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Chapter Text

Long ago in the Persian Empire, there lived a young woman named Asha. Asha lost her parents when she was fairly young, leaving her to raise her little brother Zavier on her own. Zavier was severely ill and could hardly get out of bed. Doctors tried every medicine they had that could help treat the illness, but he was still as weak as ever. Asha had to work day and night to earn money to pay for the piling medical bills, but her pay was barely enough to cover them, not to mention the rent for the warehouse she lived in with her brother and food for them to eat.

“Honey naan!” Asha shouted with a basket of naan in hand, standing by the stall where she sells naan, “Piping hot honey naan! Come get it before it’s gone!”

“You must shout louder, Asha!” a man demanded.

“I’m shouting as loud as I can, boss!” Asha said loudly for her boss to hear amongst the noisy bustling crowd in the village.

“It’s almost time to close the stall.” the boss said, “Change out of your uniform.”

Asha changed out of her work uniform into a simple dress in the color of honey with black lace.

“Okay.” she said, “Now, about the pay we agreed on…”

“It’s all about the money for you, isn’t it?” Asha’s boss said with an exasperated sigh.

He tossed her a bag of coins called darics. Asha counted the darics and frowned.

“You made a mistake.” she said, “This is only ten darics. It’s not even half of what we agreed on.”

“I paid you the amount you deserved.” the boss explained, “Look at Ali. His gift is baking. His naan is the best in the world. Can’t say the same about you. You’re lucky I allowed you to work here without a gift.”

Asha’s frown deepened. In the Persian Empire, a lot of the citizens were born with special abilities called gifts. Asha, however, never had a special ability.

Why didn’t I get a gift? she thought, If I had one, my brother and I wouldn’t have such a difficult life!

“Gifted or not, I deserve the same amount of pay as everyone else!” Asha proclaimed, betraying her thoughts.

“Wake up, Asha.” her boss said, “Money is tight for all of us. Tax Day is tomorrow. If we don’t pay our taxes, the king will surely punish us!”

Asha’s eyes widened. 

It’s almost Tax Day? she thought, But I still don’t have enough money to pay for my brother’s medical bills! Why must the king tax his people so heavily?! There are those who could barely afford food! 

“Everyone knows taxes are high!” Asha said, “Doesn’t the king know we have other things to pay for?!”

“Watch your mouth, Asha!” her boss hissed, “The king doesn’t like it when someone questions his rule!”

“Why mustn’t we voice our opinions on the king?” Asha asked, “Would he really punish us if we did?”

“Certainly!” her boss answered, “His power is far greater than any king who ruled the empire!”

He then let out a sad sigh.

“If only King Darius and Prince Yazdan didn’t die so suddenly,” the boss whispered, “We wouldn’t have to worry about paying heavy taxes.”

Despite the boss trying to keep his whisper quiet, Asha heard him. She remembered how wonderful life in the Persian Empire used to be when the late King Darius ruled. Now, everything took a major turn when his trusted advisor Javid took the throne.

“I understand how stressful it is to keep up with payments.” Asha said softly, “I need to pay for my brother’s medical bills, and this is how I pay them and feed my brother.”

“You want money because of your brother?” her boss asked.

“Yes.” Asha answered with a nod of her head, “He’s sick, and I need to pay the doctor who’s prescribing medicine for him.”

Asha’s boss was conflicted. He didn’t want to anger the king for not paying the said amount of taxes, but after hearing Asha’s story, he was moved to help her.

“Okay.” the boss said with a sigh, handing Asha another bag of darics, “Here’s the rest of the pay we agreed on. And take some naan with you, too.”

Asha felt the bag of darics, and it was much heavier than the first one. She smiled as she took a basket of naan with her.

“Thank you, boss.” Asha said.

“Just promise to keep it a secret!” her boss said, back to his stern demeanor.

“Yes, sir!” Asha called as she walked back to the warehouse where she and Zavier lived.

While she was walking to the warehouse, she stopped as she heard a group of villagers talking amongst themselves in hushed tones.

“Did you hear?” a villager asked, “Another villager went missing while venturing in the Forbidden Forest!”

“Goodness!” another villager said, “Isn’t the Forbidden Forest where the Manticore lives?”

“Didn’t the king say that whoever dares to go into the Forbidden Forest ends up being the Manticore’s breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even snack?” a third villager asked.

“You are correct.” a fourth villager answered, “That’s what happened to Prince Yazdan when he tried to find a blue antidote mushroom for King Darius. Everyone knows how much the prince loved his father, but what he did was reckless.”

Asha couldn’t suppress her curiosity and walked toward the group.

“Pardon me for the intrusion,” she said, “But may I ask why Prince Yazdan wanted the blue antidote mushroom for King Darius?”

The gossiping villagers looked at Asha like she’s grown a second head before one of them spoke.

“Haven’t you heard of the legend of the blue antidote mushroom?” the first villager asked.

Asha shook her head

“The blue antidote mushrooms have remarkable healing properties.” the villager explained, “Legends said they can cure all poisons.”

Asha’s eyes lit up like lamps.

A mushroom with healing powers? she thought, That’s great! If I can find one, I’ll use it to make Zavier well again!

“But those mushrooms are very rare.” the fourth villager pointed out, “You could sell one of them for ten thousand darics in the black market.”

“Actually,” the second villager said, “The price has gone up. You can now sell a single blue mushroom for one hundred thousand darics.”

Asha’s jaw dropped.

Man! she thought, If I had that much money, I would have enough to pay my brother's medical bills, the rent, my taxes, and buy plenty of food for me and my brother to eat!

“But Prince Yazdan never needed that kind of money.” Asha said, “He was a prince, after all.”

“Of course Prince Yazdan didn’t go looking for those mushrooms to earn money.” the third villager said, “He went looking for them to heal King Darius. King Darius was sick, and his illness was growing worse every day. So, Prince Yazdan went into the Forbidden Forest to go get a blue antidote mushroom for King Darius. Alas, he never returned with one because of the Manticore.”

“From then on,” the first villager said, “Nobody has ever set foot into the Forbidden Forest, fearing that the Manticore would devour them whole.”

“Or so we all thought.” the second villager added, “There are still curious fools who still dare to go into the Forbidden Forest to get their hands on those mushrooms.”

“So, if you ask us,” the third villager said, “We advise you not to go into that forest.”

“Okay.” Asha said, still amazed by the blue antidote mushroom story, “Sure.”

“Asha!” a lady called, “There you are! You are several months behind on the rent! If you don’t pay it soon, I will have to evict you and your brother!”

Asha’s eye’s widened. She barely earned enough money to pay for her brother’s medicine, but she still didn’t have enough to pay the landlady of the warehouse. She looked at her basket of naan, and an idea came to her mind.

“You came just in time.” Asha said with a smile, “I have freshly baked naan for you.”

She shoved some naan into the landlady’s arms and ran to the warehouse.

“I don’t want naan!” the landlady explained, “I’m talking about the rent…Asha? Asha!”

Asha didn’t listen to the landlady’s calls. She stepped into the warehouse to see her Zavier in bed. The poor boy was like a skeleton due to his severely poor health.

“Asha,” he said with a raspy voice, “You’re finally back. How was work?”

“The usual.” Asha answered, holding out the last naan, “I came bearing naan.”

“You’re the best, Asha!” Zavier said excitedly before coughing hard.

“Easy, Zavier.” Asha said, dividing the naan in half and handing one half to him, “The doctor said you shouldn’t get too excited, or that’ll trigger a coughing fit and cramps.”

“This illness always hurts, anyway.” Zavier said, taking half of the naan, “I wish you don’t have to work all the time because of me. I’ve been a burden to you.”

“Don’t say that, Zavier!” Asha cried, tightening her grip on her half of the naan, “You could never be a burden! I just wish I had a gift, and it could help us get out of this hard life. But, why don’t I have a gift?”

“Asha,” Zavier said, “You ask that question almost every day. Didn’t our parents tell you that whether or not you have a gift, you’re still as special as the rest of the empire?”

“I want to believe them,” Asha said with a sad sigh, “But, I can’t help feeling insecure whenever I see other citizens displaying their amazing abilities. Maybe my gift is denial. I’ll never be special, even if I think I am without needing a gift.”

“I know what my gift is.” Zavier said.

“What is it?” Asha asked.

“Having you as my sister.” Zavier said with a smile, “You’re the only gift I ever need. After Mama and Baba passed away, I didn't have anyone except you. As long as you’re with me, I know I’m not alone.”

Tears formed in Asha’s eyes.

“Thank you, Zavier.” she said, hugging her little brother.

Zavier returned the hug but started coughing again.

“I don’t know how much longer I can hold on.” he added, “Doctors said I don’t have a chance of living a long life. It’s fine, though. Since you’re with me, I don’t have to worry about dying alone.”

“No, Zavier!” Asha said loudly with much resolve, “You will live! I know a way to make you well again. It’s just…going to be dangerous.”

Chapter Text

That night, Asha tucked Zavier into bed. Once Zavier was fast asleep, Asha tiptoed out of the warehouse with an empty basket in hand and made her way to the Forbidden Forest. She tried to keep as quiet as possible because with the moon high above the village, everyone must be asleep at that time.

If I remember correctly, Asha thought to herself, One of the villagers said the Forbidden Forest is south of the village. Hope it’s not a long walk to get there. 

She kept walking through the village, and Asha came to the point where the village met with the Forbidden Forest.

Well, that didn’t take long, at all. she thought, Okay, Asha. Be brave. You’re going to get a mushroom that will serve as a miracle for Zavier. Sure, there’s a manticore there, but the danger that lives there will be worth conquering.

Asha cautiously stepped onto the grass, trying not to make any sudden sounds that would disturb the peace that lingered in the slumbering village. She took a deep breath to calm her heart that was beating like a drum and continued walking through the forest. She began to shiver as the wind blew through the trees like someone trying to cool down a spoonful of steaming soup.

Goodness! Asha thought, I was sweating my head off while working at the naan stall! I never thought the Forbidden Forest would be colder than the village! Maybe it’s that there aren’t any clay buildings, ovens baking naan, or people.

But it wasn’t the time to back down. Once she was deep in the forest, Asha began to look around to see if there were any of the legendary blue antidote mushrooms. She tried going left and right, up north and down south, but Asha always found herself in the same spot where she started.

This is so confusing! she thought, It’s like the Forbidden Forest has a mind of its own! No matter which direction I choose, I end up in the center of the forest again. I must be going in circles.

“If only there’s a sign that can tell me which way can take me to where those mushrooms are.” Asha said out loud.

Then, she spotted a strange blue glow in a cave nearby. It looked like something out of a fairytale. Transfixed on the glow, Asha slowly walked into a cave, and her face broke out a smile as wide as the sea when she saw the source of the glow.

That villager was right! Asha thought, The blue antidote mushrooms do grow in this cave!

She knelt down and picked a mushroom with much carefulness as if she’s harvesting her freshly grown crop. Asha looked at it as if it was the most beautiful sapphire she’s ever seen. After a moment or two of admiring this soon-to-be miracle for her little brother, Asha stored the mushroom in her basket and began gathering more mushrooms until her basket was full. 

“Yes!” she whispered with a victorious smile, “One hundred thousand darics and new medicine for Zavier, here I come!”

But Asha didn’t move, for she heard a low growl echo through the cave. The hairs on the back of her neck rose, goosebumps formed on her skin, and her heart raced faster than a panther. The growl grew clearer with less echo, but it wasn’t the only sound Asha could hear other than her thundering heart. 

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Asha’s breathing escalated as the thumping grew closer and closer. She slowly turned around to be face to face with a ferocious beast. It would’ve been just an ordinary lion if not for the curly horns, wings that belonged to a bat, and a tail that belonged to a scorpion, all in the same color as squid ink. It bared its menacing fangs, and its eyes in the color of emeralds were like slits. Asha could only stare with eyes bugged out and jaw slacked.

That must be the manticore! she thought.

“P-please, d-don’t eat me.” Asha begged with a trembling voice, “I mean no harm. I was just—”

But the manticore interrupted her with a mighty roar that made her run like a deer trying to escape from becoming a wolf’s prey. Asha didn’t dare to look back, fearing if she did, the manticore would gain up on her. She ran so fast, she didn’t realize she was back to where the Forbidden Forest and the village meet.

“That was too close.” Asha said to herself, “Well, at least I got some blue antidote mushrooms.”

But when she looked at her hand, she realized her basket was not with her.

“Oh, no!” Asha whispered, “I dropped my basket when I took off running. But, where’s the manticore.”

She looked in the direction toward the Forbidden Forest and saw no sign of the manticore.

Strange. Asha thought, The manticore looked like it wanted to eat me. But, why didn’t it chase me?

Asha didn’t want to go back into the forest, but she wanted to get those blue antidote mushrooms for Zavier and find out why the manticore did not come after her.

Here we go again. she thought.

Asha made her way back to the manticore’s cave and saw the manticore was still there. However, it was trying to reach something on its side with one of its front paws. Grunting with frustration, it banged itself against the side of the cave. Asha was confused at the manticore’s strange behavior until she saw a cold glint on its side. Asha slowly approached the manticore to see what was causing it to be in pain and softly gasped as she saw a dagger embedded in its side. When Asha reached out for the dagger, the manticore growled at her.

“It’s okay.” Asha said with her hands up, “I’m not here to hurt you.”

The manticore stopped growling, but it still stared at Asha with wariness.

“I can see that you’re injured.” Asha explained, “Please, let me help you.”

The wary expression on the manticore’s face softened and laid on its side, exposing the one with the dagger to Asha. Asha walked around the manticore and grabbed hold of the dagger’s hilt.

“I’m going to pull it out,” she said, “And I need you to hold still. This might hurt.”

The manticore only nodded its head.

“Okay.” Asha said, “On three. One, two, three!”

And with all her strength, Asha pulled the dagger out of the manticore’s side. The manticore whimpered at the painful process. Once Asha got the dagger out, she saw that it left a wound as deep as a rabbit hole, and blood was still oozing from it.

I wish I had medicine and bandages to treat this wound. Asha thought.

She looked down to see the basket she dropped and the blue mushrooms she picked scattered all over the ground. Asha picked on up and thought,

They say blue antidote mushrooms can cure all poisons. I hope it can heal all wounds, too.

“Here.” Asha said, holding out a mushroom to the manticore, “Eat this.”

The manticore opened its large mouth, and Asha tossed the mushroom into it. The manticore closed its mouth and started chewing on the mushroom. After it swallowed, Asha looked at the wound and saw it beginning to close up.

“It’s working.” she said with a smile.

The manticore stood up and realized it didn’t feel any pain on its side anymore. It nuzzled against Asha, as if it’s saying thank you to her.

“You’re welcome.” Asha chuckled.

As she began to pick up the mushrooms she dropped and put them in her basket, the manticore watched her with a straight face. Asha looked at the manticore and said,

“What? I’m just gathering more blue antidote mushrooms.”

The manticore kept staring at her.

“Okay,” Asha said with a sigh, “I can guess what you’re thinking. I’m another of those curious fools who venture into the Forbidden Forest to look for the blue antidote mushrooms to make a fortune and find out if it can cure all poisons.”

The manticore cocked its head, as if it were listening.

“Well, you’re right.” Asha continued, “I’ve heard a single mushroom can be sold for one hundred thousand darics in the black market. So, I came to get these mushrooms because I need money to live on.”

“Hmph.” the manticore said.

“I know.” Asha said with another sigh, “The black market isn’t a very trustworthy source of earning money. But, I just hated living in poverty and worrying about having nothing to eat. Not to mention I’m far behind on rent and taxes because I’ve been saving up to pay for my brother’s medical bills.”

The manticore only turned around and sat down once its back was facing Asha. Asha got the impression that the manticore wasn’t too fond of people coming into its territory for the sake of money. So, she decided to tell her story.

“The main reason I’m gathering these mushrooms is my little brother.” Asha said, “He’s sick, and doctors tried everything they could to treat him. But, no medicine worked. Doctors even said there’s only a small chance of my brother living a long life. I had to take care of him on my own after losing our parents. When I heard about the blue antidote mushrooms, I thought this was my last chance of making my brother well again. I love my brother. I don’t have anyone, except him.”

The manticore perked up his ears and turned around to face Asha. Carefully with its giant paw, it picked up a blue mushroom and handed it to Asha.

“For me?” Asha asked.

The manticore nodded. Asha took the mushroom and said,

“Thank you for understanding how much my brother means to me.”

Then, Asha came up with an idea.

“I will only need one mushroom.” Asha said, “But, can you look after the other mushrooms? I’m sure one day, they will be used to save lives.”

The manticore looked down, as if it were thinking about Asha’s offer. Then, it nodded its head.

“Thank you.” Asha said with a smile, “Now that I think about it, you’re definitely not the monstrous beast the people say you are. You happen to understand what I’m saying and feeling, like you’re human, too.”

She stroked the manticore’s mane, and it leaned into her touch. After bidding the manticore, Asha made her way back to the village. As she walked to the warehouse, she noticed the sky was taking a pinkish orange hue beneath the dark blue fading into a lighter tone.

It’s almost sunrise! Asha thought, Have I been gone for that long?

Once she entered the warehouse, she saw Zavier wide awake.

“Asha?” he asked, “Where did you go? Why are you here so late? Or rather, really early in the morning?”

“Sorry, Zavier.” Asha said, “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

She held out the blue mushroom to Zavier.

“I brought something for you.” Asha said.

Zavier looked at the mushroom with wide eyes.

“A blue antidote mushroom?” he asked, “But, where and how did you find it?”

“I’ll explain later.” Asha assured Zavier, “Please, eat this. This will help you get better.”

Zavier took the mushroom from Asha and ate it. Once he swallowed it, color began to appear on his face.

“How do you feel, Zavier?” Asha asked.

“Better.” Zavier said with a smile, “Much better. My body doesn’t hurt anymore, and I don’t feel like I’m overheating.”

“That’s great, Zavier!” Asha said happily, “How about some honey naan for breakfast?”

“I can’t wait!” Zavier said, “I’m already really hungry!”

Asha and Zavier began munching on naan, happy that Zavier was healthy once again. Little did they know, Asha’s adventure in the Forbidden Forest was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

“A good for nothing landlady who’s been behind on her taxes for months?!” someone shouted, “His Majesty will be furious if he finds out you didn’t pay them fully!”

Asha and Zavier were startled awake from the nap they were taking after staying up until sunrise. Asha’s eyes widened when she heard the person who was shouting at her landlady.

“Oh, no!” she whispered.

“What’s wrong, Asha?” Zavier asked.

“It’s Tax Day.” Asha answered, “The person talking to the landlady is one of the king’s tax collectors.”

“Please!” the landlady pleaded, holding a bag of darics with trembling hands, “Here are the taxes I promised to the king! Now, you can leave with satisfaction! Just don’t hurt me!”

The tax collector snatched the bag from the landlady and examined it by lifting and lowering it. His face twisted into a sneer, and he said sternly,

“It’s not enough! There’s still a load of taxes left for you to pay! You know your taxes are mostly made up of the rent your residents pay you!”

“But one resident is far behind on the rent!” the landlady explained, “I’m still waiting for her to pay for it!”

Asha froze when she heard the landlady’s words. How will she pay the rent, now taxes will be collected? She didn’t even have any money to pay her taxes, either!

“His Majesty will not wait for you to pay your taxes fully!” the tax collector growled, “If this resident of yours has indeed neglected to pay the rent, why not evict her?”

Asha gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.

Evict us?! she thought, But, Zavier and I have nowhere else to go!

“I’m already losing patience with the young lady for not paying the rent in months.” the landlady said, shaking her head, “But she has a little brother and no parents. I can’t possibly kick them out.”

Is the landlady…defending us? Asha thought, But, I thought she said if I don't pay in the next month, Zavier and I are out of here.

“You’ve stalled long enough!” the tax collector shouted, “We’re taking you to the king, and he’ll decide your fate!”

“No!” the landlady cried, “Please! Just give me more time!”

I can’t let the landlady suffer because of me. Asha thought, stepping out of the door.

“Asha, what are you doing?” Zavier asked, following his older sister, “Come back!”

One tax collector had his foot on the struggling landlady’s back, while another tax collector raised his whip to slash at the landlady’s legs, so she wouldn’t try to escape as they would take her to King Javid. Before the whip could land on the landlady’s legs, Asha stood between the tax collector and the landlady, and the whip coiled around Asha’s arm.

“Stop!” Asha shouted.

“Young woman!” the tax collector roared, “Move out of the way! This pathetic landlady hasn’t paid her taxes in full! She deserves to be punished!”

“ I am the one who should be punished!” Asha protested, “I haven’t paid the rent in months! That’s why the landlady still has taxes to pay! Please, let her go! Take me, instead!”

“How does this concern you?” the tax collector asked.

“Because I have yet to pay taxes myself.” Asha explained, “But I’ve always spent my money on my brother’s medical bills.”

The tax collector only replied with a scorn, “You really need to sort out your priorities when it comes to payments, young woman!”

“It’s not how important the payments are that concern me!” Asha snapped, “I’m concerned how much they cost because money is tight for the majority of the people! The king taxes his people too much! Not everyone has that kind of money!”

“You’ve crossed the line, woman!” the tax collector said with a stamp of his foot, “If you insist we take you to the king instead of your landlady, so be it!”

The tax collector who was standing on the landlady removed his foot from the landlady’s back, and she took off running. He pointed at Asha and shouted to the tax collectors at another residence, “Grab her!”

The band of tax collectors surrounded Asha, and one of them grabbed her by the shoulders.

“No!” Zavier shouted, running toward Asha.

Before he could get to her, a tax collector blocked his way.

“Zavier, get away from here!” Asha shouted, “Run!”

“No!” Zavier protested, “I’m not leaving without you!”

“Little boy, you don’t have a choice!” the tax collector who’s blocking Zavier’s way, “That young woman neglected her payments for your sake! She prioritized you over everything else, especially His Majesty’s satisfaction!”

“Asha’s a great sister!” Zavier exclaimed with tears welling up in his eyes, “If you take her away from me, I won’t have anywhere else to go!”

“Do you honestly think that His Majesty is a man of sympathy?” the tax collector said in a low whisper, “You’re such a naive little child.”

That was the last straw for Asha. She stamped hard on the tax collector’s foot, making him cry out in pain and let her go. She ran toward Zavier, but the tax collector who stood between the two siblings turned around and held a dagger to Zavier’s neck.

“No!” Asha said with her hands out in protest, “Don’t!”

“Take one more step,” the tax collector hissed, “And he dies.”

But Zavier bit the tax collector’s hand, making him release Zavier and drop his dagger.

“Let’s go!” Asha said, grabbing Zavier by the hand.

As the two siblings took off running, the tax collector with the whip yelled at the other tax collectors, “Don’t just stand there complaining about what a pain those two are! After them!”

The tax collectors’ nodded and ran in Asha and Zavier’s direction.

“Asha, where are we going?” Zavier asked as he and Asha ran.

“Just keep hold of my hand and don’t look back, Zavier.” Asha answered.

Zavier nodded. He and Asha ran to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and hid behind the nearest tree that was large enough to obscure them from the tax collectors’ sights. Their hearts raced like horses, and their breathings had the weight of an elephant from all that running. Neither of them dared to take a peek from behind.

“What do we do now, Asha?” Zavier asked in a whisper.

“All we can do is be quiet and wait for the tax collectors to leave.” Asha replied in a whisper.

She and Zavier tried to sit very still and keep their mouths shut. They listened carefully to the tax collectors talking to each other.

“Where are they?!”

“They have to be hiding around here somewhere!”

“That woman was very clever with her tongue! Does she really think we would spare her landlady?”

“She’s escaped, too. Nobody ever gets away with escaping from us!”

“The taxes are the king’s orders, and the young woman dares to defy him?!”

“She might as well be part of the resistance!”

Resistance? Asha thought, Is there really an organization that’s going against King Javid?

Then, Zavier sneezed. He tried to keep it silent, but it came out as loud as a trumpet.

“What was that?!” A tax collector asked, drawing out his long knife.

“It came from the edge of the Forbidden Forest!” another one exclaimed, pointing at the direction toward the forest.

“Let’s go!” a third one shouted.

Oh no! Asha thought, We’ve been discovered!

“Let’s go, Zavier!” she said, standing up and helping her brother up.

But before the two siblings could run away again, two of the tax collectors grabbed them by the shoulders and covered their mouths.

“You’re not going anywhere!” a tax collector declared.

This tax collector’s badge looked different from the other tax collectors’ badges. Asha recognized this tax collector as the head of the tax collectors.

“Both of you will come before the king, and he’ll decide what fate has in store for you.” the head tax collector said.

Asha and Zavier struggled to get out of the tax collectors’ grips and tried to beg them to release them, but their pleas were muffled.

“Let’s move!” the head tax collector ordered.

“ROAR!”

The tax collectors, Asha, and Zavier froze. They looked around to find the source of that terrifying roar.

“ROAR!”

A huge shadow loomed over the tax collectors, Asha, and Zavier, making the forest appear darker than it would be at night. The tax collectors who were holding Asha and Zavier pushed them away and drew their long knives. All the other tax collectors, including the head, did the same. The shadow grew larger until its source landed between the tax collectors and the two siblings. Although its back was toward her, Asha recognized the creature.

It’s the manticore I helped out last night. she thought.

The manticore glared and let out a low growl at the tax collectors as it approached them. The tax collectors responded by stepping back slowly and whispering amongst themselves.

“Is that what the Manticore of the Forbidden Forest looks like?”

“Maybe.”

“Can the legend be true?”

“Impossible! Nobody has ever lived to tell it!”

“Should we tell the king?”

“Out of the question!”

The manticore stopped growling and walking. In turn, the tax collectors stopped stepping back. Asha thought her ears were playing tricks on her when she heard the manticore speak like a human.

“Leave them alone.” it said.

The manticore’s voice sounded like a man, but it had a much deeper pitch than any man could be capable of speaking in. The manticore speaking was enough to make the tax collectors’ eyes bug out and jaws drop. All of them ran away from the Forbidden Forest without saying a word, thinking that the manticore was possessed by some kind of spirit.

“T-thank you.” Asha said, still shocked to find out that the manticore could speak.

The manticore turned around and sighed.

“I know you have questions for me, especially how I can talk.” he said, “But this isn’t a good place to talk. Come with me, and we’ll discuss everything in my cave.”

Asha and Zavier looked at each other. Both of them were still uneasy about all that just happened, especially hearing the manticore speak. However, the manticore saved them from the tax collectors. He deserved their trust. So, Asha and Zavier looked at the manticore and nodded.

“Then place your hands in my mane,” the manticore said, “So I know we’re walking together.”

Asha and Zavier obeyed. Once they made it to the manticore’s cave, the manticore said,

“First of all, I want to thank you, miss, for saving my life last night.”

“You’re welcome.” Asha said, “Now that I know you can speak, I should introduce myself. My name’s Asha.”

She smiled at Zavier when she added,

“And this is my little brother Zavier.”

“Hi!” Zavier said with a smile.

“Hello, Zavier.” the manticore said.

“What’s your name?” Zavier asked.

The manticore froze like ice, and his eyes had a hint of sorrow, like someone who’s missing a loved one.

