The jaws of liberty by Ruhi Datye

The jaws of liberty have clamped long since past
And justice no longer remains in a cast
Both have grown stronger and stronger
But sometimes twisted into something longer

The fake coward sits alone with no shadow
He plays with things he shouldn’t, he is a whacko
He has lots of toys, but no life
And so the coward lives in strife

Trapped by Ruhi Datye

Princess Additri lived in a magical land. Every day, she would ride out on her pegasus and fly. She loved rushing through the air as the wind buffeted her face. When she returned one fine day, she saw her parents anxious faces. They were tied to the pillars of the castle and gagged. She ran to untie them and was grabbed from behind.

 “You’re coming with me princess,”he said yanking her roughly.

 She was dragged up Mountain Galore and down never catching sight of the man’s face. I felt the ground under my feet flatten out as I was walked forward. Before me I saw giant pits with plaques in front of them. The man shoved me into a pit. I screamed as I fell. I landed at the bottom of the marble pit with a thud.

 I scrambled desperately trying to get out of the pit, but it was too round and I couldn’t get up. I sat on the marble ground and cried. I didn’t know what had happened to my family.

 I had been in the pit for about a week when I saw a boy at the top of the pit. A man in a funny dragonfly mask shoved him down. He didn’t go down easy. He grabbed the rim, hung for a second before falling the rest of the way.

 He barely glanced at me as he scoured the place for a way out, pulling on everything.

 Finally he gave up and sat down. He looked at me and seemed to notice me for the first time.

 “What’s your name? Mine’s Wesley,” he said.

 “Princess Additri,”I said with grace expecting surprise flash across his face. It didn’t.

 “You don’t believe me?”I asked him puzzled.

 “I believe you,” he said eying me warily. “Everyone in these pits are royalty.”

 “So you’re a prince?”I asked curiously.

 “No,”he said. “I’m just a guy who gets in their way. They want to put this artificial brain thing in all royalty that controls them. When they go back to their castles they will do whatever these men say. My brother is the one who shoved me in the pit.”My brow crinkled.

 “He’s not a bad guy,”the boy assured me.

 I raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. He had tied up my parents and kidnapped me.

 “He’s just trying to earn money for the family. For every prince or princess my brother captures, he gets 50 percivals. I exploited all of his plans so far. Well, except yours. So he shoved me down here.”Wesley said with a shrug.

 “Is there a way out?”I asked.

 “I think I found one.” he said. “See where they drop the food? It’s too skinny to get through the bottom but it expands as it travels up. It’s a soft material so if we had a blade…”

 “I have scissors in my boot,”I told him.

 “Why do you have a scissors in your boot?”he asked me.

 “You never know when you need to fix your hair. Number one rule of princess etiquette is to keep scissors and a comb handy.” I said.

 “Okay. Give them to me!”he said excitedly.

 “Only if you say please,”I said sweetly.

 “Please give me the scissors,”he said.

  I handed them over to him. He made quick work of it. We climbed up the food delivery system.

 “This must be where everything is controlled. If I could get down there, I could shut down the artificial brain thingies.”he whispered.

 “Okay. I’ll wait,”I said.

 He nodded and ducked down. He typed quickly. He paused for a second and smirked. His smug smile disappeared as we heard the alarm sing.

 “Let’s go,”he said.

 We hurried down the tube. I saw the bright sunlight. We ran.

 It took us 3 nights before we reached my castle. Westley continued to his village which wasn’t far from the castle. I untied my parents and told them everything that happened.

The Lonely King II by Ruhi Datye

 I felt myself tremble as my body shook with sobs. I made my way down to the cellar. I cried in the darkness. I’d completely forgotten about the mean boy.

 I pressed myself against the bars and heard movement. I looked up for a second. There was that same boy. I got up to leave, but the cellar door had shut behind me. I couldn’t get out. I started to panic. My lip trembled and I sniveled trying hard to hold back tears

 I couldn’t help it and all the unspilled tears came bubbling to surface. The boy didn’t say anything. He just sat there leaning silently close to the bars. I calmed down a bit and wiped my eyes.

 “Do you have claustrophobia?”the boy asked me.

 “What klaw-dee-tobia?”I asked the boy .

 “Claustrophobia,”he said. “You would think a king like him would know, what with the private tutors and all.”he muttered.

