Welcome To Mystery

1 - A Turn of Events


Kessie heard him before she saw him. She walked around the corner to find the door to the stairs slamming shut. Now, knowing that this behaviour was unusual for any student or teacher, she knew something was wrong; so she decided to follow.

The main flight of stairs had shallow steps, which Kessie could easily run up two at a time. Up ahead the girl heard another door slamming shut, so she quickened her step. The sign next to the door read FL.3. There were four floors in the boarding school, the third being the dorms and the fourth being the largely oversized attic.

"Hey, you! Stop!" Kessie yelled after the man in the old looking suit, similar to the ones she saw in her Victorian textbook. He refused to stop and kept running, coat tails trailing out behind him, straight through another door, this one unlabelled.


Unaware that there were more stairs in the school, this flight, which was seemingly unending, took her by surprise.

"Oh you are kidding me." Taking a deep breath, she started leaping up the stairs again, three at a time. Gym wasn't her favourite lesson, but that didn't mean that she was unfit, it was quite the opposite really, and she didn't know where she got the energy from.

At the end of the stairs was a big, heavy wooden door, not fully shut. Giving a large shove, the door budged open, and the brunette stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind her. Brunette hair would have been great on someone else, but on her, it just made it more obvious of how ice blue her eyes were.

The boxes in the attic were every shape and size, mimicking a large city full of sky scrapers and apartment blocks. As Kessie walked through the miniature city, she noticed a white, almost silken curtain blowing in the breeze. But what breeze? She was in an attic, and as far as she could tell, there were no windows. She pulled the curtain back to reveal another door. This one was newer and much more modern, coloured glass decorating it.

Simply out of curiosity, Kessie stroked the glass, which seemed to hum in reaction, causing her to jump backwards slightly.

"How odd..." she muttered to herself, giving the door a once-over, trying to place the origin of the vibrations, noticing nothing unusual except the fact that the keyhole seemed to be glowing faintly.

"Really...odd..." the girl concluded, pushing the door with one hand to see if it would budge. It did.

Through the door Kessie was shocked to see a bush, which was bright blue, she scowled at it in confusion whilst trying to figure out what was going on. It was tall, the kind of bush that was used in mazes and topiary.

This one looked a lot more like a maze bush. Kessie pinched one of the leaves off the bush and examined it closely. As far as she could tell the blue was genuine. Taking a step forward to allow herself a closer look at the bush, she released her grip on the door handle, allowing it to swing shut. Coming to the conclusion that she could make no other conclusions about the bush, Kessie allowed her eyes to wander upward. The sky was a deep purple, with a velvety texture to it.

Deciding that this was a little too weird to cope with, Kessie turned back to the glass door. She stared blankly for a moment. The door was gone.


Had she walked on around a corner? Surely she would have noticed doing so, wouldn't she? Kessie forced herself to take long, deep breaths, one after the other, trying to calm herself down. She took one glance around, and then closed her eyes, as if attempting to shut out the world around her.


Almost every sound around her, whether she was imagining it or not, had vanished. Every sound except for the tapping of something on the floor. Kessie scrunched her eyes up, focusing her mind on that little sound.

It got louder, and Kessie realized that it was the sound of someone's feed on the ground, a running someone. She opened her eyes and started to play around with her lips, weighing up the options. She could stay here and wait for a door to 'appear' that might never do so, or she could follow that person and maybe find out what was going on here. Taking one last look at where the door had been, she plucked up all her courage and ran after the noise.

Kessie saw the familiar figure of the man who she had been following in her school. Her mind set on figuring out what was going on, she shouted for him to stop.

The man in the old fashioned suit turned round long enough for Kessie to see that he wasn't much older that her; maybe one or two years older. Then the young man ran on again, and dodged a tree root that was sticking out of the ground, almost as if it was a second nature to him.

Kessie jumped to avoid the tree root. As soon as she had taken off from the ground she knew she had misjudged the height of it, and she cursed herself mentally for being so foolish. Her foot caught on the root and caused her to fall forwards, head first. Her whole body now aching, Kessie looked up at the distant man in the suit. He had turned round to look at her, as if weighing up what he should do. With one final glance at her, he turned and ran again. Thanks, Kessie thought while biting her bottom lip.

Kessie turned over so she was on her back, looking up at the deep purple sky. She was surprised to see that the sky had been partially replaced by a door. The door was red, with gold patterning and edge; it also had a golden door latch, which was hanging freely down.

The brunette stood up, her eyes never leaving the door, just in case it vanished while she wasn’t looking. When she was stood directly under the door, she reached up, barely managing to touch the door.

The first time Kessie jumped, she missed the door handle, but the second time, she grabbed it and pulled down hard. The door opened downward, and Kessie had to swiftly move to the side to avoid the steps that flew down after the door had opened. Taking one last look at the maze-place, that she probably wouldn’t see again, Kessie climbed up the ladder.
2 - Emblem of the moon


As Kessie entered the room above her, she noticed that it was reasonably cooler in here; the temperature difference must be at least 4 or 5 degrees. It was also darker, but she could still see enough to find her way around.

At first she thought she was back in the attic, by the number of boxes laid about the room; but then Kessie realized that these boxes were reasonably bigger and made from wood; not cardboard. To add to her growing disappointment, there were no windows, only one large single door, which fitted perfectly to its surroundings. I guess this isn't some magic door.

Just to make sure that she wouldn't regret it later, Kessie walked up to the door and touched the handle, debating on whether she should go on. Just as she had made her mind up to go through, she heard voices coming from the other side.

They were muffled so Kessie couldn't make out what they were saying, but it brought a feeling of relief just to hear someone else's voice. She pressed her ear to the wooden door to see if she could hear better, to her shock, the voices had stopped and the people were now getting closer, they were going to come into where she was hiding.

Shit.

Kessie ran back to where the trap door had been, boxes were now piled on top of it; and she swore that if she moved all the boxes, the trap door wouldn't be there anymore. Franticly, the girl searched for a hiding place. She didn't want to let them see her, just in case.

As the door began to open, Kessie dived behind one of the boxes, hoping she didn't make too much noise while doing so.

The person behind the door hesitated for a moment before opening it. The light flooded the room and Kessie closed her eyes. Whilst holding her breath she prayed they wouldn't find her.

Their footsteps were loud, so Kessie guessed they were both men, and her thoughts were confirmed as they began to talk.

"I hope you still acknowledge where your allegiances lie, Kaiden." The voice was kept to a whisper, but it still sent shivers down the back of Kessie’s neck, the sheer power of that man could be determined from his voice. It was like he could threaten her without knowing she was here.

"Of course, general." Another, younger voice replied. Kessie guessed it belonged to the man named Kaiden. It was cool, calm and collected; like he wasn't the least bit intimidated by the first.

"I should hope so too, you know what would happen if-"

"General." Kaiden began. "I assure you, there is no need to remind me of what my alliance with the Metrix means." Kessie could hear the tension in his voice, although he may have seemed calm at first, there was a slight feel of urgency in his second reply.

"Excellent." the first man smiled through his words, yet Kessie knew that this was no smile of friendship. The heavier man exited the room in a swift motion, and seconds after, Kaiden also exited.

Kessie let the air that she was holding escape her lungs, and she immediately drew a breath again, she hadn't realized that she had kept her breath for so long. Whilst taking long calming breaths, she tried to regain her composure before trying to find a way out. Kessie thought about it more and more, and the more she did the more it dawned on her that her only escape route would be the door that the two men went through.

There was a short rattling in the key hole, before a loud and definite click could be heard. Kessie banged her fits on the box that she was leaning against. They couldn't have heard her, could they?

After what seemed like an eternity, the sudden opening of the door startled Kessie. Whoever opened the door swiftly closed and locked it behind them.

The brunette closed her eyes in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. She willed herself to calm down, but it was no use, they were going to find her sooner or later. Slowly Kessie brought her knees closer to her, and hugged them tightly to her chest, wishing she could disappear.

"Ah, I thought I could sense someone." it was a man who had found me; he spoke softly to her, as though he didn't want to scare her. Kessie opened her eyes, but kept looking at the ground, she didn't want to let him know how terrified she was. "Stand up." the voice was still soft, but she could tell that this was an order. So, keeping her eyes lowered, Kessie slowly got up.

It took only a brief moment before she regained her balance; she kept most of her weight on her left leg, as her right had pins and needles. Kessie clenched her fists at her sides, hoping they would eventually stop shaking.

"Are you ok?" when Kessie refused to answer, he tried a different approach. "Look at me."

Slowly, Kessie raised her eyes, taking in every detail that she could with the dim light.

He had white amour on, which had a gold emblem of a half moon embroidered into it. The amour looked strong and yet also looked surprisingly comfortable. Despite the baggy blue top underneath, she could still tell that he was well built. His whole body was covered in a black cape, which was fastened at the front with the same emblem as his amour. As Kessie’s eyes wandered up further, she locked eyes with him. Although it was dark, she could see that his eyes were bright blue, and had strands of messy brown hair that fell in to them.

His breath caught in his mouth as their eyes locked, but only for a second, before his eyes narrowed while he tried to figure out what he was going to do.

"Follow me." he said and crept over to the door. Placing a finger on his lips, as a sign for Kessie to be quiet, he opened the door slightly so only he could look out. After a brief moment of looking out, he motioned her to follow him.

Silently, Kessie glided after him, out into a large hall way with wooden floors and red painted walls. It looked very much like one of the pubs she had been to before; with the only thing missing, the painted pictures of lakes, swans and old castles. In this hall way, all the walls were bare.

The stranger led the brunette down a flight of stairs, and stopped half way down another. Wordlessly, Kessie watched him as he observed the room down the stairs. She heard voices, and the clanging of plates, so she guessed that she had been right when she thought it was a pub.

The man in the cape sighed in frustration, before coming back up the stairs. Without a word he removed his cape, and gave it to Kessie.

"Fasten it tightly, keep the hood up, and don't make eye contact with anyone." He ordered, Kessie was going to ask why, but he was already making his way back down the stairs. She put the surprisingly light cloak around her and pulled the hood up, making sure to tuck all of her long brunette hair in.

When Kessie’s rescuer, if she could call him that, signalled for her to come forward she did, whilst focusing all of her attention on the intricate design of the carpet that was on the lowest floor. When she arrived at the bottom step, Kessie diverted her eyes so that she could watch where the stranger was leading her; she kept her eyes pinned on his shoes.

When they were out of the door and far enough away from the inn, the stranger turned to Kessie, stopping her in my tracks. He looked into her eyes only for a moment before she looked away.

"Wha-" The stranger stopped himself asking the question, instead he said. "You must go down the village, past the church, to where you will find a large stone gate. When you find it, stand in front of it, and remember the first door that you came through from your world."

Kessie opened her mouth to ask a question, but he just continued talking

"Don't turn around until you get through your door." she opened her mouth again to protest, but he just nodded at the rout she should take. Sighing in frustration, she began walking down the path that was lit by lanterns on sticks.

"Can I at least know your name?" Kessie whispered without turning back around to face him.

"Kai." he told her.

"Thank you for helping me, Kai." she said him whilst smiling to herself.

Kessie began walking down the path again, keeping her eyes on the dim light coming from the church. The big question in her mind was why couldn't she turn around? Was someone following her? Trying to get back into school? Kessie stopped abruptly, didn't turn around but tried to listen if anyone was following her.

When she was about to turn around to see if there was anyone, a faint but firm voice registered in the back of her mind.

Don't.

It said, and she didn't turn; knowing she should trust this voice.

The walk to the church was longer than Kessie expected, and when she was close enough to see into the windows, she saw that they had all different skies in them. One was a bright blazing orange of a sweet summer sunset; another was black and full of stars and galaxies.

