The Vanishing Stone (12 page)

22

“
T
oday, you stand before us, Raphael McGinn so we can hold you accountable for your actions or lack thereof." Raphael stood in the middle of a dark room in the castle surrounded Princess Karina, Akonni, and seventeen other council members. All of which were men.

  
              "Raphael," the councilman spoke, "You have failed this kingdom. Princess Karina has given you many orders in that which you did not follow through. Your negligence has caused security breaches in the castle, unpaid life debts, and the leaders in this castle to have a bad reputation."

 
              "I assure you, councilman that the Kakon castle’s bad reputation has nothing to do with me. I believe, sir, that it would have something to do with King Kakon's and his daughter's policies," Raphael said, coldly.

   Princess Karina stood, "Don't you dare slander my father's policies. They are exactly how a kingdom should be
run. He established a zero tolerance policy for anyone who fails to follow through with our orders and is punishable by however we choose. We have our people living in fear of defying us and that's exactly how it should be." The councilman interrupted, "Your Highness, if I may continue." "Yes, you may councilman," she responded, reluctantly.

  
              "Raphael, you had one simple order. Get the young girl, Nikoleta Soter, her dragon, Kibbie, and their two other friends, Bosh and Day, and kill them. You obviously have failed multiple times and you must deal with the consequences. Raphael McGinn, we are seizing your home. Your wife and daughter and, obviously, yourself are exiled. You are to leave this castle and the village and never return. You are never allowed here again unless, in the highly unlikely occasion, you are summoned. You are dismissed."

 
              Raphael and his family were escorted from the castle grounds to the edge of the woods. He hated Nikoleta Soter and one day she was going to pay.

***

  
              "Karina, don’t you think Raphael's sentence was too harsh? His wife and daughter are homeless now," Akonni said. "Of course it's not. Don't be ridiculous. He's been absolutely useless to me. He had one job and he failed miserably. He and that stupid girl and her dragon will get theirs one day. My father's debt will be paid and then

all
of this idiocy can stop," Karina replied.

 
              "What about the others?"

 
              "Her friends, pet and parents will be kept around as bait. She will come around. She will do anything for them, you saw that. Once we have her, she and the others will be goners too."

***

                Nikoleta, lost in thought, heard a knock at the door. She opened it, and there was a handsome, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man wearing a shiny brown, leather jacket. "Hello, Nikoleta. My name is Benjamin. Or you can call me Ben. I'm here to escort you to dinner."

  
              As handsome as she thought Benjamin was, Nikoleta could not allow herself to be fooled again. Benjamin held out his arm and she hooked her arm through it.

 
              He led her through the stone-walled corridors of the castle. King Lenny’s castle looked more comfortable and bright unlike Karina's castle.

 
              There were all sorts of people roaming the halls. All of them elegantly dressed and with smiles on their faces. A few of the girls that passed by gave Nikoleta dirty looks. She wasn't sure if it was because of Benjamin or because she was a stranger. She came to the conclusion that they probably wanted
him
. They could have him for all she cared.

  
              They arrived at the dining hall where there were two extremely long tables covered with food. There was everything from roast pig, salad, potatoes, steak, fish rice, and plenty of deserts.

  
              King Lenny approached Nikoleta, who was still linked in Benjamin's arm. "Nikoleta, my dear, you look absolutely stunning. Come. Tonight you are my guest of honor. We will show you what a real kingdom is like. Here, you sit here across from my wife." Nikoleta took her seat, as did everyone else. Benjamin sat next to the Queen.

   
              "Nikoleta, you've met my nephew, Benjamin," the Queen stated. "Yes," Nikoleta smiled. She could honestly care less about Benjamin, she needed to talk to the King now about any plans he may have come up with.

 
              Everyone gathered food to their plates and waited for the King to speak. He stood. As he began to speak, Nikoleta realized that she hated speeches. They always happened before something terrible, lately. She began to listen.

 
              "....there is no other kingdom in Amarian that is as tightly woven as this one, the kingdom of Sana. Tonight, we celebrate our order, our peace, and our home." Everyone clapped and then raised their wine glasses and tapped them together. Everyone began eating and having a good time. Nikoleta felt queasy. She had to know that her friends and parents were OK....or whatever happened to them. Now was her chance to speak with the King.

