.:Crown of the Summoner | Royal Legend:. {Prologue}

The side door opened, revealing a young woman dressed in a simple crimson gown. A small girl in a gown of a similar color emerged after. The young woman's auburn hair was tied in a perfect bun at the back of her head. Her daughter wore her dark hair down, tight ringlets leaping in the air as she hopped with excitement.

A smile played across the young woman's face.

"Remember your manners," she said.

The little girl nodded vehemently. "Yes, Mother."

With two of their knights trailing behind, they approached the opening large doors of the castle. The girl constantly cast her eyes to her mother, following her demeanor and carefully imitating her movements. But when the ruler of the castle came out to welcome them warmly, she sheepishly hid behind her mother's skirt.

After a few words of greetings and introductions, she watched as her mother was led away. A maid arrived to take her to the garden, where she was to wait until her mother had finished her "healings." She was bewildered for a long time, wondering who it was that her mother could be healing.

A jester was provided for her entertainment, but after half an hour of tearful laughter, he was excused. The two knights that had followed them to the castle were assigned as her guards.

Deliberately, she endeavored to lose them in the enormous castle garden and managed successfully. She wanted to explore the new world on her own. She couldn't have two grown men watching her every move.

She passed flower upon flower. Bright petals and buds varied in a tremendous amount of color that left her blinking. When her eyes had adjusted to the luminous light, she strode deeper into the garden, eventually coming to a strip of land covered with tall dark trees.

A suspicious wind blew at her face, but she paid it no attention and continued moving into the woods. Something was telling her to turn. Something was telling her to turn on her little feet and run.

She halted immediately, refraining a shriek. Several feet ahead on the path on which she trod was a limp rabbit. Caution warned her from continuing, but a child's curiosity urged her on.

She slowly approached the animal, expecting it to suddenly bounce away. She came to hover above it, and she realized that it was a lifeless carcass. She sprang back, letting out a brief cry. Its neck had been twisted severely. Black empty eyes stared back at her. Its mouth was open.

"What are you doing?"

The voice came from the side of her. She turned her head, dread having made the rest of her body immobile. A boy revealed himself from the shadows, his languid movements almost making him appear predatory. She met his eyes fearfully. They glimmered red.

"We have to bury it," the little girl said, taking several steps back as he took several forward.

"It deserved to die," he snarled. "It was too slow."

She gasped. "That's not true. They're always fast! They-"

"No!" he yelled, startling her into silence. "They're not fast for me! See?" He roughly kicked the dead animal and it flew several feet away. "It was too slow!"

"But it was already dead . . ."

"Yes, because I killed it!"

Her eyes suddenly started to sting. She sniffed involuntarily. The boy's eyes flickered threateningly. And then slowly, she heaved a sob and a flood of tears slid down her face.

The boy was caught off guard. He simply stared at her, annoyed with her childish weeping. Her quiet sobs gradually became an odd concern. Why was she crying so much? He watched as she began to shudder uncontrollably. He unconsciously took a step toward her, and immediately, a feeling of calmness settled over him.

"I-I'm sorry," he said, uncomfortable. She continued to weep. "Please don't cry."

When she did not stop, an idea struck him. He fell to his knees, and with bare hands, he dug a small hole in the ground. He noticed her tears making dark dots upon the dirt. He worked harder and faster until he'd managed to create an adequate hole.

He retrieved the body of the reeking rabbit, and carefully, he placed it within the hole. He covered it with the dirt he had clawed out and searched the path for anything he could add.

He spotted a thick twig to which a small green leaf was attached. He pushed it into the dirt, letting it stand erect like a flag of remembrance. The small leaf waved mournfully in the gentle breeze.

"There, see?" he whispered softly to the girl. "I buried it. Will you cry no more?"

The girl revealed her swollen cheeks from behind her hands. She still sniffed occasionally, but she had stopped crying. The boy exhaled with relief, not quite understanding the warmth that had captured him.

Then, like the bright, warm sun shining through a long-endured storm, she smiled. He was taken aback.

"Thank you," she managed to say.

And he never regretted the action he had taken.

"Stop!"

The voice boomed across fields and through the trees, into the boy's ears. He stiffened. It belonged to the king of the castle. He and a number of his guards, along with the girl's mother, were running towards them in terrified haste.

The girl uttered a sound. She had noticed the golden flecks sparkling in his eyes. But now, they disappeared into the clouds of red.

