Sam’s hair whipped wildly in the wind as they flew. She struggled to catch her breath at first, but then got used to the speed at which the unicorn flew.

From their altitude, Sam could see that the land she found herself in was bigger than she’d imagined. Behind her, on the edge of the horizon, the lake glimmered in the distance. There was a river that ran from the lake all the way and around Rock Candy Mountain. In every other direction were endless fields, some had flowers and others had wheat that blew in the breeze. After a half-hour of flying, the fields turned to stone and Sam noticed that there were huts with straw roofs sporadically placed throughout the land. “We’ve just passed into the Beast Kingdom.” Earl Grey said above the wind. He slowly began to descend. She saw as they lowered a grand stone wall surrounded by a moat of white liquid. To the right of the wall was a forest, but it was hard to make out because it was so dark that it looked like the sun had never shone there. The darkness from the forest looked to be stretching out towards the small town like an inky, gross hand. Earl Grey suddenly shifted hard to the right. She felt something shift beneath her as they dropped faster than expected. They were then caught in a flurry of feathers. Sam looked behind here and saw that Earl Grey’s wings were shrinking! The unicorn started kicking his legs frantically. His experience saved them from crashing into huts. He shifted his body to the left and to the right to avoid them and as they were close enough to the ground they were able to land in a full gallop. A pair of rhinos and a bovine rushed out - on two legs!- to see what the commotion was about. There was a female goat that gathered children and kept them in a close semi-circle. A few other animals left their huts and gathered around the girl and the unicorn. “W-what happened Earl Grey?” Sam asked, ignoring the crowds. “My wings! They're gone!” He exclaimed. “Things are worse than I had imagined. This shouldn’t even be possible.” Noticing the crowds he calmed himself and shifted his demeanor. “There's nothing to worry about. Please return to what you were doing.” There was curiosity swirling in the air, but because the unicorn spoke so compassionately the beasts responded as much and went back to what they were doing. Earl Grey and Sam left the small village and made their way towards the wall and moat. “I am glad you are safe.” Earl Grey broke the silence. There was shame in his voice. “It's ok. It wasn't your fault.” Sam hung her head. “I was trying to create something that would help us, but I couldn't do it.” Shame mixed in with her voice as well. “It seems the Nightmares are working on this world much faster than we anticipated. I suppose it comes as no surprise, what with the Author and Lionheart missing.” Sam was hit with a wave of sadness. “You don't think he-” She didn't finish her sentence because she didn't want to speak it into existence. “I don't know what could have happened to that man, but believe me on this: he's a lot stronger than he looks. It would take a lot more than the Nightmares to end him.” “Yeah.” She muttered. It was hard to have hope in the unicorn’s words. Although, it was her razor-thin belief that the Author had saved her brother that kept her pressing on. They walked in silence until they came to the moat that surrounded the kingdom. From up close, she could see that the white liquid was milk and it flowed at a gentle pace. A stone bridge crossed over the milky moat and led to towering black bars that gated the entrance of the city. In front of the gate stood two fat black cats with round, white bellies holding spears. They had a lackadaisical look in their eyes as if they hadn't seen anything interesting in a long time. That was, of course, until a young girl and a unicorn crossed their bridge. They immediately stood at attention. “Halt!” The cat on the left cried. He held his weapon (a golden spear with a fish for a tip) towards the pair, who stopped but didn't look the least bit frightened. These cats looked like they could only beat anyone if engaged in an eating contest. “That's no way to treat guests of your king.” Earl Grey said with authority. Electricity shot through the guards as they stood at attention, placing their weapons at their sides and saluting. “Lower the gates!” One of the guards shrieked. The pair heard the sound of a chain being rotated as the bars descended into the ground. As Sam and Earl Grey walked into a circular hub area lined with buildings of various shapes and sizes. There was sticky laziness that hung in the air; one could almost taste it. There seemed to be no activities going on except for a long line of fat cats snaking out the door and down the street. No words labeled the building, but it smelled of fresh fish and it didn't take long for Sam to understand that all the cats had gathered for lunch. It was a humorous sight watching as the cats would struggle to exit the fishery, bumping against each other whilst trying to eat their meal even before exiting. Sam let out a soft giggle, but Earl Grey only rolled his eyes and shook his head. “C'mon Sam. The castle is this way. The sooner we arrive at the castle, the sooner we may depart.” The unicorn said. Sam could see the disdain in the King’s eyes. “May I ask you a question?” Sam asked sheepishly. “Of course, dear. What is it?” “Why do you hate the cats so much?” He let out a long breath. “It's not that I hate them. I'm just..” He paused and sighed again. “I'm disappointed in what they've become. This used to be a prosperous and wonderful kingdom when Lionheart was around full time. “Oh, those were some times! The other animals all lived together and Lady Grey and I often came here to join in on the parties they threw every night.” “What happened then? Why isn’t Lionheart around anymore?” “He is a