REALMS OF GOTHOA

    I paced back and forth in my chambers. I was feeling extremely uneasy for some reason, and I didn’t think it was because of the engagement announcement. There was something in the air, something was making my hair stand on end, it felt as if there was an electrical charge coursing through the air of wonderland. What the wizard said was right…something was coming.
    “It’s so strange.” I mumbled rubbing my arms to get the Goosebumps to go away. I could hear the crowds below cheering and celebrating at the party that I wasn’t invited to until the announcement was done. The subjects had no idea what the party was for they were just excited to be invited into the castle.
    “I told you not to tell him.” a taunting voice called. I whipped around to see hongki sitting in the window seal with one leg pulled to his chest and the other hanging out the window as he swung it back and forth.
    “I couldn’t just ignore what you told me hongki! I had to tell father.” hongki tsked shaking his head.
    “And now he’s got you locked away in the castle like that blonde girl rapunzel from three realms over.” he said laughing. I huffed angrily crossing my arms over my chest. “Do you feel it…in the air?” he asked turning his head to look out the window. I thought he was looking at the sky but it seemed he was looking through it.  I craned my neck trying to glimpse what he was seeing but all I could see was the clear blue sky shimmering in the distance.
    “What is it? It feels like electricity in the air.” hongki smirked nodding.
    “It would seem so…I guess your adventure is coming sooner than you expected.” he hopped out of the window seal and took a step disappearing like he always did, I think he just liked the effect it had on people when seeing it. He reappeared behind me as he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “It’s here.” he whispered and disappeared just as a thunderous clap filled the kingdom. Screams of shock filled the air as the ground started shaking as if the earth were splitting in two. I let out a scream of my own as I wobbled my way over to the window to see what was going on. The castle shook and I stumbled grabbing onto the seal of the window just before I fell to the floor.  
    “Hongki!” I screamed but he was nowhere around. Just like him to disappear when he was wanted. “What’s going on!” I hissed as I pulled myself up enough to see. I gasped in horror as I looked at the sky. The bright blue clear sky that had been there seconds ago was gone filled with a dark swirling purple tornado. “What the!”
    “Princess! Princess!” I heard the guards yelling. I looked back to see a few of them trying to come over to me but the shaking castle was proving to be a formidable foe as they stumbled and fell everywhere.
    “What’s going on!” I called hoping they would know the answer.
    “We don’t know! Please we have to get you to safety!” the guard called gesturing for me to come to him. I scoffed clutching to the window.
    “Don’t be ludicrous! I’m safe here, the whole world is shaking no place is better!” I snapped. I turned back to the window to see the whole had grown larger. Just then a bright flashing light spilled out of the black swirling whole and a loud whistling sound filled the air as the light sped to the earth. It landed somewhere in the wonderland forest with a loud shaking thud as a large cloud of purple smoke mushroomed up. The earth stopped shaking and the screams started to calm down.
    “I…is it over?” I asked curiously.
    “I wouldn’t be so sure.” hongki said suddenly appearing again.
    “Hongki! Where did you go!” I screamed angrily.
    “I’m the wonderland wizard…I have duties to attend to.” he said in his defense. “I’ve only returned to take you to your father.” he said grabbing my hand.
    “Wait look!” I called as I pointed out the window. The black whole seemed to swell like a balloon. Then it exploded like some kind of cannon as light after light seemed to shoot to the ground with the same loud whistle and earth shaking collision to the forest floor. “They all fell in the same place…in the wonderland forest near….” I looked at the cloud a moment later trying to pin point the location. “Whatever it is landed near the oracle caves!” I gasped.
    “good eye.” hongki mumbled as he watched. “Here comes another.” he said pointing just as another light shot from the purple swirl. This time it landed closer to the edge of the forest near the caterpillar. He was not more than a day’s journey from the castle. Whatever it was that landed…could be here by tomorrow.
    “What is it…do you know? Can you tell?” hongki was silent a moment before he shook his head.
    “ I can’t…”
    “Princess…we must get you to the king!” the guard said again.
    “Oh shush.” hongki said snapping his fingers. A zipper appeared on the men’s mouths keeping them from speaking. “Now falehyn, we’ve got something to discuss…are you prepared for an adventure?”
    “What?” I asked shocked. “How could you return to that discussion now?” I said appalled.
    “Because this is your chance.  Appeal to your father to go into the woods and find out what it is that happened today. No one knows the forest better than you, you can lead them straight to the spots where the lights landed.” Before I could give my answer hongki snapped his finger and my breath was yanked from me as we appeared in the throne room with my father and the council who were all yelling over each other about what to do. “Go.” hongki said as he nudged me forward. I stumbled tripping over my dress before righting myself just as I reached my father.
