Free The Legend of Alexandros: Belen by Mr. A. C. Hernandez Page A

Alistair, the Princess Elora, Bixbin, Winston, and Raphael had been trapped aboard the huge ship called The Voyager .
    The Voyager was a somewhat respected cargo ship, since these ships always seemed to misplace or lose the things they had to transport. The ship was built of strong wood and was quite large; it had four cargo cabins, three of which were filled with the fine oils they were required to transport, and the fourth was occupied by Alexandros and the others. There were about twenty crewmembers who were no older than twenty-five. The oldest human on board must have been the captain of the Voyager who was thirty-eight.
    Down in their cargo cabin room, Raphael, who was in agonizing pain from the curse, left no other choice for Alistair but to cast a spell to put the centaur into a state of suspended animation. Evedsatu, forest of the elves, was where they were headed in search for Raphael’s cure.
    At the stern of the ship, Alexandros stood alone as he gazed down at the waving blue water. His shirt had been somewhat torn, so to keep from the cold he wrapped himself in an old grey cloak he had found when they first boarded. After the confrontation with Barbarious, Alexandros felt surges of energy flowing through his body, and with it brought a great deal of concern… what was happening to him? Why all of a sudden now? Two questions to add on to the hundreds more he already had. The ship rocked, but Alexandros himself never moved. He just gazed at the sea as if it held the answers to his questions.
    Down in the cargo area were Bixbin, Elora, Raphael, and Alistair. Bixbin stood guard over Elora and Raphael, and Winston soared high over the ship. It had been years since he had flown so freely; not since he was a hatchling was he able to just soar without worry, and it made him feel somewhat guilty, for his friends were in such pain. He glided silently through the air thinking of them.
    Alistair made his way up to the deck to speak with Alexandros. For several minutes the two stood in silence and watched the waves smash against the ship.
    “Do you think it is safe for your Dragon to fly over the ship like this?” Alistair asked softly.
    “Winston will be fine. Besides he has more than earned this.”
    “Understandable. How are you holding up, Belen?”
    “Well, I have been better. What is happening to me, Alistair?”
    “Nothing for you to be alarmed about, it is just a tiny spell.”
    Alexandros tilted his head in confusion.
    “When I found you,” Alistair continued, “after you slayed those goblins, I cast a most powerful protection spell over you; it protects you from harmful spells, but may make you connected to the magical world somewhat. You need not worry, Belen. It is most safe. For some reason you seemed as if trouble would be lurking after you.”
    “Well, it seems you were right, and I must say thank you…once more. Now I want you to explain this, your transformation.”
    Without hesitation Alistair answered as if he had been waiting for the question all along. “After I went into hiding, I wanted to lose myself to the world and to myself, so I allowed my body to age until I was that old messy merchant. Not until I saw Barbarious again was I tempted use my powers, for so long I felt as if I did not deserve them. I let many people down. Now I know that running away was my greatest failure, and by stopping Barbarious and regaining my staff I will make up for all my mistakes.”
    “If you allowed yourself to age, why is Barbarious so haggard looking?”
    “Barbarious was once a most handsome man as well, but the forces he summons and powers he uses consumes him and stole away his humanity and left behind what you see, a shell of his former self and no magic in this world will be able to conceal it.”
    The ship rocked hard from side to side. In the distance, a storm had formed. Little rain began to fall, and the captain ordered everyone inside the ship. Alexandros called out to Winston.
    “My friend,