Note: The lines are for the story arc, breaking from one scene to the next.
Chapter 1
So it started out to be like any other night. After leaving Zach's house, my best friend, I headed home to sleep. It was near midnight when I walked into the house. Now being a teenager is fun in some aspects but others can be downright boring, such as missing curfew. My old man was sitting in the living room watching TV when he noticed I walked in. He didn't even have to say a word as I knew what I had to do. I made my way onto the couch and sat there for a moment. The silence was kind of eerie as he didn't even look at me. Then suddenly he spoke up,
"You know what time it is?"
"Yes, way past the time I was supposed to be home."
"Well since you know that already, I'm going to ground you from hanging out with any of your friends. You are stuck to the house for two weeks."
When that word left his lips, I just rolled my eyes without him noticing. I hate being stuck in the house especially when Zach always had some plan on the weekend that was a blast. No matter I suppose. It would blow over. The old man then gave me his typical dismissal and I went on about my way to my room. I wasn't too upset but I was frustrated at the fact that I am now confined to my room once more. I looked into my mirror to see my expression of disappointment. My brown eyes didn't lie, I was one angry kid. I looked down at my clenched fist, seeing them turn white. My black hair laid flat while I pulled my hoodie. I wouldn't consider myself built like Zach but I was lean for sure. I sat down on my chair and thought to myself "I At least I had my video games and movies to watch." I was a big fan of fantasy genre related things such as role playing games and movies like "Legend". I enjoy them way too much to a point where my dreams go into overdrive and leave some wild impressions when I wake up. I put a random movie on and drifted asleep. I woke up around three in the morning to see the movie ended and my TV was off. I suppose the old man came by and turned it off without trying to disturb me. The room was dark except for this dim bluish light beaming through my bedroom window.
I opened the blinds to see this source coming from the local park in our neighborhood. I have seen a few weird things before but this was something different. I didn't even know if I was awake or I was still in some dream. I slapped my head a little but nothing too hard to see. Sure enough, the sting was there. Curiosity was getting the better of me but unfortunately I was stuck to the house. What even bothered me more was going by alone could be a dumb idea. The idea of calling Zach came to mind but being it was now three fifteen in the morning, he was passed out and I'm sure his family was too. I had to get there by foot to get him. I was dressed for the most part except for my shoes. I kept them off so I could sneak to the front door of the house without making a noise. My house was two stories so it sometimes made a creaking sound, depending on where your foot landed. Luckily I knew where most of the spots were and I made sure to stay clear of them. I was out the door quietly and on my way to Zach's house. It was very silent outside. There were usually crickets, random cars driving by, and other kids from the neighborhood but tonight there was nothing except the chill and my visible breath in the air. The blue light was the only I could think about as I near Zach's house. As I walked onto the porch, his light suddenly turned on.
I tapped on the window and waited for him to open the blinds. Instead the lights turned off and again it was just me in the silence. Zach opened his front door and walked over to where I was on the porch. His athletic build was silhouetted by the ambient light of the moon. His dark brown hair was in a mess but his blue eyes glistened against the night sky. He was still wearing his jeans and t-shirt from earlier which indicated he probably passed out on his bed watching tv.
"You know it's four in the morning right? You couldn't wait to play a few more rounds of Street Fighter later today?"
"Dude, I'm not here for that though I could always go for a few more rounds; that and being grounded by Dad."
"Again? You always end up grounded before the weekend. I think your dad could fine better punishments than that."
"Yeah…. anyways there are some funky things happening at the park right now. I don't what it is but there is this bluish light coming from there and I wanted to check it out. I felt it would be easier for you to come along. What do you think?"
Zach stood there for a moment then paced back and forth on his porch. After a few minutes he sat down on one of the porch chairs.
"I'm not sure. If we get caught in the park after hours, we're toast."
"Do it for the thrill. You said you wanted something different to do, right?" I asked smugly.
"Alright. If we do this, we do this right."
