Chapter 1 The Beginning
This cave seemed to be different than the ones he had seen before. This one was big enough to walk in and it was in the side of a hill.
Mom had told him not to go in those because they were not safe, but moms never went into any of them. He went ahead, remembering mom's words. Was this a mistake?
A 10-year-old boy on the outskirt of Dayton had many places to play when he lived on the edge of town. Raybrite loved to play and explore the fields and woods near his home. His mom and dad worked most of the time so he was free to roam. There were a few cliffs and streams that made it a dream for young adventurous children.
Along the bank of Wolf Creek there were cliffs that had lots of loose dirt in them. The kids liked to dig back into them to try to make caves.
Raybrite had a different method. He would dig a big hole and a trench leading up to it and then cover the top with wood and dirt and add some sod on it so nobody could find it. His neighbor didn't appreciate this. He was digging on the neighbor's lot.
The neighbors knew him so when he cut through their yards they didn’t seem to mind. Those were the days when you could leave your back door unlocked and nobody would come in.
On one particular Tuesday morning, Ray noticed a new cave in the side of one of the hills. He had not seen it before. The opening was just large enough to climb into if he bent down. A short way inside, it opened up into a place where he could stand. It was cool and dark inside, sort of scary. The walls seemed to be the same brown dirt that was common back in Dayton. It really stained your clothes and made them hard to clean. He didn’t have a light with him so he didn’t want to go in too far.
He walked a little farther into the cave feeling his way along the side. There seemed to be a light coming from around a bend in the cave. Maybe it was an opening to the cliff where he had entered- maybe not.
Raybrite was beginning to get worried. Actually, he was getting a bit scared. He let his curiosity get the best of him and he continued onward. He had to find out what was ahead- if anything.
As he rounded the corner it felt like a gust of air blew it out. He began to shake. He was not cold. He was scared! This place was dark!
“What did I get myself into this time?” he questioned himself.
Raybrite couldn’t see anything so he turned around and reached his right hand out to find the wall. It was cold and damp. He reached for the other wall. It was too far away. He hadn't noticed the cave being that wide when he came in. He walked slowly sliding his feet so he wouldn’t trip over anything. The cave turned to the right again.
“This should be a left turn to get out of here,” he thought. It was still very dark.
Raybrite continued along the damp wall. Soon he began to see a light twinkling in the distance. It seemed to be coming from an exit. He wondered if this light would also blow out when he got there. He was still scared from the last time and didn’t know how long he could keep going in here. The cave seemed to be changing as he walked.
As he approached the end of the cave a warm breeze blew across his face. It felt much hotter than it should have been. This was more like the hot air you would expect on the Desert Southwest that he had studied about in school.
Had this cave led him out west? That was not possible. He hoped he had not gone to another planet.
“It couldn’t be true, could it?” Maybe I am just dreaming."
He pinched himself.
"Ouch!" He wasn't dreaming.
He wouldn’t have long to wait for the answer.
Chapter 2 Where Am I?
The air was much hotter and drier when he came out. It was very bright and he had to squint his eyes to see. Dayton never got this hot.
“Where have I gone?” he wondered. He turned around and the cave was gone! “What am I going to do now?”
This place looked like something he had seen in a cowboy movie. He expected the Indians to come riding out with the cowboys chasing them at any time. It had the blowing tumbleweed, the rolling hills in the distance and the dust that got into your eyes.
“There you are!”
Two short little men walked up to him. They looked like little elves. He finally looked down and noticed he was not wearing the jeans he wore this morning. Why didn’t he notice that before?
Now he was wearing blue tights with a brown vest. The vest had four pockets on the outside and two secret pockets on the inside. He also had a belt with a knife and what looked like a stick of some kind.
“We have been looking for you,” one of the men said." We need to get back to the castle.”
“Castle? I have never seen a castle,” Raybrite was getting confused. This was not a cowboy place. He thought something bad was going to happen.
“Who are you?” Raybrite asked.
