The maid left Kira’s room as soon as she made sure she was in bed. What she didn’t know was the princess had her armor on and that her bag of stuff is already underneath her bed. Kira jumped up a few minutes after the maid left and grabbed her bag.

She slowly peeked at the door and carefully closed it behind her. It was dark out, everyone’s probably asleep or they’re busy making preparations to search for the book.

Kira walked with slow and steady steps at the empty and dark hallways, the only thing keeping her from bumping into stuff was her memory of how the hallways look like. She then saw light in a corner and it was followed by a shadow.

                “Sehun and his men will leave by dawn. They will take the path to the woods and cross the river.” Came the Chief Adviser’s voice

                “alright. That seems like the safest way for them to get to that fortress.” Kris’ voice came and Kira became alarmed, if Kris sees her, he’ll definitely get mad and maybe lock her in a tower with dozens of guards.

She needed to hide, and quickly.

A sudden hand on made her eyes go wide; she was then pulled inside a room that was slowly shut.

                “you will get yourself into trouble, princess.” Kira heard a familiar voice and she turned to see the Prince of Moonlight Kingdom; Chen.

                “the moment I let those weird flying creatures escape with pages of the book, I know I’m already in trouble. We’re in trouble.” She replied. So Kris let the king and prince stay for the night in their Kingdom. But where’s the King?

                “well then, by all means. I would like to you in this troubled journey you are going to have.” He suddenly said and Kira gave him a confused look. He wants to come with her? Well, that’s surprising.

                “you and I have been talking about adventure, going off on our own. As I see it, this is a chance given to us. It is dangerous and I admit I am quite nervous about leaving, but I want to help. And also, see the world.” he says and that’s when Kira noticed that Chen was wearing his armor as well and on the side was his bag and sword.

                “if we leave, there’s no turning back. They will find out in the morning and they will come after us. That will not stop me from retrieving those pages.” Kira said and Chen gave a nod as an acknowledgement.

He wanted to go with her, for the adventure and also he felt that both of their Kingdoms are responsible for the drastic happenings so he will go as a representative of the Moonlight Kingdom in this journey.

                “very well then, prince Chen. You are my companion for this journey.” Kira smiled and extended her hand.

                “you can just call me Chen, princess.” He replied before shaking her hand.

Kira told Chen about the secret passage they needed to take and he was amazed since their castle only had two secret passages while the White Cloud Kingdom had six.

They went to the passage through the kitchen; underneath the pile of rice and got out on the stables; Kira mounted her white horse and Chen took another brown horse.  

Kira then pulled on a lever disguised as a torch to open up a bigger passage that could lead them into the woods.

Chen was first to enter with his horse and Kira turned back around to look at the castle. Soon, everything will be back to normal. She’s sorry to her brother for leaving, but it’s too late to turn back now and she knows, she was destined to do this.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The moment the passage ended and they were out on the woods, Chen and Kira sped up with their horses and got away from the kingdom as far as possible.

They arrived at a small clearing in the woods and decided to set up camp. They needed to discuss which route they were going to take to get to Erebus. Kira laid down a map of the kingdoms and the map that she drew as well.

                “we can take the mountain pass by the Phoenix Kingdom. It’s nearer than the path chosen by Sehun and his army.” she said and Chen nodded.

There are two ways to get to the Infinity River; the mountains and the woods. The mountain is the realm of the Phoenix Kingdom. Also, Kira knew that the Woodland Realm is the path Sehun and his men will take. So Chen and her will be taking the Weald Woods which is on the other side, it is a risky path but it is quicker than passing by the Woodland Realm.

                “it’s a three days ride to the mountains so we better get going.” Kira said and mounted her horse before galloping ahead.

The sun started to shine as Chen and Kira made their way to the mountains. They still have a far way to go but they’ll be fine as long as they follow the road.

                “what is that!?” Chen suddenly halted his horse and looked above.

Kira looked up to see the same creatures that took the pages of the book; her first move was to grab her bow and arrow and shoot it to fall. She aimed the arrow at a flying creature and shot it straight at the chest. It screeched in pain and fell in a circular motion, not far from where they were.

                “come on!” Kira said and urged her horse to go to where it fell.

As soon as they saw the creature their eyes went wide; it was carrying a stack of potions which were now spilled and broken on the ground.

                “I think the Dark Master is on the move.” Chen said and she gave him a nod. Where else would these creatures take these potions?

