by A. J. Medina
That’s when the wizard’s closet started sliding sideways towards the window. When it stopped moving, I walked up to the hole in the floor that it had revealed.
At the edge of the floor were steps leading down into darkness. I held out my hand, ignited a flame and lightly stepped halfway down the staircase. Standing on the steps, I held onto the small ledge for balance and peered further into the room.
I studied the wizard’s secret room. It was clean, not dusty at all. Candles littered the shelves. It was a good thing too, because there were no windows and when the closet would slide back in its place, no light would be let in.
With a wave of my hand, I lit all of the candles. With the room brightly lit, I could make out everything clearly. There wasn’t much in the small room. A comfortable looking chair, that would envelop my entire body, sat in the corner. It looked comforting and homely. It was black, which made it difficult to see before the candles were lit.
I continued down the rest of the way and stopped at the base of the steps. By the chair’s side was a small table that held a black book. Opposite the chair and table, resting against the wall, were two things. The first was a large bookcase, built to stand from floor to ceiling. On its shelves were dozens of books similar to the one that lay on the table.
The second thing was a large pail which held a large parchment rolled up and placed into it.
I was curious about what the book on the table held—was it secrets? Or was it just a story the wizard may have been reading for entertainment? I moved from the bottom of the staircase and when I did a sliding noise came from above.
After the closet had finished its journey, I was all alone in my new, tiny room. I listened for any sound and couldn’t hear anything at all—it was the perfect hiding place. I was liking the wizard Agbavitor even more and felt sad at the thought that he was gone forever.
Picking up the black book on the table, I read the cover...
— The Dragon Wizard —
Had the wizard known he would fall that day in the field? Had he left this book out for me to find? It wasn’t possible. How would he know that I would find his room? I would’ve needed to know the magic words and until Silas had told them to Neala, I had no idea what they were.
I cracked open the book and turned to the first page. It was a map. At the very top was the castle city. There was a red dotted line drawn from the castle city leading south. As the line went down past the mountains, it followed a trail I had traveled on before. The dotted line led back towards my home, the Village of Kingsley.
The line continued south through my village and then crossed the river into Ry’uet. That’s strange though, because there isn’t a bridge there. Even on the map there wasn’t a bridge. The only bridge into Ry’uet is the drawbridge guarded by my men. Things were beginning to get interesting.
I sat down and relished in the comfort of the chair. No doubt the wizard spent a lot of time in this room. Maybe even napping or spending the night sleeping in the chair’s comfortable grip. I placed the book on the arm of the chair, undid the straps on my shoes and pulled them off. Setting in for the long hall, I lifted my legs up onto the chair, crossed them and placed the open book on my lap to study the map some more.
After crossing the invisible bridge, the red dotted line continued through the forest. There was no trail according to the map. It would be a journey by foot through those woods. No horses would be able to make it through them.
At the southernmost tip of Ry’uet, the red line passed through a wall of bushes and then came to an end at a drawing of a castle. Perched on top of the castle was a drawing of a solid red dragon.
I took a moment and calculated the journey in my mind. If I rode on a single horse towards Kingsley it might take me a day to get there. But if I took a carriage with more horses it would only take me half a day. I could visit Lucah and his family and maybe even spend the night. I could see his mother again and feel the warm hug of a mother that I didn’t even realize I’d missed until that very moment.
I could taste her special sweet bread that I knew she would make for me. The castle city baker’s was okay, but Lucah’s mother’s recipe seemed the best of any I’d ever tasted.
And what would Lucah say to me? Would he explain why he left the way he did? Would there be hate in his eyes towards me? Or would he be happy to see me again?
I looked up from the map and stared at all the black books on the shelf.
I missed Lucah. I rubbed my first two fingers over my lips and slid them from side to side remembering our first kiss. Lucah had given me that look. The look I soon learned boys gave when they wanted to kiss me. Silas had the same look the first time we kissed too.
My thoughts drifted back to that first kiss with Lucah.
My lips were greasy from my meal and Lucah leaned in and kissed me. The grease transferred from my lips to his and caused light smacking sounds. And then his brothers burst in through the door.
I really missed him.
Even when me and Silas were together, I would catch Lucah watching us.
I shook my head. It was his choice after all. He decided to push me away. He’s the one that ignored me and left me waiting for him on the balcony of the guard’s wing and never showed up. He made the choice not to be with me.
And I wasn’t going to be that girl. The girl waiting for him to decide what he wanted. Silas never made me wait and then not show up. Silas always told me he wanted me. He was always clear about that.
I looked back down at the painted red dragon. One day to Kingsley by horse. Or if I took a carriage with many horses it would only be half a day. Hmmm. I would have to decide on that later.
The walk from my village to the river crossing would take me about half a day with minimal breaks and the trek through the forest would take me at least two days on foot, maybe more. Three and a half days, maybe four to get there. And that’s without any problems arising.
