2 Chapter 2: The Reunion

Ten years passed and I haven't seen Prince James III since we were kids. He was sent to a boot camp so he could learn how to fight. I was shopping at the market place one day when I noticed people gathering around and lining up on the streets cheering and shouting, "He's back. Prince James III is finally back!!" I was confused and did not believe what I was hearing. I wanted to see for myself if it was true. I pushed my way through the crowd to the front to see for myself. I saw the entire army riding on their horses through the town with James riding at the front of it all. When I looked and saw him, I noticed that he had grown into a handsome man. It was nice to see that he was doing well, and he hadn't been killed off somehow. I saw that he was wearing armor and that he still had his father's sword. He was smiling and waving at the crowd, proud to be home. He saw me and noticed that I was looking at him. He got excited to see that I was there in the crowd of his people to greet him coming home. He quickly headed over towards my direction. I panicked. I turned around to get away but there were so many people crowding the streets that I couldn't get through. I turned around and saw him getting closer. I didn't know what to do so I just stood still and looked down at the ground. I didn't know what to do or what to say. He reached me. I just bowed in respect, but he grabbed my arm looked at my eyes and said, "Saya is it really you?" I looked at him and smiled. "Yes, it's me, your majesty. It's really nice to see you after all these years." I replied. Everyone gasped and started whispering to each other in confusion, all wanting to know what was going on. His General rode up to him and said, "Your majesty." James let go of my arm and looked up at him. "We must continue to the palace. We mustn't be late." Before Prince James replied or could do anything else, I turned my head to see if I could get through the crowd and saw a small clearing. I took my chance and ran towards my horse, got on and started to ride off. James tried to grab me before I could get away but was not successful. James started to get on his horse but by the time he was in the saddle I was half way to the forest. He kicked the horse with the heal of his foot, yelled, "Ha!!" and started to chase after me. "Saya wait!!" He shouted. I was at the waterfall when I decided to take a rest for a few minutes. It was so beautiful. The water looked as clear as crystal as it was falling and hitting the water and rocks at the bottom. As I stopped at the waterfall to get a drink, Prince James was just behind me. He got off his horse and looked at me. I looked at him a surprise. I got off my horse. He ran over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me then said, "Saya why did you run off? I just wanted to talk to you. What's the matter with you? I thought you would be excited to see me after so long and want to talk to me so we could reminisce. I mean it's only been 10 years. Does it have to be longer for you to be willing to see me? Or does it have to be longer for you to even miss me? Is that it? Or am I being the foolish one thinking that? Because I'd like to think so if that's the reason you ran off." I couldn't reply to him I just lowered my head and started to cry. With all the force I had I pushed him off me. He picked up my chin with his index finger. I looked at him as he wiped my tears away. He hugged me and said, "Why are you crying? Please tell me. Let it all out Saya." I cried all that I could after I cried my eyes out. I said to him, "James. Do you remember what I told you when we were little before you left?" He smiled and said, "Yes I remember. We were in my room and you told me that you're a vampire. Why does that matter?" I pushed him off me softly and with my hands on his chest I looked at him and my eyes turned red and I said, "Did you even believe me when I said I was a vampire?" He looked at me then he took my hand and said, "Saya. You were the only friend I ever had. I will always believe in you my dear, sweet Saya." We hugged and I had to tell him my horrible past. I lightly pushed him away and said, "The people I live with are not my parents." He looked at me with confusion and said, "Why are you living with them then? Where are your real parents?" I started to cry again, and I said, "Your grandfather killed my real parents because my mother didn't marry your father." His eyes opened in shock. He looked the other way remembering the day it happened and said, "Wait. Yes. I remember that day. Very clearly. As if it was just yesterday. I was in my room playing when my father and grandfather returned. My father was arguing with my grandfather, but he wouldn't listen to reason." I took his hands and held them in mine. He looked back at me and I said, "Your father must never now about me." He smiled and nodded. "I understand Saya." Two weeks later we received an invitation to a ball they were having at the palace later in that evening. I took the invitation to Nana. She got all excited and then she went into her trunk of old dresses she had. She took out this beautiful and long dress. The arms and skirt were both light blue both lined with dark blue ribbons. The bodice was the same dark blue color as the outlines were. It was long and the edge of it went down to the floor when worn. I fixed it a little bit since it was a bit worn down. I had quite a few clear gems laying around and sewn them onto the top and