 “Well, I don’t,”I said.

 “It means a fear of cramped spaces,”he said.

 “Oh,”I said.

 “So do you have it,”he asked.

 “What. Oh, no,”I said.

 “Why’d you cry then?”he asked.

 “I was missing my mom and I was missing not being pushed around. Also I was scared of you,”I said truthfully. I hung my head at the last statement.

 “I lost my mom when I was little,”the boy said.

 “I lost mine a year ago,”I said.

 “What was your mom like?” the boy asked.

 So I told him every last detail about her. How much she meant to me, everything. I was happy to have him. He just sat there listening and he’d ask an occasional question or two.

 When I was done I looked at him expectantly and asked,“What about your mom?” I asked.

 It’s none of your business,”he said and turned away.

 I curled up on the cold ground and slept. The steward would come down here and find me eventually.

The Lonely King III by Ruhi Daty

 I was talking to the boy in the prison. I wasn’t supposed to, but I was the king. The boy in the prison doesn’t like me much, but he listens. None of my advisors listen.

 “I hate being king. They say being king means supreme ruler, more like supreme figurehead. They don’t ask me my opinion, they just make me read a script that I don’t agree with.”I told the boy.

 “Who’s they?”he asks.

 “The nobles who live or spend a lot of time in the castle, of course,”I replied.

 “Yeah, well they didn’t ask me my opinion when they shoved me in here,” he answered.

 There were a few moments of pindrop silence. A rustling came from the cell.

 “I feel lonely here,”I told the boy.

 He smiled humorlessly, “Who doesn’t.”

 I fell silent again hurt.

 The boy must’ve figured out what I was feeling because he said, “Why you feel lonely.”

 “Mostly, people just ignore me except when they need me to read a law or something. I feel proud in those moments even though I’m saying things I don’t believe. They smile at me, but after I’m done they criticize every word. All the servants hate me with a fire and the people outside the castle want me to make a decision to benefit the land. I don't know how,” I said shaking my head sadly.

 The boy looked at me. At first he didn’t say anything, but then he asked, “How old are you?”

 “8 years,”I replied.

 This time he was the one who lapsed into silence. We sat like that in the shadows for the rest of the day.

The Phoenix by Ruhi Datye

Long, Long ago

Their lived a magnificent bird

With the greatest of foes

Who lived in the herd

To this story

You must listen

It’s filled with some glory

But it doesn’t glisten

Like that magnificent bird

And that evil, evil herd

There stood five bulls in the middle of town

They were sad and big and completely brown

All they did was make everyone feel down

Mostly because of their terrible frown

They were silent except a “moo” from the nice clown

One day a prince was running in his gown

He fell in a lake, and the bulls left him to drown

But, the clown saved his fat and his crown

And all of a sudden the Bulls knew nouns

And could talk better than anyone in town

The poor clown died

And the bulls were snide

They didn’t care

And the weren’t fair

They looked for a beast

more magnificent

And found one far east

It was the singing string instrument

They trampled it

Beat it

They killed it

Or so they thought

But, it was a Phoenix

It would come back

Eventually

Simple Things by Ruhi Datye

I sat on the swing for the first time in ages. I pumped my legs and rose high into the sky. The wind whistle past my ear. I felt laughter bubbling up. I was high up and I want to jump. I wanted to run and run and run. It was almost an uncontrollable urge. I felt happiness in its purest form. I smiled at everything seeing from a four year old’s point of view. The swing bump and I started to feel dizzy as a bright recollection appeared in my mind's eye.

  I had jumped off my swing. The air had been knocked out of me and I couldn’t breathe. My parents took a look at my back and said I would be fine it was just a few scratches. I didn’t believe them. It hurt too much. Two hours later, the back of my shirt was spotted in blood.

  I gripped the swing I wanted to get off, but I didn’t want to jump. Not until I touched the ground. The fear passed as soon as it came and I wanted to go higher, but the dizziness remained. Reluctantly I walked off the swing.

  It’s funny how much you can feel doing simple things.

Boring Story by Ruhi Datye

  Spittle

   Two years ago a witch called Pai Ninthe Rump cast a spell on Timbuktu. Now it would never stop raining. The water was waist high and mixed with filth and muck. I got home and took off my boots and socks. My legs and feet were crusted with muck. I grabbed a sponge and rubbed down my legs.

