ZARAMANNI (BOOK ONE)

“You can open your eyes,” Ezeman said as Zaramanni curled her body into a ball that shivered with fear.

She had no idea what to term what just happened.

And, as she opened her eyes, she had no idea what to call the scene in front of her.

Slowly, she lifted her head, curiosity, and perplexity in her eyes as the majestic and foreign view in front of her became clearer and clearer.

The first thing she noticed was how much her sight had changed. Just like when she set eyes on Ezeman and the blue door, she could see the huge structure in front of her clearly.

She did not miss how colourful the tall building was. Past the large, cursive gates that had opened on their own, past the numerous feet that walked the grounds with the large compound, the building ahead was strange yet interesting to look at.

It seemed to be a tree- a very huge tree. It was deeply rooted and its branches were huge buildings in the shape of buns, each round structure having a window or two.

Zaramanni did not miss the fact that she could see signs of life in those huge bun buildings.

It was just bizarre.

Looking up, the beautiful and different sky pulled her attention. Zara smiled softly as she stared more and more at the numerous colours that gave the expansive sky its beauty.

She was mesmerized by what she was seeing, no doubt.

But, as she was bound to, she became curious again. And, a little bit frightened.

Zara, being a knowledgeable person needed no seer to tell her that she was on unfamiliar grounds. She was in a place not known to Earth.

So...

Zara frowned as her thoughts raced.

... did that mean she had been taken to another planet?

Were all those talks about Aliens real? She wondered and took a look at Ezeman who had his hands folded behind him as his sharp eyes watched her with seriousness.

Zaramanni shook her head. It couldn’t be the aliens.

There was something special about the dark skinned man and the place he had brought her to.

Looking around once again, Zaramanni found herself acknowledging a fact she wished wasn’t true. The moment she fell onto the soft grass, after the tumultuous ride she had, in her fear, she felt a certain kind of relief.

That feeling came against her will.

But, Zara had the kind of feeling a person who had been separated from her people would have. She felt like she was back in a place that could be called home, she felt soothed.

But that was nonsense.

Her home was with her grandmother, in Philadelphia.

Suddenly, with faint anger and a sharp movement of her head, she looked up at Ezeman whose wings had now disappeared.

“You-”

The familiar sound of a revving engine filled her ears and Zara felt hopeful all of a sudden. As she looked ahead, she saw the familiar shape of a car and she quickly determined that the entire place was probably some CGI-induced movie set that she had been dragged to.

That was what she thought until the car began to race towards her. The driver didn’t seem bothered by Zara who was beyond startled.

The person just accelerated the vehicle and forged ahead with no plans to stop.

Zara, on the other hand, could not move. She was so scared that she could do nothing but watch the vehicle approach her.

So, in the heat of the situation, she closed her eyes and hoped that the worst that would happen to her would be to land in the hospital. Besides, her wounds always healed fast, she wouldn’t be in pain for too long.

But, the expected hit never came. Zara didn’t feel her body being flung in an unknown direction nor did a jaw feel misplaced in her face.

She opened her eyes and looked up at Ezeman who still had that annoying look on his face. Then, her gaze fell on the sky as her ears caught engine sounds from that direction.

“Oh,” she blurted out with relief as the car above her stayed in the air for some seconds before flying away.

“Oh!” Zara instantly stood up. Surprise had finally gripped her. She finally got to process what she saw.

As she turned and looked ahead, what her sight landed on made her heart flip for a second.

It was an entire city out there, a metropolis to put it better. The buildings were just like the ones back home, the only different thing was the lines that visibly connected the buildings. Also, vehicles of different shapes and sizes flew in the air in a particular direction. Human-like figures who wore wings did the same.

But that was all Zaramanni could see at that moment, there were many more sights to behold in the land of Amarxona.

“Where is this place?”

Ezeman cleared his throat and replied, “Welcome to Amarxona, the land of the fairies.”

Zara’s eyes enlarged. Fairies?

Well, that would explain the wings. But... Fairies? “My name is Ezeman and I am a Moon Fairy.”

“What am I doing here? I do not belong here,” Zaramanni asked as her eyes traveled past the sight in front of her once more.

“You are needed for something important.”

“Something important? What is that?”

Ezeman shifted his stance, his bare chest glistening for a second thanks to a particular light that reflected from the tree-like building. He held onto the belt hole of his trousers before he said, “It is not my job to tell you what you are here for.”

“So, what is your job?”

“To get you to your room, make sure you have a good bath and prepare for the event.”

“Event? What event? Is there some kind of party?”

Ezeman sighed. He was probably tired of her talking, Zara thought. “I can’t tell you much, but,” he grabbed her hand gently, “I can assure you that you will get answers to the questions that have bothered your sleep while you were on Earth.”

“Answers?”

“You always wondered why you are so different from the other humans, why you saw things differently, and why you grew up the way you did.”

“I will get answers to everything?” Zaramanni felt a surge of excitement within her. Perhaps her sudden journey to this unknown fairyland wouldn’t be a terrible thing at the end of the day.

If truly they can find answers to her questions, it would be worth the stay.

“Yes, you will.”

“How do I trust you?” Zara wasn’t willing to fully trust the words of a man who conjured a huge circle that portalled her to another world.

“I am not a liar,” he replied with pride.

“How do I know that?”

“I’ll make sure to keep my word. As long as you do as you are told.”

“Hmm...” Zaramanni hummed. “If you say so.” She had no means of going back anyway, it would be best for her to follow the lead of a person, rather, of the fairy in front of her.

