Azareth was sitting in front of Cephie, crossed legged. Her hands rested on her knees palms up, as little flames danced over her fingers. She had been training with Cephie for a couple hours now, learning control over the fire within herself. Cephie watched carefully knowing that if Azareth lost control it could end badly.

The flames tingled on the tips of Azareth’s fingers, sending a fuzzy feeling through her arms. Azareth opened her eyes and closed her hands extinguishing the flames. Her nerves were still getting to her, causing her to lose confidence in her abilities.

“Why did you stop?” Cephie asked. Azareth sighed and shrugged her shoulders. Cephie watched as Azareth stood up off the ground.

“I don’t want to push it,” Azareth said.

Cephie could hear the uncertainty in Azareth’s voice, see it in her body language. Cephie wanted to show Azareth that she was more powerful than she knew. She needed her to believe in herself the way she believed in her. Cephie nudged Azareth with her nose and Azareth looked up at her.

“What?” Azareth asked, a weak smile on her face.

“Want to fly?” Cephie asked her. Azareth’s face lit up full of excitement and wonder. Her eyes were huge as she nodded excitedly. “Climb on.”

“Are you serious?”

“Quick, before I change my mind.”

Azareth didn’t need to be told again. She moved to Cephie’s shoulders and climbed on, placing herself at the base of Cephie’s long neck and wrapping her legs on either side. She was high off the ground already, as Cephie sat up straight and stretched out her wings.

With one strong push from the ground, Cephie took off into the air. As they climbed into the sky, Azareth clung onto Cephie’s neck. The air got colder as the further from the ground they got. Azareth opened her eyes and looked to see she was surrounded by clouds. She looked around, feeling Cephie’s wings pulsing behind her. With every strong flap of her wings, Cephie took them higher. They flew above the trees and over the woods behind the training fields. Azareth looked down, she could almost touch the tops of the trees with her feet as they hung below her.

“This is amazing!” Azareth shouted over the wind.

“Hold on,” Cephie told Azareth. They banked to the right and soared towards the castle. Azareth stared down at the large building, the towers standing out above everything. She could see people walking along the walls of the castle. She looked and saw the citizens looked like tiny ants as they went about their lives. As they circled around the island, Azareth felt more comfortable in the sky. She let go of Cephie’s neck and stretched out her arms, letting the air blow through opened fingers.

Azareth felt the wind on her face and blowing through her hair. Azareth looked around she saw the the sun was setting over the lake. Everything was a bright peachy colour with a hint of purple as the sky was darkening. The water looked like it was glowing with flames as they began to dive down towards the water. Cephie pulled up just before she hit the water. The pair skimmed the top of the water and Azareth could feel the lake spray on her face. Cephie tilted and touched the water with her right wing.

Cephie banked to the right and headed back to the training grounds. She flew up a couple dozen feet, then she suddenly dived towards the ground. When she landed on the ground, Azareth slipped off and landed on her feet. Azareth ran her hands through her hair and looked around back at Cephie.

“That was exhilarating,” Azareth said. Cephie watched Azareth spin on the spot, looking free and relaxed.

“How are you feeling?” Cephie asked. Azareth went to answer, but stopped when she saw a guard running towards them.

“You’re majesty,” the guard said. He bowed and Azareth sighed, waving him to stand straight.

“What is it?”

“Lord Jurah and Lord Artibain request your presence in the throne room.”

As she made her way through the castle, she wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into. The halls to the throne room were full of people working hard, keeping things running smoothly. Azareth turned and pushed open the doors to the throne room, she wore her normal training outfit. Her tan pants and boots, with her long blue top with the leather straps over her chest in the X pattern.

Jurah and Artibain were standing together, talking with the guard Jerin. Azareth walked up to the three men and looked at their faces. They all looked concerned, but stopped talking when they saw Azareth. Jerin bowed his head, while the other two smiled weakly at her.

“You majesty,” Jerin spoke.

“What is this urgent matter?” Azareth asked. Jerin stood up and looked at Jurah and Artibain.

“We questioned Sansun like you asked,” Jurah said.

“And? What did he say?”

“Nothing,” Artibain said. “He’s refusing to talk.”

“Did you do whatever it took?”

“Your majesty, wouldn’t it be best to let him stew for a few days?” Jerin asked. Azareth looked at him and sighed deeply.

“If he has information about the plans of King Maan, I need to know. We hardly have any information about them. We don’t know how to fight them if they are using dark magic.”

The three men were silent. Azareth sighed again, she ran her hand through her hair. She took a few steps back and began to pace. The others could see the thoughts turning her head, trying to think of a plan. Azareth paused and turned back to the men.

“Alright, if he’s not talking right now, let him stew. Tomorrow morning, if he’s not answering come and get me, understood?”

“Of course, your majesty,” Jerin said. He left the room and went back on duty. Jurah and Artibain looked at Azareth concerned. Azareth walked over and sat in the throne, she looked around the room.

“What is it?” Jurah asked her.

“Nothing, I’m just thinking,” Azareth said.

“That can’t be good,” Artibain said. He came forward and scanned Azareth’s face. “You’re planning something aren’t you?”

“I don’t know, okay.” Azareth raised voice took them by surprise. “I have no clue what I’m supposed to do. I have to protect everyone and I can’t do that if I don’t have the information I need.”

“It’s alright, we will figure this out together,” Jurah said. Azareth nodded, then stood up and looked down at herself.

“See you at dinner, I’m going to go clean up.”

The night air was warmer than normal and Azareth only had her light covers on over her. Midrina had not started a fire in the room for her, deciding it wouldn’t be cold enough for one. Azareth turned on to her right side looking at the door. She let her eyes shut, but her mind was racing. Her thoughts darkening as the minutes ticked away. She rolled on to her back and rested her arms above her head, hoping for sleep. She heard a soft thump, she opened her eyes. She couldn’t see anything in the room as the torches had burnt out. She pulled her covers up around her neck, pushing her nerves away.

