

TRIAD OF THE ELDERS

BY

LAN DANG

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Strange Dream

Chapter 2: Pink Notebook

Chapter 3: Burglary

Chapter 4: Friendly Discussion

Chapter 5: The News Article

Chapter 6: The Truth

Chapter 7: The Necklace

Chapter 8: Mr. Hayden

Chapter 9: Grand Entrance

Chapter 10: Guilden Kingdom

Chapter 11: Questors
Chapter 12: A Botched Escape
Chapter 13: House Visit

Chapter 14: Guilden Sword

Chapter 15: Another Exit

Chapter 16: The Graveyard

Chapter 17: The Great Sphinx

Chapter 18: The Return of the Elder

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Chapter 1: Strange Dream

"Kick the ball. Kick it."

Eric's eyes were on the ball. He swiftly dodged the defender and ran towards the ball. He was running so fast that he didn't seem to realize how slippery the freshly cut grass was. He could feel himself falling down but just as he felt himself losing control of his footing, there was a strange force that seemed to lift him back into an upright position. He heard the crowd gasp in suspense and immediately kicked the ball, hard and fast, right pass the goalie and between the goalposts, landing into the net. The crowd leapt up and cheered in response.

Eric glanced around and smiled. His team was surrounding him and patting him on the back. It felt like the perfect game to him but there was still two minutes left on the clock. Their coach blew his whistle to snap them out of their early celebration and focus back into the game. At last, the final seconds ended and the referee blew the whistle. The game was finally over. The Live Oak Comets had won, 3-2, against the Gray Avenue Panthers. For the most part, the game was close and it was tied 2-2 for most of the second half until the final last minutes when Eric kicked the winning goal.

Jonathan Kilmer, his teammate and best friend, came jogging over to congratulate him.

"Boy, were you lucky. I thought you were going to fall before you even got to the ball. I mean it was kind of amazing that you stopped yourself just in time. And you were also fast, the way you passed your defender, that was totally awesome."

He gazed at his friend in admiration.

Eric smiled in turn and said, "Yeah, I don't know what happened back there either. I mean maybe I was just lucky like you said."

Jonathan laughed and replied, "Well, the important thing is we won and that's what matters. Congrats on the victory. We sure taught those Panthers a thing or two."

Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the joining of their other team members. They approached Eric, smiling, laughing, and slapping him on the back. Everyone was very ecstatic about the victory.

Eric's stomach growled and he looked at his team members.

"So anyone up for some pizza? I'm starving."

All the hands went up except for their goalie, Paul Sanders, nicknamed Porky with good reason. They all turned their heads to stare at Porky.

Porky blushed and sheepishly said, "I really want to go with you guys. Honestly, I do. But I'm kind of on a diet right now. I mean my mom is making me eat salads and fruits. No desserts, no pizza, no burgers, or any of the good fried stuff."

Coach Wilkins winked at him and said, "Don't worry. I promise I won't tell your mom that you broke your diet."

The team chuckled in unison.

Porky looked around, cheeks red from embarrassment.

"I guess it won't hurt to eat just one slice of pizza, as long as I take off the toppings and cheese."

Dave Messner, their left midfielder, nodded his head in encouragement.

"We can also order a vegetarian pizza so it's healthy for you."

Some of their team members groaned at the thought of a vegetarian pizza.

Porky sighed and looked at his pudgy arms and legs.

He said, "I wonder how long it will take me to lose this excess weight, especially if I keep hanging around you guys."

Eric smiled and went over to him, patting him on the back.

He said, "It's okay, Porky. We can go exercising after school or on the weekends. I'll help you lose that weight. It'll be fun."

Porky smiled back and said, "Aw, thanks team captain. It means a lot to me, hearing you say that. It really does."

The team proudly displayed their soccer uniforms as they paraded down Pennington Road. It seemed like everyone in Live Oaks were clapping their hands and cheering the team on. It felt nice to have everyone's support. Even Coach Wilkins was smiling and waving to everyone. Eric watched him and smiled as he remembered their coach drilling them during practice. He was relentless and brutal as he set up vigorous practice sessions after school and on the weekends. Wilkins was always frowning and looking worried and although he was generally nice to the team, there were some heated moments when he swore and yelled at them when he lost his temper. But now looking at their coach, Eric felt the years melt right off him and the wrinkles vanish as he smiled.

He thought to himself, "All that practice was well worth it." He grinned.

Coach Wilkins caught Eric staring in his direction and went over to him. He put his hand on his shoulder and looked at him.

He said, "We couldn't have done this without you. Thank you."

Eric knew it was difficult for him to make such a sentimental statement and he was deeply moved by this sincere comment but brushed it off saying, "It was nothing, Coach Wilkins. I mean anyone else on the team would have done the same thing. Besides, we won as a team. It doesn't matter who gets the credit."

Coach Wilkins smiled and before he could say anything in response, Porky loudly announced, "We're here."

The team stopped at their favorite small family-owned restaurant. Pizza Lovers was known for its tasty pizzas, made fresh upon order. It had once won the town's blue ribbon for best display for a 5' x 5' pizza decorated with just pepperoni slices and bell peppers in the image of a beautiful floral garden. It had made a lasting impression on the judges and the proud owner, Tim Whittaker, had taken a photo of his masterpiece and displayed the framed photo on one of the side walls.

Porky licked his lips and took a deep breath, catching the whiff of fresh pizza being removed from the oven.

He grinned and said, "Yum. I can't wait to start digging in."

Tim Whittaker looked up from the counter and smiled upon seeing the entire Live Oak soccer team.

"Congratulations, guys. I heard you won the game. Of course, I was tempted to go but I've been busy with many orders."

Coach Wilkins replied, "It's okay. I'm pretty sure someone has videotaped the whole game. You can probably rent from them."

Some of the team members laughed at his dry humor. Eric sighed because he knew his parents wouldn't be one of the people who would be asked for the videotape.

Coach Wilkins glanced around at his team and asked, "So guys, what do you want? Don't be shy because it's my treat. You guys deserve only the best." He winked at Tim.

The whole team said in unison, "Pepperoni Pizza."

Tim smiled and said, "Pepperoni, it is." He showed them to a table and everyone took a seat.

Drinks were passed out and Eric realized how thirsty he had been. He chugged glass after glass of soda until he looked up and almost choked on his soft drink.

It was Kathy Whittaker. She was the most popular girl in their middle school. She was absolutely gorgeous with long flowing dark brown hair and beautiful hazel eyes. Today, she was wearing a dark green pullover sweater and blue faded jeans. She smiled a dazzling smile which almost left Eric frozen in his tracks. She walked over to him and handed him his drink.

"Hey Eric, I heard you kicked the winning shot. Congratulations."

Eric's cheeks reddened. "Well, I couldn't have done it without my team. But thanks."

"So do you have any plans after this? I mean to celebrate or anything."

Eric stared at the drink in his hand to avoid Kathy's beautiful but penetrating eyes. He wished earnestly that she wouldn't pester him, particularly in front of his entire soccer team.

He cleared his throat and replied, "Um, no, not really. My mom is probably still working late and she won't come back home in time. Besides, I would just rather celebrate with the team here."

"Oh I see."

She gave Eric a sympathetic glance and Eric felt awkward. He was very timid around girls, especially beautiful girls. She smiled again and walked back into the kitchen to get more drinks.

As soon as she left, Jonathan leaned over and slapped Eric on the back.

"Hey what was that for?" Eric yelled in surprise.

"For being an idiot. She wants you to celebrate with her, you idiot."

"What are you talking about? How do you know?"

"Because I have two sisters. I should know."

Porky rolled his eyes and joined in their conversation. "Yeah, Eric, I think she likes you. You should ask her out sometime instead of being an idiot."

"Would you two quit calling me idiots? This isn't even your business."

"Shush, you two. Kathy's back."

Eric glimpsed at Kathy as she came back with the drinks. His friends were probably right but still, he felt shy and awkward. Eric had difficulty meeting her hazel eyes. All he knew about her was that she worked here to help out Tim, her uncle. Her family used to live in New York in a fancy condominium until her dad lost his job as an accountant. Tim, who was not married and had a rather big house, offered them a place to stay. Kathy had been here less than a year but she was friendly and quickly became quite popular. Girls wanted to emulate her and boys wanted to date her but she didn't seem to take an interest in anyone. Porky thought she was snobby but Eric felt there was something more to her than meets the eye. She seemed to be quite fond of Eric for a strange reason and he didn't think it had to do with him being the soccer team captain either.

Jonathan glanced over at him and said, "Hey Eric, quit pigging out on the drinks. Have some pizza instead."

He took Eric's plate and stacked three slices of pizza, one on top of the other, and plopped it onto his plate.

Eric grinned and said, "Thanks."

Jonathan handed his plate back to him and he started digging into the pizzas.

After the team finished eating five large pizzas, everyone agreed that they were all full and needed to return home. Fatigue was starting to settle in and even Eric felt tired and sleepy. Everyone parted ways and laughed and joked about next year when they would be freshmen in high school. Eric looked up at the sky and saw that it was getting dark. He hurriedly walked home and was several houses away from his house, when he ran into Janet Blakefields.

Janet was his neighbor, who lived just three houses across the street from his house. Although they had attended the same elementary and middle school, Eric was never friends with her or even made an attempt to get to know Janet. He mainly felt sorry for her because he knew people talked about her behind her back. Her parents were Hippies and believed in growing their own food and washing their clothes by hand. They were old-fashioned and did not believe in technology so it was only by necessity, that the Blakefields owned two cars, one for Mr. Blakefield to go to work and another for Mrs. Blakefield to run errands.

Janet, herself, claimed that all their clothes were hand-sewn and not purchased in the department stores, like everyone else, since she claimed that they hired sweat shot laborers. To prove her point, she was always wearing odd clothes that made her stand out and not in a good way either. Today, Janet was wearing a long flowered print dress and tight black stockings and her hair was tied back in a French braid. She had blonde hair and light green eyes and was actually quite attractive, had it not been for her eccentric personality, which caused people to avoid her.

"Hey Eric, wait up." She ran towards him, huffing and puffing.

"Congratulations. I heard you guys won. I would have stayed after school to watch the game but my mom asked me to baby-sit Jerry."

Jerry was her baby brother, only three months old. He had curly, blonde hair and brown eyes.

Eric smiled politely and said, "You didn't miss much. The last half of the game was kind of boring actually because everyone was playing defense."

She replied, "Oh really? I don't know too much about soccer. I just wanted to watch you play to support the team. You know, for school spirit."

Eric stared at her and saw her face turned a slight reddish color. He knew that she didn't like sports, in fact, she tried to petition the school to make physical education an optional elective class. She probably didn't even like watching sports.

She saw that it was getting dark and ended the conversation.

"I have to get back but congratulations on the victory. See you later."

Eric smiled, glad that this uncomfortable conversation was ending.

"Sure. See you later."

He was walking back home when she suddenly turned around and asked, "Can you give me an interview? For the school paper?"

Eric nodded his head and Janet smiled and said "Thanks" as she headed back to her house.

When he finally arrived home, it was completely dark. He knew his mom was still at work because her car was not in the driveway and the lights on the porch were still on. The lights were left on mainly because his mom was afraid someone would trip on the steps coming home in the dark. His mom was a nurse who worked at Live Oak Manor, a general hospital. She was taking various shifts because most of her coworkers were on vacation with their families. It was springtime and the perfect weather to be on vacation.

Eric bounded up the steps and proceeded to unlock the door with his key when to his astonishment, he tried turning the knob and the door was already open.

He muttered to himself. "That's weird. Maybe Mom just forgot to lock the door when she left for work. A lot has been on her mind after all."

He cautiously walked into the living room and turned on the lights. Nothing seemed out of place. The television, stereo, and his game console were still there. He walked into the kitchen and turned on the lights. Again, nothing seemed displaced. The glassware and everything in the cabinets and drawers seemed intact.

He breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, nothing seemed stolen or ransacked. He walked up the stairs and looked in the bathroom and his mom's bedroom. Again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and Eric walked slowly into his own room. He turned on the lights and glanced around. The room seemed the same as when he left it this morning. The same, tousled blanket and his clothes were lying in a pile on the floor. His mom had been pestering him about cleaning his room but he told her he had been busy and would take care of it this weekend. He looked at his bed and felt suddenly very tired. A part of him just wanted to collapse on his bed and go to sleep but he knew his mom would have a fit if he didn't take a shower first, especially after his game.

He sniffed his shirt and said, "Well, victory does come with a price."

He grabbed his pajamas off his bed and brought them into the bathroom. He resolved to take a long, hot shower. It felt nice. He smiled as he recalled the final scoring goal. He got out of the shower and wiped the mirror. He stared at himself and saw his own reflection staring back at him.

His blue eyes and straight black hair was often embellished by Janet, who in one particular news article, described it as "icy, cold stare and raven dark hair." These features were used to distinguish him from the rest of his team. Even Porky once commented, "So that's why he gets all the girls." Eric vaguely remembered how the team had chuckled at his expense but Eric was thoroughly embarrassed. He didn't want any of the attention. He just wanted to play soccer. It was all that he could remember about his dad who had left approximately four months ago.

Eric still had a photo on his dresser taken from the moment he was five years old. It was a Christmas photo and he was dressed in an elf costume and sitting happily on his dad's lap. He dad was chuckling as he tried to keep him still enough for the photo shoot. Eric smiled and thought about all the happy moments he had shared with his dad. His dad was the one who taught him how to play soccer, the one who took him to all the practice games and the one who supported him as he tried out for the team. He used to sit in the stands and cheer his son along, always shouting and clapping his hands, encouraging his son to play as hard as he could.

It came as a shock when just four months ago, his father just walked out on their family. Eric was torn inside and he was in denial for most of the time hoping his dad would come back home. There were times when Eric blamed himself for his dad's departure and no matter how many times his mom told him it wasn't his fault, he could never erase the guilty feelings. Eric didn't understand why his dad would just leave like that, no warning or anything. He knew there were occasional squabbles and shouting matches between his two parents but he never knew it would come to that. Most parents would just go through divorces but the children still were able to see both of their parents, maybe not necessarily at the same time, but his own dad just deserted both him and his mom. All that his dad left was a note. In it, he wrote:

"Sorry son. I just have to take some time off. I don't know when I would return. Just keep playing soccer the way I taught you and maybe, some day you will play in the World Cup."

And so Eric played. He played as hard as he could in hopes that some day, he could look up in the stands and see his dad cheering him on.

Eric sighed and put his necklace back on. The only time he ever removed his necklace was when he took showers. The necklace was left along with his dad's note and he always wore it no matter where he went. It kept him closer to his dad although he sometimes wondered where his dad was right now, wondering if he would ever return home. The necklace looked like a frail antique. It was silver but unpolished and dull with slight scratches on the surface. The pendant was permanently attached to the silver necklace. The pendant had three concentric rings and at the focal point where the three rings met, there was a scepter joining all three rings. It was an unusual necklace, one Eric had never seen anyone wear before or even sell. Eric visited many jewelry shops asking about the purchase of this necklace but all of the clerks shook their heads and denied ever seeing this necklace in their store. It made him wonder where his dad had purchased the store and from whom.

Eric walked out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. He stared at his untidy room and decided he had better clean it first thing this weekend before his mom threw a fit. She was the very opposite of Eric. Her bedroom was immaculate in comparison. She always lectured him. "Filth is a breeding ground for bacteria and that is why we must always keep everything as clean as possible." He smirked, thinking about it but he agreed. It was better to keep things tidy so he could have room to walk in and not to mention, to find things he was looking for. He sighed and felt an extreme exhaustion overcome him. He turned off the lights and fell fast asleep.

"Help! You have to help me. Please. Help me!"

Someone was screaming in agony for help. Someone who wore a dark cloak, that masked much of his face, except for a pair of large, green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. This masked prisoner was tied to a wooden chair with a long metal chain that wound tightly around his entire body, from his shoulder all the way to his arms and legs, much like a boa constrictor wrapping its prey. It looked like he couldn't even breathe, much less move his body. He seemed tired and worn out but he continued to scream for help. The place was pitch black and Eric could not see much except for the light being given off by a cluster of faint green light lights that seemed to flit back and forth, never staying still. Eric peered closer and saw that they were actually fireflies that were attracted to this prisoner because they kept flying around him. They seemed to be moving together in a strange pattern. In the distance, he could hear a steady stream of water trickling by, which broke the silence in between his cries for help. The prisoner was very weak. The energy he had expended to make these cries seemed to take much effort. The screams faded away and the light being given off by the fireflies soon started to dim. Everything turned black and all he could hear was his own faint snores as he fell fast asleep.

Chapter 2: Pink Notebook

When Eric woke up the next morning, the bright sun was already shining through his window as if it was beckoning him to get out of bed and enjoy the day. Eric yawned and smiled, in spite of last night's odd dream, which he vaguely recalled because it left a lasting imprint on his memory. It was the weekends after all and he had tons of things to do, such as checking out the new video game store that recently opened up, just across from their school. He had already asked Jonathan and the two agreed to see the store today. As Eric's mind drifted back to last night's dream, he thought about how real it felt, how it was different from any other dreams he has ever had.

He shuddered, thinking about the prisoner, and told himself. "It can't be real. It just can't."

He recalled all his other strange dreams, even the one where he and Janet were holding hands and kissing each other on a bridge adorned with bright red roses. The two were oblivious of the world as they stood on top of the bridge and looked at each other with loving eyes. Eric gagged, recalling that horrid dream. It, too, was also very vivid but he knew it could never be real. Janet was just his neighbor and classmate but other than that, no way. He could never imagine ever falling for someone like Janet. She was just not his type and he never had any feelings for her in the first place.

He smiled as he jumped out of bed and changed out of his pajamas into a dark blue t-shirt and grey jeans. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair and practically bolted down the stairs into the kitchen. His mom was already there humming to herself as she prepared the batter to make pancakes.

She smiled as she looked up to see him.

She said, "Good morning. Glad to see you got home safe and sound. Sorry I couldn't make it to your game but I heard you guys won. Nurse Becky popped in this morning and told me all about it."

"It's okay, Mom. Really, I understand."

She looked apologetic as she replied, "It was just so busy yesterday. A lot of people were getting their check-ups and we were so understaffed. I don't think I got back home until two this morning."

She smiled and Eric noticed the puffy dark rings under her eyes, proof of last night.

"Mom, you should have slept in. I could just eat cereal or something."

"I know but this was the least I could do. Also, cereal doesn't have all the nutrients you need." She shook her head and continued. "You're a growing boy. You deserve a good warm breakfast even if it means I lose a couple of hours of sleep. Besides, I have a lot of errands to do today."

She started to list them off: "Grocery shopping, laundry, and the works. Goodness knows the refrigerator is almost completely empty and not to mention, I am running out of things to wear."

She sighed, thinking about her errands. Eric knew it was his cue to offer any help.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

She smiled and said, "You can start by cleaning your room. Just give me your dirty clothes for laundry. But before you do any of that, you have to eat first."

Eric had almost forgotten about his hungry stomach. He salivated as his mom placed a plate full of warm pancakes in front of him. He grabbed a bottle of maple syrup and drowned his pancakes in the sweet syrup. He gobbled down the fluffy pancakes and swallowed his orange juice.

His mom watched as he devoured his breakfast within minutes. She smiled and said, "Slow it down. It's not a food eating contest. I don't want you choking or anything."

He looked at her and grinned. "Too late now. The food has successfully entered my stomach." He patted his stomach with a satisfied expression on his face.

She rolled her eyes and said, "I noticed that you didn't touch the pot roast I put in the oven yesterday. Did you get any food after the game? No wonder you were starving." She shook her head in a disapproving manner.

He looked at his mom and asked, "Pot roast?"

He shook his head and continued. "Oh I didn't see it. But don't worry. The coach took the whole team to eat pizza afterwards. It was a celebration. And I was so tired after that, I just went home and fell asleep. But I took a shower first." He quickly added the last part before his mom could say anything else.

His mom chuckled and said, "Well at least you got some dinner then. I just checked in on you when I got home. You were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you up." She looked up at the ceiling and continued slowly. "It was really odd but you were muttering something in your dream. You kept saying we have to help him and constantly repeating it over and over again. I just figured you were sound asleep and didn't want to startle you."

She looked at him with a worried expression. His mom was already having difficulty balancing a full time job and raising a fourteen-year-old son. She didn't need any more worries on top of that. Eric smiled and gulped the last of his orange juice.

"It was just a bad dream. Nothing more. Thanks for the breakfast. I have to go now. Jonathan and I want to check out the new video game store."

His mom nodded her head and the wrinkles on her forehead vanished.

"I understand. Can you just clean up the table and take out your dirty laundry first before you leave?"

"Sure."

Eric gathered up the dishes and washed them and wiped the table. He walked up the stairs to his room and started to pick up his dirty clothes. He tossed his jeans, shirts, and socks in the laundry basket and carried them downstairs. He waved good-bye to his mom and hurriedly walked out the door before she started on her list of chores.

He muttered under his breath. "So I guess it was just a dream after all. Even Mom heard me talking in my sleep."

He went into the garage and opened the garage door and searched for his bicycle. "Looks like I have to clean this place next."

The garage was used as a storage unit. There were boxes stacked, one on top of another, on the side of the wall connecting the garage to the house. Eric recognized some of the stuff: his old books, trophies, soccer balls, and even some of his stuffed animals. His mom told him she never had the heart to throw away any of these precious 'relics' as she called them so she kept everything. There were the old family albums peering from the tops of the boxes and even things that belonged to his dad. Eric looked away. He couldn't bring himself to look at any of those items: his dad's old tattered shirts, his toolbox, the fishing pole, golf clubs, and his dad's record collection. All those things reminded him of his dad and his eyes watered thinking about him. He wiped his eyes, cleared his throat, and saw his bicycle leaning against the corner. He immediately picked up his bicycle and dragged it outside to the fresh open air and closed the garage door.

Eric smiled as he saw the bright sun peering at him. He pedaled as fast as he could to Jonathan's house. As he rode his bike down the street, he ran into Janet.

"Of all people." He muttered and then groaned out loud.

Janet had left her hair down and it shone a radiant bright yellow in the glare of the sunlight. She looked like a bright yellow flag that he wanted to ride past. She waved at him and shouted out.

"Hey, Eric!"

He politely stopped pedaling and waited for her to catch up to him. She smiled and her white teeth glimmered back at him. He stared at her for awhile and noticed how different she looked when she didn't try to be so odd. Now, with her hair down, jeans and a plain white shirt, she looked kind of pretty to him.

"Where are you going so fast? Are you late for something?

"Oh, Jonathan and I just want to check out the new video game store."

Eric gulped, wishing he had lied to her about his destination and he crossed his fingers hoping she wouldn't ask to join. He didn't really have the heart to say no to her.

"Oh yeah, I remember. I heard it recently opened. I just never had a chance to check it out myself. Isn't the name of the store like 'World Gamers' or something to that effect? I can't remember now off the top of my head."

She stood there, with one hand on her hip and another hand against the side of her forehead, hoping that the name would come to her.

She shook her head, apparently giving up on her memory.

"Well, actually, the real reason I stopped you was that I wanted to interview you for the school article. I have to write a sports article about yesterday's championship game and I thought who better to interview than the player who kicked the last goal, right?"

She flashed Eric a grin and before he could answer her, she continued.

"I already have a tape of the game. Jame's dad was filming the whole thing and agreed to lend me the video since I couldn't come yesterday."

She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. "I mean do you mind if I come too? I could interview you afterwards. It would be much more efficient that way."

Eric looked at her with surprise.

"Um, well, I told Jonathan that it would just be the two of us and er....um, I don't think you would like following us around. You probably have better things to do. It is the weekends after all." He crossed his fingers hoping she would take the hint.

She pondered it for a moment and said, "True. My dad wants me to help him fix some appliances at home. But this article is more important. I am sure he would understand. Besides, I want to check out the video game store too. I am pretty sure Dad wouldn't mind if I help him tomorrow. Can you wait here while I tell him and get my bicycle too?"

Before Eric could open his mouth in response, she ran back into her house and several minutes later, she came back dragging her pink bicycle. It even had a little brass bell and glittering handles, tied with long, pink ribbons. Eric looked at it in shock.

She smiled and said, "Thanks for waiting for me. We can go now."

Eric shook his head and as he pedaled behind her, he muttered quietly. "Oh great. What a nuisance! I wonder what Jonathan would think."

The two pedaled their way to Jonathan's house. Jonathan was tall and slender and very tanned. He was wearing his black cap which hid his light brown hair. He wore a dark green polo shirt and black jeans and he was standing next to his brother, a miniature replica of himself. He smiled and waved at both of them.

Jonathan looked apologetic as he said, "Sorry guys. Mind if I take Tommy with us? Both my parents are gone and put me in charge."

Janet grinned and said, "Sure, Tommy can join us. The more, the merrier."

Tommy smiled at her and got onto his small bicycle, which still had training wheels attached. Jonathan followed alongside his younger brother.

Eric slowed down until there was a short distance separating them from Janet who was whizzing down the street like a bright pink blur.

Eric whispered, "I just kind of ran into Janet. She asked where I was going and wanted to come along."

Jonathan laughed out loud. "It's okay. Janet isn't that bad. Besides, Tommy seems to like having her around. I guess we're both stuck in a way. I didn't really want to look after Tommy either but my parents had to leave in a rush and they couldn't find a baby-sitter for him."

Eric grinned. "I guess Janet's right after all. The more, the merrier."

Janet was already impatiently waiting for them at the video game store. Jonathan and Eric pedaled towards her with Tommy trailing behind.

Tommy looked tired as he huffed and puffed and exclaimed, "That was far. I think that was the longest I ever biked."

Janet smiled and corrected him. "Bicycled, not biked." She went over to help him get off his bicycle and held his hand as they walked into the video game store.

As Jonathan and Eric followed them inside, Eric noticed that Janet was right. The name of the video game store was indeed 'World Gamers.' The name was boldly written in grey fancy lettering. Inside the store, everything was brand new. The carpet was a soft, burgundy color and the walls were a freshly painted white color. The shelves were lined with the latest video games, games that Eric had hinted to his mother to buy for his fifteenth birthday. There was even a section designated for the older video games which could only be played on the older models of the game consoles. Eric and Jonathan immersed themselves as they looked at the vast array of video games that the store offered. Janet and Tommy decided to amuse themselves in the arcade section where Janet fished out quarters from her pocket. She inserted the quarters and Tommy laughed gleefully as they chose their characters for the game.

Eric was so preoccupied with the vast selection that he didn't notice one of the rings on his necklace changing colors. It was turning a deep reddish color and he also didn't notice the intense stare of the store clerk who had been watching him from the moment he entered the store. It wasn't until the ring started to feel hot that Eric screamed out loud.

"Ouch!"

He looked down and looked closely at the source of his pain. He finally noticed that one of the necklace's rings had turned red instead of its usual silver color. This had caused a slight red ring to form on his pale skin.

Jonathan, who heard him scream, came over to see if anything was wrong.

"What happened? I heard you scream."

Eric looked in surprise at his friend and said hastily, "Oh, it was nothing. I thought I saw a spider for a second but it was gone." He turned a faint reddish color which was a clue that he had just lied.

Jonathan peered closely at his friend.

"Are you okay? You look slightly feverish like you're sweating or something."

Eric felt his forehead which was a little hotter than usual.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It must have been the bicycle ride. I guess I'm just dehydrated. So, uh, did you find anything you liked?" Eric hoped changing the subject would deter his friend from asking any further questions.

To his relief, Jonathan grinned and said, "Yeah, but the games are a bit pricey. I don't have enough money with me, not to buy the real games I want anyways. I'm trying to get my parents to increase my allowance. You know, since I'm looking after Tommy now and helping around the house. I still have a lot of chores to do."

Jonathan looked around and with a panicked expression on his face, he said, "Wait. Where's Tommy? My parents would ground me if I lost him."

Both Eric and Jonathan frantically searched around the store for Tommy. They finally found him in the arcade section with Janet who was thoroughly enjoying herself. She was laughing loudly and smiling so much so that even Tommy seemed infected with her enthusiasm as well. He was usually shy around strangers but he, too, was also laughing and giggling out loud with her.

Jonathan smiled and looked at Janet.

"It looks like Tommy really likes you. He usually doesn't take to people so my parents have a hard time finding baby-sitters for him."

Janet grinned.

"He's actually easier to take care of than Jerry, my younger baby brother. At least, I don't have to change diapers for Tommy."

Jonathan laughed and nodded his head in agreement.

Janet continued, "I don't mind looking after him. I mean if you ever need anyone to take care of him, just give me a call."

Jonathan smiled and said, "Sure thing. Thanks for the offer. I really appreciate it." He glanced at Eric, standing next to him, who was intently staring at the store clerk.

Eric noticed for the first time that the store clerk was behaving quite oddly. The store clerk had a baseball cap pulled way down, covering much of his face, except for the brown beard which hung haggardly from his face. He pretended to busy himself by putting price tags on a new delivery of video games. There were two boxes, one of which was still unopened. Once in a while, Eric would catch him staring back as he stopped what he was doing to observe them. His eyes met Eric's eyes and he immediately turned his back on them. The store clerk wore a long-sleeved blue and black checkered flannel shirt with his name tag on his front pocket and black jeans.

Jonathan felt uneasy and whispered to Eric, "Maybe he thinks we were stealing some video games or something. He just doesn't know us yet. We're not at all like that."

Eric nodded his head in agreement. He continued to stare at the store clerk.

The store clerk caught his eyes for the second time again and asked, "Did you find everything you were looking for?"

Eric politely answered, "Actually, we weren't looking for anything in particular. We just wanted to check out your new store. You have a really good selection here."

The store clerk smiled at the compliment, revealing a set of crooked teeth that sent a shiver up and down Eric's spine. "Thank you. We're still working on our inventory. Some of the shipments have yet to arrive and I am currently working on unpacking these two boxes here."

Eric replied, "Well, thanks for letting us take a look. We're also kind of busy ourselves so we'll be heading out now."

Eric was pushing for his friends to get the hint but Tommy kept insisting on staying to play more arcade games. Both Janet and Jonathan were clueless and seemed amused by Tommy's antics. Eric finally whispered in Jonathan's ears that it was time to leave and they finally started to walk out the store. They waved good-bye to the store clerk who nodded his head in acknowledgment, his eyes still intent on Eric.

Tommy looked up at his older brother and asked, "Can we come here again?"

Jonathan just laughed and replied, "Sure. But just don't tell Mom and Dad about it. I think we would both be in trouble if they found out, considering I'm supposed to be at home looking after you."

He turned around to face Eric and Janet.

He smiled and said, "Thanks for helping me with Tommy here. I have to take him home before my parents return. See you guys later!"

He waved good-bye and helped his brother get on his bicycle. His brother gave a toothy grin and also waved good-bye.

As Eric watched the two pedal away, Janet immediately became very business-like and professional. She had always wanted to be a reporter and her belief was that there was no small story. All the stories were equally important. All that mattered was how the story was reported. Some of the smallest and most insignificant stories could become headline news if it was written well and reported with what she called simply 'heart.'

And so it was with heart, that she poked Eric to get his attention.

"I believe it is time for our interview now." She looked earnestly at Eric and said, "You did promise me that, remember?"

Eric looked at her and nodded his head. He could tell she was very impatient and was well prepared for the interview. He sighed, knowing full well that there was no way to escape so he might as well get it over with.

He suggested, "How about doing the interview at Pizza Lovers? I'm starving right now." Janet agreed and the two walked over to the small restaurant.

As they walked, they were greeted with the mouth-watering smell of fresh pizzas. Eric quickly scanned the many different tables and chose the one in the corner, farthest from the door. He slid in the seat, opposite the door, so people who walked in could only see his back. He didn't want to be seen with Janet, especially on the weekends. He could just imagine the rumors that would reach his ears about their romantic date here.

Janet did not make a deal about the seating arrangement. She coolly took her seat, opposite from Eric, and whipped out her small pink notebook. She also had a matching pink pen which had a tiny red ornament shaped like a heart, dangling from the cap. Every time she wrote, the red heart would wave back and forth and utter an annoying tap-tap sound as it kept hitting the cap. It was all very annoying but Janet didn't seem to notice Eric, who rolled his eyes at her. He quickly scanned the restaurant. Luckily, it was still rather early so there were not that many people arriving for lunch yet. The restaurant was relatively empty, except for several people, but no one from school.

"Hopefully, this interview won't take long and I can get rid of her afterwards," he thought to himself.

He was contemplating his escape using the restroom as his hide-out when Kathy approached their table to take their orders. Eric's face reddened. He didn't want Kathy to think he was on a date with Janet. He wished he had chosen a more private place for the interview, rather than here, but he was hungry. Also, there were some weekends that Kathy didn't work but unfortunately for him, this was evidently not one of those weekends.

Kathy smiled. "Hi Janet, hi Eric. What would you two like to order?"

Eric couldn't seem to take his eyes off of Kathy. She looked rather stunning, even in a simple collared dress shirt and black matching dress pants.

Janet stared at Eric and shook her head. She muttered something unintelligible before ordering.

"A glass of lemonade and a small cheese pizza please."

When she finished, she realized Eric was still daydreaming. She decided to help him. She cleverly stomped his feet under the table to snap him out of it.

"Ouch! What the heck!?" Eric's astonished eyes met Janet's narrowed eyes and he said, "Never mind. A large pepperoni pizza and a Coke please."

Kathy took their orders and went back into the kitchen. Eric watched her walk away with a longing expression on his face and Janet's eyes followed his eyes. She smiled sweetly and loudly cleared her throat. Eric looked at her in embarrassment.

"Back to the story please. You can get back to your weekend once this is over. I promise I will make this as less painful as possible."

She grinned and Eric blushed a bit.

He had a feeling that Janet always knew what he was thinking. She was a reporter after all, a nosy, eccentric, and annoying one, but one with brains, nonetheless. She flipped her notebook and made a grand sweeping gesture with her pen.

"Okay. So describe to me how you were feeling before the game ever got started."

Eric thought about it.