Four days. I would need supplies for four days there and maybe even four days back. What if the dragon wizard wasn’t there? How long would I wait for him?
On the map, there were no lakes or streams painted on it, so I wasn’t sure if there would be a water source for me to drink from. I assumed so. There were many places to get water from and go swimming by my village and they weren’t painted on the map either. The map wasn’t an accurate representation of the terrain. It was just a guide. Go south past my village, cross the river, and then south through the woods to the wall of bushes. It was easy enough to remember.
After committing that short map to memory, I turned the page and began to read...
Alora, if you have found this book, then I have fallen in battle. I regret that I will not be able to help you become the powerful wizard that I know you are capable of becoming, but there is another that can help you on your journey. He is known to most wizards, sorcerers and sorceress’ as simply, The Dragon Wizard, but to me he is known as Draycko.
The map I have drawn for you will lead you to his castle. When you come across a wall of bushes, that will be where you exit the forest and find the mountain that Draycko’s castle rests upon. The journey through the woods must be done on foot, as horses will find it difficult to manage. And even if they could, you wouldn’t want them to. You will need these magic words to cross the river. “Pons apparere.”
In the southernmost part of Ry’uet, where Draycko’s castle lies, there are people you will want to stay away from. The citizens of that area are not friendly. They live there for a reason and that is to stay away from others. Beware any who cross your path. Be on alert at all times. Trust no one in those woods.
Trust no one? Who are the people that live in those woods? Ry’uet... Who’s from Ry’uet? Of course, Aednat is from that kingdom. I would need to ask her about southernmost Ry’uet.
I intertwined my fingers with my toes and continued reading...
Do not go alone. Take at least four others. The number five is sacred to most in that land and they
will notice the number in your group. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be left alone, but they may.
On the bookshelf are all of my journals that I’ve kept over the years. They contain all that I have observed and learned while serving at King Remi’s side. Read them and learn from them.
Tell no one of this secret room. If they found my journals and my thoughts, and knew you read them, it could be disastrous. Secrets, Alora. The kingdom is shrouded in secrets. Secrets that you shall soon discover.
The rest of this journal is empty. It is for you to chronicle your journey. Write it all down so that someday you can either re-read it and remember what happened, or perhaps pass it to your apprentice, as I have done with mine.
Remember... tell no one of this room, and safe journey, Alora.
Four others. Which four should I take with me? I’ll have to think about it, but they’ll definitely be knightlys.
I closed my new journal, laid it back on the table, and went over to the bookcase. With my hands on my hips I studied the bookcase full of the wizard’s journals.
Where should I even begin? I could start at the beginning or I could start at the end. I ran my fingers from book to book feeling the soft leather material that they were bound with and decided to go with randomness. Sliding my fingers across a few more, I counted down from five. Five, four, three, two, one and then stopped. The book I landed on was the one I would read.
I pulled it out, slid the one next to it out a little to mark its place on the shelf, and returned to my chair.
Leaning back into the cushion, I lifted my feet onto the chair, and cracked the book’s spine.
The wizard spoke of the queen, Queen Rosaleen. The wizard thought something was odd about her, but he couldn’t place it.
The queen is constantly asking King Remi and Princess Evelyn to drink an elixir she has concocted. It seems very odd that she forces it on them even when they deny her.
The wizard then went on to talk about a memory he had of the king and him as boys. As I read on, that memory was repeated over and over again.
Out in the field, me and Remi were practicing our sword play. The two of us were young boys of fifteen. We were apprentices ourselves under the master wizard, when a group of six boys surrounded us. We held them off with our practice swords, but it wasn’t long before one of them pulled a dagger and charged towards me.
Remi saw what was about to happen and pushed me out of the way. The boys dagger entered Remi’s shoulder. Remi pulled his own dagger and thrust it into that boy’s heart.
He killed a young one and has never been able to perform magic since.
So Silas was right. The king knew all along that if Silas killed a young one, then he wouldn’t be able to perform magic any more and would no longer be a threat. The king knew because that’s what happened to him.
I read some more of the wizard’s thoughts and when I finished that journal I returned it to the shelf and pulled out another one.
I read three of his journals before deciding to stop. I picked up my shoes and walked barefoot to the staircase that led up to my workshop. Taking one last glance around my new, tiny secret chamber, I waved my hand to extinguish the candles, and then said the magic words that caused the closet upstairs to move aside.
After walking back into my workshop, the closet moved back into place all on its own as if it sensed I was finished down there for the day.
A spell on the closet. I wanted to be able to do spells. What kind of spells could I perform? Could I control inanimate objects like the closet? Could I control people? Could I make people fall in love?
Rushing back to the closet, I retrieved the wizard’s magic book. I tossed the large book onto the desk and opened it to the first page.
The wizard had given the book a title. It read...
— First Knight’s Book of Spells and Potions —
The wizard’s journals were tiny books in comparison to his enormous book of spells and potions. It was unfortunate that he didn’t get to finish it. It only had some of the knowledge that Agbavitor possessed.