spread them out a bit more to the bottom part to get a glittering effect. Nana fixed up the old carriage. It needed some new paint and a bit sanding down in some areas since we've had it for so long and use it almost every day. There were some areas where there was a lot of dirt. I helped her out as much as I could. It looked better than new. We painted it all white with gold around the edges of the windows, on the roof and on the innermost part of the tires. The outer parts of the tires were painted white. We had some extra fluff and red velvet, so we used it to fix up the inside. After we painted it, we redid the seat on the outside with more red velvet and fluff. The bars on the side of the seat were replaced with shiny brass. Luckily, I know how to weld things together, so it wasn't that hard to do. It looked just like Cinderella's carriage but without fairy godmother to help. But I guess I can consider Nana and Ettoire to be my fairy godparents since they did do most of the work on the carriage and did give me the beautiful dress to wear. After we were done, I washed up, put my dress on and did my hair and make-up and was ready to go to the ball. James came to my house to go with me. I gave Nana and Ettoire a big hug each and then we got into the carriage and we headed to the ball. On the way there I was looking out the window watching all the trees and things go by as we went on and I was sitting with my hands on my lap. James put his hand on mine. As soon as he did that, I looked at him and then he said, "You look really beautiful tonight Saya. I'm really happy that I'm back home so I could see you again." I smiled and said, "Thank you." Then I was silent for a few seconds and I continued to say, "What is this ball really for anyway?" He sat back properly in his seat and with a smile said, "It's my coming home party. ""But this ball has been planned for many months," He told me. "My father knew when I was coming back before anyone else did so he was planning this for the exact day I get back." He said. "But it didn't say on the flyer that was handed out to everyone what the ball was for. More people would have come if they knew it was going to be for your return home." I asked. "He had many different posters made. You live in the poor area Saya, so he had ones made that didn't completely specify what it was for so that the poor people wouldn't try to marry me and get rich by being a part of the royal family. Plus, he knew that people would come anyway no matter what it said on the posters and flyers. Especially the poor." He replied. "That doesn't seem right to do such a thing to the poor but at the same time, I guess I can understand that. Is it a way to win over the poor? To make them feel special that they were invited?" I said. "That might be the case. I'm not too sure. He might be up to something or he might just want as many people there as possible to so he can feel better about himself knowing how many people are in his kingdom." He replied. We were almost to the castle. It looked so beautiful with all the different colored lights all around the castle. When we pulled up to the front of the steps to get out it seemed even bigger, brighter and more colorful. It looked even bigger and more beautiful when James opened the door, helped me out and I was able to turn my head in more angles to get a better view of everything. We walked up the stairs and went inside. Before we entered the ballroom, we were introduced. "Introducing, Prince James III and Lady Sayaka Fourier." Said the introducer. King James II looked at me his eyes widened. The music started as we were walking into the ballroom and onto the dance floor. James and I danced for hours. Later that night I went to the balcony to get some fresh air. I felt someone behind me. Their hands touched my neck I closed my eyes thinking it was James. He was so close I could feel him breathing on me. I then opened my eyes expecting to see James but instead saw King James II. I was so surprised. I pushed him off me. I looked at him and said, "King James. What are you doing?" He smiled at me with a sneaky smile, "Sayaka. Why not be with a real man? Why be with a prince when you can have a King by your side? Why be with my son?" He asked. I was surprised to hear him say any of this to me. I was starting to get angry. Before I could open my mouth to answer James walked up and said, "Father. What are you doing with Sayaka?" I pushed the king away and ran towards James' side and grabbed his arm. King James II looked at me and smiled. "Don't think I don't know who you are young lady?" The King asked. James and I looked at each other in confusion then we both looked at the King. "What do you know about her?" James asked. His father smiled and said, "Well I know her last name is not Fourier." He paused and turned around towards the balcony and walked closer to the gray stone handlebar. Then he quickly turned back around and continued. "It's actually Sayaka Maria Dracul." I was so surprised that I couldn't speak. I walked in front of James and said firmly, "I am Princess Sayaka Maria Dracul, daughter of Baldassare and Iezabel Dracul." Then the King said, "I knew it was you. There couldn't be anyone else who looks more like my lovely Iezabel in this world than her own daughter." I was starting to get angry, but James grabbed me and said, "Father please don't hurt her. She is no threat to you." The King looked at James and said, "She is a born vampire and this kingdom is a vampire free kingdom. I will not allow my only child to be in love with this creature." James had a confused look on his face and then said, "Father how could you not allow me to love Sayaka when your father wanted to make her mother to be your bride, when she already had a husband." That made his father angry. He looked at me and said, "Leave this kingdom. Never return. If I ever find you back here, I will kill you myself. Just like my father should have done years ago. Unless," "Unless what?" I asked. "Unless you marry me. If you marry me, I will let you live here in the castle with me to rule the kingdom as my queen." "Never." I said quickly. "Then you better start running beast. You will not live for very much longer." He said in a firm voice. I got scared and started to leave the palace. I ran all the way home to my cottage. I couldn't stop crying. My eyeliner and mascara were running down my face. I looked back to see if James was following me, but he wasn't. I didn't see him anywhere behind me. A mile away from the cottage I started to feel this pain in my chest and stomach. I kicked the horse with my heel to make him run faster so I could get home quicker. As he picked up speed the pain got stronger. The cottage was getting closer, but I couldn't take it. I fell off my horse. I tried to get up, but I fell to my knees and screamed for Nana and Ettoire. I was close enough to the cottage that they heard my screams. They ran out and were able to find me. They got to me as fast as they could. When they reached me, they saw that my eyes were starting to turn a different color. They were able to get a small carriage to carry me in and rushed me to the waterfall where they performed the royal ritual of transformation. Luckily the moon was full and almost at its brightest point. They took me out of the carriage and laid me down on the ground with my arms to my side and my legs touching each other. The moonlight hit me. I lifted from the ground I screamed in agony. Nana couldn't bear it and she started crying. I gently landed back down to the ground. Ettoire took a pill out from his small sack and swallowed it. It was a pill that is made from blood that will only kill my hunger for only a few hours. He did this so he could cut his arm and I could drink from it. He knew I was not ready for human blood yet. So, he took a small knife out and cut a part of his arm above his wrist and made me drink his blood. I started to drink it and then I fell asleep. The next day I woke up and saw Nana and Ettoire sitting down at the granite table about 4 yards away from the bank of the water. Still lying down, I took a deep breath and said, "We have to leave this place." Nana and Ettoire looked at me. "Whys that?" Nana asked. "Because the King knows that I'm a vampire and if we don't leave, he will come looking for us." I replied. Nana and Ettoire nodded and started to get the little things they had out and packed it up. We headed back to the cottage and started to pack up all our things. I asked Nana where we were going and she said, "With a family friend of your mom and dad." I looked at Nana and Ettoire and said "I want to visit the castle first. I want to see why James didn't follow me back. I want to know if he's okay." Nana looked at me and said "Are you sure that's okay? It might not be safe. "I looked at her gave her a hug and said. "I know. And I know I'm risking both you and Ettoire's safety by going over there but I just want to see if he's okay. Or at least look at the front of the castle and see if I can sense if he's there. I'll go up there on my own while the both of you wait from afar, but I just want to see if he's okay." She put her hand on my inner elbow and said with a smile, "No. We'll go with you to the front." "But I don't want to risk your safety." I said. "Well we care about you and want to make sure that you are safe. We are going with you all the way to the front of the castle. We're in this together." I smiled and said, "Okay." So, we went towards the castle Nana and Ettoire stayed in the market and I went towards the castle I sneaked up to Prince James room and I saw him sleeping I went towards him and I smelled a potion on him it was the forget me potion. I thought and the only solution was that King James used magic on his own son. I ran back to Nana and Ettoire and said, "we must leave he is fine, it's time to go." When we went back to the cottage to finish gathering our things Nana went to her closet and collected some materials together and made me a dress to make it looked like I was raised by royalty. As I was putting the dress on Ettoire and Nana packed up the rest of everything, fit it into the carriage and we left. It took three days to reach the castle. As we were pulling up to the front I looked up and it was covered in vines. It was restored to its former grandeur. Like it was brought back to life somehow... As soon as we stopped, we were greeted by all these different people. I didn't know who they were. Then here comes this young man. He looked no older than 20, tall and thin with blond hair. He came up to me, knelt down and said, "Welcome Princess Sayaka. We are so happy to see you and know that you are okay." I looked at him and said, "Thank you for having me." I paused for a moment. "Um what is your name young sir?" I asked. The boy stood up and said, "Apologies my lady. I am Claudius Cromwell." He lifted his arm with his hand out so signal me to lead the way into the castle. "Please, my lady. Lead