Young Writers Society

((Happy to oblige. Enyalius the usher it is.

I figured that Nightfall might not know the Prince on appearance if she's lived in the forest all her life. Feel free to correct me.))

Enyalius

The unmistakable stench of death was rising in the forest. Enyalius couldn't be sure as to what had become of the guard without abandoning the safety of the shadows, but clearly the attacker was in some way supernatural. Why bring the full force of the palace down on your shoulders, unless you're already carrying the burden? Enyalius had little experience with recruitment and not enough knowledge of the faerie folk out in the forest, but a creature capable of killing so fast could be a useful ally. If it doesn't kill me first.

"Am I mistaken, or have we just established a mutual enemy, milady?" Enyalius stepped out of the darkness, cursing as he felt unfamiliar sunlight on his skin - he wore no hood, unlike the woman in front of him. Another giveaway.

"You're mistaken. We're passing through." Her voice was all sharpness. Another, smaller figure cowered in the shadows behind her. Enyalius could make out a fairy, fluttering beside the silhouette.

"A pity. We could use allies, and I'm sure you could use a place to stay for the night." Enyalius smiled courteously and heard a slight gasp from the figure in the shadows. Dawning recognition, perhaps? In the rebel clothes, he was not as easy to identify, but anyone who knew the palace would know his distinctive, unchanging features anywhere. In fact, it was strange that this woman - if that was what she was - had yet to make a connection.

"What did you see?" the woman said, abruptly.

"Enough," Enyalius replied. His smile was unflinching.

"You still want to offer us accommodation? You must be desperate." There was little trace of humour in the woman's voice and Enyalius wondered if she ever laughed.

"I prefer "dedicated". There's always an opportunity if you look hard enough. Even in the forest in the middle of the night, apparently."

No, she wouldn't know him ^^ So, you were correct haha

Nightfall

I thought about the stranger's offer. He seemed to be a bit overly friendly for someone who had just met us. I stepped into the moonlight.

"What enemy would that be?" I asked him.

"I couldn't say for sure," he said, "but I'd guess it's the king. Am I right?" I eyed him carefully, and put my hood down. Upon seeing what was underneath, he smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

I turned back to Elizabeth and Wren. Wren looked distrustful and Elizabeth appeared to be terrified. I looked back at the man and nodded slowly.

He smiled. "Excellent."

---

Wow, this is waaay shorter than I expected it to be haha. But it's all I've got for now.

Enyalius

Enyalius could hear muffled voices conferring behind him as he turned and walked back towards the camp. He knew that Ren wouldn't be pleased with his impromptu decision, and Barric would just have more ammunition to use against him, but if they were serious about taking the palace, they'd need some firepower. A hybrid could be useful, especially if she could shapeshift as Enyalius suspected. The girl and dark fairy, perhaps less so, but they appeared to be travelling as a group.

"Where are you taking us?" the hybrid demanded, but Enyalius ignored her. The night was fading and he wanted to arrive before the rebels' sentry began his patrol.

"Why should I follow you if I don't know where you're taking us?" The footsteps behind Enyalius stopped, and he turned to find the hybrid crossing her arms, expecting an answer. "I don't trust you humans. Why shouldn't you be in league with the king?"

Enyalius moved closer, slightly faster than an ordinary human, until he could lean in to whisper into the hybrid's cat ears. "What makes you think I'm human?"

He pulled away with similar ease and noted that after another whispered conference, the footsteps began to follow him again. He wondered how long the party had been travelling. They were very willing to trust him, and the girl especially looked famished. At least the camp could feed her, before sending her on her way - if that was Ren's decision.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A figure stepped out of the retreating shadows and drew his sword with an all too familiar flourish, to match that pompous voice the prince was beginning to detest. Enyalius sighed. Barric.

Sir Barric

"Halt! Who goes there?" I demanded, looking into the shadows.

"Take a guess," Enyaluis' voice rang from the shadows.

"Oh, exactly who I was hoping to find dead. Ren sent me to find you, I had hoped you possibly got mulled by bear bear. I shouldn't be so lucky." I scowled. I wasn't in the mood for his highness being alive right now. If Ren wouldn't have noticed, I would have killed him right there. But that would upset Ren, and I couldn't do that to her. "And what are those?" I asked, looking at the two things following him.

