Chapter one 

There was a small village. It only had one rule. DON'T GO INTO THE FOREST. No one really knew why, but they obeyed it anyway. For years the dark, mysterious forest was untouched. Even animals who went in there never came back alive. Everyone feared the forest until a girl named Lyra was born. Her older sister, Juliet disappeared  Into the forest before Lyra was born. Lyra was adventurous and curious. When she was seven she almost set the whole  house on fire because she put toast in the microwave while it was still inside the TOASTER to see what would happen. Let's just say her parents AND her microwave were not very happy. Another time, when she was nine she brought a live piranha into the house. Don't ask where she got it from... 

Another time, when she was eleven, she saw a bunch of beavers who were gnawing on a tree and decided that she wanted to do that too. She bit on a tree so hard that her two front teeth fell out. They were her adult teeth... Anyways, you get the point. Lyra was way too crazy for her small, quiet town. One day, all of her neighbors crops had been stolen. Everyone blamed it on Lyra because of her crazy and messy nature. Even her parents did. Lyra couldn't really blame them because if she were them she would have thought it was her too. That day, when she got home from school her parents were very mad at her.

She tried to tell them that she did nothing and that someone probably framed her or something but apparently her neighbor was suing her family for stealing. After a few minutes, Lyra was grounded for 2 months. That night she decided that the small town that she lived in wasn't for her. She packed her school bag with her favorite snacks, a few water bottles, some books, changes of clothes, a blanket, canned food and her savings. She got her dog, Puddles in a leash. All of her clothes didn't fit in her bag, so she had to get a small tote bag as well. She snuck out the door, trying not to wake her parents up, then, went into the forest.

Chapter two

As Lyra walked through the forest, her hair and clothes got soaking wet. She hoped the rain would stop soon. Puddles started whining, so she picked him up. The sky looked dark again, and she decided to try to sleep. She found a place under a tree that was somewhat dry. She forgot that she needed a pillow. She set the half of blanket down and half on top of her and Puddles. The next morning, it had stopped raining. Lyra packed up the blanket and walked around some more. She and Puddles stumbled into a beautiful mini garden. The lighting makes it glow.

There are dahlias, sunflowers, irises and daisies. There are birch, evergreen, maple, saplings. There is a deep puddle of water that glistens in the light. All of the sudden a fairy appears out of nowhere. "Hey! Get out of my garden!" said the fairy. "Or I'll cast a spell on you!" she says, waving her wand around. Then she turned human-sized. "GET OUT OF MY GARDEN." she demands stepping closer to Lyra's face. Lyra decided to run away. And she did. She realized that she left Puddles there, and darted to the garden. She picked Puddles up, and the two ran away.

Chapter three

Lyra and Puddles ran very far away. The fairy stopped chasing them after a while, and became back to fairy size. Lyra and Puddles sat down to catch their breath. Lyra heard a rustling near a fern and went to look what it was. She peered over the bush, and saw a small forest elf that looked about her age. She had long, straight dark brown hair with a dark green beanie. Her beanie had a mushroom pin on it. Her skin was fair with freckles on her face. She was a bit shorter than Lyra. She was wearing a square neck dark green dress with a black long sleeve shirt under it. She had red flats with apple pins on it.

The elf turned around and saw Lyra. She looked surprised then she smiled. "Oh hi!" the elf said. "Um... hi...?" Lyra said. "Are you looking for something?" asked Lyra. "Yes, well I was, but I found it." said the elf, holding a small key. "What's that?" asked Lyra. "It's a key!" said the elf. "a key for... what exactly?" asked Lyra. "It's a key for the bush!" said the elf. "What do you mean a key for the bush?" asked Lyra, in confusion. The elf looked at Lyra for a second. "You mean you've never been inside a bush!?" asked the elf. "Er...no?" said Lyra. "OH! Are you from that village over there!" asked the elf, pointing to where Lyra ran away from. "Yeah, but I ran away. I got really bored." said Lyra. "Oh." said the elf. "My name is Clover. What's yours?" asked Clover.

"I'm Lyra. I'm 12 how old are you?" said Lyra. "I'm also 12! OMG can we be friends?" asked Clover. "Yes! Maybe... best friends...?" said Lyra. She never really had a friend in the village. All of the kids thought she was a tad bit too... crazy... But Clover seemed to like her, and Lyra thought they had similar personalities. "OF COURSE!" exclaimed Clover. "I can't believe it! I made my first human friend!" said Clover. "You say you've NEVER been in a bush before? C'mon I'll show you what a bush is like!" said Clover. She led Lyra over to a large evergreen shrub. "This is a shrub!" said Clover. "I know. We have a bunch of those back home. They're mostly for privacy and decor." said Lyra. "And for Puddles to hide in when we try to brush his teeth."

"That's funny. But there's so much more to a shrub than just that! And they're so much better than regular ol' houses." said Clover. "Now where did I put my key..." 

