Young Writers Society

Masakka Dan

I knew that Kasis would try to escape. I marched him through the darkening woods, hoping that he waited until my men were around before he tried anything. I bowed my head and clenched my teeth--I was not feeling my best. Sweat broke out on my face and something twisted and burned, deep inside my stomach. What was this?
Kasis darted a quick look at me. "What's the matter, princess? Did I hurt you?"
Ordinarily I would have a sharp retort. But I just kept my mouth shut and walked faster. I had to get this rat into prison before I threw up. Maybe I had caught something disagreeable. I looked at Kasis and curled my lip.
Suddenly the pain stabbed harsher than ever, and I gasped and doubled over. Kasis whirled like a snake and drove his knee deep into my stomach. I fell backwards into the loam, my body clenched together like a fist. Kasis laughed and raised his hands to bring his fists down upon my head.
But I was still Masakka Dan, no matter the pain that was wracking through me. I rolled swiftly to the side and swept his feet out from under him. With a curse, he fell hard to the ground beside me. I got to my feet and swiftly dealt him two blows to the stomach and then to the head. He groaned and made the wise choice of staying on the ground.
I stepped onto his stomach to hold him down, taking a moment to catch my breath. I leaned against a nearby tree and closed my eyes. I wasn't that heavy a man. Kasis could stand being stood on for a few minutes.
But what was this strange pain?

Fenezari Thaertus

I reclined in my bed thinking and silently hoping for several different things. I was hoping Morgan was safe, that Delilah wasn't overly concerned about her new position, and most importantly that Masakka hadn't roughed up Kasis too much. I would need Kasis, regardless of how much I loathed him, he made the best steel armor in the kingdom. The Thaertus family required no such thing but we would need to outfit the soldiers and my new team. I had told Masakka to use what ever methods he saw fit. If that didn't put the fear of the Crown into Kasis I didn't know what would.

I wouldn't sleep well tonight and I knew that very well but for now all I could do was sleep and what for the next day. I wasn't sure what the coming days would bring but I really needed to rest. I rose from my bed and started a fire then went to lay down before summoning Pellentesque, I'm going to sleep old friend watch Delilah she is one of the last people that I care about out of prison and not undercover.

He replied with a hint of affection in his voice, he and I were one and the same and he was beginning to feel the same as I did about Delilah. He truly cared about her as I did. She's sleeping in your study safe and sound my old friend. He nuzzled my neck and flew back to watch Delilah. I relaxed my head on the pillow, closed my eyes, and went to sleep feeling for this moment at peace.

Kasis

I struggled for breath. Was he trying to kill me?
After about a minute, he yanked me back up by the hair. We were both injured; I was gasping painfuls lungfuls of air and he was limping, one hand on his stomach.
Why was he hurt? Maybe I had hit him with my pistol?
If that was the case, it would probably become infected if he didn't get a doctor. I kept this a secret. I wanted him to die painfully, and infection was one of the nastiest ways to go. The best thing I could do was delay him, stop him from reaching a medic. But I knew I wouldn't fare very well in a fight against him, and if I was not careful I would end up unconscious and slung over his shoulder like a sack of grain.
We were close to a gatehouse. Excellent, I thought. Using whatever willpower I could, I closed the gate, then opened it, then closed it again. Masakka looked at it for a moment, then shoved me forward. I was distracted, and the gate stopped moving.
"Can't have you doing that the whole way back." He muttered, and I heard a blade being unsheathed. I stumbled forward a bit, but then something blunt and hard cracked into my temple. After that, I don't remember much.

Merry ordered two soldiers to escort or drag the prisoner to the far back of the prison, in the torture chambers. The two soldiers did what she told them to do. They were much taller than the prisoner 'Charles'. They carried him by his arms all the way to the chambers where they chain his arms and legs. Three beautiful women, soldiers for the Resistance, entered the room. "Charles, these are your 'executioners'." She winked at Charles before sitting down on a chair nearby. The women threw rocks at him, Which Merry didn't expect at all. She was a little upset they weren't so cruel. Merry ordered them to stop. Charles was bleeding from his side adomnon and his knees and some bruises on his chest and stomach. He seemed to be in pain. "Tell me what I need to know." Merry yelled as she punched Charles across the face. She punched him two more times before getting tired. She was panting but still he wouldn't answer. She ordered a guard to chain him on the metal table, face up. The table was suportted by chains hanging from the ceiling to the sides of the table. Charles was cuffed on his hands, legs and torso. The table was hanging over a fire pit that wasn't lit. "Tell me." Merry said.

