Clang!! The sword’s hilt smacks against the blade of mine. I duck the next blow he tries to make and slam! The hilt of my amber colored sword is thrust into his stomach. Then, I pull it out and look all around me. My sword has the bulky, dead mans snout-green blood on it. Suddenly I see the princess, she had ran away when the first swords had killed the King and Queen. Suddenly I hear other guards yelling out, “Protect the princess, save the heir!” One V is going for her (probably because he thinks she’ll be easy to take down). Ha!! She flings out her leg and it slams into the V’s guards chest, so he fly’s back and makes a loud BANG before he smacks against the icy marble floor. Soon princess Abagial is running towards me with droplets of tears streaming down her tan face.
***Abigail***

The first smell that’s hits me when I step out into the courtyard is my mother’s roses and lilies. The smell consumes me with pink lemonade and spring sunshine. My dark purple-stained dress swishes like the wind around my legs and my bright shining silver moccasins make my feet feel like they’re floating on clouds. The golden waves of my hair softly fly in the breeze and my ripe sea-light blue eyes dart around looking for guards or maids. Then I slip the rest of the way out the maids door into the courtyard. Butterflies softly swim in the warm summer breeze and bees fly around the flowers whispering urgently to each other. I take a deep breath let it out slowly, throw my black cloak around me, and start down the cobble stone pathway, to the village to meet Kylee or as I call her Aulis. Aulis and I often sneak away from our parents to roam around my kingdom, Zabrina. Her partents are royal advisers for my mother and father or as everybody in Zabrina calls them: King Blackwood and Queen Belinda. Ever since the V’s have moved from the modern world to ours, my mother, father, and guards have been tenser than ever. V’s are a group who doesn’t have self control and who hates my family. Kylee and I, though, can’t take seeing another marble stone floor or cherrywood door, so we made a plan to sneak out to shop for a couple hours.

As I swiftly walk to meet Kylee I think back on how we became more like sisters than just friends. Maybe it has something to do with us being born on the same day and then forever growing up together. Since neither of us have any siblings it was natural we would be like sisters.

“Abigail!” “Abigail!” “Hello!”

“Oh sorry Aulis I was lost in my thoughts.”

“It’s fine but we only have in hour this time, so we must leave here before they find out!”

“I know come on lets shop!”
***********

“Well…” Suddenly I’m yanked aside into a dark, dake, muddy alleyway while Aulis follows with her upside down smile. In front of us stands a wrinkled old lady with white long thick hair and black eyes that have a tint of red in them. She’s wearing a black ratty dress with black combat shoes. Her shaking hand holds a plush white card with small, midnight black print typed on it.

“Shhhh, tell no one of this. Take this card. Go to this place. Learn don’t leave. You will need it soon. Don’t tell anyone just go when the cloak hits the witching hour.” declares the old lady.

Then without saying anything else she disappears into the swirling black formation.

“Wait, wait!!” we both yell out at once but she’s already gone.

“Who was that?” I hear Aulis but can’t seem to make a reply, so I shake my head and say softly almost too softly, “Lets go home Aulis.”
***********

When we go back to the castle we sneak in the rose covered door and up the white ice crystal steps and into my huge room. With a kick to the cherrywood door it smacks into place and we stand as still as statures and just stare at each other.

“Who was she?” Aulis asks.

“I don’t know.”

Quietly we go to lay down on my rich purple satin bed outlined in silver silk thread. My canopy silently sways in the room. You can hear it swishing back and fourth like water falling down.

“Should we go?” Aulis like always says the question out loud because I still can’t speak.

“Mmaybe we should go to the place?” I sweak out.

“Are you sure?” reasoned Aulis.

“Yya just to see what it is but we have to make sure we’re not caught.” I choke out.

Aulis exclaims “Right, ok we leave at midnight!”
The hours slowly ticked by making my heart skip beats every minute it came closer. Soon I was escaping through the maids’ pine-wood door and into the clear black night. Aulis and I planned to meet at the giant, thick, iron gate that guards our castle.

