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Amanda and Henry looked around the deserted City with puzzled looks. It looked like everyone deserted them Amanda looked at Henry. Henry saw no vessels in the harbour and no sign of life anywhere else. They were alone just Amanda and him. As they ventured down to Maesteg Henry walked towards the government building. He found a detailed note that Siobhan wrote for himself and Amanda. Henry read the note but could not read Siobhan's handwriting. All he managed to decipher was 'Potencian ships...Island not safe...Anna has book do not worry, off to Shark Isle'. Henry passed the note to Amanda and she could see just how worried he was that the book was not with him. Anything could happen to the book and he would not know. Henry ran out of the government building and went towards the shipyards. He waited until Amanda caught up with him.

Whilst he was waiting for Amanda he noticed a Galleon in the distance. Being on his own in a vast continent like Maesteg he did not know what to do. He and Amanda waited on the shore front to see who owns the Galleon. Henry ran to the watchtower to see if he could get a better view of the Galleon. He saw a familiar face at the helm. It was one of the Captains who he had met earlier on the red coat with gold buttons made it obvious he was the captain. All of his crew were also wearing red but not as near as posh as the Captain's. The Vessel was a mere five hundred yards away from the shore. Henry was walking to the dock, which he and Anna built, and welcomed the crew on the land of Maesteg.

"It's Henry isn't it?" said the Captain
"Yes Captain..." Henry said but was interrupted by the Captain.
"The name is Edward. Siobhan sent word for me to take you and Amanda to Castleford. But first we need to rest and resupply" said Edward.

Henry welcomed the crew on to the shore. It did not take them too long to resupply and repair the vessel. As they were preparing to settle down for the night Edward and Henry were plotting their route to find fellow Maestegians. They decided it would be best to head towards Paris which was due east of Maesteg and south east of Oxford but this would be dangerous since Paris is part of the Potencian territory. It would take several weeks to sail across to Paris. As they were preparing to leave Maesteg they got the vessel packed to the brim with goods to trade in Paris mostly Maestegian Wine produced for ceremonial purposes, it also happened to be very potent.

Paris being a Potencian run city it was easy to trade Maestegian goods. As they travelled down to Paris they noticed some Potenican Ships passing from Oxford in a north westerly direction now Captain Edward could tell it was not from Oxford's Potencian Navy because of the flag that was flying from the mast. The flag was black with a white cross. The Cornish Flag but what was it doing this far from Penzance, Penzance being a small but prosperous town just south west of Plymouth. As they travelled slowly but gradually to Paris they noticed that they were being followed by some merchant ships carrying something very heavy Captain Edward could tell this because the water level was almost double the depth then it is normally. The Night was coming in as they travelled down to Paris. So Henry and Amanda went into the sleeping quarters.

As soon as Henry's head hit the straw filled pillow he was fast asleep.
The next morning Henry and Amanda awoke to see they had reached Paris. As they ventured off the vessel they carried with them a couple of barrels of Maestegian wine on a stretcher. They carefully carried the wine towards the Inn which was slightly up a hill. As they ventured up the hill they noticed that a few of the citizens were looking at them in awe although Maestegian wine was highly sought after, the supply of the wine was merely a trickle compared to the supply of Ale. As Amanda and Henry carried the wine towards the Inn they noticed that the hustle and bustle of Paris was not as much as what they had expected. They gradually got closer and closer to the Inn. When they arrived at the Inn they were greeted by the Inn Keeper's daughter.

"Hello and welcome to the only Inn in Paris" said the young attractive woman.
"Hey, we have two barrels of Maestegian wine for you" said Amanda.
"Hi, My name is Henry, what would yours happen to be?" queried Henry.
"My name is Victoria but you can call me Vicki" said Vicki
"Here is two thousand gold pieces for this shipment". Vicki passed the gold to Amanda. Henry looked around the Inn and he could see wooden tables, posh chairs around the tables and at the bar there was lots of hanging Tankards.

Most of the patrons who went there however brought their own Tankard. As Henry was about to leave the Inn, Vicki rolled the wine down to the Cellar but it was obvious to Henry she could not do it on her own. So Henry, being the gentleman that he was, went behind the bar and helped Vicki roll the wine down into the cellar. The cellar comprised of a large room with a ramp leaning downwards, the only visible door was very small only three feet by three feet just large enough to roll a barrel down but Henry was in front and Vicki was pushing the barrel. As they went into the cellar the door shut behind them. Vicki looked around for another way out but could not find another way. Henry did not know of his predicament until he looked into Vicki's brown eyes and saw the door shut behind her. Henry went to grab the door but Vicki thought he was trying to hug her. Vicki turned around and heard the door lock behind them. They walked deeper down into the cellar. Vicki grabbed the flaming torch hanging up by the door and walked down into the cellar. The wine was stored horizontally. Barrels of ale and beer were stored in cool water the water was on either side of the room with a dry platform running down the middle with a wooden storage for wine above the water. As Henry was ventured with Vicki he noticed that the Cellar seemed to be longer then the Inn itself. As they ventured away from the door Henry noticed that ahead of them was a path to the left that seemed to continue more towards the centre of town then the Inn.

As Vicki walked towards the platform she rested the flaming torch onto a resting plate where a torch could be placed. When Vicki placed the torch onto the resting place a secret door opened in front of them. The door led the two of them deeper underground heading towards the castle of Paris. As they went deeper Henry noticed that the path was well trodden, there water was either side of the path. The gradual incline made the path easier to walk on.
"Where are we going?" enquired Henry
"you're going to meet a friend of mine" stated Vicki she said as Henry walked in front of her and with that Henry turned around to see the secret door closed and Vicki was no where to be seen as the door was closed the tunnel got very dark apart from the light at the end of the tunnel furthest away from him, the light did not seem to be from a large source but as Henry walked towards it seemed to have got larger and larger. As Henry got in close proximity to the source of the light he noticed that Amanda was waiting for him. Henry looked at her with a confused but bewildering face.

