The Inner Kingdom: Quest One (Dragon Quest Book 1) (6 page)

“Same here,” Angie agreed. “Maybe, that is it.”

“What do you mean?” Ashley asked with a puzzled look.

“We wanted to protect April. Let’s pretend I believe what they say. It only takes two or more, and we were both wanting to save April”

“Now, let’s try to save one another,” I remarked, holding my hands out for Angie and Ashley to take.

As they took my hands, my fingers tingled, but nothing happened.

“Are you trying?”

“Yes, I’m trying. Nothing is happening,” I muttered in a disgruntled voice.

“Maybe we need to think about the same thing. It’s worth a try,” Ashley suggested.

“Okay, let’s focus on the brooch and since it was earlier, this place should have been near empty.” I tried to remain calm while attempting to picture the brooch in my mind.

“They are out of time. Leo, it is time you do your job as captain of the royal guard and arrest them,” Zarf yelled from the crowd.

From the darkness behind my eyelids, a glowing light started to spread. “I think it is working.”

Instantly, all sounds disappeared. I opened my eyes to see if we had done it. The scene was similar to the one in gym class. Everyone was frozen in place, but we were still in the present.

“It worked, sort of,” Angie said, gazing around at the immobile figures all around us.

“He is a lot cuter like this,” Ashley mentioned staring at Prince Leev who had an immobile scowl on his face while facing his Uncle and Aunt.

“Come on, there is no time for you to admire the eye candy,” Angie muttered as she pulled her away from the prince.

“Okay, so we have stopped time. Now how do we go back?” I asked, walking around a frozen guard that was making his way to the podium.

“Well, maybe we don’t have to.” Angie said mostly to herself as she headed toward Raven. “Now I see why I don’t like her. She reminds me of Miranda.”

“You can’t do that,” I yelled as Angie took Raven’s clutch out of her hands.”

“Why not? If she is anything like Miranda, she would send us on a wild-goose chase over something she would already know the exact location of.” Angie explained, opening the huge seashell clutch. “Besides, I know I am not the only one wondering what women keep in their purses on this medieval planet.”

“Do you see it?” Ashley asked, peeking into the bag.

“No, I have a comb, brush, mirror, and I’m guessing this is lipstick.” Angie muttered waving a tiny tube of red goo. “It’s not here. So much for that idea.
”
             

Taking the clutch from Angie, I put it back, noticing something glimmering from the edges of her toga.

“That little snake,” I shouted, as I pulled a little on the top part of her toga, revealing a brooch clamped backwards, and it was the same one as she described. “I found it, but we have a problem.”

“What now?”

“The brooch is inside her toga, in the top part.”

“That is not a problem.”

“What if it is holding her dress together?

“She wanted to kill us, and you want to protect her modesty?” Angie exclaimed heading toward the top of Raven’s dress.

“Angie stop. April is right. I have an idea.” Ashley stated, standing in between Angie and the Duchess. “April, let me see the brooch out of your hair.”

“Great idea, a swip-swap,” Angie said, standing out of Ashley’s way. "When did you get so smart?”

“I am going to ignore that,” Ashley muttered with April’s hair brooch in her mouth while she undid the one on Raven’s dress. “I am done.”

Holding the ruby encrusted sun brooch, Ashley smiled like she was holding a key to a brand new sports car.

“Awesome, now how do we undo this?” I questioned motioning to the frozen people around us. Nolin’s outraged face was motionless, and it contrasted Zarf’s as he was standing with a smile going from ear to ear.

“I’m not sure; we didn’t have to do anything last time in coach’s class,” Ashley indicated “When you fainted everything returned to normal.”

“So you want me to pass out?”

“No, I don’t think that will be necessary. I think it was the noise you made when you fell,” Ashley deduced. “What if we make a loud noise?”

“Let’s go back to where we were standing; it would be very awkward if we did it here,” I pointed out.

“I want to see the shocked look on her face when she awakes,” Angie laughed while sitting on the top step facing Raven.

“I’m with Angie, mostly because my feet are hurting me, from all that standing. We might as well sit,” Ashley agreed with Angie, while covering the brooch in her lap with her hands.

“Fine, this will be fun to watch,” I murmured sitting on the other side of Angie.

“Let’s count down.” Angie suggested putting her fingers to her mouth to whistle.

At the count of three, we all whistled as loud as we could, and in a matter of seconds, everyone began to move again; it was like hitting the play button in the middle of a paused scene on TV.

The Exhaustion

Location: Celebration Room

◑
Angi
e
◐

"What are you all still standing around for? Their time is up,” Raven shouted at the royal guards who were scratching   their heads in confusion.

The entire room became quiet as they noticed that my sisters and I were no longer standing in the same spot as we were what seemed like a second ago to them.

Turning to look our way, the expression on Raven’s face was priceless

For once, even Leo and Leev’s faces held a look of astonishment.

“So, you know little tricks. Your task was to find my brooch,” Raven reminded everyone subtly patting the top of her dress. “And I have a feeling, you did not fulfill it.”

