The Orchard of Hope (2 page)

“May I go on the quest?
”
Nicholas asked. He
’
d
never been on an adventure before. In fact, he
’
d spent most of his life studying, and it seemed
that a quest could be a very interesting expedition.

Kelsey glanced from the king to
Nicholas and then back at the king. She didn
’
t mind the thought of Nicholas joining her. He
wasn
’
t very strong, but he was easy to
get along with, even if he couldn
’
t hunt
or fight very well. At least he wouldn
’
t
be annoying company on a trip. He was also smart, so he had the
potential to learn.

“Will you send him with
me?
”
she asked.

“No,
”
the king said firmly and then paused for a moment to choose his
words. He shifted his weight in his chair and then turned to look
at Nicholas before continuing.
“
You
belong here, Nicholas. The time has come for you to learn some new
fields of study. You
’
ll be spending even
more time at the castle. We
’
re going to
supplement your education and develop your talents.
”

“What talents do I
have?
”
Nicholas asked, somewhat confused.
While he had done reasonably well in school, no one had mentioned
any talents to him. He was unaware of anything extraordinary about
himself. He placed his hands in his lap and waited patiently for
the king to continue.

“That
’
s
something that we may be able to help you to discover -- but all in
due time,
”
the king replied.
“
As Kelsey knows from experience, it
doesn
’
t always enhance an education to
know exactly where you
’
ll be going or
what you
’
ll be doing. Sometimes the goal
can be an obstacle to the education if you try to reach it too
quickly. A little patience will serve you well.
”

“Then who will be going with
me?
”
Kelsey quickly asked, seeming to
ignore the king
’
s last statement
concerning patience.

“I
’
m
sending Roland with you.
”

Kelsey clapped her hands together
and smiled. She had met Roland on her last journey and taken an
immediate liking to him. While everyone saw Roland in a different
form, Kelsey saw him as a red fox, and he was beautiful in her
eyes.

“Roland! I can
’
t wait to see him!
”

“He
’
s
already on his way here and should arrive in a few days,
”
the king said.

“That
’
s
great news!
”
Kelsey liked the sound of
this journey more and more. She could visualize herself with Roland
successfully crossing all types of wilderness. There would be no
one to slow them down because they were both in excellent physical
condition and could walk for miles every day. They would also never
be hungry because they were both skilled hunters.

“There will be three of
you,
”
the king said. He watched
Kelsey
’
s reaction for any sign of
protest, but she appeared to be in particularly good spirits about
the trip and didn
’
t mind that there would
be another traveler joining her. She was still smiling to herself
at the thought of seeing Roland again. The king observed
Kelsey
’
s far off expression and decided
not to pursue explaining the identity of Kelsey
’
s other companion.
“
One
of the things I want you to learn on this trip is how to talk to
birds so that we
’
re able to send messages
back and forth quickly.
”

“Absolutely,
”
Kelsey nodded.
“
I really want to learn how to do
that.
”
It was a rare skill. Only the king
and a few of his higher ranking officials knew how to talk with the
birds. Kelsey knew that some of these officials were army generals,
and she wondered if learning this skill would help her to become an
officer in the army.

“It
’
s
not an easy thing to learn,
”
he
explained.

“But I
’
m
willing to learn. I
’
ll work as hard as I
need to in order to learn it,
”
she
assured him.

“It may take years to fully
understand them and also to be understood correctly. Some people
pick it up quickly, but that
’
s rare. This
is an excellent opportunity for you to begin your lessons. Roland
is already fluent, of course, so he will be a wonderful teacher for
you.
”
Kelsey smiled again. She knew that
she could learn a lot from Roland, and not just about talking with
birds. She couldn
’
t wait for this quest
to begin.

“I
’
m
really looking forward to this,
”
she
replied.

“One more thing,
”
the king said and then hesitated. He looked back
and forth from Kelsey to Nicholas before continuing.
“
Maggie will be going with you.
”

“Maggie!?
”
Kelsey and
Nicholas both exclaimed in unison. They looked at each other in
embarrassment as they shifted uncomfortably and waited for the
other to continue. They both started to speak and then awkwardly
stopped themselves when they realized that the other was speaking
at the exact same moment. This happened a few times, and they both
felt more self conscious with each awkward moment.

“You first,
”
Nicholas finally said to her.
“
This is your mission, after all.
”

“First of all, did you say Megan
or Maggie?
”
Kelsey asked for
clarification. It was a huge difference because Maggie was a
spunky, yet emotionally driven girl who went to school with
Nicholas and had occasionally visited at the castle. Megan, on the
other hand, was a 400-pound snow leopard with attitude. Although
she was friends with them, at times Kelsey found both of them
extremely annoying for different reasons. They were both quite
different from Kelsey.