 We had to pay extra money to have anyone come to the island for trade because the storms made it treacherous for anyone who came near the water. Every year islanders sent their children at ages around 12 to earn money for the family. This year I would be leaving to earn money, but it was unlikely I would manage.

 I had a history for messing up. Last year I accidently gave a merchant $200 of our island’s money. I’m not exactly sure how. Our leader wanted us to pay the whole sum, but his advisors convinced him to make us only pay have. Our leader and his son,Belt, have been cold to our family ever since. It also gave me a bad name most commonly used by Belt.

 When we were really little, me and Belt were best friends. Our favorite play had been ruined by a person named Schpok. He had become part of the play and kept messing up his lines. After we turned seven Belt’s dad grilled him about being my friend. He still came around sometimes, but only to act like a jerk and boss me around. He didn’t like to spend much time with father and he told me once that he would never forget the friendship we used to have.

 I heard a rap at the door. That would be Belt. He had come to pick me up. I groaned before moving toward the door. I opened it revealing Belt’s face.

 “Hey schpok,”he said grinning.

 “It’s Spittle. My name is Spittle.” I said.

 I quickly put on new socks and my shoes while he waited at the door. Once I got both my shoes on he started walking and I followed him.

 We waded through the muddy water. I was a little short for my age so sometimes it went up to my neck. A few parts near ponds were so deep that Belt had to carry me across. Usually he would insult me until I was on the brink of tears, but today he didn’t seem to mind.

 As we boarded the first ship I saw a couple of my classmates. None were friends. My one and only friend since the incident was Dee. Well, and Belt. Sort of.

 The gentle rain had grown heavier and lightning flashed in the sky as the boat started to move. For 200 miles it was just rain. Heavy thunder followed the lightning with a crash. I went below deck to sleep.

 Spittle

 It was morning and It was raining harder than ever. I could see the line between the rain and the bright clear sea. Belt looking sick and was surrounded by his friends as the ship bucked. I tipped forward and Belt through up over the side. Again the ship bucked. The captain yelled at us to start bailing water. The next thing I remember is hitting the sea with a splash and falling.

 Belt

 I swam and pushed through the water as a giant wave hit me.

 “Ughh,” I spat out sea water. I saw the clear surface of the water on the other side and started swimming. I barely made it. I grabbed a piece of driftwood and hung on. I was didn’t want to move. My legs felt like Jelly. I dove back in looking for my friends. 3 made it to the surface one after another. I didn’t see Spittle. I dove back in. I saw him. He was sicking like a rock and completely unconscious. Then, another wave hit me and Spittle and we were carried further away. I grabbed hold of spittle but I couldn’t see where the storm ended. I started to swim blindly.

 Belt’s friend

 I saw an island and pointed it out to my friends. We swam toward it and suck to the sand. Then a everything started to shake. Sand fell and trees swayed. I couldn’t think of what was happening. Everything was foggy. The next second I was asleep.

 Spittle

 I felt hands grab me. I felt water drip out of my ear. I saw a vague outline of the face. Coughing followed and everything went black.

 When I came to I saw Belt sitting next to me on an extremely large chunk of driftwood. He was watching me. He must have seen me move because he shook me really hard. We were both so exhausted….

The plank hit something hard. Belt seized my collar and dragged me onto shore. I blacked out again.

 When I gained consciousness I saw Belt’s anxious face staring at the sand in his hand. Then I heard a huge rumbling sound.

 Mindy

 My people saw some strange people on the island. There were three of them. Are men went to confront them, but they don’t speak our dialect. They were screaming and crying hysterically. It looked funny. A few hours later two more appeared. One of them looked like he’d killed the other. Our medics rushed toward the one lying on the ground. The warriors captured the other one to put him on trial with the rest of them.

 One thing I am good at is reading people. I could tell that our prisoners were friends with each other. Most of them looked mean. One looked different from the others. His eyes were filled with hurt and pain, but he didn’t look particularly mean. More than anything he looked worried.

Monkeys raid kitchen and Seriously Injure Indian Princess, Heir Apparent of Vast Empire!!!! by Ruhi Datye

Monkeys steal incredibly valuable mangoes and viciously attack a poor 3 year old girl.

