The girl didn’t answer at first. Then she said, “That depends on where you came from. Do you live in the village? Did you sneak in?”
Tim shook his head, although the girl already seemed to know what his answer would be. “I’m called Anna, regardless of where you come from. The important thing is, however, what are you called?”
Tim didn’t know why his name would be important but told her. “I’m Tim. Tim Tollins.”
She nodded, as if she knew this already too. “You look like him,” she said.
“Like who?”
“Prince Mit.”
Tim recognized the same from the disk in his pocket, but said, “I don’t know who that is.”
Anna gave him a questioning look. “Yes, you do. I’ll show you.”
She grabbed his hand and led him further into the house. They approached what Tim thought was the front door, since it looked like the one in his house, but as they went through it, Tim realized they were still inside. It seemed as though this house was larger than his. They finally stopped in a large hallway, which had portraits hanging on the walls. Anna stopped at one and pointed. “That’s Prince Mit.”
Tim looked at the picture and gasped. It looked just like him. He looked at the next picture and the next. Each picture showed a slightly older version of the boy. As he reached the end of the hallway, Tim was startled to see a picture he actually recognized. It was his parents’ wedding picture. “They’re my parents!” he exclaimed.
He hadn’t recognized the younger versions of his father, but there was no mistaking his mother, or that picture. It hung in their family room and he saw it almost every day of his life. “I told you that you knew Prince Mit,” Anna said.
“I don’t understand.”
Anna gave him that questioning look again. “Didn’t they explain it to you when you turned thirteen? My parents told me all about it and that’s when I came here. I’ve been here alone for weeks now. I’ve been waiting for you.”
Tim stared at Anna. “Waiting for me? How could you be waiting for me? You don’t even know me. I don’t even know where I am or exactly how I got here. I didn’t even plan to come here! It was just an accident!”
Anna’s eyes narrowed. “Now I don’t understand. This should have all been explained to you, at least by your thirteenth birthday. I’ve always known. After the uprising, my parents thought it best to prepare me.”
Tim shook his head. “My parents didn’t tell me anything. They-”
“How could they be so irresponsible? Don’t they understand that if we’re to save our people- I don’t even know where to begin! How could they give you the key and then not explain anything? Don’t they realize how important this is? Don’t-”
“STOP!” Tim yelled, angrily, “Just stop!”
Anna took a step back. Tim kept yelling, “My parents were wonderful parents. They loved me and gave me whatever they could to make me happy! Don’t you dare talk about them. You didn’t even know them!”
“If we fail, it will be their fault. I don’t have to know them to know that,” Anna said quietly.
Tim started walking away from her. “I’m out of here. I’m not staying here- wherever here is- just so you can act like little Miss Know-it-all. I’m going home.”
“Well obviously, I know more than you! You don’t even know you can’t go home when you already are home. If your parents-”
Tim spun around. “I told you not to talk about my parents! You don’t know everything, so once again, just stop!”
“But-”
“My parents are dead!”
Anna was silent. She stared at Tim. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I- I didn’t know.”
“Obviously.”
Tim started walking again. He was almost back to the first room. Anna was following him. “Wait,” she said, “You really can’t go back. Once you activated the key, you closed the door.”
They had reached the room. “Please, just sit down,” Anna said, pointing to the couch, “I’ll explain to you what I know. But first, welcome to Snillotia. That’s where we are now,” Anna started.
She walked over to the window and pointed to the valley below. “This is our kingdom.”
CHAPTER FOUR
“When our people first began, Snillotia was ruled by a wonderful king and queen. King Mit was wise and kind. He loved his people and treated them as he would his own family. His wife, Queen Anna, was a beautiful woman. She was very caring and also thought of her people as though they were her family. The origin of our people has been lost in time, so many believe that the king and queen were more than just normal people. Some believed they were god-like and that they had created our world. Their family name was after all Snillot, which sounded a lot like Snillotia. The truth, however, will never be known. They later became known as the Firsts, and that is what I will call them from now on.
“The Firsts had two children. They were called Prince Mit and Princess Anna. The Firsts loved their children equally; however, the Prince and the Princess did not get along. As the Firsts watched their children grow older, and farther and farther apart, they feared for their kingdom. They did not want their children’s dislike for each other to cause their kingdom to be split into two. When they knew their time was close to coming to an end, the Firsts gathered the Prince and the Princess together and told them (and possibly used a bit of magic- if they did indeed possess it) that they would rule Snillotia together, as Sibling Rulers. They gave them each a disk and told them it was their key to unity and that they should each pass it to their children and instruct them to do the same. Then they decreed that for the next 1000 years that is how the kingdom would be ruled. Prince Mit would take a wife and
