A/N – Phew! Finally! I had a little trouble with this chapter but I'm relatively happy! ^^ Enjoy!
"Tasmine Lopez!" February huffed as soon as Taz walked into her chambers. Taz raised her eyes to the ceiling and muttered something under her breath before she glanced at her friend again. "You don't like, run off on me when I'm trying to fix your fashion crisis! And you didn't really even explain about Buggy!"
"Bug is fine; he got arrested over a misunderstanding." Taz replied tiredly, not commenting about the fashion statement. "I got him released and gave him jour letter. I'll get his reply de next time I go to de village."
"Oh!" February said brightly, and sat next to Taz, beginning to fiddle with her curls, causing her to twitch and give her a glare. "That's good. So, you realise you're late, don't you? When your handmaiden came up here to find you I had to say you like…went for a walk in the maze!" she giggled slightly, and Taz grimaced.
"I got held u- wait. Why did she come up here?" Taz demanded, and February shrugged slightly.
"She said your parents wanted to see you, or something!"
Taz muttered something under her breath and stood up, turning to February and holding her arms out, an annoyed expression on her face.
"How do I look?" she asked wryly, not really caring, but knowing she had to look presentable for her parents.
"You'd look much better with a smiiiiiiiile!" February said in a sing-song voice, and Taz simply gave her a disgusted look, making it clear that it was never going to happen. February simply sighed and gestured for her to leave, shaking her head. Taz did so, feeling like she'd got off lightly. She headed down the main staircase, intending to go to the throne room, but ran into someone. She stumbled back with a curse, and a hand grabbed her wrist, making it so she didn't fall.
"Whoops, sorry, man." A voice said apologetically, followed by a pause. "Wait a sec, aren't you- you're…Aw man!"
Taz blew her curls out of her face and then glanced at the speaker, feeling annoyance rise up in her. It was one of the knights, Krayonder, who tended to grate her the wrong way.
"Krayonder." Taz said sharply, pulling her wrist out of his grip. He winced slightly, as if expecting her to strike him, and she rolled her eyes, striding past him instead. He watched her, confused, but then immediately ran after her, probably wondering why she didn't hit him or stamp on his feet with her high heels, like she usually did. "Stop following me."
"But I'm like…supposed to protect you, man." Krayonder said, unsure.
"I can protect myself." Taz replied, rolling her eyes slightly. "Go bother Specs, or something."
Specs was the advisor of the king and queen, and Taz had recently found out that Krayonder had a huge crush on her, much to his horror. Ever since then, he made sure to try and find ways of making her keep it a secret, which led to him following her around. It was obvious to everyone else in the castle however, except Krayonder and Specs themselves.
"Specs is busy, man. And I'm like a knight – I'm supposed to make sure you don't get hurt!"
Taz raised her eyebrows as she continued to walk down the hallways. He was supposed to make sure she didn't get hurt. Right.
"I'm going to see my parents, Krayonder. I don't need to be babysat." Taz sighed, feeling her irritation rise. One more word out of him, and she was on the brink of pulling off one of her hunting boots and throwing it at his head.
Krayonder opened his mouth to retort, but paused when Up walked around the corner, lost in thought. Taz froze, and Krayonder bumped into her, causing her to stumble forward with a quick yelp. Up quickly reached out to steady her, and they stared at each other, their eyes locked on each other. Taz swore internally and pulled herself away from his grip, clenching her fists and walking into the throne room. Up watched her go, his eyebrows furrowed. He had a theory – a completely insane theory, mind you – that concerned the princess and the girl with nature's eyes.
"Uh- Commander?" Krayonder asked awkwardly. "What are you looking at, man?"
"Nothing." Up said gruffly. "C'mon. Back t'work."
He turned and began to walk away, though really, his thoughts were still on the huntress in the woods.
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Little did anyone in the kingdom know, the head of the knights, a man clouded in mystery was planning an uprising against the kingdom, planning to raise an army and overthrow the King and Queen.
