The Journey
It was a sunny, summer day in the Micro Kingdom. Everything looked perfect. The sun was shining high in the sky, the sea in the harbor was calm and the women were walking around in bright dresses. Knight Helen was standing in front of a sailing ship, ready to depart. Her parents, General Odysseus and Spy Hope, were with her to say goodbye.
“I’m sad to be leaving...” Helen murmured.
“Sweetheart, you must do it. It’s the Queen’s order.” Her mother reassured her.
“Besides, it’s your dream too.” Her father added.
“I know. And I want to go. But I’m going to miss you so much.”
“We will miss you too,” said Hope.
“Don’t forget to write to us.” Odysseus reminded her.
At that time, the captain of the ship announced that the ship was ready to set sail. Helen didn’t waste time. She said goodbye to her parents one last time, picked up her bag of stuff, and boarded the ship. It slowly started to leave the end of the pier. Helen stood on the railing and watched everything move away. The pier, her parents, the port, the Micro Kingdom. Once they were wide enough, the ship’s white sails unfurled, letting the wind now drive it.
A sailor led Helen to her cabin. She arranged her stuff and went back out on deck. She stood on the railing again. Beside her, she heard a man’s voice:
“The sailors are doing a good job, don’t you think?” He said to her. She turned and looked at him.
“Hello Stavros.” she told him. Magus Stavros was the son of Magus Stathis and Melodian Gianna, friends of her parents. He, like Helen, was being sent by Queen Natasha to serve the Notos Kingdom and Lord Derick.
Queen Natasha took the reigns from her younger brother, Lord Consta the Great. A few years ago, Consta had become king at the age of sixteen. An impostor, however, killed him and after disguising himself as Consta, took his place as king of Micronessi. Spy Hope, however, discovered him, exposed his fraud and killed him. All the inhabitants of the Kingdom proclaimed her their heroine, but mourned the loss of their beloved king.
Afterwards, Consta’s closest relative was his older sister, Natasha, who succeeded him on the throne after his death.
Helen and Stavros were childhood friends. A while ago, however, Helen realized that she felt something more for him. But she did not dare to confess it to him. And now they were traveling together and had three days to approach him. But she wouldn’t. She had never been good with words and she wouldn’t be in a situation like this either.
“Have you heard anything about the Notos Kingdom?” she asked him.
“Too much. It’s a rich kingdom, with a warm climate, not as hot as ours though. It has mild winters and hot summers.”
“Summers...” Helen repeated. Just like it was in their summers when the two of them were young running on the beach. She briefly sank into his deep blue eyes, which were the same color as the sea at the moment.
“Forgive me. I drifted off…” she said suddenly and took a step back. “I think I’ll go back to my cabin.”
At night she could not sleep. The heat was unbearable and combined with the thought that his cabin was right next to hers made things worse.
I will never tell him. She was thinking. He is so cold and will destroy our friendship. At the very least, she hoped she would see him often when they got jobs in Notos.
The next morning, she woke up to the rocking of the ship. Even though it was calm, it made her feel sick in there. She put on her uniform and went outside to get some air.
Stavros was standing on the bow, his green tunic fluttering and looking out to sea.
“Good morning.” she told him.
“Good morning.” He said. “Are you okay? You look a little pale.”
“Um, yeah, I’m fine. It’s just that the sea is bothering me a little.” Stavros held out his hand and helped her up.
“I don’t want to worry you, but we’re going to get into a storm tonight.” He said to her.
“Oh...” Helen said. “Are you sure?”
“I’m a wizard.”
“Did you tell the captain?”
“Of course. He is prepared.”
“But I’m not. I’m afraid of the sea.” Stavros looked at her worriedly. Then he said to her:
“Come to my cabin. I want to show you something.”
Helen felt the familiar momentary jolt. She would be in his cabin with him.
Stavros took her down from the bow, after he got down too, he took her by the hand and they crossed the deck. They went down the stairs, walked down the hall, and entered his cabin. He looked into her eyes. Helen was sure her heart would break, it was beating so hard. And yet, Stavros made no move, only stepped back and walked towards a bedside table.
He opened a drawer and took out a bottle.
“Take it, save it and drink it when I tell you.” He told her and gave it to her.
“One of your familiar magic potions?” she asked.
“Yes.” Stavros said and smiled at her, which he rarely did. “It’s a nausea potion. Now go get some rest and I’ll see you at lunch.” Helen went to her cabin and lay down.
At noon, she went down to the passenger dining room.
“I saved you a seat.” Stavros told her and showed her the chair next to him.
“Thanks.” Helen said and sat down.