Jasmine

I watched in silence as Merry beat the prisoner, small flames flickering around my arms as my anger grew. How could he have resisted for this long? The pain was clearly reflected in his eyes each time Merry hit him, yet he remained silent save for the occasional cry of pain after a particularly hard blow.

Merry turned away after a while, her breathing almost as ragged as Charles' from the exhaustion. She stepped back, wiping her brow as she moved, then gestured to me as the prisoner was strapped down. "You know what to do," she murmured softly, laying her palm against my shoulder for a beat before turning back to the prisoner.

"Tell me," she ordered once more, her voice the only sound in the quiet of the cells, and he shook his head faintly.

"I won't," he breathed with great effort, and Merry's gaze hardened in response, her hand flicking out in a sharp gesture for me to come forward. Silently, I did so, building up the flames around my arms until they engulfed them completely, the fire flickering dangerously close to Charles' face. I paused, examining his face for the familiarity that eluded me so, then directed the flames into the pit. Within moments, the table was glowing with heat, scorching his limbs beyond endurable pain.

Merry watched in silence as this happened, a calculating expression on her face even as the prisoner let out screams of agony, the sounds drowning out anything else in the room. I sat for some time, still using my powers to heat the metal until a hand against my shoulder stopped me, and I glanced up to see Merry looking down at me with an iron expression. "That's enough. Don't drain yourself."

I nodded once, stepping back mutely to offer Merry her spot back, and she waved me off. "Go now. All of you. Leave us."

King Morgan Darkrai

The pain was horrible, too much for my body to handle. My limbs and back were burning and I had to scream in pure agony. The pain would've killed me, but it didn't break me into telling Them anything. As the others left, it was just me and Meredith. I panted as I tried to recover. My body was covered in sweat, but not enough for me to heal myself later. I looked at Meredith in the eye and said weakly, "I won't tell you anything to betray my king. I will tell you nothing."
Meredith punched my side and said angrily, "Tell me what I need to know or you're stuck here until you die."
I grinned and said, "Then hold me here until I die. I couldn't care less."
Meredith punched me again, hard this time. "Tell me, Charles. I want answers from you now."
I dared, "Give me your best shot, sister. I couldn't care less."
Meredith punched me square in the face, knocking me out cold. When I came out, I was back in my cell, being babysat by Leopold and the Wind-water sorceress.

(Sorry, I haven't written in awhile!)

Charlotte

I waited on the other side of the rebellion from the prison. Merry and Jasmine were torturing the prisoner, Charles. And I wouldn't, no... I couldn't be a part of it. Chaos had been gone for a few days, and he seemed to be the only person I could talk to. Jasmine wasn't... She wasn't the same.

I heard footsteps sounding from the hallway, and I turn around to see the only person I could ever want to see.

"Chaos," I sighed with relief. I run up to meet him and barely stopped myself from jumping into his arms.

"Charlotte," his voice calmed me down without him saying anything comforting.

"I'm glad you're safe," I said.

Chaos nodded. "I need to talk to Merry. Where is she?" he asked.

I looked down. "With the prisoner. She and Jasmine went to... get information."

Masakka Dan

I pushed through the doors of the dungeon and headed down the corridor to a secluded cell, apart from the raving lunatics and murderers of the main cells. They shrieked and grabbed at me as I headed down between the cells. One of them snared his fingers in my hair and yanked. My stomach throbbed. I jerked a small knife out of my belt and slashed through his fascia. His scream of pain rose above all the other wails, and I turned away, pushing through the door at the end of the corridor.
I hissed in pain from the sharp twisting in my stomach, and put Kasis, whom I had been carrying over my shoulder, on the ground in the cell. I straightened up and eyed him methodically. He looked all right. As all right as anyone looked after trying to kill Masakka Dan. A grin spread across my face which quickly turned into a grimace. I needed to see a healer. Now.
I reflected on the fight as I headed for the healer's quarters. I had won, but Kasis was one of the most cunning fighters I'd ever fought. I'd have to watch out for him if he ever got out of prison. Because I had the feeling he wouldn't forgive me easily for capturing him.
*
The healer diagnosed me with anxiety, coupled with stress and overworking, and gave me some foul-tasting herbs to chew. Anxiety? What cause did I have to be anxious?
Oh, yes. Maybe it was because I was in love with my enemy.

