The Princess of Darkness

Chapter 10: The Obstacle Course

I had never had such beautiful dreams as I did on the night after my conversation with Michael about magic. Ever since I had been a child, the idea of sorcery and witchcraft was either considered a sin, or a made up fantasy. My mother even forbid us from speaking of our extrodinary dreams in front of her. Eventually my dreams had simply become bland and boring just as my life had once been.

Tonight I dreamed of colors that twisted and curved into various patterns that danced and shifted in and out of reality. My thoughts no longer lingered around mundane chores that I had been forced to preform during my incredibly dull existence. Now my dreams were of magic.

The thought of magic being a thing that existed in the world that I lived in, had always seemed completely impossible. But now the thing seemed all too real, and my train of thought constantly fought with itself. It was as if my subconcience was in a war over what was the truth and what was false. It was all so confusing, but peaceful.

That night I dreamed of magic.

That morning I woke up too early.

"Wake up Elizabeth!"

It's way too early for this. I thought silently

"You're going to be late for the next competition!" I identified this voice as Isabelle's/

"What competition?" I inquiered grogily.

"We have no idea" Amelia said cheerfully. "The Choosing has lots of competitions, but no one knows what they are until they start."

I rolled out of bed slowly and allowed Isabelle, Amelia, and Jennifer to pick out clothes and do my hair as I ate the scones that they had brought for breakfast.

Isabelle said that all that they knew about this competition was that I had to wear casual clothing. When she told me this I silently thanked God and put on shorts and a green t-shirt. Amelia handed me a pair of shoes that looked unfamiliar, but much more comfortable than hells-I mean heels. Amelia called them "sneakers." I had to pull them onto my foot, and then tie them in a bow. It took about ten minutes for me to learn how to tie them properly, but I eventually mastered it.

All four of us walked down the hallway towards where the dining room was. I quickly glanced at the portrait of Queen Elle, and I smiled to myself. Once we were at the door to the dining room we turned right into a totally new corridor.

Amelia opened the metal door at the end of the hall and revealed a large room covered in blue mats. There were a few guards standing in the middle of the room. One was chatting away with another princess who I recognized as Morgan Amora- a pretty girl who had worn a pretty pink dress during the elimination ceremony.

Morgan seemed to be the only one there so far, so I made my way to the center of the enormous room.

"Isabelle where am I supposed to go?" I asked, but no one answered. I whirled around but no one was there. I sighed and walked towards a guard who stood a few meters away from Morgan.

"Hi." I said pleasantly. "Um... do you know where I'm supposed to go?" The guard turned to me.

"Yes, you and that other girl go over to that bench over there." He pointed to a wooden bench on the other side of the room. "Then wait for the prince to arrive.

"Thanks." I said, and I walked over to Morgan.

"Hi Morgan!" I said cheerfully. The other princess just stared at me like she was bored with me already.

"What do you want?" She said aggrivatedly.

"Well, I was just talking to that guard over there an-"