Young Writers Society

Masakka

My King was kidnapped.
My prisoner, escaped.
My reputation blemished.
My head throbbed.
I ran my hands through my hair and groaned through my teeth. How could the enemy have gotten through my guard?
Because he was disguised, of course.
The little cur had escaped. I shouldn't have left the room. I had failed.
"Captain?"
I bit back a snappish retort and turned to my Lieutenant.
"Yes, Dorama?"
"What do you plan to do to get the King back, Captain?"
"I'm going to get on my little pony and head up an intimidating army of gnomes with wings," I snarled.
"Captain?"
"Shut up!" I barked. "Get away and let me think."
His face flushed red. "Yes, Captain."
Morgan usually didn't let me talk to my men that way. He wanted me to be a calm, gentle kind of Captain. But when the cat's away, the mice play.
But the cat had been away long enough. I would get my King back.
And then, I would capture that little cur and make her wish she'd never escaped from the Captain of the Guard.

Delila:
I walked around for a bit before Fenezari found me. I trusted Fenezari almost as much as Fatheras he was fathers best friend.
"Hello." I whispered not taking off my hood, "Fenezari...hes gone..."
"Yes,I know, he was taken by the resistance. But I'm here for you,How are you feeling?"
"I...He was like a father to me...More, he was more than..." I was calmed down, but still flustered.
"Shhh,I know what he was to you. He told me about adopting you."
I nodded and began to tear up.
"He is my only family, He is our leader, what will we do now?" Tears rolled down my cheek,but my face stayed strong. Fenezari brushed them away with his thumb, then pushed my chin up so I was looking at him. His face was conflicted.
"You are the princess now. We will announce you as the crown princess and you shall lead us."
I looked at him, shocked. People knowing that I, an Abnormal, was that close to the King could get me killed.
"Are you mad? I have a force to take care of, my Abnormals. That could get both father and I killed, if..." If he isn't already. My face broke momentarily, tears fell. I took a staggered breath and Fenezari hugged me. He knew what I meant.
"You're disobeying a direct order from Father." I said, "No ones supposed to know except Father, me and you. You know that. This is dangerous."
"Shhh." He shushed me again, putting a finger to my lips.

Fenezari Thaertus

I looked into Delilah's eyes seeing carefully where I had placed my finger. She was soon to be our princess and is my best friends daughter, but still I felt all of these odd feelings. She thought I was mad but still I felt this odd passionate desire, the fire magic within me was welling up a fire of passion which felt oddly new to me. Before I knew what was happening our lips were firmly pressed together. I pulled my lips from hers and looked at Delilah's face turning red, " I'm so sorry you're my best friends daughter and our princess that was extremely inappropriate of me."

I ran my fingers through her short hair, most of the women that caught my eye had long flowing hair but with her I didn't care. She was crying against me and all I could think to do was gently pet her hair. She looked into my eyes, " You shouldn't declare me princess it's madness. They'll kill father as soon as they find out or hold him hostage our best bet is to try and rescue him until then the Crown will have no named leader."

I looked into her eyes feeling confident that I could explain my plan, " They will strike if they now there's no leader with you as our leader they'll be more hesitant to attack us. Plus if we can draw them out it will be easier to strike them down. Your father is also under the protection of Leopold he's gone undercover within their ranks for now your father is perfectly safe. I've arranged meetings with the most reliable members of the Crown. We shall be making arrangements for all situations."

We looked into each others eyes and I held her trying to comfort her. We needed to head towards my towers underground meeting hall we would hold this meeting in secret the resistance would no nothing and we would make sure that Morgan would return to us. Morgan would be furious at my actions it may destroy our friendship but I needed to save him regardless.

I don't really get this whole thing where know one knows it's the king. If you think about it then it's really dumb. People would know what the king looked like. Especially in the environment we are in.

Chaos:

Soon a lovely Charlotte had left me, and I happened to chance by the prisoner they had just brought in. After I listened to his troubled begging for a few moments I put on my well practiced act and said, "Let Merry be the judge of that." I had also learned throughout the years that it was good to leave someone with fear, and so I curtly told my most well rehearsed lie, ""You're lucky I'm not in the torturing mood. Then you would know why they call me Chaos." It's almost sad that people believe me when I say it because I wouldn't consider myself the best of actors, but I guess when your in that position you'll believe most anything. In fact I could never hurt anyone unless it personally endangered me, that is where I draw the line.

My business was not squabbling with this prisoner, but in fact with Merry. She would want to read the letter and divulge it's contents. Heck, even I wanted to know what the queen could have been sending that was so important. The headquarters isn't a big place and soon I found Merry in her bedroom on the second floor. Shaking her awake with urgency, I stood beside her waiting.

