The Black and White Crystals of Ishma part 5

The Departure for Irasha

 

          Back at the village Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam were discussing plans about what to do about searching for the white crystal of Ishma in the village school. Ted had lots of books and maps about Irasha. He was now reading a history book about the battle between Ishma and Irasha that happened fifty years ago.

          “Now according to this history book, the war that took place in Irasha fifty years ago happened in a meadow of Irasha which they now call the Irashma meadow,” he said “so there’s a good chance that the white crystal is hidden in that meadow”.

          “According to the map of Irasha that Princess Julia gave me,” said Sophie, who was studying the map, “the Irashma meadow is in the middle of Irasha. Before that there’s this small wood that we have to go through first.”

          “Before we talk through anything else,” interrupted Jack “How exactly do we get to Irasha?”

          Jack had a point; this was actually the first time that Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam were going to another island. They had never left Ishma before.

          “I know how!” burst out Sam “there’s a ship at the harbour that’s sailing to Irasha this afternoon. I heard about it this morning. We can get to Irasha from that”.

          “But how do we get to the Irashma meadow from the harbour in Irasha?” Jack asked.

          Sophie continued looking at the map of Irasha. “I know how” she said. “This map shows that there is a town near the harbour in Irasha. Coming out of the town, there is a path which will lead us to the forest and the forest will lead us to the Irashma meadow”.

          “Then this is what we’ll do” said Ted “first, after we get to the harbour of Irasha we’ll rest in town. Second we leave the town to get to the wood. We should be able to rent a horse and cart there. Then we’ll go through the forest and reach the Irashma meadow and then start looking for the white crystal, agreed?”

           Sophie and the three boys agreed to that idea and decided to set off immediately. There was no time to lose or Ishma would end up in darkness under Prince Charles’s control. Before setting off, Ted, Jack and Sam told their fathers where they would be going and about the mission of finding the white crystal of Ishma. The fathers didn’t really want them to leave Ishma, but understood that saving Ishma from Prince Charles was important and promised not to tell anyone about it. Telling anyone would have passed the word to Prince Charles and that would have gotten in the way of the quest. After saying goodbye to their fathers Ted, Jack and Sam set off towards the harbour with Sophie.

          At the harbour the ship that was departing for Irasha was nearly ready to leave. Sophie, Ted, Jack and Sam had made it to the harbour just in time. They headed towards the ship. Sophie felt happy going onto the ship. She had always wanted to have an adventure and this was her dream come true. Ted felt rather nervous about leaving his home, but didn’t turn back on his friends. Jack felt amazed about being on a ship. He had always helped his father and other carpenters build ships, but never actually sailed on them. Sam was filled with happiness and excitement. Going to faraway lands on ships was something he always wished to do.

          Soon the ship set sailed and was sailing across the ocean towards Irasha. While the ship was sailing, Sophie looked back at Ishma, she was worried about Princess Julia and Prince Edward. She was also worried about if Prince Charles’s evil plan had succeeded yet.

          “Princess Julia, Prince Edward,” she whispered “my friends and I will find the white crystal where ever it is. We will not let you down”.

The Christmas Fairy and Angel

          In the streets of a city, a little girl named Emily was selling matches. It wasn’t easy for her to sell matches because there were people who wanted them and some who didn’t. But she did manage to earn some pennies from the matches.

          Emily was a poor girl and was wearing rags and clogs that were much too big for her feet. Right now she was watching children, her own age, walking down the streets happily with their parents. That was torture for Emily; her mother had died when she was a little girl and her father was a different story. Emily’s father was a mean, selfish man. He was also a drinker. Whenever Emily came home from selling matches, he would take all her earnings and spend nearly all of it on drinks. The most horrible thing was that he would always beat Emily if she didn’t sell any matches. So he never showered Emily with love and kindness. Apart from her mother, Emily also only received love and kindness from her grandmother, who was Emily’s mother’s mother. Emily missed them very much and always wished that they were still alive.

          Emily’s only comfort now was a Christmas fairy that she had found last Christmas. It had been abandoned in the street, so Emily kept it for herself.

