Chapter 3-A Brush with Death

Sorry it took so long.

While Samantha was slipping out of the palace, Vladimir was on a mission of his own out in the middle of the Arabian desert, following a nomadic tribesman.

"Th-There is the place y-you seek, s-sir. Please, I beg you, do not go any closer."

"I'll go as close as I want. You may depart."

"Y-yes, sir." The terrified man sped away as fast as he could, tales of horrible beasts from the…the…place running through his head.

"Finally," Vladimir grinned. "All that was worth it to attain…this."

A great flat plain stretched before him.

"Hmmm. May need some work."

He turned away and mounted his horse, galloping back over the sand. On his ride, he began thinking. I need a test subject first. Can't take the risk myself, can I? A street urchin should work nicely. No one would care what happens to him, and if it succeeds…I can always kill him.

He smiled as he entered the city gates, dawn just breaking over the palace roof.

Samantha crept through the brightening alleyways, unsure what to do next. Distracted as she was, she ran straight into another girl, about her height and age, scurrying down the street. The bronze-skinned girl frowned down at her as Samantha tried desperately to appear small and insignificant.

"Hey!"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"What are you doing scampering through the city at this time of morning? Don't you have a family to go to?"

"No, I-"

"Oh." The girls' face softened. "Then you're one of us."

"Huh?"

"Come with me." The girl straightened and furtively picked up the turquoise earrings she had stolen. "If you need a place to stay, that is…"she asked questioningly, raising an eyebrow at Sam.

"Oh, yes, I do need…somewhere…to go." Sam shook her head, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Then hurry!" The taller girl raced into the street, Sam barely keeping pace as they wove between buildings and approached a derelict structure. "Here's were we all live…the Palace Yateem."

"Who's…we?" Sam panted, catching her breath.

"The useless. The unwanted. The excess. All five of us are orphans, some way or another, and since there's strength in numbers…we all just stuck together." The girl bent down to enter a partially blocked doorway, looking back to Sam. "I'm Valerie, by the way."

"I'm P-"

"Hmm?"

"I-I'm pleased to meet you, Valerie. I am…Septima."

"Strange name."

Sam blushed. "Yes, my parents were gifted with an unfortunate sense of humor."

"Well, as you can see, we're the only ones awake, but in the corner is Star, who escaped from a trade caravan, over here is Mikus, from Greece, and in the other room is Quan, whose parents both died in a construction accident. Danny is-oh."

"What?"

"He must be out combing the city for…merchandise again. He doesn't usually sleep here."

"Are you talking about me?" Through the boarded-up windows, Sam could see a shadowy shape moving down the building. Suddenly, a tall, black-haired teen leapt through the largest window and landed on the floor squarely, a slight grin on his face. "Good morning, Valerie. Who is our guest?"

"Septima. She's..new."

"I gathered that." Danerik took a closer look at this strange girl. Her skin was paler than any he had seen in the marketplace, and though she was unfamiliar with her surroundings, she was still confident, carrying herself with a determined air.

Suddenly, the introductions were broken off by the arrival of three heavily muscled city guards, who all tried to squeeze through the small entrance at the same time.

"Oh, Septima. Meet our good friends, the city guards. The one in the middle is Larry, the left, Curly, and the right, Moe." Valerie said wryly as she watched the guards' struggles. Danny roused the other three teens, and together they all stood at the base of a flight of stairs.

"Septima?" he said as the guards freed themselves.

"Yes?"

"Run. Now." He grabbed her hand and literally dragged her up the stairs, Valerie and the others close behind.

"Most…of our days…aren't like this." He gasped as they crossed a catwalk of boards connecting more abandoned buildings to theirs.

"Get back 'ere, you, you filthy animals!" the guards shouted behind them. Suddenly, Valerie appeared, hanging down from a clothesline above their heads.

"Shhh. You'll wake the whole city." She grinned as the guards turned tail and headed for her, barely escaping their grasp by riding the elastic line back to the rooftops.

Sam and Danny watched this from the safety of an even taller building, Sam crying out when Star, then Mikus were nabbed and loaded onto a cart, trussed up like a palace peacock. "Danny!"

"Septima! We can't do anything!"

"How can you stand there and say that? C'mon!" She tried to leap off the building, but he grabbed her around the waist and lowered her back to the rooftop.

"Septima. We're safe up here. If we go down, they'll catch us for sure."

"But, Quan, and Mikus…we're the only two left! We have to save them!"

She turned to look over the edge of the building again when she was stopped by the menacing sound of a sword slipping from its sheath.

""Plannin' to run, 'ittle miss?" The hot breath of another guard made Sam wince. "I got my nice, shiny sword here against your throat, and if you move so much as a mouse's tail, I'll see that pretty head rollin' in the street."

Shaking with fear, Sam pressed herself closer to the rooftop. "Danny? Danny? Where are you?"

"Ain't no one up 'ere but us, little missy. All your 'ittle friends are down in the cart." Suddenly, a strangled sound came from behind her, and the cold steel of the sword came off her throat. Turning, she saw Danny on the guards' head, blindfolding him and strangling him. After the man passed out, Danny leapt to the ground and grabbed his sword, brandishing it with a grin. "C'mon, Septima! Let's go!"

"Neither of you move." Out of nowhere, a circle of guards surrounded them, and Danny dropped the sword with a clang. "We surrender."

"Stop! In the name of the crown, stop!" Sam shouted. " I am Princess Samantha, as evidenced by the tattoo of royalty on my ankle, and I demand you leave this boy alone!" Hiking up her skirts, the trademark tattoo of the royal house of Masoniar was visible in black ink.

"She is the princess, men." The captain made a short bow. "We regret this…misunderstanding, but we are under orders from the Vizier himself. You must discuss this with him. In the meantime,..." he gestured for two other guards to come forward. "We shall be more than happy to escort you back to the palace."

"But-"

"We shall be more than happy to escort you back to the palace." He said through clenched teeth. "Bring her."

The two guards each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her to a horse alongside the cart, while Danny was tied up and placed inside with the other street urchins. Sam avoided their stares shamefully, knowing that this was only the beginning of this nightmare.