A rich Indian man came back from a field and got a special mango that you have never heard about. It’s called a Bashae. Each mango is $300.

While the monkey was taking the mangoes the man’s 3 year old girl walked into the kitchen. The monkey pounced on the girl. He attacked her with considerable wrath and the girl lived but broke her leg.

The police are trailing the monkey to a jungle next to a Bazaar(market). The girl is in the hospital and is fairing well.

Elf Realm Adventures with the elf CHAPTER 1-5 by Ruhi Datye

CHAPTER 1

Aurora sat in Noodles and Company pondering over her strange eyes and ears and savoring the sweet taste of the Root Beer. I wish I didn’t live on this earth, she thought to herself.

Her green eyes were shaped like a cat’s and shone with life and brilliance like a pair of emeralds. She had pointy ears which were a reason for class gossip. She had two small braids running along of the side of her head that was tied back in a ponytail.

With her only friends Rye and Viola, Aurora sat sipping from a cup in the sunlight.

She wore jeans with a small flowery design on the pockets and had a light blue butterfly shirt and a light black sweater.


“Hey. Ms. Pointy ears. Love the ears that look like daggers. Hows lunch with the homeless guy and the weird purple eyed girl. She shouldn’t be hanging out with you.”Tom said laughing with his gang of friends as he came to stop near Aurora’s table.

The girls in his conspiracy giggled idiotically at Tom’s jibe.

“Is that the best jibe you can think of?’’Viola challenged an angry fire in her eye.

Tom ignored her and his people continued to laugh as they wandered toward the benches.

Still the laughter ghosted around the three friends like the music that was drowned out by the chatter in the restaurant.

Viola stabbed at her pesto cavatappi her narrowed violet eyes radiating with anger.

“I hate the way people treat us!” Viola exclaimed furiously.

Rye picked at his Mac and cheese looking uncomfortably at Viola. Rye’s family didn’t have much money so people often teased him and his things and Viola’s purple eyes were considered very strange. Viola also hung out with Aurora and Rye. If she hadn’t, no one would have noticed her eyes.

“Your mom’s coming!”Aurora exclaimed to Viola trying to distract her out of her pointless rage.

The three youngsters started to get up and leave the friendly chatter of Noodles and Company.

“I’m dropping the three of you at Aurora’s house,”Viola’s mom said once they were in convertible. She cranked the key in the ignition

and the car hummed to life.

Five minutes later Aurora and her two companions rushed out of the car like cheetah cubs racing each other.

They thumped up the carpeted stairs like elephants making such a racket Aurora’s father came to yell at them.

When they got upstairs Aurora crumpled to the ground.

CHAPTER TWO

“mmrrrrrrppppppppppppp,”Aurora said as soon as soon as she came to..

When he saw her wake up Rye yelled “We are smaller than paperclips!”

“What do you mean?”Aurora asked.

“I mean we are as small as paper clips.”

Aurora could now see the individual bumps that made up the carpet.

“Where’s Viola?”Aurora asked.

“I’m here!”Viola’s muffled voice called. “I got stuck in the carpet.”

Viola finally wriggled free and started trying to disentangle her shoe from the carpet.

“Mouse alert!”Rye yelled covering his head with his hands.

We ran , Viola bolted dropping the shoe, and Aurora race behind them both.

Their legs were no match for the mouse's four paws and they were soon caught.

Just then a bunch of warriors the same size as the three children appeared. An arrow hit the mouse but bounced off harmlessly, but it scared the mouse and the tiny creature ran away.

The intricately armored people came to stand in front of them. All that was visible of them were their mouth their eyes and their ears. Aurora’s eyes fell on the ears and cried out in an excited voice “Your ears are pointy like mine!”

The leader smiled and took off his helmet.

We have come to retrieve Viola and Aurora. I do not know who this boy is but he can come too,”the man said cheerfully in a booming voice.

“My name is Tristan Azure and this here is my army of elves,” he said pointing at the tiny people around him who were still taller than Aurora.

CHAPTER THREE

“Follow me,”he said warmly.

“Why should we,”Viola demanded.

“We just saved your petty lives and all you have to say ‘why should we?’”one of Tristan’s men spat.

