The Dark Princess

Milo/Brooke

(Milo)

For the first few hours into the forest, Brooke was silent, and I got the feeling that she was glaring at me in the cart. I had no idea what had caused her to grunt painfully, except that each time, she'd been concentrating hard. By yhe time hour three came by, I was ready to call it a night, even though it was still afternoon. I stopped the cart and got off the horse. Brooke still refused to say anything.

"Well," I said, "I'm going to go get some water for the horse." There was no reply. Just more glaring. I rolled my eyes and turned away.

"Take your time," Brooke finally said. I smirked, but didn't reply. I walked into the forest.

I was halfway back to the cart with a bucket of water when something wet ran into me at full speed. Both me and whatever ran into me went sprawling. When I looked up, I froze. I had been run over by . . . a Dewdrop. She got up, and I almost died of shock. The dewdrop . . . was Brooke.

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(Brooke)

When I saw who I'd run into, I froze in horror. I started trembling. I had just shown my greatest weakness to the son of the Dark Princess. Talk about stupid! I had started my transformation as soon as Milo had gotten out of sight, and this one had been a success. It had taken no time at all for the ropes to drift through my now-liquid body. I had then run into the forest, having lost my bearings after the transformation had momentarily made  my vision swirl. I must heve gone in the same direction as Milo. Once again, talk about stupid! I should have done something to remind myself of the wrong direction!

Milo finally came out of his daze. "Brooke?" I slowly and shakily nodded. Milo nearly passed out again. I transformed back to my human form and walked up to Milo. I pushed him lightly and he fell over, unconscious. I dragged him back to the wagon and-with a bit of cursing his weight-got him into the cart. I knew this section of the woods. The nearest place we could seek refuge in was the elfin castle. Milo woke up on the way there, and was awake to see us chased out for killing the princess by an army of recently returned elves. Needless to say, that particular point of refuge didn't go well.

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(Milo)

After a lot of screaming and cursing and failing to put out various fires in the cart, we lost the mad elves. Good thing we did, too, because as soon as I said, "I think we lost them," the cart's burnt wheels gave out, spilling me to the ground. I groaned, and could hear Brooke laughing at me.

I decided to bring up an uncomfortable subject. "Hey," I said, "did I dream this, or are you a dewdrop?"

She shifted uncomfortably on the horse. "Well," she said, "I'm not exactly a dewdrop, I mean not fully."

I cocked my head in confusion. "You mean to say that you're only half dewdrop?"

Her face took on a panicky look as she said "You can't tell anyone about this, okay? Especially not your mom."

I smirked. "And what is going to keep me from telling my mother about this when she questions about your weaknesses?" Brooke's face fell, and she started visibly shaking. Then, for some reason, she stopped.

Her head lifted, and I could see a mischevious glint in her eye. "Because," she said, "I don't have to go with you anymore."

I paled.

"So, Milo," she said, "What would you rather take back to your mother? The person she wants to see, or her greatest weakness. I refuse to let you have both."

I hesitated only for a moment before giving in. "Fine," I relented, "I won't tell my ,other about this if you promise not to escape." To my fierce displeasure, she smiled smugly. Very smugly. I rolled my eyes. I hate giving in.

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(still Milo)

When I woke up the next morning, Brooke wasn't there. I started to panic. I should've known. I should've done something to stop it! I started searching, still unable to belive that she was gone. I gave up after a few hours and sat down by the burnt wagon wheels that we had used to build a fire with. This was it. I was dead whether or not I went home. I heard something rustle in the forest behind me, but I didn't turn around. It would be so much better if I died here in the forest than at the hands of my own mother. I put my head in my hands.

"What are you doing that for?" I lifted my head and spun around to see Brooke. She looked as if she had just gotten up.

I stood up. "Where were you?! I looked everywhere for you!"

She looked taken aback. "I must have been sleepwalking." She looked down, a little stunned. "I had no idea I was so valuable."

I sighed, more than a little bit relieved. "You're only valuable as long as my mother thinks you're valuable . . . to my health."

Brooke cocked an eyebrow. "Your own mother would kill you?" I nodded solomnly. Naturally, she just snorted unbelievingly.

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(Brooke)

I didn't believe that any mother would be so cruel as to kill her own son. The idea just seemed preposterous. However, Milo seemed convinced. So, I made a mental note. Whenever Milo started getting annoying, I would pretend to run away. I never got the chance. Within minutes of leaving camp, Milo started walking even faster. I struggled to keep up. Then the forest fell away, revealing a clearing. Correction: a clearing of trees. Instead of trees, it was filled with stones. Not a blade of grass showed through the stones littering the ground. I noticed something even stranger as we walked out into the center of the clearing. There was a pattern in the stones. The stones made a spiral from the center. The clearing was also perfectly round. I didn't have time to examine all the details, because as dsoon as we reached the center, the outside of the circle sunk into a soupy blackness. I say sunk, but I mean that it fell. I could feel my heartrate speed up as the avalanche traveled inward.

"I suggest you close your eyes," I heard Milo say. I followed his advice. Then the ground gave way beneath my feet, and it was all I could do not to scream. I did manage it, though. I felt my feet hit the ground again. I fell to my knees, grunting, and opened my eyes. I was still standing on the stones that made up the circle, but we were in a different place. I could see a castle in the distance, but it was an odd castle. Even from this distance, it looked jagged and sharp. The castle was completely black, and had many, many towers. And there was something else, too. Just looking at the castle I felt an unexplainable fear. I knew immediately that it was the home if the Dark Princess, Sasha. We had less than a day of fast walking before we were upon our destination.