Young Writers Society

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He sat alone in the throne room, on the ancient throne that had to have been there for centuries. He kept changing the way that he was sitting in an attempt to occupy himself. He dismally stared up at the ceiling. "I'm so booorrrreeedddd." He said to no one in particular. Sure, there was a gigantic library, but he wasn't in the mood for reading. And sure, there was all sorts of sports' rooms, but Aska, he had learned, was terrible at all of them. With the exception of tennis. That was when he stood no chance whatsoever.
"Nen!" He jumped in surprise. Aska stumbled into the room as he cried out his name, his armor clanging together as he did so. "There's humans!"
His golden eyes widened. "What?! But Tieth said that she put up an enchantment to stop humans from entering the castle! She told me that ages ago!"
The armor standing before him began to shake. "N-Nen, what if they're not human? What if they're ghosts of people Tieth killed?"
A shiver raced up his spine at the thought of ghosts. Try as he might to push the thought away, it remained."As-Aska," he started, stuttering as he spoke, "l-let's a-assume that th-they are ghosts. Wh-what should we d-do?"
"You-you can't do anything about g-g-ghosts." Aska stared down at his hands. "Th-they're going to po-possess me, Nen. And th-they are go-going to k-kill you..."
Though he hated to admit it, what Aska was saying was probably right. "Th-there h-has to be something-" His eyes widened even more. "As-Aska, look b-behind you!"
Standing in the doorway to the throne room was the group of people that Aska had seen. And floating behind a boy wearing a black cloak was a transparent, gray girl.
Everyone screamed at the same time, and Aska ran to hide behind the throne.

Jackie ?


"The armor was hollow."

"Okay then. But you know how earlier I wanted to talk to you guys . . ."

They all nodded.

"Well, someone is after me also. . . But I think we're safe in here. I know that it's been a Really rough night, but h's after me. He's kinda obsessed with me, and how he saved me from my father. Let's move forward."

Tears formed in my eyes.



I saw a weird figure appear, I almost screamed.

???:

His legs shaking like crazy, he got to his feet. He was sure that they could all hear the beating of his heart. He took a deep breath.
"N-Nen," Aska whispered from behind the throne. "What are you doing?"
"I'm acting." He whispered back. "And hoping to God that those years of sneaking out to the theater are going to pay off."
He walked over to the odd group. There was two teenage girls-one of them was wearing an incredibly strange outfit and the other had scars that created an artificial smile-a boy who looked like he could be some sort of dark wizard, a man wearing a weird black outfit, the transparent girl, and a white cat.
He gripped the silver cross in his pocket tightly before speaking. "Who dares to trespass in my castle, this hell in the mortal realm?" His question was met with silence. That's a relief... "I am Nen-I am King Nex! This castle and the woods around it are my kingdom! Leave this place and begone forever!"

Shiruba:

If this wasn't one of the worst days in his life, it was awfully close to one.

He struck and sliced off another creepy tree limb that had gotten in his way with his katana as he tried to cut a path through the mysterious forest. He hadn't the slightest idea how he'd managed to get here, but that didn't concern him; all he cared about was trying to escape. Staring down, the man groaned as he observed the cuts that had formed on his elegant robes, the customary outfit of the land from which he had come, due to its having rubbed against the dead trees of the forest. It was frustrating to have yet another one of his outfits ruined by an unfortunate series of events, and this added to his already large supply of confusion and anger.

Worse yet, Shiruba had few doubts that he wasn't alone in the forest. He had heard the sounds of weapons just a short time earlier, though the sounds had been a far distance away. And they had stopped a while ago. Now the forest was quiet, and it was eerie. Goosebumps formed on his skin as he debated whether or not to head in the general direction of the only noise that had emanated throughout these mysterious woods in all of the time he'd spent here. He decided against it, given that he did not want to be attacked out of the blue, and it would be best if he tried to avoid the trouble that he always normally seemed to run into.

"Enide!" he shouted, looking around him for the familiar figure whom he'd known had somehow been transported to the forest he was stuck in. After all, she too had seen the light, and she had blacked out before he had. There was no doubt she was in this forest too, just beyond his vision. "Enide! Where are you!? Enide!"

"Enide!"