Jasmine

I bit my lip, watching the clock at the end of the corridor as the seconds ticked by. Soon, I was going to have to make my decision. To decide whether or not to betray the secrets of my brethren, all in exchange for my own safety. My gaze flickered back to the silent palace guard, who had remained immobile, almost as if in some meditative state, for the past two hours that I had been on watch over his cell. If it weren't for the occasional shift of his gaze to a different patch of wall, I would have thought him lost in some open-eye sleep, oblivious to the world around him; only the way his eyes sharply followed any move I made told me otherwise. Going to meet with the Kasis man... that would mean leaving him unattended to, and risk allowing his escape again.

But I had to leave now, if I was ever going to, now whilst no-one would notice or question my absence. I had to risk it. Standing up, I lightly brushed the dirt from my clothing and shrugged a cloak over my shoulders. The palace guard's eyes watched me interestedly, his head cocked with intrigue, and my eyes narrowed.

"The next guard will be here any minute." I hissed. "So don't even think about pulling any stunts, because you'll be caught in an instant, just like last time." With that, I pulled the fabric tighter around my shoulders, throwing one last glance around the corridor to check I was alone, then headed off at a brisk pace.

Time to go to Northern Bridge.

I ran to the prison cell... late. I hoped Jasmine hadn't been waiting too long. I hadn't meant to, but after the battle, I had been so tired. I had gone back to my room and had fallen into a deep sleep. I hadn't even realized that I had slept until I had already woken up, and by then, I was already late... great. I shouldn't have let myself rest. Now Jasmine would have to be there longer. I felt so sorry.
I began to turn the corner. "I'm so sorry I'm late..." I stopped, dead in my tracks. The prisoner was still there, but Jasmine... where did she go? I walked over to the cell, looking in. The prisoner sat staring at the wall... just staring. I was about to ask where Jasmine had gone, but that would show weakness with the resistance, and even to a lowly palace guard that could be used against us. Besides, she probably had just gone to bed. I nodded. That was okay, she needed her rest.
I sat down on a small stool, leaning against the wall behind it for support. I had been having such a nice dream. But I couldn't remember it for the life of me. I closed my eyes. It had been after the war, after the resistance had won... but what else? I shook my head, opening my eyes again. The prisoner didn't look like he was about to plan a prison break. Maybe I could run to Jasmine's room to make sure she was okay... No. Jasmine was strong. She'll be fine.

King Morgan Darkrai

It was three minutes after the Fire sorceress left when another girl came to watch me. I took a glance at her, then resumed my meditative position. A Wind-water sorceress, quite intruging. It was written on the girl's aura. Along with seeing spirits when merged with Kali, I was able to see and read aura. I decided to toy with this girl while the Fire sorceress was gone. Looking at the girl- whose age I estimated was seventeen at best- in the eye, I said calmly, "I know something that you might not know."
The girl got excited, just the stir that I was expecting. She asked, "What is it that you think I don't know?"
I answered, "Oh, just a little piece of information the king had told me." I pretended to shiver in fear. Knowing that I was still dressed as a guard, I had to keep my true self secret. "However, he made me swear not to tell anybody. For if I told anyone and he finds out about it, he'll send me to the dungeons and hold me in there to rot."
The girl gasped. So did Kali, who asked me, What on earth are you saying?
I answered, Kali, I hate to do this, but I have to lie in order to save my neck. Chances are I might have to do this in order to buy Leopold some time. I said with false fright, "I value my life, but I have to serve the king if I were to live."
The girl pulled me close to her by my shirt and whispered in my ear, "Tell me. I want to know what you know."
I whispered back, "The king has a sister named Meredith. He hasn't seen his little sister in thirteen years and- if you really want the truth- he's worried he lost her forever." From inside me, Kali couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew I was giving information of my personal life, but she couldn't believe I was lying to one of Their guards.

