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

by Gibbs, S. R.

  “Thanks, Angie. That makes me feel a whole lot better,” April said with a hint of a smile.

  “I guess that settles it. Let’s go exploring," Angie instructed, taking off her long snow coat. “What? I am not going anywhere with that heavy hot thing on my back."

  She did have a point, I thought as I began to remove my own scarf and coat.

  “You’re not going to take off your coat?” I asked April when I saw she still had hers on.

  “I think I am good. I want to keep anything that ties me closer to Earth, and my sanity."

  Understanding exactly what she meant, we soon all agreed to stay on the path so we didn’t get lost.

  For thirty minutes, all I could see was grass and many flowers. It was like a sea of many colors. The flowers varied from roses to daisies; some of them were in colors I had never seen before. It was breathtaking.

  The sudden sound of footsteps alerted us to the fact, that we were no longer alone. Before we could react, a group of heavily armored people began to ambush us.

  The glare coming off their shiny armor nearly blinded me as they surrounded us. My eyes quickly adjusted, allowing me to see that the men were carrying giant bows and arrows, which they were pointing directly at us.

  “I hate being right,” Angie whispered shakily

  “How did you get into the royal gardens?” said a deep booming voice coming from the tallest person in the group with the biggest bow.

  These were telltale signs to me that this person had to be the one in charge.

  I turned toward Angie and April, not sure what to do. Almost simultaneously, we slowly backed away from the armed people closest to us.

  “Do not move, or we will be forced to harm you!” The one in charge announced aloud, signaling something to the others with him.

  “We don’t want trouble; we just want to know how to get back home,” April explained, taking a step toward him with her hands up.

  I was soon taken back to this morning’s dodge ball incident; I could hear the release of the arrow that was pointed at April, but unlike earlier, time did not stop.

  April’s screaming awakened me from my déjà vu moment. Angie hurriedly removed April’s jacket to try to see the wound; the arrow had deeply grazed her side, staining red the lower right side of her Tweety bird shirt she was wearing. I attempted to slow down the bleeding by using the belt to April’s coat as a bandage.

  “That was a warning shot,” the tall man said, putting another arrow in his bow. “Next time, I will not miss.”

  “Are you all out of your minds?” Angie yelled at the steel-clad people, but her eyes were only on the one guy that had shot at April. “We only want to know how to get out of here, and you shoot at us!”

  “Unless you want to meet the same fate as your friend, I suggest you stay where you are,” the man warned, aiming his bow and arrow at Angie.

  “Oh, are you going to shoot me, too?” Angie asked, walking forward with her hands out on either side of her as if asking him to shoot her.

  She really needs to work on her anger issues.

  “Angie! Get back here!” I yelled, trying to stop her before it was too late.

  Once again, I heard the release of the arrow before I saw it. There was no time to blink, since it happened so fast.

  As soon as the arrow became free from the bow, the air around Angie heated up and the arrow instantly caught on fire moments away from piercing Angie’s heart.

  Everyone stared in amazement at the flaming arrow now lying on the ground at Angie’s feet. The once silent group surrounding us began to stir as they shouted words such as beasts, minions, and vixens.

  Before long, they all started to release their arrows at all of us. The air around Angie became stifling once again as every arrow that came toward us burst into flames. Angie did not move or say a word, but we all knew that she was somehow responsible for what was happening.

  The men finally stopped their firing as a giant shadow passed overhead. Seconds later, a giant bird swiftly landed in front of Angie, as if signaling them to stop their attack on us, and it wasn’t just any bird; it was the strange peacock that led us to this place.

  “We need that bird to be able to go back home,” April exclaimed.

  A commotion coming from the group of people surrounding us pulled my attention away from the creature that led us here.

  I became a little confused when I saw a tiny old man wearing a long ragged robe with a black sash around his waist, swinging a gold crooked cane that was taller than him while pushing his way through the group toward us.

  As the elderly man came closer, his face contorted with anger when he saw the makeshift binding I had made for April’s wound.

