When Terralyn got back to her room, she was pleased to see that Mars had indeed kept his promise and given her a balcony. Smirking slightly, she eased herself over to the door and stepped out onto the balcony, taking a deep breath of fresh air. She took in the landscape with wide eyes- bare fields led up to a stone wall that stretched around the castle, and beyond that, a forest as far as the eye could see. The land around the castle was utterly quiet and peaceful; no one would guess that a war was going on just outside the stone walls.

Unfortunately for Terralyn, there were no conveniently placed trees for her to climb down this time. On the plus side, the balcony was not very high above the ground. Instantly Terralyn knew what she had to do, what she would do, that night. It was a rather simple plan, really, and taken out of novels she had read. Those novels where the heroin gets kidnapped- and she uses bed sheets tied together to escape. This was exactly what Terralyn was going to do, and then she was going to make a run for the walls, and hope that maybe, just maybe, she could find a way out.

It was a rather bad plan, actually, but a plan nevertheless. But, of course, there is a flaw to every plan.

"Miss Terralyn!" a mocking voice said. "Just what exactly are you planning?"

"Hmm?" Terralyn glanced blankly at Mercury, who had mysteriously appeared beside her.

"You, my dear, are planning on running away," Mercury pointed out. "I have no intention of letting that happen."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Terralyn said. "You can talk to me once you've finally reached earth, okay?"

"I'll have you know that we are not technically even on earth," Mercury said. "Technically we are living in the sky above earth."

"What?!"

"This land," he cast his hand out, flourishing it. "Is floating on clouds, invisible to the human eye." He sneered. "But much is invisible to humans because they do not wish to see it anyway."

Terralyn glared at him angrily. "I'm human, you idi-"

"Do not insult me, Terralyn," Mercury cut her off. "I will take no responsibility for my actions if you do." As quick as he came, he disappeared. Terralyn let out a sigh of frustration, realizing her plan wouldn't work. She would have to find another way out of the castle, one hidden from the eyes of clever Mercury…

She decided to use her time usefully, by exploring the castle. After changing into a suitable, if plain, dress, she set off and soon found herself completely lost in the castle. Each hallway looked the same as the last, everything was painted white. Quite a strange color for a castle made by the god of war. Shrugging, Terralyn continued her exploration, but realized she was getting hungry.

I'm lost and hungry, Terralyn sighed. What more could go wrong?

She cringed as soon as she thought that, remembering all the fictional characters that had said those exact words and ended up being caught in a rain storm right after. She rolled her eyes and continued walking; hoping desperately that someone would find her. But she had been walking for several hours and had not seen one person, or creature, in the whole castle.

Luck was on her side that day. The rich smell of cooked meat wafted through the air, and clattering noises could be heard in the distance. She followed the smell and the noises eagerly, finally reaching the kitchens.

She paused at the door, peering in, watching as several human servants rushed around the kitchens, preparing dinner. There wasn't very many of them, and they were all very busy. When the chef saw Terralyn standing in the doorway, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the counter, handing her a knife and several vegetables.

"Cut," he ordered, turning back to the stove. Terralyn smiled grimly and did as she was told, wondering at how a mere change of clothes could affect how someone treated her. If she had been wearing the dress from earlier she would never have been asked to help in the kitchen. But the cook had seen her plain clothes, and had assumed she was a servant.

Well, at least it'll make the time go by, she thought, sneaking a bite of food here and there when the cook wasn't looking. After dinner had been served to the gods, the servants sat down at the table to eat there own dinner. Terralyn sat with them and listened to their small talk as she ate her dinner.

"…but everyone volunteered, and now there aren't enough servants left to…" the chef was saying to his assistant.

"Aye, they be still a-fightin'. Master is still a-lookin' fer volunteers-" this comment was made by a man with orange hair and a kind smile.