"It's none of your concern." He snapped.

"Actually, it is, your highness." I mocked him with a non existent title, "It would be unfortunate if Ren found out..."

"Found out what?" her voice came from behind me. I cringed a little. This was not going as planned.

Ren

"Found out what?" I demanded, looking at the two men. I had gone to find Barric after he had been gone for an hour, and didn't really like the way he was talking to Enyalius. I narrowed my eyes.

"Enyalius has brought along some friends," Barric said, gesturing to the two creatures standing behind the prince.

"Who are they loyal to?" I asked Enyalius, barely being able to make out his face in the darkness. Barric didn't seem to like this question too much. Well, sorry to spoil your plans.

"Us. Well, not the king," Enyalius clarified. I shrugged, this being as good as any answer I could have hoped for.

"Well, anyone against the king is a friend of mine," I watched Barric scowl, "they can come back to camp." I turned around and started towards the camp grounds.

Nightfall

I eyed the people carefully, and made a mental note to be very cautious around the one who found us, the one who professed not to be human. The woman in the long green dress turned and walked back the way she had come. I grabbed Elizabeth's wrist and pulled her along with me as I followed her, careful not to cut her with my claws. Wren fluttered along with us. The two men glared at each other before the brown-haired one followed the woman. The first man followed Elizabeth, Wren, and me. When we reached their camp, the woman came up to me.

"What's your name?" She asked. Her voice sounded regal and strong.

I paused a moment. "Nightfall," I answered. "This is Elizabeth and Wren."

She watched me closely. "Call me Ren," she said, and I tried to keep from smiling. That would be confusing, distinguishing between fairy Wren and woman Ren. "Are you all mythical creatures? Is that why you're against the king?"

I growled quietly at the mention of the king. "Wren and I are." I looked down and the matted black hair at my side. "Elizabeth is not."

Ren squatted down in front of Elizabeth, but the girl was unafraid. Surprising. "Are you with us? Against the king?"

She nodded slowly. "I was a servant." Ren's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the thought of such a young child being a servant. The girl clutched my wrist tightly. "Nightfall broke me out."

Ren's eyes made their way to my face and my colorful eyes looked down uninterestedly. The woman stood slowly. "Excellent." She said, and turned to leave.

The man who found us passed by a moment later. I watched him carefully and he approached us.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he said, though something in his voice told me he didn't care either way. "My name is Enyalius."

I blinked a couple times. "Nightfall. This is Wren and Elizabeth." I looked at the girls beside me. Wren looked totally bored and Elizabeth was still holding my wrist, looking up at Enyalius.

The man examined me quickly. "A fitting name, I'd say."

My eyes narrowed slightly. "So if you aren't human, what are you?"

A cryptic smile slowly formed on his face.

Enyalius

"So if you aren't human, what are you?" The hybrid, Nightfall, was finally beginning to show some of the suspicion Enyalius had missed back in the forest. He smiled.

"I'm aristocracy," he said, and turned to catch up with Ren, leaving the three new arrivals to wonder what he'd meant. If they hadn't figured him out by now, perhaps they'd realise. He had to test the strength of their hatred for the king; were they still willing to fight with the prince on board? Enyalius knew that Ren had presumed a lot of her following and he was grateful to her for it, but he saw now that these people would fight for release from Gryk's rule until the end of their days. He had to see whether Nightfall and company had the same mettle.

"She broke into the castle and escaped, alive and without serious injury." Enyalius walked next to Ren and spoke straight ahead, hoping to avoid the prying eyes of Barric. "I thought she could be useful, but I didn't know how useful until just then. She's done the reconnaissance so you don't have to. With her help, we can plan the sting tonight and go ahead with it at the full moon in a couple of days."

Ren looked unnerved. "Why the sudden enthusiasm? Besides, I'm not sure it was as easy for her as you seem to think. She looks uncomfortable here, at any rate, and I won't keep her against her will. She certainly doesn't look like the type to blab to the guards."

"I just don't think we should miss an opportunity like this. Your men are trained well enough. They're dying to be given an order to move out, and here's our chance. As for trustworthiness, I think you've coped with worse." Enyalius smiled again, but this time, a rare genuine one that lit up his eyes.

