The outside storm pounded against the windows. The lightning shattered the sky and the thunder shattered the silence. I pulled the note out of a box on the small meza, jedwali inayofuata to me again and reread the handwritten note for what must have been the fiftieth time.

“The Princess of Darkness is promised a common truth that was unrightfully taken from her.”

I stood near the window of the kiti cha enzi room only wondering with horror who (or what) was to come. Or, at least I assumed something would come to pass. No one would send a note such as this without intentions of delivering some sort of, as they called it, truth.

I heard a footstep and I whipped around, no one was there. But of course there wouldn’t be. I had dismissed the guards hours zamani and not even the servants stayed awake until two in the morning. I stood where I was with my moyo pounding and my head spinning. But there seemed to be nothing beyond me other than the cold blanket of night and the vacancy of presence.

Obsidian could not find out where I was at this hour.

Lightning splintered the sky and I whirled around for that as well. How stupid it was to become this wary over a note! A simple note! au maybe I was just trying to convince myself that things were far zaidi paradisiacal than I chose to accept. It seemed that I was zaidi and zaidi often trying to convince myself that things were better than they were… That life was supposed to feel this way, to be this way… But something was always missing. It was as if only half of my soul was with me. As if I knew deep down that maybe I once had known something better…

But it was impossible and only a daydream.
It seemed the note had only aroused these thoughts from the back of my mind and each siku I found that they had not only become recurring, but were enforced kwa my finding of this letter. The maswali about the contents of the letter and who wrote it had kept me up for a week and a half. Ever since I found it in one of my schoolbooks I’ve been on edge. But it’s understandable isn’t it? How on Earth did the thing get there? I had opened the same book on the same page just that morning and I was to believe that it had somehow appeared there on its own accord?

I stared at the window for a long while before I was calm enough to look back down at the paper to read it again.

“Evening, princess.” A voice alisema from behind me.

I started and swung about so quickly that I overturned the table, which held a china vase along with the box and a stack of books, and they all tumbled down with a series of clashes, clatters, and thumping that echoed across the marble floor and throughout the room. A dark laugh joined the already present symphony of reverberating sounds. I stood staring into the everlasting darkness with my moyo pounding harder than ever.

But, as before, no one was to be seen.
But isn’t it just like the darkness to conceal a friend out of kindness?

“Come now,” The voice continued to speak, “There’s nothing to fear as long as wewe cooperate. Understand?” I heard the someone take a step forward, the moon from the window showed a profile, a silhouette contrasting the surrounding darkness, illuminating only the edge of the apparently hooded shadow; but the figure’s face remained hidden.

I was frozen stiff and unable to utter a single syllable. I continued to stand staring into the blackness only wondering what was next.
He sighed, “If wewe must,” The stranger alisema exasperatedly, “Nod yes au something.”

I always had a strong personality underneath what was to be expected from someone of my status. Even when I was this mortified of what might happen, I had the nerve to shake my head ‘no’.

“Fine,” The someone alisema after a pause, “We’ll do this the hard way.”

The room ignited and the flames began to consume whatever they could get their hands on. The moto roared and shed light onto the destruction being created in even the darkest of corners. It began in no order and from no certain direction. It began in chaos and was likely to end that way.
I gaped as the walls of my palace crumbled, as the plaster melted, as the paint peeled, as the smoke slithered towards the ceiling. The lightning outside was no horror compared to this.

I looked at the man in alarm and was rather taken aback when I realized that he was no zaidi than sixteen, which was only a mwaka older than I. He had pitch dark hair that just passed his shoulders, eyes that glowed blood red, and wore an amused smile. He was obviously enjoying my reaction.

“What have wewe done?” I screeched.

He laughed, “I think it’s quite obvious. But if wewe still aren’t sure I’d be zaidi than happy to set the blaze brighter.”

The moto began to grow closer. I turned to my left to try and run and had only taken a few steps when he flicked his wrist lazily and a wave of flames blocked my path. I stopped short and turned to him again and just stood there waiting for some means of escape to suddenly appear. Of course, as my luck runs, none did.

