The sun beat down on the travelling knight. Sweat dripped from his brow,
but he didn't notice. He was too concerned with his journey. He was on a
quest. A quest to save the Lady Juliet and to find some answers.
As he rode on his red horse, he saw a tree in the distance and two small creatures sharing it's shade. As he drew closer, the smaller one ran out to him. It was a small brown dog, and it barked loudly at the knight. The second creature got up and walked towards him. It appeared to be a little boy with red hair and a jingling jester hat.
"Greetings Knight person!" said the boy, rather enthusiastically.
"Hello lad. I was wondering if thou knowst where I mayest find the castle of the wizard?" The little boy grinned at the Knight and flailed his arms.
"Edward is not a boy, Mr. Knight person, but Ed does know where the castle is!"
"Where is it, my, uh, lady? I must find it." The little boy, I mean girl, stopped flailing her arms and looked straight at the Knight. Then she pointed over the hill.
"Just follow the path. Knight person can't miss it. Ed must leave now," and with that said, the little girl turned and ran in the opposite direction, with the dog chasing after her.
"What an odd child." The Knight continued on. To his dismay, as soon as he topped the hill, he could see the castle.
"Huh. It really was just over the hill." Grabbing the reins, he nudged his horse onwards and gazed in wonder at the castle.
________________
The castle was quite large and constructed out of red stone. However, it did not have a moat or a drawbridge, which usually came standard with these kind of homes. Instead of a moat, it was surrounded by a large garden filled with tiny trees. An older man in a straw hat was humming softly as he trimmed some miniature trees.
"Excuse me," the knight said, not wanting to disturb or alarm the gardener.
"Aye, Sir Knight. How may I be of service?" the gardener replied in a deep voice, that seemed to convey a sense of knowledge or reason in it's tone.
"I was wondering, if this be the castle of the wizard?"
"Aye, it be. But why hast thou come seeking the wizard?"
"I am on a quest, to rescue the Lady Juliet and to find some answers."
"Ah, so this is for a woman. Women are dangerous creatures, Sir Knight. I'd be more afraid of the Lady than the creatures in this here castle." The gardener paused for a moment and surveyed his handwork. "Just enter through the door, he'll know you're here. Good luck sir knight."
"Thank yee, gardener, and good luck making these little trees grow." The gardener stared at the knight as he dismounted and walked into the castle.
________________
The castle was dark and musty. Oddly, it was very quiet. The only audible noise was the metal clinking of the knight's armor as he walked through the rooms. There were lots of crumbling statues and a few pieces of burnt furniture. The knight walked on, not really sure what to expect. Suddenly, a flame blasted off to his right side, and he heard the footsteps of something very large coming towards him. He reached for his sword, but felt as if he was missing a vital weapon. Then, the dragon appeared before him, a monstrous large, red dragon. It showed him it's long, white fangs, and growled menacingly.
Not knowing what to do, the Knight dashed behind one of the tall support columns, just in time to escape another fiery blast. All of a sudden the dragon went quiet. The knight cautiously peaked out from behind the column, and caught sight of the wizard.
The wizard was as tall as the knight, and clothed in flowing, black robes. He had shoulder length, white hair, and pale blue eyes.
"Come out Sir Knight, my dragon will no longer attack you," came the rasping voice of the wizard. The knight came out from behind the column, still feeling as if he needed something in his hand besides a sword.
"Why hast thou come to my castle?" The wizard's voice boomed through the open archways, echoing off the walls, and off the tall ceiling.
"I have come to rescue the Lady Juliet!" The knight said, feeling a bit braver. The wizard let out an evil laugh (you know the one I mean).
"Ah, Sir Knight, you amuse me. Come now. We both know that the Lady Juliet no longer resides in our world. She has moved on to the next realm." The wizard laughed again, as if it was some kind of hilarious joke, but the Knight was confused.
"Then.answer my question wizard!"
"And what question is this, brave Sir Knight?"
"Who am I?" The wizard erupted in more evil laughter. The Knight could feel him gathering power towards himself. He was knocked backward by the force. He felt pain throbbing in his head and in his mid section. His vision faded to black, and he felt as if he was being pulled out of a dream. The pain and the vicious laughter followed him.
