Fan Fiction ❯ Kayin's Quest ❯ The Journey Begins ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

The Journey Begins:

Kayin meets Princess Keonae

Kayin opened his eyes.

At first he didn't know where he was. He was lying on the ground. But when he sat up and turned around, he saw the entrance to Spirit Forest behind him.

I must be in Lithila Meadow, he thought.

He looked back through the trees.

I could turn around now. The Faery Glen is through those trees. I could explain to Gaya that I'm not ready, or something...

Kayin stopped, then gave his head a shake.

What am I thinking? I am ready. I'm not going to let everyone down, he told himself angrily.

Something inside him gave a jerk when he thought that.

As he got up off the ground, he felt something heavy bang in his pouch. He reached inside and his fingers closed around something cold and smooth.

"What's in my pouch?" he wondered aloud.

He pulled the something out, and it was a green medal. Kayin wondered what it was. He had never seen it before. He turned it over and saw that it had a picture of a leaf on one side.

Oh well. It looks neat, so I'll hold on to it.

Kayin put it back in his pouch.

Then he took a deep breath and looked around the meadow. He couldn't see everything, so he ran to the top of a hill. From there he could see everything clearly.

To the north, Kayin could just see the sparkling water of a clear blue lake tucked back behind the hills.

To the east, he saw a tall black volcano showing over the tops of rock formations.

To the west, he could make out the beginnings of the shadowy, swirling sands of a barren desert.

Spirit Forest, behind Kayin, was southwest. It was between the desert and-

Castle Karima! That's where Gaya said Princess Keonae lives! I'd better get going, or it will be night before I get across this huge meadow.

Kayin set off for the castle. He ran the whole time, but he was still a good way away when he noticed how dark the sky was getting. Suddenly, he heard a horn sound. He looked back at the castle and gasped. The gold gates around the castle village were closing!

"No, stop! Wait for me! I have to get in!" Kayin cried, as he ran even harder.

But no one must have heard him, because the gates kept going until they closed with a clang. Kayin reached the gates and slammed his fist against the gold bars in frustration. He put his back on the gate and slid to the ground.

"Great," he muttered. Now I get to stay out here all night.

He lay down in front of the gates. It was getting cold. Kayin realized he was homesick.

My bed would be comfortable right now, he thought.

He listened, but couldn't hear any elfin voices.

He curled up and fell asleep.

At sunrise the next morning, Kayin awoke to the sound of the gates being opened behind him. They opened into a village, and behind that Kayin could see Castle Karima towering on a hill over the houses. He jumped up and ran into the village. First he would try and find something to eat. Then he would go see the princess.

As he was walking through the village, he noticed a sign. It said:

Welcome to

Karima Village

Kayin couldn't believe his eyes.

Karima Village? I was born here! This is so weird! I wonder which house was mine?

He began to wander around the village, looking at the houses. One house in particular made him stop.

This house looks familiar, but I don't remember seeing it before, he mused. I wonder if the people here will give me something to eat.

He gathered all of his courage to suppress his fear and knocked on the door. A small, round female elf answered. Her eyes opened wide when she saw Kayin. He cleared his throat shyly.

"Um, excuse me, but I was wondering if...."

But his sentence was interrupted by the woman.

"Oh, my! You poor little thing! You look so hungry! Here, come inside and have something to eat."

She ushered Kayin inside to a small table and placed a bowl of nuts and fruit in front of him. He looked at it for a minute, then took a nervous bite. It was delicious. Soon his mouth was full of food.

The woman was talking nonstop, but Kayin hadn't been listening to her. Right now he was focusing on the food. Then she said something that got his attention.

"...And I was so excited when I bought this house, because rumor has it that it's something of a historical place, and that the former owners were the king's chief archer and his wife, but they disappeared and never showed up again, and that's how I got it...."

Kayin choked.

"The king's chief archer?" he stammered.

"Why, yes, dear, but what's the matter? You look white as a ghost!"

Kayin gulped. "Nothing. I'm...I'm fine. I just have to go now. Thanks for the food."

"Anytime, dear, I was glad to have some company. Come back soon, all right?"

Kayin nodded, then got up and headed out the door. As soon as he got outside, he stopped.

My house...my parents...weird....

He sighed, then headed toward Castle Karima.

"What? Why can't I see the princess?"

Kayin was incredulous. He had come all the way from the forest, gone through the village, and climbed the hill to the castle, but now it seemed as if it would be for nothing. The guard wouldn't let him through.

"Sorry, kid, but no one gets to see the royal family members unless they have written consent."

"But I was sent here!"

"Yeah, sure, sent to steal the royal jewels! You're not the first one to use that excuse, you know!"

