Enchancia Castle looked beautiful in the moonlight. It was a time of great peace, prosperity, and magic in Enchancia. The guards at the gate watched with good humor the road leading up to the castle. They roved along the tall castle walls, keeping an eye out for any threat towards the castle. Tonight, they expected a carriage to come trundling along the road. They didn't know exactly why the carriage was coming, but the head of the guard, Seihl, told them to watch out for it, by command of King Roland.
Little did the guards know, there was a plan in place. The Amulet of Avalor, a necklace King Roland had given to his new stepdaughter three months ago, was causing more trouble than the king had expected. He had been told stories by firelight at bedtime by his mother, Samiira. He told her that the necklace was very special, and would protect the one who wore it.
So far, this didn't seem the case to the good king. A few weeks ago, the herbology teacher at his stepdaughter Sofia's school, Royal Prep, had gone completely bonkers when she had laid eyes on the necklace. She took over the entire school in an attempt to snatch the amulet away from Sofia. Luckily, Sofia and her friends were able to use their cleverness to free the good fairies who run the , Professor Nettles had gotten away.
The whole event horrified King Roland. It was well known by his closest friends and servants that the king had a burning desire to protect his new wife and children. He had been married once before, to a lovely, fair, blond thing. She was beautiful, and had passed away while giving birth to the twins.
King Roland was devestated. His grief was so much that even the new arrival of two little beings to love and protect didn't help him. He could hardly breathe around the lump in his throat that seemed to be there always, ever since his wife past away.
One day, when wandering the castle grounds, he found a hidden entrance to a part of the garden that the king had never seen before. There, he found a well covered in ivy. Its cover depicted a grinning sun. When the king had approached the wishing well, a voice had rung out. "Give me your riches, and I'll grant you your wishes." King Roland had eagerly brushed the gold rings off of his hands and let them fall far down into the darkness of the well.
"I want my wife back." King Roland had whispered. Tears blurred his vision, not believing that this wish could be granted.
A few hours later there was screaming at the back larder door. There stood the diseased queen, with rotting flesh and fingers torn down to the bones from digging. The well had brought the queen back indeed. But this wasn't the queen Roland had known and loved. This was... Well, a zombie.
He wished he could keep her and try to get his royal sorcerer to come up with a spell to heal her, but after Goodwin was able to soothe and convince the king that this couldn't be done without black magic, the king was finally able to let the queen go again.
After that, the now months old twins Amber and James brought some comfort to the king. Their round, bright pink cheeks flushed with life soothed the king's aching heart. He adored the way they looked toward him when he walked towards them with a warm bottle of milk, accompanied by his most trusted advisor and steward, Baileywick. His children and Baileywick brough his sanity back.
When King Roland married Miranda and Sofia, no matter how hard he tried to ignore the panic in his chest, the fear took over. What if something bad happened to his new wife and his new child? Miranda, he knew, would almost constantly be by his side, sharing her opinions on big decisions that Roland appreciated and listened to. Her soft hand in his on an especially stressful day of ruling the kingdom and protecting his people was such a relief.
Sofia, however, had her own life. She would be going to school and doing all sorts of activities as a princess. Roland knew he couldn't be there for her twenty-four seven, and so he had given her the Amulet of Avalor to protect her. It had been his mother's precious gemstone.
And yet, he found that it seemed to cause more trouble than good. He couldn't believe the incident with Professor Nettles trying to get it from Sofia. Now, all the king could see was just another hazard to his new little princess. He wondered how many other mages or fairies would recognize the amulet and try to snatch it away.
Now that he was realizing how powerful the necklace was supposedly, the king was feeling uncomfortable. Even locking it away in the castle. What if some rogue or magician heard of its presence in the castle, and managed to break in and harm his family? King Roland didn't want that, and yet he could hardly trust it in anyone else's hands. And so he had sent his head of the guard, Seihl over to Cindercity, to the Luminary Institute, where the Peacemaker Spire was located.