"Ok, how do suppose we do this 'right'?" I asked.
"I guess we could drag along Steven and Shawn."
"I'm not getting either of them. Steven is a drunk and Shawn is a wuss. He runs from anything. We don't need them. It's not like we are expecting anything dangerous right?" I retorted.
"You can never be too careful."
"I suppose you are right. We can't bring any guns or anything, it would draw too much attention if anyone happens to drive by and see us."
"Yeah I guess we can forgo weapons. Why do you want to bring those guys anyways?"
"I'm not sure, something just tells me to bring them. Besides having more people could make it safer with numbers."
"Alright, your choice. I say it's a bad idea but you seem excited about this. To save time, we'll just meet you at the park while you get ready."
With a nod of his head, Zach went back into his house which left me the job of gathering the drunk and the wuss. Steven lived close by to Zach and Shawn lived closer to me. Steven was easy to convince to go because he was outside drinking. Alone. As usual. He was a dirty blonde who was short and chubbby. He had dark circles under his hazel eyes from drinking too much. It didn't take much to convince him to come along as I lied saying there was going to booze. We made our trek back up to Shawn's house while during that time I had to keep Steven from falling over. Shawn took a little bit more to convince since he was worried about anything dangerous.
"Terry what do you want? It's almost five."
"Shawn, get dressed and get down here. There is something up at the park and we want you to come with us."
"Something is up? Like what?"
"I'm not sure but I need you to hurry up."
With a big sigh, he said in his whiny voice "ok".
After his whining session, he finally made it down and out the door. From the time we waited on him, I could tell he spent time getting pretty for himself. He put gel in his blonde hair and put contacts in so his brown eyes wouldn't be 'hidden' by glasses. His skinny frame was highly noticable due to his tight jeans and tshirt that he decided was a good idea to wear. I just rolled my eyes at him while we finally set out to the park to meet up with Zach. In the distance the light could be seen but as the sun started to break the night sky, the light began to fade. We had to hurry to see what it was before the sun came up. Also, being grounded meant I was supposed to be in the house so I was essentially a dead man if it turned out to be nothing. We finally reached the park entrance where Zach was waiting.
"About time" Zach said.
"We would have been quicker if Shawn didn't take forever getting dressed."
"Whatever, I had to look good for this" Shawn replied.
Zach rolled his eyes at the comment and handed me a bag. I looked inside to see the gear for camping and a small dagger from his blade collection.
He looked at me, "Just in case."
As he handed Steven an empty liquor bottle and a whistle to Shawn, all could do was smirk when I saw it. Zach did have a unique sense of humor all the while of being an asshole. We all looked at each other with the same thing on our mind. Something was in there and none of us knew what it was. As I weaved the way through the woods, it became thicker in the brush. I could hear Shawn complain of being scratched by twigs and Steven stumble over everything that could be tripped over while Zach laughed at both of them. As I started to see a clearing, we all could this blue light growing brighter. We all reached the tree line to see a large blue portal sitting in the middle of nowhere. I was awe struck by something I have never seen before. While we looked on, the sun light started to hit the clearing and the portal was disappearing with every second the light touched its dark mysterious beauty. I went closer to it and looked on the other side. Nothing was there except the portal.
"Zach, what do you think?"
"Well, I'm not sure. I have never seen anything like this before. It's starting to disappear though, so we have two choices. We leave and pretend we saw nothing or we take a chance and see if we could jump in?."
"Wait?! Jump in? Are you crazy?" Shawn whined.
"I'll go if there is liquor" Steven chimed in.
"Shawn, stop being a baby. I'll go first if it makes you feel better" Zach retorted.
"Zach, are you sure you want to just do it", I replied a little nervously to his statement.
"Screw it. Why not? I'm sure it will be fine" he boldly stated.
