Somewhere in the dark realm, Xena kept rolling on her bed. Her eyes were shut and her hands didn't let go of the sheet as she spoke from her sleep;
"Dad no, please no, I'm not evil, I-i promise, it's me Xena, your little princess." She struggled, fighting against the force pulling her towards a dark vortex."You should've never been born!" Her father roared angrily, ordering for her to be thrown into the vortex."I'm not evil!!!!! Dad! I'm not evil!!!" She let out a high-pitched, piercing cry as she jolted up from her sleep with beads of sweat glistening off her face.She turned so fast that her neck almost snapped when she felt a strong, rough hand on her shoulder.Her face came alive upon seeing his face and she exclaimed, "General Lynx!"She desperately latched onto him, with no intention of letting him go, as if she had been craving contact for a long time. Her heart was beating so fast that he could feel it drumming against his chest."You can't afford any distractions, especially not nightmares, so get some sleep," General Lynx ordered, "Tomorrow is going to be a long day."And just like that, she fell back asleep. General Lynx spared one last look at her sleeping figure, snoring softly against the pillow, before shutting the door behind him quietly."I'm sorry!! I'm sorry, I know, I regret everything, please don't kill me, please!!!!" She wakes up in horror, her eyes scanning her bedroom for any signs of dark magic. Just then, her old looking Maid Ann dashed into her room with a worried look on her face."What bothers her majesty in the late hours of the night?" Zina looked at Ann, her face seemed pale like her blood had been drained, her shivering arms only stirred up Ann's worries. She took in a deep breath before she whispered to Ann's hearing,"it's Xena"."She looked so scary, her hazel eyes shined brighter than the sun, her hair stretched out high almost reaching the sky, her teeth gnashed together, she was surrounded by darkness that made her float and her dress looked so tattered like someone tortured in hell. She said she's coming back!"Ann nodded, but didn't seem pleased. "Your majesty, we don't talk about Xena, please respect your parents wishes and I believe Xena is gone forever."Zina tried to object but Ann was quick to counter her,"we don't talk about Xena," She spoke in a more harsh tone to Zina, "Whatever concerns Xena is in fact irrelevant to the royal household,get some rest tomorrow is another day to cater for the Kingdom."Zina laid back down in obedience as she drifted away into dreamland, she seems to have gotten used to Ann's nagging after all she took her like a mother figure.Ann had been a guardian to Zina ever since her parents passed. She was elderly and showed little or no emotions at all. This sometimes scared Zina but she had gotten used to seeing Ann's grumpy face and her emotionless lifestyle of which she tried to emulate. Ann never spoke about Xena because this was prohibited by the late king and queen, they believed she was the cursed one, the misfortune of the royal household.The sun shone brightly, the birds were singing and the palace was filled with maids and guards attending to various duties assigned to them. The breakfast table was elegant as ever, floating alongside its chairs and a sumptuous breakfast was set on it; dandelion tea and toast.The magical energy that came from the throne made the first realm a very magical place, a place where unnatural things happen, from floating of the dining tables, to the dancing roses and plants, to the made alive utensils and the melodious sound of the wind. Princess Zina gently ascended up the magically assembling staircase that disassembles immediately one gets to the dining. She sat down, trying to have her breakfast which seemed impossible as she pondered over the nightmare she had. All that lingered in her mind were unanswered questions and hurtful thoughts that wanted to rip her heart apart."We have a lot to talk about, you may be dead but I will get answers from your graves." Zina uttered, thinking about her parents who laid peaceful in their graves.After Zina forced herself to have breakfast, she headed to the garden to get some flowers( purple hibiscus) then she went to the graves of her parents' which wasn't too far away from the garden where she picked the flowers from. She dropped the flowers on both graves, falling to her knees because she felt so weak and she needed comfort."Mom, dad, I hope Xena isn't coming back," she rolled her hands into fists, trying to control her anger."I have overseen the kingdom's affairs for years, I don't need a competition right now. I won't let her take this kingdom away from me, it is mine," she exclaimed, hitting her hands on the grassy area close to her parents' graves. "I will keep her where she belongs, in a place filled with darkness."Zina was jolted back to reality when she heard her name; no one dared call her by her name and so