Ian's Journey (Sequel to Luna's Quest)

Chapter 21

I had decided to tell my friends about the Lux Kingdom. After I told them, they were silent. They stared at each other in shock. We are just outside the Ogres' Territory. I can see the first houses. The moon is up at its highest. Stars shining bright everywhere.

"How did they figure out about this Lux Kingdom?", Gail asks.

"My mother didn't really give me any details. She said I only needed to know that I couldn't give Aidan the gem spheres," I say.

"Maybe it's a trap," Bloom suggests.

"She sounded serious," I say.

"Does this change our plans?", Charles wonders.

"No, it doesn't. The plans stay the same. Give Aidan the gems and get Luna back," I say.

None of them argue with the plan. All of them want to save Luna too. We will deal with Aidan and his friends later. We walk up to the first house we see. Now that I am closer, I can see the buildings look more like huts than houses. All of them are tan colored and faded. There are lanterns outside each hut so we can still see. There aren't any ogres out. They must all be sleeping by now. We continue to walk through the area. Charles points to a tall hut in the back. It is bigger than any of the huts. It is also more faded than the rest of them. The door isn't supportive for the hut. It's jagged and I can see above and below it. There is a light on inside. I softly tap on the door and stand back. It is awhile before the door opens. The person behind the door is a male ogre. This ogre has light green skin, black beady eyes, is at least 6'5, and has short black hair. Ogres look just like humans, but have different skin tones then us. People are so afraid of them because they look different from us. Honestly, there are no creatures out there that look completely different from humans.

The ogre is wearing a simple black shirt and grey pants. He doesn't seem bothered by the cold. He looks us up and down before giving us a toothy smile. His teeth are a little crooked and yellow. Once he smiles, his entire face turns friendly. "Hello there. Can I help you folks with something." His voice is deep, but friendly. 

"Um, my friends and I saw your lights are on. We are looking for the leader of the Ogres' Territory," Charles says in the same friendly tone.

"Well, I am her son. C'mon in. By the way, my name is Cygnus." We follow him into his hut. It's much bigger than I expected. There are multiple hallways leading to rooms. The inside is also much cleaner. "Some kind of magic," Bloom mutters.

Cygnus turns back to her. "You fairies can't have all the fun."

He leads us into a room with a picture of an ogre on the front. On the inside of it, is a big office. The entire office is what I thought the size of hut would be. There are cabinets and book shelves lining the wall. A long desk is in the back of the office with a female ogre sitting in the chair. She is light green like her son with long black hair. She looks up when we get closer to her desk. "Hello,' she greets uncertainly. 

"Mother, this is..." Cygnus starts to say. We introduce ourselves to his mother.

"It's an honor to have you in my presence. My name is Naxa." Naxa is very beautiful. Her features are very soft and sweet. Her eyes are beady and black. Her black hair drips down to her shoulders. She may be sweet, but she seems like someone I don't want to cross. I feel like I have seen her face somewhere before. I can't believe I forgot a face like her's.

"What brings you here, my majesties?", Naxa asks.

I explain the story to her. Naxa is a good listener. She didn't say anything. She only kept eye contact with the entire time. It made me falter at times. When I am finished, Naxa clasps her hands together. "You want me to give you our gem sphere." She said it as a statement,and not a question.

"I understand it is a lot to ask for, but Queen Luna is in trouble. I need your help to get her back," I plead. 

Cygnus stands by Naxa and places a hand on her shoulder. They have a silent conversation before turning back to us. "I was at your wedding. I saw the love you two have for one another, rather you realize it or not. I believe you will do the right thing. Don't make me regret my decision," she says. I knew I recognized her. There were so many people at our wedding that I didn't even know.

"Thank yo-"

"Don't thank me yet. You have to solve some riddles before obtaining the gem sphere."

I look at my friends. They nod for me to continue. "Okay. What are the riddles?", I ask.

Naxa smiles. "These riddles will test your intelligence. If your smart, then I can trust you know what to do when you face your father. The first one is 'What begins, but has no end, yet ends all that begins?' " I think about it for a second. I knew all the reading and writing would come in handy. A answer suddenly comes to mind. "Death," I say. Naxa smiles. 

"The second one is 'I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will. And yet I am the confidence of all, to live and breath on this terrestrial ball. What am I?' This one should mean a lot to you." That helps a little. 'No one ever saw me, nor ever will'. How does that relate to me? I should first think about what I think about the most. Luna. Orion and Stella. What will happen with my kingdom. My grandchildren. Changing the minds of people in the future. Then it hits me. "The future," I exclaim.

"Good. Three to go. The third one is 'What is it that you can keep after giving it to someone else?'"

I don't even think about it. "Your word," I quietly say. Who knows how many times I gave my word to people only to break their trust. Like Luna. I gave her my word when I told her I would meet her in the Twilight Kingdom. That didn't happened. I am even giving my word to these people that I will take care of their gem sphere, when in reality I am going to give away to the last person they would want their property in the hands of. 

"The fourth is ' What goes round the house and in the house but never touches the house?'"

"The sun," I say. She nods.

"The last riddle is 'I last forever and you might have too much or too little of me, either way you will run out of me eventually. What am I?'"

"Time," I answer. Something I can relate to. I seem to never have any time.

"King Ian, you have passed my riddles. You have proven to me you are intelligent. Before I let you have the stone, can you tell me what the stone is?", Naxa asks.

'"The monstrous creatures hold the healer's stone in the land where the sun is born'", I recite. "It's the emerald, right?"

"Very good," Naxa says. She walks over to the bookshelf and grabs a book. She opens it to a certain page. Just like the obsidian, the emerald shines inside of a cut area in the book. Naxa takes the emerald and places the book back on the shelf. She puts the stone in my hands and looks me in the eyes. "I know what you plan to do, but stay at ease. I'm okay with your crazy plan. I only ask for you to take down your father and James," she whispers to me.

"Who is James?", I ask.