Leona chapter 1 [rough draft]
Leona, with her vivid red hair and baggy jeans, was walking silently around the back of a large, white castle. The moon shone nearly full surrounded by the playful stars in the night time sky. She looked up in time to see a comet soaring over the moon and out of sight. Her job would’ve been a lot easier, it is true, if it was a dark and cloudy night, but she couldn’t help herself from thinking of the beauty of space. She approached a small door in a back corner of the castle, light shining from underneath it. She reached for the doorknob, almost dreading what was behind it. She could hear people rushing around inside. She took a deep breath and checked her watch with a grimace; it was five minutes past seven. She bit her lip and opened the door.
“Leona!” She searched for the person who had called her name and prepared herself for the worst. “Leona if Dave caught you here this late…” She was relieved when she found who had spoken; it was her father’s best friend Sam. He walked over towards her, making his way through the chefs running around the large kitchen and preparing various food items for the princess’s birthday feast. He was a tall, and muscular black man who made Leona look even shorter and skinnier than she really was. He was dressed in his white uniform that all the chefs of the kitchen wore and he had on a tall white hat. He lowered his voice and leaned over slightly as he spoke. “Listen, head straight back to the freezer, the desserts are in there, slip on an apron and get to work. It’s been so busy I doubt your father will even notice how late you are.” She smiled at him.
“Thanks a bunch Sam!” And as she darted away to the freezer she could hear him calling after her, “Don’t forget to wash your hands!” She zoomed through the maze-like kitchen and grabbed an apron off a rack near the front entrance of the large room. She threw it on and tied the strings as she closed the door into the freezer. The freezer was almost as large as the kitchen; it had shelves on all the walls filled with various food items and a table in the middle with bowls and ice cream and other things for dessert. She stuck out her tongue slightly as she stared at the table. When he said the dessert was in the freezer she thought that perhaps somebody had been kind enough to make it for her.
“Okay,” she said to herself, “I guess I should get started!” She took all of the bowls and spaced them evenly in a ten-by-ten square and then opened the ingredients. She walked over to the freezer door where somebody had hung the recipe for what it was she was making. “Of course, Tortoni Sundae, the little princess’s favorite.” She turned back to the table and examined all of the ingredients, every now and then moving or repositioning them. “Alrighty than, to work!” She clapped her hands over her head and watched as the ingredients soared out of their packaging and started spinning above the table. “Hmm…let’s see here…” She started pointing to various ingredients and it would jump into the bowls, perfectly proportioned, mixing itself up or changing temperature when needed.
Five minutes later and all one-hundred bowls had perfect sundaes in them. She wiped a stray drop of ice cream from her forehead and sat down right when the door opened. She jumped up quickly as the man entered. He was short and rather scrawny but not in an unhealthy sort of way. His white uniform was spotless and underneath his head chef hat was thick, red hair. “Hi Dad! I was just loading the bowls onto the cart,” she said as she hurriedly started placing the bowls carefully onto the cart which was by the table.
“Leona…” her father sighed. “I know this is only a small party, for the royal family only, but we can’t have you being late!”
“But all the desserts are finished and I-”
“Yes, this time you made them on time but what if you didn’t? Just be on time from now on all right? Magic can’t solve all your problems you know.”
“I know…” she looked at her feet, she hated to disappoint her father, and he did have a point after all. The door opened a second time and Sam peered through into the room.
“They would like the desserts now.” He said.
“Okay, let’s see here…” Leona’s father looked at the near empty cart and then back to the table. He snapped his fingers and the rest of the bowls flew neatly onto the shining, silver surface of the cart. “Sam, I’ll need you to refresh their drinks if they need more. Leona, you can clean up in here, and no magic!”
“But Dad!”
He gave her a stern look and wheeled the cart out, followed by Sam, who gave Leona a sympathetic glance before leaving. She sighed and looked at the mess on the table.
“A just punishment I suppose.” She picked up a rag and started wiping the spilt ice cream. She could definitely use some work on that particular recipe. She was better at making pancakes. She started picking up the bags of chopped nuts and the chocolate fudge and walked across the room to put them on their shelves. It wasn’t her fault she was so late, usually she doesn’t need to be there until eight. She heard the door open and she turned around to see her father.
