Book 1: Gemaris Island

Chapter 3: Town Square

Amien finished packing and then locked up his Divination House. He left a sign on the door, stating that classes and appointments were all cancelled and Professor Amien would not be available for quite some time.

Ora waited patiently in front of the house, resting her hands on her upright suitcase. Her umbrella hung onto the case by the handle. The girl began fiddling with her, fixing her bun and smoothing her curls when she suddenly touched the rose in her hair. She had forgotten about it.

"Alright, I'm ready," Amien said, but he was only holding a small bag. "I say we head to the Mirror Gate that leads to the second island and on the way, we keep an eye out for the Willow Wanderer."

"Is that all you're bringing?" Ora asked, pointing.

"I fit all my belongings in here," Amien quickly said.

"How?" Ora asked in disbelief.

"Magic," Amien shrugged. "It's very convenient."

"I bet it is," Ora mumbled, eyeing his bag. "I have this giant thing to haul around, but it is pretty."

"And inconvenient," Amien added.

"It's fine," Ora said firmly.

"Why do you have an umbrella?" Amien asked, snickering.

"In case it rains!" Ora blushed.

"It hardly ever rains on this island," the pirate laughed.

"Then how do all these flowers and trees grow?" Ora asked, throwing her arm out as they made their way down the stone path into town.

Amien squinted at her. "You're obviously not from this island."

"How do you know?" the girl asked pompously.

"Because you would know that the purple trees, and most of the other plants on this island don't need rain to grow, otherwise they would be dead by now," Amien replied, waiting eagerly to see the clueless reaction on her face.

Ora sighed and glanced around at her surroundings as they strolled onward. The round pink and lavender trees were scattered among the grasslands, each giving each other space but also staying cordially close to one another. The sun was directly above the island, but its soft glow reflected gently against the gold-tinted grass and most of the blossom trees shades the two travelers from the heat and the blinding brightness.

As they walked further from the edge of the island and closer to the center, to the Town Square, the trees gradually became pinker. Soon, they all resembled heavenly clouds floating above the stone paths. Ora noticed that instead of houses, there were small large buildings surrounding the road: apartments, shops, even a church. In the center of the square was a humble fountain circled by a ring of tiny flower bushes of white and violet buds.

The road had become a clearing and everywhere she turned, Ora saw another large building with people strolling in and out of it. Although this was the busy city now, everything retained the same serenity that the rest of the island possessed.

Ora glanced up at Amien whose fast stride kept him always slightly ahead of her. A bold look of determination rested on his face as he continuously stared straight ahead of him.

"Why did you say roses have thorns earlier?" Ora asked suddenly.

Amien ceased his staring and blinked at the girl who struggled to keep up with him.

"What?" he asked.

"In our first encounter, you closed the door on me after you said roses have thorns. Why did you say that?" Ora asked, curiously

Amien furrowed his eyebrows, looking at the ground as if trying to remember something. Then he looked up at Ora and saw the flower in her gleaming hair.

"The rose in your hair. That must be it," he said quickly. "I saw the rose in your hair and I...reminded myself that roses have thorns."

"Were you implying that I'm like a thorn in the side?" Ora asked, narrowing her bright eyes.

"I don't remember. How are you still thinking about a conversation we had over two hours ago?" Amien asked, scratching his beard.

"It's been in the back of my mind ever since you said it," Ora shrugged, almost smiling.

Amien sighed, shaking his head with his hands in the pocket of his leather coat.

The day was so pleasant, and all the clouds kept their distance from each other like the trees in the orchards. Ora knew it wasn't going to rain any time soon. Why had Marietta given her an umbrella then? Surely Marietta knew the climate of the First Island.

Master Amien sighed yet again and sat down on a quaint, round fountain in the middle of the square. The flowing fount had three levels, all beige stone etched with designs of lilies. Around the base of the fountain were six giant carved lilies poised like trumpets next to the water.

"What a beautiful fountain!" Ora exclaimed, circling it, her scarf dancing behind her.

"It's adequate, I suppose," Amien admitted, turning to face her. "I've seen it so many times that I've grown bored of it. Besides, it's a pretty average fountain either way."

"Compared to what?" Ora asked, disgusted by his lack of appreciation.

"Um...you can't determine how good a piece of art is by comparing it to other pieces of art," Amien said, peering at her. "If there were only one work of art in all the Twelve Islands, you could still judge it."

"Based on what?" Ora asked.

"Based on common sense!" Amien replied, getting to his feet. "Now let's keep going! We don't have all day!"

