Saving the Princess

The Graveyard

Audrey's POV

I grasped onto Indie's back feeling the rhythmic pulses of her wings. I was beyond grateful for what she and Scarlet did on Crystal River.

We were floating gracefully above the crooning river at a steady pace, much faster than that boat was taking us. Beside us, Scarlet flew confidently, her eyes trained forward.

The only sounds were the wings slicing through the air gently, the steady rushing of the river, and the quiet whispering of the trees on either side.

We had been flying for about twelve hours now, surprisingly. I didn't realize light angels had this much stamina. Indie sometimes faltered, but she kept pushing through.

As the sun crept steadily into the sky, I noticed something. There were less and less trees, and the ones that were still there were bony and dead. It became chillier as well, and an eerie vibe washed over me.

"Look!" Scarlet called, pointing ahead. 

We had reached a dead end. In front of us was a huge garden. Not one with sunflowers or daisies, but one with dead trees, screeching ravens, and hunched over tombstones.

Oh wait. That's a graveyard.

A grey, rickety fence was halfheartedly placed around the graveyard, which stretched about the length of two football fields in front of us.

And in the distance loomed a large stone building. There was a sign on it, but I couldn't make out what the words said.

Wow, this place sucks ass.

"There's no way I'm going in there," Rae announced to the left of me. She clung desperately to Scarlet's back.

"We have to. I think this is our destination. The princess must be trapped in that building," Scarlet replied wearily. It was clear she was exhausted from all of that flying.

When we reached the land right in front of the fence, Indie descended.

"I can't fly anymore," she groaned, pure exhaustion evident on her face.

I slid off her back and watched Scarlet do the same. Once they retracted their wings, we turned to look at the ominous graveyard in front of us.

The wind blew gently into our faces.

A raven screeched.

The dead leaves under our feet swirled around, a few inches off of the ground.

Rae squeezed my arm. I was about to snatch it back when the gate in front of us began to move.

With a high pitched squeaking sound, it opened...inviting us in.

"Did that just...open...on it's own?" Squeaked Carlin incredulously.

"Wait...we have to walk through this place?" Cried Rae. "Why can't you guys fly us over it?"

"Our wings need time to regain energy," Scarlet answered. "It's like jogging for a long time."

The clouds drifted in front of the sun. A blanket of darkness fell over the graveyard.

I cursed. How would we ever cross the graveyard...if we couldn't even see anything?

Suddenly, two beams of light shown in front of me. I turned to see Carlin's eyes illuminating a path for us. I forgot she was a vampire.

"Let's go," she whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
************
It took us another ten minutes to actually step into the graveyard because whenever we tried, one of us would chicken out. *cough cough Rae cough cough*.