The Peacemakers were like the police of the land. They also ran the Luminary Institute, which was a vast academy for mages, warriors, and rulers. Royal Prep was part of the Luminary Institute, though not physically. It was located more towards the castle. Roland, as the king, had a close, good relationship with the trustworthy Peacemakers. He thought it would be a good idea to send the amulet there to be kept safe in a high security vault. That way, if anyone broke in to steal the amulet, his family would not be harmed.
On the other hand, though, the king didn't trust the amulet to be so far from him. What if an especially talented dark mage broke in to the vault, gained control of the amulet, and wreaked havoc on the land anyway?
His worry had festered within him all day. He grasped the little package in his pocket, which contained the amulet he had taken from a sulking Sofia early that morning. Now, it was nighttime and Seihl should be heading back from Cindercity with an armored carriage to transport the amulet to the Peacemaker Spire. They would travel by land, not air, so that they would be less noticable.
But the seed of doubt had blossomed inside of Roland since he had let Seihl know his plan. He changed out of his royal clothing and changed into the plain clothing he had found in the laundry of the servants. The servant quarters were behind the kitchens. It was like a mini village, hidden from the public eye by the surrounding hedges and bushes of the royal garden. The servants lived a peaceful, happy life in the little cottages behind the castle. A little community.
It was between his servants' cottages that King Roland stole away from the castle, his travelling hood flicked up and pulled low over his face, casting his face in perfect shadows. In his pocket, he could feel the delicate weight of the amulet. He planned to make his way east into the Avalor Forest, then cut down west until he found the Cerulean River. He would follow the river west until he hit the Dragontooth Mountains. There, he hoped to live peacefully near the dragons. Safe from any rogue mage or hooligan warlock who wished to posess the power of the amulet.
King Roland's chest tightened painfully as he fled through the castle gardens and let himself out of the back gate. He knew there would be no guard there for seceral minutes, as this was the time that the night guard changed shifts. He would miss his family horribly. He couldn't even think about how he'd feel in the morning, when reality hit him as he travelled along. How alone he'd feel. How heartbroken, to be away from his family! Oh, but it was to protect them. He needed to protect them.
Suddenly, his pocket grew warm. The king reached his hand in and pulled out the amulet, which was wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a bit of rough rope cord. King Roland curiously unwrapped the necklace, and found it to be glowing purple. A beam of light shot out from the amulet, straight at the woods King Roland was a mere few yards away from. Afraid that the light might attract the eye of a guard, the king quickly made his way to the treeline.
He followed the beam of light with curiosity alight in his stomach. He was still having trouble swallowing past the lump of gloom in his throat, though. The idea of not seeing his family again until he found a better solution to his amulet problem. And here it was glowing! For what reason? He hardly had any other better notions than to follow wherever the amulet was pointing.
As the king roved through the trees, stepping over roots and trudging through foilage, he was remembered the tales of how his father, King Roland e First (Our King Roland is King Roland the Second) had met his mother, Samiira. Samiira had been a princess of the Selenic Wolfclan. She was a faunameiius, a wolf with the ability to shapeshift into a human. King Roland the First had went noisily into the woods with his royal friends, wanting to hunt. A little tree spirit had manifested cutiously on the roots of the tree, a glowing, unearthly little guy that made a strange, calming rattling sound whenever it shook its little head. Rowdy King Roland the First had taken a shot at the thing with his bow and arrow. Of course, his arrow couldn't hit the tree spirit. It faded away before the arrowhead could "touch" it.
And then, Samiira had appeared. A small white wolf with tufts of fur at the tip of her pointed ears. She was pure white like snow, with piercing blue eyes. The king's friends panicked at the sight of the wolf, and quickly unleashed a barrage of shots at her. With the grace of a beast, Samiira dodged the shots and ran straight at the king. At the last moment she shifted into a girl, with long flowing white hair and a strange red marking on her left cheek.
"Show some respect." Samiira had snapped at the king. The king's comrades gawked in disbelief. "Next time you shoot at a tree spirit, I'll beat you up." She grinned at him, and it was a wolfish grin. Her mouth was full of razor sharp fangs. The Amulet of Avalor glimmered at her collar, and she was clothed in a smooth, flowing gossamor dress.
King Roland the First was instantly smitten.
