Protector of the Enchanted

“Who are you?” I ask, the question slipping out of my mouth without hesitation.

 

An enigmatic smile crosses her face, an almost silent chuckle carried over by the wind as she answers, “You have asked me that before.”

 

That’s unexpected. What could she mean? My head unconsciously tilts slightly to the side, eyes flicking over her. “I don’t remember ever meeting you before.”

 

“You would not.” Her wings flutter slightly, “But no matter, in time you shall remember.” What kind of cryptic answer is that?

 

Before I can voice my confusion, Ryan beats me to it. “You still haven’t answered her question.” The cold edge to his voice has me turning towards him to inspect his face. His eyes seem to have hardened, the sapphire shade turning an icy blue under the moonlight. A shaky sigh draws my attention back to the glowing women amidst us, the nonchalant stance from before now shaken.

 

“I am afraid that I cannot answer that question…” She’s cut off by the icy rage seeping out of my companion’s direction. “Or maybe,” she tries again, “I can. I am Tatiana.”

 

“As in…” I have a weird feeling about this. The name’s unfamiliar, but reminds of another one.

 

“Queen of the faeries? Yes, that is quite right. It is a pleasure to once again make your acquaintance.” The smile on her face tells me she’s being sincere, and yet…

 

“What do you mean ‘again’?” When I receive no answer, I shake my head sighing. What is it with people and not giving answers? “Fine. Be cryptic.”

 

“Why did you lead us here?” Ryan asks, the tone of his voice reflecting the tension in his muscles.

 

“I only meant to lead the princess here.” She states matter-of-factly.

 

“Why?” Ignoring the princess part is probably best for my sanity. I know Gem mentioned it too, but the jury’s still out on that particular aspect.

 

“Why?” A small, almost mischievous smile makes its way onto her lips. “To help you with your quest of course.”

 

“How much do you know?” My companion asks breaking the silence after her statement.

 

“I know what you are looking for.” She states, “And it will not be an easy task.”

 

“Yes, well, that part is blatantly obvious.” He grits his teeth. “How are going to help?”

 

She forgoes a verbal answer, instead choosing to hold her hand out in front of her, eyes fluttering closed. It is only when a scroll of parchment appears in my hands, that I realise what she was doing. Right. Magic.

 

“That parchment should help you find your way.” The woman, Tatiana, whispers.

 

“And will this way lead to anything but despair?” Ryan’s clipped words interrupt the gratitude on the tip of my tongue. My mouth clicks shut, eyes widening at the hostility in his tone.

 

“Rest assured warrior, this will not be like the last time.”

 

“It better not.”

 

Despite the rudeness of interrupting my words, confusion is the emotion lingering in my mind. Why do I feel like they’re hiding something from me? As if there’s something I should know. It’s frustrating. No matter how hard I will my mouth, the words won’t come out. Looking over, I see the light glow over Tatiana’s hands and immediately realise the cause of my predicament. Magic. Right.

 

Glaring must have some impact, as the confounding argument seems to come to a halt. Two heads simultaneously turn in my direction, eyes widening before apologetic expressions take their place.

 

“Sorry.”

 

The glare stays. I point a finger to my mouth. Tatiana sighs, “Apologies, but that particular question I will not answer.”

 

“Why not?” Oh good. At least the stupid faerie didn’t pull an Ursula on me.

 

No answer. Then, “I’m afraid there is somewhere else I need to be.” She lifts an arm up into the air. “Goodbye. I hope you both find the happiness you deserve this time.” Then, as quick as she appeared, she vanishes in ball of light.

 

She ran away. That stupid cryptic faerie ran away because she didn’t want to answer my question! Leaving nothing but sparkles in the grass, and more questions than answers. The frustration must have been obvious. Because the next thing I know, there’s a warm hand patting the top of my head.

 

It’s strangely comforting. The tension in my muscles fade away, as I look into his eyes, which slowly return to a softened sapphire state. The corners of his lips rise into a content smile, the tension leaving his body. I find myself reflecting the smile.