"Well I was very excited since it was the championship game of the school district and the last game of the series. We were up, 2-1, against the Panthers. We just needed to win this final match to win the entire series, best out of five games. So if we won 3-1, we wouldn't have to play the last game."

He watched closely as Janet furrowed her eyebrow and jotted down quick notes of everything he was saying. It made him feel nervous yet important that someone actually cared what he had to say.

She finished and looked up.

"So your team was looking to close this series? You guys must have practiced a lot before this game to prepare for it. Were you under pressure? What would the coach have said if you lost?"

Eric laughed and asked, "Do you always ask this many questions? Slow down. Well, first of all, win or lose, the important thing is that we play as hard as we can. That's what matters. The effort, as Coach Wilkins, would say is what truly matters. The end result of course is that sure, we would like to win, we would like to close the series, and we would want all our hard work to pay off. But that doesn't always happen. Coach Wilkins used to say that the game is much like real life. We can work for things as hard as we want but we don't always get what we want."

His eyes wandered off to Kathy who was at a distance, wiping the tables and straightening the chairs. He sighed as he thought to himself. "Oh, what I wouldn't do to have one date with her."

Janet saw but pretended not to notice.

"Your team must really look up to Coach Wilkins. What type of person would you describe him as? A rough hardball or a softie?"

Eric chuckled, listening to Janet's description of their coach.

"Well anyone who plays for Coach Wilkins would agree with me when I say that he is a role model and he deserves to have people respect him and take his words of wisdom seriously. I mean, the things he says, are not only applicable to soccer but to real life as well. Yeah, we were usually under pressure to win and stressed out and tired after all the practice time we put in, but it was worth it. That's how champions are made and yeah, some people think he is a rough hardball but he is actually a softie underneath all that hard exterior. I mean the guy volunteers on the weekends and he donates to charity, not much, but what he could afford to give away. Did you know he turned down a higher salary offer, just to coach us instead, because he grew up here and he just wanted to give back to the community? The guy is loyal and selfless and that's all I have to say."

He crossed his hands, almost defensively, ready to defend Coach Wilkins' good name.

Janet smiled and said softly, "He must be like a father to you."

Eric nodded his head and he winced at the mention of 'father.' His reaction made Janet quickly change the subject.

"So I heard you kicked the final winning shot. That must have been like a dream come true to you. How did you feel about it?"

He laughed.

"Yeah, I guess it really was a dream come true. I mean the Panthers had played such tight defense for the last half of the game that I thought it would be tied. So when James passed the ball to me, all I could think of was, I had to end the tie. I had to score and I did. I knew I was faster than the guy guarding me, so I dove pass him, and my only worry then was whether the goalie could stop me. The rest, of course, you already know."

Janet smiled at him.

"Thank you for the interview. I really appreciate your help. Our pizzas are here." She returned her pink notebook and its matching pen back into her purse.

Sure enough as Eric turned his head around, Kathy was approaching with the two pizzas. Eric couldn't help but notice that she looked rather tired with dark circles under her eyes. As she came over, she almost slipped but he immediately got up and caught her before she fell. He also managed to save the pizzas as well. She looked at him with surprise and thanked him. Afterwards, she returned to the kitchen to get their drinks.

Janet looked at Eric with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

"You are right. You're so fast. You must have really good reflexes." She winked. "Must be all of Coach Wilkins' hours of practice."

He grinned back at her. "That and natural talent."

Kathy came back to their table with their drinks. She looked apologetic.

"Whew. That was a close one. I usually don't trip over things but I've just been so tired lately. Sorry about that and thanks for catching me before I fell. Luckily, I didn't have the drinks then."

She smiled and placed their drinks on the table.

"If you need anything else, just give me a holler."

Kathy walked to the front door to greet the customers coming in. Both Janet and Eric were starving. They dug into their pizzas and gulped down their drinks. When they were finished, the tab came and Janet immediately went to pay. Eric offered to pay his portion but she wouldn't have any of it. She insisted that it was the least she could do to compensate him for the interview.

As they waved good-bye to Kathy and walked out of the restaurant, Eric realized that Janet wasn't so bad after all. She actually was a very kind person and he regretted paying attention to the rumors surrounding her. She was his neighbor after all and they had grown up together. He often saw her working in the garden or hanging up her clothes to dry. He felt a pang of guilt for not making the effort to get to know her better even though they lived so close to each other for such a long time.

He sighed and quietly said, "It was never physical distance."

Janet turned around and asked, "Oh did you say something? I don't think I heard you clearly."

"Oh, don't mind me. I was just talking to myself." He paused for a moment. "Janet, it's been really nice hanging out with you but I have some chores to take care of. I have to go now. Thanks for the pizza."

She smiled. "Thanks for the interview. Enjoy the rest of the weekend."

She walked off and Eric lingered around the streets. Much as he enjoyed her company, he still didn't want to be seen walking home with her. He looked at his necklace and noticed that the color of all three rings were silver.

"That's odd. The ring must have changed back to its normal color."

He shook his head and proceeded to walk home.

Chapter 3: Burglary

When Eric finally arrived home, he saw that it was empty. His mom had already left. There was a note on the refrigerator. It read:

Eric,

I have to take an extra shift at the hospital today. They just called me this morning about it. I don't know how long I will be gone but if you are hungry, there is some money in the drawer to order take-out. Sorry I didn't have time to cook dinner yet.

Love,

Mom

Eric read the note and shrugged his shoulders. He was used to his mom being away most of the time, even the weekends. She was rarely at his games and there were always notes on the refrigerator and money in the drawer as she was too busy to cook or clean. Eric was grateful for this growing sense of independence and trust from his mom but there were times when he wished she would just stay home and put him in front of her job.

Since Dad left, Mom took it upon herself to pay the bills and to rely on these extra shifts to make ends meet. When Dad was still here, she usually only worked part-time and she always devoted herself to him. Now, it seems as if there was this growing distance separating the two apart and Eric felt he was losing his mom. After his dad's departure, the only person he still cared about and loved was his mom and he couldn't afford to lose her too. He even told himself that he would give up playing soccer again for the rest of his life if it meant that his dad would return and everything could be normal again. They could become the loving family they were before. But that just couldn't happen now.

Eric sighed. He had learned to accept his dad's sudden departure. The feeling of rage and bitterness he harbored against his dad had dissipated and all that was left was sadness and disappointment. He had forgiven his dad but he just thought he deserved an explanation as to why his dad had left in that manner. He never understood grown-ups and how they solved their problems. If he was someone's father, he would never leave his son or his wife and run away from whatever problems he had. It was so irresponsible for his father to do that, to just leave his family like that. His mom was a strong woman and though she pretended to smile in front of him, he could tell she was hurting inside just as much as he was, maybe even more. He often heard her sobbing in her closed bedroom at night and notice her eyes well up with tears at the sight of anything that belonged to Dad.

Eric shook his head to clear these dismal thoughts away. All he could think of right now was to clean his bedroom. Maybe straightening and organizing his room would help him control his emotions. Eric was normally not emotional by nature unless he was provoked. Coach Wilkins even nicknamed him "a human rock" because he showed very little emotion during the game. This was because as team captain, he felt he had the responsibility to keep the rest of his team members in check and that meant he had to be calm and sensible. He couldn't let his emotions get in the way and so it was with absolute determination that Eric learned to stifle his emotions and keep them under lock and key. His own mother would often look at him with surprise at how calm he was given his age and how he coped with their situation and even occasionally, she would count on him to be the family's decision maker.

Eric walked up the stairs and opened the door to his bedroom. It was just as he left it: a messy pigsty. He picked up his books and video games off the floor and threw away all the wrappers. He often ate snacks in his bedroom, especially when he was vigorously studying and though he attempted to toss the wrappers in the wastebasket, some of it missed and landed carelessly on the floor instead. When the floor looked relatively clean, he went downstairs to the closet to retrieve the vacuum. After vacuuming the floor, the room looked much cleaner. He also made his bed and started to dust the shelves and his desk.

It was then that he noticed the fingerprints on the table where the dust had been displaced. He peered closer and examined the fingerprints carefully. They were definitely not his fingerprints or those made by his mother either. These fingerprints belonged to the fingers of a large grown-up. Eric imagined they would belong to a man but he did know some women who had large fingers so he couldn't dismiss that possibility. The size of the fingerprints themselves seemed to pinpoint that this was a rather large and built person.

Eric opened the drawers and checked everything. He was curious as to why someone would want to search his room and what were they looking for. Nothing seemed to be missing but it did look like someone had removed his belongings to look for something and realizing it wasn't there, they had hastily returned everything back in a disorganized fashion. Things were out of place, some of the items were misplaced into different drawers and moved from the top of the pile to the bottom of the pile. It was all very strange. He started to ponder about the burglary. What would a burglar want with his belongings? They were more likely to take valuable items like the television, stereo, computer or jewelry. Eric thought about his mom's jewelry and instantly went into his mom's room to check her drawers. Nope, her jewelry was still there. Eric felt a sense of relief but then another thought came to him.

He questioned himself aloud. "That's strange. What was this burglar looking for? It seems like maybe this isn't an ordinary burglar. And obviously if the burglar hasn't found what they were looking for yet...that means they would come back again."

Eric pondered over this and paced back and forth across his room. He knew his mom was busy as it was and she didn't need to worry about their safety on top of everything she already had. Besides, the burglar had not stolen anything as far as he could tell and if he informed the police about it, they would wonder why it took him so long to report it. But then again, he didn't know when the burglary took place, having only discovered the fingerprints today...but maybe it was the same day that the door was left open. Eric shook his head to dismiss the thought of calling the police. He didn't want his mom to know about it and worry about their safety, although he didn't like to hide any secrets from her, but this was one secret he had to keep to himself. He had to know why the burglar would come to his room and look through his belongings when they were obviously of no particular value, certainly not monetary value anyways.

It was just too bizarre. Eric could not possibly imagine what he had in his possession that was even worth stealing in the first place. Imagine the risk of being caught breaking and entering into someone's house...that must be a severe crime, but apparently, a risk the burglar was willing to take to find something. But what could that something be? Eric was perplexed and found himself asking more questions than finding answers. He decided to finish cleaning up his room before his mom came home.

He opened his closet and sorted his clothes into neat piles and placed his dress pants and shirts on hangers to prevent any wrinkles. Eric was not the type to iron his clothes so he preferred to keep them as unwrinkled as much as possible. He continued to sort his shoes and roll his socks into its corresponding pair. He found some single socks not matching any of his other pairs of socks and threw those into the wastebasket.

The rest of the closet appeared to be organized and he smiled proudly to himself. "This should pass Mom's inspection and that's all I need."

He decided to dispose of the trash in his wastebasket and tied up the bag and went downstairs. He discovered that his mom had not disposed of the trash from this morning. There was still the empty bottle of syrup and the box of pancake mix and numerous other spoiled foods that his mom decided to toss away when she was cleaning out the refrigerator. He collected that bag as well and exited the house and headed towards the trash can. It was freezing cold outside and quite dark, as the moon was not visible tonight. His next door neighbor had their front porch lights on but Eric preferred to have their porch dark to conserve electricity as much as possible. He deemed it wasteful to turn the lights on when no one was outside.

Eric stood outside for awhile, breathing in the fresh cold air and watching the stars above. He remembered during the summertime, when it was too hot to sleep inside, how he and his dad would stay outside watching the stars. His dad would pinpoint the many different constellations and even planets, if the sky was clear enough. Eric remembered one time when he asked his dad about the possibility of life on other planets and his dad had only laughed. He never answered his question and it made Eric believe that there was life out there. He didn't like the feeling of being alone, that the planet Earth was the only planet that had life. Surely, as large as this universe was, there had to be other life forms out there.

He remembered how his dad would tell him stories just to make him feel sleepy and even carry him back into his bed when he felt too tired to walk back to his room. Eric felt a pang of loneliness as he realized how much he missed his dad. It would take a long time before he could become used to his departure. Eric stood in the yard, staring up at the sky and admiring how beautiful the stars looked, especially when it was as dark as tonight. A cool breeze broke his thoughts and he shivered. He had to get back inside the house before he got sick. It was chilly outside.

He sighed and decided to head back to the house. He didn't know how long he had stood outside but it must have been awhile. That was when a sound startled him and he looked in the direction from where the noise originated. A pair of shining light green eyes looked back at him and it purred.

Eric let out a deep breath and said, "Darn cat. It must be a neighbor's cat." He peered closer. "I never saw this cat before....it must be a new one."

He stared at it for awhile, admiring its beauty, as the fur was a golden, soft color. The eyes looked familiar to him but he didn't know where he had seen such beautiful eyes before. He shrugged and dismissed the thought as he walked back. He noticed that the door was left wide open and as he closed the door, he heard voices emanating from his bedroom. Eric decided to quietly climb up the stairs to hear what the voices were saying. There seemed to be two men talking to each other, arguing about something.

"We looked everywhere before. We checked his drawers and the closet and we still can't find it. Where could he have hid it?"

"Don't ask me, ask the kid. If we can't find it, then we have to take it by force. We have to kidnap him and make him tell us where it is."

"But our orders were not to hurt him and not to alarm him. If we kidnap him and make him tell us where he's keeping it, then he would know someone is after him."

"Well, how else can we get it from him? It's not like he's going to waltz in here and hand it over to us without a fight. Screw the kid, I say we kidnap him."

"But he's just a kid. Besides, I heard he's quite powerful. Don't underestimate him. He just doesn't know how to use his powers yet. He can be dangerous."

"Are you afraid of a little boy?"

There was a slight pause. "I'm afraid of what he is capable of. You don't know who you're messing with."

As Eric leaned closer to the wall facing his bedroom, his heart beating loudly in his chest, he realized that one of the voices sounded familiar. It sounded like the clerk at the video game store. The other voice was muffled and he had a hard time making out the words. Eric listened quietly, too scared to move any closer or to breathe too loudly either. He was afraid the two men would catch him and force him to give them whatever it was they wanted. His forehead was sweating bullets and a part of him wanted to run out the door and yell for the neighbors to call the cops but another part of him was intrigued and wanted to stay to listen to them talk about his powers. As he stood in a crouched position on the staircase, pondering about what to do next, the front door below opened. Eric saw Janet and her dad downstairs in the living room.

Eric thought to himself. "Oh great. What if they get captured too? Then, we'll all be in trouble."

He decided to go downstairs to warn them about the two men upstairs but it was too late. Janet's dad had seen him but continued to whiz past him as he leapt upstairs leaving Janet to check on Eric.

She looked anxiously at him and asked with great concern and fear in her voice.

"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

Instead of responding, Eric stared at her pair of light green eyes. His mind instantly went to the cat he saw earlier while he was taking out the trash. No wonder those eyes looked so familiar, it looked exactly like Janet's eyes. Eric gaped at her in shock, unable to utter any words.

Meanwhile, Janet's dad had knocked open Eric's bedroom door and the two men had already vanished.

Both Janet and Eric heard him comment, "Too late. They're already gone."

Janet's dad went back downstairs and informed them that nothing had been taken from the room but the two men had escaped. Eric seemed to be in shock, for although he opened his mouth several times, no words would come out. Janet looked at him with worry, the wrinkles on her forehead crinkling up and her mouth tightening at the corners. Janet's dad also stared at Eric.

"Are you okay, Eric? They're gone now. I'm afraid I came too late to stop them. But you're safe now. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Eric just looked at him blankly and nodded his head in comprehension.

Janet's dad glanced around and said, "I guess your mom's not here. She's probably still at work. It's not safe for you to be alone in this house, not with the possibility that those two men might come back since they obviously didn't find what they were looking for."

He paused and asked, "Do you know when your mom would be back?"

Eric just stared at him and shook his head.

Janet's dad immediately took charge and told his daughter to take Eric upstairs to get some rest while he patrolled downstairs. Janet obeyed and led Eric back to his room and told him to get some sleep.

She whispered, "I'll be right next door in your mom's room if you need anything. Get some rest, you look tired. Good night." She squeezed Eric's shoulders a bit and closed the door behind her.

Eric went to sit on his bed to think things over. How could Janet be the cat? It wasn't even physically possible but it must have been her. How else would her dad know to come rushing over to help him? She must have told her dad. Nothing made sense to him but he could confirm that the cat he saw was no ordinary cat and Janet was no ordinary girl. He wondered what she was doing outside his house tonight. Maybe to protect him but why? He had so many questions to ask Janet but he felt tired and he wasn't sure Janet would answer his questions.

One question in particular, above all the numerous questions, lingered in his head and he asked himself over and over again. "Who was Janet after all?" She apparently wasn't who he thought she was and she was hiding so many secrets that Eric felt he had only touched the tip of the iceberg.

Eric felt his head spinning and he laid on his bed. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep almost instantly. It was the same vivid dream, the same masked prisoner who was hidden behind a dark cloak. He was still tied, with heavy chains that wrapped around his entire body, to the same wooden chair. Except this time, he was much weaker. His large green eyes were not as alert as before, he seemed to be on the verge of passing out. His breathing was slow and deep and even the fireflies that surrounded him, were less numerous than before. The only thing that seemed to be louder and more frequent was the soothing sound of water trickling by. There was also a pitter patter sound like water droplets hitting something. But where was the water coming from...maybe a leak in the ceiling? Eric was curious and he peered around but it was still very dark, even with the dim lights emitted by the fireflies.

A strange thought came to Eric and he wondered if maybe the prisoner could sense his presence, especially if this was no ordinary dream. It would signify that this was a desperate call for help sent by this strange prisoner. Eric could only see a faint outline of the prisoner, very little details could be seen of his face, which was covered by the cloak. There was no remarkable feature which could be used to recognize him. Eric surmised that his vision may be blurry because the prisoner was growing weaker if it was indeed real. He had heard of psychics being able to locate people who were captured and held for ransom. Maybe he could be a hero and get his name on a news article. He smiled in spite of himself.

He decided to approach the prisoner. Regardless of whether this was a vision or dream, he knew he couldn't get hurt. He walked closer but cautiously to the prisoner. He wasn't sure if this prisoner was indeed innocent for he could be locked for safety reasons.

He asked in a loud voice.

"Who are you? How can I help you?"

Eric wasn't sure if the prisoner had heard him but there was a distinct movement. The prisoner looked from side to side to see where this mysterious voice was coming from. It was so dark that had Eric been standing right next to him, the prisoner still might not know that he was there. But another thought came to him. What if the prisoner couldn't see him but could only hear him?

He asked, "Can you see me?"

The prisoner sadly shook his head back and forth. Eric was ecstatic. This had confirmed his suspicion.

He continued, "Can you hear me?"

This time, he received a definite nod from the tightly bound prisoner.

Eric thought happily to himself. "Now, we're getting somewhere."

He asked, "So who are you? Why are you captured?"

The prisoner blinked his eyes. He appeared too weak to utter any sounds and when he attempted to open his mouth, no words would come out. Eric felt sorry for him. He empathized with the prisoner's condition because the very same thing had happened to him just before when...he gulped remembering the haunting pair of light green eyes which was now both familiar and alien to him. He observed the prisoner closely. The prisoner had moved his head upward and his eyes were focused on the ceiling as if gesturing to Eric to do the same. Eric looked up and then, he noticed the fireflies. They were oddly moving around in some sort of orderly pattern.

He inspected them closer and it took awhile before Eric realized the fireflies were forming words. He read each letter out loud for the prisoner to confirm. The prisoner nodded his head after Eric read the letters one by one. "I, A, M, A, N, E, L, D, E, R." The fireflies had stopped after the letter "R."

Eric sounded the words out again. It didn't make sense to him. What did those letters mean? I, A, M, A, N, E, L, D, E, R. Eric decided to put spaces between what he thought were words. Okay, so ELDER seemed like its own word but what was IAMAN? Was that his first name? It didn't sound right to him so he continued with the spaces. Plus when he said IAMAN out loud to the prisoner, the prisoner kept shaking his head back and forth instead of nodding. The prisoner had nodded in response to ELDER so he figured he was on the right path.

He sounded it out more times to himself until he finally figured out it was a complete sentence and as he said out loud, "I am an Elder," the prisoner looked up and seemed to give a weak smile as he nodded his head in confirmation.

Eric smiled back even though he knew the prisoner couldn't see him, only just sense his presence. But what on earth did that mean? Eric didn't think that was his name. It sounded more like his title but he had never heard of that title before. But then again up to last night, he didn't think people could transform themselves into animals either. Eric shuddered at the image that thought conjured.

Eric muttered to himself rather sarcastically.

"I guess anything's possible now. If he says he is an Elder, he really must be an Elder, either that or a schizophrenic. I mean he could be locked up in some mental institution for claiming to be this Elder or maybe this dream isn't even real in the first place."

Eric shook his head in absolute bewilderment but he was still curious and he didn't want to give up. He decided to continue with the interrogation.

He asked, "What's an Elder?"

The prisoner appeared to be growing visibly weaker by the minute. Eric knew he was exerting his strength to answer these questions, but he had to know who he was in order to help him. He must be somebody important to be captured and his identity may hold the key to his rescue. The fireflies started to form letters again: "T, R, I, A, D, O, F, E, L, D, E, R, S." Eric said the letters out loud again but it was much easier this time.

He said out loud, "Triad of Elders?"

The prisoner nodded his head weakly.

It still didn't reveal who he was but something told Eric that this prisoner was no ordinary prisoner. Why would someone go through such lengths to put all these chains around his entire body and lock him up in an isolated cell?

Eric continued with his questions.

"Where are you? I think I can get people to help you but I need to know where you are being held captive. Do you know where you are?"

The prisoner looked at him and though Eric couldn't clearly see his facial expressions, his large green eyes looked sadly back and he shook his head in disappointment.

Eric bit his lips and he said to himself.

"I guess even he doesn't know where they're keeping him. It must be a really secretive place, somewhere that people don't know about, an uncommon place. But this place must be heavily guarded or secured to keep such an important prisoner. But where?"

He paced back and forth trying to brainstorm various places that would make ideal prisons. But Eric felt himself drifting off and losing control of this dream. The sight of the prisoner became dim and blurry until it soon disappeared.

Chapter 4: Friendly Discussion

The next morning, Eric woke up to the sound of two voices talking downstairs. He was still tired and wanted to stay in bed to continue his sleep but his curiosity got the better of him. He reluctantly rose out of bed and decided to go downstairs to see what was going on. As he opened his door, he noticed that his mom's bedroom was still closed. Eric decided to check on Janet and quietly opened the door. He was surprised to see that it was not Janet sleeping on the bed but his mom. She must have gotten home late yesterday. She was sleeping on her side, her light brown hair covering most of her face. Eric smiled and was glad to know that she was safe and sound. He gently closed the door.

As he went downstairs, the voices that had woke him up before had gotten louder.

"Dad, I think we should tell him the truth. He deserves to know the truth. You can't hide this secret from him now, not after last night."

"He's not supposed to know the truth. Remember the promise we made?"

"Yeah, I do but the circumstances are now changed. He has to be able to protect himself and he will only do that if he knows his real identity."

"It's not our decision to make. Besides, we are his protection."

"Dad, that's not fair. I mean if I was Eric, I would want to know the truth too."

There was a slight pause in the conversation and Eric made a loud creaking sound as he crept downstairs. The sound was loud enough to stop Janet and her dad from talking. Eric knew he was caught eavesdropping and went into the living room to join them. They both looked at him and then at each other questioningly as if they knew he had heard them, but how much he had heard, was still a mystery to them.

Janet's dad walked over and politely smiled. He extended his hand and introduced himself.

"Good morning, Eric. I apologize for not introducing myself properly yesterday. I am Janet's dad, Mr. Blakesfield."

Eric shook Mr. Blakesfield's extended hand and smiled in return.

"Good morning, Mr. Blakesfield." He cleared his throat and said, "Um, about last night, I actually want to thank you for saving my life."

"It was my pleasure. Janet was the one who informed me really. You should thank her."

Eric turned his head to look at Janet. "Thanks Janet."

Janet smiled and said, "You're welcome."

"Um, so do you know when my mom came home last night?"

"She came home around two o'clock. That's why she's still asleep."

Janet continued, "Don't worry, she doesn't know a thing. We just told her that the electricity went out last night and you didn't feel comfortable being home alone by yourself so you called us over."

Mr. Blakesfield nodded his head in agreement and said, "It sounds plausible to me. The most important thing was your mother believed us. Now, about last night Eric...what do you plan to do?"

Both Janet and Mr. Blakesfield looked nervously at Eric. They weren't sure what he thought about last night's odd event and more importantly, what he planned to do about it. Eric simply shook his head.

"Honestly, I don't think there is anything I can do about it. Apparently, it was a burglary gone wrong. They didn't steal anything, not anything that I know of and we don't even know who it was. I couldn't see their faces so even if I did call the police, they would have a hard time finding them."

Eric lied about not recognizing their voices. He knew that one of the burglars last night was the store clerk at the video game store but he thought it was in his best interest to keep his own secrets. He figured he could arrive at the truth on his own and be his own private detective. It didn't look like Janet or Mr. Blakesfield were going to tell him what they knew, because they clearly had more information than he did, according to what he heard this morning.

Mr. Blakesfield breathed a sigh of relief and Janet dropped her eyes. For some reason, she refused to meet Eric's gaze.

Mr. Blakesfield walked over to him and said, "You are a very smart boy. That is exactly what I, myself, would do if I was in your position." He looked at his daughter who remained quiet with her eyes focused on her shoes. "Well, everything seems to be alright now. We must be leaving soon. We have other things to do as well. Please stay safe and don't be afraid to ask us for anything if you need help."

"Thanks, Mr. Blakesfield and Janet. I really appreciate what you two did for me last night. Have a good day and take care."

Mr. Blakesfield smiled. "Extend my regards to your mother too. Come Janet, we must be leaving now." He quickly ushered his daughter, who seemed to transform to a zombie, in the presence of her dad.

As the two left and closed the door behind them, Eric yawned and contemplated going back to sleep. He felt very exhausted for some reason. Maybe the dream last night had taken so much energy out of him...if it was indeed a dream. Not to mention Janet's odd behavior this morning, combined with the conversation between her and her dad, it was all becoming too much for him. He didn't really want to unload all these thoughts on his mom but he definitely needed to talk to someone.

Eric picked up the phone and dialed Jonathan's phone number. It rang for awhile and Eric was about to hang up the phone in disappointment when someone's voice answered it.

"Hello?" It was Jonathan's mom.

"Hello. May I speak to Jonathan please? It's Eric."

"Oh, hi Eric." She sounded very surprised to hear him. "It's very early. I didn't expect such an early call. Can you wait while I get Jonathan?"

"Sure. Thank you, Mrs. Kilmer."

Eric waited impatiently as he played with the cord of the telephone.

"Hello?" Jonathan's voice was hoarse and annoyed. Clearly, he had just gotten out of bed and wasn't in the mood for any crank calls.

"Hi, Jonathan. It's Eric. Sorry for waking you up so early but can we meet right now? I really have to talk to you. It's urgent."

"Uh, sure. But can you at least tell me what it's about first? I think I deserve to know a little bit since it's like eight o'clock in the morning.....on a Sunday morning, might I add. That's a crime, you know, calling this early." Jonathan sounded a bit grouchy because he knew that Eric knew he always slept late on the weekends.

"I can't. I don't want to wake my mom up. Besides, it's sort of a secret. She doesn't even know about it."

"Wait a minute. You don't mind waking me up but you mind waking up your mom. That's so unfair. You are clearly abusing our friendship here." Jonathan still sounded annoyed.

"Well, that's because I can trust that you won't make a big deal about this. I mean we are friends, right?"

Jonathan sarcastically replied, "Unfortunately."

"Well, just consider this as a favor between friends okay?"

"Okay. Just let me get dressed and eat some breakfast. I don't think so well on an empty stomach."

"Okay. Can we meet in front of the school?"

"Sure. Just wait for me okay?"

"Okay. Thanks and bye."

"No problem. See you in a bit."

Eric put the phone back on the receiver and got up. He dressed quickly and ate a simple breakfast, comprised of cereal and a banana. He ran out of the house before his mom could wake up.

He grabbed his bicycle from the garage and pedaled as fast as he could to Live Oak Middle School. It was empty and he felt a sense of relief. He knew they would be able to talk privately here because there were very few kids lounging around school grounds on the weekends, except when there were practices or special events. He got off his bicycle and leaned it against the fence. He took a deep breath to relax himself and waited impatiently for Jonathan to arrive.

Jonathan arrived a bit later, huffing and puffing on his bicycle. He still had a rather annoyed and grumpy expression on his face, as he whined to Eric about how this was the weekend and how he should be allowed to sleep in. Eric listened politely until Jonathan finally decided to start the conversation.

"So what's up with you? What did you need to talk to me about?"

"Okay, something happened last night."

Eric immediately plunged into the details starting with the first burglary but he decided it was better to omit the part about Janet and the cat in the second burglary. Jonathan might suggest that he speak with a psychologist about that. He ended with the conversation between Janet and her father and Janet's odd reaction afterwards. Jonathan listened intently with no interruptions until Eric finally said, "Well, that's it. What do you think?"

"Hmmm....I'm just curious. So you say you recognized one of the voices as the clerk in the video store?"

"Yup."

"And all this happened on the same day that we visited that same store?"

"Yup."

"Do you think maybe he followed you that day without you knowing it and when you were out taking the trash and left the door open, that he and another man took that opportunity to enter?"

"Maybe. I don't recall being followed though."

Jonathan stared at his friend with an annoyed expression. "How would you know? No one is that obvious as to wear a bright neon sign that says look at me, I'm a stalker."

"Okay so even if that is true, it wouldn't explain the fingerprints I already saw from before. I think this is the second time that my room has been burglarized."

Jonathan pondered about what he said. "That's true. And you said that the first time it happened, the front door was unlocked but you didn't see that anything had been taken. And this was the day of our soccer victory."

"Correct."

"So obviously, the reason they felt the need to burglarize your room a second time was that they never found what they were looking for which was confirmed by the conversation you overheard between the two burglars. And they still weren't able to retrieve whatever it is they were looking for because Janet's dad scared them away."

"Again, that is correct." Eric had to give credit to Jonathan. He clearly believed what Eric had told him and was trying to do all he could to make sense of everything to help his friend out.

"Hmmm....but what do they mean about you having powers? Like what sort of powers...something supernatural?"

"How would I know?" Eric shrugged his shoulders. He could only guess what both the two burglars and Janet and her dad were referring to when they kept mentioning about his 'powers.'

"Wouldn't it be cool if you could use those powers to help us win all our soccer matches? Or even do all our homeworks or ace all our tests? That would be awesome." Jonathan smiled at the thought of using his friend's powers to fulfill his own desires.

"Okay, we're off the topic a bit now. Back to my problem. What should I do? What if they come back again? Especially since they couldn't find what they were looking for?"

Jonathan became serious again and his smile vanished. His forehead wrinkled up and he was quiet for awhile as he assessed the situation. He looked down at the ground, making Eric fidget impatiently, until he looked back up again and spoke.

"Honestly, Eric, I don't think they would come back, not to your room anyways. I think you are safe there. I think they know you don't have it in your room. It must have been in your possession those two days, the day of the soccer victory and the visit to the video store. What did you have with you on those days?"

Eric thought about Jonathan's question and shook his head.

"I don't know. If I knew, I would have let them take it and remove this burden off my shoulders. Now, I feel like a target because I know they want something from me except I don't know what it is and what frightens me is, they seem to know a lot about me. They know my whereabouts because they searched the room when they knew I wasn't there. They made sure I was absent. But now, they're so desperate that they are contemplating kidnapping me just to retrieve it. That's what I am afraid of."

"Yeah, that does pose a problem."

Another thought hit Eric.

"And what do you think of Janet and her odd reaction?"

Jonathan started chuckling.

"No offense or anything but Janet is an odd person to begin with. We all know that. But she's harmless and clearly, she and her dad are protecting you. So I don't think you have to worry about her. And whoever both she and her dad made a promise to, it seems like this must be a powerful person, someone they are both probably afraid of."

"Yeah, I never thought about it. It's just that Janet was quiet only because her dad was with her. He was the one preventing her from telling me the truth. So if I can just get her alone, maybe she can tell me what she knows. She might know what the two burglars are after."

"That's true. She and her dad obviously know more than they are willing to say. But if you want to get her to talk, you have to go about this very cleverly. Janet may be weird, but she is smart. She isn't going to fall for any simple trick."

"Who said I was going to trick her? I'll simply just ask her."

"Yeah, that's a lot easier."

Eric grinned at his friend and thanked him for his input. He made Jonathan promise not to tell anyone about what transpired today. For some reason, he felt so much better after this discussion, as if a heavy backpack was taken off his shoulders. He could breathe easier and maybe, sleep more soundly. Personally, he wasn't too keen on having any more dreams about the prisoner. It was too creepy because it felt too real.

Eric and Jonathan decided to spend the rest of the day riding their bicycles around the block. They were racing each other to see who could pedal the fastest. The weather was perfect, sunny but not hot and the wind was cool as it whipped their faces. It was fun and relaxing as they laughed and joked together. It felt so normal to spend the weekend with a friend. As the day drew to a close, they parted ways and Eric pedaled back home.

When Eric arrived at his house, his mom was up and about. She was in a good mood, smiling at Eric as soon as he walked in. It felt pleasant but unusual as his mom was normally tired and cranky after working all the time.

"Hi, Eric. Are you hungry? I'm cooking lasagna right now. It'll be done in about fifteen minutes."

"Sure. I'm starving. You look well rested."

His mom laughed. "Yeah, I have Mr. Blakesfield to thank for that. He gave me this really good sleeping pill. I took it and woke up well-rested this afternoon. Too bad he couldn't tell me what the brand is or where he got it from." She sighed. "If only I could feel like this more often."

Eric looked at his mom strangely. He decided not to say anything and walked upstairs.

"Mom, I'm going to take a quick shower now. Jonathan and I rode our bicycles together all day. I feel like I need a refreshing shower."

"Sure. The lasagna should be done by then."

