A Chosen Path

Final Destination

James sat in his seat quietly, either watching the scenery outside the car window or surveying what the other members of his family were doing. Alistair and Adriana were discussing their plans on what they would do once they got to the Royals’ castle. Chris was lost in his own world, as he usually was whilst reading a book. And Annie had her eyes closed and her earplugs in, listening to music on her iPod. Everyone else seemed distracted while James himself was busy trying to figure out a way to cope with the new lifestyle awaiting him at the end of this journey.

    Suddenly the car came to a stop. James sat up straight and turned to Alistair.

    “Are we already there?” he asked. “I thought it’d take longer to get there.”

    “We’re not there yet”, Alistair said. “We need to get out of the car. Everything will be explained outside.”

    Alistair stepped out of the car, followed by his wife and children. James stepped out at last to find that Arthur, the chauffeur, had parked the car at a port. Looking over the water, he could barely spot a small island on the horizon.

    “I’m assuming that’s our final destination?” James asked Alistair. When his godfather nodded, James continued with his line of questioning. “Why did we have to drive all the way over here to go to some island? Why not just take a boat right from the start?”

    James was surprised when the answer to his question came from Arthur. It was the first time he heard him speak. “The answer to your question Mr. Hail is that there is but one way onto the isle, which is this specific route. One cannot reach the isle otherwise. All other ways have been concealed from the mortal eye so that no human can ever get to the isle. It is imperative that the Royals’ sanctum sanctorum remain hidden from mortals.”

    “So in other words, your kind is really paranoid”, Annie said, clearly making fun of the Royals’ overprotective methods. James knew his adoptive sister hated the idea of moving to some strange place and living with strange people. But, unlike him, she kept her protesting to a minimum, much like Chris.

    “Anabelle!” Alistair gave his daughter a warning look, which she merely ignored.

    Alistair and Christopher then went to help Arthur with the luggage and load it onto the yacht waiting to take them to the island, while Adriana was deep in conversation with Annie. James stood alone on the edge of the water, staring ahead of him onto the horizon. He turned around meaning to say something to Alistair, when he discovered that everyone was so busy they didn’t even notice him. He could walk away right now and no one would ever know where he went.

    Although the thought appealed to him, he couldn’t just leave his family behind. Later on, he was snapped out of his reverie by Adriana telling him it’s time to depart for the island. Once on the boat, James closed his eyes trying to enjoy the cool breeze of the water, and before he knew it, he reopened them to find the boat docking on the isle. Upon descending, he spotted a carriage that was probably there to escort them to the castle. On the carriage door, there was a crest in the form of a rose under which there was what James thought to be a puddle of blood, indicated by the red coloring.

    James and his family mounted the carriage while Arthur sat next to the driver. The path they took started out as smooth, only to turn rocky after a while. Before he knew it, the carriage had stopped in front of a magnificent castle, with towers as tall as skyscrapers. As soon as the carriage stopped, James got out of the carriage to examine the castle from a better view. The citadel was surrounded all around by trees and forests. On the other side of the castle there seemed to be a vast lake, behind which you can see the mountains.

    “Are you ready?” came Alistair’s voice from his right side.

    “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess”, James said. He still couldn’t believe it. Couldn’t believe that this is his life now, that this is his new home…

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