                “they must have been attacking villages overnight, ever since the pages got ripped. They’re getting bolder.” Kira said

The other kingdoms would know if the balance is tipped, the beacon was lit last night as a warning so right now; maybe the Phoenix Kingdom and all other kingdoms are on high alert.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Another day has passed and Kira and Chen were halfway through the open lands and into the mountains. They would camp on hidden areas at night and then travel in the morning. Kira can see the Phoenix Kingdom but they’re still not that close to it; they will probably reach it in the morning, on the third day.

                “here you go.” Chen said and offered Kira the cooked frog. It was their first time eating one but Kira has heard that it tastes like chicken. So she bravely took the stick from him and took a bite.

                “how is it?” Chen asked, still wary if they should eat it or not. It’s not exactly a delicacy that was made by their kingdom’s cooks.

                “not bad. a little chewy than chicken meat.” Kira admitted and the latter nodded before taking a look at his piece.

                “oh come on Chen, you said you wanted an adventure, this is an adventure of the palette..” Kira teased and he gulped before taking a small bite, but after chewing, his eyes went wide and he took a bigger bite.

                “that wasn’t so bad now was it?” she asked and he nodded with a stuffed face. Kira found herself giggling at the adorable face of the prince; he looked like a young cat that had its cheeks full of food.

Kira admits that these past days travelling with the prince of the Moonlight Kingdom is quite eventful; she admits that he has skills on a sword and has a knack for slingshots as well. He also said that he looks more like his father while the king resembles their mother.

During their rests, if they don’t have small talk, they fight in a friendly duel of swords.

                “where are you taking us?!” a sudden shout came from somewhere near their campsite.

Chen immediately drenched out the fire and covered it with some leaves. They crept up behind the bushes and peeked at where they heard the noise.

A dozen of dark cloaked men walked and they were pulling wheeled cages that had either women or men in them.

                “who are they?” Chen asked but Kira shrugged, she’s never seen anyone dressed like that before. You can barely see the faces of the men, their cloaks reached up to their feet and all you could see were the soles of their boots.

                “you will be a great gift for our master.” The cloaked men spoke in unison, Kira and Chen felt a chill up their spine, it was like a deep and hallow monster like voice.

                “not on my watch!” a petite young boy in red and orange armor said and knocked over the cages but it was futile. Kira took a good look at his emblem that was on his chest plate.

                “they’re from the Phoenix Kingdom…” she said once she recognized the burning red bird.

                “but why are they captured? Do you think the Dark Creatures attacked their place?” Chen asked.

                “we can’t be too sure but that is a theory I’m not denying.” she replied

                “you are a persistent little man.” the cloaked men said again and one of them slipped his hand on the cage and strangled the young boy

                “YOUR HIGHNESS!” the women screamed. Your highness? This young boy is the King of the Phoenix Kingdom?

                “what’s happening to him?” Chen asked as the young boy struggled with the man choking him, his skin was turning black; weird markings and black veins started to appear.

Kira knew what it was; Dark Magic.

                “we have to help them. Let’s go.” she said to Chen and drew out her bow and arrow before shooting the cloaked man on the back, the man let go of the young king and fell down. The remaining cloaked men turned to their direction then produced swords of their own and ran towards the two.

                “I’ll deal with them, free the prisoners.” Chen said and blocked an attack before kicking the cloaked man away. Kira nodded and shot an arrow before running towards the cages.

She used her sword and slashed onto the locks; setting them all free, she then ran to the last cage to see the young king, face flat on the wood.

                “hey! Can you hear me? I’m gonna get you out.” she said and opened his cage. But the moment Kira touched him; he grabbed her neck and lifted his head to reveal an ugly looking version of him. His eyes were jet black, his pupils were red and the markings on his face looked like weird veins.

Kira choked on air and gripped on his hand to pry it off but his hold was too strong.

                “KIRA!” Chen yelled in alarm after killing another cloaked man. All of a sudden, Kira’s pendant lit up and it produced a white light. She felt the hand on loosen and she was dropped to the ground. Kira coughed before looking up to see the young king unconscious, but he was back to his original state.

                “Light Magic.” One of the cloak men said.

Chen had taken down five of them and now there were only six left, the cloaked men blasted black smoke and then they were gone.

                “KIRA! Are you alright?“ Chen asked after taking his sword back in its sheath.

                “y-yeah. You?” she asked back and he nodded.

