Fantasy

A Spanish nobleman makes an astonishing discovery Corian Monseur lounged on a couch with lace trimmings, gazing lazily through the window. His father was a nobleman and an architect busy designing the King of Spain’s chambers. His family lived in a mansion with servants and rich bedrooms with halls leading to each one. Their backyard was a courtyard made up of rows of flower beds and perfect oaks rising as high as the mansion’s roof. The pride of Corian’s family was the lake beyond the courtyard, which flowed into many brooks and creeks behind and along the sides of the mansion. Corian yearned for the tempting freedom he could enjoy not under the mansion’s roof, but under the blue sky. Although he was permitted to go outside, he could only go along the endless flower beds, but they were not of any fascination to Corian. Ceon, his younger brother, darted into the room with pleading eyes and said, “Corian, please come with me outside. Mother tells you not to idle.” Corian’s gleaming eyes glanced at his brother, and he spoke solemnly, “I am 12 years old, yet we always seem to have an adventure together.” Then he gave an awkward smile as Ceon happily went to get their moccasins and their light coats. Molly, a servant who was like an aunt to them, sternly said, “Tsch, tsch, boys. Be sure not to get dirty or walk into one of these chambers with a frog like last time.” Ceon chuckled but Corian remained silent in his deep thoughts. They went out of the wooden door and ran through the flower beds. As much as Corian wanted to carry out his brother’s desire, he also got exasperated at having to leave his desirable chamber. Suddenly Ceon halted, greatly surprised. When Corian caught up with Ceon, he could not take in what lay before him: a creek ran between the last two rows of the flower beds, and where the creek flowed, the lilacs lay wilted with the front side of the wooden bed crushing their stems and petals. Ceon burst into tears: lilacs were his mother’s favorite flower; she made certain they received extra water from the barrels each day. As Corian was attempting to console his weeping brother, his eye caught hold of a shiny object lying untouched in the water. Corian tried to avoid looking at the object, which he knew would only be a rock, yet he felt his hopes rise quickly. So, he took off his moccasins and wool socks as he edged near the creek to take a look at the object. The spring breeze whirled through the air, and the cold water came up to Corian’s heels. By now, Ceon was wiping his eyes just in time to see Corian turning the object over and over again in the palms of his hands. Corian was about to throw the object back into the water carelessly when he saw that white had begun to show through where he had rubbed it. The strong feeling that it couldn’t possibly be a rock was growing. Corian finally said, “Ceon, we must get Molly, for I think in my hand is an animal’s tooth,” and they ran hastily to the patio, where servants were brushing the dusty furniture. Corian yelled for Molly, forgetting his manners, bringing his older brother, sisters, Molly, and even Mother bustling down the stairs with curls flying. Corian could hardly believe that perhaps he held in his hands a great discovery that would be marked down in history. Servants led the family to a large resting chamber where everyone sat excitedly upon the narrow sofas. “Speak! Speak!” They cried at once as Corian gave the fossil to Molly with shaking hands. A young servant gave her a pair of spectacles. Molly looked intently at the object, and with Corian constantly inquiring if it might be an animal’s tooth, she replied, “Well it proves to not be a rock.” She paused briefly. “What I am getting to is that I don’t know if it’s an animal’s tooth.” Philip, Corian’s eldest brother, suggested cheerfully, “Surely this is a discovery after all; there is no report of a tooth finding in all of Spain!” Ronara, his eldest sister, said, “Let us send a telegram to some experts in Russia, for surely they would know.” All the other sisters gasped with surprise, but Philip clapped as Mrs. Monseur got up and proceeded to prepare the curious discovery for travel. They sent the fossil in a mini-box with an expensive telegram, and afterward, Corian and Ceon explained where the object had been found, and they also explained about the half-crushed lilac beds. For the next few days, Corian was impatient to receive the telegram from the experts, and the days were hard to endure. Finally, after waiting a long month, a letter arrived. Mr. Monseur was going to return the next day, after spending six months at the King of Spain’s palace, and Corian decided to wait before opening the letter so that all the Monseur family could be present. Mr. Monseur was greeted warmly by his family the next day, and he was given the information about the discovery, which he enjoyed hearing, as they gathered in the second fanciest chamber in the mansion. Corian’s eyes opened wide when he was to do the honors. Usually, his father did the honors of opening the letters the Monseur family received, but his father said Corian deserved to do the honors this time. Corian opened the flap of the letter, pulled it out, and eagerly started to read: To the Monseur Family, This discovery was a new study for us, and in answer to your ques tion, “Is it a fossil?” Yes, indeed: it is an animal’s tooth. The tooth is believed to be an ancient baby dragon’s tooth. Dearest friends, you have made a fantastic discovery. The fossil is being sent to other scientific experts who will study the fossil

