Chapter 6

We meet the Darkling Prince.

Prince Roman. I was too terrified to even blink. The Darkling Prince stood an incredibly short distance away from me. One meager sound from me, and I was dead. My fate was decidedly in the cruel hands of a darkling prince. If he happened to glance in my direction, it would be over.

“My… my, Lord,” the red troll said nervously. His voice shook with fear as he bowed. “Forgive me, sire. He was no friend of mine.”

The Darkling Prince said nothing. He simply made his way towards the dead troll and bent down to remove the arrow from the body. This movement placed him directly below me. I held my breath, trying to remain utterly motionless. Please don’t look up. Please don’t look up.

With one easy motion, the prince pulled the arrow from the dead troll’s back; it was stained in red. The living troll watched the prince warily, no doubt as terrified as I felt.

“What’s your name?” the prince asked him.

“Dudry, your majesty. Son of Rupert,” he said as he nervously bowed his head.

“What is your business out here?”

“We...I was looking for the runaway princess,” the troll admitted. “Thought she might have come around these parts. Less crowded than the mainland.”

The Darkling Prince nodded thoughtfully.

The gray wolf suddenly lifted its head in my direction. I broke out into a cold sweat as fear trickled down my spine from our eye contact. He watched me with intelligent, silver eyes for an immeasurable amount of time and tilted his head to the side. The wolf suddenly snapped his head back towards the red troll before Prince Roman glanced towards the large beast.

Did the wolf not see me? I felt certain that we had made eye contact. Why wasn’t he trying to get his master’s attention, proving that he found me once again?

“Find any leads?” the prince asked the troll with an easy grin. He twirled the bloody arrow in his hand as he smiled. The troll visibly relaxed as he saw the prince’s reaction. It was like they were bonding over hunting me.

“No,” the troll said with a frown. “Not a single thing.” I relaxed slightly at his words. At least I didn’t leave any clues to my whereabouts. How ironic that the source of their hunt was staring down at them only a few feet away.

“I’ll find her,” the prince promised. His words were confident and powerful. There were no uncertainties about them. They made my skin crawl.

He assessed the troll and crossed his arms. “I overheard your conversation with that pathetic excuse of a troll. Do you know what I do to people who speak poorly against our queen?”

The troll inhaled nervously. “No, sire.” His voice shook. The prince chuckled darkly.

“Let’s just say, I did your friend a kindness.” The prince placed the bloody arrow back into the case around his back. “I’m feeling generous today, and I’m going to assume that you did not speak against our queen. I’m going to let you live. But, if we ever cross paths again, I will not be so kind,” he said darkly. “Now, get out of my sight.” He waved his hand with disgust.

And with that, the red troll took off running away from the Darkling Prince as fast as he could. Prince Roman stared after the troll as he fled. He sighed heavily as he propped himself up against a tree to the left of mine. His wolf trotted to his side and sat down obediently. The prince softly stroked the wolf’s fur, his face expressionless.

“You sure about this?” Prince Roman murmured to the wolf. The wolf didn’t react to his words; he simply stared out into the distance. All the wolf would have to do is tilt his head towards me one more time, and the prince would find me. Just one small notion in my direction and it would be over.

But, the wolf remained motionless. He seemed calm and enjoyed the neck rub from his master. He tilted his head towards Prince Roman’s fingers and closed his eyes. He then let out a small whine. The Darkling Prince shook his head and lightly chuckled.

“Come on then. Let’s find some dinner. Unless you want the troll.”

The wolf visibly reacted towards his words, as if he understood them with perfect clarity. He lifted his lips with distaste, revealing his sharp white teeth. The wolf shook his head and growled lightly. The massive gray wolf stood up on his feet and increased his speed to a quick trot away from my tree. The prince stood as well and headed towards the wolf. They both suddenly began to jog deeper into the forest, away from me.

I remained utterly motionless for a very long time. An eternity seemed to pass before I so much as blinked. Slowly, I leaned forward, peering around the branches for any signs that the prince was still near. I saw nothing. I exhaled somewhat loudly with relief. The Darkling Prince was gone.

Now what? My subconscious asked me warily. I didn’t have an answer for her. Without Zame, I had no idea how to get to the Human Realm. My knowledge of the entrance to the Human World was very limited. I knew two things: one, the portal is human made and doesn’t resemble anything of this world. And two, it resides in the Uncharted.

The Uncharted reflects its name perfectly. It is uncharted territory. Neither drow nor high elves claim the land. Aside from the understood intolerance of elfish magic, there are no laws, no monarchies, and no civilized beings among the Uncharted.

Before Zame kidnapped me/saved my life, I had thought I was traveling in the Uncharted, when in reality, I was wandering aimlessly in Ohrog. It’s too late now to wish that Aelrah would have taught me how to read a map correctly. It wasn’t a skill that I necessarily had to learn. Never in his or my wildest dreams would we have predicted that I would leave Azrain.

Zame wasn’t unfair when she accused Azrain royals of being incapable of surviving on our own. I couldn’t imagine my gentle mother in the wilderness, fighting to survive. She wouldn’t last one day out here. My father would fare much better I’d imagine. The King of Azrain is known for his strength and wisdom, and living amongst the wilderness would not be challenging for someone like him. I couldn’t bring myself to think of my sister’s name, but I knew she wasn’t a survivor either. Not that it mattered I guess.

Well, the Human Portal is not going to find itself. My subconscious scolded me, reminding me of my purpose. Zame could have very well abandoned me out here with no intentions of returning. I wouldn’t put it past her. I’ve known all along that drow were not to be trusted. I’d have to do this on my own from here out.

