Did I mention I hated crowded streets?
I actually had no problem with crowds. It was the crowds bumping into me which was the problem.
Sigh. A string of bad luck had been haunting me since yesterday afternoon. Wherever I wandered the sun seemed to be duller and bleaker, if that was possible. Or maybe that was my over active imagination on fatal overload.
Crossing the so-called "dreaded" 6th Avenue into the west side of the city, I could hear my friends taunting me in my mind… "You know you shouldn’t walk on the West Side of the city alone. It’s bad for your complexion."
Ha.
So what if the majority of New York City’s murders just happened to take place on the West Side? Like anyone would second glance in my direction.
Okay. Never mind. I take that back.
Just as I stupidly thought that, someone appeared in the alley to my left. And not a friendly type person. A man… a scungy looking man. Did I say scungy? I meant ‘haven’t showered for two months, I could smell him a good 15 feet away, I don’t own a toothbrush’ scungy.
The scungy man retreated off 6th with a hideous smile. He stepped lively in my general direction scratching his rear.
Attractive, real attractive.
I scurried passed the alley, paying no heed to the man. I hoped to continue on my way without interference.
Too much for hoping.
The dark haired, dark eyed man followed me a good distance. For a minute or so he kept quiet and I almost thought he had some place of importance to go to.
Wrong again. My stroke of continuous bad luck struck once more.
"Hey Miss?" the man choked out.
Now here came the big decision: Ignore the man and continue on my way (which I so desperately wanted to do), or turn around and be polite.
Damn my good upbringing.
Stopping in my tracks I hesitated to turn around. Lucky for me I didn’t have to- the man had caught up to me and was now standing directly in front of me.
"Uh…" I stammered, "Can I uh, help you?"
The man gave me that ludicrous grin which made small shivers run down my spine. He really didn’t own a toothbrush!
"What’s a pretty lil’ girl like you doin’ wanderin’ a 6th alley?" he nearly cackled at me.
I raised an eyebrow and opened my mouth about to-
But he cut me off.
"Actually I don’t really give a shit." The man reached into his worn trench coat and grabbed onto something that suddenly pointed out of his pocket, "Give me all your money and valueables."
Drained from any sort of happiness that I could muster today, I fumbled for my purse. I reached my hand out to the man robbing me, and I dropped my so-called ‘valuables’ into his palm.
There was a moment of silence before he exclaimed, "48 cents!?"
The man glared.
"Yes, it’s all that I have." I shrugged apologetically, "And to think I could’ve made a fifteen minute local phone call."
Apparently I hadn’t appeased the thief. The pointy object coming out of his side pocked suddenly pointed out more.
He growled, "I’m gonna kill ya and dump ya in a can to rot girly." His thick New York accent told me.
I blinked. I felt myself growing angry, yet now was not the time to lash out. Fortunately I wasn’t completely helpless, like a mere mortal girl, I was a Princess of Sunstone, a soon to be Queen with mystical, magical powers (well there was no other way to explain it). Though in this realm and various other realms my powers were limited, unlike when I am in my home dimension.
Here I was a mere Lady of the High Court, still high in the society of ancient powers and spells, and I couldn’t take out a man with a gun. Almost made me wish I was home…
Wow, I’m getting off subject. Where was I? Oh right…robber, 48 cents, alley…
"Sorry, if I had more money I would more then likely give it to you. But friends always warned me if I walked alone in New York I shouldn’t carry lots of cash."
This only seemed to upset my mugger more.
"You could’ve at least had five dollars!" he gestured with his hands.
That’s when I realized that both of his hands were out of his coat.
In a very monotone voice I observed, "You really don’t have a gun, do you?"
The guy looked shocked, like I had just unlocked his family secrets.
Now was the time to lash out.
"You know…I’m having a bad day. A bad day, as in nothing has gone right. Now if you don’t politely give me back my 48 cents I am going to hurt you as bad as I feel." I growled, slanting my eyes at him.
