Jasmine woke with a start. She sat up. A cold sweat was breaking out over her. She shook her head and looked around. Everything was dark… black… her mind went back to years ago, when she was a young child…

Flash back

Jasmine was sitting on Jarred's knee, Anna weaving beside them. All of them looked happy.

'It's time for bed,' said Jarred to Jasmine.

'Bed time story first! Bed time story first!' cried Jasmine. Jarred smiled at Jasmine's eager face.

'Alright,' said Jarred. 'Once, there was a thing called The Dark. It was the Old Times.' Jasmine stiffened in excitement. She loved her father's recounts of the Old Times.

'Nobody could survive The Dark,' continued her father. 'Once they were there, nothing could save them. Once they were there, there was no way out. You had to meet your fate.'

'One day, a young girl went out to find The Dark, and to kill it because it had killed so many of her own cows and her family. She went out, fell into a pit that was The Dark, and killed The Dark forever. This is how she killed it. She chanted this rhyme:

"The Dark, The Dark,

Bad it is but in here cold will not be in my heart.

Many people don't survive this battle,

But I will live after this, for my own cattle.

I chant, I sing,

I fly on the wind.

But only will that end,

If in my life, I reach the dreaded bend.

In here I cannot take the pressure,

But I want to breathe in the outside pleasure.

Once more I will come out,

No more will I pout.

I will be happy to live,

My joy will be to give."

And The Dark was… and is… no more.' Jasmine looked at her father in awe. Never could she imagine he had heard this. She flung herself into his arms and thought about the rhyme, how emotional it was. To her surprise, fiery Jasmine found tears welling in her eyes. She blinked them away.

'Good night, my lamb,' Jarred had said, kissing her on her forehead.

'Good night, my little Jasmine,' cooed her mother.

Flash back to present

Someone groaned besides Jasmine. Jasmine instinctively drew out her dagger, but she couldn't because she could not see around her. She wasn't used to this darkness in The Dark yet. Since she couldn't see, she poked Riealle's eye.

'Owch!' Riealle cried. Riealle tried to stand up, but missed because she was unsteady and ended up kicking Jasmine in the cheek.

'Oof!' cried Jasmine, falling over, who had just managed to get up.

'Where are we?' grunted Riealle.

'The Dark,' murmured Jasmine softly.

'The Dark?' cried Riealle in alarm.

'And no, don't try to walk about or stretch your arms, you might end up poking me, or kicking me again,' said Jasmine hastily.

'This is a bad dream,' said Riealle uncertainly. She gave a small cough.

'Are you okay?' Jasmine was by her side at once. She felt her way to Riealle. She treated this older girl as her sister.

'Of course I am, Jasmine,' said Riealle.

'So,' Jasmine said, helping Riealle down then seating herself down, before feeling underneath her. They couldn't see anything so they had to do everything by hand, carefully. 'What happened to the grand Palace in Tora, and your beautiful home, Riealle of Tora?'

'It's no more,' said Riealle miserably. Jasmine patted her on the shoulder. 'I was the only one who escaped. Of course, my brother and sisters didn't survive. You know them. Quint, Maris, Petrine and Ginny (Note to readers: Some of these characters are from a Deltora roleplay site my friend owns). The gardens, Palace, house, pond, absolutely everything in Tora was burned down. By who, I do not know. But Quint has been interested in fire recently… he might have been the one… but I can't judge my own brother like this!' Riealle was panic-stricken.

'Calm down,' says Jasmine, remembering Riealle's tall, beautiful mother, her proud, loyal father and her younger siblings. 'None of your family could have done this. They are too kind.'

'You didn't know Quint,' said Riealle, turning her face towards Jasmine. Her eyes were glowing mysteriously, but Jasmine didn't see this, as it was, of course, The Dark. 'He was terrifying. Evil. What he wanted he got. I was afraid… so afraid… and now it's too late.' Riealle fainted silently onto Jasmine's lap. Jasmine was careful with her.

'Fire Beads!' she suddenly exclaimed in the dark, feeling a small glass jar in her pocket. She pulled it out and jiggled it. She listened carefully. There were very few Fire Beads left from Tom's Shop. She opened the jar, tipped it at what she thought was a fair angle and let the few precious beads fall into her palm. Luckily, she had good aim so she did not miss. She quickly placed the Fire Beads on the ground but they didn't burst up into flame, as they should have.

'No light or flame works here,' she remembered from her father's tale. She sat down slowly and thought, a thing Jasmine had never had to do very often. She tried to untangle Riealle's hair while thinking. Jasmine then shook Riealle gently, and she woke up.

'Jasmine, what is it?' whined Riealle sleepily. 'Have you figured a way out of this… dark place?'

