Chapter 2
Kidnapping
Kidnapping
Chapter 2
Kidnapped
As they road back home to Centralium Kyane glanced at his father with slight curiosity. A question was forming in his head as he looked at him, wondering how his father really felt about him going to kidnap the princess. As they were almost there the other guard road up next to him and looked over at him with worry. "So...what was the decision?" He asked Kyane and the young prince looked over at the guard, his best friend Ron.
"I've been charged with the task of going and kidnapping Princess Serenity.” He said softly and Ron stared in disbelief at his charge. “When?” he asked completely shocked. Kyane looked over at him with half-lidded eyes and sighed once more. “Tonight. You will come with me as well. I’ll need someone to help,” he said as if it were obvious and stared straight ahead of them. Ron stared in utter disbelief at his friend and then looked back ahead of them before riding up next to the king, galloping beside the great man before speaking.
“Permission to speak freely sir,” he said in a soldierly tone and the King glanced over at him before nodding. Bradley always liked to know what his subjects wanted to say, good or bad, criticism or praise, it was all the same. Ron’s eyes then narrowed on the king and his tone became quite serious. “With all due respect sir, Are you insane? Sending Kyane to go and kidnap the princess is like sending him into the den of lions. No one in that kingdom is going to let him just take her, nor will any of them rest until they’ve found her, regardless of how much blood they shed to get her back,” he said firmly. It was all true as well, Ron had once been sent to the kingdom with a message from the council to implore King Damien to allow them to escort Princess Serenity to the Black Kingdom, Lord Xephrayel’s dark dwelling place. He was even fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the famed princess on his way to the castle. She was dressed in a cloak with the hood pulled up over her head to hide her eyes from the public, but they all knew it was her. It was hard to miss the only woman in their kingdom with ravishing blonde hair that spilled in beautiful strands from her dark brown cloak and a light blue dress that stuck out from under the hem of the garment too.
Bradley looked over at his guard with calm eyes filled with wisdom and sincerity before speaking. “I understand your worry Ron, but that is why I’m sending you with him as well. Kyane won’t admit it but he’s nervous about this mission. He put on a brave face for the council, but he’s probably just as worried about that matter as you are,” he said wisely and smiled back at his son. “However I am confident that he will look after the Princess and protect her with his life if he must.”
Ron nodded but that was the very worry he had. Kyane would give his life to give them a chance to live freely and without fear, and he doubted anyone in the Polarus Kingdom would allow their precious princess to do any such thing. They would be in grave danger from the moment they took her to the moment when Xephrayel was dead.
When they got back to the castle, Kyane immediately went up to his room to pack. He knew perfectly well what he was getting himself into and he would never take this mission easily. He knew just as well as Ron that it was going to be difficult getting into the castle, and just as complicated to get her out and to the Dark Kingdom of Lord Xephrayel. Suddenly, there came a knock at his door. His head shot up, startled and called for whoever it was to come in. A young woman stepped into the room, holding a large blanket and an oversized duffle bag for him to place upon his horse, Cannon. Kyane sighed as he stared at the woman, her expression unnerving him. He turned back to his packing so he wouldn’t have to look into her sad green eyes. “If you’re just going to give me that look set the things down and go,” he said firmly. The woman’s eyes narrowed and she walked over to the bed and dropped the sheets in front of him. “I thought you’d be cold,” she said coldly. At this Kyane looked up at her with still glaring eyes. “You may be my adopted sister, but you will not speak to me in such a tone,” he said firmly but the woman stood her ground and glared right back. “You may be the prince of Centralium but I will speak to you in any way I wish older brother.” He said fiercely and this made Kyane smile softly at her.
