MY BEAST "Princess you have to leave now" he said with urgency as he pushed me away from danger "No, I want to be with you, there's danger, I can feel it" I cried reaching out to him "Don't worry about me princess just take care of yourself" he gave a final shove "No!!!" I screamed as he faded away and morphed into a beast, it was the figurine but this time it was large and alive, fiercely roaring and raving at people as they ran away from it, saliva drooping from its huge canines but immediately it saw me, it seized all movements and roared directly at me.I looked at its grey and blue eyes and though it was huge and had sharp teeth and claws, I felt like I knew it, there was this irresistible pull I felt towards this thing… this beast and so before I could talk myself out of it, I took a hesitant step towards it, the beast stared on as if fascinated by my courage, I took another step then another till I was standing directly in front of it, I could feel its immense power and how it could kill me with just a wave of its sharp claw, I closed my eyes calming my racing heart as stared at the fearsome beast, I stretched a hand to touch its furry nose but it moved backward before I could like it didn't want me to touch it, it didn't growl and so I didn't relent, I moved closer and touched its forehead, stroking its head like one would a cat, but this was no cat, and I think it whined, I stretched forth my other hand and brought its face closer to mine till our foreheads were touching, it purred in satisfaction and we stayed like that for a minute. I felt an instant connection to this creature, this beast. "What are you?" I whispered to it but it only shook its fur and licked my hand I felt the beast relax as I touched it's fur but suddenly it went rigid and gave a fierce growl, I looked behind me and saw the people that I dreaded the most "the Bewati people" and I told the beast to run but it growled and stood protectively in front of me but they weren't fazed, there was a man in their midst, am guessing he was their leader, I tried to look at his face but I couldn't see him clearly, he seemed vague, formless even."We meet again" he said sinisterly to the beast and it growled at him, suddenly his people started chanting and dancing round us, we were trapped, as they sang louder, the sky darkened and a black cloud filled the atmosphere till it descended towards me in form of a tornado, I was forcefully taken away by the dark clouds I could hear the beast roaring reaching its paws out to me but it was hopeless, I was held fast by the tornado, I felt jetlagged like as if I was drugged and I couldn't move as I saw my beast struggle to get to me. "You can't save her Zander" I heard the leader say as he gave a sinister laugh and I heard the beast give a painful whine as I was taken father and farther away from him I woke up from the dream with a scream "What's wrong miss?" Lena asked worriedly as she rushed into my room trying to calm me down I had a horrible dream though I don't seem to understand it. "It's alright miss you're awake now" she assured me stroking my hair "I've got good news for you, I know how you've been restless since Zander left yesterday and so we can go out today, maybe to the market to get some things and meet people in the kingdom, just wait for me in your room after breakfast and I'll come help you get ready" she said as she walked to the kitchen.Some minutes later, Lena had still not returned, I was restless, so I decided to dress up, I chose a pink floral gown as I wanted to be comfy and free, besides I wasn't from a royal bloodline and so I could do most things myself, I walked to the entrance of the kingdom and was about to step outside when I was forcefully dragged back inside by a pair of arms. "Umphhh," I felt the impact as I fell backward into the person "Who the hell are you and what was that for?" I yelled angrily glancing back towards the person who dragged me. He was dressed as one of the guards in the palace, but I hadn't seen him before"Oh am sorry miss but you can't be outside wearing that" he bowed to me as he smiled at me. There was something off about this guard, he was lean and tall, most would call him handsome but there was a sinister look in his eyes as he smiled at me. He didn't walk like a guard."And what's wrong with what am wearing" I frowned at him glancing down at the gown I wore"Nothing's wrong" he smiled creepily as he lecherously looked at my curves, the kingdom is cursed and anyone who steps outside without wearing a white cloth would immediately turn to stone" "Stone!!! Why didn't Lena tell me" I was taken aback as I thought of all my failed attempt to escape, well thank God I didn't How was the kingdom cursed? I asked the guard curiously"Well miss I would tell you once you go change" he bobbed his head indicating I go back to my roomI turned to go up the stairs when he I heard him say "I was also told to escort you to the market, madam Lena is under the weather am afraid and won't be able to accompany you" he added a little too enthusiasticallyI removed the pink dress and wore a white top and skirt, as I walked out of the room I went to Lena's room, I opened the door to see her on the bed, she looked tired. "Lena are you ok?" I asked in trepidation seeing her pale colour "Am fine dear, just that I got weak and dizzy all of a sudden in the Kitchen after I ate my breakfast, don't worry about me, I guess it's stress, I'll just rest and by tomorrow I'll be back to my old self, am sorry I won't be able to follow you to the market but the new guard volunteered to""The new guard uhnnn? When was he hired?" I asked curious about who he was "Oh Thomas was hired just after Zander left, he's still new but he grew up in this territory so he knows much about the kingdom""I see he has told you about wearing white, am sorry I didn't tell you but Zander didn't want you going outside""So what changed his mind then" I asked cheekily"Dalla, you know my master is fond of you, he wanted to do something to make you happy, please give him a chance" she said seeing the defiant look I had on my face"Hmmm I would give him a chance if he saves my brother" I thought but just smiled at her "Rest now Lena, I'll be on my way""Ok dear have fun" she said as I closed the door and watched the new guard as I slowly descended down to meet him"You look beautiful mam" the guard said as he saw me "Thomas is it""Yes mam" "You got guts for someone who's a guard" I said still observing him "I wasn't always a guard my father was the king's right hand man many years ago before the kingdom was cursed, till my father died mysteriously" he bragged