Prologue

They ran as fast as they could, their lives at stake. The cloaked figures were in fast pursuit.

"Mavis! This way!"

The female, Mavis, swerved toward the male figure.

"In here!"

Mavis was pulled by her accompaniment into a small, dark room. The room smelled moldy, and it was humid. It was a stark contrast to the grand castle they were just in. The room seemed small, but in truth, it was not a room, but a long passageway.

"Eugene! Where are we going?," Mavis questions, obvious panic in her voice.

"I apologize milady, but that is information that I cannot disclose at this time."

"Where's Emilia?"

"Milady, do not fret, she is safe from harm. We'll be meeting with her shortly, but you must remain quiet, lest we be found by our pursuers."

The pair walked on for what seemed like hours, before they stopped for a rest.

"How long have we been walking? Where are we even going?"

"Don't worry milady, all will be explained in due time," Eugene answered.

The two continued their long trek, and not soon after they had begun again, had a cloaked figure appear from the darkness.

"Eugene, they found us!," Mavis cried.

The cloaked figure stepped forward, then pulled down their hood, revealing themselves to be a young woman, with green hair, adorned with roses. Her long, pointed ears revealed her to be a manakete.

"Eugine! Mavey!" The figure gave the pair long hugs.

"Emelia! You're alive!" Mavis wholeheartedly returned the hug, tears blurring her eyes. "I'm so glad you're safe! What's happening in the castle, and where is my family?"

"I'm afraid I can't say. I was with the royal family during the attack, but we got separated. I found sanctuary in this passage, until Eugene alerted me that he was with you."

"Emilia, is the escape route ready?" Eugene inquired.

"Yes, but we must hurry." Emilia answered.

As the group hurried along the passage, shadowy figures appeared around them. Before long, the trio was surrounded.

"Milady, steel yourself, enemies have us surrounded. We have to fight our way through." Eugene said.

"But Umbra is still in her stables!"

"Mavis, you don't need your wyvern to be strong. Remember your training. You can do this," Eugene replied.

The attackers began to creep closer to the trio. A larger, more muscular figure stepped through the lines of enemies. The large figure stepped towards Emelia, who quickly transformed into her dragon form. The large enemy simply swung his massive sword once before Emelia flew backwards, her dragon form dissipating into mist, her human form falling to the ground.

"Emilia!" Mavis cried.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, just winded. But he shattered my dragonstone, I can't fight," Emilia rasped, clearly breathless.

The large enemy smiled menacingly, then looked at Eugene. Eugene pulled out his sword, and in his other hand he held his dagger. He threw his dagger at the large menace, then lunged at him with his sword. The larger man effortlessly caught the dagger, throwing it to the ground. When he looked up, Eugene was about to strike. Eugene's blow was blocked, before his opponent countered. Eugene dodged, but just barely. The large man attacked again, with surprising speed, for being heavily armored. This time, Eugene couldn't move in time. He flew backwards, heavily wounded. The armored foe swiftly moved on to Mavis. But as his sword was about to strike her, a brilliant flash lit up the dark passageway.