“How many times have I had to tell you not to speak for me. Watch your tongue or only trouble will come,”Tristan said angrily in a disgusted voice.

Then to Aurora, Rye, and Viola he said shooting a glare at the soldier “Ignore Malum Parody. He likes to think he’s boss.”

“We shrunk you so you could join our world of elves.”Tristan said. “Viola. You are an elf mage that is why your eyes are purple and now that you have shrunk your ears are pointy.”

Aurora looked. She hadn’t noticed that new feature.

“Aurora you were born in Elf City too.”Tristan said warmly. “That is why I request you come with me.”

“What about Rye? Viola asked.

“He may come as well, but he might not be allowed into the city,”Tristan said.

The threesome followed Tristan down a small hole Aurora would never have noticed.The hole extended into a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a gaping pit. Paper Clips tied to string hung from the wall. To Aurora it looked like a rope. Tristan’s men didn’t follow them down this tunnel. Tristan leaped for a paperclip and hung on pulling himself up and grabbing the top. Then he did a flip from one paper clip to another. Until he landed on the ground at the other side.

“Come on!”he yelled. “It’s safe. We rigged the swings up with dental floss.’’

“Doesn’t sound safe to me,”Rye blanched turning blue as a smurf he gazed down the length of the neverending pit.

“Just don't look down!”Viola called as she jumped.

She grabbed the bottom of the paper clip and it swung. Viola reached out and grabbed the next paper clip and swung to the other side.

Aurora went next using the same technique as Viola.

“Come on Rye. You’ll be fine,”Aurora called.

“Quit being a baby and jump,”Viola goaded.

Rye took a deep breath ready to jump but his feet backed away from the pit and he bumped into the wall.

He lept for the paper clip and screamed. He just hung their.

“It’s like monkey bars,” Aurora called.

He nodded and swung across the remaining paper clips.



CHAPTER FOUR

“Next up the river,”Tristan said cheerily, but he didn't look as confident as before.

To a humans eye the river was barely a ripple but to Aurora it looked like a giant current of doom. There were also a few pebbles in the river that looked like rocks in the watercourse.

“I can’t do it,”Aurora squeaked.

“Yes you can,”Tristan said encouragingly but she could see his face had turned ashen.

Violet was the first to jump in. She fought the current bravely gritting her teeth from the cold. She finally reached the other end tired from the doggy paddling.

Rye thought of a more sensible approach jumping from rock to rock. He was doing fine until he landed on a daddy longlegs. When Rye found out what he was standing on it he freaked out and grabbed a rock and doggy paddled the rest of the way.

The daddy longlegs was pulled away in a current. Violet started to glow and suddenly the spider was dry and levitating up in the air. It landed on the ground and scurried away.

“What just happened?” Violet gasped.

“Exposure to being close to the Elf Realm makes your magic work. Try levitating me across.”Tristan answered.

Violet focused hard and Tristan flew over the river to the other side.

“This is fun!” Violet exclaimed happily.

She did the same thing for Aurora, but her power was fading. Aurora fell into the river.

She grabbed onto a rock trying to make sure fear wouldn't get the better of her. She let go and the current swept her away .

“AAAHHHHH!” screamed Aurora before she disappeared from sight.

CHAPTER FIVE

Violet reached out with her powers and grabbed aurora and brought her to shore.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s good. No one was hurt.”Aurora said smiling.

They walked a little further and saw the city.

“Woah! Its amazing.

Everyone was laughing and talking. It looked super nice.

Tristan looked at them,”You can live her or in the human world. You can pick one or another.”

I pick humans,” Rye said.

Violet smiled, “I like it here, but I’ve got a life and a family in the human world. I’m afraid.

Aurora nodded, “Sorry Tristan, but I like my life even if I get bullied and picked on.

Tristan gave them a tight look.

“So be it,”he said and sent them back.



Violet and Aurora never forgot the beautiful elf world. Rye couldn’t remember a second of it, but all of them felt the magic that had been left on him.

The Witch by Ruhi Datye

“This half of the room is my territory that side is yours,”Alice yelled angrily at Tom indifferently surveying the disarray of the room.

“We share a bed,”Tom pointed out

As soon as Alice left the room ,Tom picked up the saw he had hidden under the bed, stumbling from its weight. Then he tried to saw the bed in half so that he could have his own bed too. He didn’t succeed. The bed collapsed.

