Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Two days later, two royals had submitted. Elara submitted first, willingly and happily. Her daughters refused to follow in her footsteps. Kale submitted next, a little reluctantly.

That day, Lena had gone to the moon pool to get blessings from the goddess and per tradition, Hala had to accompany her. Kathy was sprawled on the bed with Miah and her cousins.

"Mother and uncle Kale submitted already, what happens next? The worst thing to happen is for you or aunt Hala to submit. We would soon run out of royals," Nila told Kathy as they sat on the bed. The mind bond and their elements still didn't work as Lena kept on releasing bits and bits of molten moon vine into the air.

"I have an idea but Triton would not hear of it," Miah said in a low voice. It was the first time she was saying something since the girls came into Kathy's room.

Lena and her party were at the moon pool with Hala who was accompanied by Aerial for protection.

"What is it?" Zena asked.

"I was asked to join the maids in cleaning the stables when I came across a back door leading to the back of the castle. Remember Luna told us that the back of the castle has a door only visible to royals. That door leads to the four borders. So, I was thinking, what if we get some scouts out through the door and they would go get help? I volunteered to go as powers don't work on me but Triton would not hear of it," Miah explained with everyone's attention on her. No wonder Kathy could not read Miah's emotions.

"That way we can get help from the wolves," Nila added.

Kathy nodded, a plan already forming in her head. She had not been able to get what Cynthia told her off her mind.

"What border do we share with the royal wolf pack?" Kathy asked, laying out her plan in her head.

"The southern border," Zena replied.

"Are any of you on stable duty tomorrow?" Kathy asked as that was the most important key to her plans.

"Nila is," Miah told her.

"What are you planning?" Zena asked in a suspicious tone and the rest of the girls turned to look at Kathy.

"Nothing any of you should bother yourselves with. All I need is for you to switch duties with me tomorrow." The last part was said directly to Nila who nodded in agreement.

"I know you have something planned and that we won't be able to talk you out of it but please be careful," Zena said to her and she smiled.

"I will. All we have to do is wait until tomorrow and try not to act too suspicious," Kathy told them and they nodded. Then a knock was heard on the door.

Miah opened the door and Calypso came in. Kathy rolled her eyes, of course, it was him. He strode in like he owned the place.

"Fiery Princess, come with me," he said and all the girls turned to Kathy. She shook her head as if telling them not to bother asking.

She followed him out of the room without a word. No like she had another choice. She still kept her distance, not wanting to be too close to him ever since his behavior the other day.

"What do you want?" She asked, breaking the ice.

"My Queen wants you," he told her and they fell into an uncomfortable silence till they got to the Queen's room.

They entered the room after a quick knock. Lena however, wasn't alone. She was with someone Hala who sat beside Lena, looking like she would rather be anywhere but there.

"Hello, sweetheart," Lena said and Kathy fisted her hands. That endearment was what April used to call her.

"Hello, mother," Kathy said to Hala, ignoring Lena and that made Lena frown in annoyance. Hala smiled and greeted Kathy warmly.

"Enough! Since you've decided to be unhelpful, I've decided that you won't join my side. I won't have someone likely to betray me on my side," Lena said and Kathy smirked in satisfaction.

"But…" Lena dragged, smiling like she knew something they didn't and at that moment, she did know something they didn't.

Kathy exchanged looks with Hala who shrugged in confusion.

"We need someone of your bloodline that possesses your power or something even better."

Calypso grinned at Lena's words, then Kathy knew that someone was up.

"What do you mean, Lena?" Hala asked, standing up.

Kathy had a bad feeling about whatever Lena had in mind.

"On the day of my Coronation, you are to be soul bound to Calypso. You would give him children immediately and your children would be raised by me," Lena announced with an excited smile on her face.

"What?" Hala asked.

Kathy couldn't speak, she just stared at Lena in terror. She could not imagine that Lena could be any more evil.

"Imagine the result of an intimacy between a powerful shadow magician and a fire elemental," Lena spoke, clapping her hands in enthusiasm.

"That would never happen as long as I live," Hala said into Lena's face.

"Well, that can be arranged." Lena smiled then turned to Calypso. "Lock my twin in the dungeons until coronation day where she would relinquish her throne to me."

"No!" Kathy yelled.

Lena scoffed. "There is nothing you can do about it, sweetheart."

Calypso pulled Hala away from Lena and started to drag her away. Hala struggled in his hands.

"Let her go!" Kathy yelled again. She was beginning to feel anger consume her.

"Face it, sweetheart, in eight days, you would marry Calypso and have children for him."

Kathy could feel the anger coming up to her skin surface, this time it felt like molten lava. She stared at Calypso's hands on her mother and all she wanted was for his hands to burn.

Calypso's hands were on fire before she could drop the thought. His yells filled the room as he tried to put it out. Hala dropped to the ground and stared at Kathy, in shock.

Kathy kept her eyes on Calypso, commanding the flames to keep burning while he yelled in pain. It wasn't until Lena rushed to Calypso and used her powers to blow out the flames that Kathy woke up from the haze she was in.

Kathy then fell to the floor in exhaustion.