The flames blazed in reds, yellows, and blues. They seemed to grow in a mduara, duara around me. They ate the floor before my feet and gently spread closer and closer to me as I backed towards the wall. The oxygen was thinning and I couldn’t stop from coughing. I collided with the stone behind me; there was nowhere to run to.

No matter where I looked I was completely surrounded kwa a ukuta of fire. Embers glowed, ashes floated through the air…

Everywhere.

The flames parted and the man stepped through them easily. I stood paralyzed with fear and shock as he grabbed my arms and quickly bound my wrists together with a bit of rope from a pocket on the inside of the long black vazi, pazia he wore. And with a dismissal-like wave of his hand the conflagration was entirely put out, save the quantity of smoke that now filled the room along with the smell of burning fabric. I was once again cast into complete and utter darkness and the only light that remained came from the rosy embers that were scattered across the ground and the lightning that was continuously breaking the barrier between earth and cloud, silence and sound.

He stood before the window behind me and snapped his fingers. Instantly, the glass broke into a thousand tiny needles that rained down on us. I covered my face immediately, listened to the shatters, and waited for the sharp sting of pain before I looked up and finally realized that the glass had fallen in a perfect mduara, duara around us without a single piece causing us harm. He took me kwa the arm and helped me up onto the window sill. He didn’t force me to come with him; he just sort of helped me. That sort of kindness was something I never expected from an abductor.

Why did I go with him? Even to this day, I do not know. It could have been his act of kindness, au it could have been that somewhere inside me I wanted to know what truth he wanted to tell me; au maybe it was the fact that if I didn’t do what he alisema he’d probably kill me. Whichever comes first, right?

I looked down, and, at a height of five stories, it was a dizzying drop.

“Ready?” He asked.

“For what?” I asked nervously. He smirked and then took a step mbele and fell taking me down with him.

I let out a small cry of surprise as my feet departed the sill. I remember turning to watch the window leave me. I remember that time seemed to slow down when, for the first time in my life; I was out of the palace. I saw my hair swing mbele when my stomach dropped and my moyo throbbed in my chest. I remember how the rain drops almost seemed to be coming from the ground and sailing towards the sky rather than the other way around. I remember the lightning that sparkled and cracked across the sky before fading into the murky absence of mind and memory; a fear, always forgotten. I remember wanting to just flail and kick and scream bloody murder, but I couldn’t manage even that small feat.

I squeezed my eyes shut and felt his grip on my arm tighten. The air rushed around me as the wind took us into its arms in something almost like a deadly caress. Like a python, locking in on its prey, taking us into its grip, and finally sucking the life out of us. This wasn’t the only time I would feel like this either. Because life was just like a chatu and it always would be. That would never change. It was something wewe couldn’t run away from. Something that couldn’t be relieved even kwa death. Slowly sucking your life away dakika kwa dakika and all wewe could do was stand back and watch as time rolled away and left wewe standing in the bitter, unforgiving, utterly cold and dark world.

My thoughts tumbled in my head as we tumbled through the air. I held my breath and waited for us to hit the ground.

I was waiting for my death.

I was waiting for life to flash before my eyes; I later realized that there was no real life for me to remember anyway. There was nothing I was leaving behind other than a broken nyumbani filled with pain and hopelessness. Then, as quickly as our descent to earth had begun, it ended. And the only reason I knew that it ended was because, although I never felt us slow, au crash, I felt my feet on the ground.

I waited a few moments and then slowly opened my eyes. I looked up at the man; he was pulling the kofia of his vazi, pazia over his head. I felt sick, I was coughing from all the smoke I had just swallowed, and my moyo was still pounding painfully on the inside of my ribcage. I can honestly say that since then, I have been traumatized. I never go near windows anymore.

My illness must’ve been apparent.

“You’ll be fine in a few minutes.” He reassured.

He threw a cape over my shoulders and pulled my kofia as far down as possible so as to cover my face and then we continued across the grounds and on to the streets of the capital.

The rain had slowed within the miles we walked but lightning continued to crash down onto the soil sending shivers throughout the ground all around us. I was tripping over my skirts through the mud and my hair and clothes were absolutely soaked. We had been traveling on foot for at least two hours.

Why did everything want to happen in one night? It’s as if fate had chosen this siku to stumble through my door and bring me down to reality. I thought this with bitterness but my mind would soon be changed.

