by V F Sharp
“I told you,” said Pallu. “Trust me, she’ll be back.”
He watched Lanzzie put the necklace back into the box and close it before placing it back into the drawer.
“I hope you’re right,” she said, “because if she’s not back, I can’t go on this trip.”
“What do you mean you can’t go? You have to go. The whole world’s survival could depend on you and the others getting to the Magiclands. They need you. Ezstasia would be the first one to tell you that.”
“I wouldn’t even be of any use. I’d be totally consumed wondering what happened to my sister. I’m really worried. You never know with the way things are going around here. Something bad may have happened.”
“Nothing bad has happened, Lanz. She’s just upset. Get some rest, I’m sure you’ll see her in the morning, if not tonight. Now please get some sleep and let your sister cool off. Don’t make me sleep in the hall, either, to check up on you. You have to stay in your room. Seriously Lanz.”
“Okay, I’ll try. But if she isn’t here by morning, I can’t promise I’ll be on that ship.”
“She’ll be here,” he said.
Lanzzie walked to the side of the bed and stared at it. Pallu rose from the chair and made his way to the candelabra that stood on a small stand on the other side of the bed. He grabbed a candle from it to guide his way back across the hall.
He gave Lanzzie a hug before leaving the room and gently closed the door. He was doing his best to make her feel better, but he was just as concerned as she was. Things weren’t adding up.
As he made his way to his bedroom, he paused to make sure Lanzzie wasn’t going anywhere. Satisfied that he didn’t hear any footsteps, he continued to his room.
* * * *
Ezstasia awoke to the sound of running, banging, and loud talking. She’d almost forgotten where she was, but the pain quickly returned to her arms and legs reminding her that she was helplessly tied to a tree.
She opened her eyes and watched hundreds of men run back and forth carrying items. There were far more people than the tents could’ve possibly held that she had remembered the previous night. And most of these men weren’t knights; she actually wasn’t sure what they were. They wore furs, leather skins, and sandals, and carried axes and other rudimentary weapons. Most of the men were huge, with long, braided hair and thick, unkempt beards. Even some of their facial hair had braided strands with ties. Several of the men hit one another just for fun and laughed boisterously. They must’ve been the Vorokians that Zaros had been talking about. No wonder he called them savages.
She looked at Tia as she continued to fidget with the ropes, though the pain quickly put an end to any notion of escaping. Tia was relaxing and looking around as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Tia,” she whispered loudly. “Chew my ropes, will you?” She was kidding, of course, although slightly hopeful, and the rabbit just looked at her. She nibbled on some grass and went back to resting.
Just then, one of the Vorokian men looked her way. He was skinny and filthy, with scraggly hair that was either brown or blond; it was hard to tell through all of the dirt. He began to approach her.
“Who do we ‘ave here?” he said. “Aren’t you lovely?” He smiled a half-toothless smile.
“Leave ‘er be!” yelled one of the other tribesmen. “It’s time to go!”
She started squirming again trying to loosen the ropes, wishing this creepy man would go away.
“Hey, can I have ‘er!?” he yelled to the others.
Several of the king’s knights came forward.
“What do we do with her?” said one of the knights.
“She’s injured,” said an older knight with grey hair. “She needs treatment.” She recognized his voice as Sir Karek, the conflicted man she had seen through the tent the previous night.
“We should ask the king,” said another knight.
“I think you should give ‘er to me,” said the scraggly Vorokian.
Just then, she looked up to see the knights parting to make way for King Zaros, who was arriving alongside a stocky, bald knight.
The king stepped up to her and studied her face.
“I had almost forgotten that we needed to tie up a few loose ends. So what shall we do with you?” he said, lifting her chin.
“I just want to go home,” she said, her voice weak from thirst.
“To the Cottages?” said Zaros. “I suppose you can’t do us any harm now, whether or not that’s your true destination.”