Next to her sat Leander Nova, son of the well-known witch Anamaria Nova, who was her father’s friend once. Odysseus and Anamaria were once lovers, as she had saved him from a very difficult situation and so they had entered into a sinful relationship between them, but when Odysseus met Hope, he immediately fell in love with her and after their marriage, he remained only a friend with Anamaria. She was blinded by jealousy and tried to separate them, but their love was so strong, that even with her magic tricks she couldn’t do that. Then she became engaged to a merchant who arrived in the Micro Kingdom, Anestis, and Odysseus married them. No one in the kingdom ever liked the son of Anamaria and Anestis, Leander. He had black, pitch black hair and gray scary eyes. He was said to be very evil, due to the complex that he had not inherited his mother’s magical powers, but was a common mortal like his father.
He was also a merchant and he too was going to Notos to open a shop there, as the king wanted him as his personal merchant to supply him with the best fabrics and generally all kinds of goods, since Leanderwas an ace in bazaars.
He winked at Helen and said to her:
“What’s up, doll?” Helen did not want to appear rude and answered him:
“I am fine, you?”
“All good.”
The meal was served and they began to eat. Helen could not touch anything. All foods made her nauseous just looking at them.
“You need to eat something. You are too weak.” Stavros told her.
“I can not.”
“He is right, Helen. You must eat. If any sea monster attacks us, you will have to defend us. How will you have the strength to fight?”
“Leave her, Leander.” Stavros stopped him. “Don’t listen to him. Eat some, you know why.”
Helen remembered the magic potion and the storm that awaited them in the evening. She had to eat in order to make it. She ate a piece of meat. Then she couldn’t take it anymore and stopped. She couldn’t wait for them to arrive and finally set foot on land. But she thought it would be okay once she drank the potion.
In the afternoon she took strolls on the deck with Stavros, where there was concern. Then she went to her cabin and read a bit from a book about the Notos Kingdom that she had brought with her.
The Kingdom of Notos is the south of the Five Kingdoms of its country.
The Land of the Five Kingdoms consists of the Voras and Notos Kingdoms, which are allies but have some differences, the Dysi and Anatolia which are eternal enemies, and of course the Centro Kingdom which is the biggest. It is not allied with anyone and tries to control the other four, often enforcing order when there are differences between them. The Notians believe that they will be a very strong ally and they constantly make efforts for a Central-Notian alliance, but all end in vain.
The Centro Kingdom wants to remain independent. It is neutral towards all peoples and customs. Anatolia has very strange and mystical customs and the majority of them are Muslims. Many characterize them as wild and uncouth. Dysi is a realm of very good riders and its spies climb trees and buildings and do the best stunts, but it has quite a few crisis management issues. The majority of the people of Dysi are Christians, but not as fanatically as they should be. Finally, Vorians and Notians have similar morals and customs, but they compete with each other in wealth and power, so they will never settle their differences. The only thing they have in common with Centro is the Epoptus God religion, as they call him, although in the Centro Kingdom this religion is more widespread and organized and the majority of them believe in it, unlike the Notos Kingdom which has several so-called Christians and atheists.
Helen read this far and closed the book in irritation. It was obvious that the author of the book was Central and supported his kingdom trying to make it superior to the other four. She didn’t like that in the books. She wanted the author to write with absolute objectivity. But she had bought this book from the shop of Anestis, Leander’s father, so she didn’t expect better quality...
Then she fell asleep. She woke up to a knock on her door.
It was getting dark outside. She stood up, straightened the skirt of her uniform a bit and went to open it. It was Stavros.
“Hello.” she told him.
“Take the potion.”
“When will it happen?”
“In one hour.” Helen did as she was told. She took the potion and drank it all. Then they went downstairs to the crew mess. The captain had organized a feast.
They were all gathered there. Sailors, passengers and crew. And of course Leander.
“Not him again...” Stavros said as soon as he saw that he was approaching them.
“What’s the matter, my friends? Will you drink some wine?” he said and leaned on them stepping between them.
“No, thank you. From what I can see, you’ve had enough for the three of us.” Stavros said. Leander burst out laughing.
“You have a sense of humor after all!” He said. “And you didn’t seem like it!”
And laughing to himself, he left them and went to disturb another company.
“I want to see him when the storm starts.” Stavros said. “With so much to drink, he won’t be able to stand.”
“He is very rude.”
“Yes but, she’s a chicken deep down.” Everyone in the hall was drinking, eating and partying. A young musician was playing music and some were dancing. She had a lean build and long carrot-colored hair.
“It’s Troubadour Natalia.” Stavros said. “She will come to Notos with us.”
Then Natalia took a break. She approached them and bowed.
“I salute two of our greatest heroes.” she said.
“And you’re a hero for putting up with all these drunks, Natalia.” Helen told her. They started a conversation.
“I was reading a book about the Notos Kingdom before and it mentions the so-called Epoptus God Religion. Does anyone know anything about this religion?” Helen asked at one point.
“I know.” Stavros said. “According to the Notians, the Epoptus God is a huge eye in the sky, watching everything and determining our destiny.”
The two girls listened to him with interest.
