Morning once more arrived in a spark of sunlight as the sun serenely rose up from behind the many mountains and hills of the expansive land. Where it was pitch black mere moments before, blue sky shone, waking the world with a spectacular array of sunlight and fresh breezes.
Already in the small village, people were getting up and rushing about their business, opening their shops and homes. Young children rushed off to greet excited playmates or visit the elder and wiser of the people to learn lessons....fathers and husbands kissed their wives and children good-bye for the day as they left for work, and merchants hurried to set up their outside markets for any customers that may come.
Upstairs in a small inn, the door to a large room softly opened, and Djoser stepped in cautiously. Mindful of making too much noise, he carefully stepped his way inside, walked to the window, and slowly opened the shutters halfway, letting in the sunlight gradually. He smiled gently when he saw Jeneta laying comfortably in her bed, her sheets wrapped all around her in a tangle and her hair spread out under her. On the bed next to her, Ling also slept heavily, but facing toward Jeneta as though keeping a watching eye on her. Farther to the side, Heather, Angeni, and Prya slept on, exhausted from getting to bed so late last night.
Djoser walked over to Jeneta's bed and knelt down to eye level with her, a playful smile on his lips. Oh, how he would have loved for this moment to last forever....to look upon the face of this strange young girl from a strange world as she slept peacefully. It's been so long since the young prince felt such a way for anyone, much less a girl. Most of his young life had been spent learning about history of kingdoms, battles, fighting and sword play. He'd never really had any time or desire to worry about love, crushes, or anything that trivial. But now, looking down on Jeneta's innocent face, Djoser had come to realize that this young girl has taught him a lesson he'd never thought he'd learn......how to care for someone else. Although his own father had treated him well enough, Djoser never truly received any affection from him, and he thought it was normal for all men to act like that....to not show affection as it might imply weakness. Now that's all changed, and he knew that it was not weakness at all to show affection or caring....it was just being human.
But then another thought entered the young man's mind...a thought that left a sort of emptiness and foreboding. Last night, the fifth and last Sacred Medallion had been found. Soon, they would have to battle Kumraa, a battle that would decide the fate of this world and ultimately the universe, and he knew there was no guarantee that Jeneta or any of the other girls would survive. There was a possibility he would lose Jeneta forever in that fight. And even if they did survive...after the battle, they would have to return to their world, back to their families that were waiting for them. No matter how it turned out, Jeneta would be soon be out of his life forever, and that filled him with a sadness he never knew existed.
But before that thought could gain any more ground, Djoser shook his head. No, that was just selfishness. He knew Jeneta as well as the other girls had families and friends to go back home to, so it wouldn't be right to make her stay here. He would just have to deal with that when the time comes, that's all. With that final thought, Djoser smiled again and reached forward to trace his finger down along Jeneta's bare arm.
"Hey, sleepy head...it's time to get up." he said. He watched as Jeneta's eyelids fluttered, then open slowly to find him so near her. She smiled gently as she looked into Djoser's kind, brown eyes.
"Morning..." she said sleepily. Unable to help himself, Djoser reached over and gently traced his finger along Jeneta's jaw, enjoying the smooth feel. For a moment, the two just stared into each other's eyes, not wanting the moment to end. Djoser's touch on her jawline sent a delicious sensation down Jeneta's spine, and she looked at him with wide eyes. The feeling was so new to her, but she enjoyed it, and secretly wished for it to go on.
But it was Djoser who ended the touching scene as he cleared his throat uncomfortably, stood up, and turned away, breaking the spell.
"I...I must have overslept. I'm...sorry." Jeneta said in a rush as she sat up, running a hand through her unruly hair. She looked around curiously. How did she get back here? The last thing she remembered was her going back to Djoser's room, and for the next couple of hours, they just talked. Then they simply held each other when there was nothing else to talk about. Jeneta blushed as she remembered they shared just a few more kisses, but then it was all blank. Her heart suddenly pounded in fear as she thought of what might have happened between them.
But when Djoser turned back around to smile at her again, she knew she had nothing to fear. He would never take advantage of her like that. She realized she must have fallen asleep in his arms from her exhaustion, and Djoser, being the gentlemen that he was, simply carried her back to her room in his strong arms. The young man chuckled softly at Jeneta's blush as he opened the windows more, letting a little more sunlight in.
"No, it's quite alright, it's still early," He walked back over to her bed and sat down next to her. "I just thought it would be a good idea to get up early and try to find our way back to Master Yelsnid in Bhunathra. Since we have found all the Sacred Medallions, perhaps he could tell us a little bit more about them. Maybe now there could be a way to summon the Ones Who Are Blessed...the missing goddesses."
"Oh, right, like we talked about last night." Jeneta nodded and laid her head on his shoulder. Lots of things came up in their discussion last night....Djoser's family, the friends he'd made over the years....but even they couldn't ignore what finding all the medallions meant, so they decided to head back to Kondolar's home city and discuss it with the sorcerer master. A sudden thought came to Jeneta then, and she looked up into his eyes.
"Djoser! Last night....last night was the first time!" she said suddenly.
The young man blinked, then turned to look at Jeneta uncomfortably. "First time?"
