Chapter III: The Wrong Turn.

LES: Enjoy this chapter!

The next morning, the machine was packed up and ready to go to the fair. The Sage would go, while Keria remained behind to watch the house.

"Good bye, Keria, I'll come back with a first place prize ribbon and money!"

"Good bye, Daddy, take care!" Keria called after him as he rode off in the distance on a Flut-Flut cart.

Around late afternoon, the Sage was getting worried, "We should be there by now." The Flut-Flut was getting nervous. It was getting on the edge of spooked. "Maybe we took a wrong turn..." They came up to a fork in the road, but the Sage couldn't read the signs. The Flut-Flut tried to go to the right, but the Sage wanted to go left. The Flut-Flut looked down both ways. The left seemed more dangerous, while the right was safer. It tried to go right again, the Sage made him go left. "Oh, come on! It's a short cut, we'll be there in no time!" The Flut-Flut began seeing shapes moving around on either side of the trail. There was a flash of something yellow, and the Flut-Flut spooked. It tried to run away, and in it's haste, the cart came of him. (LES: How? You ask. I don't know, I'm the author.) The Sage fell to the ground. Now, he saw the flashing yellow lights. They only meant one thing, Metal-Heads! He got up and began to run. There was no way he could have defeated Metal-Heads on his own.

He ran and ran. Finally, he found himself at the massive gates of a city. He pushed open the gate, and found it swung easily. He closed it and locked it just as the Metal-Heads came up. Some unknown force destroyed the Metal-Heads before they could touch him.

He turned around and found himself in the ruins of what must've been a magnificent city. Off in the distance, he could see a palace, and some of the windows were lit up.

He began to make his way toward the palace, unaware of the hundreds of eyes following him...

He made his way up to the Palace door and knocked on it two times, it swung open, apparently on its own. He found himself inside a large and beautiful Palace, but it was dark and uninviting at the same time.

"Hello." The Sage called.

He heard voices, "Poor fellow must've lost his way in the woods."

"Keep quiet, maybe he'll go away!"

"Is someone there?" the Sage asked.

"Not one word, Daxter, not one word!"

"I don't' mean to intrude, but I lost my horse and I need a place to stay for the night!"

"Aww... Cogsworth, have a heart..." (LES: Couldn't think of another name for him.) "Of coarse, Mister, you are welcome here!"

"Who said that!" the Sage looked around. Two small furry Ottsels crept around the corner.

"Hello." The one that had orange/yellow fur.

"AUGH!" the Sage fell and landed on his butt. "Incredible, a talking rat!"

"Great, now you've done it, Daxter!" said the one that had brown fur. "Splendid! Just peachy!" He gasped as the Sage picked him up.

"Amazing, how is this accomplished?" he asked himself. The Sage suddenly sneezed.

"Oh, but you are soaked to the bone, mister!" The Ottsel called Daxter said, "Come, warm yourself by the fire."

"Oh, no, no, no!" Cogsworth said, "The Master will not approve!" Back in the shadows, a figure crept silently, watching the whole scene. "I demand that you stop this at once!" the Ottsel said as he ran into a room. "Oh, no!" He said when he saw the scene, "Not the Master's chair!" More Ottsels began popping up, putting a blanket around him and such. "I'm not seeing this! I'm not seeing this!"

"What service!" the Sage complemented. At that moment some more Ottsels came up and one oddly colored green one came up with a cup of tea.

"Hi! My name is Ashley!" (LES: Yours truly!) The green Ottsel said, "Why don't you have a cup of tea, it's will warm you right up!" Ashley the Ottsel handed him the tea.

"No tea!" Weatherby shouted in the background.

All of a sudden, the door swung open, and the fire extinguished, the Ottsels began to cower. A great horned shadow filled the room. A dark, human-like beast walked into the room, snarling and growling. The Sage began to become afraid. The beast sniffed,

"There's a stranger here." It said in an oily voice that made the hair on the back of the Sage's neck stand up.

"Now, Master, let me explain." Daxter began fearfully. "He was lost in the woods, and he needed a place to stay..." A loud roar cut him off.