______________________
He opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the glaring white light on the other side of his eyelids. He squinted at the ceiling as he tried to figure out where he was. He found that he couldn't move anything except for his eyes, and the idea of being restrained concerned him a little. He heard noises to his right, and turned his attention towards the sound.
There was a round woman, dressed in white, checking machines that were hooked up to his arm and face. She hummed softly as she worked. She glanced over at him and smiled.
"Good morning! It's a lovely day today." She glanced back at the clipboard she was holding. She made a few checks and scribbled down some notes.
"Where am I?" He asked, his voice sounding unused and strange to him.
"You are in St. Anthony's hospital, on Mars." She pushed a button on the wall.
"Why am I here?"
"Well, Mr. questions. You had a little bit of an accident. I don't know all the details myself, but you were slashed across the mid-section, by something sharp and you hit your head when you lost consciousness. You lost quite a bit of blood, and ended up going into shock. You're very lucky to be alive, very lucky. You must have a guardian angel," she said in her enthusiastic manner.
"How long have I been here?"
"Oh, I'd say about three weeks," as she spoke, the blue door of the room opened and a man, also dressed in white, entered the room. He was kind of short, with short brown hair, and was balancing black framed glasses on the tip of his large nose.
"Well, well, I see our patient has finally decide to join the living. So, do you feel up to a quick check-up before breakfast?" He looked at the doctor and tried to shrug, but found that it would take too much energy, so he just nodded.
The nurse pushed another button, causing his bed to fold into a sitting position. The doctor brought out a little flashlight and began to check his eyes.
"So how are you feeling?" The doctor asked, scribbling down some more notes on his own clipboard.
"Fine I guess. I have a headache, and I can't really move." His voice was returning back to its normal tone as he used it.
"Yes, we had to put you on some heavy medication, and you tossed and turned a lot in your sleep, so we gave you a little something to help restrain you. We didn't want you to reopen your wound. Do you remember anything before the accident?" The doctor asked, looking into his eyes for the first time. He frowned for a second, straining to remember. He couldn't remember anything, and it scared him. He looked into the eager face of the nurse and the analytical face of the doctor, and he sighed.
"I remember..a dream.. and then..then I woke up."
As he rode on his red horse, he saw a tree in the distance and two small creatures sharing it's shade. As he drew closer, the smaller one ran out to him. It was a small brown dog, and it barked loudly at the knight. The second creature got up and walked towards him. It appeared to be a little boy with red hair and a jingling jester hat.
"Greetings Knight person!" said the boy, rather enthusiastically.
"Hello lad. I was wondering if thou knowst where I mayest find the castle of the wizard?" The little boy grinned at the Knight and flailed his arms.
"Edward is not a boy, Mr. Knight person, but Ed does know where the castle is!"
"Where is it, my, uh, lady? I must find it." The little boy, I mean girl, stopped flailing her arms and looked straight at the Knight. Then she pointed over the hill.
"Just follow the path. Knight person can't miss it. Ed must leave now," and with that said, the little girl turned and ran in the opposite direction, with the dog chasing after her.
"What an odd child." The Knight continued on. To his dismay, as soon as he topped the hill, he could see the castle.
"Huh. It really was just over the hill." Grabbing the reins, he nudged his horse onwards and gazed in wonder at the castle.
________________
The castle was quite large and constructed out of red stone. However, it did not have a moat or a drawbridge, which usually came standard with these kind of homes. Instead of a moat, it was surrounded by a large garden filled with tiny trees. An older man in a straw hat was humming softly as he trimmed some miniature trees.
"Excuse me," the knight said, not wanting to disturb or alarm the gardener.
"Aye, Sir Knight. How may I be of service?" the gardener replied in a deep voice, that seemed to convey a sense of knowledge or reason in it's tone.
"I was wondering, if this be the castle of the wizard?"
"Aye, it be. But why hast thou come seeking the wizard?"
"I am on a quest, to rescue the Lady Juliet and to find some answers."
"Ah, so this is for a woman. Women are dangerous creatures, Sir Knight. I'd be more afraid of the Lady than the creatures in this here castle." The gardener paused for a moment and surveyed his handwork. "Just enter through the door, he'll know you're here. Good luck sir knight."
