Legend

One Foot In

One second turned into many. Emily watched the court go silent as none said a word. It was saddening to watch. She wasn't in any position of power to try anything and it was expected for her to stay silent. Still, she couldn't help but ask herself if hope was this dead.

"If it comes to it, then," Thomas sighed, "we'll have to fight tooth for tooth and pray for a miracle. Hopefully, one of those two kingdoms still has some moral compass."

"Wait," Emily spoke up, thinking out loud. The entire court heard and turned towards her, waiting for her response. She felt alone and scared, but how could she forget? The answer was right there.

"Emily," her father asked, disbelieving what he just heard.

Emily took a deep breath, nervous but confident, and said, "What if we tried finding the Thunder Staff?"

Every noble looked at her in amazement before breaking out in laughter. The king looked a little puzzled at the idea, while her father did his best to hide his increasingly red face.

"The Thunder Staff, are you serious," a voice jeered among the laughter. "No one has seen that thing for hundreds of years. It's a myth!"

"You're letting your girl read too many books, Allison," another called. "Get her in a dressing school and out of a book!"

Emily felt herself turning red. This was a mistake. She turned around to Nalazak, who wasn't laughing, but was wide-eyed, which didn't help a lot. Emily felt like running away and crying, to curl up in a ball, and pray for the world to ignore. She remained determined, however.

After a while of laughing, Thomas lifted his hand up for silence. The court obliged, although some snickering could still be heard. Turning to Emily, he asked, "Princess Emily, we appreciate the suggestion but, as mentioned, no one has seen or used the Thunder Staff for a very, very long time. Unless, you have something-"

"I do," Emily replied quickly, remembering the foreigner behind her. Some scoffs, some oh boy's, and some gasps of silent surprise followed. Even Thomas was a little impressed.

"Bring it forward then," Thomas said, a little intrigued himself.

Emily turned back to Nalazak, who was shaking his head very rapidly.

"Princess, no," he begged quietly.

"Please," Emily asked. "This is our one chance."

Nalazak timidly followed Emily to the middle of the court. They both felt the multitude of eyes following them as they walked, eyes of judgement and wonder.

"This is Nalazak," Emily started, pointing to her paling friend.

"What kind of name is that," someone whispered as a small, whispered discussion rippled.

"What hole did you pull this boy from," another voice sneered.

Ignoring the talk, Emily continued, "Nalazak has a map to find the staff."

"Hello, Nalazak," King Thomas replied, his eyes a little wide with surprise. "Is what your friend says true?"

Nalazak abandoned all hope of escaping his doom and timidly nodded. He didn't want this, but he didn't have a choice now.

"Then, Nalazak," Thomas replied, "for the sake of our survival, will you produce your map to assist us?"

Nalazak quickly opened his satchel, digging through documents and small items until he found a light brown piece of parchment. His hand shaking, he held it up. Thomas signaled for a guard to check the map.

Emily held her breath for a second. She realized there was a possibility that Nalazak could be lying, not just to her, but to everyone he has come into contact with. This last straw of hope could be burned just as quickly as it was introduced.