Children of Prophecy

Basil: Chapter 15

I looked at the figure of a child who trembled, fearing we would hurt her. What was she doing in the Behemoths arms? The child looked like she was around twelve and her clothes were slightly tattered. "What happened?" I asked softly to gain her trust.

She stopped shaking and relaxed as she told us her story "I was at home when some armed men barged into our house and began to threaten my family. My mother ushered me to run as she got killed trying to protect me from a man who was going to capture me" This explains why she was terrified when she met us. "I ran to this forest as they chased me and I met this behemoth who protected me as I ran" the girl finished as she looked at the behemoth which lay dead on the ground. "You have been through a lot. You can stay with us in my hut while you recover" Astra said to the girl as she held out her hand to help the girl stand up.

"My name is Belle and I am from Euryele" the girl said as she smiled at us. "I am Raphael and this is my twin brother, Spot" Raphael greeted with a big grin as Spot continued the introduction and said "We are Storm Raiders from the Deserts" Belle looked at Lynx wondering about her appearance "My name is Lynx, one of the guardians of the Great Library at the Ice Kingdom" "And my name is Tabitha. I am a nymph of this forest" Tabitha said with a cheery attitude. "I am Basil, crown prince of Alastar. I would like to apologize for my grandfather's act and to be honest, I have no clue what is going on" I said apologetically to the Belle who smiled in return. "Astra, guardian of the lake Blancnoir and twin sister of Basil" Astra said as she began leading us to her hut with Devlin and Tabitha.

We arrived at her hut. I cringed slightly as I recalled the first time I was here. Belle admired the hut with the twins. It looked small on the outside, but when you get inside, it looks amazing. "Devlin, can you tell is what happened after Basil, Tabitha and I left for our journey" Astra asked Devlin whose face turned dark and serious. "Alastar's king declared war against Euryele after he got hold of the substitute core" Devlin explained "Euryele's king is having a hard time defending Euryele from the constant attacks of Alastar"

I looked down ashamed of my grandfather and his acts. "I will go to Alastar and try to reason with my grandfather" I said gaining their attention. "Then the rest of us will go to Euryele if to see the king and bring Belle home to her family" Lynx said.

Astra and the others went their way towards Euryele as I headed towards Alastar. Why would grandfather do this? I know that he holds a grudge, but why would he risk going to war against Euryele?

After a long walk I arrived in front of the gates to see guards walking back and forth preparing for war. I hurried to the castle and opened the doors to the throne room loudly. Grandfather looked up from the substitute core to see me. His face looked at me with seriousness and greed as he 'welcomed' me back from my long journey.

"Have you heard about the great news?" Grandfather asked with joy as he stood up from his throne and said "With this power, we can overthrow Euryele's king and take control of the kingdom! Is it not great?" I looked at him with wide eyes and refused his idea. "Why did you start a war? Can we not live in peace together?" I asked trying to reason with him, yet he looked at me with disgust. "You have been far too long away from your studies. You have grown soft" grandfather told me as he continued to tell me what he thought about the Eurylanians. I tried to reason with him, but I was instead grabbed by guards he called and was thrown in the dungeons. The guards turned their backs calling me a scum and a filthy traitor to the Alastarians. I grabbed on to the bars and shook them demanding to let me out.

It's up to Astra and the others now to confront the Eurylanian king and ask for the war to stop. Why can't my grandfather see that war is not the answer? I let go of the bars and walked towards the window of my cell to look at Alastar, then towards the gates where the guards were jogging to their stations to defend. I sat down on the stone hard bed of my cell and wondered how the others were doing. A guard came and made a small noise to get my attention. He set down the tray with food as he whispered silently to me before he went away "Loose block beside your bed. Good luck"

I looked at his retreating figure as I did checked what he told me. Feeling the surface of the wall beside my bed, I felt a loose block and pushed it. A small rumbling came as a path that was big enough for me to fit in opened. I crept inside until I reached a point where there was a large dead end of a lake was. It was dark, but I could see a small hint of light under the water. I jumped down and gathered air before I dived to swim towards the light. The light lead towards a small tunnel and the source became clearer. Resurfacing I gasped out to breathe in air, only to see that I was in a fountain somewhere in the castle. I followed a path towards a garden gate avoiding guards that walked pass me. I had to get to Euryele and warn the others of my grandfather.