"Thank yee, gardener, and good luck making these little trees grow." The gardener stared at the knight as he dismounted and walked into the castle.
________________
The castle was dark and musty. Oddly, it was very quiet. The only audible noise was the metal clinking of the knight's armor as he walked through the rooms. There were lots of crumbling statues and a few pieces of burnt furniture. The knight walked on, not really sure what to expect. Suddenly, a flame blasted off to his right side, and he heard the footsteps of something very large coming towards him. He reached for his sword, but felt as if he was missing a vital weapon. Then, the dragon appeared before him, a monstrous large, red dragon. It showed him it's long, white fangs, and growled menacingly.
Not knowing what to do, the Knight dashed behind one of the tall support columns, just in time to escape another fiery blast. All of a sudden the dragon went quiet. The knight cautiously peaked out from behind the column, and caught sight of the wizard.
The wizard was as tall as the knight, and clothed in flowing, black robes. He had shoulder length, white hair, and pale blue eyes.
"Come out Sir Knight, my dragon will no longer attack you," came the rasping voice of the wizard. The knight came out from behind the column, still feeling as if he needed something in his hand besides a sword.
"Why hast thou come to my castle?" The wizard's voice boomed through the open archways, echoing off the walls, and off the tall ceiling.
"I have come to rescue the Lady Juliet!" The knight said, feeling a bit braver. The wizard let out an evil laugh (you know the one I mean).
"Ah, Sir Knight, you amuse me. Come now. We both know that the Lady Juliet no longer resides in our world. She has moved on to the next realm." The wizard laughed again, as if it was some kind of hilarious joke, but the Knight was confused.
"Then.answer my question wizard!"
"And what question is this, brave Sir Knight?"
"Who am I?" The wizard erupted in more evil laughter. The Knight could feel him gathering power towards himself. He was knocked backward by the force. He felt pain throbbing in his head and in his mid section. His vision faded to black, and he felt as if he was being pulled out of a dream. The pain and the vicious laughter followed him.
______________________
He opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the glaring white light on the other side of his eyelids. He squinted at the ceiling as he tried to figure out where he was. He found that he couldn't move anything except for his eyes, and the idea of being restrained concerned him a little. He heard noises to his right, and turned his attention towards the sound.
There was a round woman, dressed in white, checking machines that were hooked up to his arm and face. She hummed softly as she worked. She glanced over at him and smiled.
"Good morning! It's a lovely day today." She glanced back at the clipboard she was holding. She made a few checks and scribbled down some notes.
"Where am I?" He asked, his voice sounding unused and strange to him.
"You are in St. Anthony's hospital, on Mars." She pushed a button on the wall.
"Why am I here?"
"Well, Mr. questions. You had a little bit of an accident. I don't know all the details myself, but you were slashed across the mid-section, by something sharp and you hit your head when you lost consciousness. You lost quite a bit of blood, and ended up going into shock. You're very lucky to be alive, very lucky. You must have a guardian angel," she said in her enthusiastic manner.
"How long have I been here?"
"Oh, I'd say about three weeks," as she spoke, the blue door of the room opened and a man, also dressed in white, entered the room. He was kind of short, with short brown hair, and was balancing black framed glasses on the tip of his large nose.
"Well, well, I see our patient has finally decide to join the living. So, do you feel up to a quick check-up before breakfast?" He looked at the doctor and tried to shrug, but found that it would take too much energy, so he just nodded.
The nurse pushed another button, causing his bed to fold into a sitting position. The doctor brought out a little flashlight and began to check his eyes.
"So how are you feeling?" The doctor asked, scribbling down some more notes on his own clipboard.
"Fine I guess. I have a headache, and I can't really move." His voice was returning back to its normal tone as he used it.
"Yes, we had to put you on some heavy medication, and you tossed and turned a lot in your sleep, so we gave you a little something to help restrain you. We didn't want you to reopen your wound. Do you remember anything before the accident?" The doctor asked, looking into his eyes for the first time. He frowned for a second, straining to remember. He couldn't remember anything, and it scared him. He looked into the eager face of the nurse and the analytical face of the doctor, and he sighed.
"I remember..a dream.. and then..then I woke up."