There was no sound, there was no light, there was nothing and there had not been for a long time, and suddenly, it all came at once, like emerging from deep waters.
Jade could hear the sea, children laughing, horses and swords clashing.
Slowly, she opened her eyes, and this felt like the beginning of a typical romance book.
It took her a few moments to actually be fully aware.
Cliché Number One: Main character waking up, checked. Although 'to the sound of an alarm clock' was missing.
"W-What happened?" Her voice was hoarse. Then she remembered a man injecting something into her neck. She was sweating but still felt like she was freezing, with pain all over her body trying to tear it apart, enough to make her scream. Time was skipping at random. The last proper memory she had was being in some sort of carriage, a loud noise like a gate being raised, and some snow wetting her hands.
Cliché Number Two: Waking up with some kind of amnesia and a few flashbacks, checked.
"Where am I?" Jade asked, lying on a large, incredibly soft bed, like a cloud. She rubbed her eyes. There was a smell of copal incense around her. Dizzy and with a blurred vision, she looked around. It was a huge room, filled with expensive furniture and silk hangings.
The walls were actual gold, there was no doubt about that, and there were many pictures of Zeth-like men and some women with crowns on their heads. Some wore a dark grey circlet encrusted with sapphires, others wore a wooden circlet with faces carved on it, and some others wore a sapphire blue and gold crown, more like a helmet.
She took another look around. There were arches and wooden columns around her, and a balcony. She could see sand and a sea bluer than any she had ever seen.
Beyond the beach, there were a pyramid and a sphinx on an island, and all these expensive things around her... Was this Zeth's room?
No, this was more elegant, finer, and the weather was too hot.
Cliché Number Three: Description of the weather and room, checked.
"What is this place?" She felt dizzy, barely awake, rubbing her head, "Another hotel room?" She looked at her hands; she was wearing golden leather gloves. "Where's my uniform? What am I dressed in?" She was wearing a full body red leather suit with some golden scales painted on it. No. The scales were real.
Cliché Number Four: Description of what she was wearing, checked.
"Formerly the wing of Anubyx, King Anuber's dragon," said a voice, masculine and soft, youthful, sweet, pleasant even.
She sat up with a grunt and saw a boy with sapphire blue eyes and a friendly face staring at her, with one foot on the wall and his thumb moving over his lips.
Wow! Handsome! A younger version of Zeth but with his eyes a little further apart and a whiter smile, dressed in a full sapphire blue and golden skin tight vest and trousers. He was also wearing a long golden cape.
Cliché Number Five: Waking up being watched by an inhumanly attractive boy, checked.
He was incredibly handsome, muscular, with hair just like Zeth's but shorter, and a slightly larger nose. He looked jovial, as if he would burst out laughing at any moment, maybe even laugh at something she'd say.
His features were square too, more so than Zeth's.
"H-Hi?" She started, the world was still spinning around her, "W-Who are you?"
"Ah, yes," He laughed quietly, and even his laugh was charming, "We have not introduced ourselves yet. The name's Prince Zenith Rahman, I'm the son of King Zamon Rahman, he himself the nephew of Lord Commander Zeth," His white smile grew wider.
"Oh. Zeth has a nephew? And you're the son of Zeth's nephew? That's confusing." She looked in the mirror of a beauty table. She gasped. "What happened to my hair?!" She took a strand between her fingers. It was emerald green. And her eyes? They were green too, and the iris was a reptile-like line.
Cliché Number Six: Character looking at themselves in a mirror and describing what they see, checked.
"Probably the spell that was used to make you look human dissipated when you crossed the barrier, nothing to get upset about." he said, opening his muscular arms wide, "Welcome to my humble home."
"Do you live here?" She looked both ways, "Very luxurious. But why am I here?"
"To be my Queen as soon as I ascend the throne, if you wish to be, of course." He nodded, "I want you to be my wife, and I'm going to make you fall in love so that you do it voluntarily."
Oh!
Cliché Number Seven: Being kidnapped to be the wife of a perfect stranger, checked.
"Your what?!" Jade was taken aback and confused.
"My Queen," Zenith elegantly stood next to the bed, with his hands behind his back, "You're in your natural form right now, but I was told you'll access your beast mode soon, like a Lycan or a Vampire, but I don't know if I want that. You're beautiful."
Cliché Number Eight: Explanatory dialogue for the protagonist of why she is different and special, checked.
"What the hell is this place? Egypt?" Jade was still a bit disoriented, "I don't know if you told me already where I am to be honest, my head hurts."