“Thank you for being so thoughtful Catherine,” he said warmly and kissed her forehead before taking the blankets and his now full bag of clothes and supplies and shoved them into the duffle bag. Catherine blushed and watched him do so before clearing her throat. “And may I also add that as your sister I am entitled to say…” she paused, unsure if she should say what she wanted, “I don’t want you to go. It’s dangerous and you’ll be constantly hunted. If you die there will be no one to take over for King Bradley and ever since Ka-” she was immediately silenced by a hard glare from Kyane. She bit her lip softly for a moment before continuing boldly, “Brother left. You know that what you’re doing is dangerous! Yet you volunteer to go, knowing that your kingdom will be in grave danger as well and Father and I will be worried sick about you the entire time,” she said in a blaze of passion and worry as tears came to her eyes. Kyane sighed and didn’t look at her; he hated to see a woman cry and especially his sister. “I know perfectly well what I’m doing Catherine. Don’t tell me what I’m risking for I already know what is at stake little sister,” he said, his tone a little harsh but at the same time repentant for his harsh words. He then slung the pack over his shoulder and walked up to her, wiping her tears away and kissing her forehead once more. “Do not worry about me, I will be back just as soon as this whole ordeal is over, maybe sooner if we run into too much trouble.” He said softly and then brushed past her, not wanting to see her tear stained face anymore. Catherine turned to watch him exit his room and once the door was shut she walked to his bed and collapsed upon it, burying her face in one of his pillows and crying with fear and worry for her brother.
At the foot of the stairs Ron was waiting for him, his own duffle bag upon his shoulder. His was most likely filled with clothes and food as well, not to mention a few changes of clothes for the Princess in case they needed to blend into a town. “Catherine visit you?” he asked his friend with a raised eyebrow. Kyane sighed and nodded, but didn’t say anything more, not wanting to talk about it. Ron, understanding Kyane’s unvoiced distress, decided to drop it immediately and he walked towards the large cherry wood double doors that would lead them to the horse stables. At the door, stood King Bradley, a velvet wrapped item in his hands. Kyane stopped and stared curiously at the unknown item and then looked up at his father. “What’s this?” he asked him. Bradley smiled warmly and held out the black velvet clothe to him. “It’s your weapon. It’s pretty old but the historians and mechanics assure me it will work. They say it was made in the year 2007 B.W. (before war),” as Bradley explained this Kyane unwrapped the velvet to find two foreign weapons in his hand that he’d only read about. He then looked up at his father in shock, curious about them. “What are they?” he asked with excitement. Bradley smiled once more, happy he could share this part of historical interest with his son. “They are called guns. Used by our ancestors in the great World War III of Earth. They are only handguns I’m told, but they are powerful and the only ones in existence that work.” Bradley said proudly and the entire time he watched as Kyane’s mouth gaped open in surprise and wonder.
Kyane looked up at his father with proud and grateful eyes before he leaned forward and wrapped his free arm around his father, pulling him close to him. “Thank you Father, this means a lot to me. I promise, I will bring succeed. I won’t fail you,” he said warmly and Bradley nodded, patting Kyane on the back before letting him go. “Be safe.”
Kyane swiftly mounted his black stallion Cannon and without hesitation or looking back, he road out of the castle grounds and away from the kingdom. It would take all day to get to the Kingdom of Polarus and they wouldn’t be able to take her until they rested for a bit.
They road hard almost all night, only stopping for short periods of time to rest the horses. Finally they made it to the kingdom. It was hard to convince the guards that they were only on a visit from Centralium, because lately many from Kyane’s kingdom had come to implore Damien to give them Serenity, but now not even the citizens will allow anyone who is here to see the king into their kingdom. After about an hour of arguing with the guard, the giant wooden double doors that blocked the kingdom off from the outside world, swung open slowly, kicking up rocks and dust with it’s heavy rush of wind from being opened. Many people in the streets stopped and stared curiously and suspiciously at the new comers, as Kyane knew they would. He and Ron nudged the sides of their horses, imploring them to go forward slowly. Aura, Kyane’s pure white horse trotted forward, it’s gracious head held high with pride and power. As they passed people in the street, some glared up at them, while others, such as children and wrinkled old men and women smiled up at them as the children ran around the horses and looked up at the Prince and his guard in awe. Ron had heard two female children giggling to each other and blushing lightly as they whispered, “He’s really cute. Do you think he’s come to marry Princess Serenity?” Ron couldn’t help but chuckle at their question and gave them a slight wink as he passed, which caused their faces to turn just as red as when they had been talking.
