The outside storm pounded against the windows. The lightning shattered the sky and the thunder shattered the silence. I pulled the note out of a box on the small meja, jadual seterusnya to me again and reread the handwritten note for what must have been the fiftieth time.

“The Princess of Darkness is promised a common truth that was unrightfully taken from her.”

I stood near the window of the takhta room only wondering with horror who (or what) was to come. Or, at least I assumed something would come to pass. No one would send a note such as this without intentions of delivering some sort of, as they called it, truth.

I heard a footstep and I whipped around, no one was there. But of course there wouldn’t be. I had dismissed the guards hours lalu and not even the servants stayed awake until two in the morning. I stood where I was with my hati, tengah-tengah pounding and my head spinning. But there seemed to be nothing beyond me other than the cold blanket of night and the vacancy of presence.

Obsidian could not find out where I was at this hour.

Lightning splintered the sky and I whirled around for that as well. How stupid it was to become this wary over a note! A simple note! atau maybe I was just trying to convince myself that things were far lebih paradisiacal than I chose to accept. It seemed that I was lebih and lebih often trying to convince myself that things were better than they were… That life was supposed to feel this way, to be this way… But something was always missing. It was as if only half of my soul was with me. As if I knew deep down that maybe I once had known something better…

But it was impossible and only a daydream.
It seemed the note had only aroused these thoughts from the back of my mind and each hari I found that they had not only become recurring, but were enforced sejak my finding of this letter. The soalan about the contents of the letter and who wrote it had kept me up for a week and a half. Ever since I found it in one of my schoolbooks I’ve been on edge. But it’s understandable isn’t it? How on Earth did the thing get there? I had opened the same book on the same page just that morning and I was to believe that it had somehow appeared there on its own accord?

I stared at the window for a long while before I was calm enough to look back down at the paper to read it again.

“Evening, princess.” A voice berkata from behind me.

I started and swung about so quickly that I overturned the table, which held a china vase along with the box and a stack of books, and they all tumbled down with a series of clashes, clatters, and thumping that echoed across the marble floor and throughout the room. A dark laugh joined the already present symphony of reverberating sounds. I stood staring into the everlasting darkness with my hati, tengah-tengah pounding harder than ever.

But, as before, no one was to be seen.
But isn’t it just like the darkness to conceal a friend out of kindness?

“Come now,” The voice continued to speak, “There’s nothing to fear as long as anda cooperate. Understand?” I heard the someone take a step forward, the moon from the window showed a profile, a silhouette contrasting the surrounding darkness, illuminating only the edge of the apparently hooded shadow; but the figure’s face remained hidden.

I was Frozen stiff and unable to utter a single syllable. I continued to stand staring into the blackness only wondering what was next.
He sighed, “If anda must,” The stranger berkata exasperatedly, “Nod yes atau something.”

I always had a strong personality underneath what was to be expected from someone of my status. Even when I was this mortified of what might happen, I had the nerve to shake my head ‘no’.

“Fine,” The someone berkata after a pause, “We’ll do this the hard way.”

The room ignited and the flames began to consume whatever they could get their hands on. The api, kebakaran roared and shed light onto the destruction being created in even the darkest of corners. It began in no order and from no certain direction. It began in chaos and was likely to end that way.
I gaped as the walls of my palace crumbled, as the plaster melted, as the paint peeled, as the smoke slithered towards the ceiling. The lightning outside was no horror compared to this.

I looked at the man in alarm and was rather taken aback when I realized that he was no lebih than sixteen, which was only a tahun older than I. He had pitch dark hair that just passed his shoulders, eyes that glowed blood red, and wore an amused smile. He was obviously enjoying my reaction.

“What have anda done?” I screeched.

He laughed, “I think it’s quite obvious. But if anda still aren’t sure I’d be lebih than happy to set the blaze brighter.”

The api, kebakaran began to grow closer. I turned to my left to try and run and had only taken a few steps when he flicked his wrist lazily and a wave of flames blocked my path. I stopped short and turned to him again and just stood there waiting for some means of escape to suddenly appear. Of course, as my luck runs, none did.

