Armendora - Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Flight to Armendora

 

 

 

“Me? Why me? Isn’t there anybody else?” Ned asked, letting go of Alyssa’s hand. “You’re the only one I know with the name ‘Ned’. You must help me, Ned. One way or the other, it must be you,” Alyssa answered, taking Ned’s hand and holding it tight.

“But why me? Why must it be a person named ‘Ned’? I’m not good at handling weapons. I’m not even good at self-defence!”

“My stepfather said that only a person named ‘Ned’ can help me get my kingdom back. He took it over when he married my mother, Queen Ponysta. He said I can never find a guy, not even a girl with the name ‘Ned’. Too childish, he said.”

“Childish? That’s not true!” Ned said, protesting. “Ned’s not a childish name. I’ve been using this name for the past 14 years and nobody’s ever told me that I’m childish; not even my mother! I ought to teach your stepfather some manners.”

“Are you sure? My stepfather is a very powerful man. He can even make mountains collapse with his bare hands!” said Alyssa, warning Ned. “I don’t care if he’s powerful. Saying my name as childish is insulting my mother. She’s the one who gave me the name, okay! Otherwise, I’ll just shut up,” Ned replied. His anger is noticeable through his eyes. “How are we going to go to Armendora? Through the park’s archway?” asked Ned. “No, it’s too risky entering Armendora from here in Haybury. I can’t tell which door here that won’t take us straight into the castle. I don’t want to risk your life, Ned. I love you,” said Alyssa, holding both Ned’s hands.

“I know that. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t defeat you stepfather,” said Ned, kissing Alyssa on her forehead. “What about your mother? What happened to her? Is she okay?”

“She’s safe but I don’t think she’ll survive long. My father had her locked up in the castle’s dungeon. He said if I were to come and save her, I must defeat his beloved pet dragon.”

“A dragon? A life, fire-breathing dragon?”

“Yes and no. It is a life dragon, but it doesn’t breathe fire; it breathes ice. Dragons in Armendora is different from what those fictitious dragons here on Earth. Here, yes; they breathe fire. In Armendora, they breathe ice. It won’t kill you, just freeze you. If it’s long enough, you might be killed.”

“Can’t you fight it alone? You have all of your magic skills. Can’t you use it to fight the dragon?”

“I tried, Ned. Before I was sent here, I tried to save my mother. I failed. It seems that the dragon had its own protective shield or something because as I get nearer to it, I’ll bounce back. I can’t even reach the dragon; not even close to kill it with a sword. My magic skills are useless. It can’t penetrate the dragon’s shield. Somehow, my stepfather had the shield made to withstand magical powers.”

“Alyssa, listen to me. I’ll go with you. I’ll help you get back your kingdom, rescue your mother and defeat that hideous stepfather of yours. There’s just something you must do. You must teach me self-defence, swordsmanship and other skills. If you can, try and teach me some of the magical skills. That is, if I can use them,” said Ned. As Ned speaks, his hands slowly reached Alyssa's face, touching her cheeks gently. Calmed down by Ned’s touch, Alyssa said “All right. Let’s go to Armendora. If you were to learn all the skills, we must go now. We don’t have much time. My stepfather can do anything; he can even make your worst nightmare come to life. We must go to Algora. We can use the door which I came from. It’ll lead to the old castle where nobody ever walks through. Few people are brave enough to enter the old castle. It is said to be haunted, but it’s all lies.”

“Okay, let’s go then. We have a kingdom to save!”

 

Algora is a very interesting city to visit. It is the only city where buildings are only single-storey and most people living there are aged 50 and above. You might as well call it the ‘Old Town’ once you take a look at the buildings there. Old, preserved buildings with cracked walls; some of them had fallen down, leaving bare rooms visible for passers-by. Some of them had been repaired; making the town looked horribly weird. It’s almost like a new generation is trying to change the old town; making it better. Instead, it looked horribly awful with blotches of new and old walls together. The roads are bumpy and there are holes here and there; making it impossible to drive a car here. Shops selling fruits, vegetables and meat are situated alongside the road, in front of the horrible looking buildings, covering the hideous walls. Even by doing this, the walls are still visible and with the dirtiness of the roads, the town looked like a perfect place for a Halloween party.

Alyssa and Ned were at one of the restaurants at the bus station, eating after a long journey from Haybury. Ned was eating a sandwich while Alyssa was eating some bananas, her eyes looking around at the people who are passing by the restaurant. This was the only restaurant that is clean enough to eat at. The others are like it had never been cleaned for ages. Cockroaches and rats everywhere, making the place looked ridiculously disgusting. It seems like Ned and Alyssa are the only kids here; the others are old people.

“Where’s the door?” asked Ned, nervous from the old people that keep staring at them, as if they are unwanted there. “It’s not far from here. But we have to be careful; my stepfather might have sent some of his men to search for me. They may even be guarding the doorway right now. We cannot be seen,” replied Alyssa as she throws a banana peel into a nearby trash can.

“I’ve never lied to my parents before,” Ned said, after a long silence. They’ve finished their meal and heading towards the door, watching every step, walking slowly. “This is the first time I’ve ever lied to them.”

“They must’ve cared about you a lot,” Alyssa said, taking Ned’s hand and holding it gently with hers. Ned smiled and said “It’s the biggest lie I’ve ever did; telling them I’m on a school trip. It’s a good thing that our school did organize a trip. Otherwise, they’ll found out by now. Is the door still far away?”

“Not so far. Just around the corner there,” said Alyssa, pointing at a junction. They’re walking past a very odd-looking bar. It’s closed, meaning that they’re safe from unwanted people or bad guys. “There’s an old building with an archway that used to hold the gates. It’s nearly collapsed. It may be closed in a few weeks’ time. That’s why I said we have to hurry,” Alyssa continued, her facial expression changed from the happy-go-lucky girl to serious-looking. As they turned at the junction, heading towards the old building, Alyssa stopped. “Why? Why are we stopping? Isn’t that the –“ Ned stopped talking immediately because only then Ned see why Alyssa had stopped.