The Inner Kingdom: Quest One (Dragon Quest Book 1) (11 page)

Once we entered the castle, I wiped my sweaty hands on my dress. The Inner Kingdom clothes are hardcore. After all I have put my dress through, it is still in one piece.

“I can’t believe we are going to meet the king,” I whispered to my sisters as we started walking down a long corridor.

The orbs of energy illuminating the hall glowed brighter than the ones that led to our room. Even the walls were more decorative with stones that changed colors from gold to silver, reminding me of the wings of that bird.

“Hey, whatever happened to that bird?” April broke the silence, voicing what I was actually thinking.

“Inda is a rare phoenix bird. There’s not many like her. Her gold and silver feathers turn orange and red whenever there is an evil threat approaching,” Nolin answered as he continued to walk.

“How old is she? I’ve read that a phoenixes can live for a long time.”

Leo stopped walking to turn around and face April. “How do you know about the sacred bird?”

“There are many books about mythical creatures on Earth. I found them fascinating for some strange reason.”

“Interesting,” Nolin muttered, as he continued to walk down the hall. “To answer your query, she is an ancient bird that is rumored to date back as far as the first records of the dragon warriors. For each set of dragon warriors, she chooses a watcher to locate them and teach them how to control their powers. She only communicates with that chosen watcher.

“That’s you, isn’t it?” Ashley stated.

“Yes, I was chosen a long time ago to be the watcher of the previous warriors.”

“And now you are ours,” I stated wondering exactly how old he really was. “Has that ever happened before, one person being the watcher for two sets of dragon warriors?”

“No, it has not,” he admitted. “But my duties are not yet complete.”

The air around us was charged with unanswered questions as we made our way toward the king’s chamber. I was lost in thought as I stared down at my makeshift sandal that I tied in a knot around my calf since I broke the strap that was holding it in place.

“What an honor it is to see the legendary dragon warriors gracing me with their presence,” a smooth, melodic voice called out snapping my attention toward the sound, which led me to see Raven.

“The honor is not intended for you,” the prince stated rudely. “My father has requested an audience with the dragon warriors.”

Raven stood between two women who had skin as dark as mine. One was tall with long curly hair, and the other was rather short and plump.

April pulled me and Ashley closer when she saw the two women with Raven. “That’s Anna and Nera; they are the ones who helped me when we first arrived.”

“You are always so cruel to your only aunt. I am hurt.”

“Don’t be. I am actually being quite hospitable at the moment. If you don’t mind, we have a meeting to get to.”

April waved at the two women standing beside Raven. The tall one was the only one who smiled and waved back as the other one just glared at everyone.

“Try to stay far away from those two,” Leo spoke in a low tone, stepping up from behind us. “They are Raven’s personal helpers. When she volunteered them to help with your ceremony, we knew she was up to something.

“It is very rude to whisper about someone behind their back,” Raven accused, stepping closer to us. It was at that moment I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that brought me to my knees.

Ashley and April soon followed, as I begin to feel a wave of anger, jealousy, sadness, and loneliness wash over me at the same time. It ended as soon as it began, leaving my sisters and me a shaken up mess, curled in a fetal position on the floor.

Raven backed away as if we were contagious. “What is wrong with them? Are they rabid?”

“You didn’t feel that?” Leo questioned, looking at her strangely as he visibly shivered. “Nolin what was that?”

“Nothing good,” Nolin responded, leaning on his gold cane.

Leo helped me to my feet, and for once I did not protest.

“I feel sick,” April murmured holding her stomach.

“Calm down, April. It’s okay. Just take deep breaths,” I instructed, rubbing her back while Ashley fanned April’s face with her hand.

“What is going on?” I demanded.

“I have my thoughts, and I see I am about to have them confirmed,” Nolin replied, looking over our shoulders.

Turning around to see what had his attention, I saw four heavily armed guards coming our way. They spread apart to let through a man wearing an outfit similar to the prince with a hood that covered his face. 

The person fell down to one knee in front of Nolin. “Elder, I come with urgent news.”

“Stand up and introduce yourself,” Nolin ordered motioning toward the hooded guy.

The young man looked to be in his late teens, if not early twenties. I was not surprised by his devious classic bad boy look; the long dark hair framing a pale face, with trouble written in his deep blue eyes. No, what shocked everyone was what April said next.

“Ghost boy?”