"Where exactly are we going, Amien?" Ora asked, crossing her arms.

He widened his eyes at her. "What are you talking about? We went over this, Ora! We. Are. Looking. For. Di-"

But Ora stopped him and pointed to something on the other side of the fountain, near some green bushes. There was a fancy chestnut brown lamp post, only it wasn't a lamp post; it bore a square clock face at the top of it. But what Ora noticed was a brand new poster under the clock. Amien circled around the fountain next to her to see what she was staring at so intensely. And he saw a poster of Diamond the Willow Wanderer with her flowing short white hair and celestial eyes. The caption read:

DIAMOND THE WILLOW WANDERER

MOST WANTED.

GUILTY FOR TREASON AGAINST THE KING OF THE TWELVE ISLANDS.

KEEP HER ALIVE AND UNHARMED.

"Alive and unharmed?" Amien wondered.

Ora shuddered. "What could he possibly want to do with her once she's captured?" she murmured.

"Maybe he wants to kill her himself," Amien said quietly. "Or maybe! Maybe he wants everyone to think that he is merciful and forgiving and will not punish even those who oppose him. But secretly, he'll have her tortured and burned to death in his palace."

The girl tensed up and without thinking, grabbed Amien's arm. He recoiled in shock, but then grew concerned.

"What's wrong?" he whispered to her.

Ora looked up into his eyes that were like the night sky, sapphire blue with white shining dots in them.

"I just...hate to think that someone could be so heartless to torture a young girl like that. Do you really think he would burn her to death? I mean, yes she's committed treason in a sense, but...I just don't know! What if King Reignald is more forgiving than we think?" Ora blabbered quietly, pacing back and forth a bit.

"Oh, Ora. Don't go all sympathetic on me," Amien said with a hint of a smile on his face. "You and I both know that the king is a coward hiding under a crown. And the Willow Wanderer is a righteous warrior hiding in the crowds. For her own safety. You support her. I support her. We agree on that much, don't we?"

Ora hesitated, glancing at the flowing white fountain, sparkling under the midday sun.

"But...what if she was wrong for standing up to the king like that? You yourself said she was stupid for doing so-"

"I think it was stupid for her to fly away to some place where nobody can find her, not even people who support her! She was brave and right to stand up to the king!" Amien said, trying to keep his voice down.

Ora realized that Amien had a point. She stopped arguing with him and instead, silently sat on the edge of the fountain in front of where the poster was hanging.

Amien stood next to her awkwardly, wondering what to do. He glanced at Ora, then the sign of Diamond, and then town square. Suddenly, he ripped the poster off the stone and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Amien! What are you doing?" Ora hissed.

He covered her mouth and whispered back, "Don't draw attention, Ora! I'll be arrested if the guards see what I just did!"

Ora tried to say, "Exactly, so why did you do it? Was it really necessary? I understand that you're upset, but the guards could have you arrested, even executed if they find evidence that you're working with Diamond the Willow Wanderer and against the king, Amien!"

Of course, she couldn't say any of this, because Amien was still stifling her words. He only heard a desperate muffled mumble from the girl before shushing her loudly. Ora finally ripped his hand off her mouth, accusing him of making the situation much more suspicious than it already was.

"Ugh, stop talking!" Amien groaned, angrily.

"No! Stop stopping me from talking!" Ora whispered loudly, sticking her face in his.

The two were inches away from each other and seconds away from ripping each other's heads off. Suddenly, Ora's big eyes became bigger and she subtly motioned to Amien to turn around. He turned his head and saw a stern-looking guard in green and gold armor marching towards the two bickering young people.

"What are you two doing here?" he demanded, towering above them both.

Before Amien or Ora could answer, the guard added, "Are you here for the island announcement?"

"What announcement?" Ora blurted out, earning a nudge from Amien.

"Of course we're here for the announcement!" Amien interjected. "Right here in the town square, right?"

"Yes. Gather around the courthouse," the guard motioned towards the big cream stone building with columns and a few long steps leading to the tall double doors. "The announcement will commence soon."

"Yes, Sir Knight," Amien nodded. Ora quickly nodded, too and the guard finally left.

Amien turned right back to Ora and whispered in her face, "You almost blew our cover!"

"Don't blame me!" Ora whispered. "Look, Amien. It doesn't help for us to fight each other. The real enemy is the king, so...maybe we can come to an agreement. From now on, we must agree not to disagree!"

Amien leaned his head back and peered up at the sky in confusion.

"I don't think it's possible for us two not to disagree," he replied.

"You won't even agree right now!" Ora sighed. "Just shake on it!"

