The Puppet

The Pixie Den

After a couple days of riding, they came across a hidden waterfall. Luke and Anya immediately jumped in welcoming a way to finally bathe. Roy sat on the rocks and stared up at the sky. Several minutes later, Anya climbed up next to him.

"Luke told me you got stabbed," she said looking at him.

"Yeah, right through the back," Roy told her.

"Can I see?"

He pulled off his tunic and revealed his bare wooden torso. He turned his back to her.

"Whoa," she said as she touched his back.

"It can't be that serious," Roy said over his shoulder.

"No, not the stab wound, the gold markings. It looks like the golden embroidery from the box. Have you always had this?"

"I don't know. I've never actually gotten a chance to examine myself."

"Right, You've been trapped in that mysterious box that vanished."

"I kind of hope I never go through that again. I don't remember any of it but just knowing that it took five years of my life away from me is hard to think about."

"We'll do whatever we can to never let that happen to you again."

"Thanks. I think I understand why the box chose you to take me out of that store. It was waiting for someone I could trust."

"Luke said he's been in there several times and never noticed it before."

"It wasn't Luke who decided to help me. It was you."

"What would you have done?"

"If a random puppet came to life and claimed to be the missing General from a kingdom that vanished years ago? I'd probably think I'd gone mad."

Anya laughed.

"I admire you, Anya. You follow your heart. You make your own destiny. I've never met anyone like you before."

"Are you saying you've never followed your heart before, Roy?"

"I can't say I have. My sole purpose for being born was to be the protector of Fire Crest and serve the King of Light. That's all I've ever known and I never questioned it. It's the reason I'm a puppet. I didn't turn down the offer to become the King of Darkness because I wasn't interested in it. I turned it down because I had a path I was following. One that I've been told since I was little was meant for me."

"Roy, do you like who you are?"

"I do. I love being the General of Fire Crest. King Maverick, the King of Light, is my best friend. I honestly don't want anything different for myself."

"Sounds like you're just one of the lucky ones who always knew what his destiny was. That doesn't mean that you're a puppet or weak minded. It means that you have always known exactly who you are and were meant to be. I'm still looking for my place in this world."

"One day, it'll find you and you won't even realize it. By the way, I should correct you. I am at this moment in my life, in fact, a puppet."

Anya laughed and gave his shoulder a push as he laughed with her.

"Hey! Check it out! I made it behind the waterfall!" Luke exclaimed.

Anya and Roy looked over and saw him waving at them from behind the falls. They waved back laughing. He leapt out and jumped with the water into the pool below. Luke emerged moments later.

"Ok, I've got to do that again!" he swam off and began to climb behind it once more.

"So, you and Luke, just platonic?" Roy wondered.