Missing Royal

by Konstanz Silverbow

  I like this dragon.

  “We need to go tonight,” I add.

  “Then tonight we shall go.”

  Sneaking out of the castle was the easiest part. Climbing onto Fuentes’ back? That was more of a task. But riding while he flies above the clouds in the dead of night is the worst. I’m so cold, I’m beginning to grow numb.

  The wind rushing over me spikes my goose bumps. The hair at the back of my neck stands on end. The only comforting thing about riding on Fuentes’ back rather than riding Star is that he’s warm enough to keep me from freezing to death. I try to look ahead.

  With the wind in my face, I can’t see much. But it isn’t long before Fuentes descends and lands in the only opening in sight in the forest below us.

  I slide down from his back the minute I can and walk to the end of the forest. At the edge of the valley, the life ends. From that point to the middle of the valley where a large castle sits, the trees are black—black with a copper tint. It’s the strangest-looking forest I’ve ever seen. This is, no doubt, Mendina’s lair. The place where she has done the most damage.

  Fuentes speaks to me with his mind. “Do not go further. Return to the cover of the trees.” I do as he says.

  “From here, you must walk. I will only approach the castle when I see that you are safely inside.” This is not going to be fun.

  I turn away from our destination and toward Fuentes. “See you in a little while, I guess. Wish me luck.” I’m unable to keep my voice from shaking.

  “Shanice, you do not need luck. You are luck. I will see you soon, Princess.”

  I know that if I reply or go closer to Fuentes, I will break down and never go farther.

  On my heel, I turn and begin walking a lonely walk. One, two, three, four, five, six. I count each step. I stop, having taken my last one on ground that is not tainted. Deep breaths. Heart steady. Clear mind, clear sight. Walk. One step, and I feel it. Feel her. The very ground is tainted by her hate. It is her hate that has eaten every living thing here and turned it as black as her heart. The trees, the grass, the flowers, everything a reflection of her anger.

  The path is dark and lonely. The sun cannot shine where I walk. I try so hard not to touch or brush up against anything but in the dense forest of darkness, it is inevitable.

  Many thousands of steps later, I stand just within the tree line, watching, waiting for any sign of life. Speranza was very clear in her instructions. Arrive before the sun sets. Do not go beyond the forest until the sun sets the sky on fire. Before stepping upon the grounds, make sure there is no sign of life, no guards or gardeners around to see you. Do not speak to anyone—do not make a scene. Walk in, go left and down the stairs. Find the dungeons and rescue Kajetan.

  Go beyond the dungeon to the lower level hidden by light. Find the third door, walk in, and find Krea and Speranza. Take Kajetan and leave immediately. The hardest part of her instructions sticks out painfully. Do not argue with me when you arrive. Get in, find him, and get out as fast as you can. I cannot leave yet, nor can Krea. Not until our dear princess witch has been defeated. If you wish for us to be free, do that. How can I be there, able to help, but she won’t allow it? If she leaves, Mendina cannot touch her.

  The paths are clear. The door leading inside is right in front of me. I painfully wait for the sun to begin setting, therefore setting the sky on fire.

  The moment the sun begins to rise, the light hits just right and I know it’s time.

  The door creaks when I open it. It’s obvious that not many rooms are used in this mansion. The kitchen is abandoned, which makes me wonder if Mendina eats. Even if she doesn’t, what do her prisoners eat?

  The halls are black. No sconces in the walls. No fires lit. Cold, damp, and dark, the whole place has a very unwelcoming feel to it. I haven’t been inside for a full ten minutes and my senses are begging, pleading with me to leave. I wish I could. But I continue on, following Speranza’s directions perfectly. For being a dragon locked up in the lowest level of the castle, she sure knows her way around. I wonder if Krea has helped her.

  I try to think of anything except where I’m at and all the creatures that could be eying me right now. That thought makes me shiver, and I walk a little faster.

  Mendina’s heart is as black as hate. I’m beginning to believe she doesn’t know any other colors because everything inside is the same. Black, black, black. That’s not what’s important right now. Focus. I chide myself and continue.

