No Redemption

Raven
I let out a scream of frustration and punched a tree. "Raven." Clare said but I gave her such a glare she shut it. I stabbed 12 knives at 1 foot intervals and looked at Clare. "Don't freak." I said coldly. She looked strangely at me. I turned somersaults over each knife imagining me turning into a raven. When my feet hit the ground the last time I hit it as a raven. I looked at Clare. She was looking at me bug eyed. "Sorry." I said. "What are you doing?" She asked. I spread my wings and grinned at her. "I'm going to see Naela." I replied. I flew into the air and made my way to the castle and then I felt an arrow lodge into my left arm and I fell to the ground as a human. I landed hard and started to whimper in pain. "Help me." I called. I heard a female's voice calling to guards. I whimpered again. "Don't move." The voice said. I opened up and saw the queen leaning over me and I recoiled whimpering. "You're Raven Rose?" She asked. I nodded into much pain to deny it. The guards came over and tried to force me to stand making me scream in pain. "She's too wounded one of you will have to carry her." She said coolly. All of them looked uneasy and shifted.

~Princess Shadow~

The next day, I carried out the rest of my normal activities, bathing, eating breakfast. Then, I surprised some of the servants by helping bathe Sophie.

"What?" I asked, looking at them. I had decided to wear a light dress today, thin instead of so many layers. It hung strait down, curving at my waist, form fitting, yet loose enough, and baby blue. "Have you never seen a princess do work before?" They shrugged.

"It's just that...you've never done much around the palace," one girl said, seeming to regret it as I looked at her. But my eyes weren't hard as she expected. They were light as I realized she was right.

"Well, that shall change," I declared. "As of today, I'm no longer the princess who sits around and watches from a distance, I'm the princess that, if she wants something done, she does it herself." They smiled, seeming to loosen up. Sophie wasn't much trouble to bathe. As soon as she got in the water, she soaked herself in it, then standing up so we could scrub her. I had my sleeves pulled up to my elbows like them, and I was helping. It felt nice.

Next, I helped another group of servants clean the floors, getting down on my hands and knees and scrubbing it with ease. I hadn't done this in so long, but it all seemed casual to me. Everyone who passed seemed to freeze and look at me, but I smiled, wiping my brow, and continuing. I was waiting for my father to walk by and complain, but, unfortunately, he or my mother never did.

My real goal by keeping myself busy was to keep my mind off of a certain thief who I worried so much about, and a certain monkey who would not be getting these ear rings. I looked at my soapy hand as I put the scrubber back in the bucket, letting one of the maids finish up. I still had the ring Bobo had tried to steal on my finger. I played with it a little as I headed off to the kitchen to help cook.

By the time I headed to help with clothes, people were used to seeing me carry baskets of laundry to and fro. I was sweating by the time that chore was done, and I spotted mother and a group of guards, coming close to the castle with a girl. I shrugged it off at first, helping the maids fold the laundry. But my curiosity got the best of me, and I dropped what I was doing, telling them I would be back, then rushing outside to see what was going on.

Raven
I saw the princess running towards us and instinct and respect took over and I knelt to the ground. "Your Highness." I said my voice hoarse with pain.

Raven
I saw the princess running towards us and instinct and respect took over and I knelt to the ground. "Your Highness." I said my voice hoarse with pain. She stood obviously confused at getting respect from a criminal. I smiled at her and she recoiled and I knew why my face was streaked with cuts and when I smiled they bled freely along with my arms and legs and I was pretty sure I had broken something or a lot of things.

Raven
I saw the princess running towards us and instinct and respect took over and I knelt to the ground. "Your Highness." I said my voice hoarse with pain. She stood obviously confused at getting respect from a criminal. I smiled at her and she recoiled and I knew why my face was streaked with cuts and when I smiled they bled freely along with my arms and legs and I was pretty sure I had broken something or a lot of things.

Raven
I saw the princess running towards us and instinct and respect took over and I knelt to the ground. "Your Highness." I said my voice hoarse with pain. She stood obviously confused at getting respect from a criminal. I smiled at her and she recoiled and I knew why my face was streaked with cuts and when I smiled they bled freely along with my arms and legs and I was pretty sure I had broken something or a lot of things.