"How did you get here" enquired Henry
"I have something important to tell you..." said Amanda but she was interrupted by Henry
"This cavern makes me uneasy, what were you going to tell me?"
"My father is the King of Paris and I have not been home for five years" she said with a sigh. Henry tried to say something but Amanda stopped him.
"It will be All right. Just persuade my father you rescued me from the Maestegians and he'll pay you the reward".
"Why did you run away from home?" enquired Henry.
"I was rescued by the Maestegians five years ago. Which was very kind of George since I'm a Potencian and all, they took me away from my father's controlling and constricting ways. You'll understand when you meet my sister Katie" said Amanda.

As they ventured towards the light source they saw the edge of the Castle, they must have travelled several miles underground without even noticing it. As they looked up at the Castle they saw a gradual staircase to the side of it. As they went up the staircase Henry noticed just how big the blocks of stone that made up the wall of the Castle were. The stonemason work on the Castle made it look impressive and yet Amanda did not seem to be impressed by the stone wall. As the both of them went the staircase, Henry noticed that instead of going up the stairs outside of the Castle they appeared to be arriving near to the Castle's armoury. This was obviously not a well used path considering the lack of defence. Amanda grabbed a lot of weaponry and armour putting it close to the staircase ready to take with them on their way back. The Armoury was a large room with several racks. Most of the racks were full of expensive looking armour. Henry looked back to the staircase and he saw a stone wall. Amanda and Henry walked out of the Armoury walking straight forward.

This hallway had several doors to it; there were ten doors but one of the doors seemed to stand out more then the others. The door was particularly stronger looking then the rest of them. As Henry opened the door he was greeted by two musketeers who were standing either side of the door.

"You see standing here all day is not as boring as guarding the King, Larry" said One.

Larry the elder of the two recognised Amanda instantly.
"Welcome home Princess Amanda" Larry bowed to Amanda "And who is this fine gentleman?" enquired Larry.

"Henry is my name Larry, I found Amanda a few days ago, on my travels" Henry stated.

"Well we're very happy to have our Princess back, the King WILL be pleased" Said Larry
"I suppose you've come for your reward?" said the quieter of the guards.

"There's a reward?" Henry said in an excited tone.

"Yes, there is. I'll escort you to the Potenican Room" Said Larry.

And with that Larry, Amanda and Henry were taken on a tour of the Castle down many narrow corridors and up many stone clad staircases, gradually making their way up to the sixth or maybe even seventh floor of the castle, Henry was not sure of it since he had lost count after the first hundred steps up, once they had reached a large well maintained corridor, with a large red carpet running down the middle of it, Henry knew he was near to the Potenican room.

The seemingly expensive and purely decorative suits of armour which guarded the hallway stood to attention once they had reached each set of them. At first Henry jumped when the first set did it but after a while it just did not seem to affect him much. When they reached the Potenican room, the door to which was covered in a lavish design which must have been the coats of arms for the King but due to its size Henry could not make it out.

As the Doorman opened the extremely large door, a large golden throne was in front of the party. A beautiful young lady sat on the throne. This certainly was not Amanda's Father. Henry looked at Amanda in a puzzled glare.

"Ah, finally we meet Princess Amanda. My name is Queen Lisa Potence. Your father died and since you were no where to be contacted and your sister died just after you disappeared this Kingdom is under the control of the Potencians" Said Queen Lisa Potence.

Needless to say it took Amanda and Henry both by surprise but Amanda was shocked at the death of her sister and her Father. Queen Lisa gave Henry a large bag of coins "here is your reward but you both may go about your business like before and nothing more will be said about it" she paused "where exactly have you been Princess Amanda?" said Queen Lisa Potence. The look on Amanda's face was mixed it was like the world was crashing down around her with no where to turn. "I've been helping Vicki down at the Inn. Oh and I lived abroad for a while" said Amanda. Telling Queen Lisa everything she needed to know but leaving her with a sense that she has not told her everything. Henry looked at the two of them and quickly said "you heard her Majesty let's go already" and with that the two of them left the room. Once the two of them had left the room they heard a mumble by the Queen to someone else but they could not wait to get out of there.

As Anna and Henry walked down the Potenican steps, these were down the hallway to the right of the Royal room doors; they noticed that each step was made out of individual blocks of marble. As they went down the stairs Amanda noticed the Potencians' flag hanging from two of the suits of armour either side of the steps. The more steps of Anna and Henry went down the more Amanda wanted to know more about the death of her family. Finally they reached the great doorway which usually held doors but were not there.

"Where are the doors that go here?" demanded Amanda
"They are being built up in the forest but I would not go up there if I was you, your Majesty" Said the Guard.

"I hear a challenge there Amanda" Henry said very quickly

Amanda nodded and Anna and Henry walked out of the hallway down the final steps and were now just in a few feet away from the drawbridge which separated the town from the Castle.

"We must tell Vicki about the death of my father and sister. See if she knows anything about it" Said Amanda.

"Maybe we could arrange a surprise attack on the castle and get it back under your control" Said Henry

"Don't you mean our castle" retorted Amanda holding Henry's hand. Henry looked at Amanda and agreed with her. They walked hand in hand over the drawbridge walking towards a new statue of the new Queen holding a Potencian flag in her right hand with a broadsword in her left hand. The statue made Amanda furious. Henry and Amanda thought it would be best to travel towards the forest towards the north of the west of the Castle towards the mountains to explore the continent Paris was on.

They went past several shops of high quality the further away from the Castle they went the quality degraded it was like it was a show-piece. It took them a good several hours to walk out of Paris heading towards the forest keeping on the road out of town. They walked and walked passing a few traders and their carts. The more they ventured down the path the fewer and fewer people they saw until they reached a crossroads. The crossroads made both of them rather uneasy although they did not know why. To the left of the crossroads was a path heading towards Newlyn, a small fishing community, to the right at the crossroads was a path that went to the mountains which was a less trodden path. Amanda and Henry decided that they would not be recognised by the people who were forced into the mountain side away from the Queen. The fact of which seemed to have troubled Amanda.