  I reach the door I’m looking for and pull the handle. As I do, the door is pushed from the other side. I nearly jump out of my skin as a young woman comes forward. We both scream, just staring at each other.

  “Who are you?” She asks. I myself take a minute, getting my heartbeat to a safe level. Now I’m at a loss for words. I was never told what to do if caught by someone other than Mendina.

  “Who are you?” I counter, stalling.

  “Amara. Now tell me what you’re doing here.” She folds her arms and stares at me. I clear my throat.

  “Are you happy here?” I’m out of time.

  “Excuse me? You don’t belong here, do you?”

  No point in lying now. “Not exactly.”

  The woman looks at me, her eyes wide with panic.

  “You’re her, aren’t you? You’re here to kill he-” She is stopped mid-sentence by the pole in my hands coming in contact with her skull. I can’t let her get me caught.

  “I’m sorry but it had to be done.” I step over her unconscious body and shake, realizing I just physically harmed another human being. Not something I ever want to do again. A shiver runs up my spine. I look around to make sure nobody was around to see or hear all of that before slipping behind the door and down the stairs.

  It’s even darker down here. I rush down the steps until I hit the bottom. Here it’s is a bit lighter but not much. I find the door I’m looking for and open it.

  Lying in a pile of blood and rags is a man. He looks very much like Javiar with his short-cropped hair, though this man is dirty from lying in the mess around him. I rush to his side and check for breathing and a heartbeat. He is alive, if only barely. There is a plate of food on it sitting next to him. It must have been brought by that woman. I stick my finger in the cup next to the plate and lick it. Water. Tastes fine. I pour some into the man’s mouth.

  He gasps and sputters. Then his eyes open. “Who are you?” he asks, his voice raspy, putting his hand over mine.

  “It doesn’t matter. We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?” I whisper, terrified someone else will find me. Will find him. He’s already been through enough. This man is in horrible condition, and I can only imagine what horrors he has lived through.

  A screeching noise, following by loud bangs and shouting, alert me that Fuentes has arrived, successfully providing a distraction.

  “I do not know that I am worth your time. There is nothing in this world left for me. Go, get out of here before you are stuck here forever, because I promise you, this is not a life worth having.” He leans on one elbow, grasping my hand in his.

  “Your Majesty, I assure you, there are things worth living for. You have a wife waiting for you, and I promised her I would make sure you got there.” I bend down so I am eye level with him. Tears spring in his eyes. He sits up completely now.

  “It has been many, many years since someone has called me ‘Your Majesty’. Who are you?” I can see him as king, sitting in regal clothing with a crown upon his head.

  “I am a simple girl who made a promise. Now please, while we have the chance, come with me. I came to save you, and I’m not leaving without you.” I bring my face closer to his. “Your daughter is here as well. We’re going to rescue her too. Please, come with me.” I did not expect to cry. But tears come.

  “And my son?” he asks.

  “He is a hero. And my friend. And waiting with his mother for you to return home.” I know I shouldn’t lie. Javiar isn’t waiting. If he is waiting, it is for me. But I
cannot tell his father that at the moment.

  “Thank you.” Kajetan pulls himself to his feet and stands a head taller than me. “Tell me what to do.” He says it with all the power he can muster, which isn’t much. But it is enough.

  “Follow me. We are short on time, and I must save Krea before we leave. I at least have to try.” I run now, down the halls and through the dungeon. This must have once been a very small kingdom. The dungeon is tiny. There are only a few cells before I reach the end.

  A dead end, I realize. I look around and begin feeling the wall.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to find the door hidden by light,” I answer, standing back and looking. There is nothing. No door, no light, no signs.

  “This way.” He grabs my hand and pulls me into one of the cells, the only one with a window. I look at the wall opposite of the window and begin feeling it. Hidden where only one who knows about it would find it is a small knob. I twist it but nothing happens. I pull it with the same result. Sliding it doesn’t work either.

