Fa-King.Com

Merlaine left the fa-king throne room, his head still spinning from the tongue-lashing he had received from the Fa-King for not being able to locate the fa-king Princess.  He refused to reveal the contents of the message; it was personal.  He needed to find Gloriana, figure out what her ideas and plans were, and how to help her without arousing the Fa-King’s ire.

That was a big fa-king order!  He was only twenty years old, the youngest Royal fa-king Wizard ever.  If circumstances had been different, his fa-king apprenticeship would have continued another five to ten years!  Although he had performed magnificently during the crisis of the stolen magic handbook, he was still very unsure of many everyday things.  He lacked the experience and wisdom to deal with the Fa-King.  He could not even grow a good fa-king wizard’s beard yet!

Enough, now to the task at hand.  Find Gloriana!  He could sense she was near, but that was all.  He smiled.  Oh, her cloaking skills had improved!  Think!  He doubted a scroll would help, so he focused on other questions.  Was she with anyone?  Yes!  He got a vague image of the fa-king Prince, someone else and a unicorn!  He turned right and headed into the forest. 

“Don’t rat me out Merlaine, I need your help”

“I won’t, Gloriana, I’m coming” He walked faster and hoped she received his message.

To be continued

“Shhh…”  Gloriana spoke softly to Puck who started tossing his head. 

“Sis?”  This time she did not just hear it in her mind, soft voices and footsteps were audible as two or more people were making their way through the woods.   People?  Maybe the fa-king Prince had misunderstood her message, or maybe he could not get away alone.  There might be others following along who would drag her back to the fa-king castle!  Puck was young, his horn was only about half the length it would be, but it was still a formidable weapon.  He could hold unwelcome extras at bay while she escaped.  She struggled to remain calm.

She as branches parted and her brother, the fa-king Royal Prince stepped onto the path followed by a slender maiden. 

“Gloriana!  I mean, your fa-king Highness!”  Cara ran up to the unicorn and touched Gloriana’s leg.  The fa-king Prince approached cautiously, unicorns would not tolerate someone with impure motives.  They usually attacked or fled.  Puck stood quietly.

“Wow” Gloriana observed.  “Have you changed or what?”

The fa-king Prince told her briefly about his misadventure, “Cara and I are good friends now, maybe someday we’ll be something more” he added shyly.  Cara blushed.

“Let’s get off this path.” The fa-king Prince continued, “The whole fa-king kingdom is looking for you!  What gives?   Let us plan this out.”

To be continued

Irv was shaking in his fa-king boots.  He stood before the Fa-King, sweating profusely under the fa-king interrogation.

“No, your fa-king Highness.  I did NOT kidnap the fa-king Princess.”  Irv’s voice trembled.  “I love the fa-king Princess.  It was just silly guy talk!”

Merlaine entered the fa-king throne room.  He was dressed in the robes of the Royal fa-king Wizard, carrying his fa-king wand and other tools of his trade.  He had been thinking about Gloriana almost nonstop.  She had resembled a pixie, an adorable elfin slip of a girl with many powerful, magical talents.  The Fa-King would not allow her to apprentice to the Royal fa-king Wizard, he insisted his daughter was above that and insisted that she remain the fa-king Princess.  That made Gloriana furious and the Fa-King finally decided to send her away to win that argument.

Merlaine smiled as he remembered Gloriana following him around years ago.  He knew she had a crush on him, but he was terrified of her.  First, because no one suspected how powerful her magic was and second because he was not royalty himself, just an apprentice to the Royal fa-king Wizard.  That had changed, he was now the Royal fa-king Wizard, but four years had passed and he was sure she had forgotten him.

“Is this man telling the truth?”  The Fa-King thundered.

Merlaine roused himself from his memories and looked at Irv.  He did not need to summon a scroll to see the answer.   He was innocent. 

“Then, where is she?” The Fa-King demanded.

Merlaine concentrated and summoned another scroll.  He felt uneasy again.  A nagging thought kept trying to enter his mind, as if someone was trying to contact him.  It was vague and unclear.

The fa-king scroll appeared.  Merlaine caught his breath as he read it.    

 This is Gloriana.  I am hiding.  I am ok.  Do not give me away, please.  Help me!

The Fa-King must not see this!   Merlaine almost cringed when the Court Jester tore it out of his hand and handed it to the Fa-King.  “Sire, this is fa-king gibberish!”