on." We entered the castle and there he introduced me to his children. "Please stay for as long as you wish." He told me. So, we did stay. We stayed for a very long time. Three years passed. Claudius was very attached to me since his wife passed two years before. We became good friends. He is like a father to me. I found out that he was 1,500 years old. I was not able to find out how he was able to live for so long yet. One day I was at the castle garden reading a book on a granite bench when Claudius came up to me. I looked up at him and saw him standing in front of me with a just smile on his face. I put my bookmark between the pages, closed the book and put it on my lap with the cover faced up. He grabbed my hand and said, "Princess Sayaka." I said. "Yes Claudius?" he asked. "Would you do me the honor of becoming my bride?" He asked me. I was speechless. I had no idea what to say. I didn't want to tell him that I was still in love with James and hurt his feelings after so many years of being here at the castle with him and his family. I quickly stood up. My book slipped out of my lap and dropped on the floor. I ran all the way to my room and closed the door. I laid face down on my bed and started to cry. There was a knock at the door. I calmed myself down and stopped crying. "Who is it?" I asked. The voice behind the door replied, "Sayaka, it's me Nana. Let me in." I opened the door. Nana came in and I hugged her and started to cry again. Nana closed the door and held me tight. She sat me on my bed. She lightly pushed me away, wiped my tears and said, "Sayaka what is wrong? I saw you in the garden with Claudius then you stood up and ran in here. Why did you run away?" Did he say something to hurt you?" I started to pace back and forth. Then I stopped, looked at Nana and said, "Claudius asked me to be his bride." Nana jumped up with happiness. She hugged me and said, "Oh my goodness!! Congratulations!! He will make you so happy." I got so angry and yelled, "NANA I WILL NOT MARRY CLAUDIUS!! I DON'T LOVE HIM!! Nana looked surprised then she shook her head and smiled. I told Nana that I had to leave. I got my things and dressed in a dark colored cloak. I was able to sneak out of the castle without anyone noticing anything. I went to the stables and I got on my horse and rode off. When I looked back, I could see the castle getting smaller behind me. I wasn't looking or thinking where I was going. I wanted to look for James and find out what happened the night of the ball. He didn't come after me and when I came back everything was different. I was so confused. I didn't ask any questions because I thought James somehow did something with magic. I thought he was able to take over the castle after I ran off. I thought that one day he would come back and explain how he was able to do all of that in just a few hours but that never happened. He never came back. I shouldn't have just assumed like that. I should have asked questions. I stopped to get a rest. After I stopped, I got off my horse. I saw that I stopped in front of my cottage I stayed at with Nana and Ettoire. But it was different. It was painted all different colors. It looked like a royal cottage. It had glass windows and freshly cut grass with a white picket fence going around it. There were no trees around it for 2 acres. I went up to one of the windows and put my hands up near my face to better see inside. What I saw my heart dropped. It was James inside. He was with another woman. I was able to see a royal wedding ring on both of their fingers. The rings both had the same design on them indicating that they were married. I was so confused. Why did he get married? I had come back the same night just a few hours later to the castle to see if James was okay. I was willing to fight his father the King if I had too to save him. Just like he would have done for me. I was willing to suck on his fathers' blood and become full Vampire to save James from his father. I just kept asking myself why he would get married to another woman and why would he move into my cottage. Did his father put a spell on him? But if he did then, where is he? Did James use a spell to stop him and was this his only way to make sure I got away safely? I wish I could find out the answers. So, I decided to go back to the Dracul castle. When I got back, I wrote him a letter, to let him know that I'm still alive. My letter said, "My dearest James, My heart fell hard when I heard the news of your marriage. I was coming back to you. Coming back to save you. When I realized that you weren't chasing after me to stop me, I thought that something must have happened to you or you were fighting with your father over what he had said to me that night. But now I know that you didn't really love me. I came back just a few hours later that same night to see if you were okay, to see if you were alive. I was willing to risk myself for you. You had told me that you couldn't stand to see my heart broken. Yet you broke it. But now I have other things to worry about then what we had and what you did. I have things to do as princess and future Queen of my Kingdom. But if you wish to see me again before I become your Queen then meet me at the waterfall after you receive this letter, at sundown. I will be unarmed. I will also not bring any guards with me. It will be a private meeting between the two of us. I hope that you will not bring any weapons with you either or try to hide any solders or spies in the bushes.