  “Do you know how to open it?” I stand back, frustrated. We’re running out of time, and we never had a lot of that. Beside the window, the shrieking, screaming, and battling is louder. I don’t dare look out there, afraid of what I might see.

  “You must block all the light.” He stands in front of the window, blocking the light from touching the door. I barely touch the handle before the door opens with a loud pop.

  Another set of stairs. I begin working my way down them, Kajetan close behind. The scene is eerily similar. And so is the room the stairs lead to—almost an exact replica of the pool room back home.

  “My dear child, you have come.” I look toward the end of the room. There lays the most beautiful dragon.

  “Speranza!” I rush toward her. She stands to her full height and smiles at me.

  “Thank you for coming. I see you have more than one dragon on your side.” She smiles wider. The noise of the battle outside echoes throughout the room.

  “They come in handy.” I smile back.

  “Now you need to leave,” Speranza says to me before turning away.

  “I cannot leave you here,” I say, mustering up all my sympathy when all I really want to do is grab her wing and drag her out of here before we are all caught. Tears pour down my cheeks.

  “I promise, you are already saving me. Now please, go without me before the witch hears you.”

  Our time is lost. I can hear the angry screeches of the princess who wants me dead. Mendina knows I’m here. Just when I fear all hope was lost, the wall to my right begins to shake. Fuentes breaks through, only moving enough bricks for us to escape.

  His eye fills the hole as he looks in to make sure the plan hasn’t changed.

  Fuentes looks at me, and then at Speranza. This is why he offered to come—he was looking for her. I wonder if Speranza and Fuentes are related.

  But I don’t have time to dwell on it. I grab Kajetan’s hand and run over the rubble straight to Fuentes, who doesn’t take the time for us to climb on his back. He scoops each of us up in his claws and takes flight.

  Above the black forest, and back where we parted ways, Fuentes sets us down. We don’t stop long enough for food or rest. I climb onto his back, and Kajetan follows me. Once we’re both holding on to the dragon’s scales, he takes flight once more.

  I questioned for a long while whether or not to take Kajetan to Umare. But in the end, it has to be Garverdale. There will be too many questions if I take him home. So I take him to his home.

  The sun has long set when Fuentes lands. “Shanice, part ways with the king. We must return to Umare before the sun rises.”

  I clamber down from his back and stand in front of him. “Thank you.” I wrap my arms around the small portion of his neck I can reach. I can feel the rumbling as he laughs.

  “Your task is one that should not be done alone.” He nods before turning and flapping his wings. The trees on either side shake as he does. I watch him become smaller in the night sky before turning to Kajetan.

  “Someone here has been longing to see you again. If not for her, I might not have found Mendina’s weakness.” I take his arm and allow him to lean on me as he stumbles along. Despite it being the dead of night, I walk straight for Danica’s door.

  I knock three times before I can hear shuffling inside. Not a word is said as the door opens, a confused Danica looking at me. I take a step back so all she sees is him. And the tears that rush down her cheeks say it all.

  No words needed, she falls into his arms. I can hear him crying as well as they are reunited. My own eyes fill with tears, knowing I have helped them find each other again. It may not have been my true task but I learned something about Mendina that I did not know before.

  She is afraid of light, she loves her dragon, and she is now weaker, knowing I broke through her defenses.

  “Shanice!” Danica gasps, pulling away from Kajetan. “Your gift is one I can never repay. But I will try until the day I die.” She pulls me into her arms. “Now come. Eat, rest, and tomorrow, I—”

  “Danica, it is one you do not need to repay. And I thank you for the offer but my ride is waiting.” I kiss her cheek. “Now go. The king needs to be cared for far more than I do.” I look toward Kajetan but he isn’t there. He’s already gone inside.

  “Thank you, Your Highness.” She bows. I pull her into my arms and hug her before walking alone in the dark to the forest where Fuentes is waiting.

  I wake and think back on the night before as though it were a distant memory. Ecstatic over saving Kajetan, I still wish we could have saved Krea and Speranza as well.