“Its faithful are divided into Austerie and Kaloi. The Austerie believe that the Eye is something terrifying and that we must obey it or it will punish us for our sins. The priests of the Austerie strike fear into the hearts of the faithful. The Kaloi, on the other hand, they believe that the Eye is not scary, there are no strict rules, and sins are easily forgiven. Good priests inspire love in the faithful, not fear.”
Helen hung from his lips as long as he spoke.
“Good. If I had to choose between these two religions, I would like to be baptized Kaloi.” she said.
“It’s nonsense.” Natalia complained. “Why should I believe in an eye that sees and controls everything? It’s ridiculous, if you think about it.”
“We all need to believe in something, Natalia.” Helen told her.
“I believe in myself. I’m an artist and I don’t need anyone or anything other than my talent.”
And she walked away, to play another song for the drunks.
“All artists are like that.” Stavros said. “And they don’t change their minds easily.”
They sat down and ate a little. After a while, Stavros stretched uneasily and looked at Helen beside him.
“What is wrong?” she asked him seeing the terror painted in his gaze.
“It is beginning. Now.” She understood that he meant the storm. His fear was transferred to her, but at least she wouldn’t have the anxiety of nausea.
“Come with me. I must notify the captain.” They got up hastily and ran out of the room.
They went out on deck. A few waves had begun to shake the boat, but the potion had worked and Helen did not feel nauseous.
“Over here.” Stavros said and they started up the stairs to the bridge. Dark clouds had covered the sky.
“Quickly!” Stavros shouted, seeing that Helen had stayed behind. They reached the bridge and Stavros informed the captain that the storm was starting.
“Take down the sails!” He gave an order to the crew. “Grab the oars! Be ready!” He called out to them. “Go to a safe place, Mage Stavros and Knight Helen. If I need anything I’ll let you know.”
Before long, the raging sea was beating mercilessly against the wooden ship, while the storm that had broken out was raining everything. The boat was going back and forth, up and down, making everyone run in panic. Helen and Stavros were also trying to help. Natalia also went with them.
“Can’t you do anything to stop all this, like a wizard that you are?!” she called out to Stavros, trying to be heard in the chaos that was taking place.
“I’m sorry, I can’t mess with nature!” He answered.
Leander was running up and down shouting HELP.
“Did you see how much of a chicken he is?!” Stavros said and they laughed. At that time, a big wave hit the boat from the sides and she leaned to the left side sharply. Many fell, some hit and some held onto the handrail to keep from falling into the sea. Helen almost fell too. For a split second, she felt as if she would drown in the sea.
She didn’t have time to hold on to the handrail. But a strong hand grabbed hers. It was Stavros, holding her tightly, suspended above the waves. But she was slipping.
“I’ll fall!” She yelled at him.
“I won’t let you fall, Helen! I would never let you!” He told her and with a sharp movement, he pulled her up. Stavros fell on his back on the wooden floor of the deck and Helen on top of him.
At that time, it felt as if time stopped. She did not hear the voices, nor did she feel the rocking of the ship. The only journey she made was in the blue of his eyes.
Now is my chance. she thought. Nevertheless...
“Helen, luckily, you were saved.” It was Natalia. She helped them up. And then, they saw that the storm stopped.
“Finally.” Stavros said. But Helen was traveling elsewhere at that time.
For a moment, just a few seconds, she thought that Stavros felt the same as her. She was wrong, though.
They went out of her cabin.
“Thank you for saving me.” sh told him.
“Don’t thank me. We’re friends.”
“Yes, friends…” He stroked her wet blonde hair.
“Change clothes immediately and rest.” He said to her.
“Okay.”
Once more, their faces came close. Stavros hugged her, which was a pleasant surprise for her because he never hugged people like that. He pushed her hair aside and his breath caressed her ear.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” He whispered to her and then let her go. “Good night.” He told her and entered his cabin. Helen entered hers.
She changed and laid down.
Tomorrow we will reach Notos. she was thinking. He will certainly approach me when I am alone in the castle. Someday, I’ll be his, I can feel it. With these thoughts she fell asleep.
The next day in the morning, she was a little late waking up. She heard knocks on her cabin door. She got up and opened it.
“Good morning.” Stavros told her.
“Morning. Uh... Sorry I’m with the nightgown. I just woke up.”
Stavros looked her up and down. Helen was embarrassed because her nightgown was almost transparent.
“It’s okay. Just get dressed a little fast, because we’re almost there.”
“Are we there? Fine, I’ll see you outside.”
“Okay.”
She dressed and combed her short blonde hair. Then she put all her stuff in the sack and went out. Stavros was waiting for her at the railing.
“Look. The Kingdom of Notos,” he told her.
Helen watched in awe as the ship approached the shore. In a short time, the sails were closed, the boat rested on the pier and tied up.
“Come on, lets go.” Stavros told her.
