“Don’t you realize where this story ends? How many kings have gone to sleep in their beds, content with knowing that the next day is guaranteed?"

Armed with the stargazer’s maps and directions (not to mention his dire warnings about the danger of undertaking such a trip), they felt as ready as they were ever going to be.

One afternoon, the sun shining upon their heads, they headed out into the vast, seemingly endless sea. On their massive ship were enough heavily armed men to comprise a small army, and enough food and supplies to last them over a year. The journey to the Fountain of Youth had begun.

Almost immediately, as in so many adventures like this one, the sea proved to be extremely difficult. Waves larger than any of them had ever beheld threatened to wash everyone overboard. The skies seemed perpetually dark and stormy, and huge lightning bolts made even the bravest man’s heart beat wildly.

For the king it was especially difficult. Even all the royal accommodations were not enough to quell the discomfort of being at sea on a ship missing all the modern technologies we take for granted nowadays. His bed was comfortable, true, but the constant tossing of the ship upon the monstrous waves made him horribly seasick. Several times throughout the first night, as the winds picked up and the rain fell hardest, the ship spun so sharply the king was flung from his bed.

He rolled across the floor, his blankets tangled all around him as he slammed into the cabin wall. Then the ship was struck by waves from the other side, sending him flying in the opposite direction, right back into his bed….

The door to the king’s cabin burst open and his general stumbled inside. His hands grasped at the walls as he tried to steady himself.

“Your Majesty! Are you all right!”

“NO!”