Ron was a very handsome man. He had long black hair that was always tied in a low ponytail at his neck and deep brown eyes that could never hold any form of anger or hatred. Ron was like King Rubiar in that aspect, as he was very tall for his age and very gentle. As they road through the village Ron started to notice many things, such as how only the late teens to early forties men and women glared at them with hatred. Or how the little children were just so carefree and innocent even though their parents kept trying to pull them away from Kyane.
Finally they found an inn and though they got harsh stares from most of the occupants, the inn keeper and his wife were very friendly and scolded the staff that gave them weird and hateful looks. Kyane and Ron walked up the steps to their room and opened the door to be floored with how elegant it was. They hadn’t expected to be treated with such a generous room. Kyane looked over a Ron, giving him a guilty looking frown and Ron nodded, knowing exactly how his friend felt. They walked into the room and set down their bags on their respective beds and Ron sighed, “Maybe we should move to another room. We’re only going to be here for a bit,” he said softly, his voice dripping with guilt. Kyane looked around them and then sighed.
“You’re right Ron, but we need to not look so suspicious and if we ask for a less extravagant room, it really will look like we’re up to something.” Kyane said softly and then walked to the window. The sun was slowly setting. Soon it would be time to get the princess. Ron nodded and sighed, flopping down on his bed and staring up at the ceiling. He knew that this was going to be so wrong, but he was convinced that once this ordeal was all over they would be happier for the better. With that thought he closed his eyes to get some rest before they would have to go out and do what they had really come here to do.
Kyane walked around the village. He wanted to get a feel for where everything was before he pulled off this completely complicated kidnapping mission. There were many shops that lined the market area which was right below the Princess’s balcony, which was perfect. He could leap from her balcony and land on top of the soft, bouncy cloth tops of the market stands. As he walked Kyane remained oblivious to the stares he was getting from the young market goers and some of the sellers. However, many viewed him as a potential buyer of their products, thus they shouted at him, trying in the fastest way possible to describe their product and how much he needed it. His eyes cast blankly towards many of the merchants, trying to act like he was interested but he really wasn’t and just kept on walking to his main goal, the Princess’s balcony. He had determined that this would be the fastest and easiest way to reach her without being seen or caught. When he reached his destination he looked up towards the balcony, its white marble shimmering beautifully pink in the dying sunlight. As he stared more closely he realized that there was a person standing there, hidden behind the white see through curtains. She had long silver blonde hair and the most piercing blue eyes he’d ever seen. From what he had heard of the Princess, he assumed that was her. She was staring out through the thin gap in the curtains at the people busying themselves with last minute shopping. As he stared up at her, he found himself feeling bad for her. She looked so sad as she stared out at them, almost as if she wished she could be out there with them.
Serenity watched all the people down below her laughing and smiling and talking to each other and she had to admit to herself she was envious. Though she had Amber and was very grateful for her, she wished at the bottom of her heart that she could just be a normal village girl, doing chores, hanging with her friends, and just being herself. Instead she had to be their goddess and pretend like a holy divinity every day of her life. She just wanted to be free and have fun for once, instead of going out to the market every once in a while having to wear a veil and a celestial looking dress to keep up this charade of being an all knowing being. This time however, she felt guilty. During this morning’s speech she had lied to all of them. She said they were going to prosper and live happily all year long. But in truth, her dream was nothing of the sort. Not even about them in the least. This dream was about her. Her and the adventure that would befall her after tonight. With a heavy sigh she stood at the window, figuring she should just wait there for the mysterious man that would climb up her balcony and kidnap her tonight to bring her to the final destination of her life. Suddenly, she felt a peculiar pair of eyes watching her and she instinctively looked down to see a young man, staring directly at her. His eyes were bright fiery green eyes peered right into her blue orbs and never looked away or lost their determination.
