Protector of the Enchanted

“But where are we going?” Gem asks.

 

“I have no clue.” I reply, a grin spreading on my face.

 

Ryan shakes his head, “Me neither.”

 

“Maybe the horses know where we’re going.” Cylen suggests. We all turn to stare at him. “What?” He exclaims, “We did get here using a magic scroll.”

 

“Makes sense.” I admit, I guess crazier things have happened.

 

The man beside me snorts in amusement, “I can’t believe we’re following horses now.”

 

“Let’s get in the carriage.” Gem says as she opens the door and climbs in, “If he’s right, the horses will move on their own.”

 

Evidently, they did. As soon as we sat down, the carriage started moving along the road. I have to admit that this carriage is a lot more comfortable than the wagon was. I am seated across from Cylen, Gem seated directly diagonal as she stares out the window. Next to me, Ryan seems to be lost in his own thoughts as he leans to look out the window on the other side.

 

Looking out of my window, I see trees and mountains in the horizon, the horses leading us in an unknown direction. Somehow the experience is kind of similar to a car ride, the only difference being that no one is driving. How do the horses know where to go? A question that I’ve asked myself multiple times in the past few minutes but have found no answer except the magic that has been shown to me.

 

Strange that not so long ago I would have thought that the very existence of magic is a ludicrous concept, an opinion I’ve been made to reconsider several times over. There are so many strange things in this world, how they seem so familiar yet so different from what I’ve known for most of my life.

 

The silence in the carriage leaves room for other thoughts to creep in, unearthing the things I’ve pushed to the back of my mind. Like that door in my dream, the feeling that I wasn’t ready to walk through it, and the question of when I would be. Curiosity compels me to want to open it, to go through and discover what’s hidden in my mind, but I can’t bring myself to do it.

 

Silence like the one I’m in now isn’t something I’m used to; in fact, I can’t remember a time where I’ve been able to look out a window in a peaceful atmosphere. In my foster homes there was always the underlying anticipation of when I would be abandoned and placed back in the system.

 

At school, the only silence around me was when we had to do an exam, which was more stressful than peaceful. Just being able to relax and not worry is a luxury that I’ve never been granted. Not when my own thoughts often don’t let me be less than on edge.

 

Sneaking a glance at my companions, I find that they are lost in their own thoughts, with Gem leaning on Cylen’s shoulder. Friends. That’s another thing I’ve never quite had. Not really. I wonder, can people who are only in your life for a brief period of time even be considered as friends?

 

Some would say that it’s sad that I’m alone, but I’ve always preferred it that way/ Why should I grow attached to something I’m bound to lose? Which is why it unsettles me how much I’m growing attached to the people in this carriage, who I haven’t even known for much longer than a month. Although sometimes I get an odd sense it might be longer.

 

I’m afraid. I’m afraid that all of this is just some dream, or a hallucination brought on by my mind. Sometimes I think I’m going to wake up and find myself in a hospital room with doctors poking at me like I’m a lab rat. All this just seems so unreal, and yet I’ve already started to accept it.

 

I guess it’s true what they say, you can only process your thoughts when you have the peace of mind to do so. I think I’m going to believe this is real. That my cousin is not something I can dream up. Truth be told, I don’t think I could dream up people as strange as this.

 

The man beside me is a prime example of that. The first time we met he acted so strange that I didn’t want to tell him anything or reveal too much, yet I still trusted him enough to bring him along. He always tenses up at the strangest of moments and seems to have a lot of pent-up rage in his body, yet his eyes hold so much sorrow that it hurts to look at them.

 

My own reaction to him puzzles me. Against all logic I find myself relying on him and being comfortable to release my emotions.

 

So strange. Yet, I don’t particularly dislike it. In fact, it seems that I might enjoy their strangeness. I hope that they don’t leave too. Because I’m starting to wonder whether going back to that other world is truly what I want. 

 

Invitations to the ball had come the previous day and she was feeling very excited. She had decided on a whim that she would go to this ball. Even if just to spite her stepsisters, although she was well aware that wasn’t exactly what they were.

 

They shared that man’s features. The same man that she was forced to call her father. The very proof of his betrayal towards her mother, two women very close to her age.

 

She had tried to tolerate them at first. She really had. If only because she had promised her mother, she would try to forgive. However, every action they took only served to shake that resolve.

First that woman her ‘father’ forced her to call ‘stepmother’ moved into her mother’s quarters. And then she decided to throw out her mother’s belongings. The only things left in this house that held a trace of her mother were a few dresses, heirlooms left to her, and the locket that lay around her neck.