As they travelled down the path Henry looked over his shoulder and the crossroads were fading away in the distance he could hardly see them now but by doing so Henry nearly knocked himself out from the low-lying branch hanging over him. Amanda and Henry kept on the path heading directly towards the Mountains. Amanda noticed a pillar of smoke coming from something deep in the forest. They carefully made their way towards the smoke; avoiding low branches and tree roots in their way. The path heading towards the mountain was now out of sight they could not see the path which they had been on just moments ago.

When they reached the pillar of smoke they saw a small collection of houses which were circular with a pointy thatched roof. The stonemason work on the houses was not to the standard Henry or Amanda was used to. Henry and Amanda felt uneasy for no obvious reason they were drawn closer and closer to the houses by some force or another. The more they resisted the more they were drawn closer. It was like someone had tied a rope around their waist and was pulling them closer and closer to the houses. As they travelled closer to the houses they noticed that although there was a fire in the houses they were in fact empty.

As Henry approached the house nearest him he saw a cauldron hanging above an open fire. Numerous potion bottles and a large skin covered book. Henry wanted to explore what was drawing them close to the houses. Amanda helped Henry inside of the Witch's house through the window. Henry was lucky that no one was inside the house because as soon as he went into the Witch's house he managed to break several glass bottles. Amanda, hearing the glass smash, gave Henry a firm shove through the window. Henry rolled towards the cauldron in the middle of the room over the fire. He was a few inches away, he could feel the warmth from the fire. The door to the house was to Henry's left. He stood up and walked over to the door, being very careful not to break any more of the owner's items. Above the only door to the house was the bedroom. With out any walls the house was beginning to make Henry more and more curious as to who lived in such a dwelling. As Henry reached the door he noticed that there were very pretty engravings on the door. As he went to open the door to let Amanda in he tripped down one of the steps and rolled towards the door nearly knocking him out cold against the door knob.

As Henry opened the door Amanda gave him a massive hug. The thorn bush which surrounded the houses had torn several holes into her fine dress. One of the thorns had attached itself to Amanda's leg making her bleed ever so slightly. Henry saw the little red line of blood dripping down Amanda's legs. Henry looked around the witch's house for something to soak the blood up and to keep the pressure on it. Amanda walked into the Witches house putting most of her body weight on her left leg which was the leg that did not have a cut on it. She went over to the wooden chair on the far side of the house next to the staircase to the upper floor. As Amanda settled into the chair, Henry was startled when he saw the magical book, the book that Anna and he had read in order to appear in this world in the first place. His face said it all. The worried thoughts going through his mind were perplexing him; Amanda could see that something was bothering him.

She asked what it was and he looked up at her and pointed to the book and said "that is the book that got us here, I'm going to take it and that's that"

Just as he finished saying this they heard a door open and both Henry and Amanda froze in horror as they didn't know what to do, there was nowhere to hide and Amanda could not walk to well.
Henry looked around frantically for a place close by to hide so that Amanda would not have to walk so far, when he saw it….it was another door and he scrambled to get to it before the door was opened and they were found.

When he got to the door and got it opened and finally got Amanda inside they just barely got the door closed when the witch walked into the room. She hadn't seen them which was a good thing but they forgot one very important thing, the glass bottles that Henry had broke walking in were still scattered all over the floor and the witch had noticed them on the floor, and was getting closer to the closet where they were hiding. Henry knew that unless he did something fast they were going to be found and if they were found who knows what she would do to them.

Looking around the closet he noticed that there in the back behind all the clothes, brooms, and "cleaning supplies" hidden away was a door. He looked at Amanda and asked "Can you walk?" she looked up at him and nodded, so he helped her to her feet and very quietly and as quickly as possible made it through the door just as the witch opened the door. Once they were through the door they soon found themselves in a narrow tunnel.

"Where are we" asked Amanda
Henry looked at her and said "I am not sure, I think we are underneath the witches house in an old underground tunnel."
Amanda thought a moment and then said "Well lets follow it and see where it takes us"
"all right" said Henry and with that Amanda took Henry's hand and together they started to follow the tunnel, they had been following the tunnel for about an hour when without warning it got very dark and they could not see each other in the darkness. They lost each other and soon found themselves alone, they had been split up somehow in the darkness of the tunnel and it was then that Henry noticed that the tunnel split into other various tunnels and he was worried that he would never find Amanda again if they were lost within the many tunnels.

After about an hours walk in the tunnels he thought he heard Amanda's voice behind him but when he turned around there was no one there, so he kept walking hoping that he would find her soon or at least find someone to help him find her, when he heard a blood curdling scream ahead of him it sounded like an animal dying and it was then that he realized that he was not alone. Someone or something was following him and he knew that if he did not do something fast it may be the end of him.

When he turned around whatever or whoever was following him was gone so he thought that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him so he brushed if off and walked on. He was headed in the same direction from which the scream came from, he was sure that it was Amanda and he really like her so he did not want anything to happen to her. It was not long when he heard another scream and he broke into a full sprint in that direction which took him out of the all the tunnels and ended up at the sea. It was then that he noticed that it was not just Amanda that he heard but Anna as well, they were being held in a giant rope net that was hung high above the ship they were being held captive on. Henry knew that if he did not do something quick that he was going to lose the only real friends that ever had and he was not about to let that happen. So he stood there a minute thinking of a way to get them safely back to the shore, when he had an Idea he would as quietly as possible go aboard the ship and first get rid of the captain, then he would tell the crew that he was their new captain and to let the two girls go, that they did not need them any more. Once Amanda and Anna were safely off the ship and out of sight of the crew Henry would quickly get off the ship before the captain woke up.

But that did not go as according to plan as he had hoped, the captain woke up before he could get off the ship and the caught him and trapped him in the same net that the girls had been in and the captain started asking questions.

