by Keegan Long
“I believe him,” Emma said as the room went dead silent in result. “I believe you truly are what you claim to be. The Phoenix King.”
“Your Highness,” Loris quickly protested to her comment. “I must advise you-”
“I thank you for your council but I have made my decision,” Emma quickly interrupted him. “I see no other reason for him to make up this story as well. It is clear to me that he doesn’t even want the throne or the power that comes with it but is slowly coming to accept this reality. I know this because I went through the same exact thing.”
Carter smiled at Emma as he gave her his quiet appreciation.
“Dragons,” Gordon muttered. “I can’t believe it.”
“Have you ever seen one before?” Emma turned to the old man.
Carter looked at the group he had travelled with and saw they looked just as confused as he was. This man could not really be that old could he?
Emma saw their confused looks and smiled as she proceeded to to explain to them how old Gordon really was and how he had been here since the very first Phoenix King. Since the very beginning.
“Did you serve the last Phoenix King then?” Carter asked. “The one that disappeared.”
“I did,” Gordon smiled as he began to remember. “Orellius was his name. Probably the Phoenix King I was closest to. He had the most loving family too. He was more than just my king. He was my friend.”
“Im sorry,” Carter offered his condolences. “That must have been very hard for you. Do you know how he disappeared?”
“Unfortunately, no,” the Greybeard sighed. “Orellius had sent me on a exploratory mission a few months before. He was scared about Titan and he sent me to investigate. He had been having many nightmares about forces of darkness gathering on the island. I went there and found nothing. When I returned to the outer wall of the city I saw the banners of the Phoenix King had been replaced by the burning tree sigil of the Druids. I fled back to Northgard and have never returned since.”
Carter looked upon Gordon this time and saw the history of the world in his eyes. He knew the man had been looking for a purpose for the past several decades since the disappearance of Orellius and his family. He had spent his days sitting in Northgard waiting for the Phoenix King to return one day. Waiting for him.
“Do you believe me?” Carter asked straightly towards the Greybeard.
“I do,” the old man answered without hesitation. “You are the Phoenix King. I have no doubt about it.”
“Then serve me,” Carter said.
I room went silent as the people began quietly discussing among themselves of Carter’s demand. Even Gibson was surprised as he never had seen Carter take the initiative to be so demanding or upfront with people before. But he was proud as he smiled upon the kid he has seen grow up right before his eyes.
“I want to do right by this world,” Carter said as he came to realization.
He wanted to make the world a better place than it currently was and he realized that the only way to do this was to accept the fact that he was the Phoenix King and he could not deny it any longer. He could not change and make the world a better place as a pirate, but as the Phoenix King he could. It was time to face his destiny.
“And the only way I can do this is to learn who I really am,” Carter continued on. “I need you to teach me. Everything.”
“It would be my honor,” Gordon smiled as bent down on both of his knees. “My king.”
Carter felt the uneasy wave of tension as Gordon bent down towards him on both knees. He was feeling the exact same wave of emotion Emma felt when they had done the same thing earlier to her when she had entered the room.
The entire room followed Gordon’s motion as they bent down on both knees and brought their their heads to the floor. Carter noticed that Loris did not follow until Emma had begun to do so as well. He felt vulnerable in front of all those people. It was something he believed he would never get used to.
Carter quickly ushered everyone to rise again as he could not take the tension rising in his heart anymore.
“So, what now?” Carter asked.
“We go to the one place we shouldn’t ever go,” Gordon answered. “Olympia.”
“Why?”
“To claim something that is rightfully yours,” Gordon grinned. “To claim your phoenix egg.”
Emma
Andros
“What are the chances,” Bri began as she escorted Emma throughout the vast hallways of the palace. “On your coronation day the Phoenix King also shows up here in the Kingdom of Andros.”
“Trust me. This would have been the very last thing I would expect to happen on this day.”
Shortly after leaving Carter, and the group he had travelled with, Emma has dismissed Loris and Gordon for the night. Loris had tried to object to her order and urged her it was urgent to discuss what they had all witnessed, but Emma insisted it could wait until the morning. It was late and all she wanted to do was to go to her room and retire for the night.
“What do you think of this so called Phoenix King,” Bri continued to pressure her friend. “He’s kind of cute. Wouldn’t be a bad match if he truly ends up being the Phoenix King.”
“Yeah, sure,” Emma dismissed the thought quickly to herself.
Emma had never looked upon Carter that way when she first saw him and even when she came to realize who he really was that did not change her mind. It was the the boy that came from the small village of Yorktown that she noticed immediately before anyone else.
Emma noticed that Magnus was quiet and did not say much during their meeting, but deep down Emma sensed there was more to him than possibly he even knew. She knew that he was filled with an abundant amount of knowledge but kept to himself in fear of boasting and drawing attention to himself. She admired him for that.
“Oh, I see what’s going on here,” Bri teased Emma and grinned.