Much love,

S. M. Dracul."

I waited for him at the waterfall just like I said I would in the letter. But there were guards hidden and I had a few concealed knifes on me just in case he didn't come along or had any weapons on his person. I heard a horse from a distance. I looked and saw it was James. He was riding on a white stallion. I was hiding behind a tree. I saw that he was looking for me. To see if I had come. I came out behind the tree, when he saw me our eyes met. He got off his horse as fast as he could. He ran towards me. He tried to hug me. I put my right arm up and my hand out to stop him before he could and said, "James how you could think its ok for you to hug me after what I heard about you." He looked with a smile and said, "Saya, you don't have to worry anymore my father is dead, I am the new king. And yes, I did get married." I got so mad I slapped him. When he looked up at me my eyes were red. He looked at me and said "Y-y-y-you're a vampire?" "Yes, I am, but you already knew that James?" I replied. James drew his sword and aimed it at me. "Oh James, How could you?" I said with a blank stare. I blinked then appeared behind him and I had a knife to his throat, and I said "James why do you want to kill me? You were the one who protected me. I thought you were going to understand." I smelled him. His scent was different. He was shaking with fear and sweating. "I helped you escape. That was a mistake. I should have killed you like my father said." He told me. I turned around to face him then kicked him to the ground. I sat on top of him with the knife still at his throat I leaned up to get a closer look of his face. "Oh yeah, try it and you will die. Who are you?" I asked. James then grabbed me and pinned me to the ground and said, "I'll let you live if you leave this kingdom. Please Sayaka, don't make me hurt you." I was quiet for a moment. I thought of what to say. Then told him, "I'll leave you and your people alone. Just let me stay in the forest and you won't see me anymore." He accepted my proposal. He got up and started to walk away. I got back up on my feet. As he was walking towards his horse I said, "James. Tell me this, did you really love me or was it just for fun?" He stopped. Paused for a moment then turned around with tears in his eyes and said, "Of course I love you Sayaka. I was forced by my father to marry Princess Marishka." Then he continued to walk back to his horse. I smiled then put my hand up in the air. I smiled and said, "You know James. You didn't answer my question." He was at his horse and was tightening the straps of the saddle and said, "And what, pray tell, was that?" I said. "You never said who you were." Then I pointed to him and all the guards released arrows into the sky aimed at his back. He was hit with 20 arrows. He fell to the ground. His horse was scared from all the shuffling going around and ran off. The guards came out and collected the body. "Bring him to the castle. I want to know who he really is." The horse came back and came up to me. He was rubbing up against me and making all sorts of noise. I was a little bit confused and tried to calm it down. A few of the guards left over came over and helped. Once he was calm, I saw that he had oddly colored eyes. They were blue. I said, "That is an odd color for a horse's eyes to have." Then I started to walk towards my horse to go back to the castle. "One of the guards said, "Majesty." I looked back and said, "Yes? What is it?" He was holding the horse by the ropes that goes up to his mouth and said, "I think this horse is something else." I looked at him in confusion and said, "What do you mean?" "Horses usually don't have that shade of blue in their eyes. I think this horse was changed by magic from a human. Someone used a shape shifting spell. To turn someone into this horse." The knight replied. I looked at the horse and said, "Is there a way to change him back? I want to see what he knows." "Yes, your majesty. I studied a bit of magic when I was a boy. I can turn him back into a human for you." "All right, gather up the rest of the soldiers here and get some shackles and cuffs for when you complete the spell and change the horse back into human." I told him. He made a short and quick bow. "Yes, you're grace." He said quickly. About an hour later the guard had everything set up for him to be able to cast the spell. He made a big circle 6 yards wide with two lines going across the inside making a plus sign and put the horse in the very middle where the two lines met. One of the other guards was holding a wooden bowl that he got from the inside of the cottage and had it filled with fresh water from the well. He put his hand into his leather pouch he had tied it to his belt and pulled out a tiny glass with a cork keeping it shut filled with a fine yellow powder. He took the cork out and poured the powder into the bowl and mixed it up until the powder could not be seen. He put the cork back into the bottle's opening and put the bottle back into his pouch. He grabbed the bowl and then faced the horse and said, "If you can understand me then drink the water from this bowl." So, it did. It drank all the water. He gave the bowl back to the other guard and told him to get out of the circle. He told the horse to stand still and whispered a few words to it then ran towards the end of the circle as fast as he could. Suddenly puff of purple and yellow puffs of smoke came out of nowhere and twirled around the stallion completely covering him in a dome shape. The two colors spun faster and faster then stopped. As the smoke cleared it was clear that a person that had been changed into a horse? It was James. He was completely naked. