The Inner Kingdom: Quest One (Dragon Quest Book 1) (12 page)

The Evaluation

Location: The Castle

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Ashle
y
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After sending Mina away, there was nothing left to say, not even to one another. We were finally going to be able to leave and return home. I just wondered why I wasn’t as happy as I thought I would be.

Since we did not have anything to pack, we picked at the food Mina had prepared and waited.

I must have gone to sleep while waiting, judging by the lack of light shining through the window Leo created.

Lifting my head up off the bed, I could see that April was asleep beside me on the bed, and Angie must have dozed off as she sat on top of the dresser as she wanted to be the first one to see the sun rise.

Unable to lie still, I decided to take a short walk so I could think.

Carefully putting my sandals on, I tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind me. I knew it had to be really late. Due to the darkness of the sky outside the room window, there was one thing that confused me, I don’t remember climbing any stairs the entire time I’ve been here, and yet the view from the room window suggests that it is high up. When I looked from the window earlier, all the people below looked like ants.

I guess it doesn’t matter since I won’t be coming back here ever again.

I continued walking down the halls, and since I had nothing better to do, I tried to use my energy to find the celtas drawn into the walls. I was surprised by how many there were. After getting bored with finding celtas, I started seeing what each one did.

I saw the one shaped like a tree hid things such as doorways, and the ones shaped like a bird hid windows and mirrors. There was another one I did not recognize, and this one was shaped like a crown.

As I transferred energy into the celta to activate it, nothing happened.  I thought maybe whoever designed it did not finish it yet. Then the hall I was in flickered as if someone was changing the channels on my surroundings. The stones went from gray to gold and silver, and the lights grew brighter, as well as the floor seemed to be covered with gold carpet instead of the silver colored one I was just standing on. 

When the scene completely changed, my stomach dropped as if I was on an elevator. Clinging onto the now gold and silver wall, I tried to regain my balance.

“How are we going to convince the girls to stay?” I heard a voice sounding like the prince coming from a room up ahead.

Letting my curiosity get the best of me, I strode quietly, closer to the doorway, trying my best to stay hidden while I peeked inside.

“Let’s not focus on them; there will be a war very soon that we need to prepare for,” a huge burly man said with a long flowing gold robe and a heavily jeweled crown on his head. The entire air around this guy screamed royalty. No doubt about it, he must be the king.

“Father, without them, we might as well hand over Eupai to Jewel. Bain’s last word says that the dragon warriors will unite the land.”

“Then, if you believe so much in the foretelling of the future of the previous warrior, my uncle, spoke about long ago, why are you so worried?” the king spoke in a deep voice.

Uncle? Nolin never said that the prince was related to one of the previous dragon warriors. I would think that would be something the prince would be bragging about to everyone.

“It’s just so hard to sit back and do nothing. Maybe we can call a council meeting.”

I could see the prince pacing the floor while his father sat down in a large gold chair with a heavy thud.  I thought the king would be a little frail guy, but he appeared to be quite healthy.

My opinion changed rather quickly when I heard the string of coughs coming from the king. When it finally ended, the king was left gripping the edge of his chair.

From the angle the king was sitting at, he could easily see me, so I moved a little away from the doorway, but I was still close enough to hear.

“What do you expect will happen once the other kingdoms find out that the daughters that we were responsible for returning home have chosen to stay on Earth? “ The king asked in a raspy voice due to his recent coughing fit.

“There must be something we can do?”

All of a sudden, the room became quiet. Wondering if they had gone deeper into the room, I moved closer to the door only to see the prince staring at me.

“This is not what it looks like. Well, maybe it is what it looks like, but I didn’t mean to listen in on your conversation at first,” I continued to mumble, not knowing how to react as the prince stood silent.

“Escort the shadow in, son,” The king bellowed from inside the room.

I couldn't be that thoughtless, but the shadow cutting through the light in the hall proved to me that I was.

“Actually, we have more than just a shadow,” the prince finally spoke guiding me in the room. “Let me introduce to you the dragon warrior of the Sapphire Kingdom.

The room was much bigger than the one we were sleeping in. On one side was a complete bedroom, and on the other side, was what looked to be an office.

A little confused on how to greet the king, I just bowed the way we did at the ceremony. “Nice to meet you. My name is Ashley.”

It must have been the right thing to do, since the king's eyes lit up with a smile. “So this is what the entire buzz in the castle is about?”

“Where are your companions?” The prince asked, looking back out in the hallway.

“They are back in the room ready to leave at the first sight of dawn,” I answered truthfully.

Even though what I had just said was true, it felt wrong saying it in front of a sick king that looked at me with such a hopeful expression.

“So, you didn’t come here because you have changed your mind?”

“Actually, I got bored just sitting in the room and decided to walk around some, and I saw a celta I hadn’t seen before, so I activated it, and it led me here.”

“This was meant to be. I hate to think that you would have gone back without me being able to meet you,” the king laughed hoarsely. “I would greet you properly, but as you can witness for yourself, I have been a little down lately.”

“That’s not a problem. I was wondering if you have been to a doctor about that cough, if you do not mind me asking.”

“We have had the best healers in the Inner Kingdom come and prescribe medicine for his coughs and fatigue.”

“Those are symptoms. Has anyone found the cause for them?”

