Friends Unite

Chapter 9- Escape

Nia flew around the room touching everyone's chains in turn. One by one, they clattered to the ground, and so it continued until everyone was free. Then she stopped and hung in the air, looking nervously around the room.

"Um..." she faltered. "Now comes the time when I do that transportation spell..."

Everyone looked at her. "Just go ahead," said Daniel. "What can go wrong?" 

Nia's face turned red. "A lot, actually," she snapped. "It's a very difficult spell to perform and there has been many cases in which it has gone wrong."

Daniel and Rose looked at each other nervously. 

Nia sighed. "Very well," she said. "Now I have to really concentrate for this one, so I need complete silence from all of you."

Everyone murmured in agreement. Siluetta stared as Nia scrunched up her eyes, balled her fists and began to breath heavily. Siluetta supposed she was summoning her magic. After what seemed like forever but was probably no more than five minutes, her eyes blinked open and she began to stare at a spot on the wall, a look of deep concentration on her face, her eyes unmoving. After about a minute the air began to shimmer. The slowly, the castle dungeon began to fade away and they found themselves... standing on the mountainside outside the castle. 

"Woohoo!" yelled Daniel. "We are out in the open! We are free!"

"The fresh night air..." said Rose. "Hooray! We are free!"

Siluetta looked at them, standing under the stars, rejoicing in their freedom. It must be so wonderful for them to finally be free after being imprisoned for so long... yet Siluetta could feel a growing sense of dread. She opened her mouth to warn them, but it was too late. The castle guards had already heard them, and were turning towards the sound. One of them lit a lantern and shone it into the night.

"Hey! Prisoners!" he roared as the light from the lantern shone on Siluetta and her friends. "What are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be in the dungeon?"

"Quickly now," thundered another. "Let's take them to the throne room. Her Majesty will see to them."

All of a sudden the five friends were surrounded by guards. One plucked a struggling Nia out of the air and shoved her in his pocket. The four other guards grabbed the rest of them and started towards the castle. Siluetta struggled against the guard that held her, but it was no use. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip. Finally they reached the throne room, where the Dark Queen was still seated on her throne. But now that she knew that she wasn't truly the Dark Queen, Siluetta wasn't so intimidated by her.

"So, I see my prisoners have escaped," she said, her voice resonating through the room. "What made them think I would allow it? How dare they defy me, the Queen of all the Land of Darkness!"

Siluetta thought fast. She looked the Queen in the eye. "You are not truly the Dark Queen, Izelda Spinthistle," she said quietly.

The Dark Queen, Izelda, blinked, a mixture of fear, disbelief and anger in her eyes. "You doubt me?" she said, but her voice was weak. "You dare say that I am not the Dark Queen? But of course I am the Dark Queen, and I can have you killed in less than a second."

Siluetta took a deep breath. "You are just one of many," she continued, "who claim to be the Dark Queen or King. What makes you think that you are above them, that you are the true Dark Queen, and that they are all false? You are just as false as them, Izelda Spinthistle."

Izelda took a deep, rattling breath. Her hands were shaking as they clung to the armrests of her throne.

"Guards," she said, her voice thin. "They tire me. Release them. I shall go to bed now." With that, she rose from her throne and left the room.

The guards turned and left the throne room, heading out of the castle. At last they stood outside on the darkened mountainside once again.

"Go now," said the guard who held Siluetta, pushing her away from him.

The other guards released her friends, and then one of them reached into his pocket and let Nia out, who flew up into the fresh night air.

"Come on," she said. "I will fly you all down."