THE YEAR OF MAGIC
This story starts out a little confusing because it jumps
all over the place; but if I want you to understand it (which I do) you've got
to know everything that happens up until
"The year of magic".
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"HOW
DARE YOU!!!!" A voice boomed through the hall. "YOU DARE TELL ME HOW
TO COMMAND MY KINGDOM!!!!" The young boy took a step back but the tall man
next to him didn't flinch. His left hand remained on the hilt of his sword as
if to threaten the king not to overstep his bounds. "No, Johnathan. I was
simply stating that if your kingdom wishes to survive, you will turn it over to
me." His voice was low and steady, but it reminded everyone in the great
hall of a snake. King Johnathan was calmer now, but he wasn't about to turn his
kingdom, his life, over to a scalawag like King Bartholomew. "Get out of
here now." Johnathan's voice was low but lethal. Bartholomew's son, Pepin,
feared that if they refused to leave, they would be killed. He whispered his
fears to his father who just gave him a cold glare. A boy of six should not
have been involved in this, but his father thought it good for his son to learn
at a young age what it was like to be a king. "If you do not surrender
your kingdom to me now, there will be a great war and Lionantha will be
destroyed." Bartholomew hissed. Both kings' knew that Vendalun had a much
larger and experienced army. Johnathan growled, but he knew there was nothing
he could do. Lionantha and Vendalun were the two largest kingdoms in the entire
realm and were in a constant feud for power. King Johnathan was a good man who
only wanted the best for his people. King Bartholomew was an evil soul who only
wanted the best for himself.
"Perhaps
I could be could be of some assistance my lords." A strong, but somehow
gentle voice broke through the tension. All eyes suddenly focused on a tall,
thin figure. A hooded cloak covered his features, but a long silver beard and
some strands of hair fell out of the confines of the hood. "What could you
possibly do, old man?" Bartholomew asked with venom in his tone.
"That's very simple your majesty. I have a prophesy for you." This
perked the attention of the entire room. "In three years a child will be
born. A girl of purity, love, and magic." The strange man stopped.
"What does this mean?" Queen Emerald asked in confusion. "The
girl will be a sorceress at birth. She will realize her powers at a young age
and she is the key to victory." Bartholomew growled. "What do you
mean?" His eyes flashed. "Who ever controls the sorceress at the dawn
of the year of magic will control the world." The old man continued.
"How will I know this girl?" Bartholomew was obviously interested.
"Her lavender hair and deep crimson eyes shall speak of her
identity."
"Of
what birth will she be." Johnathan's daughter Karen asked. "Common
birth." Came the reply. "Than what use shall she be? If she is no
princess then she is worthless." Karen's voice showed signs of distain.
"Oh she shall be a princess. The princess of nature, every animal shall be
her friend." Johnathan shook his head. "How do we know this prophesy
to be true?" The man removed the hood of his cloak. His blue eyes shown
gently on the king. "Because Merlin has proclaimed it." An evil laugh
erupted through the hall. "This girl shall be mine!" With that,
Bartholomew stormed out of the castle. "Oh Johnathan." Queen Emerald
looked quickly to her husband. "The year of magic is in twenty years. A
seventeen year old girl will hold the fate of our kingdom in her hands."
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3 years later
"Pepin!!
Where is that little fool?!" Bartholomew's voice echoed through the
castle. "I'm here father." Pepin's brown eyes and blond hair could
not hide his fear. Pepin had a perfect right to be afraid of his father,
Bartholomew was the strongest man he knew and none surpassed his fighting
skills. "You called father?" The nine year old's voice faltered
slightly but his father was too busy fuming to notice. "It's been three
years boy. The search for the sorceress begins today." Bartholomew looked
at his son. His black eyes flashed, he'd been waiting for this day for three
years. Nothing, not even King Johnathan and all of Lionantha could stop him
from finding that girl.
**Meanwhile**
"She's
beautiful my love." A small baby slept peacefully in her cradle. Small
sprouts of lavender hair could be seen on her tiny head. Her eyelids concealed
her deep crimson eyes. Her parents smiled down at her. They weren't a rich
family in fact they never seemed to have much money at all. They're small farm
was located on the border of Lionantha and Vendalun. The forests nearby gave
them some cover so that they didn't have to pledge allegiance to either
kingdom. "What should we name her." Shion asked his wife. Allaina
smiled. "Miyako Yolei Inoue." Shion nodded. "A beautiful
name." He hugged his wife close. Outside, a young male timber wolf looked
in. He may have been an animal, but he knew that finally his princess was born.