Merlaine breathed a sigh of relief.

“Find Her!”

To be continued

The fa-king Royal Princess, Gloriana awoke refreshed.  She slid down the tree trunk, giggling as she thought of the panic and desperation in the voices of the fa-king driver and maidens as they searched for her.  The Fa-King would be furious, but she did not think he would take his fa-king wrath out on them.  At least, she hoped not.

She nibbled on fa-king stale pretzels left in the hideout as she started walking.  She had to think this through, she could not hide forever.  She looked up and stopped in her tracks.  A young fa-king unicorn stood directly in front of her!  He nickered softly and gazed into her eyes.

It was a myth that only a virgin could see or talk to a unicorn, but since Gloriana was a virgin, teaming up with this magical creature would amplify any fa-king talents or magic she had!  The unicorn bowed his head as she swung up onto his back.  He told her his name was Puck.  She ran her fingers through his mane and tried to absorb some of his fa-king magic while she planned her next move. 

Gloriana had always been somewhat telepathic.  At close range, she could send and receive thoughts if conditions were right and she focused hard enough.  It was easier for her to communicate with animals but right now, it was vital that she try to send a message to her brother, the fa-king Royal Prince and Merlaine.  She concentrated with all her might.  Puck swished his tail and laid his ears back, trying to help.

“This is Gloriana.  I am hiding.  I am ok.  Do not give me away, please.  Help me!”

She felt ripples as the messages speeded to its recipients.  It was working!

“Sis?”

To be continued

The fa-king Royal Coach pulled into the courtyard.  The royal entrance theme was played loudly and all the fa-king subjects gathered in the courtyard cheered.  The Fa-King and the fa-king Queen appeared the all their entourage to welcome the fa-king Princess.

“Your fa-king Highness!  The fa-king Princess is missing!” 

Silence fell over the courtyard.  Women fainted, jaws dropped, fa-king everyone was speechless.

Except the Fa-King.  “What happened to my fa-king daughter?” he roared.  “Was she kidnapped?   Did you see who did it?”

“No,” stammered the fa-king Royal driver “She just disappeared!”

“Magic?  Summon Merlaine” the Fa-King pulled his moustache as he thought about the Court Jester’s report “and bring Irv to me”

To be continued

Gloriana smiled as the fa-king driver and the maidens searched in vain, screaming for her repeatedly.  Finally, they left.  She waited until she could no longer hear any sound of their departure, then she slid down the fa-king tree trunk and looked around.

She did not want to follow behind the fa-king coach.  She glanced around and saw a narrower, less traveled path.  Perfect!  It seemed to circle the lake; it should lead to the fa-king castle.  She plunged deeper into the woods, starting to   recognize landmarks.  Her brother, the fa-king Prince’s hideout was down this path somewhere.  She had been there but she never told anyone else where it was.  It might be worth spending a night there to let things cool off before she tried to penetrate the castle and find a fa-king hiding place.   She shimmied up the tree easily.  Ah, good, everything seemed the same.  She opened the door and swung inside.

Inside it was dark and dusty.  There were four vials on the table.  Gloriana recognized them as spells from the Royal fa-king Wizard’s study.  She had heard her brother had tried to pull of some amateur spells of his own.  She tried to make sense of the labels.  Gloriana had always had an affinity for magic.

She was lost in thought, remembering when she was younger.  She had followed the Royal fa-king Wizard faithfully, watching carefully and learning incantations.  She begged to become his apprentice, but the Wizard was adamant.  She was the fa-king Princess and it was not her place to become a wizard!  Merlaine was then chosen and Gloriana followed him.

 Enough!  She needed to sleep.  In the morning, she would plan the next step of her plan.  She stretched out on the fa-king cot and was asleep almost immediately.

To be continued

The Royal fa-king Coach was coming to the end of the clearing.  The fa-king horses slowed, preparing to enter a narrow trail through the fa-king forest.  They were only about an hour away from The Kingdom of Fa now.

To the left was Lake Fa.  The fa-king driver turned the horses to the shore, intending to offer them a fa-king drink before they started the last leg of the journey.

Fa-king perfect!  Gloriana sat up straighter.  Instead of asking for a fa-king rest stop, she could just slip out while the horses were drinking!

The maidens stepped out to stretch, taking advantage of this fa-king break.  Gloriana stretched and then walked to the shore, bending to splash cool water on her face.  She was watching everyone carefully out of the corner of her eye.

