Story Time with Deb - Chapter 4

This was Chapter 1 from three weeks ago.

And this was Chapter 2 from two weeks ago.

And this was Chapter 3 from last week.

Today is time for Chapter 4, and I will post the 5th and final chapter on Christmas Eve. 

Chapter 4

Iain and Ofelia left the room as quickly as they had entered, closing the door behind them, and hoping that King Nascious and Prince Reed would never find out that they had opened it.  They looked down at themselves.  For the first time ever, their clothes were dirty.  Worse than that, their clothes smelled, just like inside that room.  They didn’t want to run into King Nascious or Prince Reed like this!   King Nascious was always clean and made sure they were always clean, too.

What to do?  Perhaps they could clean their clothes and get rid of that smell before anyone else knew what had happened. 

The pool!  As fast as they could, Iain and Ofelia headed to the nearest pool, the indoor one.  They quickly jumped in and began scrubbing their clothes.  Was it working?  It looked promising.  Or was the water distorting their view?

Iain stepped out of the pool first to check.  “What do you think, Ofelia?” he asked.

Ofelia looked long and hard at Iain, but their idea hadn’t worked.  His clothes were still dirty, and he still smelled.

“What if we tried the outdoor pool?” Ofelia suggested.  “Maybe the fresh air will help.”

“Yes!  That’s a great idea, Ofelia!” Iain said.  And so off they ran to the outdoor pool, jumping in head first as soon as they got there, skipping the fun water slide for the first time ever.

Again they scrubbed.  And scrubbed again.  And scrubbed some more.  This time Ofelia got out so Iain could take a look.

Still no luck.  Iain shook his head sadly.  The dirt hadn’t gone anywhere and the smell was as bad as ever.

All of a sudden they heard King Nascious nearby.  “Iain?  Ofelia?”called King Nascious.

Oh no!  They didn’t want the King to see them like this. Or smell them either.

“I know,” Iain said.  “Let’s go get some new clothes from our closets.  Quick before the King finds us here!”

Off they ran to their bedrooms to change clothes as fast as possible and then head back to the outdoor pool.  They got back to the pool at just the same time as King Nascious.

“Iain!  Ofelia!  There you are!  I’ve been looking for you!” King Nascious greeted them with his arms wide open.

Except the King stopped short.  A look of deep sadness came over his face.

“Why are your clothes so dirty?” he asked.  “And what is that smell?”

Iain and Ofelia looked down at their new clothes.  And even though they had changed, these clothes were just as dirty as the ones they had been wearing inside That Room.  

That Room.  It would forever be known to them as That Room.  That Room That Changed Everything.

The two couldn’t even lift their eyes to look up at King Nascious. 

“Did the two of you go into the room I said you should stay out of?” King Nascious quietly asked.

Iain quickly piped up, “Ofelia went in first!”

King Nascious looked at Ofelia.  “Would you like to tell me about it, Ofelia?”

“An old friend of yours – a former servant, he said…Slick was his name, he tricked us!” she replied. 

Suddenly Slick came up beside them on the pool deck.  King Nascious turned his attention to Slick.  “Slick, you’ve been banished from here before.  We aren’t old friends, and you know it!  From now on, you won’t be friends with Ofelia or any of her children either.”  King Nascious continued, “But just you wait!  You may think you’ll beat me.  It may even look like it from time to time, but one of Ofelia’s children will deal your fatal blow.” 

Slick slithered away but his pride remained intact.  He had accomplished what he’d set out to do.

King Nascious then returned his attention to Iain and Ofelia.  The look of sadness on his face was more than they could bear.  It wasn’t anger.  It was sadness.  Disappointment.  Compassion.  Love.

“Let me get you some new clothes, but then you have to leave the palace.  Life won’t be as easy outside the palace, and you’ll always long to come back.  You will have to work now.  I will miss our time together.”

As gently as possible, King Nascious gave them new clothes and some provisions for their journey from the palace, instructing them on how to make it outside the palace, what to watch out for, where to find seeds, trying to pack as much information as possible in the little time they had left together. 

But soon Iain and Ofelia were at the palace door.  They took one last, long look around, hoping against hope that the King would change his mind.  Prince Reed was at the door, too.  They looked to him for help, but their fate didn’t change.  They were on the porch, and the door closed behind them.

Closed.  And locked. 

So they turned their faces to the grounds surrounding the palace.  And even that had changed.  No longer were the colors as vibrant.  No longer were the trees as full of fruit.  No longer were they free to enjoy the palace grounds. 

It was the saddest day Iain and Ofelia had ever known.  It was the saddest day ever.