"We leave tonight," Destiny shrugged on a dark cloak and Ivy helped her with her mask. After readjusting her own mask, Ivy sighed, but the mask she wore muffled and changed her voice.
"Maybe we should go with my plan instead?"
"We'll be fine."
"I don't think we will..." Ivy said, fretfully. Destiny rolled her eyes (you could just see them) and pushed down her deepest feelings of doubt.
"We have to be," she resolved. Then, they came out of the cabin, and into the woods. The sky was black, and there were no stars. Perfect.
Fayte lay on the cool floor, her head spinning and pounding much harder than last time. She couldn't even move, and not just because of the magic. Both hands and legs were chained to....something. She could hardly see anything, and what she did see was fuzzy. As she tried to get her disoriented bearings, she remembered where she was being taken. Twilight. Just the name of the place sent a chill through her spine; or perhaps that was still the poison. She remembered her 'perfect plan' and groaned. And then, she remembered Destiny and Ivy, neither of whom knew where she was. If they tried to rescue her, they'd be walking into a trap!
"No!" she moaned softly, struggling against the metal links. It clinked quietly in return, the only sound she could make out so far. She felt a draft, and wondered if she was in The Cage or The Cave. And then, footsteps. Some one was coming.
"This way!" Walking soundlessly across the draw bridge, Ivy urged Destiny on. Ivy had taken off her mask and was leading invisibly. Once they reached the castle, however, she put it back on.
"My mother can sense magic, and me, since I'm half magic." She put the mask back on, and whispered a final magic word.
"This ought to disguise our scent, and our voices. If we're lucky, Mother might think we truly are someone else!"
"Where are the dungeons?" Destiny asked, her voice sounding nicer than usual. She groaned at the sound of it, then said sweetly, "Really?!" She was trying to sound angry, but it was to no avail. Ivy's magic had worked wonderfully.
"The entrance is down the hall, but we'll have to hurry. We must go in when they're changing shifts. It only takes them two minutes (we train them to be quick) and in that time, the dungeons are unguarded." Destiny noted the change in Ivy's voice. It was rougher, to be sure, but it still sounded hurt. She wondered what made the spell decide to change her voice in a certain way, and if it was her own fault she sounded like a pixy. Waiting for just the right moment, they headed into the dungeons.
Fayte struggled to sit up. The chains were tight, and it wasn't easy to move. The steps were louder and closer now, and Fayte could see the person had some source of light. He eyes had become more used to the dark, and had trouble adjusting with this new bright light. The person came closer, rounding the final bend in the stairs. It was almost there....just a few more steps....
"Where is she?" Destiny asked, running down the rows of cells. She stopped at one of them in particular, noting something shining on the ground. She grabbed hold of the keys on the wall and unlocked the door. She picked up whatever was the source of the sparkling, and went to the next cell, where she found a small piece of folded paper. She snatched it up, then heard Ivy say,
"She's not here! We have to go! NOW!"Destiny paused for a brief second, nodded, and the twosome took off. Ducking behind a pillar of black stone, the girls waited as the second shift entered the dungeon, before racing out of the castle.
"Useless! We went in there for nothing!" Ivy fumed, then heard her voice. She quickly undid the spell, and Destiny said something sarcastic, testing if her voice was indeed back. It was.
"Not for nothing, Highness." She beamed, holding up the shining object.
"What's that?"
"Fayte's ring. The one from her - our- father? This is it." Destiny held up the ring in the early morning light. It was made of black stone, but a single golden band lay in the middle, silver jewels forming a crescent moon.
"Did she leave it for us to find, or do you think they--do you think they?" Ivy stammered.
Destiny thought a moment before answering. Her voice was sad at the unspoken possibility that she was gone. It also held a tone of disappointment, but if Ivy heard it, she didn't say.
"It's a clue. That's all I know for sure. And if she wasn't there...where could she be?"
"Who's there?" Fayte called, and she listened as her voice echoed. There was silence for a moment.
"It's only me, Dear," the voice had a menacing tone to it, filled with hate. Fayte felt herself shudder, but it wasn't from the draft.
"Your Highness," she said, growling a little. Jade's face was close to her now, but still blurry. If Fayte had been able to stand, that miserable queen would have been in enormous trouble. But she couldn't.
In the new light, Fayte could see she was chained to the stone wall, and her leash was short. With a wave of her hand, Jade was in The Cave with her. She stared at the captain's daughter with obvious pleasure, and Fayte looked away. Her face was hot with anger, but she didn't dare let the queen see it.
But with a strong, steady hand, the queen reached out, and turned her face until they were eye to eye.
"What do you want, Highness?" she growled, her voice deep with anger.
"I want you to be a hero. Once upon a time, you were my best captain. You obeyed, and you were ruthless, heartless, cold. But then you had to go and meet that little princess. She made you a traitor, just like her mother made your father a traitor. Back then, I had no choice but to kill him, but now..." She laughed. "Now I can make you great again."
"But first, you must pay the price of your treason."
YOU ARE READING
Moonshade (Formerly Eclipse)
Werewolf"Go! Find the Traitor and the Princess, and bring them to me." Fayte Moonshade was a captain for the Dark Army. She was known as ruthless, with a heart as cold as a winter's night. Was... Destiny Starshadow is a princess of the White Wolves, a princ...