As Kessie continued on the way that Kai had told her she should go, her mind couldn't help but wonder where those windows lead to; or if they were just there to show you different places.

The path began to widen and when she looked up Kessie saw the large stone gate. The sky up above her was plain black with no stars, yet the background through the gate way was a misty green, with points of light shining through it.

Imagine the door you first came through.

The voice said again, now even weaker than before. Kessie closed her eyes as she tried to remember the door in the attic. White plastic frame, coloured glass circle in the middle, golden handle. Kessie held the memory of the door in her mind and opened her eyes; there was nothing there.

She didn't know what she had to do now; she had to remember the door she first came through, but then what. Kessie half expected the door to appear, but that would have been too simple, wouldn't it?

Kessie instincts told her to walk through the gate way. So with the image of the White door in her mind she walked through the arch.

Kessie was surprised when she didn't fall; instead, her foot touched ground that creaked under her foot. She opened her eyes and was surprised to see that it was dark, too dark to see anything.

Kessie took another cautious step forward and her foot hit something hard.


With her hand outstretched, Kessie bent down and felt the thing that her foot had come in contact with. It felt soft, like paper, yet was also stronger, and kept together with tape. She stood up, and with her hand still out in front of me, she began to walk forward.

When Kessie’s arm brushed against something soft, she jumped to the side. She calmed her racing heart beat and moved closer to the thing she had just touched. Her fingers felt the end of a piece of cloth, that seemed to be hanging from the ceiling, or something else attached to the roof. Kessie pulled the silky curtain back and looked past it.

To her amazement, there was a tiny point of light, with which she could see the outline of a door handle. As Kessie got closer to the door, it suddenly came to her that she had done this all a couple of hours before. She pushed the heavy wooden door open, and light immediately filled the room.

Kessie sighed in relief as she took in the familiar surroundings, a small smile appearing on her face. She looked at the back of the heavy wooden door, there were five hooks just above her head, and three of those hooks had keys hanging from them.

One of the keys was attached with a piece of old looking sting and had a plain, old fashioned hilt, shaped into a lightning bolt. The other had a circle with a hole in the end where a chain went through, on the circle there were three wavy lines engraved in it, making it look like the ocean. The last key was attached by a piece of thick blue ribbon and had a half moon facing upwards on it, there were four white pearls which completed the circle, the same moon as Kai had worn on his amour.

It was then that it dawned on her that she still had his cloak on. Kessie would have to give it back; either that or he would come looking for it. Her heart sped up at the thought of seeing him again, even if it meant going back through the door. Being in an all-girl boarding school meant that she didn’t have that much experience with guys; actually she had none at all.

Taking one last look behind her into the darkness, she quickly grabbed the key with the half moon and walked onto the flight of stairs. With the door securely locked behind her, she began to take off the cloak. She folded it neatly and placed the key inside to keep it safe.


The journey down the stairs was a lot easier than when she was running up them following the man in the top hat. Kessie sighed when she realized that she hadn't found him, and her mood was downed even more when she realized that she might never actually find him.

The door to the dorm rooms came into view quicker than she expected. Before walking through it she quickly patted down her hair and straightened out her clothes, making sure that she didn’t look to suspicious.

The hall ways were dimmer than usual so Kessie guessed that it was 10:00, if not later. 10:15 was curfew, so she hoped that she wouldn't meet anyone on the way to her room. Kessie only passed one girl two corridors before her hallway; and she didn't bother asking about what Kessie was carrying.

When Kessie was back in her room, the fact that she was in a different world half an hour ago seemed almost impossible. She carefully hid the cloak in her dresser, and placed the key neatly around her neck, before swiftly getting changed and into bed.

Kessie’s plan was to get up early and to check out the door again, but it would be impossible to return in time for lessons if she were to get lost. So plan B was to wait until 11 or so when the night teacher went to bed, sneak in to the attic, and find out what exactly was going on here.

After a few more minutes of planning, her mind started to mix fact with fiction, and Kessie gently fell asleep with the comfy sheets around her.


Kessie woke as she did every morning; sleepily and slowly. She was a morning person, if she got half an hour to herself, after that she was as right as rain. She went into the bathroom after she finally managed to get out of bed. Sleepily Kessie grabbed her tooth brush and started brushing her teeth. After putting her school uniform on, which consisted of a blouse, a blazer, a tie, and a skirt, she was fully awake and looking forward to breakfast; so Kessie slipped her purple converse on and went downstairs for her breakfast.

The dining hall was relatively empty when she entered it, and after grabbing herself a bowl of cereal, she sat at the table in the corner of the room.

Kessie chewed a mouthful of cereal and thought through what happened yesterday. It was impossible. Whatever had happened was totally impossible. It totally went against everything that modern science believed in. While taking another mouthful of cereal, she absentmindedly fiddled with the ribbon that was still hanging around her neck.

A couple of minutes later the room started to fill up. One girl in-particular caught her eye. She had messy brown hair that was tied back in a bun, and a copper key hanging on a silver chain hanging around her neck.

I know it probably sounds weird, going by something on a whim, but it seemed like that key belonged to the other two. So that meant, that that girl knew how to get in the door, or at least how to find it again.


3 - The Returning Visitor


The first two hours dragged by slowly, consisting of Kessie daydreaming and being shouted at by the teachers. The third was science, which she loved. It was going quite well until the head teachers Announcement filled the room.

"There has been a key stolen from one of our young school ambassadors. If anyone knows anything about the key or where it could be please report to the main office."


Kessie sat at the front of the class room; she wished that she could see how the girl with the other key had reacted. Kessie thought her name was Adeline, she usually kept herself to herself, and Kessie might have just found out why.

The nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach didn't clear until the end of lesson, where she had asked her teacher if 'magic doors' could really exist. His only real explanation was a theory to do with space-time and worm holes.

Kessie knew about worm holes, in all the since fiction movies they connected to a different time or part of our world; but what she saw through that door wasn't anything that she had ever read about in history text books; nor did it look like a future version of this planet. It looked... Like a completely different world.

Making her way into the dining room, Kessie noticed that it was emptier than usual, with more than ten seats empty. Adeline, however, was there, sat opposite from her on a table by herself. She was staring blankly into space while eating her lunch.

The door bursting open shocked both Kessie and Adeline, judging by the look on her face. A man walked through the door, so Kessie could tell he wasn't a student, since it was an all-girl’s boarding school. He walked up to Adeline and grabbed her hand gently, but rough enough to make her stand up and follow him like she knew him. Not like she had much choice in the matter though.

As they turned around to leave Kessie caught a glance of the man’s face; she saw enough detail to see who it was. It was the guy in the top hat who she had followed the first time she went through the door. Kessie quickly looked away, hoping that he wouldn't see her.

When they went through the door and it shut behind them, Kessie got up to follow them, leaving her unfinished dinner on the table.

The girl sneakily followed them all the way to the attic; and stopped in front of the White door. It was slightly open, the light behind it shining warmly, as if beckoning her in. Kessie hesitated, could she do this again? Would she be lucky enough to end up back here? Kessie knew she couldn't leave Adeline with that man, he could be dangerous; so throwing all caution to the wind, she ran after them through her mystery door.

The forest on the other side was marvellous, the deep green leaves on the trees contrasted the purple and yellow flowers beautifully, and the feathers on the birds in the trees were equally as colourful as the different types of flowers that surrounded Kessie.

The brunette was taken aback for a moment by the sheer beauty of the simple forest; Kessie knew she wasn't on earth anymore.

Kessie saw Adeline and her kidnapper walking up ahead, with his hand still holding firmly on to her arm. He had changed from his modern suit back into the Victorian clothes and the top hat, and Kessie wondered absentmindedly how he could have done it so fast.

They both stopped abruptly and he pushed her into the bush by the side of the sandy narrow road. Kessie was about to run to adenines aid when she heard them; the unmistakable sound of horses hooves.

The noise came louder until Kessie was sure that they were standing right behind her, and it all happened too quickly for her to react. Kessie had seen it in so many cowboy movies; so she put her hands up in defence, however when she turned round she realized that they weren't cowboys, nor Indians, they were what seemed to be knights. Knights with White amour lined with golden thread in a pretty pattern. There was also a golden outline of a half moon in the middle of their chest.

By now Kessie realized that she was staring at them, maybe even gaping a little, so she quickly shut her mouth and averted her gaze, suddenly remembering what Kai had told her.

Kessie hoped that either Adeline or her kidnapper had seen her, but then what hope did she have of them coming to her rescue? Was she even in need of being rescued? No, Kessie told herself firmly, she was just simply in their way. The girl moved to the side of the path, but they all stayed motionless, all looking at her.

"You seem lost miss." one of the men spoke, Kessie took her time in looking at his uniform, the half-moon was filled in, so she guessed he must have been a captain or whatever.

"I'm not lost." Kessie lied in the loudest voice she could manage, it wasn't a total lie, she could find her way back to the door, and if it was still there could get back to school.

“Should we escort you back to the castle?" he said and snapped his fingers at one of his men, who came round with a White Andalusian.

All Kessie could do was grin at a chance of being able to ride, she loved riding but since she was at a boarding school she never got the chance to. The girl looked down at her skirt and sighed; it would be totally awkward to ride in this, and besides, if the knights were telling the truth and they were going to take her to their castle, how could Kessie be sure that they wouldn't just lock her in the dungeon. The man in charge sighed in frustration.

"You can come along peacefully, or I can make you come." he said with a smile, it was genuine, which made it hard for Kessie to believe his words.

Kessie glared at him and grabbed the reigns out of the young soldier’s hand, before stroking the horse on the cheek. She smiled at the comfort it brought her, just to be around horses again. Kessie placed her foot in the stirrup and in one swift movement got on the horse, to all the men’s surprise.

The saddle was a little uncomfortable and totally different to what Kessie was used to, nevertheless she was sure that it wouldn't make that much difference to her riding ability. The commandant smiled again before kicking his own horse into a canter. Kessie clicked her tongue and followed swiftly behind him.

The castle was surprisingly close by, and if she had to, Kessie could probably find her way back to the door. It was a typical medieval castle, complete with Draw Bridge and all. Flags flared all around them as they rode into the court yard, all baring the symbol of the crescent moon on a White background.

The commandant got off his horse while one of the servants, or what Kessie took to be servants, held it. The girl didn't wait for someone to help her; instead she swung her leg over and landed gently on the ground. While patting her neck she looked at her gentle face.

She knew that you’re not meant to look horses in the eye, but she couldn't help it. Kessie loved the way their pupils exploded, like they could see thing that humans couldn't, it was mesmerizingly beautiful.

Someone cleared their throat behind her, shaking her out of her daydream. Taking one last deep breath, she smiled before turning around.

All her emotions came flooding back when she was following the commandant for the halls, which were surprisingly pretty. There was fear that she would get locked up in a cell, or worse; There was excitement about who she was meeting and where we were going; she was nervous about the fact that she might never get back home; and then there was that nagging feeling at the pit of her stomach that something was wrong with her. Maybe she was getting a cold.

"Beautiful aren't they?" the commandant asked as they walked for the surprisingly long corridor

"Huh?" Kessie asked, his question catching her off guard.

"Horses." he smiled, not noticing her lack of attention.

"Oh, yeah." was all she could manage to say before they rounded a corner and approached a blue door, which was guarded by two knights, one on either side.

The knights opened the door and stepped to the side. They had walked into a large room that could only be described as a very big throne room. There were three thrones, two larger than the third. There was only one man in the room, and he was looking out of the window, gazing up at the sky with serene eyes. Kessie couldn't help but feel her fear melt away at the sight of how piece full it was here.