“Kylee?” I whisper quietly into the creepy air.

“Hello, Aulis are you here?”

“Abigail? Is that you?” I hear the confident tone and know it’s Kylee.

Suddenly she hooks arms with me and we slowly creep towards the place that’s on the card.

Kylee’s fiery red hair flows curly down her back and her dark gem-green eyes slice through the night darting around.

We soon come upon a Victorian home that’s gleaming white with pale red roses colored windows. Also the shimmering white and blood-red roses hug themselves to the outer side of the silent house. Carefully we walk silently up the short steps both of us looking around for V’s. It’s said that the leader is a shifter but he only shifts into a dragon and his wife is a fierce tiger. Also all his minters breath a little fire from an ancient spell lost over time. With our hearts thumping wildly, we get closer to the blood-red door. In the middle of the door is a rusty old brown door knocker. My shaky hand grabs the ice-cold handle and bangs it three times loudly. The sound vibrates in the house; I can feel the power run though the walls. Suddenly, a short plump man opens the door wearing a black velvet suit with a… “Is he wearing a bright pink tie?” I laugh out to Kylee.

“Ya, I think he is.” she whispers confused.

For some reason his dark black hair and the most violet eyes I’ve ever seen just don’t seem to match, but yet they seem like they belong together.

“Welcome, welcome!! Don’t just stand there in the hot heat!“ booms the short man.

“May I ask who you are? Are you the owner of this house?” I ask pleastly.

“Why yes I am, my dear! But I’m not the one you’re here to see, so come in come already. My name is Jep! You’re here to see Gamba though not me! I’m just a joyful man soon to be an old man though! Oh here I am babbling again! I’m so sorry come now in you go!“ Jep laughs happily.

“Uhh how do you know why we are here? I mean not even we know why we’re here.” I hesitantly say as we step into the country side house.

Jep laughs and answers, “My dear girls of course I know who you are! Your silly black cloaks don’t fool a man like me. You see the witch said you would come and you would need Gamba to teach you to defend yourselves.”

“D…d…defend ourselves?” Kylee says confused, Why would we need to do that?”

“Because my dear girls the witch has seen the great fight that’s to come! Gamba!! Gamba!! GAMBA!!!!” Jep hollers.

“Jep I can’t believe you disturbed my training!” a massive, bulky, short-haired blond guy comes roaring into their foyer.

“Forgive me, Jep says with a roll of his eyes, but these are the girls that you need to train.”
“Oh oh these are the girls the witch was talking about, huh.”

“What’s huh suppose to mean buddy?” Aulis snarls.

“Nothing he means nothing my dears! Come follow Gamba into the training room!” Jep says jollily.

We follow them into a giant spacious room where the floors are the palest gray and clomes line the way to a room with gleaming silver swords and black guns of all kinds that are spread out around the room.

“You girls will be learning to fight with all of these weapons and with physical combat.” Gamba announces loudly.

“Ok, but how do we know the witch is right? I mean we all know that some witches are evil! That’s why the modern world doesn’t know. Also that’s why they’re ordered to hide away when the modern world comes to check on us every month! So why should we believe what the witch saw!” I state aloud in my atthortive voice.

“Yes we know but Jep and I have taken every precaution about what she saw. We have found that it’s the truth and the V’s will attack soon, so you two need to learn to fight! You can’t rely on your guards to save you from them! One condition though is that you can’t tell anyone and you must be here at one in the morning ready to fight! Also you two will leave by morning because nobody gets up before seven! Ok anymore questions girls!” Gamba yells happily.

“Well uhh what about…” I start.

“No, ok good lets start!” Gamba screams.

“But!” Aulis and I cry out.

“No buts anymore grab some swords girls!” Gamba yells without any room for discussion on the matter.