                “we are forever grateful to you. You have saved us.” they heard someone say and both of them turned to see the men and women who were captured

                “what happened? Why were you captured?” Kira asked

                “it all came by so fast. two days ago, we felt the balance of the world get tipped. And soon as it happened, dark creatures came swarming out of the forest and attacked the land. The army was able to drive off the creatures but on the second day, they came back stealing potions and powders from the magic shops in town. Then those men in cloaks came, they attacked the castle and the whole kingdom, this time we weren’t so lucky. A few managed to escape in the mountains but we were caught, along with the prince.” A woman said

So he’s the prince. Where are the king and queen? Kira doesn’t really know much about the Phoenix Kingdom, except for the fact that it’s the second strongest Kingdom right next to White Cloud.

                “what happened to the kingdom after you were captured and some escaped?” Chen asked

                “the kingdom, as we speak is being held by more of those cloaked men.” A man answered

                “do you know where some of your people have gone in the mountains? We will help you get back to them.” Kira said and the people nodded in response. If the Phoenix Kingdom is overrun, it just means that the enemy is growing stronger in just a manner of days or even hours.

Kira whistled for the horses to come and she let the Phoenix Prince lie on his stomach behind her. Chen had two women sit on his horse as he walked with the men.

The party walked silently through the mountain path, getting higher from the land below, and on the second way up, a scout was there to greet them.

                “IT’S THE PRINCE!” he exclaimed as soon as he saw who was behind Kira’s horse. He immediately led them into a cave and once they have reached the end of cave, there was a small campsite in the making.

                “GET THE CAPTAIN!” the scout said to one other guard and the guard ran inside a huge red tent. He was then followed out by a tall man with really pointy ears. He did not have the radiance an Elf would normally give out, but his ears were rather pointy.

                “tend to the injured, put the prince in his tent and make sure a healer comes to him.” He said in a deep hallow voice. But his voice wasn’t scary like those cloaked men before, in fact, it sounded commanding yet charming.

                “I am Chanyeol; Captain of the Guard of the Phoenix Kingdom. To whom do I owe my thanks for saving the prince?” he asked and bowed

                “I’m Kira, Princess of the White Cloud Kingdom. This is Chen, Prince of the Moonlight Kingdom.” Kira introduced as they both bowed back.

                “White Cloud? Why are you not with a battalion?” he asked. White Cloud is the first strongest kingdom and Chanyeol’s sure that when they travel, they travel in great numbers.

                “I prefer not to have any. Now Captain, I would like you to tell me about the attack in your kingdom. The woman before says that it happened as soon as the balance was tipped.” Kira says.

Chanyeol then led Chen and her inside the big red tent where stacks of scrolls were piled up along with maps. Chanyeol was right in the middle of planning a battle strategy to take back their kingdom when the guard walked in and alerted him of the prince’s return.

                “Correct. We were unprepared but we managed to fend them off, but on the second day, they came back and with those cloaked men who can use Dark Magic. We were outmatched, our best chance was to flee here, but unfortunately, during the battle I got separated from the prince and only after the battle did we come to realize he was taken. I sent scouts immediately but they did not return.” Chanyeol starts

                “they were probably killed by those men in cloaks. It’s my first time seeing them as well, I have only encountered with that flying creature.” Kira says

                “banshee is what we call them now. Their ear piercing screams could do things to you if you don’t find a way to cover your ears.” The captain replies and showed the side of his neck which had red vein markings.

                “as you know, the White Cloud Kingdom and Moonlight Kingdom are the ones in charge of this unfortunate happenings, we were going through the Exchange Ceremony when the attack happened.” Kira started and Chanyeol listened intently

                “the pages of the Book of Life Magic got ripped and that started all this. But we believe, someone else has been planning this from the beginning. Dark creatures shouldn’t exist since the balance before was not meddled with and light always triumphs against the dark. But they did exist, even before the balance was tipped.” she continued and Chen nodded from the side

                “do you think it has something to do with Erebus being restored?” Chanyeol asked

                “how did you know?” Kira wondered and Chanyeol stood up before leading them outside and somewhere higher.

                “that.” he said and pointed at a dark cloud from afar, below the dark cloud was a black tower. It was a blurry vision but it can be seen nonetheless.

                “I think the moment the balance tipped, the one pulling the strings has managed to bring back Erebus to its glory.” Chanyeol then says before they got down.

                “Erebus is now standing tall, it will attack the other kingdoms in hopes of gaining power and bringing destruction.” He added as he sat on his chair.

                “the other kingdoms have been warned, the beacon was lit last night from our kingdom. But with what you said, that the moment the balance got tipped the enemy attacked, I doubt some of them had escaped.” Kira says

                “what do you suggest we do?” Chanyeol asks

                “Chen and I are going to retrieve those pages. If the pages are retrieved, the balance will be restored and darkness will once again fall into nothingness.” Kira replied

                “I will go with you; it is my duty to help, for the good of all mankind.” He said and bowed

                “what about the restoration of the Phoenix Kingdom?” Chen asks

                “the Kingdom will be restored once those pages are returned.” Someone spoke and they turned to see the prince, wide awake and free of injuries.

