Castle of Glass

I couldn't see.

I could feel that my eyes were open, that nothing hampered my vision physically, and yet I could see nothing. I tried to keep a level head as I waited for any kind of sense to reach me, but the longer I went without sight, the more worried I became. I wriggled against the bonds on my arm, but it only left a burning sensation.

I took a deep breath and smelled earth and tree sap. I was still in the forest, then. It was cold, so it was probably late at night or early in the morning, before the dew had set on the leaves. Exhaustion made my limbs heavy, but there was no way I could fall asleep like this.

My hearing picked up the tiniest bit of movement outside, and I hesitated calling out to whoever it was. It grew louder, and I turned my face in the direction of the sound. As my head moved, my vision cleared up, and I could see the trees woven into walls just like they were at Vira's castle. I noticed a door on the opposite wall and as I studied it, it began to open. I carefully molded my expression into a blank stare and turned my head down.

Someone paced into the room and knelt directly in front of me, tilting my face up to look at me. I morphed my features into panic. "Who's there?" I called. "Rob? Michael?" I recognized the face - he was the man who stood next to Vira in the throne room.

"I fear they won't be coming to help you, Princess," he said. His voice was oily and slightly nasally.

"What did you do to Rob and Michael?" I demanded.

"Absolutely nothing," he said, letting go of my face and turning away. "But I can't guarantee your father will do the same when he declares war on them for taking you captive and killing you and torturing your sister for intelligence." I struggled against the bonds holding my hands together.

"Who are you?" I asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"Irrelevant," he said, waving his hand. "All that matters is that no one will come to Jakobi's aid, and his kingdom will burn." My heart was racing, and I started clawing at the rope. The elf hummed and turned back to me. "Must be going now. Do try to keep your resolve, Sayer. It will be fun to see you break." He left the room and I saw the forest outside before he closed the door.

I took a deep breath and continued to pull at the rope on my hands. From my short look at the forest outside, I knew I was nowhere close to the castle. It had been some hours since I'd last seen Michael. My chest aced at the thought of him. Hitting him had been such a brash action, and it brought back memories of the day I'd met him. Had I lost my compassion for him?

I pulled harder at the ropes. If war broke out between the elves and my father's kingdom, Michael would be at the front of the elves, leading them into battle. There would be casualties, but Jakobi's kingdom would be ravaged.

I didn't know how much time had passed. My fingers were bloody; the ropes were frayed, but they were nowhere close to breaking. I fought a sob - I was cold, exhausted and terrified.

I heard a twig break outside and I froze. A muffled voice met my ears - a question to someone else. I bit my lip, unsure if I should call out - but I knew how to protect myself, all I needed was for them to set my hands free.

"Help!" I screamed. "Help me!" There was a pause, and then the door burst open. I braced myself, prepared to be met with any kind of enemy, but as the dust settled, I was surprised to find my maid, Maya, along with Eurydice's, Flora.

"Told you it would work," Maya said with a grin as she led the way into the hut. Flora stepped forward to free my hands and feet and tsked at my hands.

"Maya, come take care of this," she said, pulling my hands in front of me to showcase my torn fingers. Maya stepped forward as Flora dug food from the pack on her back.

"How did you find me?" I asked quietly as Maya took my hands.

"Andromeda is not the only one who knows how to use a locator spell," she said. I expected her to take bandages from her pack, but instead my hands grew uncomfortably warm. "When we heard her tell Jakobi that she could not find you, we knew she was lying, so we searched for you ourselves." She let go of my hands and held out a compass that, instead of pointing north, pointed directly to me. "Here, you can keep that," she said, dropping it into my hands.

My fingers were no longer bleeding. I looked down to find them fully healed, faint scars the only sign that I had been tied up. I no longer felt exhaustion pulling on my limbs. Flora pushed food into my hands and looked up at Maya.

"Check her ears." Maya glanced at them and paused, forehead creasing in confusion. I reached up to touch my ears even as I continued to eat. Unable to tell that anything was different, I watched as Maya and Flora shared a look.

"Where's Eurydice, Sayer?" Maya asked me.

"In Vira's dungeon," I mumbled through my mouthful of food, throwing my manners out of the window. Flora sighed.

"So she didn't lie about that. Figures." Flora pulled her hair up into a ponytail and I stared unabashedly, eyes following the curve of her ears to the pointed tips. "Oh yes, we're elves. We're double spies for Jakobi. Unfortunately, he trusts Andromeda over us."

They helped me to stand. "We have to get you home," Maya said "Jakobi needs to see that Andromeda was lying."

"What will you tell him about how you found me?" They paused. "He doesn't know you can use magic?"

"No," Maya said. She bit her lip.

"What about Eurydice?" I asked. They stared at me, as if to say, 'What about her?' "I can't leave the forest without her."

"She'll be safe in Vira's castle, for now."

"No she won't," I objected. "That man, the one standing next to Vira, he's the one who brought me here." Shock registered over their previously composed expressions, and they shared a long look.

"You could scry, try to get in contact with Michael or Phoenix." Maya nodded and stepped away while Flora turned to me, picking up my hands and tsking again. "These scars will probably never fade." I looked down at them, humming thoughtfully. Maya made an annoyed sound but didn't turn around.

