Finally, the maiden looked forward.
“Niv?” Ajax blurted out, surprised.
Prince Blake look startled. “You know my betrothed?” he enquired, clearly taken off guard.
Ajax stood there, dumbfounded. Had the Prince just called her his betrothed? Niv was too young to get married.
Nivara smiled. “It's a pleasure to see you again, Ajax.” Then she turned to the Prince. “Ajax was my neighbor growing up; we saw each other from time to time.”
“Oh,” the Prince replied, relaxing.
“When is the big day?” Ajax asked, wondering if it sounded as crazy to them as it did to him.
“Not for a few years,” the Prince said. “We are both still young, and there are things Nivara has to learn.” He looked at her and smiled encouragingly. “And we need to get to know each other.”
“Yes,” Niv said awkwardly. “Our parents just finished arranging it. The engagement was only announced yesterday. It still feels a little strange.”
“Yes, well,” Prince Blake explained, “I came to see the portal and show it to Nivara. Although we have to be quick. We snuck away from our chaperones.” He rolled his eyes. “But I figured, what better way to start getting acquainted than learning about the secrets of our kingdom together?”
Ajax kept staring at Niv, who was avoiding eye contact. At least now their conversation from last night made a little more sense. It was still shocking to think his best friend was not just engaged but was to be wed to the Prince. They could never be alone together again now that she was engaged, let alone to royalty. It would be improper and could ruin a young maiden’s reputation.
“Ajax?” the Prince said again.
Snapping out of his trance, Ajax turned to the tree. “Of course, right this way. Only don't get too close.”
“I’ve fought bears and mountain lions. A few black waves don’t scare me,” the Prince laughed cockily.
Ajax froze. “Of course, Your Highness. I didn't mean—” he began.
The Prince waved his hand. “I’m just teasing.”
Ajax walked them around to the side of the tree that held the portal.
“It isn't comparable to anything I've ever seen,” the Prince mentioned as he gazed into the black rolling waves.
Niv stepped closer, but still made sure to keep her distance. “It really exists,” she said, stunned. “It just sounds like something from a fairytale.” She turned back to Ajax. “So, your job is to guard it?”
Before he could respond, the Prince answered for him. “Yes, Ajax here is offering a fine service to our kingdom, and we are in his debt. He spent the last two years training, learning how to fight. He will do an excellent job protecting the portal,” the Prince rattled off as if giving a prepared speech.
“Two years,” Niv repeated, more to herself than to anyone in particular. The Prince moved to depart, but Niv stayed, staring at Ajax. “What is that?” she asked Ajax, looking strangely at him.
He turned around to see what she was pointing to. “What?” he questioned, forgetting for a moment that his medallion did strange things as he drew closer to the portal.
Prince Blake walked back towards them, hearing the discussion.
“There's some kind of...light,” she said hesitantly. “It's coming from under your shirt.” She pointed towards his chest.
The Prince looked at Ajax. “What is that?”
“It's nothing; solely the sunlight playing tricks on your eyes,” Ajax replied, moving away.
“No, it's not,” the Prince argued.
“It's nothing,” Ajax repeated, stepping backward.
The Prince stepped forward, the black swirling portal behind him.
“Ajax Maxwell, I know we have become friendlier over the last couple of years, but I am still your Prince. I demand you stop moving.”
“Let's just go,” Niv insisted, seeing the discomfort this was causing her friend.
Ajax stood. What else could he do? He wondered if they would ever accept his story as the truth, or if they'd merely cut off his hand and brand him as a thief.
Prince Blake reached for the medallion.
Suddenly some sort of force exploded from the medallion in a burst of light, knocking the Prince backward and Nivara off her feet.
“Are you alright?” Ajax asked, rushing to aid Niv. He pulled her up and they looked around.
“Where is the Prince?” Ajax asked, alarmed.
