~Sam's POV~

(Dream)

All at once, I found myself back on the cruise ship I rode in some odd years ago. I heard children laughing and playing, but I just starred out the edge into the black sea water.

How could I not have predicted this? I asked myself. I could have done something!

Could you? a stray voice asked, Or is this just wishful thinking?

What's the difference, dammit! They're gone now. All of them.

Not all of them.

He's as good as dead to me now! I yelled loudly into the empty air.

I never mentioned him.

You implied it, though. Again, what's the difference? Why do I care?

How could you not? I starred out into the sea once more.

A storm is coming, a friendly voice called to me. I turned around to face my hero from long ago.

…As good as dead to me now… I said, watching the ship sink before my very eyes.

(End of dream)

I thanked God when I woke up in a flower bed, and not in an ocean. However, I still need to know where I was. I stood up, brushed the dirt off of my cloak, and walked a little, trying to know my surroundings. Cobble stone walkways, a beautiful fountain in the middle, and a maze made from hedges. I went the opposite way from the maze, and went instead to a place filled with apple trees and a small little creek.

All the sudden, it hit me like lightning.

Where is Kellie?

Then, a scream in the distance.

I ran, full speed ahead, towards the scream, and when

I found the source of it, I hid in a bush to investigate. It was just two little girls playing in the apple trees. One little girl had dark brown curly hair that reached to her knees, green eyes, and a green cut-off dress and a tiara that gave her a royal out-look. Her friend had short black hair with purple eyes and a simple dress that reached just below her knee caps. I attempted to leave, but my departure from the bush cause a great deal of commotion.

"Who is there?" the green eyed girl demanded. I emerged from my hiding place.

"Me." I said softly.

"What do you want?"

"I just need some help is all. You see, I don't belong here."

"How did you get here, then?"

"I woke up on the flower bed."

"The flower bed?"

"Yes. And it's a very long story, but I just need help. My older sister should be here somewhere, and I have to find her." She hesitated a moment and looked at her friend, then she looked back at me.

"You're not one of us, are you?" she asked, pulling her hair behind her ears. It was the strangest thing I ever saw. Her ears were pointed at the tips.

"No, I'm not." I said, pulling my own hair back to show off my rounded ears.

"You're in the Elfish City. If the guards saw a human roaming around these turfs, they would have killed them on the spot. Man, woman or child."

"The could you do me the kindness as to escort me out? I have to find my sister, and I can't do that if I dead, can I?"

She reached out for my arm and gently grabbed my wrist, and ran her thumb over a tattoo on my hand that I don't remember getting (Kellie's gonna get so pissed!)

All the sudden, though, the tattoo started to glow purple. Purple light came from my hand, and pulled the elf girl away from me. To my absolute shock, the purple eyed elf walked behind me and put a dagger to my throat.

"Stop it!" the green eyed elf yelled, "Stop! She didn't hurt me. She can't control it." The purple eyed elf looked down at my hand and whispered gravely,

"The Triforce!" She dropped the dagger and backed away a good few feet.

"Please don't panic." the green eyed elf said to me, "I'll help you find your sister, just don't kill anyone." Without meaning to, I broke down and cried. I thought, Too late. I already killed Mark, didn't I?

The ground underneath me cracked, but the earth itself didn't move and rocks flew at the two elf girls. A rock cut the green eyed elf's arm slightly, and the next thing I knew, I heard something cut through the wind, heading straight towards me. Two arrows pinned my shirt to the tree, and two other arrows pinned my skirt to the tree. I couldn't move, and I suddenly felt drowsy.

"Who dares to enter my kingdom and attack my sister?" the archer demanded. He had spiky brown hair that went to his neck, piercing emerald green eyes, and pale skin. He wore green armor, with silver plates on the shoulders and chest. On the back, there was a black shield strapped to him, and a place to put his bow and arrows. There were engravements on his armor, ones that I could not understand. He removed the glove from his right hand and I saw something familiar, that frightened me.

The same triangle mark that I had on my hand, only his had a big oak tree in the middle. The mark had a green outline.

"I'm so sorry." I mumbled, lowering my head down so my blood-stained hair could cover my face. I thought I heard another arrow shoot at me, but then I looked up and saw the archer in front of me, the leaves dancing between us. Only, there was no wind. I thought he was going to kill me at first, then his eyes lowered down slightly and widened. Perv! Was my very first thought, but then I realized what he was really looking at.

The cloak.

"Who are you?" he whispered. You ever get that feeling where you just want to lay down and die then prolong a situation? Yeah, this was one of those moments.

"S-Sam." I muttered quickly.

"Samantha Underworld? Are you Samantha Underworld?"

What kind of last name is that? I thought.