She held out her hand, straightening her arm and pursing her lips insistently.

"So you want me to agree with you on everything from now on," Amien repeated.

"Yes!"

"Everything?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-"

But Ora's thoughts soon stopped her words. She wasn't always right. She was humble enough to know that. Ora couldn't force Amien to agree with her on everything. And she couldn't agree with him on everything. It was no use.

"Can we at least agree not to yell at each other?" Ora asked.

"We weren't yelling. We were whispering loudly in each other's faces," Amien stated, crossing his arms.

"Well, we need to stay calm!" Ora insisted.

"I'm the calmest person I know. But yes, you do need to work on being calm," Amien nodded, giving her a disapproving look.

"How many people do you even know?" Ora scoffed, grabbing her suitcase again and dragging it towards the courthouse. Citizens of all sorts, especially children, were trickling into the town square, whispering about what the announcement might be. Most of them were excited. Everyone was curious.

Amien began to answer Ora's question by naming all the students that he had taught and how every single one of them had more self-control and temperance than Ora had. She ignored him as she glanced around at every eager citizen. They were all conversing about the "joyful king" and about what wonderful news he was going to have for them.

How naive can these people be? Ora wondered. They're completely oblivious to the king's true colors. I was sure that every citizen saw how careless and unfit Reignald was at his coronation. How did all these people miss that? He's even taken away their Mirror Gates and limited travel! Or do they even care about travel? Or maybe they just don't know...

"Attention, citizens of the First Island!" boomed a voice from the courthouse.

Everyone turned their heads like sheep to see a knight in green on the steps of the courthouse along with a line of green knights behind him.

"Please show your appreciation for the Head Knight of the king: Sir Grenton!"

The green knight stepped aside to reveal a tall soldier in armor that was black as night and lined with bright yellow designs.

The crowd went wild, as if they had known and loved Sir Grenton their whole lives. But Ora had a feeling that they all were seeing him maybe for the first time. However, she did recognize his fierce copper eyes and nobody could forget his iconic suit or armor that was not true black, but ebony with a tint of blood red.

"Sir Grenton! He's so handsome!" a young girl next to Ora suddenly swooned.

"My heart hurts when I look at him!" another woman sighed, clutching her chest.

"I can't even look at him, he's so dreamy!" squealed yet another girl.

What is going on? Ora wondered, shaking her head. She glanced again at the knight on the courthouse steps. Yes, he was good-looking, but...But now that she looked at him a second time, he was very good-looking. What was it about him that made his dull brown eyes sparkle like jewels? And though his straight brown hair was combed and neat, it also seemed to wave in the breeze with a happy, hopeful freedom.

Amien looked horrified at the reactions of all the girls surrounding him.

"Ora. Do you recognize this knight?" he whispered in her ear over the screams of the lovestruck girls. "I recognize his name. Wasn't he the one that King Reignald ordered to seize Diamond on the day of his coronation?"

"Yes," Ora nodded in reply.

To get closer to Sir Grenton, all the young maidens and even mistresses pushed and shoved so violently, that everyone around them was soon being carried to the front by the stampede. This included Amien and Ora, who tried desperately to get out of the herd of sheep. One woman, thinking that Ora was trying to get to Sir Grenton before her, shoved the blonde girl into Amien who caught her and, in response, pushed the crazy woman out of his way to get Ora to a clearing. Somehow, Amien and Ora found themselves directly in front of the courthouse steps, staring up at the handsome, dark-haired knight.

"Citizens of the First Island!" Sir Grenton announced in a powerful, confident voice. "That is the last time I will have to call you by that ordinary name! On this day, King Reignald of the Twelve Islands has declared that each isle be given its own special name that most represents its personality! I am here to announce to you all what your new name shall be!"

Sir Grenton was almost smiling, but his majestic eyes did not meet the eyes of anyone in the crowd.

"What is this all about?" Ora whispered to Amien, trying not to draw the attention of the knight that stood before her.

Amien shook his head in confusion. Sir Grenton continued.

"I shall now read the letter from the king addressed to the people of this island!"

Sir Grenton unrolled a scroll and held it out down in front of him so that everyone could still see his bright face. He lifted his head and peered down at the paper, speaking loudly and majestically.

"My dear citizens! When I visited your island, I was truly charmed by its architecture and gardens. I found your home more peaceful and comforting than any of the other islands. Most of all, your island brings to mind the word 'quaint.'"

Quaint? Ora wondered, grimacing. Is that the best he could come up with?