    “Falehyn you’re safe!” my father called in relief as he grabbed me up in a tight hug. “I’m so glad. Now please take a seat we’re trying to figure out what to do next.” he said gesturing me towards my throne. I looked back to hongki who nodded urging me on.
    “F-father.” I stuttered trying to get his attention. When he didn’t hear me I said it again with more force. “KING!”  I called finally grabbing his attention. “I…I have an idea of what to do.” my father looked at me blankly a moment before sitting back in his throne. This was my chance to show I was ready to lead this kingdom even without a king. “The lights…I know where they landed.”
    “What! Then tell us lass so we can send out our men.” lord dash wick called out loudly.
    “Hush let her speak!” my father snapped.
    “They landed farther in the forest than most have traveled they’ve landed near the oracle caves.” I said leaving out the one that landed near the caterpillar.
    “Are…are you sure about this child?” prince dash wick called. He was lord dash wick’s son but he was much nicer. Out of him and the logres weasle I was to be betrothed to I would much rather marry prince dash  wick…unfortunately their kingdom was much too weak and he was married with three children as it were. I shook the sudden thought from my mind with much more urgent matters at hand.
    “I am…” I said seriously. “We need to send out a group right away to search out the lights and find what they were…maybe even destroy them if they’re a threat.” I said taking cue from what hongki had suggested.
    “You’re right…that’s a great plan.” my father said. “Who do you suggest we send?” he asked looking at me.
    “You can’t be serious! Are you taking suggestion’s from a child?” lord dash wick snapped unpleasantly.
    “She will be your queen soon I’d show her some respect!” the king of logres called out. Lord dash wick quieted down quickly.
    “I…I suggest we send my men. They are trained and prepared at all times, they are our best bet to get in and out of the forest.”
    “You’re men…why not our men! They are just as trained as yours.” dash wick said wanting to have his say in the matter.
    “I doubt it, princess falehyn’s men are the best in the land. They are the protectors of the only heir to the throne after all…they must be better than everyone other.” hongki said appearing in a puff of smoke beside me and my father.  Dash wick huffed turning up his nose.
    “I still say we should send in mine, what if it’s another treasure out there you’re men will just claim it for this kingdom, you’ve enough treasures it’s time for another kingdom to receive one.” he said disdainfully. My father burst into a rumbling laughter.
    “Dash wick stop being a fool. If you want to send your men in be my guest, they’ll be lost in the ever changing woods before the nights out. We’ll have no qualms letting you have your chance. But I stand by my daughters suggestion. Her men are the most qualified for this journey. She knows every turn of that forest and she’s taught her men everything she knows about it, they are the best bet.” he nodded proud of me. I smiled feeling good about his praise.
    “And they’ll have falehyn to lead them.” hongki chimed in. I gasped as the room burst into protests. My father sat quietly a moment before speaking up.
    “Enough!” he yelled quieting the room down. “Hongki, I trust your judgment as my wizard but I do not think sending my daughter on a dangerous journey is the best idea.” he said denying me. I bit my lip looking down deflated.
    “I disagree. She’s just as trained in combat as the men…she’s trained along side them for years. Not to mention, even with teaching them everything she knows about the forest nothing beats experience and she’s the only one who’s been out there like she has. She’ll be a great asset to the party.” he said as respectfully as he could.
    “I agree she is highly qualified…but I cannot risk sending her to her death.” he said shaking his head. Hongki smirked nodding.
    “King…she needs to go on this journey…” he said giving the king a look. My father stared into hongki’s eyes for a long moment before he sighed.
    “Falehyn will lead her men into the forest to journey to the oracle caves and figure out what is going on above out kingdom.” my father declared. The room burst into debate again making me shrink back slightly. “Enough! I am king and my word is law!” he yelled thunderously. “Falehyn will lead her troops to discover what is happening, when she returns victorious in her quest we will join the kingdoms in peace!” there was applause through the room as my fathers words sunk in. everything about that sounded wonderful except the joining of our kingdom through marriage.  “Now leave! We must prepare her and her men.” he said in a final tone. Everyone gave their bows and salutes before they departed from the room leaving me to prepare for the adventure I had long awaited, now the only thought in my head was if I was ready for this big of an adventure.

    Daehyun lay in darkness, pain surrounded him, a throbbing in his head. Had he drank last night? Was this a hangover ? It wasn’t like any he’d had previously.  white rabbit. a flash of a white rabbit jumping from royal flush rushed through his brain. The memories of what happened all came flooding back.  He lunged into a sitting position whipping around to see himself surrounded by a forest. How’d he get here? Where was here exactly? Slowly he brought his aching body to a stand as he searched around for anything familiar…had he truly fallen through some kind of…portal? This wasn’t real…it had to be a dream!   He reached up to pull the hat from his head but it was missing.