 

To make it worse, that man was always going on work trips when her mother was alive, yet with his new wife it seemed he would never leave. The only redeeming factor in his treatment was that he was not biased towards her. His conscience was sound enough that he gave her any material possession she asked for.

 

Yet there are some wounds that gifts can’t fix. The boiling rage she felt whenever he affectionately referred to her sisters grew stronger with every day. Until eventually it became too much.

 

When the servants started to rebel against her was the day, disregarding her needs for her new sisters, she decided she’d had enough. She hadn’t meant to poison him, truly she hadn’t, but how was she to know that he would drink the wine. She had only meant to make them feel the pain that she had, to lose their mother just as she’d lost hers.

 

Fortunately, she’d been able to pin the blame on a servant, who had then been punished for the crime. However, she heard that there was speculation that her stepmother had been the one to do it, she was in the room with him after all. No one would think that his ‘grieving’ daughter was the true mastermind behind the plot.

 

Honestly, she wasn’t completely heartless, she did feel some guilt but what was done was done. There was no need to dwell on the past. Unfortunately, the lack of a supporter meant they eventually had to let the staff go and do the housework themselves.

 

But all that would surely change after tonight. Another reason why she needed to get to that ball. This was a split-second decision, so the other women had already left for the night.

 

Racking her brain for a way, she wandered around their pumpkin patch, when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. A drunken woman dressed in a dark cloak was hardly an incredulous sight, but the wand in her hand was a different story.

 

‘Aha!’ she thought as a plan started to form in her mind, that was how she would get to the ball. She would simply trick the woman into doing what she wanted, which shouldn’t be hard with her current state. She ripped pieces of her dress, trying her best to look pitiful before walking into her view.

 

Taking in the scenery can only keep the mind occupied for so long. Eventually the brain becomes too bored to keep doing it. Boredom forces me to reach into the compartment to take out my phone, which miraculously still has charge left.

 

“What’s that?” Ryan asks as soon as I’m about to unlock it.

 

“It’s a phone.” I state, putting in my pin.

 

“What’s a phone?” Cylen stares at it like it’s a mystery, “Does it run on magic?”

 

A laugh escapes my mouth, “I suppose in a way it does run on magic, yet not quite.” I pause, “A phone is something from the world I lived in before I got here.”

 

“What does it do?” Ryan ignores the otherworld comment as if the existence of another world is no big deal.

 

I shrug. “Honestly, at this point, it can’t do much. In the other world it would have let me communicate with anyone I wanted or play a game to relieve my boredom. But in this one, it can’t do that.”

 

“Why not?” Gem asks, curiosity winning over her hesitance over it. Oh right, I haven’t used my phone in front of her.

 

“Because a lot of it was based on things in that world. Things that simply don’t exist in this one.” I pause. “Much like magic isn’t as present in that world.”

 

Chess hums in understanding, but the other two still seem a little confused. “What can it do in this world?”

 

I feel a grin creep onto my face. “Why don’t I just show you? Come closer.”

 

They only hesitate for a second before obeying. “Ok now stay still.” I put the camera on selfie mode before taking a picture and showing it to them.

 

“Wow…It’s like an instant painting.” Cylen is very awed by my phone. I don’t know why. I would imagine they’d have something similar in this world. Maybe it’s more to do with the size.

 

Mischief makes my head turn to Ryan, “Alright, now grin very wide.”

 

“Why?” He looks somewhat bewildered at the request as I turn the camera towards.

 

“So, you look like the Cheshire cat you are.” I reply in a matter-of-fact tone.

 

“I’m not a Cheshire cat.”

 

“Sure, you’re not Chess.” I nod sagely, “Now grin.”

 

“Are we still on that?” He sighs in exasperation before doing what I say. I move in close and take the photo, now I have proof of the resemblance.

 

“You could just use my name.” He points out.

 

I stick out my tongue, “Don’t want to.” Not out loud at least.

 

“So childish.”

 

“What do you…”

 

Muffled laughter interrupts our ban- I mean, our very serious conversation. Making us turn our heads towards the couple sitting across from us. Gem has her head buried in Cylen’s shoulder, while he has a hand covering his mouth, his red ears not doing him any favours. Just to be petty, I decide to capture this scene in my phone as visual proof.

 

“You were right.” Cylen says when he’s not dying of laughter, “This is hilarious.”

 

I gasp turning to Gem, “You talked about us?”