The girl and the commandant crossed the last distance that separated them from the old man and stood in front of him. He was a large man, both in height and in size, and looked somewhat distracted. The commandant stopped in front of Kessie and bowed at the large man with grey hair, while she just stood there awkwardly fiddling with her hands.

The man nodded in acknowledgement, his deep forest green eyes sparkling with interest. The commandant walked up to him, Kessie however made no move to follow. They stood for a while, looking out of the large window which had sunlight pouring in through it, seemingly lost in their own thoughts. Absentmindedly Kessie wondered if they were discussing her fate in their heads; could you blame her though, I mean only a day ago she had discovered a magic door and a new world. She’d begun to think that a lot of things were possible.

Anger boiled up inside of her, this was ridiculous, and if they were discussing her fate the least they could do was discuss it with her, right? Kessie had to get out of this place before it threatened to overwhelm her. She could feel it gnawing at the edge of her mind, prodding and testing, trying get in. That just made her even angrier; she would not allow this thing to get into her head.

Suddenly the man in the robe walked away from the window, leaving his friend there. He walked up to Kessie, a broad smile plastered on his lips.

"You, Kessie, will stay here as my guest." Kessie didn’t know what shocked her more, him stating she would simply stay with him, or the fact that he knew her name. She didn't know what to do as the back of her throat dried up. She felt anger and desperation well up inside of her. She glared at this man, who the hell did he think he was?

"Don’t flatter yourself." Kessie said simply "I'm not a guest, I am your prisoner." what else should I have said, and I was true enough, he was after all keeping me here without my permission. His smile flattered a little and there was sorrow in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel bad for how rude she’d been.

"Very well." he said, the smile gone from his face. They made eye contact once more before he motioned for the commandant to come over.

"Please escort Kessie back to her chambers." he said in a stern voice. I'm beginning to think that escort has a different meaning in this world.

The commandant began to walk, expecting me to follow him, but I stood my ground. I looked back at the old man, he stared back, his eyes full of sympathy. Then as if snapping out of a trance he looked away and made a shooing motion with his hands. Despite being held prisoner here, I couldn't help but begin to like this man.

I followed the commander up two flights of stairs and along a maze like corridor; no matter how hard I tried, I knew that I wouldn't be able to find my way back outside to the courtyard.

We entered a large room; it had a medieval four post bed in it and a lot of other fancy things. The room had a balcony that overlooked everything below. The commandant smiled before leaving the room and with a loud click, locked the door behind him. Oh not again, I sighed.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, not wanting to mess the sheets up. I looked around the room; was this even happening; or was I dreaming all of this? I shuffled back a little onto the bed and drew my legs up, hugging them to my chest. I couldn't be trapped here, no one would ever know, my family would think that I simply disappeared.

Tears threatened to escape but. I quickly wiped them away, not wanting to let anyone see me cry. I have to get out of here. I stood up and walked over to the window, which I opened and stepped out onto the balcony. I couldn't jump, I was too high up, and there wasn't anything could use to abseil or climb down. I was trapped.

The door to my room opened. I turned around to find a young woman holding a tray with something that looked like food on it. Waking back into the room, I looked at the girl.

She was wearing a light blue dress that was dirty and torn, and her pale skin was a perfect match to her blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl smiled at me as she placed the tray in the middle of the table.

"In case you become hungry, Miss." she smiled while bowing slightly. I frowned at her, why was everyone so calm. It wasn't right, it wasn't normal...

Then the thought hit me, they were all really nice, do it would be easy for me to get her to do something for me. I smiled for her to get up, and then motioned for her to come closer to where I was standing; after all I didn't want any knights hearing my plan.

"Can you get me some things?" I asked sweetly, she looked confused for a moment before smiling again. She nodded eagerly for me to continue.

"I need you to bring a rope up here, long enough for me to abseil out of the window." she nodded to tell me that she understood what I wanted her to do. She hurried away, eagerly wanting to do what I had asked. I wonder if she knew that I would escape, or at least try to escape using it.

The maid in blue returned at dusk. She walked in with another tray and placed it next to the other, which still had uneaten foot on it. She then proceeded to lift up her over skirt; which cleverly had a rope attached so that no one would notice it. I gave her a wide grin, maybe my plan would work after all. I tied one end of the rope into a tight loop so that I could place my foot into it while she lowered me down.

"Are you sure you can hold me, Angel?" she had told me her name while we were discussing on how best to lower me down, I thought it fit her quite well.

"I'll be fine." she said getting a better hold on the rope, I nodded, telling her that I was ready. This was it, all or nothing, the great escape.


4 - The great escape


Kessie was lowered slowly down the side of the building, making sure that she wouldn't be spotted in the process. The balcony to her room was high up, at least two normal floors, and Kessie felt uneasy just from the sight of it. Now being hauled over ledge, with just a rope and a weak servant girl to hold her up, she felt even more unsure of how her plan was coming along.

The thunder of hoof beats drew kisses attention to the main gate.

"Stop." she whispered to the servant girl, Angel, who was letting her down. She sure was stronger than she looked. Kessie stopped going down and hung helplessly against the cold stone wall, her fingers wrapped tightly around the rope.

The riders and their horses came in to the courtyard. As Kessie observed, she silently wished that they wouldn't see her, hoping that if she hung still enough that they wouldn't notice anyone hanging out of the window.

The knights all disjointed and entered the castle, leaving the horses to the attention of the servants. Kessie hung there a moment later before slowly being let back down again, Angel obviously realizing that all danger had gone.

The brunette let out a long sigh as her foot touched the familiar solid ground. Only a few servants who were looking after the horses remained, Kessie couldn't see anyone else besides them, so she decided to make a dash for it.

Half way to the gate she realized that she would get nowhere if the knights decided to follow her with horses. So she quickly turned around and looked at each of the horses, the only fully tacked one was a Friesian, with its proud head held high.

With adrenaline pumping through her veins, she ran up to the horse and mounted. The horse reared in response to the sudden addition of weight on its back, causing the servant who was holding him to release his grip.

The shocked servant looked up at Kessie, his eyes never leaving her apologetic ones. When the horse landed firmly on the ground again, she kicked it into canter, or rather she would have if the horse wasn't refusing. After two more attempts she finally gave up and sat in the saddle, her arms crossed over her chest.

The servant had by now ran to tell his master, or so Kessie assumed, and she would waste too much time trying to tack up another horse. It would have to be this one, or attempt outrunning the knights that would follow her. Kessie closed her eyes and began stroking the horse’s neck gently.

Please, she began, I have to get home.

The jolt of movement underneath her startled her, when she opened her eyes she noticed that the horse was on its way out of the castle in a canter. Its rider grabbed the rains in her hands and guided the black stallion down the narrow dirt path which she had come from.

The road stretched on for the next few minutes, although the minuets were all a blur to Kessie who was busy trying to remember how to get back. Abruptly, the horse stopped, Kessie looked up to find herself positioned in front of a fork in the road.

Although the girl didn't remember the fork in the road the last time she came here, something told her to go right, and her thoughts were confirmed when she heard horses, probably of the knights, coming from the left. The horse and rider cantered swiftly on the remaining path, and when an open door came into view they slowed, but Kessie did not dismount, just in case.

As the brunette looked through the door, she could see only the other side of the forest. To test her eye sight, she rode the horse through. Through the other side of the door, the forest looked exactly the same, no details missing at all.

It was then that Kessie wished that she had been wrong, that this door would be the way home. Just as the though came into her mind, the scenery around her fogged up, with a green, sickly mist. As she continued to watch, the mist swirled and twisted, blocking forest from the young woman's view. Then, just as quickly as it appeared, if not quicker, it disappeared, leaving the horse and rider in a large assembly hall type room.

The first thing that caught the rider’s eye, was the countless symbols of a Phoenix in front of a large sun; the second thing that drew kisses attention, was the layer of dust that covered everything, and the sheer thickness of it. I was like the room was left untouched for a number of years.

Kessie dismounted to get a better look at her surroundings.

Thank you, she thought whilst smiling at the horse; which whinnied in return, and for a moment, Kessie actually thought that the horse heard her.

Heading over to the wall that faced her, Kessie noticed that there were even curtains with the phoenix on them. The wall was bare apart from a large portrait hanging on it, which took up most of the wall anyway. There, in the photo, were four people. A man, a woman, and two boys, one reasonably older than the other.

Kessie guessed that the man and woman were married, so the other two must have been their children, which made sense, because they were clearly brothers. The woman and the two children all had blond hair, the mother and the younger of the children had dull green eyes, but the older son had striking blue ones, which made him stand out from the rest of the painting. The father however, had black hair and dark brown eyes, and did. Fit in with the rest of the family.

A noise from behind Kessie made her jump; she turned around to find nothing unusual, apart from the horse having moved and the door having vanished.

Great, Kessie thought, just great.

Taking one last look at the photo, she decided it would be time to start looking for a way out. She made her way over to another door and opened it.

To her dismay, the room in here was also covered in dust, but the symbols were replaced by a moon, and the background of the image was a beautiful moonlit land.

There were no other doors here, so deciding that she had hit a dead end, Kessie started to turn around. At the last moment her eyes caught something on the floor. They were foot prints. Fresh footprints that lead up to the paining on the wall opposite her.

As she walked in the footsteps of who had come before her, she noticed that the faces of the mother and father had been cleaned of all its dust, yet the smaller boys had been left covered in it.

Kessie reached out and touched the face of the woman; she looked so kind and serene. Sometimes Kessie would miss her mother, other times, when she was busy, she wouldn't even know she was missing.

She looked at her finger; there wasn't a trace of dust on it, which meant that the pictures had been cleaned recently.

Looking back at the footsteps, Kessie started to follow them again. They walked straight up to some large curtains that hung downtown the floor. Kessie calmed her heart beat before quickly pulling the curtain back, all in one swift motion.

The brunette let out her breath when she saw that no one was there, the only thing that caught her attention was the boarded up window and a little bird that sat in the corner, seemingly interested at kisses arrival. To the girl, it looked like the little black bird was looking for a way out of this dust old room.

Leaning closer to the window, Kessie grabbed a loose end of the wood and pulled with all her strength. The board snapped, allowing light to come flooding into the dark room, changing its appearance for the better.

The little bird chirped at her success; obviously happy had succeeded where it had failed. The little black bird sat there contently as issue pulled the remaining boards of the window. As Kessie out, she saw a cemetery, with five gravestones in it.

The girl opened the window, allowing the bird to fly out, chirping happily as it did so. Kessie climbed out through the window after the bird, and slid gracefully out onto the ground, landing in her feet.

The garden looked peaceful and overgrown, weeds and wild flowers covering up most of the gravestones. The only thing that looked like it was meant to be there was a large cherry blossom in full bloom. The area smelt of flowers and pine trees, making Kessie wonder if there was a pine forest nearby.

The girl walked over to the largest of the gravestones; it read 'Arthur Vulkaan, 1855 - 1900' they were old graves, and Kessie didn't recognize any of the other names either. Kessie wondered silently if they had been rich of powerful, as only people like that could have afforded a place to be buried in those times.

Someone clearing their through behind Kessie made her jump, after all the thought that she could be trespassing had crossed her mind.

Kessie turned around to find Kai standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. Kessie stared at him in confusion, tilting her head to the side whilst doing so.

"Why are you here?" Kessie asked after a while of none of them saying anything.

"You stole my horse." he said flatly, Kessie could understand why, some people are really awkward when it comes to other people risky their horse. The brown haired girl could tell that Kai was thinking, so chose not to say anything for a moment.