Zara almost let a sneer overpower her face as it occurred to her once more that she had just been told that she was in the land of fairies.

“Can we go in now? We need to get you ready before-”

“One more question.”

Ezeman wore a frown on his forehead, his impatience reeking strongly. But, despite his scowl, Zara felt happy that she was able to break his calmness which frustrated her strongly. “What is it?”

“If this is Amarxona, the land of the fairies, how come you are speaking the same language as me? Clearly, I am not a fairy and I do not come from here.”

“Is that what you think?” The man’s tinted brows raised slightly as he dropped her hand. “You think you are not from here?”

Zara’s eyes darted toward the sky, then the ground, then, back to Ezeman.

What was he trying to imply? She wondered.

“I am from Philadelphia, what are you-”

“To answer your question,” he cut her short, “the general language spoken all over this universe is Ingilishi. I believe that is what you call English where you are from.”

“Ingli-” Zara’s scoff was on the verge of becoming a chuckle. She was certain that word was English in another language but she said nothing more.

“Can we go now?”

Zara let out a deep breath. She was about to go further into a world she was not familiar with. A part of her hoping that it would all be a dream at the end of the day, she nodded and Ezeman grabbed her hand and they both walked past the golden gates and toward the tree building.

~

“Is she in there?” Zara heard a raspy voice ask from outside her oval-shaped door.

“Yes, my Lord.” She recognized Ezeman’s voice.

“Good. Open the door.”

Her eyes trained intently on the double doors that were made out of blurred glass, Zara swept the ends of the ridiculously long gown Ezeman had given her into one of her hands.

And, quickly, she grabbed her bag from the four-poster bed that stood several distances away from the entrance.

With no emotion flowing within her, Zara looked around the aesthetically pleasing room for a second before letting out a sigh.

It might be a lovely room, but the few minutes she spent in it made her feel extremely lonely.

And, she strongly hated that.

The doors flung open and a loud thud accompanied the motion.

The thud came from the grasp of an old man who had a staff in his hold.

His long grey beard flew to the side in response to the wind that came inside the room and his long cloak swept the floor as he walked toward her, a look of astonishment on his wrinkly, pale blue face.

“Oh heavens!” His croaky voice filled the room as he moved closer and closer. “You look just like her. This makes everything so much easier. Ezeman, don’t you think so?”

“Yes, my Lord.” Ezeman’s response was so robotic.

“Yes,” the man laughed. His struts stopped in front of Zaramanni who watched the old man’s every step with caution. “Zaramanni...”

He made his staff rest against his chest as he laid his hands on her shoulders. “Welcome to Amarxona.”

“Uh... sure.”

“Do you know why you are here?”

“I-”

“You are here to help the king.” Zara frowned. “You are going to help the king find the one thing that is missing in his life. Are you willing to do it?”

“What will happen if I say no?” Zara asked, her spirit willing to engage in some negotiation.

The man laughed again, his wooden staff which had streams of flowing colours all around it, back in his grasp.

"Meta mesita,” she heard him say and she felt a strange tickle in her eyes. “Zaramanni...” She shook her head as something strange coursed through her system. “Are you willing to do it?” he asked again.

“What do you want me to do?” An inner part of Zaramanni knew she didn’t want to say that. The man must have cast a spell on her.

Oh, that cunny bastard.

“That’s more like it.” He wore a huge smile. “Ezeman will take you to the King’s room, I trust that you can take it from there.”

“What exactly am I supposed to do?” The spell certainly didn’t cage her entire senses. For that she was thankful. “What will I do when I see the king? Do I hug him? Should I push him out of his bed? Is there a spell you want me to cast?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Everything has been prepared. All you have to do is go in there and bring the King out of his room.”

“Hmm, that definitely sounds easy,” Zara’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

The man said nothing more. His staff in the air, he conjured a circle as Ezeman did before. Once the circle was complete, he faced Zaramanni.

“This portal will lead you to the King’s room. Ezeman, take her in, you’ll be her guide.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Ezeman reached for Zaramanni’s hand and led her into the bright light.

The journey was not as bizarre as before. Within a few seconds, their feet were walking into another room- a dimly lighted room.

“I will be outside,” Ezeman whispered and Zara hugged her bag to her side. It was holding the clothes she took off so it had a fluffy feeling to it.

As soon as the door closed and Zara was left alone in the chilly space, she walked further into the room and toward the place she felt the bed would be positioned.

Moving closer, her damned sight became clearer and she saw the man she was meant to speak to curled on the bed, his entire figure looking like something that she should be afraid of.

“Uh... Mr. King? Your Majesty?” she called gently as she hoped she had not been thrown into the lion’s den. The person in the room didn’t feel welcoming at all.

She finally got to the side of the bed and stood over his figure.

Gently, she tapped his broad back and he suddenly sat up, his eyes looking so furious so much that she let out a yelp.

But, as their eyes locked a bit more, the anger in his eyes reduced and it got replaced with a sober look.

“Laura?” Zara’s eyes darted across the room, she was pretty sure that was not her name. “My Queen, is that you?”

“Uh...”

He gripped her shoulders hard and glared right into her eyes. “I thought I had lost you,” he sounded like he was about to cry. “I thought I would never get to look into your beautiful eyes.” With haste, he grabbed her hands and covered them with his. “Are you hurt?”

“Your majesty, I-”

Zara let out a small cry of surprise when he suddenly pulled her closer. But, she became beyond surprised when his lips suddenly landed on hers and he kissed her like one would kiss a long-lost lover- firmly and with a sense of longing.