So we do as he says and go into the vault of weapons and take a sword each. When my hand touches the snow-white handle of the silver blade that could cut me in half, I feel like it’s my density to wild the sword. As I pick up my sword the handle turns into a rich purple while Aulis’ sword turns a deep ocean blue. Though I’m still a little confused about how Aulis and I could possibly be the ones to have to fight. We’re only 18 years old, so how could we fight and win if our specially trained guards can’t. I need to focus and shut myself up!

“Abigail, do you think we should go along with this?” Aulis whispers into my right ear.

“I uhh think we should learn to fight like they say.”

“Ok.”

With that we begin our training.
************

As we suited up in the right wear, meaning black-silk dresses and black slip-on flats with iron tipped soles, we gathered our purple and blue swords and headed into the middle of the training room to start practice.
“Today girls we are going to do something different!” Gamba roars.

“And what’s that?” Aulis and I say with a smirk.

“Don’t mock me girls I don’t have patience for that! Got it? Good! Now each of you are going to fight with me by physical combat and sword usage. You’ve both been doing this for seven months you two both should be able to take me down by yourselves.”

“What!” we scream together.

“Yes, you both will do this well and we will win the fight! If you don’t, then we won’t have much time to prepare you anymore than we have. So I hope this goes well girls!” with that Gamba looks at me and I know I’m first to go.

I don’t like this it makes me fell like I won’t be able to win. In turn it also feels like I’m suffocating by practicing fighting. The V’s though threw a fit when my father raised taxes and refused to meet with the V’s leader, so they fought back by lighting red-blue fire to a couple different shops even burtly beating and killing three shop owners. My father then put most of the V’s they could find into the prison chambers (formerly know as the death chamber) but we‘re not sure how long they‘ll stay put. We have to be ready to fight and I know Aulis and I have to do this. So I pluck my purple handle sword off the marble floor and walk slowly to where Gamba awaits.

“Now I hope you win, girl!” he says.

“Oh, I will!!” I grunt out.

Gamba yanks his lemon-lime colored sword off the ground and without a warning swings his sword around and almost connects it with my shoulder blade. I fling myself backwards and gently swing the blade of my weapon towards about two inches away from Gamba’s heart. He smacks his hand and my sword fly’s and knocks into the oak-tree table. So, I go down low fling my feet out and slide with all I can across the gleaming floor and the power of it knocks him to the ground. Then I jump on him, hold him to the floor and press the deadly tip of my sword’s blade against his heart. Smiling Gamba flips up and holds his strong hand out to me. Smelling highly of dirty socks and sweat combined. I try to steady my breathing but it continues to come out gasping.

“Very good, girl! Aulis you’ll go tomorrow!” with that, Gamba dismisses us.

“Well you’re doing fanatic with a capital F, my dear! Oh yes and Aulis you’ll do just as well I’m sure!” Jep laughs out, then says in a perky voice “Cookies anyone? They’re fresh and hot! You don’t have to leave for another thirty minutes so enjoy!”

“We’re sorry Jep but Abigail and I need to get home because our parents are starting to notice that we are sleeping in and even after sleeping longer we still are tired all the time! We need to leave now. Sorry Jep!” Aulis says sadly looking at the stemming plate of peanut butter cookies, longing for one.

“Oh, yes you should be getting home then, my dears!” Jep says happily, trying to mask his disaportment.

So just like we have the past seven months, we start out into the icy February air and carefully glide across the plush dark green grass. Then we’re creeping back in though the old maids door up to our comfortable beds, and collapses into the soft cushions. The next night we do like always and dress in all black and pull our hair into tight neat buns. Silent as a mouse, we sneak out and start walking to what we now call the Brothers’ house.
***Matthew***

As I’m guarding the gate, I see two people coming, so I slip into the darkest shadows to wait. When they come closer all I can see is it appears to be two ladies. Huh? I wonder what they’re up to? Then I hear the girls whispering back and fourth.

