A Princess Named Harry: Book 2

Chapter 26

Harry stood outside the old man's house. She had knocked three times. He'd told her once that if she knocked that many times and he still didn't answer the door, then he was probably in his workshop, and she should just come on in.

Harry waited, and this time, the man got the door. When he opened it and saw who his sudden guest was, he made a somber expression. Harry knew that even all the way out in the woods, he'd heard the news about her mother.

"Oh, Princess," he sighed. "Come on in."

The moment she walked in, she could smell the chemicals. He must have been working hard to find a cure for the poison. As she heard the door shut behind her, she sighed. She was thankful for the man's kindness.

"Mister Joseph," she said quietly. "Thank you for-"

Before she could finish, the man pulled her into a tight hug. "Oh, Princess," he said again. "I'm so sorry."

Harry hugged him back. It felt like a grandfather hugging his granddaughter. It was reassuring and warm.

"It's okay, Mister Joseph," she replied after a long moment of silence.

She looked down at the spot where the trap door was, and sure enough, the hatch was wide open. She had many things she needed to say and ask the man, but that could all wait for now. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to receive such a consoling hug for a long time, not since her mother was no longer able to.

It would've been nice if she could get all of her remaining tears out right then, but they wouldn't come out. After a while, Harry had the moment she needed to regain her composure. She let go of the man and spoke in a voice with much conviction, "Mister Joseph, we need to talk."

The man nodded, "Follow me, Princess."

The two headed downstairs to his workshop. Just as Harry had thought, his workshop was in full swing.

"Are you making potions, Mister Joseph?" Harry inquired.

"I am," he answered.

Harry watched him walk over to a boiling pot. "I'm trying to make a cure for your mother."

Harry decided to test his knowledge. "Do you know about the kind of poison she took?"

"Of course I do," he answered. "Although the poison is native to another kingdom, I'm well aware of its contents."

"You are?"

"Yes, because I'm well-diverse in everything regarding the Dark Kingdom."

"The Dark Kingdom?" Harry asked. "You mean the one from that fairytale?"

"Yes," Joseph answered as he poured the liquid from the pot into a small bowl. "Did you know that it wasn't always known as the Dark Kingdom?"

"No," Harry answered.

Joseph chuckled as he sprinkled some powder onto a sample slide. "I'm assuming you remember the story?"

"Yes," Harry answered. "I remember it."

Because the story was a children's book, it had a lot of pictures in it. It portrayed a little king's journey as he governed his kingdom. He made a lot of mistakes, but his worst was when he betrayed a king from another kingdom.

The kingdom that the little king turned his back on was suffering from a plague. The little king didn't want the plague to spread into his kingdom, so he ignored the foreign king's pleas. Luckily, the foreign king was able to create a cure and saved his kingdom from total destruction. The little king was glad that the plague was stopped until a few days later, it made its way into his kingdom.

No matter how hard the little king tried, he could not replicate a cure and so he begged the foreign king to help him. The foreign king, remembering how the little king refused to help him, decided to return the favor. "You should have helped me when I needed help. Then, I would have helped you."

With those words of parting, the little king returned to his ravaged kingdom. The plague quickly spread to every part of his kingdom. With nothing left to rule over, the little king left his kingdom in rags. He ended up living a miserable life, never forgetting how he turned his back to save himself.

"It was a sad story," Harry remarked.

"Sad it was," replied Joseph. "But that's not the way things actually happened."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked nervously.

"Because I had strong ties to the kingdom that is now known as the Dark Kingdom," Joseph answered as he looked through his microscope at the potion sample he made.

"Ah, this one's a dud too."

Joseph's words made Harry become wary of him. She'd already been betrayed once; she wasn't about to be betrayed for a second time.

"Strong ties?"

"I was fascinated with everything about the Dark Kingdom. It was so fundamentally different from Cardiaire, after all."

"What was the kingdom called before it was known as the Dark Kingdom?"

"Ah, that," replied Joseph as he began to create another potion. "The Dark Kingdom was once known as Archambault."

"Archambault?" Harry repeated.

Joseph nodded. "Only few remember that name. The ones who remember are the ones who you should be wary of."

Harry frowned. She wondered if Varian knew about Archambault.

"Mister Joseph," she said quietly. "Isn't there any way to stop the war from happening?"

She wondered if there was still time. If there was anything she could do to prevent the destruction from happening.

"Princess," called Joseph in a stern voice. "I'm afraid the war has already begun."

•••

Harry stood in front of Kahil's door. She knew what she had to do. When she entered, she saw Kahil sitting at his desk, and Terrance was standing beside him. They seemed to have been having quite the conversation before she had interrupted.

"Harry?"

"Princess?"

They both seemed surprised to see her.

"Kahil," she called back.

"What brings you here?" Kahil asked upbeat, but there wasn't a hint of a smile on his face.

Harry squeezed her dress tightly as she said, "I have something to tell you."

The two boys exchanged confused looks with one another. They were curious to know what she wanted to say with such a despairing look on her face.

"What is it?" Kahil asked. "I'm curious."

Harry stood glued to one spot. Kahil suddenly felt a weight behind her words. "Come in and sit down," he told her as he gestured to a seat in front of him. Harry walked in and shut the door behind her. They were in for a long conversation.