Eric walked up the stairs and into his bedroom. He took out a clean shirt and pant from the closet and went into the bathroom. It felt like a long day and Eric wanted to wash all his worries away. There were still so many thoughts that plagued his mind but one question, in particular, kept circulating and re-surfacing above all his other questions. What were the two burglars looking for? They obviously did not find it and it had to be something that was in his possession, something they thought he would keep in his room. And it had to be something important or else they wouldn't have risked coming into his room and alerting him. Something he always had with him, something he had with him the two days that his room was burglarized. But what was it?

He sighed as he got out of the shower. He looked at the foggy mirror and then, the answer stared at him in the reflection. The silver color gleamed at him as he stared at the necklace he always wore. This must have been it. This must have been what they were looking for. He had never paid much attention to it for this necklace served only as a sentimental object of his dad. It was a symbol of both love and hate so he always wore it under his shirt and the only time he removed it was when he takes a shower.

Eric was so excited, he exclaimed, "Eureeka!" and almost forgot to put his clothes on. Luckily, he stopped himself before he walked out and reluctantly slowed down to dress himself. As he went downstairs, he gave a bright smile to his mom who looked at him with a surprised expression and placed a plate of lasagna in front of him. As he happily chewed down his food, he decided to tell Jonathan about this latest discovery first thing tomorrow morning before class began.

Chapter 5: The News Article

Eric woke up early in the morning before his alarm clock had time to ring. He got dressed in the dark, wearing his favorite pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt. He hummed happily to himself as he went into the bathroom to wash his face, brush his teeth, and comb his hair. His mom's bedroom was still closed and he knew she was still asleep. Keeping the noise to a minimum, he stopped his humming and practically skipped down the stairs and went into the kitchen to make himself a ham and cheese sandwich. He devoured it and picked up his backpack and quietly closed the door.

After retrieving his bicycle from the garage, he pedaled as fast as he could to school. The weather felt nice and he could feel the cool air against his skin and his dark hair fluttered softly against the wind. He was glad he had worn a long-sleeved shirt for it felt a bit chilly today. It was still dark, the sun was not up yet, and clouds appeared ominously in the sky. He didn't care though; he wouldn't let something like the weather get him down today. He was too excited and he had more important things on his mind.

When he got to school, he saw his soccer buddies lounging around the grass in front of the gate. Eric locked his bicycle and sauntered over to meet them. They saw him and waved and Eric waved in return. He could see that Jonathan had not arrived yet.

Porky grinned and said, "Well, if it isn't our star soccer player." He playfully punched Eric on the shoulder.

Eric grinned and replied, "You did good yourself."

Just then, Jonathan arrived. He lived further away from the school and always complained about having to wake up so early just to make sure he wasn't late for school. Eric was so happy to see him; he practically ran over to greet his friend.

"Hey, Jonathan."

"Oh hey, Eric." He glanced at their soccer team sitting happily in a group, laughing and talking. "I guess I'm the last one huh?"

"Last one for what?"

"Well, everyone looks like they got here earlier than me. I feel so slow in comparison."

"It's okay to arrive later than everyone else. That's just because you live three blocks further than all of us."

"That's true."

"Anyways, guess what? I found the answer to what we were getting at yesterday."

Jonathan looked at him in a bewildered fashion.

"The answer to what?"

Eric rolled his eyes. His voice sounded very eager and excited which aroused Jonathan's interest but clearly not his memory.

"Remember yesterday? We couldn't find what the burglars were looking for but it was right under my nose the whole time. Well, actually right under my shirt to be exact."

Jonathan's eyes lit up in comprehension.

"Oh yeah. I remember now. So what is it?"

"This."

Eric removed his necklace for Jonathan to examine. Jonathan took awhile to look at the necklace thoroughly. He examined the pendant for a long time and finally looked up to see his friend's excited expression.

"This is a really ancient necklace. I mean it must be priceless. I haven't seen anything like this before, not that I'm a jewelry expert or anything. It looks like an ancient relic to me."

"I agree. I went to a whole bunch of jewelry shops before and all the clerks admit that they've never seen anything like it before. It's certainly one of a kind."

Jonathan's eyebrows furrowed as a thought came to him.

He slowly said, "This necklace looks like it is definitely worth a lot but I don't think this is an ordinary burglary. They probably didn't want to sell this necklace, they probably wanted it for something....but what?"

There was a slight pause as he continued. "What if this has some sort of power to it? You know like an amulet or a charm. Maybe that's what the burglars are after."

"So you are saying that it has more than just monetary value?"

"I would imagine so. I mean what ordinary burglar goes through the trouble of making sure that you don't see them when they're in your room searching for it? Okay, maybe they don't want to be caught but then why go through all that trouble for one simple necklace? Your mom must have a ton of more valuable jewelry lying around in her room but they decided to go after this instead. And not to mention, they opened up a new store right in front of the school that you attend and they sell video games which every boy would love to play. It is like they wanted to get to know you but not directly. Now, why go through such an elaborate plan?"

Eric contemplated over this interesting thought.

He said, "You do have a point there. It does seem a bit too elaborate for any ordinary burglary."

Just then, the two turned their heads as the bell sounded, alarming the students to head to their classes. They looked at each other and sighed. It was going to be a long day. They headed to school reluctantly. Both had the same classes except for their electives. Jonathan had band while Eric opted for drama instead.

The morning dragged on and Eric felt himself growing more impatient by the minute. There was so much he wanted to talk to Jonathan about. He didn't feel alone anymore. It felt like such a great relief to be able to tell his best friend everything...well except for Janet and the cat which Eric felt guilty about hiding. But he wasn't exactly sure about what he saw anymore that night. His eyes may have been deceiving him but he was sure he never saw that cat in the neighborhood before or since then either. Jonathan would think he was losing his mind if he revealed that one minor detail so in his best interest, Eric decided the truth was worth keeping to himself instead.

Finally, the bell rang to signal that lunch time had finally arrived. Eric was starving and excited as well. Both he and Jonathan walked towards the lunch line which was already becoming quite long.

Suddenly, someone from behind him said, "Well, if it isn't the coach's pet."

Eric turned around and saw Matthew Schmidt behind him. Matthew was the same age as him, except he was taller and muscular. He had tried out for soccer but the coach had dismissed him because he kept missing their practice sessions. Matthew blamed Eric for his dismissal and his dark brown eyes glared down threateningly at his nemesis.

"Oh, hi Matthew. How's it going?" Eric gulped and felt his knees start to shake.

Matthew grinned. "Just fine and yourself?"

Eric decided to play it cool. He was sure Matthew, although not the brightest person, knew better than to pick a fight on school ground.

"Not too bad."

Matthew glanced at Jonathan briefly and asked, "So you haven't read the school newspaper yet, have you?"

Eric shook his head and politely said, "No, I haven't. Anything good?"

Matthew flashed a bright smile and Eric saw several missing teeth. He felt his confidence fade and wished the line would move along. He was beginning to lose his appetite and Jonathan, standing next to him, sensed his fear and whispered for him to keep it cool.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact. I really liked the article that was about you, the star soccer captain. You should read it." His voice was dripping with sarcasm and his eyes seemed to pierce right through Eric with a hatred that was both intense and terrifying.

"I particularly like the part where you sucked up to the coach. I bet that's why he gave you the position of captain. Normal people, like myself, actually have to earn that position which clearly you don't have too because you're the coach's pet. You would have lost to me if everything was fair."

He took a step closer and mocked, "Well coach says, 'Life's like soccer. You never know what you're gonna get.' "

Eric knew it was an impersonation of Forrest Gump and it was meant to get a rise out of him but he knew better than to fall into the trap.

Matthew sneered menacingly at both Eric and Jonathan. Heads turned with interest as the other students overheard their conversation and were curious if these were indeed the beginnings of a fight.

Luckily, Eric felt the lunch line move and both he and Jonathan ordered hamburgers, French fries, and drinks. Matthew decided to drop the conversation as he looked at the sparse menu and decided his own order. As soon as they received their food, both of them hurried away to an empty table.

"Whew! That was a close call. I really thought he was going to get nasty on me."

"Yeah, he really needs to learn to let his grudge go. I mean it wasn't your fault he was kicked off the team. He brought it upon himself and if he really wants to blame someone, blame the coach. He was the one who actually kicked him off, you just voiced the complaints of the rest of his team."

Eric sighed. "None of it matters now. Soccer season is over."

Jonathan knew it was his cue to change the subject. "So what are you going to do about your necklace?"

"What should I do? Do you think I should just hand it over to them now that I know that's what they want?"

"Well, it would be safer. You don't want them to actually go through with their plan to kidnap you, right?"

"Yeah, my mom would have a heart attack. She couldn't risk losing me too."

Jonathan chewed on one of the French fries thoughtfully and waved it at Eric. "You know what? I think before you give it to them, you should ask Janet what she knows first of all. I mean she obviously knows more about this than you do. Maybe she knows a way out that is safe for you."

Eric thought about his suggestion. "You are right. I should think this over. I shouldn't be too hasty about it."

Jonathan bit his lip and asked, "Do you think Janet is in on their elaborate plan? You know, like they have her and her father pretending to be the good guys rescuing you, so they can gain your trust."

Eric shook his head, vehemently. "No, Janet isn't like that. I know her. She isn't that type of person. I mean she couldn't even look me in the eye because she knew her dad was lying to me. Besides, she just happened to be at the right place and the right time when it happened. I was lucky she was there. I should be grateful, not insinuate she is part of that burglary."

"Hey, it was just a suggestion, although you do know Janet more than I do. But whatever the case is, say she doesn't know who the burglars are and she is completely innocent as you claim, maybe you should still talk to her. It wouldn't hurt."

Eric took a bite of his hamburger and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "That's true. Janet may be the key to this mystery after all."

The rest of the day was uneventful and Eric couldn't wait to talk to Janet. His curiosity was getting the better of him. He waited outside the school gates and his heart leapt when he saw her coming out with a stack of the school newspapers. She was carrying such a heavy load that Eric ran up to her and caught some of the papers before they fell.

"Oh thanks." She looked up and recognized Eric.

"Hey, Eric. I didn't know it was you."

"Hey, Janet. Mind if we go home together today? You look like you need help carrying all of this." He pointed to her huge pile of papers.

"No, I don't mind at all. Actually, that would be a big help. Thanks again."

Eric hoped this rare act of kindness wouldn't arouse her suspicion. It was the first time he had ever offered help to her or even suggested that they go home together since they were practically next door neighbors. Had their roles been reversed, he would have thought it odd that in all the years they had attended school together, that this was the first time they were talking publicly together at school. But Janet was not that type of person. It dawned on Eric that she had character and never judged anyone, not the way he did.

The two divided up the papers evenly and slowly started to ride their bicycles home. When they were a safe distance from the noisy students and traffic that incurred before and after school, Eric decided that it was now or never. He had to get information from Janet.

"So Janet, I really liked that article you wrote. It highlighted the main points of our interview."

Eric bit his lip. He hated to lie. He never had a chance to read it and he hoped she wouldn't ask any specific questions about it but he had to start the conversation. There was no better way than to boost her already oversized ego.

"Oh really? That's good. I mean an article is only as good as the source and you are a good source. You're the very reason that the article's so good. You should be getting the credit, not me."

"Oh no, you wrote the article. You're a good journalist, you deserve the credit."

She laughed. "You are so modest. But don't worry, we both get credit because both of our names are in that article."

He cleared his throat. "So as a source, you aren't supposed to lie, right? You should tell only the truth."

She looked at him, puzzled. "That's an odd question, but you are right. The source should be honest or the article becomes a lie."

"So if I had a source, do you think I should confront this source and ask them for the honest truth?"

She smiled and said, "Well, I would but I'm rather different from you, Eric. I was born a natural journalist with an inquisitive mind and rather talented writing skills. I want to inform people and I want to make a difference in people's lives, a little bit of self-advertisement here."

Her smile widened revealing a row of straight, white teeth. Eric was taken aback. He had never noticed it before but Janet had a really attractive smile and charm about her.

"So do I. That's why I have to ask you to tell me the truth."

She stopped pedaling and Eric stopped as well.

"What are you talking about?"

"Janet, I heard what you and your dad were saying the morning after the burglary. I need to know the truth. My life may very well depend on it." He looked at her with his eyes, pleading for her to tell him what she knew.

She stared at him in shock for a moment but quickly regained her composure. She looked him in the eye and asked, "So what exactly did you hear? That conversation between I and my dad was supposed to be private. You weren't supposed to eavesdrop. That's rude, you know."

Eric nodded his head. "I think the rule on manners can be broken if lives are at stake. Besides, I didn't even hear much. I only heard about how your dad was preventing you from telling me the truth and that you made a promise not to reveal my true identity and that you and your dad were here to protect me."

He looked inquisitively at Janet feeling that there was some sort of invisible wall dividing them. He could tell that she was struggling internally, debating whether the advantage of telling him the truth would outweigh any possible disadvantages.

Instead, she shook her head.

"I knew it was too good to be true. It was strange that today, in front of the entire school, you were willing to come up to me to help me out. Normally, you would never have bothered to do anything of that sort. But I wanted to believe that maybe you just wanted to do something nice for a change. Boy, was I clearly wrong."

Before he could open his mouth to defend himself, she continued.

"I mean I know I am not at all like Kathy Whittaker. I'm not the type of girl who could be a magnet for guys or make other girls turn green upon envy but I don't think I deserve this kind of treatment. I just thought after being neighbors for so long, that we could possibly be friends. But I guess I was wrong."

Janet started to bite her lips and her voice cracked as she said, "Do you honestly think I would just tell you everything just because you helped me carry some papers and offered to ride home together? You must think I am the most gullible person in this world."

Tears filled her eyes and she was shaking with anger and sadness. Though she tried to wipe her tears before they started to roll down her flushed cheeks, one tear managed to escape as it slid down her face. Eric felt guilty and he didn't know how to comfort her. He knew it was a mistake to have asked so bluntly and he should have listened to Jonathan before acting alone.

Janet was clearly embarrassed to be caught crying in front of him. She sniffled and quickly picked up her papers and grabbed her bicycle off the ground and sped down the street.

Eric stared at her, feeling awful inside.

He shook his head and said, "I would never be able to understand girls no matter how hard I try. They are way too complicated."

He was starting to feel grateful that he had no sisters but he wouldn't mind having a brother, especially an older brother to guide him in matters like this.

As he gathered the other half of the papers and picked up his own bicycle, he started to think about what Janet had told him. She was right. His act of kindness was a façade to make her want to reveal the truth to him. He wasn't doing it because he genuinely wanted to help her. That would have been different and the result may have turned out a lot better than this. He was certain now that making Janet want to talk would be a lot more difficult than he thought. It was okay considering he had the way home to mull about his dilemma.

Chapter 6: The Truth

As he was pedaling home, Eric stopped by Janet's house. The door was closed. He took a deep breath and carried the papers to the front door. Eric stood on her porch, riddled with guilt and shame at what he had done, and too hesitant to ring the doorbell.

He thought to himself. "What if she answers the door? She'll probably slam it in front of my face. I would probably do the same too if I was her."

He finally decided to just leave her papers on the front porch and hoped she would see it on her way out.

As he was walking back to his bicycle, the door opened. It was Janet.

"Aren't you going to come in? I have something I think you would like to hear...the truth."

He stared at her. She looked much calmer than before though her eyes were red and slightly swollen but she didn't appear upset, just tired and sad.

"Um, it's okay, Janet. I realized what I said earlier was inappropriate. You aren't obligated to tell me anything especially after the way I treated you. I just wanted to give your stuff back. That's all."

She sighed. "No, I want to talk to you. You are absolutely right. I would probably do the same thing you did if I was in your shoes. I mean I want you to come inside, okay?"

She gave him a weak smile.

Eric looked at her and nodded. She left the door open as she picked up the papers and he followed her inside her house.

Eric had never been inside Janet's house before. He didn't know what to expect. The wallpaper was a pale light blue color that matched the color of the sky. The carpet was a dark brown color and the place looked very clean. The furniture consisted of a flowered couch and a wooden rocking chair. He spotted a new leather recliner in front of the television and assumed that it was designated for Janet's dad. There was an old television and a radio next to it on a wooden stand. There was a grandfather clock off to the corner, loudly ticking away. But what stood out the most, were the paintings that hung all across the walls. Some were family portraits but others looked very valuable like they belonged to a museum. They were paintings of different places, most looked foreign and others he recognized, but they were all stunningly beautiful.

Janet saw what caught Eric's eye and explained. "My mom likes to collect art paintings. She travels abroad to different places in the world. Some were purchased at auctions and others just on the street."

She led him upstairs to her bedroom and Eric felt uncomfortable as he stood outside, hesitating to come in. He had never been inside a girl's bedroom before. It was all very new to him.

She laughed and said, "It's okay. I don't bite. Besides, it's more private this way. My parents could come home anytime. They don't mind me having friends over. I'll just say we're working on a school project."

As Eric walked inside, he was surrounded by the color pink. Her bed had pale pink linen sheets and a dark pink blanket to match. Her wallpaper had a floral print set upon a bright pink background and she had pink curtains for her windows. The only thing that wasn't pink was the dark brown carpet and her wooden desk and a lamp. Eric stood there, awkwardly, not knowing where to sit.

He felt he was drowning in the color pink, a color he had despised since being teased by his elementary school classmates when his mom forced him to wear his pink t-shirts instead of throwing the t-shirts away. It was his mom's fault to begin with. She had accidentally mixed her red sweater with his white t-shirts when she was doing laundry and the end result were multiple pink t-shirts.

Janet placed her chair in front of him while she sat comfortably on her bed. She stared outside the window as she started to speak.

"You have no idea how long I have carried this burden. It seems almost a relief to let it out now. I mean I have always tried to fit in with other kids my age but it seems almost impossible. Somehow, they always seem to know that I am different."

Eric thought to himself, "Boy, is that an understatement." He decided it was better not to interrupt though.

She let out a huge sigh. "I have always kept my supernatural abilities under wraps. I think you were the first person to guess my secret. That day, I shouldn't have been so close to you. I should have remained silent but I couldn't help myself. I purred."

Eric shuddered at the mention of that incident.

She continued, "But you still kept that a secret. You never told your friends in school about it." She smiled and said, "They probably wouldn't have believed you anyways. They would have thought you had lost your mind. Imagine someone who could change their physical appearance to match any creature they chose."

She looked away from the window and stared at Eric.

"Yes, I was that feline cat you saw that night. How else do you think I could have known about the burglary? I've been protecting you all these years and you have been unaware of my presence. That was the way it is supposed to be. That is our promise, to keep you safe and happy, unaware of your true identity."

Eric didn't want to interrupt but he had to ask. "A promise to whom?"

"The Elders. They are divine beings, with far more supernatural powers than I could ever possess, and they are also immortal. We worship them, obey them, and trust them with our lives. They were the very people who sent all of us here, to this planet."

Eric was confused. "All of us?"

"You, me, my dad, and your Kathy." She smiled sarcastically.

Eric looked at her in surprise. "Wait a minute. Are you saying that we're all aliens?"

She simply nodded her head in confirmation. She continued on with her story as if she was uninterrupted.

"Your Kathy is different than us, rather my dad and I. I'm not too sure about her background. I just know that she was found all alone in the Guilden Forest and raised by the leader of our tribe. She's different because she lacks our special abilities but she has her own special talent as well. She has mind control. She could make people do things that she wants. She could also plant fake memories and delete memories as well. And the scary thing is; that's only the surface of what I know about her."

Eric decided to change the subject. "So both you and your dad could transform to any creature that you come across?"

She nodded her head. "We acquired that special skill because where we lived, it was dangerous. The Guilden Forest is home to the most dangerous creatures. We learned to survive by mimicking the appearance of our predators, by transforming ourselves to the very creatures that would have otherwise fed upon us. It's similar to the chameleon that changes its colors to blend into its environment. Sort of like a camouflage. It is a survival mechanism."

"But I don't understand. Why would the Elders send you here? What is the purpose if we don't belong here?"

She watched Eric carefully and said, "Ever heard of the witness protection program?" He nodded his head.

"Okay, then imagine that instead of moving to another state where you change your identity and no one knows you, that you decide to move to another country on the other side of the world, on a continent where no one knows you, where no one can possibly find you, where you are safe and unknown."

Eric nodded his head to indicate his comprehension.

"But instead of that, you are sent to another planet where you can't be traced, where your identity is a secret even to yourself, where you are raised as an ordinary human being with private bodyguards to protect you, and all this is done for your safety."

Janet looked at Eric in amusement. "Does this make sense to you?"

Eric stared at her, both in shock and curiosity.

"Honestly, it does. In a weird way, it actually makes sense to me. But it is just so difficult to swallow."

The room was quiet for awhile before he spoke again.

"But why are you finally telling me all this? Why are you breaking your promise to the Elders?'

Now, it was Janet's turn to contemplate in silence.

She finally answered, "Because I think eventually you would start to notice that you're not like everyone else here. You're different just like the rest of us except in your case, you don't know it. You may use your powers without even realizing it, like at the soccer game, for instance."

When Eric looked at her in a questioning manner, she responded, "Yes, I lied to you then. I was there the entire time watching the game. The last goal you kicked was because of your powers, not your natural athleticism. Plus, I think the promise to the Elders can be broken if your safety is at stake. I think it is the perfect time for you to know the truth about yourself."

He nodded his head in agreement. "So you, your dad, and Kathy are my own personal bodyguards?"

She smiled and said, "Yes. But I bet you never knew that you were always being watched. Honestly, there were so many times where I wanted to purposefully slip up just so that you could catch on to the truth yourself. I was sick and tired of living a lie all the time. It gets to me."

She stared out the window. "Sometimes, I think I am the weakest one out of all three of us. I knew I was bound to leak out the truth at some point but I never thought it would be this day."

Eric stared at her. "Okay, but who am I? Why are you protecting me? I still don't understand."

She turned back to look at him with tired eyes. "You're all that's left of the Guilden royal family. You are the heir to the throne, a prince, if you will. Except back on our planet named Sylo, we don't put much value on titles. Your real name is Zephler and you were transported here when you were just a baby. The Elders ordered us to protect you because we need a king to take charge of our planet."

Eric had difficulty grasping this last piece of truth. He almost wished Janet had kept all of her secrets to herself, that his own curiosity had not gotten the better of him. How could he, of all people, be a prince of a planet whose existence is questionable? Maybe Janet was lying to him. He looked at her but she looked serious and her eyes gazed back at him with complete honesty. She didn't look like she was lying. Eric felt this was too much for him to handle.

As he got up to leave, Janet said, "Oh, I forgot to mention this to you but your foster father was also one of the bodyguards sent by the Elders, except his task was to raise you as his own son. He used to be one of the knights."

Eric shook his head and said, "Foster father? How is that possible? Sorry Janet, but I feel this is all too much for me to handle right now. I really have to go but thanks for telling me everything you know. I appreciate it, I really do, but seriously, I just have to go."

Eric practically ran out of Janet's bedroom before she had a chance to alleviate any of her 'truth' on him. He leapt down the stairs and out of her house and picked up his bicycle and pedaled as if he was being chased by an angry dog. He arrived at his house in record time, huffing and puffing.

When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to smell cookies baking in the oven. His mom had come home early today. As he went inside the kitchen, she was cheerfully washing the dishes and humming to herself. She turned around when she saw him.

"Hi, Eric. You're home rather late today. Anything wrong?"

He smiled, pretending to hide his real feelings. "Nothing's wrong. I was just helping Janet today. We were working on a school project at her house."

He had to thank Janet for coming up with that useful lie. His mom seemed to believe him though for she turned around and continued rinsing the soapy dishes.

"The cookies are almost done. Let me wrap up here and we can later enjoy some cookies together okay?"

"Sure, Mom. I just want to freshen up first."

Eric ran upstairs to the bathroom and laid on his bed instead. He felt very tired. His head was spinning and he felt as if the conversation this afternoon with Janet was so unreal, as if the incident had never occurred. He sure wished nothing had happened so he could continue to live his own peaceful life as an ordinary boy, an innocent and naïve one. He could hear his mom calling his name from the kitchen and he sighed as he got out of bed and went downstairs.

The cookies were placed on the table, cooling off and they smelled delicious. They were plump, soft chocolate cookies. Eric picked one up and dropped it because they were so hot. His mom laughed.

Eric looked at her and thought about what Janet had told him. Why hadn't his mom told him that he was biologically not her son? He felt hurt and betrayed. His eyes looked carefully at his mom's facial features taking in her brown eyes, her round, plump face, friendly and loving. She was pale with a sprinkle of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Her chin was short and her body was small and petite, rather on the plump side, which matched her face. In short, Eric had never noticed it before but he looked nothing like her.

His mom saw him studying her and asked, "Is anything wrong, dear? You don't seem like yourself today."

He shook his head. "I'm just not feeling well. That's all."

She went over to him with a worried expression and felt his forehead. "You don't have a fever, but you do look sick. Why don't you lie down and get some rest? These cookies can wait for you. I'll just let them cool first and put them in the cookie jar afterwards. You can help yourself to them anytime."

He mumbled, "Thanks, Mom."

Eric walked back to his room to lie down. Even if she wasn't his biological mother, she had raised him all these years and he was deeply attached to her. So what if they weren't blood-related, did all that really matter? He sighed.

He walked over to a family photograph that had been taken when he was celebrating his birthday. He had just turned eight years old. Both of his parents were there and there was his favorite chocolate ice cream cake with eight candles in front. Everyone was smiling and laughing. The birthday had taken place at a carnival. Eric loved carnivals when he was a kid. He loved the rides, the cotton candy and the toys and games. He wished things were still the same as in the photograph but everything has changed and for the worse, he felt.

His mom was hardly at home now, his dad was gone and Eric felt as if he was going through some identity crisis. He didn't even know who he was anymore or who people around him were either. Things clearly weren't what they seemed. As he examined his dad carefully, he realized that he also didn't look anything like him either. His dad was tanned, tall and built and muscular. His eyes were hazel and his hair was blond, a light honey blond color. His face was thin with sharp features, a thin nose and small eyes and sharp cheekbones. His face was more angular with a sharp chin that jutted out.

But again, who said that every kid has to resemble their parents? It wasn't as if looks were everything, he could be a mixture between the both of them. But the more he looked at the photograph, the more he believed what Janet was telling him. It would explain why his dad left and why his two parents never got along, except in front of him. Plus, he never met his dad's relatives and realized that his dad never mentioned them.

As he stared down at his dad in the photograph, he felt sad but more understanding of why his dad had departed. If he was his dad, he would probably want his own life instead of taking care of someone else's kid. His mom was more nurturing so she would probably sacrifice her life for him even if he wasn't her own son. Their bond was stronger and maybe the only reason she kept this a secret was that she was afraid of losing him; that he wouldn't want to be with her if he knew the truth. She didn't have to fear that. From what Janet told him, his biological parents were dead and he didn't want to go back to his own planet. He wanted to stay here and be his normal self. Was that too much to ask for?

Eric felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue overcome him. He was exhausted. He decided to take a nap before dinner. If his mom thinks he was sick, he might as well take advantage of it.

As he dozed off to sleep, he saw the image of the Elder again. This time, the Elder was much weaker so that the image was even more blurry than before. His breathing was nothing more than mere gasps for air. He was emaciated and appeared pale even though much of his face was still covered by the dark cloak he wore. If it was not for his breathing, Eric would have thought he was dead. Seeing him in this condition, Eric felt a wave of pity and sorrow. There must be something he can do to help him.

As Eric walked over to touch the chains to free the Elder, his hand went right through the chains. The Elder's head moved in the direction where Eric's hand had been and Eric knew that the Elder had sensed his presence. His eyes opened weakly but Eric knew he could not see him. As Eric glanced around the dark room, he noticed that the lights being given off by the fireflies had also grown much weaker than last time. The room was dim and Eric knew that the Elder did not have much time left. As the image faded away to complete darkness, Eric shook himself awake.

He laid in bed, surprised that he had drifted off to sleep and had dreamt about the Elder. Except this time, he knew it wasn't a dream. From what Janet had told him, the Elders do exist on his planet and that they were divine, powerful beings who were also immortal. He believed the chains that bound this particular Elder was absorbing his powers and making him weaker but the chains could never kill him. That was a relief but Eric thought about what would happen if the Elder lost all his powers and had only immortality. It would be a severe punishment.

Eric was wide awake. He felt very hungry and went downstairs to fix himself some dinner. His mom was watching television in the living room. She looked up at him when he went downstairs.

"Are you feeling better now? You took quite a long nap. I already ate dinner. There's some take-out on the table."

She looked apologetic as she explained, "I was tired myself so I didn't really want to cook today. I just ordered some take-out for the both of us."

"It's okay. I'm good either way. I feel a lot better."

"That's good." His mom went back to her soap operas that she had recorded on the DVR.

Eric helped himself to the tacos and burritos that his mom had ordered. He joined her on the couch and watched the soap operas with her as he ate his dinner. It felt nice, just the two of them enjoying each other's company.

When it started getting late, his mom turned off the television and told him to take a shower and get back to bed. It was a school night after all and they both had to wake up early tomorrow.

As he turned back to go upstairs, she said, "You know Eric, if you ever need to talk to me about anything, I'm here for you. I know it seems like I'm hardly at home anymore but I still can make time for you. You're more important than my job."

He looked at her and nodded his head. "I understand, Mom. Thanks. I'll tell you if anything is bothering me."

He knew he just made a lie, then and there. How could he possibly tell his mom about who he was or that he knew she wasn't his biological mom? It would just make things worse and he was used to keeping his feelings and thoughts to himself anyways.

Chapter 7: The Necklace

Eric resolved to talk to Janet first thing in the morning. She was his only source now, the only person he could trust besides Jonathan. Eric figured Jonathan would think he had lost his mind if he knew his best friend was really an alien from another planet. He didn't understand why this was all happening to him now. It must be a curse or something and it all seemed to start with this necklace. So it would be the necklace that he had to confront Janet with. He purposefully set up his alarm early in the morning so he could ride his bicycle with Janet and talk to her on their way to school.

When his alarm clock finally rang, he groaned and reluctantly got up out of bed. The bright lights in the bathroom nearly blinded him. He brushed his teeth and combed his hair and changed out of his pajamas to black jeans, a white t-shirt and his grey jacket. He went downstairs where he saw his mom already in the kitchen, frying eggs and bacon. There was a plate of toasted bread on the table and two glasses of milk and orange juice.

"Hi, Mom. It smells good."

She turned around to face him.

"Oh, hi sweetie. I didn't hear you wake up. You're rather early this morning."

"Yeah. I have some things I have to do before school." This wasn't a complete lie. He really did need to talk to Janet.

"Well, breakfast is almost ready. Help yourself to what's already on the table."

"Sure. Thanks."

Eric ate a slice of toasted bread and gulped down his glass of milk. His mom laid a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. He hungrily chewed down the food, stopping once in awhile to drink his other glass of orange juice.

His mom smiled at his appetite. She sat down next to him and slowly chewed thoughtfully on her bacon and her slice of toasted bread.

"Eric, what do you think of my seeing other people? Would you object to this?"

Eric almost choked on his mouthful of eggs. He coughed and barely managed to swallow down his food. His mom went over to him, ready to perform the Heimlich maneuver.

"I'm okay." Eric managed to utter out before his mom could do anything.

She asked, with a concerned expression on her face, "Are you sure? You just choked on your food. I warned you about eating too fast."

He looked at her angrily. "Mom, that's not what caused it. I mean it's just been a couple of months that Dad has left and you're already going to replace him."

Tears somehow sprang to his eyes as he looked in horror at his mom. This was the bombshell she should have delivered last night. It explained the multiple glances she had given him while they were both watching her favorite soap operas.

His mom immediately went to hug him. She looked him in the eye and said, "Eric, honey, the last thing I want to do is replace your Dad. I just feel lonely lately. What with work and taking care of you, I feel like my life has been empty. I need someone I can talk to, be friends with, a father figure for you and someone who can fill this empty hole inside. Do you understand?"

He shook his head. "No, Mom, I really don't understand you." His voice sounded bitter as if he had been betrayed by his own mother. This must have been how Julius Caesar felt when Brutus had stabbed him.

"Honey, I hate to tell you this. But Dad's gone. He might not come back. Do you really want me to spend the rest of my life alone?" She put her hand on his shoulder. "Look if this really bothers you, then I'll just cancel my date okay?"

Eric stared at his mom. She was right. Dad wasn't going to come back. Heck, he probably went back to the planet he came from. Who knows where he is now? But it just felt so sudden. He knew his mom deserved to be happy. She needed a friend and a social life too. If there was someone to help pay the bills, Eric could see her more often and she wouldn't have to work so hard. She did look tired. There were black ridges under her eyes from lack of sleep and she seemed to have lost weight. She didn't smile or laugh as much either. Last night was probably one of the rare moments when they were together, smiling as they watched television. He missed those moments.

Eric sighed as he answered his mom. "It's okay, Mom. Sorry I overreacted earlier. I just miss Dad. That's all."

She hugged him and tears fell from her cheeks. Eric hated to see his mom cry. He remembered how much she had cried before when Dad left and he knew Dad had really hurt her. If this was her chance at happiness, whoever her date was, then so be it. His mom deserved to be happy.

She whispered in his ear, "I miss your dad too. And if you are worried about someone replacing him, you don't have to be. No one could ever take his place."

Eric nodded his head in comprehension. There was a slight pause before he spoke.

"I'm just curious. Who is the guy?"

She smiled and said, "He is one of my patients. He had minor injuries from a car accident. His name is David Harper."

Eric didn't know who this person was but he honestly didn't care. He was just satisfied to know that this person could make his mom happy again.

"Have fun okay? I have to go to school now."

His mom smiled and Eric could see how truly happy she looked. He felt better now that he knew he had made a good decision.

"Sure. Have fun at school."

He smiled back at his mom as he took his backpack and walked out of the house. He had almost forgotten about Janet. He was probably late now. She had probably left already. He knew Janet arrived early at school every day to prepare for her classes.

He grabbed his bicycle and was pedaling out onto the streets when he saw Janet a few houses in front of him. He grinned. He wasn't too late after all. He crossed the streets and yelled out her name.