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around himself because he was so cold. I looked at him in amazement. I turned to the guard that changed him back into a human and then pointed to the cottage and said, "Quick. Fetch me a blanket." "Yes, your majesty." He replied quickly. Then he ran towards the cottage to grab one. I was so happy to see him that I ran up to him, kneeled to his level and hugged him. I rubbed him with my hands to keep him warm until the guard came back with a blanket. "Oh, my sweet James, you're shivering. How I've missed you so much. Are you okay? How did you get turned into a horse? Did your evil father do this to you?" Then the guard came up and gave me a hand knit blanket big enough for a twin bed. I wrapped him as fast as I could him in this so he could get warm. "First of all, that water tasted horrible. Once you become queen you need to make that stuff illegal. What if I was a real horse that was thirsty? That's animal abuse." He said. I laughed and said, "Well that terrible tasting water changed you back into a human without any harm done so I think I'm going to keep it around for a bit longer." He laughed a bit as he sat there shivering still from being cold. "Come on." I said while helping him up. "Let's go inside and put on a fire to help you warm up faster." I looked at the guard still standing behind us and said, "Go inside the cottage and put on a fire and light some candles." "Yes, your majesty." He replied. I stopped for a second still holding James to keep him warm and said to the guard, "Oh. Oh. And put a kettle on so we can have some tea." "Ah I don't need any tea." James said. "Yes, you do. You need to warm up the inside of your body too." I replied. "I looked back at the guard and said "Go on. Go do that. Tell the rest of the guards to help you. We're all going to stay here for the night." "Yes, your majesty." He said quickly. As he ran towards the cottage he shouted to the other guards, "Come on mates let's go inside. We've got some work to do." And all the guards got up from what they were doing to go inside and help with setting the inside up. When we got inside, I sat him on a chair one of the guards put him in front of the fireplace. The guards that saved James walked up and stood behind us and said, "the tea should be ready in a few minutes your majesty." I looked back and up at him and said, "Thank you." Then I looked back at James with a worried face. I stood up and turned to the guard, took a short breath and said, "What is your name, guard?" As he was about to answer me, I put my hand up and said, "Please take your helmet off so I can see what you look like." "Yes, ma lady." He replied. Then he reached up and took his helmet off. He had a long face. It was clear, no blemishes anywhere or signs of wear and tear of any kind that I could viably see. His hair was blonde with natural light and brown streaks in it. He had it grown down to his ears. His eyebrows were the same dark brown color as the brown streaks in his hair. His nose was not too long but slightly thinner than average. It wasn't pointed or too rounded on the tip. His eyes were dark blue. He was about six feet tall, which is around 4 inches taller than I am. I couldn't tell if there were any sort of markings on his neck because of the cloth from his armor covering it but I could tell that he was a very muscular by how wide his armor was. I could still clearly see that when you look at the edges of his normal looking ears that his neck matched up with his earlobes in a very masculine tone. I asked, "What is your name?" He said. "Peter ma' Lady." I replied. "Well, Peter. Thank you for casting that spell and saving James." he said. "It was my pleasure your majesty." I looked at him and said, "So you said you studied spells as a boy?" he replied. "Yes, your grace. My father was a good friend with the local knight and when he needed an apprentice, he agreed to take me in since I was of the right age. Him and my father both liked to study magic because they wanted to make sure they could one day use it to save the kingdom if anything happened. They also used it to entertain the children of the town to keep their hopes up. We were in a town with many children but no schools so after a