Chapter 1 – Old Friend’s Visit

February 14th, early evening, the big majestic house at the end of the Village’s main street is quite and mildly lighted. Only one room at the side of the right wing is lit brightly and soft sounds are heard..

9 year Olds Twins Jasmine and Jason are in their pajamas sitting on their bed earnestly listening to their grey haired, pleasant faced Grandmother tell them a story about a Prince from faraway land who travels the world for adventure against his fathers wishes and comes to a small country located in the Pacific Ocean..where he fights dragons and robbers to help the small village of people…

The Prince spends countless months in that village as he has fallen in love with not only the beauty of the Big Snow Capped Mountains, beautiful waterfalls, fields filled with wildflowers but also with a beautiful young girl who kept a small fruit stall in the small town..

Grandma Margaret stops her story at the sound of the door opening downstairs. It’s the children’s parents back from their Valentine’s dinner date..

Mummy, Daddy, come hear the new story Grandma is telling us, calls Jasmine. The parents don’t answer or come up.

Grandma sensing something not right, ask’s the children to stay in bed until she comes back for them. With pounding heart she goes out of the children’s room, pulling the door behind her. She quickly almost run downs the stairs to the study where she sees light and hears voices.

Margaret knocks, door is opened at the fourth knock by her son-in-law Christopher who is a Handsome gentle family man with lots of smile and patience. But what Margaret sees in his eyes now is sorrow and worry. Past him she sights her beautiful daughter Violet pale and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Please do come in Mum, holding stricken Margaret’s hand Christopher directs and seats her in one of the comfortable arm chairs near the raging fireplace.

Violet moves silently and closes the door. She leans at the door staring at Christopher. Margaret can’t understand what’s wrong and too scared to ask. She then noticed someone else in the room, a man a tall man, long black hair, blue beautiful eyes, thick brows and also a deep voice as he speaks now.

The stranger moves and seats on the available armchair near the window, he speaks to Christopher only referring to him as “Seth”, You have to come back for your family and your people for their safety and to fulfill your duty, exclaims the stranger.

And what of my Family, Frewin my friend, with pain in his voice, Christopher/Seth exclaims.  They have to come with you Seth, as they are safer with you than left alone here, Frewin Suggests.

I don’t understand whats happening, bursts out Grandma? Violet now moves to her mum, holding her hands as calmly as she could manage explains to her elderly mum that Christopher is in fact Seth, Crown Prince of the Underworld magical world of Syragh. But isn’t that a myth a story we tell to children, not believing what she is being told by her daughter.

Frewin draws the curtains away from the window and calls Margaret to the window. Come and Have a look at a creature you might never would have known, Frewin motions her at the edge of the Boathouse at the back of the house. She sees a Silver Horse in the Bright Moonlight, its just a Horse, she exclaims..Look properly, suggests Frewin.

Now Margaret sees all that she has missed, the creature outside the boathouse entrance was only half horse. The Horse Like Creature’s head and legs had fins instead of hair, instead of a back legs, it had a fish tail…Margaret couldnt speak for a while, then whispers, what is this thing? Frewin tells proudly, that its a Hippocamp, a very fine animal, Seth’s children will love him.

Margaret with flaring eyes look at Frewins and screams, my grand children are not going anywhere near that thing.

Seth, Violet, Frewin look at each other and flaring Margaret….