Kyane grinned as he saw the Princess’s eyes connect with his. He couldn’t tell if she knew what was coming but from what he had heard of her, she saw everything that would happen for the year so he had to assume she knew. With a long appeased stare into her curious blue eyes Kyane turned and walked away, satisfied with his plan of kidnap and escape.
Darkness fell upon Polarus swiftly, the bright happy stars waking up from their peaceful day time sleep to shine brilliantly upon the land. The moon was half full as the sun on the other side of the world shed its luminescent light upon the grey moon’s surface giving light to the dark side of the earth. On the rooftops of the market stands ran Kyane, his face hidden beneath a hooded cloak. He ran swiftly, his footsteps barely having enough time to make a dent in the clothed awning. Serenity’s balcony was in sight, it was only a few more leaps ahead. With a giant leap to the awning just below her balcony he gained enough momentum to propel himself high into the air and reached for the ledge of her balcony. His hand gripped successfully to the railing that lined the edge of the balcony and he flipped himself over it, landing safely on the stone floor, light as a feather. Looking around to make sure no one was standing guard he tip-toed towards the see through drapes to find the Princess sitting on her bed, staring straight down at the floor. She wasn’t wearing the dress she had been earlier. In fact she was wearing a white tunic that reached her mid thigh with a belt at her hips making it look like there were two parts to her outfit rather than one. She wore a pair of tight fitting pants that were tucked into her boots which were made of leather, their main use for travel. Kyane, though he had anticipated she’d know he was coming for her, was thrown off guard at her apparel. She looked up at him, her eyes soft and understanding as she stood up and approached him. Kyane hesitated and took a step back, then cursed himself for that. He then stood straight and gave her a stern look, composing himself once again. She smiled at him with such a naïve smile that it worried him she knew everything that would happen.
“So you’re my kidnapper? I have to admit I didn’t think you’d come so soon, but at least now I know what you look like.” She said, her tone musical and hypnotizing. Kyane’s eyes widened at the voice and shivered slightly before he recomposed himself and took her outstretched wrist before she could touch him.
“Yes I am. So you know not to touch me then.” He said firmly and then swept her into his arms and started for her balcony. Serenity blushed deeply and glared at him.
“Hey! Just because you’re kidnapping me doesn’t mean you have to treat me like this. I dressed for the occasion which should make you assume that I’m going willingly!” She squeaked and squirmed in his arms but Kyane only held tighter.
“Shush! If you’re going to go willingly then shut up.” He whispered harshly to her but Serenity glared straight back at him.
“Put me down then! I demand you put me down!” She exclaimed in a hushed tone.
Kyane grinned at her and shook his head. “No can do Princess. Just relax and let me do what I need to,” he said with a smirk and then broke off into a run towards the balcony edge. Serenity’s eyes widened and her arms wrapped around Kyane’s neck as she let out a scream of fear, alarming whoever was watching outside her door. Two guards burst into the room just as Kyane leapt over the railing with a gleeful smile and landed safely on the market awnings. The two guards on the balcony had rushed to the edge and yelled cries of anger and despair as they were powerless to stop him.
Kyane rushed towards the other side of town, where Ron was waiting at the open gate with their horses, ready to race off into the forest that surrounded Polarus kingdom. The horses stamped anxiously on the dirt ground, their giant hooves leaving prints in the soft earth. Ron looked to the horizon desperately, hoping that he’d get there soon. Suddenly, he saw the figure of his best friend appear on the streets of and Ron sighed with relief. Luckily no one had been alerted so far so they weren’t being chased. Kyane grinned at his friend as he stopped in front of his horse Aura and helped Serenity onto the horse. Aura reared her head and whinnied but Kyane immediately took her reigns and said soothing words to her to calm her down. He then mounted the horse, Ron watching the entire time.
“Let’s go. Now,” he said firmly and then jammed his heel into Aura’s side, kicking her into panic and galloping out of the gates, Ron close behind towards the forest.