"Why do you spy for Jakobi?" I asked Flora as I watched Maya. She gave a thoughtful pause before responding.

"I lost my mother in a skirmish that Queen Vira's father started. It made me realize how futile wars were. When Maya's father asked me to accompany her to your kingdom and help keep the peace, I jumped at the chance. This rivalry between our races is unnecessary."

My gaze moved to Flora, at the look of sorrow and determination on her face. "I'm sorry that you lost your mother." She looked up at me.

"And I'm sorry that you lost yours." We were both silent.

"We need to go," Maya said suddenly. We looked up at her, at her paled face. "The others are in trouble."

I jumped up, food forgotten. Flora put a hand on my arm and handed me my own pack, while Maya handed me a bow and a quiver of arrows. "Eurydice?" I asked warily.

"She's with Michael and the others." My stomach turned at the mention of Michael. "We need to hurry, they'll be overwhelmed soon." I nodded anxiously and followed them out of the hut and through the forest. They remained tense as we hurried through the trees, and I notched an arrow on the bow Maya had given me, pinching the string as my eyes scanned through the foliage.

After a while, the sounds of battle met my ears. I heard rustling, turned and let loose the arrow. It met its mark, hitting the heart of the hideous creature that had started toward us. The air knocked out of my lungs as I watched it fall, flashbacks making my vision narrow.

"C'mon Sayer," Flora said patiently. "There's no time to stop." I nodded, shaking my head clear and following them into a clearing. Further off, I could see the tip of Brad's head as he fought, losing it occasionally when he dipped to avoid his enemy's blade. My eyes scanned the rest of the battlefield, looking for Eurydice and Michael. I saw them together with Chester, back to back, protecting each other from the relentless attacks.

"There's more than I thought," Maya breathed. I notched another arrow and let it fly straight into another creature that was about to attack her. She summoned a little fire ball and threw it at the creature, sending it flying and causing several others to catch fire.

The sudden use of magic surprised me, but as I scanned the battlefield, I could see David releasing magic from his own hands as well. A lightning bolt flashed out, catching several of the creatures and causing them to drop to the ground.

"The orcs will not stop, Sayer," Flora warned. "Don't believe them if they act as if they are retreating. We must kill all of them."

I nodded and notched another arrow, following them as we fought our way through the battlefield. My eyes caught on Michael, who moved gracefully from parry to jab, mowing down every orc who reached him. Anger filled his eyes, unadulterated, and as I watched he snarled at his opponent. Chills ran through me, and I shot my arrow through the heart of his opponent before the orc even reached him. His eyes flashed up to me in surprise, and then a relieved smile split his lips. Eurydice glanced over and whooped.

"About time! You're gonna have to try hard to catch up to me!" I chuckled and shot the orc over her shoulder and she grinned, turning back to cover Chester's back as he surged forward to cut down three orcs in as many blows.

I turned, taking a deep breath. Brad, Phoenix, Chester and Mike were accounted for, as well as my sister, but I hadn't seen Joseph or Rob yet. Flora handed me a dagger and I put my bow away, using the dagger to cut through the orcs. My limbs were starting to ache again, but I knew I couldn't stop my relentless attacks. None of the orcs would.

Joe was shooting arrows from the trees, perched carefully on a thick branch, keeping watch over the battle to make sure no one was close to losing. I started toward him, prepared to do the same, but before I could get far I heard Maya call my name. I turned and my eyes caught on Rob, who was gritting his teeth, struggling against three orcs as they bore down on him, out of range of Joe's arrows. I shoved through the orcs in my way, stabbing and slashing as I tried to reach the knight.

One of the orcs slashed at him and blood appeared on his face, a long thin cut that narrowly missed his eye. I yelled out and stabbed it in the back, shoving it out of the way and pulling its sword from its hand, tucking away the dagger and facing the orcs, sword ready to fend them both off at once. Rob's shoulder pressed into mine, letting me know he was okay and thanking me for helping him all in one. I took another deep breath and we pressed forward against the orcs, cutting through them side-by-side, refusing to leave each other's sides.

We forced our way to the center, where Dave, Maya and Flora had joined Michael and the others. We converged together, Joe picking off orcs from the trees while the rest of us fought with them, swords clashing and cutting through them as quickly as we could.

"They're not going to stop!" Michael yelled. "They're coming from the north. Look for your opening and run south! Don't stop and don't look back!" Everyone nodded and I grit my teeth. Michael's arm brushed against mine reassuringly and Rob's hand grabbed mine as he slashed through an orc. He pulled me through the opening and we took off, sprinting through the trees. A few orcs splintered off to follow us, but the main horde remained.

"Michael!" I yelled over my shoulder.

"Just go!" I heard him yell back. Eurydice appeared behind me, a grim look on her face. I knew she hated the idea of running, but the battle wasn't going to end. I stumbled slightly and turned, running with Rob's hand in mine. My limbs ached and I found it hard to run, but I knew I couldn't stop.

I struggled to take a breath. I'd found my sister and Michael, only to run from them again. I gripped Rob's hand tight and tried to build my composure. I couldn't let weakness take me when I needed to be strong.