"I-… I don't know. My parents and brothers died when I was little, and I was adopted. I don't know who I am, really." His hair blew into his face, and he removed the arrows that kept me still. He looks up with determined, longing eyes and a small smile plays on his lips.

"My apologies, miss," he said, standing up, "I'm Brazen, prince of the elves." He claimed with a little bow. It played in my memory a little, but it was a bit hazy. I ignored it.

"What the hell?" the purple eyed elf girl slipped. She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth. He turned sharply, glaring at her.

"Silence, you meaningless peasant!" he snapped. She winced, then hid behind the green eyed elf girl. Brazen turned back to me, rolling his eyes. Then he seemed to turn gentle and sweet again.

"Please follow me, miss Samantha." I follow him, remembering what I yelled at Kellie,

'Don't use my full name on me, young lady!'

He took me to this amazingly large palace that seemed to touch the Heavens in the sky. It was all emerald, and if you got close enough, you could see your own reflect. Thankfully, the moat wasn't infested with anything that could kill me (not from what I could see, anyway.) The windows had marble white ledges, and there were some balconies that went all over the castle (none too close to each other.) What amazed me the most were the tallest towers. I told myself it had to go on forever, but even the most magnificent things come to and end eventually.

He lead me to the front of the gate where I saw the most humongous guards at the gate, wielding large axes and swords. They crossed the axes in front of us before we went inside.

"Lord Brazen, who are you taking into your 'father's' castle?" Brazen rolled his eyes and sighed irritatingly, then grabs both of the axes and flips the guards.

How can he do all that if he's a shrimp compared to these guys? I asked myself.

"You dare talk to royalty like that? Worthless shit. I should have you hung." He spat on one of the guards, and they quietly muttered an apology.

That was the first point of this entire time since I came here that I really felt afraid.

He firmly grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him into the castle.

It seemed as if it took us hours to walk up the marble staircases, passing libraries, ballrooms, kitchens, 'till we got to one of the high towers, where we had to climb up a spiral staircase. He took me to a double-door room, and he turned the golden door knob with his gloved hand, revealing a beautiful circular room, with a balcony and a four-poster bed. There was a marble bath tub to the side of the room with a long mirror around it and a dressing partition next to it. On the bed was a long purple dress with gold embroidery and cut-off so it exposed the shoulders.

"You're not making me wear that, are you?" I asked.

"You can't stay in blood-stained clothes without rising suspicion." I held back my sorrow, then replied,

"But isn't there like a more… simple dress? I don't mean to be picky, it's just… it's just weird to me, is all."

"Either the dress, or just go naked." Grabbing the dress I walked towards the dressing partition, muttering

"Yeah, you'd probably like that, wouldn't ya?"

"Why would I want to look at a little girl that has nothing to show anyway?"

"Touché." I said as he left the room.

"Make sure you bathe, to. I don't want you smelling like blood when you come down stairs in the morning."

"B-but I mean, I'm gonna get lost! I don't know my way around."

"Simply call my name when you need an escort. Loud or not, I'll still hear you."

"Alright, then." I muttered. I heard him silently walking away, like a predator. I undressed and threw my bloody clothes into the corner, and bathed. Then I reluctantly put on the dress, looking more like a renaissance princess than I ever had before (ugh!) Just as an experiment, I decided to try calling him, to see what would happen.

"Brazen?" I mumbled, only half believing he would show up. Next thing I knew, he opened the door and came into the room.

"You called me?" he asked.

"I did, actually." A large, boyish smile crossed his face as he said

"I just knew that dress would look beautiful on you." I blushed like crazy, believe me. I tilted my head a little so my hair could cover up my red face a little and looked at the corner of the room, avoiding eye contact.

"Why, thank you." I muttered.

"The pleasure is all mine." My face turned even more red than before. I decided I was being a coward, and I looked up. He was muscular, yet slender, and had a perfect posture. Hesitantly, he reached his hand to my face. His hand glowed by the moonlight as he touched my warm skin, sending chills down my spine.

"You must be tired, my little dove. You can sleep here tonight." He smiled sweetly, and I thanked him kindly. He left the dimly lit room, but right before he left, he told me he would explain everything to me in the morning. Where I was, the strange marking on my hand, and any other questions I had. Then he left.

I blew the candle that lit the room, letting the moonlight take over.

I couldn't shake from my mind the princely character. It was almost as if I had met him before, in a distant life maybe.

I dreamt of Mark that night. But in the dream, I knew I killed him. And I almost enjoyed it.

(A/N) In the morning, we bravely finished this third chapter! In one weekend, all of this was possible! Although, I still have no reviews -_- Hope you enjoy the 3rd chapter, and please leave your reviews for me to read. Samantha Daniels (co-writer) thanks you for reading this, also, just fyi. IF YOU LIKE THIS STORY, CHECK OUT HER NOVEL ON AMAZON. COM CALLED "My Father's Killer"