“What’s wrong?” Zavier asked, “Don’t you have a name?”

“I do.” the manticore replied with a sad sigh, “My name…is Yazdan.”

“Yazdan?” Asha asked, “Like the lost prince of the empire?”

“Yes,” said the manticore named Yazdan, “Because I’m him.”

Asha and Zavier’s eyes widened and jaws dropped.

“But how?” Asha asked, “Everyone said Prince Yazdan was killed by a manticore while trying to find a blue antidote mushroom to save King Darius from dying of a rare illness.”

It was Yazdan’s turn to have wide eyes and a slack jaw. Then, he stamped his right front paw and growled,

“That devious fox! Does he really think he can manipulate the people with his lies?!”

“Are you talking about King Javid?” Asha asked.

“That’s him.” Yazdan answered, “Everything he told the people about me is false. He really needs to get his facts right about manticores.”

“There was never a manticore in the Forbidden Forest before you?” Zavier asked.

“No.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “Also, manticores have a distaste for blood. If manticores are fed blood, it makes them sick. I certainly do NOT want to eat my own kind!”

“But,” Asha said, “If you really are Prince Yazdan, why did you turn into a manticore?”

“Let’s sit down.” Yazdan said.

Once he, Asha, and Zavier sat down, Yazdan continued,

“I’m sure you know King Darius is my father, and he ruled the empire before Javid took over.”

Both Asha and Zavier nodded.

“Well, the story about how he died and how I became a manticore went something like this…”

Chapter Text

Yazdan was lounging in his bedroom amongst the mountain of soft, silk pillows staring at the golden sands pouring in his hourglass when he heard a knocking on his door.

“Come in.” he called.

The door opened, and a servant walked into Yazdan’s room. Yazdan sat up to see him.

“Your Highness,” the servant said, “His Majesty wishes to see you in his study.”

“Thank you, sir.” Yazdan said, nodding his head, “I will be there.”

The servant bowed before leaving the prince’s room. Yazdan stood up and looked in the full body mirror with a shiny gold frame. He realized he looked slightly untidy from reclining on his bed for an hour. He straightened his clothes and thoroughly combed his hair to make himself look more presentable to meet his father King Darius. Once he’s all tidied up, Yazdan makes his way to the king’s study. Luckily, he didn’t have to walk too far from his room to the study. The palace was like a labyrinth, even to someone who was born and raised there.

Once Yazdan was by the door to his father’s study, he knocked on it.

“Come in.” Darius called from the other side of the door.

Yazdan opened the door and entered the study to see him. King Darius was sitting at his desk, peering through the tiny spectacles he’s holding to read the scroll unrolled across the desk. His beard was like a rain cloud that contrasted with his royal attire that resembled colors of the sunset with the robe in brilliant magenta and accessories in shining gold. When he heard Yazdan open the door, Darius looked up from his scroll and smiled at him. He may have been the king of the Persian Empire who had ruled his subjects justly, but he always made time to be a good father to his only son.

“Hello, my boy.” Darius said.

Yazdan bowed to his father on one knee and asked,

“You wanted to see me, Baba?”

“Oh, Yazdan.” Darius chuckled, “There’s no need to be formal when it’s just you and me in private. I’m still your father.”

Yazdan stood up and chuckled in reply,

“Sorry, Baba. Force of habit.”

“It’s alright, son.” Darius said, standing up from his desk, “I just wish I hadn’t started to prepare you so soon. You were still just a boy then.”

“This is what you wanted to see me about, isn’t it?” Yazdan said with a frown.

Darius let out a sad sigh before saying,

“Yes, Yazdan. This is something important not only to the royal family, but to the whole empire.”

Yazdan didn’t say a word. He simply nodded his head.

“Yazdan, you know I won’t be ruling the empire forever.” Darius continued, “There will be a day when my time will set, and someone has to rise and take my place.”

“And that someone is me.” Yazdan said, not even questioning the answer.

“Yes, son.” Darius said, “You’re the only heir to the throne. It’s up to you to become the new king of the empire and lead it to a bright future.”

“I understand, Baba.” Yazdan said, “But, I don’t know if I’ll be ready.”

“I’ve taught you what it means to be king for more than ten years, Yazdan.” Darius said with a smile, “Why do you say that you won’t be ready?”

“I know you’ve been preparing me for this, Baba.” Yazdan said, “I just don’t know if I’ll be ready to be without you.”

Darius walked around his desk and gently placed a hand on Yazdan’s shoulder.

“Son,” he said, “There will never be a day when you’re without me. Just remember what I’ve taught you, and I’ll always be with you.”

Yazdan smiled and said,

“Thank you, Baba.”

The father and son hugged until there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Darius called as he and Yazdan separated their hug.

A man in a robe in the color of blood and a long, thin mustache entered the study with a silver tray with a brass teapot and two porcelain teacups.

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty.” he said with a rather forced smile, “Your Highness.”

“Good afternoon, Javid.” Darius said with a genuine smile, “What brings you here?”

“I thought Your Majesty would like a soothing spot of herbal tea.” Javid said with a smooth tone.

Yazdan cleared his throat and said,

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Javid. But I’m afraid His Majesty is rather busy at the moment. You may need to come back another time.”

“Now, Your Highness,” Javid said, “Spare His Majesty the trouble with his paperwork. Even a king needs to catch a break. He’s your beloved father, too.”

Yazdan opened his mouth to respond, but Darius spoke up first.

“It’s alright, Yazdan.” he said with a wave of his hand, “A small break won’t hurt me.”

Yazdan only sighed and said,

“Alright, Baba. I respect your decision.”

“Maybe His Highness would like some tea, too?” Javid asked.

“No, thank you, Javid.” Yazdan answered, shaking his head with a hand up in refusal, “I’m not thirsty right now. I’m going to go for a stroll in the garden.”

He left Darius’s study before Javid could reply in return.

The next day, Yazdan was startled awake when he heard a frantic knocking on his bedroom door.

“Come in.” he said with a loud yawn.

The door swung open, and a servant walked in quickly.

“Your Highness,” he said, struggling to catch his breath, “It’s your father.”

Yazdan’s eyes widened.

“Is he alright?” he asked.

“I’m afraid His Majesty is ill at the moment.” the servant answered.

“Help me get changed, please.” Yazdan said, now looking very serious, “I wish to see my father.”

“At least eat something, Your Highness.” the servant insisted, “You missed breakfast.”

“That can wait.” Yazdan said with a hand up, “I’m more concerned about my father’s health.”

The servant shook his head but helped Yazdan get dressed in his favorite royal blue attire. Once he’s dressed, Yazdan immediately makes his way to Darius’s bedroom and knocks on the door.

“Come in.” Darius called with a slightly weak voice.

Yazdan entered his father’s room to see the once healthy king now sitting in his bed with dark circles under his eyes.

“Good morning, Baba.” Yazdan said, sitting by his father’s bed, “How are you feeling?”

“Good morning, Yazdan.” Darius said with a weak smile, “I’m just tired. I didn’t feel like eating breakfast this morning.”

“Baba,” Yazdan said, “A servant told me you’re sick.”

Yazdan touched Darius’s forehead, and it felt almost as warm as Saruwa Volcano.

“Don’t worry about me, son.” Darius said, slowly shaking his head, “I’ll be fine.”

But Yazdan wouldn’t buy it.

“You’re my father, Baba.” he said, “I will worry about you. I’ll go get a royal physician.”

Yazdan walked out of his father’s room to find a physician. Yazdan walked past Javid who entered Darius’s room with a tray with a teapot and teacup like the previous day, except there’s only one teacup instead of two. It didn’t take long for Yazdan to find a royal physician and tell him about the king’s situation. He came back to his father’s room with the physician as Javid poured tea for the ailing king. 

“Baba,” Yazdan said, “I’ve brought the physician.”

“Thank you, Yazdan.” Darius said.

“Your Highness,” said the physician, “Chancellor Javid, please wait in the hall while I take a look at His Majesty.”

“Yes, sir.” Yazdan said, “Thank you.”

Javid, on the other hand, didn’t seem very keen with the fact that the physician was there. However, he remained silent as he and the prince left the king’s bedroom. Yazdan could tell the advisor’s lips were pressed into a frown. The prince became warier of Javid. He knew Javid served the king with much loyalty, but Yazdan began to suspect that Javid had other plans. However, Yazdan was more concerned with his father’s health. He began reading a book he checked out of the palace library as he waited for the physician to be done giving the king a checkup.

The physician came out of Darius’s bedroom and said,

“His Majesty only has a mild fever.”

He held up a small glass bottle and added,

“I have prescribed him some medicine to take to help calm the fever.”

“Uh, doctor,” Javid spoke up, “I’ll take care of everything in regards to His Majesty’s health.”

“Thank you, Chancellor Javid.” the physician said, “His Majesty is blessed to have a loyal advisor.”

Javid only nodded his head as he received the medicine from the physician.

“Thank you, doctor, for your help.” Yazdan said.

“It’s my duty, Your Highness.” the physician said with a smile, “I will check on your father again for progress in his recovery.”

Yazdan sat up in his bed quickly with a gasp. His hair was in a tangled mess, beads of sweat ran down from his forehead, and his breathing was heavy like he had been running for miles. Images of his father laying on his bed with his breath as shallow as a puddle and his face as pale as a handkerchief were still visible in his mind. Worse, Yazdan was in those images, holding his father’s hand tightly and begging for his father to wake up to no avail. He shuddered, knowing this nightmare was a vision of the future. 

Days had passed since Darius got sick, and there wasn’t any progress in his recovery. Instead, his fever only got worse. Yazdan didn’t understand. He knew the physician prescribed medicine for the king and trusted Javid into giving the king his medicine. So, why was Darius getting worse instead of better?

Yazdan decided to find the truth. He pulled himself together and got dressed to go talk to his father. When Yazdan asked Darius if he’s been taking his medicine, Darius’s answer stunned him.

“I never received any medicine.” Darius said, “But Javid has been making me tea because he said it would go down better than plain medicine.”

Yazdan was more confused. He made his way to the medical room to ask the physician about the medicine he prescribed. When the prince told the physician that the king wasn’t taking his medicine, it stunned the physician.

“How could His Majesty not be taking his medicine?” the physician asked, “I’ve been trusting Javid into giving it to him.”

This made Yazdan more suspicious about Javid. He then confronted his father’s supposedly trusted advisor in his office. However, Javid only responded in anger.

“I’ve been making tea for your father, so the medicine would go down better!” he snapped, “Medicine has a bitter taste! His Majesty deserves something with a more pleasant taste! So if you want your father to get better, you leave him alone!”

Frustration, confusion, suspicion, despair, and agony were all Yazdan felt during this situation. His father needed to get better! Otherwise, he’ll die! Fearing for his father’s fate, Yazdan went into the palace library to find a new solution to the problem. He read every book on the subject on medicine, hoping to find something. When none of the manuscripts in the main library satisfied him, Yazdan decided to take a look in the restricted section.

The restricted section contained tons of ancient manuscripts that only the royal family was permitted to read. Yazdan looked for the ones about medicine and read one of them at a time until he found the perfect solution.

“Blue antidote mushrooms.” he whispered.

He read the mysterious mushrooms have powerful healing factors and can cure any poison. This was it! Yazdan can use the mushrooms to make into a medicinal drought to make his father well again. Heck, with these mushrooms, it would only take his father seconds to recover, compared to taking ordinary medicine for days.

However, the blue antidote mushrooms were hard to find and grew in the cave in the forest near the village. As prince of the Persian Empire, Yazdan was never allowed to leave the palace whenever he wanted. If he did try to leave now, the royal troops would find him and increase security, so Yazdan wouldn’t try to leave without the king’s permission.

“I’ll wait until night.” Yazdan said to himself, “Then, I’ll disguise myself as a ranger and sneak out of the palace. That way, I can go to the forest and find those mushrooms without anyone finding out I’ve been gone.”

Night has fallen on that day, and Yazdan set his plan in stone. He put on his ranger outfit and hilted his trusty dagger, just in case he ever needed self-defense. The prince climbed out his bedroom window, trying his best not to make too much noise and startle the royal troops. Once he made it down, he quietly sprinted from the palace to the forest. 

The forest was so dark, Yazdan wished he had some source of light with him like a lantern or torch. He cautiously walked around, not wanting to make a sound that would alarm any animals that lived there. Finally, Yazdan found a cave and went inside. In the cave, he found blue mushrooms that glowed like mysterious will-o’-the-wisps. Yazdan picked a mushroom and looked at it like an explorer who found an ancient treasure. He could finally save his father.

However, things turned for the worse for the prince as he made his way back to the palace. He felt a sharp pain on his ankle just as he was halfway back home. Yazdan looked down to see an inky black cobra slithering a bit too close to him. He pulled up a pant leg and saw two puncture marks on his ankle. Then, his vision started to blur. The last thing he heard before he passed out was the sound of clanking armor.

“Your Highness?” called a voice, “Your Highness, can you hear me?”

Yazdan groaned, clutching his head. He slowly opened his eyes to see a physician at his bedside.

“What happened?” he asked in a groggy voice.

The physician let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness the royal troops found you and took you back to the palace on time.” he said, “You were unconscious. When the royal troops saw that you had puncture marks on your ankle, I knew it was a snake bite. They even saw that you had a blue antidote mushroom in hand. It sure did miracles when I gave it to you in the form of a medicinal drought.”

Yazdan looked down to see a bandage wrapped around his ankle where the cobra bit him. Then, reality hit him like a rock.

“What about my father?” Yazdan asked, “Did you give any of the blue antidote mushroom to him?”

The physician was silent with his mouth open.

“Doctor,” Yazdan said, almost panicking, “How much of the mushroom did you use to heal me?”

The physician took a deep breath and said,

“All of it.”

“What?!” Yazdan exclaimed, “I picked that blue antidote mushroom to save my father, and you didn’t save any of it for him?!”

“You’re Highness, calm down.” the physician said calmly.

“Don’t you understand?!” Yazdan barked, “If his fever doesn’t get cured, he’ll die! I had a vision of him dying, and I wanted to prevent it from coming true! He’s the king! Don’t you care about him?!”

The physician tried to compose himself, but his trembling shoulders betrayed his calm demeanor.

“The royal troops told His Majesty what you did last night.” he said with tears in his eyes, “He told me to use the mushroom to save you. I tried to persuade him into eating the mushroom, too, but he said saving your life was more important than saving his. He knew you were trying to save him, but he said his time is already coming. I’m sorry.”

Yazdan’s head hung low as tears well up in his eyes.

“Would you like to see him one last time?” the physician asked.

Yazdan only nodded. The physician helped Yazdan walk to Darius’s bedroom. Yazdan couldn’t help letting his tears fall as he saw his father thin and pale, just like how he appeared in the vision. Yazdan sat by his father’s bedside and could only say two words that were on his mind all day.

“I’m sorry.”

Darius looked at Yazdan and smiled.

“You don’t have to apologize.” he said with a faint voice.

“But Baba,” Yazdan said, “I foresaw your death. I tried to prevent it from coming true. I failed you.”

“Yazdan,” Darius said, taking his son’s hand, “Nothing can stop my death, now. Even if I was saved from dying, it will be my fate sooner or later. I’m mortal, after all. Everyone is. And you never failed me. I’ve always been proud of you. The greatest blessing I’ve ever received was having you as a son.”

“Baba…” Yazdan said.

“Promise me one thing.” Darius said, his breath growing shallower, “Once you become king, please take good care of the people.”

With a lump forming in his throat, Yazdan nodded and said,

“Yes, Baba.”

“Thank you…” Darius said, letting his grasp on life loosen, “My…son.”

And with that, Darius took his last breath, and his body became limp on his bed. Yazdan finally let out a loud sob as his head hit the mattress.

The Persian Empire was in mourning of the loss of their beloved king. King Darius, who ruled the empire with grace, humility, wisdom, justice, and courage, is no longer with them. A grand funeral was held for him, and the guests included the servants, royal troops, ministers, civilians, Chancellor Javid, and Prince Yazdan. The procession lasted for a few hours with speeches that honor the memory of the king and the burial.

After the funeral, all Yazdan wanted was to be alone. The blue antidote mushroom could cure the venom from the snake bite, but it couldn’t heal the prince’s broken heart. As he sighed and leaned against the wall, a part of the wall slid to the side, revealing a staircase. Yazdan peeked around the entrance and thought,

Strange. I never knew there was a hidden staircase before.

Curious, Yazdan walked down the stairs and saw a wooden door with an iron knocker in the shape of a cobra. Yazdan knocked on the door only to have silence reply to him. He slowly opened the door and entered a room with shelves full of books that appeared to be bound with black leather, scrolls with dust and cobwebs on them, and bottles filled with liquids in a variety of strange colors. 

What kind of room is this? Yazdan thought.

Then, he came across a desk with a book and a tray with a teapot and teacup on top of it. A startling chill ran down the prince’s spine. He recognized that tray, teapot, and teacup. They were the same as the ones Javid served Darius tea with! What was Javid doing with the tea he brewed for the king?

Yazdan’s attention turned to the book and saw a title written on the cover that read, Poisons That Can Be Mixed in Food or Drinks . Yazdan didn’t need to open the book. The title said enough. Javid was putting poison in Darius’s tea!

“This palace has a hidden staircase to a secret room?” a voice asked with a curious facade, “Simply fascinating.”

Yazdan turned around to see Javid standing behind him. Yazdan’s eyes became like slits.

“First of all,” he said firmly, “I discovered that by accident. Second of all, you can drop the act, Javid. I know this is your secret room, and you poisoned my father.”

Javid laughed mockingly.

“How ridiculous.” he said, “What makes you think I’ve hurt the king?”

“Well,” Yazdan said, “How do you explain this?”

He pointed at Javid’s desk. Javid peered around the prince and smirked.

“You really are a clever boy.” he said, “Yes, the king died because of me.”

“How could you, Javid?!” Yazdan boomed, “My father trusted you, and you betrayed him!”

“I got tired of being in your father’s shadow!” Javid shouted, “But I couldn’t kill him right away because it would be too suspicious. So, I slowly poisoned him by giving him tea day and night with a special poison that can be mixed into a drink.”

“That’s just it.” Yazdan said, “All this time, you wanted the throne.”

“That’s right.” Javid said.

“You’ll never be king, Javid!” Yazdan yelled, “I will call the royal troops and have you arrested for an unspeakable crime for life!”

Javid quickly grabbed a brass staff with a large ruby on top, and the ruby began to glow.

“You think you have power over me?!” he spat.

Javid pointed his staff at Yazdan and said,

“Give him a lion’s mane, a bat’s wings, and a scorpion's tail!”

A magical red beam shot at Yazdan, and Yazdan began to transform. His hands and feet began to shift into lion paws with light brown fur covering them. His face grew into a lion’s muzzle as his ebony hair grew and fluffed into a lion’s mane. Two curly horns grew from his head as well as a pair of bat wings and a scorpion tail. Finally, Yazdan grew up to the average size of an adult lion. Once the transformation was complete, the ruby stopped glowing, and Yazdan landed on all fours.

The prince looked down at himself, and his eyes widened.

“Why?!” he asked Javid with a new deep, growly voice.

Javid chuckled menacingly.

“Like what you said.” he replied, “I want the throne.”

He pointed his staff at Yazdan again and said,

“Send him to the forest!”

The next thing Yazdan knew, he was magically teleported to the forest. Devastated over his father’s death, angry at Javid’s betrayal, and afraid for his people’s safety, the manticore let out an agonizing roar.

Chapter Text

“After Javid turned me into a manticore and banished me to this forest, he took the throne and crowned himself king of the empire.” Yazdan said, concluding his story, “Ever since then, Javid has ruled selfishly, putting the people in great danger.”

Asha listened to Yazdan finishing his story as she hugged Zavier, who was crying over the part when Darius died.

“I’m really sorry, Yazdan.” she said, “You have struggled with having such power of foresight, but I’m proud of you for always being willing to try to change the future.”

“What’s there to be proud of me for?” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “I’ve had visions of events I never wanted to come true and did all I could to stop them from doing so. But I failed more than I succeeded. It’s hopeless.”

“It’s only hopeless if you give up.” Asha said, “Since Javid cast a spell on you, there must be a way to reverse it.”

“I’ve been looking for a way to undo the spell for many months.” Yazdan said, “But it’s hard to do so because I’m not welcome anywhere in the empire, not even in the village you live in.”

“That’s right.” Asha said, “Everyone still believes that you were killed by a manticore while searching for the blue antidote mushrooms for your father.”

“But we know that what Javid told everyone about you is a lie!” Zavier proclaimed after he stopped crying, “Why would people still believe that story?!”

“Zavier,” Yazdan said, “Javid’s no ordinary king. He’s a very powerful wizard. When he was crowned, he started using his magic to control the empire. Anyone who dares to oppose him ends up falling to his magic.”

Asha gasped.

“You mean…?” she asked.

“Yes,” Yazdan said, “I’m not the only one who’s a victim of Javid’s magic. Follow me.”

Asha and Zavier followed Yazdan while trying to keep a safe distance from his tail, knowing that a scorpion’s tail contains loads of venom. Then, they stopped by a shrub with giant leaves. Yazdan lowered the leaves with his paw for Asha and Zavier to see what’s behind the shrub. Asha and Zavier looked over the shrub to view the palace garden filled with statues. However, the statues didn’t look like they’re posing for artwork. They all looked like they’re either screaming in fear or begging for mercy.

“They weren’t statues before.” Yazdan said, “They used to be Javid’s servants, soldiers, and ministers.”

“So,” Zavier said, “King Javid turns anyone who lives in the palace with him into statues if they try to go against him?”

“Yes.” Yazdan answered, “But not just statues. He would also turn them into other inanimate objects such as paper weights, bookends, or anything he can use as decoration.”

A fearful chill ran down Asha’s spine.

“Does he do the same thing to the villagers?” she asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.”

“He does cast spells on villagers who disobeyed him.” Yazdan replied, “But he usually transformed them into animals, depending on what kind of labor he thinks would make them more useful.”

“Wait a minute.” Zavier said, “I remember seeing two donkeys hauling a wagon full of heavy wares for a merchant, and both of them looked really sad. The donkeys didn’t even bray whenever the merchant whips them to get them to move faster. Could those donkeys be villagers who were turned into donkeys by King Javid?”

“Yes.” Yazdan said sadly, “I even saw Javid turned civilians into monkeys, parrots, camels, and any kind of animal you would find out in the wild near the empire.”

“But, how would King Javid do that?” Asha asked, “I thought royals almost never appeared before the villagers.”

“Javid planted his soldiers in the village to keep an eye on the people.” Yazdan said, “If they ever saw anyone going against Javid’s rules, the soldiers would bring the villagers to Javid, and he would turn them into animals and send them off to do hard labor. There’s even a village gathering held once a month called the Javid Gala Day, when Javid comes to visit the villagers and basically puts on a show like he owns the place. If he ever spots a villager not paying attention to them, he would turn them into an animal and send them away.”

“That’s terrible!” Zavier cried.

“And because you’re not welcome in the empire,” Asha thought out loud, “You can’t do anything to stop King Javid?”

“That’s right.” Yazdan said.

“But Yazdan,” Asha said, “What will happen if Javid keeps up with using his magic to punish the empire?”

“The empire will be nothing but shadows and chaos.” Yazdan said, “I’ve seen the future with Javid as the victor. But, that was before I met you, Asha.”

“What?” Asha asked.

“After you helped me with the dagger,” Yazdan explained, “I saw another vision of the future. This time, I saw a future that is better than the one I’ve envisioned before.”

“Is it a vision of the future of you being the victor, Yazdan?” Zavier asked, “Did Javid lose? What happened in that vision?”

Yazdan wanted to answer Zavier’s questions, but he thought about it and decided to remain silent about it.

“If I tell you what happens,” Yazdan replied with a smile, “It won’t happen.”

“Aww!” Zavier said with a frown.

“But I can tell you one thing about my vision.” Yazdan said.

“What’s that?” Zavier asked.

“I’ve seen a young woman in that vision I had if Javid is stopped.” Yazdan answered, “And she looked like Asha.”

“Me?” Asha asked.

“Yes.” Yazdan said, “I don’t know how to break Javid’s spells or save the empire, but I’m certain I can do it with your help.”

“You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?” Asha said with wide eyes.

“Asha,” Yazdan declared, flapping his wings twice, “The future of the empire depends on you.”

Asha was silent with her eyes bugging out and jaw slacking for a long moment. Then, she shook her head fast and said,

“No! Please! That may be just a coincidence! You have the wrong girl! I can’t be the one who is to save the empire or defeat Javid! I’ve never done such a thing in my entire life! I don’t even have a gift! What can I possibly do?”

“I didn’t say that the girl in my vision had a gift.” Yazdan said, twitching his tail, “I’ve read many legends of heroes who were known for using their gifts to save humanity. What the empire needs now is a hero who doesn’t have a gift.”

“But why me?” Asha asked.

“You went into this forest to gather blue antidote mushrooms to save your little brother, even though you knew there’s a dangerous manticore living here.” Yazdan explained, “I don’t need a person who has a gift. I need a person who is determined to help others in need, and you have demonstrated that. I can trust you to help me save my people.”

“Come on, Asha!” Zavier said, tugging Asha’s hand, “Do it! Think of it as an exciting adventure to defeat a powerful villain, save an empire, and help a prince claim the throne! Who knows? You might become a princess in the end and later a queen!”

Yazdan froze like ice, and Asha’s face became like a tomato at Zavier’s enthusiastic encouragement, including that part where he mentioned about Asha becoming a princess and a queen.

Be a princess and a queen after that? Asha thought, But, we just met Yazdan. It’s too soon to determine that.

“But Zavier,” she said out loud, “We’ve never been far from the village.”

“Please, Asha!” Zavier said with puppy dog eyes, “Please! Will you do it?”

Asha was still not sure how she could help Yazdan save the empire from Javid. But if he really trusts her into this, Asha might as well go with him and help him find a way to break the evil wizard king’s spell.

“I’ll do it.” she declared, “I’ll help you find a way to break Javid’s spell.”

“Excellent.” Yazdan said with a smile, “Now, we have to go fast because—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Yazdan’s ears twitched, and the manticore looked behind him toward the direction the sound was coming from, and his eyes widened. It was the sounds of armor clattering and men speaking amongst each other.

“What is it?” Asha asked.

“It’s Javid’s soldiers.” Yazdan answered, “He’s sent them to hunt us down. Quick! Climb on my back! We’re going to have to fly our way out of here!”

Asha and Zavier immediately climbed on Yazdan’s back.

“Now, hold on tight.” Yazdan said as he began to flap his wings.

As the three rose higher into the sky, Zavier asked,

“How did Javid know we were here?”

Chapter Text

In the palace, the wizard king Javid sat leisurely on his gold throne with a sour frown that made his mustache look longer than it actually was. He was wearing a crimson robe that had a grander appearance than the attire he used to wear as chancellor, and a crown of burning gold and flaring rubies sat on his head. His magic staff leaned against his throne, waiting to be used on anyone who dares to defy their ruler. But so far, nobody was brought before Javid for anything, not even the smallest act of disobedience.

