The Three Realms

Chapter 1- The Kidnapping

Fraya and Balthasar soared through the skies, their rounds just beginning after the switching for the Watch. Fraya shivered and pulled her fur coat more tightly against her pale skin, "Zar, we're losing altitude already. Stay strong, it's only for two hours."

"Fraya, with the magic weakening, there is not much I can do these days. If the magic is not renewed again, then my kind will cease to exist." Balthasar rumbled. He pumped his emerald green wings, so quickly turning brown, and soared higher into the night sky. "But the King will find more magic! He has to! The Prophesy says that when all is weakening, the King will find a new source. And he will, just have a little faith." 

"A little faith in what? The King's rein is over, and everyone knows it but him. He needs to start looking for a replacement, that's what he needs to find!" Fraya was shocked at her friend's outburst, "But Zar, that's treason," she said in a hushed tone. "Just because you're the eldest on the council doesn't mean that you can criticize our King. In fact, you should be the closest to him! Why aren't you two bound together? Why are you bound to me?" Balthasar sighed, not even he knew the truth about Fraya's birth or who her parents were. All that information lied with one person only- the King. 

The two made idle chatter until the end of their round and began making their way back to the barracks when there was a shout from the battlement. Two people were running from the hidden hedge walls of the realm, one of them dragging what looked like a bodybag. Zar and Fraya moved in closer to hear what the sentry was saying, "Team! Catch them!" Fraya nodded grimly and urged her friend to follow the escapees. She wasn't quite sure who they were running from and why they wre running, but that didn't matter right now. She and Balthasar had to catch them. 

Her dragon let loose an enormous roar that shook the countryside, and soon after that, a jet of flame incinerated one of the runners. The other, looking temporarily shocked at the ash that used to be his companion, sped up, entering the trees. As soon as Zar was low enough, Fraya vaulted off his back, landing perfectly, and took off after the fugitive. He was smart to enter the forest- a dragon could not enter there. They were just too big.

Fraya ran and ran, following the fugitive through the maze that was the Endless Forest. The girl was amazed that he hadn't stopped by now after hauling the bulky-looking bodybag over his shoulder for such a long time. The chase continued for what seemed to be an hour, and finally, Fraya had followed the man to an edge of the forest. As soon as she crosed the border, though, Fraya's eyes rolled up into her head and she crumpled to the ground.

The fugitive with the bodybag chuckled and put his wand back in his pocket. Then he walked away dragging the bag much more gently then before, his lavender eyes sparkling with malice.

Fraya awoke with a splitting headache, in the same place she was when she fell. She tried to stand, but then gasped when she felt a searing pain in her ankle, and sat down hard. The girl cursed quietly, she must have twisted it as she fell. Fraya sighed and stood again, careful not to let her ankle touch the ground. Then she whistled high and clear, 5 short notes, knowing that Balthasar would hear their secret code and rush to her aid.

Not long later, she heard the whoosh of wings above her, and sure enough there he was. "Fraya! What happened?" The girl climbed onto the dragon and motioned for him to fly them home, "I chased the man up to here, and then something happened... I'm not sure, but as soon as I crossed the threshold between the forest and the plain, I passed out! I think my ankle is twisted, too." Balthasar growled in sympathy, and Fraya told herself that the first thing she would do when she go home was to go to the infirmary and get her ankle fixed. Unfortunately, the Captain of the guards, Aurelio, had other plans. He waylayed Fraya as soon as she had dismounted, and demanded to know what happened.