A Quest to the Borat ✔

Chapter 6

A/N: Answer this question ---- Are you enjoying the story?

*********

Iris's POV

"My husband, King Etine was a righteous man." She continues and we all listen intently. "This magical nation, Eponine, was very peaceful and the most prosperous one in the realm. We were powerful too. But for centuries, there was a hidden secret. For many generations, Kings and Queens strived to protect it. 

"The secret was that all the power of this nation came from one gem," she says.

"Gem?" asks Karen.

"Yes, a gem" she confirms.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you don't know any of this?" I ask Karen but she shakes her head

"I am just like you, I don't know anything except that she told me that she was..." she trails off, "That she's my mother."

"I will get to that shortly." says the Queen. "The gem was called the Borat. It was the only reason behind our power, peace, and prosperity. Any nation who possessed the Borat would be just as powerful. Unfortunately, we were betrayed. The Borat was stolen by a rival nation. But, Etine retrieved it. However, he felt responsible for its loss. He felt the need to punish himself for being so careless about the gem. So he placed himself on exile."

"So, where is the King right now?" asks Kevin.

"The moment a king is crowned in Eponine, he holds a glowing Borat and a scepter which starts glowing in his hand. But as soon as the King dies, the scepter stops glowing. Around a month ago, the scepter...stopped glowing. We understood that my husband was.... dead." she says.

"We're sorry." 

"Thank you, Iris. Well, back to the point." she tells, "When a King is dead, the next one in line is to be crowned. Here the situation is, that there is no next in line...or so the people think." she completes.

"So you don't have any kids?" Karen asks and the queen tenderly smiles at her but yet a sadness lingers in her eyes. Or so I feel like. 

"Us Eponians are divided into two categories- warriors and healers. We are identified by our eye colors. Healers have bright green eyes and warriors have bright blue eyes. What separates us from the rest of this dimension is that all of us have silver streaks as well." she explains.

On hearing this, I take a proper look at her eyes. Electric blue with silver streaks that look like lighting on the morning sky. A normal human can easily get lost inside them, just as I am now. 

"But when my first child was born, we all were so taken aback. She was beautiful and had a smile just like her father, hair like mine. But her eyes... her eyes were neither blue nor green. We couldn't believe what we were seeing."

"What color were her eyes?" asks Kevin.

"Brown, plain brown, and not even the streaks were there. I knew that I gave birth to a mundane human. It has very rare for that to happen and such babies were always discarded in history... And my husband, the king of this Eponine, wouldn't accept such a disgrace. So he took my daughter and... discarded her in the mundane world. We planned to have another child but... nothing went as we planned." explains the queen.

"You told that Karen was born here in Eponine. Is she your-"

"Yes, she is my daughter, Iris. She is the one born to me and Etine, she is the one who was left to fend for herself in the mundane world by her own father," she tells. "I hated my husband for that. He didn't listen to a word I said. One morning before I woke up, he just took you and left. My guilt never went away." I look at Karen but she just stares at the queen not speaking a word.

"So, what makes you come back for her now?" I ask a bit annoyed at the fact that they left their own daughter abandoned.

"She is my daughter Iris. I wanted her back. The kingdom is left without a ruler. The Borat is lost. We are powerless. And the last reason, there is a chance that she could be more powerful than any of us here."

"Pardon me for my behavior ma'am, but at one point you say that she is nothing but a mundane human, who unfortunately was born to parents who abandon their child fearing disgrace, and now you're saying that she could be more powerful than any of you. What exactly are you trying to say? " I ask her angrily standing up from my seat.

Kevin speaks up as well. "Exactly, none of you were there for Karen. We don't know what this place is, but we are believing every word you say just because a damn mirror transported us here, which according to me, has no scientific explanation." 

"If it wasn't for the magic that took us here, we wouldn't believe a word you said right now because, to be honest, all this sounds like a made-up story," I say but the queen stays silent.

Kevin turns to Karen. "Karen, I think we should go back. They threw you away when you were a baby. You should return to your normal life. Like your mother here said, " he points at the queen, "you don't have blue or green eyes so you are not Eponian. Let's just leave this damn place." 

Karen's ordinary brown eyes dart back and forth between a silent queen and her two friends fighting for her to go back with them. She ponders for a while in the silence that surrounds us before speaking again. 

"I need some time guys... all this sounds like bullshit but there is something more that I have to say that I haven't told anyone," says Karen earning curious looks from us. "But, I am not going to say what it is now. Right now I need some time to think all this through." 

"Right, so what about us? Where do we stay? My mom is gonna kill me when I return! " I frown but Karen chuckles.

"You guys can stay with me in my room. We'll all fit inside. Actually, we can have so much fun." Karen squeals. The Queen smiles, says goodbye, and then leaves the hall.