Javid’s eyes began to droop when the wizard king was suddenly startled by the doors being flung open and his tax collectors running toward him. Once they stopped themselves and bowed to him, Javid stood from his throne and asked in an impatient tone,

“Well, how did the tax collection go? Has everyone paid for their taxes?”

The head of the tax collectors lifted his head to look at Javid,

“Your Majesty,” he said, his body shaking tremendously, “The tax collection was going quite smoothly until we got to the landlady of the warehouse.”

Javid raised a brow at the head tax collector’s story.

“Did she not pay her taxes?” he asked.

The head tax collector shook his head quickly.

“She didn’t pay enough.” he explained, “Apparently one of her residents was months behind on rent. That’s why the landlady didn’t pay her taxes fully.”

“What?!” Javid boomed, “Bring her to me!”

Two of the tax collectors carried the shackled landlady and tossed her at Javid’s feet. The poor landlady could only shake in terror, as her shackles kept her arms and legs from moving freely. She looked up at Javid like a mouse that was caught by a cat.

“Y-your M-majesty, I…” she stuttered.

“You dare to neglect your payments to me?!” Javid asked harshly.

“No!” the landlady said in a panic, “I would never!”

Javid didn’t reply. He simply grabbed his magic staff, and it glowed a red magical aura.

“It’s time to turn you into something more useful.” Javid said quietly, “If a landlady can’t collect rent to pay her taxes and keep her warehouse, then maybe she should consider maintaining land, instead.”

The landlady’s eyes grew wide as she saw the staff glowing like a torch in a dark cave.

“No!” she cried, “Please! Spare me! I beg of you!”

But Javid didn’t listen to the landlady’s pleas. Instead, he said,

“Give her four hooves and long ears!”

Then, fur in the color of stone sprouted all over the landlady’s body. Her ears grew longer and shifted to the top of her head. Her hands and feet shifted into rock hard hooves until her posture changed to make her stand on all fours. Her face shifted into a long snout, and a tail grew from her backbone. The landlady tried to cry out for mercy as the transformation occurred, but she could only make a bray of a donkey, the animal she had become.

Once the landlady was completely transformed, Javid snapped his fingers and shouted,

“Servant!”

The nearest servant ran up to Javid and bowed to him.

“Y-yes, Your Majesty?” he asked nervously.

“Take this donkey to the plantation in Susa.” Javid said, “They are looking for a new donkey to plow their fields.”

“But, Your Majesty, they—-” the servant began to object.

“Do as I say!” Javid interrupted him with absolutely no patience.

The servant nodded his head quickly and tied a rope around the donkey’s neck. As the servant walked it out of the palace, Javid turned his attention back to the tax collectors.

“Now,” he said, “What about the resident who was behind on rent?”

“S-she has escaped, sire.” the head tax collector answered, “She even has a little brother with her. Both of them escaped to the Forbidden Forest.”

“Why would another fool would—?” Javid began to ask. 

But he stopped himself and shook his head.

“Never mind.” he said, “If those two went into the Forbidden Forest, that means the manticore who lives in there has already eaten them alive. That’s two less disobedient villagers to deal with, after all.”

“Actually, the opposite happened to them, sire.” the head tax collector pointed out, “The manticore defended the young woman and the little boy. It...it even spoke to us, telling us to leave them alone!”

Javid froze. He knew exactly what the head tax collector was talking about. No, not what. Who he was talking about. 

“What did you say?” Javid asked in a low voice.

The head tax collector winced at the wicked king’s question.

“Th-the m-manticore s-spoke.” he replied with a stutter.

Javid’s face turned red with rage and slammed his staff onto the floor.

“You mean it’s still alive?!” he boomed.

All the other tax collectors snapped their heads up and looked at their king with terror in their eyes.

“As long as that manticore is still alive, order will be in jeopardy!” Javid added.

“B-but sire,” the head collector said, “We’re tasked to collect taxes, not to kill a beast.”

“Have you not read the decree you signed when you became my tax collectors?!” Javid shouted, “It said whoever becomes of my service must do their duties, and if they ever saw a manticore, they must slay it on sight! I thought the servant I sent to gather grapes for my wine had killed that beast!”

He slammed his staff onto the floor again. The ruby on the staff began to glow.

“I’ll deal with him later! For now, I shall punish you for not following a direct order!”

“Please!” the head collector begged, with his head down and hands on the floor, “Your Majesty! It was an honest mistake—”

“I won’t hear any more excuses from any of you!” Javid barked as he raised his staff, “Petrify them all!”

A magical beam hit all the tax collectors, and they slowly solidified into stone. All of them still looked like they were begging their king to spare them from their punishment, but they were all silenced by the spell.

“Soldiers!” Javid said, lowering his staff.

A band of men clad in armor rushed to the throne room and bowed before him.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” one of the soldiers asked.

“Go into the Forbidden Forest and find the village boy, the village girl, and the manticore!” Javid ordered, “Once you find the young villagers, bring them to me immediately, for their fates are in my hands! As for the manticore, kill it!”

“It shall be done, Your Majesty.” the soldier said.

Javid’s royal troops marched out of the palace to start hunting for Asha, Zavier, and Yazdan. The wicked wizard king sat back down on his throne and said to himself,

“You think you can make a comeback as a monstrous beast, Prince Yazdan? You’re just as naive as your father. Once you’re dealt with, your beloved empire will be mine!”

And he let out an evil, menacing chuckle.

Chapter Text

Yazdan, Asha, and Zavier were flying high in the sky. However, it wasn’t a smooth flight like they’re going from one destination to another. Below them were Javid’s soldiers who were sent to capture Asha and Zavier and kill Yazdan. Yazdan dodged left to right as the soldiers threw their spears at him.

“Get the manticore!” one of the soldiers shouted, “We mustn’t let it get away with those rebels who dared to defy our king!”

“For the king!” the soldiers shouted together.

Asha and Zavier looked down to see the soldiers running and throwing their spears. One of the spears was too close at aiming at them as it flew toward them, barely missing.

“Don’t look down!” Yazdan said, “That will only increase their chances at piercing you with their spears!”

Asha and Zavier immediately looked back at the direction they’re flying.

“Where are we going?” Asha said.

Asha’s question proved a point. She, Zavier, and Yazdan made it out of the Forbidden Forest, but they were flying to the desert. There was nothing but dunes of sand in front of them. Asha tried to look around to see any signs of life or civilization, but the sun was making her eyes water, blurring her vision.

“Somewhere far away from the capital, so we can be safe.” Yazdan said, “We’ll return when the time is right.”

The three continued flying over the desert, but the soldiers were still hot on their trail. Zavier had a tight grip on Yazdan’s mane, but his smile was as wide as the desert below. Asha, on the other hand, was clutching her stomach as Yazdan’s sudden movements of dodging the soldiers’ spears made her feel queasy. She immediately let go of her stomach as she felt Yazdan suddenly fall.

“Ah!” Yazdan yelled.

A soldier threw his spear at Yazdan, and it hit one of his wings. The sudden painful pierce made Yazdan stop flapping his wings, but he couldn’t fly anymore. Yazdan, Asha, and Zavier fell onto the sand, and Asha and Zavier flew off of Yazdan’s back, tumbling down a huge dune of sand. Asha stood up and covered her mouth as her cheeks expanded. She did not want to get sick in the middle of a chase. Once she felt relief in her stomach, she helped Zavier up and quickly ran toward Yazdan, who was lying on his side.

“Yazdan!” she cried, “Are you okay?”

Yazdan struggled to stand up and said,

“I’m fine.” he said, wincing at the pain of the spear embedded in his wing, “But I’m afraid we’re gonna have to run.”

Asha shook her head.

“We need to treat your wound first.” she said.

“There’s no time.” Yazdan said, “Look.”

Asha looked up to see Javid’s soldiers running toward them. But she wasn’t going to leave Yazdan’s wound alone. She quickly removed the spear from Yazdan’s wing and used her yellowing scarf as a makeshift bandage for the wing.

“I don’t have any supplies to treat your wound.” Asha explained, “But the scarf will have to do. Let’s go.”

Asha took Zavier by the hand and ran with him and Yazdan, who was running at a slower pace than the maximum speed of a lion. Asha could hear her heart beating up a storm and her breathing growing heavier as she kept running with her little brother and their manticore companion. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead, and her throat grew dryer with every exhale.

Please, let there be some source of water somewhere in this desert! Asha cried mentally.

To her surprise, there was a pool of water between two palm trees. Asha couldn’t help crying tears of joy to find water at last. However, she continuously rubbed her eyes to make sure the dry heat wasn’t making her see things that are not actually there. But no matter how many times Asha rubbed her eyes, the oasis was still there. She noticed another detail she never expected to see in the desert. Asha saw what looked like tents arranged in a circle near the oasis.

A camp? she thought, Why would there be a camp in the desert? Could there be a caravan coming to or from the capital?

Asha’s question was soon answered when she saw a large group of people running toward her, Zavier, Yazdan, and Javid’s soldiers. From the way they were dressed, they weren’t merchants at all. They were soldiers, but their uniforms were more worn than Javid’s soldiers’ uniforms.

Oh, great. Asha thought with much dread, More soldiers to avoid. They must be furious at me, Zavier, and Yazdan for intruding into their camp.

However, the soldiers from the camp weren’t going after Asha, Zavier, or Yazdan like Asha thought. They ran past them and clashed with Javid’s soldiers.

“It’s the Resistance!” one of Javid's soldiers shouted.

“Stop them!” another one yelled.

While the Resistance fought Javid’s soldiers, Asha, Zavier, Yazdan used it to make their way toward the oasis without entering the camp. The shouts and clashes of weapons could still be heard from the distance as Asha, Zavier, and Yazdan took the opportunity to drink from the oasis after long minutes of running. Once they finished drinking, the three could no longer hear the Resistance and Javid’s soldiers fighting each other. They decided it’s safe to keep going, but they stopped when they saw the Resistance pointing their spears at them.

“Stop right there!” one of the Resistance members commanded, “Who gave you authority to trespass Resistance territory?”

“We didn’t know this was Resistance territory.” Asha explained as calmly as she could despite the butterflies in her stomach, “We just wanted a drink of water.”

“Then why were you with the tyrant’s soldiers?” another Resistance member asked.

“We weren’t with them.” Asha answered with butterflies in her stomach flying faster, “They were after me, my brother, and our friend.”

“You consider this beast as your friend?” a third Resistance member asked, gesturing his spear toward Yazdan who rolled his eyes.

“That’s enough!” a voice called, “Lower your weapons!”

The Resistance obeyed the command, and a tall young woman approached Asha, Zavier, and Yazdan with a stern look on her face. The woman had long raven hair tied back into a ponytail with long bangs covering half of her face, emerald eyes, and a tattoo shaped like a manticore on her side. She was wearing a military uniform that was as worn as the Resistance soldiers’ uniforms, but grander, and she was carrying a spear that appeared to be made of gold. It was without a doubt that the woman was the leader of the Resistance.

If this woman had a spirit animal, Asha thought, looking at the young woman in awe, I’m certain it would be a black panther.

“Captain Yasmin,” one of the soldiers said with a right fist salute, “We spotted these three trespassing our camp with the tyrant’s soldiers behind them. We’re worried they could be secretly working for the tyrant. Not to mention one of them is the manticore that lives in the Forbidden Forest.”

“We don’t know if they’re friends or foes yet, Gaspar.” Yasmin pointed out, “I will bring the young lady with me to my tent for questioning. The little boy will go with our head nurse Parisa. She’ll take care of him.”

Yasmin turned her attention toward Yazdan and noticed the wound on his wing.

“As for the manticore,” she added, “It’s best to treat its wound for now until we can come to a conclusion on if it’ll be a threat or a benefactor.”

Zavier looked up at Asha with a worried look in his eyes.

“It’ll be okay.” Asha whispered to him.

Zavier only nodded as he, Asha, and Yazdan followed the Resistance to their camp. Once they made it inside the camp, they went their separate ways. Zavier went with Parisa toward the tent where the nurses stayed, indicating that the tent was reserved as a hospital for the Resistance soldiers. Asha followed Yasmin to the largest tent in the camp, while Yazdan stayed outside with the nurses carefully tending to his wound. All of the Resistance soldiers went back to their tents to clean and maintain their weapons after a messy battle with Javid’s soldiers.

Asha entered the largest tent with Yasmin and as she looked around, Asha could tell the largest tent was for Yasmin. As expected, the tent’s interior was simple with a simple bed, a shelf full of clothes and other necessities for the camp, and a small wooden desk accompanied with a wooden chair. Asha wasn’t exactly sure how the Resistance got all the resources they had, but they must’ve taken a lot of risks to go against Javid.

“I am Captain Yasmin of the Resistance.” Yasmin said as she walked toward her desk.

She stood beside it and turned to look at Asha whose gaze didn’t avert from her.

“Now,” Yasmin continued, “For your inquiry, I would like to start with asking who you are and how you know the little boy who was with you.”

Asha took a deep breath to calm herself down and said,

“My name is Asha. The little boy who was with me is Zavier. He’s my little brother.”

“Alright.” Yasmin said, “Now, why were you with the tyrant Javid’s soldiers? And I’ll give you a fair warning. If you try to answer any of my questions dishonestly, it will do you no good.”

Apparently, Yasmin’s gift is detecting lies. Asha thought, I must answer all her questions carefully.

“I’m not working with those soldiers.” Asha answered, “Zavier and I were running away from them. I didn’t have the money to pay my taxes, and I’m certain the soldiers were sent to arrest me and Zavier.”

“And what about the manticore?” Yasmin asked, “Why are the tyrant’s soldiers after it, too?”

Asha took another deep breath before speaking.

“Captain Yasmin,” she said looking straight in Yasmin’s eyes, “This will sound incredulous, but the manticore is Prince Yazdan.”

Yasmin’s eyes bugged out and jaw dropped.

“How…?” Yasmin tried to ask, but she was at a loss for words.

“Javid cast a spell on Prince Yazdan and banished him to the Forbidden Forest.” Asha explained, “Prince Yazdan told me all about it, including how King Darius died and how Javid made up the lie about Prince Yazdan being killed by a manticore while searching for the blue antidote mushrooms for King Darius.”

Asha recalled everything Yazdan told her to Yasmin. Yasmin didn’t say a word. She silently walked out of her tent and called,

“Bring the manticore forward!”

The soldiers accompanied Yazdan whose wing was completely bandaged as he walked toward Yasmin.

“We’ll take it from here.” Yasmin said, waving her hand to signal the soldiers to let her and Yazdan speak in private. Once the soldiers departed, Yasmin took a few steps toward Yazdan and hesitantly asked,

“I-is it really you, Your Highness?”

Yazdan nodded his head.

“Yes, Yasmin.” he said, “It is me.”

“You remember me?” Yasmin asked.

“Yes.” Yazdan answered, “You are Yasmin, daughter of Captain Fahd of the royal troops who served my father King Darius. You began training as a soldier when you were a young girl.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Yasmin said, quickly nodding her head, “Asha told me that His Majesty died from being poisoned by Javid, and Javid later turned you into a manticore and banished you to the Forbidden Forest. I knew she was telling the truth, but I never expected this to happen to you.”

“I know the truth sounds impossible.” Yazdan said, “But, here we are.”

“I knew Javid was lying to everyone about you being killed by a manticore and believed you’re still alive somehow and went missing.” Yasmin said, “A large number of soldiers, servants, and ministers believed me, including my father. We took a huge risk to defy Javid, escape from the palace, and start a resistance against his reign. Once we had set up this camp to stay in until we can officially make an appearance to defeat Javid, we spent a few years looking for you.”

Although she tried to hide it from Yazdan, Yasmin could feel her heart wrench at the memory of escaping from the palace.

“You and the Resistance are very brave, Yasmin.” Yazdan said with a smile, “I’m grateful to you that you want to fight by my side.”

“You are the one true king, Your Highness.” Yasmin said with her chin up, “No matter what happens, I will serve you with honor.”

She saluted Yazdan with her head bowed and right fist across her chest, and Yazdan bowed his head in return.

“I shall announce the good news to the Resistance.” Yasmin said, “But first, I must finish talking to Asha.”

Yazdan nodded his head with understanding.

Yasmin entered her tent to see Asha waiting for her.

“Asha.” Yasmin simply said.

“Yes, Captain Yasmin?” Asha asked.

“I want to thank you for finding Prince Yazdan.” Yasmin said with a small smile, “We’ve been looking for him for a long time.”

“I’m sorry you have to see him as a manticore.” Asha said, shaking her head, “We have to find a way to break the spell if we are to help him take his place as king.”

“And we will.” Yasmin said, “Come on. We must tell the Resistance.”

“They will find the truth hard to believe.” Asha pointed out.

“Maybe.” Yasmin said, “But they deserve to know what happened to Prince Yazdan. And as captain, I have my ways of getting them to cooperate with us.”

Yasmin and Asha exited the tent and stood beside Yazdan. Yasmin pulled out a horn that appeared to be made from a bull horn and blew it as hard as she could. The horn let out a strong trumpet-like sound that made everyone in the camp draw their attention toward Yasmin, Asha, and Yazdan.

“Resistance!” Yasmin called out like someone announcing the winner of a horse race, “For nearly five years, we have been on a desperate search for Prince Yazdan in hopes of overthrowing the tyrant, for we have seen what evil he’s capable of!”

The Resistance muttered to each other in agreement before Yasmin continued.

“But I have brilliant news!” Yasmin announced, nodding at Asha, “This brave young woman Asha found the legendary manticore in the Forbidden Forest, and we both found out the manticore is Prince Yazdan!”

There were multiple reactions from the Resistance. Some gasped, some whispered to each other in disbelief, and some could only stand with wide eyes and mouths hanging open.

Yazdan stepped forward and said with anticipation,

“It’s true! I am Yazdan! Javid cast a spell on me that turned me into a manticore and banished me to the Forbidden Forest! He is not only a tyrant! He is a powerful wizard, too! There are soldiers, ministers, servants, and villagers who fell under his enchantments! He is also responsible for my father King Darius’s death!”

The Resistance fell silent. They stared at the manticore with bugged out eyes after hearing him speak. He surely did sound like their lost prince but with a deeper pitch.

“All of you were soldiers, servants, and ministers when my father King Darius ruled the empire!” Yazdan continued, “You all served my family with much loyalty! When the tyrant Javid took over, you chose your loyalty to the royal family over fear of the powerful wizard and formed the Resistance! I will be forever grateful to you for standing by my family’s side through the good times and the bad times and proud of you for your great bravery! I know the tyrant won’t be easy, but if we work together, we can save the empire from his evil enchantments!”

The Resistance remained silent, still trying to process the fact that the manticore really is Prince Yazdan. Then, the soldier named Gaspar stepped forward and made a right fist salute to Yazdan.

“My prince,” he said with his head bowed, “It was an honor serving your father King Darius as one of his soldiers. It will be a greater honor to serve you.”

Yazdan bowed his head and said,

“You have my thanks, Gaspar.”

Parisa, the head nurse, made the same gesture as Gaspar.

“It will be a great honor for me to serve you, too, Your Highness.” she said.

One by one, the Resistance saluted Yazdan and vowed to serve him in this time of crisis and help him reclaim the throne of the Persian Empire.

“All hail Yazdan, the one true king!” the Resistance proclaimed.

Yazdan bowed his head to the Resistance and thanked them once again for their loyalty.

As the Resistance made their way back to their tents to prepare for their next move, Yazdan asked,

“Captain Yasmin, may I ask you a favor?”

“Your wish is my command, Your Highness.” Yasmin answered.

“Asha,” Yazdan said to Asha, “Will you wait in Captain Yasmin’s tent? This is something I must speak to Captain Yasmin alone.”

“Alright.” Asha said slightly crestfallen.

Although she made it into Yasmin’s tent, Asha couldn’t help overhearing Yasmin and Yazdan’s conversation. She could hear that they were talking about Yazdan’s prophecy. 

“Are you sure, Your Highness?” Yasmin asked, “The one who will help us save the empire from the tyrant Javid is Asha? She’s a villager, after all.”

“Asha has great courage and a huge heart, Captain Yasmin.” Yazdan replied with certainty, “She wasn’t afraid of risking her own life to save her little brother. I have faith in her abilities.”

“Alright,” Yasmin said, “I trust Your Highness’s judgment. I will help her prepare to fight the tyrant and his followers, and all of the Resistance will help both of you find a way to break the tyrant’s spells.”

She and Yazdan entered her tent to see Asha waiting for them.

“I will prepare a bed for you, Asha.” Yasmin said, “You and His Highness can stay in my tent. Tomorrow, we will start training in combat.”

Asha only nodded. She could only hope she can help Yazdan, Yasmin, and the Resistance defeat Javid and save the empire.

Chapter Text

The next day, Asha woke up to the smell of freshly baked naan swimming up to her nose. She yawned and stood up from her bed to see Yasmin sitting at her small desk with a platter of food on it. Asha grabbed an extra chair and sat across from the captain of the Resistance and saw that not a single piece of cuisine was touched. She looked up at Yasmin to see her cleaning her spear with a large piece of cloth already stained with oil. Asha realized the way Yasmin looked at and cared for the spear was a mix of fondness, nostalgia, and melancholy.

Yasmin noticed Asha sitting across from her and stopped cleaning her spear.

“Eat, Asha.” she said gently, “You’ve had a long day yesterday, and you need energy for training today.”

“What about you, Captain Yasmin?” Asha asked.

Yasmin shook her head and said,

“I’ve already had breakfast earlier today.”

Asha looked around the tent to see that Yazdan was not in there with her and Yasmin.

“Where did Prince Yazdan go?” she asked.

“I’ve sent some soldiers on a mission to search the Forbidden Forest for any clues on how to stop Javid.” Yasmin answered, “Yazdan is currently leading them.”

Asha nodded her head.

I hope what they find in the Forbidden Forest can lead us to finding a way to break Javid’s spell on Yazdan. she thought.

As Asha began eating her breakfast, Yasmin walked to the shelf and rummaged through the clothes stacked on it. After choosing a set of clothes, Yasmin walked back to Asha, who had just finished her breakfast.

“This is what I used to wear when I was a trainee in the Royal Troops.” Yasmin said, handing Asha the clothes, “They should fit you well. I’m going to the weapons tent to check on if your spear is ready.”

“Yes, Captain.” Asha said.

Once Yasmin left the tent, Asha observed the clothes the captain gave her. It was an old military uniform designed for new recruits of the Royal Troops. However, she would never guess this once belonged to Yasmin when she was a trainee. Yasmin would’ve started training at a very young age.

Even during her years as a trainee, Yasmin must be very tall for her age. Asha thought.

As she put on the uniform, she was surprised but very impressed on how well it fit her petite figure. Once she’s dressed, Asha looked in the mirror and could barely recognize herself. Yesterday, she was a village girl running away from Javid’s soldiers with Yazdan’s protection. Now, she was a warrior who was about to start training in protecting the manticore prince.

I promise I won’t let you down, Yazdan. Asha thought, If I am the one to break Javid’s spell, save the empire, and help you reclaim the throne, I shall give it my all.

Asha exited the tent and saw Yasmin standing by the entrance holding two spears. While both of them appeared to be made of gold, one was shorter than the other. 

“This spear was forged for you.” Yasmin said, handing the shorter spear to Asha.

Asha gently took the spear and examined it in awe. As she held it with both hands, her arms nearly dropped.

“It’s got quite a weight to it.” Asha said.

“It is a little heavy once you first receive it.” Yasmin explained, “But over time, it becomes second nature after training and using the spear in combat. Now, let’s head toward the training grounds and begin our first lesson.”

Asha and Yasmin walked to a vast land near the camp with a white flag with an iridescent blue manticore stitched on it. Asha recognized that symbol as the seal of the royal family who ruled before Javid took over.

“Now,” Yasmin said, facing Asha, “The first thing to learn when wielding a spear is the different standing positions while holding a spear. Watch me.”

Yamin demonstrated the different standing positions from standing upright with the spear to the side to kneeling on one knee with the spear pointing toward the front. As she demonstrated, Yasmin explained to Asha the names of the stances and their purposes in terms of offense and defense.

“Now, let’s do the positions together.” she said, “Watch me first, then repeat.”

Once Yasmin demonstrated a position, Asha copied her the best she could. Asha tried not to drop her spear out of clumsiness, for she was still not used to handling such a heavy object.

“You’re doing well at watching and listening, Asha.” Yasmin pointed out, “But I can tell you’re a little shaky when you try to repeat my movements.”

“I’m sorry, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said with her head hanging low.

“No need to be sorry.” Yasmin said, shaking her head, “I didn’t become a soldier overnight. It took me years of training to get to where I am today. It’s common to make mistakes when you start learning. Let’s try again, and if you need help, just tell me.”

“Yes, captain.” Asha said, nodding her head.

Yasmin and Asha continued working on the positions. Asha asked questions as they practiced together.

“I’m sorry if I’m asking too many questions.” Asha said.

“Don’t apologize, Asha.” Yasmin said, “It’s a good thing to ask questions while you’re learning a new skill. Like I just said, I will help you if you need any.”

After minutes of practicing together, Yasmin stopped demonstrating the stances and said,

“Alright, Asha. I have confidence that you can swiftly demonstrate the stances on your own. Just remember what I’ve just taught you.” 

Asha nodded and without any difficulty, she demonstrated all the stances and even named them all correctly.

“Very good, Asha!” Yasmin said with a praising smile.

“Thank you, captain.” Asha replied with a smile, “What’s next in spear combat?”

“Let’s take a break before we move on to the basic skills in spear combat.” Yasmin said.

Asha agreed, and she and Yasmin walked to the oasis to get a drink of water. Yasmin brought out two goblets that appeared to be made of brass and handed one to Asha. Asha kindly took the cup, and she and Yasmin scooped up some water from the pool together.

“Shall we make a toast to Prince Yazdan and a new hope for the empire?” Asha asked, raising her cup.

“We have still yet to accomplish bringing a new hope to the people, Asha.” Yasmin chuckled, “Plus, the drink that is served to propose a toast is wine, not water.”

“So?” Asha said, shrugging her shoulders, “We’re happy to learn that Prince Yazdan is alive. That means there is hope for the empire to be as wonderful as it was when King Darius ruled.”

“May His Majesty rest in peace.” Yasmin said with a right fist salute.

“And while wine is a traditional drink for proposing a toast,” Asha added, “Water gives us more than what we give it credit for. I believe that even the simplest things deserve the most appreciation.”

Yasmin looked at the water in her goblet with a smile and said,

“You’re right, Asha. Water isn’t as grand as wine, but it does keep all of us hydrated during hot days like this one.”

She raised her cup and said,

“To Prince Yazdan and a new hope for the empire.”

As Asha and Yasmin drank their gobletful of water, they heard armor clattering coming. They turned around to see Yazdan and the Resistance soldiers walking toward them.

“Your Highness,” Yasmin said, regaining her stern demeanor, “Did you and our soldiers find anything?”

“We didn’t find much, Captain Yasmin.” Yazdan answered, “But I led these men to the cave where I stayed in since I was banished, and we found two things that would help us.”

One of the soldiers presented a dagger to Yasmin. As she examined it, Yasmin gasped as she saw the hilt of the dagger was engraved to look like a cobra’s head.

