The fire came out of nowhere.
It started on the outskirts of the kingdom. Wels could hear the shouts of guards from their posts. The fire spread quickly, and not even the queen with her ice powers could stop it.
But there was someone who could possibly buy them time.
"Please," Stress begged Wels. She was the young princess, the heir to the throne. She had her mother's gift, and she could control the ice easily. "They need my help."
Wels agreed with her, but he had orders from the captain of the royal guard not to let her leave the castle. "Stress, you have to stay in here."
Stress gave him pleading eyes. "Please?"
Wels smiled a bit, but he shook his head.
The two had a strong friendship. Wels was only a bit older than the princess, and he had joined the royal guard just a few weeks ago. It had been his dream since he was a kid. Wels's post was always near Stress.
He remembered the day he realized he wanted to be a knight. He'd always wanted to protect people and do a service to the kingdom. His mother had told him he could achieve whatever he put his mind to. At the time, it had seemed cheesy, but that saying had stuck with him as he trained.
When Wels started his training, he was the youngest one in the group. He had shown potential, though, and after years of practice, he had finally achieved his dream of protecting the royal family.
Everything seemed perfect for a few weeks. He had befriended the princess, he was protecting the kingdom. But now, the kingdom was being destroyed. And the person who could possibly save the kingdom was locked inside.
There was no one around. Wels was the only one who could let her go.
He could easily do it. But negative thoughts poked at the back of his mind. She could get hurt. It'll be my fault. But I'm the only one who can let her go. If I let her go, the kingdom could be saved. But I pledged to keep the royal family safe.
So, do I let Stress go and save the kingdom but possibly hurt her, or do I keep her here, safe, but let the kingdom burn?
He knew what the right choice was. Apparently, Stress knew it, too.
The princess pushed past Wels before he could stop her and ran down the stairs. He could have held her back, but he let her go.
"Save the kingdom, Stress," he muttered. "Everyone's depending on you.
Wels could hear the blasts of ice double. Stress was building an ice wall to stop the fire. It wasn't enough--whatever they did, the fire could consume the kingdom. Wels had to save as many people as possible.
All of the guards were leading the citizens to the portal room. Wels had always disliked that portal--mostly because he didn't understand it. Stress studied magic, but even she didn't have a clue. Right now, it was the kingdom's only hope. Oh, how the tables turned.
Wels helped a little girl who had suffered a burn wound go through the portal. She had lost her stuffed animal. Her parents arrived, and they all went through the portal. Hopefully, they had gone to the same place. The last thing Wels heard was the little girl crying for her lost toy.
Wels looked back and saw a stuffed bear slowly turn to ashes in the fire.
He heard Stress cry out in pain as she tried to battle the fire. They would have to retreat soon.
There were no more people around. The guards were going into the portal as well. Wels followed them, silently wishing they knew more about it and not just unknowingly jumping into it.
The castle and upcoming fire were the last things Wels saw before he went through the portal.
»»————- ★ ————-««
Voices. Three of them. One female, two male.
Wels had emerged from the portal into a shaded group of trees. Instead of going out into the open, though, he stayed in the shade, watching the scene.
Stress. Stress was here. There were two others with her. One had blonde hair and a red sweater. The other had a helmet and suit.
Stress seemed slightly on edge. She was watching the man with the red sweater do some sort of magic. Apparently he hadn't known about it.
Wels tuned out a bit as he assessed the surroundings. No ice. It was unfamiliar territory. Curse that portal—Wels had no idea where he was.
Speaking of the portal...
Wels looked back and bit back a swear. "You have got to be kidding me."
The portal was nowhere to be seen. Were all four of them stuck in this world? Well. At least Stress was there. At least he knew someone.
The other two, though...they didn't seem dangerous. But the blonde one knew some form of dark magic, even Wels could tell. He'd have to keep a close eye on them.
"So, how did you get here?"
Wels chose this moment to shift around. Stress saw the movement out of the corner of her eye and smiled. She knew.
"Come and join us, Wels."
Wels awkwardly stepped out of the shadows. The one with the helmet immediately studied him, trying to make out what he was. The blonde one just gave him the confused once-over.
Stress seemed genuinely excited, though.
Yay, we're trapped in this world together!
"I don't suppose any of you have seen a portal?" Wels asked, going straight to the point. "About yea big, lined with ice?"
What's the point of going back, though? A voice asked at the back of Wels's mind. The ice kingdom is gone.
Better than staying here, Wels responded.
Stress frowned. "Wels, the ice kingdom is destroyed. Even I couldn't handle the fire."
"Wait, wait," the blonde one made a time-out sign. "Ice kingdom? Fire? Portal?"
Wels felt his stomach drop. "So...no portal?"
The one with the helmet shook his head. "Every one here has gone through a portal—"he glanced at the blonde one—"but when we looked back, it was gone."
"But...we all have our story to tell." The blonde added. "X here already knows mine. I know his. What's yours? I'm assuming the two of you came from the same world."
Stress sat down happily. The other two boys followed her lead. Wels sat down begrudgingly. He didn't want to be in this world. He wanted to be back at the ice kingdom, with no fire.
Stress spread her hands and jumped into their story. Wels sat back with a frown, hating how everything had turned out.
"So everything in the kingdom was fine. Then this huge fire started..."
(WC: 1145)
YOU ARE READING
Hermitcraft: Origins
Fanfiction"Each world has its own story. Even if you tried to get a story from me, I wouldn't be able to tell you half of it. There is so much life in each build and block, and each event has told their own tale. But it has to start somewhere." Fate has the o...