          One Christmas Eve, Emily was in the street selling matches. Her father had told her to not come home, until all the matches had been sold. Emily didn’t like selling matches in winter, but she never dared to disobey her father. It was snowing and very cold. Emily had her Christmas fairy with her for company. Emily did the best she could, but no one wanted to buy her matches. Soon it was dark and everyone had gone home, except Emily. “Oh Christmas fairy,” she whimpered “I don’t know what to do. I’m not allowed to go home and I haven’t sold a single match stick”.

          All Emily could do now was try to find some shelter for the night. Luckily there was shelter for her that night. In the city there was a church. Normally the church doors was closed and locked up at night. But tonight they were left open. Emily ran into the church at once. “I do hope the priest won’t mind me taking shelter here” she said. She lay down on the floor in front of where a picture of an angel was hung. “I pray the angels will protect me tonight” Emily whispered and fell asleep, clutching to her Christmas fairy.

          When midnight struck a big surprise awaited Emily. Her Christmas fairy sprung to life and woke her up. Emily couldn’t believe her eyes that her Christmas fairy was alive. Then she remembered a story her grandmother once told her. The story was that it is said that Christmas fairies come to life during the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the morning. “Grandma’s story was true” smiled Emily.

          Suddenly a bright light shone through the church windows and then more Christmas fairies appeared. All the Christmas fairies picked up Emily and brought her into the light. When the light faded Emily saw herself in some sort of castle. “Where am I?” she said. “You are in the castle of Christmas” said a voice. A woman in a white dress, with wings and long golden hair, appeared. “Welcome child,” she said “I am the angel of Christmas. And you are in my castle”. The angel explained that during the night between Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in the morning she would bring the Christmas fairies to life. And if a little boy and girl had been good, kind and caring during the year, they would be invited to spend the night at the castle of Christmas. “And you Emily have been invited here too”. Emily was surprised, but very happy.

          The Christmas angel led Emily into a big room. And in the room were a hundred boys and girls. Emily ran over to join and play with them. Then suddenly a big long table magically appeared and on there was lots of food. There was lots of turkey, potatoes, soup, meat pies, bread with butter and cheese, Christmas puddings and cakes, nuts, fruit, candies, cookies and glasses full of milk to drink. Emily couldn’t stop eating; she had never eaten good food, ever since her grandmother died. Mostly she had only eaten bread and cold soup, since her father kept on spending money on cheap wine.

          After the meal was finished, Christmas presents magically appeared for the children. The presents turned out to be toys, books and new clothes. Emily got a new dress with shoes and even a coat with gloves, scarf and a warm hat and she changed into them at once. She also got some books and two dolls and two teddy bears. Emily couldn’t stop smiling; this night was the best Christmas night she ever had in life.

          After all the presents were opened, the Christmas fairies started to play music and the Christmas angel started to sing Christmas carols. The children, including Emily, joined in too. Next there were candles to light. The candles were for the children to make a Christmas wish. The Christmas fairies presented a basket of matches to the Christmas angel. The basket of matches was really Emily’s. Emily became worried; if her matches were used and she got no money for it, her father would beat her. The Christmas angel smiled at Emily to let her know everything would be all right. The Christmas fairies lit the candles with the matches, and then the children closed their eyes and made their Christmas wishes. Emily’s wish was that she would be able to live in happiness for the rest of her life.

          Soon it was time for the children to go home. The Christmas fairies took the children back to where they came from. Before Emily went back to the church, the Christmas angel gave her one more Christmas gift. She handed Emily the basket she was carrying. Of course all the matches were gone. But inside the basket was a small pile of shillings. “This is for in exchange for your matches”. Emily was grateful and thanked the Christmas angel with all her heart. Then her Christmas fairy picked her up and took her back to the church through the light.

          It was Christmas Day by the time the Christmas fairy brought Emily back to the church. When Emily saw that she was back at the church, she feared it had all been a dream. But she saw that she was still wearing the clothes that she got for a present. And her new books, dolls and teddy bears were also with her. She also saw the small pile of shillings in her basket. “It wasn’t a dream” she said happily. Emily placed her gifts and Christmas fairy into her basket and decided to set off for home. “I hope father will be happy with all these shillings”. No one was in the church yet, so no one had realized that she had taken shelter there.

