The Strange Adventure of Maria Mercado

by Jenell Diegor

  “What are you doing Jonas? Think of your son!” said Ankar.

  “I’ve had enough of you, old man. I would rather not see my son if it means he can live in a world of peace rather than have him in my arms in a ruined kingdom,” Jonas replied and dealt a heavy blow to Ankar’s head, leaving him unconscious. He then turned around to offer a helping hand to the Bostav, but Gadik was already up on his feet.

  “I thank you for your actions,” he said. “You saved my life.”

  “I was just doing the right thing. I didn’t kidnap the girl, they did.”

  “I believe you,” said Gadik. “We must make sure that they are put in the prisons again, this time where they can’t escape.” He turned to Jonas. “How exactly did you three escape the first time anyway?” he asked.

  “Magic,” Jonas replied. “An Omtar helped us get the keys to unlock our shackles but Reeza had potions on her that enabled us to squeeze through the cracks in the palace walls until we were down here.”

  “I thought so. And the Omtar?”

  “He is upstairs, with the human girl. Ankar sent him off with instructions to not leave her alone.”

  “We must hurry. She is in terrible danger.” The two of them grabbed the unconscious two and ran up to the prisons to lock them up. Gadik then went to the storage room and grabbed a spear for Jonas. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked.

  “Of course,” said Jonas. “Let’s go.”

  They ran up the stairs straight to through the hallway until they reached Maria’s chambers. But what they saw was an opened room and the Bostav guard lying dead on the entrance. They walked in and saw Meeka tying up the hands of Jasper and Martha.

  “Step away from them,” Gadik said to him. “You traitor, step away.”

  Meeka saw them and laughed. Jonas went around the bed to grab him but the Omtar was quick. He jumped out of the window and grabbed the vines and went down to the grounds.

  “Let him be for now. We need to find Maria. Help me get them loose,” Gadik said. They proceeded to free Jasper and Martha from the ropes that bound them. “Do you know where the girl is?” Gadik asked them.

  “The Unknowns took her, they said they’re going to the Royals chamber,” said Jasper.

  “Let’s go,” said Jonas.

  “Wait, I’m coming with you,” said Jasper.

  “No,” said Gadik. “Stay here with your grandmother.”

  “Take him,” Martha said. “He is skilled and he will be of better help to you than to me. I will be fine here, I know my way around.”

  Gadik took a moment to consider. “Do you know how to use a spear, boy?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Gadik picked up the dead Bostav’s spear and handed it to him. “Keep up,” he said to Jasper.

  The three of them ran down through the hallway towards the Royals chamber.

  ***

  Meanwhile, Maria continues to struggle against her abductors. Prince Amir kept walking ahead of them but still managed to notice what was going on.

  “Now, now, little girl. Don’t fight it. We don’t want to hurt you. In fact, we just need to talk to you for a minute. Turn here,” he instructed the others as they went down the stairs and deviated their way from the Royals chamber. They were met with Bostavs who are all attempting to rescue Maria but the Unknowns kept using magic to push them away. Eventually they reached the dining hall downstairs.

  “Guard the door,” said Prince Amir to two of his comrades. “Now bring the girl here.” He instructed for her to be sat down on a chair in front of him.

  “Maria. Do you know why I have brought you here?” he asked.

  “Please don’t kill me. I’m still young; please don’t kill me. I haven’t even had my first kiss yet,” Maria begged.

  “We are not going to kill you. As I said before, we need you. We need you to pick our side. Now I know you have heard rumors about us but give me a chance to tell our side. Agreed?”

  Maria nodded her head.

  “Once upon a time, we all lived here, in this grand palace, with our brothers and sisters. I, Prince Amir, as well these loyal companions of mine were all in harmony with every one else. But first let me introduce to you my brother and sisters whom you haven’t had the pleasure to properly meet.” He turned as the other four lined up next to him. “These are Princess Alexis, Princess Naia, Prince Hadis and Princess Kaila. They commonly refer to us as the Unknowns because we have lost our gifts and natural abilities, making us virtual not important and unknown. But nevertheless, we are still princes and princesses of the kingdom and thus we still refer to each other with our given names.

  When I was still an official part of the Royals, I had an idea. What if we didn’t confine ourselves to this kingdom? After all, there is a grand, majestic world out there that seems to be so interesting and full of potential. We have seen humans before; the Bostavs, as you probably already know, they were humans at one time. When they decide to join our kingdom they bring with them stories of their past lives and all the adventure and resources that are available out there. And our father, King Astanfe, raised us with knowledge and history of the human culture for a reason. He said that we could learn from it and avoid the same mistakes and benefit from the examples. So I began thinking, what if we go out? It won’t do any harm to go out and observe them and maybe even learn from them. You are part of an intelligent species Maria. You are blessed with the freedom to choose your own path and do whatever your heart desires.

  I brought this idea to my brothers and sisters. Their opinions were divided; some agreed with me yet the others were understandably opposed. We had healthy discussions about the subject for years until finally I realized that it was going nowhere. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and to secretly plan what was supposed to be just an educational trip outside the kingdom.