“What!” Emma fought back as her face began to turn bright red.
“You have eyes for the other one he came with,” Bri continued. “What was his name again. Was it Magnus?”
“Shut it!” Emma quickly spat as she punched Bri’s arm as her face began to turn even a brighter red.
The two of them continued to laugh with each other as they sat with their feet hanging from Emma’s bed.
“So, your first day as queen was pretty interesting,” Bri decided to change the topic.
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Emma agreed as she laid back on her bed.
“What do we do next then?” Bri asked as she joined her at her side. “We still have a palace full of leaders who are going to demand some answers.”
“True,” Emma agreed. “But that’s the least of my worries. It’s only a matter of time before Olympia gets word that we are holding a guest claiming they are the Phoenix King.”
“My gods,” Bri muttered as she came to realization. “That means-”
“The Terran Civil War just got a whole lost worst,” Emma answered for her. “It’s only a matter of time before other kingdoms hear this news as well. Some kingdoms will come to rally behind his claim, while others will rally and stay loyal to Olympia. And Andros is right in between all of this mess.”
“Damn,” Bri quietly cursed to herself but Emma overheard her. “What does that mean for us then?”
“I don’t know,” Emma answered. “Any good king or queen would try to stay neutral in this conflict but my heart is telling me this won’t be possible.”
“Carter has the potential to really make a change,” Bri began to acknowledge. “We all can agree that the world would be a better place without the Druids anyways.”
“And I don’t disagree with you at all,” Emma replied. “But at what costs? The scale of this war would be something that no one has ever seen before.”
Bri remained silent but acknowledged Emma’s comment as she did raise a good point of concern. A war on this scale would be devastating for both sides. Millions of peopl
e would die. In the end, would it really be worth all that trouble?
The two friends continued laying on Emma’s bed looking up towards the ceiling in silence. Neither one knew what to say to the other anymore but both enjoyed keeping each other company.
As the night grew older, Bri would dismiss herself and make her way to her own quarters leaving Emma and her thoughts to herself. Emma found herself having trouble sleeping that night as there was a thousand different things going through her head. She knew she was not going to be able to sleep that night and decided to take a late night walk around the palace.
She was happy to find that the palace’s hallways were empty. She was worried she would run into some other leader or diplomat that was visiting and she was not in the mood to talk or play politics anymore.
Emma eventually made her way into the throne room and was surprised to find it held one person that night. Carter was sitting at the stairs that lead up to the raised platform that held the Emerald Throne.
“My Lady,” Carter began to apologize as he quickly stood up to face her. “I didn’t mean to-”
“You have done nothing wrong,” Emma kindly interrupted him. “Please sit.”
Emma followed Carter’s lead as she sat next to him on the lower steps of the throne.
“Can’t sleep?” Carter asked as he turned to face her.
“Nope,” Emma answered subtly. “You too?”
“Not at all,” he answered calmly. “I have found that my entire life has completely became something different and it only took a day. I don’t think I will be able to sleep anytime soon.”
“I don’t blame you,” Emma sympathized. “I never wanted to be queen you know?”
Carter laughed, “I would have never known. I didn’t mean to crash on your coronation.”
“Nothing to forgive,” Emma dismissed his apology. “Gave me an excuse not to interact with all these world leaders and diplomats that are currently here.”
“Then you’re welcome,” Carter smiled as the two of them laughed together.
“Will you be going to Olympia with Gordon then?” Emma asked. “To see if this phoenix egg is really there.”
“I think so,” Carter answered. “This is the first step in learning who I really am and what that means.”
“You must be careful, you know,” Emma cautioned. “They’ll be looking for you when they hear news about you. They’ll probably even try to kill you. You’re the only person that threatens their claim to the throne.”
“I know,” Carter sighed. “But it’s a risk I have to take. Gordon has informed me that the capital is a very big place and will make it easy to blend in with the common folk.”
“Good,” Emma commented. “I haven’t known Gordon long at all but what I can tell he’s a very smart and intelligent man. He can be trusted.”
“I agree,” Carter acknowledged. “But if you don’t mind me there’s something I need to ask. If I end up truly being this person everyone claims I am where does your allegiance fall? Can I count on you?”
Emma’s eyes widened as she found herself caught off guard from Carter’s question but knew it was nothing she had not already thought about before.
“Being honest with you I do not know,” Emma unsurely answered. “I am new with this whole queen thing. As a queen I must do what is best for my people and that is staying out of this war to come, but I know I will not be able to stay neutral forever.”
“Why not?” Carter innocently asked.
“Eventually there will come a time where Olympia demands for me to join them,” Emma explained. “If I refuse to join them they will start cutting off my trade routes to other nations and possibly be at my door step within the next new moon.”
“So either way Andros is hurt,” Carter added.
“Exactly,” Emma sighed. “But my heart is telling me to join you because it’s the right thing. You can change all of Terran for the better but with no army or force to back you you will never get far.”