Hearing the noise Alice hurried into the room and gasped,

“What did you do!”she shrieked. “And why. No, never mind, don't answer that question,”

Tom looked down at the mess he created just now. The bed was sagging and splinters and feathers littered the floor and the two parts of the bed.

“Oops,”he said indifferently.

“Mom is going to kill us when she finds out what you did!”Alice yelled with an emphasis on you.

“Shhh.” Tom said unperturbed. “She doesn’t have to find out, right.”

“I’m telling,”Alice said.

“Please don’t,” Tom begged making his puppy eyes at her.

Alice paused for a second. Then she said “Ha! that doesn’t work with me.”

“I’ll give you my drawer full of candy,”he tried.

Alice shook her head.

“I want something more,”she said with a deliberate expression of consideration , but secretly she was pleased that she had the upperhand in this situation.

“ I’ll give you the candy, ten dollars,and a pair of my socks,” Tom said hopefully.

“ummm, leave out the socks and make that 20 dollars.”

“Deal,”Tom answered resolutely.

“So, what’s the plan?”Alice asked.

“ Ummm...well we could...a,” Tom said thinking hard.

“You don’t even have a plan?”Alice said cut in dismayed.

Tom shrugged sheepishly, “I just sawed the bed in half. I wasn’t thinking about that one.”

Alice sighed.

“The only person who will help us is the witch,” Alice said.

“Which witch?” Tom asked. “No pun intended.”

Alice groaned in annoyance.

“The witch named Halp,”Alice said rolling her eyes.

“Why Halp?” Tom asked.

“I got the map to her cottage at a birthday party,”Alice said.

“Is it a reliable source?You did get it at a birthday party,” Tom asked.

“Good job. You are actually thinking for once!”Alice exclaimed.

Tom glared at her intensely, but Alice didn’t notice.

“Of course it is,” Alice continued confidently. “It’s a copy of, Moby Alex, the world's greatest explorer and mapmaker’s, map. He made this map two years ago.

“ You might be right. This might actually work. Although, I missed half of what you said,” Tom said thoughtfully.

“Never mind. Let’s go,”Alice replied smugly.



Two hours later:

“I’m hungry,”Tom complained.

“You should have thought of that before you decided not to help me pack,”Alice retorted.

Tom said nothing for a while.

Then, Tom asked “Are we there yet?”

Alice scowled.

“Not even close. The mountains mark the first out of ten points.”Alice growled. “Have you seen the mountains.”

“No,” Tom said.

“Do you see the mountains right now,”Alice queried.

“We’re going to starve to death before we even reach the witch,”Tom said.

“ Great way to keep your spirits up. That remark was so optimistic,” Alice said sarcastically.

She paused by a cave and leaned on the rock. It moved into the cave.

She jumped in evident shock.

“I forgot about this,”Alice reprimanded herself. “Tom there are ten stops before getting to the witch’s cave. This is one of them. Get in.”

“It’s unnatural,” Tom said nervously.

“There might be food,” Alice coaxed

He followed her hesitantly.

Tom claustrophobia was instantly forgotten when he saw the contents of the cave.

“What does this potion do?”Tom asked curiously popping off the top and sniffing it. ‘He tipped it upward to drink.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Alice admonished cautiously.

“But you aren’t me,” Tom answered carelessly and took a big swig aot of the vial.

He drank the bottle and turned into a big purple cat. Alice laughed heartily. Tom meowed angrily and swiped at her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll help you,”Alice giggled.

Tom sat down and yowled defiantly only making Alice laugh harder.

Their mom appeared in the room suddenly and with a flash of light Tom turned back into a human.

“What are you doing here,” Tom asked.

“ Did you think I wouldn’t notice you missing. I am your mom after all.”

“How did you know where to find us,” Alice said in disbelief.

“Just a hunch,” she replied winking at them.

Then she touched them both on their heads and they slumped to the ground asleep.

They woke up in the morning in the cave.

When they’re mom saw them awake she whizzed them back home. “I feel dizzy” Tom said.

“You are the witch,” Alice gasped. Her mother nodded.


“ How can someone so boring be so cool,” said Tom. “ I officially have the coolest mother in the world .”