“Leona,” he gulped, “the princess insists on seeing the chef who made the sundaes,” He watched his daughter turn from pale to white. He looked her over. In addition to her baggy jeans which, he now noticed, were being held up by a rope tied around her waist. She had on a plain white t-shirt and a cropped, brown jacket which was really nothing more than a pair of sleeves. She had taken off her apron when she started to clean. He tried to smile. “You could have at least brushed your hair you know.”
“I did.” She gave a weak smile back and started out the door. He patted her on the back as she passed. The dining area was just down the hall from the kitchen, close enough for easy access for the chefs but far enough away to keep the smell of baking food out. Her sneakers squeaked on the marble floor as she approached the door. She took a deep breath and reached out her hand.
BANG! The whole floor shook so violently that Leona lost her balance and had to grab the doorknob in order to stay standing. She heard screaming coming from inside the dining hall and immediately felt another, BANG! Dust fell from the ceiling and behind her, a wall crumbled in front of the kitchen door. She had fallen to the ground and could now hear banging coming from the kitchen as the chefs tried to open the door. Leona stood up and threw open the door to the dining hall. Everybody was gone; the ceiling had caved in and smashed the enormous table they had been using moments before. She heard the frantic footsteps of a small child running into the room from the opposite side, it was the princess. She had tears running down her face and was sobbing frantically. Leona rushed to her side.
“Princess! Are you okay? What are you doing here?” Another bang, this one seemed the closest and sent both Leona and the princess to the ground. What was left of the ceiling, the portion directly above the two of them, came crashing down. “Look out!” Leona called as she jumped over the princess to protect her. The princess screamed and put her hands over her head. As the ceiling crumbled Leona held out both her hands to the sky. An invisible bubble appeared around them, not allowing any of the debris passed. Once the threat passed, Leona let go of their shield and collapsed, panting. She lay on the ground, her eyes closed and her breath rattling. Her head was spinning, she didn’t care where they were, she needed rest, she had reached her limit. She felt somebody lifting her in their arms, somebody tall, and strong. Was it Sam? She opened her eyes halfway, but all she could see was a blurry figure. A blurry figure, wearing a crown. She was slipping in and out of consciousness and she didn’t try to fight it. She felt herself being gently put down on something soft and warm, and could hear the crackling of a fire. She could hear voices but couldn’t understand them; her brain didn’t seem to comprehend anything that was going on. Again she fell to darkness, but was brought back by the touch of warmth on her forehead. She tried to open her eyes again; her vision hadn’t returned yet and could only see the silhouette of a woman, thin, and with long hair. Leona opened her mouth to try and say something; she could see enough now to tell that the woman had on a tiara, sparkling in the light of the fire.
“Shh…” the queen said as she dabbed Leona’s brow with a rag, damp with warm water. “My husband saw what you did. Thank you for saving my daughter’s life.” Everything began to come back to Leona now, the castle had been under attack.
“Where…” She tried to speak again.
“Is she awake?” This time it was a man’s voice, a gentle, young voice with years beyond his own of experience behind it. She blinked a couple times as things became more focused and she saw the king come near and kneel on the ground next to where she lay. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’ve been better.” Leona said weakly. Knowing that she didn’t have the strength to get up yet, she stayed laying on what she now recognized to be the king’s velvet cloak. He gave her a small smile.
“I’m afraid we’ve all been. We are currently in something of a stronghold in the basement of the castle. The idea of me helping is apparently not much liked.”
Leona managed a small laugh and looked around the room. It was a small, dark room lit only by the fireplace. There was very little furniture, only a couple of chairs around an old table. In the corner of the room was a rusty framed bed with large chunks of the ceiling on it and next to it was a dusty well.
“How long was I out?” she asked as she sat up.
“Only a half hour or so.” The king answered as he helped her stand. “Please forgive me, but to be honest I wasn’t aware that there were any Khrii left in Rajatook , expert wizards maybe, but a true born Khrii…”
“Well your head chef is my father and he is also a Khrii.” Leona said before realizing that this was the king she was talking to. “Uh, should I be bowing or something? I’ve never exactly spoken to royalty before.” The king laughed.
“You’re not one for hiding your thoughts, now are you?”
“If you don’t speak your mind you might as well not speak at all!” Leona wasn’t sure if she should be offended, embarrassed, or pleased, but it was true. Leona was always a strong believer in individualism and thought that one should never hide their true feelings . The king laughed again. It was hard not to smile when you heard his laugh.
“Well to answer your question, I would never have you of all people bow to anyone, let alone me. You saved my daughter. I don’t even know your name.”
