The Apprentice Adventures continues with our lovable gang on a new mission!
“I’m going to kill him,” Prince Neifion muttered for the umpteenth time.
Eirwen gave Tathan a look that asked him to speak up. But he simply shrugged his shoulders rather than argue with the prince about his murderous desires that had only increased over the duration of their trip.
“We have a mission, my lord,” Lady Meredith reminded him.
The rest of the group remained quiet for the moment, their horses trudging through the forest. They had traveled quite some distance from Brytani to Fusang—all to hunt down one errant knight—and no one was thrilled about it.
Sir Aeron had been spouting lovesick nonsense at court for some weeks over the famed Princess Kaguya, known for her glowing, radiant beauty that had suitors encamping around her home for months on end. Finally, Sir Aeron had run off to join those desperate for the princess’s hand. King Morys had been enraged over the behavior of a knight so closely related to the royal family – one whom he doted on quite excessively. Thus, rather against his will, Neifion was appointed to take a delegation to Fusang and bring the infatuated knight back home.
“We could be hunting with the lords of Lyndane City as we speak,” Neifion said.
Eirwen snorted, trying to hold in a laugh, and Tathan gave her a shake of his head. They all knew the prince wouldn’t join in hunting with the stuffy lords. He would much rather hunt alone or possibly in the company of his closest friends, Tathan and Seren.
The pathway through the forest finally opened up to a small village. It didn’t take a huntsman to detect which house belonged to the princess—Sir Aeron and a couple moony-eyed Fusang knights sat around the yard of her home.
Aeron was in full knightly attire whilst seated in the dirt picking at wildflowers. His long blond hair blew around his face like a halo. He looked the perfect picture of a starry-eyed knight in love.
“I’m going to kill him,” Neifion snarled.
On cue, Tathan and Edryd swung off their horses and came alongside the prince just as he descended.
Seren raised an eyebrow. “The king didn’t specify in what state he wanted the knight returned…”
Eirwen gave her a dark look which brought a smirk to Seren’s lips.
“He’s just misguided,” Eirwen said gently. Though she thought a couple whacks of sense to the knight’s head might be justified.
“He’s an idiot,” Llewella said, matter-of-factly, not bothering to climb off her horse.
Eirwen followed behind the prince and his keepers, Tathan and Edryd. She had her wand in hand, ready if the situation might need a little magical intervention. Like restraining the prince from ripping Sir Aeron’s head off.
Before they could even reach the knight, an elderly man hurried over to the youth and his companions awaiting a chance to glimpse the princess. “My dear knights,” he said tremulously.
They drew close but didn’t interrupt. Neifion’s ire seemed to lessen a bit as he listened to the elder speak.
“I have grave news! The emperor is sending his men as we speak, but I must beg you, if you have any true love and devotion in your heart to the princess, my daughter, then you must join her protectors. For her people—the mighty and fearful inhabitants of the moon—are coming for her this very night!” Tears brimmed in his eyes, and his weak chin trembled. “They shall take our beloved Princess Kaguya from us if we do not resist!”
Immediately the young knights exchanged nervous glances and began to make excuses to suddenly return to their families. Sir Aeron, however, stood up to his full height and locked eyes with the old man.
“Dear father,” he said, “I will stand with you and your daughter against this unjust and heinous attack!”
Sir Aeron’s eyes wandered for a moment and latched onto Prince Neifion and his entourage. His face lit up, clearly ignorant of their errand and the rage the king had for him at this moment.
“Your highness!” Sir Aeron cried. He turned to the elderly man. “And not only shall I defend your daughter, but my lord, Prince Neifion, and his capable warriors shall protect her.”
“Sir Aeron!” Neifion snapped. He walked up to the young knight and glared into his vacant eyes.
“My lord! My honor has been called upon. A father in need has asked for my services in protecting his only beloved child. I call upon your honor now too, sire.”
Neifion glanced uncomfortably at the elderly man, his gaze softening a bit. He leaned in closer to Sir Aeron, trying to speak privately with him.
