Dragon's Heart

Chapter 3

The Prince's quarters were extremely decorated, and well-pleasing to the eye. From the shining white pillars with gold trim, to the large red double doors which stood ever so still, maintaining an eternal vigilance over the ruler's sanctum, there was something for everyone to look at. The doors were rather abruptly shoved open, and Matthew and Sally were brought in. One of the guards participating in the escort had made sure to grab the gem from the cage before all of them departed the carriage, to present to the Prince. Another one exited the formation to stand in front of the two siblings. "I shall go ahead and bring him here. He will be most relieved to have his most prized possession back." he said. 

After a while, the knight re-entered the main area, with another regal-looking man in tow. He was well-dressed; a white upper suit with numerous gold chains which seemed to hang from every direction, and sleek black dress pants. Yet another gold chain entered into his front pocket, where it was attached to a fancy handheld watch. Additionally, a sheathed sword hung from his left side, ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice should he ever feel threatened, with his hands that were protected by spotless white gloves. The last few things the duo noticed about this new individual was that he sported a gray sash which seemed to cross diagonally from his right shoulder downward, and he was also flanked by two shoulder pieces. 

"Oh, my. You two are new faces to my kingdom, indeed. Why have you come?" the man asked the siblings. 

"Sire, these two are secret agents of your sworn enemy, the Dark Raven. They have managed to steal the ruby right from under your nose. Luckily, a brave civilian by the name of Jeffrey in the village below managed to weed them out and bring them to our attention before they could rendezvous back up with the dark lord." the lead knight explained. 

"That's not why we're here!" Sally shot back, rather annoyed. 

"That is quite enough, guardian." the well-dressed man replied. "You and the other knights may take your leave now. Return to your posts around the castle." "Yes, sir!" they all said in unison, and subsequently departed the room. "Now," he continued. "I believe I have not introduced myself. I am Prince Tobias Buckingham, ruler of this kingdom--" "Yes, we've heard of you before." Sally interrupted. "A young girl in the village....Penny, I think her name was, informed us of where we were, and brought you up." Matthew added. "Oh, really?" Tobias asked. "Then I suppose you also know why you have been brought here." "Umm..." Sally muttered. "Yes, we're at a loss when it comes to that matter, sir." Matthew said in reply. "Quickly. Explain to me everything you know about the ruby you carry in your possession right now." Tobias instructed.

"Well, it's been quite a long trip from where we originally were, and we have no idea of what happened to us." Matthew began. "My name is Matthew Glover, and this is my sister, Sally Glover. Our father, George Glover, was tragically lost to war almost ten years ago, and our mother, Anna Glover, has been trying her best to deal with it ever since. Her birthday is coming up in about five days, and Sally and I have been encountering quite a bit of trouble finding the perfect gift for her. So, I made arrangements for the owner of a nearby oddity shop to sell this ruby to us so we could gift it to our mother. She owns a jewel and gem collection, so I thought that would've been an extra plus." 

After Matthew wrapped up his explanation, Tobias took a moment to analyze their story. "Very interesting. Every word you just said....was wrong." "What?!" Sally exclaimed. "How would you know? You weren't there! You didn't see anything that happened to us back in our world!" "In your world.....?" Tobias said, rather confused now. "Would I be correct in assuming that the ruby itself was somehow involved with your sudden arrival in this kingdom?" Matthew and Sally simply shrugged. "All I know is that upon both of us touching the ruby back at the oddity shop, everything began spinning around very quickly, and both of us blacked out. When we came to, we woke up in a field somewhat near Bradenshire." 

Tobias paced the room back and forth. "......I believe you." "Wait, really?" Matthew exclaimed excitedly. "So you're not going to execute us?" "No, no, no!" Tobias replied with a laugh. "That old doddering fool Jeffrey hasn't been right in the head as of late anyway. He's been accusing everyone new who enters our lands as witches. As for why the guards believe him every time, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's because they were sworn to protect the village at all costs and can't afford to let anybody slip through their fingers. His old age is probably getting to him at this point." Just then, Matthew and Sally both recalled some of the things the guards had mentioned immediately before they were captured. "Prince Tobias, just before we were brought to your domain, the guards who caught us mentioned something about a 'Dark Raven' and not letting him have the ruby, no matter what.....? Jeffrey, as well as the guards, believed we were spies, or minions, of this individual. Would you know anything about that?" 

The Prince's face fell at this news. "So....it is true." "What? What's true?" Sally asked. "My archenemy, Lord Ravenswood, has returned." "What?!" Matthew exclaimed in shock. "Here, let me explain more clearly," Tobias said, clearing his throat. 

"You claim the ruby to be a mere oddity shop product. How it has managed to end up at such a lowly status remains a mystery to me. But what I can tell you is that you hold in your hands a very important object. It could spell destruction for our entire kingdom if allowed to fall into the wrong hands.

A long, long time ago, my grandfather, known back then as King Thomas of Buckingham, battled and slew an ancient beast known as the Dragon of the Ancients at the peak of a mountain known as Mt. Doom, on the other side of the kingdom. This dragon harbored major destructive power, able to level entire villages and eliminate untold thousands with just one strafe of its flame breath. He wanted to make sure that the dragon never troubled any of the kingdom's denizens ever again, so he siphoned its life essence using magic, sealed it in a special orb that sat at the top of his staff, and delivered the orb to the local wizards, requesting that the essence be transformed into a shape that was more condensed, compact, easy to carry around. Using their own spells, they extracted the essence and transformed it into a bright red ruby, which my grandfather then placed in the Royal Vault, just to our left. There it sat undisturbed for many years. In that time, my grandfather passed away, and his son---my father---King Walt, took the throne. He ruled for many moons, until one fateful night, his brother, Lord Ryker Ravenswood, having grown jealous of Walt's standing and authority, led a daring raid on the castle with his army of witches, seeking to steal the ruby for himself, re-awaken the dragon, and destroy everything that Walt had built. Tragically, he succeeded in slaying Walt and breaching the Vault, but upon entry, he saw that the ruby was nowhere to be found. It was just as much of a surprise to him as it was a surprise to me and everyone else in the kingdom. Since Ravenswood's retreat following the failed attack, and my ascension to the throne, the entire kingdom has been on edge with the disappearance of the ruby. The citizens are paranoid that the dragon could awaken at any minute---you have probably already seen an example of this with Jeffrey from Bradenshire---while Ravenswood himself is determined to find whoever possesses it and steal it for his own by any means. I know not how you two came across this gem, but I am glad to have it returned to me safe and sound.

Because this gem is the key to rousing the dragon from its eons-long slumber, one might think of it as the dragon's source of vitality, its very lifeblood, if you will. Through the years, we have called it by one name....the Dragon's Heart."