An Adventure Of Epic Proportions

Chapter Three

What was known to most as The Eathear and known to some as home was a hill, blessed by the angels themselves so that the honey grew gold and the goat's milk sweet. The hill surrounded by a swamp, infested with pixies, fairy-like creatures who would steal from those who entered their marshy domine.

Jupiter, the only daughter of Night, or most commonly known as The Eathear Keeper for he was the one who milked the goats, took honey from the berries as vivid as a sunset, faced the pixies as she had to do every Sunday. This is because on Sunday most trading boats came to Ender, the most popular and closest port to Jupiter.

~View Changes To Jupiter's~

I had shoved the usual assortment of items into my well-loved picnic basket, the following items were a large bundle of lavender, honey, milk, berries, and most importantly, a large, luscious chocolate cake. Most people didn't know that getting throw a pixie swamp was incredibly easy. All it takes is a distraction in the form of cake, they won't even notice you sauntering through.

At the ender port the sun was beating down with a heavy hand, and the masses of travelers made it nearly impossible to reach my destination, "Bumble's Jumbles". The stall at the center of the port always seemed to attract the most people and today was no exception. Many ships were docked in the harbor and sailor and merchants were crowding the intensely colored stalls full of wonders from almost everywhere. Quest, the owner was clad in a dress made almost entirely out of patches, was dealing with a customer.

As I waited for her to finish I looked around, my eyes caught the royal flag, two golden stages chasing down, hanging from a ship. Elanevor, nicknamed The Trading Isle, as it had three of the most popular trading ports. In between Lyth and Ender, the two largest and most powerful kingdoms, it was easier for merchants to meet in the middle, rather than make the long and tortures journey all the way from one to another. As it was supposed to act as an intermediary for trade, neither of the kingdoms owned it, but it supported itself. The rest of the land in either Lyth or Ender was split up into states, governed by all of the houses, families with powers, descended from the gods, people who were faster, stronger, and lived longer than normal. It wasn't completely unusual to see a royal vessel, but seeing the King, Queen, Heir to the throne, well, that definitely wasn't normal.

When the Crown Prince of Ender stepped off the boat, my heart skipped a beat, his stunning gold eyes met my brown for a seconded and I suddenly understood why the girls around me were shirking their heads off. His sandy blond hair was like waves, curling behind his ears. His skin was rosy. Quest tapped me on the shoulder and jumped, breaking eye contact with the prince.

"Got the goods?" Quest said.

"Yes," I stuttered.

She took the bag and laid the stuff out on the booth.

"I'll give you 15 Nemar (the currency)" She said.

"That's three extra" I responded with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I'm feeling generous, but if you don't want it...."

"I'll take it," I said, leaning against the booth, "don't you love the Prince's eyes.."

"Yellow eyes are the way to tell who has the right to the throne, the King has them. In Lyth, I 

think it's purple eyes".

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. Catching my eye reflection in a puddle reminded me that I would never have a chance with someone like the prince. Not that my looks were bad, I had beautiful long thick glossy hair, but I was the common color of dark brown. My large light brown eyes were blocked by long eyelashes. My nose was a button and dotted with freckles, my father was able to identify the constellations in them. My lips were large but my father wouldn't let me buy cosmetics for them, to make them the red of the rich ladies. He also wouldn't let me buy something to lighten my skin, He said having tan skin meant you were a hard worker. That wasn't how everyone else saw it, the high-class people thought it meant you were a poor street rat. My only consolation was that I was too young to be married, only 15, so there was no need to look pretty to attract a suitable husband.

I picked up the basket waving goodbye to Quest. I weaved among the masses until I reached my good friend, Ryan's, farm. As I walked along the gravel pathway, swinging my basket, it began to drizzle, then pour. It was funny how everything was more beautiful in the rain, blurring all imperfections. I came to a part in the road where Ryan's wooden fence was broken. Making a mental note to remind him to fix the rotting wood, I look out at the landscape, the lone pasture reached on through the downpour. However, I knew if you kept on walking you'd come to an 80-foot drop into freezing cold water. As my mind pondered what could possibly be past the vast ocean. A carriage speed by, knocking me headfirst into the dirt. Wiping mud out of my eyes I saw the Royal Crest of Ender on the carriage disappeared in the mist.

As I unsuccessfully tried to maneuver my way out of the mud, another royal carriage came rolling on by. This one, however, came to a stop a little before me. The door opened and I was greeted by the stunning eyes of the prince.

"Miss, are you alright?" he said. I sat there looking stupid. "Come," he said, motioning me, "its cold, you'll freeze before you reach home". He then jumped out of the carriage and held out a hand to pull me up. I took it, and thankfully, no doubt. Once seated inside the carriage he asked me, "what's your name Miss, where do you live, we'll bring you home?"

To that I respond, stuttering, "Eather and Jupiter... I mean I live in the eather... My home is-"The prince cut me off with a cocky grin across his face, "I'm Aiden, and don't worry... I get it". I wish I could have gone back and told myself what I was getting into, what was to come, what would come simply by getting into a carriage with a cute stranger.