The flames blazed in reds, yellows, and blues. They seemed to grow in a bulatan around me. They ate the floor before my feet and gently spread closer and closer to me as I backed towards the wall. The oxygen was thinning and I couldn’t stop from coughing. I collided with the stone behind me; there was nowhere to run to.

No matter where I looked I was completely surrounded sejak a dinding of fire. Embers glowed, ashes floated through the air…

Everywhere.

The flames parted and the man stepped through them easily. I stood paralyzed with fear and shock as he grabbed my arms and quickly bound my wrists together with a bit of rope from a pocket on the inside of the long black jubah, berjubah he wore. And with a dismissal-like wave of his hand the conflagration was entirely put out, save the quantity of smoke that now filled the room along with the smell of burning fabric. I was once again cast into complete and utter darkness and the only light that remained came from the rosy embers that were scattered across the ground and the lightning that was continuously breaking the barrier between earth and cloud, silence and sound.

He stood before the window behind me and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the glass broke into a thousand tiny needles that rained down on us. I covered my face immediately, listened to the shatters, and waited for the sharp sting of pain before I looked up and finally realized that the glass had fallen in a perfect bulatan around us without a single piece causing us harm. He took me sejak the arm and helped me up onto the window sill. He didn’t force me to come with him; he just sort of helped me. That sort of kindness was something I never expected from an abductor.

Why did I go with him? Even to this day, I do not know. It could have been his act of kindness, atau it could have been that somewhere inside me I wanted to know what truth he wanted to tell me; atau maybe it was the fact that if I didn’t do what he berkata he’d probably kill me. Whichever comes first, right?

I looked down, and, at a height of five stories, it was a dizzying drop.

“Ready?” He asked.

“For what?” I asked nervously. He smirked and then took a step ke hadapan and fell taking me down with him.

I let out a small cry of surprise as my feet departed the sill. I remember turning to watch the window leave me. I remember that time seemed to slow down when, for the first time in my life; I was out of the palace. I saw my hair hayun, swing ke hadapan when my stomach dropped and my hati, tengah-tengah throbbed in my chest. I remember how the rain drops almost seemed to be coming from the ground and sailing towards the sky rather than the other way around. I remember the lightning that sparkled and cracked across the sky before fading into the murky absence of mind and memory; a fear, always forgotten. I remember wanting to just flail and kick and scream bloody murder, but I couldn’t manage even that small feat.

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt his grip on my arm tighten. The air rushed around me as the wind took us into its arms in something almost like a deadly caress. Like a python, locking in on its prey, taking us into its grip, and finally sucking the life out of us. This wasn’t the only time I would feel like this either. Because life was just like a ular sawa, python and it always would be. That would never change. It was something anda couldn’t run away from. Something that couldn’t be relieved even sejak death. Slowly sucking your life away minit sejak minit and all anda could do was stand back and watch as time rolled away and left anda standing in the bitter, unforgiving, utterly cold and dark world.

My thoughts tumbled in my head as we tumbled through the air. I held my breath and waited for us to hit the ground.

I was waiting for my death.

I was waiting for life to flash before my eyes; I later realized that there was no real life for me to remember anyway. There was nothing I was leaving behind other than a broken utama filled with pain and hopelessness. Then, as quickly as our descent to earth had begun, it ended. And the only reason I knew that it ended was because, although I never felt us slow, atau crash, I felt my feet on the ground.

I waited a few moments and then slowly opened my eyes. I looked up at the man; he was pulling the hud, hood of his jubah, berjubah over his head. I felt sick, I was coughing from all the smoke I had just swallowed, and my hati, tengah-tengah was still pounding painfully on the inside of my ribcage. I can honestly say that since then, I have been traumatized. I never go near windows anymore.

My illness must’ve been apparent.

“You’ll be fine in a few minutes.” He reassured.

He threw a cape over my shoulders and pulled my hud, hood as far down as possible so as to cover my face and then we continued across the grounds and on to the streets of the capital.

The rain had slowed within the miles we walked but lightning continued to crash down onto the soil sending shivers throughout the ground all around us. I was tripping over my skirts through the mud and my hair and clothes were absolutely soaked. We had been traveling on foot for at least two hours.

