The Lost Shard of Damilla

“Alec, hurry!” I rubbed my sweaty palms onto my trousers, my heart climbing into my throat.

“I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying! This is not as easy as it looks!” Alec exclaimed as his fingers nimbly fished a pick into the lock on the chest. I scanned the cave around us, my very breath seeming to echo off the damp walls. All was silent—until the clucking of horse hooves pounded from the way we had come. The Ogarians—they’ve found us.

“Alec, c’mon!” I whispered. If it wasn’t for the elf blood coursing through my body, the whisper would have come out as a quaking mumble. I held my voice steady and equipped a dagger from my belt, years of patience and other thievery tactics drilled into my very soul. We led them directly to the grand prize … but the only prize they’ll be getting is their leader’s head on a platter if they try to take it from us.

A slight click came from where Alec was crouched down. “Sweet cider, I did it!” He jumped up and punched the air, pride seeping into his bold green eyes. I pushed him aside and fell to my knees in front of the chest, shoving up on the wooden lid until it flew open, casting a bright green glow onto the stone walls. While most creatures would be blinded by this light, Alec and I were not; after all, elves are prone to gemstonian light.

Alec’s hand snapped out quicker than an archer’s arrow, grabbing the lime green shard and wrapping it in our burlap sack. I took the sheet of canvas from the bottom of the chest, reading from the dim glow of the lost shard.

CONGRATULATIONS!

YOU HAVE FOUND THE LOST SHARD OF DAMILLA.

RETURN IT TO THE ONE IN THE TOWER OF ALMALA

AND CLAIM THE BOUNTY THAT HAS BEEN PUT UPON IT.

“Hello? Lyric, you there?” Alec waved his hand in front of my face, and I pushed it away before a smile made its way onto my face.

“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”

***

Three days: that’s about how long we had been hiking into the barren desert surrounding the city of Damilla and its infamous tower of Almala. I resituated the quiver and bow clinging to my drenched back and grabbed our last canteen out of the rucksack on my belt, only to find it less than a quarter full. I sighed and put it back before looking to the horizon above the foothills, where the setting sun painted the sky in dusty shades of orange and purple.

A constant twinge of anxiety piled in my stomach, though I never would have uttered such a claim out loud. We had gotten away from the Ogarians easily enough at the caverns, but on open terrain, the ogre’s gargantuan horses would serve their purpose. If they find us, the shard is theirs; we may be able to outsmart them, but their numbers are more than ours. Greedy brutes … this bounty could put us off the streets, yet they would gamble it away in a fortnight.

I looked over to Alec, who must have noticed. “You’re doing it again, princess,” he said with an amused smirk.

“Doing what? And we both know I am no princess,” I said.

“You are doing exactly what all the fair maidens of the land should be doing, looking at my beautiful face!”

I stopped in my tracks and shot him a quizzical glance, chuckling lightly. “Alec, you dolt, keep your mind on the mission.”

“Your wish is my command, princess.” The ornery smirk never left his face, but we continued our hike. I was grateful for Alec’s attempts at distracting my mind—he knew me and my stress all too well.

***

The next five days went by the same. We had begun to travel by night, taking what little rest we needed throughout the day. Just like our water supply, faith and hope dwindled. If it weren’t for the oasis we had stumbled upon two days ago, all three would be long gone.

“H-How far off d’you think we are, Alec?” I asked the portable map of an elf.

His cracked lips were pursed as he looked up to the horizon. I couldn’t blame him—it was beautiful, the oranges and purples of the desert sky more vibrant than ever. I looked back to Alec, whose eyes remained fixed on the horizon. “Look.”

At first, I hadn’t known what he’d been talking about. My elven eyes scanned the horizon, searching for anything that seemed even the least bit unique … until I spotted it. A tall tower, barely visible in the dusty haze, was at most ten miles away. I smiled as I looked at Alec.

For the first time that night, he met my gaze. A grin, larger than life itself, spread across his face. Alec—the Alec filled with hope—had made his return. His arms snaked around my waist as he lifted me into the air, a small yelp emitting from me as he spun me around, the wind ruffling my deep green hair.

“We did it, princess!”

