Chapter 10: A Heated Conflict

Just a few moments later, at the break of dawn, Ian and his volunteers had finally arrived at the Southern Mountains. Some of the assistants had ridden on horseback, while others simply walked. They carried heavy torches and swords in hand. And the Duke's guards carried heavily armed crossbows.

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Atop the mountain, Ian led his group through the rocky hills and terrain until they reached the crystal palace. Everyone could not help but stare in awe at the brilliant structure. Soon, they halted to a stop as they awaited the orders. "We're here to find Princess Malina," Ian announced. "Be on guard, but no harm is to come to the queen. Do you understand?" "Aye, sir," the guards answered.

As he leaped off of his horse, Ian withdrew his sword and surveyed the perimeter. Suddenly, a mass of giant rock arose from the ground. It was Rocky! The gigantic monster refused to move away from the entrance, but Ian and his men persisted. Reacting quickly, the men fired arrows at the brutish monster, but to no effect. Rocky delivered a piercing roar as his body sprouted sharp spikes. Suddenly, two of the guards spotted a figure closing the doors of the palace. It was Alex! "The queen!" the men shouted.

While the men were fighting Rocky, the two guards made their way to the palace entrance. "Come on now, men!" the guards shouted as they ran up the staircase. "After her!"

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Inside the palace, Alex sensed the guards coming and anxiously ran up the stairs in a panic. As the two guards entered the palace, they looked all around to find Alex. "Up there!" one guard shouted as he spotted Alex racing to the balcony. "Let's get her!" They raced up the staircase in pursuit of Alex.

As soon as Alex reached the balcony, she was at a dead end. Suddenly, the guards reached the balcony at the same time that she did. "Halt!" the guard shouted at her. "No! Please!" Alex pleaded.

But it was no use. As the guard shot an arrow at her, Alex quickly reacted by shielding herself and throwing flames to burn the arrow. She was trying not to hurt them. But the two guards were already preparing their crossbows. "Stay away!" Alex cried, sending flames to throw the enemies off balance. The two men quickly dodged the flames as they evaded her fiery attacks.

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Back outside the palace entrance, Ian and his men were fiercely trying to protect themselves from Rocky's attacks. As the gigantic brute kept pounding ferociously at the guards, Ian managed to slash his sword right through Rocky's leg, which caused boiling hot lava to ooze out of it. Staggering backwards, Rocky fell from the staircase and down into the gorge. Ian was precariously dangling from the staircase. One of the guards helped him up, and together, Ian and his men raced into the palace.

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Meanwhile, while still battling the guards, Alex tried to maintain her stance and not hurt them. However, as one of the guards aimed his crossbow at her, Alex sent flames to the crystalline grounds, causing sharp spikes to rise up and trap the guard. The spikes barely approached his jaw, making it difficult to breathe.

The second guard rose his crossbow, but Alex was quick to deflect his attack. Throwing fire at him, the crossbow was hurled from the guard's arms. She summoned even more flames to evade the attack. Then, she summoned a heavy red crystal wall and pushed the guard to the balcony. The guard tried to push the wall away from him, but Alex's power was too strong. Minutes later, the crystal doors shattered as the wall continued to push the guard forward. He was now inches away from falling to his death!

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Soon, Ian and his men had finally entered the palace. As they hurried up the staircase, they came across the horrifying scene that unfolded before them. They found the guard trapped in crystal spikes. And that was when Ian found Alex attempting to push the guard from the balcony!

"Queen Alexandria!" Ian cried out. "Don't do this! Don't be the monster they fear you are!"

As soon as Alex heard Ian's plea, she suddenly stopped. She realized that she had gone too far with her magic, and this was making her even more feared than ever. She wanted to keep herself safe from others, but she still worried that her magic would hurt them. Her emotions were quickly growing out of control.

Without Alex noticing, the guard slowly raised his crossbow and aimed it toward Alex. Realizing what was about to happen, Ian quickly ran and pushed the crossbow out of the way…just as it was being fired! The arrow missed its target and hit the crystalline chandelier instead.

Alex gasped as she saw the chandelier coming straight toward her. Running away, Alex collapsed as the chandelier fell and broke into shards of glass. Then, Alex fell, unconscious.

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Moments later, Alex opened her eyes. She found herself in a tiny stone room with only one window of light above her head. She rose from the bench in which she laid, and struggled to move forward. But she couldn't move her hands. She found her wrists locked in chains. She looked out from the window, and found that she was back in San Theodoros. She was locked in the castle dungeons.

"Oh no," Alex said as she caught a glimpse outside the window. She saw the leaves on the distant palm trees growing brittle from the heat and the oceans slowly drying up. "What have I done?"

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Ian carried a torch as he entered Alex's jail cell. Alex turned to face Ian. "Why'd you bring me back here?" she asked. "I couldn't bring myself to let those men kill you," Ian said. "But I'm a danger to San Theodoros," Alex said. "Please, get Malina."

"Malina has not returned," Ian said. "If you'd just stop the summer and bring back winter…please." "Don't you know? I just can't," Alex said. "You need to tell them to let me go." "I'll see what I can do," Ian said. Then, he got up and exited the cell.

After he left, Alex suddenly found the chains glowing red with fire. Her emotions and her powers were quickly spiraling out of control!