~Princess Shadow~

The girl looked pretty beat up. A thief, I thought. I smiled kindly at her. I wanted to help as much as possible, so I took her inside to be taken care of, ignoring the warning glance I got from my mother. I would be fine, I had dealt with a thief before. The thought made me smile.

I sat her on a cot in one of the rooms, rushing here and there, calling out the hall for a few maids. I got a wet cloth, and began work on her face while the two maids who can to help began to bandage up the rest of her. She gasped as they touched her leg.

"It's broken," I said, not looking away from her face. I could feel my mother's glare on me, but I ignored it, working to keep my mind off everything else. Or more, just one person. I shook the thought away and cleaned the rest of her face off. Then, I took her hand, wiping the dirt off of her arms. She looked a little uncomfortable, but that was how I was doing things from now on. Either I was doing it, or someone would kill me to keep me from doing it.

"Shadow," my mother whispered, and I turned slightly to look at her. "Why don't you tend to the garden. I'll have these ladies finish up here." Her face wasn't the usual kind face I was used to. Her mouth was set with a fake smile, but it faded. Her eyes, though, were still soft and gentle. They always said "It's OK, every thing's fine" when I needed them to. Like now, I needed it all to be fine, and they were saying my prayers would be answered.

I nodded reluctantly, and handed the cloth to one of the kind maids, who smiled at me, and I did my best to smile back without tears coming to my eyes. I hurried out the door, trying not to run, but walking as quickly as possible to the garden. The roses still had dew on them, and I was slower now that I was here. I sighed, sitting on the bench and closing my eyes, humming a lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was but a child.

Raven
I kept whimpering as they cleaned my wounds and then bound my leg and my arm which was only fractured. I was terrified that they would find the the herbal bags bound to my torso and my dagger but they didn't. "What are you going to do to me?" I whispered terrified. The queen sighed and shook her head. "I don't know we can't just stick you into a cell not alone at least." She said. She then smiled and snapped her fingers. "I know you can go in with that mute." She said. I kept my face blank but inside I was screaming with joy. "Alright." They took me to Naela's cell and threw me on the ground. "Hey Naela." I said grinning as she stared in horror at me. Her face was a mask of horror. 'What happened?' She demanded. I looked around to make sure no one was listening then saw she had her notebook. I took it and wrote. 'I tried to use magick to come and see you but one of the guards shot me in the arm/wing.' I handed it back to her and her face colored with anger. 'They did what?' She demanded her face and eyes cold and hard. I froze and then put a hand on Naela's arm. She relaxed slightly.

**Bleh... now Garrett's got two people to save -.- Looks like our whole party/dancing thing won't work Ish D:**

Garrett~

Garrett stormed through the forest, unable to find them all. One, just one would work. Then, he'd find Naela, and make sure that she was okay. He didn't care if she never wanted to see him again, he just wanted to make sure she was safe, and out of harm's way.

After hours in the forest, his returned to the palace, fuming and worried out of his mind. He HAD to find her. As he passed the garden, a flash of familiar, hot pink hair caught his eye. "Shadow," he called, his little sister poking over the hedge.

"Yes brother?" Garrett bit his lip. If he asked, she'd surely go to Father.

"H-have you seen any thieves or criminals lately?" Shadow's face paled. "N-no! I haven't seen any thieves with a monkey!" She spoke, her face turning pink. "B-but there was a girl. Wings, kind of scary looking. I believe her name was Raven. Mother shot her down, and she's in the dungeon right now." Garrett filled with hope as he ruffled his little sister's oddly tinted hair.

"Alright, thank you." He said as he raced away. Garrett ran through the castle, down the stairs, and came to an abrupt stop, right behind his mother and father whom were making their way down. He slunk into the shadows, following. He'd have to wait till they disappeared, and then... and only then, he'd talk to Raven about Naela.

~Princess Shadow~

I really had no clue why he wanted to know that, and why his eyes filled with hope when I spoke of the girl, but I wanted to find out. I could be sneaky too. I followed him, hoping mother and father didn't see me in the shadows behind him. All I needed to know was who the girl was, then I could ask Marroe. I mentally slapped myself for thinking of him, even when I was distracted, but I shook the thought away, and kept myself quiet as we snuck down into the dungeon. I stayed around the corner, listening to them speak, keeping myself pressed against the wall in the darkness.

