So, uh…hi. This is my first story here and I'm really excited and nervous and all that. But I hope you read it and enjoy—as well as excuse any errors in the dialogue. I tried to stick close to the game for now, but I'm going to drift off simply because I don't have the patience to start a new game and play through it to get the dialogue right. That and, though the princess will remain unnamed, she will have a personality. The whole robot thing may work in the game, but in a story? Yeah. She's gotta have meat on her bones, right? Anyway, I'm going to start straying, but the order of events will be the same. And there might be romance, but the pairing is kinda undecided. So here we go! Hope you like! :)
The guards that had walked ahead of them threw open the doors to the throne-room, through which she could see her brother, sitting back in his seat casually. The guard behind her roughly jerked her forward, and the guard holding Elliot pushed him to the ground. With strength she'd previously felt leave her body at her brother's stony stare, she broke the guard's hold and ran to Elliot, bending down to him. He shrugged off her hands, "I'm alright. I'm alright," he said, pushing himself up. She managed to grab his hand.
"Whatever happens here, we'll get through it together," she whispered to him. His eyes, which resembled the color of sweet chocolate, looked at hers with intensity and he nodded. Together, they walked in pace with the guards behind him, their hands tangled together lovingly. But then her brother summoned her forward, a cold, hard anger in his voice. She knew better than to disobey. She gazed back at Elliot, who looked anxious, and slipped her hand out of his unwillingly, striding forward.
She stayed still and stoic as her brother first scolded, then propositioned her. She felt the blood drain from her face, and possibly her whole body, as she realized what he was saying. To choose. She looked over to the three ringleaders of the protest. One woman was crying on the shoulder of a man, who looked fearful, but determined of his cause. The other man stood a foot away, shaking, begging her to save them. She tore her gaze from them, feeling sick, and looked to Elliot, her beloved fiancé, who had never done anything wrong—not once in his life. Again, she felt the sting of bile rising in her throat.
"Still can't decide?" her brother's tone was nearly mocking. She looked to him, feeling the burn of hatred in her bosom. "Let me help you. I'll give you to the count of five." He began to count backward, and her heart fluttered. Her body tingled with fear and anxiety.
"You have to pick me," Elliot was saying. "There's no other choice. Pick me."
She knew he was right—that those people were innocent. But she couldn't force the words, or move a single muscle to indicate him. Nor could she condemn those poor protestors to death. She stood, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Her clammy limbs felt heavy, weighted down, rooting her to the spot. Logan began to count from five, and she was still unable to make any indication. She looked stiffly from the people, begging for their lives, and Elliot, begging for the others' lives also.
And suddenly, the world seemed to stop spinning.
"Fine. They all die," Logan said finally, and with a hand motion, he waved the guards away. The woman wailed, and Elliot's voice could be heard, begging Logan to allow the others life.
"Come, dear sister," Logan said, almost condescendingly, leading her toward the courtyard. "Since I've realized you are no longer a mere child, you must watch the execution as true royalty is supposed to." And he gripped her wrist so hard she heard something crack. She exhaled heavily, her arm shooting with pain. Her tears overflowed, not stopping.
"I'll never forgive you for this…" she whispered to her brother. The beginnings of hate she'd previously felt grew to pure loathing as she watched the doors swing closed behind those innocents and her fiancé.
"Good. Then you will never forget it." He led her from the room.
They emerged out to the courtyard where the protestors were surrounded by guards on one side. On the other, a group of whispering nobles began to form. Her brother pushed her forward toward the ledge, before stepping behind her, in order to keep her from running. His body was cold, as if he were dead, and as far as she was concerned, he was.
Elliot and the unnamed prisoners were escorted by guards through a large set of doors, down the middle of the two groups gathered in the field. They were lined up along the wall, save Elliot, who waited for his turn alone. He looked up at them with hate, and she felt herself crumble. Her tears continued.
Walter set his hand on her shoulder, and she hadn't realized he had been there until that moment. As she looked At Elliot's unfocused, yet hateful gaze, she knew she couldn't watch. She knew he hated her for not being able to decide. For allowing him to die.
She closed her eyes as the shots rang out. She closed her eyes as the sound of mere corpses thudding to the ground echoed through the small yard. She closed her eyes as she heard Elliot say something, and she closed her eyes as once again shots were fired.
