The open doorway revealed mounds and mounds of treasure. The four children stepped down five stairs into the room marveling at all the marvels. Everything shimmered. Everything shined. At the bottom of the stairs, they could see that there was even more treasure than they had originally thought. There were several piles of treasure each one as tall as Woggy, and they all spilled onto a floor of golden coins. There was more treasure than you can imagine (unless you are imagining quite a lot of treasure, in which case you are imagining it right.)
Gold and silver sparkled all around them. They set the torch in a hanger on the wall and the light from that single flame illuminated the whole room with the reflections of the precious metals.
Spark dashed in to check out all of the glittering goods. Pearls and rubies and emeralds lay scattered about. There were shiny cups and plates, paintings and pottery, necklaces, and bracelets, and I am sure if you looked hard enough, you could even find rings.
The kids followed Spark’s lead, and bounded all the way into the treasure room after him. They gazed in amazement at all of the treasure. They pretended like the golden cups were full of delicious drinks. They put pearl necklaces around their necks. They looked hard and found rings. They tried to put them on their fingers, but the rings were too big, and slipped off as they continued digging through the treasure.
They picked up handfuls of coins and tossed them in the air to listen to the tinkling, musical sound that it made as it fell on more treasure. A big treasure box sat in the far corner of the room. It was locked and closed, and too heavy to move, but there could not possibly be anything in the treasure box that was not already out in the open lying all around them.
As they were playing in the treasure room Sara noticed a wooden sign that hung down over them. The sign read:
This treasure belongs to no one, and it belongs to everyone.
Take what you need. Give what you can.
They all felt they should obey the sign, but they were not sure why. I think it was because the sign was actually quite reasonable. And no matter what Rob said, she was no thief, but more than anything she still wanted to help her family. She stood in awe of the treasure before her. She decided that it was time to explain more of her story to her friends, and how Mr. King was going to make her and her family live on the streets.
When she was done explaining, Sara asked her, “How much do you need?”
“I heard my parents say they needed nine,” said Rob.
What Rob did not know was that her parents actually needed nine hundred dollars to pay the rent. She reached down and picked up a leather pouch and looked inside it. There were eleven pieces of shimmering gold in it. She picked out two pieces and looked at them. They had the face of a man on them. He had shimmering eyes and a shining smile under a short beard. On the back of the coin was an imprinted picture of the very castle they were in and the words, “Imagination is Reality.”
She set the two coins on the ground with the rest of the treasure, and she put the pouch with nine coins in her pocket, taking only what she needed, just as the sign requested.
Woggy did not need anything or feel like he had anything to give. He thought about leaving the book about how to be ordinary, but he decided that it was not his to give. That, and he wondered if anyone would actually want it. Then he remembered that Sara had taken out his book and left it at the Perch, so he could not leave it anyway.
Finn walked up beside him. “What does that sign say?” he asked. Woggy read him the sign. Finn nodded his head in understanding. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the beautiful shell the otters had given him, the one that reflected all of the colors in the world. The shell shined brighter than all of the treasure in the room. Finn set it down next to the two coins that Rob had left.
They continued exploring through the room. They did not want to take all the treasure, but they did want to experience it all and, honestly, play with it all. After a while, though, every piece of gold just looked like the last one. The thrill of wealth had lost its interest.
Remembering the sign, Sara sat down to draw. Her pen met paper and created beauty. The picture was so beautiful that when she was done the picture stayed a picture. It was better as art than anything else. Now I know you want to know what the picture looked like. What was it a picture of? How could it have been better as art than something real? I wish I had the answer. All I know is that art is that way sometimes. Sometimes the best thing about art is that it belongs to no one. Sure, people can buy art, but just looking at beautiful art means that a piece of it belongs to you, and that is a very valuable thing.
Sara set the picture right on top of the colorful shell that Finn had left. Spark was still zooming around when he spotted Sara’s picture, and he stopped for a long time just hovering above it. He did not change a single thing about it. It did not need improving, and even Spark’s playful nature did not compel him to mess with it. Not a line or color was changed.
After playing in the treasure for quite some time they were finally ready to leave. They all climbed out of the treasure room and turned back to look at the room one last time. They were happy that they had found it. Happy that the treasure was real. It had been one amazing adventure getting there. It was a good feeling knowing that they were able to help Rob and her family. They were glad that they were able to give as well as receive.
The treasure room now contained nine pieces less treasure, one extra piece of art, and one silvery, colorful shell. It seemed right.
Once they were sure that Spark was out of the treasure room they closed the door. Finn hung the spear back up on the wall. Woggy put the key into the lock and turned it. It gave a click. He pulled out the key and saw that the letters “WW” were imprinted on it. Seeing his friends already walking away, Woggy stuck the key in his pocket and followed his friends.
