Chapter Twelve
James awoke to the sound of birds singing a happy tune. He stretched in his cotton bed, completely relaxed. He then realized where he was. He sat up and looked around for his clothes. He found his jeans and shoes but his tee shirt had been replaced with a long sleeved shirt and a brown vest. A vest, he thought. Why would they think I would ever wear a lame vest? Reluctantly, he put on the shirt, jeans, and shoes and held the vest in his hands. He then walked out the door and into the hallway, looking for a way out.
At the end of the hall, walked a tall fairy with long blond hair tied back into a pony tail. He stopped in front of James and courteously bowed his head quickly, as if to say hello. “James, I presume. Queen Adrianna has told me a little about you. Let me introduce myself; my name is Velmont. I am one of the warriors here in Amos, and as we prepare for battle, I was told to give you a few instructions on how to fight before you leave to find Katie.” James opened his mouth, preparing to argue, and then shut it as Velmont continued. “There is no point in arguing. I can see you are fit and in shape. Have you used a sword before?” He asked curtly.
“No I haven’t, and I don’t see the point of…”
“Of learning how to defend yourself, I’m sure. So, if we let you leave without a few minutes of instruction, you feel you will be able to keep yourself alive if a Gryphon, a Pixie, a Siren, or any other beast attacks you?” Velmont asked, getting rather annoyed.
“Well, I…” James started.
“That’s what I thought. Come with me; you are strong, this shouldn’t take more than a few hours of your time.” He walked passed James and feeling his pride sting, James followed him.
Once outside, James followed Velmont to the battle ground where he saw not only fairies, but many other creatures sparring with swords and sticks; some even were fighting with magic. Velmont handed him a large sword and asked him to take his stance. Puzzled, James backed up and held up the sword.
“Oh, young man you have a lot to learn in such a short time. Look at my stance; the way I am standing. This is how your legs and arms must be or an enemy can attack you from any position. Eventually, you will acquire a shield, so hold your left hand in a fist as if you already have one. This will get you in the habit of blocking. Now, come at me; don’t be afraid to hurt me.” James thrust his sword at Velmont, and with one swift smack, Velmont knocked it out of his hand. Velmont signaled him to pick it up and try again. This time, James came at him slower and was able to block some of Velmont’s moves. After an hour of this, James wasn’t so awkward at sword play.
He was still a bit crude in his stance, and a little slow at his attack, but all in all, they felt he would be able to defend himself, if ever he got attacked.
Many of the fairies came around from the battle field to bid James a safe journey. Queen Adrianna handed him his vest and he put it on reluctantly, so as to not offend the fairy Queen. Velmont gave him a thick leather belt with a sheath to hold his sword. He tied the belt around his waist, thinking that having a sword at his side was going to take time getting used to. They gave him a small leather bag full of water and food for his journey. He put the bag over his shoulder as he turned and walked into the lush forest.
He looked back over his shoulder, to give one last goodbye to the fairies, but they were already gone. The air felt fresh and clean, as a soft breeze brushed past his face. He never cared that much for nature, not like his wife did. He was more into modern technology and the improvements of making life easier, instead of living off the land. He figured that Katie would have enjoyed walking through this forest a lot more than he did. Then he realized that Katie might have already been through this same forest. If he found someone, or rather something, that may have seen her, and then they could lead him in the right direction. The sooner he found her, the sooner they could leave this place and get back to civilization.
He decided his best chance of getting out of the forest was to continue going straight. However, he didn’t know how big the forest really was. He could be walking for hours or even days at this rate. He then saw a small clearing up ahead and thought it would be best to stop and clear his head. When he entered the clearing, he realized he wasn’t the only one who used the clearing to rest. A small old man sat crouched under a tree. His head bowed down as if he were sleeping. On his head, sat a small red cap that almost resembled a cap one would wear in the snow. Wisps of grey hair escaped from under his hat. He looked very thin, almost skeletal, in his arms and legs. Though he was sound asleep, he still clung to a walking stick as if his life depended on it. James knew he had to wake him to ask of Katie, but he didn’t want to startle him, if he could help it.
He gradually walked up to the sleeping man and respectfully, cleared his throat. The old man jumped up off the ground and did a flip over James, grabbing him from behind, knocking him off his feet and pinning him to the ground with his stick.
“Who do you think you are, young lad? Never awaken a resting elf, if you can help it, or I’ll have to fix you! Who sent you, anyway? Was it that atrocious Queen Zendra? Come on lad, speak up, speak up.” The old man glared down at James, still pinning him with his stick.