Why did everything want to happen in one night? It’s as if fate had chosen this hari to stumble through my door and bring me down to reality. I thought this with bitterness but my mind would soon be changed.

The streets lay empty. But who would be out in the middle of an electric storm this early? Us, I answered my question.

I heard the gallop of Kuda not far behind.
Honestly, it was only a matter of time before they figured out that I was gone and that the takhta room was nearly ashes, right?

I looked behind us.

“Keep your face hidden atau I’ll break your arm.” The man hissed in my ear.

I was so startled that I slipped and, with a failed attempt to brace myself with my bound arms, landed on my side in a puddle.

The man laughed a little and put out his hand.

“Stand up.” He berkata kindly.

Once again, it was hardly the reaction I thought I would ever get from a kidnapper.

Now I was really drenched.

“Just keep your head down and if they soalan us don’t say anything.” He smiled.

Oh, I’m going to say something!

But I also thought that it was odd to see someone who just burned down your utama and mencuri anda away to be smiling like that. But I followed his orders for the moment. They would just ask who we were and tell us to look up at them; then they would figure out who I was and bring me back to the palace.

It was that simple… But I always thought everything was simple. It’s something I’ve never grown out of.

The sound of galloping continued to grow nearer until one of the riders pulled out in front of us. I stopped walking but, as I had been directed, I kept my head down. From the corner of my eye I saw that there was another rider to the right but they seemed to be lacking a third which was the usual number.

I heard the rider on the right jump down from his horse and pull out a slip of paper.

“Excuse me sir, have anda seen this man?” The rider asked my kidnapper.

“You two scared me to death!”

I looked up and my eyes came upon two cloaked riders. One of which, my abductor was glaring at quite menacingly. The stare would’ve chilled me to the bone had it been aimed in my direction, but the rider smiled and rolled his eyes unfazed.

He was tall with dark eyes and had blonde hair that hung unevenly at his jawline. He wore a deep mahogany colored cape identical to the one my kidnapper, and now I, wore.

The rider still mounted frowned a bit and shook her head. She seemed to know that my captor meant to start something.

She looked about the same age as I was. I saddened a bit at the fact, a shame she had to go and get mixed up with criminals this young. She seemed to know what she was doing, however. She sat high on a beautiful gray stallion with a green jubah, berjubah flowing down her back and running down to her ankles. Long ivory hair cascading over her shoulders and brilliant orange eyes with a sort of hopeful glint stared down at me pityingly. She really was a marvel.

“And give me that!” The wizard demanded, pulling the paper out of the other man’s hand and after crumpling it into a ball and shoving it into his pocket he added bitterly, “Why are anda here anyway? anda left two months ago.”

“I figured I’d come back to help anda two out.” He smiled.

“Yes, because seeing anda in the morning is the highlight of my day.” Aundre berkata sarcastically.

“Leave Hamish alone, would you?” berkata the girl exasperatedly.

“Yes, Aundre. Leave Hamish alone…” Hamish sneered.

“Oh, do anda depend on Zemphira for all of your sly comebacks now?” Aundre retorted, climbing onto a third horse that I hadn’t noticed before.

Hamish was about to raise objections when Zemphira stepped in again.

“It is four in the morning.” She berkata sternly, looking back and forth between them, “I am tired. And I’m sure our guest is as well.”

Now was my chance, I began slowly backing away.

“Phira, I know you’re new to the whole kidnapping thing, but I generally don’t consider the person I’m abducting to be a guest.” Aundre remarked.

She glowered at him.

I crept farther and farther away from the quarrelsome trio before I turned and broke into a run. Their voices were dying away and the ones I heard were merely whispers.

I shouldn’t have run.

If I hadn’t maybe they wouldn’t have realized I had left. When anda start to run through puddles and make all kinds of splashing and stumbling, the only thing anda could hope was that whoever anda were running from was deaf; and obviously they couldn’t be.

Then, there was a sudden crash of thunder and I was seterusnya to the Kuda again only about ten feet away with a rope closed tightly around my stomach and my hands still tied behind my back. I tried to wriggle free and was throwing all my weight against alternate sides of the cord in an attempt to do so.

Aundre easily reeled me in.

“Calm down.” He berkata half sighing.

