Just Like Fire | J. Saltzman - Legacies [2]

T H I R T Y - E I G H T

Once upon a time, this was a beautiful land. A peaceful kingdom, ruled by Princess Josette with General Stella by her side. And then the Darkness came. The princess and the general tried to fight it together but using their magic only made the Darkness stronger. It was tied to them somehow, and if they kept fighting it, the Darkness would grow to cover the entire land.

So General Stella placed a sleeping spell on her beloved after tirelessly arguing about what to do. The princess gave her no choice—telling the General it had to be done for the sake of their kingdom. With the princess asleep, she could do no magic. So the general took up the task, trapping the Darkness with her in a never-ending battle while Josette peacefully slept on. If we wake the princess, the Darkness will grow enough to claim victory over the general. This is how it must be.

A horn sounds across the land. Teddy wakes as the sun rises in the east, a dark fog rolling in undisturbed by the light. He jerks up from the stone he lies on as he blinks rapidly and wills his eyes to focus on the mystical forest surrounding her. "I am so going to make fun of her for this," he mutters as he watches birds chirp from branches as tiny fractals of light shimmering in the air. "Fairytale land? Really, Stella?"

Sighing, Teddy gets to his feet, armor clinking against itself. He looks down at the heavy gear before taking it off, leaving it on a pile on top of the rock. All that remains is a loose white top and old-fashioned pants he would have seen in some of the Mikaelsons' old trunks. A sword clings to his side, shining in the rising sun.

"Ok, Hope. Where are you?" Teddy asks the air. "Help would be nice."

His gaze leaps from the birds to the castle on a distant hill. A shimmering, multicolored wall encircles the building. Flashes of light and darkness emerge every few seconds from the depths of the castle, lighting crashing atop the tallest spire. A cloud of blackness threatens to engulf everything, hitting the barrier and hissing at it, unable to escape.

"Let's hope not there."

A small bird lands on his shoulder, chirping loudly. Clamping a hand over his ear, Teddy swats at the bird and grimaces. As Teddy groans, the bird returns to his shoulder, gently wrapping its claws over his t-shirt below it sits, nuzzling its head in the crook of his neck. "You're friendly," Teddy says with a note of hesitation. "Any idea where I can find—"

The bird bursts off of his shoulder, flying a few feet behind him. It chirps once more as it settles on the ground, pecking at a small bread crumb. Teddy releases a small laugh and shakes his head. "You are a funny thing, aren't you?"

The bird looks up, cocking its head. "Yeah, I am, huh?"

Teddy shouts, clumsily grabbing for the sword. "You can talk?"

"Rude," the bird replies. "Of course, I can talk. Everything is fairytale lands can talk. Even plants. They are really mean, sometimes." The bird hops forward, tilting its beak up. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up. Did my story catch you up to speed?"

Blinking rapidly, Teddy slowly lowers the sword. "We've gotta wake Josie. Got it."

"No, no, no!" The bird flies up and squawks in his face. "We wake the princess and the general could die! The Darkness comes from them both! It would doom the kingdom!"

Teddy rolls his eyes. "Look, Tweety—" The bird squawks again. "I have to find my family. Are you going to help me, or am I going to have to step on you?"

The bird settles once again on his shoulder. "You're rude," it says. "but maybe you can get the magic-wielder to leave."

"Magic-wielder? You saw Hope?" Teddy asks as he begins to follow the bread crumbs through the thicket. "So she's here?"