The boy had pale ivory skin as if it were carved from marble; dark brown eyes that look like drops of honey; and raven black hair as if made from cosmos dust. But he looked far younger than me-perhaps around the age of Galen. He was wearing a green tunic and brown medieval pants, and his eyes were filled with utter anger as he looked at us with his brows furrowed.
I grasped my dagger firmly and pointed it toward him with a shivering hand.
"Put your sword down!" I blurted, trying to sound tough.
"You think your little kitchen knife will defeat my sword?" he taunted.
"Yes! Maybe," I faltered.
"I will do you a favour. Just give me the vexerbud and tell me what you planned to do with it, and I will let you go."
"And why would we answer you?" Galena spoke far more fiercely and bravely than me.
A dazed look crossed his face before turning into an annoyed one, "I am offering you to live!" he replied.
"Still-why would we do that, when we can escape?", Galena snickered.
"And how do you think that would happen?" he boasted.
"Like this!" Galena answered, ducking and punching the boy on his nose and grabbing the dagger from my hand in a blink of an eye.
I backed away in stupefaction, the boy exclaiming out of pain. He glared at her, anger burning in his eyes.
He swung his sword towards her, and Galena effortlessly blocked the blow. But the boy kept attacking, throwing blow after blow each one swift and strong, making it slightly tougher for her to manage. She kept blocking it sharply with the dagger but each new clash threw her one step back.
The boy finally raised his sword in the air, ready to aim the strongest of all strikes, gripping his sword firmly with both of his hands and aimed it toward her with all his might.
"Extranscer!" Galena chanted as she swung her dagger in the air. The dagger expanded and turned into a sword, which clashed with the boy's sword with a loud clang and threw it out of his hand leaving his mouth hung open from astonishment.
Galena raised her sword a few inches away from the, "Now, tell me...Who are you?".
He gazed at her with a quizzical and awe-struck look, "It can't be," he whispered before lowering his head. "Please forgive me, your highness, for my scornful behaviour. I was unaware."
Galena tilted her head in perplexity, pausing and thinking for a moment. And so was I confused by the weird and unexpected reply.
"Kyrah," she called, "Could you please pass me his sword?"
I quickly darted towards the sword that lay on the dry-solid ground, grabbed and handed it to her. She started examining the sword's blade, and I realized something was written on it.
The House of Rospher.
Hope. Determination. Kindness.
The Faithful Soldiers of Mikellar.
Galena's expression softened, she removed her sword away from him and handed him his sword "Rise our faithful soldier, you indeed are no enemy of ours"
"Who is he?" I questioned her.
"A soldier who has not lost his hope even after the hardest of times" She replied, smiling warmly as she gave him a hand to help him stand back up.
"Thank you, princess." The boy said, still looking at her with complete awe.
"Oh, please don't call me that! My name is Galena, that's what you're going to call me, and yours?" Galena asked.
"Sorry princess-I mean-Galena, I am Toivo, Toivo Rospher" he answered as he gave a small smile.
Toivo, the boy, looked at me with a disappointed look, "And may I know who is she? A maiden?" he painfully asked Galena.
"Oh! She isn't a maiden!", Galena laughed, "She is the Younger Sunrise Sister."
"What?!" He yelped, "She is?" He paused, looking at me with utter fright, "Well, are you-are you sure about it?".
"Yes," She answered.
"How is she going to defeat Gregory?"
Galena and I looked at each other nervously, perhaps the same question haunting our minds.
What should we tell him?
I cleared my throat and collected all courage I could find to get ready to confess the truth because Galena had done enough for me. "I am terribly sorry, but we don't really know that part-or any part really, but... there must be something, somehow through which we would be able to save this place-there must be a reason that Queen Adela saw the prophecy in which I and my sister would be the ones to save this land. So, don't lose hope in us, please." I reassured.
He gave me a hard stern look, making me think that perhaps I have really messed up and he would not accept me and they would just simply abandon me, but all these intrusive thoughts disappeared in a snap when he said "I would never lose hope in you, or any possibility of greater good. I have taken the Sunrise Sisters and the princess as a source of hope for the freedom of Mikellar-I have taken you all as heroes, I don't think such boulders would stop me or any true Mikellarian from gaining their freedom. And anyway, it's a quest, a rebellion, a revolt, it wouldn't be easy for sure."
The harsh and suffocating weight which clouded our minds disappeared into thin air and we sighed out of relief.
"Thank you!" Galena extolled, "I thought everyone have lost hope in us and that we would not be able to do this but you showed that Mikellarian like you still exist."
