Chapter 8: Asterwen


I was surprised with how fast a simple, little quest had turned into a huge journey to not only discover the answers to my grandfather's death, but to also help Caden break his curse.

From what I could understand, Caden did not actually want to inherit the throne to his kingdom; that's not why he tried to free the Sorceress. The current ruler of his kingdom was treating people harshly and he just couldn't stand for it any longer when he was the true ruler. He had put up with the fact that it was because of the harsh rule of the current king his parents were killed, but it seemed like something else had really pushed him over the edge now.

I felt so bad for him. Not just for the fact that he had lost both of his parent when he was young, but because he was in the same boat as me: he didn't want to become a ruler. He knew that if he broke the curse he would be able to gain his crown, but he didn't want to.

If only he could give himself a chance. Caden really seemed like he had a caring heart, and he didn't even know what kind of a ruler he would be like, and I know Alex would roll his eyes at me when I say that, but I already know that I wouldn't be a good queen. I already knew that I couldn't even be a proper princess.

When I was younger and didn't realize the challenges of being a queen, I looked forward to it so much. I wanted to be just like my mom. I had hoped to live up to both of my parents' reputations, especially when I was younger. That was my main goal in life.

I was maybe five when the idea first struck me. I was in my parents' room playing with some of my mother's jewelry. They both had to finish up some last minute work, but they were so busy that day that they hadn't had anytime to spend with me, so that was their solution, and even though I was a pretty big distraction, I was a well welcomed one.

"Mommy, look at this necklace!" I said, placing it around my neck and smiled brightly.

"Yeah, it looks really pretty on you," my mother complimented, setting down the last paper she had to look over.

I turned around to show my father. "Daddy, Daddy, look at me!"

He sat down his papers, too. "Well don't you look as pretty as a princess."

I giggled. "But I am a princess!"

My dad picked me up and put me on his lap. "I know, and one day you'll be a great queen, too."

"Yeah," I said, full of excitement. "I want to be just like you and Mommy. Well, I want to really be like Mommy. I'm a girl. I don't want to be a king. I get to be a queen!"

"Yes, you will, but you'll get some of my big responsibilities, too," my father told me. "You'll pretty much be in charge."

"I don't care. It will be fun!" I said. "Wait. Will it be hard?"

"There'll be moments of difficulties, but you're a smart girl. You'll figure it out."

"And if you ever need help, we'll always be there to help you," my mom said.

I crawled off my dad's lap and moved next to my mom. "Don't worry, Mommy. I promise I'll be just as good of a queen as you." I promised and kissed her on the cheek.

My father was right. I realized now how difficult it would be to rule a kingdom. I knew now that I couldn't keep my promise, much like how my grandfather wasn't able to keep his. I would never be as good of a queen as my mother, or as good of a ruler as my father.

"We're almost there," Caden said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Whatever you do, don't draw attention to yourself. Just act like normal people going about their daily routines, and the guards won't notice you."

He stopped swimming momentarily to tighten the strand of seaweed he had wrapped around his arm. I wondered why he was wearing it. It didn't look like it was covering a wound.

Caden then continued on and Alex and I followed him into the city plaza. It was a small kingdom, much smaller than Atlantica, but there was still a bustling crowd in the market. He led us through that market and by the time we had exited, I didn't know where we were. The market was filled with so many people.

It wasn't hard to tell that that was the spot where everyone gathered because of the vast amount of people. Most of them looked poor and unhappy. I wondered how a small and simple looking kingdom could fall out of shape so badly.

Once out of the market, Caden led us through the much calmer part of the city and to a small cabin. It wasn't anything special. In fact, it almost looked abandoned as if no one lived there anymore.

He took a key out of its hiding spot in a nearby sea plant and opened the door for us. He swam in first, followed by Alex and then me. In that moment, I honestly thought it might have been a trap.

It wasn't, though. Caden shut the door behind him and called out to another person in the cabin. "I brought guests back. They're here to help."

"Really? Who are they?" asked the merman who swam out of another room. He was older than Caden, but would not be considered elderly.

Caden looked to us to introduce ourselves. "Uh, I'm Princess Melody and this is Alex," I said.

"Of Atlantica?" he asked and I nodded. "Well, what are you doing over here in this little neck of the reef?"

"Don't worry. We can trust them, Easton. They're trying to find the scepter and the Sorceress, too," Caden answered for us.

"Oh, and how did your little search go? Did you find the scepter?" Easton eagerly asked.

So Caden told him the story of his encounter with the Sorceress and us, and I filled it in with what little John had told me about her and my grandfather. Over those few moments, it seemed like Easton became more understanding than when we first met him. It seemed at first that he didn't trust us, but after listening to our stories, it became apparent that he was also willing to help.

From what Alex and I could understand, Easton was a friend of Caden's parents who took him in after they died, and he hated the current monarch as well. He had seen the harshness of the king right in front of him when he killed his wife to make a point across to the rest of the people, so Easton was more than willing to help the lost prince regain his throne.

The two of them had been hiding out of sight in case somehow someone learned the truth about Caden. It was the way his family had been living since the beginning. They said that it was also a simple way to stay out of sight in general. They rarely had to face the harshness of the king's rule anymore, but it still wasn't an easy way to live.

"So, how do you suppose we find the scepter again. I mean, we don't really know where to look?" I asked.

"Well, when I found it I was simply in here. I didn't do anything special. One second my hands were empty, the next I was holding it. I was hoping that it would show up here again," Caden explained.

"Well, maybe that will happen again," I suggested.

"That's very unlikely. The scepter is very picky on who it trusts and now that Caden released the Sorceress, it might not trust him anymore," Easton said.

Caden bowed his head slightly and fidgeted with the wrap on his left arm. It wasn't his fault that he was tricked. Hopefully, the scepter could somehow understand that and go back to him. He seemed like a really nice and genuine person otherwise.

"Well, Melody's looking for it. Maybe it will come to her," Ales suggested.

"We can only hope," Easton replied.

Just then there was a knock on the door and the sound of a female voice causing Alex and me to jump out of our skins since we had thought that no one else would be coming. "Caden, it's me!"

"It's okay. That's just Shona. She's a friend," Caden said, opening the door for her to let her in. "How are you today?" he asked, but it wasn't hard to tell that there was something else he meant by saying that.

"Fine," she replied. "I just finished my shift at the palace. I was hoping I could crash here again tonight. I don't work again for another three days, and I'd hate to have to stay in that horrid place till then. The maids get the worst rooms."

"Yeah," Caden answered looking ecstatic that she would be staying, and I wondered if here had just forgotten about what had just happened with the Sorceress and all. "You know you can stay here anytime you need to. You're always welcomed here, right Easton?"

"Always," he confirmed.

Shone smiled before turning her attention curiously looking towards Alex and I.

"Oh, this is Princess Melody and her friend Alex. They're trying to help us find the scepter. It's a long story," Caden said.

"Really? What happened?" she asked, so we told her the story.


"So, what do you all think we should do?" Shona asked. "We have to find the scepter and now we have to stop the Sorceress, too."

"I think we should figure out where the scepter is first. We can deal with the Sorceress after we find it," I suggested. It would be so much simpler to stop the Sorceress if we had the scepter. It could be very powerful, so it would be vital for stopping her from who knows what she could be doing, and from what I learned from John, it wasn't going to be good.

"But where do you think it is?" she asked.

Everyone in the room shrugged. No one had a clue of where to start. We all knew that we had to find it, but I seriously began to doubt that we ever would.

And that's when I felt like giving up.