The dancing thing shall still work... I need to talk to you on chat though Chuppy xD

MARROE

"Git back here!" The man hollered from behind me.

I turned my head and smirked at him. "Not a chance old man! This is just enough!" I ran into a few pedestrians, and had to pull my knife on three of them. I refused to kill today, but the blade close enough to their bodies sent them screaming for cover. It was morning already, last night had taken me forever to actually get into the city.

"Stop!" A low voice ordered from behind me. It's an elite. Keep running. I told myself, doing just that.

Making it out of the city wasn't exactly difficult. No, making it out of the city and losing the soldiers was difficult... but I managed somehow. The palace wasn't far, which meant that niether was the princess. I grinned and patted Bobo's head. "Whatta ya say we pay a little visit to our princess?" I asked. He screeched happily in answer and I took off, shoving my new-found riches into a little leather bag.

KING TORRAN

I approached the girls' cell quietly. In all honesty, they didn't look dangerous or hateful. Scared, yes. Hurt in more ways than one, most certainly, though those were things I couldn't place. Naela seemed particularly upset, tormented even. Not dangerous at all, really.

I looked at the elite responsible for Shanaela's capture, Jaykob if I was thinking right. "Well done with the Marz girl," I murmered.

SHANAELA MARZ

I stared at the king for a moment, trying to register what he was thinking. His composure seemed put together enough, but there was something very wrong with his face. He looked devasted for a reason I couldn't place. He started talking to Jaykob and the queen and I immediately lost interest.

My heart stopped for a moment before starting to pound twice what it should be. Garrett! The princess was behind him, but I hardly noticed her. I couldn't decide wether to smile or glare, so I just stared, squeezing Raven's arm. I was behind Raven, and at the angle they were it didn't look like they could see me.

Raven
I flinched when Naela squeezed my arm. I looked at Naela having read the king like an open book. "I think they're going to try torture." I whispered hoarsely. She looked at me wide eyed and started to shake slightly. I wrapped my arms around her. "It's ok Naela it's ok." I whispered quietly.

Keiko

For the third time tonight, I sat up and played with my hair. Tal was snoring, Hunter was sound asleep, and Elle was too. I blinked back unexpected tears at the fact that... I didn't know. I was just crying.

Dang it, me, stop being a crybaby!

I slapped myself softly, whispering, "Bad girl. Don't cry. Or sleep. Get an energy tonic." I nodded, wiping at my eyes furiously. I grabbed one from my bag and took a few sips. Better. I started pacing around the room, eyes down. I started counting my steps. "One. Two. Three. Four."

I missed Naela. I missed her a lot. Where was she? Was she safe? Did she miss us?

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight."

Was she hurt? Was she happy? Did she find Raven?

"Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve."

Was Hunter dreaming good dreams? Was Tal sleeping well? Was Naela?

"Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen. Sixteen."

Was she awake? What was she thinking? Did she still care for us?

"Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty."

Was she alive? Was she scared? Was she alright?

.... Was I alright?

"Twenty one. Twenty two. Twenty three. Twenty four. Twenty five. Twenty six..."

Taleon

I awoke the next morning to see that Keiko looked very tired. I was pretty sure she had spent a partly sleepless night, but I didn't comment on it. That wasn't the way I did things.

Hunter noticed too- what about Keiko didn't he notice?- but just like me, he kept his mouth shut about it. Elle didn't know her well enough yet, so she probably didn't see anything wrong at all.

Keiko

I pulled my hair into a ponytail. I let my hand dawdle over the butterfly charm, then snapped into reality. I downed the last of the energy tonic from last night and rolled my head around. I was glad no one said anything, though I was sure at least Hunter and Tal had noticed.

Elle asked him something, and he walked off to answer. Hunter turned to me. "Twitch, you have to start getting sleep."


"Hunter, I can't. Even when I try, I just. Can't. Sleep." I told him, almost begging. He frowned and didn't continue the conversation. I sighed and sat on the couch he was on.

"If I would, I could. This isn't some spite thing, I promise you." I told him. He just nodded.

That boy was going to be the death of me.