It was a clear night sky. The garden was brightly-lit by the full moon above, sending silvery rays across the garden. It was late in the evening but Theo could not fall asleep. His mind was extremely unsettled this evening, bothered by the many happenstances which have occurred lately within the Kingdom.
He remembered a few days ago during Baldwin's court session how nervous Sir Samuel seemed to be when Sir Baldwin was making his case, and how he was anxiously staring at King Aylard each time he responded to Baldwin's questions. Theo wished he could give his father and Sir Samuel a comforting hand, but all he could do was sit there and hear the case. He still had not had the chance to tell his father what Belinda had told him. Nobody knew about his newfound extraordinary ability yet.
If I told them, would they look at me differently? Will father disown me and consider me some kind of monster or warlock? After all, they still cannot figure out what kind of creature Belinda is. Theo thought.
That little girl of a snake had grown again! She is now even larger than before. I wish Miles was back already, so at least I would have someone who could understand my newfound ability. That snake of a girl, Belinda, is now sprouting wings on her back. Snakes don't have wings. She needs protection before anyone would consider her a monster and think of killing her. I don't know if I can protect her when that happens.
With all these thoughts racing inside his head, Theo became very restless. He needed someone to talk to about the things troubling his mind.
Suddenly, in the middle of the garden, a beautiful young lady appeared. She had on a floral pink dress. She sat by the bench near Belinda's cage. In front of her was a lyre, upon which she was playing a melodic tune, beckoning Theo to come forward. When she opened her mouth to sing, Theo could hear her sweet and angelic voice. Mesmerized by her beauty, Theo continued to move closer to her.
As Theo moved forward, he realized the garden was becoming misty. A large patch of a white mist-like cloud was descending and touching the ground, kissing the young lady's smooth and dainty feet. Soon, the mist was everywhere in the garden, and all he could see now was this mysterious beautiful young lady, the mist, and himself.
Theo was now only several feet away from her. The harmonious tune she was playing continued to draw Theo forward until he was directly in front of her. He marveled at the smoothness of the skin on her hands as she moved about the string instrument, and her delicate fingers bounced around, plucking those strings, creating a beautiful melodic tune for the song she sang from her pinkish lips. Everything Theo saw was like a dream. He did not know the young lady, nor did he know her name, but he was drawn to her beauty which seemed out of this world. Theo could not believe his eyes.
Where am I? Have I gone to sleep? Am I in my dream already?
“Who are you?” Theo asked softly, trying not to startle the singing young lady.
The young woman smiled but did not answer him. She stretched out her hands as if she wanted Theo to hold them in his. Theo responded and felt the softness of her hands in his hands.
“Shall we dance, my lady?” Theo asked. He bowed and kissed her hand. That was strange, as Theo had never even taken any dance lessons before, and now here he stood, asking this beautiful stranger if she would like to dance.
The beautiful stranger did not say anything but responded with a positive gesture. Theo held her waist with one hand and held her hand with the other as they began to dance. He noticed the lyre, though unattended, was continuing to play out its melodic tune.
They swirled round and around in the garden. The smoothness of their steps was so beautiful it was as though they both had danced like this many times before. Theo was beside himself. He felt immense happiness unlike any he had ever felt before. He was over the moon.
At some point, they were both tired and sat on the bench. They said nothing to each other but just held each other's hands. Theo found a ladybug crawling in front of them. He blurted out softly, “Look! It's a ladybug! Why would she come out in the middle of the night?”
The mysterious young stranger did not answer, only smiled at him sweetly. She bent down to pick up the ladybug, held it in her hand and showed it to Theo. Very gently, that little ladybug crawled from her hand into Theo's hand. Theo looked at the little bug, fascinated by it and did not want to hurt it. So, he put her back in a safe place on the ground.
“Now, we are both protected, and we both will have good luck!” He said.
“Do you know that seeing ladybug means that good luck will befall upon you? We both had seen it, and we both held it in our hands. This means we will both have good luck,” he continued to tell this nameless young lady. For some reason, he enjoyed her company, even though she still had not uttered a word yet.
