Four muscular guards in heavy armor face us, their long swords in hand.
Abe shields me with his body as the first guard raises his sword. But nothing lands on us as another guard raises his sword too, to form an 'X' and the other two guards do the same.
Abe takes a step forward and the guards do so too, trying to push us back into the throne room. They are trying to prevent us from leaving.
Abe raises a hand to begin attacking the guards. With one hand, he manages to dismantle two of the guards. But they change tactics, splitting into two teams. Two of them engage with Abe in a fierce clash, while the other two begin to advance on me.
I try to think of a way to fight them, or find a weapon. But there's no object that can help me. Just as the two guards reach out for me I hold my hands in front of me in a defense position.
The fire from the candles rekindle and bursts of fire shoot from my hands to ward the guards away.
Abe's eyes flicker to me momentarily as he growls, "Hell yes."
I suppose Abe's not the only one who has magical abilities.
As I watch the guards, the fire isn't enough to keep them away. They don't burn, their armor seems fireproof. But as they glare at me, something feels off.
Their eyes are completely white, no pupils showing. As Abe tries to move forward with me behind him, the guard closest to us speaks.
"You cannot leave." His voice sounds robotic, as if someone is controlling him.
As I hear the robotic voice, something in my mind clicks. The pain strengthens and I clutch my head. It feels like my mind is being split into two. Voices and whispers surround me in a flurry and a memory comes back to me.
We're in a meadow, me and Abe. Flowers are blooming, it's springtime.
"Will you teach me?" Abe asks.
"No. But I can show you how to shield your mind." I smile as I touch my lover's hand.
The memory fades, and my back straightens.
I am more powerful than I thought, even to the point where I seem to know more than Abe in some aspects. I am powerful enough to break the spell over these guards.
Lifting my head, I whisper in the ancient language, the words to undo the spell. A cloud of misty air releases from my lips and each guard's eyes clear into normal pupils and irises.
Upon seeing us, they fall to their knees.
"My king and queen!" They say in unison.
"Please, get up." I request.
All of them stay on their knees except one.
"Do not spare us. We are not worthy." He says, meeting my eyes.
"What is your name?" I ask.
This guard looks disturbed as I ask him. His eyebrows draw together as he places a hand over his heart.
"Queen Penelope, you do not know who I am?" He asks, shocked.
It's the second time someone knows me and I can't really remember them.
"What has happened? Who did this to you?" I ask.
"I am Yannis, first guard to you and the King. I, I'm afraid I do not remember who it was, but the last thing I remember is being cast under the spell to never let you and the king out of the throne room. I was a slave to this command until you freed us."
So the guards don't know much either.
Abe says, "You are free to leave, Yannis. Your family members must be worried about you."
Yannis shakes his head and he declares, "my King, you must execute me for my failure to protect you and the queen!"
"I command you to return home at once." Abe says immediately.
Yannis and the guards bow low.
Yannis says, "my life is yours, King Abe and Queen Penelope. I will do as you command. But you must use me if you are in need of aid."
"Thank you," the guards thank us as they leave through the back exit.
I watch Abe's commanding presence and power. No wonder my body reacts to his dominant nature, it's so attractive, and not only is he commanding but also considerate.
A smile graces my lips, and Abe turns to me.
"What?" He asks.
"Nothing. I was just thinking how much of a good king you seem to be," I say.
He comes to me and holds my hand, kissing my hand softly.
"What a compliment," he murmurs.
My skin burns with passion where his lips meet my hand.
"My queen, you are magnificent. Your power is incomparable. And that is sexy as fuck." He groans as my eyelashes flutter.
My heart is a wild lion, running a mile a minute. How can this man have such an effect on me?
"We will continue this, that's a promise." His finger swipes against my lips, parted for him.
"I need you safe first and I need to get us out of here." He says.
I find myself nodding, just as a loud screeching comes from behind us.
"Let's go!" He dashes forward and I follow closely behind.
Since I can't remember the directions, he guides us towards the big exit, for us to be able to get out of the palace. Just as we reach the final corner, the screeching sound hits our ears again.
We skid to a stop.
Before us and behind us prowl what look like wild hogs with elongated bodies, and they sound like evil birds.
They snort, like bulls readying to charge. And that's when Abe takes my hand and we are flying through the air, past the wild hogs.
I marvel at the strength and speed of my husband. Is there anything the king of the underworld can't do?
The monstrous hogs chase us but we are already outside. I raise my hand and fire blasts against the wild hogs, causing them to whimper in fear and run the other way back into the palace.
I gasp as I survey the land before us.
It is a wasteland, all burnt down. What used to be houses and fancy places are all rubble and ashes. The old palace looks like it will tumble down at any minute. I wonder how many years we were stuck there in the slumbering phase.
Abe doesn't say anything as he flies us into the nearby forest and the memory of someone setting fire to the palace washes over me.
Someone set alight our palace and the houses surrounding our home. They laughed as everything burned, they took everything and everyone from their homes.
And I am starting to remember, but it hurts my head to access these memories, it feels like someone has wrapped my memories up tightly and every time I remove a layer, the pain is unspeakable. It might destroy me if I try too quickly or too hard to undo this spell cast on me and Abe.
"We'll have to travel through the forest before we get to the riverside, and from there we should be able to reach the closest allied city." Abe says as we land.
"Abe." I say his name.
"Who would do this to us?" I ask.
"I don't know, but we will find out." Abe says resolutely, rubbing his thumb against my palm and drawing circles.
"I know we just woke up from who knows how long but I feel sleepy again," I yawn.
"My energy is getting drained too. It's almost dark, we should make camp before moving forward when it's dawn." Abe mentions.
We spend time gathering firewood and making a makeshift tent. With Abe's abilities he conjures material for a tent, but his energy is so drained that it's difficult for him to use more magic.
With the last of his energy he goes to hunt for food, and brings back some meat to cook in the fire.
We sit by the fire roasting meat, with Abe's arm around me generating warmth.
"It's so hard for me to remember anything." I say.
Abe nuzzles his head against the top of mine and he says, "don't force your mind. I feel blocked too, I remember life together and what it was like ruling the kingdom. But I can't remember what happened to us to put us into that slumber."
"Tell me more about us ruling together." I say, leaning against him.
"We enjoyed a prosperous rule. With our powers combined we were able to protect our kingdom together. The Underworld was a safe place to be, for most except our enemies."
I twist my head to look up at him.
"Enemies?" I ask.
"Yes, we had some adversaries trying to challenge our throne, our powers. They never got too far. Well, until…whatever it was that put us to sleep."
"How long do you think we were gone?" I whisper.
"Hmm, the terrain looks quite different but not too different. I still remember this forest being similar. I'd venture to say that it's been about five to ten years."
"How old are we?" I ask.
"I can remember my twenty-second birthday. So I must be at least twenty-eight in normal years…but I could be wrong."
"We ruled from a young age, huh." I notice.
"Yes, but our ages don't work like that. Though we aren't immortals we have some special power that will add on the years of youth for us."
We eat the meat and once we are full and the fire is gone, we go inside the tent.
"Sleep, my love. We have a full day ahead from dawn. We can take shifts. You sleep first." Abe wraps an arm around me.
I fall asleep in his arms, falling into a dream before dawn.