It was just turning dark when the King of Tamborinia heard the news of Princess Terrianna's disappearance, or rather, the accusation.
King Robin had been sitting down to his evening meal when the royal crier had come into the dining room.
"Sir Garfield, from the Kingdom of Caldweilla requests a meeting with your Royal Highness, in the name of King Caldwell VII," he announced primly. Robin stood and nodded.
"Send him in."
As the crier left, Robin frowned. He was never sure what to expect during his meetings with representatives of the neighboring Kingdom. For several centuries before Robin's reign, there had been war between the two countries. The reason for the war was, to this day, unknown.
When Robin had been crowned King at the young age of twelve, due to his parents' untimely deaths, he had resolved to end the war. Despite his young age, he was quite smart, and well informed in politics, and within a year a truce had been reached. In a meeting between the two kings, they had declared the war to be a misunderstanding and had each done a few things to seal the deal.
That had been nearly half a decade ago, and since then, neither Kingdom had made a move that might induce war. Even so, the relationship between the two Kingdoms would probably remain somewhat shaky for at least another couple of years.
Robin looked up as the door opened and a young knight walked in. The knight stopped in front of Robin, taking off his helm and bowing respectfully, though he wore a slight frown on his face.
"King Robin," the green man greeted. "I have come bearing a message from my King."
Robin nodded, and accepted an enveloped letter from the knight.
Greetings, King RobinI'm afraid to say this letter bares grave news. My beloved daughter, Princess Terrianna, was discovered missing early this morning. There was no note, and only a few signs of a struggle (i.e. a discarded sword, hastily thrown bedding, and mysterious scorch marks near her balcony). We are unsure of what to make of this.
Though we do not wish to accuse you or your Kingdom of anything, you understand that we are unsure of what to think. If you truly know nothing of this, we ask for your help in finding and retrieving our princess. We have already sent out search parties to the furthest reaches of Caldweilla.
I have sent one of my knights, Sir Garfield, to aid you if you choose to help us in our search. If you do not wish to help us, please send him back with your reply through letter.
Respectfully,
King Caldwell VII
After reading the letter, Robin had ordered for a room to be made for Sir Garfield, and he had retreated to his study.
Now, he was pacing around the wide room, trying to decide what to do.
He couldn't refuse Caldwell's request for help. That would make it seem as though his kingdom was either guilty or just didn't care. Either could throw the two Kingdoms back into war. But what could he do to help? He didn't know where the girl was anymore than they did.
He was broken from his thoughts by a knock. Robin quickly strode over to his door and opened it. The hallway was empty. Shrugging, Robin closed the door and turned around. Looking up, he emitted a cry of surprise.
Floating outside his window was a hooded person, and a man surrounded by black energy. He let out a relieved chuckle and went to open his window. The two people floated in and settled on the floor.
"I told you we should have requested an audience with him, but no! That'll take too long. Better we scare him half to death by floating outside his window," the tall man said.
"Shut up, Victor," the hooded figure replied calmly, taking off her hood. She turned to the King. "Hello, Robin."
"Raven, Victor," he greeted, nodding his head to each of them. "What brings you two here?"
"Bad news, I'm afraid," Raven replied. Robin frowned. Her words sounded eerily like those of King Caldwell at the moment. "I assume you've heard of Princess Terrianna's disappearance by now?"
"Yes, but how do you know about it?" Robin asked. Raven sighed.
"I know who did it, and where she is," she replied. "She's been kidnapped by… Malchior."
"The sorcerer, Malchior?" Robin asked, not noticing the way Raven winced at the sorcerer's name. "How do you know?"
"He contacted me last night. He told me that he had her, and he hinted that he'd be willing to release her… for a price."
"What price?" Robin asked, brows furrowing.
"Me."
-
Gar sighed, flopping onto an overly squishy bed. The ride between King Caldwell's castle and the Tamborinian palace was about two days, not including stops to change horses at stables along the way. And that was at a fast gallop! Yet somehow, he had managed to travel the distance in a single day.
He allowed himself to sink into the cushions of the bed, not even attempting to fight off the sleep pulling at the corners of his mind. He was just beginning to nod off when a loud knock at his door snapped him back to consciousness.
Quickly walking to the door of the room he had been given, he opened it.
"Yeah? Oh! Your Highness," Garfield quickly scuttled back, opening the door for the young monarch. Unsure of what else to do, he bent over in a clumsy bow.
"You don't have to bow," King Robin informed him, stepping into the room. Two people, a young man and a woman, followed him in.
"Yes, sire," Garfield replied, straightening and closing the door. "What can I do for you, your highness?"
"You can stop with the formalities and just call me Robin, for starters." Robin replied, smiling lightly.
"Yes s- uh, Robin."
Robin nodded. "I hope your room is acceptable?"
"Sure is," Gar answered. The green boy looked curiously at the two people who had yet to speak.
The man was quite tall and muscular, but Gar decided that the dark-skinned man couldn't be more than a year or two older than himself. Though he wore a serious expression on his face, Gar got the impression that he'd be a nice guy when you got to know him.
The woman was also around his age. Or, at least, he thought she was. It was difficult to tell. She wore a royal blue cloak, and the hood threw a dark shadow that covered most of her face. All he could make out from under the shadows were penetrating purple eyes looking back at him.
He looked back at Robin and found the King had stopped and was looking at him.
"King Caldwell sent you here to help us retrieve Princess Terrianna," Robin said, his tone one of utmost seriousness. "And we're definitely going to need you."
"What do you need me to do?" Gar asked, apprehension beginning to take a hold of him.
