The Princess of the Key
Chapter 1
The Awakening
"I've been having these weird thoughts lately...like, is any of this real, or not?"
A young girl was falling though darkness, but she was not sacred; she was nervous, but not afraid. The girl's feet came to land on a platform with a picture of a woman in a red, blue and yellow dress decorating it, and holding an apple in her hand. The woman seemed familiar to the girl, though she could not figure out how that was so. A voice called out to the girl, though she could not see the speaker.
So much to do. So little time...take your time, don't be afraid...the door is still shut...now step forward, can you do it?
Somehow, the girl knew she could trust the voice, it sounded so gentle and pure, and she stepped forward just as it had asked her too. Three pedestals rose out of the ground, a spark of light emitted from each one, and as it died out a weapon appeared. There was a shield on the right, a staff on the left and a sword in the middle.
Power sleeps within you…if you give it form…It will give you strength… choose well…
The girl stepped forward again, taking time to examine the weapons before her. She walked towards the shield, and as the tips of her fingers touched it, the voice spoke again.
The power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.
The girl had to admit it was a handsomely made shield. A red border ran around the outside of its inner black colouring, and in the middle of the shield was a red mouse head shape.
She walked over to the staff and touched it, and just as before, the voice spoke again.
The power of the Mystic. Inner strength, a staff of wonder and ruin.
This weapon was beautiful. It had a long gold handle, with a green grip that ran along it, until it flared out into a brown shape, and on top of that was a blue sphere shaped like the same mouse on the shield.
She went over to the sword and touched it.
The power of the Warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.
"Guardian, Mystic, Warrior," The girl whispered to herself.
Choose wisely, the voice warned her.
The girl liked the idea being a Mystic, a master of magic and holder of inner strength. Though she also liked the idea of being a Warrior too, as they had invincible courage, yet the Guardian seemed like a good choice too as she was always willing to aid and defend her friends.
She thought for a while, and finally after looking the weapons and hearing the voice one more, she made her decision.
She chose the sword, taking a hold of the handle. Just like the other two, this weapon was wonderfully crafted. It had a blade of pure silver, and the handle pure gold, with a blue grip covering the middle of it. Set into the tip of the handle, just below the blade, was a red circle with a black mouse head shaped symbol in the middle of it, similar to the other weapons.
Are you sure you wish to choose this form and wield the power of the Warrior? the voice asked her.
"Yes," she replied.
Your path is set.
Suddenly the ground beneath the girl began to shake, the platform she was standing on shattered, making her fall through the darkness once more.
Don't be afraid… the voice called out once again, calming her.
The girl's feet came to land on another platform similar to the one before, but this time the picture on the floor was a beautiful princess wearing a blue ball gown. She too seemed familiar to her, but how did she know this woman? Suddenly, a bright light emitted from her hand, and as it died down, her sword appeared.
You've gained the power to fight…
The girl turned to see shadows moving around on the floor.
There will be times you have to fight, keep your light burning strong…
The shadows came up from the ground, no longer flat, and took on the appearance of insect-like creatures, they were completely black, with sharp claws and big, bright yellow eyes. The girl shook with fear; she had never seen anything so frightening in her life. However, as quickly as the shadows had appeared, they disappeared once more. She glanced around, trying to figure out where they had gone.
Behind you! the voice called.
The girl turned to face one of the monsters standing right behind her, and she swung her sword at it, three hits and the thing was down, but there were more. She fought off each of them as they appeared, until it had seemed that she had defeated them all.
Suddenly darkness began to spread from the middle of the platform to around the girl, and she began to sink into it as it reached her feet. She struggled, but to no avail, as she sank further and further into the darkness, until she could see nothing at all. She continued to kick and throw her arms and feet around helplessly, until the darkness cleared and she found herself laying on the cold floor of yet another platform.
This time it was mostly pink, with heart-shaped designs all over it in blue, yellow and white, and the silhouettes of three more woman. As the girl sat up, she saw a door ahead of her. She got to her feet and walked towards it, and tried to open it, but it would not open. The girl turned round and saw what seemed to be a red treasure chest appeared. She walked over to the treasure chest and examined it, as she did her sword appeared in her hand. She guessed she had to use the weapon to open the chest and tapped the lid with the sword. The chest opened, and inside with a small bottle of green liquid.
This is a Potion, the voice told the girl. It can be useful when you are low on energy or injured, but use it wisely.
The girl nodded and put the potion in her pocket.
With nothing else on the platform but herself and the door, the girl tried to open the door again, and this time it worked. As her fingertips made contact with the door, it began to open by itself. A light so bright erupted from it, which blinded the girl so she had to shield her eyes with her hand. She stepped through. As the light cleared, she found herself on the deck of an island, her island.
Hold on, the door won't open just yet, the gentle voice told her.
A little girl with short brown hair and green eyes wearing a pretty yellow dress, brown sandals and a dark blue bangle, sat on the railings before her. The girl knew her, but somehow she could not remember her name at the moment.
First, tell me about the real you, the voice continued.
The girl walked towards the other girl.
"What's most important to you? The yellow dress-wearing girl asked the other girl. "Being number one, friendship, or your most prized possession?"
"Umm…" the other girl trailed off.