King Morgan Darkrai
The Resistance stronghold
Prison hall

Kali and I made a recount of the pain I endured during the torture. The stones didn't hurt much, despite leaving cuts and bruises. Meredith's punches didn't hurt much either, no matter how hard she swung at me like she meant it. The most pain- so Kali and I agreed to- came from the hot metal table. My back was too tender for me to sleep on, so I had to sleep on my side instead. I said, Well, this is starting to make me crazy, Kali. Same demand, different way into making me talk. You and I together were strong enough to handle both the stones and the punches, but not enough to withstand a hot metal table. I swear They're getting smart.
Kali agreed, Not to mention They're pretty well-trained in hatred of the Crown. They really are getting smart. Frankly, I'm starting to hate that Fire sorceress that insulted your daughter and her kinsmen.
I sighed out loud. No kidding. I'm starting to hate that Fire sorceress, too. I got to get out of here before They find out the real me. Any ideas?
Kali suggested, The Northwest Maze Forest. You can't get out of there unless you go the same way you came in. It's too easy to get lost in there.
That suggestion gave me an idea and I quickly went to execute it. I rose from the bench, stretched a little bit, and said teasingly, "Bet you guys can't find the king anywhere, especially in his most favorite hideaway."
The Fire sorceress pulled me to her by my shirt and hissed, "You better talk or I'll give you more pain."
I said, "Give me more pain and you won't hear me tell you where the king hides his pets, the Abnormals."
The Fire sorceress pulled me closer to the bars. "Where are they?"
I said calmly, "The Northwest Maze Forest. Both the king and the Abnormals hide there whenever he's in danger and can't afford to lose his pets." I waited for a reaction, my face almost an inch close to touching the bars of my cell.

Jasmine

My eyes widened as he spoke, and I released his shirt, withdrawing slightly. Was he- could he be telling the truth? I searched his face for any flicker of a lie, but his features revealed nothing. I looked away, running a hand through my hair as my thoughts raced. The Abnormals. All of them, in one spot.

My gaze flickered up to meet his and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "How am I supposed to know you're telling the truth?"

He gestured weakly at the lesions on his body, still an angry red from the metal table, and shrugged lightly. "You expect me to lie under these conditions? I just want to you stop, and if that means telling you what you want to know then I'm willing to do it."

I didn't reply, instead choosing to sit back and scrutinise him for another while, weighing up the possibilities. I had heard of the Maze Forest before, but only in stories told to scare young children. No-one ever dared to enter the Northwest Forest.

It would be the perfect place to hide an army. I looked up again and nodded shortly. "Fine. I believe you." Standing up, I brushed the dust from my clothing and sent him one last glare before I left to tell Charlotte and Merry. "But if I find out you were lying, don't expect to leave that table for a month."

Merry was close to falling alseep when Charlotte and Jasmine came into the tent. They told her where the adnormals could be along with the king, in the maze. "All of the adnormals?" They nodded. She stood up from where she was writing a letter to her Fiancee, to tell him what has been happening. "I don't believe all of the adnormals are in the maze. That would be stupid and careless of him. Some have to be there, not all. Send some soldiers to the maze. Tell them not to come out of it until they find evidence."

Morgan Darkrai
Age: 17

I was out getting bread for the family when I heard a splash. I got excited all of a sudden. Finally, a fellow Water sorceror or sorceress to call a playmate, I thought happily. I followed the splashing noise to a little boy. He looked no more than four. I said, "Hello, there."
The boy jumped and- to my surprise- shot a fireball at me.
I protected myself with a water shield out of panic. Once the fireball was gone, I lowered my shield and said surprised, "Wow. You use two elements? That's just amazing."
The boy splashed me in the face and started giggling.
I splashed him back and then we splashed each other like a couple three-year-olds. I laughed heartily. For once in my life, I made a friend. I got up to him and was about to take him under my wing when I heard Uncle call, "Fenezari." I ran off as quick as a flash and climbed up a tree to see what's going around.
Uncle came and asked, "Fenezari, why are you all wet?"
The boy- Fenezari, as his name was- answered, "I was playing with some older kid who's a Water sorceror."
Uncle raised his brow and asked, "Did this older kid happen to have black hair and blue eyes?"
Fenezari nodded and asked, "How did you know?"
Uncle answered, "That would be Morgan Darkrai. He's only seventeen years old, so be sure he doesn't take advantage of you. That boy's had no friends since he stood up for his little sister."
I returned home, happy that I finally made a friend.

