The Inner Kingdom: Quest One (Dragon Quest Book 1) (4 page)

We were so engrossed in what was happening that we didn’t notice that everyone had stopped and was watching us.

Before we could ask any more questions, Nolin just waved excitedly like a little kid for us to continue behind him, leaving us no choice but to follow.

“We have arrived,” Nolin announced after about five more minutes of walking. “From here on, you shall follow my wife and daughter whom will help you prepare for tonight’s celebration.

Following his gaze, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, as I took in the view of the huge castle that was even more massive than it appeared from afar.

As we got closer, I could see there were two women standing on the bottom steps of the castle, smiling as if they were expecting us.

One of the women was a short, elderly, plump woman with kind green eyes and snow-white hair in a neatly tucked bun. The woman next to her looked a little younger, with bright gray eyes and long brown hair that ran down her back in one thick braid.

The odd thing about them was that they were both wearing white and blue dresses exactly like the ones worn by women in Ancient Greece. If it were not for the two suns, I would have sworn we had traveled back in time.

“It is a pleasure to finally get to meet you. My name is Pearl,” the elderly woman said, speaking up first.

Dumbfounded by the sudden change in attitude of everyone around us, we just nodded our heads in acknowledgment, slowly trying to understand what was going on.

“We will be aiding you with your baths, gowns, and hair for your celebration,” Pearl continued, unfazed by our silence.

“I’m sorry to sound rude, but we do not want to be a part of anything that is taking place here. The only thing we want is to go home,” Angie said, clenching her fists at her sides.

“So you have arrived,” a voice exclaimed from the top of the steps, causing everyone around us to drop down to one knee. “You have done well, Nolin. My father will be very proud upon the arrival of this extraordinary news.”

“Thank you, Prince Leev,” he replied, still down on one knee.

Prince Leev reeked of arrogance as he looked us over like we did not meet his expectations.

Even though his attitude needed adjusting, he had the looks of a movie star with wavy shoulder length sun-streaked hair, standing almost as tall as Leo, with light gray eyes and the body of Adonis, encased in a gold and silver long toga.

“Are those girls them?” Prince Leev asked, motioning his hand our way as if he was motioning toward stray animals.

“Yes, Your Highness. I know they are not what you expected, but they carry the marks.”

“Is this true, Leo?”

“Yes, I witnessed the power of the dragons myself,” Leo confirmed.

“Nolin, have your wife and daughter prepare them for tonight,” Prince Leev ordered before turning to go back in the castle.

“Excuse me? Can someone please tell us what’s going on?” I finally asked, unable to stay quiet any longer. “Did you have something to do with us being here?”

“Leo, please explain to them that all of their questions will be answered soon,” The prince replied without turning around.

As the prince continued to walk away, it took both April and I to restrain Angie as she started to attack him.

“No matter who you may be, I cannot overlook it if you were to harm the prince,” Leo threatened Angie before following the prince inside.

“Don’t worry dearies, all will be clarified in due time,” Pearl assured us before a group of women came out of nowhere, ushering us into the castle.

The Preparation

Location: Inner Kingdom

◑
Apri
l
◐

Mina and Pearl quickly guided us through the castle, giving us no time to admire the interior as they separated us into different rooms.

I could still hear the complaints coming from the directions of my sisters, as the door was closed behind me.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, starting to panic, when suddenly the two women who shepherded me away stopped.

I could see we were in front of a huge ornate wall with a large picture of a weeping willow tree. It strangely resembled the place where we entered this world.

When I turned toward them, I caught them frowning down at my blood soaked shirt.

“Oh my, you cannot attend the celebration like this,” the tallest of the ladies said, shaking her head full of long black curls. “You have nothing to be afraid of. My name is Anna and we are going to get you cleaned up.

“Yes, just relax your companions are also being prepped,” the shorter one said with what appeared to be a smile on her chubby face. I really wasn’t sure if that was actually a smile as her annoyed expression remained the same.

They were both dressed in similar clothes as Mina and pearl; the only difference was that their dresses were shorter and were a pale shade of green.

Taking a deep breath, I gently nodded my head, letting them know that I wasn’t going to struggle.

Anna then knocked on the wall three times, which after a second began to open up like a door.

Pulling me inside the room, Nera motioned for the door to be closed behind us. The room I was brought into looked like a giant swimming pool area out of a five star resort.

“Do you need help disrobing?” the shorter one asked, motioning to three women who had closed the door behind us.

“What do you mean?” I asked a little confused, wrapping my arms across my chest.

“You can’t take a bath fully clothed, love,” Anna said jokingly motioning to what I thought was a swimming pool.

“I would rather undress myself,” I said, feeling myself blush.”

Anna and the short woman with her exchanged strange glances before Anna turned around, motioning for everyone to do the same.

“Nera, come on give her some privacy,” Anna insisted, motioning to the short woman beside her, who looked as if she did not want to be here.

Before Nera completely turned around. I could have sworn I saw a brief look of disgust on her face.

A few more blushes later, my skin felt as if it had been scrubbed raw. I was then powdered down and dressed in a long white robe.

Tired of protesting, I allowed Anna and Nera to usher me out of what I now call the giant washroom into another room where they left me alone.

I was happy to find Ashley waiting in a similar snowy robe inside the room.

“April!” Ashley shouted as she ran toward me. “Are you okay?”

The intensity of her concern made me want to cry. It’s funny how being transferred to another world, and being struck by an arrow, can do for a person.

“Where’s Angie?” I asked, carefully scanning the well decorated gold and silver room.

“I haven’t seen her since we were separated.”

“Do you think she’s okay?”