  First I asked the help of my brother and sisters who have agreed with me. And then we proceeded to enlist the help of the Mestons from the South who can help us sneak out into the world. But before our plan can be put into action, one of my other brothers and sisters happen to be using his telepathy and overheard our discussions, and they were determined to stop us.

  You see Maria, I did not mean to start a revolt to take over the kingdom but I had no choice. My quest became an obsession to overthrow the others and slowly I dabbled in magic to help me do that. That’s when someone brought to me the Diamond of Astanfe, the only weapon that is capable of killing us. I wasn’t aware until then of the prophecy set about by my father; and we didn’t really understand the significance of it until after the Great War. We also didn’t know how to properly use the dagger and thus the results being our condition today.

  But now that you are here, Maria, things are different. If you decide to join us, then we can continue with our plans to go outside. You can be a princess – a real princess with real control and extraordinary abilities. If you choose to join them, then you will remain as you are – an ordinary little girl in an ordinary little world. But whatever your decision may be it will not be in fulfillment of the prophecy until it is announced with all 10 of us present. Do you understand, child?”

  “Yes.” She thought about being a princess. She can have anything she wants! But no- not like this, not at the expense of a whole kingdom. “I will never choose you! You will take over my world. My family and friends will be in danger! With your abilities and magic the human world will be thrown into chaos and ruin. Not to mention this kingdom! You are actually willing to destroy the kingdom that your father made just because you want to go out there?”

  Prince Amir got up. He nodded to his sisters and two of them went over to Maria’s side and held her down on the chair. They kept her hands on a tight grip. The third sister went over there as well and pulled Maria’s head back, forcing her mouth to open. Their brother, Prince Hadis, came over towards her holding a small bottle of potion on his hand.

  “You see Maria, we anticipated the difficulty of getting you to see our si
de of the story; to get you to agree with us, we needed to devise a whole new strategy. The potion that Prince Hadis is holding, let’s just say that it will make the decision easier for you.” He smiled as Prince Hadis got closer and opened the top of the bottle. Maria continues to struggle but with three of them holding her down, it was impossible for her to break free.

  Suddenly, the door opened and Gadik rushed in, followed by Jonas and Jasper. Prince Hadis hurriedly emptied the bottle on Maria’s mouth, forcing her to swallow the potion. Gadik jumped up and knocked Hadis out of the way as Jasper pushed the sisters that were holding Maria down. Jonas went to Prince Amir and held his arms.

  “No need for any more violence gentlemen. We will go with you willingly, provided that you take us to our brothers and sisters,” said Prince Amir. “And don’t worry about the girl, she was not hurt.”

  Gadik looked at Maria and she appears to be in a daze. “What have you done to her? What was in that bottle?” he demanded.

  The Unknowns didn’t reply but just laughed. Frustrated, Gadik took hold of Prince Hadis as other Bostavs came in and grabbed the others. Jasper went over to Maria and was attempting to comfort her but he doesn’t exactly know what to do.

  “Stay with her and try to make her throw up what she swallowed,” Gadik said to Jasper. “I will come back after I have transferred them to the Royals chambers.”

  Jasper nodded and proceeded to do as he was told. Jonas, Gadik and the other Bostavs escorted the Unknowns out of the room and went upstairs.

  ***

  The Royals remained in their chamber, fully aware of what was happening outside. It seems that the army of Southerners have positioned themselves behind the palace walls. It wasn’t too long before the army of Northerners arrived as well and positioned themselves facing the other tribe. Then the Omtars arrived and joined forces with the Mestons of the North. The Doxpats stood their ground and were the only ones standing between the armies and the palace.

  “It seems that the moment has arrived,” said Prince Antaw.

  “The girl will be making her decision shortly, when she is here with us,” said Princess Dhalis.

  “And our brothers and sisters are being escorted here as we speak,” said Prince Gustav.

  “I fear that the girl may be under the influence of their magic,” said Princess Aisha.

  “We must have faith in her. If she is indeed the human of the prophecy, then she is a strong one with a pure heart. She can resist their magic; but if they are as strong as we have feared they had become, then only death can break the spell,” said Prince Maalm.

  Presently the chamber doors opened and the Unknowns entered, with Jonas, Gadik and a few Bostavs standing guard.

  “Ah, at last, brothers and sisters,” said Prince Amir. “We are re-united. I see that you have all been making great use of this room.”

  “Whatever your plan is Amir, it will not prevail,” said the Royals in unison.

  “All telepathy now? Show offs,” he laughed. “Even that won’t help you win the girl over.” The other Unknowns remained silent but displayed a sinister smile across their faces.

  “Bring Maria Mercado in,” said the Royals.

  Gadik left to fetch Maria. He is hoping that Jasper has succeeding in helping her get rid of whatever they made her drink. When he got to the room however, he saw that Jasper was still attempting to make her throw up the potion. “Any luck?” he asked.

  “No. I think it’s too late,” said Jasper.

  “They have asked for her. We need to bring her in the room now,” said Gadik. He helped her up and tried to guide her to walk out but Maria held on to Jasper’s hand. She was looking at him, her eyes pleading for him to come. Jasper walked with them until they reached the chambers.