With that being said he tightened his straps on his pack and made a dash for the mystical hole. He jumped in and disappeared. The portal slowly was dwindling away from the sunlight. Steven made his attempt by wobbling over and tripping in. Shawn closed his eyes and felt his way in. They were all gone except me. I was standing hesitant about jumping in even though my best friend faced an unknowing presence. I walked right up to it and stuck my hand through the middle. Something grabbed onto me with a powerful force and started to drag me in. I tried to fight it by pulling back but it was no use, whatever had me was winning. Inch by inch I was being taken over by the portal until I was fully dragged in.
All I could hear was my breathing. It was dark and quiet. I couldn't even see in front of me. I tried calling out to Zach but only heard echoes carry on which seemed like forever. I felt like I was floating as nothing solid was beneath my feet. As I started to adjust to my unknown surroundings, a white light started to grow towards me. As it came closer it formed into another portal but different from the other one. A lush green forest with a huge lake was appearing. The suction was pulling me again into this beautiful scene. I didn't fight as it consumed me and I was left suspended over the lake but it didn't last long. I started to fall directly towards the water. I scanned the area quickly but I couldn't see anyone. All I know it's going to hurt hitting that surface. My last thought was at least I wasn't grounded.
I hit the water with incredible force. I was overwhelmed with the surprising weight of my equipment dragging me down as I tried to move my arms upward. The pain from the impact was burning over my body as my vision was being clouded by the water becoming darker. I realized I was sinking faster than I thought. I thought my only way to survive was cut off the pack and just keep the dagger Zach gave me. I pulled it out and cut away the straps in a rush, nearly cutting myself. As it sank to the bottom, I moved my arms to break the surface. I gasped for air as soon as I reached topside. The water threw off my bearings as the sun reflection blocked out my vision. The cool breeze was skimming the surface lightly as the sound of birds chirped above. As the sun hung overhead, I could see shoreline very close. As I dragged my ass out of the water, there still was no sign of Zach or the others but I heard horses approaching in the distance. I didn't want to be seen so the closest tree became my hiding place. The riders were hidden from view but their conversation was clear.
"Are you sure you saw someone fall here?"
"Yes, I'm certain I saw something around here."
"You two are idiots. I saw nothing."
"No sir, I swear I saw him, Captain Ardmol."
The unseen soldiers were trying their hardest to convince the other one, who seemed to be in charge, that they actually saw me fall into the lake. I'm pretty grateful that the one in charge is dumb. They rode off after a few minutes. After letting myself dry up a bit, I looked beyond the shore of the opposite side to see a huge castle with a sword-like blade pointing towards the heavens. I guess that was my destination.
Zach was walking down the main cobble road into this huge city. So many people were out and about. Trading in the market, anvils echoing the creating of metal blades, and side shows riddled the corners of the city entrance. He was a bit dazed still from the portal travel and landing outside the city. He also was dressed very differently than everyone else. He could feel the eyes laying on him as this stranger made his way towards deeper into the busy day. He was avoiding the people who were standing in the middle of the street.
"I guess I'm not in South Carolina anymore…" Zach mumbled to himself.
He had no cash to buy any clothes to fit in with the crowd or to buy anything to eat. He thought a bar might be an interesting place to find. Most people in bars have all sorts of information. Along the main street the sign hung above a huge wooden door.
"The Heroes Tavern? Wonder how it got that name?"
Zach opened the heavy door and stepped inside. It was well kept inside. There were a few drunks in there mostly in the corner keeping to themselves. Zach shut the door behind him and walked up to the bar counter. The bartender, a large man with gray hair and matching mustache walked up and eyed him suspiciously.
"What'll it be young sir?"
"Uh… ale I guess" Zach replied in confusion.
The large mug of alcohol was slammed in front of him. The foam flowed over the sides as the potent smell wafted towards his nose. This was the first time Zach was able to drink anything alcohol related without trying to sneak it in private. He wondered if Terry even made the jump after him. At that moment, he felt a little nervous being by himself. The group in the corner was bothering him as well. They continuously watched him like hawks. As Zach continued to sip his ale, he waved the bartender over.