  “What have you brutes done?” the elderly man exclaimed, hitting the tall guy in charge in the back of the head with his cane, surprising everyone, including the other armored men.

  “Elder Nolin, you don’t understand. These females are intruders and could be in an alliance with the queen,” the tall man replied.

  “I’m sorry, but we do not know anything about what’s going on here. We came here to find someone to help us return home,” I told the old man.

  “Do not act innocent now. You should have told your friend there to control herself if you wanted us to believe that you have come here in peace,” the man accused, pointing his finger at Angie.

  “You started it first. You tried to kill us. Did you forget about that?” Angie shouted, apparently ready for round two.

  “Leo, you need to learn how to control that attitude of yours,” Nolin muttered hitting him again so hard that his helmet flew off of his head.

  Being able to see Leo without the helmet made it clear that he could not be much older than I was. Standing over six feet tall, with thick eyebrows, long dark hair tied into a high ponytail, and intense almond-shaped brown eyes that hinted at an Asian descent, he looked every bit the part of a fierce warrior.

  His one redeeming factor was the youthfulness in his eyes, which not even the scowl on his tan face could hide.

  Leo’s abuse caused a few people in his group to laugh, which he quickly quieted with one paralyzing glance their way.

  “I do apologize for the treatment you have received,” Nolin said before using his cane to get down on his knees to bow before us. “Please accept this old man’s apology.”

  “What are you doing Nolin?” Leo asked, trying to lift the old man up. “Have you finally gone completely mad?”

  “You should be showing your respects and apologizing also, Leo, or should I say captain? Don’t you realize that you are in the presence of the dragon warriors?” he replied, still on his knees bowed forward.

  This announcement caused everyone around us to drop down to their knees, except for Leo, who just stared at us with suspicion… well, mostly Angie.

  “What have you done to bewitch our elder?” Leo asked, glaring at Angie as if he wanted to attack her… again.

  “Why do you blame me? I didn’t do anything! We only want to go home!” Angie countered loudly. “That bird over there led us here!”

  A look of guilt quickly replaced the mask of anger on Leo’s face as we were witnesses to a red dragon shape tattoo appearing around Angie’s neck like a necklace for a moment, only to disappear again.

  “Please forgive me,” Leo pleaded as he dropped down to his knees. “We were not expecting the dragon warriors to be...females.”

  “Dragon warriors?” I asked, causing Leo to look up at us curiously.

  “Everything will be explained at your celebration tonight,” Nolin replied walking toward the castle while motioning for us to follow him.

  The group that was once attacking us was now scurrying to make a way for us to get through. Without any other plan, we huddled together and followed Nolin. Only Leo and two other guards began to walk behind us as we headed closer to the castle.

  “I don’t trust him,” Angie whispered nodding her head back in Leo’s direction.

&nbs
p; “Me neither,” April agreed holding her side as she walked.

  “I don’t trust anyone here,” I confided low enough so only they could hear. “I just want to find a way for us to return home.”

  Angie and April both grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently, just to let me know that we had each other

  “Are you in a lot of pain?” I asked April after noticing the amount of blood on her shirt.

  “That’s odd,” April replied, stopping in midstride. “Actually, it doesn’t hurt at all anymore.”

  April began to undo the blood-soaked belt from around her waist hurriedly, only to reveal a green dragon shaped tattoo underneath, but unlike the one that appeared on Angie, April’s did not disappear immediately.

  Angie and I were both amazed as we stood as witnesses as the wound on April’s side slowly closed up and then vanished altogether, taking the strange tattoo with it.

  “Please tell me I didn’t see what I think I’ve seen,” April said in a small unsteady voice.

  “I could say you were just hallucinating from the pain, but that wouldn’t explain what I just saw,” Angie replied with her eyes still fixated on April’s unmarred side.

  “It was exactly what we saw appear on your neck when you were arguing with that Leo guy,” I told Angie.

  “This is excellent. No incredible!” Nolin bellowed beside April. “That, my dears, is the power of the Dragon Warriors; it is still weak compared to what it will be.”

  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

  ◑ April ◐

  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 o
f 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.