Ezara And The Order Of The Lion

 Ezara And The Order Of The Lion

 PrologueThe house was dark. The floors creaked as he walked up the stairs. He paused. Silence. He kept walking. At the top of the stairs he turned right and walked toward an open door. Moonlight was spilling through the doorway. He stepped in. A small boy was asleep in a beautifully carved crib. Across the room, in another crib was a girl. He smiled. It was her. He carefully picked her up and looked around. The window was open. He opened it and lightly dropped onto the ground. The girl never woke up.

 Chapter One    It was the perfect liftoff. Everything was going perfectly. The mechanics were going off without a chink. I leaned back in my chair and took a breath for the first time since we took off. Through the picture window in front of me I saw the houses slowly getting smaller. People on the street stopped and stared. The order would have to deal with them. That was part of the plan; distract the order and get to the rendezvous point. Two birds, one stone, I thought. Lieutenant Glass came up behind me. 

“The course has been set,” he said. 

“This is it.” I replied. “This is the end of the order of the Lion.”
    We were miles above the ground in a floating house. The clouds drifted by peacefully. They weren’t worried. I was. Now would be the perfect time for the Order’s guards to spot us. We were directly above Lion Palace. I spun in my chair, away from the window. Lieutenant Glass and the others were in the control room Barn had designed the system, meaning no one could understand it but him. He was sitting in a big recliner watching the numbers go up and down on the control screen. I smiled. At least that was still the same. I remembered when we had left General Owen’s quadrant. He had been sitting, just like that, tugging at his beard, his glasses askew. I sighed and sat back in my chair. This would all work out. We would get to the rendezvous point in three days, and we could finally infiltrate Lion Palace. 

    There was a jolt. I jumped up. 

“Barn, what’s going on?” 

He frowned at the screen in front of him, “I… It would appear there’s something wrong with the motor.” I bit my lip. This was bad. Very bad. 

“We can’t land, can we.” I said. It wasn’t a question. We were directly over Lion Palace, we couldn’t land without being spotted. 

I looked out the window and an idea clicked in my mind. 

“We’re near Pine island, right?” I asked. Barn nodded cautiously. 

“Turn around. We can land there and we’ll be even closer to Lion Palace.”

Barn’s Eyes widened, “But-” 

“Look,” I said. We don’t need the rest of the resistance. It will be so much easier to infiltrate the palace if there’s less of us. We can be undercover in Lion Palace and get information!” I said. Barn nodded slowly. 

“You might be onto something. When the rest of the resistance arrives, they can be our distraction while you get to Lord Daezin from the inside… This could work.” I sighed with relief. Even though I was in charge of this faction of the rebellion, I ran everything I did past Barn. He could always improve on my ideas. He spun around in his chair and started giving orders to the others in the control room. The house slowly turned around. I knew this would work. The plan was perfect. So why was there a pit in my stomach?


Chapter TwoThe island was smaller than I had remembered it. Or maybe I was just bigger. The last time I had been on pine island was Ten years ago. I had hitched a ride on a fisherman’s boat, and camped out on the beach for three days. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. I turned around and looked at the house. It looked very out of place on the woodsy island. I sighed. Someone would notice it here eventually. We would have to sink it. 

“Ahem. Commander.” 

Lieutenant Glass was next to me. “What is it?” I asked.

“Um, there's a bit of a problem with the plans for tomorrow.” I spun around.

“What do you mean there's a problem?” I hissed. I could feel the electricity on my fingertips. Nothing could go wrong at this point. We were so close! I couldn’t wait another three years to take down the Order.

    Lieutenant Glass winced. “Um, it would appear we don’t have a way to get to the palace.” 

I frowned. We were going to have to swim. 

    I took a deep breath. The fizz of energy slowly dissipated. I had to learn to control it. If there was another accident… 

    Well, I didn’t think I would be able to survive it twice. 
By midnight the house was at the bottom of the lake, and we were ready to swim. I hated swimming. I hated it a lot. 

    By midnight we were lined up on the beach. Barn and a few others (mostly those who couldn’t swim) were staying behind with our equipment. I slowly stepped into the water. It wasn’t too cold. The wetsuits had come in handy after all. I still remembered when General Owen had Gave them to us. It was before we split. Before there were even any plans to invade Lion Palace. I kept walking. Soon enough I couldn’t walk anymore. I ducked under the water and pushed off the sand. I couldn’t see anything. I turned on my flashlight. A small beam of light shone through the water. I looked around. Everyone else was following my suit and swimming. I swam a little further and came to the surface. I took a deep breath and went under again. 