The man seemed as if any moment he would suddenly run off. I would have none of that. I reached out and grabbed the collar of the man’s trench coat.
"You were going to shoot me with your finger." Bluntly stated.
"Funny joke?" the man tried with a hesitant smile.
I pulled back my right fist and let the man have it, right in the nose.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" the man wailed, his hands protectively clutching his nose. Red, thick liquid flowed from his nostrils and dripped onto the ground. The man turned to run, and I almost felt compelled to do more harm to him, but decided to let him go. He ran down the alleyway as fast as he could leaving only a runny trail of blood behind.
The coins scattered around where the man had been standing. I simply ignored them and continued on my way...
I felt better then I had all day.
Behind me I heard the last echoes of the footsteps from the man, as I continued ahead. It didn’t take me long to reach my destination. Maybe it was because it was only ten feet from where the man had stopped me.
It was a back alley sometimes referred to as the "Ebony Alley" due to the fact that it was so dark. Even during the day it remained black.
I stopped walking and eyed the familiar place. It had been a long time since I was here, since I was home. The dim light from an old, barely working street lamp a ways back didn’t help the visibility. The early morning sun rose slowly from the Earth, announcing the presence of a new day.
I waited a few minutes just starring into the alley, not quite sure if I wanted to go. I mean I wanted to go, but then again I didn’t.
Cautiously I stepped forward hearing my timid footsteps echo. I had to go, I promised myself I would go.
The Nether Realm was my home.
Closing my eyes I concentrated. I felt a small breeze brush against my back and blow my deathly red hair into my face. I didn’t need these distractions.
I needed to concentrate…
Then it happened.
The world around me started to disappear. The image of the alley began to fade into nothing. Dizziness swamped my body and I began to feel weak, it felt as if any moment my body would writhe and twist and then explode. An intense pressure that can’t even be put into words…
This was just one of the drawbacks of transporting into another dimension.
--
Like moments before, queasiness rocked my brain, nausea. Ooooh, fun day.
Everything was still an extensive white blob of light, but I knew I would have to wait and be patient before my vision would clear and I would once again feel normal.
A couple of minutes later my vision returned and I had control of my body. Besides the tingly feeling enveloping me, I had successfully transported.
In the Nether Realm, very rarely do humans from outside dimensions venture in. The residents of this realm used to come and go transporting from dimension to dimension. When the war ended years ago though, nobody ever felt the need to travel between realms. Their only reason before was to get away from the rulers that ruled in tyranny and in power, so it was an escape. Yet since peace was practiced, everyone was content staying here. Which was a good thing in itself, magic powers of the people worked best from what realm they were from.
I remember once a group of humans had somehow entered the realm, hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, unannounced. It had something to do with the war. If I remember correctly it was five warriors, a woman, and a child. I don’t recall anyone telling me what happened to them, but like everyone else in this realm we weren’t even here to know what happen.
All except for the court, the court was young and naïve then, so I have been told. I would love to know the whole story behind the incident, but the court seldom talks about the incident, or talk to anyone but themselves for that matter. In this world, the older you were, the wiser and more respected you were, and I was a mere 108. A bare dent in a time line. Besides it was rude to even consider asking the court about this…
But, back to business.
The scenery surrounding me was out of an exquisite dream. I didn’t flinch at the beauty surrounding me, something inside me told me it was an illusion. I could feel the warm sunshine on my back, could even see an open field with long green blades of grass swaying in the wind. Though it was all realistic, the shear thought of it was screaming fallacy.
Who was responsible?
I was afraid to ask, but knew the answer all too well. None other then the Warlord of Illusion, only the High Court warrior could pull this off.
If I was an outsider I would have fell for this false serenity, but the Nether Realm had no such fields. The sun was never out long enough for something as luxurious as grass to survive.
With a wave of my hand the cheery atmosphere disappeared and the true scenery took its place.