"Hey, Janet! Wait up!"

Janet slowed down to a complete stop and turned around. She saw Eric and waved back. He finally reached her but struggled to catch his breath.

She looked at him suspiciously. After what happened yesterday, he could tell she was rather wary and distant from him.

"Do you have something you want to ask me?"

Eric cleared his throat and his breathing had slowed down. "Actually Janet, you're right. I want to ask you about this. Have you seen it before?"

Eric removed the necklace and handed it to her to examine carefully. She looked at it, turning it over in her hand.

She shook her head and replied, "Honestly, I haven't seen anything like this before. But those markings, the ones on the scepter, they resemble the ancient markings of the Elders."

Eric looked at her with a confused expression.

She explained. "I have been to the Guilden Kingdom before with my dad when I was little. They showed us this library which contained historical books and in one of the books, there were markings like these. My dad said those markings were the language of the Elders, a lost language that I don't even think the royal family knew about. It's been lost over several hundreds of years."

"So your dad wouldn't be able to translate even if he saw this?"

"No, my dad just recognized it because he saw one of the history books that contained the language of the Elders. It was a very rare book because not much is known about the Elders. They were believed to be a myth."

She stared at Eric. "Where did you get this?"

"My dad...foster dad, he left it along with a good-bye letter the day he left. I've worn this since."

She looked closer at the necklace. "Eric, I think this was what the burglars were looking for when they ransacked your room. You should hide this under your shirt and don't tell anyone about it. I don't think you can trust anyone here."

He nodded his head in agreement. "That's what I and Jonathan both think too. We think the burglars were after this."

She gave him an angry look. "Jonathan? You told Jonathan about this? Why don't you just announce it to the whole school while you're at it? I mean here we are risking our necks to keep you alive and safe while you are out parading yourself like you've been deprived of attention for so long."

Eric was afraid to look at her. He had never seen her so furious before. "Okay, I'm sorry about telling Jonathan. He was the only person I've told this too and he promised to keep it a secret and I trust him. He's my best friend."

She sighed. "What else did you tell him?"

He looked at her with honest and open eyes. "Nothing else, just the necklace and the conversation about how I have powers and you and your dad were sent to protect me. That's it, I swear."

She looked at him for a long time. "I believe you. It's just that the fewer people who know about this, the better. I'm not sure how many people they sent after you and who can be trusted and who can't so it's just safer to trust no one."

He grinned and joked. "Not even you?"

She smiled and said, "Ha ha. Very funny. I think we better start heading for school before we're late."

Both Eric and Janet pedaled to school together. It felt nice hanging out with Janet for a change. Eric slowed down a bit to talk to her.

"Hey, Janet, I'm just curious. What happened to the rest of your family back..." Eric faltered for the correct words.

"Home, you mean?" Eric nodded his head, thankful for Janet's vocabulary.

She looked straight ahead as she answered him.

"My family was very small. It was just me, my dad, and my little sister. My mom died during childbirth and my little sister followed shortly afterwards when she was mauled by one of the dangerous creatures that lived in the forest." Her voice cracked a bit.

"I couldn't save her in time. I had tied her up on a tree branch, thinking she was safe up there. But some of the creatures could climb trees as I later found out. I was busy helping my dad scrounge for food. I didn't stray too far from where she was kept and I thought I could both look for food and keep an eye on her at the same time. I never forgave myself for what happened next."

Tears filled her eyes and her voice got weaker, more distant. "I heard her scream and when I got there, she was on the floor, lifeless and we couldn't save her. She was only five months old."

It grew quiet. Eric didn't know how to comfort her. All he could think of was "It's not your fault."

"I know but I can't help it. So when the Elders confronted us with a request, we thought it would increase our chance of survival as well as be a fresh start for us. I couldn't bear living there anymore. Dad felt the same way."

"When we arrived here, my dad grew very lonely and I knew he missed my mom so when he met Susie, my stepmother, I was very happy for him. They fell in love and got married. She still doesn't know about our past lives and Dad wanted to keep it that way. We've been living a lie since and although I feel guilty every time I look at her, I know it is all for the best. She probably wouldn't believe us either way."

Janet stopped and looked at Eric with furrowed eyebrows. "It's just Jerry that we're worried about. He's half-human and half-like us so we're not sure if he has inherited our special abilities too. He hasn't shown it so far, much to our relief, but I'm worried still."

Eric smiled comfortingly and said, "I honestly think you worry too much. I mean your dad taught you how to control your special abilities and I'm sure you can do the same with Jerry if he really did inherit it. And personally, I wouldn't mind having powers like that either, if I had a choice."

She flashed him a grin. "Thanks."

"So Janet, are you worried that someday, someone else besides me, will discover your special abilities also?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I never use my special abilities unless I have to and I make sure no one sees me. I mean as long as I'm careful, I should be fine." She looked at Eric, thoughtfully.

"It is just that I guess I am luckier than you in the sense that I still have my dad to look after me. I couldn't imagine what it is like to lose both my parents and be stuck with powers I don't even know about, much less how to use it or how to control it, either." She looked rather sympathetic.

It was one of the strange qualities about Janet. Here, he was feeling sorry for her losing her mom and sister and being displaced on an entirely different planet and then she goes and turns the table on him saying that he lost both his parents and he was in a worse plight than her. True, Janet still had her dad while Eric's foster dad had left months ago and was on the verge of being replaced, but still, their situations were not much different. Eric shook his head. He had forgotten about the enemies who were after his necklace so maybe Janet was right, her life wasn't in danger but his life was.

He hesitated before asking, "Janet, do you know how my parents died?"

Her eyes met his and she quietly said, "I honestly don't know. My dad and I arrived after they had passed away and we were informed by the Elders that we would be sent to this planet to protect their child. We didn't even know of your existence up to that point. I am very sorry that you had to find out this way. I truly am."

He believed her. Janet was not a liar by nature. She hated being forced to lie.

"Do you know who is after me then? Who are you supposed to protect me from?"

She shook her head.

"Sorry but I'm afraid I won't be of much help to you. The Elders don't trust us so they tell us as little as possible about you. I am guessing though that those people we are supposed to protect you from probably don't want you to return back to your kingdom to reclaim the throne. In other words, that necklace may be more special than you think it is."

There was a brief moment of silence as he thought about what Janet had just informed him.

Her loud voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Eric, I think we might be late. We have to hurry. I know, let's race each other. See who arrives first."

Before he could agree to the racing contest, Janet had sped forwards at an incredible speed. Eric tried hard as he could to keep up with her but he lost in the end. They arrived before the bell rang.

As they were heading past the front gate, they both ran into Jonathan and Porky. Porky looked at Eric and then at Janet with his mouth open and was about to make a joke when Jonathan instinctively poked him in the ribs. Porky screamed out in pain and Janet seeing that this was her cue to leave, waved good-bye to Eric.

Porky yelled angrily at Jonathan. "What was that for!? I wasn't going to say anything."

"Yes, you were. You need to learn to keep your mouth shut before I do that again."

Porky glared at Jonathan and smiled at Eric in an eager manner.

He grinned and asked, "So Eric, what are you doing hanging out with that weird chick? I mean I guess she's kind of pretty but you can do way better than that. I mean if I had your looks, I would go for the cheerleaders instead."

Eric walked by, glaring at Porky.

He replied, "Cut it out. I'm not in the mood today. I have a lot on my mind. So just leave me alone and mind your own business."

Porky stared at him in disbelief as Eric slung his backpack carelessly over his shoulder and ran to class because the school bell had rung, signaling that classes were going to start soon. Jonathan, aware of Eric's secret, looked with concern at his friend's rapid departure and followed him to class. Porky also followed behind them both, since they all shared the same class, but his look was that of confusion. Normally, both his friends were amused at his jokes but today seemed different.

Chapter 8: Mr. Hayden

Mr. Hayden, their algebra teacher, looked up from his desk, which faced the open door, at the students who were coming to his class late. Most of the students were already in their seats and those coming in late, mumbled their excuses. He looked at the clock and dismissed their apologies and excuses. He told them to take their seats and open their textbooks.

Mr. Hayden was a strict teacher who lived by principles and rules. He was relatively young, in his mid-thirties, but his appearance was that of an old man. He always wore checkered shirts, slacks, and most often, a tie. He had a receding hairline which persuaded him to decide to boldly shave his hair and become completely bald rather than wait for nature to take its course. He was tall and slender, with a build of a fragile man who had spent years reading books and furthering his own education, rather than going out to the gym to lift weights, which also explained his abnormally pale skin.

He walked up to the class and cleared his throat.

"We are going to review Chapter 7, p. 64 of the textbook. This might be on your test so I would start taking notes if I want to pass this class." His voice was businesslike with a no-nonsense demeanor that terrified his students but also caused some of them to mock him once they left his classroom.

Today, Eric had no interest in this class or any of his other classes, for that matter. He only had his necklace on his mind. Janet was sitting two seats in front of him and he kept staring at her. He was thinking of how to get a message to her without Mr. Hayden noticing it. He decided against writing any notes to her for it was way too risky. He knew Mr. Hayden would read it out loud in front of the entire classroom to embarrass him if he ever caught anyone passing notes.

Eric drifted off as Mr. Hayden started his lecture, thinking about his own special powers and how he could use them if he knew what they were in the first place. This was a responsibility he had never asked for and he had no one to help him other than Janet and maybe Kathy, whom he wasn't too sure about.

But what was so special about this necklace? Other than that it looked unusual, there didn't seem to be anything special about it. Eric had never noticed the markings before on the scepter until Janet had pointed it out to him today.

Eric took out the necklace from under his shirt and looked at it closely. He stared at it for a long time and concentrated on thinking of what made it so special. As he focused his full attention on it mulling over this question, a loud echoing voice that seemed to come out of nowhere asked, "Why don't you try using it?"

Eric was so startled; he let out a yell of surprise. Everyone turned their heads to stare at his odd behavior which made Eric realize that he was the only one who had heard the voice. Even Janet swiveled her head to look at him with a shocked expression, considering she had just warned him this morning, not to draw attention to himself. Her expression had a look of intense disapproval combined with shock.

Mr. Hayden walked over and glared at him. He loomed threateningly over Eric, asking in a quiet voice, "Eric Dirnam, are you purposefully trying to disrupt my class? And what is this?"

Eric knew better than to answer him and just as he was trying to hide the necklace from Mr. Hayden's watchful eyes, Mr. Hayden caught a glance at Eric's necklace.

He held out his hand for it and continued, "So you think this is more interesting than my lecture, do you? I will confiscate this for now and give it to you after you spend a week's detention after school."

Eric could hear Matthew snickering a few rows behind him. He knew Matthew was clearly enjoying this but he didn't care. He watched helplessly as Mr. Hayden took his precious necklace from him and locked it in the topmost drawer of his desk. Mr. Hayden never trusted any of his students and he always kept everything locked in his drawers, both his own belongings and the belongings that were confiscated from his students.

Eric bit his lip and groaned to himself. How was he going to get his necklace back? He was upset at himself for losing it in the first place and spent the rest of the class under Mr. Hayden's watchful eyes. The rest of the class watched with interest as Mr. Hayden set out to punish Eric who was the captain of the soccer team. Most of the teachers gave preferential treatment to their star sports players, who brought recognition and respect to the school, but Mr. Hayden was not one of them. He treated everyone equally, with no favoritism, regarding their importance to the school. He believed that students were still students who needed to be educated and because of that, the class seemed shocked that Eric was indeed going to be punished for class disruption.

When the bell finally rang for their next class, Jonathan came over. A look of genuine concern filled his face.

"Are you okay, Eric? I mean your reaction this morning, the yell in class and the constant stare at Janet, it's really starting to worry me. If you have any problems, you can come talk to me about it. We're friends, remember?"

Jonathan's forehead creased with concern and his eyes looked up and down at his best friend as if to detect if there was anything wrong with him.

Eric brushed it off, replying, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me, okay? We have to hurry to class before we're late. Let's go."

Both Eric and Jonathan walked off to their next class. As the day wore on, Eric felt himself growing more and more impatient. He had to find the answers to all the questions that kept floating around in his head. He was sure the necklace had spoken to him this morning and he had to know why. It had never spoken to him before in all the time that he had worn it. Eric mulled over his many questions and his desire to get these questions answered only intensified over the rest of the day.

When lunch time finally arrived, Eric went to get his lunch and hurriedly took a seat next to Janet. She looked at him with her mouth open and whispered, "I don't think this is such a good idea. People are staring at us."

Eric never took Janet as a person who was self-conscious but as he looked around, people were indeed turning their heads to stare at both of them. These included his own soccer buddies and Janet's friends, most of whom were members of the school newspaper, who also turned to stare at him. He didn't care though; he had too much on his mind to care what others thought about him.

He asked, "Do you mind sitting together with me in a separate table?" He pointed at a table in the far corner which was not occupied by anyone.

Janet looked at the table, then back at Eric, and sighed. She nodded her head and told her friends that she had an important discussion with Eric but would come right back. Some of her friends grinned, thinking that the two were dating and others just stared in shock.

Both Eric and Janet went over to the empty table and Eric immediately said, "The necklace...it talked to me today. That was why I screamed out loud in Mr. Hayden's class."

Janet stared at him in surprise. "But the necklace is just an object. It can't speak, can it?"

Eric shrugged his shoulders. "You have to believe me. I know what I heard and that necklace definitely talked to me. It told me to try using it. What does that mean?"

Janet looked at him for awhile and slowly said, "I'm not sure. But I do believe you."

She thought for a moment and continued, "To be honest with you, I've never seen anything like it before."

He looked at her helplessly.

"Mr. Hayden has it now. What should I do?"

She looked back at him with a determined expression.

"We have to get it back. That's what we have to do. It's not safe there. I'm afraid that someone might try to steal it from Mr. Hayden's drawer now that they know where it is."

"But only Mr. Hayden and the students in our class know about it. I'm sure they're not going to spread the word."

Janet pointed at Matthew who was talking to his group of friends. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. You may have more enemies than I thought and some of them are human."

Eric watched Matthew in the distance. Janet was right. People just couldn't be trusted. Another thought struck him. He wanted to tell Janet about his dreams of the Elder who was being held prisoner. He hadn't told Jonathan about this either because he was afraid Jonathan would think he really had lost his mind but Janet was more understanding. She would believe him.

"Janet, I have something else to tell you. I don't know if it's significant or not but it's been bothering me and I feel like I can't tell this secret to anyone but you."

Janet solemnly nodded her head. "Your secret is safe with me. Go ahead. Tell me about it."

She listened with interest as Eric told her about his dreams of the Elder. She interrupted only several times to ask a question or two. When he finished, she nodded her head.

"I believe you. We haven't made contact with the Elders since the day we arrived here on this planet so things may have changed from the time we left. One of the Elders may have been captured to weaken the power of the Triad of the Elders, now that there is only two and not the three Elders. Of course, since he is immortal, he can't be killed but he can lose his powers. So even if we save him, he might be useless if we don't save him soon."

"But we don't know where he is being held captive. How can we find him?"

She sighed. "That's a good question. I just think it's odd that you're the only one who has these dreams and you're the only one who can hear the necklace. I guess you can't dispute that fact. You are a member of the royal family whether you like it or not."

She stared at him for a long time before speaking again.

"Eric, actually, I've been thinking about your questions earlier. I think your foster dad might know more about your parents' deaths than I do. If there is any way we can track him down, then we can get more information about the necklace and about your past. I mean, he's been your caretaker since you were a baby and he was the one who left the necklace so he must know more about you than the rest of us."

Eric sighed. "But I have no idea where he is now or why he left in the first place."

She spoke slowly. "Maybe he didn't leave voluntarily. Have you thought about that? It seems more than a coincidence that the day he leaves is the day the necklace appears. And maybe the information leaked out somehow and now, people are after your necklace."

Janet and Eric grew quiet, thinking about the conversation that had transpired.

Janet interrupted saying, "I don't think it's a good idea for us to be seen together. People are already beginning to talk. Remember we have to attract as little attention as possible."

She added, "I have to go back to my friends and I suggest you do the same. Cheer up." She smiled. "Everything is going to be alright."

She left Eric sitting by himself on an empty table and that was when Eric noticed that his own friends were whispering to each other and looking at him. No doubt they were talking about his odd outburst this morning. He sighed and went to their table. They smiled and pretended as if nothing had happened, leaving Eric alone to eat his lunch in silence.

The rest of the day remained uneventful and Eric was about to walk to his bicycle to go home when he suddenly remembered his detention. He groaned out loud and slowly walked to Mr. Hayden's class. The classroom was empty except for Mr. Hayden who was wiping his white board clean. He looked tired, more than usual. He glanced at Eric and motioned for him to take a seat.

Eric sat down and politely waited for Mr. Hayden. When Mr. Hayden was finished, he came over.

"Eric, I hope you realize that this so-called punishment is only for your best interest. I need you to comprehend that this class is no joking matter. School, itself, is not intended to be a joke. School was built for the primary purpose of educating people regardless of their age, race, gender, social class, etc."

Eric was thinking of whether aliens counted as an entirely different race.

"It is actually a privilege for everyone to attend school and in my opinion, I think you abused that privilege today when you attempted to disrupt my class. So now, you have to stay for a whole hour after school for this entire week to clean up the classroom. Do you think this is a fair punishment?"

Eric knew it was not in his best interest to protest, especially with Mr. Hayden towering over him. He simply nodded his head.

Mr. Hayden smiled and to Eric's astonishment, he displayed a fine set of white, straight teeth that would have made any dentist proud.

"That's good. In return, I will keep this just between the two of us. Your mom would not have to know about your detention. Just tell her you are working on a school project, unless you would rather tell her the truth yourself."

Eric looked at Mr. Hayden and said, "Thank you for keeping this quiet. And I apologize for my outburst this morning, I never meant to disrupt your class today. I promise that it will never happen again. Is it possible for you to return my necklace back after the week's detention? It was a present from my dad just before he left."

Eric attempted to make his face appear sad and pathetic. Apparently, it worked for Mr. Hayden took pity on him.

He replied, "Sure. That will be our agreement then. I know you are not a bad kid. It must be difficult for a single mom to raise a son all by herself. I realize with your dad's absence that you have seemed distant and I am allowing you to get back on your feet before you stray too far. Do you understand what I mean?"

Eric nodded his head. He knew Mr. Hayden was giving him a second chance and he didn't want his mom to worry about him. He was going to be alright as Janet had said.

Eric did as he was told. He wiped the desks first, one row at a time. There were pencil and pen marks on the desks as well as chewing gum on the bottom of the desks that he had to scrub away. After he was finished, he proceeded to vacuum. Mr. Hayden left to answer a private phone call. Eric kept glancing at the clock, making sure not to lose track of time. He finished early and sat down, quietly and patiently, waiting for Mr. Hayden to come back. When he did, the hour's detention time had passed and he was free to leave.

As he picked up his backpack and prepared to walk out the door, Mr. Hayden said, "Don't forget tomorrow or the rest of the week either."

Eric sighed and replied, "I won't."

He felt tired and was happy that this would only last a week. He couldn't imagine spending any more time with Mr. Hayden. Out of all the teachers he had in eighth grade, Mr. Hayden was his least favorite.

Eric practically ran out of his classroom and down the hallway, taking a deep breath of freedom. The sun was still out and maybe, he could hang out at Jonathan's house for awhile. He really wanted a friend to talk to. He felt alone and miserable and he needed someone who could make him forget his problems.

He sighed, thinking of all his problems. His mom was dating someone just a couple of months after his father left, his real parents were dead, he and several other people he knew were aliens, and there are people who were after his necklace. It just wasn't his day.

As if things were not bad enough, he ran right into Janet. She looked eagerly at him and asked, "Is Mr. Hayden still there?"

He looked at her, puzzled. "I don't know. He was still there a couple of minutes ago when I left."

She sighed, exasperated at him. "Remember at lunch today, we did agree to get the necklace back. Come on. Let's check to see if he's already gone."

She grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the direction from which he just ran away from. He shook his head. It was like returning to his prison cell. Eric felt his legs were just dragging reluctantly back to Mr. Hayden's classroom only with the help of Janet's forceful pull.

When they arrived in front of his classroom, the door was closed but the lights were still on. Janet walked to the classroom and listened at the door. It was quiet. They waited outside for a few minutes, not sure if Mr. Hayden was already gone.

Eric felt an impulse to ask Janet another question which had been bothering him.

"Janet, do all of our kind look like humans? Why don't we look like the normal aliens they depict in the movies? You know, like the green slimy creatures with big heads and deformed bodies?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "That's what everyone here thinks. They don't realize that we all evolve from each other. Not all aliens look different."

He stared at her, incredulously. "What do you mean 'we evolved from each other'?"

Again, she rolled her eyes. "We travel a lot to other different planets and sometimes, we choose to stay and live with the natural inhabitants. Of course, we learn to adapt both culturally and physically. I heard that we look like the inhabitants of this particular planet because we are their ancestors."

"Wait, everyone on our planet..."

"Sylo." She filled in the blank for him.

"So everyone on the planet, named Sylo, looks like us?"

"More like the humans here look like us. I heard that several thousand years ago, we sent some of our kind to this planet to form a colony and they never came back. We were not sure what happened to them and we thought initially this planet may have been uninhabitable. It wasn't until we sent more people out to investigate many years later that we realized there was nothing wrong with this planet. It was perfectly capable of life. They never knew what happened to the original colonists so we think they may have assimilated into the human culture completely. The fact that we share similar characteristics then would not be shocking if we assume that the original colonists were the ancestors of this human race."

Janet made this comment with such arrogance that Eric couldn't really dispute her claim. It did make sense.

"How did you learn to speak our language?"

She smiled. "Although we do share common physical appearances, we are still more advanced than the human race here. We learn languages differently because we don't have to study it; we just simply have to be exposed to it. We can derive meanings from the spoken words from mere exposure and combined with our impeccable memory, we can learn quite quickly and return to our planet to teach this language so if we do receive visitors from other planets, we would be able to communicate effectively."

"So our race has been to this planet many times?"

"Of course. We have been studying this planet for a long time now and we have made many trips back and forth. We just make sure that no one notices us as we come and leave so we don't disrupt the natural course of this planet."

He laughed. "I guess the movies were wrong about aliens then, right?"

Her smile widened. "Obviously. We are living proof of that."

He looked at her with interest. "So what other planets have you visited?"

"Numerous planets and solar systems. We have a library dedicated to these visits that accumulate a variety of knowledge about each planet and its inhabitants."

"So if I was to return to our planet, would I need to learn our language?"

She rolled her eyes. "You've already been exposed to the language as a baby and combined with your superior memory, you won't have to learn a thing. You'll be able to understand and speak our language, so don't worry about that."

A noise sounded and she immediately looked in the direction of the noise and hissed, "Ssssh!"

She took his hand and pulled him behind some nearby bushes. They crouched and waited.

Mr. Hayden walked out of the classroom, carrying his old black brief case. He yawned out loud and turned off the lights. Afterwards, he closed the door and took out a key to lock it. He walked down the hallway and turned left to the parking lot.

Eric and Janet waited patiently for him to disappear. As soon as he turned, they jumped from the bushes and ran to the classroom door.

Janet smiled and said, "Now, you can see what I'm capable of."

Eric watched as Janet's index finger extended and as she placed this finger in the keyhole, Eric heard a click sound and she pushed the door open. When she removed her finger from the keyhole, it had taken the shape of a key and her finger quickly changed back to its normal shape.

Eric looked at her in admiration and envy. "That was cool. I wish I could do that."

She smiled and they both ran into the classroom before anyone saw them breaking and entering. He could just imagine the trouble they would be in if they were caught.

It was dark when they got inside the classroom. Janet blindly moved her hand around the wall and when she found the switch lights, she immediately turned them on. The lights flooded the room. They both went over to Mr. Hayden's desk.

Janet asked, "Do you remember which drawer he put the necklace in?"

"I think it was the first drawer."

Janet placed her finger into the keyhole and slid the drawer open. She saw the necklace and yelled a triumphant, "Aha!"

She handed his necklace back to him.

Eric smiled at her. "Thanks."

He put his necklace back on and hid it under his shirt.

"Now, let's get out of here before someone sees us."

They both walked out and Janet turned off the lights. Before Eric could say anything, Janet tugged at him in the direction of the bushes. They hid behind the bushes across from the classroom and waited.

They both saw Coach Wilkins walking by moments later. He quickly glanced up and down the hallway making sure no one saw him. He went over to Mr. Hayden's classroom and took out a key to open the door. He went inside and both Janet and Eric decided to wait outside, curious about what he was doing. When he came out several minutes later, his face was red and he cursed out loud to himself. He slammed the door shut and stomped down the hallway.

Eric looked at Janet, curiously. "How did you know he was coming?"

"A sixth sense. It's not safe here. We have to leave before he realizes we have it."

"You mean he was looking for the necklace?"

She turned to look at him, incredulously. She said in a sarcastic tone, "No, he just wanted to borrow some markers."

She continued, "Of course, he was after the necklace. What else could he have been looking for? Apparently, we got it back in time. Now hurry, we have to get out of here."

Eric decided not to argue. They both rushed back to their bicycles and as they were pedaling back home, Eric picked up the conversation where it left off.

"Do you think Coach Wilkins is one of..." He gulped. "Us?"

"That would explain why he wants the necklace. Apparently, someone very powerful is sending people here to take back the necklace but why? It just doesn't make sense to me."

"You're telling me. None of this makes sense."

Eric couldn't believe it. Coach Wilkins was his favorite teacher. He had known him for two years now and all this time, he seemed like any average teacher. He couldn't have been one of the burglars that night. It just doesn't make sense.

"So can you sense who is human and who is like yourself?"

"Usually but sometimes, I have been wrong. I learn not to rely too much on this sixth sense. Humans are more simple minded creatures but since we have been living among them for so long, we are becoming more and more like them. It's becoming more difficult for me to distinguish between the two races."

"I see."

When Janet reached her house, she said, "Well I have to go back now before my mom sends out a search team to look for me. She starts to panic when I stay too late after school. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Sure and thank you for helping me get back the necklace. I really appreciated it."

"No problem. That's what I'm here for."

Eric waved good-bye and watched Janet as she placed her bicycle on the front porch and walked into her home. He was beginning to like her more and more everyday and it was nice to be so comfortable around her. Sometimes, he even forgot she was a girl.

Chapter 9: Grand Entrance

The sun was starting to set when he arrived home. As he unlocked the door, he heard two voices coming from the kitchen. One of the voices he recognized as belonging to his mother but the other male voice sounded unfamiliar to him. They were both laughing and talking loudly in the kitchen so they didn't hear Eric coming in.

Eric saw a tall, slender, rather handsome man in his late thirties with dark brown hair and green eyes. The man was tan and he wore an expensive-looking dark blue suit and a white collared shirt with a green tie that matched the color of his eyes. He had a gold, flashy watch and expensive dress shoes. When he saw Eric, his eyes lit up and he smiled.

"So you must be Eric. Your mother here was telling me so much about you."

His mother turned around and smiled at him.

"Well, you're home rather late today. What happened?"

Eric knew he had to come up with a lie. He looked his mom in the eye.

"I was at Janet's house. She was helping me on my homework."

It wasn't an utterly complete lie for he was with Janet for most of the afternoon. Apparently, she believed him or else her mind was already occupied for she didn't ask any further questions.

"I see. Oh, this is Mr. David Harper. Remember what I told you earlier this morning at breakfast?" She winked at him.

Eric knew he had to be on his best behavior, especially since this was their first date. He extended out his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Harper."

The man shook Eric's hand and said, "Just call me David."

His mom continued with the introductions.

"David is a lawyer. He works for a law firm a little ways from here. He was driving on his way to meet with a client when he was in a car accident. It wasn't his fault either. He couldn't stop in time when an elderly lady making a left turn hit right into him. He suffered whiplash and his back still hurts but other than a few scrapes and bruises, he is okay. He was very lucky."

She looked at David with loving eyes.

Eric felt like he wanted to vomit. It was awkward for him to be here when he knew they probably wanted some privacy. He decided to change the subject.

"So where are you going for your date?"

He figured they must be going out. His mom was dressed in a black plain dress with matching black high heels. Her hair was braided upwards and she had make-up on. It was rare for him to see his mom dressed up like this. She looked like a stranger that he could barely recognize.

David politely answered him, "To a classical music concert. I had been given two tickets from a client as a gift and I thought it would be a perfect place for us to go on our first date."

He smiled at her as he said this.

It was getting too awkward for Eric. He knew they would probably be holding hands and kissing and hugging. It was just that he was there that they were keeping a good distance apart from each other but he could tell from their smiles and the way they looked at each other that it might be one long date. He had to remind himself that his mom was happy and that was what mattered.

He had to think up a polite excuse to leave. "I feel kind of tired, Mom. Is it okay if I lie down for a bit?"

She immediately tore her adoring eyes away from David to look at her son with concern. "Are you feeling alright, dear?"

"I'm fine, just kind of tired. Can I go to my room?"

"Sure. Just order dinner when you're hungry okay? Oh yes, I also wrote my cell phone number just in case there is an emergency. It's on the kitchen counter."

"Thanks, Mom." He almost forgot his manners in his haste to retreat to his bedroom. He smiled at David and said, "It's a pleasure meeting you sir and have fun okay? Bye Mom. Bye David."

"Bye Eric. I hope you feel better." David started to edge closer to his mom which made Eric retreat even faster.

"Bye sweetie. Remember if you need anything, just call me on my cell phone okay?"

"Okay, I will. Have fun."

She giggled. "We will. Don't worry about us."

It was way too disgusting for Eric. He practically leapt up the stairs and into his bedroom. He immediately closed the door to lock out any sounds.

He shook his head. This wasn't fair. It had been only a couple of months and his mom was already all over a guy she barely even knew. But there was no denying it. The guy was handsome, charming, smart and well-off. Dad couldn't come close to him. He sighed. No matter what happens, Eric felt very loyal to his dad, even if he wasn't his biological father. He had raised him all these years and in some ways, that had created a tighter bond than blood relations.

Eric laid on his bed and closed his eyes. He had to review the information Janet had given him today and make sense of it. Janet had told him that his alien race was frequently visiting this planet and some of them have even chosen to stay here permanently and make families here. That seemed like Janet's case. Her dad had chosen to settle down here and marry a human being which means it is possible that his dad would return to his loving family. Maybe his dad was just visiting his relatives on his planet. Maybe he would come back soon but what will happen when he finds out his family has moved on and forgotten about him?

Eric sighed. It was difficult for him to think what was going through his dad's mind when he left. He obviously knew Eric's identity but why did he suddenly change and disobey the Elder's orders to take care of him and raise him as his own son? Something must have changed but from his memory, all he could think of was his dad making excuses that he had to stay later at work and his frequent trips on the weekend. Even Mom was beginning to worry that maybe he was having an affair with another woman. She even confronted him about it and the result was endless fights and yelling matches.

Eric felt sorry for his mom. She was completely in the dark, innocent of the burden that plagued his dad. At the same time, he felt sorry for his dad too. He couldn't help it but he kept thinking that his dad must have left for a reason. Eric wanted to take a closer look at the note his dad left. He had hidden the note in a wooden box that his mom gave him which was placed in one of the drawers. Eric forgot which drawer it was located so he opened all of the drawers and rummaged the contents before he found the wooden box. It was just as he remembered it. The box was hand-carved and very beautiful. As Eric opened the metal clasp, he felt a stinging sharp pain on his finger and looked down at the blood oozing from it. He wiped it on his pants, carelessly. He removed the letter from the box and re-read the note.

"Sorry son. I just have to take some time off. I don't know when I would return. Just keep playing soccer the way I taught you and maybe, some day you will play in the World Cup."

He stared at the note. It was his dad's writing alright, big, scrawly letters that seemed to dance across the page. He could recognize his dad's writing anywhere. The note didn't seem to have any special meaning attached to it though. He had secretly hoped for hidden messages but it was simply a letter telling him never to give up on his hope to play in the World Cup.

He sighed. The only other object left was to examine the necklace which was left along with the note. Eric removed the necklace and as he put his bloody finger on the pendant, all three rings started to cast a bright, eerie red glow. He had never seen this before. The color became a deeper red within a matter of seconds as Eric immediately put the necklace back on, afraid to lose it. He was puzzled by the sudden color change. The only other time it had changed color was in the video game store.

Eric muttered to himself, "This is very strange."

Suddenly, his room became a distant blur and he felt himself, much like a vacuum, being drawn, by an invisible force, towards the eerie red glow. It felt warm, pleasantly warm, as the red glow touched his skin. Eric saw his own room disappear only to be replaced by blinding flashes of light. Instead of being afraid, he felt a growing curiosity about where he was going. He wasn't sure how he knew this but a part of him reassuringly told him that this was his way home, a home he left when he was only a couple of months old. This was his birthplace, a familiar place. He could feel its pleasant warmth, a greeting that he had returned home. Eric smiled, in spite of himself. It seemed like a couple of minutes had passed as the flashes of light eventually slowed down and all became black.

When Eric came to, he blinked his eyes in disbelief. He didn't know where he was but he was no longer in his bedroom. One moment he remembered putting on his necklace and the next moment he woke up to find himself here. In front of him was a large river and on the other side of the river, was an open field, vast, empty, and yet very peaceful. On his side of the river, was a gloomy, dark and melancholy forest. Sounds emitted from the dark forest, low beastly sounds which sent a shiver throughout his entire body. It may have been the weather but Eric doubted it. He was aware that it was getting dark soon and he wasn't exactly dressed for the cold outdoors.

As he glanced back at the forest, he knew he had to cross the river. He wasn't sure how deep the river was but he was confident he could swim across it. He took a deep breath and glanced upwards at the cloudless sky. The sky was a beautiful light blue color and the sun was starting to set, casting deep elongated shadows on the ground.