“The hilt of this dagger is the seal of the Wicked Wizard King!” she exclaimed, “It seems he wanted His Highness dead for some time, and yet he never wanted to tell anyone that he turned His Highness into a manticore!”

“The Wicked Wizard King is a sly one.” Yazdan said, nodding his head, “He must have sent one of his followers to kill me to avoid suspicion.”

“Still,” Yasmin said, gritting her teeth, “That tyrant thinks he’s so powerful, but he’s actually a coward hiding behind a magic wand!”

“Captain,” Gaspar said, “Do you think we can use this dagger as evidence to show that the tyrant has been lying to everyone?”

“We could, Gaspar.” Yasmin said, nodding her head, “But we need more evidence than that.”

“Yes, captain.” Gaspar said.

“There’s another thing that can help the Resistance in terms of maintaining an army.” Yazdan said.

Another soldier presented Asha’s basket, and Yasmin’s eyes widened when she saw what was in it.

“Are those blue antidote mushrooms?” she asked.

“Asha used one to heal my dagger wound and cure her little brother’s illness.” Yazdan explained, “It turns out it can heal injuries and illnesses and not just poisons. I suggest we have our nurses use them to heal the soldiers any time they get hurt, so we can maintain a large number if we need any backup from them by the time we have to face the Wicked Wizard King. That should be the blue antidote mushrooms’ true purpose.”

“Very well.” Yasmin said.

She pointed to the soldier who was holding the basket and said,

“Take those to the hospital tent.”

“Yes, captain.” said the soldier before she headed to the hospital tent.

“If I may ask,” Asha said, “When would be the best time to confront the tyrant?”

“We will confront him on the next Javid Gala Day, Asha.” Yazdan answered, “It’s two weeks from today.”

“Two weeks?!” Asha exclaimed, “But, how are we going to find a way to break the Wicked Wizard King’s evil enchantments in two weeks?! Something like that could take a longer time!”

“Actually, Miss Asha,” Gaspar said, “I was talking to one of the scholars about how to break the tyrant’s spell earlier today, and he said that we would most likely find an answer in Susa. It’s a city that was home of sages from the days of old. If we can find a sage there, they might help us find a way to break the spell.”

Yasmin shook her head.

“That’s a good idea, Gaspar.” she said, “But I’ve heard news that sages who were loyal to King Darius were persecuted by the tyrant. Even if there are any left, they would be hard to find because they would most likely be hiding to avoid persecution.”

“It’s still worth a try, Captain Yasmin.” Gaspar said, “Sages are knowledgeable about magic, after all.”

“I agree with Gaspar.” Asha said, “If we can find a sage, we can find a way to break all of the tyrant’s spells. And even when the tyrant has his guard up and has his army to back him up, we will be prepared to back ourselves up with the Resistance soldiers once the time to confront him has come.”

Yasmin was silent, pondering Gaspar’s suggestion.

“Your Highness,” she said to Yazdan, “What do you think?”

“I agree with Gaspar’s suggestion.” Yazdan said, “We have to hope that there are still some sages left, and one of them will be willing to help us. However, if we are to travel to Susa, it won’t be a good idea to do that dressed as soldiers. Even though we’re against the Wicked Wizard King, a sage would be wary of someone dressed in a military uniform.”

“You make a good point, Your Highness.” Yasmin said.

She turned to Asha and said,

“Asha, I will send you and His Highness to Susa to find a sage who can help both of you break the tyrant’s spells. I will prepare an outfit for you that is suitable for meeting with a sage.”

“Yes, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said.

“Since we have the tyrant’s dagger as one piece of evidence,” Yasmin continued, “I will gather a team of soldiers and lead them on a search for more evidence that what the tyrant told the people about the prince wasn’t true and how the tyrant was behind the prince’s disappearance and King Darius’s death.”

“King Darius, may he rest in peace!” the soldiers proclaimed.

“Gaspar,” Yasmin said, turning to the commander of the Resistance, “Will you look after our camp while I lead the mission?”

“You have my word, Captain Yasmin!” Gaspar said, saluting to Yasmin.

“Thank you.” Yasmin said.

She turned to the Resistance soldiers and said,

“Soldiers, you may head back to your tents.”

“I will wait for you and Asha to finish training back at the camp.” Yazdan said.

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Yasmin said.

As Yazdan followed the soldiers to the camp, Yasmin said,

“Alright, Asha. I apologize that the break was longer than anticipated. Let’s head back to the training grounds and begin learning the basic spear combat skills.”

“Yes, captain.” Asha said.

Asha and Yasmin headed back to the training grounds. Once they made it back, Yasmin faced Asha and said,

“Now, for the basic combat skills, I want you to hold your spear with the hand that’s near the front in an underhand grip and the hand that’s near the back in an overhand grip.”

Yasmin demonstrated as she spoke, and Asha copied her.

“Now,” Yasmin continued, “Watch me carefully as I demonstrate a block.”

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, Javid was in the palace dungeon talking to the royal jailer. After he sent his soldiers to hunt down Asha, Zavier, and Yazdan, the wizard king decided to look for the servant who failed to kill Yazdan. Once he had caught the servant, Javid had him thrown in the dungeon. All that was left was the servant’s punishment.

“Your Majesty,” the royal jailer said to Javid, “I have caught the servant who failed to slay the manticore under your orders. What punishment shall he recieve?”

Javid stared at the trembling servant behind bars with eyes like a hawk that spotted its prey. He twirled his mustache and said,

“That is yet to be decided.” Javid answered, “I have punished those who defied me every day. They were lucky that I let them live, but I’ve decided to make them into something more useful. However, this servant not only failed to follow my orders, but he lied to me as well. He may not be as lucky as the others.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.” the jailer said, bowing his head.

Suddenly, frantic footsteps echoed across the halls of stone in the palace dungeon. Javid and the jailer turned their attention toward the sound and saw another servant running toward them.

“Your Majesty,” the servant said, bowing and trying to catch his breath, “The captain of the Royal Troops seeks your audience.”

Javid grumbled, certain that the captain of the Royal Troops had bad news to tell him.

“Very well.” he said to the servant before turning to the jailer.

“Keep an eye on the prisoner.” Javid said to the jailer, “Make sure he doesn’t escape.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” the jailer said, bowing his head again.

Javid followed his servant to the throne room, where he saw the captain of the Royal Troops waiting for him. When the soldier saw his king, he immediately bowed on one knee with a right fist salute. Although Javid stood in front of his throne, he did not sit down. He remained standing and spoke with a commanding voice.

“Rise!” he said.

The captain of the Royal Troops immediately stood up and looked directly at his king.

“Where are your soldiers?!” Javid asked, “Why aren’t they with you?! Didn’t I give you a direct order to capture the two rebellious villagers and kill the manticore?! Where are they?!”

The soldier began to quake in fear as he said,

“W-we didn’t stand a chance against them, Sire! We tried to capture the two villagers and kill the manticore, but they interfered. They came out of their hiding places and demonstrated a surprise attack on us! Their military power should not be underestimated!”

“Who are ‘they?’” Javid asked, “Be specific!”

“The Resistance, Sire!” the soldier answered, “The Resistance fought me and my men! They caused a great distraction from carrying your orders!”

“And you let them take the villagers and the manticore?!” Javid asked in a booming voice, “Did any of your men even take one of the Resistance members as prisoner?!”

The soldier frantically shook his head.

“I have trusted you as captain of my Royal Troops because you’ve never failed me!” Javid shouted, “You have never failed me as captain until today!”

“Please, Your Majesty!” the captain of the Royal Troops begged, falling onto his knees, “I can do better! I will destroy the manticore and bring the two villagers to justice! I’ll show you! I swear!”

“You have failed me for the first and last time!” Javid said, grabbing his staff, “You’re no longer captain of the Royal Troops!”

He pointed his staff at the soldier as it began to glow and said,

“Petrify him!” 

A magical beam shot from the staff and hit the soldier, and the soldier slowly turned into stone.

“No!” he pleaded, “You can’t do this! Plea—!”

But the soldier fell silent before he could finish his sentence as his face completely solidified.

After he finished casting the spell, Javid growled under his breath. His patience was running out as his servants and soldiers were failing to carry out his orders to kill Yazdan.

If that witty little brat is not dead by Javid Gala Day, Javid thought, Who knows what he will do to make a comeback to take my crown! And since the Resistance has found him, he’ll have backup and a chance to break my spells!

“But all of my followers are failing!” he yelled, “It was supposed to be one simple command, and the Resistance are making it hard on purpose!”

Javid stormed out of the palace and into the gardens where the statues of servants, soldiers, and ministers who tried to defy him were put on display. With a grimace, the wicked king said,

“Even looking at these statues makes me sick! They were all fools to think they could rebel against me inside the palace walls! Hmph!”

Javid looked at the one area where the statues of his servants are and then his staff. He chuckled wickedly as he had thought of a brilliant, yet despicable plan.

“I won’t give up so easily.” the king sneered, “I will have that prince dead before he can find a way to defeat me.”

Javid pointed his staff at the statues and spoke as the staff’s gem glowed.

“Destroy, then create a giant!” he said.

As the magical beam hit the statues, the statues blasted into pieces. Then, the destroyed statues stacked their pieces on top of each other to create a giant made of stone. Once the stone monster was complete, it let out a roar that shook the ground almost to the core.

“Find the lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail,” Javid commanded the stone monster, “And crush it!”

The stone monster only nodded and began walking away from the palace. Its footsteps were so heavy, each one was enough to make the ground shake and the person standing on it jump. Javid chuckled evilly as he felt that his magic would be enough to kill Yazdan. He was the Wicked Wizard King, after all.

Chapter Text

The next day, Asha woke up to the feeling of something nudging against her. It was firm enough to wake her, but gentle enough to be as soft as a cat rubbing against its owner affectionately. Asha stirred and when she opened her eyes, she saw Yazdan looking at her affectionately. Asha smiled as she saw Yazdan’s eyes sparkle like emeralds.

“Good morning, Asha.” Yazdan said with a smile in return.

Asha stroke his mane and said,

“Good morning, Yazdan. Are you ready to go find someone who can help us break the spell?”

“Most certainly.” Yazdan replied, “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” Asha said, “If I may be honest, I’ve been wanting to see what you look like as a human.”

Yazdan turned away sheepishly.

“I hope it will meet your expectations.” he said.

“I thought you could see the future.” Asha said with playful sass, “How do I react when I see your human form?”

“Okay,” Yazdan said with a chuckle, “My visions aren’t that detailed. But still, I hope you’ll be happy to see me as a human.”

“Asha.” a voice said from the entrance of the tent.

Asha and Yazdan turned around to see Yasmin holding clothes neatly folded up. Yasmin entered the tent and handed Asha the clothes.

“These should be good to wear when meeting a sage.” Yasmin said, “We don’t have a lot of formal clothes, but these should do the job.”

“These clothes are perfect.” Asha said with a smile, “Thank you, Captain Yasmin.”

“I’m just doing my duty.” Yasmin said, shaking her head with a smile before returning to her usual stern frown, “I must check on preparations of the soldiers who will accompany me on the investigation on evidence that will prove Javid guilty.”

“Yes, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said gravely.

Once Yasmin left the tent, Asha said,

“Um, Yazdan?”

“Yes, Asha?” Yazdan asked.

“I need to change.” Asha said, trying to ignore the blush threatening to crawl up to her face, “Could you please give me a little privacy?”

“Oh!” Yazdan chuckled, “Of course. Of course. I’ll leave you to it.”

Yazdan left the tent, leaving Asha alone to change her outfit. She looked in the mirror to see herself wearing an outfit that was as green as the springtime at the bottom of the shirt and pants that faded to a very light shade of green at the top. The sleeves looked almost invisible except for the lace stitched onto them. The outfit was accessorized with silver and emerald jewelry and a translucent green veil that covered the bottom half of Asha’s face.

I love this outfit. Asha thought, But, why should I wear a veil? Yazdan is the one Javid is after, not me.

She shrugged her shoulders at the thought and stepped out of the tent. Once she was out, Asha felt a pair of emerald eyes staring at her.

“Awoo.” Yazdan called softly.

“What?” Asha giggled, “Am I overdressed?”

“No, Asha.” Yazdan said with a smile, “You look stunning. I’m just at a loss for words to adequately express how amazed I am of how you look.”

“Oh?” Asha said with a playful wink, “Is that why all you could say was ‘awoo?’”

“I-it’s just one of the sounds I make as a manticore.” Yazdan stuttered.

“Is it a sound you make whenever something catches your eye?” Asha asked teasingly.

“Asha…” Yazdan said, hiding his face behind his wings.

“Your Highness,” Yasmin called, walking toward Yazdan and Asha, “Are you and Asha ready?”

“I think Asha’s too busy teasing me, Captain Yasmin.” Yazdan answered, still hiding his face.

Yasmin looked at Asha and quirked a brow.

“What did you say to His Highness?” she asked.

“I didn’t do anything!” Asha said with her hands up in surrender, “He was going ga-ga over me!”

“Like I believe it.” Yasmin said with a smirk as playful as her sarcasm.

Shoot! Asha thought, I shouldn’t have forgotten that Yasmin can detect lies. But, Yazdan started it!

“Don’t worry.” Yasmin said with a genuine smile, “Both of you have my support.”

Asha covered her face with her hands.

“Can we just get back on track with the mission?” Yazdan asked, peeking through his wings.

Yasmin cleared her throat and said,

“Yes, Your Highness. I apologize for getting distracted.”

She blew her horn, and all of the Resistance gathered at the center of the camp.

“Resistance!” Yasmin announced, “Today, we are to carry out a very important mission! Prince Yazdan and his companion Asha will be traveling to Susa to find someone who can help us break the Wicked Wizard King’s spell!”

“All hail Yazdan, the one true king!” the Resistance proclaimed.

“And I will lead a team of soldiers to search for more evidence to prove the Wicked Wizard King’s guilt of the tyranny he’s had committed for nearly five years!” Yasmin declared.

“Down with the Wicked Wizard King!” the Resistance jeered.

Yasmin turned Gaspar and said,

“Gaspar, I’m trusting you to keep watch of our camp and have a team of soldiers ready for any threat. If you and the camp are facing an enemy that is beyond you, let me know immediately with a blow of your horn.”

Gaspar saluted and said,

“Yes, captain!”

“Alright!” Yasmin said, “Let’s move!” 

As Yasmin and Gaspar’s soldiers grabbed their weapons and mounted their horses, Asha asked Yasmin,

“May I speak to Zavier for a moment, Captain Yasmin?”

Yasmin shook her head and said solemnly,

“We’re on a tight schedule, Asha. There’s no time to waste.”

“Please, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said, “I just want to tell Zavier where I’m going. I don’t want him to worry.”

Yasmin sighed and said,

“You have fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you.” Asha said.

Asha walked toward the hospital tent and saw Zavier helping Parisa tend to the injured soldiers’ wounds. When Zavier saw Asha, he ran and wrapped his big sister in a hug almost tight enough to squeeze the breath out of her.

“Asha!” he said happily, “I’m so glad to see you again! I was worried they would separate us!”

“It’s alright, Zavier.” Asha chuckled, “I was just busy with helping out with the preparations for today’s mission. Speaking of, I’m going to Susa with Yazdan to find someone who can help us break the spell.”

“Can I come with you?” Zavier asked with a smile.

“No, Zavier.” Asha said sadly, “It can be dangerous. I don’t want you to get into trouble with Parisa. I’ve trusted her to take care of you.”

Zavier frowned.

“But I can’t stay here!” he protested, “I want to help!”

“You can.” Asha assured Zavier, “If Yazdan and I are not back by dusk tomorrow, promise me you’ll go to Parisa for help. Okay?”

“Okay.” Zavier said, “Be careful.”

“I will.” Asha said, “Now, I need to go. I had fifteen minutes. Remember to stay here with Parisa until Yazdan and I get back. If we’re not back tomorrow, you know what to do.”

“Yes, Asha!” Zavier said excitedly.

After giving her little brother one more hug, Asha walked toward Yazdan who was waiting for her with Yasmin and her soldiers.

“Okay,” she said, “Now, I’m ready.”

“Before you and His Highness go,” Yasmin said, handing Asha a dagger, “I want you to take this. This is for self-defense.”

Asha took the dagger and said,

“Thank you, Captain Yasmin. Good luck on your mission.”

“And good luck on yours.” Yasmin said.

After the two young women shook hands, their teams went their separate ways. Yasmin led her soldiers to investigate the empire for evidence to prove Javid’s tyranny, and Asha and Yazdan began flying off to Susa.

Chapter Text

Asha and Yazdan flew across the desert in search of the great city of Susa. Strangely, the flight was smoother than the time they flew to escape from Javid’s soldiers. The only sound Asha and Yazdan heard was the wind blowing through the sand dunes.

“Something doesn’t feel right.” Asha said.

“What’s the matter, Asha?” Yazdan asked.

“The journey so far is going rather smoothly.” Asha explained, “Shouldn’t we be encountering any other dangers Javid sent our way?”

“I’m certain we will.” Yazdan said, “I can see it clearly. However, this type of danger is beyond you and me.”

“How can it be beyond you, Yazdan?” Asha asked, “You’re a manticore.”

“Even manticores have limits on what they’re capable of, Asha.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “Whatever comes our way, we’ll let them come.”

Asha only nodded her head, and she and Yazdan continued flying to their destination. The flight was as smooth as a boat drifting on flatwater, Asha started to feel her eyes drooping. She jerked her head up to wake herself up.

“Yazdan?” Asha asked, trying to hold back a yawn, “How much farther to Susa?”

“We’ll be there soon, Asha.” Yazdan said, “Susa is further away from the desert than the capital. If you want to take a nap, you can. I don’t mind you snuggling into my mane.”

“Are you sure?” Asha asked, trying to fight the urge to fall asleep, “I can stay awake for a little longer until we get there.”

“You don’t need to force yourself.” Yazdan said, “I can tell you’re getting sleepy from the flight.”

“Okay.” Asha said before laying her head on Yazdan’s luscious ebony mane. She let her eyes flutter shut as she felt her hands comb through the bed of hair softer than even a house cat’s fur. 

I wonder how Yazdan kept his hair so soft when he was human. Asha thought, I never felt a lion’s mane like this before. 

Yazdan closed his eyes and exhaled a soft sigh as he felt Asha’s hands brush his mane.

Her touch is very comforting. Yazdan thought, It’s been so long since I’ve had any physical affection.

He reopened his eyes, and his focus returned to flying to Susa. He tried not to move too much as he flew, so he wouldn’t wake Asha from her nap. Then, the sand dunes beneath them were now behind them, and in front of them was a city with buildings of various sizes that appeared to be made of clay and a large pond with water as clear as a crystal polished and shaped into a sparkling diamond.

We’re here. Yazdan thought as he lowered himself to land. Once all four of his paws were on the ground, Yazdan softly said,

“Asha, wake up.”

Asha stirred and rubbed her eyes.

“Are we there yet?” she asked.

“Yes,” Yazdan answered, “We’re in Susa.”

“Yay.” Asha said with a yawn.

“You can still ride on my back.” Yazdan said, “I don’t want you to faint while walking with grogginess.”

“Okay.” Asha said.

Yazdan walked around the city as Asha looked around to see there were no civilians out and about.

“It’s so quiet in Susa.” Asha said, “Too quiet, actually. Is there anyone living in this city?”

“This is a time of darkness while Javid rules, Asha.” Yazdan explained, “There are people who live in Susa, but they’re probably hiding in their homes, so Javid wouldn’t persecute them.”

“Then, how are we supposed to find a sage who can help us break the spell?” Asha asked, “If people are hiding, we can’t just simply knock on their door and ask if they know anything about magic.”

“We won’t find a sage, Asha.” Yazdan said, “A sage will find us.”

“You envisioned that, didn’t you?” Asha asked.

“I did.” Yazdan said.

“But how do we know if the person who will find us is a sage?” Asha asked.

“Sh!” Yazdan said.

Asha was taken aback.

“Okay, I know I’m asking a lot of questions.” she said, rolling her eyes, “But you don’t need to shush me!”

“It’s not you, Asha.” Yazdan said with a small flick of his tail, “I heard something coming this way.”

He twitched his ears and got a good hearing of footsteps as heavy as stone thumping. He sniffed and turned around to see an enormous figure made of stone. Asha saw it, too.

“What is that?!” she asked with wide eyes.

“It’s a stone monster,” Yazdan said, “And it’s an enemy beyond us. We have to run. Hang on tight!”

Asha grabbed hold of Yazdan’s mane as the manticore sprinted through the city as the stone monster tried to stomp on them. Asha looked back to see the stone monster approaching them fast with its large footsteps.

“Don’t look back, Asha!” Yazdan exclaimed, “The more you do it, the closer it will come!”

Asha nodded her head quickly and kept facing forward. It was hard for her to resist the urge to look back because she wanted her and Yazdan to get away from the stone monster as soon as possible.

“There has to be a way to stop that stone monster.” Asha said.

“It was created by magic.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “The dagger Captain Yasmin gave would be no use against it and so would my manticore fire and scorpion tail.”

“Wait a minute.” Asha said, “Where are we?”

She and Yazdan looked around to see leaves as big as an elephant’s foot, trees twice the size of a camel, and flowers in a brighter shade of pink than flamingo feathers.

“Oh no.” Yazdan said, “My father warned me of this jungle. We went past the empire’s borders!”

“What?!” Asha asked with wide eyes.

Yazdan’s answer became clear when tarantulas crawling down the trees, cobras slithering on the ground, and abnormally large beetles swarming around Asha and Yazdan.

“Hold onto me, Asha!” Yazdan exclaimed, “And whatever you do, do not come into contact with any of these creatures!”

Asha wrapped her arms around Yazdan’s neck tightly as Yazdan let out a powerful roar. The manticore swiped at the beetles with his sharp claws and emitted golden flames from his mouth. Asha could feel sweat running from her forehead as Yazdan breathed fire. The ground began to shake violently, making Yazdan and the foreign creatures stop fighting. The stone monster gained up on them, and as it raised its arm to crush Yazdan and Asha, it began to separate itself.

“Yazdan! Look out!” Asha cried.

Yazdan successfully dodged the stone monster as its pieces fell to the ground, crushing the creatures that attacked Yazdan and Asha. 

“Are you alright, Asha?” Yazdan asked.

Asha wanted to say yes, but she felt a pain in her back that stung more than just a bee sting and squeezed her eyes shut in agony.

“I think one of those beetles got me.” Asha answered.

“Let me see.” Yazdan said.

Asha slowly climbed off Yazdan’s back and showed him her wound. It was two puncture marks that were already beginning to swell.

“Oh no.” Yazdan said with fear in his eyes, “Asha, do you happen to have any blue antidote mushrooms?”

Asha groaned.

“Dang it!” she shouted, “I should’ve asked Parisa to pack mushrooms for us just in case!”

Then, Asha and Yazdan heard someone clearing their throat. They turned around to see a young man with golden eyes dressed in a uniform that looked very official.

“It seems you two are in a lot of trouble.” the young man said, “It’s not safe to venture out into the Savage Jungle.”

Yazdan stood in front of Asha like a knight protecting the princess and said,

“We didn’t mean to go beyond the empire’s borders. We were simply trying to get away from the stone monster. But the stone monster…”

“Don’t worry.” the young man said, waving his hand at the subject, “I took care of it.”

“How…?” Yazdan asked.

“That will have to wait.” the young man said, shaking his head, “We must get both of you to safety. Plus, one of you was injured by one of those enchanted beetles.”

Yazdan nodded and helped Asha up on his back. They followed the young man back to Susa and to a tiny house that stood in the furthest corner of the city.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, Yasmin led her troop of soldiers to gather evidence that Javid was responsible for King Darius’s death, turning Yazdan into a manticore, and the evil enchantment he put on his followers who failed to carry out his orders and the civilians who did not follow his laws. She was determined to save the empire from Javid’s evil reign not just for the people, but for the one person she loved who bravely defied the wicked wizard king. Yasmin looked at the spear in her hands and thought to herself,

Baba, I promise I will finish what you started for the good of the people.

Yasmin never forgot the day her father Fahd gave his life to help her and the soldiers of the royal troops who remained loyal to the royal family. It all happened in the palace, and she decided the one way to save the empire from Javid was to go back to where it all began. Yasmin remembered the night before she, Asha, and Yazdan parted ways on their mission.

“Am I hearing this right, Captain Yasmin?” one of the Resistance soldiers asked, “You think the best place to start investigating is the palace?”

Yasmin nodded her head gravely.

“Prince Yazdan informed me that the tyrant has a secret room where he keeps all his wizardry books, artifacts, and potions.” she explained, “If we can sneak into the palace and into that room, we can find the book that contained the recipe for the poison the tyrant used to kill King Darius. And if it is possible, we can search the dungeons to find any prisoners and have them as witnesses.”

“I don’t mean to criticize your plan, captain.” another soldier said, “But your plan sounds very risky. I’m certain that there’s a very small chance of success and a very large chance of us getting caught. Is this really a good idea?”

“I am aware of the risks my plan has.” Yasmin said with a sigh, “But we won’t know if this will succeed unless we give it a try. Everything has risks, but this is a risk worth taking. If we don’t take it, who knows how much longer the tyrant will rule the empire.”

“Our captain speaks like a true leader.” Gaspar pointed out, “She is very much like her father Captain Fahd, too. I remember the resolute look in his eyes when he told us his plan to escape from the palace after the tyrant took the throne.”

All of the Resistance soldiers nodded in agreement as they all thought about the late captain of the royal troops who served King Darius.

“If Captain Yasmin says this is the plan to go for,” a soldier said, “Then I will follow her.”

All of the soldiers who were chosen to accompany Yasmin all swore to follow their captain on the mission.

“Thank you.” Yasmin said.

She unrolled a map of the palace and added,

“My father showed me a secret passageway in the palace with an entrance right next to the royal stables. If we can sneak to the stables and enter the passageway, no one will see us entering or exiting the palace.”

“Then it’s settled.” Gaspar said, “As Captain Yasmin leads you all to the palace, I will keep guard of the camp.”

With the ability to detect lies, Yasmin was sure she even would be able to tell that she’d be lying to herself that she was confident that her plan would work. But she knew this was not the time to be indecisive. Once she made a choice, she made it clear that nothing and no one could change her mind. Time was flying as fast as a falcon, and every decision must count. With this mindset, Yasmin and her troop of Resistance soldiers continued marching in the desert.  

Yasmin and her soldiers made it to the top of the sand dune and got an amazing view of the capital.

“I never thought we would return there.” one of the soldiers said.

“Neither did I.” Yasmin replied, “But this is a necessary step to defeat the wicked wizard king. Let’s move.”

Yasmin and her soldiers marched to the capital. As they stepped into the village, the soldiers saw that the villagers were still doing their daily activities from crafting to selling their wares. However, when the villagers saw Yasmin and her soldiers, one of them shouted,

“Everyone! Back to your homes! Hurry!”

All of the villagers quickly packed up their things and rushed back to their homes.

“We just got here, and the first thing the villagers do is run away and hide?” one of the soldiers asked.

