The Vanishing Stone (4 page)

5

N
ikoleta was stunned at what she had just heard. “What do you mean you know my parents?” She looked back and forth between the three of them, waiting for an answer. How could these...people…know her parents? This wasn't even Earth or whatever this place was this…this Amarian. If these people
did
know her parents, how did her parents meet them? And how did her parents get there?

 
              Nikoleta felt angry again. Nothing made sense. Then she blurted out, “You're telling me that the secret to finding my parents was a necklace that has a mind of its own that took me to this place? I've been absolutely clueless about them for seventeen years and a
dragon
tells me that she knows my parents?”

 
              Nikoleta sat down on the couch and felt angry and confused. She tried to remain calm. She buried her head in her hands and said, “I'm sorry, I just wish I would have known sooner.” Day came and sat down beside her, rubbing her back. “We're sorry Nikoleta, I'm sure the stone just had to wait until you were older to lead you here," Day said, sympathetically. Then she said, “Kibbie why don’t you tell her the story.” Nikoleta looked up at Kibbie as she began to speak:

                 “Your parent's names are Jack and Amelia Soter. Your mother found my egg here shortly after they were married and after I hatched, they raised me. About two years later, you were born. Anyway, your father worked for the king. King Kakon. A month after you were born, King Kakon told your father that he had to go and kill all the dragons he could find. He couldn't do it, he refused. He and your mother had a fondness for dragons, especially for me and I being a dragon meant I would have to be killed too. I was like a daughter to them; there was no way he would do that to me. Your father went and told King Kakon that he wasn't going to kill any dragons so the king told him that his punishment was to kill his newborn daughter...publicly—which he also refused. Your mother had the necklace for a very long time and she took this opportunity to use it. Your father was ordered to bring you at sunrise for the execution. Of course, he never showed. Instead your mother, while holding you, put the necklace on and it took her to where you live now. She left you at the orphanage with a note that said your name and explaining that it wasn't safe. I believe it said something along the lines of “Her name is Nikoleta Daniella Soter. Please take care of her, it is not safe for her here with us.” The next day, castle guards came and took your parents to be held captive in the castle for the rest of their days. The King had many people out searching for you so he could do the job himself, but of course, you were never found. Seventeen years later, they are still in the castle somewhere. They sacrificed it all to save your life. King Kakon is no longer around and the castle is now ruled by his daughter, Karina. She probably isn’t much older than you. No dragons ended up being killed but for safety I came here to Grundon and that's how I met Bosh and Day.

Nikoleta, listen to me, the Princess still has orders carried over from her father that if you are found, you are to be killed. I have a f
riend Raphael who is the castle’s groundskeeper and he has been keeping me updated on your parents all of these years. They are still alive and we can still save them. We just have to come up with a plan.”

                Nikoleta didn't know how to take all of what she had just heard. Her parents were so brave. She let a tear fall and felt vulnerable and embarrassed. She hardly ever cried and certainly not in front of anyone but this time she couldn’t help it. All the while, she was glad they were alive...at least it seemed they were, anyway.

  
              “So, let me get this straight, my dad wouldn't kill dragons or me so my mom took me to the orphanage to keep me safe and she left a note with me and they are trapped in the castle somewhere that is being ruled by Princess Karina?”

 
              “Yes," The three of them said, simultaneously. “And in a way, you are like my sister....a few species removed?” Nikoleta asked Kibbie. “I suppose you could say that.” They smiled at each other. Then Bosh offered, “Nikoleta, stay with us. You are more than welcome and we will help you get your mom and dad back.”

  
              “Thank you. I just worry about the girls back home. I'm sure they are wondering where I am...” Nikoleta paused, “...but I can’t leave
now
. I need to find my parents. I'm sure they would all understand.” They all nodded.

 
              Day stood up and said, “Nikki, would you like to go for a walk?” “Um, sure,” Nikoleta answered. “OK let's go."

                  The two of them left behind the curtain that was actually the front door, which, Nikoleta now noticed was made of vines tightly intertwined together. They headed left. On their right there was a tunnel that led to a place where five small children were playing. Two of the children had pointy ears and long white hair. Nikoleta thought maybe because these people lived underground that they looked different. Perhaps it was an evolution thing. The other three children looked human.

 
              “What are the two with pointy ears?” Nikoleta asked. “They are ground elves. They are who built Grundon long ago. These particular children don’t have parents. They were ordered to be killed by the princess. They live here now with Manaya who takes care of them.”