"The quaint villages, the quaint parks, the restaurants and the art. The Opera House especially is as quaint as any I have ever seen. The people on this quaint island are so innocent and trusting. I see the hearts of children in the twinkling eyes of everyone. And that is why I have chosen to give the First Island the name Gemaris, which means 'Gem of the Sea!'"

The peasants all erupted in applause as well as sighs of pleasure and satisfaction.

"How lovely," a young maiden with yellow curls sighed next to Ora.

Ora turned to Amien. "I have to admit, Gemaris is a beautiful name. And fitting for this town," she whispered over the shouts of joy.

Amien said nothing, but only fiddled with the collar of his jacket.

"I love how he described us as quaint!" said the same young girl with golden locks.

"You like that?" Ora whispered to her. "You realize that quaint and innocent could easily be associated with strange, unusual, childish...GULLIBLE."

The youth looked cluelessly at Ora, who had raised her voice and planted doubts in the girl's mind.

"But...there's nothing wrong with being child-like," the delicate girl frowned, her eyes shining, possibly with tears.

"Child-like is different from childish," Ora gently said, changing her tone. "Besides, do you really want to be labeled by the king like this?"

Sir Grenton, who had been watching her the whole time, suddenly spoke up again, causing the citizens to fall silent.

"It seems someone has an objection to the name bestowed upon this island by the king himself!" the black knight announced, looking out over the crowd.

Ora tensed up, realizing who Sir Grenton was referring to. She cast a worried glance at Amien, who was nothing but speechless.

"Young lady!"

Sir Grenton turned his head to stare down at Ora with his piercing eyes. Had he really just called her a young lady? Somehow, Ora heard it as flattering instead of demeaning.

"Come up here and speak your thoughts! Please!" Sir Grenton continued to smile down at her and at everyone.

But Ora found herself shaking her head and backing away from the courthouse. Her path was blocked by clumps of curious, oblivious civilians.

"Come on! Come up here, girl, and tell everyone what you think of the king's decisions!" Sir Grenton said, almost mockingly. Truth be told, Ora could not tell if he was being sincere or not, but she still refused to obey him.

"Ora, just take it back," Amien murmured through his teeth. "There's no use in denying it. Just say you didn't mean it."

"I LIKE THE NAME!"

Sir Grenton shook his head in surprise. Ora had yelled over the din from the audience, and she had told the truth. And everyone was silent and Amien was clutching his hair with his eyes shut.

"I like the name," Ora repeated calmly, glaring up at Sir Grenton. "I just don't like-"

"You don't like the king," Sir Grenton interrupted her, resting his hand on the sword in his sheath.

"I didn't say that!" Ora yelled. "In fact..."

She stood with her fists clenched, prepared to run if she had to.

"In fact, what?" Sir Grenton demanded, his smile disappearing as he stepped down the staircase slowly. The joy and warmth in his eyes were consumed by fire which Ora had once seen before.

"In fact, I hope to meet the king one day and have one of my theater stories performed for him," Ora said loudly.

Surprised gasps escaped the mouths of many as suddenly, a large lot of the peasants realized that Ora was the one who had written the Theater Story about Raven and Katrina. Amien's students were there and recognized her. Marietta strained to see her friend at the front of the mob.

"Really?" Sir Grenton replied, grinning at her again. "You write theater stories?"

He also sounded skeptical.

"Of course," she replied, blinking nervously.

Sir Grenton closed his lips and nodded in wonder. Suddenly, he took his hand off his sword and stretched it out to her.

"Come up here, young lady!" he repeated, this time more welcomingly.

Amien subtly pushed Ora forward and she found herself taking Sir Grenton's hand and being led onto the steps of the stone building.

"What is your name, miss?" the knight asked her, his eyes gleaming before her.

"Ora Ember," she replied, her hand still in his.

Sir Grenton turned to the citizens of Gemaris and proclaimed, "More people should be like Ora Ember! She wishes to write and perform theater stories for the king of her homeland! What have you wished to do for the king?"

As he posed the question, the citizens exchanged unsure glances.

"The king is kind and generous! He has done much for you! What can you give back to him?" Sir Grenton asked, encouragingly.

The people were inspired. Amien was bitter and gave Ora a signal to get off the steps.

"Perhaps one day, Ora Ember," Sir Grenton said, turning to her and holding her hand close to him, "you will get the chance to present your gift to the king."

Her gift. It was her gift.

"That is my main goal in life," Ora said, suddenly caught in a trance as she gazed straight at the worried wizard pirate in the crowd. "I am going to make my way to the Twelfth Island to see the king and thank him."