The sun was gone, sunk beneath the mountains in the east, the two small moons had rose into the pitch black night sky. Much smaller then the mortal moons. Miniscule flecks of rare stars were scattered sparsely around the moons, so that you could barely see them.
From my kingdom you could see the stars at it’s best, but also from my kingdom you could see the sun at it’s best. And that is how it had earned it’s name a thousand years ago, Sunstone. In the Nether Realm there were two minor kingdoms and one major. The two minor were Dark Valley and mine, Sunstone, and the major Isisis. Isisis divided the rule of the realm among the kingdoms. Among the three kingdoms there were also three passages that lead into the mortal realm. The minor kingdoms respectively kept theirs secret to the public only letting royalty come and go as they please, while Isisis kept theirs in the open.
Three portals that had their own destination. The Sunstone portal was the one I had just come from, the only one that connected with the Americas. The Dark Valley portal connected to Europe and that left the Isisis portal to lead to Japan.
Dark clouds took to the sky indicating the night was young, and morning was far off. But what of that illusion? What was it doing in the Sunstone kingdom? Surely the Royals were throwing a fit, if I knew them correctly.
The Warlords never set their ways into the two other kingdoms. That was foreign policy. It had been that way my whole 108 years. Perhaps things have changed in the last 22 years I had been absent, in the mortal realm. Though nothing would pertain to me for another 52 years when I would be pronounced Queen of Sunstone, by birthright.
I had trained for ten years, so far, in the Isisis court and I would resume my training in another twenty years. It sounds so complicated, but well…perhaps it was.
The night sky of my kingdom made me feel safe, but I couldn’t stay for long. Not right now, I was too curious to see why a Warlord as protecting the Sunstone Kingdom. And Dais for that matter.
Unfortunately my curiosity would lead me to the Isisis Kingdom, the castle a good 200 miles from where I stood. The trip would be long and tedious if by foot, but in this realm you rarely took anything by foot, especially long distances, you always transported.
Therefore I would have to leave behind the quiet kingdom of Sunstone and travel to Isisis.
--
The thing I love about the Nether Realm was you could transport almost anywhere except for magically protected areas. Unlike the mortal realm, you could not. Period. Thankfully, unlike traveling between dimensions the after effects didn’t leave you discombobulated.
Like the snap of a finger, you were there.
I was greeted with one of the moons shining bright on me, nearly blinding me. Loud crickets chirped in the rocky area I was at.
Being just outside the gates of the castle I stared at the enormity of the Isisis Palace. I believe at one time it was called "Talpa’s Palace" but I don’t know what that meant, and I wasn’t interested in knowing. At least that’s what I told myself.
Walking along swiftly, I soon found myself at large, massive gates that were nearly as tall as the buildings in New York. I stood for a moment in awe, but that wouldn’t do, wasting time for no reason at all.
I knew pushing the castle’s gates would do me no good. Unless I had the power of 1,000 ancient Dynasty soldiers, it wouldn’t budge. Brains over brawny, right? With no effort at all, I closed my eyes and parted my arms in the opposite direction of each other. The gate opened just enough for me to squeeze through.
And like that I was in the castle courtyard, which wasn’t a courtyard at all but an elaborate maze to the castle. A labyrinth that in years past, that led intruders to death, these days it was left unused. If you got lost here, eventually someone would find you and bring you to the throne room.
But I knew the puzzle perfectly.
Straight, right, right, right, left, straight, straight, left, left, right…and VIOLA! You were at the castle drawbridge. A twenty-minute walk. No more, no less.
--
A brisk walk, almost like this morning- which had turned into night since the mortal and Nether realm were not on the same time track. It seemed like I had just started walking when I had reached the Lucifer Wash and the bridge, which led directly to the castle.
I heard tales from a lower caste warrior that several battles concerning the Warlords and even Lady Kayura took place in the exact place I was standing, years ago.
