The Stolen Diamonds(Rishika) Chapter 1. World above the Clouds

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a kingdom on top of the clouds. The whole town was rich. There were some poor people as well though, but there was one thing that was so special about the kingdom that nobody but King Frederar, Queen Lisabeth, and their daughter Princess Brittle knew about. Only they knew about the four very fragile rainbow diamonds. Without the diamonds the kingdom would be banished from the world forever. These precious stones are also able to grant wishes to anyone, but it has to be for the good of the wisher and other people of the town.

It was a beautiful summer morning in the kingdom. The whole town was bustling with activity. “Mother!” Brittle said. “May I go play with Jessica and Mallory?” she asked. Brittle is ten years old and she loved to solve mysteries.
“Yes,” said Queen Lisabeth. “Now let me check on those diamonds,”
Queen Lisabeth always checked on the diamonds every morning and night. “AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!” the Queen cried. “They are stolen!”
“What? They’re stolen?” Brittle hurried back into to the room. “You’re right!” she gasped. “They are stolen!”
“All that’s left is a note,” said Queen Lisabeth trying to stay calm. Brittle walked over to the table and read the note. It said in fancy writing: To find the thief climb up the highest cliff with all your might and enter my evil scheme. It’s the fourth door to your right where you will see a fright!
Brittle flipped it to the back and saw a picture of skull and crossbones.
“Skull and Crossbones,” she breathed “That means danger, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Queen Lisabeth said solemnly.
“May I play Jessica and Mallory now,” asked Brittle.
“You can if you wish,” said her mother. Brittle hurried out of the castle and onto the street.


Chapter 2. Investigating

“Brittle!” Jessica called from her front porch
“Hey Jessica,” Brittle called. “Where’s Mal?”
“She’s outside watering her plants,” said Jessica just as Brittle reached Jessica’s front porch.
“Brittle! Jessica!” someone called from behind. Brittle whirled around. Sure enough there was Mallory. “Hey guys,” Mallory said just as she reached Brittle.
“Hello Mal,” Jessica and Brittle said at the same time.
“Have any news?” Mallory asked eying Brittle.
“That’s for sure” Brittle said.
“What?” asked Jessica, very interested?
“The diamonds are stolen!” Brittle blurted out without a second thought.
Mallory gasped as Jessica cried “Oh no!”
“I have no idea who stole them, but the thief left behind a clue,” Brittle stated, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. Mallory read the clue and the other girls listened with great concentration. A silence followed after until Jessica said “Wow…”
Brittle tried to look brave as she said, “So… are both of you up for the challenge?”
“Well…..you see, climbing cliffs is just not my style,” Mallory said.
“Of course we’re up to the challenge!” Jessica said. “But Mallory does have a point too: how are we going to get up there?”
“Well,” Brittle said “We don’t have to figure out a way right now we will think of something when we get to the cliff.”
“Fine with me Brittle,” said Jessica. “But our parents can’t know that we are investigating because if my mother knows that she’ll freak!”
“And Brittle, I have a question about this cliff business,” said Mallory.
“Do you actually know how high this cliff is?” said Mallory.
“It’s about… I think five-hundred yards. I can’t be too sure,” Brittle said.
Mallory blinked, surprised. “Holy moly that’s a lot!” she said.
Mallory and Jessica burst out laughing. Brittle’s dark, brown eyes sparkled as she laughed too. She was glad to have these friends. The trio had a strong bond—they spent all their free time together, solving mysteries, going on adventures, and simply having fun.
Suddenly, Brittle remembered why she came to Jessica and Mallory in the first place. She shot a serious look at Jessica and Mallory and said, “Come on guys we can’t just stand around here. We really need to catch the thief.”
“You’re right,” said Jessica.
“Follow me,” said Brittle. She led Mallory and Jessica across the street. The soft morning breeze rustled the leaves on the trees. It was a short walk before they reached the cliff. The cliff was very, very tall. The ground underneath the cliff was cold and damp.
“Brrr,” Brittle shivered lightly.
“Now how do we get up there?” asked Mallory.
“I will take you,” said a voice.
The three girls turned around in the direction of the voice and found themselves facing a fire-breathing dragon.
Brittle was scared … really scared, but she gathered up her courage and spoke up.
“H-h-hello,” she said “You are willing to take us to the top of the cliff?” Brittle asked, still frightened.
“Of course” the dragon replied.
“Are you sure about this?” whispered Jessica.
Brittle didn’t answer; instead she climbed on the dragons back and signaled Jessica and Mallory to get on as well. Once all the girls were on the dragon, the dragon started to fly gracefully through the thick, foggy morning sky .On the way up the girls looked around, when they looked down they saw the amazing view from way up in the sky. Everything was like a little tiny ant even the people and the trees looked like a big blanket spread all over the grass. The girls were astonished by all the things you could see up high in the air. At last, they reached the top of the cliff the dragon let the girls of and it vanished into thin air before the girls could say anything. And in front of Brittle, Jessica and Mallory was a startling discovery.


