Chapter 3
A young guard walks into the dungeon. I lift my head and yap at him. He isn’t wearing that much armor. He has thin brown eyes, glossy black hair, and dark skin. His hair is swept back. He opens a small door at the bottom of my cell door and tosses a bag in. I snatch the bag and open it. It has two medium-sized fish in it, and a block of cheese. I look up at him with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry. That’s all I could sneak into this dungeon,” He gestures to the bag. I purr gratefully and eat my meal.
“Why are you helping me?” I question his intentions.
“I don’t hate you. I don’t know why everyone hates foxes... Some guards weren’t told why. We were just told to capture any Yokais in sight,” he sighs softly.
“I’ll try to get you out of here when I have the chance, but I need a plan,” He says. I devour my meal. I haven’t had any food for a long time. The Yokais I freed must have escaped because I haven’t seen any foxes in this dungeon ever since.
“I need to go now,” The man says. He steps towards the door.
“Wait! I… What’s your name?” I croak.
“I’m not really supposed to tell you, but I guess I can make an exception. My name is Harvey,” He answers. He walks out of the door. I whine softly. Another guard walks in. He looks mean. I hide the bag in the cell’s corner. He slams his hand on the bars and scowls. He opens the cell and walks in slamming the door behind him. I back into the corner and growl loudly. He grabs my neck and punches my face. I whimper softly.
“I finally get to beat you up!” He scoffs.
“Stop,” Commands a harsh but dangerous voice. I howl loudly at the guard who hit me. I see a full armored soldier. Or is he a general? He is holding his helmet in his arms. He is young but looks older than Harvey. His eyes are red, and his hair a bloody red and goes down to his neck. His skin is pure white. He has a sun symbol on his forehead and his ears are long and pointed. He’s a sun elf. But why is a sun elf here? The guard growls and backs away from me. The elf’s eyes are fierce and sharp. They pierce through me like daggers. The guard leaves the cell and glares at the elf. The elf walks into the cell slowly. His walk is smooth. He squats in front of me. He lifts my chin and looks me in the eyes.
“A princess. That’s unusual…” He notes. He examines my face. He reaches behind me and gets a hold on my wing. He pulls my wing out and stretches it out. I look at his face. It’s very thin. “A goddess too,”, he remarks. I whimper. He stands up and leaves my cell. He locks it and walks away. Why is an elf here?
I wake up and yawn. I wait to see if Harvey will show up, but he never appears. I claw at the metal band around my neck. I had realized before that this band prevents me from using my powers. I hear the creaky noise of a door opening slowly. I back into the shadows of my cell. I hear the sun elf talking to someone. I hear the voice of the other person and realize that it’s Harvey. I don’t say anything because I don’t want Harvey to seem suspicious to the elf general. Harvey glances at me and looks away.
“Have you met our prisoner yet?” The elf asks.
“Only once,” Harvey replies.
“I see...” The elf general looks over to me and grins. “Why hello there, Your Highness,” He sneers.
“I’m gonna rip your face off once I get out of here!” I retort. The elf laughs a soft laugh, but it’s a dangerous laugh. It makes me uneasy. I shiver and wrap my wings around me.
“Here, eat this!” The elf throws a fish skeleton at me and then laughs. I pick it up and throw it back at his face, but he catches it quickly. He must have good reflexes. He frowns at me. Harvey looks worried, but he snaps back to a straight face as soon as the elf looks at him.
“Let’s go,” says the elf. Harvey looks back at me as he’s leaving and has a sad look in his eyes. I prowl around the cell walking in a circle. Anger boils up inside me and I scream. I scratch the wall with my claws and I breathe heavily. Harvey walks in again carrying another bag. He tosses it in. I snatch the bag.
“Sorry, that took so long. I got held up,” He apologizes. “I had no idea you were a princess!”
“It’s fine. Thank you.” I say. I ponder for a second. “What’s the name of the elf general?” I ask.