“I wonder when the fight will be?”

“Soon I’m guessing.” the other one says back.

Fight, I think, What fight? I take a look around the rusty old gate, and its walls and decide to follow the ladies. They silently glide across the grass and all I can make out is their black clocks pulled up shielding their faces from me.

The ladies arrive at a vibrant, white, Victorian house, and are greeted by a way too cheerful old man. Then, as I discover they’re young ladies are urged into the enormous house which they seem to disappear into. Knowing I need to figure out what they’re up to, I slither army style across the plush green grass and up to the outside wall of the country side house. Tap…tap I knock against the old snow-white wood. Finally after five minutes of knocking I find what I’m looking for. There is a small cut out cat size door that hangs open to welcome visitors. I crawl into it and make my way though the dark dewy under door. It smells like wet roses and a hint of mint peppermint which lightens up my senses and fills my nose with it. Soon I hit a vent which opens up into a giant room where one of the ladies is fighting dangoursly with a rather large man. I glance suspicialy around the room and find the other lady is no where to be seen. I quietly slip out and behind a blood-red curtain with pale pink neon strips slanted across the milky soft fabric. Making sure they won’t be able to see my feet I peak around and continue watching.
***Abigail***

I sensed someone following us and watching this time. While Aulis fights the great Gamba I stay hidden until I see it…the shiver of a curtain. Carefully I come out of the showdows and call to Gamba for a time out.

“What! Girl I don’t have time for time outs! This better be important!” he screams angrily. I find that’s his attitude most the time: angry, but I don‘t get why a 21 year-old could be so angry all the time. Only once have I seen him smile and that was because of Aulis’ charms.

I skip to them with a smile then to both of them whisper “Someone followed!!”

Gamba nods and says “Ok, ok we’ll find this person, girl!”

“No, I mean I know where he is just let me handle this.”

“Fine!” he huffs out.

I slowly slide to the wall and press my back against the ice-cold touch of it. The person couldn’t know who we are today. We kept our hoods up, so he or she won’t know who we are yet.
***Matthew***

While I watch I seem to lose sight of the second girl, again. Soon though I feel myself flying into the marble clomes and smacking hard against it. The last thing I see before darkness takes me under is the girl I lost track of. The girl with the eyes like the sky at its brightest.
***Abigail***

Taking our hood down we stare down at the handsome man. He looks to be about 19 years-old and his short tousled milk chocolate hair looks messy like he was just interrupted sleeping.

“Who you do think he is, Gamba?” Aulis asks.
That’s when I see it. The golden sown patch with a symbol of two lions fighting. The symbol that identifies him as my family’s royal guard.

“Look at his ID!!” I yell in most atthortive voice.
Gamba gives me a funny look but reaches down and slips his hand into the man’s black jacket pocket and pulls out his official guard issued ID card. It says his name is Matthew Clance Hallowell, his age is 19, perimeter guard, gate guard and exc. Huh, he must have been on gate duty when we had left.

Suddenly I hear Aulis gasp “Royal guard!!”

“Yes” I breathe.
Then his eyes open and we see his violet purple eyes. Without our cloaks on to hide us, we know he’ll recognize us soon.

“Who are you, girls?” he asks confused. But not for long his beautiful eyes become wider and he calls out “Your Princess and royal advisor! What are you possibly doing here?? Fighting?” he calls out bewailed.

“I’m ordering you to go along with this and tell no one! Got it? You better! We’ll tell you everything but you must promise to tell nobody!” I command.

“Uhh, and I see the fight fade away in his eyes and he says finally, fine I promise your majesty.”

“Good!”
So we go into the Brothers’ living room and sit on their classic orange comfortable couch. Aulis and I slowly tell him everything we know about the fight and he listens intensely.

“So you two are learning to fight?”

“Yes.” we reply together.

“Ok, so I’m suppose to let you two fight even though your both royals? I should sit around and let you do this!” he says angrily.