“Leona, I work in the kitchens with my father, Dave.”
“Well Leona, daughter of David, head chef at the castle of Rajatook , it is an honor to be in your presence.” As he spoke, the queen walked over and stood next to her husband. They were a hansom sight to behold; the king had a tall, athletic build, straight, blonde hair, and sparkling blue eyes. The queen was tall as well and had a slender figure with long, curled, black hair. Her deep, green eyes brimmed with kindness and youth. They were truly the perfect king and queen, strong but kind, young but wise, and married for no reason other than love. Leona now realized why everybody looked up to them so, why the chefs worked so hard, they weren’t afraid they’d be fired, they were afraid they’d disappoint the leaders they respect so much.
“Leona,” the queen spoke, “when you said ‘if you don’t speak your mind, you might as well not speak at all’, were you perchance quoting somebody?” Leona looked into her green eyes for a time before nodding her head.
“Yes, my mother.”
There was a sound coming from the metal door, as if somebody was trying to open it. Everyone fell silent. The princess who had been sitting quietly in a corner rushed over to her father who picked her up and held her close. A scratching sound began to come from under the door as dogs scraped their nails against the metal door and the rock floor, then no sound at all. Leona slowly walked forward, and placed her hand on the door. There were at least two people behind it, perhaps three, with a tracking hound, and guns. She took her hand away and moved quickly to the royal family.
“Listen,” she whispered, “there’s another way out, all the staff are trained incase something like this happens. Over here.” She led them to the fireplace and with a wave of her hands extinguished the flames. She would have to work in the dark now. Using magic to keep herself from being burned, she shifted through the burnt wood, still glowing slightly, until she found it, a small crack in the ground, just wide enough for a finger. She carefully lifted the bottom of the fireplace out and revealed a small trapdoor. She peered down and then backed away. “Your Highness,” she said, addressing the king. “It’s not too deep, but you’ll have to help your daughter.” He nodded and lowered himself down into the corridor below and then helped the princess from there. The queen looked at Leona, who nodded, and then went down too. There was a loud banging coming from the door now. The princess had tears forming in her eyes as Leona looked down to where they were. “Here,” she said rummaging in her pockets before finally pulling out a broken button. She blew on it and it began to glow, just bright enough to light the way. She dropped it down to the princess. “Don’t let your parents get lost okay?” The princess nodded and Leona smiled back.
“Aren’t you coming?” The king asked.
“I’ll catch up with you. Just keep going straight until you reach a fork. Take the right and then stay away from the light, see? It even rhymes!” She tried to give a reassuring smile and then sighed. “I’ll be okay, I’m a Khrii, remember? Now go!”
“All right,” the king said. “Let’s go!” And Leona watched as they ran out of sight. She quickly sealed it again and placed the wood and ashes back over it. She rushed to the door and placed her hand back on the cold metal. The banging had stopped; in fact, nobody seemed to be there at all. But why would they leave? She sensed something else, a small object at the foot of the door and a small but intense heat rushing toward it. She realized what it was a second before it would’ve been too late. Her mind working fast, she ran to the well and jumped in right as an immense explosion erupted from the door. She fell twenty feet before landing in the cold water. She would have been safe there, but it seemed that whoever it was that was so desperate to get in had created too big an explosion for the job. They successfully tore down the door, but the entire room went with it, even the well had been hit. Leona dove down into the water to slow the wreckage that was falling down the well and help her dodge it but so much came at the same time that it soon clogged the entire opening, all the way down to the water. She swam up to the rocks and searched desperately for a way out, but there was none. Unable to get air she did the only thing she could do, and swam down. There was an underground lake somewhere under the castle, if she could make it there…but what was she thinking? She already needed more air and she couldn’t last on magic for long. With the last of her breath, she opened her mouth and yelled, “Ariana!” As the bubbles flew from her mouth something formed in the water and grabbed her before vanishing and taking Leona with it.
Leona felt herself land on hard rock. She gasped for air and coughed up some water. She rolled onto her back and laughed slightly. She was wet, cold, and her lungs hurt, but she was alive! She sat up and looked about, it was incredibly dark but she could still tell that she was in the passageway she sent the king and his family down. She looked to the left and saw only black, to the right there was a turn about ten feet from her and a moving light approaching it.
She stood up as the royal family rounded the corner.