'Well… not exactly,' said Jasmine. 'But you know how you have Healing and Magic powers?'

'Yes,' said Riealle slowly. She was a Sorceress like her mother Jayden. 'But what use is my… oh! I know what you're thinking!' She clicked her fingers, but nothing happened.

'Strange,' Jasmine said. 'A small blue fire should have come up. But nothing. I know light and flame don't work here, but I thought magical light and flame worked here. Now I know better.' They both sat down again and thought and thought for a very long while.

'The Ak-Baba must have dropped us in here… but how?' thought Riealle aloud. 'Jasmine, do you know where the entrance to The Dark is? We know we are in The Dark right now.'

'That's right,' said Jasmine. 'But my father didn't ever mention where the entrance was. He said a small girl…' Her eyes widened in excitement.

'Riealle!' she exclaimed. 'It was here in my brain, all along! The childhood tale Jarred told me! Just let me remember it…' Jasmine thought carefully, and finally repeated the verse.

'The Dark, The Dark,

Bad it is but in here cold will not be in my heart.

Many people don't survive this battle,

But I will live after this, for my own cattle.

I chant, I sing,

I fly on the wind.

But only will that end,

If in my life, I reach the dreaded bend.

In here I cannot take the pressure,

But I want to breathe in the outside pleasure.

Once more I will come out,

No more will I pout.

I will be…' She trailed off.

'Oh no,' she groaned. 'I forgot the last two lines! What could it be? I remember it's easy, but I'm having a brain blank!'

'Don't worry,' said Riealle soothingly. 'Have a rest, and I'll try and think.' Jasmine flopped herself in the darkness next to Riealle and slept, while Riealle thought and thought. There came a faraway sound.

'Jasmine!' hissed Riealle. She shook Jasmine softly. Jasmine stirred, and muttered something.

'Shh,' said Riealle. Both girls listened to an interesting conversation.

'Come on, Dok 4!' the metallic voice cried.

'Why do we have to struggle through this Dark, Pen 7?' whined Dok 4. 'We're lost, I'm sure of it!'

'Dok 4, Pen 7, stop!' commanded a much stronger voice, more powerful than Pen 7's frail one or Dok 4's whinging one.

'Yes, Jod 3,' said Pen 7 and Dok 4's meek voices.

'Now come on, I smell the humans,' said Jod 3. Riealle and Jasmine stiffened. Riealle grabbed Jasmine's arm.

'Let's sneak away,' said Jasmine decisively, getting up slowly and helping Riealle.

'Let's stay put,' said Riealle equally as firmly, pulling Jasmine back down. 'It's so dark, those Grey Guards won't see us.'

'I guess you're right,' said Jasmine. She lay back down and slept. The Grey Guards rounded the corner, surprisingly, with a lamp.

'I've got her,' chuckled Riealle to them. 'She really believes it's The Dark. Come on.' Riealle lifted Jasmine up strongly and placed her roughly into a scratchy bag and pulled the string tightly.

'Let's go,' said Riealle, lifting the bag onto her back and walking away. Jasmine awoke as Riealle lifted her onto her back. She kicked and screamed.

'Riealle! Help! Grey Guards!' Riealle lifted up the bag to her face level and sneered at Jasmine, 'Look at you now, you little maggot. You're caught.'

'Traitor!' yelled Jasmine as strongly as she could. 'Betrayer! Double crosser! Treasonist! Lief will get you!' Jasmine bit at the scratchy cloth, but only succeeded in filling her mouth with sand.

'How can Lief get me when he doesn't know I even exist?' snarled Riealle, shaking the bag. She held up a sharp dagger with a crystal set in the hilt, and showed this to Jasmine through the material.

'I'm not scared,' said Jasmine strongly and truthfully.

'Oh, this is a magic dagger,' said Riealle, twirling it between two fingers. 'It kills well, and is filled with poison. See that I don't get you!' She stabbed the dagger through the cloth, just missing Jasmine by an inch. 'So you'd better be careful.' She slid the dagger out and said, clearly surprised, 'We're here already. Come on, lamb.' She dumped Jasmine onto the cold hard floor and walked away, leaving Jasmine with the three Grey Guards. Jasmine wasn't scared, but she was clearly angry. The Grey Guards made as to pick her up, but Jasmine snarled, just like Riealle, 'If you dare to even touch me, I'll fight you,' said Jasmine. The Guards laughed and picked Jasmine up. Jasmine pulled out her extra dagger from her boot with difficulty and stabbed Dok 4, Pen 7 and Jod 3. They fell to the ground with a slight thud and Jasmine started stabbing crazily at the hole Riealle had made with her dagger. Finally, Jasmine crawled out, weak, and collapsed to the floor.

Okay I think Chapter One is better…