Here we go again!

Twelve soldiers on horseback were riding through the forest. They passed under a low hanging branch bearing twelve ripe apples; altogether these were the only apples this tree had to offer, and as the soldiers passed by, each took one.

The first riddle is: how many ripe apples were left on the tree?

Next, the half riddle is: What is the Captain’s name; can you figure out the Captain’s name?

Good luck with your answering!

GEMSTONES

In the Ancient tales of Greek History 1500 BC, a baby is born with white skin, blue eyes, and blonde hair. His name is Josh Riley and he is a 6th generation in the Riley family tree. The Riley’s  family hails from a long lineage – or caste – of miners. But Josh, since infancy, was not an ordinary baby. Josh Riley was always special and extraordinarily gifted; he was born with the ability to grow Gemstones, Emeralds, Rubies, and Diamonds, in replacement of hair. As he grew up into a young man the females in Meehan Village found him very handsome attractive and appealing. However, Josh had his eyes on Emma Swan, the Goddess Athena’s daughter.

Now there was a reputable Knight called Mystic who at this time is trying to get revenge on Christian – aka Chris – the King of Meehan Village who is holding the terrified Princess Emma hostage from the outside world. Legend has it that Princess Emma is one with Nature.

Mystic soon befriends Josh who in turn reveals his great powers to grow these valuable minerals.

Later that day, as Mystic is sharpening his Iron Sword, Makiro the Trader of Meehan Village shows up at Mystic’s Cottage.

“Sir Mystic, Queen Emma is being beaten and terrorized by King Chris, you must save her before he can do any more damage!” he shrieked.

In a blink of an eye, Mystic straddles his horse, Chandra and races to the Eclipse Tower where

the King and the Princess are located. Mystic arrives. He runs to the door with great speed.  He puts his Iron Sword and his Shield aside. King Chris may be a tough match, he thought; because in order to become the King, you must first prove your strength by defeating 5 hordes of  Bloodhounds known to be an admixture of half bear and half dragon – vicious hostile creatures, indeed!

As Mystic prepares for this fight he breaches through the wooden door and in sight of the King holding a Copper Hammer near the Princess’s face.

“What is your problem?!” Mystic shouts to the King.

“I’m teaching the Princess a lesson!” the King replies, holding her by the forearm, “She was standing on the Balcony trying to watch the Sunset” the King boasted.

“What do you think a balcony is for, not to stand and enjoy the view of faraway lands?” Mystic yells, wielding his sword.

“So what! the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West! what more does one need to know?” the King responded then turns and tosses the Princess onto the wooden floor.

“Aaggh! … Oh God! Help me please! Please!”, the Princess lets out a small yelp as she falls to the floor with a thud.

“What are YOU going to do about it? The King shouts, “Show me what you’ve got!!” he said  grabbing his Iron Blade from its place on a nearby shelf.

Mystic then turns to the Princess, “Get out of here! NOW” he shouts to the her. “This might … this will get BLOODY, REAL MESSY!”

Without hesitation, the Princess hurriedly gets up and heads for the open door, avoiding the rubble lying just below her Pink dress.

Mystic quickly straps his Black-Titanium-Carbon-Steel Helmet.

“It’s on! WE SHALL FIGHT TO THE DEATH!!!” The King bellows.

“We shall, and I’m not going to kill you.” Mystic said, “I’m just going to teach you a lesson!”

“Wait!… What!… A LESSON!?” the King replied in surprise.

“I said I’m not going to kill you, you are the King of this Village and I cannot take that title away from you, NO.… I’m just a Knight, I was selected to guard and protect Princess Emma. If you must know, The Goddess Athena hired me, and I’m ordained to protect the Princess by any means necessary … and that’s my mission ”right now Mystic continued.  He then smears a Purple Paste on the tip of his Iron Sword.

“What are you doing, what’s that for?” the King said, backing up and looking worried.

Mystic said nothing; instead, like a bolt of lightning, he jumped toward the King and struck him in the right shoulder with the sword.

“This my friend, is the venom from a Rattlesnake, though it might not kill you, it’ll definitely paralyze you for a few days. Thus, you’ll have enough time to think about what you’ve done to the Princess, and then maybe you’ll seriously consider it not happening again… and DON’T make me have to come back here again, UNDERSTAND?!” Mystic said to the bemoaning King.

“Yeh oh yeh … , I get it, YES …” the King slowly muttered, falling drowsy. Mystic then yanks his sword out of the King’s shoulder; the blood and venom still dripping from the tip of his sword. He wipes the tip off and slides the sword back into his belt, slowly takes his helmet off and walks out the door. He rescues the Princess, recovers Chandra, and sets off home, back to his warm and cozy cottage.

As Mystic approaches his cottage, he sees a shining green light emitting from the room, pulls his majestic horse to a halt and dismounts. He knew he had to be very quiet in order to scope whatever was going on in the small room. He stealthily approached the side of his cottage and then peers  through the window. To his surprise, Josh was inside crafting a Golden Armor Suit, a Diamond Shield, and a Red Ruby Short sword, and to his bewilderment, Josh was also finishing up the process of making an Emerald Gun.