“What took you so long?” she asked, trying hard not to smile.
“Why are you all wet?” the princess giggled.
“Yes and how did you get here?” The king asked.
“It would take too long for me to explain, we should get going.” As she turned to lead them down the tunnel she felt something cold trickle down her forehead and heard a gasp from the queen.
“You’re hurt!”
Leona held up a hand and touched the cold on her forehead. She looked at her fingers and saw blood shining with the light from the button. She touched a spot on top of her head and felt pain shoot through her body.
“It’s nothing,” she said, without turning around. “just a scratch.” And she continued without giving them a chance to object.
“It looks like I got here just in time.” Leona said as they reached another fork. To the left was light but to the right, the tunnel had caved in.
“What’s in the light? Can we go that way?” The queen asked.
“Well, it looks like we’ll have to now, but I don’t know the light tunnels very well, they’re more of a maze than anything else. Somewhere there’s an old dragon, but I’m pretty sure you passed his room a while back.”
“You’re ‘pretty sure’?” the king stepped up, “Leona, I trust you but if there’s a chance of a dragon-”
“Your Highness, with all due respect, relax! He’s old and half blind; he’s mostly down here for scares anyway! Like one of those pet tarantulas that boys like to use to scare their sisters, they’re big and scary looking but harmless! You just have to watch what you say around him, that’s all.”
“Very well,” he sighed, “lead on.”
“Okay, but before we go, do any of you know magic?”
The king and queen looked at each other.
“Well,” the king began, “the basics of self-defense of course, but that’s about it for me.”
“And I only know what they teach you in school.”
“Okay, stay close.” And they began to walk down the path toward the light. “I was right.” Leona said looking about the room they had entered. “This is definitely past the dragon’s r-” But before she had a chance to finish her sentence the dragon emerged from a different tunnel. His golden scales had faded into a dull brown, his horns were yellowed and cracked, still, he still looked fierce. A broken chain was hanging from his neck and he had a mouthful of jewels. Leona froze, not from fear, but shock. He wasn’t supposed to be here, how was it possible? He was strong enough to kill, but not brake the chain, was there somebody else here? She took a step forward but felt a strong hand grab her arm. She looked around and saw the king preventing her from continuing.
“Leona,” he looked her in the eye as he spoke, “we’ll turn around, there’s got to be another way out.”
“No,” Leona shook her head. “There isn’t.”
“So what then? Are we just going to give up?”
The dragon placed his jewels carefully onto his small pile of treasure. He crawled over it and spread himself out, trying to hide his cache, and hissing in their direction. Leona watched him for a second before turning to the king.
“No, I have a plan.” The king carefully looked her over.
“Leona, you’re strong. You will make a great leader one day.” He smiled and released her. With a nod, she stepped forward.
“You see,” she whispered, just loud enough for the king to hear, “all dragons have a weakness for treasure.” She took another step forward. “When I distract him, head for that tunnel.” She pointed to an opening across the room as she took another step. The dragon blew a blast of fire into the air. “I will need your tiara,” she turned and faced the queen, her eyes shining with her plan.
“Of course,” the queen took off her tiara and watched as it flew toward Leona’s hand.
“Dragon!” Leona called. “Oh great and mighty dragon, I offer you this gift!” She had been walking closer and was now close enough for the dragon to easily kill her in one blow of the tail. She knelt down and held up the tiara, using magic to enhance the sparkling of the gems. The king led his family carefully behind Leona. The dragon stretched out his long neck to examine the treasure, Leona felt his hot breath blowing back her hair. He nudged it with his nose and looked at her. “Your beautiful scales and deadly horns make it impossible to refuse giving this treasure to you!” She said as she set it on the ground and slowly backed away. The dragon picked up the tiara gently and placed it on the top of his pile, positioning it to sparkle in the light of the torches lit by magic. She turned and ran the rest of the way. “See?” She said once she reached the royal family. “He’s harmless.” And she walked past them and continued down the dark passageway.
“Daddy?” The princess yawned, “What’s a Khrii?”
Leona glanced back at them with a smile.
“Well Ann, a Khrii is what Leona is. A human has to learn magic; a Khrii is born with it. They are usually fair skinned, with red hair, grey eyes,”
“And short,” Leona added playfully. “can’t forget that.”
The princess giggled, “So you always knew magic Leona?”
