Chapter I: Typical Sunday

A Chapter by Lynn Nicole

I stayed hidden in the shadows, listening to the shops open in the early morning.

"Shopping?" A quiet, familiar voice said from behind.

I jumped.

"Alistair..." I smiled. "You have't shown your face in some time. Figure you should pay poor little Eliza a visit?"

"More like a treat." Alistair lifted my hand and kissed it, like a good prince always did.

I took a deep breath. It had always been awkward like this. We'd grown up together, he was my twin brother's best friend and we all used to run around the palace, not caring.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Fine, just..."

"They'll find Alex." Even his most reassuring voice wouldn't coax me to believe it. My brother, Alex, had gone out at sea to go to Timberlake.

"It's been a year. It doesn't take a year." I said.

"Maybe not." We walked out into the light, all of the girls staring at us.

"Onto you," I sighed. "How are things?"

"Well, the search for a queen before I am crowned isn't going too well. I mean, come on, there's no one quite like-"

"Quite like who?" I asked.

"No one," He looked around, signaling it was not a comfortable subject.

"Well, whoever this no one is, I'm sure she'd be pleased with someone like you to tell her how you feel." I took down my hood lightly.

"I don't know," His voice got quieter. "I'm not sure that my father would approve."

"Why?"

"Well, she isn't exactly royalty."

"Oh," I sighed. "Well, there's always the other lands."

"But I don't want that life. I want to marry someone I love, and have a happy life." Alistair always loved adventure.

"Adventure quest again?"

"Maybe. I don't know,"

"HELP! HELP!"

Everyone stopped and turned to face a man covered in blood and mud running across the draw bridge into the square.

"Sir," I ran up to him.

"They-"

"Sir, calm,"

"It's Amur, Amur!"

"Amur..."

"He's...he's back."

Back?

"Help." The man fell over.

I dropped to my knees.

"Al-"

"What?"

"He's dead." I felt a lump in my throat form.

"Eliza, come on." Al grabbed my arm and dragged me backward, running toward the palace while people crowded around the man.

"Amur..."

Alistair walked around the library as I sat and sorted through books.

"Here it is!" Alistair grabbed a book from the top shelf.

The passage was short, but I knew I needed to read it.

Amur is an evil source. He tortures people by crude murder or beatings. His murders are such of a riddle, clues to why he is back. The only thing that can stop him is those who find the stone. The stone is something of a judge of those who think they are worthy of fighting Amur. The stone moves every hundred years. No one has found it in centuries, but one day, someone will. When they do, they will be graced with powers beyond our imagination. The stone will glow red, the color of the blood, blue, the color of the tears, yellow, the color of the dawn, and gold, the color of the heart of that who finds it. I hope this has helped, and whoever finds the stone-whoever ventures out-may He watch over you.

Alistair III

"Aren't you Alistair VI?"

"Yes, I am."

"Great-great-great-grandfather?"

"Seems to be." Alistair sat at the table with me. "I want to go."

"Go..?" I thought a minute. "No way!"

"I am going."

"Not without me." I declared.

"Fine. We will set of at midnight." Alistair said.

"Your highness-oh...pardon-but your father would like to see you." A maid smiled lightly at us.

"Sorry, Eliza, but I have to go. Remember. Midnight."

"Is this the girl you told me about?" The maid whispered.

"Ssh," Alistair said. "And I don't know, it's been ages. But if she once was, she once will ever be."

The moon hung gracefully in the star splattered sky. The clock tower struck midnight, and a dark, tall figure walked out of a hidden alley.

"Al," I whispered.

The hilt of my sword suddenly seemed heavy.

I had a long black cloak on with some boots and shorts, and a corset.

"Eliza, let's go."

We had crossed the draw bridge, and now were walking in the forest.

"Al?" I remembered what I had heard the maid say.

"Yes,"

"What if...what if we die?" I couldn't say it.

"We won't die," He said. It was like we were kids again, talking about bad things instead of good.

"Really, how do you know?"

"First off, you're an amazing fighter. Second, if I die, you can heal, if you die, well, you won't."

"I guess." I took a deep breath. "So...do you remember, when we were little? We played in the palace grounds. We were playing hide and seek, I think. I was hiding behind a tree..." Say it, just say it. You never talked about it with him, just say it. "and something happened?"

"I remember..." He smiled down at her. "We were twelve."

"That was seven years ago. Gosh...we never told anyone, we never even talked about it."

"The past is the past."

I quietly walked.

"We should camp, it's too dark."

After awhile, there was a tent set up.

"Just one?" I asked.

"I didn't count you..." He sighed. I couldn't tell if he was lying or not.

"It's fine. Tomorrow we should pass through a small gypsy camp, maybe we can buy one. Just for tonight,"

I woke up in the middle of the night. Al's arm was casually thrown over my hip, resting in front of me.

It was freezing.

I rolled over, closer to him, trying to act asleep.