Her most prized possession was a silver droplet shaped necklace that hung around her neck, no, there were more important things in life than that. She thought about the wooden swordfights she had with her two best friends on the island, she had always wanted to beat them and be number one. She suddenly became frustrated with herself, why could she not remember those boy's names. They wereher best friends after all. That was when she made her decision.
"Friendship," She answered the girl.
The brown haired girl smiled and nodded, and pointed towards a young blonde boy with light blue eyes. He was wearing a white and yellow short-sleeved jacket with no shirt underneath, a baggy pair of blue shorts, which had one leg going post his knee, while the other stopped just at his knee. On his feet, the boy wore pair of blue and yellow sandals. The girl walked towards him.
"What are you afraid of?" He asked her. "Being different, getting old, or being indecisive?"
"Umm…" she trailed off once again.
"Think, think, think," She whispered to herself.
Being different had never been a fear of hers, because she believed in individuality. Being indecisive made things complicated, and she really hated it, but she was not afraid of it. Getting old, however, was a definite fear of the girl's. She was afraid of the time when her days would grow shorter, and death would grow nearer, she never wanted to die, the mere idea of it filled her with terror. The boy merely smiled and gestured towards another boy. The girl looked at the small boy who had questioned her fears, he too she recognized, but could not remember his name either. Letting her frustration subside, the girl walked towards the other boy, he was a little taller than she was, with brown eyes, tanned skin and orange coloured hair held back with a blue headband. He wore a white tank top and baggy yellow pants, and dark green sandals, and held a blue ball in his hand.
"What do you want outta life?" he asked the girl. "To see rare sights, to broaden your horizons or to be strong?"
She had always wished she were stronger, like - why could she not remember his name? However, being strong was not her biggest desire in life. She knew she wanted to see rare sights during her lifetime, the island was getting a little boring, but it still was not the thing she wanted most. She made up her mind again, and spoke once more.
"To broaden my horizons," she answered.
All she really wanted in life was to do everything she wanted to do, to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them, and overall, become the best person she could possibly be. She heard the gentle voice speak once again.
You value friendship…you want to broaden your horizons...you're afraid of getting old…"
The girl waiting with bated breath.
Your journey begins at midday, keep a steady pace and you'll do fine…
The girl nodded, even though she did not fully understand what the words meant.
The day you will open the door is both far off and very near…
The world around the girl disappeared into blinding light once more, and when the light faded, she found herself walking along another platform. The picture on the floor was of another beautiful princess, this time with long blonde hair and a pink ball gown. Her eyes, like all the other woman so far, were closed, and she held a rose to her chest. Again, she seemed familiar, but of course, the girl could not figure out why.
The girls suddenly heard something moving around behind her, and she turned around to find another monster, it quickly began to grow in numbers until there was a whole circle of them surrounding her. She pulled out her sword and fought them off one by one, and soon they were all gone. A pool of light appeared on the ground before the girl. She walked towards it, and it began to move away from her toward the edge of the platform where it disappeared and a rainbow-coloured stained-glass staircase appeared leading up to the next platform. The girl climbed the staircase, and the platform she found herself standing on had yet another picture of a princess, this time she wore a yellow ball gown and had brown hair. The girl heard the voice speak as she walked towards the centre of the platform.
The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes…
Sheturned around to see her long shadow behind her, suddenly it began to rise up out of the ground, and it grew bigger and bigger, until she was facing a huge black monster. The monster bore yellow eyes just like the smaller ones, and its face was all twisted and had tentacle-like things coming out of it. It also had claws on the end of its hands and weird zigzag feet. In the place where its stomach should have been, was nothing but a massive, hollow, heart-shaped hole. It was by far the most frightening thing the girl had ever seen in her life.
The girl blinked her eyes viciously, it was only a dream, she thought, she could wake up from it, surely. It was not working. She blinked harder and faster, but still she could not wake up. She began to panic, sweat rolled down her neck, her breathing got faster, she was terrified.
But don't be afraid, and don't forget… the voice tried to calm the girl.
The monstrous creature started toward her, and she turned and ran, but she didn't get far, she stopped abruptly before the platforms edge, flailing her arms and wobbling on one leg, trying to regain her balance. She turned to face the creature once more.
"Be brave," the girl told herself. "Be brave, and fight!"
The girl ran away as dark balls of light rained all around her, and whenever the monster lowered its hand to the ground, she hacked at it as much as she could with her sword. She kept at it until she had worn out just about every muscle in her body, but still somehow, it was not doing anything. After a while of fighting the monster and the smaller monsters, it produced every time it lowered its hand to the ground and fighting the monster. The monster suddenly lashed out at the girl with its claws. The girl jumped backwards, avoiding the blow, but as she did so, her sword disappeared. The girl panicked, her weapon, her only means of protection and fighting, was gone!
She fell to the floor and darkness formed around her once again, she began to sink into it as it closed in on her, but she was too exhausted to fight it. The girl's last view before she was plunged into darkness was that of the terrifying monster leaning over her, the one she had tried so desperately to defeat.
But don't be afraid…and don't forget…you hold the mightiest weapon of all…
It was the voice again, in the endless dark abyss, it calmed her, and her fear drifted away. The voice was so gentle, so pure, and although she had no idea who the owner of that voice was, the girl trusted them.
So don't forget…
The girl could feel consciousness slipping away.
You are the one who will open the door…
Author's Notes: So, what do you think of the first chapter, dear reader? Please review!
Thank you. ^_^