          Emily and her father lived in a small disrepair house. The windows were broken and there were empty bottles everywhere on the floor. Her father had never bothered to clean up or fix the house. Emily was almost at the house, when she saw some people outside her house. “What’s going on?” she asked “this is my house”. When the small group of people saw her, a man walked up to her. “Do you know the man, who lives here?” he asked. “Yes sir,” said Emily “he’s my father”. The man sighed and told her what was happening. Apparently Emily’s father had died in his sleep. His drinking problem had made him very sick and the bitter cold of winter had made it worse. Emily told the man everything about her father; his drinking problem, making her sell matches in all sorts of weather, him spending all the money she ever earned on drinks, how he beat her and never giving her any love. “And last night, he told me to not come home until all the matches were sold, so I took shelter last night in the church”. The small group of people was outraged. “How could he do that to his own daughter?” a woman said. “He won’t be in heaven that’s for sure” said a man. “His death is his own fault” said another woman. “At least the little girl is free from him now” said another man.

          Of course Emily was saddened of being an orphan. But not long after her father’s death, she was adopted. The family, who adopted her, was a rich couple and they raised Emily with love and kindness. Emily became happier than she ever thought she would be in life. ‘My Christmas wish came true’ she thought. Apart from always keeping the dolls, books and teddy bears she received from the Christmas angel, she always kept her Christmas fairy as well. That way she would always remember that magical Christmas night with the Christmas angel and fairies.   

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma Part 4

How the Black and White

Crystals were created

 

         

          Meanwhile, back in the castle of Ishma, Prince Charles was holding Prince Edward and Princess Julia hostage in the dungeons. Sometime after Princess Julia arrived back from the countryside the guards had grabbed her and tossed her into the dungeon. Prince Edward was tossed sometime after her. Luckily no one had realised that she had left the castle, so Prince Charles didn’t know what his sister in law had done.

          While Princess Julia and Prince Edward were in the dungeons, Prince Charles was searching for the black crystal of Ishma. It had been hidden somewhere in the castle, so no one would get to it. The late king never told his sons where it was hidden because he didn’t know where it was either, because no one had told him. But Prince Charles was desperate to find it no matter what. He was about to turn red in anger when Willy came in. Willy was holding an old black and white book.

          “Excuse me your highness,” he said “but you may want to look through this book that I found in the castle library”.

          “What’s so important about an old book?” asked Prince Charles. Even though Prince Charles could read, he hated reading books. He thought that reading books was silly.

          “It has info about both the black and white crystal of Ishma” Willy answered.

          “Really?” said Prince Charles “Give it to me!” He snatched from Willy and began to read.

          This is what the book said:

          ‘Three hundred years ago there were twin princes named Prince Arthur and Prince John. Both of them processed powerful magic. Magical powers were gifts to them by a powerful wizard named Malthizor. Malthizor gave the twin princes the gift of magic because they once saved his life from being eaten up by wolves. Prince John the eldest twin became the next king of Ishma after their father died, while Prince Arthur the youngest twin supported him.

          Everything thought that Prince John would rule wisely like his father before him. But they all thought wrong. After becoming king, Prince John’s true nature was revealed. His heart was cold and used his magic powers for evil instead of good. He planned to bring Ishma under the cover of darkness. To bring Ishma under darkness he conjured up all of his dark magic and transferred it into a crystal he created. The crystal turned black once all of Prince John’s dark magic was transferred into it. So Prince John called it ‘the black crystal of Ishma’. And with the black crystal of Ishma at his side Ishma became dark and gloomy.

          Prince Arthur didn’t intend to let his twin brother get away with what he did. First he created his own crystal and transferred his good magic into it. His good magic turned the crystal white, which is why he called it ‘the white crystal of Ishma’. With the white crystal’s power Prince Arthur challenged his brother to a fight, a fight to defeat him and bring peace back to Ishma.