I continued to lean ke hadapan and fight the pull. My feet scraped across the stubborn ground through the mud and puddles and pebbles; but I was relentless.

He gave the line one last yank and my back was shoved into the saddle of the horse on which he was mounted. He kept the lariat so powerfully taut that I could hardly move.

I finally gave up and tossed my sopping wet hair out of my face to glare at him. He was smiling down at me completely undaunted.

“May… I… Help you?” I asked fiercely as I panted.

“Not really,” He mused, “We were just wondering where anda were going.”

“All of a sudden it actually matters to you?”

There was a moment of silence and his look softened a bit.

“You and I both know there’s no use going back.”

I just continued to glare but I considered what he said. He was right, the palace held nothing for me. Obsidian had nothing for me.

Let him worry, I thought. I felt a sudden pang of guilt at that statement. All Obsidian had done for me…

Like what?

My eyes must’ve telah diberi me away for a new sort of smug, triumphant smile played on his lips.

He jumped off his horse and the moment he did I clenched my fists, backed up, and tried to ram into him. But I literally flew straight through him and tumbled into the mud again. Something struck my shoulder and I winced.

“Nice try,” He taunted, “But it will take lebih than that.”

He took the end of the cable that held me and tied it to a large cart, troli full of supplies attached to Hamish’s horse; something else that seemed to just appear out of nowhere; and it probably did.

Aundre climbed back onto the kuda, steed and I got back onto my feet unsteadily.

I glared again and sent two thousand imaginary daggers in his direction.

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you… I berkata this over and over in my mind half-wishing he could hear me.

We rode off through town (meaning, they rode off and I was left behind the cart, troli just dragging along) and up to a small, almost dilapidated, white building with a thatch roof; and sejak that time the storm was writhing again, perhaps worse than before. Aundre jumped off his horse and tied the reins to a shed that was practically free building-lumber on the side of the road. Zemphira and Hamish, following suit, climbed down and tied theirs’ as well.

Zemphira walked over to the cart, troli and untied the line that held me to it. She collected the rope sejak looping it loosely about her arm and walked over to me. I tried to study her expression; she couldn’t possibly feel good about doing this. But her hud, hood kept her eyes hidden and she never made a alih to look up at me. She focused intently on untying the knot that bound my wrists together and didn’t say a word.

As she threw the rope in the back of the cart, troli Hamish took hold of one of my arms and Zemphira took the other.

Aundre snapped his fingers and the door swung open. There was a series of loud snaps and splintering as some resistant locks, chains, and bolts that had kept the door shut broke away.
Hamish and Zemphira dragged me into the room. The air was nearly black and the door was left swinging and flapping in the storm for a few fleeting moments and when it was I stared out at the scene almost longingly. Lightning cracked across the sky again as the wind and rain lashed against the wood of the house. The ground was mud and stone occasionally stained with blue light as the sky flashed in its horrific display of power. I yearned to run, to be free from their grip; I longed to be safely locked away behind the palace walls again. But even inside the palace I wasn’t safe, I knew that; but surely being there was better than living with a band of outlaws. But honestly, I didn’t know how long they planned on keeping me alive; unless they would just kill me and get it over with.

The door suddenly snapped shut, thus ending any Fantasi I had of making a quick escape. All light was gone except for a faint glow and flash of light in the cracks of the doorframe and a nearby window that appeared to be covered with thin cloth. I turned away from the light and stared into the blackness and when I did I began to notice the sound of a constant drip coming from several different directions and the smell of stale air hinted with mold. Once again, Aundre appeared as a silhouette against the night air. He seemed to be leaning over some sort of glass object. He made some sort of pantas, swift gesture above it and only a moment later a deep flame began to rise from inside revealing it to be a lantern. That one flame seemed to be a cue for all the other lights in the room to come alive. One sejak one, small flames grew on the wick of candles atau inside the crystal fixtures all throughout the alcove.

The old room was washed with a yellow glow, revealing dusty floors and untouched cabinets, whitewashed walls, an unpainted wooden staircase that was missing a few steps, and a grimy meja, jadual surrounded sejak several mismatched chairs of different heights and prints. A stack of old buku and papers lay on the meja, jadual that clearly hadn’t been touched in who-knows-how-long.