"…just don't know what to do. He wants Jerome to fight. He's too young- barely a teenager. I can't let him go fight!" a woman exclaimed to her friend. The woman looked very young, about twenty years old. Perhaps the Jerome she was talking about was her brother.

Terralyn listened to this conversation intently.

"Jerome has always loved riding horses, and he wanted to visit the country palace and work at the stables there this summer. But Mars will not let him leave, and he said-" her voice broke. "He said he wanted Jerome to fight for him. I can't let him go fight! He's just a boy!"

Soon all the servants cleared out, and Terralyn was stuck with dish duty. Muttering to herself, she started to do the dishes, scrubbing each one until they were clean, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.

After asking for directions to the main guest room (she received an odd look for that one) she wandered back to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Terralyn was rudely startled awake by a maid the next morning. The maid looked frightened as she threw together a suitable outfit for Terralyn. Without a word of explanation, the maid dressed Terralyn and left, shutting the door softly behind her. Moments later, another maid arrived at the door.

"I'm to take you to his most royal highness," she muttered, not looking Terralyn in the eye. It seemed every single servant was terrified today. Terralyn followed the maid, who ushered her into a study near the end of the hallway.

Immediately Terralyn knew why everyone was so nervous. Mars looked as if he was ready to blow up, so furious was he. His dark eyes sparkled dangerously, and his hands played with his knife quickly and agitatedly. Terralyn stood stiffly at the doorway, inwardly cringing. Mars already made her nervous, and now he was just plain scaring her.

He smiled coolly at her. "It seems your lover has decided to disappear on us," Mars said. "Not one of my messengers can find him."

"Oh." Terralyn breathed. Maybe Neptune is coming to rescue me. She thought.

"No matter," Mars said. "It changes nothing. You are still confined here. But, as of now, you are to work for Mercury."

Terralyn tried to keep her face neutral, but a look of dismay must have appeared on her face. Mars stood up quickly and threw his knife straight at her.

It just missed her face by an inch. Terralyn froze, her eyes widening in shock. Mars glared at her, and then flicked his hand agitatedly. The knife soared back past her ear and right into Mars' hand.

"Do I make myself clear?" he asked menacingly. Terralyn nodded and fled the room, her heart pounding wildly. She ran down the hall, past a few startled maids, and stomped into her room, slamming the door behind her. She rushed to her balcony door, but someone, perhaps a maid following Mars' orders, had locked it. After trying to wench the door open, Terralyn rested her forehead against the glass, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Please, please, please, come and save me," she begged the air. In her mind she could clearly see Neptune's handsome face, blonde hair and ocean blue eyes…

Then she pulled herself together. She was never the kind of woman to rely on a man. She knew she would escape soon, and probably never see Neptune ever again. She made her way over to the dresser, and opened the drawer. She grabbed the small gold locket she had placed in there in a fit of anger earlier. She attached the locket around her neck, and faced the mirror.

"You can do this," she told the image in the mirror. "You are strong. You can do this."

Just then a knock came at the door. Terralyn tucked the necklace under her clothes quickly.

"Oh Terralyn," a mocking voice called. Terralyn groaned and trotted to the door, opening it to face her new master.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Authors note:sorry about the short chapter… I've started another story and I've been working on it like crazy. Already I have 12 pages typed in 3 days from scratch, plus a bunch of random scenes I've written out in my notebook. I was inspired by something Stephenie Meyer did- she started her story half way, then went back and wrote the beginning later. 'Perfect!' I thought. 'I'll just do that!' Also this story is written in first person, which is much much easier then third person….

Anyways enough about me! Let's talk about all my fabulous reviewers!

Thanks to: porkypick, Ihaconch, sweet thoughts, Viva Andromeda, No-Way-Princess, animals are my LIFE, and x-baby.doll-x and my fiction press reviewers, CountryGirl12 and WonderGurlEneth.

Love your reviews! And don't worry I wont abandon this story! I know exactly whats going to happen… well not the ending….