“Yes, but of course you may come with us now. We know you’ll follow us if we don’t let you, so go ahead.” Aulis softly announces.

“Fine! This is going against everything I’ve ever been taught, but ok,” he replies sadly.
With that Aulis goes back to fighting Gamba and I’m left sitting with Matthew.

“So will you be fighting that guy too?” he questions.

“His name is Gamba and no, I did yesterday. Before you ask yes, I did defeat him.” I reply coldly.

I don’t know why but I know he thinks we couldn’t hurt a fly which in turn makes me out raged at him. Huh, I think to myself I wonder if I knocked him out if he would forget about everything? No? No, I can’t do that to a royal guard, meant to be protecting me and my family including Aulis and her mother and father. He’s like this because he was bought up to defend us. Looking at him now I see he has that dark mysteries look, wait no I don’t and can’t like him. Right now I’m just plain out annoyed with him, at least that’s what I tell myself.

Suddenly I realize I’ve been staring at him this whole time. When he looks back I quietly look away which causes him to raise up his brown eyebrows an inch or less. Me, being well-just me, I smirk at him as if to say “You got something to say or what?” Awkward silence soon settles between us but then Jep comes skipping in with a fresh batch of double chocolate chip cookies. When he sit’s the plate in front of me the smell of milk chocolate melting wraps itself into my nose. A sigh escapes though my month before I can stop it.

“Yummy, yum!” I sigh.

“I knew you would like them Abigail! I had to ask Aulis what kind of cookies you loved! roared Jep happily.
As soon as Jep had left out the Princess before my name I heard Matthew gasp as if it were a crime.

So I turn towards Matthew and shout “It’s not a big deal! My goodness why don’t you stop acting like a guard for awhile and just act like yourself! We’re all friends here…well at least I think we are.”

“Very well said my dear!!!” Jep approvingly laughs out.
***Matthew***


I just stared. What else could I do? There was nothing I could say back. I was trained since about birth to be a guard and the best of them at that. But, the Princess just told me to be me and I couldn’t at all believe it!

Slowly I reply, “Well I’m sorry if I being a guard offensives you, considering I was raised to guard and protect your family, Princess!”

She narrows her eyes when I finish lashing out but instead of yelling back, she turns towards the fighting chambers and walks slowly away, cookie in her small delicate looking hand.

“Well that went swimming! Dear boy what you must come to understand is that Abigail wants to do right for her kingdom and family. Also she wants freedom from all the guards breathing down her neck, so try to imagine yourself in her position and maybe that will help you!” Jep lectures me seriously.

“Uhh ok I’ll try to do that Jep.” I reply sourly.

Then I guess he was done talking with me, so he turned on his fancy black shoe heel and walked away sourly. When I pear in the “fight room” and Abigail I see that she had picked up her sword and began fighting Kylee.
***Abigail***

The next day as Aulis and I prepare for the midnight ball, we hear whispers about the V’s leader having been seen in the country side. Aulis and I share a secret glace at the back of my walk-in closet where behind a little ceep (a secret door) two swords await. Knowing that with the word “Felix” they will come crushing or bolting into our awaiting hands. Matthew having claimed his own sword yesterday, was well trained and his deep amber colored sword awaits with my purple and Aulis’ blue ones.

“Should be any day now.” If the witch is right was left unsaid but Aulis and I know we’re both thinking about it.

I nod then skip to my window and gaze out at the line of cars (yes even though we aren’t all modern we do use cars!) where people of every age, color and size step neatly out of their cars. Sighing I stare out at the dark icy February night…wishing I was at the Brothers’ house. As the blue sky continues to swirl into darks of purple, red, yellow and orange it soon turns to complete darkness. Smelling the tulips ( like freshly picked lemons) I stroll to my sparkly huge mirror where my reflection stares back.

