The Secret Realm

Chapter Fifteen

Blaze was lying in the castle jail on the makeshift hay bed. He hadn't seen Celeste in a few days and he was starting to get worried as she had been visiting him every night before. He was worried something had happened to her, and he couldn't protect her because he was locked in here. They hadn't officially dealt with his crime and punishment yet so he awaited his fate in the cell.
Suddenly, he heard someone coming down the stairs. King Orion came over to his cell, almost out of breath.
"Celeste is gone, we can't find her anywhere. I don't want to lose her again, so I decided to let you out and if you can help me find and save her then your crimes will be dismissed," the king explained. Blaze's eyes went wide when he heard Celeste was missing. He knew that it could have been prevented if only he were able to be with her and not in this cell.
"We have to find her. Do you have any leads?" Blaze asked with concern in his voice.
"She was last seen going to the garden a few days ago but since then she hasn't been spotted. None of the guards have seen her in the kingdom or the castle," he said to Blaze as he started to unlock the call with a key he had gotten from one of the guards.
"Take me to the garden," Blaze said, instantly stepping out of the cell. The king led him outside and to the garden, where nothing looked unusual. As Blaze got closer to a thing of giant roses, he saw a black jacket lying on the ground.
"That's hers," King Orion said.
"Someone must have taken her. I can't think of anything else that could have happened. Maybe she went back to the human realm because this was all too much for her," Blaze said in thought.
They both heard a noise all of the sudden and turned around to see what it was. A boy with blonde hair ran up to them with a letter addressed to the king. He thanked the boy and opened the letter carefully.

'I have the princess, and if you want her back you're going to have to show yourself directly to me. You have until sundown and she's dead.
King Atlas' the note read.
The king gasped and looked pale for a minute. Blaze felt panic rising in his body. They needed a plan to save her before something happened. She couldn't really defend herself as she only knew healing magic. It was a little after midday now, so they had a little time to figure it out.
"We're going alone. His kingdom isn't too far but we have to leave soon to make it before sundown," King Orion said to Blaze. He nodded in response and they headed to the armory to get prepared. The king and Blaze both had sharp swords on their belts, and a slight amount of armor covering their bodies and legs.
"Next we have to get our horses," the king said, leading Blaze to the stables. King Orion had a beautiful white horse with a flowy white mane. Blaze hopped onto a brown horse with white speckles.
They set off out the main gates of the kingdom and towards Olinn, where King Atlas ruled. It was a risky trip to the other kingdom for King Orion especially. His brother had started the war when Orion had been crowned king and not him. Atlas was furious and so he went to the kingdom of Olinn and took over as their king after no time. He was a ruthless ruler who sent women and children to fight for him in the war. His end goal was to eliminate his younger brother who took everything from him.
King Orion wanted them to be able to rule both their kingdoms in peace on the other hand. He also wished that his brother didn't resent him for being crowned king of Syndril over him. Their father was the one that had chosen who would take over after him, and because Orion had a family and was continuing on the royal bloodline, he was chosen. Atlas had no wife or family and so he was seen as unfit to rule, according to their father.
Blaze and King Orion rode along the pathways as fast as possible before they were out of time. The king was prepared to fight to get Celeste back and Blaze was too.
When they were finally on the outside the wall of Olinn, they made their way to the gate and were instantly let in without a word. They silently trotted through the deserted kingdom, though Blaze could tell there were people hiding in doors all around. King Atlas must have ordered everyone to stay inside. Blaze was confused as to why there weren't any guards around to even lead them to the king, or to make sure they did as told at least.
They got to the castle and jumped off the horses, readying themselves for what was inside. Blaze followed the king inside. When the doors opened, there was a large room decorated with weapons and armor. The room was very large and went deep into the castle. At the opposite end was a throne and someone sitting on it. The king and Blaze walked closer and King Atlas was sitting on the throne, with Willow standing next to him, a smirk on her face.