His plan was to summon up the great ancient evils of the world and use them to weed out the unworthy along with the royal family. It had taken him a long time to collect and understand the enchantments needed to do such an act – but he had finally done it.
Smirking slightly, the villain closed his eyes and began the ritual.
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Taz sighed as she sat on her seat, resting her elbow on the arm rest with her head against her hand. Her parents had called her down so she could observe them taking care of their daily business, much to her annoyance. She had no real interest in running the country. She rolled her eyes slightly and looked away from her parents, who were talking to Specs, who as per usual, was holding several tomes and other items Taz didn't understand the meaning of in her arms.
Taz glanced around, her eyes locking onto Mega. She was standing, still as a statue, her eyes fixed directly ahead. It always unnerved Taz how still she stood – especially because she'd seen how fast Mega could move in battle. Mega's eyes flicked over to her once, and Taz stiffened, looking away immediately. She looked out of the window and frowned slightly. It was getting awfully dark, but there was something unnatural about it. She narrowed her eyes, feeling a chill run up her spine, and stood up, sprinting out of the throne room before her parents could stop her. She ran to the main doors and pulled them open, grinding her teeth together as she did so.
"Dios muerto," she whispered quietly, her eyes widening as the looming darkness. A cold wind blew past her suddenly, extinguishing the candles in the grand hallway, and sweeping through the entire castle, leaving it drenched in sudden darkness. Taz lowered her arms slowly, her breath appearing in mist in front of her face, and stiffened as a sudden howl echoed across the land. The sound wasn't earthbound.
Taz moved quickly slammed the doors shut and backed away from the door without a second of hesitation, as something heavy slammed against it, causing her to stumble back in shock. The thumping continued, and Taz found herself running as fast as she could, truly afraid for the first time in a long time.
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"No way!" Danny said, his mouth falling open. "Taz, you don't GET scared!" he looked up at her in genuine confusion, and Taz shook her head.
"Everyone gets scared Danny. I just hide it well." She told him, trying to ignore Up's amused expression.
"So it's okay to be afraid?" Danny asked, frowning slightly, and Taz nodded her head.
"Sure it is. Just don't let jour fears stop jou from doing what's right."
Danny thought about this for a moment and then nodded, grinning slightly.
"Got it!"
"Good," Taz nodded, and began to close the book. "I think dat's enough for one night."
"What? No!" Danny cried, and placed his hands over hers, giving her a stubborn frown. "Just a bit more? Please?"
"Fine," Taz relented, rolling her eyes slightly. She reopened the book and continued to read where she left off.
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"Tasmine!" A frightened voice called out, and Taz swore, remembering February. She changed course and headed for the main staircase, pulling her skirts up slightly so she could run faster. She met February halfway, and grabbed onto her shoulders, shaking the blonde out of her near hysterical state.
"February." She said sharply, and February grabbed onto her wrists, letting out a small whimper.
"Tasmine, what's going on?" she cried, and Taz pressed her lips together.
"We have to get to de safety shelter," Taz said sharply. "Something's coming."
She instinctively flinched when she heard a loud slam, and guessed that the front doors had been ripped down, as she could hear the noises of the creatures.
"THEY'RE COMING!" February shrieked, her eyes widening in horror. Taz growled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up the stairs and towards her bedroom. Once inside, she let go and slammed the door shut, beginning to pull the bookshelf in front of her door, creating a blockade. She ran to a torch on the wall – having been extinguished when the wind swept into the room – and pulled it down, which in turn, opened a panel in the wall.
"When did you get THAT done?" February asked, her eyes wide.
"Dad did it," Taz replied, distracted. She pulled another torch from the wall and lit it, handing it to February who took it with trembling fingers. "Follow de trail – it will lead jou to de safety room. Mega has probably taken my parents dere already. If dey ask – Jou don't know where I am."
"B-But where are you going?" February asked, looking worried.