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10 years later
Ten-year-old
Yolei Inoue stood outside her parents farmhouse. She didn't have many friends,
but the ones she did have called her Yolei instead of Miyako. She always
thought that Miyako was prettier than Yolei but she didn't mind being called by
her middle name. She looked quickly toward the forest, her long lavender hair
swishing around her shoulders. She brushed some dirt off of her long dress.
Some bushes rustled and her crimson eyes shown with delight. "Come on out,
Forest Prowler, I know your there." She called. Slowly, a large male
timber wolf stepped into the clearing. My
lady, your senses are becoming more and more acute with each passing day.
She heard Prowler's voice in her mind. He walked up to her and she stroked his
course fur. "Something bad is going to happen today, Prowler. I can feel
it." Prowler looked at Yolei, his large gray eyes showed concern. It's all right, my lady. Whatever happens, I
will protect you. Yolei nodded. "I know you'd do anything to protect
me, but..." She sighed. "Whatever it is that I'm sensing, I don't
think you will be able to protect me from it." She sat down on the soft
grass. Prowler curled up next to her, he layed his head on her lap in an
attempt to comfort her. Yolei stroked his fur while her eyes searched the
forest.
Suddenly,
Prowler's ears perked up. He raised his head swiftly and sniffed the air.
"What's wrong?" Yolei asked quickly. Someone's coming. There is a group of men; I don't recognize the scent
of any of them. Yolei stood as fast as she could. "Prowler hide. You
know that most people hunt wolves. Go!" Prowler nodded reluctantly, but
turned and ran toward the concealment of the forest. My lady, if anything should happen... I'll be right here. Yolei
smiled and nodded. "Thank you my friend." Prowler turned and ran into
the forest. A few moments later, a
group of man dressed in dark green colors of Vendalun, burst from the forest's
main path. They were lead by a young man with brown eyes and blond hair who was
probably about nineteen or twenty years old. He wore the crest of Vendalun's
royal family on his chest. Yolei's breath caught in her throat. He was probably
the prince and wanted her family to swear to serve his kingdom. But something
about the way his eyes widened when he saw her frightened her more than
anything else ever had.
He rode
up until he was right beside her. "What can I do for you sir?" She
asked. "My parents aren't home sir, they're still in town." She hoped
that maybe if she told him that he'd leave. He didn't, he just continued to
stare at her. I don't believe it! It
can't be her! But she's got the lavender hair and the crimson eyes. She looks
to be about the right age. My father will be pleased! "How old are you
young lady?" He asked. "I'm ten." A smiled crawled across
Pepin's lips. It is her! The right age
and everything! He chuckled slightly. "Grab her!!" He yelled to
one of his men. A tall, gnarled man jumped off his horse. Yolei screamed and
ran toward the woods. No matter how fast she ran the scared knight would catch
her. She was only about 10 feet from the edge of the forest when he grabbed
her. "PROWLER! HELP ME!" She screamed. In a flash, the sleek timber
wolf rushed out of the woods and streaked toward the man. The man saw this, and
let go of Yolei.
Prowler
let out a menacing growl. His fur stood up, ears were plastered to his head,
teeth and fangs bared, body crouched ready to pounce. Yolei scrambled behind
Prowler. "Now girl. Call off your dog." The warrior said calmly.
"He's not a dog, he's a wolf and he is not going anywhere!!" Yolei
yelled at the man. Princess of nature,
every animal is her friend. It's got to be her. Pepin's mind was reeling.
"Archer! Aim at the wolf." Another young man, with a large tuft brown
hair stepped down from his horse. His friend, Dustin, patted him on the
shoulder. "You can do it Tai." He whispered. Tai took aim and was
about to fire when, "Don't fire archer." Pepin commanded. The
fourteen year old held his position. "GIRL!! MY ARCHER HAS TARGETED YOUR
WOLF!! IF YOU WISH IT TO SURVIVE YOU WILL COME WILLINGLY!!!" Pepin shouted
over to the young girl. Yolei turned her head toward the sound. She saw, to her
utter horror, that an arrow was aimed straight at Prowler. She walked up to him
and hugged him. "Thank you for trying my friend." She whispered. She
stood and walked toward the blond man. When she reached his horse he shouted,
"Archer shoot the wolf!" Yolei's eyes went wide. "NO!!" She
screamed, but it was too late. Tai had released the string. She raised her
hands quickly, a soft aura of purple glowed around them and a bubble of the
same color appeared around Prowler. The arrow bounced off the shield and fell
to the ground harmlessly. Yolei dropped her hands and yelled, "RUN, PROWLER!
WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!" The wolf looked to her, nodded, then dashed toward
the woods. She sighed slightly when he was out of sight but Pepin cursed. His
father was going to be angry, and then he remembered the girl.
He
smiled and evil smile. There's no doubt
no that she's the sorceress. My father will be pleased. He grabbed Yolei
roughly and lay her across the back of his horse. "You two stay
here." He pointed to the gnarled man and another man with one eye.
"When her parents return... kill them." Yolei gasped. "No
please! Leave them alone! I'll go just..." She never finished her
sentence. Pepin had spun around and hit her in the back of the head with the
hilt of a small knife. She lay there unconscious He grinned then rode off to
the castle with the sorceress.
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7 years later
Yolei
sat in her large and beautiful room. Her soft bed felt good under her but she
wasn't happy. It had been seven years since she had been kidnapped and her
parents murdered. The only friends she had were Prowler, who would sneak into
the castle's garden to see her, Tai the young archer, who felt bad about almost
killing Prowler, and Kari. Kari was Tai's younger sister who worked in the
castle as a maid. Tai had introduced her to Yolei when she was first kidnapped.
They were the same age and became good friends. Tears began to well up in
Yolei's eyes as she watched birds flying cheerfully outside her window. She
felt so trapped; she hadn't left the castle in seven years and sometimes she
wished that some other girl were the sorceress instead of her. The seventeen
year old sighed as she remembered what it was like living on the farm with her
family. Yolei knew that she had to escape soon because the year of magic was
only a month away. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Come in."
She said as she wiped away the tears. Kari entered the room and sat down next
to Yolei. "Are you alright?" She asked. Yolei shook her head. "I
want to escape Kari." Kari nodded. "I can imagine." Yolei
couldn't keep the tears in anymore and they ran down her face. Kari pulled
Yolei to her and hugged her. "It's going to be alright Yolei. I know
it." She whispered gently. Suddenly, an idea popped into Yolei's head. She
pulled away from Kari. "Do you think you could get Tai to come visit
me?" She asked. Kari nodded. "Good. I have a plan but I need both of
your help." Kari smiled. "I'll be back in about an hour." She
got up and left.
An hour
later, there was another knock at the door. "Who's there?" Yolei
asked. "It's me and Tai." Kari whispered from the other side. Yolei
unlocked the door and let her friends in. "Kari tells me your going to escape."
Tai said, keeping his voice low. "I have a plan, but I need your
help." Tai and Kari looked at each other then back at Yolei and nodded.
"Tomorrow, when Bartholomew lets me out into the garden, I'm going to make
a break for it. There is an archer on duty overlooking the garden; he'll shoot
me if I run. Tai, I need you to take his place and deliberately miss me
ok?" Tai nodded. "Also there is always a maid following me around,
keeping tabs on me. She'll alert the guards and it'll be all over. Kari, I want
you to take her place, pretend I knocked you out and stay quiet." Kari
smiled and nodded. "I'll take care of the rest." The three nodded.
Kari and Tai got up and were about to leave when, "Guys?" They
turned. "Thank you." They nodded and left the room.
***** Then next morning
Tai
walked up to the tall, black haired, young archer who was positioned at the
wall of the castle. "Hey, Dustin." Dustin turned and smiled.
"Hey Tai what's up?" Tai returned the smile. "Prince Pepin
ordered me to relieve you." Dustin sighed. "Thank god." He shook
Tai's hand then left. That was really
easy. Tai thought.
Kari
strode up to the short chubby old lady who had been watching Yolei. "Ms.
Carmen." She gave Kari a side-ways glance. "What do you want
girl?" She asked Kari with venom in her voice. " Madame Triste told
me to take your place so that you could rest." The old lady mumbled
something about not needing rest, but stomped off and into the castle.
Yolei
looked up and saw Tai. She looked behind her and saw Kari. She gave Kari a nod
and Kari fell to the ground. Yolei took a deep breath, it was time. She bolted
toward the wall. What the heck is she
doing? Tai thought. Yolei reached the wall and placed her right hand on it.