“I just cleared my throat, you crazy old man! Besides, no one sent me. I have come this way looking for my wife, Katie. I don’t even know who this Queen Zendra is. Please, I need to find her, have you seen her?” James said, rather annoyed and irritated by this old man’s rudeness. The old man looked up at the sky, as if thinking back. James was surprised to see that his ears were pointed, just like the fairies were.
“No, the name doesn’t ring a bell. I don’t recall seeing anyone out of the ordinary here, except for you, today. I…” He stopped short when two women clad in almost seductive armor, walked up to the old man, their skin the color of new spring grass. The old man released the stick that was pinning James, and let him stand up, as the women spoke softly to the old man. “Oh, I see,” said the old man to the women, as they nodded and walked away, disappearing into the thick woods. “I’m afraid I owe you an apology. My name is Okelle. I am one of the few remaining elves here in this part of the woods.”
“I do deserve an apology. But why now, what did they say? Have they seen Katie?” James asked him, dusting off his clothes.
“Well, young man, James, I presume, if you are Katie’s husband. Those lovely ladies are the wood nymphs. They look after the forest and for the last week, they were looking after Princess Simona.” The old man said in a shaky voice.
“That is great for them, but what has that have to do with Katie?” James asked impatiently.
“It has everything to do with Katie! We have all been waiting for her for such a long time. She is now traveling with Princess Simona and Prince Varek, though they are not what they appear to be. They have been turned into a Unicus’ by Queen Zendra. Katie is on a mission to restore their true form before the battle.”
James sighed. “Well, did they see her? Which way did she go?”
“You have no patience, do you, young lad?” Okelle said, poking James in the chest. “Do you not care for the fate of our realm? Is this not important to you?” He said, shaking his head.
“I care about Katie. I don’t live here and frankly, I’m still hoping this is a bad dream. I don’t think this is real; how could it be possible?”
“Not possible? Not possible?” He yelled. He pushed James back to the ground, harder than he had the first time.
“Ow! What was that for? What did I say?”
“That hurt, didn’t it? Is that real enough for you, lad?”
“Ok, I get your point. This is just a bit overwhelming for me right now. How can Katie be the ‘one’? What is she expected to do anyway, after she helps the Prince and Princess, that is?” James said, still lying on his back.
Okelle eased up on his walking stick and stepped back a little. “Well, young lad, you must go to Katie and help her save our world. It is her destiny to defeat Queen Zendra. However, there is a force far worse than the Queen. But, that will come in time, when you will have to face her. We hope you will never have to face her, and return safely to your realm, before she ever shows herself. Here take this.” He helped James up and handed him his walking stick.
“Why do I need this?” James asked, examining the smooth wooden stick.
“You don’t need it, but Katie does. She is on a mission, and this is the cane she will need to make the Cane of Power. The final item she will need to restore Simona and Varek to their true form. Take these small vials, as well. You will pass through the rain village, and you will collect a few drops of rain in one of the vials. After that, you will continue on and pass by the Valley of Ice. You will need to put some snow in the last vial. When this is completed, you will find Katie on your way. She will be in search of the same things; together, you will have completed the Cane of Power.”
James put the vials in his bag and looked up to thank the old man, but he was gone. “Okelle, Where are you? Which way do I go?” He heard laughter in the distance from the old man and the green women he had seen earlier.
“What does your heart tell you, James?” The voice said, suddenly.
“I don’t know what my heart tells me! Can’t you just show me?” James yelled into the forest. Suddenly, a light breeze filled the air and the leaves from the trees started moving past James in a whirling motion. James watched the leaves and then decided to follow them. The leaves moved on and on, moving around corners of large bushes and trees, then as fast as they came, the leaves stopped and fell to the ground.
“Wait, you can’t stop. Where do I go from here?” He picked up the leaves, crumpled them and threw them back down to the earth below. In frustration, he continued on through the forest until finally, he found the end of the lush wood.
He stepped out of the woods and made his way down the small hill it stood on. The cool air was a welcome change to the heat of the forest. James slowed his pace to take in the breeze that he felt on his face. He examined the cane that the old elf had handed him. It stood about four feet tall and on the top, sat a twisted sphere made of the same wood that the stick was made of. He didn’t know how this was going to save Katie, but he knew he had to do anything he could to see her again. He looked up at the sky as the sun was slowly setting over the horizon. He noticed that the sky was quite clear, except for a cluster of clouds that seemed to be gathering and even raining on just one spot. Walking closer, he noticed that it was raining on a village. This must be the same rain village that the elf had told him about. He searched in his bag and pulled out a vial to put some of the rain drops in, and took off running towards the village of rain.