while my father had the idea to start a school of magic with the help of the knight so the children could learn something. They used magic to help the children learn math and reading along with using spells to help things grow or fix things like a broken wheel or someone's broken bone. Since I was a knight's apprentice, I couldn't go to these schools but the knight did teach me the spells and things the other children were learning so I wouldn't feel left out and so I could use those things later in life if I ever needed to. But I didn't learn as much because I was busy being his apprentice. If I ever had any spare time, I would study from books at the library in the towns we went to. If we were in a town long enough, I would study for hours if not days at a time depending on how long we were there. The knight never had to worry about me because I would always be in the town's library if I wasn't doing a chore or fetching something for him. I would always have blank books and writing materials with me so I could write down spells and incantations I thought were important. Or even ones I thought were funny." He looked down for a second, made a smile and let out a small quiet laugh, looked back up at me and continued, "Like changing someone who is being a bully into a mouse and changing them back when I pleased in order to teach them a lesson." He smiled again and continued, "That one was one of the knight's favorites because he wasn't too fond of bullies either. He had me cast that spell on many people to insure no one was terrorized but anyone unpleasant, even other knights thinking that it was okay to charge the villages more tax to have more money in their pockets." He again made a smile and continued, "You would be surprised how many people don't like to be turned into mice. Even the men that looked tough would cower away and do anything you ask so they would not have to go through that again. I even had many blank books where I would write and illustrate all my favorite spells and incantations. I had many things written in these books. Recopies for many types of potions, other times we weren't at these towns for very long and I didn't get much time to study so those blank books came in handy so I could study while on the road. I even wrote down ingredients for everything that needed it. Where to get it from, how to grow it if you had the means to do so." "It seems you really know your magic young man." I said. "Yes, I do your majesty." He replied. "How long have you been a knight?" I asked him. "About 2 years now, your grace." He replied. "Hmm, have you ever thought of being the royal magician?" I asked. Peter's face lit up like a candle with a smile as big as a crescent moon. "Yes, your majesty, I have, Many times." He said with an over joyed tone in his voice. "" Do you still remember any of what you studied when it comes to magic?" I asked him. "Yes. And all my books that I have written are at my father's house. He keeps them safe and tucked away for whenever I need them." Peter replied. "Good." I told him. "I will send word to your father. You and your family can stay at the castle for as long as you all wish too, and I will appoint you my royal magician at my coronation." I continued. "I think my mother and father will want to stay there for a good while before they will be willing to move anywhere, your highness. They've lived there most of their lives." He told me. I smiled and said, "I understand but I will give them that option just in case. Even if they move to the castle, I will name it royal property so no one can vandalize it or will try to move in there. I want all of my subjects to be happy." Peter bowed his head with a smile and said, "Oh thank you your majesty. It will be a great honor to serve you as your magician. I do like being a knight though. Is it okay if I be the royal magician and a knight as well?" I thought about it for a minute, "Hmm. I did not think of that." I pointed up with my finger up with a smile and said," I like you're thinking." I pointed to him and continued, "You will go down in history as the very first general in my army that is also the royal magician." With a big smile I put my hands on his shoulders and said, "I hope we become very good and close friends over the years Peter. I know you will serve the kingdom well and help it to flourish even better than it ever was." Peter was overly joyed. He bowed down to one knee with his head facing the wooden floor and said, "I will do my very best to serve you and this kingdom, your highness. I will never let you or this kingdom down." "Stand up Peter." I said with a smile." I put my right hand on his shoulder and said, "I know you will." I took my hand off his shoulder and put it back on my side and said, "Now get some of the guards and set them up outside to guard the door and windows. The rest can sleep. You can take shifts throughout the night if you feel that is necessary." "Right away your majesty. Thank-you." He replied.