and I could see a hateful look cross his face which he tried to conceal with a smile"But am willing to serve the Kingdom" he smiled but his eyes still remained cold. The other guards saddled the horses and we got ready to mount our horses"May I help you mam" Thomas asked "Thomas, am used to riding horses and you can call me Dalla" I said as I climbed the horse with the ease of a seasoned rider. I was going to make this guard tell me everything about Zander and his kingdom. I could tell he knew a lot more than he let on. Outside I was intrigued by how red the sky was, there was no sun just a red sky casting a red glow on everything, it was difficult telling the colours of leaves and insects that had survived the curse, most of the plants were black and withering dying off because they needed the sunlight to grow. "Why is the sky red, is this part of the curse and how on earth do you get food from this soil?" I asked still awe struck by the sheer beauty of it all even when it was cursed. "Yes unfortunately it is part of the curse and the King has no choice but to import food from other kingdoms unless the kingdom would have gone into extinction" he replied I was silent taking in the scenery, as we trudged along we saw the training grounds just far beside the trees, an open field for the warriors to train, I could see a man wearing a robe adorned with symbols of the ancient magic that coursed through his body, he closed his eyes and focused on the sound of everything around him, the vibration of the earth as he gestured and with a burst of energy emanating from his hands, he lift up a mass of earth and crumbled it to dust, there were also some men and women training, their hair tied backward revealing determined eyes has they each took a fighting stance, fist clenched executing a series of lightning fast punches, their movements subtle and aim accurate enough to kill their victims with a strike. h"Who are those?" I asked impressed by their skills "They are Zander's warriors over to the left are his elite team, his most trusted and highly trained assassins made up of 15men and 15women" he answered pointing to the people wearing a white robe with a Gaia symbol on it indicating the ancient magic of the earth."So Dalla" he said dragging my attention, "I heard that you were caught spying on our kingdom but the king spared your life" "I wasn't spying, I was kinda waiting for someone on the outskirts of the kingdom but instead the person sold me to Zander" I corrected irritably"But why would he spare you" he whispered observing me but I just shrugged "So tell me about the kingdom" I quickly said before he would ask me any more questions, I intended to be the one doing the asking not him. "Ok well I would tell you what my father told me, many years ago when Zander's father was still the King, the people of the 7 great kingdoms and the surrounding subordinates lived in peace but one of the Kingdoms wanted sole power over all the relics of each kingdom so they could gain more power, they are the Weather Deities also known as the Bewati Kingdom, their people were few leading and also they had a small kingdom, they wanted more, more of everything, land, animals and most especially more power, they wanted total control over the other kingdoms but they alone couldn't stand against all other 6 kingdoms even as they were known to wield one of the most powerful and magical relic, the weather relic, said to control the heavens, rain, sun, drought, summon tornados huge enough to wipe out a whole kingdom, you name it anything that has to do with the weather they could manipulate, each of the other kingdoms too had their own relic and unique abilities to overthrow them so they decided to form an alliance with one of the most powerful kingdom so they could rule over the rest" "They joined the Bethorne kingdom, I heard that they could transform so easily into monstrosities unimaginable to humans, they could take the form of whatever they wished to be, human, animal or monster" I mustered getting a clearer picture "Exactly, so the other 4 kings held a meeting on how to defeat them even knowing that The Bewati Kingdom were small compared to other kingdoms, uniting with The changelings(The Bethorne kingdom) made them a pretty formidable duo against the others""Wow!! They would be a pretty powerful duo, so why is it 4 kings that held a meeting and not 5 since there are 7kingdoms?""That's because one of the kingdoms are opposed to war, they are the Elixir people known as healers, their ground is sacred, an untouchable and neutral ground where blood should never be shed, their hands were made to heal not fight, killing would taint their magic and be a curse as it is opposed to all they stand for, besides they are the most powerful of all the Kingdoms because they protect the mercury fountain, it is located at the centre of all the realms putting it right in the centre of the Elixir kingdom, if anything happened to it all living things would die and the world would cease to exist" I watched him "How come you don't know all this, where did you live?" he stared puzzlingly at me I needed to be careful of what I told him, somehow I didn't feel like telling him much about me "Hmm, I lived alone in one of the subordinate territories those too little to name, obviously near Zander's Kingdom, the Yetande Kingdom who I know can manipulate earth but that's all I know, tell me about this fountain of life" I perked up but was disappointed when he said"Well Dalla, you have a lot to learn but that would be later because we have reached the market" I looked at the wide expanse of people and saw an array of activities, there were not much food to sell, you could tell by how lean the people looked but there was a fire in each and every of their eyes, a fire to live as they walked from one stall to the next in search of food, there was a lot of hungry people and little to sell that I almost didn't know it was a market. "It's good to be outside the kingdom walls" I said as I came down from the horse "I suppose it is" he said as he walked beside me"What's that at the corner?" I asked him staring at the small shop with weird markings and a crystal globe in front. "That's a psychic shop, her readings are said to be correct but I don't believe in all that, I believe in planning" "I think I'm gonna go inside" I felt like I had to "Thomas, you don't have to follow me in, I'll be fine just wait outside" I stopped him as he made a move to follow me "Ok Dalla" I'll be right here waiting for you he said as he smiled at me as if relieved he didn't have to folllow. I smiled back as I walked into the shop.