“Oh, him? His name is Eldrindel, General Eldrindel. He’s very scary,” Harvey replies. He has a look of fear in his eyes. “I hate being around him, but he trusts me, so I can usually do what I want. I can figure out a way to get you out of here with his help, but he won’t even know he’s helping. I can trick him,” he explains.
“So that’s how you plan on helping me escape. I see... That is a good option,” I say. I start digging into the food he brought me. It’s another block of cheese, but in the bag is also some bread.
“Is there a way to get this metal band off my neck so I can use my magic again?” I query.
“Yes, there is, but I need the keys. I can get those easily, and then we can escape.” He answers.
“We? You mean you’re going with me?” I exclaim.
“Yes, I need to get out of here. I hate this place.” He says in a disgusted tone.
“When are we leaving?” I ask.
“In two days, I think.” He says. I smile at him and he smiles back.
“I have to go now…” He says, “I’ll see you soon” He waves goodbye. I watch him leave and then I curl up on the cold stone floor.
I wait for two days to pass. I haven’t seen Harvey since, but I can’t wait to escape with him. I need some company anyways.
Harvey walks in the door with the keys. He grins at me and I brighten up. He unlocks my cells and I scurry out. Then he unlocks the band on my neck and it falls off. I catch it so it doesn’t hit the floor and make noise. He goes out the back and distracts the guards, making them go somewhere else. Harvey grabs my arm and takes me outside. I’m so happy to be in the sun again.
“We should start getting away before they come back,” Harvey says.
“I can’t fly yet. So I guess running is our only option.” I say. He starts running and I follow him. He goes around the back of the building and out into a field. We start running again and we get farther and farther away from the village.
“We should go to my kingdom for safety,” I say.
“Good idea, Princess Luna.” He replies. We run in the direction of the forest. We decide to take a break and stop near the edge of the forest before we enter. The forest looms before us, looking ominous unlike other times. I turn into my fox form and curl up next to him. He lies down in the grass and drifts asleep. I soon fall asleep too.
We wake up the next morning and go on our way. I lead him into the forest. I’m going to have to figure out where to go from here. He looks at me in confusion.
“Where do we go now?”
“I’m trying to figure that out...” I say under my breath. I decide I’m going to try a trick my mother taught me I can use if I ever got lost. I didn’t remember I had learned it the first time I got lost in the forest. I place my hands down on the ground and concentrate. I can feel the magic everywhere, and the emotions and feelings of the plants and animals all around me. I go deeper into the forest and sense more and more life. There are different kinds of emotions in that area. I stand up again and head in the direction of where I felt all that life and emotion. Harvey follows me and looks around in curiosity. We walk through the quiet forest as quickly as possible. I just want to get home. Harvey whimpers as a sudden noise of rustling in the undergrowth frightens him. I turn my head in the direction of the noise and growl. I can sense something is there, but I can't tell what it is. Harvey backs up and trips over a branch. Just as he trips, an elf jumps out of the undergrowth and attacks Harvey. I yowl and leap at the elf. The elf shrieks as I sink my claws into his back. He swivels around with such force that I fly off of his back. I screech as I crash into a tree. The elf charges and swings at me with a knife. I spread my wings and leap over him. I glide to the ground safely and turn around to deflect another attack by the elf. The elf hits the ground with a thud as I knock him over.
“Stand down!” I demand. Being the princess, I am allowed to give orders to almost anyone. The elf sits upon the ground and glares at me, but then realizes who I am. He has a horrified look on his face as he realizes who he just attacked.
The elf has bright blue skin and glistening dark blue hair. His eyes are bright pink. The elf’s hair is swept back and he has a slim build. He wears a white vest and black pants. I notice he’s a rainbow elf, one of the three kinds of elves.
“Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry, Your Highness! I did not know it was you!” He stammers. Harvey stands behind me in a guarding position, but then he changes to a neutral pose as he hears the elf.