 
              Nikoleta studied them closely. She never saw another orphan outside of her orphanage before. She suddenly felt guilty for looking at them. Perhaps if it were about a half an hour ago before she even knew she had parents, she wouldn’t feel this way. She had parents somewhere, unlike these children. Then they heard Manaya say, “Come, children, it’s time for bed.”

 
              Day started walking again and Nikoleta followed. They came to an underground spring that was sparkling blue and despite the darkness, the water looked very clean and clear. There were a few women who were collecting water in clay pots and a dragon was drinking. Nikoleta and Day sat on a boulder.

  
              “Nikoleta, Kibbie asked me to give you something." It was quiet now, the women and the dragon were gone. Day reached into her small cloth bag and handed Nikoleta a small, brown envelope.

   Nikoleta carefully o
pened it. It was a letter addressed to her. She felt herself shaking as she began to read to herself:

Dear Nikoleta,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am deeply sorry for how things turned out. My heart is breaking as I write this because I don’t know when I will see you again. It may be many years from now, but believe me it is for the better. The necklace will come find you at the right time. It has its way of knowing things. Just know that our lives will never be the same. We long for the day that we will see you again. We had to protect you. If you are reading this I am sure you know what happened. Your father and I hope you are not angry with us. We didn't have much of a choice. We did not abandon you. This was the hardest decision either of us has ever had to make but we know it was the right one. We would do anything to keep our child safe. I hope you are doing well.

We love you, always,

Mom and Dad

After reading the letter, Nikoleta started to cry a little, again. She always wondered about her parent’s whereabouts but she never thought about what their personalities were like. Her parents were two brave individuals who sacrificed a normal life to save hers. She owed them everything.

6

N
ikoleta and Day got up and headed back. When they got there, Bosh and Kibbie conjured a bed on the couch. There was a warm looking blanket folded up and ready for her. “I hope it's comfy for you Nikoleta,” Bosh said. “It's great, thanks," Nikoleta replied, with a smile. She sat down on the couch and got comfortable. Day brought her a night gown to change into. It was hard to tell what time it was because they were underground but Nikoleta did feel tired. She went to the bathroom and changed, washed up and came back out.

 
              “Tomorrow morning,” Day began, “We are going to meet Raphael to get news on your parents.”

 
              “Cool,” Nikoleta answered. “So, how will we save them? I'm sure if this princess is as evil as you say we won’t be able to just Waltz into the castle and get them,” Nikoleta said. “You are right. If only it were that simple. Tomorrow we will discuss it with Raphael. He is the groundskeeper so he knows all ways into the castle...known and not known. He will know what to do.”

 
              Nikoleta felt her stomach turn. Would she be finally meeting her parents in a day or so? The thought was a little overwhelming. What if they were disappointed in her? What if they wanted to change her? How would she know they were really her parents? There were still too many questions and not enough energy at the moment. She knew she needed to ask some anyway.

  
              “Why wait til I come here to save them? Why not save them on your own instead of waiting all these years?” It was a decent question. “I know it's hard to understand, Nikki. Can I call you Nikki?” Kibbie asked and Nikoleta nodded. “OK. Anyway, if they were to be rescued any time before now, they would be risking their lives more than they already are. They wanted to see you...in case something was to happen during escape.”

 
              “I guess that makes sense. It's insane to wait this long but it makes sense. I just can’t imagine what they are going through. Is anyone hurting them? What have they done all day, every day for seventeen years?" Nikoleta had a never ending amount of questions, it seemed. The others tried to answer them all the best they could, of course. “Last I spoke to Raphael, they were in the dungeon. Every day they were being fed old crackers and water and nothing else. Raphael tries to bring them extra,
real
food on occasion so they aren't totally starving. That’s the last thing I heard.” Kibbie told her.

              Kibbie and Raphael were very good friends. They met years and years ago when Kibbie went to visit the village. After a few years and him gaining her trust they started discussing Nikoleta's parents. Raphael agreed he would watch over them and at least keep her updated. He kept his word.

 
              “Well, when we meet this Raphael, I just hope it's all good news. At least that they are alive,” Nikoleta said. “Me too, Nikki, me too,” said Kibbie.

