Oops

Part 2- The Portal

"Ow, ow ow, have I mentioned ow?"

I was really, really missing shoes at this point. We'd only gone about a quarter of a mile, but the road was absolutely killing me.

"A hundred times milady."

"You don't have to call me that Maddy. I only met you two minutes ago. OW!" I shouted, the sound of my voice resounding through the treetops that sheltered the winding road down to the beach. Tears welled in my eyes, as I paused to dislodge a particularly unpleasant rock from the meat of my heel.

"Are you alright?" Maddy asked skeptically.

Philip stared at me, and I made him out better on the relatively well lit road. He had thick dirty blonde hair and a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. He kind of reminded me of a chipmunk, just because he was so jittery.

"I'm fine, just wish I'd brought some shoes. Where are you taking me exactly?"

"To the royal palace of the Kingdom of Keridan. But first we must go through the portal."

"Riiiiiiiight. Okay. Will there be food?"

"Why, are you hungry?"

I considered the question.

"Not particularly."

"The prince likes to discuss strategy over dinner, but it was before dawn when we left, so I can't imagine there being a feast waiting for us."

I smiled.

"Sounds like my kind of guy. Where is this Keridan, by the way? Nassau? I've never heard of it."

Obviously it wasn't in Nassau. She'd made it up.

"Nassau..." She searched her memory. "No I've never heard it referred to as Nassau. The Kingdom of Keridan lies south of the great forest, by the Keridan sea."

I still wasn't used to this magic talk, but I guess I'd play along.

"So how did you know my name," I asked uncomfortably. The internet I would assume, but still, it was creepy.

"You really don't know about the prophecy?"

I shook my head.

"There's always a prophecy, right? Can't have a decent fantasy story without a prophecy."

"This is not a fantasy, Lady Anna. The time is fast approaching, and many will die if Keridan does not find her leader."

Philip nodded devoutly, and I was a little disturbed by how much faith they seemed to have in their leader.

"Well, what about the prince. Isn't he a good leader?"

"He is an amazing leader. But he is not the prophesied leader. His destiny is to fight by your side, but only you can guide Keridan out of the darkness."

I laughed.

"What, are we gonna play a round of Stratego or something? I'm warning you, I suck at that game."

She frowned.

"I don't know what a Stratego is. Will you elaborate?"

"Never mind. I broke character didn't I? Whatever. I'm new to this. What did you mean when you said I was too young?"

Maddy inhaled, her face becoming grim as she prepared to launch into long and epic tale.

"Many centuries ago, there was a great feud between two brothers, the only sons of the royal family, Trystan and Theodoric. Theodoric was the younger of the two, and mad with jealousy at his brother's prospects for success.