“My concern is for the people who tried to get her to undress,” Ashley said, causing us to laugh out loud.

As if the mention of her name summoned her, the doors opened and in came a very furious Angie.

“How many times do I have to tell you to give me back my clothes?” Angie screamed as she kicked the door that was quickly shut behind her, after she was pushed in.

“Nothing can put a damper on your spirit,” Ashley muttered sarcastically as she walked toward Angie.

“Ashley, do you know what those crazy people did?”

“Yes, I do.” Ashley said, motioning to the giant robe she was wearing.

“I’m just glad everyone is okay,” I said, causing Angie to calm down a little.

The room was like a presidential suite, complete with a gold and silver king size canopy bed, a long dresser, which was oddly without a mirror, that took up an entire wall, the giant fireplace in the room also took up an entire wall that was directly in front of the bed.

Strangely, the metallic silver floor was warm to my feet, as if there was a heater underneath.

The only decorative art piece was a giant picture, hanging above the bed, of four men riding on dragons; the tails of the dragons intertwined with one another. Examining the picture gave me a feeling that I had seen it somewhere before, but I couldn’t really recall when or where.

“Has anybody figured out a way to return home?” I asked, breaking the silence. “I don’t think everyone wants us here.”

“What do you mean?” Angie asked, crossing the room to sit down on the bed.

Before I could tell them about Nera, and the way she looked at me, Mina and Pearl entered, along with six women, three carrying dresses and three carrying chairs, placing them in a row beside the bed. The women were beginning to creep me out as they stood behind the chairs as if awaiting orders.

Mina and Pearl were both dressed differently, in beautiful silver dresses that pooled at their feet and accented the new hairstyle they wore. Both of them wore their hair loosely, wavy, and decorated with hair ornaments that made them look magical.

“Where are our clothes we had on before?” Angie asked directing the question at Mina.

“Your prior attire was not fit for your celebration,” Mina answered as if we should have known that.

“Then, what did you do with our clothes?” I inquired, which caused Mina to look at her mother briefly.

“The garments you previously were wearing are properly being taken care of,” Pearl replied.

“Meaning?” Angie probed.

“They were incinerated.”

“You destroyed our clothes! Those were the only thing we had that kept us connected to our home!” Ashley exploded.

“That’s nonsense; you are home.”

“Our home is on Earth! Wherever we are now, it is not our home!” Angie yelled.

“This is Eupai, where you belong,” Pearl explained calmly.

“Your guardians should have equipped you for this day,” Mina muttered bitterly.

“What do you know about our parents?” I said, standing up off the bed.

“I know your
guardians
failed in their responsibilities.” The room instantly became quiet as she turned around to compose herself.

“We are already behind schedule, and we need to get all of you ready,” Pearl explained as if nothing was wrong.  

“Not until someone properly explains to us what is going on,” Angie insisted, crossing her arms.

Exhaling loudly, while pinching the bridge of her nose, Pearl walked slowly toward us until she was directly in front of us. “I am not angry with you girls. I can’t imagine how you must feel being put into this situation, suddenly, without proper education. You were supposed to be prepared ahead of time.”

“I know you must be boiling over with questions,” Mina interjected now back to her normal collected self. “Don’t worry, my father will explain everything to you at the celebration.”

Exchanging glances, we realized that we were not going to get any more information out of them.

“So, what do you want us to do?” Angie asked with a forced smile.

“Come and sit down. We will have you ready in no time.” Pearl smiled, motioning to the chairs.

We decided it would be best to just go along with them if we wanted to get some answers any time soon.

As soon as we sat down, the women behind us begin to work on our hair. I wondered what they were using on our hair since I did not see any combs or brushes when we sat down.

It did not take long before the women were helping us up and assisting us with dressing in our gowns.

We were dressed quickly, and afterward we were left standing like mannequins, facing the long dresser.

Mina and Pearl began circling us like sharks inspecting us for any flaws.

“Now, you are properly dressed,” Pearl finally exclaimed, apparently very pleased at what she was seeing.

“I agree,” Mina approved, nodding her head.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but I would like to see for myself how I look,” Ashley said after viewing Angie’s dress and mine.

From what I could see, Ashley and Angie looked like movie stars with their hair made up in French rolls, with a few strands of hair left loose to frame their faces. They both wore mermaid style dresses that accented their best assets.

Ashley’s dress was an ocean blue with light teal gems decorating the bodice and the lower bottom of the dress making her appear like a mythical nymph.

Angie’s dress was a fiery red with orange sequences snaking up the length of the dress from the bottom, giving the illusion that she was on fire.

After seeing them, I would not be truthful in saying that I wasn’t curious about how I looked.

“I thought you would feel that way,” Mina answered Ashley, stepping toward the long dresser, pressing a button on it, causing the entire wall to move and shift like a rubric’s cube, until I was brought face-to-face with my own reflection.

Even more shocking than the moving wall was the young lady with the light green eyes staring back at me. My unmanageable hair was styled the same way as my sisters. The only difference was the emerald flower ornament placed perfectly in my hair.

My dress wasn’t very flashy compared to Ashley’s and Angie’s dresses, but it was just right for me. The forest green dress was absolutely beautiful with thin, light green stripes traveling from the bodice to the end of the dress.

Mina cleared her throat, interrupting the silence that had filled the room while we admired ourselves in the mirror.

“You can’t blame them for appreciating themselves. When I was younger, I was quite a distraction,” Pearl said, giggling like a little school girl, with her gaze on me.

“Actually, I looked a lot like you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you can’t tell now, but this snowy mountain on my head used to be...”

“I dislike to interfere, but it’s time to escort them to the main hall, mother,” Mina interrupted motioning us toward the door.