"We need you to go on a quest," the girl spoke. "Terrianna has been taken by a very dangerous man. We need to go to his castle and get her back. Hopefully we can do it without force, and without his knowing."
"Wait, we? As in, you and I?" Gar asked, frowning.
"Victor and Robin as well," she replied, motioning to the tall man at her side.
"Okay… me, Robin and Victor, and you?"
"Yes, what exactly are you getting at?" the girl asked, annoyance flashing in her eyes.
"Well it's just… you're a girl, and- no offense, or anything- you just don't exactly look like a hardened warrior," Gar replied.
"Oh, and you do?" she scoffed. He looked down at his wiry build and growled.
"Hey, I have muscles, okay? And I'm obviously a good fighter. I was knighted by King Caldwell himself for my performance in battle!"
She muttered something under her breath and scowled at Robin.
"You expect me to spend however long it takes to get her back with this idiot? I've already told you; I can do this on my own."
"Raven, be nice," Robin scolded. "Sir Garfield doesn't know what you're capable of, and you can't blame him for his ignorance. And besides, I don't care what you say; you are going to need some extra help. We're coming whether you like it or not."
"What do you mean? What's she capable of?" Gar asked, interrupting the argument that was inevitably about to ensue.
"I am the sorceress Raven," the girl replied, shooting him an icy glance. Gar fought the urge to widen his eyes and shudder at her proclamation, but he couldn't stop a sharp intake of breath that escaped him. A sorceress? King Robin expected him to work with a sorceress?
"S-so, where are we going for this quest?" Gar asked once he had found his voice. "Does that mean we definitely know where Princess Terrianna is?"
"We know where she is," Victor confirmed. "She's in the sorcerer Malchior's castle. We'd get an army together and leave right now, but his castle is in another dimension."
"What is it with you people and sorcery?" Gar asked, wrinkling his nose. He received an intimidating glare from Raven and quickly continued. "So, it's in another dimension. How are we supposed to get there?"
"I can transport us there," Raven replied. "But I can't control where we appear on the other side. We could land miles away from his castle, or we could land in the middle of his sitting room. There's no way of telling."
The knight nodded thoughtfully. "I guess the only question left is, when do we leave?"
-
Opening her eyes, Terrianna sat up and took in her surroundings. She was in a richly furnished bedchamber. Candles dimly lighted it, and she couldn't see any windows.
She thought back to her encounter with Malchior. All she remembered after passing out was unending, overwhelming heat. Other than that, she remembered nothing up until waking up in this strange, windowless room.
She pushed aside the crimson blankets covering her and stood up. She immediately wrapped her arms around her torso as she realized she was still only wearing her light nightgown. She noticed a golden robe lying at the foot of the bed and pulled it on gratefully.
There was knock on the door and Terrianna whirled around in time to see her captor striding confidently into the room. Pulling back her shoulders and lifting her chin, she tried to look as regal as she could.
"You have woken," Malchior smirked, walking towards her. "Wonderful. I hope you feel well rested?"
"I feel fine," Terrianna replied stiffly.
"Good," he nodded. "Would you care for something to eat?"
"No, thank you," the princess declined coldly, looking away from the sorcerer. A rumbling sound from her stomach betrayed her words, and Malchior smirked.
With a wave of his hand, there was a small blue flash of light. The scent of hot food forced Terrianna to turn her head in the direction he had waved at.
A table sat in the middle of the room, though there had been none there earlier, laden with mouthwateringly aromatic food. Taking her gently by the arm, Malchior led the stubborn girl over to the table and sat her down on a chair. After pushing her in, he walked around the table and sat in the seat across from her.
Terrianna looked down at the food lain out in front of her. Hot porridge with fresh honey, crisp bacon, fresh bread and raspberry jam; all her favorites. Despite that, she was reluctant to eat it. She didn't trust sorcerer's food.
"Would you like me to test it for you?" Malchior smirked, seeming to know what she was thinking. "I've done nothing to it, I promise you."
As if to prove himself, he picked up a silver spoon and tucked into the food set before him. Terrianna frowned and looked away, but an image of the succulent food had already burned itself into her mind's eye. Reluctantly, she picked up a slice of bread and spread on a thick layer of jam. She took a bite and instantly realized just how hungry she was.
She quickly finished all the food on her plate.
When she finally looked up from her food, she found that Malchior's eyes were upon her. She flushed and picked up a napkin, which she used to daintily pat at her mouth.
"So, Terra," Malchior spoke, and despite herself, Terra felt shivers run down her spine. "What would you like to do today? I have a marvelous library if you'd like, or a garden with every kind of flower imaginable. We could we just sit and chat all day. Get to know each other."
"What makes you think I want to get to know you?" Terrianna snapped. Malchior looked at her, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"Really, Terra," Malchior purred. "We've no idea how long you'll be here. I'm sure you'd enjoy your visit much more with some company."
"Stop calling me that," the princess said, scowling. "My name is Princess Terrianna. Not Terra."
"I am well aware of your name," replied the sorcerer. "And if it is your wish, then that is what I shall call you."
"Thank you," Terrianna sniffed, folding her arms. She leaned back in her chair, looking around the room. They sat in silence for about twenty minutes before Terrianna sighed. "Well… what do you want to talk about?"
See, already I'm updating pretty quickly, right? lol
I know the fact that a twelve-year-old Robin being able to end a war that had been going on for so long seems a bit... hard to believe. But I do have a reason for that, which'll be explained in another chapter. Besides the fact that it seems a bit ridiculous, it does seem like a good reason for him to help find the princess, right? I didn't want to get too complicated as far as politics like this go... mainly because I'd just end up confusing myself. Heh...
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. Reviews make me happy. :D
-Tammy Tamborine