The streets lay empty. But who would be out in the middle of an electric storm this early? Us, I answered my question.

I heard the gallop of farasi not far behind.
Honestly, it was only a matter of time before they figured out that I was gone and that the kiti cha enzi room was nearly ashes, right?

I looked behind us.

“Keep your face hidden au I’ll break your arm.” The man hissed in my ear.

I was so startled that I slipped and, with a failed attempt to brace myself with my bound arms, landed on my side in a puddle.

The man laughed a little and put out his hand.

“Stand up.” He alisema kindly.

Once again, it was hardly the reaction I thought I would ever get from a kidnapper.

Now I was really drenched.

“Just keep your head down and if they swali us don’t say anything.” He smiled.

Oh, I’m going to say something!

But I also thought that it was odd to see someone who just burned down your nyumbani and aliiba wewe away to be smiling like that. But I followed his orders for the moment. They would just ask who we were and tell us to look up at them; then they would figure out who I was and bring me back to the palace.

It was that simple… But I always thought everything was simple. It’s something I’ve never grown out of.

The sound of galloping continued to grow nearer until one of the riders pulled out in front of us. I stopped walking but, as I had been directed, I kept my head down. From the corner of my eye I saw that there was another rider to the right but they seemed to be lacking a third which was the usual number.

I heard the rider on the right jump down from his horse and pull out a slip of paper.

“Excuse me sir, have wewe seen this man?” The rider asked my kidnapper.

“You two scared me to death!”

I looked up and my eyes came upon two cloaked riders. One of which, my abductor was glaring at quite menacingly. The stare would’ve chilled me to the bone had it been aimed in my direction, but the rider smiled and rolled his eyes unfazed.

He was tall with dark eyes and had blonde hair that hung unevenly at his jawline. He wore a deep mahogany colored cape identical to the one my kidnapper, and now I, wore.

The rider still mounted frowned a bit and shook her head. She seemed to know that my captor meant to start something.

She looked about the same age as I was. I saddened a bit at the fact, a shame she had to go and get mixed up with criminals this young. She seemed to know what she was doing, however. She sat high on a beautiful gray stallion with a green vazi, pazia flowing down her back and running down to her ankles. Long ivory hair cascading over her shoulders and brilliant machungwa, chungwa eyes with a sort of hopeful glint stared down at me pityingly. She really was a marvel.

“And give me that!” The wizard demanded, pulling the paper out of the other man’s hand and after crumpling it into a ball and shoving it into his pocket he added bitterly, “Why are wewe here anyway? wewe left two months ago.”

“I figured I’d come back to help wewe two out.” He smiled.

“Yes, because seeing wewe in the morning is the highlight of my day.” Aundre alisema sarcastically.

“Leave Hamish alone, would you?” alisema the girl exasperatedly.

“Yes, Aundre. Leave Hamish alone…” Hamish sneered.

“Oh, do wewe depend on Zemphira for all of your sly comebacks now?” Aundre retorted, climbing onto a third horse that I hadn’t noticed before.

Hamish was about to raise objections when Zemphira stepped in again.

“It is four in the morning.” She alisema sternly, looking back and forth between them, “I am tired. And I’m sure our guest is as well.”

Now was my chance, I began slowly backing away.

“Phira, I know you’re new to the whole kidnapping thing, but I generally don’t consider the person I’m abducting to be a guest.” Aundre remarked.

She glowered at him.

I crept farther and farther away from the quarrelsome trio before I turned and broke into a run. Their voices were dying away and the ones I heard were merely whispers.

I shouldn’t have run.

If I hadn’t maybe they wouldn’t have realized I had left. When wewe start to run through puddles and make all kinds of splashing and stumbling, the only thing wewe could hope was that whoever wewe were running from was deaf; and obviously they couldn’t be.

Then, there was a sudden crash of thunder and I was inayofuata to the farasi again only about ten feet away with a rope closed tightly around my stomach and my hands still tied behind my back. I tried to wriggle free and was throwing all my weight against alternate sides of the cord in an attempt to do so.

Aundre easily reeled me in.

“Calm down.” He alisema half sighing.