It felt cool to the touch. She began to concentrate and the wall rippled like
water under her hand. She stepped through it and onto the ground on the other
side. Yolei ran as fast as she could toward the woods surrounding the castle.
Arrows whistled around her but none of them came close to her. Thank you Tai. Suddenly there was a
whistle and the main gate was raised. A small troop of guards ran out after
her. Yolei made it to the edge of the forest and kept running. She wondered
where Prowler was, because he was nowhere in sight. Yolei ran until she felt as
if her lungs were going to burst. She looked back and saw that the guards were
still following her. Because she had looked back, she didn't see the large tree
root. She tripped over it and fell to the ground. When she tried to stand up, a
sharp pain ran from her right ankle and up her leg. She screamed and fell back
to the ground. The guards were on her in an instant.
*****
He'd
been walking through the woods for two days. Prince Ken Ichijoiji was so fed up
with his life. Everyone in the kingdom Dentra were always either trying to get
in his good graces or marry their daughter of to him. He was seventeen and he
already hated his life; he couldn't think of one person who actually loved him.
Ken brushed his black hair away from his eyes. They all thought he was a great
catch because of his good looks and the fact that he was a genius. He was
wondering through the woods, lost in his thoughts when he heard a rustling
behind him. He turned and saw a long, sleek, and hungry looking timber wolf
behind him. It snarled at him and began to stalk toward him. "Oh great,
this is all I need." He whispered. "Take it easy boy." The wolf
was having none of that. He charged; Ken turned and ran. Ken ran for about an
hour but the wolf wouldn't give up. It finally got to the point where Ken
thought it was herding him somewhere. Suddenly, Ken heard a scream and sounds
of a struggle. He stopped dead in his tracks; looking behind him he saw that
the wolf was gone. "LET ME GO!!!" That screamed belonged to a girl. Ken
slowly peeked through the bushes, trying to find the source of the sound.
He was looking onto a small clearing; a
campfire had been built and it threw light on the clearing's occupants. Ken's
blue eyes fell on a young girl, who had to be the same age as him, tied hand
and foot on the ground. Her long lavender hair and crimson eyes entranced Ken.
She was surrounded by a group of three men wearing the colors of Vendalun.
"Be quite girl. We're going back to the castle at first light." The
oldest man yelled at her. The girl continued to struggle but when she moved her
right ankle, she winced. I've got to help
her. Ken thought to himself. Ken slowly pulled his sword from it's sheath.
He stepped out into the clearing. "It's obvious that this young lady wants
nothing to do with you gentlemen. So why don't you just let her go." Ken
said calmly. It was more of a command than a question. The men looked stunned;
then they started to laugh. "You actually think that you can take on all
three of us?" The oldest man, the leader asked. Suddenly, there was a
growl behind the guards. They turned and saw the timber wolf ready to pounce.
"Who said I was alone?" Ken smiled and charged the man nearest to
him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the wolf pounce on the leader.
Ken's
opponent swung his blade hard at Ken but he easily blocked it. He knocked the
blade away and swung upward; Ken sliced the man chest open and blood began to
pour out. The man grabbed his chest and backed away. Ken looked around slowly;
the leaders arm had been torn open and the third man lay on the ground with a
strange purple glow surrounding him. "Retreat!" The leader yelled. He
and Ken's opponent grabbed the third man and took off. The wolf was nowhere in
sight. Ken walked over the girl and reached for her ropes. She flinched away
from him and he could see she was shaking. "It's alright." He said
gently and smiling. "My name is Ken Ichijouji. What's yours?" Yolei
didn't know what it was, but she felt like she could trust him. "Miyako
Yolei Inoue. You can call me Yolei." Ken cut her ropes. "That's a
very pretty name. Now let's get out of here shall we?" Ken helped Yolei up
and they were about to leave when, "Oh wait! Prowler come on out. I know
your there." The timber wolf exited the woods and bowed slightly to her. You called, my lady. Yolei smiled.
"You're coming with us aren't you?" She asked. Only if you wish me to. "Of course I want you to come old
friend." She reached down and petted his neck. Then I will join you. Yolei smiled. "Good then let's go."
Ken looked confused. "I'll explain later." She said. Ken looked at
her crimson eyes and realized he didn't care; he was going to protect her with
his life.
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So what do you guys think? Please review and tell me if you
think there should be more chapters. ;) Thanx!