Nex:

His exclamation was met with the tense silence from before. He anxiously stared at the group. Why were they still standing there?! He was hoping that the ghosts wouldn't hate him for being the Ambassador, but they were still before him.
The dark wizard watched him with a pair of silver eyes. Gears seemed to turn in his head. His companions stood silently beside him, shocked by the sight of Nex. "You're not a king." The dark wizard suddenly said, his voice one of a boy on the verge of adulthood.
Nex's eyes widened once he realized that the wizard was onto him. The show must go on... Nex thought, and with that he took a deep breath. "You dare defy me, human-"
The dark wizard glanced at the man next to him. The man gave a nod. "I'm not human." The dark wizard said. A second later a being of darkness stood in his place, watching Nex with two hollow eyes. Nex screamed and stumbled away from it. "A king wouldn't wear an outfit like that. Not a king who would flaunt his power about like you're doing now." The being towered over Nex. "And a king wouldn't be terrified of humans." It jabbed its long finger into his chest.
Nex gulped, suddenly realizing why the monster looked so familiar.
It was the Grim Reaper.

Shiruba:

When he first spotted the castle, he had the sudden urge to avoid the foreboding, formidable structure that loomed above the rest of the woods. It was eerie, the way that it towered above all else with a grey silence that cast greater shadows than any of the trees that blocked Shiruba's path. It took him some time to muster up the courage to approach the castle, though he hesitated at the spot where the woods vanished just outside the castle's borders.

From where he stood, he wondered if it was worth it continuing onward or heading back. But what other choice did he have? He couldn't possibly return to the woods, lest he be lost and perhaps starve to death among the mysterious trees. On the other hand, the castle was too foreboding, too creepy, and he debated whether or not he would be trapped within it, attacked by an unknown assailant, and was otherwise pestered by all of the foreboding questions associated with trying to enter what seemed to be an empty, abandoned castle. Then again, perhaps Enide was in the castle, somewhere. He felt that this possibility was likely; she would undoubtedly want to head to a place where she gain the ability to view a wide amount of the forest for the purpose of viewing and finding him. Slowly, the more he thought about it, the more that he agreed that, despite his body telling him otherwise, it would be most appropriate to go the castle.

Finally, mustering enough courage, and deciding that, since he wasn't going to be able to go back, it was best if he went forward, he walked towards the castle, cowering as he held out his katana in front of him and constantly desisting from walking to the doors and ducking under any object that would provide a shadow or a place by which he could hide, of which there were few. However, he eventually reached the castle doors.

He first tried to push open the doors. They wouldn't budge. This troubled him. He would've expected, with an old, seemingly abandoned castle, that he would have an easier time trying to open up the entrance. Even if they were large, couldn't be simply be able to push and open these seemingly hundred-year old doors open, especially if the castle was neglected? This opened up a new question in his mind: was it truly abandoned after all? This possibility disconcerted him, but he decided to test the accuracy of this thought, and so he banged on the door.

"Open up!" he bellowed with a courage that he hadn't even known he had. "Open up, I say! Do you have her? Have you taken her? Let her go! Open this door!"

To his horror, when he finished his statement, the doors opened with a loud creaking sound. They swung inwards, revealing the interior of the castle. Goosebumps formed on his skin when he came to the realization that nobody had opened those doors from within; they had somehow opened by means of magic, although what kind he was not sure of. All he knew was that he was nobody, though he was even more assured that something was within this castle. And that unnerved him. He, once more, mustered up all the courage he had within him.

Taking a few deep breaths, he stepped into the castle.

Schadel:

The monster stares up at him with fear in its golden eyes. Schadel knows that he was right in his earlier assumption. "King" Nex doesn't own the castle, and certainly isn't a king.
It gulps. "So I'm going to die now." Nex says. Schadel, besides being is surprised from what the monster is thinking, is surprised at how the fear disappears from the monster's face.
Nex no longer stares up Schadel with terror. Its golden eyes are determined, and it stands with a certain enviable resolve. "You know, that thought really doesn't scare me." It speaks before Schadel can. "I'll be dead, but I will also be with her. And that's all that matters-"
The armor comes running over to the monster's side. "Nen, what are you talking about?!" The voice cries out. The armor tries to drag Nex out of the room, but fails to do so. "Nen, come on!" If armor could cry, this suit of armor would be on the verge of tears. "Don't leave me too, Nen! Come on! You have to run! You have to fight! You have to do something!"
Nex's eyes widen at the last exclamation. "Oh my God. Aska, I didn't think how you would be alone again." It gets to its feet and embraces the armor. "I'm sorry."
Suddenly, the sound of someone skidding to a halt reaches Schadel's ears. He turns to see a man standing in the doorway of what Schadel guesses to be the castle's throne room.

Shiruba:

To say that the castle was disturbing was an understatement.

