Ben and Lucy: The Sunken Kingdom
Chapter 20 Captive

Ben began to stir in his sleep. Baggy and Max had gathered Mondoberries for Ben’s bite as well. Max had seen this treatment before, having been in the presence of man and his many ways of healing his kind. Baggy had his doubts but did as Max said once he saw the wound creating scales on Ben’s skin. He knew they had to act fast as the venom was already affecting Ben. Ben reacted the same way that his twin Lucy did to the concoction of Mondoberry juice, water, and Asper flowers. Max had seen this from another human as he was out on one of his travels. Asper flowers were growing wild in this area of the woods. Luckily for Ben they had fallen in bushes next to the flowers. Max and Baggy had moved Ben away from Sylvester and had cleaned the blood off his face. As they were attending to him, neither had noticed that Sylvester had actually slithered away.

“Hey Baggy, look!”

“Oh no!” The two friends were just now discovering that the hugs snake had slipped away.

“How did he survive?” Max asked Baggy with disbelief in his voice.

“With his wounds he will not dare attack us again. I think and hope he has gone back to his lair to mend.” Baggy said with resignation.

“Good riddance.” Max bellowed.

“Now we must see to the boy. I am afraid that the venom is too strong for him.”

“Did you see that Ben actually drank his blood as well?”

“He was covered in the blood and I think he did swallow some.”

“He did? Mmm that might actually help. We will see.”

Baggy had been taught by his mother when he was a cub to eat live snakes. She had told him that their blood could often protect them later from being bitten from the same kind of snake. Something in the blood of the snake provided protection against the venom that the snake created in his own body. If this was true then Ben would have the strongest protection possibly from the deadliest snake known. If only he would survive. Baggy was hopeful that this would work as well for Ben.

Ben found himself drifting through the enchanted castle once again this time further into the dungeon. As he made his way through the passageways he was drawn to one cell underneath. The walls were damp and cold to the touch. Very little light appeared but he could still see, better than he could even imagine. Somehow through the dark his vision was excellent. Something was pulling him forward. It must have been night time even though in this place it was always night time. He came to the cell that drew him. Ben continued to move forward. His body passed through the iron door like a vapor. Was he a ghost? He moved toward a slab in the corner. He was now over the body of a man, as he looked down his mind raced. It was Charnac! He was alive! Charnac rolled over and looked directly into Ben’s eyes.

“Ben, you can see me.” Charnac whispered.

“Yes, but how? Am I a ghost?” Ben was afraid.

“No Ben, but you have discovered the power to dream travel.”

“Dream travel? How?” He was excited and still scared.

“Not sure, only a few can do this. This is a very unique gift.”

“Can you do it?”

“Yes and no.” Charnac paused.

“I have never been able to interact and project myself like you are doing.”

“What is this place?” Ben said without waiting.

“The castle of Shamus Kespon.”

“Who is he?”

“The lord of the Eastern Kingdom of Raspor.”

“Why does he have you locked up? Are you ok?” Ben’s voice had the edge of anger in it.

“My child, I will be ok for a little while longer but you must get to the Sunken Kingdom of Eloise and ask for her help.”

“Yes I know but Lucy and I have been split up.”

“That is not a bad thing. There are those that are searching for you both.” Charnac always the calm answered.

“Why?”

“You are twins and twins in this land are very magical. As long as you are separated then no one can tell that you exist as twins. You must try to keep that a secret as long as you can. Are you traveling alone?”

“No, I am with Max and Baggy,a dog and a bear.”

“And Lucy?” Charnac asked without any surprise in his voice.

“She was with Growler and Mattie.”

“Did you say Growler and Matilde?”

“Yes, do you know them.”

“Oh yes, Lucy is in great care. They are wonderful people and will be loyal to her. I can rest easier now.” Charnac did relax and laid his head back down.

“Why are you here. What happened at you home?”

“Well after you left, by the way where is Parmesis?” Charnac asked quickly.

“I don’t know. We were attacked by giant birds, they looked like dinosaurs.”

“What are dinosaurs?” Charnac asked inquisitively.

“Oh never mind, just creatures from long ago in our world that died out millions of years before man.”

“Oh the ancients.” Charnac forgetting that Ben was not of this world.

“Maybe, sure.” Ben tried to answer Charnac.

“Ben you must be careful there are many evil creatures in this land with many powers.”

“I know. It seems that Lucy and I can talk with animals, but not all can. Growler can’t even talk to his own dog.” Ben said with exasperation.

“As I said being a twin is very magical in this land and you must try to remain as invisible as possible. Do you still have the packs I gave you?”

“Yes, they are great.”

“Be careful with them as well. Not too many should see their powers either. They would make great targets. The good thing is that they only work for you and no one else can make them work.”

“Not even you.” Ben asked.

“Not even me. Now Ben you must get to Eloise as fast as you can.” Charnac said with conviction.

A sound came from behind Ben down the passageway.

“You will need to leave soon, Ben.”

“How? I don’t even know how I got here.”

“Then you will need to hide in the shadows. Go over there.” Charnac instructed Ben.

He had just gotten in the corner when the iron door began to swing open.

“All right you. Time to go. Me lord has commanded your presence. Get up!” Beckoned a voice.

A large man over six feet tall reached down and pulled Charnac to his feet. The man was almost as wide as he was tall. He was covered in a suit of leather and hides. His hair was long, thick, greasy, and black. He turned and looked toward Ben, his eyes seemed to look straight at Ben. The man squinted his eyes then turned away. Ben was not seen.

