The Narabithian Chronicles: The Prophecy of Three

Chapter 9: Journeys

Chapter 9: Journeys

Jake slumped over Max’s body, sound asleep. “Wake up, Jake,” he heard the Cat say. The Cat shook beneath him.

Jake snorted, then mumbled, “Five more minutes.”

“Youngling, I promise we’ll get a hotel tonight; but you need to get up,” Max’s British accent said.

“Why?” Jake grumbled.

“Because, we’re here,” The Cat said.

“Finally,” the seventeen-year-old grumbled. He slid and fell of Max’s back. He got up and looked groggily out over the ocean. “Man, the waves look so soft and fluffy; and the water is so clear it looks like the sky,” he said.

Jake shook his head, in hopes of clearing it of his slumberous fog. “Seriously, your waves look a lot like clouds,” he said. “It’s a little creepy.”

“That’s because, young prince, they are clouds,” Max said.

“My hearing must be off, I thought I heard you say that they are clouds,” Jake said. “How’s my hair?” he asked, patting his matted black hair.

“Even after all this time, you still see through eyes with such little faith,” Max sighed. “I did say that they were clouds. Remember, Narabithia is a land of the impossible; once you can wrap your mind around that, you will be able to cope with the mysteries of Eden.”

“So, your ocean is made of clouds?” Jake said, disbelief hinted in his voice.

“No, Jake, Narabithia’s ocean is the sky,” the old Cat said. “She floats high in the sky, secluded from the rest of Eden.”

“So, that’s why I can’t go see the rest of Eden?” Jake said. “You can’t get down, and they can’t get up?”

“No, I’m afraid it’s a tad bit more complicated than that,” Max sighed. “See, the rest of the rulers of Eden were jealous of Gunther, so the declared war. King Gunther defeated them, and they made a treaty: the common folk could travel between the countries, but the Royalty must say on their respective body of land.”

“Meaning…?” Jake wondered.

Max turned him around. He was facing the empty sky. He was confused, when suddenly, a large wooden vessel burst through the clouds. It looked like a vessel from the seventeen hundreds. It had multiple masts and sails, a crow’s nest with a Narabithian flag waving on it, and forty-eight gun decks on both sides.

It was massive; it was as tall as the Seattle Space Needle, over a mile in length, and several football fields in length. “Whoa!” Jake said in amazement, as he watched it dock.

Max chuckled. “My dear boy, the pact between your father and the other Royals, was simply this: that our people could travel freely to wherever they chose, but the Royals and the Nobles cannot travel off the rock on which they are stranded. So, the Royals of Narabithia can’t go to the rest of Eden, and vise-versa.”

“Bummer,” Jake said. Max nodded his massive head.

“Indeed,” he muttered sadly. They watched as hundreds of people flooded from the boat onto the dock. “Come on, we better check into a hotel before there’s no vacancy.”

Jen woke up in a cold sweat. She had just had a terrible nightmare that Jake had been brutally attacked by bald, flying monkeys. She had an odd flashback to her first time watching the Wizard of Oz; the flying monkeys terrified her as a four-year-old as well.

Jake had called earlier that day and told her all about his adventures to the coast. He told her about the flying air-ship, and how huge and beautiful it was. He also said that they were on their way home.