I continued to lean mbele and fight the pull. My feet scraped across the stubborn ground through the mud and puddles and pebbles; but I was relentless.

He gave the line one last yank and my back was shoved into the saddle of the horse on which he was mounted. He kept the lariat so powerfully taut that I could hardly move.

I finally gave up and tossed my sopping wet hair out of my face to glare at him. He was smiling down at me completely undaunted.

“May… I… Help you?” I asked fiercely as I panted.

“Not really,” He mused, “We were just wondering where wewe were going.”

“All of a sudden it actually matters to you?”

There was a moment of silence and his look softened a bit.

“You and I both know there’s no use going back.”

I just continued to glare but I considered what he said. He was right, the palace held nothing for me. Obsidian had nothing for me.

Let him worry, I thought. I felt a sudden pang of guilt at that statement. All Obsidian had done for me…

Like what?

My eyes must’ve aliyopewa me away for a new sort of smug, triumphant smile played on his lips.

He jumped off his horse and the moment he did I clenched my fists, backed up, and tried to ram into him. But I literally flew straight through him and tumbled into the mud again. Something struck my shoulder and I winced.

“Nice try,” He taunted, “But it will take zaidi than that.”

He took the end of the cable that held me and tied it to a large gari full of supplies attached to Hamish’s horse; something else that seemed to just appear out of nowhere; and it probably did.

Aundre climbed back onto the steed and I got back onto my feet unsteadily.

I glared again and sent two thousand imaginary daggers in his direction.

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you… I alisema this over and over in my mind half-wishing he could hear me.

We rode off through town (meaning, they rode off and I was left behind the gari just dragging along) and up to a small, almost dilapidated, white building with a thatch roof; and kwa that time the storm was writhing again, perhaps worse than before. Aundre jumped off his horse and tied the reins to a shed that was practically free building-lumber on the side of the road. Zemphira and Hamish, following suit, climbed down and tied theirs’ as well.

Zemphira walked over to the gari and untied the line that held me to it. She collected the rope kwa looping it loosely about her arm and walked over to me. I tried to study her expression; she couldn’t possibly feel good about doing this. But her kofia kept her eyes hidden and she never made a songesha to look up at me. She focused intently on untying the knot that bound my wrists together and didn’t say a word.

As she threw the rope in the back of the gari Hamish took hold of one of my arms and Zemphira took the other.

Aundre snapped his fingers and the door swung open. There was a series of loud snaps and splintering as some resistant locks, chains, and bolts that had kept the door shut broke away.
Hamish and Zemphira dragged me into the room. The air was nearly black and the door was left swinging and flapping in the storm for a few fleeting moments and when it was I stared out at the scene almost longingly. Lightning cracked across the sky again as the wind and rain lashed against the wood of the house. The ground was mud and stone occasionally stained with blue light as the sky flashed in its horrific display of power. I yearned to run, to be free from their grip; I longed to be safely locked away behind the palace walls again. But even inside the palace I wasn’t safe, I knew that; but surely being there was better than living with a band of outlaws. But honestly, I didn’t know how long they planned on keeping me alive; unless they would just kill me and get it over with.

The door suddenly snapped shut, thus ending any ndoto I had of making a quick escape. All light was gone except for a faint glow and flash of light in the cracks of the doorframe and a nearby window that appeared to be covered with thin cloth. I turned away from the light and stared into the blackness and when I did I began to notice the sound of a constant drip coming from several different directions and the smell of stale air hinted with mold. Once again, Aundre appeared as a silhouette against the night air. He seemed to be leaning over some sort of glass object. He made some sort of mwepesi, teleka gesture above it and only a moment later a deep flame began to rise from inside revealing it to be a lantern. That one flame seemed to be a cue for all the other lights in the room to come alive. One kwa one, small flames grew on the wick of candles au inside the crystal fixtures all throughout the alcove.

The old room was washed with a yellow glow, revealing dusty floors and untouched cabinets, whitewashed walls, an unpainted wooden staircase that was missing a few steps, and a grimy meza, jedwali surrounded kwa several mismatched chairs of different heights and prints. A stack of old vitabu and papers lay on the meza, jedwali that clearly hadn’t been touched in who-knows-how-long.

