Kingdom Of The Lost

Chapter 14

I wake up in a bed made out of twigs and leaves which was dreadfully uncomfortable.

I groan as I lift my head, noticing I was in a small opening in the forest for some leaf and twig beds.

"She's awake," Terri's windy voice sounds and five faces all look at me at once, from above.

"Is everything alright?" Terri asks and I nod, massaging my temples.

"I must go see Ale-" I stop midway, "um, the prisoners."

"But princess-" Terri complains but I stop him.

"Take me to them," I demand, softly, not trying to be rude.

Ksicie helps me to my feet with her muzzle and sits me atop her back. Terri leads the way towards the prisons.

***

Once we arrive, the prisons where enormous and all underground.

Ksicie lets me off her back and Terri motions for me to go inside the prisons.

The prisons are big, but not big enough for Terri and Ksicie to squeeze through. Instead a shadow spirit leads me the way through. I hear the shrieks and wails of pain before I see them.

One of the cells held Alec, as he shrieks every time the acid ate more of his flesh.

The acid had already eaten half his arm, only a stud of acid and black smoke showed.

In the cell next to him, sat Rowan on a similar bed of twigs and leaves. In fact the prison was made entirely from emerald. Strange.

Rowan dat still, staring at the ground, his head in his hands.

"Rowan?" I ask out and he looks up hopefully, seeing me.

He runs up to the cage of emerald posts and touches my hand which I didn't noticed was gripping the cage bar.

The shadow spirit hisses and spews some kind of similar black flame at Rowan's hand, barely missing mine, burning his hand for a quick moment, before it was over, he moves back with a jerk, soothing his burnt hand.

"Do not touch the princess," the shadow spirit hisses through a crinkly and raspy voice, warning Rowan.

"What's wrong with Alec?" Rowan asks concern laced in his voice , "he's been shrieking in pain every since your dragon spewed that black acid at him.

"Oh... Apparently it affects only those who are black in the heart. If the black acid touches someone that is pure in heart, the acid evaporates, leaving no trace it was on the pure hearted one," I say, from my mind reminding myself that all I knew was what Ksicie knew, and all Ksicie new, I knew.

"Oh... So Alec is evil?" Rowan asks frowning.

"Yes... It may sound stupid.. But he was corrupted by the king! He took a potion to make him evil! Please trust me Rowan," I plead and he glares.

"Alec is NOT EVIL!" Rowan shrieks at me, and the shadow spirit blows another flame of black flames at Rowan, which hits him in the chest, backing him up. Rowan wheezes and clutches his chest like he was choking. But after a few second he straightened himself up.

"Alec is not evil... Not ever will he be," Rowan hisses. And the shadow spirit pulls me away, the echoing sounds of Alecs shrieks the only thing I heard.

***

Rowan hates me.

The only sentence going through my mind.

I was sitting on a grassy spot, meditating, the crown I usually wore beside me. I usually meditated back in my castle when I was stressed.

But all I could think of was, Rowan hates me.
It didn't go as smoothly as I hoped.