Another

Prologue

The first crack of light flowed over the mountains. The cool summer night melted away with the warm sunlight's arrival. I sat at the edge of my cave, ready to go. The Queen said to meet her as quick as possible this morning. She also mentioned not telling anyone else about it when I get there. She seemed scared then, almost too afraid to tell me about it. The sun barely climbed the peak of the mountain. Taking a deep breath, I started running towards the palace road.

I walked down the rugged road that leads to the kingdom, checking my pack to see if I missed anything. Glancing at the few things she listed to bring, a blanket, some small foods, and matches, I checked each thing off in my head. I neared the fork in the road and the familiar sign that stated which way goes where. Ignoring the sign, I walked straight into the forest behind the split, following an almost hidden path. The small moonlight that shone through illuminated all the branches. The eerie blue glow made any branch look like a ghost's hand, but I had learned that there are no ghosts in the woods anyway...

I approached a clearing and saw the large metal walls surrounding the kingdom. They towered above me, nothing like anything I've ever seen before. But I have seen these walls... many times... She told me to enter from the back, away from the large drawbridge in the front, to attract the least amount of attention. It would seem impossible to get through, but the Queen had shown me many different secret passageways and trapdoors in case of emergency. I noticed the tree closest to the wall and started climbing it. Pulling on a specific branch, two small doors swung open. I crawled through the opening, stood up, and pressed the button next to me. The lights crackled, and revealed the hollow tunnel through the walls. I've been through these paths countless times, the memories of getting lost still burned in my memory. I started walking down the tunnel to my left.

After about forty-seven shining lights passed above me, I stopped and tapped a panel with my foot. The darkness of the outside automatically turned the tunnel lights off, and blinded me for a moment. Once my eyes were adjusted, I walked out to the still-silent city. I slowly walked across the dark streets toward the large metal castle. I noticed a light shining from one of the windows and started walking faster.

I reached the flat base of the colossal castle and flattened against it. A few lights flowed along the streets and up the castle wall. The light can't illuminate me, or else suspicion might arise. This was supposed to be a secret meeting, and I couldn't risk anyone seeing me. I pressed a panel, which slid to reveal a keyboard. After pressing the right code, which she of course taught me, a ladder slid out of the flat surface. I started to climb up to her window.

I reached the opening of the castle where the light flowed out and climbed inside. The sensors must have found me, because the next thing I heard was her voice out of one of the many speakers scattered about the building.

"Ah, I see you could come. Please join me in my room, Jacob,"