 

Gem only nods, a mischievous smile on her face. Huh. It seems I’ve been set up. I throw her a mock glare before shaking my head. Oh well, it’s relatively harmless anyway.

 

“So Cylen,” My pettiness sets in, “Why exactly are you afraid of the water?”

 

Cylen starts coughing, his face turning a bright red, which is honestly quite amusing. “I…don’t really remember.” He states.

 

I cock my head to the side giving him a blank look, “What do you mean?”

 

“I just always get this nervous feeling when I’m around a large water source, that I can’t stand to be near it. I feel like I’ve had the fear for as long as I can remember.”

Hm…strange but I guess I’ll leave it at that for now.

 

Moving along the outer wall was one of the things that she enjoyed most, it was a liberating feeling to be so high up in the air. Normally she would be up here for a fun escape from her work, but today she was on the wall for a purpose.

 

There was a beast that she was hunting. It had been bothering her people for a while now. They said that it inhabited the water, and the outer wall gave a good view of the water sources.

 

It was the scream and not so much the sight that alerted her to its presence. She quickly jumped off the wall in a practiced motion, using the trees to propel her before landing safely at her target. She used the spear in her hand to smack the beast closer to the land. She would have used her sword, but her tutor had told her to practise with a spear.  

 

Using the moment the beast was disorientated, she gave a glance to the source of the scream. A knight, a guard if his uniform was any indication. She wondered what he was doing so close to the water, so close that he’d almost been swallowed by the monster. His sword lay on the mud behind him, it must have been thrown away in the altercation.

 

“You might want to get out of the way.” She told him as the beast moved to attack.

 

“N…no.” The guard stuttered, “I want to help.”

 

She raised her eyebrows yet did not decline the assistance, “Alright. When I make it turn its head, I need you to cut off its head.” Smack! “That’s the only way it’s said to be killed.”

 

The guard hesitates, “I’m not very good with a sword.” He admits.

 

She thinks for a second, before throwing him the spear, “Maybe you would be better with this. Pass me the sword.” He obeys the request. “However,” She continues, “This means that you have become the bait.” The guard turns pale as the monstrous head of the serpent comes towards him.

 

“Well done.” She pats him on the shoulder, “You managed to do exactly what I tasked you to.”

 

“I thought I was dead for sure.” The image of the serpent’s sharp teeth was enough to make him never want to go near water again. However, she had been right when she’d said he may be better with a spear than a sword. She was certainly impressive; she’d been able to cut off its head in one slice.

 

“Well, it was brave of you to face that fear.” She gave him a smile, “Thank you for helping me defeat the serpent.”

 

“You’re welcome.” A pause, “Although it seems you’ve helped me more. Thank you.”

 

She chuckled, “Well it seems I’ve made a new friend. For now, you can call me Amara.”

 

“Is that not your true name?”

 

“Not really, but I’m currently unable to give you my true name.”

 

“I understand.” He nodded, “I trust you will tell me it in time. My name…”

 

“Tell me your name, when I tell you mine.” Amara interrupted.

 

“Then, what shall you call me?” He asked confused, “Friends see each other often, do they not?”

 

“How about Captain Spears? A name befitting your title and your weapon.”

 

“Captain Spears it is.” He nodded with a smile, “It is an honour to be your friend Amara.”

 

She returned the smile before moving to walk off, “See you around my friend.”

 

When she got back to the training hall, she got an earful about leaving the spear behind and returning with a sword. She didn’t mind it. Making a new friend was more than enough compensation.

 

She liked his character. He had faced the serpent and offered his assistance even when his fear was obvious. She had a feeling that he would get along well with her cousin and decided that she would introduce them the next time she came to visit.

 

Soft neighing breaks me out of my short nap, only to find a head leaning on my shoulder. It seems that sometime into the carriage ride Ryan fell asleep, the dark circles under his eyes make me hesitant to wake him up. In the end, I decide to do it anyway.

 

“Chess…Chess!” I whisper, patting his shoulder, “I think we’re here.”

 

A hand came up to grasp mine before he groggily lifts his head, blinking his eyes as he realises what happened. My wide eyes meet his for a moment before he releases my hand clearing his throat.

 

“We should wake them up as well” He points to the couple leaning on each other.

I smile, taking a picture before kicking Gem in the leg, causing her to yelp awake and in turn awaken Cylen. What can I say? I’m feeling very petty today.

 

Stepping off the carriage, I find that we’re in front of what looks like a haunted Halloween house. All I can really say about it is that there are a lot of pumpkins.

 

“Shall we?” I ask, taking the lead to walk towards the gate.