"Oh! No! This is Kizah," Zenith explained, sitting down beside her on the bed, caressing her cheek.
"Oh God! Am I in Evalon?! Am I in The Titan?" Jade asked, "Zeth mentioned that place quite often and..."
"Oh, no. The Titan was located in Rahman Trinity Town in what used to be southern Evalon, right where Lightning Strike, Robleston, and Hellstorm converged."
"Wait. It WAS located like, in past tense?" Jade gasped.
"Its ruins are underwater," Zenith replied with a sad face and tone. "Many of the places Uncle Zeth knew are no longer there. They were demolished, renamed or destroyed by the forces of nature."
"What do you mean by... The forces of nature?"
"Well... There was a Cataclysm during the sixty-seventh year of my father's reign." Explained Zenith, "It was terrible. The Evalonian kingdoms: Hellstorm, Robleston, and Lightning Strike, and the entire continent of Zagarrta sank into the Volcanic Sea when an earthquake struck and the volcanoes underwater all erupted at the same time thirty eight years ago."
"Thirty-eight years ago?" Jade asked, counting with her fingers, "Was it 1985?"
"The measurement of time in our world is different from yours," Zenith replied, "Many Houses became extinct, many species too. Zagarta was the most affected since only the tops of some of the mountains of The White Chain remain, including Yeti Mount, although there are no Zagarrtan Yeti anymore either."
"Yeti are extinct here?" Jade gasped.
"Oh! No! Evalonian Yeti live north of Moonfall on the lands my grandmother gifted to the Yeti who helped her overthrow Queen Batrix. But I don't recommend you go, they used their magic to summon an eternal winter."
"Ooookay! I will pretend I understand... I just know that this place is very elegant, but who are those people?" Jade pointed a finger at the paintings on the wall.
"All the governors in Evalonian history," Zenith explained, "We start with the conqueror, King Zeth. Then his son, King Ozyrez. Then Zeth's nephew, King Zehtt Greak. Then King Ptahrek, son of Ozyrez. Then Ptahrek's second son, King Maahel. Then Maahel's son, King Ozyrez II, then Ozyrez II's son, King Anuber. Queen for a Day Elizekhmet was Anuber's half-sister, King Imotthew was her son, King Magnuz was Imotthew's son. Shesmund was a bastard from The Titan, son of Queen Amphyt and Zer Heruz 'the Giant' Rahman. Then came King Viktor Rubinstein, then Queen Batrix Von Stroker, and before my father, my grandmother, the great Queen Zafira." Zenith concluded.
"Why do they all wear different crowns?" Jade analysed each painting on the wall in detail.
"Some kings wore the Crown of Zeth, it is the circlet of Vorpal Steel with sapphires. Others wore the Crown of Ozyrez which is the wooden one with emeralds embedded in the eyes of the faces carved into it. The kings and queens after Magnuz wore the Magnuz Crown."
Jade nodded. Maybe she was still too disoriented to be surprised.
"So... I am in Evalon?"
"Why yes you are," he nodded. "Do you remember anything? How we met perhaps?"
She shook her head.
"I just remember that I was at a concert and then someone kidnapped me," She held her head, "I don't remember the details, I think there were screams or something."
Cliché Number Nine: Waking up from a coma so the writer doesn't have to write a thousand chapters to explain why she was in a fantasy world, checked.
Zenith's expression darkened slightly and he bit his lip.
"That's what we've heard."
"What?!" She gasped, "Who's 'we' exactly? Who else is here?! Zeth? Draco? Evie?"
"Well. all the royalty of Evalon have come and been waiting for your awakening since last night," he took her hands in his and Jade blushed. He was so handsome, and he was so sweet, and his hands were so warm and soft. "Everyone wants to meet my future wife."
"But I'm not ready to get married, I'm barely eighteen years old," Jade looked down, then looked at the balcony, at the beautiful sea and sand, "And I don't want to get married to a man I don't even know, no offence."
"Perhaps we can spend some time together?" Zenith's smile returned brightly. "But I assure you this is where you belong. This is your destiny! Glory, wealth and power will all be yours now that you are here."
Jade stared at him wide eyed.
Maybe it was time to follow her new destiny?
Besides, a prince was much better than six famous singers, wasn't he?
"Would you like to come have breakfast with me in the garden, Jade?" Zenith was so nice, so polite, so genuine.
"Um... Okay." Jade nodded slowly, feeling strange about being so relaxed in his presence. Even though she didn't know why, it felt good to be near him. Maybe because of how much he looked like Zeth.