"I won't steal the jewels!"

"You expect me to believe that? You don't think a thief would tell a guard when he's going to steal something, do you? Ha! Now get out of here before I set the royal dogs on you."

Kayin couldn't believe it. Why hadn't Gaya warned him about the guards? How was he supposed to see Keonae if her castle was surrounded by...

Suddenly he realized that he could get past them easily. He had been playing hide-and-seek with Larina since he was little. Playing in the woods had helped him learn how to make use of any kind of hiding place. Dodging all of the wood creatures also helped. And Kayin had a pretty good feeling that when it came to games, the guards were out of practice.

He sneaked around to the other side of the castle. Growing next to the steel fence was an enormous tree. But standing on the other side of the fence just a few yards down were two guards, who were probably there to prevent the use of the tree. Using the tree's girth to hide his body, Kayin, who could be as quiet as a ghost when he wanted to, crept up as quietly as possible. He shimmied up the trunk to the lower branches, and hid in the leaves.

Pulling out his bow, Kayin let a small arrow fly straight towards one of the glass windows all the way down at the other end of the castle. It connected and shattered the window. Hearing the noise and seeing the glass fly, both guards ran to check it out.

Kayin smirked. That had been almost too easy. He jumped down from the tree on the other side of the fence, and slid behind a bush. Looking out from his hiding place, he saw a path that seemed to lead into a huge garden. Quickly, so that the guards wouldn't notice him, Kayin hurried down the path and into the garden, where more bushes and trees hid his movements.

Moving quickly and quietly, so as not to be detected, Kayin navigated around the plants and statues. He was just about to stop and rest when he heard a girl's voice.

He looked around a statue and saw a little female elf about his age wandering among the plants, humming as she walked. Kayin could tell she was the princess.

Princess Keonae had long brown hair tied in a ponytail, and a peaches-and-cream complexion. She was smaller than Kayin physically, but she carried herself with much more tranquility than Kayin, who usually tried to make himself as small as possible. Her dress was teal, and it had little lace frills around the edges. She had long eyelashes over big, soft brown eyes. Kayin thought she was very pretty.

All of a sudden the princess stopped. She turned toward the statue Kayin was watching from. Startled, he quickly ducked out of view. His heart was pounding. He prayed she wouldn't call for the guards. But he didn't expect what he heard.

"Is someone there? Come on out, I won't call the guards. I just want to know who you are."

Kayin was surprised. Was it a trick? But something in her voice told him she wasn't lying. So he slowly looked around the edge of the statue.

Princess Keonae was standing there with a curious look on her face. For a minute she and Kayin regarded each other. Since she did not give even the slightest impression of calling the guards, Kayin walked around the statue and stood in plain view. He stared at his feet.

"What's your name?" the princess inquired.

Kayin looked up. "Kayin," he replied shyly.

The princess gave him a strange look.

"Your clothes are awfully strange. Are they a new style or something?"

Kayin blushed, and looked at the ground again.

Keonae gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry. That wasn't kind of me. I should introduce myself. I'm Princess Keonae, and this is Castle Karima."

Kayin nodded. "I know who you are."

The princess smiled. "Oh yes, of course you do. But how did you get in? And why did you come here?"

"Gaya told me to," Kayin said, ignoring the inquiry about his entry.

Princess Keonae gasped and scurried up to him anxiously. He took a step back in surprise.

"Gaya? You don't mean the Guardian of Spirit Forest, do you? How do you know her?" Keonae asked.

"I used to live there."

Keonae studied Kayin very carefully for a minute, with her hands on her hips, chewing on her lower lip in a rather un-princess-like way. Then she spoke.

"I want to find out more about you...but to do something that will give me the information I need, I'll need your permission. You can say no...but I assure you that it doesn't hurt and it will be harder if you refuse."

Kayin nodded.

The princess hesitated. "Will you let me read your mind?"

Kayin was startled. He didn't understand how that was possible. His confusion was plain on his face, and Keonae giggled.

"I have many magical powers," she explained. "Mind-reading is one of them."

Kayin considered the suggestion reluctantly. He didn't know if he wanted her poking around inside his head. But it would be faster that way...

He nodded slowly. "I guess."

Princess Keonae nodded too, then pushed back her frilly sleeves and put her fingertips to his forehead, causing him to shrink back slightly, and stand very tense. For a while they both stood in silence. Kayin could sense her presence inside his head. It was very strange, and he desperately wanted to pull away.

After a few minutes, the princess withdrew her fingers. She looked excited.

"I knew it! I just knew it!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands.

Kayin had no clue what she was talking about. "What?"

"You're the Child of Destiny!" she exclaimed.

