The Ancient Kingdom of Timurus

Hermione, Ben, and I walked in the woods for what seemed like hours; this wood gave me the creeps anyway. I felt like we were being watched from every angle; I felt eyes on us as if someone was following us. The woods gave me an eerie feeling and I gripped by knife the entire time we walked through.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked me as I looked over my shoulder.

"I don't feel right walking through these woods," I told him as I heard a snap from the bushes and I spun around to stare at the spot where the noise came from. "I feel like someone is looking at me."

"Because you are being watched," came a voice from the tree top. We looked up and saw a woman standing there with a bow strung on her back; she jumped down and we saw how beautiful she was. She had long braided purple and blue hair, a slender blue cat-like body, a long light blue striped tail with a barb on the end, her blue arms and legs were long and lean, but had muscular definition, her face resembled that of a cat; her eyes were deep yellow with black oval pupils and she had a second eyelid that would show itself from time to time. She spoke with a slight accent and she had the most perfect teeth for someone who lived in the middle of the woods. She was the embodiment of a cat, but she was deadly and cunning like a human. "I am sorry if I startled you. My name is Sateem and I am the guardian of the forest."

"Guardian as in?" Ben asked.

"She guards the woods," I said rolling my eyes. "Why were you watching us?"

"It is my job to guard travelers from here to Timurus," she stated, "I kill anything that threatens the lives of those beyond the border on both sides. King Timon and his family entrusted me with the safety of all who pass through the woods except those in direct violation of the code which lucky for you, you are not."

"Well thank god for that," Hermione said standing slightly awkward. "Are we ready to go?"

"Leaving so soon?" Sateem asked crossing her arms and giving Hermione a certain look that made Hermione feel uncomfortable.

"Yes," Hermione said without saying goodbye and walking off.

"Thank you," Ben said smiling and walking toward Hermione.

"Do not trust Hermione," Sateem told me catching me off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"I have known Hermione for years," she told me, "she is not to be trusted. She is out for herself. She could get you killed."

"She told me that I possess the ultimate power," I told Sateem who laughed.

"You don't," Sateem said, "you and your family members do. Without them, you are just another person with powers. Be careful who you trust in this mission of yours. Sometimes it is better to look out for your own interests rather than help someone else."

"Thank you," I said as I ran to catch up with the others. Maybe she was right; for a weird cat lady, she had a point. I didn't know Hermione, nor did I want to, but did history portray her wrong? She is portrayed as this heroine who saved massive amounts of people, but now she was being a bitch and I had no idea why. We followed Hermione until we reached the clearing and came upon a magnificent mansion; it was made of pure white marble, three stories high, with more than a hundred windows, three doors, and more than a thousand acres of land

"Is this where we are supposed to be?" Ben asked as we stared in amazement.

"Yes," Hermione said looking at us, "have you never seen a mansion before?"

"Never," Ben said recalling a picture, "this house looks like the one Bobby Sherman owned."

"How do you know him?" Hermione asked.

"I don't, but I read about him," Ben said as we started to walk to the house, "he was our leading general in World War IV and then again in the second Civil War. He is an icon in history."

"You would be right my good sir," said a man from the front door. He was a tall stocky man with ashy shoulder length hair, his eyes were almond shaped sporting hazel coloring, his arms and legs seemed to be the same girth and the same length; he spoke with an odd accent, but his voice was very deep. He wore a black suit that seemed too small for his body and his teeth were a brilliant white. It was clear that these people had money and they knew how to spend it. "We purchased the house from Sherman's relatives a few hundred years ago before they all died. I'm Albert."

"It's good to see you again," Hermione said hugging Albert. "This is Ben and Rey. We are here to find the family members of the Potter line."

"You're not going to stop are you?" Albert asked smiling.

"Never," she responded. Albert ushered us in, but I didn't go in right away.

"I'll catch up," I said feeling a shooting pain in my side.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked me seeing my disgruntled face.

"Yeah I'll catch up with you later," I said walking around the property. The property was enormous and it someplace where we could definitely get lost if we weren't paying attention; there were three stables full of horses, a faux jousting field, two archery fields, a sword fighting ring, and targets lining the tree line from the house to the edge of the forest. I came upon a man in the archery field; he was tall with broad shoulders, long legs, and a long neck. He had blonde hair, his muscles flexed every time he drew the bow back and sprang back when the arrow was released. Why he was wearing no shirt was beyond me, but I didn't care; I could see every muscle in his back and it was fantastic.

"You're a pretty good shot," I yelled as he turned around and that's when I saw his whole figure; he sported an eight pack, his arms and sides were covered in tattoos of ancient symbols, his biceps were bigger than my head, his eyes were bright blue, and his ears were pointed.

He smiled and batted his eyes, "Thank you. Do you know anything about archery?"

I laughed, "I know a lot."

He picked up his bow and threw it at me, "Show me and impress me." If this was his way of flirting, it was working; I felt like he wanted to bed me, but at the same time I wanted to show him up for the elf he was. I stood before the target and took the arrow in my hand; I cleared my head and focused on my power behind the bow. I pulled back the string and let the arrow fly; it flew right into the bull's eye and I heard clapping behind me.

"That was great," he said picking up a bow and three arrows. He shot the arrows and landed all three in the bull's eye. "Try that." I picked up three arrows, focused and released the arrows which split his arrows and made the target explode. We covered our faces and looked at the target which was in pieces; he looked at me highly impressed. "Holy shit! How did you do that?"

"I have no idea," I said amazed at myself. How DID I do that?"

"I'm very impressed," he said sticking out his hand, "I'm Jonathan."

"Rey," I said as I winced in pain that brought me to my knees.

"Woah are you alright?" Jonathan asked me. We looked at my side and I noticed that I was bleeding through my shirt.

"I don't feel right," I said as I became light headed. I tried to stand, but I fell into his arms.

"Ok let's get you inside," Jonathan said carrying me inside his house. We got inside and he placed me on his kitchen table. "HELP!" he yelled as everyone came rushing in.

"What happened?" Ben asked panicking.

"She's bleeding heavily," Jonathan said looking at the wound. Pointing to Ben he said, "You need to help me with this."

"Why me?"

"Because if you don't she will die."