    Pine island wasn’t very far from Lion Palace. Thank god. My arms were already burning. I tried very hard not to think about all the fish under me. And the seaweed. And- No. Focus. I surfaced again. I was behind the group. I took a breath and raced to catch up. 

    In the distance I heard something. It was a sort of rumbling. I looked around. I couldn’t see anything near me, and my flashlight was flickering dangerously. The sound was getting louder. I swam a little closer to the surface. I could hear splashing. I saw a dim light. 
Oh no. 
I frantically swam forward. It was a boat. A motor boat. I felt the water get colder as its shadow slowly drifted over me. My lungs hurt. I Kept swimming. My flashlight went out. Everything was dark. I couldn’t see where the boat was anymore. Everything was dark. I was panicking. My heart beat faster. I felt the electric heat in my fingertips. I took a deep breath to stop it, and then remembered I was underwater. I coughed up water. My lungs hurt so bad. I needed air. My hands were glowing. The light intensified. Lightning cracked. I felt myself being blasted out of the water. I saw the boat get knocked over by a huge wave. Then, everything went dark.

Chapter Three    When my eyes fluttered open, I was laying in a bed. A really, really soft luxurious bed. I sat up. My body hurt. I coughed. My throat was dry, and my hands were shaking. Where was I? The room was massive. I was in a four poster bed. Across from me were three huge picture windows. The floor was marble, and velvet furniture was everywhere around the room. The intricately carved door was left slightly ajar. I swung my legs off the bed and tried to stand. My head swayed. I grabbed the bed and steadied myself. Suddenly, the door opened. A woman in a black apron with white fringe walked through the door.

She had an Andorian accent. “Cassie! Sit down, sit down. Don’t hurt yourself!” Cassie?

    I backed up and sat down again. The woman was carrying a basket. She took a towel out of it and handed it to me. It was wet. 

“What- what am I supposed to do with this?” I asked her cautiously. 

“Lie down sweetie. Put it on your forehead.” She said, She took a small bottle with a greenish brownish liquid inside. She grabbed an eyedropper and before I could say anything, she opened my mouth and dripped the disgusting stuff in. I gagged, but gravity wasn’t on my side. I swallowed it. 

    “That was just cod liver oil. The finest you can get!” 

“Look, Where am I?” I said, deciding not to be subtle.

“Don’t you remember Cassie? You’re in Lion Palace, of course!” 
    “LION-”

“Do you not remember anything? You poor dear!”

“Um. What happened?” I asked. 

“Well it was very strange… This woman, Penelope, she said her name was,” That was Lieutenant Glass’s first name. “She knocked on the servants door and said you were hurt. Needed medical attention. You were knocked right out! Must have been that boat accident. Everyone’s talking about it. No one survived except you!” 

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. I was in Lion Palace, this maid thought my name was Cassie, I had killed the people on that boat, and I was really thirsty. 
Once I could walk without falling over, The maid led me out of the room. The hall outside was magnificent. Beautiful tapestries hung on the walls, and the marble floor was so shiny I could see myself in it. I looked terrible. 

We turned the corner into a massive dining hall. The maid (her name was Magret) told me to sit down, and I settled myself in the plush chair at the end of the long table. 

“I’ll be back with tea soon,” Margret said. I nodded and smiled.

I went over what I knew in my head.
Everyone thought I washed up after the boat was destroyed

Lieutenant Glass left me in the castle and was hopefully somewhere nearby

These people thought my name was Cassie, and that I was royalty

 

A door to my right swung open. There was a little kid in the doorway. He was wearing a finely tailored shirt and pants. I sighed. Little kids were the worst. Especially rich little kids. He looked up and jumped back. 

“Who are you?” He asked. 

“I’m, um, Cassie.” 

“Ok. Will you play with me?” He asked.

“Ummmmm…” Just in time Margret came out of the servants door with a tray of tea. 

“Benjamin!” She exclaimed, “Out, out, out. The princess is resting.” 

Princess?

Benjamin Stuck out his bottom lip and mumbled something under his breath.

“BEN.” Margret said. 

“I’m going, I'm going.”
    After tea Margret led me back to my room. Once again, we walked alone through the luxuriously furnished halls. 

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“You sure ask a lot of questions, don’t you!” Margret said, suddenly suspicious.

“It’s just… I wanted to meet… The Duke! Yeah. I wanted to meet the Duke.” I said. I couldn’t believe I had just said that. The Duke was a stuck up idiot.

“Oh.” Margret said, “the Duke hmm?” 

‘Um, yeah. I just, love the Duke.” I said.