"Where did you come from?" Asked the captain, Henry said "I was looking for my friends and I found them on your ship."
"So where are they now" asked the captain, Henry said "They got off the ship right before you caught me"
"ah I see and you were planning on getting off here before I woke up so all of you could escape to a safer place."
"Yes sir" said Henry after a long silence the captain said "Well you may go with your friends, but don't let me catch you on one of my ships again without permission or it may be worse the next time you're caught, understand" said the captain.
"Yes sir I understand" and with that Henry jumped off the ship before the captain could change his mind. Once he was off the ship and he found Anna and Amanda he said "boy I am sure glad to see you guys, I was starting to think that I would never see you again."
"Anna where have you been I have been looking all over the place for you?"
"Sorry" she said, "I got lost and then they found me" "Well just be more careful next time."
"Yeah I will make a note of that" Anna said sarcastically,
"now who is this captain anyway I have never seen him before?"
"I am not really sure all I got from him was that his name was Captain Lee, and I don't remember ever hearing about him from anyone around here so he must be new to the area."

"Do you think he knows anything about the death of my family?" asked Amanda
"No, I don't think so he seems pretty far out of the loop." Said Henry "Well we have to keep trying, because I am not about to give up on finding out who killed them."
Henry walked over to Amanda hugged her and whispered something in her ear, he told her that he really liked her and he would do whatever it takes to help her find who is responsible for her families murder, even if it kills him. When he looked back at her he could see the start of tears forming, no one had ever cared that much about her to help her when she found out about their death and now here was this boy who barely knew her and he was willing to do whatever it took to help her. That was when Anna walked over to them and asked if everything was okay, they said yes that everything was and then she asked if there was anything that she could do to help.

Amanda thought a minute and said "Just be a friend, that's all I ask of you right now" and that was when Anna smiled at Amanda and hugged her. Then together they walked back to the bar to see if they could catch Captain Lee before he left to ask if he knew anything about Amanda's family and when they got there and started talking to him about it they were shocked to find out just how much he really knew about their murder. He told them about how they were captured in the palace and then taken down into the tunnels that Henry and Amanda had gotten lost in and murdered there, and how it was all trying to be covered up and kept from Amanda but she found out anyway.
"How did you know all of that?" asked Amanda, "well because I know who did it."
"You know who killed my family!" asked Amanda
"yes, I do"
"but if you want to know who you have to do something for me first."
Amanda looks at him with suspicion and said "What is it that you want?"
Captain Lee stares right back at her and said "Gold my dear princess, gold."

"Exactly how much gold are we talking about?" asks Amanda,
"Oh not much just a few hundred chests" said the captain
"A few hundred! But that would only leave us enough to make it through winter!"
"Well that's not my problem now is it? Its either the gold or I don't give you the information you're looking for"
"All right, I will give you the gold just please tell me who did it."
"Not until I get the gold and it is safely hidden"
that is when Amanda looks at Henry and Anna and said "will you come with me back to the underground tunnel that is where I hid it."

So within a few minutes of leaving Captain Lee they arrived back at the tunnel and Henry and Anna followed Amanda into the tunnel all the way past where it splits off into multiple tunnels and there right inside the right tunnel lay a mass collection of different size chests. Anna and Henry were stunned into silence by how many chests there were down there, Amanda looked at them both and said "What? You never saw gold before?" Henry looked at her and said "No, I have but not that much at one time" at that moment Anna looks at Amanda and asks "How are we going to get a hundred chests of gold back to Captain Lee before dark?" It was then that Amanda began to get worried, because it was very important that they be back before dark, because if they were not back before it got dark they were not going to be able to find their way back to the bar with the gold in time. It was then that Amanda answered Anna's question, "Do you remember the rope net that we were in while on the boat?" Anna thinks a minute and said "yes, but how is that going to help us get the gold back to Captain Lee?"
"Well I have the net and I thought we could use it to get all the gold back to Captain Lee."

"Oh I see, use it kind of like a giant bag" said Anna "Yes exactly like that and then we will be able to get all the gold back to him in one trip" said Amanda "Sounds like a good Idea to me, So lets get started" said Henry, It was not long after they started putting the chests into the net that they were done and on their way back to the bar with the gold and when they got there they left the gold outside and went in to get Captain Lee, but when they got in there the bartender told them that he had went back to his boat and was getting ready to leave so if they wanted to catch him they had better hurry. So they hurried back outside and grabbed the makeshift bag and ran as quickly as they could back down to the dock where they were just a few hours earlier and found Captain Lee just in time and waved to him to come over and meet them. Once he got to them he asked if they had what he was waiting on and all three of them said "yes" in unison and then showed it to him, he looked at it and then said "Well done my friends you just made it" and with that he motioned for them to come aboard while he put the gold below deck for safe keeping.

While waiting for him to return Amanda, Henry and Anna were talking about how they were going to get the kingdom from the Queen and back under Amanda's control, then Amanda said "What about asking the witch to help with dethroning the Queen?"
Anna and Henry thought about this a minute and then said together "How is she going to help us when we don't know if we can trust her?"

Amanda said "Well that is why we are going to have to just put our faith in her and hope everything goes well."
That is when Captain Lee walked back up from below deck and asked if Amanda was ready to hear what he had to say, she said yes almost too quick and he waited for them to sit down before he began. Once they had sat down he took a deep breath and said "well it all started after you disappeared and your father had everyone looking for you, he had all the boats that came in and went out searched in case you had got onto one while playing with friends or something and had gotten stuck but you were not there."
"He even had the bar checked thinking that you were in there but you were not there either."
"your sister was getting worried too when he came home without you so she went to look for you as well but returned empty handed."

While they were out someone got into the palace and found out the number to the security system and typed it in and turned it off so that when they returned and tried to turn it back on it would not work giving them access to get in.

