slightly, it was nice that he hadn't screwed this up. His thoughts were suddenly scattered as he felt Sin grab and pull him towards the door, he dropped the book in surprise and managed to wildly catch it again, distracting him from the fact that he was going backwards until he was stumbling after the twins. Well, it looks like I'm going on this trip one way or another. I would have like to be more prepared, but as they say "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing". Security will let you keep what you've got but only adventure will allow you to advance onwards, Yes you may end up losing all, your possessions, your body, your mind but you may also "learn, discover and love" and without those, what is life? So, Onwards and outwards, as they say, to Neverland. Chris said, smiling his half-smile and following the twins and the others.

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“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Chapter 2: “The Plentiful Orchard”

==================================
”To yonder oak within the field
I spoke without restraint,
And with a larger faith appeal'd
Than Papist unto Saint.

For oft I talk'd with him apart
And told him of my choice,
Until he plagiarized a heart,
And answer'd with a voice.”

~”The Talking Oak" Poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, 4th and 5th stanza
==================================


As the children, one by one, entered through the doorway they would soon take notice of another sort of strangeness that filled the orchard. Despite the great number of trees, there seemed to be a lack of birds. There was no sound of tweeting in the orchard, and it gave a sort of eerie silence. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of leaves from the wind, and what seemed like the sound of breathing. The latter however was easily masked by the sound of rustling leaves, and the most the children would be able to pinpoint was the fact the the rustling noises had almost some sort of pattern. Rustle...pause...rustle...pause. The grass also, strangely enough, seemed to be moving side to side in this single pattern. Back and forth, back and forth. Any who would take notice that there was something wrong about this place. There was plenty of things wrong with this place, but surely it was impossible for everything to have the same rhythm as this. As Ren neared the sign, the words painted on in black paint became more and more readable. The words were written sloppily, as if they were written in a hurry, excluding the sign at the utmost top. But despite this Ren would be able to read the words just fine. This is what they read in order from top to bottom:

"WELCOME TO THE PLENTIFUL ORCHARD. POPULATION: 2,072 PLUS 1"

"NOTICE TO PASSERBY: REFRAIN FROM TOUCHING THE TREES BEFORE HARVEST TIME. OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF PLUMPY."

"EXTRA NOTE: DO NOT EAT OR STEAL THE FRUIT OF THE TREES. FRUITS THAT HAVE FALLEN UPON THE GROUND INCLUDED. OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF PLUMPY."

"WARNING: BIRDS AND BATS ARE PROHIBITED FROM SETTING FOOT IN THIS ORCHARD. OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF PLUMPY."

"EXTRA WARNING: ALL WOODLAND CREATURES ARE PROHIBITED FROM SETTING FOOT IN THIS ORCHARD. OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF PLUMPY."

"THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION.
SINCERELY, PLUMPY THE PLUMPA TROLL"

"P.S. NO, I AM NOT RELATED TO THE TROLL THAT LIVES UNDER THE BRIDGE."

Whoever had written this seemed like an angry person indeed. What he meant by his wrath was perhaps not the best thing to know at the time, but Ren would possibly have already guessed that it had nothing to do with riddles. The words of the sign sure explained the eerie silence of the orchard. Who knew why the orchard was so important to this troll that he would ban all this creatures from the orchard. The only problem was, the population count. The many signs only made the population count seem more strange than it probably already was, for the orchard was pretty much devoid of any signs of life.

--------

Meanwhile, back in the shop's basement, Swetini had been knocked over by one of the children. "Hmmf?" was his cry as the young cowboy rolled into him, causing him to loose balance and fall. The magician stared quizzically at the boy, and then remembered he was one of those who was entering his contest. He had forgotten the boy was even there, he had been so quiet. He AND his friend. Swetini stood and brushed himself off, the dust from his place was all over him. It was a blessed thing he didn't get spiderwebs in his hair...or did he? "No, no need to apologize, my good man. We've all have been lost in our own little world at some point or another." He then smiled pleasantly to the boy. "Speaking of worlds, some of the children have already entered through. And it's not too late for you to follow them." As he said this, the candy maker gestured to the playhouse in the room's center, its door still opened. He acknowledged Lucas's friend with a nod, "You and your friend, both."