Chapter 3. Ghost in the castle

The girls saw a surprisingly old castle in front of them.
But it didn’t look like a castle it looked kind of like a haunted house. Brittle broke the silence “Come on,” she said.
Brittle quietly knocked on the door and a little boy opened it. “Hello,” he said. “You’re looking for the diamonds, aren’t you?” The girls nodded “Well….. Come inside,” he said. Brittle, Jessica and Mallory followed him inside. As soon they stepped in all three girls froze. They had never seen a house that looked this grand. There was a shiny white chandelier hanging in the middle of the room and all the items in the castle gleamed like glitter. Of course the girls didn’t expect the castle to be this pretty because the outside of the castle looked all ragged and old. Finally, someone spoke “Do you actually live here?” asked Mallory. “Uh……Yes…..” said the boy.
“It’s……. awesome,” breathed Jessica. Suddenly, a voice called out “Sam, is that you?” Quickly Sam pushed the girls into the hall closet. “Stay here,” he whispered. Sam closed the door and hurried away. “Ow! Stop pushing me!” cried Brittle from inside the closet. Mallory reached and turned on the light switch. “What’s this?” Mallory said as she picked up an old piece of paper off the ground. “It looks like another note!” said Brittle while reaching for the paper. Brittle read the paper out loud “Though you have succeeded this far, there is still danger on the next bar. Step into the world of ice and snow, and go back in time for the show.”
“What in the world does that mean?” asked Jessica.
“Where’s the world of ice and snow?!” Brittle inquired.
“How do we get out of here?!” cried Mallory. “The door is locked.”
“Wait!” said Jessica. “I feel a lever. I wonder what it does.”
“Well, let’s find out,” said Brittle. She pulled the lever. It made a slow creaking sound. Suddenly, the floor of the closet gave away… The three girls began to fall into a secret hidden tunnel. First Brittle landed, THUMP! Next Jessica landed, THUMP! After that Mallory landed, THUMP! Brittle, Jessica and Mallory looked around. They saw a big open space full of closed doors. “Now what do we do?” asked Mallory. Brittle looked at her two friends, they were both shivering not because they were cold but because they were scared. Suddenly, the girls heard footsteps. In panic of being caught, they opened the nearest door and scurried inside.