Raven’s face became more confident as she felt April’s brooch, thinking it was hers. My sisters and I shared a smile after seeing her take the bait.

“Why are you smiling? You didn’t pass the test,” Raven exclaimed, coming toward us.

Standing up on the steps, we prepared to face Raven. I chanced a glance at Ashley to make sure that she was still clutching the brooch in her hands.

“Arrest them. They have failed their test,” she screamed at the guard members who stepped in-between us.

“Not exactly,” Ashley spoke up uncovering the brooch. “Is this what you lost?”

“That is impossible,” Raven bellowed patting the top of her dress again, not so discreetly this time.

“Bring me the brooch,” Prince Leev commanded Leo.

Ashley handed over the brooch which was taken to the Prince. As he examined it, he handed it over to Nolin, who was now wearing a look of triumph on his face.

“I declare that they have passed the test, and from this moment forward, they will be recognized as the dragon warriors,” Nolin announced, causing the entire crowd to burst into applause.

The only ones who weren’t happy were Raven and Zarf, and while I basked in my satisfaction, I noticed that Zarf had disappeared.

“That cannot be my brooch,” The irate Duchess screamed silencing everyone. “Let me see it.”

“It has your royal seal on the back,” Nolin stated, handing the brooch out toward her.

As she climbed the podium to retrieve it, her face became even more drained of blood, which I thought was impossible.

“This can’t be,” Raven murmured to herself, feeling where the brooch should have been.

“Why are you so sure that that brooch is not yours?” Angie taunted her by patting the top of her dress. “As you can see, my sister is also missing a brooch. Have you seen it?”

I could see it appear on her face, the moment she realized she had been tricked. Peering down in the top of her dress, her face turned a violent shade of red.

“Do you have any more interjections, Duchess?” Nolin questioned her, already knowing the answer.

Raven turned to leave, stopping beside me with eyes full of malice. “You have no idea who you are messing with…little girl.”

“I’m just playing the game you put into motion,” I countered, looking her straight in the eyes.

She broke eye-contact and stormed down the podium, pushing several people in the crowd as she exited the room.

“Tonight is for celebrating,” Prince Leev announced. “We have the best food here from around Eupai. Eat and enjoy.”

The prince's words prompted several people to unveil long tables stretching around three of the five walls. From my current position in the room, I could see that the walls formed a pentagon
.
             

I am currently standing on a podium, in another world, in a room with a glass floor. When my horoscope this morning said today would be an adventure, I doubt this is what it meant.

“We did it,” Ashley cheered as many people headed toward the food table.

“I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. We still need to find a way back home,” I reminded her searching in the crowds for Nolin.

Spotting Nolin just below the podium talking to the Prince and Leo, I figured the sooner I asked him to send us back home, the better.

As I approached Nolin, the conversation ended. Acknowledging my presence a little better than our first encounter, the prince gave me a short nod of his head and then headed back to his royal throne to sit on his royal behind.

“You surprised me back there,” Leo admitted giving me the same nod the prince did. He then walked away, disappearing into the crowds.

The scents from the food were very distracting, as the smells from the roasted meat wafted up my nose.
Is that gravy I smell?
Focus, Angie. Think about home.
I had to stay on course and not let the food sidetrack me as I stepped toward Nolin.

“You have done well. Take some time to enjoy yourselves before your training begins,” Nolin advised shifting his attention to something else.

“Training?” I questioned stepping in front of him. “How do we get back home?”

“You are home; I think my wife and daughter have already explained that to you.”

“I don’t believe you. We were born and raised on Earth.”

Rubbing his thinning white hair on the top of his head, Nolin sighed like he was talking to an annoying child. “Let’s not discuss this right now; you will be educated, after the celebration, about your true origins.”

Nolin continued to walk away from me despite my protests for him to send us home. Realizing that my rants was drawing unwanted attention, I turned to find my sisters. I spotted Ashley and April walking toward the tables lined with food.

Even though I was hungry, I discovered that I could not eat and that I needed to get away from all the people. The smell from the food, perfume, and smoke coming from the some of the men and women puffing on strange pipes, was nauseating.

My heart began to beat so loud it was pounding in my ears and felt like it was going to burst out of my chest; but all around me, the laughter and conversations continued.

I can’t breathe. I have to get out of here.

Pushing past the people who wanted to talk to me, and the women walking around offering drinks off of platters, I reached a corner of the room that was not swarming with people; as I got closer to the wall, I could see a small exit leading out of the room.

Wanting to get as far away as possible, I exited through the door; which led me onto a large semi-circle balcony that was illuminated by two full moons in the sky, which were so close it felt like I could reach up and pluck them.

While eyeing the moons, in the back of my mind, I knew I was forgetting something very important, but as I tried to remember, a throbbing pain developed in the front of my head causing my vision to become spotty.

Turning away from the moons, I could feel my heart beat slowing as the wind brought fresh clean air to me. I didn’t notice it before, but the air here was much better than the air on Earth.

