"Everyone look out!"
The glass of the dining hall windows shattered into flying fragments that zoomed across the tables, sprinkling all over the hundreds of guests. They screeched in terror as the pieces rained down upon them, but the source of their fear were the iron hooks that latched onto the window sills.
I could only watch as cords began to tug into view.
"The sprites are scaling the palace walls." I whispered in realization. I could hear their armored feet thumping against the plaster, drawing closer and closer to the cowering creatures hidden in this hall.
Diandre snapped into action.
"Everyone, we need to get out of here!" He barked. "Follow Marissa! We need to protect the young and elderly and escort them to safety where they can find help for us!"
His words seemed to jolt the ballroom guests awake, and they began to hurriedly stream towards the exit doors. I nodded at Diandre in satisfaction.
"Thank you," I told him.
"Don't thank me yet," he replied grimly as he ushered a group of young teens out of the dining hall.
I gripped my ice sword, feeling its whispers in my mind. It longed for battle, it longed for blood and chaos. Blood and chaos were all I had ever known. Then, I watched as iron clad figures swung into the dining hall, brandishing crudely forged weapons dripping with the insides of their victims. They grinned as their feet planted onto the marble floors. More and more sprites climbed the gold walls, invading the palace.
Faeries and other creatures screamed in horror as they fled through the doors, the ancient instinct of fear on flying feet guiding them away from danger.
"Get away from them!" I yelled, swinging my sword at a female sprite and she sprang towards a cluster of sobbing Summer Academy students. The monster hissed at me, her lips drawing back over her gleaming white teeth as she deflected my blow with a mighty battle axe. Iron clashed with ice, filling the desperate air with noises shrill collision as my weight shoved against hers. The female sprite's tongue lulled out of her foaming mouth as her axe swooshed towards my head. I dodged the strike, ducking my entire body and stabbing her between the plates of armor coating her legs. Releasing an inhuman shriek, the female sprite crumpled to the floor, warm blood spurting from her wound.
I picked up the battle axe and threw it to Diandre. "Catch!" I yelled over the roar of war cries.
His fist closed around the iron weapon, and I watched his eyes glisten as he felt the weight of the axe in his palm. Diandre then chucked his new blade to the left. It scraped against the faces of four sprites chasing after a screaming Headmistress Flora, mutilating their cheeks and eyes. The axe then embedded itself into the back of another sprite, and the creature died instantly.
Whirling around, I drove my blade into the necks of two more attackers advancing towards me. Their hot blood sprayed into my face, smearing in scarlet beads down my forehead. Around me, casters and knights were joining together to hold off the wave of sprites. Their spells and weapons whizzed and whistled past my ears as they valiantly fought back against the monsters who continued to crawl through the broken windows. Beside me, Jared was flinging his elven blades at a burly sprite twice his size as Noel stabbed his shins with his knight's sword. They were grinning proudly at each other, punching their fists into the air as they cut the monster down and advanced into the thickening battle. Centaurs bucked their hooves at the heads of more sprites, sending them sprawling onto the floor. Fire dancers hurled flames at our attackers' iron armor, weakening the material. Dwarves drove their pick axes into the feet of yowling sprites, darting nimbly through the legs of the crowd.
But the sprites just kept coming.
"Cut down their cords and grappling hooks!" I ordered, my voice booming across the dining hall.
In the distance, Diandre nodded in understanding. He flipped gracefully over a towering sprite and sliced his battle axe straight out the window, severing the ropes that dangled down the palace walls. I sprinted towards a window closer to my position. Leaning out of the palace, I could see hundreds of other sprites scaling up the ropes, coming after us. With a grunt of effort, I cut the cords cleanly with my sword. A sick part of me laughed in dark satisfaction as the climbing sprites plummeted through the air, tumbling stories down until their bodies smacked into the ground. Even from high above, I could hear the sound of their bones cracking at the impact.
