Adventure in the Kingdom of Viborg

By Himnish Jha

In the city of New York, Joe Stevenson, a very famous author lived. His father was a rich businessman, who wanted his son to join the family business and handle the company.

But Joe had different plans. He loved to read and write. When he was younger, he had decided to become an author. He wrote his first book at the age of 17. It was titled “The Prince” in which a prince of a kingdom fought bravely and protected his people single-handedly. The book witnessed immediate success.

Everyone knew Joe. Many publishers approached him. There was something unique in the way he wrote. He actually dreamt of it and then wrote that dream into a story. So, one day, as usual, he slept and went into a dream. He was standing outside a castle. A huge board in front read “The Kingdom of Viborg”. He looked around to see if anyone was there but the whole place was deserted.

Then, he thought, “Should I enter the palace or not?” Suddenly, a knight appeared from nowhere and said, “The king is waiting for you.” After that, they both went inside the castle. Everything was blue. The roses smelled sweet. As they reached a huge hall, they saw a crowd. Joe managed to crawl out of it and saw two big thrones. One was taken by a man with a large beard who had a crown on his head. The other was empty. The man with the crown said, “I am King Thane Wulfric. I need your help.”

“Mine? It would be an honour to help you, Majesty,” replied Joe. The king said, “My wife, Queen Rawlin Wulfric, and my son, Prince Fero Wulfric, were captured by Cassandra, the sinful. She has asked me to give her this kingdom in exchange for my wife and son. I need you to go to her castle, challenge her for a duel and then defeat her.”

Joe asked, “But how am I going to reach her castle?”

“Don’t worry, my personnel gnome, Gronald, is going to accompany you for your trip,” replied the king. He gave Joe a bag which contained some cookies, a map and wand.

And so, Joe and Gronald set off for the castle of Cassandra. After walking for 16 hours, they reached a jungle. It was night time and both of them were tired. So, they planned to find a night shelter and rest there for some time. They went inside their rooms which were dusty but manageable for a night. They both started discussing how to defeat Cassandra but they were interrupted by a knock.

“Come in,” said Joe. An old man with a huge beard and torn clothes came inside.

“Hello! I am Arthur Von Cracklebeard. Sorry, but I heard you both talking about how to defeat Cassandra, the sinful,” said the old man.

“Yes sir, we were talking about her,” replied Gronald. Arthur said with teary eyes, “The castle in which she lives is actually my castle which she took over. She attacked my kingdom.”

“That’s very sad,” said Joe. “If you are planning to defeat her, I can help you. She has a weakness which is sunlight. If you bring her outside at sunrise, she will die,” said Arthur.

Gronald replied, “Thank you sir!” They both started out again in the morning. After continuous walking and resting, they reached the castle of Cassandra. It was solid black in colour and had high towers. They both went inside. Even the roses were black and walls too. They started looking for the witch. Then, they heard a shrill voice, “Who are you? What do you want?” It was Cassandra, the sinful.

She wore a black gown, had black hair and her shoes were black. Joe said with a brave voice, “We have to come to rescue Queen Rawlin and Prince Fero of the Kingdom of Viborg.”

“Aha! Well, you can rescue them only if you beat me to a duel,” she said with a smirk. Joe considered for a moment and then agreed. Gronald took out the wand from the bag which the king gave them. The duel began. Cassandra sent a death curse right away. Joe flicked his wand and blocked it. Joe, then, sent a spell which knocked Cassandra. Cassandra, with a red face, sent a stunning spell which hit Joe. She then fired the same spell at Gronald but he quickly hid behind a pillar.

Cassandra laughed evilly and said, “You both are cowards. Fight like a man.” This enraged Joe and he sent the knocking spell again which knocked Cassandra and threw her outside the castle. Joe and Gronald came outside to find Cassandra, trying to stand up but falling every time she tried. Joe looked up in the sky and saw the sun rising.

He said, “Your end has come Cassandra.” Cassandra disintegrated as the sun shone over her.

Then, Joe and Gronald went inside the castle and freed the Queen and Prince. Gronald whistled and a huge blue coloured dragon came from nowhere. They all sat on it and went back to Viborg.

As soon as they landed, all the citizens gathered around them and shouted and sang with joy. Even the fairies danced with everyone.

Suddenly, the alarm rang and Joe woke up.  He took out his laptop and started writing whatever he had dreamt of. When the book was published, it turned out to be a huge success. Joe celebrated this special occasion with his family and friends.