Shot Three: Kidnapped

Hawk started down the steps for the girl and the Prince. She kissed him. Raphael was going to get married and she kissed him. There was something strange going on. Everyone in the room could feel it. The Prince was leaning on the girl with his head rested on her shoulder. Hawk got close enough to see that Raphael was unconscious. He motioned for his men to close in.

The girl undid the big bow of her sash and pulled out a dagger. She turned the Prince over and placed the blade to his throat. Hawk held his hand up to stop the palace guards, the only ones guarding the castle.

"Get out of my way, or your Prince loses his head." She said calmly. Hawk looked at the people and they moved out of the girl's way.

"What do you want?" Hawk asked. His entire body was tense and alert. Any sudden movement and the Prince, his best friend, could die.

"From you? Nothing. I need this boy." She said. "Tell your men to drop their weapons." She pressed the blade lightly against Raphael's throat and a small cut appeared. The dagger was very sharp. Hawk nodded and his men tossed their weapon at the girl's feet. She smiled and walked towards Hawk.

Hawk held his breath. She stood just a foot away. He reached forward quickly, hoping to grab the Prince but she was too fast for him. She pulled Raphael back and chuckled lightly at him. She threw the Prince over her shoulder as easily as one would throw a pillow.

"Who are you?" Hawk asked.

"Just a girl." She replied simply. "Don't worry though, I'll return him to you after I'm done."

"Alive?"

"Sure." She turned around and headed out. Hawk made another attempt to grab the Prince but all he got was a dagger to his neck. She moved fast. "Tell the King that I'm just borrowing his son, will you?" Hawk nodded as she swiftly walked out. The King was with his father, the general. He'd have to tell them when they get back. Hawk ordered to have her followed, but his men said that they lost her. She just disappeared.

Raphael woke up and found that he was somewhere in the woods. All he remembered was that he kissed the prettiest girl he had ever seen and he blanked out. He was sitting somewhere he recognized as the forest of Teligath. He used landmarks as reference points. The mountain of the Old Maiden was just a little to his left.

Raphael made note of the fire pit in front of him. So he was in a camp. Someone else's camp. A midnight black horse with blue eyes was grazing behind him. He didn't recognize the horse. It was saddled. Raphael didn't know why he was here and how he got here, but this could be his chance to get home. He moved towards the horse but it reared up and nearly stomped on his toes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Prince." Said a melodic voice from behind him. Raphael turned around to see the girl he had danced with. She was the last person he saw before he blanked out. "Leviathan won't let you near her if she doesn't trust you." She continued.

"Who are you?" Raphael asked. "Why am I here?"

"I suppose since you'll be with me for a while I ought to tell you my name." she sat down on the dirt. She was still in her ball gown. "I'm Rexandria."

"Rex what?" now he was really confused.

"You can call me Rex or Rexy, which ever you prefer." She was now digging in a sack and pulled out some clothing. It was a plain blue dress.

"Did you bring me here?"

"Yep." She said as she got up and undid the bow of her sash. "I'm in need of your assistance."

"What if I refuse?" Raphael said confidently. A dagger clanked to the floor.

"I don't think you have much of a choice." She said as she bent down and picked it up. Rexandria tossed it into the sack and proceeded in taking off her boots.

"What—" Raphael's face flushed. "What are you doing?!" Rexandria let her ball gown slide off and looked at him. She was wearing a corset and a pair of underpants. Now she was trying to take off the corset.

"I'm changing. Do you know how hard it is to walk around in that thing?" she indicated the ball gown with a nod. "A little help please?"

"Help you take it off?!" Raphael was ready to faint from just watching her.

"Yeah, the knot's really tight. I told Yukari not to make it so tight." Rexandria stood there and waited. Raphael took a step towards her and stopped.

This is wrong. I'm engaged! He told himself. He looked back at Rexandria who was still watching him. He closed his eyes and undid the knot. When he brushed against the bare skin of her back, he jumped about 10 feet away from her. She was wearing a black strip of cloth that covered her front, which was a relief. She just rolled her eyes at him and slipped on the plain dress.

"You're really flinchy." She observed.

"That's because I've never—It's because it's wrong to—I'm a Prince damn it! Not a servant!" his face was still red. He couldn't make up his mind on what to say. "And I'm not flinchy." He added.

"Oh I think you are." She leaned forward towards him and he froze. Her lips brushed against his and he went off like a rocket. His head hit the tree behind him. "See? Told ya." She laughed.

"What the heck did you bring me out here for?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"You study maps, don't you? I need your knowledge of all the dangerous areas of this land." She laid on her back with her head resting on the sack.

"So why didn't you kidnap Hawk, the general's son? He knows the territory and he's been out to explore it!"

"Because I wanted you." She smiled at him. Her pupils were dilated. Raphael's face started to color again. She laughed. "Tell me Prince, why would I kidnap a soldier who knows how to defend himself when I can kidnap a weak, helpless Prince?" So that's the real reason.

"I'm not weak and helpless!"

"Yes you are. If I had kidnapped Hawk, he probably would have gotten away already."

"Why not kidnap a mapmaker? They know the area!"

"A mapmaker contributes to society. Unlike you. Just think of this as a service to your country."

"I'm the Prince! I contribute to society!"

"By what? Sitting on a throne all day?" Raphael opened his mouth to retort but she cut him off, "And if you're going to say that you rule the land then you're wrong. Your father, the King rules the land." Raphael shut his mouth in defeat and glared at her. "Aw don't be like that." She said, looking heart broken. "I worked hard to get you. And you're heavier then you look."

Everything clicked into place then.

"The trolls." He said. She batted her eyes at him in question. "You organized the trolls to attack the village side! To—"

"—To get the soldiers and guards away from the castle. Yes." Rexandria nodded. "Clever of you to figure it out. Palace guards are usually the new recruits that don't have much training. They're hardly of any use when it comes to protecting."

There was a long silence. Rexandria was watching the fire and Raphael was watching the fire's reflection in her eyes.

"Wait…" Raphael just thought of another question. "When you kissed me, why did I get sleeping?"

"There was sleeping powder on my lips. That's why I didn't eat or talk to anyone. I needed the full dose to knock you out."

"Why didn't you fall asleep? The sleeping powder must have gotten in your mouth when we…umm…"

"Made out? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it did. Actually, I predicted that it would. So I took the antidote before I smeared the powder onto my mouth." She smiled at him and he looked away. "Get some rest, Prince. We've a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She rolled over so that her back was to him. "And don't even think about running away. I'll find you and you'll be punished."

Raphael laid down on the other side of the fire. It was about half an hour later. He didn't know whether she was asleep but he still wanted to know something.

"What did you need me for? Why do you need to know where all the ogre territories, dragon caverns, and all of those are?" he asked, not knowing if she'll respond or not.

"I'm looking for someone. I need to find him, fast. It would take me forever if I have to go through all those ogre camps." She said. So she was awake. Probably waiting for him to make an escape so she would have an excuse to hurt him. He sighed and tried to sleep.

All he did was blink once and when he opened his eyes, it was dawn. He shot up from the floor and looked around, hoping that it was all a dream. He was still in the damn forest. He narrowed his eyes in frustration and noticed that Rexandria was no where to be seen. His heart was beating fast as he ran off towards the mountain of the Old Maiden. If he got there, his castle should be easy to reach.