Inside the dining hall, my allies had heard my command. I heard the snap of the ropes one by one. But even that small victory didn't make up for the fact that my people were dying. Faeries sobbed helplessly as the sprites singed their faces into pulps of flesh. The wooden bodies of the nymphs were torn apart into strips of bark. The small bones of the dwarves would crack and break in the air that reeked of bile, tears and sweat. I would try and save every victim the moment I could hear their desperate cries, but sometimes I would be too late to help the piling dead.
Blood, iron, and moonlight. It lingered everywhere.
"Marissa!" Diandre called out, jarring me from my stupor. My head whipped towards the sound of his voice. Finally, my gaze locked onto him, and I saw him battling a skeletal sprite in front of the exit doors. In the sprite's other hand was an iron chain that he snapped wickedly in the air surrounding him. The sound was a electric crack among the clashing of weapons, and I gathered my skirts and sprinted to Diandre's aid.
"Damn dress," I swore as the hem dragged through puddles of blood, slowing me down.
Before I could reach him, another faerie beat me to it. Catalina's wings unfurled elegantly as she chanted a spell at the top of her lungs, facing her palms straight at the sprite's face. I recognized the blinding light that suddenly engulfed her; Catalina had learned the art of the advanced morphing spell. Besides my mother's transformation into a leopard and Glen's into a falcon, I had rarely seen the charm used. Now, the duchess' daughter was morphing into a beast.
I watched her golden gown as it curled around her body, blinding my eyes as the battle raged on around me. When the lights faded, Catalina the faerie was no longer standing before me; in her place was a magnificent serpent. The creature was enourmous, with a slender body that weaved massively through the feet of the warriors. Her scales were plates of pure gold, and her forked tongue flickered in and out from her hissing mouth. The only familiar sight about the snake was her kind, brown eyes. They were the same eyes that belonged to her faerie form.
Catalina the serpent darted at the skeletal sprite, opening her jaws to reveal dagger-like fangs. She hissed deeply, her body coiling around the enemy's legs, throwing him off balance. Diandre's attacker lost his footing and fell to the dining hall floor. I could only watch with an equal mix of awe and horror as the snake wrapped herself around his throat, constricting him until he lost consciousness and his struggling hands fell limply to his sides. Then, Catalina's fangs sank into the sprite's neck, silencing his soul forever.
Just like that, the duchess' daughter killed a creature in cold blood.
When the snake unraveled herself from his corpse, my eyes were frozen only on the sprite's blood coating her sharp teeth. My stomach churned with nausea. Diandre stood frozen as well, staring at Catalina the serpent in pure amazement.
"Th-thank you," He stammered, once he had composed himself.
The snake bobbed its head, and in another flash, returned to it's faerie form.
"You would have done the same for me," Catalina replied, wiping the blood away from her teeth with her hand. "But you and Marissa must go to the east wing immediately." Her brown eyes met mine. "I think the warriors and I are capable of holding our own here, but I want you to promise me that you'll send the ineligible to find help." The faerie swallowed hard. "Please make sure that my parents make it to safety as well."
I nodded, my pale braid rising and falling against my back. "Of course," I told her. "But only if you promise me something as well."
Catalina cocked her head with curiosity. "What could I possibly do for someone like you?"
"Live," I smiled. "You're probably going to be the future queen, after all."
"You don't want me to live because of the throne," The duchess' daughter snorted, flapping her wings knowingly. "You want me to live because of the prince."
Diandre slowly pulled himself to his feet, his fingers curling around the hilt of the battle axe. "Marissa," He warned me. "We need to get going soon."
My ears hadn't heard what he had said; all my attention was forced onto the faerie in front of me. "Yes," I admitted to Catalina. "I want you to live so you can make Glen happy once all of this is over. Promise me that you'll do that." She continued to blink back at me, and my voice strengthened. "Promise me, Catalina."
"That's not going to be possible." She replied.
"Why the hell not?"
"After the way I've seen the prince look at you in that ballroom, I doubt any girl is going to make him that happy ever again." I went still, staring at the sad smile on the duchess' daughter's face. "Now get out of here!" She yelled, abruptly jolting me out of my shock. "GO!"