"So that night while your sister and father slept they got inside and rearmed the alarm so there would be no questions and then quietly walked to your sister's and father's rooms and murdered them in their sleep, Then quickly got out before they were seen."
Amanda sat there and thought a second and then said "all right?"
"but none of that tells me who did it"
"In other words it was one of your guards" one of them knew the code and turned the system off and then slipped up to each of their rooms and killed them just before slipping out the gates with billions in gold and rearming the alarms as if nothing had happened."
"So the whole time it was one of my guards and I never even knew it?"
"Yes miss I am afraid it was" said Captain Lee

Description
Amanda and Henry looked around the deserted City with puzzled looks. It looked like everyone deserted them Amanda looked at Henry. Henry saw no vessels in the harbour and no sign of life anywhere else. They were alone just Amanda and him. As they ventured down to Maesteg Henry walked towards the government building. He found a detailed note that Siobhan wrote for himself and Amanda. Henry read the note but could not read Siobhan's handwriting. All he managed to decipher was 'Potencian ships...Island not safe...Anna has book do not worry, off to Shark Isle'. Henry passed the note to Amanda and she could see just how worried he was that the book was not with him. Anything could happen to the book and he would not know. Henry ran out of the government building and went towards the shipyards. He waited until Amanda caught up with him.

Whilst he was waiting for Amanda he noticed a Galleon in the distance. Being on his own in a vast continent like Maesteg he did not know what to do. He and Amanda waited on the shore front to see who owns the Galleon. Henry ran to the watchtower to see if he could get a better view of the Galleon. He saw a familiar face at the helm. It was one of the Captains who he had met earlier on the red coat with gold buttons made it obvious he was the captain. All of his crew were also wearing red but not as near as posh as the Captain's. The Vessel was a mere five hundred yards away from the shore. Henry was walking to the dock, which he and Anna built, and welcomed the crew on the land of Maesteg.

"It's Henry isn't it?" said the Captain
"Yes Captain..." Henry said but was interrupted by the Captain.
"The name is Edward. Siobhan sent word for me to take you and Amanda to Castleford. But first we need to rest and resupply" said Edward.

Henry welcomed the crew on to the shore. It did not take them too long to resupply and repair the vessel. As they were preparing to settle down for the night Edward and Henry were plotting their route to find fellow Maestegians. They decided it would be best to head towards Paris which was due east of Maesteg and south east of Oxford but this would be dangerous since Paris is part of the Potencian territory. It would take several weeks to sail across to Paris. As they were preparing to leave Maesteg they got the vessel packed to the brim with goods to trade in Paris mostly Maestegian Wine produced for ceremonial purposes, it also happened to be very potent.

Paris being a Potencian run city it was easy to trade Maestegian goods. As they travelled down to Paris they noticed some Potenican Ships passing from Oxford in a north westerly direction now Captain Edward could tell it was not from Oxford's Potencian Navy because of the flag that was flying from the mast. The flag was black with a white cross. The Cornish Flag but what was it doing this far from Penzance, Penzance being a small but prosperous town just south west of Plymouth. As they travelled slowly but gradually to Paris they noticed that they were being followed by some merchant ships carrying something very heavy Captain Edward could tell this because the water level was almost double the depth then it is normally. The Night was coming in as they travelled down to Paris. So Henry and Amanda went into the sleeping quarters.

As soon as Henry's head hit the straw filled pillow he was fast asleep.
The next morning Henry and Amanda awoke to see they had reached Paris. As they ventured off the vessel they carried with them a couple of barrels of Maestegian wine on a stretcher. They carefully carried the wine towards the Inn which was slightly up a hill. As they ventured up the hill they noticed that a few of the citizens were looking at them in awe although Maestegian wine was highly sought after, the supply of the wine was merely a trickle compared to the supply of Ale. As Amanda and Henry carried the wine towards the Inn they noticed that the hustle and bustle of Paris was not as much as what they had expected. They gradually got closer and closer to the Inn. When they arrived at the Inn they were greeted by the Inn Keeper's daughter.

"Hello and welcome to the only Inn in Paris" said the young attractive woman.
"Hey, we have two barrels of Maestegian wine for you" said Amanda.
"Hi, My name is Henry, what would yours happen to be?" queried Henry.
"My name is Victoria but you can call me Vicki" said Vicki
"Here is two thousand gold pieces for this shipment". Vicki passed the gold to Amanda. Henry looked around the Inn and he could see wooden tables, posh chairs around the tables and at the bar there was lots of hanging Tankards.

Most of the patrons who went there however brought their own Tankard. As Henry was about to leave the Inn, Vicki rolled the wine down to the Cellar but it was obvious to Henry she could not do it on her own. So Henry, being the gentleman that he was, went behind the bar and helped Vicki roll the wine down into the cellar. The cellar comprised of a large room with a ramp leaning downwards, the only visible door was very small only three feet by three feet just large enough to roll a barrel down but Henry was in front and Vicki was pushing the barrel. As they went into the cellar the door shut behind them. Vicki looked around for another way out but could not find another way. Henry did not know of his predicament until he looked into Vicki's brown eyes and saw the door shut behind her. Henry went to grab the door but Vicki thought he was trying to hug her. Vicki turned around and heard the door lock behind them. They walked deeper down into the cellar. Vicki grabbed the flaming torch hanging up by the door and walked down into the cellar. The wine was stored horizontally. Barrels of ale and beer were stored in cool water the water was on either side of the room with a dry platform running down the middle with a wooden storage for wine above the water. As Henry was ventured with Vicki he noticed that the Cellar seemed to be longer then the Inn itself. As they ventured away from the door Henry noticed that ahead of them was a path to the left that seemed to continue more towards the centre of town then the Inn.

As Vicki walked towards the platform she rested the flaming torch onto a resting plate where a torch could be placed. When Vicki placed the torch onto the resting place a secret door opened in front of them. The door led the two of them deeper underground heading towards the castle of Paris. As they went deeper Henry noticed that the path was well trodden, there water was either side of the path. The gradual incline made the path easier to walk on.
"Where are we going?" enquired Henry
"you're going to meet a friend of mine" stated Vicki she said as Henry walked in front of her and with that Henry turned around to see the secret door closed and Vicki was no where to be seen as the door was closed the tunnel got very dark apart from the light at the end of the tunnel furthest away from him, the light did not seem to be from a large source but as Henry walked towards it seemed to have got larger and larger. As Henry got in close proximity to the source of the light he noticed that Amanda was waiting for him. Henry looked at her with a confused but bewildering face.