Someone seized her and quickly thrust her into her mother's arms. Her mother grasped her tightly, asking her if she had been harmed and why she was crying.

A group of men with exposed swords surrounded the boy. The girl struggled to escape from her mother, crying, "No! Don't hurt him!"

A broad man dressed in rich garments of black and gold came forward, holding his arms out.

"Come, my son," he said affectionately, "and we shall remove that demon within you."

The boy's red eyes gleamed. "Never!" he growled.

The guards came closer, the circle around him shrinking. He lifted a fist to launch at the nearest man, but the little girl shouted. He froze, his eyes flying to her.

She met his eyes with panic and concern. She appeared to be on the verge of tears again. His red irises cleared, and for a moment, she saw gold.

Reluctantly, he submitted to the men around him, his eyes never leaving the girl. She and her mother followed as he was led away.

About an hour after he had been captured, the girl's mother and the young king entered the library in which the little girl sat solemnly waiting. She did not look up as her mother sat down beside her.

"He buried it, mother," she whispered. "He said he was sorry. Why must you take him away? He said he was sorry."

Her mother stroked her hair. "My little one, you would not understand."

"But he said he was sorry!"

Her mother looked appalled at her exclamation. "What ever do you mean?"

"The rabbit," the girl choked. "H-he killed it. A-and he s-said he was s-sorry."

Her mother's embrace was warm and firm. "Love, he is very sick. I am sure he is sorry, but he can not control his actions. He might have harmed you."

"He wouldn't!"

"I was worried," her mother said, looking deep into her child's eyes. "You never know what he might do. Why did you run off from the two knights?"

"They were following me."

"Oh, child, that was foolish of you. They are to see to your safety."

"But-"

"You know better than this," the elder scolded. "I was worried when they came to me without you at their side."

Her daughter turned her face down. "Forgive me, Mother."

The young woman kissed her child's wet cheeks. "I forgive you. I am grateful that he did not hurt you."

"But he-"

Her mother's frown silenced her.

The man in the thick rich robes, the king, entered the library, frustration creased on his brow.

"He refuses to let anyone into his room," he said, his shaking hand running through his hair. "All he asks is if your daughter is well." They both glanced down at the small blank girl. He continued, "His condition has worsened over the past few weeks. I can not lose him. His brother is still too young, and he cannot grow up without a brother in whom he can confide."

"I shall try again, your Majesty," the young woman said. "Perhaps this time I will be able to remove the curse within him."

"Thank you."

As she started out the library, her daughter rushed to sieze her skirt. "What is wrong with him, Mother?"

The young woman turned to the girl, a sad smile on her lips. "He is ill, love. I must go and heal him."

She turned to leave, but the girl stopped her again. "May I come, Mother?"

"No, you may-" Her mother stopped and never went on with what she had intended to say. Instead, she studied her daughter for a long moment. "Yes," she said finally, "you may come."

Without realizing that her excitement was truly unnecessary, she continued to ask her mother questions regarding the sick young boy. She had noticed the dark gloom on many of the faces in the grand castle, and soon seemed to have absorbed the fearful atmosphere.

When they arrived to the door of the boy's bedroom, the young woman turned her daughter to her, eyes filled with hope.

"Will you do me a favor, child?" she asked.

The girl nodded tentatively.

"You hold some power over him, do you realize that?"

A shake of the head.

"There is a monster inside him, and it is killing him. Will you be my brave girl and help him frighten this monster away?"

The girl nodded. "But . . . I don't know how . . ."

Her mother smiled. "Your heart will know how." She wrapped her arms around her, unable to believe that she was sending her daughter into the very hands of a demon. She had lost her magical influence over him, and her daughter was everyone's last hope. She was terribly horrified, but she saw in her young child confidence and warmth, essential assets that were required to rid that suffering boy of the evil spirit inside.

"Take great care, my little one," she whispered to her daughter. The little girl refused to cry. Not when her mother needed her. She did not quite understand the current situation. She did not understand why or how a monster occupied the boy's body. But she understood her mother's dire expression. She understood the task her mother had set her to, whether or not she knew how to do it.

She trembled slightly as she strode to the wooden door. The four men who stood guard parted, casting curious and anxious glances at her mother. The young woman nodded.

The girl knocked on the door, once weakly, the second more urgently.

"I told you to go away." His voice was soft, but there was a low and ominous sound to it. "Leave me alone."