Mystic knew he had to stop him before he went any further; he slowly opened the door

“What are you doing in here?” Mystic questioned Josh.

“Err, nothing much …” Josh timidly replied, putting the gun behind his back.

“Why didn’t you kill King Chris?” Josh asked, trying to change the subject.

“How did you know we fought tonight?” Mystic asked, puzzled.

“It was I who sent Makiro to warn you about Princess Emma’s plight” Josh replied and paused.

“Why, who, what the heck is the big deal? I’ve seen the whole fight” Josh continued.

“How in heaven’s name did you manage that?” Mystic querried.

”I seen it all, when you broke through the door, put on your helmet, smeared the venom, stabbed the King and left” he interrupted again … “I saw it all, it’s another aspect of my gift”

“So that’s why you came here, to my cottage” Mystic asked curiously.

“Yes, I crafted all of this for the battle between you and I” Josh said with a wry semi-evil smile.

“What battle, what is this about?” Mystic asked, looking a bit concerned.

“Our battle” Josh said to Mystic, holding the Red Ruby Short sword to his throat.

“You see, I’ve had my eye on the Princess Emma ever since I met her.  That was a pretty long time ago, and by the way you are going about it, it seems to me that you are trying to win her over yourself.” Josh hissed into Mystic’s ear.

“I’m only trying to protect her; I show her no such affection at all…” Mystic calmly replied.

“I don’t want to hear it; you see, Diamonds are the hardest substance known to man … and everyone knows Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, I’m unstoppable Mystic!” Josh grinned as he slowly removed the blade away from Mystic’s neck.

“See you in three days” Josh said, and, disappeared in a flash.

And now Mystic is all alone in his cottage with the emerald gun in his possession. Mystic then spots a white folded paper in the trashcan under the table. He picks it up and opens it reading “5 Ways to Kill a Knight”; afterwards, Mystic rips it up and tosses the shreds back into the trashcan.

“He wants to kill me” he thought … “all because I saved the Princess! Jealously is a form of madness” Mystic said to himself. “I must not be defeated” he said out loud, and so he began training and exercising tirelessly throughout the next 72 hours straight.

A week passes, and The Mystic Knight is all ready for battle … the Battle for the hand of Princess Emma.

---

 

The sun is bright, the sky is blue, the day is clear, and the arena is packed. The whole population of Meehan showed up for this gala event.

“Let the fight between Mystic the Knight and Josh Riley begin” The Chief Elder announced.

They fought 3 whole rounds, neither tapping out. The final round is now among them, after 5 minutes into the final round, Mystic lost his balance, slipped and fell. He felt a sudden shortness of breath. It seemed that Josh was faster, filled with more fury and aggression than he had anticipated.

“The Queen is mine!!!” Josh hollered as he stabbed Mystic in his lower abdomen. Mystic fell to the ground and suddenly everything became eerily silent.

“What does this silence mean” Mystic thought to himself. He suddenly feels a qualm in the atmosphere; a whispering breeze. Somehow he felt…safe… and just as he was about to fall into unconsciousness he sees King Chris leap out of nowhere onto and upon Josh, stabbing Josh in the heart. They both fall over with King Chris still on top of Josh, stabbing him repeatedly.

Soon Josh’s Gemstones slowly started to shrink; they got smaller and smaller until they gradually disappeared as Josh and his magic ceased to exist.

”You Blondie!” The King said as he walked over to Mystic, closing his eyes whilst bowing down, as if in prayer. Mystic suddenly regains his vision. He begins to hear clapping, smells blood, Josh’s blood. He stands up.

“What happened” Mystic asked in confusion.

“You won” The King replied with authority and grabs Mystic’s hand and held it up into the air. Everyone cheered and clapped. Dandelions, Lilies, and confetti rained from above. He ceremoniously pulled out a white case and said to Mystic in a humble gesture:

“As for the other day, I’ve learned my lesson and I assure you nothing like that will ever happen again”…  and with a kind smile and grateful bow, The King continued...  “will you do me the honor and be my Knight, watch over me and the Queen, protect us from any danger that may come our way”. He then opened the white case which contained a Golden Longsword with hieroglyphic symbols inscribed on the handle. Mystic examines the gilded sword. He looks at the handle very puzzled.

“It says To Serve and Protect” The King said with a smile. Mystic looked around the arena and spotted Athena, the Princess’s mother, in the top-most balcony, and flashed him the brightest of smiles as she winked at him. She knew exactly what was going on and what was in Mystic’s heart.

Smiling, the Knight picked up the treasured Longsword; the sun reflected off of its polished surface…. Mystic yelled loud enough to hear his echo:

“I accept, your Highness” Mystic said holding up the Longsword high into the air. “From here on out, I vow to protect The King and The Queen, as well as Meehan Village till the END OF TIME!!!”.

The crowd lets out loud cheers and applauds. The King, the Queen, and their Mighty Knight returned to the Eclipse Tower to celebrate this memorable event.

They all lived happily ever after in peace harmony and out of harm’s way.

 

 

By:- MysticShadow 2015