I wished he had time to have written down how he created the wizard’s suits—the second skin that me and the knightlys wear. I would eventually need to replicate them if I’m to create and recruit new knights to join the ranks of the knightlys.
Flipping through the pages, I searched for the potion I needed. I already knew a few of the potions, but the wizard only allowed me to read or do what he wanted to teach me. Now I could choose whichever one I wanted. And the one I wanted, was the potion of deceit.
Chapter 4
The princess entered without knocking again. How rude of her, I thought. But it was her palace after all. She was wearing a dress with her cloak and hood on, ready to go outside.
“Are you ready to go for our walk in the garden?” Princess Evelyn asked.
I lifted my head and stared at the glass roof. The rain hadn’t let up and my hair was still damp from the time spent training with the knightlys.
“Of course.”
“Then put your boots on and let’s go.”
I thought about my damp boots. After arriving at my workshop I had placed them underneath the wood burner so that they could dry. One of the things I hated was walking around with wet boots. Barefoot was great, but wet boots, that was just annoying.
Princess Evelyn gasped and I wondered what had startled her. The princess clapped happily. “Do that again!”
I had no idea what she was talking about. “Do what again?”
The princess pointed. When I followed the princess’ pointing finger, I was surprised to see my boots securely tied on my feet.
“Do it again,” the princess whined. “Oh please, Alora.”
But I didn’t even know how I had done it. All I did was think about my dry boots and then—
“Thank you!” the princess squealed, and then clapped again.
The first thought I had was that the princess was playing with me. Thank you for what? I hadn’t done anything. But it turns out I had. When I looked back down at my feet, my boots were gone and I was barefoot again.
That was it! I needed to think about my boots, focus and stay calm. It was like our lessons when the wizard taught us to focus. “A wizard needs to concentrate and focus to perform magic. Clear your minds,” he had told us.
This time I closed my eyes and cleared my mind. I pictured two things: my bare feet and my dry boots. When the princess let out another squeal, I knew I had done it again. I stood and stared at my feet. My boots were securely fastened and they were dry.
I knelt down and peeked under the wood burner and my wet boots were still there.
Did I just create these boots from thin air? Is that a power I possessed? If so, it would definitely come in handy later on tonight.
“Come, Alora. To the garden!” the princess commanded.
I threw on my cloak and placed the two vials of the potion I had just created in its pocket. I only needed one more ingredient. The ingredient I would get at sunset.
It was a quick trip through the palace and after going outside, me and Princess Evelyn stood under the arbor and gazed out into the garden. The grass still had a green tint to it, but from what I could see, all of the leaves on the trees had fallen.
“It’s too cold to run barefoot, Alora,” the princess said, and then took off running into the garden.
Ugh... I really didn’t feel like chasing her, but I had to. Too cold to run barefoot? I ran barefoot earlier and it wasn’t any colder. These boots were dry and I wanted them to stay that way. I took off my boots and lay them off to the side, flung my hood on over my head and sprinted after her. She wasn’t very fast, or at least not as fast as me, and I caught up to her in only moments.
After running around for a little while, the princess stopped when she came upon the largest and tallest tree in her garden. All of the leaves but one had fallen and she stared at it waiting.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
; “Waiting for the final leaf to fall.”
“Why?”
“Tradition. It is said when the last leaf on this tree has fallen, then winter is truly upon us.”
Ugh... winter. I looked down at my muddy toes and wiggled and scrunched them into the moistened dirt. My feet were getting numb while we stayed put, but I didn’t care. I was determined to enjoy not wearing shoes and enjoying the feeling of the ground on my bare feet for as long as I could.
The princess gasped. “Look!”
The princess was focused on that last leaf. The leaf danced on its branch, spinning and waving as the wind blew. It twisted and turned until a strong breeze finally plucked it from its home. Princess Evelyn bolted after it and I chased after her.
“I want it! Help me catch it,” the princess shouted.
With the rain pelting me in the eyes — it seemed like the rain wasn’t falling down, but coming at me from straight ahead — I dug my feet into the ground and gained speed with every step.
When a gust of wind lifted the leaf higher into the air I aimed my hand down at the ground and soared after it. Just as I reached out to the leaf, it performed a somersault and escaped my grasp. When I landed, I lifted my head — my eyes squinting — and searched for it.
“Oh no!” the princess cried.
I followed her gaze to the leaf and found it just as the wind carried it over the castle city wall.
“I’m sorry, Princess. I missed it.”
“It’s alright. I was hoping to have the final leaf for once. Maybe next season.”
How many seasons had the princess tried and failed to capture the final leaf, I wondered. And would she ever be victorious?
The princess ran around the garden while I tried to catch her until the sun began to set.
“Princess, the sun is setting. I think that’s enough for today. Shall we go inside?” I asked.