The interior was composed of a labyrinth of corridors and halls, and all of them were entirely abandoned. However, much to his surprise, not dilapidated. The place, however lonesome and otherwise empty, seemed to be well-kept, as he couldn't see any form of dust collecting on any of the objects that were about him. That, for obvious reasons, combined with the general tidiness of this otherwise "abandoned" castle made him incredibly anxious. Every step was more of a shuffle as he slowly wandered the corridors, not paying attention to where he had come from and where he was going. Time slowed ever so slightly, gradually becoming a crawl, almost seeming to halt when he ran into those halls that seemed to stretch on forever. He said nothing, and the castle did not answer, and so the silence filled the air around him, constricting and crushing the time under its feet, pouring into him from all sides and consuming him with worry. Shiruba was aware that the doors had closed upon him when he had first entered the castle. He was too familiar with magic to be surprised, of course, though it certainly hadn't done anything to improve his mood.

And then his ears twitched ever so slightly. They had registered something other than a deafening silence. He stopped, and looked about him for the origin of the noise. Seconds later, there came another one. This time, it was slightly louder, and he could now identify the direction the noise had come from. He shifted his direction, thrusting open a door and walking down another hallway in the general direction of the sounds. Any fear or worry that he had was now replaced with fury. After all, whoever else was in this castle had given up the element of surprise, and this gave him the advantage. They could no longer hope to ambush him, and his level of safety, along with his mood, thus increased dramatically. All that remained within him was rage. Rage at having been so unnerved, rage at the fact that Enide, his dearest, was undoubtedly trapped somewhere in this castle, and a fire brought about by his deep-rooted curiosity to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The more he heard the sounds, which were now gradually forming some kind of a conversation or confrontation (at his present distance, Shiruba was not sure of which), the harder and faster he began to run. His guess having been correct, it seemed, fueled his rage all the more, and he started running harder and harder. Turn here. Open this door. Sprint down the hall. Right. Right. Left. On and on and on again. His ginger hair rustled in the breeze of his creation as he bolted down the maze that was the castle, his lean, but strong, figure allowing him to maintain such speed and gift him with such an endurance.

He kicked open a last door, and came to the realization that he was now just a short distance from the conversation. "I'm sorry," a voice stated. His ears, perking up again, identify that location of the voice at the room to the right. Without hesitation, he turned, sprinted down a short, but tall and imposing corridor, and stopped at the entrance to what seemed to be the center of the castle - the castle's throne room.

He brandished his sword, and shouted at the ensemble gathered by the throne at the center of the expansive space. "Where is she!" he demanded, holding his ground and focusing on the bewildered, surprised expressions of those gathered in front of him.

Shiruba smiled ever so slightly. He had caught them off guard, and it was now he who held the advantage. Much to his enjoyment.

Schadel:

"Where is she?!" The man demands, waving his thin blade. Schadel's surprised brain remembers Xante talking about that type of sword before. He thinks it was called a katana, but in the scheme of things that obscure fact isn't all that important.
Schadel glances at Nex. The monster seems just as startled by the ginger haired man''s appearance. It pulls away from the armor, regarding the man with a look of fear, curiosity, and interest. "I don't know who you're talking about." Nex replies.
The man narrows his eyes as he points his katana at Schadel. He seems slightly startled by the sight of the Grim Reaper, but his rage helps to push away his fear. Schadel frantically shakes his head. "I don't know either!" He exclaims.

Shiruba:

Shiruba faltered ever slightly upon hearing these remarks. Intimidated ever so slightly by the large being of darkness, and otherwise confused by the menagerie of people around him, his calm and strong facade was partially broken also by the news he received, and his face showed it. Confusion added itself to the sweat that began to pour down his face, and his katana lowered ever so slightly. They both sounded genuinely surprised, and he found it highly unlikely that they would be lying; after all, they seemed much stronger than him, and more capable of fighting against him than the other way around. So why would they want to lie? His rage was broken by their tone of voice and their expressions, it being fed into the confusion and anxiety that was building up in him. When he began to think about the situation he had stumbled upon, too, he grew all the more worried.

"Where..." he uttered without any of the passion and energy that his voice had held moments before. The voice was uttered more to himself than anything else, conveying his confusion. "Where..."

He turned and sprinted away. He had to find her. He had to escape. He had to run from these horribly one-sided odds against him. His cowardice and instincts took a hold him, and he ignored the shouts behind him as he once against traversed the labyrinth of the castle.

