The Ring

001

Chrissa's hair was like delicate black waves, and were often woven together ever so carefully into braids that would then fold into twists, that rested to the back of her head above her neck.

She looked over her shoulder and gazed at the fireplace. The flames glowed into her dark eyes and the creek of her door opening made her head turn towards the small noise.

It revealed an older woman in a dark burgundy velvet dress that touched her ankles. Her dark hair up neatly and sleek.

"Mother?" Asked Chrissa, "Supper was an hour ago. Now I wait for one of the maiden's to help me undress into my nightwear." She stated, as she turned towards the dark haired woman. She folder her arms, "Is something wrong?"

Her mother sighed slowly, as she carefully shut the door behind her and locked it. She met eye contact with her daughter in a serious-like manor, and exhaled before cautiously looking behind herself. "Darling, you must leave the palace now. There are intruders—"

"No..." Chrissa spoke slowly, as she unfolded her arms and shook her head. She scrunched her thin eyebrows together and sighed dramatically, before walking over to her window. The tip of her fingers touched the cold glass. She shook her head. "No." Chrissa then looked up at her mother, "No."

The older woman nodded her head. "Yes, dear. You must leave now, my Christabelle." She spoke, there was a pang of sadness in her tone, and her eyes were begging to burn. "We must go separate ways, to confuse the invaders."

Chrissa shook her head once more, "I do not understand—"

Her mother swiftly wiped away a tear and looked to the ground. "There is a hidden passageway behind the second bookshelf in the library. Take the middle path. It'll lead you to outside of the castle where a knight will be waiting for you. You don't have any time. You must go now." Her mother said, as she opened Chrissa's closet. She quickly grabbed a velvet cloak, and a dark tote bag where she'd swiftly placed clothing for her.

Chrissa felt her eyes burn as she suddenly heard a large explosion coming from the bottom floor of the castle. She jumped, and rushed over to the other woman. "But mother!" She breathed, as suddenly water sprang from her eyes. "When will I see you again?" She asked, as she held both of her hands in sudden fear as muffled screams broke out from outside her room.

The dark haired woman shook her head, and wiped her daughters tears away. She kissed her forehead and smiled sadly, "You are princess Christabelle of Stonedust." Her mother spoke, "you are strong."

Chrissa dried her eyes, as she heard another explosion. "I am strong." She whispered to herself. She looked up at the woman, "Goodbye mother." Chrissa breathed, as she grabbed the cloak and tote bag from the older woman.

In her mind, existed a million thoughts. Panic quickly arose, and pulsated through her royal veins. When her mother had left her room, Chrissa quickly scurried over to the hidden door that was in her closet as she heard loud footsteps thumping in the hall. She shut her closet door gently, and held her breath out of fear.

Her dark eyes scanned the floor, as she saw dark shadows of two people who had entered her room. The clang of something metallic had scraped the floor, and the shattering of glass sent panic through her. She bit her lip so tightly that she drew blood. What were they doing in her room? What did they want?

Not wanting to encounter them, she quickly found the silver key underneath the rug in her closet and opened the hidden passageway behind a mop of her most expensive dresses that hid the door.

A part of her ached. Those dresses were from the most expensive and beautiful places in the land and were dear to her heart. It pained her to leave them behind.

A sudden kick to the closet door had broke her from her thoughts.

"Check the closet. She's probably hiding in here." A deep, gruff voice had announced to someone.

Acting quickly, Chrissa's fingers shook as she had fully unlocked the door to the hidden passageway and crawled into the darkness. She swiftly shut the door behind her, and locked it shut. She heard loud banging behind her, but held her emotions inside.

Her heart was clamoring against her chest, as she'd grabbed a match that was on the ground and lit one of the candles that stood on the wall. The flames were orange, and illuminated her soft face. She didn't know exactly where the library was from that point on, but the passageway led her to the kitchen on the fourth floor.

The sweet smell of bread filled her nose as she'd closed the door behind her. For a second the silence was comforting. It was pleasing to know that she'd escaped from the scary men that were after her. What did they want?

"Miss?" A voice spoke.

She then jumped slightly, and turned towards a what looked like a very short woman with curls that danced around her face. She was blonde, with rough eyes and a sad face. Her uniform had been covered in white dough, and powder that was smeared across her face.

Before Chrissa could say anything, she heard another explosion in the hallway and a scream erupted from her throat. She met eyes with the woman, and was about to tell her to run, to hide, to jump, until a sharp blade from the doorway was thrown into her eyes.

The woman yelped in pain, and collapsed to the floor as blood spilled all across her face. Tears escaped from Chrissa's eyes, and she fell to her knees. She then squeezed her eyes shut as she felt a dark shadow tower over her. "Look, please! Please don't hurt me. I'll do whatever you want. Please—"

But she heard a deep sigh, as the person dropped to one knee. "My god, Chrissa?" The person spoke. When she looked up through wet eyelashes, it revealed a blonde haired man with golden eyes and a meaningful gaze.

She shook her head in disbelief. "S-Steven?"