***

  
              The room was dark and moldy smelling. It wasn't the dungeon that they were in before; it was a dungeon deep underneath the center of the castle. Kibbie was beginning to come out of her lethargy while Day, Bosh and Nikoleta's parents were talking quietly, "Where do you think the stone took her this time?" Day asked. "I don't know," Bosh replied, "but I hope she figures out a way to get us out of here."

                Amelia began to speak, "She looked so beautiful. I wish there had been another way to go about this whole thing seventeen years ago. We've missed so much," she began to cry. Jack held her hand, "I know it's hard, honey, but we had no choice. Just focus on the fact that we are all still alive. After all, that was our goal right?"

***

                "Excuse me, um, your majesty," Nikoleta leaned in to speak to the King. She was quite nervous. "On the matter of my parents--" "Yes, yes dear. That situation, I promise it will be handled. Your friends and your mum will be just fine."

                "But sir, I'm not sure you understand. Their lives are in danger, just as mine could be. Not to be rude, but we have no time. We must do something, now."

 
              The King gave a look of concern, as his wife was listening, "Lenny, perhaps send them a message now to warn them."

  
              "Yes! Good idea, my love. Benjamin! Go tell our messenger to come for a moment. I will tell him what to say."

  
              A few minutes later, Benjamin returned with an older man. King Lenny stood up and approached him and whispered in his ear for a minute or so. Then the man nodded and and walked away and the King returned to his seat. "Don't you worry, dear. It will be taken care of. They will produce the captives or else."

 
              "Or else what?" Nikoleta asked.

 
              "Or else we will have to handle things in a different way."

23

T
he evening went on and on. People ate and then they began to dance in the conjoining room. Nikoleta didn't know how to dance the way that they were dancing so she just stood and watched. She liked the music, though. It was cheery. It reminded her of Kibbie's flute music. The memory hit her like a ton of bricks. That was the last time any of them had seen each other in a positive manner. It was the last time any of them smiled. She wished her parents could be with her now. She hoped that everything would turn out alright in the end and then they could live together and spend holidays together. Aunt Kay, Bosh, Day and Kibbie could come too, of course. There would be smiles on everyone's faces. She didn't know what the King had planned but she hoped it was enough to convince Karina to free everyone, if they were still alive to do so.

                Nikoleta's thoughts were interrupted by a little boy, about age seven or so. "May I have this dance, milady?" The boy asked. He grabbed her hand and kissed it. He was so adorable, Nikoleta couldn't turn him down. Besides, a young boy wouldn't have bad intentions.

 
              His name was Charles and he was wearing a gold colored vest with a white shirt underneath and black pants and boots.  He was having a grand time being spun around by Nikoleta. After a while, Charles' mother called him over so that they could go home. Nikoleta was alone again but not for long. Benjamin came over to escort her back to her room. "Did you have a good time?" He asked.

  
              "Yes it was fun," Nikoleta said, laughing. "It seems young Charles has a crush on you." They both laughed. She felt the sting of guilt again. She thought that she shouldn't be laughing at a time like this. In the grand scheme of things, there was no reason to smile.

  
              When they arrived at Nikoleta's room, Benjamin wished her goodnight and she went inside. Shortly after, the servant girl from earlier came to help her get out of her dress and to get ready for bed.

 
              "Did you have a nice time, Nikoleta?"

 
              "Yes."

  
              After Nikoleta's hair was down and her night clothes were on, the servant girl wished her goodnight, as well and then left the room. Nikoleta blew out the candles hanging on the wall and climbed into bed, which was very comfortable. She could see the moon from her window and it was very bright. It was a clear, cool night so she left the window open. Surely, no one could climb into her window being this high up.

 
              She lay there for a long time with a busy mind. She had no clue what time it was but she felt terrible again. Why did the stone bring her here? What was the purpose? Would King Lenny's plan really work (whatever it was)? How would she save everyone?

                After trying to answer so many questions, she finally drifted off to sleep.