Luki

I was thrown off-course and into the woods by a little, fluffy, white cat that was perched outside my parent's bake shoppe. The poor thing was meowing and wandering around in traffic, in the rain, then stopped to rest in the dry spot under . I was placing frosted cupcakes on the dessert tray for all of town to see. The shoppe was busy, as it always was on the weekdays and it was nearing the big holiday season. My parents were at the counter helping the costumers with buying desserts and giving samples.
It was around closing time when most of the customers were leaving, getting their final presents and treats. I had decided to sweep the floor along with the entire shoppe, when I heard a soft meow outside. I ignored it being that my parents told me never to seek foreign animals outside since they could contain rabies and other things that weren't protected against the human body.
The meowing was louder than before and grabbing my attention, but I continued to sweep. My parents had left offering me to come with them home, but I declined as I wanted to clean more. When the left, I went off into the back area where we kept most of the baking supplies, such as frosty tips and print to lay on cakes. My parents haven't noticed the missing mint chocolate that is used to decorate the cupcakes. As I was helping myself with a handful, there was a scratching at the door along with the cat's meowing.
I ignored it, walking out of the storage room and into the main lounge when I saw the cat perched behind the window, outside. It's fur was as white as snow and eyes red like apples. I felt mesmerized by the sudden appearance of the cat, trying to drag me outside, and it worked for the most part. I slowly walked to the door not taking my eyes of the cat whose eyes followed me, and opened the door.
The cold wind greeted me, wrapping around my exposed legs. I shivered trying to pull down my dress when the cat let out a soft meow, like a welcome or an invitation. It jumped off the table it was standing on, and ran ahead of me. My mind was warring against each other trying to decide if I should follow the cat or stay here, since most days another cat would come and do the same thing.
I was pacing outside with cold wind whipping at my body. If I decided on going, I would have to bring my coat and new brown boots. However, staying inside a nice building until I leave and go back home to my family. We eat turkey on weekends but since it was a good day at the shoppe, my mother had decided to have it early.
The cat was already down my the farthest stop sign, looking at me, mocking me with its red eyes.
I sighed, going inside and grabbing my coats before leaving. I locked the shoppe, soon following the cat wherever it was going. The nippy wind raced around me, freezing my ears and nose when before long the cat was off again. We ran down streets and over bridges, into alleys and through tunnels until finally we made it to the outskirts, where the woods were.
I've heard of stories, some bad and some good but either way do not go into the woods. The white cat meowed and ran in, disappearing amongst the foilage leaving me shivering outside. Tall colorless trees lined the outer bank, along with a few buildings around the edge and a bridge ran into the forest, but it seemed not safe to drive or go on.

A small gravel path led into the eerie forest, dark and mysterious yet adventures called from within. I took a deep breathe and traveled in, following the trail. When I got into the forest, it was warm with a little cold wind. It was warm enough to take off my jacket but I had forgotten about it when I saw the same cat, sitting in some sunlight. It looked relaxed, its tail lightly moving up and down. The urge of petting the cat was strong, as my brain played tug of war with itself. As I walked towards the cat, the gravel road turned and headed into the opposite direction. Thorns, poison ivy, and red berries lined my path along with the sound of distant frogs and birds calling. When I got few feet from the cat, I suddenly felt light headed like everything was moving and fast. I blinked a few times, hearing different sounds a voices coming around me. In seconds I fell to the forest ground as the cat's meow transformed into deep, evil laughter.

Nex:

Nex wasn't sure if he wanted to give a sigh in relief as the Grim Reaper returned to the group of supposed humans, or rush past the group to chase after the man. He settled on the first idea.
Nex slumped up against Aska. "God," he whispered, "that was terrifying." Aska nodded. He could tell that the empty suit of armor was eying the group nervously. "You alright, Aska?"
Another nod. "Nen," he whispered, "what if the reason they were able to get in was because that thing isn't human?"
Nex's eyes widened at the realization. "Or it could be something else entirely different!" He exclaimed. "What if Tieth needs to renew the seals?! That might be the reason why! We need to find that guy and see if he's human! Come on!" Nex grabbed Aska's wrist. "Coming through!" He shouted, pushing the group huddled in front of the entrance to the throne room. The group gave startled yelps as they were pushed to the side. "Sorry!"
As Aska and Nex raced down the hallways, they could hear the Grim Reaper and his companions chasing after them.

Luki

When I awoke, I was in a small cottage. A crackling fire to my left, while the moon's milky light spilled on the floor from the nearby right window. Why was I sleeping on the floor? I had no answer, just a pile of wool blankets and a fluffed pillow. The smell of stew floated around the room, while the smell of pine trees welcomed me greatly. I groaned, turning on my back. The ceiling was made of wood with different triangles and a row of tinsel wrapped around the balance pole. I moved my eyes along the tinsel until I came across a painting on the far right wall, with a smiling boy with deep blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. A man, with darker hair, was holding onto the boy's shoulders. Both were staring off into the distance, as in the background a thunderstorm was forming.
The blinked away from the painting to see a person sitting by a window, nose pressed against the glass.