                “My prince, you should be resting.” Chanyeol says as he bows an walks over the young man.

                “I have had enough rest, Captain.” The latter replies and turns to Kira and Chen.

                “I am coming with you.” He boldly says with his chin held high and a determined look was plastered on his face. Even if the prince looked petite, Kira and Chen knew that there was more to him than meets the eye.

                “but your highness, it is not advisable for you to join this journey, it is too dangerous. The late king and queen will not be happy if something happens to you. You are our king even if you’re not yet at the right age.” Chanyeol said

                “I am your king, and a king cannot just sit by and watch the whole world perish.” He says and holds a dignified stare towards the captain. The prince is to be crowned king once he reaches the age of twenty-one, right now he still lacks one more year so he is still called a prince.

                “very well, if that is what the future king wishes.” Chanyeol says and bows; he cannot deny the wishes of the King so he would just have to go with him to protect him from harm. The prince then turns to Kira and Chen and introduces himself.

                “I am Prince Baekhyun of the Phoenix Kingdom. My steward shall see to the people’s safety while we embark on this journey you have set. Let us hope that we are not too late.”

                “I fear we are a bit too late, but that doesn’t mean we can’t fight back and give our best effort to protect the land.” Kira admits and they start to plan how to get to Erebus.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Kris woke up to the pounding of his door. It has only been a few hours since the incident happened and it was still fresh in his memory. He cannot believe the balance of good and evil is tipped and that there is a possibility that darkness will rule over the whole land.

He didn’t want that to happen, who in their right mind would? So he started to take action the moment Lay traced the monster skin to Erebus. He instructed Sehun and the other soldiers to leave immediately and retrieve the missing pages.

It was the only thing they could all do, for now. Kris knows Kira has a huge part to play in the prophecy but as long as she is not of age yet, he needed to keep her safe.

It was a long journey to get to Erebus, it would probably take months even on stallions, but they were willing to go that far just to reclaim the pages of the book.

                “KRIS!! GET UP!! KRIS!!” Tao’s nonstop pounding on the door made Kris groan and look at the window before getting up and opening his door.

                “KIRA AND CHEN ARE GONE!” was what Tao greeted him with. Tao looked exhausted, worried and all in all; freaked out.

                “WHAT?” Kris asked and he ran to Kira’s room.

                “KIRA!” he yelled upon bursting through the doors but there was no response. He noticed her bow, arrow and sword weren’t inside the room either.

                “we checked the stables, her horse is gone. Another horse went missing and King Suho figured his brother took it.” Tao said again

                “she went to Erebus on her own.” Lay suddenly appeared from the door

                “she’s gonna get herself killed! And if that happens, darkness would truly consume this land! GET SEHUN AND FIND HER!!” Kris shouted before storming out of Kira’s room.

Lay followed behind the frustrated king into the armory.

                “where do you think you’re going?” Lay asks

                “I will join the General and look for Kira.” Kris replies as he takes out his own white and golden armor.

                “no, you will not. Your kingdom needs you here, my dear King.” Lay says

                “I cannot just sit by here and let Kira wander off on her own!” the king yells and Lay puts down his staff and releases white mists, causing the King to sit down.

                “Calm down My King. The princess is not a child; she left the palace knowing what she is capable of. She will be unharmed in her journey I assure you. That amulet I gave her is special and it will protect her and those closest to her.” Lay says in a calming tone

                “the King is needed by his people, you cannot leave them while the whole land is threatened by the darkness.” The wizard adds and Kris sighs

                “she knows what she is doing. Trust her. Sehun will find her in time.” Lay finishes before laying a hand on the king’s shoulder.

                “I have dispatched Sehun and his men to look for Kira and the prince.” Tao then enters with the Moonlight King in tow.

                “I cannot believe that Chen would do this. He’s the type to wander off on his own, but to go this far?” Suho says as he bites his thumb.

                “they will be fine My Lords. I assure you, they are protected.” Lay says before turning to the window as they hear the galloping of horses.

Sehun and his men led their horses into the woods, hoping that the princess and prince hadn’t gone too far.

 

 

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White Cloud Kingdom - King Kris, Princess Kira, Healing Wizard Lay, Chief Adviser Tao, General Sehun

Moonlight Kingdom - King Suho and Prince Chen

Phoenix Kingdom - Captain Chanyeol and Prince Baekhyun

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