The Unseen Curse

Chapter 1

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived a little boy named Toby. The land he lived in was nothing like ours, because this world was filled with Kings and Queens of many strange and unique nations. Each of them possessing their own gifts and weaknesses and a little bit of magic.

In fact, magic was what made this world so incredible, as those who fought to obtain magic, realized soon enough that magic wasn't something you could control.

Toby learned this when he was about ten. It was a bright warm day with no shadows but those blotchy ones made by the trees. The curly haired brunette boy with a love for rocks, science and anything involving an adventure, begged his father to take him for a walk into the forest so that he can look for new rocks to expand his collection.

"Please dad, all my friends at school have oogly rocks and I haven't found one yet. I'm sure I saw the glowing blue light of one of them when I looked out my window last night, it was just over there," he said, pointing in the direction of the lively forest just beyond their backyard.

"All right, I'll take you. But only on one condition; don't touch anything unless I say it's ok. Remember Toby, there are many dangerous things out there," he finally said.

They didn't wander very far into the forest, but Tony found an oogly rock. Along with some new ones that he could show off to his friends at school in the morning. But the forest had much more to offer than rocks. There were strange wingless birds and neon lizards, squishy blue moss covered plants and fluorescent trees.

There was one plant that looked particularly delicious to Toby. It was a bright pink, slightly glowing and juicy looking fruit that hung low enough for him to reach. It looked like a gooey, chewy, marshmallow, soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, everything that Toby loved. His mouth was watering for a taste of that juicy fruit, so much so, that the fruit stayed in his mind all through the night.

He ate dinner, picturing how it would feel to eat that fruit, brushed his teeth thinking about the fruit and clambered into his puffy bed, wishing he could dream of tasting that fruit. Which he did, he dreamt a long dream of how he got up from his bed and snuck out the window into the forest. He dreamed of the glittering lights of the trees and the soft and slippery ground beneath his bare feet as he walked in a straight line to the wonderfully delicious fruit.

He plucked the giant pink fruit from its hollowed out branch and took a big bite. Upon impact the fruit tasted like an explosion of colors, bite after bite the vibrant flavors tickled his tongue until there was nothing left. It was only then, when the colors bubbled around in his stomach, that he realized he wasn't dreaming. The color drained from his face and body until he was completely colorless and after some time, he became transparent. That was the night he became invisible, the night he became cursed.

Nine Years Later

Toby rode his creamy horse across the grassy horizon in the morning sky, on the hunt for fresh blood. And this one was one of the best paid jobs he's had in years.

The woman that sent him on this assignment was the ruler of a land far to the North called Kronin. This queen was known as Kara, the hellish queen of Kronin. She was called the Hellish Queen because she was well known for burning her enemies at the stake and she was ruthless. Her hunters were feared across the land and none dared to challenge her armies on the battlefield.

She was just as beautiful as she was powerful. Her hair was shiny and black, her cheeks rosy and her lips tinted with the color of a red rose. Toby himself thought that she was fairer than any of the girls he's met before. Then again, he didn't have an encounter with a woman very often, so he was sure that his opinion had no merit.

He thought back to his first encounter with the Queen. She had summoned him to her Castle for a job, but she didn't specify the details until he met her in person, in a private room near the dungeons.

What struck him was that even though she was protected by a handful of sturdy men and women, she was fearful of Toby. She couldn't even face him when she sent him on his way. She even said outright that, "If this matter hadn't been so private, I would've had more guards present for our meeting."

He was ordered to track down and kill a girl in the village of Loalind, she couldn't describe her in much detail, but Toby did know that the girl was called Norabelle.

His jaw clenched in memory of the disgusted look on the queen's face when she first saw him. His smooth hands gripped the reighns tighter and his heels steadied on the belly of the magnificent beast below him. At least his horse didn't care that he was a freak, his horse was loyal to him even when his whole hometown wanted to burn him alive.

When he was younger it broke his heart every time he felt their rejection. But, by now he was used to it.

He knew he was destined to be alone forever, and that's why he didn't care for those who feared him. He had decided years ago that he would not let anyone get close enough to see his heart, and he built his walls so high that nobody could break it down.

But even so, he still felt hurt when people reacted to him in such a way. Afterall, he was just like them on the inside.

***

After a few days of riding he finally reached the little town that the Queen said Norabelle called home. It was such a scrawny little place that he could hardly believe that anyone who lived there had any enemies.

He slipped off his horse somewhere out of sight and changed into his special armour. This armour was meant to blend in with his skintone- making him completely invisible, yet protecting him from harm.

He tethered his horse and covered the rest of the distance to the town on foot.

The location was beautifully wedged between two large mountains. The farmlands at the root of the mountain showed signs of organic matter sprouting beneath the earth. It was a breathtaking yet simple little town.

Not too far beyond the town a little stream flowed, within it a barely active waterwheel turned slowly, churning up the water below.

The small houses that stood neatly next to it were covered in vines and its paint was chipped from years of neglect. Yet rows of neatly stacked wash lines hung between the houses with fresh linens dangling from them.

In the distance, sunbeetles screeched between the tall grass. Beads of sweat trickled down the Toby's head as the heat of his armour smothered his muscles.
He made his way, quietly to the center of the town, looking out for any signs of the girl he came to kill.

The cobblestone floors in the little village were lifted by roots of big trees that provided shade to the people working below. There were a few women in the fields, watering and nurturing the crops. Men and women attended to repairing the broken thatching on the roofs while others sweeped, scrubbed and cleaned floors, benches and windows. Everything was neat and in place.

After hours of searching through the little shops and working folk, the man made his way up to the top of the village, hoping the lookout would help him spot who he was looking for.

At the very top of the village there was a beautiful, nest-like lookout point, surrounded by white kosmos flowers that grew wildly in all directions. He stepped into the nest, hot from the climb and in such a daze that he almost missed the girl, fast asleep on the floor of the nest with a novel gently lying on her chest.

He almost laughed at the sight of this girl, so innocently lying there. Her blonde hair swirled around her head in neat patterns. She matched the discription he was looking for perfectly, but his mind doubted that this peaceful, sleeping girl, could have made an enemy of the queen of Daharis.

He was almost disappointed that he would never be able to find out. He sighed and started working on his plan of getting this girl out of the village. He couldn't kill her there in plain sight. He had to take her somewhere else.