“Sire,” yelled a short knight who was running from the area where the camp had been set up. “The men are ready to go. We have to get to the docks before those ships sail.”
Her eyes widened with the sudden realization of their plan. They weren’t just planning to attack Old Vynterra. They were going to do something to the ships before they could even take off!
The king must’ve noticed the look of shock on her face.
“You really didn’t know?” he said. Then he smiled crookedly. “Well, now you do.”
He turned to leave and the appalling Vorokian man inched closer toward her.
“Please, King Zaros!” she yelled. “You must let them sail!”
“Your Cottages will thank me,” he said loudly as he walked away.
“What do we do with her, sire?” one of the knights called out.
Zaros threw up his hands from up ahead. “Whatever you wish,” he said. “She’s of no consequence now.”
“Leave ‘er to me,” growled the Vorokian.
She watched in horror as the knights all ran to their horses to catch up to the rest of their army that had already ridden away.
The savage got right up in her face, his reeking breath invading her senses.
“We know how to handle criminals,” he said, grinning.
He removed a knife from the side of his fur vest and Ezstasia, sickened with fear, felt herself losing consciousness again.
Just then, the man let out a deafening yell. A look of sheer horror crossed his face. His eyes bulged and his mouth opened grotesquely. Blood spots began forming all across his chest. He fell to the ground and Ezstasia looked over to see the grey-haired knight, Sir Karek, standing behind him. He held a large, bloody dagger in his right hand.
“I’m sorry, Miss,” he said, holding the dagger up to her body, as she cringed.
To her utter relief and surprise, he cut the ropes loose from around her waist and from her legs. He then walked behind her to free her arms from behind the tree.
She let out a moan and brought her arms toward her to let them rest for a moment. She watched the knight walk toward Tia. He untied her and handed Ezstasia the reins.
“I won’t forget your kindness,” she said.
“These are scary times we live in,” said Sir Karek. He looked toward the last remaining knights who were preparing to leave. “But we can’t forget what makes us human or none of it would be worth fighting for. Neither Zaros nor I nor anyone else knows the right path to take. We don’t know what will truly save us.” He bowed to her. “Now you make it home safely, Miss.”
In the distance, a knight rode toward them.
“You must go, now!” said Sir Karek, helping her up to her feet. He held her arm as she walked to Tia and lifted her atop the saddle. “Hurry!”
She felt a new sensation of adrenaline and swiftly grabbed the reins and rode off. She had to get back to the castle and gather any knights she could before Zaros and his men could stop the ships—or worse.”
* * * *
Ezstasia was finally approaching the castle’s front gates, having taken as direct a route as she could. Although relieved to finally be at the castle, she was worried about Tia who was limping. She had injured her leg while jumping over a boulder on the way back. The large rock had blocked the only shortcut to the castle.
Ezstasia was exhausted herself and still in pain from the tightly wound ropes that held her all night. Her wounds ached and she desperately need
ed water. Weakly, she hunched over her rabbit, unable to stay upright. A group of knights in the distance saw her condition and quickly rushed toward her.
“It’s Lady Arrow,” said one of the knights. “She needs tending to.”
“No!” she shouted. “Please take me to Eliezer, quickly! The prince’s life depends on it!”
As the knights helped her off Tia, she said, “My rabbit. She’s hurt. Please get her to the stables.”
An elderly woman came forward and took Tia’s reins. “I’ll see to it that she’s taken care of, Lady Arrow.”
Just then, she spotted Eliezer coming from the castle toward her. Despite the pain in her legs, she ran to him. The knights followed.
“What happened?” he said. “Your sister and friends—.”
“I’ll explain later,” she said. “The prince is in danger. His whole voyage is at risk. I was captured by King Zaros and his men. He’s on his way to stop the prince from sailing to the Magiclands, but I don’t know what they plan to do.”
“He won’t get far,” said a knight with a deep voice. “He doesn’t have a full battalion.”