Chapter 4.The Jewel Room

The girls froze in their tracks. They couldn’t believe their eyes. The room was filled with sacks of gold, gleaming silver necklaces and ruby, crystal and emerald bracelets. Jessica and Mallory ran to try on the crystal bracelets. Brittle was just as tempted but she knew that the room was just a distraction to stop them from finding the diamonds. Someone must know about the diamonds besides Jessica and Mallory, she thought. “Mallory! Jessica! Snap out of it!” Brittle shouted softly so whoever outside couldn’t hear her. “I think this is a distraction to stop us from finding the diamonds.” said Brittle as quietly as she could.
“You’re right,” said Jessica. “We need to focus on finding the diamonds or who knows where we’ll be.”
“Let’s read the poems again to find out where we are going next.” Mallory said. Brittle reached into her pocket and pulled out the poems. She handled the two pieces as if they were going to rip any second now. Mallory read them out loud: “To find the thief climb up the highest cliff with all your might and enter my evil scheme. It’s the fourth door to your right where you will see a delightful dream, though you have succeeded this far, there is still danger on the next bar. Step into the world of ice and snow, and get back in time for the show.”
“This quest is just making more and more sense,” said Jessica. “Follow me.” Jessica led the girls toward the door, opened it and looked around making sure that no one was there. “The fourth door to the right, get it?” she said pointing.
“Oh, I get it!” said Mallory and Brittle at the exact same time.
“Well, what are we waiting for.” said Mallory as she walked to the door. “Let’s go!” Jessica and Brittle ran to catch up with her. Mallory opened the door…And in front of the girls was astonishing winter wonderland! It looked magnificent. The ground was covered up with 10 inches of snow and it was still snowing! The little snowflakes looked like sparkles dancing through the winter sky. Brittle, not afraid of sinking in the deep winter snow jumped right into the snow! Jessica and Mallory jumped right into the snow with her. “This is great!” cried Jessica. “We hardly get even 3 inches of snow back at home!”
“Let’s enjoy it when we can.” said Mallory. Brittle, Jessica and Mallory made snowgirls, had snowball fights and made snow angels all day long. They had so much fun they hardly noticed that it was getting dark out- side. It wasn’t long before the girls fell asleep right there in the snow.
The girls woke up into a bright sunny day. “Where are we?” Mallory asked looking around.
“How did we get here?” Jessica inquired.
“Who brought us here?” Brittle questioned It looked like the three girls were in a luxurious hotel and it was huge. Brittle, Jessica and Mallory got out of bed and started exploring. First, they went into the closet. It was just as big as the bedroom and they couldn’t believe how many clothes were in there! Next, they went into the three bathrooms. It smelled like jasmines. It had a tub almost as big as a pool. The girls looked in the cupboards there was everything in there. There were hair bands, bows, nail polish, lotion, face wash, perfume and much, much more! They went downstairs. There was a big open space with a really pretty carpet, big screen TV and a big couch. They looked outside to see a big garden and pool with a little fountain. They looked in the kitchen which had every single food in the world! They also looked in the gigantic library which had a lot of books. The girls never wanted to leave.