 

Loud rustling of trees is what breaks us out our reverie. It takes several blinks before I completely come back to myself. What just happened?

 

“Shall we go?” Ryan questions yet does not leave time for me to answer before he takes the hand not holding the scroll in his.

 

It’s strange. “Alright.” I answer closing my hand around his and letting him lead us back. It’s such a strange feeling. Yet…Why don’t I hate it?

 

Wild footsteps rushed through the woods, frantic hands clutching onto the object in his hands. Every once in a while, a glance was thrown back to make sure that there weren’t any pursuers. No predators lurking in the shadows, biding their time, looking for the perfect opportunity to attack. However, he knew that no being would be able to outdo the horror that he had escaped from.

 

Sorrowful screams haunted him as he fled, the towering trees feeling like the claws of a vengeful witch. The moon above seemed to taunt him with its light, as if laughing at him for his cowardice. Damn them! There wasn’t much he could have done. He was not the only one consumed with greed, not the only one who had fled without a second thought.

 

Clutching at the artifact between his arms seemed the best way to keep the self-loathing at bay. However, this also meant that the other lingering fear made its way up to the surface. The fear that all that he’d worked for would be taken away from him in the blink of an eye. The very fear that fuelled the wary glances and frantic movement into an unknown area. It consumed him so deeply that he didn’t have time to avoid the root that had him falling to his face.

 

Dirt covered every inch of his body, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. His hands manically searched for the cloth wrapped treasure he’d dropped during the fall. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when he found it. He looked around for a moment to make sure there was no one around before continuing his original objective.

 

It didn’t take very much longer for him to reach the castle. Although, the waves hitting the cliffside were deafening. So much so that he’d almost dropped the treasure from the bridge, only a reflex stopping it from being lost in the ocean. The scare had only made him cling onto the object more tightly.

 

He finally released a sigh of relief when he’d reached the throne room. He treated the clothed object as if it were a newborn child, taking care when removing the cloth from it. His eyes sparkled with satisfaction as he lay it upon the throne, before scrunching his nose at the amount of dirt on his body. Not wanting to be seen in such a humiliating state, he rushed to bathe, leaving a glowing golden trident on the throne.

 

“Where the ocean meets the land, buried by the hands of time, it lays upon a throne across the sand, in a castle now not worth a dime. Where once there was a shining city of riches, there only lays a drenched abyss. To find it, the entrance must be reached. A test of endurance and skill.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gem calls out, her cheeks puffing up in frustration. We’d woken them up to tell them about our progress, which was easy as they hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

 

“It seems like a riddle.” Cylen contributes.

 

I ponder that for a moment, “No… I don’t think it is.”

 

“What else could it be?”

 

“Well,” I start, “It seems more like a cryptic poem than anything else.”

 

“That could still be a riddle.” Ryan points out, his eyes meeting mine.

 

“I suppose,” I don’t break contact. “But I just have a feeling that it’s more straight-forward than that.” A strange sort of look once again crosses his face.

 

“Whatever it may be,” Gem cuts in before anything else could be said. “Will need to wait until tomorrow. It will be much easier to make sense of in the morning.”

 

It was agreed that we should get some sleep, but just as I am about to roll up the scroll again, something falls out. Bending down, I hold it at eyesight to examine. It looks like a giant purple stone.

“Anyone know what this is?” I ask, holding it up for them to examine.

 

“Looks like a teleportation stone.” Cylen answers.

 

“It should have a way of making it work.” Gem states, “You need a different one depending on the destination.” I tilt my head, how are we supposed to figure out what that was?

 

“There is something written on the stone.” Ryan points to the other side of the stone.

 

I turn it around to see only two words, “See scroll.”

 

“Oh!” exclaims Gem, “That means there might be a spell for making it work in the scroll.” There is. I carefully tuck the stone back into the piece of rolled up parchment.