"I think we need to talk." Kai said after a while, his voice back to its warm self again. Kessie nodded in agreement, thinking that I was about time someone gave her some answers. Kai lead her back up to the window.

"Remoda terah." he said, opining his palm at the now closed window. As Kessie watched, the black interior swirled into a dusty green, and then back to the room that she came out from. Kai had just managed to change where the doors, or windows, lead to.

"Now that," Kessie began "I have got to learn." she laughed at the thought of being able to choose where to go to. She looked up at Kai, who smirked at her before climbing into the room.

He offered Kessie a hand which she took gratefully, also hopping into the hall after him.

Kai lead Kessie over to the centre of the room, where he proceeded to point his palm at the ground.

“Ventus.” He commanded, at first nothing happened, but as she watched, Kessie noticed a small, seemingly harmless whirlwind appear in the middle of where Kai had pointed. It turned for a few moments before blasting outward, removing the ground of all its dust. Kai sat down, expecting Kessie to do the same; which she did.

“You can teach me that too while you’re at it.” Kessie commented after a few moments of silence. Which caused Kai to chuckle at her?

“The first thing that you should know is that your world is part of five worlds, all connected with these gate ways.” Kai had expected for a shocked reaction, but Kessie sat there patiently waiting for him to continue. “Necris, that’s where you first met me and where the castle you ran from is. Incendia is the kingdom of the Phoenix. Oceanna is the kingdom under the sea, or the sea as you would call it in your world. Fulgoris is the kingdom of lightning and is a more advanced civilization than even earth.

“All these kingdoms are on the ‘good’ side; the Metrix however, has gone against the rest of the kingdoms, and against the Keepers. They lost their only remaining true heir in the last Great War. The Keepers are the protectors of all the worlds, there are five of them, and each of them protects one world. That is the quick overview of the truth.”

Kessie looked at Kai, taking all of the details in, yet it seemed hard to when staring into his bright blue eyes.

“And the whole of the truth?” she asked after a moment of staring.

“That.” He began, getting up. “Is for another day.” He finished holding out a hand for Kessie.

“So I can see you again?” She asked taking his hand and also getting up. He let go of her hand and walked away, over to the door.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Kessie’s smile dropped, she was glad that he couldn’t see as he was still facing the door.

“Oh.” Was all that Kessie could reply, too stunned by his blunt answer.

“Remoda terah” he said once again, and walked back over to Kessie, leaving the door closed.

Kai grabbed her hand and walked with her over to the door, before opening it and swiftly pushing her through. Too shocked to react, Kessie allowed him to push her through.

Kessie looked around find herself in the school offices. In one swift move, she dropped to the floor, onto her hands and knees.

The only time students were allowed in the offices when they were doing a job for a teacher, so not Kessie then. She started to crawl on the floor, making sure not to bump into any teachers while doing so. When she reached the main door, she quickly opened it and crawled out.

Kessie was met by a pair of feet directly in front of her; she looked at them, scared of who they might belong to.


5 - Unearthing the Truth


Kessie looked up to find that the owner of the feet was Adeline. She sighed in relief as she got to her feet. At least it wasn't a teacher.

"We need to talk." Addie stated once Kessie was on her feet. Kessie willingly followed Adeline, although she would have been the last person Kessie thought she would get answers from.

Adeline continued to walk past the dorm rooms, and Kessie instantly knew where they were going, the attic. The girl in front didn't say a word as they walked up to the attic, and Kessie presumed that she had good reason not to, after all there were a lot of students in the hall ways.

The door to the attic was open so Kessie walked in and let Adeline shut it behind her. As Kessie continued further into the room, she saw the Top Hat Guy, who was sat on a cardboard box. Upon seeing her approaching, he stood up and nodded to her. As she came to stand next to him, he placed both hands firmly on her shoulders.

“Sit,” he commanded as he pushed her down to sit on the cardboard box. She did as she was told. Adeline walked up to them and moved a box in front of Kessie, taking a seat after doing so. Kessie stared at her, was she going to tell her what was going on or not?

“Right,” said the guy, he was moving to sit next to her, as he sat down he said “Okay, we’ll start with something simple-.”

“What about your name?” Kessie glared.

“Ah, yes, my name… Kayne. Now, there are 6 worlds-“

“Yes, I know.” Kessie said coldly, she didn’t take to kindly to being abducted by some weird guy and his apparent accomplice.

“How do you-?”

“Kai told-.”

“-Kaiden, his name is Kaiden. Kaiden Necris,” Kayne growled, his gaze falling to the floor.

Adeline had also averted her gaze, so it made Kessie wonder; who really was Kai? Just as she was about to ask there was a white glowing light from the door that caught her attention, and the other two’s eyes visibly widened, Kayne jumped up from the box that he was sitting on and grabbed Adeline’s hand to make sure that she followed him in his rush to get behind some boxes.

Kessie noticed their alarmed faces and also ducked behind a different section of boxes. The presence of the person that came into the room made it almost freeze over. As Kessie looked over to the small round window behind her, she noticed the spreading of frost in the corners.

The heavy footfalls made Kessie snap her head back round to face the brown boxes. As she continued to stare blankly at the boxes, she resisted the urge to look over them, to see who the mysterious person who came through her mystery door was.

‘Don’t move.’ It was that voice again, in the back of her head. She sat still, trying to figure out where she had heard that voice before.

She returned back to reality by the slamming of a door. As soon as it did so, the frosty air vanished, and was replaced by the normal stuffy air. Kayne was the first to stand, followed by Kessie, who had a look of shock on her face. Adeline didn’t stand.

“Addie?” Kayne asked while offering a hand to her, she grasped it but didn’t stand. Kessie walked over to the door, which was now closed, with no sign that anyone had ever come through it.

“I saw him.” Kessie faintly heard Adeline while she was searching for signs of what the mystery person had done. “It was a Metrix Warrior.” Adeline said as if that explained it all. As Kessie walked back to where the other two were, she noticed for the first time how pale Adeline really was. It was like she was truly scared of the Metrix.

“What did he want here?” Kessie asked, while sitting down back on the box, this time facing the door, just in case. After helping Adeline up, and sitting down on a box himself Kayne answered.

“He was looking for the key.” He said simply, not bothering to explain it to the still confused Kessie. Adeline must have noticed because she motioned for Kessie to be quiet. “The key to their world, that needs to be in the rightful place of their keeper.”

“Keeper?” Kessie asked, ignoring Adeline’s shaking of her head.

“Later.” He said while getting up, leaving Kessie and Adeline to follow. As Adeline walked past Kessie she offered a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Kayne was about to walk through the door, without saying goodbye to either Kessie or Adeline.

“Wait, so were not safe anywhere?” Kessie asked, just realizing what that meant. They could get through any door, if they were like Kai, and find and kill anyone anywhere.

“I never actually realized that it could be so dangerous.” Adeline muttered, her words matching Kessie’s thoughts.

“That’s why you need to come back.” Kayne said, ignoring the brunette’s former question, though she didn’t mind too much.

“Back where?”

“Home.” Both Adeline and Kayne said at the same time. Both of them ignored Kessie’s further questions as Kayne grabbed Adeline’s hand, leading her over to the door. Without word, Kessie also followed the two through the white door.


The world on the other side was a mixture of vibrant reds and oranges. They had stepped out into a field of rolling hills of red grass, which joined at the horizon to meet a wonderful pale orange sky with a few dappled clouds on it. Kessie turned around to see a lone tree standing on top of one of the tallest hill. The leaves were gold and reflected the beams of sunlight, making them shine.

There was a pleasant warm breeze that flowed through Kessie’s long brunette hair, whisking it around her face. It was now warm enough to take off her school jumper, so that she was just wearing her blouse.

Turning around, Kessie saw that Adeline and Kayne had already began walking up toward a town, which was on the highest hill; in the centre of the town stood a large white castle, with red roofs and turrets.

As she caught up to them, Kessie started to look around, she saw that they were walking on a long, yellow road, which looked like sand. The gate to the village was open, and when they walked through, Kessie was amazed to see that all the houses, which were pretty small, were also made from bright yellow brick.

The wall that separated the castle from the rest of the village was bright white, made from the same material as the houses, and more than five times the size of them.

Standing at the gate which lead to the castle were six armed guards, each holding a spear, it was made of gold and decorated with rubies. Each of the guards nodded at Kayne, who nodded back at them. To Kessie and Adeline they cast a wary eye, but let them pass nonetheless.

“Open the gates!” was the command Kayne shouted which opened the gates. Before they were finished opening, Kayne walked in, rushing to get to his destination. Not even bothering to see if Adeline or Kessie were actually following him.

Kayne walked in front at his own pace, while Kessie and Adeline walked behind, more slowly. As they continued to walk, the blue eyed girl noticed that they were being followed, or rather escorted by two guards, a meter behind them.

The palace walls seemed to glow, reflecting all of the sunlight, it hurt Kessie’s eyes from just looking at it but she couldn't fare her gaze away. On the side of the walls hung large flags, with the symbol of a phoenix on it; the same phoenix that Kessie had seen in the room she came to when she was running away from Necraisia. The correct term for the Necris kingdom, as Kai had told her.

It was a throne room that Kayne was leading them to, Kessie noticed. The door was brick red, and three times the size of a normal door, with twice the width. It was opened inward and as she walked in, Kessie saw it was opened by two guards.

Everything in the room was either red, orange or white, or any shade that fit into that. There were four thrones; two were the same size, and smaller than the other two. One of the other two was larger than the other, and that was when she saw him. He had sky blue eyes, and a messy mop of golden blond hair.

It was then that she realized that the room that she had been to where the pictures and flags were, was a memorial, or something like that; because the boy sitting on the throne, was the youngest boy in the painting, only older. He looked about 15 or 16, defiantly not old enough to be running a kingdom.

“Welcome, Kayne.” He smiled, and Kessie took an instant liking to him, she couldn’t help but smile too. “Adeline.” He nodded at her, and smiled at Kessie. How could he know Adeline? And why did she call this place her home? Kayne bowed, and Adeline curtsied. Kessie resisted the urge to laugh, that probably wouldn’t go down too well with his highness.

“Please join me, food will be served.” He stood from his throne, and walked toward Kayne. The prince, maybe king, was taller than Kessie, but on Kayne he was reasonably smaller, reaching only eye level with him. “We will talk then.”

Kessie knew she shouldn’t have heard that, it was said to quietly for her to possibly hear. She had noticed that since being in this strange world, her senses had picked up, mostly her eyes and her hearing. She chose to ignore it, it was impossible, she told herself.


When they were all seated at the table, which was smaller than Kessie expected, and the doors were shut, the prince began.

“Let me introduce myself, I am Prince Alexander Incendia the third,” he smiled reassuringly at Kessie, who was glad to hear that he was still a prince, it wouldn’t be fair on someone to rule at such a young age. She wondered if he ever had a normal childhood, or if he was taught at a young age.

“My name is Kessie.” She smiled.

He turned to Adeline, who was sitting with a different posture than she usually did back at school, Kessie knew that she had been taught how to behave around royalty. The thought made her smile even more, if this was a dream or reality, she couldn’t quite be sure.

“Are you ready to commit to your duties, Adeline?” he asked, a serious look on his face. Kessie could tell that this was serious, although he kept his smile on his face.

“No.” Adeline said simply, and his smile faltered.

“What’s going on?” Kessie whispered to Kayne, who was sat next to her, not really paying attention to the conversation. Not to Kessie’s surprise, he ignored her.

Seeing as though he was getting nowhere with Adeline, the prince turned to Kayne.

“Why have you brought this earthling here?” his voice was flat, showing no emotion. Kessie found it strange that someone could change their emotions so quickly, and wondered if he had been taught that too.