"A sister?" I asked in shock, dropping the guard's shirt. He nodded. "Meredith?" I asked again. He nodded again. I took a step back, shocked. This could help the resistance! This could save us. How, exactly? I didn't know. I would leave that to Merry.
"Where is she?" I asked quietly. The man shrugged. I took the step forward again, getting as close as I could to the cell bars. "That's not good enough!" I threatened. I closed my eyes and relaxed my stance, taking in a deep breathe. Focus, I told myself. I could feel my power's energy flowing through me. A slight gust of wind blew through the room. I opened my eyes and clenched my hands into fists. Wind, the power of a tornado, soon overtook the room. The man flew back, shocked by the sudden strength of my power. My hair whipped out of it's pony-tail and across my face. Fear flashed for a moment of the prisoner's face. I wasn't actually going to hurt him, of course. But he didn't need to know that.
"Tell me everything you know," I said through the gusts of wind circling around me.
"I don't know!" the man shouted, barely audible above the sound of the air. I intensified my power for just a moment, proving my point that I wasn't kidding around, even though I wasn't going to hurt him. "The King is trying to find her!" he shouted.
I unclenched my hands, and the wind stopped immediatly. I could tell there was nothing more he could tell me.
"Don't go anywhere," I said as I began to walk away. I wasn't sure he would listen to me, but I thought the threat of my power would frighten him enough. I wondered what his power was; he hadn't fought back, so does that mean that he didn't have any? I didn't know, but Merry needed to hear what I had just learned...

Kasis

I cliked my tongue. She was late.
I sat on a cannon, turning it with my mind absent mindedly. I often did that when I was irritated. Losing control of my powers was a common thing for me; I never had a formal magic education like the others. After all, I was but a tramp and a beggar and a thief.
I observed my surroundings. The bridge was slightly arched, and cannons were mounted on the walls every twenty or so meters. Interesting type of cannons, I thought. Instead of being on the traditional wheeled base, they were mounted on a spinning axis, allowing full 360 degree rotation.
I must design a new cannon, I though. Like this. Maybe put a seat on the back, and add some of my new inventions on the barrel. I called them sights. They were metal squares with steel lines leading to the center, showing approximately where the bullet, bolt or shell would hit. Very useful; they allowed for greater accuracy, which is crucial with a slow loading weapon in the heat of battle.
I noticed a silhouette at the end of the bridge, walking towards me.
"Ah!" I grinned, "You're here."

Merry heard the news that they have captured a prisonnar. She wanted to see who he was and where did he come from. She left her office tent toward the prison.

Merry looked at the prisonar. He looked similar to her brother, Morgan. "Who are you? Why do you look like the king?" She asked the prisonnar.

Years ago.

Merry and Morgan used to go to a small schoolhouse in the woods. Behind the school used to be a playground where all the kids used to play during and after school time. Merry was playing all by herself in the sandbox with her dolls. She was having tea with them, when an older boy came up to her and snatched her dolls. He ripped her dolls' heads off and threw them at her. Every kid in the playground laughed except for her brother. He went up to the kid and punched him in the face, causing the kid to cry and run and tell the school mistress. Morgan gave Merry candy just so she could stop crying and feel better. He promised her another doll one day. That day never came.

Jasmine

"You're here."

The statement rang in my ears, too loud in the silence of the night, and I nodded once in reply, sending a small pulse of heat energy through my body to keep me from shivering in the wind. Moving closer towards him, I remained obtusely quiet, watching the river as it flowed beneath the bridge and waiting for him to speak again.

After it had become apparent that I was unwilling to greet him, Kasis turned to me, his expression indistinguishable in the half-light of the early morning. "Tell me about Meredith," he said after some time, his head tilted to one side slightly as he watched me. I hesitated, then shook my head lightly, the movement so slight it was barely noticeable.

"I've been back home for less than a day. Doing your dirty work was hardly at the top of my list of things to do." I glanced up at him as I spoke, long enough to see the lines of his face pulled into something that resembled faint disappointment.

"I see." He didn't speak for another moment, the only sounds the constant rush of water and a distant clip of horse-hooves against stone. "Then tell me what you already knew of Meredith. I'm certain that some of what you know will be of interest to me."

I scowled slightly, then rested my head on my forearms and recited what I knew in a low voice. "She... she was not born in this city. I think she lived far from here, somewhere near a forest. She used to be married, but she doesn't speak of her husband... some people think that he was killed by the King's men, but it's only a rumour. She..." I broke off again, uncertain of anything else about Merry's life. She rarely shared with anyone except those she was closest too, and I was too new of a recruit to have gained that much trust from her. The things I knew about her were things that almost everyone knew.

"And her parents?" Kasis pressed, his voice dragging me from my train of thought. "What about her parents?"

My brow furrowed, and I replied hesitantly. "They... I think that they died. When she was ... very young. She doesn't speak of them ever."

"And a brother? Does she have a brother?" His voice was growing more urgent now, getting louder, and I took a half-step back to get out of his presence. "I don't-"

My gaze trailed to the side, where a small patrol of guards were making their way towards us, and froze, my words forgotten. It was him. The Captain of the Guard, on horseback at the head of the patrol. "I have to go." I uttered, my words barely a whisper, then fled without a second glance.