"How did you get here" enquired Henry
"I have something important to tell you..." said Amanda but she was interrupted by Henry
"This cavern makes me uneasy, what were you going to tell me?"
"My father is the King of Paris and I have not been home for five years" she said with a sigh. Henry tried to say something but Amanda stopped him.
"It will be All right. Just persuade my father you rescued me from the Maestegians and he'll pay you the reward".
"Why did you run away from home?" enquired Henry.
"I was rescued by the Maestegians five years ago. Which was very kind of George since I'm a Potencian and all, they took me away from my father's controlling and constricting ways. You'll understand when you meet my sister Katie" said Amanda.

As they ventured towards the light source they saw the edge of the Castle, they must have travelled several miles underground without even noticing it. As they looked up at the Castle they saw a gradual staircase to the side of it. As they went up the staircase Henry noticed just how big the blocks of stone that made up the wall of the Castle were. The stonemason work on the Castle made it look impressive and yet Amanda did not seem to be impressed by the stone wall. As the both of them went the staircase, Henry noticed that instead of going up the stairs outside of the Castle they appeared to be arriving near to the Castle's armoury. This was obviously not a well used path considering the lack of defence. Amanda grabbed a lot of weaponry and armour putting it close to the staircase ready to take with them on their way back. The Armoury was a large room with several racks. Most of the racks were full of expensive looking armour. Henry looked back to the staircase and he saw a stone wall. Amanda and Henry walked out of the Armoury walking straight forward.

This hallway had several doors to it; there were ten doors but one of the doors seemed to stand out more then the others. The door was particularly stronger looking then the rest of them. As Henry opened the door he was greeted by two musketeers who were standing either side of the door.

"You see standing here all day is not as boring as guarding the King, Larry" said One.

Larry the elder of the two recognised Amanda instantly.
"Welcome home Princess Amanda" Larry bowed to Amanda "And who is this fine gentleman?" enquired Larry.

"Henry is my name Larry, I found Amanda a few days ago, on my travels" Henry stated.

"Well we're very happy to have our Princess back, the King WILL be pleased" Said Larry
"I suppose you've come for your reward?" said the quieter of the guards.

"There's a reward?" Henry said in an excited tone.

"Yes, there is. I'll escort you to the Potenican Room" Said Larry.

And with that Larry, Amanda and Henry were taken on a tour of the Castle down many narrow corridors and up many stone clad staircases, gradually making their way up to the sixth or maybe even seventh floor of the castle, Henry was not sure of it since he had lost count after the first hundred steps up, once they had reached a large well maintained corridor, with a large red carpet running down the middle of it, Henry knew he was near to the Potenican room.

The seemingly expensive and purely decorative suits of armour which guarded the hallway stood to attention once they had reached each set of them. At first Henry jumped when the first set did it but after a while it just did not seem to affect him much. When they reached the Potenican room, the door to which was covered in a lavish design which must have been the coats of arms for the King but due to its size Henry could not make it out.

As the Doorman opened the extremely large door, a large golden throne was in front of the party. A beautiful young lady sat on the throne. This certainly was not Amanda's Father. Henry looked at Amanda in a puzzled glare.

"Ah, finally we meet Princess Amanda. My name is Queen Lisa Potence. Your father died and since you were no where to be contacted and your sister died just after you disappeared this Kingdom is under the control of the Potencians" Said Queen Lisa Potence.

Needless to say it took Amanda and Henry both by surprise but Amanda was shocked at the death of her sister and her Father. Queen Lisa gave Henry a large bag of coins "here is your reward but you both may go about your business like before and nothing more will be said about it" she paused "where exactly have you been Princess Amanda?" said Queen Lisa Potence. The look on Amanda's face was mixed it was like the world was crashing down around her with no where to turn. "I've been helping Vicki down at the Inn. Oh and I lived abroad for a while" said Amanda. Telling Queen Lisa everything she needed to know but leaving her with a sense that she has not told her everything. Henry looked at the two of them and quickly said "you heard her Majesty let's go already" and with that the two of them left the room. Once the two of them had left the room they heard a mumble by the Queen to someone else but they could not wait to get out of there.

As Anna and Henry walked down the Potenican steps, these were down the hallway to the right of the Royal room doors; they noticed that each step was made out of individual blocks of marble. As they went down the stairs Amanda noticed the Potencians' flag hanging from two of the suits of armour either side of the steps. The more steps of Anna and Henry went down the more Amanda wanted to know more about the death of her family. Finally they reached the great doorway which usually held doors but were not there.

"Where are the doors that go here?" demanded Amanda
"They are being built up in the forest but I would not go up there if I was you, your Majesty" Said the Guard.

"I hear a challenge there Amanda" Henry said very quickly

Amanda nodded and Anna and Henry walked out of the hallway down the final steps and were now just in a few feet away from the drawbridge which separated the town from the Castle.

"We must tell Vicki about the death of my father and sister. See if she knows anything about it" Said Amanda.

"Maybe we could arrange a surprise attack on the castle and get it back under your control" Said Henry

"Don't you mean our castle" retorted Amanda holding Henry's hand. Henry looked at Amanda and agreed with her. They walked hand in hand over the drawbridge walking towards a new statue of the new Queen holding a Potencian flag in her right hand with a broadsword in her left hand. The statue made Amanda furious. Henry and Amanda thought it would be best to travel towards the forest towards the north of the west of the Castle towards the mountains to explore the continent Paris was on.

They went past several shops of high quality the further away from the Castle they went the quality degraded it was like it was a show-piece. It took them a good several hours to walk out of Paris heading towards the forest keeping on the road out of town. They walked and walked passing a few traders and their carts. The more they ventured down the path the fewer and fewer people they saw until they reached a crossroads. The crossroads made both of them rather uneasy although they did not know why. To the left of the crossroads was a path heading towards Newlyn, a small fishing community, to the right at the crossroads was a path that went to the mountains which was a less trodden path. Amanda and Henry decided that they would not be recognised by the people who were forced into the mountain side away from the Queen. The fact of which seemed to have troubled Amanda.

