Please and thank yous. ^^
The Lost Elements
Brenda peeked around the corner and down the corridor, but saw nothing among the stone walls. She braved a step around the corner, the echo of her heels ricocheting off the walls. She folded her arms closely across her chest, shivers running down her spine. Teeth chattering, she slowly walked down the hallway, her green dress brushing gently across her ankles and sending more chills down her back.
“Sara,” she managed to say through clenched teeth. She gasped as the sound of scurrying feet echoed in the hall. She turned around in a panic and watched a rat run down the edge of the hallway. Brenda froze, a quiet scream erupting from her lips as her brown eyes flicked around the room. What other surprises did this dungeon hold?
“S-Sara,” Brenda squeaked as she forced herself to continue. She looked this way and that, her hair tickling her neck. Her brown bangs were hanging in her face, but she didn’t have the extra energy to brush them aside. It was hard enough to walk down the corridor.
The sound of a pebble rolling resonated throughout the dungeon. Brenda sucked in her breath, her fingernails pinching her arm through her large sleeves draped over her arm like the palace window curtains.
“Sara, this isn’t funny,” Brenda spoke, her voice shaking terribly. She reached the end of the hallway and stopped, looking left and right. Which way did her cousin go? Brenda didn’t want to go either way. She wanted to run back to their master’s library where rats didn’t scurry across the floor or pebbles arbitrarily fly across the hallways. Why was her cousin so curious?
“Sara!” Brenda called loudly, though vibrations were still heard in her speech. She clutched her sleeve cuffs and tightened her arms around her bodice before turning down the right hallway. It was terribly cold in the dungeon. Her teeth began to chatter and goosebumps shot up on her arms.
She started to become fidgety. Over and over, she’d shake her dress to remind herself that nothing was down there tickling her ankles. She rubbed her arms against each other to calm her chills. Meanwhile, her eyes darted left and right to the disgusting little insects and rodents lurking the corridors.
A soft cackle sounded and Brenda shrieked, looking all around her for the source. She didn’t know what to do, but her feet had a good idea. She ran down the stone corridor, turning corners and dodging spiders hanging from the ceiling by thin glittering threads. The laughter continued to be heard, scaring Brenda even more. She didn’t know where she was going, and she wouldn’t know how to get back, but she wasn’t going to stop and think about it.
“Ahh!” Brenda cried as she tripped over her dress, falling to the floor. She put out her hand to catch her fall, but the force was too much. A loud crack! echoed through the dungeon. Her wrist bent at an awkward angle and she landed on her forearm. Brenda whimpered from the throbbing pain in her arm, sweat beading her tan face. She struggled to sit up on her knees before looking around her. She had entered a circular room where skeletons littered the floor and hung from metal chains on the walls. Tears sprung to Brenda’s eyes as she tried to stand up, cradling her injured arm. She fell on her knees again when her shaking legs wouldn’t support her weight.
The laughter was much louder now.
“Sara!” Brenda yelled in terror. She looked down to her injured arm cradled against her bodice. Lifting her better hand over her throbbing arm, she attempted to heal the bones. Her healing hand glowed a bright blue, but nothing happened as a tear dropped from her eyes, disturbing the glittering magic she was casting.
“Sara, where are you?” Brenda shrieked, anxiously adjusting her sitting position. She gave up healing her injuries, seeing as it did absolutely nothing due to her fear.
“The princess is unavailable,” a cold voice hissed. Brenda jumped at the sound and instinctively started scooting backwards. Unavilable? Brenda felt more alone than she had the entire time she was down here. Sara—along with her little companion, Puka—would protect them with her magic, magic their master trained them to use. Brenda didn’t possess the gift of magic. She was a healer, and a healer had no power against an evil wizard, assuming this voice belonged to one.
“Sara!” Brenda screamed this time. She stopped scooting back to catch her breath. Sara had to be out there somewhere! Sara was the last person to disappear so mysteriously. Of course, as the princess, she was always in danger of murderers or kidnappers. She always got out of those situations, though. She was an amazing sorceress. What had happened?
“Get her! The healer’s mine!”
Brenda whimpered again and attempted another heal on her arm. She took deep breaths this time, hoping to calm her nerves and encourage the mending. It didn’t work though. She jumped at the sound of clacking bones. She looked up, her eyes wide with horror.
The skeletons around the room rose up from the ground, their eye sockets filled with bright yellow glow. Brenda resumed scurrying backwards until she bumped into a stair. She twirled around and whimpered as her arm carelessly dropped to the ground. Looking up, her jaw dropped open and she fell backwards.