Either way, she couldn't trust him yet.
But she did.
"Good. I'm sure it will be interesting to meet you, my future queen," He grinned, offering his hand to her.
She held it, allowing him to lead her out of the bedroom.
They walked silently through long triangular, mirrored hallways, and finally came to one of those balconies that looked over the city.
"Look closely, my future wife," Zenith said, extending his hand, "All of this and much more will be yours if you marry me!"
Jade covered her mouth. She was standing at the top of a huge golden pyramid, and below, beyond the courtyard and the curtain wall, there was a huge city in this desert. It was massive, almost as big as Los Angeles but medieval. The buildings were made of yellowish stone, and the streets were paved with gold, tall towers reached up into the sky. The streets were full of people riding horses, talking and laughing. And there was a huge sapphire blue river that crossed everything in curves and straight lines.
Jade spotted some knights in golden armour riding in pairs and groups in the courtyard below.
"This is just Kizah. But there will be more than just this for you if we get married." Zenith explained. "My father's wish was to bring my uncle here and offer him wealth to help us unite Evalon and Zagarrta to the rest of the world," Zenith gently brushed away Jade's green locks from her face, "But now, with a woman like you by my side, I'm confident the human leaders will agree to the idea and join our empire soon. After all, you're beautiful and powerful enough to conquer the world, aren't you?"
He winked at her, making Jade blush.
She nodded, smiling.
Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't hate this.
Cliché Number Ten: Having been born destined to unite two factions just by existing, checked.
"But Zeth and the boys..." Jade looked down. She loved them, but maybe they were better off with Evie, maybe it was time to move on, to take on this new challenge, a destiny of her own. Maybe it was time to start living for herself. "Forget it. I don't think there was something between us anyway. I was just Jessica Stanley."
"I don't know who Jessica Stanley is," Zenith said, taking Jade's hands, looking into her eyes, "But I know that you will be my queen, of that I have no doubt."
"Am I supposed to marry you then?"
"Of course, my future wife!" Zenith caressed her cheek, "I'll gladly prepare everything for our wedding whenever you are ready! You are the most important person to me right now. So what do you say? Will you marry me and live in Kizah and rule by my side?"
Jade smiled. This guy was kind, and charming, and she liked him a lot.
"Now I'm the protagonist of my own story?" Jade asked, smiling and turning to see the city below, "Now it's all about me and only me?"
"Yes!" He exclaimed, laughing delightedly, "I'm going to make you the best queen this kingdom has ever seen! We'll rule together until the end of time! Isn't that great?!"
Cliché Number Eleven: Becoming powerful without any effort other than being with a handsome man, checked.
"Yeah... I mean... Yeah!" Jade nodded enthusiastically, "Sure! Sounds like fun! I think it's time to get ready for the wedding!" Jade was moving too fast, without thinking, but maybe this was the best way to live in her fantasy, every girl's fantasy.
Even better!
She would not be a princess, no.
She'd be a Queen!
Her heart was beating fast, and she could feel her palms sweat inside her golden gloves and her stomach twist in knots.
This was definitely not going to be easy, but it was better than protecting six pop-stars from the outside world.
"So..." Jade looked directly into Zenith's sapphire eyes, "When are we getting married?"
"Tonight at the Golden Cathedral of Zeleste Island if you wish," Zenith knelt in front of her, "Jade. Would you be my queen from now on, forever and until the end of time? Will you help me unite our worlds with your power and rule wisely by my side?"
"Yes," She nodded, her green eyes shining like emeralds, "Now I will be the protagonist! So I accept! I will marry you tonight!"
"Perfect! Would you like to see the Throne of Thrones, my beloved?" Zenith asked and Jade looked at the desert beyond this golden pyramid, smiling with long, sharp teeth, licking her lips with a reptile-like tongue.
"Oh yeah. I want to see the Throne of Thrones." Jade growled, "Take a good look at me, Evie. The problem was never that I wasn't special, the problem was that your precious boys weren't special enough for me. Well, here's the proof... Special girls don't need to try hard."
"Who are you talking to?" Zenith asked.
"Oh. I talk to myself sometimes because I am sooooo not like the rest," Jade said, speaking in Kardashark, "I think it will be good for you to get to know me better before we get married." She looked him straight in the eyes. Self-confidence was crucial when it came to talking to men, "I'm just suuuuuuuper interesting, you know? And super confident too."
TO BE CONTINUED...