Niv wobbled slightly as a rush of vertigo came over her. “I don't see him...Prince Blake!” she called as she hunted around the vicinity.
Ajax started walking around the tree, searching in the woodland near them. “Did he leave?” he enquired.
Niv shook her head. “He wouldn't have departed without me.”
“Maybe he was so angry—” Ajax began.
Niv stopped. “What did you do?” she accused him. She took a few deliberate steps away from him, as if just now remembering what had occurred.
Ajax pointed at himself. “Me? I didn't do anything.” He took a step towards her.
“Stay away from me,” she demanded, scurrying back a few more feet. “What is that around your neck?” Niv asked, pointing to the medallion that was now glowing brighter than it ever had.
Ajax took it off his neck. “I don't know. I think it was protecting me.” He held it in his hand and examined it.
“Protecting you? What is it?” Niv asked again, still keeping her distance.
“It's a long story. You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” Ajax replied, shaking his head.
“Let's say you give it a go. After all I've seen, who knows.”
He let out a deep sigh. “Alright. Could you at least try to pretend you're not terrified of me?” he requested, his eyes pleading.
Niv took a step forward cautiously. “I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of that.”
“Okay. Fine. Remember when you saw me at the library?” he confirmed.
She nodded.
“Well, that's where this whole mess started.” He explained to her about the oath, the peculiar round door, and the secret room. Then he told her about the amulet and about how it haunted him.
“What if it is evil?” Niv wondered when he was finished. “Have you even considered that? You find it and then it won't leave you alone. You can't separate yourself from it and now look. Where is the Prince?”
He slipped the medallion back over his head. “I don't know how to explain it, but I don't feel evil when I touch it. I believe it was protecting me.” He looked around and lowered his voice as if someone might be listening. “And I think I know where Prince Blake is.”
Niv glimpsed behind her and then leaned a little closer to him. “Why are we whispering?”
He went back to his normal tone. “I don't know. I guess because of what I'm about to suggest.” He waited for a moment. “I believe the Prince went through the portal.”
Niv studied him, trying to gauge whether or not he was being serious. “What? No, he couldn't have,” she disagreed.
“Well, either he left you, I incinerated him with my pendant, or he went through the portal,” Ajax explained, counting out the options on his fingers. “The first you say is impossible, the second I'd rather not consider or I am a dead man...” he paused letting it sink in, “or he is in the portal. Which means I have to go after him,” Ajax said, staring at the swirling vortex.
Niv stood up and grabbed him by the arm. “Wait. What? No, you can't enter. The Prince told me no one has ever returned.”
“No one yet, but I have to try,” he insisted. “Someone needs to bring your future husband home,” he added awkwardly. “Why didn't you tell me? Are you really going to marry him?”
Niv hit him hard in the arm.
“Ow,” Ajax whined.
“Why didn’t I tell you? As if you are in any position to judge me about keeping secrets.” She looked towards the portal. “You simply disappeared. I didn't lay eyes on you for two years. Things were arranged. I worked in the
palace for a while and then Prince Blake took an interest in me, so I stopped working there and started coming back with other select maidens. We were interviewed and observed as tasks were set for us to complete. It wasn’t decided that I was the one who would wed the Prince until a few days ago. The King thought the ball would be the perfect place for the announcement.”
“So you want to marry him?” he asked.
“When the Crown Prince wants to start seeing you, it's not really something you can say no to,” Niv said as if the answer should be obvious.
He stepped closer to her. “Isn’t it weird?”
She smacked him across the arm.
“Why are you hitting me?” he complained.
Niv stepped back, and sat down on a fallen log. “Of course it’s strange. It is an odd feeling for both of us. I always imagined falling in love one day and then getting married. Hopefully we will get to that point. Right now we are just strangers. At least it won’t be for a few years. I have to be groomed to become a princess, and during that time we will court and maybe fall in love,” she explained, although it seemed like she was trying to convince herself more than Ajax.
