The Dark Princess

Brooke

We had collectively decided to return home . . . that is, to Mary's palace, to gather supplies, including a map. We had arrived, however, to a bit of a surprise.

When Mary had disappeared, the queen had panicked. She had seen that it had something to do with magic, and seeing Mary disappear in the front of the castle was too much. She gave in to the surrounding kingdoms' pleas and pressuring to be a no-magic kingdom. A price was placed on every magical being's head, and I was no exception. Both Milo and myself were known magicians. Needless to say, we didn't exactly receive a warm welcome. More like we were chased out by money-hungry townspeople. Well, not Mary. Not Figi, either. Really just Milo and myself, because Lily had returned to her own castle.

We arrived in the central city at sunset.

So there we were, running for our lives away from a hord of townsfolk, and Mary skid to a halt, spun around, and, at the top of her lungs, yelled: "STOP!!!!!!!" They all stopped short, looking a little alarmed. The rest of us stopped a few yards after.

"I am Mary! The daughter of Queen Katie herself! And I refuse to be chased out of my own city!!!

One of the people spoke up. "And what makes you think we believe you?!" Mary glared at them, and, slowly, reached up and removed her hood. There was a collective gasp, and for a second they seemed to believe her. Then the same man spoke up.

"But I heard that there's another girl! A witch! A witch that looks exactly like the princess! What proof is there that you're not her?!"

I rolled my eyes and pulled off my own hood, then made a guesture like 'seriously?' Then right after, for good measure, tossed the man in the air . . . from ten yards away. The townspeople gave an outcry as they watched the man land. He even landed perfectly, not a scratch. However, he was still the one to scream: "GET HER!". Mary was only able to grab hold of Figi before the crowd over took her, spreading apart around her like she was royal. Which, of course, she was. Milo had braced himself for battle, but I grabbed his arm and ran, not wanting to harm anyone. There seemed to be wanted pictures on all of the buildings, and I passed several of them before I realized that they had my picture on them. Some of them did, at least.

I tore one from the next building we passed.

A half-hour later we could be found panting, laying on our backs on the forest floor. The woods a few yards to our right were lit with the villagers' torches, but we had found a dense enough section of woods that they couldn't see us. We laid there for a long while before Milo finally thought it safe to talk.

"What . . . in all the Seven Kingdoms . . . was that about?"

I wordlessly handed him the wanted poster. Not that I could have said anything anyway, but . . . nevermind.

I had already read it. It wasn't a "dead or alive" deal, but there was a reward, and, in small print at the bottom, it even explained why. Milo read this part aloud.

"'By the decree of Queen Katie of the kingdom of Colland, all magic beings have been banned from the kingdom. If you see one, please notify the palace guard or militia immediately. If able, seek to capture instead of kill.' Well that's just great, isn't it. Now, on top of everything else, we have a price on our heads. Actually, by now, we probably have two."

If I could have groaned, I would have. As it was, I just let out an exasperated sigh.

"So," Milo said, "should we wait here until morning, when I'll just assume Mary will be back, or should we try to break in?"

I tried to answer, but remembered halfway through that I didn't have a voice, so he couldn't hear me. He'd seen my failed attempt at communication and groaned himself.