“She followed us.” Kayne began, and in a quieter voice added “she already knows too much.”

“Very well.” The prince dismissed “but don’t let her get in the way.” Without another word of either Adeline or Kessie, the two men talked about what had happened back on earth.

“Earth has been breached. The Metrix sent a soldier after the key.” Kayne informed him, and then proceeded to tell him all the details, including that of the key now being missing. The prince had a look of shock on his face, but quickly composed himself.

“Kessie, I want everyone, including yourself, to call you Kestrel, to make you seem less earthly, and Kayne I want you to always be on your guard, keeping both Adeline and Kestrel safe.” Kayne nodded, obviously showing understanding. Kessie however wasn’t convinced.

“Yeah?” she asked, not really wanting a reply. “I’ll call you Alex.” That made things more normal. At least to her.

“Really?”

“Sure… if I’m Kestrel your Alex.” She continued. Making it seem obvious. The prince sighed, not wanting a fight. After a short pause, Alex’s face fell serious again.

“I have reason to believe that the institute is involved with the Metrix.” Shocked at his sudden outburst, Kessie couldn’t help but stare at him. He thought that the school was involved with the Metrix, the kingdom that was trying to do god knows what? Kessie couldn’t, wouldn’t believe it.


"Keepers are protectors, they protect each kingdom against the darkness that falls. Adeline is supposed to be ours, but she's rejecting the change." he explained, although not really explaining it properly.

"Okay," Kessie began, "but what would they want with a key? i mean, they’re all the same, aren’t they; why not take one that was already there?" she didn’t get it, when she had looked and taken a key, they all looked the same, apart from the handles, which were all different.

"They’re not the same!" Addie protested "each has its own unique power and protects its kingdom." she explained, making it seem like she was sticking up for the keepers.

"So, change? Sounds scary." Kessie commented, not liking the sound of it.

"Not scary, just painful." Kayne said, confirming what Kessie already thought.

"So hold on a second." Kessie began to no one in particular "so who's protecting my world?"

"No one." Alex replied simply, trying to avoid the topic

"Why not?" Kessie asked, if all the other kingdoms were being protected, then why not her world. He didn’t reply, obviously not wanting to talk about this further.

"Do you know who the keepers are?" the brunette asked, hoping to get somewhere with this question.

"Angel from Necris is the keeper to Oceanna-"

"I met her!" Kessie suddenly interrupted, remembering the blonde haired blue eyed girl, Alex ignored her.

"Adeline Protects-"

"Might protect." Addie corrected.

"Incendia." Alex finished.

"What about the other four?" Kessie hoped that is they had found them, and then maybe she could get one of them to help protect her world too.

"I have my suspicions." he answered, closing his eyes in thought.

"And what are your suspicions?"

"I think...I have my suspicions...that you may be a keeper."

Kessie was too shocked to reply, the news being terrifying and exiting at the same time.

"You shouldn’t have told her." Addie stated, not surprised that Alex would have been so blunt about something that was so important and life changing.

“Me?” the girl whispered, it wasn’t possible, she thought, she didn’t have any special powers, she wasn’t special.

“You have the key, you unlocked the Regnum door, you’re one of the only earthlings to travel through a maze and not fall into oblivion.” He explained to Kessie, then turning to Addie he said “well if you refuse the change, she’s the only person who can save the five kingdoms.”

Addie looked down, she didn’t want to put one of her new found friend in danger, “I shall think of it…” she said, her voice merely a whisper.

“That’s… great.” Kessie had always dreamed of doing something amazing, she only hoped that this wasn’t a dream.

“If you enjoy fighting fire breathing dragons, sure.” Kayne began.

“Dragons?” Kessie asked getting exited

“Kayne!” Addie protested.

“It’s not just dragons.” Alex began, ignoring Addie’s protests “its Metrix warriors too.”

“Alex!” Addie shouted once more

“So I’ll be putting my life in danger daily?” Kessie asked, also ignoring Addie

“Yes.” Alex said, the same time that Kayne said “sure.”

“Boys!” Addie was now shouting, trying to get the boys to stop.

“Okay.” Kessie agreed, much to Addie’s surprise.

“Are you kidding? She can’t do this alone” Addie started, they had to see that they were intimidating her, Kessie couldn’t do this alone, she didn’t have any experience in the ways of the keepers, let alone in magic.

“So your committing?” Alex asked, his eyes full of hope.

“Yes.” Addie asked, a little unsure of herself. As soon as the word escaped her mouth, her eyes swirled and changed from their dull black to a shining sky blue with purple flecks.

“That, was creepy.” Kessie said, her eyes widening a little from shock.

The group sat there for a while, discussing a variety of different things, waiting for their food to arrive. It never got a chance to.

The doors to the room were thrown open, three men strolled in, their swords drawn. Immediately, everyone in the room was on their feet. There were no soldiers in the room, and the ones that were guarding the door were on the floor. Dead or unconscious, Kessie couldn’t tell.

“Seize the girls, kill the males if you must.” One of the intruders said, he was taller than the other two, and was also probably in charge. Kessie heard a sword being drawn behind her, she guessed that it was Alex, even though she hadn’t seen him carrying a sword.

Kessie tried to run, but one of the masked intruders already had a firm grip on her, Kessie tried to escape but it was no use.

“Run!” she shouted. She was terrified, but at the same time she didn’t want to let her new friends get hurt.

“But Kestrel!” Alex protested taking a step forward, ready to attack the man who was now dragging Kessie away. Kessie looked at him with pleading eyes, begging him to bring himself and the others to safety.

The other guard came forward, coming to grab Adeline, Alex ran forward, and used his sword to attack, only to be blocked. Alex had too much rage flowing through him to let this man win, he wouldn’t be pushed to the defensive. He attacked again and this time landed a blow on the warrior’s chest.

Too shocked to do anything, the warrior was wide open for another attack, and Alex got him right in the middle, ramming his sword straight through his chest.

The soldier fell down, motionless. Alex looked once more at the next approaching warrior. Kessie was right, he had to bring the other two to safety.

“Come on!” Alex shouted at his two defenceless friends, they had to get to a door. The three friends ran forward, any door would be good enough.

“Incendia” Alex commanded, the floor behind him burst into flames, creating a wall that would block the evil warrior from getting to close before they reached the door.

The door came into view quickly, and one Alex reached it, he placed his fingertips on to the door. “Remoda Oceanna.” He whispered. That would allow them to go to the ocean world, it changed the door to glass, allowing the three of them to look into it. Alex had changed the door, something only keepers and royalty can do.

“I hope you know how to swim.”


6 – Seeing the Sides

Adeline

Alex, Kayne and Addie stepped, or rather swam, into a wet world. It was then that Addie realised that she couldn’t breathe, and how could she, she was underwater. Addie would have gasped at the sight in front of her if there had been air.

“Spira!” the mermaid said quickly and suddenly Addie was able to breathe. She didn’t know what was filling her lungs, but was just glad to be able to breathe.

“Narissa,” the prince smiled softly at the mermaid in front of him, Addie couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy, although she didn’t know why.

Narissa was truly a thing of beauty; she had long dark purple hair, emerald green eyes, and a beautiful silver fin.

“Welcome!” she smiled, her voice was like music to the three humans ears, sounding like a waterfall over rocks. She swam gracefully over to Addie and took both her hands in her own. “My name is Princess Narissa Oceanna; it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Hi.” Addie greeted back, trying to sound friendly, but she wasn’t really that good with meeting new people.

“One problem with mer folk, their too friendly.” Alex whispered to Addie, once Narissa was introducing herself to Kayne.

“But we’re safe here?” Addie whispered back, she didn’t want to seem rude to the girl who was friendly enough to let them burst through and just stay here.

“As friendly as they are, they wouldn’t let the Metrix breathe.”

“What about Kessie? We’ll rescue her, right?”

“Eventually. As long as she keeps her key with her, she’ll be safe.” Alex assured her, there was no way that he would allow anything to happen to a Keeper, never mind his friend.


Kessie


Kessie looked up - and lost her breath.

Eyes. Blue eyes. Except they weren't just blue, they were a shade Kessie couldn't describe. The only place shed seen a blue like that was in winter, when the sun rose late, at the precise instant of dawn. Then, she had glimpsed an unbelievable, luminous colour, which had lasted only a second before fading to the ordinary blue of the sky.

No boy should have eyes as dauntingly blue as that, it seemed unnaturally exotic, in the most imaginable way possible, like he had just stepped in from a different world.

Oh, right, yeah... Kessie thought coldly, snapping back to reality.

But even as she did so, she couldn't help but risk another glimpse of his eyes, as she did, they seemed to swirl dangerously, turning into a dull midnight blue. Like a starless sky.

Kessie looked away, taking in her surroundings; it was like a typical 'bad guy' hideout in the movies, the throne the blue eyed man was sat on was large platform made from what looked like metal, behind it, was what Kessie now noticed was a sleeping black dragon, her tail curled around the throne.

This time the brunette didn't stare blankly in shock, this time, she got up, much to the warriors protest. They placed two firm hands on her shoulders, one each. The blue eyed man lazily raised a hand, and the warriors removed their hands, allowing Kessie to stand freely.

She took a cautious step forward, seeing if she would be restrained. She wasn't. She walked cautiously closer to the sleeping dragon, her breathing controlled. She had always been taught not to let animals smell your fear.

When the girl was a meter away, the dragon let out a low rumble, which Kessie could feel to the bones, making her uneasy. She stopped dead, soaking in all that she could in the dim light of her surroundings. The dragons scales seemed to soak in all the light, not reflect it, which made her seem even darker. As Kessie continued to gaze at the beast, it lazily opened an eye, looking like it was reading Kessie.

The brunette girl couldn't help but notice how sad the dragon looked, it looked pitiful and helpless, it made Kessie want to cry. This magnificent beast was meant to be free, yet something was trapping it.

"She’s beautiful." Kessie whispered suddenly.

The boy glanced at her, his pupils dilating; he smiled softly and nodded his head. "She is." Though that was all that he seemed to be going to say, and Kessie wanted answers.

"Who are you?"

Silence hung in the air, and the smile on the boy's face dropped and turned into a frown. "Let me ask you that question, then i may consider giving you an answer."

"My...my name is...Kestrel." she lied, she had a feeling that she couldn't trust this man, there was just something about him that she couldn't trust. Something dangerous.

"Then my name is Rain Incendia, pleasure to meet you, Kestrel."

The dragon growled again.

Something clicked in Kessie's head, she knew that name.

"You're Alex's brother." It wasn't a question. Rain blinked; he looked surprised, but Kessie didn't know why. Now that she thought of it, Alex and this boy shared a remarkable similarity, but Rain was clearly older, his hair was shorter, and he was slightly more tanned.

"How is he?"

"He's...good...I guess."

Rain smiled again, leaning forwards in his throne. "I miss my brother; I may visit soon before the war."

"War?" Kessie cut him off, taking another step towards the boy; the guards took a step towards her, their masked faces suddenly looking more threatening.

“Careful, Kestrel.” She stopped, frightened by what she sensed in him. Looking into his eyes, she saw something so alien, so terrifying, she couldn’t move, and yet it seemed familiar to her. It was then, at last, that she believed what was happening.

Full realisation of what had happened on the previous days, and what this boy was planning to do, crashed into her. The young man in front of her was going to start a war. A war of the worlds.


Adeline


“Trevanian! Prepare a feast for my friends.” The purple haired mer girl clapped, out of both happiness and in commanding. The blue finned merman swam through the large doors, not saying a word.