Clover looked all over the ground for her key, but it wasn't there. Then she looked on her head, and for some reason, it was there. "Alright. Are you ready to see the beauty of a bush!?" Asked Clover. Lyra never thought that a bush could be more than just... a bush. But I guess not. "Can Puddles come in?" asked Lyra. "Of course! all creatures are allowed in bushes." said Clover. She slowly opened the door with her fancy key. "Wait! Close your eyes." Said Clover. "Okay?" said Lyra as she closed her eyes. Clover opened the bush. "Open your eyes now!" she said. Lyra opened them and saw what a bush really was.

Chapter four

"Oh my gosh. It's beautiful." said Lyra. She had never seen a place this extraordinary. The walls were made out of tree logs. The trees were still alive and growing. There was a table made out of ivy, and chairs made out of tree stumps. There was cherry blossoms everywhere. It was so pretty. There was a small couch made out of a shrub. There were two doors that were made out of tree bark and covered in ivy. "So do you live here?" asked Lyra. "Here? No. This is where the royal lives." answered Clover. "Should we still... be in here?" asked Lyra, very worried. "Oh yeah. It's fine. I'm friends with the princess. I also help clean the bush."  said Clover. "Hey I should introduce you to a princess! C'mon!" said Clover.

Clover dashed out the door. "You mean she doesn't live here?" asked Lyra. "Oh, she does. She's just at school right now." said Clover. "Why is she at school and you aren't?" asked Lyra. "Oh she just get's tutoring." said Clover. They ran over to the school. The school was outdoors. The tables and chairs were made out of tree stumps. "What kinds of lessons do you guys have at your school?" asked Lyra. "Oh the basic. History, shapeshifting, growing plants, healing plants, and of coarse, what types of fertilizer to use." said Clover. "There are also a bunch of extra classes you can take, but only for witch and wizards." she said. "Wait, you don't have math?" asked Lyra. "Come again?" Clover replied.

"Math! Like decimals, fractions, algebra, and geometry." said Lyra. "Uh... What is that?" asked Clover. "I can teach you!" said Lyra. "Yay! I can teach you how to shape shift." said Clover. "You can shape shift?" asked Lyra, in amazement. "Well yeah. Sorta. Everyone turns into an animal if they try hard enough. I can turn into a goose." said Clover, turning into a goose. "WOW!" said Lyra. Clover turned back into a human. "Yeah" she said. "Anyways, let's go to the princess!" They walked over to a girl. She had honey skin and long, wavy black hair. She was wearing a light blue dress and white flats. She was wearing a flowery crown. "Hi Elowen!" said Clover. "Hey," said Elowen. Her voice was deep and smooth.

"This is my friend Lyra!" said Clover. "um.. Hi" said Lyra. "Hi," said Elowen. They talked for a little while, but soon it got dark. "I really should go to sleep." said Elowen. "Me too." said Lyra, with a yawn. "Bye Elowen!" said Clover, as Elowen walked away with a wave. "Well, bye Lyra." said Clover. "Bye. Can we meet again tomorrow?" asked Lyra. "Yes. I'll go to the bush right next to me after school. It's the school's hang out bush." said Clover. Lyra and Puddles went under a tree again. She wondered if dogs could shape shift too. She'd have to ask Clover tomorrow. She hoped they didn't run into the mean fairy again.

Chapter five

 "Puddles, do you think we should go back to mom and dad?" asked Lyra. The sun was rising, but it was still dark. Puddles could not talk, so he didn't answer. "Puddles I just realized." said Lyra. "Juliet could be here." Lyra said. Juliet was Lyra's older sister who disappeared into the forest a few months before Lyra was born. They were 4 years apart. "Puddles," Lyra said. "We should try to find her!" Lyra exclaimed. Puddles seemed to have a different idea in mind. He sniffed the food Lyra had brought from home, and gave her a cute puppy eye face. Lyra realized that she was also quite hungry. She dug out the food that she had packed a few days before. She ate her canned sardines, and gave Puddles canned chicken.

"Let's go find Juliet now!" Lyra said as they finished. She had no clue where her sister could be, so she started by asking a few people in the forest. "Do I know anyone named... what?" asked a small forest pixie. She had strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. "Do you know anyone named Juliet? Like, that kinda looks like me but... taller?" asked Lyra. "Um, no. Sorry. You could try to asked the frog by the pond though. His name is Alfred. He knows almost everyone here." the pixie said. "Ok, thanks!" said Lyra, as she and puddles darted out to the pond. There was a lot of frogs in the pond. Most of them were swimming, some were dancing, and one was sitting on a lily pad reading a newspaper.

The one reading the newspaper didn't look like the other frogs. He was wearing a tuxedo and a top hat. He had a name tag that said "Alfred" on it. "Um hi! Are you Alfred? Do you possibly know anyone named Juliet?" asked Lyra. She had never spoken to a frog before, so she found this quite awkward. "Sorry?" said Alfred. "Um, do you know anyone named Juliet? She, um looks like me... and um we have the same last name?" Lyra said. "Oh yes! She came here about thirteen years ago, when she was four. We're quite good friends. We have lunch together every Tuesday." he answered. Lyra was happy to know her sister was ok, but she was very sad to know that a frog knew her sister better than herself. "Ok! Do you know where she is now?"