Incense

Chapter 1

As Sophia watched Royal Prep recede into the distance from her flying carriage, she found herself thinking, again, of Prince Zandar. He had been one of her best friends ever since she became a princess 7 years ago. For the past few days, he had been absent and Sophia was starting to worry. As if he were reading her mind, James spoke up from the seat across from her. "Hey, Phia!" he said "whaddaya think happened to Zandar?"

"I don't know." said Sophia "and I'm really starting to worry. Typically he has his servants send a message to the castle telling us what's going on when he's absent. I do hope he's okay."

Immature, even after all those years of training, James said "Yeah, sure hope he's not dead or anything."

"JAMES!" Sophia yelled, "how could you say that?" In an unexpected burst of emotion, she started to cry, and quietly she added "He can't be dead."

Amber, startled from her macramé by her sister's sudden outburst, calmly said "If you are so worried, why don't you and James pop by to see what's the matter?"

"That sounds like a good idea, Amber", said the prince, after apologizing to Sophia.

The young nobles were quiet the rest of the way home. Sophia was only slightly surprised by her earlier tears. She cared deeply for Zandar. Ever since the time he helped her out of the fountain, she had thought about him differently than other boys. He was always kind, and funny, and instead of laughing at her klutziness, he would laugh good-naturedly and help her out of whatever fix she got into. Sometimes, although she would never admit this, she would intentionally trip and fall, just to see him smile. To Sophia, that smile was brighter than the sun itself, and infinitely more precious. So naturally, if something happened to Zandar, she would be devastated. Until the carriage pulled into their stables, Sophia prayed that the prince of Tangu was all right.

Chapter 2

After consulting her parents, Sophia changed out of her school clothes and, along with James, headed for Tangu. She wore, in place of the froufy purple gown, a dark blue frock, simply cut with no embellishments, except for silver buttons on the edge of her pockets. Her tiara hung out of one of these pockets, leaving her auburn hair to float about her shoulders.

As they arrived at the palace doors, they were greeted by the king and queen, both looking worried. They appeared as if they hadn't slept in days. "Hello" said James, somewhat startled by the unkempt appearance of their hosts, "sorry to pop in like this, but my sister and I were worried about Zandar. Could we possibly see him?"

The queen looked at once heartened and unsure. "I suppose some company would do the poor boy good" she said to her husband, "but I don't know if he will be able to take the excitement."

Sophia and James exchanged worried glances.

"Alright," said the king turning to the children "but try not to be shocked by what you see. The doctors will show you in." With that the King took his queen and they swept off, presumably to their quarters.

The doctors were both tall, bespectacled men, wearing small turbans fastened with what looked suspiciously like Velcro. They looked exactly like one another. They showed the two Enchancians to Zandar's room, explaining the situation as they went. "His Majesty appears to have caught some disease, presumably from magic mites living in his magic carpet. This brand of magic can be very testy, and as such we have been unable to do much more than make him somewhat comfortable and wait it out." As you will see, it has taken its toll on the prince.

Upon seeing his sister's stricken face, James reached up (for Sophia was embarrassingly taller than he) and squeezed her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. If only he could stop his imagination from envisioning all of the horrible fates that could befall his friend.

As they neared an ornately carved door, Sophia noticed an odd smell permeating the air. It smelled like jasmine and honeysuckle and tea leaves. Sophia doubted she had ever smelled anything like it. As the doctor opened the door, the princess was shocked by 2 things at once. First, how much stronerg the smell was here and second the sight of Zandar lying in his bed.