He watched the beautiful stranger in front of him. Like Belinda, she had pinkish white skin and dark hair. Her face was oval-shaped, and her lips were natural pinkish color. She smiled sweetly, and at one point, she parted her lips, revealing her perfectly formed pearl-like teeth. Her beauty was beyond this world.
They rested there for a while and then began to dance again. Both enjoyed being in each other's arms, and now they were dancing slowly, and Theo held her closer to him.
“Who are you, my sweet friend?” He spoke softly into her ear.
“Are you new to the palace? Where are you residing? Why haven't I met you before?” Theo wondered where this mysterious girl had come from.
He pulled her closer to him, looked into her eyes and noticed they were green, like Belinda's.
Belinda? He suddenly called out Belinda's name in his mind.
The nameless stranger became shy and moved away. Her pink floral dress cascaded layers of fabrics that flowed beautifully in the air. Theo stood there, frozen on the spot. He did not know what to think. For the next few moments, the world and time seemed to have stood still. His mind was void of thoughts. In this world, at this moment, there was only him and this beautiful girl. Nothing and no one else really mattered.
He watched as the object of his desire walked away from him, back to her lyre. She picked it up and continued walking, disappearing into the mist.
XXXXX
Theo opened his eyes and found himself lying in bed. His clothes were moist. He did not know if the moisture on his clothes came from the mist in the garden or from his own sweat.
Was that only a dream?Theo was confused. He was sure that he had not gone to sleep yet. The last thing he remembered was strolling in the garden, thinking about what he should do and to whom he should reveal his secret regarding his newfound talent.
He vaguely remembered staring into the young lady's green eyes that looked like Belinda's.
Was that Belinda in her magical form? Why hadn't she said anything to me then? He wondered.
And that ladybug I saw – was that a message from Belinda, telling me not to worry? That I will be protected? Theo was trying hard to find the reason for an unreasonable situation.
He made a mental note to stop by Belinda's pool before going off to court duties in the morning.
He wondered if he should let Emma know that he wanted to let Sir Samuel know that he knew about the massive deaths of the warriors in black that he had sent out to kill Miles. He had decided that he would tell Sir Samuel of his ability to communicate with Belinda, and that was why he would know about things and events that he normally would not know. He would tell Sir Samuel that he needed his support to keep this surprising ability a secret.
Theo had decided to let Emma know that he would confront her father personally to find out the truth as to why he would want to have Miles killed. As far as he could see it, Miles had not done anything to harm him or the family. He would also let Emma know that no matter what her father had done, there had to be a reason for his action, and they both needed to find out what the reason was. He would reassure Emma and her father that he was on their side, that he would protect Sir Samuel and his family.
Theo felt a lot better now that he had made up his mind, and he fell back to sleep like a baby.
XXXXX
Theo woke up early the following day. His first action of the day was to make a beeline for Belinda's cage. Belinda came forward to greet him.
“Hey, Belinda girl! Good morning!” He smiled and pet Belinda's head. Belinda flapped her tail and her tiny wings that had just sprouted on her back.
“Belinda! Did I see you in my dream last night?” he asked loudly, “Were you that beautiful young lady whom I danced with in my dream?”
Belinda did not respond, just kept flapping her tail and tiny wings. She blinked her eyes a few times.
“Don't worry, Theo! Everything will turn out well! You will be protected and so will Miles! Sir Samuel will be alright. You need not worry. Sir Samuel will accept you the way you are,” Theo heard Belinda's voice telling him.
“Will he? I hope so, girl! You know I will never ever let anyone harm you! But keeping my ability a secret is killing me. I worry about it everyday. I just need someone to support me and you for who we are and what we can do without calling you a witch, and me a warlock. I don't want any harm to befall us,” Theo heard his own voice from his mind reassuring Belinda. He was on the verge of tears.
“It will be okay. Do not worry! Emma will agree to let her father know about it. You will see. Everything will fall into place. Sir Samuel will not be sending anyone out to kill Miles. He likely will not be doing it after you confront him. The new warriors in black are still in training and are not ready to fight any battles yet for a long time,” Belinda reassured Theo.
