Chapter 10: Kaico's Quest

Kaico blinked, she still had her hands raised. Then she realized what had happened.

"Enderly," she cried in triumph.

Her smile faded when she turned around. Enderly slumped slightly. Their eyes seemed duller.

"No," Kaico said. She felt frozen in her shock. She remembered her brother's swords and arrows. "They hurt you."

Enderly chirped weakly and dropped her book to the grass.

Kaico looked down at it and back up at Enderly. Kaico understood the gesture and felt a creeping horror. "Don't give up, not after saving me, you can't," she pleaded with them. "We're going to travel the world together and build awesome things, you can't die now." She stood there limply, "remember the castle."

Enderly let off another weak chirp. That was when Kaico heard the noise coming from the home. She knew her brothers would come charging after them, especially now that they knew she was with an Ender.

That snapped her back into the right mind. "We have to go!" She told Enderly frantically.

Doing something that seemed impossibly odd she grabbed onto Enderly's long arm and pulled them with her. Their skin was somewhat clammy but she didn't have time to care.

"Come on, come on." She urged both Enderly and herself, "I can't let them find you like this."

They went as fast as they could, but they couldn't get far enough away. Kaico knew her brothers would probably have grabbed speed potions, they would be caught within moments if they didn't do something. Kaico knew they had one other option.

"We'll have to hide." She told Enderly. "Are there any caves around here?"

Enderly didn't reply. They didn't have enough energy, even if there had been. Now that they were in the cover of the trees, Kaico stopped suddenly and dug out under her feet, she went down 5 blocks before covering the top. It was dark and stuffy under there, carefully she dug herself a two-block alcove to stand. Enderly stood in the taller spot, seeming weaker than before.

"Shhh," she told Enderly. She tried not to feel the helplessness creeping into her heart.

It was only minutes until overtop of them they heard voices yelling and heavy footsteps, but they passed right on over. She breathed a thank you to Notch.

Once she was sure they were gone, she dared to whisper. "I'm really sorry Enderly, it was foolish to let you get hurt for my book."

She could tell though that her friend wasn't angry with her. Though that made her feel slightly worst.

"It's all my fault, I should have never brought you into all this! What a terrible person I am!" She put her head in her hands.

Enderly chirped again. Kaico knew that they didn't want her to be sad. Slowly she unfolded herself. Having little else to do, Kaico pulled out her book and started to flip through the pages in the dim light of the Ender's eyes.

She found the castle page and held it for Enderly, that was when she had a small idea.

"Ender's come from the End," she said, "don't they? If I can get you home." Her mind turned this over, "my mother once talked of the Queen of the End. Maybe she'll help us!"

Enderly perked up when she said the words 'Queen of the End'.

"If anyone can it'll be her. The Queen will know how to heal you. We just have to find a way to get you home." She said this with more energy. She could feel that if Enderly was taken home they would be healed. She would be able to amend for her mistakes and keep her friend alive.

They just needed to find a portal to Enderly's home.

Easier said than done.

End portals were well hidden and protected. Kaico didn't even know where they might be. She had heard of them of course, but that didn't really help.

She shook her head at once, she knew someone who would probably know, and they were right there in front of her.

"Enderly," she asked, "can you locate the portals to your home?"

Enderly tilted their head and seemed to nod just slightly.

"You saved me twice, now it's my turn. I will help you go to your home." She told them.