Regalia: New Beginnings

Second part to Regalia.

Stone covered every inch of the wall like a blanket of smog. Iron poles merged with the floor and the ceiling trapping those stuck between the walls. Three bodies slowly start to wake up. One messing with the chains and a paperclip, one holding his head from a burning headache. The others searching the cage looking for a way out. Garuds jeered at them - taunting. A tall man lurked in the background with three necklaces wrapped around his neck. They looked tired when eventually they all fell asleep one by one. Seconds pass,minutes, hours. Bricks the color of charcoal lined the walls. Captives lied still on the cold bare floor. An old couple came out of the shadows like they have been waiting the entire time. The man grabbed the keys and freed them.

Emma woke up. She had been dreaming about that night ever since they had been “saved”. It has been weird ever since then. Well- finding magical amulets and getting captured by a king only to realize you are a princess is kind of hard to beat. Her grandparents had been nice. Almost to nice. She could not help but wonder, how did they know we were here and where did they find the other amulet? She was extremely careful around them. She does not want them to know she was suspicious of them until she knew more. Arthur, however, did not think anything different, probably because he did not know any better.

Emma and Arthur moved in with their grandparents in Olden. They knew their past and what the power the amulets hanging gently against their necks could do. However, they were not going to go back to Regalia yet. The King, who just so happens to be Emma and Jack’s evil uncle, was still sending search parties to capture four kids and an old couple. Hence, they are not too eager to return. The four stayed together to learn as much about the amulets as they could.

Claire still spent most of her time in the library, and each day she picks up a new book in the fiction section, which is not her typical choice. She avoided using her amulet as much as she could but only when people are around her. She used it when she was alone to make her books float in the air. Jack maked rocks come out of the earth and her threw them in the water. He did not have a problem using his amulet but he was smart enough not use it when there are a bunch of people around.

The children meet up at Emma and Arthur's grandparent’s house twice a week to practice how to control their amulets powers. Emma and Jack paid attention but they often shared glaces that showed uncertainty; uncertain if they could trust them. Arthur was just excited to find out he had family and the stories he heard about magic was true; there was some he wished he didn't want to be true. For example, his uncle being an evil king obsessed with power and greed.

Each lesson, even for Claire, seemed to be getting more and more boring. They were just learning history and things they already knew. They were finally able to decipher the rest of the book that stumped them the year before.

“There is a reason these amulets were hidden from the rest of the world. The plan was to keep them hidden but now the best way to keep them safe is to give them to someone who can keep the power away from those who will abuse it”, this seemed obvious but there was something about the way she said it that made them uneasy. The grandmother continues to say the same thing over and over. The children started to believe they are keeping many secrets from them.

They found themselves sneaking into the room to rummage through the books looking for the information they believe the grandparents are trying keeping form them. Emma found herself as the leader on this forbidden mission. The grandparents were predictable. They went into town every Saturday to gather groceries. That leaves two hours a week for them to search through the books.

At first they found stuff like, “The amulets can be a great gift but also a great weapon” but they saw books that were not noticed before. One had a hand/ claw like object spread across the cover and spine. Jack opened it and an image struck them.

A bright green ray smothered everything in its path. Rocks flew through the sky. Women and children ran into houses - or what was left of them trying to escape the attackers deadly clutches. Fire spread through the town but evaporated into smoke and smog when it made contact with the blistering cold. The air around the people seemed to be getting thinner and thinner. It was a deadly battle between the elements.

Arthur read the pages slowly, not because he was bad at reading. He read about a prophecy.

“The Earth shall tremble under the might

Unleash when the elements must fight.

The two that are one in the same

Will break the bond between ice and flame.

The land shall crumble to dust

Under the might of powerful gust

Destruction will follow in thy wake

Until thou has found the mystic lake

With an emerald glow

There thou know

There one shall find the key

To create everlasting harmony.

Fid the lake where it all began, and uncover the dark truth once again.

Discover the true origin of the amulets

And why no mortal can control an amulet ”.

They heard two sets of footprints sound in the distance. They quickly hid the books and sat as casually as they could around the table.

“What are you all doing?”

“Nothing, just having a conversation on who can run the fastest”, said Jack.

“Why don’t we just see”, Arthur dared awkwardly.

They left the room as quickly as they could without raising suspicion. Emma was the only one to stay for a while longer. She did not know how to react to the hidden book or even if it was hidden. She did not know why but she could not trust her grandparents. She doesn't even know if they were her grandparents. They just said they were and was helped by some fancy jewelry.

They went back the next day, and the next, until they could figure what the lines ment. They spent weeks going over the same text over and over and nothing new came up. After many days of sneaking past Emma and Arthur's grandparents, they decided to leave it alone… for now.

A few weeks later, Arthur and Jack were testing their abilities to hit their designated targets. Jack threw rocks into the air. While they were in the air, Arthur threw fire at them.

She jumped out of her chair one of Arthur’s fireballs missed at hit Claire’s book. She threw Arthur and Jack into the gate using her air amulet. They continued to fight each other using their amulets. It started to rain. Thunder and lightning came out of nowhere. The sky almost looked green.

Until Emma came in and froze the rocks and fireballs in mid air. She remembered the prophecy, then looked at the sky. She felt her heart sink. She looked at the other and saw she was not only one remembering the line.

“The holders of the elements will fight ina deadly battle that will rattle the world”.

They stood around the empty not sure what to do next, they walked back into the house. Claire and Arthur walked back into the makeshift classroom to retrieve the book hoping in their hands. That was not the only thing they were holding. They each had a diffrent amulet neither one of the kids had seen before.

The couple had a glowing light wrapped around them. They changed into people that did not look so old but had the same facial structures as them.

“The two that are one in the same

Will break the bond between ice and flame”

Claire grabbed a book from the myriad of pages and threw it at one of them, not really paying attention to which one, and ran out the door. Arthur not knowing what else to do, followed after her awkwardly. He eventually caught up with Claire and warned the others about the people they have been living with.

Word count- 1425