I thought it odd.
Such a place as Lucifer Wash just didn’t seem fit to be a place of battle. It was so peaceful, every time I’ve passed I’ve felt so calm with myself and the world that I can’t even fathom a crucial battle taking place there during the war.
I suppose time could change things, and people for that matter.
Crossing the open bridge, the water rushed underneath it, being so clear that you could spot tiny fish that swam about.
The bridge was short, a fifth of the walk through the maze. Within a minute or two I was on the other side at the barred doors.
Hell, why knock when you could walk right in?
I know, against my upbringing, but this castle was like a home to me. And add the fact that I didn’t feel like making my presence announced. More then likely a guard would ask my name and when I would tell him, he would bring me straight to the throne room, stating that a Princess was within the court.
No. I would prefer if today I would just be let in without customs.
Reaching behind a crevice of the far wall, I felt for a numbered pad.
JACKPOT!
Things hadn’t changed with the castle. Thank goodness. I punched in the sequence 4001125 and promptly a robotic voice asked quietly, "NAME."
I quickly answered, "Princess of Sunstone, Destiny Gout."
The numbered pad made a clicking noise, as if accepting my input. "OLD REGIONAL PASSWORD ACCEPTED. FOR FUTURE ENTRY RETRIEVE NEW PASSWORD."
Okay…so things had changed a bit. At least I was permitted entrance without making too much commotion.
The large door opened slowly, resembling a sloth in action. Of course that’s just my opinion. With all the technology in the mortal world, you’d think the Nether Realm would get a clue and be up on at least half of it. What was it, the year 2548 and the technology related to that of 1983? 457 years even before I was born!
After what seemed like a good five minutes, the door opened and I stepped inside the long hallway. It resembled an ancient castle, nothing at all like the Sunstone Palace. Stone walls, water dripping into puddles on the floor, and it was very drafty…though the inner castle was decorated immensely better, no one had bothered to renovate this part. I always have wondered why. The Sunstone Palace was constantly upgraded to make it more ‘livable.’
My black like-corduroy pants with my feather-collared jacket suggested my heritage, but didn’t exactly keep me warm. It was summer in New York, but the Nether Realm didn’t have changing seasons, it was always fall.
The heels on my shoes made echoing noises identical when I was in the alleyway, except louder since there were no other noises to compete with.
Strange, usually there was someone to greet me by now. And there was no one.
"I must’ve misunderstood the information." I thought out loud in the empty hall, "The message I received was obviously more urgent then perceived."
But that wasn’t my fault. I remember the exact message I had gotten last Thursday: You are cordially invited to the Isisis Palace, June 10th at 9pm sharp for a meeting of the royal courts.
Yes, it hadn’t seemed urgent but why then-
Oh.
I was of royal blood, and not a Queen quite yet, therefore involving myself in current affairs was strictly my decision. To even receive that message meant something was up. That something was wrong.
My steps picked up and the freezing temperature was no longer a problem.
I knew my way around the castle like, well, absurd as it sounded, the back of my hand.
Ah, screw walking- I started to run. The long hallway, at the end of it, turned into a network of doors. Seven doors to be exact.
One lead to the living quarters, one the dining area, one the throne room, one lead to the scroll and library study, one the unused dungeon, one the royalty’s living quarters, and the last one lead to the outside gardens and fountains.
Strangely the court still believed in the ‘old’ ways. Where women, unless granted special circumstances, were not allowed to wander in the study or dungeons. Otherwise I was free to explore. A savage idea, in my opinion.
But as I continued on, there was no time to think about such nonsense things right now. I threw open the door leading to the throne room and hurriedly continued on my way.
--
I could hear voices, already. For some eccentric reason my body just…froze. Pathetic, I needed to find out what was going on, as future Queen my behavior was unacceptable.
