"The enemy will always cheat, Isla, you need to be prepared for anything."
Isla and her siblings have lived in a cave for as long as they can remember with no memory of how they got there or who they were before. They only remembered two things...
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This picture was taken whilst on Holiday. We went to Spain to see a fiesta and also did some climbing. This picture is of me hanging over a ledge! Leave a comment if you are a climber or what other sports you may do!
The food is already laid out on the table when we get down. The High Queen is sitting at the head of the long wooden table, looking over all the plates of beautifully decorated food and golden table decorations. Also, there is General Xavier, Iona's father, Iona herself and Daniel. The four of us take a seat. For a few minutes, it is quiet then the Queen speaks.
"So, Dragoheirs, would you like to know what you will be learning this week?" she asks and we nod our heads.
"We won't really be focusing on combat so much as that is what you are doing at the Academy. Instead, you will be learning more about ruling. How to make sure your people are all well fed or have rooves over their head. You will be learning about money and how to distribute it over Shadow. You will also be taught tactical skills. Planning battle strategies and defence of our Kingdom during this dark time." We nod our heads. It goes quiet again as we begin to eat. It is almost awkward. It is Daniel who speaks up first.
"So, Serenity," he starts, looking over at her. "Did you say you've been working on your Earth diving more?" he asks, clearly trying to get some conversation started. She smiles.
"Yes, I have had quite the underground adventure," she smiles. "There have been many a cave I have fallen into." We all chuckle at the thought of a graceful dragon falling into a cave.
"It really is beautiful underground," she continues. "There are so many amazing rock formations and shapes. Great stones hang from ceilings and rise from the ground. It really is stunning," she beams.
"Well perhaps you'll have to show me one day," Daniel smiles. "I would love to see it," he grins and an odd smile passes over my little sisters face. I turn to raise an eyebrow at Daniel and in return, he tries not to look at me.
"They sound wonderful," the High Queen says. "What about you Tanya? How are you doing with the development of your power?" The conversation carries on for a while whilst Tanya describes the thrill of wind racing and how she loves flying. I just smile and listen. Once dinner is over, I head back to my room. Toryn, Serenity and Tanya stay with Daniel and Iona but I just want rest. I feel so mentally drained all the time. Part of me feels like we would have been better off if we had stayed in the caves. Not in the middle of a war. A war that I have to lead my people through. Lying back on my bed, I sigh. Sleep does not come, however. I hear my siblings come in a few hours after I came to bed and the castle begins to settle. Soon, I give up trying to sleep and head over to my balcony. The view is as beautiful as last time. The large lake stretches out before me the giant waterfall falling off the mountains and into it. The crashing I can hear from here. Delicately, I step over the edge, landing softly on the ground below. I dive into the water of the lake, sighing as it flows over my skin. Gently, I swim over to the waterfall. It parts as I get near and I walk inside. It is exactly like how I remember. The beautiful glowing blue lagoon in the middle and the huge glowing cavern.
"It is very beautiful in here." I scream as the voice fills the cavern, jumping around to see where it came from. It is him, the soldier man who has been hunting me.
"How did you get in here?" I ask. There is no way he was able to come through the water, it should have crushed him. He laughs behind his skeletal mask.
"Is that really important?" He asks, standing up so he towers above me. "Shouldn't the question be why am I here?"
"I already know the answer. After my little stunt at the execution, your king has given the order to get on with it and kill me. Has he told you to stop playing your games?" I ask. The man chuckles.
"Yes, he has," the sound of his sword scraping against its sheath rings over the cavern. I gulp, I haven't got any of my weapons on me. Also, I am wearing a long white lace night dress. Not the easiest thing for a fight. As soon as his sword is out of its sheath, I can sense the dark power on it, that black goo that even works on dragons. I snarl as it's evil fills my cavern.
"You aren't going to kill me today," I sneer. He swings the sword in his hands. "You don't want this game to end," I taunt.
"Neither do you," he says and I can almost sense his grin behind the mask. He charges and I use the only weapon I have. Water. It rises behind me from the lagoon, turning into spears of ice as it does so. I launch them at him. He snarls as they all charge at him. Some he slices away from him, the ones that would have killed him. Others slice at his skin. One then knocks into his hand, sending his sword flying. "Let's make this a fair fight," I tell him. He chuckles and charges again.
I fly into the wall and aburst of pain shoots through me. Already, I am covered in cuts and bruises. I have managed to get a few hits of my own as well though. I duck under his foot and ram my body into his, shoving him into the ground, landing and few blows in the stomach. He lets out a grunt of pain. He shoves me off him before landing a kick in my face. I spit blood onto the ground and glare up at him, disorientated. I gasp as he grabs me by the throat and lifting me up off the ground. I glare at the metal mask he wears, my vision going blurry. No. I am not dying like this. With a screech grab at his face. Somehow, I rip away his mask and rake my sharpened nails over his now exposed skin. He drops me and I struggle to get my breath back. I look up at him with wide eyes and watch in shock as the heavily bleeding scratch across his face closes up in front of me, leaving behind smears of blood. We stay still for a few seconds as I look up at him with wide, shocked eyes. He looks barely older than me, perhaps in nineteen or twenty. Who is this man?
I stand up slowly, backing away slightly and getting ready for another round as I watch anger cross his face. He roles his arms and clicks his neck. The leather vest top he wears shows his huge muscles in that are his arms as well as showing the outline of the muscles in his chest. Blood is smeared over his skin, left there from the cuts that I caused which have now healed. He is very intimidating, especially as now I can see the anger on his face. He charges again and I am thrown into the water. I scrabble back to the surface, expecting another attack, but he has gone. I take deep breaths, wondering what the heck just happened. I pull myself up out of the lagoon and sit on the side, my mind racing. I think back to his face, the image clear in my mind. Smooth skin that is slightly tanned that runs over a handsome, angular face. Black hair partly shaved on both sides with a longer middle section which has been pulled over to one side. Then there are his eyes. Light, bright blue. He was beautiful. But beauty is not important. I sigh, lying down on my back. He is still a monster. With a feeling like I am still being watched, I raise my hand. A wall of ice forms around the entrance, the waterfall still flowing on the other side. I then surround the rest of the room in thick, sparkling ice, sealing myself in and enchanting it to a ring I wear. No weapon or other magic can damage it now. I look at legs and arms. My pale skin is smeared with blood, but the cuts are healed. Exhaustion takes over and I lie back, finally feeling safe with this wall of ice surrounding me. Sleep finds me quickly.
