"Can you sing?" Justin asked, looking at Chris.Chris grinned. "Want to hear some of my songs?"
"Sure," they all agreed.
Chris began clapping, creating a rhythm and broke into a rousing ditty, pitching his voice higher than normal so it sounded like he was mocking himself singing.
Kaylyn laughed. "Ok, we all know you can mock yourself. But can you really sing?"
Chris picked up his lute and played a few notes. "Any requests?""Something romantic," Willow sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. "I want to hear something romantic and sweet. It’s been so long since I’ve heard anything like that."
"Romantic?" Chris looked glum. "I don’t know any romantic songs."
"You don’t?" Kamryn asked. "What kind of bard are you?"
"A very new one," Chris told her. "I just recently started. And so far, no one has asked me for any romantic songs."
Willow sighed. "Ok, you don’t have to sing a romantic love song. But don’t mock your singing anymore."
"You don’t need to sing for us right now," Sam told him. "I wanted to question our visitors." Her blue eyes moved to the four guys seated around the table. "Who are all of you and what are you doing here?"
"Why were you trying to rob us last night?" Justin asked her."Because that’s what I do," Sam replied.
"But you’re a girl!" Justin exclaimed.
"And?"
"You can’t be a petty thief. You wouldn’t know the first thing about pickpocketing."
"I’m not a petty thief. I’m very good at what I do."
"But it’s not possible. Women don’t do those things."
"It might not be possible wherever you’re from," Kaylyn interjected, "but it’s possible here."
"What are your names?" Joey asked. "We know yours, Sam" he glanced at Sam, "but no one else’s."
"Willow."
"Kamryn."
"And Kaylyn."
"Kaylyn! You!" Joey’s brown eyes grew angry. "You’re the one I’m betrothed to."
Kaylyn looked at him. "Not anymore, you’re not."
"Oh, yes, I am. We’re getting married. I did not travel all the way here just to turn around and leave
without a bride.""Find someone else, because you’re not getting me," Kaylyn said.
"We’ll see," Joey murmured.
Kaylyn tossed her blonde hair over her shoulders and ignored his comment.
"What are the rest of you here for?" Chris asked.
"I’m on a stupid quest to find my bride," Justin said.
"Where are you from?" Sam asked.
"Minoa," Justin told her. And at everyone’s confused look, explained where it was. "It’s over the seas. One of the seven kingdoms."
"Oh," Kamryn said. "Why didn’t you say that at first? Everyone knows about that region."
"Make it sound like it’s just because we’re totally uncivilized that we’re known," Justin joked.
"You mean you’re not totally uncivilized?" Sam asked. "But everyone insists that your region, and that of the 21 kingdoms, is totally uncivilized. I’ve heard you don’t have modern things, like carriages and saddles and that your people still believe the world is flat."
"Now that’s just too much!" Justin exclaimed, jumping up. "Our kingdoms are ten times more advanced then yours. At least we don’t believe in magic and fairies and curses."
"Of course we don’t believe in them," Sam agreed. "We don’t have to believe. Everyone knows things like that exist."
"Do not!"
"Do too! What do you think was on that hut last night? What do you think is on this castle? Do you actually think that it’s as big as it looks from the outside? Besides, we have fairies, and pixies, and elves here."
"Yeah right," Justin scoffed.
"Oh, but they do," Chris said. "I love pixies. They roam all over the country. And they’re happy and make you happy, too." He had a big grin on his face that everyone couldn’t help but return.
"Do you really think you need anything else to be happy?" Joey asked.
"Of course! You can never be too happy."
The tension in the atmosphere was lessened by the laughter Chris caused. And, to prevent Sam and Justin or Joey and Kaylyn from getting on each other’s bad sides again that day, he asked Josh and Lance what they were doing.
"I’m with him," Lance said, pointing at Josh. "Otherwise, he’d be totally lost, with his head in the clouds."
"Would not," Josh said. "I’m on a quest to find my sister."
"And how did your sister get lost?" Chris inquired.
"Actually, I’m not even sure if I have a sister. I just think so; there are tales and legends that say so."
"How do you not know if you have a sister?" Joey questioned.
"The magicians, at least the powerful ones, they’re said to be able to erase people’s minds," Kaylyn said.
"But they couldn’t have erased everyone’s mind. No one’s that powerful," Justin scoffed.
That guy is really arrogant, Chris’ conscious said. It’s obvious he’s some kind of a prince.
I agree, Chris told his conscious. Even though Justin hadn’t told anyone he was a prince, he gave it away with his bearing and the way he acted. He was used to being the center of attention, and it showed.
"Well, I don’t know of anyone who knows for sure if she existed or not," Josh said.
"That’s what I’m looking for- someone who can tell me if she existed and if she did, where she is now."
"I know someone who can tell you that," Chris said suddenly. "From my village."