International Legends

Chapter 8 - Jasper

There was groaning and moaning as we made our way up to the main deck. I am greeted by the assortment of ghosts that make their terror. It's just a normal day in the office while everyone else seems to be horrified by the spectacle.

Ozara, who seems dumbfounded and confused, says "So the pirates are all ghosts technically? Why does nothing make any sense here? Is this Naomi's ship or is it someone else's?"

"I don't know," I admit.

The truth is that I don't know how I got here. I always thought I was working for Carmen DeAngelo but it appears that she has no idea about the ghosts on the ship. She is standing there while looking over at me with her arms crossed and looking utterly pissed off. I don't know what she wants from me, it's funny that I find her to be more scary than all the ghosts combined. They seem more casual than the monsters, greeting me like an old friend, saying, "Hey Jasper," and "How is it going, man? Long time."

"Alright," says the voice on the intercom. "This is taking way too damn long. I am waiting to tell my story and make a character entrance people!"

We are tied instantly to our chairs by a force that is not our own, being catapulted to the pool deck where Singapore Sci-Fi is playing. The voice turns it off, saying, "This book made no sense anyway, and the television show made less sense. Plus it was rushed at the end. I feel like I could have done much better. Axel did not deserve to die."

"That's what I am talking about!" tells Axel. "I'm totally down to be a main character again!"

That is when she begins to read her story to us.

Princess Claire and the Knight

Once upon a time, there was a very fierce princess - Princess Claire. She traveled all around the seven seas of Emgralore, and she instilled fear into the hearts of many men with her band of pirates. Unfortunately, she was also the princess of a kingdom that banned magic in Emgralore after the great re-transition to spirits back in the olden days. Growing up, she had heard horrific stories about the battle between Prince Theo and Prince Damien. She was determined not to make the same mistake, to study time travel, and to find her way to controlling the multiverse.

Back in the castle, under the constant watch of her parents, she was told profusely to get ready to be married and be an adult. "A true leader of Emgralore is one that controls her temper," and "A princess of Emgralore knows that she cannot do it all alone."

Claire tried her best to make do with the suitors that were presented to her, but they all seemed incredibly boring. She didn't understand why her two older siblings were not under the same expectations as she was. It would seem that they were more related to her mom than she. In fact, she sometimes wondered if she was even related to her mom at all. Meanwhile, her father filled her head with visions of power that ended up being a questionable form of parenting.

Then there was a beautiful boy named Calden who came from a neighboring kingdom, and he was in love with her sister. Her sister agreed to the union, and Claire was angry. She ended up escaping to the Vortex Kingdom through her own portal magic, which catapulted her to that special place from which she had come. There, she met a very special band of pirates, all of whom were rebellious against the Vortex Kingdom. This reminded her way too heavily of her own childhood, of having to be forced to learn Emgralore's ways, even though she had no desire to be a part of this kingdom.

Claire vowed that she would succeed where her other friends would fail - such as Calden and his failure to keep magic alive in Emgralore, her parents and their forgetfulness of the amazing powers that the Wizards had once had, and Axel - the bird kid who abandoned their timeline to go and fight the legendary Arkethia. She studied a plethora of magic in the envy of her older sister, who was far superior, and more loved by all.