  But my task is far from over. One royal saved with many more to go. I slip out of my nightgown and into the dress Edda has set out for me. She isn’t here as she usually is when I awake, so I change on my own.

  I need to find Valentino so we can go in search of the twin princes. They are by far closer than Amber—the one the mymees told me to find.

  I open my door and realize I don’t have far to go to find Valentino. He’s standing at my door, his hand up as if he was about to knock. He lowers it. His eyes are red, jaw clenched, hands in fists. Never before have I seen him more livid. But not just that—he’s hurt. I take a step back, wishing I had thought up an excuse for yesterday beforehand.

  “Where were you?” he says through a clenched jaw. I want to lie. Telling him the truth will make things so much worse. But I can’t lie, because the second I do, I’m going to have to lie to everyone. And worse yet, it will haunt me.

  I take a calming breath before replying. “I had a task that needed to be done. Something I didn’t need help with.” It isn’t all the truth but it isn’t a lie, either.

  “Shanice, you were gone for an entire day. Didn’t you think that people were going to worry when you weren’t where they expected you to be?” He sounds more like a father scolding their child than a friend watching out for me.

  I feel bad for sneaking off but this? “Did you think that maybe, my life doesn’t revolve around everyone else’s? I was brought here—not by choice. And now I’m trying to stop the evil that threatens everyone, and I’m being questioned because I wasn’t where someone expected me to be?” It makes me sick.

  And I know I shouldn’t blow up at him but he isn’t the only one who’s hurt here. I hate the way I love him but get the cold shoulder. I hate that he gets closer to me and then backs away again. And I hate how he let something I said affect our entire relationship, ruin our friendship.

  “You’re right. It doesn’t. But there are people who care about you, Shanice. You didn’t tell anyone you were leaving. What were we supposed to think?” He shakes his head, clenching his jaw again.

  I get ready to defend my actions but he doesn’t give me the chance. “The day in Wentsden, you kissed me right before you left. You said good-bye and ran. I thought I hurt you. Now I realize you feared you wouldn’t be coming back. So no, you don’t have to answer to
me but you could have the courtesy to let me know that you may be in danger. If something had happened, if you didn’t come back, what was I supposed to have done?”

  I bite my lower lip, unable to speak as I think of how my actions looked to him. I hadn’t considered the good-bye I left him with. That did look bad. And I did kiss him in case I never got the chance again.

  But I never meant to hurt him, to make him worry. “I’m sorry.” I look at the floor, at my shoes, his shoes, anywhere but his face. I feel his hands against my cheeks and look up. He leans closer, our noses almost touching.

  “Please don’t leave like that again. I c—”

  “Shanice!” I look up and see Edda marching toward me, looking none too happy. Valentino steps away, and my heart sinks. “By dragons, Princess! What were you thinking? I don’t appreciate that. And with no excuse? What was I to tell the king and queen when they requested your presence? What was I to tell your father when he came marching to this door, demanding to speak with you?” Edda doesn’t even notice Valentino as she wraps her arms around me.

  “Don’t scare me like that, Princess! If something had happened … ” She shudders.

  “Just as I was explaining to her,” Valentino chimes in.

  “All right, I get it. It won’t happen again, and I’m sorry for scaring you.” I hold up my hands in defense.

  Edda huffs. “Well, I hope not. And now, because I wasn’t prepared for you to be here, I must go get your breakfast.” Just as fast as she approached, she leaves. I look up at Valentino, but he doesn’t move any closer—just stands with his hands behind his back.

  The moment was broken. “We need to figure out our next plan.” I want to say so much more but it appears he’s back to business.

  He nods in agreement.

  Six weeks ago, I lived the everyday, average teenage life. School, work, homework, repeat. Five weeks ago, I wished more than anything that was what I was doing. Four weeks ago, I decided to make the best of what I had. In the last six weeks, I have almost lost my life multiple times, made mistakes, said stupid things, got engaged, made a new friend, and gained a new perspective.