_________________

Musicmac: "Sam4Books: Always ready to cheer things up with awesome art. Terms and Conditions apply."

I'm glad I didn't climb the trees Katydid said as she walked to the sign. Looks like Mummy and Dad were right again... She started scanning the sky then looked confused. Rainbows have two ends... which end is the one with the sunlight. If one has sunlight the other might have raindrops...

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You... you really don't get it... do you? I... I love him... I'd die with him. Or for him. That's what you do... how you feel when you love someone. - Impulse

What is a troll? asked Sin quietly to Christopher, knowing that Hell didn't know what it was either. If it attacks us, said Hell confidently, puffing out his thin chest, I'll attack it right back! He thumped his fist on his chest and grinned roguely, You two 'ave nuttin ta worry 'bout! Now, he looked left then right, Which way? Should we go straight through the orchard?

_________________

Ren was taking deep breaths, in and out, in and out. “Everything is going to be just fine. We just need to stick together and stay on the path, and we’ll all be just fine.” He told himself over and over. The boy was finally starting to calm down, if only slightly. Chris’ philosophic spiel wasn’t helping. Much to his surprise the words on the wooden sign were readable if sloppily painted on. “At least whoever… or whatever lives here speaks English.” He noted. It was a strange and startling convenience. Ren took a few moments to read what was written there, and then read it again just to be sure. “Troll?” He queried aloud. If this place belonged to a troll it was best to heed its warning. “Hey guys,” He called out to the others, worried. “Don’t eat any of the fruit, no, don’t even touch the trees. Try not to even go near them. Thi… this is a troll’s orchard.” Plumpy wasn’t the only troll around either it seemed.

“I wouldn’t suggest it.” He said turning to Hell. “Trolls are supposed to be all big and mean and hairy.” He explained trying to remember what little mythology he could at the moment, or if it even mattered here. There was no way to tell. “We need to follow that rainbow path, remember? As for witch way to go…” Ren took a step to the side and looked around trying to see where the paths went. It was a futile effort “…uh, I don’t know. We could just pick one.” He added doubtfully. “Or maybe it says something in the diary.” He scratched his head in thought. “Have to start somewhere anyway.” Caution was the order of the day, but they had to start somewhere. “Hey Lily.” He called out, waving his friend over. “Where do you think we should start?”

"...Huh?" Lily turned her head around. She had been lost in thought, and almost didn't realise Ren was talking to her. "Uh...I don't know..." she said, a little distracted. She had been frowning at the rustling movents the grass and leaves were making. It was really odd...for some reason she found she didn't like it. It couldn't just be the wind...it was too regular, and it stuck to a rhythm. She had orbserved enough leaves being blown about on a windy day to know that the wind didn't do that. Not in their world, anyway. It both troubled her and interested her, so much so that she barely took in anything Ren had said.

"What do you think is doing that?" she asked, pointing to the moving grass nearby. "That can't be the wind...can it?"

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Brina turned back to the other children when she heard someone call to her. Could I go with them? It wasn't like she had ever really got to know them even though she saw some of them every day, even if it was only from a distance. Maybe... she looked down at Zed and smiled, 'Sissy would want us to wouldn't she Zed?' She walked back toward the others slowly hanging more to the outside of the group, she would try.

Brina read the sign that had paused the others, trolls? She looked over to Ren as he spoke of them. It sounded rather frightening and the posted words did not help much with the feelings that she was getting either. "I hope it's the wind," Brina says softly to Lily, "I don't think we should stay here much longer, we need to pick a path and go." Brina look to the ground holding Zed close, what do we do now? Where do we even begin?

“Hmm? The grass, what about it?” He asked eyeing it curiously. It certainly looked like regular old grass. It took a few moment for him to finally notice the peculiar sound from all around him. Rustle…silence….rustle…silence… over and over regular and steady. “Th… that’s really creepy. I don’t think that the wind would do that.” As strange as it was the noise was still just the rustle of trees, not so dangerous. “I agree with you.” He said nodding to Brina. “The longer we stay here, the more likely we’ll be to run into that troll." Ren was very much hoping to avoid that encounter. "Lily, why don’t you us the honor of picking witch way.” He looked at the orchard again. “I have know idea, and you’d do a better job than me.”