“We must not get involved in politics outside of Brytani. The king would not approve –”
“But, sire! The emperor of Fusang himself is sending his army to protect this radiant beauty—ehh—princess,” Sir Aeron stumbled over his words. “It would only promote good will if the prince of Brytani joined in with his forces. The emperor and your father, the king, would only have reason to praise your devotion for a strong alliance between our two kingdoms.”
“He’s very good with words,” Tathan whispered to Eirwen. His little smile attested to his enjoyment in watching the prince be flustered.
“Yes, well,” Neifion mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I would be most grateful if you would assist in any way you can!” the elderly man cried. A tear rolled down his weathered cheek.
Eirwen’s heart ached in her chest for this man. Such a loving father so desperate to protect his only child. She couldn’t help the tinge of jealousy she felt. Her own father had disappeared right after her mother, Eira, had informed him of her pregnancy. Eira always swore that something had taken Idrys away but nineteen years was a long time to disappear without a word.
If her own father were here, would he protect her as this elderly man would his child?
“We could at least assist in seeing that no one is harmed when the moon people arrive,” Eirwen ventured.
The prince looked at her, and she halfway expected frustration from him. But she could see resignation in his eyes and even some inner pain. Perhaps he, too, felt the true love of this man for his daughter.
Neifion capitulated, his tone grudging as he said, “Our mission will be to see that no one is harmed, particularly Sir Aeron, as I wish for him to return to my father ready to receive all that he has planned for him.”
* * * * *
~written by Faith White
As night fell, Meredith sat cross-legged upon one of the gently sloping roofs of the Princess Kaguya’s home. She still wasn’t sure why everyone called her ‘princess’, since she was only the adopted daughter of a bamboo-cutter. Maybe titles worked differently here; she wasn’t familiar with Fusang’s royalty. Her ignorance on the subject annoyed her.
She shifted her focus to the soldiers and knights around her who were moving into similar positions, taking watches for the first sign of trouble.
“Moon people,” she muttered to herself, lifting her spyglass. “Out of all the ridiculous things.”
“You know, we see amazing magic every day,” Tathan said, climbing up onto the roof next to her. He remained standing and looked up at the sky. “You don’t think there could be people up there, on the moon?”
“That’s not the ridiculous part,” Mer corrected. “The ridiculous part is thinking we can do something. If they have the magic to travel between these two places, I don’t think we’ll be able to stop them.”
“Well, we have to try,” Tathan said. “I mean, it’s not like us to stand by and watch while a girl gets taken from her family, even if we did get led here by an idiot.”
Meredith sighed. No, it wasn’t. “I’m still not in favor of interfering in the politics of a land we know little about,” she said.
“Ah, this isn’t politics! This is true love!” He spread his arms wide as he motioned towards the knights—Sir Aeron among them—who had taken to guarding the door of the bamboo-cutter’s home. “Really, Mer,” he said. “For a minstrel, you’re not very good at seeing the romance in a situation.”
“The real love here is between the girl and her father, as you previously said,” Meredith contradicted. “Not all of these silly, lovesick knights. Honestly, I—”
She didn’t get to finish. Instead, they were startled by sudden darkness as a large cloud began to envelop the moon.
“Well, that’s not something you see every day,” Tathan mumbled.
“What kind of magic is it?” Meredith asked.
“I can’t tell; it’s too far away.”
The crowd of soldiers below them began to bustle with activity, and the archers on the roofs readied their bows.
“You should go down—”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” Tathan leaned down and swung on the edge of the roof before dropping to the ground on his feet. Meredith looked down and caught Eirwen’s worried glance as she stood near Neifion before both of their gazes returned to the sky.
The cloud was only growing larger. No, Meredith realized, it wasn’t growing larger—it was only moving closer and closer to them. Soon, it was so close it covered their entire line of sight. The voices below her stopped as everyone waited with bated breath. Suddenly, the cloud parted, revealing a chariot. The beings inside were obviously magical, but much different from any creature Meredith had seen before. They were luminously bright, but, curiously, Meredith found that it did not hurt her eyes to look at them.