And the candles were shoved in the oddest places.

Some were melted to the meza, jedwali au floor and some were sticking sideways straight out of the wall! The kerosene lamps were carefully slanted as they sat halfway on a book au some other strange, and most likely magical, object. There were buckets all over the room and they sat catching raindrops from the many holes in the water stained roof.

Zemphira and Hamish untied my hands and led me over to one of the chairs. The kiti, kiti cha backed out from under the meza, jedwali kwa itself and a series of ropes broke through the seams of the plush fabric. I stumbled backwards, au would have if Zemphira and Hamish hadn’t held me there with such a tight grip. The strings sped towards me with incredible speed and locked onto my wrists. They felt strange, not like ropes exactly, they were cool, smooth, and kwa the way they positioned themselves and pulled me closer, I could’ve sworn they had muscles. But I didn’t let it faze me for zaidi than a moment.

I wasn’t giving up without a fight!

I braced myself and leaned back as far as I could but they still dragged me closer. They crept farther up my arms and then crawled down to my back and up to my shoulders. They had enclosed themselves so tightly that I gave up fighting and just let them reel me in. They dragged me roughly into the chair, but even after they had secured me there, they didn’t loosen their grip. I heaved out and involuntary sigh of exhaustion and winced as the slimy coils strapped my ankles uncomfortably to the legs of the chair. I glanced down at my feet but was met with a pair of small yellow eyes and a flicking tongue instead.

I caught my breath; I was so scared I couldn’t scream.

I was wrapped in snakes.

The yellow eyes stared at me with an un-breaking gaze but it only continued to flick its tongue.

“What’s wrong?” Aundre joked, “You don’t like snakes?”

I didn’t respond and just kept my eyes glued to the creature. The snake finally looked away and slithered around to the back of my chair. I shivered.

I pushed the thought of the serpent into the back of my mind and swallowed.

Aundre was staring at me seeming interested in my reaction when I said,

“Why am I here?” My voice shook a little.

“A lot of reasons,” He began, “Where do wewe want me to start?”

I glanced nervously at the coils again.

“Anywhere,” I responded after a few moments, “Just explain yourself.”

He hesitated. I threw a few glances in his direction; he stared at the stack of vitabu in front of us with his hands clasped for a while.

“What did they tell you,” He asked slowly, “About the Darkness?”

I forgot about the snake that instant and looked up at him.

“What kind of a swali is that?” I scoffed, “It’s a country, the country we’re in right now and I’m the daughter of Obsidian, the king.”

Zemphira and Hamish exchanged glances.

“Ha!” Aundre sneered, “He calls himself a king!” He looked over at Zemphira, “I told wewe she wouldn’t know anything.”

“Is it wrong to be optimistic?” Zemphira asked exasperatedly.

“I think it is.” Aundre replied.

“Told them what?” I interrupted, looking back and forth between them.

“They lied to you.” He shrugged.

“Aundre!” She snapped.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” He retorted. He looked back at me, “Your ‘father’, is a dictator, the dictator of Imbroglio. That is the name of the country wewe supposedly rule, however, Obsidian is not your father.”

“What do wewe mean? I ought to know who my family is!”

“But wewe don’t.” He answered.

I remained silent; unable to find the words to argue with such a statement.

“The Darkness,” He continued, “Is a side, or, an operation to keep him in supremacy. We,” He nodded to the others, “Are members of the Shadows; an organization also known as, the revolution.”
“And the Light,” Hamish picked up where he left off, “Is another group that’s against his control. The difference is that the Light only wants to rebel. They want the laws changed so that he doesn’t have as much power as he does presently.”

I rolled my eyes, “You people are crazy.”

Zemphira and Hamish just looked at each other again and then turned expectantly towards Aundre and, as they had hoped, he took over.

“Tell me about your ninth birthday.” Aundre said.

“What?”

“It’s not that hard of a question, is it?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Fine,” I alisema reluctantly.

I thought back, farther and farther and was silent for several dakika when I realized that I couldn’t remember when I was nine. I couldn’t remember anything before that age either. I had no memories whatsoever of my childhood. I could hardly believe that I hadn’t noticed this gap in my past before.

“You don’t know, do you?” Aundre asked.