And the candles were shoved in the oddest places.

Some were melted to the meja, jadual atau floor and some were sticking sideways straight out of the wall! The kerosene lamps were carefully slanted as they sat halfway on a book atau some other strange, and most likely magical, object. There were buckets all over the room and they sat catching raindrops from the many holes in the water stained roof.

Zemphira and Hamish untied my hands and led me over to one of the chairs. The kerusi, tempat duduk backed out from under the meja, jadual sejak itself and a series of ropes broke through the seams of the plush fabric. I stumbled backwards, atau would have if Zemphira and Hamish hadn’t held me there with such a tight grip. The strings sped towards me with incredible speed and locked onto my wrists. They felt strange, not like ropes exactly, they were cool, smooth, and sejak the way they positioned themselves and pulled me closer, I could’ve sworn they had muscles. But I didn’t let it faze me for lebih than a moment.

I wasn’t giving up without a fight!

I braced myself and leaned back as far as I could but they still dragged me closer. They crept farther up my arms and then crawled down to my back and up to my shoulders. They had enclosed themselves so tightly that I gave up fighting and just let them reel me in. They dragged me roughly into the chair, but even after they had secured me there, they didn’t loosen their grip. I heaved out and involuntary sigh of exhaustion and winced as the slimy coils strapped my ankles uncomfortably to the legs of the chair. I glanced down at my feet but was met with a pair of small yellow eyes and a flicking tongue instead.

I caught my breath; I was so scared I couldn’t scream.

I was wrapped in snakes.

The yellow eyes stared at me with an un-breaking gaze but it only continued to flick its tongue.

“What’s wrong?” Aundre joked, “You don’t like snakes?”

I didn’t respond and just kept my eyes glued to the creature. The snake finally looked away and slithered around to the back of my chair. I shivered.

I pushed the thought of the serpent into the back of my mind and swallowed.

Aundre was staring at me seeming interested in my reaction when I said,

“Why am I here?” My voice shook a little.

“A lot of reasons,” He began, “Where do anda want me to start?”

I glanced nervously at the coils again.

“Anywhere,” I responded after a few moments, “Just explain yourself.”

He hesitated. I threw a few glances in his direction; he stared at the stack of buku in front of us with his hands clasped for a while.

“What did they tell you,” He asked slowly, “About the Darkness?”

I forgot about the snake that instant and looked up at him.

“What kind of a soalan is that?” I scoffed, “It’s a country, the country we’re in right now and I’m the daughter of Obsidian, the king.”

Zemphira and Hamish exchanged glances.

“Ha!” Aundre sneered, “He calls himself a king!” He looked over at Zemphira, “I told anda she wouldn’t know anything.”

“Is it wrong to be optimistic?” Zemphira asked exasperatedly.

“I think it is.” Aundre replied.

“Told them what?” I interrupted, looking back and forth between them.

“They lied to you.” He shrugged.

“Aundre!” She snapped.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” He retorted. He looked back at me, “Your ‘father’, is a dictator, the dictator of Imbroglio. That is the name of the country anda supposedly rule, however, Obsidian is not your father.”

“What do anda mean? I ought to know who my family is!”

“But anda don’t.” He answered.

I remained silent; unable to find the words to argue with such a statement.

“The Darkness,” He continued, “Is a side, or, an operation to keep him in supremacy. We,” He nodded to the others, “Are members of the Shadows; an organization also known as, the revolution.”
“And the Light,” Hamish picked up where he left off, “Is another group that’s against his control. The difference is that the Light only wants to rebel. They want the laws changed so that he doesn’t have as much power as he does presently.”

I rolled my eyes, “You people are crazy.”

Zemphira and Hamish just looked at each other again and then turned expectantly towards Aundre and, as they had hoped, he took over.

“Tell me about your ninth birthday.” Aundre said.

“What?”

“It’s not that hard of a question, is it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Fine,” I berkata reluctantly.

I thought back, farther and farther and was silent for several minit when I realized that I couldn’t remember when I was nine. I couldn’t remember anything before that age either. I had no memories whatsoever of my childhood. I could hardly believe that I hadn’t noticed this gap in my past before.