“Ah, this place down here must be haunted with all the victims, ha ha ha.” The big man laughed. “Maybe tonight another one will be added, right me lord?” He directed the question to Charnac. Then did not wait for answer as he pushed Charnac through the door. Ben began to follow Charnac and the man, keeping his distance. Up the stones stairs the two went as Ben remained behind them. The stench coming from the man permeated the air. Alcohol and the body of someone who never takes a bath was almost too much for Ben to take. He struggled not to throw up. Ben held back his vomit. Each time he was about to, the guard looked back. Scanned the dark behind him, looking past Ben and then shook his head.

“Must be this old castle.” The guard mumbled to himself and then he would push Charnac forward.

The guard took Charnac up out of the dungeon and into a large hall. Torches lined the walls and illuminated the hall. The stone walls that lined the room were covered with tapestries. Ben was reminded of a medieval castle back in Europe. Somehow this room was familiar. This was a different castle than the palace where Ben had dreamt about before. Ben stayed close to the walls and remained out of sight. Hiding behind some pillars that held the celling up. Even though the guard did not see him he did not want to take any chances.

“Bring the prisoner to me! We have some news that we must tell our guest and then maybe he will want to start talking.” The voice of a man bellowed in the hall. Ben looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man with flaming red hair down upon his shoulders. This man reminded him of Mattie. The same hair and eyes. Does he know her? Ben’s mind raced through the possibilities. It was easy to tell he was in charge. No one else dared to speak. The red haired man was even taller and broader than the guard. He was even bigger than Growler himself.

The guard brought Charnac before this red haired man and shoved him to his knees. Ben almost yelled out, but kept his distance.

“So Charnac, we have news that your two little guests have made their way into the woods of Rancor.” The red man continued.

“My reports are that they escaped from the White Tiger, or should I say one of them.” The red man sneered at Charnac.

Ben’s heart froze. Did he mean that the White Tiger had gotten Lucy?

“One escaped across the river, the other fell down the mountain and either died in the fall or will be soon will be lost in the haunted forest. There is no way out of there, even for a special one.” The red man said happily.

Ben’s heart soared. He knew that Lucy had made it past the White Tiger and was now across the river.

“So my dear friend. I think you had best tell me more about this “Special” friend of yours. Before I take your life.” The red man said menacing toward Charnac.

Ben jumped.

The Red Man stepped toward Charnac. He was just inched away from him. He raised his huge arm and struck Charnac. Charnac fell back to the floor. Ben was about to jump in but Charnac’s eyes found him and Charnac shook him off. Charnac whispered. “Stay hidden.” The Red Man saw this.

“Search the castle. Someone is here. Quickly.” The red man said angrily. The guard came towards Ben. He began to shake. His vision blurred and went black.

Ben opened his eyes and he was back with Baggy and Max.

“Ben. Are you ok? Baggy, he is coming out of it.” Max said with anticipation.

“Great, the mixture must have helped.”

Ben actually felt pretty good, considering that he had just been bitten by the most poisonous snake in the land. Max and Baggy were impressed, but just the same kept an eye out for any add behavior.

“Yecch, what is that smell?” Ben exclaimed.

“Well, my boy that be you.” Added Baggy with a chuckle.

“Have to point this out to you too. You swallowed some of Sylvester’s blood. You be blood brother’s now.” Baggy began to laugh very hard, so too did Max. Ben started to be angry then the infectious laughter caught hold of him as well. Soon the three were laughing together as if nothing had ever happened. Joy was filling Ben’s heart. He was safe and even better, so too was his sister.

Lucy began to stir. She stretched her arms and legs out. She felt good, just as if she had awoken from a deep sleep. She felt refreshed.

“Lucy, are you ok?” asked Mattie.

“Oh, I feel great.” Lucy said with a smile. “What happened? The last thing I remember was a sharp pain in my leg.” Lucy then reached down where her leg had been bitten. Nothing was there now, the wound had healed nicely.

Mattie exchanged a glance with Growler. Paddy was smiling. Mattie was uneasy, she knew she had better watch Lucy. Growler thought about how Mattie’s story earlier had ended. He did not want to think about Lucy acting like Heather did. He would not be able to do to Lucy what Jacob had done to his daughter.

“C’mon. Let’s get going.” Lucy said brightly.

Lucy was full of energy and her mood was vibrant. Paddy loaded some supplies in bags and Growler loaded them onto the sleigh. Paddy fetched the two horses he owned and tied them to the sleigh. Horse power would do the trick for this next stage of the journey. No need to alarm the villagers that the sleigh was magical. After Growler had removed the blades and replaced them with wheels, the company was soon off. The snow was now behind them as the quartet made their way through the village. Paddie’s house was on the western end of the village and the path to Eloise’s was to the east. They would have to make their way through the entire town. Secrecy was not on their minds as they clearly transported Lucy through the village. Growler knew there would be whispers but they appeared to be a family traveling through the land with Paddy leading them that should help lessen the questions. Perhaps they would be thought of as Paddy’s long lost family. Still Growler was hesitant.

“Nice village we have here, don’t we Lucy?” asked Paddy.

“Oh, yes the houses and all the flowers are very nice.” Lucy was thrilled by the flowers. The houses were filled with flowers of all different colors. Red roses, pink carnations, blue, yellow, orange hues blossomed from every house. This was in stark contrast to the woods that Ben had traveled through. The twins were on very separate paths to their shared destination. No one would guess that the legend of the twins was in their midst.