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Jerry looked up to the ceiling as he was laying comfortably on his large golden bed. His pillow was soft and the mattress was bouncy to his liking. He touched his silk shirt with the tip of his fingers and remembered the hot spring he had entered two hours ago and the joy of the warm water against his skin. He took the time to skim with the corners of his eyes, the gracefulness of his wide room: the light blue walls were surely treated with absolute care, the floor was entirely covered by a feather-like carpet that gently tickled the sole of his foot as he walked in barefoot, a painting of the beautiful grass plain hanged on the wall to his left, a glass door to his right that lead to a nicely decorated balcony allowed in the dim blue moonlight to shine partly the room and other miscellaneous and meticulous decorations that seemed endless. However, what caught his most attention was a small night table placed next to his bed where stood a handle on which a glowing white orb was floating right above. The light from it, reflected in Jerry’s irises, was mesmerizing to the point that he intentionally tried to grab and take a hold of it in his embrace but his hand passed through with ease leaving the orb still hovering in the air. Seeing that his actions gained no results, he gave up and set his head back to the pillow recalling his most unusual day.
Jerry remembered before their entrance to the city of Isla, they had passed through large farms tended by some young and handsome man swiping their sweat off with their forearm. He heard some shrieks coming from the girl’s carriages in the front. These mens were physically extraordinary: strong and lean muscles showed through their tight gray shirt and they were much taller than the average men from his world. Each and every single men working in those farms were angels under the skin of a human – they bore blue intense eyes that would hypnotize any teenage girl, curly blond hair that swayed in the summer wind as they gave effort to their work, narrow cheekbone and chin the perfect man. Jerry however found something very discomforting as he skimmed their appearances and it was that they resembled each other so much, he found it painfully difficult to distinguish one or another. But the thought quickly faded away when he was faced with a magnificent view that struck his eyes with astonishment: in the middle of a giant plain, following the end of the paved road stood a giant fortress so immense that everyone in the carriages had a vertigo caused purely by excitement. The walls surrounding such a fortress stood almost one hundred meters high as it circled the center of the city at a radius of two kilometers. And in that center was the most eye-catching building and the most beautiful infrastructure: a giant palace bordered by tall towers and buildings that reached the clouds, towering even the walls themselves.
Ly, who stayed in the same carriage as Jerry and was sitting next to Dara, poked his head out of the window, looked at the city for a while and wiped his glasses with a piece of cloth as he breathed warm air onto it to make sure that the scene before him was not a mirage caused by the hour long journey. He took a deep breath and gave a long and weary sigh. He said to himself:
« What the hell ? »
Jerry thought the same and so was Dara who feigned indifference but she too wanted to see. She chose to keep her composure.
They arrived at the palace in spectacular fashion: as they passed through the giant’s door, mass of people of all age surrounded them and gave hysteric cheers to their heroes, some even threw flowers on the carriages while crying tears of happiness and a group of troubadours was following them playing their instruments with all their might leaving no room for silence in the unanticipated parade. Bars were opened and mens were drinking their fills, their beer in their right hand and a women in the other, they toasted to honor the arrival of their saviors. The road to the palace was wide, bordered by some simple wooden houses each placed next to another. They were fairly organized and Jerry deduced, in the loud music of the parade, that it was for spatial purposes so that there would not be empty space or small valleys to go through. He looked to Andrew that was drinking a glass of beer offered by a bearded and burly man at the entrance of a bar whose sign was “The Twenty Goats”. Ly shouted at him, telling him not to drink but the drunk boy did not seem to listen. A florist interrupted Ly’s shouting when she shoved a basket of yellow flowers in his hand as she smiled gently at him turning him slightly redder than usual. Even the silent and cold Dara couldn’t resist scanning with her bright eyes, the busy and joyful crowd singing songs and howling cheers. Jerry looked at the houses and saw mothers with their child in their arms, waving their hands at the students and teachers, blowing imaginary kisses to some flustered young boys. Mens were throwing their hats in the air and some womens even briefly showed their breast under their frail undergarments to certain excited teenagers. The streets were colorful and there was not a single person in rags or old clothings. But in the midst of this debauchery of a festival, Jerry remembered the grab of a young child onto his sleeves. He tried to fight against it but his arms felt so powerless under the hold of the little girl that he abandoned all struggles. She pulled him over to her eyes and let them speak to his. He did not see her face, nor her hair, nor her clothes or her hands but he caught a glimpse of her dark-brown eyes which expressed an unimaginable sorrow and sadness in the span of a millisecond. For it to last for such a short time, a normal person would probably forget about it the next morning but for Jerry, who’s an odd one by nature, it was a haunting image that would occasionally recur in his dreams for the rest of his life.