“Okay, then! I will do that this afternoon after the court duties. I will let you know what happened after the meeting with Sir Samuel. Wish me luck, okay?” Upon saying that, Theo saw Emma approaching, so he said goodbye to Belinda.
As soon as Emma came forward, she sensed something was wrong. Theo seemed different this morning. He seemed nervous to see her. Something must be up, and she needed to find out what it was.
“Hi, Emma! Good morning!” Theo greeted her nervously.
“Good morning, Theo!” She greeted back, “How are you?”
Emma looked imploringly into Theo's eyes.
Theo nervously told Emma what he intended to do that afternoon. He told her he had no choice, but he needed hers and Sir Samuel's support.
Emma nodded. She agreed that it was time to let her father know what they both knew about him and to reassure him that he would be safe. She admitted that she had this very thing hanging over her head and she was constantly thinking about it. It was eating at her brain everyday, and it hurt her to see her father being so afraid of Baldwin.
She said it was about time that they should consider sending Baldwin to jail. Her father found out that Baldwin had been secretly removing tons of maple trees from the Oakwood Village, secretly transporting them to another location for replanting in the event the Oakwood Village deal would not go through. He was also responsible for stealing the farmers' cattle. Baldwin then suggested to Lord Conrad Jr. that they needed to build a wall to protect the village from thieves, and made demands that the village should put up the materials for the construction while the Kingdom's Treasury would pay for his troops to build that wall, and other expenses occurred by his troops. He was spending the kingdom's money recklessly without seeking the consent of her father.
"That man is despicable!" Emma cried in anger, "My father couldn't do anything to him because he was blackmailing father with his knowledge of the deaths of those warriors in black!"
“I want that wicked man in jail more than ever too! But we need to find a way to do it!” Theo responded, his voice filled with frustration.
He looked at Emma helplessly. He hoped that Emma would come up with a solution. Emma - the woman, the future queen - who he had been counting on. Alas, this time, it seemed as though the problem might be too large for her to solve. Theo searched Emma's face for reassurance that she may be brewing up a plan, but this time, all he could see was blankness. He was not sure if Emma knew of anything that could help him and her family. Putting Baldwin in jail would be the first step to ensuring the safety of both families and the kingdom.
“Emma! What should we do?” Theo repeated.
“Do not worry, my dear future husband! I will deal with Baldwin. You just have to go to my father and let him know your thoughts. Make sure he understands that you are on his side,” Emma said after much thought.
“Is that all I need to do today, Emma?”
“Yes!” Emma proudly responded, finding herself suddenly amused at seeing the sparkle in the future king's bright blue eyes.
“Emma! Did anyone tell you that you are the greatest? I mean it!” Theo said honestly. He now felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
“You are the greatest! You are the smartest and the most beautiful woman in this kingdom! I love you, Emma!” He continued to praise his future wife.
He held Emma by her shoulders, then pulled her towards his broad shoulders and hugged her tightly, noticing the orange ringlets of hair on her head. The fragrance in Emma's hair penetrated his nose. Emma smells good! He thought.
Theo lifted Emma's face and planted a kiss on her lips, and told his love, “Emma, I wish we could spend the whole day together like we did when we first met. We didn't have a care in the kingdom then, but now we both have so many obligations to keep us busy everyday. Promise me, Emma... Promise me... you are still looking forward to being my future queen.”
“I promise, my dear future husband, and cross my heart,” she made a gesture. Theo planted another kiss on her lips again.
“Well, I better be going now, otherwise I will be late for the court duties. Perhaps you can try going home earlier today so you can be there too when I talk to your father.”
“Okay, I will! Don't worry!” Emma responded. She then walked around to the other side of the cage to greet Belinda.
XXXXX
There were not too many cases in court this morning, so the court closed on time. While Samuel was packing up to leave, Theo went to see him and told him he needed to talk with him privately.
Samuel led him into his chamber, and they both sat down. Theo did just as he had planned. He revealed all to Samuel and reassured him that while Belinda is not a witch, and he was not a warlock, they both possessed the ability to protect him and his family, and will find a way to put Baldwin in jail.