Now, his and Samiira's son was making his way through the forest, following the light from Samiira's old necklace. It lead him to a cliff face. Roland frowned and reached out to touch the cliff face. He was astonished to find that his hand passed through the rock as if it wasn't there at all. His breath caught in his throat. What was happening? What was going on? His mother's voice seemed to echo from his memory, from the times when Roland would sit playing with the amulet around his mother's neck before bed. She'd sing the little song: "With each deed performed, for better or worse, a gift is given, a blessing or curse."
Could it be this was happening because of his pure desire to protect his family? The king's heart thumped heavily in his chest. His hands were shaking as he took a deep, shuddering breath and pressed into the rock face. There was no resistance, only a strange warmth as King Roland was plunged into darkness. It took about six steps to get through the strange, complete darkness, until he emerged on the other side. King Roland opened his eyes and gawked.
He found himself in a hidden a spring. The area was lush with vegetation and life. Little yellow birds twittered and flew through the air, chasing each other. Frogs croaked and jumped into the water of the spring, making little splashes. Every which way King Roland looked, there was large rock walls stretching up towards the sky, sheltering the area from any prying eyes or explorers. The light from the amulet was still glowing, actually shining more bright than ever. It beamed directly into the water. The king took a deep breath. He had come this far, he might as well try his luck at plunging into the water. But what if this wasn't a gift? What if wherever this necklace was leading him to was actually a curse? A punishment for leaving his family behind? King Roland gulped, but carefully laid the amulet in the grass as he removed his cloak, tunic, and shoes.
He decided it was best if he wore the amulet, that way it could not accidentally fall from his grasp as he walked farther into the pond. Finally, King Roland reached up and held the amulet to his chest as he took a deep breath and plunged into the water.
He felt the amulet warm even hotter against his skin as soon as he was fully emmersed in the water. The king opened his eyes. The amulet was glowing more brightly than ever before. It wasn't pointing toward anything anymore, but simply glowing. Suddenly, it flashed a blinding lavender light. King Roland closed his eyes, and when he managed to open them again, the amulet was gone from around his neck. Floating a few feet in front of him, instead, was a young girl. She appeared to be about sixteen years old, with a heart shaped face, round cheeks, and a mess of ink black hair clouded around her head. Her limbs were pale and lithe, and she wore a plain white dress of some flow-y material, though it wasn't see-through. It looked to be the type of fabric Samiira's dresses had been made out of, the amazing Selenic gossamar.
King Roland stared as his breath began to run out. Where had the amulet gone, and where had this girl come from? It occured to him that perhaps he had dropped the necklace and maybe... Maybe this girl was a dead body. Or maybe the amulet had brought the girl here, to somehow help him in his quest to keep his family protected. Or maybe...
The girl opened her eyes. She looked sleepy, and bewildered. Her eyes glowed a bright purple, identical to the color the Amulet of Avalor had been. Roland needed to gasp, needed air, and by the look of dawning horror on the face of the girl as she opened her mouth and tried to breathe, she could use a gasp of air too. The king reached out and grasped the girl, before swimming to the surface and breathing in deeply. He pulled the coughing, spluttering girl to the shore of the pond, as quickly as he could. She was shivering terribly, so he pulled his cloak over her instead of putting it back on himself.
"Are you okay?" The king asked worriedly, patting the girl's girl's eyes were wide as she looked around. She nodded, opened her mouth to try to talk, and coughed instead. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The king continued. His gaze was pulled back the the spring. He wondered if he should dive down into the water and search for the amulet. Or was the amulet gone, and in its place, this girl was left?
Instead of answering the king's questions, the girl asked, "Was I just born?"
The king stared at the girl, and she stared back. Both were equally perplexed. "I'm not sure," the king admitted. "I think something magical must have just happened."
"Magic?" The girl asked. Her voice is faraway, and her eyes drifted around the place, the beautiful lush green place surrounded by dark black rock face. "Are we trapped in a bowl formed by cliffs?"
"We're not trapped." The king said with a reassuring smile. He paused, his smile suddenly sagging. "Well, I don't think so. I was able to walk through to get in here-"
"Walk through!" The girl exclaimed in awe. There was no doubt in her voice, only trust and acceptance. It made the king smile a little. She was innocent, probably gullible, but that was endearing. Her attitude made her seem younger than she appeared. "That is magic."
