Knights of Altador: the Darkest Faerie's Wrath - Part Two

There was an orange-brown wall that looked like an enormous hole had been cut out of it. Inside the hole, however, was a swirling blue mist. Sam slowly extended a finger into the dense whirlpool of azure clouds.

    “What is it?” she whispered. The portal glowed, and swirled faster. She instantly retracted her finger. The blue light dimmed, and it slowed down again. Bo spoke up.

    “I don’t think we should be here. Maybe we should just get back with the tour,” Bo said nervously.

    “I have a better idea,” Jake said. “Let’s go inside!” Before any of us could say anything, he dove head-first into the hole in the wall. The last we saw of him were his feet, disappearing into the mist. We looked at each other.

    “Great,” I commented dryly.

    “Now what?” Bo pondered. “I guess we go in after him,” he concluded after a while.

    “I’m not going in there!” said Sam. Isabel started to walk out of the room.

    “Me neither! I hate Jake anyway!” she said dismissively. Just as they were about to leave the room, the old door slammed shut. Isabel tried the knob, but it was locked.

    “I guess we’re going in the hole thingy, huh?” Bo nervously stepped into it, then Sam. I looked at Isabel.

    “Here goes nothing,” I said, trying to hide my fear. I stepped in. I couldn’t see anything, just blue fog swirling around me. It was actually warm. It got faster, and faster, then, in a blinding flash of light, I was gone. I found myself in the middle of a stunning city, a tall, strong building standing in front of me. Above the gigantic door, there was something engraved in the archway. I stood back so I could see what it was. Hall of Heroes. Suddenly, there was a flash, and Isabel appeared at my side.

    “What is this place?” she breathed. I was wondering the same thing myself. We stepped inside the Hall of Heroes. In the center of the room, there was a gigantic sun painted on the floor. Each of its twelve points pointed to a huge statue. The first statue I saw was a beautiful Aisha. She had a long sweeping dress, and was dancing with a long ribbon. The plaque said, Jerdana, the Protector. I moved on to the next statue. It was a tall faerie holding two fireballs. The plaque indicated that this was a statue of Siyana, First to Rise. I was about to go to another, when I heard Isabel’s voice.

    “Aaron!” That was my name, if you were wondering. “Look at this statue!” I walked over. It was a statue of Altador, the Hunter. It was a Lupe in bold armor, with a beard. He stood on two legs, not four. He held a long bow in one hand, a broadsword in the other.

    “Come with me,” he said. I was so startled that I jumped and turned around. Isabel looked as surprised as I was, but it wasn’t the statue. Standing at the entrance, was the Lupe that the statue represented. The only difference was, the bow was on his back, and the broadsword hung from his waist.

    “Your friends are with me. Come.” We reluctantly followed. He lead us briskly out of the city.

    “Where are we?” asked Isabel. Altador smiled.

    “This is my kingdom. The city of Altador.” I flinched. He was a king! We walked across a meadow, and reached an enormous castle. The guards at the gate stepped aside as we walked through. King Altador didn’t say anything as he led us up staircases, and down hallways, until we finally reached a white marble door.

    “Your friends are in here,” Altador muttered. “They will tell you everything.” He hurried off. I slowly opened the door. Inside was a giant room, complete with five huge beds, and a door leading to a ridiculously large bathroom. Sitting on a table in the middle of the room were bowls of brightly-colored fruit. Sitting in the chairs at that table, were Jake, Bo, and Sam. Bo smiled.

    “There you are! This fruit is delicious!” We sat down at the two empty chairs and began eating. A knock came at our door, just as I picked up a vibrant red apple. A blue Yurble wearing Altadorian robes came in.

    “His highness wishes that you wear Altadorian clothing, so you don’t stand out.” She gave us each a toga, and gave the girls each a long white dress. Then she reached for something outside of our room. It was armor.

    “Cool!” said Jake.

    “Just in case,” she said, handing it to Bo, Jake and I. “There are five bathrooms that you can change in.” After that, she left. We each went into our bathrooms to change. I changed into my toga, and walked out of the bathroom. Sam and Bo were already sitting at the table, wearing togas. Another door opened, and Isabel stepped out in the flowing white dress she had been given. She had to stand on her hind legs of course, rather than on all fours. (She could do both.) She looked beautiful. We all started eating, without waiting for Jake. We heard metal clanging in one of the bathrooms.

    “That idiot,” muttered Isabel. “He must be trying to put his armor on.” I picked up a pear and bit into it. It was the sweetest fruit I had ever tasted.

    “So,” I said between mouthfuls. “King Altador told Isabel and I that you would explain everything to us.” Slowly, Bo put down the banana he was eating. He sighed.

    “He wants us to fight for Altador in the war against the Darkest Faerie.” I choked on the piece of pear that I was swallowing.

    “What!?!” I looked at Isabel. Her mouth was opening and closing like a fish out of water. Sam spoke up.

    “Isabel, you and I are going to lead the boys to the outskirts of the Darkest Faerie’s realm, then we’ll come back while they go to fight in the war. We leave tomorrow morning. We already have provisions for the trip.”

    “Tomorrow morning!?!” Isabel shouted in shock. “Why didn’t you tell us this earlier!?!”

    “Sorry, everyone seemed happy. I didn’t want to ruin the mood.”

    “We have tents packed in case we can’t make the entire trip in a single day,” said Bo. The door to the bathroom swung open, and out stepped Jake in full armor. He drew a broadsword.

    “Tomorrow,” he declared proudly. “We fight for Altador!” I don’t know if I’m quite ready yet. We don’t even have any training. I decided to ignore Jake. He always acted like that anyway. We spent the day preparing to leave. When our dinner arrived, we all ate. All of us but Isabel, that is. She sat with us, but didn’t say a word. She didn’t touch her food. She only stared at it. The sun set and we all got into bed, exhausted. I slept most of the night, but continuously woke up in the middle of the night, unable to shake off the feeling that I would fight in a war the following day.

    The next morning I arose to sunlight spilling across my chest. We (Bo, Jake and I, that is) were instructed by the Yurble maid that brought us breakfast to wear our armor and come see King Altador one at a time. I went first. The armor was heavy and uncomfortable, and it took all of my strength to lift and swing the sword. It didn’t help to be carrying the sword in the thick leather belt around my waist. I walked down the hall, and followed the directions that the maid had given me. Finally, after a bit of confusion with the long hallways, I turned a corner and found what I was looking for. I knocked on a decorated door about ten feet high. It was built of smooth wood with gold designs crawling up it like vines. There were red and gold ribbons dancing across, with tiny bells dangling from them like cherries from a tree. The king’s voice echoed into the hall.

    “Enter.” I slowly opened the door, with some difficulty. Inside was king Altador sitting on a throne in the middle of the rotund room.

    “Kneel.” I stepped forward slowly and knelt in front of him, unsheathing my sword and holding it on the ground in front of me. He smiled warmly at me.

    “Do you swear that you will fight to protect the city of Altador whatever the cost?” I nodded, and then realized that I should probably be more formal.

    “I swear that I will protect the city of Altador, whatever the cost,” I repeated. He smiled.

    “Then rise, Aaron the Lupe, knight of Altador.” I stood, and stared into his tired eyes. They looked solemn, but friendly all the same. I sheathed my sword, and left without saying a word. I stopped in front of the door once it was closed, and unsheathed my sword again. I held the long blade; its point inches from the ground, and looked at my reflection. I could see my face in the reflective metal. The clear brown eyes stared back at me, studying my furry face. I suddenly felt more confident, and sheathed the sword. I was ready to fight for Altador today.

To be continued...