Mia's Point of View

I tried to get Sphinx to follow us inside, but the lynx simply refused to set foot in the castle. I looked to Mr. Optim in confusion and he explained. “The King has a notorious hatred of animals.” Optim bent down and stroked the end of Sphinx’s nose affectionately. “And for Sphinx the feeling is mutual.”

Sphinx growled deeply in agreement, making me giggle.

“Sphinx always was a great judge of character.”

“Indeed.” Optim started walking towards the doors to the castle. “Best be on our way then. We have a lot to do.”

“Will he be alright out here by himself?” I glanced anxiously at my precious Sphinx.

“Lynx’s are incredibly formidable creatures.” Optim replied. “I trust that Sphinx can take care of himself just fine.”

Taking Mr. Optim’s word for it, I followed him and the Sorcerer Zalzar into the castle, waving to Sphinx one last time as I walked away. The inside of the castle was vaster than any building I’d ever seen. The ceilings were so high, they disappeared into shadows beyond the glowing chandeliers. What astounded me the most was the castle really did seem to be made out of diamond, just as Mr. Optim had described to me so many years ago. Every time the sun came out from behind a cloud, the light shined through the windows onto the castle walls, which made them twinkle as if a million stars were trapped inside.

I glanced at Mr. Optim as we walked a step behind the Sorcerer, Zalzar. Mr. Optim gave me an encouraging smile and I tried to smile back, but the sinking feeling in my stomach pulled down my mood. Why was it that the moment I thought I’d be okay, there was yet another thing to deal with?

I turned my head to look at Zalzar again. For all his high-and-mighty talk, he didn’t seem much older than me at all. But he was old enough to have broad shoulders and his straight, shiny white hair reached down his robes to his mid-back.

I wondered why Mr. Optim would take on such a pompous and boorish Apprentice. Good looks could only take one like him so far. But then again, Mr. Optim always saw the good in people, even when others couldn’t or wouldn’t see it.

As we walked down the twists and turns of the castle hallways, I had to stop myself from slowing down to stare at each gigantic tapestry that hung on all the walls. Most of the tapestries were portraits of past Kings and Queens, others had mystical creatures such as unicorns, centaurs, colorful birds and griffins. One very large tapestry spanned a whole wall to itself and this was the one that made me stop.

It had an elongated green dragon that undulated through almost all of the tapestry. The dragon lay in what looked like a foggy swamp surrounded by ancient trees with long, hanging moss on their limbs. Along the bottom, woven in golden thread were the words,

“Chavrim, Lord of the Green.” I said softly. “Giver of Knowledge and Wisdom.”

Mr. Optim noticed I had stopped and came over to stand beside me and looked up at the tapestry as well.

I heard Zalzar huff but also stop to join us.

“Ahh Chavrim,” Mr. Optim said in a hushed voice. “One of the oldest legends in all of Gladtopia. He’s said to only make himself known to those who he deems worthy enough to receive knowledge and wisdom.”

“I’d love to meet him. I could certainly use some more knowledge.” I almost reached out to touch the woven image in awe when I heard a curt clearing of a throat.

I turned to give Zalzar a flat look. He seemed to be going out of his way to be unlikable. Satisfied that I wasn’t putting my grubby fingers on the royal decorations, he folded his hands behind his back and lifted his chin just so he could look down at me. “Yes, you could do with more knowledge. It’s simply another legend that is just that, a legend.”

“Well how do you know?” My eyes narrowed and I strode up to him. “Have you ever seen him?”

The Sorcerer crossed his arms and sneered, but stood his ground.

“Legends are simply stories that have nothing to do with reality. You would do well to remember that, seeing as you’re a child who still believes in fairytales.”

My cheeks turned pink and, in an attempt to be more assertive, I put one hand on my hip and poked the middle of his chest with a finger.

“I could really do without your attitude, thank you very much. If this is how guests are treated in the castle by Mr. Optim’s apprentice, I’m glad I’m about to have a talk with your boss!”

Mr. Optim put a hand on my shoulder to calm me, then clicked his tongue at his apprentice. “Dear, dear Zalzar. Where is your sense of fun and mystery?”

I leaned back, smiling smugly as Mr. Optim took my side.

Zalzar, unwilling to talk back to Mr. Optim, rolled his eyes and began to walk away.

“Come along, the King doesn’t have all day,” he said without looking back at us.

We walked down a long hallway and finally came to a stop in front of two large oaken doors. There were two, finely dressed guards standing on either side of the doors and when Zalzar motioned to them, they opened the doors without a word.

Inside was an ornate throne room, longer than it was wide, which made for a long walk to the throne. As we went further inside, I looked up at the red velvet curtains that stretched down from parallel rows of tall columns lining either side of the hall. Our footsteps hardly made a sound on the soft, dark green carpet that lead all the way to the raised dais where the King sat. The room felt as though it would stretch on forever, but finally I started to get a better view of the King. He was quite thin, not at all what I imagined a King ought to be, and a bit wiry looking. On top of his dark hair was a crown made completely of diamond and there were diamond points all around it. He was fairly handsome, clean-shaven, and if it wasn’t for the slight balding that was forming at the top of his head I would have assumed he was younger.

