Ami was pacing her room, deep in thought. This was probably going to be the stupidest thing she had ever done. She glanced over at the rope she constructed out of sheets that was leading out her window. What was she doing? The whole Kingdom would be talking if she ran away. Where would she go once she was successful? What would she do? Perhaps she was making the wrong decision. But was staying here right?

She walked over to her window and began to pull the rope back up. She needed to think this through some more before she did anything rash. Evening was almost upon the desert, soon everyone would be asleep. Tonight was the perfect night if she was to do it. . .Still. She was not that stupid. Suddenly, as she was pulling up the poorly made rope, smoke filled her room.

The Princess coughed, letting go of the rope, letting it loosely hang from her window as she tried to discover the source of the smoke. Was her room on fire??! The smoke began to clear, and what, rather who, stood there just brought her more confusion.

"Who. . ." Ami tried to say without coughing. No success. "Who are you?" She finally managed to say. She knew she had locked the door to her room a few minutes ago so that no foolish servant would stumble upon her plan before she could get away. These people didn't look much like people she had seen in the palace either. . .they were an odd duo.

The first she noticed was a man, who towered almost to the roof of her room. He was dressed heavily in dark robes, an odd thing to wear on such a hot day. Perhaps he was hiding something? She could not see what was inside the robes, but she assumed it was a man by his garb.

The next, by appearance, she would've also thought to be a boy, but the long hair proved her wrong. What a girl was doing dirty and dressed up like a boy she was very curious to know. The girl looked like a regular vagabond. How could she go out on the street looking like that??

The man pulled out a long sheet of parchment and ran a long finger down it, 'til it stopped at a specific thing on the list. The man looked up from the paper and looked at the Princess. "Princess Ahami?" he asked in a rough voice.

Ami nodded, not bothering to correct him on her name. She hated the name Ahami and normally made everyone call her 'Ami'. Of course, everyone but her Father listened to her. He simply insisted that she must be called her birthname, to her dislike. Still, she held a special bond to the name Ami. It had been the name of her nanny when she was young. She had died from an illness, and Ahami had always loved the name.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if I may ask, what are you doing in my bedroom? I thought I locked it. . ." Ami finally said, regaining her senses. Really! You'd think someone would at least knock! She did not want these two odd-looking people in her bedroom for starters, but the fact that they hadn't even the common courtesy just made her mad.

"I've come to take you with us," the man stated.

"Take me where?" Ami asked, now starting to feel a bit scared. Who were these people? And how did they manage to get past the palace guards and into her room? Why had they tried to set her room on fire? This was just odd and it was making her very nervous. Were they going to kidnap her?!

She looked over at the girl, wondering if she too was in the same position as the Princess. The girl also looked to not quite understand what was going on. The girl looked at her and shrugged. Maybe there wasn't any danger, and this fear was all in her head. The man hadn't really given her any reason not to trust him. . .besides the fact that he had broken into her room.

"You're due to attend the teachings of the Society of Educators of the Highest Esteemed Majiic, or in other words, the professors at The Academy of the Dark Moon see it fit for you to join the school," he said quite plainly.

Ami stared at the man, not quite sure what to say. What was he talking about? Society of what? Magic? Huh?

The man sighed. Really, it was like talking to children. Even if they were only fourteen. "You're to be a sorceress. The High Educator demands it. Which is why I am not leaving until you've agreed to come along with us," the man said.

The girl who had come with the man turned to him. "So that's what this is all about? We're to learn magic? And be sorcerors? Are there other people like us? Do they know magic? Is that what you did back there on the street? Magic? Do you know how to do anything else?" The girl's words spiraled into hundreds of questions that could not really be deciphered from each other because of the speed which she was talking.

"Enough of your questions, girl," the man said sternly to the young girl. He turned his attention back to Ami. "Now, Princess, are you to come with us, or are you to make my job harder?" The man looked the kind that you had better do what they say, or else there'd be trouble.

Ami thought for a moment. Should she just take off with this man, whom she had never met before? He sounded truthful enough. . .Still she did not like the looks of him. He seemed the kind you'd meet in a dark street, doing shady deals. He was a man of few words, and maybe even dark secrets. . .But. Would she rather waste her life here in the Palace? There was really nothing to loose. "I. . .I supposed it'll be alright," she said, agreeing to join their sorry-looking group.

The man waved a dark object, and the room disappeared from their eyes. Their adventure to the school was to begin.

There were many stops made throughout that night. So many, Ami couldn't count. Most were, surprisingly, not as suspicious as Ami had been about the man. In fact, most seemed as if they had been expecting an invitation to the school.

What lay ahead for these children was unknown to the Princess. What strange things she could expect, she did not know either. All she knew was she was at a new chapter in her life, one filled with wonder and mystery. . .but could also be filled with dark, serious things. What would she find at the Academy? Only time would tell.