Aurana and the Emerald

The story is one part

Aurana dashed through the crowded brush of the forest, deftly dodging trees and shrubs. In one hand, she held her dagger, and she had a short sword strapped to her back. She wore a black miniskirt and leggings, along with a black hoodie, to blend in at night.  As she reached the edge of the forest, the once welcoming, but now foreboding castle appeared. She reviewed her goal: to take back the Honey Emerald, regain power  over the kingdom, and to oust Ursa, the tyrant who killed her parents. 

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 Thunder, rain, and footsteps. I ran as fast as my 8 year old legs would carry me, hearing my family's screams of terror as the man walked towards them. He had a mask on his face, resembling a bear. He grabbed my father by the shirt, heaving him from the throne, and snatched the crown off his head. He sat on the golden seat, and ordered my father:

"Bring me the Emerald! I need its Aura to achieve ultimate power!"

"Wait! You can't activate the Emerald!" I called, running towards him, drawing my sword. I took a fighting stance, golden pigtails flopping behind my shoulders. I stood, guarding my parents with my life. "Only I can unleash its power! Without me, the Emerald is useless!"

"No need for unnecessary violence, Princess. You'll just have to unleash the power for me," the intruder chided, beckoning me towards him. "If not, both you and your family will be destroyed!"

"No. I will never let the Emerald's power go into the wrong hands. It is my duty," I stated, with fear in my words. I glanced back at my parents. Catching my mother's eye, I remembered what she taught me: "Run, Aurana, go where he can't find you! Protect the Emerald's power! Protect the Kingdom!" I had to flee at the threat of danger to the kingdom. I ran, leaving my family at the hands of a madman.

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As Aurana approached the castle, she noticed the sun was setting an orange-gold, casting a fiery glow on the dank walls. The castle seemed scarier than she remembered, vines swirled around its walls, as if they were strangling it.  Aurana took a deep breath and surveyed her options: to enter the palace directly through the front door and confront the tyrant head on or find a way to sneak in. The front door was too obvious like "Hi, I'm going to kill you now and avenge my family's death," so finding a way to sneak in it was. She spotted a window on the dark side of the castle, it was far from the lab where the Emerald was kept, but it seemed her safest bet.  She pried the window open and squeezed herself in. "Just right," she thought, smiling to herself. She pulled up her hood, and stealthily crept down the hall, under the cover of shadows.

Aurana navigated the halls easily. Having grown up in the castle she knew its layout like the back of her hand. As she reached the lab where the Honey Emerald was being examined, Aurana unsheathed her sword. There was only one guard on duty. She crouched in the hallway and waited until he was looking the other way, and as if she had done it a thousand times, she leapt up, tripped the guard with her leg, and knocked him out with the pommel of her sword. She then sprinted off, grabbing the golden gem as she went.

She ran through the hallway towards the throne room, she focused her Aura on the Emerald. As she did, it started to glow, and became surrounded by a protective bubble. Aurana put the little gem into her belt pocket, and kept going, making her way into the throne room.

As she entered, Aurana noticed that Ursa was sitting in her father's chair. Just as he was when she left nine years before.

"It's time for you to get out of my castle! You don't belong here!" she called, drawing her sword and dagger. She stared at him with icy blue eyes.

"So we meet again, Princess. I've missed you, and by that I mean I missed destroying the only royal heir in my way!"

"Oh yeah? Bring it!" she yelled, taking the same stance as she took the last time they met, before she fled. "I'm not a coward anymore! I'll fight to the end!" Ursa charged, drawing his spear. Aurana reached into her pocket, grabbed the gem, and shouted:

"Be gone evil being! I call upon the power of the Honey Emerald, and as the Emerald Guardian and true Queen, I, Aurana, banish you from this dimension!" She pointed the crystal at Ursa, and an orange-gold beam of light sucked him into a portal. "Don't take what isn't yours, or karma will bite you back!"

Taking her rightful seat at the throne, Aurana sighed, at peace knowing she had made her parents proud.