          The fight was ferocious. It was a battle between light and dark magic. The black crystal of Ishma turned out to be very powerful with its dark magic. But the white crystal of Ishma was even more powerful with its light magic. In no time at all the white crystal overpowered the black crystal and Prince John was defeated.

          Prince John was sentenced to death for his crimes and Prince Arthur became king of Ishma. Ishma was no longer in a dark and gloomy form and all was peaceful again. As for the black crystal: it couldn’t be destroyed because its magic protected it no matter what they did to it. Even the white crystals power couldn’t destroy it. So Prince Arthur buried it inside the castle walls. He never wanted history to repeat itself, so he never told anyone where exactly he buried the black crystal in the castle walls. As for the white crystal of Ishma: he kept it at his side until the day he died. And it was decided that the white crystal of Ishma was to be passed down to every new king of Ishma.’

          “So that’s where my ancestor hid the black crystal,” Prince Charles said when he finished reading the book “it’s hidden inside the walls. Come Willy we have some searching to do”.

          “Yes your highness” said Willy and they began to search for the black crystal of Ishma.

The Bride of a Demon

           A long time ago, high up in the mountains, there was a village. This village did look peaceful, but the villagers had a problem. In the snowy mountains there lived a demon, which had the power over snow and ice; the snow demon is what they called him. The villagers had a tradition; once a year, in the middle of winter, the snow demon demands a girl of sixteen years old to be presented to him in the snowy mountains. The villagers didn’t dare to disobey the snow demons wishes, because the snow demon had said that he would make the villagers live eternally in winter if he didn’t get what he wanted. The villagers couldn’t bear to have winter upon them all year long, so they obeyed his every command.

          All the girls, that were about to turn sixteen, in the village were sad and frightened because of the tradition, except one. This girl’s name was Snowdrop; she was called that because a lot of snowdrop flowers bloomed on the day she was born. Ever since Snowdrop was a little girl, she knew that one day she might be sacrificed to the mountain demon. But she didn’t feel frightened, she actually felt grateful to the snow demon. She was grateful because she knew that the snow demon was the one who ruled over the land the village was built on. Every winter, whenever snowdrop flowers grew, she would place snowdrop flowers just outside the mountain, as a thank you gift to him.

          One winter day it was now time for the snow demon to be presented with a sixteen year old girl. A small temple lay in the middle of the village and that was where the villagers would gather round to choose what girl would be sacrificed to the snow demon. This year Snowdrop was chosen. The vote was decided by her father. Snowdrop’s father was a terrible man; he never wanted a daughter. Snowdrop’s mother died after giving birth to her and he was not happy that he didn’t end up with a son. He thought that giving her to the snow demon would be a way to get rid of her.

          Snowdrop was dressed in white robes and she walked straight to the cave in the snowy mountains where the snow demon lived. It was dark inside the cave and Snowdrop couldn’t see anything at all. “Is anyone here?” she whispered. “Step forward my pretty maiden” said a voice. Snowdrop bravely stepped forward and then the snow demon appeared. He didn’t look like a monster; in fact he nearly looked human. But he had horns on his head and his feat had big toenails. Snowdrop bowed politely to the snow demon. The snow demon raised her head with his fingers. “So beautiful and exquisite” he said, with a smile, “come with me my dear”.

          The snow demon brought snowdrop to a room of the cave, where a big bed, with fury sheets and pillows, lay. He placed snowdrop on the bed and raped her all night long. This is what the snow demon always did; he would rape the village girls that are sent to him. Snowdrop did feel pain from being raped, but did nothing to stop him just in case it would make him angry enough to kill her.

          The next morning, the snow demon sent Snowdrop home. “You pleased me” he said, with a smile. Snowdrop curtsied to him and went back to the village. The villagers were relieved that Snowdrop was okay. “Now our village will be saved” they said.