"I know this is going to sound crazy but where I am?"
"What do you mean where are you? You mean you don't know?"
"Well, see I'm not from around here so any bit of information could be useful."
The bartender's eyes were in this 'I don't know what to say kid' look, "You are in the Kingdom of Alexandria."
"Alexandria… Interesting bar name; how did you get it?"
You could see the barkeep was becoming annoyed with questions anyone from here should know the answer to, "It is named after the heroes who saved Gaia from Kuja, though that was a long time ago. Hence the name on the sign."
Zach was listening carefully to what the bartender was talking about. Obliviously this guy has been around for a while. Zach didn't realize that everyone has left the tavern and he was the only one listening. Then he just remembered he didn't have any money.
"One more question. I don't have any money on me so uh is it possible for me to put this on a tab?"
The barkeep looked at me and then pointed to the back and chuckled. "No. The broom is in the back. Better hurry though, once the sun goes down this place becomes busy. I could use the help so I guess I'm lucky you dropped by" the bartender extended his hand to proper introductions. Zach shook it. "Name is Karth Monaco. And you are?"
"Zach. Just call me Zach."
Sunset came quickly upon Alexandria. The city turned from a quiet, peaceful solace into a party frenzy. People were everywhere in the streets. It seemed like there was a celebration going on but to me it didn't matter. I had no clue what the hell was going on with anything. I entered the city cautiously and looked around. No soldiers around to spot him. He noticed the beauty of the castle at night. The tall blade reflected the moon light onto the city below. I moved past the mass gathering of people. The tavern was a hit apparently there were several patrons standing around, drinking and having a good time. I decided to skip the madness and make my way to a more quiet area. As moved further away from the crowd, the darker the place got. Suddenly I was approached by two larger individuals who looked like they didn't want to make small talk.
"Where'd you think ya goin'?"
"None of your god damn business" I snapped back.
They looked at each other and then back at me. One started to crack his knuckles.
"A fresh one I see. You know how we deal with ya kind around here?"
I shook my head even though I knew the answer already. He grabbed my shirt and drew me in closer to knock my lights out. As the punch came in, I ducked my head to the side and dodged his wild swing. I jumped onto his forward knee and fell back, using my momentum to throw him over me. I leapt back to my feet as his buddy came in for another wild swing; I side-stepped around him while I stuck out my foot. The idiot fell flat on his face and slowly crawled over to his partner. They helped each other up to their feet. As they were getting ready to attack again, a female voice could be heard from behind me. I turned around to see a beautiful girl, with long black hair, fair skin, and beautiful green eyes standing there with crossed arms. She looked angry at the two men.
"You two! What do you think you are doing?! Attacking a random stranger? Both of you, back to the castle! The queen will deal with you later. And as for you, why are my guards attacking you?"
I didn't know how to answer. I think her beauty is making my mind go blank. I had to say something but all I could do was shrug. My response made her face contort into confusion.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked in a calmer voice.
"Honestly, I don't know where the hell I am, let alone know who you are."
She sighed for a moment.
"I am Princess Anastasia of the Kingdom of Alexandria. And you are?"
"Terry. Is it that obvious I'm not from around here?" I asked looking down at my clothes.
"Yes, now that you mention it, you are dressed very strangely. Where are you from?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
I felt really dumb trying to think of a way to explain Earth and how I got here. I don't think she would believe anything I said but I tried anyways. After a few minutes, she stopped me midsentence.
"I think I heard more than enough. It is very strange indeed to be brought here from another planet as you call it. I think you need to come with me back to the castle. I have someone who would want to speak with you."