"Thanks, your highness. So, could I help and perhaps be your companion in the quest?" he eagerly asked.
Galena and I looked at each other with a smile on our face "Sure!" we said in unison.
"So, what should the first step be?" I asked them both.
"We shouldn't plan that here anyone could possibly eavesdrop on us. If you wish for a more secure place, then we could plan it at my burrow?" Toivo suggested.
"Uh...You live in a burrow?" I asked.
"Well...It's not exactly like a rabbit burrow, it's more spacious and comfier, more like a real home. But it does have a structure similar to a burrow." He explained.
We agreed and began following him through the forest of the lanky and half-dead trees towards his 'burrow'.
"Do you stay in your burrow all alone?" Galena questioned out of curiosity.
"I am sorry, but it's better if we don't question that either, you never know where his spies or fools come wandering from", He gave us an apologetic smile and we smiled back in reassurance.
After some more steps and turns, Toivo finally stopped in front of a tree, He knocked thrice on the trunk. For a moment nothing happened until the ground beneath our feet shifted open and we went falling and screaming down.
We landed on a huge fluffy pillow, the size of my bed, and some of its stuffing feathers came flying out. Toivo got off and stuffed the feathers back in through some unstitched holes.
Galena hopped down excitedly as she looked around with me following behind her. We were perhaps in the living room of the burrow-a living...hole, perhaps? No, that doesn't sound right. Some tiny wooden houses looking similar to birdhouses were on some of the areas of the wooden walls, wax candles on the bookshelves and tables lit up the room with their golden shines, and an appetizing smell filled the air and caught my attention.
I sniffed and followed the smell with my nose leading the way, around the dining table and through an arched wooden gate which made me end up in the kitchen. The smell seemed to slither from a pot on the countertop. I began wondering what could be inside as I slowly approached it but my thoughts snapped apart as a strangely loud barking sound alarmed the whole house.
I quickly ran back into the living room to find a gigantic big dog-not a dog as it resembled more of a wolf-an extremely fluffy wolf with golden hair-the kind which makes you want to squeeze it to death.
"Calm down Flubber! We don't want to startle our new guests!" Toivo gushed to the giant dog, grabbing a huge tennis ball off the shelf and throwing it toward a corner of the room.
The colossal dog cantered and leaped towards it, and started to play with it, making one of the wooden chairs fall with a loud bang which in turn made the vexerbud wake up, which was curled up on the tabletop, quickly hide in the Galena's lap, who chuckled and stroked it to comfort.
"Sorry for that. This is Flubber," Toivo introduced the dog, "I rescued him when he was being hunted by Greg's soldiers and since then he has been living with me."
"No problem, animals are animals-can't expect them to act like a gentleman" I joked, "But, What sort of dog is he? I have never seen such a big dog before." I questioned.
"He's a Wolfur-they don't do any harm to humans-they just love to have fun-but humans are weary creatures-so polite and fancy-unfortunately-the top mammal in the leading chain, so not many like these sorts of creatures' presence," he replied.
I nodded and looked at Flubber in awe, "Oh. Can I pet him?" I keenly asked Toivo.
"Sure!"
I carefully went near the creature, trying to look as harmless as possible while he chewed on the ball. I slowly moved my arm forward so I could caress his forehead. He saw me and smiled enthusiastically and licked my hand welcomingly as I chuckled and pet him.
"You do get along with animals very well," Galena commented.
"Yes, animals are truly amazing creatures-a lot better than humans at times and easy to bond with and can become the most trustable companion anyone can have. Though, it can be hard gaining their trust sometimes, as you need to remember to show them your kindness and respect at all times."
"Indeed, they are."
Toivo entered the room with a huge basket on creaking wooden wheels, "Sorry, but can we plan the first step after I am done doing something. It would take a few minutes only," he said.
"Sure, but...what is it?" I asked.
"Well, that would be another surprise I wouldn't answer the questions of which", he gave a sly smile.
"What sort of surprise?" Galena and I asked, bewildered.
Toivo smiled, he took out a mat from the basket, laid it on the ground and sat on it, "Come on climb onto the mat if you want to know the answer!".
Galena and I looked at each other in bewilderment, before climbing onto the mat with Flubber also excitedly climbing along with us.
"Hold on tight! It will be a speedy ride!" warned Toivo.
The mat began hovering off the ground like the mat from Aladdin. We looked down on the wooden floor as the mat slowly rose in the air out of shock. As soon as the mat was a foot or two above the ground it took a sharp-speedy turn and flew right towards the wall.
Galena and I screamed our lungs out from fright as we magically shrunk in size and entered one of the tiny houses on the wall.