Spinning away from Catalina, I followed Diandre out the dining hall doors as the battle raged on all around us. My boots stepped over the dozens of bodies littering the floors, some old, some young. Deep down I knew that their age didn't matter; they were all dead. They were all gone. Bursting into the ballroom, Diandre and I panted as we found ourselves face to face with a large group of elderly creatures and young children.
Catalina's parents scrambled towards us.
"Where is our daughter?" They exclaimed, their voices rising hysterically. I could see the panic rapidly increasing in their eyes.
"Catalina will be joining you on the other side of the mirror portals once she holds off the advancing sprites," Diandre lied. "She wants you to go ahead and get to safety before her."
I shared a look with my friend that stood beside me. He knew this was for the duchess' and duke's own good as well as I did. I could tell by the glimmering heartbreak building behind his gray eyes that Diandre and I suspected the same thing, though. Catalina may not live to reunite with her parents again.
The duchess clutched her husband's arm. "Shouldn't we wait for Catalina a little longer?"
"I trust that our daughter will join us soon," The duke responded, patting his wife's hand reassuringly. "We must not hold back the rest of these endangered people."
The duchess sniffed, gathering herself along with her skirts. "You're right."
The ballroom hadn't been penetrated by the sprite forces, but I had a sinking feeling that it would be only a matter of time. Screams and wails still wafted out from beneath the dining hall door, but no sprites had gotten past the fighters inside.
A child's voice caught my attention.
"Ice!" She cried, jabbing her finger at the golden staircase that rose onto the balcony.
Every gaze was drawn to the direction of her pointing. My heart clenched. Withering, black ice from The Winter Wand was crawling across the stair rails. It slowly crept closer towards the group of petrified people, but I understood the message of the frozen power well enough.
The Master was in the palace.
"EVERYONE, FOLLOW ME THIS WAY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, leading everyone towards a back door that took us into the corridors. Diandre was at my side, directing people away from the ice that moved menacingly closer. Children and the elderly stumbled after us in a disorganized mob.
"We can get everyone out," he breathed, but I wasn't sure if he was convincing himself or me.
I gripped his hand in mine. "Don't worry," I told him. "The east wing is nearby. I'm sure of it."
"It's not your directions that I'm worried about," Diandre smiled grimly, his fingers squeezing mine nervously. "It's that..." his voice lowered so that he wouldn't be overheard. "The palace is too empty. Besides in the dining hall, we haven't ran into any sprites. Isn't it a little odd that they haven't tried getting inside from anywhere else?"
As I guided the terrified mob around another corner, I realized that he was right. The lavish halls were completely abandoned. As we ventured farther into the depths of the gold castle, even the roars of the vicious war had begun to fade.
"I don't like this silence," I murmured to Diandre after I calmed down a child sobbing for his mother. "Do you think there's a strategy behind it?"
He ran his hands anxiously through his shaggy, dark hair. "Yes," he whispered in reply. "The fact that the sprites directed their attack towards one area of the palace leads me to believe that it's...a distraction."
Fear leaped in my throat. A distraction.
"Sweet dragons," I realized. "The sprites are distracting all of the realm's strongest warriors while The Master walked right into this place. But why the hell is he hiding in here? Why hasn't he showed himself?"
Our conversation died as Diandre and I then led the group into the east wing. Relief flooded through my veins as I spotted the royal family portrait hanging proudly on the walls like a beacon. We made it. I sprinted towards the painting, wrenching it off its peg. The enormous piece of art hit the luxurious carpets with a muffled thud. I found myself standing in front of the outline of a door hidden behind plaster, and I exhaled in satisfaction. A part of me was afraid I would find myself staring at a closed wall behind the painting. But it was here; escape was here.
"Stand back, alright?" I told an old tree nymph. Her limbs of wood creaked as she shifted towards the opposite wall, her hair of reeds and leaves whispering around her face.