He felt a tranquil atmosphere surrounding him, a feeling that he had never experienced before. It was pleasant here. It felt similar to the feeling he had when he was practicing on the soccer field by himself. The vast land that stretched before his eyes, beyond the river, reminded him of the soccer field except there were no boundaries here. He felt like he could run forever, run away from all his problems and immerse himself in the land of absolute freedom. It was on this land that all his worries and responsibilities seemed to vanish into thin air.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head up into the setting sun and took a deep breath. He exhaled and felt completely liberated. He felt like he could be himself here, no longer the boy who was pitied because his dad left him, no longer the support for his mother, or the team captain for his soccer team or the prince of a kingdom whose planet was completely unknown to him.

The gurgling sound of the river caused him to open his eyes and helped him out of his reverie. Eric shook his head to clear his mind. There was some sort of mesmerizing power here that made him forget his true purpose and almost cloud his mind and memories. He was sure it was dangerous to stay here; he had to leave.

Eric ran to the river and slowed down as he approached the water's edge. Instead of being crystal clear, he was astonished to find the water was a white, murky color resembling that of diluted milk.

He couldn't even see how deep the water level was and thought to himself, "I can't possibly swim through that."

He touched the surface of the water and felt how icy cold it was. The temperature was freezing even though the sun was still out and the sun's rays should have warmed at least the surface of the water. He leaned over the water's edge to peer into the murky, white color hoping to catch a glimpse of anything inside it but it was not translucent enough. He sighed and hoped there were no dangerous creatures inhabiting this unusual river.

There was no bridge in sight, no alternative but to swim through the river. Eric glanced at the river's length, it seemed to span for miles and miles and even though the current looked relatively calm, he had the feeling that it would be difficult to swim across it. He was contemplating how wide the river was when he noticed that his necklace was starting to glow a faint reddish color and heat was dissipating from the three rings.

Eric looked down at his necklace, having forgotten he still had it on in the first place. He decided to ask it a question, just as he had when he was in Mr. Hayden's classroom.

"How do I get across this river? Can I swim through it?"

He felt silly asking an inanimate object but it was his only source of help as far as he could see. He waited patiently for its reply.

The color grew a darker red, almost crimson in color and suddenly it started to speak.

"This river is sacred. You cannot swim through it. It will only swallow and consume you within seconds. To get across this river, you must blow as hard as you can to freeze the surface of the water. Walk as fast as you can but do not run and never stay too long on one particular spot, lest you fall through and drown in its icy depths. Your life will be only one of many lives it has claimed, thus far."

The necklace grew silent after it had spoken. The male voice was deep and resonated like a strange echo as if someone were speaking in a cave. The voice was monotone and revealed little emotion.

Eric was shocked and surprised by how brilliant the voice was, for now, it seemed like this was all the help he could get. He stared down at his necklace. It had turned back to its usual silver color and it was cool to the touch.

He took a deep breath, bending down on his knees, and peering at the river's edge. He wasn't sure if this was going to work but there was no harm in attempting it. He inhaled deeply and exhaled out a huge breath of air, as much as he could muster, and was surprised at his own icy, cold breath. It was as if someone had deliberately left the air conditioner on for so long in a small, closed room that the end result was that it felt like a freezer. The instant his breath touched the surface of the water, like the domino effect, it spread from its source from one side of the river to the other side until the entire river was frozen. The river that had spanned for miles and miles was now nothing more than a frozen, murky white large block of ice.

Eric stood in surprise and amazement that this was actually working but he knew he didn't have time to admire his work of art. The ice would only last for a short period of time. He cautiously started to walk on the ice, putting one foot out and then the next and making sure the ice could hold his body weight before it cracked. He thought he would slip on the ice but some force, maybe the necklace, was preventing him from falling and slipping. He had never skated before but here he was, walking without tripping on the slippery ice, with just his tennis shoes. He was glad he had not removed his tennis shoes in his bedroom. He could just imagine how wet his socks would be now.

He obeyed the instructions given by the necklace and quickly walked across the river, never standing in one spot for a long time. His stride was rapid and he was constantly shifting his weight from one leg to the other, rather than extending his full weight on both legs. After a while, he heard a cracking sound and he knew the ice was starting to melt, that it would not be long before the full current of the river would displace the frozen stillness. He quickly walked across the remainder of the ice and finally ended on the other side of the river. He breathed out a sigh of relief, grateful that he had managed to walk across the ice safely.

When he turned around, he saw that the opposite side was already cracking in various spots, chunks of frozen ice was floating on top of the river. The river seemed to be angry; its current lashed back and forth like a furious creature, breaking free of the ice that had trapped it. The murky, white color became even murkier; the river heaved back and forth until it eventually freed itself entirely of the ice. The chunks of frozen ice were no match for the strong current; it was tossed back and forth until it was completely obliterated and the river flowed freely as before. Eric sighed in relief, grateful for the necklace. He quietly thanked it and stared at the river in fear. He could just imagine the river swallowing him whole and this made him shudder at the thought of his own near demise.

He looked at his surroundings on the other side of the river. The vast land that expanded before him was empty, devoid of life, and it seemed to stretch limitlessly. He trudged forward, not knowing which direction to take, but he felt better away from the dark forest and the dangerous river. The sun was slowly sinking beneath the horizon and it was starting to get cold. He shivered as a cold breeze whipped him around, signaling that it would soon be night time. He looked at his necklace and decided that now would be a good time to ask for directions. He had no compass and there were no traces of life here, no one to ask for help. The necklace was his only glimmer of hope.

He focused on the three rings, feeling a nice warmth as it touched his skin.

"Where am I? Where can I go for shelter?" He was secretly wishing for a nice hotel with warm blankets and food.

As before, the rings started to become a dark, crimson red color and it glowed brighter than usual, as an intense heat emanated from the silver rings.

The monotone voice echoed out a reply. "You are now on the planet of Sylo, far from the planet you just left. Shelter is not possible as of now. Your best bet for shelter is to head to the Guilden Kingdom. You are going in the right direction but tonight, it looks like you will have to sleep in the open field."

Eric's fear was confirmed. He had indeed landed on another planet, the planet where the Guilden Kingdom was located. His heart started to beat erratically. He was sure this planet was dangerous as proven by the river. If the necklace suggests that he should head for the Guilden Kingdom, then that is where safety lies.

"How do I get to the Guilden Kingdom? Is there anything I should be aware of?" He waited for its response.

"Keep walking in the same direction from which the sun rises and head in this direction for three days. You will come across five small hills. Make sure that you climb over the third hill and not through the troughs on either side of this hill. Lay low as soon as night fall comes. When daybreak arrives, that is the time to start your journey. Be aware of creatures that run amiss."

The necklace reverted to its original silver color, the red eerie glow fading slowly and with it, the warmth was also gone. Eric didn't know what to make of this next set of instructions. He glanced at the sky. Indeed, it was starting to get darker and he knew it was time to settle for the night

He bundled himself as best as he could with his grey jacket and wrapped his arms around himself. He sat, cross-legged and shivered as the cold wind whipped across his face. The breeze brought a pleasant smell with it, much like the smell of a fresh bouquet of roses. It was oddly very inviting as he sniffed around for the direction of this scent. He wasn't sure of the exact direction for the wind seemed to swirl in different directions and the scent, although pleasant, was not as strong as food. He was too hungry and too cold to care about this smell anymore. He remembered that he hadn't even eaten since lunch today and his stomach growled loudly to confirm his memory. He shivered as the wind picked up its pace, blowing furiously around him as the sky enveloped him in darkness.

Even though he wasn't sleepy, Eric laid down against the cold, damp ground. The wild blades of the grass were poking through his jacket and making him feel itchy. Luckily, he had worn his thick "soccer socks" as his mom nicknamed them, which went up to just below his knees. They were warm and they covered his feet, ankle and calves perfectly. He closed his eyes, tired with fatigue, from the day's excursion. He felt like he had been walking for hours and his body seemed to ache even though he was considered to be the most athletic of all his team members.

In spite of the chilly gusts of air and the constant hunger gnawing at his insides, he drifted off to sleep. In this dream, he was laying curled on his sides and there were bars on both of the sides of his bed. The top had an open space and way up high, he could see a bright red circle with stars attached to the rim. Music played soothingly in the background, lulling him to sleep and the stars overhead floated around and around. The ceiling and sides were painted a sky blue color, his favorite color. As he touched the wooden bars, someone reached over to lift him and cradle him in their arms.

As Eric gazed at the face, it looked very familiar, much like his own face, except it was much older. There were slight wrinkles on his face and his eyes were a warm brown color. The lips were much thinner and the cheekbones were sunken in comparison to Eric's own face. But the similarities were still there and very striking. He stretched out his hand, his fingers extending toward this strange man's face. He wanted to touch his face so desperately, the yearning to be comforted by his warmth and tender love. But as he reached for the mysterious face, all vanished and turned pitch black.

Eric listened intently and he could hear a pleasant female voice singing in the background which had interrupted his dream. It was a beautiful, mesmerizing, almost hypnotic voice. He couldn't make out the words but he felt drawn to the rich voice. It seemed to call out to him, wanting him to follow it and he smelled the same scent as before but now, the scent was much stronger, much closer. It was the smell of freshly picked roses, tempting and sweet in nature. It matched the same feminine singing.

Eric yawned out loud and shook himself awake. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. The bright stars twinkled above but there was no moon, no light. Eric wasn't sure if there was a moon on this planet but he couldn't see it from where he was. The planet seemed so similar to Earth but yet different. Eric still felt hungry but he knew that it was not a good time to look for food. He felt ravenous and he craved the pepperoni pizza from Pizza Lovers. He smiled at the thought of just one slice of that delicious pizza and he savored its mouth-watering aroma. He sighed, fearing that people on this planet may be ignorant of the concept of pizzas.

The singing and the scent made Eric feel wary of his surroundings. Sometimes, he could hear the attractive voice singing softly and sweetly in his ears. Once in a while, he could hear the singing trail off, followed by a gentle, musical laugh.

Eric muttered to himself. "This is so weird. I know I'm not dreaming because I am fully awake now. I thought I was imagining things but I think this is real." He had no other option but to question the necklace.

The three rings were still silver in color but it felt warmer than before. Eric hesitated as he looked deep into the rings and asked, "Who is singing? Where is this voice and smell coming from? It seems like it won't stop unless I follow it. Should I follow it?"

The necklace became warmer and started to cast a bright eerie red glow that was rather attractive in the dark. It felt like a small flashlight giving off a red glow.

The voice was low and soft as it replied, "Do not follow this voice and smell no matter how tempting and alluring it may be. Death be to all its prey. This is a sinister beast who hides its true nature in the form of a beautiful woman. No one has lived to tell of this beast once it has laid eyes upon it and no one knows where it lives exactly or its name but it is a powerful beast that has lived in seclusion for many years. My suggestion would be to close your eyes and dream your dreams. Let the night pass for the night is when it calls to its prey."

The voice grew silent, the red glow dimmed and soon vanished, and the warmth was replaced with a cold, metallic touch. He marveled at his necklace. It was very useful. It seemed to know everything. He smiled as he tucked it under his shirt and did as he was told.

Eric laid down on the cold, hard earthen floor and closed his eyes. He concentrated on the vivid face of his older self from his previous dream and paid no attention to the singing in the background or the smell associated with the singing. Even as it grew drastically colder and the wind tossed him relentlessly back and forth, he gritted his teeth in determination and closed his eyes. He endured the chill and hunger in silence.

Morning slowly crept forward and the warm sun peeked shyly through the dark blanket of night. He felt the inviting warmth of the sun on his face and smiled to himself. It felt like outdoor camping except for the fact that he was alone, without a tent, and extremely ravenous in a totally alien planet. He yawned and got up. He stretched himself, feeling sore from sleeping on the hard ground. He was elated that he had survived his first night on this planet. To his amazement, the voice and its scent had disappeared, just as the necklace had informed him. His stomach growled loudly to remind him that he had missed two meals already and his lips were parched dry. He was also thirsty as well. He sighed and continued to walk in the direction of the rising sun. Refreshed from last night's sleep, he quickly walked through the empty, green fields that stretched endlessly. Once in a while, he would take breaks to relax and stretch his legs.

And so it continued for three more days. Eric trudged forward during the day and slept at night. The beautiful singing voice and the sweet scent that haunted him before grew more distant and less alluring. He now ignored it without any effort as he slept peacefully.

On the third morning, Eric grew restless and he asked the necklace.

"Where can I find food and water? Is there anything edible near here?" He could ignore the singing voice but it was difficult to ignore his body's basic needs.

The necklace replied, "You have the ability to withstand food and water for at least a month, if not more. Eat and drink at your own risk for nothing outside the Guilden Kingdom is safe. Even the fruits carry poison and small prey have been known to feast on the hunter."

Eric shuddered at the warning. He was tired and cranky. With no food for three days, he was becoming desperate. The open fields no longer appealed to him. He longed to be back home in his bedroom, comfortable and safe. He, personally, didn't even mind having to put up with David Harper if that meant having meals and a warm bed and not to mention, a hot shower. He sniffed himself. He was beginning to smell. He shook his head. He had no choice but to heed the necklace's warning.

He sighed and walked faster, impatiently thinking about how much farther the Guilden Kingdom could possibly be. At least, he knew he would be fine for a month before he started to panic. He couldn't imagine eating anything in the wild here, it didn't seem safe.

It was not until mid-day that he finally came upon the five hills as instructed by the necklace. They were small hills and it was not so difficult to walk over them but the troughs were more convenient to walk through. Eric peered at the bottom troughs of the hill. He couldn't see anything suspicious except for a handful of wild vines growing carelessly on the ground. They looked rather harmless to him but he dared not disobey the necklace's instructions. He slowly climbed over the third hill. After an hour or two of treacherous uphill walking, he had slipped multiple times on the rough edges, he finally found himself on top of the hill. He looked in admiration at what met his eyes. In front of him, was a dome-shaped translucent barrier and behind that was the stone wall that must be the entrance to the Guilden Kingdom.

Chapter 10: Guilden Kingdom

Eric stood there panting, breathless from his own physical exertion as well as the sight in front of him. It looked like a hallucination at first but he pinched himself just to make sure it was real.

"Ow! That hurts."

He rubbed his eyes and sighed, taking in the spectacular image in front of him.

He muttered, "I guess it's real after all. It's beautiful."

The Guilden Kingdom was huge, it seemed to stretch for miles and the stone wall that served to protect its borders was perfectly built. Each stone that was used was chosen to fit perfectly in the mosaic arrangement much like puzzle pieces. The stones were smooth and came in all shapes and sizes, some small as a marble and some large as a television. But they were all the same light grey color, beautiful and glossy as if they had been polished multiple times. The dome-shaped barrier around this stone wall was translucent, like a crystal, producing a blurry image of what was behind it.

Eric peered around but there was no one. The land was rather flat with occasional slopes but none that could be as steep as the hill he had just climbed. He was exhausted but he mustered enough energy to go down the hill which was easier and faster than the uphill climb. When he was at the bottom of the hill, his pace quickened and he arrived at the translucent barrier in a short period of time. He was excited and optimistic that there would be food and shelter behind this wall. But he stopped in front of the barrier, afraid to go any further. He stood there, pondering what to do next. He debated whether he should walk around the barrier until he could see someone coming outside to let him in or just walk through the barrier and hope it would not harm him. It did look relatively harmless but looks could be deceiving.

Before he could make a decision, the necklace shot up out of his shirt and started to pull him through the barrier. It was like a strong magnet pushing him along and moving him towards it. Try as he might, he could not resist the force. Panic overcame him as he was dragged closer and closer towards the barrier. In a desperate attempt to pull back, he automatically held up both his hands in protest and tried to plant his feel firmly on the ground but to no avail. His shoes left deep imprints on the ground as the force pulled him through.

As he went through the barrier, he felt a cool wet touch on his skin as if he was going through a very fine mist. He was both scared yet intrigued by what was happening to him. The necklace continued to drag him forward but now, he was no longer resisting it. He allowed it to pull him completely through and when they had both safely arrived inside, it continued to drag him to the entrance of the Guilden Kingdom. Now that he passed the translucent barrier, he could clearly see the large stone wall. It stood impressively in front of him in its glorious beauty, a product that seemed to have taken decades to build.

The necklace continued to lead him forward, no longer dragging him as he walked rapidly to keep up with it. The entrance to the kingdom was the only part where the stone wall ended and silver double doors loomed in its place. The double doors did not look as if they had been opened in a while for the hinges were covered with dust.

He muttered to himself, "I guess they don't have many visitors. I wonder how they would feel after seeing me."

There were no handles or knobs or keyholes to open the door. It was completely devoid of anything he had seen at home. Luckily, the necklace seemed to know exactly how to open the door as it headed to the very center of the double doors and the scepter pierced through the strong silver door. It made a sharp screeching sound and the double doors seemed to come alive as it slowly started to open by itself. He watched as the scepter turned a full 360° turn causing the double doors to slowly open. The hinges, rusty from lack of use, made an awful scraping sound that hurt his ears.

When it completed the turn, the necklace returned to the safety of his shirt, tucked carefully underneath. When the double doors had opened enough for him to go through, he took a deep breath and went inside. He felt a hand grab his shirt and push him roughly through. Another person immediately went to close the double doors as he heard a slamming sound behind him. When Eric was inside, he saw the face of the guard that had grabbed his shirt. He was wearing an eye patch on his right eye and his face was disfigured. There was a huge scar that had gashed the right side of his face and it looked to have been caused by a sharp knife. As he smiled, Eric noticed that he was also missing most of his teeth. He gulped nervously as he waited for what would happen next.

The guard, tall and heavy set, stared down at him and asked in a thunderous voice, "Who are you? How did you get through the force field and open the door?"

It took Eric awhile to realize that the language he had spoken sounded very wispy and exotic in comparison to what he was used to. He recalled the conversation he had with Janet and thanked her for the useful information. He didn't even have to make an effort to understand what the guard had just said to him. However, he had other problems on his mind than the language barrier to overcome.

Before he could respond to the guard's question, there was a crowd of armed guards surrounding him and beyond that, a crowd of curious onlookers were gathering around him, forming a circle. They looked at him with different kinds of emotions. Some looked at him with interest, disgust, shock and others just stared at him with boredom and amusement. They all immediately dispersed as they heard a sharp whistle, except for some loyal guards, who stood next to the disfigured guard. The guard still had a firm grip on his shirt.

A cloaked figure walked gracefully but rapidly through the crowd and stood boldly in front of Eric. Most of his face was hidden by the dark crimson cloak as he stared down at him. It made him feel suddenly so self-conscious. He realized that his clothing was odd as he heard whispers from the crowd of spectators that he must be one of the 'visitors.' Maybe that was the reason why he was being stared at with such curiosity. He noticed that they all seemed to wear the same type of medieval clothing. The males wore a tan tunic that was tucked under brown trousers while the females wore off-white long dresses with flowing sleeves. Most had on shoes but the children ran around barefoot. He realized how odd his own appearance must be in contrast to the people here.

The cloaked figure looked at the guard and said in a polite but firm voice, "I come with a message from the Elders. They wish to speak to this boy. He must be brought forward immediately."

There was a slight pause as he continued, even more firmly.

"These are direct orders from the Elders."

At the mention of the word 'Elder,' the guard lowered his eyes and reluctantly released his grip on his shirt. He nodded his head in obedience as he took a step away from Eric. Eric breathed a sigh of relief and started to relax. The guard, however, continued to watch him with his one good eye, rather suspiciously. Eric was led through the crowd of people who had gathered at a distance, out of respect for the cloaked figure. He dared not look any of these people in the eye. He was trembling with fear as he followed the cloaked figure, afraid of what would happen to him. They didn't seem the least bit friendly, not even the cloaked figure, who had saved his life. The cloaked figure continued to walk straight ahead. His footsteps were soft, gentle, and graceful almost as if he was gliding on ice in stark contrast to Eric's own shuffling footsteps, tired with fatigue and barely able to lift his body weight.

The cloaked figure finally stopped before a grand castle. Eric gasped in awe. It looked like the castles in the medieval times when there were knights and kings and dragons. The only difference was that there was no moat or drawbridge and the castle was made of the same light grey stones as the wall outside. It was very glossy and beautiful to look at. The entire castle was built on land that was purposefully raised several feet above the rest of the ground. There were stone steps that led into the castle. Before he had time to admire it any further, the cloaked figure was already waiting inside the door of one of the towers and he immediately ran to keep up. He was led through a winding staircase and down a hallway, past many silver doors, until the cloaked figure finally stopped in front of one of the doors. The silver door had no knobs and the cloaked figure opened the door by sliding it sideways.

Eric followed and was greeted by two cloaked figures sitting on red velvet chairs. The third chair in the middle was empty and he had a feeling that he knew why. The cloaked figure nodded his head to both of the Elders and retreated, closing the silver door behind him. Judging by his dream, he knew that the two cloaked figures in front of him were the Elders. He could not see their faces, for the cloak hid much of it, and the room was dimly lit by a chandelier hanging overhead. He dared not walk closer. He stood near the safety of the door, staring at the closed room which had no windows and no other exit. The stone walls were bare; there were no decorations. There was only a grey matching carpet that led up the steps to the where the Elders sat. The Elders were facing the door and watching him with a great amount of curiosity.

One of the Elders, sitting on the right chair, rose and said, "We have been waiting for you, Zephler."

He smiled pleasantly as he sat back in his seat.

"Please come closer so that we may take a look at you."

He hesitated. His instinct was that of survival and he wanted to run back out the door and out of this nice but dangerous castle. But he had a feeling he would be caught eventually. There was no way he could escape. He took a courageous breath and stepped forward, walking into the center of the room and directly underneath the chandelier.

The Elder said in a polite, quiet voice.

"You look very much like your father with traces of your mother as well. You should be proud to be their son. It is just unfortunate that they could not be here with us."

The Elder, sitting on the left chair, nodded his head in agreement.

Eric was inclined to remain silent but he was overcome with curiosity himself and he had a feeling that they would have killed him already if they had wanted to.

"Do you know my parents?"

Both the Elders nodded their heads.

"Then you must know how they died. How did they die? Please tell me." Eric had to know if his parents were murdered and by whom.

The Elder looked sad as he gravely said, "I'm sorry, Zephler. We cannot tell you the details yet. All I can say is that they both died tragically and sacrificed their lives for the people of the Guilden Kingdom. They died a heroes' death and are remembered as such."

Eric pressed on. "Please tell me. I have to know. I must avenge their deaths."

The Elder, sitting on the left chair, responded apologetically.

"We are terribly sorry but that information is not ours to disclose." There was a slight pause as he continued, "We are pleasantly surprised at your arrival but also baffled under the circumstances that you had arrived. How did you get here without any help and how did you manage to find this place?"

Eric decided to lie. He didn't want to tell them the truth about his necklace for fear they would confiscate it and try to harness its powers. He shrugged.

"I'm not sure. One moment, I was asleep on my bed and the next moment, I woke up here. I just wandered around until I found this place."

Both Elders looked at him, not sure whether to believe what they had just heard. "But how did you get past the force field we set up? Or open the doors to the kingdom?"

He had to come up with a good lie that was also believable. He remembered Janet and how she said that he had strong powers as a member of the royal family. Surely, the Elders must not know the extent of his powers. He decided to take a gamble.

"You know my real name is Zephler. Then you must know I am of royal blood. That would explain how I was able to bypass the force field and the open the double doors."

The Elder, sitting on the right chair, turned his head to face the Elder, sitting on the left chair, who also turned his head at the same time. They both seemed to be speaking to each other but it was low and unintelligible. They spoke for a brief moment and then turned to face Eric.

One of the Elders said, "You are more far informed than we expected and as for your powers, it is beyond our expectations. We are deeply impressed. If you know your real identity, then you must know who we are."

Eric looked him straight in the eye and said, "Indeed I do. You three make up the Triad of the Elders." He said this boldly and with confidence. The Elders showed little emotion but it seemed that they had underestimated him.

One of the Elder's eyebrow arched up as he repeated. "Three." He sighed. "So you are aware of our missing friend." He glanced over at the empty chair.

"Ah, but this empty chair may have given his absence away. We have kept out of the public eye since his disappearance and secretly searched for him but to no avail. Such is life. We must all make sacrifices, just like your parents did."

He wasn't sure if this was said with a malicious intent but he dismissed it. He took a step forward and asked, "Why did you send for me earlier? What is it that you want from me?"

Both the Elders smiled. One of them replied, "We were curious and wanted to meet you. We were not expecting any visitors today and it was odd that you came when you did. Either way, we wanted to train you."

He asked, suspiciously, "Train me? For what, may I ask?" He didn't trust anybody here, including the two Elders before him.

His smile widened. "We are training you to become the future king, of course. The Guilden Kingdom is yours to inherit on your fifteenth birthday. It is rightfully yours since you are the last of the royal family."

He felt his heart beat erratically and wondered if the Elders could hear his rapid heartbeats. "But I can't possibly be the king. I don't even know anything about these people or this planet for that matter. Plus, I don't even have the ideal characteristics to become a king. Trust me, I'm selfish, spoiled, lazy, ignorant, and as my friends would describe me, 'a complete idiot.' I mean I'm not fit to be a king. I just want to go back home, back to my friends and family where I belong." His voice rose slightly, filled with anger and fear.

The Elder remained calm as he simply looked at Eric and replied, "I would suggest you control your emotions and lower your voice. There are guards outside who are more than willing to take your life, no questions asked. You, yourself, saw how the guard was looking at you when you opened the main entrance earlier. There was fear and bloodlust in his eyes. He would not have hesitated to take your life then and there, had it not been for our intervention. All in all, we did save your life and we think that at the very least, we deserve to be treated with respect and courtesy." He glanced at his companion who nodded his head in agreement.

Eric lowered his eyes and said quietly, "I apologize for my behavior before. It is just that this is not my home. I don't belong here. I'm not the king you seek." He didn't know why but his voice sounded whiny and childlike as he pleaded to return home. It made him blush in embarrassment and humiliation.

The Elder looked at the chandelier for a long time before answering. His voice was quiet, more quiet than usual, as he spoke. "Your apology is accepted. I understand that you have concerns about your plight but I am afraid that it is not possible for you to return home."

Eric looked questioningly at him. "What do you mean 'not possible'?"

He slowly said, "It's in your blood, I am afraid. You cannot deny that. You must have noticed odd events happening back home that have to do with your identity. It may not be safe for you to return home. Besides, do you honestly think you can just leave and go back home now? Will they allow you to leave?" He pointed in the direction of the guards and the crowd of people outside.

Eric thought about what he was told. He knew there was truth to what the Elder had just informed him. "What if I want to secretly leave now? What if we kept my identity a mystery and I never reclaim the throne?"

The Elder, sitting on the left chair, spoke firmly. "I'm afraid you don't have a choice. It was fate that brought you here to reclaim what is rightfully yours. So you see, it is already your destiny and I don't believe that could be disputed."

The Elder, sitting on the right chair, continued. "We are not the rightful rulers of the Guilden Kingdom. We are mere substitutes if you will, waiting for you to return, so that we may leave. I hope you do understand what a difficult position you put us in by requesting that you be able to return back home. Home should be your birthplace, not the home with which you were raised. You may be able to blend in and connect with the humans on your planet, but you can never entirely assimilate as their own."

He looked at his companion and both nodded their heads in unison.

Eric felt completely at a loss for words. It felt so unfair to him that the decision was being made based on their own selfish desire to leave whereas his desire to return home was ignored. He had the feeling that the Elders were tired of being substitutes and wanted to quickly train him to become the king so that they could leave on his fifteenth birthday when he reclaimed his throne.

The Elder glanced at him and said, "However, we will keep your identity a secret for now, for your own protection. We are afraid the people who captured our brother may capture you as well if they know who you are. But don't worry, we will keep you safe until the day you reclaim the throne." He added. "You look tired. You should get some rest before dinner which will promptly start at sunset. It was nice meeting you finally, Zephler."

As soon as these words were uttered, the door opened behind him and the same cloaked figure, as before, escorted him to his own private quarters. He bowed awkwardly to both of the Elders, before following the cloaked figure up another flight of stairs and another dark hallway, dimly lit by torched candle lights near every door. He turned and stopped in front of another silver door and slid it open.

For the first time, he spoke. "This room has been specially made for you. Your clothes are on the bed and I suggest you freshen up before dinner."

He looked up and down with distaste as Eric's fashion statement and not to mention, the distinct odor that must be emanating from not bathing for several days. The cloaked figure quickly departed.

Eric stepped inside his room with curiosity. It was small but quaint. There were two windows facing outside and a rather large bedroom in the middle of the room. The floor had a dark velvet carpet and the curtains were a glossy black color. The bed had white silk sheets and a warm, cozy brown fur comforter. It looked to be made from some furry animal that Eric had never seen before but the texture was very soft. The room was rather empty, devoid of the typical furniture he was used to seeing back home. There was a small round table in front of the windows and two wooden chairs.

He noticed a small silver door on the side of the wall opposite the bed. As he slid it open, he saw a small room with a silver tub in the middle. There was no sink or even a toilet. He was quite sure this was the bathroom if it could be even called that.

Eric groaned out load. "There's no running water at all. How can I live like this?"

He was already beginning to miss home. He longed for the simple pleasures he had taken for granted back home and this place seemed very primitive to him. The silver tub was already filled with warm water and he could smell the bath salts placed inside. It was very inviting especially after the arduous journey he had just endured.

He looked at his own reflection in the tub and noticed his dirty, torn clothes, covered in dirt from sleeping on the ground and ripped from falling up and down the hill. There was sweat on his face and his hair was disheveled. He sighed and started to shed his clothes. He stepped into the tub, one foot at a time, testing the temperature of the water. Oddly enough, it was nice and warm to the touch. He sank into the tub, feeling the cool touch of the silver surface. He sighed and closed his eyes as he sank his entire face into the water. He held his breath underwater for a second and then brought his face back up for air, his hair entirely wet. He soaked in the tub for a long time, relaxing his tired body. It felt so nice to be in the warm tub. He eventually stepped outside, dripping wet onto the velvet carpet and saw a dark crimson cloak hooked on the side of the wall. He put on the cloak and walked outside into the bedroom.

He went over to where the clothes laid on the bed. They looked like plain peasant clothes to him, a tunic and knee trouser. It fit snugly on him and he topped the outfit with the dark crimson cloak. The cloak was soft and warm. Eric felt a wave of homesickness as he looked around his new room. For although everything was nice, new, and luxurious, it was still not his room and this was not his home or his world for that matter. It was as if he had stepped foot into someone else's life and inherited everything that person owned.

Eric looked around, disappointed by the lack of entertainment. "Too bad they don't have a television set here."

His hand itched to touch the remote control but he settled himself down by sitting on the bed. He felt tired and decided to lie down on the silk sheets. His eyes closed and he took deep breaths to calm his fears.

Chapter 11: Questors

Time passed but because there was no clock, Eric was not sure what time of day it was. He did not fall asleep because he was not used to the bed and he kept tossing and turning. All he was aware of was that he was hungry and his stomach growled loudly to confirm this. As if in answer to an unspoken question, a knock sounded. He got up and opened the door cautiously. To his surprise, a young boy, about ten years of age, dressed in ragged peasant clothes and standing there barefoot, bowed before him. Despite his youthful appearance, the odd striking feature about him was that he had hair, white as snow, but his face looked very young.

He did not meet Eric's eyes as he said, "Dinner is about to be served. Please follow me."

Eric was surprised to hear such a mature and deep voice emanating from this boy but since this planet was alien to him, the people were also very alien as well. He would actually be quite shocked if he didn't see any green slimy aliens with big heads running around.

He nodded his head and followed the boy down the hallway. There was a clanking sound everywhere the boy walked because his feet were bound together in metal chains. Other than that, the boy's steps were very quiet and agile, almost soundless. They passed several silver doors and down a flight of stairs and made a left turn where they entered a large room, whose wide double doors were open.

The spacious room was lit up by a magnificent crystal chandelier which sparkled with dozens of candles. There were five rows of tables and he noticed that a majority of the seats that lined the tables were still empty. Some of the seats were occupied by guests who had come in before him. Others, like himself, were beginning to file in, one by one, led by little boys with white hair. Food was already on the tables. There were grilled chicken, slices of ham, poached eggs, bread rolls, baked potatoes, raw vegetables, apple pies, and a variety of fruits all in shiny silver bowls. The utensils consisted of silver spoons, forks, knives and they all looked new. The plates and cups were made of fine porcelain.

Two of the tables were occupied by men in suited armor and one of the tables had guests who wore silk robes. The table at the far end remained empty and the table he was being led to was already occupied by people who wore cloaks like himself. The young boy drew out a chair for him and politely bowed before departing. He sat down and saw the name tags placed on the napkins and realized that all of the seats were specifically designated for each guest. He glanced around at the guests already seated at his table but their faces were all covered up by the cloaks that they wore. He had a feeling they did not want to be bothered for their faces did not turn at all when he sat down. He smiled anyways but no one seemed to acknowledge his friendly gesture. They all kept to themselves and their eyes were all downcast as if inspecting the spotless silverware for dust particles.

Eric respected their need for privacy so he turned his head around to examine the other guests sitting on the other tables. The men who wore silk robes looked like upper class politicians. Their mouths were constantly chattering happily away as they greeted one another and quickly engaged in conversation. They were all rather plump and pale, some tall and some short, but they all seemed to be having a good time. In contrast to his quiet table, Eric did not mind switching seats and joining them for company. The other table that seated the men in suited armor was relatively quiet except for an occasional clanking sound as the metal rubbed against each other when they shook hands. He guessed them to be some sort of guard but they looked different than the guards he encountered earlier in the day. They were well-mannered and serene. He guessed them to be higher ranked, maybe even knights.

As he glanced around at all the guests, he realized there were no females. He thought to himself. "This is odd."

The guests were not particularly interesting and the atmosphere felt oddly cold and overly unpleasant. He wasn't sure why he felt that way but there were no signs of laughter or fun. It was not at all as he expected it to be. If it wasn't for his hungry stomach, he would have opted to be in his room instead. Eric watched with slight envy as the politicians chatted endlessly and smiled at one another. That was when he noticed the table at the far end remained still empty.

No one had touched the food on the tables yet. He thought to himself. "They must be waiting for the last guests to arrive."