“I am Alfred and he is Alvin. We are the ones who play with you and make sure you don’t get lost or hurt.”
“Did you fall and hurt yourself or something? You were playing and you entered that cave. We were looking for another way out.”
Raybrite didn’t see anyone else in the cave. Maybe he had switched places with someone like in a book he had read.
They went to a waiting carriage and Raybrite tied the flaps down to keep the dust out. He pulled them aside a few times on the way so he could see where they were going. That didn't work. They made too many turns and soon he lost track of which way they were heading. He would not be able to find the way back. They would have to show him.
He was getting very excited. This was not a 'pretend adventure'. This one was for real, or at least he thought it was. He forgot about getting home, at least for now. He had also forgotten to ask where he was. Maybe that would have been good 'cause they would have figured out that he was someone else.
Chapter 3 The Castle
As the carriage topped a hill, Raybrite saw something in the distance. It looked very bright and shiny. They continued to go closer. It was a city. There seemed to be a big building sticking up over the wall on the one side. The wall had a gate in it that was lowered over a river running around it.
“I wonder if there are man-eating fish in there,” he wondered.
As the carriage rumbled over the drawbridge, he heard trumpets playing. They seemed to be announcing their arrival.
Inside the town they slowed down. There were many people walking around dressed like those in King Arthur’s days. There were stores on the side streets with brightly colored awnings, selling meat, fish, vegetables and almost anything a person would want. The smell of the fish was very strong. A little farther was a flower shop where the fragrance of many different kinds of flowers filled the air. They passed a shop selling fresh bread. It reminded him of home and mom’s cooking, he wondered if she would be here too. There were people sprinkling water on the roads to keep the dust down. It was quite a pleasant place except for the fish market smell.
The castle was made of large white stones fitted together. Raybrite wondered how they managed to find big rocks that would fit each other like that. The doors were large and were held up with very big Gold colored hinges that shined brightly in the midday sun. There were statues on the corners of some men. They must have been famous.
As he entered the castle, the trumpets sounded.
“Prince Raybrite has returned,” someone announced.
Prince? If he was the prince, his father must be the king!
"What next?" He wondered.
This was going to be a fantastic adventure.
“I hope you had fun exploring the fields today,” His father said. “Next time, don’t hide from your escorts. They are still responsible for you.”
Raybrite was escorted down a long hall. It had suits of armor on both sides that looked like men standing on guard. The halls were cool and a little dark compared to outside.
He opened the door and entered his room. It was the biggest room he had ever seen. It was bigger than any house in Dayton. On one wall was a big bed with light blue lace curtains hanging down. They were tied at the corners and could be closed to keep the bugs out at night when he slept. The covers were white with a design of horses flying up into the sky. They were beautiful. The other side of the room, had chairs and tables for writing. There were candle lamps on the walls and one on the table. The room had large opening glass doors that led out to a balcony that overlooked a flower garden.
He had passed a young girl on the way there. She wore a long pink dress, had blue eyes and long black hair. A scent of fresh picked roses lingered around her. The aroma made him want to meet her. He wondered who she was.
They fixed a bath for Raybrite and he relaxed in the tub. He was very dirty from the trip to the castle. His mind drifted off and he thought about all he had seen. It looked like he was in a Robin Hood story or something. He was beginning to figure out everything except why he was there and how he was going to get home.
He decided to figure out the getting home part later. He was having too much fun for now. He still did not know why he was here. Maybe this was just a dream. He decided to just go along with it while he could.
At dinner Raybrite saw every kind of food he could imagine. There were cakes for dessert and he ate more than he should. He was stuffed. The drink tasted like fresh strawberry juice mixed with bananas.
After dinner he had a chance to explore the castle. He had two things he wanted to find. One was a map and the other was a little girl. He found the map first. He had entered a room that had a table full of maps. He found one that seemed to be where they were. He turned it so the desert was at the top and tried to figure out the rest. It looked like there were open fields to the east that led to a river. He wondered what it really looked like. He decided to explore there first thing in the morning.