“He has other men with him,” she said. “Thousands of them. They’re savages. He called them Vorokians.”
“Vorokians!” said Eliezer. He turned to the knight with the deep voice. “Sir Ulric,” he said, “please go tell Sir Aldus that we will need the Valorian Order immediately. Gather the Vynterran Guard, too. You must get to the docks at once.” He turned to Ezstasia. “You, dear, come with me.”
“I need to go with them!” she said. She wasn’t about to be denied the chance to help save her sister and friends.
“Of course you’re going with them! But for now, come with me. Quickly! We haven’t much time.”
She followed Eliezer to the castle, surprised at how quickly a man his age could move.
They hurriedly went through the castle as people stared at them from all directions. He grabbed a large torch from the wall and he led her through corridors that she hadn’t seen before. They opened secret doors and walked through the hidden hallways. Eventually, they arrived inside a torchlit room with tiled floors and mirrored walls with gold trim and pearl inlays separating each panel. Along the wall, large golden shelves held a variety of weapons. Eliezer led her to a large, bronze bow that was so luminous and reflective, it almost looked like it was glowing from a furnace fire. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before.
He picked up the bow and handed it to her.
“This belonged to Valorian himself,” he said. “It was rumored to bring him abundant luck during the Great War. Some even said it may have had a touch of magic.” He winked. “At any rate, nobody can deny its workmanship. I thought that it may bring us good fortune in the hands of the girl who once shot an apple off a statue’s head from a great distance.”
Ezstasia was in complete awe as he handed her the bow.
He grabbed a medium-sized, golden chest with the Vynterran sigil design inscribed on the top of it. He unlocked it and pulled out a pearl-lined, canvas quiver full of elegant arrows that had a touch of real gold glistening in their feathers.
“Come. We must hurry,” he said, placing the bag on her shoulders.
“I hope I’m worthy of it,” she said. “Is there anything specific I need to know about shooting this?”
“When you aim,” he said, “don’t miss!”
He led her quickly out the door and through a completely different route than they took to get here. They exited through the side door of the castle, where hundreds of knights stood lined up outside. At the head of the army were knights in black armor, which Ezstasia knew to be part of the Valorian Order. She recognized Sir Aldus in the center.
Eliezer approached Sir Aldus alongside Ezstasia. She could sense that he was surprised to see her carrying Valorian’s bow.
“Bring her with you,” said Eliezer. “She’s seen the Vorokians and observed their ways. She’s also, I might add, a distinguished archer.”
“With quite the distinguished bow,” said Sir Aldus. “As you wish, Archminister.”
The same village woman who had taken Tia was now bringing forward a majestic, black Friesian horse. It was truly one of the most beautiful animals Ezstasia had ever seen.
“Your steed, Lady Arrow,” said the woman.
Ezstasia mounted the horse and made sure the quiver of arrows was secured tightly on her back.
“Get to the shore as quickly as possible,” said Eliezer, looking at Sir Aldus. “For the sake of every kingdom in the Human Lands, those ships must sail!”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Lanzzie was beside herself as she rode with Fin on the sandy path that led to the lower docks. Old Vynterra had several docks, as explained by Sir Layton en route. The monarch’s ships were located at the upper and middle docks, just north of here, though most of them, had likely set sail back to their kingdoms earlier that day.
As harrowing as this journey would surely be, the only thing Lanzzie could think about was Ezstasia. She prayed that her sister would be at the docks to say goodbye, but she was losing hope by the minute.
“She’ll be here,” said Fin.
“Why do I feel like she won’t?” she said. She wasn’t trying to be negative. She just knew her sister wouldn’t disappear all night only to show up at the docks. She knew something was wrong.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” he said. “Look.”
She looked up ahead where he was pointing. Through a break in the trees, she could see part of a ship’s mast in the distance. Her legs trembled with dread; the anticipation of getting on the ship without knowing whether Ezstasia was okay was more than she could bear. She knew it wasn’t really a choice, though. Between Pallu and Fin, they’d beat it into her head this morning that Ezstasia would want her to make the journey, no matter what. Besides, as Fin had explained, she was the most important witness of all.