“I’m sorry Niv. I don’t like this. You should get to take your time and fall in love naturally and not be forced into a marriage.” Ajax shrugged.
“There are bigger things at stake. But at least now that our secrets are out, we can try being friends again.”
“It won’t be the same,” Ajax lamented.
Nivara nodded. “I know,” she agreed, “but at least it’s all out in the open now.”
They both sat together in silence, neither saying a word. It felt good to have his friend back, even if it wouldn’t last forever.
Nivara finally turned back around. “Do you suppose he's really in there?” She motioned to the swirling blackness.
“I wish I didn't, but yes, it’s the only option that makes any sense.” He stood up and walked around the tree to retrieve his satchel. “Tell my parents where I went. I don't want them to imagine even for a second that another son left them,” Ajax said as he moved towards the tree.
“Wait, you can't go in there. Especially not alone,” Niv protested.
He walked back over to her and gently rubbed the side of her arm. “Niv, what do you think the King will do to me when he finds out the Prince came here and I did something, and now he has vanished?”
“I don't know. We can explain it to him.”
“Look, I barely believe all this and it happened to me.” He started to leave.
She grabbed his arm, holding on tight. “We won't tell him.”
Ajax shook his head. “You may have snuck away from your chaperones, but they know you were together. I don't want you implicated for this. Once the King realizes his son is gone, who knows what state he will be in or how rational his judgments will be. I have to enter the portal.”
“Just wait.”
He paused.
“Ok, fine, then we go together,” she announced.
Ajax grabbed Niv by both shoulders and pushed her away from him. “No way! I don't even know if I will survive traveling into the portal, and what's on the other side is anybody’s guess. You are definitely not coming,” he said firmly.
“It's like you said. Who is going to believe me? If I show up at the palace without the Prince, the suspicion will fall on me,” Niv replied. “And besides, you are not in charge of me. You can’t forbid me from entering behind you,” she added tersely.
“No, absolutely not.” He shook his head vigorously. “Blame it on me. Make something up. The Prince can set things straight if we return.”
Niv balked. “I am not going to lie to the King.”
“Just go—hide out at my house,” Ajax suggested. He knew he was grasping at straws but he couldn't put Niv in danger. Having her come with him was dangerous; leaving her here was dangerous too. At least they knew the perils here. Going through the portal was a mystery.
“Fine,” Niv said.
Ajax looked surprised. “You'll stay.”
She nodded, then she motioned over to a rock that Ajax had left his belonging by. “Take your lantern with you too. Just in case.”
“Good idea,” Ajax agreed. He headed over to retrieve it and as soon as he passed her, Niv bolted towards the portal and stepped through.
“No!” Ajax shouted, running after her. He was too late, she had disappeared. Why had he been so stupid? Nivara wasn’t the type of young lady to sit things out. He should have known it was a trick. Prohibiting Niv from doing anything was the fastest way to get her to do it. She had been headstrong since the moment he met her.
“There is no going back now,” he said out loud to himself before taking a giant, deliberate step into the blackness.
Chapter VII
Going through the portal was disorienting. Ajax stepped into it and then immediately felt the sensation that he was falling. It only lasted a few moments and then, splash!
The momentum from the fall carried him deep under the water. He kicked and stroked frantically to the surface, sputtering and coughing as his head breached the top. The water had caught him by surprise. He hadn't had to swim particularly far to get to the surface, but having not known he was about to be submerged he had inhaled a huge mouthful of water upon entry.
It was dark all around him as he struggled to catch his breath. He couldn't make out his hand in front of his face and had no idea which direction to swim in. Suddenly he was roughly pulled out of the water and tossed onto a hard surface. He coughed a few more times and tried to sit up. The floor rocked beneath him, and Ajax realized he was on a ship of some sort.
“Well, what have we got ourselves here?” a grizzly voice asked. “Spots, shine a little light over here, will you?”