"I suppose I have. All right, I'll think about it. Assess her combat skills, if you can. And -"

"Yes, Enyalius. You do look particularly healthy for a man almost twice Ren's age." Barric had swept in without Enyalius even noticing, he was so wrapped up in Ren. That was particularly unlike him. Maybe Barric was right, and it was best he kept away from Ren if they were planning an attack. There wasn't time for relationships now. "Combat training. I may drop in on you later."

He disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived, leaving Ren looking up at Enyalius with a confused expression on her face: another rarity. "I forget, you must be over forty... but - you..."

Before she could ask, Enyalius nodded to her and walked off to find Nightfall. He knew she'd find out sooner or later. That was what it was all about, wasn't it? The hints to a stranger he'd just met, and the theatrics with Barric. After all, he had to keep himself interested in this mundane band of peasants. But Ren - was just part of the show. They'd overthrow Gryk, and that would be it. She'd leave with Barric, probably marry him eventually, become a noble and move on with her life. He'd be left alone again, watching her grow old while he did not. He wouldn't live forever, like an ordinary elf, but he'd definitely live past two hundred, and most of that with the face he wore now. Maybe Ren had guessed that by now, and maybe she hadn't. Either way, it didn't matter. They had a few days to prepare an army. No time to waste.

Nightfall

I raised an eyebrow as I watched Enyalius walk away. My tail began to fluff up irritably. Aristocracy?

I glanced down at Wren and Elizabeth for a second before I headed to the edge of the camp. In the form of a tiger, I sat, watching the warriors as they bustled about. My throat vibrated in growls as I thought of everything they were preparing for. Not because I was against them, oh no, but at the thought of the reason why they were having to do this. The evil tyrant who proclaimed himself to be our king would go down, one way or another. Whether I took him out or it was someone else. The king, and all the fools who composed his "guard" that tried to contain me within the castle.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Enyalius talking to Ren and the ever-so-important-assistant-to-Ren-guy who confronted us on our way to the camp joined them. I rolled my eyes and looked away. The party of warriors would be heading out soon, within days, by the looks of things. I closed my eyes and let a quiet growl slip out. Approaching footfalls rang in my ears and my yellow eye opened and looked up at the visitor.

Enyalius was standing over me, looking at me with an air of indifference. My other eye opened and I eyed him with similar emotion. Or, rather, lack thereof. He cleared his throat quietly.

"We're heading out in a couple of days," he told me. I looked him over slowly, transferring the message of 'yeah, I know'. He got the message quickly and continued. "Ren asked me to examine your skills in fighting. And...about your loyalty..." I felt my face heat up in offense. "What drives you to bring down Gryk?"

I tried to suppress a sinister smile. I morphed back into a hybrid quickly and stepped up to him. "Mythical creature."

He smiled and looked down and kept himself from laughing sarcastically. "Of course," he said quietly.

"Makes me wonder how you knew it was me."

"I had a hunch. And, uh--" He pointed to the tattoo on my face. I glanced down at his finger and nodded slowly. "And your eyes. Not too often you see eyes as yellow or green as that, and even less often are two different colors. Now, about those skills of yours..."

I looked back up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

"I've seen your shape-shifting powers," he began slowly. "And I heard you fighting the guard back in the forest. Ren wants me to see you 'in action'."

My ears twitched. An aristocrat? Taking orders from a rebel leader? A woman, at that? Surprising. I nodded. "Tomorrow. I'll be better when I'm rested."

He opened his mouth to reply, but before anything came out, I nodded and stalked off. Oh well. Whatever it was, it could wait.

I walked up to a tree, morphed into a domestic cat, leaped up the trunk, and settled down on a branch. My fluffy tail hung down over one side. Wren fluttered up to me after a couple of minutes and she rested on some leaves that were bunched together at the end of the branch. I looked at her a little bit irritably.

"Are we going to help them?" She asked me quietly.

'We?' I thought to myself. 'What could you possibly help with?' Instead of conveying my thoughts, I answered simply, "Yes." I stayed quiet for a little bit before continuing. "Anything to bring down the unreasonable bastard who claims to be our 'king'."

Wren nodded and settled down on the leaves. Very, very slowly, I nodded off, ready to show off my combat skills in the morning.