We came to a stop in front of the throne and my eyes widened as I took in his outfit. He was dressed in the finest clothes I had ever seen. He was wearing a dark green tunic, covered in diamonds. His long red robe spilled onto the floor and judging from the way the fuzzy collar and trim glittered, they were lined with diamonds as well. Even his fingers and cuffs of his boots were ornamented with the gemstone.

“Your majesty.” Zalzar bowed deeply.

Mr. Optim bowed as well and motioned for me to do the same. I attempted a curtsy, lifting up the skirt of my dress slightly and bowed my head.

“My dear friend, Augustus.” King Samuel smiled fondly at Mr. Optim. “It’s been too long since last we saw each other.”

Mr. Optim laughed merrily.

“Too true, your Majesty. I’m afraid I’ve been rather tied up with an experiment as of late.” He pushed me forward from the small of my back and I reluctantly took two steps, eyeing Optim then the King. “An experiment that has successfully come to fruition.”

The King’s brow furrowed as he looked me up and down, a smile slowly spreading across his face.

“And who is this lovely experiment?”

I frowned at the remark. “I’m not an experiment. I’m Mia Beaumont.”

Something in my voice might have given away that my patience was thinning because, Mr. Optim sidled up next to me and put an arm around my shoulders, beaming proudly. “Mia’s a dear friend of mine whom I’ve known for many, many years. And I’m happy to say that she is the one we have been waiting for your Majesty! Mia is the Source.”

The King stared at me intensely for a long while, enough for me to start shifting a bit under Mr.Optim’s arm. Finally he looked back at Mr. Optim and chuckled. “Augustus, you can’t be serious. The Source is supposed to be the most powerful being in all of Gladtopia. How can this mere girl be the Source?”

While I didn’t like being called “mere,” this seemed to be going my way. I turned my head to see Mr. Optim’s eyes shift through a couple of colors, but he took a breath and seemed to will his gaze to stay golden.

“Trust me your Majesty, Mia is the one we have been waiting for. She will restore balance to Gladtopia. I know it!”

The King still didn’t look convinced. Turning lazily to Zalzar he said, “And what do you make of this my Royal Sorcerer?”

“I am in agreement with you, your Majesty,” Zalzar gave me a sideways glance; I made sure to wrinkle my nose at him. “She is most definitely not the Source.”

Were it not for the King right in front of us, I would have come up with some choice words for the high and mighty Sorcerer Zalzar. Like how I didn’t want to be the source so maybe he could get off my back? The King sighed dramatically, commanding our collective attention.

“Well if she isn’t the Source then …”

Good, I thought. The King obviously isn’t convinced, now maybe Mr. Optim would let this go…

But no, Optim walked up to the edge of the dias and fell to his knees.

“Please your majesty. Even if you don’t believe she’s the Source, couldn’t you give her a chance to try to restore balance?” He clasped his hands together and looked up at King Samuel earnestly.

King Samuel’s eyes bounced between me and Optim’s pleading eyes. All I wanted to do was pull Mr. Optim to his feet. He was a Wizard for goodness sake, begging was beneath him. I watched the King rub his chin with a bejeweled hand, then grin slyly.

“I suppose something is better than nothing. Yes … if I were to declare that Miss Beaumont is indeed the Source, who could deny it?”

Zalzar’s jaw dropped.

“Your majesty, are you sure what you are doing is quite wise? What if people were to discover that she isn’t the Source?” He gestured to me like a five-year-old would to another child that took his candy.

“Please Zalzar,” the King rubbed his temple. “Do you honestly believe the people will question me? Their King? They look to me for guidance. If I tell the people she’s the Source, then she’s the Source.”

Zalzar crossed his arms angrily and looked down at the ground.

Mr. Optim bowed so deeply, his head almost touched the surface of the dais.

“Thank you, your majesty. I promise you, you won’t regret it!” He hopped to his feet and took a few steps back to stand next to me, grinning.

“Yes, yes.” the King waved a hand at Mr. Optim. “But I warn you Augustus, this won’t be easy. Do you believe Miss Beaumont is up for the task?”

“If I may have a say in this, your Majesty.” I said stepping forward. “While I don’t want to upset my friend, I have to say I don’t think I’m up for the task.”

The King opened his mouth to reply but Optim interrupted, his voice softer and meant just for me, “Ducky, I thought we agreed to wait until you knew the details before making a decision.”

I stared into Mr. Optim’s eyes, which became orange with worry. I caved with a sigh; I had promised after all.

“Alright fine.”

Optim’s eyes changed back to gold and he waved his hand, conjuring two chairs for us to sit on.

“Your Majesty, may I request you to explain Gladtopia’s current situation to Mia?.”

The King sat back in his cushy throne and raised an eyebrow. “It’s a conflict difficult to miss, Augustus. What needs to be explained?”

Mr. Optim blinked. “Ah, yes I suppose I ought to tell you. Mia was not born and raised in Gladtopia, you see. I created a successful amulet that helped her come through the doorway.”

The expressions the King and Zalzar gave me had me thinking that perhaps they didn’t think those doorways were even possible. If Mr. Optim had ever told them about the times he came over to my world, maybe they didn’t believe him then? The King looked amused and I felt he still didn’t quite believe this now. Zalzar however was looking at Mr. Optim with a mix of curiosity and awe.

“Very well, Augustus,” the King said in a patient tone that made it clear he would rather be doing something else. He cleared his throat and looked at me, “The Cirque-Dally conflict.”

I could sense that this was going to be a long story and sat back to get comfortable.