Fudge Castle: Part of chapter one

***Finally started writing my story, but I always get stuck at the beginning. Let me know if it's too slow of a start and if it needs more detail. Thanks!!! ***

Chapter One: The Siege

He was 13 at the time, barely a man and hardly a boy. His inheritance was an entire kingdom made of pure diamond and the purpose of his life was to rule. His parents were the king and queen, the rulers of the Kingdom of Diamond and overseers to the entire land of Sweet. The problems of the land were brought before them and their kingdom was set amidst the many kingdoms of sweet, laying the law for every kingdom.

When it happened, he was in the stables, grooming his favorite horse, Sheath. Daniel, or Danny, as he liked to be called was running a brush through his horse’s silky black mane, his fair brow furrowed and his white eyebrows knit together in concentration. The rest of Sheath’s coat gleamed like black silver and when he moved his muscles rippled his coat like a breeze creating waves among long grasses. Danny stood back and examined the horse, a feeling of satisfaction welling up in him at the completion of a long chore. He grinned and stepped up to the horse’s face and stroked his unblemished nose. He stood there in silence for several seconds, the smell of dried hay permeating the air and the sound of flies monotonously droning on through the sleepy summer’s day. Danny’s white, shining hair contrasted fiercely with Sheath’s black snout. Suddenly, the sound of running footsteps echoed in Danny’s ears. Danny released Sheath’s snout and turned curiously to discern the source. Through the faceted diamond walls of the stables Danny saw one of the men from his Father’s circle of consultants and advisers. They were the closest persons to the royal family. Concerned, Danny jogged from the stables to meet the advisor. As Danny ran, he could barely discern through the diamond walls a certain amount of panic on the man’s face. Danny’s mouth curved downward in a worried frown and he began to run faster. When he finally met the advisor the man grabbed him by the shoulders and said frantically, “Master Danny, you must come with me quickly! Saddle your horse and follow me!” As the man began to run for the horse’s tack Danny grabbed his forearm.

“Wait!” he cried. “What’s happened, Nicolas?” At that moment the diamond alarm bells in the town squares began to loudly sound off. Nicolas stopped running and turned around to look him squarely in the face.

“Danny, Diamond Castle is under attack and the royal family is now in great danger. As the man assigned to you in case of attack, I must get you out of here!” The news hit him like a shock wave and Danny staggered back a few steps from Nicolas. His mind whirled and his hands begin to shake. Nicolas grabbed his hand and began pulling him toward his horse. “I’m sorry, Prince Danny, that we must leave so quickly, but your life is now in my hands. Hurry! Go saddle your horse now!” With that he released Danny’s hand and gave him a shove toward his horse. Quickly, but blindly Danny began saddling Sheath, his fingers still trembling. Sensing his panic, Sheath began to prance about in the small stall nervously.

“Easy, Sheath,” Danny said. He led the stallion to the entrance of the stables where Nicolas was waiting.

“Let us go,” Nicolas said. Danny and Nicolas nudged Danny’s horse into a gallop. Danny’s heart pounded frantically and worried thoughts plunged through his mind. What if his parents didn’t escape? His younger sister? What about the countless loyal servants and members of the palace? Danny had never been more afraid.

As Danny rode, the diamond houses and roads, not as faceted as the royal palace, flashed by him. He paid no heed to the villagers running to and fro in panic. He simply followed Nicolas’ horse and rode. Sheath body felt strong beneath him and with each step his muscles moved beneath Danny. They passed the marketplace and the armory, the latter bustling with men looking for a weapon to protect the castle with. After ten minutes of hard galloping they reached the countryside and Danny’s head finally cleared. Suddenly, Danny pulled back on the reins and stopped his horse. He and Sheath stood there panting as Nicolas turned around in surprise. “What are you doing?” he demanded. “I need to get you to the Chocolate and Vanilla kingdoms until the siege is over. We still have many hours riding to do. Danny sat there his head hanging down and his chest heaving in great pants. His head suddenly snapped up and Nicolas saw that tears were streaming down the young boy’s face. He spoke with a sudden ferocity.

“I cannot leave, Nicolas! My family is back there and my kingdom is possibly being overtaken! My little eight year old sister is back there, along everyone else I love!” He began to turn his horse and head toward the kingdom.

“Daniel! You must not leave! Do you not understand the gravity of this situation? What do you intend to do when you reach the soldiers? Are you going to pick up a sword and grandly defeat all of them in one fell swoop? There are tens of thousands of men back there fighting and dying for you and your family? Would you have their valor be wasted in one stupid mistake? If you’re killed there is no chance whatsoever of you inheriting the throne! You MUST leave now!” Danny sat on his horse contemplating the trueness of his words, but the chaos of the moment clouded his thinking and swayed his judgment. He turned and looked at Nicolas and said with a raspy voice choked by tears,

“I care not for the wasted lives of mere soldiers; I care for the lives of my family!” He nudged his horse into a gallop and began to ride back toward the doomed castle. Nicolas grabbed vainly for Sheath’s reins but only grabbed air.

“Danny! You must not go!” Nicolas screamed with heart-wrenching passion and for a moment Danny almost turned back, but the faces of his family flashed through his mind and he continued to ride.

Danny felt the hot wetness of tears on his cheek but shook them and his hair out of his diamond eyes. A heavy burden of sadness, anxiety and anger swirled in his chest. He couldn’t believe this was happening. Behind him he heard the hooves of Nicolas’ horse, but he ignored it. Sheath was the finest bred horse in the stables and could outrun every other horse in the stables. Danny began calculating exactly where the attack was. Nicolas had led him west, away from the castle and also the opposite direction from the Vanilla and Chocolate Kingdoms. That meant the attack most likely came from the east or the north-east side of the castle. Danny changed his horse’s course slightly.

Nicolas fell farther and farther behind until Danny could no longer hear his horse’s hooves. Danny began to pass the same houses that had whizzed by not minutes ago. The alarm bell clanged louder and louder through in his ears as he got closer to the town square and the streets were now almost deserted. As Danny passed the last house he suddenly pulled his horse up short, realizing he had no sword. He swerved into a side street and rode to the armory. A few soldiers still darted in and out of the building, but otherwise there was hardly any movement on the streets. Danny stopped his horse and jumped off in one swift movement and ran into the building. As he glanced frantically around he noticed the armory man was gone and he grabbed a sword off the rack.

Task completed, he jumped back onto Sheath and once again headed toward the castle. His heart pounded. He knew he could take on those soldiers; his parents had made him take sword-fighting lessons since he was seven.

As he crested a hill, the shouts and screams of battle begin to roar in his ears. When he reached the top, he stopped in amazement. Between him and the castle, which was still a mile away, there was a battlefield crammed full of men in white armor and men in dark brown armor. Danny also spotted green armor, which meant reinforcements had arrived from Mint Kingdom. Glancing at the castle, Danny could see through its faceted walls that hundreds of soldiers as well, but they were all dressed in brown armor. His heart pounded with worry. Getting inside the castle was what he had to do, so he took a deep breath, drew his sword, and plunged into the chaos of the battle. Bodies fell and fought around him and he could hear sword against sword and hooves against the soft earth.

A sword sliced through the air toward him. Danny leaned so far back he almost fell off his horse, but he righted himself and continued toward the castle. As he rode, he sliced at every man wearing brown armor, missing most of them but hitting a few. Danny's mind spun as he examined every angle of the situation, looking for the best way to rescue his family.There were only three plans he deemed workable, and of these he chose one: he would sneak into the castle through the secret entrance to the dungeon. He took a deep breath and continued to slice his way through enemy soldiers, knowing that by going into his own home, he'd be going into enemy territory.