"Yes! Last night was the first time you said my name since Kumraa attacked you! Before we came up to your room, remember?" Jeneta smiled and giggled softly.
"Oh! Right..." Djoser chuckled softly, relief flooding through him. Before he could say anymore though, Ling yawned and lifted her head to glare at the two.
"Hey, what does a girl have to do to get some beauty sleep around here, kill someone?" she said grumpily as she sat up.
Jeneta stifled another giggle as she shook her head. Same old grumpy Ling! "Relax Ling, we were just talking. Besides, it's time to get up anyway." She got up and stretched her arms high, already feeling anxious for what the day would bring.
"Heh, you better listen to her Ling, or else Angeni might slung you over her shoulder again like she did last time!" Heather said, reaching over with a smile to pick up her glasses from the small night table. The rest of the girls, finally up, laughed softly, knowing that the young Chinese girl was not a morning person.
"I better leave before I'm tempted to see that show. I'll see you girls a little later then." Djoser said as he got up. As he walked by her, he winked at Ling playfully.
Ling crossed her arms and turned her head away with a "harrumph!", but at the mischievous look Angeni gave her, she got up with the others as they made their way towards the bathroom to freshen up and get dressed.
Within an hour, the girls were just putting on their shoes when the innkeeper knocked on the door and told them breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.
"Great, I'm starved!" said Jeneta, never missing an opportunity for good food. With that, the girls left the immense room and headed towards the dining room downstairs.
"I say we better eat as much as we can. If we're going back to Master Yelsnid, it's going to be a long ride." Jeneta advised. As they were going in to wait for breakfast, Angeni hung back a little.
"You guys go on ahead," said Angeni, a worried look to on her face. "I'll be there in a minute."
"Are you okay?" Jeneta asked, going up to her.
"Yeah...it's just...I just need a few minutes." The girls nodded and headed in while Angeni sighed and headed out the back door to the inn's lush garden. She walked up next to a large apple tree and leaned against it, a thousand thoughts going through her mind. I don't know why I have such a worried feeling. she thought sadly. I should be happy that we have the Sacred Medallions now, but it just feels so....scary. We're going to have to fight Kumraa now. We've seen how powerful he and his followers are. What if we lose?
She sighed and shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about that! Besides, with these medallions, we could summon those.... goddesses or whatever. Maybe it won't be so bad. She looked up and noticed the lush, red-colored fruit that resembled apples but shaped like the number eight hanging from the tree. In the meantime, until breakfast is ready, I can sample one of these delicious looking fruits!
She looked around the tree, and smiled in relief to see a long ladder behind it. Feeling adventurous, she climbed it up to the first branch that had one lone fruit hanging from it, and slowly reached for it. So focused was she in trying to reach it as she stretched, she didn't notice a figure walking up and standing right under her.
"There you are!!" a voice shouted out.
Angeni was so startled that her foot slipped on the metal ladder rung as she jumped in surprise, and she went falling down swiftly towards the ground. She gasped loudly, squeezed her eyes shut, and waited for the crushing impact of the ground.......but instead, fell straight into a pair of strong, waiting arms.
When Angeni dared to open her eyes a second later, she looked up into the smiling and mischievous face of Kain. She blinked in surprise as she lay in his arms. "K..Kain?"
"Heh, yeah, it's me!" the young tanned-skinned man chuckled. "The others got worried, so they sent me out here to look for you," He smirked. "Gee, I knew you'd fall for me one day, but I didn't think it would be this soon!"
"OOOOHH YOU! Just let me down, you jerk!" Angeni grumbled angrily, flailing her arms and legs.
"Hey! Be careful, I..." But Kain's warning came too late as he lost hold and dropped Angeni right on her behind.
"Owwwww..." Angeni sniffled as she sat up on her knees and rubbed the sore spot on her bottom.
"Sorry, I tried to warn you." Kain said, trying to stifle down a laugh. He reached down and helped Angeni to stand. "Come on, the others are waiting." Angeni gave him a angry glare, but decided she was too much in pain to argue with him, and quietly walked with back to her friends.
Together they walked back into the dining hall of the inn, where the others, including Kondolar and Tao, sat waiting. Heather looked up at her with worried eyes. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just......thinking." Angeni replied as she sat down next to Jeneta.
"Good, because we need to get an early start if we want get back to Master Yelsnid as soon as we can." Djoser said as he too sat down.
"Master Yelsnid?" Angeni looked up at him curiously along with Prya, Heather, and Ling.
"Yes, Jeneta and I thought it would be a good idea to go back to him and show him the Sacred Medallions. Since we have them all now, they could be used summon the One Who Are Blessed to help defeat Kumraa." Djoser turned to look at Kondolar. "He's studied the legend, hasn't he?"
The sorcerer-in-training nodded. "Yes, I remember him researching it extensively. If anyone can help us understand the Medallions more, it would be him." He frowned slightly as he thought a little more. "As a matter of fact, he might even know the medallions are found now, since he's so attuned to magical elements. But I'm not sure."
"Then it's settled, back to Master Yelsnid!" Jeneta said with excitement.