She was escorted to her chambers by two pushy guards. The doors closed and locked behind them, an angry, bitter silence filling the room. She was bent over the arm of her chair, crying and cursing with rage and grief, when Jasper walked in.
He'd heard from Walter of the proceedings. He'd nearly raised the girl after the death of her mother, and immediately he knew she'd be in pain—in agony. She'd told him about the depth of the love she'd felt for Elliot, and now he was unfairly taken from her—by her kin, no less.
Immediately, he tried to console her. But she refused, brushing him off. When he insisted she lie down, and went to touch her, she roughly shoved him away, returning to her position. Hurt by this, though not surprised, he continued. "You mustn't blame yourself, madam—none of us had any idea just how far he'd fallen into madness."
"He will pay for what he's done." Her whisper was quiet, and Jasper disregarded it, but the princess knew that her statement was to be taken seriously. She would devote herself from here on to seeking penance for this day. Her brother would rue this decision, and she would see to it. She swore this to herself, deep in her hardening heart.
"I have to do something," she said louder. "I can't just…stay here." If she did she would feel disgusted with herself, living with the man who killed people—not only just people, but innocent people, along with someone she loved—with ease. She couldn't live with herself if she lived with him. Her time here was over.
"You're not," Walter burst through the doors. She felt her emotions calm and her thoughts begin to settle as he began to launch into a speech, explaining that the kingdom was in need of nothing less than a revolution. She couldn't agree more. If people continued to die just because they could think for themselves then soon enough there wouldn't even be a kingdom.
She was lost in herself as they took to their journey deep in the catacombs beneath the castle—in fact, the only word she seemed to pick up was from Jasper, something about pajamas. As they began to approach her parents' tombs, Jasper remarked that he'd never thought he'd return to this place.
"You should have known better," was Walter's reply.
When they'd reached the tombs, Walter told her how he'd promised her mother, on the night of her death, that he would take her down here. With that, he pressed a secret stone just to the right of a rather large statue. There were a few clicks, the grinding of metal and stone, and soon the statue began to shake. She watched in wonder as the woman's folded hands descended to the ground by hidden chains.
"This was your mother's most prized possession," Walter said. What a wonderful place to keep it, she thought, with a slight giggle. At the very moment, she forgot what had transpired in the castle above her, too busy staring at the glowing disc in the hands of the statue. "Go on," Walter continued, "take it."
She stepped forward slowly, glancing between Walter's encouraging stare and Jasper's soothing look, which contained slight skepticism. She reached out and took the rather large object—a guild seal, Walter called it—with both hands, finding that it was extremely light—as if she were holding a cloud. She admired the swirls of gold on the disc of blue.
"Is something supposed to happen?" she asked after a moment of expectance. She looked up to Walter, who seemed unsure, but gasped and looked back down as the object in question began to glow a bright gold. Her eyes widened just in time for her to be sucked into it.
She had a brief sense of vertigo, and her stomach began to churn at the unexpected sensation. When she felt solid ground beneath her feet she opened her eyes, which had fallen closed at one point, and stared around herself. It took a moment to adjust to her surroundings, because it was different here…wherever here happened to be. Everything around her had a white aura, creating a glowing, unsaturated fog. She glanced around, noticing the huge, ornate gate before her. And in front of it stood a woman with a large hood that concealed her features. Her stance was calm, and her breathing was even. When the princess's eyes fell upon her, she felt her own worries begin to be soothed.
The princess listened to the woman as she explained, with a slow, lulling voice that belied great wisdom and infinite knowledge that this was the Road to Rule—the path that, as her mother's daughter, she was born to take. And at the end was her kingdom—the one she was born to rule. She felt her heart drop at that—ruling a kingdom seemed so foreign and scary—she didn't want to think about the responsibility it entailed. The woman explained that she would need followers to help her along the way, and that the more she gathered, the farther she would get. So far, she only had Jasper, Walter, and her pup.
Soon, the woman—Theresa—seemed to disappear, and the gate clicked as it unlocked itself. The princess glanced between the ghostly forms of Jasper and Walter, before walking toward the gate. It was oddly warm and light, as if made of the air one could find on a calm summer day. She pushed it open.
Beside her was suddenly she, herself. She appeared on a pedestal, tall and proud. And somehow, even though seeming to pop out of nowhere, the princess was not scared, or even slightly startled. She seemed to almost have been expecting it.