“Well… you should be more cautious next time, and pay attention to who you’re attacking!” I yell at him. “You could have killed me!”
“My apologies! I saw the human and thought you were intruders!” He exclaims.
“Alright, I forgive you, but you must escort us to the Celestial Kingdom so I may return safely! I’ve already been captured and I don’t want that to happen again!” I demand. He nods his head and jumps up immediately. He takes my hand and kisses it, then he proceeds to bow. I laugh at him. “You really don’t need to bow to me, sir. Besides, I never got your name!” I exclaim. His cheeks become a darker shade of blue.
“Ah, I’m so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Myrel,” He replies. He then proceeds to walk into the undergrowth. “Follow me...” He says. Harvey and I follow Myrel to the Kingdom. Harvey squeals as a green Energy Eater, a small lustrous dragon that eats energy, scurries by. Myrel stops and looks at Harvey in confusion then keeps walking.
An hour later, we arrive at the kingdom and enter the market. Yokais see me and then proceed to gasp and cheer, “The princess is back! The princess is safe!” They holler. I wave politely and stroll through the market with Harvey and Myrel. I curl my tail around my leg. I hear a lot of chatter and whispering. I arrive at the castle’s front and the guards hurry to open the gates. I inhale as the gate begins to open. Once the gate is open, we enter the castle. I open the door and rush to my mother. Mother gasps as I hug her tightly. I burst into tears.
“Luna, my dear! You’re alright!” She wails. I purr softly as Mother hugs me.
“Luna!” I recognize Player’s voice. He runs over and hugs me. He pulls away from me. “Are you alright?!” He queries. I nod my head.
“Thanks to Harvey, I escaped that dreaded prison!” I motion to Harvey and he waves. Mother looks at Harvey and growls.
“A HUMAN?!” She screams. “WHAT... IS A HUMAN... DOING HERE? DIDN’T THEY TRY TO KILL YOU?!” She wails.
“No! I know not all humans are bad! He’s a good human! He helped me!” I retort. Harvey whimpers as my mother glares at him. Myrel steps in and Mother growls at him too.
“Another one?! You keep bringing strangers into the castle!” Mother screeches. Myrel backs up slowly.
“He helped us get back to the castle!” I say. Avi walks over to Myrel to greet the fellow elf. Myrel smiles. Mother then scowls at Myrel and he cowers in fear at my Mother’s anger. Mom can be pretty scary when she’s mad. Her eyes become cold thin slits when she’s angry. Sometimes, she even bares her fangs. Myrel steps backward and Avi pats him on the back. Avi had to stay in the castle while I was stuck in the dungeon, so he probably had to put up with my mother. I flinch at the thought of Avi having to put up with my mother getting mad at him. I yawn softly and Mother looks over to me.
“My goodness! You must be tired! I must get you to bed!” My mother squeaks. She drags me out of the throne room and up to my room.
I step into my room. They must have changed it since I ran away in case I did return. I would not fit in my old bed. The walls are light blue and the bedsheets are a mix of blue and white. The curtains on the windows are sky blue. The windows slide out to reveal a big balcony. I look back at my mother.
“Do you like it?” she says softly.
“Yes.” I smile. Mother then smiles back at me.
“Get some rest, my dear. I will plan a family reunion for tomorrow. We never got to have a proper one.” she says. Mother walks out of my room and closes the door.
I’m glad we’ll get a proper reunion. I haven’t seen my parents, Serena and Solace, in a long time. I haven’t seen my brothers either. I change into a nightgown I found folded on my bed. It was white and glittered in the moonlight. I tuck myself in and lay in bed. I lay awake for a while and think of what I’ll do to help my people. I realize that I only saw Player when I walked into the castle. Where were Nora and Agartha? Maybe they were resting, but why did they leave me in the prison? Why didn’t they come and help me? Maybe they got stuck and they couldn’t get in? I ponder the many reasons my friends didn’t or couldn’t help me. I eventually drift to sleep.