Sorry I've been gone so long. My computer crashed because it sucks.

((Fox, do you already have a planned ending for this? I'm just wondering where to go with it if we do this rebel attack on the castle.))

Sort of. I haven't planned it completely out, but we'll just see where it goes for now. I have a few ideas.

Ren

I drew my sword, and walked onto the large area of grass I had picked out as a practice spot for fighting. I walked over to Barric. "Good luck," I mocked. He was the best fighter here, maybe besides Enyalius, and I had to practice with the best.

"En garde," he half smiled. I readied my sword, and we went at it. I blocked blow after blow, and lunged every time I had a chance. In less than five minutes, however, I watched my sword fly across the field and land handle-up in the ground. Barric pointed his sword at my throat.

"I win," he smiled.

"I guess you do," I shook my head. I was out of focus today. I couldn't be like this. I had to be in top shape when we attacked. There weren't second chances in the battle. I retrieved my sword, "Let's go,"

Again, he had me on the ground, totally disarmed. "How do you do it?" I demanded.

"Get under the opponents sword like this," he stood next to me, and put his hand over mine where it rested on the hilt, "and then flick your wrist. Make sure you put some power into it, otherwise the worst you'll do is make them loose their footing. Try again,"

This time, I succeeded in disarming him, but not before he made my dress totally unwearable after today. I really needed to get better fighting gear. I bent down, and ripped about two feet off the bottom of a dress where it had been slashed by his sword. I noticed blood leaking through the sleeves on my shirt. Barric must have noticed it too, because he pulled some strips of cloth out of his pocket, and wrapped them around my arm. Then he kissed my cheek, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I retorted, "I'm not a child."

"I'm sorry, I should have known you better." He drew his sword.

"Let's try again."

Nightfall

The dawn's light gave me a rude awakening the next morning. The light shone on the outside of my eyelids and my eyes quivered in the change. They slowly opened and my pupils dilated as I looked straight into the golden sun. Wren was still asleep on the leaves next to me. I yawned and stretched, then leaped out of the tree, landing gracefully on all four black paws. Morphing back into a hybrid, I set out to find Enyalius so that I could show him my skills.

As I searched, I caught sight of Elizabeth. She was asleep in one of the healers' tents. I paused to look over at her, then continued my search. Enyalius was just leaving his tent when I found him.

"Are you ready?" He asked when he saw me.

I smirked. "Are you?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I guess we'll see," he said almost suspiciously. He held an open hand in one direction. "This way."

He led the way to an open clearing where Ren and Mr. Ever-so-important-assistant-to-Ren-guy (whose name I still had yet to learn) were already training. I glanced at Enyalius. He was stone-faced, but I thought I caught some anger in his eyes. My eyes returned to the center of the clearing, where Ren and the other guy were examining an injury on Ren's arm. Enyalius made his way over to them and I followed. He slowly looked down at the lightly bloody bandages on her arm, then over to the guy, and back again. Ren caught his gaze, and spoke up.

"It was an accident," she said slowly. Her eyes quickly fell on me. "Ah... So you're ready now?"

I shrugged. "I guess," I told her.

She nodded and headed to a collection of shrubs. Ren's assistant guy turned his cold eyes on Enyalius, and the latter did the same. I cleared my throat almost silently, breaking the awkward silence. Ren's assistant guy forced himself to break his stare and looked over at me.

"Who are you, anyway?" He asked with great annoyance.

I suppressed a growl. If I was going to work with these people, I may as well try not to be hostile. I almost gagged at the thought. "Nightfall. And who are you, so high up in the ranks to use such a tone when speaking to a stranger?" My eyes went icy and his face showed signs that he had taken note of it.

"Barric Wellington. I am Ren's top spy."

I quickly became uninterested. "Hm," I grunted in acknowledgment.

Ren's reappearance broke an awkward silence that had fallen over us. She pointed to the end of the clearing where she had just coming from. A flour-sack dummy was standing near the center. "Show us on that."

I grinned wickedly and tried to keep from letting out an amused laugh. "You've got to be kidding. You won't need to use it again, will you?" She shook her head. "Perfect." A satisfied growl emerged from my throat.

Ren, Barric, and Enyalius went to the other side of the clearing and stood behind some bushes that went up to about their waists; the perfect height for protection.