“Well, I’m afraid he’s out of town right now, but if he comes back early, I'll let you know.” She winked. I tried to smile like this was the best thing that had ever happened to me.  
It was almost revolting to be in Lion Palace. These people wanted magicless people dead, and were framing the rebellion for their vicious attacks. I shook my head. I needed to gather more information, see what they were planning. And then… Well, after that, I had to take out Lord Daezin.


Chapter Four    I was sitting in my bed when someone knocked on the door. 

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s the maid!” Said a high pitched voice that definitely wasn’t Margret. I slowly walked to the door and opened it. It was Lieutenant Glass.

“Lieutenant!” I exclaimed. 

“Shhh.” She said, “We’re all undercover as guards. General Owen’s quadrant is closer than they thought they would be. The attack is tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I said. I put my head in my hands. “No! I’m not ready.”

“Ezara, you are the chosen one. Do I need to remind you of the prophecy?” 

“Yeah, yeah, Lost and found, tied and bound she will rise to the lion and thus spark the serpent’s rein.” I knew the prophecy by heart. I was kidnapped when I was a baby by an old magician. Barn. He took me in and cared for me, teaching me about the magical world. When I was sixteen, the order of the lion killed my parents. They killed a lot of people who weren’t magical. The rebellion started, and the Order started blaming the attacks on us, saying we were usurpers, trying to overthrow the peace of the nation. And now, here I was, undercover in a castle, waiting to take out lord Daezin. 

“You are ready Ezara.” Lieutenant Glass said.

“No, I'm not! The last time I used my magic I killed a boat full of innocent people, and almost drowned! Thanks for saving me by the way.” Lieutenant Glass  sighed.

“Look, all magic is different, but one thing is always the same; you have to believe you can do it, to be able to do it.” I bit my lip. Maybe she was right.

“Go to the tallest tower at midnight. Daezin will just be returning from his conferences in Aleria, he’ll be there.”

“Ok. See you there.” I said. Glass nodded and swiftly walked out the door. I sat on the bed. I was going to do it. I just had to believe.


Chapter five    The tower was empty. I tiptoed across the round room and hid myself behind a barrel. I went over the plan in my head. 

Get to the clock tower and hide

Daezin will go to the tower to stay hidden

Wait for Lieutenant Glass and the rest to take out the guards. 

Attack

I took a long shaky breath. Twenty minutes. There was a bang from outside. That would be General Owen’s distraction. Of course, he didn’t know we were here, but it was better that way. He would send people to help me. I had to do this on my own.

    There were several crashes, and the sounds of feet running below me. I heard loud footsteps coming up the stairs. I held my breath and sunk lower behind my boxes. The small door creaked open.
Lord Daezin was in the room with me. It took everything I had not to just attack him now. He was killing innocent people. He killed my parents. But I stopped myself. I had to go with the plan. I heard more footsteps. Three big guards stepped into the room. I realized, with horror, that the beautiful silk dress Margret gave me was sticking out from the pile of boxes. I slowly pulled it behind and stayed very still, my heart beating loudly in my ears. More footsteps. Lieutenant Glass. I heard one of the guards step in front of the door. I just knew Glass was smirking behind the door. I looked through a hole in one of the boxes. There was a loud bang, and the door burst into flames. It crumbled to the ground and Lieutenants Glass, Avery and Guster stepped into the room. 

“Hi.” Glass said. Then she swung a right hook at the guard in front of her. He stumbled and tried to hit back. He lunged forward and Glass stepped out of the way. He went barreling through the hole where the door used to be. I could hear the sounds of him falling down the stairs. 

The biggest guard stepped forward, fists clenched.

“You wanna try me?” He said.

“No!” Glass said. Then, Carter Avery came up from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. He instantaneously froze into a block of ice. The last guard looked at Guster, a massive, muscled woman. Then he jumped out the window. It was just Daezin. I had to come out. I stood shakily. Daezin didn’t notice. He had been out of view the whole time, and finally seeing him, he wasn’t what I expected. He was taller than me, with long hair and a green robe. He was younger than I had expected. His jaw was sharp, and his face was speckled with stubble. His eyes were orange in the evening light. 

“Let me guess. You think you’re the chosen one.” He said to me, turning around. His voice was gravely and sharp. I stood tall. I had fought before. I could take him.

