Oshoe

	Somewhere in the world, there lies a group of islands known as the Nowhere Islands. They lay atop a sleeping dragon, rumored to be able to end the world. After the rest of Earth had been destroyed, two thieves and a princess came across a haunted castle, known as Oshoe. Centuries before, this castle was home to a bustling society that had since fled the dragon. This is their story.

	Princess Tamilia Oshoe scurried through the hallways of the magnificent Oshoe Castle, heading toward the top floor. Her father usually sat there with his council, in a throne room that would someday be home to a device known as the Egg of Light, but that is a tale for another time. She had finished her tutoring, and wanted nothing more than to show her father what she had learned.

	Meanwhile, in the aforementioned throne room, King Rilia Oshoe sat upon his gigantic throne, purposely built to be several feet higher than the seats of his six Council members. “Aren’t I magnificent? Tell me again how wonderful I am.”

	The man sitting closest to him spoke up, “Your Magnificence, we know you are much greater than all of us, and will live forever, but what about the Dragon?  Madam Ionia, one of my dearest friends, has told me that a gigantic beast sleeps beneath our kingdom! She went on to say that the beast posed no current threat to us, but that it would one day destroy everything, and we would be the first to go! This island will crumble, and all of us will die!”

	Another man, sitting directly across from the man who’d just spoken, replied, “I agree, Your Majesty, this dragon poses a threat. I know that the Oshoe Royal family possesses the ability to live after death, but what about us? I think this dragon poses a threat, and that we should declare war upon it, and kill it before it can kill us!”

	A woman sitting to the left of him spoke up, “I say we wait until it awakens, and die then. Locria, a friend of mine, told me that this dragon would not awaken for thousands of years. It is no worry to us; we would be dead anyway; except you, of course, my King, but you can live even through that.”

	“You all bring up excellent points,” the King responded, “But let this wait until another day. Let us think of happier things, such as the next Royal Ball. It is coming up tonight, as you know. But first, has my Royal Goblet been filled?”

	“Sir,” said the man farthest from the King, “Your Goblet is better fitted to be a spittoon, and there is another thing; we are having too many parties.”

	“Silly, silly Phila. You know how what I say. Wine is the water of life. As for the parties, the Oshoe family has held parties for generations, and I am not about to-“ At that moment, the candles blew out. In the darkness, nothing but footsteps and a scream could be heard. By the time they were all out of their seats, somebody had put on another candle. At that point, all six of them gasped at the sight before their eyes, and fled the room.

	At that very moment, Tamilia jumped over one of her mother’s magical brooms. She had spent far more time in trash cans due to these than she had wanted to. As she came up to her father’s Throne Room, she screamed. For upon the highest throne lay the dead body of King Rilia.

	By that time, all but one of the councilmen had fled. That one man curled in fear in the back of the room. “I didn’t do it, I swear!” he shouted, to no avail, for in her rage, Tamilia drew a blade from a display on the wall, and drove it through the man’s heart. She recoiled, then, at what she had done. The man had pleaded that he was innocent, and he hadn’t even fled the room. She rushed downstairs to find the real murderer.

	Meanwhile, Phila, the man who had criticized the king, stood before the public, who had all assembled into the marketplace. “Citizens of Oshoe Castle, do not be alarmed. Your King is dead. Have no fear, though, for Tomora, his most trusted friend, will be ruling in his stead. What I am worried about is the threat that the Dragon, you know what I’m talking about, poses on our society.”

	“I believe that this dragon bears a curse. Ever since we’ve known about it, we’ve known nothing but turmoil and strife. Our money is running low, and our King is dead. We must flee the dragon, and escape this terror!” The crowd roared, and Phila grinned. They were like putty in his hands.

	Tamilia jerked to a stop as she found, in her mother’s prized trash can, the bodies of two more councilmen, Tomoro and Cida, with knives in each of their backs. Clearly, the murderer was on the move. She glanced out of the window, and nearly fainted, as she saw her mother’s remains at the foot of the stairway, and two other councilmen standing near it. She leapt out of the window, climbing quickly down the castles wartime exit.

	Phila smirked as he loaded the citizens onto the boats. Once he set off, he would command them, and nobody else. He was grateful to the dragon for allowing him this opportunity to take power from that foolish king. How could even somebody as stupid as him not understand that there was more to life than just parties?

	He felt a tug at his shirt, and looked down to see a small, ragged child at his feet. He pushed the child along, and sighed. The palace had enough money to provide for young orphans such as him, but did they? Of course not, they put it toward more parties for the rich. The very thought sickened him. As the last of the citizens crowded on board, he boarded the boat himself, and cut the ropes tying him to the shore before any of the other royals could catch him.

	Tamilia soon reached the foot of the castle, and screamed at the men, who were already quaking with fear, “What did you do to my mother? She’s dead on the ground here, and the two of you are standing right here. My father is dead, so are Tomoro and Cida. If you don’t tell me what the heck is going on right now, I’m going to kill you.

	“Princess, I’m sure you do not believe me, but your mother took her own life, and your father was not murdered by me.” The man drew a dagger from his sleeve and took his own life.

	“I’m sure you have doubts, princess, but we’d rather die than live in dishonor.” The man standing next to him killed himself, as well. Tamilia, confused at first, broke out in tears, falling to the ground. She couldn’t bear to live amid so much death without a single parent. She picked up one of the men’s daggers.

	Now, I’m sure you know what happened next to Tamilia, and that I do not have to describe it in detail. Suffice it to say, she did not ever find out about Phila’s newfound leadership.

	Speaking of Phila, his ship had done well so far, sailing slightly behind the other two. “Keep going! The dragon could awaken at any second!” The rowers trembled with fear, and pushed the oars with all their might. The journey was going smoothly so far.

	“S-s-s-sir, a beast of the sea lies ahead!” the captain of the ship to Phila’s right shouted, before he fainted. He gasped, as the looming beast came into his gaze. With large, sharp teeth, and a pink hue, it was obvious that their ships didn’t stand a chance.

	“Turn around! Abandon ship! Port to the starboard! DO SOMETHING!” The other two ships erupted into similar turmoil as the great snake came upon them, splintering the kingdom’s prized ships, and swimming off toward the castle.

	Now, this snake comes into another tale, one of bravery, courage, and sorrow, but I’m sure you know of that story quite well. However, this tale is over, and I am not going to explain to you what exactly came about thousands of years later because of this tragedy. Let it suffice for me to say that the King lived on.