“They must think we’re soldiers working for the tyrant.” Yasmin said, “Remember, the Javid Gala Day is coming up in two weeks. The civilians are not supposed to work while the tyrant’s servants, ministers, and soldiers make preparations for the event. But since the tyrant’s soldiers are not here, the civilians were taking an opportunity to work in secret.”

“And if any servant, minister, or soldier comes to the village, they would immediately stop what they’re doing and go back to their homes to avoid getting caught.” another soldier said.

“Exactly.” Yasmin said.

She let out a sad sigh and closed her eyes. Yasmin was certain that there were civilians living in the capital who were so desperate to have something for them and their families to live on, they would try to work whenever Javid’s employees were not making preparations. 

Soon, all of the empire will live like this if Javid isn’t stopped. she thought.

Soon, Yasmin and her soldiers made it to the wall that surrounded the palace. The wall that towered above them was decorated with mosaic murals and a door that looked to be made of bronze.

“This door will lead us to the front of the palace.” Yasmin said to her soldiers, “The royal stables are in the back where the gardens are.”

The soldiers followed their captain around the wall until they made it to the back. On the wall between them and the back of the palace was a mosaic of a falcon near the top of the wall, and beneath the falcon was a crowd of people surrounding a bonfire with their arms up like they’re worshiping the falcon as a god. Yasmin reached up to the falcon and tapped its wings. The wings were pushed into the wall, and the mural of the people moved slowly to the right. She and her soldiers walked through the secret doorway and found the stables on the left of the gardens.

Once they entered the royal stables, Yasmin knelt down and brushed all the hay to reveal a wooden cellar door.

“This door will lead us to the secret passageway.” Yasmin explained, “We’ll take it to enter the palace and find all the evidence we need to bring the wicked wizard king down.”

“Captain,” a soldier said, “His Highness is concerned about your safety. He advised me to bring some clothes to disguise ourselves as servants.”

Yasmin looked at the soldier who spoke and saw he was holding a stack of folded clothes.

“I’ve been in the secret passageway before.” the soldier explained, “With those walls of stone, it echoes loudly. If we walk in there with our armor on, we will get caught before we can complete the mission.”

Yasmin was silent for a moment. She never wore servant clothes before, but her comrade had a point.

“Good idea.” Yasmin finally said, “I’ll have to thank His Highness for his help once we get back to the camp.”

Once she and her soldiers changed into their servant disguises, Yasmin opened the cellar door and let all her soldiers in one at a time before entering the secret passageway herself. The secret passageway was dark with only torches on both the right and left walls as a source of light. Yasmin nodded at her soldiers, and they walked through the passageway while trying to keep their footsteps as quiet as possible.   

Chapter Text

Asha slowly stirred from her sleep. When she finally opened her eyes, Asha saw that she was no longer in the jungle. Instead, she was in a house with several shelves of scrolls, silk decor, and beautifully stitched pillows.

“Asha!” she heard someone cry, “You’re awake!”

Asha looked to see Yazdan laying beside her with a look of worry in his eyes.

“What happened?” she asked, “How long was I out?”

“You were bitten by an enchanted beetle in the Savage Jungle.” Yazdan explained, “It was some miracle that someone found us who can help cure the venom. You were out for the whole day!”

“And you were lucky it was only a nymph.” another voice said.

Asha looked to see the young man she and Yazdan saw in the Savage Jungle. He was holding a brass kettle that was pouring tea into a cup.

“Their venom reaches full effect in twenty-four hours.” the young man continued, putting down the kettle, “If it were an adult, you’d be dead in one hour.”

Asha touched her back and winced. The place on her back where she was bitten was dressed and bandaged. However, her body didn’t feel numb anymore like it used to when the beetle first bit her. Still, Asha stuttered at the fact her life would’ve been in more danger if she was bitten by an adult enchanted beetle. Then, she held her head with her head which was still fuzzy after being unconscious for one full day. 

The young man took the cup full of tea and walked toward Asha. He offered it to her and said,

“Here. Drink this.”

Asha gladly took the cup, already delighting the fragrance of jasmine rising with the steam from the tea. As she took a sip, Asha smiled with a hint of nostalgia. She remembered how her mother would make jasmine tea for her and Zavier whenever they were not feeling well.

“Thank you, sir.” Asha said with a smile, “For saving me and my friend and for the delicious tea.”

“You’re welcome.” the young man said with a smile in return, “I should introduce myself, now that you’re well. My name is Reza.”

“Pleased to meet you, Reza.” Asha said with a smile, “My name is Asha, and my manticore companion’s name is Yazdan.”

Reza looked completely confused.

“Yazdan?” he asked, “He’s the prince of the empire, but everyone said a manticore killed him while searching for the blue antidote mushrooms for King Darius. Your manticore friend can’t be named Yazdan, unless…”

Reza paused, and his eyes widened as the answer dawned on him. He looked at Yazdan and asked,

“Are you Prince Yazdan? Please, be serious!”

“I am Yazdan.” Yazdan replied, “I have heard of your name before, Reza. The palace librarian and sage Tallis often spoke of how much potential you have as a sage.”

“Tallis is the name of my teacher!” Reza said happily, “I remember I would constantly ask him what I had to do to become a sage. ‘A true sage isn’t someone who knows all the answers, but someone who yearns to discover the answers unknown to them.’ That was always his answer to my question.”

“Tallis was a man of wisdom, indeed.” Yazdan said with a smile.

Asha looked at Reza. He looked to be in his twenties. She always thought sages were elderly men from the legends she read in her books. Could Reza really be a sage, and does he know how to break Javid’s spell?

“Forgive me for being blunt, Reza.” she said, “But I never thought a sage could be as young as you. I always thought sages were elders.”

Reza gave a heartfelt chuckle and replied,

“It’s okay, Asha. You’re not the only person who thought so. But my teacher always told me that you’re never too young to become a sage.”

“You’re right, Reza.” Asha said, nodding her head, “Anyone can achieve and share knowledge to anyone, no matter how old they are.”

“Now,” Reza said, looking back at Yazdan, “Since you really are Prince Yazdan, why did you turn into a manticore?”

“Javid did this.” Yazdan answered, “He even poisoned my father, took the throne for himself, and lied to the people that I was killed by a manticore. Not to mention he would use magic to punish those who didn’t follow his rules or even tried to openly defy him!”

“Javid?!” Reza exclaimed, clenching his fists, “I’ve never trusted that slippery man! I always knew he was hiding something, but what he did to you and the king was beyond unacceptable! He even led countless sages who remained loyal to the royal family to their deaths!”

Yazdan and Asha gasped.

“I’m sorry.” Reza said, lowering his voice, “It just breaks my heart to know that there are people who spent many years achieving and sharing knowledge and wisdom being persecuted for sticking to their principles and being loyal to the royal family.”

“We don’t blame you, Reza.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “I felt the same way when I lost my father. He was a great king and a great father, and he was taken from me too soon.”

“I lost my parents when I was still a child.” Asha added, “I had to raise my brother on my own, and it is very hard for me to take all the responsibilities. There are times when I thought things would be easier if my parents were still around.”

“Thank you, Your Highness and Asha.” Reza said with a smile, “Sorry for getting sidetracked just now, but what brings both of you to Susa?”

“We came to Susa to find someone who can help us break Javid’s spells.” Asha answered, “Do you think you can help us?”

“Me?” Reza asked.

He shook his head and answered,

“I don’t know how much help I can be. I don’t have any powers over Javid.”

“We’re not asking you if you can break Javid’s spells.” Asha said with determination of gaining Reza’s help, “We’re asking if you know what we can do to break Javid’s spells. You saved us from the stone monster that was chasing us. How did you do it?”

Reza sighed and said,

“My gift is creating spiritual connections with other people and animals. I can even make connections with those who have physical manifestations embodied by magic. That stone monster was assembled by magic. I could also sense it was not made of just any stone.”

“What do you mean?” Asha asked.

“That stone monster was made of statues that were once living human beings.” Reza explained, “When those statues were destroyed to create the stone monster, so were the bodies that were once flesh and bone. That kind of spell can’t be reversed.”

“Javid has gone too far!” Yazdan shouted, “He not only casts spells on people who don’t follow his rules, he even destroys their chances of returning to normal! How inhumane can he actually be?!”

Asha was trembling with her fists clenched and face red with rage at the thought of the wicked wizard king destroying lives for the purpose of destroying lives.

“Please, Reza.” Yazdan said, calming down, “Asha and I need your help, now that we’ve crossed paths with you. If we don’t have a way to break Javid’s spells, all of the empire will fall. And we are asking the man, not the abilities.”

Reza sighed again and said,

“Alright. I know something that can break Javid’s enchantment, but it is something I’ve been keeping hidden under the request of my teacher.”

He moved a beautifully patterned carpet to reveal a wooden door to a cellar. Reza opened the door and climbed the ladder down to the secret cellar. Once he made it to the bottom of the ladder, Reza unlocked a wooden chest with a golden key he kept hidden in a geode as a makeshift box. He opened the chest and picked up a scroll that was gathering dust in the chest. With the scroll in his hand, Reza climbed back up to the main room where Yazdan and Asha waited.

“Here it is.” Reza said.

He unrolled the scroll to reveal a long parchment of an exquisite writing and colorful illustration. The illustration depicted a beautiful young woman with a golden light shining from her heart. Next to the illustration was a caption in larger, bolder print than the rest of the writing, indicating that it was the title of the manuscript. Yazdan and Asha looked over Reza’s shoulders to see what’s written on the scroll.

“ Hidden Magic ?” Asha read the title with curiosity, “What’s that?”

“The Hidden Magic is the most powerful magic of all.” Reza answered, “It’s even more powerful than Javid’s.”

“What’s the source of the Hidden Magic?” Yazdan asked, “Where do we find it?”

“The Hidden Magic isn’t found.” Reza explained.

He pointed at the scroll and added,

“It says here that the gods bless the Hidden Magic to the ones who are kind, clever, and brave. It can be awakened in a temple on an island across the Caspian Sea.”

“The Caspian Sea?” Yazdan asked, “But it’s impossible to sail across it. A lot of storms occur there.”

“It’s dangerous, yes.” Reza said, “But not impossible. Plus, you won’t need a boat to go across since you’re a manticore, Your Highness.”

Yazdan looked at his wings. Reza had a point. Yazdan could simply fly to the island.

“Can the Hidden Magic really help us defeat Javid?” Asha asked, sounding hopeful.

“Reza speaks the truth, Asha.” Yazdan said, “My father had also told me about this powerful magic. In fact…”

Yazdan looked down and smiled subtly as he whispered,

“I already know someone who has this magic.”

Asha tilted her head and asked,

“Who?”

Yazdan’s eyes lit up as he looked at Asha fondly.

“I’m sure you’ll find out once we awaken it.”

Asha raised a brow at Yazdan. She became very curious about why Yazdan was being so secretive about the Hidden Magic so suddenly. But, she decided to brush it off for now.

“Well, this is great!” Asha said happily, “Now that we know how to break Javid’s spells, we just have to go to the island across the Caspian Sea, find the temple, and awaken the Hidden Magic! Let’s go back to the camp and tell Captain Yasmin and the Resistance the good news, Yazdan!”

“Wait!” Reza said with a hand out in protest, “The Hidden Magic is supposed to be a secret! Are you sure it’s a good idea to tell others about it?”

“Reza,” Asha said, “The Resistance is an organization who is going against Javid. They’ve learned that Yazdan is alive, and they want to help him reclaim the throne and break Javid’s spells. They want his evil enchantment broken as badly as Yazdan and I do.”

Reza was silent, still unsure about sharing his information on the Hidden Magic.

“You don’t have to bring the scroll with you.” Asha assured him, “You can lock it back up, so no one else can learn about the Hidden Magic and use the information against us. Plus, the leader of the Resistance is Captain Yasmin, and her gift is detecting lies. She’ll know a traitor when she sees one. We can just tell her about the Hidden Magic, and no one else.”

Reza thought about it before nodding his head in agreement.

“Okay.” he said, “I’ll go with you to the Resistance camp, and we’ll tell your leader about the Hidden Magic.”

After locking the scroll back up in its chest, Reza joined Asha and Yazdan outside of his house. Reza and Asha climbed on Yazdan’s back, and they flew back to the Resistance camp.   

Chapter Text

In the palace, on the day before Asha woke up from her coma induced by enchanted beetle venom, Yasmin and her unit of Resistance soldiers marched through the secret passageway. Yasmin grimaced as a whiff of the stench in the dimly lit hall of stone made its way into her nose. The secret passageway reeked like fresh horse manure, rotting meat, and bog mushrooms. It did not help with the fact the secret passageway was damp from braving the elements and exposed to very little light. Yasmin also shivered as she led her soldiers to a way out of the hall.

I’ll never get used to how cold it is here. Yasmin thought, And I’ll certainly never get used to this awful smell!

Eventually, Yasmin found a door she recognized. She remembered how her father used to show her how to know her way around the secret passageway when she was a little girl, but she always got lost and couldn’t find the door to the foyer of the palace. So, her father carved an image on the door to the foyer with his dagger to help her find her way out of the secret passageway. Yasmin felt a lump form in her throat when she saw the carving on the door. It was a heart with a writing that read:

Stay strong, my fierce panther princess.

She remembered how the writing was based on the bedtime stories her father used to tell her about a black panther princess who went on adventures with her beloved father, the great black panther king. The black panther king knew his daughter would grow up to become a noble queen who protects her people, and he taught her what it meant to be a true leader in their adventures. The series of bedtime stories ended with the one where the grown-up black panther princess had one more adventure with her elderly father before he passed on, leaving her to rise as the black panthers’ new queen.

“This is it.” Yasmin whispered to her soldiers.

As she opened the door, Yasmin and her soldiers went through and saw a spiral staircase up to the palace. They all climbed up the stairs to another door. Yasmin opened it to reveal what looked like a heavy piece of fabric hanging over the doorway. Yasmin remembered the fabric was a tapestry that was hung over the door to the secret passageway to keep it hidden. After reminding her soldiers of this, they slightly moved the tapestry, so they could get out of the stairway and into the foyer of the palace.

Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single person in the foyer. No guard by the palace doors, no servant cleaning the space, or even a minister talking about any changes in the current policies of the empire. Then, Yasmin remembered that many of the servants, guards, and ministers were out in the village, preparing for Javid Gala Day, and they were expected to be there when Javid would come and check on the preparations.

This mission should be fairly easy. Yasmin thought.

“What are your orders, Captain Yasmin?” one of the soldiers asked.

“Let’s split up.” Yasmin said, “We must search the palace from top to bottom and collect every piece of evidence we can find. The more evidence we have to prove Javid’s tyranny, the better our chances of taking him down will be.”

The unit split into two teams. Yasmin led a team to search through the lower portions of the palace, while the other team searched through the upper portions of the palace.

“Where should we start, Captain?” one of the soldiers on Yasmin’s team asked.

“Let’s start with the chancellor’s office.” Yasmin said, “It’s across the hall from the king’s office. We should be able to find some old stuff that belongs to Javid there.”

All of Yasmin’s team agreed and headed to the chancellor’s office. When Yasmin opened the door, her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed the door to the chancellor’s office was not locked. The bigger surprise that awaited her and her team was the office was completely empty. No decor, no furniture, and not a single document of some sort was in sight.

“Impossible!” one of the soldiers exclaimed, “How could the chancellor’s office be empty like this? A chancellor serves as a ruler’s trusted advisor.”

“Javid has no chancellor.” Yasmin explained.

All of her team looked at their leader with astonishment.

“I’ve always suspected Javid to be power hungry.” Yasmin pointed out, “He always wanted to be king, but he had no desire to have a chancellor to advise. He wanted all the authority to himself. He wanted his rule to be absolute. He knew if he ever had a chancellor, they would question how he rules the empire and may start a revolution against him.”

“Our captain is wise.” another soldier said, “Since the tyrant never wanted an advisor, he thought there was no point in having the chancellor’s office occupied by even just an empty desk. So, he thought the best way to deal with the office was to clear it out.”

“Since there isn’t anything to find in the chancellor’s office,” a third soldier said, “Where should we search next?”

“Simple.” Yasmin answered, “We will search in the king’s study. Javid is king now, but not for long. The true king will rise.”

All of her team nodded and followed her to the king’s study. It still looked as grand as it did when Darius ruled the empire. However, it looked more grim and sinister with dark decor such as scarlet draperies replacing the cozy glow the old gold decor used to provide whenever the sun shone on it. The dark decor depicted that Javid was the current occupant of the study. 

“Let’s search this study.” Yasmin said, “We must find as much evidence as we can find.”

All of her team nodded and began to search the king’s study, from the bookshelf to the desk. Yasmin searched the bookshelf to find at least something that could help the Resistance take down Javid. However, all she found were scrolls about ruling the empire and its history.

How are we supposed to stop Javid if we don’t find any clues that he lied about Prince Yazdan’s death? Yasmin thought.

“Captain,” one of the soldiers said, bringing Yasmin back to reality, “Take a look at this teacup.”

She showed Yasmin the teacup, and Yasmin examined it. On the outside, it was as stainless as a diamond freshly cut and polished. But when Yasmin looked inside the cup, the bottom of the porcelain appeared to be a strange, poisonous shade of purple. Yasmin even took a waft of the teacup and grimaced. Whatever was at the bottom of the teacup smelled particularly strange, like a flower species that flies were attracted to.

“I don’t know what’s in this teacup,” Yasmin said, shaking her head, “But something’s telling me this was the teacup the previous king drank his tea from.”

“Are you sure, Captain?” the female soldier asked.

“I remember Javid used to serve King Darius tea when he was sick.” Yasmin explained, “Javid always said tea was a more delicious way of helping the king get better than medicine. But the king never got better from his illness. He only got worse instead.”

All of the soldiers gasped.

“You mean the tyrant was poisoning our beloved king?” another soldier asked.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” Yasmin answered, “I could tell behind his friendly facade was a lust for power.”

“That means the purple in the teacup must be from the poison mixed in the tea.” Yasmin’s female comrade pointed out.

“Indeed.” Yasmin said, “We must keep this as a piece of evidence.”

She stored the contaminated teacup in her satchel before she asked her soldiers,

“Has anyone else found anything we could use as evidence?”

“You would find these very interesting, Captain Yasmin.” a male soldier said, handing Yasmin a stack of papers.

Yasmin began to read the papers, her eyes widened as the papers revealed to be Javid’s documents on what he sold and bought through the black market, including some blue antidote mushrooms.

“This is incredible!” Yasmin shouted, gripping the documents to the point she was crumpling them, “Javid is involved in illegal activity by making quick money in the black market! Those blue antidote mushrooms are supposed to be used to save lives, not to help someone get rich!”

“I’ve always suspected the tyrant would do anything for money.” one of the soldiers said, shaking his head, “Speaking of money, you should see these, too, Captain.”

He handed Yasmin another stack of papers. As the Captain of the Resistance read the papers, she saw they were documents dating from more than five years ago, stating how much money Javid owed after his time of gambling.

“Not only involved in the black market,” Yasmin concluded, “But he was also an irresponsible chancellor with gambling debts that are long overdue.”

“If he keeps abusing his money,” one of the soldiers said, “The entire empire will be in ruin.”

“Indeed.” Yasmin said, nodding her head, “We’re done in the king’s study. Let’s leave and find another room to investigate before anyone catches us here.”

All of the soldiers nodded and followed Yasmin as they exited the king’s study. As they walked away from the study, they met up with the other half of the unit who went to the upper portions of the palace.

“Captain Yasmin,” one of the soldiers from the other team said, “We found some very dire objects we can use as evidence. We went into the tyrant’s chambers and came across these.”

One soldier handed Yasmin a yellowing scroll with little tears on the edges. Yasmin unrolled the scroll and began to read. The manuscript written on the scroll had Javid’s handwriting, and they told what happened in Javid’s life, from the time he started learning forbidden magic, to the current progress on the preparations of the Javid Gala Day.

“I knew it!” Yasmin exclaimed, “Javid’s story about Prince Yazdan’s death was a lie! He made it up to make the people lose hope that Prince Yazdan will ever overthrow him!”

“The wicked wizard king won’t be doing it for long!” a female soldier said.

“Not on our watch!” a male soldier added.

“There’s more.” another soldier said, handing Yasmin a dagger with a serpent’s head.

Yasmin’s blood ran cold as she laid her hand on the dagger as memories of her father protecting her and the other soldiers of the royal troops from Javid came flooding in her mind. The dagger looked stainless from afar, but if one looked close enough, there was still a hint of blood stained on it. Swallowing, Yasmin stored the scroll and dagger in her satchel and said,

“Thank you.”

“Hey!” someone called.

Yasmin and her unit froze. They looked in the same direction to see a man wearing a secretary uniform walking toward them.

“What are you all doing here?!” he asked with a stern face, “The king expects you to make preparations for the Javid Gala Day!”

Yasmin had the ability to detect lies. But to save herself and her soldiers, she had to lie.

“The king asked us to tidy up the palace.” Yasmin said, managing a polite smile, “He wants it to be prepared for the Javid Gala Day, like the village. It wouldn't be fair to the king if he saw that the palace is not prepared for the event.”

The secretary narrowed his eyes at Yasmin and her soldiers before he said,

“Very well. But, don’t do any funny business! Life in the palace is dangerous.”

Once the secretary was out of sight, Yasmin let out a silent sigh of relief.

“Captain Yasmin,” a soldier whispered, “Come see what I’ve discovered.”

She pointed at a doorway that led to a staircase.

“Another secret stairway?” Yasmin asked, “We better take a look and see where it leads us to.”

Yasmin and her soldiers climbed downstairs to a door with an iron knocker. As Yasmin opened the door, she and her soldiers entered a room that looked like something out of a fairytale. A dimly lit room was filled with magical concoctions and artifacts as well as books and scrolls on ancient magic.

“So,” one of the soldiers said, “The tyrant has his own secret lair where he can practice dark magic.”

“Indeed.” Yasmin said, nodding her head, “Dark magic is forbidden in the empire. So, this is how the wicked wizard king gets away with it.”

She and the soldiers searched through Javid’s lair for more evidence to gather. Yasmin came across a large book with a cover that had a title reading, Poisons That Can Be Mixed In Food and Drinks . She flipped through the pages and found the recipe for the one that was mixed into King Darius’s tea. Yasmin saw the poison illustrated in the book was in the same shade of purple as the bottom of King Darius’s teacup. Certain the book would be useful as evidence, she stored it in her satchel.

“Captain,” one of the soldiers said, “I found a shelf of potions. The second one is full of ones labeled poisons. Which one should we take as evidence?”

Yasmin browsed the shelf that contained the poisons. She remembered that the poison mixed in Darius’s tea was called Ailment Draught. When she found a purple potion labeled Ailment Draught, she took it off the shelf and stored it in her satchel.

“Do you think we’ve collected enough evidence, Captain?” one of the soldiers asked.

“Yes,” Yasmin replied, “But, we will need one more thing that can help us prove the tyrant’s guilt.”

“What’s that?” another soldier asked.

“An eyewitness.” Yasmin answered, “Prince Yazdan told me someone serving the tyrant was sent to kill him, but failed. If we can find them and persuade them to fight on our side, we can have them speak about what the tyrant’s been doing all along.”

“But,” a third soldier said, “Where can we find this person?”

“My intuition tells me to search the dungeons.” Yasmin said, “If the person sent to kill Prince Yazdan failed to do their job, the wicked wizard king threw them in the dungeon until he figured out the right punishment.”

She and her soldiers exited Javid’s secret lair and made their way to the dungeons. Like the secret passageway, the dungeon was cold and damp with a hideous odor to it. They tried to keep as quiet as possible because the jailers were all fast asleep. As they all walked down the hallway between the dungeon cells, they looked for a prisoner, but so far, all of the cells were empty. Just as Yasmin and the soldiers were about to give up, they heard a young man muttering to himself as he sat in a dark corner. They looked in the cell he was kept in and saw him in tattered prison clothes.

Yasmin cleared her throat to get the prisoner’s attention.

“Huh?!” the prisoner asked, startled.

He looked up to see Yasmin and her soldiers. As he saw they’re not wearing military

uniforms, the prisoner relaxed a little.

“You don’t have to be afraid.” Yasmin whispered, “We’re not here to harm you. We’re here to get you out.”

The prisoner’s eyes widened.

“W-what?!” he asked, “But, you can’t! His Majesty will be very angry! I don’t want you to get into trouble! Why do you want me out?”

“We’ll tell you later.” Yasmin said, “First, we’re helping you escape.”

Trying her best not to wake the jailer next to the cell, Yasmin took the keys that were hanging from his belt and used one of them to unlock the cell. As the jail door opened, two of Yasmin’s soldiers gently helped the prisoner up to his feet.

“But, why would you help me after I betrayed the king?” the prisoner asked.

“We’re betraying the king, too.” Yasmin said, “Now, let’s go.”

Before the prisoner could ask any more questions, Yasmin and the soldiers took him with them as they ran out of the dungeon. Little did they know, the jailer woke up to see the dungeon cell empty and the prisoner with Yasmin and her soldiers.

“The prisoner escaped!” he shouted to the other prison guards, “And there are strangers who infiltrated the dungeon! After them!” 

The prison guards ran after Yasmin, her soldiers, and the prisoner out to the stables, where Yasmin’s unit stole horses and rode out of the palace walls and all the way back to the Resistance camp.  

Chapter Text

Yasmin and her soldiers returned to the Resistance camp with all the evidence they collected and the prisoner as a witness. When they came, they saw soldiers lying on the sand, many of them with labored breathing as if they’re holding on for dear life. Yasmin rushed to Gaspar, who was clutching his stomach to prevent himself from bleeding out.

“Commander Gaspar,” Yasmin asked, kneeling down to Gaspar’s level, “What happened?”

“The tyrant.” Gaspar replied with heavy breathing, “He sent soldiers. He found out about the Resistance. There aren’t many survivors left on our side.”

Yasmin nodded and stood up. She looked at her unit of soldiers and said,

“Find all the wounded and help them to the hospital tent. Leave the dead.”

“But Captain,” one of the soldiers said, “What about the witness?”

“Take him to the hospital tent as well.” Yasmin said, “He, too, is in need of medical attention.”

All the soldiers gathered the wounded and helped them to the hospital tent. The nurses, including the head nurse Parisa and Asha’s little brother Zavier rushed around the tent, preparing medicine that included the blue antidote mushrooms as the main ingredient. While Parisa and the nurses tended to the soldiers and the escaped prisoner, Zavier rushed to Yasmin.

“Captain Yasmin,” he said, “Where’s Asha? Isn’t she back yet?”

Yasmin shook her head.

“I haven’t seen your sister, Zavier.” she replied, “But don’t worry. She’ll be back soon. Remember the promise you made with her?”

“Yes.” Zavier said, “I should go to Parisa for help if Asha’s not back by dusk tomorrow.” 

“That’s right.” Yasmin said, “Now, I’m going to go talk to the witness.”

“Can I help?” Zavier asked.

Yasmin shook her head.

“It’s best you keep your distance, Zavier.” Yasmin replied, “My soldiers and I just rescued him from the dungeon, and he appears to have a mental shock from the time he spent behind bars. I don’t want you to get hurt because of his state of mind.”