The two girls got back into the fa-king carriage.  Silly, foolish girls anyway!  The fa-king driver was busy adjusting one of the horse’s harnesses.

Gloriana took advantage of this opportunity.  She quietly faded into the forest.  She climbed a tall tree, positioning herself on a branch where she could shield herself behind the dense foliage.

The fa-king driver was ready to go now.  He checked the coach to make sure everyone was ready and comfortable.

“Where’s the fa-king Princess?”  The girls stopped their mindless chattering to gape.  The fa-king driver felt panic.  “We have to find her!  Start looking!”

To be continued

The court Jester prepared to practice his juggling and other tricks he would perform at the fa-king celebration.  He stationed himself in the courtyard, near the wall closest to the main gate.  The yard was full of subjects, mostly men.  The women were baking or getting their finest outfits together for the party.  The men were building a platform for the Royal Princess and her fa-king family.   Others were attending to the repair of the bleachers and the royal fa-king barbecue.

The Jester picked out snippets of conversations.  He played up his image as an amusing fool, few took him seriously and fewer paid any mind to what they were saying.

“I wonder if the fa-king Princess has grown up any” one man said to his buddies.

“Even if she still looks like a little fa-king boy it would be worth it to marry her” observed another “just imagine the fa-king royal favor!”

“She was always a fa-king handful” said another “I wouldn’t mind locking her away and teaching her to mind!”

The Jester moved closer.

“She’s coming in the Royal fa-king coach, there’s no guard but the fa-king driver.  Thinking of snatching her, Irv?”

Irv grinned.  “That’s a fa-king thought!”

The Jester wandered off aimlessly.  The Fa-King would need to hear this!

To be continued

The fa-king Princess Gloriana rode in the luxurious coach pulled by four beautiful fa-king white horses.  She was a slight, elfin girl, dressed in faded jeans and oversized shirt.  Her hair was cropped stylishly short with very little curl or femininity.  Two of her old friends, her fa-king maidens-in-waiting had been sent to ride home with her.  Gloriana was not exactly pleased to be returning to Fa, her mother’s plans to present her to the kingdom as a beautiful, fa-king figurehead Princess set her teeth on edge.

“I can’t believe it’s the twenty first century, the kingdom has fa-king limousines, and I have to ride in this fa-king medieval coach!”  Gloriana grumbled.  She was formulating a plan to escape, once they were past a wide-open space she could plead nature’s call and slip away into the fa-king woods.  From there she would make her way to the castle.  She could hide until she could speak to her brother, the fa-king Royal Prince.  He was clever; he would have fa-king ideas.

Her mind wandered.  She thought of Merlaine.  He was a couple years older than she was.  Her memories were a little fuzzy after four years, but she remembered he was dreamy and she had had a crush on him for as long as she could recall.

She had heard he was now the fa-king Royal Wizard.  If her fa-king brother could not help her, maybe she could use that to her advantage!

 To be continued

The Fa-King strolled around the fa-king courtyard.  He was followed closely by fa-king guards.  Everyone was excited about Gloriana’s return.  The Fa-King’s brow furrowed as he thought.  Gloriana had been sent away four years ago to protect her from those who wished her fa-king harm or who wanted to use her to gain fa-king Royal favor.  The Royal fa-king Prince seemed immune to these threats even though he was directly in line to succeed the Fa-King.  The Fa-King hated to admit it, but the fa-king Prince had been a very obnoxious boy until his recent experience of stealing the fa-king magic handbook.

 The Royal fa-king Prince was sitting on a bench with Cara.  She rose quickly and curtseyed as the Fa-King passed.  He smiled and nodded to both of them.  The fa-king Prince’s mishap had wrought a profound and very pleasant change!

The Royal fa-king Court Jester was lurking in the shadows.  The Fa-King approached him, motioning for him to stand in front of him.  The Court Jester bowed fa-king insolently, yet not so much as to arouse the Fa-King’s wrath.  It was a fine line to walk sometimes, but if the Jester were too fa-king servile it would defeat the whole purpose of the fa-king position.

“Gloriana will be arriving in a few hours.  I will need you to listen carefully   around the kingdom and report to me if you hear of any fa-king plots or intentions to do her harm.”

The fa-king Jester laughed raucously.  He waved his scepter; nodded and then slipped away to do the Fa-King is bidding.

To be continued