The three humans had been shown all the palace grounds; including the princesses own seahorse sanctuary. It was taking a lot out of Adeline; she couldn’t sit here and now have a feast when a keeper, a friend, was in potential danger.

Kayne and Alex seemed to be enjoying the company of such a beautiful, happy girl. Weather it was genuine or just politeness Addie couldn’t tell, either way, she didn’t like how they seemed to have forgotten about Kessie altogether.

“Here, sit.” Narissa handed Addie a glass of purple mixture, which went from purple to lilac to white, with the white at the top. She wasn’t given a spoon, so proceeded to take a sip. A burst of flavours exploded in her mouth, not all of them nice. Some reminded her of walnuts, and others of tomatoes.

Narissa led the three to a table that was large enough to only fit four people on. As they were seated, Narissa started a polite conversation to Alex about how the kingdoms were living nicely together. Addie sat patiently waiting for the meal; she guessed that it was about six o’clock, in the earth world, so she had three more hours to get home, before someone suspected anything.
“I believe that Incendia has fallen to the Necris.” Alex said solemnly, it was hard for him, to lose his kingdom and maybe even his family in such small time.
“If they are starting a war, we have no choice but to fight back. However, I believe that you should speak to my father.” Narissa was suddenly so serious, it was hard to believe that she was the same person as before.
Addie wasn’t prepared for what she heard. A war, that wasn’t what she would have expected. To her, it didn’t look like they wanted to start a war, they wanted the girls, yes, but they didn’t seem too keen on having to hurt the prince or Kayne. Addie didn’t know what they would want with her and Kessie, but now that they had Kessie it didn’t matter, they had to save her.
“Very well.” The prince said, Addie knew that he was into his role of a prince, he was prepared to face whatever the world through at him.


7 – A Call to Arms

Kessie

It was pitch black by the time Kessie has even attempted to destroy the box. By that time she had also forgotten the word that Rain had used to shatter the box. It began with an F, she knew that much. Her head hurt from thinking too much about it, so she decided to think of some other spells that people had used.
She had heard Kai, Alex and Rain use spells, and it was still hard trying to remember them. Alex has used a fire spell to make a wall. If she could use it to make a small part of the carpet light up around the box then maybe it would melt. The idea sounded surprisingly tempting.
Onc- no that's not it, Ince- Incendia! She shouted in her mind, feeling very pleased with herself.
Crackling and heat from behind her interrupted her, and when she turned round, she looked in amazement at the burning part of the carpet that the box sat in. She grinned, she'd actually done it.
All at once the fire started to spread making Kessie realise what she had done. The brunette ran to the door and banged both fists repeatedly onto it.
"There’s a fire in here! Let me out!" when no one replied she looked for another way out. The window was the only way. If the fire wasn't in the way, she could have gotten to it to notice that the drop was too high anyway.
She stared blankly at the fire, it's heat burning her soft skin. The door opened behind her, but it only registered in her mind faintly.
"Deleo!" the voice came like a tidal wave over the fire, and it disappeared, just like that, leaving only smoke and a burnt carpet behind. With the box sat in the middle.
"What did you do?" the commanding voice came again, Kessie didn't turn around to look at the man who had walked through the door. Instead she glared at the box, all feeling of fear replaced by hatred to it.
"I didn't do anything." she said, her fists clenched by her side. Although the stranger couldn't see the young woman’s face, he knew he recognised the voice.
"Well what did you think?" if he was right, which he usually was, the girl hadn't noticed who he was yet.
"Incendi-oops." Kessie turned round, her head hung in shame, it wasn't meant to go wrong. As she looked up she saw who the man was, and her heart skipped a beat.
"It’s you!" she exclaimed, a smile finding its way onto her face.
"Kessie, what are you doing here?" he asked without the tiniest hint of a smile.
"It’s kestrel!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice low.
"fine." he replied simply "but what are you doing here?" the door shut behind him and he walked over to inspect the burnt carpet, as well as the perfectly clean box.
"I followed Addie and Kayne to Inc-" she stopped herself, unsure of the outcome would be if she were to finish that word. "Anyway, we all know what's going to happen now, you’re going to rescue me."
"I can't." The reply made Kessie’s breath stick in her throat, he could help her, why not? "I'm in service to the prince."
Kaiden could see the look of shock on her face. She did not expect this when she first came through a door, who would? But maybe he could help her out one last time.
"fracta." the box exploded, exactly like it had the first time. Only this time, Kessie noticed that no one piece hit her. A grateful smile played across her lips. The young man walked over to the desk at the end of the room and came back carrying something that looked like a pen. A pen that was old fashioned and futuristic at the same time.
Kessie felt the cold lines of ink as Kai wrote words on her hands. One he was finished she looked them, there were four altogether, and she recognised three of them.
The only thing Kai had told Kessie before he left was not to tell anyone that he had been here in the first place.

The door opened and well-built young man walked into the room. He looked over to a figure on the bed, who hadn't even moved to acknowledge his presence.
"Done already?" he asked, his voice drifting over the distance between him and Kessie like icicles. The curly haired girl sat up from the bed and nodded.
"yeah." she said unsurely. Rain walked over to the singed carpet and smirked, this wasn't what he had expected. Another box appeared in the room, Kessie probably wasn’t the only one who noticed that it was still in the same place as the other ones before it.
"Show me." Rain said in a tone that left no room for arguing.
Crap! The brunette looked sneaking down at her hand whilst climbing off the bed.
"fracta." she commanded. Nothing happened. She glared at the box, and although she knew that it was a different one, she couldn’t help but feel her anger swelling.
"God dammit! Incendia!" like every other time, the bot burst into flames and sat there, not even a single on the corners.
"Again." Rain said, his whole stance revealing that he was bored.
"fracta." she sighed, this was getting tiresome. That was when she heard it, the sound of something cracking. She looked at the box that was still sitting in the fire to see that it had a tiny crack on the side of it.
"Say it like you mean it." this time his voice was filled with humour, making Kessie fill with determination
"Fracta!" she demanded, her arm outstretched and her palm open. Almost instantly the box exploded. It wasn't controlled or nearly as powerful as when Rain or Kai had done it but it was totally destroyed.
A gentle smile appeared on Kessie’s lips and as she looked up to a smiling Rain, she grinned.
"It’s good enough, follow me kestrel."
The corridor was deathly silent as the two walked down it. Rain in front and Kessie following a meter behind. If there was a perfect chance, Kessie had just found it.
Her mind reached out to the thing that she felt before the box had exploded; power, strength, and freedom. Fracta!
Rain stopped but didn't turn, "if you’re trying to kill me I suggest using your favourite spell." he said, his voice icy cold.
"Huh? Oh, you mean Incendia." weather she had wanted it or not, the ball of fire was already flying at great speed toward Rain, only to split into two around him before swirling into nothingness.
"Does Rain Incendia mean nothing to you?" he asked as he turned around and raised an eyebrow at her.
"You know, nobody's really told me much." Kessie replied truthfully.
"I'm the true heir to the throne of Incendia, my family's spell can't truly harm Me." he explained as they continued walking down the corridor.
"oh." was all that Kessie could manage. Sure she was frightened to the bone by what she saw behind those midnight eyes, but a part of here was fascinated by him.
"Are you still trying to kill me?" a blush crept its way across her tanned cheeks, she defiantly heard mockery in his tone.
"Maybe a little less than before." she replied sweetly, "are you still wanting me to be some sort of a weapon?" Kessie saw the side of his mouth tilt up slightly in a smirk.
"Maybe a little less than before." Kessie glared at him. His answer was stupid as well as childish.
"idiot." she said under her breath.
"Whatever. Come on, food should be ready." Kessie quickened her pace, almost overtaking rain who had to speed up to keep up with her.
"I'm starving."

Adeline

"Daddy!" the purple haired mer girl shouted as she swam elegantly over to her father "the Metrix took over Incendia!" the mer king was ageing, he had silver streaks in his once jet black hair, and a few scales of his fin were also turning silver. His voice was a low rumble as he spoke out to his only daughter.
"You brought them why, princess?" he asked, eyeing each of the humans, making each of them feel uncomfortable, though none of them showed it.
"Daddy," the mer girl began "Ali helped us when we needed it, I think it's only fair to return gesture."
The old mer man’s face softened in affection for his daughter.
"Metrix can't breathe here, so they are of no concern of mine. I have other things to deal with." the mer girl swam back down to stand with her friends, it was bonuses arguing with her father, once he'd decided on something, you could change his mind.
As the four friends walked out, Alex was the first to speak.
"Don’t worry, Nessie." he cooed, using his childhood name for her made everything suddenly seem easier, "we can go to Fulgoris in the meantime." Narissa seemed to perk up at the idea.
"Great idea, Ali!"
"You can't come." Adeline glared. She knew one of two things, that either she had a natural hatred for this girl, or that she was jealous, which on was right, she didn't know.
"Me?" Narissa asked in an exadurated voice, "why not! Tell her Ali!" she whined whilst grabbing hold of Alex, who looked at her with an annoyed expression.
"That’s a bit harsh Addie, you should let her come." he said, as if it were her choice in the first place who could come on this mission in the first place.
"But, she can't walk." it was an excuse, everyone knew it, and Narissa had seen it coming.
"Can to! I have pretty human legs and feet." Kayne smirked.
"I bet you do," Addie rolled her eyes, was every boy going to fall for this?

Kessie

Well this is... Different, Kessie thought as she poked the gooey orange 'food' with her misshapen fork.
"Are you trying to poison me?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the messy ball of goo on her plate.
"no." his smirk made it hard for anyone who was sane to believe his words, so Kessie turned her attention to something that looked similar to spaghetti; with the only difference being the colour of the things. She twirled some round her fork and took a quick bite. She almost gagged in response.
"Is it really that bad?" Rain asked, his eyes swirling in amusement.
"No, I just didn't think I looked that good." she smiled, placing her fork down neatly next to the spoon. Rain sighed, this is not the company that he was used to.
"Would you prefer Necraisian or Incendian food?" he asked politely, although his expression gave off a vibe of irritance.
"No, I would prefer food from earth, maybe just a salad?" she asked, she was sure by the look of all these disgusting foods, that she would only be able to eat something light.
"Ok, guard! Slaughter a salad for the girl!" the guard who was waiting patiently at the back of the room began to move.
"The salad's alive!?" Kessie’s eyes widened in surprise, if the salad was alive, she would rather starve then eat it.
"What’s a salad?" Rain asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Vegetables."
"Chef, make some vegetables for the lady." his eyes remained on hers "so kestrel, where are you from?"
"Necris." she said, she had planned that answer out, it was the kingdom that she knew most about, even though it wasn't much.
"You’re a Necraisian," he said with interest "how odd, I thought they weren't allowed to Terra, but you seem familiar with the food." he used the Ancient Latin word for earth, making Kessie remember how primeval her fear had been of him.
"There was a merchant passing by my village, he had food from the door of... McDonalds." she didn't take her eyes off his, she had learned how to lie from her brother, he'd taught her pretty much everything that she knew which she knew she shouldn't know.

"Fascinating, it sounds so exotic." weather he believed her was hard to tell, but he did sound interested.
A man with a White hat came and placed something in front of Kessie, it was green, which she would have expected from salad, with different multi-coloured pieces in it. Kessie guessed that they were different vegetables.
"So it is a good destination?" Rain asked, eager to keep the conversation going.
"Oh, defiantly, very big, very good." Kessie replied absentmindedly before taking a cautious but of the green salad. It tasted like normal salad, if you ignored the dressing, which was a little too weak for her liking.
"Do you think it could fit a palace?" the image crossed the brunettes mind and she resisted the urge to laugh.
"I don't believe so, to be honest." she said before taking another bite of an unfamiliar vegetable.
"You know, you seem classier now kestrel." Rain said as he looked at her, his intense gaze never leaving her.
Kessie looked up from her plate and smiled with a mouth full, "totally." came her muffled reply.