          For a while everything seemed normal and during spring everything went well for the crops. But then Snowdrop began to feel sick. When she visited the village doctor, she realized that she was with child and Snowdrop knew that it was the snow demons child. She didn’t want to tell anything, especially her father, just in case they would want to kill it. One night, Snowdrop went up to the mountains, where she would place snowdrops, and said; “Snow demon I wanted to let you know that I am carrying your child”. What Snowdrop didn’t know was that she had been followed. The village doctor, who told Snowdrop that she was with child, feared that it was the snow demon’s child, since she was raped by him. So he followed Snowdrop and heard her say that she was carrying the snow demon’s child.

          The next day, Snowdrop was taken to the temple. The doctor had told everyone that Snowdrop was carrying the snow demon’s child. The villagers feared that Snowdrop’s child would mean trouble for the village, so they wanted to kill it by making Snowdrop abort it. Snowdrop didn’t want to abort it and kept on telling the villagers that she wanted to keep her child. But the villagers ignored her pleas. “This is for the sake of the village” they said. Snowdrop’s father was just about to beat her, so Snowdrop would miscarriage, when suddenly he was turned into a block of ice. “Don’t you dare harm my child!” a voice shouted.

          It was the snow demon. He heard what Snowdrop had said that night, and came to the village to retrieve her. “Come to me my dear,” he said to Snowdrop, offering a hand to her “we will take our leave”. Snowdrop gave her hand to him, then the snow demon put her to sleep and then he held her in his arms. He turned to the frightened villagers. “I am taking my bride back with me to the mountains,” he said “I do not want any more girls given to me at winter time. What I do want is a big bundle of wheat every month. My wife here will need it when the child is born. And further more I do not want anyone trespassing on the mountains, and to give you a warning”. He clicked his fingers and then Snowdrop’s father, still in a block of ice, broke into a million pieces. “The same thing will happen to you if anyone disturbs me and my family, and also if you refuse to give me wheat”. And then the snow demon vanished with Snowdrop, still sleeping in his arms.

          The villagers never saw Snowdrop again, but they say that they hear her laughter in the mountains. They also hear a sound that sounds like children laughing; which meant that Snowdrop had given the snow demon a lot of children. And they say that she lived a happy life with her snow demon husband and her snow demon children until she died.  

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma Part 3

Ted, Jack and Sam

          The three boys that Sophie was going to ask for help were called Ted, Jack and Sam. They were not brothers, just best friends. Sophie had been their best friend ever since they were children. Even though they were best friends they were very different from each other.

          Ted was the son the village school teacher. He lived with his father at the village school. Ted was the smartest boy at school and understood and knew about everything. He spent most of his time studying and reading books. But Ted wasn’t a brave boy. He had a thing for safety, which meant he never wanted to do dangerous things or go on adventures; he never wanted to get into fights either. He preferred studying in the village school where it was safe.

          Jack was the son of the village carpenter. He lived with his father in a cabin by the forest. Jack loved helping out with carpenting, but his favourite job was carrying planks of wood with a cart. Jack was the strongest boy in the village, with very strong muscles. He was as strong as a cart horse. So it never bothered him to carry heavy loads. The only thing that bothered him was that he wasn’t exactly smart. He was always bad at reading and writing. His spelling was always incorrect and he could hardly read. All he wanted was to become a carpenter like his father.

          Sam was the son of the villager shepherd. He helped his father look after sheep in the fields. Sam was always ready to strike if any danger came, like wolves, to kill the sheep. Sam was the bravest boy in the village. He had more courage than anyone else in the village. Sam was never afraid when he had challenges to do. He would climb trees without ever being afraid of heights. Always faced dark places like he was a night creature himself and always stood up to bullies like a brave soldier. His problem was that he didn’t have very strong muscles. His muscles were quite weak. Whenever he had to carry something like a bucket full of water or a pile of sticks, he could hardly lift or carry them at all.

          Even though Ted wasn’t brave and Jack wasn’t smart and Sam wasn’t strong they didn’t care. They were best friends no matter how different they were. With Ted’s brains, Jack’s muscles and Sam’s courage they made a great team together. That was why Sophie decided that they were the perfect group to help her with the quest of finding the white crystal of Ishma.

          Sophie found Ted, Jack and Sam talking to each other under the village tree. The boys became happy when they saw Sophie coming towards. They always enjoyed her visits.