“I’m sorry to put you in this position,” Carter offered. “It’s an impossible decision to make. But either way I hope we can remain friends.”
Emma smiled at the Phoenix King’s kind thought, “I would like nothing better.”
Before the two of them could go on and say anything more there was a loud tap on the large glass panel that was located behind the Emerald Throne that looked down the high mountain side.
“What was that!” Carter alarmingly stood up and looked around the throne room.
Emma also stood up to looked for the source of the noise but smiled when she looked over at the large window behind the throne.
“There’s someone I would like you to meet,” Emma said as she took Carter’s hand and lead him out to the open courtyard just outside the hall’s entrance.
Emma quickly dragged Carter behind her as they made their way out to the open and deserted courtyard where there was a white pegasus waiting for them.
“This is Layla,” Emma introduced the pegasus to Carter as she roared at the sound of her name. “My best friend since the beginning.”
“Wow,” Carter exclaimed as he slowly began to walk towards the creature. “She’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Emma smiled. “The only white pegasus to have ever existed in all of Andros.”
“That’s amazing,” Carter acknowledged. “May I?”
Emma silently nodded as Carter slowly approached Layla and held out his hand. She slowly held out her head until it came into contact with his hand and silently purred in response.
“It seems that she likes you,” Emma pointed out. “You must have a way with animals, Phoenix King.”
Carter blushed brightly at the compliment and continued to pet Layla across her head.
“Would you like to go on a ride?” Emma asked as she came to Carter’s side.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Carter stuttered. “I like to keep my feet on the ground.”
“Come on,” Emma ushered as she hopped on top of Layla and held out her hand for Carter to grab. “How many people can say they flew a pegasus with the Queen of Andros?”
“I’m guessing none,” Carter answered as he hesitantly took Emma’s hand and hopped on top of Layla behind the young queen.
“Hold on to something,” Emma grinned and without warning Layla took off up towards the night sky as they flew beyond the mountain and towards the glowing full moon.
Magnus
Andros
Magnus had to gladly admit that he was enjoying himself during his stay in Andros. Andros was nothing like he had ever seen before and to be surrounded by all the people and history was something he had always dreamed of.
Earlier that day Magnus and Anna had met with Emma and Loris to plea for supplies for Yorktown. Loris was hesitant at first as Yorktown was under the governance of Olympia, but Emma insisted that Andros help in any way they could.
Anna and Magnus had thought long and hard earlier that day if they should return to Yorktown with the supplies that were needed, but in the end they decided it was best that they remained with Carter and Gibson and travel alongside him to Olympia. That is where they were needed most.
“Ma will understand,” Anna reassured him. “We’ll go back there eventually.”
“I know,” Magnus responded. “I just had no idea that our first trip outside the village would be so different than we expected. I would have never guessed it.”
“That the glory of adventures,” Anna smiled. “You never know what awaits for you on the other side.
Later on during the day, the entire group had been requested to join Emma that night at a royal dinner that would host the other world leaders that were currently visiting due to her coronation. They had demanded to be informed and receive an audience with the Phoenix King.
Magnus and Anna had looked at each other and knew they possessed nothing close to the attire that is required for these type of formal occasions. Emma had told them earlier there was nothing to worry about
and they had plenty to go around.
“Not sure how I feel about this,” Anna frowned at the dress that had been laid across the bed for her. “I’ve never have worn anything like this before.”
“I guess there’s a first for everything,” Magnus commented as he looked at his own fancy attire that had been brought to him.
“You guys have it easy,” Carter joined. “No one is even going to notice you. They will all be looking at me and asking all these questions I have no idea on how to answer.”
“I’m sure Gordon will be there to help you out,” Magnus suggested.
“Just be prepared for some heated debate, boy,” Gibson warned him. “Some of them are going to say yer lying while others will come to your defense. This will be the night you find out who will be your allies and who may possibly be your enemy.”
“Hopefully no enemies will be produced this night,” Carter said. “I didn’t come here to start a war. Plus, last night the queen and I had a nice long talk. She said she wants to support me.”
Magnus had to admit he was a bit jealous when he heard that Carter and the queen has spent time together last night. She did not even know he existed probably but when he first laid eyes on her he knew there was something different about her. He had never felt this way before about someone he barely even knew. Every moment that passed he was thinking about her and how beautiful she really was.
“That’s a good sign,” Magnus acknowledged. “That’s one potential ally already. The pegasus will also put you at a great advantage over Olympia’s forces.”
“For sure,” Anna agreed. “Unfortunately, Olympia will never accept your rule as long as the Druids are in power. I’m afraid conflict will be inevitable.”
“Olympia’s the least of my concerns,” Carter dismissed. “Our main concern should be not about other kingdoms but about that dragon we saw the other day. There’s something not right about that. A dragon hasn’t been seen in centuries and for it to randomly appear makes me concerned and even scared.”