Zavier handed Yasmin a platter of food and asked,

“Then, can you give him this? I’ve been helping Parisa by providing food for the wounded. I could tell the poor man hasn’t eaten since he was thrown into the dungeon. Maybe food could help him relax?”

Yasmin took the food with a smile and said,

“I’ll take your suggestion into consideration. Thank you, Zavier. Your sister did a marvelous job raising you. She’ll be very proud of you.”

Zavier gave Yasmin a beaming smile before Yasmin walked away to talk to the witness. As she placed the platter of food right in front of the skeleton-like young man, he stared at it for a moment and looked back at Yasmin.

“Eat.” Yasmin said, “You must be hungry.”

The witness’s eyes widened.

“May I?” he asked.

“You don’t need to ask for permission.” Yasmin replied, shaking her head, “You are free to eat.”

After a moment of hesitation, the witness ate. As he ate, he felt pleasure that was lost to him for a long time. Then, tears began to fall from the witness’s eyes.

“I’ve never eaten like this in ages.” he said, choking up, “The king only let me eat if I did the work I’m supposed to.”

Yasmin’s heart clenched at hearing the witness’s words. Did Javid only allow his servants to eat if they completed the work they were tasked to do? No wonder the witness looked so skinny.

“How can I repay you?” the witness asked, “I never thought I would meet others who have betrayed the king.”

Yasmin knew if she got straight to questioning the witness, he would grow wary of her and think she was working for the king and was sent to arrest him again or even execute him. So, she decided to introduce herself and tell the witness where they were.

“My name is Yasmin.” Yasmin said, “I’m the leader of the Resistance. We’re in the hospital tent at the Resistance camp. We’ve been betraying the king ever since he ascended to the throne.”

“Resistance?” the witness asked, “There are those who dare to go against the king? Aren’t you aware you would lose your lives?”

“Yes.” Yasmin said, “But, that’s not important right now. I want us to talk about you.”

“Me?” the witness asked.

Yasmin nodded her head.

“You don’t know how much I went through.” the witness said, shaking his head, “But since you risked your life to help me escape and gave me food, I’ll tell you. My name is Zircon, and I’m an orphan. I got tired of living in the streets and begging for food, so I sought for the palace as a sanctuary. The king took me in and made me his servant. I worked day and night for him without question.”

Yasmin didn’t say a word. She knew Zircon was telling the truth. It made sense for him to say he was an orphan because he looked like he was at least sixteen years old.

“Tell me, Zircon.” Yasmin said, “I want to ask you about…a sensitive matter.”

Zircon’s eyebrows knitted together.

“Do you recognize this weapon?” Yasmin asked, holding out the dagger with Javid’s royal seal on the hilt.

Zircon’s eyes widened.

“That’s the weapon I used to kill the manticore!” he said in a panic, “The king sent me to kill it because it’s been terrorizing the empire. I was going to kill the manticore on the spot, but I was scared it was going to eat me first. So, I simply stabbed it and left the dagger in its side.”

“Zircon,” Yasmin said gravely, “What if I told you your king isn’t telling you the truth about the manticore?”

Slowly, Yasmin told Zircon about Javid being a wizard who used magic to control the empire, that he was the one who was responsible for King Darius’s death, and that Prince Yazdan was alive and was turned into a manticore and banished to the Forbidden Forest by Javid.

“How can this be?” Zircon asked with a gasp, “I’ve been living a lie? I nearly killed the prince?”

“His Highness will return to the camp.” Yasmin said, “I can assure you, he’s not like the current king. He will forgive you.”

Yasmin left the hospital tent, leaving Zircon utterly speechless.

 Asha and Yazdan returned to the camp the day after Yasmin did with Reza. Zavier was already outside the hospital tent, and when he saw Asha climbing off of Yazdan’s back, Zavier immediately rushed toward her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Asha!” he exclaimed happily, “You’re finally back! I was worried something would happen, and you would never come back!”

Asha hugged Zavier in return and said,

“Zavier, I’ll always come back. I’m sorry we took so long.”

“What happened?” Zavier asked, “Did you find a way to break the spell? Who’s the man with you and His Highness?”

He pointed at Reza, who only looked at the young boy with a smile.

“I’ll tell you everything.” Asha said with a chuckle, “I promise. But first, we would like to see Captain Yasmin. Do you know where she is?”

“She’s in the hospital tent.” Zavier answered, “Would you like me to go get her?”

“That won’t be necessary, Zavier.” Yasmin said, stepping out of the tent.

When she saw Asha and Yazdan, Yasmin smiled and walked toward them.

“Your Highness and Asha, welcome back.” she said, “I’m certain the trip went well?”

“Yes, Captain Yasmin.” Yazdan said, gesturing toward Reza, “This is Reza. He knows what can break the wizard king’s evil enchantments, but he wishes to speak to you alone about it.”

“Very well.” Yasmin said, her face changed to a look of pure seriousness.

“What about you?” Yazdan asked, “How did your mission go?”

“My soldiers and I have found a lot of evidence to use to prove Javid’s lying to his people.” Yasmin said, “We have also found a witness.”

“Bring the witness to me.” Yazdan said, “I would like to speak to them.”

Yasmin nodded and went back into the hospital tent. She came back with Zircon by her side. When Zircon saw Yazdan, his eyes widened. Yazdan immediately recognized Zircon as Javid's servant who was sent to kill him without knowing his true identity.

“C-Captain Yasmin said you’re the lost prince, and you were turned into a manticore.” Zircon said shakingly, “I-is it true?”

Yazdan simply nodded and said,

“Yes, I am he.”

Zircon fell to his knees and bent over with his head down and hands on the ground.

“Forgive me, Your Highness!” he pleaded, “I never knew it was you! I never thought the king would lie to me!”

“Rise.” Yazdan said, “You have my forgiveness. I knew you never wanted to kill me, no matter if you knew who I was.”

Zircon stood up.

“Come with me.” Yazdan said, “We have much to discuss.”

As he and Zircon left to talk by the oasis, Yasmin turned to Reza and said,

“Let’s discuss what you have found that can break the tyrant’s spells in my tent, Reza. I’m certain you have reasons to keep this private.”

Reza nodded and followed Yasmin to her tent. Leaving Asha alone with her little brother.

“Alright,” Asha said, “Now is a good time to tell you what happened. Let’s do that over dinner.”

“Wow, Asha!” Zavier said after taking a sip of his soup, “You really did encounter some scary things! I’m really glad Reza saved you and Prince Yazdan from that stone monster and that enchanted beetle.”

“Me, too.” Asha said before she took a bite of her naan.

“So,” Zavier said, “Can Reza really help us break Javid’s spells?”

“Yazdan and I have faith in Reza’s abilities, Zavier.” Asha said with a smile, “I just hope Captain Yasmin can trust Reza. Speaking of Captain Yasmin…”

Asha took a platter of food from the table and handed it to Zavier.

“Can you bring this to her?” she asked, “I’m certain she hasn’t eaten anything since breakfast.”

“Sure!” Zavier said with a smile, “I’ll bring it to her right away!”

As Zavier walked to Yasmin’s tent with the platter of food, Reza left the tent. Asha was holding another platter of food and handed it to Reza.

“Thank you, Miss Asha.” Reza said with a smile, taking the platter.

“You’re welcome, Reza.” Asha said, smiling in return, “So, how did your discussion with Captain Yasmin go?”

“Better than I thought.” Reza said, before popping a grape into his mouth, “To be honest, I thought Captain Yasmin is unapproachable, but she’s actually a good woman. I’m glad to have her trust.”

“I had the same thought about Captain Yasmin when I first met her.” Asha said, shrugging her shoulders, “But once you get to spend more time with her, she is a woman who cares for others. She just looks unapproachable because she is simply doing her duty.”

“You’re right, Miss Asha.” Reza said, “I admire her courage to carry her duty to protect the people. I wish I had upheld my duty sooner. My teacher Tallis would’ve wanted me to use what he taught me to help the people.”

“Then, why were you hesitant in the first place?” Asha asked.

Reza sighed and said,

“All those manuscripts I have were from the palace library, and most of them were written by Tallis. I kept those with me as an attempt to protect them. I thought if I protect the treasures left by the sages, I will fulfill my teacher’s dying wish. But keeping knowledge locked away from others isn’t something my teacher would want. He taught me that knowledge is the greatest treasure the sages have for the people, and it’s a treasure meant to be shared.”

“Your teacher Tallis was very wise, Reza.” Asha said.

“He wasn’t just wise.” Reza said, shaking his head, “He was like a father to me. He took me in after I lost my parents in an accident when I was just a little boy. I basically grew up in the palace library, reading all the scrolls it had. On a dark, stormy night, I had to flee the palace and take all the manuscripts with me when Tallis told me Javid took the throne. I didn’t want to leave him, but he insisted. So, I obeyed him and ended up settling in Susa.”

“What about Tallis?” Asha asked, “What happened to him?”

Reza looked down and said,

“Javid destroyed him. I’ll never forget the night I received the letter telling me that my teacher Tallis was executed for standing up to Javid. I was so devastated. I never got the chance to say goodbye to him.”

Asha’s eyes welled up in tears after hearing Reza’s story. It was very hard for Reza learning about his father figure’s cruel death and not being able to bid a final farewell. Without thinking, Asha wrapped Reza in a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Reza.” she whispered.

Reza froze when Asha hugged him. But a moment later, he hugged her back.

“Asha!” Zavier called as he exited Yasmin’s tent, “Captain Yasmin wants to see you. She also wanted me to thank you for the food on her behalf.”

“Thank you, Zavier.” Asha said as she and Reza parted their hug, “I’ll be right there.”

She turned to Reza and said,

“Thank you for sharing your story.”

Reza smiled.

“Thank you for listening, Miss Asha.” he said.

After bidding each other goodnight, Reza made his way to the tent where the Resistance officials resided, and Asha made her way to Yasmin’s tent. When Asha entered the tent, she saw Yasmin just sitting at her desk with her spear leaning against it.

“You wanted to see me, Captain Yasmin?” Asha asked.

“Yes, Asha.” Yasmin said, standing up, “I spoke to Reza, and I’m certain we can trust him. We shall find this temple on the island across the Caspian Sea and awaken the Hidden Magic. But, this mission will be tricky. We don’t know who has the Hidden Magic. Plus, we don’t know how long we will be at sea.”

“You’re right, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said, nodding her head, “But if this is how we can break the tyrant’s spells and save the empire, we have to give the mission a try.”

Yasmin nodded her head in agreement.

“Captain Yasmin,” Asha said with a frown, “About the soldiers who are still lying on the ground, what can we do for them?”

“They’ve perished while fighting the tyrant’s soldiers to protect the camp.” Yasmin said, shaking her head slowly, “There’s nothing we can do to help them.”

“Then, shouldn’t we give them a proper burial?” Asha asked, “The soldiers didn’t die in vain. They fought to protect our allies and the ideals the Resistance is standing for. We have to make it worth it.”

Yasmin sighed.

“You’re right.” she said, “We should give our fallen soldiers a proper burial and honor the sacrifice they made. I’m certain that is something my father would want.”

Yasmin turned from stern to nostalgic as well as melancholy. Asha wavered on asking Yasmin about her father. She was certain it would be a sensitive matter, but she wanted to help. After a moment of hesitation, Asha asked,

“Yasmin, can you tell me about your father? What was he like?”

Yasmin looked at Asha with astonishment when she asked those questions. She then took a deep breath before speaking in a serious tone.

“This is something I don’t share often.” Yasmin replied, “My father was captain of the Royal Troops when King Darius ruled the empire. I admired the loyalty and courage he had when he served in the Royal Troops so much, I wanted to be a soldier like him. My father educated, trained, and raised me since I was a little girl. However, I did face challenges because not many people think women should be soldiers. But, I made it and became a soldier for the Royal Troops, thanks to my father.

“However, my career as a Royal Troop soldier was short-lived because Javid took over the empire after King Darius died. When Javid told the story that Prince Yazdan was killed by a manticore while searching for blue antidote mushrooms to heal King Darius, I knew he was lying. I told the Royal Troops about it, including my father. My father and many of the other soldiers believed me, and they decided to confront Javid. I wanted to come, but my father insisted I leave the palace at once with another unit of soldiers. The last thing he did was give me his spear.

“‘Fight for the people and the true heir. No matter what happens, I’m always with you.’ Those were my father’s last words. As I was escaping the palace, I got a glimpse of my father standing before the tyrant. The next thing I knew, the tyrant raised his knife that pointed at my father. I didn’t want to look and kept running from the palace, but I knew the tyrant killed my father.”

Asha couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face. Yasmin, Reza, and Yazdan all had lost their father figures because of Javid. Not only that, they all wanted to fulfill their father figures’ dying wishes. It reminded her of when her parents passed away, and their dying wish was for her to take care of Zavier. After all, she’s all he had left.

Yasmin noticed Asha crying.

“Are you…crying?” she asked.

Asha wiped her eyes and said,

“I’m really sorry, Captain Yasmin. It hurts to hear about your father, but I’m glad for you.”

“Why?” Yasmin asked.

“You have the right to feel bitter and resentful after losing your father.” Asha explained, “Instead, you rose to fight for the people and for the hope that Prince Yazdan would one day return. And now, you’re leading the fight to save the empire. If your father could see you now, he’d be very proud of you.”

Yasmin smiled.

“Thank you, Asha.” she said, “I’ve never met anyone who’s cried for me. I just hope once this is all over, my father can finally be at peace.”

Then, Yazdan came into the tent and said,

“Captain Yasmin, Commander Gaspar wants to talk to you. He wants to know what we should do for the fallen soldiers.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.” Yasmin said, nodding her head once.

She turned to Asha and said,

“I’ll share your suggestion with the commander. Tomorrow, we will resume your training and discuss the plan for searching this island across the Caspian Sea.”

“Understood, Captain Yasmin.” Asha said, nodding her head, “And thank you for sharing about your father.”

Before Yasmin left her tent, she turned to look at Asha and said,

“There’s no need to be formal, Asha. You can just call me Yasmin.”

Asha smiled as Yasmin left the tent. It felt wonderful to her that she had gained two new friends.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Yazdan asked.

“Oh, I’m just glad that we have people on our side that we can trust.” Asha replied.

Yazdan smiled as he curled up on the floor, and Asha sat beside him.

“I’m glad for that, too.” Yazdan said.

The two were silent for a moment until Asha finally spoke up.

“Yazdan,” she said, “When we first met in the Forbidden Forest, why didn’t you want me to take all those blue antidote mushrooms I gathered?”

Yazdan sighed and said,

“I just don’t like how people are gathering those mushrooms in hopes of earning quick money through the black market. Sure, it’s profitable, but it’s illegal. My father never approved of the black market and would punish those involved with hours of community service. But, the blue antidote mushrooms are supposed to save lives. But, when you told me you wanted to find a way to heal Zavier, I let you have one to make him well again. You did tell me you and your brother are tight on money, but I didn’t want you to get involved in the black market because you’d be setting a bad example for your brother.”

Asha’s jaw dropped in awe. She was so worried about herself and her brother waking up to having nothing to eat, she didn’t think getting involved in the black market would teach Zavier it’s okay to make quick, illegal money. Also, Asha would lose guardianship over Zavier if she got involved in illegal activity.

“You’re right, Yazdan.” she said with a sigh, “I want Zavier to grow up to be a man of integrity. I should be an example of a person of integrity by doing honest hard work, no matter how long and hard it is. I don’t know what I would do if Zavier was separated from me because I did something illegal. I just can’t help feeling like I’m failing as a daughter and as a sister. I promised my parents I would look after Zavier, but I had to work twice as hard as the people with gifts because I never got one.”

“Asha,” Yazdan said, “You’re a great sister. You don’t need a gift to prove it. I’m sure your parents would be proud of you for taking good care of Zavier. In fact, they would think you alone are a gift. I’m sure Zavier thinks the same thing.”

Asha remembered Zavier saying his gift was having Asha as a sister, and he was grateful for that. Asha smiled, knowing while she barely made ends meet to care for her brother, she kept her promise to her late parents.

“I just hope I can finally fulfill my promise to my father.” Yazdan said, looking down, “Ever since I’ve become…this, I had to hide. But I did that at the expense of my people. I do want to end the spell soon, but I want my people to be safe again. I have failed everyone.”

“You didn’t fail, Yazdan.” Asha said, stroking his mane, “Time will solve everything.”

Yazdan nuzzled Asha and said,

“Thank you, Asha.”

Then, the wind blew through Yasmin’s tent, and Asha shivered as goosebumps formed on her skin.

“Cold?” Yazdan asked.

Asha nodded, her eyelids growing heavy due to exhaustion. She snuggled into Yazdan’s mane as he wrapped a large, furry front leg around her. Yazdan slightly unfolded one of his wings and let it drape over Asha, as if shielding her from the dangers of the world.

Chapter Text

During Asha, Yazdan, and Yasmin’s missions, Javid’s servants, ministers, and soldiers worked long and hard to prepare the capital for the Javid Gala Day. Banners with Javid’s royal seal were being put up on the palace walls, ribbons were hung on the village buildings, and the platform at the front of the palace was being swept and scrubbed. Everyone who worked on the preparations often wiped the sweat off their foreheads, stretched their backs, and shook their heads to keep themselves awake. They all shuddered to think what their king would do if he saw them slacking off due to exhaustion. 

Javid came to the village to check on the progress of the preparations. When they saw their king, all the servants, ministers, and soldiers stopped what they were doing to pay respect to him. With eyes like slits, Javid walked around the village to see if everything currently set up was absolutely perfect. The servants, ministers, and soldiers quaked in their shoes, fearing that Javid would spot a mistake and inflict a punishment on them. After carefully observing the village, Javid tapped the base of his staff onto the ground and said,

“Well, it looks like you all have learned your lessons from the last Javid Gala Day. I want everything to look exactly like I want it to be in one week.”

“Your Majesty!” a voice called.

Javid turned around to see the palace jailer running toward him.

“You better have a good explanation on why you left your post!” he demanded.

“The prisoner has escaped!” the jailer exclaimed, “And he wasn’t alone. A group of servants were in the dungeon and helped him escape!”

“What?!” Javid growled, slamming his staff onto the ground, “How did they help the prisoner escape?! Who are they?!”

“I-I was asleep when it happened!” the jailer stammered, “B-But, one of the prison guards said one of the servants was a woman with black bangs hanging over her right eye!”

Javid’s face turned red with rage and shouted,

“You’re telling me that one of the servants was actually the leader of the Resistance, the servants with her were part of the Resistance, and you weren’t doing your job?!”

The jailer gulped and nodded his head quickly.

“They stole all the horses, too.” he whispered, lowering his head.

Javid froze.

“What did you say?” he asked with a hiss, firmly gripping the jailer’s chin and forcefully making him look at him in the eyes.

The jailer repeated what he whispered in a louder tone, and Javid pushed him to the ground.

“You insolent, irresponsible idiot!” Javid boomed, “You had one job! Just the one! Do you not have a desire to be punished for not upholding your duty to the empire?!”

The jailer got up on his knees, bowed, and begged,

“Please, Your Majesty! Let me make it right!”

But, Javid had had enough.

“Such laziness cannot be tolerated!” he shouted, pointing his staff at the trembling jailer, “You are as useless as an old, fat swine!”

The gem on his staff began to glow as Javid said,

“Give him a curly tail, four hooves, and a snout!”

A magical beam hit the jailer, and he continued pleading for mercy as pink fur in a shade as light as that of a rose petal began to sprout all over his body. His ears shifted to the top of his head as they changed into round, pointed ears. His hands and feet shifted into hooves, forcing the jailer to stand on all fours. A short, curly tail sprouted from his bottom as his body gained fat and shrunk. Soon, the jailer's pleas for forgiveness turned into squeals and grunts as his face shifted into a pig’s snout.

Everyone who was preparing the capital for the Javid Gala Day watched the jailer’s transformation in horror. When the transformation ended, they all still stood there looking at the pig with eyes filled with unimaginable fear of the wicked wizard king.

“Well, don’t just stand there!” Javid shouted, slamming the base of his staff onto the ground, “Get back to work! I, King Javid, declare that Javid Gala Day will be set back to three days from today!”

“But, Your Majesty—!” one of the servants began to protest.

“I said get back to work!” Javid interrupted. 

Once everyone quickly and nervously got back to preparing the city for the Javid Gala Day, Javid stormed off back to the palace and sat on his throne in a huff.

“I’ve poisoned that weak and useless King Darius and turned his bratty son Prince Yazdan into a manticore and banished him to the Forbidden Forest just to become king!” Javid yelled, “I’ve spent my reign telling everyone my word is my rule, and yet all of my followers are failing! It’s like they’re not taking me seriously!”

Javid stood up from his throne and opened up the door to the secret stairway that led to his secret lair. As he walked downstairs, Javid mumbled to himself,

“First, my servant who was supposed to kill the manticore Yazdan. Next, my tax collectors who were supposed to arrest anyone who did not pay their taxes. Then, my soldiers who were supposed to go after Yazdan, the village girl, and the village boy. Even the stone monster I created with my magic failed to crush the manticore. Not to mention Yazdan found allies in the Resistance, and that useless servant Zircon escaped with them.”

Once he entered his lair, Javid proclaimed,

“Fine! If no one else can finish the job easily, I’ll do it myself!”

He looked through his shelf that held various magical artifacts and picked up the crystal ball. Javid set it on the table in the center of the room and said,

“Show me Yazdan!”

A mist in a mix of white, blue, purple, and green swirled inside the crystal ball. Then, the mist cleared up to reveal an image of Yazdan talking to Asha, Yasmin, and Reza.

“I can’t believe Javid set back Javid Gala Day to three days away!” Yasmin snarled through clenched teeth, “It’s like he wants to have less time than we’re supposed to!”

“I knew he always had something up his sleeve.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “But when I saw he was going to do that, it was definitely uncalled for!”

“Not only we need to get moving fast,” Asha said, “We need to find a safe place for the Resistance to hide. If my brother gets hurt…”

“Don’t worry, Asha.” Reza said, “We will find a way to keep your brother safe. We just need a way to stay one step ahead of the tyrant.”

“But, it seems Javid knows what we’re up to.” Asha said, “What can we do?”

“My suggestion on our next mission is for all four of us to leave first thing at sunrise.” Yasmin said, “If we’re careful, we can leave the camp and arrive at the temple on the island across the Caspian Sea with plenty of time before the Javid Gala Day. It always holds in the evening, after all.”

“As for hiding the Resistance,” Reza said, “Our best bet is to hide them in the Forbidden Forest. Nobody has ever set foot there.”

“It’s worth a try.” Yazdan said, nodding his head, “Captain Yasmin, go find Commander Gaspar and tell him to lead the Resistance to the Forbidden Forest and wait there until we come back from the island.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Yasmin said with a single nod of her head before heading to go talk to Gaspar.

“Reza,” Yazdan said, “Do you think we can store all the evidence in your trunk?”

He gestured his head toward a large wooden trunk next to Reza.

“Yes, Your Highness.” Reza said.

“Asha,” Yazdan said, his lips trembling, “If all is lost, I want you to keep going until Javid is stopped.”

“You mean…” Asha said, her mouth agape, “If everything else fails, I’m the empire’s only hope? But, even if that will be the case, what can I possibly do? I don’t have any powers over Javid.”

“We came this far, and you still think you can’t do anything because you don’t have a gift?” Yazdan asked, “Seriously, Asha! I trust you that you can do this, but I want you to trust yourself, too! What if you don’t need a gift because you alone are the gift?”

The last thing Javid saw in the crystal ball was the look of pure astonishment on Asha’s face before the mist swirled to make the image disappear.

“A temple on an island across the Caspian Sea?” Javid asked himself, “If that’s where Yazdan, the leader of the Resistance, Tallis’s disciple, and the village girl are going, I’ll meet them there.”

Chapter Text

“Do I really have to go with the Resistance instead of you, big sister?” Zavier asked, following Asha like a stray puppy, “Why can’t I go with you just once? Don’t you want my company anymore?”

    Asha turned to face her little brother after adjusting one of her leather gloves and said with a sad smile,

    “Of course I want your company, Zavier. But, the mission I’m going on with Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin is very dangerous. It’ll be more dangerous than the mission Yazdan and I went on to find Reza. Plus, there’s a possibility that Javid will strike against us. I don’t know what I will do with myself if you got hurt because of him.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Zavier asked.

“Just remember the promise you made before I left with Yazdan to find Reza.” Asha answered, “Now, we must get ready. There’s no time to waste.”

There wasn’t any doubt that anxiety, fear, and doubt loomed over the Resistance as they prepared for their next and possibly last missions. Soldiers hastily sharpened their blades in case they needed them in times of battle. Nurses ran back and forth to make sure they packed all their medical supplies, the blue antidote mushrooms, and the food for the Resistance. The officials gathered all their documents and manuscripts as fast as they could and made sure they didn’t leave a single one behind, so the enemy couldn’t gain access to it and use it against the Resistance. Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin tried to remain strong for the Resistance, but in their hearts, the three were just as scared and uncertain as the Resistance were.

As the three were waiting for Asha, Yazdan ruffled his wings as his claws dragged through the sand, Reza tried to read the scroll he was holding but would continually look up to see if Asha had arrived, and Yasmin held two spears looked from left to right to make sure everything is going well for everyone. Once Asha has arrived with Zavier, Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin all sighed with relief.

“Asha,” Yasmin said, handing Asha her spear, “Thank you for coming.”

“I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.” Asha said, taking the spear from Yasmin.

“You only kept us waiting for a short while.” Reza said, shaking his head, “We’re just feeling nervous about the current circumstances.”

“To be honest,” Asha said, looking down at the sand, “I’m nervous, too. We’re moving faster than usual to get our mission started, and there’s a possibility that Javid will come looking for us.”

“Everyone is just as paranoid as the rest of the empire.” Yazdan said, lowering his head, “Everyone knows they need to keep going, but they all think they don’t have the strength to do it.”

“That’s why we need courage.” Asha said, lifting her head up, “Courage isn’t about having the strength to go on. It’s about going on, even if you don’t have the strength to do so. It’s time we gave the Resistance some encouragement.”

Asha climbed on Yazdan’s back and turned to Yasmin.

“Yasmin, may I borrow your horn for a moment, please?”

“Be my guest.” Yasmin said with a smile, offering Asha her horn.

Asha took Yasmin’s horn and gave it a loud, long blow for everyone to hear. As all of the Resistance turned to face Asha, Asha spoke with a loud, clear tone.

“Resistance, listen up! I know that all of you are scared that the wicked wizard king knows what we’re going and uncertain that there are any chances of success for us!”

All of the Resistance looked at each other, not sure what to make of Asha’s speech.

“And I must state the truth to all of you!” Asha continued, “I am just as scared and uncertain as all of you! And so our Prince Yazdan, our Captain Yasmin, and our sage Reza! Just remember it’s okay to be scared! It’s what we do with our fears that truly matters! Do we let them destroy us and keep us from doing what we need to do to save the empire? Or, do we face our fears and become something stronger for the good of the people?”

The Resistance remained silent, listening to what Asha had to say next.

 “As for our chances of success, we will never know if our mission will succeed or fail unless we do the mission! We will never surrender to the tyrant who thinks he can crush us all with an iron fist! We will keep on fighting until everyone in the empire is safe, and Prince Yazdan rises as the rightful king!”