Dressed in a shimmering light violet satin dress with soft pink opening roses that are heavily embroidered into my dress It pools around my feet and the soft pink trim of my dress goes perfect with my soft pink belt wrapped around my small waist. My small shining silver crown with hundreds of white diamonds rest atop my golden curls which are arranged flowing down my back with just enough so to slide in three diamond studded bobby pins. Hanging from my ears are small pink diamonds and around my neck one small soft pink diamond. With soft pink moccasins on my small tan feet I spin around towards Aulis.

Aulis is wearing a flowing torques engraved gown which is trimmed a dark navy blue. Her fire-red hair is pulled up into a small neat ball on top of her head and the maids had clipped in white diamonds all around her ball. Also the maids had finished her outfit off by arranging torques diamond earrings and necklace with her silk gown. Smiling at each other knowing that we look FABULOUS!

The old plump white- gray haired maid signals that it’s time for our grand entrance. Nodding to the maid we carefully make our way down the marble staircase where a plump old bald-headed man awaits to announce Aulis and I. With a flourish we swept down the stairs of white marble with our arms hooked together the old fashioned way. As my gaze darts around, I notice Matthew in the front of the ballroom wearing all black with a grim smile on his face. My smile almost becomes lost but knowing hundreds of royals and government officials are watching I keep it up. When we reach the floor we see young men rushing towards us to ask for a hand in dancing probably not because they know us but because they know our fathers our looking for matches! So Aulis and I step aside before any of them can ask and make our way over to Matthew. Feeling like I really don’t have a care in the world I go right up to Matthew. Holding out my soft hand I ask “Dance?”

“I’m on guard duty, Abigail. I can’t! Sorry,” he replies with a sad look.

“Well I’m now ordering you to dance with me, so come on!” I command trying but failing to sound serious as I take his rough hand in mine. Leading him out to the dance floor oblivious to the stares coming from everyone. Starting out we waltz, and it feels like we’re floating on air but then before we can continue our dancing I watch as two shining silver blades rush by everyone heading straight for my mother and father. Shocked by the sight I stand still as a post watching as the two red- fire blades hit my parents in their hearts. Red blood almost black gushes out over everywhere. The once snow marble is now a river of my mother and father’s lives. Staring in horror I glaze to the entrance of the ballroom where V’s are now flowing into the room. Snatching my hand out of Matthews I run to where Aulis watches with Gamba. We nod knowing and call out together “Felix!” Blade in hand I head to where I know the caption of the V’s waits.
***Matthew***

When Abigail reaches me I can see her saddens in her eyes.

“Matthew I’m going for their leader!” she whispers to me.

I mouth back “I’m coming with you!”

I know she won’t fight with me about this because she wants her revenge for her parents lives. Darting though the maze of fighting we reach where he stands watch with a smile. Fire shoots out of his mouth in waves of golden red.

“I knew you would come, Princess! I wanted the honor of killing you myself, so then when your gone I’ll declare myself King!!!” he bellows happily out.

I, seeing where he was going with this, sneak around behind him, leaving Abigail in front of him. Knowing she knows what I’m doing, she replies back to him “Really? Well, fool dragon, I’m very well trained. You may not be able to take me down easy.”

Now when I see the flash of rage in his eyes I fling my sword into his back hearing his roar as he turns to face me I flee. Abigail slams her blade into his wicked hard heart. All the Vs stop and look on as their leader slowly dies. As he goes limp and falls to his knees, his followers drop what they’re doing and seem to fly out of the palace.
1 month later

Princess Abigail is now Queen Abigail and I her husband, King Matthew. Though she is still in morning, she moves ahead everyday. Gamba and Aulis are next in line for the royal advisers but Aulis’ parents are trying to help Abigail and I with the adjustments. Jep has taken up as head chief for the palace and with him comes a happy atmosphere even though saddens still lingers about the palace. So for now we will rebuild Zabrina but we know they will be back. His wife will come for her revenge.