Atop the tiny staircase was Sara, sitting on a stone throne, her pale face staring blankly across the room. Her hands dangled over the ends of the throne’s arms, her blue dress torn and covered with dirt. A tiny golden tiara sat in her blonde hair, the light blue gem being the only sign of life.
“Sara!” Brenda screamed at her, stumbling up the stairs when she noticed the skeletons were gaining on her. She tried desperately to ignore the pain in her arm as she confronted her cousin. “Sara! Wake up! Please!” She started to cry, knowing there was nothing she could do against this army of undead.
“Your pathetic attempts do nothing.”
By instinct, Brenda snatched the tiara from Sara’s hair before running to the wall behind the throne. If there was any way out of this, she would want to keep something that belonged to Sara.
“No! The tiara! Get the tiara!”
Brenda’s heart would pop out of her chest if it didn’t calm down. The skeletons seemed to have picked up their slow pace to get her and the tiara. Why did he want the tiara? There was nothing special about it—only that it belonged to her newly lost cousin.
Brenda picked up her injured arm before taking off at a run, staying as close to the wall as possible. She just barely missed a snatching skeletal hand. She was almost at the door and could soon run away from this awful room.
She screamed and stopped short of a fresh group of undead appearing in the doorway. She walked backwards, away from all of the undead creatures, until she hit the cold stone wall behind her. If she was going to live, she’d have to dash through the army, but her shaking legs would never support such a feat.
She was going to do it. She had to tell her majesty about the princess.
Brenda put the tiara in her brown hair so she could better support her arm. However, as soon as she set it atop her head, the disembodied voice hissed a scream of horror, catching Brenda off guard. “Get her!”
Brenda didn’t know what to do. She wished Sara or someone was here to help her—
—until the gem began to glow.
The skeletons halted just feet in front of her and started stepping back, afraid of what the tiara was doing. Brenda’s legs started shaking again. She was going to fall to the ground again. What was happening? Was this the end? Did the wizard do it?
Brenda gaped at the result. Everyone was quiet. The skeletons didn’t move, the voice said nothing, and Brenda was on the verge of laughing. This was such a relief. She was safe now.
Puka was here to help.
“That’s it?” the voice said with humor.
That was it. The bundle of blue flames settled right in front of Brenda. The skeletons cowered under the bright lights it let off. Within the flames, Brenda could see the little imp dancing from one foot to the next, excited to see her. Brenda fell to her knees, thankful for such a miracle.
“Get the healer!” the voice shrieked with rage.
Brenda returned to reality and stood up again, wincing from the pain in her arm. Puka stopped dancing at the sound of the voice. His pointed ears twitched and he turned to face the cowering skeletons. He cocked his head, wondering what they were doing.
“You fools! Get the girl!”
The skeletons straightened and took a step forward before Puka squawked. They stopped at the strange sound he made and braced themselves for what might happen next. Brenda watched nervously, chewing her fingernails—a habit her master had tried get her to break.
The blue fire around the imp seemed to be getting bigger and brighter. Brenda knelt on the floor and covered her eyes to shield them from the light. She heard the skeletons make a hollow scream and then stop. There was dead silence. The light dimmed and Brenda looked up. Only Puka was there, and he danced in front of Brenda excitedly.
“No! You will be mine, healer!”
“What did you do?” Brenda asked as she slowly stood up, unsure if she was safe. Puka, on the other hand, danced across the room to where Sara sat. Brenda almost called out to Puka, worried what may happen, but only the little demon would know if they were in danger. She followed him toward Sara and stood in front of her.
Her cousin sat undisturbed. Now that Brenda wasn’t in danger of being taken away by skeletons, she could study her cousin to the fullest. It was a frightening picture too. Her usually bushy blonde hair was now in thick strings, and her eyes were empty of all emotion.
Brenda sniffed and wiped her eyes, not wanting to cry in front of little Puka whose tiny hands sat on top of Sara’s knee, looking up into his mistress’ eyes.
“Puka, you know the way back?” Brenda asked vacantly, still watching her cousin.
Puka squeaked quietly before turning away from his mistress. He bounced toward the door—on one foot then the other—as if nothing had ever happened. Brenda sniffed once more before following Puka through the cold corridors. She cradled her injured arm, not having the energy to heal and rid herself of the pain. Walking through the dungeon with little Puka was not so nerve-racking, and she easily ignored the crawling insects and rats, but lost all sense of direction.
Puka squealed and Brenda looked up from the ground to find the familiar tunnel that led the two girls down here. Brenda took a deep breath before finally leaving that dreaded place.
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I was unsure how to end it.
And I didn't show Brenda's healing powers very well, so let me know if I should have. ^^
I'm very happy you caught those. They would've been the death of me. 
Puka is a bit difficult in describing his hyperness, so help on that is always welcome.
