MAGNIFIQUA AND ITS ENCHANTED SECRETS

Once upon a time there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom “MAGNIFIQUA” with crystal clear streams, lush green fields and pretty flowers. The king and queen had two daughters - Diamond and Ruby. Diamond, the elder child, was a quiet and gentle girl who loved to read books and paint. Ruby was a vivacious, intelligent and inquisitive child who loved to spend time outdoors.

The royal family had some secrets. Did you ever wonder why Diamond was named Diamond? She was named so because in her was embedded a priceless diamond which controlled the future of the kingdom. Ruby was a blessed child who had the power to commune with nature, the sun, moon and stars. The royal family guarded these powerful secrets with great care.

One day the princesses went to a beautiful hill which the locals called Crescent Mount. They plucked flowers, made pretty flower crown and enjoyed themselves amidst nature, birds and bees. On the way back to the castle, they were attacked by the evil witch Malbruja. Much to the dismay of the princesses, Malbruja, using her magical power, had discovered the royal secret and now wanted the diamond for herself. She knocked Ruby unconscious and took Diamond with her. Upon regaining consciousness, Ruby set out to search for her beloved sister.

Meanwhile, the witch was torturing Diamond to tell her in which part of her body the diamond was. But Diamond, though gentle, was not a feeble princess. She flatly refused the witch. In a fit of rage, Malbruja with an evil spell, sucked all the power out of Diamond. Malbruja enclosed Diamond’s powers in a crystal drop, kept it in a crystal jar and placed the jar in the fourth room of the fort. She created a thousand keys, out of which, one was the correct key to the forth room. She left Diamond to die in a sealed iron room of her magical dragon guarded fort. Just then she heard some loud noise and the growl of her pet dragon Centojo. With a swish of her cape she ran out and in her hurry, unnoticed, fell a diary & pen from her pocket………….

Malbruja had a major problem……. she had no memory!! But clever as she was, with her magical power, she had created a magic pen and diary in which all her thoughts and actions got noted down for her future reference. And those were the diary and pen that had fallen off……

While all this was happening, Ruby was frantically searching for her sister. She asked the Sun, Moon, Stars, streams and flower what to do, where to go. Guided by her special friends, she finally reached a deserted, sprawling fort guarded by a hundred-eyed dragon named Centojo. Smelling human flesh, Centojo started growling and flashing fire (hearing which Malbruja had come out). But little Ruby sneaked into the fort and tiptoed into the alleys, searching for Diamond. At last she came upon a room with an iron door. She huffed and puffed and put in her best efforts and finally managed to push it open..

Ruby was horrified with the sight that met her eyes. Diamond, frail and thin as a reed, was sprawled on the floor and was trying to reach a little diary lying in the corner of the room. Ruby ran to her sister and hugged her tight. She then picked up the diary with a little pen tucked into it. The diary opened to a page which read “in the 4^th room of the fort will be a crystal drop in a crystal jar containing all the powers of Diamond. Consume it to gain supreme power over the Kingdom of MAGNIFIQUA. Open the 4^th room with the crystal key in the bunch of the thousand keys” Ruby rushed to the fourth room, found the key, the jar and the crystal drop just as mentioned in the diary. She fed the drop to Diamond. Immediately Diamond regained her strength and became well again.

The diary less Malbruja was already powerless with a failed memory. She had forgotten how to control her pet dragon Centojo. The confused dragon burnt himself and his mistress to death with his fire fumes.

The two sisters, now supremely powerful, ran out of the fort, and rushed back to their kingdom much to the joy and relief of the King & Queen. The royal family and the whole kingdom lived happily ever after, safe with their powerful secrets.

Initial version was penned down by Aatreyee sometime in 2015. Elaborated and fine tuned for a story writing competition held in August '16