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Their first meeting was inside the Royal Palace, a hero from another universe and the most beautiful princess in this world exchanged their gazes for one another when an abstract spark of heat lit up in their heart and hot air swept though their bodies: they fell in love. Or that was what in Jerry’s imaginary story-telling of his first encounter with the princess.
When they descended from the carriages, they were escorted to the throne room where the king and queen were awaiting for their appearances. They stopped before a wall, as tall as the last one and maybe thicker, and passed through a barred metallic door after being inspected by some soldiers. They went through their clothes and possessions. Some that carried their bags when they were summoned was unwillingly ordered to drop them through sign languages. Everyone noticed immediately that no one knew what language the humans in this world were speaking.
Jerry had thought that they were taciturn and through strict discipline, had refused to speak to the heroes. He recalled the songs and the melodies sang by the crowd earlier in the festival and noted that he also did not understand the lyrics of the songs.
It did not matter much and they were guided through the courtyard where there was a number of trees on which a red and pulsating fruit hanged on one of the branches. Than they stepped through a wide room with giant colorful windows that lightened the smooth and copper floor on which there were depictions of man in swords cutting through ranks of enemies and knights hunting down dragons in their heavy armor and other heroics tales of heroes and monsters that were mildly confusing to the guests. Such paintings strangely warmed the hearts of most of the students and incited them further to pursue their uncanny roles.
As they continued through other glamorous rooms that could only be described as angelical and rather vibrant, they walked through a long corridor where numerous steps echoes on the wide walls of the palace and the shuffling sound of the guards armors resonated in their ears. And by the time they reached the end, a giant golden door came into view. The door opened and let through a blinding light as their eyes were met with a large space that could definitely fit one-hundred people with ease. The awed students and teachers kept walking in a straight line as they gazed around in astonishment. One of the knights that followed them signaled the group of heroes with his grave voice and knelt down on his knees before the king and queen. Everyone did the same, not wanting to be left out. The king raised his hand and responded in a deep voice, giving them permission to stand up. Suddenly, a wave of mens and womens in flashy clothes came into close contact with a confused group of summoned heroes, touching them, exploring their clothes, tasting them with their eyes as if they wanted to be blessed with their heroes presence. A women and a beautiful one, dressed in a flamboyant robe that reached her knees, her face hidden under a mask made out of feathers, approached Jerry and slowly caressed his chin with the back of her hand. Surprised by the softness of her fingers, he yelped out carelessly leaving a humorous impression in the court. Some nobles discreetly talking in the corners, laughed at the young boy on a mocking tone, some of his classmates did the same, even pointing their finger at him as they covered their grin with the palm of their hand. The same women would later that night go into Jerry’s room and offer her body to him.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
The king was a stern old man with long gray hair that curled down to his neck. He wore a spotless buttoned shirt with green pants and a thick and furry mantle that stretched to the floor. Sitting in his throne, he observed the group of heroes with black severed eyes. His expressions unchanged and unmoved. Next to him was the queen, his wife, a voluptuous woman that fit perfectly with the word “royalty”. Her deep blue eyes showed a powerful sense of pride but they were in no way arrogant and defenseless. She was a strong woman as it was shown by her well-toned muscles under her blue mantle and a skin colored gown that squeezed tightly around her hip. Seeing her next to such an old rag of a king, everyone thought she was his daughter. But they felt sorely wrong when a young girl around the age of sixteen gave her blazing entrance to the throne room through the golden door. With her blond hair that was tied in a twin tail and blue eyes that came from her mother, she elegantly walked to the middle of the room as the silent crowd gave way to her passage and greeted her parents like a princess would. She stood next to her father and whispered some words that brought some laughter to his lips.
The room went silent, awaiting for their king’s orders. The old man stood up from his throne and ordered something from one of his subject. The man dismissed himself with haste and returned in the same manner bringing back with him a dozen of mens in cloaks. They surrounded the heroes and started chanting incomprehensible words. A large circle of light appeared under their feet and disappeared as small specks of flame entered their bodies. And slowly and steadily, they found themselves more understanding of the language that came from the king’s dignified voice:
« Ah ! Heroes ! Do you understand me now ? » He asked amused.
His voice filled with power and wisdom, shocked the listeners. They looked at each other as if agreeing to what he said and all nodded at the same time. The king looked happy and joyful. He drew a wide smile on his face and continued:
« Well done ! Heroes, I kindly welcome you to our kingdom, the kingdom of Isla. I am Anguis Dagen and this my queen, Earlene Burilda. And here is my beautiful daughter, Yenene. »
The blond princess giggled lightly when she was introduced. No men in the room could resist her attractiveness. Not even women.