"Master, I would just like to take this moment to say," Cogsworth began, clearly wanting to get out of trouble. "I was against this from the start. It was all his fault!" But a roar cut him off to. He dived under the rug.

The Sage looked around, and found himself staring deep into pitiless black eyes. They were like twin bottomless pits. They seemed to absorb the light.

"Who are you?" The beast asked cruelly. "What do you want?"

"I was lost in the woods..." the Sage began, but the beast cut him off.

"You are not welcome here!" it snarled. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing!" the Sage stammered. The beast cornered the frightened man.

"So, you've come to stare at the beast?"

"I just needed a place to stay!"

"I'll give you a place to stay!" The beast reached out with its talon-like claws and grabbed the man and drug him off to what ever place the beast had in store for him.

(Back at Keria's house.)

Erol and his servant are waiting outside Keria's house. The servant laughed, "Boy, Keria is in for the surprise of her life!"

"Yes, it is her lucky day!" Erol said confidently. He stepped out to address a large crowd that had gathered. "I'd like to thank you all for coming to my wedding." Erol's fan-girls sobbed in the background, "Now, I just have to go in a propose to the girl." Everyone laughed, except the girls, who were crying. He turned on his servant, "Now, when Keria and I come out that door..."

"I know, I strike up the band!" He began conducting the band, they started playing 'Here comes the Bride.' Erol smacked him upside the head.

"Not yet!" Erol said.

"Sorry." Said the servant.

Mean while, inside Keria's house, she was busy reading her book when there was a knock on the door. She carefully marked her page and set the book down on the table. She looked though the peephole and saw Erol's face. She sighed and opened the door. Erol barged in.

"Erol, what a unexpected surprise." Keria said.

"Isn't it though?" Erol said, "I'm just full of surprises." Erol said suggestively. "You know, Keria, there isn't a woman in the village that wouldn't love to be in your shoes. This is the day..." He caught sight of himself in a mirror. He checked his teeth, when he was satisfied, he continued. "This is the day all of your dreams come true!"

"What do you know of my dreams, Erol?" Keria asked.

"Plenty! Picture this," Erol sat at the table, and placed his muddy feet right on Keria's book. "Rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on a fire," Erol kicked off his shoes, "And my little wife massaging my feet." Keria looked thoughly discussed at Erol's feet, "While the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We'll have six or seven."

"Dogs?" Keria asked.

"No, Keria," Erol said, "Strapping boys, like me!

"Imagine that..." Keria said sarcastically.

"And do you know who that little wife is?" Erol advanced on Keria.

"Let me guess." Keria said, backing away from Erol.

"You, Keria." Erol said.

"Erol!" Keria backed up against the door. "I'm speechless. I don't know what to say.

"Say you'll marry me." Erol cornered her at the door. And puckered his lips, ready to kiss her.

"But, I don't deserve you." She turned the doorknob and got out of his way as her fell out of the house. He happened to fall in a mud puddle, and the servant began the music. Keria threw out his boots, and shut the door. The servant noticed Erol in the mud puddle.

"So, how'd it go?" the servant asked. Erol grabbed him by the neck.

"I'll have Keria as my wife! Make no mistake about that!" Erol stalked away, wiping mud off his face.

Back at the house, Keria peeked her head out of the house. "Is he gone?" she asked a chicken. She picked up some chicken feed. "Can you believe it? He asked me to marry him! Me! Marry that boring, brainless..." She began to sing:

"Madam Erol!

Can't you just see it?

Madam Erol!

He's little wife?

No sir! Not me!

I guarantee it!

I want much more than this provincial life!

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere!

I want it more than I can tell!

And for once it might be grand,

To have someone understand,

I want much more than they've got planned!"

Off in the distance, she heard a Flut-Flut chirping like crazy. She looked up and saw her Flut-Flut running up to her.

"Flut-Flut!" Keria cried, "Where's Daddy." Of coarse the bird couldn't answer. So she got on the Flut-Flut. "Just take me to where you left him!" Keria pleaded the bird. And the bird took off.

(Later)

The Flut-Flut came to a stop in front of the city gates. Keria gasped. "What is this place?" She got off her Flut-Flut, opened the gates, and headed toward the castle.

LES: Next chapter.