Prince Justus and the Rogue

Justus POV

Jankin, Emil, and I stand together facing Feather Mountain, our first major hurdle in our journey. It is said that Emperor Shun of China exiled Gun: The Count of Chong, to the outskirts of Feather Mountain for failing to control the flood waters using dykes during the Great Flood. There are a few different accounts as to what took place on Feather Mountain. Some say that Gun was killed by Zhu Rong: the God of Fire, others say that he was torn into pieces by tortoises and owls, or that his lifeless-seeming body lay there for three years before being slashed open at the belly with the Wu sword, after which his son Yu: the founder of the Xia Dynasty, emerged as a winged dragon and then Gun metamorphosed into a yellow bear.

The ground surrounding Feather Mountain was barren to say the least with no vegetation or animals in sight. If tortoises and owls had once resided on Feather Mountain they were long gone now. The sun was a golden orange making the sky look like it had caught on fire and suggesting that Zhu Rong had indeed been there. A thick fog covered the mountain making it hard to see the closer that we approached.

As we approached the mountain, we could feel it calling us. It was like a magnet that was slowly pulling us into its folds. As we neared the bottom of the mountain the fog began to curl around us, and I could hear a faint humming of a woman singing.

"Jankin and Emil, do you hear that? It sounds like a woman singing or humming?" I asked looking around. I could barely see my fellow travelers through the dense fog.

"I do. She's calling me to climb up the mountain." Jankin replied.

"I hear her too but just faintly." Emil said. "Why can I hear her faintly while Jankin can hear her more clearly?"

"I don't know. But proceed with vigilance." I cautioned my men.

As we began our climb over the mountain the voice continued singing in my head only it became louder and clearer. Jankin was right and she did want us to climb up the mountain. I started to become nervous of what kind of witchcraft waited for us at the top of the mountain.

Queen Eleanor POV

I am getting ready for dinner with my maids. I wonder if that rascal Jeremy will be dinning with us. Today I am wearing a navy blue and gold dress. It is off the shoulder with sleeves that come down to the elbow. The sleeves are a sheer material with gold flower appliques. The top half is for fitted and the front has gold appliques accented with pearl beads going down to the waist. The back is tied with a satin navy blue ribbon. The bottom half flairs out from the waist downward in a sheer material and is covered in gold flower appliques. The dress is truly a sight to behold. For accents I'm wearing a navy blue ribbon chocker that has a gold flower attached to it and in the middle of the flower is a sapphire. I have my hair curled with pins that have pearls and sapphires decorated on them.

I walk slowly to the dining room late as I did yesterday. I always make an entrance. I open the door and the first thing I see is that bitch Gracia also wearing a navy blue dress. Our eyes lock for a brief moment fighting for dominance before I lift my head up and go to my seat. This bitch may think she won the battle, but she hasn't won the war. Besides, I look my dress is twice as beautiful as hers is and I look twice as good as she does.

Gracia POV

I am getting Cecily and I ready for dinner with the help of a few maids. Cecily is so cute with her hair in pigtails and ribbons. She has on her favorite green dress with yellow flower appliques. The sleeves come down to her elbows and are a sheer material. The top portion is fitted but not too tightly so she can move around easily for her age and has yellow appliques. The back is tied with a satin green ribbon. The bottom half flairs out from the waist downward in a sheer material and is covered in yellow flower appliques. Her two favorite colors are green and yellow, so this has become her favorite and most frequent dress to wear.

I am wearing a satin navy blue with red roses dress. It is off the shoulder with puff sleeves that come down to my elbows while the red rose appliques wrap around my arms. The top half is fitted to my body while the roses fall from my neckline to encircle my waist and then fall down the bottom of the dress. The back of the dress is buttoned with tiny red pearls instead of being tied with ribbon. The bottom half of the dress flows out naturally from the waistline. Unlike Cecily's dress which is mostly sheer my dress is entirely made of satin.

We laugh as we walk towards the dinning hall. Cecily is talking animatedly about her day at school and explaining how some little boy tried to take her lunch, so she punched him in the nose and then he tried to kiss her! She doesn't understand little boys. She just shook her head and I laughed.

We entered the dinning hall and father was already there. He was dressed in his usual plain tunic, brown pants, and black boots. His hair was a mess like he just jumped out of bed but as always, I was just glad that he smelled nice and this time he even shaved!

"Father, you shaved this time! Any reason why?" I was wondering if maybe Queen Eleanor was having an affect on him.

"Oh, you noticed, eh. Ah, I shaved because I felt like it. Don't read too much into it." He went back to eating his food.

The door opened and Queen Eleanor walked in. Her eyes met mine and I instantly knew my mistake. I watched as her eyes narrowed at mine, anger filled them, and I knew I was in trouble. As she walked to her seat her eyes never left mine. I felt five inches smaller. How was I supposed to know she was going to wear navy today as well and besides our dresses look completely different. The level of crazy this woman has is out of sight! How do I even respond to this? Seriously! "Well, hello Queen B. How has your day been? Have your servants been kissing your toes correctly?" Jeremy asked.

"Actually, my day has been splendid? How has your day been? How has wallowing in the local mud pit been? You certainly smell like it." Queen Eleanor responded.

"The mud pit was delightful. Next time I'll invite you and we can wallow together." Jeremy said.

"Disgusting pig of a man!" Queen Eleanor shouted.

"Snooty ass witch!" Jeremy shouted louder. "Say, can I walk you around the gardens tonight." Jeremy asked after a loud sigh.

"I suppose but don't think we'll be holding hands. I don't know where your hands have been and if you've washed them." Queen Eleanor said as she lifted her head up in the air.

"Fine. Meet me outside of the grand hall in thirty minutes." Both Jeremy and Queen Eleanor stood up and left the dining hall to get ready for their walk.

"Gracia, what was that? I mean do they have a relationship or what?" Cecily asked.

"I don't know baby. I don't know." Gracia answered.

Jankin POV

We finally reach the summit of Feather Mountain. The closer we got the louder and clearer the singing became and the stronger the pull. By now I could barely control myself. We all wanted to see who or what was on top. At first all we could see was the fog. We couldn't even see each other. Then the fog slowly started to dissipate, and a beautiful Asian woman appeared inside of a cage hanging from a lone tree. Her skin was as white as porcelain and eyes as green as jade. Her hair was black as midnight and hung down to her curvy waist. She wore a shimmering white long dress that went all the way to the ground. She was perfectly proportioned in every way.

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'Mate.' My wolf, Goliath, said. He was usually pretty quiet and didn't speak out much, but I could feel him growing restless in my mind.

"What are you doing here on mountain?" I asked the girl.

"I am trapped here and unable to leave. Only my true mate can set me free." She answers.

"What must your mate do to set you free?" I ask her.

Justus cuts in before the girl can answer. "Jankin, what are you doing?"

"Justus, she's, my mate. Goliath confirmed it. I have to set her free. I need her beside me." I explain.

A/N All places that I have written about are real in mythology. They come from a variety of Norse, Chinese, and Greek mythology. Please drop me a comment and let me know if you like the story or the chapter. I love all feedback both critical and complimentary. Also check out my other books

Dragon Brothers - Completed

Cyprian and the Slave

Her Demon His Angel

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