Princess Jewel & Shadow

Chapter 4

We heard an explosion in the direction of the castle. "What was that?" Hunter shouted, but I had already started running towards the castle. He caught up to me quickly, he was fast. "We could get there faster if I changed form. Maybe a horse or a dragon?" he asked me as we ran. "Yeah, can you do a dragon?" I said a little out of breath. "Sure"

We stopped just long enough for Hunter to change into a dragon with bronze colored scales. "Wow!" I said, impressed. "Get on!" Hunter said in my head. I climbed on his back and he took off. "Did I forget to mention that I'm afraid of heights?" I asked as I clung to his neck. "I don't think we ever crossed on that subject." Hunter said. The bad thing about talking to animals, and being friends with a guy who could turn into animals was that I could hear all his thoughts. Well it felt like a bad thing sometimes, but other times I wanted to know what he was thinking. At all of those points in time, it didn't work, because he was careful about thinking private thoughts, while in animal form.

"Just don't drop me!" I cried out in fear. I heard him chuckling, and reminded myself to punch him later, after he lost his scales. As we landed I was still clinging to him for dear life. "You can let go now." He said, I just shook my head, telling him no. "Okay, then." And he changed to human form, with me still clinging to him. I had my eyes closed tight, until I felt my feet on the ground and Hunter's hands on mine, trying to pry me off.

I opened my eyes to see I was still clinging to his neck. I let go quickly, and felt my face get red hot. "You know, you've been really clingy recently." He noted with a smirk. "Shut up!" I shouted, still trembling.

"I have an idea." I told him as I trembled with fear. "Yeah?" he asked "Yeah, let's not do that again." I told him as we started running again.

We had landed at the castle's entrance; the doors had been blown wide open. How could that happen? They were enchanted. Nothing could get through them, unless someone used magic. "Well, I think we found our explosion." I told him, and we raced inside.

When we reached the throne room, it was in ruins. The purple curtains were on the floor in a heap. The amethyst walls had huge chunks taken out of it, and the weirdest thing. "Look! The shadows, they're moving." I whispered as I watched the shadows trailed off towards a man.

He wore a gray hood over his head, and a gray cloak that covered his whole body other than his face, which was sunken in, wrinkled, and deathly pale. He smelled of death, and his voice was like nails being scraped across a chalk board.

Hunter had to cover my mouth so I didn't scream, when I realized who was in front of the man. My parents, they were on their knees, pleading with the man, to leave them in peace. "Please" My mother pleaded. "Don't take her." Was she talking about me? I had obviously missed something in their conversation, but it sounded like she was talking about me. "I have been betrayed by you. You wish to have what is mine. I think not!" He screamed at my mother, who cowered in front of him. "No!" My father yelled "We kept our end of the bargain!" he shouted, "You did your job well, Gonzo, training him. Now give him back!" "Never!" The man named Gonzo shouted back.

I gasped at the thought of this man training someone. Who would this, mad man, Gonzo, be trusted to train? Who would be crazy enough to trust him to train anyone? What did this man want with my parents? What did my father mean? All these questions started swirling around in my head.

"Well look who it is." Gonzo said as he had just taken notice in Hunter and I. "Hello, Jewel." He said, taking a step towards me. "You stay away from her!" Hunter yelled at him, stepping in front of me, holding... was that a sword? He was holding a bronze sword, with a lion head carved at the bottom of the handle. Where in the world did that sword come from? What the heck is going on!?! I didn't have time to ask any questions though.

"Jewel, run." Hunter said calmly raising his sword, still looking at Gonzo. My parents had disappeared while Gonzo was distracted. "Jewel, I said run!" I ran. Looking back, Hunter was running behind me.

"You can run, but you can't escape!" Gonzo called after us. You want to bet, I thought. I know this castle better than anyone, except, maybe, my parents. "Hunter, follow me!" I said in a panic. He had caught up to me by now.

I ran towards my bedroom, Hunter on my tail. Why my bedroom? Because under my bed, I have an emergency getaway backpack, with everything I need in it. Thing like a change of clothes, food and water and such, anything I would need to make a quick getaway. I grabbed my backpack and we jumped out of the window. Of course Hunter went first and transformed as he jumped. Just as my luck would have it, he was a dragon again. I didn't have time to protest, as I narrowly escaped Gonzo's outstretched hand.

As we flew away Hunter had to dodge the blasts of dark lightning that came streaming from Gonzo's scepter. Dark lightning you ask, that is the only way I can describe it, other than black evil electricity arcing towards us. You get the picture. As I looked back the entire kingdom was turned to stone. This is some dark magic for sure. We flew to the safest place we could think of, the forest, where we both had friends that could help us.