Kingdoms Rise

One

Mae's surroundings were beyond unfamiliar. A place she'd never seen anything like before. She didn't know how she'd gotten here, the last thing she remembered was falling asleep in her little room. A voice in the back of her mind told her it was a dream, but a louder voice told her it was real. As Mae glanced around the room she quickly realized that she didn't belong here, in this room.

Everything in the room had a tone of elegance, the stone walls, the torch chandelier that was lit not with flame but with shadow. Mae looked over at the back wall and noticed a large chair, no not chair she realized, a throne made from a dark metal and black silk cushions. The wall beyond it was great, towering high above the throne itself, on it intricate carvings whorled from top to bottom. Even in the strange place, it was a comfort to Mae, like home.

Everything Mae thought was home felt like a foreign place when she stood in this room. Something deep inside her seemed to be telling her she was home. Home, home, home. This is home. She shook off the feeling. This is not home, this is just a dream, she thought. Then why does it feel so real? One part of her wanted to believe she wasn't dreaming, but the other part, the rational part, knew it wasn't possible that it could be real. She breathed.

When she turned around she noticed people in the room, a lot of people. Guards posted at one set of large doors. There were two sets of guards wearing two sets of armor, Mae knew enough to know that they belonged to different kingdoms. One set of guards bore an emblem of a crescent over mountains, and the other bore the emblem of two waves crashing against one another. A small group of well-dressed courtiers stood off to the side of the throne, their dress was flashy. It made Mae feel sorely underdressed in her cotton pants and shirt in dull gray colors. The last two in the room were men standing in the center of the room, they exuded power, clearly rulers of two different kingdoms. The dark haired one was slightly taller than the ruddy-haired one. The dark haired one seemed older but looked young at the same time. They were having a conversation about alliances.

"If we ally together we could be unstoppable," said the ruddy-haired one, who looked the same age as Mae herself.

"What do I care about being unstoppable. You are playing childish games," The dark haired one said a little condescendingly. "You really expect to conquer the whole world?" Mae gasped and no one seemed to acknowledge her. It as if she wasn't really there.

Mae continued looking around the room, ignoring the conversation. She noticed the courtiers were watching and listening intently to the conversation taking place in front of them. Mae turned around and noticed a very dimly lit corridor. Something was daring her to go explore it. With one last look at the people in the room she turned and headed to the corridor.

After her first step in the direction of the dim corridor, she tripped, barely having enough time to regain her footing. When Mae straightened herself she realized the conversation had stopped. Slowly she turned back around and froze, shocked. Every eye in the room had turned on her. Combinations of shock and surprise and a little curiosity took over the faces of everyone in the room. She focused her gaze on the two men in the center of the room. The ruddy haired one looked at her like a meal he was ready to devour. The dark haired one looked at her confused, annoyed, and astonished, his flickered to the man in front of him and panic took over his features. Quickly he composed himself and walked toward Mae.

Mae didn't know how she should feel, but she was definitely a little scared. The dark haired man gently, but firmly, grabbed her arm and led her into the dim corridor. When they turned a corner he finally dropped her arm. Mae took an involuntary step back. The dim corridor suddenly became alive with light, at least a small portion. Mae turned around and saw a torch on the wall lit with shadowflame, she felt a shiver run through her body.