Before the prince could respond, the king started to spasm with the ferocity of his coughs.

“We need to get him to his bed,” the prince instructed without giving me a choice. “Help me get him to his bed; he has exhausted his self today while preparing to meet you and your companions.”

Feeling lower than what I was when I walked into the room, I helped him move the king to his bed. The room was nice and warm, but the king was burning up.

“You need to undress him,” I ordered the prince.

His response to my demand was a "she’s insane" look.

“I know it may sound weird, but your father has a fever, and we need to get his temperature down.”

The king tried to tell us something, but all that came out of his mouth was a few incoherent words.

“He needs water.”

“There is a glass on the table; usually the helpers will leave a pitcher of water.”

“I will look for the water. You just undress him.”

Looking around the massive room, I didn’t see any pitcher. I looked at his desk and also the tables beside his bed. Nothing.

Remembering the incident at the ceremony, I wondered if I could find the water that way. Relaxing my mind I stood in the middle of the room and let the energy spread. On the shelf of one of the king’s bookshelves I saw a small stream of water coming toward me. I then saw the pitcher sitting on the shelf with a cloth draped over it.

“I’ve found the water,” I cheered. I was so excited I just pulled more water to me, until I was cupping enough water in the palm of my hands to form an orb the size of a tennis ball.

Carefully taking the water to the king’s glass beside his bed, I could see that the prince had finished undressing the king, and was pulling the covers up to his chest.

“Do you mind handing me the glass?” I urgently asked, not sure on how long I could hold the water together.

“You really are the Sapphire dragon warrior,” the prince said while holding out the glass.  “You can heal him."

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how. When I supposedly healed my sister, I wasn’t even aware that I had done it.”

“My father believes in you,” he muttered, looking at me for once not as a spoiled rich boy, but as a son seeking help for his father.

“I will try.”

Focusing on the sphere of water in my hands I closed my eyes and did the one thing I could think of to do. Pray.

“What are you doing?”

“I really don’t know,” I admitted with my eyes still closed.

The prince's voice sounded a little odd. “That’s strange because something is happening to the water.”

That caused me to open my eyes just in time for me to see the last section of clear water turn dark blue

Slowly moving the water out of my hands into the glass, I watched the water remain dark blue after entering the glass.

“Will this heal him?”

“I don’t know, but I believe it will help.”

With trembling hands, he lifted his father's head up, and with one glance my way, he began to drizzle some of the water into his mouth. Soon, the king was able to grab ahold of the glass and began to drink the remaining water in the glass.

The king tried to talk again, but the prince just quieted him, and ordered him to rest. Closing his eyes, the king seemed to quickly drift off to sleep.

“Does he usually go to sleep that fast after one of his coughing fits?” I questioned a little concerned that I might have poisoned him.

“Even though he has been weak for almost two weeks, he has found it very difficult to sleep, due to all of the pain he has been suffering from.”

Moving closer to the bed, I leaned over and put my finger underneath his nose to make sure he was still breathing. Yep, I could feel the slow stream of air exiting from his nostrils.

“What is the reason for that?” The prince asked, watching me with fascination. “Is that another part of your healing process?”

“Yeah, it’s called make sure the patient is still alive,” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

“That’s not funny.”

“I know. He seems to be breathing steadily. I think he needs to rest. Just in case, I would send for a professional healer to check him out,” I suggested right before the prince engulfed me in a big hug.

The hug was very brief and not completely what I expected from the guy who came on to me during the ceremony. I didn’t notice it earlier, but the prince appeared drained as I could make out the beginning of dark circles forming around his gray eyes.

“No problem, by the way you never told me that you are related to the previous dragon warrior,” I blurted out, feeling a little self-conscious after the hug.

I was surprised to see that the prince actually looked embarrassed by that fact. “Yes, it’s not something I convey to strangers.”

“I’m not a stranger now.”

The prince then moved so close to my face that our noses were almost touching. “I suppose.”

The prince moved away to go stand beside his father’s desk, leaving me to catch the breath I had lost as soon as he came near.

Keep it together, Ashley. Remember, you are leaving tomorrow. Do not get attached!

Even though I knew I needed to return to my sisters, I just could not help myself from following the prince to the desk.

“The dragon warrior of earth was my father’s, father’s brother. This makes him my great-uncle. My grandfather founded the Inner Kingdom because of my great-uncle’s dream of unity.”

“He sounds amazing,” I said before a yawn escaped my mouth. “Sorry, I guess I am a little sleepy.

“It must be pretty late at the moment. Let me walk you back to your room,” The prince offered.

“If you don’t mind, I would like to make it back to the room before Angie discovers I’m gone.”

“It would be my pleasure, Ashley,” The prince playfully bowed, startling me with the way his behavior now contrasted with my first impression of him.

“Thank you, Prince.”

“Leev.”

“What?”

“You can call me Leev from now on, or at least until morning,” he joked without smiling, holding his hands out to me.

“Prince, we come with critical news,” a man announced, causing me to snatch my outreached hand away from Leev’sas
Rṓ
gaire and Nolin entered the king’s chamber.

As soon as Nolin saw me, a light lit in his eyes, as he quickly scanned the room for my sisters.

“It’s just me. They are still back in the room,” I explained as his face scrunched in confusion.