Sir Samuel felt a huge relief that Theo was on his side and was amused at his newfound ability to communicate through the mind. He told Theo it was a huge asset to the kingdom. He was sure it had something to do with Miles' magic potion that his parents had ingested before the pregnancy, and he was glad that he now had evidence that the magic was beginning to manifest.
He joked that from now on he would not look at Belinda the same way. That little creature had great talent, and no one would know it.
“She is growing wings on her back. Have you seen her wings? They're sprouting out now! I think she may be even able to fly in the future as she grows older,” Sir Samuel exclaimed.
“Yes, I can see those tiny wings too! We will let Miles decide what to do with her. She may need to go back to the forest to live in the wild. It may not be a good idea to keep her in a cage when she grows larger as she needs to fly around.”
“Yes! Sending her back into the wild may be the right thing to do. It may be our only choice. She needs to fly with those wings,” Samuel agreed.
“Miles will be back in a few days. We will let him see Belinda. He will be surprised to see how she has grown,” Theo said.
Suddenly, darkness fell upon Samuel's face.
“What is it, Sir Samuel? What is wrong?” Theo asked.
“I will not know how Miles will feel about me. He might feel that he needs to protect himself against me,” Samuel said.
“You need not worry, Sir Samuel! I will talk with him to clarify everything. After all, it was both yourself and my father, the king, who had invited him to come to live in the palace. He should be thankful to you both,” Theo responded.
“I hope he doesn't hold anything against me. I have made an error in judgment. I know I will live to regret my action,” Samuel said again.
“Not to worry! I will also talk to my father about this,” Theo said, placating Samuel, “Everything will be alright. You'll see! We just need to find a way to lock Baldwin away, and everyone will be happy.”
“Great! Your Highness! I'm so happy you and Emma are going to be married soon! We are going to be one happy family!”
Theo was feeling great as his secret had now been revealed and, even better, he also had the support of his future father-in-law. He felt relieved and felt safer than ever.
They parted cheerfully, leaving Theo with the task of finding a way to tell his father the same secret without causing him to feel ill. His father's health was his biggest concern. He felt guilty about telling Sir Samuel first before he told his father. Upon returning to the palace, Theo made sure to head to the stable to check in on his horse Ethan. His handsome stallion was happy to see him. Theo took Ethan out for a ride to visit his troop of warriors. He advised them to be ready if something was going to happen in the palace in a few days.
General Thomas asked what would be happening in a few days. Theo did not provide any information. He just told General Thomas that the troops should be ready for anything and that they should sharpen their swords and other weapons in order to be prepared. There may or may not be a fight ahead, Theo cautioned, but it was always best, he warned, to be prepared for any protests or disruptions in the kingdom.
After completion of his meeting with the troops, Theo mounted Ethan and headed back to the palace, where he retired to his own chamber. He felt he was well prepared for anything to happen in a few days when Miles returns.
In the front chamber, he studied the three cases that were assigned to him from the court this morning and wrote his decision for the sentencing. Upon finishing, he set the scrolls aside as he felt tired and felt it best for him to go to bed.
He turned off the candles and lay in his bed. Before long, he felt himself drifting off to sleep. He was startled awake by noises seeming to come from his back chamber door. He sat up quickly, alert and open-eared, trying to hear the noise again. There it was, it sounded like someone was walking around in his back chamber!
Theo quickly got up and got a hold of his sword and went to open the door to the back. In the dark, he could vaguely make out the shadow of someone dressed in black clothing just as he was escaping through one of the windows.
“Who is there?” Theo shouted into the darkness. He immediately jumped out of the window to chase after the black figure. The mysterious invader ran very fast. Theo chased after him and alerted the nearby guards at the same time. The guards began to chase after the intruder.
Theo suddenly remembered he had left his chamber door to the back wide open, and he thought of the scrolls of the court cases that he had left on the table. He immediately turned around to go back to his chamber to check on the scrolls. He found them still on the table, and in the dim candlelight, he could make out there were other objects on the table as well. He quickly lit up the candelabra to bring the objects into clear view and what he saw made his young hands shake like an old man's hands. He could not believe what was on the table.
