A World of Another Kind

Chapter 42 The Corbenic King

     It was now fifty years later. One day, when the witch carver headed to the village to buy food, she decided to bring the wraith medallion along in hopes of finding someone she could sell it to. Now she didn't care who, all she cared about was getting it off her hands and gaining money out of it, which she desperately needed. She ended up selling the medallion to a foreigner named Jefferson who came from a realm called Misthaven, also known as the Enchanted Forest.

In Corbenic (Present Day)

     King Otto's younger brother, Bartholomew, became the next king of Corbenic. But unlike Otto, he was not weak-willed nor gullible. He was on good terms with Camelot because he knew Zophar was behind the battle with Camelot, and he ensured Camelot that it would never happen again. The two kingdoms were back to being allied with one another and were prepared to fight against Zophar.

     One early morning, Zophar managed to get inside King Bartholomew's throne room where the king sat, pondering. There were no guards around which made the king vulnerable. Startled by the dark wizard's sudden appearance, he quickly stood up from his throne and demanded angerly, "Why are you here, Dark Wizard? Am I your next victim?"

     The dark wizard replied with a malicious grin, "That is correct. You will not see the light of day for long." Then immediately, he choked Bartholomew to death using his magic. "Rest in peace," he murmured triumphantly. "Now I shall take your throne."

In Camelot (Present Day)

     We were all devastated about all the destruction in Camelot caused from the war such as from the fires Corbenic had set off. It was so tragic. Even the local village was burned, leaving so many people homeless. It was such a depressing sight that I could not stop crying. Lancelot invited all the homeless people to stay in the castle for the time being until their houses were rebuilt. I never knew of another king being so generous and selfless like him.

     Suddenly, we all remembered Tiana and very much hoped that her restaurant did not get burned, and I had my fingers crossed. As we all rushed over to it, to all our disappointment, it was burned. "Oh, no!" I exclaimed with sadness, and everyone else was very sad too. Kaylee and I went inside Tiana's burned restaurant and found Tiana on her knees, sobbing, and we softly approached her compassionately. Tiana turned her emotional face up to us and wiped her tears away. "I'm so sorry," I said with sympathy.

     She stood up and replied, her voice trembling with emotion, "Everything I ever lived for... it's... it's all gone." Then she covered up her face with her hands. "I don't know what I'll do now. I have nothing left, no living. Now I'll end up as a homeless beggar on the streets."

     "Well, that's not going to happen," said Lancelot, approaching. "You are more than welcome to stay in the castle for as long as you like."

     "Thank you," replied Tiana; "that is a mighty kind offer, but I don't want to intrude."

     "No, please," Lancelot urged. "It would be an honor to have you as our guest."

     "The pleasure would be ours," Hook added, making a sudden appearance too. "I do hope you accept."

     "Well....," Tiana replied, giving it thought, then she said, "Well, alright then. I suppose just for a little while if you all insist." Then she let out a smile and wiped the rest of her tears away. "How can I ever repay you all for your kindness?"

     "Just by being our guest," Lancelot replied. "And I shall be more than happy to fund your new restaurant."

     Tiana burst into ecstatic tears of joy and replied, looking very touched, "Thank you, thank you so very much. I don't know what to say." Then she gave each of us a hug, and once we escorted her out of the burned building, everyone else welcomed her joyfully. We immediately took her to the castle, and once we arrived, Tiana was given a grand room to stay in, and Guinevere gave her some of her own dresses to wear.