But first, it was breakfast time, and the group of friends hungrily ate the eggs, bacon, toasts, and a bowl of what tasted like oatmeal...but darker in color....that was brought to them. Soon after breakfast the table was cleared, and the group went outside in front of the inn to wait for their horses to be brought to them.
Angeni turned to give Kain a hopeful look, although she tried to hide it. "You'll be coming with us too, right?"
"I...I don't know. I.." A sad and worried look came over the young man.
"Come on, you said yourself you didn't have anyplace else to go!" Jeneta said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be a big help to us."
"No! No I wouldn't!" Kain shook his head sadly. "Look, there's something I've been meaning to tell you all..about my people and me. You see, I...we...I come from a people that aren't...very well accepted, and...if you're found to be associated with me..." Painful memories filled the former thief's mind as he tried hard to explain, but couldn't.
"Kain, you can tell us...what is it?" Angeni slowly walked up to him. She also was about to lay a hand on his shoulder, but he shook his head and backed away from them.
"Look, you don't understand what it's like, okay? You don't understand what it's like to be hated for something you are...something you can't help being! It's a nightmare! You...don't know.." Tears misted in his eyes and he turned away.
A tension-filled silence filled the area for a long moment, and it was broken when Ling lifted her head and shouted out "You're wrong!" When the others turned to look at her, the girl sobbed and dashed away, running off toward the center of the village.
"Ling! Wait!" Jeneta yelled. She rushed off after her and finally caught up after a few minutes.
"Ling, stop!" Jeneta grabbed a hold of her hand and they both skidded to a halt. They both panted for a moment, and Jeneta looked deep into Ling's eyes. "Come on, what's going on? You can tell me...."
Ling wiped the streaks of tears from her cheeks as she shook her head. "I...I'm sorry. It's just that that...when he talked about not knowing what it's like to be hated for what you are....."
The Asian girl took a deep breath and looked into Jeneta's eyes. "I've never really told anyone this, but..." She held her breath for a moment, then spoke. "But I'm a quarter Japanese."
As Jeneta looked at her in surprise, Ling sighed and continued. "My grandmother...she's Japanese, okay? It was just a few years before World War II started when my grandmother and her parents immigrated from Japan to a small town in China. My grandmother was very young then, so when they came to China, her parents made sure that she learned Mandarin so their identity wouldn't leak out. There've always been tension between the Chinese and Japanese...for many centuries, and it was made worse by the threat of world war."
Ling shuddered as the long repressed story of her grandmother surfaced. "Well, it worked. They drilled into my grandmother the Mandarin Chinese language so much, she completely forgot Japanese, and for years thought she was Chinese herself. Then, one day, just recently after World War II started, my grandmother came home early from school with a friend. Her parents weren't expecting her. When she and her friend came into the house from the back, they overheard my grandmother's parents speaking Japanese."
A tear slipped down Ling's cheek. "And do you know what happened then? My grandmother's friend turned to her and called her a dirty Jap dog. A Jap dog! My grandmother's best friend! This so called "friend" told everyone at school, so you can imagine how hard it was for my grandmother since then. She and her parents moved around for years after that...every time someone found out about them, they had to move."
"Oh Ling," Jeneta softly enveloped Ling in a hug, feeling her pain.
"Even in our time...before I came to England, when people would find out what I was back home...I would get strange looks from everyone. I never understood until my grandmother explained it to me before she died. It hurt..it just really hurt. I can't help what I am. I can't! That's why it's so hard for me to trust people..."
"I know, I've been through stuff like that myself. Many people in the world think that racism and prejudice is just about being Black or White, but it's so much more complicated and deeper than that." Jeneta leaned away from the hug, determination in her eyes.
"But right now, we have a world to save, and we need all the help we can get. Are you with me in getting Kain to come?"
Ling looked deep into Jeneta's eyes in doubt for a moment, then smiled. She could really believe that Jeneta understand what she felt. She had wished for that for so long! "Yeah...I'm with you." She nodded, and the two headed back to where the group of friends were waiting with their horses.
"Ling?" Prya looked worriedly at Ling and Jeneta as they walked up to them. Tao went up to her and gently put an arm around her shoulder.
"She's alright now," Jeneta said with a nod. "But the big question is, do we have one more in our group in going back to see Master Yelsnid?" She looked at Kain questionably.
He bowed his head almost shamefully. "Yes. Yes, I'm with you all. I didn't mean to cause any pain..." He looked at Ling and sighed. "I am truly sorry. I'd be more than honored to travel with you all."
"Good, then we haven't a moment to lose," Tao said, going towards his horse. "We should find the shortest route to Master Yelsnid, and..."
Tao's words were cut off as a great ball of light suddenly flashed in the air above them, making passerby gasp and stare in surprise. The ball of light slowly descended down to the ground, and when it dimmed, Master Yelsnid stood before them, his staff glowing brightly and his robe flowing in the wind.
"There is no need for that," the master sorcerer said. "But I'm afraid the news I bring is very serious indeed. Your friend is right, there isn't a moment to lose."
The girls looked at each other with worried looks, wondering what news the old man had to share with them.
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To Be Continued...
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