Masakka

I stabbed my heels into my stallion's sides and jerked his head to the right. Jasmine's slight form darted down a side street and I urged my horse faster. She wasn't going to get away. And I would have no mercy.
My patrol was unable to keep up with me as Blade thundered down the road. I heard them shouting my name but I ignored them, concentrating on the dark shape of Jasmine, running down the street ahead of me. I raised my hand and brought it down, swift and sharp, on Blade's hindquarters. He put on a final burst of speed and drew alongside Jasmine. I kicked my feet out of the stirrups and leapt down upon her, bringing her to the ground. Blade skidded to a stop and reared up, snorting.
Jasmine writhed and thrashed under me as I grabbed her wrists in my hand. I could have snapped them with one wrench--they were as slight as a bird's claws.
She lashed around and her teeth snapped in my face. "Let me go," she hissed, her breath coming fast.
"Never," I laughed, and jerked her to her feet. She tried to break my grip and I grasped her hair with my other hand and wrenched her head back.
Her breath fluttered in my face as her eyes darted from side to side.
"You have no chance of escape," I snarled, ducking my head down to her level. "Your dirty friends have taken our King. And now I have you."
She rammed her knee hard into my thigh and wrenched one of her wrists out of my hand. I turned and slammed her hard against the wall of an abandoned tavern. Dust showered down upon us like snow.
"I'm being merciful on you, my lady," I snarled, my voice rumbling deep in my throat. "Don't make me treat you like I would another."
"Another?" she asked, her voice high and breathy with pain. "Am I so special to you, Captain?"
Her dark eyes flashed to mine, and her lips parted as she hissed the words. The night wind whipped her hair across my face.
I couldn't stand it any longer. I cupped her pale face in my hand and lowered my lips to hers.

King Morgan Darkrai

I studied Meredith. Thirteen years has changed her. She's grown up the last time I saw her. The mask did hide some of her face, but there was no mistaking those passionate eyes. I brought me back to that day I went to school with her. She was playing with her dolls in the sandbox, I was watching her play from the swings. Although I was a year older than she was, I started going to school with her so I could keep an eye on her like a good big brother. I must've dozed off when I heard Meredith cry. I saw a boy ripping off the heads of Meredith's dolls and throwing them at her, earning laughter from all the other children. I went up to the bully and punched him, showing him that nobody messes with my little sister in my hearing or when I was around. After the bully left, I gave Meredith a sweet to calm her down and promised her I would give her another doll someday. After all these years, I never gave her the promised doll.
Back to the present, I knew she was curious of my appearance. All I said was: "I'm just lucky, I guess."
Meredith seemed to notice how much I've grown up after all these years, but it was like she didn't know that I was still the same Morgan Darkrai that she looked up to before our parents died. She asked, "Do you know the king?"
I shrugged and answered, "All that I knew of his past is that he had a sister that he hasn't seen in the past thirteen years. A certain person named Meredith. I don't know a thing about Meredith."
Meredith whispered, "I am Meredith."
I pretended to be shocked. "Well, your brother's been looking for you for the past thirteen years."

Jasmine

His lips pressed against mine suddenly, the sensation making my eyes widen with shock. I froze in place for an instant, then pushed him away savagely, my face twisted into an expression of anger and confusion, and stared up into his eyes searchingly. "What... Why did you- ?"

I broke off, then pulled him forward the last few inches between us, my mouth meeting his in an unspoken question, my eyes still searching his desperately. It was too fast, too harsh, and I turned my head away after a beat, tearing both my mouth and my gaze away from him. This was all wrong.

For a moment only the sound of breathing filled the air, and the Captain took a half-step backwards, still holding onto my wrists lightly. A distant voice in the back of my mind told me that I could probably escape, if I ran now, but I could hardly think of that right now.

The Captain's voice broke the silence after a drawn-out pause, his voice too close and too low. "Why did you do that?" he asked, quiet enough for me to be uncertain of whether he was talking to me or to himself. I squirmed slightly, tilting my head to glance at him out of the corner of my eye.

"Why did you?" I replied, less forcefully than I'd intended, and the Captain shook his head in reply, either unwilling or unable to give a reply. "Let me go." I whispered, twisting my wrist against his hand, and his gaze shifted to my wrists absently, almost as if he had forgotten that he was pinning me down. Wordlessly, he let me go, stepping backwards once and watching me as I dusted the dirt from my cloak.

I made to leave, avoiding his gaze as I started off back down the alleyway, and I felt his hand close around my wrist once more. Had he changed his mind; decided to hand me in after all? I met his eyes with a tinge of fear, pulling at my wrist, and his brow furrowed before he spoke.

"Please. I want to see you again."