She felt a tremor of trepidation travel up her spine, but she quelled it and walked forward. Before her was a large chest, looking like any other, but for the odd symbol adorning the front. A red, glowing lightning bolt.
The princess gathered, from the circular indentation upon the chest and the number just below that, that she needed the guild seal in order to open it. Wondering what lay within, she quickened her pace and dropped to her knees before the chest. Pulling out the guild seal, she pressed it to the indentation.
As it had in the catacombs, the seal began to glow. With an eerie light emanating from it, the chest clicked, signaling that it was now open. Slowly, the princess dug her fingers under the lid and heaved it upward. As everything here seemed to be, the metal was warm and seemingly made of air. The chest itself, however, was hard and heavy.
Just inside she could see something brown and dusty lying in the otherwise empty chest. Something strange, though, seemed to emanate from it—as if the odd, leather object had an aura of its own. She looked around for Theresa, hoping for instruction, and grabbed the object upon finding nothing.
She recognized it as a finger-less gauntlet, and knew instinctively that she was to put it on. It fit easily, as if being tailored specifically for her. She felt slight panic as it began to squeeze her wrist and forearm, shifting and hugging her structure perfectly. A small surge of light came from it and soon, she felt energy course through her in one quick wave. She looked up at Theresa's voice, before looking down. Theresa explained that the gauntlet would channel natural magical energy within her into spells that she could control. The princess could only mutter a small, squeaky, "Wow," in response. Soon enough, though, there was a swooshing sound, as if a flock of birds happened to fly overhead. She looked up and spotted a swirling white portal, in the shape of a large guild seal, which she knew would take her back to the tomb. She walked up to it slowly, before stepping through the mist.
Again, she felt as if she were falling, flipping forward and backward in a void without air. Though, it wasn't as terrifying, as she had been expecting it—or something similar, at least—this time. Before she knew it, solid ground was beneath her feet. And though she nearly fell, she caught her equilibrium just in time and held upright. Her head spun, her stomach churned and heaved, and her surroundings were but a blur, but she felt safer as Walter's voice came from her right.
Though, before she could register his words, a soothing calm washed over her again as Theresa spoke, her astute voice distant in the princess's ear. "Perform a spell. Now." As if she was expecting the order, she tensed the muscles in her arms and concentrated on forcing the 'energy' inside of her toward the gauntlets. She imagined the effect, raging balls of fire flying from her palms, and soon her technique worked. A wave of fiery energy traveled through her veins and to her fingertips, where flames began to form and spill into each other. She watched the colors change as the air around her heated, the fire growing. She moved her arms around, marveling at the controlled flame and lack of pain on her part. And suddenly, with an immense blast to the ground, the princess released the energy in a ring of fire that spread around her, shaking the inner walls of the tomb and making them echo with the blast. A gust of air made her hair fly in her face, the warmth stinging her cheeks, but she felt adrenaline seep through her veins, a rush coming to her as she saw just what she was capable of. And she had the pleasant feeling that it wouldn't stop there.
"It worked! It actually worked! You really are a hero!" Walter's voice was drowned by the grating sound of stone on stone and the ground began to rumble. She felt surprise shake out any of the remaining happy warmth, but it rushed back as Jasper commented that he hadn't doubted it for a moment, and she felt wonder as another secret revealed itself—the ground between the two graves was opening, revealing a wide staircase that led to a small tunnel. When the stone halted, Walter and Jasper looked to each other, then to the still amazed princess, who was busy flexing her hand and watching the flicker of the torches on the now crisp, nearly-new leather—she didn't even notice their smiles, their pride.
But soon she realized that there wasn't time for this—they were escaping the castle, which would surely put Walter and Jasper—and most likely herself—to death, if caught. They needed to leave, and that underground tunnel she doubted anyone but the three of them knew of was an attractive option at the moment. The princess walked forward, blinking down into the tunnel. It seemed dry and rather safe, so she continued on, Jasper and Walter following.
She smiled as Walter commented on how small and confined the space was, uneasiness apparent in his voice. The continued to walk together, Jasper replying that Walter always had disliked small areas. Walter's witty retort made her laugh as he grunted, "Never did like getting my head lopped off either. What of it?"