The Recognition

Location: Royal Hall

◑
April
 
◐

The guy just stood there staring at me unblinking. As if he hadn’t been following me when I was back on Earth. The more he stood there unmoving, I was beginning to think I was going crazy, but the way everyone else was staring at us, I knew he wasn’t just a figment of my imagination.

“Do you know him?” Angie asked, looking at the boy, I had come to believe was a ghost.

“Yes, I thought he was a ghost, but now I see he isn’t.”

“Apologies, I have not had the pleasures of meeting you before,” the guy stated,removing the hood from his head. “My name is
Rṓ
gaire and you are?”

“These young ladies are the dragon warriors, and he is my assistant,” Nolin explained.

“And my son,” Raven added, reminding everyone that she was still there. “What news do you bring?”

“From this point on, this matter is an official royal guard matter. I’m afraid you will have to bid your good-byes,” Leo said, glaring at her.

“Very well. We will talk later, son.” With a smile on her face, she touched her son’s face, and then continued walking down the hall.

“I am very interested in hearing what you have to say, but I am afraid I already know what it is,” Nolin stated, leaning more and more on his cane.

“Elder, Inda's wings have turned red.”

“Then it is what I have feared. This doesn’t give us much time to prepare.”

Leo stepped in front of Nolin, his presence demanding attention. “As captain of the guard, I need to know what’s happening.”

“Jewel has awakened, and what we just felt was pure evil.”

“That can’t be. I thought we had more time.”

“As did I. It will take some time for her to regain her strength, but with the upcoming enchanted moon, it may be enough to speed up her recovery process and cut our time in half.”

“What is an enchanted moon?” Angie asked, interrupting their conversation.

“As you have witnessed Eupai has two moons and two suns,”
Rṓ
gaire clarified. “Once every century, the two moons will unite, causing the moons to become one. When this occurs, it is said to become a power source, which Jewels can use to her advantage.”

“This world just keeps getting better the more I get to know it,” Angie sarcastically said.

I heard everything they were saying, but I could not take my eyes off of the boy who I had believed was a ghost. Unable to just let it go, I said, “I know I have seen you before.”

“Maybe you saw him at the ceremony,” Ashley reasoned. 

“That cannot be. I have just returned from official royal duties not too long ago,” the guy in question explained.

“We have more important problems to worry about than where you have seen him,” Prince Leevmotioned toward
Rṓ
gaire.

“No, I have seen him on Earth at the school, and also on the bus.”

That statement grabbed everyone's attention, causing all eyes to be on me.

“I don’t remember ever seeing anyone like him at our school. Have you?” Ashley admitted, turning to Angie.

“Me neither.” The look Angie was giving me reminded me of how I felt for the past three days we were on Earth.       

“It was like I was the only one that could see him. I know I sound insane, but I know what I saw.”

Ashley continued to study
Rṓ
gaire. “I know I would remember seeing someone who looks like him at school, or on the bus.”

"Wait a minute, I can prove it. I saw it the other day, there is a dragon tattoo on his ankle."

“How does she know about your apprentice mark?” Nolin turned toward his assistant requiring an immediate answer.

“Okay, something isn’t right here. I believe my sister,” Angie spoke up before  
Rṓ
gaire could respond. “Someone needs to tell us the truth. We deserve it.”

I did not want to believe that Nolin had lied to us. For some reason, the thought alone was enough to make me upset.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Nolin’s long sigh was all I needed to know that he was hiding something from us. “You are correct in your assumptions; there is something I did not attend for you to find out.”

“Elder you must not,”
Rṓ
gaire protested standing in front of him. “At least wait until tomorrow’s eve.”         

I was unable to stand it anymore. They owed us an explanation. “What happens tomorrow?”     

“Is there something you need to tell me as well?” Leo questioned, looking almost as confused as me and my sisters.      

“I’ve always wanted this to be their decision. This was meant to happen,” Nolin muttered. “Tomorrow’s eve is when the door to Earth closes, and will remain so for another hundred years.”    

“You mean we could have been home by now?” Ashley whispered angrily.

“That was not your home. This is where you belong,” Prince Leev tried to persuade us, but I don’t think any one of us was willing to listen to anything they had to say anymore.

“On Earth there is a saying, 'Home is where your heart is.'” I said while choking down tears. “My heart isn’t here.”