As they travelled down the path Henry looked over his shoulder and the crossroads were fading away in the distance he could hardly see them now but by doing so Henry nearly knocked himself out from the low-lying branch hanging over him. Amanda and Henry kept on the path heading directly towards the Mountains. Amanda noticed a pillar of smoke coming from something deep in the forest. They carefully made their way towards the smoke; avoiding low branches and tree roots in their way. The path heading towards the mountain was now out of sight they could not see the path which they had been on just moments ago.

When they reached the pillar of smoke they saw a small collection of houses which were circular with a pointy thatched roof. The stonemason work on the houses was not to the standard Henry or Amanda was used to. Henry and Amanda felt uneasy for no obvious reason they were drawn closer and closer to the houses by some force or another. The more they resisted the more they were drawn closer. It was like someone had tied a rope around their waist and was pulling them closer and closer to the houses. As they travelled closer to the houses they noticed that although there was a fire in the houses they were in fact empty.

As Henry approached the house nearest him he saw a cauldron hanging above an open fire. Numerous potion bottles and a large skin covered book. Henry wanted to explore what was drawing them close to the houses. Amanda helped Henry inside of the Witch's house through the window. Henry was lucky that no one was inside the house because as soon as he went into the Witch's house he managed to break several glass bottles. Amanda, hearing the glass smash, gave Henry a firm shove through the window. Henry rolled towards the cauldron in the middle of the room over the fire. He was a few inches away, he could feel the warmth from the fire. The door to the house was to Henry's left. He stood up and walked over to the door, being very careful not to break any more of the owner's items. Above the only door to the house was the bedroom. With out any walls the house was beginning to make Henry more and more curious as to who lived in such a dwelling. As Henry reached the door he noticed that there were very pretty engravings on the door. As he went to open the door to let Amanda in he tripped down one of the steps and rolled towards the door nearly knocking him out cold against the door knob.

As Henry opened the door Amanda gave him a massive hug. The thorn bush which surrounded the houses had torn several holes into her fine dress. One of the thorns had attached itself to Amanda's leg making her bleed ever so slightly. Henry saw the little red line of blood dripping down Amanda's legs. Henry looked around the witch's house for something to soak the blood up and to keep the pressure on it. Amanda walked into the Witches house putting most of her body weight on her left leg which was the leg that did not have a cut on it. She went over to the wooden chair on the far side of the house next to the staircase to the upper floor. As Amanda settled into the chair, Henry was startled when he saw the magical book, the book that Anna and he had read in order to appear in this world in the first place. His face said it all. The worried thoughts going through his mind were perplexing him; Amanda could see that something was bothering him.

She asked what it was and he looked up at her and pointed to the book and said "that is the book that got us here, I'm going to take it and that's that"

Just as he finished saying this they heard a door open and both Henry and Amanda froze in horror as they didn't know what to do, there was nowhere to hide and Amanda could not walk to well.
Henry looked around frantically for a place close by to hide so that Amanda would not have to walk so far, when he saw it….it was another door and he scrambled to get to it before the door was opened and they were found.

When he got to the door and got it opened and finally got Amanda inside they just barely got the door closed when the witch walked into the room. She hadn't seen them which was a good thing but they forgot one very important thing, the glass bottles that Henry had broke walking in were still scattered all over the floor and the witch had noticed them on the floor, and was getting closer to the closet where they were hiding. Henry knew that unless he did something fast they were going to be found and if they were found who knows what she would do to them.

Looking around the closet he noticed that there in the back behind all the clothes, brooms, and "cleaning supplies" hidden away was a door. He looked at Amanda and asked "Can you walk?" she looked up at him and nodded, so he helped her to her feet and very quietly and as quickly as possible made it through the door just as the witch opened the door. Once they were through the door they soon found themselves in a narrow tunnel.

"Where are we" asked Amanda
Henry looked at her and said "I am not sure, I think we are underneath the witches house in an old underground tunnel."
Amanda thought a moment and then said "Well lets follow it and see where it takes us"
"all right" said Henry and with that Amanda took Henry's hand and together they started to follow the tunnel, they had been following the tunnel for about an hour when without warning it got very dark and they could not see each other in the darkness. They lost each other and soon found themselves alone, they had been split up somehow in the darkness of the tunnel and it was then that Henry noticed that the tunnel split into other various tunnels and he was worried that he would never find Amanda again if they were lost within the many tunnels.

After about an hours walk in the tunnels he thought he heard Amanda's voice behind him but when he turned around there was no one there, so he kept walking hoping that he would find her soon or at least find someone to help him find her, when he heard a blood curdling scream ahead of him it sounded like an animal dying and it was then that he realized that he was not alone. Someone or something was following him and he knew that if he did not do something fast it may be the end of him.

When he turned around whatever or whoever was following him was gone so he thought that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him so he brushed if off and walked on. He was headed in the same direction from which the scream came from, he was sure that it was Amanda and he really like her so he did not want anything to happen to her. It was not long when he heard another scream and he broke into a full sprint in that direction which took him out of the all the tunnels and ended up at the sea. It was then that he noticed that it was not just Amanda that he heard but Anna as well, they were being held in a giant rope net that was hung high above the ship they were being held captive on. Henry knew that if he did not do something quick that he was going to lose the only real friends that ever had and he was not about to let that happen. So he stood there a minute thinking of a way to get them safely back to the shore, when he had an Idea he would as quietly as possible go aboard the ship and first get rid of the captain, then he would tell the crew that he was their new captain and to let the two girls go, that they did not need them any more. Once Amanda and Anna were safely off the ship and out of sight of the crew Henry would quickly get off the ship before the captain woke up.

But that did not go as according to plan as he had hoped, the captain woke up before he could get off the ship and the caught him and trapped him in the same net that the girls had been in and the captain started asking questions.

