Ben and Lucy: The Sunken Kingdom
Chapter 2 Charnac

“Lucy, look up at the birds” Ben whispered to her.

“Don’t be afraid weary travelers. You are safe here with us.” The voice came from above.

Ben and Lucy could not believe where the voice came from. Looking up at the biggest tree in front of them, there was a huge majestic Eagle. The Eagle spoke once again.

“ Welcome to our sanctuary. We are pleased to see that you have finally come to us.” There were whispers throughout the trees. A voice called out.

“Why do you believe they are the chosen ones? They look frail and too young.”

The Eagle spoke again. “They have been spoken about through the years. The stories have been passed down that the twins will appear in our hour of need. Have not the times warranted the arrival of “the Twins”?”

The Eagle then flew off and circled high above the trees. Ben and Lucy lost the bird in the glaring sunshine. Suddenly a shadow passed in front of their eyes. The children blinked and when their eyes reopened the Eagle was now perched at the foot of the bed. Lucy held Ben tight. The bird was as large as a normal human man, standing six feet tall. Lucy looked into the bird’s eyes. Her fears subsided. Love emitted from the eyes. Lucy knew that they were indeed safe in the company of this majestic bird.

“Pardon, my lack of manners. I am Parmesis and this is my forest. You are welcomed here. Please follow me through the forest path.”

Parmesis then hopped down onto ground before them. Ben and Lucy pushed the covers back and stepped onto the forest lawn. The ground felt warm and soft beneath their bare feet. As Ben and Lucy followed the huge bird, they both began to feel at home in this place. It was if they had been there before. The trees were aligned along the path that Parmesis was leading them, a path leading through the woods. The scent of the branches filled the air with fresh evergreen. As the turn in the path straightened out, Ben and Lucy paused to look upon the building that lay in front of them. An old cottage, classic decorations from a storybook age featuring Red Riding Hood or The Three Bears. Ben thought to himself that he half expected all those fairytales would now come alive. As they grew closer, the smell of freshly cooked bread came wafting through the air.

Lucy commented. “MMM, that smells good.”“Parmesis, do the animals here know how to bake?”

“Now that would be a dream, would it not, fair one?” Parmesis appeared to have smiled.

“No, the Animals as you would call us have no need for the cooking of food. That would be Charnac, the Ancient. He has been here for longer than all of us. You will like him. Come let us meet him.”

Parmesis led the children to the cottage’s entrance.

The large bird then raised his huge wing and pounded on the wooden door.

“Yes, yes. I know you are here. Do come in and stop making this old man wait.” A voice called from within.

The children quickly looked at each other. Another human in this place? What would that mean and where did he come from?

The old wooden door slowly creaked open. The sound was as if the door itself was stiff in the bones. The smell of bread engulfed them as the door opened itself to the children.

“Ah, Parmesis I see you have guests.” At this moment both Ben and Lucy froze.

The man in front of them of them looked very familiar. The old man also froze at the sight of the children. It had been some time when his eyes had set upon a human, let alone a child.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? I have not seen the likes of you in many a moon”

“Parmesis, where did you replace these little ones, and where are their parents?”

“Charnac, these are the chosen ones. The magical twins from another world.”

“Ha, ha , ha. You still believe that old tale? Now let’s ask them and see if they know anything of this tale.”

Ben and Lucy stared at each other. They had no clue what to say. Before last night, this world had never existed in their wildest imaginations and now this ancient old man in front of talking birds was asking them about some prophecy.

Ben was the first to speak up.

“I am Ben and this is my sister Lucy. We have no idea about what you are talking about.” As Ben continued to speak, Charnac became more and more interested.

“We were in our bed last night when strange things started happening”

“Tell us about it my dear child.” Charnac encouraged Ben to continue.

“Well, I was in my room asleep, then when I awoke I saw stars in my room where there was once my ceiling.”

“Ben, what color was your room before the stars?”

“What? Why do you ask?”

“I have a very curious nature, please humor me.”

“Well, my room is normally blue like a clear day.”

“So you would say that the room was sky blue?”

“Uh, yes I guess so”

“MMM, continue please” The old man was intent on the details. Charnac became focused on what Ben was saying. Lucy stared at Charnac now. She continued to get a familiar feeling about him. This puzzled her.

“So Ben, what type of toys do you have back home in your room?”

“Uh, normal ones.”

“Please tell me about them, again humor an old man.” Charnac pushed Ben to tell more.

“Well, let’s see. I have some old building block stuff.”

“What is that?”

“Well it is like a miniature world.”

“Fascinating, go on. What do you like to build?”

“Let’s see I have a Pyramid, Pirate’s Ship, a Crane, an Ice Cream stand, and a Castle.”

“Oh, please tell me about the castle.”

“Ok.” Ben thought that Charnac was not interested in a play Castle, but continued.

As Ben described in details the items in his Playmobil Castle, Lucy watched Charnac carefully. She noticed that his concerned peaked when Ben spoke of the knights and soldiers. Charnac asked questions about the swords and weapons that the imaginary Castle characters had.

“Ben, thank you for humoring an old man about your toys. It’s just fascinating to me that in your world you have such things. Tell me children, do you believe in magic?”

Ben and Lucy stared at each other. Before tonight they had stopped believing in all sorts of things, from Santa Claus, to the Easter Bunny, to the Tooth Fairy. Now after this night of extreme travels they had no idea what to believe. This time it was Lucy who spoke.

“Charnac, we now know that anything is possible. After traveling in Ben’s bed to a far off land, where Birds speak.”

“Uh, not only do birds speak here, other animals”. Interrupted Parmesis, emphasizing the word, animals.

“Yes, Parmesis is right. There are far more creatures in this land that speak. And there are far many things in this land that you must be on the lookout for.” Charnac exchanged a glance with Parmesis.

“I now understand what Parmesis says about you both. You must understand this world before anything else.”

Lucy started to speak but Charnac raised his hand.

“Now children you must eat while I explain.”

Charnac now brought out the food for the children. There was breads and pasties so fresh and fragrant, Ben and Lucy could only make noises. No words described the intensity of the aroma filling the kids noses. Then they tasted each fruit filled pastry. The flavors erupted in their mouths. Strawberry, Blueberry, Peach, Passionfruit, Honey, Cinnamon, Vanilla, and yes even Chocolate. The juices that filled their cups tasted as if the Oranges were being squeezed into their mouths straight from the tree.

The children stuffed themselves fully with the tasty treats.