I stood a few meters away from the dummy and analyzed the situation. I growled quietly when my strategy was planned out and took a preparing stance. In a flash, I changed to a jaguar and began ripping the dummy apart. Fits of roars and snarls slipped out as I went along. In a couple of minutes, pieces of burlap and wood were lying on every square foot of the clearing, and the green grass right under where the dummy had once stood had turned white. I sat down with content and licked my now white paws. The three spectators came out of the shrubs, each one with some level of surprise on their face. I smiled devilishly and looked up at Ren, awaiting some feedback.

She nodded. "Well then," she said, "I think you will be a valuable asset." I grinned. "As long as you'll stick with us..." She held her hand out to me.

My face went solemn and I morphed back into a hybrid. "Anything to take down the poser who proclaims himself to be our king." Spitting out the word 'king', I shook Ren's hand in agreement.

She nodded satisfactorily.

Enyalius

The dummy lay in shreds on the ground before the three spectators, with the jaguar lying in the midst of the debris, smiling. It was unnerving, how quickly Nightfall had dealt with the dummy with such ferocity. Enyalius understood the value of such a warrior to the rebel cause, but he watched with distaste. He disliked his father, but he wouldn't wish that death upon anyone. Something inside him had always seen Gryk die at his own hands, with the nobility of a king who knows he has done his people a disservice. Enyalius winced at his own naivete.

As Ren congratulated Nightfall, Enyalius stood silently next to Barric. He wasn't going to be the one to speak first, but with Barric, he never had to be.

"I don't like that thing," the chief spy mused, running a hand through his hair. "I don't like it being so close to Ren like that. It's vicious. Why did you bring it here?"

"Ren's fine. She can handle herself." Even though Enyalius had been having similar thoughts himself, he couldn't let Barric use it to his advantage. "Besides, the only wound she's received has been at your hands, Sir Barric."

Barric scowled. "We have to be ready. I'm just not sure whether this... mess is the solution to our problem."

Enyalius didn't reply, and Barric soon left his side. Frankly, he couldn't disagree. Barric was right; neither of them had expected this carnage in the fight against the king. Both were nobles, imagining the swordplay they'd grown up with and respecting the poignancy in death, as they had been taught. Briefly, Enyalius wondered how Ren and Barric had become entangled in such a world of violence and hatred as this, but he dismissed it: they had volunteered. Somebody had to stop the king, and they had decided it was they who would do it. While he had been driven here out of necessity, they had chosen this path.

"Enyalius. The next meeting is in one hour, at midday. I'd appreciate it if you'd be there." Ren had appeared in Barric's place beside him, followed closely by the hybrid. "Nightfall is also attending; I think she must be slotted into our strategem. She's a valuable addition to the ranks."

Enyalius merely nodded and the hybrid grinned again, perhaps sensing his anxieties. Despite that, she allowed Ren to leave before addressing Enyalius herself.

Cassie

It was still dark when I ran back to my house. "Mom?" I called, turning into the kitchen to see her standing by the sink.

"Oh good, you're back. I just finished with the dishes. Hurry and get ready for bed now." I walked, completely confused, up the stairs and to my room. A smile spread across my face when I realized exactly what had happened. Time passed by faster in my fantasy world than in the real world. This was a really good thing.

As soon as I was sure my mother was asleep, I grabbed my jacket and opened my window. She always turned the alarm on at night, so I couldn't go out the door. I nervously stepped onto the roof. I had never done anything like this before. I had to do it, though. I didn't want to miss the attack.

I carefully climbed down the corned of the house. It was a convenient part of the house really, like steps up and down from the roof. It would have been a lot easier if there was a tree by my window like my mother's. Oh well. It was all done now. I ran towards the forest.

Sera was still waiting for me when I got back. She was sitting on the ground, looking like she had died of boredom, resting her head on her fists. She was really glad to see that I was finally back.

"Okay, let's go back to camp." I said. She smiled and we walked back. I slipped my jacket off, realizing that it was a lot warmer here since it was the middle of the day.

((I have it planned out now. Sorry. I had an idea, then it just started going in a different, and better, direction. That happens a lot to an idea. You keep re-thinking it until you have it perfectly! ))