She looked over her shoulder to her mother. She received a firm nod. Finally, she knocked a third time, her voice coming out, weakly, but audible.

"May I come in?"

There was a long pause, and she wasn't sure if he had heard her.

But then, the door opened, and unbeknownst to her, her feet had begun walking into his room.

The door closed behind her. Surprisingly, she didn't shudder at the sight of the room. The walls were covered with scratches and remnants of food. His bed linens had been pulled from the bed and now lay in a disorderly pool of fabric. The covers had been torn apart violently. The down feathers from the ripped pillows lay scattered around the chaotic floor. There was broken glass, broken chairs, broken blocks of stone from the wall; practically everything was broken.

The girl gazed hurriedly about, then focused on the boy who stood in the center of it all. Strangely, her lips curved into a smile.

He had been glaring at her, but after seeing that smile, he spun away.

"What do you want?"

"My mother told me to help you scare a monster away," she explained. "There are many monsters where I come from."

"I don't care about where you come from."

"But there are many ways to scare them away."

"I don't care! Just leave me alone!"

He grabbed a leg of a broken wooden chair and tossed it across the room, just missing her head.

She didn't move, but stood there, lower lip quivering when she forced it not to. He must have seen her hesitant expression for his temper instantly diminished.

"I'm sorry," he said, turning away.

"Are you fighting it?" she asked quietly.

He turned to her. "Fighting what?"

"The monster inside you."

Awareness flashed in his red eyes and she winced involuntarily.

"There's no point," he muttered. "I am a monster. And I can do whatever the hell I please!" His voice became a growl; it surely convinced her that he was far from the behavior of a normal boy.

She couldn't leave for safety. Her mother would be disappointed. Everyone would be disappointed.

"You have to fight. And you don't have to fight alone." She stepped forward. "I can help."

He glared at her. "No, you can't! I was born like this! This curse is mine to carry alone!"

She shook her head, doubtful. She went towards him. "I can help."

"No! No, don't come any closer. You don't know . . . what I could do to you . . ."

"You have to fight it!"

"I can't!"

"Are you scared?"

Her question was not intended to mock him. It was simply a question.

He gaped at her. "What? No! I'm not scared!"

But any little girl could see that he was.

"Don't come any closer!"

She did, her childish fear already forgotten. He clutched his head in his hands. "No. Stop! Please . . ."

She stopped, watching him. It was then that her dominant demeanor, the child side of her returned. She cringed as he threw his head back and forth in his hands, yelling, "I'm not scared! I'm not scared!"

"Do you know what my mother does when I'm scared?" she asked in a small voice.

He calmed for several seconds, remembering she was still there. "What?"

"She hugs me, and tells me everything will be all right. And she says I can fight them. The monsters."

Her words swam in his head for a while before he discarded them entirely. "My mother won't hold me. I'm unwell."

Without warning, a smile spread across her face. "Then I will!" she exclaimed gleefully.

And abruptly, she tossed her arms around him.

He jerked in her childish embrace. But she didn't let go. The feeling of evil was surfacing. He screamed for her to get away, to leave him and return to safety. No! It was coming out, and he could not stop it this time.

But he heard her voice in his ringing ears. Her voice that he could never forget. The voice of the girl whose smile he would never forget.

"Everything will be all right."

And just like that, the evil spirit was expelled from his body.

There was an awful explosion from inside the room. The girl's mother an the four guards threw open the door, but was immediately met with an enormous force of evil energy that sent them flying backwards.

The young woman stared into the room from where she lay. Where was her daughter? Was she hurt?

No she wasn't. For there she was. Standing in the center of the room, the boy held securely in her arms. The last of the evil spirit was removed through his open mouth. It was banished, and the chaos in the room could never have been more chaotic.

The young woman breathed in relief and rose to run to her daughter, to hold her and tell her how much she could never have been more proud of her.

But both her daughter and the boy she'd rescued fell to the floor, deeply unconscious.

Several hours had passed since the exorcism. The boy had been placed in another room under attentive care while the girl was put in an adjacent room.

His father met her mother in the hall outside their rooms. Many words of graditude were spoken, but they were not enough to express the true emotion deep inside the king, his wife, and everyone within the castle.

After tears and tears were shed, the young woman told them that that day could not be remembered. Both her daughter and the boy could not suffer from the horrific memory. And no one besides herself and the king should know to tell the terrible tale.