Asha raised her spear and proclaimed,

“For the empire and its people and the one true king!”

One by one, the Resistance raised their weapons and declared,

“For the empire and its people and the one true king!”

The Resistance cheered and continued preparing their journey to the Forbidden Forest.

“Well done, Asha!” Yazdan said with a smile.

“Thank you.” Asha said, blushing.

She handed the horn back to Yasmin. However, Yasmin shook her head and put her hand up in refusal.

“Keep the horn.” she said, “You’re a better leader than I’ve ever been.”

“But Yasmin,” Asha said with wide eyes, “You’re the captain of the Resistance! Plus, this is your horn!”

“I insist.” Yasmin said simply, “You earned it.”

Asha didn’t reply with any words, but with tears of joy streaming down her face. She smiled, and the only words she could say softly to the captain of the Resistance were,

“Thank you.”

Yasmin smiled at Asha like a mother who was proud of her child who did something exceptionally good.

“Captain Yasmin!” Gaspat called.

Yasmin’s smile turned into a serious frown as she turned to the commander of the Resistance.

“Yes, Commander Gaspar?” she asked.

“The Resistance are ready to depart to the Forbidden Forest.” Gaspar replied, “I just came to wish you the best of luck on your mission before the Resistance and I leave.”

“Thank you, Commander Gaspar.” Yasmin said, smiling again, “I wish you the best of luck to you on your mission, too.”

Gaspar and Yasmin saluted each other before Gaspar joined with the rest of the Resistance to lead them to the Forbidden Forest. Once he mounted his horse, the Resistance began to trot and march to the Forbidden Forest. Zavier was on a horse with Parisa and waved a tearful goodbye to Asha, who gave him a wave goodbye in return.

Please be safe, Zavier. Asha thought, One day, all of this will be over. We’ll be free of the wizard king, and Yazdan will be human again.

“It’s time for us to go, too.” Yazdan said.

“Before we do, I want to do one more thing as a precaution.” Reza said, “Please, join hands. And paws. Sorry, Your Highness.”

Asha climbed off Yazdan’s back and took hold of one of his paws and one of Yasmin’s hands. Asha, Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin were all holding hands in a circle with their eyes closed.

“However far apart all four of us are,” Reza whispered, “Let us sense what the other is going through.”

Then, everyone opened their eyes and let go of each other’s hands and paws.

“What was that, Reza?” Asha asked.

“I told you my gift is making spiritual connections with others, Asha.” Reza explained, “What I did was give all four of us the ability to sense each other’s presence in case we ever get separated.”

“Good thinking, Reza.” Yazdan said, nodding his head, “Now, let’s get going.” 

Asha, Reza and Yasmin climbed on Yazdan’s back. As they did, Reza and Yasmin had their own thoughts about the current situation.

Tallis, Reza thought, Watch over us all. Someday, the empire will be safe from the tyrant Javid. And when it is, I hope you will be at peace forevermore.

This is it, Baba. Yasmin thought, looking at her spear that once belonged to her beloved father, I’m on my way to find the magic we need to save the empire and help Prince Yazdan reclaim the throne. I will fulfill your dying wish.

Yazdan started flapping his wings, lifting himself and his friends off the ground. As they flew in the direction of the island across the Caspian Sea, Yazdan thought,

Baba, I promise I’ll save our people. Please, watch over us. My only wish is to have our people safe and sound.  

Chapter Text

Asha, Reza, Yasmin, and Yazdan had been flying over the desert for what seemed like a whole day, even though it had been only at least two hours. Beyond the Resistance camp and the oasis, there was nothing but dozens of sand piles. Even up in the sky, beads of sweat formed on Asha, Yasmin, and Reza’s foreheads. Sweat dampened Yazdan’s fur, and his wings flapped slower than they used to when they started their journey. Asha noticed Yazdan’s exhaustion and asked,

“Are you alright, Yazdan?”

Yazdan shook his head and replied,

“I guess I’m a little out of practice when it comes to flying a long distance.”

Asha looked up to see that in front of her, Yazdan, Yasmin, and Reza was not only sand but also a shimmering sapphire sea.

“There’s a beach straight ahead of us.” Asha said, “We can rest there before we can continue any further.”

“Asha, we’re on a tight schedule.” Yasmin said, shaking her head, “We can’t afford to take any breaks. The people of the empire depend on us, even if they are not saying so. We cannot fail them.”

“I am aware of that, Yasmin.” Asha said firmly, “But I still suggest we stop and rest.”

“We only have two days, Asha!” Yasmin said with a stern tone, “We’re not stopping until we have the Hidden Magic and defeat Javid!”

“But, what about Prince Yazdan?” Asha asked, “He’s exhausted. He’s been flying for hours.”

“Captain Yasmin,” Reza said with a sigh, “Let’s go with Asha’s suggestion. We all know how important it is to carry on this mission and how little time we have to do it, but how can we save the people if we don’t take care of ourselves?”

Yasmin sighed and said,

“Alright, we’ll take a break. Besides…”

She heard her stomach growl like a wolf hunting for its prey.

“I am getting hungry.”

“It’s a good thing Parisa packed some food for us.” Asha said, holding up one of her bags.

Yazdan landed on the beach, and Asha, Reza, and Yasmin climbed off his back.

“Does this feel better?” Asha asked, stroking Yazdan’s mane, “You need to rest.”

“But, what about you, Yasmin, and Reza?” Yazdan asked.

“We’ll rest together.” Asha said, “Besides, it’s time for us to eat.”

She reached in one of the bags and pulled out a large slab of smoked meat, honey naan, and dried fruits.

“I know this isn’t a grand banquet, like the ones you’re used to.” Asha said sheepishly, “But, I’m sure this will be as filling as a banquet.”

“It’s perfect, Asha.” Yazdan said with a smile, “Thank you.”

As Yazdan started eating, Asha handed another lunch bag to Reza and a third one to Yasmin before taking the fourth one for herself. The foursome ate with great pleasure. It felt really good to take some time to fill their stomachs. They all certainly didn’t eat a big breakfast in the morning because they’re all worried about running out of time before they could make it to the temple on the island across the Caspian Sea to awaken the Hidden Magic. Even the slightest change could mean that the Persian Empire would fall if Javid wasn’t stopped.

As she ate a dried date, Asha noticed the tattoo on Yasmin’s abdomen. It was silverfish blue, and it shimmered as the sunlight hit it.

“Yasmin,” Asha said, “What does your tattoo mean? It looks like the royal seal of Yazdan’s family.”

“This?” Yasmin asked, pointing at her tattoo, “When I first started serving as a member of the Royal Troops, I got an abdomen injury. So, I got this tattoo to cover it up. Yes, this tattoo is the same as the royal seal. This shows I have dedicated my life to serve the royal family. But there is one thing that I don’t share often about myself.”

“What’s that?” Asha asked.

“I really like cats.” Yasmin said with a smile, “Whenever I’m not training, I played with cats when I was a little girl. Of course, I had to make sure nobody else was looking. I was afraid if anyone found out I love cats, they would stop taking me seriously.”

“What’s so wrong with being a soldier and loving cats at the same time?” Asha asked, “They both say you remember your duty for the empire and care about everyone who lives in the empire, and that includes the animals.”

“Asha’s right, Captain Yasmin.” Reza said, nodding his head, “My teacher Tallis always told me while we focus so much on the people, we tend to forget that animals are important, too. Some say that animals can be more human than humans. After all, they can sense things that we can’t. I even read an old scroll written by a sage who believes there’s a man inside the beast and a beast inside the man.”

Yasmin looked at Reza with astonishment.

“Those are some very wise words, Reza.” she said, “I never thought of that before.”

“Reza,” Asha said, “You always talk about your teacher, but you’ve barely talked about your parents. Did you not have a good relationship with them?”

“I barely knew my parents.” Reza replied, shaking his head, “They both died when I was barely six years old. My parents were traveling merchants who sold silks to the people. One day, it was storming outside, and lightning struck their caravan. It set the caravan aflame, and it was thanks to the Royal Troops, I was able to escape the fire. My parents, on the other hand, didn’t survive. They were my only family, and I was orphaned that day. So, the Royal Troops took me to the palace, and Tallis adopted and raised me as his own son.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss, Reza.” Asha said, “But, I’m thankful that Tallis took you in and raised you.”

“I am, too.” Reza said with a smile.

“And Yazdan and Yasmin,” Asha said, “You two told me about your fathers, but you never told me about your mothers.”

“My mother died when I was a little girl.” Yasmin answered, “My father basically raised me on his own. I can hardly remember my mother, but my father would tell me stories about her. He even said I have her eyes.”

“I lost my mother when I was only a child, too.” Yazdan said, “She was kind, loving, and always helped Baba with making decisions when they ruled the empire together. Baba kept telling me how grateful he is to Mother for keeping him grounded when it comes to making policies that would affect the empire long term. Ever since Mother passed away, Baba would talk to Javid when he was in need of royal advice. I never liked the idea because I was aware of how corrupt Javid is. Sometimes, I thought things would be better if Mother was still alive.”

Yasmin walked toward Yazdan and did something she was taught was against protocol. She wrapped her arms around Yazdan’s thick neck in a hug. Yazdan froze for a moment before returning the hug.

“What about your parents, Asha?” Reza asked, “You mentioned them a little bit to us.”

Asha sighed and said,

“I loved my parents very much. My father was a smith, and my mother stayed home to care for me and Zavier. We didn’t have a lot of money, but my parents worked day and night to give me and Zavier a comfortable life the best they could. I grew up trying to figure out what my gift was, but no matter what I did, I couldn’t find my gift. It makes me sad to see my friends discovering my gift while I didn’t. I kept asking my parents why I didn’t get a gift. They kept telling me that whether I have a gift, I’m still as special as the rest of the empire.”

“And you never believed them?” Yasmin asked just after she and Yazdan parted from their hug.

“I wanted to, but I couldn’t help feeling insecure.” Asha said, shrugging her shoulders, “So, I started working hard to see what could possibly be my gift. Sometimes I ended up getting dirty, wet, or even covered with wounds. My parents would ask me what I’ve been doing all day, but I never told them. It was only during their final moments when I found out they knew what I was up to all along. I couldn’t hide anything from my parents. The last thing they told me before they passed away was to take care of my brother and to never let anyone belittle me just because I never got a gift.”

“Asha,” Yazdan said, “When we’re feeling insecure, that’s when we needed our loved ones most.”

“But, what can you three be insecure about?” Asha asked, “You all have gifts. Yazdan, you can predict the future, Reza can make spiritual connections with each other, and Yasmin can detect lies.”

“Asha,” Yazdan said, “Having a gift has its cons as well as pros. For me, my gift of foresight will be proven useful when I become king. However, I would see visions of the future that I didn’t want to come true. I would do all I could to stop them, but to no avail.”

“I was always scared of my gift.” Reza confessed, “I was worried if I performed my gift on anyone, I would make them do things against their will.”

“Detecting lies is useful for my position as a soldier,” Yasmin said, “But it makes it hard for me to make friends because I can't trust others very easily.”

“So, why are you fretting over the fact that you don’t have a gift?” Yazdan asked, “It has its pros as well as cons, too. Like I said before, what if you alone are a magical gift?”

“But, how can I be a magical gift?” Asha asked.

Yazdan shook his head and answered,

“That is something only you can find out.”

After the four finished eating, Yasmin said,

“Alright, we had our fill. But, we still have a long way to go. The Caspian Sea is dangerous. The waves and currents are very strong during storms.”

“That won’t be a problem for us.” Yazdan said, “I can fly. We don’t need a boat to cross the sea.”

Asha, Reza, and Yasmin climbed on Yazdan’s back, and they continued their flight to the island across the Caspian Sea.

Chapter Text

The Caspian Sea roared as waves crashed onto rocks. The mist from the falling and rising waters sprayed a cool, crisp, moist breeze as Yazdan, Asha, Yasmin, and Reza flew over the dangerous sea. Although the sea rumbled and splashed, the mist gave promise to cool the four during the flight. It was a good contrast to the dry heat beating down on them in the desert. Goosebumps even formed on Yasmin and Asha’s skin as the wind blew across the sea.

The sky, on the other hand, did not look very promising of sunny weather. Large, gray clouds blocked the sunlight out, making the Caspian Sea look like a storm brewing in a cauldron as a potion. Thunder rumbled through the clouds like a pride of lions prowling through the hunting grounds as they searched for prey. Lightning crackled and sparked in the clouds, giving a light of dangers to come for the four. Rain poured down on Yazdan, Yasmin, Asha, and Reza like thousands of gallons of water, drenching their skin, clothes, hair, and fur.

“The storm is too strong!” Reza shouted through the sounds of the storm, “We may not be able to make it to the island through it!”

“It’s getting dark, too!” Asha shouted in reply, “I can’t see what’s ahead of us! We need to stop somewhere and wait for the storm to clear!”

“It may storm all night!” Yasmin shouted, “Plus, we’re over the middle of the sea! We don’t know where there’s any land!”

“Something’s not right!” Yazdan shouted.

“What are you talking about, Your Highness?” Yasmin asked.

“There’s something unnatural about this storm!” Yazdan answered, “The Caspian Sea isn’t supposed to rise this high, there is lightning flashing in various directions inside and outside the clouds, and the wind is catching the rain and carrying it in the direction the wind’s blowing!”

“Reza!” Asha shouted as the thunder clapped like a pair of giant hands, “Is there some kind of magic that can control the weather?”

“Yes, Asha!” Reza answered, “But that kind of magic is extremely dangerous! It’s even forbidden in the empire because weather magic causes all kinds of natural disasters like floods, tornados, and even blizzards!”

“But, who could be using weather magic if it’s forbidden?” Asha asked.

Yazdan knew who he and his friends were up against during their flight to the island across the Caspian Sea.

“Whoever is using weather magic,” Yazdan replied, “We’ll be ready to face them!”

The four friends dodged lightning flashing toward them to avoid getting a deadly shock, Yazdan tried to keep his flight steady as the wind blew harder, and all four of them tried to go higher to avoid getting swallowed by the raging sea. Asha’s head pounded like a hammer on an avail from the loud sounds of the storm at sea, and her stomach churned from the sudden turns and merges from the flight.

Ugh! Asha thought, Lesson for traveling: Do not fly right after eating. You never know how rough the ride will be depending on the weather.

The last thing she saw before falling into unconsciousness was a wall of mist that appeared to be obscuring some kind of land.

“Asha?” Yazdan asked, “Asha are you awake?”

Asha woke up feeling like she just had a hangover. She looked around to see she was on the ground and surrounded by Yazdan’s massive paws. She even saw a blanket draped over her. Asha sat up and asked,

“What happened? Where are we?”

“It’s alright, Asha.” Yazdan replied, nuzzling Asha, “We made it. We made it to the island. Yasmin and Reza told me you became unconscious before we landed.”

“I must’ve become dizzy from the flight.” Asha said, “How long was I out?”

“You were out for the whole night.” Yasmin answered, “I should also thank Parisa for packing us some blankets when we meet up with the Resistance again, and they were warm, too. You were shivering like you were in a blizzard. Then again, so were I and Reza.”

She handed Asha a cup with steam rising from it.

“Here.” Yasmin said, “Drink this. Reza made it. He said it’ll help us warm up. And boy, he was right.”

Asha gratefully took the cup and took a sip of the hot beverage. The taste was very familiar to her. It was the jasmine green tea Reza made for her when they first met at Susa.

“Thank you, Yasmin.” she said with a smile.

After finishing her tea, Asha said,

“Now we made it to the island, we should go look for the temple, so we can awaken the Hidden Magic.”

“But first,” Reza said, “You might want to change into something more suitable for a ritual. Plus, you’re still a little wet from the storm last night.”

Asha looked at herself and saw that Reza was right. Her military uniform and her hair were completely drenched from the storm at sea. She looked up and saw that Reza and Yasmin had already dried off and changed into new sets of clothes. Reza wore another formal outfit, and Yasmin was wearing a new military uniform.

“Here.” Reza said, handing Asha towels and a new set of clothes.

“Thank you, Reza.” Asha said, taking the towels and clothes, “Now, could you three give me a little privacy?”

Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin nodded and walked a good distance from Asha to let her change without worrying about any of them peeping. Asha’s face turned as red as a tomato at the thought of Yazdan seeing her dressing. However, she brushed off the thought and dried herself with the towels. Since her hair was still wet, Asha combed it out and put it up into four long braids. Then, she dressed in a top and a pair of pants in the colors of the sunset sky, magenta flexible shoes, jewelry in gold, teal, red, and white, an orange veil over her hair, and a purple veil that covered the lower half of her face.

Once she was completely dressed, Rose caught up with Yazdan, Yasmin, and Reza.

“I’m ready.” Asha said.

Yazdan, Yasmin, and Reza gave Asha a single nod.

“Let’s go.” Reza said.

He, Asha, Yasmin, and Yazdan walked further to the center of the island. The island was a dense jungle with trees towering above the land they stood on, giant leaves obscuring the soil, and large, colorful flowers adding pops of color to the green majority. There were some animals on the island, too. There were colorful parrots nesting on trees, frogs leaping on leaves, monkeys swinging on vines, and panthers slumbering on rocks. The island was truly a sight to behold, but it was nothing compared to the temple at the center of the island because when the four friends saw the temple, their jaws dropped in wonder. The temple was a step pyramid and looked like it was built with blocks of gold from how it shone in the sunlight.

“This is it.” Reza said, “It’s time to awaken the Hidden Magic.”

Asha, Reza, and Yasmin climbed the steps to enter the temple. Yazdan stayed behind because the temple’s doorway was much too small for him to get through. As three of the four went inside, it took some time for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. The interior of the temple had only torches for light, and nothing was inside it except a square platform with a golden ring on it.

“Alright.” Yasmin said, “So, what do we do to awaken the Hidden Magic?”

Reza took out a scroll and said,

“There is a ritual that must be performed to awaken the Hidden Magic. However, nobody knows who will have the Hidden Magic. So, everyone in the temple must stand inside the ring on the platform. Whoever feels the ritual affecting them spiritually must stay in the ring until the Hidden Magic is fully awakened.”

“I guess we’ll have to find out who has the Hidden Magic by having all three of us take part in the ritual.” Yasmin said, shrugging her shoulders.

She, Asha, and Reza stepped onto the platform and into the ring to begin the ritual. But before Reza could read the ritual chant from his scroll, the platform began to rise slowly.

“What’s happening?” Asha asked.

The top of the temple slowly opened, letting sunlight in. Asha, Reza, and Yasmin squinted their eyes as the sun greeted them with intense light. When his eyes finally adjusted to the light, Reza looked above, and his eyes widened to see the very person who killed his teacher and father figure.

“It’s a trap!” Reza exclaimed.

“Asha!” Yasmin cried, “You have to go back to Prince Yazdan!”

“And leave you and Reza behind?!” Asha asked, “Not a chance!”

“Please!” Yasmin begged, “Javid is after him, which means he could be after you, too!”

“But—” Asha said before Yasmin interrupted her.

“GO!” Yasmin shouted, pushing Asha off the platform.

Asha fell to the floor with a thud. She slowly got up, grunting at the pain she felt from the aftermath of her fall. With tears of regret in her eyes, Asha ran out of the temple to find Yazdan.

“Yazdan?!” Asha called in a panic, “Where are you?!”

“I’m here, Asha.” Yazdan assured her.

Asha turned around and saw a patch of ebony standing out from behind the bushes of large green leaves. She ran toward the leaves and lifted them to reveal Yazdan.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re alright.” Asha said with a sigh of relief, “This is a really good hiding place.”

Yazdan looked around and asked,

“Where are Reza and Yasmin?”

A lump formed in Asha’s throat as she pointed at the top of the temple.

“Javid got them.” she said as a tear streamed down her face.

Yazdan looked up to see Javid locking Reza and Yasmin in a cage and transforming into a red and black griffin to carry the cage while flying.

“I’m sorry, Yazdan.” Asha said, sitting down.

“It wasn’t your fault, Asha.” Yazdan said, shaking his head sadly.

Asha didn’t want to ask Yazdan the question she had in her mind, but she needed to know the answer.

“Yazdan,” she said with hesitation, “Did you foresee Reza and Yasmin’s capture?”

Yazdan’s jaw dropped, and his lip quivered.

“Yazdan,” Asha said with a slightly demanding tone, “Did you foresee it?”

Yazdan didn’t want to tell Asha the truth, but she deserved to know.

“Yes,” he said quietly, “And so did Reza and Yasmin.”

Asha’s mouth dropped.

“How did they know about it?” she asked.

“I told them.” Yazdan explained, “While you were changing clothes, I talked to Reza and Yasmin about what was going to happen once you and they entered the temple. I told Reza to act surprised when he saw Javid at the top of the temple, and I told Yasmin to tell you to come back to me. It was part of the plan.”

“Plan?!” Asha exclaimed, “What plan?”

“The plan to protect you!” Yazdan cried.

“But, why me?!” Asha asked demandingly, “Javid is after you ! Plus, I’m an ordinary village girl! Yasmin is the captain of the Resistance, and Reza is a sage! You need them!”

“I know I need them!” Yazdan replied with a desperate tone, “But I need you, too!”

“How could you possibly need me?” Asha asked, “Nobody needed me!”

“Your brother does!” Yazdan answered firmly, “And so do the Resistance, Captain Yasmin, Reza, and me! Asha, you’re not just needed! You are so wanted, too!”

Asha froze.

“You all need…and want me?” she asked as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Of course, we do!” Yazdan said with tears in his eyes as well, “You may think you’re not important because you’re not a soldier, a nurse, a minister, a sage, or someone with a gift. But, you’re wrong! You are the most important person ever, especially to me!”

“Because you believe I can save the empire and defeat Javid?” Asha asked.

“More than that!” Yazdan answered, “It’s because I want to have you by my side! You have grown to mean so much to me!”

Asha wanted to reply, but even though her mouth opened, she couldn’t find the words to respond to Yazdan’s confession.

Does he really feel that way about me? Asha thought.

“Please, Asha.” Yazdan said, “I not only need you by my side. I want you by my side.”

Asha took a deep breath and said,

“Okay.”

“Now,” Yazdan said, “Let’s follow Javid and rescue our friends.”

“But,” Asha said, “What about the Hidden Magic? The Javid Gala Day is tomorrow.”

“Hidden Magic or no Hidden Magic,” Yazdan said, “That tyrant’s got to be stopped!”

Asha climbed on Yazdan’s back, and the two began flying back to the empire to rescue their friends and allies.

Chapter Text

“Ow!” Yasmin yelled as a jailer shoved her into a cell in the palace dungeon, “You don’t need to push!”

But, the jailer simply ignored Yasmin’s complaint and shut the bar door. Another jailer shoved Reza into his dungeon cell. As Reza tried to run out and fight the jailer, the jailer shut the bar door in front of Reza’s face.

“Hey!” Reza shouted, gripping the bars, “We may have gone against the king, but that doesn’t mean you have to toss us around like we’re nothing but bags of sand!”

Then, the sound of the door to the dungeon was followed by the sound of footsteps. Javid walked toward the newly captured prisoners with a smirk of evil satisfaction.

“Well, well, well.” the wicked wizard king said, “Yasmin, daughter of Fahd and captain of the Resistance. You were very foolish, yet very brave to lead an organization against me. I must say I’m impressed. But, to think that it led you to be behind bars, I’m sure your father would be very disappointed in you for not fulfilling his foolish wishes.”

“Don’t talk about my father that way!” Yasmin shouted, stamping her foot onto the stone floor, “My father would rather die than submit to you! If dying was worth it to him, then being behind bars is worth it to me!”

“What bold words.” Javid replied with a wicked laugh before looking at Reza, “I don’t know if I should say the same thing to you, Reza, student and adopted son of Tallis and sage. That dull royal librarian couldn’t stop talking about how wisdom can make the empire a better place. Ugh. Such a bore, and yet, you treat his stories like they’re the grandest tales ever told.”

“Tallis was anything but dull!” Reza snapped, pointing his finger at Javid in anger, “And he’s certainly not a bore! And his stories aren’t just tales! They’re legends, and they teach us lessons!”

Javid faked a yawn and said sarcasm,

“I’m sorry. You were saying? You lost me on the part where you’re telling me that Tallis’s stories are more than just tales.”

Reza’s face became so red, his ears could blow out steam if they had the ability to do so.

“Now!” Javid said with a stern tone, “I managed to capture both of you, but I know two are still missing! Where are the manticore and the village girl?!”

“They got names!” Yasmin retorted.

“And how are we supposed to know where they are?!” Reza asked with his arms up, indicating he didn’t know, “Do you want us to tell you where we last saw them or where they currently are?!”

“Don’t beat around the bush!” Javid growled, slamming his staff onto the floor, “Where are the manticore and the village girl?!”

“We don’t know where they are!” Reza shouted.

“Even if we do know,” Yasmin pointed out, “We will never tell you!”

Javid laughed wickedly and sneered.

“Such naivety.” he said, “Have you forgotten that I know what you’re up to?”

Javid pointed at Reza’s chest that was filled with all the evidence Yasmin and her unit of the Resistance soldiers collected.

“I know you collected evidence to try to bring me down.” Javid said quietly, “I’m now asking you to tell me where the manticore and the village girl are right now, or this chest and everything inside it will be destroyed.”

“NEVER!” Reza and Yasmin boomed in unison.

“Have it your way!” Javid sneered.

He pointed his staff at the chest, and the ruby began to glow when he said, 

“Break the containment and destroy what’s contained.”

A magical beam hit the chest, but the chest remained intact. Confused, Javid tried another spell.

“Pick the lock.” he said.

Another magical beam hit the chest, but the chest still remained intact, and the lock on it didn’t unlock. 

“Destroy from the inside out!” Javid yelled, running out of patience.

But, the chest remained unphased by the spell. Frustrated, Javid tried every spell he knew to get the chest to open or break. Unfortunately for the wicked wizard king, none of the spells he tried worked. Although Reza’s face remained neutral, he never felt more satisfied with the fact that his chest could not be affected by Javid’s magic.

“How is this even possible?!” Javid roared, “Nothing and nobody has ever been invulnerable to my magic!”

Reza tried his best not to laugh. The sight of Javid being baffled at the fact he was outsmarted was very amusing to him. Yasmin tried to keep a neutral expression, too. But, she was astonished to see that the chest was unharmed, even after Javid’s many attempts to unlock it. On the other hand, Yasmin was relieved to know that the wicked wizard king could not destroy the evidence.

“Argh! Fine!” Javid shouted, “I’ll do something more drastic! I sent my jailers to the Forbidden Forest to find your Resistance comrades!”

“What did you do to them?!” Yasmin asked, gripping on the bars.

“Nothing.” Javid said bluntly, “I just locked them up in the other cells. But they will not be there anymore if you don’t tell me where the manticore and the village girl are.”

“We already told you we don’t know where Prince Yazdan and Asha are!” Reza shouted, “And if we did, we would sooner take our own lives than give you their locations!”

“Such stubbornness!” Javid boomed, “You would risk your Resistance for the manticore and the village girl?!”

