The Fallen Prince: A Prince's Mistake

The Fall of a Kingdom

Although in a home of darkness and silence, the sound of horse's clopping aggressively on the floor echoed through the forest. Still having distant yells echoing in the forest, the army from Kajle hadn't given up. Using the light from the sky, I saw Biscuit's body galloping beside me. Every now and then, it would look to its left to look for Ace. Ace did the same. It seemed they were best friends – or even family. 'Ad the left!' I yelled to Archie.

(It meant to the left in Latin.) For a split second, I saw his eyes lock with mine, and his horse veered left. I did the same, and we took a sharp turn. Dozens of horses rode past us, but the sound of their feet still thundered behind us – some soldiers hadn't taken the bait. Me and Archie were side by side now, and he knew what I wanted. I pulled out my map and Archie grabbed a lantern from one of Biscuit's saddles. The map was the same colour as the ones in The Shrine of Memories – as was its filthiness. Dust was gathered around the edges, and crease lines were scattered across the map, joining up like a shattered window. Archie's lantern lit up the entire map and forest. Even though we gave up our position, the sacrifice was with it to find out where to go. I hadn't seen it before, but a circle with a one-centimetre diameter was between Juyl and Pihk. I pointed to it, my fingers shivering from the cold. Archie looked up to me. 'You sure?'

I sighed. 'Nope. Won't know unless we try.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Look, we survived that fall! We tried... and there was a ledge.'

'What do you mean? I was just saying—' He slapped my arm. I looked at him and saw him shake his head, laughing under his breath. 'Ready for a twisting, turning ride?' I asked sarcastically.

'Won't know unless we try.'

We brought the reins down swiftly, and the horses flew deeper into the forest, losing our pursuers.

After an hour or two of riding in the forest (taking multiple turns to hide our tracks), the trees spread out, like the mouth of a river. The early morning sun shone in our eyes, causing us to groan because we hadn't seen such bright light for several hours. After another minute of riding through a narrow passage, we reached a field that was like something you'd see in those romance movies: thousands of unique, vibrant and beautiful flowers were clamped together, a millimetre from each other. Their scents clashed with each other in the sweet-smelling air. They brushed together, swaying side to side, because of the (somehow) warm wind – when it went from cold to warm, I have no idea. Colours that caught my eyes were violet, blue, green, red, orange, and all the other colours of the rainbow. I looked at Archie and he was already setting up our tent. 'How'd you get that?' I asked.

He looked at me, his mischievous grin glowing again. 'Found it in a saddle.'

I laughed and dismounted. I lead the two horses to posts Archie had set up and placed their leads on it. Once I was sure they were secure, I walked toward Archie, helping him with the tent. Within five minutes, we had a silver tent sat on the flowers. I hastily got in and fell asleep quicker than it would take for my father to kill the men who had lost us in the chase.

As always, my dreams were incredibly peaceful. That was sarcasm. My dream was like the others: terrifying and confusing. I was in a kingdom that was double the size of Kajle. It had a steampunk look. The spires surrounding the kingdom were taller than skyscrapers, disappearing into the clouds. They were a crimson brick like the walls and buildings around me. Above, stifling air balloons and blimps floated in the steamy air. I was in a narrow alley, shops of all kinds connected one by one, leading down a brick slope.

Behind me were the gates – a golden material, with a huge field filled with families having picnics, as well as dogs running around together. I was focused on what was ahead: the castle. Meeting the end of the slope, oak stairs were guarded by another gate and guards. On each side of the slope, a silver cobblestone path lead toward houses vaster than the ones in Kajle. Past the resplendent gates, the stairs were in between a steep hill that had grass healthier than the field behind. As I got closer – pushing through an overcrowded area –, a moat could be seen. A drawbridge was down, archers marching down it. They seemed unsettled seeing the swordsmen. I remembered that battle. "You're the reason Kans fell!" and the response of "This is you and your bows' fault!" Above me, a blimp read: