Dreams of Adventure (HIATUS)

Chapter 2

The castle of Bellen Tor's king and queen was massive.

The castle was as tall as a skyscraper and a half and it spanned half of west-eastern Eskai Isle. It had tons of conical spires that apparently could pierce metal and fancy furniture and tile inside. It always glittered beautifully in front of a wide ocean backdrop and was truly a magnificent sight. There were several hundred rooms and a couple hundred butlers, royal chefs, and more hired to serve the royal family. I bet the king and queen, along with all the architects and builders were very proud of it.

I had to leave Streak outside since dragons weren't necessarily allowed in such a classy building, but Jasper and Eris came along. After we were inspected and given the thumbs-up to enter, we were escorted by guards throughout the castle who didn't say a word the whole way. We went along with the silence -despite obviously feeling uncomfortable-. We spent our time gaping at the fancy, expensive-looking decorations lighting up the halls until the guards stopped at a pair of huge double doors. Slowly, they were pulled open, and at the end of the large room were two occupied chairs next to each other.

The two occupying the chairs were the king and queen themselves.

The guards having come to a complete stop, we reluctantly pressed on. Marble pillars lined up alongside the long carpet down the middle of the room and the chairs ahead were on a small platform reached by three small steps. The wall behind the chairs was pushed back and curved inward, and in that tiny section there was a large window that stretched almost as tall as the ceiling and was as wide as the extent of that small area. It was quite a brilliant sight, which was not surprising for a castle like this.

The king and queen looked like the most royal figures ever. They were in their mid-forties, but they appeared in their early-thirties. The king had a smug face and a goatee, and the queen had cut facial features and wore a decent amount of makeup. Clad in jewelry, robes and fur, they were rather intimidating to say the least and had this powerful aura surrounding them. If we hadn't been invited by the king himself, we would have knelt down.

"Ah, welcome, Shay and his friends," the king's voice was loud and strong, but it was wrapped in warmness. It reverberated off the walls of the throne room clearly. Eris waved and Jasper said in most likely the most formal tone he could muster, "good morning."

The king leaned forward in his shiny chair, his forearms resting on his thighs. He clasped his burly hands together. "The three of you know the plan, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at us questioningly. He wore no crown at the moment, and his short brown hair was slicked back and styled to look cut and smooth.

"'Aye, sir," I replied with an acknowledging nod. I tried to stand as straight as I could, arms glued to my sides and legs glued to each other. My friends gave a single nod as well and straightened their postures the second the king stood up.

The queen glanced at her husband for a moment then turned back to us with a warm smile. The queen was nice to everyone and treated them as her own. I've never spoken to her personally, but I've been told she is very understanding and motherly. She had been married to the king for a couple years before both were chosen as the next rulers about a year ago, and they remain together today. Eris looked up to her for her loving nature and intelligence; when the queen smiled at us, she grinned back.

The king descended the steps. "Let us go over the plan one more time, shall we?" he approached us, forcing us to look up to meet his gaze. He began to pace in front of us like a soldier. I saw the queen cover her mouth with her fingers and stifle a chuckle before the king began to speak.

"Each of you have a certain mission, but you also all have the same goal," he stopped short in his pacing to give us a spooky glare and say, "help beat the Morteans," and then he continued. "This is much easier said than done, obviously."