"Where did you come from?" Asked the captain, Henry said "I was looking for my friends and I found them on your ship."
"So where are they now" asked the captain, Henry said "They got off the ship right before you caught me"
"ah I see and you were planning on getting off here before I woke up so all of you could escape to a safer place."
"Yes sir" said Henry after a long silence the captain said "Well you may go with your friends, but don't let me catch you on one of my ships again without permission or it may be worse the next time you're caught, understand" said the captain.
"Yes sir I understand" and with that Henry jumped off the ship before the captain could change his mind. Once he was off the ship and he found Anna and Amanda he said "boy I am sure glad to see you guys, I was starting to think that I would never see you again."
"Anna where have you been I have been looking all over the place for you?"
"Sorry" she said, "I got lost and then they found me" "Well just be more careful next time."
"Yeah I will make a note of that" Anna said sarcastically,
"now who is this captain anyway I have never seen him before?"
"I am not really sure all I got from him was that his name was Captain Lee, and I don't remember ever hearing about him from anyone around here so he must be new to the area."

"Do you think he knows anything about the death of my family?" asked Amanda
"No, I don't think so he seems pretty far out of the loop." Said Henry "Well we have to keep trying, because I am not about to give up on finding out who killed them."
Henry walked over to Amanda hugged her and whispered something in her ear, he told her that he really liked her and he would do whatever it takes to help her find who is responsible for her families murder, even if it kills him. When he looked back at her he could see the start of tears forming, no one had ever cared that much about her to help her when she found out about their death and now here was this boy who barely knew her and he was willing to do whatever it took to help her. That was when Anna walked over to them and asked if everything was okay, they said yes that everything was and then she asked if there was anything that she could do to help.

Amanda thought a minute and said "Just be a friend, that's all I ask of you right now" and that was when Anna smiled at Amanda and hugged her. Then together they walked back to the bar to see if they could catch Captain Lee before he left to ask if he knew anything about Amanda's family and when they got there and started talking to him about it they were shocked to find out just how much he really knew about their murder. He told them about how they were captured in the palace and then taken down into the tunnels that Henry and Amanda had gotten lost in and murdered there, and how it was all trying to be covered up and kept from Amanda but she found out anyway.
"How did you know all of that?" asked Amanda, "well because I know who did it."
"You know who killed my family!" asked Amanda
"yes, I do"
"but if you want to know who you have to do something for me first."
Amanda looks at him with suspicion and said "What is it that you want?"
Captain Lee stares right back at her and said "Gold my dear princess, gold."

"Exactly how much gold are we talking about?" asks Amanda,
"Oh not much just a few hundred chests" said the captain
"A few hundred! But that would only leave us enough to make it through winter!"
"Well that's not my problem now is it? Its either the gold or I don't give you the information you're looking for"
"All right, I will give you the gold just please tell me who did it."
"Not until I get the gold and it is safely hidden"
that is when Amanda looks at Henry and Anna and said "will you come with me back to the underground tunnel that is where I hid it."

So within a few minutes of leaving Captain Lee they arrived back at the tunnel and Henry and Anna followed Amanda into the tunnel all the way past where it splits off into multiple tunnels and there right inside the right tunnel lay a mass collection of different size chests. Anna and Henry were stunned into silence by how many chests there were down there, Amanda looked at them both and said "What? You never saw gold before?" Henry looked at her and said "No, I have but not that much at one time" at that moment Anna looks at Amanda and asks "How are we going to get a hundred chests of gold back to Captain Lee before dark?" It was then that Amanda began to get worried, because it was very important that they be back before dark, because if they were not back before it got dark they were not going to be able to find their way back to the bar with the gold in time. It was then that Amanda answered Anna's question, "Do you remember the rope net that we were in while on the boat?" Anna thinks a minute and said "yes, but how is that going to help us get the gold back to Captain Lee?"
"Well I have the net and I thought we could use it to get all the gold back to Captain Lee."

"Oh I see, use it kind of like a giant bag" said Anna "Yes exactly like that and then we will be able to get all the gold back to him in one trip" said Amanda "Sounds like a good Idea to me, So lets get started" said Henry, It was not long after they started putting the chests into the net that they were done and on their way back to the bar with the gold and when they got there they left the gold outside and went in to get Captain Lee, but when they got in there the bartender told them that he had went back to his boat and was getting ready to leave so if they wanted to catch him they had better hurry. So they hurried back outside and grabbed the makeshift bag and ran as quickly as they could back down to the dock where they were just a few hours earlier and found Captain Lee just in time and waved to him to come over and meet them. Once he got to them he asked if they had what he was waiting on and all three of them said "yes" in unison and then showed it to him, he looked at it and then said "Well done my friends you just made it" and with that he motioned for them to come aboard while he put the gold below deck for safe keeping.

While waiting for him to return Amanda, Henry and Anna were talking about how they were going to get the kingdom from the Queen and back under Amanda's control, then Amanda said "What about asking the witch to help with dethroning the Queen?"
Anna and Henry thought about this a minute and then said together "How is she going to help us when we don't know if we can trust her?"

Amanda said "Well that is why we are going to have to just put our faith in her and hope everything goes well."
That is when Captain Lee walked back up from below deck and asked if Amanda was ready to hear what he had to say, she said yes almost too quick and he waited for them to sit down before he began. Once they had sat down he took a deep breath and said "well it all started after you disappeared and your father had everyone looking for you, he had all the boats that came in and went out searched in case you had got onto one while playing with friends or something and had gotten stuck but you were not there."
"He even had the bar checked thinking that you were in there but you were not there either."
"your sister was getting worried too when he came home without you so she went to look for you as well but returned empty handed."

While they were out someone got into the palace and found out the number to the security system and typed it in and turned it off so that when they returned and tried to turn it back on it would not work giving them access to get in.

"So that night while your sister and father slept they got inside and rearmed the alarm so there would be no questions and then quietly walked to your sister's and father's rooms and murdered them in their sleep, Then quickly got out before they were seen."
Amanda sat there and thought a second and then said "all right?"
"but none of that tells me who did it"
"In other words it was one of your guards" one of them knew the code and turned the system off and then slipped up to each of their rooms and killed them just before slipping out the gates with billions in gold and rearming the alarms as if nothing had happened."
"So the whole time it was one of my guards and I never even knew it?"
"Yes miss I am afraid it was" said Captain Lee