she was offended. She turned around to find Levi staring and smiling sheepishly at her. All of a sudden, his face turned serious, "Who is being a threat to you Zina?"She stood up with widened eyes due to his act of foolishness, "how dare you call me by my name, have you got no manners for your to-be queen?"Levi, who wasn't surprised by her reaction, quickly apologized but threw another bombshell question,"Your majesty, who is a threat to you and your kingdom? Let me know, I am willing to protect thee with my life your majesty." He placed his hands on his chest, pledging his loyalty to her."What brought you here you low life servant?" She replied to him with a question, "aren't you supposed to be in the garden pruning the flowers?"He smirked, showing his perfectly chiseled jawline,"your majesty, I am here to care for the flowers but then my eyes caught the most elegant of them all. I can't deny it, I'm a gardener, I wouldn't see a beautiful flower in distress and not care for it. I was hoping to be the one to own this flower when it is fully bloomed."Zina didn't spare him another glance, She stormed away in rage, pulling the wind together with her as she left. she murmured to herself, recalling what the young man said to her. "Such a pestering fellow, can't he mind his own business? I wonder what sought of training he got, talking rubbish here and there. He even talked about a bloomed flower, am I a gardener? How am I supposed to know what he means?"She raged on like a bull who had been tampered with, even the door to her sturdy wasn't spared as she slammed it hard enough for it to be removed from its hinges. She took in deep breaths, closing her eyes to make sure she calmed down. Once she had done that, she sent for her private secretary to give him very important instructions."Organize a meeting with the kingdom's council. We have important things to talk about which includes the plans for my coronation ceremony."Xena's sword made a loud rustling sound as it fell to the ground from the impact of general Lynx's brutal attack. He showed no mercy on the training ground, not caring to hold back as he showed her his superiority in the mastery of blades. She crawled vigorously,struggling to get her sword and balance back on her feets but Lynx gave no room for that. Finally, she was at the mercy of his blade, his sword was placed under her chin so that making any wrong moves could lead to her being severely injured."You're still too weak." General Lynx spoke angrily, throwing down his blade as he walked away disappointed. In a flash, Xena saw the perfect opportunity to strike back but General lynx, being a skillful warrior, quickly intercepts her attack by sweeping her off her feet. He shook his head indicating more disappointment, then he stretched forth his hand to pull her up from the ground so they could get clean and then head to the dining table for lunch sensing she must have been famishe
She gazed weirdly at the carnivorous creature, unsure of its next movement. For some odd reasons, her thudding heartbeat had returned to a normal pace. She slowly stretched out her hand in an attempt to touch the animal in front of her. It took a short while for Xena to get used to the wolf which came as a shock wave because she warmed up to the wolf faster than expected.She panted heavily after so many failed attempts to escape from the wolf. He seemed to be blocking her walkway even when he knew she was weak. She decided to talk to him even when she knew it was pure foolishness as the animal might not understand a thing."Wolfie Do you want me to ride on you?" She asked in an unsure tone.Wolfie barked in agreement, sticking out its tongue panting profusely and wagging its tail excitedly. Xena, like a scared five year old, got onto its back carefully, she wiggled her hands in the air the moment she got the hang of being on top of her new friend. "Let's go find the general," Xena e
Marcus smirked in a sly manner, he seemed to like how the situation was pointing back to the advice he was giving the young king earlier."The only way is through princess Zina's throne, she will tell you everything you need to know when you get close to her I assure you." Marcus beckoned on Xavier to consider his advice.Xavier thought about it a little before nodding in agreement;"I'll do it, but first you need to set me up with princess Zina, do it as quickly as you can, I am not the patient type." Xavier moved closer to Marcus to prove his point.Marcus nodded intending to take his leave when his attention was called again by Xavier who had more to say."I won't marry her after this Marcus, I just need to get the information I want from her. When I do, my uncle and I will take over the first realm and then they shall all be under our mighty rule." Xavier gave an evil grin to show how satisfied he was with his new plan.Marcus grinned back at him, "Now you're thinking like your f