Something buzzed by Ajax's ear and then a small but exceptionally bright light shined in his face.
He put up his hand, attempting to shield the beam from his eyes.
“It's a man,” someone called out.
Someone prodded him with a stick.
“Hey!” Ajax exclaimed, swatting it away.
“What were you doing out in the middle of Death Lake at this hour?”
Death Lake, that sounds promising, Ajax thought to himself.
“I'm looking for my friend,” Ajax answered. “Have you seen anyone else? Did anyone else fall?”
“Shut him up,” another voice called. “Get him down below.”
Something covered Ajax's face and then he was grabbed forcefully and carried to another location. He felt as if he were going down stairs. He was flung unceremoniously into a chair, and the hood was yanked off his head. He rubbed the back of his arm, where he had been gripped too tightly. It was dark in this new place too.
Slowly a lamp was lit, giving a little light to the area.
A rhinoceros stood at the head of a table, wearing a pair of striped trousers and suspenders without a shirt. He leaned forward. “How did you come here?”
Ajax scooted back in his chair, looking around the table. He must have really experienced a lot in the past week because the talking rhinoceros didn't amaze him as much as he felt it should.
“Are you in charge?” Ajax guessed, blinking his eyes rapidly, trying to accustom them to the dimness in the room.
“I'm asking the questions here.” The rhino pounded the table, making it jump.
Ajax held his hands up in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner. “Look, I don't want any trouble. I'm not from this...” Was it a world, realm, country? “I'm not from here. I merely want to find my companions and return home.”
The animal leaned forward and snorted. “Where you from? The Never Ending Night, the Slumbering Forests, the Menacing Mountains of Rafa?” the rhinoceros demanded, rattling off a list of destinations.
Ajax sat there in silence. Would it be better to simply pick a place? Would they believe him if he told them that he traveled here from another world? “I'm from the slumbering mountain of endless night,” he
said.
The rhino looked behind him and then turned back, his face looking even more ominous than before. He reached behind his back and pulled out a gigantic ax, the blade gleaming in red.
Ajax hoped it wasn't from blood. His mind was racing. Not sure what else to do, he pulled out his amulet, stood up, and yelled, “Stay back!”
The rhino froze. “He's a sorcerer.” He lowered the ax slowly and stepped back.
A buzzing sound came from back of the room, and then an enormous ladybug landed a few feet in front of Ajax. It was about the size of a small cantaloupe and seemed to have the capability of glowing, like the lightning bugs back home.
“We don't want any trouble,” the insect replied. “I'm Spots, and this is my ship and my crew. If you had told us you were a sorcerer to begin with, things would have gone a lot more smoothly,” Spots offered as he fidgeted with a wing he couldn't seem to get to lay the way he wanted. “I didn’t even realize there were any more of you left.”
“Look, I just want to find my friends; I assume they may have fallen into the lake as I did, only a few minutes prior to me,” Ajax explained calmly, lowering the medallion back under his shirt.
Humming to himself, Spots turned and looked at the rhinoceros. “Leave us. Shut the door and keep the crew busy; we have work to finish,” the bug commanded.
The animal glared once more at Ajax and then departed.
“You came through the portal?” Spots exclaimed in a low whisper.
At the insect’s astonishment, Ajax wasn't sure he should confirm it.
The gigantic ladybug walked around in a circle. “It's fine, you don't have to answer. It's probably safer that way. There is a high reward offered to anyone who finds a portal jumper,” the bug explained.
Ajax slowly reached towards his medallion.
“Whoa, kid, relax. I'm not going to turn you in. But your friends are in trouble if they end up being found by the wrong people. If they landed in the lake then they would be dead by now if they weren’t picked up like you were. Death Lake gets its name for a reason.” Spots paused. “It’s toxic to mammals. Anything that stays in the water more than five minutes wouldn’t survive.”
The Portal Keeper (The Keeper Chronicles Book 1) Page 7