Kessie had guessed that by the time they had finished eating it would be time to sleep. As they came to a door rain stopped.
"Goodnight kestrel. My day was just a little less dull than normal." he smiled, anyone could tell that he meant it even though it didn't reach his eyes. Not one of his emotions did.
"Glad a prisoner could help." Kessie replied sarcastically as she smiled politely at him.
"Ah," he laughed lightly "you are no longer a prisoner, think of yourself as a valued guest." this was the excuse that Kessie had been waiting for.
"So I can leave?" in the long run, it was a long shot, and Kessie knew it, but it was still worth a try.
"Well, you can walk around, as long as you don't go through a door." it was a start, one that Kessie swore to use to her advantage.
"ok." the brunette replied simply as she walked up to a door, it was normal, she could tell. "Ooh, look, I'm walking through a door." the girl laughed as she closed the door behind her, she was going to make Rain let her go, even if it killed her.

"It’s you again!" Kessie exclaimed as she saw the figure in front of her. She had unknowingly walked outside, it was dark and there was a heat given off something that also held a red glow. It was a volcano or several together, Kessie couldn't tell. She could tell that they were beautiful though.
"Aren’t you meant to be inside?" Kai asked ignoring her sudden outburst. He waited patiently before tapping her on the shoulder; she spun round, taking her eyes off the flowing lava in the distance.
"Are you trying to escape?" he tried again, not taking his hand off her shoulder.
"Yes actually." she replied in a know it all voice. Kai smirked at her and ran his hand down her arm to take her hand. For a moment Kessie thought he was going to take her back to Rain until he led her away from the palace.
"Then follow me."
There were no trees or any other plants for that matter, only black rock that was glowing red at places. Every now and then Kessie would see a dragon flying above. Maiden led Kessie up to a door that was made from dark brown wood with symbols etched into it.
"Kaiden?" Kessie asked once they stopped in front of the door. "Can I ask who you are?" her voice was subtle, trying not to break the peacefulness around them.
"I'm Kaiden." he replied with a smile. It wasn't what Kessie wanted; after all she already knew his name.
"Surname?" after a moment of hesitation Kaiden's eyes turned to look at the floor and he let go of Kessie’s hand.
"Necris." shock crossed Kessie’s face as she looked at the young man in front of her, who would not meet her eyes.
"Your royalty?" she guessed that all royalty had the surname of their kingdom, so it only made sense to assume that this was the case here too.
"Crown prince, actually." he smiled sadly, and the girl in front of him wondered what had caused this sudden change of mood.
"Why are you here?"
"Rain had my family." Kessie instantly regretted asking, she could only imagine how be must be feeling.
"we can get them out, just come with me." she wanted to comfort him, Kessie had lost her father, she had had her mother and brother to help her get through it, she couldn't imagine losing all of them.
"I can't," he smiled sadly at her "I must stay here."
Kessie tilted her head to the side; rain must be using his family to get to Kaiden, that wasn't fair.
"For the war. You'll see Kessie." he said, all sadness gone from his voice, he looked determined, and at that moment Kessie swore that she would do everything in her power to help him.
She looked at the door and ran her fingertips across one of the symbols; it had a large semicircle joined by its back with a smaller semicircle, and in the larger one was a dot.
As she touched it, the symbol flashed orange, before raiding to blue and disappearing again.
"Where does this door lead?" before she got an answer the door was pulled open and she was thrown inside. I guess that means he doesn’t know.

Kessie slipped at the sudden change of terrain and... Came face to face with a masked man. Kessie remembered the smell of him, and instantly recognised him as a metrix warrior. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, making her wonder what was really behind that mask.
"Come on you." it said, its foul breath filling Kessie’s lungs.

Once they were back in the palace, Kessie started to pay attention again, she didn't want to know what rain would do if he found out she had tried to escape, let alone if he knew that Kaiden helped her.
The brunette looked up to meet a pair of impossibly blue eyes, the owner was lying back in a chair, his feet slung over one arm rest and his back supported by the other.
"Found her in Incendia my liege."
Rain smirked at her, making her cheeks heat.
"busted." he said simply, letting out a low chuckle.
"I was only looking for my bedroom. It's not my fault if doors aren't labelled." it was such a stupid excuse, she wondered absentmindedly if rain actually bought it.
"You’re obviously not responsible enough to have your own room. You shall sleep here now kestrel." her eyebrows shot up in shock, this wasn't what she expected.
"ok." this time it was rains turn to raise his eyebrows; "only if I get the bed." rains eyebrows slowly came back down as he stood up. He motioned for the guard to leave; it did so without saying a word.
Now that they were alone, Kessie realised what she had agreed to, he kept peoples family's hostage to get them to do what he wanted, Kessie was sure he wouldn't have a problem with hurting her too.
He walked slowly over to her, his eyes dark, loose strands falling into them. He stopped only centimetres away from Kessie, looking directly into her eyes. Her stomach flipped at the proximity of it. She hadn't been this close to a boy before, well, not one that wasn't related.
Rain leaned in slowly, running both hands from her shoulders to her wrists, where he grabbed them. Kessie was too shocked to scream as he backed her up to the wall. The brunette knew that she was getting dizzy, yet her mind was totally clear. It wasn't normal.
"Stop... Stop it." she said, her voice shaking. Her hearing was starting to go fussy and sounds came to her muffled and quieter. The girl tried her best to breathe but her breaths were coming out in short, desperate gasps. She knew she was losing consciousness, rain was doing something to her, and she could protect herself.
Finally Kessie closed her eyes, as she did so; her last thought was that she had to protect herself.
It was too late when rain noticed it, Kessie had begun to glow, and a black energy was surrounding her. Rain stood dumbfounded as the black energy began to pulse and grow larger. In one large explosion it blasted outward, causing rain to be thrown to the floor. The last of the energy remained around Kessie long enough for her to be placed softly on the floor.
"Rain..." Kessie whispered as she lost all consciousness, the boy in front of her looked down, his eyes now as clear as glaciers and as blue as the sky at Dawn.
"Who are you?" he asked.


Adeline

The next morning Addie planned to leave early, hoping that Narissa would notice. When it turned out that she was already awake, Addie was thoroughly disappointed.
So as they walked through the door to Fulgoris Addie wasn't in the best of moods, already annoyed at Narissa.
"Where are we going?" she asked, she wasn't only annoying Addie, but also Alex. Addie thought that Kayne must be immune as he doesn’t seem to be annoyed in the slightest. Narissa had her hair tied up and had a long purple tee over some black riding trousers.
"Were looking for someone." Alex said frustratedly. He continued walking along the busy road, ignoring the dirty looks he received from other people. It wasn't often that other-worlders came to Fulgoris.
"Were here on business. Well stop when Alex wants us to." Addie explained for the millionth time before Narissa even got the chance to ask if they could stop and rest.
"I could stay here with Kayne." Narissa offered but everyone including Kayne refused.
"Oh stop you complaining." everyone turned round to see a hooded figure, obviously female, standing behind them. By the look of her clothing she was from Fulgoris, but Alex knew better.
"Who are you?" he asked, purposely ignoring her jibe at Narissa.
"Name’s Zitora, I've been following you since you came here. Hear lube been looking for me." Alex smirked, impressed with what he saw, she was as good as people said.
"You’re the princess from metrix, the keeper? You’re meant to be dead." Kayne said bluntly, not caring who he might insult.
"Keepers are immortal once they've accepted the change and reached full maturity." Alex informed, not bothering to look at him. This news took Addie by surprise; she wasn't going to be able to die?
"w-what? You mean I can't... We won't grow together?" tears pricked in the corners of her eyes, and forced to spill out completely by Alex’s answer.
"no." he replied bluntly. Like he didn't want to think about it.
"Heart breaking isn't it?" Zitora said sarcastically, "you need me, and my people will gladly follow." she grinned, she looked about 20, and Alex knew that grin, it was the same as his brothers used to be, at the time when he though everything was a just a thrilling game.
"How many?" he asked, getting interested.
"Two thousand." Addie didn't care where these people came from; it was a useful addition to their army if they wanted to win.
"They good?" Alex asked
"The best." Cane Zitora's reply as she gave her best grin.


8 – The Revolution

Adeline


It was a secret hide out. Of course it was.
After entering through a hidden door at the side of Thunder Mountain and following Zitora through a complex sequin of tunnels, the group finally came out into what looked like a training hall. Archers were at one end, sword training at the other, and hand to hand combat to the right. There were also a lot of other techniques being used that Addie didn't recognise. Zitora led them confidently through the vast sea of warriors. Some turned to look at the passing visitors; Addie gave each a timid smile, of which none were returned to her.
The next room was separated by a curtain hanging in the door way, creating some privacy for the people who were sat at the tables. There was a pile of fruit in a plain metal bowl from which Zitora swiftly grabbed a red apple from and took a large bite. She sat at one of the tables and the others following her lead more slowly.
None of them said anything as Zitora placed the apple down on the table and swallowed what was left of it. She leant forward in her chair and placed her elbows on her knees. She looked at each one in turn, expecting them to say something. When none of them did she smirked, obviously amused by their reactions.
"This, my friends." she motioned to her surroundings "is The Revolution."
"The Revolution?" Addie asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, all my followers are people who escaped from Metrix, and a few from Necrisia, who didn't want to follow the current ruler. Instead we have all came together to fight against them." Zitora explained.
"Rain." Alex sighed as he starred into the distance, his eyes glazing over as he remembered the past.
"Speaking of the devil." Zitora stood abruptly, "I have something to show you." she said especially to Alex, who also stood, ready to follow.
They walked past the training hall again, but this time turned left, and walked down a narrow tunnel.
Zitora led them to a narrow but long room, where Walls were separating what seemed to be smaller rooms. Addie noticed that there were no solid doors or windows; instead each was replaced by bars. The black haired woman led them to the end of the room and stopped. Addie looked past the last cell and looked at the stairs going downward, presumably to another floor with cells.
"Alex." a smooth voice broke her from her thoughts and she turned to see an older version of Alex sitting in the cell. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Rain?" Alex asked, turning to Zitora for an answer, who was leaning back against the wall opposite the cell, arms folded over her chest.
"He came here and brought a girl who was unconscious, there were no major injuries but her energy levels were dangerously low. Rain here seems to have temporary memory loss, should recover though."
"What is going on?" Rain asked, he voice low and threatening. Everyone looked to Zitora for an answer but she nodded to Alex, telling him to say something.
"Who was the girl?" Addie asked suddenly, ignoring the interrogation for a moment.
"Haven’t the foggiest." Zitora replied with a shrug. "You can come and see her though."
"Sure, Alex can stay and talk to Rain." Addie decided and pushed Alex closer to the cell door.

Alex looked as the group walked away, leaving him alone with his brother.
"Rain, what happened?" he asked as he stared into his brothers eyes.
"Like the woman said," he lent back against the wall, his eyes still connecting with Alex's "I can't remember much after leaving, then suddenly all I know is that I'm in a room in a castle with a girl half-conscious on the floor in front of me."
Alex sighed and sat down on the floor, also leaning back against the wall.
"Do you remember anything just before everything goes blank?" he tried, trying to spark some new memories.
"I remember being confronted by a man, but I couldn't see his face, he told me things that he couldn't possibly know about me." he narrowed his eyes, trying to grasp at the memory, then it was gone, like a dream you know you had but could t remember.
"You haven't changed you know." Alex said suddenly, now seeming to take in his brother fully, his hair was longer back then, and his eyes still held the mischievous spark in them. He was clearly wearing Metrix uniform.
Rain smirked but it didn't reach his eyes "you have. I missed my baby brother grow up." he teased.
Alex shot him a look, and Rain held up his hands in defence.