A strange man appears in Robin’s house one day and attempts to enlist him in the battle to save the Infinity Realm Robin stared at the orange plaid subway seat across from him, thinking about his father. How he always liked listening to “Yellow Submarine.” How after all that Robin had been through, his dad’s favorite song was still played all across the world. The subway seats went fuzzy as visions and voices swam into focus. It was as if he’d been transported somewhere else entirely without moving an inch, somewhere strange and unpleasant, yet oddly familiar. And as quickly as it came, it left, and he found himself staring at the empty seat cushion, where he saw only fabric and thread and heard only the grinding of the subway wheels. Robin almost fell out of his seat. His head was spinning. He felt like he was going to be sick. As the car took a long lurch, his trumpet case nearly slid away from the grasp of his feet. He lifted it to his lap and went over the notes to a C Major scale in his mind until the speaker called out the stop for Ms. Merry’s neighborhood. Robin collected his things (and with them his thoughts) and readied himself. He had decided not to mention what had just happened to Mrs. Merry. He didn’t think she would believe him. He wasn’t sure he believed it himself. He wobbled off the subway and into daylight. The sun against his skin felt like an electrical shock. How was it that he felt so weak and vulnerable? Robin climbed Ms. Merry’s marble steps and passed the colorful flowers lining them. Birds chittered in the trees. He felt more at home here than anywhere else. The front door was never locked, so Robin stepped into the foyer and listened as the boy before him finished his lesson in the study. He smirked; it was nice to hear someone who was worse at trumpet, even though that wasn’t the nicest thing to think. Ms. Merry welcomed him into the study. Her kind eyes smiled warmly as she offered him a plate of freshly baked cookies. “What did you think about your homework?” she asked. “Was it hard? Was it easy? Do you think you practiced enough?” Robin’s voice felt higher than usual as he replied that he had done his homework and was quite satisfied with his efforts. Ms. Merry’s eyes peered, and her smile was just a little too tight. She always knew things, he thought. “How’s life been lately, Robin?” she asked. “Dim,” Robin answered, suddenly taking a profound interest in the patterned rug. “Oh,” answered Ms. Merry, her tone flat. She tried to catch his eyes but found he couldn’t look at her. “How was the subway today?” she asked. Robin didn’t like lying, but he liked his trumpet lessons with Ms. Merry. So he lied. “Boring.” The lesson was wonderful, as always: his favorite diversion (and perhaps the only one that worked) from all that had happened in the past year. If he concentrated on the flow of air through his tightened lips, the notes on the page in front of him, and Ms. Merry’s sweet, sturdy voice in his ear, the knot in his heart loosened. Only to return, of course, on his train ride home. Home. It was a funny word, home. The place, the people who made up home were no longer all there. Home was no longer home without the missing piece of the puzzle. Washed away by the aching in his heart, he nearly missed his stop. He brushed the gathering tears from his eyes and jumped over the gap between the train and the platform and ran to his front door in the bright daylight. He let the front door swing shut behind him, and he listened to the silence of the house. His mother was still at work, he knew, but he listened, anyhow, just in case a footstep fell or a faucet ran. And then he did hear something; it was so striking and alien his body jerked backward and his heart pounded. The upstairs shower was running, splashing down the drain. Horrifyingly, a booming voice rang out, singing slightly off-key to “Yellow Submarine.” There was something about the voice that made Robin not reach for the phone. Robin felt his legs drift toward the stairs as if he weren’t really in control of them. As if his curiosity had shoved his fear out of the car door and taken hold of the wheel. The shower was switched off, and the singing got louder. Holding a chair high above his head, Robin kicked open the door. The outline of a dark figure with a large stomach in a towel shone through the opaque curtain. “Yellow Submarine” kicked into its chorus once more, and Robin wondered if it would be the last song he’d ever hear. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?” Robin shouted and found his voice was steady. The song came to an abrupt halt. “Robin?” the man in the shower questioned. “Dad?” Robin was confused. He couldn’t be here, could he? “No. General X is my name. I am the leader of the Infinity Army.” “The what?” “If you’ll step outside for just a minute whilst I change, I’ll show you.” Robin waited in the hallway as shivers passed through him. “I’d like to be, under the sea, in an octopus’s garden, in the shade!” echoed from within the bathroom. Somehow, having this strange guy in his house felt familiar. A couple of verses later, General X emerged from the bathroom. He had a glistening round face and set into it were a pair of baby-blue watery eyes. He wore a navy blue uniform with numerous badges pinned to the front. This attire made him look very official. “So, what is it?” Robin asked. “Oh, yes, the Infinity Army.” General X put his