          “Hi Sophie it’s been a while” said Ted.

          “What brings you here in the village then?” asked Sam.

          “I’ve come here because I need help from all of you” answered Sophie.

          She told them about Princess Julia’s visit and about what Prince Charles was planning to do with the black crystal of Ishma.

          “That’s crazy!” said Sam.

          “Yeah I’ve read about the black crystal being an evil weapon!” said Ted.

           Next Sophie showed them the map of Irasha and told them that was where she had to go.

          “You know this will be a very difficult task to do Sophie” said Jack.

          “I know Jack, but I don’t intend to let Princess Julia and Prince Edward down,” said Sophie “nor do I intend to let Prince Charles get away with this evil plan. Will you three help me please?”

          Sam agreed to help because he always wanted an adventure. Jack agreed too, he would go anywhere where ever his friends went. Of course Ted hesitated about going because he never wanted to go on adventures. But he saw the desperate look in Sophie’s eyes for help. He couldn’t bear to let his friend down so he agreed to help. Sophie and the three boys decided to start planning immediately. This was not going to be an easy task.

        

The Black and White Crystal of Ishma part 2

Sophie 

          Princess Julia’s best friend, Sophie, lived in the countryside on a farm, with her father, mother and little brother. Her father was once a member of the royal court, but when he got married to Sophie’s mother, who was a countryside girl, he decided to spend a family life in the countryside. Sophie was a cheerful, happy young girl and loved to help out on the farm. But sometimes Sophie wished for an adventure. Sure she didn’t mind feeding the animals or collecting eggs or milking cows, but it was still a bit boring doing the same things every day. Excitement was what she really wanted.

          One day, while taking a stroll, Sophie’s wish for excitement soon came. Princess Julia arrived at Sophie’s farm cottage. Sophie and Princess Julia were happy to see each other again. They had been best friends ever since they were little. Prince Edward and Sophie used to play together a lot, whenever the royal family visited the country side. They had a holiday home built in the countryside and would visit it every holiday time. When Prince Edward married Julia he introduced her to Sophie and they became friends with each other at once. Sophie’s father and the king were best friends ever since they were both boys. They were happy that their children became best friends with each other and gave them permission to play whenever they wanted to.

          Sophie was just about to invite Princess Julia into her house, when Princess Julia suddenly said it was an emergency and needed her help. She explained to Sophie all about her brother in laws, Prince Charles’s, plan to take over the kingdom by force with the magic of the black crystal of Ishma.

          “But everyone knows how evil and dangerous that crystal is” said Sophie.

          “I know” said Princess Julia “but Charles is filled with hate and greed in his heart. And he will do anything to get what he wants”.

          “What are you and Edward going to do Julia?” asked Sophie.

          “We have thought up a plan and that’s what I’ve come here to talk to you about” Princess Julia said.

          Princess Julia explained to Sophie about the plan to find the white crystal of Ishma, so they could use its power to stop Prince Charles. Sophie knew that crystal had been missing for fifty years and thought that would be impossible. Princess Julia then said that she and Prince Edward had decided to leave the mission of finding the white crystal to Sophie. Sophie was speechless! She couldn’t believe that both Princess Julia and Prince Edward chose her for this difficult task.

          “Edward and I decided that if we go looking for the white crystal, Charles may find out what we were doing and stop us” Princess Julia said “that’s why we have chosen you to search for the crystal. You’re the only one we can count on, so please help us Sophie”.

          Sophie could tell that Princess Julia really needed her help. She also knew that without the white crystal Ishma would fall to darkness under Prince Charles’s control.

          “Alright I will do it Julia” Sophie answered. She had no intention of letting her best friend down.

          Princess Julia thanked Sophie with all her heart and gave her the map from Prince Edward. Princess Julia said to Sophie that the map would help her look for the white crystal. Then said that she had to get back to the castle quickly, so that Prince Charles wouldn’t know what she was up to, gave Sophie lots of luck and then set off on her horse as fast as she could back to the castle.