“We are leaving now. You have lied to us, and you even had someone stalking us back home.”

“I was there to find you; I didn’t know you were the ones, until I felt the power surge during one of your games,”
Rṓ
gaire tried to clarify.

“You sent him to the Earth world? Why wasn’t my father consulted before you executed your plan?” The prince complained. “I know he would have chosen someone else to perform that task.”

“It was your father’s idea.”

The prince looked confused and hurt at the same time. “Why didn’t he tell me about this?”

“Or me?” Leo interjected. “I am the captain of the guards and that was a very important matter.”

“I only have one question. Why was I the only one that could see you? You had me thinking I had lost my mind,” I accused.

“I am not sure; I was given a celta to give me the ability of invisibility, to make it easier for me to look for you. The portal just led me to the place filled with people with no direction as to which ones were the dragon warriors,”
Rṓ
gaire looked exhausted.

“I believe I know the reason you could see him at times. The dragon warrior of earth, also possesses the power to see through celtas. It is very rare,” Nolin speculated, looking a little sad, while he regarded me.

“But I have also seen him disappear at times.” I recalled the time right before I fainted.

“In times where you have used much energy, for instance the power surge he felt, that would have been enough to cause your powers to weaken. This could be the reason he appeared to be a ghost.”

“So you were on Earth? Is that where you were just coming from?”

“Yes, before I was to leave, I had to speak with Nanina and Machen, and give them a chance to turn themselves in.”
Rṓ
gaire rubbed his hands through his hair, making him appear even more rugged.

“So they know we are here? Where are they?”

“I searched all over, but wherever they were was highly shielded. I wasn’t able to locate them.”

“I believe we need to move this conversation to the King’s chamber,” Leo whispered as two helpers walked by watching us curiously.

As soon as the women were out of sight, Angie began to speak her mind, and neither I nor Ashley tried to stop her. “We are going home now! I can’t believe I was beginning to consider the things you were telling us!”

“You can’t go back now.” Leo stopped Angie from turning around by grabbing her hand.

“Why not?” Angie countered, snatching her arm away.

“Because the doorway is closed for today. It will return for the last time on the morrow with the rising of the suns,”
Rṓ
gaire answered.

“How can we believe you? You lied to us the moment we met you.”

“You have witnessed yourself when you were first brought here. The portal was just beginning to close. Once you arrived here, the door did not open again until today.”

Judging by the expressions on my sisters’ faces I could tell none of us wanted to believe him, but for now we had no other choice.

“Then we will be in our room waiting because the moment I see a hint of light in the sky, we will be leaving.” Ashley said in a tone that made it clear to everyone that there was no point in arguing.

Ignoring the complaints and mad faces, I followed my sisters who had already started moving away from the king’s chamber and the people responsible for bringing us here.

After walking around for about an hour, we finally found the room. Once inside, we found that we had someone waiting for us.

“Welcome, I had the helpers prepare food,” Mina smiled, gesturing to the table in the corner, covered with food and tea cups. “You must be very tired after training today."

I wanted to ask her how she was doing, but there was a more pressing matter to address. “Did you know about the portal?”

The sudden disappearance of Mina’s smile from her face was answer enough.

“I trusted you. I thought at least you would tell us the truth.”

“I have just found out about this myself today from my father.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us the minute you knew?”

“I know it was selfish of me, but I wanted you to find out more about yourselves and this world. Your world.”

“If we leave or stay is our decision to make!” Ashley exclaimed. “If it wasn’t for April recognizing that
Rṓ
gaire guy, we would’ve never known the truth.”

The color seemed to drain from her face at the mention of Nolin’s assistant's name. “All of you have met him? He is dangerous, and worst of all, he’s Raven’s son. I don’t know why my father made him his assistant.”

“That is not our problem.”

Mina began to step closer to us. “Do not trust him, or anything he says. Nothing good can come from Raven’s offspring.”

“And why should we listen to you now? I believe you should just go,” Angie pointed towards the door.

Looking dejected, Mina slowly made her way toward the door. “Just remember that everything I have done was to help you.”

“I guess this is goodbye since we are leaving first thing tomorrow morning,” I informed her as we parted for her to leave.

Mina opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again, deciding against it.

It may have been my imagination, but I could of swore I saw tears coming down her face as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Now what do we do?” I asked to no one in particular.

“We wait,” Angie answered
.