Xena sat quietly as she tried to process what Lynx had just said. She didn't know about the third realm nor had she heard about it before. "That's strange, I never knew about any of these things. Besides, my family secrets are not told to royals till they come of age. But I will see to it the moment I get the chance to leave this place. That's my first strategy on my revenge scheme."General Lynx gave her a light grin, he was delighted she understood what he explained;"Now you're thinking like a warrior." He commented,"I will give you time to plan and also support your strategies with a few ideas. I believe you'll be unstoppable after this step but first, let's take our leave. this place doesn't seem safe enough to continue this conversation, who knows what creatures are waiting to devour us."Xena didn't protest to Lynx's words, She knew how dangerous the dark realm could be and how ferocious the beast were.The energy berries she was given had started taking its effect;So she go
Levi followed Zina like an obedient child waiting for his reward up the magical stairs that led to the dining. He showed much excitement, checking out the palace's decor as he wowed in amusement, having a feeling his dreams were coming true. Different cuisines were placed before both of them, and Zina who was paying so much attention to Levi noticed he wasn't eating. She thought he didn't know what he wanted because of the way he stared at the table. After much observation, she noticed he was staring at the cutleries."Do you know how to use them?" Zina asked him sincerely in the calmest voice she had ever used. He seemed to have a worried expression on his face but when he noticed how sincere Zina was at that time, he answered her with the truth;"There are too many cutleries, why do we need so many? One cutlery can be used for all these meals, Zina, I don't see the need for so many cutleries."For the first time Zina smiled at his innocence; "Do you always have to be like this,
She nodded, slowly opening her eyes to Levi who noticed they were already teary, he was right! She was absolutely scared. He stretched out his hand for her to take but she didn't. He had never seen anyone so scared. Right now, all he wanted to do was to protect and help her calm down, so he came up with a crazy idea. He stood on the moving horse as he studied the movement of Zina's horse. After some time, he leaped onto Zina's horse while signaling both horses to stop at the same time. When Zina noticed the horses were no longer moving, she hurried down as quickly as she could;"Thank you young man you are indeed…""Enough!" Levi screamed out in anger, giving no room for her royal appreciation."You could have gotten hurt, don't you think about anything, what were you trying to prove. Why didn't you tell me you weren't able to ride a horse!" "Don't talk to me that way! At least I was trying to have fun like you said, but each time, you only see wrong in what I do. You complain abo
"Why do you choose to act this way my princess, don't you know the kingdom's eyes are on you? Yet you go out to have fun with a commoner. He's not even of your own status, he's a mare gardener. Don't you think you're giving him too many opportunities to get too close to you? You aren't even preparing for your coronation ceremony. I heard the council members say you threatened to cancel, is that true?"Zena looked at Ann with tired eyes. She knew Ann was truly worried about the kingdom's welfare;"I will then have to postpone the coronation. Send words to the council members and also to the king of the second realm, tell him I am truly sorry for the inconvenience. And nanny please do not wake me up so early tomorrow, you know fully well I had a long day. Just in case Levi comes by, tell him I had a great time and would love to spend another time with him. Good night nanny." She spared herself from Ann's tantrums by concluding their conversation.Ann was left speechless. She knew her
"Where have you been nanny? I asked some of the palace maids and they said it's been a while since you left. You got me worried."Ann was absolutely nervous she didn't know what to tell the princess so she quickly changed the topic;"A letter came in from the king of the second realm and it seems he wants to have a private meeting with you. I think you should send your approval to him to enable you both to meet quickly, maybe he is already smittened by your beauty."Her words were like lightning bolts to Zina's heart, compelling her to speak;"Smitten? No, that's not even possible. we haven't even met. I only recall my meetings with his right hand man sir Marcus but that doesn't mean the king has picked interest in me. Send him a letter of my approval, I hope to see him soon." Zina spoke in an unseen worried tone."You have made the right decision once again my princess, entertaining the king would bring the peace you have always seeked. Maybe your arranged meetings with sir Marcus pa