          Sophie watched Princess Julia go out of sight and hoped that both she and Prince Edward would be alright. Next she looked at the map Princess Julia gave her. The map showed the place where the white crystal was lost. The place where the war fifty years ago took place was not in Ishma, it was in a place called Irasha. Irasha was a big land like Ishma and was across the ocean.

          Sophie knew there was no way she could find the white crystal in Irasha by herself. But she knew three boys who would help her. She told her family about everything that had happened. Then told about the mission she was sent on. The mother was shocked and didn’t really want Sophie to carry out this mission because she was a girl, not a boy. But Sophie explained that Princess Julia entrusted her and only her for this mission. The father understood what was happening; he always knew that Prince Charles was trouble. He agreed to let Sophie go. The mother hesitated but then agreed to let Sophie go and they all wished Sophie luck on her mission and told her to be careful. Then Sophie set off towards the village to find the three boys, who would help her.

The Black and White Crystals of Ishma, Part 1

The Evil Plot and Big Plan

        
  

A very, very long time ago, in a land called Ishma, there lived a young prince named Edward. His father, King Richard of Ishma, had just died and Prince Edward was going to become the next king of Ishma. Prince Edward was very sad of his father’s death, it reminded him of the day when his mother, the queen, had died ten years ago. But he knew that he was now destined to rule Ishma and he promised his father and everyone else that he would rule wisely and become a good king.

          Everything would have gone according to the plan if it had not been for Prince Edward’s twin brother Prince Charles. He was jealous of his twin brother being the new king. He knew that since Prince Edward was the eldest twin he would be the next king, but Prince Charles wanted to become king more than anything else in the world. So that night, with his servant Willy, he thought of a plan to get rid of his twin brother and become king. He decided to take the kingdom by force with the dark power of the black crystal of Ishma. Willy agreed with the idea and offered to help, even though he felt scared about the black crystal.

          The black crystal of Ishma was a stone that processed really dark magic. It was powerful and very dangerous. The royal family of Ishma had never used it because the black crystal was evil, instead of good. There was another crystal of Ishma as well; the white crystal of Ishma. It was as powerful as the black crystal, but it didn’t process dark magic instead it processed good magic. The royal family used its good magic to vanquish evil and made sure that their enemies never had it for their own selfish reasons. The unfortunate thing was that fifty years ago, there was war between Ishma and another land. Ishma won the war, but they lost the white crystal in the battle. It had never been seen again since.

          Prince Charles’s evil plan would have been successful if it had not been for the Prince Edward’s wife; Princess Julia. Princess Julia was outside Prince Charles room when he was revealing to Willy what he was going to do. She heard everything about Prince Charles’s evil plan and rushed off to tell her husband, Prince Edward, about Prince Charles’s plot against him and his idea of using the black crystal.

          “I feared that this would happen,” Prince Edward said “I have always sensed my brother’s jealousy and greed. I do not know if Charles is really crazy enough to use the black crystals dark magic. But if he is then we will need to search for the white crystal”.

          “But no one has seen the white crystal for fifty years,” said Princess Julia “it was lost during that war fifty years ago”.

          “I know my dear,” said Prince Edward “but finding that white crystal is the only way to defeat Charles”.

          Princess Julia then thought of something, and it was a problem. The problem was that if she or Edward went to look for the white crystal, Charles would be suspicious of what they were doing and might try to stop them. Prince Edward knew that she was right, but what were they going to do? Princess Julia then had an idea. She said to her husband that they could ask their old friend Sophie for help. Princess Julia decided that they should ask her to search for the white crystal in their place. Prince Edward wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to leave this difficult plan to Sophie; he didn’t want to put an old friend in trouble. But they had no other choice and agreed to the plan. He told his wife to inform her friend, Sophie, of the plan at once. He even told her to come straight back home after explaining everything to Sophie, otherwise Charles’s would end up suspicious.

          So Princess Julia got her horse out off the stables and got ready to leave, without anyone noticing. Before she left, Princess Julia told Prince Edward to be careful and watch out for Charles. Next Prince Edward gave her a map to give to Sophie; he said it would help her on her quest. Then Princess Julia set off on her horse as quickly as she could, to the country side to meet her best friend Sophie.