I walked back towards James. I kneeled to his level. At this point he was a lot warmer. He was leaning over with his elbows on his knees and was looking at the fire. He had the blanket covering his waist and going over his legs a bit. "Do you feel better now?" I asked him. "Yes." He replied. Then he looked back at me. "Much better thank you." He put his hand on my cheek and looked into my eyes. Then he leaned towards me and kissed me for what seemed like hours. I didn't want it to end. When it was over, I took a big breath and opened my eyes back up. I asked him, "Did your father do that to you? What happened the night I ran away? I was only gone for a few years and then when I came back things were the same but also very different. What happened? And why were you changed into a horse and not killed?" James looked at me and said, "There are things that you need to know." I will tell you what I can tomorrow. We just need to get to the castle so I can tell you there. It's more private there." He told me. "Okay. We will start heading back there as early as we can. It's not too far from here anyway. We can talk about it in my study. Only my generals and I are allowed in there without my permission. It's one of the most private rooms in the castle." I said. He smiled and asked, "What are the other most private rooms in the castle?" I smiled and said, "My room." He leaned in a bit more towards me and said, "Don't you mean our room?" Then we both smiled, and he leaned in closer and kissed me. I backed up just a little bit and said, "Soon enough." We laughed softly then got up and walked to my room to lie on the bed to get some sleep. The next morning, I got up stepped out of my cottage but as soon as I walked out, I noticed there were no guards at the doors and windows, and I saw arrows flying towards me. I quickly ran towards the nearest tree and climbed up as fast as I could. I didn't see anyone anywhere. "Who's there?" I yelled. "Who dares to attack me?" A knight came out of hiding. He was hiding in a bush about 10 yards away. He was holding up a bow aimed at me. He was one of the knights loyal to the wife of the fake King James that my guards had killed just the night before. He yelled to me, "Queen Marishka ordered us to kill you. She said you have put a spell on our King." I was so angry that James's wife ordered my death. But how did she know where I was? I yelled back to him, "She is not your queen. I didn't do such thing to him. Who you call your king is dead? I found him here lying on the ground with arrows in his back. He has been carried to my castle. I will have him sent to her so you can have a proper ceremony. Tell your Queen to leave us alone or there will be war." So, he started to gather up the rest of his troops to return to Marishka's Castle. Before they left, I yelled out, "Where are my guards that were surrounding my cottage?" "They are unconscious." He pointed to the forest. "They are in the forest. Alive." He continued. Then rode off with his troops to the castle they came from. I climbed back down, went back into the cottage and explained what happened to James. We gathered up the guards in the forest and rode back to my castle.

Empty handed, Queen Marishka was furious. "Why is it that my two best hunters and some of my best knights come back to me empty handed?! This is unacceptable!!" She yelled as her voice echoed in her throne room of her gigantic castle. The two huntsmen looked at Queen Marishka and said, "The vampire said that the King is dead. He had arrows in his back." What?!" Yelled Marishka. Then quickly turned the other way. With her back facing the huntsman. "She said she sent him back to her castle and will send him back to you so we can have a proper ceremony for him." Queen Marishka just smiled. She quickly turned back around and in doing so also opened a purple gem covered fan over black cloth put it near her face to cool her down, raised her eyebrows and said, "She has him you say?" "Yes, your majesty." One of the huntsmen replied. "Okay. Go to her and tell her that I accept her offer. But the one year will not start until I see my James here before me along with the arrows that impaled him. Do you understand huntsman?" before they could answer her, she said, "And I want both of you to go there and retrieve him and give her that news. Take no one else and tell no one else of what happened. I want his body to be covered as well. I do not want anyone to know about his death. Understood?" They both bowed and said, "Yes your majesty." "Good. Now go." She said with a flail of her arm. "Right away your majesty." They both said and quickly went towards the door and to their horses.