Lily took a long time thinking over what Ren had said. Ignoring the peculiar grass for now, she stepped back a little, taking in her surroundings again. She noticed Katy scanning the sky and looked there too. "Well that looks like part of the rainbow up there," she spoke after a thoughtful pause. "So I guess we need to find out where it leads and follow it." She paused again, deep in thought. But how do we do that?

A thought crossed Lily's mind. She wondered back over to where the sign was, reading it over again. "Maybe we should ask the Troll where the other end of the rainbow is? This is his orchard...and he lives in this world, so...I assume it's a he anyway...maybe he'd know the way? Or at least know the way out of the orchard." She glanced about her again, and bit her lip slightly. "I don't like the idea of asking a troll...but I don't see who else there is to ask. It's got to be better than just picking a random path and hoping it's the right one, right?" She looked a little uncertain of herself.

_________________

Hiryu: Doc's bag is a portal. She's actually from another dimension and when she jumped into it, she ended up at a desk with a browser open on this site. That's how she found it.
We have a Doctor Who thread now. Doctor Who threads are cool.

Lucas quickly got up and dusted himself off in a similar fashion as Mr. Swetini and then smiled up at him. “Thanks for letting us participate.” Lucas said to Mr. Swetini and walked up to the wooden playhouse. Before he went through the door he turned around and waved at Billy a couple of times. “Let’s hurry up before the other kids leave us behind because of me.” He urged Billy as he crouched over to get through the door. Once he was through Lucas was struck dumb by both the beauty of the place and how such a large area could fit in the small playhouse. Lucas approached the other children and asked “So what are we doing?” while looking over his shoulder to see if Nilly had followed him.

"Well I actually think we have three options Lilly," Brina muttered softly it had been quite a while since she had carried a conversation this long with an actual person, the last one being her big sister. "We can either ask the troll thought I am kind of scared of that idea, walk ahead a bit and try to find someone less scary to talk to, or since we have a basic idea where the two halves of the rainbow is we can split into groups and work that way." Brina blushed a bit, "But that is just my opinion, I am up to hearing what anyone else has to say." Brina glanced down at Zed, I can't believe you made me do that. Internally she could hear the dog give sort of a bark laugh which caused her to smile and shake her head.

A troll would be a big giant ugly abomination against nature sometimes. replied Chris to Sins question. But considering that it can write, is smart enough to create rules, appears to be greedy and hasn't already found and/or eaten us suggests that it may possess some intelligence, but I'd be prepared to run in either case, they are rarely good creatures. He finished as he scanned the orchard. I wonder what kind of fruit these trees bare, or if they're edible, for humans at least. he added to himself as he pulled out a notebook and took down his thoughts.

He flipped it shut again as he listened to the others discussion about what to do. I think we would be better off not associating with the troll, I don't imagine it's likely to be overly friendly. I'm also not a big fan of splitting up, this is a new world which we know nothing about, we are children and this world is potentially dangerous, after all, we could befall the same fate as Lucy had and never be able to return home, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I like my home.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Billy had followed Lucas straight through the portal into the massive orchard. He felt the wonderful breeze on his face, the soft grass beneath his feet. The whole scenery looked like something off a disney movie with it being so animated in the way the wind keeps going backwards and forwards and how the grass sways the same way. Billy picked some grass up in his hands and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger, it almost seemed to be made of candy in his hand.

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Ren was visibly shocked at Lily’s suggestion. He didn’t want to even meet the troll much less try and talk to it. There were just so many things that could possibly go wrong. At least nothing had been decided just yet. Unfortunately all this discussion wasn’t really getting them anywhere either. “Hey, you have the diary.” Ren spoke up after a few moments of thought. “Why don’t you take a look and see if it says anything about where the rainbow goes. If not we’ll just have to pick a path and walk until we find someone we think we can talk to, or another sign, or something.”