« I notice that you all seemed very exhausted after the journey. Why don’t you take a rest for the day and take a long bath ? I’ve already prepared everything for your stay. »
Upon speaking those words, he looked to one of his knights and signaled them with a nod of the head. They surrounded the group and accompanied them to a large manor to the far right of the courtyard where they had passed through earlier. Each of them was then assigned to a specific room and was given a key to their proper room.
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Senseless moans were coming from the wall across his bed and Jerry couldn’t sleep a wink. With a small bulge underneath his black pants, he tried to hide his embarrassment and ignored occasional temptations to touch himself. He recalled that Andrew’s room was next to his and was reminded by one of his usual depraved remarks before he stepped into his room with a young brown-haired women in his arms. He remembered seeing her in the throne room. Than moments later, when he laid his body down on his bed, there was a knock on the door. He reached the door handle and poke out his right eye around the door. A black haired women was standing outside in her transparent night gown. She looked straight in his eye and asked if she could enter. Jerry did not want to be rude and invited her in. She looked around the room and made some polite thoughts on the decorations around his room. He laughed because he couldn’t understand what she was talking about. Than they introduced each other as they sat on the bed. Her name was Lili. When asked about her last name, she gently chuckled like it was the most absurd thing she had heard in her life and said she did not have any and that last names were only given to nobilities. Because the atmosphere was awkward and a long silence had established between them mainly because Jerry was too shy to ask what she meant by “only given to nobilities”, she softly put her tender hand onto Jerry’s and asked him if he wanted her. He did not understand her words and asked what she meant. She showed him as she slowly took off her undergarments by stripping a small knot on her right shoulder but before they dropped to the ground Jerry firmly grabbed her by the same shoulder surprising the young women as she stared deep into his pleading eyes. She was shaking barely noticeable and Jerry was calming her down as he stroked her silky hair. She giggled and her small and frail voice resonated inside his heart. She timidly asked him to turn around so that she could put back her clothings. The confident and prideful facade she had shown earlier was now replaced by the genuine expression of a brash and innocent girl. She asked him to turn back and lifted up her transparent skirt for him to see as she drew a grin on his face. Jerry’s heart pounded without respite and his head was starting to warm up.
« Bye ! » She said before running out of the door and disappeared within the darkness of the corridors.
That was the last word he will hear from her in a very long time because the next morning, he will not see her. Nor will he the day after tomorrow.
The moans had stopped, reaching its climax and Jerry felt his heavy pupils closing down on themselves. That night, he dreamed of the night he did not pass with Lili.
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Everyone was once again gathered in the throne room. There was tension in the air and every souls present in the room knew what was about to come next. The king stood up from his throne and like a proud father, he presented his daughter in front of his heroes hungry eyes.
« Heroes ! I plead you to listen to my selfish request… For about three-hundred years, demons have been menacing this kingdom, killing our people. They have taken everything away from us, our treasures, our wife, our children ! The demon king has been assaulting our front lines like never before and we are at the brink of death. »
A moment of pause, the king looked down to his feet and rose his head up with eyes full of determination. He placed his arm on the princess’s shoulders. She touched his right cheek with the back of her hand as if consoling a child. He continued his empty speech :
« So heroes… Will you be so kind to help us in our fight against evil ? »
A hurricane of « hoorays » came from the audience and a single sentence rose up from the ranks of the military :
« Long live the king ! Long live the queen ! Long live the princess ! May the heroes strike down evil ! »
The cheering lasted for a minute without rest, giving courage to a group of teenagers who could barely lift a dagger to stab a dummy and whispered promises of glory and wealth for the victorious. The king raised his hand and within the chaos, he spoke solemnly without ever forcing his voice:
« Heroes ! Will you give an oath to protect our kingdom of Isla ? To defeat the demon king ? To save our wifes and children from calamity ? If you do, say « Aye » !
- Aye !
- Then from today forward, you are the protectors of Isla! The heroes of human! The saviors of the world! »
Another wave of hysteric cheers rose from the crowd as some took off their hats and threw them in the air. Some of the students who, in the spur of the moment, kissed tenderly their lovers in the middle of the joyful atmosphere promising each other whatever there was to promise.
Three people however did not join the orgy : Jerry who was always the odd one, Dara who couldn’t bear the noisy crowd and Ly whose reason brought him back to reality. Three individuals barely noticeable except for Ly and particularly professor Ly who was currently being watched. But each had their own corners as if destiny had chosen three perfectly similar lines to never cross their path. But three different adventures that will carry their own effects on the world as a whole.