As Princess Anastasia walked back towards the castle, I followed her. I didn't what to expect but at least I was getting a connection. The castle was bigger up close with its magnificent architecture. I was so blown away that I almost fell into the water. Apparently there is no bridge going across but everything was done by boats. Princess Anastasia held out her hand towards me, implying that I assist her into the royal ferry taking us across. Nervously I helped her down, trying my best not to let go of her too soon. It didn't take more than a few minutes to reach the other side. Soon we were across and I was helping her out of the ferry. The soldiers were patrolling around, saluting the princess as we passed by. As soon as we entered the main hall, a young boy with light brown hair and green eyes in a fancy white outfit approached us.
"Where have you been?! Mother has been looking for you everywhere?" he looked stressed until he looked at me. His dark brown eyes changed to confusion. "Who is this?"
Before I could answer, Anastasia chimed in.
"Oh, this is Terry. He is a son of noble from Treno. He happened to protect me from some thugs in the city."
"You know we have bodyguards for that", the prince snapped.
"Galen, you worry too much. The guards were away for but a moment. I had no time to react so Terry saved me."
Galen was not impressed in the least. It almost seemed like he wanted to call her a liar but left instead. She rolled her eyes.
"I do apologize for my brother's behavior. He can be very protective sometimes of me and our mother. Since our father left for the border, he has been different. Anyways, it is getting late. I'll let my maid show you to a room so tomorrow you can meet with that person I mentioned earlier."
With that, Princess Anastasia left up the stairs and a small, quiet maid stood by. She quietly led the way through the castle. We took a few turns here and there in the massive main wing until we reached a wooden door laced with a decorative picture of eight individuals craved carefully into it. I asked the maid what the picture meant.
"The heroes of old", she said softly. She proceeded to tell me a short story of Zidane and seven others including their own queen, who saved the world from a man named Kuja and Necron.
She left me the key to the door and went on about her duties. It was getting late and I had nothing better to do than sleep. I opened the door and saw the bed. It was large and lavished in red fabrics. I kicked off my shoes and crawled inside. The last thought on my mind was the others and where they were at and that I could find them soon. I felt myself drifting away as I closed my eyes.
The bar was busy. There were patrons everywhere ordering drinks and having a great time. It looked like they were celebrating something big. Zach was curious so while cleaning up a table from a previous spill, he listened in on some conversations. A lot of it was dealing with families and long work days and how they were stiff from all the harvesting. It all seemed that it was going nowhere for him until he heard two words 'heroes' and 'portal'. It caught his attention immediately and Zach tried to listen closer, the people who were mentioning those words left the bar suddenly. He yelled to Karth he would be back as soon as possible. Karth just waved off Zach as if he knew exactly why.
The two individuals were walking towards the large castle in the distance. Zach followed them slowly as not to draw attention to him or alert them to his presence. Eventually they arrived at a dock where boats were waiting for them. The individuals boarded the boat and started to cross the river. Zach on the other hand was not allowed in by soldiers standing guard by the docks. He just watched the two reach other side, walked off the boats, and headed straight into the castle. He wasn't going to let some lowly guards stop him from getting into the castle. Zach decided it was time to take a dip. He perched himself up somewhere high enough to find a spot to use to find access to the river. At the end of the dock was a small patch of rocks he could use to lower himself in and swim quietly as possible to the other side. It took him a few minutes to scale a large wall blocking trespassers. As soon as he got onto the other side, he crept onto the rocks where no one could see. Lowering into the water and starting to swim was harder than he thought as the water was freezing.
Reaching the other side was relief to Zach as he pulled himself out on the outer portion of the castle, out of sight from the roving guards. He thought of how he could move around the castle without being seen. Dripping wet clothes wouldn't do any good as a soldier might see the water and follow it. Stripping down wouldn't do any good either as some crazy naked guy running around would draw more than suspicion. There was nothing he could do now except sit there and air dry.
After ten minutes, the clothes finally were damp and lost most of the moisture. Zach eyed his surroundings and made a hasty decision. Spying around a corner, there was two guards on duty. One was sound asleep while the other was half awake, fighting sleep the best he could.
"No way, are these guys actually falling asleep on duty? I wonder what I can do to get their attention." Zach said.