"You're awake," they softly said. I gapped, clenching the blankets to my chest. The room was slowly getting colder, crawling around my body like a cat. The smell changed to a rocky path, muddied by the rain from last night. Even the fire was changing, lowering and lowering into nothing more than brunt logs and cold nights. The person, whoever they were, moved from the window in such a grace, it seemed to be like a appracation. They settled on the couch, resting their chin into a left hand before gazing at me. Their eyes were a cold winter blue, piercing my soul.

"I guess he was right."

"Who was right?"

"Never mind that. It isn't important," they said and leap off the couch, heading into an opening by the east wall. A slight nose like that of sighing dog, soon followed the crashing of silverware and pottery. Soon the boy came out, holding a steamy bowl and a dirty cloth.

"Here eat up," he said handing me the bowl. It was stew with the assortment of meat, veggies, and potatoes. I stared hungrily at it, despite not being hungry. The boy watched me eat it, staring fondly at the dripping of the broth from my chin and would continue to stare until I was done. I pushed the bowl onto the table next to me, a warm feeling settling in my stomach. I sighed in delight, resting against my pillows. The last thing I remember before falling asleep, was the stranger's words of good night and the crackling fire easing a sweet melody of crackling embers.

Shiruba:

The man sprinted down the hallways and around the corners within the castle, thrusting open and closing doors desperately. She isn't here, he whispered to himself as he kicked open yet another door, she isn't there, nor is she there - is she anywhere here!? He gained yet another burst of speed and bolted down a particularly long hallway, his breathing fast-paced and loud as he went into a full panic mode. His nerves were all shot for this reason, but also given that he could now hear the sounds of a commotion and a large number of people running behind him, which could only mean that he was being pursued by the group that he had seen earlier.

Great, he whispered again to himself, trying as hard as he could to run as fast as he could without being loud enough to be detected, although that was, understandably, a complete impossibility, Not only have I stepped into a hornet's nest, and trying to avoid getting stung by the hornets who are much stronger than I am, I am nowhere closer to knowing if Enide is even in this castle, much less where she is!

Shiruba continued to bemoan his fate as he thrust open a comparatively small door and found a long flight of stairs stretching and curling above his head, but soon found himself in a worse situation than he could've even imagined, one that, despite all the odds, distracted him from himself. He quickly realized that the stairs could only lead to a dead end, given that, from what he had seen before, there were only a few towers tall enough in this castle to accommodate such a flight of stairs, and they all had only one means of entering and exiting, and made to open the door again and walk back into the myriad of the castle's hallways. However, just before kicking open the door and fleeing into the castle's labyrinth of rooms, he heard the voices of his hunters a short distance away.

"Hey, there's an entrance to one of the castle towers over here! Perhaps he went there!"

Shiruba cursed his poor luck and his hopeless situation. If he tried to exit from the vicinity of the tower, given the closeness of his pursuers, he would be caught, and he was afraid to imagine what they might do to him if that happened. On the other hand, if he ran up to the top of the tower, he would be trapped. The man would be caught in a corner, and he would most likely be caught. However, what other choice did he have? Sure, he wasn't good at fighting in close spaces, but he surmised that, with his powers, he could perhaps cause enough of a ruckus to distract and repel his attackers, and perhaps even force them down the stairs and out of the tower room, giving him the opportunity to escape. It wasn't a great hope, especially given that his odds of escaping were slim, and if any one of them was good at defensive magic, his attacks would be rendered useless, but it was a hope nonetheless, and he took it.

The man bolted up the stairs towards the top room of the tower. His heart raced ever faster when he heard the door far below him open, not to mention the sounds of people dashing up flights of stairs, but he gained his second wind, and soon neared the final steps to the small room that composed the top room of the tower.

And then he tripped on the final steps.

Ungracefully, Shiruba collapsed in a heap at the top of the stairs. He'd been lucky enough to not have been impaled with his katana when he'd fallen, but, unfortunately, the blade now lay on the other side of the short room. The disheveled, bruised figure attempted to rise, groaning in pain, attempting to grasp his katana again, but that's when he heard the footsteps only a short distance behind him. He groaned again, knowing that his entire plan had fallen apart. He was too far away to reach his katana, and he wouldn't be able to shift his form quickly enough.

He was caught, and he was afraid.