The Princess

Sarasi

I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t warn Aster anymore. He’s on his own. I watched as Jamal and Aster did a dance on their own. When Jamal tried to slash Aster’s chest open, I silently gasped. I really need to help him somehow. But how? My mind started to play back the last few days; how I first ran into Aster, how I found out, well suspected, that I was the missing Princess. How I met and bonded with Sunlight, when I met Simon and-wait a minute. I bonded with Sunlight…. He told me that if I needed help, I just had to call for him. So I did. In my mind.
‘Sunlight! I need you! Well, Aster needs you!’ I ‘said’.
There was a sound like breaking glass, and Aster and Jamal looked up. So I did too. I saw Sunlight descending from the ceiling.
‘You called?’ he thought to me.
‘Help Aster!’ I pleaded.
‘Nah. He don’t need help. You’re the one that needs it.’ he said.
‘What?!?’ He shocked me with that.
‘Yup.’ At that, he slammed his foot on the edge of the blue fire cage. The cage dissolved. I could speak too.
‘What did you do?’ I asked him.
‘Helped even the field.’ he said.
“Crap! It’s a royal Astral! Flatex!” Jamal yelled.
Simon collapsed to the floor. He clutched his throat in the universal sign that meant he couldn’t breathe.
“Stop! You’re killing him!” I yelled. Jamal turned toward me.
“That’s the point!” he gave me a wicked smile. Then he turned back around and concentrated on Simon, whose face was turning blue. I had to do something! Before I could move, Aster launched himself right at the cage.
“Aster! No!” I yelled, but he didn’t hear me since he touched the fiery cage. it vanished.
Aster cradled Simon in his arms.
“He’s alive. Unconscious, but alive.” Aster announced.
“You’ll pay for ruining my fun.” Jamal told him, glaring at him.
“Sarasi, put him up with Dan, since that is much safer than down here, okay?” Aster asked.
“Put him with Dan.” I murmured. Simon’s body floated up and went into the fire colored egg, which expanded to include Simon. Jamal started muttering to himself. Then he started pacing in a circle. All of a sudden, he stopped, looked at Niya, and said an unintelligible word. Niya burst into flames.
“Niya! Put the flames out! Put the flames out!” I yelled, using my magic. The flames went out. I rushed over to her and saw that she was actually better than she looked. He fur was a little blackened, but otherwise, she was fine. I said the ‘magic words’ to put her up with Dan and Simon.
“You keep taking away my fun!” Jamal yelled, throwing a fireball at me. I dodged easily.
“Killing people and animals is not fun; it’s murder.” I told him.
In response, he threw a fireball at Aster. The fireball went out before it reached him.
‘Sorry. I sneezed.’ Sunlight said. I had to smother a laugh so I wouldn’t anger Jamal any more than he should be. Aster gave me a funny look. I mimed sneezing and pointed at Sunlight. I shouldn’t have told him. He cracked up laughing.
“What are you laughing about? This is no laughing matter!” Jamal snapped, throwing a knife at Aster. It barely missed. Good thing Jamal isn’t a trained assassin. All of us would be dead twenty times over.
“Sorry.” Aster said, then turned to Sunlight and said, “Gesundheit.” Sunlight nodded his head in thanks to Aster.
“You sneezed?” Jamal asked, “Then sneeze on this!” He threw an even bigger fireball at Sunlight. It went out way before the first one went out.
‘That was like a candle.’ Sunlight commented.
Jamal started throwing fireball after fireball at Sunlight, each one going out before it reached them, and growing bigger and bigger each time.
‘Sunlight… Let’s try not to anger him anymore.’ I told him.
‘Oh, fine.’ Sunlight let out a breath and knocked Jamal over.Then he flew up and perched on one of the supports.
“So the thing decided to leave now?” Jamal asked.
“Sunlight is not a thing!” I told him.
“Oh? His name is Sunlight? So…. you bonded to him? Of course you did. You did say that you were the missing Princess. Sunlight and Niya prove it. Oh, your magic helps too…..” Jamal was deep in thought.
“Does he still not think that I’m the Princess?” I asked Aster.
“I’m not sure. You can’t tell what he knows and what he doesn’t know.” said Aster.
“Yeah. No one can get inside the head of someone like him. Except for their wife.” I said.
“Yeah. But he doesn’t have one and never will.” Aster concluded.
“Yeah. He’d probably be nicer if he had one.”
“You’re doing it again!” Jamal yelled, then I felt a pain in my left shoulder.
“Sarasi!” Aster yelled. I looked at my shoulder and saw that a knife was buried in it all the way to the hilt.