I let out a genuine laugh, something I hadn’t done in a while. Alec sat me down, but the smile didn’t escape his face.

“Yeah, I guess we—.”

The ground thundered with the sound of hooves smacking the ground like a wild stampede. The moment stolen away, I looked away from Alec, instead squinting into the spread of land behind us. Half a dozen creatures on steeds were racing across the barren land, a mile away at most. As they closed the distance between us, they were easily recognizable—the Ogarians.

Alec’s hand gripped my shoulder, and a smirk appeared on his sun-kissed skin.

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it better be good,” I warned.

Without looking over at me, the smirk fell away to concentration. “Oh, trust me, you have no idea.”

He solemnly took off his rucksack and laid it on the ground, fishing out a small object covered in a thick rag.

“You know, I never thought I’d ever hold it willingly again, but here I am ...” He swiftly unwrapped it, but his nimble hands quaked as he gripped the simple wand in his hand, “holding the wand that killed my family and my future. This is the only way.”

I nearly fell to the ground as I pulled the pieces together. That’s the Lost Wand of Solalambe! And one person is rumored to possess it … one person whose family was killed at the hands of the wand … one person, who was just a child, gone missing. The Prince of Damilla, second in line to the throne—Azariah Dalyor.

“A-Alec … what is this?”

“In this new life, we will hold no more secrets. So it is time to be freed from the past … and this is how I will do it, on my part,” he said.

“But this doesn’t make sense! How has no one recognized you? How have I not realized that you are …”

“I am not Azariah Dalyor anymore. That boy died with his family in the palace … after I fled, I tossed aside all of that. Now, I am Alec. Just Alec.” A small smile appeared on his face. “I kept my identity hidden because otherwise I would be dragged back to the royal courts to rule. I’ve learned bit by bit the secrets the wand possesses, including the façade that keeps me unrecognizable without changing my appearance. This is all I’ve ever wanted, a life of adventure. Freedom, and a best friend to share it with,” he said as his smile grew.

My mind raced with questions and fears, but before I had a chance to voice them, the Ogarians approached. Alec stood, swinging his rucksack onto his back, and gripped the dark-wooded wand until his knuckles turned pale green.

“Do you know what you’re doing with that thing?” I asked.

Alec chuckled softly. “We will soon see … but I must wait for the right time, we’ll have to fight them off naturally at first.”

I nodded. This, I could handle. We had fought at each other’s sides for years, long lost prince or not. I drew my bow, as did Alec.

All thoughts of my recent findings were forgotten as the steeds came to a stop a dozen yards away. The largest Ogarian cleared his throat.

“I am Zambe, head of the Zulu Ogarian tribe. It is time you hand over the stone.” An ogre in full dragon scale armor approached us on his black steed. Not one sliver of his horrid face was scar-free, and his long, black, stringy hair looked as if it hadn’t been rinsed in over a year.

“We have nothing special, ogre. Go back to your dark cave where you belong,” I spat. A dagger whizzed past my left ear before I saw one of his comrades throw it. Alec’s fists clenched, and his ears turned deep green.

“Don’t play dumb, rat! I KNOW YOU HAVE THE SHARD!” Zambe shook himself off and stared into my soul with piercing black eyes. “Do not make this hard, girl.”

“Hey, Scar Face, don’t talk to her like that,” Alec interrupted. All eyes were turned on him.

“What did you … just … say?” Zambe snarled at Alec.

“I said, don’t talk to my friend like that.” Alec’s fists clenched even tighter, and he didn’t look too different from a raging lagoon dragon.

“Well, rat, since you seem to be less irritable, why don’t you hand it over,” Zambe said. I looked over to Alec, whose desperate expression portrayed what was going on inside my head.

“Sorry, but I think I’m gonna keep this one,” I said as I pulled an arrow out of my quiver.

“That shard is rightfully ours. Well, I guess some creatures don’t appreciate my kindness. KILL THEM!” All five of his comrades charged at once, their steeds alone towering over us. Zambe stood back, his face unreadable.

I nocked a poison-soaked arrow before one of them could touch me, and I shot an oncoming ogre through a niche in his armor. The ogre fell off his horse, twitching sporadically on the rough terrain.