At the present...
The Resistance stronghold
Prison hall

I laid on my side, my front facing the wall. I wasn't sure if They sent anybody to enter the Northwest Maze Forest, but I knew I was buying myself some time before I could execute my escape plan. As far as I knew, I could only last a few minutes alone. If I had help, I might last longer. I decided to wait a little while until Leopold gave me the signal that it was time to escape. I just have to escape, for Deliah's sake.

Leopold Thaertus

I looked at Morgan barely masking the pain I felt for him. Morgan was a confusing character to me, he knew how powerful I was but still had waited until now to request I help him make his escape. I knew full well why," they fell for your trick the bulk of their force is searching the maze forest. Meredith and some guards remain most are human so none seriously pose a threat." I stared at the ground and blushed slightly part of this plan made me uncomfortable but I had to tell him, " I'll be bringing in a thick fog so that you can escape unseen, you'll need to freeze the lock then smash it to pieces," I swallowed nervous as to how he would react to what I was about to say." I know that Meredith is a wind sorcerer so she could possibly simply blow away the fog so I'll need to keep her distracted. I'll be um well uh attempting to seduce her so she won't notice the fog as quickly."

I looked up and saw anger briefly flash across his face. I had hated this plan from the start; in all reality it was mostly Fenezari's he was the boy with the silver tongue not I, and this would likely end in disaster for me either way. Morgan looked at me a smile slowly developing on his face, " your plan may not make me happy but it's an excellent one none the less. My sister is a rather fierce woman though be careful I would hate to tell my oldest friend that his cousin was killed by my sister."

I nodded looking into his eyes, "I'd honestly rather not even attempt to seduce her, your sister has scared me since we were all kids. Believe me she makes me even more nervous now, but that's aside from the point tell Kali to wait for Ventus to contact her. Once he contacts her be ready to move no hesitation we're working on whatever time I can get us."

King Morgan Darkrai

I could tell Leopold was very uneasy with my escape plan, but I also knew Kali was not a paitent dragon. Although she was willing to go along with this, she was not willing to wait more than an hour. I knew I had only a matter of minutes before I could make my move. I said, I know you won't like what Leopold has in mind, but you have to wait for Ventus to contact you. Once Ventus gives you contact, we're getting our hides out of here.
Kali snapped, He better not take over an hour to contact me. Everyone knows you can't keep a lady waiting.
I couldn't believe that part. Since when was Kali a lady? I hardly make it on time when she needed me, but she let me get away with it. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and smeared the sweat on the lock. I froze the lock slowly, waiting paitently for Ventus to contact Kali. I smiled as I remembered one of my mother's poems. "Paitence is the key to victory/ Which always goes down in history."
Getting sentimental about Mother again, are we, Master?
I admitted, Even as a man of four and thirty years, I'm still a Mama's boy
Kali giggled and said, Figured you'd say that. I always knew you were a Mama's boy.
I noticed Ventus and knew I had to go now. I froze the lock more quickly and- using Kali's borrowed strength- pushed through the cell door to shatter the lock. I ran quick into the fog, but I couldn't see which way was the right way to the castle. My starved stomach growled, but I ignored it. I had to find my way to the castle, to my beautiful Deliah. Even with Kali's sharp eyesight, I couldn't find my way through the fog. I climbed up a dense tree and waited for Leopold to come and help me get to the castle. I contacted Ventus and said, Ventus, tell Leopold I need his help. I can't see through this fog with Kali's eyes. After Ventus left, I waited in the tree, hoping none of Them will notice I escaped.

Charlotte

I was with Jasmine when she told Merry that the Abnormals were in the Northwest Maze Forest. I didn't believe the prisoner, and neither did Merry, but we decided to check the maze out anyway. We gathered together a small patrol to search the maze and left. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was no way any person could live in the maze. It was empty and barren, and there were no signs of life.

Great, I thought as we gathered together once again. What a waste of our time. I looked away from the forest and stared off into the distance. We weren't too far away from the castle. I looked back to the patrol and wondered if anybody would notice if I slipped away. Probably not. If I left now, I would be back maybe a day or two later than the patrol. Merry would be furious, but I could possibly slip into the castle and get information. The King had been too quiet, and "Charles" wasn't telling us anything.

The patrol started to head out. I followed for about a half an hour before I snuck off into the maze. They continued on and after they were out of sight, I walked out, heading for the castle.

(Hope this is okay with everyone!)