The Servant Princess (BEING EDITED) ((no it's not))

Chapter 14

*Eats popcorn while rereading Chapter* Oh, you guys are here, *hands popcorn* enjoy!

The First Three Roses

The forest at night was bitter cold, so Chase was lucky to have worn a cloak. The sun would rise soon and he had to hurry before sunrise, hopefully Alex and Will had found the rose. The small group of three burst through the edge of the forest, and quickly made it to the lake where they found Will and Alex waiting.

Chase unmounted, tied his horse to a tree, and walked over to the brothers, "Did you find something?" he asked.

Will nodded his head toward the lake, drawing Chase's attention to a small island. Atop the island was a flower, the flower they were looking for. It stood straight, it's grassy green stem strong. The rose's flower was multicolored, the outer edges of the petals white and the inner red. As they were curled over, it appeared as a shimmering two-tone bud. It radiated a magical feeling to the supernatural, faintly reaching Will and Alex's senses.

Chase stared at the rose, then looked at Nero who confirmed it was the rose they were looking for. Chase smiled, not noticing the rising sun, which was slowly climbing up the sky.

Skye, on the other hand, noticed it and watched in awe. The sky faded between multitudes of colors, first yellows and oranges and red. Pinks, purples, and blues were scattered through the mix as well. Bringing her friends' attention, she spoke, "Guys, look...!"

Will directed his eyes in the way of his girlfriend's gaze, a smile spreading across his face, "The Lord is a breathtaking artist, hm?"

The group realized that the rose was waiting, and the sun was almost past sunrise, when Blaze yelled out, "ARE YOU ALL DAFT? IT'S SUNRISE! HELLO, THE ROSE?!"

Chase noticed, and dove into the ice water, pumping his arms as fast as he could to get to the island before the sun rose any higher. The group behind him protested, yelling that he could kill himself by getting pneumonia. He ignored them all, determined to get the rose.

When he reached the shore of the little island, he dragged himself onto land sopping wet. The sun hit the roses petals, as Chase stood up, and he was blinded by light that radiated from it. Blinking his eyes, he walked towards the flower that looked like it was on fire. He gently reached down, and stroked one of the soft petals, before plucking it from the ground as the sun rose past its mark. Chase stood upright, and waved the flower in the air, and heard excited yells from the mainland.

Chase called out to the small group, "How am I going to get it back dry!"

"I already thought of that when you dived into the water!" Nero called back.

Chase felt the flower in his hand change, and he looked down, the rose was now had a transparent orb, that had a slight red tint to it, to keep it dry as he swam back. So Nero wasn't lying when he said he was a mage! I'll have to ask him why he stayed hidden till now. Chase stepped forward, dove back into the water, and got back to the group in no time.

Nero stepped forward, and took the the protected flower from Chase and placed it into the saddle bag next to Blaze, who protested slightly.

Will shook his head at his friend's sopping wet hair before pulling out the scroll from before. He smiled ever so slightly when he noticed the riddle had changed, "Alright. The next clue has shown itself."

This time, Will read it,

"The Vibrant Orange rose grows on high,

It's job is to keep the time,

When it sings it's song at nine,

After the First rose's shine has died."

Sky frowned thinking, "Up high...time...nine..., hm...." She paused, her eyes widening, "Up high, time. A tower. A clock tower. At nine!"