They’re closing in too quickly. I pulled out the only other weapon I had left from my back pocket—three Stars of Astrio. I threw the bladed star towards a short ogre, but I missed. The star clinked against his sea-green armor, and it flew back into my hand. He looked surprised, but quickly recovered, and he swung his mace directly at my head.

Dodge after dodge, star after star, thump after thump, Bodies fell to the ground, first one, then another. Three ogres remained, but my arms quaked from exhaustion. Alec was confronted by two, I was by one, still on horseback. Alec looked in trouble, but I had to save myself first. I threw a star at a chink in his armor, right below the neck. It clinked off, but this time it fell to the ground. The power was running out. I looked up at him, and we made eye contact. Anger and lust filled the ogre’s eyes.

The ogre got off his horse, mace in hand. In all of his anger, he swung at me with all his might. The ball at the end embedded itself into the solid ground, but he pulled it out with no harm. I knew I was done for, and that all I could do was hope that Alec made it out alive. The giant ogre raised his mace once again, but as Alec dived in front of me, uttering a strange chant, my world went white.

****

A cool, damp rag laid across my forehead, and my back pressed against a soft, cushioned surface. I opened my eyes ever so slightly, scanning my surroundings. I was in a room made of cobbled stone. A lone desk and stool sat in one corner, and upon the desk stood a strange, wooden statue of an owl. A spiral staircase led up and down in the center of the room.

I sat up slowly, despite the dizziness that overwhelmed me.

“I see you have awakened.” I jumped at the sudden sound, and I turned my head quickly to see the intruder. He was the shortest man I’d ever seen. He was at the most four and a half feet tall. He wore tiny round glasses and a dusty brown overall on top of a white shirt. On his face showed a toothy smile.

“Who-Who are you?” I asked.

“My dear, my dear, you don’t know? I am the one you have been looking for,” he said simply. Whom have I been looking- the shard! How had I forgotten? Where is Alec? Is he alright?

“Where is Alec? I need to see him!”

“Your little elf friend? Oh, he needs rest. You see, when that ogre was attacking you the dear boy jumped out in front of the blow. He has a nasty wound on his ribs, I wouldn’t recommend bothering him.” No matter how much I wanted to see Alec, I knew the old man was right. “Now, be a good elf and get some rest.” My eyes were forced shut, and the last thing I saw was the dwarf disappearing up the small spiral staircase.

***

My eyes fluttered open as a hand grabbed mine. The light was shocking, and I blinked out the rays as a hand brushed the hair out of my eyes.

“A-Alec?” I questioned.

The nutcase didn’t respond. His face irrupted in a cheek-splitting grin, and he pounced on me. I hugged him back. “Hey, princess.”

“Alec… I thought you were half dead! Why are you up?” I asked.

“You’ve been asleep for a week. The old dwarf said you needed rest...” He said, “Lyric, we did it… he gave us more gold than imaginable…. Our days on the streets are over.”

“What happened to the shard? And your wand?”

“The dwarf got what he was looking for…. All that matters is that we did it,”

I couldn’t help myself. I pulled him into another hug, tears brimming my eyes. We pressed our foreheads together. “Yeah… I guess we did.”

***

“Yeah, I guess we did,” the mother read the last sentence of the book. The children smiled at her, their small elf ears perking up. The small children lied in bed, fighting off the force of sleep. The mother watched as her two daughters, snoring slightly, lost the battle. She got up, and the elven mother kissed both of their noses.

“Nice story,” her husband said from the doorway. She looked up at him. The love between them hadn’t died over the years—if anything, it had gotten stronger.

“Why, thank you, nutcase.” The wife went up to her husband and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Sounds familiar doesn’t it?”

“Just a little bit.” The husband turned off the light in their daughters’ room, and they both made their way to their abode. “You know, princess, I’ll never forget that little adventure.”

“How could you?” They climbed into bed, looking forward to a peaceful night’s rest.

The husband turned to his wife. “I love you, princess.”

“GO TO SLEEP!”

“Sweet cider! Okay, okay.”

“And I love you too,” the wife murmured.

With that, the small family rested for a new day. A new light. A new adventure.