I whipped my leg into the air, kicking at the door with all my might. My boot connected with the cracking plaster in a forceful impact. The door collapsed inwards, sending flying white dust into the air as a group of children leaped forward to get a good look at the opening before them.
Diandre crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk. "Your roundhouse form is getting sloppy, Marissa." He teased me.
"Blame it on the dress," I snorted, glancing down at my ruined ballgown. It was torn at the sleeves, exposing my bare shoulders, and the skirt was coated in a layer of grime and dirt from the royal gardens.
"You're just coming up with lame excuses," Diandre shrugged with a breezy laugh. "Besides, the dress suits you."
I snorted. "How so?"
Diandre's cheeks reddened as he escorted people into the hidden doorway. "It's breathtaking," he answered quietly with a ghost of a smile. "But the fact that it can last through a fight doesn't make it any less beautiful."
My heart warmed, and I felt my face flushing bashfully.
"Thank you, Knight Marissa."
I turned around towards the sound of the voice, trying to mask my warming cheeks. Catalina's parents squeezed my hand with gratitude.
"Please," the duke said to me. "If you see my daughter again, bring her home to us." He swallowed a lump in his throat. "We will make sure that everyone gets to safety through the portals, and my wife and I will send signal of help to as many of our connections as we can."
"Thank you," I whispered.
The couple nodded and took the hands of as many children as they could.
"Now come along, little ones," The duchess smiled, and I watched them descend into the darkness of the secret tunnel.
From then on, Diandre and I led everyone else inside as we listened to them begging us to find their loved ones. My stomach rolled with guilt as I told an old centaur that her son was coming. In reality, I had watched his legs break as the sprites drove his body onto the floor, stabbing him over and over again. Soon, each creature was on their way to safety except for one small faerie girl. I recognized her as the one whom had spotted the ice coming towards us. She stood still in front of the hidden door, lingering outside the tunnel.
Her eyes were wide and lost, filled with a swarming fear that made her small hands tremble at the sides of her festival dress. Once, I was this small girl. Once, I was as lost as she was.
To my surprise, it was Diandre who sat down beside her. The faerie girl blinked down at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?" She squeaked.
"I'm waiting here with you until you stop shaking," he replied, giving her a knowing smile.
The girl shoved her hands behind her back. "I'm not shaking," she protested. "I'm just...waiting."
"What are you waiting for?" Diandre asked her.
The girl stared silently into the tunnel in response, and he followed her gaze. For a long time the two of them sat there peering into the dark. They looked a lot alike, I realized. They had the same tilt to their heads, the same batting of their eyes. The two of them were watching something that I couldn't see, something that I was oblivious to.
"I see what you're waiting for," Diandre finally spoke. His voice was understanding, gentle. "I used to wait for it to come to me all the time."
The girl's eyes widened. "You did?"
"Of course I did," Diandre nodded. "Sometimes I would wait for courage to find me just like you are right now."
I watched in complete shock as the girl's hands went still. Her lip no longer quivered.
Diandre smiled up at her. "See? It doesn't take long. You're a brave girl, you know." The girl grinned at him, showing off the gap between her two front teeth. Diandre laughed in response and gestured towards the tunnel. "Now go inside," He encouraged her. "Once courage finds you, it doesn't want to leave."
The little girl grinned at him one last time before vanishing through the hidden door. The last person was gone.
I blinked at Diandre in amazement as we hung the portrait of the royal family back on the wall, concealing the secret tunnel once more.
"How did you do that?" I exclaimed.
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes. "I know what fear feels like," he replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "The Master taught me that well enough. But finding strength is something you have to teach yourself."
"You're smarter than you look, Diandre." I remarked, giving him a light punch in the shoulder. "Where do you lock all that hidden knowledge away most of the time?" Lock away. My eyes widened. "I know where The Master is," I realized.
Diandre's eyebrows rose. "Where?"
We began to sprint down the palace halls. "The Master is headed for the vaults," I explained. "He's going to steal The Summer Scepter."
Diandre's eyes narrowed in determination. "Unless we get there first."
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