I just looked at him not knowing how to respond after gaining this kind of knowledge.

“They erased your memory.” He said, “And they could have planted fake ones in your mind which, in my opinion, they should have done. But I guess they figured that if they could keep wewe occupied with lessons and vitabu wewe wouldn’t have time to think.”

“If wewe are telling the truth, why? Why would wewe give me this information?”

Once again, the others allowed Aundre to take control of the discussion.

“Because we need your help.”

“With what?”

“The Darkness has bigger plans than just keeping their master in power. The inayofuata step is to recruit all the wizards, witches, and in general anyone with some sort of skill that they can use when they take over completely and secure their position. If we permit them to do this life as we know it will cease to exist. When they gain enough power they will put a guard at every mitaani, mtaa corner, they will be able to get away with any crime they wish…”

“What does this have to do with me?” I cut him off.

“You are going to be the one to stop him.”

“You can’t be serious!”

I looked at Zemphira and Hamish expecting this to be some sort of elaborate joke.

It wasn’t.

Aundre reached into his vazi, pazia and pulled out a piece of paper, he set it in front of me and gave me a quill and inkpot. As he did so, the snake untangled itself from my left hand.

“What’s this?” I asked, eyeing it skeptically.

“An oath, pledging your allegiance to the Shadows.”

I started to raise an objection but was stopped when he said,

“Without signing this, wewe remain one of those murdering cutthroats that wish to kill off anyone that doesn’t agree with their ideas. kwa signing this wewe are agreeing to end his reign permanently.”

I paused for a moment.

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” I alisema slowly, “I have no quarrel with Obsidian.”

“Something tells me you’re lying, princess.”

My eyes flicked up at him. He could see right through me.

He stared me dead in the eyes.

“I could make Erasamus tighten her grip.” He threatened, glancing down at the serpent.

On command, the snake crept farther up my chest and began to pull itself tighter and tighter. I took a sharp intake of breath and stared at its body as it wound around my waist.

“All I have to do is say the word,” He kept staring at me expressionless.

Zemphira, who had been staring at the reptile is as much horror as I was, finally had the nerve to speak out. She tore her gaze away from me.

“Stop it, Aundre!” She said, her voice shaking.

His eyes snapped over in her direction for no zaidi than a second.

“Sign.” He commanded me.

I didn’t move.

He whispered something… A low hissing noise escaped his lips.

The creature stopped coiling and raised its head to glare at me. Its mouth slowly spread revealing a long set of dripping fangs. My breathing was shallow and my moyo was racing.

“I’ll call her off the moment wewe sign.” He alisema solemnly.

Slowly I raised my left hand and reached for the pen. The snake backed away for a moment but continued to watch me as carefully as Aundre did.

“I’m… I’m right handed.” I stuttered.

“Just sign.” He alisema sternly.

I slowly lifted my gaze over to my hand. I dipped the tip gingerly in the pot and held it lightly in my fingers.

I put the quill to the paper, took a deep breath, and slowly the name “Xanthe A. Scrope” was shaped under the last line. The moment the last letter was formed the quill zipped out of my hands and the contract and ink had disappeared into thin air as well.

The snake immediately loosened up and slithered across the table. I shivered again. I could have sworn zaidi than one of the slimy creatures had come at me, but maybe I was just delirious; I hadn’t slept, after all. Aundre stood and collected it. Meaning, he extended one arm and allowed it to crawl up his sleeve.

“Excellent.” He grinned broadly, “You are now and forever bound to this contract. The spell that wewe just signed doesn’t allow wewe to escape us au tell anyone about the charm you’re under unless they already know.”

“What?” I growled. “I didn’t agree to anything. wewe forced me to!”

“Well, I’m certainly sorry wewe feel that way.” He
drummed his fingers on the meza, jedwali a few times before turning his sick grin towards Zemphira who was still horrified that he had nearly killed me, “See, Phira? I may not have the best people skills in the normal situations, but I’ve found threats tend to work better anyway.”

Just then there was a heavy pounding on the door.

“In the name of King Obsidian, open up!” The guard hollered. He started banging on the door again.

Aundre’s smile spread wider still, “I have a feeling that’s for us.”