The audience was touched and quietly sighed in their hearts. They were inspired by Ora whose words now contradicted her thoughts and desires.

"I hope you make it there," Sir Grenton said, before dropping a kiss on her hand. He let go of her and she stepped back down so that she could hurry back to Amien.

Sir Grenton dismissed the peasants who immediately returned to their normal lives of laughter, busywork and playtime. Ora was face to face with Amien who looked more disappointed than anything now. But before they could get into another argument, Sir Grenton stepped down from the courthouse and approached the two.

"Miss Ember," Sir Grenton said to her. "I understand that we all have our opinions. There's nothing wrong with disliking something the king has said. I take issue with people who dislike the king himself, though."

His back faced Amien who was trying to mouth something to Ora, but she couldn't listen to two people at once.

"Right," Ora nodded, trying to ignore Amien.

"I genuinely do hope you fulfill your mission, though," Sir Grenton said, giving her shoulder a strong pat, startling Ora a bit. "Travel has become more difficult lately, and traveling from this island all the way to the twelfth will be quite a journey."

"Do you agree with the king's decision to remove so many Mirror Gates from the islands?" Ora blurted out, raising her eyebrows innocently at the black knight.

Sir Grenton just chuckled in her face. "Ora. Ora Ember. I am just a knight. Not the king's advisor. I take orders from him, I do not give him advice. Besides, the king did what he did to protect us, even though it may inconvenience us just a little."

"A little?!" Amien interjected, suddenly moving in front of Sir Grenton. "With all due respect Sir Grenton, but don't you think that traveling through ten islands to get from one island to the other is A LOT more inconvenient than just immediately getting to wherever you want to go?"

Sir Grenton stepped back and again rested his hand on the grip of his sword as he peered at Amien.

"Everyone knows why he made the decision, Amien," Sir Grenton stated with seriousness in his crystal eyes.

Ora wondered how Sir Grenton knew Amien's name. Had they met before?

"How does making travel more inconvenient help protect us?" Amien asked, raising his eyebrows in that way he always did when he gave Ora a snarky remark.

Sir Grenton then stepped right up to Amien, glaring down at him sternly.

"The king does not want Diamond the Willow Wanderer to be able to travel so easily between islands. She is conspiring against the king. He must be protected from her," Sir Grenton said seriously.

Amien started shaking.

"She. Can. Fly. She. Doesn't. Need. Mirror Gates. To get. Around...Sir Grenton," Amien slowly said all this, quivering with frustration.

"We realize that, Amien. But the king is worried that she has tried and possibly succeeded in gaining followers and he does not want those followers to conspire against him. Therefore, he has removed Mirror Gates and kept them heavily guarded to prevent conspirers from traveling between islands and especially from reaching the king," Sir Grenton said, raising his voice but keeping his stance calm.

Amien looked away, breathing hard.

"In fact, we're supposed to investigate those who are especially upset about the removal of the Mirror Gates. I should ask you to let me search your bag and pockets. Professor," Sir Grenton titled his head and nearly spat out his last word.

Now Amien really had to mask his terror as he remembered what was in his pocket: the wanted poster of Diamond.

Ora, who had been shielded by Amien during his quarrel with the knight, widened her eyes in horror and stepped forward without thinking. Sir Grenton quickly turned on Diamond, looking confused by her frightened reaction. Ora didn't breathe as she tried to appear calm. They had nothing to hide. They had nothing to hide. Just the fact that they hated the king and wanted him off the throne.

"Obviously, I know the real reason you're upset about the Mirror Gates, Amien," Sir Grenton said calmly to the wizard. He raised a corner of his mouth. "It's a shame to lose them. I know you're the one who originally came up with the idea to have them. And Lindo Que got all the credit for them. Well now most of them are gone, so...that's the way things are for us."

Ora couldn't believe her ears. She had to have been dreaming...Amien came up with the idea for the Mirror Gates? How had she never heard of him? Had Lindo Que really received all the credit for them?

"You know, the good news is, the sooner we find Diamond the Willow Wanderer, the sooner this chaos can end and things can go back to normal," Sir Grenton shrugged, trying to sound optimistic. As he walked away, he pointed to them and said, "So keep your eye out for her! And be careful what you say about the king!"

Amien and Ora watched him until he and his green knights were completely out of sight.

They exchanged looks of relief, caution and determination. Neither of them spoke because they knew what the other was thinking. For once, they agreed.

They were going to keep an eye out for the Willow Wanderer. And they were going to be careful about what they said about the king. At the very least, they would try to control their mouths.