***

  
              Nikoleta was having a bad dream that someone was choking her. She could hardly breathe. She started to wake up and realized that it wasn't a dream; some one was, in fact, choking her. She tried to scream but she couldn't nor could she move. There was a large man on top of her and she couldn't even move her legs. She tried to grab his arms to pry them off but it was no use. She thought for sure she was going to die this time. Where ever the stone was, it was deciding not to help her.

  
              The man picked her up by her neck and held her in the air for a moment while she kicked his abdomen without success. The man was bald with a big scar on his neck, perhaps where he had been cut and somehow lived.

  
              Nikoleta felt herself getting dizzy, surely she was going to black out. The man carried her over to a long mirror leaning up against the wall. He took one hand off of her throat and with the other he slammed her into the mirror. The glass shattered and she fell to the floor. She felt shards of glass falling and cutting her legs and arms. She tried to scream but still couldn't. All she could do was lay there and try to regain her senses. The man grabbed Nikoleta by the back of her hair and pulled her head away from the floor. He sliced her neck and then fled through the window. Nikoleta's head fell back to the floor and she lay there motionless.

  
              The next morning, the servant girl came to Nikoleta's room and opened the door, "Good morning, mil--", she let out a scream. There was broken glass and a bleeding Nikoleta on the floor. "Someone help! Get the King!"

  
              Benjamin was near by and he came running in the room. He looked at the servant, "Antoinette, please, go and get the doctor, now! She's still breathing." Nikoleta's injury wasn't deep but there was still a considerable amount of blood on the floor.

  
              A moment later, the King and the doctor came in. "My God!" The King exclaimed. "Who did this?"

 
              "I have no idea," Benjamin replied. The doctor and his assistant carefully put Nikoleta on a stretcher and carried her to the hospital wing.

24

 
T
he doctor stitched up Nikoleta's neck and assured everyone that she would be alright after a lot of rest. He told everyone that the person must have been in a hurry since the cut was not deep and only covered half of her neck.

  
              Nikoleta lay there resting. She hadn't woken up yet. Benjamin came in and sat down in a chair next to her bed. The Queen came in a little while after.

 
              "This poor girl, her best friends and family stolen, being attacked numerous times, and now, almost killed in the walls of a castle she was told she would be safe in. How did this get passed us, Benny?"

  
              "Not sure, Aunt Sophia, I guess we'll just have to wait until she wakes to get some answers," Benjamin replied. "I'm sure it was someone sent by Karina. I'm going to go talk to Uncle and see what he's doing about this."

***

  
              King Lenny sat in his quarters at a large table filled with his councilmen. There where large papers spread across the table.

 
              "As we all know, King Kakon was an evil man and the spawn of his hatred is still ruling his kingdom. This has gone on long enough. Now, they attack a young girl inside of our walls? No one feels safe. People,
my people
, are panicking. I won't have it," stated the King. "But your majesty, we have no inkling of what we're up against. We don't know what weapons they have nor do we know how many men they have," said a man.

  
              "I know exactly how many men they have. They have nine-hundred men plus eighty-two goblins. They are hopelessly outnumbered."

 
              "You're majesty, are you sure you want to do this? We are a kingdom who prides ourselves on peace and honor. What honor is it if we go to battle with a neighboring kingdom all for a young girl that no one knows? We should just leave it be."

 
              "How can we leave it be? Karina has sent someone into my HOME and had someone attacked. This was far too personal. Whether anyone knows the young lady or not is quite irrelevant. The fact is she was within my walls,
MY walls
. I know it goes against everything we stand for, but I am no door mat either. Last night's invasion will not be taken lightly. There's no room in Amarian for such evil, it needs to be flushed out."

 
              "We will be sacrificing men, your majesty. Are you sure this is necessary?"

 
              "Sometimes to do the right thing it requires sacrifices."

 
              Just then, Benjamin came running in with an envelope, "Uncle, urgent message from Karina. It's her reply."

                He handed the King the envelope, and he opened it. Silently, he read the piece of paper. The others waited patiently for a response. The King let out a sigh, "Well, gentlemen, prepare your selves for war."