                 Sleep didn’t come easily for Nikoleta that night, which was a surprise for her being that she felt completely exhausted. She kept thinking about her parents being in a cold, dark, nasty dungeon and being tortured or who knows what else. Her mind was too busy for sleep. In the morning, panic would happen in the orphanage with everyone looking for her. Her face may even end up on the local news...or a milk carton. People may think she was dead for goodness sake. Nikoleta knew it was worth it, though. She had to meet her parents even if it meant risking her life. She didn't know these people called Mom and Dad but it seemed that they had done way too much for her before she even had teeth in her mouth so it was the least she could do.

After finally falling asleep, Nikoleta had the
same dream she had a few days ago with the people tied to posts calling her name. She guessed that the people were her parents. Although the dream was far from pleasant, she thought it was nice to hear their voices or at least her rendition of them.

In the morning
, she sat up and rubbed her eyes and stretched. She felt hungry. Just then, Day came over with a metal bowl, a wash cloth and a pair of clothes. “This is to wash up with. How did you sleep? Well, I hope.” Day sat everything down on the table front of the couch and smiled. “Yeah, I slept OK, thanks,” Nikoleta fibbed. Day left to go to the kitchen. Nikoleta started washing her face. She looked at the cloth and saw some of her makeup on it. She was going to feel naked without it but perhaps it was time for a change.

   
              She washed the rest of herself and changed into the clothes that Day gave her. It was a short-sleeve, loosely fitting black blouse with brown pants. They were very comfortable, like sweatpants only lighter. They also had a draw string at the waist. Day had also given her a pair of socks. She put them on and her Converse over them. Feeling a little silly in the outfit despite its comfort, she figured it would help her blend in. She folded her black tank top and jeans and set them on the couch.

  
              Afterward, she found Kibbie, Day and Bosh all sitting at the table having breakfast. “Come join us, friend,” Bosh invited. Nikoleta sat down. “Good morning.” Nikoleta told her new companions. She got a “Good morning” in unison in return.             

While eating her eggs, sausage and toast, Nikoleta wondered what time it was. “What time is it
? Does anyone know?” “It's 8:30,” Day answered. Nikoleta was confused. Where was the clock? She was so used to her red, glowing clock in the morning with its obnoxious alarm. “We tell time a little differently here. Look,” Kibbie got up and flew over to the right wall of the dining area. Something was there that Nikoleta hadn't noticed. It was a long thin pole that went up through the ceiling. Around the pole there was a clock that looked similar to an analog clock except there was no second hand. “It looks like this pole underground here, but above ground it is connected to the top of Grundon's tree...which you will see later. Judging by the light, the energy of the sun tells us what time it is, sort of like a sun dial,” Kibbie explained.

 
              “Wow, that's pretty cool!” Nikoleta exclaimed. “There are a lot of cool things here.”

“Yeah it's not so bad,
” Kibbie smiled.

  
              After that, Nikoleta began to wonder about the orphanage. How was everyone taking the fact that she wasn’t there? They were worried sick, for sure. Imagine Helga coming up stairs to her room to shake her awake and her not being there. They were probably calling the police by then. Yes. That was what they were doing. Unfortunately, she had to put these thoughts aside even though she felt guilty.

  
              Breakfast was finished and the others didn’t say much because they could tell Nikoleta was lost in a train of thought. Bosh started gathering dishes, and cleaning up and Day was gathering three small, leather bags and an even smaller one for Kibbie. Kibbie left to go buy some fruit and Bosh started packing. Since everyone was busy, Nikoleta felt the need to get involved. Then, to her surprise, Bosh asked if she would like to help wrap some food. “Wrap food?” “Yes, we wrap bread and fruit in cloth to keep them moist and fresh,” Bosh explained.

  
              Nikoleta started wrapping bread and Kibbie came back with the fruit so she wrapped those too. Bosh started packing two small loaves into each of the packs and Day filled up four canteens--which looked very antique--of water. The items fit in each bag rather snug. There probably wasn’t room for much more. “How far away is Raphael?” Nikoleta asked. “He lives in the village about a mile from the castle which is about a three or four hour trip from here," Bosh answered. Kibbie butted in, “But we're not meeting him at the village we are meeting him at the edge of the forest. It's on the way to the village though.”

Day came to the
dining area with three knives. There was one for her, Bosh and Nikoleta. They were about five inches in length with small, golden, bejeweled handles. “These are for protection, just in case,” Day said. Nikoleta was flabbergasted; she had never used a knife to hurt anyone. She had only used her fists. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use the knife.