The hallway back seemed much shorter returning than it had going. Before long they stepped out of the hallway, and into the great art room. They closed the river painting behind them. The room was still as impressive and grand as it had been the first time.
It took a lot of will power for Sara not to spend several more hours there in the art room admiring everything. She knew her friends would not be interested in that, so she just walked really slowly, and looked side to side as they passed through the room, soaking in as much of the beautiful art as she could. She smiled at the portraits and the line and form of the still-lifes. There was one picture, way up high, of a regal-looking man, that looked an awful lot like the bearded man that was imprinted on the coin, he was looking down at them with, what Sara thought were kind eyes.
Walking back, they remembered all the right turns (correct turns) through the hallways. They walked past the dungeon and the suits of armor that stood guard in front of it. Something about the dungeon intrigued Finn. He wanted to go explore it, but everyone else wanted to leave the castle, and go back to the Perch. I’ll just run and peek at it really quick, thought Finn, and he bent down as if he were tying his shoes as everyone else walked ahead a bit. Then Finn ran quickly and quietly over to the dungeon. There was a big door between the suits of armor, and it looked like darkness was leaking out from under the door. He stared at the guards. One of them moved, ever so slightly. Finn blinked, staring to see if it would move again.
“Finn!” he heard a voice calling. “Where did you go?”
He turned toward his friends to reply, and then he heard the sound of moving metal. His attention snapped back to the suits of armor. They were frozen in place. Finn watched them, trying to remember if the one on the left had always been staring right at him.
He felt a chill as a draft of wind came from the dungeon door. The suits of armor did not move again. Had they moved at all in the first place? No, that would be ridiculous, he thought, but he suddenly felt a strong urge to not be alone.
“I’m coming!” Finn shouted as he ran back to be with his friends.
Finally, they passed through the big hall and were in the main courtyard. The sun was setting. It was not a colorful sunset; it was gray fading to black. The shadows were growing long, and the stony castle seemed less inviting than it had been in the full light of day.
Then Woggy noticed something. The big wooden door in the castle wall—the one they could not figure out how to get open earlier—was standing wide open. It was no longer an obstacle for them— they would be able to just walk right out the front door. It seemed like everything was going right. Rob had her pouch with nine pieces of treasure, and now they could walk right out of the castle without climbing over the wall. Soon they would be relaxing in hammocks at the Perch, eating mangoes.
How did the big door get open, you ask? Well, just wait and see. Everything will become clear in a moment.
“I see you have been rummaging around my castle,” a voice boomed from the shadows.
All four children turned to look into the darkness. Spark hid behind Sara’s shoulder. In a flash Finn and Rob pulled out their swords, ready to protect their friends. A man stepped out of the shadows. It was a king. But not a real king—it was Mr. King. Immediately Rob tensed up. (“Immediately” is far too long of a word to mean what it means.)
“This is my castle” (it was not), “and I am the king” (he was not), “and you have stolen my treasure” (also not true), bellowed Mr. King.
The thing about Mr. King was that he was an imposter. He was not really royalty, he just always acted like he was in control, and he treated other people like they were worth less than himself. There was something about him that the children did not trust. It was probably the lies.
Rob walked up to Mr. King bravely. “I know who you are,” she said. “You are the angry man who is trying to kick me and my family out of our house. I have your money and I will give it to you if you promise to leave me and my family alone.”
“Silly little girl. Let’s see this money you are talking about.”
Rob, who was still several steps away from Mr. King, opened her pouch with nine pieces of treasure in it. When Mr. King saw this, his eyes got big and greedy. “Why, yes, I do believe that will work just fine,” he said with a sneer.
“I want your word that you will leave my family alone,” said Rob as she pulled the pouch back.
“You have my word,” said the sinister Mr. King.
Rob tossed him the bag, and turned to her friends feeling victorious. She had actually done it. She had helped her family. They would be able to stay in their home.
Then another sound clanged in the shadows.
They looked at the dark hallway and saw two shadows moving toward them. The shadows walked into the light, and they could see two suits of armor marching towards them with swords in their hands. Finn immediately recognized them as the suits of armor that were guarding the dungeon. He gulped. One of them had moved.
One of the suits of armor was shiny like a mirror, and the other one looked dull and tarnished, but they both looked very, very scary. They were more than just suits of armor. They were Night Knights, and they were headed straight towards the children.
“Oops, my word has changed,” laughed Mr. King. “If you don’t take me to the rest of the treasure, my friends here will throw you and your friends in my dungeon.”
Behind them, the children heard a creaking sound. They turned to run out of the castle, but the big wooden doors were closing slowly, and the Night Knights were only a few feet away. Soon they would be trapped in the castle. A-Dream was turning into a nightmare.