Justin wheeled his horse around in the courtyard and waved to his parents.
“May you have all the luck in the seven kingdoms,” the king said. “May your journey be filled with adventure. And may you survive it all.” The typical Minoan parting for those departing on a journey. Minoa, the kingdom he would one day rule, was filled with people who wanted to adventure. Most never got very far from the border before deciding they didn’t like adventures and returned home.
He kissed his mother on the cheek and clasped his fathers hand. Then the drawbridge was lowered and the gates opened and he rode down the graveled path, over the wooden drawbridge and began the long journey to find his bride.
It seemed that everyone had come out to see him off. As he rode off, cheers rose from the crowds, blending in with the sound of the horses’ hooves. The sunlight was streaming down on him, and them, a good omen for Justin’s journey. All in all, it was a beautiful day.
To Justin, it was a terrible day. The noise was giving him a headache, and the sunlight hurt his eyes. He wished he was back in his room, or the throne room, learning more protocol. No, strike that, he thought. I want to be out practicing for battle. He, like all the sons of nobles, had been trained for battle. It was never needed, for no one would ever consider going to war, but, still “it was best to be prepared”, as the king, his father once told him. He enjoyed it, the rigorous drilling, the strategy involved in it. He could lose himself in it, forget everything but what he was doing.
A few hours later, when the sun was high in the sky, he stopped in a small glade to rest his horse and eat. He didn’t stop for long, for he wanted to get out of Minoa before sundown.
Sam walked out of the small hut. A another shadow joined hers on the ground and she smiled, knowing who it was. Actually, what it was. A second later, she felt soft, silky fur brush against her leg and lowered her hand to rest on the head of the great cat walking next to her. The black cat came to her hip, and when standing on her back paws, towered over the 5’7” Sam. Sam didn’t remember how she’d gotten Nyx. All she knew was that one day, the black cat had arrived on her doorstep one day, three years ago.
Sam walked deeper into the forest. Her day, like most days, was free, and she wanted to sit in the shade of one of the trees overlooking a small stream and daydream the day away.
The soft, sing-song sound of the stream drew her, her feet falling in rhythm with the movement of the water. The sound grew louder as she approached, and within minutes Sam reached the river, surrounded by the green trees, the banks soft beneath her feet. Sam settled on the ground close to the bank, so she could look into the water of the stream. Nyx rested her paws and head on Sam’s back, the rest of her lithe body stretching out over the ground. Her deep purr combined with the gentle noise of the water to create a relaxing atmosphere. Soon, both Sam and Nyx were asleep.
Sam dreamed. Dreamed of a tall, blue-eyed man riding on a tall, dark gray horse. The man’s curly blonde hair glistened in the sunlight, making it seem as though he had a halo around his head.
The man stopped and looked around, as though he’d heard something. A second later, another man appeared in Sam’s dream.
“Who are you?” the man on the horse demanded of the newcomer, who was leading a horse.
“My name is Joey,” the newcomer said. “And, unfortunately, I am lost. I was traveling with a large group of people until last night. Then we were attacked by bandits and I now find myself on my own. Tell me, do you know where we are?”
The man looked around, suddenly realizing he was also lost. “No. But there was a small tavern down the road, where we can find out.”
The other man mounted his horse and they traveled back down the road.
Sam woke up then, the dream vivid in her mind.
“Where are you heading to?” Justin asked Joey, as they entered the tavern.
“Augumentia,” Joey told him. “To meet and marry my betrothed. Don’t ask why I am traveling to her, when she should be traveling to my country. And to where are you traveling, my merry friend?”
“I don’t know,” Justin told him. “I’m on a stupid quest to find my bride. I have to go wherever Fate leads me.”
“And since it is obvious she isn’t leading you anywhere, I invite you to travel with me,” Joey said.
“And where is Augumentia?”
“’Over the seven kingdoms, across the seven seas’- since seven is of course the perfect number- ‘and you shall find Augumentia, land of magic’,” Joey quoted.
“Sounds like a fun journey,” Justin joked. “It can’t be any worse than what I’m doing now, and at least I’ll have company. So I’ll travel with you, until Fate decides to play games with my life.”
“Then we’ll continue on our way tomorrow,” Joey said.
“Do you know how to get there?”
“Yeah. You find the last of the seven kingdoms, and come to the sea, and travel over that- it’s only one, I don’t know why they say seven in the rhyme- and then you’re there.”
“Hey, Joey, where are you from? Not one of the seven kingdoms, right?”
“No. I’m from one of the twenty-one kingdoms in the East.”
Justin nodded his head. There were three regions in the world- the East, the Central, and the West. He was from on the seven countries of the West. And now, he was heading for one of the three kingdoms of the West. The three kingdoms of the West were rumored to be the most powerful in the world, and, according to legend, filled with magic.
All of the stories he’d heard as a child came rushing back to Justin. He remembered hearing about Augumentia. The king of that land was Joshua. As legend went, he had a younger sister, born six years after him. Their mother died the day after her daughter’s birth. When the girl- no one seemed to remember her name- was five, and Prince Josh eleven, she was stolen away from the castle. A search had gone on for days, but she wasn’t found. And within weeks, people had forgotten her name, what she looked like. By now, it was just a rumor that King Josh had a little sister hidden somewhere in Augumentia.
Christopher paced the long, low, dark room. The news he’d just received from one of his spies was very, very bad. Josh couldn’t find his sister right now. It would ruin all of his plans. And he hated it when his plans were ruined. it made him irritable and grouchy.
Not that you aren’t already like that all the time, his mind told him.
Am not, Chris told his mind. Now shut up.
No, I don’t have to. Remember, I’m your conscious. Tell me once again, what are your plans, Chris? Why did you curse that poor family?
I’m going about this from the top of my head. And I cursed them because I had to. Everyone in my family has placed a curse on some family or another. It’s who we are.
Chris, I hate to tell you this, but THEY ALL HAD REASONS!!! his mind yelled. It’s not right what you did to that poor child. Do you mean to keep her in the forest for the rest of your life when you know perfectly well she should be at the castle, preparing tog et married and rule her country?
N...no, Chris replied. Just a little bit longer, then she’ll be revealed and things will work out.
No, now, Christopher. Reveal her to her brother NOW!
But...but... c’mon, just a little bit longer. Let Josh go on his quest.
Christopher! his mind growled.
“I am not having this conversation,” Chris yelled. “I am not talking to myself. I am not having an argument about this. No, no, no!”
Yes, yes, yes.
“Shut up. You’re my mind and you have to do what I say. Josh is going to go on his quest and things will be ok.”
As long as you don’t mess anything up, his mind said.
“I won’t,” Chris said, sinking into a chair by the fireplace. He was the son, grandson, great-grandson, of a magician. Every man in his family had been a magician. Tall, powerful, with brooding features, they had been the prefect magician. They were mean, cold-hearted, had no problem cursing people, or getting people mad at them so they could curse them.
Chris, on the other hand, was short and had a elf-ish look. He was usually happy, cheerful, always smiling and making jokes. He didn’t get mad at people and people didn’t get mad at him. He hated cursing people, and the curse he’d placed on Samantha hurt him more than he’d care to admit. He’d given her to a kind old woman who lived in the forest, and who had raised her until Sam was 14, four years ago. And now he felt terrible watching Sam steal to provide for her and Willow. He’d kept a careful watch over them, to make sure nothing happened to the two girls.