“I am.” I said. The lieutenants stood in a line on the back wall and watched, eyes wide. I stepped forward. Daezin smirked. He lifted his hands to the sky and the tower shook. A crack appeared in the roof, and the whole thing exploded. The Lieutenants fell with the rubble of the tower. I inhaled sharply. I didn’t have time to worry about them, I realized. Daizin and I floated in the air. The Levio spell. The first one any magician learns. He was testing me. Suddenly, a fireball flew past my head. Daezin was standing a few feet away. I felt the electricity. My fingers twitched. I pointed my finger at him. Blue energy was dancing around my hand.

“You killed my parents.” A blast of lightning shot forward at him.

“You killed innocent people.” Another one.

“You blamed it all on the rebellion, when you are the one destroying the world.” I yelled. A ring of blue lightning formed around me. I started to spin in the air. Up and up, until I was far above Daezin. I stopped spinning, but the lightning didn’t. Daezin shot five fireballs at me at once. I put my arms in front of me. The fire stopped midair. I pointed and Daezin. They turned, and flew right back at him. He flew up and they shot under him, hitting the side of the Palace. 

“Magicless people are a disgrace to the world. The universe.” Daezin yelled up at me.

“You are a disgrace to the world.” I said. My hands shook with anger. Lighting flashed from the sky. It started to rain. Daezin shot another fireball. It bounced off the spinning ring of lightning. We fought. Fireball after fireball, strike after strike, it went on. We were evenly matched. It was like we knew each other, what we were going to do. 
My ring was gone, I was shooting strike after strike, and the fireballs kept coming. My dress was torn and burned, Daezin’s robe was soaking wet and ripped. We were on the ground now, dancing over the rubble in a waltz of destruction. I formed a losso of lighting and pulled him till he was only three feet away from me. 

“This is the end,” I said.

“No, it’s not.” He said. 

“And why is that?” I asked, eyes flashing. 

“Because-” He said. I tightened the lasso and he flinched. “Because you would never kill your own brother.”

Chapter Six“Brother?” I asked. I felt the power draining from me. I stepped cautiously forward, letting the lasso go slack. Daezin stood and winced. He was beat up pretty bad. I looked at him. Thinking about it now, I sort of saw the resemblance. The dark hair, and sharp jawline. 

“How… How do you know me?” I asked.

“I’ve had people watching you for a long time.” He said. “I couldn’t have you attacking me.” He smiled like it was a joke.

“You think I'm going to forgive you?” I screamed. The sound hung in the silence. 

“No. Of course not. I expect you to understand.” I said. I saw how tired he was. Now would be the perfect time. One blow, and I could take him out. But he was right. I couldn’t kill my own brother.

“You were taken when we were young. Your magic came in first. I was always the late bloomer out of the two of us.” Daezin leaned against a piece of the tower wall. 

“You… You killed our parents.” I said quietly. 

“I didn’t.” He said. 

“Oh?”

“Ezara. I wasn’t alive. We’re twins. It was the lord before me.” He said. 
My mouth hung open. Of course it hadn’t been him. I had always assumed he was older but… If we were twins… That changed everything.

I felt hot tears on my cheeks. 

“They’re gone.” I choked, “They’re gone and you kept killing people.” My back shuddered and wiped my eyes. I couldn’t let him see me like this.

“I… I was told… I was told that magicless people were horrible. After you were taken away, our parents stopped caring about me. I just reminded them of you. The precious daughter. The talented one. I hated them. When we were attacked… Mom went first. Then-” His eyes flashed dangerously. “Then my own father let them take me. To save himself. I was raised by the old lord. He told me all magicless people were like my- our father. I wanted all of them… I wanted them all dead.” He sank to the ground. He looked like a little kid, his head on his knees, his hands balled up at his sides. 

“I’m… I’m sorry.” I said. All this… Daezin wasn’t really evil. He was just raised wrong. Our dad was still alive…
Everything was going to change.


Two Months LaterThe sun was shining through the window of the tower perfectly onto my book.I closed my eyes and breathed. It had been a long time since I had just been able to relax. I looked out the window. The castle was in the process of being rebuilt. Piles of the rubble were scattered around the grounds. The banners that used to depict roaring lions, now showed a serpent coiled around a staff. The Order Of The Serpent. It was still new to me. Some people still thought the rebellion were the evil ones, even after Daezin’s expose last week. I knew nothing would be at peace forever. I would someday go on a search for my father, and the castle was still a mess. Someone opened the door. I opened my eyes. It was Daezin.

“Hi?” I said. He was supposed to be helping with the cleanup.

“I… I wanted to know… I wanted to know what happened to you. After you were taken.” He ran his hand through his hair. I had told him to cut it. It looked better. I smiled and nodded. He sat down on the bench next to me. I closed my book and put it on the seat next to me.
“Well, it all started with Barn…”