“Maggie will be going with you,
Kelsey. Megan will be arriving at the castle, also, but she will be
staying here,
”
the king
explained.

Kelsey didn
’
t know whether to feel relieved that she would not
be traveling with Megan or irritated that she was going to travel
with Maggie. At least Megan could fish. But as far as Kelsey knew,
Maggie had never been on a journey and had no hunting or survival
skills.

“Why
Maggie?
”
Kelsey asked. She tried
to be respectful in her tone, but her disappointment and confusion
about the decision came through in her voice.

“She has skills that may prove
useful on this journey. That
’
s all you
need to know at the moment.
”

“But she's a girl!
”
Kelsey exclaimed, making the king laugh. He was
good natured and patient most of the time, even when Kelsey forgot
her manners. He understood her and appreciated the forceful way she
approached almost everything.

“You
’
re
a girl.
”
He couldn
’
t resist pointing out the fact, although it only
irritated Kelsey all the more.

“Not like her,” Kelsey protested.
“She
’
s a
girly
girl
. She paints her nails. She doesn't know how to use a
weapon or hunt or do anything useful. She wears earrings, for
goodness sake. Earrings! That
’
s a great
way to lose an earlobe in battle!
”
Now
Nicholas was laughing along with the king as he imagined Maggie in
a battle. Kelsey felt her face turn red. The king wiped a tear from
his eye. He was laughing so hard at Kelsey
’
s reaction that he had started to cry.

“You and Roland have enough
survival skills for the three of you and more. Maggie does know how
to do things. In fact, you may discover that she
’
s better at you in some areas of
knowledge.
”

Kelsey thought for a moment as she
tried to figure out what useful skills Maggie could possibly
possess. After training with the king
’
s
army for a year and a half, Kelsey found it hard to believe that
Maggie could do anything better than she could. Kelsey wondered if
the king was teasing, but he appeared serious about sending Maggie.
He was also highly amused at Kelsey
’
s
reaction to the decision. Kelsey continued to wonder what he saw in
Maggie that she didn
’
t.

“Why
Maggie?
”
Nicholas echoed the
question when he composed himself.

“It may surprise you, but
sometimes Kelsey has a tendency to focus solely on fighting
techniques and she may overlook other possible solutions to the
situation. I
’
m sending Maggie to help
maintain balance.
”

“I
’
m
balanced,
”
Kelsey replied.
“
I can use both knives
and
guns.
”
She sat
quietly, brooding for a moment, and then added,
“
I
’
m also trained in
hand-to-hand combat and how to use a mace. It doesn
’
t get more balanced than that.
”

Nicholas saw how angry Kelsey was
over the situation and struggled to keep from laughing again. He
avoided looking at her and stared at the king, waiting for him to
finish the conversation. Kelsey, on the other hand, was struggling
to maintain a proper attitude of respect for the king’s
authority.

“Well, then, it’s possible that I
may be mistaken,” the king replied with a gentle smile. He saw
Nicholas’ discomfort and decided to end the conversation there.
After all, they had several days to discuss everything and work out
the details. “You are dismissed to begin preparations,” he
announced.

Nicholas broke into a grin and
rapidly left the room before he started to laugh again. But Kelsey
left the king’s study in a dark mood, still unconvinced about
Maggie’s ability to contribute. Not even the thought of Roland’s
company could cheer her up.

Chapter

Two

A Momentary Reunion

Megan and the king bumped knuckles
before she grabbed him in a bear hug and rolled across the ground
with him. At first Nicholas was afraid that the king would be hurt
by the large snow leopard’s physical expression of affection.
However, the king appeared unhurt as he stood up and swiped his
hand playfully over the top of the giant snow leopard’s head
several times while the leopard swatted her paw at the king’s
moving hand. One could say that it was an unusual relationship, but
there really wasn’t anything that could be called usual in the
kingdom at all.

In fact, things often appeared
different from what they really were. It was all part of the spell
the evil sorcerer had placed upon the kingdom to try to conquer it.
The spell created confusion and altered perceptions so that no one
could see what was real. The spell even affected the animals in the
kingdom. The only one who seemed unaffected by the spell was the
king and those closest to him. Even Kelsey had noticed that during
her time at the castle, the sorcerer’s spell was the weakest she
had ever experienced in her entire life. It was the first time her
perception wasn’t confused and everything was what it appeared to
be. Leaving the safety of the castle might make things difficult
for her again, but she had done it before, and she was ready to
face the struggle to see truth again. Bravery was something she had
never lacked, although her sense of compassion often went
missing.

“Hello, Megan,” Kelsey said
politely as she held out her hand. Megan ignored the hand and
swiped Kelsey up into a bear hug, but they didn’t roll across the
ground. Kelsey’s hands remained at her sides and she had made no
effort to return the affection. The leopard embraced the girl’s
stiff body tightly for a moment before releasing her.