Chapter 5. Back on Track

One day when Jessica was watching a movie, when Brittle was gardening and when Mallory was eating a chocolate bar, Jessica’s phone beeped. Jessica checked her phone messages. She got a message from her mom which said: “Where are you?! I’ve been calling you for ages!” Jessica checked her phone calls and found at least five missed calls. She ran to the garden to show Brittle. She wasn’t there. Jessica went to the kitchen and found both girls there. “Have you checked your messages and phone calls?” she asked.
“Yeah, we were just talking about it.” said Brittle. “And guess what! I found a hidden staircase when I went inside to get the shovel! Come on I’ll show you,” Brittle led Jessica and Mallory to a closet next to the garden/pool door. She pushed through the raincoats. The other two girls did the same. They found themselves with in front of an old wooden door. Brittle opened it. The girls gasped. They were facing a staircase with torches lit that hung across the wall. The three girls began walking down the stairs when Jessica said “This reminds me about the book The Hidden Staircase.” All three girls liked Nancy Drew books in fact it was Mallory’s, Jessica’s and Brittle’s favorite series. Finally, the girls saw another door. Mallory opened it. The girls found themselves back in the place with the millions of doors. “Lets try to see what’s in all the other doors,” said Mallory. “Let’s start with this one,” she said pointing at the door to their left. Jessica opened it, that’s when they started to hear loud talking it almost sounded like arguing. “Quick, hide!” said Brittle as she pushed the girls behind some stacked up boxes so they could hear everything the people said. “Why did you even touch those girls?!” someone cackled. “You know they’re dangerous. They’re looking for the diamonds!”
“Well, no one wants to leave some poor girls locked in a room without any food or water! They could have starved!” said another voice which sounded like someone singing. Jessica peeked over the boxes and gasped and whispered to the other girls, “The person that has the voice that cackles is a witch with green skin and the person that has the singsong voice is my cousin, Sofia Lily Brown!”
“How did you even know where to find the keys?” asked the witch.
“I just looked at the notes that you stored under your bed they gave me a LOT of information,” said Sofia.
“You make me so mad!” said the witch.
“If you do you will be disobeying Violet’s set of rules about the Helping Others Club in other words HOC,” Sofia said.
“What?! It’s supposed to be the Hurting Others Club and it is run by Liana not Violet,” said the witch.
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“Calm down guys,” said a person that just walked into the room. “There are supposed to be two groups,”
“What!?” said Sofia. “Bella, that can’t be true!”
“It is,” said Bella. “Since I am on both sides I was elected leader so I changed the rules last night,”
“You’re on her side!” said Sofia and the witch at the same time.
“I’m not on one side I’m on both sides,” said Bella. “Now stop talking about useless things and get to work.”
Bella walked out of the room while Sofia and the witch stomped outside. Just then, Mallory sneezed. “Ahchoo!”
“Who was that?” said the witch as she walked around the room. Jessica felt the walls, looking for a door so they could escape. Jessica hand touched something hard, it was a doorknob! She opened the door and pulled her friends inside. “Whew! I am so glad we aren’t in there, I almost gave us away!”
“Whatever reason, we always end up in the room with lots of doors,” said Brittle.
“Wait, don’t you hear something?” said Jessica. The girls leaned over and listened. The noise sounded like footsteps!


Chapter 6. Going Home
“I knew I’d find you three someday,” said the witch as she walked up to the girls, then she yelled “Liana! Lock them up!” a woman walked up beside the witch and said “You’ve got it Zelda!”
The girls knew that they only had a few more seconds to escape, they started running. Luckily for them, the witch wasn’t fast enough to catch them.
“You won’t get away that easy!” Zelda yelled shaking a fist. But Liana was still running and she was catching up. Just she was about grab the girls, Brittle flung the nearest door open just wide enough so the girls could slip through. Brittle quickly turned around and locked the door.
The girls looked around. There was a table full of chemicals for food poisoning and next to a long mirror there was a table full of nifty disguises to make yourself look like `1`something you’re not. Just then, Mallory noticed something. “Guys,” she said. “Look at the writing above the mirror.”
There was an old wooden panel above the mirror that said: Zelda’s Room
DO NOT ENTER!
“This is Zelda’s room!” asked Jessica.
“Yep,” said Brittle. “I have a feeling that the diamonds are hidden in there.” she said pointing to the treasure chest. The treasure chest had a soft glow exactly like the glow of diamonds. Mallory opened the treasure chest found that the only thing in the box were the diamonds. She gasped; the diamonds were losing their power! If they didn’t hurry home soon trouble would come to their homeland! The girls heard Zelda unlocking the door. “Hurry, we have to make a wish and fast!” urged Mallory.
“Okay, I wish that we could all go home!” said Brittle. At first, it started to sparkle. And then, it began to glow. It kept on getting brighter and brighter. Zelda was just about open the door. And then POOF! The girls were gone. They were on their way home.

* * * * *

The girls appeared at the Diamond Room after a few seconds. Brittle looked around her home, it became all dull and gray. “I hope we’re not too late.” she said as she put the diamonds on the stand. Brittle waited hopefully. Suddenly, a glittery spark of light shot out of a diamond. Another one came out. And then, another! The sparks helped the kingdom get back its color. They made the sun shine again. The girls jumped up and down in delight. The day was saved! Just then Brittle, Jessica and Mallory remembered that they would have a lot of explaining to do.

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