He was a young man that had everything given to him. He had shunned responsibility and commitment all the way, until now. He heard that Avah Epona was a seer that could see people's future and she had the power to control the weather. Duncan was egotistical and naïve as he thought to himself how he could rule over her.
It was morning and the sun was still rising overhead as it did since the beginning of time. He reached the end of the forest and came across the Magic River, which connected to the Giving Sea. The prince thought for a minute and decided to cross the river. It seemed to make more sense than riding upstream to find himself stuck with a giant lake that would keep him from crossing.
Duncan shook the reins and heard the sound of his horse let out a whinny as they rode close to the river. The sound of water hitting rocks didn’t excite Clovis or motivate him to cross so the young man got off to help him walk through the water.
The water was cold and was up to his shoulders, but they persisted to cross through the river and came out of it shivering and wet.
“If you would have let me ride you I wouldn’t be all wet, you stupid horse,” said the prince, but all he got was a horse laughing at him through its nicker sounds, grunts and light whinnie.
Prince Duncan turned around towards the forest and saw a peculiar smoke. It seemed that there was someone close by, perhaps setting up camp.
“I see we have a lucky traveler to help me dry my clothes,” said Duncan as he walked over to his horse and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his leather purse.
After unraveling it, he folded it back up and realized that they were right on course and the direction of the smoke was in direct correspondence to the Kingdom of Shellmont. The prince climbed onto his horse and shook the reins so that he could investigate the strange smoke in the forest.
Duncan traveled through ravines and hills until they reached a small clearing, just before the woods where a small cottage stood with a white picket fence. The smoke was coming from the chimney and the prince looked at his wet clothes with a smile, then at the cottage that was a long way from him.
He rode on his horse down to the house, got off and walked up to the door to knock. After knocking at the door a middle aged man answered. He was tall with hazel eyes and wore lumberjack clothes.
“What can I do for you?” asked the man.
“Pardon me sir, but I was wondering if I could seek lodging here? A place to sleep, eat and dry my clothes. My horse bucked me off in the river and I’ll only be staying for a couple of days.”
“Can I ask who you are?” asked the man.
“My name is Prince Duncan and I’m from the Kingdom of Jaydon.”
“Oh forgive me my lord, I didn’t know. Of course, you’re welcome to stay as long as you like, my name is Edgemont Coleman.”
Prince Duncan looked around the inside of the small cottage and stepped into a room that was the dinning and kitchen area. Duncan noticed the old man was smiling and rubbing his hands together. Then a woman entered the room. She was short with brownish grey hair and brown eyes. They were both looking at him strangely as if he was a pig waiting to be slaughtered and become the family roast.
“This is Prince Duncan and he’s staying with us for a couple days” replied Edgemont.
The woman looked at Duncan while smiling and rubbed her hands together the same way he did. The prince looked at the couple disturbed, but tried to keep a straight face because he was their guest. He would only be here for the night and would be off on his journey.
“This is Mannet, my wife.”
“How do you do?” asked Duncan.
“He’s so handsome,” she chuckled as she looked at Edgemont.
“Stenyada will be pleased with us.”
“Excuse me?” asked Duncan.
“Oh Stenyada, our daughter,” answered Mannet.
“Really,” replied Duncan as he raised his eyebrows with a few ideas.
“She’s out picking berries, but she’ll be back shortly,” smiled Mannet as she nodded her head.
The parent’s showed him the spare bedroom that they had downstairs. It was amazing how small the house was, but it had rooms to spare. There was something confining about the whole situation. Duncan didn’t really think about it, but the whole rubbing hands made him feel uncomfortable and they looked at him as though he was their last hope.
It was the act of desperation on their part that was weird. It seemed ridiculous to waste time thinking about such demands when he would be meeting Avah Epona in a few days and become king. They finally made it to his room and Edgemont pulled out the keys.
“It’s the spare bedroom and I think you’ll like it,” replied the old man as he pushed the door open.
Inside the room there was a queen sized bed and a small table next to it with a lamp. Duncan walked inside and saw a desk and chair with pen and ink. There were also shelves of books, literature, stories and dictionaries. Cob webs covered the corners and it needed dusting, but everything else was in order. Duncan turned around and saw them smiling and rubbing their hands together.
To be continued . . . . . .
The Prince and the Cursed Daughter available on "Blue Dragon Fantasy; Faded Memories and Short Stories" and "The Red and Blue Dragon Fantasy Legacy Anthology of Composition and Short Stories".
Coming to Nook soon.
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