  “She has arrived,” said Princess Dhalis. “Place her in the chair.”

  Gadik and Jasper helped her sit in the chair in the middle. She looked around her; on one side sat the Royals, on the other side the Unknowns.

  “Maria Mercado. The time has now come for you to make a decision of which side to take. We are all present now and your decision will take effect as soon as you utter the words,” said Prince Maalm.

  Prince Amir began a chant followed by the other Unknowns.

  “What are you doing?” said Princess Aisha. “Stop this magic!”

  The Unknowns were now in a trance and continued to chant.

  Jonas turned to Gadik. “Is there anything we can do?”

  “I fear that they are activating the potion that they made Maria drink. Soon she will utter only the words that they want her to. Their magic is powerful and perhaps only death can stop it.”

  Maria started to speak slowly. “Let it be known… from this day forth…” she paused, seemingly out of breath. Sweat was pouring down on her face and her eyes were rolling up.

  “What is going on with her?” Jasper said.

  “She is fighting their magic! Good girl, she is fighting their magic!” said Gadik.

  The Unknowns’ chant became louder and more intense.

  Maria started to speak again. “I have… made my decision… I choose… I choose…” she was out of breath again.

  Jasper was panicking and held on to his belt out of habit. Suddenly he felt the dagger that he had hidden there. He quickly pulled it out and stared at the Diamond of Astanfe. He locked eyes with Gadik who quickly grabbed it from the boy and jumped towards the Unknowns. With one swift gesture he stabbed Prince Amir with the dagger and the Unknown’s chant was immediately broken.

  “I choose the Royals,” said a breathless Maria as she lost consciousness and collapsed down on the marble floor.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Maria woke up with a start. Why does that always happen to me? She opened her eyes and was greeted by the sight of golden ceilings. This isn’t my room. She turned her head and found herself staring at a cute boy.

  “Jasper!” she said out loud. He smiled at her and held her outreached hand. Suddenly her recent memories came flooding back; meeting the Omtars, getting kidnapped and held in a cave and underground, being rescued by Jonas followed by Gadik, meeting the Royals, meeting Jasper and Martha and finally meeting the Unknowns.

  “What happened?” she asked him. “Did I choose the right side?”

  Jasper smiled again and continued to hold her hand. “Yes, you did,” he said. He recounted to her the story of how she was made to drink a magical potion by the Unknowns and succumbed to their spell, but that she was fighting it with all her heart in an effort to choose the right side. He then proceeded to tell her about the Diamond of Astanfe and how Gadik had to use it to kill Prince Amir to finally stop the spell that was influencing her decision.

  “Wow,” she said. “It’s all coming back to me now. So there’s now war, right? Anyway it doesn’t seem like there is a war. I don’t hear anyone fighting or anything,” she said as she looked towards the window. At the same time the door opened and Gadik and Jonas both walked in.

  “So how is our little princess feeling?” said Gadik. “I came in as soon as I sensed that you had woken up. I hope that you are not too exhausted from your ordeal?”

  “No I’m fine, just a bit tired. I was asking Jasper how everything went and he told me.”

  “Thanks to you, the kingdom managed to avoid an all out war,” he said. “After you made your decision, the magic that was keeping together the strength of the Unknowns was instantly disabled. They lost all their power, and with their leader Prince Amir already dead, it was easy to contain them as they lacked organization.

  The Royals immediately felt the strength of their newfound power as the prophecy was fulfilled. Also, after you said the words, the Diamond of Astanfe rose up on its own and sort of, well, it sort of exploded into a million pieces. That ensured the immortality of our leaders as they proved themselves true to their own hearts and everything they had done was for the benefit of the kingdom.” He turned to look at Maria. “Thank you, Maria. A lasting peace has been made possib
le by your wise decision. You are truly an extraordinary person.”

  “Oh you’re welcome,” Maria said. “There was no question of choosing the right side for me. And I’m not extraordinary; in fact I am probably the most ordinary girl you will ever meet! My mom told me once that the instinct to help is inside all of us but that it takes a great person to set aside selfishness and do what was right to help others. Those words had always stuck to me. I am just happy that I was able to do that for all of you.”

  Jonas approached the bed where Maria was lying down. He held her other hand. “You are a brave one,” he said. “And strong. I am a well-trained individual but you kept up with me in the forest. That to me is extraordinary.” He smiled at her and then let go of her hand.

  Maria turned her attention back to Gadik. “So what happens now?”

  “The Royals will speak to you once you are up for it,” he said.

  “And I have been wondering what happened to Meeka? I can’t believe he turned out to be a traitor. I mean he was my friend! At least I thought he was my friend. He was so nice to me and took care of me when I first got here.”

  Gadik sighed. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to track the little guy. He must have fled right away as soon as he jumped off that window. His tribe has been informed of his treachery and according to their leader, Luxa, he seemed to have been working alone. He thinks that Meeka was recruited by the Unknowns during one of his solo adventures in the deep forest and that when he saw you approaching from your world he deliberately cast the shielding spell late to ensure that you got in. But don’t worry about him, we will continue looking for him until he has been brought to justice.”