He felt the ground for something to distract the soldiers with a found a rock. It was heavy enough to throw into the river from where he was standing. The rock made a loud thud as it entered the water. The soldiers snapped to attention and went to go investigate the sound. Zach carefully walked past them and into the castle.
"That must have been a back entrance. It shouldn't have been that easy. Oh well, now where to go?"
The castle was huge with its massive structures inside and decorations covering the walls. Zach walked the hallways, making his way past some soldiers on patrol, until he found the library. Inside the library the two men and others were sitting at a table. He snuck up to a book stand and hid behind it, listening to the group.
"What do you mean it went wrong? What happened?"
"I'm not sure. We followed the scripture as it is in the book and there were no signs of problems."
"So where did it go?"
"Again, I do not know. Hopefully no one came through."
"If that's the case then we can try again. We cannot tell the queen though. She was the one who wanted to attempt this since the situation is growing worse."
Suddenly a voice chimed in among the others; a voice that sounded like it didn't belong.
"I told you it was a waste of time. It has my men spooked. Earlier they claimed they saw someone 'fall' from the sky into the lake."
"Ah, Captain Ardmol. It's a surprise to see you here. Why didn't you go investigate the claim? It might have been one the travelers we are waiting for."
"I do not believe in such nonsense."
Listening to the group talk, Zach wonders which one of others was the one who fell into the lake. Deciding this was not going to answer any questions he had nor would he find them easy by sneaking into the castle, he began to walk out quietly until he stepped oddly on a book he didn't see on the floor. Zach fell sideways and banged into a large wooden bookshelf. The sound thundered through the library, alerting the group and to make things worse, the bookshelf fell over onto another one. Shelf after shelf, they all fell over like dominos. Zach just stood there while the group observed the eavesdropper.
Captain Ardmol drew his sword. Ardmol was a stocky built man with bronze armor on. His pepper colored hair signaled his age not much older than his dad. Zach just stood there, frozen looking for something to could say.
"Oh, I found the book I was looking for!"
However, tt didn't work.
"Guards!"
"Oh boy." Zach sprinted out of the library and down the hall.
The loud commotion of people running around woke me out of a dead sleep. In my confusion, I rolled out of bed and tripped over a foot stool. The footsteps could be heard outside his door. The clanging of metal armor and weapons were quickly gathering. It must be an attack on the castle. I began to get dressed quickly and ran out of my room. There were soldiers running around everywhere yelling about someone broke in and interrupted the council's meeting.
I followed a group out to the main hall where the queen was organizing the soldiers. The officers were putting out the description of the individual.
"He is average height, brown hair, and dressed strangely. I think he was armed."
That sounded like Zach but I couldn't be too sure. The soldiers paired off in large groups, armed to the teeth to find one person. Talks among them were the person was a probable assassin to murder the royal family or possibly a spy for the country to the north. I decided to branch off and stick close to Princess Anastasia since I didn't want to be caught up in the mess.
Zach was evading the soldiers the best he could but it was becoming more difficult since they reinforced the patrols aimed to find him. He could only hide in certain spots with shadows. He used it until he made his way to the top levels of the castle wall. He was high above the water as he looked over the wall. He could hear on both sides the soldiers closing in. He didn't have any choice but to jump. He crawled up onto the edge.
"This is probably the dumbest idea I've had in a while. May my ass be not the first thing to hit the water." Zach prayed in his mind.
"Stop right there! In the name of the royal family, I order you to halt!" a soldier yelled to Zach.
As he turned his head to respond, one of the soldiers shoot Zach with an arrow. Stunned from the pain, he fell over the edge. He plummeted into the icy water below while the soldiers continued to fire arrows into the pitch black. Captain Ardmol halted the fire.
"Cease fire! Lieutenant! What was that? You were supposed to capture him, not kill him."