    “Great…I’ve lost my hat.” he said mildly deflated.  Daehyun looked up squinting his eyes as he stared at the sky above him. He watched in awe and confusion at what he saw. It was a large swirling mass of purple and blacks…it was a storm cloud like he’d never seen before. He’d come here through that? But how? “This is ridiculous.”
    “this is ridiculous.”  daehyun jumped startled as his own voice came back to him. He looked around to see if there was anyone there but he spotted nothing.
    “hello? Is anyone there?”
    “Hello…is anyone there?”  suddenly a chorus of daehyun’s voice broke out as it echoed all around him repeating the same sentence over and over. “Hello is anyone there.” startled by the sudden noise he whipped around trying to see where it came from.
    “Who’s there!” he yelled angrily becoming a little startled by the situation. The repeating voices switched over and began yelling back at him. “Who’s there.”  Thinking of nothing other than getting away from the frightening echo daehyun chose a random direction and ran. Ran so fast he was away from the echo’s in moments and in another part of the woods that looked exactly the same but completely different at the same time. He as utterly lost in these woods. Daehyun was a decent tracker himself, but he didn’t know what he was tracking let alone, anything about where he was…who knew…tracking could be completely useless here. Sighing he sat down on a log placing his head in his hands as he tried to think of anything that he could do in this situation.
    “Who…are you?” a sudden voice came. Daehyun jumped startled thinking it was the echoing voices again but when he looked up he saw a boy sitting atop what looked like a large table. In the middle of the woods? How strange. He was blonde and dark eyed, he looked about daehyun’s age but there seemed to be something a little strange about him…something that made him different but daehyun couldn’t quite place it.  “Who. Are. You?” he asked again slowly like daehyun couldn’t understand.
    “I’m…daehyun.” he said finding himself speaking without even realizing it. He stood up slowly and approached the boy. As he neared he saw the boy wasn’t sitting on a table but a large mushroom…it was impossibly huge!  
    “you’re strange…and you seem to have lost something in my home.” He said playfully. Daehyun stared at the boy confused. He grinned widely holding up a black hat. Daehyun’s hat. With a bit of excitement at having something go right daehyun held out his hand expecting the hat. “Everything is for a trade in this forest…what will I get in return?”
    “In return for giving me my hat back?” daehyun asked shocked. Youngjae nodded. “Uh…I have some money.” he said pulling out a couple hundred won from his pocket and handing it to youngjae. He stared at the papers in his hand confused.
    “You came from the sky?” he asked suddenly looking at daehyun intrigued. Youngjae slid fast from the mushroom to stand in front of daehyun shocking him into taking a step back. “Interesting.” he mumbled looking daehyun over. “Could you be the one?”
    “Uh guy…what are you talking about?” Daehyun said uncomfortably.
    “What are you here for daehyun? What brings you to Gothao.”
    “I…I was following someone…I fell from a building and I wound up here…have you seen anyone else like me?” He asked suddenly hopeful. He needed to find g dragon.
    “I didn’t…not personally. They landed back in the forest.” youngjae said waving his hand uninterested as he hopped back onto his mushroom.   
    “How far? What direction?”
    “I don’t see how that information will give you much help daehyun…you couldn’t navigate these woods…not with over world skills.” daehyun looked at youngjae waiting for an explanation. All he was getting with this conversation where more questions and he was beginning to become frustrated.  “Over world…the land in which you fell.” he said pointing to the sky.
    “Can’t you give me something to help me navigate these woods then? I need to find them!” daehyun yelled angrily. Youngjae laughed loudly before sobering up in a quick snap.
    “Again…nothing come without a trade daehyun…what would I get for helping you?”
    “What do you want?”
    “I want you to except something from me…a mission if you will.” youngjae said on the spot.  He watched daehyun evenly as he waited for the boys answer.
    “What mission.”
    “Mmm, that I cannot tell you now…in good time.” he said smiling. “But I’ll take you asking as consent…this is what I can give you.” he said holding his hat back out to daehyun.
    “How is my hat going to help me!” daehyun yelled bitterly snatching the hat. As soon as daehyun’s hand clutched the brim of the hat a white hot pain shot through him shooting him back from youngjae across the woods into a tree behind him. He slammed into it with a thud and slid to the ground.  His vision went blurry and he barely made out youngjae walking over to him.
    “You’ll thank me daehyun…the mission will show itself to you on it’s own…you must accept every trial that comes your way…that is what the trade is for this gift.” youngjae whispered into daehyun ear as his vision and he became unconscious.