“You don’t know, do you?” Aundre asked.

I just looked at him not knowing how to respond after gaining this kind of knowledge.

“They erased your memory.” He said, “And they could have planted fake ones in your mind which, in my opinion, they should have done. But I guess they figured that if they could keep anda occupied with lessons and buku anda wouldn’t have time to think.”

“If anda are telling the truth, why? Why would anda give me this information?”

Once again, the others allowed Aundre to take control of the discussion.

“Because we need your help.”

“With what?”

“The Darkness has bigger plans than just keeping their master in power. The seterusnya step is to recruit all the wizards, witches, and in general anyone with some sort of skill that they can use when they take over completely and secure their position. If we permit them to do this life as we know it will cease to exist. When they gain enough power they will put a guard at every jalan corner, they will be able to get away with any crime they wish…”

“What does this have to do with me?” I cut him off.

“You are going to be the one to stop him.”

“You can’t be serious!”

I looked at Zemphira and Hamish expecting this to be some sort of elaborate joke.

It wasn’t.

Aundre reached into his jubah, berjubah and pulled out a piece of paper, he set it in front of me and gave me a quill and inkpot. As he did so, the snake untangled itself from my left hand.

“What’s this?” I asked, eyeing it skeptically.

“An oath, pledging your allegiance to the Shadows.”

I started to raise an objection but was stopped when he said,

“Without signing this, anda remain one of those murdering cutthroats that wish to kill off anyone that doesn’t agree with their ideas. sejak signing this anda are agreeing to end his reign permanently.”

I paused for a moment.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I berkata slowly, “I have no quarrel with Obsidian.”

“Something tells me you’re lying, princess.”

My eyes flicked up at him. He could see right through me.

He stared me dead in the eyes.

“I could make Erasamus tighten her grip.” He threatened, glancing down at the serpent.

On command, the snake crept farther up my chest and began to pull itself tighter and tighter. I took a sharp intake of breath and stared at its body as it wound around my waist.

“All I have to do is say the word,” He kept staring at me expressionless.

Zemphira, who had been staring at the reptile is as much horror as I was, finally had the nerve to speak out. She tore her gaze away from me.

“Stop it, Aundre!” She said, her voice shaking.

His eyes snapped over in her direction for no lebih than a second.

“Sign.” He commanded me.

I didn’t move.

He whispered something… A low hissing noise escaped his lips.

The creature stopped coiling and raised its head to glare at me. Its mouth slowly spread revealing a long set of dripping fangs. My breathing was shallow and my hati, tengah-tengah was racing.

“I’ll call her off the moment anda sign.” He berkata solemnly.

Slowly I raised my left hand and reached for the pen. The snake backed away for a moment but continued to watch me as carefully as Aundre did.

“I’m… I’m right handed.” I stuttered.

“Just sign.” He berkata sternly.

I slowly lifted my gaze over to my hand. I dipped the tip gingerly in the pot and held it lightly in my fingers.

I put the quill to the paper, took a deep breath, and slowly the name “Xanthe A. Scrope” was shaped under the last line. The moment the last letter was formed the quill zipped out of my hands and the contract and ink had disappeared into thin air as well.

The snake immediately loosened up and slithered across the table. I shivered again. I could have sworn lebih than one of the slimy creatures had come at me, but maybe I was just delirious; I hadn’t slept, after all. Aundre stood and collected it. Meaning, he extended one arm and allowed it to crawl up his sleeve.

“Excellent.” He grinned broadly, “You are now and forever bound to this contract. The spell that anda just signed doesn’t allow anda to escape us atau tell anyone about the charm you’re under unless they already know.”

“What?” I growled. “I didn’t agree to anything. anda forced me to!”

“Well, I’m certainly sorry anda feel that way.” He
drummed his fingers on the meja, jadual a few times before turning his sick grin towards Zemphira who was still horrified that he had nearly killed me, “See, Phira? I may not have the best people skills in the normal situations, but I’ve found threats tend to work better anyway.”

Just then there was a heavy pounding on the door.

“In the name of King Obsidian, open up!” The guard hollered. He started banging on the door again.

Aundre’s smile spread wider still, “I have a feeling that’s for us.”