"My Lord, the girl has finally entered the shadows."

I sit, eyes closed, hands massaging my temples and state calmly, "I know."

I know whenever anyone or anything enters my domain. If I couldn't sense that, then I didn't really deserve the title Prince, now did I? I am one of the three Princes of the Shadow Realms, and due to my supreior attributes, I could sense immediately the girl's pesence once she made contact with the darkness. Her aura is so bright and pulsing, a white hot wave of energy; so it would be almost impossible, no, quite imposible for me to not notice her.

Now that the girl has made contact, I need to act aquickly and transport her to my quarters. The other two Shadow Princes, no doubt, will also take immediate acion. I have to get to her first. I have to.

Next to me, I sense my Companion wating almost anxiously for my orders. I know my Companion is tense; now that the girl has entered the shadows, it is a race against time. What my Companion fails to realize, is I've already the girl into the Realms. I got to her first. Now those abominations of Wind and Water, at least, are out of the picture.

I feel my aura boiling and surging in a massive power, like a pent up energy trying to fight for release. I realease it, and it swarms the girl like a sield protecting her from the other two Princes who came upon her mere seconds after I'd gotten my shield in place.

Normally, I can transport objects through any shadows in the blink of an eye, but with the other Prince's auras combined against mine, I realized transportation can be painfully slow.

I dig my fingers deeper into my temples, concentrating. My sapphire blue aura blazes brighter as I repell attacks from my competitors. The fierce, angry electric green and blazing gold auras of the others, slam again and again against my wall of protection in which the girl is cocooned safely inside. I clench my teeth as it takes all my power to keep the shield up; if things continued, I realize, with a burst of anger, I will not have enough energy to sustain this precarious and delicate balance much longer.

Suddenly, I feel a ragged and sharp conscience begin slashing at my whirling blue aura. I hone a part of my conscience on it, focusing and give a cuse as another knife like slash bombards my defenses. By focusing on the first, I'd not seen the other coming. Foolish move. But I'd gotten a good enough look at the first aura, still strong, but noticeably less potent than that of my rivals. The Princes had sent their Companions into the frey, to help weaken and confuse me! I feel my aura slipping, weakening, leaking slowly from my body...No! It can't end this way! It won't!

My eyes snap open. The icy blue of my irises swirl angrily going from midnight blue, to the blue of a frozen frost, to the hard, cold glint of ice. My head snaps over to my Companion. I never wanted to use my Companion for this...but it is my trump card. And at the moment, I need whatever leverage I can get.

"Go!" I order. It is the command my Companion has been waiting for.

"At once, My Lord!" she cries. Her fine figure dissolves into a black vapor and in moments, her aura is beside mine, battling ferociously against the other Companions. I use this sliver of an opportunity of my Companion's quick distraction to open a portal for the girl. Relief floods me as the girl doesn't resist, but plunges into my portal. It closes behind her, and I know we are safe.

I sit back amongst the leather of the couch, I had just been perched on the edge of during the fight, and close my eyes is relief. In the corner of my mind, I feel my Companion's conscience as she relays to me not through words, but impessions: images and sensaions relayed to my mind that she's been injured.

The relief I felt hardens into a hot rage directed at whoever has hurt her. Companions and Princes have special connections. Companions aren't just bodyguards, and certainly aren't mere sevants, though some Princes have had the audacity to treat their Companions like that. No, Companions are more. They are counselor, protector, they supply their Prince with energy if he needs it, and do everything else conceivable for th