"The most magical thing was I had a certain magical necklace, and it's what lead me here. It pointed a beam of light at this pond, and when I waded in, the necklace disappeared and you appeared instead. Your eyes... They're the same color as the amulet."
The girl reached up and touched her left eyelid, as if feeling for the color of them. "I think I'm the amulet." The girl said slowly. She frowned and cocked her head to the side, her face scrunching up as if she was trying to remember something. "You can call me Emery."
"You're the amulet?" King Roland asked. Laughter bubbled his voice, and Emery was able to tell that he didn't quite believe her. She frowned.
"I think so. I have this feeling. And it's not totally unbelievable, is it? If this land has common magic?" Emery asked.
"I guess not." King Roland admitted. He insisted on taking one more dip into the pond before they decided what to do, to check for the amulet. He opened his eyes underwater and was surprised by how very clear the water was. Illuminated by the full moon, King Roland was able to look thoroughly enough to assure himself that the necklace was nowhere in there.
Together, the girl and king went to the rock face and pushed against it. They were able to slip through, much to their relief. Once outside of the bowl of cliffs, King Roland told his plan to little Emery. He would send off a package that was supposedly the Amulet of Avalor. He would send it off with Seihl to the Peacemaker Spire, and Emery would be adopted into the royal family.
"No one will make the connection. They consider me a forward thinking king. I married a commoner a few months back, and took in her daughter as my very own." He smiled at the thought of the new addition to his family. "No one will question my want to adopt an orphan child."
"Good idea!" Emery said cheerfully as they made their way through the forest, back towards the castle. "Wait, you're the king?!"
"I am indeed," the king said. Emery's purple eyes widened.
"Woah. Should I curtsey or something?"
"No, it's fine, Emery." The king chuckled.
Happiness was swelling in King Roland's chest. He adored the gift the Amulet had given him. He didn't have to worry about leaving his family behind. Instead, his family was expanding. There was no threat of anyone breaking into the castle anymore for the Amulet. Oh, how everything was working out! For each deed performed, for better or worse, a gift is given, a blessing or curse. Roland was pretty sure the new girl was a blessing.
Once they returned to the castle, the king hurried to change into his royal clothing. They were lucky; the carriage to carry the amulet away had only just arrived, and Seihl was only just searching for the king curiously. The king showed Emery to an empty bedroom, where he left her to rest as he summoned a sleepy Baileywick, and asked him to find a little lock box that he may put the Amulet of Avalor in. While Baileywick was doing that, King Roland hurried to the jewel room to select the replacement for the amulet.
Little did they know, someone other than Emery and the king knew what was going on. The royal sorcerer Cedric had been trailing the king ever since he had snuck out the back kitchen door. His friend and familiar, a faunameiius raven named Wormwood, had overheard the discussion between the head of the guard and the king. He had brought the news of the amulet's transportation to the Peacemaker Spire to Cedric. Cedric knew that it was his last chance to steal the amulet, so he had set off trailing along the king as he made his way through the corridors. Cedric had tried to sum up his courage to grab the amulet from the king, but when the king had headed towards the kitchen and not out to the courtyard, Cedric had thought something peculiar was happening.
And yes, he was correct, something peculiar had happened. He had witnessed the king wade into the spring with the necklace, and then come out of the pool with a girl in his arms. The girl's eyes were purple. The same shade of purple as the amulet had been. Had Cedric just witnessed- the amulet transform into a living, breathing girl? After being dipped into this spring?
The girl and the king had left through the solid rock cliff face. Cedric had managed to hurry into the bowl of cliffs closely behind King Roland when hehad entered, as King Roland was distracted by the gem glow, and deep in his thoughts, the tales of when his mother and father had met.
Cedric was too flabbergasted to follow Emery and King Roland out through the solid rock face, so with a sigh he began trying to climb the rocks out, accompanied by as many helpful spells that he could remember off the top of his head. He climbed as quickly as he could, but he couldn't make it back to the castle in time to see where the king had deposited the strange girl with the purple eyes.