She was a beautiful woman, with hair of chestnut that spilled down her smooth back and shoulders like waves upon a sandy shore. Her skin was dark and lovely which tried to hide underneath a long, white gown that did everything to accentuate her feminine form. She was kind, she was powerful, she was the queen of the land of Magick.

But even she knew her land was in for troubled times. Elves, fairies, humans, unicorns, trolls, gnomes, dragons and many other numerous creatures found themselves plagued with evil forces that would do anything to overpower this land. Death, disease and famine suddenly seemed to come from nowhere and her only answer to their source were visions of an evil figure so grotesque, she was chilled to the bone whenever she tried to describe it. In dreams she saw he led redcaps, jinn, necks and many other monsters that only wished to take over her land and rule it in fear and chaos. This could not happen, but she knew there would come a day when the evil would find her and try to capture her crown.

This crown held the ability to possess magic and was her most sacred item. With it she knew she was the true ruler and could control the darkness in this world…until now. Beyond her ability to possess magick she also had the ability of divination and she knew that unless she was born again and could hide the crown in a case, the evil figure of her dreams would come and take her world from her.

So she told her faithful companion, Aloysius, about her predicament. For years he had been her faithful steed as one of the most powerful winged horses in her world. His white feathers shimmered like a pearl and his deep blue eyes were a window to his noble heart and compassionate nature.

"Aloysius this is the day. You must fly me away from here."

"But your majesty." he walked over to her and bowed his head in recognition, "Are you sure? Do you not realize that when you leave your castle will crumble to pieces and your land will be in chaos?"

"It will be in more chaos if I truly die. This creature I have been seeing….I do not know much of him but he is powerful enough to kill me and will do so unless I leave now."

Aloysius looked at her with eyes of sorrow, "Is this really what you wish?"

"No my friend it is not." she stood up from her golden throne in the grand hallway. The castle was a rare beauty. Completely molded out of gold it shined brightly in the sun and sparkled as emeralds and diamonds adorned various windows of the palace to frame a beautiful view of the sea outside and its residents, the mermaids.

"I have had dreams and you know what that means. I know what I must do. The crown must be hidden. After it is hidden from the beast I know there will be another one who will take my place as ruler and destroy this creature, returning my land to its peaceful state. This must be done Aloysius, send for Walanda."

The pegasus neighed and stepped out of her throne room leaving the queen alone with her thoughts. She took the crown off her head and looked at it once more. In the shape of two snakes entwined by each other and meeting for a kiss, she stared at their ruby eyes. Only the possessor of magick may hold this crown and rule rightly for if an evil one gains possession of it, the snakes will separate and the world will fall apart.

"My lovely world I only hope my dreams are true. May another come to rightly take my place.." she muttered to herself not realizing her advisor Walanda was there.

She swam into the room through a water duct that opened to a fountain nearby. The queen loved the mermaids for their beauty and peaceful disposition and found Walanda to be the wisest among her kind, but this time she had a troubled expression upon her face.

"Has Aloysius told you?"

"That you need to leave my queen?"

"Yes."

She sighed sadly, "Yes he has. Are you sure what you are doing is right?"

"You know as well as I do that my dreams never lie. The world will be in chaos, but it will still have hope. If this evil creature I am seeing gets a hold of my crown the world will not just be in chaos, but falling apart. At least I am giving what is good a struggling chance."

The mermaid bowed her head in honor of what the queen said. Her blue green locks of hair tried to hide her expression of fear, "You love your world and would never harm it. What shall I do for you your majesty?"

The queen walked closer to Walanda, "You know of the case that never opens unless a phoenix's feather is the key."

"Yes."

"Here." she handed the mermaid the crown, "Take it and put it in the case."

"But your highness! This means no one will ever wear the crown after you are gone."

"Yes they will. I will make sure of it."

"Very well your majesty. I will do as you order." Walanda held the crown in her hands tightly and knowing which underwater passage to take to get to the box, she swam there quickly.

"I am ready Aloysius." she said looking upon her steed as he reentered the room.

"I will carry out what you wish."

"Fly me to the sun and live long for I know one day there will be another who will rightfully rule my land. Find who it is and bring that person here. The feather will be revealed to them."

"I will do as you order."

The queen held tight to Aloysius's mane and in seconds the two were flying outside of the castle through an open roof. She glanced back to get one final glimpse of the palace and its beauty. Golden walls, rare gems, velvet floors all seemed to slip away from her as the pegasus flew higher and higher. The horse could sense her pain easily and as the castle exploded into fragments of golden shards, he knew her main concern was with her people.

"Stay away from a creature of terror. It's impossible to describe its evil, its hideous appearance. Be well my friend and fly me to the sun."

He flew higher and higher as the light of the sun shined upon them both. Aloysius breathed harder as the heat was becoming unbearable to him. The queen could already feel her skin grow taunt and gray. The transformation was happening to her and feathers were beginning to form on her arms and back as she squeeled in pain at the metamorphosis.

A final squeel was heard from her lips as it became a beak. Then Aloysius felt the weight move off his back and as he shifted to take a look at the queen, he saw a mass of purple, blue and golden feather melt in the sun. The phoenix was dead.

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