Without warning something pressed down hard over her mouth. Gasping and clawing at her mouth, Azareth opened her eyes and has a dark figure standing over her. She tried to scream but all sounds were muffled by the strangers hand.

“Shh, don’t fight,” the man’s voice spoke. “It’ll be over quicker if you don’t fight it.”

Azareth tried to kick the man away from her, but he climbed onto the bed. He pined her legs down underneath him, as he sat on her. Azareth struggled to pull the mans hand off her face. The man pulled a blade from his belt and held it up. The moon light catching the blade and the silver shone brightly. Azareth froze, as she stared at the blade only inches away from her.

“See, fighting is pointless,” the man whispered to her. He leaned forward and spoke next to her ear. “Such a shame to kill such a beauty.”

Azareth narrowed her eyes at the man and took a deep breath in. She focused hard and felt a warm rising inside her. The warm feeling moved up her arms and to her hand. She pressed her now burning hand to the man’s arm and gripped on tight. The man screamed out in pain and fell back. As he fell away, he let go of Azareth’s mouth. tried to move away from the man.

“Help!” She screamed as loud as she could. She prayed someone would her her cries. As she freed her legs, she fell of the bed hitting the floor hard. The man had stopped screaming and was coming around the bed towards Azareth.

“Stupid girl,” the man snapped. He ran at her as she scrambled to her feet, trying to get to the door.

“Help me!” Azareth screamed out again. The man grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arm around her throat. As his arm tightened around her, Azareth gasped for air. She pulled and clawed at the man’s arm.

“Azareth!” A voice came from outside the door. Azareth tried to cry out, but no sound was coming. She felt light headed and her vision was going dark. A loud crashing sound distracted the man, causing him to lose grip for a moment. Azareth’s vision cleared for a moment as she saw someone running into the room. She fell the floor and coughed trying to catch her breath.

She heard fighting sounds behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw a sword clashing with the dagger of her assailant. As the two fought, more footsteps came running down the hallway. Azareth watched as her savour shoved the man hard, sending him to the ground. She watched as he brought up his sword above his head, then drove it hard through the mans stomach.

Torches lite up the room as people ran in. Azareth felt someone grab her face and turn her gaze away from her savour. She looked eyes with Midrina, who was blasting off questions trying to see if she was okay. Azareth couldn’t focus on the words, she looked away from Midrina and saw the face of the person who saved her.

Jurah turned to look at Azareth, panting hard. He stood up and ran over to her. He knelt in front of her taking her face in his hands and scanning her for injuries. Azareth looked into his frighten eyes and felt like she could breath again. He spoke to her, but she couldn’t focus on his words.

“Azareth?” he asked. He brushed her hair out of her face, he could see she looked alright. She seemed to be unharmed from her attack. “Azareth, can you hear me? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Your majesty?” Midrina asked. She was looking over Azareth’s neck and shoulders.

“Jurah?” Azareth asked. Everyone froze and watched their queen. Azareth stared at Jurah and her eyes began to water. “I thought no one was coming.”

“It’s alright, I’m here,” Jurah said. He pulled her into his chest and held her tightly. They sat on the floor for a long few minutes, everyone afraid to speak. Midrina cleared her throat and Jurah looked over at her.

“Your majesty, we need to make sure you are alright,” Midrina said. Jurah nodded and helped stand Azareth up. He led her to the chair and let Midrina scan over Azareth, making sure she was truly unharmed.

“How did this happen?” Jurah asked the guards. They all stood around the dead assailant and looked over sat Jurah.

“He snuck through our patrols, sir,” a guard spoke. “We’ve been doing as you wished, but it is impossible to have every inch of the island covered.”

“Your queen was almost killed and you are making excuses?” Jurah asked. He grabbed the guard by the scruff of his shirt.

“Jurah,” Azareth spoke up. He glanced over his shoulder and saw she was shaking her head at him. He released the guard and grabbed the hilt of his sword. He pulled it up and saw the blood drip from the end.

“Clean this up, quietly. We don’t need to alarm the whole kingdom,” Jurah ordered them. The guards didn’t argue and carried the body out of the room. Midrina finished examining her, then sighed.

“She seems unharmed, some bruising on her neck. That should go away in a few days,” Midrina said.

“Thank you,” Jurah said. Midrina smiled softly at Azareth and then walked over to clean the blood off the floor. Jurah and Azareth stared at each other, listening to Midrina scrubbing the floor.

“Alright, everything is clean. If you need anything come and find me,” Midrina told Azareth. She nodded her head, then Midrina sighed and left the room. The door shut behind her, Jurah let out a deep sigh and he walked over to Azareth. He cupped her face in his hands and gently pulled her to her feet. Azareth stood and looked up at him.

“I was so afraid when I heard your scream,” he told her. She blinked and scanned his face. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

“You didn’t, I’m right here,” she said.

“I should be the one comforting you.”

“You are,” Azareth said. She put her hands on top of his and locked eyes with him. “You make me feel safe.” Jurah let out a light chuckle. He rested his forehead against Azareth’s, shutting his eyes. Everything in that moment seemed to melt away. All their problems and fears, the past event of the evening.

“Don’t leave me,” Azareth whispered.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Jurah told her.

Azareth opened her eyes and took Jurah’s hands away from her face. Jurah’s eyes opened and he let Azareth lead him over to the bed. She climbed into the bed and pulled Jurah down next to her. Jurah stiffened as he laid down next to her, letting Azareth cuddle up next to him.