Gold

The Strange Parchment

"Well that was fun." Aurelia smiled as she rested against the railing of the balcony. The floor swayed under her feet. She blamed the dancing for her mild dizziness.

Lucas leaned next to her. "Yeah it was fun."

"Are you ready to go back to dancing with Eve now?" Aurelia couldn't help but ask.

"To be honest," Lucas shrugged. "I think I want to go to bed."

"Tired?" Aurelia wondered.

Luke nodded, yawning. "Uh huh. At least I spent more than five minutes at a party for once."

Aurelia grinned. "And I'm proud of you for that. I guess it is getting close to an acceptable time to leave."

"Well then I think I shall do that." Lucas smiled.

The two made their way across the room, back to where the grand staircase was. They were nearly free when...

"Leaving already?" A familiar deep voice wondered. Aurelia's ponytail swung as she turned around to see Nyel with Serenity on his arm.

"Yeah well, we're both kind of exhausted." Aurelia admitted.

"Well then thank you for coming. It was nice to have you both. I do have something I'd like to show you though." Nyel stated.

Aurelia and Lucas shared a look. What was it that he had to show them?

Nyel pulled something from his back pocket. It was papery and old, folded into a little square. The prince began to unfold it, revealing markings and lines that proved that it was a map.

"Nyel, I think we have plenty of maps." Lucas shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Perhaps, but this one is unlike any other. It may sound crazy but this is no ordinary map. It's enchanted." Nyel spoke in a hushed whisper. Even his tone hinted at magic with his slightly airy notes.

Aurelia gazed at Luke, curious what his expression was. She knew how doubtful he was about magic. She herself couldn't help but start to believe that maybe magic and enchantments were possible. By the look on Luke's face it appeared that maybe, just maybe his perspective was softening too.

"How? Er what does it do? Why would you think that, I mean?" Lucas wondered, stammering.

"It can show you what you need to see. Here," Nyel handed it to Aurelia. "Try."

As Aurelia gazed at the parchment something strange began to happen. The inked lines and markings began to change, forming a animated picture. It formed a short man with pointed ears. Another figure appeared next to him. The second figure was a tall man wearing a crown. The figures somehow moved, scowling at each other.

Voices filled her head. She knew that they couldn't be coming from anywhere else. It was a particular feeling to hear voices that weren't really there and it sent tingling down her spine.

"I trusted you! You were supposed to be my advisor! I never want to see you again." One of the voices, the deep and thick voice that lined up with the tall man's drawing, said.

"You were a fool! You betrayed me." The higher pitched, hauntingly familiar voice exclaimed. It was unmistakably the voice of Mr. Gold. "It shall be known from this day on that Atharia's royals will be plagued with my curse. Someday you'll know the humiliation and rage I live with." He hissed.

"You are banished from my kingdom. You are not an ally! You're a demon! I never want to see you step foot inside my kingdom again." The royal man barked.

"And you never will."

Scribbles appeared to form smoke on the page as the shorter man vanished. Aurelia nearly dropped the paper in shock.

Why had she needed to see that?