King with a wild nature. Often he would leave to roam the world, and the animals would take care of themselves until he returned. “ And return he always did. But, after the Insomnia incident, he left once and never came back. The animals didn't know what to do. “Then one day a cat larger than all the rest named Nyal said he was taking the throne and used his size to influence the other cats to plot against the other animals. Nyal made the kingdom for the cats and pushed everyone else outside its walls and that's the state they are in now. We unicorns have had nothing to do with this kingdom since then.” "What made you change your mind to come here then?" "Lady Grey and I have always tried to keep peace in this world. With the current threat, I believe that this is a chance to see where the king's allegiance lies." The road leading from the hub split into four separate paths. They could see all the paths were lined with houses that were misshapen and looked as if they were pushed together for the sake of largeness. Doorways were enlarged to fit fat cats and holes in the walls made up windows. Earl Grey only shook his head as he and Sam continued to walk and talk. At the end of the road, the paths converged to a courtyard in front of a modest castle. The castle looked like it once was grand and elegant but was now as beat up as the rest of the town. There were four black fountains that had milk spraying up in them. In front of each of the fountains were golden statues of a fat cat making over-dramatic poses. “Long ago,” Earl Grey told Sam. “The fountains were joined by statues that celebrated all the animals that shared this kingdom. From a bird’s eye view the castle and the fountain look like a lion’s paw; that’s why the kingdom is called ‘Pawsgard.’” Despite the change in “ownership” of the castle, the interior did not match the exterior. Elegant red banners with golden lions embroidered on them hung on the stone of the entrance hallway. Between the banners, floating, magical orange flames lit the area. The hallway led to an open chamber. The chamber, which used to house grand meetings and thrilling parties; a king and his court, was now covered with a mountain of red and white pillows. Upon the pillows sat a mass of blue, unkempt fur that reached from the pillows to just below the ceiling. It looked like the world’s largest fur ball until it moved when it saw Sam and Earl Grey walking down the hallway. “Well, well, what have we here?” A smooth voice inquired from within the fur. A moment of heavy breathing and shifting soon revealed a mountain of a cat that sat and faced them. From behind the throne of pillows came two fattened black cats, nearly identical to the guards, that picked up a pair of leaf fans and began cooling their king. “Welcome!” The fanning cats exclaimed. “Show respect for the wonderful and immeasurable King Nyal!” Sam quickly curtsied and Earl Grey nodded with a roll of his eyes. “Can we get this over with?” The unicorn mumbled. “In time, in time,” Nyal said. The king then clapped his paws together and almost immediately a calico cat rushed in with a plate of raw fish. “Any for our guests?” The pair shook their heads and declined. “More for me.” He smirked giddily. Earl Grey and Nyal then engaged in a conversation that did not appeal to Sam in the slightest. It was some sort of politics that she couldn’t wrap her head around. Also, there was an object in a glass case that caught her attention when she walked into the room and felt it drawing her to it. During the conversation, she couldn’t stop trying to get a glimpse of it. It pulled at her attention until she slowly began to slip away from the group. Lost in a hypnotic daze, she crept over to the glass case. She saw that inside there was a lone object sitting inside; a ball of ice that remained frozen despite the warmth of the room. Enclosed in the ball of ice was a sage green flower. The color of the flower sparked familiarity, but Sam couldn’t put her finger on what it was. She reached out her hand. Just a look shouldn’t hurt, she thought. She reached her hand out to open the case when she was interrupted by a loud voice. “Ah, I see you’ve found the newest piece of my collection,” Nyal said. All the eyes in the room were now on her; her hypnosis had broken. “I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me!” She apologized and took a step back. “It’s okay, child.” His voice was sticky-sweet. “It was brought to me as a peace offering from my new allies.” “A new ally?” Earl Grey spoke up. “Of course.” The so-called king said with a devilish grin. “They’re quite formidable. They granted me the privilege to keep my kingdom when they take over the world. Only a fool would oppose them.” Fear flashed in the unicorn’s eyes as he realized what Nyal was implying. Then, as if on cue, the room darkened and Nightmares came pouring from out of the shadows. The room was completely black except for the yellow, maniacal grin of Nyal. Light radiated from Earl Grey's horn. He rushed over to Sam and flung her onto his back. Out of pure instinct, Sam grabbed the frozen flower as they raced out of the castle using a back exit. They heard Nyal scream “After them, fools!” And the Nightmares gave chase. Sam's heart pounded in her chest as they made their way out of the castle, through the back courtyard, and towards the wall that surrounded the town. She closed her eyes and concentrated as hard as she could. She heard a faint pop and on the back of Earl Grey appeared a small, frail-looking set of wings. They weren't majestic in the slightest, but they gave him the ability to clear the wall and make it to the entrance of the forest. Two guards were posted at the forest and stood defensively as Sam and Earl Grey raced at them. The unicorn used his light to momentarily blind the guards and disappeared into the cover of the trees.