  
              “Is everyone ready? We are supposed to be there at noon," Bosh said. “Yes we are ready,” Kibbie answered, looking at Nikoleta. The four of them headed towards the door covered with vines and headed to the right. Bosh was ahead of the group, then Day, then Nikoleta with Kibbie flying very close by. They headed towards a tunnel that lead to a winding, wooden staircase. They went up the staircase and they came to what looked like a dead end. But this dead end looked like the inside of a rather large tree.
This must be the tree they were talking about earlier
. Confused, Nikoleta looked at the others waiting for something to happen. Perhaps she should say “
Open sesame
” or something. Just then, Bosh pulled on a knot in the tree and a door slid open. There was a forest there, of course. Bosh went out first making sure the coast was clear. After a moment, he waved the others to follow. The wide door slid closed behind them, blending with the side of the tree. Nikoleta turned around and it was the biggest tree she had ever seen. It was easily ten feet wide and hundreds of feet tall. It seemed to be the biggest tree in the general area.

 
              Outside, it was a little warm with a nice breeze. Like good beach weather. How Nikoleta missed the beach at the moment. They headed north through the forest. They walked for about an hour and there was no end in sight. They came to a giant fallen tree that they had to climb over. Kibbie, of course, flew over and Bosh helped Nikoleta and Day over it.

  
              This forest was definitely not like any one she had ever seen in her hometown. It was almost as if this forest had been untouched by people. It wasn't damaged or polluted. It was very quiet and peaceful and smelled like fresh pine. Unfortunately, the peace was rapidly disturbed.

  
              The group heard people coming from behind the wide tree trunks. It was five men and they all had some sort of weapon. Nikoleta thought they looked like homeless people but outlaw was the word that came to mind. Yes, outlaw. “Well, well what have we here? Two pretty girls and a dragon we can sell for a price. I gotta say, nothing this sweet comes through here very often. We've made a catch today, boys!” The oldest looking of the men said to his partners in crime. Another one of the nasty men quickly walked over to Nikoleta and grabbed her face with his right hand. Before he could say anything, Bosh grabbed him and threw him on the ground. “Don't you touch her!” Bosh yelled. The man, still lying on the ground, said “Ha, ha! That's a beautiful girl you got there! I love to have her in my bed!” Nikoleta curled her nose with disgust. The man got up and headed for Nikoleta again with his club now in his hand. The other four men grabbed Bosh to restrain him. The man ran towards Nikoleta and swung his club at her and before he knew what was happening, he was thrown back by a force field. Nikoleta had no idea what had just happened. “What in the world was that?” the man said. He got up and came towards Nikoleta again and the same thing happened. He was going to hit her with his club and was thrown back. “Nikoleta, it's the necklace!” Day yelled from a distance. She was over trying to help fight the men off of Bosh. Kibbie was nowhere to be seen. “The necklace?” Nikoleta yelled back. “Yes! It's protecting you!” Suddenly, Kibbie came from a tree branch and blew fire at the man. He ran away with a burned face and hair. The other four men who were holding Bosh ran away as well. They had no desire to be burned by a petite dragon nor deal with a force field coming from a stone on a necklace.

  
              Luckily, the men then ran in a different direction than they were traveling in. Kibbie, Bosh and Day came over to Nikoleta. “Oh my goodness, are you alright?” Day asked. “Yes, I am now. How did this necklace do that?” She started caressing stone charm. “Like I've said before, it has a mind of its own.” Kibbie said.

  
              “Well, we are all OK...what now?” Nikoleta asked. “We keep going. The river is a couple of miles from here. We will stop and rest there,” Bosh answered.

                 The companions walked along for what seemed like forever. Kibbie got tired of flying and Nikoleta let her rest on top of her shoulders. Nikoleta hoped the river was getting close because she felt her mouth getting dry and even though they were carrying canteens, they apparently were not stopping until they got to that river.

The events from earlier seemed to wear everyone down a lot faster than they had planned. Then she heard it. Nikoleta heard the flowing water. The river was near! They all kept walking and on the other side of some rather large boulders, there it was. It was very beautiful. The sun was shining and making the water sparkle. The grass on either side was the greenest she had ever seen. And the smell of lilies was so strong it was wonderful. They climbed over the boulders and Bosh laid out a large blanket for everyone to sit on. Immediately, they started drinking the water from their canteens.
Kibbie started munching on her fruit she packed; blueberries, apples and grapes. “We are almost there now.” Bosh said. Nikoleta started eating her bread, seeing as it would be more filling than the fruit.