"Oh. Yeah."

Keonae laughed. "What do you mean, `oh yeah'? That's wonderful! You're here to save us!"

Kayin was surprised. "Wait. I don't even know what I'm supposed to do, and I'm only seven."

Keonae blushed. "Oh yeah. I forgot. I have to tell you what you're supposed to do, don't I?" She giggled. "I guess you know about the seven Dragon Diamonds?"

Kayin nodded. "I know what each one stands for."

"Good, I can skip that part. But there is still a lot you need to know. First, right now you are too young to get the Dragon Diamonds. That is work for a grownup. It's very difficult...I've heard all the stories about past heroes. And I can't get them because only certain people-besides the Chosen One, of course-can touch them. Those people are called their Keepers...But I have heard of a few people who can touch them that aren't either of those...."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Kayin asked.

"I'll get to that later. First I want to tell you about them. When collected, they do something special to their master for as long as they are all together. If the Diamonds are separated, the magic will stop. But there is an incantation one must say to make their power work. I don't know what that incantation is. You will find that out on your quest."

Kayin was confused again. "But what do they do?"

Keonae shrugged impatiently. "No one knows. The last time all seven Diamonds were brought together was over a thousand years ago. All anyone knows is that they make the bearer very strong. And I heard...but this might just be a myth...that each Diamond has a special power all its own."

"So Sodorm is after them too, huh?"

"You bet! He wants them so bad he's almost crazy. I guess he's figured out a way to overcome the whole barrier of not being able to touch them. But that's not the point. The point is you can't get them at age seven. You need to be older. And that's where the Guardian Faeries come in."

"You mean there are more Guardian Faeries?"

"Of course! Boy, you sure don't know a lot about Lithila Meadow."

"You'll have to forgive me for not taking the time to research," Kayin muttered sarcastically.

Keonae heard him. "Sorry. I forgot where you came from."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Look, can we get back on the subject, please?"

"I didn't start it."

Keonae sighed. "Anyway, there are four Guardians in all. One of them is Gaya. She's the Forest Guardian. There's also Myestrale, the Volcano Guardian, who lives on Inferno Mountain. Then there's Lora, the Lake Guardian, who takes up residence in Stardust Lake. Last is Aryn, the Desert Guardian, and he's in the Phantom Desert. To become old enough to get the Dragon Diamonds, you have to go see each of them."

"Why?" Kayin asked.

"I don't know. You'll find that out when you see them. After you've grown to the right age or whatever, I think they'll tell you how to get the Dragon Diamonds."

Kayin turned this information over in his mind. "Ok...I think. Is that everything?"

"Just one more thing. I don't know what you have to do or where you have to go, but I do know that the journey is very hard and dangerous. You will need stronger weapons than that bow of yours, so you might want to work on that. I also know that the Dragon Diamonds are spread out, so you might have to go in one direction, and then back again the opposite way. Maybe your friend Larina has one."

Kayin started to ask her how she knew about Larina, but then he remembered that she had just read his mind. So he nodded. "Um...how do you know all of this, anyway?"

Keonae smiled. "I told you, I've heard all the stories. Besides, the Chosen One has always been a native to Lithila Meadow. I think it's because we're so diversified. And the Royal Family - my family - is always a very important part of the Child of Destiny's connections." She blushed a little, then took a deep breath. "All right. You should get started right away. Do you think you can do it?"

Kayin stared into space. He had just been forced to leave his home in the forest, where he had lived his entire life. Now an adventure had been placed before him that was difficult and possibly life threatening. He would have to fight monsters and gather the Diamonds, going into unknown territories and meeting unknown people. He sighed.

"Yeah...no problem."

Princess Keonae threw her arms around his neck, causing Kayin to give a violent start. "Oh, Kayin! That's great! You're the best! You can do it, I know you can!" she cried as she hugged him.

Kayin turned bright red and jerked away. He didn't like being touched, and had almost fallen down when she had hugged him. Keonae was still smiling, but she looked a little confused. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"Uh, I guess I will...but I should get started soon..."

Keonae's smile faded. "Yes, you should. But how can I get you out without the guards seeing? I'll be in big trouble if you get caught."

Kayin waved his hand as though the guards were minor details. "Don't worry so much. I got in, didn't I?"

Keonae grinned. "All right, but make sure you aren't seen, or we'll both be in trouble. Oh, and once you get out, you should go see Myestrale first. He lives in the volcano to the east."

Kayin nodded. "Yeah, I saw it before. All right then...Goodbye, princess. I'll see you again, hopefully."

He started back through the garden.

As she watched him go, the princess called after him, "Good luck, Kayin! You can do it!"