Young Writers Society

Val gave her a strained smile back. The Artifact Museum had featured prominently in her daydreams about being the Chosen One… She’d already known which artifact to pick– the Sword of Flames. It wasn’t just a cool flaming sword; the Sword of Flames was sentient, meaning it could be a useful spy, an ally to defend her if she ever fell unconscious during a fight, and so much more. But legendary artifacts like the Sword of Flames were reserved for Chosen Ones.

“Right,” Val muttered. At best, a Companion Two like her would get the Cucumber Club: literally a club made from a gigantic cucumber.

Val sighed heavily. “Look, it wasn’t just that I was ‘disappointed.’ Being the Chosen One was always my destiny. Finding out that it was Mira instead… well, it was like ground that you’d always thought was solid had turned to air, leaving you to free-fall into the void, never to be heard from again.”

Well, perhaps that was a tad bit dramatic. Who cared, though; she had to get to class. Val spun on her heel and stomped past Caleb.

“These are mainly historical artifacts, as well as ones that aren’t as practical for quests,” Eileen explained. She walked through the room, heading towards some wooden double-doors on the other side. “We keep the questing artifacts here.”

Eileen unlocked the doors. Still silent, the trio entered the second room.

Val caught her breath. The room was small, but it was filled with artifacts. There were shelves upon shelves of them, each shelf dutifully labeled with “Healing” or “Illusions” or “Fighting.” And Val didn’t know quite how to describe it (was it lemon? or rain on a cool fall evening?), but somehow she felt like the scent of magic was in the air… Next to her, Mira and Caleb were wide-eyed as well.

“The Amulet of Age.” Caleb held up a glowing blue gemstone on a golden chain. It caught the light and winked at Val. “Apparently it protects you from age-related curses, but even better than that…” He slipped it on over his head.

Suddenly, Val was looking at a child. He had Caleb’s sandy hair and green eyes, but he looked to be about seven years old. The kid blinked up at her. “See?” he said in a higher-pitched voice.

Val stifled a giggle. “So it makes you younger?”

Caleb took off the amulet and returned to normal. “I don’t know. It’s supposed to reveal your inner age, whatever that means.”

Val couldn’t stop herself from laughing any longer. “So you’re actually a seven-year-old on the inside? Hello there, little child.”

“Rude.” Caleb pouted jokingly. “Anyways, you try it.”

Val took the amulet and put it on. She felt herself grow smaller, her clothes becoming baggier. She thought she was becoming younger for a second, until she looked at her hands. They were soft, wrinkled things, with brown splotches spotting the backs.

Caleb was doubled over with laughter. “If I’m a child… then you’re… an old lady,” he gasped, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

Val stepped over to a nearby mirror. It was indeed an old lady who stared back. Her hair had faded to white and her eyes were a watery blue. Val touched her sagging cheek in surprise. Was she really an old lady on the inside? Well, she enjoyed crocheting occasionally, but surely that didn’t count. Val tested her movement, turning from side to side. Although she looked old, she didn’t have back pain or bodyaches, so perhaps the amulet only changed appearances and voices.

She turned to Caleb again, a twinkle in her eye. “Stop laughing, you youngster. I’m your elder, so show me some respect,” she lectured in a creaky voice, wagging a finger.

The boy started wheezing. “Sure, sure, grandma.”

“Now, is that sarcasm I hear?” Val furrowed her bushy white eyebrows. “Teenagers these days. Tsk tsk.”

Caleb had gone silent with the force of his laughter, and finally Val removed the amulet and joined him in chuckling. It felt good to laugh. How long had it been since she’d felt so lighthearted?

Val never thought she’d see the day when she watched a sword and a girl wrestle.

Val scanned the blue sky, wondering what Mira could’ve been pointing at. Then she spotted it. The rival questgoers were nothing more than small splotches of color on top of… a gigantic origami crane? Val’s jaw dropped as she watched the enormous paper craft flap its wings and soar towards the other end of New Geode City.