And Through the Portal They Fell

Max ran his hand through his short sand colored hair and let out a heavy sigh as he entered his home. Barely five minutes through the door and his mother was already nagging him about cleaning out his closet. She never left him alone about it - with good reason. The doors of his closet could barely be shut with a normal amount of force. To get it shut one would have to push with their whole side so the things in his closet would be pushed back enough to allow the doors to close. It is not like it mattered though. They would soon be pushed back open by the force of all the junk shoved into it. Much of it was junk. Games from his childhood, trash, and some other things that he was not quite sure of what they were. There was the occasional sock that he had lost that popped up in there as well.

Today he did not feel like simply ignoring the nagging like usual. Today his mother was serious. She had presented to him a large box. When he looked inside of the box he saw his rather extensive collection of video game (which of course was the one thing he did keep organized). Max's mother threatened to throw the entire collection away if he did not get his room clean today. He was not willing to take the risk and assume she was bluffing. So with a sad look and a sigh he gave in; Max made his way to his room with some trash bags and boxes.

Everything he was to keep would go in one of the boxes for safe keeping and anything else was getting thrown away in one of the big black trash bags. It took him a while to even make a dent in the mess that filled his closet. He stopped for a moment and went to get a drink from the kitchen. He came back with a glass of soda which, after taking a sip from, he sat on the small table that stood next to his bed. He went back to work. On his way back to the closet he stepped over a box which caught his foot. He fell forward and tried to put his hand on the wall to stop his fall. Unfortunately, his hand missed and he continued to fall into a closet. Before he landed on any thing a swirling and dark hole opened up in his closet that emitted a purple - red light. He could not stop himself from falling into it.

He yelled as he fell. The air rushed passed him as he fell and he found himself surrounded by darkness in the hole. This was up until he saw some light coming towards him. This light was reflecting off the dull surface of a stone floor which he found himself quickly approaching. His hard landing knocked the wind out of him. He rolled over trying to catch his breath. Max tried to make sense of what just had happened. He thought to himself, 'Maybe I hit my head and I'm in a coma and this is all just a dream now...but then why did that hurt so badly? Hmm, maybe that was a portal and I am in a completely different world now. Yeah that seems like it would make more sense....But how the heck do I get home from here?'

He got up on his feet and saw the dim light of a torch coming from farther down the damp hallway that he had fallen into. He walked until he saw a room. At the far side of the room was a doorway which was guarded by a dark - haired man dressed in silver and black armor and held a sword at his waist. The man must have heard Max's footsteps because he turned around and saw him. The man shouted in a deep voice, "Stay there! How did you get down here boy?"

Max was nervous. He got the words, " I don't know..." out before the man grabbed his arm and began to pull him.

"I wonder what the princess will want us to do with you." The man thought aloud. Max tried to cooperate best he could as he did not what to get himself into a worse situation. He was taken up to the main hall where a young woman was sitting on an elaborately decorated throne. It was made of a hard dark wood and set with gold and silver in it.

The woman had very long shining white hair that was done into a braid that was laid over the front of her slender shoulder. The end of the braid nearly touch the floor. She was a small framed woman that wore a poofy dress. The woman seemed more bored than anything and did not take interest in him until the man spoke up. The man kneeled and said, "Queen Elinora, this boy was found wandering the entrance to the dungeons."

The princess answered in a feminine voice that had a tone displaying her curiosity, "He does not look to be from our lands. His clothes are very outlandish... Tell me boy, where are you from?"

Max was silent for a moment. He did not speak until he noticed how impatient the princess looked. "I'm from United States."

"I have never heard of such a place." The princess said. "Well, what are you doing in my palace?"

"I don't know. One minute I was in my room and the next I was falling through a hole, a portal I guess, and ended up down in that hallway..." Max admitted.

The princess was very quiet while she thought. Max saw her eyes close and her take a deep breath. He had not a clue what to add to the story. To him he guessed it sounded like the ravings of a madman, but apparently the princess did not think so. She dismissed the guard by saying.

The man did as he was told and left. After the doors to the hall were shut the princess got up from her throne and walked slowly over to Max. She looked him over as she walked in a circle one way around him and then the other way. She spoke again. "I believe I know how that portal came to be. Do you want to go home?"

Max eagerly shook his head. Although he did not want to clean his room he did want to see his friends the next day, even if that did mean going to school. She motioned for him to follow her. The princess led him to a room that held a single mirror that stretched across the entire back wall. She pointed at it.

"This mirror has been in this palace for as long as this palace has stood - nearly a thousand years. It is a path way between worlds. This is your way home." As she said this Max walked towards the mirror thinking all he had to do was walk through it. Then she added, "But this portal will only work if I command it. It's secrets are only known to the women of my family line. I can allow you to go home, but first you must do me a small, well, a rather large favor."

"What would that favor be?" Max asked. He was curious to know what this huge favor would entail. Princess Elinora cleared her throat. She narrowed her eyes a little and said, "I want you to find someone for me and bring him back here. Then I will be able to send you back to your homeland."

She paced a few times and looked back at him. She had a way of keeping eye contact that seemed to dig into his soul. It made Max horribly uncomfortable. " He is tall, maybe seven feet tall. His eyes are yellow with pupils narrow like a cats eyes. His hair is the darkest black that has been seen as a natural hair color. The air he holds around him has an odd charm, but do not be pulled in by it and befriend him. This will only get you in trouble and you will never see your home again. This person is very eccentric. He is always seen wearing a brightly colored polka dot suit with all the dots being different colors and his is always - always- barefoot. He is a criminal of my Queendom and must be punished. If you are able to retrieve him then you will go home. That is my condition and I will not budge. If you do not wish to do this than you will stay in my realm for the remainder of you life."

Max sighed. He did not know how he was going to find this guy and was nervous about what to do if he did find him. It did not seem safe in the least. Besides if that man was that bad of a criminal he could be putting his life on the line... "Alright. I agree. But if he's a criminal isn't this dangerous for me to do alone?"

Princess Elinora rolled her eyes. "Of course you will be armed so you should not have any problems if you need to defend yourself." She waved her hand at him. "Now go see Commander Cyrano and tell him I said to arm you and give you a light training so you can complete this task. Get going, I really have not have time to waist."

Max followed her order and left the room in search of commander Cyrano. He was hoping he was making the right decision and that the man in the polka dot suit was not too dangerous. With how his luck had been going for the day he serious doubt that his hope was well placed.