He was right for at that moment, a huge group came pouring in. They were tall and heavy built, appearing like giants to him. They were at least seven foot tall and they all had tanned skin and wore clothes that looked like they were made from animal hides. Their hair was dark and unkempt and long, extending down their waist. They were loud and expressed jubilation at the amount of food on the tables and each took their own seat, paying no attention to the name tags. He couldn't help but stare at them and then, one of them caught his eye and grinned. Eric, rather embarrassed to be caught gawking, immediately turned around to his own table.

Everyone politely waited as the few remaining guests arrived and the seats were filled. Suddenly, all heads turned to the front as a loud bell chime sounded. As if out of nowhere, the two Elders appeared, dressed in the same dark cloak, that they wore in the afternoon. All was silent, conversations were dropped, and all eyes were focused on the two Elders.

One of the Elders stepped forward. His voice echoed throughout the room.

"We would like to thank everyone for coming to today's dinner. It is an honor to be in the presence of your company. You have all been invited to stay here for a special reason, which with your patience, will come to light soon. Some of you have traveled from far places and one of you, in particular, just arrived this very day."

There was a slight pause as his head turned to Eric's direction. He continued. "So please, enjoy yourselves and share in the plentiful food that was graciously prepared for your pleasure." With that, both the Elders vanished in the same manner that they had appeared.

Conversations gradually filled the room as everyone turned around excitedly and started to eat. Eric, himself, was so ravenous that he gathered enough food on his plate to feed three people. He wasn't bashful like the others who sat at his table. He had not eaten for several days and he was going to make up for it today. He helped himself to everything and even had room for seconds. He only stopped to look at his cup which was filled with a dark liquid. He decided to taste it a bit, out of caution, but it tasted so addictive, that he drank the entire cup within seconds. It tasted sweet, not sugary sweet but the raw, organic sweet that fruits had. There was no alcohol, which he feared at first. As soon as his cup was empty, the white-haired boys would come and fill his cup. He smiled politely, not used to being waited upon.

As time wore on and dinner was finished, the guests started to disperse, as they were individually led to their rooms by the same white-haired boys. Some of the guests stayed to talk with each other but Eric sighed as he looked at his rather empty table. He motioned for one of the boys to escort him to his room. When he arrived at his door, he politely said, "Thank you" and walked inside. Fatigue overtook him and he immediately fell fast asleep.

Eric didn't know what time he woke up. The thick drapes, covering the windows, prevented sunlight from seeping through. But he didn't care. He didn't have to go to school here and his mom wasn't going to wake him up so he could sleep all day if he wanted. He stretched lazily on the soft fur comforter. He felt like he had never felt before, well-rested. The bed and the food last night, especially the sweet drink, must have done wonders for him. He looked at the scrapes and cuts on his hands; they were almost completely healed.

He muttered to himself. "Yet another oddity."

Eric ceased to be surprised at all the unusual things that seemed to happen here. He yawned and stretched as he finally resolved to get out of bed. The first thing he noticed was that someone had delivered breakfast on the round table near the window. There were even fresh flowers on a vase which he knew wasn't there yesterday. He smiled to himself as he opened the drapes covering the window and the bright sunlight flooded the dark room. He sat down and helped himself to fresh rows of bread, which he smeared with the chunk of butter and silver knife provided. He also ate slices of ham and poached eggs, probably leftovers from last night. On top of that, he laughed happily as he saw the dark, sweet liquid from last night which he drank in several quick gulps.

He remarked, "This tastes so delicious. I wonder what it is."

When he had finished breakfast, he looked outside the window at the nice weather and the crowds of people bustling about, as they went around their daily business. He opened the window and noises filled the air and a gentle breeze came wafting through. The breeze brought the smells of fresh food, flowers, and many other scents he couldn't quite make out, into the room. He smiled happily, thinking that this place might not be so bad after all. He went into the bathroom where he noticed fresh cloth wipes and a new pair of clothes hanging on the walls. The water was warm and inviting as he took a quick bath, soaking in the bath salts that were placed in the water. The warmth of the water made him feel comfortable and relaxed.

He thought to himself, "I wonder who's in charge of room service here. I have to really thank this person. All this must have been done this morning when I was sound asleep and didn't hear anyone coming in."

He came out of the tub, dripping wet, and wiped himself with the cloth wipes provided. He changed to his new pair of clothes and tossed the old clothes on the floor, including the cloak. He walked out of the bathroom and decided to venture outside of this castle.

He didn't quite remember the way out but he was willing to give it a try. It was better than staying inside his room all day. He walked down the hallway, past several doors, and down several flight of stairs until he was sure he was on the bottom floor of the castle. When he opened the door he thought was the door that led outside, it opened into a room instead. Several pairs of eyes stared at him as he muttered an apology and closed the door. Fearing that he was lost, he kept walking back and forth down the hallways, hoping to run into someone. He was lucky. He ran into one of the cloaked figures walking by and asked him for directions to the outside. The cloaked figure did not speak but led him to the exit of the castle. He thanked him and went outside.

The bright sunlight made him blink as his eyes grew accustomed to it. He happily walked out and immersed himself in the crowd, although some people stopped to stare at him.

One person said, "He looks familiar. I thought I saw him yesterday but he was wearing different clothing."

Another person asked, "Are you sure that's him?"

Eric quickly went elsewhere to avoid the spectators that were gawking at him as if he were an alien.

He made several turns and accidentally bumped into a young boy, who looked about his age, but was taller with short, brown, curly hair, and big, brown eyes.

The boy exclaimed, "Hey, watch where you're going." He rubbed his shoulder.

Eric said, "Sorry about that. I was in a hurry."

The boy looked at him curiously, his expression going from fury to interest.

The young boy said, "I've never seen you before. Where are you from?"

Eric had to quickly come up with a lie. It wouldn't make sense to say he was new since they never have any visitors from outside the kingdom. He decided to tell a partial truth that he was one of the visitors that were invited to stay in the castle. But before he could say anything, the young boy continued.

He smiled as if he was on some secret. His voice was lowered to a whisper. "Are you one of the Questors? It's okay. You don't have to say anything if you are. Just nod your head in case they're listening. I'll keep your secret. I promise."

Eric had no idea what this boy was talking about but it would save him from coming up with a believable lie. He simply nodded his head and decided to play along.

The boy smiled with joy. "I knew it. That's why you seem different. You know, like you're not one of us, the common folk. Is that why you're in a hurry? Are you trying to escape from your Questor pals?"

Eric had no choice but to continue with the lie. He nodded his head.

The boy bit his lip. "No wonder you guys usually don't talk that much. And you're all very secretive but don't be afraid, I won't say anything. So why are you out? You usually don't go outside of that castle and you guys usually are in uniform."

Eric looked at him questioningly. "Uniform?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You know, the dark cape with the hood and that odd symbol? That's what all the Questors wear."

Eric realized now what he was talking about. The boy was referring to the cloaked figures in the castle who worked for the Elders. They must be called 'Questors.' He smiled now, comforted by this piece of information.

He replied, "I am out on personal leave. That's why I'm out of uniform."

The boy stared at him, up and down, and asked, "But why were you in such a hurry? It looked like you were being chased by someone. Are you sure you're not trying to escape? Like maybe you did something wrong..."

Eric shook his head vehemently. "Of course not. Do you think I could escape my fellow Questors if they really were after me?"

The boy looked Eric in the eye and thought it over. He finally said, "That's true. I believe you."

Eric smiled, relieved that the worse was over. He smiled in a friendly way and said, "My name is Eric. What's yours?"

The boy smiled back. He was quite nice and friendly when he wasn't so suspicious. "My name is Emmers." He laughed out loud. "That's funny. Both our names start with the same letter. What a coincidence."

"So Emmers, since I've been cooped up in the castle for so long, can you show me any places worth seeing here?"

Emmers grinned. "Sure thing. The kingdom is rather large so I can't show you everything. But I can just show you where I live and the familiar places that I usually go to."

Eric nodded his head and replied, "That's fine with me. Lead the way, tourist guide."

Emmers looked at him and asked, "What does 'tourist guide' mean?"

Eric had forgotten that the people here were not always familiar with all the vocabulary words that humans used. Although he could translate into their language, there were certain words that could not be translated.

He explained, "It just means that you're the person who is familiar with the territory and can show me different places to see."

Emmers smiled. "Oh I get it now. Come, follow me."

Eric walked behind Emmers as he showed him the school he attended. It was a relatively large stone building but the odd feature was that it was a skyscraper. It had multiple floors which Emmers explained, was sectioned off, according to their ages. Each room on each floor taught a different subject, appropriate for that age level. It reminded Eric of a one-stop mall which sold everything except the concept was being applied to schools. He had a feeling Mr. Hayden would not approve of this.

Emmers asked, "So I'm curious. What is it like being a Questor? It must be a big responsibility. I mean working for the Elders. That's like a dream come true. Of course, you know that since you were chosen as a little kid. I wasn't chosen though." He looked down in disappointment.

Eric tried to console him. "Seriously, it's not at all what you think it is. I've never seen the Elders before. I am lower ranked than most of my fellow Questors so I just do what they tell me to do. There is no freedom, nothing. I feel like I'm locked up in prison."

Emmers looked at him in disgust. "Don't say that. Everyone wants to be a Questor. They are hand-selected by the Elders, themselves, and trained to fight. They have powers too, I heard. And they get to live in that grand castle." His voice had a tint of jealousy.

Eric shook his head. "Seriously, that castle is so scary and dark. It feels really gloomy and I always get lost with all the different rooms and floors."

"But don't you get really good food and servants too? I know, because my mom works in the castle as one of their cooks. She says it's really nice inside but then again, she's only allowed in certain rooms and there are always servants escorting and watching her."

"So your mom works there? I never knew that. How about your dad? What does he do?"

Emmers puffed out his chest as he proudly answered his question. "He works in the stables. He takes care of the horses for the knights. Sometimes, when I don't have to go to school, I help him out."

Eric was interested. "Really? Can I see the horses right now?"

Emmers looked at him, curiously. "Sure. But what's so interesting about them? They're just horses."

Eric had a feeling he would need a horse if he was to escape from here. There was no way he could run out of here if the Elders sent their knights after him. He had to have a horse, a fast one and if it had wings, that would be even better.

Emmers led him through the crowds, stopping once in awhile to talk to his friends. Eric noticed that there were many guards stationed at every corner. He saw their suspicious eyes following him around. No doubt that word had spread among the guards that a stranger had entered from outside the kingdom's stone wall and was now living among them. Even some of the common folk here were aware of this information and news had spread fast since yesterday. Whatever the case was, the guards were very suspicious of him and were determined to keep a close watch on him. Eric gulped nervously, not daring to wonder what would have happened to him had the Elders not intervened.

Emmers came back and led Eric to the back of the castle. The stable was further away from the castle and beyond that, there was a green pasture that they were led to graze. Emmers told Eric to wait there while he walked up to one of the keepers, who was in his forties, rather slender and tall. They talked for a bit before they both came to him.

"This is my dad. Dad, this is Eric. He's a new friend of mine. He wants to see the horses."

Eric smiled and held his hand out in a friendly shake. Emmers' dad smiled and shook his stretched hand. "Sure."

They followed Emmers' dad to the stables where he proudly showcased the horses. There were about twenty horses in the stables. They were all good-looking horses, well-fed and taken care of. Their coat was sleek and glossy but unfortunately, none of them had wings. Eric sighed, thinking about his escape. It might be more difficult than he thought, combined with all the guards watching his every movement.

Emmers' dad talked about the horses and Eric nodded politely. Eventually, Emmers and his dad went off to talk privately, leaving Eric alone to inspect the horses. One horse, in particular, caught his eye and it seemed to stare at him, almost as if it knew him. Eric went over to look at this horse, whose black, shiny coat was captivating. He reached over to stroke its head and it stood there, calmly and patiently, as he patted the horse.

Eric smiled. "This is the horse I want."

He leaned over to whisper in its ear. "I shall name you Ebony." The horse responded by licking his outstretched hand.

Just then, Emmers and his dad came over.

Emmers' dad said, "That is one of the few remaining ancient horses. When I started working, it was already here. It still looks the same as the day I first laid my eyes on it. Unfortunately, I have changed."

He laughed as he ran one hand through his thinning, grey hair. He continued, "No one knows its age exactly. Some people say it has a spell on it. It should have died a long time ago but yet, it still has the body of a young, strong horse."

Eric stared at the horse and he believed Emmers' dad when he said this horse was ancient. It looked very wise and given its age, it should be one of the smartest horses in this stable. Eric remained confident with his choice. He politely thanked Emmers and his dad for showing him the horses and hoped they could meet again sometime. Eric walked back to the castle and to his room to lay out his plan for his escape.

Chapter 12: A Botched Escape

When Eric arrived at the front door of the castle, he made a mental note of the entrance and managed to find his way back to his room without any help this time. As he opened the door, he noticed that he was not alone. There was a low beautiful humming sound emitting from the bathroom followed by a clanking noise. He took a deep breath and mustered enough courage to open the bathroom door.

His eyes were met by the same young boy with the snowy, white hair that had led him to the dinner last night. The boy seemed as surprised as him. But he turned around again to continue with his work. He was replacing the cloth linens and taking the old ones, including his clothes, to be washed. However, he had stopped his humming tune, due to Eric's presence. Eric decided to politely make conversation with him.

"Hi, there."

There was no response. Eric decided to speak louder even though it was quiet in the bathroom and there was no other noise except for the clanking sound of the chains.

"Hi. My name is Eric. What is yours?"

The young boy turned around to face him. His brow was furrowed.

"I'm not deaf. I heard you the first time. And we are just mere servants. We are forbidden by the Elders to speak to the guests."

He deftly moved around Eric to the bathroom door and vanished in an instant. Eric was surprised not only with his speed but his voice, which was abnormally deep, given his age. He stared in shock but quickly followed the boy out of the bathroom door and into his bedroom. The boy was wiping the round table and straightening the chairs.

Eric decided to approach him with caution. He said in an apologetic manner, "I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier. I didn't know that you're not allowed to speak to us. But don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I just want to know your name."

The boy stopped and stared at him with a suspicious look. "What for?"

"Well, I was hoping we could be friends."

"But that's not possible. I'm your servant."

Eric shook his head, vehemently. "I don't believe in servitude. I told you my name. What's yours?"

The boy bit his lip and cautiously whispered, "Yulik."

Eric rolled his eyes. "There, now. Was that so hard to say? It's not as if I asked for your kidney."

Yulik's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would you want my kidney?"

Eric had forgotten that they were from different planets and there were bound to be slight discrepancies. Maybe they had never heard of organ transplants. He wasn't surprised, considering that although they were the more advanced life form, they lacked running water.

He shook his head. "That's not important. I'm just curious. Why are your legs bound in chains? Are you being punished for something?"

The boy looked frightened. "I have to go now. I am only allowed a certain amount of time for each room and if I stay too long in one room, they will get suspicious. I have a lot of other rooms to clean." His eyes darted back and forth as if he was being watched.

"Who will get suspicious?"

Before his question was answered, the frightened boy had already walked pass him.

Eric did not want him to leave. He thought of a question he had to ask him. "Please wait. I just need to know where the...er...um....toilet is? I'm new here."

Yulik turned around and asked, "You mean the outhouse?"

Eric nodded his head.

"It's outside of the castle near the cottage where the horses are kept."

With that being said, he opened the door and quickly left.

Eric shook his head. "That was strange. But at least, I am getting to meet different people here and I know where the restrooms are."

His mind quickly went over what had happened this morning. He had made a friend and started an escape plan. He smiled at the progress of a day's work. Already he had known which horse he would take, but as for the guards, that would pose as a problem. They seemed to be stationed at every corner, not allowing him the distance he would need if he wanted to escape successfully. But the greatest fear he had was that there would be even more guards stationed at the main entrance or to him, his exit to freedom. He sighed. He decided to take a brief nap while he worked out the details of his escape later. He was exhausted from today's excursion.

When he woke up several hours later, well-rested and alert, he smelled a delicious aroma in his room. Instinctively, he got up out of bed and went to the table where several plates were set up. There were grilled chicken, fried fish, bread rolls, a salad and some fruit. There was the same sweet drink and a bowl of chicken soup with vegetables. Everything smelled delicious to him and he devoured everything, chewing happily away. He made a mental note to thank Yulik for his good room service.

After he finished eating dinner, he contemplated his escape plan more seriously. Since there were so many guards, they must be changing shifts every couple of hours. They couldn't possibly stand there for the whole day, especially at night. He didn't care how dedicated these guards were, they had to sleep some time. Perhaps, they would be less alert at night, especially since it was dark and they couldn't see clearly. Also, they would be sleepy and tired even if they slept during the day. It would be the best time to escape at night.

However, Eric had a guilty feeling that nagged him. He had tried to ignore it earlier but it was to no avail. He was the last of the Guilden royal family, like the Elders said. He had an obligation to stay and rule his people. Besides, from what he had experienced so far, the people seemed rather friendly but odd, the food was delicious, and he had his own personal service. It was definitely better than staying at home. He lived in a castle and he didn't have to go to school. He could practically do whatever he wanted since his mom wasn't here and only the Elders seemed to know his true identity and they were keeping it a secret for his protection.

He sighed. But deep inside, he missed his mom, his friends back home, and even schoolwork. It was rather boring here. He missed Pizza Lovers, soccer, the neighborhood, and his own room. This place was nice but it didn't seem real to him. It was like some sort of dream come true. He wanted to go back home and return to his normal life as an innocent kid, no responsibilities, and no expectations. Well not exactly no expectations or responsibilities, there were a few minor ones. His mom did expect him to finish high school, at the very least, and to perform chores at home to help her out but it was nothing big. It was nothing like being a prince or future king and having to make decisions that would affect the lives of people.

He saw the way Yulik or the guards looked at the mention of the word 'Elders,' and he didn't want to be anything like them. He didn't like that look of intense fear. He wanted to be a fair and just king who cared about his people, not a king to be feared. But why should he care? These were not really his people. Honestly, he didn't even know them. Emmers would have made a better king than him. He sighed. He may have been born here but he wasn't raised here and he couldn't be expected to stay. He had to leave. He had to return home to his true home, not this fantasy world.

Sure, his true home wasn't perfect. He didn't know where his dad was, his mom was moving on with her new boyfriend, and he wasn't the most popular kid in school but he had people who cared about him. He had his mom who loved him, friends and neighbors and teachers who cared about his well being. He shook his head. Why was this decision so difficult to make? It wasn't right for him to stay here when he didn't belong. Besides, he had no positive characteristics that would be fitting for a good king. He was lazy, stubborn, indifferent, selfish, and generally, not the typical good king. But one thing was certain, he was nothing like the Elders. He knew that they would leave once he became king and the people and the guards would be a lot happier. They could relax and smile more and he could release the chains that bound poor, miserable Yulik. He shook his head. He hated guilt trips.

But tonight, he was curious. He hadn't made his final decision to leave yet but he had to scope out the main entrance tonight. He wasn't sure what time it was because there was no clock here but it was dark outside, pitch black. He figured it must be night time. He crept slowly out of his room, careful not to make a sound. The hallway was empty as usual. He never seemed to see the other guests leaving and entering their rooms. It was all very odd to him.

By now, he was quite familiar with the way out of the castle. He quietly went down the stairs which took him a long time because he noticed a slight creaking noise that he made with every step. At last, he reached the final step and opened the door to the hallway. That was when he saw one of the Questors.

The Questor, cloaked heavily, glided to him, making no noise, and asked, "What are you doing out this late?"

Eric's heart was beating frantically. He had to make an excuse. All he could think of was the outhouse that Yulik had informed him about.

"I have to use the outhouse." He jumped first on one leg and then, the other, pretending as if he was about to relieve himself in the hallway.

The Questor looked at him suspiciously. "The castle door is locked at night. This is to keep everyone safe, especially when they are supposed to be asleep."

"Well, can't you make an exception to this rule, just this once? I really have to go. It must have been something I ate." He jumped even faster, making it appear as if the urgency to go was somehow increased during this brief conversation.

The Questor said, "I really don't want to get into trouble. The guests are not supposed to leave at night...." He pondered for a moment, staring at Eric, who blinked back with complete honesty. "But I guess I could unlock the door this once. Just be quick and don't go anywhere else. I will be here waiting for you."

Eric smiled. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. I promise."

The Questor unlocked the door and allowed Eric to leave the castle. Eric walked quickly through the empty streets, remembering the way he was led on his first day here. It was pitch black and hard to see but his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. His heart was beating. He knew he only had a few minutes before the Questor got suspicious and would start to look for him or worse, to sound the alarm.

It was rather odd but the streets were all empty. There was no one outside at all. Perhaps, because it was really late at night and everyone was asleep in bed, where he should be. His pace had quickened to a run as he ran through the streets until he finally saw the entrance. There were a total of four guards walking back and forth. There were two guards on each side of the double doors. They were all armed and before they could see him, he had run behind a shop nearby and crouched closely to the ground.

He cursed quietly to himself. "Darn it! They have so many guards, even at night. There is no way I could get out of here....alive, anyways."

He poked his head out to get a better look. The guards were heavily armed with swords on their side and bows and arrows on their backs. They looked highly alert and one of them, even stopped walking back and forth, to stare in the direction of a noise he had heard. Eric poked his head back into the safety of the shop's walls. His heart was pounding loudly. He could just imagine what they would do to him if he was caught.

The guard, who was staring at the direction of the noise earlier, had started to come over to investigate. He was reaching rather close to where Eric was hiding. Eric closed his eyes to prepare for the worse. But just as the steps were coming, they stopped. A bark sounded and he heard someone curse loudly.

"Aw crap, it's just a dog. I thought it was someone. It's just a false alarm."

He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the footsteps retreat back to the main entrance. This was followed by male voices.

"Did you see anything?"

"No way, it's too dark. I'm practically blind here."

"Me too."

"Are you sure it was just a dog?"

"Positive. I checked. You saw me walk over there."

"Okay. Don't get all upset. I was just checking. I wanted to make sure. That's all."

There was a slight pause.

"Lately, there have been strange things happening here. First, there were all sorts of strange guests coming to stay at the castle. Then, there was that day when that kid came out of this door. I mean we have never had any visitors coming from outside before. It was truly unusual, even for me."

He heard murmurs of agreement.

"Anyways, I just want to warn everyone, be careful okay? Just be alert and keep your eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

"You mean, even that kid?"

"Especially that kid. I don't like the looks of him. He was wearing odd clothes and he seems out of place. And the way, the Questor came to save him at that exact moment, it was more than a coincidence. It was planned."

"I don't trust those Questors."

"Me neither. They have all been brainwashed by the Elders."

"They act funny now. And they wear those cloaks that cover their faces so you can't even recognize them anymore."

There was a sniffle. "I remember when Qinler, my nephew, was just a kid. He was so cute. He had big blue eyes and blond hair but ever since he was selected to work for the Elders, we don't even see him anymore. I miss that kid."

Someone sighed. "Everything's been messed up since the Elders came here. They just ruin everyone's lives. I wish they would just leave."

Again, there were murmurs of agreement that followed that statement.

Eric realized he had to leave now. There was no way he could escape tonight. The door was too heavily guarded. He had heard enough and his curiosity was satisfied. He didn't want to get in trouble with the Questor, who was no doubt, waiting impatiently behind the castle door. He walked quietly away from the main entrance and when he was a safe distance away from the guards, he ran quickly back to the castle. He smiled in spite of the danger he was in. Being an athletic soccer player does have its perks. He was hardly breaking a sweat when he came back.

He politely knocked on the door. He heard a quick turn of the key and a hand grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside the castle.

The Questor dared not raise his voice for fear he would wake up the other guests or worse, cause his fellow Questors to investigate the commotion but he was furious. He demanded in a loud whisper.

"What took you so long? I could have gotten in trouble."

He looked at the Questor. He couldn't see his face, which was mostly covered by the cloak, but he had a hunch that this Questor would not harm him.

"I'm terribly sorry. I got lost because it was really dark outside. And then, I had to..." He gulped. "Do a number two."

The Questor stared at him and blinked. "A what?"

He smiled. His humor was obviously going over his head. "I had to relieve my solid waste."

The Questor stared at him blankly, no smile at what seemed to be a good joke. He simply shook his head and said, "Yeah, whatever. Get back to your room immediately and don't go out at night again."

Eric was curious. He had to ask another question. "Why is it so quiet when it gets dark?"

The Questor looked around him. It was still empty in the hallway. "The Elders forced a decree that people are not allowed to leave their rooms at night without their permission. It's for their safety. Now, go back to your room before I get in trouble."

Eric smiled. His hunch was correct. This Questor was not going to harm him at all. In fact, they may even be friends. "Thanks for sticking your neck out for me. Good night."

The Questor stared at him suspiciously and watched him retreat to the staircase.

When Eric finally returned to his room, he immediately went to his window. He opened the thick drapes and looked outside. There were no street lights, no noise, nothing at all.

He shook his head. "No wonder the people are not even allowed to go outside at night. This doesn't seem right."

He knew he had to work on his escape plan. There was no way he could escape from the main entrance, unless he could somehow, defeat the guards. They were heavily armed but maybe, he could poison their drink or something.

But a more pressing matter was now at hand. He shook his head. The information he had heard from the guards made him feel queasy inside. The Elders were taking little boys from their families to be used as their own personal servants. He knew since elementary school that slavery was wrong. The United States Constitution strictly forbids slavery and here on this planet, they were enslaving the inhabitants at a very young age. He doubted that the boys had any choice, whether they wanted to serve the Elders, and given what he had witnessed so far, a life of servitude was no boy's dream. He surely had to do something about this but what? None of this was his problem.

Chapter 13: House Visit

That night, Eric couldn't sleep very well. He kept tossing and turning. Even the cool silk sheets and soft comforter could not lull him to sleep. Thoughts plagued his mind. Thoughts about staying here to correct the way life was for his people versus the thought of returning home. It took a long time before he fell asleep. When he did wake up, it was some time in the afternoon but someone, probably Yulik, had left the drapes closed so that light did not shine through to interfere with his sleep.

Eric wasn't sure when Yulik had come in. He had not heard a sound but there was food on the table. He would have continued sleeping but his stomach was starting to growl. He yawned and got up out of bed. He immediately went over to the table and hungrily ate what was brought to him. He was contemplating what he should do today. He finally resolved to go outside and continue with his sightseeing.

By now, Eric was familiar with the way out of the castle. He had memorized the direction and was no longer lost, although all the hallways and silver doors, initially, had looked all the same to him. He happily sauntered out of the castle and into the bustling streets. He wasn't sure what time it was but the sun was shining brightly overhead and there was not a cloud in sight. He decided just to take a walk around the kingdom with no particular destination in mind.

As he walked by the small shops and stalls that reminded him of Farmers' Market, many of the vendors shouted out to him to buy their fresh produce or anything else they happened to be selling. The vendors even offered him free samples to which he happily accepted. He continued walking until he reached the school. He looked around and saw Emmers sitting on the front steps.

"Hi, Emmers." He ran over to where he was sitting.

Emmers looked up from the book he was reading and because of the bright sunlight, he had to squint to see who had called him.

He smiled as he recognized Eric. "Hi, Eric."

"So, what are you reading?"

"My math book. It's very boring."

Eric nodded his head. "I agree."

Emmers closed his textbook. "Hey, you want to go over to the stables to help out my dad? He's really busy today because some of his coworkers took the day off. I'm sure he would like our help. It'll be fun."

Eric grinned. "Sure, I'm in."

Emmers sighed. "I don't feel much like doing my homework anyways."

Together, the two walked through the streets, past the shops and walked behind the castle to where the stables were. Emmers was right. His dad was so busy cleaning out the stalls and putting in fresh hay, that he didn't notice the two boys, until they were practically standing next to him.

"Hi, Dad."

Emmers' dad was startled. "Oh, hi there." He glanced at his son to Eric. "I know we met yesterday but I forgot your name already." He smiled. "Guess it must be old age."

Eric laughed. "My name's Eric."

"Ah, now I remember. So what are you two up to?"

"Well, Dad, we thought you might be busy today so we offered our help." He looked at Eric, who nodded his head in confirmation. "Besides, we also came to visit the lovely horses."

Emmers' dad laughed out loud. It was a surprisingly loud thunderous laugh that caught Eric off guard. He didn't think anyone so slender and fragile-looking was even capable of such a racket.

"Well, I can't say no to that. Not only will I be very grateful but I'm pretty sure the horses will be very grateful with your help as well. Thanks guys!"

Emmers' dad handed them pitchforks and showed them where the fresh hay was while he swept out the stalls and washed them down.

Eric glanced around. "Where are the horses?" He noticed that the stalls were all empty.

Emmers' dad replied, "Oh they're out grazing in the pasture." He pointed to the open field where Eric could vaguely make out approximately two dozen horses peacefully grazing.

"Aren't you afraid they will run away or get stolen?"

Both Emmers and his dad stared at him as if he had made an outrageous remark. "No one steals from the Elders and the horses are trained not to go too far. They know better than to go beyond that hill." He pointed at the hill, which served as a landmark, for the flat terrain that extended behind it.

They went back to work afterwards. It was quiet as they concentrated on the task at hand. Before it was dark, they had finished cleaning out the stalls and had placed fresh, dry hay inside. Emmers' dad beamed at both of them and commented on the nice teamwork. Emmers' cheeks turned red and he looked down in embarrassment.

Emmers' dad left for a bit and disappeared into a small cottage, reserved for the workers. Emmers was left alone with Eric for a bit.

"Sorry about that. My dad gets emotional sometimes. Even if you do a simple little chore to help him out, he keeps talking about it until it starts to get on your nerves. Then, you start to regret helping him out in the first place."

"No, it doesn't bother me. In fact, I think it's very nice of him. I like it when people thank me for helping them out."

Emmers grinned. "Well, in addition to my dad's gratitude, I would also like to thank you as well. We couldn't have done things so fast without you. It's been a big help."

"No problem. What are friends for right?"

Emmers looked at Eric and smiled. Eric was beginning to see some of Jonathan in him. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad to stay here after all.

Emmers' dad came back with a pitcher of a dark liquid and three cups. Eric was so happy, he could have ran up to him and hugged him. The work had made everyone very thirsty. Emmers' dad poured everyone a drink and as Eric tasted it, he immediately recognized this drink as the drink he had been having at every meal.

He was very curious. "What is this?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not exactly sure. It's supposedly very healthy for you. It helps your mind and body in all sorts of ways."

He explained, "I hope you don't mind but these are leftovers. It's just that my wife gets extra pitchers since she works in the castle as a cook."

Eric asked, "Is this what everyone drinks?"

"Mostly. It's just cheaper than the other drinks like milk or fruit juices. So everyone drinks it."

Emmers' dad was absentmindedly gazing out at the pasture looking at the horses. He sighed.

"I used to remember when we could buy alcohol and drink and party all night. It was legal except for kids of course, like yourselves. Then, the Elders came and took this privilege away. They said that people abused the alcohol and got drunk and were rowdy, disrupting the peace, and getting into fights so they outlawed it. Then, came this drink." He gulped the last drop and stared down at his empty cup.

When he looked up again, he saw both of them staring at him.

He laughed to break the awkward silence and asked, "Do you want any more? Just help yourself."

Both Eric and Emmers shook their heads.

"So no one drinks alcohol anymore?"

Emmers' dad laughed. "I'm pretty sure some people make their own alcohol since they confiscated all of it in the shops and closed the bars down. They just buy their own ingredients and make it in their basement or something. They just have to be careful so no one finds out."

He glanced back at the horses roaming freely out in the pasture and commented, "The horses look happier outside of their stalls."

Emmers saw that the sky was turning a reddish auburn color as the sun was starting to set.

"Dad, I think it's time for us to get the horses back."

Emmers' dad seemed to snap out of his daydream. He replied, "Right."

Together, all three of them led the horses, one in each hand, by their harness back into their stalls. It took several trips but eventually all the horses were returned. None of the horses had even tried to escape.

Eric thought to himself, "Maybe because they know they would be caught."

Emmers' dad smiled. "Well guys, thank you for helping me out today. I wouldn't have been able to finish so soon. I really appreciate your help, particularly from Eric."

He playfully clapped Eric on the back. That was when Eric realized how strong he was, despite his slender build. He almost fell forward but caught himself. Luckily, no one had noticed anything and he just smiled back.

"So Eric, how would you like to join my family and me for dinner? I would really want the rest of the family to meet you."

Both Emmers and his dad looked at Eric. He could see that Emmers was practically pleading for him to stay.

"Ah, of course, I would love to stay for dinner. Thank you."

"Good. Then, it's settled."

Eric followed Emmers and his dad back to their house. It was small but cozy. There were windows on each side of the wall and the home seemed very inviting. Emmers' dad knocked on the door and they waited outside. When the door opened, he saw a plump, jovial woman who had blonde hair and small hazel eyes. She looked surprised to see Eric.

"Oh, we have a guest today." She looked at her son and asked, "Emmers, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" She looked sternly at him and shook her head at her son's bad manners.

Emmers looked at his mom and back at Eric, forgetting that no introductions were made.

"Oh right, Mom. This is Eric. He's my new friend. He helped Dad and me today out in the stables." He winked at his mom, playfully. "We thought he might be hungry. I hope you don't mind that we invited him home to your wonderfully scrumptious cooking."

His mom blushed a deep red. "Oh, of course not. We are delighted to have you here with us, Eric. Oh my, where are my manners? You must be tired. Come in, please." She gestured him into their home and when he was inside, she led him to one of the empty chairs in the dining room. "Please have a seat. Make yourself comfortable while I finish setting up the tables."

Emmers grinned. "Sorry for that. But believe me, it's totally worth it. My mom is a great cook. Trust me."

Emmers and his dad took their seats next to Eric. Eric noticed some empty chairs were still unoccupied.

Emmers' mom called from the kitchen.

"Emmers, would you mind getting your two sisters from their room? It's time for dinner and we have a guest. And also, bring out an extra chair from your room."

"Sure, Mom."

