The Prince's Wish

Chapter Seven

SEVEN

I stared at him. Was he insane? He expected me to become some ridiculous queen of his and have him not even kiss me? I was this close to it. This close to kissing the most perfect guy in the world.

"I am sorry, Adara," he said again, this time more sheepishly, "but as you said, we hardly know each other. This is moving too fast."

"Too fast? This is moving too fast?!" I shouted, crossing my arms across my chest. "Isn't trying to make me your queen moving a little too fast?"

He lowered his eyes, looking slightly ashamed. "You did not have to accept. You had a choice."

I laughed. "You call that a choice? Having your grandfather looking old and sickly, practically controlling my mind? That's not a choice, Danyl."

"Adara, please relax." He whispered. "I have to go, and I do not want to leave on an angry note."

I stomped closer to him and narrowed my eyes. "Where the heck are you going?" I shrieked.

He clutched the watch that grasped his wrist. He lifted it to his face and shouted into it, just as he had the first time.

Before he disappeared into thin air, I grabbed hold of his hand, and soon enough, as expected, my world fell away.

Elsetime looked just as beautiful as it did before. Streams of gorgeous men and women paraded through the pebbled paths, stopping to talk to each other every now and then. Narmuls, the strange creatures whose existence I still refused to believe, strutted around like they were Kings and Queens themselves.

Danyl's deep blue eyes met mine; he looked furious.

"Adara, you cannot do that." He instructed, firmly.

"And just why not?"

"Elsetime is my world, not yours. You should have told me you wanted to visit."

I don't want to visit, Prince Idiot, I want you to be clear with me, I thought.

"Won't it be my world eventually anyway? Since I'm supposedly going to be your queen?"

Danyl nodded reluctantly. His eyes darted around to the Elsetime people around us. "Come with me." He said slowly, grabbing my hand and leading me away.

I was so tired of walking by the time Danyl and I had reached where we were going. A large cauldron sat on top of a small hill. A bright green solution whisked throughout it, shining like diamonds.

"What? You're going to cook me up and eat me?" I joked.

"Adara, this is the Cauldron of Enchantment." He explained. "In order to get to Elsetime, one must have a token. Mine is this watch, that my mother and father gave to me before they were killed. You've seen me use it twice now, and the reason it works is because it has been enchanted in Elsetime. Do you have anything you carry around constantly?"

I reached for the pen in my back pocket without thinking. "This?" I asked, curiously.

He shook his head. "No, Adara, that is a mere pen. Someone could borrow it from you easily. Something else? Something you might cherish?"

I reached for the gold pendant hanging around my neck. My fingers caressed it for a moment before unhooking it at the back and holding it out to him. "My necklace?"

"That is perfect." He stated, taking my necklace from me. "It will only take a moment. Is this okay with you?"

I nodded, and he walked quickly up to the cauldren. He slowly dropped my necklace inside, making it sizzle over and over. The sizzling was a rather melodious sizzle, as if the cauldron was trying to play me a song to be more calm. I guessed it was working.

"Here," he said, taking it from the cauldron, "put this back on."

I took my necklace back. It shone like I had never seen before. I placed it around my neck and looked to Danyl. "What now?"

"I am sorry if you thought I was upset with you, Adara. I do not wish to fight, and I hope this proves so. You have full access to Elsetime whenever you like."

I grabbed the necklace around my neck protectively. "So, I just yell into it like you do?" I asked, curiously.

Danyl nodded, and his lips transformed into an adorable smile. "Yes, Adara, but you must remember, wherever you come from in your world, is where you will end up in mine."

I gave a slight nod and smiled back at him. "Thank you, Danyl." I said, finally.

"It is my pleasure, my queen."

"I have one more question," I announced, "how do I get back home?"

"You say Elsetime backwards."

I did as instructed, and soon enough, my dull world materialised, my blonde hair fluttering about in the real world breeze.

I took a look at my necklace.

I was going crazy. There was no way in the world this could have been happening. People like Danyl didn't talk to me. Time-warped-worlds didn't exist. Narmuls weren't real creatures. And there was no way a boring old necklace of mine could have been enchanted.

There was something about Danyl that made me want to believe it all though. And I guess that was why I kept in touch with him. I trusted him. God knows why.

I walked home casually, mum meeting me at the door with a cautious look on her face. "You've been out with him, haven't you?" She greeted.

I rolled my eyes. Typical mum. Has to know everything. "Yes, mum, I have."

She placed a hand on my shoulder and led me into the kitchen. Dad was home, seated at the table, a meal in front of him.

"Adara!" He called, happily.

I leaned in, giving him a soft hug. He was the type of guy who tried to suffocate you when he hugged you. If you let him get a good grip, he wouldn't let you go.

"What on Earth are you doing home? I thought you were out for a few more days."

He laughed and pat me on the head. "Tomorrow is your sixteenth birthday, of course. Did you think I would forget?"

I had completely forgotten about it. I guess between school, Danyl and becoming a 'queen', I'd forgotten I actually had a life.

I looked between my parents. Mum to dad. Dad to mum. What would happen when I became the queen of Elsetime? Would it actually happen? Would I have to leave my world forever? I'd never seen anyone from Elsetime in my world, so maybe I would be stuck there.

I looked sorrowfully at my dad. "No, but I did." I said, quickly, running up stairs to my bedroom.

In the sanctuary of mess I call my room, I grasped the necklace hanging innocently around my neck. "ELSETIME!" I screeched into it, landing myself in a small cottage in the world I was about to rule.

I looked around. It was a tight space. The size of my room. I saw a small boy seated on a chair in the corner. He eyed me curiously, looking rather scared. I ran out before he could say anything.

It took me only a small five minutes to find Danyl. He was still near the Cauldron of Enchantment, but this time with his grandfather.

I caught a small part of their conversation before they saw me. "....so I enchanted her necklace. Oh, Adara!" Danyl said.

I looked at him seriously. "I don't want to be a queen." I said.