“Yup, but you aren’t born perfect, you have to perfect it and get better by practicing. Magic, with Khrii, is kind of like handwriting, the older you get the better you are, and eventually you have a style all your own. There is, of course, a downside, we only have a certain amount of magic a day, and we have to rest for several hours before we can do powerful spells again, because magic uses up our physical strength. Human wizards can use all the spells they know and still keep going!”
“But Khrii are more powerful.” The queen pointed out. “They can do spells humans can only dream about.”
“But if we do a spell beyond our strength we can die.” She paused. “I’m still not sure how I managed to survive that shield I made earlier; my father has difficulty with that one.” She didn’t sound too worried about it though, more amazed than anything.
Before long they came to a small lit room with several wooden doors all around the room.
“Oh shoot!” Leona said as she walked out into the room.
“What’s wrong?” the king asked.
“Nothing, I just, can’t remember this part in the test! Let me think, let me think…” She started pacing around the room, muttering to herself.
“Are we lost?” Princess Ann asked.
“No!” Leona said, obviously frustrated with herself. “We’re just…just temporarily delayed, nothing to worry about!” And she walked up to one of the doors and placed her hand on it, as she did before. She closed her eyes for a minute and then went on to the next one, repeating this at each door until finally, at the fifth one, “This is it!” She thrust open the door and immediately, the room began to dissolve around them until they were in a small cave with only one exit. “Stay here,” she whispered, “let me check if the coast is clear.” She walked to the small door and slowly opened it. There was smoke in the sky now, the moon and stars were no longer visible. She stepped out, enhancing all her senses with magic. It seemed safe until she felt something a second before it was too late. She jumped back into the cave at the same time a gunshot rang through the air. She closed the door as another went off from a different direction. “Snipers?” She gasped, panting and leaning against a wall.
“How did they know we were here?” The queen asked.
“They couldn’t have, they must have them placed at every important castle worker’s house.”
“Where are we?”
“My backyard actually. Dang-it this is not my day!”
“We need to think of a plan,” the king said, “is there a way for us to distract them enough for us to get out? Something so they don’t notice us?”
“I got it!” Leona snapped her fingers. “Princess Ann, I’m going to need that button, don’t worry, I’ll give it back.
The princess nodded and gave the glowing button to Leona.
“Okay, give me a second.” She held the button in her fist and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths. Light began to show through her fingers, slowly getting brighter and brighter. She rushed to the door, opened it, and threw the button out into the air. “Everybody hold hands!” She called, grabbing the queen’s. The button had begun to glow so bright nobody could see anything. Leona was the only one able to see through the light and keeping it glowing like that was slowly draining her of her energy. They heard a few shots as they ran but they were nowhere near their target. “Steps,” she said as they approached the backdoor to her house. They walked up the steps and into the house which was being lit from the outside by the button. The light went out and from under the crack in the doorway came the small, broken, button. Leona caught it and tossed it back to Princess Ann as it began to glow. “Now come on!” She said and led them to a pair of stairs going down to the basement. “We’ll be safe in here, nobody can enter our house unless they’re loyal to the royal family, and down here there aren’t any windows.” She rushed down the stairs and waited for everybody else to get down and then closed the door behind then . She put her back against it and slid down into a sit. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. Princess Ann was panicking and the queen was trying to comfort her. The king rushed
over to Leona as he noticed she was a deadly white, beads of sweat were appearing on her forehead and she looked ready to pass out. She held up a hand. “There should be…enough supplies…down here for…you three…for two days …by then you should…have reached the…the secret base. The table,” she pointed to a small table covered with a white sheet in the center of the room, “secret passageway…just follow the river.”
“But Leona!” Princess Ann ran over now too. “You have to come! You’re my guardian angel!” She started crying, “You saved me a million times!” She threw her arms around Leona's neck, “You have to…” The light had been the second powerful spell Leona had performed within a few short hours, she wasn’t sure she could go on.
“Ann…I…”
“We’ll wait for you.” The queen spoke. “Leona, you said yourself we were safe here, enemies can’t enter. We all need rest anyway.”
Leona nodded, unable to speak.
“Then that’s that.” The king said. “Karolyn’s right, we need to rest, this is the best place.”
“So Leona’s coming?” Princess Ann stood up.
“Yes Ann, we wouldn’t let her stay behind.” Queen Karolyn said and took her daughter’s hand. Leona fell where she was, too exhausted to move, and slept a dreamless sleep.
Leona is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.