The Phoenix and the Dragon

Captured 😔

                                                                 Chapter Five
            
             Muddled thoughts float around Alex’s mind faster than his physical self could react. They were all screaming for him to get up, run, walk, move. Anything if it could get him out of… wherever he is. Where is he again? What happened? Where's AILEEN? Panic rushes through him at alarming speeds. Then, it all stopped. And everything comes back to him as if an avalanche was crashing down in his head. Over and over again. With a gasp, Alex abruptly fell onto a hard, flat surface. When his head started spinning and his ears started ringing, it caused him to groan in pain. With unsteady arms and unsure movements, Alex got up and blearily peers around his surroundings. He found absolutely nothing around.
Dim lighting only came through the tiny windows with bars, highlighting the swirling dust motes in the air. He was in what looked like the most smallest cell ever, barely big enough to have him and his sister stand on separate walls and when holding out their arms, touch in the middle. Wait, Aileen! There sitting in the corner, and looking considerably worse for wear, was his sister. A sigh of relief escaped his lips at the sight. Determined to let her sleep as long as possible, the young teen then turned to the bars that act as the door to see outside the cell. The cell across from theirs is barren except for a mouse happily chewing on some moldy cheese. As Alex highly doubted that the king arrested a mouse, he quickly assumed that no one else was in that jail.
           Alex was about to charge at the bars of the cell to break them when he hears a slight rustling sound behind him. He is tensed, thinking that it was an attack, but found that it was just his sister waking up.
          “How long have you been up?” Aileen asked sleepily with a pained expression.
          “About twenty minutes,” Alex responded. They both stare at each other hopelessly because really, how can two measly teenagers escape from a prison?
_________________________________________________________________

         Aileen growled at the bars of the cell, hoping they would melt away under her glare. Now, she couldn't exactly tell time by a window, but there was no way they haven't been down here for at least a week. Every day, by her calculations, they would get half a loaf of bread and two cups of water each. Enough to survive off of, but still be hungry and thirsty. Plus, whoever brought the food always managed to do while they were sleeping. So, in effect, they have had no human interaction besides with each other for days. It was about made her go crazy. Nothing to do all day and not being able to sleep on the uncomfortable ground. Great, isn't it? Alex turned to her and gave her a pitiful stare. He has a lot of pent up energy and it has been impossible to let it out due to the size of the cell. They were both about to fall asleep again, as that is the only thing they could do, when they hear the sliding of doors. Then, in steps Robin, the main guy that captured them. He ignored their glares, hands them some keys, and turns around.
        “Follow me if you want to get out. I must warn you though, if you do you will be in even more danger,” he quietly whispered in the most serious expression they've ever seen. Alex stared at the ground and Aileen stared at her brother. When her brother looked up he has the same fire she had in her eyes. They're going to escape no matter what.
_________________________________________________________________

         Robin lead the children to the only place he knew that they could definitely escape with their lives, the forest. Not just any forest though, the most magical forest on the the island. It was so magical that the common belief is that it was haunted.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

         “Here you go,  5 loaves of bread, 12 oranges, and 12 apples. If you watch how much you eat this should last you about a week,” Robin said quietly while giving Aileen and Alex the bag of food. He then looked around in a slightly nervous manner, but he was mainly calm to avoid notice. If anyone was observing them at the moment they would look identical to a group of robbers who were trying to hide the fact that they robbed a bank.
          "Why are you helping us?" Aileen asked out of simple curiosity "Why are you not helping the king, isn’t he your friend?"
         “I believe he is wrong about the people and what they wish for. Most wish to stay concealed and not surmount the world we are in. The only person who wants to do that is Tamas, not the nobles or the villagers,” he admits honestly, sighing at the very idea of them taking other the world.
         “Do you know of any places we can go to before the king looks to leave this place?” Aileen questioned with a hopeful expression that fades as Aileen noticed Robin’s countenance.
          “You could head to Crowlfield, I could delay the king from chasing you, if he wants this incident to be private. If not, stay away from any communities of people,”
While Robin and Aileen were having a conversation about where to go so the king won’t catch them, Alex was contemplating their parents. How worried they would be, if they found out they got abducted or got taken to a evil king who through them in a dungeon. That would definitely have them get grounded or they would never let their children out of their sight.
          “You realize that you can’t tell you parents what happened to you,” Robin pointed out to Aileen and Alex, “They can’t learn about this world,”
         “What do we tell them?” Aileen questioned, “We got kidnapped by a murderer who we escaped,” she suggested sarcastically.
          “We would never leave the house if we told them that,” Alex finished, then quietly cried a few moments later, “Does that man in that dress look suspicious to you,”
          “It was a robe, Alex, and he is a spy working for the king. They are called Masters of Magic” Robin replied and dragged them behind a nearly by garbage box, “Watch out for them, if they find you they will torture you until they bring you to Tamas,” he added.They walked in silence for a while they did not want to attract the Masters or anyone for that matter, then Robin stopped them.
          “I should be going now, Tamas will notice you and I are not there and will suspect me of letting you out. Here is the map of the kingdom, it will change as the kingdom changes and turns direction. Are you sure you will be okay?” Robin inquired.
          "Yeah, we’ll be great,” Alex hesitantly answered.
          “You can go, it was fine,” Aileen said while rolling her eyes at Alex.
          “Be careful” he quickly mutters then uses his magic to get to the castle. Unfortunately, he goes at about 45 miles per hour which causes wind to blow into our faces. He had told them on the way over that the overuse of magic left people weak and vulnerable after Aileen asked. It would take years to master a magic ability.
Suddenly, the air felt colder, the light completely faded, and the woods, which seemed harmless at first, felt as if some creature could be hiding and was just waiting to kill them.
          “Maybe him leading us wasn’t such a bad idea,” Aileen called quietly to her brother when she heard a howl pierce through the air.
         “We can just find a clearing to rest and go to sleep, then wake up in the morning to head to Crowlfield. Right sis?” he questioned nervously as he took a few steps into the woods.
         “Of course,” Aileen said almost cheerfully, but flinched when the owl looked straight at her, its eyes looking into her soul, and hooted as if to awaken the other animals in the forest.
         They sent up the camp from the magical bag Robin gave to them. Well, there is no place like home, Aileen thought imagining she was at home, safe and sound in her bed while Alex her brother imagined the same thing from the other tent.

          Sorry if this chapter is a little choppy. We both wrote parts of this chapter so if you notice a style change that's why. Thanks for reading (hopefully). Also wanted to put an emoji for a chapter name just for fun. ✌