"Are you okay, Princess?" Hala asked, rushing to her.

Kathy nodded with much difficulty. How was she able to do that with the moon vine in the air?

"I don't know how you were able to do that but I assure you that if you attempt to pull that off again, your family would suffer for it," Lena warned in an all too serious voice.

Hala and Kathy then left the room and went to theirs. At least one good thing came out from the stunt Kathy pulled, Hala was not locked up. The two women rested, in silence, both had so much to say but none wanting to talk about what had happened earlier.

It was time for Kathy to start on her plan. She kissed Hala goodbye and went to the stables, monitoring the number of guards available on her way. She would rather die escaping than marry Calypso.

The other maids were already cleaning when she got to the stables. Taking a horse would draw attention to her, so, she decided to go without one. She walked carefully to the back door of the stables while avoiding the horses and the maids. She could see the door in front of her and hastened her steps.

A hand on hers stopped her in her tracks. It was a maid, a very young one too.

"Where are you going, Princess?" The girl asked.

Kathy pulled her to the door.

"I want to go get help," Kathy whispered.

"They will kill you. The shadow guards are everywhere," the girl told her.

"I know but I need to find a way to help our people."

The girl shot her a kind smile which she could barely see in the dark.

"If you go out now, you will get caught. I will distract the guards at the back," the girl said and Kathy shook her head. The last thing she wanted was for someone else to be caught in her problems.

"It is dangerous, just let me handle it. All I want from you is a promise that you won't tell anyone," Kathy told her.

"I promise but let me do this, please. I want to help you help our people," the girl pleaded and Kathy nodded reluctantly.

Kathy hid behind one horse and prayed that whatever the girl wanted to do would work. When four guards walked past her in a hurry, she knew that the girl had done it.

She quickly slipped out of the stables and walked to the back of the castle. There were no guards there as no one but the royal family knew that a secret door was there. The problem now was finding the door.

She touched multiple lumps on the wall, hoping that one would reveal the door. But as none did, she was frustrated until she remembered Miah's words that only royals could see the door. That meant that the door was already there, she just had to look for it. She closed her eyes and opened them, this time picturing a door in her head. She saw a door as soon as she opened her eyes, opened it, and went through.

All she had to do was look for the road that leads to the southern border. She tried to think back to when Hala showed her the map of Lunae. From where she stood, the southern border should be behind her. She took that path and walked cautiously.

Would the wolves agree to help her?

She wouldn't know until she got there. She continued walking for what seemed like hours. Her legs were getting tired. She could not see a border, she didn't even know what the border looked like.

Was it a wall or was it a forest?

She sat on a boulder and tried to catch her breath. She was thirsty and hungry but didn't bring anything on her journey. Regardless of how she felt, she continued walking. For another hour, she could see nothing on the road. Until she sighted three shadow guards standing in front of what looked like a pile of rocks.

That must be the border, she thought.

There was no way she would pass them without being spotted and taken back to the castle. Fighting was the only chance she had. She could try to harness what little power she could muster.

With a deep breath, she called out her flames. Luckily for her, they appeared, dancing on her palms. It took a lot of strength to keep them on her palm. She could only hope that they could stay out long enough for her to fight her way through the border.

She decided to work with surprise as her only advantage. Setting a bush on fire, she stood away from it, hoping that it distracted the guards long enough for her to run through.

When the guards perceived the burning bush, one guard came running to see what it was and she set him on fire. His screams caught the attention of the other two guards but luckily, she was left with two guards. She sent a ball of fire to the larger guard who didn't see it coming. It hit him on his stomach and sent him to the ground. The second guard looked around but couldn't see her as she was carefully hidden behind a bush. She shot another ball to the second guard who dodged the hit but he had seen where it was coming from.

He helped the larger guard up and they both ran toward where she hid while dodging the fireballs she threw at them. She shot two balls and one guard who dodged one of the balls but couldn't dodge the second one which hit him on his chest, burning through his skin instantly and he fell to the floor. The remaining guard came running to her.

She stood up from where she was hiding and shot repeatedly at him. He threw a spear at her which she barely dodged. She got frustrated as she could not hit him with her flames. He got closer to her and sent a blow to her head which she blocked with both her hands. The impact caused her flames to quench immediately. He raised his hand which was covered with a black mist.

Kathy panicked, she didn't think it through.

His hand came down fast and every battle strategy left her head. She shut her eyes and awaited the certain death. There was no way she could survive a blow with that mist.

An animalistic growl rang throughout the forest and in one swift movement, the man was thrown away from her. She opened her eyes and saw a huge wolf on top of the guard, tearing into him. The wolf looked too big to be a normal wolf, it was probably a werewolf.

The sight was too gruesome for her and she threw up immediately. She could still hear crunching sounds as the wolf ripped into the man.

The wolf turned and stalked to her, leaving the mauled man behind. She crawled back, fearing that the wolf would eat her next. Fear oozed out of her like perfume and all she could do was shake in fear. The wolf sniffed the air and growled making her tremble the more. She was losing consciousness. All she wanted to do was pass out and wake up in her mother's arms.

The last thing she saw before she passed out was a pair of concerned stormy grey eyes.