"It seems I've struck a nerve," Jasper sniffed, and though he was extremely composed and regal, the princess could detect the slight hint of playfulness in his tone. She was unsure if Walter had, though. Soon, however, these thoughts fled her mind as a small, excited smile spread across her face. Her fingers flexed as she planted her feet and pointed her arms toward an unlit torch, Jasper and Walter stopping to watch her. She let the energy travel from her body to a flame spreading around her hand, seeping up her forearm as she charged it. But, cautious of singing her clothing, she finally let the spell fly in a fiery burst toward the torch, lighting it with ease.
"Yes!" she cheered, spinning to meet Jasper and Walter's grins. Walter gave her a thumbs up, while Jasper retained his nobility and gave her the slightest of bows. She bowed back and winked at Walter, before she snapped herself to attention yet again and they began to walk.
Finally, the tunnel widened and she could see a vast expanse of nothing, simply a huge, dark tunnel littered with looming stalactites and dripping loudly from some unseen water source. The air was stale and ominous, too quiet for her liking. She felt herself reach for the hilt of her sword, only to find that she lacked one. Her left pinky twitched, a small, nervous habit she'd acquired from somewhere. She licked her lips.
Walter's warm voice from beside her soothed her sudden wariness as he ranted about the plentiful supply of oxygen and large space, perfect for a castle escape route. He held out his arms, and the three briefly peered into the darkness, seeing large shadows of the twisting, gnarled walls of the cave, before turning to their right and following a small path. But before they could get far, the princess's dog was barking, though she was unsure why.
Uneasily, she followed him into a small, dark area where there were no torches, but Walter and Jasper's presence behind her made her able to plow through with a confident stance. She was unwilling to show her fear—fear of the uncertainty that lay ahead. While life in the castle had always been predictable, scheduled, and boring, this sudden, drastic change was unsettling to the young princess. She was only seventeen, after all.
The dog stopped on a small, tiled area, sniffing at a particular spot. For a moment, she was about to simply turn and call for the obviously confused pup, but then a small glint caught her eye, and she stepped forward to examine the source. She crouched, and the dog licked her free hand as the other reached for the small object—bringing it closer for inspection, the princess realized that it was a key. She looked around, but Jasper and Walter were farther off, bickering about something or another. In the end, she decided it served no purpose where it was and pocketed it.
"I'm ready," she said, rolling her eyes as she had to step between the two occupied men. Everything they said was in jest, she knew, but they got distracted too easily. And she knew that was a hypocritical thing to think of them, but it was true nonetheless. She tried to focus her mind. "C'mon," she urged, "we have to keep going."
"Right," Walter replied, and Jasper only nodded, folding his hands and falling into step just a yard behind her. They continued forward still, falling into silence until there was a fluttering and a horrifying screeching noise, accompanied by dozens of others. "Bats!" Walter and Jasper both said, the latter much more bothered by this happening.
The princess continued to walk, figuring the creatures would pass them by, but one swooped down, and she just had time to duck before its small, clawed feet reached her face. She turned and saw them swarming around her companions. Again, she went to where her pistol would be strapped, to find the weapon absent as well. So she tensed and straightened her back, focusing her energy toward her hands.
Soon she was aiming for the mob of creatures, shooting small balls of fire toward them. She incinerated a large number before it became tricky. There were merely six left, and they were small, not to mention nimble. They weaved through the air, avoiding every fireball she sent their way. Frustrated, she walked to the center of the group and clenched her hands into fists, focusing her energy until her whole body hummed, glowing, full to the brim with energy. Walter marveled as a ring of fire the size of a rather large cottage shot out from their small princess, turning the remaining bats to ashes, save one, who scurried off, allowing Jasper to take his arms from his eyes, which he'd had closed in fright.
The two gave them praises before Walter broke into teasing Jasper on his 'graceful cowering'. Again, the princess only spared them an eye roll, leading their small procession onward. Twice more did bats come to attack them—Walter began to shoot at them, Jasper shielded himself, and the princess used her magic. In fact, by the time they reached their 'destination', she felt quite tired, but excited for the prospects of what was to come. So far, using magic had been the most exhilarating thing she'd ever done, and she quite wanted o get more acquainted with this newfound ability of hers.
However, as they reached the end, she felt her hopes drop. There was no way out, for there was simply a guild seal printed on the floor of a small cliff overlooking a chasm. Nothing more. Where were they to go now?
In fact, Jasper commented on how they seemed to reach a dead end, but Walter walked toward the seal and explained the magical transportation system available to heroes, gesturing for the princess to stand on the seal. She obliged, and charged a spell. With a flash of light, the three were gone.