 

“You’re right.” I tell her. “But let’s worry about that tomorrow.”

 

A content sigh escapes my mouth as I snuggle into the makeshift bed, the parchment lying next to my sword. It was still such a confusing world but having Storm Cleaver in reach somehow made it feel better. It makes me feel safe.

 

Although that may also be because of the unusual man lying on the other side of the tent. I shake my head a little.  That is something to be considered when I’ve had more sleep. So, I give my aching muscles what they need.

 

Floating. I somehow find myself floating over a marbled hallway. There are doors as far as I can see, differentiated by the colour and the symbol of on the knob. However, what draws my attention is the colossal door that stands at the end of the hallway.

 

Where all the other doors had small symbols, this one is very different. On the door is a sword with a crown of roses around it, vines reaching into space, small symbols adorning the thorns. It makes me scrunch my face as it creates a faint feeling of recognition in the back of my mind. I just can’t place what.

 

Suddenly, I find myself moving towards it, as if compelled by an invisible force. My footsteps stop just before the door, not able to take another step closer. Looking closer, I find that it’s unlocked, no physical barrier in sight. However, my gut wrenches at the idea of stepping through. I’m just not ready.

 

With no logical explanation, I know without a doubt that I’m not ready to go through the door just yet. With just as much certainty, a feeling builds that it won’t be much longer before I am ready. It’s so strange. I have no idea where those feelings came from.

 

Out of sheer desperation, a hand goes up to touch the doorknob, the first touch causing a tremor through my entire body, or soul. “Remember.” A voice suspiciously like my own reverberates through my mind. “You need to remember.”

 

The force becomes stronger until I find myself starting to lose consciousness in my dream. Trying to let go causes my soul to be flung back across the hallway.

 

Desperate gasps escape my lips as I’m jolted awake, a hand going up to my chest in an effort to calm my frantic heart. What was that? The wild thumping in my ears is all I can focus on, as it slowly begins to calm.

 

“Are you alright?” A canteen of water is held in front of my face, a worried expression on Gem’s face. I nod, still feeling disoriented and not trusting my voice to be steady. Gem doesn’t ask any more questions, though I can see that she wants to, instead choosing to begin packing up the bedsheets.

 

Turning to the side, I can only see a pile of bedsheets. Where?

 

“He’s outside, helping Cylen pack up.” The question must have shown on my face.

 

I once again nod, getting out of the sheets to help her pack. As we’re folding up the tent, I notice something in my periphery. There a meter from the tent is a patch of burnt grass. Weirder still, it seems to have appeared overnight. Unconsciously, my hand makes its way to the sword hanging from my hip, eyes going to the scroll safely tucked into the side of my duffle.

 

Once everything has been packed up and loaded onto the wagon, we gather in the ridge connecting the horses to the wagon. Without a word, I pull out the scroll, unfurling it all the way to reveal the words that would apparently take us to our first location.

 

The stone rests on the ground between us as I read out the words, “To a world, to a time, it is but a fragmented memory. Where it will lead is the start of a new journey.”

 

Pure light clouds my vision as the last word slips from my lips, the ground rumbling underneath my feet, horses neighing frantically. Then, suddenly, I find myself standing on sand. My first instinct is not to look around but calm the noble beasts that were brought along with us.

 

Well, at least we didn’t leave anything behind. There really should have been a warning for this thing.

 

When I finally do survey my surroundings, my eyes widen at the sight. Looking to the side, there are towers of jagged stone columns laying on the beach. Behind us sits a humongous cliff, casting a shadow over the ocean.

 

“Is that where we are supposed to go?” I ask, pointing to the broken fragments of a bridge on the beach.

 

“To the broken fragments?” Cylen questions, only to be smacked on the back of his head by Gem. “Ow.”

 

“No, I think she means into the ocean.”

 

“I do.” I clarify.

 

“Oh.”

 

“Well,” Ryan grins, “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”