“We’re telling you the truth.” Yasmin said calmly, “We don’t know where Prince Yazdan and Asha are.”

Reza nodded his head.

“Fine!” Javid said, “Since you insist that you spoke the truth, I’ll see if anyone else in the empire can lead me to them on the Javid Gala Day!”

And with that, he stormed out of the dungeon and closed the door with a slam.

Meanwhile, Asha and Yazdan flew to the palace and landed in the palace gardens.

“Why the palace gardens?” Asha asked, “Shouldn’t we enter at the front?”

“If we do that,” Yazdan replied, “That will only increase our chances at getting caught. Follow me.”

Asha did just that, and she and Yazdan ended up at the stables.

“Inside the stables,” Yazdan explained, “There’s a secret door that leads you to a secret passageway. That way, nobody will see you enter or exit the palace.”

“Just me?” Asha asked, “You’re not coming with me?”

“I’m too big to fit through the doorway.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “I’ll wait here until you find Reza, Captain Yasmin, and all of the Resistance.”

“You foresaw the Resistance getting captured, too?” Asha asked.

“Yes,” Yazdan answered, “But we were too far away to do anything to keep it from happening. If we did manage to go back, we would already be too late. I’m sorry, Asha. I know you don’t want anymore problems to face, but you deserve to know that all of the Resistance are in the dungeon now, including your brother.”

Asha didn’t say a word. She simply sighed sadly. She used to complain how hard life was for her because she didn’t have a gift. However, when she learned the full story about Yazdan’s gift of foresight, Asha felt glad she didn’t have such a gift. Having visions of something bad happening in the future, predicting the future was more of a curse than a gift.

Getting a grip of the situation, Asha said,

“We can’t give up now. The secret passageway leads to the dungeon, does it not?”

“Yes, it does.” Yazdan said, “The secret passageway leads to many rooms in the palace. To enter the dungeon through the secret passageway, go right after you enter the door in the stables. Keep going straight and go left at the third crosspaths.”

“Okay.” Asha said. She opened the door and was about to enter the secret passageway when Yazdan stopped her.

“Are you going in there in your ritual clothes?” Yazdan asked.

“Yeah.” Asha answered, “Why?”

“I suggest you wear palace maidservant clothes just to be safe.” Yazdan replied.

“Alright.” Asha said, rolling her eyes, “Just give some privacy while I change, please.”

After Yazdan gave her privacy, Asha changed into her maidservant clothes. It was the same outfit she wore when she and Yazdan flew to Susa and met Reza. Fully dressed, Asha entered the secret passageway and followed the directions Yazdan gave her. Eventually, she made it to the dungeon and saw Reza, Yasmin, and the Resistance locked up in their cells.

“Asha!” a young boy whispered.

Asha turned around to see her little brother behind bars.

“Zavier!” she whispered, running toward him, “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine, Asha.” Zavier whispered, “We’re just glad you came for us. You got the keys to our cells, right?”

Asha froze. While she was walking in the dungeon, she realized there weren’t any jailers guarding the dungeon cells. Therefore, she didn’t find anyone to steal the keys from.

Drat! Asha thought, I don’t have the keys to the dungeon cells. I’m sure Javid had them removed to keep me from stealing their keys and to be present for the Javid Gala Day. There must be another way to unlock the cells.

Asha felt her hair, and her hand touched something cold, like metal. She pulled it out to reveal it was a hairpin.

“I have a makeshift key.” Asha said.

She inserted the hairpin into the lock. After a minute or two of fiddling with them, the bar door unlocked, and Zavier and the Resistance members who shared his cell opened it.

“You did it!” Zavier whispered.

“Don’t celebrate, yet.” Asha said, shaking her head, “We still have prisoners to release here.” 

With her hairpin, Asha unlocked all the dungeon cells, setting all the Resistance members, including Yasmin and Reza, free.

“Well done, Asha!” Yasmin whispered.

“Let’s get out of here.” Asha said, “Prince Yazdan is waiting for us, and the Javid Gala Day is about to start. You got the chest, Reza?”

“Right here.” Reza said, holding up the chest.

“Good.” Yasmin said, “When we meet up with the prince, you need to explain to us how your chest was not affected by the tyrant’s magic.”

Yasmin, Reza, Zavier, and the Resistance followed Asha out of the dungeon and the secret passageway and made it to the stables in the palace gardens. Yazdan was hiding behind a large stack of hay in the stables, and when he saw Asha return with the Resistance, he came out of his hiding place.

“You made it.” Yazdan said with a smile.

“Thankfully.” Asha said with a sigh of relief, “And we still have the evidence.”

“This chest can only be opened by the one it is entrusted to.” Reza said, holding the chest, “When my teacher Tallis entrusted this chest to me, only I could open it. It won’t open for anyone else. Not even anyone else’s magic.”

“Incredible.” Yasmin said with amazement.

“That’s great, Reza!” Yazdan said happily, “Now, it’s time to end the wizard king’s reign once and for all.”

“What’s the plan, Your Highness?” Yasmin asked.

“All of you will attend the Javid Gala Day.” Yazdan replied, “I will hide until the situation on the Javid Gala Day grows dire. The people may not believe a manticore is their lost prince, but this is my empire. If I don’t fight for it, who will?”

“I will.” Asha answered with determination.

“I will.” Reza said with the same determination.

“I will.” Yasmin said, sharing the determination with Asha and Reza.

All of the Resistance said they would fight for the Persian Empire if Yazdan wouldn’t.

“Thank you.” Yazdan said with a smile, “Now, once I make my appearance, that will be a good time to show the evidence and prove of Javid’s tyranny. If he still won’t surrender, we will fight.”

“For the empire!” Asha declared!

“For the empire!” All of the Resistance cheered.

Chapter Text

After changing back into the outfit she wore at the temple across the Caspian Sea, Asha joined the Resistance and waited for the Javid Gala Day to begin. The sound of horns ringing through the air signaled for all the people in the village to gather in front of the palace for the big event.

“It’s time.” Yazdan said.

Asha, Reza, Yasmin, and the Resistance nodded. Yasmin and Gaspar led Asha, Reza, and the Resistance to the front of the palace, leaving Yazdan to hide in the palace gardens until the time was right for him to make his move. 

This is it. Asha thought, We’re going to confront Javid and stop his tyranny once and for all. His spells will be broken, Yazdan will be human again and become king, and the people will be safe once more.

The Resistance emerged into the crowd of villagers while trying to stick together as a group. Thanks to Yazdan’s foresight, all of the Resistance were dressed in formal clothing, including the soldiers, so they wouldn’t raise any suspicions. As they found a spot to stand in at the gathering, the horns continued to play until Javid made it to the center of the platform in front of the palace.

“My dear empire,” Javid said with a proud smile, “Do you adore me?”

All of the villagers cheered and applauded.

“I said,” Javid said a little louder, “Do you adore me?”

The villagers cheered and applauded louder. Instead being satisfied with their answer, Javid’s smile turned into an angry frown when he shouted,

“Well, I don’t believe you!”

The crowd gasped at their king’s retort. They all fell silent when Javid added,

“If you truly adored me, one of you would give me information about the manticore of the Forbidden Forest and its village girl friend! And as you know, the manticore is responsible for the death of the prince, who unnecessarily risked his life to find the blue antidote mushroom to cure his ailing father, who was useless as a king!”

He just can’t stop lying, can he? Yasmin thought, clenching her fists.

“A villager is friends with the manticore?” one of the villagers asked, shuddering, “Ooh! She’s just as much of a monster as the manticore itself.”

“Hey!” Asha said, clearly offended by the villager’s words.

She caught herself saying something that would raise unwanted attention and said,

“Uh, I mean she may be really nice.”

“Who can lead me to them?” Javid asked, “Come forward.”

However, none of the villagers said a word or made a single move. After all, none of them knew where Yazdan and Asha were, even though Asha was among them.

I never knew I would be good at hiding in plain sight. Asha thought.

“Fine, then!” Javid boomed, “Guards! Get me an answer. Now!”

Javid’s royal guards jumped into the crowd with their weapons ready. The villagers screamed in terror as the guards tried to push them into answering if they knew anything about Yazdan or Asha. The screaming and yelling stopped when a huge shadow swooped over them. Asha and the Resistance looked up to see Yazdan flying toward Javid.

“Javid!” Yazdan shouted, landing on the platform, “Stop!”

The crowd gasped as they saw the manticore with their very eyes, still unaware that it was their lost prince. What caught them more off guard was that the manticore could speak.

“Is that the manticore?” someone whispered.

“Did it just talk?” another villager whispered.

“I thought manticores don’t talk.” whispered another.

“Well, look who has come to visit.” Javid said with a sneer, “The legendary manticore of the Forbidden Forest. Since you can talk, what do you have to say for yourself about killing Prince Yazdan?”

“You can drop the act, Javid.” Yazdan said coolly, “You’re the one who turned me into a manticore and lied about my death. You even lied about how the previous king died!”

“Huh?!” the crowd asked.

“You’re wasting a good amount of time, you foul beast.” Javid cackled, pointing his staff at Yazdan, “Time to meet your demise.”

“No!” Yasmin shouted, jumping on the platform with Asha and Reza, “You’ll have to go through us first!”

The Resistance surrounded the platform with their weapons pointing at Javid. When the tyrant remained unphased, Reza opened the chest and showed all the evidence to the crowd.

“The manticore tells the truth!” Reza said loud enough for the crowd to hear, holding up the teacup, “This teacup has a purple stain the tea made when our late king Darius drank during his final days!”

Yasmin held up a vile of poison and the potion book and added,

“This is the poison our current king slipped into our previous king’s tea to make him more ill every day!”

Reza picked up the dagger and said,

“And this is the dagger our current king used to kill everyone who stood up to him when he first took the throne, including the palace librarian Tallis and the captain of the Royal Troops Fahd!”

Yasmin picked up the scroll and the stack of documents and concluded her and Reza’s statement,

“And this scroll is his manuscript about how he learned dark magic, which is forbidden in the empire, as well as his desire to get rid of the royal family just to have the throne for himself! And all these documents showed that he has been squandering the empire’s finances through illegal terms such as the black market, and he owes a lot of gambling debts that he neglected to pay!”

The crowd gasped again and began whispering amongst themselves.

“His Majesty poisoned King Darius?” a villager whispered, “What are they talking about?”

“The manticore is Prince Yazdan?” another villager whispered, “How can this be?”

“So, he’s been increasing taxes because of his debts and his dealings with the black market?” a third villager whispered, “How can he do this to us?”

“Don’t listen to them!” Javid shouted, “The manticore’s trying to win you over with his so-called noble act with his followers!” 

However, Zircon, Javid’s former servant, walked onto the platform and faced the crowd.

“The manticore and the Resistance speak nothing but the truth!” he said with courage and confidence, pointing at Javid, “Our king poisoned King Darius and turned Prince Yazdan into a manticore just to have the throne for himself! Once he took the throne, Javid would do anything to keep us all under his control! He truly has enslaved us, squandered the empire’s finances, used forbidden magic, and killed all of the people who defied him in the beginning, marking the start of the Resistance!”

Zircon took out the dagger he used against Yazdan and added,

“This is the dagger I attempted to use to kill Prince Yazdan when I first found him in the Forbidden Forest! At first, I didn’t know he was Prince Yazdan because our current king only told me a manticore lives in the Forbidden Forest and ordered me to kill it, so it wouldn’t terrorize us anymore! Now that I know the truth about the manticore, I admit my guilt for attempting to kill our prince!”

He turned to Yazdan and bowed to him.

“The manticore is Prince Yazdan.” Zircon said, “And I will serve him until the very end, just like the brave Resistance have.”

And with that, Javid snapped. He grabbed Zircon by the shoulders and said through gritted teeth,

“You fool! You insolent, ungrateful, little fool! I gave you shelter, food, and a job, and this is how you repay me?!”

“I would rather die to give my people a peaceful life than live to let them suffer under your rule any further!” Zircon replied, glaring daggers at Javid.

“So be it!” Javid growled, grabbing Zircon’s dagger.

And with that, Javid slit Zircon’s throat. Zircon gasped and collapsed onto the ground. As soon as the former servant boy took his final breath, all of the villagers started shouting at their tyrant king.

“Tyrant!”

“Liar!”

“Coward!”

“Murderer!”

“We’ll never bow down to such a brute!”

“What have you done?!” Javid screamed at Yazdan, “You’ve turned all my subjects against me!”

“You did that yourself, Javid.” Yazdan said calmly, “There’s more to being a king than having a crown. You’ll never gain their loyalty, until you earn their respect.”

But, Javid only laughed.

“Loyalty?” he asked, “Respect? I just realized that I never needed them. Well now, I should finish the job, then. Let’s get started, shall we?”

Javid pointed his staff at the crowd. The ruby began to glow when he said,

“Petrify them all!”

In the blink of an eye, his royal guards, the villagers, and the Resistance were turned into stone. The only ones that didn’t become statues were Yazdan, Reza, Yasmin, and Asha. The four watched in horror as all the people around them became prisoners in stone. They turned their attention back to Javid and had their weapons ready.

“You think you four can defeat me?” Javid asked mockingly.

“You’re clearly outnumbered, Javid!” Yasmin retorted.

“Really?” Javid asked.

He pointed his staff at himself and said,

“Duplicate me ten times!”

His body split and a clone of himself formed. Then, nine more duplicates appeared. They all charged at Yazdan, Reza, Yasmin, and Asha, but the four fought back hard. Yasmin and Asha struck down some of the duplicates with their spears, Reza used his dagger, and Yazdan used his fire breath, claws, teeth, and tail. When a duplicate of Javid was struck, it evaporated into thin air. However, even though the four managed to defeat all the duplicates, Javid would create more. The battle kept going until the real Javid struck Yazdan down with a magical blast from his staff while Yazdan was busy fighting the duplicates.

“Ah!” Yazdan screamed in agonizing pain.

“Yazdan!” Asha cried running toward him.

As all of Javid’s duplicates disappeared into thin air, Javid approached the injured manticore and asked,

“So, Yazdan, which will it be? A fast, painless death, or a slow, painful one?”

“No!” Asha shouted, standing defensively in front of Yazdan, “You’re nothing but a coward hiding behind a magic wand, Javid!”

“This is no concern of yours, little girl!” Javid sneered.

“It is a concern of mine!” Asha shouted, removing her purple veil, “Because I am the village girl who is a friend of the manticore!”

“Asha, no!” Yasmin protested, stretching an arm out.

“Captain Yasmin,” Yazdan said, hardly breathing, “Wait.”

“You!” Javid yelled at Asha, “You have caused so much trouble ever since you brought the manticore to the village! I should’ve had you locked up in the first place to keep all of this from happening! You want that brat of a prince to overthrow me so badly! What makes you think you can stop me when the gods never blessed you with a gift?”

“Gift or no gift,” Asha said with confidence, “I will fight for the empire! My brother, my friends, my neighbors, my fellow citizens, and my prince! I love them!”

“Let’s see if love can save you now.” Javid cackled, pointing his staff at Asha, “Destroy her!”

“Asha!” Reza and Yasmin cried.

However, Asha didn’t move when she heard them call her name. She closed her eyes and let the magical beam from Javid’s staff hit her. But then, a bright, golden light shone from Asha’s heart, and it enveloped around her. When the beam hit her, it did not harm her. The light pushed the magical beam away from Asha and toward Javid.

“What?!” Javid asked, bewildered, “What is happening?!”

Reza and Yasmin watched with wide eyes and mouths opened, while Yazdan watched with total admiration as Asha’s clothes began to change magically while sparkles swirled around Asha. Her hairstyle changed into a single braid adorned with roses, pearls, and gold hoops that held her hair together. Her sunset colored outfit transformed into a dusty rose pink dress trimmed with turquoise with turquoise high heeled sandals adorned with roses and pearls. And, her jewelry turned into gold jewelry with roses and pearls. Asha opened her eyes and looked around in awe, seeing the light engulfing her. Then, she smiled and allowed her own light to do the job, for it came inside her. Soon, her light touched Javid’s staff, and the staff shattered into pieces.

“NO!” Javid cried in despair as he felt his power slip away in Asha’s light.

The light consumed Javid, and sparkles swirled around him. Slowly, his body became encrusted in stone. He continued to cry out in denial, anguish, and despair until the stone covered his throat and face. A statue of the wicked wizard king on his knees in despair and helpless against Asha’s magical light stood before Asha, Yasmin, Reza, and Yazdan. Javid was finally gone, forever a prisoner in stone.

Chapter Text

Asha’s light shrank back into Asha’s heart after Javid was completely turned into stone. Asha was still in awe of what had happened, especially now she was in an outfit made for a princess.

Did that just happen? Asha thought, Did a light really shine from my heart and help me defeat Javid?

She turned around to see Yazdan, Reza, and Yasmin looking at her with amazement and admiration. Asha ran up to all three of them and gave them a hug. Yasmin and Reza hugged in return, and Yazdan nuzzled Asha, still weak from Javid’s attack on him.

“Yazdan…” Asha said with a hint of worry in her voice.

“Don’t worry, Asha.” Yazdan rasped, “I’ll be fine. Javid is defeated, which means I can rest.”

“No, Yazdan.” Asha said with determination, shaking her head, “I promised you I’d help you break Javid’s spell, and I will do it.”

She then kissed Yazdan’s muzzle and said,

“I love you.”

And with that, Yazdan began to glow bright gold. Sparkles swirled around him as he was being lifted off the ground. Asha, Yasmin, and Reza slowly stepped back, and their jaws dropped in awe as they saw Yazdan transforming before their very eyes. Yazdan’s front paws and legs lost their claws, fur, and leathery pads and shifted into human hands and arms. His back paws and legs went through the same transformation, and his scorpion tail and bat wings disappeared, revealing human legs. Finally, the fur, mane, and horns disappeared as Yazdan’s face transformed into that of a young man with long ebony hair. The clothes he wore were his funeral attire, the last outfit he wore before he was turned into a manticore, which were now tattered. He was barefoot, too.

Yazdan was gently lowered to the ground when his transformation finished and stood before Asha, Reza, and Yasmin. He looked at his hands and let out what sounded like both a gasp of astonishment and a sigh of relief combined.

I can’t believe it! Yazdan thought, I’m human again!

He turned around to see Yasmin, Asha, and Reza, who were all still staring at him in awe.

“Prince Yazdan…” Yasmin said, her heart swelling with joy that the prince was back as a human while bowing to him.

“Your Highness!” Reza said with a wide grin before bowing to Yazdan.

Asha had her mouth opened, but she couldn’t find the words to say when she saw Yazdan as a human for the first time. She stood completely still, as she didn’t know if she should bow or remain standing. All she knew was that she liked what she saw.

He is more handsome than I imagined he would be. Asha thought.

Yazdan told both Yasmin and Reza to rise. When they did, Yazdan placed a hand on Yasmin’s shoulder and shook her hand, thanking her for helping her. He did the same thing for Reza. When he came to Asha, she gingerly touched the prince’s hair and later his face. Asha smiled and cupped Yazdan’s face with her hand.

“It’s you.” she said quietly with joy, “It’s really you. You’re human again, Yazdan.”

“And it’s all thanks to you.” Yazdan said with a smile, his voice sounding more like a young man instead of a beast, like it used to when he was a manticore.

“Me?” Asha asked.

“Do you know who has the Hidden Magic, Asha?” Yazdan asked.

Asha remembered how a light shone from her heart and how it shattered Javid’s magical staff and turned the tyrant into stone. She even remembered that right after she kissed Yazdan and told him that she loved him, he transformed back into a human.

“It’s inside me all along.” Asha answered, “But, we didn’t awaken it at the temple.”

“You didn’t need to.” Yazdan explained, “It’s not enough to be in a temple or recite a ritual to awaken the Hidden Magic because the Hidden Magic is, in fact, love.”

“Love?” Asha asked.

“It all makes sense.” Yazdan said, “First, you helped me remove the dagger in the Forbidden Forest. Next, you encouraged Reza to join the Resistance and help us find a way to break Javid’s enchantments. Later, you rescued the Resistance from the palace dungeon. Then, you stood firm against Javid, knowing love is stronger than hate. Finally, your kiss broke his spell. The Hidden Magic is love because love is magic, for love is the most powerful magic of all. Look!”

Asha looked at where Yazdan was pointing. She smiled to see all the villagers, guards, and the Resistance turn back to normal. Everyone who was turned into animals were human again, and all the royal servants, soldiers, and ministers who were turned into various inanimate objects for defying Javid were turned back to normal.

“You broke Javid’s evil enchantments.” Yazdan said, taking hold of Asha’s hand.

“And you get to take your place as king.” Asha said, smiling at the prince.

“Well,” Yazdan said with a small chuckle, “That is if the people will still want me to do that.”

“Three cheers for Asha and Prince Yazdan!” Reza proclaimed.

“Hip hip hooray!” the entire village cheered, “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!”

 The entire empire was in celebration, for their lost prince had finally returned. The celebration lasted for one week. There was food, music, dancing, and fireworks. There had never been so much joy ever since Javid took over. All of the citizens of the Persian Empire were happy to know that the wicked wizard king’s reign was in the past, and Yazdan’s reign would begin a new era of peace and prosperity.

On the other side of the celebration, the empire honored all the fallen members of the Resistance, who gave their lives to protect the people from Javid’s tyranny and bring back the one true king. They even honored the servants who were turned into stone and later destroyed to create the stone monster, for Javid destroyed their lives for his own benefit. They paid respect to all the people who stood up against Javid at the beginning of his reign, including the palace librarian Tallis and Captain Fahd of the Royal Troops. As for Javid’s former servant Zircon, he was given an honorable burial under Yazdan’s orders, and he was remembered as the boy who stood for the truth. Of course, the Persian Empire never passed up the chance to pay respects to their beloved king Darius.

“King Darius, may he rest in peace.” the citizens would say.

It was both glorious and bittersweet for the empire. They both celebrated the return of their prince and mourned the loss of their loved ones who fought to save them from Javid’s tyranny. With the wicked wizard king as a statue, Yazdan ordered for it to be placed in the palace gardens, side by side with all the other statues. There, he would blend in and be seen as just an ordinary statue carved from stone, just like all the other statues. After all, nobody wanted to see the tyrant’s face ever again.

Meanwhile, Yazdan returned to the palace along with Yasmin, Reza, and the Resistance. He let Asha and Zavier stay in the palace after helping Asha pay the rent that was long overdue at the warehouse she and Zavier used to live in. While the palace was still familiar to him, it became strange for him to live in it again. After all, he spent more than five years in exile in the Forbidden Forest. Aside from that, the prince was happy to be back in the place where he was born and raised.

However, there was something missing in the palace for Yazdan. While he was happy to be back in the grand, luxurious, comfortable palace, he wished he could share the place with someone he loved. He could no longer share it with his parents, for they had already passed away. While Yazdan had talked to the servants, ministers, and soldiers, he never had a true relationship with them. That was when he thought of Asha.

Asha. Yazdan thought, She is kind, clever, and brave. I always knew she was the one with the Hidden Magic inside her. She loves and cares about not just her brother and her friends, but all the people in the empire, too. Also, I love her. She’s the woman I want to marry and to have by my side. But, is it right, though?

“Your Highness?” Reza asked, bringing Yazdan back to reality.

“Oh!” Yazdan said, turning around to face Reza, “Hello, Reza. What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask the same thing to you.” Reza said, “Have you ever gone into any of the rooms in the palace other than the foyer?”

“I’m sorry, Reza.” Yazdan said, shaking his head, “I’ve been thinking about Asha a lot lately.”

“Don’t tell me,” Reza said with a smirk, “You’re in love with her?”

“Of course, I am.” Yazdan replied, “And how she cares about the people, I know I want to marry Asha and have her by my side as my queen.”

“But…?” Reza asked.

“But, I don’t know if it’s right.” Yazdan answered, “I’m a prince, and she’s a commoner. A royal has never been wedded to a commoner before, and the idea is often frowned upon. If my father were still alive, what would he think?”

“Your Highness,” Reza said with a sigh, “As king, King Darius would want you to remember your royal duties for the empire. But as a father, King Darius would want you to be happy.”

Yazdan thought about what Reza just said. Then, he remembered what his father told him after he overheard his conversation with Javid about finding a marriage partner for the prince.

“Baba,” a young Yazdan said, “Do I really have to get married just for the sake of the throne and forming an alliance with another kingdom?”

“What makes you think that, son?” Darius asked.

“I accidentally overheard your conversation with Chancellor Javid.” Yazdan confessed, lowering his head, “He said that you should find a suitable marriage partner for me once I’ve reached marriageable age, but you said you’re not going to force me to marry and that you want to leave that choice up to me.”

“My boy,” Darius said with a sigh, “Javid is just too stubborn to let go of that silly traditional rule that you must marry royalty for the throne.”

“If I don’t have to marry royalty,” Yazdan said, “Then, who should I marry?”

“Marry someone who deserves to rule by your side as your queen, Yazdan.” Darius answered.

“Even if she’s a commoner?” Yazdan asked.

“It’s not the status that matters, my boy.” Darius explained, “It’s what’s inside the heart that counts.”

“Thank you, Baba.” Yazdan said with a smile.

“You’re right, Reza.” Yazdan said, nodding his head, “Regardless of her status, I know Asha is worthy of being my queen. Plus, I love her, and I want to marry for love. I know exactly what to do.”

Yazdan looked all over the palace for Asha. Eventually, he found her sitting by the fountain in the royal courtyard.

“Asha?” Yazdan asked.

“Yes, Yazdan?” Asha asked, looking up at the prince.

“There’s something I want to ask you.” Yazdan answered, blushing.

“What is it?” Asha asked.

Here goes nothing. Yazdan thought.

He took a deep breath and took Asha’s hand. He got down on one knee and said,

“I love you, Asha, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me and be my queen?”

Asha’s jaw dropped, and her eyes welled up with tears of joy. After a minute or two of silence, Asha nodded eagerly and said,

“Yes! Of course, I will!”

Yazdan smiled widely and picked up Asha, spinning her around in a circle while hugging her. After he gently put Asha down, the prince and his betrothed did what both of them wanted to do for so long. They shared their first kiss.

The Persian Empire was in celebration once again as a grand wedding was held for their prince and their new princess. A month after the wedding, Yazdan and Asha were both crowned king and queen of the empire. Reza became the new palace librarian and the new king and queen’s royal advisor. Yasmin became captain of the Royal Troops, and Gaspar became commander, remaining as Yasmin’s right arm. Zavier became a recruit of the Royal Troops and began training under Yasmin’s tutelage, for he wished to protect his big sister like she had protected him. And Parisa became the head physician of the royal medical hall.

While the Persian Empire was not the same as it used to be when Darius ruled, there wasn’t any doubt it became something better, thanks to King Yazdan and Queen Asha. They made many reforms to improve the empire’s finances, improve the lives of the impoverished commoners, and promote equity for the people who were not born with a special gift, like Asha. With the reforms enacted and the wicked wizard king’s enchantments broken, the empire was saved. Gone were the days of fear, hate, and suffering, and the days of peace, love, and sanctuary had begun with the rise of Yazdan, Asha, Yasmin, Reza, and all of the people who took part in the Resistance. And so, they all lived happily ever after.