It would be a shame if this planet ever experienced an industrial revolution.

Sensing a change in the atmosphere, I knew I was no longer by myself. I tried to ignore whoever it was, hoping that they would go away; but after a while, I could no longer pretend that I was alone. Not being able to kick in this dress was a real disadvantage as I braced myself to fight. I turned around putting all my strength in my right hand, aiming to take out my intruder.

Before my hand could make contact, the intruder blocked my punch and held firmly onto my fist. Right when I was beginning to panic, candles I did not notice, lined along the rail of the balcony, began to light one by one, revealing the identity of my follower.

“Leo! What is wrong with you? First you try to kill me, and now you are stalking me,” I accused pulling my fist out of his tight grip.

“It is good you could sense me, but your reaction time and precision need work,” Leo said as if he was grading me on a test.

“Did you come out here just to try me? I would rather be alone right now.”

“And I would rather enjoy the festivities tonight than be here,” Leo countered not moving one inch.

“Then why are you here?”

“As you must already know, there are people who do not like the prince.”

“Really?” I questioned feigning ignorance. “I don’t understand why any one would not like that chauvinistic arrogant prince.”

“If that was you attempting to be witty, save it for someone else,” Leo instructed his face void of any humor. “The situation you have found yourself in is no laughing matter.

“You mean the situation your people have put me in. I did not ask to be here. I'd rather be taking my final exam in probability statistics than be here.”

“You and your two companions-”

“Sisters,” I corrected.

“Very well,
sisters,
were marked from birth to be dragon warriors. You may have your own opinions of him, but the prince and his father’s protection is the only thing keeping you safe.”

“What do you mean by marked?”

“The dragon warriors have distinctive tattoos that appear only in times of extreme emotions, such as anger or fear.”

He motioned around us toward the lit candles. In the glass floor below us, due to the lighting, I could see my faint reflection and a red mark around my neck. As I touched it, the mark began to fade.

Feeling as if all the energy was drained out of me, I crumbled on the glass floor not caring about the sturdiness of it.

“As a dragon warrior you have to be properly trained in order not to overexert yourself,” Leo lectured as he reached down to help me up.

Slapping his hand away from me, I backed up toward the railing to lay my head back.

“Angie.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name is Angie. I am tired of everyone calling me and my sisters dragon warriors. No one here has taken the time to ask for our real names,” I vented feeling exhausted and frustrated at the same time.

“It’s not safe for you to be out here alone. There are dangers within the castle as well as outside,” Leo chided me, like I was a toddler.

“I can protect myself.” This statement caused the emotionless captain to chuckle. “What’s so funny?”

“I was able to block your feeble attempt of a blow with one hand. You need proper training. At the moment you are weak.”

“I am not weak.” I could feel and see the light of the candles around us glowing brighter as his words sunk in. No one has ever called me weak before, I am the one person people call when they need help. With my black belt in Judo and a red belt in Taekwondo, no one would dare call me frail back home. “I will show you that I am not weak.”

“You will have to get up off your butt, and out of your puddle of self-pity, to do that.”

“I am going to make you regret saying that.”

As I tried to stand and knock that twisted grin off of his face, my body protested by shutting down all at once. My vision, hearing, and sense of balance faded altogether, causing me to fall forward, preparing myself mentally to kiss the glass floor. A pair of arms pulled me up into an armored chest.

I stayed like that until my senses began to return to me. Gazing upward, the first thing I saw was Leo’s cocky face.

“You were saying?” he teased, while still holding me up.

“If I wasn’t so tired, and didn’t have on this dress, I would kick that smile right off your face.”

“I have no doubts that you would try.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“I wouldn’t dare. You have exhausted yourself. An untrained dragon warrior like yourself, with a quick-temper, this was bound to happen.

Trying to hold in my anger, my hand itched with the need to slap him; as I considered that option, I noticed that his face was mere inches away from mine.

I don’t know if it was just my imagination, but I thought I heard music playing as I looked into his eyes.

Okay, that is enough fresh air.

“You can put me down now. I am not a child.”

“As you wish,” he muttered before letting go of me so quickly I had to grasp onto the railing of the balcony to keep from hitting the floor.

Turning to give him a piece of my mind, I became confused when I saw that he was just staring at me dumbfounded. “What?”

“You can’t feel that? Can you?” He asked, pointing to my right hand that was holding onto the rail.

As I glanced down at my hand, it was sitting on top of one of the lit candles. The crazy thing was, the candle was still burning with my hand on it. The fire seemed to be going through it. As I examined my hand, there was no scarring at all on it from the fire. Actually, the fatigue I felt earlier had disappeared as if the fire was giving me energy.

“Wow,” I whispered, pulling my hand away from the fire.

Somehow, in removing my hand from the candle, my hand contained part of the flame in the middle of my palm. It did not burn me, nor die out.

Bringing my hand in front of my face, I was mesmerized by the burning light, while Leo silently watched.