Emmers ran up the stairs to get his two sisters and another chair. When he returned with the chair, his two sisters were right behind him. As they entered the dining room, Eric caught a brief glimpse of them. He couldn't help but stare. They looked perfectly identical as if there was a mirror between them, reflecting identical images of themselves. They looked younger than Emmers and had long light brown hair and hazel eyes. They were both wearing the same dresses and the only difference was one had red ribbons in her hair and another had pink ribbons.

Emmers cleared his throat as a warning for his sisters to behave. "These are my sisters, Libby and Casey. And this is my friend, Eric."

Libby and Casey both smiled at Eric, not in the least bit timid. "Hi, Eric." They both said this at the same time. It was like hearing two voices melded into one.

Eric stopped staring to smile and say hi back. The two sisters took their chairs opposite their brother and dad. They both seemed disinterested in Eric and more interested in what was for dinner.

In front of them, was barbecued turkey, pot roast, ham, steamed vegetables, baked potatoes, salads, fruits, hand-made biscuits, and a big bowl of vegetable soup. The smell was enough to make his mouth water. Besides, he only had one meal the whole day since he had slept in late. He was beginning to be very impatient as Emmers' mom continued to busy herself in the kitchen. She finally came back with grilled pieces of chicken and poached eggs.

She explained, apologetically, "Some of them are leftovers so I had to warm them up."

They all waited for her to take her seat and when she did, it was time to eat. Everyone helped themselves to the food. Eric ate until he could eat no more. The table was relatively quiet and everyone was concentrating on chewing and swallowing the food, rather than choking on them. Emmers' dad took a swig of the sweet dark liquid before he broke the silence.

"So Eric, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Like your family background or something. It is just that I haven't seen you around before and Emmers has been quite secretive about you."

Eric glanced at his friend who was trying to mouth some words but he couldn't make it out. He decided to lie as best as he could. Apparently, the secret to his survival on this planet was to hide the truth as much as possible and he was beginning to enjoy lying. His face no longer turned red. He took a deep breath before he started.

"Well, uh, actually I'm an orphan. I lost my parents when I was really little."

Emmer's mom looked at him sympathetically. "Oh, I' m sorry."

Eric, motivated by this, continued with his lie. "I didn't have any other relatives to take me in so I wondered around for a couple of days on the streets. I begged for food and slept in abandoned shelters."

He looked at Emmers' mom who murmured sympathetically and wiped tears from her misty eyes. He decided to speed that part up. He continued. "My luck changed when I met some of the Questors."

The twin sister, with the red hair ribbons, exclaimed, "Wow! You met the Questors?"

Her eyes were wide with excitement as she looked at her twin sister in disbelief. They both turned their heads to stare at Eric with interest. Eric had almost forgotten that the twins were at the table.

Their mom gave them a warning look not to interrupt and she said, "Please continue, Eric."

Eric smiled at her. "Well, they took me to see the Elders and the Elders decided to let me join them. They wanted me to work for them and I became an official Questor that day and I have been forever grateful since then. I have a roof over my head and food in my stomach. What more could I ask for?"

Emmers' dad asked, "Well, Eric, if you don't mind my asking, how do you feel about working for the Elders? I mean losing your freedom and sense of identity. It's rather a large price to pay for room and board."

Emmers stared at his dad and said, "Dad, please he's our guest. Don't be so difficult. Can we just change the subject and talk about something else instead?"

Emmers' dad ignored his son. He stared sternly at Eric, rather in a hostile manner.

He continued to interrogate him. "I heard you're not allowed outside of the castle except as ordered by the Elders. Questors can't even go back home to visit their loved ones. Isn't that true? I wonder how the Elders would feel that you broke that rule and stayed here for dinner."

Eric gulped nervously. Obviously, the conversation had taken a turn for the worse. He was being targeted by Emmers' dad, who looked at him with absolute venom, and talked to him in a harsh tone. Emmers' mom noticed the tension in the atmosphere.

She stared at her husband in disbelief. "I don't think you should treat our guest like this. Questor or not, he is still our son's friend. Remember how hard it was for him to open up after Paemont's death?" She looked nervously at her son who was just staring at his empty plate.

To both of their surprise, Emmers got up and asked his mom, "Mom, can Eric stay for tonight?" He looked at his mom, pleadingly.

She smiled at her son. "Of course, dear."

His dad looked up and said, "I think it is best if he leaves right now. He isn't welcome here anymore." His voice had risen and his look was threatening.

Eric didn't dare meet his eyes. He knew it was dangerous for him to stay here any longer. He got up and politely thanked them for the dinner.

Emmers' mom looked at him and said, "Please stay, Eric. Just ignore my rude husband here and stay. Emmers really needs a friend."

Eric looked at Emmers' mom and decided that it was okay to stay. He followed Emmers quickly up the stairs until they were safely in his room. The whole time, Emmers' dad glared at Eric and grunted and mumbled something in a low voice. Emmers' mom completely ignored him.

When they were safely inside his room, Emmers looked at Eric very apologetically.

"Sorry about my dad. He gets like that when you mention you know who."

Eric could tell he felt bad and wanted to cheer him up. "Dude, that's like the third time today that you have apologized. Stop apologizing for your family behaving the way they do. Don't worry. I'm not bothered by it. I just wish you could treat me as a real friend and not be so polite. It's kind of embarrassing."

Emmers laughed. "You're right. I won't apologize anymore or be so polite. From now on, I can say whatever I feel."

Eric nodded his head, approvingly. "Much better. Doesn't it feel better to tell people what's on your mind instead of bottling it up all the time?"

Emmers grinned. "It does feel better to be open."

Eric asked slowly, "So what was your mom talking about earlier? Something about Paemont's death?"

Emmers' grin vanished and Eric wished he hadn't been so nosy. Emmers sighed and it was awkwardly quiet for a while as Emmers stared at the ceiling.

"Paemont passed away about a year ago. He was my best friend." Emmers gulped. "He wanted to ride one of the new horses that had been captured from the Guilden Forest and led here. But my dad had warned us earlier that this horse was wild and had not been trained yet. That day, I had led Paemont to help out my dad in the stables and when we weren't looking, he took the horse for a ride. He just wanted to see what it was to ride a wild horse. The horse wasn't used to being ridden. It threw him off and he landed funny. His neck snapped and he died instantly." Emmett was now looking at the floor, absentmindedly.

Eric shook his head. "But it's not your fault. You warned him it was dangerous to ride that horse, yet he ignored the warning and did it anyways. You're not to be blamed."

"My parents said the same thing you did, but deep inside, I couldn't help but feel that somehow, if I was on my guard that day, none of it would have happened. You know, like if I had seen him leading the horse out into the field and caught it in time."

Emmers looked at Eric with a sad expression on his face. Eric didn't know how to comfort his friend.

"But still, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for his death."

"I can't help it. I have a hard time dealing with people I care about, passing away, especially when their death could have been prevented."

Eric didn't know what to say. He knew how his friend felt but it seemed like he couldn't persuade Emmers to let go of his past. He decided to change the subject.

"So why was your dad so upset about me being a Questor?"

Emmers shook his head. "He isn't. He's upset because of who you work for."

"You mean, the Elders?"

Emmers nodded his head. "Dad hates them. He thinks they should leave and return back to wherever they came from."

"Do you know much about the Elders?"

"They're a mystery to us. We didn't know they existed until the day our previous king died. They took over and true, they restored order but now that everything is back to normal, they keep on staying here. Dad says they strip us of our freedom and turn our lives upside down and he hates the whole idea of Questors." He looked at Eric, apologetically.

"It's okay. I would probably feel the same way you do if they hadn't raised me all these years."

Eric looked at the ceiling for a bit. "So isn't there a rumor that a member of the royal family did survive?"

Emmers nodded his head. "I've heard of it."

"So if he was to return, then the Elders would leave, right?"

"But that's just a rumor. No one knows if it's true or not. It was so chaotic back then and no one knows what happened to the prince who was a baby back then. He just vanished into thin air and no one recovered his body so we're not sure if he's alive or dead. But you're right. He could technically get rid of the Elders. He has that right as a king."

Eric murmured out loud. "Very interesting. So why do you want to be a Questor since your dad seems opposed to the idea?"

Emmers stared thoughtfully at him before he answered. "Because, I think it's a privilege to serve your kingdom. It is even more noble and patriotic to die to protect the ones you love. I mean I did want to be a knight when I was little but all that changed the moment the Elders took over. I saw how they chose the Questors and I can't really describe it, but I really wanted to be one. They commanded such respect that being a knight paled in comparison to that."

Emmers grinned. "Plus, you become powerful. No one dares to mess with you if they know you work for the Elders and I could support my family. My parents wouldn't have to work so hard anymore and my sisters could get a higher education to better their lives. I mean, if you think about it, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages."

"Are you sure about that? You wouldn't be able to see your family again."

Emmers sighed. "Yeah, I know." But then he smiled and said, "Anyways, I wasn't chosen. They pick them really young and train them for years."

He went to his desk and turned around to ask, "So you want to see my posters?"

Eric nodded his head. Emmers removed his precious posters from his drawer and showed Eric a variety of horses. They ranged from large, muscular ones to slender, petite ones. Their coats were spotted or pure and the colors varied from black, white, brown, or grey. They talked about horses until it was getting late and Emmers' mom came in with extra pillows and blankets for Eric. He slept peacefully that night.

Chapter 14: Guilden Sword

Eric woke up to the banging sound of pots and pans downstairs. He yawned and got up out of bed, careful not to wake up Emmers who was snoring loudly next to him. Luckily, he was very tired last night and fell asleep before Emmers did. He couldn't imagine trying to sleep in such a noisy environment.

Eric thought to himself, "It must be Emmers' mom downstairs. I wonder what she's cooking."

He was quite hungry in spite of last night's fulfilling dinner. It must be that he was eating more than usual because he was growing up. He felt he was growing taller and bigger since he first arrived. He smiled, thinking about the leftovers and wondering what breakfast must be in this household.

He was right. As he went downstairs and entered the kitchen, he saw Emmers' mom singing to herself as she moved around the kitchen, putting food on the frying pan and then warming the biscuits in the oven. She turned around and gave him a warm smile.

"Why, good morning, Eric. I hope you had a good sleep last night. I probably should have warned you about Emmers. He snores very loudly. I hope you were able to sleep through that racket."

He smiled at the mention of Emmers' snoring.

"Hi, Mrs...." Eric realized he had never asked Emmers what his last name was. He awkwardly stood in the kitchen, scratching his head, rather embarrassingly.

She laughed at his struggle. "Just call me, Maivis. It's pointless with using our last names."

Eric stared at her. "Why?"

She returned his stare with a surprised look. Then, a sudden realization hit her and her surprised look was replaced with sympathy and understanding.

"Well, maybe because you must have forgotten since you were little. You have been isolated in that lonely castle growing up. All our last names are Guilden. So, you see, you could technically call me Mrs. Guilden which is okay here but if we were outside, a lot of females would respond to that name as well."

"Oh I see. That's rather odd, isn't it?"

She shook her head, ruefully. "Not really. Our neighbors in the other kingdoms nearby all share their respective kingdoms' name as their own last name. We're not the only ones. It might be unusual for you since you probably just use your first name only. Besides, we are all somehow related in this kingdom so it makes sense to have a common last name."

Eric bit his lip and thought to himself. "I can just imagine the confusion that would cause if someone has the same first name."

He took a big whiff of her cooking and complimented her. "That smells delicious. You sure are a good cook."

Her cheeks turned red. "Really, it's not much. It's just that I've been in the kitchen so long that I can cook with my eyes closed."

Eric chuckled. It sounded like something he would say when he had practiced on the soccer field for hours. He looked around. No one was downstairs yet.

Maivis saw and replied, "Don't worry about him. Hemlur, my husband, already left about a half hour ago. He gets up really early in the morning. I hope you can forgive him for what he said yesterday. I can't imagine what is going through his mind. Old age, I guess. It tends to make you cranky." She winked at him.

Eric smiled. "It's okay. I understand how he feels. I actually feel like I was to blame for ruining your lovely dinner last night. I should have stopped talking but I didn't know. I am truly sorry."

"Trust me, you are not to blame. Hemlur just gets very aggressive sometimes when you mention.... you know. Anyways, just make yourself at home. Have a seat."

He politely nodded his head and sat down on one of the dining room chairs. He heard noises upstairs and later, the twins, Libby and Casey, came hopping downstairs, laughing and jostling each other. They smiled and said good morning to Eric and then, disappeared into the kitchen. Later, Emmers came downstairs too. He grinned when he saw Eric still there.

"Hey, Eric. I saw you were gone this morning and I thought you already left. I feared we may have scared you away."

Eric laughed. "Oh no, I would never leave if I had a choice. I couldn't possibly say no to free meals."

Emmers smiled. "Well, I hope I didn't bother your sleep last night. I tend to snore really loudly or so my family tells me. I never know about it because of course, I'm not awake so I have to rely on my so-called eyewitnesses here and I don't know if I can trust them."

He winked at his friend.

One of his twin sisters stuck her head from the kitchen to say, "He does snore when he sleeps. Right, Eric?" She looked at Eric and smirked at her brother.

Eric grinned. "Lucky I fell asleep before he did last night."

Emmers yawned, annoyed and eager to change the subject. "Mom, can we eat already? I'm hungry."

His mom yelled from the kitchen. "Breakfast is almost ready. Just a couple more minutes."

Emmers walked into the kitchen to ask his mom a private question but Eric caught bits and pieces of the conversation.

"....... know who leave?"

"Yes......left...early today."

"Did....appear upset?

"....already....how he is......still stubborn....Told me...doesn't want.....under same roof...."

There were more murmurs that Eric couldn't quite make out but then, the twins came to the table carrying plates of fried eggs, sausages, biscuits, and fruit. He was too distracted by the food to pay attention to eavesdrop. Everything looked tasty and there was a pitcher of the sweet drink.

Eric looked down. He felt guilty for being the source of trouble but he did like Maivis' cooking and Emmers' friendship. The twins sat down first. They were later followed by their brother and mother. Everyone smiled and ate happily. Eric chugged down several cups of the sweet liquid. He felt very thirsty.

When they had finished, Eric told everyone he had to leave and thanked them for their hospitality. Emmers walked him to the door.

"I hope we can do this again sometime. It was fun."

"Yeah, it was nice. Thanks again. See you later."

"Sure thing. See you soon."

Eric left and was walking through the streets, which were already occupied by a handful of people, on his way to the castle when he encountered two Questors coming towards them. Even with the sun rising from its fluffy bed of clouds, their pale skin and dark cloaks reminded him of the Grim Reaper and he shuddered. They glided very fast towards him and the sparse handful of people quickly got out of their way. Eric was quite certain that the people were just as scared as he was but he knew that the Questors were only after him. He boldly stood there and waited for them to approach.

"Where were you last night? You're supposed to stay in your room as ordered by the Elders."

Eric stood his ground. He replied, "That's none of your business."

Both of the Questors looked at each and exchanged quiet whispers. One of them whipped out a black staff and struck his right leg.

"Ouch! What the heck?"

He screamed out in pain for that black staff had delivered an icy pain that climbed up and down his right leg. It was a pain such as he had never experienced before. He was limping, unable to use his right leg and he quickly shifted his body weight to his left leg instead.

He heard both of the Questors laughing as the people watched in horror. Eric knew the people would never intervene, especially since this was not their problem.

The Questors stopped laughing and asked again, "Now, answer my question. Where were you last night?"

Eric knew they were not afraid to use the black staff again and they certainly weren't afraid of public opinion either. He answered truthfully.

"I was staying at a friend's house. I'm not lying either."

He stared fearfully at the staff.

The Questor nodded his head.

"I believe you. What is your friend's name?"

Eric looked at him suspiciously. "What for?"

"Because both you and your friend will be severely punished for your disobedience. We don't tolerate such rebels."

"Well, then, I'm not going to give you a name." Eric shouted this tentatively, worried that they would use that wicked staff again.

"Oh really?" The black staff shot out of his hand and this time, the Questor struck his left leg.

"Ow! Ow Ow!"

A shocking icy pain filled Eric's left leg and he collapsed in agony, unable to stand on either leg. He moaned and groaned out loud causing people to stare. Even the guards watched with horrified expressions on their faces but did nothing. Some of the people immediately left for cover, afraid for their own lives, and this left an open space surrounding them.

One of the Questors said, "He's causing a ruckus. Let's bring him back with us. We can let the Elders punish him instead."

Eric was limp as the two Questors, one on each side, grabbed his arm and lifted him off of the ground and dragged him back to the castle with ease. His legs had become numb with pain.

Eric passed out briefly and when he came to, he was in the same room as when he arrived on his first day here. Again, the two Elders were sitting on their chairs, their faces calm and relaxed, showing little emotion. It was too difficult to distinguish which Elder was which when they all looked alike, each covered in their cloaks but Eric was sure that they always sat in the same chair as if it was a permanent seating arrangement.

He slowly regained control of his legs and his conscience. He stood up carefully, first one leg, then the other, until he was standing with both legs. He bit his lip and waited for the Elders to speak.

"How are you feeling now? Better, we hope?"

He nodded his head. The pain he had felt earlier was indescribable. He had several injuries, such as a broken leg, from playing soccer but it was nothing compared to this pain. This one was different, it traveled throughout the body, spreading that cold feeling.

"We wished you hadn't caused such a scene this morning. It was very embarrassing to watch and not to mention, painful for you. Why didn't you just answer his question?"

Rage filled Eric. He couldn't believe what he had heard. They had been watching everything from their room and had not bothered to save him. They seemed to have enjoyed it as they looked at him with clear disapproval.

"Because true friends don't sell each other out. Because at least, I have the courage to stand up for what I believe in, because I don't send people out to do my dirty work, and because quite frankly, I'm not afraid of you."

The Elders shook their heads in disbelief, apparently appalled by what they had just heard.

One of them finally said, "You really must learn to control your human emotions more. How can your people respect you if you don't behave any better than they do? It is not becoming of a king."

Eric felt his anger build up. He took several steps forward and loudly replied, "That's because I don't want to be a king. I've told you that time and time again but you refuse to listen to me."

They continued to shake their heads.

"Zephler, you may look like your father but your temperament, personality, and character, it is nothing like him. Please tell us, how can we give you something that belongs to him? You, quite frankly, do not deserve it."

Eric felt his anger subside at the mention of his father. He knew they were referring to his biological father, the one he never had a chance to meet. He wanted something to remember him by, even if the object was insignificant. The sentimental value was what he cherished.

His voice softened and he tried his best to be polite. "What do you have that belongs to my father?"

Both Elders exchanged glances at each other. It was as if they knew that Eric only changed his behavior because he wanted what belonged to his father.

"We have his sword. Would you like to take a look?"

He immediately nodded his head, eager and curious. "Yes, please."

From out of nowhere, a sword appeared. The blade of the sword looked as dull as if it had not been used before in a long time. The hilt of the sword was a rusty metal color. It lingered in the air, waiting for him to hold it. When his hand reached for it, he could feel how truly heavy it was. As soon as he held it, the sword transformed from an ordinary sword to a beautiful one, translucent as the force field. The blade was made of a crystal-like material that sparkled when the light shone upon it. Even the hilt of the sword was transformed. It was a shiny, polished silver metal with engravings on it, engravings that looked oddly familiar, like he had seen it from somewhere else. He stared at it for a long time, unable to take his eyes off it.

"This is truly beautiful. You said this belonged to my father. Then, he must have used it before, right?"

Both of the Elders nodded their heads in answer to the question.

Eric smiled. "I can't believe I'm actually holding something that was once touched by my father. I've never met him before but I feel like I'm somehow closer to him just by holding this sword. Thank you. Really, thank you." He could feel his eyes growing misty with sentiment.

"We were only safe-keeping it for its true owner. And that would be you. You are the last of the royal family and the sword belongs in the royal family. It has found a home at last. This sword is yours to keep."

Eric was glad that he could keep the sword. After his outburst, he thought the Elders were going to punish him, not give him this wonderful gift. As he held the sword in his hand, the weight of the sword started to change as it grew lighter and easier to carry. He was surprised and continued to stare at it.

The Elders interrupted his reverie. "Well, now all seems well. You look less upset. Just remember to be in your room when the sun sets. Next time, you will be punished accordingly."

The doors flung open and Eric politely thanked them once again for the sword and bowed before leaving the room. He went back to his own room and stared, in a mesmerized fashion, at this sword. It was so captivating, so beautiful, that he couldn't take his eyes off it. He was so engaged with his precious sword that he didn't notice anyone else was in his room until a deep voice interrupted him.

"No wonder you looked so familiar before. I never could put two and two together until today. You must be Zephler and that sword must be the Guilden Sword."

Eric was so surprised, he almost dropped the sword he was holding in his hand. He turned around and saw Yulik standing there, staring with interest. Yulik looked at him, up and down, like he was some sort of statue to be admired.

He continued. "You do look a lot like your father."

"Wait. You know my father?"

Yulik nodded his head. "We fought against each other. He was very brave, very noble, a true king." He sighed. "I do miss him. It's kind of a coincidence that now, I'm here, taking care of his son."

He stared thoughtfully at Eric. Eric, himself, also stared back at him.

"May I ask why you don't look like the other people in the Guilden Kingdom? "

Yulik grinned. "That's because I'm not from the Guilden Kingdom. My natural habitat is the Guilden Forest. I am what they refer to as one of the Ancients."

Eric stared at him in shock. "What?"

He repeated very slowly. "I am an Ancient, an Immortal Ancient, to be exact."

Eric still stared at him, speechless.

He continued, "We have powers, of course, not on the same level as the Elders but we are quite a formidable army if there are a handful of us. Plus, being immortal means we can't be killed so we can only be captured, which is rather difficult. We move really fast and quietly. You have seen the way I move around your room. I bet you didn't even notice that I was the one who healed your hands the very first day. You were sound asleep and I didn't want to wake you up. I hope you didn't mind."

Eric gulped and shook his head. "No, I should thank you. I always thought it was the food I ate or this bed here that was healing my wounds."

Yulik laughed. "You do have an active imagination."

Eric asked, "I'm still confused. What exactly is an Immortal Ancient?"

"The Immortal Ancients are the natural protectors of the Guilden Forest but unfortunately, we lost a battle and have been imprisoned here instead."

He sighed deeply. His shoulders seem to sag under the invisible burden he seemed to be carrying.

Eric felt a sudden overwhelming sense of pity.

He asked, "Is that why they bind your legs in chains?"

He nodded his head as he lifted up his ragged pants to stare at his bare legs. "I guess that's what we get for losing. We become their personal slaves. They're afraid of us because we are also immortal so they can't really harm us. They just put these chains on us to prevent us from escaping or worse, revolting against them. Also, it helps them to locate us, if you noticed the sound the chains make."

He shook his head. "Fear can bring out the worse in people."

Eric nodded his head. He knew exactly what Yulik meant.

"Anyways, I think I've said too much as it is. But I'm glad that you're still alive and maybe, there's hope for these people here still." He gestured to the window where Eric could see people walking out on the streets. "I have to go now."

"Bye, Yulik. Thanks for healing my hands."

"No problem. Just be careful with that sword okay? Use it very wisely."

Eric had no idea what he meant. As Yulik left the room, Eric went back to looking at his sword. He couldn't believe that he was actually holding it. It didn't feel real. None of this felt real to him. It felt like an odd dream coming true.

Chapter 15: Another Exit

He couldn't sleep much last night. He thought he was hearing voices but when he opened his eyes, there was no one in the room. It led him to suspect that the voices were probably from his dream. He returned back to sleep and heard loud noises out in the hallway. These voices sounded more realistic and less dream-like. It sounded like an argument. Out of curiosity, he got out of bed to check what the commotion was about. He cautiously opened the door to peek outside the hallway. He saw two Questors gathered around a short, stocky built man with blonde hair dressed in a silk robe. The man was clearly upset and distressed.

"You guys are supposed to keep order around here. What a shoddy job you guys have done! Wait until I go and tell the Elders about what a bunch of idiotic servants they have working for them."

"Please sir, please calm down. I am sure we can sort this out amongst ourselves. Just tell me what happened."

"I just got robbed. That's what happened. You idiots weren't doing your job and someone came into my room and stole something of mine."

"Sir, that's not possible. We guard the entire castle and make sure no stranger comes in and out. There must be a mistake. Are you sure you just didn't misplace it?"

His already loud voice rose an octave higher. "Do you think I'm an idiot now? Of course, I checked my room and yes, it is missing. Now, how about you guys track down the thief that stole it? And punish that bastard." He was breathing heavily up and down, apparently upset.

"Sir, it's not that simple. Because if what you are saying is right, then the thief is one of the guests or one of...." The Questor paused briefly before continuing, "us, which is difficult to believe."

"So then go check everyone here. It should make your job even simpler if the thief is still here and hasn't run off yet. Just go check everyone's rooms."

Both the Questors looked at each other. They looked back at the distraught man and asked, "Can you give us a description of what exactly was missing from your room?"

They watched curiously as his face turned slightly red and he lowered his voice almost to a whisper so that Eric could barely hear his answer. "It's a scroll, bound in a gold band, and placed inside a wooden chest."

The Questors glanced briefly at each and rolled their eyes when they found out what was stolen but they managed to remain professional in order to calm him down.

"Very well then sir, we will do our best to recover this object and return it to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, please keep this a secret to help our investigation. We don't want to alert the thief."

The man grumbled something unintelligible. Both the Questors nodded their heads to him and glided off while he stood in the hallway, shaking his head in dismay. He eventually disappeared back into his room, two doors opposite from Eric's own door.

Eric closed the door quietly behind him and thought over what he had heard. Apparently, this place was not as secure as he thought it would be. He was too hungry to think any further and devoured what was left on the table. He decided to go outside to search for Emmers to see if he knew of any other door outside of the Guilden Kingdom, a door that was preferably unguarded.

When he emerged outside, the sky was overcast and cloudy. It looked rather ominous, just like before a rainstorm. Eric was in a hurry to frantically look for Emmers, so that he never saw the horse-drawn cart coming. It was going at a rather quick pace and before he knew it, he was in the middle of its pathway. He immediately leapt to the other side for safety and landed hard on the floor.

"Ouch! That hurts."

He rubbed his knees which had absorbed most of the impact.

"I wonder what idiot tried to run me over. Not like I don't have enough problems as it is."

He got up and watched as the person on the cart tried to slow the horse down. The horse eventually slowed down to a trot before making a complete stop. The person on the cart got off and walked towards him. Now that Eric got a closer look, the person on the cart was a boy around Eric's own age. He had dark brown hair, tanned skin, and a slightly crooked nose. The expression he had on his face was not a friendly one.

"Are you freaking blind? Can't you see where you're going?" He was not the least bit apologetic and Eric wasn't in the mood to be nice either.

"At least I'm not the idiot racing down the streets trying to trample people over with my horse. You should be more careful next time, you idiot."

The boy looked furious. "What did you call me?"

Eric sneered back. "What? Are you deaf now? I called you an idiot. Apparently, you're both deaf and dumb."

The boy bit his lip and his eyes narrowed. He walked, threateningly, towards Eric and Eric stood firmly, waiting for the first punch. A crowd of curious onlookers had gathered to watch the fight.

The boy lunged at Eric but Eric was much quicker. He jumped to the side and dodged him. It was Eric's turn to attack now. As the boy turned around, Eric took a swing at him and hit him squarely in the face. The blow caught the boy off guard and he staggered back a bit. He did not fall down though and when he had recovered from the blow, he immediately kicked Eric in the right thigh which caused him to shout out in pain. Eric was furious now.

He threw several punches at the boy who managed to dodge most of it and the boy, in turn, threw his own punches. One of the punches caught Eric on the right side of his face and he winced back in pain. At that moment, another boy, appeared just in time to stop the fight before it got any worse. The other boy was taller, bigger, and looked older. He shared the same facial features as the boy he was fighting. It made him suspect that they were related.

"That's enough. Both of you guys stop it. Especially you, Rommus, calm down."

"He started it first. That piece of crap almost made me fall off the horse." He pointed at Eric.

Eric took a couple of steps back, ready to fight both of them at the same time if it was necessary.

"Just forget it okay?" The older boy patted the other boy on the shoulder and then, he turned around to face Eric.

"You got some nerve messing with us. This is just a warning but next time, if this happens again, you're going to get it not just from him but from me as well. So double the trouble." He rolled up his sleeves showing his muscular arms, littered with tattoos.

Eric gulped nervously but he did not back down.

The older boy stared at him. "Wait. I know you. I think you were the guy who went through that main entrance. Yeah, no wonder you look so familiar. So that's why I've never seen you before."

He looked him up and down. "You're different, a freak. You may have changed your clothes and have the Elders protecting you but you still can't fool us. You will never blend in. Come on Rommus, let's go now. We don't want to associate with people like that. They'll just dirty our hands."

Eric watched as the two walked back to their cart and drove off on the horse. The crowd was already dispersing when he saw a familiar face among the crowd. He walked over towards him.

"Hi, Emmers."

Emmers' face was flushed a deep red. He looked embarrassed.

"Hi, Eric. I hope you won't get mad at me, but I really wanted to help you. Really, I do."

He looked at the ground. "It's just that no one messes with their family. They're very wealthy and powerful here."

Eric shook his head. "It's okay. I know. They look terrifying too."

Emmers glanced up at him. "They're always getting into fights with other kids and they never lose. That's because they kind of have their own gang. I would stay out of their way next time. It's less troublesome."

Eric smiled. "Thanks for the advice."

Emmers grinned, grateful that Eric did not blame him for just standing there and watching the fight, without helping him.

"To be honest with you, you're a pretty good fighter. You stood your own against Rommus. That's incredible. He's very aggressive. I had a little bit of a conflict with him before and needless to say, I ended up all black and blue. So, where did you learn to fight like that? It was pretty impressive, I must say." He looked at Eric with admiration.

Eric winced. He had forgotten about the painful punch to the face until Emmers just mentioned it.

"Oh, I was just lucky. My dad taught me how to defend myself as a kid. You know, for self-protection. He told me that he couldn't always be there to protect me."

Emmers nodded his head. "I wish my dad would teach me that."

"Well, if you want, I could teach you how to fight sometime. Then, you won't get bullied by Rommus anymore."

Emmers smiled. "Thanks man."

"So who was that with him? The older kid, I mean."

"Oh, that's his older brother, Giles. He's a jerk too but smarter and more mature than Rommus. He, at least, can be reasoned with. But I still won't mess with either of them unless I have a death wish."

It was quiet for awhile as the two walked together. Eric had almost forgotten why he wanted to see Emmers today until they had almost approached the main entrance.

"Hey, I kind of have a question I want to ask you. Do you know of any other door, besides that one, that leads to the outside?" He pointed at the main entrance.

Emmers just stared at him. Instead of answering his question, he asked his own, "But why would you want to go outside? It's dangerous."

He continued, "The force field and the stone wall are all the defenses we have against any of our enemies. If we go outside, who knows what would happen to us?"

Eric sighed. He had a feeling that Emmers wouldn't understand him. It was quiet for awhile.

Eric watched Emmers who was avoiding his gaze for some reason. It was as if there was a question that he wanted to ask but was afraid of asking.

Eric asked, "Is something wrong? Do you need to get something out of your system? You know if you keep things all bottled up inside all the time, it might explode, like a volcano."

Emmers laughed. Eric was grateful for that broke the silence between the two of them.

He finally met Eric's eyes and asked, "Is it true then what Giles said about you? Are you really the one who went through that door, a door that hasn't been opened since our previous king passed away?"

Eric met Emmers' questioning eyes. "I don't want to lie to you because I consider you a good friend, one that I can trust with my secret. So yes, I did come through that very door but would you believe me then if I told you that I arrived here by mistake? That I don't belong here and that's why I have to leave."

Emmers looked at him for a long time and finally nodded his head. "I believe you. But wait a minute, so that whole story about your parents dying when you were little and you being taken in as a Questor, is that all a lie?"

Eric bit his lip and with an apologetic expression on his face, he tried to explain. "I'm sorry about lying to you and your family. But I meant well. I figured you wouldn't believe me if I told the truth so I had to say I was a Questor."

To his surprise, Emmers was grinning. "Why that's fantastic. We can be friends then. Dad just hates Questors but if you're not one, then he would be okay about our friendship."

He stared off into the sky for a bit. "But why are you staying in the castle? I don't understand."

Eric sighed. He didn't want to lie to his friend especially since he looked so happy before but he just couldn't reveal his identity. It was too dangerous.

"I'm a visitor from another planet so the Elders thought they could keep me as a guest to learn from me. So far, they haven't given me a hard time."

"What planet are you from?"

"The planet called Earth. Have you heard of it?"

"Yes, actually I've even studied it before. It's a very interesting planet, very similar to our own. But how did you exactly arrive here?"

"I honestly don't know. One minute I was in my room and the next minute, I was here."

Emmers looked back at Eric. "I see. But wait, you don't want to stay here. You want to return to planet Earth, right?"

Eric nodded his head. "Right."

"Well, I do know of another door that leads to the outside. But the thing is I've never seen this door myself. I read in one of the library books about an ancient door that exists where the graveyard is."

Eric stared at him. "The what?"

"Graveyard. You remember the day you helped me and my dad clean out the horse stables?"

Eric nodded his head.

"Well, the horses were grazing in the pasture and the hill lies beyond that pasture, sort of as a borderline. Beyond that hill, is the graveyard. It's considered to be very sacred. Only past heroes who have died, fighting to protect this kingdom, are buried in it. These include knights, guards, and noble citizens. It's kind of our way of saying thank you for their sacrifice. That's why we're not allowed there."

Eric waited impatiently. Clearly, there was more to this story.

"And also because that graveyard is cursed. People who have stepped foot there have gone missing and never returned. We believed that it is their souls that are taking people's lives. You know as punishment for disrespecting their graves. Apparently, they don't like being walked upon."

Emmers rolled his eyes.

Eric asked, "But where is that door?"

"Oh right, the door. That's the thing. It just says the door is somewhere in the graveyard but it doesn't exactly say where or even how to open it."

Eric muttered to himself, "Oh great. How am I going to search for it?"