Consequently, I was nervous. Get over it, I needed to. I took a few deep breaths and slowly crept closer to the room. The tiny back hallway was the only entrance to the throne room, besides a door only the Warlords and Lady Kayura entered which was located in the front.
The entrance entered into the back of the massive room, which I remembered so well, detail to detail.
The room was gorgeous, to say the least, and whatever dull and drab atmosphere the rest of the castle held, this room made up for it. It was vaulted so high, it strained my neck to look up at the ceiling that was painted in gold and beige colors. An ethereal throne chair made with ivory and gold stood atop several delicately crafted ivory steps.
A chair for each of the rulers of the Isisis Kingdom… Lady Kayura sat on the highest, while Cale occupied the second highest, then Dais, and Sekhmet.
But what really interested me were the statues, huge statues of past warriors that surrounded and protected the room. Old encrypted names were carved on the bottom, yes, I remembered them very well. Six statues in total, carbon copies of life-saving armor, Dais had told me once. He had also told me and pointed out the names of each armor, which was a miracle in itself. Dais was not one to talk, especially to me, and I was grateful he had. The carvings read in exact order clockwise around the room: Cruelty, Wildfire, Halo, Strata, Torrent, and Hardrock. All six of them were breath-taking beauties and I had spent many a day just starring at them.
"We have to act immediately." the voice of Lady Kayura struck at me, breaking me out of my thoughts.
Oh geeze, I was still not even in the room! I walked forward, inching myself closer to the double door entrance. Looking down at my watch I noticed I was over an hour and a half late.
Tardiness, something I was taught was bad. Bad, bad, bad…why couldn’t I keep things straight?
"We do not want mistakes in the past to be made again, we can not let the demon to come into any power. If we do then we will lose this kingdom, and eventually the realm. The mortal realm in itself though will be the target."
"What?!" I hissed so no one would hear me. A demon!?!
"It has been nearly 600 years since he has had control of the Nether Realm. While peace has finally been bestowed on this realm, we shall not let it be taken away that easily. We fought for it before, and it shall have to be fought for again." Her voice continued on.
I had always been in envy of Lady Kayura. On the outside was a sweet looking twelve-year-old girl, while on the inside was an aged old warrior and descendant of the Ancients. The last one at that. She had never aged past twelve, and that had always struck me strange. Ever since I was 52 I had always wanted to at least look like a mortal 17, and that had inspired me some to stay in the mortal realm so long.
Of course the Sunstone Kingdom thought completely different from that of Isisis. The new wave of the future, as we call it, will resemble the current mortal realm. The two Prince’s of Sunstone and I, were sent to various mortal realm locations to live and learn the ways there and to bring back ideas for the future of the kingdom. I found it a compelling idea, one to be proud of…but the court had shunned the idea, so only Prince Erick and myself were sent secretly, as Prince Drey stayed back to help with the kingdom.
Occasionally Erick would meet me in New York. Sunstone had decided he would observe in London, England while I on the other hand was westbound in the United States of America. He had aged considerably, he looked a mortal 22 years though he was only 10 years elder to me. Aging was something we still had to figure out about that realm, and possibly in the future we would study and master the concept.
I knew that Lady Kayura had lived twelve years in the mortal realm, so I had figured that the more time you spent in that realm, the smarter and wiser you became. I had spent nearly twice the amount of time there and hoped that maybe I would rule my kingdom with as much love and compassion as she has. Though at times she could be a real-
"This time around my friends…" Kayura continued, "We do not have the aid of the Ronins. They have long since died, and we are on our own."
I heard several members of the court start whispering furiously. I knew exactly what the fuss was about.
Who were the Ronins?
--
"Who were the Ronins?" I heard someone pipe up and ask finally.
And that is the moment I chose to sneak inside the room. I was thankful that the doors had been left open, usually it was closed so that the servants were left out of hearing. Maybe this time around it did pertain to the servants, and their lives.
