A Trio of Anomalies - The Kingdom of Fantasy

CHAPTER 24 - LEADING UP TO

 "Wooooooooaaahh!!" awed Sulphy, gazing at the scenery around her, "It's beautiful! The flowers are so pretty! If only we came here in the daytime ..."

Nicholas had trouble opening the music box, so Steve tried to help him.

"Wait a minute," said Erwin, "Would Queen Blossom send a gift to herself? Or is the box already a gift?"

"I think the box is the gift," replied Steve, "because I can't open it anymore."

He heard a familiar tune from the music box, "It's the tune that played at the very beginning, before I got onto the golden trail. I think it's the national anthem."

"You're right!" replied Scribblehopper excitedly, "It is composed so that all who hear it would be filled with hope and determination, even in the darkest of times."

Erwin grinned, "Well, it does give me hope that I can get home again. We've been in the Kingdom of Fantasy for almost four days now, and who knows what's happening back there."

"Well, let's just get going then," said Steve, "and we don't need a map, right? Because Scribblehopper, Cozy and King Factual already know this place."

Scribblehopper took the box away from Steve, before saying, "Well ... just in case we get lost in the green fog ... here's the map!"

The Order had just then noticed the green fog settling among them. It was a freezing mist that prevented anyone from seeing further than a few meters in front, not that the darkness had obscured much of their view already.

King Factual noticed this, and he said worriedly, "Hmm ... There's never fog this thick in the Kingdom of the Fairies. I wonder if Queen Blossom's alright."

"Don't worry, King Factual," reassured Cozy, "We're the Order of the Fairy Queen, and we shall help the three knights in saving her. She would know the reason behind this peculiar mist."

Meanwhile, Scribblehopper was pointing the diamond tip of the box at a giant white rose, and the trio could hear him singing the anthem. He finished, and the diamond lit up with a pure white light, clearing the green fog around him. The Thousand Petal Rose glowed in the white light, revealing the map of the Kingdom of the Fairies.

"You're a great singer," commented Erwin coolly while snapping a photo.

"Really?" inquired Scribblehopper, "Well if you say so, thank you. It's a rather old version of the anthem, and since I was taught that version ever since I was but a tadpole, it stuck to me more than the new version. Do you know that the old version was composed in Fairese, and the new one translated into Fantasian?"

"Why is that?" asked Steve, wanting to take back the box.

Scribblehopper refused, "The diamond tip clears away the mist, you see, and the map is imprinted into the box. As for why the anthem was translated into Fantasian, it's because Fantasian is a derived language from Fairese. As Fairese grew out of fashion, Queen Blossom ordered the anthem to be translated into the easier-to-learn language, but citizens could still learn both versions and choose between one or the other. It's not about which language or which version of the anthem you like best, it's about singing it with love and passion in your heart for Queen Blossom, and the Kingdom of the Fairies."