Taz began to pull off her dress, and changed into her hunting tunic. She pulled off the tiara, dropping it on the bed, and tied her hair into a messy braid.
"I'm going to find out what's going on." She said grimly, pulling her hunting bag from under her bed. She attached her knives to her belt, and then pulled out a quiver, some arrows and a bow.
"You can't!" February gasped, her eyes widening even more. "You'll be killed!"
"Let me worry about dat." Taz said bluntly, pushing February forwards into the tunnel. "Now go! Before dey get here!"
"Be careful!" February cried, just as Taz pulled up the torch, and the entrance closed. She turned quickly, wincing as she heard something slam into her door. She didn't have much time. She leapt onto the windowsill and agilely began to climb down, immediately beginning to run the minute her feet touched the ground.
Taz sprinted around the corner, heading to the stables, but gasped and ducked back as she saw one of the creatures prowl along in front of her. It was a large dog like creature, except it was pure black and had glowing red eyes. Taz ducked back and headed into the cover of the trees, pulling her bow from her back and notching an arrow onto it, feeling very uneasy with the howls of the creatures echoing around her. She pushed through the thick foliage into a clearing, and then heard a snarl. She spun, releasing her arrow, and the creature was silenced before it could leap at her, it's body dissolving into nothing. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only one in the clearing. Taz moved to grab another arrow as the hound's companion dived at her, but she was too slow, and was knocked back off of her feet, slamming hard into the dirt as the creature pinned her down.
Taz moved to try and grab her knife, but before she had a chance, the creature dissolved on top of her, and Taz was staring at Knight-Commander Up, who had his sword held out, a grimace fixed onto his face. He seemed to do a double-take when he saw her, but held out a hand nevertheless.
Taz took it and pulled herself up onto her feet, reaching down to pick up her bow and discarded arrow. There was an awkward pause before Taz spoke again.
"Thanks," she said finally, and Up gave her a strained smile.
"Think nothin' of it. Y'wouldn't happen to know what's goin' on, would y'?" He asked, looking grim.
"Not a clue," Taz replied with a frown. "Dat's what I'm trying to figure out."
They glanced at other for a moment, studying each other, weighing the pros and cons of the suggestion they were both about to make.
"Team up?" Taz offered, and Up nodded with a wry grin.
"Sounds like a plan." He agreed, but froze, his grip tightening on his sword. Taz spun around, notching her arrow and pointing it into the trees, but froze at the sight that greeted her. They were surrounded.
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Danny's mouth fell open in complete disbelief as Taz closed the book, and seemed unable to form a coherent sentence for a few moments. It was only when Taz stood, tucking the book under her arm, was Danny able to speak.
"You can't just leave it there! What happens? Do they escape?"
"Tomorrow." Taz said with a wry smile. "I'll read some more tomorrow."
"Oh at least read up to the part where they kiss, to get the mushy part over with!" Danny groaned, throwing himself back onto the bed.
Up went bright red, and Taz looked indignant, and somewhat flustered.
"What makes jou think dey're going to kiss?" Taz demanded, and Danny smirked slightly, his eyes widening in fake innocence.
"Isn't that what ALWAYS happens in fairytales?" he asked, looking slightly gleeful. "The princess and the main hero ALWAYS kiss! And they fall in love, and get MARRIED."
"Not in DIS fairytale!" Taz said, hoping she didn't look too red. "So be quiet, and go to bed."
"Oh alright," Danny groaned, but pointed at her. "But If I have nightmares, it's all YOUR fault."
"I'll keep dat in mind," Taz said dryly, and ruffled his hair. "Night kid."
"Night Taz, Night Up!" Danny grinned, and curled up in his bed. Taz shook her head and turned off the light.
"G'night Danny," Up said, and walked out so Taz could shut the door. "So."
"So what?" Taz asked, raising an eyebrow.
"So do they kiss?" Up asked, keeping his voice innocent, and winced as Taz punched him in the stomach. "Kidding!"