Armendora - Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Princess of Armendora

 

 

 

            On Sunday evening, Ned asked Alyssa to go out for a little stroll around the park. He was sitting on a bench with a rose in his hand when she arrives. He gives Alyssa the rose, and together they went for a walk.

            “Are you alright?” asked Ned.

            “I’m fine,” said Alyssa with a smile.

            “You don’t look fine for the past two weeks. What’s the matter?”

            “Like I said Ned, I can’t tell you. It’s dangerous. You might get hurt.”

            “I don’t really care if I’ll get hurt or not. I’m just worried about you,” said Ned, holding Alyssa's hand. He can see that Alyssa's blushing. Her cheeks were turning red. “I love you, Alyssa. Come on. You can tell me anything. Nothing can tear us apart, right?”

            “Fine. But you must promise me you’ll never tell anyone else what I’m about to tell you. Not even Mr. Humphrey.”

            “Why would I tell him?”

            “You’ve been seeing him, aren’t you? You told him you were worried when I won’t talk to you.”

            “Have you been eavesdropping?”

“No. You’ll know how I knew about that afterwards.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem? What’s been troubling you?”

“It’s a long story. I don’t think I can finish telling it by today. After all, it’s hard to explain.”

“It’s okay. Try to make it short. I’m a good listener. You can tell me anything. What’s the big deal?”

Alyssa thought first. How should I tell him? It’s rather difficult. Will he believe me? She said to herself. This is a big responsibility. Can he take it? I do hope he can. But, what if he can’t take it? What if he leaves me, never want to talk with me, and never want to be with me? What if he tells everyone about it? Can he be trusted?

“Are you going to tell me or what?” Ned asked, curiously. Alyssa realized that her facial expression made Ned felt weird. She was still thinking how to tell Ned about her biggest secret ever. Still, she has to tell him.

“Okay, here goes. My name is actually Alyssa Acstoria. I’m the Princess of Armendora, a magical kingdom that can’t be seen by ordinary human beings like you.”

“Whoa! Rewind and replay! Princess?”

“I thought you will never believe me.”

“Who said I didn’t believe you? I’m just surprised. Armendora? I’ve never heard of it before. Where is it?”

“Nearby. The door to Armendora can be found everywhere on Earth. It’s just an ordinary archway that human being didn’t notice. It’s not hidden, though. You can see it, if you look really hard.”

“Archway, huh? How about the archway at the entrance of this park? Is it a doorway to Armendora?”

“Yes. That’s one of the many doorways here in Haybury.”

“You mean there’s a lot more here?”

“There are about 100,000 doorways to Armendora here on Earth. 300 of them are situated here in Haybury. I came here through one of the doorways in Algora. That’s why I said I’m from Algora. Most of the doorways in Algora have been destroyed. There are only about 10 doorways left. There’s none in Alberone City. They’re too busy building more skyscrapers; they didn’t even realize that they destroyed all of the doorways to Armendora. Sad, isn’t it?”

They’re sitting on a bench, watching a few children playing in the playground nearby. They’re still holding hands. To Alyssa, Ned’s hand made her felt calm and safe. That’s where she got the nerve to tell Ned the real story. Ned held Alyssa's hand because he loves her. It seems to Ned that Alyssa didn’t mind him holding her hand. As they sit, Alyssa continues her story.

“Armendora is a very nice kingdom; full of magical creatures like centaurs, dragons, unicorns, even griffins!”

“Wow, that’s fascinating. Has any human being ever entered Armendora?”

“Few had entered Armendora by mistake. At first, they were surprised because the first thing that they saw was a dragon. It’s always like that.”

“What did you do with them? Kill them?”

“Of course not. We’re not that cruel. We ‘deleted’ their memory of being in Armendora and sent them back on Earth. Why do you think we killed them?”

“Well, I’ve never heard of anybody talking about seeing a dragon. The biggest dragon-like creature here is only the Komodo lizard. What about the part where you know I was talking to Mr. Humphrey?”

“We Armendorians have psychic abilities. We know everything. I can even tell your family’s history from your great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. We’re like those fortune tellers here on Earth. Except that we’re better.”

“You mean you even know my future? What about the meaning of my name?” Ned asked excitedly.

“Meaning of your name? That’s easy. Ned, in Armendoran language means a person with the ability to restore peace. It’s one of the very powerful names in Armendora. Few Armendorians use that name. They don’t want to be called to save the day. The last person who used that name in Armendora died 300 years ago. He died after defeating the wicked king who ruled Armendora that time, King Tortugal.”

“Restore peace? That’s cool!”

“I know. You really did restore my peace. I really like it; being here with you.”

“Hold on, why are you here? Why aren’t you back in Armendora? Won’t they be worried when they find out that their princess is missing?”

“I was sent here, cursed by my stepfather, King Helmcit. Somehow, he learnt black magic and cursed me here. I can never go back, not without help from here.”

“Help? He’s really that strong? Where’ll you find help? Nobody here knows magic like your kind.”

“I don’t really need someone who knows magic; just someone who’s brave enough to fight with me: someone who knows self-defence, how to use weapons; stuff like that.”

“Where is this ‘someone’?”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“Where is he? Is he here on Earth? Is he an Armendorian?”

“No. He’s a normal human being and he’s sitting next to me now.”