One of the men in the chariot stepped forward, and Meredith immediately recognized him as a king; it would silly to misidentify him as anything else. She normally felt confident in any situation, but at the moment, she was suddenly very thankfully that she had completely escaped these visitors’ attention.
“The time has come,” the king said, “for Princess Moonlight to return to the moon from whence she came. She committed a grave fault, and as a punishment was sent to live down here for a time. We know what good care you have taken of the Princess, and we have rewarded you for this and have sent you wealth and prosperity.”
The old man knelt down before him. “My lord, this cannot be. I have raised this woman for twenty years—and never once has she done a wrong thing! She cannot be guilty of such a fault as you stay! The lady you are seeking cannot be this one,” he continued. “I pray you to look elsewhere.”
The moon king ignored him. “Princess Moonlight!” he called. “Come out from this lowly dwelling. Rest not here another moment.”
Every eye turned to the home’s door. It slowly slid open. Meredith had not gotten a good look at the moon-princess before, but now that she did she could almost—almost!—understand Sir Aeron’s fanatical devotion, for she was just as otherworldly as the creatures from the chariot. Meredith slid down from the roof and returned towards Tathan, who was standing with the rest of their group from Brytani.
They watched as Princess Kaguya ran towards the old bamboo-cutter. He grasped her tightly, and she said something softly to him before adding, a bit more loudly, “I have left a letter for my dear friend, the emperor. Tell him—” she stopped for a moment, her eyes glowing with unshed tears. Meredith blinked suddenly, surprised to find her own eyes were wet. Eirwen offered her a handkerchief—tears were already rolling down her cheeks—but Meredith passed it back.
One of the Fusang soldiers stepped forward. “We are here to protect the princess,” he proclaimed loudly. “She does not wish to leave, and we will not let you take her!”
Neifion drew his sword, but Seren quickly put out a hand in front of him, sharing a glance with Meredith. Neifion looked to her, too, and she shook her head sadly. She looked to Sir Aeron, but he was still too awed by the sight of these creatures to even move, much less fight back. That was a relief; if getting involved in Fusang politics was risky, getting involved in an interplanetary incident with moon-people was a million times worse.
The light surrounding the chariot grew brighter, and Princess Kaguya quickly intervened. “He does not know what he is saying!” she quickly said. “I shall come with you, but do not hurt them!”
The light dimmed, their anger abated.
“Then let me come with her,” the old man begged. “please, I—”
“This is impossible,” the moon-king said. “Moonlight, you shall come at once.”
She slowly removed her intricately embroidered robe and gave it to the bamboo-cutter with a kiss. “Think of me when you see the moon,” she said softly, before walking towards the chariot. One of the king’s attendants gave her a small vial, which she drank most of.
Meredith heard Eirwen give a small gasp.
“What is it?”
“I’ve only heard rumors,” she said, looking to Tathan. “Something called the elixir of life.”
“Only in stories,” he said, “but…” His voice trailed off.
The princess tried to give the elixir to her father, but the king stopped her. “You know only one of royal blood may drink of the Elixir.”
“Then give it to the emperor,” she said, pressing the vial into her father’s hands. “I wish for it to go to the two most important people of my world.” She smiled sadly before returning to the chariot. The clouds enveloped them again as they disappeared into the night sky.
The courtyard was silent, all of them overcome by what they’d just seen.
It was Neifion who finally spoke. “We failed,” he said. “I wish we could have helped the old man. But we accomplished nothing.”
“Not entirely,” Meredith said, looking up at him. “After all, we now know that there’s a whole kingdom above us.”
The group looked up at the moon, all of them feeling that paradoxical mix of fear and wonder now that they knew that somewhere, far above them, were a people who could be watching them even now.
* * * * *
~written by Hayden Wand
The Apprentice Adventures will be back with more exciting adventures!
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