No one notice me sneak in and take a back chair. Normally I would sit up front, second row, four chairs from the left, precisely, representing Sunstone. But that was twenty two years ago. Besides I’m not representing the court as of now, I was on research leave.
"The Ronins…" oddly enough Sekhmet chose to explain, "Were the ones responsible to end the demon’s reign back in 1983."
That didn’t satisfy anyone’s curiosity.
"We chose to leave the past, in the past, fellow members." Lady Kayura stated and everyone knew not to ask anymore questions about the topic.
Well, almost everyone.
A high Isisis court member, I recognized I believe as Sir Kenji, idiotically questioned, "If the Ronins stopped the demon, then shouldn’t we copy what they did to protect the realm?"
I believe he irritated Cale, but Cale said nothing. I could just tell by the look on his face, though no one was looking at him, everyone’s eyes were on Kayura.
Kayura nodded, "True. True, you have a point Sir Kenji, but the Ronins are gone so we have to come up with an answer on our own."
This lead right back to the whispering about the demon and the problem at hand.
"Fellow members…" Lady Kayura tried to calm down the royals, "Keep this on your minds as I dismiss this meeting. Until tomorrow, after we have had a good nights sleep and our heads are clearly on our shoulders."
You know…you realize things that are fairly important when it’s already too late.
I have a tendency to do that, and apparently I had done that right now. Completely forgetting that Erick and I were not suppose to return to Isisis unless with explicit permission from the Queen.
Shit.
To make it ‘legal’ for Sunstone to let us stay in the mortal realm for x amount of years, they had told Isisis that Prince Erick and I had died, freak accident, since death was rare in the realm. Yet, birth was just as rarity in itself.
I had heard from Erick they held a grand ceremony for our deaths, and the entire court had come. Even Dais…
The Sunstone Royalty had yet to figure out an excuse for Erick and I to mysteriously return. They assumed they had years to do that…
Shit.
Shit, a Queen wasn’t supposed to curse. And not in an American language, at that.
I think I’m corrupted.
I suppose the logical answer to this would be to hopefully blend in with the royalty and scramble to the Queen immediately explaining my situation.
Certainly she wouldn’t take my rights away as future Queen, however I am not fit to be Queen. And I doubted in another 52 years I would be suitable then.
Erick wasn’t as absent-minded as I was, he was no where to be found. I can’t believe I did something as asinine as this! Absurd!
The royals were dismissed without another word from Kayura, and promptly, they started to leave the throne room. I decided the best possible answer would be to remain in my seat until the Queen of Sunstone would pass me, then I could make a mad dash to reveal the truth behind my appearance in the Nether Realm.
Each passing person was pretty near torture. I kept thinking to myself that someone would recognize me and say something that resembled, "She’s not dead! Fraud!" and the whole council would find out about me.
Moreover person after person walked by me and didn’t say a thing!
Perhaps the Queen wouldn’t be too irate towards me, and if I made a quick getaway back to the mortal realm maybe things would return to normal. I mean, I like the mortal realm better than the Nether Realm. I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but for some reason, it seems like I was meant to live there…
The mortal realm was lively and there was so much culture! Hundreds of varieties of dancing, and I had thought there was only one! Music now revolved around my life…I couldn’t help myself but go to concert after musical after opera…Fashion was amazing and I found this thing called ‘shopping’ was a usual weekend activity. People were so different yet the same and I felt welcomed.
To sum it up, I fit in.
In this realm I was always fighting to stay on top and to show people I was someone, and not just a Princess. But no one could look past my heritage, and I have learned to feel the same. No one in the Americas knew of Princesses or royalty, just equal rights and privileges. Strange, but it made complete sense.
Hai, the Sunstone royalty was passing my way. Here was my chance.
I jumped up and sprinted towards the Queen, knowing it was a dangerous risk I would have to take.
Luck, please be on my side.
Star-crossed the moment I came within steps of her highness, I was assaulted.
Cursed, I knew.