Ardmol was obviously furious that the trespasser was shot. There was nothing he could do now but send a search party down and see if they can retrieve the body from the water. He assumed that the spy was killed from the fall, if not the arrow. Ardmol was curious on why the stranger was spying on the council's meeting. It was probably to pass on to the enemy no doubt. The commotion from the wall was passed all the way down to the queen. She stood there quietly as if she was frustrated by the soldier's actions of shooting instead of capturing. She broke out her concentration when she looked at me.
"Who are you?" she asked with a soft tone. Queen Garnet looked just liked Anastasia but older with strands of grey hair.
"My name is Terry your highness" I said with as much respect as I could give.
"And how did you end here in Alexandria's castle?"
"He came here from another world, mother." Anastasia said.
The queen's eyes widen.
"You came through the portal didn't you?"
"Yes your highness I did as well as three others. The one in the castle might have been one of them."
"There are three others? There was only supposed to be two. I wonder where the others are."
I explained how we found the portal, where we are from, and how we were split up. The queen understood everything and summoned her most trusted guards to seek out the others and bring them to her. She also mentioned to me that I would be meeting with the council in the morning to make sense of what was happening. All I could think was I hoped Zach was not the one shot by the arrow.
Zach gasped for air as he surfaced from the freeze below. He was numb from the water, which probably helped the pain from the arrow. The wound went clean through his shoulder. Zach snapped the arrow in half, pulled it out, and discarded the remains into the water. Without any first aid gear, he needed to patch up the wound fast. Karth was his only chance to hide and heal. Zach snuck his way through roving patrols in the city, using alley ways and shadows to his advantage. Once he got to the tavern, he opened the door and locked it behind him. Karth was awaiting his arrival.
"So I see you got into the castle."
"Yeah, it didn't end the way I wanted it to though."
Karth took him into the back of the bar and told him to sit still as much as possible. Karth pulled out a needle and thread, some bandages, and blue bottle. The bottle was a darker blue in color but the liquid inside was clear. Zach opened the bottle and smelled what was inside. It wasn't potent but it did knock him back a bit.
"What's in here?"
"It's a tea of sort. When you drink it, it numbs away the pain and begins to heal from the inside out. The bandages will keep whatever bleeds out until the potion works all the way and the thread will keep it together until the wound closes."
Zach shrugged his shoulders and popped the cork. He chugged the whole thing and re-corked the bottle. The after taste wasn't terrible but it was definitely a strong tea. Instantly, the arrow wound numbed as said by Karth. Then he went to business, sewing up Zach's injury. After the minor 'surgery', Karth instructed to Zach to lay low and to stay in here until the next morning. Zach finally laid down to close his eyes and wait it out till morning.
Shawn and Steven somehow managed to exit out of the portal at the same time, in the same place. They were confused by their surroundings. It was a dark forest where no natural light seemed to peak through the trees. They stood up and looked around.
"Shawn, you want a drink?" Steven asked while shaking the bottle at him.
"No idiot. We need to get out here, not drink!" Shawn yelled in a nervous state.
'Whatever" Steven replied as he tipped the bottle up and took a swig.
The two began to walk down a beaten dirt path. The sounds of the untamed wilderness freaked out Shawn while Steven couldn't care less. He was drunk so anything out there didn't scare him. Shawn was beginning to calm down when a dark figure stepped out onto the path. Shawn jumped behind Steven as the drunk wobbled back and forth trying to stand up straight. The figure stood there for a second and then began to step towards them.
"Are you Shawn and Steven?"
"Who wants to know?" Steven retorted.
"No one in particular. I've been expecting you two for a few hours now."
"Yeah? And who are you?" Shawn finally said, still behind Steven.
"No one important but someone who can offer you anything you want."
Steven and Shawn eyes lit up, "Anything?"
"Yes, anything, as long as you answer a few questions I have. Time is of the essence so we must hurry out of this forest and make our way up north."
"Is there going to be alcohol?" Steven asked.
"Why of course Master Steven. There will be plenty."
