The Exiled Princess (sequel to Esther)

Chapter 1

I woke up with the sun shining on my face. The sun was setting but it was still pretty bright. I looked back at my friends. Ashley and Brandon were still sleeping and Andrew was stirring.

I hid behind a tree and watched. He sat up and started looking around frantically. "Esther? Esther!" He called out. Ashley and Brandon got up quickly and asked Andrew what was wrong. "Esther's gone." He said. I crept behind him and the couple saw me. I put my finger to my lips signaling them to be quiet.

They continued asking him questions. He had a worried look on his face which made him look so cute. I crept behind him, then tackled him and we fell. Ashley, Brandon and I laughed. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again. Awry is out there. This isn't a time for tricks." He said embracing me. I hugged him back.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it." I said still laughing. He laughed along. "Okay lovebirds, come on. We need to get going if we don't want Awry's soldiers to find us." Brandon said. We laughed and packed up our things.

Ashley and Brandon brought backpacks while Andrew and I only had our weapons. I shouldered my quiver and shapeshifter and held my bow. We walked forward while the sun was setting. We had decided to travel by night and sleep by day. It would probably be easier to escape the soldiers by this way of traveling.

When the sun had set, we changed into wolves. You see, the four of us are animal carriers (you can turn into animals and communicate with them) and plant carriers (same thing). Brandon is also an elementalist. Andrew is an elementalist as well as a shapeshifter and weapon skilled. Ashley is an elementalist, as well as weapon skilled, and a storm bearer. I am a conveyor. I have all powers as well as weapon skilled and healing skills. We were a tough team. But weapons and strong powers could still kill us when aimed at the right place.

We walked on. Actually, it was more of a wolf kind of run. So imagine a wolf pack running. That's what we looked like. We ran and ran, for hours.

"I wish there was no evil. It would be so much easier." Ashley said trotting alongside me. "Yeah." I said. "But then life would be so boring and not so meaningful 'cause there'll be no challenges." Brandon gave in. "True." I said. We stopped for a break after another two hours.

We hunted for some rabbits with the help of our pets, Meral, Ruby, and King. We ate our snacks and rested.

"So, why don't we start flying?" Brandon asked. "It'll cover more ground." "What about our pets?" I asked. We had flown before, but our pets had an errand to run and they had another option. "They could just run while we fly." Ashley said. "Yeah, but wouldn't that be obvious? Three pets running in the middle of the Vast Lands? I mean, there aren't many trees to cover them." I said. "She's right." Andrew said. "What time is it?" I asked. "Around 5:00am." Ashley replied. "What time did we leave the forest?" I asked. "5:00 pm." Brandon said. We debated on what to do, and decided to stay in a wolf form.

We started running again. We ran and ran although no one was chasing us. At least, not yet.

The sun was rising. "We need to find a place to stay in for the day." I said. "Well, there's a cave." Brandon said pointing his muzzle towards the bottom of a mountain. We had stopped, wanting to catch our breath.

Andrew tilted his head. I looked at Brandon and his ears were twitching too. I sniffed and I caught a scent. I moved my ears around and heard running. I looked behind me and saw figures in the distance racing towards us. "Think they're soldiers or friends?" Ashley asked. When they were a little closer, we saw the light reflecting on armor.

"Run!" Brandon yelled and we turned around and raced to the cave probably about two to three miles away. "I can't believe they're already so near." I said in between breaths. "I thought we were a good distance away." Andrew said shaking his head.

We finally reached the cave. We entered and stopped for a while. "How are you, Meral?" I asked my wolf pup. Although she wasn't a pup anymore. "I'm fine. We're all fine. We're with you wherever you go. So, where to next?" She replied. "Es? There's a tunnel here." Ashley said. We followed her and walked into the tunnel.

After a few minutes, we reached the end. The sight we saw made us all stand still as if under a spell. Guess we were. We were under a spell of awe.

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