Mernatian 4

{Estecj}

The Prince sat in front of The Table of Kings, his mouth ajar questioning what he had just witnessed. He let his hands fall down to his sides, while the Queen stroked her necklace violently.

"I'm sorry son." The King walked over to the Prince and grabbed his shoulders.

"It is already done!" The Queen wailed.

"He has to marry her!"

"I told you not to do this mother!" The Prince yelled and stood from his chair. He tore away from his father’s grip and ran out of The Decision Hall. His bare feet slapped across the black and white checkerboard floor. No one dared to step in his path.

"Prince!" The High Servant yelled after him.

"Open the doors!" The Prince said to the guards.

They pushed open the twenty-foot tall wooden doors and the Prince slipped back out into the sunlight. He tripped over cobblestone path, but caught himself before falling.

"Wait! Where will you go?" The High Servant screamed and pushed past the guards.

Prince Will ignored the servant and continued to walk quickly down the path past the flower garden and into the forest. He had never walked this far away from home, at least in this direction. His parents would never allow him to explore this part of The Great Forest. Before long the sky grew dark and Prince Will slowed his pace. He could hear the night wind pushing on the treetops and whispering to the plants. It was a lullaby not even the strongest man could resists. Will’s eyes soon grew heavy. He found a grassy spot beneath and old oak tree where he could rest a while. This was at a time when Mother Nature held no fury, just silence and calm. Seeds from nearby plants blew through the air. The seeds sparkled as they passed through the small beam of moonlight that forced its way through the trees.

Just as fast as he fell asleep he was awakened by an urgent voice.

"Your not suppose to be here Prince. Please wake up." Said a female voice.

Will sat up, squinting to see through the darkness. A woman was crouching over him and pulling at his shirt. The cloaked woman pulled him to his feet. He quickly pulled away from her death grip on his arm.

"What is the meaning of this? Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"You shouldn’t be on this island, your kind are… not welcome." She hesitated.

"Island? I’m not on an island I’m in the…" His voice trailed off as he realized he wasn’t in the forest anymore.

They were standing on a hill in a meadow. Behind him was a single tree that was eerily similar to the tree he had fallen asleep under. This time he noticed the markings on it. Dead on the center of the tree was an ancient symbol carved into the trunk.

"What does that read?" He asked the woman for he had not learned the ancient language yet.

"Oh how I wish I could tell you, but I fear the consequences if I do. What I can tell you is that wherever you stopped must have been a portal…"

"But more like a trap." She mumbled just below hearing level.

"Well clearly!" The Prince said frantically.

"So how do I get back?"

"Prince… this is the only portal on this island and its only a one way trip."

"So I’m stuck here is what you’re saying!"

"Well… yes."

The Prince put his hands to his face as if to wipe away reality. He dropped them to his sides again and gave the woman a hopeless look. Slowly he turned and began walking down the hill, leaving the woman standing there.

"An arranged marriage, fighting, yelling, the one who I truly loved was murdered, and now this…" The prince mumbled.

"And now this!" He yelled giving up on self-pity.

Just then he tripped over a rock on the steep hillside and began tumbling down the hill. Rocks and uneven sloped punched his ribs and legs. He didn’t try to stop his downward motion. His loss of hope prevented him from doing so. Finally he came to the bottom of the hill, bruised and emotionally tired. His right hand landed in a pool of water. He turned his head to see the ocean.

"Then I am not stuck here." He said pushing himself up with the little strength he had left.

He stepped through the pool of water his hand landed in and started walking closer to the water.

"Prince I would suggest not doing that."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to the woman. He looked at her darkened face where he thought her eyes might be hidden behind the hood.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"That’s not important right now, what is important is that I keep you safe."

"Safe?"

He turned to look at the ocean and noticed something he hadn’t before. There were at least ten shipwrecks on the shoreline. Just before he could draw any conclusions the ground started to shake. He looked back at the woman who stood there motionless as if this were routine. Suddenly the shoreline started to recede. The shaking became so violent the Prince had to sit down. Within seconds he heard a cracking noise and then they were shot up into the sky. The entire island rose up out of the water so fast that one by one the ships fell off. When the upward motion slowed he stood up, knees shaking. The shoreline was now just a foot away from where he was standing. Looking down he could see clouds. Quickly he jumped backwards.

"What just happened?"

The woman was whispering something over and over again until the island came to a complete stop. Just then he realized what was going on.

"You stay away from me!" The Prince yelled and started to run away from her dangerously close to the edge.

Being the careless Prince that he was, he started to slip off the edge with the falling sand.

"Oh no you don’t." He heard the woman say and grab his arm pulling him back to safety.

She slapped him across the face quick and hard.

"How dare you be so careless with your own life when everyone else has been working so hard to keep you safe!"

"What?" He said out of breath.

"We need to talk, follow me." She said.

She grabbed his shirt giving him no choice but to go with her.