It was silent while Eric thought about how best to go searching for this door which would be the ticket to his way back home. Emmers walked quietly alongside him before he spoke.

"Don't get upset with me but why are you so keen on going back home? Don't you like it here?"

Eric shook his head. "No, it's not that I don't like it here. It's just that it's not my home here. I have friends and family back home. I feel like I haven't seen them in a long time even though I probably have been gone for only a couple of weeks but I really miss them."

He sighed. As they were walking together, Eric saw a pebble on the street and kicked it until it ricocheted off the wall of one of the shops and landed near a dog that was napping. The noise woke the dog up. The dog looked at the pebble and started barking loudly.

Emmers asked, "But you don't even really know how you arrived here in the first place. Even if you did find the door in the graveyard to leave the Guilden Kingdom, you still might be stuck here, right?"

Eric nodded his head. "You're right. I still might be stuck here whether or not I find that door."

"The only people I can think of who can help you leave this place for good are the Elders. Do you want to try asking them for their help?"

"That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to owe them any favors. They probably know about where that secret door is located as well as how I can go back home but if I ask for their help, I will be in their debt."

"Yeah. That's not exactly a good thing either. Who knows what the Elders would want in return."

Eric didn't tell Emmers the truth that the Elders would never help him. If he left, who would rule the Guilden Kingdom? The Elders already made it clear to him that they were just waiting for his fifteenth birthday so they could depart with a clear conscience. It was not in their best interest to help him return to his own home. No matter what happens, it seemed as if Eric couldn't escape his own doomed fate.

Chapter 16: The Graveyard

As the weather started to worsen, Emmers decided it was time to return home and wished the best for his friend. Eric thanked him for his help and went back to his room. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to see Yulik, who was holding the Guilden Sword in both hands and staring in a fascinated manner as he hummed softly to himself. He was so focused on the sword that he never heard Eric walking into the room.

Eric smiled. It was odd how their roles seem reversed now. Before, he was the one holding the sword when Yulik interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey, Yulik."

Yulik was so startled that he dropped the sword, which fell with a loud clanging sound, as it hit the floor. He immediately turned around to see Eric. His face was rather red with embarrassment and he looked guilty.

"Oh, Eric......I mean Zephler, it's you. Sorry I didn't mean to touch your belongings. I have never had a chance to see the sword up close before. I would have asked you for your permission first but you were absent when I came in."

"It's okay. Take your time."

"No, no, I will put it back. Isn't it odd though that if I had not seen you holding this very sword, I would never have known that it was the Guilden Sword. Many people have been fooled by this ordinary look." He smiled as he bent down to pick up the sword and put it back on the table.

He continued, "And I wouldn't have known who you were either. I would never have guessed your true identity. And of course, the Elders, would have kept it a secret this whole time to protect you."

Eric sat on his bed and stared at the ceiling. "Do you know anything about the Elders? Like where they're from exactly and why they're here?"

He looked at Eric, who never stopped staring at the ceiling. "They're a mystery to our people as well. I honestly don't know too much about them. I just know that before, we didn't even know of their existence. They were more like mythical creatures. People claimed to have seen them and talked to them but these stories all turned out false. It wasn't until your dad's time when things were so rough here, that they came, out of nowhere, and stayed to stabilize this kingdom."

He smiled. "I take it people here have been telling you things about them, like how they want to get rid of them. I guess the Elders have overstayed their welcome and all the good deeds they did were outweighed by their strict rules."

Eric nodded his head. "I mean I don't understand why everyone's so afraid of them. Why does no one dare to stand up to them?"

Yulik pointed at his chains. "Maybe because they know they can't beat them. Why fight an enemy you have no chance of defeating, right?"

"Only if they truly are the enemy."

He laughed. "I suppose so."

"Have you ever thought of escaping before? I mean of getting out of those chains and getting your life back."

"Of course, I have. It's just..." He sighed. "It's just that I tried many times before but I always got caught. I attempted to escape numerous times but they seem to know and I always get punished afterwards. As you can tell, I have given up hope."

It was Eric's turn to sigh.

Yulik stared at him and asked, "Don't tell me you want to escape too? I'm warning you. Don't do that. They know; they always do."

He glanced around. "I seem to have lost track of time. I have to go now. Don't do anything foolish, okay?"

Before Yulik left, he went over to Eric and said, "Where are my manners? I am so sorry. I should have done this earlier. You distracted me."

He placed his hand on Eric's face, the right side, which had been bruised by Rommus' punch and Eric felt a nice, warm, comforting heat emanating from his hand. He could feel his skin start to heal. When he removed his hand, Eric could feel that the pain had completely disappeared. He didn't need a mirror to know that his face was no longer bruised.

He smiled, gratefully, at him. "Thank you."

Yulik shook his head in disapproval. "Be careful. Don't hurt yourself again. You're not as good a fighter as you think you are and I may not always be around. Stay out of harm's way okay?"

Eric nodded his head while crossing his hands behind his back. He could hear Yulik mumbling something "about kids these days" as he walked out the door.

As he left, Eric glanced outside at the window. There was just some light left. It wasn't too late. He decided to take his sword and make a run for it. Although he had no particular plan in mind, he was not going to be held a prisoner here against his will. He didn't want to end up like Yulik or the Questors. He decided to make up his escape plan as he went along. He left his room and walked out of the castle, never looking back. He had no regrets. He went over to the stables. The horse that he was looking for seemed to sense his presence. It walked closely to the outside of the stall and stuck its head out to peer around. It stared at him and their eyes met.

"Hey there, Ebony. It's just me. Ssh! Don't make a sound okay? I need your help. I'm going to get out of here tonight."

As if in acknowledgement, Ebony nodded his head several times and did not make a sound. Eric walked over to open the gate of the stall. The gate creaked and the noise caused some of the horses to stomp their hooves and shuffle in their own stalls, afraid that they would be next. Eric was afraid the noise would reach the ears of the people in the castle and he quickened his pace. He led Ebony out of his stall and took a deep breath as he got on top of the horse. The horse stood there, quietly and patiently, not making a sound.

Together, the two galloped beyond the pasture and then, the hill. When they reached the bottom of the hill, Ebony refused to move. He stood there, staring at the graveyard and refusing to go beyond the safety of the hill. Eric got off the horse and tried to pull him along but the horse would not budge. There seemed to be a look of intense fear in his eyes. Eric shook his head. In a way, he didn't blame Ebony. The graveyard was gloomy and dark and there was a foggy mist covering the land. Rows of grey tombstones lined the flat, green land. It looked like a scene from a scary movie.

As he glanced around at the landscape, he had difficulty seeing through the foggy mist. He had no light with him. Suddenly, his necklace shot out of his shirt and cast a bright red light. It tugged for him to follow it much like when he had first entered the Guilden Kingdom. He had almost forgotten about this necklace. In all the time that he was here, he had forgotten that this necklace was the one who had led him here in the first place. Surely, it could be relied on to get him out.

He followed the bright red light which shone like a flashlight. As he walked through the foggy mist, he felt cold and clammy and his whole body shuddered as if he was in a cold room. As he walked through the mist, he thought he felt someone's hand pulling on his shirt and another hand tugging on his pants. Then, it seemed like more hands were pulling him but when he looked down to see what was grabbing him, there was nothing.

He bit his lip and quietly whispered to himself, "This place is spooky."

As he continued to walk through the graveyard, he thought he heard sounds. At first, it was just a whisper but then it grew louder and it was followed by more voices. He couldn't make out what they were saying until the words became more distinct.

They were calling him by his first name. "Zephler! Zephler! Zephler!"

He shook his head. How could they possibly know who he was? No one but the Elders and Yulik knew his real identity. With determination, Eric blocked out the voices and just concentrated on the necklace. It had finally made a complete stop in front of a grey tombstone. As Eric took a closer look at the tombstone, he realized that the writing on it was very faint. He could barely make out the strange inscription but as he stared at it, the word seemed to become darker and more visible. The tombstone looked ancient. It was covered with wild flowers and tall grasses.

Try hard as he might, he could not read the strange inscription. The written language was not familiar to him just like the writing on his necklace. He sighed in exasperation. But in contrast to all the other graves around him, this particular tombstone looked far more unkempt and somehow, much older than the rest. He felt sorry for the person whose body was buried beneath this grave. It seemed like none of the family, friends, or relatives of this person ever bothered to take care of the tombstone but maybe that was because they were not allowed inside this graveyard.

"That's a sad way to be buried. I wouldn't want to be completely forgotten by my loved ones."

He sighed. "I wonder how this person died."

All he remembered was how Emmers told him that only people who had sacrificed their lives to protect this kingdom can be buried here. Only heroes can ever be buried in this graveyard. He stood in front of the tombstone, not sure what to do next. He felt apologetic to disturb the grave but he had a feeling the door to the outside was very close. He stomped on the dirt below and put his ear to the ground. It sounded hollow.

He tried to move the tombstone but it did not budge, no matter how hard he tried. He tried to lift it up and he tried pushing it towards the right and then, the left. It did not move. He tried pulling it frontwards and backwards but again, it stood firmly. Finally, he stopped and sat on the ground, panting heavily from his physical exertion.

A familiar echo told him, "Tap the tombstone with your sword three times."

He did as he was told. Suddenly, the tombstone started to tremble and it moved backwards, revealing a small door. As he opened the small door leading to the underground, it made a loud screeching noise that broke the silence. He cautiously peered inside but it was too dark to see anything. As he was looking around, he felt someone's hand on his shoulder. Without a thought, he quickly jumped into the black space and fell down the stairs.

"Ooooow!"

He screamed in agony and finally landed on the bottom of the steps, which luckily for him, was very short. He rubbed his knees which had been hit hard by the ground and had not totally recovered from his fall earlier in the day. He groaned and moaned loudly. When he eventually stood up, he realized he was lost in total darkness. The only light he could see was the red glow of the necklace. It continued to tug him forward and he let it lead the way. The underground was like a maze. He made turns to the right and to the left multiple times until he was just running to keep up with it. Several times he fell and thought he could feel the gentle breeze of a bat's wing fluttering overhead or hear the rattling tale of a snake just several feet away. He wasn't sure if his imagination was working overtime but he was too scared to stay in one place to find out. He continued to follow the necklace through the winding maze until it made its last turn and stopped in front of a creature.

Chapter 17: The Great Sphinx

Eric wasn't sure what to make of the creature. It was rather large. In fact, it was amazing that it could even fit in the small underground space. It had the face of a young woman, rather very attractive, the body of a lion, the wings of a bird and a snake-like tale. It politely looked him up and down and stopped to stare briefly at his red glowing pendant and then, at the sword he held in his hand. It was lying down but got up when it saw him. It yawned loudly and smiled.

When it spoke, its voice was rather charming and alluring. "I usually don't get visitors in the middle of the night. You are the first."

Eric, panted both in fear and exhaustion, for it seemed like he had been running for hours in the maze.

The creature continued to stare at him with amusement and curiosity. "What brings you here, little fellow? You look lost. Don't tell me, you accidentally fell down here."

Eric had to come up with a lie. "I am searching for someone."

"Friend of yours?"

"Not exactly. But anyways, I am sorry to disturb you. I'll be on my way back now."

Eric wanted to get out of here. He was beginning to regret coming down to this dangerous place and not to mention, to meet this creature in front of him. He started to slowly take several steps back, retreating out of the creature's view.

"Please don't leave. I may be able to help you."

The creature got up and sauntered over until it could see him again. Eric gulped and clung to the far end of the wall for safety reasons. He had a feeling it would not let him leave in peace and he was beginning to regret his rash decision to leave the safety of the Guilden Kingdom.

"Hmmm....If you are indeed looking for someone, then that person may have been missing several weeks ago. That was the time that someone approached me with a proposition. I was asked to guard this very door."

It pointed at the closed door hidden behind its huge body.

"In exchange for meals."

It indicated the several large carcasses that lied near its feet. Eric had not noticed them before but now, it made him break into a cold sweat.

The creature seemed to respond to his reaction.

"Well, I'm not exactly a vegetarian, you know."

It watched Eric with great interest. Eric gulped. He couldn't help it but he knew he shouldn't be showing his fear in front of this obviously dangerous creature.

For some reason, the creature felt a need to explain its actions.

"The Guilden Forest is being slowly depleted of its food supply. Oh don't look at me like that. I'm not the one to be blamed but I do admit that I tend to eat quite a bit, more than my fair share, I suppose."

It smiled devilishly.

"The land is getting quite dry. Nourishment is not abundant as before, we are all essentially starving. I eat carnivores that eat other carnivores that eat herbivores. And if the land supplying the food for the herbivores are slowly diminishing, so will I eventually. I guess being on the top of the food chain really isn't the best place to be right now."

The creature looked sadly at Eric, who didn't pity it in the least.

The creature seemed to sense the indifference for it continued, "Anyways, when someone offered to give me free meals in exchange for my service, I was more than happy to oblige. So here I am."

It smiled broadly and large, jagged canines were revealed in this smile.

It added, "I do hope whoever you were looking for was not one of my meals."

Eric gulped in fear but the creature appeared not to notice. Instead, it eyed Eric's sword.

"Do tell me...who are you? Only descendants of the royal family can use Kaehlor."

Eric stared blankly at him. "Kaehlor?"

It rolled its eyes. "The sword you are holding, little fellow. And yes in answer to your unspoken question, that is its name."

Eric gulped. In his fear, he had forgotten about the Guilden Sword which he was clutching tightly. It was his only weapon which could be used against this creature if it decided to attack him. However, he was still not confident whether the sword can indeed protect him. He had not learned how to use the sword yet.

He replied, "The Elders gave it to me."

Again, the creature rolled its eyes. "That was not my question. Who are you? You must be somehow related to the royal family."

It eyed him. "And don't lie to me either unless you want to end up like them."

It pointed to the carcasses again. "I hate liars."

Its sharp claws made a fierce mark, deeply imprinted on the ground.

"I am Zephler, the son of the late Guilden King. I'm afraid I don't know much about my father or my royal family for that matter." He sighed.

"Ah, the last of the royal family. It was rumored that you had died as a baby but apparently that was just a rumor. It is such a delight to see that you are still alive and well."

It continued, "Since you have been so kind as to identify yourself, then I will tell you who I am. I am Celiste, the Great Sphinx."

"I am pleased to meet you, Celiste."

"As am I." The creature made a slight bow.

"What, may I ask, do you know about Kaehlor?"

Celiste chuckled out loud. Her rumbling laughter caused the walls to shake and Eric felt himself trembling as well.

"It is just like the Elders to do that to people. Give them things they have no idea about. So that they end up underestimating its power or abusing it so that it eventually destroys them just so the Elders can take it back. That's what the Elders are for. To safe-keep things for the real owner to claim it. But, they secretly wish for ill things to happen to the real owner because they covet what doesn't belong to them."

Eric boldly stepped forward, forgetting to keep a safe distance between himself and the creature.

"Wait. You didn't answer my question. Tell me about Kaehlor."

She smiled. "I apologize. I was sidetracked momentarily. I am more focused now. You are very fortunate to meet someone as honest as I. Kaehlor was made by a blacksmith several hundreds of years ago as a gift to the then-present king. That sword can only be used by a member of the royal family for if any commoner attempts to use it, it will only turn into a dull ordinary sword."

"Anyone in the royal family possesses a powerful blood that changes things, even ordinary things like the necklace you are wearing, and gives it power to transform it to serve a greater purpose. Kaehlor is a sword, much like a scale, except it is not used for measurement. It is used to balance the age-long battle between good and evil. For every life it takes, either good or evil, it must take an opposite life, good or evil, to balance it out. For if the sword is used only to kill evil people, it becomes an evil sword and its user becomes evil. But if the sword is used to kill good people, the sword, itself, and its user becomes good. But only if the sword balances out good and evil, can it become a neutral sword and not possess the ability to overtake its user. The blacksmith who designed that sword asked for the king's blood so that it binds both sword and user together, making it extremely powerful and very deadly."

He listened with great interest. "Is there any way to prevent the sword from becoming evil?"

She shook her head. "Only if you don't use that sword at all. Then, it will always remain neutral. I am assuming you have never used that sword before."

"How did you know that?"

"I can tell by the way that you hold that sword, that it is still rather heavy for you. Don't worry. The weight changes the longer you keep it but it's faster if you feed it blood, preferably human blood, to lessen its weight."

Eric shuddered at the thought. "I was just recently given this sword by the Elders. They have never told me about its history before."

"Then you are lucky I warned you about it."

Eric smiled and asked, "Since we have become acquaintances, is it possible for me to enter that door you are guarding?"

Celiste looked at him solemnly and arched her head until it touched the ceiling.

"It is true. At the very least, we have become acquaintances. I don't think I have ever talked to a human this long without thinking of it other than food. Certainly, not someone from the royal family either. But I made a promise to guard this door with my life. I am not a noble creature but I am a creature that once I make a promise, I tend to keep it." She looked apologetically at Eric.

"Who did you make this promise to?"

"That is also a secret. I cannot disclose that information."

"I guess you can't tell me either what is behind that door. Do you even know what you are guarding?"

She shook her head. "I honestly do not care what is behind that door as long as my meals are brought to me. I can be quite vicious when I am hungry."

"Are you not in the least bit curious as to what is behind that door? That door is the very reason you are stuck here in this cramped tunnel."

Again, she shook her head. "Not in the least bit curious. Plus, I am here voluntarily. Food is scarce in the Guilden Forest but here, I get fed on a daily basis. I don't have to waste my energy to hunt."

She stared at him. "But I am curious as to why you want to enter that particular door. What do you think is behind it?"

"My freedom."

Eric looked down. He felt as if his hope of returning home had been extinguished by this very creature who stood in front of him, staring at him in a fascinated manner. She had no idea that the door that she was guarding could be the very door that would help him escape and return home. He was homesick; he longed to return home back to his family and friends. Meanwhile, Celiste continued to stare at him and seeing the sad expression on Eric's face, she relented.

"There is an exception to this promise, however. If you can answer this riddle, then you can safely go through that door."

She moved her large body so Eric could see what she was covering.

On the wall, written in neat letter was a riddle. This is what it said:

Many great men have lost their lives,

Searching for this.

Others have wasted away,

Who do have this.

And many more wish they had this,

Only to find out they don't know what to do with it,

Once it is theirs.

What is this?

Eric read the riddle multiple times, both out loud and to himself. He searched his brain for an answer to the riddle but it was blank. He didn't have a clue as to what the answer was. His puzzled expression, combined with his walking back and forth, only made Celiste smile as she closed her eyes and told Eric she would wait for the answer. She was quite confident that he would never be able to solve the riddle that has baffled many of her victims and thus, would never be able to enter the door that she was guarding. Eric continued to walk back and forth, pondering about the answer to the riddle.

An idea popped in his head and he glanced at the Great Sphinx. She appeared to have dozed off. She probably couldn't hear him then. Eric took out his necklace and whispered a question to it.

"What is the answer to this riddle?" Eric read the riddle to the necklace in a low voice, careful not to wake her up.

Its red light burned a deeper red color and it echoed back just as quietly, "Immortality."

Eric smiled and thanked the necklace for its help. He went over to Celiste and cleared his throat loudly, waking her up.

"I have the answer to the riddle."

Celiste yawned and waited impatiently. She seemed annoyed that her beauty sleep had been interrupted.

"The answer is immortality."

Her mouth dropped open, clearly not expecting the little boy to answer this riddle. She quickly regained her composure and smiled.

"It seems I have underestimated you, Zephler. I must say I am very impressed."

She looked at the carcasses and sighed. "I gave all of them a fair chance to solve the riddle and they all failed. You, however, are different and you succeeded."

She bowed her head in admiration, "It has been a pleasure meeting you. I will keep my word. You are free to enter this door."

As the creature sauntered off, Eric heard a mumbled warning of "I do hope you don't follow in your father's footsteps" but he was too thrilled to make sense of what was said. He was about to leave this place and return home. That was all that mattered to him.

Chapter 18: Return of the Elder

Eric took a deep breath before he pushed open the door. He didn't know what to expect. A part of him was scared but another part was excited. He was finally going to return home. This door was the way to his freedom, for outside the safe walls of the Guilden Kingdom, were his first step towards going home. He still had the necklace and he was sure it would help him return back home. He was so confident about this that when he did open the door, his wide smile turned into one of shock as he was immediately greeted by a swarm of fireflies. It reminded him of his dream with the Elder as a prisoner. He hesitated for a bit before he entered the room. He continued to walk forward into the dark room, lit only by the fireflies. He had to make sure. He had to be positive that this was not some sort of trick.

To his dismay, it was not a trick. This was exactly similar to what he had seen in his dream. In front of him, was the Elder, frail and unmoving, in the chair, chained from head to toe. He was disappointed.

He thought to himself, "I guess I'm not going home after all."

He had been expecting to see a magic tunnel leading to the way out of the Guilden Kingdom but instead, he was going to free the captured Elder.

As he walked closer towards the Elder, he could see that the man was deathly pale. Much of his face was covered by the cloak but he could see a pair of green eyes watching him. His face was thin and gaunt and his frame was tall but frail. He lifted his head towards Eric.

"Who are you?" His voice was weak and had it not been for the quietness of the room, Eric may not have been able to hear him.

"Zephler, the last of the royal family." He hesitated before saying, "I have come to rescue you."

The Elder gazed for a long time at his face and then shifted his eyes towards the sword he held in his hand.

"Ah, Zephler, you have returned at last and you also have Kaehlor. Who sent you here? How did you know where I was?"

Eric shook his head. "No one sent me. I sent myself. I've been having dreams about this place. I honestly didn't know where you were. I came upon this place by accident."

"I see." He closed his eyes for awhile, trying to tap into his fading memory.

His eyes opened slowly. "You must be the voice I've been hearing then. I honestly thought I was going mad, being locked up here for so long. I didn't know if I could trust my own sanity. I am glad that it was real then. You were that voice."

Eric nodded his head. He had remembered the dreams as well.

"So do you know who captured you? Are they still here?"

The Elder sighed. "In all the time that I have been tied to this chair, I have not seen anyone other than you. I have no idea who captured me either. I just remember it was at night. I was resting in my chambers when I heard a beautiful voice singing out to me. It seemed to be calling to me to follow it and I was curious so I did. I left my chambers and all the lights were out on that floor. I couldn't see a thing. The singing was my compass. I followed it until it got louder and louder until it seemed to be right next to me. But it was too dark. All I remember was I collapsed on the floor, unconscious with no idea as to what had just happened to me. When I regained consciousness, I found myself here and chained down. I thought no one could hear me so I sent for the fireflies, my only source of hope. They have kept me company throughout this ordeal."

Eric glanced around nervously. "Well then, in that case, we better get out of here before your captors realize that I'm here to rescue you."

The Elder nodded his head in agreement. "Good idea."

Eric whipped out the Guilden Sword and struck at the chains. He was surprised at the reaction because as soon as the sword touched the chain, the chains shook as if they were alive. He continued to strike until the chains finally loosened and slithered to the ground. He gently helped the Elder off the chair. He was very weak and was breathing in short gasps. He felt like he was holding a fragile and expensive vase that would break if he did let go. He firmly held onto the Elder to help him stand upright.

Eric looked around at the room. He wasn't sure whether he should go out the way he came but he knew the Great Sphinx wouldn't let him leave with the Elder. She had already made a mistake letting him solve that riddle and he wasn't about to push his luck before he became her next meal. But maybe he could distract her so that the Elder could escape safely. As he stood pondering this option, the Elder pointed at the small stream. Eric realized now what was making the trickling noise before in his dream.

Together, the two followed the path of the stream and they walked in silence for a long time before they eventually found a ladder which led above ground. They climbed the ladder and opened the door which led to the cold air outside. At last, they were free. Eric realized that the tombstone they escaped out of was different from the tombstone he had entered. He was too exhausted to care though.

As they sat on the ground, breathing in the fresh air, he noticed that the Elder was quickly regaining his strength when the chains were removed from him. Color was coming to his pale face and it looked flushed even with the misty fog enveloping the graveyard. Eric could see his eyes becoming brighter and more alert.

"Thank you for rescuing me. I didn't think anyone would know where I was being kept. I must say I was surprised to see that it was you. I didn't expect it, Zephler. I didn't expect for us to meet under these circumstances."

"Neither did I. But your fellow Elders have saved my life as well. I think you can say we're even." He grinned at him.

"Ah, I see you met the rest of my family. I hope they didn't give you a hard time. They can be quite strict with their rules but their heart is in the right place."

He laughed. His laughter broke the eerie silence and echoed into the far distance.

Eric stared up at the sky before speaking, "Forgive me for being blunt, but I never planned on saving you. I was so concerned with getting out of here that I even forgot that you were being held captive. But I guess it's been my fate all along except at the time, I just didn't know it. Isn't fate strange?"

"Indeed it is. Perhaps fate can also change your mind to make you stay."

He shook his head vigorously. "Never. I have to return home."

"Which home?"

Eric stared at him strangely. "My home on Earth. I don't belong here."

"But technically, you don't belong there either."

It was silent and Eric could see how creepy the graveyard truly was. There were rows and rows of tombstones, marking all those that had died. He shuddered in fear. He didn't want to end up like them either.

The Elder noticed. "Do you see all the tombstones here?"

He nodded his head.

"If all these people here can sacrifice their lives to save their families, their kingdom, and their people, then why can't their king do the same as well?"

"Because I'm not their king."

"Not yet. But you will be."

"I know, I know. My fifteenth birthday, just a couple of months away."

Eric scowled. He thought to himself, "Why do people keep reminding me of this impending doom? I hate my life. I hate all that crap about fate, obligations and responsibilities. Why won't people leave me alone so I can just be a normal kid?"

The Elder broke his thoughts. It seemed like he could read his mind for he said, "Some people would do anything to be in your position. You are quite fortunate and the sad part is, you don't even realize it."

Eric sighed. "I know. I met one of those people. His name is Emmers. He really wanted to be a Questor and was very disappointed he couldn't be one. Can you imagine how he would feel if someone offered the throne to him?"

"They why do you feel sorry for yourself? As if life had handed you a curse rather than a gift?"

"Because this isn't the life that I want. It isn't something that I would choose for myself. Doesn't anyone understand that? Why can't I do what I want? It just doesn't seem fair. I mean did you always want to be an Elder?"

"I had no choice."

"Exactly. Neither do I."

The two sat in silence. Eric was still sulking and the Elder seemed to be meditating.

The Elder stared at the stars and finally said, "I think we should return back to the castle for now. Come."

As they weaved around the tombstones in the fog, the voices that Eric had heard earlier started to get louder. He could hear them quite clearly. They were calling him by his first name again. He glanced at the Elder to see if he had heard anything either but the Elder continued to walk as if nothing had bothered him. Suddenly, he felt the hands pulling at him from the sides. They were stronger now. Eric took out his sword and tried swinging it back and forth at the invisible hands pulling him but the sword seemed to go through the hands. One of the hands pulled his leg and he tripped and fell flat on the floor. He struggled to get up but he couldn't. The hand was pulling him back into the fog. Eric was terrified and started to scream.

"Help! Help!"

The Elder turned around and muttered something unintelligible. The voices and the hands disappeared. He even noticed that the fog had started to lift a bit and thanked the Elder for saving his life. He shuddered at the thought of what would happen to him if he remained lost amidst all these tombstones. The Elder simply nodded his head and they continued to walk to the end of the hill. He saw Ebony still standing there waiting for him to return. The horse made a low sound as it saw Eric and trotted over to meet him. Eric smiled and patted the horse.

"Thanks for waiting for me. I brought a friend here. Can he ride with us?"

Ebony nodded her head.

He turned around to the Elder and told him to ride Ebony while he walked alongside. Ebony waited patiently as the weak Elder, gratefully got on the horse, while Eric led the horse back to the castle. It was very quiet when they approached the castle. He helped the Elder get off the horse and they walked towards the front door.

The door was locked as it was after hours. The Elder politely knocked on the door but no one answered. It was cold and Eric started to shiver. The Elder noticed and as his hand brushed alongside the door, he slid it and the door miraculously opened. Eric watched in amazement.

"How did you do that?"

The Elder smiled. "Just a little handy trick."

As Eric walked through the door first, he was confronted by the two Questors. They were furious that he had broken the rules once again. In their fury and haste to punish him, they did not recognize the Elder standing outside the door in the dark, watching their reactions with interest.

"How dare you force your way through. Wait until we bring you to the Elders to get punished."

As one of the Questors whipped out the black staff, Eric winced remembering the pain. But before he could use the weapon, the Elder had disarmed him very quickly and held the black staff in front of him.

Both the Questors and Eric watched in awe at his speed. The Questors immediately recognized who this person was and opened their mouths in shock.

"So this is how you treat people. No wonder they dislike us. It is because of people like you who abuse the powers given to you."

He held the staff high in one hand and with the other hand, he lifted a finger and touched the middle of the staff and it broke in two. The two pieces of the staff were tossed to the floor in utter distaste.

"This is just a lesson. And before you go shooting off your mouths, make sure who you are talking to."

The Questors nodded their heads in obedience and shame.

The Elder beckoned Eric to follow him and together, they went into the same room that Eric had entered on his first day here when he met the two Elders. It was completely dark but with a wave of the Elder's hand, the candles on the chandelier were all lit. The room looked the same except this time, all three chairs were empty. The Elder made a slight humming sound and as if out of nowhere, his two fellow Questors appeared in their respective seats. Although, they generally showed very little emotion, it was obvious to Eric that they were shocked and elated at the same time, knowing that their fellow Elder had safely returned. After a brief moment of shock, they started to speak.

"My fellow Elder, at last, you are finally back, safe and sound."

"We were worried about you. We sent a search team for you but found no information as to your whereabouts."

"So where were your captors keeping you and how did you manage to escape?"

"How did you come to be captured in the first place?"

Before any more questions came out of their mouths, the fellow Elder raised up his hand to silence them.

"Zephler, here, saved my life. He rescued me from where I was being held captive. I do not know who my captors are for I never saw them clearly. I was kept underground in the graveyard during this whole time and I was chained down so I could not move or call for help. But this little fellow here, he has saved my life. He is indeed a hero, whether he wanted to be or not."

For the first time, Eric saw him crack a smile and look at him with grateful eyes. Eric smiled in return. The two Elders finally noticed that Eric was standing alongside their brother. They were so occupied with their brother's return that they had not even noticed him.

"Thank you, Zephler."

"For the safe return of our brother. You are a hero and will be rewarded."

The Elder smiled and said, "Zephler looks very tired. Let him return to his room and get a good night's sleep. He deserves it."

They all nodded. Eric was allowed to return back to his room. He politely bowed to all three of them and retreated to the safety of his room. The Elder was right. He was so tired. He fell immediately asleep on his bed.

He woke up to the sound of heavy knocking on his door. At first, Eric thought it was Yulik but then he remembered that he never knocked. He was curious to see who it was so he went to open the door. Kathy practically knocked the wind out of him when she ran to hug him. It was like a football tackle, except in this case, Eric had to admit he enjoyed it. He smiled broadly.

"Hi, Eric. We missed you."

He was smothered by her hug.

"We?"

There was a polite clear of the throat.

"Ahem, I'm here as well."

Eric saw Janet out of the corner of his eye. When she finally released him, he felt his entire face instantly turned red. He must look like a nervous wreck. He had just gotten out of bed, his hair was all tousled up, and he still hadn't taken a shower or changed his clothes from last night's excursion.

Janet snickered, "I see you've been busy catching up on your beauty sleep."

She looked at Kathy and said, "We shouldn't have bothered him."

Kathy stared at him. "Oh sorry, it was my idea. I was just so impatient to see you again that I dragged Janet to see you early in the morning. We kind of just arrived ourselves, to be honest with you."

He smiled. "Uh, it's okay. I just wasn't expecting any visitors today. Come into my room."

He opened the door politely and motioned for the two girls to come inside. Kathy went over to the window and stared outside.

"It's beautiful. Just like how I remembered it."

Janet glanced around at Eric's room, which remained plain and undecorated. "Oh yeah, our room's bigger than this. We wanted to share rooms. We're downstairs from your room."

Eric looked at both of them. "So how did you guys arrive here?"

Janet answered him. "The Elders sent for us. My dad couldn't come because he was busy with work. And don't worry about your mother. Kathy took care of that."

She turned around to grin. "I just implanted a false memory of how you were chosen to study abroad, an all expense paid trip to Germany. You should have seen your mom's face. She was ecstatic."

Janet looked at him. "You should have told us that you were going to return here. We were all worried about you. Your mom kept saying how she came home on a date and you weren't in your room. She thought you were upset and ran away."

She grinned. "But we knew better. We just needed the Elders to help us get back."

Kathy joined in the conversation. "So did you make any friends here yet?"

"Yeah. His name is Emmers. He's really nice. His dad works in the stables and his mom works as a cook in the castle."

"Stables? Oooh, can we see the horses then? I really miss riding horses."

"Sure. I'll introduce you to him. I don't know if you can ride the horses though. They belong to the knights and there might be a rule against that."

Kathy rolled her eyes. "Rules, schmules. Rules are made to be broken. Besides, you're forgetting who you're talking to. I can make people do anything I want."

Janet yawned. "I'm bored too. Let's go outside now and see if your friend is around."

Eric stared at both of them. "Uh, sure. But wait. I have to change my clothes first from last night."

Janet looked him up and down which made him blush.

"I think you need a shower too. We can wait. We'll just be outside eating your breakfast. Don't worry. We'll save you something."

Eric muttered quietly to himself as he retreated to the bathroom, "How did the Elders know?"

As he closed the bathroom door, he saw a small note attached on the door. It read in neat, elegant writing:

To Zephler,

I hope you like your gift. Just a small token of gratitude.

Your friends,

Triad of the Elders

Eric smiled as he read the note.

He thought to himself, "The Elders sure don't give ordinary gifts. This might take some getting used to."

He shook his head. He knew that this act of kindness was an attempt to persuade him to stay. The Elders had proven their point that he could still have friends no matter where he lived. Although they could not help him return home, they could bring some of what he missed at home, back here.

He smiled and whispered, "At least this would be my home, for the time being."