My resolve solidified as I started to untie the white rope from my body. I leaned over and let the rope drop to the dark green forest floor. I turned towards the wide trunk and wrapped my arms around it. I started to ease myself down from the safety of my tree. My right foot found a lower branch, and I gently applied my weight, testing the strength of the branch. It seemed solid and sturdy underneath my weight.

I hesitantly lowered myself to the next branch. I tapped the skinnier branch with my left foot, again testing the sturdiness, while holding my body weight with my arms. I lightly pressed down with my foot, easing myself lower unto the next branch.

Without warning, the smaller branch suddenly snapped from the force of my body, and it tumbled down the tree. I tightened my grip, palms digging into the sharp bark of the tree as I began sliding down mercilessly. The friction against the bark burned my skin, making my palms sting. I landed on the forest floor on my rear, and I grunted. Ow.

I flipped my hands over and saw the angry, bright red markings on my palms. They had already started to bleed.

“Oh no,” I muttered quietly, trying to wipe the blood against Zame’s cloak. I winced from the pressure.

I stood up and glanced around at my surroundings. The sky was light for Ohrog, a dark amber, and it cast meager light on the usual dark forest. I couldn’t remember what direction Zame and I had come from and couldn't tell which way to go from here. A map would be wonderful, but even if I could read it properly, I had lost it a long time ago on my journey.

I randomly angled my head to the right and felt a strong connection to its path. I hesitated for a moment. Maybe I should just wait and see if Zame would return. After all, aimlessly walking in a completely wrong direction would cost me valuable time. If I had a chance of Zame finding me again, it would certainly make it harder for her if I completely strayed from the proper path.

No, keep moving. A voice urged me towards the direction I was looking. My subconscious felt confident that this was the right way to go. I took a step in that direction, feeling a solidifying certainty of my decision. After all, she wanted me to trust my instincts. My sister. Iris. I forced the name in my mind, biting my lip and expecting the pain.

Taking a heavy breath, I started to head in the direction that my instincts wanted me to go.

The forest seemed pretty normal, or as normal as Ohrog could be. I didn’t see any strange glowing mist or carnivorous plants. Instead, I saw giant towering trees on all sides of me. All similar to the one I had climbed to hide from Prince Roman.

A blurred shape suddenly flew by my face, startling me. I backed up a couple of steps, trying to find the source of the insanely fast creature. A dark shade of blue caught my attention, and I quickly snapped my neck toward it. A tiny, dark blue creature suddenly landed on one of the tree branches in front of me. She fluttered her glistening wings twice and lifted her tiny chin in my direction. Standing straight, she couldn’t have been more than six inches tall.

A pixie! Pixies were incredibly rare and thought to be almost extinct. Like magi elves, pixies were known for their magic. Pixies could hardly wield enough power to really inflict any damage, but they were mischievous little beings who liked using their magic to play tricks on anyone they could find. I watched her cautiously.

She tilted her head to the side, studying me. Her big, teal eyes were largely out of proportion with her other small features. She had pointed ears and a sharp nose. Like all pixies, she didn’t wear clothing and seemed very proud of that fact. She grinned and casually propped herself up against the side of the tree. Something round and purple was in her hand. She took a bite out of it, sending juice spraying out of it. I realized it was a berry.

My stomach growled as I watched her eat the tiny berry. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was. I could usually go a couple of days without eating, but since I left Azrain, my meals have been very scarce and hard to find.

The pixie seemed to notice my dismay and held out the berry in her hand. She gestured for me to take it. I smiled and shook my head.

“No, thank you.”

The pixie frowned and suddenly flew off of her branch. I followed her path easily; she left a trail of shimmering dust behind as she flew. She was truly a gorgeous creature.

She hovered in the air, pointing at something beside of me. I followed her lead, spotting a whole bundle of purple berries sitting beside of a bush. My mouth instantly watered at my glorious find. I grinned, turning towards the pixie, “Thank you.”

She smiled kindly at me, seeming pleased with herself.

There were enough berries here to last me for two days. I wouldn’t have even spotted them if she hadn’t have pointed them out to me. I reevaluated my assumption about pixies being mischievous. This one seemed gentle and kind. She was more than eager to share her food with me.

I headed towards the cluster of berries and bent down to pick them up. Just as I curled my fingers around the fruit, a strange popping sound suddenly filled the air. Before I even had time to comprehend what was happening, my feet suddenly swung out from under me and I was hoisted into the air at an alarming rate. A thick, woven net pressed on all sides of my body as I frantically tried to escape the trap.

I heard a quiet buzzing sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter, assuming that it was from the pixie. I should have known better. The pixie tricked me.

My bottom was angled toward the forest floor with my ankles nearly at the same height as my face. I was glad I was pretty flexible, otherwise it would probably be pretty painful to have your feet pressed up against your face. Still, it was annoying. It was a very unflattering position to be in. Luckily, my black cloak still covered my face, hiding whatever shade of scarlet my face was.

“It’s not funny!” I told the pixie, still annoyed over her silent laughter.

Another voice, much deeper than the pixie, suddenly chimed in with his low laughter.

“I think it’s pretty hilarious.”

I froze, instantly recognizing the new voice. No. It can’t be. After all of this time, I finally failed my mission. My journey to the human world has reached its end.

Prince Roman has finally caught me, just as he said he would.

Reviews

[Daydreamer54]

Busted! I wonder why the dog didnt give her away unless he know The Whole time. I wonder whrezame was hiding...

[Strigoikillerr]

He's a very loyal, smart wolf =]

[InsanityWriter]

:D Yay!!!! ^_^

[Strigoikillerr]

:D