They continued following Sir Layton along the sandy path and through the trees, accompanied by a number of villagers and knights. She wasn’t sure where the rest of her friends were in the large group—they had gotten separated during the walk—but she took comfort in knowing that they were close by. As they emerged from the trees and onto the massive, white sand beach, Lanzzie felt an overwhelming feeling of reverence wash over her.
Three of the largest and tallest ships she’d ever seen were tied to the docks in the sparkling, turquoise waters. Their grandeur was astonishing. Long gangplanks led up to each of the ships and hundreds of knights and crewmen, were carrying cargo and leading animals and horses up to board the ships. Throngs of people crowded the beach to observe the most historic departure any of them would likely ever see in their lifetime.
“Sweet carrot sticks!” said Meldon, riding up beside her.
“The big ship in the center is the Valorian,” said Sir Layton. “We’ll be boarding that one with the prince.”
“Incredible,” said Fin. “I would’ve been thrilled just to be on one of the smaller ones.”
“I don’t see her, Fin,” said Lanzzie, looking at the massive crowd.
“It won’t be easy to spot her in this crowd.” She could tell Fin was doing his best to reassure her.
She noticed that he was also scanning the crowd in all directions. She turned around and spotted Ellie and Pallu quickly walking toward them. They were holding hands as they wove through the people.
She shifted her gaze toward the three enormous vessels waiting by the shore, each with several colossal masts that essentially took up the entire skyline. The Valorian was the most majestic of all, with its deep cherry wood and a carved, painted figurehead of a beautiful woman on the extended bow. Her ravishing golden hair was cascading down the ship’s prow on both sides. Toward the rear of the ship, the raised deck at the stern looked like it housed special cabins for people like the prince and his staff.
“That’s Princess Allura,” said Sir Layton, pointing to the ship. He came up beside Lanzzie on his horse and dismo
unted as he spoke. “She was Valorian’s wife. That’s the original figurehead, fully restored.”
Lanzzie was captivated by its magnificence and couldn’t believe she was face to face with the historic carved out image of the stunning Allura. She glanced over at Fin, Pallu, and Ellie, who seemed to be in awe, just as she was.
The other two ships had been constructed with a light maple wood and were smaller ships, but they were still overwhelmingly impressive. Lanzzie noticed a group of men pulling the gangplank away that led to the Willow, so that ship must have been fully loaded. The only gangplanks still in place led up to the Valorian and the Arboran.
She resumed searching the crowd for Ezstasia but an older man startled her by grabbing Jewel’s reins. She looked up and realized she was the only one still sitting on her rabbit. She saw Randin and Zander run up to some of her friends who were staring at the ships. She dismounted and handed the reins over, watching as a group of men led their rabbits through the crowd toward the Arboran.
Lanzzie walked toward her friends and heard them begin to say goodbye to one another. She hurried to catch up and do the same. Once she approached them, Randin was hugging Zander tearfully. She looked around once more for Ezstasia. She felt heartbroken when she realized that there still wasn’t any sign of her. She didn’t want to give up.
“Excuse me, Miss Lanzzie,” said Ellie, as she meekly tapped Lanzzie on the shoulder. Lanzzie turned toward her and Pallu.
“I want to promise you,” said Ellie, “that Pallu and I won’t give up until we find your sister. We’ll look everywhere if we have to.”
“That’s right, Lanz,” said Pallu. “Ellie and I will find her.”
Lanzzie felt grateful for the two of them and hugged them both. Even though she was worried sick, their dedication had surprisingly brought her a small amount of comfort.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am that my friends are going to the actual Magiclands,” said Pallu. He looked out again at the docks. “Can you believe those ships!? They’re massive! You know, you may even be able to spot Ezstasia from the ship.”