Addie could only wonder as she followed Zitora down another tunnel, leading to the hideouts medical section. If Addie’s logic was right, then it could be Kessie lying down there.
"She’s in a stable condition." the soft voice broke Addie out of her thoughts; she looked up to find an older woman in long robes smiling at Zitora and her.
"Thank you." Zitora smiled politely before pulling back the curtains to the room and letting Kayne, Narrisa and Addie through.
Excitement pulsed through Addie as she saw the figure of the girl laid on the bed. As the group moved closer she noticed that the girl had beads of sweat trickling down her for head, which was scrunched up, like she was having a bad dream.
Addie looked over at Kayne, who was looking at her with the same expression in his eyes
"It’s Kessie." she finally confirmed, smiling at her friend.
"You know her?" Zitora asked while pulling a chair over to the side of the bed. Kayne did the same while Narrisa and Addie stayed standing.
"She’s our friend." Kayne said, not revising too much information, he wasn't sure if he could fully trust Zitora yet.
Zitora smiled at them, "do you want to stay?"
Addie looked a Kayne and then at Narrisa, "I'll stay here." Narrisa looked hurt by her bluntness
"I'll stay too." she said and moved Kayne out of his chair so she could sit in it. Zitora moved out of her chair and pulled it easily over to Addie who took it.
Kessie looked to be at war with herself, every now and then Shifting uncomfortably in the bed, although never waking up.
"What’s wrong with you?" Addie whispered, trying to comfort her friend.

Kessie didn't know where she was, and that was all she knew. She was afraid to move as the darkness surrounded her. She didn't know where was left or right, or up or down. So she thought it best to stay still.
It was dark, but she could still see herself as if in clear daylight, like the dark didn't affect her. What's more is that even if she tried to move, she was restrained by something, she couldn't turn her head to see what it was because it was holding her perfectly still.
'Do not attempt to struggle, little one.' a voice echoed in her mind, as clear as if someone had said it. Kessie had a primeval recognition of the voice; it urged her to run and made her struggle even more.
She had learnt not to assume the possible, but also take into consideration the improbable. This was the thought that told her that this wasn't a dream, but reality. If she wanted to survive this oncoming darkness, she would have to do as it said. As soon as she stopped struggling, the thing holding her released some of its grip, allowing Kessie to move into a more comfortable position.
'Aaya, are you afraid?' it asked, its voice seeping with amusement. Kessie found that she couldn't reply, either because of fear or because she simply couldn't.
'You should be,' it continued 'now that I have found you in here Aaya, I can find you anywhere.' she listened to its words; in here? Where was she? It came to here then, where she had felt this feeling before; and probably countless times before that. In a dream. When she realised that she was in a dream, she was usually able to control it, but it was one of those rare time where couldn't.
She had to try to make herself wake up. Kessie hadn't tried it before; there was no need to in the past. But she remembered waking up too early and being dragged out of the dream; she had to focus on something that was real.
"Kessie, please wake up." she knew she had hear the voice through her ears and not her mind. She grasped at the voice, keeping tight hold of the sound. Kessie imagined a cage, but all too late. Suddenly she was floating up, and as she looked down she saw that the cage had something black in it, which was totally visible behind the now green grass it was sat on.
'I'm coming Addie.'

After a while the silence between the two brothers was becoming unbearable, both dying to ask each other questions, yet none of them wanted to intrude. Alex was the first to speak, starting with a simple question.
“Where have you been all this time?” asked Alex, once again allowing his eyes to wander over to where his brother was sitting.
“I didn’t know the ropes when I left.” Rain began, “I lost everything.”
“I missed you,” Alex suddenly interrupted “Rain, you didn’t have to leave.” He forced himself to concentrate on the here and now, not on how much he missed his brother when he had left.
“Yes I did. I couldn’t become king, Alex, you must understand.” Rain had left when he was 15, so spending four years without the person you spent every day since you were born with was obviously hard on Alex. It was also tough for Rain, although he never showed it.
“Why not?” Alex asked, stunned from his brothers unusual seriousness.
“It doesn’t matter, it’s in the past. You can ruin the future by spending too much time in the past.” He quoted a line from one of his father’s great speeches, the one he had said on his brother’s funeral.
“How did you survive out there on your own?” Alex started, aware that his brother didn’t want to talk about it. Rain grinned, seeming as though reliving the moment of his past once again.
“I started stealing.” Not that he was proud of it, “became quite good at it actually-” Rain’s voice faded as Alex started to think of all the possible reasons why his brother would start stealing. He could have just come home and they would have sorted it all out as a family.
“Stealing!” he almost shouted, ignoring the fact that his brother had been talking only seconds before. “You’re a freakin’ Prince Rain!”
“I don’t want to be.” Rain replied coldly, allowing his words to sink into his brothers head.
A few minutes passed with none of the two saying anything to one another, as both were too busy caught up in their own thoughts. Finally curiosity got the better of Rain.
“Who was the girl?” he asked, referring to the girl he had brought in with him when he came.
“Her name is Kessie; I met her about two days ago. She’s Kayne’s and Addie’s friend.” Rain perked up at the statement, looking more interested in the conversation than he was just minutes ago.
“Addie? Little Adeline?” he chuckled in his own amusement, “is she still around?” Alex flushed at his brother’s accusation, knowing exactly what he was trying to say.
“Be quiet!” he scolded, his cheeks turning pale pink at the embarrassment.
“Be prepared for a lot of teasing little brother.” Rain replied coolly, not bothered by his brothers command. He himself had suffered a lot of teasing; being thrown off the room for ones dragon’s amusement was never as fun as she thought it might be. Rain gasped, remembering another fragment from his past.
“Iridium!” he shouted, getting up and starring out of the window with bars on them.
“Who?” Alex asked, after also getting up to see if he could look out of the window.
“My dragon,” Rain explained whilst turning to face Alex, “we’ve got to go and find her.”
“Where did you get a dragon?”
“Can’t remember?” and he truly couldn’t, all he remembered was her being with him, right from the start.
“Obviously,” Alex commented, he was going to ask more questions but since his brother was deep in conversation with himself he concluded not to.
“Would the mind link work?” Rain asked absentmindedly, still caught up in his own thoughts.
“Mind what?” Alex’s question remained unheard as Rain continued to talk to himself.
“Should do…” he turned around once more and walked to the window, maybe being closer to his dragon would strengthen the link. ‘Iridium, can you find me?’
‘On my way, kiddo.’ Came his dragon’s sweet reply only seconds later, it was only weak in the back of Rains mind, so he knew that she must be further away than he originally thought.
Once again the cells faded into silence as everyone resumed their own thoughts, most of them concerned with the coming war, and how to deal with it. A soft thud from outside brought both brothers back to the present.
A genuine smile broke out on the eldest brother’s face, illuminating it completely.
“Can I go and see her?” he asked, getting up. His action made Alex wonder if he really had a choice in the matter, but seeing how happy the dragon made his brother again left him with no other choice than to comply.
“Yes, but stay close to me, otherwise they might capture you again. Or worse.” He added under his breath.
The keys hung just outside on the wall to the cells and were unguarded, so Alex was able to retrieve them without any trouble. He placed the key in the lock and turned. A satisfying click could be heard and the door swung open, allowing a very happy rain to come out.

The things that had happened in her dream were becoming fuzzy, but Kessie could clearly remember trapping the little of the darkness that was left inside of her. She could feel it in every move that she made, it was bursting to get out, and she could feel its strength as if it were part of her.
After she had woken up, she had seen Addie and Kayne, if she would have been greeted by unfamiliar people Kessie didn’t think that she could have coped with it. She had to try to get home, to make things normal again. If they could ever be normal again.
She had then been introduced to Zitora, who she had taken an instant liking to, even though she did seem a bit on the violent side. At the meantime, they were walking back to the cell where Alex and Rain were supposed to be talking; Kessie didn’t like the feeling that she got when she turned the corner to see Rain out of his cell and walking with his brother.
Zitora sheathed her sword and moved swiftly over to Rain, who didn’t react as she pressed the tip of her sword to his neck, ready to kill him if he were to make a wrong move.
“Busted.” Kessie grinned as she saw the look in Rain’s eyes. He didn’t seem frightened, but wary.
“I want to see my dragon.” He said confidently as he brushed the tip of the sword away with two fingers, only to have it replaced in exactly the same position by Zitora.
“Let him see her.” Alex said, hoping to make Zitora remove her sword. Alex knew that Rain could be dangerous, but it didn’t change the fact that he was still his brother.
“No.” Zitora commanded firmly “he can’t be trusted. He still has the darkness in him.”
“No he doesn’t.” Kessie replied, for the first time getting what the thing she felt was. Rain glanced at Kessie, locking eyes with her.
“who are you?” those words shouldn’t have hurt Kessie like they did, after all, he was just some dark prince, but something inside her wanted him to be able to remember her. She looked away, unable to hold his intense gaze.
“Temporary memory loss, he’ll recover.” Zitora informed, examining her nails on one hand whilst still holding the sword pointed at Rain’s neck in the other.
“Kessie, how do you know he doesn’t?” Addie asked, ignoring Zitora’s rudeness toward Rain.

“It told me.” She replied in a whisper, trying to remember what it had said.
“You spoke to it?” Kayne asked, shock written all over her face.
“In a dream.” Although Kessie knew that it wasn’t a dream, she knew that explaining things would waste time that they didn’t have. After all they had a war to prepare for.
“What did it say?” Alex locked eyes with Kessie, trying to see if she was telling the truth or not. Kessie looked him straight in his eyes, willing him to believe her.
“It called me Aaya.” It was the part that she could remember most clearly, and the part that scared her the most.
Most people in the room just looked at her, not making sense of anything that she was saying. But Rain, he stood there, his whole body freezing.
“Terra’s Ex-keeper.” He breathed. Everyone turned to look at him, all thinking of different explanations. The roaring of a dragon outside caught everyone’s attention, much to Zitora’s annoyance.
Narrisa was already running off down the corridor after Rain, and was being swiftly followed by Kessie. The Black haired woman shook her head. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with people acting like this.
As Rain stepped outside, the first thing that he noticed was the colour of his dragon’s scales. They were white now, and not black.
“Iri!” he cried happily as he ran to her side, ‘did you miss me?’ he added through their mind link.
‘I thought I had finally gotten rid of you.’ She teased, even though she knew that Rain knew that she was only joking.
“She looks different.” Kessie stated as she came to join the two of them, followed closely by Narrisa who Kessie had overtaken with ease. Rain smirked at the statement
“Well yeah, she’s white now.” Kessie glared at him, of course she knew that the colour of the dragon had changed, but she wasn’t talking about that, she was talking about something deeper than that.
“Can we have a fly on her?” Kessie asked to no one in particular.
“You’re not allowed out of the base, but you can sit on it.” Zitora informed. Rain narrowed his eyes at her, didn’t she know that she had a name. Kessie didn’t notice the glare that Zitora received. She turned around to face Rain, her blue clouded eyes sparkling like a six year old child’s.
“Can I?” she asked excitedly. One corner of Rain’s mouth tilted up in a smirk.
“Need help up?” he asked whilst offering her a hand, which she gladly accepted.
‘If I’m thinking what you’re thinking, which I am because I can read your mind, then I suggest you don’t do it.’ Iridium informed him.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 06.07.2011

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