As the queen's guards left, Princess Anastasia led me back to my room. I wished her good night but as I began to shut the door I heard another female voice around the corner. As I opened my door back up, another beautiful female stood next to Princess Anastasia. She had shorter brown hair with sharp hazel eyes. She had features of someone who commanded respect with her silver armor.
"Terry, I would like you to meet Captain Ceres Leradine, my bodyguard. She is a decedent of Captain Aldbert Steiner and General Beatrix, two who helped saved the world from Kuja and Necron."
"Small world, Ceres. Everyone here seems like they are related to someone who saved the world."
Ceres found it slighty amusing as she grinned, "Yes Master Terry. I suppose it's a small world. Princess I do apologize for my earlier absence. If I've had known a threat was in the castle, I would have disposed of it immediately."
"It's ok Ceres, I wasn't in any danger. Mother seems like she wants to fine the individual and talk to him."
"I do not question the queen's judgment but I think she needs not to associate herself with criminals."
"What makes him a criminal?" I asked.
"He broke in and was here to assassinate someone. He was clumsy though and knocked over almost all the books in the library and said something about 'finding the book he was looking for'in a confused state. I find it strange an assassin would say something like that."
As I thought to myself that could have been Zach. I didn't want to alert Ceres that I might know who was in the castle so I threw out a distraction. I let out a big yawn, "Sorry ladies, this will have to wait until morning. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night Princess Anastasia and Ms. Leradine."
They bid me goodnight as I shut the door. I haven't been here for more than twenty four hours and things are chaotic already. I jumped back into bed and went back into the comfortable spot I was in before everything happened. It didn't take me long to fall asleep but somewhere in the back of my mind something felt uneasy. As for tomorrow, I was going to meet this elusive council.
Night turned to morning as the sun peaked over the quiet city. The rays of light slowly covered Zach's face as he began to move. His eyes opened and he sat up in the bed. His shoulder was healed for the most part; there was slight cut still there but being held together by the thread. Karth knew what he was doing like he was a part of a bigger plan and was there to guide Zach to a purpose. Karth walked in.
"Ah, I see you're finally up. You need to hurry and get dressed."
"Why what's wrong?"
"Soldiers are looking for you. Patrols are everywhere. I need to get you out and away from this place until the time comes. I know of a group who can look after you until then."
"What time? What are you talking about?"
"Zach, trust me. Tantalus is a good group of guys who know what to do. You need to get to Lindblum. Once there find Tantalus and work with them to find Cecil Mason, the Regent. He will be able to help you in ways I cannot. I know you are confused and you have no idea what I'm speaking of but you will find out once there. Take this with you. Leave out the backdoor and follow the alleyway. It will lead you to a wall you can scale and escape the city limits. Good luck Zach."
Karth handed Zach a ring with a chain weaved through it and a map. He put it around his neck and followed the instructions given. It was a straight shot to the wall and since there were no guards, Zach climbed over and jumped over to the other side. The city was behind him and he know idea if he would see it again. His main focus was to get to Lindblum. The map was easy to follow but it seemed like a long way to the other kingdom. He stuffed the map away and stepped it out. Zach was prepared to face the unknown but wished he had a better idea of what was going on.
I woke up to the sound of someone singing but as I left my bed to find the source, it stopped. Breakfast was already brought to my room while I was still asleep. As I walked over, I saw a note with it mentioning the meeting with directions on how to get there. I ate rather quickly as I wanted to see what the hell the council was going to tell me. Maybe a way to find the others? It was too soon to tell but my questions would be answered soon I hope. I followed the directions the best I could, taking a few wrong turns. The castle was more beautiful in the morning as a cool breezing was blowing through the halls. The rays warmed the stone walls and the sounds of birds could be heard outside. It was a nice distraction from the task at hand.
I finally made it to the room where the council was. I knocked on the door loudly and, after a silent pause, I heard a voice telling me to enter. I opened the door to see seven older men sitting a long table.