There, beside the three scrolls from the court this morning, was another six scrolls which seemed to be testimonies of the six soldiers, signed and stamped by the court, proving they were authentic documents.
Who was that black figure? Was he the one who had placed these scrolls on my table? How can that be? I just witnessed him jump out of the window to run away! If it wasn't him, then, who did place these scrolls of testimony on my table? Why not give these to Sir Samuel?
Sir Samuel will be so happy to have these now! I must bring these to him before I lose them. Theo thought, immediately grabbing a hold of the scrolls and going on his way to see Samuel. Samuel was about to go to bed too when he heard the loud and rapid pounding on his door.
“Sir Samuel! Open the door! It's me, Theo! I've got something to show you!” Theo called out loudly.
Samuel's heart skipped a bit and began to race. He was afraid for Theo. He thought perhaps something drastic had happened. He quickly jumped out of his bed and opened the door, just to find a red-faced, overly excited Theo standing at the threshold.
“What is it, Your Highness?” Samuel asked Theo, with wide-eyed wonderment.
“Look what I've found!” Theo said, excitedly waving the scrolls up in the air. He showed Samuel the six scrolls of testimony.
Samuel held the scrolls in his hands, studying the names on each of them, and noticed one familiar name - 'Wilkin' - along with the other five soldiers' names as well.
“What? Where? Where did you find them?” Now, it was Samuel who was excited.
“I don't know! Someone dropped them into my chamber just now. A figure in black clothing broke into my back chamber, and as I went to the back to investigate, the person jumped out of the window and ran away. The guards are still trying to catch him. I ran after him too, but I suddenly remembered I had left my chamber door wide open, so I came back to check if anything was missing, and found these lying on my table. Isn't it odd?
“Hmmm... In other words, there must have been two of them,” Samuel replied.
“You think so?”
“Yes! One to lure you away from your chamber, the other placed these scrolls on your table,” said Sir Samuel.
“That's very good! But who could these two people be?” Theo said, “We need to seek them out.”
Another intriguing chapter Sandie…
I’m sure Emma will make Theo an effective and strong Queen…
Your writing and imagination are brilliant Sandie!
Diana…🍃
Reviewed by Miyanna Law
8/26/2022
As the story continues it gets more intriguing with each chapter. Sandie, I really like how you spin this story.
My opinion is that although Samuel's group of Warriors in Black had died, but he did not kill them. So far, Samuel should not fear anything or anyone. He has not killed anybody. If Miles is forgiving when he comes back, Samuel has nothing to worry about. If he listens to Baldwin after he received his note, then he isn't good to keep around the palace anyway. It's either he stays or he goes, but Samuel should not be worrying about it.
In my opinion King Aylard and Queen Isabella will have more to worry about than Samuel when a protest takes place.
I AM THINKING THAT THE STRANGE BEAUTY WAS BELINDA AND AM ANXIOUS TO SEE HOW THIS WILL PLAY-OUT...AS THEO IS ENGAGED TO EMMA. THIS DELIGHTFUL AND FULFILLING STORY GROWS MORE AND MORE MYSTERIOUS! I CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR CHAPTER 27. WONDERFUL, SANDIE! LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH...HIS+INSPIRATIONS
Such a beautiful chapter! I like how you bring Theo's sexuality into the story now that he is a big boy and is about to get married soon.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the chapter. It seems to me Emma is a very smart young woman and she will be a strong queen for Theo. They both will be good rulers to govern the Kingdom.
A pirate/mermaid love story fantasy set in the 17th - 18th centuries the Golden Age of pirates. A thrilling adventure that creatures a new and unique mythology - Book 1 of the Gemstone Series.
Ragged and weary from their previous ordeals, Braxton and his motley crew of elves, dwarves, and humans, set off into the Wilderkind Forest in search of the Sapphire of Souls. The problem is, the last time anyone saw the powerful gem was over a hundr
